Coal Update #9

4/14/16, Day #190 for Coal's rehabilitation progress.  

6/5/16:

On 8/4/16 he got his very first real pair of riding boots!  While he has come SO far in just 10 months, and he is sound otherwise, his soles are still a tad thin at the toe and that causes him some discomfort with a rider's weight.  So, custom fit boots and pads it is.  I heat fit a pair of Easyboot Gloves for him and added a set of comfort pads inside.  He's now able to comfortably carry a rider's weight over any terrain.  I suspect that he will become more sound for work as he goes through his second full hoof growth cycle.

Right now, the initial founder line which was at the coronet band when I got him, is about a 1/4 of an inch from being completely grown out.  As is evident in the recent pictures, there is still changes inside his foot happening and in a few more months, hopefully he will be back to 100%.  I need to get follow up radio graphs taken to see how his bones are doing, the trick is finding a vet in the area with a portable xray machine.

So for now, 10 months after this whole ordeal began, it seems that Coal has reached his happy ending.  He has a new life, new health, new friends, and a new human to bond with and have adventures.

Life.  Is.  Good.

Ride Safe All,

The RoadQueen

Hiatus Break Through

Well, this winter has been hectic.  With limited daylight hours and inadequate indoor lighting, I wasn't able to document Coal's progress over the winter in as much detail as I would have liked, but I did get some done.

Lots has changed in life, where to even start?  Just for giggles, let's go for a chronological summary.

RCT and I bought a farm.  Yes, like a real farm.  It is a very old little farm, the barn and original house was built sometime in the 1800's, and the house has lots of newer add on's.  The barn is made by post and beam construction, a bit run down due to lack of care for over a decade but I love it.  It has tons of character.  There are fenced pastures for our ponies (yes, I said OUR ponies, more on that in a minute).  There is a small 1/4 acre pond, lots of outbuildings that are almost as old as the barn and original house, several acres of woods and it's been an absolute dream come true to work on bringing this place back to it's glory.  It's been a TON of work, and there is much more to do, but we are loving every minute of it.

The day the horses moved in to their new home.

Sunset over the pond

Coal and Guinness waking up in the morning dew

Artsy-fartsy photo of the old pump house that covered the original hand dug well

All the while, I had been working at my M-F 8-5 desk job as well as working as a barefoot farrier on nights and weekends.  I'm sure if you know me, you know which profession I'd rather partake in.  So, with our farm bought, horses and then us moved in, RCT and I tied the legal knot and I quit my desk jockey position to go full time as a barefoot horse farrier.  

Now that I'm down to one, fully rewarding profession and most of the very large farm projects are almost complete, I decided that it was time to dust off the old blog and start up my chronicles once again.  Life hasn't gotten any less adventuresome, if anything, it's become MORE so.  The only thing lacking is the time to post about it.  Stay tuned for more posts.  It's good to be back in the saddle.

RoadQueen on Guinness

Recumbent Conspiracy Theorist on Coal

Ride Safe All,

The RoadQueen

Winter Storm Olympia - Northeast Ohio 2/16/16

With warm temps around 30 degrees, we were treated to around 3 inches overnight, according to the local radio station.  We may get another 1-3 inches yet this morning.  The warm temps created great conditions for heavy, sticky snow.  The sticky kind is the prettiest.

Winter Storm Olympia

Enjoy.

Ride safe all!

~The RoadQueen

Coal Update #8

New update!  When the snow flies and the wind blows, I don't stay out for any longer than absolutely necessary.  But, I have a happy update that is long overdue, so I snapped a few pictures and took a short video on a nice day of Coal after his most recent trim on 1/15/16.

Coal is still slowly gaining weight, he has an awesome, thick hair coat and he is sound at the walk on grass (even frozen grass!)  I have not attempted to push him into a trot as of yet, but I'll take sound at a walk any day over what he was before.  I should also note, that Coal has not worn his boots since mid-November, except for occasionally when the mud in the paddock is frozen as solid as clumped up concrete.

Three months and one week:  

The days are getting longer, and warmer.  Change is in the air.  Dreams are set to come true.  Life is moving on and new adventures are drawing near.

Ride safe all,

~The RoadQueen