Saturday, November 4, 2017

the big guy goes off leash!!

This past week marked 4wks since Charlie's surgery to remove the infected fragment of his splint bone. I'm very grateful that so far things have gone reasonably smoothly in his recovery, and am hopeful that he continues to chug right on along.

wouldn't be so blurry if he didn't insist on coming with me
He was cleared for hand- and tack-walking two weeks ago, and I've been as diligent about that as possible. Lots of hacking, lots of wandering, lots of just chillin in the arena while our friends did their rides. Anything to get Charlie out of his box, considering he had yet to be cleared for turnout.

fanceh dressage horse workin on those fanceh walk moves
This past week we actually upped the ante ever so slightly too. I put a bit back on the horse (we had previously just been bummin around in the hackamore) and asked him to do a little bit of real adult horse work in the dressage ring.

At first I had the sinking feeling that we would be starting over from square one.... But by the end of the first ride he seemed to remember more of what I was asking, and by the second, more 'purposeful' school (walk only, obvi) he was pretty quickly on board with the situation. Here's hoping that continues as he's able to do more and more real work!!

rolling is basically the best thing ever these days
For now, tho, we're crossing another important milestone in Charlie's recovery: The big bad boy got to go out in a little paddock all by himself!!!! With no wet towel Emma and her blasted rope halter telling him not to behave!

oooooh but there's the sass monster i've been hacking around! he only really has this one move tho haha
Obviously Step 1 was to roll. I've gotten him up to the indoor a couple times to roll (while still safely attached to the line) but not nearly as often as he'd like. So he's been rolling a lot in his stall and is absolutely disgusting for his efforts. Ew.

it's a speshul move tho. wheeeeeeee wild child!
Step 2, tho?? Lol Charlie. Much fierce. Many wild. So wow.

such extension, so grace!
Big boy finally got to let loose and snake his head around and grunt and kick and heave his shoulders hither and thither!! As only an awkward, goofy long-legged TB can haha.

lol my friend asked if i could photoshop buck teeth on this pic. such a dork lol
And..... It lasted all of about three seconds haha. He was very impressed with himself tho, let me tell you!

also, check out charlie's newer, fuller stall-rest-induced dad bod!

And bc I'm basically the quintessential helicopter mom, naturally I kept the camera rolling for your viewing pleasure ;)

aaaaaaand we're done here. hay is good. 
With that very important mission accomplished, it was time for the final Step 3: chillin out at the hay pile. Good boy, Charlie.

yep. wild man in turnout for like.... 3 seconds haha. then parked it at the hay for the remaining hour and a half.
Part of me felt like he wasn't really getting as much movement as he would have had I actually hacked him around.... But the emotional impact of being loose in a field felt 100% worth it, even if it meant I just hung out at the farm setting jumps for friends for a couple hours just so my horse could get that turn out.

So this new milestone means Charlie now returns to a fairly regular turnout schedule, albeit in a small paddock. Should everything go smoothly, he'll be back out to his full field in another week. Fingers crossed!

33 comments:

  1. Oh man - I'm glad he's starting to return to normal life (for you and him)! :)

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    1. i'm esp relieved bc we are still enjoying mostly mild weather here, so he gets to enjoy some of that too!

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  2. I love the happy Charlie pics! They made my morning 😁

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    1. aw yay!! it makes me happy to see him happy too :D

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  3. That is such great news!! There is definitely something to be said about turnout and the horse's mental status!

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    1. agreed completely - he did well enough with the confinement having lived a race horse lifestyle for most of his life... but turnout *definitely* suits him, and makes him easier to ride too haha

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  4. Replies
    1. thanks - it's such a relief to have him get out of his padded room again lol!

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  5. Yay!! And that video is priceless 😂

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  6. Woo hoo! Dad bod looks great on him, by the way! So happy things are moving forward for you guys! I totally appreciate that first time in turnout!

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    1. right??? obvi i'd like to see an actual topline on him (and am mildly sad that my dressage girth is, uh, a weeeee bit too small now haha), but i kinda love how full and round he looks, esp through his hind end. despite having no real muscle or fitness, this might actually be the best he's looked weight-wise since i've owned him. so here's hoping that i can keep this weight on him while also adding muscle and topline as he gets back into work and regular turnout. fingers crossed!

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  7. I am glad that he is doing so well!

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  8. Yay for the next step in his recovery :)

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  9. Yay so glad to see he's FINALLY able to get turned out! And OMG he does have a dad bod. LOLOL

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  10. Yay Charlie!! I do think turnout really helps with the horse's mental state and helps them to chill out. I don't mind rehabbing a horse as long as they can go out, it's when they are stuck in their stable that I become a nervous wreck!

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  11. Hoping sir Charles continues to heal quickly & properly so that you guys can get back at it!!

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  12. Yay!! Glad things are going smoothly. That roll and play looked pretty satisfying

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  13. so glad he is improving in literally leaps and bounds :) HA ! Love Charlie antics!!

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  14. Whoa now wild man, calm down. lol He's such a freaking good boy!

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  15. Awww, he'll be so happy to be back out again!

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  16. wow hes doing great!!! you should be delighted with his recovery progress.

    it helps hes such a good boy - love that he flailed the tiniest of bits and then was like "aiight im done"

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  17. That IS an impressive head shake tho LOL <3

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  18. Yahoo that's great! Sounds like he's recovering well :)

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  19. FREEEEEEDOM! So happy for him. Be good, Charlie!

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  20. This is so exciting! I loved the video, he's all "phew that was lots of work, must consume more calories.." Glad he is recovering well and gets more and more freedom!

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  21. Ahh! I am so happy that he was cleared for this portion of recovery!

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  22. He is doing so well in recovery!! And obviously feeling good haha

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