Deworming the Boys

We dewormed the horses yesterday.  I haven't really mentioned anything about it, but I'm trying out a new deworming regime on Chrome to see if his sweet itch isn't related to neck threadworms.  It's gross, but if you want more info do a Google search on it.  Basically a lot of people have had success treating sweet itch like symptoms with double doses of Equimax because it kills off the young worms that cause the itching.  Not all cases of sweet itch are caused by the worms, but here's what is ironic... the same gnats that cause sweet itch are the ones that spread neck threadworms... yeah.  So it might all be related.  There is still research being done.  So I dewormed with Quest last month because it had been a while (you don't want to double dose with ivermectin without doing Quest first in case there are a bunch of encysted strongyles).  Yesterday I did the double dose of Equimax.  The good thing is it also gets lungworms that donkeys are prone to as well.  So now we wait.  If it is the threadworms he should start itching intensely in a day or two (it goes away in a couple of days) as the worms die off.  If he doesn't itch then it's probably just the allergy to the gnat saliva that causes sweet itch.  I'm not sure which ones I'm hoping for since the worms are easier to treat (although it's a long term maintenance thing too since the dewormer doesn't kill the adult worm) than the sweet itch.... anyway at least we will have an answer.

Sorry that's not really the point of the post and I've probably left out a lot of relevant information (I'm tired), but I can go into more detail on that another day if you're interested.  If, like me, you're grossed out by it I won't mentioned it again LOL!!  The point of today is that I finally got pictures of how we deworm Zep for those of you curious about how to deworm a donkey that can barely be touched.

We set up an extra panel in the round (not round at the moment) pen to use as a catch pen.  We ease him into the corner and then close the panel in on him until it's like he's in stocks.  Then we can put the halter on him, deworm him, pet him, etc.  Check out the pictures.

Here he is in his makeshift stocks.

This was when I was taking his halter off.

Also shows his size a little.  I'm 5'10" tall.

Fingers crossed someday we will be able to do his hooves.  I actually ran my hand down his front leg which I've never done before.  I was too chicken to do his rear leg since he will kick (he kicked at my husband once for touching his belly).  He bites too by the way.  I was hoping to have the money to geld him this fall (and get his hooves done while he's asleep) but I don't think it's going to work out. :(

Here I'm actually touching his leg for the first time!

Notice him watching me?  And Chrome keeping him company.  :)

I actually touched his belly!  

He has kicked at my husband when he touched his belly, so I didn't have the guts to pet him any further back.

Oh I almost forgot!  I checked Chrome's weight with the measurements and weight calculator that I've mentioned (LINK here) and he is 1128lbs.  We also measured Zep for the first time!!  Up until now we've been guessing his weight.  He weighs 468lbs!  We've been overestimating by about one hundred and fifty pounds lol.  I'm glad wormer has such a big safety margin!!

The best news is that when we opened the panel he walked out and started grazing like he wasn't worried at all.  Do you guys think it would be overly stressful to catch him up like this to pet on him and desensitize him to having his feet done or should I go back to the clicker training and do it that way when I have time?

Anyway I hope you enjoyed seeing Zep again.  I know I haven't been posting much lately and I've definitely not posted much about Zep.  I'm sorry.  I'll try to do better.  I've just been soooo busy!!  I even picked up a side job babysitting tomorrow so there goes that day off!

We did get the storm shelter in recently and we finished pouring the concrete for the ramp leading into it (brother and grandfather are in wheel chairs), so yay for that.  We have the porch halfway screened in.  Also the counter installers shoulder be here within a couple of weeks too so the kitchen is close to being done.  I'm so excited!  I'm glad we're making so much progress but I can't wait to not be so busy.  :)

So how have you all been?  I'm sorry I haven't been by to read your blogs.  I will try to find time as soon as possible.

Introducing Chrome to clippers for the first time (video).

Chrome's mane is getting long again and after watching the cute little roached polo ponies I wanted to roach Chrome's again.  I have a pair of electric clippers that I bought really cheap for shaving my husband's hair because I lost his good ones in the move, but when I found them the cheap pair got used to clip my mom's dog.  So I decided to use it to shave Chrome's mane, which would be so much easier than using scissors.  He's never seen clippers ever and this was his reaction.


If you watch his body language he was definitely tense, but he stayed calm.  He backed up a few times when I held it near his nose at first (it has a really quiet buzz that sounded like a bee or those bot flies, so he didn't like it), but he eventually stopped even doing that.  Since he was tense I only played with them for about two minutes.  I want to keep the sessions short and sweet.  The bad news is the clippers are so dull they wouldn't cut his hair lol.  I really didn't feel like using scissors so his mane will stay as it is for now.  :)

P.S.  Sorry for the cell phone video.  Since my camera is dead you'll have to put up with cell phone pictures and videos for a while.

Polo and Pony Cart Rides!!

For those of you who read both of my blogs this is a repeat from my other blog.

 I finally got to see a polo match in person!!!!!

And on the same day I got to ride in a cart pulled by an adorable pony!!!!

Now that I've shared the exciting news I'll tell you the whole story and share the rest of the pictures.  A friend of mine told me about a polo match they were holding nearby so I bought tickets somewhere around three months ago.  I was a nervous wreck the whole time leading up to it because every time I plan something that far in advance something happens to mess it all up (after all it did take me three tries over the course of two or three years to go see Chrome's sire Jan!)  Luckily everything worked out and the day was absolutely perfect.  Even the weather cooperated.  Well I was freezing, but everyone else and especially the ponies loved the cooler weather.  It was definitely better than if it had been in the eighties or nineties.  :D

We got there early and had a blast playing Sudoku on my husband's phone.  :D  We also got to see them setting up the polo field, goals, etc.

Then the game was on!  It was awesome and our team won.  :)  Here are a bunch of pictures.  They aren't the best because I was too engrossed in the match to pay attention to settings on my camera.  It's also been having some problems since I dunked it in the pond.

 

 

 

This shows how the guy in black was blocking the one in white from helping his buddy with the ball.

 

 This shows how they slam into each other. 

Notice the knee guards in closer pictures...

 The ref.  I love the guy swinging in the background.  I want to draw that!

 

 They were tearing down the field!  

I think they said it's the length of three football fields.

 The ref. 

 Make sure to enlarge the above picture so you can see his grabber stick for picking up the balls and his little pouch for carrying extras.  So cool!

This was the only pony in either strings to have a mane.  :) 

I LOVE this picture and that horse!

Trying to block each other.  I never realized how much of a contact sport polo is lol.

This horse SLAMMED on the brakes!  I can't believe they can hit the ball at that speed!

Hauling butt down the field!!!!

Leaving the field to switch ponies for the next chukker.  :)

 High five congrats because they won the game.  

They shook hands with the opposing team and ref too.  They were all smiles and great sports.  One tradition of polo is the divot stomping!  During half time everyone in the crowd gets to go out on the field and smash the divots flat to keep the field looking nice and to keep the ponies from tripping.  It was so much fun, but most everyone was too busy taking pictures lol.

I was all business stomping those divots.

Well until I found a polo ball that is LOL!  They are plastic and weigh a lot less than you would think.  They reminded me of large ping pong balls.  :)

 This was me all day.  All smiles!!!

 Sadly at the end of the match my camera finally died... :(  It's giving me the same error that the earlier version of this same brand did when it died.  So I'm switching to a different brand when I get a new camera.  So the pictures of the pony cart ride are from my cell phone, which is why the quality is horrible.  The guy was giving rides to all the kids and some of the volunteers, but I wasn't sure if guests could ride.  When I asked he said absolutely!  I was so excited.  Then two other ladies asked to go so I got to ride in the front next to the driver.  I also got lucky because the two ladies were relatives of the driver so he took us for a longer ride than everyone else.  We were gone for sixteen minutes compared to the five minutes everyone else got!  It was awesome!!!

 We trotted alongside the lake,

 

 We got to cross a covered bridge and listen to her hooves on the wood.

 

 We went down a paved road a short way.

 Down a path by the horse fields and up by the barn.

 Around the polo field and even got to see behind the scenes (that's the scoreboard hehe).

Hubby got this one on our way back.  Isn't the pony cute???

The cart was really cool.  It had bicycle tires and the back half was removable.  So it can be a two wheel or a four wheel cart.  The front and back also moved independently up and down which made it smoother and safer on rough terrain.  It's a good thing because he took us up and down some monster hills.  That pony got a work out.  She was such a good girl.  I forgot to get pictures, but we even went behind the barn to where the polo pony rigs were set up.  Those trailers were HUGE!

I had such an amazing day!  I got to do two things that I've been wanting to do since I was a little kid.  It was literally the best day I've had in a really long time and I'll never forget it.  :D

For those of you unfamiliar with polo I'll give you a run down on the basics that I know (there is a LOT that I don't know).  There are two teams of three players (I always thought it was four, but at this one it was three).  There are four chukkers (like quarters in other sports).  The chukkers I think were around ten minutes each.  After each chukker they switch out to fresh ponies.  During half time the riders get a break too.  I think the match lasted just under an hour and a half.  Each time someone scores they switch goals.  There were some fouls for crossing in front of each other (dangerous) and some other things but I don't know about all of the different fouls.  One guy got hit in the head with a ball, but he was fine and one horse got hit in the haunches, again he was fine.  It's not a sport for the weak lol.  There was a girl on each team (go girl power!).  The horses are not actually ponies, but are normal sized Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred crosses.  I don't remember where the term polo pony came about, but that's just what they are called.

Now for anyone who is familiar with polo I have a question.  I know they have a martingale and a gag bit on the horses, but if you enlarge my pictures you'll notice the snaffle rein is attached to the saddle, run through the bit and up to the rider's hands almost like draw reins..... I have never seen that before!!!  Anyone know what that is about?  It seems really harsh.  I know they are riding fast, making sudden stops and sharp turns, but sheesh!  Anyway I had fun even though the gear seemed a bit harsh.  The horses seemed to really enjoy themselves, but they did gape their mouths open when the riders' cranked down on those reins.  Hmm.. On a silly note I have to learn to braid Chrome's tail like that!  He already has the roached mane (prevents the reins or mallet from getting tangled) hehe.