Variety is the Spice of Life

Or so they say.

I am not so certain I always want variety.  I do prefer certain things to be the same, such as having a parking spot in the same place each time I look for it.

But the past few days were good for the girls, I think.

The filly had ride #3.  Since starting her ulcer treatment, she seems much more forward.  She does still have a tendency to get "sticky" in the corners where the exit points are. 

I decided to go ahead and put down a ground pole in one corner and she seemed much happier to go and walk/trot over it instead of stopping, so perhaps, having more for her to look at/do is the key to keeping her engaged.

Can't say I blame her.  The arena can be a bit of a dull place without different things to do, but with a young horse, it's always back to basics.  It seems difficult at times to keep a young horse's mind busy wanting to learn and do more when there is only so many skills they already have.  I don't want to introduce too many things at once in terms either. 

As for the mare, she was a good sport.  Friday, we had an excellent ride.  She seemed happy to work and was very easy to bend and ride, even with additional traffic in the arena.

Today, I met up with a friend again and we decided to go outside once more. 

And she was very good indeed.  I went ahead and decided that the mare can multi-task even outside.  Poor girl.  How can she possibly keep track of her feet, be soft in the bridle, and trot at the same time?

Her only real spooky point today was an old, forgotten hay bale left on the field.  For whatever reason, that got the oogly eyes.  Good grief horse.  It was previously known as food.

Then again, when I was back inside, I went ahead and trimmed the obnoxious mohawk and cleaned up part of her hairy heels.  The SFM is perfect for clipping.  However, when I set the clippers back down on top of the box, then she puffed up and was snorting and blowing at it while tied.

Oh dear horse.

So apparently while some variety is right up the semi feral's alley, familiar objects should never be in unfamiliar settings. -Semi Feral Truth number #10470.

So I tried the boots back on her.  She is still not very impressed.

The Princess Gets New Shoes

The other night, I decided that the poor SFM needed more excitement in her life.  In preparation of her potential new trail riding career, I decided to see if the hoof boots I had fit her.

See, I like finding good deals.  The other year, I managed to buy some hoof boots from a hardware store that was clearing out horse equipment.  I also managed to purchase a pair of Oster A5 clippers for under a dollar as well.  But that's a different story.

In this case, I bought four or five pairs of Cavallo and Old Mac hoof boots for about $20 a piece.  I resold them on Ebay.  Win for the people purchasing them for a cheaper cost and a win for me, as I had money to put towards the horse items I decided to keep.

Like the obnoxious red Cavallos.  Why the red ones? 

They happened to be the only reasonably Arab sized ones in the pile.

So, the other night I decided to see how the SFM would fair in her own ruby pair of slippers.  I measured her feet first with a pair of calipers and they seemed close enough (just slightly too large, but she was trimmed the following morning).

I put her in the indoor, wrestled with the velcro and put them on. 

I personally prefer to put boots (whether hock boots, hoof boots, whatever) on a horse in an open area for the first time.  Sometimes the reactions are a bit...well dramatic.  

The SFM's reaction was not so dramatic.  She waddled around like a fat, drunk horse, weaving for a couple of minutes until she realized her newly crimson toes weren't going anywhere.  

Dear SFM:  Just one more step towards being domesticated you know.

The Filly Ride #2

The filly once again, had to prove that she isn't just a feed and lead horse.  Poor girl.

She was very quiet and easy going.  No worries about being the only horse and no real issues looking at any scary objects in the arena.

I put down a ground pole earlier and she happily walked and then trotted over it.  Wow.  The SFM has to examine each and every colored ground pole every time before riding over them.

Because you know:

Ground poles eat horses.

Filly backed a few steps as well.  A little more work on being a bit softer and not stargazing and bending a little to the inside.  Very quick learner.

She also decided to think about quitting whenever she reached the end of the arena near where I tie her up at.  OK horse, I guess you aren't quitting on that end today.

She has a few symptoms that are making me examine ulcers.  Increased wood chewing, slowly at eating her feed, and some other behavioral changes, so I went ahead and started her on omeprazole today.  Hopefully that will do the trick.

It's going to be an early morning to go and see her before work, but it should all be worth it in the end.

How about you guys?  What do you like to introduce to your young horses right away undersaddle?

SFM Adventure

If you are new and joining us, there is something to know about the Semi Feral Mare (SFM).  She is well, semi feral at times.  OK, she doesn't do anything too off the wall, but she isn't brave or well versed in many things besides eating, preferably eating large quantities of treats.

Trail riding isn't really her think either.  She spends most of the time worrying and figuring out if she will die.  Given my back issues, I don't always appreciate unintentional leaping. 

So, when a friend suggested that we venture out of the indoor arena to wander around the frozen tundra fields, I was a little uncertain.

She can be looky.

OK said the other person.

Cool, let's go.

Another friend decided to join us.  Awesome for me because we can do my favorite technique with chicken little horses and wedge them between horse one and horse three, so they don't nearly have the space to be worried or stupid.

We made it outside. 

And she was perfect.  We just walked since the snow was still fairly deep in some places, but it was good.  I daresay she may have enjoyed herself after a cold, bitter winter with seeing nothing but snow, ice, and the indoor arena for months on end.  She may have just volunteered herself into becoming a true trail pony.

The verdict is out on her true feelings about this suggestion.

After all, she is the Semi Feral Mare.

The Filly Gets A Job

The semi feral filly usually lives an easy life.  She may tell you differently since she is the one that is usually drug to shows to stand around and do nothing, but still, easy enough.

The poor little filly had to grow up a little today.

I had previously sat on her a couple of times, along with leading a friend/being lead by said friend in the past. 

However, she has sat around most of the winter since she needed dental work done ie having her wolf teeth removed and it was subzero and it's just not fun to deal with young horses when everything is freezing including penguins.

But today was a much nicer today and even the penguins of the world would think it was very suitable indeed.

So the little filly had her introduction to real life.  I was the one on the ground, not in the saddle.  ;)

She has had extensive groundwork and has been driven in hand.  I think it shows.  She was comfortably moving off leg laterally and this was one of the first times she was bitted as I have used a lunging cavesson for all of her driving/lunging work until this.

Pretty pleased.  The rider asked her for a bit of trot as well and said it was pretty smooth.  She was quiet and relaxed about it and came down to her walk as soon as the rider said easy.  Can't be much more pleased than that.

So once I figure out how to embed the video I will go from there...but here is one I tried to do from the phone. 

I need to learn how other bloggers do their videos.  Any insight?  :)

ETA--I may have achieved success.  How about them apples.

The Mare had to work too.  So terribly difficult too.  She was actually sweating.  Poor horse.  :(  I made up for it with a half dozen mini candy canes though.  We'll see if the mare wants to talk to me tomorrow. 

Blog Hop: What's In Your Bucket

 

From Viva Carlos

What do you feed?

I board, so some things I don't have complete control over.  My horses are pasture boarded as I like for them to be able to move around more and it's a bit easier to keep two that way.  During grazing months, they are usually on a partial day of grass, but it can vary depending on needs. 

The boarding barn is a bit different that way as each pasture has different grazing times/hours.  Some horses can be out all day and then just dry lotted in the evening, while some are just out for an hour or two due to metabolic issues or laminitis or whatever specifically.  I think it is nice to have options.

But as for grain, I feed Tribute.  I have fed others, but I feel that Tribute has more than given me the best bang for my buck.

In addition, there is a joint supplement in the ration balancer for the Semi Feral Mare.  Bonus points, since she can't sort it out, knock it over, or any other way that joint supplements can disappear. 

It is very cost effective.  I think the last time I ran the numbers, it is approximately $.70/day for her grain.

The filly is also on a ration balancer (aptly named because it is a nutrient dense feed meant to be fed in the 1-2 pound range).  It is meant to be a complement to forage fed in the diet, not the main provider of nutrients or calories.  In my case, it works out well.  The filly is also on a bit of a fat supplement from the same company to add a bit of boost.  The winter was so long and miserable that she seemed to need a bit more.

However, she is looking rounder all the time, so I am sure I will pull her off this spring.

I have done the other supplements and at this point and time, don't see so much need.  I know vitamin and mineral wise, that my horses have everything.  They have enough calories.  And for once, it is easy to maintain a topline, even in a career broodmare that has produced six foals.

On old feeding program.  Pretty girl, but lack of topline.  

And this past summer.  Both shots taken in summer coats.  Same amount of grooming in both.  Just different feed.

Memory Monday: Lola

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from 8 til 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

When I first started my university education, I joined a horse related club on campus.  While, I didn't show, I enjoyed the meetings.  I had the chance to "foal watch" pregnant mares on campus and fell in love with some of the beautiful broodmares.

There I met Lola.

She was one of the foals born.  Very friendly, sweet, and lazy.  She was a reining bred foal.  

After I left campus, she was gone.  I was told she went back to the person who had her dam.  Sweet little Lola.  I hoped she would grow up and make us all proud.

Then a couple years later, I was in another equine class, learning to draw blood on a very sweet, young two year old filly.  She stood stock still and was patient, quiet, and sweet as I fumbled with a needle, trying to find her jugular under a mountain of hair. 

It was little Lola.

She was growing up.  My understanding is that she had suffered some type of injury, precluding her from athletic endeavors, so she was donated back to the university. 

I graduated, but always wondered what happened to sweet Lola.  I still had great friends that would give me updates on her.

The greatest coincidence happened.  One of my friends was assigned Lola in her reproduction class and foaled her out.

She named Lola's daughter Mandy, after another Barry Manilow song.

But like many good things, they can come to an end all too soon  I think a piece of my heart broke.  She was never mine, of course.  I was just there for her little baby steps and as she grew up. 

I had always hoped I would be able to see more of her foals do well.  Quite unrealistic, but I had always hoped to go find one to breed a nice half Arabian reiner. 

"Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl..."

Sweet dreams Lola.