The Ozzy Diaries

He went through a phase of being reluctant to open his mouth and take the bit; this was sorted out within a day thanks to clicker training. However, the swinging and kicking as soon as he clocked OH carrying the bridle is new behaviour. Once we’d got the bridle in roughly the right area, he was OK to have it put on.

Swinging and kicking out just because he saw the saddle coming towards him has never happened before today. I think that this, coupled with the discomfort on the left side, means that I should give him the benefit of the doubt & assume that this is a field injury, either from a kick in the gut or pulling something when he was prancing and leaping.
 
My cob, like Ozzy, can definitely be an opinionated git at times! She has been known to bronc (though by the sounds of it, not to the Ozzy extent!) with me on board when asked to trot away from her friend. Afterwards, I let her calm down for about 30 seconds while I readjusted myself, and we carried on our merry way as though nothing had happened!

Cob isn’t that playful out in the field, so if she’s had a break for a while, there would be no way I’d get on without lunging beforehand! She behaves deceptively sensibly on the lunge until you ask for a canter, and then she’ll go for a full-pelt gallop (I have a 35m lunge line, so she’ll be alright). Once she’s blown off her steam, she’ll be absolutely fine to ride as long as she’s in reasonably regular work. I also find that lunging helps me establish voice cues and general good habits, it also allows me to establish spook-deescalation patterns from the ground. If you’re not already, lunging might be really useful!

I do have another suggestion, but I’m not sure it’s entirely suitable at this stage.

I’d take the positive, and try not to dwell on the negative too much, maybe write the exact location of tenderness and the behaviour associated in a notebook to keep track of any escalations of pain/behaviour? I think benefit of the doubt seems absolutely reasonable at this point.

You’re still doing a brilliant job with him! And you’re absolutely doing your best for him!
 
Well, we've just been out to give them their evening feed and I noticed that Ozzy has 'chewed' a patch on his left hand side, close to where he seemed uncomfortable earlier. He is now reacting, visibly, to even slight pressure there.
We've worked out that whatever it is, it must have happened on Thursday. He wasn't sore on Wednesday and the first we knew was the bucking yesterday.
It seems worse today than yesterday; I know that can be a thing with humans (ie, being more sore two days after) but no idea if that's the case with horses.
He's moving about OK so we'll continue with the plan (no tack but some groundwork/leading).

In a way I'm really hoping that the behaviour is down to the injury - whatever it is - rather than a lapse in behaviour. And that's part of the problem; because Ozzy is a bolshy so-and-so, it's not easy to tell!
 
Are either of you good enough at long reining to hack him out with your other pony using long reins?
I hope you track down what the problem is.
 
Sounds like he does have some discomfort then.

99% of the time, IME, when they object to tack like that, whether it's bridle or saddle, it's due to pain somewhere.

I'd probably monitor and keep up with some ground work (no tack) and whatnot as long as it doesn't bother him. You just don't want to create too strong of a tack/work = pain association.

He's a horse, so who knows what he could've done! They're always finding all sorts of ways to hurt themselves.
 
Nancykitt said:
Well, we've just been out to give them their evening feed and I noticed that Ozzy has 'chewed' a patch on his left hand side, close to where he seemed uncomfortable earlier. He is now reacting, visibly, to even slight pressure there.
We've worked out that whatever it is, it must have happened on Thursday. He wasn't sore on Wednesday and the first we knew was the bucking yesterday.
It seems worse today than yesterday; I know that can be a thing with humans (ie, being more sore two days after) but no idea if that's the case with horses.
He's moving about OK so we'll continue with the plan (no tack but some groundwork/leading).

In a way I'm really hoping that the behaviour is down to the injury - whatever it is - rather than a lapse in behaviour. And that's part of the problem; because Ozzy is a bolshy so-and-so, it's not easy to tell!
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Well this does sound like he is in pain. This will be easier to deal with hopefully then any behavioural issue. Hope he feels better soon.
 
I haven't read everyone's suggestions but if he was mine I would start by looking at this as Kevin the Teenager feeling pretty bliddy good and wanting a challenge to see how far he could push it. It may be a hundred different things eg saddle etc but that is where I would start so I had ruled out the obvious, First step for me would be to make Kevin feel "not so bliddy good" There is still a lot of grass about, this is high sugar Autumn grass. I posted in the EMS thread on here yesterday about the effect miniscule amount of grass and leaves had on the behaviour of one of my horses, sent him completely out of his tree. Got rid of the diet problem and he is back to reality.

I would get him off grass, pen him off, fence him off whatever is possible for several days to test if it made a difference to his behaviour. I would also cut out the grass nuts and feed something like your honeychop mixed with soaked sugar beet (washed to get the molasses out) or equibeet etc if you can get it up there. Well soaked hay. Absolutely bog standard basic poor quality diet. Nothing in there that could cause a problem. Bulk it out with something like Dengie meadow lite with herbs which is low sugar. Just low sugar forage.

If he started the hind leg kicking out he would know every swear word possible delivered in a very harsh voice as I explained that he would get out of my way. Sorry no treats/ clickers or anything else for me. Kevin to my mind needs to know the boundaries. Keeping people safe is number one priority.

I would exercise daily (several times if possible) on a lunge line, if he tries to come in at you and challenge you I would use 2 lunge lines and a rollar to keep them up/in place. Lots of stops, starts and start listening to me. If you haven't used 2 lines before have a go on one of your other horses first. I suspect that once you start on the lunge Kevin may well give a good bucking display of his annoyance.

I would then after several days tie things to the rollar. I have tied lots to it. All sorts of clothing, wellies hanging down and bashing their sides as they trot, anything you can think of. If he cannot safely trot on the lunge with wellies hittig his sides where the rider's legs go then it's not going to be brilliant for a rider. I have also used a dummy. Men's overalls stuffed. Either placed over the rollar or "sitting up"
I know you haven't done much long reining but as you get good with 2 lunge reins put some traffic cones etc down and do some bending in the long reins. If you get this far put a saddle on, stirrups down and lunge/long rein.

After a week of that then any field injury should have had chance to improve, you will have ruled diet in or out and he will have had a lot of desensitising. I suspect he didn't get much of that in his earlier training/breaking. Then you can step back and revaluate where you have got to and what next and no one should have got hurt. .
 
I know that some of you have suggested long reining… we have zero experience of this and I’d rather not be learning the ropes with a horse that’s potentially in pain, even though I can see it would be a useful strategy in the future.
I appreciate that many in England suffered from a very dry summer, but we had a lot of rain from July onwards. There is pretty much no grass left in the field but there is a lot of mud (& surface water). I can’t soak the hay as all three feed from the haybell.
We will exercise him every day (groundwork and leading out), but until I’m sure that there is no physical pain I’m a bit reluctant to focus on behaviour modification. He won’t be tacked up for a little while and then we’ll re-assess.

There’s no rush, as long as we don’t leave him for weeks again we can keep an eye on things. It was unfortunate that he had the break, but sadly neither of us can afford to retire just yet - and the weather has been shocking! We get 40-50 mph winds as standard here, plus heavy rain - and the few days following Storm Amy were worse than the storm itself!
 
Just keep plugging away, doing something anything

While long reining is a great thing I feel with a bolshy cob I would prefer lunging and walking our, but only because I can see ozzie getting the hump, objecting and getting in a terrible tangle at some point so taking a step back and upsetting everyone

I start by ensuring any longreining is only ever started when pony is very well behaved and responsive inhand and obedient on the lunge 100 pet cent, then you are setting em for success, bolshy cobs are just so strong and full of challenging ideas

And totally agree with what you said earlier about Miles on the clock, one of my fav sayings

And yes he could well have been kicked by fieldmate, I think ours was
 
I keep notes on everything we do with Ozzy and I was reading through them last night.
On 26th September we got him out, groomed/tacked up/went for a hack. He didn't do a single thing wrong. Very calm and biddable.
Out of the hack he behaved a lot better than AJ who was scared by a big crane/telehandler type thing at the community hall.
No napping, no spooking, did exactly as he was told.

I then went away for a week (work). I drove back through Storm Amy and the weather then got worse. So we did nothing with the horses apart from feed them and check they were OK.

The next time Ozzy was ridden was Wednesday this week. He was OK apart from a bit of napping on the way out.
And then Friday we had the bucking, yesterday the kicking out when he saw the tack - coupled with the soreness on his left side.

Considering how good he was in late September, either he regressed massively or picked up an injury (or some other cause of pain). Or possibly both?

It was reassuring to read about how good he was last month because when we're facing challenging behaviour it's easy to forget the good stuff.

We just have to get to the bottom of it.
 
I'm probably barking up a totally random tree but thought I'd throw it out there - has Ozzy been tested for PSSM type 1 at all?

It can cause random explosive behaviour, would explain his reaction after time off, would also explain a few other things too. I know you can test by pulling some hair and sending it off x Horses with PSSM type 1 can be ridden and have normal horse life, but have to have diets adjusted, some need extra rugging etc - it's about finding what works for your particular horse x
 
Rigs is now a wonderful horse, but he went through bolshy stages.

One time, early on, I went to give more hay in his shelter and he turned his backside on me and reversed at me, kicking out. I was furious! I totally understood that he'd just been starved for EMS reversal, and was resource guarding, but that was NOT appropriate under any circumstance!

Rigs found out that I was pretty good at resource guarding too. I threw (literally) everything at him. Haynet, bucket, rope, voice, me...

I went to get a whip and made him back away from the haynet.

He now stands back politely and waits for his net.

One other thing...

At this time of year, Rigs can get grumpy about being ridden. I initially thought ulcers (what with the restricted feeding) but he was very naughty. The first year he both bit and kicked. He was reprimanded and resorted to pulling faces only, but he was not happy.

It was his long hair! It was catching in the girth and pulling. I clipped his belly and the problem disappeared.

These days, if something bothers Rigs he tells me and I listen, so it doesn't get to biting or kicking or whatever. I'm sorry but whatever the issue, kicking and biting, or whatever, is simply NOT allowed, so he will be reprimanded and then I look for what the issue is. I guess some would say I was wrong to drive him back from the haynet as it was certainly not pretty. But drive him back I did, as he was a bolshy sod!

I do think these robust cobs are very up front and wear their heart on their sleeve, and they have to be shown that violence to humans is never a productive way to explain their issues.
 
What red said

I find my half cob is an ingenious into everything demon at times, so strong, designed to use weight and boldness at the same time, I don't think they are an especially easy option but sure some are quieter than others, but after all they are work horses at least in part and in years gone by used up a lot of energy working all day

On the plus side once under control they have endearing characters, can be very solid when ridden out and mine gives off that vibe that is calming , Co operative, loving and a sense of confidence in himself without nervousness which I can't stand

I think in view of their strength a thorough pre backing training period is of benefit for all concerned and is a great investment, and any time spent on general manners makes life much easier for them
 
tristars said:
What red said

I find my half cob is an ingenious into everything demon at times, so strong, designed to use weight and boldness at the same time, I don't think they are an especially easy option but sure some are quieter than others, but after all they are work horses at least in part and in years gone by used up a lot of energy working all day

On the plus side once under control they have endearing characters, can be very solid when ridden out and mine gives off that vibe that is calming , Co operative, loving and a sense of confidence in himself without nervousness which I can't stand

I think in view of their strength a thorough pre backing training period is of benefit for all concerned and is a great investment, and any time spent on general manners makes life much easier for them
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Yes, this is Rigs now. He gives of a really comforting vibe. He is not nervous of such as paper bags, flapping flags etc. He is the same in wind and sun. He is absolutely full of character, clever, ingenious, strong and up-front. But, to train, wasn't especially easy.
 
AppyLover1996 said:
I'm probably barking up a totally random tree but thought I'd throw it out there - has Ozzy been tested for PSSM type 1 at all?

It can cause random explosive behaviour, would explain his reaction after time off, would also explain a few other things too. I know you can test by pulling some hair and sending it off x Horses with PSSM type 1 can be ridden and have normal horse life, but have to have diets adjusted, some need extra rugging etc - it's about finding what works for your particular horse x
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I have to admit that PSSM did occur to me. There are a couple of things that are symptomatic - namely the napping/ reluctance to move forward (although this improved massively) and the bad reaction to the saddle (which has only happened once, but could be it...) He's not tied up, sweated excessively, camped out, got hard muscles or moved stiffly.
At the moment I'm not sure how he'd feel about letting me pull hairs out of his mane (!), but it may well be something to do in the future, hopefully just to rule out PSSM1.

Having said that, he has 24/7 turnout and a low starch diet, so other than the daily exercise (and possibly vitamin E/selenium), the regime is similar to treatment for PSSM. All of the lads have oily herbs.

We've just taken Ozzy and AJ out for a walk in hand. Ozzy was incredibly calm and compliant, moving nicely, looking relaxed, no issues at all. They both had a 5 minute graze on the way back and were very happy.
We want him to associate going out with really nice, positive things - hopefully we'll be able to take him out in hand most days and this will help.

Cobs are a law unto themselves. Snoopy was a real handful as a youngster, but got better and better. I love riding him now because he's a lovely old plod, but he was a bit too 'characterful' for me most of the time! He and Finn, my unicorn Connie, were like chalk and cheese; Finn was a gorgeous, kind and placid soul, always looking to please. Snoopy is - well, 100% cob.
 
Regarding PSSM. My 13.2 Fell X cob tested negative fo PSSM1. He had some very worrying symptoms which even led the vet to think he had wobblers. This was ruled out at Donnington equine hospital and the only thing found was raised muscle enzymes after exercise. Not high enough to be a real red flag but he has done well since on a high dose of natural vitamin E, living out 24/7 all year round, regular exercise, and I have just started him on tri-aminos which seem to be perking him up. Apparently some horses can just be permanently deficient in vitamin E from various causes. I also use devil's claw if he seems uncomfortable. As he responded well to this regime I did not do any further testing, it was easy enough to do a vitamin E trial to confirm our suspicions. He is now a fairly mellow (for him!) individual doing low level schooling and regular hacking.
 
Nancykitt said:
I have to admit that PSSM did occur to me. There are a couple of things that are symptomatic - namely the napping/ reluctance to move forward (although this improved massively) and the bad reaction to the saddle (which has only happened once, but could be it...) He's not tied up, sweated excessively, camped out, got hard muscles or moved stiffly.
At the moment I'm not sure how he'd feel about letting me pull hairs out of his mane (!), but it may well be something to do in the future, hopefully just to rule out PSSM1.

Having said that, he has 24/7 turnout and a low starch diet, so other than the daily exercise (and possibly vitamin E/selenium), the regime is similar to treatment for PSSM. All of the lads have oily herbs.

We've just taken Ozzy and AJ out for a walk in hand. Ozzy was incredibly calm and compliant, moving nicely, looking relaxed, no issues at all. They both had a 5 minute graze on the way back and were very happy.
We want him to associate going out with really nice, positive things - hopefully we'll be able to take him out in hand most days and this will help.

Cobs are a law unto themselves. Snoopy was a real handful as a youngster, but got better and better. I love riding him now because he's a lovely old plod, but he was a bit too 'characterful' for me most of the time! He and Finn, my unicorn Connie, were like chalk and cheese; Finn was a gorgeous, kind and placid soul, always looking to please. Snoopy is - well, 100% cob.
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Type 1 is very quick, cheap and easy for you to eliminate; type 2 potentially a nightmare - particularly if you want your vets on board to test, because this is clearly not an emergency situation.
Ozzy’s most recent behaviour / symptoms could have been a coincidental insect sting, pony licking his sore side subsequently;
could be the consequence of all sorts of pathological and other possibilities….
including a rather arsy cob who might benefit more from being advised the error of his ways, and given something slightly more taxing to do on a regular basis!
You two could spend an awful lot of money ‘investigating’ an awful lot of ‘suggestions’ - and be no further forward.
 
23rd October
Ozzy goes out for a meal

We have been leading Ozzy out in hand and monitoring his behaviour. OH has also been doing some groundwork with him.
Yesterday it was cool and windy; all three horses were having fun in the field, tearing around, bucking...none of them, including Ozzy, were having any problems moving around at impressive speed!

Today I rode Snoopy on the way out while OH was leading Ozzy; we stopped for a little graze and then swapped round.

Ozzy is very well behaved at the moment. He seems relaxed and happy and absolutely loves going out for a graze.
He is really easy to lead, doesn't pull, doesn't do anything silly.

We're going to carry on like this for a little while longer before we try him with tack again.

The only change we have made to diet is to start a vitamin E/selenium supplement as 95% of their diet is hay.

The big problem with Ozzy's behaviour is that there could be so many causes.
Bucking under saddle: could be a back issue, soft tissue problems, PSSM, being very green (plus 101 other things) - or simply Ozzy saying 'no, I don't want to do any work today.
Same with his aversion to being tacked up last weekend. Could be pain related; might just be Ozzy saying no. And putting his ears back is one thing - spinning and kicking is another and is definitely not acceptable!

For now we're just getting him to relax and enjoy his trips out. No rush.

(He looks odd in this photo - like he has an enormous body and very short legs! But he was so happy today.)

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I am almost in the same position with my pony. Coincidently, another one that was backed late (just turned 6 years in my case). The problem we have is that as we don't know what "normal" is yet, finding the underlying cause is so difficult.
 
Tarragon said:
I am almost in the same position with my pony. Coincidently, another one that was backed late (just turned 6 years in my case). The problem we have is that as we don't know what "normal" is yet, finding the underlying cause is so difficult.
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I know exactly what you mean by not knowing what 'normal' is yet!

I do think the late-backed thing is interesting, though. I've discussed it with a few people and the general consensus was 'better late than too early'.
Like your pony, Tarragon, Ozzy was backed at 6.
We got Snoopy when he was 4, hadn't been backed for long and was described as a 'confidence giver'. To be fair, at first he was green but totally safe.
Just before he hit 6 we got an attack of the Kevins. It wasn't pleasant at times but we worked through it.
I'm thinking - if they are backed late, does this mean that they can still go through a sort of 'teenage' patch but it gets delayed?
If so, this would explain a lot!
But I also suspect that many things are related to how the horse was handled from 0-6. I do wonder if Ozzy was a spoilt foal and hasn't really been taught enough about respect for space, etc.
I'd like to do a bit of research on horses that were backed from 6 years on.
 
Nancykitt said:
I know exactly what you mean by not knowing what 'normal' is yet!

I do think the late-backed thing is interesting, though. I've discussed it with a few people and the general consensus was 'better late than too early'.
Like your pony, Tarragon, Ozzy was backed at 6.
We got Snoopy when he was 4, hadn't been backed for long and was described as a 'confidence giver'. To be fair, at first he was green but totally safe.
Just before he hit 6 we got an attack of the Kevins. It wasn't pleasant at times but we worked through it.
I'm thinking - if they are backed late, does this mean that they can still go through a sort of 'teenage' patch but it gets delayed?
If so, this would explain a lot!
But I also suspect that many things are related to how the horse was handled from 0-6. I do wonder if Ozzy was a spoilt foal and hasn't really been taught enough about respect for space, etc.
I'd like to do a bit of research on horses that were backed from 6 years on.
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My Highland was backed at 9/10! He was feral until he was 8/9. Long story. Properly feral. Unhandled until they rounded him up.

On the ground, he's incredibly respectful of space and rules. You can lead him in a group of three, and if the other two are being total twats, he's *not* the one you have to watch. He's being a very good boy while you sort out the other horses.

I brush him and tack him up loose in the stable. Nae borra.

Under saddle, he can be sharp and reactive. Never aggressive. Never tries to lose a rider. Just gets worried. The only person who's ever fallen off him was a friend who thought my foot soldier husband had checked the girth, and he thought she'd checked the girth, so when the pony spooked, the saddle went sideways. Not much you can do at that point. He's only thrown large bucks once (pigs were involved; he wasn't happy). He can do a fast spin or rocket launch, but fine to sit if you've got a velcro arse. And that's gotten so much better in the five years I've had him.

He has limitations. When the yard puts on its wee shows, navigating him through them to get to the trails is an epic. You'll never show him. Nae danger. I don't think he'd adapt well to being trailered here and there. Solo hacking is a thing I don't think he can manage, not here anyway. I tried. As of this writing, he can follow a foot soldier on trails he knows, but if you get adventurous, like venturing onto new trails or urban hacking, it gets tense. My mare (who I bought as a 2yo and backed myself) is very, very good at these things. I've ridden her past train stations, through town centres.... If I'd tried harder with Fin, would he be better at solo hacking or dealing with weird sh1t? I obviously put a hell of a lot of effort into the PRE, but she seemed more willing and able to take on the things I asked of her. If Fin had been my only horse, would we have got through these issues because I had more time and no youngster, or would we just get frustrated? Is Hermosa the best thing that ever happened to Fin, because I don't need to ask anything of him? I can just enjoy him for what he is, what he can do, and if I want to ride down Milngavie High Street, she's up for it. I don't know. It's always a question that bugs me.

If Fin had been caught as a baby and backed and gentled at 3/4, I think he'd be a totally different horse. I am sure of that.
 
Could you ride and lead as he is easy to lead?

You could go a little further this way and give him more exercise in a way it sounds like he enjoys. Then maybe pop a roller on for a few trips then the saddle so he associates the saddle with fun stuff/easy stuff rather than work.

Red has a good point about the long hairs pulling, is it worth giving him a bit of trim up behind his elbows and under his tummy where the girth sits. We all know what a caught hair feels like in a sensitive area.
 
Caol Ila said:
My Highland was backed at 9/10! He was feral until he was 8/9. Long story. Properly feral. Unhandled until they rounded him up.

On the ground, he's incredibly respectful of space and rules. You can lead him in a group of three, and if the other two are being total twats, he's *not* the one you have to watch. He's being a very good boy while you sort out the other horses.

I brush him and tack him up loose in the stable. Nae borra.

Under saddle, he can be sharp and reactive. Never aggressive. Never tries to lose a rider. Just gets worried. The only person who's ever fallen off him was a friend who thought my foot soldier husband had checked the girth, and he thought she'd checked the girth, so when the pony spooked, the saddle went sideways. Not much you can do at that point. He's only thrown large bucks once (pigs were involved; he wasn't happy). He can do a fast spin or rocket launch, but fine to sit if you've got a velcro arse. And that's gotten so much better in the five years I've had him.

He has limitations. When the yard puts on its wee shows, navigating him through them to get to the trails is an epic. You'll never show him. Nae danger. I don't think he'd adapt well to being trailered here and there. Solo hacking is a thing I don't think he can manage, not here anyway. I tried. As of this writing, he can follow a foot soldier on trails he knows, but if you get adventurous, like venturing onto new trails or urban hacking, it gets tense. My mare (who I bought as a 2yo and backed myself) is very, very good at these things. I've ridden her past train stations, through town centres.... If I'd tried harder with Fin, would he be better at solo hacking or dealing with weird sh1t? I obviously put a hell of a lot of effort into the PRE, but she seemed more willing and able to take on the things I asked of her. If Fin had been my only horse, would we have got through these issues because I had more time and no youngster, or would we just get frustrated? Is Hermosa the best thing that ever happened to Fin, because I don't need to ask anything of him? I can just enjoy him for what he is, what he can do, and if I want to ride down Milngavie High Street, she's up for it. I don't know. It's always a question that bugs me.

If Fin had been caught as a baby and backed and gentled at 3/4, I think he'd be a totally different horse. I am sure of that.
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Lots there that match my experience. My pony was effectively conservation grazing until I got him as he turned 6. He finds the world a very scary place, and despite my best efforts, all my usual arsenal of tricks, which is mostly hacking and ground work, has not been as effective as I would have hoped.
I think my fundamental problem is he has spent so long being solely responsible for his own safety, he is not prepared to hand over the responsibility to anyone else! So, whether we are hacking alone or in company makes very little difference. I did manage to complete the Hack 1000 mile challenge with him (mostly early morning rides and carefully chosen routes) and to answer your question "If I'd tried harder with Fin, would he be better at solo hacking or dealing with weird sh1t?", sadly I am beginning to think not!
 
Mine was also backed at 6+ but the almost complete opposite background to CI and Tarragon's ponies. No turnout and extremely limited outside stimulation, barn kept so very well handled and trusting of people. She doesn't trust herself to keep herself safe as much as she trusts a person to do it. So the world is still scary but people are safe. Her go to stress response is freeze, I suppose as flight was never an option. Different but still with it's own difficulties, it was very easy for people to label her as lazy or obstinate as a result. The severe lack of movement as she was growing has been the biggest obstacle, which is maybe why I am so fast to jump to physical discomfort as a reason for everything. As time goes on we are finding that any "behavioural" problems have mostly been physical problems and her starting "normal" involved being chronically physically compromised, if not in acute pain.

With ones that have unusual younger years I suppose there is just more unknowns to unpick, and patterns that have had a long time to become established, before you even start to consider individual personalities.
 
26th October

Ozzy would like to show you all his brand new rug!

The temperature has really dropped and there was snow on the mountain tops yesterday. Plus lots of hail and non-stop rain, combined with cold winds. So we decided it was time to get out the 100g rugs.
We had no idea if Ozzy had ever had a rug on before, so we put them on AJ and Snoopy first. Ozzy was very interested! And then he seemed more than happy to be kitted out in his new outfit.
It's one of those situations where I went back in feeling so much happier - possibly even happier than the horses - that they would at least be kept dry. Ozzy seems fascinated with AJ's and Snoopy's rugs and keeps sniffing them. AJ and Snoopy consider this to be weird behaviour and don't look pleased, but they are tolerating it.

Look at how lovely and smart he looks in his royal blue rug! ❤️ He was in a very good mood today and extremely happy to get lots of fuss. We're hoping that the weather improves this week so we can get him out again.

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I bought a 12yo mare that had had several foals and had only had basic halter training. She was absolutely no trouble to back and train. She had a very sane head on her , likely from dealing with her babies. She was still feeding a yearling when I got her, though they told me it was weaned, and it took a while for her massive amount of milk to dry up. She became a successful mothers daughter share pretty quickly.
 
Nancykitt said:
26th October

Ozzy would like to show you all his brand new rug!

The temperature has really dropped and there was snow on the mountain tops yesterday. Plus lots of hail and non-stop rain, combined with cold winds. So we decided it was time to get out the 100g rugs.
We had no idea if Ozzy had ever had a rug on before, so we put them on AJ and Snoopy first. Ozzy was very interested! And then he seemed more than happy to be kitted out in his new outfit.
It's one of those situations where I went back in feeling so much happier - possibly even happier than the horses - that they would at least be kept dry. Ozzy seems fascinated with AJ's and Snoopy's rugs and keeps sniffing them. AJ and Snoopy consider this to be weird behaviour and don't look pleased, but they are tolerating it.

Look at how lovely and smart he looks in his royal blue rug! ❤️ He was in a very good mood today and extremely happy to get lots of fuss. We're hoping that the weather improves this week so we can get him out again.

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He looks absolutely gorgeous in blue! And very pleased with it 😀
 
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