I tied Foxy up and gave her a good grooming today. Pulled her blanket and curried some of the mud off her legs, brushed her mane and tail out, brushed her overall a bit. She is not a huge fan of grooming and tried the old angry pawing trick. Nipped that one right quick. That is SO ANNOYING to me. I hate pawing when tied! Hate hate! How dare I tie her up to groom when she could be standing in a big mud puddle at the front fence? HOW DARE I!?!
So here is Miss Pissy Pants. Literally. Doesn't she look pissed? I actually didn't even use the really pissy picture.
Okay, here is the really pissy picture. I couldn't resist. She is just very much all WHY AM I NOT EATING? WHY AM I NOT STANDING IN MY FAVORITE MUD PUDDLE? UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT.
Okay, so she is not always a total pissy pants.
And here she is nekkid as a blue bird. Or teal bird, in this case. Ha. She is definitely LEAN bordering on thin.....she looks Appendix-y at this weight. This is actually a good weight for her as when she is heavier it seems to bother her leg/foot a lot more. But I like her to be a bit more plump than this.
She is standing slightly downhill.......but no matter how you look at her, she has definitely lost weight. And it is supposed to rain Monday through Friday of next week...waaaaaaaah. My parents are flying in next weekend, so hopefully I can have my dad get a roundbale for me that week, while I'm at work...and between the two of us and my neighbor's tractor, I'm sure we can get it back there somehow....in the meantime I will just continue to give her lots of hay. There are no visible ribs or anything of that sort, just very lean. She keeps her nice warm blanket on if it stays below 50 during the day.....and her sheet in the rain, etc etc.
I have been feeding her near the shed....she won't eat in the shed, but I can have the food about 20-30 feet out in front of it......maybe eventually I can get her to slowly move towards the shed? Doubtful. I actually left tomorrow mornin's hay in the shed....I figure it is her reward should she go in there....otherwise I will move it from there to her feeding spot in the AM. I am pretty much 98% sure she will not go in there to eat it.
We'll see how this week goes. I am happy to report even when running from Frankie the asshole dog, she did not attempt to break through any fences, not even the single strand keeping her out of the very front. Unfortuntaely, when he got loose, she saw him running and started running....at that point, he was just running out of glee, but as soon as she started running he changed directions and went after her....I was a little surprised when she hit the corner of the fences and spun around to go a different way, that she didn't strike at him...he was RIGHT THERE at her front end. She was running down the side of the yard when she kicked him and it wasn't even a full on kick. Don't get me wrong, it packed some punch, but was not the best she could have done.
And she was completely unbothered afterwards. By the time I caught him...and lost him and then caught him again....and again....and got him inside the house and went back out to check on her, she was back to eating her hay and totally non-chalant about it all. I walked right up to her and petted her and she just kept eating. She has never been a huge fan of dogs but leaves them alone if they leave her alone. She has seen Frankie a million times.....he always tries to jump at her face if she has it close to the fence. So maybe, it was more annoying than scary for her....he wasn't trying to attack her, just wanted to chase her for fun. Stupid dog. He's lucky he tried it with her instead of the donkey or the bull across the street. As it was he yelped and whimpered for a few minutes and was shaped like a U for a bit afterwards....and ended up getting a bath as he had a large hoof shaped mud mark and had run through muddy manure-y nastiness while loose.....he smelled like a dairy. In the rain.
Here is the little bastard. I'm pretty sure I did not leave the bed in the middle of the room...
He is the devil. And he looks it in this picture, doesn't he?
2 comments:
Obviously I'm very pleased that you are giving the diet a try. Foxy looks pretty OK at her present weight, especially as you have already pointed out she has a lameness issue which is made worse if she carries too much condition. I wouldn't want to see her too much thinner though.
We do need to keep a close eye on her weight though, the idea is to hopefully "de fizz" her, not starve her into submition, so to speak. If you havn't already got one go and buy yourself a tape measure, here in the UK you can buy a special horse weight tape measure which gives you a pretty good idea of the acual weight of the horse (measured at the heart girth, just behind the withers). Not sure if they are available in the US. Don't worry if you can't find one, any good quality long dressmakers tape will do the job just fine.
Ideally you need to measure her about once a week and mark it on a graph, if this shows that she is consistantly losing weight over a month or so then we need to re-think the situation and try to find a feed that maintains her body weight but does no fizz her up. If her weight stays the same or she gains a little, we are golden !
Looking back through your blog I can see what a fantastic job you have done with her,in some of the early pics she looks like a walking toast rack. I can see the good work you have done and how much she means to you, and I think she proably feels the same way about you.
Hi there, i am a follower of your blog but have never posted before. Foxy looks somewhat like my mare also, and acts a bit like her too. My mare is 11 now and doing quite well, we ride bareback mostly these days and just plink around the pastures where i board. I had to board her also, as i have all the horses i have ever had, and i simply lucked out with the place i have right now. Its private and perfect. My mare is a FREAK in a stall. She cribs, paces, drinks excessively and is generally not a happy camper. Even with a run or turn out pen attached, it didnt settle her. She needed other horses and pasture, plain and simple. This place would be PERF for foxy, 4 horses, big pasture, hay and grain if/when needed. Shelter, no stalls however. Great riding but no arena, round pen only. Unfortunately i live in Nebraska! A bit far for a visit. But you could try to hook up with some local 4h groups or other horse message type boards to see if anyone wants to make a little extra cash or has one horse who also needs a buddy. Try targeting any of those horse developments, thats where i found my place originally. Boarding barns suck for the most part, but this privte situation is really the best i have ever had. I also follow the Alex Brown Racing forum and there are some folks from your neck of the woods there and it would not hurt to post a link looking for the right boarding situation, networking in your area.
Foxy reminds me of my mare so much, i am hoping for the best for the both of you!
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