Last summer, the Poetess gave herself toe cracks in both right feet mid-summer by stomping flies. It took them pretty much all winter to grow out, and that included some packing and wrapping of the affected feet to keep the cracks from getting bigger. Honestly, the rear foot wasn't totally grown past the top edge of the crack when the flies came this spring.
This year, I decided I would be more proactive than just using fly spray, and ordered her a set of Shoofly Leggins. I had heard good things about them, and decided rather than try similar brands at a lower price, I would shell out the bucks for the real deal. Afterall, I reasoned, one set of Shoofly's was cheaper than having front shoes put on the Poetess once. Let alone shoes all around (you typically don't shoe just one foot of a pair front or hind.) So if they lasted the whole season, and prevented her feet from cracking and busting up (potentially making shoes necessary), the cost was well worth it.
This post isn't intended to be a commercial for Shoofly's, but I have to say I'm loving them! And, other than still insisting on lifting her back feet exceptionally high the first 3-4 strides after I put on her Shoofly's every morning, the Poetess seems to also approve. That front foot hasn't cracked at all so far (fingers crossed I didn't just jinx us by saying that). The rear foot, while it hasn't cracked, does have a chip out of it currently in the spot near where last year's crack was. (And so this month I'm back to packing and wrapping that one . . .)
But anyway, the real intent when deciding to write this post was to share a picture with you.
This is the Poetess one day last week. She went to the pasture in the morning with all four Shoofly's on. She came in from the pasture at dinner time with only three.
After removing all her fly gear and putting her in her stall, then bringing the other three horses into their stalls for the night, I went walking in the pasture the Poetess had been turned out in that day to look for that missing Shoofly. Being blue, it was easy enough to find in the short green grass.
I had expected to find it laying open, thinking that I probably hadn't secured the velcro down the entire length it, and that she'd pulled it open by snagging it on something. Nope, that hadn't happened. It was still tubular, all velcro attached to itself, as if she'd just plain stepped out of it. Strange, but okay. I was glad it was recovered and undamaged.
How she managed to get it off like that, I have no idea. As if she just took a high step and it slid right off. Hasn't happened again, so far. And apparently it wasn't off so long that she stomped a lot from having flies on her legs. At least, her hoof on that leg looks crack- and chip-free so far.
Horses. They do the strangest things.
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