Using His Brain

I headed out to see TC on Friday morning fairly early so that I could get up to the Western States Horse Expo to meet my parents and approve of a saddle for Rico. I was glad that I got to see him, as I wasn't sure if I'd make it, since it was a lot little out of my way.

Look at that hippo!

I asked if I could come out (something I always do out of courtesy but they're nice about basically always saying yes) and I was told that I could see TC swim again!!I've seen TC swim once before and he just loves it. I'm so glad that it worked out after the fiasco that was trying to keep TC in the aquapacer.

When I got there, I had about twenty minutes to stuff him full of carrots before the guys came to get him for the pool. Once again, I forgot his brushes, ugh, but I didn't have a ton of time anyway. I made him do his tricks and told him that he was almost done with living in the box with no friends and no fun except his swimming and trotting for what I think is probably now longer than ten minutes.

Resting a foot, whaaat?

Someone came to get him and I followed. TC was MUCH better than last time. Before they swim the horses, they hose them down because it's less of a shock to their system getting in the pool and it prevents so much dust from getting into the pool.

Last time I was there, he spooked pretty big walking over there, and then stood ready to GTFO if something went wrong while they hosed him down. This time, he quietly walked over there, stood quietly tied, and even COCKED A FOOT while they were getting him ready. He spooked once and didn't even hit anything before stopping.

Let me tell you why that is relevant- he's a flighty little thing and almost always needs something to get in his way before he gets his brain back after spooking. This could be a human yanking on his face, a fence in his way, or pulling back and hitting the end of the lead rope. But this spook, nothing got in his way to make him stop. He spooked like he always does, but then stopped spooking without smashing into the fence, getting smacked by the guy working with him (they don't smack him but I would), or pulling back and hitting the end of the rope. He just used his brain.

Getting ready to go swim, can't wait to get ahold
of that upside down neck

Ugh his hair

Swimming was great! He was much quieter about the whole thing, just going in, doing his job, and quietly coming out. A lot of the time the horses come out amped and shoot out of the pool (TC did last time), but TC just quietly walked out. He even stayed quiet when a horse in the eurociser he was being lead by was leaping and biting the fence trying to get it to go faster than an amble. I genuinely wondered if he was sick for a few minutes.

TC got in his eurociser and seemed more relaxed about it too. He was still up against the front of it and I saw him bite it a few times because it wasn't going fast enough. Nothing like the cute little quarter horse type who was walking juuuust forward enough to not get his butt smacked by it. But it wasn't as frantic, he wasn't waiting back and then cantering forward and shaking his head to catch up, he wasn't as smashed against the front as he was last time.

Does this mean the magnesium is working? Or is he just getting used to everything? Or the trotting is calming him down? Or he was particularly bad the first time I saw him and particularly good this time? I don't know and I don't care. I just took it that this one day was a good day and I can't wait to get my pony home.

He even lets them hose his feet (and pick them
from both sides)

I headed out before he came off the eurociser. Not before heading to his stall and stacking the rest of his carrots against the wall where he had dismantled his feeder. I wish I could have stayed for him to come off the eurociser so I could have hung out with him more, but like I said Friday, I'm going to see him every day for a long long time (hopefully), so making myself miss him a bit just makes me feel more positive about him coming home.

After a lot of traffic, I completed my 4+ hours of driving that day (well, thirty minutes more waited me that night) and arrived at Horse Expo.

Resting a foot again!

After swimming, going in the eurociser

The first day of expo was only a half day because of TC. I wasn't really planning on going on Friday but my parents were going and we're still shopping for a saddle for my mom to use on Rico. I'm the picky one with the saddle fit, so I went to help them find something.

We went through each booth but I rejected a lot of saddles. Rico is fit now, which is good for him, but if we get something that is custom fit to him now, it won't fit him when I'm not riding him. I suggested a treeless saddle, but my mom said they were hideous. I'm also skeptical about them so that was fine.

We landed at this one place, with weird looking endurance saddles (only 13lbs!). They had trees built for gaited horses, so they were better suited to Rico's back, but then under the tree rather than having regular panels, there were foam panels that could be removed by velcro. They had little inserts you could put wherever the horse lacked muscle to change the fit of it. My mom loved the way it felt to sit in, so we wrote everything down and made tentative plans to haul Rico up closer to the lady so that she could fit him and teach me how to change it for later when he isn't as fit! I'm excited since TC will soon take Rico's saddle (and it will have to be changed to fit him), and I actually didn't hate this saddle. Not going to be easy to do dressage in, but it certainly beats riding him bareback on the trails.

Obviously we got a whinny, he's got to be loud
and obnoxious no matter what

The bulk of Expo will be covered in tomorrow's post, because on Saturday, after epic pony sleepover round two, I went with Peony and L!