Not Quite Spring

Well it's still not quite Spring. I think it was near 40 degrees last night but windy so it was a chilly ride after all. We're still faithfully scraping hair off the horses. Axel looks pretty horrible, dirty and hairy. Cody usually avoids the mud so he isn't quite as bad. Axel's feet are still scabby but I don't think there's any new scabs so hopefully we'll avoid some of the major mud fever this year. Apparently the Farrier was out this morning as well. I had to tell the caretakers to make sure the farrier trimmed both my horses frogs. Not sure why he doesn't do that regularly anyways. So now I'm ready to measure one more time and order some boots for Cody. I did measure last night just to see the growth and he only changes 1/4 of an inch in length from the last time I measured, and that measurement isn't quite as accurate. I might not have measured from the exact same spot each time. Once again we fed from in the barn. I was able to hook Cody's bucket up to a fence insulator that was on the post in the barn but I think we should pick up a few clips to use for feeding inside. Maybe just some cheap carabiners would work, I might actually have some in my saddle bag.

So we groomed and tacked and made sure all the doors and locks and fences and everything was latched appropriately before setting off on the road. Cody was very manageable on the road but wasn't really paying attention to me so we worked on some serpentines. Once again on the way back a car came up behind us. Cody caught the sight of the car in the corner of his eye and decided he wasn't sticking around to find out what it was. It didn't help that it was super windy so we didn't even hear the car ourselves. So that minor spook gave Cody a reason to act like an idiot and try to get back to the barn. Once again Tricia got off Axel to try and hold Cody since he wouldn't move out of the road. Actually right as I was about to just get off myself he started to calm down, but then she dismounted and led him away. The remainder of the trip had no traffic so that was good. He was still a bit uptight but calmed down a lot. I wonder had no cars passed if he would have been better the whole ride.

Axel is still uneven but I'm wondering if he's never been really straight anyway. He tripped numerous times one of which almost landed him on his knee. He must have bent his sore knee too far, after that trip he had several tentative steps. I'm going to have to add some lineament to my shopping list and see if that helps any. When we returned from our ride we tried again to back Axel out of the barn, this time through the big door. Boy was he not interested in backing up. After much fighting he finally started catching on to the whole backing thing so we'll just have to keep it up. I don't think he's going to get it quite as fast as Cody. I also lunged him a tiny bit but he's not quite into the change of direction yet. And I had the swinging end of the rope too long and clocked myself in the head with it - after Cody peed on it of course.

I think this Saturday after barn cleanup for We Can Ride I will stop out at the barn and do more ground work with both horses. I think I want to start lateral work with Cody and basic ground work with Axel. And I might take Cody out on the road to do the ground work so we have more room and less dust.

Escape Artists Strike Again

So last week I really wanted to take a little video of Axel trotting along in his new goofy lopsided trot but Cody was acting the fool so it didn't happen. Steph wasn't feeling well so she stayed home and I met Tricia at the barn. I borrowed Steph's cordless clippers to take care of Axel's ankles before it got too muddy. I really should get the vet to take a look at his legs one of these days and probably add some oil to his diet. He's got these super dry flakey scabs all over his coronary band and whatever that part is above the coronary band (don't mind me, I can never remember horse parts). It's probably just chronic mud fever but it's kind of gross. Luckily for me Axel is a good boy and lets us pick all his scabs off without a fight, if only the Betadine wasn't still frozen. We had both Cody and Axel in the barn for some much needed grooming when it was time to feed. Everyone else was fed in their usual spots at the fence and we just fed the boys in the barn where they were. We might need to get some clips to hang the buckets inside if feeding time is always when we're out there to ride. Anyway, Cody was almost calm with the exception of digging himself a big hole to stand in. Someone on the other side of the barn door didn't help by kicking at it.

When everyone was done eating and were saddled up we went out the big barn door for our ride. The little door was closed so we left the big door open as we mounted in the barn aisle for lack of a better place. It's a major mud pit in the pasture and there's still snow on the back hill so it's a lot of road riding for us for a while. Cody was a little reluctant but not too bad. Axel decided on a new gait: left hind lifted up much higher than other feet with each step he took. I don't know if his boots were bothering him or what, but it was pretty funny looking. He even kept it up at the trot. I think by the time we got to the end of the road and turned around he had finally started to walk normal. Of course as soon as we turned around Cody went bezerk. Back to his old self, cantering sideways and all that drama. Of course he chose the day that everyone and their brother decided to drive down our road. At one point he wouldn't move out of the middle of the road as a truck and trailer were coming, Tricia had to dismount and lead him to the side of the road. He was beside himself and pissed off. Because we're gluttens for punishment we decided to not go back to the barn just yet and made them turn on the side road. Surprisingly enough it only took a minor amount of leg to get Cody to turn and he was pretty calm (compareatively) for the rest of the ride. He wasn't too happy about the dog on the other side of the street that kept yelping at him. But nothing major. We manged to keep most of our feet on the ground for the rest of the ride.

As we were coming back to the barn we couldn't see any other horses. They should have been out eating hay at that point and they were no where to be seen. We did, however, seed the neighbor in the driveway talking to the caretaker. Then we saw the horses, running through the nieghbor's yard. Cody flipped out. He was sure he should be running like an idiot with the rest of the escaped horses. I dismounted at the first safe moment I could find and Tricia took Cody and Axel back to the paddock where they proceeded to pace and call to the rest of the herd. I unhooked the fence and opened the gate by the driveway thinking that was the only way we'd be able to herd them in. It really didn't take a whole lot to get them back where they belonged. A little calling on our part, Cody and Axel's calling, and a bucket of grain and everyone was back in the paddock sweaty as ever.

It was a bit of excitement I don't think the caretakers were too happy about. But overall everyone was fine and within eyesight the whole time. The best we can figure is that the little barn door didn't get latched all the way so since we left the big door open they found their way out. Usually we had the stretchy gate across that door but with the 4 wheeler parked in that spot we haven't been putting the gate up. Perhaps I'll restart that habit. The caretakers can move the 4 wheeler.

We're going to go out to ride again tonight and I'll be interested to see if Cody's antics were because he knew the herd got out or if he was just an idiot to be an idiot. I think the farrier is due out tomorrow so I'll take a final measurement of Cody's feet tonight and then after the farrier and order some boots. If the de-wormer is thawed we'll probably have to de-worm as well.

Almost Spring

I was a bit afraid it'd be too cold to run out to the barn but at 32F it was pretty nice so I was glad I went for it. Cody, escorted by Kiko and followed by Papillon, came up to the paddock to see what kind of nonsense I was up to when I arrived. Since it had been so warm the past weekend and then froze up again, everything had a nice crust of ice on it, so riding was out for the evening. But no worries because we're far from not needing more ground work. Cody wasn't terribly pleased that I brought him into the barn without his buddies but he was very manageable. He's shedding pretty good already so the shedding blade will be my choice of grooming tool for a while. He still fidgets while tied in the barn but it was pretty mellow fidgeting at least. I set up 3 barrels in the corner of the barn with the plan to lunge him into the tight space (squeeze game if you will). Cody has really picked up the lunging and will turn when I ask and mostly stop when I ask. He's not quite as good as going from trot to walk, he'd rather trot most of the time but he knows what I'm asking. He's still not too great at just standing. I ask for a halt and he creeps. So I back him up. Then he creeps forward. Rinse and repeat. This time I backed him into the space between the barrels and barn wall and then continued to get him to turn 90 degrees while going backward. He was a little unsure of my request and bumped his butt on the wall but remained calm and figured out what I was asking. This is a really great lesson for him, that even if he bumps something I'm not leading him into a den of lions or anything. He is looking pretty good with his weight as well. Hard to completely tell with the fuzzy winter coat still but it looks like he's been packing on a few pounds. It will be nice to see him all rounded out when he sheds this spring. As usual he backed out of the barn door like a champ and was rewarded with dinner.

I waited for everyone to be fed before I worked Axel. He was not happy with me when I removed his nylon halter to put on the rope halter instead of letting him go eat hay with his herd mates. But once we got over that fight he followed me into the barn happily. The goal for Axel last night was to teach him to lunge. He's been ground driven and long lined but we've never really just lunged him like we do with Cody. He doesn't quite pick up on things as fast as Cody and he's never going to be the obedient "yes man" that Cody is turning out to be. But he did start to catch on to the lunging after a few minutes. I used a whip with him to keep him moving as I didn't think swinging the rope end would really faze him, a tap was a bit more effective. He was very unhappy to trot on the lunge and started off pretty lame and flung his head and tried to buck. I think his pain is manageable with more exercise and slower warm up periods. Unfortunately as I was lunging him I noticed he had a massive lump on his belly on the left side. My initial reaction was that was the reason he was so cranky at the trot. But in reality I think he just got kicked in the pasture and it was just a big bruise. I pressed on it a bit and he didn't really react, I didn't feel like getting kicked myself so I didn't press my luck (no pun intended). I probably shouldn't have stopped working him but he had done better than I expected up to that point so it probably wasn't a bad place to stop anyway. I did end with backing him up just in the barn on the flat ground. He backed pretty quickly even. We're going to move up to backing between the barrels, then the big barn door with decreasing width, then finally through the little barn door. Axel doesn't back out of the trailer so this is a good lesson for him but after last week when he would not back out of the little door we had to rethink our strategy.

Since daylight saving time ends earlier this year (or starts, I always forget), next week it'll be lighter even later so now we'll be able to get back to more riding and schooling type stuff as long as the ice melts! You can't even open the round pen gate right now, the snow drifted over it and then froze so it's hard as a rock. I'm looking forward to some trail rides this spring.