Wordless Wednesday - Head Shots

Brave Boy

After T and I rode in the ring the other day, we took a walk up the hill.  Rocky had never been up there before but he was a brave boy.  He sure turned into a pretty horse.

Progress

Rocky is coming along amazingly well.  Sometimes I can't even believe it's the same horse, even though I saw him every day.  What a difference!

These were taken last weekend

Horse show at Buxmont Riding Club today, hopefully trail riding tomorrow, the vet is coming Monday to work on teeth.  Busy, busy...

Becoming a Solid Citizen

Rocky has been coming along really well.  Once he healed up from gelding and having his wolf teeth extracted, we turned him out with the herd (after checking with the vet to make sure he would be ok around the mares).  No studdish behavior or even any aggressive behavior at all.  The introduction to the herd was a total non-event.  Maccabee tried to get him to run around a bit but that was about it.  He mostly hangs out with Rooster and Rosie and all of the horses eat around the round bale together and hang out in the shed together.  He totally gets herd dynamics and the older horses are teaching him a lot.  He comes in daily for grain and has free choice hay/grazing in the field.  T started him under saddle.  Now the real work begins...

View video of his first ride here

Looking Good

Rocky continues to gain weight and energy and to heal from being gelded and having his wolf teeth pulled.  Most of the old hair has shedded out and his new coat has grown in well.

We are hoping to turn him out with the rest of the herd soon.  The vet had told us to wait at least 10 days after he was gelded since there's one last chance for him to breed a mare right after being gelded (we certainly don't want that!) but 10 days out was safe enough.  I would like to wait about 2 1/2 weeks just to be cautious and to make sure that he's healed.  He is very interested in all of the horses in the herd, especially Zip, and calls to them whenever they come into the barn or one of them walks by.  We have made introductions over the fence with Zip, Rosie and Rooster.

I would love to know what Rosie was thinking.

Saying hi to Zip.  Zip just took it all in stride.

One Month Mark

Yesterday was one month since we brought Rocky home and he is well on his way to being a solid citizen.  Tuesday night, our vet came and gelded him.  I was stressed out about this vet visit since he only had one testicle had dropped (kind of a gross topic, I know) which meant that if the other didn't dropped he would require surgery at a vet clinic to have it removed.  With good nutrition, a bit of time and some help from Mother Nature, two appeared.  It kind of became the major topic of conversation - "do you see one or two?"  So Tuesday, he was knocked out and snipped.  While he was under, the vet checked his teeth and removed his wolf teeth.  Poor guy is sore on both ends!  He did great and has such a wonderful disposition.  Even the vet commented on how well behaved he was for a 4 year old stallion.  And the vet did confirm, by checking his teeth, that he is 4.  Vet thinks he's a Quarter Horse/Arab cross.  He's up and moving around and will have penicillin for a few days to head off any infection.  Lots of turnout to help keep swelling to a minimum.  We are hoping to integrate him into the herd in a couple of weeks.  He has filled out incredibly fast and his gorgeous new coat is growing in.  We've been busy with other things and I haven't had a chance to get updated pics but hopefully will be able to on the holiday weekend.

Weeks 2 and 3

Lots going on with Rocky.  His feet were trimmed right after we brought him home and it made a huge difference in how he stands.  He’s been wormed twice, he’s shedding like a maniac and he’s really starting to feel better.  Poor guy is shedding bald.  The new hair is coming in slowly but he’s got big bald spots.  He gets turned out in the ring right now across from our herd and nibbles grass along with munching on hay and alfalfa cubes plus grain twice a day.  He’s got very good ground manners and we are going to start working with him now that his energy level is definitely up.  The vet is scheduled to geld him next Tuesday.

Week 1

Our little project pony is coming along.  He's gained about 20 pounds and is shedding like a fiend.  He eats every little morsel that we give him and has been nibbling at the grass at the edge of the riding ring where we have him turned out during the day.  His feet were trimmed and he's been wormed which he desperately needed since he was passing live worms (EW!!).  The girls are treating the various spots of skin crud and abrasions.  His rear ankles were swollen when he stepped off the trailer but have been slowly going down.  There are abrasions on his ankles and I have a feeling that his back feet may have been roped.  We'll never know for sure.  He has shown a little bit of spunk here and there and we get glimpses of what his trot and canter will be like.  He's got a sweet personality so far.  We have a call in to the vet to discuss getting him gelded soon.

Still bony but looking better already

And His Name Shall Be...

Rocky

He's got a very cute face!

Life is good when you can scratch all the itchy spots

We Couldn’t Leave Him Behind

We planned a trip to New Holland for Easter Monday, mostly for the tack sale and to hit the tack shops on the way back.  Little did I know….

As we were walking through the horses, we saw three men leading three horses – one horse was in good weight but the other two were very skinny, one more skinny than the other.  Skinny enough that one of the auction workers told him that he couldn’t bring him through.  I happened to be standing there when the man holding the horse looked at me and told me a price – less than what it would have cost us for lunch.  I must have “Sucker” written across my forehead.  This horse – or pony – looked more like a yearling but they told me he was 3 1/2 or 4 and had been ridden (OMG!).  How on earth am I supposed to walk away, especially when a horse dealer saw the horse and loaded him up (you never know what will happen once they step on the truck).  The whole group (5 of us) had a discussion and we worked out a way to get him off the truck and get him home (luckily we knew enough people to get a hauler).  It took most of the day but he’s in our barn now in quarantine in a large broodmare stall with a sign on the door.  T and the barn owner’s daughter (commonly referred to as The Girls) have a project pony and are excited.

after a bath much scrubbing and a little bit of hoof work

he's standing on a slight slope so he looks a bit awkward

Pony sized with long legs, cute face, no idea what breeding but maybe some Arab in there (slight dish to the face).  The age of about 4 seems to match his teeth.  And he’s intact so gelding will be one of the first priorities along with groceries (we have a call in to the vet).  He smelled horrible, has bugs (EWWW!!) which we are treating, looks and smells like he’s been laying in pig manure.  He got a bath with 2 different kinds of medicated shampoos and lots of scrubbing.  Long feet which we took down a bit to make him more comfortable (the farrier can’t come for a week) – surprisingly good feet under the mess that is there.  An old abscess that had blown at the coronet band and has started to grow out.  A red dun with a dorsal stripe and a nice coat under there somewhere.  He walked on and off the trailer like a gentlemen, stood for a bath and let me nip and rasp his feet so somewhere someone taught him manners.  We are going to handle him a lot now that he's quiet and docile to reenforce whatever training he had.  Weight tape estimate is 580 pounds, maybe 13.3 hands.  No name yet but I’m sure we’ll come up with something in the next few days.