Dude the Gentleman

I called my farrier Thursday evening to schedule an appointment for Dude and Tommy. I'd been meaning to call for more than a month but the days keep slipping away. When I called, my awesome farrier said let's go Friday at 5pm! WOO HOO!

So Friday about 4pm I went out to pull Tommy and Dude so that I could get them a bit dried off from the mud. Of course pulling Tommy means pulling Skippy. With the wind and rain we were having I decided we would do the trimming in the hay shed.

I also decided to pull King out so that my farrier could look at his feet. We have been tackling King's feet for two years to get them to the right shape, angle, and lenght. With King's muscle problems (still need to post on that) we havent' done any riding on him so his feet are actually doing better (lenght/angle wise) without shoes.

Every time I try to have Dude trimmed, he turns into a complete unruley mean son of a gun. I decided on Friday to try something different. I figured that tying Dude up and making him stand would make him angry. Instead I let him eat some of the loose hay and let him keep moving around, enjoying the time out of the wind and rain.

My farrier arrived right on time (as he always does) and went to work on Dude. I was afraid Dude would be a handful. He proved me wrong! My farrier started on Dude's left front hoof. No big issues there. My farrier moved to the right front hoof. No major issues there. Dude did think he should lean on my poor farrier while he was filing down the hoof. Let me just add, Dude is overweight. He has a fat ridge on his back where water can pool he's that fat. Leaning is a bad habit I need to correct!

I was shocked. Two feet done and Dude behaved. So my farrier decided he'd tackle the back feet. The last time I was at the vets I mentioned Dude's lameness issue and that he's crooked/lopsided. My vet figures he has "bear hump" where some portion of his tail has broken off and is putting pressure on certain places. There is no fix to this problem.

So I warned my farrier about the diagnosis but he tackled the back legs anway! Did I mention I have an awesome farrier. My farrier started on Dude's left hind leg. I could definately tell that this was Dude's bad hip. He didn't do anything mean but you could tell by the expression on his face that he was uncomfortable. My farrier then moved on to the right hind hoof. The expression of pain wasn't there.

I was completely shocked that Dude stood the entire time and didn't try giving my farrier a hard time with any of his feet. If he doesn't want his feet done, it won't get done. So once Dude was done, I tied him up to a post and moved on to Tommy. The entire time my farrier was working on Tommy, Dude stood quietly tied. He normally NEVER stands quietly. He typically paws, rears, and causes all hell when tied.

I put Tommy back and pulled King out for a quick review of his feet. Dude STILL stood quietly. It was like Dude was a completely different horse. It goes to show that I really do need to spend more time with him and give him a bit more attention. The last few times I've dealt with him he's been unruley and tried to bulldoze me down (which he can do in his 1200 lb glory!)

So now his feet are done and they look great. I'm disappointed that his condition is irrepariable but I'm glad to know that he's again comfortable standing on trimmed feet. I should have done it a month ago but time flies.

All in all, two full trims and a quick trim on one of King's hooves cost me $50. Not too shabby! My poor farrier gets all kinds of horses: naughty horses, flat feet horses, horses that lean, small ponies, large drafts, horses that won't stand, etc. Luckily I don't have any that kick. Of course they know if they are too naughty they'll get a workout.

I do need to do some major work with Maverick. He's due for a trim but he's not yet ready for the farrier. I refuse to let my farrier work on a horse that isnt' half way willing to have their feet handled.

So until the next trim for Dude, I need to remember to give him a bit more loving and let him think he's getting away with something (even though I won't let him get away with anything).