October 29, 2010 - Right place, right time, with camera in hand

I so often see the horses out in their fields doing something, or just standing in a really nice group that would make a good picture.  Half the time I don't have my camera handy, the other half the horses move before it's turned on and ready to take a pic.  Then there are those occasions when everything comes together.  Yesterday morning I was out at sunrise, grabbed my camera and wandered out to take some pics.  When I got down to where I could see my boys Rory was standing in a good position and he helpfully watched me as I crouched down, fired up the camera and took several pictures.

I haven't done a whole lot with him this week.  More cold hosing and leg wrapping which are old hat to him now.  He stood at the washrack today and whinnied to his sister a few times, but didn't move while I hosed his leg.  There wasn't any food involved either.  He's quite good at picking up the desired behaviour with food reinforcement, and he keeps it as I reduce the amount of food involved - sometimes right back to a little carrot slice as I put him back out.  The leg is pretty much back to normal size now, and had only a slightly warm spot inside the pastern today.  I hosed it anyway as cold never hurts.

October 26, 2010 - It is said "Pride goeth before a fall"

Rory looked big when he was standing next to me today!

Rory went to the vet clinic today. His leg was even fatter and hotter on Monday morning after a night in with bute and Back on Track wrap.  The hot spots were in different places yet again.  I walked him for a good bit, briskly with some pauses to remind him of his manners.  Having spent the night inside he had more energy and a greater desire to return to the herd making him more distracted than usual.  He was pretty good once I realized why he wasn't quite as well behaved and got a little quicker at catching the warning signs of trouble.  After the walk I cold hosed his leg and put another poultice wrap on for the day.  I went back in the evening to remove the wrap and hose the leg again.  The swelling was greatly down, but the pastern was still swollen and had a hot spot on the inside towards the back.  I wrapped with the Back on Track no-bow again and turned him back out.

Another horse was going to the vet clinic on Tuesday (today) and I arranged to take Rory as well to save having the vet come out to the farm on Wednesday.  It was Rory's first time on a trailer in over two years (the last time was the breeder's show when he was two months old).  He walked up without any problem. Backed off a little crooked, but nice and easy.  Very well done considering it was the first time he'd backed off a trailer.

Rory was a little wiggly inside the examination area, but when we came out to do flexions and jog he was awesome. He trotted when I said trot, stayed with me, whoa'd when asked, allowed the vet to squinch his legs a couple of times... He was a STAR and I was bursting with pride in him!

Remember where I started - "Pride goeth..."

So then we had to wait while the other horse got looked at. The vet sent us off to graze while we waited. Rory didn't want to graze, so we walked, stood, walked some more, tried to graze again without any more luck. Anyway, the last time I tried to get him to graze he put his head down and grabbed a bit of grass, then squealed, kicked up his heels and bolted and I couldn't hold him. He ran. And ran. And ran some more. Off to the furthest paddocks, across a ditch. Down the side of the far paddocks, back (past me) and down the other side, vanishing into the woods... I set off after him. Before I got to the trees I spotted him running across behind the fields and turned around to run back and try to stop him in the narrower alley between fence and tree lines. This time I didn't bother with soothing words, but stood big and waved my arms at him. He broke to trot. Then came to a halt and waited for me to collect him. He's fine. And he was quite well behaved for the rest of our wait, most of which we spent walking back and forth to cool him out with the occasional halt, back up, do not get ahead of me reminder.

Ah well, pride goeth before a fall and all that He's been doing really well at home, but now I know not to trust him an inch away from home. At least not until he gets used to it.

And the fat leg? A minor sprain.  Not lymphangitis, not suspensory or tendon tears.

The funny, and kind of embarassing part is that while he was trotting and cantering about I was thinking "Geez he looks amazing!  I want to take a picture of that!"  and then had to keep saying very sternly "No, catch him before he does hurt himself!"  But boy, does he ever move nicely!

October 24, 2010 - A bleak day

It's getting colder, and it was threatening rain this morning when I went out to see how Rory was doing.  Apart from being a bit muddy at the bottom the wrap was as I left it yesterday.  I was very happy to see that the swelling was well down with just a bit left where horses get wind puffs.  I cleaned off the dry poultice, cold hosed and put another poultice wrap on for the day as there were still slightly warm spots.  While I was working on him a name on the radio news report popped into my awareness.  I knew that name, and I knew she was on a trip with her husband and son - how many people could fit that combination of facts who would appear in a local news broadcast after getting into an accident on the other side of the continent...  Sadly it was my friend who died on Friday when an oncoming car crossed the line and crashed into hers.  Her baby son survived by some miracle, but her death left a void in the lives of many people.  My brother called me a bit later after I got home to let my know our great-uncle had passed away (not unexpected) on Thursday.  It becomes difficult to be optimistic about injuries when so much weighs heavily on one's spirit.

I went back out to see Rory this evening and found his leg swollen again.  Not as badly as yesterday, and the mud from today's rain may have just strained the injury again (if it is simply a sprain), but it was not encouraging.  I cleaned off the poultice, cold hosed his leg again, and decided to give him some bute and leave him in overnight.  He didn't get to eat his grain while I hosed him this time and he was very good about standing still without it.  I didn't do another poultice, but wrapped with a Back on Track no-bow instead.  He mostly cooperated, only lifting his leg once when another horse was brought into the barn.  We were blocking the stall door and Rory wanted to go and say hello.  I left him happily munching his dinner, after I'd gotten him some water, hay and shavings.  Hopefully he'll be better in the morning.

October 23, 2010 - First poultice wrap

Rory waiting while Brat drinks

                Rory came in with a swollen left hind fetlock today.  His pastern was also a little swollen, and there was some heat.  I curried and brushed the mud off his leg as I looked for cuts or wounds.  Apart from a couple of tiny scabs I didn’t find anything.  Another horse on the farm has lymphangitis right now which made me wonder if that’s Rory’s issue.  I’m hoping not.  I decided to start with cold hosing and set up his dinner bucket at the outdoor wash rack before taking him out.  He didn’t like me moving the hose, but quickly accepted it as the food was more interesting.  When I turned on the water Rory jumped forward.  After I’d pushed him back he didn’t jump forward again, but he wanted too and his hind feet came up very close to his front feet.  I let the water run and after a couple of minutes Rory finished chewing the mouthful of grain he had and went back for more.  By the end of the hosing session he was totally unconcerned, even when I did drag the hose around.

               

We went back into the barn and I checked his leg again.  The hot spots were still there, and specific around his fetlock.  I think he probably just twisted it, or slipped a bit in the mud when trying to get out of another horse’s way.  I decided to put a poultice wrap on and asked another boarder to keep him still and bearing weight on that leg while I wrapped it.  Rory stood still as I put the poultice on, and the wet newspaper, then shifted his weight off the leg as I started wrapping the no-bow.  With a little encouragement he stood pretty well for most of the wrap, lifting his foot once, but not pulling or kicking, and he did put it down with a little push on his chest.  I thought he might wave the leg about a bit when he first took a step with the wrap in place, but he seemed indifferent and wanted to check out the pile of newspaper and poultice bucket instead.

               

On the way back out to the field we came past the corner of the standing stall barn and Rory leaped away when he spotted the two dog crates sitting beside the barn.  Every bit of his 3/32nds arabian blood was showing as he huffed and snorted and arched his neck.  I just kept asking him to come over and he did touch the closer crate and then settle down.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of him in arab pose.  He looked a lot like his arabian great granddaddy (also a chestnut with white).

               

After I put him out he hung around and licked my palm when no more carrots appeared.  Brat decided he wanted a drink and walked over to me (as I was on the way).  He snapped at Rory before going on to the waterer.  Rory came back to me for one last carrot check before following brat.  At first he stood at a polite distance, but then he sneaked a bit closer.  We have automatic waterers with a bowl that only one horse can drink out of at a time.  Rory’s trick is to stand very close to the drinking horse and stick his nose in the bowl when the other horse lifts it’s head and looks around.   I was quite surprised that brat allowed that familiarity with nothing more than a nose gesture to move Rory out of the bowl when he wanted more water.

October 20, 2010 – A windy walk

It was very windy today, but the sun was shining and I decided to take Rory for an afternoon walk.  We did a little tour around the property and I took some pictures of him, other horses, the new shelters.  Rory had to stand and behave himself while I messed with the camera.  One of his herdmates was being ridden and Rory spotted him across the field.  He whinnied and looked, but didn’t try to leave.

We visited some older horses who are on single turnout, and we went to see his mum and yearling sister.  Mum wasn’t impressed and squealed at him.  Little sister was very interested in him, but he didn’t like her constant baby mouthing and lost interest very quickly.  He was a very good boy today.

October 15, 2010 - Chasing monsters

Rory came in as usual and had his breakfast.  Afterwards we went for a little tour around the farm and along the road.  As we went along the road a truck hauling a trailer came rattling along towards us.  I got Rory to jog towards it until we could drop off the road into the jump field.  We had time to get well away from the road, but despite the distance Rory jumped forward when the trailer rattled past.  He’s not trying to bolt as much any more.  When he jumps he’ll hit the end of the lead rope and turn back to me.  We went round the jump field and walked over some poles and cavaletti before going back towards the barn.

It happened that the truck and trailer were making a delivery to our barn and they were just pulling out of the yard as we got back.  I jogged Rory partway down the driveway “chasing” the trailer.  At first he was worried, but as the trailer kept going he relaxed and stopped thinking about it.

October 2, 2010 - Introducing longeing

Rory learns to walk in a circle around me without coming
closer to me as he goes around

Today I brought Rory in, put him on the crossties and treated him like I would the brat.  I went to get his grooming kit, then later to get his bridle, the saddle blanket and surcingle, and then again  to get his boots.  I groomed him, picked out his feet and pulled the crossties out of his mouth.  He was a little suspicious of the saddle blanket (it’s been a while since I put it on him) so I did the rub all over with folded up blanket, repeating with less folded blanket until he was okay with it.  After that the surcingle was no big deal.  He didn’t mind me doing up the surcingle’s girth around his belly either.  I put his boots on, then his bridle and nylon halter over top.  The halter seemed tight and I had to let the crown out a hole.

I had in mind to teach him about turning with “rein” pressure (on the halter, not bit) today, but when we went out to the arena it had stuff for tonight’s barn party in a couple of corners.  The big back door and one side door were open too which was a little distracting.  I started just with “touch” going up to the piles of picnic tables, then to the flatbed trailer that does duty as a band stand.  He was quick to touch the tables, and a little slower to touch the trailer, but he did it and got his carrot chunk.

We did some review of walking and halting, backing, turning and such before I went and got a short longe whip out of the corner.  I’d wanted a dressage whip, but there wasn’t one there, and I thought the longe whip would suffice if I wrapped the lash around the stick.  Then we started to introduce the idea of longeing.  He only got about 3-4’ of lead rope away from me, and I walked a smaller circle inside his.  He got the idea of going forward without being led, and going out on the circle rather than cutting in towards me.  Carrot chunks helped him figure out when he was doing the right thing.  We did a little bit both ways, then I put the whip back and picked up his piles after the BO came in with the tractor.   A friend popped in and I got her to take some photos while Rory showed off his longe lesson and some trotting in hand. 



Trotting in hand



We did a bit of walking around, visiting people, and finished with a walk round the track before going back to the barn.  Rory was pretty good going around the track except for one attempt at breaking away back for the barn.  He kicked out in my direction again when he spun away, but fortunately was far enough away that it wasn’t even close to hitting me.  I was focused on stopping him and not in any position to reprimand it specifically.  He did stop, and got a little back up, turn, move your bum away work before we continued on.  We stopped for a minute to see three horses that came up to the fence, and after that he stopped trying to trot and was more willing to just walk actively.

September 11, 2010 - The key to the mint

I have discovered the key to Rory's mind. Food. He is incredibly food oriented and can be motivated with food. My QH loved his carrots, but couldn't put behaviour and carrot reward together (except for carrot stretches, but of course he had his lips on the carrot). Brat is totally not food oriented, but did figure out clicker training (however at first he would give up on stretching for carrots if he didn't get it on the third try - he's not too bad now). Rory on the other hand figured out that he needed to stand still and keep his nose to himself on the crossties yesterday in order to earn a mouthful of grain. He realized that following the bucket when I set it down gets him nothing but put back in position, nosing me earned a light bop, and fidgeting made the bucket stay away even longer. I was actually quite impressed because I wasn't even using a bridge like a clicker (though I think we will get to that for later training).

Today he had to stand outside his field and wait while I stepped away, or turned my back, or messed with the grain bucket in order to earn a mouthful from that bucket. He was again quite quick to figure it out, although being just two and not on cross ties there were other interesting things around to be distracted by.

Now I must get creative and see how I can harness this awesome power of food!

September 3, 2010 – A month later



Rory spotted me sitting in the field and was a little concerned.



Rory's been busy growing and eating. In the last week or so I've been adding some in hand work to his trips into the barn (for breakfast) and back to the field. Mostly strengthening stuff rather than manners stuff, though we're quick to get little manners lessons should he step over the line in any way. Already he'll walk with more energy so I'm not constantly asking him to walk on - I'm enjoying that. We spent a couple of weeks trotting the alley between paddocks that we must travel to get from his field to the barn. I started by trotting the full length and stopping at the end, then I would say "whoa" and slam on the brakes without giving any cue with the lead - Rory was expected to stop with me, and after a few false starts (stops?) he got the idea. Then I started slamming on the brakes randomly along the alley. At first he missed every time because he wasn't expecting to stop partway, but then he figured out that he needed to stop whenever and wherever I did. We now trot down the driveway and back up every morning - twice today, once before and once after breakfast. He's getting really good at getting into the trot when I bounce a step before actually starting to run. The driveway has a bit of a slope - uphill on the way back, naturally. So I'm getting tired, and slowing down anyway when we hit the steepest bit, but Rory is pretty good about slowing his trot and staying with me if I can puff out an "easy" or tug a bit on the rope.

Rory still seems little to me. I was looking at him in the field the other day as he was standing by the big monster horse, and he looked small but not tiny any more. I think it's because I'm still looking down on the top of his bum rather than across the top.

He's quite a character sometimes - not as bold as brat was/is. I decided not to ride last week and went out into the field with my stool and sketchbook and sat down near brat who was off on his own. The others looked up as I walked across the top part of the field, but they forgot about me. Brat eyed me, grazed away, grazed across in front of me and eventually (by happenstance of course) found himself nibbling the grass at my feet. He got a bit of carrot and then grazed away once that was gone. Brat and the others ended up at the top end of the field as they went for water. Afterwards Rory noticed me sitting in the field. He didn't recognize me and did the giraffe "what's that?" and "do you guys see that?" as the others all nibbled on the grass ignoring me. Eventually he cautiously came down the slope, but far away by the fence, stopped and looked, went back up the slope on an angle, working a bit closer. Before he could muster the courage to come over by himself his sister saw me and came to see if I had anything for her and Rory fell in behind. I think he would have reached me eventually, but it's definitely not in his character to poke his nose carelessly into new things.

I must measure him soon, and see just how big he is.

Oh yes, my shoulder is almost completely healed. I avoided doing certain things with that arm for a good bit, and still don't do certain things (like sleep on that side - which is HARD! ) but at least I can brush my horse with that hand again.

July 30, 2010 – A number of updates

Splint boots on the back legs for the first time - no worries!

Well it's been a while since I posted an update.

His best buddy (the other two year old) left about two weeks ago, along with two other mares in his field. For the first week Rory would stand at the gate and whinny whenever anyone took a horse out. He's gotten past that now.

I tried the flymask again, now that he doesn't have his buddy to pull it off for him and he's left it on for several days now. I did take the ears off to make it harder for another horse to pull it off.

Rory has had one pair of splint boots on. We started with them on the front legs and he didn't mind me putting them on, but didn't know how to walk when I led him out and lurched sideways for a few steps first. Once he got used to them he was fine, and didn't do anything when I moved them to his back legs. (Brat STILL waves his hind legs in the air when I put boots or polos on his hind legs.)

One day a couple of weeks ago it was stinking hot and my morning routine was disrupted so I didn't bring Rory in for his breakfast. I decided not to bother that day, but went out into the field to give the boys a pat and a carrot as I do on days I don't ride. Rory looked up when I came into the field and went back to eating hay. He looked at me a couple of times before going deliberatly back to munching. Rory ALWAYS comes to me when he sees me, whether I call him or not. I talked to him and asked him if he was going to come and see me, then told him if he didn't want to that was fine - I had other horses to talk to. I went and gave the brat his carrots, pat and check over, then gave Rory's carrot to his sister. Rory was still munching. I thought it was funny that he was so obviously ignoring me, and left the field without going over to him. The next morning I went out and called him for breakfast and he whinnied and came over faster than normal. So who taught who a lesson?

We've done more in hand work and he's mostly very good about trotting with me and adjusting speed in response to light tugs on the lead rope. He'll stop with me too. Last week he had a turd day and keep running faster and refusing to slow down even after several stop/back/try again corrections. I was doing some body moving work with him to get him listening to me and he suddenly leaped away, spun and kicked at me - TWICE! In the leap/spin away he wrenched my shoulder (hoping it's just sprained and not a torn rotator cuff). He was far enough away that when he kicked he didn't come close to hitting me, and I was being determined that he wasn't going to get away from me again so I couldn't reprimand that behaviour. I actually had time to realize my shoulder hurt and wonder if I'd have to let go before making the decision that the little turd was NOT going to get away. We did some more body moving exercises after he'd stopped and he relaxed a bit and behaved himself. Ah well - stuff happens and he's been very good ever since.

July 9, 2010 - Happy Birthday little man!

Two years ago today a tiny long-legged chestnut foal was born. He got to his feet more quickly than any foal his breeder had seen, and was in short order cavorting about the stall, even trying to jump over his mum before she got up (he got stuck).

Three days later I started falling for him. Two weeks after he was born I started this thread and all my EMG friends encouraged me to buy him.

He's had the bridle on three times now, and is working in hand over raised poles to encourage him to lift his feet a little more. The chiropractor adjusted him again today and his SI had stayed put. Before she came I pulled some of his mane again and discovered afterwards that he has quite a nice neck when it's not covered by a scruffy flyaway mane.

Happy Birthday my little man! Rory is officially TWO years old today!

June 4, 2010 – First bridle

Red letter day for my little man! Rory wore a bridle for the very first time. He opened his mouth easily when I stuck my thumb in and took the bit like a pro! Then he mouthed and wiggled his tongue for a moment to try and spit it out, but after that it was really no big deal for him.

He keeps demonstrating an essentially cool nature. Earlier this week he was eating his breakfast in a stall with one of those metal gates (with the V for them to put their heads out) and he got a little agitated about a dog barking a little way off outside the barn. Now I say agitated, but there was no screaming or pulling or pooping type activity. He wanted out and considered going over the stall gate. Rory stuck his head over first, tucked his bum under and gently lifted his front feet off the ground as he pushed his head forward. I tie him because he's more comfortable that way, so he couldn't get his head very far over the gate. He tried twice, but never thrashed or banged the gate or anything more forceful than the push forward against the halter. I was watching him to see how he'd take it since his momma tended to have meltdowns if she was taken into the barn alone (she improved with work, but I was worried Rory might have inherited that tendency). He swung his bum round a couple of times as he tried to turn around in the stall I think to find the source of the noise, but he stopped and stood still (on alert, but still) for a minute. That's when I went in and took him back out to his field. A couple of days later the dog was at it again when Rory was eating and this time he just kept eating.

Rory always comes over when he sees me in the field, and is mostly coming when I call - he'll look around and comes when he sees me.

I ordered red & black splint boots for him but haven't tried putting them on yet. I think I want the video running for that one, though he may not be any more concerned about them than he was about the bit.
And I pulled some of his mane the other day. Much to my surprise he didn't mind it at all (good thing with the thickness he's got).

It's been nasty hot here for a bit so I haven't done too much in the way of walking Rory around. The horseflies are likely to carry us away! We did have a trot down and up the driveway the other night. He's getting really good about stopping when I do, and slowing his trot when I give a little tug on the lead, and going faster when I run faster.

May 22, 2010 - An eventful week

Well, Rory had an eventful week. The flymask lasted about three days before it came off. Two more on/off days and I gave up when he had it off in under two hours on the last day. So he gets sunblock instead - which he considers nasty. He doesn't like it, but doesn't give me any trouble about putting it on either. He knows better.

Last Friday (a week ago) Rory had an inspection and adjustment from the chiropractor. I'd noticed some newly prominent vertebral bumps along his spine, and that he was lying down outside a lot more than normal so I figured if the bumps were still there he could be inspected when the chiropractor came to do the brat. Rory was a good boy, but he was a little weirded out when she bent his head round to check his neck. The stepstool was a little daunting, but after the first adjustments in his neck he felt much better and was relaxed enough to stand quietly and trust that nothing bad would happen when she stood over him. There was a fair bit to adjust in his body, but it's likely that most of it came from some scramble or slip or some such. By catching it now I won't have to worry about him developing to support the misalignment. I am convinced that the brat's SI issues comes from when he was badly cast as a weanling. We were very happy to find that brat needed no SI adjustments this time!

The next excitement came early this week when Rory started staying out at night. He's now on 24 hour turnout. I've wanted to to this for a while now, but felt he was ribby enough that he needed his two grain meals a day. I am still feeding him his grain, but I will not be able to feed him twice seven days a week. He's gotten to the point where the ribs are easily felt, but just seen when he bends away and sticks his barrel out to one side. I brought him into the barn and put him in a box stall one day and he didn't know what to do with himself. He ate a few mouthfuls, turned around, looked through the windows and bars, checked the shavings, and so on. I ended up tying him because I didn't want him in forever, and he instantly relaxed and put his nose back in the feeder. Silly boy. He didn't mind being alone - no screaming or pacing or anything like that. Other times I have tied him outside the gate to his field with the bucket also tied to the fence. That is a non-event for him and he'll happily stand and munch.

One day we went for a walk around the track after he ate. Rory was good until we got about halfway round and spotted the other horse coming the other way. Rory got a little up and so I turned him around quickly and got him to settle then turned around to continue. The other rider had turned around too and the horse was going away from us, so Rory got a little up as he wanted to go faster and follow. We had a very little discussion about walking properly, and he was good until we reached the end of the backstretch and some of the horses in the fields whinnied at him. The group in the infield paddock actually galloped around a little bit, which naturally set Rory off more. We had a larger discussion and he reared and tried to pull away from me, neither of which got him anywhere. I did some very sharp turns with him and made him back up and move his bum sideways for a minute, and got his attention back on me. There were a few more times when his attention wandered and once he considered rearing when I wouldn't allow him to run off with the galloping horses, but I saw it coming and checked it before he got anywhere near doing it. Not the most pleasant of walks, but a good training session - I was quite pleased.

Another day he was very well behaved while getting his feet trimmed despite having to stand by himself for about half an hour partway through the process.

Today he had to stand and move with me out in the dressage ring as I helped a fellow boarder with her dressage tests. He had one little fit when the horse that had been working in the grass ring went back to the barn, but again I provided discipline, work and praise. He was actually very good overall. I showed him the paper tests right when we went out so I wouldn't have to worry about shuffling them later and Rory was so distracted by the noises from across the street that he didn't even notice the paper until I rustled it on his shoulder. He jumped because he hadn't been paying attention, but that was the reaction I was trying to get so that I could show him they were harmless. It only took about a minute for him to realize it was nothing to worry about and stand while I rubbed the paper over his neck, shoulders and back from both sides. Another good training session for him.

When I go out into the field Rory tends to be quick to come over now, hoping I'm there to take him out for his grain. I'm hoping he'll come when I call soon.

I've been admiring him while he's eating outside his field. Right now his body proportions are quite nice and he looks good. I'm just waiting for the next growth spurt.

May 12, 2010 – Another flymask

Keeping his distance from the older mare who didn't
recognize that it was just Rory

I went to Greenhawk's sale last week and picked up a few items (I made a list, stuck to it, and even didn't buy something that was on the list after deciding I really didn't need it). One of the items was a Greenhawk cheapie long nose flymask for Rory. The weather promptly got cold and miserable so I didn't see any point in putting the mask on him (especially since I don't think TOY is going to let Rory wear it for very long.

I put it on today. I brought Rory out of the field after letting the brat go. Rory jumped a bit when I ripped the velcro open, but settled right away and didn't mind me putting the mask on over his ears and stuffing the sides and nose under the halter. It fit quite well (arab size). The long nose doesn't come down as far as I expected, but it should help provide some sun protection. Once the mask was on and I'd taken a couple of pics we went back to the field and I turned him loose.

The other horses decided that they didn't recognize this new horse in the field and Rory was very shortly mobbed, and shortly after that involved in a tear about the field. A couple of the mares were obnoxious, one going so far as to push between Rory and Toy and then turn and kick at Rory when she realized he was just the same little poop yearling. Rory had enough sense to dodge, but got stuck between her bum and the three year old's bum, bouncing back and forth a couple of times before squeaking between the three year old and the fence to get free. The three year old didn't threaten him at all, he was just feeling a little picked on by then. Toy was at first scared of the masked Rory, and then fascinated, becoming obnoxious as he tried to get a close look (and taste?) of the flymask. I kept checking through the day, but Rory was still wearing the mask when I left early this evening.

I took a bunch of pictures, but of course they are not great because he's wearing a flymask.

Toy was fascinated by the new mask

May 1, 2010 – What happened to my little foal?

Brat on the left, Rory on the right

I went out to get Rory yesterday and found him standing next to the brat at the fence as the herd watched the new horses in the next field. I took a bum shot of the two of them just to record how close Rory is to the brat's height already. I was looking at the photo again today and Rory's knees and hocks are larger than the brat's. So obviously I realize that he's grown up a lot, and is no longer my little boy, but when I saw the photo of me standing next to him I was shocked. He doesn't look that big from my point of view when I'm standing next to him! Three of the horses in his field are very big too (16.3 and up) and so I'm most often seeing him as the little boy next to the big horse.

After the photos I took him for a walk around the track. We had to start with some more involved in hand work in the sand ring and around the jumps because he decided that he couldn't walk. We walked around the jumps, halted backed up, moved his bum over, and so on. Rory eyed the horses in the paddocks, and settled down. We walked around and over the cavaletti and he did his figure eight around/over one cavaletti (while I stand in the middle) exercise. He didn't do it as well as he does inside, but there were a lot of distractions around. At one point he managed to step on a tire and it didn't fizz him at all. He stood there sniffing another tire for a minute before stepping over them. Once he'd settled down we did go for the planned tour around the track and he was good. We had to halt and back up a few times when he got a little ahead of me, but not too many. When we came onto the stretch towards home the horses on either side of the track ran over to the fence to see Rory, and then ran up and down in their paddocks. This was rather a lot of excitement for Rory and we had to turn around several times before he and they settled down enough for us to walk politely back to the barn and out to his field.

April 24, 2010 – Another milestone!

Rory's sister with Rory out in the field

Rory passed another milestone this week. I brought him in for the night and put him in his stall. He was all by himself in the barn, and his grain wasn't even in the feeder yet. Apart from wanting to know where his dinner was he was fine. He didn't fuss but started eating his hay. He's in a separate small barn that only houses three horses at the moment and they usually bring Rory in last. I stayed for a few minutes and filled the three water buckets. No whinnying, no pawing or other fussing, just calm hay munching. Even when I left him and went to get his dinner he just kept munching. I fed him and put the other horses feeds in their stalls and then headed for home.

I was so happy with him because his mum was the worst for being fussy and screaming and fidgety when she was brought in alone for any reason. She was a real PITA on the cross ties. Rory is very alert, but stands very well on cross ties now. I won't even qualify that with a "for his age" because he's better than half the horses in the barn already!

Rory's ribs are disappearing again. He must be getting ready for a new growth spurt.

April 15, 2010 – Standing alone

Today Rory had to stand by himself on the crossties while I brought in another horse for the farrier. He was a very good boy for the most part. He did get one crosstie into his mouth and goobered it up - which I found when I put my hand on it. I did get a decent grooming session in and a fair bit of hair off.

Rory's obviously still having fun playing with the other horses as he's got a collection of bumps and scrapes and bites that he keeps adding to. The brat is expressing some jealousy and doesn't want the little poop anywhere near him when I'm nearby. Rory got nipped on his ribs when he stood too close this evening. I have hope that Rory will figure out that he'd better move when the brat shoots him a "git!" look. Every other horse in the field can be charmed by the little boy, but not the brat!

April 3, 2010 – Spring haircut

About three weeks ago Rory very briefly cast himself against a hay feeder in the paddock. I saw hooves flailing when I was putting the brat back out and realized they belonged to Rory when he stood up. He was fine, with just a bang on the outside of one foreleg just above the fetlock. It's been slightly swollen since, but has been softening and getting smaller in the last week. Anyway the upshot is I haven't done any arena work with him since. He's come in for cross tie and standing while being groomed practice several times. He's been good and even stood very well while a horse was getting shod about fifteen feet in front of him. Rory was very well behaved for his latest hoof trimming too.

The weather has been warming up here to unseasonably high temperatures, and with the snow gone I have been itching to get at Rory's wild mane and shorten it for the summer. I held off through March because if it got colder and/or rained or snowed he could stand to have the extra protection. Finally this last week I had enough and started trimming. It takes me 4-5 sessions to do a mane usually because I simply don't have the patience to do it properly throughout and usually cheat the last bit. Rory's took three. The second was very short as I was just filling in time before a lesson and he didn't really want to stand still so there was a lot of putting him back. The final session was today while we waited for our turn with the vet (spring vacs) and the wait was long enough that Rory now has a much shorter mane. It's not braiding short, but it looks tidier than the full neck coverage he had. He wiggled a bit, but was pretty good. His mane now very neatly lies on the left side of his neck just like my QH's did. He seems to have more red in his chestnut coat this year, but his mane and tail still tend towards blond.

Rory's been full of beans lately and I've gotten a few pictures of him horsing around - most often with the rising three year old filly (TOY's half sister). Everyone who sees him comments on how big he's grown. He's still a little ribby as he goes through his growth spurts, and his joint are still big, though more in balance with his legs now. I was watching him at the water after letting him back out the other day and he looks very nicely proportioned just now, though still a bit winter scruffy.

March 3, 2010 – Unflappable?

He's been doing some arena stuff once or twice a week. Basic in-hand leading, halting, turning, backing, walking figure eights over a cavaletti while I stand in the middle, and so on. Last week I took him out and tied the saddle blanket onto his back with a lead rope round his girth. The saddle blanket is huge on him, covering him from withers to croup. I let him loose and he proceeded to run around happily. The rope wasn't tight enough and the blanket started to slip sideways. I called him in, but he kept cantering as it slipped further and ended up under his belly flapping against his legs.

Rory. Didn't. Care. Seriously!! He did one little sidestep as the blanket reached his side, but then he ignored it and cantered calmly around the arena until it got far enough down that he could step on it and pull it loose. Even then he just kept cantering normally.

I retrieved the blanket and then he snorted at it. I folded it a second time and strapped it back on more tightly, and let him go again. Rory still didn't mind it and had his running fix without a worry. He came back to me when I called him in and got lots of pats and praise for his level head.


Side note: Rory's big sister (by Rotspon) walked and trotted for the first time under a rider today. She was very good. I hope Rory is as sensible when the time comes.

February 20, 2010 – Getting the yahoos out

The footing has been bad lately so I've been taking Rory out into the arena for some in hand work and some free running. He still loves to run. He usually starts of in trot and comes back to me a couple of times before he really gets going. Once he gets moving he runs and bucks and flips leads (cleanly I must add) back and forth. The other day someone came out to ride before Rory was done running and he came back to me one lap after I asked him to whoa. Good boy.

His in hand work is quite good too even with winds blowing and snow sliding off the arena.

February 2, 2010 – Officially a horse

And speaking of growing, Rory is officially a horse! I rough measured him yesterday and he is (give or take 1/2") 14.3h. So I actually stood him up against the wall, noted a mark on the wall at his wither height then went back with the measuring tape later.

I had him in for the cross tie practice and he politely picked up his feet when asked and stood for everything else. I started with the saddle blanket again, but it was very dry and he got a few small static shocks. He stayed still apart from a little twitch when he got shocked, but I decided not to push his tolerance too far. So we went for a walk around the arena instead. He was pretty good - well really good all things considered. He considered bouncing a few times and did nip at my arm once - only once. After the little reprimand and reminder he didn't try that again. We walked around some ground poles and a low cavaletti. He was a little wary when I climbed up on the mounting block, but came over and I rubbed his face and neck and then got him to walk around me. He was very forward when we walked back out to the field, but I only had to back him up once.

Rory's getting very good about not nipping for treats and leaving my hands alone after seeing that I haven't got anything. He came over when I was getting the brat a bit later and got too close. Brat snapped at Rory (I'd say lunged, but the brat didn't move his feet) and Rory only just managed to back out of reach in time. But Rory didn't give up, he just moved a little further over to keep me between them.

January 24, 2010 – Saddle blanket introduction

This last week Rory came into the barn several times to repeat his star cross tie performance. The second time I introduced him to a saddle blanket. I have a heavy woven western saddle blanket (the kind that is doubled for use) and proceeded to flip it onto his back after allowing him to sniff it. From there I dragged it off, flipped it back on, dragged it up his neck and back over his bum. He wasn't too sure about the deal and twisted himself around on the crossties ending up with one tie over his head and the other under his chin. He didn't panic, but allowed me to rescue him and set him back up properly again before proceeding with the blanket business.

After a bit I opened it out from double folded to the single folded large size and repeated the flipping, dragging and sliding off. He rolled his eyes and wanted to scoot away a few times, but stayed put with very little effort from me. He got lots of neck rubs and reassurance and in the end he was wearing the blanket comfortably. I tied it in place with a spare lead rope and then we walked up and down inside the barn - I didn't want to take him outside in case he decided he needed to escape the blanket and slipped on the icy footing in the process. He found the tack trunk far more concerning than the rope and blanket.

We did the blanket and rope work again yesterday and he was just as good this time.

January 15, 2010 – An old pro

Today Rory came into the barn and stood on the crossties like an old pro - yes, really cross tied. He politely picked up his feet and let me pick them out. He moved over so I could brush each side. He stood by himself while I went to the tack room to retrieve his grooming kit. He was very good.

Time to dig out the baby bridle!

November 8, 2009 – More cross ties

I've had Rory in twice in the last week for more crosstie training. Today he actually genuinely was on the crossties AND I even left him for a few seconds three times to retrieve brushes, shovel and then dump his pile off the shovel into the wheelbarrow. He was very good. He did try to follow me when I went for the shovel, but I was close when he hit the limit of the ties and I went back to reassure him, push him back and have him stand while I moved away. He was a good bit cleaner when I took him back out and we went around doing some in-hand trot practice. He was good for that too.

When we went back to his field the siblings were lined up and hanging over the gate. The siblings being Toy, his two year old and five year old sisters. The sisters are large horses. The two year old is 16h+ already, and the five year old over 17h. Toy is not that much smaller than they are! Okay, I grant that his mane was fuzzing up over his withers, and the two year old was standing in the low spot, but still! I hope Rory doesn't feel the need to keep up with Toy or he'll end up too big for me!

October 28, 2009 – Time to grow

It's been a month since the last Rory update. Sorry Rory fans.

Rory's been doing well. His latest lesson is in not doing the head flip and duck to pull out of his halter the moment the human goes to take it off at morning turnout. He still tries it, but I'm getting better at letting the halter slip from my fingers (and stay on his head) so the flip and duck trick doesn't work.

I have been doing next to nothing with him because October belonged to my quarterhorse Tommy - chestnut #2. Tommy was euthanized Monday October 26th. 4XChestnut's herd is down to two.

Rory's training will resume after I stop falling into the hole Tommy left in my heart. This blog is about the journey to the end of our time together, the decision to euthanize and the realities of dealing with that decision.

http://endgame-journeys-end.blogspot.com/2009/09/and-so-it-begins.html

September 28, 2009 – Introducing cross ties

Toy's two year old sister and Rory nibbling together

Rory has the "check hand first" thing down pat now. He sometimes lips hopefully after sniffing, but mostly he noses and then moves his nose away if there is no treat present. I make sure he gets a little reminder not to lip when he does it.

Today we practiced cross ties. I use one cross tie (the one on the far side of the horse, and then loop my long lead through the other tie ring to make the second cross tie and hold the end so I can control the amount of pressure on that side. It's kind of a pain to swap when I change sides, but after being squashed by a horse pulling back who swung to the solid cross tie side (vs the bungee tie side) I want the solid tie on the other side. Rory was a little edgy because he was the only horse in the barn, but he was very good. He didn't pull or wiggle while I groomed. The grooming was secondary to the cross tie training, but he was good about that too.

I have decided to leave his mane wild and woolly for the winter. It will help keep his neck warm and dry and I can trim it up in the spring. It's not as if we were going to a show or anything.

September 21, 2009 – Learning to be polite

Last week's lesson was on accepting treats properly. Rory almost always comes to see me when I go into his field and I usually have a little bit of carrot or something for him. Being a baby he is very focused on the yummy stuff and grabs for it. My horses are trained to check my hands without grabbing and so I spent a couple of days working exclusively on this with Rory. I'd go out into the field 3-4 times during the day and he'd come to see me. I offered him the back of my fist and if he grabbed he'd get bopped on the nose - not hard, but enough to make him back off a little. Then I'd offer the back of my fist again. Repeating the offer/bop until he sniffed or nosed without lips or teeth and backed off on his own at which point I roll my fist over and open the hand to reveal his treat. By the end of the first day he had it figured out. He forgets sometimes and gets lippy if the treat doesn't come fast enough, but he's really understanding the concept.

I scritch him and pick up his least favourite foot as well, then allow him to check my hand for more carrots. He doesn't always get one now. The first day he did, but now he's learning to check because sometimes there really isn't anything there.

He's growing - his joints are freaking huge! I'm used to TBxQH crosses and their finer than WB bones and build. Rory is going to be a very solid horse - but hopefully not too big for me.

I'm not doing a whole lot with him right now. There are a number of other things on my plate, one of which is taking much of my energy and focus. Plus master brat is returning to work and prepping for our first lessons in almost a year. I am riding again, and enjoying the brat very much.

September 12, 2009 – Me first!

Rory and the Brat

Yesterday I was feeding lunch hay to Rory's mum and baby sister (who are in a paddock right beside Rory's) and Rory just happened to come up near the gate as I was scratching baby sister. He looked at me over his gate, their fence and across the paddock and I said hello to him. He nickered. Then he tossed his head and nickered again - it seemed indignantly. Just what are you doing scratching THAT horse when I am HERE?! So I went and scratched him too.

When I go out to get the brat, Rory almost always intercepts me on the way. Bratboy allows him to have his scritch and bit of carrot, but once that's done Rory gets out of brat's way as soon as the brat moves in. No muscle required. If the brat comes first Rory stands a little distance back very respectfully. He can't charm the brat!

Bratboy is doing really well. We reintroduced counter canter last week, and have managed some trot poles, lateral work and even some spiral circles. I'm itching to jump again, but will not before our clinic - I'd scream if jumping set him back and I had to miss another clinic this year. So we wait a bit longer. I am enjoying riding him greatly - I've so missed being able to do interesting things with him.

I had Rory out for a handwalk last week. Once he got over the need to passage in hand, leap over trot poles, and do a giraffe impression he was pretty good. Thank gods we didn't see Mr Ginormous Wild Turkey! His mane seems to be flopping more to the left side now, and doing less of the perfect split on both sides. He still has vast amounts of mane which is getting long and scruffy again. I shall have to trim it up a bit before it gets cold, wet and muddy.

I almost forgot - Rory went out and TOUCHED the digger that made all those holes and dirt piles on two different mornings this week. Toy was not so brave about it and only sniffed it the one day.

September 3, 2009 – The boss returns



Toy's two year old sister and Rory following the group as
they follow the boss around the field



The Boss returned to Rory's field on Thursday last week. The "Boss" being the Brat who left the herd six months ago - before the yearlings went into that group. The yearlings were interested in seeing who the new horse was, but were very well mannered and sort of sneaked around behind some of the other horses before sliding out to where they could sniff brat's tail. For the most part the yearlings were beneath Brat's notice and since they got out of the way when he looked at them he didn't bother asserting himself any further.

After a while when the herd had settled around the haybales (except for brat who was still checking out the field) Rory followed one of the mares over to brat's tail. The other gelding came along and inserted himself between the mare and Rory, and nosed at Rory's head. After a moment, Rory turned away and went back to the herd followed by the gelding. Just as if the gelding had come along and told him not to talk to strangers.

Rory was more interested in the brat than Toy was, but Rory has demonstrated an ability to keep himself out of trouble and be inoffensive. I am often surprised at what the older horses allow him to do that they wouldn't permit Toy to even think about!

August 26, 2009 – You and what army

Rory was a little stinker yesterday. We had a... um... "discussion" about holding one forefoot up for me to rasp. He was fine for picking up (at first) but I wasn't allowed to hold it for very long - not even long enough to pick out. I eventually grabbed another lead rope and tied it round his pastern (with a blocker knot so the loop couldn't tighten) and just held it up. And put it down... and held it up while he hopped and wiggled and... remember he's getting big now... tried to body check me... and I got the foot trimmed! HA!! Stinker. He hopped a little bit on the other front foot, but I didn't have to resort to the rope again. He was quite good about his hind feet (I started with them).

This morning he was pretty good about the terribly dangerous giant pile of dirt and rocks outside his barn door that almost got TOY's sister. I persuaded Rory and Toy to go up to it and check it out. Rory was brave enough to actually touch one of the rocks that had tumbled to the edge of the pile! I grant that the pile was at least as tall as me and as long as an extended cab pickup truck, but it was there last night when they went into the barn (though maybe it was dark and they couldn't see it! Surely we can pretend to believe that).

This afternoon I went to get his big sister and Rory came over first. Followed me to her. Pushed in for more carrot. Followed us back to the gate. And met us when we returned. All sweetness and cute.  At least he doesn't hold a grudge.

August 20, 2009 – Testing the boundaries

Rory's been acting like he's feeling his (non-existent) testosterone kicking in lately and getting a little pushy and mouthy with me in the mornings. He hasn't actually bitten me, but I have felt his mouth around my wrist (as I reach over to hook up TOY) more than once in the last few weeks. Once his halter comes off he's decided he's going where he wants, when he wants regardless of whether I've already claimed that particular piece of real estate. So I got a little more demanding and pre-empted his pushy behaviour by keeping his nose where I say, and making him back out of my space right after the halter comes off. He's returned to being his sweet cooperative self again - for now.

There must be something in the water - all the babies have been a little mulish lately. Maybe it's Mr. Gigantic-Wild-Turkey setting them off. Rory hasn't seen him yet as far as I know (Mr. Turkey stays back on the other side of the barn).

Today we shuffled fields for a little while to allow each to be cleaned up. I didn't have any trouble moving the herds as the horses natural curiosity (oh look! an open gate!) worked quite nicely. There were only a couple of horses in each group that needed to be encouraged to notice the open gates. Rory's gang had a blast running back and forth in the new paddock and pretending to spook at the machinery as it passed by for the first few minutes. I got a couple of decent photos.

Otherwise we haven't been doing anything special lately. Just letting him be a horse for a bit. He had a bit of a minor cold thing going on for a couple of weeks. It was only bad for about three days, then improved quickly.

July 21, 2009 – A month of progress



TOY seemed a little too interested in the flymask -
I wasn't convinced Rory would be allowed to keep it!



It's been a while since I posted an update.

Rory is now officially a yearling!

I've had him out for various handling sessions, showing off, trotting in hand (last time he was very good until he got bored and decided trotting was too tame and tried to canter!) grooming, hoof work, etc. He is looking very good just now (must post some pictures) and is largely behaving.

I put my arm over Rory's back the other morning when taking him and TOY out to their field, and he scooted forward a little bit when I leaned on him (as we were walking). Then he realized it was just me being silly and settled. He completely ignores me when I do it now.

I was out taking pictures on the weekend and he and TOY got into a tussle. Rory bounced towards TOY, reared and his hind feet slipped forward and he fell right over, landing on his right side. He was up in moments and cantering away. I watched to see if he was lame but he trotted out sound and was back playing with TOY shortly afterwards. I actually managed to get two pictures as he slipped (I was expecting the rear).

Rory's baby sister was born a couple of weeks ago (half sister - different sire). She is adorable and tiny when compared to the other foal on the farm (now three months old).

Oh yes - the fly mask. Brat's flymask fit perfectly and TOY even let Rory wear it... for a week. So no flymask for him for now.

June 22, 2009 – Testing again

Things have been pretty quiet for the last week or so. I did have Rory out for a little bit on Saturday and we went down onto the track and walked about a bit. I stepped over a pole on the ground, but that was far too tame for Rory and he squealed and jumped up over the pole and barged past me. When I reprimanded him he reared. I put him to work, marching up and down with quick changes of direction and yielding his haunches or shoulders away when asked. He considered leaping over the pole again, but I saw the thought before he did anything about it and made him halt instead.

I was out this morning looking after brat's raw heels and put the yearlings out before I left. Rory had a fair bit of mucus in one eye so I took him into the main barn and flushed it out. He was really good about it and didn't try to escape the stream of Clear Eyes solution. He did wiggle a bit when I wiped his face off with a wet towel. Considering TOY was outside screaming his head off I thought Rory was very good. TOY did come running back to the gate when I put Rory out.

I'm going to dig out bratboy's yearling fly mask and see if it fits Rory - and if TOY will let him wear it.

June 8, 2009 – Thwarted escape

Well Rory had an exciting and educational week (I saved this post for today so I could include any weekend events).

On Thursday I took both Rory and my QH for a walk (one in each hand) to get my QH used to the idea that he needs to tolerate the small and ill-mannered again. He was dragging behind a bit and Rory pulling ahead, but there wasn't much in the way of pinned ears (good). After a tour round the barnyard and wander down the hill we started back up. The horses in the paddocks were getting worked up and came running to see what all the fuss was about (the other yearling - TOY - was whinnying for Rory). I had my attention on getting my QH to walk up a little more beside me when Rory made a break for it. I dropped my QH's lead and tried to stop Rory, but he'd gotten too much of a head start and I had to let go. This time there were two horses and people blocking his route back to his paddock and they managed to catch him when he slowed down to try and find a way past. Ha! I collected my QH (who had just stood there waiting for me), then Rory and took both back down the hill. I worked on getting Rory's attention and keeping him listening to me, working back and forth with quick changes of direction any time Rory pushed ahead or let his attention wander. My QH quietly followed me back and forth on a largely loose lead wondering why I couldn't make up my mind where we were going. Eventually we reached Rory's gate where I dropped my QH once more and worked Rory around a little more before putting him back out. My QH stood still until I picked his lead up again (GOOD boy!).

Rory will get there... eventually.

On Saturday a friend came to see the boys and I showed her Rory's trot, leading him up and down the track. Rory was absolutely perfectly behaved. He stood and got admired and patted. He stayed with me when I jogged, and even when I ran fast he didn't try to pull ahead, drag behind, canter, or go in the direction of his field. He just showed off that Rotspon trot. Maybe Thursday's lesson sank in a little.

The boys are integrating into the herd quite well now. I found both babies tucked into an outside corner of the shelter with all the other horses on Saturday. TOY still calls to his mum at times. Rory seems to be getting a bit bored with that. I saw TOY up calling mum alone on Sunday while Rory was down in the far corner of the field grazing with the rest of the herd. Even when they're both with the herd they aren't always attached at the hip any more.