Canyon, gone but not forgotten...

The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other still remains humble enough to carry a man upon his back. One can get in a car to see what man has made. One must get on a horse to see what God has made. For many of us the world is best viewed through the ears of a horse.
All horses deserve at least once in their lives to be loved by a little girl. For Canyon, that little girl was Haley who loved him unconditionally.

Canyon left us tonight for greener pastures in the sky. I'd like to think that his spirit sores with wings of gold. Canyon was a special horse, a friend and teacher to Haley. He was only in our lives for a short time but Haley learned a lot riding and working around this gentleman of a horse. We all were lucky to have had him in our lives and will miss his sweet face and gentle nature.

You can't love and connect with a horse and not know what spiritual beings they are. No matter what our individual idea of heaven may be, we know that our horse's spirit never dies. All you have to do is listen to your heart and there it is....that sound that keeps your horse close and brings peace to your spirit...that cherished sound of hoof beats in heaven. Good bye Canyon until we meet again.

Kathy's visit

Kathy trimmed Canyon's feet for us and they look much better now.

Before and after.......

Haley improved her leg position greatly after just one lesson from Kathy.

My sister, Kathy, came down from TN for a visit this past week. She spent a lot of time with Haley giving her some lessons on Canyon. She gave Haley a lot of pointers that helped her leg position along with other issues Haley was working to improve. The two point position was a great help. My dressage saddle helped her with her leg position too.

Fun Day Riding

OK, he left Haley behind, but she loved it. The form will come.
Canyon was trotting out nicely for her.
Rounded her shoulders, but was using her leg. I'd like to see a little more contact. I think she was trying to get him to canter.

Better, she was ready this time.
Oops, cut off Haley's head, but it's a cute picture of Canyon. Still needs more contact.

Haley has learned a lot on Canyon. He's a nicely trained horse, quiet and well mannered. The perfect horse for a beginner to advance on. He has done it all and is quite willing to help a novice learn and move on. Now if we can only keep him sound. We're trying him without shoes for a while. He's still a little sore on the front, but only on concrete. On the grass he seems fine. He has helped Haley's confidence and she's trying very hard to get it all right. She just needs time and miles in the saddle.

7.03.09 Trims

Canyon's feet after the farrier did a trim with a Mustang Roll, which I requested.

Right front before trim.....

Right front after trim......

Right Hind before.....

Right Hind after trim....

July 3, 2009.....I asked the farrier to do a Mustang Roll on Canyon. He proceeded to tell me that Canyon was not a Mustang and was not running through the type of terrain that the Mustangs are, that he was a Thoroughbred turned out in pasture a few hours a day and spending the rest of the time standing in a stall. Therefore the Mustang Roll wasn't what he would normally be doing for this horse. I had him do it anyway. He's probably PO'd at me, but I don't care at this point. I've purchased some farrier tools and a hoof stand so hopefully I can keep his feet looking good without the farrier's help. We'll see.

Hoof rasping done 6.11.09

This is the rasping done to Canyon's feet today. I was afraid of taking off too much cause the walls looked a bit thin to me, but I'm no expert. This is my first time trimming his feet and just didn't want to make him sore. The poor horse has been through so much what with the abscesses, dew itch and rain rot. Do you know how hard it is to hold the hoof and take pictures by yourself while trying to keep the lens cover and camera strap out of the frame. Not to mention all the sweat dripping into my glasses. I'm surprised I could get any good pictures. Boy, was it hot out there today....even in the shade. This is the best I could do today since I was in a hurry to leave, shower and pick up the granddaughters from the dentist office. I did manage to order a Hoof-it® Hoof Stand and some tools in a farrier's kit, including nippers, hoof knife, rasp and handle.

Right rear...I know, not enough bevel. What's the deal with that cornet band?

Right rear showing the sole which, from what I was told, flaked away from the foot as the vet examined it. The boot we put on him came off out in the pasture last night. We found it in pieces today. The nippers I've ordered will be handy. I did end up taking off a little more just before I had to hurry up and leave the barn. I did paint Tuff Stuff on the sole of this foot to help seal it.
Right Front..... Right front bottom. The walls seem thin to me. Not much to work with.

Right front side. The bevel isn't quite right yet. Scared to take off too much and hard to see through the sweat puddles in my glasses.

Left front bottom.

Left front, bevel could be better I'm sure. At this point I'm just wondering if this fella might just need to be wearing shoes until he can grow a better hoof. Though I'd love to see him be able to go barefoot. We just want him to be happy and sound. For now we'll just keep up with the supplements and see what we get. The horse chiropractor was at the barn today, but we'd already spent so much money on the vet, meds, supplements and farrier stuff we just couldn't afford an adjustment for Canyon. Maybe later when he's more sound. Though I could have used a good massage myself after my busy day. Where's my husband...... :)

Rain Rot and Abscess 6.10.09

Hair loss from the rain rot. Not pretty.

Abscess area with sole cut away by the vet. Right hind. Right front before I filed the hoof. The white stuff is old Tuff Stuff.

The vet came out yesterday to check out Canyon's rain rot, abscess and hock swelling. He did say that this abscess was part of the prior one, which erupted out of the heal bulb area, and said that sometimes they come out of the cornet band and the sole. He cut away part of the sole at the abscess site. Apparently that part of the hoof was flaking away. He suggested a shoe with a pad or a boot to protect the area. We put a boot on him today. Hope it stays. I did file his front hooves which looked like they were starting to chip from the nail hole growth. They did look much better after the filing. We've been using Shapley's M-T-G anti-fungal treatment on the Rain Rot and the Dew Itch. They are healing nicely and we don't see any signs of new affected areas. Now he just needs to grow some hair back across his hips and flanks.

Another Abscess

Now this abscess is coming through the sole of Canyon's right hind. Just broke through a couple of days ago. We thought he was still sore because of the old abscess, but apparently it was due to this new one. Go figure. At this point we are wrapping it to keep dirt, etc. out. Not sure how long to do that. Got a call in to the farrier to pick his brain.OK, this is the result of the abscess erupting through the cornet band of his right hind back in May. Just a few days ago another abscess broke open through the sole of the same foot.
Not sure if the chipped area has anything to do with the new abscess or not. One thing is for sure, I'm sick and tired of treating this horse for abscesses. Oh yes, the dew itch is slowly healing. The rains haven't helped. Though it has been dry for a few days now so hopefully the healing will progress more rapidly. I'd like to ride this horse some day. Got a new Kieffer Dressage saddle and everything just waiting for the word.

Feet on 5.23.09

Right front.

No more Thrush, but still working on the dew itch. Left hind.
Left hind
Right hind. This is the one where he had an abscess drain at the right heal bulb.
Right front
Left front

These photos were taken a week after the shoes were pulled and the hooves trim. Looking better and feeling better. There's hope for these feet yet. The rains are making it hard to get rid of the dew itch which is worse on the hind feet.

Canyon's feet 5.19.09

Contracted heals due to improper shoeing. Hopefully going barefoot and proper trimming will solve this problem. Right front.

Left front

Right hind...

Left hind...

Notice the difference in the two front feet.

Here's some shots of Canyon's feet before the shoes were removed. Don't like the under run heals or the angles on the front feet. We are also treating him for scratches, dew itch, muck itch, or whatever it's called these days, and a little thrush too. We think his feet will be better off without the shoes. Stay tuned........