Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

It's official, she's adopted the new barn name “Kitty.” Somehow it makes me think of “That 70's Show” and the quirky personality of the mom character. At the same time I can't help but see a curiosity in her that just screams cat-like. And if I'm feeling in a Western mood I can always refer to her as Miss Kitty!

Outside of naming names this week has been an eventful one already. Just after she first arrived I found some very tender spots along her back and since then I've been giving her regular back massages (aren't you jealous?! I know my boyfriend wishes I'd give him a back massage!), the benefits of which are becoming readily apparent. Her gaits on the lunge line are loosening up and she no longer has that coursely defined line through her back muscle on the right side when trotting. I spent some of one evening standing on the mounting block, it is a great way to teach a horse to LOVE shimming up to the mounting block rather than shying away. Once they get close start massaging their back or rump, when they move away you stop. Miss Kitty was quite happy to stand stock still next to the block while I rubbed her down, even as some of the other boarders came in riding their horses all bedecked in halloween costumery – complete with wings.

I've been monitoring her weight gain and she is beginning to fill in rapidly. Her ribs can still be easily felt along her sides but no longer pointing into the sky along her back. The deep hollow behind her shoulder blade and under her withers is filling in and her back bone doesn't protrude nearly so much. I'll be getting some more photos to show just how quickly she's turning around. At the moment I have her on an economy quality senior feed with rice bran and two cups of vegetable oil, all twice a day with high quality grass hay and a flake of alfalfa each feeding.

On Monday there was quite a ruckus of excitement on morning turnout. I was told that not only was she eager to get outside, she was ready to go out without her handler and attempted to blast out of the stall before he could get the halter on her. Once out the door she drug him half-way out the barn before he got control again, and once he got her to the paddock and was taking off her halter she decided to bolt past him OUT of the pasture and back up to the barn. There she stood looking at him for a moment before setting off at a dead gallop straight back towards him. To get from the barn to the pastures you have to cross over a wooden bridge. He stepped out of the way and as she raced across the bridge she came down hard on one of the boards and split it in two before continuing back into the pasture she previously fled. It took him a while to get her calmed down, checked over and cleared with no injuries. Some good came from the situation – one was that he checked over the rest of the bridge and found a few other boards that were due to be replaced. With no injuries she just may have saved someone from falling in while driving a tractor over or another horse breaking through and even breaking a leg. Additionally, it has come to my attention that her insecurities are coming to a head now that she is settled into her new environment.

Kitty is interestingly very intimidated by all of the horses at the barn, particularly when she has to walk past them. In part because they can (and more often than not do) reach out a little window of their stall and pin their ears and say nasty things to her when she walks by. Her neighboring horse likes to do this just when she is walking into her stall – which has now become when she bolts into her stall (or out). So Monday night when I was out I spent several hours just playing with her in her stall, walking forwards and backwards, walking in and backing into her stall as well as walking out and backing out. That wasn't addressing the real issue of being afraid of the other horses, but the traffic through the barn with boarders and lessons was too much that night to do anything about it. Last night however I spent more time with her walking through the barn aisle-way past all the horses, stopping in front of their stalls when she was nervous and making the horses step back from their window so they couldn't call her mean names and stick their tongues out at her. She was about ready to fall asleep by the time we got back down to her stall for the night.

I also trimmed her back hooves on Monday night before the crowd grew too large. As of last evening she appeared to be moving out better and more balanced which could be attributed to either the hooves or the back massages she's been getting – or both.

Oh! And terribly exciting as well… the most glorious trot to walk transition occurred late last night just before I quit for the evening. Kitty was trotting to the right, her weaker side not only due to track life but also her muscle soreness. Her speed was rather rushed with no benefit to the length of her stride so I merely asked her to slow her tempo at the trot, which she did. After a full circle at the new tempo I began to ask for a downward transition when she stepped underneath herself, changed her posture beautifully and stepped into the walk with grace and balance. She impressed me to no end and it was quite the highlight of my day!

I'm looking forward to seeing her move once I am able to get her front feet trimmed. I plan to take before and after pictures of her front hooves to show how common underrun heels and long toes are on track Thoroughbreds, as well as to start documenting her hoof rehab. They aren't horrible, part of why I impressed with her was that her feet are not a disaster, but there are still issues with them that need to be addressed before any heavy work starts with her.

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