Progress, slowly but surely

Yesterday I had a lot of stuff going on, so Vegas and I didn't do anything substantial.  Today was another story.

This face greeted me as I climbed over the round pen fence with all my crap. 

Now that she allows herself to be caught and is decent about picking up her feet, we are starting a new routine.  First, a good grooming.  I had to take this slow because she was iffy about being touched, especially on her right flank (flinching and tucking her butt).  I went over her with the rubber curry and brush, then picked out her feet - only occasionally do I need to use a rope to encourage her to pick them up.  I checked all of her nasty spots.  They are healing but will need more time, especially the crusty spots on her belly.  I'm excited to see how she'll look next spring, after she sheds out and her skin has cleared up.  She's going to look like a different beast!

After grooming, I started sacking her out with the whip which we have done a few times before.  She's doing really well with that so I figured it was time to up the ante with a plastic bag tied to the end of my stick.  At some point, she was doing well and I was getting warm so instead of removing my jacket, I removed my gloves.  Stupid.  I've been wearing these gloves specifically to protect myself from rope burns, not to keep myself warm.  A few minutes later when I started touching one of her legs with the bag she decided she was going to leave.  She has only done this a few times after being haltered.  She will turn slightly away and MARCH.  Normally I just tighten my grip and pop the lead rope a few times...that didn't work so well without gloves on.  I have a really nice rope burn across the palm of my left hand now. 

Lesson learned.  I walked up to her, walked her back to the middle of the round pen, took her halter off and went to run my hand under some water for a few minutes.  Then I came back with the bag again.  By the time I was done she was calmly tolerating the bag, though definitely not enjoying herself.  Then I started sacking her out with my jacket.  Again, tolerant but I could almost hear her asking what is the point???

I left for a little while to let her think and clean stalls but first I took a few selfies.  Most of them looked something like this:

But this one was sort of okay, minus my crazy hair.

"I can eat it, right?"

When I went back to the round pen, I had two goals.  First, get some Furazone on her scabs, and second to see if she would tolerate a bareback pad.

The Furazone became more of a problem than it should have been.  I will have to have someone watch me do this next time because I may be giving her mixed signals.  She was fine when I was putting it on her belly and chest but as I started moving up to her face we had problems. She did NOT want me to touch her face with my hands, even though I've been touching her face and ears for days now.  Eventually, I was able to get a satisfactory amount on her icky spots, so we moved on.

To the dreaded bareback pad.  With jangling buckles.  She stood relatively still but was unhappy with this process. First I let her sniff, then I shook it out away from her, then started slowly rubbing her with it.  Eventually she let me set it on her back, then she let me toss it onto her back (from both sides).  She even let me fasten the girth though it was nowhere near tight.  She considered blowing up for a half a second, then calmed down to reassess.  I gave her a hay cube, took it off, and left. 

Proof.  And her OMG-are-you-done-yet face. 

Goals for this coming week include starting some real training, including actual round-penning and longeing, giving to pressure, standing tied (apparently she is queen of the broken halter), and maybe even some driving.

A few more pics.  This one shows her leg stripes and the thick one across her withers.

I can't wait to get those ribs covered!

Pathetic, rubbed-out tail :(

Ruby:  I know you are all dying to hear about Ruby.  She is doing very well and is wondering who is this newcomer who's getting a lot of attention.  I plan to start taking her for walks down the road later this week.  I may even use her when I introduce Vegas to scary thing likes clippers and fly spray.

Also, I'm rethinking this whole ultrasound thing.  I think I need to get it done for my own peace of mind.  I'll start calling the local vets on Monday to price it out.