Rico Day 23 #equinecomebackchallenge Rico and I went right back to the woods today with yet another equine friend, again for emotional support, and he was very nonchalant by the whole thing. Walked down quietly with several stops and longed very nicely. A couple times he was leaping around but he moved much slower today and I stayed with him and I was able to avoid pulling on him. Afterwards, we strolled through the woods and he was much more relaxed. Someone asked me about my comments concerning Ricos right side yesterday and I want to clarify two things. First, he has primarily been handled on the left side and he prefers his humans over there so I spend more time on the right side getting him comfortable with contact and seeing me there. Second, his body is still not conditioned and his left hind is weak. It is very easy for him to fall to the outside on that leg and come out of balance on a circle, which is why free longeing without being on a line is so good for him. He can find his own balance without me getting behind his energy and pulling on him. However, the gentle slope of that hill is a terrific way to strengthen him and that is why I wanted to start taking him there a couple days a week to work out. In our second session, we again worked in hand in bridle and saddle and I began putting weight in the stirrups. It didnt seem to bother him but Im going to wait to see how the massage therapist evaluates him on Wednesday. Hes pretty comical in that after his five minutes of whatever he wants a cribbing break and makes it very clear. We hang out for a few and go right back to whatever we were working on. When working on mounting, my goal was to keep pressure in the stirrups until he stood still and then immediately release and reward. He picked up on that pretty quick. We had a little more movement on the right side but he figured out what I was asking after a couple tries. Im also going to start him on some probiotics and aloe vera juice to support his digestive system. We dont know how long he was in an emaciated condition before his rescue but my gut tells me his gut has not fully recovered yet. A Home For Every Horse youtu.be/-wLpvxZ3g_Y
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 02:24:36 +0000
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