And let the vet bills begin...

I went out to the barn Sunday evening to check on Jinx and Izz and give them both some cookies. I came upon Jinx and noticed that there was something wrong with his left hind leg.

So $774 later...Jinx is on lots of drugs, stall rest, and has stitches in his left hind leg. He's got a wrap that needs to be replaced every other day.  He's not too happy, but I guess to look on the bright side, it could have been worse.

Already Spoiled

Jinx had an exciting week after his first ride. He made a new best friend!

Justy and Jinx were side by side inseparable since the moment we put them together.

Jinx has also been busy learning that breaking the velcro cross ties is not OK, and that getting hosed and fly-sprayed is not going to kill him. He has accepted the hosing/bathing part, not so much the fly spray part.

Today, he went out with his herd for the first time. The first thing he did was find a nice, big, lovely mud puddle. This was the end result.

He was COVERED in mud on his left side.

I went on a little shopping spree today and bought some black SMB boots. I lunged him in them today, and he didn't seem to care too much about the boots. After some pulling, and my deciding to put the chain back on his nose while I lunge him, we did manage to pick up a canter both directions. Tracking left, he first picked up his right lead canter, and then successfully picked up the left lead canter with ease. Tracking right, it took him several tries to pick up the right lead canter. He cantered a few strides to the right before I paused and brought him back to the walk and praised him up and down.

I picked up a Bates saddle w/ an interchangeable gullet that I am going to try on him tomorrow. It might be a bit too wide in the rear panels for him, but I imagine he has plenty of filling out to do still. We sticked him today...15.2 at the withers and 16.0 at the butt. I imagine he will easily mature to 16 hands, considering he is only 2 years 3 months old.

First Ride!

I was SO proud of the little boy last night! First I applied some MTG to his legs, and formaldehyde to his hooves. I showed my mom how to handle him (he really is easy). His only issue handling is that he has NO respect for your space, which for a 2 year old, I'm thankful is his ONLY leading issue. He doesn't like to tie very well, and keeps busting out of the cross ties (good thing they are safety velcro ties). I imagine that will come with time and a lot of patience. I also lunged him in tack for a short while, and he did fine. He got the hang of that right away. After all of that, I got my mom to lead him around while I sat on him. He did not care one bit. We walked around for a lap each direction of the ring, until I could feel his little 2 year old mind starting to have a boredom meltdown, so I hopped off.

I am so proud of my little boy. I don't think I will get on him too often. Maybe once a week or so just so that he doesn't "forget" that it's okay to let people ride him. I am waiting until he is 3 to actually start any real training.

The vet is coming out on the 23rd to do a full workup on him. I'm going to have her check his teeth before I put a bridle on him. I imagine that having a bridle on will actually HELP with Jinx's boredom issues under saddle...he'll have something to play with.

But fly spray IS the devil!

Jinx's only vice right now (besides normal 2 year old behavior) is that he HATES fly spray. He spent a good 20 minutes making me dizzy circling round and round me while I just lightly tried to spray NEAR him. That session ended well though...he was taking cookies out of my hands while I sprayed his butt. He's not 100% sure that fly spray won't kill him. Hell, he's not even 50% sure, but that's better than nothing! I suspect it will all come with time.

We also learned the basics of lunging (aka, yes, it IS okay for you to circle around me). He used this to his advantage when I was trying to fly spray him, I'm sure of it. We also walked over ground poles, trotted in hand (lord he is SO lazy).

We got hosed off, because water, too, is the devil. And we ended the session with a saddle on his back! I even laid across him, and he didn't care at all! I bet he was, however, wishing I had the stature of a jockey. Another picture!

Busy Boy

Jinx had a busy first day, which included unloading, figuring out that his life had been turned upside down, making some friends and lots of enemies, meeting his new big brother, getting hosed and brushed, learning it's okay to take treats and that they are actually really yummy, and our biggest task yet: learning that fly spray is NOT the devil. He also got his whiskers trimmed off and his bridle path cut.

Today, we had a horse show at our barn. Which meant lots of things for Jinx to look at and freak out about. He was a little leery of the chairs and people cheering and clapping, but he learned to deal with it. I took him on the trail in hand walking with Cortney, and he was well behaved, except for the pulling. He only stopped to spook at the dogs barking and some birds flying out of the bushes. I also held him outside the ring for a good few hours so that he could socialize with people and get used to all of the excitement. He was very, very well behaved given that he had been at this barn for less than 24 hours, and then we threw a horse show into the mix.

I tried to introduce him to his big brother today, but Izz was having no parts of this strange new horse that was eating up all of his Mom's attention.

And now for a few pictures!

Almost Here!

So it looks like Rinka's name might be Jinx after all.

I just got a call from the transporter, who said that after a few minutes of hesitation, Jinx loaded up just fine and is now on his way from Maryland to Richmond. He's coming with hay, a de-wormer, and I still need to get in touch with Ignat to see what he is eating so that I can feed him appropriately once he gets here. Words cannot describe how excited I am to see my new boy and welcome him home.

Pumula Horse Carriers (http://www.pumulahorsecarriers.com/) is taking care of the transport, and I am already satisfied with a decent price, contract, and update of everything.

All I have left to do is go by the bank so I can get some cash to pay for Jinx's shipment :)