Two new hoofboots and a donkey's resistance

To my dismay Mag does not seem to be a candidate for Easyboot Gloves, which I had such success with in the past.

And Gloves are so sleek! *sigh*




I got Mag sized by my trimmer and he's a 1 RF and a 1.5 LF. His LF is the reason I cannot put Gloves on him, because one falls outside their sizing range, the hoof is not round, it's an egg.

These are called Backcountry Gloves and cost 110Euros each. I remember paying only 60 American dollars for Gloves, *sniff* Another let down, I really liked Easyboot Bares, but they no longer make them.




Not so sleek, but not too bad.




These are supposed to be more forgiving in sizing than Gloves, so better for wonky hooves like Mag's.

Anyone who has ever used Trails or Backcountrys, please let me know how it went (goes?) in the comments.) I already love the Gloves, no need to sell those to me!

When I tried them on Mag  I realized we are finally at the point where he does not lose his mind when he first notices it on his hoof. He no longer thinks his hoof has been cursed by the handshake of Lucifer when he sees them. Probably from all the bandages he wore last year during our white line disease months.

I took him for a walk and he seems fine, but I know they're more slippery than natural hooves. Due to his back lumps I have not ridden in them yet.

Another thing about these boots is they have the Glove shell and can be adapted into Gloves, if you swap gaiters.

Supposedly they are the easiest boots to get on. Yes, compared to Gloves, they are a breeze to put on (no hammering!). But that makes me doubt their staying on ability.

At the end of our walk, they were much more difficult to get off, than to get on. Hm.

These are the 2016 model of the Backcountry Glove. More expensive than the 2015 model, for some reason.

My horse looks a little silly to me with his off-sized front boots, but most people won't notice.

This may be a very expensive experiment, but isn't it always so with booting?

***

I gave Bellis her 2nd bath since I've owned her. Typical donkey style, she stood there livid but immobile the entire time I tortured her with water. I must say, donkeys hate water more than any other animal on earth. As soon as the sky drops, she's in the barn, and Mag, who'd happily get wet out there, follows her in and waits it out.





Donkeys hate water, but their method of resistance is to stand still. So, perfect for bathing them.

I laughed at her, "You are the easiest animal to bathe that exists. Cats are squirmy. Dogs are fidgety. Horses too. You just stand there and glare at me. Here, have another cookie."

I got her so lustrously clean, with dish soap, and all her soft spots were back. I had many, many cookies.

Donkeys have rough long hair 10 months per year (we're still in Winter coat stage, it's only May). But they have very soft white belly hair, and I just discovered, the hair on their legs is silky soft when clean. I couldn't stop stroking her legs.

I meant to tell you long ago but forgot, but donkeys are different from horses in other ways. They do not have chestnuts on their hind legs, only their front. (WHY!?!)

As I bathed her I remembered the other strangeness, donkeys do not have a hair pattern whorl on their hip-to-flank like all horses do, what makes grooming horses a learned skill, getting around that massive whorl on both sides. Donkeys' coats just hang in one direction from their spine to the earth. Straight down. It makes grooming easier, but also makes me question WHY!??

***

Last night a freaking hot air balloon went straight over our home, directly over my horse and donkey's heads, arrogantly oblivious to safety, they were so close, and there is one power line. I think it's asinine to blast your flame directly over our front yard/paddock, and expect the horse and donkey to be OK with that noise. My animals were, but I was not. I will never, ever take a ride in one of those, because I see so much irresponsible flying. I've seen then land in my neighbor's field, and according to law, that is allowed. If you land in my horse pasture, you'd better have a good reason, and you'd better go find my animals after you disembark your basket.

I got a video of them, you could see them closely cuz they were just so near, but it's kind of long and boring. The good news is  my animals were not panicked, even when they blasted their fire right over their heads.

Later I was amazed to catch something on video that I'd never seen - Mag and Bellis grooming each other.

In this blurry video you can make out the brand "7" on Mag's side (he was the 3007th foal of Michalow Stud, so they told me when I asked what the 7 means). You can also see the solar roof panels on our car cuz I'm filming from my living room, trying not to disturb them. Solar panels on a car are not as critical as they would be in Arizona, but I have to admit on days like today, I get in the car and air is circulating without me pressing Start yet. love this car.

I sent the fancy arena people another request that we "do something" with our horses, cuz their last excuse was weather.



I also have this crazy desire to take Mag to an in-hand (showmanship) class. He'd be so good at it! I just have no idea if they exist in my area. And no horse trailer. And very few friends. And I'm not wearing a cowboy hat.  But I can dream.