NEW CASPER UPDATE 06/21

[amby]

WOOHOO, we got our staples out today without having to be sedated. The vet did twitch him (much to my displeasure) but he calmed down, so we took it off quite quickly.
On a more random note, there is a circus at our stable right now (no really, ;D miniature horses and elephants included). So anywho, I decided to turn Casper out for the evening because there are bunches of other horses out there, and I knew they'd keep him safe. (Yes I'm still a VERY OVERPROTECTIVE horsey mom). But to get to our pasture we had to walk by the packiderms. Hmmm....Casper is not an elephant fan..thought the boy was gonna jump out of his skin when he caught sight of them.................but we made it and he is now contentedly grazing with his other horsey buddies. I am so glad he can be a horse again, instead of being cooped up inside all of the time. He deserves better. Anywho....thank you all for your support through this difficult time with him. He's coming around, thanks to some smacking and stern speaking for the biting...and some practice, patience, and kindness with the pawing and respect issues.....so anywho...yall have a nice evening, I'm headed for the chatroom as always.
Night, Amby N Casper

[amby]

OH, and I forgot to mention what a good boy he was today!! ;D I being the genius I am, walked him down the gravel across a bridge that used to scare him. Him, being the superstar he is, did just fine, no balking, no spooking, no nothing, we got across the bridge and I went to turn him, and he is doing alot better, but hasn't quite managed the right hand turn without a little help. Well about halfway through the turn, I slipped, not a little, but slid about four feet down the gravel, have pulled something in elbow, wrist and hand ache, and am bruised and cut (through jeans) all up my calf. Through my incident of terror, I managed to yank on his head and fall and bang on his shoulder and the leg with all of the cuts. He locked his legs, and stood very still until I got up, then proceded to wait to move, until he knew I was ok. WHAT A GOOD BOY. The horse is afraid of rain, pidgeons, butterflies, and elephants, but I got hurt and he was a rock. I am extremely proud of him. And am thankful to have a level headed horse where I am concerened. Anyways had to brag on my boy.

[ttjab3]

That is good news that Casper is doing good. I felt so sorry for him when I saw those pics!! OWEY!!!!
Hey, what do you mean by saying that the vet "twitched" Casper?
Sorry, we are new to the horse world, and I haven't heard that one yet!!

I forgot to mention that he is just beautiful!!

[joy]

Hi Amby, so glad to hear Casper is doing better. That was a 'heck-a-bad' gash on his little face! Do you ever get the chance to watch RFD tv? There are some great equine shows on there, covering all kinds of disciplines, english, western, even an occassional minnie ranch.

Dish TV Network (ch.9409), Direct TV (ch.379) Mediacom Cable (ch.78)
and National Cable TV Cooperative.

Some of these guys, i.e. Clinton Anderson, or Chris Cox have great shows with lots of ideas and excercises or programs to help you out with your horse being shy or bad mannered while being tied. They have lots to offer.........Hope this helps you out. Even these guys are still learning! Don't ever give up........We all had to start some where.
P.S. Casper is REALLY cute.........

[erikasbackyard]

I didn't "tune in" to the Casper story until it was well underway, but have been reading recent updates. I am utterly charmed.

"Twitching" is pinching the rubbery, near-prehensile part of the horse's nose. This is sometimes done with a small (maybe a foot long) pair of aluminum bars that have a hinge and are shaped to have room for the snout while still squeezing it So-called "humane" twitch. More common (and more effective) tools for it are what looks like about half a shovel handle with a loop of chain or of rope. You stick your hand through the loop, grab the snout, pull snout through, then twist the handle so the loop of chain or rope goes tight around the snout.

Some folks think this is terribly cruel and that it is the equivalent of somebody dragging you around by your nose or ear - it isn't. It releases endorphins - the body's natural painkillers - and naturally sedates the horse. Some horses twitch better than others. We had a rescue (bought out of the kill pen after an auction) mare who would NOT let me shoe her unless she was twitched - unfortunately when she was twitched she would get all woozy and want to lie down on me, so it required a watchful helper who was quick to adjust the twitch on and off.

Some don't seem to release the chemicals at all, and ARE essentially just held by their noses, but most are naturally calmed once they get over the initial "What are you doing to my nose, eek, eek, crocodile" thing. (I always think of "How the Elephant Got His Trunk", no matter how many hundreds of times I've had to twitch horses or seen them twitched in 35 years).

In a pinch (no pun intended) it can be done with a piece of baling twine and some horses even just by hand if you have a really strong grip and don't need it for long.

Twitching beats the heck out of having to shoot them up with drugs. Some horses have problems with it because they associate it with unpleasantless like having their teeth done, or being handled roughly/carelessly, but it is not inherently cruel or painful.

[amby]

Hmmmm....fought myself on it, but I decided to leave Casper outside all night last night. (With some of the other boarded horses) OMG...he was a completely different horse this morning. He was an absolute angel. He got a little nervous around the elephants, but hey atleast he wasn't as bad as one of the horses my former trainer owns. She was leading him and her mare, and he reared up and got loose. Casper is really being a champ through all of this. I must admit that i will be glad when the circus is gone though. Elephants and horses don't mix very well, and would really like to be able to use the arena.
Well, thank you all for the compliments, I must say I think he is GORGEOUS, but hey I'm prejudiced ;D, yall have a great day.
Amby N Casper

[pahobs]

Amby - Such good news about Casper...so very glad to hear that he's coming along nicely!
...and why do you have a circus? I sure would love to see those elephants!

[erikasbackyard]

Yeah, c'mon - it's killing me. What is the deal with the circus? (and I thought the first time they saw PIGS was exciting... of course, the old man probably wouldn't have cared about elephants. He didn't care much about the pigs. The only thing that completely - and I mean completely - unglued him was the first time he saw a flock of sheep.)

[amby]

Hmmmm....about the circus, , the barn Casper is at is the Arkansas State University Equine Center. Anyways, they rented the arena to a circus for a few days. So, there is a circus at the barn really, they have 6 miniature horses and 3 elephants, and plenty of circus people ( ) which is why I won't go up without my dad after dark, until they are gone, (yeah I know I am a whimp).....anyways after a nice night of turnout he is great. And i'm contemplating putting him out tonight, its raining, and started to storm really bad awhile ago.