hey, I fed the horses their mashed pumpkin tonight. Will keep an eye on the sand level. Will let you know how it goes.

Barefoot is good!!! So far... Thanks so much for you patience and my incessant babbling! She transitioned to BF without even a tender step which I had fully expected! Hooray!!!!

Success at last!!! http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com...ml#post4086699

in case you cared, I rode this afternoon! I tried to start off my ride by just letting my legs hang, but the snot of a pony I was riding decided to spook at everything, so I had to put my feet back in and deal with him, lol.

But I have also been stretching. A lot. It's kind of ridiculous..but I'm loving it. Seriously, yesterday alone I stretched like 5 different times. And then a bunch today. And some more right before I mounted up. And then some when I got home. I'm a weirdo.

It seems the farrier situation here is quite limited. He will do what I ask to the best of his ability. But I believe he's only ever done TB' and learned on track. When I was first introduced to the guy I was appalled because every foot was a different angle.. So I vowed never to use the guy myself.. but then I started looking at other people's shoes... not so good. So when he came to do the filly, I told him I want her toe pulled back and to leave the bars/ heel alone as much as possible. He did do that, but The heel of the shoe really needs to be spread more or removed all together.
The track is "garbage." Some dirt, some recycled tires, some recycled carpet+ all mixed together and covered in wax and polymer. It stinks in so many ways!
I did decide this am to take a shot at BF on all four. Their feet hit and there is no slide with shoes like there is in dirt. I think that is part of why there are so many hind end problems. Hocky horses always have some "wiggle" in their walk, without that wiggle, there may be huge ramifications for the horse.. Maybe..
And ya those fractures can be nasty. Tibias are the new bucked shins on these surfaces. I don't think I have had to send this many horses to nuc scan as I have since the installation of the synthetic tracks. Only one way to conclusively diagnose a pelvis that isn't a complete fracture. I get tired of stringing a wire from corner to corner in stalls and hooking a horse to it so they can't lie down as getting up might break the thing in 2... It's been brutal!

Grrr so I fight a foot of this filly. LF. It is a shoeing issue. Initially the guy had shod her well, though it seems he likes 7's and not much else. I would have preferred a size bigger. BWTFDIK. So she jogs off LF she is cold and tight everywhere, palpates and flexes sound. Tender to hoof testers in the heel area. Which is where the shoeing issue is. It isn't a nail, I don't think... interestingly her feet are also ice cold... so I said either pull the shoe, I'll work on the foot or spread the heels some. He spread the heels. ... less work better for him.
she was ok till I worked her( a timed drill at a specific distance that has a minimum time allowed) She worked way too fast. I let her as she shy of broke my face the day before. The track is closed on Mondays and she has yet to totally settle in to the routine and is a cranky sow.. Poll meet cheek... excellent. Then she jogged a 2/5 off that afternoon.
Now I have jogged her and loped her little in order to train around the foot. ( I dunno why I am doing this) I loped her one day and as soon as she hit the left lead she lugged out to get off of it. So I went back to jogging daily.
I loped her today and she went quite well. It has been 4 weeks since the shoeing, and I DO have the option of barefoot on the plastic track, I am thinking I am going to pull hinds anyway (barefoot behind is better for hind ends as we are plagued with tibia and pelvic fractures on the plastic with shoes), I could just pull all four and avoid the shoeing problem with the way he wants to cramp the heel instead of drawing it outward. She has a healthy food, good wall, no problems minus the typically shod TB issues.. farrier created IMO.
I can run barefoot on this stuff. I am neither a proponent of BF or shoes, I am pro horse.
IF I put shoes on, how do I tell him I want her shod to draw the heel back more and out more? OR if barefoot same q's
Thoughts?

Interesting posts you made on http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com...ne-289688.html

Just wanted to let you know that I answered your question...
http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com...ml#post4038739

I forgot about the red clay out your way. Went to visit the in-laws in Georgia and our tennis shoes were ruined. Never could get that red out of them. Plus it rained almost daily when we were there - which was weird to us because it was June. I just really miss wide open spaces. I grew up riding horses in Oklahoma. right now our kids are out here attending college and I really like my job that is only 6 miles away. But! One day I want horses in the middle of no where but trails, trees, and mountains. Catnip is a riot!

Maybe you should have called Catnip, Tigger! What was he doing in the air? Lol! Very funny, sitting over here giggling after looking at that picture! Rio has such a beautiful coat. What do you feed your horses? That is the one drawback to living in southern california - dirt and more dirt! We hardly get any rain.