Things are a little slow

Things are a little slow these days. What with the baby, Axel being more or less retired, and the cold and dark winter weather, I haven't made it out to the barn in quite some time. The most I've done was some grooming during the last farrier visit. The boys are pretty happy with their round bales so I'm not too worried about them. Plus N makes it out to ride Cody. Axel has his usual winter swelling going on but his knee is doing okay. One of these days I'll get back on track and start doing some ground driving and maybe some trick training.

A Third Horse?

Yes, I have a third horse. Well actually it's Daniel's horse. One of the therapy horses has retired and we've agreed to give him a retirement home. Eventually he'll be in Canby when we move Cody and Axel there but for now he's living with a friend down in South Western Minnesota. He's got 3 other horse friends out there and it's a much better place to be a horse than at the farm with only cows. Of course it was an adventure getting him there. We spent the weekends prior getting the trailer up and running again after it's remodel. Then we hauled the horse, Haji, out to the farm for the night where he paced and worried most of the evening. He had been at the therapy barn for 19 years so moving to a cattle farm was a bit of a change for him. On Saturday morning we were going to bring him down to his new temporary home when a snow storm hit. Daniel and I ended up staying at the farm while Jeff drove Haji down in the snow and ice. They arrived safely and Jeff ended up just leaving the trailer down there for the time being. I guess he slid through many stops, yikes!

Someone is feeling good

Apparently a sore knee only means walking calmly is difficult. Bucking and jumping is exempt from the sore knee. I met N out at the barn last night for a ride before the darkness of winter took over. I walked Axel down the driveway and back and he seemed to be moving as well as the week prior so we gave it a shot. He actually moved out really well down the road. Due to our lack of riding lately he was working pretty diligently at ripping my arms out of their sockets. He had a tendency to abruptly stop and not want to move. I know Axel pretty well so normally I would haven't shied from telling him under no circumstances were we to stop but being as he has hardly been ridden the past couple years and it was cold and windy I was a little hesitant to use the same amount of convincing I normally would. He did give me one little crow hop on our way toward the neighbor's yard. Just about near the 1 mile mark everyone was walking calmly and forward so we asked them to turn around. And then the parade of tractors started and didn't stop. And Axel got a bee in his bonnet and started bucking. I more or less kept my seat but not until after I had hit my leg on the saddle horn. I asked him to stop and stand calmly and then I dismounted. Not something I would normally do but as I don't feel like it's appropriate to really make him work it was probably the safest thing to do. Cody was calm as could be while Axel bounced around behind him several times while I led him home. He was really moving out well at that point and it was just the occasional trip on the gravel that made him look the slightest bit off. I still don't think he's going to be doing any trail riding in his future though a calm ride on an isolated trail might be a little nicer than the busy road. I'll reserve the right to change my mind next spring when we get him another injection and the weather is nicer. Until then I think we'll have very few rides down the road if it's nice out, otherwise maybe some ground driving in the arena and some trick training if I get bored.

On the up swing?

A week after Axel's last injection I ran out to the barn to check on him. N was out on Cody with Steele so I just grabbed Axel and we walked down the road. He's been almost sound at the walk on flat ground without a rider for a while now and I was a little disappointed to see he was the same a week following his injection.

A week later I got Jeff and Daniel to come out to the barn with me and we grabbed Axel to see how he was doing. He was a lot better, moving out quite a bit at the walk on flat ground. I brought him into the barn and picked out his feet and Daniel had his turn sitting on the big horse. Then I jumped on bareback for one lap around the arena, a very fast and sound lap at that! I'm trying not to get my hopes up but maybe he'll be sound enough for a walk down the road next week with Cody and Steele. I'm pretty sure we're not going to be trail riding ever again but if we can keep him sound at the walk without a rider I'm formulating a plan to take him to a lead line show with Daniel some day.

Another Knee Injection

I ran out to the barn yesterday afternoon to meet up with the vet. We decided to give Axel another injection of steroids and HA to see if that would help him out a bit. They stand around so much in the winter I wanted to get it done so he was a bit more mobile before the ice started. If it works well enough for me to ride him down the road at a walk, all the better. We'll see how he feels in a week. He's such a good boy, stood perfectly still while having several needles stuck into his joint. Can't say I'd be able to do the same thing!

Daniel Meets the Boys

I took Daniel out to the barn last week to meet Nancy and the horses. The first time he was at the barn he slept through the whole thing. We put him up on Cody for a photo op. He was a little unsure of what was going on. I don't know if he was afraid of Nancy or of sitting on the horse but he almost started crying. He was interested in trying to pet Cody's nose but horses bite hard so we didn't let him get too close. Have I said I cannot wait until he's big enough to ride?

Nearly Perfect Ride

We had a farrier appointment on Tuesday so I ran out to the barn and left the baby with Jeff for a while. He was set up with a bottle but it's nicer if we don't have to waste a bottle so they try and wait until I get back. I thought Jeff had plans on Wednesday so when J suggested we go riding I didn't think I'd be able to. Well Jeff's plans changed and he offered that I go out to the barn and ride. So I met J at the barn and we took Cody and Steele down the rode. Nancy couldn't ride this week so I took her place ;) Cody was pure gold. I haven't had a ride like that on him in ages. He was calm, didn't need a lot of coaxing to leave the property, and went the same speed home as he did leaving the barn. We went south in the drainage ditch between cornfields and then ventured a bit further south than we usually go. Other than snatching grass every chance he had, Cody was a saint. He had a few tiny starts at the boogie men in the corn and needed to play catch up a few times since Steele walks quite a bit faster but it was great. Even during our little catch up trots he was calm and smooth. It's so nice riding a horse like that. I wish he was like that when he was alone but I'll take what I can get, who likes to trail ride alone anyways? I'm trying to schedule a time for the vet to come out and inject Axel's knee again. I'm hoping that helps enough for him to do an easy trail ride this fall if my trailer gets finished and brought down here. If it doesn't help him this time around then Mr. Axel might be looking at retirement at least from riding until Daniel is big enough to ride. I was trying to think of what I can do with Axel this winter if we're not riding. I was thinking of maybe clicker training him to do some tricks. Of course we can't work on bowing but there's gotta be some other tricks we could do. Maybe picking up items from the ground, he's already too mouthy, maybe we could put it to good use.

On my own

Back out to the barn last night. This time on my own. I decided to take Cody for a spin since it had been so long. He was, of course, the same as he usually is for me, uninterested in leaving the property. We worked in the ditch, back and forth, in front of the property. There was some fighting, a bit of cantering, and some crow hopping. You know, the usual. we ended by doing some trotting and a bit of wrong-lead cantering in the arena.

I jumped on Axel bareback in the arena for a few laps. He's still pretty "off" especially in the deep footing. I'm hoping next week we can get back out on the road with friends for a ride. If only I could get him to eat all his bute, he'd sure feel better as would I. Both boys had fly masks on but Cody had one ear out the side and one ear out the forelock hole. When I was done riding him I put his mask back on and put him in the pasture. By the time I was done with Axel (a whopping 15 minutes I'm sure), he had an ear out of the fly mask already.

Bath Time

I went out again last week to ride but poor Axel had other ideas. He looked good when I brought him into the barn. I groomed and tacked him up and we headed down the road with Cody and Steele but before we even got past the property it was evident that he wasn't feeling too great. I got off to see if he'd walk it off but he wasn't even putting his full weight on that sore leg. So not knowing if he'd go completely lame or what we decided to turn around and head back. Cody and Steele kept going to have a nice ride in the drainage ditches.

Since it was pretty hot out and the horses had been sweating just standing in their pasture I decided to use my time to give Axel a little bit of a bath. I didn't use soap but I hosed him down really well and even scrubbed and clipped up his back feet. I say every year I'm going to try and preemptively combat the mud fever but I never get around to it. So this is the first step in that. If I can keep them cleaned up before it hits maybe I can keep it away by keep some MTG on him. When the gals got back from their ride they hosed off the other horses before turning them out. Of course Cody went for a nice roll in the arena, good thing we didn't use soap, I bet it felt good though!

A Real Ride

Whoo hoo! I think I'm officially back in the saddle! Of course Axel is still pretty sore on that front knee but it was time to venture out of the arena. Axel's true colors shone through once again. After essentially being on vacation for over a year (with a little work in the middle) I was able to throw a saddle on him and take him down the road. I left the baby with his dad and they went to a car show and I met up with the gals at the barn and we had ourselves a mini trail ride a mile down the road and back. Axel was limpy, he wouldn't eat his bute before we left, hey I tried! But over the course of a mile and half he didn't really get any worse. He was calm and sane. He stopped a few times in an attempt to convince me the ride was over but it was nothing major. Cody was also a rock star. Calm as can be, as far as I could see he didn't try to bolt or trot or even turn around. What good boys!

I ended up getting off half way home and leading Axel, I figured it just wasn't fair for me to make he go that long after having so much time off. He moved out pretty well after I dismounted, for part of the walk he was nearly dragging me, guess I gotta keep working on my running so I can keep up. If I could get him to eat the bute he would have probably been just fine for the whole 2 miles. Since it's arthritis I'm still going to try and keep riding, just nice easy walks of course. He needs to keep moving and I think if I can get him to start using his rear end again that will help take some pressure off the front end.

So all and all it was a good ride. I would have loved to go longer, I would have loved to do some cantering, I would love for Axel to be 100% but it's just not going to happen. Depending on how he's doing and what the vet says next spring I might have his knee injected again. It's not expensive and it helped quite a bit last time, I wonder if there's any cumulative benefit to having it done every year? It'd be nice to keep him sound and working for the next few years until we move out to our own farm and he can retire with Cody. Of course with all the excitement of finally getting out again I forgot to take photos til we got back, whoops.

Back in the Saddle a second time

Another farrier visit already. I left the baby with his dad and hit the road for the barn. The boys thought I was maybe going to feed them so they came trotting up from the opposite side of the pasture. Okay, Cody trotted, Axel limped.

After they had their feet done I saddled up Axel and took a few laps around the arena. He was moving out really well for the first two times around and then he decided he was sore and started limping like crazy. I guess it doesn't take much when you are out of shape. I wish he felt as good as he looks.

I'm still going to attempt a trip down the road, next week if I can get out there when N is out riding Cody. Axel might get himself some bute before that ride just to smooth it out a bit. He doesn't quite understand when I tell him that he's gotta keep moving despite the arthritis, it's the only way to keep it from getting stiff. Maybe drugs will speak louder than words.

Back at the barn!

I finally made it back to the barn for more than a few minutes! Jeff, armed with a bottle, took baby duty so I could go play with horses for a while. I didn't do a whole lot but it was more than I had done in a long time. Axel isn't so much a black horse any more as he is a nice dark brown from standing out in the sun. It probably took me an hour to groom and get all the knots out of his mane from the wind. We did very minimal ground work in the arena, mostly Axel just wandered around checking things out. I was thinking I wouldn't ride for quite a while but Axel tends to not make huge improvements from ground work. So I'm thinking the next time I can make it out when N is riding Cody I'll ride Axel in the arena. Until then I might tack him up and do ground work just so he's reminded what it's all about. We'll see if I stick to that plan ;) Cody was not too happy that I took Axel out of the pasture. He's been the one to leave the pasture not Axel. We could hear him calling all the way up to the barn.

Still Alive

I'm still alive and so are the horses. We stopped out last week to bring Daniel out to meet the boys but only stayed for a few minutes, the bugs were pretty bad. Then last night we had a farrier appointment so I left the baby with his great aunt and ran out to tend to the boys. Their hooves were looking pretty beat up from stomping flies. N has been riding Cody down the road, the last few times with another horse, and it's been going well. Meanwhile I'm counting down the days until I can ride again, though after so much time off, Axel and I might spend quite a bit of time in the arena! I can't wait until Daniel can ride!

Memorial Day

I waddled out to the barn again on Memorial day for a little while just to check on everyone. N has been busy lately so she hasn't had too much of a chance to get out and ride and who knows when this baby is coming so I figured I better take my chances while I had them. Instead of doing the long walk to the pasture to get a horse and bring him to the barn I just grabbed a few brushes and went out to groom in the pasture. Of course Cody was on the opposite side and Axel was no where in sight. Turns out he was napping on the far side of the pasture and it's a slight hill so you can't see on the other side until you get closer. It was difficult grooming, I didn't grab the right brushes and both horses had quite a bit of mud. Plus the bugs are starting to come out so there was a lot of swishing and biting going on that I had to dodge. The horses haven't quite figured out that standing on top of me does not make the bugs go away. I'll have to remember to bring out the fly masks next time I go out and pick up some fly spray as well. So in the end I didn't get much grooming done. Axel's legs are looking pretty good, still a couple remaining scabs but nothing new so that's good. Next time I'm able to bend over I'll get him shaved up again and maybe start putting on either some desitin or MTG.

I did manage to catch some crazy horse antics as I was walking back to the barn. Someone got some wind up their butts and took off in the next pasture so Cody and Axel started running. It resulted in a good 10 minutes of the next pasture running back and forth at full speed and Cody and Axel running in circles around their feeder. Axel was bucking and bouncing and Cody was just his usual frantic self. Of course by the time I got out my phone to try and video tape it they were too tired and hanging out by the water tank instead.

Chiropractor and Farrier

Last week I waddled out to the barn to have the boys' chiropractor appointment. I foolishly decided to grab both horses at once which went okay until we got to the last gate and then both horses ended up in the yard wandering around and me with no lead ropes in my hand. Luckily Axel doesn't go any further than food and Cody was confused enough to stay put as well so I was able to catch them both without an issue. Then I figured I wasn't going to get them both through the little barn door so I tied Axel to the picnic table which he proceeded to drag into the driveway. *sigh*

Once I got both horses in the arena they goofed around for a while, Cody rolled and chased Axel around and they finally settled down. S was having both her boys tended to first so that gave us some time to wait. When she was done I put both boys in the cross ties and opted to start with Cody, figuring he hates waiting so maybe getting his adjustment first would calm him down. He wasn't horribly out of wack but had some low back issues. Axel also had some minor low back issues but that was about it for him. Of course Cody was not patient. He left two huge cow pies in the barn aisle and started to do his little cat stretch which freaks me out. I put Cody in a stall so I could clean up his mess and in case he peed. He proceeded to pace and sweat and just generally be a pain in the butt while Axel was finishing up.

I brought them back out to the pasture one at a time (hey I learned my lesson). Cody first, since he was the most likely to kill himself waiting. He proceeded to run around in circles while I went and grabbed Axel.

So then yesterday we had a farrier appointment. I was getting worried I might have to call and have someone else handle my horses if I was having this baby but the baby stayed where it belonged and I was able to waddle out to the pasture once again to get the boys. Cody was actually very calm and let me lead him slowly back to the barn. He stood well for the farrier while I grabbed Axel. Axel, the fat lazy lame horse, has found a new walking speed that I cannot keep up with so leading him is a bit harder these days. I'm glad he's feeling so good though. He was fine for the farrier and I put Cody back outside and left Axel in to do a bit of grooming since it had been so long. He still has a few remaining scabs but otherwise is looking good. I really should get out there one more time with the hose and try and get those last bits off and I still haven't ordered any Tea Tree spray which I'd like to use throughout the summer just to keep things at bay. It's rained probably 5 inches in the past week or two and there really is only one muddy spot in their new pasture so that's a good sign and it's not all that bad of a spot. So if I can get Axel cleared up maybe I can get ahead of the scratches this year, finally.

Finally Spring

Boy is it a lot of work going out to fetch horses these days. It's a long walk and once I get Axel haltered and ready to go he's now walking much faster than me. Too bad getting on and riding from the pasture to the barn isn't an option. Luckily it should only be a few more weeks before the baby arrives.

I did make it out on a nice afternoon just to check on things. Axel's legs are healing up finally, he still has a few scabs here and there but J has been helping pick them off when she has a chance. His ventral edema is gone and any stocking up in his back legs seems to be gone as well and he doesn't seem to be in pain. He is fat though, very very fat. There's so much grass in the pasture they are in now, even without grain he's keeping the weight on. Poor boy is going to be in for a shock when I can ride again!

I gave Axel his spring shot in the barn and then I just brought Cody's shot out to the pasture with me. I wasn't in the mood to do the walk back to the barn an addition time and I figured Cody would be a lot calmer if he didn't have to be taken away from his neighbors who he loves so much. He really wants to be in with Cody2 and Stitch. I guess all the brown/white horses like to hang out together.

N rode in the arena this past weekend and walked Cody down the road a bit. I guess it went pretty well. He was a little upset about being away from the neighbors but not too horrible. Chiropractor is coming on Friday so I'll be excited to see if there are any attitude changes following the adjustment.

New Pasture

So the boys are now out back in one of the big pastures. There's a bit of gate management that has to be done to get my guys out and not get the other herd with it but with all the grass it's not a huge issue. And boy are the horses happy to be a dry grassy pasture. They made me walk nearly to the back of the pasture to fetch them last night. Not that I couldn't use the exercise but it was the first 87F day and I think that might be my limit for heat while pregnant. I was beat by the time I got Axel back up to the barn. If I was agile and not in the state I'm in I would have figured out how to get on Axel and ride him back.

Cody was standing next to the fence with the other herd nearby. He didn't seem terribly concerned when I took Axel out either. He might have been calling a bit while we were in the barn but it's hard to tell who was yelling. He did come running up to the gate when I brought Axel back so he missed him a little. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts when N takes him out the next time. I just didn't have the energy to do it myself.

So I hosed off Axel's legs one more time, perhaps the last time if they keep healing. I got a handful of scabs off and things are looking pretty good. He must be feeling okay didn't pull his legs away when I picked or scrubbed. There's still a bunch of scabs stuck on there pretty good but things are going in the right direction. After spraying I scrubbed them good with the chlorhexidine. Seems like the hair is growing back as well. And in even better news, the winter fuzz is all but gone. Axel is shiny and black again and nearly all the swelling on his belly is gone. In a week or two he should be looking pretty darn spiffy. Then he'll turn red again of course but we get a few good days in there. He's also walking pretty well at least on the lead. I'm hoping this fall we can get back to light work again and maybe a trail ride if we can work out any of our kinks from not being ridden in so long. Jeff offered to start going out there and working with him as well but we'll see if that happens. I don't think a few more months off work is going to make a huge difference in his attitude after having a year and a half off. We'll just have to start with lots of ground work in tack as a reminder.

Vet Visit

Well I guess we lucked out on Tuesday. Cody used up all his calm then and left me with a crazy horse when the vet came yesterday. Granted I should know better than to bring him inside before we're ready to go. Had him and Axel in the aisle to groom while I waited and he was there maybe two minutes before he started sweating and peed on the cement! So I put them both in the arena and he ran around like an idiot for a good 15 minutes. The big side door in the arena was open so he'd run up there look out at the neighbor horses and then try and run to the back corner where he thought he'd be closer to the horses but he couldn't see them there so he'd run back to the open door. Over and over. We ended up having to give him his shots outside where he could see his friends and he still wasn't the best but at least the vet got the needles in okay and he didn't really notice since he was so concerned.

I'm starting to wonder if it's not Dolly that has him worked up but instead Logan. Because Tuesday Logan was in and he was calm as could be. And he stands next to Logan at the fence all the time. So either he likes Logan a lot or Logan is competition for Dolly and he wants to know where he is at all times, doesn't want Logan to take Dolly away.

That horse, I tell ya, I think he has multiple personalities!

Axel was calm and patient like he usually is. Both horses scored a 5 on their body condition which surprised me. I figured Axel would be a notch over and Cody a notch under but the vet said they were looking good. Got some suggestions for Axel's scratches and the vet doesn't think it's copper deficiency he said it's hard to test for and doesn't happen very often. He did say supplementing for it wouldn't be a bad thing if I wanted to see if it helped at all. He figured the scratches were bacterial and thought I could maybe try some Animax/Panalog. His only other thought was maybe some sort of chorioptic mite (which is mange) but that again is tough to test for. It responds to an IM injection but I guess it's a bit tricky and it's doubtful that it would be it. He did agree that if Axel had a less than stellar immune system it would explain him getting them so often and so bad.

So everyone is caught up on their Rabies shots and had their coggins pulled. I have their other shots at home that I'll give. I actually ended up with a combo that has nearly everything in it so I just have one spring shot and then a strangles shot in the fall. The vet did recommend a Potomac shot but everyone declined that one. The last I heard it wasn't really around here and people don't usually give that shot. Glad I bought my shots at the Expo though, the combo shot was about 3 times as much from the vet as what I paid. Yikes!

Good Boy, Cody!

I should know better than to forget that horses like to prove their owner's wrong every chance they get.

Ran out to the barn last evening. It was finally nice out and sunny and it had been dry for at least two days in a row. The wind is still chilly but the sun is nice to see. I grabbed Axel and hosed off his legs. Quite a few more scabs came off easily so now there is a lot of clean skin showing through. I'm hoping the more skin that gets exposed the faster the fungus/bacteria will go away considering it's an-aerobic and all. And I could tell he was starting to not hurt so much, he didn't yank his feet away from me nearly as much. So this time I just scrubbed him up with Chlorhexidine and let him stand there and dry for a while.

N came out to work with Cody a bit and there were a few other people in the arena as well. Nice weather brings everyone out to the barn it seems! So while Axel stood not so patiently Cody got groomed and he actually stood nicely considering how nervous he had been the last time he was taken away from his new girlfriend. I put Axel out and N tacked up Cody and brought him into the arena. There were two other people riding/lunging at the same time but Cody did awesome. It didn't look like N had to coax him to keep moving too much and he was super calm. When she'd ask him for a canter he'd attempt it without running into it. He still needs working picking up the left lead but he just kept trying never really getting out of control. Even trotting after being asked to canter he was calm and slow. He actually looked like a decently trained western horse.

Darn horse sure has a way to make his owner look bad! I can't get him to do any of that stuff calmly when I ride. When I start riding again I'm really going to have to work on sitting calmly and not driving him nuts with legs and seat and hands. He really goes well for a western trained or more experienced rider. Silly pony.

Superpowers

In the excitement of trying to put the gate back on the hinges I completely failed at taking any photos during my last visit. The boys had spent the day in stalls on Tuesday while it rained and Cody was less than appreciative of that arrangement. So when I got there on Wednesday they were back in their old paddock with the shelter. And the mud. So much mud. Not that their other pasture didn't have mud. I let Axel wander around in the arena for a while in hopes to dry off his feet a bit before I started grooming. He's down to mostly random spots of red/brown hair with shiny black in between. But I think we still have a ways to go before he's back in his summer outfit.

I didn't spend a lot of time on his scabs since it's supposed to keep raining. I did get a few big ones off easily and coated him in MTG again. As much work as it's going to be since he isn't too fond of the procedure, I'm looking forward to a warm sunny day when I can hose him off really good, work as many of those scabs off, disinfect the area, and cover him in something medicated. Common sun, where are you? (you know what will happen, it'll be cold and rainy and then it'll go straight to 90F heat, ug)

When Axel was done I grabbed Cody to get him some time in the barn away from friends. Though now that they were back in their old paddock he didn't seem to care too much about being separated. Apparently he just really likes Dolly. I let him run in the arena for a bit. First thing he did was roll of course. I free lunged him for a few minutes to get him moving since it's pretty hard to get around in the slippery mud and rain. He stood decently enough for grooming, a little pawing but that was about it. He must have gotten himself a little worked up in the stall on Tuesday, his chest was all full of dried sweat and hair. Poor nervous horse.

When I went to put him back I lifted up on the gate to unlatch it and pulled it off the hinges. I managed to get Cody back in the paddock and then tried to get the gate back on but I could only ever get one hinge, never both at one time. So I had to suck it up and tell J&J that I broke the gate with my super human strength ;)

New Pasture

The boys have been moved to a new pasture for a while. J&J are hoping to get something done about the massive bog that seems to be growing in their original pasture and until then they thought it'd be better to move them. This pasture doesn't look a whole lot better as far as mud but I'm pretty sure it dries out a lot quicker than the one they were in. If the weather gets bad they will go back in their original pasture with a shelter until J has a chance to make a new shelter. Needless to say Cody is very happy having some new neighbors to talk to, one of which is a mare.

Ironically he was giving Dolly the "hey baby" knicker and she walked away to go visit with Axel. Axel could care less and was more concerned that there was a little bit of grass for him to try and eat. Cody and Logan seem to be keeping close company but that might just be competition.

Axel's legs aren't worse but they aren't better yet. I'm not really getting my hopes up for a while since it's been raining and is supposed to rain a bunch more this coming week. Until we see some sun I've just been brushing off the dry mud and any scabs that want to come with and then putting as much MTG on him as possible. I *think* that's at least keeping the scabs from getting too huge, I think it loosens them up a bit so they fall off on their own. And hopefully it's keeping the mud fever from spreading up his leg too far.

So far I have about 1/4 of a horse again (the rest being buffalo). His neck has shed down to shiny black hair. Now if only the rest of him would follow. And it looks like his belly/swelling is starting to go away and his sheath is almost normal sized. Pretty soon he's going to look like the fancy black horse again.

Is it Spring yet?

I forwent a nap so I could visit the boys last night. Lots going on this week so it was my only chance to check on Axel and make sure he wasn't completely miserable from the mud fever. Much to my surprise he was doing pretty well. Still scabby of course but the scabs seem to be contained and of a smaller variety than last week. He's still sore and standing around with one foot in the air but at least it's maintaining for now. If we could just get a good week's worth of sun and warm to dry up their paddock it would really help. Not to mention if it gets warmer out I'm more inclined to hose him off and try and get some of the scabs removed. J said he had been sleeping all day, out there completely laid out on his side. She called to him a few times to make sure an ear would twitch. He's pretty round and laying down I imagine he looks a bit like a dead bloated horse. I'm surprised no one calls or stops by to tell her about the "dead horse" in the paddock! I cleaned off as much dirty and mud and hair as I could. Luckily the mud on his legs was dry so I brushed it off and tried to soak him in MTG again. I didn't feel like being hunched over with the hose and the MTG usually helps loosen things up anyways. Hopefully I can make it out this weekend and it'll be nicer out.

Cody was very sad that not only was Axel in the barn but both his neighbor horses were in the barn so he was ready to bust through the fence to find them when I brought Axel back out. He spent quite a bit of time in the cross ties calm but started to paw as I finished up grooming. For once he wasn't a ball of sweat. I left his legs alone as he had trampled through the wet mud before I haltered him. Since N hadn't been out to ride the past weekend I took him in the arena for a few minutes just to do some circles and get his brain working. He was calm and fairly willing to listen even though his neighbor was being lunged as well though he kept looking outside at some mysterious invisible thing. And of course he had to ruin a good evening by grabbing a whole bale of hay on his way by and spreading it all over the barn.

A New Tactic

So Tuesday the scratches were in full effect. The scabs on Axel's legs are huge and he's very sore. I even resorted to giving him some bute to hopefully take the edge off. J had the warm water turned on so I hosed down Axel's legs, in retrospect a cold hosing might have felt better but the warm water helped work some scabs off and wasn't quite as shocking. I couldn't get all the scabs off, some were on there to stay. After I soaked him for quite some time we went in the barn and I scrubbed him up with the chlorhexidine. While I waited for that to dry I removed another horse's worth of hair from Axel's winter coat and convinced him to eat some bute. He didn't eat all of it so I'm hoping he got at least a decent amount to make him feel a little better for the day. Since he's so sore I decided to try some tri-care on the spots where I picked the scabs instead of the MTG. At this point I'm just kind of pulling at straws to find something to make him comfortable until the pasture dries. My initial thought is that having less scabs should help at least a tiny bit.

I did a little research and it seems like perhaps Axel could have a copper deficiency. The symptoms of such are mud fever, dull reddish coat, swollen joints. All three things Axel has. So now I'm looking at finding a copper supplement and seeing if he'll eat that. I probably won't have J&J feed it to him every day but between N and I we can probably get a decent amount in him a few times a week. I know J&J would offer to feed it but I think at 4am feeding time the last time a person wants to do is deal with more supplements. Considering the month's worth of joint supplement Axel gets lasts several months, I'm thinking it gets skipped once in a while. I am looking forward to having the horses at my own house and being able to make weird diet changes without putting someone else out. Another reason I'd rather not send them back to the farm when the Baby gets here, who's going to pamper my spoiled horses?

I did bring Cody in for a few minutes to do a little ground work and let him run around a bit. I could tell he really wanted to roll while I asked him to circle but because of that he had a really nice long and low trot, good back stretch! When I was done on the lead line I let him roll and then I asked him to move out a bit and stretch his legs. I did scrape about a half a horse's worth of hair out of his winter coat but he's got a ways to go (and he gets groomed twice as often as Axel)! Lucky boys get the weekend off. I wanted to make it out to the barn one more time before the weekend to tend to Axel but it rained yesterday and it's supposed to rain Friday as well and we have to get the house cleaned up for some guests so it's probably not going to happen.

Still Fighting the Mud

I managed to make it out to the barn twice last week. The weather was great and I had more or less unlimited time so it was a nice break. I dealt with Axel's feet for as long as my back could stand being hunched over. Put a lot of cold water on and scrubbed a bit to get some scabs off. I figured the cold water might feel good on sore legs. Axel wasn't terribly happy about the whole situation but he was manageable. I ended up scrubbing with Chlorhexidine first and then letting his legs dry while I chiseled the mud off the rest of him. Then I soaked him in MTG before I sent him back outside. So we'll see the outcome when I make it out there this week. I don't expect miracles but it'd be nice if the scabs were at a minimum. I brought Cody in as well and tried to get off as much mud as humanly possible. I am looking forward to everything drying out which I don't think will be too long. Rumor has it, the boys might go out back with the bigger herd. It'll be interesting to see how Cody reacts to being taken out of that herd to be ridden. He might be a bit of a pill for a while until he settles in. But I guess time will tell!

The weekend report for Cody was pretty good. N and Cody made it down the road further than usual. N usually dismounts near the end of the road and walks Cody a bit further then remounts and rides back. She's going to be gone this coming weekend so hopefully I can get out there a couple times and lunge him a bit just so he doesn't forget that he's not retired quite yet.

Mud Fever in Full Swing

Sounds like Cody was feeling a little goofy on Saturday when N went out to ride. I'm hoping it's just a little Spring fever. Though we do have an appointment for the chiropractor in May, just too bad it's so far off. I guess they got as far as they usually get down the road and back, then a car passed by and he went a little bonkers so N dismounted. And as it has been lately, this occurred right in front of the driveway. Here's hoping a little nicer weather, more riding, and the chiropractor can get Cody back to earth.

Monday was our usual farrier visit and other than Axel being a bit of a pain in the rear everything went as usual. I brought Axel back in after everyone was done so I could attempt to remove some of his scabs. He's mostly okay with me fiddling around but tends to yank his feet up as high as he can. It's not too big a deal if I'm ready for it and don't get in the way but occasionally he loses his balance and I don't want to be pinned between him and the stall or the floor if he falls. I did manage to get off some pretty large scabs, they were pretty loose so it wasn't too hard to do between his little dance moves. I decided to go with the MTG this time so I did my best to get his legs good and soaked in that. I figure at the very least it might loosen up some more scabs. J offered to share some of his sulfur mix he makes for the clydesdale and hose down Axel's legs and what not for me. I still have my doubts that the sulfur mix or the MTG will actually kill anything but it's worth a try. Luckily the pasture is now roped off so they can't get to the low spots and the area they are confined to seems like it might dry out pretty quickly. Apparently when J was putting up the temporary fence he took a step and ended up over his muck boots in mud/water. The low spot of their pasture is basically like a bog. He thinks there's something up with the tiling that was done by the county a couple years ago. It'll be nice when it dries and they get some of the footing (read: manure) packed down a bit. Axel is pretty sore right now so I might see if I can find some tea tree spray, someone mentioned that it has a bit of a numbing affect and being able to spray it on from a distance is always a nice feature. After all of this including being a real bugger for the farrier, Axel was actually walking very soundly on our way back out to the pasture. I should have taken some time to work him a bit in the arena but with sore pasterns I don't really want to put boots on him yet. Maybe next time (famous last words).

Still waiting for spring

We're still not up to the nice 40's and 50's we were a couple weeks ago but the sun was out this weekend and the 30 degree temperatures felt pretty warm since the sun is much closer these days. I brought Axel in for some grooming and who knows what. A was in with both her horses and Vinnie was being his usual teenage self. The bad thing about a black horse is the more you brush the dirtier they look especially this time of year. The shedding has slowed down a bit for now but Axel is still as hairy as can be. He's still swollen but they are also still hanging out close to the feeder so I don't expect too much change in that department until it starts getting a lot nicer.

The pasture is getting pretty muddy but there's still a good layer of ice under the manure so when I pulled Axel out of the pasture he wasn't walking too well but he shaped up when we got on good footing. His nice clean back feet from when I got them shaved up the last time are no more. The back of his left hind is full of scabs again and it must be sore judging from the way he did not want me any where near it. I didn't scrub with the chlorhexidine this time instead I just covered him in MTG in the hopes that either 1. it loosens up the scabs a bit and keeps away some of the mud and/or 2. it actually does kill the mud fever. I might go on an alternating plan this spring, one week scrub clean and the next time douse in MTG. In the grand scheme of things even when his legs hurt he's very cooperative.

The BOs are going to put up a temporary fence in the pasture to keep the boys off the low parts and give that half a chance to actually grow this year before they start grazing it down to nothing. I'm glad about that but I'm sure that means Axel will stay swollen a little longer and where they do end up will probably be pretty muddy.

Sunday I wimped out and stayed home but N had a chance to get out and work with Cody again. I guess he did pretty well and made it down the road to the spot Danny had issues in last week. Then he started to balk a little. N dismounted and walked him past the scary ghosts and got back on and heading home. He was a little worked up on the way home (doing his best Rollkur impression I'm sure) but settled in and she didn't have to have him circle at all. I guess they worked on stopping and resting and being calm on the walk back. And apparently he was not sweaty when they returned which means despite some of his protesting he was calm enough to not work himself into a lather, good boy Cody! Hopefully by the time it's really nice out and people are ready to ride around the block Cody will be easy to handle and N can get out for some longer rides with him. He seems pretty decent when you take him away from the property on a real trail ride so I'm not too worried about that and all this going out alone on the road should only help. I just wonder if we'll every get Axel back in physical and mental shape to do some trail rides this fall when I'm able to ride again and my trailer is done (fingers crossed).

Flying a Kite

Made it out to the barn on a day when it was warm enough I didn't have to wear 10 layers of clothes, and boy was it nice. N was getting Cody ready and I had Axel in the aisle with him. Of course that didn't stop Cody from sweating just standing there. A showed up and got Danny ready while Cody was warmed up and Axel was long lined for a while. We decided we should all head out on the road for a while and enjoy the weather. I decided it was probably going to be easier to just lead Axel on the road rather than ground drive him but I left his tack on, figured maybe he'd stay in "work" mode that way.

Things started off a bit rocky. Stitch was alone in his paddock and subsequently running the fence line and calling. We were barely out of the driveway when Axel took flight. He went straight up in the air with all four feet, bounced a couple times, and then came down calm as can be. So we walked on. A little while later he did the same thing. When cars would pass we'd stop and wait just to be on the safe side. Cody was very well behaved and even led the pack for most of the ride. Axel repeatedly flew up in the air for no reason. Our goal was to make it the full mile but as we were getting about a 1/4 mile away from our destination Danny decided there was some horse-eating corn stalks in the far ditch and had some moments of trepidation. It eventually led to him backing up til he hit the near side of the ditch. I think he spun around at the change of footing and lept into the ditch. Well most of the snow is melted around here but the ditch has a good 3-4 feet still in it. Basically the top of the snow in the ditch is level with the road. Danny was unable to float on top of this snow and ended up sunk to his belly. A was able to get off and re-situate her reins to use as a lead while Danny laid in the snow patiently waiting the "ok" to work himself out of his predicament. And there I stood not taking photos with my phone. Duh.

In the end he made it out to the field side of the ditch and they walked back toward the nearest driveway so they could get back on the road. Unfortunately the field was very muddy so it wasn't a clean walk for either horse nor leader. We decided that was a good time to head back. Cody was a little wound up on the walk back, when Danny thrashed in the snow, Axel freaked out a bit and Cody tried to head for home. Nice to know when his buddies are in trouble he'll just be getting the heck out of there ;) We did make it back in one piece, Cody using his best Rollkur impression the whole way. Halfway down the driveway Axel decided to rear and jump around like an idiot so he sealed his fate for some lunging.

I haven't been lunging him much because of his knee but in my mind if you are sound enough to leap in the air or rear then you are sound enough to sweat some energy off on the lunge line. So he trotted and cantered a bit and it didn't take long before he came back to earth. Apparently a little adrenaline makes for a nice painkiller for arthritis.

All three horses rolled on their lead lines and we stood around and chatted for quite some time. It's been a while since there's been more than one or two people at the barn at one time and the weather was nice so we didn't freeze standing out there talking. Now if only I could have been working on my favorite part of horse riding: practicing the halt under saddle while chatting with people ;) I should get plenty of practice with that later this summer when I can get back on a horse again, hopefully after wearing Axel out first!

Any Day Now

Any day now it's going to be Spring. I was lazy last week but I finally made it out to the barn yesterday. My car said it was only 35F but I swear it felt warmer than that. The shedding is still happening and now the boys are finding places other than snow to lay in so grooming is taking longer than normal. Axel volunteered to go fist and came up to the gate when I arrived. I groomed him in the cross-ties and then put him in the arena to roll off the rest of the hair I couldn't get off. He made it evident that it felt pretty good to roll - grunts and everything.

I put Cody in the arena first since he had found something pretty dirty to lay in. He trotted around looking for a good spot and rolled before coming back up to me. Which he followed up with turning and running away for another quick run around the arena. He was fairly calm in the cross-ties but I think he wished I would have finished quicker. I took him down the driveway for a quick walk to see where his head was at. He hasn't been ridden since his last trip down the driveway when the car passed and made him upset. Of course another truck passed at lightning speed and I was once again flying a kite. We worked just in front of the property walking back and forth and doing circles trying to get a nice calm walk and maybe some licking and chewing. When he finally gave in just a tiny bit I called it quits and we went back to the barn. I made him back up for quite a few steps before he was allowed to go back to the pasture. I didn't feel like lunging so I just wanted him to do "something" near the barn before he got his reward.

Gonna have to bring out the clippers and clean Cody up a bit next time I'm out. He's resembling a billy goat and it can't hurt to clean up his feathers either. Sometime in May we might have the Chiropractor out so I'm hoping that helps with his attitude again.

Sunny Winter Day

It ended up getting a lot warmer today then I thought it was going to and the sun was shining so after running some errands I made it out to see the boys. I ended up bringing the real camera out though I'm not entirely impressed by my results. Try, try again I suppose.

I groomed Cody in the cross ties and then had him do just a handful of circles and change of direction before we went for a walk down the road (after he got in a roll of course). He was his usual self, speeding up to get in front of me but listening when I said "easy." He was a bit concerned with cars again so we did quite a few laps back and forth in front of the pasture and the neighbor's yard. We made it past the drive way and to the end of the other pasture with only one freak out because some dumba** thinks it's okay to dive 65mph on a gravel road. I don't blame Cody one bit for that freak out. Cody2 is now in the pasture with Steele so there was some playing going on there and my Cody wanted to get in on it so he was a bit distracted.

I brought him back into the arena to have him free lunge a bit more while I tried to take some videos. I decided maybe I'd bring in Axel to play as well. Of course Cody went from warm and slightly damp to sweating in the two minutes he stood there alone while I got Axel out of the pasture. Both boys together didn't really want to play too much and Axel was pretty dirty from laying in the snow and hay. I put Cody in the cross ties with a wool blanket and put Axel in the other set of ties. I figured maybe Cody would be calm enough to cool down while I groomed.

Axel stood like a champ while Cody tried to do his best to pace while tied up. Needless to say he didn't really dry off much. Luckily it was still sunny out so I scrubbed him as dry as I could with the blanket. I left Axel in the arena while I brought Cody out. Axel didn't turn the radio on this time but when I came back in he was standing with his foot on the bottom rung of the gate. He wasn't stuck luckily just impatient. I had thought about walking him down the road but it was getting late and the pregnant lady needed a rest room so it was back out in the pasture for the big woolly bear.

Still Long Lining

Made it out to the barn on Sunday to check on the boys. Shedding is in full force. Axel laid down to roll in the arena and left a black imprint from all the hair. Both the boys ran around the arena a bit and Cody rolled. I wanted Axel to have a chance to roll without getting chased off by Cody so I tied him up in the arena. I groomed while Axel finally got a chance to get down on the ground. I don't know for sure but I don't think Cody was sweaty before I tied him up. He was tied for maybe 5 minutes, in the arena, where he could see Axel, and he still broke out in the sweats. That horse, what a nervous Nancy!

I left Axel in the arena while I took Cody back out to the pasture. When I came back into the barn Axel had figured out how to turn on the radio. Clearly this horse needs more work. So I suited him up to ground drive. He actually does pretty well with the driving, listens to voice commands pretty well and he's getting better at steering without leg. He still yanks on the reins though but I *think* it took longer before he started yanking this time. I'll have to get some ground poles and cones out next time to make it a bit more interesting. I should also start cantering him on the long lines but one step at a time I suppose.

Back on the Long Lines

I was determined to do some work last night since it's been forever since I've gotten anything productive done at the barn. I grabbed Axel and cleaned him up the best I could. He apparently laid down at some point as well as ran through something sloppy that was splattered all over his opposite side. I outfitted him with a saddle pad, the training surcingle (on the last holes, fatty), an ace bandage to keep the surcingle from spinning, and bell boots on all his feet. Once we got past the "OMG I can't walk with these things on my feet" I put him in the arena and let him move out a bit just to get used to the boots. On his own accord he trotted around a few circles at a very forward and almost sound gait. Go Axel. When he finally stopped I put his bridle on and hooked up the long lines and set to work. He moved out well at the walk in both directions and did a decent job at a figure 8 to switch directions. About that time Steele came into the arena with his owner so Axel really wanted to go pester them. It was a bit more work to keep him focused but we did okay in the long run. Several more circles and a few more changes of direction later he was getting pretty fed up with me and started yanking on the reins. All I have to say is thank god I was on the ground, had I been on his back I would have had my arms pulled out of the sockets by his yanking. Maybe if we do enough long lining he'll get over that before someone rides him again. It's an old habit that we had broken when he was working every week but apparently boredom brings it back.

Following the long lining I walked him down the road to the neighbor's mail box just to get him out. He was moving forward and well and seemed pretty content being out and about. I happened to be positioned at his shoulder so when I moved up to his head (whether it had to do with my positioning or the fact we were further from the barn at that point) he started in with his head flips and almost-crow-hops. I corrected him a couple times and he settled down. He had done that last year when I was hand walking him to get him back into shape after being off so long, I'm guessing it's just the usual extra energy.

Incidentally the bell boots on the front were an attempt to get him to pick up his feet a bit more but it didn't really have the affect I was after. He actually tripped on the driveway while I was watching, basically just didn't pick up that right front and skidded his toe on the ground. Maybe I could try some chains like they use on Saddlebreds. Maybe the jingly feeling will make him pick up his feet more. I know he hates SMBs, I could try those but that might just be flailing rather than picking up his feet.

When we got back to the barn Steele was done playing so I turned Axel loose to let him roll or whatever while I put some stuff away. He didn't seem interested in rolling at all so I thought I'd see if I could coax him into moving a bit more. I won't be out to the barn for a while and figured he needed a little more time to stretch his legs. I hardly had the whip off the wall when he bucked and took off. Apparently he was ready and was just looking for an excuse to run, without Cody there to help him. So he cantered both directions, bucked, and tried to convince me to play with him (sorry guy, I can't play that way with a 1200lb animal). I always love his posture when he's done cruising around like that. You almost can't see his pregnant belly and he stands up nice and tall. He was a little damp on his chest but not steaming at all and apparently did not want to roll. I had a lasagna in the oven I had to get back to so I out to the pasture he went.

I said "hi" to Cody before I left and noticed it's been a few days since they've had a round bale. Not sure if they're done with round bales now for the winter but it'll be interesting to see if Axel's swelling clears up before the snow or not. Cody's swelling seems to have gone away completely, so there might be something to the whole exercise thing. I think I just can't keep up with the rate Axel eats. Maybe if someone was riding him daily we could affect the swelling with movement.

Finally Warm

It was finally warm enough last night that I drug all my various tools out to clean up Axel's legs. (It just struck me as funny thinking of how many hits my photos will get from people searching for "shaved legs"). So after grooming a huge pile of hair off of Axel I set to work on his back legs. I shaved them (as best I could, I don't think the clippers were charged as much as I thought), then I scrubbed them with warm water and a Norwex cloth, then I scrubbed in some Chlorhexidine. So he's looking a little naked on the back end but hopefully it will help kill some leftover mud fever and if I can keep it at bay I will be able to cover him in some Zinc Oxide before the mud hits and try and keep him a little cleaner this year. He was actually being very well behaved while I did all this, barely moved a muscle. Though when I went to put him back outside he held his foot up as high as it would good, that short wet hair must be so heavy you know!

It was still light out and warm so I decided to take Cody down the road a bit. I figured it can't hurt at the very least and it's good exercise for me, right? So we went east at a decent speed, we got almost to the neighbors mailbox (which is about 400 feet according to google maps). He had a few moments where he sped up to try and get in front of me but he reacted beautifully to a verbal command of "easy." He even turned around calmly when I asked. He was definitely on a bit more of a mission going west toward the barn but nothing excessive. A very noisy bus started to approach us at one point and he was mildly concerned with it (pretty sure he was just formulating how he could use the bus as a reason to bolt). I asked him to stop a few times to keep his attention and the bus passed and all was well. He did get a little jiggy at that point so I asked him to circle. Unfortunately he was in a soft spot and slipped so he recovered by bucking and circling as fast as possible. After a couple circles he settled down so we walked on. We went another 400 feet past the driveway to the west with success and turned around and went past the drive way again. I think we went one or two more times past the drive way before I asked him to stop at the drive facing away and then turned him in the opposite direction he preferred before we headed in.

I put him on the lunge line in the barn to work on some cantering and get it in his head that going to the barn isn't always the best option in life. He's still disuniting like N pointed out but it's so hard to see with all those white feet! He's decided that "good boy" means stop so we tried to work through that a bit as well. His chest was a little damp when we finished so I groomed him in the aisle for a bit before putting him out. That reminds me to get out some Velcro and make up some sort of fleece neck cooler for him since that seems to be where he sweats most and it's hard to keep the regular coolers in that spot.

Cody's Report

Ahh finally a gorgeous weekend. Wish I would have been able to get out and enjoy it on the back of a horse! Luckily for Cody, N was able to make it out and ride. She took him out on the road for the first time this year and he was not a perfect calm trail horse. But I wasn't expecting that. I was *hoping* he'd be super good for her but alas that was not the case. Sounds like it was a slow ride out and a fast ride home. She had him do a lot of circles and passed the driveway back and forth several times. I guess he did a lot of jigging but it doesn't sound like he tried to kill her or anything so that's good. Maybe after a few times he'll settle down. He's still cross cantering and doesn't like to pick up the left lead canter.

So Mr. Cody needs to do some more work. Ideally I'd ground drive him more (and Axel) and lunge him more at the canter. I also have an exercise that's supposed to help his canter leads but N would have to work on that one under saddle.

I just hope he can settle in by Summer so when I'm feeling back to riding again we can do some trail rides. Well I suppose we have to finish the trailer first ;)

Farrier Visit

Well the good news is that the next time the farrier comes out it will be a lot warmer. We always end up with one appointment on what seems like the coldest day of the year. I broke out the full carhart overalls and jacket this time. Both boys got trimmed up. Cody still has that small crack/chip we keep trying to work out but it cracks just enough that it's never completely gone. Doesn't bother him and it was just a crack this time not a full on chip. Axel behaved as best as he could and only complained about his knee for a few minutes. That was about it, I hung out and chatted while the other horses had their feet done. It's been a while since I've been to the barn when other people were around, too bad it was freezing out.

Playing with the Neighbors

I unfortunately thought I had less time than I really did when I went to the barn on Saturday. So instead of long lining Axel I just groomed him and let Cody and him run around a bit. I did get in a much better grooming session than Axel's had most the winter. Still haven't gotten around to washing and shaving his legs. The scabs on his legs right now are flakey and white and don't seem to be the usual scabby scabs. I scraped as much off as I could with the shedding blade so now he looks like he has mange or something. I think if I can keep them cleaned up this winter and get a chance to wash and shave before spring I might be able to fend off some of the mud fever that's bound to happen. I'd really like to get his legs clean enough to put a nice thick layer of desitin on there and block the nasty stuff but only if I can be sure his legs are clean first. I might be able to get away with just using MTG on Cody's legs. But alas, Axel is definitely shedding. He spent most of his time in the arena looking for a place to roll and thinking really hard about it but I guess he couldn't quite muster up the fortitude to get down on those knees this time around. Cody, of course, had no issues. They ran around a little but nothing too exciting to report.

I tied Cody and brought Axel out to the pasture. Before I could ask him to step out of the door he came running full speed at me through the tack room and outside and then stood there looking around. I walked him down to the gate where he proceeded to jump into a huge pile of snow and bounce around and buck at the other end of my lead rope. He then froze in place with his tail straight up in the air. This is when the 16hh horse seems a bit more like 18hh than the lazy 15hh he usually feels like. I put him in the pasture and waited for a minute to see what the deal was. Turns out the boys in the paddock next door were having a good run. Axel took off running toward them, up and down the fence line, bucking. Of course I didn't get a video of any of this. I should really just get a helmet cam and keep it running all the time when I'm out there, just in case something exciting happens.

Cody was much calmer exiting the barn than Axel. I decided to help things along with the transition into nicer weather and trips down the road that we'd take a walk down the driveway just to start getting used to it. He's usually much better on the ground than under saddle so it was no surprise that he walked down the driveway at a normal pace. Though he spent his time making eyes and arching his neck and the lady horses in the pasture on the other side of the driveway. We didn't tempt fate by leaving the driveway but we'll get there. I don't know that it helps much to hand walk him on the road but I figure it can't hurt. You'd think he'd eventually get a clue, we've been at this barn now for over 2 years. Silly horses.

Windy Day

So I didn't work Axel like I'd planned. But! I at least made it out to the barn last night. It was so windy and cold the boys were huddled in the lean-to hiding. I brought Axel in and Cody looked like he really wanted to be inside as well so I just put them both in the arena. They did the usual bucking and running to a slightly more hyper level than normal, the wind was blowing the snow off the roof so there was a lot of snorting going around. I brushed both horses the best I could while they wandered around. Axel is shedding, already. I know this usually starts in February but seriously, February 1st? That seems a little early. Hopefully it'll warm up soon so we can groom outside and not have to clean up all the hair.

It sounds like Cody did well over the weekend with N. It was good weather and they had a nice time in the arena, WTC and all that. She was asking about going down the road when it's nicer out. I just hope Cody is better behaved for her than he has been for me in past springs.

They're Alive!

The boys are both still alive and in one piece. After trying to wait out the cold weather last week and just being too lazy this weekend and N being busy the horses hadn't seen either of us in a while. But everyone was in good shape and enjoying their hay as usual.

Someone (Cody) actually made one path through the middle of the pasture to the fence line presumably to check out a couple new horses that are in the paddock across the driveway. But other than that, all signs point to very little movement away from the beloved hay bale. Man I can't wait until they can graze again.

I put Cody in the arena and grabbed Axel as well. Cody went about his usual speed inspection looking for a spot to roll, followed by the buck/fart/chase Axel routine. Cody ran Axel around the arena for a while before he finally got bored with that. I manged to brush both horses when they'd stand still for a few minutes. Looks like Axel might have found a spot to lay down outside at some point. He snorted around looking for a spot to roll in the arena; it took him a very long time between Cody chasing him off and his own reluctance to bend that knee.

So my plan was to tie up Axel, so he didn't kick down the gate or eat every rope in the arena, and bring Cody back out to the pasture. Axel decided his plan was to show me that I really need to start putting him back to work. He stood tied to the wall and bucked, and bucked, and threw a fit. For the safety of the barn itself and the horse I untied him but he was still being a spaz and I expected him to smash the gate open and gorge himself on alfalfa that was stacked in the aisle. So he won that battle and I tied up Cody instead. Cody was a little calmer and tends to opt for the side of self preservation over destruction so I figured he'd be fine tied, not to mention the fact he's been working all winter and is a little more sane. So poor Cody had to stand and wait while I put Axel out first.

Next time (dare I say tonight?) it's all Axel, ground work, lunging, and ground driving.

Always fun in the arena

How did it work out that I have today off *and* it was above 20 degrees? Good deal, I have to say. I ran out to the barn just to check on the boys and put them in the arena to stretch their legs. I'm really not doing very good in my quest to ground drive Axel all winter. I really need to get back on track with that.

Anyway, N was out to ride yesterday and said Cody wasn't interested in rolling. My guess is because Danny was in the barn aisle Cody was preoccupied with that as he's known to do. Otherwise she said he did really good and she thinks he's getting used to her and vice versa. Today both boys were covered in some ice/snow/wet since it snowed last night and was warm enough to melt on their backs so I figured if they aren't going to roll today then that's their own fault!

I put them both in the arena and actually had my Flip camera this time. Remind me not to zoom with it though. It's either the low light or the Flip doesn't have an optical zoom, either way it looks kind of crumby when I zoomed in, sorry. You can go to my YouTube page to see these in HD, I just linked a smaller size so it would fit on the page.

Cody rolled and ran and chased Axel.

And Axel did his best to fight back.

After many attempts to find a place to roll, Axel finally got down and rolled his heart out. It looked so good Cody joined in for a second roll of his own.

Just a little running around

Running Around from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

I had to drop off Axel's supplement last night so I put both horses in the arena for a few minutes to stretch their legs. I really wish they'd start using more of their pasture instead of just hovering over the round bale at all times. Common' horses, frolic in the snow a little, why don't ya? The boys seemed a little lazy so I brushed them down a bit, they must have been laying in the snow at some point. Cody had icicles on his tail and belly and chunks on his back. Axel was a little cleaner. For as lazy as they seemed it really only took one cluck or two from me and they were off. Cody's been trying out this new little bunny hop move that's pretty entertaining to watch. I did manage to catch some of the fun on video but as I'm standing there with my phone I realized I had the Flip in the car which would have made much better movies. Next time I will put the Flip in my jacket so I have it ready. Cuz really, you can never have too many videos of the same horses running in the same circles, right?

Oops I did it again

I made it out to the barn yesterday afternoon just to check on the boys and see if N was around and how things were going. She was just un-tacking Cody when I came in. The boy was calm and relatively sweat free. I, of course, ruined that. I grabbed Axel and we put both horses in the arena. They both laid down to roll and Cody found two spots to roll. There was a little bit of running and playing but nothing too spectacular. While N went and swept the barn aisle I grabbed a whip and encouraged the boys to get moving a bit. They did a couple laps in both directions at full speed before stopping and begging to be let out. Axel was breathing heavy and Cody was now a ball of sweat. Oops. He didn't seem interested in rolling at all so I put a blanket on him. Then of course he wanted to roll. Two blankets later he wasn't terribly dry but had stopped steaming a bit and was just making himself nervous wanting to go out so we let them be. I stayed a few extra minutes to make sure Cody wasn't getting cold but he seemed pretty okay with stuffing his face with hay.

I guess Cody was much calmer for N's ride this time than he was last week. He was a little startled by snow falling off the roof, she said but that was about it. They just did some walking around for the most part.