What a disaster....

So, on Wednesday me and Leah decided to have a gentle walk around the paddock like to did last week. That didnt quite happen......

Got Diesel out, groomed him and tacked him up - and he was awesome. Only thing I did differently was put a drop noseband on him as he tends to try and put the reins in his mouth and chew them and I thought this would deter him. Also had a different saddle blanket on.

Took him into paddock, put him against the fence and he stood perfectly still while I mounted. Cool. Did my girth up and pushed him on into a walk.

We had literally walked 50 metres, all was going fine when I walked him next to a telegraph post in the paddock, he looked to the left, something caught his eye and he spooked to the right. I lost my balance as was not expecting it atall. So as I was off to the left in the saddle he freaked again and spooked again. I ended up being thrown over to the right side to which he spooked one last time, felt like he did a buck and the next thing I know I am flying through the air....

I landed face first in the long grass and was winded. Looked over to my right and saw Diesel was down aswell!!!! He lurched to his feet and walked about 10 steps and stopped. Meanwhile Leah's Mum was seeing that I was OK while Leah went and caught Diesel.

I was pretty sore immediately. Thankfully I had my hat on as the peak has bent so must have really gone down face first lol. Have sore wrists, chest, back and geneneral muscle soreness. Must be getting old ha ha ha.

Asked Leah what had happened after I came off and she said that he had gone around me, looped around behind me, went to take off and lost his footing and fell onto his side. Hopefully it has taught him a lesson!

I dont feel he was being dirty, just being a green horse and something unexpected set him off and he just freaked. Problem is it was a real knock to my confidence. I wasnt worried about getting on him atall and walking him around the paddock but after coming off there was no way I was getting back on.

Leah got on him and worked him a bit and he was really on his toes. He could have been upset about what had happened but in the end I said to take the drop nose band off and he settled down heaps. So whether this was the problem I dont know....

So, he is back to Weiti Station tomorrow to finish being broken in. I should probably have waited until he was fully broken in but I am impatient and couldnt wait.....my own fault.

Hopefully when he comes back I will feel differently and be okay about getting on and getting stuck in but at the moment the thought terrifies me, I am such a NANNA!!!!

Fingers crossed people.....

Shoes are on..!!!!

So, this was my dilema...

I havge always had my horses shod....always! I dont have a problem with horses having shoes on and if they need them so be it. I also dont have a problem with horses that are barefoot, if they can handle it and are sound with it excellent.

So, I had a big decision to make about Diesel this week. He has been barefoot ever since I got him and he was not just being paddock trimmed but proper barefoot trimmed. Chelsea, my trimmer, has been absolutely outstanding doing Diesel, even when he was a total shite!!! I always thought he would remain barefoot.

BUT.....I personally feel that this summer his feet have just not coped with being barefoot. He has been getting the most awful flares on his back feet, alot of cracks, and what I would call an abnormal amount of abcesses. Although his feet have looked really good when they are trimmed it has not been taking long before they start to disentigrate again. I really believe that he has taken more to the TB side with his feet than the clydesdale side unfortunately.

I noticed this week that his soles seemed to have dropped a fair bit, he was walking on his frogs and was pretty sore. I dont like seeing him like this atall and there just seemed to be no end to it, he was not getting any better so I made the call to get some shoes put on!

It was a bit gutting to be honest but also a BIG relief. He only got shoes put on the front feet but immediately he walked so much more comfortably. He stood there like such a good boy (considering its the first time ever he has had shoes put on he was an absolute angel).

Once I put him out in the paddock he trotted off and that is the first time he has got out of a walk for over a week! He also lifted his knees up so much more than usual and the slight dish he has usually was barely visible.

So, there you have it, it was time I made a decision as I want to get this boy back to Weiti Station to finish being broken in asap and hopefully now he has shoes on it will be relatively soon.

Still sore......

So Diesel is still sore in his front right foot, cant really feel much heat in there atall but the other day his feet just seemed to disintegrate.....I think it is the hard ground and they are really dry but overnight his feet cracked, splayed out and just looked bloody awful.

I text Chelsea (my farrier) to see when she could do them but it was going to be a week and there was no way his feet were going to cope with that (chunks were already breaking off due to the length and flares)so in the end Leah was coming up and she trimmed him. I got her to take as much flare off as possible as his back left foot (which is his white hoof) has split right up to the coronet band again which I am pretty gutted about.

So, he has had a good trim and is walking alot better but I do think he has an abcess brewing (just from watching him I can tell he is going to get worse due to being such a sook) so he has a week to sort himself out as he is going back to Weiti Station on Monday 22nd February to finish being broken in.

Oh, and on a good note I have not had a cigarette for 7 days....YAY!

I RODE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

So, Diesels cough finally went, as well as the snotty green slime up his snout! Then he got a sore foot so was slightly lame so he has still not been returned to Weiti Station yet....am hoping Alice can have him back next week if possible.

Anyway, Leah brought Chevy back here to stay today and we decided that it was time we went for a walk around the paddock on the boys....yep, thats right, both of them!!!!

So tacked Diesel up, took him into the paddock and he just stood there like a statue while I got on. Quick check of my stirrups etc and away we went. Just walked around, followed Chevy for the first 10 minutes to make sure he was okay and then we kind of went further and further away and just plodded around.

Diesel has the most exquisite mouth, so soft and supple, with the slightest pressure he turns and moves where you want him (well 80% of the time anyway).

We went into the bottom paddock and over the wee wooden bridge and he was fine, no freaking or shying....turned around and came back over and there was Vida, the wee filly, having a blat around, bucking and farting and carrying on. I thought Diesel was gonna freak so got myself ready but he just had a gawk for literally a second and then just walked on past. I was so so pleased with him.

The other thing I really noticed were his ears....they are HUGE, and really floppy and when he is walking his ears are flopping to and fro all the time, really quite cute!

So, my opinion on our ride is BRING ON MORE. I LOVED IT. He was just beautiful to ride and handle today and cant wait until the next ride (which will hopefully be Monday). I LUFF MY PONEEEEEEEE :O)

Soooo.

Whatever Diesel had turned into a nasty infection, the green slime coming out of his nose was foul. Went to the vets and he is now on Trizine Plus. Two scoops in his feed morning and night.

Today is day 3 of being on it and he is definitly improving. His cough has definitely lessened (although is still there) but his nostrils have dried up heaps, still moist but the fluid is now clear instead of green.

Poor old Smeezie, everytime he sees me he whinnies (although that could be the fact that he thinks its feed time lol). Always got his head poking over the fence into my back garden, nosey little toad!

Chevy has gone back to Leah's for a bit which I think is the right move at the moment as I would hate for Chevy's cough to turn into what Diesel has had. I want Diesel to get better so he can go back to Weiti to finish being broken in and we can get on with riding and having some fun. I feel if Chevy was still here they would just keep passing whatever it is back to eachother which will really prolong the recovery.....so Diesel is in a paddock by himself but can still see the other two horses that graze here.