Working with "Love," my new foster horse

Love has been with us for about 2 weeks now, and I have spent a lot of time grooming her, tending to her scars & sarcoids, but had not really worked with her in the ring yet, so I decided today was a good day.

Love has come across as a very sweet mare, who loves attention & grooming, and nickers whenever you come to the barn. She stands well for doctoring and fly spray, but was a little concerned about having her feet trimmed the first time, although she relaxed into it.

We went into the ring and began playing modified "games." The first is the "friendly" game - rubbing them all over with the longe whip, which she stood well for and didn't mind at all. Then you ask them to move away from pressure - both backwards, and yielding hindquarters & the forehand which she did well. Then you ask them to do the same things using rhythm with the stick, which Love understood laterally very well, but did not get the idea of going backwards. With everything, you start with the lightest touch, and increase pressure until they give, at which time you release immediately so they understand what you're asking. What I found is that if I want Love to go backwards, I have to ask her by gently pulling the lead to her chest. No amount of arm waving/dancing the jig in front of her would get her to move her feet backwards. She just wasn't reactive to it. She did lift her head, but that's about it.

So we practiced walking and staying with me - i.e., stopping when I stop, and backing when I back. She is improving stopping when I stop (I have worked several sessions on that so she would be safer around Sammie), but I had to ask her to back by gently pulling on the lead towards her chest again. I was able to make the ask lighter by the end, but no amount of high stepping or chicken wing waving caused her to back.

It was about then that I confirmed to myself that she had not yet ever "chewed" and "mouthed" like she got something since we started. And my question is - why would a horse never do that? Not even if you stop and wait for a minute or two - her lips never moved other than to attempt to grab a blade of grass. Is that from when she was a foal? She came in with 2 other mares that look very similar, and I think she is the youngest ...

We went on to asking her to longe. We started to the left and she was still quiet and nonreactive, and walked nicely to the left. So when we started to the right I was quite surprised when I finally got her to move (which she didn't want to at first - she acted like she didn't know what I was asking and kept following me). When she finally "got it" - she bolted almost right at me - within inches of my body and let out a big buck right as she went by me. She galloped around and finally came back to the walk and stopped. Well that certainly wouldn't do. I asked with the exact same cues on each side, and for some reason, going to the right always started the same way for several times. We stopped and started (and changed directions) quite a few times. She was always quiet to the left, and to the right she started off bolting right past me. We kept repeating, staying relaxed, until she finally gave me more room, and by the end of the session, we did start off with a nice walk without cutting the corner to come right at me. I hoped that I would see a nice licking/chewing response at that point, but still, nothing. Not even as I groomed her and turned her out.

You always wonder what the rescue horses have been through before they come to you. My biggest question is -why does she not have the licking/chewing response? It is the "signal" that all natural horsemen look for, and I did not see it once. It makes it hard to judge when she "gets" something. Any thoughts?

God's Plan Revealed

I wrote about 2 months ago that God stepped in when I went to pick up a horse from a seizure that I hoped would make a good pony for my daughter. I didn't know then what his plan was - as the pony turned out to be quite unruly, and instead I ended up taking home Crystal, who would be perfect for my daughter if only she were about half as tall. :)

Today, a mom & daughter came to visit Crystal - they are already a foster home for the rescue, and actually were there the day I picked Crystal up to trailer the unruly ponies to a different rescue. They have been waiting for a long time for the right horse to come through the rescue to adopt, and hoped that Crystal would fit with their family. Crystal was everything they hoped for - the right size, the right temperament, and as I had guessed, already had the right training for what they wanted to do. As her daughter trotted Crystal around the ring and Crystal was so good for her, I found tears in my eyes. Not because I would miss Crystal, although I certainly will. But because the match was so perfect - for both Crystal and her new family. This is my reward, and why I am a foster mom for a rescue. And Praise God for stepping in and guiding my hand, and making this match possible.

Hard working Mother's Day!

One of my favorite parts of Mother's day and my Birthday is the opportunity to spend time with the horses (or whatever I want) guilt-free. This morning I was sent out to the barn early by my husband to go ride. :) After feeding, I got Rocky out of his stall and trimmed his back feet (I did his fronts earlier this week). He is a big boy (1300 lbs or so) and it is hard on my back when he is silly, so I will do fronts separately to spare my muscles. After his toes were beautified, we went for a ride in the ring. I longed him first at the walk and trot, which gave him energy for when I mounted up. We had a very nice trot with lots of circles & changes of direction. He remembered that we cantered last time, but I did not feel like pushing it today - I really was there just to enjoy the ride. (Rocky enjoyed the carrots!) We also practiced backing (which he is getting much better at with the smallest of cues!) and turns on the forehand. He does the first half of the turn very well (with his front feet in one spot) but then wiggles a bit for the second half of the turn. Something for us to work on. He sure loves his carrots!

Next, I groomed Crystal - who absolutely loved all the scratches everywhere. I had not ridden her in a few weeks, so instead we went into the ring to longe - and she did beautifully at the walk and trot! She is going to make someone such a nice horse! Crystal had more energy (I think mostly due to her being healthier) and kept the trot going on the longe better than she has to date.

Love was my next project - her toes were starting to break up and against my better judgment, I decided to trim her as well. Thankfully, she is much lighter than Rocky so her gymnastics don't bother my back much. I looked on her health record and it said that she was good for her first 2 trims, but the last one she was pretty silly about. I don't have more info than that, but I wanted to make sure it was a good experience. As soon as I picked up her LF, she started leaning and then wanted to hop around while I held the foot for no particular reason that I know of. We went slow, stayed calm, and she did quite a bit of "hopping," but we got the foot done. She was much better about bringing her foot forward to be rasped. The RF was similar, but she relaxed after not as much hopping, and we got it done quickly. The rears she lifted up super high at first and hopped again, but the second time she settled in nicely to let me rasp her foot. I will work on trimming the backs later - she seemed pretty worried about it, but we did beautify the edges on both of them to help with the brittle breaking typical of a horse that has had poor nutrition for some time. Love appreciated the carrots after each hoof was done, and especially all the grooming afterwards. I put some more cream on her hock scar and Crest on her sarcoids, and at that point I was worn out and it was time for lunch. :) But I feel great - I accomplished so much and was able to ride, too! Yay! Happy Mothers Day to all those wonderful moms out there!

I got to ride with my hubby! :)

Tonight, for the first time in at least 2 years, Harlan and I got to ride together! He rode Charlie and I rode Rocky, and we both had a great ride in the ring! Harlan rode Charlie on Sunday for the first time in a year - and she was so wonderful, Harlan said all he could think about for the next few days was riding his horse! :) WOW! I feel that way all the time, but it was some of the most beautiful words I have ever heard to hear Harlan say them! :)

I walked, trotted, practiced cirles, backing, and then cantered for the first time in a year on Rocky! He did his normal buck of annoyance here and there, but we made it about half way around the ring. Yay! But I confess, although I've been thinking about getting back into the canter, I'm not sure if I would have done it if Harlan hadn't been there suggesting it - asking how Rocky does at the canter since he is so good at the trot.

Ahhhh. It feels so good to ride! Now I need to get back on Crystal to get her adopted! :)

Arthur update

I thought I'd give an update on Arthur. He continues to become more comfortable and seems very stable to me at this time. I had been feeding him beet pulp with a handful of grain, and then I cut the grain and started adding the Ontario Dehydrated Timothy Balance Cubes (ODTBC) and now he has decided he doesn't want the beet pulp any more. He just sifts out all the cubes and leaves the beet pulp behind. He was still eating it when I put his evening supplements (salt, magnesium, vit E) in it, but now he is leaving even that beet pulp behind. So, I guess we're just a ODTBC pony now. He also gets as much coastal as he will eat, but it is still last year's cutting, which, although good for a cushings pony, is not very appetizing to Arthur. The latest batch has been a little tastier, thank goodness. I hope he starts eating more hay, but at the same time, I recognize his teeth are pretty minimal at this point, and I think he likes his soaked hay cubes best right now. So, we are doing everything we can for this little pony that we all love so much. He is the most expensive horse in the barn by far right now. :)

Arthur on Pergolide

I thought I'd try to journal Arthur's progress as a Cushing's horse. He did beautifully out in the pasture this winter, but as the spring grass came in and I started keeping him off of the grass, he started to get laminitic/ouchy feet. I may have left him out on the pasture a few days too long, but keeping him off the grass was not doing the trick, and it had worked well last year. He has a 48' x 36' paddock attached to the stall that is all dirt. He also was not wanting to eat as much hay as he used to - I ran out of my winter supply, and the quality of hay the feed store had was just pitiful. I have since found a better supply of hay that he likes, and also adjusted his feed to include supplemental salt, magnesium, and vitamin E. I also have started driving to get Ontario Dehydrated Timothy Balance Cubes that are specifically formulated to be a balanced, complete hay cube, designed for Cushings/IR horses. Arthur loves them, but I have to adjust everything slowly. But the biggest change I have made is to finally put Arthur on Pergolide. It seemed we were able to control everything with diet last year, but the diet was not working this spring, so I finally made the commitment to keep him on Pergolide for the rest of his life. He has been on the Pergolide for a whole week now, and is doing SO much better. He is finally comfortable on his feet again - moving around so much more. Although he seems a little "dopey" after his evening dosage, overall he seems much brighter and more energetic. I guess I am learning that you really have to focus on the whole picture when it comes to Cushings - both the diet and the medication, good trims, etc. When one part is off, you end up with an uncomfortable pony. I am relieved to say that Arthur is again comfortable, bright, and eating well, and I love that little pony so much.