Jack is notoriously high-maintenance. He’s the horse that my vet suggested could actually benefit from individual turnout, because as much as we can possibly bubble wrap him, the better off we are. It’s… time consuming to think about.

So when we recently moved out of the hella-expensive aluminum shoes to a steel alternative, my whole team of pros (vet, farrier, trainers) were watching to see if he could handle the change. It looked like while he was a little more on the forehand (read: less up), he also was moving fairly well.

But this week, both those expensive pour-in pads he had decided to head off to the land of lost things. And all of the sudden Jack is walking much slower down the concrete aisle, and feeling a little short in harder footing. I stuffed his feet full of Magic Cushion and wrapped those babies within an inch of their life, but I’m a bit lost myself. At 4 weeks into his shoe cycle, and with a show in 3 days, what do we do now?

I’m waiting for my farrier to give me a call, and try to make a game plan, but in the meantime, enjoy this pity-party post!