Autumn Gets A New Pair Of Shoes



     Autumn has been motoring around pretty well despite her stifle injury she sustained last July(read about it at When You Get Bedside Manner).  I have been monitoring her exercise, watching for the slightest hint of lameness, discomfort, joint swelling, creaking or stiffness that would signal to me that I need to back off.  So far, she has not had any bouts of lameness, thank goodness!  After her last hoof trimming my farrier, Adam Jorgensen, and I noticed that her non-injured hoof was starting to change shape.  The medial (inside) wall of her hoof was beginning to spread out and flare while the lateral (outside) wall hoof was wearing down much quicker.  Adam felt that shoes maybe in order to prevent devastating ware on her back feet and suggested that I talk to one of the veterinarians about it.

 

Autumn's left hoof showing a flare on the medial wall of the hoof while the lateral side is wearing down and looking more straight up and down.

 

     A few days later I had the veterinarian up at the ranch.  She watched Autumn as I walked and trotted her up and down the dirt road.  Sure enough, she said that Autumn was reaching under herself more, bringing her good leg more underneath her, most likely taking some of the pressure off of her injured leg.  I told the doctor that in the saddle I could feel Autumn's stride moving me in a more diagonal direction.  The doctor agreed that we should give shoes a try.  The doctor and Adam decided what type of shoeing would be most appropriate and an appointment was scheduled for Autumn's first shoeing .

 

     I took off the morning of the appointment and my husband joined me as well.  To get Autumn all set up I stuffed a hay bag full of her non-diet hay, grass alfalfa hay mix aka giant Belgian horse pacifier, and put wraps on her back legs to keep her furry feathers out of the way for the shoeing.  Adam said he was up late the night before making her shoes from scratch from a steel bar. 

The bar on the left is what Adam forged into the shoe on the right. 







First, Adam trimmed and rasped  her hooves.

   

Autumn enjoying her snack in her totally trendy hot pink zebra print hay bag that she ending up decimating by the end of her pedicure.

Next, Adam sized out the shoe with her trimmed hoof, to see how he needed to adjust it to fit her foot.

 

He then placed the shoes in the forge to soften them up to begin making his adjustments.

 

 

The fine tuning begins!

  

 

 

 

 

Adding Nail Holes

 

 

 

With the shoe, once again, hot out of the forge and in the desired shape to fit Autumn's hoof, Adam then briefly placed the hot shoe on her hoof the sear the path where the shoe would ultimately lie.  The purpose is to create a smooth interface surface between the hoof and the shoe and to seal the cut horn tubules making them less likely to get too dry or too wet due to the environment.  It also kills any fungi or bacteria that could cause hoof problems.

 

Autumn is getting hot to trot!

 

Autumn, didn't even stop from inadvertently ripping her hay bag apart as her back feet hissed and smoked.  Adam was pretty pleased with her.  He said that most horses that get hot shoes for the first time usually have their eyes bugging out of their head.

 

The shoe is ready to be nailed in place

 

Tapping in the nails.

 Clenching down the nails.

TA-DA!!!!  Autumn's first pair of shoes!

I just love this picture of her little...I mean giant... feathery heels.

 

    Autumn stood for Adam the whole time like a polite young lady. When she walked off for the first time she picked up her feet all funny like a little girl toddling in her mother's heels.  She figured it out after a bit.  I have to admit that I was a little worried that she may be a bit sore after her first shoeing but she was fine.  In fact, the following day I rode her on the beach and the day after that I worked her with the cows.  That funny diagonal motion I had been feeling when I rode her was gone.  Instead, she felt more balanced and smooth.  She had happy ears throughout each ride and that just made me real happy.

 

Those are some happy horse ears!

I like to thank Adam for doing a great job!  If anyone would like to contact Adam you can visit him at Jorgensen Forge and Farrier.  Thank you to Casey, my husband, for taking all of the great photos in this week's blog!

 

2013 HERO Ride for Life

  Autumn and I are participating in  The HERO Ride For Life horseback fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  The ride takes place on Saturday, May 4^th at the Ferndale Fairgrounds.  The goal of the HERO Ride For Life is to raise money that will aid in finding a cure for cancer and to help fund support services for those afflicted with cancer.  Autumn and I would like to ask for your help of meeting our goal of raising $1,000 for this great cause.  For everyone that makes a donation, in any amount (even if it’s only a dollar), we will proudly carry, in honor, the name(s) of those that you love that are surviving or have had cancer (yourself included) or someone that you have lost to cancer. 
Please mail in your tax deductible donation by May 1^st.  Please make your check payable to the American Cancer Society.  Be sure to include the name(s) of those that you would like Autumn & I to dedicate our ride to.  Please send your donation in as soon as you can so we will have it in time for the ride. 
Thanks for helping us support a great cause!
Margaret & Autumn
Margaret Hague
P.O. Box 1356
Blue Lake, CA 95525

Thanks for reading!  If you enjoy my blog please feel to send it on to your friends or post on your Facebook page.  You can leave a comment or get added to my email list by contacting me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.

Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com  April 24, 2013  
 

 

Turning A Giant Horse Into A Cow Pony





     My birthday had just passed and my friend Erin, as a gift, offered me a riding lesson at her ranch to practice penning calves.  She had organized a jackpot ranch sorting event that was coming up in a few weeks and I thought it might be fun for Autumn and I to try out (if you are local and want to enter it's going to be Sunday April 14, 2013 at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, sign up at 9am.  You can email me for more information at jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com). 

     I didn't think that the calves would bother Autumn too much.  I figured once she realized that she could boss them around like the chickens, dogs and horses on the ranch she'd be in heaven.  Cindy and I got to Erin's, saddled up the horses and went over to the pen where the calves where huddled together at the far end.  Erin had us enter the pen with me leading Autumn from the ground.  She told me to walk Autumn towards the calves.  Autumn dragged me over to the calves and I thought piece of cake.  Then all of a sudden a calf slowly looked towards Autumn and that was it!  Autumn jumped out of her skin and wheeled around me.  We tried it a few more times and it happened again and again.  She was fine when she was driving them away but if they went a direction she wasn't telling them go she got the heck out of dodge. 

     Now, holding onto a 2,000 pound horse  hightailing it past you on a leather rein, you begin to feel that you have a really good chance of becoming an unintentional speed bump. Erin quickly changed the game plan and decided we were going to let Autumn get over her fear of the calves on her own free of speed bumps but with our guided encouragement. 

    I unsaddled Autumn and let her loose.  Erin asked her to move toward the cows.  At first, Autumn protested being asked to move anywhere.  Autumn would dart from one end of the arena to the other with Erin guiding from behind. 

Erin probably wishing she got me a pair of socks for my birthday instead of  a self inflicted Sunday morning workout.

      Autumn quickly learned that it was a lot less work not running herself around the arena.  She began to figure out that she could take a breather and get a good pet by Erin if she stood closer and closer to the calves.  In giant horse baby steps Autumn began to slowly stomp out her fears and mosey on towards finding her confidence.

 

 

 

And her comes the break through.  Autumn's got her game face on.

Autumn moving those little doggies along.

    What this last photo didn't catch was Autumn giving one of her signature snapping turtle nips towards the calves before doing a Fabio toss of her mane and throwing a big buck as she took off in an exalted canter past the calves.  She was pretty proud of herself and having a fun time to boot.  We ended the lesson right there.  We decided to hold off on the ranch sorting event until we had some more lessons with Erin.  Even though my daydream of riding the county's biggest cow pony in the competition had to be put on hold, I still had a great time.  Erin taught me a lot that day and I'm excited to learn a lot more.  I forgot how fun it is to learn something new and I think Autumn felt the same way. too. 

2013 HERO Ride for Life

  Autumn and I are participating in  The HERO Ride For Life horseback fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  The ride takes place on Saturday, May 4^th at the Ferndale Fairgrounds.  The goal of the HERO Ride For Life is to raise money that will aid in finding a cure for cancer and to help fund support services for those afflicted with cancer.  Autumn and I would like to ask for your help of meeting our goal of raising $1,000 for this great cause.  For everyone that makes a donation, in any amount (even if it’s only a dollar), we will proudly carry, in honor, the name(s) of those that you love that are surviving or have had cancer (yourself included) or someone that you have lost to cancer. 
Please mail in your tax deductible donation by May 1^st.  Please make your check payable to the American Cancer Society.  Be sure to include the name(s) of those that you would like Autumn & I to dedicate our ride to.  Please send your donation in as soon as you can so we will have it in time for the ride. 
Thanks for helping us support a great cause!
Margaret & Autumn
Margaret Hague
P.O. Box 1356
Blue Lake, CA 95525

Thanks for reading!  If you enjoy my blog please feel to send it on to your friends or post on your Facebook page.  You can leave a comment or get added to my email list by contacting me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.

Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com  April 10, 2013  
 

A Whale's Whisper

     When I lived in New York I pretty much lived in the Atlantic Ocean.  I surfed everyday there were waves and some days when there really weren't waves.  One would assume that moving to the surf state, California, that I would have grown some gills by now.  It's been just the opposite.  I surf only a few times a year.  Why?  Big and powerful waves, great white sharks and the biggest kill joy of all...two jobs.  If the weekend comes and the waves aren't under head high and clean I prefer to ride Autumn on the beach instead. 
     This past weekend my husband drove me up to my favorite surf spot in Crescent City.  The waves were waist high, clean and the best part of all...we had them all to ourselves. 

Me enjoying one of my favorite parts of surfing...the exact moment when you catch the wave.

 

   As I sat waiting for a wave, floating in between the sky and the sea a past memory washed over me.  About two years ago, I was surfing in this same spot on a gray day.  I was the last one of our group left in the water as I waited for one last wave to carry me to shore. 

 

     As I sat on my board, waiting for a wave, floating in between the sky and the sea something caught my eye rising up from the surface of the water.  Fifteen feet away, a gray whale gently surfaced and exhaled.  The whale's spray fell like raindrops into the Pacific.  I was mesmerized as I heard the whale whisper as it took a breath before slipping into the dark blue below.  My friend would shortly return, incandescent and shining beside me.  I sat in delight, enveloped by the mountains, sea and sky as this whale shared with me the whisper of his song.  With the final note sung he softly disappeared beneath the glass surface of the sea.  Even though some years have passed, in my heart the gray whale still whispers his song to me. 

 Here's a little video of me surfing this past weekend.  Ignore me surfing and check out the beautiful and wild coast line of Crescent City. 

 

 Thanks for reading!  If you would like to leave a comment or would like to be added to my mailing list please contact me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.  I also have a Jackson Hill Horsey Girl Facebook Page you can join to share your own stories, photos, talents, business things...

Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com