Snowday!

We have snow! A rare treat especially before christmas. I took the camera to the barn yesterday to see if I could get a few decent snow shots of Crispin.

I realized quickly that getting a decent shot of a bay pony in the snow is as difficult as getting a decent shot from a black cat, too much contrast for my little camera *sigh*



He's so hairy right now! He is all beard and fuzzy belly!

Long time no see...

It has been a while since my last post. Everything is well with Crispin.

The swelling is almost gone and he's happy and contend. We had a short episode where he decided that he didn't like his grain anymore (he was eating his haylage just fine) but that's over aswell. I asked Christina what she'd fed him last winter and changed his feed accordingly plus I think he'was still teething.

Training is progressing slowly but steady. I started teaching him to tie and we do a bit of lead training, poles, cones, walks off the farm. He acts a bit fresh now and then but is easily controllable.

A couple of weeks ago I tried to take a x-mas picture to send to family and friends. No easy task. For weeks it was either raining, dark already or there was no one around to actually take the pictures. But one day, literally between a thunderstorm and dusk it worked (sort of). Here's one of the "outtakes" for you to enjoy:

Not "just" an old bruise

The last week wasn't fun. The bruise got bigger and bigger. The vet had told me to put some heparin, so I did, but that didn't seem to help at all. On sunday it was big and hot and painful and the Crispin hind legs were swollen too. So obviously the bruise got infected!

I did call the vet again for monday *sigh*. It was obvious that Crispin felt really crappy on Monday he even had a bit of temperature. The vet gave him some i.v. antibiotics/painkiller and Crispin is on painkiller and antybiotics for now. I asked the vet to draw some blood too, the results were good. Everything's normal.

The inflamation is much better already. The swelling is a bit smaller and Crispin's feeling well again.

...hah! ;-)

...the swelling I asked the vet to look at an few days ago became bigger and bigger so I made poor vet take another look today.

This time he tapped it. Turns out it is just an old bruise. But still, I feel so much better now.

Old habbits are hard to kill

Old habbits are hard to kill, or to use the words of another famous blog: I can haz paranoia?!

Today the past kind of caught up with me. I called the vet out today for NOTHING! That was a new one and quite embarrassing. I have never called the vet out in vain. With Amy there was always something and that something was usually so bad that it had to be treated by the vet.

Obviously Crispin is different! I admit that I was really relived but still it was embarrassing. Good thing the vet knew Amy well (he was the one who put her down) so he took it lightly.

Two and a half years old!

Congratulations!!! Crispins 2nd and 1/2 Birthday was a couple of days ago. Time to celebrate, take pictures and take the chance to compare them with the pictures from 3 months ago!

A bit pathetic, only 3 months but here they go anyways! (I do think there is a difference already, besides his fuzzy winter coat).

The first pictures were taken july 27th, the second oktober 27th (they are pretty crappy, sorry)

27 Months:


30 Month:


27 Months:


30 Months:

The Dentist

When I bought Crispin I knew that he has two wolf teeth. Luckily the equine denstist was scheduled for today anyway and Crispin could join the "fun".

"Our" dentist is a really great guy. He does an awesome job and is excellent with the horses. Always calm always willing to explain what he's doing and and why he's doing it.

Crispin was a good boy. He wasn't thrilled but let the dentist do his job (since I already knew about the wolf teeth from the PPE he got sedated early on).

The wolf teeth were one thing but Crispin's also starting to get his first permanent front teeth (and one of them wasn't pushing the baby teeth off the right way) so the "caps" had to go too. There was next to no need to do much floating. Just two tiny hooks.

Before:



And after: (it's a bit bloody)



Pulling a tooth:



The take:



Wolf teeth:



The caps:



The survivor:



...I took home the teeth but didn't really know what to do with them. Since I did not want them to lie about I put them into the only source of alcohol I had at hand: Bacardi Rum!

Training?!

Crispin came without any training to speak of. He does like being groomed and I can touch him everywhere but the concept of halter and lead is still very new to him.

He does follow me around but it's more a question of instinct than training.

So far I haven't done any serious work with him. I just want him to settle down in this new situation. But of course I have to groom and cuddle with him and the pictures are proof of that. (he doesn't tie yet of course).

The three weeks from hell are finally over!

The much dreaded and very exhausting first 3 weeks with Crispin are finally over!!! He is now an official member of the herd. The last week he spend with the herd 24/7 and is finally part of it. Of course he's at the very bottom of the totem pole and the other horses chase and nip him occasionally but still he's one of them now.

The poor little guy has quite a few bite marks but all in all he did pretty well.

Wow, what a week!

I've taken the last week off from work to help Crispin find his place in his new home. It has been an awfully stressful and exhausting week. I knew that the first weeks were going to be rough and even though Crispin does very well I'm completely stressed out, it's not even funny anymore!

Crispin, though, is absolutely perfect! So far he has only shown what a wonderful pony he is. He's trusting, curious, smart, friendly and loves to be groomed. I already love the little fella, opened my heart to him and made him mine!

Since he's is going to live outside 24/7 in a herd of 8 horses introducing him to his new herd isn't an easy thing to do. So far he went out during the day in the pasture or paddock with Fly and spend the nights in a panel stall. Since saturday he goes out with his new herd during the day but still spends the nights in his stall.

And he is here!

Wow, what a day yesterday! But he is finally here and everything went beautifully. No problems whatsoever. The seller arrived on time, Crispin had loaded without problem and there were no trafic jams on the way.

Even though everything was new to him Crispin did very well. Just a short moment of anxiety when the horsey friend he came with had to leave and we weren't quick enough with a new companion. Once we introduced him to Fly everything was OK for him.

I do know that the next three weeks are going to be hard. Hell for him and for me. But at least this was a good start.

The pictures are from day one (yesterday) and from today (his first day out).

...ONE!!!

Tomorrow is the big day! Everything is ready for Crispin to arrive. I hope I'll be able to sleep at all tonight!

...two...

Oh my, not getting much sleep anymore!

...three...

...getting more and more excited by the day...

...four...

Nothing much going on today. So it's just one more day in the countdown...

...five...

Today was a buisy day. I picked up Crispins feed at the feedstore and got him a nice new halter.

Take off in Six...

Off into the last week of horselessness.

The breeder just emailed today that the second trailer training went very well. With a second horse already loaded it took less than 5 minutes to get him in and out the trailer. So it looks like he's not going to be trouble on sunday.

One more week

For the record:

JUST ONE MORE WEEK!

The Countdown is on.

To my humongous relive the seller offered to bring Crispin. We agreed on the 27. september.

It's a wonderful offer since this way I don't have to organize a transport and MUCH more important the little guy doesn't have to go on his first journey all by himself.

Meet "The New Welsh"

I spare you the more tiresome details of my hunt. All in all it took about 4 months to find HIM.

There weren't very many suitable Welsh Cobs around and I did know what I wanted which made the number of available horses even smaller.

I saw nice ones that didn't pass the PPE, even nicer ones that just weren't what I needed and then HE came along.

At first I didn't even want to go an see him. I found him by contacting his breeder. I send an E-mail with my requirements and she had a single horse for sale that just seemed to fit all of them.

His name is Merit Crispin. A 2 y/o bay gelding with lots of chrome. Did I say that I didn't care what color?! Well, I didn't... ...except BAY! I just don't like bays, its a vulgar color. I did make myself quite clear about that and I'm going to regret it now!

Not only was that gelding bay. He also had just taken a liking to tail and mane rubbing (the breeder was VERY up front about that). So, long story short. I didn't really want to drive 300 km to see a bald, bay gelding.

Glad I did! He was in his stall when I first saw him and, WOW, that was it! His conformation is good. He is a Welsh Cob after all, so he has some small, breed specific flaws and he's only two (27 months to the day when I first saw him). He's nice and BIG. And his movement is good too (less Welsh, more riding Horse/Pony). And he has some very lovely, soft, big brown eyes.

Just what I wanted.

He did look a bit rough and plucked around the edges and he's a shy little fella and so far he didn't have any traninig to speak of.

I went to see him again a couple of weeks later, like the breeder sugested. Just to make sure that the mane and rubbing really was just a short episode and not sweet itch.

And to be honest, I had made my decision by then anyways. I did see a couple more horses afterwards but that only made it more clear to me. He was the one. He passed the PPE on septermber 3rd and is now "The New Welsh"

...what's it gonna be...?!

After I had to let Amy go, my first horse, my heart horse and my equine partner of the last 15 years, who taught me so very much about riding, horses and most of all about myself, I am now on the hunt for a new horse.

Coming from the world of Warmblood horses (hey, I'm quite literally hanoverian myself!) I had always thought that that is what I would want again, a Warmblood. Preferably a Hanoverian mare. But surprisingly I was wrong! I didn't really though about it much, I just knew that I want something compelety different now. I know I can't (and I don't want to) replace Amy. And on a more rational note, I don't really need a fancy WB. Not for the kind of riding I' m doing. I need a healthy, sane, versatile horse for that but not a "fancy" one.

So, I'm making a list of what I'm looking for and start the hunt:

What's it gonna be...?!

Welsh Cob (Sek.D)

- Mare/Gelding, doesn't matter!
- Color?! I don't care! *oh oh*
- 2-5-year old
- at least 1,50cm
- Healthy
- 3 good gaits
- very green or unbroke

...what do I hope for in the new Pony?! It has to be healthy! (Did I mention that before?!). It has to be happy living outside 24/7 in a small herd. It has to be sane, sensitive, not crazy but not boring either. A horse I can handle physically (and mentally) when I encounter problems in it's training, because that is what I'm planning to do. I want to train the new Pony myself!

What am I expecting from the new Pony? I'm looking for a real "Freizeitpferd"! I want to go on trail rides, ride some dressage and jump a little do some xc and maybe some western trail (gates, bridges, tarps). The whole package. I want a horse that I can turn in a real partner for all different kinds of equestrian activities, and I'm convinced that in a Welsh Cob I will be able to find the kind of horse I need.


...we will see!