Dec. 23,2003

This morning we did the Dance of the Foundered Mustang. Racer was fitted with rolled toe shoes and I have to say that I was really ashamed of how he acted. We danced around for about an hour, just in trying to get one shoe on him. We tried backing him against the house to brace him, that didn't work, we tried twitching him didn't work- then when he reared and the farrier fell beneath him- Yikes! Racer did not step on Clint- though I got smacked with the twitch and now have a swollen lip.

Clint was angry and for the first time I saw this gentle farrier lose his cool. And then I got mad- really mad and I yelled at Racer. I yelled- and he LISTENED.  I continued yelling throughout the entire shoeing and he stood stock still through it all looking me right in the eye. Clint kept saying "Keep it up Mary Anne it is working." and so I kept yelling at Racer to keep him still.

We finished the work and then his back feet got trimmed and I released him out to the pasture. I was never so emotionally spent than I am right now. I know that it was the pain from the founder and laminitis that was causing Racer to be a twit-nose. He had been buted up prior to the visit. He just didn't want to get messed with, and thought we would stop after awhile. His toes have been trimmed down and he now has new shoes for Christmas.

Clint told Mike that in all his years shoeing horses (and he now shoes over 700 horses a year) he has never seen the type of respect that Racer holds for me in any of his clients horses. He now has the utmost respect for me and the bond that Racer and I share. All I know is that when Racer reared up and Clint went flat on his belly under him,  I thought it was going to end up bad. But Clint's legs were spread and racer came down in the middle of the space of those legs...........I am still shaking........ Mike said that he was watching it all and that Racer was aware of where everyone was and didn’t hurt any of us, except hitting me with the humane twitch because I was to close. I have never continuously yelled at that horse, and hope I never have to do it again. My throat hurts something fierce. And I will bet that Racer is in a world of hurt right now, he came down hard on those foundered feet of his.