Tally came into my life a little more than a year ago, and when I first had the dentist out to float her teeth he mentioned that she still had a wolf tooth on the right side of her mouth. At 8 years old, that is a bit unusual – they are generally removed when horses are young as they can interfere with the placement of the bit in the mouth. Hers was impacted – the gum was still over it – so my dentist didn’t want to try to remove it and said she might be OK keeping it, or I may notice that it starts to bother her.
All was well until this spring, when she started to tilt her head and seemed unhappy with my right rein half-halts. I discussed it with my vet during Tally’s annual health exam (part of her ColiCare requirement) and we decided it should come out. It was not quite as easy as we had hoped, but my vet persevered and the wolf tooth came out. A week of R&R for Tally and she was back in action, better than ever – and my right half-halt is now effective without bothering her! Glad we decided to take care of the issue before show season starts, and I’m grateful for my vet’s guidance and expertise. I’m looking forward to seeing Tally progress this summer. We’re starting the season at Beginner Novice in a few weeks, can’t wait!
Jen as a rider: Apparently I've been obsessed with horses since I was born, and I used to beg for pony rides on a regular basis. I started showing in 4-H, progressed to equitation and jumpers in high school and rode on the IHSA team in college where I also discovered the joys of eventing! After graduating I learned how to sit while working for a dressage trainer and now am a committed low-level eventer in the ever-elusive quest to put together three solid phases. Jen as a SmartPaker: I manage SmartPak's Retail Store in Natick, MA - if you are ever in the area, please stop by to say hi and check out all our amazing products in person! We also have a fantastic clearance section with some unbelievable deals. All about Tally: Taliafera is a 9 year old TB/WB chestnut mare and she is just starting her eventing career. She was very green when I got her last year, so we spent a lot of time exploring the great outdoors and learning that the dressage arena is really not that bad. She loves to jump and has gotten quite bold in the XC, so I'm excited to start showing!
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