Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 185th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 185th LESSON

I could see how bad the mud on the track was at Des’ from the road this morning when I
arrived to ride Flossie. It had a big, deep puddle right in the middle of it which
rendered that spot totally useless. I opted to work Flossie mainly in the paddock, after
discussing it with Des first.

I put the cones in a big circle next to the ‘arena’ and had Flossie working around them
at every gait. She kept losing the canter, though, because we haven’t been working on
circles for a couple of months, so as long as she stayed on the circle and kept going, I
didn’t push it. After fifteen minutes I took her to another spot and picked up the
circle again, only this time, without the cones. This circle involved an incline which
kept us both on our toes. We had to adjust to the slope in order to keep our rhythm
flowing smoothly.

We circled for another fifteen minutes, alternating directions, then I asked her to
canter down the center of the paddock. This was a mistake on my part. After a half hour
of disciplined work, asking for a canter without any boundaries was like letting a cat
out of a bag that it had been trapped in for a week. She leapt into the air and extended
her legs like a Lipizzaner in a show ring. She kicked up her hind legs, did a few crow
hops, and everything else she could think of that wasn’t a canter.

When she did pick up a canter, it was like a runaway freight train down a steep hill. I
couldn’t let her go on like that so I stopped her and took her to the track where I could
canter her with control between the muddy spots. (When we came to the spot near the
road, we turned around. The mud was just too deep and there was no way to get around
it). Later, I returned to the paddock, did a few circles, and then had Flossie canter
nicely up the center of the paddock like the lady she is.

It was frightening the way she had been carrying on, but I spent the opportunity working
on my seat, keeping my spurs off her sides, not pulling back on the reins, sizing up the
best way to sit the mis-matched gaits and how I could possibly turn what she was doing
into the nice, controlled canter, that I so desperately wanted, so at least I got
something out of it.

Now I know what a temper this mare can exhibit and when it’s not a good time to ask for
discipline when the discipline is beyond executing. I still had a grand ride. The power
machines weren’t around, for one thing, and I was able to keep Flossie going forward even
when she balked a couple of times while on the track.

After my ride, I mixed super glue with the wood putty and applied it to the cracks in
Flossie’s hooves. The putty I had put in last week was gone. I’m sure the super glue
will keep it in place this time, in spite of the rain that’s forecasted from tomorrow
until after Easter. I used gloves and stuck two fingers together, which made me glad I
had the gloves on. Mixing the glue with the putty wasn’t a problem, and applying it to
the hooves was easy. I just put the putty down on a block of wood, added the super glue,
rubbed them together with my fingers, and then stuck the mixture into the grooves on
Flossie’s front hooves. I’m learning just how much of the putty I need. Before I was
either using too much or not enough.

It was nice to have some sunshine around for a change. I truly picked the best day out
of the week for a ride. It wasn't hot, cold, or windy. Just right.