Monday, January 12, 2009

My Pony Grew Fins

For the photos in this post I am using a new set of actions, called "rainy day gloom."

Just kidding. I don't even have Photoshop. But if anyone has any ideas of how to take good outside shots during 7 months of dreary winter weather lighting, please oh please, let me know! I use a point and shoot, so that doesn't give me many options, no?

Oh goodness, there was plenty of gloom and gray to make me want to snuggle down in the snowman-print fleece pants Paint Girl got me for Christmas and stay on my couch all day long.
But I cowgirled it up and was not a couch tater. I'm pretty dedicated that way, and proud of it. I needed to deworm my horse, and, I wanted to see how he was, give him some loves, and check how his pasture was holding up after the snow melt and flooding.

This about all that is left of the white stuff. Giant piles made from the snowplows. These piles might be around until March.
The arena did not fair so well. Over three-quarters of it was submerged in water around 2 inches deep.

My Boy is wondering.....what do you think we're going to be able to do with this, Pony Girl? I didn't bring my water wings, you know!

My Boy loves the arena pond. He always walks into the water, plays with it with his lips, and drinks from it.

Luckily, the other end of the arena wasn't that wet and although it was mucky, it wasn't too slippery. I had assumed I wouldn't find a decent place to work my horse, but was excited to seize the opportunity to send him out on the 12 ft. line. My Boy was feeling his oats, yet he was smart and didn't do anything too silly, just some head tosses and playful kick-outs. He seemed happy to trot out on the longe line. I can see that he is quite out of shape and lost a bit of muscle tone.

Afterwards, I reblanketed him then we found some grass.

My Boy got his dewormer when we were finished. As you might remember, he is impossible to paste worm without twitching him. Whenever I've had to bute him, I mixed the bute in his supplement and he gobbled it down. I decided to try this tactic with a tube of paste wormer, it was worth the risk of wasting an $12 tube if it worked. I was pretty shocked when he licked the bucket clean. So, the last three times I've wormed him, I've mixed the wormer in his supplement along with tasty treats.
First, I put his supplement in a bucket. Then add the wormer and a little cup of applesauce.

I mix it up, and add a carrot or apple on top.

Then it's always....will he or won't he? He ate the carrots off the top first, then frowned a bit. Took a bite, smacked his lips like a goofball, hesitated..... then continued to eat. I tossed a cookie in there every few bites for encouragement. He got it all down. Sure beats struggling with the twitching and paste wormer!

My Boy's run-in shed was closed off to him for a week as a cautionary measure due to the heavy wet snow on the roof. It was recently reopened, and the shavings were in need of some fluffing. He came over to investigate my work and was quite happy to roll in them afterwards. It always cracks me up how horses like to roll in fresh shavings. Although I wouldn't call these overly fresh. They were the cleanest of what was in there, as I bank the walls of the shed and just scraped some of those into the middle.

I will have to purchase fresh shavings next weekend. My fear is the farm store I get them at might have flooded last week. I worry about all of the pallets of feed, hay, as well as livestock that lived there.

My Boy isn't in the mood to pose, obviously! He always gives me the strangest looks when I pull out my camera. I swear he thinks oh man, it's just my Pony Girl and that beeping hunk of silver inedible metal. Enough already!

I left my spotted pill standing in his shed as it began to drizzle again. When I got back up to the house, I noticed he'd wandered back out to stand in the rain near his tree. He really only uses his shed at night. During the day, he prefers to stand in the rain. I'd prefer that he use his shed and not look like a drowned rat all of the time, but I think he likes to be closer to the mares.

It was good to see my horse. He was feeling spunky and I am getting itchy for spring. The weather forecast looks brighter and dryer for the coming week. Next Saturday he has his farrier visit and I hope to clip his growing Mohawk. Who knows, maybe the arena lake will recede a bit and I'll even saddle up and ride!


22 comments:

  1. Ugh, mud season. I completely sympathize.

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  2. Aww, he looks so bedraggled, doesn't he?
    I notice he has his tongue out in the first photo. Does he always stick his tongue out??

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  3. We just gave de-wormer to our horses yesterday, and we use the same bucket "treat" method. MUCH easier than struggling with my 32 year old who is sure I am going to kill him with that tube...silly boy.

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  4. {Fantastyk Voyager}- He just happens to lick his lips and I just happen to catch him with the camera! ;)

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  5. Well, at least the grass stays green year round.

    Before my one burro was touchable and he needed to be dewormed, I used a pelleted wormer, which he gobbled right up. Most of them are alfalfa-pellet based.

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  6. I see your point about the rain,I don't love the snow but buy do I hate mud!
    They sure do ham it up for the cmera huh? The shots I got of Cactus the other day were the last of about 30 I took, as soon as he hears the camera ears out slack jaw and looks like a sick donkey!
    So I got as far away as possible and zoomed in.

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  7. I've posted photos of a similar lake in the grass pasture at the stable where I work. It's a mess. My Boy seems to be faring well in spite of all the wet stuff though.

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  8. Yuck, looks all kinds of mucky. I hate mud and rain.
    I use the pellet wormer, that works so well around here. Everyone thinks they're getting a grain treat. I go thru a 50lbs bucket in 3 days here. Makes it so much easier than chasing them around with a tube wormer, none of my horses like that much and I'm not up to being slung all over the place, lol.
    Least you got to spend some time with him though!!

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  9. What a great idea for the wormer. I've had them pull one on me and toss their head as I'm squirting it in--causing it to fly through the air and hit whoever's on the other side. And, if it doesn't go off well, you always wonder if they got enough.

    I'm ready for Spring, too.

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  10. My old girl Naigen, her ONE bad habit was her being a royal PITA to worm. The first time I wormed her it took the BO's husband, my friend and I to worm this little 13.3 girl. I tried to put it in her grain. Nope, wouldn't eat it.
    So I came up with another tactic. I use applesauce and a lot of it. once she realized it was applesauce she would bite the syringe and I would squirt it in. Give her about 5 syringes and I shoved the wormer in the off side of her mouth (her right side) and then another squirt of applesauce right after. Been good ever since. Oh all the horses in the barn take wormer good now cause I was feeding them the rest out of the syringe XD hahaha

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  11. Great advice about the wormer in the treat bucket. I briefly had a good sized pony who was horrible.

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  12. Weather challenges-not fun! And good idea with the wormer-my guys are pretty good at taking it, but they challenge me in other ways

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  13. Oh boy...what a wet face!!!

    BTW....I'm the other Pony Girl. <;[]

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  14. Oh, the pictures look great.
    After the bad drought we had down here, rain looks good. But I know, enough is enough.lol...
    My Boy looks as if he can handle just about any weather situation.

    We give our goats their wormer like that, also. It works good.

    Have a good dry week.
    Pam

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  15. Seems funny to see green grass and snow on the same page. We lose the green about November. When I used to travel more frequently to Portland, OR, I would love getting off the plane in the winter & seeing green! We are getting over 40 mph wind gust, slick highways & white out conditions. They held out kids at school for an hour before they let the rural buses run. I left work early - white knuckle driving!

    A friend uses an empty wormer shringe of molasses & then the dewormer, followed by another dose of molasses. I've used that before when having to bute. It must taste worse than dewomer because that always seems to be the tough one!

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  16. That looks really miserable. I may be better off with the snow.

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  17. I HATE the mud! Glad you got to have fun with My Boy...he is a lovely fish

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  18. Lucky for us, time-wise (since there's over 100 head here) and money-wise, the horses on our ranch that are turned out- we don't de-worm. They're all rotated through pastures with cattle so there is not a parasite problem. Well that and the pastures are anywhere from 900-1800 acres each. The horses we keep in smaller traps I de-worm spring and late summer. I will also de-worm the weanlings in the spring since they spend all winter together in a lot. I generally have no problems with my horses. Honestly, as horseman, the thing we often forget is to *get our horses* ready to be de-wormed instead of just getting after it. Here, we get them ready by using our finger, and then a syringe and lots of rubbing and it always goes smoothly. Just a thought from a professional horseman.

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  19. I'm surprised my two don't argue when it's paste wormer time. They're both pretty good about it. They get cookies afterward, and if I'm not too lazy, sometimes I'll give them a little Gatorade. YUK, I don't envy your soggy weather, though we could certainly use the rain.

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  20. Hahaha!!! We just clipped mohawks last weekend. Our horses must be on the same hair-cutting schedule! :)

    I left a comment on my blog about what products I use in my hair, but in case you don't see it, I use Redken Ringlet and Redken Hardware. One helps tame the curlies/frizzies, and the other helps to keep them tame...lol!!!

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  21. At least he likes that water!! That is a plus!! And it's good that he ate all his wormer past!! What a good boy. I dewormed seven horses on Sunday. It must have been that time of year!!

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  22. Awwwww, I love how his fur on his forehead gets so curly when it's wet. Reminds me of baby hair. So cute!

    Good for you in finding a low stress way to get your handsome pill to consume his wormer, too.

    Gosh you've got so much water there. Maybe instead of a saddle, you need and ark!

    :)
    Lisa
    ~aka Rapunzle

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I love hearing from my readers!! I truly enjoy all of your feedback, advice, helpful tips, and stories. You all make me laugh and I learn so much from you, too. I will try to post replies to your comments as often as I can.

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