This poor horse, guys. Seriously.
People always tell me that he must be so much happier in his new life post-track. And that ammy horses really have it the best bc of all those fancy supplements and body work sessions and primping and pampering.
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| the face of joy? or.... suffering? lol don't answer that |
I'm not fully convinced Charlie agrees with all that tho, lol.
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| yea.... that's a freshly bathed neck. in freezing weather. sorry buddy! |
As evidenced by his shocked -
shocked - reaction to me spot-bathing him with a wash rag last night. He kept trying to tell me, "Emma - it's actually literally freezing out right now, are you friggin crazy??"
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| dressed for success tho, right?? the butt sticking out is all the rage, i'm told |
Alas, Charlie.... some things just have to get done no matter the weather. And at least I used hot water!
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| and in case it's not totally obvious, that's my quarter sheet wrapped around his neck lol... |
His herd had just changed fields the day prior and apparently there must have been some extreme running around bc Charlie was crusted in dried sweat from eyelid to asshole, I shit you not. Plus, ya know, it had been a while since he had a bath anyway so his coat was pretty cruddy despite my constant vigorous grooming efforts.
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| it actually worked quite well tho and he was dry in no time |
On one hand, I honestly think the horse secretly adores all this hands-on attention (especially since it did
not result in being tacked up
(a story for another day) or ridden). And naturally there were many bites of carrots involved. Tho he maybe did not love the heavy focus on his belly and girth area.... it needed cleaned tho, buddy, I swear!
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| it helps that all the barn's winter windows have been installed, they make a HUGE difference! |
And all for a good cause too. You see, I don't have my own clippers and am honestly pretty fine with just paying someone to do the job. Especially at our previous h/j barn, the barn mgr there was an expert groom and getting the horse clipped was an easy peasy add-on to board. Plus he looked fantastic.
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| so handsome <3 |
Which was fine by me, since last year was my first time with a horse who needed it anyway (Isabel never got clipped, hardy beastie that she was). Charlie's neck and girth area always get very sweaty very quickly even in light work, and that's a huge pain in the ass to dry off before blanketing. Clipping is the easiest way to address that, as far as I'm concerned.
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| tho maybe slightly world-weary lol |
It's turned out to not be quite as easy as just "adding it to my board" at the new place tho, and actually was a little difficult finding someone to even do the job. Finally tho, we got it done. And hopefully Charlie's impromptu late-night spot-cleaning session kept my friend's clippers in relatively decent shape!
And. Now that the big guy is all clipped up like the
little sport horse he's intended to be, maybe we can get back to doing more and more fun stuff! ;)
i havent had time to try Remus new clip job out but he got an irish clip kind of like Charlie though we left his belly but at least his neck and chest are easier to cool off. I hope to try it out this weekend. Course i clipped him and it got cold as EFF right away. HA. :) poor suffering Charlie :) HA AND REMUS did break the clippers (I paid someone too i just can't be bothered and if i clip him he looks even more moth eaten). Glad Sir Charles is getting lots of treats. :) Hope you get to ride soon!
ReplyDeleteha yea i actually really like clipping the belly bc he gets so nasty and cruddy there from rolling and laying down. i love grooming, but that's pretty hard to really get clean when they've got an inch+ of hair to contend with lol. we'll see tho - i'll hopefully see him tonight and get to see if he's got any extra pep in his step (very welcome at present!) with the new hair cut.
DeleteHe looks very handsome, what a nice clip job!
ReplyDeletei can't wait to see it myself too - my friend just sent me the pictures and i'm so excited!
DeletePoor abbbbuuuused Charlie! ;) If it makes you feel better, buddy, I totally used a quarter sheet as a neck cooler for a long time, except I put it on backwards with the butt band around Foxie's forehead. She was much shamed. Yay for clips! I keep putting it off but I am wondering if Arya will end up with a hair cut. She seems to enjoy getting sweaty for no real reason.
ReplyDeleteomg haha in a way i'm so weirdly relieved that i'm not the only person to have used a quarter sheet in such an .... unconventional manner lol. but hey, it totally works tho, right? and it's not like i left him like that all night. good lucking figuring out what to do for Arya. i loved that izzy never needed getting clipped but with charlie it's already kinda been a problem a few times now this season to not have him clipped. so ya know. each horse is an individual i guess!
DeleteI did buy a cooler with a neck now because I felt bad but the pictures will last forever! I'll have to post one, because Charlie's face and Foxie's face are very similar expression wise. I keep having to clip to accommodate brain sweat (vs work sweat, because the hardest work my horses do is attempt to brain when I am sitting on them), but it's hard to take off hair when I know my barn isn't much to keep them warm. Plus, I don't have half the skills of the people who clip Charlie while also refusing to pay someone to clip. I'm a #badmom
Deleteyea the emotional sweats are a real thing, i suspect that's where a lot of charlie's neck sweat comes from too. poor sensitive souls!
Deletecharlie it couldve been worse. she couldve tried to do it yourself.
ReplyDeleteask indy how that went. altho maybe the less said about that the better.
*herself, jeez
Deletelol i tried to clip a horse once. ONCE.
Deletelike, theoretically speaking it's a skill i'd like to learn and i'm not too worried about having the horse go through some uglies while i figure it out. but.... then again it's sooooo much easier to just press "send" on my paypal app.....
i usually clip the horse myself once just so i know how they handle it (or dont).
Deleteindy was MOSTLY great but I think the clippers started to irritate his delicate chestnut skin so i might have some work to do next year...
yea that's fair. charlie's been clipped basically every year of his life as far as i can tell - he sports the same clip as above in some of his racing pics! (bc yea he totally raced in the winter months too) so i figured he'd be good. and, no surprise, he was - tho apparently slightly iffy about his head. i think they ended up twitching him last year, but this year we just let it be.
DeleteI got a Shapley's product sample from Sallie B Wheeler - No Rinse Shampoo. I spot tested it on Mr-Sensitive-Skin and he had no reaction so I've been using it at night when it feels too cold rinse or otherwise get Dante wet. Seems to work decently well. I dunno, just a friendly suggestion - YMMV of course - different weather and all that.
ReplyDeletethe horse is already bathed and clipped and hopefully will not need any repeats this season! i like products like that but tend to be skeptical that they're actually going to clean well enough to get rid of all that blade-dulling crud
DeleteYeah I just meant for in general cleanliness not necessarily for clip-fest 2017. The EquiFuse sprayshine works a beast for clipping though, like butter.
DeletePaying someone else to clip is the BEST MONEY I spend every year. So freaking worth it, hah
ReplyDeleteit's definitely easy! tho, actually, this year proved to be quite a hassle and i was lucky my friend was willing to step in and get it done. definitely would have maybe been better for the horse if i had just bucked up and bought some clippers..... but.... eh. haha. maybe another year ;)
DeleteSo dashing! And those windows - how unique. I wondered how that would go this winter. Mystery solved.
ReplyDeleteoh yea haha, all the windows in the barn are framed out with their own individual winter windows that pop in and out. it makes a big difference!
DeleteHa! I feel the same way- why isn't P more grateful? But I'm pretty sure he's just like, "OMG WHAT NOW?"
ReplyDeletelol yup, charlie has taken the "retired" part of retired racehorse wayyyyy too seriously
DeletePoor abused Charlie. I think he just like to make you feel bad.
ReplyDeletesomehow i suspect you are right lol
DeleteNot gonna lie. Charlie's self satisfied mouth action in that first clipped gif made me giggle so hard!
ReplyDeleteI personally love all the blinking lol. Like he's saying, "hm so that happened!"
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