Arena Session #1

Danny had his first arena session, since we started his rehab, on Sunday the 25th of Nov.  I really have not done much with him since the last post except for some exercising and stretching when I could. But I have seen him more active lately, with some running around the pasture, which I take as a pretty good sign. 

When we got to the arena he was pretty excited by the new surroundings, but quickly got right down to work.  We did the stretching first, and it was easy to tell when he was done in the back because he would hit me in the face with his tail!  Silly old man! 

We walked, trotted and cantered in circle doing several circles of each at the end of a long lead rope. Then we back in a big circle in both directions.  He still has more trouble on backing to the right, but he was able to do it.

After that we did another session of forward then another session of stretching , finishing up with the tail smack to the face again!

I put the snaffle on him, he did his best to NOT open for the bit, but finally relented.  I put the saddle on him and of course he stood still for me cinching him up and getting on him.

As soon as I asked him to move forward at a walk, he leaped and attempted to buck!  Danny doesn't buck real well, so I turned him around and then asked for the walk again.  He tried to take off again, but we did another circle and after that he went forward pretty nicely.  It took me a minute to get my "seat". Riding a horse with stringhalt is like riding a triangle, and it takes a little getting used to!

One lap at a walk, then a trot and then he really wanted to go so I let him canter.  I had to put an end to that when I felt him land toe down on that bad foot. But he did a full lap around the arena with me on his back at a canter, so that was pretty good.  We backed up about 10 feet, but for an old sway backed guy I knew that asking him to collect for that long with me on him was a lot. So we only did it once. 

I was so happy to have that nice soft dirt for him when he landed toe first, I could see the hole it made, but had he been on hard ground it could have been damaging. As near as I can tell it did not do any damage. There is no swelling or heat and he is walking normal on it.  Afterwards we did another lap at a walk to let him cool down as he was breathing pretty hard.  He even worked up a little bit of a sweat. 

I was not able to get any pictures of the work out, as I was the only one there.  But I really think he enjoyed himself once he realized that Trax was right there in the corner and he was not going to have to leave him.  Danny is extremely herd bound.  Of all my horses he is by far the worst.    All in all I think it was a good ride, and good for him.  With any luck we will get to go again next weekend.

No News is Not Always Good News

No news is good news, usually.

This time no news means no time.

No news means that my ponies are neglected. (not physically- just mentally)

No news means that I have had no saddle time in weeks.

No news means that Danny has not had his stretching exersizes and it shows.

No news is bad.

No news means I am a baaaaaad horse mom.

No news means there just aren't enough hours in the day.

No news means I have a sad face. :(

I could use some news, some time, some saddle time, some horsey time.

I found this pic of Danny today.  It was spring 2 years ago.  We had so much grass.  Now it is just a dirt lot, with some dead grass.  

I need some horse time.

Danny's Blanky

Poor old guy was having such a hard time with the cold, I decided to blanket him last night.  Normally I do not blanket until it starts hitting 10 or below. My horses are pretty hardy, they are all WY horses except Danny.   It made a difference, he was actually able to walk this morning.

This is an older picture- last winter, but he has had
this blanket since I got him- four years ago.
that make it a pretty good blanket to me

 

I love his blanket, bought it at Moss's Tack store in Mills WY. It was expensive but worth every penny. It fits him nicely , is sturdy as hell. It has a nice wide Belly Band so that he cannot get his foot caught in it. I wish I could recall what brand it is, because I would surely write them a letter and tell them what  great product they have.

When I went to put it on him, he gave me his..."seriously" look. Trax made a beeline for the other direction as if to say, "She is not making me wear that thing"  Of course when I fed this morning Danny rubbed his head on me in appreciation......or maybe he had an itch....Lets say it was in appreciation.  He was happy to be warm and happy to have food.

Tom wants to send him to AZ for the winter, I think he would rather be here and cold and stiff than to be all alone and depressed.  He gets really depressed without his herd.  We will see, I guess.

Old and Cold do not mix well

I went out this morning to feed all the ponies.  Everyone was racing around as it was only 29 degrees out.  Everyone except Danny that is. :(

I got his food and he would take a step, the stringhalt leg would go up and then not come back down.  He would finally try to hop on 3 legs to get a step forward.  It took him a long time to get to that feeder.  I wanted to take it to him, but I knew he had to get moving.  The only way to get warmed up is for him to move.  I did go over and rub his bad leg really briskly to try and get him warmed up.  He was showing stringhalt symptoms in his good leg too. 

I have to get that barn done and get him inside at night.  That way I can put a heat lamp in there with him so he doesn't get quite so cold.   If that doesn't help then he may have to go live at our house in AZ. I don't want to do that yet though.  As hard as it is for me to watch him go through this, I know that he would be terribly lonely out there, with the rest of his herd still in WY.

I am making the commitment to get as much done as I can this weekend.  It is supposed to snow, but it doesn't matter.  I can still spread dirt, set poles and maybe at least get one or two pens done.

I have to leave for KS next week for some stupid training program my company is putting on. I really don't have time to go, but have no choice.

Don't they know I have been eat 'Smarties" for a week now, by the handfuls!!!???!!!  Surely that has to work better than shipping me 2 states away for 4 days! :)

Well time to get back to work. ugh!

Quick Update

Due to too many things on my plate Danny is only getting his stretching and exercise about once a week.  BUT that once a week seems to make him really happy.  He really has been stretching his hind legs out for me and his energy level seems to be on it's way up again. 

He spends more time being active again (perhaps a weather thing) and his time in the round pen is nice with very few incidents of landing with his fetlock bent back and on his toe. Backing in circles gets better every time. 

I was watching him race around the pasture last week.  More like his old self than I have seen him in a long time.  I am seriously considering a short ride in the arena this weekend, when I take Trax down. 
Farrier was out yesterday and gave him a nice trim which he needed. 

I also have learned that we have a new lameness expert in town now.  I am always looking for new ideas and information, so once I get my finances back in line I will most likely have him come out and take a look and Danny the Wonder Horse, just to see if he has any suggestions on things I can do with him.

Jay and I were talking the other day, trying to imagine what his career was before he got the stringhalt.  Was he a jumper?  Maybe, he has the long tall body for it.  I don't think he was a barrel racer, or a roping horse.  He seems more like an english riding horse than a western.  Although he doesn't exhibit any sort of Dressage training.  Of course, how would I  know.  I certainly do not know how to ride Dressage. I'm just barely learning what leg cues are. :)
Perhaps he was just someones trail horse, the love of someones life. We will never know. All we know now is that he is Danny, sweet old boy of my pasture.  He has found his forever home.

Up to my Eyeballs in Eyeballs and new barn

Well heck- I posted this on the wrong blog.  It was supposed to go to herdlife.  Oops!


With the big Pink Eye ta do in Riverton where I sent Killian I have been watching my ponies carefully for any signs or symptoms of any kind of illness at all.
Except for a couple of slight puffy eyes while the Casper fire was out of control and the whole town was covered in smoke, there really has been nothing.  A little bit of runniness out of Trax's nose, but it is clear and this is not unusual for him.


This morning I went out with my IPhone while feeding and ,with out much cooperation, managed to snap pics of all the eyes.

 This is Killian- he almost always has a little bit of tearing up, but the fluid is clear.   His eyelids are shaped funny.

These are Sassy- I think she looks a little puffy, but everyone else says no, and she has no matter of any kind.

This is Danny- I have always thought he looked a little bug eyed.  But this is normal.  For being the oldest and easiest horse, he argued the most about having his picture taken!

Of course this is Trax, and he is completely normal as well. He was a little puffy a few days ago on one eye, but it was gone the next day. 

I also wonder if half the reason they have been puffy is because with the new barn construction they have been locked up.  Which means for more flies, and more ammonia in the air.  Sassy's little pen is the worst.  She has a little stall that was originally used for mini's, and although she fits in it just fine, it gets really smelly in there all the time, even though I clean in everyday.  She goes in for the shade- and to chew on the wall (trying to get to the hay cubes on the other side) and pees and poops in there constantly. Yesterday I put Trax over in Danny's pasture which is away from the construction.  So he was out all day.  Then today I penned up Danny and Trax and put Killian and Sassy over so they could get out and move around.  Sassy was a race pony this morning!  Too bad I didn't get any pictures of that!

This is the frame work for the new barn.  Some of the cross ties are just for stability to hold the poles in place for when they pour the concrete.
It is really a big loafing shed but will have four separate "living areas" each one 9x12 for when I put them away at night.  Along the back will be a big concrete floored storage area, big enough to put several pallets of haycubes.  Because the building sets down into the hill I will have to access the storage through one of the stalls, but it was really the only way we could do it.  Each stall will have a long "run"  9 x 25 or 30  where they can get out and move around if needed.  My horses are pretty hearty and used to the wicked cold weather we have here, as long as they have a place to get out of the wind, they are happy.
The biggest thing is that everyone will have their own place to be and I won't have to walk through the snow to the very back of the property to feed. I will have power and water where they live, and that is a big deal too!   Once this is done, we will tear down all the old crappy buildings that were there when we moved in and reseed for pasture.  It is in a low point on the property and the grass will grow well there if given a chance

Well time to get some work done. 
Take care everyone.

Slacker

Yes that would be me, the slacker.
I have not posted on here in a while
I have not had much time for poor old Danny.  He has only had a couple of stretching treatments in the last few weeks.
There has just been so much going on.
I don't think he minds, but I feel guilty.
It is starting to get cooler and I was able to speak with the closest indoor arena owner who said to bring him down any time. 

I am getting a barn built right now, I just got my bathroom re-done, my son has football, and now hunters safety, there is house work and paperwork.  I think 4 horses is too much for one person. I need help.

I have thought about sending Danny to my other home in AZ.  My kids are living there, my grandson would love a horse to take care of.  But neither he, nor his parents, know anything about horses.  But the warmer winter would be better for him.  But can they take care of him?

The other day it was cold and poor Danny could hardly get his foot back down.  I can tell the cold bothers him. Which is why the stretching will be so important.  I just have to make the time...somehow, someway.

How do people find the time to do all the things they do with their horses?  Sassy needs worked with, Trax needs worked with, Killian just needs ridden, Danny needs worked with.
The dogs need obedience lessons, (so does my son)  The Man needs dinner, the son needs help with homework, whewwww!

I will find the time.