Adventures with Ginger

[Skye'sDucks]

lol yes! Horses are so funny with how expressive they can be. The only 2 other lesson horse mares that I got to ride/work with are super sweet (one actually died of bad colic a few years ago) so a lot of the time I couldn't quite understand what the 'typical' mare was that everyone stereotyped online or talked about. It wasn't until I worked with Ginger that I realized that stereotype is very much true--at least for some horses.

And I love your gelding's 'honorary mare' title--lol!

And yeah, I agree. Every abused or neglected horse deserves love. Part of Ginger's head shyness also comes from an accident--I think I have shared this story before on here? They tried to fit her in a too-small trailer apparently and she injured her eye, and to treat it they used a spray bottle and just sprayed whatever they used into her eye.

I'm glad I can be of help to you too, in some form or fashion. I agree that it is lovely to talk horses with other people and learn from one another. There seems to be so many different ways to approach training horses and working with them, so it's always great to learn from each other and see how each different person does things!

You put that beautifully about horsemanship, too. There's nothing wrong with 'push button' horses, because some horses are amazingly trained and it's fascinating to see what they can do, but if you only focus on having 'the best of the best' and only ever ride such expensive, fancy horses you'll never learn true horsemanship or how to ride. It is so much more rewarding and fun to see accomplishments done with horses who push us and teach us different things.
And what you say about horses who have their own quirks or issues who teach us to be true horsemen and women rings very true to me. Our barn's lesson horses are largely either rescues or retired horses, and each have their own 'bag of tricks' that certainly teach you to ride and become equestrians!

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Also, as another mini update on Ginger: I officially introduced neck reining today!

So to back up...The other week I discovered Ginger goes great in her halter, so I ended up buying myself a pair of clip-on reins to take her out for walks or to mess around with little things like neck reining on days I can't actually take her for a hard ride. On Monday it was actually raining and I really didn't want my tack to get wet so I just clipped the reins on, threw a bareback pad on (there's one I can borrow), and went out and rode until the rain got too hard lol.

Anyways, the other day I saw an interesting way of teaching neck reining, which was using a lead rope. The trainer didn't have his full method for free but I decided I'd try out using the lead rope as something nice and heavy to use on her neck. Her reins I have on her actual bridle are very light (rope/fabric) so she probably never really feels them, so I might have to get something heavier to continue this in actual rides.
Ginger was actually super responsive and was neck reining a bit! I was honestly a little surprised she picked it up so fast. She was doing pretty good for bending--not always getting her nose in but that'll just take time and for her to keep building muscle.

Hopefully we can keep practicing with the lead rope + clip on reins (which honestly are just as heavy or a teeny bit more than her official reins lol) and she'll start picking it up enough to start it in our regular rides!
It's been my goal all along to get her to go 'true western' and do one-handed with neck reining so this is very exciting to finally achieve a step toward this mile stone. I probably could have done it sooner with her, but at the same time I think since others ride her--especially english--it was just as crucial to get her used to direct pressure and learn to steer with leg, seat, direct rein, and get her to bend and and respond to other cues first.

Here's Ginger modeling my colorful new set of clip-ons:

 

[littledog]

There's nothing wrong with 'push button' horses, because some horses are amazingly trained and it's fascinating

Agree totally! I didn't mean to imply riding them is "cheating" necessarily, just that people who only ever ride perfectly-trained horses are missing out on a lot of horsemanship, and maybe that's why they get bored and quit.
Same thing with those of us who never get to ride push-button horses, we're missing an important part of riding, as well. It's so lovely to ride super-trained horses, we get to learn what it feels like to give light aids and get beautiful responses, teaching us the feeling to aim for when working with our not-so-advanced horses.

Here's Ginger modeling my colorful new set of clip-ons

So cute! I know pretty much nothing about Western riding, but Ginger looks pretty relaxed and happy there, and I bet she enjoys being ridden without a saddle and the only pressure coming from the weight of reins on her halter.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Agree totally! I didn't mean to imply riding them is "cheating" necessarily, just that people who only ever ride perfectly-trained horses are missing out on a lot of horsemanship, and maybe that's why they get bored and quit.
Same thing with those of us who never get to ride push-button horses, we're missing an important part of riding, as well. It's so lovely to ride super-trained horses, we get to learn what it feels like to give light aids and get beautiful responses, teaching us the feeling to aim for when working with our not-so-advanced horses.

Oh yeah, I totally understand! And I agreed with your first post, I was just adding in the 'other side' I saw to it as well. You make a great point as well about being able to ride well trained horses, too!

A lot of our lesson horses at our barn have their own little bag of 'tricks' that make them a little more difficult to ride, although they certainly teach you to ride. The few horses we have that are well trained always feel like such a treat after riding the others. My trainer has said the same thing, that we have to ride all kinds of horses because just riding one type (difficult ones, well trained ones, or even green ones like Ginger) can teach you all kinds of habits or not be so beneficial for you as a rider.

So cute! I know pretty much nothing about Western riding, but Ginger looks pretty relaxed and happy there, and I bet she enjoys being ridden without a saddle and the only pressure coming from the weight of reins on her halter.

Thank you! Yeah, I agree that she seems pretty happy to go in her halter. I've been enjoying it too--also doing more bareback rides as well! It's really helped me as a rider since I never really got to ride bareback at all for a long time. But yeah, I think she enjoys having a break from tack.

Also, my trainer gave me a new bit to try with Ginger that's a little stronger and I have had to pull way less than normal, and after 2 rides in it she seems like she is getting more and more used to it (our first ride she was throwing her head a bit even though I wasn't pulling hard) so I think she will go pretty happy in a stronger bit like this since it requires a much more gentle and smaller touch than constant pull and release. Our second ride yesterday she wasn't really throwing her head at all, only once or twice. We had her in a snaffle with a dog bone in the middle beforehand, so we always kinda knew that for Ginger it was more a training bit and we could upgrade, so it's been about due to try a new bit anyways since she's a fair way along with her training now.

The new one we have her in is called a tom thumb I believe, and I think we both will enjoy using it more since it has a much lighter touch! It's my goal to use mainly seat, leg, and hopefully soon neck rein with her (and largely that's what I can do now) but I like finally having a bit that doesn't require a ton of pulling on Ginger. Hopefully this will help us reach the goals I have set easier and she will be happier like I've said!

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Just dropping some pics here...I finally got a full-body comparison photo today for Ginger: I was awful at ever trying to keep track with good photos at the start lol but even so! You can see how far Ginger has come physically in just shy of a year.

I mean, I've been watching her pick up a little more weight and finally gain and develop muscle, but seeing side-by-side comparisons is pretty cool. Ginger is looking amazing and it's been so heart-warming and rewarding to see her transform physically and mentally.

This first photo was taken in February of this year, about a month or so after I began to work with her.

And today I just took this photo, after several months of working with her:

And yes, Ginger is looking for like the three pieces of hay she can occasionally find in the ring
She stands great though and I don't mind her looking around so long as her feet don't move. I do not attempt this at all in the barn isle though, because I know she has a favorite past time called 'running away'. She's never attempted it with me, although I usually try not to give her any chances lol. This is just prep to get her used to what dropping the lead rope means...Can't say I'll ever succeed in teaching her to ground tie, but a main thing I want is just for her to stand still if say I had to go grab something and come back and she was already bridled or something. I just want to teach her to stand still for once and not to dash off looking for the nearest snack at every opportunity...

 

[littledog]

Definitely a positive difference - not that Ginger was super skinny or anything in the first picture, but for sure she's now developed more muscles on her topline, shoulders and rump. She no longer has to carefully set her legs to balance, she looks stronger and fit enough to stand however she wants to get her precious three pieces of hay!

I had a really scary situation with my horse last night! The barn manager texted me that Fiona was lying down flat on her side in her stall, trying to roll, and her poops were runny. She hadn't eaten her hay or drank her water, so of course the barn manager and me both feared she might be colicking. I rushed to the barn and we took turns, along with some other wonderfully helpful barn-mates, to keep walking her around while we waited for the vet. Her temperature was normal, but she was moaning and groaning, trying to stop and lay down, and her poops got more and more liquid. Normally when she's laying down, she has her legs tucked up under her and her head up, not laying flat out on her side. Poor Fiona girl, I was really scared - she's 23 years old, so if it was colic I wouldn't try to put her through a painful surgery and long recovery...thankfully it wasn't colic.

The vet took some blood to send out for testing, and put some of her poop in a veterinary latex glove, added water, and waited a while to see if any dirt or sand sunk to the bottom, to see if it might be sand colic. It wasn't, because she eats her hay out of a hay net, not off the ground. The vet also sent a poop sample to the lab, and injected some Banamine (reduces pain, as well as relaxes the gut muscles so she can poop more comfortably) and gave me paste-banamine to give her for the next few days, plus some other medicines to add to her grain and an extra mash, to reduce diarrhea.

I've never heard of this before, but the vet suspects Fiona might have a type of horse corona virus ! Yikes! Not the same virus that infects people, but a related type that horses can pass to each other. So we're waiting to hear back from the tests the vet sent out to see if it is, and in the meantime anybody who goes into Fiona's stall has to step their boots into a pail of bleach water afterwards. And the barn manager is supposed to take every horse's temperature every day, in case it's spread to other horses, in which case we'll need to quarantine.

I feel really bad for our barn manager, she might need to shut down the barn to outside horses, and she has several horses for sale. But I feel worse for myself - I have a huge vet bill that will take me awhile to pay for, and if Fiona does actually have this virus, she's saved every other horse and horse owner in our barn from having to suffer a lot of expense and possible heartache. We'll wait for the results of the tests the vet sent out.

But most of all, I feel bad for my poor girl Fiona. She's the one who had to suffer - but tonight she's doing a lot better. I've been giving her a warm mash with her medications in it, along with applesauce, alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. She slurps it up like it's the yummiest thing ever, and today she was more her happy, perky self, and her poops were normal.

I guess we'll know more when the vet's test results come back _ in the meantime, please wish us luck!

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Definitely a positive difference - not that Ginger was super skinny or anything in the first picture, but for sure she's now developed more muscles on her topline, shoulders and rump. She no longer has to carefully set her legs to balance, she looks stronger and fit enough to stand however she wants to get her precious three pieces of hay!

I had a really scary situation with my horse last night! The barn manager texted me that Fiona was lying down flat on her side in her stall, trying to roll, and her poops were runny. She hadn't eaten her hay or drank her water, so of course the barn manager and me both feared she might be colicking. I rushed to the barn and we took turns, along with some other wonderfully helpful barn-mates, to keep walking her around while we waited for the vet. Her temperature was normal, but she was moaning and groaning, trying to stop and lay down, and her poops got more and more liquid. Normally when she's laying down, she has her legs tucked up under her and her head up, not laying flat out on her side. Poor Fiona girl, I was really scared - she's 23 years old, so if it was colic I wouldn't try to put her through a painful surgery and long recovery...thankfully it wasn't colic.

The vet took some blood to send out for testing, and put some of her poop in a veterinary latex glove, added water, and waited a while to see if any dirt or sand sunk to the bottom, to see if it might be sand colic. It wasn't, because she eats her hay out of a hay net, not off the ground. The vet also sent a poop sample to the lab, and injected some Banamine (reduces pain, as well as relaxes the gut muscles so she can poop more comfortably) and gave me paste-banamine to give her for the next few days, plus some other medicines to add to her grain and an extra mash, to reduce diarrhea.

I've never heard of this before, but the vet suspects Fiona might have a type of horse corona virus ! Yikes! Not the same virus that infects people, but a related type that horses can pass to each other. So we're waiting to hear back from the tests the vet sent out to see if it is, and in the meantime anybody who goes into Fiona's stall has to step their boots into a pail of bleach water afterwards. And the barn manager is supposed to take every horse's temperature every day, in case it's spread to other horses, in which case we'll need to quarantine.

I feel really bad for our barn manager, she might need to shut down the barn to outside horses, and she has several horses for sale. But I feel worse for myself - I have a huge vet bill that will take me awhile to pay for, and if Fiona does actually have this virus, she's saved every other horse and horse owner in our barn from having to suffer a lot of expense and possible heartache. We'll wait for the results of the tests the vet sent out.

But most of all, I feel bad for my poor girl Fiona. She's the one who had to suffer - but tonight she's doing a lot better. I've been giving her a warm mash with her medications in it, along with applesauce, alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. She slurps it up like it's the yummiest thing ever, and today she was more her happy, perky self, and her poops were normal.

I guess we'll know more when the vet's test results come back _ in the meantime, please wish us luck!

Yeah! Ginger had definitely gained weight and was starting her journey of getting into shape by the time I took that pic, but it definitely makes me happy to see her get a little curve to her belly and fill out her top line, butt, and other areas.

I'm so sorry to hear about Fiona getting sick: I'm really glad it wasn't colic and I'm happy to hear she's doing better, I hope she has and continues to get better and no one else catches it! That's crazy about a horse cornavirus...I've never heard of it before but it sure sounds scary!
I'm sorry to hear about the vet bill...those are never fun. Hopefully your barn manager won't have to shut down, you'll have let me know how the vet results turn out! Best of luck to you and your girl Fiona, as well as the rest of your barn.

 

[littledog]

Yesterday the vet called to let me know Fiona's blood work looked good, a little high in BUN (blood urea nitrogen, which can indicate kidneys not functioning as they should) but it was still within the normal range, so the vet felt it was probably due to dehydration from having diarrhea. And, the poop test showed she did not have horsey coronavirus, Yay!

Still don't know what caused her indigestion, it could have a bug going around that the younger horses could fight off, or just random tummy upset made worse by the crazy weather... yeah the vet bill stinks, especially since it turned out to be nothing horribly alarming, but I'm still glad I decided to have the vet see Fiona, especially since she's an older lady - better safe than sorry! My poor budget means I'll have to cancel lessons for awhile...that's OK because Fiona's work should be light for a little while.

Those pictures of Ginger looking all filled out and healthy, how lovely - she has really nice conformation! Athletic enough to do any discipline, sturdy enough to stay sound if not pushed too hard. I went back and looked at how old Ginger is and saw she's only 6! Or maybe 7 by now? Still pretty young - you have plenty of time to help her develop in her training, with patience.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Yay! I'm glad Fiona didn't have the horse cornoavirus. I agree it's always to be better safe than sorry, especially with older horses like that. But that's good her tests came back good! Sorry to hear you'll have to cancel lessons, but at least Fiona will hopefully enjoy a lighter work load for a time.

Thanks! She is the perfect all-around lesson horse, or just horse, in general. She's willing to do try different things and works hard for whatever you ask her, even if she doesn't always like everything lol. I know she definitely prefers going western with a loose rein and going slow, and I think she will really enjoy trail once we get into it. She needs stuff to focus on and keep busy with or else she gets bored and distracted while riding. But she also goes great english too! Her leaser wants to teach her jumping and she does good with it; I've taken her over a few western 'type' little jumps myself and she's pretty willing.

I think with time and training Ginger can do most anything, (though not speed events like barrel racing--she's definitely not suited for that!) and I'm happy she'll be able to teach people different things and maybe even become a little show horse for kids to take, given time. Me and/or her leaser would have to be the first to take her up to a small show, though. And I'd take initiative on re-teaching her to trailer since apparently she doesn't like them/is scared of them because of bad past experiences, so there's that hoop to jump first if my trainer wants to go this route too. Haven't talked about it with her yet because Ginger is nowhere near ready to go to shows. I'm thinking next year is about right.

Yup! At least 6 if not 7. I would love to do a DNA test with her at some point, to learn more about her since we virtually know nothing... I just have been delaying because it's a little expensive.

 

[littledog]

You know she's a TB, and possibly did some racing - maybe just in "underground racing " (yuck) but goes she have a lip tattoo from racing in the USA?