How JoJo became Grace...

I was reading "A GOOD HORSE" blog and she asked about how your horse got its name...Well lets just say that I went through a list of names...

Her Registered name is Light Affire, and her barn name when I picked her up was JoJo (made me want to stop by the deli).  I knew instantly I wanted to change her name...it just didn't fit or flow when you said it.   

So at first I was trying so hard to come up with something related to Fire. Cinder was very high on my list...actually it was her name for about a week...but it just didn't stick.  

I tried all sorts of names but most fire related names are pretty masculine.  Smokey, Coal you know all of the usuals..and I tried to get creative but it just wasn't working for me.

So one day at Publish Postthe barn while we were working on using a lead she was being especially clumsy and I used a quote my Mom used to say to me when she tripped over her own feet for the umpteenth time..."Way to Go Grace" and it was like a light bulb went off.  Gracie was born...it fit her then and it will fit her when she grows up and is full of Grace.  Elegant and Feminine...that is my Grace...

How did your pony's get their names..did you change a name...did you stick to their given names?  I'd love to hear how you choose the names of your horses.

Playing Hookie....sometimes you just gotta...

Today here in the PNW it was a fantastic 80+ Degree day...I work at a pretty high stress job in IT for a company that makes it's delivery drivers wear Brown...so when I saw that the weather was supposed to be so spectacular I decided it was worth the vacation day and extra work I'll be going back to in the morning....

Let me tell you it was so worth it...

I spent a couple of hours with Grace.  She must be the smartest horse ever because the grain trick took a bit longer today than it did yesterday.  I did prevail though.  I took her to graze and she loved it.  I sat with her and we just hung out.  Her enjoying the sweet spring grass and I enjoyed the view of the stable..it really is quite amazing.

I had every intention of taking the camera today but promptly forgot in my haste to get to the barn. 

Her self inflicted scalping on her flank is growing hair...so thats good.  

Oh and did I mention she's going for 30 days to the trainer at the end of May.  I'm hoping it goes well and she gets a great start undersaddle.  Can I just tell you how excited and nervous I am?

It's tough to put her into someone elses hands....no matter how good of a trainer you are using.   She has such a strong personality some people may not appriciate it as much as I do...

I just have to get her good and solid with her ground manners before she goes...no one wants to have the "annoying", "spoiled", "pain in the ass" horse.  (although at times she's ALL of these things) But I love her anyway.

Struggling with the Bit...until I did it the easy way.

Okay I've been trying for a month to figure out the easiest way to have Gracie accept the bit.  Being a bit naive I thought you just put the bit in their mouth and there you go.  I had tried to find articles on getting horses to accept the bit and really found nothing...

But I have a horse with a neck to Jesus high and stubborn as a mule to boot.  So put those two together and you have an owner ready to pull her hair out and send Gracie down the road.  Thursday we tried again and my ever so smart BBFF suggested ever so sweetly (since we don't give unsolicited advice) that she had a friend with a A-rab with a neck to Jesus as well and she had this great way of getting the bit into her geldings mouth...well I shrugged it off at the time because at the time I was so frustrated and ready to give up that I really wasn't listening..

But today was new day and I thought what the hell...

So I got the training head stall (with clips for the bit) out took off the reins and unhooked one side of the bit and grabbed a pan full of grain.

Step one:  Grab a handful of grain. 

Step two: Give uninterested pony some grain

Step three: When said pony is happily eating grain from my hand put headstall over her ears. (She HATES this part normally with a PASSION)  Prior to this lesson I had taken the brow band off of my other bridle and had been trying to get it over her ears this way much to my dismay this route did not work.  But as she was eating the grain from my hand she hardly noticed I was playing with her ears.

Step Four: Grab second handful of grain.

Step Five: Slip bit into unaware pony's mouth clipping it to the other side of the headstall.  

Step Six:  Stand back and stare proudly at Pony who was outwitted.

After the above steps I put the rest of the grain that was left in the pan and let her finish it with her bridle on.  

It was amazingly easy and I want to send a shout out to JP1 for giving her unsolicited advice to a very frustrated young horse owner.

Super 14 might be the solution...maybe

So we have witness to my pony biting at herself....literally freaking out ears pinned and biting herself.  

I think she is super itchy..I took her off of Super 14 about a month and a half ago.  I put her on it last summer to help her dry skin and when I ran out the last time I just figured it was winter and she didn't really need the extra supplement.  I did the math and it seems her dry flaky skin started back up again after her last dose...it took a little but you can sure see a difference in her coat.  The pic up above is this winter when she was taking it daily and you can see how shiny and smooth her coat was...

I'm also thinking of putting her on a daily wormer to see if that helps.  As one of suggestions was worms...she doesn't have a wormy belly but you just never know.  

She did great on her ground work tonight...she walked the bridge (the long way, not cheating over the middle) without much of a fuss.  She was in a really good, affectionate mood.

So we are going to move to the long lines within the next week.  Wish us luck. 

Long time no post...

Hi all...

If anyone is still out there my old laptop was no fun to type on as it died when I moved it and my dear sweet husband let me buy a new one just this past weekend..it's ubber fantastic and I can actually type and not worry about losing everything I was typing if I moved the computer wrong...but anyhoo..

I have a mystery..Sunday morning Gracie had all of her hair...Sunday night at feeding the BO noticed that she was missing a two inch by two inch patch of hair on her flank..I was finally able to get out to the barn tonight and take a look...it's very strange. It's like she had a burn or something. It looks like it's healing well...(it was just raw looking I guess on Sunday not bleeding or anything) so tonight I want to say it's crusted over but not with puss or anything like that just like a thin dry scab. Her skin seems really dry so I'm going to try a supplement maybe some flax seed oil or something.

Okay on to our night tonight...the BO's have put up a death trap contraption that looks like a wood frame of a swing set with black car wash noodles attached to the middle of  it...and Gracie did good with going through.  Granted it took a little bit to get her through but she did great.  Then BBFF worked with Gracie and the pokie stick from hell.  You know the one, the one with the plastic baggy attached.  She was freakish at first but BBFF had a great technique and after about 20 mins...she settled down a bit but the Baggie of death never did win her over...but she tolorated it.  

I hope all of you are still out there and doing well!