Remi got his first reset with his epona shoes yesterday. I had scheduled him for 6 weeks but Cecilia had to cancel so he was at seven weeks since his last shoeing. I had taken him to a clinic the week before and we loped through the barrel pattern. He stepped on the back of his right shoe and it broke just behind the nails. When I checked the other foot I saw that that shoe was cracked right behind the nails as well. I am not sure if it broke when I was loping or if it was cracked for a while.

I had quite a time getting the broken shoe off so they are staying in place very well. Cecilia had been concerned that the nail holes would wear and the shoes would shift around too much. This might have happened if we had not used the fill in pad but believe me it had not shifted one bit and was still tightly attached by the nails. We decided to use the fill in pad material again because Remi had been so sound since the shoes were put on with it last time.

I have been doing body work on Remi ever since I got him. He was so sore all over when I got him and watching him walk was really depressing. He would take very short steps and jab his toes into the ground. He could hardly pick up his front legs because his shoulders were so tight. His shoulders are still tight and this is probably why he is clipping the back of his shoes. I am doing Bowen treatments on him about once a week. He gets very relaxed and he does not seem nearly as tight. I watch him run through the pasture swapping leads and dodging trees. The epona shoes seem to give him confidence because they almost totally cover the bottom of his foot so the inflamed coffin bone is fully protected.

I am going to keep bell boots on Remi this time and check every few days to make sure the shoes are not cracked. I will also step up my body work and focus on releasing his shoulders. When I ride him I will do lots of bending and reaching exercises to encourage him to use his shoulders more. His hooves are growing fast and he is building more and more sole. I plan to get more radiographs when I get him reset next and see if I can think about going barefoot again. Madalyn