Wolfie the Wonder Horse!

Wolfie the Wonder Horse!
Wolfie, 24/02/08

Sunday 15 February 2009

Who can't walk over tarpaulin?

Driving up to the yard today I was feeling really positive. The weather over the last three weeks has been absolutely awful. A combination of snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures. A blunt reminder that although the nights may be getting longer, it's still winter. I haven't been able to do any work with Wolfie at all as the ground has just been too hard or too slippy. Today was warmer and the sun was shining. As I drove up the driveway, Wolfie came cantering down to the gate. I grabbed his head collar and went to bring him in only to find he had lost a front shoe. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I had been desperate to ride him. He was only shod less than three weeks ago, but the fields are in a pretty horrendous state and the mud is really deep and thick after having been frozen for so long, a few of the other horses have sprung shoes. I won't risk riding without a front shoe incase he's foot sore or the foot starts to break up. I hope the farrier can fit him in early on this week. I brought him in anyway and decided to take him into the school as the surface was soft and do a little ground work with the 'dreaded' taurpalin. Again he acted pretty dramatically although it was folded up into a very small square on the ground. I worked him in the dually halter and then brought one of his turnout rugs in and layed that out flat. He was soon walking over that no problem, although every time he passed the offending black object he would snort and leap past it. Working in the dually halter again I managed to get him walking around the taurpalin. I unfolded it bit by bit, each time asking him to walk over it. The first few times he was able to jump it. As the area became bigger he would follow me over it, but at 100 miles per hour. Eventually he was walking back and forth over it when it was spread out fully. I was very, very pleased as due to his initial reaction to the tarpaulin I thought this might have developed into a bit of an issue. Wolfie loves praise and as he had an audience he was in his element. We achieved alot today and that made up for not being able to ride.

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