Post by Allyson on Sept 26, 2008 12:37:43 GMT -5
How many times can I bring a horse back into work? I think this is Cabo's 3rd time in 6 months. 
Earlier this year, he was finally cleared back to work by his various medical professional staff. So, attempt #1 to restart went underway. That was quickly foiled by my rescue-drill team involvement. Apparently I didn't have the time to do both.
Attempt #2 came shortly after teeth floating. At this point drill season was coming to a close. No excuses...get on the pony! And I did. 2 whole times. That came to a quick close when my fiance and I decided to buy a house and move to Kirkland. No, boarding in Renton and living in Kirkland is not a good idea.
Attempt #3....began yesterday. With all this hubbub of moving, relocating the horses, having 2 sick mares...Cabo hasn't had much attention other than the daily body scan to make sure he too doesn't need an emergency vet call.
But yesterday, feeling somewhat relieved that the mares were looking better, I took him to visit the indoor arena. It was perfect timing because we had just loaded hay into the loft- which meant a pile of hay scraps. See? The arena can be a nice place! Yea, that lasted all about 2 minutes once he realized that we weren't alone...there were 5, yes 5, morgan-horse eating kittens romping in the dirt. OMG! Kittens! Get the hell outta here!!!!
So what was supposed to be a nice, leisurely stroll into-and-out of the arena turned into a working session of me free lunging the wimp. He soon realized that if he just ignored the kittens and came over to stand by me, he a) got a dumor and b) got to relax. Walk away? ok, go RUN!
I think at his heart he's a little lazy, cuz it worked. He WAS nervous, but not-really. It was more like him resorting to old behavior- just so used to freaking out at the abnormal, that he didn't know he had the option of NOT freaking out.
So all in all, success! I think we're going to play on the ground for another few sessions before I try riding. I'm not getting chucked because of kittens. I refuse.
Earlier this year, he was finally cleared back to work by his various medical professional staff. So, attempt #1 to restart went underway. That was quickly foiled by my rescue-drill team involvement. Apparently I didn't have the time to do both.
Attempt #2 came shortly after teeth floating. At this point drill season was coming to a close. No excuses...get on the pony! And I did. 2 whole times. That came to a quick close when my fiance and I decided to buy a house and move to Kirkland. No, boarding in Renton and living in Kirkland is not a good idea.
Attempt #3....began yesterday. With all this hubbub of moving, relocating the horses, having 2 sick mares...Cabo hasn't had much attention other than the daily body scan to make sure he too doesn't need an emergency vet call.
But yesterday, feeling somewhat relieved that the mares were looking better, I took him to visit the indoor arena. It was perfect timing because we had just loaded hay into the loft- which meant a pile of hay scraps. See? The arena can be a nice place! Yea, that lasted all about 2 minutes once he realized that we weren't alone...there were 5, yes 5, morgan-horse eating kittens romping in the dirt. OMG! Kittens! Get the hell outta here!!!!
So what was supposed to be a nice, leisurely stroll into-and-out of the arena turned into a working session of me free lunging the wimp. He soon realized that if he just ignored the kittens and came over to stand by me, he a) got a dumor and b) got to relax. Walk away? ok, go RUN!
I think at his heart he's a little lazy, cuz it worked. He WAS nervous, but not-really. It was more like him resorting to old behavior- just so used to freaking out at the abnormal, that he didn't know he had the option of NOT freaking out.
So all in all, success! I think we're going to play on the ground for another few sessions before I try riding. I'm not getting chucked because of kittens. I refuse.
