Grade 4 is where they refuse to bear weight, right? OK I had to see how she was feeling and since I'm not allowed to use the arena, I had to find a spot in the woods.
I found a spot down below the shepherd's house - and you can tell exactly where his house is by the gawking my horse is doing, even though it's 100 meters distant. She was quite nervous. This video is from when she finally settled down. Honestly I just wanted her to walk so I could judge her gait, and then the dogs started barking and she started cantering and tearing around on the tight circle I had her on to prevent her from taking off on me. She didn't actually try to break free, that's one good thing, but in light of her lameness I didn't want her hurting herself again, so I did everything I could to get her to just walk.
This is the second time I've had this horse so lame she needed veterinary attention, and 2-3 days later she's galloping around perfectly fine. Maybe I'm not used to how fast young healthy horses heal themselves, but that seems crazy to me. It was her LF that was hurt this week.
This was a very dry spot for our neighborhood thanks to the big oak trees overhead. She's not sinking in mud here, and in our pasture she sinks/slips with each step.
After I took this video we explored a little dead end logging trail and tried to find a sense of peace. She would brush her nostril against my hand asking "Can we please get outta here?" but I was enjoying the scenery and privacy. Finally we turned around and I had to be very careful that she stay behind me because she really really wanted out of there. So I did what I'm now calling my "senior citizen walk" where I walk in slow motion, and it was really fun to see her mimic my hesitating steps. She really can walk slowly!
Almost home a kid was playing with a remote control car, something I had to show Mara, so we stood there a while. The kid was delighted when he saw his audience, and I smiled at him and he smiled back, several times. Mara was like, "Tiny vehicle. Boring." Even when the kid drove the car about 5 meters from her hooves. She sighed and brushed me with a nostril, just like Baasha used to in a polite request to move on.
Before we arrived home the mail lady stopped her car and said she put a package in our greenhouse. That's the magnesium I'm going to try again - this time a much more intense formula (28%). Unfortunately it's full of fructose, so much so that Mara ate the powder with no issues. That much sugar, oh dear. Well, we'll see.
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Hi Lytha,
have been reading along with you for some while now, commented once (I once wrote about riding in Germany to you:)), have you considered Hackschnitzel/Sand? That is the cheapest way to get your very own non-muddy place to work for little money. If you don't put a fleece underneath, it will only last a year maybe, before you need to throw more stuff on, but it is only supposed to be a stopgap solution, yes? Down here in Badenwürttemberg I paid 20 Euros per 1 m3 Hackscnnitzel, and 1m3 is enough to cover 10 m2... We have a soggy Reitplatz:) too and my horse is not comfortable alone in the countryside either, and I cannot wait for spring! Happy riding, hope you don't mind that I'm reading along! Helen
That's awesome that she'll walk slowly behind you when you walk in slow motion. I had something happen the other day that reminded me how our horses look to us for leadership. I was down in the barn at night and I heard a very strange repetitive noise coming from the south. I looked out that way and said, "What is that?"
Bombay looked at me standing there still, listening and squinting into the dark, and he bolted out of there in the opposite direction to get away from whatever I was alerting on. I wasn't scared of the noise. I was just puzzled by it, but my behavior was enough for him to think he was in danger.
Helen, es freut mich dass du mein Blog liest, denn du kannst mir sagen wann ich etwas falsch sage: ) Aber es macht mich nervoes weil die Pferdewelt in De so winzig ist, und ich schreibe von Leuten ohne zu fragen. Ich habe mein Mann gefragt und er sagte Hackschniztel ist wie Frikadelle : ) Nein ich weiss was du meinst, und werde etwas in unserer Naehe suchen.
NM, Strangely I seem to have little affect on my horse's emotions - she is calm when I'm nervous and vice versa. However breathing exercises seem to help when riding, I've noticed.
Hope Mara is doing better. I wish I could send you a magic pill for her! You hang in there. Wish we could help. . .
I can't see any lameness except maybe when we was in the mud. I'm glad she's healing up. :D
I hope the mud dries up soon!
Hallo Lytha,
oh, keine Sorge:)! I don't know anybody you are talking about! Mara is cute by the way, she reminds me of a horse I once knew, both in looks and temperament! Helen
Hallo Lytha,
oh, keine Sorge:)! I don't know anybody you are talking about! Mara is cute by the way, she reminds me of a horse I once knew, both in looks and temperament! Helen
Hier ebenso ;-)Erst fand ich es nur spannend, wie die deutsche Reiterwelt durch die Augen einer Amerikanerin aussieht und jetzt fiebere ich mit dir und Mara mit. Ich habe hier nämlich auch so ein -entschuldigung- beklopptes Weib, das nicht verstehen mag, dass der Wald nicht dazu da ist, kleine Stuten zu fressen.
Btw, I'm really interested in how you like Equitana. I've only ever been to smaller horsey trade-shows close to where I live(d at the time) but they usually felt rather repetitive. How many saddle pads can you look at in a day?
Miss T, Ich musste meinen Mann Fragen was "mitfiebern" bedeutet: ) Es freut mich dass du liest; ich weiss dass ich nicht immer positiv ueber DE rede, weil ich so viel Heimweh habe. Ich muss ehrlich sein. Ich versuche immer auch zu sagen, was ich hier schoen finde - zB, wie LEISE es ist. Aber verdamnt nochmal ist es wieder Sonntag wenn ich einkaufen gehen moechte! Ja, heute haben wir keine Klopapier im Haus, und koennen nichts darueber tun bis morgen: )
Jetzt verrate ich dir mal, was mich am meisten genervt hat, als ich in Holland gewohnt habe: dass man sonntags nie in Ruhe durch die Stadt gehen konnte, weil alle Welt einkaufen war :-))
Aber im Ernst: Du brauchst dich nicht zu entschuldigen. Vieles ist Gewohnheit - je nach dem, womit man aufgewachsen ist. Und außerdem ist es wohl in jedem Land so, dass man manche Sachen lieber mag als daheim und mit anderen Dingen überhaupt nichts anfangen kann. Solche Erfahrungen macht wahrscheinlich jeder, der sich länger aus der Heimat herauswagt.
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