Friday fun: How much were Brego's shoes?

I got the bill for Brego's hoof wall resection, and it was as expected. But then I got the bill for his shoes, and I almost had to breathe into a paper bag to control the hyperventilating. Let's just say I didn't know that shoes could even cost that much, ever.

They don't look that fancy, do they?

What kind of magical shoes are these, you ask? They're to support his feets while the resection grows out. Here's the details:

• Handmade heart-bar shoes in size Brego
• Fronts only
• With clips

For size comparison, that's my thumb. 

Just how much did they cost? Here are a few clues:

• The most expensive shoes I'd ever had before were a full set, with clips and tapped for studs. Brego's were nearly three times as much.
• My college apartment was cheaper than these shoes.
• You probably pay less for board than these shoes cost.
• I could have bought a new pair of (not custom) tall boots.
• A set of 4 new trailer tires is less than these shoes.
• I could have bought a plane ticket to Europe (in the off season).

So, with armed that knowledge, leave your guesses in the comments! Whoever gets closest gets to send me a donation toward the cost of Brego's fancy footware.

Just kidding. Mostly.

And then suddenly...

... I started blogging again.

You know how sometimes there's plenty going on, but you're just not inspired to blog? Yeah, that's been me. I've been riding - although with highs last week of 105, I admit not as much as I'd like, especially given that we've got a show this Saturday. I've made it through the entire four seasons of White Collar (yes, in two weeks. Don't ask.), and am now bummed that I will only get to see Matt Bomer (swooooon) weekly, or on re-runs. The husband is out of town, but nothing has broken (yet) - still waiting for that axe to fall. And the current scorpion body count stands somewhere north of 15 (UPDATE: Make that 16. I just squished another one on the wall. Ugh). I have no idea why there are so many all at once when I haven't seen any for months, but at least the little bastards are showing up dead or nearly so.

Let's see, what to catch up on. Oh, Saga's got a new farrier. This one also works for a (different) vet, but actually calls back and responds to text messages. He makes house calls too, so I might not have to haul any more to get Saga shod. That would be super-awesome-nice. The first shoeing job was a little scary, but Saga is sound and comfortable, so... I guess it's all good.

 LF. That damn bulge is STILL there, after two years of trying so many ways to let it grow out. The new farrier is trying to rasp down the hoof wall, which makes me cringe. HOWEVER, when I pointed out that what really needs to happen is that the wall needs to be at the same angle all the way down WITHOUT rasping, he said, "You're right, and that's where we're going to be in six months or so." At least we both have the same end goal in mind!

 When he pulled the previous set of shoes, a huge chunk of toe came off. Awesome. Saga was at 5 weeks exactly... he looked more like 9 weeks.

 LF. Better, although the hairline is still pushed up at the quarters.

At least he's sound.

I've been doing regular jumping lessons, and seem to be mostly improving. I'll work on one thing and then something else (that I thought I'd already fixed) will break. Also, after seeing me school some of the Training XC fences (3'3 ish), Paige has jacked the fences up. We're jumping mostly 2'6-3'. It's going pretty well - my big challenges continue to be keeping the elbows in, and not letting him get rolling up to the fence. Saga is naturally downhill and has a big chest and shoulder, so it's hard for him to balance back. We're getting better, but we've got a long ways to go before I'll really feel like the power is coming from behind.

Paige also snuck up a nice 3'3-ish oxer on a line we were doing. I came around and said something like "HOLY CARP THAT'S HUGE". She reminded me not to look at it, and Saga jumped through like a pro. Is he awesome or what?!?! (Please ignore my 'flying chicken' elbows).

This coming Saturday is the LOPE benefit horse show. I'm riding Saga and Oberon in two dressage classes each (Intro B and C), a hunter over fences class each (Saga at 2'6 and Oberon is jumping Xs and will likely spook at the flowers), and a trail versatility class each (Saga ridden and Oberon in-hand). One of the likely obstacles on the trail versatility course will be walking over a tarp on the ground. Oberon will walk over one, but every time I move it to a new place, it's a whole new game. Most recently, he licked the tarp and then picked it up in his teeth, managing to scare the crap out of himself when the whole thing moved. Yep, he's speshul. I just hope he doesn't do something that classy at the show. I'm also on to him about eating fake flowers (he tried that at our jumping lesson last week). With his penchant for sampling anything and everything, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps he's part goat.

Intro B I'm not worried about. Intro C, with the canter, is going to be ... bad. Oberon has a canter departure that sort of resembles a Lazy Boy sofa trying to throw itself across the room, or maybe a hippo trying to heave itself to its feet. You can almost hear him go "UH!" on the departure. It's not exactly the most graceful thing ever, and I can't wait to hear what the judge has to say about it. Saga's canter departs, especially to the right, usually involve falling in on his shoulder, pinning his ears, and running. They're awesome and make me feel like SUCH a good rider (NOT). I decided to take him out and longe him the other night to see how he did on the longe line, and the answer is... he can't do a canter depart to save his life. He's so unbalanced he just can't do one cleanly, even on his own. It was really eye-opening watching him struggle so much - it's not just me, although I am obviously not helping any. We're not going to fix anything in time for Saturday, but I'll be longing him more regularly to help him figure it out on his own. In the meantime, we'll just muddle through the test and hope for a miracle.

Did I mention that MC, Cash's beloved Auntie (and Chief Bringer of Carrots) is taking him to the show as well? And that Cash's canter departs are nothing short of perfect? I'm going to get my ass kicked by my friend riding my "retired" schoolmaster. But hey, the ribbon she's going to come home with will look great just the same! ;)

Horrible hooves (a Saga hoof update)

I haven't posted pics of Saga's feet for a while, and frankly, I'm really hesitant to do so now. They look quite horrible.

To fill in on the latest bit of the ongoing soap opera that has become Saga's hoof care... he was last shod four weeks ago by the vet farrier. Prior to that, it was eight weeks between shoeings. At five weeks exactly he threw the RF, then at six weeks exactly tossed the LF. I could not, for love nor money, get an appointment with the farrier, despite trying for over four weeks. I booted Saga as I could, but still, his feet chipped badly. I'm afraid the farrier didn't have much to work with when he shod Saga this last time, so you will see the chips in the bottom of the hoof wall. Saga has an appointment next Tuesday for new shoes - it will be exactly five weeks, and that's the schedule we're going to try to keep him on from here on out. Maybe, just maybe, that will magically help somehow. Maybe.

So, here's the awfulness:

LF. You can see the truly awful event lines. And look at the difference in angle of the hoof wall, from the coronet band all the way down. The first 1/2 inch or so is soooo different from the last inch. I have been trying to grow that angle out all the way down for two years now, both barefoot and shod, and have not been able to make any success. It's frustrating to know just how much pressure that must be putting on his toe. GAH.

LF again. Hairline is pushed up, huge flare at the bottom 1/2 of the foot, event lines allll the way down. I have tried so, SO many things with his diet to prevent those event lines from happening, and yet they still do. At this point I have no idea what's causing them, and I just can't win. He's very, VERY sensitive to something in his environment, I just don't know what.

RF. The thing that looks like a crack on his toe is new. Well, not exactly... he used to have it a year or more ago when the quarters were too long. It's back. It's superficial, but still... it's a clue that things aren't right. More event lines, more flare... and the medio-lateral balance is soooo off.

RF. At least his heel isn't terribly underrun and the changes in hoof wall angles aren't as horrible as the other foot? This is the one he's always had a better landing on.

Here's what he looks like standing.

I guess he stands fairly straight, despite everything.

I'm so depressed looking at these pics. I guess the ONLY thing that's good is that he's sound and happy to work, and I KNOW he would be lame without shoes, because his soles are so thin.  Also, one thing I have learned looking and bare feet over the last few years... beautiful-looking feet may not function terribly well, while awkward-looking feet may function fantastically. His feet are definitely functional, even if they make me cringe. I guess that's something. 

The devil Saga wears Prada – and (almost) jousts!

Ok, just to clear up a few things: Saga is not the devil, and he’s not actually wearing Prada shoes. However, a pair of Pradas cost about the same as what I’m paying for the special vet farrier to shoe him. Of course, I’d probably buy a new pair of Ariat tall boots with that money instead of Pradas, but I digress.

Saga got front shoes put on last Thursday. Just plain, normal shoes, fronts only. His feet look pretty good, without having been rasped like crazy. And you know what? He’s 100% comfortable and happy with front shoes. He moves freely and strides out. He is comfortable in the pasture, comfortable under saddle. He’s alert and perky and interactive, instead of being sullen and in pain.

As much as I hate to say it, shoes seem to be the right thing for him. 

I’m not sure when exactly I became such a barefoot advocate, but I can’t say I’m terribly happy about him having to wear shoes. Probably it upsets me because it means there’s something I’m not doing right with his feed that is causing him to continue to have thin soles. I’m still arranging for a private nutritional consultation, but even if I get everything perfect, it will be the better part of a year before he’s got enough sole to be comfortable without shoes. At this point, I’m planning to leave the shoes on until he’s got thick enough soles to give barefoot another go. If that time is never despite everyone’s best efforts, then OK. At this point, I’m doing Saga a disservice by not having shoes on him. Such is life.

This Sunday, we took Red and Saga to a jousting practice about 1.5 hours away. It was a super windy day, with a massive storm system blowing in. As an extra bonus, there was a train track on one side of the pasture where we were riding. The train scared me more than it bothered Saga and Red, haha! Unfortunately, Saga had apparently completely forgotten all about armor, and had a couple of OMGWTF!!! moments when riders in armor went by. I rode him for about an hour with no armor, and we chased people wearing armor, watched others joust, and practiced going up and down the lane.  He gave me good, strong, balanced gaits in both directions out in the field, and did a great job standing at the entrance to the jousting lyst and stopping at the end. Unfortunately, the actual lyst was a single rope with no counter-lane, and he did a lot of crazy lateral stuff lovely half-passes going down the lane. Definitely not ideal, but he got straighter (and stopped looking at other riders in armor) as time went on. 

The hubby took Reddums and jousted on him. Reddums was, of course, the star attack jousting pony. As usual, he got antsy waiting for the run, and was a little crooked down the lane. However, we had an experienced show jouster there who suggested that the hubby push his rein forward going down the lane, and really let Red go. Red ran straight and true after that, so it was an excellent learning experience for everyone. 

The hubby also learned that he needs to work on targeting and shield presentation. His shield tends to hang a little to the side, instead of straight on, which makes him a harder target. You want to present a good, fair target to your opponent, so this is really important. We’re working on changing how his shield is strapped so he won’t have to worry about it so much, and we’ll also be doing some work on the quintain to improve his aim. He got some great tips from the show jouster, so he’ll be working on that as much as possible. After all, Lysts on the Lake is only a few weeks away!

What have I done? The ugly truth under the shoes

Tonight, when the boys were running around like maniacs, Saga pulled his left front shoe. It's the first time I've seen the bottom of his foot in about three months (bad owner, not here for farrier).

 This is his LF today after he pulled his shoe off. At least he didn't manage to rip any hoof wall with it.

This is his LF in November, the day he got shoes.  See any really frickin' obvious differences?

Despite aggressive rasping of the lower hoof wall, despite remedial farrier work, I swear that from this view his feet look WORSE now than they did five months ago. Yet, Saga is sound now and wasn't then.

 Today. Look at the indent at the top of the hoof where the growth is constricted, the pushed-up quarters, and the impressive flaring on the outside. Oh, and he STILL has event lines, probably from shoeing.

 Last November. No flare, no indent at the top.

 The bottom of the foot shows the flare in spades. That's a 3/4 inch deep/wide gap between the hoof wall and the sole. Look at that enormous hunk of false sole he's got on his toe.

 And of course the hoof wall is hugely built up. You can see where the false sole is trying to shed too.

No caudal hoof, atrophied frog, and tons of hoof wall on the front quarters, although his toe is very short (I'm guessing due to the clips). In fact it sort of looks as though the shoe went OVER the toe callus?

The sad thing is that this is a sound hoof, in a shoe.

So, what to do. I guess I've sort of known that his feet were deteriorating bit by bit... I've been watching the caudal hoof shrink and watching to his landing change to toe-first. But he's sound, so I've ignored it. Ignorance is bliss, right?

Do I call my farrier and have him put the shoe back on? It's been 28 days since Saga was last shod, and his feet... look like this. Do I call the "farrier" from down the street and have him pull the other shoe, and try barefoot again? I had planned to do this eventually but was waiting till the summer heat when I won't ride much, rather than doing it now. I had also planned to do some changes to the track to make it more barefoot-friendly before pulling his shoes, but haven't been able to due to the rain we've been having (yay rain!).

In addition, Saga is supposed to joust at a competition in May, and I need to keep him sound for that - barring unforeseen circumstances, of course. Does that mean shoes, or will he be OK barefoot? I guess I won't know if I don't try. 

I have a vet appointment for him later this week for annual shots and such, so I can have his feet re-xrayed then to see if the sole depth has changed. But once that false sole is removed, I'm guessing the answer will be that sole depth is the same as it was in November. For whatever metabolic/footing reason, I think Saga just isn't a horse who grows much sole. In fact, I was looking back at his pre-purchase exam from four years ago, and the vet mentions that he "would like to see more sole". I didn't have a clue what that meant at the time, but now a statement like that sure as heck would raise all kinds of red flags.

For tonight, I stuck an easyboot on the LF and gave Saga an extra alfalfa cube treat. I'll sleep on things and see how I feel about it in the morning. 

What would you do if Saga were your horse?