Remember those beautiful, neat rows of raked alfalfa from yesterday? Well...after an hour of Harney County wind last evening...it's a photo perfect for Wordless Wednesday...looks like we did a bad job of bunch raking it!!
Hay Man Rudy and his wife Marsha came over this morning to assess the damages. The west field was worse than what you see above in the east field. My Man was out until dark last night forking the hay back into the field that was up against the fences.
It was decided that it wouldn't be good for the hay to lay there and bake all day in the hot 95 degree sun, so it was raked again and we're praying for no wind and good moisture tomorrow morning. He wouldn't have been able to bale it this morning anyhow because it was still too green. But, if the wind comes up again, all we're going to have left is stems...no leaves...Not Good!!
I tried a new farrier we have in our area...so far I'm tickled pink. He knew exactly what I meant when I asked about Baby Sliders...and he had the shoes to do them with too! Please take a look at Mugwump Chronicles' post on Baby Sliders for some good info.
So, Colt got his first set of Baby Sliders today. Pat saw Colt's run last Sunday and said he thought Colt was ready for the sliders.
This is the shoe before he heats it to fit the hoof.
Notice the squared off toe...it's called a Natural Balance
shoe which he doesn't like. But the thickness and width of the shoe
he does like when your doing cow work,
so he rounds out the toe during the fitting process.
Checking the fit while the shoe is still hot.
A lil' bit of smoke as he touches the hoof.
All fit and ready to tack on.
I liked this photo with the blur of the hammer.
Clinching and tapping the nails tight.
Colt's ready to slide!!
OH Man on the hay.... right now I was chased indoors by a T-storm. Thought I could ride with a little relief form the blazing sun except the hailstones were he size of quarters and they hurt!.... they said its going north so at least not your way.
ReplyDeleteAnd YAY on the sliders, I love natural balance shoes, they can be kinda square esp. for a hind foot, just grind them down. I love the sole relief they offer and the width will be perfect for sliders.
Gonna be fun the first few times he realizes he's sliding.
Nothing beats a new pair of shoes..:-)
ReplyDeletethe first part reminded me of a Cheeh and Chong skit: no stems,no seeds that you don't need.....
Dadgumit on the hay! Looks like someone got in there and had a "hay-day"!
ReplyDeleteLove the picture of the hammer!
I saw some hayfields around here that looked like that. I feel bad for you having to deal with that mess. I had sliders like that on my mare but I sure hated riding her out on grass with them. She could hardly stand up:)
ReplyDeleteHope the hay stays where it is now!
ReplyDeleteOn the sliders... It's the saying "Just ride and slide" on a western riders bumper sticker, at least over here in europe - a must have..! :))
Sometimes I miss the wide open spaces but I quess at times I don't miss it!! I hope it turns out good for you!!! I remember getting bad storms and seeing corn fields down flat out in Illiniois. (where I am from). I didn't know what sliders were either. Thanks for the lesson and I also like the photo of the hammer!!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of those kind of sliders before. When I first read your title I though that you had bought some 'red ear baby sliders' for Colt! lol!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting shoes and process, though. I wonder what they must feel like on the hoofs. And how they affect the movement of the horse.
I went to a cutting and roping event recently and there were several cowboys there talking about how they won't shoe their cutting horses anymore. I enjoyed eavesdropping on that conversation. hehe!
Sorry about the hay. What a nightmare. First thing it reminded me of of is how in the old days folks would toss their wheat up into the air to let the chaff blow away. But you don't want the leaves to blow away like that. gah!
I sure hope you can get the hay all baled up with no more issues. When is hay season officially over for you guys?
Are you still busy with thos AG interviews/surveys?
~Lisa
Sorry about the hay. Hope you were able to get everything baled.
ReplyDeleteColt shoes look great!
Beamer wore sliders for 3 years while he was in training. When I brought him home and rode him in rim shoes it was really comical when he had to go down a hill; he was really cautious and would tuck his butt up expecting to slide down the hill! Took him a while to learn to walk downhill.
ReplyDeleteLol, shows what I know - I read the title and thought Colt had himself some mini-burgers...
ReplyDeleteWow - sorry about your hay. Shoes look good though :-).
ReplyDelete