Chippers1
Well-Known Member
We all love hoof photos, right?! I have been toying with the idea of Buzz going barefoot for a while and thought there's no time like the present! I've been reading a lot of other threads about it but didn't want to jump on them all so thought I would start my own. This one is mainly to get some thoughts and ideas about what his feet are currently like and thoughts about management etc (farrier isn't due for three weeks).
A bit of background: Buzz is a 12 year old connie who I do low level riding club type things on, although we are aiming to BE again at some point but it will probably only ever be 80cm. (Normally) We mostly hack out during the week with the odd schooling session, I do more schooling in summer as we have access to fields to ride in so this is on grass. At the weekends i'm normally at a lesson or comp at least one of the days.
He lives out 24/7. In winter it's a smaller field but with ad lib round bale hay. In summer they move down to bigger fields, they will be moving in the next few weeks and we do a 'transition' period of taking them down for a few hours every few days so they can get used to the grass (although there's not as much as there normally is in there at the moment, due to flooding earlier this year). He is absolutely NOT a foody - he will only eat a feed on the days the hay has run out in the field (normally 2 or 3 days in the week - they are still given some hay on the ground these days but it's not as much as a full bale) and once the grass starts growing he will also ignore feed. So I have a window from probably December to Feb where he might decide he actually wants a feed! This year he would eat pink mash, honeychop and some linseed. He is incredibly fussy and over the last 3 years I've struggled to find anything he will eat. He enjoys Ease and Excel but it made him loopy so I had to stop (it has a lot of soya in, think it was that). If he's not hungry he will throw the bowl across the yard!
I'm not massively concerned about the feed issue as despite having a wooly mammoth coat he still has a shine to him, which is nice to see on a grey, but it is nice to be able to have the option of feeding up sometimes!
I have taken some photos of his feet at the moment so let me know what you think, I appreciate they are not the best but I tried in the circumstances
Left fore
Right fore
Left hind
(last hoof in next post)
A bit of background: Buzz is a 12 year old connie who I do low level riding club type things on, although we are aiming to BE again at some point but it will probably only ever be 80cm. (Normally) We mostly hack out during the week with the odd schooling session, I do more schooling in summer as we have access to fields to ride in so this is on grass. At the weekends i'm normally at a lesson or comp at least one of the days.
He lives out 24/7. In winter it's a smaller field but with ad lib round bale hay. In summer they move down to bigger fields, they will be moving in the next few weeks and we do a 'transition' period of taking them down for a few hours every few days so they can get used to the grass (although there's not as much as there normally is in there at the moment, due to flooding earlier this year). He is absolutely NOT a foody - he will only eat a feed on the days the hay has run out in the field (normally 2 or 3 days in the week - they are still given some hay on the ground these days but it's not as much as a full bale) and once the grass starts growing he will also ignore feed. So I have a window from probably December to Feb where he might decide he actually wants a feed! This year he would eat pink mash, honeychop and some linseed. He is incredibly fussy and over the last 3 years I've struggled to find anything he will eat. He enjoys Ease and Excel but it made him loopy so I had to stop (it has a lot of soya in, think it was that). If he's not hungry he will throw the bowl across the yard!
I'm not massively concerned about the feed issue as despite having a wooly mammoth coat he still has a shine to him, which is nice to see on a grey, but it is nice to be able to have the option of feeding up sometimes!
I have taken some photos of his feet at the moment so let me know what you think, I appreciate they are not the best but I tried in the circumstances
Left fore
Right fore
Left hind
(last hoof in next post)