Monday, October 23, 2017

who said walking was boring???

Up to this point, Charlie had been on a strict "keep that sucker still" protocol. He was allowed to hand graze, but only in a controlled manner with NO purposeful hand walking.

closed surgical site means sir finally FINALLY got a (omg badly needed) bath!!!!!
Luckily there are quite a few grassy spots right up and around Charlie's barn so we could "move around" without.... actually a whole lot of really moving. Plenty of different "places" for visual interest all close at hand. Still tho.... it was limiting.

current status as we wean him off wraps. i have paranoia but so far so good.
Once those stitches came out tho.... The world became our oyster! Not only could Charlie finally get a bath -- but he could also make the trek up to the indoor arena for some rolling!!!!


This was obviously much appreciated by Sir. Lots of grunting -- and he even rolled all the way over!!! Something I didn't even realize he was coordinated enough to do lol.

friends reunited!!!!
I couldn't let him off the line, obviously, bc no running allowed yet (which is also why he's still not allowed turnout for a couple more weeks). But that was fine. He expressed his wild crazy ottb exuberance in his own way a couple times anyway - with some of the most self-aware spook and spinning I've ever seen in a horse lol.

methinks he missed hangin out with the crew
Like when the horse suddenly goes from walking along side you to spinning away and standing up and grunting and snaking his head - but then stops to look at you from the corner of his (very highly held) eye, almost as if to say, "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it???" And... then goes right on back to walking normally along side haha.

he got to see that goofy puppy again too!
Yes Charlie. Fine. We all agree, you are very impressive wild stallion.

life is good and getting better!
His newfound freedom to wander meant that we could go hang out with our erstwhile lesson mates Saturday afternoon too. Obvi we mostly just kinda stood around while they all rode, but Charlie really seemed to enjoy getting out and about and was SO HAPPY to see his gal Bella again. They were too freakin cute, seriously.


Plus he was honestly a really good boy about the whole "fresh off weeks of stall rest " thing. Tho I may or may not have lost actual years from my life in trying to get him over that tiny rivulet of water that crosses our path from the barn to the ring.

Charlie has crossed this thing dozens of time by now, but I guess he forgot. And.... it took us approximately 7 minutes to accomplish the crossing of what basically amounted to a puddle. This included much running backwards. Snorting, shaking his head. Coiling himself up as if to leap, but then spinning away instead. It.... yea. Years gone off my life. The feeling of a giant 17hh TB fresh off stall rest coiling up like that is.... special lol.

got to see his buddy Austin too - who managed to rub his nose on a freshly painted pole, see the green???
He eventually remembered that he's a good boy tho and while he *did* have to jump the thing, he wasn't stupid about it. Phew! (And has since crossed it in hand in a much more reasonable fashion).

and charlie met goose the pig for the first time!! and didn't kill me or even care!! (velvet: take notes, girlfriend!)
The rest of our time spent in the saddle and with hand walking has been totally uneventful tho -- even running into the pig for the first time with Charlie. Who did not care in the least. Go figure haha.

It's just so so so nice to be back in the saddle with my main squeeze tho. And especially in circumstances that seem to make him happier too! Considering we're finally hitting that perfect balance of summer-meets-fall weather, the conditions couldn't be better for legging him up slowly.

Sure, the time change will happen before he's actually cleared for work and that's a bummer.... but at least we get to enjoy this end of the season in part!!

44 comments:

  1. I love the gif of him rolling! That is a happy pony.

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    1. So happy haha - I wasn't sure if he would roll or not but I guess the temptation was too good!

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  2. Good God, I thought the pig was a rock for like 4 minutes of trying to find the actual pig. It is very round!

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    1. Yea haha that pig is maybe more rock shaped than pig shaped lol. It's basically a giant block of pork

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  3. It is a good feeling to be "home" on your own horse again. Charlie looks happy to be out of solitary confinement and exploring the world again.

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    1. We are all super relieved about it for sure and super happy about it! The world is a whole new place!

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  4. that pig! OMG i might have ended up in Cleveland with Remus if i walked by htat. YAY on being back on Charlie. He looks great and how fun you get to ride again!! HIP HIP HOORAY!! (Not that i mind the Velvet sidebars too!) LOL

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    1. Yea velvet has serious trauma about that damned pig lol, I almost got nervous about Charlie!! Still more velvet to come tho - pony is currently on the shit list tho. Rotten thing lol

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    2. gotta love rotten pony stories (Not you so much but us readers ) HA HA

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    3. Omg haha she was extra rotten this weekend lol. Video to come ;)

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  5. Happy to see him back in action!

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  6. YAY BACK UNDER SADDLE

    thats so great.

    and what a good boy, im happy for you. also cannot believe he didnt kill you over the pig.

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    1. The pig was TOTALLY fine. The small water crossing tho??? WAY TOO HARD for this event horse lol

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  7. Go Charlie! He seems completely chuffed to be out of his box :)

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  8. Yay! He looks so happy

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  9. Carmen would have died on the spot with the pig. Charlie is being adorable as always. I don't really want to feel 17hh TB coiling himself up to explode. Glad that was you.

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    1. Yea it's a very..... Unnerving feeling lol. Luckily he's not actually much for exploding so it worked out lol

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  10. Yay more walking! And omg that pig. Cinna would be in the next county hahahaha.

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    1. Yea the pig has been known to cause a lot of problems. Esp for horses that come to the recognized event and need stabling...

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  11. Aw, Charlie and Bella are so sweet with each other!

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  12. I'm so impressed with his ability to keep his wits (mostly) about him for this phase--that's hard to do. What a testament to his fabulous brain. :-)

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    1. Yea agreed completely - he's just such a good boy, so steady and consistent. Even when he's being sassy or amped up its still easy to trust him to do the right-ish thing and be safe

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  13. Yay Charlie! I love when horses that are on stall rest come back out and they just want to be OUT with YOU and it makes the whole going slowly process worth it. So glad to see his little face. And love him and Bella. So adorable! lol Yes, um, Velvet? Take notes LOL

    BTW - my best 2pt time for the week is 8:00 minutes!

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    1. Yea he's definitely happy to be coming out and not somehow transported back to the race track. I think this whole process has reminded him of his past life and he's maybe surprised to realize that - nope, he's still an adult ammy's pet!

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  14. I'm working up the nerve to sit on my own stall-rested beast. I guess as long as we're contained in an arena and I don't accidentally ask for any unapproved antics, there's really limited damage I can do. Plus, I do like the idea of pony getting back into the mindset of "riding is a thing we do"!

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    1. Yea I mean even just sitting on my horse for an hour while my friends rode around me felt like time well spent - he got the extremely low impact exercise of carrying me, and being among horses in work.... But obvi we didn't actually do any real work ourselves. Charlie is a very quiet horse too so I didn't feel compelled to give him any cocktails.... All the same tho if you have any concerns about Murray playing nice I'm a big believer in that whole "better living through chemistry" thing!!

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  15. I'm not sure if Charlie could possibly be any cuter. Glad hes out and you're enjoying some time in the saddle, even if it's walking.

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    1. He's basically the cutest giant ever - we are enjoying getting more time together!!

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    1. Yea srsly goose ain't fuckin around! He's got major tusks too haha

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    2. Lol pig, but you could read past my garble! 20:25

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  17. omg that pig BWHAHA! He looks content, so glad you can walk around finally!

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    1. It's such a relief for all involved for sure!!!

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  18. Oh man he seems so happy. This is great

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  19. Yay!! He looks so happy to be out doing things :)

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  20. I think I saw some murder show involving a pig once so nope no thanks.
    2 pt time is 5:42!

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  21. the site looks good! My old horse could never ever get over pigs....Charlie is so chill about it.

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  22. LOL to the rolling - totally hear you on that. I very rarely witness Q roll all the way over (she always likes to roll on a hill so it's hard) but witnessed it yesterday for the 2nd time in 5.5 years and totally photographed it. Should have taken a burst to make a gif! #hindsight

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  23. Love how much there is to expose the horses to at the new place! Also I bought a jump saddle (WOAH what a difference it makes) and my week 3 2ptober time is 13:58 😊

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  24. You got on your fresh from the stall TB and are rocking a hack. You're my hero.

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