TOABH: A Rose

This week's blog hop from Beka is:  A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Every horse seems to have at least three names:  the "real" one, the barn one, and that special one.  What are some of your pony's names?  I actually have his registered name and nicknames listed in my sidebar.  His registered name is Beebee's Chrome Chevalier TTT and his barn name is Chrome (both picked by his awesome breeder!).  His most common nickname is Chromey Pony.  I call him that all the time.  I can't remember the last time I used the other three; Chromenator, Chromelin or Chromey Baloney.  I mostly just call him Gorgeous, Handsome, Sweet boy, stuff like that.  I guess I'm not that original lol.  Turd, dork and Pony Brat (a throw back nickname from Lady, the Appy mare I had growing up) are common too.  ;)  Here's the really funny part though (thanks for reminding me L)... a lot of people think his name is Crumb.... because I apparently can't enunciate either!

Back when his hormones were first coming in he went by TestosteChrome.

That one died out when he was gelded though.  :)

Now because I hate not posting pictures and because I love baby pictures, enjoy these from when Chrome was younger.  :D

 So cute!!  Thanks for the fun blog hop Beka!

Snow Day

We got a light dusting of sleet/freezing rain/snow.  I thought about going for an off property ride for my 30 Before 30 list, but there's a lot of ice, I'm getting sick, hubby is recovering from walking pneumonia and Chrome hasn't been out on the road much lately (don't want to get run over by a vehicle sliding on ice), so I'm sitting this one out.  Maybe we will get some more snow before winter is over and I can complete that goal.  If not I'll just change it.  Living in the south, there is no guarantee we will get snow at all so I knew it was subject to change.

 Yay no blanket!  Just kidding.  I had to chase him to make him trot haha.

I put Chrome's blanket on him overnight, but took it off this morning.  I'll put it back on tonight because there is supposed to be more sleet and lots of wind overnight.  He has icicles in his mane, but was cozy warm, so I'm happy I decided to try blanketing him this year.  We've had zero shivering so far and he's eating a lot less hay than he did last year (even though I feed free choice)!

 Transitioning to a walk, but I like the reach in his rear legs.  :)

 Dapples!!

The goats refuse to step on the snow (see above picture) so I'll have to take a bucket of water out to the barn for them.  Silly goats!!

 Zep sneaking up behind me while I was crouched down taking pictures.

Zep hiding behind me and Jackal hiding in front (well beside) me lol.

I wish I could get more snow pictures, but my hands were hurting so bad I had to go inside.  Maybe later or tomorrow.  :)

White Lightning for thrush.

A bunch of people suggested White Lightning for treating thrush, so I decided to try it.  When I got to work today I was so disappointed to find she doesn't carry it.....  So I asked hubby to order some online.  He looked at it and told me some great news!  White Lightning when mixed with vinegar creates Chlorine Dioxide!!  That's also the active ingredient in Clean Trax and Vetricyn.  Chlorine Dioxide (Oxine AH) is what we used to disinfect our poultry facilities when we were raising a lot of chickens!!!  So we have some.... somewhere.  I have no idea where it ended up or if it's been in the sun at all, so I'm ordering a new bottle.  The good news is it's a LOT cheaper than White Lightning.  You can order a gallon for around thirty bucks (that's with shipping and handling so if you can find it somewhere without paying shipping good for you!).

Here is an article I found on using it for hoof problems.  http://www.hoof-smart.com/2010/07/02/hoof-care/treat-and-prevent-hoof-infections-with-oxine-ah/

As soon as it gets here I'll let you know how it works out for Chrome.  In the mean time I'll continue using my salt water to hopefully keep it from getting worse.  I wish I'd started using my salt water as a preventative at the beginning of winter so that he never would have developed it, but I forgot.  So for anyone who uses White Lightning, definitely check into this as a cheaper alternative (about a dollar per treatment for all four hooves if activated).  :)  Also don't worry, it's the exact same stuff, so you aren't sacrificing results or safety for price.  You can google Oxine AH to see what all it has been used for.

Lightbulb Moment

Sorry in advance for no pictures and LOTS of text lol, but I feel this is important to get written down.

Okay, I have been feeling frustrated lately that I can't seem to teach Chrome to steer.  I didn't know why teaching him to steer has been so difficult!!  I've taught horses to ride before and never had this problem.  I think my first problem is that I'm a perfectionist!!!!  Because Chrome is my horse and the first horse I've ever even thought about teaching dressage to, I want to do it right!  Unfortunately I've gotten so hung up on doing everything perfectly that I'm not doing ANYTHING!!!  I'm so afraid of screwing up that I'm too afraid to try anything at all (the fact that it's been six or seven years since I took dressage lessons doesn't help the fear of screwing up)!!!

So I started looking up random training videos by random trainers and I learned a few things.  Just because I plan to make Chrome a dressage horse doesn't mean that I can't train him in the basics using Western methods (heck my dressage trainer has a Western rider start her horses before she starts training them in dressage).  I've been so concerned about someday teaching him dressage that I haven't wanted to teach him anything that's not "dressage" including steering.... are you noticing what I finally noticed?  If he can't steer there is no way I'll ever teach him dressage!  Duh!  :)

So I need to take a step (or a million steps) back and start from the beginning.  My first problem is forward.... he has no GO!  Chrome is a lazy horse.... a lazy, overly desensitized horse.  I never taught him that a whip means go forward.  I've never backed up my "walk on" vocal cue for going forward.  I haven't been consistent with leg pressure meaning go forward.  (Note: He will walk forward, but it's a slow, ambling walk with no purpose, not a forward, energetic walk)  So, if I can't get him to go forward energetically how in the world do I expect to get him to steer. 

So, first step is to teach him forward.  He needs to know that a whip means go forward and that the voice cue means go forward.  Once he's good at that I need to teach him that leg pressure means go forward.  And most importantly he needs to learn that when I ask him to go forward he needs to keep going until I tell him he can stop (by saying whoa or just stopping my body from following the movement). 

Since he is almost four I'm going to start teaching him to longe (and yes even use the round pen for some free longeing, round penning or whatever they call it these days).  Once I get some GO in him then I can work on riding and steering again. 

This may all seem sooooo obvious to you guys (if you were even aware of the problem, not sure if I've mentioned it before), but I was thinking so far ahead that I totally forgot about the basics.  Yes I want to start taking dressage lessons again and start teaching him to work like a dressage horse, but if we can't even go forward or steer that's never going to happen.  So, wish me luck!

Thank You!

Flashback baby photo!  Don't you think he inherited his mom's pretty head?

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the people who commented on my "Do you ride alone?" post!  I really appreciated all of the comments.  It's nice to know I'm not being overly paranoid.  I'm always extremely cautious and sometimes I feel like I'm holding myself back by being too cautious hehe.  :)  You never can be too careful with a 1000lb. animal though huh?  I think I will stick with having someone there while I ride until he's older and more experienced.  I do like the idea of getting a body protector like they wear in cross country (in fact I wanted one before I even rode him for the first time lol) for when I ride out alone.  Anyone have suggestions on buying them?  I've never had one and have no experience whatsoever with them.  Thanks again guys!

Do You Ride Alone?

 

A Blogger friend Julie over at My Friend Grayson reminded me of something I've been wanting to do a post on.  Riding alone.

I know some of you may be wondering why I haven't really been riding Chrome much after I was so excited that he'd finally turned three.  There's a lot of reasons actually.  Some of them are health related like his abscess, sweet itch and he had a cut on his back from playing for a while and I haven't been feeling well either because of a lot of stress at work.  Another reason is because I want to let him grow some more because he feels too small for me.  My plan is to wait until he's four before I start riding him a lot.  At the rate this year has gone by I'll probably blink and he'll be four tomorrow lol, so that excuse won't be around much longer.

The big reason is fear.  As much as it kills me to say that.  I trust Chrome, I really do, but I also realize horses are big, unpredictable animals and anything can happen at any time with them.  I'm afraid of going out to ride alone and something happening and having no one to help me.  Part of this fear of riding alone is because I've never really ridden alone!!!

For those who don't know I'm a twin.  My twin sister and I always rode together.  I ALWAYS had someone to ride with.  If she didn't want to ride we didn't ride.  If I didn't ride we didn't ride.  We always rode together. 

After I moved away from home I didn't have a horse to ride.  Then when I found a friend who had horses we always rode together.  Now my friend is working out of state for six months so I have no one to ride with once again.  My husband is always working or at school and we don't have a horse for him to ride so I'm stuck doing short ride around the house when he is home and doesn't have a ton of homework to do. 

I almost went out to ride Chrome last weekend while my husband was inside sleeping because I figured I could call him and wake him up with my cell phone.  When I got out there the bot flies were horrible and Chrome was agitated and doing these huge kicks, so I chickened out and didn't ride. 

So, I guess my question is... am I being paranoid or letting my fear dictate how often I ride?  Would you ride a three year old horse who has only had eleven rides in his entire life when you're home alone?  I don't have anyone I can call if something happens because all of my close friends have moved away.  I can't call my husband because he can't answer his phone in class.  So the only option I'd have is to drive myself to the doctor or call 911, if I'm even conscious to do either of those things.  Maybe I'm being a big chicken and thinking worst case scenario because a friend of mine was just thrown from her three year old horse and although nothing is broken she's in a lot of pain (she doesn't live near me).  So, what are you thoughts on this subject?

Chrome Saddled Part I

 Wow, we finally got a break in the weather!!  It's in the eighties and it feels amazing!  :D  There's almost no humidity (that I can feel anyway) and it was so perfect I couldn't pass up the chance to play with Chrome.  I've been wanting to try the Aussie saddle on him again since he's grown some to see how it fits.  Here's a post from the first time he wore it (http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/2012/01/chrome-wears-our-new-aussie-saddle.html).  I didn't ride him though because he's never been ridden in a saddle and hasn't been ridden at all since June 19th, not to mention he's only had a total of nine rides ever lol.  Here's the rest of the pictures.

 Here he's getting his itchy neck scratched.  I don't know if you can see it (click to enlarge picture), but his neck, shoulders and forearms are covered in scabs again.  Last year when he did this I thought it was rain rot, but now I know it's sweet itch.  :(  My Appaloosa pony Lady used to get it every year.  Why do all of my favorite horses always end up with sweet itch??  I'm looking into ways to treat/prevent it.  It's been so long since I dealt with it that I've forgotten what I knew about it.  I don't think he'd keep a fly sheet intact so that probably won't work.  Anyway I'll let you know what I find out later.  

 

Getting him saddled and checking the fit.  It's a little wide in the front (because it's technically Faran's saddle and was custom fit to him) and my pad is too short on the sides, so . . . . I'm thinking of making a homemade pad that's longer on the sides and has removable shims.  :)  Wish me luck since I can't really sew lol.  If anyone has any suggestions for the shims I'd appreciate it since I've never owned a shim pad.  How thick should I make the shims and how big?  Thanks!

Then we did some longeing to see how he felt in the saddle.  The rope is not as tight as it looks here.  It was swinging so it looks tight.

We did a couple of walk circles and a couple of trot circles each direction.  Not much.  Just enough to see if he was uncomfortable.
 
 Here's a picture of him wearing the Aussie saddle approximately eight months ago . . .

And here he is wearing it now . . .

Can you believe how much he's matured?  It's amazing how much they change in their first few years of life.  :)  As I said above I didn't ride him.  I was standing on the ladder so I could wiggle the saddle, lay across his back, flap the stirrups, etc.  As you can see he didn't mind any of it.  I'm holding his rope and you can see how slack it is.  He's such an awesome boy!  Does the saddle look too long for him?  It looks like it would have me sitting almost over his loins??  When bareback I'm sitting a lot closer to his withers.  Dunno, maybe it's because I haven't seen a saddle on him in a long time.  What do you think?

I can't wait to ride him in a saddle!  I think it will be fun (although I might be too tempted to trot him lol).  I might try riding him a little as it is now to see if it settles too much in the front, but not for more than a few minutes because I don't want it to make him sore.  If I can't get shims to work we will just ride bareback until he broadens out more or I can afford a new saddle lol.  :)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I had fun playing with him even though we didn't do much.  Hopefully this nice break in the weather lasts a few days!

Less than a day to go until our first ride!!!!

 Sorry I never did finish the countdown.  I got really, really, really busy!!!  Chrome got a bath in preparation for our big day tomorrow.  I think he looks awesome and I hope he stays that way until the party lol.  I'm only going to have an hour after work to get ready tomorrow before people start arriving eek!  I wish I could have had the day off.  Sheesh.  Anyway these pictures were taken with my cell phone so they aren't great, but enjoy them anyway hehe!

 He was swiping at flies so it's blurry, but I LOVE his neck and how it shows his changing color so well.

 His mane is getting so white.  I wish it would grow long by his withers like it is by his face.

Did I mention I had a dream about having to completely shave off his mane before the party and I cried (in the dream, not while awake lol)!

 Handsome boy!  He's almost turning into a rose gray because he's bleached out already lol.

This one is overexposed and blurry, but too funny not to share.  He's itchy because of the ticks!  I feel bad because I forgot to fly spray (kills ticks too) him!  Poor guy.

Anyway look for an update and pictures on Sunday evening!  Sorry I can't get them posted before then.  Working sucks lol.  Thanks for following along on our journey the last two and a half years.  I think some of you are as excited as I am for tomorrow.  It's been a long wait lol.  Night guys!!

My New Equine Books

As most of you know Chrome was second runner up in the Best In Show competition at Mango Minster 2012. If you missed the post, here it is: http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/2012/02/mango-minster-2012-best-in-show-2nd.html

As Chrome's prize he got gift certificates to Amazon, so I helped him out and ordered a few books. I'm sure he would have chosen something completely inappropriate like a catalog full of cute filly pictures, so I had to do the ordering. ;) Here is what I got:

I read this book in three days (I'm a fast reader lol) and I learned a LOT! I learned all about how muscles work, how long it takes to strengthen muscles, tendons and bone, safety tips and it even answered a lot of my questions about when/how to start Chrome as a three year old. :) It has really cool cards in the back that has all the exercises on them and bunch of different routines for different goals. My goal right now is to get him ready to have a rider so I'm using one of the routines that has a lot of stretching and exercises for getting him for supple. I'll share my workout routine later. It's three days a week and all in hand of course since I'm not riding him yet. Anyway, definitely more to come. I really enjoyed this book and will be going back to it continually over the next few years as I get Chrome fit (and me!).

The next one is a book I've wanted for a while. I was so excited to finally get it!

I read this book in two days! As soon as I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was so interesting and easy to read. I learned so much!! I learned all about the anatomy of hooves and the importance of diet and exercise in hoof health. I also learned that I need to stop over stressing about how his hooves are trimmed. It's important, but not the end of the world if it's not perfect. Perfect hoof health comes from balancing vitamins/minerals and cutting sugar/starch out of the diet. :) And exercise of course which just goes perfectly with the first book hehe. The fun thing is that I finished the book the day my trimmer came over so it was all fresh on my mind as I watched her trim Chrome. That made for interesting conversation. She isn't a barefoot advocate, but she's not opposed either. This book didn't answer all of my questions, but it sure filled in a lot of holes in my foundation understanding of hooves. It also debunked some of the myths I still believed about hooves. The main thing it did was get me really interested in equine diets . . . there may be another book on the way soon lol!

The last one is:

I haven't started reading this one, so I can't give a review on it yet. I will as soon as I finish it, which might take a while because it's huge! I'm hoping it will help fill in some of the holes like the hoof book did. Understanding the reasons for doing things and how things work helps me to learn how to do things so I'm hoping this one will do that for me. We shall see! :)

Anyway I'll post hoof pictures tomorrow. :) This was easier and I'm totally enjoying a lazy day off LOL! Later guys!

Chrome wears our new Aussie saddle! Video!

Oops I forgot to get still shots, so I grabbed a couple from the video.

Isn't he handsome? I think he looks great in it. And even if he doesn't get any taller (I know he will because he's only two and a half) I'll be totally fine with that because the stirrup sits right at his underline. :) That's a huge improvement over the ponies I rode as a kid with my toes hanging to their knees lol! I know this is totally a copycat post, but you knew I couldn't leave Chrome out hehe. Also there is something really exciting in the video!! Check it out.

Note: If the saddling is boring you can skip ahead to 5:00 to see the exciting part. :)


Yep, first time ever putting weight in a stirrup. Previously he's always been bareback and I just laid across his back. He has his ears back probably because it's uncomfortable having me mount from the ground (I know, I know, I should use a mounting block, but I don't have one; we're actually building one today!). I think he was awesome and I'm so proud of him. If you can't watch the video here is a picture. :)

I think he's going to be so easy to start. I've had Chrome since he was five months old and I spent a lot of time hugging his head, neck and barrel so I don't think he's at all claustrophobic. :) I can't wait for May!!

Chrome is awesome! Videos!

I went to town to get some plywood so I can build a mounting block and when I got back I found Chrome and Zeppelin playing hard. Chrome was so beautiful galloping around the pasture. Check out this video. P.S. There is a surprise at the bottom so make sure to look at the whole post.


I'm such a bad momma for scaring him lol. He was being playful though because I walked right up to him after and he wasn't scared. I definitely do not ever want to be on his back when he shows off his acrobatic bucking. Here is a collage of screenshots (sorry the quality isn't great in video screenshots) I made of him bucking . . .

For those of you who can't see the video I got some screenshots for you . . .

Chrome is almost always the leader when they go for a gallop.

This is actually the second buck in a sequence here
and donkey got a face full from the first one lol.

Charging in for a bite . . .

Chomp!

Donkey rears up for retaliation as Chrome dives past.

Chomp! Doesn't Chrome look awesome in this shot. He looks like an Andalusian lol.

He had a full flagged tail going on while galloping huge circles around the pasture.

Super trot!! All four hooves off the ground.

It looks like he's staring right at me, but he didn't know I was there lol.
I think he was actually looking back behind him for the donkey who didn't follow him. Too cute!

This was after I spooked him on purpose so he'd flag his tail. Cute!!

And some still shots I got. These first four were continuous shoot so they came out weird.

Donkey is so cute!

Chrome stopped for a drink and Zep was licking him!! Why does he do that?

Look at that drool!

Okay, so after all of this galloping around, playing, bucking and in general goofing off, I did this . . .


Isn't he awesome? He was being mouthy because I gave him treats earlier, but I did not use a halter, rope or treats at all during this video to lead him to the pedestal so I could lay across his back. He walked off the first time I guess because he was still pumped up, but he didn't do anything bad. Then he was perfect on the other side. :) Here are some still shots for those who can't see videos.

Lined up next to the pedestal so I can hop on.

Then he walked off. First time he's done that.
Something we can work on when I actually build my mounting block.
The pedestal is a little low.

Being the good boy he is, he stopped and relaxed.
Does my horse make my butt look big? LOL

Then lined up the other side and stepped up to hop on.

And hopped up. He did great on this side.

He turned to look at me as I slid off. Cutie.

So do you think he'll be ready in May? :D