Fresh Girly

After not having worked with Drifter since last week, except for loading, she was very fresh today. She started out pushy and then followed up with flighty. We worked in the outdoor ring on the long lines and she wouldn't let me get them around her hocks and was just being pushy and flighty at the same time. We ended up doing a lot of walking and circles to get her mind focused.

She has been doing well on pasture board and it was also very cool in temperature this morning. I just think she's a bit under worked and feeling fresh. She is also starting to sport a bigger belly since she is out on nice lush grass.

I plan to work her again, first in long lines, then lunge and maybe end with some pseudo-mounting or save that part for Saturday or Sunday. Time to get back to work Drifter.

Trailer loading...

was no big deal. She was a very good girl! She walked right up to the trailer, sniffed the floor, put her front feet on, ate a treat, looked around and then walked the rest of the way onto the trailer. She unloaded backwards nicely. We went and hand grazed a little bit and then went back and repeated the whole deal just to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke. Wonderful enough, she did the same process on the second time loading into the trailer. She was a good girl and I am very relieved that trailer loading was not a big deal. Go Drifter.

Canter work

On tuesday I had just a short time to work with Drifter. She came to me in the field (a few feet to me anyway) and stood well in the cross ties for grooming and getting out of her fly sheet and into the lungeing cavesson.

We had the indoor to ourselves and worked on trot transitions and canter transitions. I asked her for a few trot/whoa/trot transitions and you could see that she wanted to do the right thing and got slightly tense with the increased demands. She has lost some flexibility in the weeks she has had off. We also went back to canter work. She knows that the kiss sound means canter, but she is not able to strike off immediately, which causes her to rush into the canter at times. She is trying hard though.

Her lameness issue is near resolved, but she is still resistant to pick up the right hind and put all her weight on her left hind. She isn't showing any lameness on soft surfaces though- she may have had a stone bruise.

Tomorrow I am picking up the trailer to take it to PA for a "once over" and hopefully a paint job. I am thinking of asking Drifter to load and unload, but I am not sure how much of a project that might be. There will be another update on trailer loading soon.

Improving

Drifter appears to be doing better with her hoof issue. The farrier didn't see anything special or unusual about her hoof today. She is still just a little off at the trot.

We worked on the lunge with the saddle and stirrups attached and hanging at her sides, which she really didn't seem to mind. I had her walk and trot over some ground poles and although she has no idea where her feet are, she was open to the idea. There was also another horse walking around and she maintained her attention. The thing that bothered her most was the flies biting her, since she is wearing a fly sheet most of the time.

I also lead her over the liverpool in the ring today and she was a little hesitant, but followed. Hopefully we are back on track now.

Short update

I have been nursing Drifter's foot over the last week, because although the vet couldnt tell me what was wrong- it appeared like an abcess and appeared better with soaking. So this week I soaked and wrapped. On Sunday she was about 95% sound at walk and trot on the lunge. I am hoping we have passed through this obstacle and can get back on track.

Drifter has been on pasture board now since the third of the month. She is starting to make a friend and travels with the herd. This has brought up some challenges in her training and handling because she values the herd and is also afraid of the dominant members of the herd. So, leading her through or away from the group is always a high alert activity. She has done well leaving the group and still loves to come out and hang out in the barn. She just needs a little coaxing to leave the group. Yesterday, I had to remind her that she wasn't able to run over me even if the boss horse was moving around in the field. These are good challenges.

She has been good on the cross ties- just standing quietly, while I soak her foot, groom her and doctor her wounds. I am able to run to the tack room for a minute and she stands still. I accepted a big challenge of making her stand in the aisle (not on the cross ties) during feed time. She was very intent and tried to run over me at one point, but I reinforced "stand" and by the end of feeding she was standing very alert, but with no tension on the lead rope. I figure it's good that she learns to stand when something exciting is happening. She did very well.

Starting a new month with new knowledge

I haven't updated this week because Drifter has been lame. She was stiff on Monday, off at the trot on Tuesday, dead lame on Wednesday and so on. I was soaking her figuring on an abcess. The vet looked at her today and couldn't find an abcess, sore spot on the hoof, no heat or swelling in the leg, no issue when flexing her. It didn't make her worse with either flexion. She is just lame. She was supposed to go out on pasture board starting today, but can't because she is lame. Go figure!

Secondly, she is pregnant. She is 60-90 days along and should foal out between end of March and beginning on May. I don't know what this does to my training plans.