Conclusion of Texas

Oh what a cluster ____.

So my friend A that had Echo in Texas basically pressured me as of Dec 27th about moving Echo back to Kentucky. Things just kept getting worse and I started requesting shipping quotes New Years Eve. 

Friday (1/3/14) - I get a text asking if I can take Echo back this weekend for half price shipping. Shipper would be leaving tomorrow (Saturday) and is watching the weather to determine best time to leave. I texted my barn owner where Dakota is and made sure there was a stall open and gave the ok that Echo could come home this weekend. 

Saturday (1/4/14) - 

4:30pm - I get text asking what blanket I want on her in trailer. I make silly assumption this means she's leaving very soon. 

7:00pm - I get a very rushed texted asking if I'm by my computer (I'm at barn taking care of Dakota) asking if I can sign the shipping contract or shipper won't put her on. Ummm why couldn't this be done Friday more promptly? Did I mention my phone was dead so I never saw this text?

9:30pm - Thank god for tech savvy phones that allow you to sign documents when your phone comes alive and you see worried text and you freak out. 

11:30pm - Told the shipper should be there at any moment. At that point I just want to sleep. A sends me pictures of Echo all wrapped and ready to go and pictures of my stuff packed and ready to load. 

Sunday (1/5/14) - 

12:54am - Finally a text from A saying she's loaded and homeward bound. 

11:17am - Report they're in Little Rock Arkansas. 

4:02pm - Shipper reports they're stuck in traffic in Nashville Tennessee. 

7:00 - I can't stand sitting home longer and I go to the barn to at least take care of Dakota. 

8:02 - Shipper reports they're in Elizabethtown Kentucky. Finally they're at least in the correct state. 

9:08 - A text me (not the shipper which adds to my level of annoyance) - that they had to put the truck in 4 wheel drive and it started driving funny so a mechanic was heading out to look at it. Meanwhile the arctic blast crap was starting to hit full on and it was becoming icy.

10:00pm - Truck is fixed but the shipper wraps the horses up and and waits the storm out for the night because of the wind and road conditions.

11:00pm - I'm finally told this and head home from the barn.

Monday (1/6/14) - 

1:30am - After talking to A some more, I finally go to bed. Not much else I can do at that point. She's instructed the shipper to contact me as soon as she gets back on the road since the shipper stays in better contact with her than me. 

8:30am - I text A asking for any updates because I haven't heard from anyone. Neither has she. Every time from the start of the trip, if I call the shipper she does not answer.

10:30am - I get a text from the shipper that is jumbled and makes zero sense.  I'm irritated. After some back and forth with her she straightens her texting out and says she will be to the farm in 20 minutes. I find out she's been in contact with A all along and no one passed it along to me. I quickly get going for the morning and call the barn to tell someone she might show up before me. 

11:38am - George (barn manager) calls to tell me she's there and in her stall. 

I finally get there 5-10 minutes later to find the shipper sitting at the end of the drive. I had to give her a saddle to take back to Texas to A, which was back up at the barn and the shipper assumed it was in my car so I had to go up to the barn and come back to end of drive with the saddle. I finally got to go in barn and greet Echo who was poorly dressed in blankets but safely in one piece. The shipper also forgot to unload one of my blankets - A claims she'll snatch it when she sees her back in Texas - I have my doubts. 

Echo is just settling in for a few days in her stall until its safer conditions for the horses to go outside. Negative wind chills = not good for any of us!

Surprise!

Ummm so guess who is back in Kentucky? Yep that's right... Echo!

As I hinted at in my last Echo update (linked here) things with her haven't been going fully as planned. She's gotten herself into a fair bit of trouble since that update and there was a spot open on a trailer heading north and basically had no choice but to put her on it to come back.

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To save myself the pain of writing a lengthy blog and the pain of my readers for when I write a novel I'm going to attempt to summarize here. 

Grain has been switched - twice. MareFace is has had a hard time with retaining any training and looses focus. You 'lunge' her - which is more like a wild horse show - for 20 minutes and then her brain clicks and she's back to a sweet loving horse. You put her away after your session and you return 30 minutes later and she forgets who you are.

The video below just... makes me semi worried that maybe the idiot ways of her sire are maybe genetic - he died in a paddock accident in which he basically impaled himself on something. In that case who knows what I'm up against. This was taken last week:

She's also taken out two stalls, kicking and destroying them overnight. Well built stalls I'd like to add - not something flimsy like a temporary show stall. She empties 300 gallons of water at a time - going tank to tank dumping them. Basically making lots of enemies. 

Anyone have thoughts or advice on improving focus? Other than routine and consistency? I've ordered her an ulcer supplement and put her back on raspberry leaves and have another calming supplement on hand if it's needed. The only thing I can connect is that maybe the trailer ride from Michigan to Kentucky, that took 20 hours, stressed her enough to start ulcers - causing the behavior changes. She's not really the laid back puppy dog mare I knew then. Not that this makes me love her less, just stumps me somewhat. I know Michigan was not as stimulating as an environment and the hay quality etc are better now so that may have part to do with it. 

Now that she's back with me I plan on letting her settle a few days and let the ulcer supplements get a good week in her before I start messing with her brain. Then it's to the drawing board for her. 

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So despite things not going as planned, I'm determined to look at the positives.

• It's now known that she's terrified of pigs, especially in potbelly form. Any subconscious desire to ever own a pig is gone. 
• She no longer spooks at a donkey bray.
• Trailer rides are no big deal. She's a pro.

Pony Updates

Echo

Not a ton to update with her. Which I suppose is an ok thing. She has a fear of potbelly pigs and miniature donkey's. The donkey one she's pretty much over apparently. Her mane is still wild and growing straight up without flipping to one side. *facepalm* Note to never roach her mane again. My friend that has her has a mare she's trying to sell so once she's sold she will have more time to work Echo other than lunging and ground work here and there. 

Dakota

He still hasn't been injected. I don't know why but kept putting it off hoping he'd magically be sound. His shoes have been adjusted twice now, most recently last week. So Monday I decided to lunge him a little and see how he went. Front left is where he's lame so I started by warming him up to the left and when I asked him for a trot he didn't leap into his normal forward trot, instead he was doing a western pleasure jog. I let him go a few laps around but when I asked him to lengthen his strides and MOVE he was visibly lame. 

Stopped him and switched directions (ok he stopped and wheeled on his own as if saying he was uncomfortable and I let him go with it) - let him walk some more. I asked him to trot eventually and he started out being all western pleasurey but this time moved out on his own and though his strides were short and a little choppy, I could see him working out of it some. I worked him a little longer - long enough I can truthfully say I couldn't see anything wrong with his strides. 

Forced him to switch direction back to going left - he was pretty angry. Walked.... then trot and his trot was way better.

I'm now basically crossing my fingers for the same results tonight when I work with him. I also consulted one of the eventers at the barn and asked her if she had any coffin bone injection experience and she did with 2 horses - both with definite results. So now I'm thinking if it's something he's going to work out off I can have him injected to just give him an extra boost of comfort. I'll make my final decision tonight on the injections after I see if he works out of it all again. I'll post more updates then!

Wet pony after a cool evening bath.

Sporting his new sage green PONY sized polos. Most successful polo wrap ever with this horse. Pony size is definitely for him.

Bootcamp Departure

Echo left for Texas at approximately 6:30 yesterday morning and arrived to Texas before midnight. Sounds like she traveled like the rock star that she is and never really stressed. A will have her in isolation from the other horses for 14 days and then she will slowly be introduced into the herd of mares there.

It's early and I'm suppose to be asleep...

Please excuse my wrap job. Pretty damn good for a 6am job. Also none of my pillow wraps were the right size so I was using what I had since there there was no way around it that early in the day.

Here's the pictures I got from A of their rest breaks on the trip yesterday and one of her relaxing in her stall this afternoon in Texas.

Someone was worried about her nose getting to rubbed.

Operation Texas Bootcamp

Well...

Echo is heading to Texas for boot-camp  My lovely friend Amanda has agreed to take her for awhile while I'm concentrating on school and settling into Kentucky life better. 

Since she will have an open trailer next weekend. She is also taking Lovely Surprise to keep for herself :) I'm excited to be able to keep updates on Echo's filly.

It will be strange not having her around but I know she will be in great hands and getting to be worked with more consistently. 

I will keep the blog going with any and all updates I get from Texas and of course Dakota and I here at home.

Best picture I got yesterday of Echo's Mohawk.