Horsekeeping and training, pets and art by Connie Moses
Go to Apassionata with Andalusian stallion on BRIDLEPATH to view (this video is on YouTube.)
SOOOO beautiful, reminds me of CAVALIA which was the most wonderful visual and interactive thing I’ve EVER seen done with horses, and I’ve seen a lot! Including the Lippizaners at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna…
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Just pix of riding buddies recently and some of our our local scenery…
Terry on Prince and daughter Kim on her miniature horse, Blue.
We rode to Saltmarsh Pond this day.
Posing at Saltmarsh Pond… everyone bright for the deer hunting season.
Connie Moses at Gilford village covered bridge (yes we rode our horses through!)
Me atop Gunstock Hill near home, Lake Winnipesaukee below, Ossipees and White Mountains beyond. On a clear day Mount Washington would be visible.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Pictures from October 22 carriage drive hosted by Granite State Carriage Association, held in Auburn, New Hampshire. Our 3 yr.old Arabian/Percheron, Gilford, is put to our Meadowbrook Cart and driven by my hubby. I was riding his mom, Arabian mare Willow’s Bask, aka. Willy. (Most pictures were taken from horseback.)
Note the Boa hoof boots on Gilford’s hind feet. He’s wearing them while his hoof is healing from an abscess, see posts:
horse lame from hoof abscess
hoof abscess healing photos
On his mom’s front feet are Epic EasyCare boots to help her ouchiness on packed gravel. Both horses are barefoot, see posts:
barefoot natural horse hoof care introduction
barefoot natural hoofcare movement afoot
Staging in the crowded parking lot
Harnessing up a mini horse to a mini cart!
Willy and Gilford at our trailer (note mare’s front hoof boots)
Setting out on the carriage drive around Little Massabesic Lake
Gilford trots out, enjoying the beautiful fall day…
Gilford in his Boa hoof boots.
One of numerous bicyclists– challenges to pass along the way.
Passing other carriages was also a challenge, young Gilford wanted to stop and visit!
Riders stopped alongside the busy trail.
Passing still more horse carts.
YO!! Wooden bridge coming up!
Joggers were coming and going too.
More bicycles for young horse’s experience– never a dull moment!
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Eagle spotted on northerly point of Lockes Island, late October 2006. A few eagles have been nesting on Lake Winnipesaukee in recent years.
Zoomed in view… wow was I thrilled!
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Rendition of Peaches, contributed by my young friend and fellow horse lover, Morgan, age 7.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Clare says: The black and white Chin is called Kizzie (short for Kissy Face); her sister, is called Lexie. Their show names are Razzle Dazzle ‘em Kizzie and Razzle Dazzle ‘em Lexie.
I am not into shows, but since they were bred for shows and the breeder loves to show, I let him take them all over the place and they always do very well. I’ve gone with him and he’s shown me the ropes and it was a lot of fun to see what goes on (shades of the movie Best in Show) but showing in any form is not my thing.
Photo contributed by Coast-to-Coast-Clare, guest writer.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
See article Acadia carriage roads horseback in september
for description.
Wagons and carriages are for hire at Wildwood Stables in Acadia. Commercial carriage rides which run several times daily out of Wildwood Stables attract many sightseers and cruise ship excursioners from Bar Harbor.
Belgian draft teams spend working summers at Wildwood; there are also percheron teams.
Teamsters and wagons waiting to load their passengers.
Popular wagon drives go to the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers, and also go up nearby Day Mountain close to the shore.
Seal Harbor, Maine, very near Wildwood Stables.
The rocky Maine coast at Seal Harbor
Beach rose (beach tomato?)
Wildflower near the beach at Seal Harbor
Deer are commonly seen near Wildwood Stables, on Day Mountain and thruout the Park.
Sunset over Eagle Lake, viewed from west side of Cadillac Mountain.
Peregrine falcon sighted above Champlain mountain, where nesting grounds on the Precipice are protected.
Hubby on our hike up Champlain mountain.
These riders are going out from Wildwood in a group together.
Neighboring campers on Wildwood grounds. There are 10 campsites available to folks while boarding their horses at Wildwood Stables. Most reservations are made well in advance; the stables are often full to their capacity of about 30 stalls.
Day use parking is also available for horse trailers.
Horse in Wildwood rental stall checking out its neighbors.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
Our yearly horse vacation in Acadia National Park Maine was unusual in many ways. We have enjoyed the carriage roads in the Park for the last 14 years with our horses stalled at Wildwood Stables and us camping on the Wildwood grounds.Anyone who visits Acadia and the Bar Harbor area will appreciate its beauty and unique ocean panorama from Mr. Rockefeller’s 57 miles of carriage roads, Cadillac Mountain, and the several other peaks of Mount Desert Island.
Marl on Abby and me on Willow’s Bask. Both the mares are 20 years old.
Three of us on summit of Day Mountain– my hubby, Marl and me on horseback.
We were unable to bring Gilford, our 3-yr.old Arabian/percheron, due to his resolving sole abscess (see
LINKS,)
but we did have a borrowed driving horse Abby (who we used to own) and our Polish Arabian mare Willow’s Bask. Our two friends, Marl and Ron, bringing their two horses arrived with news that one of their horses, Micah, was also lamed up, having just been diagnosed with laminitis the previous day, but they had brought him anyway so as to treat him there with cold soaks.
Our campsite picnic area at Wildwood Stables (Ron’s trailer in background.)
So, after stalling our horses, we set up our joint camp in the afternoon. Our setups involve sleeping in our horse trailers; once cleaned out and rearranged, they are quite suitable as rough living quarters, and really beat tenting on the ground. We keep a futon mattress in the gooseneck and camping utensils in portable drawer units, and have other conveniences we’ve built in. Our friends have similar arrangements in their own horse trailer, plus a large canopy which we put over two picnic tables provided at the campsites.
Hubby in Meadowbrook cart with Abby, atop Day Mountain.
Our first day’s excursion sees dad driving Abby put to our Meadowbrook cart, together with my good friend Marl and me riding our mares. We split off after awhile so dad could do extra trotting (his big love of driving is being able to trot without getting a sore butt!) Marl and I were out maybe 3 hours mostly walking the mares.
Marl on CC. Though she loves the outdoors, Marl must protect herself from sun exposure due to a serious sun allergy.
Well don’t you know, after we got back we noticed Marl’s quarterhorse mare, CC, holding up a forefoot in her stall and SHE was acting lame. So for the next two days that mare was rested, and on the third day we took her out again in some borrowed EasyCare hoof boots, which made her comfortable enough that she didn’t limp. Since no injury was visible, our guess was she had either bruised her sole or else her brand new shoes had a nail gone awry.
Both the mares we brought were barefoot in Acadia for the first time. Abby, our former percheron/morgan mare borrowed for this trip, had been barefoot since the previous winter. Her new owner Kim was maintaining her with barefoot hoof trimming, stone gravel around the barn, and careful use.
Ron tagged along on his bicycle, working much harder than we did.
Though Abby’s soles were pretty well callused, she was still a little ouchy on the packed gravel/stone dust carriage roads after her first day out, and so was my mare. So most of our week there we went slow with the horses, doing our trotting only on softer areas of roads where the draft teams had pulverized the surface, and on the limited sections of grass carriage roads.
Driver’s view behind Abby, with Connie in front. Note coping stones along side of carriage road.
We met a natural hoof trimmer, Susan Walker, while there, and she was kind enough to check our horses’ feet and Marl’s mare. Susan showed us the Old Mac G-2 hoof boots she had on her own barefoot horse.
Returning into Wildwood from the carriage road access.
We were told that the carriage road surface is so abrasive that the draft horses used for the commercial carriage rides are reshod every 5 weeks INCLUDING borium studs in their shoes to help slow down wear. So those conditions were very rough for barefoot horses. Next year we’ll be better prepared with hoof boots for both our guys.
Ron soaking Micah’s laminitic feet; Micah is a very tall morgan horse, age 16ish.
One of our daily horse chores, even on vacation when you take your horses along with you!
In spite of unusual horse issues, we and our friends had a good and relaxing time. Our weather was perfect; Marl rode out on Abby one day; hubby played golf a couple of times; and Marl’s hubby Ron rode his bicycle and gave us stiff competition in Scrabble and backgammon and soaked his horse’s feet.
Hubby the chef smoking a chicken for dinner (rough life huh!)
Overlooking Bar Harbor and Frenchman’s Bay from one of Mount Desert Island’s peaks.
Each evening was a shared camp dinner. The hubbies cooked our dinners and we ladies cleaned up dishes, afterwards enjoying the congenial warmth of the campfire.
My Arabian mare’s lovely kind eye.
See more Acadia National Park scenics and horse carriage pictures on Blog at Acadia National Park Maine scenes
See also Colt in Acadia on the blog, posted 07.28.06 for when we took Gilford to Maine at 3 months of age. Baby colt in Acadia
For information about Acadia National Park:
Acadia Park website
AcadiaMagic.com
Wildwood Stables at Acadia
For reservations, stabling and camping at Wildwood see www.acadia.net/wildwood/
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
ANNOUNCING– by popular demand–
So many folks have asked about my original photographs that I have decided to release a great many of my HORSE PHOTOS and others taken over the years. I take these photos because I enjoy it so much, I use them as studies for paintings and art prints, and some are sold commercially.
Newborn foal with Arabian mare, sample of mare and foal pictures for sale by Connie Moses. GO TO PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS of horses and more for sale.
Included in these PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT GALLERIES are:
Foals and young horses– including newborn foals and just horsin’ around
Horse Life– my favorites
Boston Reflections– grouping of 4 or individual art photos
Tom Curtin Clinics in N.H.– colt starting & horsemanship
Shaker Village, Canterbury, N.H.
Portrayed are my own horses and others who catch my fancy, in horse shows, on carriage roads, in barns and pastures. Also to be included are artsy New England shots, in celebration of our lovely little corner of heaven.
I will be adding many more photos on an ongoing basis, such as:
Carousel horses
Dogs and pets
Lake Winnipesaukee views, lots of sunsets
Maine scenes, harbors and shorelines
White Mountain scenics
Seasons of New England
Antique wooden boats, with our very own GarWood
Antique automobiles
——-
So check back often before Christmas!
My online ordering service (Printroom) is professional, fast and efficient. Galleries are searchable for your convenience, and you may apply custom cropping if desired. Prints are available at 5×7, 8×10, and 10×12 sizes on quality photographic paper suitable for framing. Pricing starts at $9 and discounts are available.
Also offered are photo-imprinted mugs, tote bags, T-shirts, photo puzzles, mouse pads, and fridge magnets — with any photo you choose!
Please check out Connie Moses’ Picture Galleries, and please return for the holidays to see new images added for your selection! Thank you for looking.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– website since 2001:
PortraitsWithPets.com (homepage) aka PortraitsWithHorses.com (art galleries)
Labeled photographs here are of our young horse’s sole abscess, left hind foot, after it broke through at the outside of his heel bulb (see Horse lame from hoof abscess LINK.) I know many horse people are interested in hoof abscesses so I have posted these symptoms and treatment details and time elapsed. The horse is a 3 yr.old Arabian/percheron gelding who has never worn horseshoes and has basically good feet; he is used lightly for riding and driving.
Symptoms, treatments and timetable follow under the 3 photos…
DAY 32: Sole abscess, just over 4 weeks after it broke through at outside heel bulb left hind foot
DAY 34: Another view nearly 5 weeks after abscess breakthrough, indicating area where sole layer is separated from frog. Farrier was able to insert point of hoof pick under sole flake alongside frog in this area.
DAY 52: over 7 weeks after breakthrough of abscess; sole layer flake has been removed, leaving obvious pocket in sole
Symptoms, treatments, and total time for this sole abscess to run its course and the hoof to heal:
DAY 1: Slight hitch noticed in horse’s gait at the trot (slightly off in hind ie. shows a hiking of one hip,) no obvious wound or swelling, not localized; cold hosings of leg begun, horse taken out of work, still exercised lightly in roundpen.
DAY 5: horse becomes noticeably lame at walk, shows some swelling and heat in pastern and fetlock joint; cold hosing continued, horse has paddock turnout only, no work or roundpen.
DAY 7: Veterinarian exam cannot isolate problem, even with hooftesters. In our case the vet drew blood for a Lyme disease test, due to undiagnosed lameness. Cold hosing continues.
DAY 8: Opening/irritated area appears on outside of heel at coronet, showing redness and small amount of cottage-cheesy-like substance. Swelling is down, heat has reduced. Horse’s lameness is greatly improved. This indicates abscess has broken through to surface and thus started to resolve. Hot water with Epsom salt soaks/sponging is begun, which serves to help draw out the infection and to speed drainage.
OF NOTE: Even though hoof tested the previous day, the horse’s hoof abscess was not pinpointed by the veterinarian. I am told this is not unusual, though it is hard for me to understand.
DAY 12: Irritated area on heel bulb is much better. Horse is now round penned lightly with no lameness symptoms at any gait. Hot Epsom salt soaks continued as a precaution.
DAY 16: Horse is ridable with no lameness; treatment is discontinued. Horse is returned to normal large area turnout and light use.
HOOF REGROWTH–
DAYS 32-34: (see photos above) Farrier is alarmed to note separation of sole from frog; breaking off of small chunk of hoof wall has occurred. Daily irrigation of sole/frog separation with hydrogen peroxide is begun, as precaution against possible infection. (This separation may have been present for quite a while.)
DAY 51: Horse is used on carriage drive wearing Boa hoof boots on (both) hind feet for protection of healing hoof and sole. Horse is fine through three hours of driving including trotting on hard packed dirt and gravel. (We got hoof boots because we were all afraid his hoof was going to just chunk off if not protected, or else get debris driven up into the sole crack.)
DAY 52: (see photo above) Layer of dead sole flake over abscess pocket has been trimmed off, leaving shallow hole in sole where abscess infection was originally located. Hydrogen peroxide irrigation is discontinued.
2 1/2 MONTHS after first symptoms of lameness, hoof sole was completely healed and hoof wall has almost grown back out. Horse has had no lameness since the lamenss caused by the abscess itself subsided. Horse remains barefoot as always.
More abscess information:
An abscess is an internal pocket of infection; it can be caused by a puncture wound, a bruise, or a tiny bit of debris that somehow becomes lodged under the skin’s surface, perhaps even carried there through the bloodstream.
I have heard of sole abscesses from a sole bruise or puncture taking weeks to break through; during that time there may be no clear indications of why the horse is lame. The abscess breaks through wherever it finds the weakest point to work its way out of the body; it might punch through the bottom of the sole, at the top of the hoof’s coronet band, or come back out the puncture channel. As soon as it breaks through, the painful pressure is relieved and the horse’s lameness will begin to improve, sometimes drastically.
An abscess may also occur anywhere else on the horse’s body, usually in muscle or a fatty area, often from a puncture wound, particularly when debris becomes imbedded in the tissue. If able to diagnose before the abscess breaks through to the surface, your veterinarian may put the horse on antibiotics to combat the infection. If able to isolate the pocket of infection, the vet may lance it to drain it. This type of abscess will also be treated with hot Epsom salt soaks so long as it still has draining pus or fluid.
I have treated a puncture abscess in the chest which had tree limb debris in it too tiny to clean out. This abscess took about 2 months to resolve before I could discontinue the hot sponging twice daily.
I have encountered a jawline abscess where the horse had apparently rubbed splinters into itself while scratching its chin on a fence. Another abscess I saw was inside the horse’s mouth in his gum, behind the bars, apparently from chewing on splintered wood. His symptoms were difficulty chewing and tenderness to touch on the outside, resembling an infected tooth.
One other abscess I treated was the result of a severe kick to the meaty part of a mare’s thigh. This kick caused a huge swelling and eventually a melon sized pouch of fluid which had to be lanced and kept open with an insert tube for several days to allow draining. Because of fluid seeking the lowest point, this mare had swelling down into the underside of her abdomen. I THINK this injury was considered an abscess; it had to be treated in the same way with antibiotics and heat soaks. After it eventually healed, the mare would exhibit a sweaty patch on her hide exactly over that spot when she got heated.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
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