sometimes you have to stop and look behind you

to see how far you have come.

Ali the redhead mare - the one with cover issues - also had feet issues. That is she didn't like anyone picking them up and was even less fond of a suggestion that someone might lay farrier type tools on her little tootsies.

I got to where I could pick her front feet up but really those hind hooves frightened me and I used to chicken out even attempting to pick them up.

I must mention that she has great little feet that chip off fairly evenly so though not desirable the lack of hoof care wasn't the end of the world (if she had shown any problems I would have got the vet out to sedate her for the farrier but she was pretty good untrimmed)

Then she went to stud at Talisman Farm and Nick and Lou kindly trimmed her front feet which was a big move forward. But I asked the farrier to have a go at her and she had a meltdown so we went back to letting them chip off while she was in foal and went back to work on it when working with the foals feet. After a while we could run a hand right down a hind leg without her kicking out and then moved on to asking her to pick it up.

Today we went out and trimmed all four feet, without any dramas. Certainly she isn't the old timer that goes to sleep during the manicure and stands with a foot up all day and I doubt she ever will be, you have to give her foot back occasionally to let her regroup, and I wouldn't do anything with her hind feet without someone holding her head, but the mare who panicked if you tried to touch her feet at all has come a long way.