Boots and Scary Things

Stormy got some hoof boots. So far she hasn't acted like she even notices them on her feet. They fit very well (should fit even better now that I adjusted the wires a little more. Now the straps won't stick out so far. See picture below.) I rode her with them for the first time this weekend. We headed North on Dobbs, in the direction of the bigger gravel that we never ride on. 

So I took my horse that hasn't been ridden by herself away from other horses for months...

and took her by herself in a direction she has only gone once before, (ages ago)...

and towards the house with all the barking hunting dogs. 

Oh and I did it during the time of the day that the house just south of us holds their target practice portion of their concealed carry classes. (Turns out the gunshots are actually louder when you head north. They echo off of something.)

She did very very well. Considering. Occasionally a truck would drive past which helped me move her further down the road because she not afraid of trucks, and the noise drowned out the dogs and extraloud gunshots. But at a certain point when she was fairly calm but we were getting closer to the house with the dogs, I decided to get off and lead her. The last time I fell off when I was riding away from home she RAN all the way back home. I don't mind walking, but I don't want her galloping down the road and falling or getting hit by a car. 

We walked about 3 miles all together. Her boots did great. She stepped on them a couple times when she was dancing around at scary things like cows and burnt down barns, and they stayed on just fine. (By the way she used to live with cows, I don't know why she doesn't remember they aren't scary!) And there was no signs of rubbing when I took them off.

The only problem I had with the boots was: when she walked in the grass and brush, debris looked like it was getting kicked up against her fetlock and falling into the heel captivator (the back of the boot.) The heel captivator was nice and secure and has padding, so I hoped it wasn't actually falling INTO her boot. But when I removed them there was a big sharp sticker stuck to the padding inside the heel captivator of one of the boots...I don't know what I can do to keep that from happening again.