The Boot Is Off

On Wednesday, seeing as Royal was sound and healthy, I took his boot off. I'd been able to keep the hoof covered for two weeks, and it showed. The sole was somewhat squishy and the heels were not looking good. The ground was firm, but not hard and I figured it would be perfect for letting his hoof get back into shape.

And so far it's been good. The sole was hardened right up and the heels look fantastic. And now I have to figure out how to get the rest of him in shape. Three and a half weeks of light work have helped his topline disappear and he's lost some stamina. But now it's supposed to be in the high 90s the rest of the week so I don't know how I'm going to accomplish that before the cross-country clinic on Sunday.

In the meantime, I got a set of shipping boots for Royal and while they look nice, he's not so sure what to think about them.

I let him get used to them in the round pen, and he eventually adjusted to them. No clue how he'll travel with them yet. We'll see next week.