My Tommy - he is amazing x

Two weeks ago I set the following as my 'aims' for Tommy :

1.       To be good for the farrier.

2.       Continue with the practice so that he is calmer for his headcollar to be taken off.

3.       Be able to catch him in the main part of the field when he is not wearing a headcollar.

4.       To put a thin summer sheet on his back.

5.       To use conditioning spray in his tail.

6.       To continue to build his confidence more.

7.       To increase his experience eg: seeing footballs, new people etc.

8.       To give him lots of love and cuddles - which he loves 

This Thursday Tommy will have been with us for 8 weeks.  I am so pleased with how far we have come as it proves that he is settled and comfortable with us all.  The Blue Cross had done lots of work with him before I had him so this had obviously laid the ground work.  They told me how nervous he was when he arrived with them and for him to now be as confident as he is, is fantastic.  

Tommy sometimes is the first to come inside in the morning now.  If Basil and Chesney go away from the gate for some reason he will come into his stable without them.  He gobbles his small breakfast and then munches on his hay before he has a lovely nap.  He lies down every day which means he feels safe in his stable!  He is still having his headcollar on every evening before I lead him out to the gate to take it off.  I think this is important practise for him and that it is important we do it regularly.  I am noticing that he is so much happier for me to put the headcollar on in the stable and does not seem nervous at all.  Taking it off in the field is improving although, he is still a bit tense - this may be because he knows treats follow though.  The nipping phase he went through a few weeks back has definitely stopped now.

I have not tried to catch him in the big field since my last update.  As he comes up to the gate in the morning there is really no opportunity or need.  One day when I went out to move the fence, after putting all the horses out, he did come over to see me.  He let me stroke his nose too - this was a big step!
Picking out his feet has improved a lot in the last 10 days.  Tommy seems to understand that this happens every morning when he comes in.  Although, sometimes he does decide to go for a lap of the stable before we start this doesn't happen every time.  Once we have started the first foot he knows the routine and the order that we pick his feet up.  He is not snapping them up quickly anymore and is really quite chilled about front and back ones.   He does make me laugh because he occasionally thinks that he can still walk with one leg in the air.  One day last week he hopped forward to reach his hay when I was holding his near hind in the air!

The farrier came a couple of weeks ago to give Basil new shoes and trim Chesney and Tommy's feet.  Tommy was initially unsure about this 'funny man' but once Basil and Chesney had had their feet done outside his door he was happier.  I popped his headcollar on and held him on the yard and he was so brave to have his front feet done.  He was nervous and a bit tense so we decided to leave him on a good note and just do his front feet.  His back feet are fine and he shouldn't have any problems waiting another 6 weeks.  The farrier comes every 6 weeks.

The other big news is that in the last few days we have managed to get a summer sheet on him!  Tommy was getting so used to the big towel that I thought he seemed ready to move on.  I have a summer sheet that is about the right size which I had for my first pony, Cocoa.  It is lovely and light so wouldn't be too heavy on his back so I thought it would be a perfect next step.  See tomorrow's vlog on my You Tube channel to see our first attempt.  As with the numnah and towel I folded it up and gently placed it against his shoulder first before gently folding it over his shoulders.  When he seemed comfortable with this I unfolded it across his back and hindquarters.  I was so pleased with his sensible reaction!  Since then I have done this a few more times and he is getting even better.  The plan will be to do this several times a week now until he is totally chilled with the summer sheet going on and coming off.

We are still having regular grooming sessions and cuddles.  I have given his tail a good comb through - mostly with my fingers but I haven't tried the conditioning spray yet.  I am working on Tommy allowing me to touch his ears as I would like to be able to rub them dry with a towel if he gets wet in the winter.  It took a while for Basil to be happy about having his ears rubbed too when I had him and Fidget was so nervous when we first had him that it took a very long time to do this for him.  I am confident that Tommy will be happy with this before the bad weather comes as he is making such huge progress.

Next steps:

1.       To be good for the farrier to have all 4 feet trimmed.

2.       Continue with the practice so that he is calmer for his headcollar to be taken off.

3.       Be able to catch him in the main part of the field when he is not wearing a headcollar.

4.       To continue putting the thin summer sheet on his back and try doing it up.

5.       To use conditioning spray in his tail.

6.       To start teaching him to be tied up.

7.       Introduce him to the hosepipe.

8.       To continue to build his confidence more.

9.       To increase his experience eg: seeing tractors, more new people etc.

10.   To give him lots of love and cuddles - which he loves

Keep an eye out for tomorrow's vlog on my You Tube channel.  Horse Life and Love.  


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Until next time!

Jo