Wittle noses...

Pony noses are just about the cutest things on the planet, they are like pathetic little elephant trunks....I snagged Lester another chocolate chip cookie from an office meeting...

This is Polo's fungus. It comes every year and stays from Spring till the end of Summer, really till the hot weather ends. We've tried just about everything on this damn fungus and I'm still ready to try anything. So now we will try Grandpa's Soap made with pine tar, suggested by a fellow blogger... Everyday I have checked Polo for ticks and have given him a good scratch, and I even had to *pop* some of the bumps -ICK! He didn't mind though! Gawd I hate ticks! I've only found 1 on Less so far and I check him everyday.

PLo's wittle nose! So cute. Oh here's a video of PLo walking, not too purty:-(

Well I didn't ride Less last night. I got to the barn and there was a storm threatening to hit so I just bit him up in the surcingle and side-reins and first just hill walked and trotted with him until I about broke my ankle so I put him on the lunge line and had him trot alittle by himself on the hill slope. Looked pretty darn sound too. He and Polo have been on the B-L Pellets 2 days now.

*Muscle* Sheet

So a blogger recently asked me what benefits I thought, if any, came from using the Magnetic sheet on Lester. The description from the link sounds magical, but I did a little more research on magnetic therapy and found this. Not too impressive :-/ Like I said before, I bought this sheet a long time ago and have just now started to use it. I'm not convinced it does *nothing*, it still looks *hott* on him;-) see pics for ref. IMO though, you could probably spend $180+ on something more beneficial to your pony...
I might not use it as religiously anymore, just throw it on him from time to time when I want to show off his muscles (pronounced "musk-ells").

A friend of mine recently brought up B-L Pellets for her older, lameish horse. It's main ingredient is Devil's Claw , a natural pain reliever. In fact the Horse Journal says it can be as effective as bute! So I have put both Lester and Polo on these pellets, it smells herbalicious and they ate it right up. I have had Lester on Supple Horse, a Chinese herb, recommended by his massage/ chiro therapist. I do think it helped, BUT I am really excited to try the B-L Pellets as it gives pain *relief*. Plus I can order the pellets online or buy them from local tack stores- we have 2 in our town now!:-o

Lester the PonyMan has been FABULOUS these past few rides. He is forward without me having to do any encouraging. Even at the walk he is *marching* and striding out on his own. I know I shouldn't dare say this, but this guy has been solid and hasn't spooked in, IDKwhen!
Yesterday he thought about spooking and then was like "oh that's nothing"! I was so proud of him :-o He did trip 2-3 times and lose his hind end, so much one time that it threw him into the canter, but for the most part he was super round and soft. His canters have been amazing. I've been doing canter from the walk transitions to strengthen his hindend some, cuz they have to kinda *sit* for it and power off their haunches. We have done hill work too, but only at the walk for now.

75% better!

Isn't Lester sexy looking in his fishnet sheet? That's his magnetic sheet that I put on him while I tack up, course I have to pull it back to his haunches when it's time for the saddle.

Dr. Matt was at the farm when I got there Friday- his wife is boarding her mare in the back pasture so he's there a lot. He takes a general interest in Less which is nice. I lunged him in side reins while Dr. Matt watched and he made the comment that he is at least 75% better! He said he looked pretty good, but that he had really weak ligaments in the hind end, and perhaps that is why he trips alot. He suggested hill work to tighten them up. Less has felt really good lately, he isn't fighting on the right rein nearly as much as he's used to. When I rode yesterday I had my Matt video us. I can still see some head bobbing and some short strides, but I do believe he is better:-) You decide.

Video from Feb 15 vs. Video from yesterday

I haven't been asking much of Less. His being *light* in my hands is all I ask for, I know he looks heavy on the forehand. In time I'll ask him for more.

I meant to give an update on Polo in my last post. He is still lame :-/ We don't have a clue what it is. X-rays showed nothing. He's not a good candidate for stall rest so we have continued to turn him out. I washed his right hind leg off again and doctored it because it was swollen again, but I know it's not *that* causing the real pain. Poor guy had so many tick bites on his thighs and between his but cheeks. I scrubbed and scratched and his little nose went to town with his head in the air, moment of sheer bliss:-) He's not one to really show emotion or admit he *likes* you or what you do for him, so it's always nice to see him react in a good way.

I so needed this!

Pony Man Lester was perfect last night :-D I rode him for the first time since Sunday. It's been a *trying* week to say the least. I went to the barn each night, but did nothin' but hug him. I lunged him Monday and Tuesday, but it was pretty short and unimpressive. Last night I lunged him first in side reins to warm him up a bit and then hopped on. He didn't want to flex much at first, but by the end of the ride he was flexing quite nice and out of my hands, whether it was dressage worthy, I don't care, it felt great. I did feel like he was stiff *off* some in his right front, but I also felt him *reaching* more, a bit like testing the waters.

Gigi has gone to a new home in TN with her very own sister, Miami Picture. It's a good match, she'll be loved. I need to get an update too see how things are going, but I have been out of touch with reality all week.

Matt and I will continue to foster, my heart isn't in it to *accept* another grey at this time, which makes us good candidates to foster right now.

Meet Polo Man

Poor PLo (Polo) is still sore. Better, but still sore. The vet dug a little on his sole to look for an abscess, but we still can't find anything of the sort. The vet is supposed to do some xrays tonight.
PLo has issues to say the least. He's cranky, back sore, gets a weird fungus on his head every spring/summer, nervous, has really bad scars and terrible about his hind feet being picked up. His attitude and body show what kind of life he has lead. He has a lip tattoo, but no one can read it.
I picked him out :-x (the farm owner and I went in together to buy him as a "guest" horse) He must have felt me coming miles away because he didn't show ANY of the above when I tried him out 3 times. I liked him cuz he was smallish, SMOOTH gaited, seemingly*bombproof* and seemed friendly enough.
The ponies got sha-oozs today:-) I was worried PLo wasn't going to be able to stand for new shoes today, but he did fine. He was actually better than usual, maybe it's cuz I let him go first :-) I pulled his mane a bit and made him look purty. My farrier, Ronnie, agrees with me that he thinks Polo is sore up high and not in the foot. I massaged his glutes a bit with Absorbine Liniment Gel. (Polo's not Ronnie's) He's really tight there and just sore through his whole backend. I gave him some bute too because I think the whole shoeing process can make them sore (it's like having flextion tests done IMO).

I had to return to work with a big green *lipstick* stain on my shirt, courtesy of Mr. Lester:-x Right on my left boob too, but no one has noticed thankfully. Less got the usual treatment: carrots, peppermints, sugar cubes, a brushing, hugs, kisses, bute, Ichon injection (it's marketed as "wound" care, I found the thread on COTH to have the best explanations for it) and I even de-wormed him this time. And of course Lester earned another smiley face.

Well I don't think injecting Lester's fetlock was the end of his right front lameness. I'm sure he feels better in there, but there's probably something going on in his knee as well. BUT since my vet bill is at $508 now and the state of GA says I owe them over $500 as well, I think I will wait on anymore joint injections:-x I lunged him a little last night and he was a lazy butt. It is so hard to lunge or walk him on grass, every few steps there is a *tug* on the leadrope, "Now, can I take a bite, now?" he asks. I can crack the whip right behind his bum and he finally will move forward, but not before taking a huge bite of grass. So it's been a week now since the injection and I haven't ridden him or done anything *work* wise in close to 2 weeks and it does show. He gets a weeee bit obnoxious and mouthy when he's out of work and he trips so much more on the lunge when he's plodding around and not asked to *use* himself. I am fully convinced that Lester has to stay in work in order to be*sound* in both body and mind. To make a long story short (too late) I'd like to try out his *working self* with the injection before injecting anything else.