*sigh* As I said, the worst parts about boarding for me, feed and turnout. Not enough feed, not enough turnout. Moldy silage.....ugh.
I will have to talk to Gabi about it because that is unacceptable. Also, Willy has been using his manure rake to scoop ice chunks out of Mag's bathtub (white trash horse trough). No, I know horses/cats don't care, but any horse donkey or cat that I own, will not have water that I would not drink myself. I'm a freak that way. So I waste a lot of water, dumping, scrubbing, and cleaning, and I know in my heart they will not drop dead if there are poop remnants in their water, but my philosophy is "If I won't drink it, they shouldn't have to."
Boarding sucks in these ways.
And Willy is as charming as ever, today he helped me screw my saddle rack properly into my tack locker because it kept falling down. And our long discussion about whether US Polish dogs or German Krakauer wurst are ANYTHING like the ones from Poland! He promised to bring me one next time he's in Poland. I love Costco Polish dogs.
Willy said, "You know, your horse understands me, when I speak Polish to him."
Hm! Then again, it was Mag's "first language" - as he was born, the first thing he heard from human mouths was Polish. Then German, and now from me, English, so my horse is the master of 3 languages *lol*
He said, "Your horse is really good."
"I think so too."
Gabi was wearing no coat and it was freezing out. I said, "Where is your coat?"
"I'm rasping hooves, I am sweating!" I said, "I know.." cuz literally one hour ago I'd rasped Mag's hooves, and they are looking great. Amazing how hooves can transform in only 2 weeks from thrushy to hard and healthy. Wow, no thrush at all. (I have photos, coming soon)
I said, "Here, use my hoof stand." She said, "I don't know how, I just do what I know."
Her horses, exactly like Mag, had suffered from "hollow walls" this Summer, and we are still finding black holes of death in our hooves. *sigh* As she moved to her paint horse's hinds I said, "Gabi, this hoof stand especially helps in the hinds, where the horse can just lean on it, and not on your legs and your back, freeing you up to just use your arms. Just let your horse tell you where he wants it ...." and Mr Jones, the first horse I ever rode at this barn, 8 years ago, settled his leg down on it and let Gabi relax a little. I walked away but came back to her using it on his other hind. Hm!
I had been worried because I'm there every day and I stuff two entire hay nets full, packed full, of hay every day, which is what Mag gets in his stall at night. During the day he eats out of his fancy trough (bathtub #2) , whatever Willy fills it with (hay, haylage, silage, I cannot know).
But I'd been arriving the next morning at 8 AM to no hay at all in either sack. How on earth can Mag eat two sacks per night, when ...well, when he lived here, he and Bellis shared one sack, twice daily. Is he eating 4 times as much here? And still you can see every rib?
I was at the barn 7 full hours and I let Mag eat out of one of the hay nets I stuffed most of that time. The next morning, hm, leftovers! Willy said immediately, "Look, your horse was full for the first time! For the first time he did not try to eat from the round bales as I led him out!"
I love being at this barn, but as I said, feed and turnout, the big 2 when it comes to boarder complaints. Not knowing for sure, worrying about each.
Willy said, "Did you know, your horse eats so much hay, I have to fill his bathtub twice per day?" So, two bathtubs during daylight hours, and two nets each night. Where does it go?
Oh yah, like I said, I was there 7 hours, and he pooped seven times during that time. Good heavens! I kept laughing at him, "You are going for a pooping world record Mag!"
Tanja showed up and offered to help me ride and I quickly saddled and I just rode in the cavesson.
As she worked with Mia, Claudia appeared over the gate and Mag got all upset and as he pulled one of his tricks, to suddenly slam into the opposite direction, he slipped and fell completely to the ground. Sorry to see him fall, but happy to see him fall when he's being bad. I actually yelled at him, "YES FALL DOWN THEN!" I was so angry with this trick after so long of seemingly accepting lunging.
Later Claudia found me and said, "I enjoyed how your worked with your horse today." I said, "Um, did you see him fall?" "Yes, and you handled it well." It sucks to see them fall, but I did not make him fall, he fell because he acted out and lost his grip.
No bit, no problem for Mag. I asked if Tanja could just leave her mare Mia in the arena as we worked, cuz Mag loves her so, and why not include Mia?
Tanja said, "Likely she'll follow us around." I said, "I bet she just stands there."
And Mia found the round bales and stood there eating the entire time. Poor Mia is the lowest horse in the herd and often I see her chased from food.
It was fun to have Mia there and have Mag work through that distraction but also, I think, it helped keep him calm.
Tanja said, "Let's trot!" I said Mag has trouble balancing a rider at a walk, but OK...
And then she bravely jogged with Mag and I semi-bravely ....well, I couldn't post, cuz he had no impulsion. So I half-posted/half-sat to make it easy on him.
My mind flashed back to his owner telling me, "DO NOT TROT ON MAG - HE HAS DUMPED THE LAST TWO PEOPLE WHO TRIED!"
OK then....so....????
It's hard to extinguish the worry that comes from a distinct warning from the horse's prior owner.
But we will do it.
Sorry no pics form today, but here I am on Mara last year at the Ronsdorfer Talsperre ,where Mag now lives. And my carefree friend letting her mare get a little too cozy......Mara was excellent on this day, could it be my fondness for this watershed?
5 comments:
Of course you will trot your horse. He probably dumped his riders through a spook not because he was trotting. Would love to know what they would make of Carmen
Moldy hay aargh, that'd send me into a tizzy, so would the muck rake in the water bucket! It's hard enough making sure they drink in winter without contaminating it to boot. So glad you get to enjoy Mag so much.
He's a young horse, he's gonna do stupid things. And then he'll stop for a while, and then, suddenly, he will revisit doing stupid things. And then he'll stop for longer periods of time before revisiting. It's what young horses do. Except when they "punish themselves" (like falling down), they remember THAT forever, I think! Fiddle used to pull back when tied--not all the time, but occasionally. One time she pulled back and the snap broke and whacked her hard on the chin--no blood, but it definitely hurt. She has never pulled back since (knocking wood, but it's been 6+ years!)
Moldy hay, gah. It wouldn't be so bad if Mag wasn't eating every stick of food you hand him--my horses have always pulled out any unappetizing bits and peed on them. But if he's so hungry...hey, is he growing again? He's not too old, maybe that's why he's burning the calories so fast.
Trot: you will get there. He won't always be a baby.
Hey, so something to think about, that will add to your abhorrence of bathtubs as troughs, but... is worth mentioning. As you may know, my husband is a bathtub refinisher. One point of marketing for him on why people should refinish or replace old tubs in homes is: lead. It's in the porcelain coating of all old tubs, it was put into so many things because it adds duruability. Probably when those tubs were new, it was less of an issue. But over decades as the porcelain is abraded, lead sloughs from the surface, just like with paint. This usually convinces people that a tub full of lead water is probably not good for soaking. :-0 In the US, lead was phased-out in the late '60s/early '70s, I think (I was also just reading how all those cute vintage Pyrex bowls that everyone has are loaded with lead as well, and no longer recommended for use...). Not sure when Germany got rid of it, they always seem ahead of the curve on environmental things.
At least here, you can buy 3M's lead test strips at the hardware store, it's an easy little test to confirm if concerning levels of lead are on a surface. Maybe that would give you the ammo you need to convince them to stop using old tubs as feeders/waterers! :)
That sucks about the mold and dirty water. I guess we should have known something would pop up. No such thing as perfection lol.
I'm glad the riding is going well.
That's actually funny that he fell because he was being dumb. I bet he will remember that hehe. I love when they train themselves.
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