Today the mailman threw a package into my greenhouse and I knew what it was - my Christ lamb skin nose piece for my unpadded Zilco black bridle.
It took me a few minutes to figure out how to attach the velcro so that the thing stays stable on the nose band, with no wiggling. I'd read reviews of the product from people who say it wanders all about. Well, I mastered it, I think (we'll see I guess, when I ride with it).
It is natural in color but the good news is they say you can whiten it by leaving it in the sun. So that's what I did today.
It's 2cm thick - so plush!
I realize it will be catching things, mostly when I let Mag graze along the street, but I have a slicker that gets a lot of use with all the wool around here.
"Sunning" on the window sill.
***
I extended the new grazing strip on the street a few fence posts today, and the animals stayed out there almost all day long, only coming in to drink tons of water and then go back.
The horses across the street are unable to leave the blazing sun and humidity and horseflies, and they stand there stomping, suffering, all afternoon when I know they'd seek shelter if they had it. It makes me itchy to look out my window at them.
I got my first horsefly bite today, as I brought Mag in to disinfect his hooves. It hurt so bad, for so long, because I did not have my medicine on me at that moment. It's fine now but it really burned. Mag has blood through his tail from thrashing them. I coated him with my new American fly spray, and put on his Horseware Bug Rug, which seems to help.
They hang out under the huge walnut tree, where I'd dumped two bags of bedding to encourage them to roll/lie down there. I can hang hay nets from the branches, it's like horse camping!
If any of you have experience with Horseware's Bug Rug please let me know. It's supposed to create shade for the horse to keep it cool, but the mesh is so fine the wind can enter but bugs cannot. Not sure about that.
As I was taking these photos I noticed Mercer lying at the edge of the paddock, in wait of prey. Also, gathering ticks.
Comfortable, Mag? To me it looks uncomfortable, but I'd wear it if it helped with the horse flies.
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I drove up to TP's place to pay her the 7Euros for my roundpen use in May (I'd forgotten until today).
She came out and I asked if I could see her husband's new horse, a new OTTB. She said no.
She said her husband's new OTTB had a collision with a fence post and is in terrible shape, and not to be seen
She has the best fences in our entire city, extremely safe, like actual wooden posts and rails, something you don't see much of in Germany. But she also fences off strips for grazing piece by piece using step-in posts like I do.
Last year I noticed she'd used a piece of rebar as a corner post (rebar is extremely stable steel, as wide as your finger, but unbendable). When I saw it, I shook my head but I said nothing.
When I asked her how the horse hurt itself on a plastic step-in post, she admitted it wasn't one of those, it was her rebar corner post. Um.....oh dear.
Not that I could have changed anything by mentioning it, but I have to wonder, now that this horse impaled itself upon it to the point where visitors are not allowed. (She could just be crazy, though, as I've often wondered.)
When I told the story to J, he backed up in his chair, "Solid metal posts, no caps!" I know, about 4 feet tall. I told him, if I had a single piece of rebar lying in my pasture, Mag would find a way to kill himself on it, even if it were lying flat on the ground.
People don't change because their friends advise them. They change because they experience something horrible. Am I wrong?
Update: I just remembered another odd thing she said. I said to her, "I'll call you and ask when I can come see your new horse, when you're ready." She replied, "Oh, the vet said it could be WEEKS before she can have visitors." Huh? What?
***
This week Mag is bored and running himself fit. Kind of scary, how muscled up he is with theses 3 weeks off. He's galloping through the path to the pasture and back over and over, tearing it up. He's become very independent of the donkey lately and leaves her or she can leave him (however if *I* take one of them away from the other, it's a problem).
Today I was weeding along the fence directly by the street, where the new grazing strip is. The tractor had just finished lining up the hay to be collected (I know there are words for these things but *shrug*). I'm so impressed. Their first cut was the first week of May. This is the first week of June and they've scored another impressive cutting. It's a beautiful sight, and I just love living in hay land.
Anyway that tractor put up its spinners (tedders?) and pulled right into the street where I was bent over with Mag hanging his head over me curiously.
He saw the tractor and took off running full blast about 10 strides, tail over his back. Then, to prove to me he was just joking, he came prancing back to me, "See that! I ran! I run for fun! You should try it!"
Correct me here, but if he were scared, he wouldn't have come prancing back to the place of instigation immediately, neck arched proudly. I mean, immediately. *lol* Or am I wrong?
***
So Mag's up to no good and scarily fit looking and this morning the temperature was low enough I was able to mow my lawns again, including the strip between our fence and the street. When I went out this morning, I had thrown on a bathrobe cuz it was too cool for shorts and tank top at 7 AM.
Guess what - Mag's afraid of me if I'm wearing a bathrobe. What a dummy! Seriously, what am I supposed to do with him. I feel I'll never be able to wear an actual rain coat, despite all the sacking out in the world. Or maybe he's just crazy from boredom.
Next week Seli promised we'd go for a ride, and I'll hook up with Ani too, if it's not too hot.
***
The lady who is making my bridle owns a black 3 year old filly, a granddaughter of Ganges, son of Monogramm, also 3/4 Polish 1/4 Egyptian. She sent me photos today and the filly sure has that Ganges head and neck, wow.
This is the filly's father, Gramet - doesn't she resemble him? That long thick neck and flat head? Also, the hair....
I understand the fanfare for Ganges, after seeing his videos, he really does have presence, trot, and is built like a tank. Check out the tree trunks he calls legs. His neck is absurdly long (not shown here).
The filly of my bridle-manufacturer, at 2 years old. I wouldn't turn her away if she showed up at my door....
But I prefer Monogramm's opposite son, Ekstern, with the tiny head. (Naturally cuz I've got one of his, not the other's: ))
I read today about Ekstern, and found out he loved showing so much that once they did it without a halter, lead, or whip, and he just trotted with his handler, turned left, turned right, with his handler, and then even stood up posed, free. The way Mag trots with me around our pasture, whenever I run with him, I think I know where that comes from now. It also convinces me Mag wants to be a show horse.
Also I learned Ekstern is very loving but lazy, has to be played with to see the sense of fitness work. (Mag?) And that he was so pretty (feminine?) his owners let people believe he was straight Egyptian, entering him in shows, keeping it a secret and then saying, "Surprise, he's not!"
I read that Ekstern passed on his short face, tiny ears, but also very short neck to many of his get. Happily Mag must have his neck from the other side of the family.
This and many others enforced the rule that Mag's mane lie on the left side of his neck. How I hate that.
But how cool that this lady owns a relative of Mag. I'm also proud that Monogramm was made in the USA (but went to Poland to help them out).
Love this video of Ekstern showing off - also I appreciate that the video is not in slow motion, which so many are these days, to make the horses seem fancier. Turn down the volume, the music does not help. I love at 1:30 how he picks up the plant.
I'm so happy with Mag, but experience such trepidation from his past/present behaviors.
I feel like someday, I'll be there. I look back over my blog, which is obviously a training journal, and I see mostly positive stuff. Good, but am I being honest?
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6 comments:
Whenever I have warned new neighbors about potential problems in the environment for them and their pets, they never listen. They go out and do what they always did wherever they came from, and next thing they know they've got a big, expensive problem because they assumed I didn't know what I was talking about... or they simply think it won't happen to them. What kills me are the people who ask for advice and then do the opposite of what I recommend... and then come crying to me when they are suffering the consequences of a bad result.
I cringed at the mention of rebar!!! Poor horse having to teach her people the hard way. Mags looks ready to beat of the flies in his sheet. I'm so glad as are the Minis that they have access to getting in from the bugs. I rarely fly spray them, otherwise they'd eat 24/7 which they hardly need to do.
I really appreciate when my friends see me doing something foolish and take steps to stop it. The important word there is "friends". Not neighbors, not acquaintances, and ESPECIALLY not internet experts. My friends know me. They know how I keep my horse, and they know where I hold my standards. They know that I don't believe in bubblewrap...but I don't believe in un-capped t-posts either! So, there's that. Your neighbor doesn't trust you (or anyone?) enough to show her injured horse, she probably doesn't trust you (or anyone?) enough to take fencing advice. My 2cents.
Fly sheet: I got one for Fiddle two years ago, and last year Kitty gave me one that doesn't fit any of her (living) horses--the new one has a *belly piece*. Fee is a martyr to bites, even though we don't get your rototiller-faced bugs. The fly sheet + mask makes a big difference.
Blog as training tool: sometimes it's hard to see progress...then you go back through old posts and say, "well, at least I can do *this* now, couldn't do that before." I think it's helpful.
NM, geez, if she'd had asked, I would have said it...*sigh*
I googled "rebar fence" today and it turns out it's quite common fencing ...for pig farmers *lol*
Camryn, I think it's fascinating to see horses prefer shelter than pasture in the hottest/buggiest part of the day. I've seen too many horses under a too tiny shelter, trying to escape getting eaten alive, it really made an impact on me.
Aarene, it's part of the German culture to correct people who are "doing it wrong" - even strangers, it's so annoying. I still can't do it though. OK I did tell Ani to tighten her helmet the last time I saw her, and gave her my lecture about "you may as well not have it on if the strap is hanging down." I think it was OK for me to tell her simply because I gave her the helmet, and she said she didn't know how to tighten it (?) and I did it for her. So that seems to have gone OK. Then again, she's a friend.
I’m not sure that she would have listened to you anyway based on other things you wrote. The flynsheets do help. I go bac’ and forth on them because mine will sweat under them and we often have a breeze.
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