Body weight/shape over the last 7 months

I wouldn't say Laz is a hard keeper, but he isn't an easy keeper.
He can gain weight, yet he can loose it quickly if I don't watch it.

He requires a LOT of hay to keep him going

If I watch his intake, bump it up on colder days and balance with his BP during winter, I can maintain a pretty even weight (visually) on him.

Let's take a look...

AUGUST 2011

Looking great, but still ribby/bony/thin top line. 

Maybe due to nutrition/diet/lack of 'real' exercise

I know typically OTTBS are a ribbier horse but I do want some fat layer along his rib cage...slight not padding

 Our first day at new barn-SEPT 2011

 Middle of SEPT 2011

tummy goes POUF

Beginning of OCT 2011

Looking perfect in my eyes..I think this is the best he's ever looked.
He was on full pasture with additional hay

End of OCT 2011

Looking a bit lean..lost weight in neck, base of tail, behind shoulders

We were riding A LOT, grass was changing, and I had yet to up his hay

Beginning of NOVEMEBER 2011

upped his hay and upped his BP amount to 3 cups (dry)

 End of NOV 2011

Looking better, whew...gained it back quickly

 DECEMBER 2011

Looked good in my eyes..yes, I see he has a bigger fiber belly...

JAN 2012

Little thicker, but also FUZZ HAIR BALL so it can be deceiving

I was OK with some extra fat layering being I left him naked

 FEB 2012

Depending on how he is holding himself, he will have a belly...

 Or tucks it up..

Both above photos were taken on the same day

I've been very happy with his weight and hope to start to tighten him up as he feet can tolerate it!

What do you look for in your horse to make you comfortable with their weight?

Wild eyed

Someone has been feeling "Spring Air" with wild eyes and crazyeee behavior.

It's been funny and at times, totally frustrating. 

Laz can slip into "SAVE MYSELF!!" behavior quickly and can try to tune me out, so I have to match that energy and remind him "Um no...."

We had a visit from our lovely Vet for a Rabies vaccine. It went off without a hitch (phew!) and she is SO great about helping me work through my anxiety with certain vaccinations for Laz.

Next up will be Tetanus next month.

She did a follow up lameness check on him and thought he looked so much better in comparison to November. His Chiro adjustments, my Trimmer's hoof work, balancing his diet and his ability to stay out and moving. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM! :)

She told me to get to work on really starting to exercise him and double check with Chiro to make sure back is happy with those slow changes at his next visit

So, this past week, we took just long hand walks as he was a crazy pants McGee for a bareback hack.

He acted like he had never walked down this dirt road before.

In his defense, it was a bit slippery so I'm not sure if that made him feel uneasy but I kept him in the deeper sections of snow.

Every noise made him jump and spook.

I had asked Vet about his excitable behavior and she seemed to think his amount of Triple Crown L/S couldn't be enough calories to make him hotter.  I'm not sure I agree 100%..I've cut back his Chia seed and in about a month, I may start cutting back his feed too (currently getting 3 cups not scoops, twice a day).  She thinks he's feeling better and is not able to use his body in a stronger way.  He can feel great, but he needs to keep his manners...so I've been doing a lot of reminding and ground work to try and instill that good behavior and space around me. 

On Sunday, the winds were just whipping through and something by the barn just kept freaking him out.  He would snort and side leap.  We worked on ground, circling towards and away the barn, squeezing through and backing off, until he finally settled. 

It took a good 45 minutes and a lot of games.  He fought the first 25 and was a total lunatic and then finally started to breathe and calm down.

See, calmer eye below

Then, after our work, it was complete mind resetting.  He kept eye rolling, yawning, shaking his head. It must have been a lot for his OTTB brain to handle.

I will say, he did SO great in the end.  He even started listening to me MORE as the two other horses were racing all around us.  

I think with this newer set up we need to work on; I come first, his friends come 2nd.  

He is fighting his instinct of flight versus thinking...

Oh, and shedding has BEGUN...!

Happy Valentine's Day

"I haz a seekretz fur u...."

 "U do?!"

 "I's your new Momz n I's gunna take u fer Walkz n u's my new dogz"

 "No! I's not a dogz..Maysun iz a dogz..LEGGGO"

 "No more seekretz!!"

"Uh..no..surrrry.

I luvs you my beeoutiful colured frind"

Me; "Hey Laz...what about me?!"

"Uh-k..beecuz u gotz yummies!!"

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 xoxo

PowderedSuga

 Pulling into the barn (this was about a few weeks ago), out in the distance, there are two frolicking horses. Laz is one of them. I always let out a sigh of happiness to see him romping around happy with so much room to play.

Look, my horse is the naked unloved one! lol

My Husband always questions "Why wouldn't you just blanket him?? Isn't he cold??" until he touches him and feels how HOT he is.

I'm not anti blankets.  

But Laz isn't clipped, has a thick fur coat and is at a great body weight, so I'm testing out leaving him BE.

 

So far, he's been only winter blanketed once.

"HA Ro"

Just like a stack of pancakes that are powder sugar dusted..YUMMY PONEE!

I'll eat you!

He loved this little blizzard (which lasted all of an hour)

 I like the snow to help keep his hooves cool and iced 24/7

Thanks Nature!

 OTTB channeling a wild Mustang

SNORT!

I think this Florida bred baby likes our Michigan weather

       

I did bring Laz in, toweled off the blanket of wet snow and seriously contemplated blanketing him.

But he was SO warm/hot that I thought it would almost be a disservice because then he can't self regulate his own body temps. 

I have to remind myself ALL.THE.TIME; he has great shelter, a great natural fur coat, plenty of hay...he is OK. 

Once I was done drying him, I put him in the stall so he could walk out, and he decided to coat himself some more. 

A good roll in soft shavings

"Now I's dry!"

Yesterday, it was about 15 degrees with the wind chill stating it was close to 0.

I was slightly concerned (I'm getting better) and thought to check to see if Laz was warm enough, and thinking I may blanket him with his winter rug.

Well...he was SO warm. Like ear tip to tail-WARM. Like HOT, like bury my bare hands and feel the tingly burn of a toasty fat horse's heat. Ahhh

So, I left him (gasp) NAKED!

 Do I doubt myself? 

Yes, all the time. 

I keep the blankets at the barn, and question myself, but I try try try to trust he has what he needs: hay, shelter, good body weight, thick fur coat unclipped.

As you can see...this is Laz during his mid morning nap, after he gulped down his BP slurpee mix

ZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZ

 ZZzzz, a couple of soft "mmmmmm" and licking and chewing, with slight head drooping.

 If I could, I would bundle this sleepy babe in a blanket and snuggle him UP on my couch.

Look at those half mast eyes!

 Mmmm, sweet horse's breath indeed

Enjoy your nap fat boy!

Pin-cushioned babes

Laz and I walking down the dirt roads.

They've been especially wet and cushy so I though/hoped the different terrain would be good for his hooves to walk on, while still being comfortable

His Right Hind medial sole still shows some bruising as that hoof wall continues to grow down, but not yet hitting the ground. HURRRRRRY up hoof wall (trust me, he's on all supplements, vitamins, hoof lotions and potions to get it to grow..it's time)

 

On Thursday, we had our 2nd Chiro/Acupuncture visit from the AMAZING Dr. W.

We lurve him

He's cool, humble, SMART and awesome

Did I mention, we like him?? 

LOTS

What I like best about him; His quiet ability to listen to the animals.

Also, Laz loves his treatments and stands still and quiet for him.

Above is after the Chiro work, Dr W is putting the Accu needles in Lazaroo.

Then he follows it with a shot of B12 vitamin to help 'keep' the adjustment

He thought Laz was looking really good and was happy. 

I am to keep working on stretching out his R Front shoulder to help break up that scar tissue, but he thought it's already looking a bit better.

Go, us!

Then, I had him look at Mason

Masie Pie is 8 yrs old (9 in May) so I thought it couldn't hurt

Dr. W thought his hips were off a little (actually similar to Laz, lol) and adjusted him.

He didn't feel anything bad in his hips otherwise

Mason was a VERY good patient 

"Uh...Mom...who dis??"

Dr. W confirmed my suspicions (without me telling him!) that Mason left front leg was hurting him.

Mason has been limping a little, and it's inconsistent. Some days it's there, some days he's fine. For the past month or so, I've stopped throwing his ball/frisbee because he runs with 10000% speed and then slams to stop and it's wearing on his joints.

At any rate, Dr. W found a bit of pain in Mason's left elbow area.

See how below, Mason's face is relaxed...

 And here he quickly stopped breathing, shut his mouth and showed signs of "ouch"

Glucousime will be added to his diet, per wondrous Dr. W.

 Wagging his tail during his 2 minutes of acupuncture

Can you see his needles? They are the same as the ones used for humans 

He has 7 here, and had 2 or 3 near his shoulder/elbow area

 We also chit chatted about vaccinations, etc.

He prefers to do Rabies for Dogs (and he's waiting on testing to be released that perhaps we only have to do that once every 5-7 yrs) and for Horses, annually : Rabies, Tetanus, and West Niles combo.  They said, "Those three could kill your horse and it's a terrible death."

Something to really consider for Laz coming up...it's the same three my new Vet thinks I should do too.

Laz is clearly benefiting from this extra TLC

Video of Laz and his WB X bestie

Oh, and for those that wanted to see how Laz kicks it in reverse to try to 'sit' on his friend, zoom to 0.37.  He does this maneuver all the time, lol

Mason was a bit extra tired after his appointment. He tends to get excited over new things, and I knew it would knock him out a bit.  But, later that night, he seemed re-energized and prancey

Pudgie wants to know if I'm going stick pins in him too ;)

Not yet littlest one...