Update

Here comes one much-needed update!

So, Eddie and I have been doing a lot of things lately. Riding a lot, working on our lead changes, going for walks... you name it. It's been pretty nice out (not considering the wind) so I've been outside for about 4 hours every day working with the horses, doing chores and trimming.
I trimmed Eddie yesterday, I'll do Jigs tomorrow, and then Scout on Sunday. Because..... *drum roll please* Mom and I leave for Florida in less than a week! AAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!!
That's kinda crazy, but it will be super fun!
We're going from this...
Chilly & windy Illinois prairie

 To this...
Hot & humid Florida!

It's going to be a blast! And then the next course I go to will be for my final! WOWZA! I can't wait!

Windy, Windy

We should have named our farm "Stinking Windy Farm."
It was windy, chilly, and sunny today.
Therefore, I didn't do too much playing with the horses, just lots of hanging out with them. Eddie and I played with our canter lead changes in the pasture, I let him graze for a nice long time while I moved the t-post insulators for the track. Diesel has figured out how to get under the electric fence and graze Eddie's long grass that is in the pasture, so we have to lower the bottom line.
Anyway, Ed and I played, went for walks, and then Diesel and I went for a nice long walk around the property. They are such good boys! :-)
Then I trimmed Scout - his feet are looking GREAT! After a laminitis episode in January... they look amazing!

Well, gotta go, time to do the horse's final check.
Hope that you all had a great day!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

A New Lineup

So, I was thinking... I think I might do special blog posts for Wednesday & Sundays... Like Words of Wisdom Wednesdays and Scripture Sundays. I don't know... We'll see! It would be fun and it would ensure that I blog more often. :-)

Anyway, today was a beautiful day!
I trimmed Jigs this morning and Crissie (his owner) met us down there to hold him and so that I could practice my final exam (all the questions and spectrum I had to go over.) Jigs did really well and his feel are looking great. He's such a teddy bear!
Then when mom and I got home, we all ate lunch together and then I went out to play with Eddie. We went for a really long walk all the way around the property and we even went in between the trees down in the south line. He was loving that! We went in the pasture after that and played around. He was SO hyper! So we cantered, jumped, did cavaletties, worked on our harmony and I worked on my lightness. It was super fun! He was bucking and kicking and flailing his front feet - oh he was having such a blast!
We finished up by riding in the round pen and we just did one lap. He was still kinda crazy and I didn't want to get dropped in the mud.
I took Diesel for a walk too this afternoon. We went for about a lap and a half around the entire property and oh boy - he just loves his walks!
Also! I have great news!!!!! Scout is SO much better!!!! He was trotting around when Al took him out for his walk and he just looks so much happier. *happy sigh* God is good. I don't think we've ever been so happy to see Scout so spunky. We love you our little pony-man! <3



Psalm 33:4-5
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Hoof Pictures!

Oh! Of course, how could I forget my hoof pictures!
I trimmed Eddie the other day and took tons of pictures. And that reminds me... Time to trim Diesel! :-)
Here are just a few!

Snow Day

It's a blizzard out there! It's been snowing all morning and of course, the horses are inside eating out of their nibble nets. Oh how I wish it would stop and we could go out and play with them! I've gotten spoiled with all this warm, fair weather. On the bright side, the snow is piling up and snow is always fun. At least for me... lol!

I took these pictures yesterday while skiing around the property. Typical northern Illinois winter. Brown and white and grey. Although I wouldn't have it any other way.
The snow is piling up and the horses are warm and dry and happy. Now it's time to wait out the last of the storm and finish up my equine podiatry online course. (Click here for more info)

Trimming & Riding

Today was such a beautiful day. It's been cold & windy lately, so I was very happy to be outside all afternoon. First, I played with Eddie in the pasture and we cantered, trotted, jumped and worked on the right lead some more. He did better with it and when he did a few strides, I brought him in and gave him some apples. :-) Yummy apples!

Then we went into the outdoor and rode for a nice long time! We trotted around, herded Diesel in and out of the paddocks and went over the cavaletties a lot. It was muddy, so we couldn't do too much. But we did have a lot of fun and it was nice to ride again. It's been a while since we really rode.

Opening and closing the gate. He was SO light! You can see the soft feel I had on the reins. He just knew exactly what to do and was so willing. I love Eddie boy!!

After I rode Eddie, I trimmed Scout up. His feet were pretty long because I had my wisdom teeth out and couldn't trim for a while. But it was good to get back in the groove of trimming. :-) Here is the after picture!

Yippee!! Pretty feet! Also, I'm working on a name for my trimming career. The one I like best is Heartland Equine Podiatry. It's just... right. I don't know, I just like it. Or there's Natural Horse Hoof Care. Natural Equine Podiatry. The list goes on. Do you all like Heartland Equine Podiatry?

Scouty's footsies!

Trimmin' away! Doing what I love to do!


~Lea & Eddie~

Colossians 1:9
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Laminitis

Over the 9th and 10th, of May Diesel wasn't quite looking the same to us. He was slower, didn't trot, looked sore, and his sparkle was gone from his eye that is normally there. So we watched it for the first few days - staying on our schedule of 4 hours on the pasture - thinking it was just a pulled muscle or something. However, on the 11th, he wasn't better. In fact he was worse. So we called our vet and he came out to take a look at our little guy late in the day. Meanwhile, mom and I are researching.

We both took a Insulin Resistance/Cushing's Disease course by Dr. Eleanor Kellon and in the course, there are several chapters dedicated to laminitis and treating laminitis. So after I read the symptoms which include:

• Less activity
• Reluctance to more off from a stand still
• Reluctance to trot
• Reluctance to make sharp turns
• Stumbling/scuffing
• Preference for soft ground
• Stiffness when moving
• Muscular tension in the upper arm, neck, shoulder, back, hindquarters (any or all)

Hoof changes which are suspicious but not diagnostic include:

• Hoof rings
• Widened white line

So, out of those 10, Diesel had 7. Now these symptoms are for low-grade laminitis, NOT acute laminitis. For acute laminitis it's a lot easier to tell, they just can't and won't move! Poor horses, and it's all because of grass. But, let's not get sidetracked - I could go on about this all day!

The vet came out and sure enough, it was laminitis. Drastic changes were made to Diesel's already diet-ed diet. No sweet feed. No grass. Hose his feet & banamine (for the first two days). And Exercise. Our vet chose banamine instead of Phenylbutazone (bute) because bute is an anti-inflammatory drug for hard tissues while banamine targets soft tissues including... the inflamed lamella of the hoof which is laminitis.

Diesel was on that for two days, we hosed his feet and he is back to his old self and it is only two days after the vet came. Of course, he is unhappy to be in a dry lot all by himself (only for 4 hours though) but we're going to turn our track into dirt so the ponies (who are on their diets) can actually go out and get exercise.

So, that's our plan! More exercise once his feet are a-ok and no more grass.



Keep an eye on your horses and minis, this spring has been a sugarpacked-grass growing-super wet one. When all else fails, there is always the dry lot and that can work wonders for an overweight horse!

~Lea

 Here is a short video showing Eddie's stride.



After you're done watching this, please read on!
There are 5 steps to a horse's stride. Or... five steps to one step.
The first stage is:

• Initial Contact - Initiates pastern movement, heel hits the ground first.
• Impact - Defined by pastern descent
• Stance - Defined by load or force. Greatest amount of load that is on the dermis (dense inner layer of connective tissue) of the hoof.
• Breakover - Begins with pastern ascent.
• Flight - Utilizing the energy.

 The energy utilization and dissipation is much like a bow and arrow. The energy is stored and released, stored and released, over and over. That carries into hemodynamics (the blood flow in the hoof) but that's a big topic to get into right now.
There is, however more to the stride. Here is how the structures of the hoof should come into contact with the ground during different gaits.
Slow Walk - Wherever. Toe first, heel first, it doesn't make a difference.
Working Walk - Heel hits first.  Toe if the hoof is out of balance.
Trot - Heel comes into contact with the ground first.
Extended Trot - Definitely heel, horse should move freely.
Canter & Gallop - Undoubtedly, the heel should come into contact with the ground first. What is interesting, is that the lateral heel (outside of the hoof) will hit before the medial (inner) heel.

I bet, the next time you watch your horse walk, it will be much different!

~Lea

The Hind Feet

My last post was about the front hoof.
So, let's take a closer look at the hind hoof.
The hind foot of the horse is more oval, right? Right! If you follow the bones of the hind leg all the way up, you will find the hip joint. That's right, it's a joint.

Therefore, unlike the front hoof, it does not have the same degree of articulation. So, the hoof is oval and the
Main purpose for the hind foot:
Is to be a catapult. Just like how a pole vaulter uses the pole for leverage, the horse uses his hind legs for propelling himself.

You can see it clearly in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aOq3YCs4oM


Come back soon so learn about high-sugar grasses! Especially because it's spring!

The Front Feet

Hey there! I'm transferring a few posts from an old blog to this one... They are all about feet, so if you want to know about feet, read these!

I have thinking about the purpose of the front feet. Seems simple right? Carry 60% of the horses weight. However, if we take a closer look, there is a lot more going on.

The front hooves of a horse are round, right? Like a dinner plate. Anyone can see that. There is a cause for their shape, here are the reasons:

• Wider surface area
• Circulation
• Dissipation

The scapula of the horse (seen below) is NOT a joint into the thoracic vertebrae. Instead, it is attached by ligaments which are connective tissues from bone to bone. Which brings us back to the circular shape. If it were connected by joints, the scapula could not rotate or swivel. So, because the scapula is attached by ligaments, it CAN swivel. It can move. Joints are made to go up and down, or right to left. Not 180 degrees  Hence, the front feet are round. The scapula can move and the feet are free to swivel, make turns and moves that the hind feet physically cannot do. I'll post about the hind feet in my next post.

Learning A Bunch!

Well, the reason I haven't posted much this month is because every time I sit down to the computer, my time is taken up with answering homework questions for the online course I am taking. What kind of online course? HOOVES! =-)
http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org/iaep/on_line.html
I'm taking KC La Pierre's Online course and it is amazing! The questions are really hard, but they are really good. Gets me thinking and makes me remember my answers and reasoning. Right now I'm doing 2, 500 word essays. It's going really well!

Anyway, on to what Eddie and Scout and I have been doing!


~Lea

Guesssss What?!

I'm going to be a DAEP!
A Degreed Applied Equine Podiatrist.

"The essence of Applied Equine Podiatry is the conscientious study of the equine foot, always striving to expose it to the proper environmental stimuli, making every effort to promote proper structure and function as we progress in achieving high performance. It is accepting the facts that the horse has the innate ability to heal itself and that man's interference has caused imbalance and has broken the golden rule of do no harm.
Applied Equine Podiatry is a Holistic approach to hoof care; it is instrumental to those wishing to practice the art of Whole Horse Health Care."

That's what I'm going to be doing and I am so excited to start! So it's off to Florida for a course in three months and I'm also starting the online this month.
I would just like to say that I am so thankful to God. I have so seen His hand through all of this and He has helped me and made everything available to me to start this career path. If it weren't for Jesus Christ, I wouldn't be where I am today. Ever since I was a little kid I always wanted to do something with animals. And now I am!

Totally exciting and completely amazing.

~Lea



Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you;
      Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
      I will strengthen you,
      Yes, I will help you,
      I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 

Here We Go!

Let the trimming commence!

4 days of classroom.
1 day of trimming at the course.
4 days of trimming our horses.

Yehaw!
So, I will be off of blogger for awhile. :-(
But I shall be back soon!

Trim on,
~Lea

Romans 12:4-5

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Course Time!

Just like last year, it is time for KC La Pierre's course!! YIPPEEE!!! It starts this weekend and goes until Wednesday. I'm really excited about it because I have been trimming with this method for over a year and It's starting to become ingrained in my mind. Of course, I don't hitch myself to one wagon, but I really do like KC's method and our horses' hooves look fantastic. Eddie's cracks are all gone and Scout's flares/dish are gone from spring. Diesel no longer has long toes and they are all healthy, happy and sound! :-) Trimming is so fun!
After this course, I'm going to attend a one day Ida Hammer course down in Congerville, IL and after that... Who knows? Clients maybe? Another course? I'm taking it one step at a time and I think it's pretty awesome how God works. I'm only 17 and I'm close to starting my professional career.

Hurrah for Hooves!

~Lea

First Things First...

Well, it has been a really busy last couple of days!
Time to get caught up...
Let's see, on Wednesday I had an amazing day with Eddie. If you saw my video, no doubt you would agree! Eddie and I jumped, cantered, trotted and had such a blast. Three or four years ago, I would not believe I would be saying that. I mean, I always knew that we would get there, but it was 'out there.' Well, now we are 'there' and it feels pretty amazing. <3 Eddie is such an incredible horse and I cannot imagine how his previous owner thought he was stupid. He's the smartest horse I have ever ridden!
Anyway, that was on Wednesday and I just beam every time I think about it!
Oh yes, I also trimmed Diesel too! His feet look amazing!

~Lea & Eddie~


Psalm 119:130
The entrance of Your words gives light;
         It gives understanding to the simple.

Warm Weather

Yesterday, no wait... Two days ago, I trimmed up Scout and took a lot of pictures of Eddie's, Scout's and Diesel's feet. They are all looking great! Today, mom and I went out to OEW's and trimmed up Jiggles. I did a full trim! Yahoo!! Jigs' feet look good, flares, but that's ok. Got em back to where they need to be. :-)

So, lately I've just been riding in the morning and hanging out in the afternoon. Today is not so hot, so I'm headed out to play with Eddie once I finish up here!

Our riding has gotten really good though. Eddie is becoming a lot more soft and light, which is really amazing. And I've also worked on becoming more soft and light and not holding any braces in my body.
We've just been having a lot of fun, keeping cool, riding and doing chores. Speaking of chores, I gotta go clean water troughs too!
Here's a pictures of Diesel and I under the apple tree two days ago. We went for a half hour walk and he loved every minute of it! Or maybe he just loved the lush grass.... Hmmm... ;-)


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel & Jigs~

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect;
         The word of the LORD is proven;
         He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Really Excited

Today was the sort of day when you just want to be outside ALL DAY LONG!
So... That's what I did!
At 9am I trimmed Eddie and his feet are looking superb. That made me really excited to start trimming more horses for a job. I already have 14 horses waiting until August when I take my next hoof trimming class. Which is KC's course and then I'm going to take another hands-on class by Ida Hammer. Hopefully over winter I can also do KC's online course. So, I'm very excited about those things!

Anyway, at noon, Eddie and I went out to play.
He was SO sleepy! We played out in the pasture and did a few small things until he woke up. Then, we jumped lots of things, did a weave, cantered together all over the pasture and I let him graze some too. I got LOTS of pictures, so I'll have a picture post coming up after this one.
We went into the outdoor from the pasture and we rode in there for a long time. We trotted a lot, worked on some sidepasses and he was a little goofy/clumsy, so I was trying to get him to pay attention to where his feet were. I think if I had some poles set up in the outdoor it would have helped, but he was so tired I didn't want to ride too long. Believe it or not, we ended up riding for 40 minutes and ended on an amazing note! I tried to put a few things I learned from Buck Brannaman's book, Believe, into practice. Like using a little less than what you think it would take to get it done. I'm really excited to start being more light with Eddie. He can feel a fly land on him, but won't respond to a little pick up of the reins. I know it's me, I just have to become more aware of the braces I hold in my body or the cues that I unintentionally give him.
:-) Yay, something new to work on!

Next, I played with Diesel in the outdoor!
He was rather tired too, so we didn't do too much. We trotted around together, stood on the pedestal went through a narrow space and he took a little lap at the trot. He is such a good boy and he was so confident, he even bit my finger! lol! Even though it was unintentional. :-) It was still funny!

Scout and I went for one of our fun liberty walks! He wasn't so keen on the walking part. More on the "Hey, there's grass over there!" part. We trotted together and then I let him rip and run into the pasture. I could just imagine him going, "YIPPEE! YAHOO!!" as he cantered into the lush, green, grass of the pasture. We did some weave out in the pasture together, stood on the pedestal and took a few laps at the walk and trot. He was just so excited to be out there, I let him have room to move around and take big mouthfuls of the nom noms.

So, it was a WONDERFUL day and I can't wait for tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be just as nice - if not nicer! hehe, is that even a word? Ah well...
Hope that ya'll are having a great week!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To everything there is a season,
      A time for every purpose under heaven:

A full day

Wow, what a fun day!
I played with Eddie, Scout and Diesel in the outdoor and then took them all for long walks. I rode Eddie a little bit in the outdoor and my sis got a lot of pictures. The horses were all so awesome and they had so much fun playing. It was pretty nice out too - Minnesota weather - so we did a lot of running around and having a blast!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

A Full Day of Play

Today was cloudy, cool and there was a slight breeze. Perfect weather to play with the horses! Even though it rained a little bit this morning, the ground is still very dry. After the rain was done, Eddie and I went in the pasture and rode in there. I just hopped on, didn't expect much and we ended up progressing a lot with subtle cues! First, I just focused on not using more pressure than was necessary with the reins, but then I focused on not using any pressure at all. Instead I started to guide him with my legs - something I didn't really pay much attention to. And let me tell you, he responded to the cues so well! If I wanted to turn left, I would put a little pressure on his girth on his right, and just slightly move my left rein. He turned so smoothly! Then, if I wanted him to use his hindquarters more in the turn, I would use a little left rein and put my left leg back so as to disengage his hindquarters. It wasn't super technical, but we haven't practiced it for a while so it made things fun for both of us!
We did some more of our cantering and trotting in the pasture which he didn't really want to do because he was a little sleepy and it was buggy. (those darn bugs!) So, instead we went for a walk in the track where it was still buggy, so we ran into the paddocks. :-)

Next was Diesel! I played with him in the outdoor and we trotted around, mirrored each other, and we even started a little weave. He didn't really get it at first, but we practiced it a little bit and then he was interested and was following me through it. I should get a video next time, he is so cute when he does it because the barrels are taller than him! Poor Diesel baby! We ran around in the track too and he was happy to kick up his heels and run and play!

I played with Scout-er next! We did some weave in the outdoor - since it was set up - we stood on the pedestal, and then we went for a liberty walk! He LOVES those! We'll just walk together in the track and he gets a few bites of grass, then we trot a little bit and on the 'home stretch' we race each other! He always wins, but he waited for me and then we ran back into the outdoor together. <3 We have so much fun together!

It was a full day of play, but I also trimmed up Scout since he grew quite a bit from when I last trimmed him. Next is Eddie again. They grow so much more in the summer, if I don't do an aggressive enough trim, I have to do it again in 2-3 weeks! Anyway, it gives me more experience and it's better if I do it more often. That way I don't lose those back muscles that I need so much. ;-) hehe!

Hope that you all had a great Monday!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~


Mark 8:36
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

Playing with our herd

hat a beautiful day!
Sunny, slight breeze and nice and cool. Can anyone guess what I did today? Let's see... I played with Scout, rode Scout, played with Eddie, rode Eddie, trimmed Eddie and played with Diesel! It was a full day! Oh yes, I also bought a new pair of cowboy boots! Justin Gypsy's - oh yeah!
Here's a quick summary of what we did today:

Scout
We went out to the pasture and played for a nice long time! We cantered through our 'shoots' which were poles set up so he could canter through them in a big circle. :-) It was fun! Scout and I also raced each other, running up and down the south line. (longest side of the pasture) I was out of breath, but I'm sure he could just go and go! I hopped on when we were done and rode through all the gates (3 total) to Scout's paddock. We ended on an awesome note and he had such a blast playing. :-) I love him so much and he loves the attention almost as much as I love giving it.

Eddie
We did a lot today!! First we played at liberty in the pasture and then he decided to go to the outdoor. lol! So I followed him and we played in the outdoor at liberty for a while. He just loves the outdoor! We trotted a few laps along the rail and then we switched and did it the other way. He did so well and was really connected! Then after I hopped on, we trotted a little bit, and worked on our backing up. We mostly just had fun and didn't do too much with the riding. Mostly because I didn't have a helmet since mice have decided to take up residence in my brain bucket. :-/ But I'm going to wash it out and then we'll be able to do some more riding! I also trimmed Eddie and  his back feet look so good! :-) I'm so proud of him!

 Diesel
hehe, oh Diesel, Diesel... We headed out for a nice walk and he stops. backs up. and goes the other way. So... I followed him and we ended up going the other way on the track. Ok, I guess he just wanted to go the other way. We trotted the whole south line and east line and I raced him a little bit. Needless to say, he was not thrilled at my enthusiasm and we didn't go above a trot. But, I think he had fun and it's always a bonus when there's a treat in the back pocket! :-) He's such a good boy and I love playing with him. You can learn so much from horses and hinnys are so exception! He has taught me more than I thought I would learn from him and is very patient. Such a little muffin-pie! :-)

That's my day! A typical day in the life of Lea!

Hope that ya'll had a great day too!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~


Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God;
         And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Thought this was a pretty cool video to go along with this verse.