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Rigs and Proud Cuts
27 September 2008

Charlie Brown has been a happy addition to my life for a couple of weeks now. During that time it has come to my (and my very understanding barn manager's) attention that Charlie has a couple of "unique" traits.

Charlie and I have bonded beautifully and for that I am extremely thankful. It has been a fabulous learning experience so far. In our bonding, I have noticed that Charlie has become protective of me. He does not allow the other geldings to approach me in the field.

Charlie also puffs up and does what I call the stallion challenge when he feels threatened. Be it another horse or a scary object. He can be strong on the ground for others but listens to me. Under saddle he is a dream come true. All of these things are no biggie until the latest was brought to my attention. Charlie has now been herding the other two geldings he shares a field with. So much that each horse is covered in bite marks and scars. Not good business in a barn that houses dressage beasts and eventers.

So, I have done a lot of research. Two big possibilities jump out. Charlie could either be proud cut or a rig. Proud cut is where a horse is gelded later in life after reaching sexual maturity. This is more of a behavioral challenge that can be worked with.

A rig is a horse who was gelded but not all the way. Most commonly this occurs when only one testes drops and is cut. The other may be retained within and still producing testosterone. This can cause problems in two main ways. The first being a horse who produces testosterone and portrays all of the characteristics of a stud horse. The second being the undescended testes could become cancerous and needs to be removed.

My barn manager and I have come to an agreement of getting bloodwork to check Charlie for being a possible rig. In the mean time, we will construct a temporary paddock beside the gelding field to separate Charlie so as no more injuries occur to the show horses. I like Barbara and Izzy too much to have them unhappy with me.

More to come and crossing my fingers for a late-gelded horse. They make supplements (like that available for moody mares) to help calm geldings. Much easier than surgery.

It's all about the gait
01 September 2008

It has officially been one week since I brought Charlie Brown home. I call him Charlie most of the time. And not in that annoying "Charlie the Unicorn" voice. That creeps me out a little.

In this week I have learned a lot about the Tennessee Walker Breed. I have met with the TWH/SSH gurus of the Nokesville Horse Society I belong to. I have read countless internet and magazine articles about the orgin of the breed and how to best care for them. And most important of all, I have just spent time getting to know Charlie.

Charlie is an amazing horse. He is patient. He is forgiving. He is intuitive. And best of all, he is loving. Today was another example of these traits. I pulled Charlie out of his stall and clipped him into the cross ties. Now Charlie has Walker specific hind and light shod shoes. The hind shoe has a small bar/prong that comes to the outside, past the hoof wall.

When I started grooming Charlie I noticed the "bar" was not poking out on the left hind side. Lifted Charlie's foot and noticed half of the shoe was missing. As in it broke in half right at the toe! That put a kabash on today's riding plans. With the assistance of the barn manager's husband, we pulled the remaining part of shoe off Charlie. He stood there and let us pull and file. Not a set of nippers to be found so we had to be inventive.

Charlie was as calm as could be. Not a sound, not a flinch, not even a yank in trying to remove his foot from our grasp after 15 minutes of pulling away at the leftover shoe. I thought he definitely deserved a break. So we walked out to the airfield and just stood there while he ate. Wednesday the farrier will be out so I can wait another week to ride. His health and soundness are way more important than my getting a chance to ride.

Tonight I sat here and researched again for gaited horse tack. I found something I have decided may be a combined (as in ALL family get me 1 gift) Christmas gift, the Imus 4-beat Endurance Saddle. This is a major frivolity but one day I will have the majority saved up and the rest from Christmas gifts. My Wintec Synthetic All Purpose fits him well enough but I did find some slippage. Something I have found to be common with TWH/SSH riders due to their unusual build.

The next item I buy is more of a necessity as my Dynamite's 72" blankets do not fit Charlie's 78" frame. I have decided on a Rambo Wug Heavy Turnout. I already have a bridle and bit that he enjoys and I can use almost everything else I have from my mare.

Well, off to peruse other goodies I can't afford. Something all of us horse folk have in common. Happy internet "window" shopping!