Just thought I would document how the farrier visit went...
First up was Melody. She's been doing good with picking up her feet for us most days so I figured we would start with her since she would probably be the worst one of them all. I needn't worry because she did excellent! Stood there patiently while the farrier did his work. The only thing that surprised me was when he first approached her she did a big spook away from him. I think he must've looked funny to her with his chaps and tools in hand. She settled down and he was able to get her done.
Star was no issue...never is!
Gunner stood like a good boy. Sometimes he pulls his feet away but this time he waited until his feet were given back before he put them down. Good boy!
Tyson also was a good boy. I was particularly interested in what the farrier thought about his feet. Ever since Tyson's accident at my brother-in-law's house (which was why he came to live with us), he's never been sound. He's been getting around pretty good in turnout but I like to hear from a professional what they they think about him. The farrier said Tyson's feet looked surprisingly good! He said if he seems comfortable that we should start riding him again! Seriously? I haven't given that the all clear yet but I think I will saddle him up and give him a schooling in the round pen to see how he goes. I'll decide after that if he can be put back to work after that.
All in all, it was a great time with the farrier. It's been too long since he was last out so it was fun to catch up with him again - he likes to talk a lot so he (and his wife) stayed for 2 hours! Good people!
Well, that's all for now!
Until next time,
Lynell
Showing posts with label Farrier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Farrier. Show all posts
Friday, May 22, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
A Visit
I got invited to see Zoe in June...CAN'T WAIT!!!
Ok, actually they invited me to their daughter's (not T) graduation open house but still...I can see Zoe!
In other news, the farrier is finally able to get to our house on Friday to trim. He got sick over the winter (a bad case of pneumonia) and has been playing catch up all spring. So Friday is our turn!! I hope he's able to stay healthy and keep us in his schedule!! Along with playing catch up, he's moving right down the road from us...how convenient!! ;-) So needless to say, he's been very busy this spring.
Melody has been feeling great! So great, in fact, that she has decided to try biting people again. She got my youngest on her little wrist! My youngest was at her pen and had her hands resting on one of the boards when Melody put her head down to "sniff" and ended up biting her! I'm thinking that she was looking for treats so we have put a stop to feeding her treats. Plus, whenever I lead her out of her pen, she stops (with her butt only half way through the gate) and puts her head down to eat. What a pain!! I need to break her of that habit ASAP!!!!!
Star has been doing so well! She's been prancing, playing and kicking out while in turnout with Melody. Acting like a 2 year old! But her age caught up with her yesterday because after her little playful bout with Melody, she ended up getting sore on her back leg. This morning she was fine again...no swelling or heat. So we will chalk it up to a mystery injury while playing....
Not much to report on Tyson. He's in turnout with Gunner and the two seem to be happier without Zoe keeping them in line. They zoom around with each other a lot more than they used to, Zoe must've been a tough lead mare!!
I took the pictures for T's dad of Gunner. He's one of those horses that I just couldn't find a good angle on...so we had a lot of outtakes. It didn't help that it was extremely windy so he was feeling frisky and didn't want to cooperate! Grrr...you be the judge...
Well, that's all the updates for now...
Until next time,
Lynell
Ok, actually they invited me to their daughter's (not T) graduation open house but still...I can see Zoe!
In other news, the farrier is finally able to get to our house on Friday to trim. He got sick over the winter (a bad case of pneumonia) and has been playing catch up all spring. So Friday is our turn!! I hope he's able to stay healthy and keep us in his schedule!! Along with playing catch up, he's moving right down the road from us...how convenient!! ;-) So needless to say, he's been very busy this spring.
Melody has been feeling great! So great, in fact, that she has decided to try biting people again. She got my youngest on her little wrist! My youngest was at her pen and had her hands resting on one of the boards when Melody put her head down to "sniff" and ended up biting her! I'm thinking that she was looking for treats so we have put a stop to feeding her treats. Plus, whenever I lead her out of her pen, she stops (with her butt only half way through the gate) and puts her head down to eat. What a pain!! I need to break her of that habit ASAP!!!!!
Star has been doing so well! She's been prancing, playing and kicking out while in turnout with Melody. Acting like a 2 year old! But her age caught up with her yesterday because after her little playful bout with Melody, she ended up getting sore on her back leg. This morning she was fine again...no swelling or heat. So we will chalk it up to a mystery injury while playing....
Not much to report on Tyson. He's in turnout with Gunner and the two seem to be happier without Zoe keeping them in line. They zoom around with each other a lot more than they used to, Zoe must've been a tough lead mare!!
I took the pictures for T's dad of Gunner. He's one of those horses that I just couldn't find a good angle on...so we had a lot of outtakes. It didn't help that it was extremely windy so he was feeling frisky and didn't want to cooperate! Grrr...you be the judge...
Well, that's all the updates for now...
Until next time,
Lynell
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
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."
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
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
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."
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
Monday, July 7, 2014
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."
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
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