Fat.

Red is going on a diet. The other day he was stiff, today I went to the barn, got him out of his stall-they had been stalled up for supper-and he acted less stiff, still a little stiff but not bad, so I went to tack him up for a light hack and see how he did. I noticed that he was acting a little lethargic and just didn't really want to move a lot, but everything seemed okay other than that. I put his saddle pad and saddle on and he acted normal but it wouldn't cinch properly and it was too tight?? He had swelled up!! We walked him and he let out a little and we were able to cinch it up normally. Went to put the breast collar on and it wouldn't fasten. Tooooo small!  Finally, after another short tiny walk I fastened it and it was a little tighter than normal but still comfortable for him and loose. He still acted a little off but nothing overly bad, mom and Ann both agreed a short ride would do him good. Put his bridle on, mounted without any issues and I walked him. He didn't budge. Finally, he walked, stopped, walked, stopped, walked. For the first ten minutes he was blah but after that he really seemed to feel better. I think it's grass founder, as did mom and Ann. He's honestly a little bit overweight right now and the grass has been RICH this year, we're going to keep him stalled in the mornings until the grass is dry and not dewy, then put him on less rich feeds. He's been getting some fairly rich stuff so I think we're gonna up his hay and alfafa and lower his dosage of the really rich stuff. He does not have a line on his hoof and there is NO heat at all whatsoever, he seemed to be putting most of the weight on his back feet but after a few minutes of riding and after the ride in general he seemed more comfortable and wanted to move and follow me like he usually does. I just studied on foundering because I had actually no clue about it, but after reading I'm positive it's what was wrong.

After about fifteen minutes I must admit he did excellent. For a horse that didn't feel too good one minute, he was ready to go after about thirty minutes.    The bugs were completely *annoying* today. Seriously, they drove Spirit and Red CRAZY! Patches didn't seem too bugged-no pun intended-about it, but every now and then she'd shake. Poor Red was tortured. :(  I fly sprayed him like there was no tomorrow and he was still being driven insane.

We took them on the trails, but first we took them to the four acres. Red was slow until we were about to leave and he started getting some giddy-up and go in him again. I think he sensed my whole attitude and just overall nervousness. I'm no horse expert at all, this stuff worries me because I have no clue what it is, what will happen, what to do about it or what to prevent! I was a mess for the first few minutes at the barn just worrying over him, but once he started trying to canter in the four acres my worry kind of diminished. Then, when we were up in the ten acres, Patches took off before him and Red raced her like he always used to, and he won. ;) Yay!!  I keep thinking back to the ride before this one and how stiff he acted, I think it was the beginning of it all. I should have kept a bigger eye out and watched it more but I just figured he acted bad, it still left a bad taste in my mouth and I wish I had thought of this beforehand, maybe I could have helped and he wouldn't have felt bad.....

Went to the trails, made him cross over a couple tiny logs just to see how he'd react and he trotted over them like it was no big deal, he was a really good boy today other than the occasional antic due to bugs. Once he stopped, turned and rubbed his face against my boot to get a bug off. We walked around the ten acres for a good while and overall probably rode for about 2 hours.

Once we were done with a surprisingly awesome ride, I got to tend to his battle scars. No, another horse didn't get him. He got himself. His tail looks horrid. The hair is actually growing back very well and it started to look better, but he rubbed today and a scab came loose and one spot was a bloody mess and super uncomfortable looking. Ann wrapped it for me day before and it was still on yesterday, then she wrapped it today like twenty minutes before I came over and it was almost completely rubbed off. ;P So this time, I rode with his bandage off to let it air out and when we got back I tended to it, put some medicine on it, it's a yellow gunky stuff in a black and yellow container, not sure of the name, lol!! I was going to use some of the Vetericyn-Spelling?-spray but I thought it'd be fine without it and he was really uncomfortable and in some pain from the sore on his tail so I just put it up for tomorrow and went ahead and wrapped it with a gauze and some leg wraps..I found some cute ones at Tractor Supply with horseshoes on them. :D After that I used the sweat scraper and got that nasty stuff off of my previously shiny pony. ;)


Red will be stalled tonight and will be let out once the dew is gone, til then he has a fly mask, a hay net and some stall toys to keep him company. :) Plus, the filly, colts and Spirit have a walk in stall so he'll see them throughout the day. I *hate* keeping him in the stall because I feel like horses should be able to be horses and run, but I don't want him to end up foundering so he'll be stalled tonight! And be on a diet for awhile. At least until Winter when the grass is awful...

Anyways, completely forgot..pictures!!

Spirit grazing after the ride

During the ride :)

My mom and her horse Spirit

After the ride..giving me his signature hugs. :) :)

Fatso

Licking my hand :P

LOVE LOVE my saddle concho!!

Spirit and I!!

Me and my fat BHF. (Best horsey friend) :) :) :)

Possible ride tomorrow, if we can't I'll visit and groom him out, check on him and check his tail wrap out, mom has to put sunscreen on Spirit in the morning anyway..Heading to FL on Tuesday for about four days then going to start making some trot poles!! :D