Polka Dot Ponies

This will most likely be just a collection of my ramblings. I ride and train horses, so there is bound to be a lot of horse stuff. But I also just like to vent and this seems the perfect place.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Advice Again Please.

Thanks for the advice on Blue- I added electrolytes and also blocked off the auto water and sure enough he drank about 3 buckets yesterday afternoon. I was getting a bit worried about colic.

Now I need advice on something totally different. I have one horse on my property (a boarder) that is nice to people, most of the time, but VERY nasty to all other horses. He is the one that chased Gus over the fence and through the fence. I currently have 2 pastures. One has 3 run in stalls and one has 1. The one with the single stall is actually the bigger pasture. Nasty horse has been over on the larger pasture side alone for the last few months because he can't be trusted with any other horses. That stall has a lot off of it and that is where Blue has been. Blue spends the night in the stall and Nasty horse spends the night in the pasture and then they switch for the day. Well to switch them I have to put a chain under Nasty horse's chin because he will try to attack Blue when he is lead by to go out to the pasture. Today I was getting ready to switch them and Nasty horse came THROUGH the fence to attack Blue. Blue jumped sideways to avoid being bitten and jumped basically on top of me. I am not hurt and Blue was really struggling on how to get out of that position without crushing me or getting hurt by Nasty horse.
So anyway this is the 2nd fence that the nasty horse has destroyed. I don't have the facilities yet to have a horse that attacks every other horse on the property. Nasty horse did get along with Midnight but when he left Nasty got even nastier (is that a word...?).
I love his owners to death and also love having Gus (they also own Gus) here but I can't endanger every horse that comes on the property because I don't want to offend them. What should I do?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Advice Please.

So Blue is not drinking much. In his stall he has a heated bucket and in the pasture he has automatic water. His bucket was full to the brim last night when I check him before I went to bed (around 11) and then this morning was only about an inch below the lip of the bucket. I thought about turning off the auto water in the pasture and putting out a bucket so I can be sure he is drinking. I aslo added some warm water to his grain this morning just so he would get something in. My older QH King used to take about 24-48 hours to really drink if we were at a show. I always ended up hauling water with us because I would stress about it.
Any ideas of how to 'lead Blue to water and make him want to drink'??

Monday, February 16, 2009

Pony Eyes....

So I have this weird thing for taking pictures of horses eyes. I just think they are so expressive and interesting so today I hung out in the pasture and took pictures of Titan and SeaBiscut's eyes. Some of the shots actually turned out really cool. Also I really liked this shot of Titan's ears- he was watching Chance try to play with Blue. The first two eyes are Titan and the 3rd is Biscut.










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New Pony in the Pasture!

This is 'Blue'. He is a new project horse that I picked up yesterday. He is a 17hh, grulla appaloosa gelding. He is registered (Code Name Blue is his registered name) and has some alright breeding pretty far back but nothing in the recent past. He is fairly well built. He has decent ground maners but will need a bit of a refresher there. He has a few issues under saddle but they seem to stem from people issues not his own brain. He is in desperate need of a trim as his hooves look like dinner plates so when I rode today we just walked around and worked on whoa and turning/stretching/bending. I am having the farrier out this week. He was a bit nervous but did really well. He played with the bit quite a lot so I am going to have the vet out to check his teeth as well but it could also be that it was just a plain fat D-ring snaffle and he was ridden in he past with a french double twist something or other, she couldn't remember the actual name of the bit. He was fine in the snaffle so I don't know what the point of putting anything with a twist in was, maybe they were just intimidated by his size...? I was told his teeth were done this fall but who knows- never hurts to have the vet take a look in there. He really wants to please and just hang out in your pocket and be loved on so hopefully with some training and experience under his girth he will be able to become the center of somone's attention. I will keep you updated as we get on in his training!









Friday, February 13, 2009

Pony update!!

So I haven't actually posted anything about the horses in a while! This blog should be called Polka Dot Chance or Polka Dot Crazy Cat Mo.... who by the way has started trying to nurse on Tess, who is not impressed- anyone know how I can nix that??
Anyway the horses are all doing well. Titan is growing like a weed! I swear he gets bigger every day. Gus is doing much better as you can tell from the recent picture of his leg. Rocky is still fat and still has to be kept seperate from everyone else because he is a big jerk. Though him and I went out on a trail ride the other day and had a good gallop which we were both dying for. Boyfriend also took him out for a ride and said that Rocky was a good boy.
Then the newest addition is a little paint pony called Seabiscut. He is a cutie and is actually a very quick learner. When he got here he struggled to lead and now he takes cue from my shoulder and is moving away from pressure very well. I will post more on him later.
On Sunday I am going to check out a prospective called Blue. He is a 17 hh, blue roan, appy gelding. He is 5 and has some training issues but seems like he would be a really cool project for me. I have to run but more on him later tonight as well...

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Pics of the Week




Gus's leg this week. Looking MUCH better, don't you think??!!
(My first picture of his leg on this post)

















How do you make your cat stop trying to nurse on your dog...???





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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Those Who Save Us

Those Who Save Us
It has been almost 2 months since I have posted a Book List book... I haven't been on the computer as much because Boyfriend is around and I don't want to waste my time with him sitting on the computer for hours. ANYWAY- I just finished this novel, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, about 3 weeks ago (I have read 2 1/2 other books since finishing it but this one was the best of the bunch). It makes me want to read more and more about World War II. It was an interesting look into the other side of the war as most books are written from a Jewish perspective and this novel is written from the prospective of a young German girl. Read it- you will like it.


From the Back:

For fifty years, Anna Schemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of her past is in an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer. Trudy , now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life. Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

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