Riley's new home: Option C Farm (OCF)

Well, I picked Option C -- the barn 15 minutes from home and work, and literally two minutes from Harv. The pictures included in this blog entry are Option C Farm. Yes, it's toney digs, but the critical thing is that this barn has what Riley needs. If you don't recall the choices I blogged about, this barn has a worker who lives on the premises to help with hand-walking and hoof care.

A tour of OCF and visit with Riley


It's clean, well-managed, my vet boards there, and it has paddocks of varying sizes (starting at .3 acre) in the event Riley does get paroled early. But what's the real reason he's there?

Stop stalling!
My horse will spend most of the next two months in a stall. OCF's stalls are larger than the other options, the windows to the outside are larger, and they have grates all the way around so that the horses can "talk" to their neighbors. Also every surface is covered in metal -- two other cribbers at that barn don't wear a collar, so Riley may not have to either. We'll see. If it doesn't help him psychologically, it'll help me psychologically, anyway.

Anyway he is all moved in, and although I had worried about his behavior after all that confinement, he was a champ from hauling to stalling.
He settled in great, made friends with his neighbors, and was eating and drinking in a few minutes. I was made to feel welcome by staff and boarders, many of whom are older female dressage riders just like me. The dressage trainer asked me about Riley's breeding, and it turns out she bought her horse from the same farm Riley came from :-).

Okay, there was one bad moment. There were two empty stalls at this facility, and he ended up in the one where both buddies on either side were on night turnout. Riley watched them get turned out -- actually saw them running in the pasture out his window. Bob and I were a few stalls away talking to another boarder, and we heard a loud crack -- he kicked the stall pretty hard. Jesus. Riley, stop torturing your hooves! This morning he was moved across the aisle so he won't have a view of the pastures, and his buds on either side go out during the day, at different times.

I told a friend of mine about Riley's hoof, the mysterious cause, and the long road to recovery. She said "I know from experience, you are going to have to make some people unhappy in the process of getting him what he needs." Ahh, wise words. The vet is coming back next week to re-radiograph the hoof. Think some good thoughts in our direction!

Unintentional Rollkur? Katie PJ rides...

This isn't just an ufortunate photo, she has a lot of these moments.



I hate the long hair with the hat!

5 years, an injury free workplace: An what'd ya get?

The scuttlebutt is that the dept. supervisors get big bonuses when their workers go without injuries for a certain length of time. Here's what Bob and his co-workers got...

Gee, uh, thanks?

There is a flip-side too. One year at Christmas, I recall the director at a former job got each employee a lovely Harry and David-type coffee-cake. Do you know people complained??? I don't recall their specific grievance, maybe they just wanted a bonus.

These boots are made for walkin' Part I

Some of you know that Riley is suffering through a hoof issue, and a hole in the bottom of his foot that needs to stay clean -- and until recently he was on turnout. I did some research and testing of hoof boots for turnout, and here is my considered opinion on the matter.

How I'm booting up my horses...
My research hasn't been exhaustive or first-hand in every case, but I learned enough to arrive at a reasonable verdict. It may surprise some of you to find that I recommend the Penn Equine Gear Hoof Sock for turnout. I gave this product a mixed review a few months ago, for reasons of fit more than anything. Even Penn Equine Gear does not say it the boot (pictured above/right) turnout-worthy. Yet it's lasted through weeks of turnout in a big field, with no sign of wearing through. I did take a few precautions...

• I duct-taped the boot on, winding duct tape around his pastern three times. It would never have stayed on otherwise.
• I vet-wrapped and duct taped his foot -- mostly to poultice the hoof but it also protected the ballistic nylon fabric from the sharp edges of the hoof.
• Riley was unshod at the time I used it for turnout. Now that he is shod and stallbound, I'm putting the boot on his shod foot every other day, for added cleanliness and to help the bandaging last longer. I do it every other day so that his foot has a chance to breathe. The nylon is more breathable than a lot of other boots, but it's not the same as a bare foot.

There is similar product, a hoof slipper, on the market. It looked interesting in the magazine, but when I saw it in the store it didn't look as sturdy. Also the stiff leather bottom seemed too slick for safe turnout. Note that that manufacturer doesn't say it's turnout worthy either. It may be quite useful for stall-bound horses.


Penn Equine gear also makes a "trailworthy" boot that I also purchased for $49. It is nylon and breathable, but with a tougher outer sole. I have used it in Riley's stall with great success -- but the fit must be quite snug or the boot will turn. A second boot would be needed to test turnout. But the great thing about it is its soft construction. If it turned or got stepped on, it would not be painful to the horse. I'm sure I'll buy another one in the future, but I'm all booted out right now.


Coming up next... Hard turnout boots!

Unintentional humor from Craigslist

A facility north of here advertised in Craigslist: Quality Horse Boarding and layup - $250. In this area you can't get field board for that amount, so I was curious. With low expectations, I sent an email inquiring if the facility offers bandaging and handwalking.

The two line email response...

"Yes, I do bandaging and handwalking. I have a Bachelors Degree in Equine medicine so there is not much I can't do."

[emphasis is mine]

Reminds me of the old NPR show “Ask Dr. Science.” He started and ended the program with the proclamation... "I know more than you do. I have a Masters Degree (dramatic pause) in SCIENCE.”

At least equine wasn't misspelled :-)