Post by larkspurco on Sept 28, 2007 17:09:12 GMT -5
Hi again. Still looking for a sizable chunk of time for a proper update, but I may never get one again, so here are a few highlights:
Health
Except for ongoing insomnia/narcolepsy, his health is fantastic. He eats very well. Since adding one pound of ration balancer to his Ultium concoction he has put on some muscle.
I have not yet found the magic cure for his insomnia. He falls down at night in his stall and skins his knees and fetlocks. The fetlock boots help but his knees look awful.
BUT...he has been down twice in the last four nights. The only thing I did differently was to leave the radio on -- tuned to a country music station. I think the c/w music soothes him. When the farrier comes I turn on the county music for him, and Des tries to fall asleep about 100 times. I figured I'd give it a try. Maybe he's just a gool ol' boy at heart, and all this time he just needed the right kind of music.
Training
It's been s-l-o-w. I started just doing a lot of basic ground work with a halter and lead. The biggest challenge was separating him from Shelby. At first it was horrible. I would take him out in the field and he would come unglued, whinnying and running around like an idiot. I had to get very tough with him to keep him from running me over. The first few lessons were stressful for us both, but we always ended the lesson in a calmer state than starting. (I learned a few new tricks as well.)
We had two behavioral incidents with the farrier in July. The second time he was unable to shoe his hinds at all, so we had to just pull the shoes. I ramped up the ground work after that, and he has been standing fine since (well, except for the falling asleep part). In fact, the only recent pictures I have are of his front feet.
It wasn't long before I was able to take him out with him only whinnying for Shelby once or twice. Finally he began to show signs of relaxation. In the past few weeks, he has been giving me his full attention and really softening and relaxing and wanting to learn.
Last weekend I removed his halter and lead rope and he followed my all the way back to the barn just as if the lead was still attached -- stopping, turning and backing up right alongside me.
He was so good I wasn't sure if he realized he was free, so I tested him again. This time he was wearing a halter and headstall with bit. I removed them and rubbed all of his itchy spots, so he knew he had been released. But again he chose to stay right with me all the way back to the barn. This acceptance is a major breakthrough, since he has been such a tough nut.
I only recently began bitting him (Happy Mouth mullen -- thx to cardicorgi for the mullen mouth suggestion). He has a long way to go to bit acceptance, but at least he has stopped the annoying tooth grinding. I'm working him into the side reins gradually, and will begin long-lining when he's ready.
I have ridden him a handful of times in the barnyard at walk and slow trot, mostly working on direction changes, which he's getting pretty good at. So far, so good.
Well, that was more than I expected to write -- better get back to work now!
Holly
Health
Except for ongoing insomnia/narcolepsy, his health is fantastic. He eats very well. Since adding one pound of ration balancer to his Ultium concoction he has put on some muscle.
I have not yet found the magic cure for his insomnia. He falls down at night in his stall and skins his knees and fetlocks. The fetlock boots help but his knees look awful.
BUT...he has been down twice in the last four nights. The only thing I did differently was to leave the radio on -- tuned to a country music station. I think the c/w music soothes him. When the farrier comes I turn on the county music for him, and Des tries to fall asleep about 100 times. I figured I'd give it a try. Maybe he's just a gool ol' boy at heart, and all this time he just needed the right kind of music.
Training
It's been s-l-o-w. I started just doing a lot of basic ground work with a halter and lead. The biggest challenge was separating him from Shelby. At first it was horrible. I would take him out in the field and he would come unglued, whinnying and running around like an idiot. I had to get very tough with him to keep him from running me over. The first few lessons were stressful for us both, but we always ended the lesson in a calmer state than starting. (I learned a few new tricks as well.)
We had two behavioral incidents with the farrier in July. The second time he was unable to shoe his hinds at all, so we had to just pull the shoes. I ramped up the ground work after that, and he has been standing fine since (well, except for the falling asleep part). In fact, the only recent pictures I have are of his front feet.
It wasn't long before I was able to take him out with him only whinnying for Shelby once or twice. Finally he began to show signs of relaxation. In the past few weeks, he has been giving me his full attention and really softening and relaxing and wanting to learn.
Last weekend I removed his halter and lead rope and he followed my all the way back to the barn just as if the lead was still attached -- stopping, turning and backing up right alongside me.
He was so good I wasn't sure if he realized he was free, so I tested him again. This time he was wearing a halter and headstall with bit. I removed them and rubbed all of his itchy spots, so he knew he had been released. But again he chose to stay right with me all the way back to the barn. This acceptance is a major breakthrough, since he has been such a tough nut.
I only recently began bitting him (Happy Mouth mullen -- thx to cardicorgi for the mullen mouth suggestion). He has a long way to go to bit acceptance, but at least he has stopped the annoying tooth grinding. I'm working him into the side reins gradually, and will begin long-lining when he's ready.
I have ridden him a handful of times in the barnyard at walk and slow trot, mostly working on direction changes, which he's getting pretty good at. So far, so good.
Well, that was more than I expected to write -- better get back to work now!
Holly