I decided to take some pictures of the horses and the area where I have them. To get Doc out of the pee and poop he wanted to stand in (thrush was a big concern of mine) I have emptied the water trough and am now spreading food throughout the forest pasture...which is on a hillside. Yesterday, his response to this was a bucking fit. Today, he was a bit calmer, though he has "pissy ears" going on here.

I hung around with him and the others long enough to see that he changed his view on things a bit:

and another one:

It is tough to tell how hilly this is. And I took pictures of the others. You can kind of tell a bit. Here is Dodger, our mustang (he is the sorrel...Breezy, the white horse is in the background):

This one of Breezy gives a feel for the slope that the horses are on when they are down in the forest eating:

And here is Harley--another picture taken to show the slope a bit:

They don't have to stay on the hillside, but I will be spreading out their hay in about 10 piles across and down the forest. This way, they will make more use of the forest, explore it more, I hope...and also get more of a natural wear to their hooves...all of them are a bit arthritic (the youngest, Doc is VERY arthritic) so I hope that the movement will actually help him feel a bit better. When I take him to get a lameness exam, I know they will want to know what kind of exercise he gets. Hopefully, within a couple of weeks I will see some positive changes in his feet and in his body generally. Here is hoping!

I have a corral where the only water can be found. Up the hill past where Harley was eating you can see the gate to the corral left open at all times for them...

Flat land can be found there, too. They enjoy rolling up there and laying in the sun, though they have places in the forest they have created favorite rolling places as well...

There is gravel that is in front of the gate in the above picture...and some gravel near the water trough. Again, a varied terrain...I hope it will help strengthen their hooves so all four of them can be sound barefoot. I believe it is the way it is supposed to be...I really do. It makes no sense to me that horses should need horse shoes. It seems pretty bad for their feet and I wonder how much of Doc's physical problems might be attributable, at least in part, to him having been shod very early before his body had completely developed.

After they get through the gate, they have a large area they can play in:

See there? The water trough is over yonder. This isn't different. What IS different is it is the ONLY water trough now. Doc does sweat easily and a lot, so I hope he will be willing to move to drink and doesn't become dehydrated. I will be watching this carefully. Previously, I had a water trough down in the forest, too. I want to motivate him and the others to move more, however.

I hope the next time I post pictures of Doc and his feet, I have a better story to tell.

Heidi