Ear Update and Halter Practice

Dickie's ear looks AMAZING!! I thought for sure he would rub the stitches out or his wound would get looking crusty. You won't even be able to tell he stitches once all is said and done. The vet comes out in a week and I am hoping that the evil little bugger will stay gone with one more treatment. If you have a horse with sarcoids you should seriously consider going the cisplatin route. I know there are a few creams out there but the horse usually ends up with a big wound while you are killing off the sarcoid. This was easy on Dickie and has better long term results.

After inspecting his ear we went over to the arena. We haven't been in the big arena for a couple of weeks. I have been focusing on manners in the stall, clippers, holding his feet up, and all the good citizenship stuff. We made it to the round pen a few times but the arena was crowded so we didn't go in and disturb the peace. I will be going to a show in just shy of two months. We have a long way to go if I expect survive the experience.

At this point he walks quite well on the lead rope. He knows "Hoa" and does his best to stop when I stop. Sometimes the devil takes a hold though and he wants to grab the rope then leap with his front legs. This used to be a constant battle but during most walks he only needs one or two well timed "Ahhahahaha" and he will make a better decision. Trotting is a different story. Me running next to him apparently turns me into a horse. This results in him leaping and jumping next to me with the occasional front leg thrown my way.

I steered clear of trotting in hand until I felt he was more aware of  my space and really understood  the difference between people and and horses. There was no use asking him to do something I knew he would fail at and putting my head in the striking range. I am happy to say that today went much better!! He still got really excited and did some leapkicking the first time we trotted. He is out of my personal space now so I am not in striking range when the wild mustang in his soul takes over. Even better he doesn't take much reminding that I am a human and we don't jump on the heads of humans. After that first lap he was very polite. I could tell he wanted to grab his lead rope and take charge but he didn't. It seems the teenage boy is learning some self control!! Next step is to start taking him in the arena with other horses.