Late Night Cuddle

Sorry it took me so long to get these pictures posted. Been a little busy. :) Here are Chrome and Galaxy cuddling up for a snooze. These pictures were taken in complete darkness. Neither horse was bothered by the flash at all. :)

The new feeding routine is working out a lot better!! I do think I'll start tying Galaxy up to eat because she crowds the gate when I take Chrome out. I'm now taking him out, feeding Galaxy, giving him his medicine and then letting him eat while I groom him, take pictures and work on our desensitizing work with the lead rope. He's doing fantastic! He also met me at the gate today, so I think he's about done with his playing hard to catch game. :) Good thing. I'll post pictures tomorrow (if I have time) of him in his new eating spot.

Chrome & Galaxy Video

It isn't the greatest quality because I was using the digital camera instead of the video camera, but here is the first video of Chrome and Galaxy. I know his halter looks tight, but it's the only way to keep him from getting it off and we don't leave it on him all the time.



I've decided since Chrome is playing hard to catch that I'm going to feed him outside of the pen. This also helps keep Galaxy out of his food. So now if he wants to eat he has to be caught, haltered and led out, then he has to follow me while I feed Galaxy then he gets to go eat his food while I groom him or work on desensitizing him to a swinging lead rope.

After he eats I'll take him back to the paddock and work on more desensitizing. I've been swinging the rope all around him and waving my hands around. If I do this everyday it shouldn't take long for him to stop being so jumpy. He calms down very quickly, so I don't think he's actually scared, he's just very reactive to movement. I'll keep you updated. :)

Vet Visit

Chrome went to see the veterinarian today. He didn't have a fever and hasn't had a cough in a while, so the vet said it's probably just a respiratory infection, so he's on a course of antibiotics. :) I'm so glad he's easy to give oral medicine to! Thanks Tracey (breeder)!

I took the camera, but felt a little weird taking pictures at the vet clinic. Didn't want them to think I was spying or something. It was my first time to this particular vet. He was very nice and I was impressed by all the questions he asked. Very thorough. :) So no pictures unfortunately.

Galaxy was upset being left alone, but Chrome walked right onto the trailer. He neighed a few times as we drove to town, but was calm. At the clinic he walked right off the trailer and into the clinic stable. He never spooked at anything and was calm the entire time. He never fussed during the whole exam, not even while getting his temperature taken. He was such a good boy. I was proud.

When leaving he hesitated at the gate because it was huge and swung inward toward him, but he walked right through and loaded back on the trailer easily. Even my adult horses never loaded so easily on a trailer!!!! I felt like he didn't even need my help. :)

So now to keep an eye on Galaxy and make sure she doesn't get it. I got a video of them walking/trotting around and pictures of them taking a nap together so I'll try to get them posted asap! I really want to get a video of them really trotting out together (as opposed to the lazy trot) because they both move so beautifully, but with all the mud they don't often trot around. They prefer cuddling or eating hay lol! I'll keep trying. It'll be worth it. :)

Introducing . . .

Wanna know who this belongs to??

Here's a peek . . .

Her name is Galaxy a.k.a Gal. She's an almost two year old Quarter Horse filly. Her owner (coworker of my husband) couldn't afford to care for all of her horses anymore so she's giving them away to good homes only. Gal has rain rot (which we're treating) and was a little wormy (also taken care of), but otherwise in great health. She has the sweetest of temperaments and I think she and Chrome are best friends already.

Unfortunately Chrome has thick green discharge from one of his nostrils, so we're taking him to the vet for that. I hope its something simple to do with his sinuses, because he hasn't been coughing and his appetite is great. I'll update as soon as I know something and we'll keep a close eye on Galaxy too. Send good thoughts to Chrome please!

Chrome's Surprise

My husband bought Chrome a surprise! And here it is . . . .



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. . . . . . . . his very own blanket!!

Normally I don't like to blanket horses unless it's very, very cold, because it prevents them from growing a good winter coat, but Chrome was shivering, so we decided to go ahead. I'm only leaving it on him when it's raining so he'll still grow his coat. He was a little skittish, so I worked on desensitizing him to it. It only took five or ten minutes to get it on him. It won't take long before he realizes it keeps him warm and he'll be begging for me to put it on. :D

Chrome's Second Day

I am soooo behind on editing pictures. My camera takes huge pictures and I have to downsize them before I can post them. Sometimes I get lazy and get waaaay behind on photos. So anyway, here are Chrome's pictures from day two. He finally got to meet the neighbor's gelding Two Socks (original huh?). He also got to meet my two pygmy goats, Hairy Vetch and Sassafras, and my Siberian Husky Storm.

First up we have the goats. He was very curious, but also a little wary of them. Vetch was being a brat and tried to head butt Chrome, so in the last picture he's flipping them off (threatening to kick). They're getting along much better now. :)

Here are the pictures of him meeting Storm, my Siberian Husky. You can also see her blog for more pictures. Here are my favorites.

And here are the pictures of him and Two Socks. It was so cute watching his submissive champing (stretching head and neck, pulling back lips and clapping teeth together is a submissive gesture to older horses) to the gelding.

Chrome kept turning his butt to the gelding and champing. The gelding gave him some pretty hard bites to the rump, but they are great friends. They've even learned to play bitey face with each other. Its so cute!

And here are some more random pictures of my beautiful boy.

Being cute. :) I was happy to catch these two on camera. The yawning one looks like a braying donkey. :)

Doing his Arabian impression. I love these pictures!

We haven't worked on any specific training yet. Just spending a lot of time together, getting to know one another. He LOVES being scratched all over, specifically his ears and chest. As soon as I get him a companion I'm going to start working on desensitizing him to things like plastic, blankets, ropes, whips, etc. He's a little jumpy, but I think it's just because he's on his own for the first time. A lot like getting your first apartment and every door slam makes you jump. :D

Keep an eye out for the next post. My husband bought Chrome a present!

Monthly Progress Report - 10-19-09

I'm going to make a monthly progress report on Chrome, so we can all keep track of how he's doing. The report will include a current picture, his age, height, approximate weight, progress from previous month and goals for the next month. Each report will be done on the nineteenth since he was born on May nineteenth. Even if I post late the measurements and pictures were taken on the correct day. So here goes . . .

Date: 10-19-09
Age: 5 months
Height: 12.2hh (50.5 in/4ft 2in/1.27 meters/128.3 cm)
Weight: Approx 400lbs

Progress: Chrome made it home safely. He was a little scared at first, but he's settled in nicely. He's introduced himself to the neighbors horse (pictures and video coming soon) and has met his goat companions. We're getting an older mare as soon as possible to keep him company and teach him his manners. The donkey we got as a companion unfortunately is too wild I think to make a good company. I don't want Chrome to become hard to catch or to learn bad manners, although we may still use the donkey temporarily as soon as we get his coggins results back. Thankfully the neighbor gelding is sticking pretty close to Chrome except for getting water from his pond (still within sight). Chrome is a total pocket pony and already knows to come to us when the flies are bothering him. He's so inquisitive and friendly. He's loading easily onto the trailer (often by himself!!) and has not lost his appetite at all. He doesn't appear to be suffering from any undue stress. He hasn't had any diarrhea like some colts gets when they're weaned and moved. I'm very happy with him and can't wait to start clicker training.

Goals: Our goals for this coming month are to get to know each other, find a companion and basically settle into a routine. The breeder did such a fantastic job with him. He already picks up all four feet, stands still to be groomed, leads and is just so well behaved. Once he's settled in I'm going to work on refining some of his leading skills. He needs work on his "whoa" since he has a tendency to crowd. I'll also continue to work on hauling him in the trailer.

Chrome's Baby Pictures II

And some with him dried off and standing.

Some pictures of him playing outside.

And pictures of the cutie pie napping.

And a picture of him just looking cute!!