Spotty Botty has his first walk.

ycbm

ycbm

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Spotty Botty aka Ludo had his first walk out on the lead today!

And no sooner had we got out of the gate than the dustbin lorry came down the road. Great timing :) We were able to walk all round it while the man loaded our bin and the machinery whirred and clunked, and he wasn't bothered by it at all. Crisp packets, other bits of blowing rubbish, cars, bikes, all fine. Great big roadwork signs on the main road and a large flapping banner advertising the Rose Queen fete, all no issue. What a lovely boy!

He's maturing by the day and is almost strong enough for a short hack very soon now. I just need to teach him to leg yield first, to be able to move him over for cars.

His jaw is maturing and he's developing some lovely big jowls that are making his little nose look very dainty and his whole head look very Anglo Arab. I'm really falling for this horse!

News on the nail in the foot four weeks ago for anyone that was wondering is that I'm almost 100% certain we have got away with it. He has a fairly deep hole which was draining and if I plugged it his leg swelled. But now I think we have new sole at the bottom of it, as it's not sensitive at all any more. So fingers crossed the hole should now grow out. Whew, that was a close one!!
 
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Well done Spotty Botty lol.

I missed the nail in the foot drama. You have been incredibly lucky, as I am sure you know. Friend of mine was out on her stallion the day the Tour de France came through Kent. He stood on a nail in a little used bridleway and the race organisers wouldn't let a trailer through to pick him up so she has to lead him 5 miles home. 3 weeks in horsepital and a £7k bill later... He survived but it was very touch and go for a while.
 
I didn't know about that, I'm glad the horse survived. Shocking that the trailer wasn't allowed in.

Ludo had a one inch nail buried 3/4 inch in his foot, half way between the frog and the hoof wall and half way between the toe and heel. It must have been perilously close to the pedal bone if it wasn't actually touching it. I had a hospital lined up to get his foot cut open if it turned nasty, but it's now over four weeks and I think we have got away with it. Just a very slight possibility that the hole in his foot is actually a draining sinus, but it looks pretty unlikely.
 
What a good boy, sounds like he's really becoming the horse you want him to be! How old is he again?

Your story of the dustbin men reminds me of the time I was showing prospective buyers one of my old horses out on the road. Had never seen a motorbike in the village before and out of nowhere about 10 came by all at once. Pony didn't bat an eye!
 
SpringArising said:
What a good boy, sounds like he's really becoming the horse you want him to be! How old is he again?

Your story of the dustbin men reminds me of the time I was showing prospective buyers one of my old horses out on the road. Had never seen a motorbike in the village before and out of nowhere about 10 came by all at once. Pony didn't bat an eye!
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He's three, so I'm taking it all very slowly. He won't be asked to 'school' (by which I mean a few 30 m circles in walk and trot and some leg yield) for more than 15 minutes or do a hack longer than half an hour, or do either of those more than about twice a week, until next year.

I like him a LOT, he has a beautiful gentle temperament and for a three year old seems pretty unflappable, but alert and intelligent with it.
 
Spotty Botty.... I just love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well done Spotty Botty! 😃😃😃😃😃
 
Aww, that's great - it's quite fun walking a naturally very outgoing horse isn't it :D
 
Abi90 said:
Is that your own arena? What beautiful scenery? Ludo is also gorgeous
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Yes, it's mine. I bought it when my husband was at death's door with heart disease and I thought 'life's too short, why have I saved this money if I'm not going to spend it?' I'm absolute blessed, aren't I? I know it every single day.

I'm beginning to feel that Ludo may be my horse of a lifetime. There is 'something' about him.
 
OldNag said:
Ludo sounds lovelier and lovelier. I think you are going to have a lot of fun with him (it sounds like you already are!) :)
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I honestly think there is something special about him, and I've owned more than a few! He is bright, sharp and reactive, but not over reactive, he is loving and sweet, without being needy or clingy. I'm currently thanking my lucky stars the day I browsed Dragon Driving. I haven't felt like his about a horse since the one in my avatar.
 
I'm shocked to see that in a few hours this thread has 700 views. I can only conclude that there are either an awful lot of people waiting for him to buck me off, or that lots of people are interested in the process of backing and starting a young horse. I prefer to believe the second (though I've no doubt there are several of the first :) ) so I'll keep you all updated. Next stage is leg yield, so that we can move out of the way of cars in very narrow lanes, then a short hack out. And a visit to another new arena at a friend's house.
 
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He has a real turn of speed. He reminds me of my grey horse( the one that's my avatar) They move similarly. His botty is a bit spotty too. It's the only place he has any dapples left:D
 
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mule said:
He has a real turn of speed. He reminds me of my grey horse( the one that's my avatar) They move similarly. His botty is a bit spotty too. It's the only place he has any dapples left:D
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His mum's a racehorse, she just drags a person behind her :)

I'm impressed by the balance he shows when he takes off, and again when he stops almost dead.
 
My lads dad is a racehorse. He has the same balance yours has, very athletic. They're a pleasure to ride.
 
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Love reading your updates! It's been a while since I had a youngster but I remember how rewarding it is to back and bring on your own. Having said that I recently bought a pony who has turned out to be a lot greener (and probably younger) than we'd thought and I'm really looking forward to filling the gaps in his education.

He sounds pretty special and must have a lot of trust in you. :)
 
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