April + May Pyro Update: Vet Calls, Summer Pasture, and Lessons, Oh My!

 The past 2 months are being lumped together because I was on the struggle bus, and taking the girls to the National Drive took priority. That doesn't mean Pyro didn't get worked, but I didn't do such a great job at documenting said work for later. Lol, whoops.

Pyro: Mahm makes me wurk

These counts for April + May are approximate, but you get the gist:

• Rides: 6
• Ground Driving: 4
• Groundwork: 11
• Trailer Rides: 2
• Lessons:  1
• Emergency Vet Visits: 1
• Stitches: 5

Yes, lovely, just what we all want: a Saturday vet call to stitch up your horse who won't stop bleeding because they did something inane that shouldn't result in serious injury, but did. (This injury happened mid-May, so I'm skipping ahead a bit, but bear with me.)

He knows how to keep things interesting. 

 In good news, I am okay with blood! (Just not needles...) As he gushed like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film, I was able to be the calm leader he needed, and he honestly handled it really well. Now, what did he do, you ask? Didn't pick his hind foot up high enough when stepping onto the trailer. 

Because OF COURSE something happened while I was trying to get him good experiences with the trailer. 

My plan was to go through the motions of trailering him to go ride somewhere without actually taking him anywhere. He loaded well, improved his ability to hold himself calmly on the trailer, then I tacked him up for a short ride. 

We had a lovely hack around the farm!

After our easy ride, I untacked and practiced trailer loading a little more, as if we were loading post-ride to go home. When unloading, he shuffled his feet while backing up and must have caught a flake of rusted metal on the sill that holds the flooring in place. The next time he stepped up, he bashed his right hind pastern right into it.

This teeny tiny flake of metal...

...became a f!@#ing razor blade. 

I couldn't see it from where I was standing in the off side of the trailer.

The vet got to us as soon as he could (bless that man), and Pyro was a fairly good patient. (He even allowed me to clip the surrounding hair prior to sedation!) The cut was all the way through the skin and into his coronary band (naturally). He got the sleepy juice, a block, size 0 stitches, a shot of antibiotics, and a bandage. I got instructions to keep it wrapped and to remove any remaining stitches at 10-14 days.

Does not like his foot being numb/the block wearing off.

In order to improve the situation, I picked out silly vet wrap, such as this pink flamingo variety for the flamingo boy. 

Safety third! Wearing my helmet for bandage changes in case he kicked. Featuring lilac heart wrap.

Passive work: standing tied with his ProSix on.

Pyro turned 7 years old! Happy birthday, flashy boy!

He became quite good at standing against this wall for me to change his bandage. Featuring the best barn dog <3.

I ran out of cotton wrap and couldn't find any more locally, so he got standing wraps over gauze/vet wrap instead. Although I said my goodbyes to each standing wrap when he was turned out for the night, he managed to not lose any!

All in all, it has healed really well, despite him popping stitches almost immediately. The main worry is how much the damage to the coronary band will impact his hoof growth, but time will tell. 

This collage represents about 2 weeks of healing.

He's still stocking up a tiny bit after being in his stall all day, but thankfully is moving soundly (*knocks on wood*). Since the injury took place in the middle of May, He's just now coming back into full work at the start of June. 

And I was finally able to give him the trim he was due for when he hurt himself. 

Prior to the injury, he had been doing some pretty exciting work, and I felt like we were finally building some momentum. Travel back in time with me to the beginning of April...

Introducing him to the cart

Dropping the shafts made a SCARY NOISE

VERY SUSPICIOUS

Really put the cart before the horse on this one... 

... but he eventually became confident walking beside it.

He allowed me to adjust the air in his saddle panels while in the crossties, standing patiently while I scrambled on and off him repeatedly. 

Testing of the new balance was done in a halter <3

Gelding smooches

After consulting the group chat, it was decided the poleys on my dressage saddle needed to go. They were blocking me from finding the position I naturally obtain when bareback, shoving me onto the cantle. 

Presto-change-o!

No more poleys!
Have I mentioned how much I love WOW saddles lately?

AND no more getting pushed onto the cantle.

Introducing him to the pool noodles I got to torture train him with.

*BONK*

Activating the brain cell

Attention: acquired

Serious consideration

Can you work while it touches you?

How about while it lays along your side like a shaft?

Harnessing at the trailer with a lil snack

Dragging noisy chains for the first time

Learning valuable lessons about stepping over the traces.

Dragging chains on gravel like a pro!

Long lining with the redneck singletree and chains. He even cantered! (and worked through the inevitable dolphining that comes from that experience)

Very proud of himself

Hacking out

Pulling weight in harness for the first time!

I used a sled with a bag of pelleted bedding.

Introducing him to pressure from the breeching when slowing down

Nykur photobomb!
Pyro was a total champ through this session. He quickly understood pulling the sled and the breeching pushing him from behind. He was calm, willing, and maneuverable throughout. I sadly didn't get it on video, but he even allowed me to guide him through a pretty sophisticated maneuver to open, walk through, and close a gate while ground driving. 

He's also getting lots of "tying for patience" time. 

We had some productive rides working on our homework from Coach JM. I appreciated how Pyro quietly reached into the contact during this one. 

We worked through what I call "dirt bike pony" at the canter. He wasn't balancing himself well, and it made it extremely difficult for me to keep my spine aligned with his. When he does that, it feels like I don't have anything solid to sit on, and the saddle and I slip to the outside, particularly tracking left. 

He got a 5-day break during the National Drive as I focused on the girls. When we returned, I was in charge of transitioning all the horses onto the lush, rested pastures for the summer. I took responsibility for this because there have been issues with Pyro not wanting to come off the grass when the allotted grazing time for the day is up, and I didn't want to put any co-op members in a position where they might get hurt.  

The transition to summer pasture is always exciting.

In an effort to make it as low-arousal as possible and set everyone up for success, I opted to halter and lead each horse in off the lush grass, rather than chasing them up through the gate back into the winter sacrifice lot. This worked exceptionally. Pyro, Ivan, and Magnum got into the routine and calmly let me lead them off the grass, happily accepting a cookie as payment. I often only had to halter Pyro, and the others would follow.

To ensure being caught didn't end up becoming negatively associated with getting pulled off the grass, I took the time to let Pyro get a few more bites each time I haltered him. 

Even on a somewhat compressed transition schedule (10 days), the horses all did well. There were no digestive issues, nor any sass from Pyro. (Ivan was impatient to get through the gate one of the first days, but that was quickly handled.) I was honestly really proud of how smoothly it went, and I'm hopeful I won't have to take sole responsibility for that transition in future years.

Meanwhile...

The Three Amigos being good boys

Tried out a Total Saddle Fit Stretchtec girth

I was pleased with how he lunged in it.

And it didn't shift, even through him launching over a ground pole.

The first ride with it went well, and he seemed comfortable

I had been using a WOW "H" girth on him, but I think the Stretchtec is a viable option for him.

A few days before the trailer loading accident, we got to go across town for a 2nd dressage lesson with the new instructor, Coach JM. Despite having extra electrolytes in his system, along with Ulcergard and Outlast, he unloaded and immediately had thumps. To me, this indicates they're completely stress-induced, rather than related to an electrolyte imbalance. 

He rode quietly, but didn't touch his hay in the trailer.

I gave him a nice, long warmup, but he was tense, especially when Coach JM entered the ring. He anticipated a lot, especially upward transitions, and would occasionally explode into tantrums of kicking out or flinging his head, although he didn't fully buck like he did the first lesson.

Tense and agitated, although less spooky than the first lesson

When he locks his jaw, I was coached to sponge twice on one rein, then the other, in time with his trot. It should be gentle and rhythmic, not sawing.

Lots of shoulder in right to help him bring that right hind up under himself.

No good picture of it, but she showed me how to work on square halts by walking an 8m volte into a halt on the rail.

We practiced lots of little serpentines, changing direction frequently and asking him to flex laterally while I practiced my outside turning aids. Even if I couldn't get bend all the way through his body at first, she wanted me to start with his jaw.

I was reminded to keep my inside shoulder up and outside hand down, especially tracking left.

When he was tense in the canter, she had me stay light on his back until he relaxed and "invited" me to sit deeper.

Head flinging interlude

More head flinging

And a ninja kick. It turns out I didn't NEED those poleys.

Tantrum example

Finally able to relax in the canter

Some improvement in the trot, if a little tense and unsteady yet...

Trying hard in the shoulder in on his bad side

A smooth downward transition!

Much less tense and using his body much better.

Good boy!

We ended the lesson with a relaxed, head down walk on a loose rein, the first he had done at that property.

Coach JM's comment at the end of the lesson was that if felt like we peeled back another layer from the last lesson.

He took some gentle coaxing to load on the trailer for the ride home, and once again was stressed by even that short ride. I got to put in a little practice using JM's coaching at home before he cut his pastern, but the experience reiterated Pyro needs some serious support when it comes to trailering. Once the trailer is repaired, I'll continue doing everything in my power to make it more positive for him, and my goal of replacing that trailer has bumped up in priority. 

Eepy boy takes his siestas seriously when they're on night turnout.

Whew! I really need to make these updates monthly because 2 months is a lot! I hope this spring has treated you and your ponies well. I'm looking forward to the sunshine in the forecast and focusing on giving Pyro what he needs to be a happy, healthy partner.