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Learning About Foot Care

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 Farriers and Foot Care This might be a short post because it's already late. I don't have any photos of our very first adventures picking up Storm's feet, but I did these short videos. One is not long after he first let me pat him and rub him all over, and the second is a couple of months later. As always, having treats on hand is a great incentive to cooperate, and of course an endless supply of patience is handy as well. I started with just his front feet, not doing anything more than picking them up, giving them a bit of a tap with my hand and putting them down again. I did that a few times before moving to his hind feet. Slowly, gentle talking, lots of rubs, and rewards when it was all over and before long it all just seemed old hat. These days when getting his feet done he takes the opportunity to chew my farrier's ears (or worse!)
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Introduction to Domestic Life

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 Welcome to the New Home In about April or May, 2021, Clearview Brumby Rescue delivered Storm to my very modest property in South-east Queensland, where he was introduced to my Standardbred, Thunder. The delivery had its own share of fun, from having to dismantle part of the yard gate so that we could lower the gate on the back of the truck, to getting the delivery truck bogged. Long story short, it took an industrial towtruck and $650 to get it unbogged. With all the paperwork out of the way, Storm and Thunder were left to get acquainted. Obviously enough he was a bit on edge - rounding up, capture, gelding, branding, and then a long road trip to a new home - I'd be on edge too. Early Handling He wasn't that excited about being approached and handled at first, but it's amazing what the smell of fresh hay can do. I soon had him walking up to the fence to eat basically out of my hand, and from there it wasn't hard to "remove" the fence and that psychological ba
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Rescued from the Wild Sometime in April, 2021, Storm the Brumby was rounded up in his home in Kosciuszko National Park. Without getting into politics, this was supposed to be part of "saving the park" from the alleged damage caused by a supposed overpopulation of Brumbies. Storm, and a group of other Brumbies in a similar situation, were transported to new homes where they could live their lives without fear of being shot. Unfortunately I could only rescue one; my small property is stretched to the limit to support Storm and Thunder, my Standardbred gelding. But, good news for Storm, good  news for Thunder, and good news for me. Storm has a safe place to live, Thunder has some company, and I have what I've dreamed of since I was a teenager; my own horse. The first time I saw Storm was this photo, while he was in the holding yard at Clearview Brumby Rescue.
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