As you may recall, Zorro has been on stall rest (for almost 3 months now) due to lameness. Well, because he was going stir crazy, we have tried different things to break up the monotony and boredom that he has been experiencing.
We have tried hand grazing him and leading him around....which is time consuming and sometimes didn't work because he would get all revved up or even buck, wanting to break loose and run free.
This was usually triggered by Amiga who would run by and cause a stir. Here she is just following Joe and Zorro to the barn for dinner time.
We made little pens for him, which worked out great....
....until we ran out of good grass along the perimeter where we could tie into the electric fence. So we moved to center pasture and no electric. Zorro loved the alfalfa, but in no time at all, the grass was soon taller on the other side, and he figured out the fence wasn't hot.
(side note- I think all the bumps on Zorro are from the mosquito bites he got the night before)
Amiga didn't help matters here either.... because Zorro preferred to be with her.
And as you might guess....the lure of grass and friend was too much.
(Look how cute Amiga is here with alfalfa hanging out her mouth.)
Once Zorro escapes, he and Amiga would run off.....and hide when I came out looking for him.
Trying to catch Zorro would end up in a chase which was of no use, and bad for his legs....so I would just wait until dinner time when the two of them would come walking back to the barn.
These "great escapes" occurred 4 or 5 times, no matter where we put the pens, unless they were hooked to the regular fence and were hot. When Zorro does get loose....he runs with Amiga....bucking, kicking, and jumping for joy...none of which is good for his leg injuries.
Zorro didn't seem to be hurting himself (was not limping afterward) but we knew he should not be running, So we started giving him half the paddock with Amiga. The idea was that if he were out with Amiga all day he would not get revved up and go crazy bucking and jumping and spinning. We also thought the small space would not allow him to run.
Wrong again.... they would run and chase and he would spin and turn and go too fast. In fact he managed to do something to cause him to start limping again. Not good. Usually the two horses were relaxed and grazing together so we had hoped this would work out in the paddock....but decided it should probably be back to confinement for Zorro.
We were due to take Zorro back to the U of I for follow-up ultra sounds on his two injured legs, and were anxious to see if they were doing better.
I was really hoping so.
Zorro is a bit ADHD and is constantly frigidity. He is smart and needs to have his brain and body stimulated. Here he is nosing around the barn while in the paddock.
Back in the stall at least he has cats and chickens wandering through and his Jolly ball which he actually plays with.
Floppsie likes to pick up the oats he drops while eating....and because he is always on the move, he walks around his stall while chewing, so there is food in various places.
Monday, just before feeding time, we let Sir Loin out of the corn crib for a first. We still had the rope dividing the paddock in two and Amiga was on the other side. Zorro looked on from the stall, out of trouble for a change, although he was pawing at the gate. The cow was real tentative, and then in a burst, kind of galloped and bucked and then stoped and look around again. Joe, Britney and I just watched. Amiga came over to check out the action. Fairly quickly, Sir Loin decided eating grass was the thing to do.
A little later we fed him his grain. The "dirt" on the tail end is due to a diarrhea problem. Hopefully it will clear up as he eats more hay. He had this issue when he arrived. The short, little fence just behind him is the one dividing the paddock.
Tuesday I was very busy with school work, so Joe helped Courtney take Zorro to the U of I in Champaign to have him reevaluated to see how he is doing. They left him there over night, so Wednesday morning I decided to let Amiga and Sir Loin be together and I opened the gate to the back pasture. Sir Loin headed out first and Amiga soon followed. They quickly accepted each other, becoming grazing buddies out on the new grass.
Courtney and Joe went back to the U of I
to pick up Zorro Wednesday evening. They tried for 3 hours...in the cold and dark of night, to get Zorro to load on the trailer to bring him home. Food, lifting his feet up, blind folding, and even sedating did not get him to go on. He absolutely refused. So they returned home without him. Sometimes I feel like he is such an ornery young punk! For some reason he was scared to death to get on that trailer.
We did not have time to go get Zorro until the weekend, because we wanted to load him in the day light. In the mean time, Amiga and Sir Loin got more and more used to each other.
We went Saturday morning to pick Zorro up and again he refused to get on the trailer. After 30 min. of strong persuasion, some help from two vets who basically lifted his rear end on, he did go on the trailer. Once home, when Joe opened the trailer door, but before he could get the butt bar down, Zorro shot back, pushing and squeezing under the butt bar. He ended up scrapping hair off the top of his back, and I imagine didn't help his already lame legs any. ughhh.... At least Courtney had unhooked the trailer tie and had on his lead rope. She tried to hold him, but got rope burns instead.
Harvest moon on a evening when the harvest has long ago
been done, but leaves still linger on the American Sycamore tree.
been done, but leaves still linger on the American Sycamore tree.
This horse owning can sometimes be SO frustrating. As it ends up, Zorro's legs are healing.... but way too slowly. He needs to be on complete stall rest, and not be allowed out where he can run or buck. But he should also not be walking circles in his stall. It is such a pain. But, I love Zorro and aim to help Courtney out as much as possible. When I look at what this is costing her, I realize a little more time and effort on my part is the least I can do. So what if I have a lot more stall cleaning to do, wood chips to buy, and horse handling as I move Zorro to different areas.
I know that he would love to be out running around
with Amiga right now, like he was at this time last year.
with Amiga right now, like he was at this time last year.
On a good note, Zorro has gained 60 lbs since his last visit to the U of I eight weeks ago. The new diet we have him on must be doing the trick. He really has come a long ways in terms of growth and filling out. Hopefully he will soon gain better control of his body and settle down some.
This photo was taken of him early last fall.
And this one was from the spring.
And here he is a few weeks ago.
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