# My first project



## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

Growing up my family has had horses and I have occasionally rode them. However nothing more than a walk through the fields or up a trail near our stable. Recently I have gotten more into riding and decided that I wanted to buy a horse of my own to compliment some of the other great horses that we have. I shopped around and looked at a lot of great horses until I finally decided on a sweet little Palamino. When I looked at her had her in a pen with a halter and a set of reins. I did lots of circles and trotted the length of the pen before we put a saddle on her. She had absolutely no problem standing still it was getting her to go that was the issue. The owners said they were selling her for two reasons. One they wanted a faster horse and two because they only had one feeding stall and the other horse was the Alpha horse and wouldn't allow this horse to eat. As a result she is extremely skinny. After bringing her to her new home we have grained her a bit and fed her extensively. She still has a ways to go but with a little food in her she has spirited right up. On saturday I had her at a sprint across a field of ours. But I present to you "Jambers" (named after our waitress at Chili's the other night) Sorry about the bad pictures, we were trying to get a ride in before the sun went down and the light wasn't ideal. One is before and one is after the ride with medicine on her wounds. I will get better pictures up on Thursday. But let me know what you think and where I can improve her.


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## ajegberg (Apr 16, 2008)

Aw, she looks like a really sweet girl. Careful of the sore near her girth; you don't want the girth to rub it before it heals. Also, careful to not ride her too hard or long until she gains some weight and muscle. Sometimes just being able to move freely about the pasture will help with muscling up...especially if there is some sloping areas in the pasture.

Congratulations on your new gem!


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

She's very cute, but she's very skinny. Frankly I NEVER understood "alpha horse and wouldn't allow this horse to eat" excuse. Sounds just like very ignorant people to me...

Personally I wouldn't ride her till she'll gain more weight. You can always work from ground and start building confidence, trust, and partnership that way. 

Good luck with her!


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Well, thank goodness they are selling her - being in the hands of someone ignorant/lazy enough to let her condition deteriorate so badly because of an "alpha horse" excuse is not what she needs to live with.


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## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

Thanks for all of the compliments! Thought I would explain a few things a little more. Her previous owner had two pens, one for each horse and one feeding stall that was accessible to both horses. Unfortunately the one horse would boss the other horse around and not let it touch the feed. When I looked at her the first time she had a large sore on her right hind ankle from where the horse had kicked her through the gate. That was the first sore that needed mending. I as well don't understand why they were unable to create a better feeding situation for this horse.

The second sore, the one you can see on her back is a large bite that she recieved from one of our other horses when she was introduced to the fold. We kept her in a seperate pen for about 10 days to allow her to fatten up a bit and once we let her out with the other horses they began to establish their own pecking order and as a result she was bit (it was a very large bite actually! The mark is three to four inches across.) The horse that bit her was quickly put into his own seperate pen for a week and has now learned to settle down and respect the other horses. In fact he has now become the lowest one on the totem pole. The sore underneath the girth was my fault, each of my saddles all have 34" girths and as I have been fitting it to this horse I have quickly realized that she would benefit more from a 30" hence my local supply store has a 30" Professionals Choice cinch that should be arriving today or tommorow.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

> Thought I would explain a few things a little more. Her previous owner had two pens, one for each horse and one feeding stall that was accessible to both horses. Unfortunately the one horse would boss the other horse around and not let it touch the feed.


I stand by my comment regarding the previous owner. If he/she KNEW that this was occurring, they needed to take the time and make the effort to arrange something different rather than continue to allow it to happen.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

My VERY alpha qh mare (who is also a fast eater) stands still and wait for my paint to finish her grain (I feed them on fence close to each other). One smack of the broom on her butt taught her a lesson that it's not ok to chase the paint away from the bucket. If one of the horses is so aggressive then they should of just feed other one in her paddock -locked-. Again, it's not an excuse for the horse to be in condition she's in.

I am glad you took her out of that place.


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## RiddlesDarkAngel5 (Jun 2, 2009)

what a cute girl =) the biggest problem i see is her neck (besides the overall skinniness). she's got almost no muscle there so when you do start riding her make sure to start building some muscle back into her neck. it'll help with her bending, suppling and balance. good luck with her! it looks like with a bit more weight and muscle you could have yourself a very cute, compact mare!


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## TroubledTB (Jun 26, 2009)

Sounds like she is perfect for you and you are perfect for her. You know what you need to do and she must be a confidence builder because you guys have come so far.  I'm sure she will keep building your confidence as you build hers that you are going to make sure she is properly taken care of.


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## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

Once again thanks for the compliments and feedback. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start building up the muscle? ie. what type of training exercises I should be doing?


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

I would start on her neck. That is one place that you have to help build muscle, as legs, back, chest, rump, will come with her free movement in the pasture and running with the other horses. I wouldn't ride her too hard for a couple months, as she does need weight. I would gather her in a small pen, a round pen if you have one, and TROT small circles. 15-20ft diameter, not much more. Do 2 sets of 10 circles in each direction, and this will work on her longitudinal bend, strengthen her neck and her body at one time. Then continue with flexing exercises, basically just stretch her so that she becomes more flexible with the muscles she's got, and they'll proceed to grow. 

I consider myself pretty decent at rehabilitating malnourished horses, and have some good mentors to chat with. 

Also, I'd wean her onto a mare/foal feed, the pelleted kind because it's more palatable and digestable, and gradually introduce her with a supplement of heavy MSM Glucosamine, and a bucket of Omegatin (25lb bucket, I think.) it's Omega-3 fatty acids. You can also find Omega 12s too... I'd put her on some Horseshoer's Secret or whatever it's called, the biotin and fat supplement to help her skin and coat and hooves, get her teeth checked by your vet, and watch her grow!


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

Forgot, I wanted to elaborate a little on the feed... in that mare/foal feed, when I mix mine, whether mare or not, I mix a good Mare/Foal feed with a cheaper performance or senior horse feed, alfalfa pellets, and whole crimped oats. With the oats, you'll be able to see in her poop how much she should be eating. Start by feeding her half a gallon 3x a day once she's weaned onto it from her feed now. If you can see the oats in her poop, it's too much for her to digest, and you should reduce it to about 1/3 gal 3x a day, and so forth, but be sure you don't increase her intake in too big of intervals. You'll be able to work up to where you can feed her 1 1/2 gals 2x a day over a couple or 3 weeks, and she'll be fat before you know it! You'll notice her belly swelling first, which is OK!! Then her chest will start to puff up, her rump, and finally her neck will fill out. 

BTW, flexing her neck will also increase bloodflow to the area and help her be more comfortable overall.


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## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

Wow thanks for the input! I am planning on looking into supplements and some of the feed that you suggested when I go to pick up the cinch that I ordered for her. This horse used to be seperated from the fold and was being fed alone however she has now been introduced, and is back with our other horses. We typically just feed our horses together, we feed them alfalfa hay and oats hay, since we grow it, it is "free" We have also slipped this one some grain and allowed her to be out in the pasture for a time. I went up yesterday to ride our horses and spent only about twenty minutes on this horse. We went into our large pen and did some light exercises, then we went into one of the fields where we had just previously cut the hay and worked on walking straight (the rows of hay helped to give her a point of reference) I was also able to snap another picture of her with some better light. Unfortunately the ones I took from the front and back cut off the hooves. I am realizing that I am a terrible photographer.


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

does she have a club foot on her right front? she seems a little more upright on it...?


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

It usually does cost me about $75 or $80 to get that feed all at once, but it feeds my TB for almost a month... and it does awesome. Let me know what you find.


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## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

Thought I would post a few update pictures after nearly a month. I have only ridden her a few short times. This saturday was the first time we went on an extended ride, which ended up being an hour and a half hill climb. She did great!


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## welshpony15 (May 20, 2009)

She is looking better every time you post pictures!  Well done! Still needs lots more muscle but she looks like a healthy horse now! Lovely coat and all those sores cleaned up.. looks a million dollars


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## Thatgirlsacowboy (Aug 17, 2009)

Oh my gosh!!!! Thats exactly what happened with Cricket! She was pastured with two mares who beat the crud out of her and wouldn't let her near the food. Meanwhile, while the little bay mare was losing weight and the big fat jerk face mares were getting fatter, Owner didn't do anything about it. She reminds me alot like my little mare, and if she's anything like Cricket, she's probably a chow hound. Cricket eats as if she's never seen food before in her entire life and this is more than a month of good eatin'. 

Same thing with the girth. A 34 wont fit cricket at all. Which is frusterating because I just bought the dang thing. So I'm also getting a 30 inch soon. 

MAN we need to be best friends or something! Our stories are too much alike =P

Don't know how much my post will help you... Oh well, had to say.


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## Toymanator (Jul 31, 2009)

It has been close to 10 months since I got this horse. I thought I would show a few progress pictures. I was up on the ranch today and snapped a few quick pictures. (sorry they aren't good conformation pics) I am moving this horse down to an equestrian center closer to my house, next week so that I can begin working with her on a more consistent basis. She hasn't been ridden in 8 months and is still lacking quite a bit of muscle.


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## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

Cute little palomino!! She's improved so much since the first picture! I love her socks!


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