Sunday was another lovely morning with BG. I didn’t give her too thorough a brush as her coat was looking remarkably clean, so I just gave her a light brush to get the dust out and any loose hairs. Then I picked her hooves out. She tucked the near-hind up under her belly but didn’t kick it out this time so obviously just needed the stretch. Other than that she was very good with all her hooves. I am beginning to think she is only funny in the evening’s because she is impatient for her hay, rather than she is in pain or she is trying to be naughty.
I put out four poles in a row to trot BG over, four strides in-between them seems to be a good distance for her. I walked her over first, for which the strides aren’t quite right, but it gave her a chance to look down at them and step carefully over. Then I trotted her over them and she was bounding over them, almost jumping each with both front legs over at the same time. I popped the second and fourth up a tyres height each and ran alongside again so she could go over them. I would say she did really well, but I didn’t give her a chance too, my body went too fast for my legs and I fell onto my knees as she jumped the second! I think she spooked a couple of steps side-ways and then stood waiting, looking at me as if to say ‘are you okay, that was strange’. She was very well behaved all morning.
The second and third times I managed to avoid falling flat on my face and she stepped over them, but didn’t feel she needed to jump them.
Then I removed the first pole, popped the second back on the ground and the fourth went up to two tyres height. She was as good as gold again and went over with a slight jump that was only just more of a jump than a step over. She looked like she was enjoying herself as sometimes I wonder if she does like jumping.
I gave her a fifteen minute lunge afterwards and she was nice and active, quite happy to trot several circles when asked. I left one jump up, only one tyres height, to include on the circle sometimes. Normally BG will run around the poles if she can, she is very good about avoiding them if you give her the slightest chance too. I only intended to take her over it at a trot, since I thought it was raised too much for a walk, but she herself steered towards it and did exaggerated steps over it in walk, and on her ‘bad’ rein.
I trotted her over it a couple of times and she took it really nicely. Then I switched reins. Seeing as she thought it was possible in walk I asked her to go over it in walk but she just caught it on the way over, she stood very patiently whilst I put it back up though. When I asked her to trot over she did so very nicely, for a moment it looked like I might even get a canter out of her (I have yet to get her to canter on the lunge). I was tempted to put the jump up another tyre again but decided I had better finish and not push her too far. She had been a little super-star already.
As a reward she got her paddock lick whilst I mucked out and tidied the jumps away.
*******
In the evening my husband tried to put the head collar on her. I think he has done it once so far in the two and a bit years she has been with us. She was very patient, he had to have two attempts as the first time he took it back off her nose. She stood very patiently whilst he tried to get the strap over the top of her neck and then struggled to do the buckle up in the fading light. She was so patient and good though, you wouldn’t think she was the same pony that sometimes refuses to have it on at all and swings round on you.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Friday, 4 March 2011
Sunny Friday
BG was funny with her hooves again last night. She wasn’t as bad as before but she had my husband stood at her head the whole time. Just going to be time and patience to get her back to being good again I think. The farrier is due in the next few weeks, although I have yet to have a reply to my attempt to get an appointment. Monday will be ten weeks since she last had her hooves trimmed, they don’t really look like they need doing, but I worry a little due to the crack on her near-fore. I was hoping for an appointment around 12 weeks.
After putting BG’s net up last night I gave her an evening hug around the neck – her coat is so thick and soft it is gorgeous. One of those feelings you just wish you could capture.
This morning we caught BG in her penned off area for the first time in a while, head collar on no problem. She did look as though she would get funny about having her head collar caught afterwards to have it taken off but thankfully she was fine so we got to work on time.
It is beautiful sunshine out there now so she is probably getting a little warm. I just wish I could spend such a beautiful day with her.
After putting BG’s net up last night I gave her an evening hug around the neck – her coat is so thick and soft it is gorgeous. One of those feelings you just wish you could capture.
This morning we caught BG in her penned off area for the first time in a while, head collar on no problem. She did look as though she would get funny about having her head collar caught afterwards to have it taken off but thankfully she was fine so we got to work on time.
It is beautiful sunshine out there now so she is probably getting a little warm. I just wish I could spend such a beautiful day with her.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Lovely morning
Today I had the day off work and nothing to do - it felt so strange. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the morning than with BG though, especially as it was a nice day to be out in the field. It was cold, but not too windy, and no rain. I gave her a thorough groom which is half an hours work. I didn't quite get all the mud of her fetlocks but I felt around that area to ensure it was just mud and there were no scabs on her legs.
After her groom I led her out and did a little in-hand work before lunging her. I even got her to stop and then stay there whilst I walked away, before calling her to me. Normally she won't stay as she takes me moving as an indication for her to move too. I think it probably helped she was half distracted by something in the hedge so not so impressive as it could have been.
She was very good on the lunge, though she was carrying her head quite low the whole time. She did spring into trot beautifully though and seemed much lighter on her hooves than last time I lunged her. I did quite a few quick transitions with her to get her listening and she almost looked like she was enjoying it. She looks like she needs to build up some muscle though.
As a treat, after she had finished, I gave her the paddock lick in her field to have whilst I poo-picked the field. She started to chew at the plastic container after a bit because the lick had got low on the inside - I will know in future to remove the lick from the container straight away, I'm worried she might cut her mouth chewing on it. I had a bit of a battle with scissors to try and get the lick out of the container for her though, by the time I had managed to remove it she had taken herself off and was happily grazing, so I've hidden it away for another day.
It was lovely to spend time up there this morning with her, even just watching her grazing. The down-side on news recently though is that she has been funny having her hooves picked out again. I did them last night and she was really kicking back with her hind-legs, so much so I have been banned from picking them out unless my husband is up the field too just in case she catches me. When my husband stood at her head she was fine, but when I just tried doing them on my own like normal she was a pain. I think it is because she was wanting her hay net but whatever the reason it is unacceptable behaviour that I need to sort out.
After her groom I led her out and did a little in-hand work before lunging her. I even got her to stop and then stay there whilst I walked away, before calling her to me. Normally she won't stay as she takes me moving as an indication for her to move too. I think it probably helped she was half distracted by something in the hedge so not so impressive as it could have been.
She was very good on the lunge, though she was carrying her head quite low the whole time. She did spring into trot beautifully though and seemed much lighter on her hooves than last time I lunged her. I did quite a few quick transitions with her to get her listening and she almost looked like she was enjoying it. She looks like she needs to build up some muscle though.
As a treat, after she had finished, I gave her the paddock lick in her field to have whilst I poo-picked the field. She started to chew at the plastic container after a bit because the lick had got low on the inside - I will know in future to remove the lick from the container straight away, I'm worried she might cut her mouth chewing on it. I had a bit of a battle with scissors to try and get the lick out of the container for her though, by the time I had managed to remove it she had taken herself off and was happily grazing, so I've hidden it away for another day.
It was lovely to spend time up there this morning with her, even just watching her grazing. The down-side on news recently though is that she has been funny having her hooves picked out again. I did them last night and she was really kicking back with her hind-legs, so much so I have been banned from picking them out unless my husband is up the field too just in case she catches me. When my husband stood at her head she was fine, but when I just tried doing them on my own like normal she was a pain. I think it is because she was wanting her hay net but whatever the reason it is unacceptable behaviour that I need to sort out.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
March grazing
We got some more electric fencing at the weekend and the field BG is in is now split into three sections. There is the section she was on for the whole of February, which has hedges on three sides for shelter. The middle section has a hedge at the top and bottom so not a lot of shelter, but this section is the one her field shelter is in. Lastly there is a section with hedge top and bottom and the perimeter fence. This section doesn’t have much shelter but, since it is the muddiest section of the field, I don’t intend to use it for a good few months. I might even leave it to recover for winter grazing.
I am trying to preserve the fields but ensure BG has enough to eat. I can’t wait till the spring grass starts coming through, then I’ll probably complain there is too much grass. The sections can then be split down further, and hopefully I can rest some of the field enough to have a decent amount of grass in winter. The main thing I need to ensure is BG has plenty of access to shelter, especially in the hot months which is about the only time she uses her shelter for shade and to escape the flies.
Having had a month on the far strip of the field we moved her onto the middle strip on Saturday night. I was quite excited when BG seemed to find lots of bits of grass to snip off with her teeth – there is grass after all! I thought I could cut back on hay and would need to start managing her weight more, but after a couple of days she doesn’t seem as excited by the new grass, she must have eaten all the tasty bits. Although she will head off to graze when we leave rather than stand watching us expectantly I do wonder how much grass there is there for her.
The spring grass might not be coming through properly yet but there are signs of spring – the first few strands of BG’s winter coat is starting to come loose from her neck. She’ll be loosing all her winter coat in the next few months.
We weight-taped her on Sunday and I think we got it very wrong. I would have expected her to be in the 420-430kg range, last time we did it she had dropped a bit to 417kg. The weight-tape read 387kg! In summer when she is perfect weight she is 400kg and you can feel her ribs. Sunday there was no chance of feeling her ribs, they were nicely covered and not just by her winter coat. I think we got the weight-tape position wrong, she wasn’t stood square which she should be, although I don’t worry too much about that since I use the tape as a guide only. I can’t feel her ribs and you can still see a belly on her so I think she is doing fine weight wise.
I picked out BG’s hooves last night, I hadn’t done it for a while. I’m not as religious about it as some people. She isn’t shod and her hooves do tend to keep themselves reasonably clean, if they do get anything in them it is mud and not stones. At the moment I will take out the mud and then she’ll go straight back out in the field and they get fill again, hence why I don’t bother all the time. Often the mud drops out itself when it dries a bit and you find big hoof shaped lumps of mud in the field. I picked them out last night so they would stay clean for at least the duration of her staying in the shelter to eat her hay net.
She was funny about having them picked out again. She sprung her front hooves up in the air so fast she almost kicked her belly. The back hooves she tucked under herself and didn’t want to stretch back, when I asked her to she went to put them down again, and she moved about to avoid me being able to take hold of them. I don’t know what that was all about.
After a battle to get them all picked out I went round once more just to hold them up and she was better about that. I did them again this morning with my husband holding her. She was better again, much more like her usual self. I just need to do them a bit more regularly I think so we can tackle any issues she has with it before the farrier is due in a few weeks.
So BG is on her March grazing now and has settled into that section of the field. The second night she was in there she was a little un-nerved and could hear something in one of the hedgerows. She took a mouth-full of hay then shot out her shelter, and didn’t really settle after that. We did a full search by torch-light and couldn’t see anything, but she obviously had her senses heightened by something that day. She may get another horse in the field next door in April, that might be nice for her as a bit of company, even though they won’t be in together. It might make her settle more when there is something around as there will be someone else to be on the look-out for danger too.
I am trying to preserve the fields but ensure BG has enough to eat. I can’t wait till the spring grass starts coming through, then I’ll probably complain there is too much grass. The sections can then be split down further, and hopefully I can rest some of the field enough to have a decent amount of grass in winter. The main thing I need to ensure is BG has plenty of access to shelter, especially in the hot months which is about the only time she uses her shelter for shade and to escape the flies.
Having had a month on the far strip of the field we moved her onto the middle strip on Saturday night. I was quite excited when BG seemed to find lots of bits of grass to snip off with her teeth – there is grass after all! I thought I could cut back on hay and would need to start managing her weight more, but after a couple of days she doesn’t seem as excited by the new grass, she must have eaten all the tasty bits. Although she will head off to graze when we leave rather than stand watching us expectantly I do wonder how much grass there is there for her.
The spring grass might not be coming through properly yet but there are signs of spring – the first few strands of BG’s winter coat is starting to come loose from her neck. She’ll be loosing all her winter coat in the next few months.
We weight-taped her on Sunday and I think we got it very wrong. I would have expected her to be in the 420-430kg range, last time we did it she had dropped a bit to 417kg. The weight-tape read 387kg! In summer when she is perfect weight she is 400kg and you can feel her ribs. Sunday there was no chance of feeling her ribs, they were nicely covered and not just by her winter coat. I think we got the weight-tape position wrong, she wasn’t stood square which she should be, although I don’t worry too much about that since I use the tape as a guide only. I can’t feel her ribs and you can still see a belly on her so I think she is doing fine weight wise.
I picked out BG’s hooves last night, I hadn’t done it for a while. I’m not as religious about it as some people. She isn’t shod and her hooves do tend to keep themselves reasonably clean, if they do get anything in them it is mud and not stones. At the moment I will take out the mud and then she’ll go straight back out in the field and they get fill again, hence why I don’t bother all the time. Often the mud drops out itself when it dries a bit and you find big hoof shaped lumps of mud in the field. I picked them out last night so they would stay clean for at least the duration of her staying in the shelter to eat her hay net.
She was funny about having them picked out again. She sprung her front hooves up in the air so fast she almost kicked her belly. The back hooves she tucked under herself and didn’t want to stretch back, when I asked her to she went to put them down again, and she moved about to avoid me being able to take hold of them. I don’t know what that was all about.
After a battle to get them all picked out I went round once more just to hold them up and she was better about that. I did them again this morning with my husband holding her. She was better again, much more like her usual self. I just need to do them a bit more regularly I think so we can tackle any issues she has with it before the farrier is due in a few weeks.
So BG is on her March grazing now and has settled into that section of the field. The second night she was in there she was a little un-nerved and could hear something in one of the hedgerows. She took a mouth-full of hay then shot out her shelter, and didn’t really settle after that. We did a full search by torch-light and couldn’t see anything, but she obviously had her senses heightened by something that day. She may get another horse in the field next door in April, that might be nice for her as a bit of company, even though they won’t be in together. It might make her settle more when there is something around as there will be someone else to be on the look-out for danger too.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Won't let us catch hold of the head collar
We never got to the bottom of the mystery orange smear, I’m beginning to think it must just have been where she rubbed her nose and still had paddock lick on it.
I am opting for the catching BG in her shelter and then hopefully moving it (catching her) back out into the field again. It’s rained recently though so the field shelter entrance is starting to puddle up again. This morning we let her through and she trotted across to her shelter to wait by the door and I decided to try the penned off area in the field again. Once she figured out that was where her food was going she followed me in as good as gold and the head collar went straight on. You could tell she wasn’t 100% sure on it but she didn’t protest.
So she had her breakfast and then the issues started. She would not let us get hold of her head collar to lead her back out and take it off. Unfortunately in the morning we have a time limit as we need to get to work so this wasn’t a good time for her to start stubbornly swinging her bottom round at us. Eventually we had to get some hay, use that to lure her into her shelter and catch her in there (which we almost couldn’t do either). I wouldn’t want to leave her with the head collar on.
Sorry, I’ve just realised how dull this must sound on this blog, all about head collar this and head collar that. Not the most exciting subject. It is the biggest day to day battle in mine and BG’s life though, except when she is being very good.
I am opting for the catching BG in her shelter and then hopefully moving it (catching her) back out into the field again. It’s rained recently though so the field shelter entrance is starting to puddle up again. This morning we let her through and she trotted across to her shelter to wait by the door and I decided to try the penned off area in the field again. Once she figured out that was where her food was going she followed me in as good as gold and the head collar went straight on. You could tell she wasn’t 100% sure on it but she didn’t protest.
So she had her breakfast and then the issues started. She would not let us get hold of her head collar to lead her back out and take it off. Unfortunately in the morning we have a time limit as we need to get to work so this wasn’t a good time for her to start stubbornly swinging her bottom round at us. Eventually we had to get some hay, use that to lure her into her shelter and catch her in there (which we almost couldn’t do either). I wouldn’t want to leave her with the head collar on.
Sorry, I’ve just realised how dull this must sound on this blog, all about head collar this and head collar that. Not the most exciting subject. It is the biggest day to day battle in mine and BG’s life though, except when she is being very good.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Mystery orange smear - blood?
Since the wind we have been unable to get BG back into the good habit of being caught in the field. She almost doesn’t seem sure that she is allowed to eat from her bowl in her field. So we have a dilemma; do we let her eat in her field so she learns it’s okay and not to be nervous, or do we bring her across to the shelter so she still has to have the head collar on before every meal? We are leaning towards the latter, although she has so far been as good as gold in her field every day. We’ll start feeding her in the penned off area again soon and then move back out to the field.
For now we are letting her across to the field shelter and she charges over (sometimes we even get a canter). Last night she ran across in the dark once the fence was opened up for her and had her head collar on as good as gold and then I picked out her hooves. She was being a bit funny about this; shifting around her stall so she wasn’t balanced right for picking them up, holding her hind legs under her rather than stretching them back and stomping and pawing with her front right leg. It was almost like she was desperate to get back out or not happy about something. Then I noticed an orange tinge on the white coat above her front right hoof, like blood smeared in the coat. I searched and searched to see if I could find where it came from but couldn’t find anything. I checked all her legs both for blood and heat, and her nose too. I couldn’t find anything. The only other theory could be that her nose still had the colour of some of the paddock lick on it and maybe she rubbed that on her leg, but that wouldn’t tie in with why she was stomping (unless she was just in a bad mood). Although she ran across perfectly happily so can’t be feeling too sore.
This morning as we arrived she trotted up and down her fence line tossing her head at us, and when I went to let her through I got a hello (a neigh) which is always nice from a not very vocal pony. We got a canter across to the shelter too, and then she stood there sticking her head over the door whilst I caught up with her to let her in.
Head collar on no problem, and I went and cleaned her water bucket out whilst she ate her breakfast. Then I took another look at her leg and her nose but still couldn’t see anything. I used a wipe to clear up the remaining orange on her leg but there was nothing else there, it’s a complete mystery. When I asked her to lift her hoof up she did so very suddenly and almost knocked herself on her belly though, which isn’t like her.
Turned her back out and felt very guilty as we left for work and she stood watching us. I think this weekend we might need to move her onto another section of the field so she has some newer grass to keep her busy.
For now we are letting her across to the field shelter and she charges over (sometimes we even get a canter). Last night she ran across in the dark once the fence was opened up for her and had her head collar on as good as gold and then I picked out her hooves. She was being a bit funny about this; shifting around her stall so she wasn’t balanced right for picking them up, holding her hind legs under her rather than stretching them back and stomping and pawing with her front right leg. It was almost like she was desperate to get back out or not happy about something. Then I noticed an orange tinge on the white coat above her front right hoof, like blood smeared in the coat. I searched and searched to see if I could find where it came from but couldn’t find anything. I checked all her legs both for blood and heat, and her nose too. I couldn’t find anything. The only other theory could be that her nose still had the colour of some of the paddock lick on it and maybe she rubbed that on her leg, but that wouldn’t tie in with why she was stomping (unless she was just in a bad mood). Although she ran across perfectly happily so can’t be feeling too sore.
This morning as we arrived she trotted up and down her fence line tossing her head at us, and when I went to let her through I got a hello (a neigh) which is always nice from a not very vocal pony. We got a canter across to the shelter too, and then she stood there sticking her head over the door whilst I caught up with her to let her in.
Head collar on no problem, and I went and cleaned her water bucket out whilst she ate her breakfast. Then I took another look at her leg and her nose but still couldn’t see anything. I used a wipe to clear up the remaining orange on her leg but there was nothing else there, it’s a complete mystery. When I asked her to lift her hoof up she did so very suddenly and almost knocked herself on her belly though, which isn’t like her.
Turned her back out and felt very guilty as we left for work and she stood watching us. I think this weekend we might need to move her onto another section of the field so she has some newer grass to keep her busy.
Monday, 21 February 2011
Weekend update
BG has started to enjoy her lick a little too much. I have been taking it off her but put it out last night and she’s now about half way through it, and it’s supposed to last a pony 30 days. So I think I will be keeping it hidden for a little while. Problem is she acts as though she is so hungry at the moment, but she’s not dropping weight at all and is still plenty active. Yesterday as I was mucking out I saw her trying to learn over the fence at one end of the field to eat the grass on the other side, really pushing against it and scrapping at the fence with her foot. I dug out some old electric posts and have put fencing up half a metre inside the field fence now. I can’t have her pushing the fence, especially as it is quite old and wobbly anyway. There is a hedge the other side to stop her going anywhere but I don’t want to risk it. Strange how should would touch the main fence though but won’t go near electric tape, I guess it’s because it flutters in the wind. It does mean she can’t get as close to the hedge for shelter now though.
It’s been a quiet week, it’s still too dark after work to do anything with BG, but I made sure on Sunday morning I spent plenty of time up there. I gave her a thorough groom; there is just the beginnings of her coat starting to come loose on her neck (the odd hair) so spring must be on it’s way and I can expect her to start moulting all her winter coat off soon. Then I lunged her, only quarter of an hour but she was very good. She was a bit keen on looking at other things (people walking past the field etc.) to begin with, but she then calmed down and listened. As she was doing so well at the end and it was a calm, quiet day I decided to take her out of the field for a little walk.
This is only the second time I have done this on my own. Walking along the road she was very alert peering in the bushes. Then we turned up the track that runs alongside her field. She was still very alert and trying all the time to eat grass. I didn’t take her very far. I was quite glad as walking her back she got very excited by the sight of some walkers on the other side of the hedge and then walking along the road she was looking at things and taking a bit of persuading to keep going.
I checked she hadn’t picked up any stones in her hooves, popped her over the tiny jump I’d set up in the field (I’m not convinced she’s a fan of jumping) and then turned her back out. Whilst I mucked out she followed me round the field, approaching me when I stopped. It was quite sweet, could it count as early join up because she trusted me when out on the walk? Probably not I guess. I need to dig out my two books I’ve got on working with horses and start reading them in earnest so I have lots of different things to do with her this summer to keep her interested and build trust.
It’s been a quiet week, it’s still too dark after work to do anything with BG, but I made sure on Sunday morning I spent plenty of time up there. I gave her a thorough groom; there is just the beginnings of her coat starting to come loose on her neck (the odd hair) so spring must be on it’s way and I can expect her to start moulting all her winter coat off soon. Then I lunged her, only quarter of an hour but she was very good. She was a bit keen on looking at other things (people walking past the field etc.) to begin with, but she then calmed down and listened. As she was doing so well at the end and it was a calm, quiet day I decided to take her out of the field for a little walk.
This is only the second time I have done this on my own. Walking along the road she was very alert peering in the bushes. Then we turned up the track that runs alongside her field. She was still very alert and trying all the time to eat grass. I didn’t take her very far. I was quite glad as walking her back she got very excited by the sight of some walkers on the other side of the hedge and then walking along the road she was looking at things and taking a bit of persuading to keep going.
I checked she hadn’t picked up any stones in her hooves, popped her over the tiny jump I’d set up in the field (I’m not convinced she’s a fan of jumping) and then turned her back out. Whilst I mucked out she followed me round the field, approaching me when I stopped. It was quite sweet, could it count as early join up because she trusted me when out on the walk? Probably not I guess. I need to dig out my two books I’ve got on working with horses and start reading them in earnest so I have lots of different things to do with her this summer to keep her interested and build trust.
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