Charlie Charles's diary

During October Charlie and I have had two lessons with Sarah where we took him out for a walk. He was OK on the first one but needed some reminding about his leading manners. In the couple of weeks between the lessons I realised that he is grumpy and bad tempered because he is hungry, and so before the next lesson I gave him a big heap of hay, carefully gauged to be finished just before the lesson. It worked like a charm! He was polite, well behaved and cheerful, with perky ears, just like the baby horse I bought.

Sarah and I agree he should have a couple of months off now, so he can get used to the winter. He'll still have to have his feet trimmed though!
 
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Love reading the updates. Charlie sounds a little character.

Do you not feed him ad-lib hay? Not a criticism, just curious as the babies on our yard are always fed ad-lib forage, they have a huge net in the stable and a round bale or big pile of hay in the field as soon as the grass starts to go. This is the only yard I've been on though, so I have no experience of what other people do, and my YO is a notorious 'feeder' lol.
 
Sounds like you have worked out what was bothering him, I guess the calorific value of the grass will be dropping off now. Charlie sounds like he has opinions of his own about the world, which I like in a horse!
 
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Love reading the updates. Charlie sounds a little character.

Do you not feed him ad-lib hay? Not a criticism, just curious as the babies on our yard are always fed ad-lib forage, they have a huge net in the stable and a round bale or big pile of hay in the field as soon as the grass starts to go. This is the only yard I've been on though, so I have no experience of what other people do, and my YO is a notorious 'feeder' lol.
He gets hay every day morning and evening but not much. I'll give him lots sometimes, like the other day when it was tipping down with rain and I thought they could do with a duvet day - scads of hay in the stable. But he is quite chubby for a baby and it's not good for their joints if they are overweight. I'm hoping he might drop off a little and then I can feed him up some more.
 
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Hangry is something I am well versed in, it really can effect horses ability to concentrate, glad you got him figured out :)
 
Charlie has nine lives!

I arrived to poo pick this afternoon to find the fencing around the central section of the field (inside the track) completely trashed. Wooden corner posts 4" thick broken, metal corner posts with 3 legs dragged out of the ground, plastic posts and rope everywhere. I can't imagine how Charlie did it but it was certainly comprehensive.

Some of the rope is quite thin and my mind filled with pictures of Charlie's legs sliced up like salami. I dashed up to where he was grazing with Mattie and felt him all over - every leg - underneath - his throat - his chest - even his sheath. Nothing, nada, zilch, and no flinching either. Is the horse made of rubber and springs?

I had a look at Mattie too (though I knew it wasn't him) but he gazed at me with an air of injured innocence and said, "Quoi? Je vais bien, ce n'état pas moi."

It took me 45 minutes to unknit everything and put it back together.

I think he must have zapped himself, then jumped in the wrong direction like a Muppet. But I cannot imagine how he emerged unscathed.
 
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Trimmer came again today. We started with the back feet and gave Charlie a break between fronts and backs.

We got all 4 done, hurrah! He was not particularly good - there was a lot of flailing and head wringing - but by the end of the session I think he was beginning to grasp that if he stands quietly and eats his hay, it is all over much sooner.

He has beautiful, beautiful feet, quite round and absolutely perfect, with no flare or hiccups. Lovely baby feet!
 
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I thought Charlie looked a bit stiff this morning. He seems to have warmed up this afternoon - here he is doing his Lloyds Bank black horse impression, complete with sliding stop!
 
A much better trim today https://www.newrider.com/threads/a-beautiful-hoof.255501/

Trevor said he thought Charlie was really settled and happy (he's been with me just over 6 months) and that I was "doing my magic" which I found very flattering.

He also asked me how much Charlie cost, and I said £800 and he laughed and said, "For that horse? More like £2,000 at the right dealer." And that was nice too.
 
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Charlie Charles Chocolate Chip was 2 on 20 March. I've been meaning to post, but other things have got in the way somehow!

He had carrots in his morning nibble on his birthday. He liked them a lot.

Some recent pics. He has grown (wheelbarrow for scale) and his mane has grown even more than the rest of him! I just let it alone, it is beautifully soft and silky. He is a bit round at the moment with lots of new grazing!
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We have got to know each other much better and he really is very sweet. This is what I see whenever I come to the field....

hecomes.jpg
 
Today I put some hay in the shelter and invited Charlie in to meet the shedding blade. No headcollar or gate, he could stay or go as he wanted. He told me that he hadn't seen a shedding blade before, but being Charlie he was perfectly prepared to give it a go.

He liked the shedding blade VERY MUCH, especially on his legs. I got a raised hoof (he didn't wave it about, just lifted it) when I tried it gently just in front of his sheath, so used the rubber brush there instead (which got a tapir nose). He took a mouthful of hay now and again and turned this way and that way, and I groomed whatever he presented me with. He didn't get bored! In the end I had got off most of the loose hair so I stopped shedding-blading him, groomed his mane in the wrong direction just for a laugh, and went off to poo pick. He abandoned the hay and wandered after me, then followed me about, offering to groom me back (he's not allowed).

It was a really satisfying experience, and I was chuffed when I realised I had been crouching at his feet, scraping away at his legs, without being the least bit worried about what he might do. I could reach across under his belly to groom the leg on the far side, reach through under his tail to get smeggy bits off the inside of his back legs, whatever I needed to do - just like grooming Ziggy, but Charlie actively enjoys it while Ziggy just said, "Whatever."

And he was completely chilled.

Lovely boy.
 
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