a job for charles

So. Charlie. This horse. I just love him so much. But he has been a colossal pest lately. Like, he has a big personality. He's a huge ham. He's very interactive with his environment and all the people within it, and entirely confident in his position as the gravitational center of the universe. 

decorations are still up from our halloween party and i love them lol

In Charlie's view, it's his world and we're all just living in it, supporting cast members explicitly here for his own benefit and entertainment. 

charles, trying to not look like the massive pest he's become

He is also just oh-so-sensitive, he feels everything at an eleven. And his feelings are, understandably, BIG. If he's sad, he'll be sure to tell you. 

"did someone say pest??"

And ya know. Having a horse like Doozy really reinforces just how, hm, neurotic Charlie actually is. Like, sure Doozy is chaotic... But she's honestly a pretty normal animal. Charlie, tho? Lol... No. Not normal. Lovable, special, keeping him forever. But... not normal. 

it's not a great look, friend

Still, tho, Charlie's been a bit much lately. I suspect gastric distress, tbh. He had all that stall rest from the heel bulb injury last winter (remember that?), plus the stress of moving barns this summer... Then we ended up giving him a lot of bute for about a week during his mega abscess recently, which probably exacerbated any existing inflammation or ulcers. 

mmm now that's a much nicer expression!

The behaviors most concerning me relate to his general restlessness and worry lately. Suddenly he's whinnying at the gate in a paddock full of beautiful grass AND a round bale. Like that gorgeous northern lights photo -- legit my immediate reaction when seeing the photo was... why are you at the gate, tho, Charlie??? When he's in his stall, he wants to go out. When he's out, he wants to come in. Just not settled and very much a handful about it, and I don't like it. 

So I'm working through a plan with his vet for how best to address. We're going to start with a month of sucralfate and see where that gets us. 

confronting the curiosity of.... a mattress in the indoor lol

The other part of my grand plan, however, involves... giving Charlie a job. Giving him tasks, asking him questions, holding him to some degree of accountability for his behavior in relation to handling. In other (simpler) words, I'm starting to do intentional ground work with Charlie again. 

chasin a flag!

Really really basic stuff, bc let's be real I'm not really an expert in this work in the first place. But Charlie and I learned some simple exercises back in our earliest days together, posts here and here. 

My aim is to have fun, ask Charlie questions he knows the answer to, remind him how much he loves being a Good Boy for a job well done, while, incidentally, sharpening expectations around boundaries and appropriate behavior for a 1,400lb brontosaurus.

lol charlie... when in doubt, put yer teef on it!

Charlie has always been a boundary pusher, and I've certainly been accused of being, well, easily pushed over. I enable the shit out of this horse bc I love him and he makes me happy and it really really sucks that he's not sound. 

When he was a riding horse, spoiling him rotten wasn't such a big deal bc I'd already learned (the hard way, natch) that I had to be black and white in my expectations for him under saddle. It's been close to 2 years tho since he's been in regular work, and it's time to find another way to pick up that slack. 

So. Ground work it is! And hey, maybe we'll finally get around to doing all the trick training I've always imagined he might like LOL. Wish us luck....