Now there are three. For now Cooper is still pastured with Salera.
We will see how things go before any more decisions are made.
Saying Goodbye
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Took long enough
Took me long enough to put a post out here!! Egads!! Time flies and all that.
Well, the red boy has dodged the bullet yet again. We had decided to reduce the herd from four to two horses and Cooper was one of the two I had decided on to sell.
After two prospective buyers looking at them, I've decided I just can't do it. I've never been an over-protective Momma with my kids, but apparently that's not the case when applied to my animals. Raising kids (boys) you raise them to be able to stand up for themselves and take care of business, animals don't have that luxury. If an animal stands up for it's self then things get ugly. I think ol' Cooper has had enough ugly in his life... that is the reason he ended up with me in the first place. I can't stand the thought of him some how ending up back in to a situation like what I got him out of or heading out across the border on a double-decker to a slaughter plant.
All that said, I need to get off my rear and get to work. I'm fine with the horses being pasture ornaments, but it would be better for them (and me truth be told) if I just got out there and got the training done. Time to find my guts and sass that gotten hidden some where a few years back, just get out there and do it.
Well, the red boy has dodged the bullet yet again. We had decided to reduce the herd from four to two horses and Cooper was one of the two I had decided on to sell.
After two prospective buyers looking at them, I've decided I just can't do it. I've never been an over-protective Momma with my kids, but apparently that's not the case when applied to my animals. Raising kids (boys) you raise them to be able to stand up for themselves and take care of business, animals don't have that luxury. If an animal stands up for it's self then things get ugly. I think ol' Cooper has had enough ugly in his life... that is the reason he ended up with me in the first place. I can't stand the thought of him some how ending up back in to a situation like what I got him out of or heading out across the border on a double-decker to a slaughter plant.
All that said, I need to get off my rear and get to work. I'm fine with the horses being pasture ornaments, but it would be better for them (and me truth be told) if I just got out there and got the training done. Time to find my guts and sass that gotten hidden some where a few years back, just get out there and do it.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
One year later
Looking back at last year around this time, I could have sworn it was year on the 27th that we had brought Cooper home. I wrote down the 24th though in the first post or two. Anyhow, I made sure to get "one year later" photos of Cooper yesterday. Of course the little white witch, Salera, had to make sure I was paying attention to her too just enough to rile Cooper up a little bit in a few pictures. Is it just me or does he have an amused look to his eyes in these photos?!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Blizzard of 2009
I don't remember if I mentioned I had wanted to work with Cooper on putting a blanket on several months back. I got side tracked with one thing or another, then needed to wash the blankets out when I finally did pull them out, once they were dry I had to hurry and get them put up again as rain was coming in. Just things like that and some issues with other horses that took up my time and I never did get there to work with him on blanketing.
The husband kept asking me if I was going to buy him a blanket for winter this year and I put it off since winter wasn't that bad and hadn't been cold enough for me to decide to blanket any of the horses. Then the weather forecasters started making a big to-do over the winter weather coming in, possibly starting last Tuesday etc. Now, I don't know what size of blanket Cooper needs or if he's ever been blanketed when I wander myself out early Tuesday afternoon to drag out blankets and give them a good check over etc. I was determined that I was trying blankets on the boy as poor Raven is having to put up with being blanketed in a too large blanket(81) because that was the only size they had left last year so since we didn't have a shed at the time and something was better than nothing I grabbed what the store had. It's a good thing Raven is mellow and took to blanketing with a minimum of fuss last year, the oversized blanket has the potential to cause problems with a more spooky type of horse I'm sure.
Anyway, I grabbed the 75 I use on Imbri then Cooper and I spent some time in the coral area with him on a halter and lead getting him used to the slithery, whish-sounding horse blanket. Let me tell ya.... so much easier doing this stuff if you have some one else to hold the horses head. We managed to get through it with a minimum of craziness, good thing he can be a get-the-heck-out-of-dodge type of horse some times cause as long as he could run around me on the lead he didn't pull any funny stuff with the trying to rear like he would have last year. The only casualty was my right foot, which he stomped bad enough in a sideways move then shoved off of that I thought there was a good chance I had my first two toes split open from the feel of it. He's a smart horse and this is the second time he's stomped me really good, I swear he knows when he's done it and from his reaction after it happens is that he's going to get the ever-loving hell beat out of him. I try not to react, much, and typically just stop moving and try to breath normal when it happens... there's a whole bunch of cussing and yelling going on in my head for sure... but I do my best to put a calm front out there for the horse. I have never had a horse intentionally stomp on my feet and every one that's managed to catch me off guard like that has always seemed some form of surprised and/or apologetic to me. Cooper is the first one that acts like he knows what he did and expects to get hit for it though, even though it's an accident.
Anyhow, end result was that I got the blanket on him and eventually got him settled enough to get ALL of the chest, belly, and leg straps clipped and then we spent about 15 or 20 minutes going for a walk around the pasture to get him used to the feel and weight of it. The 75 was as big on Cooper as the 81 is on Raven, so I needed to find a 72 some where. I hobbled my way around and finally took the blanket off then got myself to the house to check my foot and take a break. I swear it felt like there was a bone that kept sticking through the end of my big toe, sharp spiky pain. No blood just some bruising and pain, maybe a chipped or broken bone in there but not enough for me to want to go to a dr for.
I'm not real thrilled with the blanket I ended up with, but it fit within the current budget by only costing $40 and it was at the little horse tack place that has just recently the last couple of months set up about 4 or 5 miles down the road toward the city rather than having to drive the half an hour 15 or 20 miles in to get to TSC. It's a showman canvas 72" water resistant with wool blend lining in it. I prefer the Horse Logic ones I bought last year, but this one will do and with the way the weather came in late Wednesday night/Thursday morning I was glad he had at least that much on him to keep the snow and the worst of the wind off. At some point when I can manage the money I need to replace Salera's blanket... have to find her a heavy duty that will take more rough handling as she rips the hell out of blankets, and I want to get Raven a correctly sized blanket so he isn't looking like he's wearing his big brother draft horse's blanket. Heh.
Sigh, it's been a rough week.... I'm walking around with a black/purple/red/yellow colored right eye from whacking myself in the eyebrow/eye with the rake after cleaning out the coral and shed Monday, got the hell stomped out of my foot Tuesday so am hobbling around on that, then I slipped on a patch of ice and wrenched my lower back pretty bad Friday while going out to shovel snow drifts to get to the horses. Just one of those weeks I feel like I'm an accident waiting to happen. But hey, at least between the blankets and the shed the horses weathered the storm easier.
Bonus point for Cooper for being such a trooper and trying so hard to please by doing his best to trust me with that big ol' horse eating slithery blanket trying to jump on his back :)
The husband kept asking me if I was going to buy him a blanket for winter this year and I put it off since winter wasn't that bad and hadn't been cold enough for me to decide to blanket any of the horses. Then the weather forecasters started making a big to-do over the winter weather coming in, possibly starting last Tuesday etc. Now, I don't know what size of blanket Cooper needs or if he's ever been blanketed when I wander myself out early Tuesday afternoon to drag out blankets and give them a good check over etc. I was determined that I was trying blankets on the boy as poor Raven is having to put up with being blanketed in a too large blanket(81) because that was the only size they had left last year so since we didn't have a shed at the time and something was better than nothing I grabbed what the store had. It's a good thing Raven is mellow and took to blanketing with a minimum of fuss last year, the oversized blanket has the potential to cause problems with a more spooky type of horse I'm sure.
Anyway, I grabbed the 75 I use on Imbri then Cooper and I spent some time in the coral area with him on a halter and lead getting him used to the slithery, whish-sounding horse blanket. Let me tell ya.... so much easier doing this stuff if you have some one else to hold the horses head. We managed to get through it with a minimum of craziness, good thing he can be a get-the-heck-out-of-dodge type of horse some times cause as long as he could run around me on the lead he didn't pull any funny stuff with the trying to rear like he would have last year. The only casualty was my right foot, which he stomped bad enough in a sideways move then shoved off of that I thought there was a good chance I had my first two toes split open from the feel of it. He's a smart horse and this is the second time he's stomped me really good, I swear he knows when he's done it and from his reaction after it happens is that he's going to get the ever-loving hell beat out of him. I try not to react, much, and typically just stop moving and try to breath normal when it happens... there's a whole bunch of cussing and yelling going on in my head for sure... but I do my best to put a calm front out there for the horse. I have never had a horse intentionally stomp on my feet and every one that's managed to catch me off guard like that has always seemed some form of surprised and/or apologetic to me. Cooper is the first one that acts like he knows what he did and expects to get hit for it though, even though it's an accident.
Anyhow, end result was that I got the blanket on him and eventually got him settled enough to get ALL of the chest, belly, and leg straps clipped and then we spent about 15 or 20 minutes going for a walk around the pasture to get him used to the feel and weight of it. The 75 was as big on Cooper as the 81 is on Raven, so I needed to find a 72 some where. I hobbled my way around and finally took the blanket off then got myself to the house to check my foot and take a break. I swear it felt like there was a bone that kept sticking through the end of my big toe, sharp spiky pain. No blood just some bruising and pain, maybe a chipped or broken bone in there but not enough for me to want to go to a dr for.
I'm not real thrilled with the blanket I ended up with, but it fit within the current budget by only costing $40 and it was at the little horse tack place that has just recently the last couple of months set up about 4 or 5 miles down the road toward the city rather than having to drive the half an hour 15 or 20 miles in to get to TSC. It's a showman canvas 72" water resistant with wool blend lining in it. I prefer the Horse Logic ones I bought last year, but this one will do and with the way the weather came in late Wednesday night/Thursday morning I was glad he had at least that much on him to keep the snow and the worst of the wind off. At some point when I can manage the money I need to replace Salera's blanket... have to find her a heavy duty that will take more rough handling as she rips the hell out of blankets, and I want to get Raven a correctly sized blanket so he isn't looking like he's wearing his big brother draft horse's blanket. Heh.
Sigh, it's been a rough week.... I'm walking around with a black/purple/red/yellow colored right eye from whacking myself in the eyebrow/eye with the rake after cleaning out the coral and shed Monday, got the hell stomped out of my foot Tuesday so am hobbling around on that, then I slipped on a patch of ice and wrenched my lower back pretty bad Friday while going out to shovel snow drifts to get to the horses. Just one of those weeks I feel like I'm an accident waiting to happen. But hey, at least between the blankets and the shed the horses weathered the storm easier.
Bonus point for Cooper for being such a trooper and trying so hard to please by doing his best to trust me with that big ol' horse eating slithery blanket trying to jump on his back :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Comparison
I started looking back at photos of Cooper from when I first bought him out of the situation he was in. We've come a long way in body condition, training, and mental state. There has not been even a single day I've regretted saving him from starving to death.
A look at where he was the day after I bought him and a look at where he is now 8 months later.
Before Headshot 01/25/09
After Headshot 09/23/09
Before 01/25/09
After 09/23/09
A look at where he was the day after I bought him and a look at where he is now 8 months later.
Before Headshot 01/25/09
After Headshot 09/23/09
Before 01/25/09
After 09/23/09
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
September update
Temperatures are fantastic lately but we've had rain most days for the last two weeks. I've been working Cooper on the lunge line lately as the weather permits. He will walk, trot, and extended trot both directions and maintain his rate of speed. I'll have to see if I can get some one to take photos one of these times while I'm working him, he moves beautifully.
I trimmed Cooper's (and Salera's) hooves last night. The front hooves are showing a nice concavity and healthy wide frogs, the backs have good concavity but I think the frogs are still a little contracted... they look healthy but I'd like to see a little more width at the back of the frog. He is still a little fussy during trimming, but is tons better than when he first came home. He did manage to mangle my foot this time, waiting until I was trusting him to hold still he yanked his hind foot out of my hand and brought it down toe first on my foot at the base of the toes where they join in to the foot. It is still aching like a fiend. I'd like to have some one take photos for me as it's a little tough for me to juggle holding a hoof and snapping the pic at the same time.
I trimmed Cooper's (and Salera's) hooves last night. The front hooves are showing a nice concavity and healthy wide frogs, the backs have good concavity but I think the frogs are still a little contracted... they look healthy but I'd like to see a little more width at the back of the frog. He is still a little fussy during trimming, but is tons better than when he first came home. He did manage to mangle my foot this time, waiting until I was trusting him to hold still he yanked his hind foot out of my hand and brought it down toe first on my foot at the base of the toes where they join in to the foot. It is still aching like a fiend. I'd like to have some one take photos for me as it's a little tough for me to juggle holding a hoof and snapping the pic at the same time.
Friday, August 7, 2009
New Photos for August
The hot humid 100 degree weather moved in, so not been doing much outside. I did wander out for a little bit and grabbed some new photos of Cooper and Salera hanging out in the pasture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)