Merry Christmas to all from Enzo, Luciano and Santos!

What is that I hear? Could it be Santa and eight tiny reindeer?

Enzo just loves the snow!

Things have been really busy, but we are almost ready to open the new back pasture for the boys. We will complete the fencing this weekend and then do a final scan for wholes. Enzo has been growing and is still very well put together. He has great manners, and waits patiently on the cross ties while we brush him. The blacksmith comes out for his second trim tomorrow. He also has a winter blanket for those snowy days. We had to purchase a size 69 for the best fit!
We keep his training simple but consistent and Enzo plays well with others. He enjoys playing with the dogs but is completely bored with stall toys.
I am looking forward to the spring time when we can begin long lining and taking his training to the next level. I hope to post some Christmas photo's later this weekend.

Hey Little man, Smile for the Camera!

A Day on the Trail

Sunday was a big day for Enzo. He had his first ride in the trailer with another horse. We loaded my Husband's horse first, who is very patient and stood eating hay while waiting for his small friend. Enzo was a bit hesitant at first, but after just a few minutes he decided to trust me and walked right in. I tied his head and he was a bit confused at first but accepted this idea without a problem. We took a short ride down the road (about 2 miles) to the dam. We unloaded and my husband saddled up, Enzo, Winston (the dog) and Myself headed out on the trail. I have a newly acquired appreciation for all my horse does when he carries me up those hills! Enzo was once again a star. We crossed downed trees, water and he had no problem with Winston running in and out of the woods all around us. He did not like it when my Husband would trot to far ahead, he felt we should pick up the pace also. He quickly seemed to understand that he has four legs and I have two. The only thing we were unable to do was cross the deep water stream, we'll Enzo did not go in, I stood in the cold water up to my knees for about 20 minutes and then continued the walk in my squishy sneakers. I am not worried, though we will save that hurdle for another day. All in good time. This little horse is something else...I can only imagine what he can accomplish.

Small Challenges

This week has been full of small challenges. I have been allowing Enzo out with the big boys for small amounts of time while I clean stalls and do some random chores. He really cracks me up, the older gang just hangs out and eats hay while he runs all around them, trying to get them to play along. He is like a little boy at the play ground yelling "look at me guys, lets all run" The older horses just lift there heads and watch, as if to say, "that looks way to much like work to me little man". Enzo finally will try to eat some hay and and then everyone pays attention. Then all the horses have to play musical hay....similar to musical chairs...but sometimes Luciano wants 2 hay piles instead of one.

Enzo has mastered his walk up and down the street and over the ground poles. The blacksmith has been delayed, but will come out early next week. This should be a breeze as he stands quietly for long periods while I hold his feet up.

I also have been brushing him while he eats. I know he finds this a bit annoying but it is really helping with his food aggression and constant pawing while he eats. If I brush him and pick his feet while he eats, he eats much slower and is distracted from the bad behavior.

Last night he was so tired after dinner, he stood in the doorway with his head hanging out of the dutch door with his eyes closed. I don't think he ever naps as most foals do during the day, after all he might miss something!

This has been a busy week

This week has been very busy. We had one rough night with Enzo who decided to colic for no apparent reason. As with your own children, anytime something happen when they are young every mother goes into red alert, well I can tell you its not much different with a foal. He gave me a good scare, but also as with young children he recovered quickly....as if it never happened. I can not say the same for myself, I believe I aged ahead many moons as the Indians would say.
I also think Enzo has grown, he just looks bigger to me. I am anxious to get a tape or stick to measure him with, I don't think he will cooperate so that I can make marks in the barn doorway, as I did with my children when they were young.
We have been sticking to the basics this week, Leading, hoof cleaning, lunging, and walking down the road. I also have been continuing to expose him to grain bags and plastic shavings bags, all of which he is most inquisitive about. Enzo fears nothing, I believe he is one of the bravest horses I have ever met. Next week we will put a tarp down in his pasture and I purchased pool noodles to hang from the jump standards to walk him through. I also plan a trailer ride down the street for a walk on the trails.
I plan to post some pictures later this week, so check back with us soon.

Enzo and his new Big Brother Luciano

Wow, this has been a big week for Enzo. We started the week with a walk down the street on Monday. Both my husband and myself walked on either side and we chose the busiest time of day for our rural street. He walked down the street like a brave little soldier. He did not even blink at the traffic, or the mailboxes or the barking dogs. He was a bit unsure of the large bolder in the neighbors front lawn, so we walked over for a meet and greet....Enzo soon found that not only was this bolder not scary, it was really pretty boring....which is a good thing, because in Monson we grow boulders the size of small cars!
Lucciano also decided this week that Enzo should not spend any time in his stall, so he has made it his personal job to spend any free time he has trying to set him free. (he is also know as Houdini) He successfully open the stall door to the big boy paddock on Wednesday....my husband said he suddenly saw a small red flash running out with the big boys....Enzo came to him immediately as I think he was as shocked as my husband at his new found freedom! We have now put multiple locks on the outside of the barn door...he actually did well with the big guys, but we are still not comfortable with him be part of the larger herd yet....much to Lucciano's dismay.
Enzo allows me to pick up all four of his feet and I can also do this while he is loose in his stall and eating hay. We are working on picking them up for longer periods of time as he has his first visit with the blacksmith next week.
Enzo is a special guy....every morning I wake up and call out to him. He makes my day when he pops his little head over the stall, with is Enzo hair all over filled with shavings....looking up to the house to see which one of his fans is calling his name!

Enzo arrives at Home

Sunday 9/19/09

I have been up since 4 am in anticipation of Enzo's arrival. All of the fences have been updated and his stall is ready. We left the house at 7:30 am with our map quest directions and we are on our way. We were greeted by all of the Lucky Horse staff and Jen V, Enzo's foster mom. I was given a baby book and a CD to document Enzo's arrival at Lucky Horse on Easter Morning. What a wonderful gesture that I will always treasure. Then I looked around the corner and saw his little head popped over the stall with his hair standing up all over the place.....The star..the man of the hour...Enzo!
He loaded like a champ and the hour and 1/2 ride to Monson was uneventful...at least for Enzo, not so much for my husband who had to listen to me fretting about him all the way home. He walked off the trailer just like he walked on and went right to his new stall.
The most amazing part of the day was how he was greeted by my 7 year old Andalusin, who I brought home at 6 months of age. He leaned over the stall and reached in to immediately let Enzo know he had a friend and he spent the next few hours telling him everything was ok. I decided to go out on a limb and turn them out together, Enzo walked right up and nuzzled Luciano. He rubbed himself all over his neck and then walked a short distance away and began to graze. I spent the rest of the afternoon just watching them both, realizing how lucky I am. I can't wait to get started with his training....stay tuned!