Hammar's Adventure

On Friday my Mother in Law came over to help me with a little something; she brought gloves, if that gives you a hint.

We cleaned Hammar's sheath! The poor boy has always had a sensitive, um, private area. I know it hurt him, and I strongly suspect that's why he has been scratching his hindquarters so much. We had him tied to the inner tube that is wrapped around a pole while I got started. I used another article from an old Perfect Horse to guide me; I stood at Hammar's shoulder so I was out of kicking range. And a good thing, too - Hammar did several cow kicks before he settled. We found it worked best to get some of the Excalibur sheath cleaner (I love that name!) soaking into the smegma, then let Hammar walk for a minute or two before he got tied up again. Then we pulled out a few chunks of ickinesss, reapplied more sheath cleaner, and let him walk some more. By that time he was fine with the whole affair. We ended up taking turns, then used a Pepsi bottle to rinse him (the hose water was too cold). We filled it up with warm water, then squeezed the water into the sheath. Once the water was dripping out clear we applied some baby oil to keep everything soft. That afternoon, while Hammar was eating, he finally dropped and I saw how much better he looked! He still had raw spots (it was bad) but nothing was rubbing them anymore. So now he can heal up and I feel comfortable enough to do it again and again every spring! We didn't find any "beans", the little lumps of smegma that can collect above the urethra, so I hope Hammar just didn't have one...

And guess what I'll be doing next weekend! I still have about half a bottle of Excalibur for Nine... Maybe we'll get pictures this time!

Close to Mounting

I have a collection on old Perfect Horse newsletters, and I was reading an article outlining John Lyons' method of mounting a horse for the first time. This method takes it all very slowly, so I felt confident it would work for me and Nine, because it would give ME time to feel comfortable with getting on the horse. So yesterday, I gave it a try.

I let Nine decide when he was ready to get saddled, which means he got to run when he felt like it, and it took me an hour to saddle him! However, when I did saddle Nine, he was untied and didn't resist. He gave one buck once the cinch was tightened, then we got the bridle on and I started. First I just stood next to Nine and shifted the saddle around. Then I backed off and let Nine relax. Then I stood next to him and flapped the stirrup around, then backed off again. We have done this stuff with Nine before so he was fine. It was when I tried to reach my foot to the stirrup that he got nervous. But I only got my foot to+ touch the stirrup, then I backed off again. Nine was very surprised at that! But when I tried again, he stood! So, I put my foot in the stirrup 25 more times, adding weight and hopping when Nine was doing well. Then I repeated it all on the other side. Nine wasn't as fond of that, and I wasn't either, but we did it, and I feel a lot more ambidextrous because of it.

After 25 repetitions (I told you it was slow!) came the big part - I was supposed to hop up to stand my full height in the stirrup. For whatever reason I am terrified of actually getting myself on that poor horse. Anyhow, after a few tries I worked up the nerve to try. But because I hesitated, my knee jabbed into Nine's shoulder and caused him to jump sideways. Fortunately, he didn't go far and he turned to face me immediately. But after that Nine didn't want my foot anywhere near the stirrup, so I just spent a few minutes backing up so I could again get my foot in the stirrup and hop. Then I unsaddled Nine and we called it a day. All of that took me less than four hours. I have deciding to just keep doing the same exercises until I feel more comfortable. Then I will get on when I am good an ready. Will keep y'all posted.

Poor Hammar...

Hammar has been scratching himself - on the barbed wire, no less - and it's getting worse. I am officially worried sick. He gets wormed more frequently than the other horses, and although he is chronically thinner than the other two, he isn't really underweight. I can't see any ribs, though his hips are a bit bony... He's always been that way though. I don't think worms are his problem. Hammar's tail has always been rubbed a bit, but now he is rubbing it tot he point that he has a little bald spot. And his hindquarters (and occasionally his pasterns) have been sprouting cuts from the wire. I can see tufts of black hair caught in the barbs. You think if he was itchy he would scratch on the pine poles, but no, he has to cut himself of the barbed wire. I swear, if we had enough money I would tear down that wire in a heart beat...

Anyways, I know Karen will probably read this, so if you have any ideas, please help me! When it gets warm enough I want to give Hammar a thorough bath. He's never had one before - he hates water. But it is time. I want to find a shampoo that might help him - maybe some sort of allergy shampoo, or ultra-hydrating. Maybe Hammar's skin is so itchy because it's just dry, who knows? Then, with the help of some rope and 2 or 5 people, I want to tackle the awful "s" word: sheath cleaning. I can't afford the $106 vet bill they quoted for sedation plus sheath cleaning, so I am going to try it myself. My Mother in Law had a theory that Hammar might be itching because of a kidney infection! That scares me something awful, but given how Hammar doesn't stretch out all the way to pee (he hasn't since he cut his tendon in his hind leg) and how when he starts shedding the hair collects on his "water spicket" and gets all gross... Maybe he has developed an infection. Again, this makes the sheath cleaning all that much more vital. Any tips on that would be helpful as well, given how Hammar, my trusted steed that will go anywhere and do anything I ask, kicks and throws a fit whenever my hand gets near his sheath... Do they make all-over body helmets?

Internet Troubles

Sorry for the lack of news lately! Our internet was completely out for a month or so for technical reasons I don't completely understand. But it seems to be back in business, at least for the time being, so I will try to get a brief update:

Nine is doing fantastic! I haven't ridden him (I'm getting tired of saying that) but I have gotten pretty close twice recently. I am having SERIOUS confidence problems, and I have come to realize that I need to simply get my helmet on and tell everyone to GO AWAY because I get nervous and irate when anyone is watching. That, in turn, makes Nine nervous. But, on the ground, these past couple of weeks have shown some real progress! When the ground is fairly clear and thawed, I go and play with Nine for a few minutes while I feed. The result is that he comes all the way up to me about half the time I ask, he yields his hindquarters and keeps his head facing me without a halter or lead, from any distance in the round pen, he lets me come up to me and pet him while he is laying down, he let me file away at his front two feet - he stood better than Hammar did! - and he is generally being a good guy. After a few months of seeing me in a big jacket that makes weird sounds, he has calmed down a lot about it, and I can even blindfold him with the jacket if I am patient and let him set the pace. Usually I can get the jacket over his face in 5 minutes or so, letting him run when he feels he needs to, and letting him stand when he feels okay with that.

When I got Nine, he had a horizontal crack in his hind left hoof, on the outside. It has since grown out sot hat the outside of the hoof wall chipped off, and there is a section about an inch, maybe and inch and a half, long that I am a little worried about. It is soft and he doesn't mind me wiggling it, but I am afraid to try to nip it, in case it will hurt him. But other than that, he is sound and looking good!

Hammar and I have grown even closer, if that can be believed! I had the bright idea that working up the nerve to stand up on top of a horse would help me learn to handle my nerves when I get to ride Nine again. So, I used Hammar to learn some trick riding. I can stand up on him, and he stands still for it! I even once stood up on him bareback, though I had to take my boots off for that. I can also lean down to pick something up off the ground (though NOT bareback, and yes, I have tried) and only at a standstill - I haven't managed to lean down far enough at a walk. I can also go underneath Hammar, though I have been able to do that for a while; I just hadn't tried it crouching down - previously I have gone under on my hands and knees. But Hammar is fine with my head bopping under him now. I have also been riding him in a halter, which he seems to appreciate. Now Hammar will lope (a word previously unknown to Hammar) in a circle both directions, with perfect flying lead changes, in only a halter with the lead rope tied around into a rein. I have also ridden him outside the corral - even outside the property! - bareback and bridleless, with only a neck rope. Hammar has stopped bolting towards the corrals, even when Ashley is not next to him but rather in the corral. This suggests to me that Hammar has finally decided that he would rather be with me than with his mare, which is monumental! Unfortunately, Hammar has been doing something funny to his fence - every day, it seems, at least one wire is broken, and he has new scrapes and cuts every so often. He has never had any problem with wire fences before, and the best we can assume is that he is huddling up into the corner to be closer to Ashley, and ends up putting too much pressure on the wire, and it snaps. It can't be that he is actively trying to escape, because 1) his gate is always open and he can leave whenever he wants (though he doesn't) and 2) he has had all but the very bottom wire snapped, and the remaining wire so loose that it was touching the ground, and he did not step over it. I don't know what is going on. We are trying to get a hold of some more pine poles, perhaps from the forest service, to replace the wire fencing with wood (finally, we are entering the 20th century!).

As far as things go with Ashley, she is doing well. My friend Casie jumped on her bareback three times the other day without Ash taking off and leaving Casie in mid-air. Yes, this is a big step for the Ashster. She hates standing still for people to get on her wile she is in her corral. She stands pretty well outside, but when she is in HER home, her territory, NO ONE gets on! But, Casie did, three times! Also, Ash has developed some sort of fungal infection (I think it's fungal) on her head, where the headstall goes. The headstall she had been wearing is a Wintec EquiLeather padded headstall, which is pretty bulky and doesn't allow much circulation. She has problems with the Wintec girth I have as well; she gets galls after 10 minutes. So I switched her to an ugly neon blue nylon headstall, which clashes horribly with her leather reins, but is narrower and allows her skin to stay drier. I have also been using an antibacterial and anti-fungal spray on the bald spots. I was putting it on twice a day for 4 days or so, and now she gets it once a day. Her skin looks a lot healthier now! Before I started spraying it, the skin was dry, bald and flaky. Now the outside layer has flaked off, the new layer looks moisturized, and new hair is coming in. She still looks rather morbid, because she has a bald spot bigger than my fist on the side of her head, but it is definitely healing up. Ash seems pretty susceptible to fungal infections. Every summer her face gets itchy and she rubs it so that the hair gets rubbed off and she gets little scabs from underneath her eyes, along the sides of her face, clear down to her muzzle. What seems to help the most is to put Corona ointment (contains lanolin, which is a life saver!) to her face, but that uses a lot of ointment and makes her all sticky. So this year I will try my new spray (I don't remember what it is called - I just looked at the bottle long enough to see "anti fungal"). The point I was originally getting at, is that the first day of spraying, Ash was a nightmare - she was tossing her head, trying to run over me, and being a general butt. Fiance, whom she likes more that me (she really likes boys!), managed to get the spray on the worst area. But by the third day she was standing perfectly for me, and now I don't even need to halter for it! Which is awesome, because that was her skin can be open to the air and not have to be under a halter being rubbed.

Even my cow has been learning to lead a little bit, though she hates it! We're expecting baby goats any day now, and I will definitely try to get some pictures of that! For now, here are some recent pictures of the three horses:
There's Nine.
And Hammar.
And Ashley, guarding the cow.

Getting Back in Business

Yesterday and today I worked with Nine. I almost got on him both days, too. Yesterday I was really close, but decided he had come really far, and I didn't have time to start over if something went wrong when I was on him. So I unsaddled him and called it a day. He deserved it; he was standing still for me while I put my foot in the stirrup and all that stuff.

Today I just had too many people standing around making me nervous, and Miss Toddler started a tantrum which put me in the wrong mood for working with unbroke horses. SO I called it a day again and e-mailed the trainer I have been in contact with. My mom said she could "donate" $50 to the cause if the trainer will put two rides on Nine. We will see how that goes.

In other news, Hammar bows like a pro now, and I am working on getting him to stay down so I can eventually get on while he's down. A neat trick, but not really necessary. I can vault onto Hammar no problem. But now I know how to teach that to a horse and can start Nine on it some day! Ashley tossed my mother in law when Ash kicked at me and Hammar zooming by the other day, but everyone is okay. It was interesting to see a sign of life from the mare. I want to say "old girl", but she's only 9 this year. Hammar is the oldest horse at 12, and Nine is a 4 year old now. Speaking of Nine, his scars from jumping the fence are quickly vanishing and he's still perfectly sound.

I told me so...

I should have seen it coming. Nine jumped the fence. Please let me clarify right now that he is not hurt, and now is safely in his round pen.

Yesterday was very nice. It was warm, the sun was out and the ground for once was not frozen. I hopped on Hammar for a bit, but a lead rope around his neck was not enough to control him, given how hyper he was! So I put him in the large pen with Ashley and Nine and started chasing the horses around. They were doing really well and running and being pretty, when all the sudden Hammar cornered Nine and pinned his ears. Well, that was all it took! Nine turned tail, saw the fence and barely thought twice before he tried to jump it. He cleared it with his front end, but his hind end didn't do so well. He was stuck with his front on one side of the fence and his back on the other side. He kept hopping though, and finally broke the top two wires and made it over. I yelled at Hammar when I realized Nine wasn't limping, then got a halter, told Fiance where I was going, and caught Nine. Fiance and his brother, who is visiting for the holidays, got to work fixing the fence. Nine and I were on a neighboring property that is fence off but no one lives there; but luckily I have done this before, so I knew how to get the horse home. There are three ways out of that property, and the first involves a cable strung between two posts in lieu of a gate. It was higher than it used to be, when Ashley jumped the fence a few years ago, and Nine wouldn't step over it like Ashley did. But I know of another way; there is a pipeline running through the property, so there is a service gate. I knew I can get the locked gate off it's hinges because once Red and Frosty, two old horses we used to have, used to escape (not jumping any fences, just wandering off instead of ground tying) and find their way to the relatively lush grass found along the pipeline (they would get in through the third way, which involves crossing into a third property and hoping they have their front gate open). Anyways, Nine stayed ground tied while I lifted the gate off the hinges, then I led Nine through the gate and he ground tied again while I tried to lift the gate back onto the hinges. I couldn't get both pegs through both hinge-holes at the same time, however. So don't tell on me, but the gate is only held up by one hinge now.

I had Nine trot for me a little bit on the way home from there, and he was doing just fine. I tossed the lead rope around his legs and over his back, and had him do some flexing and bending for me. He very quickly showed me that he hasn't forgotten his training. When we got back I tied Nine outside his round pen while I tried to get it cleaned up a bit. Like I said, it was a warmer day than it has been lately, and the poop piles had thawed out a bit. I couldn't get it all - some were still frozen solid - bit I got most of the round pen back into shape. Then I decided to see how Nine would do if I were to saddle him. My mom had a Natural Ride bareback pad, so I tossed a cinch on that and Nine stood tied while I showed it to him and rubbed him down, then put it on him. It took maybe 5 minutes for him get back to his old self and for me to get everything tightened down. Then I got him in the round pen and had him trot for a while. His legs are fine; he even lets me rub them down and look for wounds. He has a one spot where a barb got him, but it isn't bad. Mostly he is just shaved. One knee is also a bit swollen from apparently hitting the ground, but all in all he is fine and we got some training done.

Frozen Ground Troubles

Nine's little round pen has been frozen for over a week now. The little poop piles are even rock solid, so I can't clean it out! Needless to say, the footing in there sucks now. I checked on Nine a few days a ago and noticed he seemed to have a pulled muscle in his chest. I moved him into the larger pen where Ashley, the donkeys, and the two cows are. It is barbed wire and the shelter isn't nearly as good, and certainly not big enough for so many, but the footing is a lot better. Nine has been turned out with everyone in there so I wasn't worried about fights. Nine has also seen barbed wire while turned out, because that's what our 10 acres is fenced in with. So I figured he would be okay in there. And sure enough, the pulled muscle has relaxed, and Nine and Ashley have been tearing up the ground playing.

Everything was going great until this morning, when the cow apparently (Fiance fed for me this morning so I didn't see it first hand) walked strait through the fence! There were only two wires up and those not very tight! Luckily the cow isn't very smart (obviously!) and the section of fence she took out leads to Hammar's pen, which is also fenced off. Fiance quickly ran a fresh wire up so no one tried anything sneaky, but we will need to do a proper job soon. Hammar's fence also only has two wire up (for some reason - Hammar doesn't push on the fence when I'm looking, and I don't know how the fence got that way) so if the animals, the donkeys especially, get in there, they can get out! And since Hammar's fence is right on the property line, the animals can get off the property entirely. Adding to that stress is the fact that some of the dirt roads on that side of our property do not have cattle guards so the animals can get on the main road! The donkeys have done that in the past.

Hammar has been loose for a few days now because 1) his fence is falling down and 2) his feed through - a 300+ pound cast iron bathtub - is surrounded by and filled with a couple inches of ice. I don't want him slipping or getting tangled in wire, so I turned him out. Luckily it's Hammar, who was turned out for a long time with our old horse Frosty. Both horses were trustworthy enough that I didn't shut the front gate. They would go out a little ways to graze, but stayed close for water and feed time. Our gate opens onto a square mile of State land, so that is technically illegal but no one really cares. (So don't report me, Karen! Hehe.) Nine was doing well tonight when I fed, and no one has escaped. Hammar was refusing to bow in front of my friend, but other that that everyone is fine, even the goats who are especially cute in their fluffy winter coats. Speaking of which, Hammar is hairy as all heck! He looks like a mini woolly mammoth! Maybe tomorrow I will measure his coat. It has be close to three inches long...