Hoof question and opinions needed

[jamie]

Hi all,

The mare I am considering taking has a very deep set frog. Her hooves need to be trimmed and I will be setting that up right away. However, I do not notice any foul smell at all or anything. I have pushed on the area and she does not flinch or pull away. She walks and moves out fine...not one sign of lameness or even an ouchy step. However, the barn she is in...well, they don't have hardly any shavings in her stall...or any of the horses stalls. I found this to be quite odd. The stalls all wrap around the small indoor arena. All the stalls seem to have dirt as bedding with a small amount of wood chips thrown on top. That cannot be healthy am I right? What about bacteria and all that?

Now here is my second question. The barn she is at is 1 minute away from where I live. It's soooo convienant. Board is $250 a month. Her "owner" has not been paying board regularly on her, and in fact I think he didn't pay the past month or two (the barn owner told me this). She has been kind enough to keep the mare there. Now...would it be unreasonable to ask her if I do decide to keep the mare, if I could provide my own grain and shavings...and clean her stall daily myself and then pay $100 a month board?? I feel so awkward asking this BUT I am tight on money right now too. I found a barn about 20 minutes away that my friend is keeping her horse at. They offer rough board for $100 a month but you have to do all the work and supply your own shavings, grain AND hay. This barn she is at now would be so much easier for me, being 1 minute away.

Thanks in advance, I know I am asking alot of questions but I really need advice!

[samantha]

I would definitely ask. There is no harm in asking, and I know a lot of places around here that will let boarders work off board.
I have no idea about the hoof question, though- sorry!!

[Deb]

When the mare's hooves are trimmed the frog may not look as deep set. As long as she shows no tenderness or lameness I don't think you need to worry very much. If she had a problem with her frogs there would be some mushiness and a very foul odor. When her hooves are trimmed the farrier will probably pare away some of the frog, also. The frog of a horse's hoof is a sort of pump that helps with blood circulation.

I agree with samantha in that it wouldn't do any harm to ask the Barn Manager to work with you on reducing the cost of Boarding the mare with them.

Ask away any questions you have that need ansawers. There is no such thing as to many questions.

[Rusty]

Working off board and/or bringing your own supplies is common practice here too. In fact the BO likes that there are folks who 'know the drill' and can fill in on certain days. Saves them having to hire. It can be a big win-win. Let's play with the numbers... You want to work off $150 a month. With 30 days in a month, that would amount to only $5 a day of 'work' or $37.50 per weekend. Is $10/hour a reasonable rate in your area for barn chores? If so, thats 4 hours each weekend, or 1/2 hr daily or whatever combination/schedule is mutually beneficial. Bringing in your own grain/hay/shavings can ensure your horse gets exactly what you want, but it is time consuming and costs $ too. It may also throw a wrinkle in their schedule if you are the only one bringing your own supplies. Many here bring their own supplementary feed/hay/shavings in addition to what the barn supplies. That way there horse gets fed along with all the rest, plus gets the extra at the horse owner's convenience.

The stall bedding situation seems odd to me too. Are they mostly turned out, so they don't dirty their bedding much, or do you think the BO doesn't quite understand the need and is under supplying? It's fortunate that you have this trial time to really scope the place out.

As Deb indicated, you'll get a better idea of her hoof health when the farrier does the trim. No smell, no sensitivity to cleaning and no lameness are not infallible, but are certainly good signs of reasonably happy feet.

I hope you can get it all worked out, since even if you don't own the mare yet, she certainly seems to own your heart