Nox's new shoes

Nox got new shoes this past Friday.  Dr. Meg, the lameness specialist, prescribed 2 degree lift pads and shoes on his hind hooves, and "eventer" style shoes on the front.  The lift pads will ease the strain on his injured ligament (if a lift pad is on one hind hoof, a lift pad has to be on the other hind hoof) and the eventer shoes are slightly rounded on the edges to help Nox's stride.  Bill, the farrier, spent a little more than 2 hours trimming Nox's hooves, shaping and pounding the steel shoes, and fitting them perfectly to Nox. 

Nox was very antsy after only a week of stall rest, and he was even less pleased at having his hooves messed with for hours, but I managed to take a picture of Bill filing the edge of a hoof.  Hooves are like very thick fingernails, and so trimming and nailing a shoe into them doesn't hurt.  It's like clipping and filing your own nails - as long as you don't hit the nail bed, it's fine.

Nox still has several weeks of stall rest to go.  His next appointment for an ultrasound isn't until the first week in January, and I have to keep him in cooped up in his stall until then!  He nudges my arm while I groom him in his stall, trying to convince me to open his stall door and let him out.  I feel terrible that I can't, but it's for his own good!  Last night was the first really cold night we've had, with a low of 10 degrees and snow, and so I put his winter blanket on before I left the barn.  He's warm and cozy in his stall, and hopefully healing well.