Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I know it gets colder in other places, but this is the coldest we've ever been. This was at 8:30 this morning.

It was the kind of cold where if you breathe through your nose your nostril hairs freeze!

But it was gorgeous out!

The bad thing was a couple weeks ago I noticed Star's front feet, the ones that were shod, were collecting snow/ice.

Flora's feet and Star's back feet were not collecting snow and ice so I can only think it was due to the metal shoes.

I had to get a hand hoe to knock the snow/ice balls out. A hoof pick just couldn't get it out.

This is a potentially dangerous situation because she was slipping on the ground. Also the bigger buildups put her feet/legs in an awkward, overextended position. Fortunately Star is intelligent and learned to walk very slowly and carefully with the buildup. She stood very still and lifted her feet for me to allow me to knock the ice balls out. Sometimes I had to do this twice a day.

The farrier was out of town until after Christmas so we had to wait about a week before she could get her shoes off.  It was time for them all to be trimmed anyhow.  Now she is barefoot again and no more snow/ice balls in her feet!

I did try to get her shoes off but lacking the proper tools and experience I didn't want to risk the chance of messing her feet up.  It all worked out in the end.

Meanwhile we got our first gardening catalogue and I've been circling different seeds/plants. 

Well, I can dream, can't I?