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06/06/2002: "A Day Of Firsts"
Yesterday was a fun day indeed! Indy got his first trim from my farrier, Matt Gillis. It went very well, and Matt pronounced Indy’s feet as excellent. He said that unless I ride at some place that’s very rocky, Indy should never need shoes. That’s great by me, for SURE. Indy was a little nervous at first, naturally, but Matt only had to actually growl at him once - and Indy got such a hurt look on his face he had us all in stitches. Then, when Indy pressed his face against me like, “Mom, that man hurt my feelings. Protect me,” Matt was laughing so hard he had to stop and wipe his eyes. When you consider that Matt is a VERY humorous, easy going guy with a pretty unintimidating growl, it was even funnier :o)
Even Ami stood pretty well - guess she didn’t want to be outdone by a kid - and Matt was thrilled by the condition of her feet. We’ve been fighting this battle with her feet for almost a year now. Maybe we’ve finally won. Still don’t know what set off such deterioration - she didn’t have a laminitis attack. Even Matt said he didn’t have a clue either, but the spongy spot in front of her frog in her right front is gone. Matt said her soles on all fours were perfectly hard and healthy. He’s coming back in three weeks to check her, and see if he needs to trim her toes again by then, just to be sure he keeps the strain off her white lines in front. I knew she had seemed sound confined to her small paddock, but I didn’t want to take chances until I had Matt’s expert opinion.
Matt said he thought she was ready to go back out and play with Indy. That was the go-ahead I was waiting for. When I came back out in the afternoon, I opened the gates to the full pasture. Indy had NEVER been turned out in the full pasture, and it had been almost a year for Ami. The grass out there is belly deep and there’s ten acres of it. Well!!
Oh, for a video camera! I don’t’ think I could have caught their performance with a still camera, even if it had been a decent day for pictures - which it wasn’t. Very overcast with light rain off and on. Also cool - which no doubt added to the fun for a couple of horses I know LOL!
Did they run and play! Indy’s white mane and tail were flying! Ami’s black mane and tail were flying too. Ami always did love to tear around, and she certainly had a soul mate in Indy. He was very adventurous too. He went way down to the cross fence and around the perimeter even without her. Sometimes they were running together, and sometimes they passed each other and crisscrossed. They were stretching those legs and flagging those tails! Even non-horseman Mike loves a show like that, and he was there watching every minute.
Of course, they didn’t run forever - not in grass like that. They finally settled down to munch. Indy came up to me several times as if he were checking to make sure what he was doing was okay - exactly like DJ used to do. He’s so much like DJ it’s spooky. SO sweet.
I didn’t dare let Ami chow down on that stuff too long, and even Indy needs to be introduced to all that gradually. So, after about an hour, I rounded them up for dinner. Mike was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get them in, but, at dinner time, they both just came on up. Of course, Indy had to explore Ami’s stall, but then they both went to their respective feed tubs and waited. No sweat, and they get along SO wonderfully.
What a day!
