The weather has been horribly unpredictable lately. We went from a 4 day heat wave, to torrential rain and freezing temps for about a week after. Now I'm not quite sure how to explain today's weather but apparently its supposed to clear up and reach 31 degrees, somehow I don’t think that is going to happen given the look of the sky :.
Anyhow, since the weather has been so confusing, it's been hard to really do anything practical with the horses. We were supposed to go on a ride at Kurnell beach last Saturday but Becks had to have the Chiropractor out because he has been super sore all over lately, but that's a story for Lisa to tell, it ended up storming severely for about half an hour that afternoon anyway.
Grace has grown a lump on her left mandible, we started to get quite worried about it so we had the dentists next door have a look at it (as her baby teeth have started to fall out) and we were told it was not to do with her teeth and to get a vet out to X-ray her head as it could be an ulcer or a fracture. $300 later, I have just been informed by the vet that it IS in fact her teeth and it will go away with time as her baby teeth fall out. I asked the vet if I should get the dentist out to pull the teeth that are stoping the adult ones growing through but he insisted it wouldn’t be necessary! So there you go, $300 down the drain, sort of, although we do get to keep the X-rays which will be pretty interesting!
There is a lady at the property where we keep Becks and Grace that kind of looks at us like we are idiots for not breaking Grace in already, because apparently we should break her and then spell her for a year. Kapish to her, you can tell just by looking at Grace that she is not ready to have someone on her back, she is too gangly and still a bit bum high.
Unfortunately I don’t have any recent photos of the horses, but will post some up within the next week or so. Like I said the weather has been horrible so it's hard to do much when you combine one crippled sore horse, an unbroken horse, slushy muddy ground and sheets and sheets of rain.
We have come to the realisation that a free animal will almost ALWAYS cost you more then one you have paid for (well for us anyway). We have a new kitten to add to the addition, her name is Leah, we paid for her, so no vet bills as of yet (fingers crossed).
Nat
Monday, 23 February 2009
Thursday, 5 February 2009
February already!
The ponies have been good. I had some time off work last week, so was able to ride a bit and do some stuff with Gracie. She still is not 100% better from her New Years Eve escape, but she is almost there. Just some pretty hefty scabs on her leg and her eye has a small white cloudy spot that will go away with time.
We have had a saddle and bridle on her now, before the NYE escape. Didn't girth her up tight, just enough to keep the saddle from slipping. She took it in her stride, she wasn't worried about it at all. Very proud.
Beckham had pulled the wool over my eyes a little bit in the schooling department, going around pretty heavy on the forehand and not trying at all. Linda (another agister) watched me riding him and offered to help. She got on him and pretty much kicked his bum into gear. He's a different horse now. (Pictures below!)
While I was off, we went on two big trotting rides, out the back with Linda and her horse Houdini. Poor Becks had a bit of a hard time trying to figure out that if he didn't try to pull himself along with his front end and actually use his hind legs, that it was much easier for him to keep up with the massive easy floating trot of Houdini. I have 2 off-property rides coming up that I would like him to be fit enough for him to actually enjoy - one ride to Kurnell beach and a 20km social ride up at Colo.
Piccies? Ok.
And Gracie's feet:
Just hanging out, enjoying daylight savings and the good weather:
And then (half) one good shot of me riding him after that:
We have had a saddle and bridle on her now, before the NYE escape. Didn't girth her up tight, just enough to keep the saddle from slipping. She took it in her stride, she wasn't worried about it at all. Very proud.
Beckham had pulled the wool over my eyes a little bit in the schooling department, going around pretty heavy on the forehand and not trying at all. Linda (another agister) watched me riding him and offered to help. She got on him and pretty much kicked his bum into gear. He's a different horse now. (Pictures below!)
While I was off, we went on two big trotting rides, out the back with Linda and her horse Houdini. Poor Becks had a bit of a hard time trying to figure out that if he didn't try to pull himself along with his front end and actually use his hind legs, that it was much easier for him to keep up with the massive easy floating trot of Houdini. I have 2 off-property rides coming up that I would like him to be fit enough for him to actually enjoy - one ride to Kurnell beach and a 20km social ride up at Colo.
Piccies? Ok.
Gracie's leg (about 1 and a half weeks ago)
And Gracie's feet:
Just hanging out, enjoying daylight savings and the good weather:
Linda sorting Beckham out for me:
And then (half) one good shot of me riding him after that:
Grace under saddle:
Aaaaand it's bed time.
Lese.
Aaaaand it's bed time.
Lese.
Friday, 23 January 2009
Back!
Ok so a lot has happened since we have not had the internet. Good and bad.
Grace is 100% comfortable around us now, this includes picking her feet, hosing her, leading her and we even attempted to get her onto a float.
We have managed to get Beckam completely comfortable with floats and travelling. He used to be quite good with getting on floats but hit his head on the roof once while backing out and ever since then he has gone down hill. Our good friend Linda (Lisa's saviour) managed to get him on and off the float to the point where we don’t need to walk on with him, just tap him on the bum and tug his tail lightly when we want him to back off. She used the old trick of making outside the float as uncomfortable as possible, so every time he backed off she would make him back up continuously not able to move forward until she asked him, then when he walked onto the float calmly she would leave him alone and give him some TLC. So that problem is solved and leaving 2 to 3 hours prep time before we take the horses on a float will not be necessary anymore.
We attempted getting grace on the float, just to see how she would react, since we haven't done anything all that interesting for her lately. It was as successful as it could have been for one day. She ended up having her whole front end inside the float, remaining calm; of course, she continues to surprise us with everything new we try on her. We decided not to push it since she was being so good with eh float that we let her rest for the rest of the day.
Grace had her first experience with a saddle on her back that same day! Lisa and I decided to see how she would go, and she went really well!! We free longed her around the longeyard for about 10 mins. She did not buck, or rear or chuck a skits or anything! Like I said, she takes everything we throw at her in her stride, literally ;).
With all the good things that have been going on, or were going on I should say, it was all put to a holt thanks to the neighbours who started fireworks on New Years. Grace has NEVER seen fireworks in her life, but stupid me didn’t consider this at all. We get out to the paddock on new years day to find that Grace is MISSING! All her fences were down in her yard. Everyone started looking for her and eventually Linda found her over the back of the paddock, covered in blood on her face and two front legs. She was ok, no major damage, thankfully it was electric fencing and note wire, then we would have had some serious issues.
So the only major issue with that was that she had a corneal ulcer on her left eye. It looked quite severe at first but has now made an almost full recovery. Thank god!! No one wants a blind horse, especially not a blind 3 year old.
Her legs are fine, no damage to the tendons and they will end up with minor scarring. Which isn’t a big deal to us, she's not going to the Olympics or anything.
So that was a small update, I'm sure a lot more has happened that I just cant seem to remember as of yet. But will keep you posted from now on! And pictures for the next entry!!
Nat.
Grace is 100% comfortable around us now, this includes picking her feet, hosing her, leading her and we even attempted to get her onto a float.
We have managed to get Beckam completely comfortable with floats and travelling. He used to be quite good with getting on floats but hit his head on the roof once while backing out and ever since then he has gone down hill. Our good friend Linda (Lisa's saviour) managed to get him on and off the float to the point where we don’t need to walk on with him, just tap him on the bum and tug his tail lightly when we want him to back off. She used the old trick of making outside the float as uncomfortable as possible, so every time he backed off she would make him back up continuously not able to move forward until she asked him, then when he walked onto the float calmly she would leave him alone and give him some TLC. So that problem is solved and leaving 2 to 3 hours prep time before we take the horses on a float will not be necessary anymore.
We attempted getting grace on the float, just to see how she would react, since we haven't done anything all that interesting for her lately. It was as successful as it could have been for one day. She ended up having her whole front end inside the float, remaining calm; of course, she continues to surprise us with everything new we try on her. We decided not to push it since she was being so good with eh float that we let her rest for the rest of the day.
Grace had her first experience with a saddle on her back that same day! Lisa and I decided to see how she would go, and she went really well!! We free longed her around the longeyard for about 10 mins. She did not buck, or rear or chuck a skits or anything! Like I said, she takes everything we throw at her in her stride, literally ;).
With all the good things that have been going on, or were going on I should say, it was all put to a holt thanks to the neighbours who started fireworks on New Years. Grace has NEVER seen fireworks in her life, but stupid me didn’t consider this at all. We get out to the paddock on new years day to find that Grace is MISSING! All her fences were down in her yard. Everyone started looking for her and eventually Linda found her over the back of the paddock, covered in blood on her face and two front legs. She was ok, no major damage, thankfully it was electric fencing and note wire, then we would have had some serious issues.
So the only major issue with that was that she had a corneal ulcer on her left eye. It looked quite severe at first but has now made an almost full recovery. Thank god!! No one wants a blind horse, especially not a blind 3 year old.
Her legs are fine, no damage to the tendons and they will end up with minor scarring. Which isn’t a big deal to us, she's not going to the Olympics or anything.
So that was a small update, I'm sure a lot more has happened that I just cant seem to remember as of yet. But will keep you posted from now on! And pictures for the next entry!!
Nat.
Friday, 5 December 2008
A Visit From The Dentist
I have decided enough is enough! Since today will be my (Natalie) last day of tafe, and since I don't have any work or anything else to do, Ive decided I will update!
So yesterday entailed Gracie's first visit from the vet. We noticed that she had been dribbling quite a bit over the weekend so decided she was ready for her first dental appointment. Since it had been 3 years (yes Lisa, 3 years!) since Beckam's last visit we decided both should be done to get it all over with. (EDIT: It has been one and a half years, Natalie. I had his teeth done by another dentist last time).
I thought about who should go first, the easy one or the hard one. Lisa told me that Beckham wouldn't need sedating and that he will behave, pfft. So anyway I decided he should go first, that way if he behaved Grace would see it wouldn't be too bad for her.
Gary (the vet/dentist), is a really nice guy, he is from Hawksbury Equine Veterinary Centre, who deal with all our horsey problems, and I don't know how he does it but he has so much patience when it comes to arrogant horses who have been sedated 3 times and are still being pains in the backside. Beckam was a pig, he had to be jabbed 3 times, and still put up a fight, he stood with his legs straddled to balance and his head in a huge halter thing that hung from to roof to hold his head. He thrashed around, he moved forward, he moved backwards, sideways and managed to put his head in a position that only a horse with a broken neck could be capable of.
He ended up having a gap between two of his back teeth, which resulted in the tooth that sat underneath the gap in growing higher then the others which resulted in what they call a wave mouth.
So next came Grace, she had been sedated before we started on Beckham and then again when Gary was about to start. She was surprisingly REALLY good for the vet. She didn't complain about anything, not even the electric float drill. The Only problem we had was a fly on her hind leg, she hates flies, and since so much was going on around her head she completely freaked out about the fly and started kicking out and did a little jump/rear (she is good at that).
Grace ended up having 4 wolf teeth out, apparently that's the first time Gary had seen 4 wolf teeth, he said he has seen 3 but never in his whole career has he seen 4 wolf teeth. She was sedated 3 times, one of them for pulling her teeth and she had also been given a dose of Bute.
So overall She behaved excellently and Beckam was a pig, which is surprising since I though it would have ended up the other way around.
____________________________________________________________________
It has been about 3 months since we first got Grace, so I decided to rank her form 1 to 10 (10 being the best) in how well she has improved.
Halter Breaking - 8, has a tiff every now and then about taking the halter off or putting it on but other than that shes an angel.
Leading - 6.5, has personal bubble issues, as in she doesn't realise that she cant be in our space when leading, so she leans right in and stays close, which is a security issue with her she gets close when shes afraid.
Tie Up - 7.5, haven't had any issues so far but she will still try to back up a bit when shes uncomfortable.
Grooming - 9, hasn't got an issue in the world with touching her all over anymore, you can chuck the lead around her and let it slap her and she wont budge, the only issue is balance when it comes to picking up her feet, she needs to prepare herself before you pick up the hind ones.
Wash bay - 8, for the first time the other day I was able to tie her up in the wash bay, hose her all over and scrub her clean. She did really well!
Overall her main issue at the moment is that she needs to focus on more than one thing. She is the kind of horse who will focus on what your doing, grooming or whatever, and if something else goes on like a big bang or something she will freak out a bit.
So yesterday entailed Gracie's first visit from the vet. We noticed that she had been dribbling quite a bit over the weekend so decided she was ready for her first dental appointment. Since it had been 3 years (yes Lisa, 3 years!) since Beckam's last visit we decided both should be done to get it all over with. (EDIT: It has been one and a half years, Natalie. I had his teeth done by another dentist last time).
I thought about who should go first, the easy one or the hard one. Lisa told me that Beckham wouldn't need sedating and that he will behave, pfft. So anyway I decided he should go first, that way if he behaved Grace would see it wouldn't be too bad for her.
Gary (the vet/dentist), is a really nice guy, he is from Hawksbury Equine Veterinary Centre, who deal with all our horsey problems, and I don't know how he does it but he has so much patience when it comes to arrogant horses who have been sedated 3 times and are still being pains in the backside. Beckam was a pig, he had to be jabbed 3 times, and still put up a fight, he stood with his legs straddled to balance and his head in a huge halter thing that hung from to roof to hold his head. He thrashed around, he moved forward, he moved backwards, sideways and managed to put his head in a position that only a horse with a broken neck could be capable of.
He ended up having a gap between two of his back teeth, which resulted in the tooth that sat underneath the gap in growing higher then the others which resulted in what they call a wave mouth.
So next came Grace, she had been sedated before we started on Beckham and then again when Gary was about to start. She was surprisingly REALLY good for the vet. She didn't complain about anything, not even the electric float drill. The Only problem we had was a fly on her hind leg, she hates flies, and since so much was going on around her head she completely freaked out about the fly and started kicking out and did a little jump/rear (she is good at that).
Grace ended up having 4 wolf teeth out, apparently that's the first time Gary had seen 4 wolf teeth, he said he has seen 3 but never in his whole career has he seen 4 wolf teeth. She was sedated 3 times, one of them for pulling her teeth and she had also been given a dose of Bute.
So overall She behaved excellently and Beckam was a pig, which is surprising since I though it would have ended up the other way around.
____________________________________________________________________
It has been about 3 months since we first got Grace, so I decided to rank her form 1 to 10 (10 being the best) in how well she has improved.
Halter Breaking - 8, has a tiff every now and then about taking the halter off or putting it on but other than that shes an angel.
Leading - 6.5, has personal bubble issues, as in she doesn't realise that she cant be in our space when leading, so she leans right in and stays close, which is a security issue with her she gets close when shes afraid.
Tie Up - 7.5, haven't had any issues so far but she will still try to back up a bit when shes uncomfortable.
Grooming - 9, hasn't got an issue in the world with touching her all over anymore, you can chuck the lead around her and let it slap her and she wont budge, the only issue is balance when it comes to picking up her feet, she needs to prepare herself before you pick up the hind ones.
Wash bay - 8, for the first time the other day I was able to tie her up in the wash bay, hose her all over and scrub her clean. She did really well!
Overall her main issue at the moment is that she needs to focus on more than one thing. She is the kind of horse who will focus on what your doing, grooming or whatever, and if something else goes on like a big bang or something she will freak out a bit.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Sorry!
Our internet at home hasnt been working for about month now so when its back on there will be an extra large post on Gracies progress, and believe me there is alot of it!!
Stay tunned!
Nat
Stay tunned!
Nat
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Progress, AGAIN!
Ok, so last Friday I took Gracie out to do some work on being groomed and being tied up. We started of in the arena, threading her lead through some twine, but not tying her up. I held the other end of the lead as I curry combed her all the way to her hip. She did fairly well, kept taking steps back but stopped when she felt the pressure of her being tied up.
Then I got the lunge whip to touch her all over her body. I really wanted her to accept being touched on the hind end and hind legs. She freaked out once and took off, but accepted the whip touching her legs without kicking. I then pushed my luck and ran my hand down her foreleg, eventually picking up both front feet for a couple of seconds. I left it at that for the day.
Tuesday I came back from leave, so decided to pick up where I left off. I was able to comfortably pick up her front feet and hold them for short periods. I also got Anira's old fly vale on her! Gracie is quite head shy, especially around the years, I think she may have been man handled as a young foal. I led her into the stable, she followed nervously, but seemed to trust that I wouldn't put her in danger. Beckham was calling for her when he couldn't see her anymore, which didn't help. She was quite nervous and clung to me. I took her halter off, took some pictures, then put her halter back on again, the second time we have done so. She was perfect about being re-haltered.
I then let her have a run around in the arena. I tacked up Becks, with full intentions of riding but I changed plans and introduced Gracie to the concept of being led from another horse. I did it in the round yard, she freaked out at first, wondering what I was doing up there. She kind of got the idea, but needs a lot more work with that, unsurprisingly.
I then attempted to school Becks, but all the horses decided to run a muck, Grace included. She was so naughty!! She galloped straight for Becks and I, did a sliding stop right in front of us, reared right up spun around, double barreled at us, then took of down the other end of the arena! Beckham did his usual "I'm a big Arab stud" impersonation. I managed to get a few good circles from him at the walk, so I got off at that point.
A while later Nat came out and helped me pick up all four of Gracie's feet, and I was even able to grab her tail and play with it for a little while. She was perfect! We are really proud of her.
On to the pictures!!!
In the fly veil - see her little tongue poking out?
And in the stable. Those soft eyes are deceiving.
Looking very Andy in this one. In the face at least anyway.
Ignoring the big bum.... LOOK!! I'm picking her hoof!!!!! They need trimming. Hopefully will be able to in the next two weeks.
Bit of a confo shot. See the long feetsies? It's killing me to look at them.
From Beckham's back. :P
And a video. Yay.
Lese
Then I got the lunge whip to touch her all over her body. I really wanted her to accept being touched on the hind end and hind legs. She freaked out once and took off, but accepted the whip touching her legs without kicking. I then pushed my luck and ran my hand down her foreleg, eventually picking up both front feet for a couple of seconds. I left it at that for the day.
Tuesday I came back from leave, so decided to pick up where I left off. I was able to comfortably pick up her front feet and hold them for short periods. I also got Anira's old fly vale on her! Gracie is quite head shy, especially around the years, I think she may have been man handled as a young foal. I led her into the stable, she followed nervously, but seemed to trust that I wouldn't put her in danger. Beckham was calling for her when he couldn't see her anymore, which didn't help. She was quite nervous and clung to me. I took her halter off, took some pictures, then put her halter back on again, the second time we have done so. She was perfect about being re-haltered.
I then let her have a run around in the arena. I tacked up Becks, with full intentions of riding but I changed plans and introduced Gracie to the concept of being led from another horse. I did it in the round yard, she freaked out at first, wondering what I was doing up there. She kind of got the idea, but needs a lot more work with that, unsurprisingly.
I then attempted to school Becks, but all the horses decided to run a muck, Grace included. She was so naughty!! She galloped straight for Becks and I, did a sliding stop right in front of us, reared right up spun around, double barreled at us, then took of down the other end of the arena! Beckham did his usual "I'm a big Arab stud" impersonation. I managed to get a few good circles from him at the walk, so I got off at that point.
A while later Nat came out and helped me pick up all four of Gracie's feet, and I was even able to grab her tail and play with it for a little while. She was perfect! We are really proud of her.
On to the pictures!!!
In the fly veil - see her little tongue poking out?
And in the stable. Those soft eyes are deceiving.
Looking very Andy in this one. In the face at least anyway.
Ignoring the big bum.... LOOK!! I'm picking her hoof!!!!! They need trimming. Hopefully will be able to in the next two weeks.
Bit of a confo shot. See the long feetsies? It's killing me to look at them.
From Beckham's back. :PAnd a video. Yay.
Lese
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Water Sports
Yesterday was a late start for us. We got to the paddock around 11.30 am after buying some TopTails to help brush out the dredlocks in her mane. She did so well, we are really proud of her.
Before
AfterShe's been out in a yard for a few days now, and it really agrees with her! She's looking so good.
Once her mane was brushed out, we took them both down to the dam. We were hoping Becks would teach her how to splash in the water. She hesitated at first, not wanting to get in. Then she surprised us by launching herself head first into the water! Not knowing what to do, she took her cue from Becks and started pawing the water. Then she took it one step further, rolling four or five times in the muddy water.
So then we decided to introduce her to the hose. Living in the yard next to the wash bay helped prepare her for this I think. She did really well again, letting us hose her all over. She even took the hose between her teeth.
Then we had a run around the arena after having a roll in the sand. Naw.
And that was our Saturday.
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