Post by erika on May 28, 2012 23:28:12 GMT 1
Hi gang,
The Mark Todd (very expensive) boots have finally arrived and they fit (just). Front legs are great but the back ones only just fit around the hocks.
A big thankyou to Avril on how to deal with difficult situations, as George clearly had never encountered these things before ;D
I decided to try one back leg first and he happily dozed whilst I fitted the thing.
Lulled into a sense of false security, I untied George and attempted to lead him around the yard. Well, he took off like a scalded cat. I have never seen a horse travel so fast on 3 legs, there was no way he was going to put the other one down. Thankfully he had the decency to bolt around me and stop when he got to the end of his lead rope, whereby he stood shaking his back leg like a horse being eaten alive by a boa-constrictor. Thankfully although he will happily rodeo around the field with the best of them he hasn't learnt to buck in the stable yard. Having calmed him down I had to persuade him to put the leg down, (my it must have been aching by now). I decided on the "go-back" approach, though I thought he would sit before putting his foot down. Eventually he put his foot down very very careful, turned and looked at it in disgust and then refused to move. So stand off time. I decided to not take much notice, to scratch his ears and general mooch about at which point he felt that he just needed to adjust his balance. Ah ha, time to move. Bless him, he let me lead him about, though he was like a new born foal with the one leg. I positioned some minty treats for him to return to on our trip around the yard, and after 3 circuits they became more interesting than his travel boot.
Having learnt from this site that they have to learn both sides of the brain, I took the boot off and prepared the other leg. Exactly the same reaction except this time I was more prepared. Also George's brain hadn't forgotten about the treats at the end of the yard so he quickly settled. I decided to remove the back boots before commencing the same procedure with the front boots. He found these less of a problem, though he was walking like a new born foal through treacle, very funny ........
I decided to quit on a high, he is a very trusting boy but there does come a time when it all get too much for him and he gets mega anxious. That was Saturday.
Tonight (Monday) I had a quick ride around the block, and then decided to re-introduce the boots. The look on his face "Oh no, not those again". I started with a the front pair and initially he refused to move at all. Had I over done it , two at once? So I went over to the snacks and pretended to eat them, yum yum, crunch, crunch (tasted foul I have to say), and it was too much for George to bear. He struggled manfully over to help himself. I was then able to lead him around the yard in his ministry of funny walks mode until he settled down and then he got his reward. I was more careful of the back boots and did them one at a time. Again, the trying to shake them off but quickly accepting so that he could get his reward. When I put on the second one he was so funny. He was walking like he had been kicked in the privates, he just didn't want them to touch. I decided it was as much the sound they made when the rubbed together as the overall feel that he did not like. So lots of walking around the yard, and lots of treats. At the end I made him do some cross overs, started off as very small shuffles, and then gave him a big hug and took them off. George tried sooo hard, the tension visibly drained out of him once them were off. So much more practice so it becomes routine, but he is such a good boy as he was cleary freaked by the whole episode.
Erika & George
The Mark Todd (very expensive) boots have finally arrived and they fit (just). Front legs are great but the back ones only just fit around the hocks.
A big thankyou to Avril on how to deal with difficult situations, as George clearly had never encountered these things before ;D
I decided to try one back leg first and he happily dozed whilst I fitted the thing.
Lulled into a sense of false security, I untied George and attempted to lead him around the yard. Well, he took off like a scalded cat. I have never seen a horse travel so fast on 3 legs, there was no way he was going to put the other one down. Thankfully he had the decency to bolt around me and stop when he got to the end of his lead rope, whereby he stood shaking his back leg like a horse being eaten alive by a boa-constrictor. Thankfully although he will happily rodeo around the field with the best of them he hasn't learnt to buck in the stable yard. Having calmed him down I had to persuade him to put the leg down, (my it must have been aching by now). I decided on the "go-back" approach, though I thought he would sit before putting his foot down. Eventually he put his foot down very very careful, turned and looked at it in disgust and then refused to move. So stand off time. I decided to not take much notice, to scratch his ears and general mooch about at which point he felt that he just needed to adjust his balance. Ah ha, time to move. Bless him, he let me lead him about, though he was like a new born foal with the one leg. I positioned some minty treats for him to return to on our trip around the yard, and after 3 circuits they became more interesting than his travel boot.
Having learnt from this site that they have to learn both sides of the brain, I took the boot off and prepared the other leg. Exactly the same reaction except this time I was more prepared. Also George's brain hadn't forgotten about the treats at the end of the yard so he quickly settled. I decided to remove the back boots before commencing the same procedure with the front boots. He found these less of a problem, though he was walking like a new born foal through treacle, very funny ........
I decided to quit on a high, he is a very trusting boy but there does come a time when it all get too much for him and he gets mega anxious. That was Saturday.
Tonight (Monday) I had a quick ride around the block, and then decided to re-introduce the boots. The look on his face "Oh no, not those again". I started with a the front pair and initially he refused to move at all. Had I over done it , two at once? So I went over to the snacks and pretended to eat them, yum yum, crunch, crunch (tasted foul I have to say), and it was too much for George to bear. He struggled manfully over to help himself. I was then able to lead him around the yard in his ministry of funny walks mode until he settled down and then he got his reward. I was more careful of the back boots and did them one at a time. Again, the trying to shake them off but quickly accepting so that he could get his reward. When I put on the second one he was so funny. He was walking like he had been kicked in the privates, he just didn't want them to touch. I decided it was as much the sound they made when the rubbed together as the overall feel that he did not like. So lots of walking around the yard, and lots of treats. At the end I made him do some cross overs, started off as very small shuffles, and then gave him a big hug and took them off. George tried sooo hard, the tension visibly drained out of him once them were off. So much more practice so it becomes routine, but he is such a good boy as he was cleary freaked by the whole episode.
Erika & George