Farrier
Welp, today was Phoenix's first farrier visit. I waited to do him last after I got my other horses taken care of, mostly because I wasn't sure how he would act and I didn't want to stress out my farrier, Robbie. I got asked all sorts of questions about Phoenix's background to which I had to explain that Phoenix was abandoned at a breeding farm with 20 some other horses and was basically wild when I got him. I work a lot with him picking up his feet and cleaning them out, so I knew he would do it. Bringing Phoenix out of the field became a little interesting because Robbie's truck was, apparently, VERY spooky. We spent a good 5 or so mins walking around it and letting him smell it. Once he settled from that I let Robbie 'introduce' himself to Phoenix.
When Robbie went to pick of Phoenix's feet the horse was fine at first. Didn't even flinch when Robbie pulled the hoof back between his legs and started cutting away at the hoof wall, but when he tried to bring the leg forward to put on the stand for the rasp Phoenix started to come undone over the noise from the rasp. Robbie stepped back to give Phoenix some space to calm down again and said that this was more than likely the first time Phoenix had ever had his feet trimmed by his reaction to the noise.
So it was a bit of a struggle to rasp both front feet, and Robbie only cut minimal on both back feet since Phoenix decided he was done. The good news is Phoenix never tried to kick or be mean about taking his hoof away from Robbie, and he never freaked out. After Robbie put away his tools he took Phoenix for a walk to 'get to know him better'. ^_^ Phoenix was perfect for him as they walked all over the yard (this is the first time really that Phoenix has been handled by anyone but me) I'm so glad Robbie is very understanding of green horses. Most farriers around the area are not and get very rough with them.
All in all it was a good experience for Phoenix, and the goal is get all four feet done in 6 weeks, rather than just the front two. :)
I also some how messed up my arm today :( At my parent's farm they don't have any farm equipment or anything, so I have to do everything with my own two hands. Well, the round bales I'm getting this year are at least 1,000 lbs or so, and I have to move them with brute strength. I had to shuffle four of them around to get to one that wasn't square so I could roll it in the field, and it was apparently too much for my arm. It feels very weak and I'm having a hard time gripping things with it, and if I rotate my wrist at a certain angle pain shoots down my arm :\ Not. Good. *sigh* Hopefully it'll feel better in the morning...
When Robbie went to pick of Phoenix's feet the horse was fine at first. Didn't even flinch when Robbie pulled the hoof back between his legs and started cutting away at the hoof wall, but when he tried to bring the leg forward to put on the stand for the rasp Phoenix started to come undone over the noise from the rasp. Robbie stepped back to give Phoenix some space to calm down again and said that this was more than likely the first time Phoenix had ever had his feet trimmed by his reaction to the noise.
So it was a bit of a struggle to rasp both front feet, and Robbie only cut minimal on both back feet since Phoenix decided he was done. The good news is Phoenix never tried to kick or be mean about taking his hoof away from Robbie, and he never freaked out. After Robbie put away his tools he took Phoenix for a walk to 'get to know him better'. ^_^ Phoenix was perfect for him as they walked all over the yard (this is the first time really that Phoenix has been handled by anyone but me) I'm so glad Robbie is very understanding of green horses. Most farriers around the area are not and get very rough with them.
All in all it was a good experience for Phoenix, and the goal is get all four feet done in 6 weeks, rather than just the front two. :)
I also some how messed up my arm today :( At my parent's farm they don't have any farm equipment or anything, so I have to do everything with my own two hands. Well, the round bales I'm getting this year are at least 1,000 lbs or so, and I have to move them with brute strength. I had to shuffle four of them around to get to one that wasn't square so I could roll it in the field, and it was apparently too much for my arm. It feels very weak and I'm having a hard time gripping things with it, and if I rotate my wrist at a certain angle pain shoots down my arm :\ Not. Good. *sigh* Hopefully it'll feel better in the morning...