Ready for Spring?

I had an appointment to shoe one of my client horses today, for his first shoeing of the year. I typically recommend that, if at all practical, horses go barefoot for a few months a year. In the Northwest climate, the winter months work out well for that, since it's mostly too muddy to do a lot of trail riding, and arena footing is both soft and consistent enough that a horse can work comfortably, either barefoot, or wearing EZboots.

My client's Steady-Eddie horse was a complete champ for his shoes. But two of the yearlings I trim for her were a bit less . . . enthusiastic about the process. That started me thinking about how we tend to lay horses off during the wet months, or the winter months, no matter where we are. Nonetheless, there are things we can do with our horses over those winter months when daylight is in short supply and the air is chill and cold.

With young horses, especially, it's important not to ease up on their routines too much. A young horse hasn't had a chance yet for those lessons that will later become commonplace to really take root. So while the big, gentle gelding in his teens was perfectly willing to hold his feet up for me patiently, to be trimmed, balanced, rasped, shod, then clinched and finished—the youngsters had completely forgotten why on earth they ought to let a stranger pick that foot off the ground, even, let alone hold onto it to trim.

Do your young horses a favor: don't let up too much on the basics, just because the weather gets worse and daylight hours are short. It's going to pay off for you, your shoer, your vet, and everyone else who comes in contact with a youngster, if he doesn't take the winter off from basic groundwork schooling.

Young horses can be extraordinarily silly. What's more, every day is a new day, if you're a yearling equine. That curry that felt so lovely yesterday? Today, it has teeth and claws. The perfectly ordinary mat in the barn aisle? Today, it's a black hole that, if he steps on it, will dump him in the outer solar system where he'll be devoured by something with teeth and claws.

The bare minimum you need to do with your yearling during the off-months will vary a bit, from horse to horse (I'm trying very hard to resist adding an "of course, of course" here, not entirely successfully.)

At the least, though, a couple or three times a week, you should halter and tie your youngster, so he doesn't forget what it's about. Lead him around, work on turns and stopping and not running over top of you. Pick his feet up (yes, the hind feet, too), and groom him. If your youngster isn't started under saddle, yet, this is a great time to get him used to a saddle blanket, and/or a light saddle, as well. A surcingle will help your young horse become accustomed to the sensation of a girth.

It's not a huge time commitment. Seriously, an extra ten minutes at feeding time can make all the difference with your yearling, so when spring comes and it's time to return to learning new things, he hasn't forgotten all the stuff you thought you'd already taught him, and you'll both have a happier and more productive spring and summer.

And your farrier will be deeply grateful, when she shows up to trim his feet.