Bringing the anxious into calm and content

Lazarus and I had a few rough times this past week, where he struggled with being scared, anxious or insecure.

Last week,  the BO had put him in the outdoor for a grazing break and after doing well alone, something apparently set him off, so he panicked and worked himself in a tizzy, completely sweated panic JUST as I pulled into the driveway.  It scared me.  I saw my boy, alone, running on three legs and as I ran over to him, he whinnied in a tone that was a bit "Save Me!"  He had been doing ok by himself but apparently something scared him and he didn't have anyone there at the time to bring him down and give him confidence.   So, being he was in a major sweat, hived out from bug bites and was running from fear, he had seemed to be extra sore.  I didn't want to walk him any furthur.  It was a rough day for me.  A BIG reminder that he is indeed still very fragile.  

So, I gave him a nice cool rinsing and he calmed down, grazing around me for about an hour.

It ended on a good note and the BO and I agreed that no more leaving this OTTB alone in the outdoor.  

He doesn't seem to be scared of bikes....so that's a bonus.  Well, parked ones anyway ;)

The dogs version of tug of war.  Carly the pup tugging on her sister Caitlyn who tugs her toy away from tank Mason.

So today, back from a little weekend getaway, I was anxious to see how Laz was doing.  If he was sore from Friday's freak out or not.  Thankfully he wasn't showing any new signs of discomfort.  The BO mentioned his appetite today didn't seem great, but after our grooming session, I stood outside with him for a half hour and he ate, ate and ate.  The other horses were out at pasture and I think Laz just wanted some company to eat.  Who knows...but he ate, so that made me happy.

Above is his right front has a big chip in it...Cliff comes out of Friday, so not worried.

Below is his right rear, the foot with the most rotation.  I think it's looking better, there is signs of growth and there is more area to pick out in his V shape area which I think is a good sign.

I groomed him, clipped whiskers and bridle path waiting for the random summer storm to pass.

He was VERY anxious and did a lot of chewing which is his anxious habit.

I unclipped him from the crossties and just 'ground' tied him and it helped ease him up.  I also talked to him and just did my best to soothe him.  He ended up calming down and was goofy again

So, after the rain passed, I decided to walk him and stretch him out in the outdoor arena and do some obstacle work.

All of the pictures below, were taken by the BO's 7 year old grandchild, who was a GREAT helper today.  She took beautiful pictures from my phone (learned it in one second) and sat patiently to the side with 'special' carrots for Laz that she used her fingernails to carve his name into and his age. Tooo cute! 

This obstacle was a new one-and he did great with it.  In fact, he just had swiped a carrot nib from my hand here as we were posing for our 'photographers' request to stop at this obstacle for a picture. :)

How cute is this picture she took of Mason.  I think he did his best to smile for the camera.

Laz's stance. 

 He still avoids standing square.  I know it's only been 3 trims and since mid March since we started, but I just hoped he would stand better.  I'm assuming he knows what is best for him, so if he wants to rest his foot, so be it.  We'll ask Cliff more about what is 'normal' for him at this stage on Friday.

After our hour walk....good boy!

Lazarus way of saluting a thank you for all the troops fighting for our great country.

Happy Memorial Day!