Last week I was going to drive Casey and when I went to get her out of the stall I was met with something that made the idea a resounding No!
See the big lump the size of a softball. I didn't even want to put a halter on her so it wouldn't rub and hurt.
Yeah, Ouch! I put her in the wash rack to rinse her mouth and hold her still while she got a shot of antibiotics and banamine for her slight fever.
A trip to the vet the next day..... They could smell something going on, likely an abscessed tooth and the 2 vets that do dentals and extractions- were not there that day. Another round of meds that night and wait.
Loaded up and went back the next day. They gave her a small amount of sedation which really hit her hard. Flushed out her mouth and with only 2 days on antibiotics, the vet smelled nothing. She determined it was likely an abscess in the root of a tooth. They would need rads to determine if this was the case- and if so extraction. None of this they could do being a small practice and suggested going to another one across town.
Since two days seemed to start clearing things up, I decided to go with a full course of 10 days of antibiotics and see if it works. If not then we can still go to the other vet and take their approach.
Seems like its working really well. So we kept going.
The full 10 days later and she still has a small knot, but it is hardly noticeable. She does have a wolf tooth on that side but I'm waiting for this to clear up first.
Much happier and still no smell. Such a pretty girl and she has been a really good patient. Hopefully we will be back to driving soon.
I joke about Mazy being my 'Fire Breathing Dragon' as she is so full of energy and seems to always be 'On'. That's just her personality and while she has a Lot of GO, she also has plenty of Whoa.
Screenshots from video. Mazy hadn't been driven since the clinic in December, then once, then a week later this.
Although the ground wasn't ideal, (a little muddy and slick in spots, deep in others) Mazy handled it all really well.
Getting her and Casey used to seeing cones and playing with them.
Trucking around the arena. Mazy was actually happy that she was able to get to work to her standards.
Last week we worked in drive #5 and #6. Drive 5 we worked on walking and trotting, up & down transitions, stopping, go forward and then it happened.
Since I always hitch and unhitch the carriage in one spot so the ponies all learn- when I'm put here, I. Do. Not. Move. until I'm asked to, when we came arount to that spot Casey stopped on her own. Um, no. That's not how it works. When I asked for forward movement, Casey balked and started backing up. I pushed a little harder and she offered to buck. Not cool. Not cool at all.
I asked for a turn and got Casey moving again. Avoided the hitch spot and kept her going long enough to stop on a high point.
Drive #6 I introduced a whip. We all have to carry one at some point so now is as good a time as any to introduce it. Because I have no backstory on this pony, I let her feel the whip on her back and legs, before putting her to the cart. No, I did not whip her, instead just bumped her legs and back and rump with the shaft of the whip tapping here and there.
Once I put her to, she really started to work nicely. Until she didn't. We came around to the hitching spot where she tried to stop. Tap on her butt with the whip and she kept moving. Now with the whip in my hand and the thought of it reinforcing the idea of Move Forward.... We had forward. After we had a decent workout, I grabbed my phone for video. Mind you I'm holding the reins, whip and extra glove in my left hand so I can video with the right.
We almost hit the only cone in the arena at one point, but all things considered she finished well. She has learned to stick around once all 'undressed' of cart & harness because there's plenty of cookies and scratches to be had. She can still be a bit distant in feelings and doesn't seem to warm right up to people, but now that she has a job, a sense of purpose and something to be proud of herself for, she's coming around. She nickers a little louder, she comes to the fence first to come in and is always super respectful of my space.
I drove Casey for a bit before I started videoing. This was to make sure she's listening, relaxed as well as confident with herself, her training and working like she should. Why start recording if things aren't going well and something needs to be fixed? If something needs fixing, jump on it now and then move on.
How about that Stop at the end? I opened my mouth and said something so she slammed on the brakes. She also dropped her rear end and sorta went into a slide which is why at first I thought she may make a cute little western pony and we could try some reining.
Slides are not encouraged in driving. Neither are abrupt stops like that in any event. Right now though? Stops are highly preferred over the alternatives- horses running away or blowing up losing their shit.
The stops are an easy enough fix. Hit the music app on my phone, tuck it in my pocket/clothes and start driving. This gives the horse things to consider- there will be noise and they need to sort out our voice/cues and Listen. There will be noise and they need to not let outside stuff distract them. The music often has a tempo or beat they can jam to and work with. Singing helps us maintain our breathing, keeping us relaxed. So it looks like Casey and I need to get our jam on.
Tuesday night I drove Casey again. A little bit of long line work and then put her to. And then got in/on the cart. No breeching as all I planned to do was walk. Go forward, just walk, no pressure. She did Awesome!
She's really taking to driving and coming along so well. She understands there is very little effort to move the cart and has given zero shits.
Wednesday night a quick lap or three around the arena ground driving, put her to and off we went. Breeching this time as I planned to ask for a bit more. Lots of walking and stopping, waiting, waiting, check the brakes- excellent, so I asked Casey to pick up a trot. I had to ask and ask and really push for it and finally she realized to speed up is ok.
She trotted a few steps and as I praised her- she stopped. On. The. Spot. Lol It wasn't the reaction I was expecting but it's ok. I would rather she stops if she is unsure. Stopping is fine. Blowing up is the alternative and definitely Not ok! I'll take the stopping.
I chose not to take any video so I could focus on Casey and making sure everything went well, no excitement, no drama and no crashing into anything. Crashing into things is not good. Not a habit we need to start, at least not yet. At some point I may set up the barrels in the arena and crash into them. Teaching her that even If we hit something- if you listen to me and don't lose your mind, it will be okay. I can get us out of this mess.
We need to work on straightness as she tends to wobble to and fro going down the rail or across the arena. When walking she also drops her head super low. A friend of mine mentioned it but as we were trotting her head came up to a normal position.
After unhitching the cart and taking the harness off, I gave Casey a handful of treats and scratched all the good spots.
She's really coming around to the idea of affection. Then after putting everything away and turning Mazy out, Casey came running over to stand by the fence for more scratches.
So I literally threw a leg over her. She moved away a little, but not far enough I couldn't still scratch her butt. She has priorities ya know.
Since I need to get Casey going in harness and brought everything out to the barn to get it done, it was time to get after it. Last Sunday night I put her to for the first time. Casey did Amazing!
All tacked up and boots on ready to work.... Out to the arena we go.
A quick workout both directions as a pre-flight check to make sure she's ready and listening....
Everything checks out ok so we make our way over to the cart and start the process by me pulling the cart along behind her, while ground driving around the arena. Let her hear all the cart noises without any pressure. She handled it like a champ.
Part 1 went well enough. No the cart doesn't have the seat on it as I did not intend to get in yet. Baby steps. There is nothing wrong with taking your time or even going slow. Safety is always the priority.
We stopped to make a small adjustment- removed the breeching, as seen lying in the basket of the cart. Since all we were doing was walking, the breeching was not really needed. I did not fasten the holdbacks so that if things went sideways, it would be easier to get everything undone. Casey never missed a beat. Proud Pony Mom Moment! Lol 😊
