Chris and Barb on a Winter Afternoon

Maxx and Barb - Back in the day

My Everyday Horses

Too hot to ride here in Northern Virginia for the past few days. The routine at the barn is slow and easy. The fans whir at high speed.

For the past few months I have been down at the barn every day. I, like many Americans, am in career transition. This has given me a unique opportunity to do something I have not done before in my life – ride or be around my horses every day. My full time job allowed time for weekend riding and perhaps a night during the week. So all clouds do have a silver lining. I am sure my horses – To the Maxx (Maxx) and Crescendo (Chris) wish I would get a day job soon!

The three of us have fallen into a routine now. Maxx is 23 years old. I have owned him since he was ten. He is 17.1H Hanoverian/Thoroughbred who I found on the Internet at a time when the idea of buying a horse on the web made other folks laugh. Maxx should have been a hunter/jumper, but I thought we’d do Dressage instead. We got up to First Level two before arthritis set into his knees and hocks. He has been retired for two years. Every once and awhile, if I see he is having a good day, I’ll ease up on his back and go bareback for a few turns around the ring. I cry each time out of joy and gratitude for that one extra ride.

Chris is my beautiful shiny penny of a horse. Eight years old. Oldenburg out of Contucci. Where Maxx is like riding a block of wood, Chris is like riding a rubber band. He is a real athlete. I cry with joy and gratitude when I ride him too! I co-own Chris with my best friend, Cheryl. Our standard joke is which one of us owns which half of Chris. Cheryl has another horse too. Also retired. Shaman got laminitis from Potomac Horse Fever about 4 years ago. We just started showing Chris at local Dressage shows and began at the very bottom – Intro 1. We have fun at the shows – providing he gets on the trailer but that will be the subject of blogs to come!
When I get to the barn each day, I let Maxx out of his stall. Halter-less, he ambles around the periphery of the barn, grazing. Chris stamps his feet wanting to do the same.

We board at a small privately owned barn in Haymarket with 5 other horses, 2 donkeys, 5 dogs, a cat and chickens.

The horses have been pretty quiet this week. All of them seem to have developed scratches. I’ve got a great inexpensive treatment for scratches and rain rot - Mix one part Wintergreen alcohol (has to be Wintergreen) with an equal part baby oil in a spray bottle. Spray on the affected area and lightly work it in a bit. Leave on for about 10 minutes. Then you can remove the skin irritations easily. Respray and leave in. Chris was stamping his feet really hard yesterday and biting the coronets on his hooves. The vet gave me another easy home remedy for this dermatitis which apparently drives them crazy. Feels sort of like poison ivy. I washed his feet with an antibacterial shampoo and dried it. Then I applied a Solarcaine-type gel to take out the pain. When that dried, I put on a generic Caladryl lotion to stop the itching. Worked like a charm. Chris calmed down right away.

So I hope you liked my home remedies for scratches and itches. Let me know if you have any tried and true solutions for your Everyday Horse.

The Everyday Horse

Today was shoeing day. Maxx and Chris are on the same schedule - usually every five weeks. Our Everyday Farrier is Dave Hutchinson from Helping Hands Farm. Dave has been shoeing Maxx since I have owned him - 14 years now. I think in all that time Maxx threw a show once. The condition of his feet and overall comformation are definitely testiments to Dave's skills and attention all these years.



Chris has only had shoes on for the past two years. Dave was the first to put shoes on him and started him off with a lightweight eventer shoes with clips.



Dave has always been a team player when it comes to working with my vet. When Maxx was going through a very lame patch about five years ago - I formed Team Maxx - my vet and my farrier and my stable manager. Maxx's arthritis was really settling then. So with the expertise of Team Maxx, he has been holding stable and is enjoying his retirement now. We use Natural Balance shoes on Maxx to provide him with a stronger base to balance his weight and hopefully displace the surface area and give his arthritic knees some relief.



Dave has been a farrier for more than two decades. He's thorough and methodical. Horses absolutely respect him. During Chris' initial shoeing, Chris decided to show Dave who's boss. That behavior lasted about a nanosecond. Dave is also a low-tech kind of guy. When I worked for a cell phone provider I offered to get Dave a super-inexpensive phone plan and a free phone. He declined the offer. Dave prefers to call people on his own time. He always calls me back promptly when I leave a message on his answering machine. Which brings me to the second thing I love best about Dave - he is ALWAYS on time. We set the date and time and he is there without fail. I think in all the time that we have been a team, he has only rescheduled once and never has been late. I appreciate and respect this attribute! I am hoping that Dave might actually get Internet access now since he knows that I am writing about him today. If you are reading this Dave - welcome to the 21st century - now get a cell phone!



Dave's got a great sense of humor and each shoeing session is filled with stories and laughter. heck, even my husband likes to come around when Dave is at the barn. I think Dave enjoys the male bonding experience since he probably is used to having us barn women around more often than not.


Around this time of year, Dave and I have a discussion. Shall we pull the shoes on Maxx or not? Fall is typically a good time to take this action. Maxx is rarely ridden and is a barn pet at this point. My vet would like to see him barefoot. I certainly could use a bit less expense. Dave’s point of view is to leave him as is. Maxx is stable, old and happy and his feet are in great condition. Why make changes that might upset the whole scenario and cause him possible and considerable discomfort?

I wind up agreeing with Dave. When I factor in Maxx’s health and comfort, comfort wins. I welcome your comments on your everyday farrier and the topic of going shoeless.