Farrier Visit

On Saturday, I headed out to the barn to ride Cruizer and clean him up for our western pleasure/western horsemanship/showmanship clinic on Sunday. Upon arrival, the barn owner told me that Josh (new farrier) would be there any minute. So, I headed out to bring Cruizer in...and of course he was laying sprawled out at the bottom of the pasture taking a mid morning nap. Of course, when I called him all he did was sit up a bit, look at me, sigh, and throw himself back on the ground. Thanks Cruizer. It took me about ten minutes to get to him due to all the mud.

When it came time for Cruizer's turn with Josh he asked me if I had any concerns (which i love!). I told him that Cruizer is pretty nervous about getting his feet done due to previous farrier whacking his foot with the rasp, and that I really wanted to keep him barefoot because he is completely sound and shoes caused his feet to crumble and fall apart. Luckily, Josh was completely willing to do that, unlike a lot of farriers. Cruizer didn't really need a trim but did need to be rasped quite a bit. His feet are GORGEOUS after his appointment, I'll have to get some pictures. He also took off the old frog (which was coming off anyway, just needed a little help) and his new frog underneath is unlike anything I've ever seen in person. Gorgeous, strong, and shiny. Cruizer was very comfortable with Josh and was nuzzling him the whole time. He never panicked like he did with the old farrier. Josh pet him a lot and talked to him and was patient, which I like.

After Cruizer's feet were done I saddled him up and took him to the arena for a quick ride. He was perfectly sound, so I only rode for about 10 minutes. The arena was hard and I didn't want to stress his new feet. When I brought Cruizer back to the barn, Josh came over and asked how he was and if he seemed sore at all (awesome!), and honestly, Cruizer seemed to feel better than he did before his appointment. So happy about that.

I will update about the western clinic later today. I also have video!

Edit: Josh did recommend that I use iodine or a hoof hardener on Cruizer's soles to toughen them up a bit more for summer, since I want to keep him bare for hopefully the rest of eternity now. Has anyone used iodine before? It would be a lot cheaper than getting Keratex, but whichever works best is what Cruizer will get.