Lost

I don't know how a thrown shoe can become so totally and completely lost in the arena footing, but Phantom's left front is hiding somewhere in the tanbark.

We did a walk-and-talk with Gen and Zorro as our warm up. Zorro, clever man, has an infected cut just above his coronet band. He's on the mend and the initial swelling is down. The vet prescribed antibiotics and recommended stall rest and walking (hand or ridden) so Gen hopped on bareback today for a stroll.

Sidebar: Do vets get their yucks by recommending hand walking a stall-bound horse? "Stall rest (snigger, snigger) for your horse accustomed to daily turnout and hand walking (guffaw) once a day."

After Gen and Zorro's departure from the arena, Phantom and I went to work. For a change, we shared the arena with three other boarders. It was nice to have company and the activity to divert Phantom's attention from the open end gate (tractor access) that is always closed. Took awhile to get bits of round trot, and his left lead canter was a challenge since I'm again weighted to the right side of the saddle. But we handled the distractions for a decent ride. It wasn't until I dismounted and headed back to Phantom's stall that I noticed he had a "flat."

And of course, this was just minutes after the shoer had packed up and left for his next appointment.

I recalled that Phantom had tripped pretty good at one point during my ride, which made me wonder if that's when he caught the shoe. Whatever he did, he removed it cleanly. He just had a trim and reset on Tuesday, so his bare foot doesn't even look like there had been a shoe on it. *sigh*

So after I turned out Phantom I went on a search and rescue mission in the arena. I started in the vicinity where I recalled the trip. I dragged my feet, kicked tanbark, you name it. Not a glimmer of metal. I expanded my search but found nothing. The single aught shoe apparently had gone to ground.

I gave the barn crew a heads up to keep an eye out for a shoe during their arena maintenance chores. The shoer will be back out on Monday so he will remedy the situation then.

But I'm still shaking my head in wonder that a thrown shoe can disappear so quickly. Imagine the surprise of the individual living in the parallel universe where Phantom's shoe appeared suddenly out of thin air!