Grace

Pucker up.......

2011-10-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

Which is more scary?

2011-03-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

Horse eating chair

Rare, white, flying tigers...

Generally speaking, Grace is obsessed with water fowl, and ducks in particular. However I hadn't realised that she reserved her affections for the wild versions. Apparently domestic geese are not to be trusted, they don't head bob properly and they sound different. Note the tarpaulin has never been a problem...

But the rare white flying tigers are not as scary as the tree trunk which has been made into a chair. Obviously it it big enough to hide something horse eating behind it.

As these life threatening items were either side of the track we were on I will leave you to imagine the bouncing, snorting and general bog eyedness we enjoyed last night.

We survived, Grace learnt something, I learnt something. All is well.

2011-03-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Look into my eyes - deep into my eyes...
repeat after me - Grace is beautiful, Grace
needs food, feed Grace now......

Chillin'

2011-03-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am not asleep, I'm resting my eyes!

The human has been tolerable recently, so I let her sit down with me and have a cuddle while I considered which bit of me is the most beautiful.

You're right I am gorgeous

2011-03-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

But a girl no matter how beautiful can't idle the whole day away. So as a treat - here is a picture of me on dawn patrol. Numpty human couldn't get a shot of my fabulous figure, so I hope the profile will do!

Dawn patrol - checking on the geese in the 52

Prepare yourselves

2011-03-07T03:18:00.000-08:00

For weeks of long reining shots....

Oh my - the human has the camera out AGAIN!

What do you mean you can't see the poverty lines...!

Always make sure you look well ahead

Because you just might come across something really bad

See haylage - how scary is that!

Danger passed - we can look for the next monster

Or just admire the view :-) (me that is - not the scenery!)

Does my bum look big in this?

2011-03-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

4th? long reining session 06 03 11 - photo taken as night falls (yes we carried on into the dark)

What a difference a year makes. We rebroke Grace last year. After great success all work ground to a halt when a feed product which was guaranteed to be ok for her was not. Multiple EPSM attacks, laminitis and killer pony tendancies were the unhappy result.

It took a good couple of months to start to unravel the damage so we gave her the winter off. Not a particularly good idea for an EPSM horse, but the best we had in the circumstances.

By the first week of February I was already starting to notice the early warning signs of laminitis. So as part of Grace's job is to help find products which might be useful for clients we tried her on another 'miracle cure' for laminitics - this one produced by a vet. Sadly another failure - it's key benefit was that Grace ate her dinner a bit quicker, but it's impact on her feet was non existant.

A mass break out from her field was the final incentive for me to bring her in. I hate it, really hate it, but it is better for her to be in with no EPSM symptoms and feet that don't hurt than to be out on the grass that makes her so ill. Fortunately for her there are two other horses in her barn that stay in so she has company.

So now Grace is working twice a day and we are building up the quantity and variety of what she does. Supplimented by her untying herself and going for random exploratory wanders when I am mucking out.

And the long reining - well last year I was wary of trying it - she was a bit quick behind and she hated any real pressure on her bridle, being bridled or having her ears fussed. This year she is really good behind (with me anyway) and is very happy with her bridle, contact and general head/ear handling.

I don't know if anyone has long reined with Grace before me, but I am finding she is picking it up really well. I think it is kind of cute how she does a quick look back over her shoulder at me when we are about to take on something scary. But even after a few days she is getting bolder, ready to take on things that she would have baulked at previously. Got quite keen in the gallop field, I was very impressed about how she came back to me when asked - last year I'd have had the two hoofed salute.

Long may it last. Made my day :-)

At least the snow covers up the apples.......

2010-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

With a cecum full of hay Grace doesn't seem to feel the cold.

Crabby Apples

2010-11-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

Lami paddock............... or not

I find I haven't posted about Grace for two months! Horrors.

Been having fun picking up the crab apples from the lami paddock. (Not) with the shorter days I now have to play hunt the apple in the dark. They have been falling for over six weeks.

Grace though is doing well - having the winter off and loving the mud! :-)

Trying so hard to please

2010-09-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Grace had a tough day yesterday. Gave lesson to someone not familiar with riding by weight and got horribly confused. Poor love gets very upset if she thinks she has made a mistake It doesn't matter if actually everything is ok, if Grace thinks 'it' is wrong then she has a bit of a panic. But full credit to rider for not flipping out in every sense.

Today, lunging to warm up prior to a quick pootle round the yard she got her legs out of sequence, and naturally (for her), because she had made a mistake, she had a little panic.

I find it terribly sad that this bright, intelligent, very able little horse gets so worried. I can't help but feel it must be a learnt behaviour. We are working very hard to help her unlearn it, and she is getting better, but it is still very sad.

On a happier note she is enjoying her little hacks and even the sessions in the arena. Still completely hooked on milk thistle, so we go out for a walk every morning so she can stuff herself with it.

My dearly beloved previous horse taught me very well that I had to stay in balance and 'walk the hips' or she wasn't going anywhere. Very polite, but firm, she just stood until I had literally got my 'rear in gear'.

Grace is benefiting from this education - I know I get a lot of funny looks as I do my best rice pudding x jelly wobble, but it keeps Grace happy. As Stunt Man has commented, she is a little ball of india rubber, bouncy, flexible and full of life. Too much talent to try and bottle it with a rigid back and stiff hips.

Grace conditioning her hooves on limestone chippings

One more step in the right direction

2010-09-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Grace is pretty relaxed in the indoor school. But I normally only take her in there on her own, for a bit of a loosen up and a roll.

We are cautious about using any school with other horses - not because of the horses, but because if the handler of the other horse gets aggressive Grace gets very upset.

Today Grace, Stunt Man and Aunt decided to give a bit of ridden work in the indoor a whirl. And there was another horse in there too!

I am happy to report that all went well. Grace as always really got into the work and focused on what she was doing. One day, hopefully, she will understand that if one of her 'Trustees' is with her we won't let her get hurt (if we can help it).

All three finished the session, slightly sweaty, but smiling :-)

Six weeks round up

2010-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

So big lesson - stick with what you know and don't let your horse down by not following your instincts.

Made Grace very poorly by trying out new 'wunder' products on her. Learnt the hard way that Grace does best on the plain EPSM diet she has been on for months. I think the products themselves are actually very high quality and probably fine for an 'easier' horse though.

So the poor love has had about 4 weeks of misery and then two weeks of recovery. But she has come back bouncing and in a forgiving mood.

The 'Stunt Guy' took her for a bit of a blast today and they both came back grinning from ear to ear, so that made us all happy. Grace is great, you can really let her rip and then she will come back to a quiet walk as though she is really a beach donkey. Mind you with some of the things she does with her ears, she sometimes looks like a donkey.

Video below - not the best as taken on my phone, but I think you will get the idea :-)

More progress and a numpty moment

2010-07-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today, under saddle, Grace cantered to the right. I think this is the last of the 'can't do's'. At least the ones that I know of.

We still have lots of things on the 'To Do' list mind. But it is nice to get past the history.

Oh and super 'numpty' moment the other day. I have a somewhat eccentric dismounting style which uses momentum and gravity..... Well got carried away and M&G saw me flying off into the wild blue yonder - only my arms were still on Grace. So I ended up swinging underneath her neck like a rather bald chimp! :-)

And no she didn't seem to mind a bit.

Canter work; working canter; canter is working...

2010-07-23T01:23:00.000-07:00

Work has now progressed to longish canters up a moderate slope - a bit of a pipe opener, nothing too drastic. Grace loves it, but comes right back when asked and can be ridden away on a long rein. (press play on video below for a sneaky peek)

Bitter Sweet

2010-07-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Please note - we have a photo without the obligatory dorky ears :-)

A post from her ladyship

2010-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is me next to the mounting block. They are not edible.

This is me taking Phil for a walk over the hay field. It is edible, but I'm working.

This is me having a roll and maybe a snooze in the sand school. This may be edible........... tastes sort of nice, but a bit gritty. (And I'm not really allowed because it's bad for my tum.)

Red Letter Week

2010-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

03/07 was the anniversary of meeting Grace and our first hack. Tomorrow is the anniversary of Grace's arrival home. Today is the first time I have ridden her since she has been restarted.

We've grown out the traces of lami and touch wood the EPSM is under control. There is still some mystery flare, but all in all Grace's health is not too shabby.

Grace canters, jumps and does everything a 'normal' horse does, except eat lots of sugar and starch. :-)

Joie de vivre at 'F'

2010-07-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

By special request

2010-06-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Shiny rather than usual grubby photo :-)

Dorky ears but we're loving it :-)

2010-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

July 09 to June 10

One day at a time, step by step, Grace is now happy and healthy. Grace loves to work and we love to work with her.

Magic pills

2010-06-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

Well I don't know what exactly has wrought the transformation in Grace, but there is something in the mix which is going in the right direction.

It has always been the case that first thing in the morning Grace is a bit stiff. Only now she isn't. (Cross fingers touch wood etc ).

Is it the evening hedge browsing, the total no no on grass, the extra Vitamin E, the boots, the 3X daily work sessions. The extra long soaked hay, switching from seaweed to D&H Surelimb?

I don't know, but I'm not going to change anything. Right now, regardless of the less than ideal environment etc Grace is the best she has ever been. Long may it last. Please repeat all the finger crossing as many times as it takes. :-)

Those boots were made for walking......

2010-06-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

So that's just what we'll do,
We'll tie those boots to your saddle
And walk along with you..........

All part of the process....... going along nicely. Grace will happily carry a dummy, a bag of Calmag or even a chap lying across her.

While you're here - just check out the left hind.

Starting again

2010-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

I know Grace has been ridden - I've done it myself and didn't have any issues. But I know she hasn't had a good 'start' and I know that probably most of her brief time under saddle has been complicated by EPSM and human failure to understand.

So we are starting again.

I guess we really started the process last year. For me it's about more than the tacking up and riding out. First I had to try and understand a bit more about Grace. Get a bit of two way communication going and help her to be happy in her skin.

Only in July I didn't realise just how unhappy in her skin she was. Now she is on the EPSM diet she can properly relax for the first time in who knows how long.

As for most things Grace takes having a saddle on her back for the first time in months in her stride. And what a stride :-)

But I want to play on the swings........... (pout pout)

2010-04-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's been fun packed few days. Can you hear me gritting my teeth and smiling all at the same time?

Grace has a lami paddock which she shares with one or two others depending on what they are up to.

If it is just the one companion Grace decides that she has to patrol the borders. I sat and watched her and she matches every minute of munching with another of stomping round the fence line. A rough measurement has her completing at least 1000m every hour, probably more. So somewhere in the region of 3-5 miles per day.

When she has two companions; lets call them A and B, they have to be kept at opposite ends of the field, which is long and thin. No sooner has she got A corralled at one end then she peeks over her shoulder to find that B has moved from their alloted space. So she stomps over and sorts them out only to find that now A has moved out of position. I can't measure the mileage for this - but it must be fairly high and requires much bossiness. Apparently you can hear her snort in frustration from the yard.

It's only been a few days but the effect on her feet has been fantastic. Her bum is in better shape too, but oddly she still has a stomach a whale would be proud of.

Grace now feels so good she can pogo on rocks and doesn't appear to feel a thing. Of course I am pleased for her, although a pogoing horse is a bit of a challenge...........

She is feeling so good that on the way in from the field she puts on a RADA worthy impersonation of a shuttle on the launch pad with all engines firing. Not a missed step, unlike the shod horse in my other hand which is slipping and tripping all over the place despite playing at snail.

Going out in the morning presents a completely different challenge. Grace is a bit stiff from having been in overnight. It's not good for EPSM horses but I don't have a choice at present. But stiff or no that doesn't stop her from diving off at every opportunity to go and see her best friends; the ducks. I have even tried changing our route to the field to avoid going anywhere near the duck pond. No good though, Grace knows every possible little alley that she could dive down to get to them.

I did try taking her to see them in the evenings, but this just feeds the addiction. She will stand for a considerable length of time mimicking their head/neck movements and just totally transfixed. She will come away when I ask but I feel sooooo mean!

I so feel like the Mum in the park with the pouting toddler that is stomping their feet and whinging about wanting to play on the swings. Only 1000lb is one hell of a toddler.............

Someone forgot to tell Grace

2010-04-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

My wonderful vet contacted Grace's original vets to find out some info about her for me. Very very kind of him and I really appreciate it.

This was in the early days and the news was discouraging. One of the litany of problems was inability to canter.

Only someone forgot to tell Grace. My equally wonderful helper/trainer is having quite a bit of a challenge persuading her that it is possible to exercise without cantering. And she does it beautifully too.

On a more sober note - a bit worried today because she has a new field mate, and they had obviously spent a lot of time cantering up and down. Grace came in extremely sweaty and svelte. But when I left her post more unintentional cantering she seemed fine. Cross fingers and touch lots of wood!

Climb every mountain..............

2010-04-13T14:47:00.001-07:00

Working Grace in the school today. We did a tiny bit of loose jumping (all of a ten inch cross pole).

As you can see Grace was totally unfazed by the artificial climbing wall which was hydraulically raised and lowered in the background as she was working.

Just how often do you get to train for that?! This yard is great :-)

Dietary changes

2010-04-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

The EPSM diet so far (touch wood) is going well. I don't understand how Miss Fussy Boots Princess can stomach the stuff, as it's a thick slimey, oiley mess. But just like a puppy she is licking her bowl clean.

The canine transformation is evident also in a new 'field behaviour'. At bringing in time when I catch her and her pal she holds her pal's lead rope while I put the headcollar on. It gets given back to me when all is secure.

I have no idea what is driving this, but she is happy, pal is happy so I am happy. Don't mess with what works!

All this time we have been quietly working on Grace's feet, which are Frustration Central. I have no solid evidence, but I am pretty sure that tying up episodes have a negative impact on their development. Growth appears interrupted and the soles drop just a little. The horn however is still granite hard.

So hard that it continues to make mincemeat of my tools. I really must make the effort to soak her feet for a bit before I try to trim them again. Anyhow I was showing someone a few things today and using Grace's feet as a teaching tool.

It only struck me on the way home that just a couple of months ago this would have been almost impossible. Two people in her space were bad; two people in her space with her feet being messed with just wouldn't happen.

Today though she was totally chilled about the whole deal, even letting me hold her feet up for extended periods of time so we could get a proper look.

You know what - I think I'm rather falling for this horse :-)

A hard lesson learned (I hope)

2010-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

It is time to start Grace onto the next stage of her journey. I must ensure for her own future that she is comfortable being handled by different people and that others besides me understand how to best faciliate a healthy productive relationship and future with her.

So I introduced a really nice professional trainer to work with me while we get Grace rebacked and enhance her education. Unfortunately he got a little over enthusiastic and Grace tied up. Really badly. Poor guy was a bit shaken. I think he now understands that EPSM is not to be taken lightly and that I am not a fluffy wuss that fusses unnecessarily over my horse.

We have another trial run tomorrow. It may be walk only because Grace was still very sore today.

On the more positive side we had a very interesting experience with geese this morning. I was taking her for her consitutional and she practically dragged me down a particular track that leads to a lake. There were geese on it and she just had to go and inspect them.

The curious thing was how she spent a minute or two aping their head and neck movements. She soon gave that up but she never got bored with watching them. In the end I did so we moved on. It seems the bigger the bird the more interesting it is - I wonder how she would take to ostriches?

Touch wood

2010-04-05T03:22:00.000-07:00

Grace got a compliment today. Someone was observing me trim her feet and they remarked how good she was/is. I didn't know whether to wet myself laughing or beam with pride :-)

But yes she was very good. How things have changed. I just point my rasp at the relevant paw and up it comes and away we go. Wonderful - so pleased with my girl :-)

Also they remarked how she stands on two legs while being trimmed....... well she is not the only one that does that, but she is probably the most well balanced (excepting the old grey mare who was fab). Grace cheats a little by leaning on the wall but is remarkably steady.

To be honest so long as the horse is properly 'set up' on the diagonal and doesn't have any physical problems then it matters not a jot to me if they do this. If however they are wobbly or physically impaired, then I don't encourage it because they end up using you as a prop, and they are too heavy for that. With Grace I barely know she is in my hand. Super super horse, I really don't know why anyone ever had a problem trimming her feet. It certainly doesn't seem to come from Grace.

Magic moments

2010-03-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Glass half full or half empty? Grace has got a bit too enthusiastic with her work and pulled something. Fairly sure it's related to the inelasticity of her pecs - although the strain is somewhere along the lower edge and rear half of her trapezius.

Her backside is incredibly powerful - a full on dressage horse is in there somewhere, but her front end is too weak (from injury not conformation) to sop up all the energy created despite her obvious desire to really perform.

Grace has developed a way of very clearly telling her idiot human that all is not well. I hold up her head collar and she curls round like a roll mop herring on legs; holding her head away from me and tucked into her body. I got this writ large this morning and again at lunchtime. Having realised that even the most innocuous school work is putting too much strain on the whole front end we agreed that for the morning and lunch exercise we could walk around the yard and car park. By this evening Grace had figured that I had learnt my lesson and wasn't going to take her to the school, so she happily offered her head.

We spent a very damp and cold fifteen minutes quietly walking around. Even with enormous hailstones hammering our heads she radiated a calm contentment that reminded me so much of my old grey mare. It was blissful. And what was especially nice is that as her feet improve she is getting the hang of walking quietly walking by my side rather than her old habit of darting round like a rabbit on a chemical high. And she can still do puddles! Even without ducks.

Despite us both being rather wet I brushed her off as best I could. The quick groom confirmed that she is very sore. I can brush everywhere, even the tickly bits, but got a strong negative reaction from the site of injury. Again, I am impressed - Grace has gone from a horse that was pretty tight lipped to one that will communicate loudly and clearly and not hold a grudge. So having 'told me off' for touching the sore spot she instantly relaxed and forgave me when I moved to a bit that didn't hurt.

I am truly blessed. Grace may not be winning any olympic medals any time soon or ever, but that doesn't detract from the fact that she is pretty special. And she has hooves of granite as my wrecked tools will testify. Am I the only person in the UK with a very tiny part of me wishing that their horse's hooves were a bit softer..........

Here's licking at you

2010-03-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Definitely need a pair of tame ducks. Since receiving an escort through a puddle last week Grace hasn't worried about a puddle since. I'm not saying she chooses to walk through one if there is an easy option to keep her feet dry. Just that she no longer goes to great lengths to avoid walking through one. This picture shows Grace happily wading through the flooded end of the big outdoor arena.

Pectoralis Descendens or Swiss Cheese?

2010-03-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have been having a discussion about the injuries to Grace's pecs over the last few days with a few people. Largely because I needed to think very carefully about the impact the damage might have on her ability to perform properly; any pain or distress it might cause her and how/if I can do anything to help fix it.

When Grace arrived her pecs were largely mushy/liquid. I knew they were injured but not how. As the area has healed a large hole became evident and I was thinking some sort of head on collision with a pole maybe. So to answer a query I took a photo. Oh the joy of technology - with the photo as my guide I 'hands on' counted five/six holes, some bigger than others. Can you spot them on the picture?

Anyway Grace is having some difficulty with the whole front end stability, stretching and suspension 'thing'. Unfortunately I am being pretty P. poor at managing it very well and she has strained herself to the extent that she now finds it hard to hold her feet up for more than a few seconds - and they desperately need trimming. And I have to keep exercising her daily to keep the EPSM under control. So although I want to do various stretching/suppling exercises for the front end I am going to have to keep to straight lines for a while until Grace is more comfortable. I am very wary of feeding bute, but I will give her some if it means I can get her feet done.

I think some finger crossing and positive vibes are in order if you have any to spare please.

Puddles - have we got them quacked?

2010-03-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Grace doesn't 'do' puddles. No way no how, bribes, leads from other horses - nope she would rather perch on a really dodgy, narrow bank than get her feet wet. There is a puddle we have to cross several times a week. It is never more than four inches deep and usually under two, but Grace takes H&S very seriously and is aware that it is possible to drown in less. :-) And of course water has monsters in it that bite your feet off.

Today I led Grace and friend to the field as usual. Only to find Mr and Mrs Duck investigating the contents of the puddle. 'B****r!' thought I. If they take off suddenly Grace will spook and I could be in real trouble. But I decide to advance anyway. (No fool like an old fool!)

Closer and closer we march up to the deadly puddle and its ducky occupants. I'm convinced they will take off soon. 20ft, 15ft, 10 ft, nada, the ducks are still there. 'In for a penny.' and I put on my best brave face.

The ducks at 6ft decide not to fly, but to waddle off. And Grace follows them - through the deadly puddle as though nothing was there. Naturally she stops and plants afterwards, but still I am gobsmacked.

So a further thought - if we ever get to hack out or compete am I going to have to carry a couple of ducks in my pocket to whip out at opportune moments whenever Grace needs a lead?

So now thinking about a suitable saddle bag for the pair of ducks I will obviously need to carry if I ever get to hack Grace out. :-) And will I get eliminated from competition if I get the ducks to swim the water hazard ahead of us? And what about 'Ducks in Dressage?' - could this be a new sport? Instead of a Pas de deux we can have a Pas de ducks? :-)

PS On the return trip Grace was brave enough to walk through the water on her own! :-)

Keep your fingers crossed

2010-03-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's hefty work out I fully expected Grace to be stiff this morning but she was fine - positively keen.

I lunged her again this evening - without the drama this time. A bit of bounce but she soon settled to her work. I am really pleased - let's hope this upturn continues.

Spring loaded

2010-03-22T14:59:00.001-07:00

The modified EPSM diet seems to be working. If you measure recovery by how many caprioles your horse can pull off consecutively then Grace is somewhere in the region of 10. Yes TEN, and that doesn't include all the other 'airs above ground' performed tonight.

Fortunately it was all about showing off and not at all scarey. Although I must admit the other horse quietly left the school which was a tad embarrassing.

Her feet are so good she can stomp around on tricky ground with all four - or tonight just the hinds........... the fronts were too busy frisking the night air. So I am figuring she is feeling pretty good.

I did think with all this high energy activity that she would tie up, but there were no signs when I put her to bed. Somewhat tired, but not locked up. I fully expect her to be very stiff tomorrow.

I have to leave her for a week in April, after which, so long as she remains in good health, the backing activities will start in earnest.

Oh and her feet are now so hard that she killed off my new mini rasp with just one foot.........

Here's looking at you kid

2010-03-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

Well in truth in the first photo Grace (03 July 09 - the day she arrived) is transfixed by geese, and in the second (13 Feb 10) sheep, no lambs or baby goats.

Pretty sure she has EPSM, am going the diet testing route. Not going to ruin our developing relationship by pulling out 20 plus hairs with roots for DNA testing.

We've had quite a few minor tying up episodes now. All preceded by proximity to a farrier, which generates much anxiety, squitting and rushing about. At first I thought the main problem was the squits which would drain her of electrolytes (and this may still be part of the problem). But now I think the main issue is her muscles run out of energy so she comes to a shuddering halt, just like a car running out of gas.

So, the strategy is to soak the guts (sugar/starch) out of her hay (which I have to do anyway because of the laminitis) and replace any calorie requirements with protein or fat. I am also giving her breakfast to help her maintain her energy levels and to ensure that when she turns out she is not hungry.

So far so good, but with Grace I have learnt to take every day as it comes and just be grateful that we get through the day without drama. We celebrate our successes no matter how small and we try not to fret too much about things that don't go so well.

I hope you like the pictures - how many changes can you see (not including absence of hunky man in second photo).

Tying Up - Again

2010-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

Four weeks almost to the day - Grace has tied up again. Not as bad this time but still very worrying.

Refused to eat all her bute and sedalin. Lets hope she has had enough.

Insert expletives of your choice. :-(

Stranger Danger

2010-02-16T05:11:00.000-08:00

Grace has always come across as highly intelligent. To the extent I find that she is very capable of differentiating between individuals even if she barely knows them.

At the yard yesterday a really nice man 'offered' (ok was roped in) to have a brief chat while in her space yesterday. Grace completely ignored him. She recognised this man as 'safe' even though he drives the slightly alarming golf cart.

Once, when due to slightly odd circumstances Grace was in the last batch of horses to be brought in, she let a strange man lead her and made no fuss at all. (If I'd known I'd never have allowed it!) But this guy is a sweety - very quiet and quite shy - just as Grace likes them :-)

But last Saturday, she started having a significant panic. Calling out in distress and doing that jiggy tap dance/swinging about horses do when upset.

I couldn't figure it out - it was just another quiet Saturday, same as every other. So I tied Grace's friend up nearby - but Grace was still distressed. I feared another 'tying up' episode so I decided to put her and friend out, at least for a while.

On the way to the field with the pair of them we came across a man I have seen hit Grace in the past - August 09 I think. She has only met him just that once. It must have been the sound of his voice that alarmed her, because he was just chatting to someone. At the time of the panic attack he was out of sight, on a different yard and quite some distance away. Grace appears to have great hearing and a great memory.

Dance in the Dark

2010-01-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

Grace's sire is Catherston Dance in the Dark. Well we were doing a little 'dancing in the dark' tonight. Although to be totally honest it was actually walking.

But I was surprised at how brave Grace was. We were looping round the livery premises in near darkness, notching up 20 minutes over a variety of surfaces. Grace managed very well on hard core/road planings, but she still struggles with the odd loose stone on concrete.

We are doing this twice a day and will work up to 40 minutes twice a day. Then we will have a rethink.

Tying up - ACP and Bute

2010-01-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

We stuffed ACP (Sedalin) and Bute into Grace. The former to dilate the blood vessels to minimise muscle death and the latter to ease her pain. Thank you vet for that and thanks to the universe that we just so happened to have a supply of both readily to hand. Fast treatment is important to minimise damage.

Grace didn't move all night - as evidenced by the pile of pee and droppings all in the same place.

But this morning she discovered when I asked her to move over so I could muck out, that she was feeling a bit better.

By this afternoon I could tell by the mess that she had been moving around. We went for a tiny walk (Grace wanted to bounce but I insisted) and she seemed a lot better.

She has drunk and is continuing to drink loads. Probably to the good as it will help flush the toxins (from the dying muscle) out of her system.

Oddly regular dinner doesn't seem to taste as nice as the special mix laced with medicine.

Tying Up Syndrome

2010-01-24T14:58:00.001-08:00

It was all going too well. Down to earth with a bump. Grace tied up today. No obvious cause, although she had received high levels of stress yesterday. More news tomorrow.

Stretching Exercises and long memories

2010-01-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

Grace's pecs, once very mushy from some sort of injury, have now solidified. A bit too much as it would appear that her front leg action is being restricted somewhat. So I thought it would be a good idea to do some stretches. But of course first I would have to show her that I meant no harm.

I decided to wait until the right opportunity arose and it 'felt right' and to introduce the stretches a little bit at a time. This morning that moment came.

So I just started to lift Grace's front leg, as you would do to stretch out the skin after girthing. I'd literally just started the lift when Grace plopped down into a 'dog play bow' with both elbows on the floor and her near fore still in my hand. She looked very happy and I looked gob smacked.

Well, I can't really beat that - she did the stretch and then some and no trauma or anxiety required. Amazing Grace does it again. I've been beaming all day :-)

One down moment. Farrier decided to hot shoe (another horse) just outside her box. Grace was TERRIFIED. I will have to see what I can do, if anything. For the moment we are both swallowing bitter bile over what has been done to her in the past.

Barefoot baby steps

2010-01-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

Grace is a very interesting (new word for challenging) horse to work with. At first glance, its' all there. Conformation is good, she is highly intelligent, very willing and a real pleasure to be around.

It's only as you start to unpick the package that you realise what a long road is being travelled, and all in tiny, baby steps.

Look at the first picture - This horse is in agony. She has jammed her front legs under her to try and unload her heels which are sore from long term fungal/thrush infections. But her toes hurt from an earlier bout of laminitis.

All this pain has secondary impact - she is not using her hind end properly because of the pain in her feet and her back has got screwed up with the tension - so that hurts too.

In the second picture Grace looks much happier. Her front legs are where they should be; in a good comfy vertical so she can use her stay apparatus effectively when she needs. Her quarters and thighs are showing the benefit; developing muscle and tone because she can use them properly. And her back, once taut with muscle tension is now relaxed and starting to double muscle.

We haven't done anything fancy or complicated with her. Mostly we have worked on her diet - weaning her off sugar and onto a high forage hay based diet which is supplemented with high levels of magnesium among other things. She isn't even in proper work yet. Just the occasional free school or lunge to check progress.

The videos below aren't great - taken with my phone while I was scooting about. But I think you can see how Grace has improved over time - look particularly at how her back end is working.

And remember this is just removing her shoes, a change of diet and her own pootling about.

I am starting to get excited about what we might achieve with a more structured and regular work programme. But I know she is carrying a lot of damage, so I am trying to remain very chilled and pragmatic.

Regardless though, I am thrilled that this horse which was once so sore is now getting so much better. Next time I will try and capture one of her more spontaneous moments.

Chocolate Pony in the snow

2010-01-10T14:44:00.001-08:00

Grace showing friend how to dig for hay buried under the snow

Don't leave me behind!

No horses in this one, this is my local countryside. Pretty?

If you click on any of the pictures in this blog they will blow up to a larger size.

Translation required

2010-01-10T13:57:00.001-08:00

Because I don't speak horse so well and Grace has a quirk I don't understand.

It's slightly hard to explain so bear with me! Some important things to outline:-
Grace is:

- Used to being led around on her own
- Happy to lead behind or in front of another horse and can cope with them disappearing
- Generally quite brave. She might look or spook at something the first time, but not habitually
- Beta, she will defer to other horses and is freaked out by some people, usually men

Yesterday there was only one other horse out with Grace. We brought them in together. On the way back to the stable Grace exhibited behaviour I have not seen before. Much spooking, bug eyed, bouncing and double barrel kicking out. It didn't matter where the other horse (a friend) was - behind, in front or alongside.

Now I know there have been trespassers in their field and I know how some people really do alarm her. Mostly men but not always. There were people in the field yesterday and today. The only thing I can think of is that either the stranger danger or maybe a fear of something coming up behind freaked her out.

Anyway, as I said, I don't speak horse that well so I can only speculate and hope that she is never that afraid again. I also hope that the trespassers get more sense because one day one of them might get hurt. (I mean really - tobogganing into the middle of a group of horses - what were they thinking?)

Just who is training whom?

2010-01-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

You know how you read in horse training manuals about how you should think of new things to teach your horse and to keep it simple and break everything down into easy steps?

Well Grace has read the book.

And every time she sees the word 'horse' she substitutes 'human'.

But she has gone one better than the book - 'cause I'm getting the training and she is getting the treats!

- This post is inspired by the almost daily new 'tricks' that Gracie thinks of.

This week she has learnt to count.

From the horse's mouth:-

'When training my human I will only accept a maximum of 10 reward clicks before I expect a treat regardless of what I am doing.'

'As my human has a variable speed limit - to put it kindly - I expect a click every 5 strides to confirm that we are still ok for walking.'

Medical miracles don't happen overnight

2010-01-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Oh its so very hard. Grace has improved so much. People who don't know her well don't realise just how far she has come in a relatively short space of time.

We are facilitating Grace's healing, both mentally and physically, but there are no magic wands to be waved. The most serious damage is a mix of mental scars and internal physical damage and what took years to inflict will take considerable time to undo.

It is easy for some to believe that because her external physical scars have healed that everything else is ok. Oh how I wish it were that easy. And some bits are easy, horses are remarkable self-healers and our greatest gift is to facilitate that process (which means no meddling). The biggest parts of the facilitation are patience and a deep respect for the horses' need to be a horse.

Which means living like a horse; with a fibre rich, low sugar diet; lots and lots of movement 24/7 over a variety of surfaces with access to shelter, water and loafing spots as required; living in a stable herd and not being forced to put up with less for the sake of human convenience. (Haven't got there yet with all those things - oh how I long for a PP.)

Her external physical scars are almost invisible under her winter coat. But when I watch her work I can see how her pulverised pectorals are making moving the front end challenging; she sometimes does this kind of weird short stepping skip as the whole area locks up. It is amazing though how generally cheerful and willing she remains.

With regards to her feet, her digital cushions are extremely under developed as a result of life long inappropriate foot care. Her soles are thin, she is prone to thrush and is still recovering from multiple bouts of low grade laminitis. We can do a lot to help Grace overcome these challenges by letting her be a horse. But all of the healing has to grow in; millimetre by millimetre and any screw up in her care sets us back - which is why I am so fanatical about keeping the sugar out of her diet as much as possible. I need to incorporate a lot more movement into her life to help her feet grow healthily - both quantity and quality. Not easy to arrange but I will do my best.

On very bad days we do give her pain relief, but not as a regular feature. You might have noticed from the photos that she was over at the knee in the early days - this is resolving, as are the sore back and hips. But there will be other longer term issues which are still healing and if she gallops about unaware of the various aches she could do herself a lot of damage.

Trimming her feet is challenging. She can only hold a foot up for a short time and her physical/mental limitations mean that conventional methods of steadying a foot are not an option. It took time to teach her that having her feet trimmed was ok. It will take time to teach her that interested onlookers don't mean her any harm. One day I might be able to co-opt an assistant to help support her while I trim. But a few moons will rise and set before that happens.

And finally - most days I get a reminder of just how smart Grace is and just how far she has come and how far she has to go. Sometimes the reminders are just a post-it note, others they are writ large. Today was the latter.

Three things happened; 1) a group of trespassers were in the field with the mares and Grace was very upset and defensive trying to protect the herd. 2) A man she doesn't know well ignored advice and ran his hand over her and moved towards her back end. He narrowly avoided being kicked. 3) I skipped out round her in the stable and put a bale of Aubiose down and did a bit of trimming with a slew of observers and much activity. I'd never have managed any of this when I first got her without being kicked and although tied up she was very good about it today.

So a mixed bag. Some happy moments, thank you friend, family, Grace and Sophie, but much strife (entirely from humans) too.

Horse singing

2009-12-08T04:35:00.001-08:00

Thanks to barefoot friend who posted the link.

Maybe Grace could try her hoof at this if she can't be a sports horse. Make sure you click on each horse's head to get the full benefit.

Daddy or chips?

2009-12-01T01:05:00.000-08:00

After the McCains advert.

A girl's having a quiet munch on her breakfast hay when a digger parks behind her butt.

And then 'Mum' turns up with a camera. What's a girl to do?

Well pose of course!

Four legs good, two legs better

2009-11-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Or maybe not. Worked Grace on the lunge for a few minutes in the indoor school. She behaved very well. Although the alternative view of her front feet while she explored the two legged option was not really needed.

Judging by the tension in her trapezius, coupled with the issues she has in the back of her feet I think we probably went too far today and she even though she wanted to go forward it was too much, so she had to go up.

Despite the opportunity for drama she came down very calmly and got back on with minding me and doing her work. I can't really ask for more. Except in my dreams I can wish that her feet had never been allowed to deteriorate and with that thought its time for bed.

Mirror mirror on the wall

2009-11-29T03:54:00.001-08:00

Who's that pretty girl then? Not what I expected when I took Grace in the indoor school for the first time. I had expected some snorting and skitting about. But Grace was far more interested in checking out her reflection.

For a horse that gets anxious about some things she is remarkably brave. Had me on tenterhooks the other day as she chased after some deer in her field. Just stopped before the pallisade fence which guards a drop into a stream. Please may she always stop before she gets that far.

hor

Whoops I've done it again................

2009-11-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

You might not have seen the post 'You get what you reward' where Grace had me scampering to keep up with her on our way in from the field. I'd accidentally taught her that faster was better.

Well I've done it again. Only this time its a whole new way of 'moving over'. Never a favourite exercise, probably associated with getting thumped (not by me) and uncomfortable because of her corns, Grace was compliant, but unhappy when asked to 'move over'.

Well today she practically skipped round. And all because I have been teaching her to glue herself to my shoulder for certain exercises.

Today, anxious for more clicks and treats Grace decided to experiment and took the shoulder glue to a whole new level. (I am so going to have to rethink the training on this one.)

Could I shake her off? (No) So I tried standing by her shoulder and then walking backwards and zip-ah-dee-do-dah she does the neatest turn on the forehand. I was gobsmacked. So I scooted backwards again and she twirled on the forehand again.

Great! - not what I intended, but if it works for her it works for me! Yeah, I have a horse that can move its bum over. Ok, so the command sequence is a little off the wall but who cares?

Although there is the small matter of now having to teach Grace that she doesn't have to be permanently level with my ears................

Answers on a post card please!

Romping in the rain

2009-11-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

Grace's Aunt came to see her today. Hence the better photo and a bit of video. The first video is of Grace showing off her trot, the second one shows her tenacity.

It's so nice to have a quiet school to romp around in.

Grace ended staying in today. It won't do her any long term harm - she needed a good dry spell anyway to allow her feet to dry out properly.

I've put her to bed with both fronts treated with White Lightening. I want to clear up the fungal infection as much as possible before I go away to Dallas.

Grace's new home

2009-11-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

It has been an eventful week. Grace's flu/tet jab went awry and she had an allergic reaction to it. This meant postponing her move for a few days until she recovered.

Already the move is paying dividends. In just two days she is coping with stony ground better than she did before.

I've started loose schooling her again. Its quite entertaining because when the 'work' is finished we have a short game of 'wag the tail'. I lope about the school and Grace as the 'tail' follows with her nose tucked in behind me. She gets very cross if I turn too tight for her to follow directly. We always wrap the session with a cuddle.

I have already taught the signal for 'halt' so that if she is scampering up to me too fast I can stop her before I get run over.

Her feet need doing again. As the new yard has quite a few long hardcore surfaced tracks I am hoping that over time we will start wearing her feet more naturally.

Grace is moving house

2009-11-06T04:08:00.000-08:00

It is time to explore the next stage with Grace. I need somewhere I can loose school, lunge and long rein her in relative safety. Hiking up a busy road on foot with a rehab in hand is not my idea of good practice. It was bad enough with my old horse, but she was incredible - Grace and I have several million miles to travel before we reach anything like the same level.

The first step is managing the process of moving yard. I am a bit anxious about it. Grace has made friends and is settled. But even if her destiny is to be a pasture ornament, where she is won't meet her needs as an equine for much longer. So I have to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Oddly the yard we are going to is one I first used some 20 years ago when I moved to Kent. It must have had half a dozen reincarnations since then. I view this move as initially temporary, I will make the best use of the facilities on offer, evaluate where Grace's future lies and take it from there. And hope neither of us gets hurt in the process.

At least the yard is relatively secure. Barbed wire has been removed from fencing, hard core has been laid from yard to field. High security gates are locked at night and the whole place is wired with movement sensitive lights. The YO seems pretty switched on. Wish us luck.

How I taught Grace to lift a foot when I point at it

2009-11-05T11:14:00.001-08:00

By special request. To be totally honest - my old horse taught me first - I just passed this method on............

1) First establish the basic 'click and reward'. Get this fairly solid. (If you want to know how to do this, I will do another post.)

2) Teach your horse that a lunge whip is not scary. I loose schooled Grace (quite a bit over a few weeks) so she got the idea that when I point with the lunge whip it is not scary and it won't hurt her. Every time she responded appropriately I clicked (and treated as necessary). As she is a rescue I gave her lots of time for this - a horse which is less scared will probably take less time.

2) Find somewhere your horse can be that they feel safe and comfortable in (including underfoot). Make sure it is a safe space for you too. I chose a quiet spot in the open yard because Grace's stable is tiny and I could easily get pinned against a wall. Grace arrived with a habit of double barrelling on a hair trigger so I needed to be especially alert and careful.

3) Roll the lash part of the lunge whip round the barrel and fix it so it won't come loose. Decide which foot the horse finds easiest to pick up. (Preferably a fore foot at this stage).

4) Then standing in a safe place - I chose slightly in front of and to the side of Grace's shoulder, point at the foot you have chosen (I use the blunt end of the lunge whip). Be incredibly observant.

5) Reward any effort that might be construed as the horse thinking about picking that foot up, even if it just shifts weight off it. (Remember click and treat and be quick about it.) You may have to lightly touch the leg, but be tactful. Think hinting rather than bullying. If you lose patience stop, turn the horse out and do something to work off your mood. Never try this exercise when you are feeling mooish. Keep the whole thing light and cheerful and fun.

6) Once you have a positive response from the horse, even a shift in weight, give the horse a break. I usually sweep the yard (its a very clean yard!). Then if all is still well you might want to try again. But don't push it. I usually keep the whole thing really short. Because its short you can do it most times you 'do' the horse without it becoming a burden. If the process is going badly give it a break for a few days and reflect on what you are doing wrong. Do something positive in this gap, so that your horse and you have a good bond. I used to hold Grace's bucket while she ate. Not much - but she learnt to relax while I was around. (There were other benefits which I will cover another time.)

7) When the horse understands that pointing with the lunge whip means 'lift your foot', you can gradually replace the lunge whip with a simple point of your hand. I used a stirring spoon as an interim pointer. Anything 'pointy' will do so long as it doesn't scare your horse and its safe.

8) Very important - when your horse lifts a foot, even if you didn't intend it - be polite. Thank your horse (even to the extent of holding the foot and pretending to look at it). If you didn't want the foot, don't be mean, you may have 'asked' unintentionally. My old horse got very enthusiastic about the whole foot lifting thing - so I taught a different command for 'keep it on the floor' using the same technique.

9) Listen to your horse - if you get the wrong foot there is probably a reason. In Grace's case she was trying to tell me that her hind foot was sore so please would I fix it first.

10) This method will not work if you are inconsistent, are not clear about what you want or if your horse is too sore to even lift a foot. Remember horses don't lie - we just sometimes fail to understand. And always be cheerful!

I'll see if I can find a willing volunteer to take pictures. One that won't freak Grace out in the process!

Off fore progress

2009-10-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Off fore - day after deshod and this morning. Not perfect but getting better all the time.

Truly humbled and a little embarrassed and very Wow!

2009-10-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yesterday I mentioned how Grace had adopted the VERY BIG WRITING approach to communication, with me at least. I am rather embarrassed to admit that today she had to take it a step further - think 'holding a child's hand to cross the road'.

I have no excuses, so I'll just get on with the tale of idiot human and mega bright, mega patient horse.

I knew it was high time I took a bit off Grace's feet. I didn't think it would be a huge amount, but bearing in mind I have to take the little and often approach with her feet, I knew we were overdue.

Out of habit I addressed the near fore first. She waved her off hind, then when I persisted she put it down and then let me do the near fore. I asked for the near hind, got the off hind. No joy, so I did the off fore. She waved the off hind, but let me do the off fore. (Getting the picture - well you are brighter than I was at 6am this morning).

So I go for the near hind again. This time she holds her off hind up - higher than usual - and on reflection I can almost hear her saying 'duh don't you get it - this is the one that needs the work!' Can you believe I ignored her again? So very very gently she just nudged me against the wall. Not squashed or threatened, but I didn't have enough room to work. I moved her over, and she moved me back. Rinse and repeat - and all the time she was offering me the off hind (which was on the other side to me - so no threat).

Finally the penny dropped and much to Grace's relief I attended to the off hind. And I am embarrassed again, really really ashamed this time. The bars, which I had been whiffling about for a while had lifted the foot into a little bit of a tilt, so she was leveraging on the slight overgrowth of the toe wall. To be fair, it wasn't huge, but it was enough to tear the laminae at the toe and leave a bit of a blood spot (about 3mm). Poor sod and ignorant me. Well I won't do that again and the next time she offers a foot for me to look at I will take heed and really look properly. And I won't um and ah so much - if the bar seems to need work, I'll try it - in the full knowledge that if I was wrong it will grow back in double quick time.

Remind myself to repeat my mantra daily 'horses don't lie!'

And the 'Wow!'?

Well haven't we come a long way? From a horse that would freak out when her boundaries were crossed to a horse that realises that no harm is intended, her human just needs a bit of gentle guidance. And she is figuring how to do that guidance, while still co-operating as far as she is able - and not scaring the human in the process.

So I am very proud of her, humbled by her wisdom and patience and a bit embarrassed/ashamed for myself.

She has twigged I'm a bit thick.......

2009-10-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Grace is adopting the approach of my old horse 'The Grey'. Realising that I can be a bit dim she is starting to 'talk' to me in the equine equivalent of REALLY BIG WRITING.

For example - I know she finds it hard to pick up her near hind when stood on concrete (because off hind is weak). But I still ask.

She used to just wiggle her ears and then freak out.

Now I get a really obvious tail swish and she picks up her poorly foot. Could she be any clearer in saying 'I hear you, I want to, but this foot hurts, so I can't.'

If I ask when she is stood on softer ground its not a problem, so long as I don't get silly with it.

Who said horses are dumb animals?

She is the devil woman.........

2009-10-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

Can't get her out of my mind :-)

Since our little work session this pm. Didn't do a huge amount, but noticed something important. The last couple of days, when I have been too stressed and busy to do anything other than 'routine maintenance' Grace has become grumpy? sulky? or maybe a bit down in the dumps. Not sure because I haven't figured her out fully yet. But after today's work session she was very happy. Maybe she really needs to do something every day, even if its only interaction as opposed to exercise.

Today the barn is free (a rare event), so I take her straight from the field (yes she came to call from miles away out of sight again) and into the barn for a little interaction. (Please note I got the video the right way up this time! :-)

5 minutes of loose schooling and it as pleasure to note her action is freeing up all the time. Heel first landing in walk, which is very loose and swinging. Flat foot with some toe action in trot, but improving.

When the loose schooling is finished Grace lollops over to me for all the world like a spaniel puppy with a new tennis ball. I hold up my hand palm out flat to the front. Our signal for 'stop' and stop she does. So I decide 'why not see if we can teach Grace to stay?' The photo is about as far away as I could get before she 'broke'.

But maybe we have cracked the answer to 'Why did the call her The Witch?'. Is it because she has glow in the dark eyes! :-) (yes I know its really a reflection of my rubbish photography skills and not her at all).

Hooves are dynamic

2009-10-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

Day after deshod, Six weeks later, Six weeks 4 days after deshod

Grace quite clearly has metabolic issues. She is not the worst I've seen, but she still needs 'managing'.

Our priority in the early days was to get her to eat, to get her teeth floated and her shoes removed. In the six weeks 4 days since her shoes came off her feet have improved a fair bit. The above shots are just of the near fore heels, but you can see how the heels are decontracting. There is even a visible difference just 4 days apart.

What you can't see in these pictures is how the frog has transformed from having the colour and texture of a piece of cheese to being more robust, grey coloured mega tough piece of india rubber.

When Grace's shoes came off and her soles shed the dead chalky layer, it was a bit alarming* to find her feet were more convex than concave. There is no doubt that she was uncomfortable for about 10 days on hard/lumpy surfaces. If her feet hadn't been changing shape so rapidly or if the walk from field to stable had been more than 100ft I would have booted or padded her feet.

Equally alarming was a) how badly her feet had been trimmed (by a qualified farrier) before the shoes had been put on b) the prospect of trimming the feet of a horse that was so worried by the process.

Now I don't need to worry, her feet are starting to become concave and she no longer worries about walking over hard surfaces. And she is very happy to be trimmed.

Of course all these external changes are being led by changes inside the foot. I can't imagine what that must feel like.

And what wands - [lavendar and lilac according to the cynics :-) ] - have been waved?

Diet is critical - and Grace's food is a long way from the current trend of premixed, sugary bagged feeds. And there are no expensive additives either. In fact feeding for foot health is very economical.

Environment is also important - and hard to manage for those of us on livery yards. The hooves need stimulating with 'appropriate' surfaces at the right time according to their progress. Grace is turned out in a standard overly sugary field. So I make up for it a little with the bedding I choose and a simple set of exercises; hand walking on concrete/tarmac and 'dancing' in the arena. I also keep her stabled for part of every 24 hours when grass sugars are at their highest.

For bedding I use Aubiose. I keep it dry (against the packaging instructions) as I find its crunchy texture seems to provide more stimulation than soft shavings or straw. Plus if looked after it is quite a dry bed, so helps combat fungal infections and thrush. It is also comfortable to lie down on (I've tried it), low in dust, easy to muck out and a similar price to shavings. For those who like a clean horse, it also drops out of manes and tails easily.

Think it through

2009-10-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Grace cantered to the gate so fast tonight she barely stopped in time. My beloved old Grey had a bad accident as a youngster doing exactly the same thing. From now on I shall wait until I am at the gate before I call her, because she stops when she sees you put up a hand. Not sure how that will work in the dark mind.

Grace did the same thing after our work session. When I signalled the end of the exercise she cantered up to me. No its not me she's keen on, but the click/treat reward. And yes she did stop in good time.

Not happy about 'move over' exercise when it involves swinging her quarters from her right to left, but she did it quite well in the end.

Grace seems to understand 'no' as well - so when she decided to cow kick instead of moving over and I said 'no' she stopped, thought about it and then tried the step over. It is almost as though she has been taught to kick - probably accidently, but whoever achieved this feat couldn't have done a better job if they had tried to do it on purpose.

I am going to think through the next stage of Gracies work quite carefully. There is a lot going on for her with her feet and general loosening up physically. It would be easy to push, because she is so willing. But if she gets sore she could easily get resentful and then we would lose everything we have gained.

Six weeks - off hind

2009-10-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

Off hind, solar and side views. Left photos are the earlier shots, right hand are six weeks later.

No magic wands, waftiness or hippy activities :-) Just a good diet, adequate (not perfect) environment and an acceptable barefoot (not pasture) trim.

This foot was deeply infected and very sore. We have a way to go, but you can see how fast the foot has grown given the opportunity.

Sorry its sideways

2009-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Grace was in the far corner of the field hanging out with her mates - I couldn't even see her when I called. Then I heard a thunder of hooves and her head appeared over the horizon - I whipped out the phone, but by the time I was ready she had dropped to a steady plod. Sorry the video is sideways - I can rotate photos but video is beyond me at the moment. And yes she always has to go to the loo before coming in (in fact she gets quite upset if you don't let her).

3 month mark - no sugar or starch required :-)

2009-10-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

No added sugar or starch required :-) or any other 'magic' (expensive) ingredients.

These pictures are just over 3 months apart, the first being on the day Grace 'landed' and the second is today.

We did a bit of training - pretended it was for Gracie but really it was for OH who has to help look after her when I go to Dallas in December.

Grace now leads beautifully, from both sides as you can see (OH hasn't quite got the lead on the near side bit yet). Grace goes past the killer chickens and the various items in the yard being very careful not to spook OH seeing as how he is just learning. But she can't resist using him as a scratching post after all that hard work in the rain. Fortunately she knows enough not to do this to everyone.

Result! - I didn't get kicked in the head :-)

2009-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well Grace was very cute today. Got to the yard early as I had some work to do on her bed. My plan failed. She must of heard the car or something. Snuck my head round the corner and there she was waiting at the gate and snickering for me (ok let's be honest, not me, but her dinner).

As I have finally replaced my long reins I thought I'd have a play. She didn't try to kick me in the head; which I had half expected because of her anxiety about being roped again, so I took that as a good start. Education very elementary though, because she didn't have clue what I was on about. So I will start from scratch with her. All the time being extra careful as she can be quick to take fright.

We had a bit of a walk round the yard which I am building up daily now as I want her feet to start to wear naturally and I also want to stimulate the back of her foot more effectively.

I think her feet are decontracting - they are certainly better than they were, although I am concerned with the recent wet that the thrush may creep back. The bars look a little odd in the photo, but they don't look so bad in the flesh. Mind you the walls look considerably worse :-(

The first picture is near fore just deshod, the second and third are the same foot from the solar view and a quick squint at the back. You can see in both of today's pictures how the back of the foot is opening up and appears more robust.

You are kidding right?

2009-10-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

It was raining when I went to catch Grace. She ignored her head collar and walked in glued to my shoulder. I don't think I could have left her behind if I'd tried.

Grace has had a few days off (ok nearly a fortnight) I blame work but in truth I'm just disorganised. Did get all four feet roughed out though which took several goes.

Oddly the recent rain has galvanised me into action and this morning Grace had her first 'work' session for a while. It was fun and funny. Sorry no pictures - I'll try and get some later.

Grace has been developing her heel first landing and I thought I'd see how she went on a softer surface. Up to this point soft arena type surfaces have not been good. This morning was different and I felt confident enough to ask for a bit of work rather than just mooching about.

Well I didn't need to anyway - a mare on box rest decided to start 'shouting' and Grace decided she really needed to see if she could escape from the arena (for rescue purposes?).

Well I said 'no' and the look on her face - she should have been a biped in red wellies with bows in her hair. She really thought that if she squeaked a bit and stomped she would get what she wanted. Sorry Grace, but compared to some of the efforts I've seen yours are pathetic. Not that I want Grace to learn anything more dramatic.

I didn't have to 'do' anything other than insist that she continue to move around the arena edge in the direction of my choice. And it really didn't take any effort, just a little squaring of the shoulders and 'the look'.

Grace is a good girl, she soon settled into her work and did some lovely trot, relaxed and as soon as I let her off the track she came in for some in-hand work. We did a little 'step over' practice and that went well so I rewarded her and turned her out.

Mutual trust

2009-10-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well today I did something I only do with horses I trust a lot. I balanced Gracies fore foot on my knee. Its a big trust thing for her too because it does leave her more vulnerable than the usual foot pick up. And she learnt immediately that if I faced forward and asked for 'foot' she needed to relax it forward rather than flip it up and under.

The following pictures are near fore side view - you can see how her foot had been allowed to scoot forward in her previous life. Solar view of near fore - heel is decontracting nicely. Then side views of near and off hind. See how the nasty infected crack is rapidly growing out. Final picture is Grace being a safe perch for a magpie - there were two before I got my camera out.

Man training

2009-09-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post these in the order they were taken. Grace used to have an issue with two people working in close proximity round her and she was not terribly thrilled about having her ears touched.

Well our girlie is getting brave! (And a bit fat I know, I know, but one thing at a time.) Here she is making up to my fantastic OH. He is quite tall, so he makes Gracie look tiny.

And having had a good smooching session they finished it off with breakfast. Gracie looks very content to me. And who wouldn't be with scratches and food being served up by your own personal man servant?

You get what you reward

2009-09-17T13:44:00.001-07:00

Grace is out overnight and in during the day. I have found over the last few days that Grace's walk from the field to the stable has got so fast I could barely keep up. It took a while for the penny to drop.

I was rewarding her for reaching specific targets; so anxious for the 'prize' she naturally got faster and faster.

So now I am rewarding her for 'walking to heel', she is so smart she got the hang of it straight away.

We also started work on 'move over'. This really worried her at first, but within in a few minutes she realised it was just another way of getting rewards and then she settled down and started to really enjoy herself.

'Dancing' with Grace

2009-09-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Very important to encourage the back of Gracies feet to develop - at the moment they are still the immature feet of a baby. This will likely be due to inappropriate management when she was growing - which is probably true of the majority of horses in the UK and is an important but usually unrecognised element of much lameness and back soreness.

Lack of oomph in the back of the foot, plus less than ideal diet, exercise etc will encourage toe first landing and this is often a precursor to the development of navicular syndrome.

Gracie is 9 and low mileage. Not necessarily a good thing. Horses have evolved with the need to move a lot. The need is more than just physiological, its psychological too.

But of course while her feet are a work in progress we have to be especially considerate of how and what we do with her.

Where Gracie lives is a little low on facilities and we are not yet ready on any terms to hike up and down the road. So we are learning to 'dance'.

Just to encourage gentle and wide ranging movement. The alternative is to just lead her round in endless circles as the YO doesn't allow lunging or loose schooling in the sand arena.

It was kind of Gracie's idea. Having caught onto the whole 'targetting' thing with the clicker training she decided that she could target my right hand. So if I push my hand to her she steps back, if I put my hand on my thigh she steps towards me - if I wave it to the right she goes to her left, and if I wave it to my left she goes to her right.

I know nothing about dance, but if I can figure out how to put in a twirl or two I reckon we might manage a waltz :-)

But you will have to just imagine it because there is no way I am going to let anyone take any photos!

HYPP

2009-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

A horrible inherited disease. There is a reliable test for the HYPP gene so it could be erradicated in a generation. For more information about this condition go to: www.bringinglighttohypp.org/
Particularly read the experiences sections.

But can you believe the number of horses which are HH has doubled?

As the gene is dominant even an N/H horse will have the condition. It is painful, frequently fatal and can strike at any age. A few horses with it will have relatively ok lives but most will not. And not just horses but people get hurt too. You'd think the people that care more about money than livestock might worry about that, but apparently not.

The whole thing stems from one Quarter Horse stallion called Impressive. He bred 2,500 odd foals. The condition has now leaked out into other breeds too because people have a habit of mixing and matching somewhat carelessly.

Grace is an example. Why would anyone breed a QH/Arab to a warmblood? Forget the fancy handles, she is a mongrel. A rather beautiful mongrel, but one that ended up on the meat waggon. And let's face it, the more crossed out a horse is the more likely that will be. Unless it is well trained and performing. And Grace is neither (yet).

And the connection between HYPP and Grace? Well I researched the QH element of her bloodline. I can't find any direct link to Impressive, but there are a number of unnamed horses in her pedigree so who knows? Anyhow I have lined my vet up to get her tested. I have no intention of breeding from her but I want to know her HYPP status for her sake and mine.

What I have discovered during my research is the sheer ignorance that exists among QH owners and breeders about HYPP. And the fact is that some people will do anything for money regardless of the pain that might cause.

Solid Foundations

2009-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Got a good reminder of the importance of solid foundations today. As usual it was my exceptional klutziness that lead to the situation.

So two days in a row I make a hash of dressing a foot. Yesterday it was the off fore, today it was the near hind. Today there is so much duck tape that removing the dressing was somewhat sticky :-)

Unfortunately I forgot myself and started tugging away somewhat impolitely (never a good idea to do these things in a rush). This reminds Grace that people have a nasty habit of tying ropes to her feet. So she very firmly takes her foot away and makes it quite clear I better learn some manners before I can have her foot back.

So we go back to basics, back to a place where hopefully she will feel safe (and I feel humbled). I get the fat end of the lunge whip and gently touch it to her leg, ask for 'foot' and away we go, no problem, no stress. Rinse and repeat three times with appropriate clicking and treating.

Then having 'apologised' and reassured Grace that actually I can do it nicely, Grace lets me remove the dressing from her foot. No stress, no hassle, easy as pie. Now why didn't I do it properly in the first place? Because I am a dumb human and I am lucky to have Grace remind me quite gently that I need to pull my socks up and not be so slack about things. She would have been within her rights to get a strop on and not talk to me for ages, but she isn't like that, she is actually quite forgiving.

Having got that episode over with we spent five minutes doing a little loose schooling. Time to get her exercising again, to develop her feet and to put brakes on the weight gain. I hate to admit it but the girl is getting a bit fat.

I also started to introduce her new diet. I'll post the ingredients separately.

Changes can happen in just 6 days

2009-09-11T03:21:00.000-07:00

Grace's near fore, six days ago (the day after we pulled the shoe) and yesterday. Criticise the trim all you want, I know its not perfect. But just look at the frog development - way to go!

If it wasn't for the squiffy lump on the apex of the frog I'd struggle to recognise it as the same foot. It doesn't even look the same shape. But another 'tell' is the notch between the sole and wall at the tip of the toe.

The foot hasn't really changed structurally that much, but trimming away the flare and bringing the heels back makes such a difference. I am most pleased about the way that the back of the foot is opening up. I never expected it to happen so fast, especially as the environment, exercise and diet are a long way from ideal. (We are working on it).

Pavlov's Ponies

2009-09-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

Gracie gets more expressive every day. She is now taking after Madam and likes to give her tongue an airing when food is on its way.

Previously rejected herbs are now considered delicious and we have managed to exclude all sugary supplements/treats and she is eating her dinner with relish.

Today she had a good go at completely polishing her feed bowl. I still have to hold it though. We are working towards it being on the ground, but its not been a priority.

Gracie can also now eat her hay from the front of the stable rather than having to hide at the back. And as usual spending time in her company left me totally blissed out.

I came home buzzing

2009-09-10T00:16:00.001-07:00

Grace can do that for you. Simple things mean so much. I was being a total klutz this morning. Trying to gel her off fore and just messing up every step.

After much faffing I had got to the point of using the duck tape to hold the padding in place. Laurel and Hardy had nothing on me. So Grace, bless her, helped me out.

Every time I had managed to get a piece of tape ready she picked her foot up so I could put it on. She did this about a dozen times. How smart is that? And no wriggling or shifting before the padding was properly secure.

It is said it requires a lot of patience to rehab a horse. Well Grace has plenty!

2009-09-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is the solar view of Grace's near hind. It's a bit of curate's egg. The frog is ok, but you can see the forward flare and laid over bars. The flare was worse, but before I took this picture I had already taken it back a bit. I trimmed it a bit more today and will post a photo of the completed trim when its done.

I used White Lightning Gel on the near fore today. I was going to do all four, but I acquired an audience and I didn't think it fair on Grace or me to have to perform without practicing first.

That said she didn't mind the gelling/padding and taping at all. I will get to the other feet as soon as I can.

I did do a bit of trimming with people floating about though. Grace is very settled and doesn't mind being trimmed at all.

Ouch!

2009-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

In this picture you can see just how under developed the back of Grace's foot is. No digital cushion or lateral cartilages to speak of. Despite being bare for much of her life. This goes to show how important the correct environment is - without the stimulation of a variety of terrain and lots of movement their feet just don't develop.

Even so Grace's feet are adapting to her new barefoot life already. Her heels have widened by a couple of millimetres in front. The infection and corns are drying up and she is trying out her heel first landing.

Unsurprisingly, because the back of her foot is so weak, all this is a bit painful, not on soft surfaces, but the 100 yards from her box to the field is concrete and she has a shorter stride, with a lower head carriage for that.

Tomorrow, if all goes well I will put white lightning gel on her feet. The question mark is over whether I will be able to tape her feet up.

Oh and my hoof stand has finally arrived so I won't have to balance feet on my knees any more. I will start training Grace to use it tomorrow, unless it gets in the way of gelling her feet.

Invisibility Cloak

2009-09-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Horse shoes are like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, only not so useful and much more unhealthy. Horse shoes cover things up, but it doesn't mean they aren't there.

So Grace had her shoes removed last Thursday and each day as I pick my way through the rotten, stinking material that was formerly hoof I find more horrors.

Each foot has its own receipe of rot. The near fore, underneath a half cm of thick black goo, was sheltering a suppurating corn which has started to bleed. This explains why it is hard for her to hold up her other fore leg for very long. It is just too painful for her near fore to take her weight for very long. I have cleaned away the goo, left more heel than I would normally to keep the weight off the corn and dressed the bleed with some broad spectrum antibiotic. I will continue to clean and treat twice daily until it has healed.

Her off fore also has corns, but they are not yet bleeding. The amount of infection in both fronts, all previously under the shoes, is huge, but not as bad as the hinds. On both front I have rolled the feet where possible, to relieve the flares and start to bring the feet into balance. I am going to do this slowly as the poor girl is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The fronts of her feet are sore because of the flare and thin sole, the back of her feet are sore from the infections and corns. While it is horrible now, it will resolve. The faster I can clear the infection the sooner she will feel better.

The hinds are the same but much much worse. But although I know its bad, part of me feels it can't be as bad as it was because at least now she has stopped 'backing up' her bed and standing in her droppings. - Horses with foot/limb/back pain will sometimes stand with their hind limbs jacked up on a ridge of bedding to relieve the pain - and if they have an infection in their feet they will stand in urine or droppings because although long term this contributes to the problem, in the short term it provides a measure of relief.

Grace was incredibly sweet today. I took a punt and left her untied while I cleaned, disinfected and did a bit of trimming of her hooves. She made no attempt to wander off or resist at all. And this is the horse that was supposed to be a nightmare to handle?

I am working on her addiction to sugary things - so not all her food got eaten today because I halved the sugar content, but she did eat most of it. Normally any horse I managed would get no sugar at all. But such was Grace's condition that getting her to eat was the priority. Now she is a good weight, her teeth are done and she is settled, we can dejunk her diet.

All blissed out

2009-09-05T01:26:00.001-07:00

Not even 48 hours and Grace is already feeling the benefits. She was totally blissed out this morning. On the food front, she is more content when she is eating, she seems to be drinking less and her droppings have gone from cow splat squidgy to something approaching normal.

Foot wise, her front knee which was starting to knuckle over is now straightening up and she is trying for a heel first landing. Even though she has been in for 24 hours (for worming) she is still very 'chilled out'.

I have started soaking the bulk of her hay. When she first arrived she turned her nose up at it, but she is getting more willing to try new things and now soaked hay is very welcome.

Just deshod pictures

2009-09-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Overall the feet are flared, too long and showing signs of LGL. The foot with the big hole (off hind) is badly underrun. Three nails got left behind, two of which I got out today, but the third one is really stuck.

Grace has been patient throughout, but I am not going to push my luck. We have time to work on these feet at our own pace. I rasped each of them a little today, just to see how she would react really. Grace seemed totally unfazed.

For foot rasping I have replaced the clicker sound with the sound of the rasp being put on the floor. Of course the flaw is when I drop it, but rule 2 is I put the foot down, Grace doesn't snatch it away. So far so good. We are getting through treats fairly quickly.

I am pleased with how Grace has reacted so far, even for a regular horse her behaviour has been good, for a horse with her history, well, if you didn't know you'd never guess.

As a final note - not only was I messing with her feet but we had high winds, then sun and flies, and then deer scooting about and still she stood for me.

She is so different to the horse her breeder described. Maybe she is a ringer!

We did it!

2009-09-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Shoes off, teeth done!

At last in a couple of days when her mouth has healed Gracie will be able to eat in comfort.

And we can start work on enabling her to heal her feet.

Vet after initially being sceptical and a bit negative, admitted he was wrong and complimented Gracie on her behaviour, her progress and her general training. (Phew!)

I always knew Gracie was a good girl underneath all the stress, but of course its not an easy sale when your horse is having a fit because they are scared.

Photos:- Gracie under the influence, Gracie showing a nice bit of dribble.... Fore foot - frog good, foot flared, run forward and underrun, but fixable. Hind foot worse than front, very underrun but we will work on it and hope we fix it before it gets worse.

Well its not the banging that is scary

2009-09-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

After this morning when Grace showed genuine fear (squitty droppings and box walking) when a farrier started to shoe another horse I got a bit worried. So this lunch time I thought I would test a few things out.

Grace let me pick up and clean her feet as usual. Then I picked up my rasp and started to bang it on the ground. Grace was initially startled but I think it was more surprise about what I was doing than any real worry about the noise. When Grace looked at me dropping the rasp on the floor, I clicked and treated. This got her hooked, so we continued the game, I banged my rasp, she took an interest and got rewarded.

So I then let her touch the rasp (the non sharp bit) with her nose (click and treat) before I started to test her reactions to the rasp tapping on her hooves. She couldn't have been less bothered, her only concern was how many treats she was going to get.

So I can only figure it wasn't the banging noise which set her off this morning, but the whole scenario of farrier and shoeing activity. Either that or she learnt to over come her fear in less than 30 seconds (which I doubt).

Well we are either ready for tomorrow or we are not. It's too late to do any more training now. I did spend 5 minutes on the phone with the vet going over strategy, which is basically I sedate her to the point of non awareness and then he does his stuff. Fingers crossed!

Ever watch House?

2009-09-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

It's an award winning TV medical drama loosely based on Sherlock Holmes. One of the main philosophies of the lead character 'House' is that people always lie.

One of my philosophies is that horses don't lie. They may act in ways which as humans we struggle to understand or misinterpret, but on a personal level I have found that their behaviour is a genuine reflection of a) being a horse and b) their life experiences.

This morning a farrier was shoeing another horse, just as I was bringing Grace in. She was practically comatose the whole time until she heard the bang of the farrier's hammer at which point she became really alarmed and she started producing adrenalin fuelled wet droppings. She also started to box walk.

You have to ask yourself why? I have always found her very brave, very trainable. If sufficiently pushed she will take defensive action against a perceived and immediate threat, but you do have to 'push'.

I know the last farrier she met thumped her (and all she did was try to get away from him after that), but this took place before the farrier had started work. So I am speculating that something must have happened with a farrier prior to that, significant enough that she relates the noise of the tools with something scary.

Its a mystery, and also a useful warning. When we deshoe her I will endeavour to ensure that we minimise the tool banging activities. I wish I had thought this through earlier and I might have spent some time banging farrier tools round her. It just never occured to me - she is brave and generally quite scary things are observed, thought about and then, if they don't bite, are ignored. Please insert expletives of your choice at this point!

Honey has lots of uses

2009-09-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

We are trying to encourage Grace to accept having honey syringed into her mouth. We need this for Thursday when the vet is coming to do her teeth (and help me get her shoes off).

So far she has learnt to touch the syringe, mouth it and to take the tip between her lips. She has also learnt to like the taste of honey (this was much harder than getting her to accept the syringe). Putting the two together might be asking too much.

So far on the odd occasion when I have managed to squirt a little honey into her mouth its come right back out accompanied by a very pronounced flehmen response.

We are making progress - her aim has improved dramatically and now she can get most of it in my hair with one swift spit...

A little off track

2009-08-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Grace is not the only rescue in the family. We also have a rescue GSD who goes more or less everywhere we go. So naturally we took her on our business trip. Well Sophie takes her work very seriously. Here you can see her digging a secure trench in which to bury her share of the company assets (a high tech frisbee). In the second picture you can see her contemplating whether or not the hole is going to be big enough. The edge also makes a comfy seat. And finally she tries her super model pose, her hair being swept back by the tail end of hurricane Bill. I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't quite a Cindy Crawford moment.

In the last picture Sophie is actually sitting on top of an ancient bronze age barrow (burial site). It would be hard to construct today, as the ground is solid slate, incredible that this was achieved without the benefit of modern technology and tools.

The beach is in Cornwall (Britain), so don't believe people when they say there are no decent sandy beaches in England - there are miles and miles of them here, complete with a ton of ancient history. And if you look for it, some decent grub and accomodation. The locals are great too and made us very welcome. (OK plug for UK tourism over!) All photos are taken on my Samsung S8300 :-)

I don't think she missed me at all!

2009-08-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

Had to go away on business for a couple of days. YO was incredibly kind and looked after Grace for me. Apparently Grace was very well behaved and she certainly seemed very happy when I got back. So that was a good practice run for when I have to go away another time.

Foot picking is now sooooo yesterday and is more or less part of the routine. Grace has started mouthing the syringe (ok trying to bite it) but hates honey with a passion. Which is a bit of a bind because her oral sedative has been suspended in a honey solution. I have 5 days to teach Grace to love honey; this might be more challenging than anything else to date :-)

All loved up

2009-08-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

My dearly loved Grey had this way of looking at me that used to give me the spookiest feeling that she could read my mind. And just being with her brought a huge sense of well being and calm. It was a remarkable gift.

I find it hard to believe but I think Grace may have that gift too. First there was 'the look'; the way she looked at me when we first met and this morning when I was stroking her face an air of calm and peace descended like a cloud. Amazing, truly remarkable.

On a more prosaic note I picked out her hinds again this morning. That's three days in a row. I am getting more confident and Grace is still being very patient with my faffing about.

Crumbs of comfort

2009-08-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Break out the beers! - I picked out her hind feet today. Very careful not to lift them high or hang about. But she was totally chilled throughout (as far as I could tell). So small step, but I was thrilled.

Also another horse I trim was looked at by a farrier today. Apparently he was impressed with the trim. Which the positive side of me wants to take as a compliment and the less positive side says 'yeah but he is only comparing it with pasture trims......' Also I never, ever celebrate because horses have a way of bringing you right back to ground level, so I don't want to tempt fate! :-)

But even so, I was very pleased with the progress we made today with Grace. Long may it continue :-)

Invitation only

2009-08-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

All horses (and people) have a need for 'personal space'. I'm sure you don't mind your favourite pals getting up a bit close, but if that creepy guy in the supermarket starts getting in too close, I am sure you start feeling rattled. Grace is just the same.

I am trying really hard to make our work together 'invitation only'. Unfortunately I suck at the finer points of equine body language. So for anything involving Grace's stable I make a point of waiting by the open door for her to come into my space. Then we have a go at the task of the moment. If she retreats to the back of the stable I don't follow her. I either wait for her to come back to the door or invite her to do something I know she understands. Targetting is a firm favourite because she understands that if she presses her nose on the target she gets a reward and she appears to enjoy the activity. Then we might have another go at the more challenging work if all seems well.

When she is tied up then of course she doesn't have the chance to remove herself from the activity, so I try to only do things which I know she understands already.

To be honest this is frustrating. It would be so nice to just march up and do whatever it is that needs to be done. But because Grace has been taught that when she is restrained people have a habit of doing things that alarm, or hurt her, or both I don't have that option. Not unless I want to undo all the trust we have built up so far and possibly get us both injured.

Which leads me to reflect on some human behaviours I have seen recently. And I find myself wondering why is it that people chase a 1,000lb flight or fight animal into the corner of its box where it has no escape so its only defense is to lash out or bite?

We have options when we work with animals; we can work cooperatively and have a willing companion who throws themselves into the relationship/work and who enjoys our company, or we can have an animal that maybe does all we ask, but no more and is resentful every step of the way. Shame that I see so many of the latter and the dumb animals and horses don't know any other way.

Although the patience required is stretching my nerves a bit, Grace's learning progresses so much faster when she has chosen to

In the eye of the beholder

2009-08-17T09:24:00.001-07:00

Tell me what do you see in this horse's face?

To me she has a kind and intelligent eye. She looks interested and ready to 'talk'. But I know in her lifetime she has been described as 'evil' and a 'witch' (to name just two negative epithets).

The trouble is of course, she can't talk, so if someone says something emotive, inaccurate or just plain wrong there is very little she can do to defend herself. And of course defending herself in the only way horses know how, is partly how she ended up heading for the meat hook.

I have never found Grace to be aggressive or difficult. Defensive when scared, yes; but purely reactive and she lets it go when the threat is removed.

And this is why I have two particular pet hates; amateurs breeding foals and inappropriate use of language. More on those later.

The training went well today. If progress continues at this rate I am hoping to be able to start syringing sugar water into her mouth by the end of the week

Do what you can manage

2009-08-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Kept it simple today. No problem with Grace, but the trainer was feeling lazy..... :-)

Majored on picking up her hind feet. Actually got to tie her up outside too (bonus because the 'lads' were in).

When we started the foot work if she was tied up outside she would swing around, desperate to protect her offside and if I got near the hinds she was very 'unhappy' and would let loose if I pushed it too far.

Today, no swinging and all four feet - one at a time - were lifted on command. The fronts got picked out at my leisure. The hinds were tapped for a lift and when that was satisfactory we left it at that.

Progress, but so unnecessary (I keep thinking if only, if only, if only) that it can be frustrating. But hopefully I've learnt my lesson and will be more careful about who can handle her and when in the future. And of course long term I want it not to matter.

Eat, 'work' and play

2009-08-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Although Grace doesn't 'play' yet; the work and eating bit is going quite well (touch wood and any other talisman to hand please!).

Our training got a boost with a visit from 'Aunty' today. Always helpful when an understanding and responsible adult can lend their presence for some 'stranger danger' training. New people in her space is becoming less of a threat, so long as they don't move (blinking is allowed) :-)

We did a little loose schooling work in the barn, with Aunty watching. Tried out the can I get Aunty to feed me mid work out, but moved on when asked. Very good, ignoring the bilateral lameness in front, not a foot out of place. (I am sooooooo keen to get the shoes off and get her feet sorted.)

Definitely getting keen on the syringe bumping, I am hopeful that I will soon be able to tie this up with the lip flapping work and start dropping sugar syrup into her lower lip pouch. All in preparation for the day when I have to drip the sedative in. Ate all her lunch which is always helpful and an easy turnout this afternoon, even though there were two other horses near the gate.

Morning blues but afternoon bliss

2009-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Brought Grace in this morning. Easy as usual, but she looked so miserable. She does this some days, looks really really sad. I don't know why, but I am guessing that something somewhere is hurting. She was very quiet when I put her in the stable and didn't rush over to her hay as usual. (Didn't do her usual enormous dropping either). It is possible that she was mildly colicky, but there were no other signs and at lunchtime all her hay was gone and she was much perkier.

We practised 'feet', targetting and touching the syringe and having lips and ears fussed. She was very good and even picked up her back feet, although she is quite worried by that. I am teaching her that when I touch them with the blunt end of the lunge whip she has to lift them up. Just a lift is enough for now, even if they go straight back down. Then I will ask her to lift for longer and longer periods and gradually work my way towards them, just as I did for the fronts.

Grace now quite likes the touch the syringe game, although she finds it much harder than the tabbard as it is of course smaller. Success does mean a lot of treats though, so I think she finds it worth her while. It was good to see her happy and enjoying the work.

Tea time she goes out for the night. Very quietly, I partly open the door and slip in to put her headcollar on. She used to stress about this, but no more. Now she stands like a rock - even when she pushes the door wide open with her nose, her feet don't move and she doesn't show any anxiety. Then when I am ready, we quietly walk out to the field and her friends. No towing or messing about involved. Bliss!

Minor screw up on my part

2009-08-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned how some things push Grace's buttons. Well I pushed them today.

We have been working on getting her comfy with people doing things in her stable. But largely stuff that doesn't involve her; like filling her water buckets, skipping out etc and she has been fine. We have also worked on 'targetting', grooming, playing with her ears and lips and picking her front feet out. Although it took time, so far so good.

But I pushed her too far today and she let me know. Whipped round and lifted a hind leg. I really thought she was going to let fly - I couldn't help myself I yelled 'nooooooooooo' and how surprised was I when she stopped. She put her leg down, stayed 'guarded' but removed the threat.

So I invited her to the front of the stable put her head collar on and worked on the sensitive bit out in the open yard. She was much better, but I was careful not to push it. Having moved on a bit I then repeated the exercise in the stable and although she was rather alarmed we did manage to do it with out her feeling the need to get defensive. So we have a lot of work to do to make Grace feel the stable is a safe place for her.

We did finish the session a bit further on than we started, so although the threat was not nice, it was understandable and we both learnt a lot. I just wish I had eyes in the back of my head!

Two people are dangerous

2009-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Actually Grace doesn't have a problem with two people in all situations. Just when one is being a bit 'threatening' and the other is trying to do something like pick up her feet. That really pushes her buttons.

We always like to start training sessions from a 'safe' place. Today my fab OH came up and we spent time handling her together. Me in the stable and him over the door. No restraint of any kind. I had the clicker and the treats. Grace loves my OH as do most animals, so the session went well. I clicked and treated her when she let him handle her head without any fuss.

We also did a bit of loose schooling. After yesterday's antics, today Grace played riding school plod. Still desperate to please and still keen for cuddles when the session was finished.

I had a brainwave (or maybe not, time will tell). Having had some success teaching her to 'target' my yellow tabbard, I thought I could transfer this to a large plastic syringe (minus needle). She hates syringes, but does seem to know the difference between wormer type syringes (disliked but not scary) and those with needles which induce terror.

The plan is if I can get her to 'enjoy' bumping the syringe with her nose, maybe I can combine this with the lip play and then maybe she will allow me to drop sedative into her lower lip 'pouch'. Ok I know it's a long shot and there are bound to be unintended consequences, but I am going to try. (Just so long as she doesn't start nose bumping syringes with needles........)

Risk v Reward

2009-08-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well I've just had an absolute blast and am very happy :-)

Grace has had 6 days without any strenuous work, because last Tuesday she slipped and was a bit sore after. She has been turning out as usual and doing her in-hand work, but none of the hard physical stuff.

Today I decided to loose school her. Well, she is feeling very well and had great fun showing off her fab movement and her 'airs above ground'. Apparently she is quite good at balancing on two feet as well.

But despite the high jinks she did everything I asked, walk, trot, canter, whoa, and about turn. When we finished she walked right up to me (but not into 'my' space) and looked me in the eye. I could practically hear her say 'Well was that all right then? Do I get my treat?' Well of course it was and yes she did. Then she followed me to the barn door and we went quietly and calmly back to her stable.

I always admire and respect a horse that can be that full of itself, but still be obedient and then when the work is over be so calm.

And as if that wasn't enough Grace iced the cake by eating all her lunch (she struggles sometimes if her mouth is very sore).

I am not taking anything for granted, but I am determined to faithfully report our performances both good and bad and while she does have 'issues' so far its been more good than bad.

A horse that practically catches itself

2009-08-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

In my book is a real godsend. As the laziest person in the universe I hate trekking across a wet field to fetch my horse in. So Grace's new habit of lolloping over to the gate all on her own, so I just have to put her head collar on is winning her lots of brownie points.

I went to gaze at her last night, about half an hour or so after turning her out. She was on the far side of the field but she still made the effort to fetch herself over to the gate for a cuddle.

And this morning and I have another headache, the grass was very wet and she was about 200 yards away. I needn't have groaned because by the time I had the gate unlatched she was there and waiting to be brought in.

I have yet to figure out why when I put her headcollar on she feels the need to hold the rope, but its not a problem because she hands it over when it is time for me to unravel it to bring her in. Maybe she is being safety conscious......... :-)

As per usual in the morning I just picked her fronts and played with her head a bit. Ears are now not a problem to fuss with. When her teeth are done I will work on bridling her all in one go rather than one strap at a time!

Hard news

2009-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hmm received much food for thought today. Have been digging into Grace's history. New information suggests that apparently the breeder always had issues, especially giving her injections or getting her feet done. But she was broken before the age of 6 and received some schooling - always had trouble on the right rein, but no obvious physical problems.

Will have to think this through. On the plus side today's mini session went well. Picked up both fronts, gave them a thorough picking out and played with her mouth. No problems with any of it, though she did get a bit bored with the lip flapping......

Effortless training

2009-08-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Had a bit of a bad head the last few days so training for Grace scaled back to things that don't require too much effort from me.

Today we went to visit her at lunchtime in the field. Very pleased that when she spotted us by the gate she came all the way across the field on her own, (leaving her mates behind), just to say 'hello'. We indulged in much head scratching and rubbing and put some fly cream on. Did a few 'back' and 'come here' exercises and she was perfect every time. Very pleased. And I think she was grateful for the fly cream too.