Booster and Teeth

A follow up visit from the vet today involved Gobie getting a booster shot, and one last vaccine. He didn't let the doctor take his temperature this time, but the other parts went off without much event. He still tried to run away, mind you, but it was better than last time.

The really eventful part of the visit was Honey's dental care. I can't recall the last time I saw a horse get their teeth taken care of, so it was interesting to watch.

Honey, like most horses, had to be sedated to get her teeth tended to. Some of her teeth had gotten kind of sharp and had been causing her some discomfort. So it was time to have her teeth rasped. This involves squirting fluid into the horses mouth to rid it from any debris, strapping on a speculum to their head so they keep their mouth open and don't bite anyway, and brushing at the teeth with a rasp--kind of a big metal toothbrush that files away jagged bits.

Honey took the whole thing rather well, I thought. When she was done she was greeted by her boyfriend at the fence, and had no trouble getting back to eating.

Pretty Fancy

This weekend was another lazy one for Gobie and me. It was HOT and when these Maryland summers start getting humid and in the 90s the humans and animals seem to get on the same page and just want to hang out in the shade.

I'm a firm believe in hangout time being just as valuable as training. You can learn a lot about your horse while you're just spending time as pals. My favorite thing is just to be out in the field with Gobie and the other horses. Most often Gobie chooses to come to me all on his own, and I can groom and touch him all over without the benefit of a halter or lead rope.

The horse I had before Gobie was an open book. I personally knew her mother and father, who all of her previous owners were, where she lived her entire life and what she had done basically from the moment she was born. But Gobie's history for the most part is a mystery to me. I know he spent years at HorseNet Horse Rescue, and before that was part of an animal neglect case in Maryland. But who his parents were, what his life was like before the rescue, what he was taught or how he was treated is all lost in the wind.

But what I do know is that he's a pretty good pony.

Got any treats?

And it's fun to conjecture. Bonnie and a friend were out watching Gobie trot across the paddock and agreed that he looked gaited. Horses have different paces, most of them doing a walk, trot, canter or gallop. But some horses are what's called gaited and have an extra, ambling pace that's supposed to be a really smooth ride.

Bonnie and her friend further imagined that Gobie had some Paso Fino characteristics. Since we don't know who his parents were, it's hard to say if he's any particular breed of horse. Most likely he's what's called "Grade" which is basically the horse version of being a mutt--having different and/or undetermined breeding. Bonnie has a friend who breed Paso Finos, and she thought she might like to come out and take a look at him and give her opinion.

What we do know for sure is that he's a dun colored horse. Or, probably most technically a grullo horse. It's a kind of dun color, and he's got all the hallmarks:

Primitive striping on his legs.

Black tipped ears.

A dorsal stripe down his back.

And a cute tush.

Okay, so that last one isn't a grullo thing. Sometimes he looks pretty blue colored, but othertimes more yellow. It's kind of like having a chameleon horse. But so long as we're talking colors and markings, can we please talk about how cute the star on his forehead is?

Adorbs!

In addition to being a good pony, Gobie continues to be a ladies' man. He makes a fuss over his girl, Honey, who is probably almost ten years older than he is. And not to mention, a bit taller. She seems to enjoy his attention, though, and it's not the sort of attachment that causes an issue for the humans involved.

Honey was actually in season this weekend, and she was putting all the right moves on Gobie. He was attentive, but since he's a gelding, obviously couldn't do anything for her. He was gelded when he came to HorseNet at 3-years-old and I wonder if he ever did get a chance to help make any baby horses. He seemed kind of clueless about Honey, though, so probably not.

Honey is a beautiful looking horse and a good girlfriend I think.

Soon Gobie and I will have to start doing more complicated things. Since he's doing so well at the de-spooking and yeilding stuff, we'll probably move on to some lunging. And from there we'll try a bit of driving. Fingers crossed for some cooler weekends!