Well, we are two weeks into our breaking season and all was going well, until Tuesday. For the past two weeks (Mon-Fri) we have been putting the colts on the walker and then three times a week three of the fat fillies have been going on the walker. Monday afternoon I was off work and had to go back at 5 pm because it was too hot for the weanlings and foals to go out. So this week is my "Foal Turnout" week. Basically, I work 7-12 and before lunch it is determined if it is going to be too hot to turn the foals out. If the temperature is cool, I would work a normal day (7-4) if it is too hot I leave at 12 and do not return until 5. Because of this situation I missed Monday afternoon when they put rollers (AKA Surcingle) on the colts in the stalls. They just laid them over their backs, no tightening or anything. Apparently this went pretty well except two of them squealed and bucked a little in the stall. On Tuesday I had to work a full day because I have class that evening and cannot do foal turnout.
So Tuesday we put the rollers on the horses and tightened them down. Basically the way it is done is we put four of them on the walker and then pull one out at a time and take him in the round pen. On each horse we have our own specified 'set'. So I went in with my first horse and
Brent coached me on what we do. We have a really soft bit in their mouth (its got rubber around the metal parts so it hardly pulls on their mouth hard). Brent attaches a longe line to the bit and then I stand in the middle as he gets the horse to trot quietly around the round pen a couple of times, the whole time using his voice to teach them voice commands. Then he brings the horse into him. As he is holding the horse and leading him around, I am putting the stuff on. We first start with a saddle 'blanket' (basically just a sheet like seen on racehorses under the saddle) and then a small cotton pad that is actually a cotton leg bandage folded in half. Then the roller goes on. This is all done while the horse is walking. (I will have to get pictures one day). Then we slowly begin to tighten the roller around the horse. As soon as it is saddle tight, I move back to the middle while Brent sends them around the round pen at a trot again. Most of the boys were really good. One of them bucked and the rest did great.
Until my last horse. The hot walker and round pen get picked out of poop after every set. Well there is a new girl in the barn (Tryn, my roomie is now down in the filly barn) and she picked the round pen first before the walker, which isn't a problem except we put the horses in the walker first. So we had to walk around the round pen for a bit before putting them in the walker. My horse was getting really excited in the round pen, so I was trying to calm him down. Then we went in the walker and I had to stay with him because there are only two horses in the last set, so he is still on edge and I am still trying to calm him down. The other horse got the roller on fine and then it was my turn. Do Nice, the horse I had, decided not to live up to his name that day. As I walked into the round pen Brent went to close the door behind us while he went to grab the equipment. Do Nice did not like that and blew up, he reared up hitting me in the back of the ribs with his hoof on the way up. When he came back down he kind of bucked and was still spazing out. I did not have time to think about being hit until I got him calmed down right after Brent came back. I am fine, I'm barely even sore, but it sure was not fun. We ended up not putting the roller on him, just getting him used to the round pen.
This just added insult to injury though. That morning was my first bite, too. I was unchaining the gate and did not realize one of the colts had walked up. He thought it was play time and reached over and bit me in the arm. I have a bigger bruise from that than from Do's kick.
Such is life around horses! Especially yearling, testosterone full, thoroughbred colts!
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