Recording sweat pattern
Continued from Part One…
Pulley buttons removed
New cable
Loop for the pulley button
Inserting the back side of the pulley button
Cable run back through the shell
Cables run through the new cable clamp
The reassebled boots
WordPress is croaking on the image laden post, so I’ve cut it into part one and part two.
I traded a pair of size 0 Renegades for a pair of size 1. The 1s were too large for Lily. The cable clamps turned out to be stripped or jammed. Whichever it was didn’t matter. I couldn’t adjust them. The only way to fix it was to replace the clamps and cables. I searched the Renegade site and the web for instructions, but found nothing. So I just went for it, taking photos along the way. I thought that it would be worthwhile to post this How To.
The tools I used
The spart parts
Boot- cleaned with the heel captivator liner removed.
The first cable cut off
The shell with all the cables and straps removed.
Cable clamp pried out showing the adjustment screws (and mud).
Cable clamp with stuck cables removed.
I thought I would put up a How To today on tying up tails for the winter. I’ve done this most years here in wet, western Oregon. Vinnie’s tail had started to get clods of adobe permanently building up on the end of his tail. They can become heavy, get caught on branches and even pull out large sections of tail. Vinnie’s tail already touches the ground. Add a few inches of mud to sink into and I’ve got a problem… I’ve found this to be an excellent solution.
Start with a relatively clean tail. I washed, combed and conditioned both Lily & Vinnie’s tails, thanks to abundant free samples of Eqyss Premier Cream Rinse Conditioner from my local feed store. I’ve liked all the products from this company that I have used so far. I’ll see how their tails look when I take them down in a few weeks. Vinnie was my model today, since his tail is so nicely multi-colored.
You will need a strip of fabric. I use the end of a turban, handy for me, but likely not for the average horse owner. Any lightweight cotton fabric will do. Mine was about 50″ long and maybe 3″ wide. Locate the end of the tail bone and section the tail into three parts. Take the middle of the fabric strip and run it behind the tail with each side running along two braiding sections.
Braid the tail, holding it down toward the horse’s hocks and the ground, incorporating the fabric into the braid. If you don’t hold the tail downwards, your braid will not hang nicely or will have a bulge on the underside. I leave about 10″-12″ of unbraided tail. This will be left open when the mud knot is finished. Wrap the fabric once around and tie. You should have about 6″ or more fabric left for the next step.
If you don’t want any loose hair, you can braid to the end of the tail. You will either need a longer piece of fabric or braid half way before adding the fabric in. Either way you need some fabric left at the end.
Open a space in the braid at the top, just under the end of the tail bone.
Thread the end of the braid through this space from the underside.
Run one fabric end through the space and wrap them around the tail, so that they can be tied into a square knot. Be sure to stay below the end of the tail bone. We don’t want to damage any of the living part of the tail by putting pressure on it.
Lay the open, brush end of the tail flat against the front of the, now folded, braid. This is a side view of the bundle just before wrapping in vetwrap. I cover the entire braided portion, making a point of not covering the loose end or the tail bone.
If I were going to wrap the entire tail, I would make the bundle longer, just folding the braided end of the tail up. It would then get covered in vetwrap.
The end result – a much shortened tail that will stay clean and protected from the mud!
Unless my work falls apart, I plan to leave their tails up for 3-4 weeks. I’ll take them down, check them and likely put them back up. It will be interesting to see how long they grow over the winter. I may need to do some trimming come springtime.
For more photos of them enjoying the nice grass, visit my Flickr page. It was a really lovely day and they enjoyed some time in a new paddock. Their paddock was getting gravel added around the gate.
As some of you may know, I’ve tried been thinking about restricted, free access hay feeders for a while. Here is the first try and the update. So, I was still looking for an easy to use solution that worked for me, the horses and the barn staff.
I heard about using hockey netting for making large (and small) hay nets on an email list (a sister list to the EquineCushings yahoogroup). A link was posted to Arizona Sports Equipment. I went ahead and ordered eight linear feet of ten foot wide netting. It cost me under $30.
I meant to make two large nets for my horse’s stalls. The first one took me about thirty minutes, the next fifteen. I cut the net in two for pieces about 5′ x 8′. I hooked the short end to the stall bars with cheap aluminum carabiners from Target. Next was folding them in half and lacing up the sides with baling twine. I used bright red for one and blue for the other. I trimmed about two feet off one net, so that it wouldn’t drape on the floor when empty. The other I left alone. I wanted to see how each would work.
Yes, I need to trim the hay string off at the bottom. I couldn't find the scissors.
She took about 30 seconds to be happily munching away.
Lily pawed at the net at first, but soon gave that up. She seems more contented now too. I ended up liking the shorter net better for the stall. I think that the larger net will work for a whole bale in the pasture. I’ll find out about that this weekend….
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