Hooves Fit for a Mule

Pretty Mule Hoof,  isn't it nice?!

Finally!  A pedicure fit for a mule!  It's about time, my toe nails have needed trimming for a little while and what with Christmas and things I've had to wait for Hoof Man to come and whisper sweet nothings to me while he makes my hooves pretty and nice!

I knew something was ahoof as FH had taken special care to pick out our feet yesterday morning (this is normally done in the afternoon when they're full of mud).  Lovely Hoof Man arrived, I had to check he was up to the job as usual so swished a lot, pulled my grumpiest ears and danced around a bit.  Nah, didn't put him off so that was fine, time to settle down and enjoy the treatment.  A girl likes a man who's in charge.... sometimes ;-)

So Hoof Man spent time making my hooves look lovely, he said they are just perfect, no problems here, well duh... I AM A MULE!

Lots of my friends feet are struggling with the nasty wet weather, too much rain is making frogs disintegrate, abscesses pop up everywhere, their white lines are separating and it's all a horrid mess with lame equines....  I don't like to brag my friends but.... my feet are rather delectable aren't they?

Here in the UK there are lots of people that say you shouldn't have any equine with white feet as they will be weak, you especially shouldn't have an equine with white feet barefoot.  Hmmm I laugh in the face of their advice - FH says I should be more humble, me? Nah!

My back hoof is a different shape to my fronts

What's the secret of my perfect feet?

1/.  I am a mule - hybrid vigour, no explanation needed
2/. Regular pedicures from Hoof Man who knows how to trim long ears' feet
3/. Good nutrition with all my vitamins and minerals supplied, sadly not enough goodies like starch and sugar (FH says E numbers for mules are banned)
4/. Regular hoof care - FH picks out our feet every day without fail.  All of the mud and stones are removed every night before bed or after each ride.  This lets all the gaps dry out.
5/. Hardstanding - we are all brought in to bed each night and stand on concrete or clean bedding.  When the weather is so bad, us long ears are a bit prone to problems when there is so much mud and rain as we have here in the UK
6/. The Secret Weapon - WORK, yeah ok I know this is my favourite thing but really it means that my feet stay in tip top condition!  Lots of work on varied terrain seems to keep my feet tough and growing healthily. I knew work was good!

Just to prove a point I got out and about this morning to test my petite mule hooves out in all paces - very nice it was too :-)

Nice trimmed mule hooves, lovely!

The boys had their feet done too.  The Mini takes a bit of time to settle for Hoof Man, he is still a little nervous of having his toe nails trimmed but strokes and treats seem to do the trick.  I have to say that The Mini's feet are probably even tougher than mine, they have the consistency of hardwood, dense and solid!  He has such divine little feet we think you'll agree?  Finally Roller was last.... as always Roller took the relaxed view of foot trimming and proceeded to fall asleep.  We're not sure he even noticed....  he did notice his 'well done' carrot though!  Sorry no pics of Roller's perfect Shetland feet, it was a little bit dark for the camera under his tummy with all that fluff, we promise to get some better ones soon.  Suffice to say his feet are very good and nearly as big as mine, strange hey?

Lovely Mini Mule Feet

Barefoot Mule Perfection

Greetings Muleteers!  Why try to improve on perfection?  When it comes to shoes I am definitely in the no shoes gang!  This week has seen FH out of action with a sore back, it would appear that too much lifting of mule’s gold and the wrong equipment have broken her...

You humans are very peculiar always trying to make something better, faster or just more *perfect*!  I am a little confused sometimes; in most cases millions of years of product development have led us all to have the perfect tools for the job, my ears are mulificent, my coat shines like the sun and my hooves have built in traction control.  Which leads me on to shoes! 

There are those amongst us that are obsessed with shoes – Ro-Land cannot get enough of these fashion items and spends half his life licking and admiring any shoes that appear (to be fair most of his world is below humans’ knees so we think he might not realise that the talking end is the head!).  I have been wondering if FH’s problem is due to her shoes?  If you wear the wrong thing for too long it is only a matter of time until something goes ping!  She has an interesting array of shoes, some that are practical and some that are just a bit daft. 

Whatever happened to bare feet?  You’ll see that mine are very beautiful and perfect for the job!  I have the best of donkey feet and the best of horse feet and never need any help on rough surfaces.  I do feel sorry for most of the short ears that are my neighbours as they have metal attached to their feet, and can you believe it they have them burnt on, goodness me that’s brave!  Not even glamorous shoes like FH – METAL!  No wonder they slip and slide down the road outside our stables, it must be like walking on ice.  I do know that some of them can’t manage on the rough surfaces that I do as they are not quite as tough (aka not mulificent) but I’m sure that not all of them need those bits of metal on their beautiful hooves.  FH says it takes work and good management to ensure a short ears can manage without shoes, I guess that not everyone can be as naturally superior as me ;-)

FH also says that there are not many farriers in the UK that like the idea of shoeing a mule.... hmm I don’t know what she means?  I shan’t ponder it too long though as there’s no way I want any bits of bling near my heavenly hooves.

The classic Fisk poster - Time to Re-Tire, says it all!

I am off to put my best foot forward, and look no shoes!