Weekly Recap

Sophie was great this week. I worked her twice more... once she just got led down to stand in the arena and watch while another horse got ridden. She had such an easy day because Zoey got worked! The second time I put her in the round pen for a few minutes. She is moving really good right now... really relaxed and loose through her back! I put a line on her: she remembered walking around me in a circle and staying out on the circle when she stopped. She's super smart and I'm loving how quickly she picks things up and retains them!

I sat on Zoey the day I worked her. She acted like she hadn't missed a day of work in the past three years. I'm trying to decide if I want to send her to the colt starter again or just get her going myself. If I wasn't so out of shape I would just do it myself but...I am DEFINITELY out of shape! I would bet money on her not doing a thing wrong but, on the slim chance she does, I'm pretty sure I don't want to be the one sitting on her. 

I've got some drama going on with where the horses are boarded. Can't say much about it right now but I am trying to figure out if it warrants a move. I'm super stressed about the whole thing and really just want it to be resolved one way or the other! Clayton worked last night so I've got both kids right now and I'm trying to work on some options while keeping them both alive. It's not going very well... the options part, that is. Both kids are alive and well!

Yearling Adventures

It's probably about time to resurrect this blog. Things with Zoey didn't quite pan out like I had originally planned. I started her during her 3yo year and got pregnant... so she sat. And sat. And sat. And then I started nursing school. So she sat some more. And then I figured... what the hell, you might as well do something productive. So then she got pregnant. And then she sat some more.

Here we are now... spring of her 7 year old year. I'm not sure how she's seven! On the plus side, if I ever get around to riding her she should be super sound! Her baby, Sophie, turns a year old in two days. She is such a sweet yearling. Reminds me so much of Zoey. The plan is to show her this fall in the LL and in-hand trail. I think it would be nice to start blogging about her progress. I don't really have anyone to tell all the small details of her training sessions and it helps me to talk things out! 

I have been trying to keep her training sessions short and interesting. Sophie is SO much like her mother. She is super smart, which could be a positive or a negative! She's been that way ever since she hit the ground. When I halter broke her at a few days old I did two 5 minute sessions and she had it after that. She's been the same way with everything I've asked her to do now. Forcing myself to not ask very much of her has been my biggest obstacle! I knew I didn't want to work her much at all in the round pen... no reason to stress those baby joints.

She preferred to go to the right at first. Going to the left she would stop and turn back to the right. I corrected her once and made her go left and, as soon as I got any sort of try from her, praised her and let her stop. After doing that twice I put her up for the day. The next week when we worked in the round pen she needed one slight reminder and then she was perfect. It's like she needs to be shown the right way and then have time to sit and process it. 

Another example is trotting in hand. I got her to do it one session and then put her up. The next time as soon as I kissed she trotted off. I think she is going to be so cool! She's the type of horse that will really try for you when she knows what you want and she likes you. 

I went out today and she nickered and trotted to me as soon as I walked in her pen. I love that she would leave her friends to come see me... reassures me that she is being worked appropriately vs getting sour and not wanting to leave her buddies to go work! It was SO windy today so I decided to do the round pen first. She was awesome. I clipped a lunge line on her for the first time and asked her to just walk a circle around me. She did really well to the right and, after a little work for her to understand that I didn't just want her to move her hindquarters, did well to the left as well. I walked her over a few poles in the arena, let her watch H ride, and then trotted her twice in hand. She was delightful today! 

A Year and a Day

I was contemplating my lack of dedication to this blog while browsing through some old posts. I noticed that February 28, 2012, was the date that Zoey first had a saddle on. That was exactly a year ago yesterday. The year has absolutely flown by...so many things have changed in my life as well as Zoey's life.

Here is a summary of what Zoey has been doing for the past year (and a day). It is quite a short summary. She has had less than ten rides, all of which she has been decently well-behaved for. She had her first mounted walk around the arena. It did not end in her running around and leaping through the air so we will count it as a success. She bucked for the first time with me on her when she got spanked with the ends of the reins after deciding not to move forward in the round pen. Luckily, she seems like she is going to be one that just leaps straight up into the air and comes down in the same spot.
She has spent the last year and a day being a young horse. She learned to stand tied in her stall and on the walker (although it was a rough lesson!), learned to wear a bit and ground drive, learned to get a bath, learned to lead with some semblance of manners. She learned to destroy jumps when turned out in the jump field and how to dig holes in the same jump field when she is bored. She has spent the past 12 months and a day growing...she is a solid 16.1hh at her hip and running downhill right now.

 

 

I love this mare. She makes me remember what it feels like to be attached to a certain horse and to genuinely appreciate them for their quirks and personality. I don't ever mind odd little things in my horses but, with all of my young horses that I ride for my job being for sale, their odd idiosyncrasies tend to get translated into "Well, that will turn a potential buyer off" and "This behavior needs to be eliminated so that they are marketable". I also have a tendency to not get too attached because all of these horses are here on a temporary basis. I find myself genuinely enjoying Zoey for who she is, not for how marketable she is or how talented. (Of course, it does help that she is gorgeous and great-legged and super cute...look at that picture up there!).

 



She has her crazy, wild-ass moments...this sums them up nicely!

 

 



I had a well-known, very successful AQHA hunter trainer come out to the barn the other week to look at some sale horses. He wanted to see Zoey, so I pulled her out and put her in the round pen. He really liked her...she was actually his favorite. I think she is really special, so it is always nice to hear validation of that! He asked me to think about what I would take for her, money-wise. I have a policy that everything is always for sale for the right price...but it would have to be a crazy high offer on this one. I want her to stick around for a while.

We have a canter!

Today was ride 5ish... It has been at least three weeks since the last ride because work has been crazy and DH and I moved to our new house. She was fantastic! She moved right into a trot when I asked, had decent steering, and we cantered today for the first time! She cantered right off when I kissed (good mare!). She tossed her head just a little but no bucking, leaping around, or acting stupid. Such a superstar. Her canter is big... She is going to be so cool!

I have a video on my phone but I am not smart enough to upload it. I will try to figure it out but here are some pics to hold you over!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=E0jdIn3vMOM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DE0jdIn3vMOM%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

Big news!

Zoey had her first and second rides...she was a rockstar! The first ride was very simple; she was on a rope and got led around for most of it. The second ride involved some trotting. No leaping through the air, no squealing, and no acting like an idiot. I was so proud! I was very optimistic that the first few rides would go like that but observe the following picture:

 

 

 

Do you see why I was a little concerned about being wrong??? Wild thing is quite athletic. I love this mare's attitude though. She is such a bold thing. Nothing scares her and, I think if we go slowly and do not make her dislike work under saddle, that is going to translate into a fantastic fence horse! Plus, she is just so cute.

 

 

 

Other than that, things have been pretty mellow around here. Blake got gelded a few weeks ago-poor lil guy! He recovered really well from it and is bouncing around with his baby buddies enjoying the easy life and brisk winter weather.

 

 



Time for a formal introduction...

Alright, the time has come to make a formal introduction. This story started back in December, when a client (K) sent us three broodmares that had been severely neglected. K had boarded them at the same barn up north as she had her show horses at before sending them to us. She had sent us her show horses a few months prior and had not seen her mares in that time. When she visited, she was shocked to see that the BO had not been caring for her mares. She immediately made arrangements to ship them to us.

All three supposedly-bred mares were in horrible condition when they arrived at our barn. Ribs and hipbones jaunting out, dull coats, and they did not look to be in foal. We immediately had the vet out to assess their condition and check for pregnancy. To our shock, all three mares were still in foal. We vaccinated and dewormed them appropriately and began putting weight back on them. Their arrival was just over two months from their foaling dates, which did not give us much time to get them in better condition!

Unfortunately, the foals they were carrying had already had nutritional deficits during some crucial growth periods in their embryonic development. The first foal born (a filly) ended up in the ICU at the vet clinic for over a week due to her intestinal tract not being fully developed. She recovered fully and is a huge, boisterous weanling now. The third foal born actually ended up being fine-no hospital stay necessary! The second foal, however, was a different story...

Enter Blake.

Pretty cute, huh? His dam, a maiden mare, foaled at 8am and needed some assistance. The little guy had gotten both front legs over his neck and was jammed in there. A little maneuvering on my part and he entered the world. At first glance, he did not look any worse for the wear. He was perky, trying to get up, and, other than being a little small, seemed fairly healthy. His issues did not become apparent until he tried to unfold his little legs and get up.

 

All of these pictures are off the Iphone, so it may be a little difficult to tell exactly what you are looking at. Notice his right leg in the picture and how it is bent. That was the closest that the little munchkin could get to straightening his legs because of how severely contracted his tendons were. Both legs had that severe of a contraction, making it impossible for him to stand. He was so frustrated by this! Every instinct was telling him to get up and find milk but his legs just would not cooperate. I called the vet, explained the situation, and told them we were on the way. I also stripped colostrum from the mare and bottle-fed the foal around 6cc. He was so excited about that! Other Trainer had arrived at this point and was just as dismayed as I was at the situation. Best case scenario was that high doses of oxy-tetracycline would relax his tendons enough for him to stand. Worst case scenario? Well, neither of us wanted to voice that because the thought of having to put down an otherwise healthy foal really tears at your heartstrings.

 

OT and I spent a minute discussing the best option for hauling this maiden mare and foal to the vet. Amy had passed the placenta (intact, thank goodness...that's all we needed at this point!) and was beginning to grow agitated by this small creature in her stall that would not get up. She was very affectionate toward the baby but was starting to really pace around the stall. Being a first-time mother, neither OT nor I were confident in her ability to not smash the non-ambulatory foal during the hour long ride to the vet. We ended up heavily sedating the mare, stripping another bottle full of colostrum from her. We loaded her into the first slot in the trailer, which happens to be separated from the rest of the trailer by a to-the-floor stallion divider.

 

I was concerned about the colt thrashing around in the moving trailer and hurting himself, as he was still actively trying to get up. I ended up riding in the back with him laying across my lap.

 

   

 

You try to not fall head-over-heels in love with an hour old foal who is suckling everything that he can get in his mouth while you attempt to give him a bottle. After he had drank the entire bottle, he fell asleep next to me. My heart melted. We got to the vet clinic and OT opened the trailer to find the colt on my lap with my arms wrapped around him. My words to OT? "I am going to be so, so sad if we have to put him down!"

 

We left him at the vet clinic and spent an anxious day wondering how he was doing. The phone call that evening was not very promising. One of the head vets on the case said she had never seen one with that degree of contraction before and that, although he had relaxed approximately 30 degrees from the first round of oxy-tet, it was likely that he would never stand. The owners opted to give him through the night and re-evaluate in the morning. It is never good to hear the vet suggest that you are still within the timeframe to euthanize and take advantage of the "foal will stand and nurse" clause in the breeding contract!

 

 

 

The next morning, we received this picture and a blurry video of the colt standing with assistance. He continued to improve over the next several days, eventually getting to the point where his NG tube was pulled and he could nurse on his own. He was given the name Blake by the owners once it looked like he had a fighting chance for survival. We picked him up and brought him home, where OT and I changed his PVC splints daily (12 hours on, 12 hours off).

 

Blake and I bonded quite a bit during these bandage changes. I was often pulling them off by myself in the evenings and he was such a doll about them. He would lay with his head on my lap while I cut off the layers of duct tape, vet wrap, standing bandages, and PVC.

 



                     

 

We ended up doing a LOT of work on his legs: PVC splints for weeks, a Dynasplint on and off for a month, and stripping both knees. Today, however, he is 100% sound and his legs are pretty damn straight! He still has a bit of physitis in his knees but the vet is pretty confident that will go down. So far, so good!

 

 

Of course, things look good now but we are not 100% sure that he will be sound to ride, jump, show, etc. Time will tell. The owners had 3 foals from this spring and, rather than pay board on him for the next 2 years only to find out he is not useable, offered him to me. I don't pay board on my horses because of my job, so waiting to see is not a big deal to me. Worse case scenario? He is not sound for hard riding and he spends his life hanging out in the field being a pet. Best case scenario? He makes a great APHA show horse for me. I am fine with either. I just love this one!

 

 

Alrighy, Becky. There you have it. The whole story. It only took me 3 months!

 

Picture post (totally cheating!)

Call me lazy but between school and work and life... I have no time to actually update today. Here are pictures instead! Blake (the mystery colt that I still have to introduce), the hubby and me on our anniversary trip, and Wild Thing herself, looking all grown up.