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.

More Rearing

Ug I missed it again. I scrambled for my phone to try and capture Axel rearing and I missed it. Use your imagination, fat black horse up on his back legs.

Anyway I went out to the barn and really should have done a lot more than I did. It wasn't terribly cold tonight and I had a lot of time but as usual I just dinked around for a while. I groomed Axel and put him on the lunge line where he proceeded to trot like crazy several circles without me asking. Lame of course but not too bad in the grand scheme of things. I think he was tracking left/counter clockwise at the time. I can never remember which sides are my horses good sides and bad sides. Anyway, he walked when I asked and it was a really nice forward walk until I told him "good boy" and that's when he slowed down. I'm pretty sure he thinks "good boy" means "whoa." We spent a few minutes working on "whoa" and actually stopping when I said it. I had him switch directions and he set off cantering and bucking (on the right lead thank you). It took a few tries to get him back down to a walk but he's much better at stopping going to the right, he must not like that side as much. He seemed pretty alert on the lunge line so I thought maybe he'd be up for some fun with Cody.

Cody spins and rolls from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

I brought Cody in and turned both horses loose and that's when I tried to get to my phone in time. There was some running and bucking and rearing and I pretty much missed it all. I did manage to get a clip of Cody trotting around looking for a place to roll. He would spin and spin and spin before he finally got down to the ground. Why can't I get him to spin like that under saddle?

When the boys were done playing I thought I'd experiment and put Axel out and see if Cody had the same fit he did for N over the weekend. He did call out quite a bit while I turned Axel out and he nearly walked on top of me when I brought him to the center of the arena. I didn't have to encourage him to keep moving on the lunge line either. He was more than willing to get up and go. He was being a bit of a pill and trying to duck behind me so I wasn't in a position to drive him forward but other than that he was pretty decent. I didn't ride of course so I don't know how patient he would have been with tacking and all that. But hopefully we got a point across that it's not the end of the world. He'll probably be fine if he's first in the arena alone. I guess the alternative would be a horse you couldn't get to move.

Cody's a bit of a pill

Just heard from Cody's new rider. She made it out this afternoon for a bit of horse time. She put both boys in the arena for a bit so they could frolic and do their thing and then put Axel out so she could ride. Cody had other ideas and proceeded to freak out a bit at the thought of being alone. She did get in a ride but it sounds like it was a little bit more like prancing than walking. The old man would not calm down and kept calling for Axel. Not sure what his deal was, perhaps he's more used to me than I thought, or maybe just the slight change in routine was enough to put him off his game. Her plan for next time is to ride first and then bring Axel in last. Seems like that should do the trick. I rarely have both horses in at once and I think subconsciously I rarely leave Cody the last one in the arena. It's funny how you do things automatically without thinking. But it's a good lesson for Cody, it's not like in his 21 years of life Axel has ever left and not come back. Goofy horses.

Axel back on the long lines

I ran out for a few minutes before the Christmas holiday to drop of gifts and check on the boys. I put them both in the arena together again and was ready with my camera. And I got nothing. They apparently were not feeling it so I groomed them both real quick and put them back out to enjoy their round bale.

Cody rolls from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

After the very cold holiday I picked a warm melty day to go visit again. Though the warm and melty means it's supposed to rain and snow and freeze this coming weekend, ick. Both ponies were excited to see me, go figure, and came right up to the gate. I was crinkling some plastic and they were sure it was something truly great. Unfortunately for them it was dewormer. But I managed to deworm both horses without very little issue. Axel did end up spitting some of his out but I think Cody kept all his where it belonged.

I grabbed Axel and brought him into the arena. Another boarder and a friend were coming in at the same time and Axel started acting like he was going to have a nice run but as soon as I untied him he just stood there. I groomed quickly and tacked him up to do some ground driving. I think he could have benefited from a bit of a run. He did pretty good at first but started in with the bucking when the combination of two other horses being lunged and a dog barking got the best of him. At least that solidified my idea to not ride him any more this winter. I'm hoping this ground driving thing will help him. He has a hard time staying on the rail right now without leg aids but that should improve. He seemed to be walking out pretty well and didn't seem like his knee was bothering him too much. He even had a few moments of a very light trot that almost seemed sound. Though I can see how crooked he is while I'm walking behind him. I'll have to figure out how to get him more straight despite his sore knee. He might need an appointment with the chiropractor this spring if I can save up some money.

New Friends

I am such a bad photographer's wife/horse mom. I did not bring my camera out to the barn yesterday and it would have made for some nice photos/video. I met with a gal that's going to be riding Cody once a week to help me keep him in shape as I become more and more out of shape as it were. We put both boys in the arena since they were getting fidgety in the cross ties. And that's when I should have had the camera. Axel jumped around, was rearing and running along with Cody. They were playing a little and having a decent time. But of course I did not catch any of it to show. I've never actually seen Axel rear like that. I've seen Cody play with other horses like that before but Axel usually just hangs out.

When they were done messing around, N tacked up Cody and I got Axel set up with the long lines. She tried out Cody and I long lined Axel for a little while. Cody seemed to be behaving well enough. She had him canter on both leads which he did but he'll need a little work, he gets a little stressed out. Axel did pretty well on the long lines and his knee didn't seem to bother him at the walk at all. Next time I'll have to set up some cones or something to weave around and make it a little more interesting, maybe some ground poles or something.

Over all I think it went well. It'll be nice having someone come out and work Cody for me. Especially with WCR stuff starting up in January again, then I just have to worry about keeping Axel moving around.

So Much Snow

Visits seem to be few and far between these days. Partially because it's cold and snowy and partially because my back is so messed up I haven't been able to do much to begin with. But! There's a light at the end of the tunnel. My back is starting to feel better and I might have found someone to ride Cody on a regular basis. That would leave me to just have to worry about getting Axel back into ground driving. So more on that after this weekend.

J had plowed a bit of a space in the boys' pasture so they could get around and I could open the gate and all that. The snow is higher than the waterer. Both horses were pawing at the snow trying to unearth some hidden hay when I arrived. There was two small paths out into the deep snow and back, someone must have taken a little loop just to check things out. There are still no paths way out into the pasture though. Lazy ponies are sticking close to the round bale at all times.

Axel isn't in the mood to run, and it hurts his knee from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

I put Axel in the arena and tried to video tape him running around but he did very little. His knee still seems pretty stable though it looks a little knobbier. He's still swollen as ever of course and not terribly interested in doing any work. I brushed him quickly and got the knots out of his mane and managed to pick his feet. Then I just did a very quick little session of walk-on and whoa on the lead line. If I could get a couple nice warm days I could work on getting his legs cleaned up from the mud fever but so far that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. I just hope that stuff can't thrive in the freezing temperatures.

Cody stretches his legs a little from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

Cody ran around a bit more with some encouragement. I put him on the lead line and worked on some walk-on and whoa and some bending and turns on the forehand and haunches. Just trying to get him tuned up a bit so he's not in complete vacation mode when his new rider comes to try him out. He's still swollen as well but doesn't seem any worse for wear.

Chubby Ponies

Ran out to the barn last night after work to find the farrier already in the barn finishing the last horse before mine. J had him come out early and I made it just in time to grab my guys. He trimmed up Axel first and despite the "please hurry up" look at Axel's face, he handled his right knee very well. It must be retaining a bit of flexibility still so that's good. I had both boys tied in the arena when they were done while we chatted for a bit with the farrier. Danny and Vinnie were in the arena as well and everyone was very quiet. It must have been nice to just rest out of the cold and wind on decent footing for a while.

We discussed Cody and Axel's swelling. The farrier said every time he's seen something like what my guys have it was due to extra fat. Which I think stands to reason. Axel is totally chubby has been for years, he's just a big guy. Cody wasn't huge last year and the round bale really helped him. But this year he went into winter a lot more fit and maybe he had just enough weight that adding to it was just what he needed to add that swelling. So I think once again we're at old + cold + no movement + eating too much = swollen horse.

Now with the snow in the pasture it's interesting to see where the horses have gone. Someone has a spot for rolling but mostly they've stuck near the feeder or the round bale. There's one set of tracks that goes along the fence line out into the pasture maybe 10 feet but that's it. No one has gone frolicking in the snow. The other groups of horses I've seen all over their pastures and frequently see them playing. Cody and Axel just love their hay. I wonder what would happen if they had round bales all year ... I might have to buy super wide saddles!

Snow!

Still suffering from back pain so I haven't been quite as ambitious getting out to the barn as I should be. I did finally get out on Sunday to see that the boys are much happier now that it's snowed 6 inches. They can just about walk around their pasture like normal without slipping and sliding. I noticed no one has gone for a run in the fresh snow on the opposite side though. I guess that round bale is just too tempting.

I put Axel in the arena and brushed him off quickly and removed the tornadoes from his mane and the icebergs from his hooves. He wasn't too interested in running around on his own but I grabbed a lunge whip and clucked at him and off he went for a few bucks and a few laps. He had a bit of a gimpy trot but pretty much the same quality that it's been all this fall so I'll take that as a good sign. He's puffy as ever and he looks more pregnant than I do. I think he might have an eating disorder. I couldn't even pull him away from my grooming bag when he found the bag of treats in there. I had to scare him away. Seriously. He must thing he's a camel and he's trying to store up fat or something.

I brought Cody in for a while as well and got his hooves cleaned up. He does have swelling on his belly and sheath, not quite as bad as Axel but it's there. He definitely doesn't want me touching his business but that's how he usually is. He took a few laps around the arena with a bit of encouragement as well. I'm really hoping to get this back issue resolved so I can get back to riding at least a few more times before I can't get myself up there. Then I really have to get on the ball and start ground driving both horses. It won't be all that much exercise for them physically but maybe it'll keep their brains going.

Wish I Was a Detective

So I went out to the barn last Wednesday just to check and make sure everyone was right side up (stole that phrase from A, makes me giggle every time I hear it). At that point the boys had been back on round bale for not quite a week. Of course Axel was swollen up again, more like he was last year. I wasn't surprised. Other than that everyone looked pretty pleased with themselves so I went back home to get ready for Thanksgiving.

Between Thanksgiving festivities and throwing my back out (and being lazy when it gets cold) I didn't make it out to the barn again until last night, a full week later. Everyone was still on all fours when I arrived. I actually got side tracked by an injured deer that Jason and I tried to chase down and put out of it's misery but it apparently wasn't as injured as I thought and we couldn't find it after it ran off.

Let me just say, the boys are not impressed by their pasture right now. They were both standing up by the hay feeder and it took me 10 minutes to get Axel down to the gate. He wouldn't move. I thought maybe it was his knee bothering him. Really it was the frozen ground. Every step he took was slow and careful and followed by several minutes of waiting and me begging him to keep moving. All the mud froze in nice hard lumps all over the pasture with patches of ice between. I get the feeling both horses had done some Bambi moves prior and were very uneasy about moving. I'm actually looking forward to the 4-6" of snow we're supposed to get this weekend, maybe it'll make it easier for them to move around.

After skating Axel across the drive way we finally made it into the barn. Luckily there as no hay in the arena so I was able to turn him loose to do what he wished. Turns out his knee wasn't actually that bad. His mud fever is pretty nasty and it's way too cold to do anything about it. (I might be able to scrub them with hot wash clothes, scrub with chlorhexidine, and then maybe wrap them with polo wraps or towels til they dry next time I go out, that might not be too bad) Anyway, he wandered around in the arena a bit, tried to steal my shedding blade, the usual. I scraped some of the crusty spots he had from laying down and he wandered a bit more. Then he got excited a took off for a few minutes. A little bucking and running and snorting. He acted like he wanted me to play, he kept running up to me and stopping and then taking off again. I was going to get the big green ball out for him but it was pretty deflated and I wasn't in the mood to pump it back up. When he calmed down I skated him back out to the pasture where he stood and refused to move out of my way.

Cody took about as long to get from the feeder to the gate but we found a better route up to the barn so he didn't have to skate quite as much. He took off almost immediately when I put him in the arena. He was rearing, and jumping, and running, and having a great time. I suppose after standing still and tense on the ice it felt good to move a little. He ran around quite a bit more than Axel before he settled down enough for me to groom and pick his feet. I did notice Cody's sheath is now swollen as well. I couldn't tell if his belly had any edema and he sheath wasn't nearly as bad as Axel but it was puffy for sure.

So I have no idea what that means. Cody didn't swell last year and he didn't swell on the first round of hay bales this fall. But it's colder and it's icy and I don't think either horse is moving at all. So maybe we're coming down to it just being cold + lack of movement + too much eating + being old. I really wish I had a definitive answer though. I hate ignoring it not knowing exactly what it is. It's certainly not bothering Cody at all, though he doesn't want me to touch it which is normal for him.

As much as it'll suck having to feed horses in the winter, I'm looking forward to having the horses at our own place someday. I want to put Axel on a few more supplements but it's just too much work for J&J to feed powders or make sure Cody's not eating Axel's stuff. Plus I'd love to be able to grade the pasture and things like that to help de-lumpify it, or make it less muddy or just whatever it needs. But I oh so love not having to go out in the cold and feed every day.

Now that I'm pregnant it's not going to be long before I'm going to want to stop riding. I'd really like to get someone to come ride the horses for me weekly but J has made it known she doesn't really trust folks from the internet so finding someone online to ride might not be the best idea in her eyes. Sadly I don't know anyone in this area that needs a horse to ride.

Winter Already?

I mustered up enough motivation to run out to the barn on Monday. I'm pretty sure that's going to be increasingly more difficult to do as it's dark and cold out all the time. Boo. Both horses were standing far out in the pasture looking forlorn and bored. I stood at the gate and waited. I paced around a bit. Pretended to go up by where they get fed. Crinkled my pockets pretending to have treats. I even went into the barn where the feed is (to check on Axel's supplement). They both just stood at the far end of the pasture watching. Since it just dumped rain and snow on us seemingly out of the blue I knew the ground wasn't actually frozen and I wasn't about to go wading through the mud to get the horses. I ended up walking down the driveway next to the fence. When I headed back up toward the barn Axel decided to follow. Right through the mud. Then Cody decided to follow at high speed. Right.Through.The.Mud. Yuck.

I grabbed Axel and brought him into the barn and tried to scrape as much mud off him as possible. I'm not quite sure what the deal was, maybe I just tickled him but I was using the shedding blade and hit a spot on his right flank/rib area and he stomped down. It didn't seem like it was a directional kick but more of a "HEY WTF!" stomp. I poked a bit and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary so I just steered clear of that spot and finished grooming. I lunged Axel for a few minutes in the arena. He wasn't too excited about working and he wasn't offering any trotting or cantering. He wasn't feeling 100% but I don't think the little grooming incident was affecting him at all. He was short striding a bit but that's not terribly unusual for Axel.

His swollen bits don't seem to be getting worse. His sheath is slightly swollen on his right side and he still has a lump on his belly. It's move down to the lowest part of his stomach and is mostly on the right, almost in the center and about as big as my hand. I haven't decided what that means. They've been off round bales for a couple weeks now. I would think the swelling in his belly would take a while to go away but who knows. We'll see what happens when they get put back on round bales, I think this weekend. At least he'll be happy.

Cody had planted himself squarely in a nice muddy spot and was visiting with the neighbors over the fence while waiting for dinner. I didn't have my muck boots so I decided to just let him be for the night. He'll get his turn later when I remember my boots.

Not a happy camper!

Last Sunday Axel was in fine form. I brought him into the barn and tacked him up, lunged him for a while. He was feeling pretty lazy and wasn't interested in running and bucking at all. I finally got on and walked him around for a while. It was so nice out I decided we should head down the road a little so we could keep moving but get some fresh air. We headed into the ditch and walked along until we got to the spot between the two fields. Axel stopped to look around and be the usual lazy Axel. I asked him to turn and head between the fields and before I knew it I was on the ground next to him and he was grazing. I have no idea what happened. He wasn't pissed as far as I could tell, there was no tell tale tail swishing or ear pinning. So I don't know what his problem was but he had all four feet off the ground and I flipped over his shoulder. I'm almost positive I landed on my feet and then stumbled backward and hit the ground. I wrenched my arm, side, and shoulder trying to rescue myself and keep hold of the reins. Though I had no need to worry since Axel was more interested in grass than going anywhere.

I grabbed him and tried to lead him over to the side of the ditch so I could mount easier. He decided (after weeks and weeks of standing knee deep and running through mud) that he was not going to step in the wet part of the ditch so he launched himself over the ditch and kicked my right leg in the process leaving me with a purple goose egg bigger than my hand. Needless to say Axel spent some quality time on the lunge line in the arena after that. He actually cantered both leads soundly until he was sweated up pretty good. Probably the most exercise he's gotten in a year. He even did some trotting that looked more on the side of sound than usual. Maybe a little stretching out is good for the ole boy. I was very unhappy with him so after he ran enough I put him back outside and went home.

My next trip to the barn on Tuesday was a little calmer. I just groomed both horses and scrubbed up their legs with some Chlorhexidine to try and fend off the mud fever. It just won't stop raining and they haven't had a chance to even dry out and now it's getting too cold to get the hose out so I'm left with mud, wet rags, and long hair. Ug. If they ever dry out I'll try and shave them both up a bit but who knows when that'll happen.

Back to Work, Again

I went to the barn armed with a plan, sort of. The plan is to get Axel riding more. And to maybe put them on small squares for a few weeks to see what happens, or maybe not. I was still deciding at the time. Cody seems to have managed to stay out of the mud lately. Axel, on the other hand, has not. Most of the mud on his legs was dry but near his hoof it was still pretty wet. Since I planned to ride I need to put his bell boots on so I scraped as much mud off as I could.

It's amazing what a mess he leaves behind when I groom him. I was sneezing dirt all night. So much to Axel's dismay when I was done grooming him I tacked him up and brought him into the arena. I started by just lunging him for a while. I was hoping he was feeling as frisky as he was the other day and I wouldn't have to force him to pick up some speed. But he was pretty content just walking. So after he walked along in a circle (which he's getting almost good at) in both directions I clicked a few extra times to see what he'd do. First I got the "WTF" look from him and then he'd hop up in the air like a bronc a few times and then break into a trot for a few strides. I asked him a couple more times, I didn't really want him to trot, cantering seems to be a better gait for his knee but he just was not into it last night. He did manage a few strides of canter in each direction but there was a lot of crow hopping to get there. His trot was actually not terribly lame and I think if he'd bend his knees and pick up his feet it would go a lot better. I had forgotten his second pair of bell boots, I was going to put them on all 4 feet in hopes of inspiring a little less shuffling.

So we wrapped up the lunging after only a few minutes. Probably over 5 but I'm sure less than 10. Axel has not been pleased to wear a bridle lately. Not sure if it's just the year vacation he had or if something is bothering him. But I put his bridle on, convinced him to stand still at the mounting block, and hauled myself up on his back. He actually walked out really nice for the first lap or two around the arena on a loose rein. Then he started chewing on the bit and it seems like when he starts doing that he stops moving well. So the next 20 minutes or so I was after him to keep moving. I tried a few things like backing him up, wiggling the outside rein, holding my hands a little higher, and bending him both directions in attempts to get him to stop chewing on the bit and start paying attention. Didn't really work. He was paying enough attention to me that I was using mostly leg and seat cues to change his direction. He almost seemed like he was going to settle in near the end of the 20 minutes but as soon as we stopped to rest he started up again. If he doesn't settle in after a couple weeks of regular riding I might have to investigate his bridle and bit a little more. He did make it the full 20 minutes without a change in his lameness which was nice and after I got off he seemed the same and moved out fairly well. He wasn't interested in rolling, he wasn't really sweaty at all.

He's definitely low on muscle tone these days. It's hard to tell since he's so beefy to begin with but you can see between his back legs when he walks, normally those muscles rub together. And when I shift my weight to dismount he really braces himself and grunts a little. I should really get the chiropractor out to adjust him. He usually doesn't need it but a year off of riding and moving in general might have taken a toll. I just have to find the money. There so many other things he probably needs first like another knee injection, teeth floating, things like that.

So in the end I talked with J and he has some small squares he kind of wants to get rid of so he has room for the tractor in the barn. I hemmed and hawed over what we should do. On one hand I don't think it really has anything to do with the hay and I hate changing more than one thing at a time. On the other hand if we're going to test that theory we should do it now when it's still warm out. So he's going to put out small squares for a couple weeks and we'll see if that makes a difference. In then end we'll go back to big rounds for the winter because Cody just really needs it. My thought is keep exercising and if he gets better with both small squares and more work we'll see what happens when we add rounds back into the mix. If I wasn't worried about him eating fences posts or Cody losing too much weight, I'd say Axel could stand to drop a few pounds. He's probably better off being on the lighter side of things with his arthritis and ringbone but he's destined to be retired sooner than later and I think he'd rather be fat and happy than thin and mobile!

Really? Again Axel?

Cody was actually fairly mud-less last night. Hairy and dusty, yes, but very little caked on mud. I grabbed him first since I planned to ride a bit. It's hard to get back in the habit once you start slacking. It's just so easy to groom and throw them back into the pasture. Anyway Cody was feeling a bit frisky so we did quite a bit of lunging first. Changing directions and backing up and all that. Once I got on he seemed fairly calm and actually spent a lot of time licking and chewing. We stuck to the walk for the most part and worked on some neck reining, circles, and serpentines. We managed a couple really nice turns on the forehand and almost got a side pass but not quite. I keep trying to work more going to the left since that seems to be his stiff side but it requires a lot of fighting to get both our bodies cooperating. We did manage to make it through all this work with almost no sweating and it was in the 50s so it was nice to not have to blanket after riding quite yet.

Axel was another story. I wasn't going to do anything with him last night until I brought Cody out and noticed his belly was swollen again. Ug. So I brought him in to check it out and see if I could get it to go down by lunging. So he walked in both directions for about 10 minutes total and there was no change. I should have gotten on and ridden but it was getting late at that point. I just keep going back to the round bale. How is the round bale causing this? It's a different hay supplier than last year but it's the same hay field he's been eating off all summer just in big rounds instead of small squares. It's not even first cutting. My first few thoughts are to do a powerpac, take him off the round bale for a couple weeks and see what happens, try antihistimines, and actually ride him and see if any of that works. I actually don't think it'd be allergies, how would that last all winter? Right now I'm thinking we'll pull the round bales for two weeks and I'll try and get him more exercise then add the round bale back in and see if keeping the exercise up helps. Unless the vet comes up with something else. It probably wouldn't hurt to do a powerpac anyway since I don't keep up on deworming too well but they are kind of spendy so we'll see what the vet thinks of that.

Round in Circles

Since the rain and the wind finally stopped I was able to make it out to the barn last week on Thursday. It was still pretty chilly but at least the sun was out. The pasture wasn't as nearly swampy as I thought it would be but the horses were covered in wet mud as usual. I ended up grooming the dry parts and then lunging both horses in the arena. I would prefer to free lunge them but there's a few bales of hay still stored in the arena so that would not be a successful lunging session to say the least.

Axel actually walked out on the line pretty decently but when I asked him to keep walking he kicked up his heels and cantered away throwing in some bucks for good measure. He did manage to get the correct lead in both directions when he did canter. He had a few moments of trotting which weren't completely sound but didn't look too horrible.

Cody had his chance to kick up his heels as well. Any of his lazy summer attitude was definitely gone. It might have been the 3 days of constant wind that had him worked up but he was more alert than he's been in a long time. Hopefully he'll keep some of that energy through the winter so we can get some work done for once.

Uninspired

I'm feeling very uninspired lately. It mostly has to do with the mud. So much mud. The horses are living in a bog. On top of that it's been raining all week. I'm pretty sure they are going to go from bog-living to bumpy ice rink living sooner than later. There's no way this water is going to go anywhere before it freezes. Ug. I foolishly thought having the round bales would mean the horses would stay on the dry side of the pasture. Oh no. When I get to the barn they are standing on the far side grazing the non-existant grass and staring at me. Sunday I ended up tricking them into thinking it was dinner time so I didn't have to wade through to get them. They paced back and forth on their side of the swamp trying to figure out what to do. Finally Axel took the plunge and instead of tip toeing through the muck he went full speed, mud flying everywhere, and for good measure he threw out some bucks just to spread it around a bit. There is next to nothing I can do when they are full of wet mud like that. You can't brush it off. Luckily it's still warm enough that the barn owners have the hoses still out. So I sprayed both horse's legs off for what could be the last time this fall. The warm water was actually steaming off their legs. I did a very poor job on Axel's legs. It's very hard to see black mud on a black horse. Cody's was much easier. Surprisingly Axel's mud fever/scratches aren't bad at all. He has one spot with some big scabs but that's it. I expected to see much worse. Cody's was spread around in little scabs here and there. He has a few larger ones that I just can't get off yet. The small flaky ones seem to come off easily just with the hose. So I scrubbed them both up with chlorhexidine and sent them back out side. They, of course, approved since they had just gotten a new bale of hay.

New Camera

We picked up "my" new camera the other day so I yesterday I thought I should go out and give it a try on the horses. I definitely need practice still, I kept cutting off everyone's ears or nose and the first 10 photos were all blurry or focused on the wrong thing. I guess it's been a while since I've used a real camera! The cool thing about this camera is that it shoots 1080p video so HD horse videos will soon to follow!

The boys were happily munching away at their hay and wondering why I was just standing there clicking at them and not bringing them into the barn. When I was done shooting I did grab a brush and just bring it out to the pasture to give them a once over. You can see in Axel's photo they are still covered in mud so I didn't go below their bellies. If I can scrounge up some time this weekend I'll have to hose them off and get them scrubbed up again. The mud is not receding so it's kind of a pointless task but maybe it'll kill a few bugs.

Playing Catch Up

Alright so I missed a few posts which makes it very difficult to recall when I went to the barn and what I did. I do know that two weeks ago the day after riding Cody between the fields the other boarder and I went out and I rode Axel down the road. We went nearly the whole mile before turning around. I did end up dismounting a bit before the neighbors and walking the rest of the way. Axel was tripping a bit and having some issues with the gravel but once I dismounted he walked the rest of the way back sound as a bell and quick fast even. I'd say he's been pretty darn sound for the past month or so.

Pretty sure I got out to the barn sometime last week as well but I think I just managed to do some grooming. Last night I went out for another lazy grooming session which turned out to be more lazy than usual. Axel was fairly muddy but most of it was dry with the exception of his feet. Cody, on the other hand, must have run through the mud when I had Axel in because he was covered in wet mud. I brushed the dry parts and ended up just putting him back outside. Can't do much with wet mud.

Axel seemed a little bit off again last night but walking from the pasture to the barn isn't too far to really assess him. I'd like to get him out on the road a couple more times before it's too late. Then we'll start some ground driving in the arena and move up to riding. The deep footing seems a little hard on his knee so we might have to work up to to it.

Riding between the fields

Since Jeff is out of town for the week I naturally use every free day I have to go out to the barn and hang with the ponies. I went out to the pasture to grab someone and Axel comes booking it over to me, completely and utterly sound. So I groomed him and tacked him up and set out on the road. And I kicked and kicked and kicked. And he stood there and stared and didn't move. We made it halfway down the block before I finally gave up and turned around. He did manage to walk most the way back without stopping until we got into the driveway. If you'll recall when I first got Axel this is how life was, thus his nick name "thigh master." After riding him I wouldn't be able to walk for days he required so much leg to keep moving. I guess he's back to his old self after not having to work for nearly a year.

Another boarder showed up right as I was heading out so when I got back I got Cody tacked up and we set out on the road for a little ride. With inspiration from the other horse Cody actually made it down the road almost faster than a snail. We decided to turn into the ditch between the corn fields and check that out. Both horses must have gotten a little wind up their butts because what was a calm slow ride turned into a much more hyper walk/trot complete with a few spooks and the other horse doing a might fine PRE horse impression. They finally calmed down by the time we got to the other side of the field. We happened across a guy in a truck scoping out a place to bow hunt, I guess we'll be wearing orange from now on. We had one more spook on the far side of the field when a bird flew out. I admit, it scared me too so I can't really blame Cody. We were going along at a nice decent walk on the way back down the road when something snapped in Cody's head and he took off for no reason that I could find. I got him reined in and made him turn around once and we did some serpentines to get his mind off of whatever made him run in the first place. A tractor came up behind us so I pulled him down into the ditch and he decided to pull his litttle running backward into traffic move. I have no idea what his deal was, we were calm, heading home, going in the direction he prefers so there was no reason to start having a meltdown. When we got to the driveway I turned him around and got several "okay" steps backwards before dismounting and calling it a night.

I padded out the turnips I picked from the farm but most the horses had no clue what to do with them. Cody and Axel had a few bites but I think they were hard to chew or something. I dumped the rest in the pasture, maybe they'll get around to figuring them out. If the other border is around tonight and Axel is still feeling sound I might see if she wants to go for a quick ride down the road. Perhaps another horse will be a bit more inspiration for him. I think he should be able to manage a slow flat mile and if not it's not too far for me to dismount and walk.

What's Our Motivation?

Before heading out to the farm for the weekend I only managed to sneak out to the barn on Wednesday. I wasn't feeling overly motivated so I groomed both horses and tried a bit of lunging in the arena. Axel just for a few minutes at the walk. I asked for a trot but he was quite reluctant to go anywhere. Cody was being his lazy self again. I'm going to have to figure out how to get him moving again. The best I can figure is that I need to work with him on the short leadline with some change of direction and then switch to the lunge line after he's for sure paying attention and hopefully more alert. After fighting with him on the lungeline for a while I unclipped and chased him around the arena to get him moving more. At least that way he was able to get into a canter and stretch his legs a bit.

Home Again Home Again

Well the boys survived the week while I was in Colorado. Not only did they survive but at some point they were blessed with a round bale in their pasture. I swear to god they look fatter already. I'm really going to have to stay on top of things and keep Axel moving this winter, no slacking. Maybe having a round bale when there is still grass will help ease them into it. I guess time will tell. What I do know is that they already have a good start on their winter coats. Axel is almost all the way black again and Cody is starting to look like a teddy bear. I guess it's time to make sure the coolers and wool blankets are at the barn. How does this happen so fast?

I just ran out to check on everyone so I brought Axel in to groom. His wound is looking good I didn't even put any UHM on it this time. I did give him some MSM as usual. He was walking pretty good just lazily. And since they have the round bale now it seems like they are spending a little less time in the mud. I scrubbed Axel's back legs again. Next time I'll have to try and shave them up again and I'm almost out of Chlorhexidine so I'll have to pick up more of that.

Cody's scratches weren't looking too bad either but his back right leg seemed a bit stocked up so I scrubbed him as well. I might have to shave his legs too just so I can keep an eye on them. I put Cody in the arena for a few minutes to do some circling and we worked on driving over the fake bridge. The plan for both horses is going to be a lot of ground driving and lunging this winter. Now I just have to finish making my driving lines.

Gorgeous Sunday

We're headed out to Colorado for a wedding this week so my trip to the barn yesterday was my one and only for the next week. I figured I better get out there and count everyone's limbs and get a handle on the status quo so when I get a phone call stating that one of them has decided to amputate something, I'll know how bad it is.

J and J were getting the big boys ready for a carriage ride when I got to the barn. I didn't have too much time since there was a ton of stuff left to do at the house before leaving for a week so I opted to not go with them. Axel seemed like he was moving pretty good so I saddled him up in his dressage saddle and set out on the road for a quick trip. Axel was very very sticky and I didn't have a whip so we inched our way past the pasture and didn't even make it to the trees. The team passed us so we turned around and headed back to the barn. He didn't seem terribly "off" just annoyed and stubborn. Granted this would be the second time he's had a saddle on since last December. I guess I'd be annoyed too. I also didn't give him any bute so cutting the trip short seemed like an okay idea just in case.

In the meantime Cody was acting like I hadn't taken Axel away in years. He was calling and running around. Not sure what got into him. Another boarder was there and had forgotten her bridle so she was bummed that she couldn't ride with us. Probably a good thing since her horse had thrown a shoe anyway. But it would have been nice to get a longer ride in. She was hand grazing Steele out in the ditch when we were tacked up and ready to head out. I got a little speed out of the drive way. I asked for a trot and Steele was standing at the end so Cody was a little more willing to move. We took the ditch (slowly) down to the path between the fields. So far Cody hadn't tried to turn and bolt so I asked him to turn into the drainway between the plowed wheat and the bean field and then I asked for a trot. It took a couple times to keep him moving and I asked for a canter. We took maybe 10 sort of bumpy strides in the canter but when I asked he went back down to a walk and was calm about the whole situation, despite having his head up in the air like a giraffe. So I asked him to turn around, which he did without bolting. His reward was a walk back to Steele with a loose rein where I dismounted and let him graze. I probably shouldn't reward him near the barn like that but he did behave very well.

I ended up hosing off both Axel and Cody's legs before I rode. J&J had the warm water hose already out so the boys got a treat in that respect. Axel's wound is looking okay. I think the scab was coming off so it was a little raw looking but not too bad. Cody has got himself some mud fever on his back shins (basically) so I actually shampooed his legs and then scrubbed them with chlorhexidine. I was hoping he'd drop while I had the bucket of soapy water but he's not a fan of the hose so I didn't get a chance to clean up his man bits. At least he's been letting me use a baby wipe, it just doesn't clean as well. The mud out there is like cement I don't know how they get it all out of the Clyde's feathers. Even with warm water, shampoo, and scrubbing Cody's legs were still pretty dirty.

On my drive home I passed the team coming up the highway in perfect sync so I slowed down and stuck my phone out the window to take a photo. Wish I would have had a real camera!

Just a quick ride in the arena

Not a whole lot exciting on my last trip to the barn. I decided to give Axel a shot without any bute this time. Unfortunately he was having an off day so I rode bareback in the arena for 5 minutes at the most. So that was a little disappointing.

I tacked up Cody and rode him in the arena while J rode Logan and tried to convince him that Cody wasn't going to chase him. Cody tried to convince me he'd rather be napping but with a little help from Mr. Dressage Whip we got a little inspired. Just some trotting and a tiny bit of canter so I could convince him I could ride without yanking on his face. He's very inconsistent so we'll be cruising along just fine when all of a sudden he surges forward and leaves me behind and usually yanking on his face. I haven't quite decided what I want to do to work on this issue yet but I'll come up with something.

I generally spend a lot of time and effort trying to keep Cody on the rail which right now means he's nearly always counter bend and my inside leg is always dying from exhaustion. We had been working on a little bit of leg yielding and things like that which Cody never seems to understand until he wants to avoid doing something else. Frequently I'll push him to the rail and instead he'll either speed up or spin around like I asked for a turn on the forehand. He actually executed a very nice turn on the forehand for me on Tuesday even though that was not what I was asking for. So I played along and kept asking and insisted he go around a full 180 degrees. Good to know he can do that stuff just wish he'd do it when I asked!

After that I worked on getting the brush through his tail (need to get more show sheen the miracle groom doesn't work as well) and I was able to clean up his bits and pieces again with no kicking. Next time he gets a bath (with warm water) I'll see if I can convince him to let me clean him up with a sponge and soapy water, works much better than just a baby wipe.

Axel on the road!

I really should keep better track, I can't recall if I went out to the barn on Friday or not. I think I did and just groomed but who knows. I did go out on Saturday after some extensive napping. I decided to groom outside again, the weather was perfect. I took Axel up to hose off his legs again since it's been a while. The mud just won't go away so it's kind of pointless but I want to keep tabs on the mud fever and make sure it's not getting any worse. He's actually got it on his shins (basically) right now. There's really not much on his ankles where it usually is but the front and back of his left rear cannon have some weird scab like bumps. Those don't seem particularly awful, they are more like clumps of skin and hair than they are scabs. I scraped off as much as I could and scrubbed him down with the chlorhexidine as usual. I hosed off his front feet as well and put some more Underwood Horse Medicine on his wound. It's looking pretty good, seems like it's healing up decently. I decided since Axel seemed to be feeling pretty good the past week that for a change of scenery we'd go out on the road for a quick ride.

If Axel stayed at his current state I'd be happy. I grabbed his bridle this time but opted to get on bareback since the picnic table makes such a nice mounting block. Axel was a little figity with the bit and spent a fair amount of time diving for grass but other than that he settled in to "work mode" a little better than I had expected. We walked to the west for a bit and then to the east, staying on the shoulder area where we wouldn't have to fight with gravel. I think overall he remained more sound than he did when we last rode in the arena. And really, how many people can get on their horse bareback for a ride down a semi busy gravel road after the horse has been out of work for 9 months? I didn't time it but I'm sure we didn't go for more than 10 minutes. I hope I can get him back in shape enough to do easy trail rides at the walk. Even if he needs a couple grams of bute every time we ride, a couple times a week shouldn't be too big a deal. I think the combo of the injection and the supplements seems to be finally paying off. We'll see if he'll ever get back to trotting shape or not. I think walking and carrying weight will be the first hurdle. I'm trying to go conservative on the pain meds so I can see if riding is making things any worse for him, so far it seems like it's having no negative affect.

When Axel was done I brought Cody into the barn to groom and tack up. He needed another ride on the road, I'm determined to keep it up and see if he improves at all. There's bound to be some trail riding this fall and I'd like a sane horse. We made our way down the driveway and down the road pretty slowly. Once we got past the culvert and a few moments of "I won't go forward" things picked up a bit. We actually made it down to the second to last field entrance before the intersection and Cody was moving out and not weaving so I asked him to turn around. Of course that was the moment a nice big wind blew up his tail and he scooted forward so we turned around and tried again. After that we walked back to the barn at a nice pace with no trotting. Except for the moments of not wanting to move forward we're making it further and further each time. I'm still trying to reward him for going forward without hesitation so I haven't pushed him further than the first mile. Next time we have someone to go with we'll most likely go further.

Cody on the Road - Try Try Again

It was too nice out to not go for a ride down the road even if it had to be a slow one with Cody. I groomed and tacked outside to avoid having to clean up the barn aisle since I was short on time. Cody was his usual pokey self going down the driveway. He decided he needed to go left out of the driveway first. I assume he was looking for his almost-girlfriend, Diva, who has since left the barn. When I turned him around it was slow going again down the first part of the road in front of the pastures. We ended up in the ditch that they had mowed fairly recently. As soon as we passed the first culvert Cody stopped and started his backing up routine. When I finally got fed up with asking nicely and kicked him on he gave in and moved forward. I asked for a trot and a canter to wake him up but the canter ended us in the middle of the road. So we went back to the ditch and continued away from the barn. But I had his attention at this point and he moved forward without proding so we turned around (calmly) and headed back to the barn.

I generally make Cody walk past the barn before we turn in so he doesn't get any ideas. So we stayed in the ditch and passed th driveway at a bit of a trot. When we turned around to go back past the driveway I turned him around again and this time he didn't want to go back to the barn. He was dead set on going back down the road in front of Diva's and Dolly's pasture. Then he was dead set on going past the pasture toward the highway. I'm not sure what got into him maybe he was lost. I finally turned him around and aimed him back at the driveway. So it's still not relaxing to ride Cody down the road but he's getting better, slowly. It's been a long time since we've gone all the way down past the first intersection with or without some one else, we'll have to give that a try. At least the rides haven't been scarey or dangerous like they were earlier this year. And of course when we returned to the barn everyone got their last two cobs of sweet corn as a reward for being just so darned cute.