Hoof fairy

The new farrier came out last weekend. We had drive #12 before he got there. Didn't work too long or too hard, just enough to go over a few things and then turned her out with her pony friend.

Gotta say I'm super impressed with this guy. Although Mazy apparently doesn't grow much hoof (and is now on supplements) the last guy had her angles off. She was tight and also sore in the shoulders, especially the left one. Which explains a few things. 

This guy also does Equine Flexion Therapy so Mazy loves seeing him. Last trim he addressed the soreness in the left shoulder and also the right side of her neck and right hip from compensating. This time around he kept saying- she is so much better and I see so much improvement! A little bit of body work and she's Gucci now.  As he is working on her, Mazy is rolling here eyes, chewing, licking her lips and putting her muzzle on him every chance she gets. She clearly adores him. 

The prognosis- she had a series of what he called honeycomb abscesses in left front hoof. They were all small and dried up already but they were there. This adds the the column of- that explains a few things. Lol 

In the train of thought where everything is tied together and "that explains that....."  Last time I had been riding more prior to the trim and Mazy was coming off having bad angles - the kind where none of her feet matched- and since I didn't spend much time looking at her feet, figuring that I was paying for someone to do their job and do it well... Yeah, no. He wasn't. 

Although the abscesses (5 of them all in a row) never presented as soreness or lameness, they may have in a different way that I just wasn't see or feeling. Another woman from the old barn came over the other day to watch her work. She noticed Mazy wasn't "slapping the ground" with her front feet like she did at the other place. "She moves more freely here". This would be because the arena has better footing. Barn owner is also talking about bringing in more sand and working it in. Yay! 

With the series of abscesses in the left front hoof, the tightness in her shoulder and issues with saddle fit, I explained to farrier J that it all made sense now that going to the right, I have nothing on the outside rein. No contact in my left rein. She just wasn't there. I'm not really sure how else to explain it. Switching over to driving and staying off her back while she continues to grow and change just seemed like the obvious choice. Without saddle fit issues, without anyone on her back, without footing issues.... there is now contact in the left rein when we're going to the right. 

There may be a little bit of residual tightness in a few places but for the most part, Mazy is loose and relaxed, feet are now balanced with the correct angles and she is working like she should. Because all things are right in her world- shes a much happier pony.