was the time that during a competitive trail ride, Hrimfara lost one of her very expensive Renegade boots in a swamp. A young volunteer found it and returned it to us at lunch. My observation was that Renegades float.
We returned home and kept the horses barefoot. This was okay last summer because we didn’t go anywhere, just on our trails. And it worked out well this past winter because we rode the horses in the soft snow. However, about a week ago we had a heavy snowfall, this combined with warmer temperatures has made our trails punchy. Not riding on trails also made me punchy.
So, I started road riding. The horses didn’t like this nor did I. We stayed close to the edge of the road because the rest of the road looked like it might have icy patches. The horses skittered some; then they began moving really slowly.
My mantra became no fun, no fun, no fun. The day before yesterday, Pete suggested that we put the ice shoes back on them. I agreed, for otherwise I’d have to wait another month (at least) before riding again. I thought, there goes all that time put into conditioning the horses, who are now in excellent shape.
Yesterday, before Josh’s arrival, I pulled the old ice shoes out of the tack room and laid them out in the tack room pathway. I removed the nails and old pads.
Josh eyeballed the shoes and quickly figured out which would best fit each horse. I was really impressed.
Shortly after he left, I was back on the road. I rode all three mares. They quickly figured out that they had shoes on and that they could move about safely. Yesterday and today, I had some really good road rides.
No, there are no absolutes. If we do do another trip this summer, I am going with having them shod, this as opposed to being booted. This isn’t a tough call. It’s simply the right thing to do, given that we ride a lot in uneven and sometimes icy terrain.
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