Relaxed and Ready for Winter!

Bucky has made quite a bit of progress recently. I am really happy with how far he has come the last few weeks. We are conquering the dreaded fly spray, which was a huge obstacle in the beginning. He will now stand to be sprayed with only a small amount of head flinging in the beginning. (He used to panic and run away...) He also seems far less tense and rigid. He might even be relaxing a bit! 

I've started riding him finally. I hesitated to ride him when I first got him because he was so tense. I felt like there was no hope of him actually enjoying it. But after he's had time to settle in, I think he's ready to start the riding portion of his retraining. He is very headstrong when ridden. He likes to go slow and has a hard time just walking. Part of me thinks this is due to his previous training as a barrel racer, and I also wonder if he had a past life as a cart racing pony. He is a hackney after all... It is probably also in part to his naturally high-strung personality. But I'm hoping with time and patience we can work through it!

In other news, both my have new blankets in preparation for the cold weather! Scotty's fits pretty well, which I am pleased with. It is not easy finding a blanket that fits a miniature horse of his size! Bucky, on the other hand, his blanket is a little large on him... I'm not really sure what the issue is however! I measured him and it should be the correct size. I think he  might just be an oddly shaped horse... Anyway, enjoy the cute pictures! 

Problems of His Past

It has been an interesting process having this new horse. We've been experiencing a bit of a learning curve. I haven't ever really worked with a horse like him before.

He a really spooky horse. I think that goes back to the fact that he is a rescue. The family I bought him from bought him from a kill pen two years ago. This is what he looked liked.

I am not sure how close this picture was taken to when they brought him home, but you can clearly see from this picture how much muscle he had lost. It's sad that any horse can end up like this.

Consequently, he also has some mental issues. He is very jumpy around sudden movements, and noises seem to bother him a good deal. I am unsure whether or not these are things that can be fixed. I wonder if the problems of his past will always affect his future. Do any of you have experience working with spooky rescues?

Back in the Horse Business. Meet Buck!

I did it!

I finally got a new horse!

It's been a long time since I have posted on here, and I have a ton to update you all on. I will try to write up a full post very soon!

But in the meantime, admire some adorable pictures of my new gelding Buck!

He is a 14hh Hackney gelding. Somewhere's between 6 and 8 years old. He's a rescue.

Driving Mr. Scotty

I've never taught a horse to drive before. Come to think of it, I don't really know how to drive myself. (A horse that is....) So all things considered, Scott and I are doing pretty okay!

 I think the little fellow has taken to driving like a fish takes to water. (Or something like that...) His ground driving is going so well right now. (Mostly I am glad he hasn't kicked me yet for walking behind him like that... Does that not concern most people when you ground drive?) I've only been driving him in the halter right now, but I think we are ready to add in the bridle. And he has walked with the cart behind him without having any problems. (Though he hasn't pulled the weight of it yet.)

I am super proud of our progress! (Seeing as neither one of us knows what we are doing!) I think he will be pulling our little Amish cart around everywhere before we know it! (Yes, I did actually buy the cart from an Amish community. I thought it was appropriate... and they were super nice!)

As for Lady, she is doing really great! The supplements I posted about the last time are actually really helping. I think it is the Remission that is making the biggest difference. Which, according to the reviews I read before I bought it, that is what everyone else said about it. It really works. Its helps them process starch and sugar, which significantly impacts how sore they are. And she has been walking so much better now after having taken it regularly! It was well worth the buy! I have a new farrier coming out on Monday to give me a second opinion on her, so hopefully he can give us some answers about what we are looking at. Maybe he could even suggest a better way of dealing with her hoof problems. Regardless, it will be good to just have someone else tell me what they think of her condition. 

The Trials and Tribulations of Founder and Laminitis

So I own a horse who is foundered and is prone to frequent bouts of acute laminitis.

In the past I have gotten bad advice from my farrier in dealing with her, and because of that she has continually gotten worse since I've owned her. It's gotten so bad recently that I've begun resigning myself that I may have to put her down soon.

But I've decided to take things into my own hands and give her one last chance.

So I have done hours of extensive research into curing founder in the last few weeks. I decided that I was just going to have to educate myself on laminitis and figure out how to deal with it myself. Sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. At this point I can't make it any worse.We have nothing to lose.

First, I've read about a specific trim designed to take the pressure off of the coffin bone and realign it with the ground. The biggest difference with how my farrier was trimming her feet is that you file the heel down quite a bit. I am also filling her feet every week instead of every six weeks. According to my friends on the internet, this is what makes the biggest difference. No, I am not a farrier. Yes, I now trim my horse's hooves. I'll let you know how this works out... But like I said, I have nothing to lose!

Second, I have drastically adjusted her diet. And added in a lot of supplements. I've never really done supplements. But again after hours of research on founder, this is what the internet recommends. (When professional help fails you, there's is always the internet! Haha... Oh dear...) I have actually learned a ton about various supplements and its been rather fun!

I read a lot of reviews on Remission and they all had really good things to say about it.  It has a lot of Biotin in it to strengthen their hooves. But its supposedly the magnesium that works to prevent future founder episodes. I picked up a bucket of it today, and I am excited to start feeding this to Lady. I hope to see results very soon!

 
Typically MSM and Glucosamine are used in horses with arthritis. But they are targeted towards joints so I thought it could do nothing but help. I am doing my best to try to alleviate any pain that I can in her front legs. I feed my older dog glucosamine and it has helped to keep her hyper and active!

I've then cut out feed from her diet and have been feeding her alfalfa pellets and hay. I've added in this multivitamin supplement to make sure she is still getting all of the nutrients she needs. 

Finally, she wears Therapeutic EasyCare Hoof Boots. Its a great product and I really like them.

Do any of you have experience with a severely foundered horse? What are your thoughts? 

Country or Classical?

I am so looking forward to Christmas break. I want to spend all of my time with my ponies!

I bought Lady a new winter blanket and she's seriously adorable in it. I have to blanket Lou during the winter even though it really doesn't get that cold. She doesn't hardly grow and sort of coat. Its actually kind of odd. The poor girl has many problems... Scotty, on the other hand, really does not need a blanket at all. He has the thickest winter coat I have ever seen! That is going to be really fun come spring and he starts shedding... Hair is going to be everywhere.

On a random side note, I really want to put a radio in my barn. I think Scott and Lou would enjoy some good country music. (Though, Lou could very well be more of the classical type...) The problem is that I don't have electricity up there. So I need some sort of good battery power radio. Something that won't die on me in two days. Anyone have a good suggestion? 

Thankfulness

I am so thankful for my horses. I feel blessed to be able to have them in my life!

On a side note, I got on Scotty bareback the other day for a short time just to see how'd he do. He was perfect! I'd love to be able to give little kids pony rides on him later on. I think he'll be great with it. He's such a good natured little guy! The hilarious thing though was that my feet were only a few inches off the ground! He's so little!