Trailer Loading Practice

Since Deuce is going home in a week I decided to make sure she loads. We had the trailer out for the field trip with the other horses so when we got back I put Deuce on...and off, and on and off and on and off.

She did great! I have a short video. I will have to get picture of her with her new collar on!

Halter on, Halter off

Deuce has been awesome with having her halter taken on and off and on and off.

I don't think that Deuce is ever going to have her leg/tendon well enough to be a riding horse. She WILL be an excellent behaved horse though and her ground manners will be fantastic.

Riding Evaluation

I was able to hop on Deuce for a couple of minutes yesterday. She is moving much better since she got her shoes! I'm not sure if it is because the soles of her feet aren't sore anymore or if it helps her tendon.

She stepped out a lot more freely and was generally happier.

I got her out today to see if she was tender and I couldn't see anything glaringly obvious like I have in the past. I put her on a tight circle on the lunge and she was still sound. Cross your fingers that she stays sound.

She'll have another big ride on Saturday so her owner and I can evaluate her soundness together on Sunday morning.

Yesterday was the day!

Yesterday the most patient farrier in the world came out to work on Deuce. She wasn't trilled but did fabulous. She was great and her shoes look great. Here are a few pictures of her getting worked on. Hopefully I will have some video of it later today or tomorrow.

Fishing with new poles....

The teenage girls have been doing a GREAT job with D. This week they will start catching her and putting another halter on her. Leading her around some and then taking it off and letting her go. I'm sure she will take it in stride like everything else.

She gets her first set of shoes EVER on Wed. I will have pictures and hopefully some video too.

Riding and Evaluation

Tuesday was a GREAT ride. She stepped off like she should have and was perfect. We did more steering and backing.

This morning she was tender when I pulled her out to ride. You can see how she will hold her leg out in front of her even more than normal and step out tender.

Next week the farrier is coming out to see about putting shoes on her that will hopefully help her leg. Cross your fingers!!!

Little Sore

For the past 2 days Deuce has looked sore when she has been moving in the pasture. She looked a lot better this morning but with the rain I will have to wait until tomorrow to ride her again.

BIG Steps!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off! Lately I have been doing the same thing with Deuce. We have been working extra hard on her being caught, then I tack her up and we work on changing eyes, bending, and getting more accustomed to my hand on her side where my foot would go. This took a while longer than I had expected but I'm glad I took the time to REALLY get it one right.

So I made sure I had extra people around just in case and of course to take pictures!

We started out like normal with getting her nice and forward.

Then made sure she was really comfortable with me being above her. We have done this part a log before.

Then there was the deep breath and I sat down. She stood like a champ. With her good conformation it helps because she hardly feels my weight. She didn't twist up or get nervous at ALL!
We did lots and lots of bending and rubbing. She was content to just stand there. When I did start asking her to move it was just a turn or two. She did great. She adjusted to the weight quickly and was calm.

The ride was about 10 minutes long. We did lots of standing, walking, and backing. She did GREAT.

Next week I have a surprise for Deuce. There are 2 teenagers that have horses living in the house at the barn. They are going to be the second and third set of hands to ever catch Deuce. Their job will be to catch her each morning and evening. Its time she started trusting ALL people not just me.