"ooooh my back!"

Pudgie said he's been feeling really left out of the blog

So, here is his cuteness and NO pictures of Mason. ;)

Pudgie wants you all to know that he loves to lick our leather couch before taking a nap.

So Lazarus had his 1st Chiropractic appointment!

She used this little tool thing for pressure points but said I could use the blunt side of my hoof pick handle

Laz was VERY responsive!

He felt everything....some times he was a bit stressed and chewed.

Other times he humped up and did his Guinea pig squeal of "I don't LIKE this!"

Chewing but standing

"Mom, please hide me in your pocket!"

"Oh wait...THAT feels gooooooooooood"

"Ok, I'm over this..."

Thanks to BO "C" for taking the pictures so we could concentrate!

The Chiro was sweet and told me massage techniques and pressure points to hit for in between our sessions.

I'm going to stick some of that in with our Masterson massage, which Laz, really really likes.

Isn't this strange, below!?! 

To me at least...the parts where she was massaging and pushing and popping her chiro magic were soooo sweaty on Laz.  She said it's normal and to ice it for a few days and that sometimes on TB's she's seen where the skin starts pussing a day or so later, releasing stuff. 

I certainly hope that doesn't happen to him!!!

So ice away we did

She mentioned (and I talked to sweet Cliff who called too to check on how our chiro appt went) that he'll be sore for the next few days

The little patient..he is so good at being understanding.

He is sending his good thoughts to his online girlfriend, Denali, who goes into surgery tomorrow.

He wishes they could rehab together in his paddock.

He drank a ton of water which I know is great to flush out any of the released toxins.

Good boy Laz!

Then today I came across this article in "The Horse" and it basically reiterates what Cliff is thinking.  

That Lazarus is limping more now due to his muscles and back than from his hoof....possibly.  So I am going to use this Chiro once a month to see if it starts helping him out to feel more comfortable

The Horse | Lame Horses Use Muscles Differently, Study Shows

Hop on for a ride

These fun videos are from Sunday

Laz was so stellar, awesome, calm and happy.

I had hoped for a visit this evening but work came first and being we all know how much it costs to keep a happy horse....well, unfortunately, I had to chose to not see my boy this evening and work late instead.

Enjoy these videos and join on our little walk

"Oh sweet barrels, you taste so good"

Mason playing Frisbee while Laz gets to enjoy a bit of grazing

Love how calm he is and content

Chiropractor comes out tomorrow for his first ever adjustment (well, that I know of anyway) and I'm excited and nervous to hear what she has to say!

Wacky Sunday

I look SO forward to my Sunday visits out to Lazarus!

This one particular Sunday was a mix of odd, great and scary.

Odd: 

Mason got stung/bit by something within a matter of two seconds of arriving to the barn.

I watched him carefully and decided if he started swelling (as in his head or around eye) I would end the day, take him to a pharmacy and get some Benadryl down his throat. 

Mason has reacted to bee stings before with his head swelling up twice before and both times the vet told us children's benadryl and it worked.

But he was fine and the bite ended up going away.

Great:

Mason and Lazarus were interacting nicely today.

We were alone out there today and Mason just followed us around and had fun

Lazarus was AWESOME today.

I hand walked him for only about 15 minutes and then hopped up for a beautiful calm ride for about...18 (eek! I couldn't stop!)

He was so calm despite the crazy weather seeming to approach in the distance.

It was HOT, humid but with tiny winds that whipped up faster with cool air and spots of rain.

Definitely a thunder storm brewing but our ride was awesome and we even ventured out of the arena for a bit which he enjoyed.

Do you see my imprint on my sweet Bay? lol!

His rear right hoof...it's looking better and stronger. 

Still very, very odd and deformed but to be expected.

His frog is looking more healthy and despite the convex sole (callus protecting himself) his bars are evening out a bit more....still more time needed but happy to see progress.

Where my thumb is at in the picture is the side were Laz rotated bi-laterally (inwards towards the left if you were to stand behind him)

Cliff returns on Thursday for another trim :)

After our ride, it started showing signs of a storm...and this little pony got a sprinkle on his back and headed for his stall. lol! 

Really? Spoiled. So happy we've got a facility to be at!

Inside Stitch the barn kitty was wanting some attention

Scary:

I also laid out the random, short, bundles of twine that I found in Laz's hay in case the BO's saw some in the next couple bales of hay.  I like to be on the look out of anything odd in case one of the horse's starts acting funny, we may know why...and can hopefully eliminate any hay that has this issue.

I know we've seen sticks, an occasionally field creature (mouse, snake, etc) but twine I feel like could really hurt a horse? Thankfully Laz appeared to have eaten around it, but of course I obsessed and went thru his hay like a Police dog and pulled out what I could find. I worry that if he did eat it, would it cause an impaction in his GI?  

The garden was perky with the rain starting to come in

Corn, knee high by the 4th of July? More like waist high!

I wanted to clip Laz's muzzle and bridle path but the weather was quickly changing and I thought I should scoot.  I wanted him to look clean for my younger sister, who is coming to visit from South Africa for a couple of weeks.  She'll just have to help! ;)

And MORE SCARY:

On our way home, we got about 18 miles from the barn when a crazy, huge thunderstorm came galloping in over on top of us.  I was driving on the highway, and it seemed like everyone else around was rushing to beat it home, and with listening to NPR, I could tell we were just ahead of the storm.

That quickly changed...the woman on the radio was giving a minute by minute play of the storm and possible tornado which was exactly where we were at on the road! 

The rain was coming down so hard and horizontally, that everyone slowed down to 25 mph.  This was not a little storm, and you could smell the electricity in the air.

My husband called and was concerned by the news he was hearing and knowing I would be either at the barn or on the road, he phoned me.  When we were talking on the phone, the BIGGEST bolts of lightening were crashing thru the sky and I all of a sudden felt very, very small and very vulnerable. He urged me to get off the highway and just wait it out somewhere.

Having Mason, I was a bit more panicked...I didn't have a leash or collar and leaving him in the car was NOT an option.  The exit I pulled off at, thankfully had a Hotel and a Meijer (grocery store)..so I drove to the Meijer, bolted in, ran to the pet section, bought a collar and leash, (and a Vitamin water and Cheezits which were at the checkout lol) and ran back to Mason, all in under two minutes.  

I put the collar on thinking in case I had to seek shelter, WE were going to the Hotel together. :)

We waited it out in the car for about an hour and snacked on some crackers together, as it seemed to be calming down.

We got lucky.

The exit I pulled off at was literally in the middle of these two storms that just missed us from what my husband could tell from his weatherman research. ;)

I was so happy to have Mason with me...it made our adventure a little less scary 

"Storm...what storm....give me those cracker delights Mom!"

Different day, different horse

Isn't it amazing with horses, that one day something SCARES them, and the next, the same thing is not an issue at all?

Silly flighty animals! :)

So Lazarus was back to being a wonderPony and even though it was just as windy today, he was hardly spooky.

He spooked a couple times during our hand walk, and then I hopped on feeling good about a ride.  He spooked slightly a couple times but totally re-thought about it and figured we were safe.

No spook-bolts today! Hooooorah!

This is us riding right before I dropped my phone camera. oops.

I did record us working but all I got was 3 minutes of beautiful blue sky..I had it propped at too high of an angle. Damn.

I'll keep practicing because I love a good video!!

Go team Laz!

Look at my muscley handsome brut!

He has even developed a sweet Labrador mouth when taking carrot treats thru our obstacles, lol!

"What's that Mom? You think I'm beeeautiful?"

Happy, relaxed pony after his mini poll and body massage

"siiiiiigh, I work soooo hard"

And this!

Is this not the funniest, coolest thing ever! 

I saw it on one of my blogs that I subscribe to and would LOVE to do this to my helmet!!!!!!

I love a mohawk...don't know why, but I think they are super cool!

I would pay good money to see someone show in this!!! :)

Flowing with the wind

First off, I woke up at 3 am the night before because it was thundering SO badly and lightening! I always think of Laz during these storms and how happy I am that he has a stall on those nights. I know it's probably more for my comfort than his, but I do feel better.

Anyway, when I got the barn, I expected him to be a bit sore.  He spins and runs and acts a bit stupid sometimes during high winds, storms etc.  He was actually OK, gimpy yes, but fine.

It was a beautiful summer evening but WINDY!! Ugh.  

Wind + Laz = concerned pony

We walked for about 1-1/2 hours, me leading him on the ground.  I quickly decided that today may not be the best day to jump on his back.

Lazarus was skiddish, spooky and FAST! He wasn't NOT bad though, didn't misbehave, just had a lot of TB energy and with the wind whipping around, he was just unsettled.

I can totally tell that he is trusting me more however.

We walked through the whole obstacle course and it was like it was a new course.

The car wash vertical, our first few times going thru it, proved to be a challenge for him BUT he did it!  He balked at and got smacked in the face and all over with how wildly the tarp curtains were whipping around, but he did it and exhaled and snorted once thru it.  

The caution tape walk thru had him flying thru it a racer's speed a couple times, which was super fun when my sweaty neck grabbed the caution tape around it, choke!

I am feeling so much more confident on the ground with him.  

We maintained a loose lead and when he spooked, he RAN forward and spun to face me, like "WHA...Why aren't you scared??!"

I tried to just remain calm, talk to him, reward him and encourage him that we were OK.

We had a couple of times where I chose to lunge him a bit, and he BUCKED, and kicked OUT at the evil corner monsters hiding in the pine trees and leapt around. trotted and cantered, and played this role of I'm tough (but soo soo scared!) by arching his neck and puffing himself up.

After our couple lunge sessions, he settled a little but his shoulder and leg muscles quivered for the first hour, ready to RUN if need be.

I felt good about my choice to NOT ride him on a day like that.  For what reason? There are some days that it's best to stick to a simple lesson and not put myself in danger, especially if I'm not feeling up to it.

We ended the day, with a tired, loose lipped pony, mouthing at my lead line and being so sweet but it took a while to get there.

I was proud of him, because he did try to be brave in a lot of moments and never refused anything I asked of him.

Needless to say, no pictures/video being I had my hands full! 

I wish I had a little tripod camera to get these days on tape too!

Patience wins in the end

My sweet Chocolate man, excited as we turn the corner toward the farm.

He knows our routine and the days we go the farm, I get friendly reminders ALL day during work (I have a home office) of "Mom, don't forget that we go to the farm today"

Laz is doing so great on being a calm OTTB.  He's better now with if he steps on his lead to not FREAK out, he just pops his head, steps to the side and reacts much smaller.  

I groom him ground tied, allowing him to graze or not, depending on mood, and can walk into the barn without him freaking out being 'alone' for a minute.

It makes it so relaxing

(grrr on those TB ribs, but also..I wish I was ribby, lol)

BO "C" brought her 4 yr old Sawyer into the arena with us to do some work

Being a hot day, as we refilled the water obstacle I hosed off Laz's legs, chest, belly and flank areas which he enjoyed by pawing and pawing and pawing.

I love that he loves water!

Sawyer was NOT into the water obstacle.

He strongly felt that it was bad, scary, horse eating, or a bottomless hole...whatever it was, it was a bear for us to get him to step in it.

We tried having Laz show him how fun it was.

Laz was just happy to have someone to groom

Check out Sawyer's rump...he is a TANK. Even though he's probably 15.3 I would guess, he is SO strong and SOLID.  Not to mention he has fantastic, big wide barefoot feet.

He looks part draft horse in this picture, but I think he's a registered Paint? Or QH.  

Here you can really see how misaligned Laz's back/hip is.

You can also see where Sawyer STOOD for 2 hours! LOL!

Mason took a dip in the cool water obstacle too!

So, Laz did great walking around and being a great, calm boy.  A virtue I am strongly encouraging and rewarding.  Sawyer's lesson was a bit more exhausting for us.  The BO is probably very sore today, having him yank back, rear, kick out and defy going into the water obstacle for 2 hours.  

I hopped on Laz and rode him around for about 15 minutes while the BO lunged Sawyer around the water, trying to encourage him that when he stopped and came in, it would be a reward.  Laz did great, but was a bit upset when he heard the lunge whip crack, and he kinda popped to the side and crow hopped, which was fine, but I thought I was going to eat sand.  Thankfully, he calmed down and I stayed on, and we were back to ok. I told him, he was a brave boy for sticking with me and not worrying (too much) about the whip. He is very nervous and reactive to whips (I have done lots of desensitizing) but still, it's normal for him to do that.  He could have been a lot worse and I was proud of him yesterday.  

After I dismounted, I turned him in the round pen with some water, to graze and relax and to help BO with Sawyer.  We finally got Sawyer (who was sooo exhausted but oh so stubborn) in the water, by picking up his heavy feet and placing in the water and giving him his feed as reward and lots of "Goooood Booooooy!"  In the end, he got it and we got him to walk in and back out of the water, 4 times.  We couldn't quit, even though we were tired and Sawyer was tired, until we could end on a good note.  We were SOOO happy for the end success and hosed off Sawyer to cool him off.  Poor babe, just had it in him to not get in the water until the very end.

Patience won though.

We'll work on him again on Tuesday evening to see if he can bravely enter the water.  

It is so nice having someone out there to help and work on our horses because sometimes it does take another pair of hands and suggestions to get that achievement.

Ride #...who cares?! I'm riding!!!!!!

Will I ever get a good photo of Mason and Laz together? LOL! Soon..I feel it.

Today, we were alone out at the farm, which was fine....quiet and serene.

Laz and I did our arena work and again, OTTB BOREDOM kicked in when Laz kept grabbing a construction cone from one of the obstacles, every time we passed it and threw it.  

So, I took him out on the front lawn again, we walked around the garden side eying up the yummy vegs, walked a couple of tiny hills in the front, up and down, and then I jogged beside him while he channelled his inner race track stud mode.  

He was funny! 

He arched his neck and picked up a crappy trot and snaked his head side to side and I kept running beside him just saying "gooood boy" so he knew it was ok to snark out and play for a minute.  We did that for a while, then he started getting a little bold and bratty so we took it back down to easy walking, grazing, walking and chill mode.

Did I mention I hear things pop and crack when he trots....ugh...I hope it's fixable!

Then, I hopped on and he was a total gentleman again.

I rode from arena, around around, to round pen, to a little of the lawn area and dismounted.  Remounted with camera, took some shots, rode another few minutes and done.

But let's discuss this photo!

A. Look at that FAB mane..so pretty

B. How long have I waited for a photo of in between his ears!?! FOREVER and a day!

C. Love love love the way his cocked ear is like "soooo (sigh) what's next?"

I mean..seriously handsome boy, black tipped ears, with that shiny THICK black mane and curious look. 

 I swear Laz smiles.  He acted happy to be ridden today and even twice wanted to trot with me, so I allowed it for about 4 beats and then had him easy up back to a walk.  

In time Bubba.  

This is the turtle's race we are in, happily!

I just had to post this...due to spreading some miracle horse poop around, look at my Hydrangeas!!!!!!

The colors are like easter candy!!

This is one of my favorite flowers and all our neighbors have been swooooning over them. 

Little do they know my secret is CRAP!

And dinner fresh from the garden. 

Balsamic glazed radishes with basil and parsley, lettuce, broccoli, spring onion, toss in some canned chickpeas and done. 

So fresh and good!

Rehabbing=Calm..(sometimes)

Yesterday was so odd.  

Laz was hot and sweaty (insert HUMID summer here in Michigan) was I arrived. I gave him some nice poll massages and he was loving it up.

The more I think about it...we are so alike! Do you think you are similar to your horse?

I'm skiddish..he's spookish.

I'm a sleep-aholoic and from the video below, you'll see he is too

I have random mood swings and apparently so does he!

The list goes on, but it's funny!

So, here Laz is napping while I'm cleaning up his poop all around him.

Laaazy.

Now, I know this video below could look like he's  a dying horse...REST ASSURED, it's pure lazy nap time. PROMISE :)

**Side note: I was playing around with Laz's mouth and come floating time..I think it'll be a doozy..I found he still has his Wolf teeth, at age 9!! Is that normal?? I'm thinking not....

Cliff wants to wait a bit before I tranq him/float him-and let him heal more

Here is a lame video of Laz crossing the cool water jump..er..obstacle. ;)

Laz's TB Internet buddy, Olly would sail over this one, but Laz just tip toe's thru it

I tried to get him on video playing in it, but he's obviously a bit shy around the camera because he wouldn't do it when I was taping.

Here is just a video of Laz walking. 

I think he's moving soooo much better, and really think the upcoming Chiro will do wonders on him.  

You can tell in this video, he was sooo bored with me.
Back to the barrels...

So, on the 'being bored' note.  Laz was just off yesterday. He was calm and then out of nowhere, he would slam his front feet down and buck and fart out, and then right back to calm.  It's like, he gets these little spurts of energy and JUST has to get them out. He wasn't being a bad boy, just a young boy. I really think he's challenging his inner coltness.

After a half hour in the arena, I could just tell he was like "this is booooring Mom" so I took him out for a walk around the front lawn which was nice but he was wanting to misbehave. I offered him a lunging circle to buck out and be silly, but he just trotted (awfully might I add) and I could literally hear his back cracking. Ugh! 

Hopefully, a few adjustments will do him some good.  That being said, though, hopefully he won't turn develop a royal OTTB attitude because on our 10 minute walk, as we were just about to finish our little bareback walk....he BUCKED.  Well, he didn't buck, he snaked his head side to side, picked up a terrible trot and shoulder popped me. I said "NO way Sir! Have some manners for your Momma!" so we couldn't stop our walk on a bad note like that.  The last thing I want is for him to think, "oh I'll just buck and she'll get off" especially because it wasn't a buck because of pain (I'm pretty sure) it was a buck of I FEEL good!  

Great, that is great Laz, I'm happy you feel good but bucking me off gets you a life of "pony for sale!"...thankfully I didn't eat it and we did end up walking calmly and ending on a good note. 

The garden is starting to flourish! 

I picked broccoli, radishes, lettuce, onions to make a delic salad for dinner last night!

Happy Sunday in the church of Lazarus

'Church of Lazarus'

Attire-wear shoes to protect your feet, yoga capris and tank top

Program-rehab a kind horse who is working hard

Prayer-chant "good booooooy" a lot

I walked in, said a quick hello to my pony and did some massage work.  Have you ever heard of the Masterson Method? A wonderful reader of mine, turned me on to it and I've been attempting the bladder meridian and the poll massage...Laz LOVES it.  

After that I started to clean his paddock area.  As I was mucking up in his sleeping area (where he also CHOOSES to poop/pee in...why???) he decided it was nap time and laid down to roll and chill

I think he is most comfortable napping here when the other horses are in their paddock.  When they are out to pasture, he sometimes naps down in his other sandy pit that has the pond view

I would LOVE to get a great picture of Mason and Laz together.

Mason is still leary of his big brother and stays away 

Getting Mason to walk to me was a big step. He walked low and slow, licked my hand and turned 'peace out Mom'

No, Laz is OK. Promise!!!

He was super chill and lazy man and was stretching out and groaning with pleasure.

After our hour walk, obstacle course and our ride, Laz got his lunch.

He was again, awesome. Bareback and in his rope halter with my new clip on rodeo reins (lol) and I try to remain calm and talk to him, encouraging him to be brave and take care of his Momma. Aka-don't freakin spook and drop me PLEASE.  He did fine, only a couple of moments where he thought about spooking but didn't (whew). His spooks are so intense sometimes. He does the spook in place which is fine, but his MJ spooks are what gets my heart pumping. The ones where he buckles his knees, drops down and side jumps all in one second. Thankfully, we had none of that yesterday.

After riding Laz, I rode the BO's 19 yr old Sorrel QH, Jazz.  

Jazz has gotten a lot of happy little girls blue ribbons back in the day. He was happy to be out and walking, trotting and even cantering a tiny bit. He was quite full of himself and was a happy, happy boy.  I only could handle about 20 minutes of it being bareback, boy do I need to work on my leg strength. At one point, my hamstring totally cramped, lol!

Hopefully, with lightly riding Jazz, bringing him back from a stifle injury and transitioning him to barefoot, I'll get my legs back as Laz gets better and can ride for longer.