Desensitizing the Pony

Yesterday, Pony came in off the field with a big scrape on the inside of his one back leg. Nothing serious, but enough that I wanted to put something on it. So, I go and get the purple woundcoat stuff. About a year ago I tried to use furral on him and he freaked out. I used to use it all the time when he got hurt, but he woke up one day and decided that it was really scary. So, yesterday I decided not to use the usual ointment and to try the spray. The first time I sprayed his leg he flinched. I didn't get all of it covered, so I went a second time and he started crab stepping away from me. And, then, he kicked up at me. His hoof actually connected with my hand the one time (just barely though.) He wasn't being aggressive; he was trying to get the spray away from him. For all he knew the can was going to spit out a snake at him with the noise it was making. And, in a way, it did when the spray actually hit him. He is fine with flyspray and being hosed off and all, but he is, apparently, afraid of aerosol sprays.

So, now I am working on desensitizing him to the spray stuff. I'm going around making a "chhhh" noise to imitate the sound the spray makes. He gets all tense at first and then slowly relaxes. I've been making the noise all the time, when I feed him, brush him, flyspray him, and when I'm just leading him around. I also took the can of woundcoat and imitated the noise it makes while moving it up and down along side him. (I didn't actually spray him though.) His head would go up, he would get all tense, and have this OMG expression on his face. I would do it for 10 seconds on one side, give him 20-30 second break, and then switch to the other side. After a few minutes he was way more relaxed and wasn't reacting as much. He even worked up the courage to touch the can with his nose and investigate it (which is pretty good since he would try and move away from it whenever I would take a step towards him with it before.) So, I think, in a couple of days, he will be much better with it. We worked through his fear of flyspray a couple of years ago, so we will work through this too. However, it does make me realize that I need to start desensitizing him to more stuff, and make him more "bombproof." On another note, his birthday is next week; he will be 6. My little boy is growing up so quickly!

Preakness and Horse Stuff

The Preakness was yesterday! I swear one of these years I will go there; Pimlico isn't that far from where I live. Animal Kingdom didn't win, so no chance at a Triple Crown winner. He came in second though, and if the race was just a little bit longer, he would have won it. Oh, well maybe next year; I at least hope that there will be one Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I'm quite thankful that no horses were injured in the Preakness. Archarcharch, who was injured in the Derby, and required surgery, is doing well. He will be retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm.

So, you know the halter I had bought Pony about 3 weeks ago? Well, the leather part broke. I found it laying out in the middle of the field. Thankfully it was a breakaway, so he didn't get hurt with whatever he did. Although, I can quite imagine one of the other horses just grabbing it and yanking it off his face lol. So, now I have to go and try to get a replacement leather thing for it. They don't need to wear their halters anymore though, while turned out, since they are now out on grass more than just a couple of hours. (They are easier to catch now.)

My horse is such a sweetheart though. Last night he walked away from the other horses to see me. He leaned his neck against my side while I scratched his withers. He dozed off while I rested my head on his neck, and we just kind of stood like that until I had to go back inside. It was one of those awwww moments. lol

Another random thing that I thought I would mention is that Canter USA is having an online auction to raise money. The auction ends tonight at 8:00 pm though. Not very many people have bid, last I checked, but there aren't very many items. Some of the items include: a Ralph Lauren vest, Zenyata and Empire Maker halters, jewelery, riding pants, different riding lessons and clinics, and some other things. So check it out.

Canter USA

2 More Days!

As the title suggests, there are only two more days of classes left!! I have a test on Monday though, and I am procrastinating greatly which is why I am typing this. Although I am listening to the music I need to be able to recognize. Right now I'm listening to Stravinsky. Once I'm done classes I'll have 3 finals, and then it will be summer!

The horses are now up to about 4 hours of grass time during the day. More grass = less hay = money saved. Glory, our yearling, got kicked yesterday by the horse she gets turned out with. The 23 year old decided she wanted to be with the other horses, and threw a tantrum. Poor Glory was all confused and then got all nervous. Her leg was only a little bit swollen last night, but this morning it was worse. So, we cold hosed it again. She really isn't favoring it all that much though. She's putting equal weight on all four. We gave her some bute too, so hopefully it looks better by tonight.

I cant wait to have all the time in the world this summer. I'm going to work with Pony everyday. I do want to look for a job though. I need to start saving up money. I need to buy a new laptop. The one I have now is about 7 or so years old. It's been holding up great, but is starting to slow down. I cant decide between a PC or a Mac. Right now I have a PC, but I've heard great things about Macs. Any opinions?

The Kentucky Derby!

The Kentucky Derby was run just over an hour ago! I love horse racing, and every year I look forward to the Triple Crown races. I haven't really been following racing lately though, and I didn't really research any of the horses that were entered. I really wanted Pants on Fire to win though, mainly because it would have been awesome to have a female jockey win. However, Nehro was the name of the horse that was really jumping out at me. Nehro finished second and Pants on Fire got ninth. In case anyone missed it Animal Kingdom was the winner. ArchArchArch was pulled up and has a small fracture to some bone whose name I can not remember. He should be ok though. They said he will need surgery, but it is not life-threatening.

After the Derby we went and fed the horses. We've been slowly reintroducing them to the freshly grown grass, and they can be pain in the butts to get off of it lol. They see us coming and book it to the opposite end of the field. Last year Pony let me catch him, but this year he has to gallop a couple of laps before he decides it's time to go in the barn and eat his food.

I finally bought new leather cleaner! Last night I cleaned Pony's saddle and bridle. My saddle is a really old Theo Sommers saddle that I got for free (my aunt, who doesn't ride, bought it at a garage sale and had it sitting around.) Luckily, it fits both my and my horse nicely. I had never heard of the brand until I got it, but it's really nice. I also bought Jasper a new halter; its blue with green and lighter blue designs. Maybe I'll get a picture of it on him and post it. I also bought him glittery blue bell boots. He tends to overreach when he gets to running really fast. He got a few nicks that way when we were introducing them back to the grass last year in the spring. He looks all cute in them!