Barefoot trim #6

It's soooooooooooooooo wonderful having a barefoot trimmer whose talent, hard work and knowledge is seen thru your horse's hooves.

Cliff came to trim yesterday, and has been working on Laz since March 19th (two weeks after Laz was supposed to be put down) and with each trim, Lazarus shows so much comfort and improvement. 

We got so lucky.

Cliff showed me some real positive changes in his hooves.

Seen more in his front two and rear left, but they are starting to widen, and the concave cupped sole is appearing which indicates a healthy foot.

The left rear is more challenged but totally holding it's own and changing for the better.

Oh, and he saw no more thrush! :)

Laz was awesome, calm and nibbling at Cliff.

Stealing his hat, pulling at his chap's fringe.

The neighbors started up their annoying bog mud riding Jeep thing, and the BO was weed whipping but even through all that, Laz was good.  It was a lot of noise that typically would maybe upset him, but Laz has been proving his adaptive nature and handled it very well.  

  Toward the end, he started chewing and becoming impatient and dropped his back leg on Cliff (not on him, but slammed it down)...oops but Cliff took it all in stride and just laughed it off.

The right rear..still funky as ever, but showing strength and growth. 

Cliff thinks that for 4 months of trimming, Laz is doing exceptional.

Both Laz and I think that Cliff is exceptional.

He is so patient with my questions and wanting to understand and helpful with Laz's health and even permitted us to open his paddock up into a small private pasture for a few hours a day to graze along side the other horses.  He'll still be by himself, which Laz has been great with, but he has his 'herd' (the BO's horses) right over the fence line.

I'm sure Laz will love this new change in his routine.

After his trim, I hosed him off, groomed him, washed out his itchy spots and then we hand walked for about 20 minutes which he did awesome.  

He even playfully snaked his neck and picked up a little trot so I trotted alongside him for the length of the arena and seemed he felt really good.

It's so wonderful to feel like we keep moving forward in his healing.

From Oct to early March, it was nothing but set backs after set backs (not to mention bills after bills)...this method seems to be our winning combination.

Thanks Cliff!!!

Photo series-Laminitis Jumping

Learning to ride in a Hunter/Jumper barn, I do miss jumping.  But I would so rather have my own healthy horse to ride and forsake jumping.

So, instead, we do our own version of jumping*.

Here is a fun series of photos, showing Laz and I over the cavalletti poles that we 'jump' to stretch his back, lift his stomach muscles, keep his mind healthy and working his legs differently.

(*please understand there is NO actual jumping going on here...just want to firmly put that out there)

Nice back leg stretch

Good lift here and good weight on his bad leg

Lazy leg drag

Good lift of bad leg

Lazy drag but look how muscley he looks...how?! 

Maybe all that hand walking did pay off?!

Nice lift for Laz...could my arms be any straighter? LOL!

Good boy! 

Isn't it awful sometimes how photos show how bad your equitation is! Eck

My toes already wing out, it is more comfortable for my knees, don't know why...

Oh well :)

After our ride, putting Laz back in his paddock

He always tries to quickly eat the grass that hides under his gate while I shut him in.

Sweet boy

Nothing like a good ride completed before a summer storm hits

"Mom, I AM a Thoroughbred...don't forget!"

I've been in la-la land with Laz lately truthfully because he's been so calm, happy, sweet and healthy.

Today, I had the Chiro out for treatment #2 and boy, was Laz NOT into it. 

There were about 2 minutes out of his half hour session of where he enjoyed it, about 10 minutes where he tried to buck and kick out, and about 4 minutes where he tried to smoosh the chiro against a pole, and he chewed and head bobbed the entire time. 

Nice.

Thankfully, she was a good sport. I had to resort to putting on a stud chain on (loosely, it was more a threat) to get his attention.  

She said he feels a little looser but still is really tight.  She recommended that trying to do every 6 weeks will help until his feet/stance gets more stable. I'm not sure I'll be able to afford that, so I may have to stretch it out more. It's $90 a session!  She showed me where to massage him and keep working on him in between sessions.  

Does anyone else feel like there isn't enough time in the day for all your horse demands? 3-4 days a week is all I can spend at the farm, and with 2 hours lost in driving (no traffic that is), and 2-3 hours at the barn...sheesh! Summer makes it easier with how late it stays light at least. 

 I still wonder if my neighbors would mind a horse nibbling over their fence watching their kids play on their swing set. ;)

So after our Chiro session...er, not ours, his...I turned him out to graze while I groomed him, cleaned up the hay from the bales I had to stack for the Chiro, clean his poop, throw the frisbee to Mason, pick some vegetables, fly spray Laz with new spray that claims to work for 17 days (ha), clean out his new cut, apply lotion to his itchy hocks, etc.  

Laz has been doing SO much better showing a little independence but today I asked a lot of him.  

See the big rig in the background? That is the BO's new job of horse trailering (so cool) and Laz didn't like it.  Could be that it was BIG, not normally there, reflective or maybe he thought he was going away.

At any rate, I put him in arena to nibble down some of the tall grasses while I picked veggies and he was fine until he caught a reflection of himself (WHAT..another beautiful BAY with the coolest hairstyle...how dare he?!) and started to FREAK!! He raced, not ran, RACED back and forth and I jumped under to hook him up to lead and he RACED to me (didn't run me over, but I swear came close) and I hooked him up, and calmly reassured him that the reflective horse wasn't going to steal his glory, and hand walked him by the truck a couple of times, walked him for about 10 more minutes and then put him back in his paddock with some hay.

And now a couple more photos from Tina...I'm going to be slowly posting them because they take so long to transfer! BUT THEY ARE SOooo GOOD!

His kind eye, she loved his kind eye 

This picture is from July 6th, pre Roached mane...I LOVE his roached mohawk and it's official that I will do it every summer. He just totally rocks it.

Friday evening, Cliff comes out.  

I'm going to try to sneak in a quick ride before his trim and this weekend, I'd like to take a nice longer ride if Laz seem OK with it. Mentally, I can tell, he's getting bored and needs something new....but we'll see what the mood brings that day. 

I love my slow OTTB

Are you kidding?!  What a face!

I'm having such fun going through all the pictures that my sister took! HUNDREDS, I'm set for a while and the hard part is picking which ones to print and decoupage my house with-lol! 

I'm entering (er...entered at age five, let's be honest) the crazy zone of "I LOVE MY HORSE' obsession but I can't help it!

Lazarus has been such a trooper with his healing (so far we he still is doing great and stable) and doing well with our hand walking and riding.  

There is this new bond...I can't explain it but we are building a better team.  

He knows that I'm his.

Sigh....

This photo above was after a mini little neck and poll massage...I think he was saying 'thanks'

He's been SO awesome to ride.  Less spooky and I'm getting more aware of consoling him before he gets overly anxious.  Sometimes I catch his signals and other times I don't but we are having FUN!

Easy, walking and turning and obstacles and around the property a bit...easy... but I'm riding him and he's listening.  The other day, I was lazy and not using my leg cues correctly and I saw him start chewing in frustration...so today, I was carefully to think, ask, and he responded beautifully.
What a smart pony!!!
I am happy to just walk around and see his ears perk at my requests, or enjoying the scenery.  I may have the slowest OTTB right now and I love every second of it.

He was obsessed with Tina and her camera...I think he misses his own paparazzi cooing after him for photos!

Eeeesh..those bangs! 

Tina thought with his new cop horse hair roach, that the bangs should have been lopped off as well.

 I'm starting to think she may be right! :)

And the garden is OVER flowing. 

 Today I picked:

Celery, purple cabbage, butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, jalapeno, banana peppers, green peppers, white and red onions, wax beans, green beans, patty pan, zuch's, a few red cherry tomatoes (that I ate right away) parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, and stevia.

I made a delic Vegan Indian soup for dinner....MMM, so good!

PS. Some barefoot thoughts:

Things to talk to Cliff about next week, during Laz's trim.

Laz's right front frog is curving towards his left back...normal? Looks like a tadpole..I'll have to take a picture.

His hooves still are showing signs of tiny parts of thrush..I think I'm going to try spraying it with Apple Cider Vinegar. I've been treating it with the same stuff (that dries udders) and I'm not seeing a huge difference..better but not huge and it's been a couple of months.  His paddock is literally immaculent so it's not that.

Right rear still looks funny but he seems to be walking better as if that chunk coming off felt good.  I want to know if Laz's limping and choice of not wanting to trot is due to back/pelvis/ribs being out (Chiro comes out next Wed for 2nd treatment) or if it's more hoof related.

I just want to make SURE that we keep him on the right track heading into Fall/Winter.

 Lazarus attitude=A+ so that's gotta be a good sign things are still looking well! 

Always...Hooves and fingers remain crossed ;)

Summer is great.

Enjoy your horses today!!!

Stay tuned...

...because LOTS of amazing photos via my sister will be coming.  

She leaves tomorrow (insert super sad face) and her visit has been SO fun!! She LOVED coming out to the barn with me, and came with about 4 or 5 different times (go trooper) and while she isn't a horse freak, she does appreciate my love for it, and how adorable Lazarus is.  

I had her ride him (about 5 minutes) a couple times and she enjoyed it for the most part.  She said "NO way" after she saw him spook-side-jump from a horse eating white butterfly but I assured her, she would be fine with me leading him and she was. 

Laz has been SUPER freaking awesome lately.

He is getting his back adjusted next Wednesday which I'm hoping will help more.  He doesn't want to trot much, so I do NOT push it.  If I am riding and he chooses to trot, I allow it, but he stops after a few feet anyway.  To tell you the truth, I'm happy with my slow OTTB.  I don't know if it's mainly due to his feet/back/hips/pelvis or if he's just calmed down and not wanting to work much in this hot/humid weather. At any rate, I'm still only riding him at a walk for about 15-20 minutes.

  I just hope that when he gets back to mostly normal, that he isn't a crazy beast (daily...some days of course is normal..he is a OTTB after all).

For the last 5 rides or so, he's been a gentle sweet happy boy.  On last Friday,  he was a bear and bucked and ran around (again, got lots of fun photos) and showed Tina, my sister, that he was indeed a breeding stallion in Europe (um...no!!!).

Anyway, once I can the photos off her mega camera and burn some CD's..I'll have LOTS of beautiful images to share!

ALSO...Laz has been nickering to me when I go into his paddock to halter him up and take him out for our 1/2 hand walk/then ride/then grazing time.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I don't care if he's saying "Oh yes..the grass feeding lady is here" or if it's "Oh good, my belly and back itches and she with the rubber mitt thing scratches it" ...I chose to hear, "Ooooohhh Mommy..it's time to work and play!"

I'll take those sweet nickers any time!!!

Best sister EVER!

So, my younger sister's creative talent is amazing.  These are just a few of the shots (she took like 400 so far) of Laz and I, she took with her camera and killer skills!

She loves his eye and thinks he makes a great muse.

Love his wet neck from being hosed off in this picture.

He was awesome for the photo shoot...so relaxed and I think enjoying being center of attention.  He is after all, an ex race horse and used to the paparazzi

Yea Mason!

He was really being ham that day, and she said she finally saw that goofy personality.

Ya think?

So far, this one below is in my top 10...I mean what a handsome boy-it's almost unfair!!! ;)

And back to regular cell phone pictures...boo.

Laz's hoof is looking funktastic but Cliff came out last night to check on a flare/crack that I texted to him and trim him on the spot. Cliff simply CARES and wants Laz to succeed. It's such tremendous support.

Laz is actually walking great and acting like that dead hoof that was trimmed off is not an issue and almost seems more comfortable. I'm off to NYC until Tuesday with my sister so the BO is going to keep her eye on him but we suspect he'll be just fine.  If he's gimpy limpy more, Cliff will hoof cast him to aid him through.

It looks like a saw went thru his hoof, doesn't it? The new growth though is good and strong.

We just have a while before this dead hoof pushes off and Cliff wants Laz to determine when it comes off slowly.

So due to another rain storm, Laz got a new awesome hair cut via me begging the BO to roach it!

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think he looks like a British Sport TB and he loves it!

I know, a lot of you with horses that rub off their manes are probably gasping...but with his THICK mane, and manly good looks, I think a summer mohawk totally rocks on this brown boy.

And now for some videos....I thought since I'm taking a 5-6 day hiatus, I'd leave you with PLENTY of Laz, lol!!

Video of BO "C" walking him to see if we could tell if he was more lame since yesterday, after the 'emergency' trim of his hoof from last night. Well, it was NOT an emergency..just unexpected, sort of.  He seems to be doing great, still! Whew!

Last year, Lazarus had these odd sores on his hock areas, but actually like inside this cove where his hock and ankle are (I think that's his ankle?? back knee?) and I had thought they were from laying down, but now I think they are just itchy spots that he must dig at.  I found that out today while scraping off his dirty scabs to put medicine on it...you'll see what I mean when you watch the video:

This video is just me running with him being he was in such a fun mood today!

He feels good, little British Sporthorse!

Obviously he still limps, but with a few more Chiro adjustments and letting his hoof continue to grow and watching his diet, I hope to get Lazarus back to a healthy boy....well, healthier, because he is happy and healthy now considering!

So thankful

The 4th was great!

We hung out with family and I met my younger sister who is going to stay with me for a couple of weeks! She's visiting from Cape Town, South Africa!!!

I don't get to see her often (it's been a year and a half) so we have been already having too much fun!

She met Lazarus for the first time yesterday and is in love with him and is taking such amazing photos, which I'll download when I can figure out how to do that from her nice camera!

We hosed him off for a good 15 minutes because we are in a high, high heat wave here in Michigan.  The next couple of days are supposed to be 94 degrees. Eeeeyuck!  Lot's of cooling the pony down.

One thing that happened on our way out of town for the 4th was we witnessed a horrendous car accident, just minutes after it happened before anyone was on the scene. Very scary but everyone is OK

Read about it here...

I'm so so so thankful that everyone ended up OK from the accident.  When we had to leave (per cops/emt request) we didn't know and things just didn't look good, but someone was looking out for these people.

Read the comments below to see how wonderfully people banded together.  My husband's reply is Shell44 fyi.  He was so brave during the accident...I had to stand back because I was so afraid of what I could possibly see. When you see a car literally ripped in half, and know there is a little girl in the 2nd half that is thrown in the ditch...I just couldn't.  There were people down there with her, otherwise I hope I would find the strength to have gone down there.  

Whew...it was a crazy day witnessing that.

It just reminds you how lucky, lucky we are.

I told Billy that we are so lucky to have done everything we did that day, to not put us ahead by two minutes, because that could have been us.

Guess stopping by to see Laz before heading out of town proved to be a great idea.

Barefoot trim #5

Sweet, calm Lazarus getting his fifth trim from Cliff.

I swear, Laz, LOVES Cliff

"mmmm CliFfie youz smellz goooodz and makez my feetz feel gooodz"

Here Cliff is adjusting Laz's right rear. He is keeping the pressure off his inside area, where the old wedge shoe caused pressure to drive his hoof to hold onto itself.

I must have asked Cliff 100 questions and what if's about his foot.

He thinks for now, he's good.  The hoof may start cracking off and if it does, he'll hoof cast it.

I'm to keep an eye and if I see any changes in the hoof's appearance or in Laz's behavior, Cliff will come out reassess.

The inside of his right rear, where you can see where it may crack.

BUT..look at all that new growth!
Cliff said the new growth looks very good and healthy! HOORAH!

Laz was a total cuddle bug with Cliff.

Watching him trim his feet...

Nuzzling his hat and hair...

Biting his chaps fringe tenderly...

This is a happy boy

Cliff on the left talking to one of the boarders

Small world, they used to work together in the automotive world!

Cliff was so patient and answered everyone's questions about their horses and even had a farrier who is newly training to be a barefoot trimmer come out and learn from him.

Icing again per Chiro

Laz has been a rockstar lately that I can leave him 'ground tied' when he grazes.

A couple times when something spooked him, he ran up to me for comfort (awwww) and then bucked off his ice bag (hilarious!).

Can I just say that yesterday, when I walked out to him with his halter and lead rope he nickered twice to me.

A quiet, low rumbling of "yea, let's do this"

Sigh...thank you Cliff-I'm so happy that I still have my boy!!!