Another New Horse - It's Bo!

[Jenerationx]

@Heinz_57

@atr

Thats a ridiculous haircut, Cooper!

I am hopeful that his oddly short, poofy forelock and mane are a result of damage to the hair from ??? who knows what, and he will eventually grow some length there. It’s thick enough, just so poofy!

Maybe he should have been named Moe.

With Bo’s ride… he looks a lot looser at the trot when you weren’t riding him… it looks like he thinks maybe he’s supposed to be doing that short strided trot while under saddle. A stable that I rode at waaaaay back in the day picked up a horse that had been used for western lessons and I remember him trotting like that at first. It took forever, but he eventually figured out that we wanted him to lengthen and move out. How does he trot when he’s just loose on his own?

[Heinz_57]

@Jenerationx

How does he trot when he’s just loose on his own?

A lot shorter than he used to. Not that he often does more than a slow walk in turnout. LOL

I am wondering if some of what I’m seeing is just …muscle tightness, now that he’s bulked up. I noticed the changes not too long after I switched him into the large paddock stall vs pasture, which is what makes me think the reduced activity level isn’t helping things. I’m sure he could probably use some body work, which has been on the to do list - if I can go more than a month without another emergency vet bill.

[pony_grandma]

that’s what I was thinking. He’s all bulk muscle. Just like people types difference between power lifter and distance runner.

[starsandsun]

Could he be deficit in amino acids?

[cayuse]

I’m curious how Bo trots if you ride him on the buckle. He reminds me an awful lot of a paint mare I adopted who was also a neglect case. When we started riding her I tried to ride her with contact and she had no idea what the heck was going on. Come to find out she was trained to travel with her head low in the “peanut roller” QH pleasure style. We sorted it out quickly and learned from each other, I actually found she was one of the nicest trained horses I ever owned once we sorted the buttons out.

[Heinz_57]

@cayuse

I’m curious how Bo trots if you ride him on the buckle.

Oh, pretty much the same little joggy trot. All our hacks are done on a loose rein, and he is still prone to rooting and head tossing at times. He’s gotten a LOT better, though.

[cayuse]

It’s too bad they don’t talk, I’d love to know his history and what his “jobs” were over the years. He’s a nice horse, bet he’d have things to say.

[Heinz_57]

Let me tell you, it is hot and muggy this Monday. We had monsoons most of the weekend, everything is a swamp, and ALL the horses are muddy from head to tail. I will not be getting much riding in this week.

That does mean, however, decent ground for fence installing - so I got another paddock marked out while I work on the two new bigger pastures, and Bo was the chosen one to test it out this morning. He didn’t seem particularly grateful, but that’s Bo. He’s having one of those days where he really wants to stand practically on top of me, so pics are limited.

Inspecting the fence for routes of escape…

You come back here.

We need to be THISCLOSE.

Not thrilled that I’ve left him out there. Supposed to eat grass? What? I prefer room service…

Shortly thereafter I did deliver his late morning tub of soaked cubes, sprinkled with grain. We are starting on a new food journey… one where I convince him that his diet needs to be more focused on the soaked cubes and less on mountains of grain. I’m starting to reduce the amounts of senior in favor of more cubes - which he eats just fine IF he’s hungry. We’ll see how it goes.

[Heinz_57]

Additional post with a question:

I think Bo might need a fly sheet. It remains to be seen whether it will make him too hot, but the bugs harass him quite a bit and I know he has itchy days (I just watched him roll and scratch his midline for several minutes…) so I think it’s worth trying one out at the very least. He gets kind of grouchy after stomping at bugs all day.

Since there are about 1,000 pictures of him in this thread from every possible angle, are there any suggestions as to what (somewhat economically priced) fly sheet might fit his big booty AND his mountain of withers? I quit using fly sheets a long time ago, so I’m useless here. I’m not sure he cares about neck covers but he definitely wants a belly guard of some sort, and this is central TX so preferably a material that isn’t going to make the heat even worse.

My only request is that it not cost a fortune, because I have actually had (other) horses rip fly sheets to useless shreds in the first 10 minutes of wear. LOL

[2DogsFarm]

Try haunting local tack swaps.
I got 2 fly sheets for a friend (I don’t use them) - paid $15 each.

I bought new rainsheets for my 3, used them once, decided it was too much work & sold them for around half what I’d paid.

[luvmyhackney]

What size is Bo? Someone might have one laying around that could work?

Otherwise I’d love to contribute a dribble to get him a fly sheet.

[Heinz_57]

@luvmyhackney

What size is Bo?

75-78 (he shares blankets with Elmo )

[atr]

Oh, Bo. My chestnut boy looked exactly that muddy this morning when I arrived at the barn with 20 minutes to spare before my lesson, thanks to yet another new set of road construction that sprang up overnight.

I got most of it off him and on to me before we rode.

[appypaint]

@Heinz_57

We need to be THISCLOSE.

I like to joke with my non-horsey friends that horses are just big dogs (I know it’s not really accurate, just helps them conceptualize large animals LOL)

But you seem to have actually acquired an Appendix Retriever!

[firecracker]

Not exactly a fly sheet… but we have a couple of horses on the farm that have been using the Shoofly Leggins fly boots, with good success! A lot less stomping. For the bug bites on the belly, we smear Desitin over the fly spot, and it does a decent job of keeping it covered so the bugs don’t get to it. Sometimes we’ll put Swat in a ring around the Desitin. Horses with sensitive eyes get fly masks, and then we’ll use fly spray all over the body. This system doesn’t keep all the bugs at bay, but it does a decent job.

A fly sheet sounds like it might be worth trying… but they get awfully hot under the fly sheet in the heat and humidity here in TX.

[starsandsun]

Would this work?

Mosquito Mesh Fly Sheets | Schneiders

Reminder that BOFundMe is an option! Also, would you lightly spray with something like WrapLast to keep curious teeth away? I don’t fly-sheet my boys, so I have no clue what works to keep them cool and flies off at the same time.

[Heinz_57]

@firecracker

A fly sheet sounds like it might be worth trying… but they get awfully hot under the fly sheet in the heat and humidity here in TX.

That is my concern… I quit using fly sheets after my dear departed TB ripped his last one to pieces in a fit of rage (less than 10 minutes after I’d put the brand new thing on). They always made him a little hot, so I gave up at that point. The bugs seems to harass Bo a lot more than the other horses, though, so it may be worth a try in combination with heat-reducing measures when necessary. He’s not having a huge problem with face flies - it’s mostly the belly, and sometimes he gets bites on his legs. Fly spray knocks down the majority of his issues, but I’m going through a TON getting these guys thoroughly coated. A sheet might reduce that some.

@starsandsun that might work. Unless he stands next to the shared fence and lets someone chew on his clothes, I don’t expect too many problems with durability - assuming the fly sheet makes him less itchy.

[Angela_Freda]

Is there, or can you create shade?

[Heinz_57]

Yes, his stall area has a cover. I have plans to expand the shade, but that is where all the bugs congregate, too (of course).

[Christa_P]

I don’t know how well it would work for turnout, but maybe this would help:

Cashel Quiet Ride Belly Guard - StateLineTack.com