New Shoes and Boots that don't fit

We are getting ready to start riding more for the summer and it requires more care for the horses. More expense too.

We have had the farrier here and three of our horses have new shoes now. I bought a pair of the new rubber boots for my horse but they are the wrong kind. I thought I could save some money by using the rubber boot and not steel shoes. The rubber boots will last about four years so I am told.

It costs $60.00 for each horse to put steel shoes on (here where we live) and it has to be done about every 8 weeks so it can get pretty expensive. Horses are not a cheap hobby.

Anybody that has horses knows this but those of you who are thinking about getting horses just know that it takes a lot of care and time with them. They need to be cleaned, brushed every day.

The shoes need to be checked all the time and replaced when they get loose or if they "throw" a shoe. We ride a lot so we have to put shoes on and keep the feet in good shape.

We are taking the horses to the vet next week to get the vaccinations and Coggins test done. This is something that must be done yearly. Bruce gets the supplies from the vet and does the vaccinations himself but the Coggins has to be done by the vet. Any time you want to ride on any public property you must have a current Coggins paper with you.

So now that we have new shoes we can ride around here. We went riding Sunday for about three hours and I am sore already. I need to be in the saddle more. That is another story – you know that horse riding is great exercise.
It tones muscles that you did not know you had, or haven’t used in a while, anyway.

God Bless and stay in the saddle