Monday 3 June 2019

Blue Skies Again

The smoke has cleared much quicker than was anticipated over the weekend. We went from an air quality reading of 72 on Thursday night to sunny blue skies on Sunday with a 3 for air quality. Significant improvement.

The big question, of course, is how were the horses affected?

I didn't get out to the barn until Sunday. First thing I did was have a look at Phantom. She seemed totally unaffected by the smoke a few days ago. Her respiration was good, and no extra discharge from her eyes. I'm still going to give her a few easy days under saddle - better to be safe than sorry.
Still smearing zinc oxide on Cisco's cheeks. The crud is gone, but it took away the hair too. A couple more days of white goop to be safe.
Cisco did get tacked up for a quick ride though. He hasn't been ridden in over a week (again) so I wasn't sure what to expect from him. But he was trying really hard to be good and keep his brain together. He wanted to get fast, but he listened really well and stayed at a nice rhythm.

I had set up some poles before my ride - some slightly raised and some not. I want him to be very bored with poles before we move up a bit and try the jumping thing again.

The first few definitely had more enthusiasm than required to get from one side to the other,(especially heading to the gate) but by the end I was able to loop my reins before and after the pole and he didn't change his pace.
Oh oh - signs of rubbing his tail again.
We didn't really do any canter as Cisco was coughing a bit through the ride. I'm assuming it's because of the smoke exposure, so once we got a couple of relaxed poles I left him there.

I have nothing else planned for the week, so hopefully the smoke stays at bay and I can get some more easy rides in. Even more importantly - rain is currently forecasted for this week! Fingers crossed that the forecasters are actually right for once!


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4 comments:

  1. TeresaA4 June 2019 at 07:48

    I'm glad that smoke cleared up. I hope it stays away.

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  2. Anonymous4 June 2019 at 09:05

    Glad the smoke didn't have any adverse effects! Fingers crossed the smoke stays away

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  3. emma4 June 2019 at 11:17

    So fun fact - I thought my horse was rubbing his tail, but it turns out his pasture mates are apparently using him as a giant scratching post. I literally stood there and watched while another horse went to town rubbing his itchy face up and down Charlie’s gorgeous luxurious tail....

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    Replies
    1. Gray Flannel Horses6 June 2019 at 22:30

      Ha ha! Last spring when Cisco came in every day with a rat's nest at the top of his tail I thought it was because he and his bestie groomed each other all the time and maybe he was grooming the top of his butt. But when he got turned out with only mares, he was still coming in with a rubbed tail, so I guess it wasn't his bestie.

      My last gelding was almost always the dominant horse in his turnout. I used to smear zinc oxide on his nose in the summer, and he would run out to the other horses, and whichever horse he chose would stand submissively while Farly rubbed the zinc off his nose all over their butt leaving streaks of white all over them. It made me laugh every time.

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