How big was Crackers? He looks the same size as Oatie and I have a terrible time finding boots for Oatie, he has glue on shoes now. Crackers was a cutie! I love bays.
What kind of boots did you get, another pair of Justins?
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He was 12.2. I had been getting him shoes on the front. My farrier loved him because she had to make his tiny shoes on her forge. She enjoyed doing it. But it was expensive, and I never kept shoes on him in the winter because it was so slick in our corral when it was snowy or wet. He would get ouchy out on the road without shoes. So I switched to boots. I hated those things. They loosened up constantlyāI swear I spent more time out of the cart tightening them than I did driving. I eventually donated them to a rescue that had ponies. They were glad to get them, so I guess it was a good thing. I also gave them Saltās biothane harness and all my whips. They bought Saltās cart.
The boots I bought for me recently I think are Big 5ās own brand. Iād never heard of them before. I would have loved another pair of Justins, but couldnāt find lace up ones with a bit of a heel. I bought the Justins with the heel so I could ride Sassy in them as well as driving in them or just generally working around the horses. I donāt need to worry about slipping through a stirrup any more, but I still prefer a bit of a heel, even with rubber or whatever they are soles.
Rebecca
I was right! Oatie is 12.2! I can never find much of anything to fit him properly except blankets. Heās has never had a halter that was a perfect fit and bridles the same. I spent so much money on boots for him over the years and could never find anything that really worked for more than just standing around or grazing.
Never heard of Big 5ās. I hope they are comfy for you.
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My GoTo boots for driving are custom Dehners pull-on paddock boots, circa 2002.
Theyāre starting to show their age, but I slather on Black Rock conditioner & 
Our weather is nutz here too.
Today high 60s, tomorrow 70, but both have 50% chance for thunderstorms. Just when the mud was starting to dry 
Wednesday 30 
Thursday 45
Wash, rinse, repeat into next week 
Wishing you & @M_al weather to Drive On!
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Hello all, for some reason I wasnāt noticing there was activity on this thread until I got called out! It was for sure a rough weekend with non-horse related āreal lifeā stuff going on, so I was OK taking the day off, although we probably wouldnāt have gone to Oz, it wouldnāt have been terribly pleasant with flying arena dirt, etc.
If we can pull it off this upcoming Saturday it looks like 64 degrees. Sunday 48 - my vote is Sat! 
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Big 5 is a huge sporting goods storeāmaybe you donāt have them in your area? But I looked at the box my boots came in, and I think the brand is actually Hi-Tec. They are menās hiking boots so they can fit my wonky toes.
I used to struggle to find stuff for Crackers that fit. His halter was a weanling size. The harness and cart were something my original trainer found. The harness and cart were perfect for him. I think they may have been mini size, which seems like it would be too small, but they were fine.
I had Cavallo boots for Salt, which fit him perfectly but he hated them. I sold them to someone on COTH (canāt remember who as it was many years ago). They were the smallest ones Cavallo made at the time. Salt had tiny feet, too, but bigger than Crackers.
We had two carts because I didnāt want to mess with changing out the shafts when I was driving both ponies all the time. We ended up scavenging parts off one cart to fix the other after I got hit by the car. The two carts were identical except for the shafts. Unfortunately, DH had already taken the wheels off Crackersā cart to the dump when I had the crash. We drove to an ex Amish guy in Indiana or Illinois to get a new wheel to replace the one that got squished by the car. I was glad the shafts hadnāt gotten hit because those were horse sized due to Saltās huge barrel. He was a bg horse on pony legs.
Rebecca
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Iām sure your horses donāt know whether to shed or not. Those weather changes are tough. Stay safe with the thunderstorms!
Rebecca
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My vote is for Saturday as well. Iāll send a group text to schedule it after I think sheās done grooming dogs for the day.
Rebecca
Currently watching local news reporting a tornado touchdown & hoping the storm keeps tracking North of me 
My area has a Tornado Watch, but weather service doesnāt list my town among those in the Watch.
Temps are supposed to.plunge from todayās 70s to 20s tonight.
I worry about the effects of the wild barometric pressure on the horses.
The only āsafeā space in the house is the room my sump pump sits in the basement.
Or my BR closet.
Ways to occupy my mind until the storm passes, thinking how to corral 2 housecats if I need to shelter.
Fun times 
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Hi-Tec is one of the few boots I can wear! Those and Anodyne. I may have spelled that wrong. My feet are so warped at this point itās a nightmare finding boots.
Danās mini barely fits between the shafts, it can be a pretty close fit when heās out of shape, he has a pot.
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Tornados are scary for sure. Weāve always had a safe place to go, but itās never been comfortable. The one in South Carolina was under the stairs, and it was so cramped. Here our garage is pretty safe. We can get under the stairs in the garage, but thereās so much stuff there weād have to move out. Tornados arenāt common here, although one of the biggest ones in Colorado was just a couple of miles from where I live now.
Stay safe!
Rebecca
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Once again, dodged the bullet 
Storm veered off to the North, touchdown in NW IL, nothing here in IN.
Some lightning, little thunder, both gone quickly.
Horses were fine just now, though horse was NQR when I was out to check at 8ish.
He got banamine sublingual, felt good enough to fight me on that & checking his gums
But decent gut sounds & no temp.
Just now a pile in the stall - his by size, though less than Iād like - & eating hay.
The other 2 were fine.
So, I can sleep tonight 
HORSES!
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Glad all was well!
Rebecca
