Well... Amber & I took the boys out for a ride this afternoon. This being Tango's first time at the new barn I was a bit skeptical about how he would be.
Reader Enlightenment: Last year when I was rehabbing him at school he was still quite 'racy'. It was apparent to me that not only the fact that he was coming off of Equipoise/Winstrol V dose (which, I have heard can take variable amounts of time to leave the system permanently - individual dependent) but also the Triple Crown sweet feed, creatine, whey and whatever-the-hell-else the professor decided to pointlessly give to a REHABILITATING horse was making him unpleasant. Wow, that was a terrible run-on sentence... Anyways, to hand-walk him *safely* (around the INSIDE of the barn) he needed a lip chain, one very strong arm, one very alert walker (me), and occasionally a nerveline (which I dont like to use at all). He would jig the whole way and rear straight up and kick out on every corner. He felt good. But - almost roid-ragey. So, when grooming him I was forced to tie his nose rather close to the wall to prevent him was actually goring me with the CRAZY bared teeth that he would come at me with and watch to be sure I'm not cow-kicked. Yet, I absolutely loved this horse and knew this wasn't permanent. He didn't mean to be that way. And I'm sure some of the ways he was probably handled at the track affected this a lot. Either way - he settled down and is lazy, mellow and sweet now.
Continuing with todays events...
I am grooming him and tacking him up right across from his new buddy Trance. We're in his stall and he's tied to a long, bungie-like cross tie (he does tie well). Well, let me tell you - he showed me today that a VERY SMALL glimmer of his old self was shining through. Probably confirming he is relieved to be at a nicer place. He was GRUMPY and very ears-back-gotta-walk-while-you-tack-me today. Brat. Since that was unusual as of late I put him in the roundpen briefly and let him get whatever it was out. Which, apparently was nothing.
Got him into the outdoor arena and obviously there's snow. Note: he hasn't been ridden outside all winter due to snow/ice/lack of facilities. However, this barn maintains the outdoor since they do lessons in winter - weather permitting. So we did the walk around and see the scenery thing. Snorting and side-stepping all the while. Finally got him to chill and got on. Walked and trotted around beautifully. He began spooking once but I managed to prevent any kind of more serious incident. Both horses didnt like this "scary purple thing". I believe it was a blanket covering some sort of wheelbarrow.
Anyways he did wonderful. In fact, he was more willing then he ever was at the previous place. The fresh air probably didn't hurt either. And actually, I had to hold him back from cantering at a few points. :]
I am strongly considering putting front shoes on him this week. The farrier comes Wednesday morning. He's got smaller feet anyways and as it looks he had been pawing on the cement and wore his front left down a little extra >:\
He's got very flat feet in front right now, his soles aren't 'cuppy' at all. So, in snow he's really slipping. So yeah, I just might help him out a bit and experiment with shoes. His back feet are decent and he has almost no growth all the way around right now, which I believe I can attribute some of that to the fact that it is winter.
Beezie Madden lives just down the road from this place and I guess Kenwood's recently aquired her farrier's services. Sounds pretty wonderful - but I bet we will pay for his reputation. Lol. ;)
So, overall - he did great today. Very proud of my grumper.
I will update everyone Wednesday after potentially shoeing him & our ride later that day. :]
-Kristin
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