update on Little Man

[MBennettp]

Hi everybody,

First of all, I have to get my scanner fixed so I can show everybody what was hiding in the skinny hairy body that we rescued a month ago.

Little Man has gained enough weight that you can no longer see his ribs and he is filled out in the flanks and hips. He has started shedding and his coat has a shine to it. His legs are straightening out with the weight gain and he is putting on muscle. He exercises himself. He is so full of life that every time you look, he is tearing around the pasture. He quickly figured out that my hubby is the carrot king and will run right past me to go to him.

He has slowed down on the hay consumption, he was cleaning up about a third of a bale a day and has slowed down to about 2 blocks a day. I guess he figured out that there will always be hay for him and he doesn't have to stuff himself.

He has been wormed and has figured out that he really likes being groomed.

He will be gelded soon. We waited for him to gain weight and strength and he is ready. He is going to make my grandkids one nice gelding to play with. I just wish I could have gotten him before AMHR closed their hardship, I would really have liked for the kids to have been able to show him. He has the sweetest personality and shows that he has been well loved if not well fed. His only bad habit is that he hates having the halter put on but once it is on, he is fine. He is slowly learning that having a halter on is not a bad thing.

You were all correct when you said I had a diamond in the rough. He is beautiful!

Mary

 

[kaykay]

i am so happy things are going so well for him. he is so blessed that you found him. I keep telling people its just so rewarding to take one in and watch them turn around.

 

[bfogg]

Hello Mary,

Good job!! what a lucky boy to have landed with you!

Do me a favor and take his halter and turn it over and run your hand up the holes on the part of the halter that goes behind his ears. In a nylon halter many of those grommets become like razor blades, whenever I find a horse that hates the halter many times it is caused by this.

Again thank you for saving this little guy!

Hugs,

Bonnie

 

[MBennettp]

Thanks Bonnie,

The grommets were the first thing that I checked as it is a new halter. There isn't a problem with them, I think the problem is that the only time he has had a halter on was when we brought him home and he is afraid that he might have to go somewhere else. He is discovering that when he allows us to halter him, he gets to go outside the lot to graze. We hold them and let them graze since the rest of the pasture is not horse proofed.

We trimmed his feet this morning and he was really good. He got carrots after each hoof so he now thinks it is a treat. We have been cleaning them daily but this was the first day that I had help and time before work to trim them. The only thing that we still have to do is have him gelded and thin his mane.

I can't wait until it is warm enough to bathe and clip him. We might not have to clip much since he is shedding at a record rate. He leaves a hair carpet every time he rolls and brushing him is a chore because of the amount of airborne hair.

His massive mane really needs to be thinned though, it is very heavy. It is beautiful and I won't cut it but I will thin it.

We are really pleased with the rapid rate of recovery that this little boy has shown. He is a joy to be around. I can't wait to cart train him!

Mary