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My war horse of Doom.

57K views 788 replies 33 participants last post by  Cherrij 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, I decided that I might wanna do a journal, so its easier with all the things I decide to share..
I have 2 horses on my property, and one of them is mine. A big baby.
The other one is a 5yr old gelding my friend has. Mine is just 3.
We have had our ups and downs, but overall things are going great.

Grand - 3yr old Latvian harness horse, with some weight issues. Up to now in 3 months he has learnt to lead, stand for farrier, vet, just got his teeth floated, so he has learnt that. He will lunge to both sides in all gaits, yield to pressure, back up, and finally today I managed to brush him all over. We had our meditating brushing time together, so in the end I could touch his hind legs without him tensing up or trying to shove me away with a slight kick. So impressed with everything. He doesn't care much for new things being put on him, he has had a lunging belt, a saddle pad, even a tyre on his back. he doesn't bat an eye for plastic bags, he accepts a standard halter, a rope halter, a caveson and a bridle. he lunges in all of those too.
Now due to a leg injury, cannot find the correct translation, but he has pulled his leg, the muscle that runs along the cannon bone, near the tendons... The vet cannot tell me for sure if its a micro tear, or something bigger, but for that I would need to call the other vet with and ultrasonogramm to tell me what is going on there.
That means that now he is not to be worked, we cannot stall him, so there is no point for crazy medicines etc, time is the best healer. The vet was a bit worried about him running like crazy in the pastures, but hopefully he doesn't injure himself too much. Confining him to a smaller paddock might just mean he will run more to try to get to his friend and injure himself again. However, we can still do walk groundwork, introduce a saddle, driving reigns, start ground driving him, walk him over poles to get him attentive to whats under his feet, and meditate together. practicing braiding, brushing, standing for farrier even better etc.
He was thinner before, we have managed to put a little weight on, however he rather grows than collects fat on his ribs, so that will change later. He does get enough, and his teeth were just floated to help him use his food better. He has grown at least over 1 inch this summer, and he now stands around 169 cm. muscles will follow when we can work with him.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Stallion Mane


Horse Mammal Vertebrate Hair Mane


Horse Mammal Vertebrate Stallion Mane

This is for comparison, how he looked a while ago.. all Meh, and thinner... unhappier.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mare Mane

Horse Mammal Vertebrate Hair Mane

That's all on him for now, and yes, he only has one eye. He lost the other one when a mare kicked him in the face. But he has found his forever home where he is loved and taken care off.
I am off to see if the anesthetic has worn off and I can feed him.
 
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#2 ·
I can also do a quick background on myself.
I started riding when I was 6. A few pony rides, a few rides on a big horse, and then breaks in between. But I was always begging my mom to take me to the stable (her cousin has one). The we bought a house and my relatives made a present to us - a young colt. 16 months old weird thing. So I went and took riding classes once a week, and also learnt more about being around horses, previously I had always helped in the stable, bring water, muck out, brush the floors, bring horses in from the fields etc. Mind you, I was 12 when I got my horse. My family was not too horse savvy, so it was interesting experience. Ofc my baby boy got gelded, for one, he was a chriptorh (only one of the testicles was down) and for 2, we didnt need a young stud. So ye.. I was learning with him, and he was learning from me. he was my first horse to start 2 years after I got him. Before then we had just amazing relationship, played a lot of games etc. then when he was 4 my mother moved to another country for work, I started skipping school, and apparently was offered a good deal for a young horse that loved to buck me off every now and then. As all grandmas and aunts were petrified that I will brake my neck one day, I gave in to the pressure with the idea that soon I can buy a dead broke horse and not have to risk my young head. Update on my baby I got 3 years later, we found him in Finland, I went to visit, he recognized me, we played fetch in his paddock, and ofc first time I rode, I landed on the ground :D He loved me :D
2 years ago on Christmas day I got a message that he has been put down due to heart issues (he had changed owners before that anyway, as the Finish girl I saw said he was way too big for her, she was about 150+cm and he was about 170+)
SO I have been horseless for many years, taking lessons here and there, a few trainers, a few stables, ridden in a few countries and so on.

I gotta run now, so I can continue later...
 
#4 ·
Thank you, he struck my heart the moment I saw him, even in his miserable state. Now when he feels good and is starting to show his personality, I love him even more..

But even the vet's student today said that she likes the look of him, he is a handsome horse..
 
#5 ·
Yesterday I forgot to ask a few things to the vet, so communicated with her today, It is so good that I can even ask a few questions to her on FB.
So, we decided as I cannot keep him in a box, and a small paddock is a risk that he will just run more when he doesn't see his pal, we keep him as he is, but I use MSM Power Liniment, to help heal his leg.
So today I bought it, put it on his leg - he was unsure if he should let me massage weird things in his legs, and then even a bandage? What do I dare to do... However with some talking to him, things got done.. The bandage will be on for a few hours, and then I take it off, and let him go..
However, I purchased a Gym Ball for them... and they were quite boring.. the Jolly ball also just sits around the pasture all day long :D

The epic ball, with a fantastic text on it.. "Body Sculpture since 1965" :D:D
Ball Swiss ball Lacrosse ball Grass Medicine ball

They have no idea whats going to happen, so they happily graze and ignore me..
Horse Vertebrate Mammal Grazing Pasture

I got Grand to follow me, but today Teddy doesn't seem to think I have anything better on the other side of the pasture..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mane

"What in the seven horse hells is this?"
Vertebrate Mammal Horse Mane Mare

"Something stinky"
Horse Ball Treibball Mare Mane

"However, seems completely harmless... I just wonder why Momma thinks we need it here.. "
Ball Grass Tree

"Ok, if my cowardly goofball of a bro can say its ok, then I will accept it too.. "
Horse Mare Stallion Mustang horse Pony

And whats in it for me?
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Hair Mane

A wrapped up leg with MSM cream to help heal the muscle...
Riding boot Boot Footwear Leg Grass
 
#7 ·
Thanks, I like the start too. However, I am very happy that in 3 months his forelock has grown, because you can see in the last pic of the first post, where he is looking at me with a halter on, over his bum, how short it was.. I was horrified when I saw what the previous people have done... he looked like a hobo... long mane on the neck, short forelock, showing the star, skinny, unhappy.. now he looks like a horse :)





Oh yea, yesterday I was unsaddling Teddy, gave the saddle pad to grand to sniff, put the saddle on his back. when I went to his blind side to check the saddle, he did move, but otherwise, he didn't bat an eye for saddling etc.
 
#8 ·
When I look at the pictures of the leg wrapped, I laugh at how miniscule that standard fleece wrap looks like on his leg. I already need XL legguards. Full bridle didn't fit. a full halter is on its last hole...

Yesterday he was a dumdum. I was working with a beginner rider and teddy in the "round pen" and Grand was just nearby. at one point he decided to canter on the outside to keep up with Teddy's trot.. I had to tell him off, but then I was standing and drooling, as he had picked up a perfectly smooth, clean and correct LEFT canter - he mainly canters right, and atm its his left fore that hurts.... so ye.. he is a weirdo.
But he had his msm cream twice yesterday, and also an addition to his feed, now he gets wheat purree with stud cubes and some alfalfa blend to put some fat on him for the winter.. Today I am not sure I have time for anything with him, but just feeding..

Teddy on the other hand was fantastic yesterday, pulling the girl's nose a little in walk and so on, but then I made them trot in the "round pen" without the reigns at all, as he cannot go anywhere.. she was learning to balance herself again (easy cuz she is a dancer, but hard cuz dancers balance differently) and to do rising trot on the correct leg and not disturb the horse..
And then I was standing with my mouth open... with a bouncy beginner teddy trots evenly forward, starts to stretch down for a few steps at a time, and even starting to bend inwards on his own... I could not believe my eyes.. so I guess I found his therapy :D
Normally he is stiff as a board and does not want to stretch down.. But i guess I will also go in the round pen and work with that myself.. it gives us a big circle to work him, I can recheck my balance, and he can train his muscles..
 
#9 ·
Today I was slightly lazy after Uni, so I didn't ride, but lunged Teddy in the "round pen" free... did lots of trotting, direction changes, some ground poles, and some small jumps.. just to get him doing some gymnastics and getting on the way to build muscles.
He was making me happy by stretching down in trot, I think he is settling in the balance of a circle, so that sounds good to me. Of course, he would advance faster if I had time and energy to work more, which I will once I get rid of my cold.
He jumps average at the moment, being sloppy, not too keen again.. I guess its his lack of balance as well... but after 20-30 minutes of trot and about 10 jumps he was not even sweaty, just warm.. but I could not do it any more as it was getting boring for me too.. he only got extra interested when I kept him changing direction after every half circle or so. the circle is aproxx 20 m diameter.. so bigger than a lunge line normally is.

Grand got his extra feed today, Teddy is on diet, apart from grass and hay :D
and then I still had to wait for my friend so I went nuts, put a bridle on him.. totally NOT impressed..
Halter Horse Bridle Vertebrate Horse tack


THEN, I set him up with a lunging belt, and double long lines!!
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Bridle Halter


Is it just me, or does his bridle look miniscule? well it's actually Teddy's bridle, but it is the only one with the widest noseband, and longest browband. Grand has a massive brow, and I think the biggest head I ever worked with. this is a full bridle, and looks tiny. the poll part needs to be longer, it makes me want wider straps, and even the standard bit rings look small. I was a nicer, also a longer bit for him. this one barely fits, and I want other type of rings on it. maybe just the very big ones, or maybe olive or smth else.
This one is not an option..
Horse Mammal Halter Horse tack Mane


And off to work we went. Of course, it did not start this easy.. we worked for about 20 minutes on all this for the first time in his life. At first he was all weird, but I had him with the driving reigns and the lunge line.. and then he was actually half ok with me disappearing from his sight.. lots of work, but we are getting there.. he accepted it all Ok-ish, he is very playful with the bit - tosses his tongue over if it's too loose (or any looser than it was today) and he also tries to escape any pressure on it.. I need to work on his breaks better, so that he respects my commands better.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mane




I am very proud of him, he got lots of hugs and kisses for being perfect little baby :)
So this is what we can work up to perfection until his leg heals.. as long as I can keep him off running.. he ran around Teddy again.. makes me a bit sad, he is torturing his own leg..
my hand feels better from the msm cream, dunno about his leg..
 
#11 ·
I was a nicer, also a longer bit for him. this one barely fits, and I want other type of rings on it. maybe just the very big ones, or maybe olive or smth else.
Whoa, I just realised, that the beginning of the sentence does not make sense.. I wanted to say " I want a nicer, longer bit for him... "

Sheesh.. I guess my fingers got tired and could not say what my mind thinks :D
 
#10 ·
Today was a big day. They, didn't have to do anything. Suddenly in the morning I am changing fences, making their pasture smaller, asking them to move away, and being all weird.
Then I disappear after giving them some hay to eat..

Then, I come home and they are nowhere to be seen. However, WE GOT HAY! whole lot of 20 round bales.. and rolled one in for them. just had to go and find them.
Their shelter got fixed too, just need to get isolators for the electric fence so I can connect the shelter back to the pasture.
Horse Grazing Pasture Grass Natural landscape

They discovered the food, and attacked it..
And kept munching, no matter what we did (I had a guy with a trimmer working in the pasture.. ) and the rest are in the background atm..
Horse Pasture Mare Mane Grazing


After munching on hay for hours they also saw me go and give them more fresh water.. and they where cute.. just Teddy needs to have his special hairstyle all the time.. Grand just got his mane brushed as I had taken him out of the pasture to eat his bucket..
Horse Grass Mane Mare Pasture
 
#12 ·
It has started to rain again.. but the horses are just munching on their hay. I most likely will not have time to work with them today, as I got other, more important things going on... but just a slight concern about the fact that Teddy coughs every now and then, and the rain comes with some cold wind.. but the shelter is blocked off atm.. I guess tomoro I have to work it out, or later today, so they do have access to it.
 
#14 ·
I am impatient myself.. I wanna see some results, but I know it will be months, and months and months.. I already regret I did not measure grand when he came in, both for height and weight. That I haven't written how long it took to get some things done.. but overall there is some progress, so we keep going :)


They are annoying my dogs now - running around the pastures :D
 
#17 ·
I am at a loss.
Teddy now needs a cough syrup, lots of workouts, clearing his lungs out - so we need canter.
after 20 minutes on the lunge in trot he is not getting softer or flexing inwards, bending slightly, he runs straight. canter cue he ignores 2-4 times on average.. I have to pull him on a smaller circle and then he reacts, with trying to bolt off...
his canter is ALWAYS cross fired.. I do not want to encourage that, but its blooooooody hard to get him to canter even a single step correctly..
I don't want to tie him down in the correct bend and then ask. I cannot ride for 2 hours a day either, I will be totally worn out and useless after that.
I don't have a proper arena either. I don';t have hills anywhere near to use for balance work.
I have no idea how to work this all out, and he is not even mine, and even though his owner wants to see progress his attitude usually is "he does all I need him to do.. "
No he doesn't, or you don't care how unbalanced and **** your horse is at the moment..

Ok, I just called my trainer, and she will come over to my place to ride him.. hopefully explain how to work with him and what I can do.. but thats on Monday. today is tuesday. I still got 5 days to try to work with him... grrr...

sometimes he pisses me right off, as I know he can do things, but he pretends to be stupid and unable to work.. I guess I am missing a lot, and nobody apart from the trainer can help me at the moment..

he also really needs his massage to rule out any hindquarter problems, as the massager, when she was here, said he looks stiff on his hind end..

Grand is fine, still lame, but eats and is happy..
 
#20 ·
Thanks.
Well, he was massaged and stretched a little today, and then they went to the forest for a little walk. Of course, as it's raining nothing was done, but they brought me the isolators, so I can fix the fence around the shelter now.

They both got their buckets, but still need to lunge Teddy today..

Teddy's owner said, that because he has not been here for about 10 days, he can see that Grand is filling out, some parts look nicer..
 
#21 ·
I don't know to cry or to laugh, or just hit myself with a hammer, or close my head in a door, or shoot myself or hang myself...
Teddy feels fabulous.. he was running, and cantering correctly full speed.... but that caused some problems...
Grand is lame in 2 legs now.. his hind leg hurts.. i dont know where, I dont know what happened... nothing is warm, nothing is swollen (yet) but i put MSM cream all over that hind leg, put him in a box to rest for a while, while Teddy calms down.. and will take him out later.
Vet will come over tomoro to assess the situation, see if there is any swelling or anything.. she also suggested that I might need to split them up..
 
#23 ·
Here you go. LOADS. Sorry for the quality though - its quite dark in rain here and my lens is not the lightest when zoomed in.l.

Teddy (aka Gvidons) was going nuts. I guess he felt awesome a few hours after his massage and feed with cough medicine..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Stallion Mane

Barely ever see him stretch out like this
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Stallion

You can see the difference of one hand in height - Teddy's neck goes along Grand's back :D Grand is wary; he knows Teddy is up to no good.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Stallion

And he is right - Teddy explodes again, trying to make Grand move too.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Stallion


Vertebrate Horse Mammal Pasture Mare


Horse Vertebrate Mammal Pasture Mane


Horse Vertebrate Mammal Pasture Mane

But Grand is totally not keen on it.. as you can see his left hind is already resting - he was not willing to walk with me later.. I hope he was just kicked somewhere in the muscle, nothing more serious please.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mare

But Teddy's owner said he can see a difference in 10 days for his weight, he has filled out more..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mare

With such face, our dear friend, The Teddy grumbles about that he runs alone, and Grand won't budge...
Horse Vertebrate Mammal Stallion Pasture
 
#24 ·
I had some things to take out of this awesome confo pic, and told my friend I will be fine with anything, as long as its clear and no pink fluffy unicorns around in the pic..
This is the edit that has take out some things from the background (tyres for jumps etc)
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Mare

and here is her fun edit, to bother me..
Horse Vertebrate Mammal Mare Stallion

And he is cantering off again, and I am very pleased to see correct canter :) as he used to crossfire even when free running about..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Stallion Mane

What he manages to do with his legs I shall never understand.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Stallion

2 minute naptime..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mane

And off he is again..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mane

"Catch me if you can" or "I believe I can fly"
Horse Vertebrate Mammal Pasture Mane

Struttin' his stuff.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Stallion

Yeehaaaah...
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Stallion Pasture

HE HAS NOT CROSSFIRED!!!!! :D:clap::hug::thumbsup::happydance:
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mane
 
#499 ·
What he manages to do with his legs I shall never understand.
That pic looks like he is 'pacing' the fore and hind legs on each side move together, as opposed to the trot which is where diagonals move together. If he does that when you ride him it is veerry uncomfortable :D

In harness racing 'pacers' generally wear hobbles, though many of them will pace without them.

I love your horse and enjoy reading your journal :)
 
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#25 ·
And the last few from today... took over 300, had to cut out all the blurry ones, all the dark ones, all the same ones... and cut it down to as little as possible..
Sometimes he trots nicely too
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mare Stallion

And recently he has started to stretch..
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Pasture Mare

And is interested when he sees someone arrive:D (Pardon the mess around him, its remains of a jump and his ball, which he ignores... )
Horse Mammal Mare Stallion Pasture


I would actually rather he was pushing the ball around, not Grand, especially if he is clearly in pain..
 
#30 ·
Teddy's lungs sound clear, Grand's knee is swollen.
Teddy will still get his syrup, and also a lot more work, when I get around it. all day waiting for wet didn't get to move him, but he ran around a bit when I took Grand inside to eat, dry up a little so I can put the msm cream on him to help with the swelling.
Grand seems to have been kicked just above the knee, so the swelling has gone down around the knee. We have homeopathic painkiller injections to do, nothing too strong, but to help him heal and feel better. massaging the leg, putting the cream on, and working Teddy so hard, that he has no energy left to bother Grand.
And their shelter is fully connected to the pasture and looks good. they rather sit in the rain though..
 
#31 ·


After a grooming massage, massaging the swelling off his knee, putting more MSM cream on, Grand had some quality munching time with me.. we went to the orchard where the lushest grass is at the moment and just let him graze for a while.. He was really enjoying it, plus the suprise hidden apples he found :D
However, why would he eat the rotten ones?
 
#33 ·
Thank you :) I love hearing compliments for him, because he was a scruffy looking empty space when I got him. Now he is a big sleepy pretty baby :D

Maybe, but you definitely gave me a good laugh, thank you very much, I needed it today after ranting about things...
 
#34 ·
Grand stood almost like a champ for his injection, today he doesn't need one. When I get back from uni I will talk with him and massage the leg and look it over..

Teddy got some hard time yesterday, as a friend came over and reminded me of some tricks how to get him more balanced and in control. We got him in a frame for a few steps at a time, got him to elevate his front slightly in trot, and also managed to canter on a correct canter! Right canter he can do, left canter he raises correct, crosses within 3 steps.
 
#35 ·
Wow... I am tired. Yes, it is to do with the fact that I am nowhere near being fit enough to work the horses like they should be worked (well Teddy atm) but also because we had quite an intense lesson.
Yesterday the friend that came over, told and showed me how to get this particular horse to accept the bit, move into it and get him to start flexing and bending more.
We start by putting the outside reign on as a wall and move the inside hand out and lower to ask for the nose to come inside and a slight bend in the neck and the body (he does drop his shoulder out, so its hard work with my legs too) and lower the neck too, to start stretching down. He knows all this theoretically, just has forgotten it.
So once he starts having and inward bend, we play with circles and spirals, switch directions with long straight lines in between to change the bend, and work on moving off the leg, as he sometimes falls way too much inward. Overall, there is progress in 2 lessons already. Yesterday he had a little too much because I wanted her to see how he canters and the problems he has, however with correct bend in trot we can raise a correct right canter... he can do it.. he is easier to balance and straighten or bend when sitting in trot, but I don't do it too much just yet, because he is not completely prepared to carry me in sitting trot - i need to work on that too..
Overall today he could hold his head/neck position a lot longer (no worries, his hindquarters work all the time, its now all about connecting the pieces), however he drops too close to his chest quite often, like evading the bit and ignores the encouragement to go lower down and stretch out. so every single time I got him to stretch a little he got lots of praises. Even though my legs feel very weird right now, I am actually happy after a ride for once.. and also gives me motivation to keep going, working hard and getting myself fitter, and him too..

They just got a fresh bale of hay (6 days for one) so we will consume about 5 bales a month, which should add up to 1250 kg per 2 horses in 1 month, aproxx 35 kg a day is consumed. that includes hay loss due to mold, rot, stomping in the ground etc.

Grand seems to be very trusting in me, he lets me touch him almost anywhere (havent tried every single spot) however today he has a weird bulge on the inside of his swollen knee. So i worked with massaging that by hand, and will massage him with water from the hose too.. need to go and do that.
Progress appears... i just hope Grand's knee heals well..
 
#36 ·
So... Grand's leg seems to be improving, the swelling is going down, and he is not too keen on massages anymore.. yesterday for his pain meds, he barely flinched when I put the needle in ( I am no expert, so it doesn't happen that well or fast)

Teddy's owner never came yesterday, so I called my friend that lives less than 1 mile away, and asked if she wanted to go to the forest, for a nice trail ride. She said, as long as the rain has stopped. So we went. It was amazing, just walking around for a few miles, alltogether an hour of walk. Didnt want to trot as her horse is quite interesting and not the most perfect ride.
Teddy greated him as if Teddy was still a stud - a loud neigh, neck stretched out, being all big and proud. But I got him to respond back to me, so I can mount again, and we walked on. I let them go first out of her yard, as Teddy is smaller and easier to hold him back a little.
Then later I joined them at their side, as Teddy wasn't pulling me towards him but walking nicely side to side. their strides almost matched, so it was no problem for both to stay in the same level. At one point Teddy did try to fall in on that horse, when my aunt called and whilst I was telling her that I will call back later, teddy went quite close, as he was ignoring my leg and the reigns.. afterwards ofc he did fine with moving off my leg.. just not that moment.
It was a great pleasure, and cannot wait for this afternoon when we go together again and try some trot too..
the only time that was not nice was when a dog jumped out of bushes near a house, both horses spooked, well they had spooked already before, as they were waiting for dogs, The other one spun 180° around, Teddy attempted, almost landed on that horses bum, but backed off very fast. managed to get them forwards, just to get them jump sideways in a potatoe field because the dog jumped out of the bushes.. we both stayed on, regained control really fast, and managed to walk back out with no problems..

I was so happy.. and I am very impatient to see how my baby will train to ride and accept trail rides and other horses..
 
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