Charlie's Great Hoof Year

I went into 2021 determined to reframe my overall goals and ambitions relating to horses and riding. The objectives didn't necessarily change -- I want to enjoy my horsey experiences to the absolute fullest, while striving to be the best rider and horse person I can be. The methods, tho. My attitude and approach -- that's shifted. 

pictured: possibly the single most important puzzle piece in charlie's stellar 2021

Put simply: my intention going into this year was to be ready for tomorrow, whatever may come, but not ruled by it. 

In practice, this means avoiding situations where it seems like any given thing has to happen RIGHT NOW in order for LATER to be possible — even (and especially) if NOW is not ideal.

march 2021 -- last cycle before going into leather pads for the season

A specific example is feeling like we *need* an important schooling or lesson to be ready for a show, even if that meant working hard on bad ground. Instead, this year, I aimed to capitalize on good ground whenever possible, while avoiding heavy pounding during the driest hottest months.

 

flashback picture (you can tell bc there aren't stud holes drilled) -- but representative of the leather pads 

Obviously it helped sticking to all things Novice -- where we're experienced, comfortable and don't need a lot of "prep." Bc ya know.... if we really *needed* that last practice to be ready, despite bad conditions.... well, eh, maybe that meant we just weren't ready, right? 

flashback to Nov 2019 when we pulled a shoe while xc schooling with Martin Douzant -- but a good view of the leather pad side profile, and the considerable cushion it adds

Anyway, possibly as a result of this new approach - combined with other maintenance aspects I’ll get into - Charlie had his absolute BEST hoof year with me yet. 

We didn't lose a single shoe!! And Charlie was very sound all year long! Sure, we did our routine maintenance, including joint injections and a box of Adequan. But... That was it. Considering the hoof struggles we've had before (including necessitating coffin injections in 2019), this was kiiiiinda a big deal haha.

flashback to May 2019: charlie's front hoof condition by late spring with no pads. pretty hard to bounce back after this sort of chipping -- esp so early in the year

Because the hoof care reality is... The toothpaste just won't go back into the tube. Literally — inflammation and effusion are expansive forces that can compound soreness significantly when trapped within a rigid hoof capsule. 

It’s MUCH better to prevent it altogether rather than deal with resolving it once it’s begun.

compare to May 2021: charlie's front hooves at 5 weeks with pads, shoo fly boots, and near-daily keratex

Charlie has fairly normal thoroughbred feet -- they're proportionally a little small for his big body, and they tend toward being shelly and crumbly. His soles can also be thinner than is ideal.

flashback to June 2020 : still no pads, looking really shelly and crumbly, with older nail holes chipping out completely

His hooves spurt into growth nearly instantaneously at the earliest signs of spring. But they grow out soft and crumbly -- and as seen in the 'flashback' photos in this post, they usually chip and crack excessively around the shoe clips and nail holes by May or June. 

In past years, we've transitioned Charlie into full leather pads up front around June-ish. But.... ya know.... The thing with hooves, at least for me, is that by the time I'd recognize a problem, it was usually too late.  

compare to August 2021 : charlie's front hooves looking solid at 5 wks in August, despite drought 

Once the hoof wall gets so compromised, the only solution is to grow it out. Except those existing cracks and holes obviously aren't particularly stable, tending to spread and create new vulnerabilities even as the hoof grows. 

So we'd walk this fine line between 1) long enough shoeing cycles to grow more new wall between new and old nail holes; or 2) risk Charlie losing a shoe, possibly along with big chunks of hoof -- thus setting us even further back. 

Sept 2021: charlie's hind hooves at 5 wks. he doesn't wear pads behind, so you can see more advanced crumbling here -- tho near-daily keratex helped keep the walls intact

This year we got Charlie into full leather pads up front starting in March 2021 -- months earlier than normal. Which... I'm now convinced had two main advantages: the pads substantially reduced all that early spring chipping and cracking; plus we got the pads on *before* Charlie had a chance to get sore on hard ground. Yessssss!

Oct 2021: a good looking hoof growing out an old defect. leather pad is clearly visible here

My farrier also suggested applying Keratex as close to daily as possible. He said polymers in the compound accumulate with repeated applications, giving the hoof wall the strength and flexibility necessary to resist cracking or chipping.

Nov 2021: transitioned to leather rim pads in time for wet pre-freeze ground conditions. he'll wear the rim pads for a cycle or two, before ditching pads altogether for winter.

I also added fly boots to the mix -- tho he mostly just wore them up front. Ideally, fly boots reduce stomping on hard summer ground. Charlie's Shoo Fly boots work great -- they're easy to get on and off, loose enough to not cause restriction or harbor leg funk, and brightly colored so they're easy to find if one falls off in the field. 

flashback to June 2017, when charlie went into rim pads for the first time

It's impossible to know what made the biggest difference for Charlie this year. If I had to pick *just one* practice to carry forward, it'd be the leather pads. But the keratex and fly boots seem effective enough to justify the cost. For those curious -- we went through 5 keratex bottles this year, costing about $200 total.

Also notable -- Charlie discontinued ALL feed through supplements last year. Bc, eh, he already has a great diet, and IMO the supplements were the least effective and most expensive part of Charlie's hoof care. 

whatever it takes, buddy!

So. Long story short: We made some big changes this year. I was more selective about footing and ground conditions for our training, and Charlie got into hoof pads ~3 months earlier than past years. Plus we continued basic mitigation efforts like keratex and fly boots. 

And gosh.... It's made ALL the difference for Charlie. Not one lost shoe. A very sound horse. And *ZERO* comments from dressage judges about irregular or uneven steps. Yessssss! 

Obviously I'm tempting fate writing it all out like this. And lord knows Charlie could go step on a nail (or a bit of mulch, ahem) tomorrow lol (plz don't tho, buddy!). But, eh, as a first-time horse owner, it feels like we finally got it right this year with Charlie's hoof care. 

Here's hoping I can keep it up, haha, and not have to learn any more lessons the hard way -- at least on this one subject LOL. Bc damn... hooves really are the epitome of the "long game" with horses, it seems. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has taken a couple tries to figure out the secret sauce for their horse?