Riding with Kristi

My friend Kristi spent the night Friday and we went riding Saturday. It was a little cold but we were fine and the horses fresh. It was a good time. Here are some pictures.

Catching Hammer:


Kristi on Ashley:




Me and Kristi posing with my daughter (Elayne and my mom met up with us near the end of the driveway):


By the end of the ride Kristi was feeling pretty confident! Not bad since this was her first time on a horse in several years. Good girl!

Nine

On Wednesday Paul and I went riding, but on our way out the gate we heard Nine whinnying up a storm! I felt terrible so I went back and threw a halter on him so he could come riding too! Well, we didn't make it far before he spooked at something, and I couldn't hold him and Hammer at the same time, so I let Nine go. But Paul went back and got him, and he was perfect the rest of the ride. We saw some cows, which for some odd freaked all three horses out, even though Hammer and Ashley have both worked cows before... Silly ponies! But Nine just stuck by Ashley and Paul didn't have any trouble with them (I, meanwhile, was busy trying to calm Hammer down - he was running circles so I tried to keep him away from Nine so Nine didn't start trying to bolt). But after that, everyone was calm and relaxed, and we had a really nice ride. Paul even trotted Ash and Nine, and while Hammer got over-excited, Nine did not. We plan to keep taking him with us on rides. Next time I want him saddled. Soon I hope to have a chance to take him to the cinders and put a good ride on him.

Winter Braids

My mother in law suggested (last year) that I put the horses' manes and tails into braids for the winter so they have lush, full, beautiful hair come spring. Well, I finally got around to it today. I did Nine's mane, laughed about how silly he looks, then I had to go inside to switch the laundry to the dryer, and when I came back out he was standing fine. But then my daughter and the dog spooked him. Apparently the knot was loose, because when I looked, after getting Elayne away from the horse, he had reached the end of the lead, which suddenly caught and whipped him around. His head hit the end of a pole. I put Elayne against the wall and told her not to move, and when I got to Nine he was working his jaw, which worried me a lot because I feared he had broken his jaw. Luckily he did not, but he did knock a tooth loose. I got some pliers and yanked it the rest of the way out. Nine drank some water so I didn't need to splash his mouth clean. So I took a look, and the tooth that came out was a baby tooth. The adult tooth is already through, so I don't think we have much to worry about. It looks like his mouth was open when it hit the pole and he has a cut in his gums. I will keep an eye open for infection.

Later Elayne took a nap so I went back out and did Nine's tail and Hammer's mane. Hammer did not enjoy it at all! He keeps giving me dirty looks. Nine doesn't seem to mind, even though he looks like a Rastafarian. He feelin' groovy mon.

Airs Above The Ground

Today I rode Hammer while Kate rode Ashley. Hammer was really hyper, almost as hyper as he was last time I rode him, just before we left to go to Houston for Christmas. Then he practically sprinted 4 miles and was still trying to take off on me when we got back.

Anyways, today we rode again. We thought it might be fun to rear Hammer a time or two, and as I was talking I told Kate about how, occasionally, Hammer used to hop into the air mid-rear, thus doing an air above the ground. I believe this is called a corbette. So I got Hammer to rear and gave him a squeeze as he was going up, and lo and behold, he jumped! So we worked on that for a while. It took him about 20 minutes to figure out the difference, and for me to figure out a separate cue. It was awesome! Someday I will get pictures, once we perfect this!

Update on Hammer

Hammer is back to normal - the vet suggested I put the horses on psyllium for 2 strait months. I don;t have the cash for that, but I am going to try 1 month, then regularly 1 week per month after that (I tend to slack on it). But Hammer is okay, hopefully for good. I will take it easy on him for a while.

Update on Hammer

This morning shows no major improvement. Hammer did not eat all his food - though some is certainly gone. He still has diarrhea but at least something is coming out. He still wants to lay down but isn't rolling.

I gave him some alfalfa pellets soaked in warm water, and he has been going for that. Just nibbles for the most part, but he is eating it. Which also means he is getting some water in him.

Oh yes, this morning he has more gut sounds, which is great, though his heart rate isn't as slow as I'd like. He has been pacing at a quick walk when he isn't nibbling or laying down. I hope this passes soon...

Hammer's Colic

So this is just copied from another site:

So that running yesterday might have been a bad idea; today Hammer is colicking. I noticed it this morning, and as of now (7 PM) he isn't all better. He has stopped trying to lay down so often (only once in the past hour at least) but he still isn't eating or drinking. He hasn't broken a sweat all day, and he has remained clear eyed and alert. But we had a scare when he laid down and apparently had a seizure - we were sitting by him as he lay, but as he wasn't trying to roll we weren't trying to make him get up. But then we heard a loud gut sound and he laid flat and started twitching. His eyes rolled back in his head and when Kate tried to pull him up by the lead, he was completely unresponsive. I started pushing on his withers and got him partway up but he wasn't getting his legs under him so I punched him in the ribs a couple times. That woke him up and he jumped to his feet and started trotting around. He looked like he had no idea where he was for a minute.

He has only laid down once since then but Kate had him up pretty quick. He still isn't eating. Kate brought him some warm water as he has only drunk once today (and has not peed at all - only pooped twice and those were both small). But now it's my turn to stay with him for 20 minutes. Update soon.

Edit at 9:30 PM: He has eaten, and Kate said he was asleep when she went to check on him. I will check on him once before bed (hopefully soon - I haven't been this physically tired in a long time).