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Wow, where has the time gone? We’ve been so busy I didn’t realize it has been two months since a blog was last posted. Although this summer has been very busy, a lot has been accomplished. We hope to keep the momentum going as the weather becomes cooler and the days continue to become shorter.
Suerte is looking like a million bucks. People continually comment on how big and impressive he is looking. I can now see it, especially when I am riding him on the trail. He has a great enthusiasm and forward attitude; he is a joy to ride on the trail. He’s got a massive neck and his shoulder has also filled out over the last few months. His coat shines and he has a spark in his eye.
Training is never-ending. I’ll admit that sometimes working with Suerte is frustrating and patience is tested. Nonetheless, he is now neck reining well and going nicely in a hackamore. Of course, being a thoroughbred with a huge attitude, there are times where he does not go nicely in his hackamore (or any bit for that matter), but it is all about learning respect and communication. Perhaps Suerte looks back on his life and realizes he could be doing a lot worse that he has it here. (Something tells me he only looks for his next meal, but you never know.)
We’ve been preparing for a trail class that is coming up in just a few short days. Here are a couple of pictures. We set up a “car wash” in the driveway. It is suppose to simulate scary tree branches that may be hanging over a trail.
Last week PK went up to Taylor Mountain. He had a bit of an attitude about leaving the farm. His new girlfriend convinced him he HAD to stay with her. Sometimes he takes a few minutes to focus on the job at hand. He was already sweaty by the time we left in the trailer. Here is how he looked after the ride. All in all it was a great day.
Last weekend SWG had the opportunity to get a bunch of helium balloons. Suerte has encountered the occasional helium balloon in the past, and he was terrified of them.
Eating by the balloons
One of Suerte's feet is sensitive after his las trim. We've been riding a bit around the arena and using boots on the trail.
Today the plan was to check out some local trails, but the weather had different plans for us. We spent the afternoon trying to get the horses dried out and some blankets put on. Here is PMS with one of Suerte's blankets that is too small for him. It was just hanging off of her, but better than nothing. The horses spent more time out in the rain than in the shelter.
Not only is SWG trying to make videos, she is also trying to get more action shots with her new camera. Here is a shot that was taken last weekend by one of her friends.
Suerte looks more like a mustang than a thoroughbred, but he sure is cute!
Last November Suerte injured his back while trying to escape from another horse. He was in a portion of the barn that was under construction, resulting in a major, yet superficial, injury. After a four week lay-up, Suerte was able to return to work. Photos of his injury are now posted in the Veterinary Corner.
I am in the process of creating a new page on the site. After receiving some feedback about the site, I am going to put information and photos of veterinary procedures and injuries on a different page. Some of Suerte’s more sensitive readers don’t like to see graphic pictures. If you don’t want to see them, just skip past the Veterinary Corner.
One of Suerte’s horse friends had ear surgery a few months ago. Click here to see her recovery.
This halter was found compliments of Craigslist. Brand new, padded crown piece and nose, and only $15. The woman that sold it claimed it would only fit a draft horse. Suerte does have a big head.
You can see that the snow is nearly gone. Thank goodness! We actually went on a short ride a couple days ago. SWG rode bareback. It was entertaining to see Suerte trying to knock her off the fence with his head as she tried to climb on. More on that later...
Suerte wishes everyone a Very Happy 2009!
It has been nearly two weeks since the snow began to fall here. It rained for a while today so we are all hopeful that it goes away for a while. Seattle is built on gigantic hills, and the city itself is not prepared to deal with lots of snow.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season. Stay warm and stay safe!
There are tons of hummingbirds that live at SWG’s house. They stay all winter and depend on the feeder to survive until next spring. It has been very cold, windy and snowy in Seattle this December. What are these birds thinking? They should have gone south when they had the opportunity. Here is a pic of one taken on Friday.
The feeder is full of ice, but it gets brought in several times a day to thaw out. The birds are out there waiting for the food to magically reappear.
One day a little bird was sitting at the feeder not doing much. It looked like one of the babies that was raised over the summer. SWG went out to see what was up with it and it just sat at the feeder. She realized it was in trouble and took it in the house.
The poor little guy was really cold and probably had hypothermia. He was not able to recover and died during the night. There are several others, however, that are still surviving outside.
People from the neighborhood have been using alternate modes of transportation. Here are some people skiing down the street.
We have also had snowmobiles and ATVs, and tons of kids on sleds. Its really nice to have 4 wheel drive right now.
This farrier has not seen Suerte before. He took one look at the horse and said "I've worked on him before." It turns out the farrier has done work all over the place, including for Suerte's breeder, Pam. He recognized Suerte and commented that he had bad manners years ago, and he still has bad manners (they are improving, however).
He continue to talk about Suerte and how he came and went and was passed around from trainer to trainer at the track. Finally he brought up the bowed tendon from 2005. He said it was about the worst bow he has ever seen. Suerte's ownership was transferred to someone when he was not ready to be worked. The woman was not happy with his unsoundness and sent him back to the breeder. From there the poor guy ended up at the auction. The rest is history...
Suerte's tendon is still enlarged and he will always have a lot of scar tissue in there, but considering how bad he must have been in three years ago, he has healed well. The tendon does not bother him at all.
Now back to the mystery lameness. The farrier ruled out an abscess, foreign body, thrush, and other types of infection. It is agreed that Suerte has something seriously wrong with the bones in his foot - either the coffin bone or the navicular. Radiographs are being scheduled to diagnose the problem. We are betting on fractured coffin bone. Meanwhile, Suerte is limping around the pasture and spending a lot of his time laying down. Some days are better than others. He always tries to get up quickly when he thinks food is coming.
The five dollar blanket is working out well. It does have one major drawback, however. It is lined with some kind of mesh. When it rains hard the water runs down Suerte's neck to his shoulders and is then soaked up by the blanket. The water in then wicked up by the rest of the mesh. The result is a blanket that is dry on the outside and wet on the inside - not really the purpose of a blanket. It works well for light rain or showers. Luckily Suerte has a new medium weight blanket to get him through the winter. A new rain sheet will be purchased soon!
