I have a thread going about Joe's loading issues lately but decided to write in my diary today because I want to be able to find stuff when I look back later. I've been reading back through my old entries. This is the first time we've ever had any issues at all with Joe - but that's because we've always really taken it easy with him. I've never tried to do anything more than trail ride him with PJ or Ona. All this pressure is new to him! Taking him on rides without the others is a brand new thing.
I fed Ona and PJ today and gave Joe his handful of feed. When they were done eating, Lance came out to help me work on Joe's loading problems. We're going to load him into the trailer often, and then just turn him back out. He gets so upset and panicky about loading now (not on the way home, of course. After a ride, he just hopes right in.) Until the past few weeks, he was always the last horse in the trailer. So we literally just had to open the door and he hopped in. I don't know if his previous owner always had him in the trailer with other horses or not.
I've had some suggestions to use a stud chain but I really have no clue how he'd respond to that kind of pressure. He's a pretty sensitive horse. I put a rope halter and lunge rope on him, anticipating he'd pull back hard again like he's been doing. He tried that twice but hubby got behind him with a crop and that stopped him in his tracks. He is afraid of crops/whips. Just seeing one worries him - we have to be careful and not wave it around. He just needs the very lightest of taps to get him moving back forward. He backed out of the trailer twice but with hubby behind him with a crop he didn't run all the way back down the barn aisle. The third time, I was able to shut the divider and then I let him out right away and turned him loose. We'll just keep doing this. When he gets calmer about it, I'll start offering him some treats in the trailer then maybe groom him in there. He doesn't really enjoy grooming much, though. Not like Ona.
It has take so much to build trust with Ona. I wonder how long it will take to get to that point with Joe - if we ever get there.
Ona's eyes seem to be continuing to improve. She still has the glob of blood vessels partially blocking her vision on the right but they're getting less red. I asked the vets office about it and they say that is part of the healing process so it sounds like everything is going well with that.
Joe is looking good. He's an air fern, and fox trotters don't have the nicely defined muscles quarter horses have. He's pretty much been a shapeless barrel but now he's getting some definition and getting glossy.
PJ is showing his age. I guess I've felt like that about him every winter since we got him. He puts on weight rapidly in the Spring but it doesn't take long for him to start to show ribs if I don't feed him well when the grass stops growing. I'm giving him the Active Senior feed. He's not that active - maybe I should look for Lazy Senior feed. He's a good weight but just not an air fern like Joe. Also, he had a lameness episode a few weeks before we started having the problems with Ona's eyes. I had the ferrier check him out and he was slightly tender in one of his rear feet but the ferrier couldn't figure out why he was so lame. I was getting ready to bring him to the vet but he rapidly improved, so I thought maybe it was just an abscess that ruptured, that we couldn't find, or something. So I didn't bring him to the vet and then Ona's eyes happened. He never got all the way better. He doesn't gallop across the pasture anymore and I can see he's a little off. I'm starting to wonder if maybe he's got a problem with his hip, or some arthritis. He's next to go to the vet. I'll have his teeth floated and get his shots and a lameness exam. Maybe he needs an adjustment, IDK.
It was a busy and stressful week, though, and I didn't do anything with the horses during the week.
