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!