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The worst foot was the left front which had about a 4 inch area of 
separation and the right front had a place about 1 inch. Blue is 
barefoot and wore no boots of any kind. I do not believe it was an 
abscess. I think Heidi might be closest with the stress crack theory 
but maybe the sand irritated it enough to make it pop open at the 
ride instead of show up after. The blood may have been from something 
he hit in the sand but that is what caused me to look under the 
hairline, I wonder if we only see the stress cracks after a ride 
because who looks under the hairline on a regular basis? As I 
mentioned I had noticed him having horizontal cracks in the past 
after 2 other rides last year that were in the sand but at Biltmore 
which was terrain he was used to it did not happen and it has never 
happened on our mountain training runs. At the other rides the trails 
were mostly packed sand but at this ride there was a lot of deep sand 
as well as areas of hard packed. He has a big stride and pounds the 
ground pretty good with his front feet when he lands. I'm wondering 
if pounding the flat sand instead of going through the more varied of 
the mountains caused it, then add the deep sand. He is also a thin 
skinned grey and gets scratches on a regular basis by the end of a 
ride especially if there is sand.
I've been hosing his feet with cold water and applying Neosporin just 
to prevent any infection. It looked a lot better today but was still 
pretty tender. I guess he is resting for a bit. Time to get Rose off 
maternity leave and back on the trail! She has black legs and tough skin!
Nancy Sluys

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again!"
             (Roy Rogers & Dale Evans)
                                           _\/
                                        O O

              ,--/
        _ ___/ /\|      Nancy & Bill Sluys
    ,;`( )__, )  ~      Westfield, NC
   //  //   '--;        http://www.bobvillemusic.com
   '   \     |           http://www.myspace.com/nancysluys
                     http://www.myspace.com/pilotmountainbobcats




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