Old friends

I saw an old friend today.

For those that have been following along for awhile, this is Fiona's former farrier.  When I called him up on Sunday to beg for his help, he was more than willing to zip out the next day and work on mi papi's feet.  I love this farrier.  As one of the other riders at the barn said, he just gives off good vibes that the horses like.  He's not cranky or crusty, he's a genuinely nice guy that does a good job on horse's hooves.

Before:

How does a horse manage to start chipping up his hind toe while in shoes after just four weeks, one of those weeks being out of work?  Bah.

We found a special surprise while checking out that left front.  Hello, Abby.

So yes, it's official, Abby blew out at the band and at the bottom of his foot.  It just wasn't seen because it was up under the shoe and was missed in the last reshoeing.  It was still oozing some junk when it was opened up today, but the hoof testers showed no pain anywhere.  It got some medicated packing since it's hard to reach under the edge of the shoe.  That should keep it clean and sterile while I continue dumping betadine in from the top.

After:

The cracked up area was mostly just cut out.  The part that was running up under the frog was completely opened up which will make it a lot easier to keep clean.  There's a remaining crack running up toward the heel bulb, but it's not deep or weight bearing, so he thinks it will be fine.  Time will tell, of course, but it looks a world better.

It took him two hours of work to get Theo shod and it cost a significant larger price, but in my eyes, it's worth it. I didn't work Theo, I just sent him back out into the Ritz to eat grass.  He was not pleased with the two hours of farrier work.  The farrier commented at the end when Theo was tossing his head and pacing that his time was up.  Yeah, mi papi is a bit opinionated that way.  I figure a day off at this point won't do any harm and may help to get him using that heel again now that the damage is trimmed back.

Tomorrow is a lesson and I'm hoping to see Theo back to comfortable.  I'm cautiously hopeful.  Horses have taught me that nothing in life is guaranteed, but I feel better now that I know Abby is opened up and shouldn't be taking any hits when working.  I don't think I even bother uncrossing my fingers at this point, but here's to hoping for a sound, uneventful lesson.