Mustang Saga

Bob and I had an awesome training session today.  I decided that I did not want to halter and hang on to him in order to pick out his feet.  So, when I fed him his supplements (hay pellets, Equerry's vitamins, magnesium, and Probios) I asked him to pick up a foot.  Once I had it in my hand he set it down and walked away, which is what he has done (or attempted to do) every time I've picked up one of his feet.  I shooed him off, he went about ten feet, stopped, and I invited him back to his food.  This went on for a few minutes, then I just followed him and asked for his foot again.  It was done with!  He stood stock still while I picked out that hoof (quickly, so I could give him a release soon, in case he changed his mind).  Then we went back to his food and he let me pick out and treat the other three feet.

Calm persistence wins the day.  I love it when it's that simple.

His icky frog looks much better already today.  I treated it with apple cider vinegar yesterday.  I'm really becoming a HUGE fan of vinegar.  It's good in their water, they like the taste of it, it helps keep biting insects away, it cures skin problems better than the expensive treatments they sell at the feed store, and it seems to kill thrush really well too.  For spraying on the skin I dilute it 10:1, but for bad thrush I've been putting it on straight.  I tried it on my skin first, and it was only slightly irritating, so I figured it'd be okay on them.  But the experts do advise a 10:1 dilution.  For even better results, you could soak the hoof.  I'm just squirting it in with an old agave nectar container (has a pointy squirty end).

Pedro had a deep painful pocket in one of his hind hooves yesterday, and that looked better today also.  Of course I treated it again.

They both got to spend all day out in the pasture, and Liam reported that they were being "crazy" out there this evening, running around.  I like to hear that!  It's good for them.  I will probably work them up to being out 24 hours a day now that the weather has turned.  I'll keep a close eye on their body condition and hoof health though.  What I'd like to do is build a track, 10 feet wide, around the whole property.  Well, this side of the creek anyway.  That would keep them moving around, and that's so good for them.  But that's twice the expense of just fencing the perimeter, which I haven't even managed to do yet.

I'm considering introducing them to Scout.  If they got along, he'd help encourage them to move around.  But he might just be a jerk.  Bella doesn't seem to like them, but maybe one day they'll all be a harmonious herd.  I hope so.

I'll leave you with a photo from last week, of Katia and Bob going up the driveway.  So cute!