My new farrier came today and he is so wonderful, he is a GOD! He prefers to start with the hard ones first while his energy is highest. So I got Daisy the donkey. Farriers have usually used a neck rope on her in the past, but this guy (Ben) talked to her and proceeded to trim all 4 feet with absolutely NO problems. So he passed the donkey test with flying colors! Next came my yearling, Vinney, and he was fine for him, as well. He got a little impatient on his last foot, but he is just a baby. Ben doesn't fight the horses, he just goes with them, and they settle immediately. When we got to Raven, I forgot about Raven's Vet phobia and strange men. I bragged about how she was the patient one (she let me rasp her feet and each foot took me an hour!) threw him the lead rope and ran inside to get some water. When I came out, I saw Raven freaking out and remembered her phobia about thinking strange men are going to give her a shot. I took the lead rope, settled Raven down, picked up a foot and gave it to Ben, then she realized what he was, let out a big sigh and became the horse I bragged about. Her feet probably have the worst flair of all my horses. Ben explained it's because she has a really thick hoof wall and when they grow out, they don't chip and break, but instead flair out. And that is why my hard, tough footed horses are owey on gravel. When they flair, the hoof wall seperates and it is like peeling back your fingernail from the bed! That is why taking off the flair and beveling the edges are so important! Especially in this part of the country where it is so dry and the hooves are so hard. Raven is worse because of her healthy hoof! It is so thick, it doesn't break off on it's own. When he got done with her feet, they looked better than the entire time I've had her since she was a baby! She does not have platter feet! Finally, a farrier that addresses flairs! My previous farriers have tried to tell me it's just the shape of her feet every time I've asked about flair! Plus, someone to tell me WHY beveling the edges and doing a "mustang roll" is necessary, especially out here and especially with her type of hoof. Afterwards, he spent 45 minutes with me showing me how to use a rasp and discussing feed and the hoof.
OH - HE ARRIVED 15 MINUTES EARLY TO BOOT!!!!!!! I am going to build an effigy and worship my new farrier! Susan in NV Nevermore Ranch http://users.oasisol.com/nevermore/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz
