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.