Getting Ready to Ride...Too Soon?

[rodriguezpoultry]

Max got his shoes taken off for the first time in approximately a year. I believe he got them taken off on 9/25. Since then, he's gotten less ouchy.

I'm wanting to start riding him again, but am afraid his hooves aren't up to the task just yet. I won't be riding him on rough terrain for quite awhile, but am wondering if I could ride in the sandy arena? Walk/trot, no canter. (Still working on the canter outside in a BIG area.)

Is it too soon? He isn't limping any longer, but is somewhat favoring his left front. It doesn't seem any flatter than the other hooves (his left rear seems flatter than the rest), but he only limps as we're walking over the rocks in the pasture. Now that it's not 120* in the barn, I'd like to start riding at least every 2 or 3 days, if not every day when I get off of work.

Also, I have a feeling, from reading other posts, that he's not only lazy but clumsy. Even when we were doing trail work, he would randomly stumble...I don't think he's watching his feet. When his hooves are completely stable, is there something I can do to help him watch where he's planting his hooves?

 

[patandchickens]

Stumbling is not-infrequently a sign of soreness somewhere, either in the topline or in the feet/heels. I would not chalk it up to "clumsiness" unless I had first had someone GOOD do a soundness exam, at least visual-plus-hoof-testers if not more.

Personally I would not ride a newly-barefoot horse that is at all favoring one foot, except *possibly* at a walk only and on excellent rock-free footing only (for instance sand or other ring footing, but not DEEP sand, and not if there are rocks in the footing; or on nice springy turf free of rocks or lumps, but you may not have that available).

If you want to do something while his feet continue to get used to their new situation, AND address any genuine clumsiness issue that may possibly exist apart from foot-soreness issues, do trail-class or Linda Tellington-Jones type stuff using ground poles. Unmounted and on good footing. The most educational thing is to do it literally one footstep at a time.... ask horse to move just ONE foot the way you want it and then pause for ten or more seconds before you cue the next one. This is FAR more useful than just walking thru the exercise without pause. Start with the easiest possible thing and work up very slowly, as for many horses (and handlers <g>) this is actually a lot tougher than you'd expect. For instance, start by ensuring you CAN get the horse to walk forward one footfall at a time, and also backwards and sideways same way. Then do that all with just ONE ground rail to go over (or in the case of sideways, to keep under the horse's girthline). Very educational, also gives you something to do (and horse's brain something to do) while you can't ride.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

This is just my own experience with my own horses..... mine all stay barefoot. To reach the large stretch of open fields that i usually ride in, i walk mine, and actually get of and lead one of them down a gravel road, they tread lightly and occasionally act " ouchy" if they step wrong on a gravel or two. I never make them go faster than a slow slow walk on the gravels because im afraid of rock bruising or abcesses. I ride them/ run them on dirt, grass, sand, etc. we have very very little rock around here.

Stumbling.... we had a gelding who was just an air head in general, and stumbled anywhere besides the arena, but i attribute that to him looking/snorting/crow hopping/ and just being a fool when ridden outside the arena. And, in our defense, this gelding had hundreds of trail miles logged on him, and none of them were pleasent.

Stumbling take #2...... My big goofy paint gelding always trips up until I make him wake up! Its as if he initially is sleep walking when i get on him. I just pop his big behind once real quickly with the over and under and get a few pretty circles out of him, and he pays attention and has beautiful placement.