You Got It : January 2015

When Shadow lived at Bonni's, he was on a set feeding schedule of 7:00 am and 3:00 pm with his supplements in his night feeding.

With our move came a hiccup in his routine. He now eat between 8:30-9:30 in the morning and between 6:30-7:30 at night, with supplements in the morning. No biggie, he will just have to adjust.

I have noticed that he is not eating all of his morning grain since we have gotten there. He is still on the same food, the same out, the same supplements, just getting them at a different time.

While they do not eat until later, they come in right before the sun goes down, so around 4-4:30 and they are given a flake of hay to munch on until dinner time.

I was there for them to come in the other night so I helped the barn owner bring him and his pasture mate in and as soon as i let shadow into his stall, he dove his head into his bucket and finished what had left from the morning.

Then yesterday morning i noticed he had left about half of his morning feeding in his bucket.

He is still eating, everything, just on his own terms. I dont know if this is his way of adjusting, as if he is saving himself a "snack" because he knows he isnt going to get fed as soon as he comes in from outside or if it something else.

I am not really worried too much because like i said he is still eating, just not like he used to. He never left anything behind, ever.

I am going to give him another week to see if it lessens or stops, and if not i may switch his supplements back to PM and see if that has anything to do with it.

Any advise from anyone?

Also, what is everyone's take on Bran Mash? I have read so many articles some say yes do it and some say no don't. I have always given it to my past horses, but never to shadow and now with all the reading I have done, I am a little torn on the subject.

Thanks for your help!

On Thursday Shadow moved to his new home.

He settled right in and was acting as though he had been there the whole time.

The move itself was quite uneventful, as expected. Shadow doesn't really care about much.

It took a few minutes to get him on the trailer. It's not that he won't go on or fights me to get on, he just doesn't want to. He will walk onto the ramp with all four feet and perch himself there like, "okay i'm on, let's go" and then eventually gives in and walks on. Needless to say, learning how to self load will be in our future.

I said goodbye to Bonni, and off we went.

He came off the trailer and went into his new field with his new pasture mate, made a little bit of fuss, then five minutes later they were sharing a hay pile.

I hung around for most of the day, once he settled I left with Greer, and her husband and her son and of course Will to get some lunch to say thank you for all the help, then I ventured back to get myself organized.

I helped the barn owner with a few things that she wouldn't have had to do if it weren't for me and shadow moving in, like getting a stall ready for her mare since we took her old one, and moving some things to the new hay trailer. I helped her bring some horses in and a few other things all while Shadow continued his day peacefully.

The indoor was quiet, so I brought Shadow in from outside and turned him loose to see what he would do. He was absolutely crazy, galloping and bucking and carrying on, calling to his new found friend for about 10 minutes and then he was over it.

Once he calmed down I brought him back outside for a while before it was time for them to come in for the night. When he first came into his stall he was a little nervous. He was fussing with his hay and walking himself in circles. He is not used to having a stall that is completely enclosed. He likes to be able to put his head out, but he will get used to it. He does have a window for when the weather is nicer. We can open it up and he can put his head outside, but who really wants to do that when it is freezing out? The barn in pretty warm, so there is no point in making it colder. I did open the door and put up a stall guard for him so he could bring his head out into the isle since i was going to be there for a while. He eventually calmed down and went on to eating his hay.

Finally around 5:30 I went home. The barn owner doesn't feed until about 6:30-7:30 at night, so that is going to be a big transition for him,since he is used to eating on a set schedule of 7 am and 3pm. She texted me and let me know that he ate all of his grain that night and settled in nicely, then texted me again Friday morning to let me know he ate and went out like a perfect gentleman. I'm so proud of him, I think I had a harder time with this then he did.

Friday night I went back with William to lunge him in the indoor. He really did great. He was moving very nice and i could barely tell he has been off for over a month. He was a little nervous with all the new noises and the walls and the MIRRORS, but he kept his cool and we even got a few minutes o riding in. Mirrors are definitely the bad guy right now. We had to walk up to it very slowly, while snorting at the horse in front of him. We eventually got close enough and he bashed his nose into it, realizing that horse was him. He is now alright with them, but every now and then he forgets and spooks. To be expected.

Saturday Dom came out! I managed to schedule perfectly around the other trainers lessons and Shadow did great. It was really nice to hear Dom say we both looked happy.

Sunday the Barn Owner has a meeting for all of the boarders and I hung around for while. Shadow had almost like a foam around his lips. I don't really know how to explain it, but I looked in his moth and he has just foamy saliva in his mouth, something I have never seen before? It wasn't excessive, I kept an eye on him, he was eating and drinking, everything normal. Once the trainer was done with her lessons the barn owner and I decided to ride. I took Shadow out of his stall and just checked him over because I wasn't sure why his mouth was like that. As I said, he was eating, he had belly noises and was completely acting normal. So I continued on to getting ready to ride. He was great, it took alot of work to keep him from breaking into his canter and just keep him trotting, but he was really so good. When we were all done all the foam that was in his mouth was gone and he was still fine. The barn owner threw then their flake of hay that they get before their dinner and he was eating again tucked away in his stall. I didn't think much more about it. I am so happy with the outcome after not doing anything for a month, he really gives his all every single time.

I really think having an indoor is going to a great thing for us. I really couldn't be happier.