Sunday, February 24, 2013

Milo's Poop and Apetite

So the day after I posted last I stopped by the local consignment shop, knowing they offer Dynamite products there. Although I had to spend a little more, I didnt want to wait a week before I had Milo's vitamins and cleanser products. To be safe, I bought more Excel, which you use for thirty days to clean out their system. I took the advice from all y'all and decided to put him on the Dynamite Probiotic too, which I knew I still had.

Vitamins and Excel in hand (oh and a free stall guard and a blanket clip - I love our consignment shop!) I finished the drive from town to the barn. Eager to get his grain going, I mixed together his normal dosage of Dynamite Vitamins, and pulled out the Probiotics from my tack box and found I still had a TON of Excel left. I had forgotten I had bought any! So I left a note to the consignment shop owner (who keeps one of her horses next to Milo - how convenient!) if she could swap the Excel for the Miracle Clay, a product I was debating getting when I was there as well. Sarah had me use the Miracle Clay at a horseshow before when Milo had nervous poops so I thought maybe if putting him back on the vitamins and a thirty day cleanse didnt help, use the clay. If anything else I have it on hand for horseshows now.

I mixed his grain and gave it to him then filled his hay net with the leftovers from morning in his stall and added another flake and a half. As the week wore on, Milo was eating to his normal appetite for the most part, and his rear got less icky and the poop got more solid. Things were looking good then I started him on my second to last bale of hay. While he isnt leaving tons behind he has been leaving some, so I dunno if its another icky bale or not. I have noticed, however, that he eats nearly every morsel of hay in the bag but leaves a lot more on the ground. So Im wondering if maybe I just need to feed all from the bag now and hes picky about the grit and dust that settles to the floor when its fed there. I have wanted to get a second slow feed net anyway so maybe thats the next thing I need to get for him.

In the meantime though, Im kind of freaking out because I have a bale and a half of hay left and Sarah has none for me (just like last time leaving me high and dry to find some elsewhere and this is where all of our issues are stemming from I think). Im not sure if I will get hay from the same source I got this half ton since Milo has been off and on with it, but my options are exhausting now...

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Updates...

So two weeks ago Milo went to the Vet and got his usual routine things done, among them his teeth floated.



He was such a good boy, in fact, the Doc mentioned how mellow he was and how he just "went with the flow". It meant a lot coming from the vet because he has not only been Milo's vet since I got him nearly 6 years ago, but Milo can be such a little stinker for others that arent Mom, it made me really happy.

Oh and it was really sweet because when we loaded him up to go Boyfriend tried to load him for me and help me out, but he didnt know to tie Milo up so I turned around in the barn aisleway to see the open end of the trailer and my horse standing there for a moment contemplating, then casually turning around in the trailer and walking off! Poor Boyfriend was trying to get the divider unhooked and simply forgot to tie the Baby up. It was cute though that he made the effort and even better that Milo actually loaded for him (when we have tried to have the Boyfriend load Milo, Milo will usually have nothing of it and stand at the entrance ignoring his requests).

Anyway, aside from that, I have been riding about twice a week. Usually once inside the arena during the week then another time on the trail on the weekend. I should have a month or so off of school after work here soon so Im looking forward to that to have more time on the weeknights too.

So heres a dilemma I'm having. This started about two weeks ago just before I took Milo to the vet. He started getting a really poopy butt. Now his piles in his stall still looked shaped but he was getting dribbles of wet along with it. I wondered what that was from, but sometimes he just gets a funny day or two and goes back to normal. But it persisted for about a week. Then I thought well maybe since he just ran out of vitamins that his system was a little upset. I figured next paycheck (tomorrow) I would get his Dynamite vitamins and Dynamite Miracle Clay too to help. Now this last week nearly every day the BO has left a note saying that Milo hadnt finished all of his hay either from the night before or the morning feed. Just yesterday he noted that he left nearly a whole flake behind. I investigated to make sure he was feeding the right amount, which he says he is, and I also wanted to know how much on average was being left behind. Not a whole lot until the other day. Then tonight I arrived at the barn to see about a half flake left and scattered around the stall, probably about eight hours after feeding.

Now, Milo has been on the same hay for over a month now so theres no change in that. He's also usually very good about eating up all of his hay so its puzzling me. He seems to be drinking fine, and I checked his heart and gut with the stethoscope and he sounded normal. I also havent noted any other weird behavior - he seems to be just like his normal self. I have noted he has lost some weight on his topline and neck but I figure thats from lack of exercise, not necessarily diet. His ribs are not showing, but seems normal where I can just slightly feel them when brushing my hand over.

Im not sure where to go with this except get him back on his vitamins and add the Miracle Clay. Then in about a month's time I need to get more hay so maybe that will screw things up again or possibly make things better. Not sure. Any suggestions?

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Milo...Oh Milo...

This last week was a super crazy hectic schedule for me. Monday and Wednesday I had school directly after work until 730, and Tuesday and Thursday I had acupuncture appointments also after work which ran to about 730 as well. I had the BO feed Milo for me three of the nights, but asked my long time friend Clara to feed one night and if possible, ride the pony. She has ridden Milo on many occasions  she has known him as long as I have had him. We all know he can be a little snotty for anyone who isn't "Mom", but I was hoping he would be a little better with Clara since she's ridden him bareback before even and he was fine.

Well.

I got a text message after work on Wednesday that my horse is a sh*t. Uh oh. I called Clara immediately after and asked what happened. All was fine initially, apparently. He was fine to handle, saddle, and walk and trot. Clara said she even enjoyed how soft and fluid he is and she had fun with some serpentines with him. But as soon as she asked for the lope, he would have none of it. Head in the air, super fast trot, threatening to buck, ears pinned back, the works. I wasnt too surprised to hear it because usually anyone else that rides him might be able to manage a trot from him, but the lope is another story (not that I condone it!). Clara was really confused because she knows I can get Milo to lope off nicely from a standstill and without doing some wacky off the wall cue. She said she tried everything and he wasnt having it. Something worked though for a brief moment and she reported that he shot off into a super fast canter. Definitely not correct but she was happy he was at least cantering. She called it a ride after that and put him away.

When Friday came along and I finally had the change to ride him, I assumed there might be some minor corrections I would have to make with him, but I didnt think he would really try anything that bad. I got on him, walked and trotted him around, worked on shoulder control (as she reported he ran her leg into the wall and spit her jeans) and working off the outside rein. He was doing really well. Then I asked him to lope. He lost it! Leaped forward bucking, leaping, and totally not doing what he was supposed to. I wondered if this was exactly the crap he pulled with Clara. I initially tried to push him through it as Mario had recommended when they do something wrong, but it seemed to only give him more reason to object. So I finally stopped him, backed him up, then walked a few small circles quietly until he started reaching onto the bit again and calmed down. Then we went into the trot and again waited until he was quiet and working on the bit again. Then I utilized the walls and the circle exercise Mario gave us, and then asked for the lope. He stepped into it nicely and from there was a good boy.

But oh man I was surprised that he acted up THAT bad. Sunday Clara and I are going for another ride together and I think before we head out I will be giving her a mini "lesson" on him and hopefully can talk her through his refusal to do anything if you arent Mom. Oh Milo.