Drew Has Been Successfully Reformed

I sure hope! You may remember that my little buddy Drew the gray rescue horse had some behavior issues and had to get some remedial education at Tarrin’s equine reform school.

No, really, he’d been injured somehow and was in bad pain, which then caused his arthritis in his back to flare up. He was unable to turn right, was biting, and was terrorizing the other horses. Tarrin and her team had a lot of work to do.

The good news is that the body work, pain relief, injections by the vet, retraining, and some new medication he’ll have to take by monthly injection, he’s back to his old self. I have a horse that can be ridden, even by someone with my meager skills.

I really enjoyed getting a chance to ride him again today. He is able to turn in both directions and is so nice to trot on. I look forward to practicing in the round pen.

Apache is also on a positive trend. He is walking pretty normally and trotting much better. I know he feels better, because he started avoiding me when I show up with a halter. He’s back to his old ways!

Tarrin did some more trimming on his front hooves to help them gradually improve. She also trimmed a bit on the back, since they are also growing. I’m now authorized to exercise him in straight lines and to let him graze at night.

The best thing about today, however, came when Droodles came up to the trailer to get saddled. He and Apache were glad to see each other! Drew did baby horse things to Apache, and they nuzzled and groomed each other. It was incredibly sweet.

When we got them home, I turned Drew out in the pasture with Mabel, Dusty, and Fiona. Again, there was much sniffing and grooming. Then they all ran to the back of the pasture, rubbed on each other, then ran back. Poor Dusty can’t keep up with the speedy ones. When I left, Fiona was looking disgusted, but everyone else was hanging out, with Drew desperately trying to get to Apache through the fence.

We will see if tomorrow there are bite marks everywhere. After two months of no pesky teen, Mabel and Dusty are looking darn smooth.