Day #7 7/24/2010

Today did not go at all like I had wished. I do dislike days like that.

On my way to work with Touch Diamond / Bravo / Name T.B.A. I started feeling sickly. When I pulled up to the gate of the property, I decided I had to go find a gas station or something to take care of it. I went about a mile down the road and there was no gas station or anything at the freeway like I had hoped there would be, so I turned around and came almost half way back to the house before I found one. By this time I was terribly ill feeling.

Once I made it to the horse for the day I was feeling better, but we were now at the peak of the heat of the day.

When I arrived, Cowboy and Touch Diamond / Bravo / Name T.B.A. were both out in the "yard" area practicing their function as lawn mowers / multi-processors. I took some photos while he was loose for further reference.


A reasonably good conformation photo from the near side. You can also see evidence of almost all the "issues" he has. One must remember this guy is a rescue. We are working with several unknowns when addressing his plights, and they do and will take some investigation as well as inference.

I checked his leg and the swelling had not gone up from working at a walk, so I took a few more pictures of him as reference photos of injuries and hoof issues. In fact, the swelling is almost not visible so I didn't photograph that.


He has some kind of "flakiness" and white around all of his coronet bands.


He has a "skinned" patch on the front part of his gaskin (which I would like to get the hair to grow back on, just because it is a bit unsightly),


and then a scrape (that is healing - it was open and fresh when he got here on the 18th.)


He has an old injury on his front off heel bulb that causes his hoof to grow damaged

and other than that, everything is fine.

Looking at this list it looks like he's in poor shape by sheer numbers, but all but one of these things I feel is superficial, and I hope to get them handled in short order. I don't think (judging from the fact his hoof grows with a crack where the injury is at the heel bulb) that particular issue with the hoof can be affected, but I will discuss with the farrier if that is the case when he comes.

I also think some of his toe out condition could be because of being long in the toe, because he walks normally and only shows this when he is standing for any period. When you halt him, he stops pretty straight (considering I don't think he has been conditioned to do so.)

After taking the photos, I caught him (never a difficult task), and lead him to the arena. Once in there, I worked him at liberty on the voice commands of walk, trot, woah, and easy. He did really well, especially considering the rescue said they didn't think he knew anything of it when they tried him out (of course, he was under saddle then too, which can make a difference.) He was reasonably calm, with only a couple outbursts of running / loping / bucking. They were mainly because he was confused about how to relieve the pressure. I wish I had done some video of it, but I didn't expect him to do so well. I will work on this again on Monday 7/26 and take video.

Basically, all I wanted him to do was react properly to the voice commands. I wasn't concerned with keeping him consistently moving. I also wanted him to learn the proper reaction to my hand signals (blocking his path and opening his path etc.) All of this was done without a lead rope or halter. Once he had stepped up to a trot I let him go where he wanted to relieve the pressure, and we worked only in about 1/4 of the arena. I also asked him to walk on command which he did exceptionally well, and I tried to get him to do circles (still needs a bit of work).

Without having any physical connection to him, he did marvelously!

We worked on this for about 20-30 minutes. By the end of the session, he was just beginning to break a sweat, but not frothing anywhere. I caught him (again very easily which was nice to see that he didn't take this session as a reason to keep running away every time I came near him), and lead him back to the yard again where I managed to rinse him down and let him stand in the shade to cool. Once his temperature had settled, I released him back to the ground and he quietly walked away and found a happy patch to munch on.

At this point I just got my drink to cool down myself, and sat down near him and let him graze without being worked, haltered, or "stressed". It is very important to me to teach him that just because I am there he isn't going to be prevented from eating, or worked, but when I want him to work he needs to focus in and work. So far we seem to have been accomplishing this well.

I left about 10 minutes later with the intent to come back, but later in the day I was still feeling nasty, so I stayed home.

Here at the end, I am posting a better "rear" and "rear 3/4" view to show he does stand / walk with his leg straighter (though I realize he isn't perfect) when he hasn't been standing a while. It's a bit like someone standing contraposto when they are standing a long time talking or waiting.


(And yes, he left a little present for me just before I took both pictures.)

Until our paths converge again -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Day #6 7/23/2010

Much of today was a repeat of yesterday, and he remembered everything wonderfully. He is retaining everything smoothly and easily.

Since he retained his training from yesterday, I worked on transferring the training to the off side. I lead him on the opposite side and for a moment he was hesitant, trying to switch sides to "correct" it, but quickly fell into the routine knowing how I wanted him to behave.

He did exceptionally well.

I also was able to groom him all over (including over the swelling on his rear offside cannon bone.) He allowed me to groom his full mane, tail, and brush his whole body well. He got a little antsy over the combing out of his tail, but it was very twisted and tangled. When it got all done his tail was a full 2-3 inches longer. I have some better shots of him today, though I ran out of memory on the camera before I could take some "after" pictures. These were taken before grooming.






Until next time -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Day #5 7/22/2010

Today I went to work with Touch Diamond / Bravo / Name T.B.A. and my goal was to do work to refresh his memory on lifting his feet. We also were going to work on leading and respecting personal space.

He did really well with the leading. We walked up and down the long driveway for about 30 minutes. We worked on walking up and down and doing half halts and walking to the side, and not walking faster than me. To break up the monotony (because he is so smart and gets bored very easily) we did circles, and broke the driveway down into sections. When he did exceptionally well, I would let him graze for a mouthful or two, then we would go right back to working.

By the end of 30 minutes, he was respecting my space, was halting and walking on command, and would quickly stand quietly until I told him it was ok to graze. I do not want him pulling on me to get down to eat, instead I want him to be respectful and wait until I allow him to graze, and to understand I *WILL* let him graze when it is a good time. This is with the goal in mind of being on long rides during endurance rides and ride & tie rides and not eating everything in sight and not working.

Today I also worked on getting him to allow me to touch him all over. He is very calm and has no problems except around the swelling on his cannon.

We did not work really hard on lifting his feet because his rear off side cannon had a bit of swelling that seemed to be too sensitive, but he was not limping or favoring it.

So smart and patient! I am very proud of him.

I didn't get any "different" photos or videos today.

Until next time -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Day #4

Bravo came to me on Sunday, and I did some very general petting and testing out his interest in connecting and communicating with humans that day. Nothing video taped or anything, but without a lead/halter, he would follow me around the round pen and do circles at my request.

Then he had a couple days to acclimate to his new surroundings because as my cousin died on 7/16, the funeral was 7/19, and there was family still at our house on 7/21, so 7/21 was the first day I actually got to spend any reasonable time with him.

When I got there, he was very happy to see me, and nickered and called as I got out of the car. He is being kept in the round pen, so there was no issue with getting him gathered where I wanted.

I set up the camera to video tape me doing some very basic ground work. Again, just testing the waters as I don't know him all that well yet.

His feet do need some minor farrier work on them, though they aren't as bad as I thought they were on Sunday. Either he has managed to wear them down a little on the possibly harder ground, or I was just a little emotionally overwhelmed on Sunday that I was being a bit judgmental. All in all anyway, he does need a little trim work done as they are flaring out, and due to the fact that the farrier is coming in approximately 2 weeks, my initial goal is to get him to stand nicely for a farrier.

He is a big boy. Somewhere between 16 and 17 hands is my estimate based on how tall he is compared to me. Here are some stills taken from video of him next to me.



I am a squat and overweight 4'11" (I really didn't want to be seen in any of the videos and pictures.) His back is well over my eye level as you can see (you should be able to click on the picture and get a larger version.) He's going to be big enough that he is taller than my mother who is 5'2". My dad is 6', and will be able to see over his back.

This is a drastic change from all my other horses in the past which I have been able to drape my arm across their back/see over their back. I have never had a Thoroughbred before.

To test out his willingness to lift his feet, I used a soft lead rope around his pastern to encourage him to lift on command, while being able to keep a view of everything going on around me. I am all about safety for myself and the horse. There was no one there except me, and my cell phone was in the backpack next to the camera because I didn't want the ringing to startle him. (As I become more familiar with him and his behaviors I will begin to do things more naturally).

Coming very shortly: Video of me working with Bravo the way described below.

I entered the round pen, and walked him around a little bit just to make sure he wasn't showing signs of pain or soreness, and to get him in the frame of mind to listen to me. Then I let him sniff the rope I was going to use and began "sacking" him out to it until he stood relaxed enough to progress through.

Then I made him move into a position where the weight was not being borne on the foot I was going to work with first.

This lead rope is purely slung around the leg beneath the pastern to allow pressure to be applied from a standing and aware position. I worked with him to teach him what I was looking for, since if he was used to lifting his feet through the general method this would be confusing. After a try or two releasing the pressure with an attempt to comply he quickly began lifting and holding on each foot. Judging from the fact his hooves need only a minimal amount of work I would say this is something he understands, so on Thursday I will try lifting the normal way.

On the first inkling he understood, I relieved the pressure. He did very well, and we worked on this in several small sessions through the evening. We got all four feet lifted and held for several seconds this way, and I think it is going to be just fine.

After doing 15-20 minutes of some lifting and some general leading around the pen to see if he understands walk, turn, and halt, I took him out for a walk. This was to see how he behaved on the road with light traffic, other horses in pastures next to him, and dogs.

When walking to the road he was devouring the grass on the way. I let him eat a few bites because it was getting close to meal time, and then we walked down the long drive to the road. Once on the road there was cut grass laying on the side in the easement and he was ravenous about eating that. We got about 5-10 minutes out, and encountered an oncoming delivery truck. The driver was very nice and slowed down politely to pass. Bravo did acceptably, though there is some work to be done. He was a bit high headed when the truck approached and didn't care for the fact I was making him stand in a drive way near a gate while the truck went by.

We heard some dogs barking a few properties away however, because I was getting a blister on the back of my ankle from the new "boots" I am trying to break in, and the fact this was a major adventure for the two of us already, I turned us back to the Running R Ranch. He was prancing about a bit at this point, and one of the horses in the front pasture (a white Arabian) was tearing off running and bucking a bit in excitement. This was keeping him a little distracted, and so it was more of a struggle getting him back then getting him out. He kept also tearing into every bit of grass he could. I'm going to have to curb that as well.

All in all, Bravo did reasonably well. We are going to work on getting him to observe personal bubble space, and desensitizing to vehicles, and animals. He also on the way out was very good about staying back and going where I said to go, but on the way back he was rushing me, which we are also going to work on with some basic groundwork manners. I'm going to hold off just a little longer on the dogs, since I don't know if they will nip, chase, or cause problems.

Lifting the feet would not normally be one of the first things I would focus on, but I need to make sure he is ready for when the farrier comes. I don't want to get on the bad side of this farrier.

(This was written Thursday 7/22 about work done Wednesday 7/21. It was not posted until Sunday the 25th. I know I am behind - There will be other entrys for Thursday 7/22, Friday 7/23, Saturday 7/24, and Sunday 7/25 posted today. I was delayed in posting because I spent forever trying to get the video downloaded to my computer so I could post it properly.)

Until our paths cross again -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Day #1

Such a day of excitement!

***edit: This date should be July 18, 2010. I have no idea what happened that made it June! I did not take full possession of him until 7/18/2010 - and I have papers to show it.***

Today was the day Touch Diamond got delivered to the Running R Ranch. We let him out into a pen that allows him access to all the horses, but keeps anyone from injuring the others. This allows them do introductions on their own, but will in the end reduce the amount of risk that there will be serious fighting and kicking and reduces the chance someone will be cornered, or run into a fence and cut up. They can talk, groom, bond, or work out their differences as needed, and everyone has a place to go within a safe distance of everyone else.

For a week or two this round pen will be Touch Diamond's home day and night. He has a stall if the weather turns nasty for safety and health. This isn't the largest ranch, but the owner is very careful to maintain his pastures to a level of grass as long as possible. However since the round pen has no forage, Touch Diamond is being provided grain, coastal hay, and water. While this will give everyone a good change to do "gentle" introductions, and will also allow us to see who he gets along with well so we can put him in with the right horses when released.

****Along with the benefits of measuring and corralling any unwanted behaviors this will also allow us to clean him out for any parasites that possibly are in his system without risking them going into the pasture which would re-infect him, and also infect the other horses. It's going to work a bit like quarantine. I know the rescue facility dewormed him, but because his legs were covered in bot fly eggs I feel it necessary to be on the safe side.****

I observed him for a while as he settled in. I am going to take a camera out tomorrow to begin documenting and filming the work being done.

He is very friendly and curious. I have been given permission to post the information from the prior owners / rescuers about him to provide the best coverage about just how far he has come. She is sending me some additional pictures, but here is a duplication of the website she was keeping for him before I took him on. She has made some drastic improvements. It's amazing how far he has come.

I want to repeat, the following is a copy of what she has had on her site:
Bravo


$500.00
After Arrival at NTO...3/24/10




Improvement as of 4-22-10...


Bravo is new to NTO. He is a 6 yr old, dark bay gelding, and measures at 16hh. His registered name is Touch Diamond. I got Bravo from a young couple who rescued him from a horrible situation. Although it does not show in the first two pictures, Bravo is covered in rain rot and his face and upper neck is covered in ring worm spots. His legs were covered in bot fly eggs, and he was just a complete mess. He is by far one of the worst of the horses NTO has encountered, not just weight, but overall condition. But, Bravo has such a sparkle in his eyes. He is just begging for someone to help him. Thank goodness the day was warm as we began working on him as soon as we got home. My volunteers began the task of bathing him all over, then doctoring the rain rot and ring worms. He has good teeth and an even better appetite. I got some medicine from the vet that will help fight the fungus battle from the inside out, so he should show signs of improvement real soon.

I try not to dwell on the past of the horses I get, but there is no excuse for a person allowing a horse, or any animal to get into this shape. His previous owner indicated she was feeding him a sack of feed a day and hay. You know people, don't lie. Just ask for help. It is not a crime to need help, the crime comes in not asking for it.

4/22/10

As you can tell, Bravo is coming along very nicely. His hair has almost been replaced with good healthy hair, and the rain rot is all but gone. He is a remarkable young horse. We checked to see if he had a tattoo and he did, so we got on line and found out who he is. His sire is currently standing stud in Oklahoma. He was never raced, and we are not for sure why. But sometimes just because a horse is a thoroughbred, does not mean he has the heart or desire to race. He may just be a trail horse or maybe he can be a hunter jumper. We will help him choose. In the meantime, he is just hanging out with so much grass he does not know what to do. Occasionally he will just take off running and he literally thunders around the pasture.

Native Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Nasrullah, Bold Ruler and War Admiral are all listed on his five generation pedigree.

5/4/10

We saddled Bravo the other day in Western, and I am not for sure he knew what that saddle was all about. He humped up a couple of times, but then settled down. We lunged him and he did not seem to know how to do it. He still had the saddle on with the stirrups bouncing around and he never acted like it bothered him. When I got him, his previous owner said she had put the grandbabies on him and they rode him. Not for sure this was the case, but when he gets more weight on, we will work with him undersaddle again. He has no soundness issues, so I would consider him a prospect for any riding activity.

6/1/2010

Bravo is ready to go to his new home. He is very sweet, easy to catch. He is ready for whatever you want to train him in.

That was the end of the posting on her website. She had sent me a new picture of him in the pasture via email during the arrangements and discussions about getting him here to me.



She said she would send me more pictures of him during his progress with her so I can provide a proper documentation of his full recovery and conditioning and "re-employment"

Until next time -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Such excitement!

When I started this blog, it was a major part of my goal to provide a place for anyone interested to come and view, follow, and enjoy the adventure that is going to be happening both with the beginning of Stonehaven Stables as well as the horses, and the creation of my business.

Please subscribe if you would like to follow the story of the recovery of Touch Diamond, and his re-training to a new career. I am hoping to get us both active into endurance racing and ride and tie races. I have some personal work to do while I am training and conditioning him, but that is going to be the fun of it. I get to watch his progress from the beginning and see all those wonderful little transitions into what I can see the potential for being a really great horse under the right hands.

I am going to be keeping a daily blog of the care and training. I will be keeping logs of his progress in body condition, weight, and muscle tone. There will be training videos of my unique blend of training methods. There will be photos documenting progress, and enjoyable things - just because.

I have been making plans about evaluating him for training to find what stage he is at. I must admit I am a list fiend, but they kind of keep me focused and help make sure the excitement I feel is not going to get out of control and I forget to do something. Therefore, to help people enjoy these I am going to file them under categories. So far I have thought of Equine Updates, Training and Conditioning, DIY. Then I thought about posting the images and videos under their own category and linked in the blog entries to help the blog load quick and easy.

I may add more categories over time, but I think that is going to be at this time.

The next time I write I should have been to see Touch Diamond/Bravo and have some first hand update on him. I also will hopefully have gotten permission to use the photos of him from the rescue facility to fully document all the efforts that have been put into him.

Until then-
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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Wonderful News!

We have our first horse. Well, not yet, but we were approved for it. His name is Touch Diamond, and he is a 6-year old dark bay registered Thoroughbred. He has been in a rescue facility, after having been in an abusive situation, rescued, and moved to a facility to take care of him properly.

I don't have permission to post the pictures here yet, I hope to have that by next weekend. It would be great to be able to document the whole transformation including the hard work the rescue facility did.

Until I get that permission, I will use the notes posted on the site where his listing is. When he was deposited at the rescue facility on 3/24/10 by the young couple who had rescued him he was severely underweight, covered in rain rot on his body, ringworm all over his face and neck, and bot-fly eggs all over his legs. His coat was terribly shabby and long. The lady that runs the rescue said even though he was in such a bad shape his eyes still sparkled and he was just looking for someone to help him - and help he received.

They immediately got to bathing him and treating the rain rot and ringworm. They gave him internal antibiotics to fight the infection from within. They began feeding him appropriately, and they gave him a safe proper place to recover.

After a month or so on 4/22/10 on the update online, his hair had just about been replaced and the ringworm and rain rot was almost gone. He had gained quite a bit of weight and was looking like a real horse again.

About a week and a half after the updated pictures, there was an update that they had tried him with wearing a saddle (no rider yet), and tried to lunge him but he didn't seem to know what either was. It seems he is starting over from scratch. Luckily he didn't react poorly to the saddle or the stirrups, so that is a good sign for us in the near future.

A week or two later he was announced as ready to go to a good home.

Enter Lucy Roberts and Stonehaven Stables.

I was looking for a horse to become the flagship of Stonehaven Stables. To represent exactly what Stonehaven Stables was all about - recovery, rebuilding, and reinvention.

I was trolling around the internet as I had been for the last 5-6 months looking for an equestrian project, and I accidentally fell into the rescue center's website. I looked at the horses they had and instantly felt drawn to Bravo. I put out feelers on other horses at other places, and even another horse at this location, but in my heart, I wanted Bravo. Well, pieces started falling into place, and I was approved to take on Bravo.

I am arranging the transport from the rescue center to the boarding facility, but next weekend I am going to go and take some pictures of him to document his progression from the beginning of when I get him if not the beginning of when the rescue center got him.

I will also be documenting the conditioning and training program as well. I will be taking video of the training/conditioning sessions and posting them online. My hope is that all of this will be helpful to someone else in the future. I also hope that people will get to see how much

He still needs work. He is under muscled, and still needs to gain some weight. That and I have work to do with me. I have a bit of physical rehab that is going to be going on as I am conditioning him and training him.

I am very excited about him.

Well that's all the update I have right now. I am going to go to the boarding facility tomorrow, and make sure everything is up to par and that there is a spot for him, and then to go see him the first time next weekend.

Update coming soon, until then -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts

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