Plans for Pony Mares

Last week, Izzy was supposed to get clipped and get a new set of front shoes.

So here's a picture of my unclipped barefoot horse. Sigh. Mareface said no to shoes during her appointment. (How? Every time the farrier picked her foot up, she'd rear or charge forward or both.)

Farrier is all "Oh noes! Poor thing is in pain!!" and I'm all "Poor thing will be in pain when I get through with her" and then no shoes were put on.

Of course, Izzy was all footsore and uncomfortable and unridable and I spent all weekend stewing about how angry I was about the whole thing. Well, that and some other horrible things.

The picture above represents Plan B. I decked Izzy out in her new cheapie dressage bridle. (Yes, Dover Suffolk bridle bought USED on ebay. How cheap am I...) You'll note it has a flash, which she's never worn before. I am an advocate of making her wear all kinds of crap to teach her it's ok, so I went ahead and put it on prior to our 40 minute lunge session to prep for farrier appointment round #2.

40 minutes later, here's the left side of Izzy's face.

Insane.

She is getting more foamy lately, but I have -never- seen foam like this. Ever. For anyone or anything.

I'd be a total flash convert, except for this:




Hm, yeah. The right side of her face is only slightly foamy. Now, this is a much more normal amount of foam for her on both sides, but I am extremely curious as to why there is such a marked difference.

Yes, right is her stiffer side, but still? Tiny foam vs giant foam? Huh?

We are definitely going to have to do a ride with the flash and see how things feel. Just... not today. Or tomorrow.

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PS My nefarious plan worked. Between turnout, lunging, and judicious application of the stud chain, Izzy was a total doll for the farrier this time.