The horses are round and shiny and just slightly fuzzy with the start of their winter coats. They don't enjoy the near-90's, either! I didn't ride today. I did work a bit with Thunder, leading & such just for something to do.
Both boys need their sheaths cleaned. I'll do that when we worm this weekend. Sunny's an old pro, but Thunder's still just a bit uncertain what's up with that particular activity, and he's a bit ticklish. He went so far as to cock a hind foot at me today - that or he was particularly vehement chasing a bug - either way, my leg was in the way of the side of his hoof when he raised it. Ouch! I "HEY'D" him loudly and whapped him on the shoulder. (No kicking. No even thinking about kicking will be tolerated, thank you very much!) Then went back to what I was doing, and he was polite from then on.
Since he didn't take offense at being swatted, I suspect it was a cocked hoof saying, "Leave me alone, lady," and not a fly bothering him, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for this time.
Sunny, who was standing nearby, knows exactly what "hey" said in that tone means. He actually leaned backwards without moving his feet, which looks really odd, by the way, and studied me carefully to be sure HE wasn't doing anything out of order. Silly boy!
Anyway, no lasting damage done, although I have a pretty purple spot this evening. If Thunder'd meant to really kick at me, I would have had a hoofprint, and I probably wouldn't be walking. He expressed displeasure, I informed him that he would tolerate what I was doing politely. Feet are too hard to make contact with me! If he does it again, he'll get a bigger version of the same response he got today. Yes, that is a sensitive area I was handling, but I wasn't hurting him, and he does need to learn to be comfortable being touched all over, and that I can do it whenever and wherever I please. So we'll be doing more frequent "grope" sessions until he's as old-hat about it as Sunny is.
But that is not the topic of this post. Video is.
I love being able to review things. T laughs at me because I'll sit and watch 30 seconds of riding back multiple times trying to see what I'm doing wrong (or right, but that's less often). Or watch one of the horses move to try to spot where something might be off. Who'm I kidding, I just like to watch them, especially on the days it's too nasty for outdoor activities. (And he's one to talk, after all - I'm not the one who watched The Adventures of Ford Fairlane through four times in a row one weekend - Good Grief!)
In any case, today's video clip makes me happy. No, it's not exciting. It's less than a minute of Sunny walking away in front of me across the pasture. But you know what I like about it? His tail. Odd?
Maybe a little, but here's why a view of his tail makes me smile and click re-play: I can never remember which side Sunny carries his tail to, but I've occasionally worried/suspected that he carries it to one side exclusively.
Last winter for a while the muscling on the left side of his croup was more pronounced than the right, and he seemed to carry his tail consistently to one side. He wasn't sore, lame, or hesitant about racing around, and gradually it went away. He injured his right stifle as a four-year-old. Being a worrier... if he always carries his tail to one side, that could mean that his stifle injury didn't heal like it should have, or his back is out, or he's sore or.... Well, you get the picture (basically, I worry).
For some reason I think of it when I'm riding him, but it's hard to keep track of on top, (my eyes being oriented on the front of my head facing forward, no matter what the kids think!). But today on the ground I actually remembered to watch - and film. And he very clearly did, before, during, and after the video, switch tail-holding positions as he walked. Okay, so it's not a definitive all clear, but it's a good sign, right?
Maybe a little, but here's why a view of his tail makes me smile and click re-play: I can never remember which side Sunny carries his tail to, but I've occasionally worried/suspected that he carries it to one side exclusively.
Last winter for a while the muscling on the left side of his croup was more pronounced than the right, and he seemed to carry his tail consistently to one side. He wasn't sore, lame, or hesitant about racing around, and gradually it went away. He injured his right stifle as a four-year-old. Being a worrier... if he always carries his tail to one side, that could mean that his stifle injury didn't heal like it should have, or his back is out, or he's sore or.... Well, you get the picture (basically, I worry).
For some reason I think of it when I'm riding him, but it's hard to keep track of on top, (my eyes being oriented on the front of my head facing forward, no matter what the kids think!). But today on the ground I actually remembered to watch - and film. And he very clearly did, before, during, and after the video, switch tail-holding positions as he walked. Okay, so it's not a definitive all clear, but it's a good sign, right?
1 comment:
He sure has a pretty hinney!!;)
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