Wear Your Helmet!!

Thu Mar 30, 2006

No riding lesson tonight because one of the ladies' mare decided to start bucking, the woman lost her seat, got thrown off INTO the metal stock panels of the round pen and got hit by the mare's head right in HER head! No, no helmet, *sigh*. She's okay, just had the sense knocked out of her and a bloody nose, but she's going to be sore tomorrow I bet.

So, no lesson tonight. Because of that, and the fact the barn owner's granddaughters were riding (5 & 3 yrs old) and very in-the-way, and 4 other people were riding...too damned crowded.

The woman admitted she just can't react quick enough...that horse bucked around 6 times before she got her off...she had plenty of time and room to yank the horse's head around, and we were yelling at her to do that very thing...but by buck 4 there was lots of daylight between her and the seat and that was all she wrote.

Make-up lesson will be Saturday afternoon. *sigh*.

(Should I feel insulted that Bob told me that Quzqo is turning into a fine Quarter Horse because his butt is so big, LOL!)

More Fun at the Trough and Trailer

Mon Mar 27, 2006

Happy to report yesterday's TERRIFYING EPISODE at the water trough (where I moved the pipe that feeds water to the trough and scared Quzqo out of his shoes, if he was wearing shoes, that is) did not leave any permanent scars. Today he drank almost readily from the trough, which had the scary PVC pipe in place (but not moving). It was filled to the brim, so he got to enjoy cool, clean, fresh water! I noticed he didn't drink as long or as deeply, so maybe, just maybe, he'd already come up for a drink earlier in the day! Hope Hope Hope!

Bob, the barn owner, looked at me like I was crazy, even after I explained the problem...not my fault the horse wants me to bend over with him to get a drink, LOL (it's true...if I straighten up, he backs off and looks worried...if I bend over the trough, he lowers his head with me, LOL).

AND...today we began our working on backing out of horse trailers! I borrowed Bob's big gooseneck stock trailer which was conveniently parked right outside the barn (and safely hooked up to his truck), and using the clicker and a pocket full of carrot chunks, got Quzqo to walk up to the trailer and relax...which was an achievement, because when I tried to walk him near the thing, he got...er...um...very upset (he acted like it was a water trough, EE!). But lots of pats and quiet words and an occasional click & carrot, pretty soon he was standing calmly with his knees inches from the trailer, and was curiously nosing around, sniffing the poop inside. From there we worked on backing away and getting a carrot/click, then walking back forward, resting, sniffing poop, backing away. He relaxed because I was relaxed and in no hurry (unlike when I normally have to load him in a trailer, LOL...HURRY WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE HORSE SHOW AAAUUUGH!!!)

Eventually he WANTED to put a hoof in the trailer (it's a step-up, no ramp), and I got one hoof in, then backed him out...we did that a couple of times and then he got TWO hooves in the trailer, and we paused and he got a carrot and a click, learning he doesn't have to literally LEAP into the trailer (which is what he was doing last year). Backed him off, gave him a treat/click, then brought him back up in, but only the front feet. We did that four times and he started to get distracted, so that was enough for today! Might repeat it tomorrow, and maybe Wednesday go for all four feet and hopefully backing out. Hopefully. But considering last year I couldn't get him to back up out of the barn (that scary 2" drop to the dirt!)...I'm hopeful.

Quzqo Drinks!

Fri Mar 24, 2006

Tonight after work Coos and I visited the water trough, and I KNEW he was thirsty (mostly because he made a dive for a muddy puddle, but I wouldn't let him!). So we came up to the trough, and I got him as close as I could (his legs about 3 feet away from the trough), and I crouched over the water and played and splashed my hand in it (the level was down 2/3, so it was actually pleasantly tepid from the tank heater on the bottom), and splashed it up to his muzzle, and cooed and cajoled and praised and soothed...slowly....slowly his head lowered.... lower...lower...to the level of the tank, but he didn't want to put it IN the tank...I fladdled more water up on his lips, and after some hesitation, he lowered it into the tank, got about 6" from the actual water surface, about 1/4" of pink tongue comes out from between his lips...he slowly (painfully so) lowered his head another inch...the tongue came out...and started lapping at the air above the water! BWAHAHAHAAA...I tried to not laugh TOO loudly, that poor pathetic thirsty horse...after half a minute or so, he tentatively lowered his head more and made contact with the surface of the water!

He drank...and drank and drank and drank and drank...the second he touched the water, he was done for, there's no way he could have stopped drinking, he was SO thirsty! I swear, the level of the tank went down an inch, easily! He drank and drank and drank and drank some more! Poor guy! Finally he came up for air, raising his head and swallowing...looked around a bit, then without hesitation lowered his head back to the water and drank and drank and drank some more! HOORAH!!!!

I'm SO pleased!! Of course once he was finished, he was like "oh, hey, yeah, no big deal, I knew it was safe, oh, yeah", LOL!

What a goof!

Hydrophobia!

Mon Mar 20, 2006

Quzqo is now terrified of the water tank in his pasture. He didn't mind the old tank, but they switched out to these new ones late last Fall, and he hasn't taken a drink since. Some theorize he got zapped by the fence, because at one point the wire WAS touching the tank and the horses were getting shocks (great!). So he went ALL winter w/o drinking a drop, he'd just eat his hay, and come in in the evening dying of thirst and suck down a bucket of water in one slurp!

Well, the snow's gone, so he can't eat snow for moisture, so I began in earnest trying to convince him that the water tank is safe and good for drinking! When I got to the barn this evening after work, I got outside just in time to see Himself ambling down towards the gate with a few of his pasturemates. His pals all came up to the tank and got good drinks...he hung back, and much to my horror, dropped his head and began sucking at a DIRTY STAGNANT PUDDLE OF POOPY RUNOFF WATER! NOOOOOO!!!! I hurried out there, and couldn't get that dang horse to stop sucking at that greeny-brown NASTY stuff!! I managed to shove him away, so he swung around to the other side and dropped his head and started drinking (I mean, you could SEE the chewed-up grass from the manure swirling around in it!!!). I had to loop the lead rope around his neck and haul him away!! GAAAH!

We went to the water tank, and in a milestone, I got him to actually approach it within drinking distance...the other day he refused to go NEAR it, even rearing up in protest!! He acted like he WANTED to get a drink...it'd just been filled, so it was full of lovely clean, fresh water. I even dipped my hand in it (COLD!!! 29 degree air temperature...water was probably 33 degrees!) and splashed it around, and he licked it from my hand, but the most he did was sort of bobble his head downwards, but not anywhere near the actual water. It was obvious he didn't trust the WATER...he was fine with the tank, the pipe they use to fill it, the mare on the other side of the fence...it was the WATER he didn't trust. Poor guy.

We gave up eventually and he sucked down 3/4 of a bucket while I brushed him (shedding like crazy! About time!). He wasn't at all pleased when I started rubbing liniment on his tailhead (vet recommended it), LOL, I think it was the fact I was rubbing it (gently), because once I worked it down through the thick winter fur, *I* could feel it getting warm, and he settled down, started yawning and cocked a hind leg, LOL. Goofy lad.

The liniment is a new "herbal formula" from Absorbine (a gel), so he smelled minty in the front AND the back, ha! I just hope his new minty-fresh butt doesn't attract more chewers!!! Well, hopefully the smell will disappear by morning...he sure seemed to enjoy it!

Quzqo Breaks His Tail

Sat Mar 4, 2006

No other explanation for it. My horse has major pain in his dock, and his tail is totally paralyzed. Have NO idea how it happened, when it happened, or what, all I know is this afternoon he flinched when I brushed his butt, and his tail is as limp as a noodle. It didn't dawn on me that something might be wrong until I went out there tonight to ride, and was lunging him, and he was trotting right along, with his tail totally flaccid, flopping around between his butt cheeks. I even tried spooking him, but no tail action whatsoever.

He's walking normally, backs up fine, even can cross his hind legs. He's eating, drinking, pooping...haven't seen him pee yet (which usually involves lifting of the tail), but he sure flinches if you touch his dock.

So...gave him some bute, and put cold compresses on his dock (well, ZipLocs filled with snow)...don't know what else to do. I asked that he be kept in tomorrow and I'll head out in the morning....

Shit.

Well, my Dalmatian broke her tail twice, and it healed up on its own...(not like you can put a tail in a splint, so said the vet). Can't imagine what the hell happened, unless he rolled wrong...or maybe somebody reared up and came down on his butt...can't imagine he could have gotten kicked (he's short but not that short). He's acting perfectly normal otherwise...I should have noticed when I was brushing him this afternoon, how he kept looking back at his butt.

He WAS very itchy on his right buttock, and as I was scratching it, he curved his butt towards me and made a pooky lip, so his back per se must not hurt.

Tsk, I was sniffling in his stall, and he came over and started licking my hand...what a sweetie.

Horse + World = Something going wrong.