Shedding Season

I’ll try to get some new pictures today because both Natty and Chance are shedding right now. Chance is getting large patches of big-boy hair, and it looks like he’ll be a dark bay. His new hair is silky-soft, and he is very itchy right now with all the shedding so he loves to be scratched and rubbed. Natty is shedding tons, too. She is losing mostly white hair, so I think we’ll see a darker roan for awhile. Her new coat is finally coming in shiny and soft, which is wonderful. Also, we seem to have worked through the grooming problems, so she lets me brush off all the old hair to reveal the pretty new hair underneath. It feels great to be able to brush her Sometimes I hit a tickle spot and she shivers and shakes like a dog – too cute. I am unfortunately learning about bot eggs right now – never experienced these before. There are some on Chance that I’ve been trying to pick off, but I can’t see them on Natty (I assume they are there though). I am going to try not to worry too much about it since their wormer will kill any they ingest. Still, ick.

My sweet angel baby is learning bad habits from the other colt, and I’m peeved about it! Last night when I got to the barn, Chance and the other colt were standing together mouthing at each other. I walked up to Chance, and my little fellow actually turned around, pinned his little ears, and nipped at me! He has never never never done anything like this before, so I believe it’s only because the other colt was right there. I think Chance fell in with a bad crowd with that colt.

And now the close-ups of Chance’s big-boy hair:

Bar Exam cuts into horsey time

The first day of the bar exam took a whopping 12 hours, so I only have a short horsey update. I took Billy (dog), Natty and Chance for a late-evening trail walk last night. It started to rain on us, so we took a shortcut back to the pasture that dropped us off near the gate to the field with the cross-country jumps, so I took everybody in to look over the new stuff. Natty stepped over some poles and one low cross-rails with me. She’s fine with poles but was more hesitant about the jump – she stopped with one foot over and had to think about what to do next but did step over after thinking about it. She was all fired up after looking at all of it, and when I turned her loose again she took off with a great playful buck and kick and run. Chance was running around on his own while Natty and I looked at jumps, which is fine because the far gate in the jump field is open and goes into the pasture where they live. Of course, he was on the wrong side of the fence when I let Natty go and he took off running with her but on the wrong side of the fence. He ran very fast along the fence line looking for the way back to mama, but once he realized I was still with him he stopped and waited for me to open the front gate and let him back over into the main pasture. He’s pretty smart for such a little guy!

I did it!

I finally combed all the tangles out of Natty’s mane! The whole thing was dredlocks when I got her, and I’ve been wanting to get it combed out the whole time I’ve had her, but so far I was only able to fix about 2 dreds at a time before she got tired of it and started throwing her head around. Today I got through the whole thing, and doesn’t she look beautiful? Maybe next week I’ll tackle the tail! Here are pictures and videos of today’s trail walk.

Here’s Chance blazing his own trail while Natty and I bring up the rear:

This is a close-up of Natty’s side – she is shedding right now, and she has very interesting hair patterns – distinct patches of sleek shiny hair and duller patches and lots of waves. Maybe there’s some curly horse in her background somewhere?

Here are the videos, pretty short and pretty bouncy camera work – sorry!

New pictures

Grazing happily as usual!

Update and Pictures

Chance is recovering nicely. He doesn’t seem to be in pain and the incision continues to drain like it’s supposed to (ewww). He is as frisky as he ever was, and Natty, Chance, and I went for another nice long walk on the trails today. They are going to be good trail horses – they like to look around and are very calm about everything. There’s some very nice grass on the trails they enjoyed eating, and I’m wondering if I can get Natty carrying some kind of pack by the time the blackberries are ripe. Probably I’d have better luck getting Chance to wear a little pack – maybe a goat size would fit him? Probably not! Anyway, I think we’ll walk more and more now that I know they are good about it. Here are the new pictures – some from Friday and some from today.

Here’s poor little Chance, mid-operation, right before he woke up:

And here he is recovering (and somehow looking more out-of-it than during the operation):

And here’s Natty – looking fine even after 3 doses of sedative cocktail:

And here are Natty and Chance enjoying their run after our walk today – it’s a nice long run and the end is quite near the pasture where the other mares are, so they aren’t totally separated from the herd. Also, now that they can go out into the run, Natty doesn’t pee in the stall anymore, which is fantastic! They’ll go back out tonight or tomorrow.

Recovery

Baby boy is recovering nicely today. I went out early this morning to give him his antibiotics, and the swelling looked pretty bad but he was in good spirits and not moving stiffly. We went out to do a lot of trotting (vet’s orders) and he did really well. I put Natty and Chance in a turn-out by themselves but next to the one they usually live in and chased them up and down the fence line with Chance following like a good boy. After about 3 laps, Natty and I were done in (we’re out of shape), but Chance’s swelling already looked better at that point. So then I took them on a long walk on the trail. We went up a really big hill because I thought we’d have to trot to get up there, but no. Then we went down the other side and came around the outside of all the lower pastures – through woods, along the creek, etc. – a very good outing for a barn-raised boy. They behaved very well for most of our walk. The only problems we had were fairly minor – at the top of the hill we encountered coyote poop on the path and Natty thought we should take off running, but luckily she didn’t pull the lead rope away from me and stopped pretty easily. Then almost at the end of the walk, the other mares and foals came up to us from the inside of the fence, and Natty was so happy to be back with the herd she just put the brakes on and wouldn’t move anymore. I finally had to turn back the other way and was barely able to get her to the back gate into the pasture, where at least I could turn her loose and leave her. I left them out with the other mares and foals (against vet’s orders, but I don’t think they understand the strength of Natty’s herd behavior) while I went in to clean the stall. I put little piles of hay all down the center of Natty’s run because I think she hit the hot wire last night – she was very hesitant to go out there this morning so I wanted to entice her a little. When I was all ready to go, I went back out to the pasture to get Natty and Chance and bring them in. I caught her fine, but there was no way I was getting her to walk back to the barn. It took me over an hour. A friend of Chance’s enticed him all the way to the gate with love and scratches, but Natty wasn’t budging away from her herd. I finally gave up on her and decided I’d try the magic grain bucket, but even that failed. So I thought I would bring the Thoroughbred mare and her foal inside, and then Natty would come because she wouldn’t be alone. Wouldn’t you know the Thoroughbred mare wouldn’t come either? So I gave up on her, but luckily her friendly little filly followed me all the way to the gate, and the mare wasn’t about to let her baby get too far away, so she came too (and brought the other mare and foal as well – meantime Natty was still down in the far end nickering to me). Well, I ran inside for a scoop of grain and stood at the gate feeding little handfuls to both mares and foals, and that brought Natty up to the gate for her share, so I was finally able to get her out of the pasture. Luckily the gate to her run is only about 20 feet or so from the pasture gate, so I was able to get her in there. But oh boy what a frustrating experience. And she wasn’t being bad exactly, she just wouldn’t move. While trying to move her I did all kinds of things to bug her into moving – she lifted all her feet nicely, opened her mouth for me and let me check her teeth, let me rub her ears and hug her face. She just really didn’t want to leave the herd again, poor girl. Tomorrow they are going back out to pasture with the others unless Chance takes a major turn for the worse tonight because this separation is too hard on poor Natty.

Hoof trims and gelding today

What a day! I scheduled appointments with the vet and the farrier for the same time so that I could save some money on farm calls while I had Natty’s feet trimmed and Chance gelded. I should have forked over the extra cash and saved myself some stress! Some of my faithful readers might have guessed from previous posts that my horses can be a bit of a challenge. Well, I think we forgot to warn the new vet. She has only been with the clinic two weeks, and I don’t think she knew what she was getting into today. Boy did she learn in a hurry! But let me start at the beginning.

The farrier arrived first, so we started Chance’s hoof trim. This is his third trim, so he kinda understands now, and he wasn’t horrible. This was his first time using the hoof stand, so that took some learning. All in all, he wasn’t too bad, and he got a nice trim. His corners are looking good enough that he can go longer this next time, so I might not have to get him done again until it’s time for Natty too. Anyway, we were on Chance’s last hoof when the vet came, and I passed Chance to the vet tech and caught Natty so the vet could sedate her and the drugs could get into her system in time for her trim. They called back to the hospital to check her records and see what and how much she needed for the hoof trim last time.

Natty has always been good for the vet in the past (except the time right after Chance was born and Natty charged her in the pasture, but that’s understandable). Not so today – as soon as the vet jabbed her with the needle, she reared! She never did that in response to a shot before. Anyway, she managed to dislodge the needle just enough that the vet was unable to find her vein even after hunting around quite a bit, so she had to pull out the needle, look for the vein, and start again. So we were already up to two shots before the drugs even started to work. At least Natty stood still for the second one. We let the drugs have time to work (or so we thought) and started the trim. Guess what? Not nearly enough drugs on board! The poor farrier couldn’t even lift the foot, let alone work on it. So yet another shot of sedatives for Natty, and more time to let things kick in. Then over the next stall to give Chance his drugs, because they wanted to lay him down to do his gelding. We got Natty’s front left foot done and started on her front right and realized she was waking up again and we needed even more drugs! This would have to wait because the vets were mid-geld on Chance in the next stall. Ha! Chance woke up right about then, whinnied to Natty, Natty woke up and whinnied back, and all sorts of chaos ensued. Since we couldn’t trim any more without more drugs, the farrier went next door to help hold Chance, and I stayed with Natty. The vet realized immediately she needed to give Chance more drugs pronto, but she was having trouble finding his vein since he was flat out on the ground, so they tried to roll him up onto his sternum for better vein access. He had other ideas – the tough little guy popped right to his feet despite their best efforts and the tools still dangling from sensitive places. Blood went everywhere, Chance ended up on the far side of the stall watching us warily, they decided they’d just finish gelding him on his feet (for which he still needed more drugs). Not so fun. While Chance’s additional drugs were kicking in, the vet came back over to my side and gave Natty her third dose of sedatives. The farrier then came back over, and he was able to finish her feet, but let me tell you it’s not easy trying to get those feet up off the ground without any awareness from big mare! The vets were able to finish with Chance on his feet, although I’m sure that’s not easy either. Anyway, now they are both awake and maybe a little traumatized, Chance had to get his first shots for the sake of having the tetanus shot, and he’ll be on antibiotics for a week. I’ll have to hand-walk him a couple of times today, he’ll be on stall rest until tomorrow, and then tomorrow I am supposed to get him out and trotting. Boy, am I looking forward to that… It’s already like a three-ring circus around here. The poor new vet was completely blown away by these creatures of mine. I told her she ought to appreciate a challenge because it keeps life interesting. The vet tech told me it will make them appreciate their weekend more. I’m pretty sure both vet and farrier will no longer take my calls! At this point, I wish I had some sedatives! I’m sure glad all that is over.

Afternoon update: Natty opened up her stall door, led Chance back to the pasture and dropped him off there, then took herself back up to the koi pond in the backyard of the owners’ home. Just where you want a horse to be… Luckily the koi pond is right outside the living room, so she was spotted quickly and returned to the pasture where mellow little Chance was happily waiting for her. When I got back, I moved her back to the stall since Chance is supposed to be on stall rest, but we did open up the run tonight (first time – we’ll see how she does with the hot wire) so they have a little more space and can easily see the other mares/foals they usually live with. Chance is supposed to be turned out after tomorrow but not with the other horses, but I don’t know how well that will work. They might have to stay in the stall/run for a few days and then go back out with the other mares.

The Big Barn Again

Miss Natty was very curious today on our adventure to the big barn. I paused right inside the door to make sure Chance was coming (he moseys along like a slow poke so I try to make sure he sees where we are headed), and Natty was peering around the corner into the wash rack, so I let her have the length of her lead rope to check things out. She ended up going all the way into the wash rack – matted floors (probably new to her) and hose and cross-ties and all sorts of exciting things. Chance caught up while Natty was still checking things out, so he came into the wash rack too. Then we went on down the aisle (one small scare when Chance spooked at something and spun out on the concrete floor before crashing into Natty from behind) past where the scary towel was last time (yes, Natty remembered – she was looking for it). We turned into the grooming area – this has cross-ties again, and a low divider wall in between the two grooming stalls that is open at the back, so we walked in one side and out the other. Natty is not a limber horse, so I thought this would be much easier than trying to turn her around! After that, we started down the long side of the barn and went into a stall to check it out. These are regular-sized stalls with mats and shavings and hanging water buckets and socialization bars and all kinds of neat things to look at. Chance didn’t come in this time – he turned to the outside door when we headed down the aisle and ended up outside all by his lonesome and frantically whinnying for mama, and by the time he came back Natty had seen enough. After that I let them play in the arena for a minute and then took them back out to the pasture. After I put them out, Natty stayed at the gate and kept whinnying for me. The girl finally figured out that attention is good! I went back out to pet her and love on her some, and just for the sake of trying it, I fiddled with her chin and put my finger in her mouth a couple of times (training for a bit one day). She didn’t mind at all – she has become surprisingly tolerant! Chance went down for a nap in the middle of the creek, silly boy – he definitely learned that from Natty, the queen of rolling in ponds! Neither one of them smells great right now, and next time we go in the wash rack I’m turning on the hose to get them used to that as soon as possible!

Progressing by leaps and bounds again

I am thrilled to report that today I got Natty almost completely brushed off (everything except lower legs), all 4 feet lifted, and the front feet moisturized. She was so wonderful today! It’s amazing how fast she learns to behave for new and strange handling. Here are a couple of pictures of the welcoming committee at the gate and one short video of the greeting I get from Natty every time she sees me coming:

Desensitization

Yesterday I took Natty and Chance back to the indoor arena. I let them get the initial excitement worked out by running around and bucking wildly until they calmed down and came back to me. On the very first buck, Natty nailed Chance with a big old kick. I was afraid he would be really injured, but I think she got him on the meatiest part of his big old butt, luckily. He isn’t limping and I couldn’t find any swelling or sensitive areas, so I guess he’s ok. Scary moment for me though! Anyway, they really stretched their legs and enjoyed running and playing for awhile, and then they came back to me. I was standing outside the arena for safety, but Natty came right up to the wall in front of me for petting and reassurance. I practiced with her on voice commands and listening to me for awhile by asking her to trot and jogging with her outside the fence. She did really well – a few times she broke into a canter, and then I slowed to a walk and asked her to trot again, and she figured it out really quickly. We did several laps at a trot. She’s wonderful about staying right with me – almost as if I’m the other half of her driving team or something. Then, since I’m out of shape and can’t jog long, I started doing things that might make noise or scare her. I opened and closed all the doors – everything in the barn is metal, so there are metal sliding stall doors that make a metallic clank when they close and latch, and then there are some metal doors that swing open on the grain room and bathroom, and there is another really large sliding metal door on the blanket room. I opened all these, let her look inside, and closed them again. Then I went into the grooming area and swung and rattled the cross-ties and went into the washrack and sprayed the hose (the only scary thing in all of it). As she was walking around with me from place to place, she was hanging her head over the wall to check out other stuff – she looked over the stools set outside the arena (I climbed up on one so I was standing high above her), the saddle stand across from the cross-ties, the trashcan, the muck buckets, the wires that help hold the gates up, etc. She also sniffs around in the footing when I bring her in – I think she’s checking to see who else has been there (and also she rolls in the arena which is a no-no but oh well). Oh, and she looked over the mounting block really carefully from all sides this time. When it was time to go back outside, I took her out a different gate that we haven’t used before. Chance didn’t follow right away, so we had to turn around and go back to the gate for him – and let me tell you Natty barely made the turn in the aisle! This is a big horse who is not very flexible! But we finally got turned around, Chance saw the way out, we turned yet again, and then we walked across the barn in front of the cross-ties, blanket room, grain room, bathroom, washrack, and exited on the far side. Natty was actually really curious about all this – she stopped and looked into the cross-ties, but then she picked up a rag that was sitting on a stool and scared herself with the waving rag (that kept waving after she dropped it since it had a long way to fall) and then she was more ready to go out and not wanting to examine anything else too closely. I think it’s really good for her to check out all this stuff while it’s calm and quiet – there were only 2 horses inside yesterday, so she was able to really look around without being distracted by the strangers. I’m thrilled to see how well she responds to me even when she’s loose in the big scary arena and I’m outside it. Oh, and Chance just tags along like a little champ and isn’t bothered by anything!

On the grooming front, Natty has been really good this week. I’ve been putting flyspray on her every day – she is totally fine when I wipe it on her face with the sponge and doesn’t try to pull away at all, and when I spray her body she sometimes dances to the side on the first spray but after that stands really still for the rest (although her whole body is tense so I can tell she’d really like to just take off). I was also able to brush her some this week – shoulder, back, and sides. She danced around a little until she backed herself into a corner, and then she held still. I just brushed a tiny bit more once she was behaving and then rewarded her and let her go. Ending on a positive note is much more important than having a cleaner horse! I was also able to use the hoofpick on one front hoof this week, which I don’t normally do. She is making so much progress now that Chance is older!