Six Months Today - Progress Report

Chrome is finally going into his gawky stage, which is good because it means he's growing. His butt is still higher than his withers, but they are catching up. His ribs are showing a little bit when he walks around which is actually good when they are growing because if they get fat at this age if can cause damage to joints and growth plates in the legs. He's gotten a hay belly, little piglet. His coat still looks great although his skin is still a bit dry. As soon as I can find someone to order flaxseed for me I'll start giving him that for the Omega fatty acids. His tail is growing and getting very curly at the ends. He's also getting spunky and is doing what horses do best, horsing around. Check out the video at the end of the post. Now on to our monthly progress report.

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Date: 11-19-09
Age: 6 months
Height: A little over 12.3hh (51in/4ft 2½in/1.29m/129.5cm)
Height Gain: ½ inch
Weight: 430lbs (195kg)
Weight Gain: Last month’s weight was a guess. After comparing measurement techniques I think he was actually 380lbs, so he gained 40lbs (18kg)

Progress: Chrome is doing fantastic. As you know from my posts we did find a companion which was one of last month’s goals. Another goal was to get to know him, which I’ve done. I’ve learned that he has an independent personality, but still loves attention. That’s he’s a little reactive to new stimulus. I’ve learned that he’s a little hard to catch, which we’ve mostly over come. I’ve worked on his leading and he’s stopping better although sometimes he still bumps my elbow. When I get him started in clicker training I’ll be able to refine it further and start teaching him voice commands. As you know he got sick and when we took him to the vet he did fabulous on the trailer. I’ve also been haltering him, grooming him and picking up his feet when I feed him. I’ve also worked on desensitizing him to his lead rope swinging around his head. I’ve also been teaching him that after he eats when I take the halter off he has to lower his head to get it off. It’s going great and he’s not rooting anymore. Well I think that covers all of last month’s goals plus some.

Goals: My goals this month are to find a treat he likes so we can start clicker training. I know this will just take time because weanlings are just so picky, but I’ll keep working on it. I really think the nicker makers will be the ticket eventually. I also want to take him on more walks on the road and around the property to ensure he’s getting enough exercise and desensitize him to traffic. One goal I would like to accomplish this month or at least start is desensitizing him to a longe whip with a lash. This will make teaching him to longe as a two year old a lot easier. Depending on the weather and my schedule I might also start working with him on desensitizing to a plastic bag. Due to static electricity he’s a little jumpy about having his blanket put on and removed so if we don’t get too much rain I’ll work on that. I want to do everything I can to prepare him for being a good trail horse. Anyway I think that’s enough to work on this month.

And some pictures . . .

And here is a video of him playing. One thing I like about our set up is that the window right by my bed overlooks the corral where I keep them at night. Because we don't have a barn in the corral we've put up a wind block, but when we get the new, bigger barn built I'll put the corral right up next to it so they can get inside. I'm excited about the barn. I'll post pictures when they start putting it up.

If you pay close attention in the video you will see him running, bucking, playing with his ball, playing with a stick, playing with his halter, chewing Galaxy's tail, biting Galaxy's face, etc. Tons of fun in this short video!



After watching him get frustrated that his ball was caught under the fence I decided to hang it in a tree so he can play with it. It was the sound of him kicking the ball that woke me up at six thirty this morning so I could take this video footage. :D