New feet!

Farrier came, and none too soon. Sunny's feet weren't terrible, but he was getting a bit long, and I've been wearing his feet down riding. The others were definitely in need of a trim.

BeforeFront

Rear

It's tough enough to find a good farrier, and when you do, then general rule is that everyone else locates him/her, too. As per usual, he was a bit late, but that's par for the course. I used the space between ETA and actual to detangle manes, apply several coats of fly spray, and attempt to locate several missing halters.

Never did manage the last - I swear, gremlins carry them off. I was three short this time - one may be in the back of the car with my bridle. Car is in Sioux Falls at the airport, so.... BO said she'd pick a couple up next time she's in town, so maybe next time.

It's not really a huge problem. Only a couple of them are nosy enough to bother anything if left loose, and they're all easy to catch when you want them. The senior mares can be turned out as soon as they're done. Sunny remains tied for the duration as do the younger ones - they can use the post time for patience building.

I was pleased with Thunder's progress. The last trim he was better, but still not exactly a fan of the stranger in his space. This time he was only mildly snotty about holding still, and not at all snorty and big eyed. A good thing, because the farrier was not exactly his usual patient self.

He was late (not a big surprise, as I said), and beat besides. He said he'd had 60 horses booked for the week, and of course there are always extras and emergencies. It's 4-H and county fair horse show season, and ropings, barrel runs, and rodeos are all fairly thick on the ground this time of year.

After the fourth horse, with the kids not fed yet, it was closing in on 8:30, and he was so achy looking when he straightened up I suggested that maybe he would like to come back next week. He ended up doing one more, our filly, so that both of mine would be done (and I could pay him, so at least he didn't leave empty handed).

Actually, the horses earned themselves a compliment. As the farrier was collecting his tools I apologized for the antsy behavior he'd had to put up with from a couple of them. (Mostly attempts to get a foot back so they could stomp flies - nothing really obnoxious, and fairly understandable given the fact that the little buggers were sticking to everything. But I'd like to keep this guy coming back, so....) He said as a general rule, this bunch are some of the easiest he trims! Imagine that - high praise from a died in the wool QH person :-)

I wanted to get some after pictures of Sunny's feet for comparison, but ended up forgetting and he was out in the pasture by the time I remembered. Maybe tomorrow.