4-28-09 Pancho and Lefty are eight months old!!!

Who would ever have thought we'd ever be discussing the boys' eight-month B-day? Although it's been a long journey, the time seems to have slipped by. They are both so big now that I'm often asking myself where my little funky foals went! The last month has been rather eventful. First off, I was laid off from my job due to the economic down-turn. The company simply doesn't have enough work to support all of us. It sucks but I wasn't the only one. The upside is that the boys think they have won the lotto since I am able to spend more time with them than before. Hopefully, betwix and between my job search I can get some more accomplished with them.

Both have taken on decidedly boyish behaviors. Marsha, the pony in the adjoining pasture, came blazing out of winter anestrous (I hope I spelled that right) and presented the boys with their first mare in heat. Pancho was not impressed in the least and lost interest right away. Lefty found the whole thing interesting but wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do about it. Marsha finally ambled off when she failed to tickle anyone's fancy and left Lefty to think about it. Eventually, he decided the solution was to mount his brother, which set off a whole different reaction! Soon I will have to decide how to isolate them a bit more from the mares!

In true stallion form, they have begun to poop in the corner, one pile on top of the next. It makes for easy cleaning but corner they have chosen is right in front of the gate and the majority of the pile ends up right at the entry to their paddock. A method to their madness perhaps? There are some randomly-dropped piles as well but Dear Pancho tends to leave these either in his feeder or in the water trough. I guess "randomly-dropped" is incorrect since I have watched him deliberately back up to the water and let fly. I guess he likes the splash as he tends to drop his toys in the water too. Mollie was a water horse that loved to play in the trough so maybe it's genetic. Whatever.

Speaking of water, we had a three-day heat spell so I thought it might be a good time to introduce the boys to the concept of bathing. This is going to take awhile. Lefty stood pretty well for me to hose his legs but had that look on his face that said he wasn't real happy about the whole thing. He gets that snake-eye thing that looks just like his mom. They both have (had) "human eyes" with the white ring around them and it gives them great expression. He only tried to run past me once but really didn't try too hard. I let him off the hook with being wet to the knees and called it a successful training session. Pancho was another story. He didn't want any part of it and let me know right away. He danced, he wiggled, he moved around out of the way, and generally tried to avoid any contact. The big sissy! I only had the hose on "mist" so it wasn't even a big deal! Eventually, he stood still but got "The Look" on his face that makes my warning flags go up. He gets very still, sort of drops his head a bit, stops blinking, and looks like he's staring into space. It's creepy. As mentioned before, German said this is not unusual in the Lusitanos; it's the contemplation of the fight-or-flight choice. The Lusitanos are historically bred for bull fighting and have an interesting way of sensing impending danger, much like a bird who goes into a trance-like state once captured. Whatever it is, it's just plain creepy and I can hear the bomb ticking. It is my signal to stop and let him think about it. Thankfully, given the chance to think, Pancho does think and eventually decides that it's not going to hurt him. Another wreck was averted but clearly, it's going to take more baby steps in Pancho's training than Lefty who bulldozes his way through stuff (in a good way!).

Speaking of wrecks, amid the heat wave we also had brutal winds that gusted through at 70 MPH with sustained winds of 50 MPH. It lasted for three days and made everyone miserable. Somewhere in the whole mess, Lefty caught the right corner of the lower lip on something and gave himself a huge rip that ended in a dangling hunk of meat that looked like an appendix. Dr. De Vos said that due to the nature of the rip, it was not a good candidate for stitching and assured me that wounds to the fleshy areas of the face shrink up quite a bit more than one would expect. He said that once healed, we could decide if a cosmetic snip would be necessary. While this was going on, I reconnected with one of my jumper students from forever ago who is now a large animal vet. We had a great time catching up and spent a great day together. She was tickled to be introduced to the boys and was duly impressed. This meant alot to me. Brenna was one of the easiest, most cooperative and trouble-free kids I ever had in my barn and is an extremely gifted rider herself. Her clientelle now includes some of the most expensive jumpers on the international circuit. In that world, even blemishes are a no-no. She said that she uses Fura ontment (known to us oldtimers as Furacin) for the first three days then switches to the polysporin that you get at the pharmacy. She said that she has noticed that the Fura ointment tends to increase the granulation tissue and delay the healing if used for more than three days on wounds like Lefty's. So, I tried it. I don't know if it was the ointment or if it was destined to heal up well anyway but he looks great. As Dr. De Vos said, the shrinkage factor was remarkable. I never would have guessed that the hanging hunk of meat would reduce so much as to not need nipping! As for the polysporin, it seemed to keep the wound soft without crusting over with a big scab and now, two weeks later, I can hardly see the wound. Amazing. We learn something every day!

Earlier this month, the boys got their first sights and smells of cattle. The neighbors moved some heifers in to eat the weeds. They began in the pasture farthest away from the boys' paddock and eventually moved to the pasture shariing the fence line. At first the boys were a bit taken aback and didn't know quite what to think. They didn't freak out but seemed to view the heifers as riff-raff that they didn't want to associate with. Eventually, they ended up visiting over the fence line and one more life-experience has been added to their list.

The boys were due for some new toys and I had just run out of ideas. I was trying to fix their water and they wouldn't leave me alone so I tied up a 20 by 30 blue tarp with duct tape for them to make noise with. My neighbor called and asked if there was a body bag in their pen! I thought this would keep them busy for awhile since they could make noise with it...and we all know how much they love to make noise! By the next morning they had unwrapped the duct tape (TWO ROLLS!) and had the tarp strewn all over the pen. I had to come up with another idea...

The boys have also outgrown the milk jug full of rocks. They are so big that the poor milk jug only lasts for a day before being squashed. The body-balls are a no-go as well. They stay inflated with a plug so when the boys jump on them, they shoot the plug across the pen and end up with a deflated mess of rubber. I called around different places for prices on a 55 gallon poly barrel and was shocked that almost everywhere wanted nearly $100 dollars for one. Now, I love the boys but that's a bit cost-prohibitive for a toy. Finally a local supply company I contacted loved the idea of two goofy colts rolling around a barrel full of rocks and did some research for me. They found me a poly barrel that is closed on both ends with two bung holes in the top for under $30! The barrels I had in mind are certified to hold hazardous materials but the black ones they had are only used to hold water etc. so they aren't so expensive. A perfect solution! A BIG THANK YOU TO BILL AT JB DEWAR IN SANTA MARIA FOR HIS HELP AND TO KEN THE OWNER FOR HIS INTEREST!!! YOU GUYS ROCK (no pun intended)!!! I urge all of you to patronize their business for all your supply and fleet fueling needs. They are really nice people. The boys like their barrel even though they can't pick it up and run around with it like the milk jugs!

And finally, Living the Country Life Magazine did an interview with me about the boys for their radio program. They took a little creative license with the content but it's fun anyway. It is only a 60-second piece but if you are interested, here is the link to the clip: I tried to make it a clickable link but it choked the system. Just copy and paste it into your browser and you can listen from there:

http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/resource_other/20090427/83dc8fb8-9aa0-1c0d-011c1bb3311522d0/091456/LCL-Long-Show02-2009-May01.mp3

So, another month has come and gone. The boys are shedding their winter coats. Pancho is turning a deep gold like his dad and his dorsal stripe is becoming much more evident. Lefty had the soft, dense coat of his mom and is now turning a coffee colored bay with obvious gold reflections in the sun. Such handsome boys! Here are a few pics of the last month. Thanks again for your continued interest! As always, we look forward to your comments!

The Cross K version of "The Girls Next Door"!

Lefty is still long and lean and very sport horse-ish and a dead-ringer for Mollie. Even he's getting dapples!

Pancho is still a thicker, more Baroque kind of guy with dapples, dorsal stripe and he still wants to get into my pocket!

The "body bag" tarp

The grown-up version of the jug full of rocks!

3-16-09 Pancho and Lefty are seven months old!!!

Well folks, it's been an interesting month. The weather has improved and the boys are beginning to shed the winter coats. I can't wait to see what color they decide to be!

The weather finally dried up enough to introduce the boys to the Shop Vac! What a great grooming tool! They sell horse vacuums for a gazillion dollars but the Shop Vac works just as well and is surprisingly less noisy. Not that the boys care about noise...noise means a new toy! I just went to the local vacuum store and had the hose changed out for a 15-foot one. This allows me to leave the vacuum unit and all the electrical parts outside the paddock so nobody gets fried. Pancho was a bit skeptical at first but soon discovered how good it feels. Lefty, not to be left out, decided to chew on the hose to get attention! He stood like a champ too and now I have not-so-stinky boys.

The boys are huge and a bit full of themselves so German decided it was time for some serious work. He came down yesterday and gave each their first semi-intense schooling lesson. I do not mean to imply that he's hard on them; such is not the case. It was semi-intense because "Mom" was not the one telling them what to do and because he was really asking them to think. He brought down a cool "knot eliminator" gadget to use for their first tying lesson. This has been a long time coming and I wasn't really sure where to begin. Thank God for German! It's a bit distracting to have one pestering me while working with the other. He tied Lefty first and began the schooling session with Pancho. Lefty put up no resistance and really takes everything with a mix of curiosity and boredom. He investigated the knot, the tie ring, the fence, the water trough, and whatever else he could. Eventually, he let out his signature yawn and took a nap.

Lefty's first tying lesson

Pancho was another story. He challenged German when he was first asked to walk forward on the long rope. Pancho is used to being the one to push so when German pushed him, he didn't like it one little bit. He wasn't nasty (except for throwing himself down once!) but he definitely had his own opinion! Oddly, even though he thought he was being sneaky, his reactions were very predictable. I think even I can stay one step ahead of him if I pay attention. It was a great help to be able to be a bystander and watch it for the first time. It gave me great reference material to continue the work between sessions with German. By the end of the session, Pancho was moving forward in a circle around German, giving to pressure and direction change, flexing at the poll and to the right and left, and standing quietly. German said he is very like his sire to work with and has some of the same reactions as Pu. My little Luso-boy is growing up! He's a big, strong colt and I'm glad I have a direction now. One look at his pictures and you can see how big he's getting so it's well past time to get serious. German is about as tall as I am so you can see his size in relation to mine. German is the one who levels the playing field for me.

Lefty is amazing. He started out as the temperamental one and he's still very mischievous; however, he is used to being pushed by Pancho so when German applied a little pressure, Lefty fluidly responded by going forward. No muss, no fuss. Trot? OK, how much do you want? Reverse? Sure thing, no problem. Bend? Flex? Like this? I'm on it. Amazing.

Lefty-what a star!

German's smile says it all.

What??? Upper level movements already??? Showoff!

Even stars have to bend. Lefty's getting big too!

Overall, German was pleased with both boys, even though he said Pancho made him break a sweat and Lefty didn't! German made a good point: Pancho is used to pushing and Lefty is used to being pushed so when he made demands on them, they responded accordingly. It all seems so obvious when German is there. Clearly, I am either too close to the situation or I don't have nearly the powers of observation German has. Again, thank God for him. I'm not sure I could get through this and end up with two mannerly colts without him. Now, all of you know that I don't believe "horse whispering" exists, but if it does, German is the poster child. Maybe I'll make "German" their middle names!

So the boys are seven months old. Wow. We measured both of them yesterday and Pancho is 13.1 and Lefty is 12.2. I would have put the weight tape on them but the last time I saw it, Paige was wearing it as a necklace and I didn't have the heart to take it away from her! Another day perhaps! Although they are very different from each other, German thinks they are both good colts so far and he seems quite pleased with each. He described Lefty as more of a sport horse type and Pancho as more Baroque. I think he's very accurate. Me? I'm just pleased and proud. I'm pleased that the boys are both healthy and strong and proud that they represent their sire well, who is one of the most spectacular horses I have ever seen. I'm also really pleased to see quite a bit of Mollie in each colt. Every time I look at them, it feels like we haven't completely lost her.

So, this is it for the seven-month update! Thanks for your continued interest. The boys love an audience!

As always, your comments are welcome and we eagerly look forward to your impressions! Go to the "Contact" page to submit comments and I will post them here as I get them. See you next month!

COMMENTS:

I am so proud of these guys! I get teary-eyed every time I read about them! Susie Harris, Fountain Valley CA

Thank you ever so much for asking me on a cold, wintry day to meet them for the 1st time. I was impressed and, as you know, buckskin is one of my favorite colors. And, yes, Pancho is very Baroque. Linda Walden-Nipomo, CA

2-16-09 PANCHO AND LEFTY ARE SIX MONTHS OLD!
Six months old...what a milestone! This has been an important month for the boys. Not only did they turn the official age of weaning, but they had to suffer the indignities of some drenching rain, get used to the bigger paddock, learn to deal with mud, and spend a whole week without me going out to their paddock. I had some surgery for a kidney stone and was relegated to the house for a week. I made do with talking to them from the bathroom window on each of my innumerable trips. If I had known I was going to be spending so much time in the bathroom, I'd have redecorated it first! It was hard on the boys even though Katie, Carolyn, and my neighbor Janelle made a big effort to spend time with them. It's just not the same as Mom. Once I was able to go out and start messing around with them again, they spent about 15 minutes whiffing my hair and nibbling my shirt tails just to make sure it was me!

It wasn't long after I was up and around that the skies opened up and it drenched us. Unfortunately, their paddock is in a bit of a low spot so puddles collected quickly and soon spread into mini-lakes. It didn't take Lefty long to realize that he could plunge through the puddles and make more than a little splash. He barrels through the deepest parts like Michael Phelps in the 200 meter butterfly. His belly has been muddy for over a week! Pancho wasn't pleased one teeny little bit with the mud. If he needed a drink, he would inch his way around the edge of the shelter, tippy-toe down the fence line to the corner, turn the corner and inch his way to the water trough. After a good, long drink (so he didn't have to do THAT again for awhile), he'd retrace his steps back to the shelter with nothing but contempt written all over his face. He learned some fancy turns on the hindquarters trying to stay as close to the fence as possible! He literally spent days under the shelter. Eventually, either Lefty bullied him out or he decided it looked like more fun to play in the mud than stay under the shelter. As of last evening, he was romping and playing with his brother all over the paddock, even getting mud freckles all over his face. In the long run, the mud was a good learning experience.

The down side of being out of commission for a week and having rain follow is that the boys haven't had much schooling in the last month. They have become quite independant and even a little cheeky. Lefty, dear Lefty, has been pushy since the day he was born (and probably why he survived in utero) but all the romping through the mud wears him out enough that he's happy to be groomed afterward. Once the grooming is finished, he's right back to mud-womping. I think there's a little redneck in him. You can almost hear him saying, "Hey Y'all, watch this!!" or sometimes even, "Dude! Hold my beer!"

Pancho now knows he's big and powerful and he isn't afraid to use it. He pushes Lefty around at feeding time something awful. Lefty is quite handy at fluidly wiggling out of the way without ever removing his face from the grain bucket. Pancho is larger and not quite so quick and graceful, so Lefty is generally not bothered by him. They are getting cumulatively big enough that there is little room for me to work under the shelter when they're both under it. Yesterday, I was spreading new shavings and gave Pancho's butt  a little pat to move him over. He made a very bad judgement call and sort of humped his butt in my direction, not enough to be called a kick but certainly a suggestion of it. I say it was a bad judgement call because I had a pitchfork in my hands. Never piss off a woman with a pitchfork. Man or beast, it's a losing bet, gets you nowhere fast, and is generally just a really bad idea. He got enough of a poke in the butt to remind him who is in charge but not enough to break the skin. It got his attention and scared the crap out of him. He was still doing the submissive mouth gesture when I went out to feed this morning! Little monster!

When I last measured them and put the weight tape on them, Lefty was 445 lbs. and 12.1 hands tall. Pancho was 550 lbs. and 13.0 hands tall. That was about four weeks ago and I swear they are even bigger now. The pictures below show you their sizes in relation to each other. Lefty favors the Thoroughbred side a little more and Pancho is clearly leaning harder on the Lusitano genes. Happily, they both have very identifiable Spanish traits. I heard the shape of the Spanish head defined as "convex profile" on RFDTV. Both boys are definitely 'convex', Pancho a little more so. Personally, I love it.

So here they are in all their muddy glory. Thanks for your patience while I redesigned the website. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the last. Our new email address is cross.k.ranch@gmail.com. If you wish to send a comment, use the form on the 'Contact' page or go directly through the email and I'll post them from there.

Even though Lefty has a more refined build, he's not that much smaller than Pancho, probably because he refuses to lift his head until all the pellets are gone!

Pancho is getting the beginning of some very handsome dapples on his butt.



Again. Lefty simply refuses to lift his head for a nice picture until all the food is gone, the little monster.



It's cool to see the Spanish traits emerging. You would expect to see a dorsal stripe on a buckskin, but not on a bay...unless there is Spanish blood. How cool is this? What a great excuse for a couple of butt shots! I can't wait to see their summer coats. Saturday is all about Lazer Sheen and the Shop Vac!

Pancho on the left and Lefty on the right.

     

1-5-09
Apparently I have spent the last nearly five months laboring under the misconception that I have twin colts in the barn when actually there is one colt and one reindeer. You heard me; Lefty thinks he can fly. I have been working my butt off getting Mollie’s old paddock fixed up and twin-proof for the boys so they have more room to romp. It was causing me untold amounts of stress as the clock is ticking. Finally, last week the paddock was ready for the boys and they got to go out for the first time on Friday. My neighbor Janelle came over to hold Lefty while I led Pancho to the new pen. Pancho was a gentleman and Lefty was totally unconcerned that his brother was going first. Once I let Pancho go and took off his halter, I went back for Lefty who made the trip to the paddock without any muss or fuss. I left them out in the new paddock, which has a nice shelter, overnight. Although they liked the ‘romp-ability’ of the new paddock, they weren’t happy about being out all night. Saturday, the weather report on the news called for a freeze so I thought I’d bring the boys back to their old corral and box stall for the night. Like a dumbass, I figured this was going to be easy. I put both halters on and caught Pancho to take back to the barn first. Now understand, there is no visual barrier between the two pens so I figured Lefty would be as fine as he was on the trip out. I got Pancho halfway to the barn and Lefty lost his mind. He ran the paddock and repeatedly crashed into the fence. I have some surgery scheduled in the next little bit so the last thing I need is a wreck in the barn. I took Pancho back to the paddock and opened the gate for Lefty to follow his brother. Call it the chicken way out but it worked. I got both boys back in their familiar pen, took off their halters, and closed the gate. I began to dish up their pellets when Lefty decided I was taking too long and took a flat-footed jump over the five-foot gate! After a few tense moments, I got him back in the pen with his brother. This is the second time he’s tried this sort of thing, although it’s been awhile. I thought the first time was just an anomaly. Apparently not. Both times, though, he was in freak-out mode so this is another “lesson learned” for me. I have to keep a sharper eye on him post freak-out. I’m guessing these are the times he would ordinarily run to Mom for comfort so I probably need to do a “laying on of hands” before leaving the corral. {sigh} A mother’s job is never done. Happily, even though the vets initially feared he would have “iffy” legs, he bore no signs of the jump the next day. He had no soreness, puffiness, or even any scrapes to show for his flight. He may be the smaller colt but when I looked up and saw him coming over the top of the fence, he got real big real fast! The little dork.
I called Katie and told her what happened. Her goal for her and Lefty is to be great trail-riding, gunsel buddies. She’s OK with him learning all the upper-division stuff and having either German or me show him but she just wants to relax and hang with him. She’s “been-there-done-that” as far as showing goes and is well over it. It’s time for her to just enjoy the yahooing she has certainly earned and she wants to share that with Lefty. I asked her, “Are you SURE you just want to trail ride him??? He may be a Grand Prix candidate!” Pancho wanted nothing to do with all the mayhem and just put his head in the corner until it was all over…Mother’s little treasure!

So, I had to figure out how to get them from pen to pen in a controlled manner without hurting me or them while I’m recovering from the surgery. After a bit of a temper tantrum on my part from frustration and feelings of failure, I decided I have to think of new ways to do old things if I’m ever going to be successful with twins that think I’m the mom. Carolyn (God bless her yet again!) came up with a great idea: we pulled some panels from the back of the property and with the help of Carolyn and German, fashioned a chute from one gate to the other. Now the barn area looks like a friggin’ sales yard but it works.  Now anybody can single-handedly move both boys from one pen to the other safely. I know it may sound like a cop-out initially, but I can still lead one colt while the other follows and trade off who leads. They get handled, they get led, they still have to pay attention and think, but they are contained and nobody gets hurt. I’m learning to be OK with an extra step or two if it accomplishes my goal. This whole orphan-twin-baby thing isn’t my field of expertise but I have a little bit of experience with babies and trained the bigger kids for years so I know what I want: well behaved, controllable colts. Hopefully, we are one step closer.
So the latest news is that Pancho is still a little pushy but when called to task, he focuses and uses his manners, both boys are enjoying the room to romp in their new fancy-schmancy paddock, they have their own “red carpet” to walk from pen to pen, and Lefty thinks he can fly. All is well. There may now be peace on earth; however, I may just put in a quiet call to Mike and let him know that Stuart may get a training buddy when it comes time for Grand Prix!

12-31-08 Look how big we are now!

12-16-08
Well, whodathunkit that we’d ever get this far? Four months old and the boys are still astounding me. I know, I know, they are just colts now instead of the scrawny orphan twins they once were. But the fact remains that they are still twins and I get as big a kick out of watching them grow up as I do watching my twin granddaughters. It’s the twin-thing; I can watch them develop traits and personalities simultaneously rather than years apart.

For the first time, I finally see some semblance of Mollie on Pancho’s personality. For the longest time he was so completely his dad that I didn’t see the subtle signs of his mom. Pancho inherited the dilute gene from his dad that turned his coat color from bay to buckskin. OK, OK, so the bay came from Mollie but when I look at his little yellow self out there, black points or not, he is the image of his dad. He favors the Lusitano side and is heavier-boned like his dad. Until recently, his personality was very calm, like his dad. Lefty is the one who was always getting a bite on my shirt tails, pants leg, and occasionally skin. He’s always into something. Not Pancho. He’s the one who loves to be brushed and hugged and generally fooled with. Until it rained…

Pancho is not happy about the rain. In fact, he’s a bit wild-eyed about the rain. He doesn’t like being wet but he doesn’t like the sound of the rain on the barn roof when he goes inside. He doesn’t like the fact that I moved their feed inside the barn. It’s a change in his world and he’s not happy. The whole rain thing is beneath his dignity. German once predicted that Pancho was going to be “complicated” based on the location and direction of his cowlicks. He was right, although I don’t know if it has to do with cowlicks or if it’s just because he’s Mollie’s son. She was a solid mare for the most part but she was also a diva. She liked it the way she liked it and that was all there was to it. Any change in her world and she would let you know about it. It would begin with calling, then move on to pacing, then finally become full–fledged wild-eyed bucking-snorting-racing around the paddock. Heaven forbid the neighbor move her horse from one pasture to the other, and Lord help us all if Mollie lost sight of him in the fog! She certainly made her dissatisfaction clear and Pancho seems to have inherited that trait! Their dad Pu on the other hand, is like the cool high school jock; he remains totally unconcerned with any brou-ha-ha going on around him. Carolyn and German turned all her broodmares and foals out together in one pasture, which set the whole ranch into an uproar. I glanced up to Pu’s paddock and there he stood, sound asleep with one hind foot cocked up!

So each time it rains significantly, Pancho loses his mind. Simple. I walk into the paddock and he’s all over me. I think, given the chance, he would gladly crawl into my pocket and hide if he could. If I get too far away, he grabs my sleeve and yanks me closer. He weighs 400-plus pounds so when he yanks, I know it. I have to keep my eye on him or I can become airborne with no notice. Oddly, when Mollie was in freak-out mode, she settled right down as soon as I put a halter on her. I thought it was simply her early training (and part of it may have been) but mostly, I think she got security out of it. Having a halter on meant I was close by. I tested the theory on Pancho and it seems to work. He has had some training but in reality, he’s only 4 months old. How much impression could it have made? Whatever the reason, he settles down and remembers to use his manners once the halter is in place. I don’t even have to put a rope on him; I just put the halter on and go about cleaning the stall and paddock and he’s happy. Whew! Simple solution!
I’m not sure I would have made the personality connection if they weren’t twins. Even though Lefty looks like a clone of his mom, he is a cool character. Nothing bothers him. When it rains, Pancho is a drenched undignified mess. Lefty is usually a bit damp but for the most part, it’s only a little on his back. His tummy and legs are dry, meaning he has the sense to come in out of the rain! He sort of looks on his brother with horsey-disdain when Pancho freaks. When I move the feed in the barn, Lefty is the first to go looking for it. No panic, just one cool unconcerned colt, just like his dad!
There is a certain element of “frat boy” in both the colts though. They discovered the rubber mats underneath the shavings in their stall and have been systematically pulling them up and tossing them about for the last week. Apparently, they make another great toy! Since we were in such a rush to set up the barn after they were born, I had to be creative and use the interlocking mats from my weight room. They fit together like puzzle pieces in two-foot square sections. They actually worked great since the stalls in my barn are funky sized and need a custom fit. So, I installed them and duct-taped the seams together for strength right before the boys came home. It worked great until recently. Once they found one, the game was on! I went in to clean the stall the other day and found three of them pulled up. I tossed them over the door to keep the boys busy while I was cleaning. Immediately I heard “tap tap tap…tap tap tap.” I looked out the door and both were squished up together and dancing on the mats, happily making noise. It reminded me of the sound boards used in the Paso Fino shows. I had to remind them they are Iberian Warmbloods, not Paso Finos! So now I’m going to have to install real stall mats in the barn if I expect them to stay down!
So, it’s fun to see the personalities develop side by side. It makes it easier to see the similarities to each other and their parents as well as the differences. I think I’ll be better prepared to deal with each of their needs and better understand how their minds work when the time comes to ride them. So, Happy 4-month Birthday, Boys! Grandmamma is very proud of you both!
12-4-08
Well, here we are not too long after the last update! Could it be that I’m catching up??? Don’t tell anybody.
The boys had their feet trimmed for the third time a couple days ago. German came by to hold them for Darby again (God bless him!) and spent a little training time with both before they got started. Pancho was an absolute star. He is the more passive of the two colts but gets frazzled easily when there are changes in his world that he doesn’t understand. His mom was the same way. The last rain storm was the first really significant rain he had ever experienced and he was beside himself. He didn’t like the noise the rain made on the metal barn roof but he didn’t like going outside in the downpour either. What’s a baby to do? When I went out to feed in the morning, I had my rain gear on and my hood up. He didn’t recognize me at all and met me with wild eyes and the submissive mouth gesture. Once he figured out it was me, he nearly crawled in my pocket! Poor silly guy! Lefty on the other hand, was totally confident and I could almost hear him thinking, “Dude, it’s only rain. Chill.” Lefty is the one with the “human eyes” (white rings around the outside of the eyeball) so I almost expected to see him roll his eyes in disgust at his brother! But I digress…

Pancho not only stood really well for Darby but he did it with only the lead rope and no butt rope! It was a first. That’s a very grown-up thing to do and it only proves that he trusts German implicitly. He didn’t fight or argue and he didn’t even break a sweat. Darby said he got an “A” and I was very proud of him. Pancho weighs over 400 pounds now so it is getting harder and harder to argue with him when he freaks out.
Lefty, the little monster, decided to be a puke again. He was so perfect last time that I was sure he had turned a corner. Not so much. On the very first foot he threatened to throw himself on the ground again so, rather than deal with threats, German accommodated him and down he went! It pissed him off to have a face full of the shavings that bed the floor of the stall so when German let him up, he decided to behave for the most part. Darby gave him a “C”. Katie wasn’t there this time so maybe that’s the secret. She is Lefty’s “Mom” and he behaves so much better when she is around. We talked about it and decided she will be there next time to test the theory.

So the only other news is that both boys have grown out of their baby halters. Where did my little ones go? I used to be able to get my arms all the way around them and now I don’t even come close. German was commenting on the width of Pancho’s chest and the depth of his loin in the same way one would discuss an adult horse! Lefty is beginning to look so mature as well, especially around the face. Crap, I feel old! But the good news is that they are alive, they are healthy and robust, and they are both excellent representatives of the breed. Who could ask for more?

So, even though they are growing up, there is still some baby stuff they do. The funny thing is that it seems to be the same silly baby stuff that all babies do, regardless of species, like fight with their sibling. The pictures below show the behavioral similarities between Paige and Pancho…


11-??-08
OK, so it’s been awhile since I updated the boys’ page but they are getting huge and it is time for some schooling so they don’t become unruly frat boys. It all takes time and there are only so many hours in the day. Writing has had to take a back seat to the needs of the kids and attention to my real job.
First of all, both twins are making astounding progress. "Astounding" is the only word for it. Both are healthy, robust, and strong. To look at either of them, no one would ever suspect that they were either twins or orphans. Both had some leg issues at birth. Pancho was born with his front tendons contracted due to the limited space he had to grow in. We have been diligently working on the tendons since birth and I am happy to say that not only are they stretched out enough to allow him to stand, they are stretched out enough to be considered normal! He is straight and strong and bucks and gallops like his hair is on fire! The only residual reminder of the early issue is that during his growth spurts, his legs get a little tired but he recovers quickly. The vets were confident from the beginning that physical therapy and specialized foot care would fix his issues since it involved soft tissue only, and thankfully they were right. Lefty, on the other hand, had a crooked front leg that was crooked from the knee joint, again due to limited space. They told us we were going to have some work ahead and it would take time.
We have been blessed with a gifted farrier who takes care of the boys (and my other horses) feet. Her name is Darby Holden and she has worked MIRACLES! Not only is she the one who designed and applied the custom-made the little corrective shoes for Pancho, she has been the one who has single-handedly given Lefty a whole new front end! Here is the important part and I include it because I know quite a few of my readers have horses of their own: Darby has accomplished what she has with my boys because she is diligent in her education, is a devoted horsewoman, has an artist's eye, has a great understanding of anatomy, and above all understands that a lot can be accomplished when you work WITH nature instead of AGAINST nature. She communicates with me, she made multiple trips to see the boys and talked to their vets when they were still in the hospital, looked at their X-rays, and met our field vet at the ranch to discuss treatment plans. Now, I know that a vet isn't a farrier and a farrier isn't a vet but sometimes the egos involved blur the lines. This is why it is so important to have a great team in place, even if you do not have any foot or leg issues. My vet has great respect for my farrier and she for him. They pow-wow with each other to design the best treatment plan for the horses. There is no competition; they are both dedicated professionals whose goal is what will best serve the needs of the patient. Neither my vet nor my farrier believes in the old-school "yank and crank" method. 'Pretty' is not their goal; 'function' is. The treatment methods they designed for Lefty's hard-tissue situation is slow and conservative and patience plays a big part. The fortunate thing is that they were both on board from the minute the boys were born and were able to begin at the earliest possible point. If a picture is worth a thousand words, take a look:
This is Lefty's front end at 8 days old:
11-12-08
OK, I know I have spent a lot of time discussing the leg issues Lefty had and how Darby’s skill has virtually erased them. He’s doing brilliantly. His knees are straight and he moves strong. No more knock-knees.
Pancho has had issues as well. If you remember, he had contracted tendons in both front legs and was quite “windswept” behind in the ankles. Darby treated his back end with the magic little shoes she fabricated and he looks great. I have been a little concerned with his front end though. Although much, much straighter in his tendons, he was still slightly bowed in the knees. When I say “slightly” I really mean “slightly” but still, it caused me concern. When he hit growth spurts, his knees got wobbly for a few days and he seemed to move a little more carefully. I mentioned this to Darby last week before she trimmed him. She took a look and made some conservative adjustments and the result is truly a wonder. Again, no heat, swelling, or lameness. The following is a chronology of Pancho’s improvements through Darby’s magic:


Here’s Pancho at one month old. He’s still pretty bowed in front but was still being treated with intermittent bracing of his front legs. Look at his back ankles though. They were very crooked, bent to the right and he was very down in the fetlock joint, especially the right one. It’s not unusual for foals to be down in the fetlocks but it usually resolves itself in a few days after birth. His still hadn’t resolved at one month. This was when the rubber shoes were removed and his aluminum shoes that Darby designed and built were applied.

I took this picture last night. Darby trimmed him for the second time last Friday. His knees are straight and he locks them as he should. No more buckling or wobbliness. His back end is straight and strong. Suddenly, I see his mother’s shoulder and his father’s hip emerging from the funky little twin he originally was. Compare this to the first picture and the results really are dramatic. But it’s not magic. This is a first-class example of Darby’s skill, knowledge, and dedication to her craft. Pancho has not exhibited any swelling, heat, or lameness during the corrective measures. Everything she has done has been slow and conservative specifically to avoid these issues and it works. Patience is a must. Both he and Lefty have improved exactly as designed. What fortunate boys to have such a great team of professionals taking care of their needs! Both Pancho and Lefty still have some areas that need improvement but Darby is on it. She has a plan going forward and I feel completely confident that the end result will be better than we could have hoped for.

The boys are just shy of three months old and I just don’t know where the time went. The nutritionist from Purina came out two weeks ago and helped me set up a feeding program for them. By the end of the week, they will be completely weaned off the liquid formula. They love the formula pellets (even thought the vet said most don’t care for them at first) and they get 6 cups per day per colt. They also get 2 pounds of Strategy per colt added to the formula pellets. They have free-choice of good forage hay. We had some poopie issues resulting from alfalfa that was too rich. I took it as a warning and decided to take them off alfalfa all together. Ephysitis is a big concern as well so the forage is a better choice. At the time of their evaluation by the Purina rep, Lefty weighed 204 lbs. and Pancho weighed 240 lbs. according to the weight tape! Where did my little babies go???

Stay tuned. There is a lot more to come from these guys. They are such happy little fellows that it’s impossible to have a bad day around them. The next big event is finishing the fencing repairs on the pasture and giving them more room to roam. That should be a circus! They also need official names to register them by. They will always be Pancho and Lefty to us but they need fancy-schmancy registered names. We are taking suggestions…!

Oh, and just so you don’t think I left him out altogether, here’s a picture of Lefty from last night as well: