A Day at the Dentist's and Radiographs!

Doesn't he look thrilled?

So yesterday Holden's leg looked bigger than it ever did and I made the decision to have the vet out to snap some films. The vet was already planning to come today to look at Holden's teeth and I figured it would be two birds in one stone because I'd like to know what I'm dealing with. Despite him being completely sound the puffiness of the ankle worried me - and so far, it looks as if I was right in worrying and taking everything at a walk.

The radiographs are being sent to the clinic's lameness vet for a secondary opinion/consultation - as the primary lameness vet at my clinic was out of town on lameness business. The irony! So I won't know for a few days what we're dealing with, unfortunately.

I'm no radiograph decipher-er but the films, explained by the vet and assistant at hand, indicate an older injury that they suspect may be collateral ligament damage -- as well as some "splintering" of the ligament regenerating around the pastern bone. There is a small area on the outside of the pastern that has calcified, indicating an older injury and arthritis. I eagerly await the resident lameness vet's evaluation - for now, Holden is on stall-rest for the weekend until I hear from the clinic.

He had to be tranq'd to get the second set of films, and they also floated his teeth. It looks like his wolf-teeth were already extracted (or never came in at all).

New shoes!

"Hello! Another supplicant come to deliver treats??"

The farrier came today to take Holden's race-shoes (aluminum) off and put some regular steel shoes on his hooves. I asked the farrier about the crack on Holden's RF, which is small -- but I wanted to know what we were working with. He said it shouldn't be something to worry about and was probably a stress crack from racing -- and now that Holden is not in that caliber of work anymore he doubts it will bother him and will eventually go away. He did note that Holden was sensitive about his LH being handled - something I was wondering if he would pick up on -- Holden held the leg up fine and was okay with the shifting and contorting one must do to trim a hoof behind, but he lifted up his leg quite dramatically and almost seemed huffy about having it trimmed. He has been doing the same for me -- though not quite as dramatic -- where sometimes if I brush or go to  pick out that hoof he can lift it up as if startled. He held the leg as it was contorted just fine, which to me may mean it no longer hurts him but at one time it did -- and he didn't fuss while the leg was held out at an angle to trim. I asked the farrier about Holden's bulges that appear about halfway down his hoof, and he said he had never seen them in a horse before but it may have something to do with nutrition or feed. Which makes sense because Holden changed owners about a year ago at the track and his feed probably changed as well.

Holden's trademark expression..

His leg looked good today, though there was still some residual puffiness around the inside/outside of the leg below his scrape. The scrape is healing up nicely however. The thickness of his ankle is much the same as it was yesterday - which to me is a good sign as I didn't put any Surpass on it yesterday. I am thinking he just needs some time to enjoy being a horse for now, and that I will take things extra slowly. He had today off as well -- and he happily returned to his paddock after a successful shoeing. He is barefoot behind now - the farrier mentioned he had the feet to go barefoot if I wanted, but I'd rather him be front shod for the winter and then see where we are. After all, I'd like that crack on his RF to grow out.

I called the vet yesterday to make an appointment for his teeth but had to leave a message - and I am thinking of asking them to take some films of his LH while they are out. I think I'd like to know just exactly what I am dealing with -- as it is mind boggling to me that he is completely sound as of now, and yet still has thickness in his ankle. If/when the vet calls back we will discuss. 

 But that's it for today!!

"Take it easy"

Before I went to the barn today I decided that today would be Holden's day "off". I put quotes around the word 'off' because while he hasn't been into any work, I figured it would be nice for him to just have a day to himself. This did not mean that he was relieved from grooming, however!

Holden's leg, looking good.

Holden was in the paddock munching away, and at a preliminary glance his leg looked absolutely superb. To be fair, I am not sure if it was the Surpass I applied on it yesterday or if his leg just goes through phases and being out made it go down. I made him trot around the paddock briefly and he was very sound, which was relieving to see. I am interested to see what tomorrow brings in terms of his leg - will it be the same as today, or was it Surpass that was the "miracle" swelling reducer? My money is on the Surpass so we will see tomorrow. The farrier will be out to pull his hind shoes tomorrow and reset his fronts - and I can't wait for him to have regular "riding horse" shoes. I really am not a fan of aluminum shoes unless the horse needs them. Holden's hoof quality looks great so I am going to forego hind shoes - he is in such light, moderate work that I really see no need to keep hinds on through the winter. 

After watching him trot briefly I caught him and brought him towards the barn - and he balked and wanted to look at the horses that were on the other side of the barn and didn't want to enter the barn. There have been a few times where I've noticed him stop and look elsewhere - but today was longer and more insistent than usual. I personally think he has finally adjusted himself to the barn and has finally become comfortable with his "house" - and I think he prefers being outside with the other horses rather than isolated in an empty barn at night. To me, it makes sense he'd prefer being in the company of others. 

Fidgety.

I brought him into the aisle and spent a half hour grooming him. I worked on really scrubbing the scurf/scratches/rainrot from him - I applied a medicated shampoo yesterday and the directions say to only apply it 2x a week, so I will save reapplying for another day. I also curried his belly and paid attention to his elbows, which are somewhat chaffed. I put some antibiotic cream on the scrape on his hock and also applied some to the rubbing under his jaw from his halter. I don't think a lot of elbow grease went into his grooming at the track! 

He was good through out this, but a little fidgety. Towards the end he kept wanting to take a few steps forward (towards the paddocks) until I corrected him -- and he kept looking longingly out the barn doors, probably to where his friends are. While this wiggly behavior isn't ideal, I'm happy to see this side of him awaken - it means that he believes he belongs in a certain place (the paddock), which is just one step closer to him being completely comfortable that this is (or rather, I am) his permanent residence.

A Day at the Spa!

"But I'm pretty enough!!"

I had a late start this afternoon - a pet of mine passed away (RIP Jolene) sometime during the night and the morning was largely devoted to selecting out a nice burial spot for her and digging. I thought I had left behind all the bothersome, annoying ledge in Massachusetts -- but apparently New York is replete with large stones too! It took Mike and I a while to pick a good place where our progress wasn't frustrated by large slab of rocks -- we opted for the garden, and planted some daisies above her grave. I doubt she would have cared for them! After that we went to the grocery store for some much needed groceries, and then I swung by the barn to work with Holden.

Today was relatively good -- I pulled him in from the paddock and his leg seemed to be fluctuating like normal. It had no heat but seemed a little filled, so I polo-wrapped it - I figure since I am still learning what's normal with him, that I should see tomorrow if his "work" today and yesterday compounded anything in his leg.. We went into the ring without the side-reins and we worked first on "aand whoa/walk on" transitions on the lunge (though I should add I was walking besides him and we were actually walking on the outside track). I am trying to keep the circles with him limited, as I am sure as a racehorse he is only used to running straight and on a very long, gradual oval track. 

A wild pony appears!

After both directions of walk/halt transitions we graduated to working on getting him to go over. In the center of the ring we halted and I did a few "over" commands with him at the halt, praising him when he yielded his hind legs over. We did this a few times in both directions and when I felt comfortable he understood that "over" was a command we moved on. I started by walking him along the long side of the area and turning up the quarterline and asking him "over". When he moved towards the wall he was praised and occasionally I would pat him as well. He seemed to understand very quickly that "over" meant to move away -- there were only two times where he sped up into a trot. I think that he understands "over" is a driving command and that he needs to move, but I don't think he has fully understood that "over" means yielding his hindquarters. The next time Mike comes to the barn I will have him help me -- as I think it's easiest for a horse to learn this command with two people - one leading, and one applying pressure to the hindquarters and releasing as they yield.

"Are we done?"

We clipped on the side-reins after a few changes in both directions, and I started on the same loose hole we left off on yesterday. He took this like a champ, but I noticed he started grinding his teeth again. He is really mouth-shy, and won't let me inspect his mouth without yanking his head away and getting alarmed -- and at this point in our 'training' I think it's best I build a rapport with him before making him uncomfortable. "A battle for another day". 

After a few laps in both directions working on "over" with the side-reins attached, I adjusted the side-reins two minute holes -- just enough so that he could feel the contact -- and he immediately yielded! However, he was still grinding his teeth, and I noticed that during one lap where I asked him "over" on the long-side he started to trot, and to me it almost looked as if he was headbobbing -- but he looked 100% sound behind. I am wondering if this "headbobbing" is because he is unused to the bit-action in his mouth. I decided that maybe I am being a bit paranoid -- but tomorrow, if I see the same head action again (or if his leg is swollen) I will know for sure it was not "just me". 

At this point we'd been in the indoor for about a half hour, walking only. I decided to err on the side of caution and finish on a good note by asking him to halt/walk on a few times. He was fabulous, so we retired.

Now is where the title comes into play. I untacked him in the aisle and spent a good half hour gently currying the scurf/rain-rot on his front legs and belly. I then applied the medicated shampoo my Mither had brought for us -- and scrubbed it for five minutes letting it sit in for an additional 10. I rinsed off the shampoo and curried him further, paying special attention to memorize every detail while it was still light in the barn. He has a lot of scars on him - tomorrow for kicks I may just count them, but I was up to three on his hind leg alone! 

Holden is definitely continuing to come around. As each day goes by I notice he is a little more comfortable than the day before. Today we did not have any "hey wait, what are you doing"/suspicious moments (save for when I tried to check his mouth/teeth) which is progress, definitely!

Parents day!

Today the parents came to NY to visit! Mither and sibling and Dither got to meet Holden for the first time -- as well as meet the BO and BM. The barn was spotless and Holden looked to be enjoying his time in the paddock. Mither assessed Holden's "thickness" in his ankle and thinks it may be an old osselet. We trotted Holden out for Mither to see, and she also brought some much needed stuff for Holden - some brushes, spare blankets, lunging equipment, and my saddle. Thanks Mom!!

After lunch with the parents they drove back home ( :'( ) and I went back to the barn to play with the pony! 

Are you a race-horse or a school-horse?!

Since we've been doing some extremely light work, I decided today would be a day to try some more trotting. I want to keep his sessions light and the lunging a little limited, but I also want to give him enough time to get used to ground-cues and contact with the bit.  We started off walking in both directions around the ring with the side-reins double-clipped to the surcingle, so he could get used to the "banging" around the surcingle. Holden took this all very well, and seemed absolutely un-phased by the new "equipment". We worked on "aand whoa" cues and "walk on" before graduating to a small lunge circle. I clipped the side-reins to his bit, keeping the length of the side-reins on the last buckle so that they were loose and had no action. We did some walk/trot in both directions - I definitely need to work on teaching him "out"/"over" -- he was great to the left but wanted to fall in to the right. Saying "out/over" didn't necessarily warrant much response, but if I moved towards him and gestured slightly with the whip he would move over but also speed up or get a little worried -- which is not something I want him to associate with either command.

Holden to the right.

After a few minutes of lunging predominately at the walk, I pulled him in and adjusted the side-reins a tiny bit, so they were still loose but had a little action. He took this fabulously -- immediately after the slight adjustment he put himself in a "frame" - I couldn't believe how well he took the slight adjustment. We then walked and trotted a little in both directions with the new adjustment -- working again on the "aaaand whoa" and "TROT" commands. He is great at the transition up, but needs a little more polishing with transitioning down. Tomorrow I think I will take some time to work on "over/out" with him. He has already demonstrated that he is very level, and I think once he understands these commands his lunging will be super. He does grind his teeth with the side-reins attached -- I am wondering if his bit is a little too small for him -- it fit my last horse and Holden is much bigger. I also think it wouldn't hurt to check his mouth and see if he needs attention from a dentist -- but at the moment, Holden is very reluctant to let me look in his mouth and he shies away from you if you touch his nose. This is likely a residual feeling from the track, and I am hoping in the next few days he will feel comfortable enough with me to let me lift up his lips and check his teeth for hooks or if his wolf teeth are coming in. Mike may come with me to the barn tomorrow, and if he does I am going to see if I can con him into helping me check Holden's mouth.

In summation, I was really surprised with Holden today - he really seems to be a good egg, and definitely takes everything in stride. 

The power was out!

I went to the barn this AM and the power/water was out -- which was disappointing, as I wanted to really scrub the scurfy rainrot that was on Holden's legs. Apparently town-wide people have been losing power. 

I unwrapped Holden's legs this AM and his legs looked just as tight as yesterday, though the "thickness" in his ankle is still there. I figured after him being on stall rest and only being asked to handwalk for a week, that his thick ankle is likely just another one of the many bumps and scrapes some racehorses come with. It still doesn't seem to bother him, and has no heat. He is definitely sound on it.

Holden's leg, clean & with ointment on the scrape!

Like any respecting OTTB he seems to have various "benign" maladies.. today I noticed he has a rub from below his halter, so I adjusted the fit and put some ointment on the rub. The scurf on his legs was given a thorough brushing, but since the water was turned off, we weren't able to scrub with water him today.

I tacked him up in the barn aisle and spent some time brushing his face - something he wasn't too keen on. He's definitely warmed up to being handled over the past few days - he is starting to be super inquisitive and almost seems to want attention. I also spent some time picking his feet and holding his hooves up - the farrier is coming on Wednesday and I want Holden to be a good client for him. It's obvious Holden's shoes are too small for his feet, and it looks as if whatever farrier he had on the track had just lobbed off a good portion of his hoof size to accommodate the shoes. The shoes are aluminum, and many farriers don't hot-shoe aluminum because it is quick to melt and lose shape -- so it is likely his feet were made to accommodate the shoe and not the other way around.

After our "work out".

I continued to "tack" up - but in reality that consisted only of polos behind and the bridle. He was good today about the bridle being slipped in, but resisted a little at first.  In the indoor we worked primarily on walk/halt transitions in hand. He is very quick to stop when I stop and go when I go - I don't necessarily think he has gotten the verbal "cues" completely, but he understands body language and stops as soon as I stop and walks as soon as I walk.

I tried something different today, and worked on trotting in hand fairly briefly. We did both directions - he didn't want to trot on at first, and is pretty sensitive about being "pulled". The few times I've inadvertently pulled on him in the past few days he has wheeled his head away. I figured rather than upset him further, he just needed some sort of auxiliary aid -- I returned to walk/halt transitions a few times and then carried a lunge whip on the inside hand, away from him. This seemed to do the trick, and we did several walk/trot transitions perfectly. Going to the right was much more difficult for him -- I couldn't seem to get him to trot forward with the whip in hand without getting a big reaction from him - so I elected to trot him to the right while leading on the outside, which worked MUCH better. I'm thinking he just needs time and assurance going to the right, because he definitely wants to try.

At the end of the session.

I like that he takes the time to think about things. While I was putting the whip against the wall he stood calmly and didn't move -- something that for-sure I thought would spook him. I managed to snap some pictures of him and he didn't seem to mind the paparazzi -- or the flash that came with it!

Tomorrow my parents come to see him (yay!). I wanted to give him a bath today after the scrub so that he would be spic-n-span clean for them, but the water and power was off. Hopefully the don't mind a somewhat dusty pony!

Today also marked the day he goes back to "regular" turn-out. I turned him out in the paddock at around eleven, and I will have to go back to the barn before work (at around 4:30) to pull him back into his stall to be in at night. Because he isn't "used" to grass yet, the BO and I have agreed to take it slow. 

Holden 9/21/2013

I wanted to include this bottom picture so that a few months from now I will have something to compare to. Holden still has his "racing physique" -- tight tummy, ribby, etc -- and I am hoping in the next few weeks both of those will go away and he will be fat and sleek!

Today was a boring day

Today Holden's leg looked much better, but the bump is still there. I hand walked him for ten minutes, cold-hosed him for ten, and then let him graze for a while. Tomorrow, if the bump is the same and there is no new swelling, he will resume being turned out.

Leg update

I went to the barn this AM early, as Mike had work before 9. Looks like the BO wasn't awake yet, but Holden had plenty of hay in his stall. There was a bute scoop on the ground (lol) near his stall, so it looks like he got the bute I asked for...

Before coldhosing, minimal thickness.

His leg looked great this AM. I unwrapped his stable bandages, afterwards palpitating the leg. The thickness is still there, but no heat. I think the thickness is as little as it has been, because for the first time I was able to feel what felt like two very small bumps (old splints, maybe?) in the groove that sits between the cannon and the digital flexor tendon - similar to the splints Spooky had in his RF. They didn't seem to bother him, he didn't mind me palpitating the area deeply. 

I took him out to cold-hose him, and spent about seven minutes hosing the leg while he grazed. He was good, the leg seemed set -- so I brought him back into the barn and brushed off/dried off his legs, brushing the scurf and other stuff that is still on his legs. Tomorrow I am going to scrub his legs with a medicated shampoo. 

I walked him around the indoor in both directions for about fifteen minutes. Despite being on self-prescribed  "stall rest", I wanted to see what the leg looked like after it had some time to decompress from the wraps, and I figured walking him wouldn't hurt so long as the antics were kept at bay. He was great in both directions, and I even convinced him to stop at the mounting block and let me stand/step off of it a few times. I should mention despite him not being "worked", I didn't miss the opportunity to bridle him -- with a handful of Cheerios I managed to slip his bridle on no problem.  He's definitely starting to come around, and today didn't startle or shy once from any movement on my part. There was no change to the thickness in his ankle after hand-walking.

A picture at a slight angle, to show the "swelling".

After handwalking in the indoor I took him back into the isle and ice-wrapped him. I brushed him off, inspected his feet, and took him back outside to graze some more while the ice stayed on for about fifteen minutes. I also took the time to pick his stall while he was in it, and also clean his waterbuckets. I know it is the BO's job, but it's hard for me to feel completely relinquished of all my duties -- plus, his stall was quite messy..  He was very good about this, and quite inquisitive to what I was doing around him. I rewrapped his stable bandages and will go back before work to unwrap and redress them. 

His cut on his hock looks okay, so I hosed it a little and put some more salve on it.While doing this, one of the horses in the BO's makeshift paddock got loose... so I had to walk up the road and put him away.

The BO came out while I was about to write her a message asking her why she had yet to open up Holden's new grain and feed it to him. She addressed that topic right away, which made me feel better as I was afraid she would lie about it and I hate being confrontational. I told her he needed to be switched over to it immediately, and I left her a note with his new rations for tonight and tomorrow on his grain bag. I am going to ask her if I can grain him early tonight, since I'm stopping by there anyway -- so at least I know what amount he is getting fed at the moment. I feel like I am being a possessive and controlling owner, but after seeing his grain bag unopened for the second day in a row, I feel my cattiness may be justified. 

A change of feed and other things

Last night the Mither dearest and I discussed feed options for Holden -- and both of us were of the opinion the barn's primary feed would not be adequate for a horse in more than "light" work, which is what the feed is directed towards. I was hoping for something along the lines of a Poulin feed, but the store doesn't carry Poulin -- so I settled for the market's equivalent, Sentinel. The feed is high fat at 12% -- which I think will help Holden in his transition from feed overload to something less weighty.

I dropped the Sentinel off at the barn last night on my way home and left the BO with a note instructing to transition the feed over gradually. This morning the grain was unopened, and the BO said she had missed it. GRRRRRR. I spoke to her about it, and mentioned we should work out how she wanted to reimburse me for purchasing the grain. She said she didn't reimburse people who wanted separate grain at her barn, so I tactfully reminded her I had come into the contract expecting a certain flat rate of board and within two days of the board she had told me the board was $50 more than had been previously advertised -- which is bemusing because her other boarders have told me they are being charged less than I. I also mentioned we could keep Holden on her feed but he would need more than five times what she was feeding him now if we were going to meet his nutritional needs -- and I supplicated this logic with the affirmation that much feed would make him high as a kite and difficult to handle. Not to mention she would be paying more to feed him. This made her rethink what she had said prior and she said we would work something out. If she doesn't "work something out with me", I can take my horse elsewhere, and I will. I genuinely like this barn - the set up is very ideal and it is very close to my house. I think with some subtle adjustments we can make this work until I move back to MA in January.

Holden's leg, 9/18 - note scrape and thick ankle

Holden, true to horse form, has a scrape below his hock pictured to the left. I cleaned it out and re-applied some salve on it today. I wanted to record this picture because it does a fair job of showing the "thickness" on the distal part of his fetlock -- as well as showing the cut he had from the track near his ergot. He is sensitive about this being inspected, so I imagine that cut must have been ugly when he sustained it. I did what no self-respecting horse owner should do and I looked up "common hind leg injuries" on Google -- and started to have an aneurysm when things like 'check ligament' and 'annular ligament tears' appeared where horses presented themselves similar and were 100% sound. This made me second-guess if the cut he has from the track was really just a cut.. But it doesn't have any heat to it, which I guess is somewhat comforting....

I am wondering if his antics the day prior had instigated the thickness -- since I've had him, the swelling hasn't fluctuated. It doesn't inflate with stall rest or dissipate with turnout or work. So maybe it really is a cut or an older sustained injury and I'm just irrationally overthinking things. I'm tempted to call his old trainer tomorrow and ask him if he knows anything about that leg, as the cut on the fetlock is at least two weeks old at this point, and happened before I purchased him.

Holden's fetlock, 9/19

I took Holden out and cold hosed him for about ten minutes while the BO told me how many concussions she's sustained over the years. That explains a lot... Holden was good, stood pretty well and doesn't seem to be shy about water. I also let him graze while doing this -- might as well get his tummy acclimated to grass while he's on limited turn-out.

After the cold-hose I took him back to his stall and iced the ankle for fifteen minutes. I spent this time grooming him and picking up his feet. He is getting less suspicious as me as the time goes by, and today he was better about me touching and brushing his legs. I spent a good deal of time brushing the scurf that's on his right front and cannon bone - he has a good deal of it on three of his legs, so I plan to get some betadine scrub tomorrow and scrub them off. 

Holden during the cold-hose

After the ice-pack I wrapped his hind legs in a stable bandage. Despite there being no heat in the leg and him being sound, I feel like it would be better to be annoyingly and overly cautious. The plan is to see where he is tomorrow -- and if the "thickness" of his leg has gone down. In addition to the hosing, ice-pack, and wrapping, I asked the BO to give him a bute tonight to help with the inflammation. Tomorrow the plan is to largely do the same -- cold hose while grazing, maybe a short hand-walk in the indoor (since he's on "stall rest"), ice pack and then rewrap if needed. I will compare and contrast the photos of his leg on my phone as well as palpitate the area to see if there are any changes -- if not, a vet visit might be in order!

In any event, this downtime gives Holden some more opportunity to settle and realize that I'm not someone he needs to be worried or suspicious about, and gives me plenty of time to interact and groom him in his stall!

Second day of turn out and lunging

Today the plan was to continue where I left off yesterday -- arrive at the barn, turn him out, clean some tack while watching him, and then lunge him after an hour or less of turnout.

The BO had switched the turn out schedule around and Holden's new paddock has a fair amount of grass in it -- hence why I am taking his introduction to paddocks slowly. Taking him out of the barn he was fairly good, though his head was really up high and he was kind of unsurely checking everything out. 

I walked him around the perimeter of the paddock once and unclipped him. He walked off and started to investigate the confines of the paddock: manure, some hay -- and the fence line. The two TBs on the other side of the fence came up to meet him and there was some squealing involved. The older TB has a habit of being overly dramatic (so the BO told me at least) and Holden didn't really seem interested in being struck by him. So he walked off. 

He realized (much like yesterday) that he was free to do whatever he wanted, so he started to trot and canter and snort and buck. He looked good doing it at least, but the hill on this paddock is fairly steep and he had a few oopsie moments. I was worried he wouldn't settle down but after about a minute of these antics he grew bored and started to graze. He then went back to the gate and ate the hay that was placed there, so I kept him out for longer than I would have because he was eating hay rather than grass.

Mike came around the time I was finishing cleaning tack so I brought Holden in and started to groom him and tack him up in the isle. We had a small incident where he decided he wasn't standing anymore (Mike had been holding him) and he whirled around in the isle, managing to get himself on top of the tack trunk that's by his stall and not even that close to where we had been grooming him. I was afraid he would panic but he disentangled himself pretty calmly. There's a small scrape where I assume his hind leg met the trunk, but no blood -- I put some salve on it and figured I'd watch him carefully in case it ended up bothering him (it didn't).

His swelling in his left hind hasn't rescinded, so maybe it is an older injury. The more I look at it the more I think maybe a horse clipped him in his last race - it's about the right height and he's fairly sensitive about it being touched. The Blu-Kote or whatever it is is still there. There is no scab there and still no heat, but working and turn out don't seem to make it go down. 

Holden wondering if he is doing this right.

He has decided today that Cheerios are not so bad - I took him in the stall after tacking him up to tackle his reluctance to be bitted. I gave him some Cheerios and put the Menthol extract on his bit again -- this time I would hold the bridle at about eye level and move it towards him while feeding him Cheerios. I then moved my hand near the bit, so that he had to bring his nose close to the bit to get the Cheerios - which he did without issue. So then I brought the bridle up and slid it into his mouth -- and he tolerated it as if he had always been a saint about it. Didn't even lift his head away -- so maybe it was just his old bit that he didn't like. I noticed today he was much better about letting me brush near his ears -- but he is still unsure of me and what I'm doing around him.

We then moved into the indoor and I hand walked him both directions for about ten minutes, frequently stopping and using verbal commands. He was much quicker to follow through with the commands than yesterday - before I could even finish saying "Annnnnnd whoaaa.." he was already stopped. I intermittently awarded his excellent behavior with some more Cheerios. We also worked on the "walk on" command.

After hand walking him for a while I pulled him into the middle of the ring and asked him to walk around me as if "lunging". This, like yesterday, seemed like a perplexing task to him -- but he was much better about it today and seemed to understand it better - there were only two incidents where he stopped and turned his haunches to face me -- and he seemed to understand the point of the exercise was to rotate around me rather than stop just because I was stopped. 

We went to the left first, and he was great -- walked right off like he was a schooled lunge horse and we walked on a fairly drunken circle, doing some walk/halt transitions supplied by verbal cue. Sporadic Cheerios offered, the quicker he would halt the more likely I would be to give him Cheerios. He was fairly good, and it only took him a few steps to stop each time.

Holden to the left, "lunging" in a small circle.

Going to the right was a little harder for him - like yesterday, he seemed to be confused on why I was on his "wrong side". I hand-walked him around the ring after he stopped and moved sideways, and I think this helped him -- once I assumed the "ground-driving" position he seemed to understand he was supposed to walk around me despite myself standing still. In the picture you can see his inside ear -- it is always focused towards me; right after this picture a boarder I had not met yet came in to say hello and introduce himself. His horse was purchased from the Unadilla auction a few weeks back, and is a sweet little chestnut by the name of Dolly. Like Holden she seems to not like being bitted, and we talked briefly about strategies to resolve the "bitting issue" before he went back to grooming up Dolly. Mike by this time had pretty much died of boredom. 

Holden stood quietly while we chatted, which was a pleasant surprised. We then resumed walking to the right, and I continued to ask him to do walk/halt transitions. He walks off in perfect time to "walk on", and I don't even need to supply it with a lift of my arm as if asking him to move -- but "aaaand whoaaa" can take a little longer.  When he halted I would pet/praise him, each time working closer and closer to his ears and face. While he may not understand this is praise, I want to get him acclimated to being touched all over -- as he is still fairly headshy and will sometimes jerk his head in surprise if I pet him there. 

I brought him in after this, no trotting today. I've always felt the slower you go the faster you get there -- and Holden's 'session' today went without a hitch. I untacked him in his stall this time, checked his new scrape one more time and then topped off his hay and water. I left him in the stall for tonight -- tomorrow I will see if he can go out for two hours at a time. 

I also talked to BO about his feed - she has him on 2 qts two times a day at the moment, and I expressed to her I expect he will need more than that despite having plenty of quality hay. The feed is rather low end, Nutrena "Stock and Stable" -- and I told her I would be looking for another feed for him. I am wondering if she expects me to pay for the feed or if it will be taken out of my boarding fee -- the boarding contract denotes it is the barn's expense for feed, but the BO strikes me as the type who may think it is my responsibility to pay for a different grain. This current grain is 12:3 -- which I don't believe is high enough fat for him. Spooky did very well on Omolene 500, which I personally liked because of the high oat and beet pulp content -- but I don't think that Holden is at the point where he needs a "high performance" feed yet. My options are purveying feeds at Tractor Supply or a local "Feed and Seed" store. 

If nothing else, I am pretty happy with the amount of hay she seems to be feeding him. It is pretty good hay, though it does have the occasional stalk and milkweed in it. I guess we can't have everything we want!

Holden's first "session" and turnout

Holden during his first turnout session.

So today being my day off, I went to the barn after breakfast and played with Holden. It was my first time really interacting with him, and I learned a fair amount about him and I think I can make some reasonable deductions about his past.

For instance, he is not a fan of bitting. And being well over 16h, this can be a little challenging for me. I have a KK Ultra, which I think should fit in his mouth well. My strategy is to put a little mint extract on the center of the bit (this immediately got his attention) and just be gentle with him. At first he yanked his head up out of reach, which I countered by standing on a mounting block and waiting for his minor melt-down to be over. Once it was over I resumed, and slipped the bit in without drama. I am hoping that the mint will make him more enticed to allow me to bit up sans mounting block, and that maybe the gentleness of the bit (compared to his racing D, which was not friendly) will help him overcome his bitting aversion. His teeth probably need to be done some time in the future. The BO mentioned peanut butter, which I may try later if there is no improvement.

Tacking him up was a breeze - I pulled him into the center isle and dropped the leadrope on the ground as if "ground-tying" him. He initially took a step forward or backwards and I would correct him by placing him back where he was originally standing - after two times of this he seemed to get it and stood like a remarkable citizen while I groomed him, put on polos, boots, saddlepad and surcingle - I took my sweet time and was tacked up twenty minutes later (lol). I have a strategy of leaving one lead-rope on the ground and having another clipped to him - so if he moves I can just use the second leadrope. It seems to work and worked well with my last horse.

I should probably mention that the BO had intercepted me on my arrival at the barn and had been present the whole time, which slowed my progress a little as she is very loquacious. She seems to mean well, and was interested in seeing "us" interact so she could learn more about the horse and myself.

After tacking him up I led him into the indoor. I hand walked him around the ring in both directions for about ten minutes, working on "walk on" commands and "whoa". Holden seems to be very respectful - he wants to stop when I do, and is always watching me. If I stop he halts almost immediately, with no pressure on the leadrope. I think he is pretty polite. He picked up on "walk on" quickly, and after ten minutes of walk/halting we graduated to "lunging" on a circle.

At first, Holden seemed perplexed by this new question.  I had started on the left, which is the side he is used to being handled on (racehorses, unlike other horses, are only handled from the horse's left side - which is why leading on the right side can be difficult for some). He wanted to always be facing me and was confused on why I was stopped but still asking him to move. He would move sideways if I clicked my tongue or raised the small whip. I went back to hand-walking him, but this time I walked further from him, as if I was ground-driving him. This worked a little better, so I slowly started "reeling" him in until he was on a circle and I was standing still, rotating to face him. He would occasionally slow down as if to stop and ask if "this was okay", in which I would just raise the whip slightly off the ground towards his haunches - I would supply this gesture with a "walk on" vocalization - and after a few times of questioningly slowing down he seemed to get it.

I then switched to the right, and we encountered some technical issues - which I expected. Holden was confused on why I was on his other side, so we once more hand-walked around the ring and gradually reeled into a small circle. I kept this direction brief and praised him often. He listens, which I really like - his inside ear is always turned to face me. But I think he is still very unsure of me.

Because he was being so calm, I unclipped his lunge-line and let him loose in the indoor. I wanted to see him trot out, as his left leg was still thick without heat. He trotted around a few times with no drama, and showed off his nice (and BIG) trot with his tail elevated like an arabian. The more I interact with him, the more I am coming to the conclusion he is far more sensible and intelligent than I am used to dealing with. Most horses I've worked with have been either very spooky or reactive, and this is a pleasant surprise.

After trotting around a little (the BO being in the indoor as well), I recaught him and walked him around the ring at a nice loose walk to relax him and let him know he was being a great boy. I then brought him back into the barn and untacked. The BO and I had a serious discussion (albeit sensitive) about my qualm with allowing the BM to handle Holden -- and the BO agreed with my anxiety that I thought the BM had been a little too rough with handling Holden the day we got him off the track. She assured me that she would speak to the BM and that it was not a problem. I should mention the BM is the type that believes in "joining up" (read: Monty Roberts training methods & Parelli combined) and punishes the horses when they misbehave by asking them to "work" by backing them up furiously until they comply. This errant type of training wont work for a sensitive horse who is already mistrusting of people, and I explained this to the BO as best I could. She agreed and told me she would gently break it to the BM that no one except for myself is to handle the horse - and she urged that I don't speak to him regarding this topic unless he does something I may be uncomfortable with.

We then moved outside after untacking and grooming Holden - and I turned him out for the first time in a small grass paddock that is used as a riding ring. I walked him around the ring a bit before letting him loose -- and I was expecting to see heels flying. Instead, he calmly looked at the hill and started to walk around the ring, smelling various patches of grass and nibbling as he walked by. The horses on the other side of the fence flew up to the fence-line -- he walked over to them and there was a very swift discussion in which the other gelding struck out and squealed (there is a mare in the paddock) and Holden backed off immediately and lost interest. It was so quickly done I was shocked -- again, I was expecting the usual squealing and snorting mess that comes when two horses meet. Holden gave the fence-line a wide berth after this, and moved over to the other side of the ring to nibble on grass.

Ten minutes or so passed uneventfully, and then we saw him spin out and snort at something in the hills. A deer (a very common sight here) had broken through the brush and startled him -- and he it -- and it bolted. And then there were antics!

Holden again, inspecting the other horses.

He started to trot up and down the ring in this big, long trot-  tail high behind him and his head scraping the clouds as he went. He then must have realized he was completely free to do whatever he wanted and was for once in his life NOT tethered to something  -- in which he started to flip those heels in the air and canter. He demonstrated to us his extensive airs-above the ground, as well as some nice flying lead changes and a rather big buck (I hope he doesn't repeat this undersaddle!). He only did this for about a minute and started to settle down, and I took the opportunity to catch him while he was simmering down. He had other ideas, and played keep-away from me at the trot until I showed him I had grain. He never once turned to kick out at me, which is the usual for me when a horse doesn't want to be caught. I gave him the grain and slipped his halter on, and we walked around the ring for a few minutes until he cooled down. I was unsure if bringing him in immediately would make him associate that if he acted up he would be brought back to the stall (which may encourage such behavior in some horses) so I continued to walk him a little bit more.

We went back to the barn, I gave him a once over, threw some more hay, and left. Tomorrow both myself and the BF have the day off, so I am hoping we can come in the morning and play some more!

The naming of Holden

On the way home from picking up Midnight Tucker, my close friend Chelsea and I texted back and forth, bouncing off names to each other. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to call him Tucker (or Midnight), having known a horse of that name who I was not necessarily in love with. I knew Chels would have some cool suggestions, as she is an exceptionally clever and creative person.. Her first suggestion for a showname was "Isengrim" - which is a character who makes many appearances in various epics and literary works. I

Isengrim, a wolf in epics and stories.

have a theme for all of my animals - both past and present - and they are all named after pieces of work, literary tales, poems, and songs. The name fit the theme perfectly (and I think it fits him though he is neither slothful nor evil), but still left us trying to decide a great barn name for the horse.

A slew of names were suggested, including some good ones from my mother. However, I couldn't pick just one that "fit" him. He wasn't a Sully or a Connor, nor was he a Judge or a Suttree -- and those would have been my go-tos for names as I've always liked them. Remember the theme I mentioned earlier? It's applicable to their barn names too. But the chosen names just didn't "fit". The horse is stoic but sensitive (remember my earlier post? I think he's "sensibly sensitive", which is just right IMHO), and I wanted a name that would reflect that. The man that I paid to haul him (we can call him the BM, even though he doesn't really manage anything and is not in charge of the barn) had an assortment of suggestions that all were alcohol themed, which made me question if he was more than just a fan of alcohol. Guinness, Henessy and Jameson were among his suggestions - as well as the fact that he believed firmly that the horse had told him explicitly that he wanted a name that started with a "B" - hah. While I love the name Guinness, my friend had a horse of that name and I rode him often during his early transition of the track. He was a great horse and unfortunately had to be put down after a catastrophic injury - and I just couldn't "take" the name. Not that I wanted to listen to BM anyway.

Blood Meridian - Cormac's Masterpiece.

We still hadn't decided a name come Sunday. Chelsea and my mother both suggested I think of names from my favorite literary works - and I thought about it all day on Sunday while ring-stewarding. One of the earlier suggestions on Saturday had been Holden, and I kept thinking of it. My favorite book, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, has a character in it named Judge Holden. I started thinking more, as my first association with the name Holden is from Catcher in the Rye, which is another book I loved. I then started thinking about the horse, and came to the conclusion he displayed a remarkable resemblence to both (save he isn't a scalp hunter like the Judge in Cormac's book). The horse "studies" everything and takes everything in stride, much like the Judge in Blood Meridian. But he is also fairly sensitive and unsure of everyone - and seems to be a little jaded about the human race - which is similar to Catcher in the Rye's Holden. So I texted both Chels & my mother and they both approved, and hey presto, Holden was named!

Going to the track, aquisition, and acclimation of the horse

"Midnight Tucker" - FLF Listing

For the few who may encounter this blog, I have established it to track my OTTB's progress. I usually do it on paper, but being an unorganized individual means that this usually ends in messy and illegible scribbles.

On Friday the 13th I drove out to Finger Lakes to look at "Midnight Tucker", a solid bay trained and owned by Ulises Gonzalez. The horse was nicer in person than on paper, and it was agreed I would purchase him and come back the next morning with a trailer.

Saturday - That morning I came to pick him up and paid a man at my soon-to-be-boarding-barn to haul him in his rig. We had to park the rig outside of the track entrance and walk about a half mile to the barn, fetch him, walk back to the rig and load. The horse was an excellent citizen until we walked past the gate and he stopped, unsure of himself because he had likely never been past the track gates before. There were horses breezing past him and he seemed a little unsure of his surroundings (understandably). Unfortunately, the man who I had paid to haul him was handling him (he said "my rig, so I load" -- whatever) and misinterpreted the horse's stopping as insolence and unfairly disciplined him by shanking his chain. The horse flew back and got loose (though it was remarkably an uneventful "loose"), I caught him, removed the lip shank, and reapproached the trailer -- in which the horse loaded after a few second doubts.

In summation, I think the horse is "sensibly sensitive", and regret allowing the hauler to handle him. The ride home was uneventful, he settled in beautifully. I took him on a half hour walk around the indoor and there was absolutely no fuss from him. He seems to love his reflection in the mirror, and was quite fascinated with it every time we walked by. He has trouble leading to the right (understandable) but after about ten minutes of this he seemed to get a little better. He doesn't seem to be too interested in treats.

I noticed he has a small cut on his left hind that looks as if his prior handlers put Blu-Kote on it - there is a purplish dusting on it and he does not appreciate it being touched. He has very clean legs for 31 starts, though his left hind is a little thick. No heat and he looks sound.

Sunday - I volunteered at the CNYDCTA dressage show, which was hosted at the beautiful Tanglewood facility in Cazenovia. There were a lot of nice horses to watch, and I was the ring steward for the entire day. It was nice to see some "real" dressage horses after being out of the loop for so long, and I met a wonderful woman named Chacea who has a horse (Perfect Velocity) who she purchased last year from Finger Lakes. The horse is a lovely mover and she seems to be a very classical rider (she pinned very well at the show), and I was impressed at his natural athleticism and training. There were also some new inductees to dressage - as well as a few school-master horses who were a blast to watch perform third-level movements. I got a little sunburnt but the day left me inspired and I could not wait to return home to see my horse. We arrived at about 8PM and the BO (who lives on site) had forgotten I asked for special permission to come after hours the day prior (8 is the closing time) - meaning my visit with the new horse was cut short, as I did not want to disturb the BO so early into the boarding despite her apology after she remembered I had sought her permission to come. In a deft conversation turn, I think I placated her by mentioning she had forgotten to tell me how much I owed her for board (having come in at the middle of the month) and I handed her $125 in case as well as our signed boarding agreement, the 150$ being half of $250 - which had been the advertised price of boarding. The horse seemed to have settled in and Mike (my BF) met him for the first time. We groomed the horse shortly and left.

I learned that the barn has an "halter-in-effect" rule at all time, which I wish I had known prior to agreeing to board there. The horses have to have halters on at all times - in turn out or in the stall, which is disgruntling to me as I personally have known a few disasters to arise from that. Unfortunately the BO is not willing to negotiate this case, so I guess it is time to shop for an easy-break/break-away halter - he has an all leather halter on now but I think a break-away would be safer. We'll see!