sweet horse's breath

"Oh, Hi Mom! Guess what...can you groom me especially good today because I'm diiiiirty!"

Yikes.

What a pig he is! :) Literally had sand in his ear and eyelashes! Thank god it was a warmer day today, that I could stand being outside for a couple of hours without wanting to dive under his blanket. I yanked his dirty blanket and groomed this pig for about an hour and boy did he enjoy it!

This is a good sign to me, showing that he laid on his right side, using his right rear to prop him up. This is the leg that showed the most rotation and was the most severe.

Hmmmm...seems to be getting better?!

Mason is very cautious around Lazarus and basically scared of him. He was once out in the pen with me, when he ran to the BO in excitement to play and ran thru the electric pen. OUCH!!!! I think he associates all horses with electricity now. It's ok, I'd rather he be cautious than overbearingly confident around horses that could kick/hurt him.

"Mom, are you in here? Where's that big brown thing that zaps me?"

So here is Laz's before I groomed shot. Phew!

Ahhh, clean

(see..when I say he literally eats all day..he does!!! This was two hours later and somehow I got the exact same shot!)

Close up of the Mati evil eye that protects him.

(yes, I know, I need to trim his bridle path soon! eyikes)

And for Mason the wonderdog. He loves playing out there, loves the snow...that dog lives to love life!

If he were a horse, I would have it SO easy. He would be an easy keeper, maintains weight, he would be barefoot no doubt with great feet, his coat is getting glossy b/c I put him on Cocosoya, plays well with everyone and loooooves to work.

What horse breed would Mason be?

Maybe a Perch/TB horse cross?

At any rate, if Mason was a horse, he would be able to jump high, do dressage, chase cows, cross country, allow children to ride him safely as well as get blue ribbons for someone advanced.

He is just that dog with a HUGE heart and natural athletic ability.

So, being that I yanked off Laz's blanket and took an hour to really groom, curry, brush him and look at this body today; I thought I would ask a question. Do you take pictures and compare to see how your horse's bodies are doing. I think the pictures below are very interesting in terms of his changes.

This is Laz fresh off the track, in September of 2008

Here is sweet Laz and I this past September 2009 (can you believe like two weeks before his colic/laminitis..ugh). I think he looks good, lean strong and bright. My vet assures me his ribs will always show being a Thoroughbred, but I don't like ribby horses. I like a little bit of cushion weight so when they do get sick (like he did) they can afford to loose some without it being overly traumatic.

I know many of you have Thoroughbreds...in their prime shape, do their ribs show? Not in scary skinny terms, I know that difference, I mean when they are working/stretching/bending- you see their ribs. Right? Or is my boy just a thinner babe? Is each TB so different?

This photo was today, Feb 2010. I can see his ribs (although not in this photo really) and he hay a bit of a hay belly. This is also his winter coat (which doesn't get too thick hence the heavyweight blanket he wears) which should make him look fuller. He literally eats ALL day and it's grass hay, per vet. I know he wants him lean right now so there is as little pressure on his feet, I get that. I'll have him look at him once again for our next appt towards the end of the month, just to make sure. I will also ask when he can start getting his missed vaccinations/wormers, etc. He pulled him off everything due to his laminitic case that may have been caused by his colic fever and/or meds. Being that Laz welted up for Xmas to his G.U.T. I think his body is extremely sensitive.