Monday, March 14, 2011
Just waiting for spring....sighhhh
Sorry, I have hardly posted. But to be honest, I have not been out to Enzo as of much lately. Where I board, there is an indoor arena but it is hard to get to sometimes. It's on a hill and when it's gets really icy. It isn't safe for a human nor a horse! So on those times, Enzo just gets lots of scratches in the lower barn and many hugs. I did make it out this past Sunday and I finally snaked my way up to the arena through some softer snow patches. I had Enzo go ever some wooden poles laying on the ground in the arena. Sounds super easy right? Well, Enzo has a horrible hard time with these! I have never seen a horse not really wanted to pick up his feet, trip over them, slip on them, and everything else that you can do to a poll on the ground. I could tell Enzo was having a major mental block over them! I only used 3 on the ground and I had him walk slowly over them. During this time Enzo pooped 4 times. Enzo always starts pooping a lot when he mentally cannot handle something. It was soooo interesting to me. It blew my mind that to me this was so small. Yet to Enzo it was so hard. I kept working with it going slowly, taking breaks, and even working on other things in between. Then, I would come back to the polls on the ground. By the end Enzo was more confident walking over them. But we still have a long way to go. Since, Enzo still has not figured out that he can make it over without tripping, touching, or dragging the poll. Every time Enzo would go over a poll perfect I would do "Parelli Game Over" and let Enzo come in for some mental relaxation and time to think about what he just did. So all and all I think our play time on Sunday went great! I also worked on Enzo accepting his bareback pad with no brace as well. This was after I had already played an hour with him. So Enzo accepted his bareback pad without a brace quite fast. Since, his brain was now more mentally engaged. As MI has started to thaw, I am hoping to be able to see Enzo a lot more now and hopefully I can get back to my posts. There is 50's and even a 60 degree day possibly coming this week!! Savvy up! Janine and Enzo
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Yay on the upcoming good weather and the good session with Enzo. Maybe on the poles you need to try just one for now. Once he realizes he can step over one without hitting it, stepping on it or tripping over it he should be able to go over more of them easier. He may also be going through a growth spurt which can make them super clumsy and uncoordinated. Anyway I'll keep my fingers crossed for good weather so you can spend more time with your boy. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know what you mean. I didn't explain myself really well in my blog. I had 3 poles all over the arena far apart. So basically, each time Enzo was only doing 1 pole at a time. Not all three in a row. Before I got to the next poll in the arena, I would give him a mantal break, or do somthing else for a while. Then, I would eventually go back over to one of the poles and we would walk over it. It was just amazing to me how Enzo is so uncoordinated over 1 poll, LOL. Just like everything else. Over time, he will figure it out. When I think things are going to be easy for him, they turn out to be super hard for him. And when I think Enzo will think something is hard, he takes it without a thought. So funny. Yes, common spring!!!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHowdy Janine!
ReplyDeleteEnzo sure is a handsome horse! Love your images.
Lucky had a hard time with the poles too. He'd jump them as if they were two feet high!
Love reading about your adventures, so I can't wait for your weather to clear up some too.
Nancy, smiling at you!
Thanks Nancy! It was sure an, ahhh that is interesting moment for me. At least, I know this will help Enzo later in life with trail riding for sure!
ReplyDeleteOh ok that makes sense. :)
ReplyDeleteThe back lifts are like sit ups for us. It's for building muscle in the back and stomach. The more muscle he can build now the easier it will be for him to support the weight of a rider later.
Thanks for the reassurance on the antibiotics. I'm glad missing a dose won't hurt him. The vet said to do another course in the drainage hadn't stopped so I picked up another week's worth today. I feel bad having him on it for so long because I know antibiotics can be rough, but I'll give him some probiotics when he's done. Any other tips for such a long course? Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteOh sweet I didn't know about giving probiotics while he was taking the antibiotics. I'll get some tomorrow and go ahead and start them. He's still doing well. He got his hooves trimmed today and although he really wanted to be out grazing he was very well behaved. :)
ReplyDelete