Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 186th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 186th LESSON

I felt sorry for the horses when I first arrived at Des’ because Billy had started a fire
and the smoke was nauseating. It got in my lungs, my throat, and my eyes. It took an
hour before it was tolerable.

The ground was covered in a dew so thick you could have skated on it if it had been
slippery enough, so I had to work Flossie on the track, I had no other choice. I had
taken my cones with me, just in case, but as it turned out, I couldn’t use them anyway.

Only Flossie and Bambi were in the big paddock. I didn’t get to find out where Gary’s
horse was, or Dave’s Glenco Girl.

After saddling Flossie, I took her in hand and led her around the track on foot. She’s
never been ridden past the orange webbing that’s posing as a fence around the track
nearest the road, so I thought I’d save myself some trouble and just lead her up to it.
I was glad I did because she showed signs of unease. I kept walking her back and forth,
stopping and letting her sniff the ground, for a while, just to get her accustomed to the
area and to see that it wasn’t dangerous. I mounted her by having her stand in a tire
track, which put her at a lower level and made it easier for me to mount.

I worked her going to the right at every gait and didn’t have any problems whatsoever.
The track was dry everywhere except in the bend near the Rail Road track. However, it
was not too bad to trot through. I had slipped when I walked her through the mud
earlier, but it appears horses hooves are designed for better traction than the human
foot. At least not when they’re in a pair of riding boots.

When I turned her around to go in the opposite direction, she stopped. So instead of
fighting her, I dismounted and walked her over to the track nearest the road again and
mounted her there as I had before. Then we went to the left at every gait without any
problems.

She was very steady and very light at first, but the more we went around, the stronger
she became. She was enjoying the workout and I was glad I had taken the time to walk her
around the track before working her. She was as relaxed and obedient as she always used
to be. When I cooled her out at a walk, she wanted to stop near the Rail Road tracks,
but I wouldn’t allow it. She didn’t resist.

She doesn’t tend to pace much with me anymore. When she does pick up the gait, it’s only
for a few strides. I practiced sitting the trot while maneuvring through the mud. It
wasn’t as hard as it sometimes is, and I was pleased with my success.

I walked her down the driveway and we stood at the apron watching the traffic go by
before turning around and dismounting. It was a relaxing ride and very enjoyable. She
was somewhat sweaty when we finished, but she wasn’t overly hot. It would have been
difficult to have worked her that hard today, anyway, because it was a cool, sunny day,
not hot nor cold. It was perfect for riding, actually. Absolutely perfect. And I
haven’t seen one of those days in a long time!

Most of the wood putty stayed in Flossie’s hooves. I still added a bit more to both
hooves, anyway, though, where it seemed to be thin. There’s a crack running up the side
of her left front foot, so I treated it with putty too. It’s been developing for a while
and I’ve been keeping my eye on it. I tried to putty it initially, but it wouldn’t stay,
so I started putting hoof dressing on it. Today I could see it needed more than that so
I used the putty.

I had lost my sunnies last week at Des’ place (sunglasses, to you Yanks! Ha ha). He
said he didn’t see them but if Billy had run across them, he probably kept them. Oh
well. I have plenty more where they came from.

I’m dreading the day the power machines come back to work again, but in the meantime, I’m
enjoying the reprieve and so is Flossie.