Filler post - mostly about hooves

This is filler because I don't have any earthshattering news, just wanted to fill everyone in on some of the happenings.

New Saddle
The Solstice I bought seems to fit Farley, but who the heck knows until I actually get a couple good rides in it? I'm excited - it's quite a bit lighter than the Duett and the flaps are smaller which means I'll actually be able to get some leg on my horse and a more close contact feel. My Duett fit well for almost a year. Hopefully this saddle fits a good deal longer.


Farleys' Feet/Hooves (I always mix them up!)
Farley got new shoes today. My farrier is really really happy with her feet. She gets a lot of growth within 6 weeks and he says that's a good thing because it means there's good blood flow. He had never seen renegade boots so I brought them out. I've never had the size 1's on Farley's feet because she's had shoes, so before he put the new set on her, I popped them on to make sure they fit. They do - wonderfully. He offered to grind off the backs of the boot with his grinder which was great - less work for me and it had to be done sometime!

I talked to my farrier about padding options for the "race I'm not talking about". I've never padded a horse before but I've gotten strong recommendations from people that I do so. I'm going to definitely do full pads in the front. He showed me how he does it, and it's what he does for other clients who are doing the "race I'm not talking about". I talked to him about my fear of losing padded shoes, and his response was that he would make darn sure I didn't. I believe him. (anyone need a good farrier in the central valley? I could make a excellent recommendation - not only is his work excellent, he's also easy on the eyes to watch!). I haven't made a decision on the hinds. If I didn't want to do full pads on the back, he suggested equipack with mesh. His opinion is that I would do fine without any pads at all, but if I chose to do front pads, I wouldn't necessarily need to do anything for the hinds. I have 6 weeks to make the decision.

Her feet are hard as rocks. The farrier's partner was cussing as he tried to trim and my farrier laughed at him. It was about this time I started talking about pads and the partner just looked at me with total disbelief.

That's all for now. I'll get pics of the saddle up soon and maybe even a shot of her beautiful new shoes. The blog is going to be a bit slow for a while - I'll be out of town for a week for work and then off to a bluegrass festival (I'm perfectly comfortable sharing this information because if someone decides to rob me, the only thing I own is food and second hand furniture, really not worth trouble of breaking in - trust me on this. If home is where the heart is, it's definitely NOT my apartment).