I was up at 6 grooming Mag, getting all that mud off, starting with a garden rake. I was amazed he let me do that. It got the biggest chunks and I can stand back a bit to not get so much dust in my lungs.
He doesn't get the concept of standing still to be groomed, so after a while I just tied him up. He has little wounds all over his body and scabs were coming off as well as the mud. S said that her horse arrived from Haegerhof exactly like that, and they healed. Anyway it was good to get to know him a little bit through grooming, learning where he's sensitive and which brushes he likes.
Then it was finally light out so I cleaned up poop and was amazed at how much more poop two animals make than one. An entire wheelbarrow full per night?
Mag was very fidgety while tied, he couldn't hold still and kept walking circles and trying everything possible to get free except for pulling back, thank God he hasn't done that yet.
I decided to let the donkey loose in the area because with him tied, they wouldn't be able to get into trouble in that small area. It drove Mag crazy that the donkey was walking around his paddock, in his stall, and he had to be tied. She kept coming over and trying to eat the hay at his feet, but he wouldn't let her. He'd very gently back into her with his ears slightly back, and she'd relent and move away. If she wasn't far enough away, he'd slowly back up into her in the lowest warning level possible, and she'd toss her head in annoyance and move away a little bit further. It was if he was saying, "I may be tied up, but I can still tell you what to do."
I groomed the donkey too, giving her ear massages, wondering when he would finally stop moving around. I wasn't going to untie him until he relaxed and stopped moving so much.
I put the Winter blanket on him because it's supposed to rain today. It fits him except the neck hole isn't quite big enough for his neck.
Finally he was holding still, so I untied him - making my huge mistake - and was about to go open Bellis' little wire gate to let them out to the pasture, but he was in such a hurry to go, he got ahead of me and ended up with that stupid little wire gate in front of him, only chest high on him. There was no way for me to get him out of that spot, because it's narrow, like a "horse trap" with wire on both sides too. Ugh. I watched helplessly as he tried to get his head under the wire, and then he pushed on the wire with his chest, and then he decided to blast through it.
Of course, shocking himself with 10K volts.
He galloped THROUGH THE PATH. The path is so treacherous I have difficulty walking through it. I thought for sure he'd break a leg or more.
Bellis and I slowly made our way through the path and found him snorting at us in the pasture, and as we got close, I could see he was trembling, but using his legs normally.
I'm going to leave them out there 6 hours today. Eventually he won't be dangerously desperate to get to the pasture, because he'll always be able to.
However, when we make hay, he'll have to stay on the grazing strips and I am hoping and praying he doesn't decide an electric shock is worth freedom.
***
UPDATE
Poor Mag, he was too traumatized to come in tonight. I brought in the donkey, no horse behind us. I waited 20 minutes, no horse came. I put the poor donkey in the stall and locked the door, and found the horse staring at the horses across the street in his field.
What to do.
I thought waiting a few hours might be good. But it's getting dark and I don't want to deal with this at night. I asked J for help. He said, "Just bring Mag over the street, if he's scared. Tomorrow he'll go out again and feel better about the path/electric fence issue."
I said, "Please, I want him to learn tonight that it's OK. Please come with me and help me catch him and bring him in through the path." OK, in his work shoes, my husband consented to help me.
I had never tried to catch him before in the pasture but he hung around J and me and we bribed him with some treats - that he promptly spit out onto the ground, what is wrong with him, he doesn't even want to eat treats?
J held the rope around his neck as I figured out the rope halter and gently haltered him. Then we pet him and loved on him and very carefully led him down the hill to the path, and the horse snorted the entire time. I'm so used to his snorts that I don't notice as much, but J said, "Oh, look how worried he is."
We finally arrived at the barn and the donkey was beside herself, her head stretched over the stall door even though it's too tall for her to do so. The horse found his hay bag and my dear husband held him while I put up the stupid gate of doom for the donkey, and the wires that separate their paddocks from each other.
Poor Mag, hitting our fence twice in two days at the barn area, of course he prefers the field. I'm amazed though, that he isn't pathologically connected to the donkey like Mara and Baasha were. I could never have brought Bellis in without Mara following at our heels. And Baasha couldn't even graze more than 20 meters from her. I may be wrong, it might just be that Mag is traumatized.
Soon it will be no issue, they will be out all the time. I think by the weekend.
What an innocent sweet horse he is, my heart is melting.
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18 comments:
It's all so new he's on high alert for danger. He will settle with time and I expect he learned about the fence.
Those little sores might be rain rot. Horses that are outside a lot and not regularly groomed get them. There is stuff you can get for them but I have found that regular grooming and some topical treatment does the trick.
Teresa, my first thought when I saw the scabs coming off was RAIN ROT OMGosh but I don't think so - I've dealt with it (Baasha lost all the hair on his back one year) and it doesn't feel the same. I'll definitely be keeping him dry and well groomed to make sure. I used to be anti-blanketing but after that bad case, I changed.
Oh no, Mag, that wasn't a good idea... I'm sure he'll get the hang of your pastures/gates as he settles in. Glad to hear he wasn't hurt.
Oh, boy, one of those ohshit moments. Ugh. We can all identify. No matter how careful we try to be, there's always an ohshit moment waiting some where. So sorry. Things will smooth out eventually as you both learn about each other. I got a 12 hh pony once who at first would not stand still for grooming even while tied. He was a stinker! But I persisted, and eventually I could go out into the pasture and French braid his beautiful mane, which was therapeutic for me. Onward, dear!
Laura, I hope so.
KB, Exactly! I rehearse scenarios in my mind, I examine the environment and try to imagine if anything could cause an accident, and then I just had one brain lapse and bam he runs through a wire. Have any tips for how to get his back legs off the ground? I'm stumped and I really need to treat his rear hooves. He seems to have no idea how to pick them up, and if I use all my strength and pull one up, he doesn't hold it for me. Mara was bad about her feet at first, but nothing like this.
If I recall you've used click training before. Perhaps trying that for his feet. My heart was racing just reading your description. I'd be freaking out of watching.
I am already in love with him. What a sweet face and great attitude. Such a beautiful fella. Guess we are going to have to have our own Grey Arabian club.
I think equestriennes become very good problem solvers.That's what I meant about putting one's anxiety disorder to good work. As to the feet, I agree with the clicker training. That helped me. I know how it can hurt the back trying to get those feet off the ground.
Yikes!! I bet that was terrifying! I'm glad he's okay and I'm glad it was electric wire. Imagine if it had been a wire fence. Good for you going out and bringing him in so he could see that it isn't dangerous when the wire isn't across. :)
For his feet you could try teaching him to rest his toe with clicker training like I did with Chrome. It makes it so much easier to pick them up when they already have it resting. Here is the video of when I was teaching it to Chrome. http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/2011/03/clicker-video.html
I used clicker training to teach him to hold all of his legs up as long as I wanted when he was a baby. It worked great and he's fabulous at it to this day. The toe resting thing really comes in handy now with his locking stifles because my face isn't down there at risk if his leg locks! I'm glad I taught it to him. :)
Ouch! Ten thousand volts must really hurt. Can you lower the voltage to 5,000 to 6,000 volts? I was reading that the higher voltage was for sheep, goats, etc. (and I believe everything I read on the internet), but I don't have any first hand experience with electric fences. Have you ever touched a 10,000 volt fence? I can't even imagine. . . I am afraid of electricity!
He sounds so gentle with Bellis, that is sweet. It is odd that he doesn't know about treats. Does he like carrots and apples? I think that J will have him eating treats in no time at all! :)
Read this about picking up a hoof. . .
Pinch together the two sides of the chestnut on the leg you’re trying to lift. The horse will most likely respond by lifting his foot.
You can also try shifting the horse’s weight away from the leg you’re trying to pick up by leaning against his shoulder. When you feel him lean away from you, pick up his foot. Gently pinching the lower tendon that runs along the back side of his leg as you try to lift the foot also helps.
Then, put the foot down gently, praise and repeat. Don’t ask the horse to hold the foot up for long at first.
If your horse tries to stomp his foot back down, you’re going to have to be strong and not let go of that leg, however hard he tries to pull it away. Having a friend there to keep the horse from moving forward is helpful. If your horse can’t move forward, he has less chance of pulling the leg away from you.
Good luck and have fun with him!
The little scabs could just be some form of dermatitis from moisture and dirt. Chance has something like that on the chest and the vet told me to wash and soak for 10 minutes in a medicated shampoo then rinse. It cleared up fast. I also used some MTG on the area though it made him reek but any antiseptic type ointment or spray will work too. Sounds like he's just doing the nervous horse thing in a new place. As to the feet, I once saw something where you loop a lead rope around the fetlock lightly and put a little pressure on it to have the horse lift their foot. When they do you release/reward and then slowly work up with the time where they keep there leg and hoof up. Then you can transition to picking up the hoof normally. I would google that, if I find a link to something helpful I'll send it your way.
you were tired of being bored, with no horse to care for...that's all over now.
It sounds like you've connected more with this horse in a few days than you ever did with Mara. You just might have found the 'right' one.
Camryn, maybe I'll try the clicker.
Karen, I can't believe I got such a sturdy and cute one. So many bad ones out there...
KB, Perhaps if he weren't so sturdy ,I'd be able to get a hind hoof off the ground easier. *lol*
Achieve, what I said to KB: ) Maybe if he were younger too...
KBryan, those are the things I tried first when I couldn't get a leg up. I felt like he was actually leaning all his weight on whatever leg I wanted, and trying to get him to shift his weight was impossible.
Christie, I like the rope idea. It would save my back.
Aarene, yay, my days are not so long: )
Barb, I hope so. Happy to see you read about it: )
If he isn't picking his leg up when you pinch or twist the chestnut and clicker doesn't help, you can also try the tap method. Take a hoof pick/crop/etc and tap the fetlock or hoof repeatedly until he picks it up. Tap, tap, tap, tap, increasing tempo and intensity if there is no response. Very quickly they learn to pick up the feet to make the tapping go away. Good luck :)
KBryan, I forgot to answer you - I can lower the voltage on the fence. But I want it on full strength because I want to teach him to respect it. I've ran into it myself at 10K, and it feels like you've died for a moment, gone to the next level of existence: ) Additionally I need to keep sheep out. There is this weird shepherd around here, mentally handicapped I think, and he just waltzes through our fence with his sheep despite...the fence!!?? (But I brought my donkey down and she ran the sheep off, it was awesome.) But I worry he'll come back. He was looking at our trout and we were pretty sure he was going to come steal some. He won't if our fence is strong enough. BTW, 10K volts is legal, but it's the upper limit. It won't do permanent damage. It is also the level used on the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
Appy, I actually used that method for my donkey, and it worked. I'm hesitant with a horse, but maybe I'll try. That seems like a reasonable method for a horse too. If you've done it, can you tell me exactly where you tap for the best result?
They only used 10,000 volts on Jurassic Park?? I don't think that will keep a dinosaur in haha. So when you touched it did you blow backwards like when the kid touched it?? ;)
I used the tapping method on Chrome when doing the toe rest with clicker. I used the toe of my shoe on the outside of his fetlock. I started out really light, but if he didn't respond I tapped a little harder until he did. You can see it in the video I shared. It does work!
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