A Few Random Things

I just thought I would quick share what's been going on with the horses lately:

Melody has been getting round penned three days a week.  She picked up on it pretty quick.  I think she enjoys the work and I enjoy watching her move - what a beauty!

Zoe gave me a great ride last weekend but that's not without a little drama beforehand.  The last few times I've thrown the saddle up on her she's acted like she's never seen the saddle before and FREAKS out.  I did the slow, let her sniff the saddle approach.  I tried the deliberate, don't make it a big deal approach.  Freaks out the same both ways and didn't improve at all.  This has got me thinking about why?  She's muscled up quite a bit now (and gained weight) so I'm wondering if this is her way of telling me that the saddle is too small.  Hopefully tonight I will be able to get the saddle I've been using on her and take a close look.  If that saddle appears to be too small, I will try my other saddle.  I hope I can figure this out soon.  I don't want to ride her in a saddle that's too small...

Star has been doing great!  She hasn't coughed since the medication regime was finished.  She's been staying sound as well so I hope to take her out more often but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day since I work a full time job, have other horses, and have 5 children.  It's a balancing act for sure!

Gunner has had time off.  He's been bucking lately and actually bucked middle daughter off.  She's fine but I would like to get his back checked to make sure it's not bothering him.  I guess it also wouldn't hurt to check the fit of the saddle as well...

Tyson, well Tyson is lame.  He's just not getting any better.  He's another one that the vet is going to come out and take a look at.  I think there's scar tissue in his foot from when he got caught in some wire that's causing his continued lameness.  We'll see what the vet has to say...  But he's in great shape despite his lameness - he plays out in the pasture all the time so he actually has good muscling.  He's such a goof!  He looks great though!!!

I never think to have a camera with me to take some updated pictures - I will try to get better about that!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

A Quick Ride

I took Star out this past weekend.  It was our first ride since her diagnosis.  I had been putting it off for a couple weeks because I didn't want to instigate another big coughing incident. 

It was Friday night.  Middle daughter had already ridden Gunner, who bucked when asked for canter.  His back didn't show any signs of being sore so I'm thinking he's just being a stinker.  I will probably have to get on and see if he tries it with me.  Might also be something middle daughter is doing...  Anyways, back to the story...I had put dinner in the oven so I had an hour until it was done.  I thought to hell with it and got Star out.  She seemed happy that I had chosen her. 

Got her all saddled up and off we went.  She was SLOW as we were leaving the farm but soon she picked up her walk a bit.  My plan was to go visit one of our hay fields that was close by to see if it was ready to be cut.  Like I said, it wasn't far so if she had another coughing fit it wouldn't take long to get home. 

We walked on a loose rein and really enjoyed our quick ride (about 20 minutes).  I never asked her to go faster than the walk and she was fine with that.  Usually she is aching to go faster but not that day - very content to stay at a walk.

We made it to the hay field took a look around and then turned back for home.  Not a single cough the entire ride !  To say I was happy would be an understatement!  The smile on my face didn't come off until my head hit the pillow that night!

In talking with my mother-in-law, she told me that her aunt had a horse with heaves and he came in the barn every night, which I was instructed not to do for Star, and wet down his hay for every feeding.  He would have a coughing incident about once a year and she would treat him with the same medication that I gave Star.  She rode him on trails long after his diagnosis when he was 15ish and he lived to be close to 30 years old!  The key is early detection so I'm feeling very optimistic about Star's diagnosis.

Well, that's all for now!  Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."

-William Penn

Allergic Reaction

I bought a new brand of fly spray, Pyranha.  Has anyone else used this before?  It works awesome...at least it works awesome on Star, Tyson and Melody!  I sprayed each of the horses down and the next day when I went out to do it again, Zoe and Gunner had big patches of puffy fur where I had sprayed them with the fly spray!

I brushed both of them down hoping that maybe it was fluffy fur but nope, the hair stayed and I could feel that the skin was puffy or slightly swollen underneath.  I felt awful!  I guess I will use the rest of this fly spray on the other horses and buy a different kind for the other two until then.

Chalk this one up as another first for me!  Can't say I've ever had a horse have an allergic reaction to fly spray.  Pyranha must be some potent stuff!  I'm actually a little dissapointed because this stuff really worked on the other horses...

Anyone else's horse have an allergic reaction to fly spray??

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Only the educated are free."

-Epictetus

A Patient Farrier

As I've mentioned several times, the farrier came out last week Thursday.  I brought him Zoe first, then Star, then Tyson and then Gunner.  I saved Melody for last because I knew it wasn't going to be easy (Melody Update).

He started with her front foot on her right side.  Of course she did perfect.  He went for her back foot and that's when it hit the fan.  She flew over sideways as soon as he picked her foot up (which she picked up willingly when he asked her) and held it there for more than a split second.  Around and around she went.  I had positioned myself so that she could only go one way and that way the farrier could keep up.  He did great! 

When she stopped, he made quick work of trimming that foot.  He went around to the other side and I warned him this side has always been harder for her.  He didn't think it would be much worse than the side he just did and boy was he wrong!  When he went to pick up her back left foot she kinda kicked out trying to take it back from him.  He asked for an extra lead rope to work with that back foot so he wouldn't get kicked.  He picked her foot up using the lead rope and held it there while she danced around trying to take it back.  Once she finally gave her foot, he released it.  Then he asked for her foot without the lead rope and she did more dancing and when she gave in, he quickly trimmed that foot.

He moved on to her front foot on the left side and she did fine with that.

The thing I really appreciate about our farrier is that he never, not even one time, got upset.  He just stayed with her and was very patient with her.  If he would've gotten upset and got after her about her behavior, the next time he came out or any time we tried to work with her feet she could relate it as a bad experience and could become awful. We will just have to keep working with her and her feet so that the next time the farrier comes out it will go better!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"No person was ever honored for what he received.  Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

-Calvin Coolidge

Sore Gunner

Gunner got the day off on Thursday because the farrier came out.  So Friday we decided to get a ride in during the afternoon because we didn't want to try to ride while people would be starting to shoot off fireworks.

Going back, Wednesday we tried Gunner in the hackmore and he did AWESOME!  So quiet and relaxed!  I have a phone call in for brother-in-law about Gunner's teeth, though.  I would like to know when the last time he had them done just so I can or cannot rule out his teeth as the culprit with the bit.  Don't get me wrong, I will still be scheduling an appointment for his teeth and we will probably continue to ride in the hackmore but I would like to keep him on a better schedule.

Anyways, middle daughter was grooming Gunner before the ride and when she ran the brush over his back he dropped his back out under the pressure.  He's been doing something similar to this ever since we turned him out with Zoe but this time he seemed more tense.  My gut says that Zoe got a hold of him...  Anyways, we decided to try him out and all was going well until middle daughter asked him to canter.  He jumped up in the front end more exaggerated than usual but picked up the correct lead and went around the pen once before she asked him to trot.

She changed directions and when she asked for the canter he gave out a small buck.  Middle daughter stayed in the saddle and didn't really know what happened.  I told her riding was done and to cool him down.  I'm guessing he was too sore.  Poor guy!

Since the ride was cut short, we decided to pamper the little guy and gave him a good shampoo bath.  He has one white sock on his back foot and when we were done it was glowing!  He looked like a million bucks!  Middle daughter took him out to the yard to let him eat while he dried off and he behaved so nicely for her.  What a great little horse he's turned out to be!  I'm hoping that we will be able to keep him for her to ride for 4H...

Anyways, he's gonna get some time off for his back to heal.  If I don't see much progress in a week or so, I'll have to call the chiro and see about getting his back adjusted.  I've never used an equine chiro before...it will be a learning experience for both of us!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion."

-Arnold H. Glasow

Such a Stinker!

I'm talking about Zoe in the title!  Ever since I put her back in work, she's been playing hard to get.  She's only done this once before and it was after my brother-in-law thought he would "help" me with Zoe.

She first started this last week when I tried to put her fly mask on.  And then after that the chase began!  Hubby was trying to convince me to stop and just to let her be but after 5 minutes of not letting me anywhere near her it became a thing of principle!

I opened the gate to the pen next to the horse pasture and started sorting her friends out one by one.  We got down to Zoe and Gunner.  All of a sudden Zoe likes Gunner - as long as he keeps her from getting caught!  Gunner was happy to comply with all of her requests.  Hubby came out to help and was able to get Gunner out of the way and after two more weak attempts to get away, Zoe stood for me.  I simply haltered her and then put her fly mask on and let her go.

The next few times I went to catch her she would play hard to get but gave in after only a couple attempts.  Thursday, when the farrier was there, she was up first.  She pulled the same game as the first time I tried the fly mask!  I ran her into the pen next to the horse pasture and once in there she gave up.

Since then, she hasn't given me any trouble.  I've made an effort at only haltering her and leading her around without any real work involved and then giving a treat before letting her go.  That seems to have done the trick!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."

-Coco Chanel

Melody Update

We've been thoroughly enjoying Melody!  She's such a sweet heart and takes every lesson in stride.  She's been doing so well with leading and picking up her feet that last night when we (hubby and I) were cleaning out her feet we were surprised when she wouldn't give her back feet.  Like at all.  As soon as she picked a back foot up she would lean all the way back and almost fall over!  She did this with both of her back feet.  Only once did she pick up her back foot nicely out of the multiple times trying.  And we couldn't duplicate it.  I thought maybe she was lacking confidence in her ability to stand with only three feet so we put her next to a fence where a pole was for extra support.  At first it worked but it quickly went back to her putting all of her weight on her back feet. 

Apparently the feet lessons need to be repeated.  This happens with young ones...testing out what they can and can't get away with.  Which, did I mention that she started biting again?  She got be good on my shoulder but I told her that was not acceptable in no uncertain terms.  She hasn't tried biting me since.  Anyways, back to her feet.  Because we weren't making any progress we thought maybe we would get her mind off it and give her a new lesson to think about - round penning.

When I first took her off the lead she immediately was more interested in her friends across the driveway.  There was no interest in moving...lol  I got bigger and more intense with my request for her to move out which she finally obliged while charging after the dog.  Dang dog...I didn't see him come in with me and I don't allow him in the round pen with me while working horses.  The horses usually try to run him down and I don't want him or me to get hurt in the process.  I got the dang dog out and got back to work.  She actually was getting the hang of it rather quickly.  Changing directions was a bit sticky but we got through it and called it a day.  She was perfectly calm and had no issues with me hooking her back up to the lead (Zoe always got nervous in her younger years, but she's quite a bit more high strung than Melody is).

Farrier is coming out tonight so we'll see how she does with her back feet...could be interesting!!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time."

-Vince Lombardi

Teeth?

Middle daughter has been riding Gunner everyday now and things have been getting gradually worse.  The first few times middle daughter rode him it was in a halter and lead rope inside the round pen.  It was going very well but he figured out that he could get away with more because she wasn't very strong.  So we decided to put the bridle on.  We used a snaffle because I wasn't sure what he was ridden in so that was a safe place to start.  The first time the bit was in his mouth he was rolling it around with his tongue and shaking his head.  That behavior started to decrease with each ride but then on this past Sunday night he began to bend his head around and touch her toe every time she asked him to go forward, he would constantly pull the reins down, and play with the bit in his mouth again.  Middle daughter was frustrated to tears.  I thought maybe it was something she was/wasn't doing so I hopped on.  Side note: Don't ride in a saddle that's too small for you...it's not comfortable at all!  I'm not a miracle worker by any means but I wanted to see if he would do the same thing with me...he tried and I was able to get him to move out straight but he continued to try to either do tight circles or just bend his head around.  Anyways, while moving around at a walk he continued to try to pull the reins out of my hands (I was riding on a loose rein, by the way) and still played with the bit basically the entire time.

While I was riding, hubby called his brother to find out what Gunner's deal was with bits.  Brother in law said he used a tom thumb when he would ride him.  I'm not convinced that is what the problem is. 

I rode Gunner for a short time with barely any progress.  Middle daughter got back on and the ride wasn't any better for her.  We called it quits because no progress was being made.

I have a hackmore that I might try on him but my hunch is his teeth need to be done.  Hubby forgot to ask his brother about Gunner's teeth but it definitely won't hurt to have them checked.  Zoe and Melody are due for their teeth to be done so I think I will have Gunner's done at the same time.  I'm thinking we'll use the hackmore until I can get them all in.

If not his teeth and the hackmore doesn't seem to do the trick, we'll be back to the drawing board...


Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.'

-David Frost

Ups and Downs

Star completed her medication regime and now I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate to ride her again.  I'm guessing our trail riding days are over and we will have to stay in the front yard for riding - we need to avoid dust as much as possible to avoid an episode.

I rode Zoe everyday this past weekend.  We had one of the best rides we've ever had on Saturday - so relaxed, responsive and willing!  On Sunday when I took her out again I half expected to pick up where we left off on Saturday but I was wrong!!  She was feeling sassy for sure!  She's no longer in heat so I'm not sure what her deal was, it's a mare thing I guess.  She started off by shying away from both the saddle pad and the saddle when I was tacking her up.  She acted like a young horse who has never seen a saddle before, crazy mare!  Then when I took her halter off to put the bridle on, she tried to walk away...seriously.  What was her deal??  I decided to round pen her first and I'm glad I did!  She jumped into the air and did a big buck and then settled down to work.  She must have been feeling pretty good that day!  As I was mounting up she started to walk away so I immediately halted her but at the same time my foot was slipping into the stirrup on the other side and she let out a half buck.  Thankfully, I already had a hold on her and that was all she was able to do.  I have a feeling she did that out of protest of being stopped but feeling my foot on the other side possibly bumping her.  She's the type of horse that lets you know if she thinks you are being unfair or too harsh.

We got to work at a walk, a VERY fast walk.  She was itching to go faster but I wanted it to be when I asked her not when she decided.  This night she was even more connected to me than usual because we were at the point where I would think trot and she would pick it right up.  But whenever I began to think about slowing down she would SLAM on her breaks.  Gotta love the rope horse instinct!

We both got a good workout going before we got back to the point we were the night before; collected, relaxed, willing and listening.  Once there, I called it quits and I think she was ready to quite also.  Overall it was a good weekend of riding but had a rough patch or two!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains."

-Josephine Baker