Howdy! Over the past month, I have been thinking a lot about my theme for the State 4-H Show. After talking to Lexi over zoom on May 11th, we decided! Fritter and I will be Jessie and Bullseye from Toy Story. After the zoom meeting, I started feeling much more confident about the whole thing. We started coming up with a pattern and thinking of different obstacles and challenges for the performance. I am very excited about our site visit with Lexi! I believe we will work on lunging and a few other things that will help us in the arena. On a whole nother note. We have just found out that Fritter has Cushings. We also had the farrier come out about last week. He said Fritter's feet are getting better and she is being better about trying to rear and get away while he is trimming her. A HUGE thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to meet, work with, care for, and love this horse! A special thanks to Ms. Lexi for helping us so much! She introduced me to H4H in June 2021. She has made me so comfortable with the pattern and theme for the State Show. Thank you, Lexi!! Sorry I just now saw I put this in the discussion post section

Howdy! Over the past month, I have been thinking a lot about my theme for the State 4-H Show. After talking to Lexi over zoom on May 11th, we decided! Fritter and I will be Jessie and Bullseye from Toy Story. After the zoom meeting, I started feeling much more confident about the whole thing. We started coming up with a pattern and thinking of different obstacles and challenges for the performance. I am very excited about our site visit with Lexi! I believe we will work on lunging and a few other things that will help us in the arena. On a whole nother note. We have just found out that Fritter has Cushings. We also had the farrier come out about last week. He said Fritter's feet are getting better and she is being better about trying to rear and get away while he is trimming her. A HUGE thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to meet, work with, care for, and love this horse! A special thanks to Ms. Lexi for helping us so much! She introduced me to H4H in June 2021. She has made me so comfortable with the pattern and theme for the State Show. Thank you, Lexi!!

1) Vaccination can help to prevent disease and provide individual and herd immunity. 2) Herd immunity: resistance to the spread of an infectious disease within a population that is based on pre-existing immunity of a high proportion of individuals as a result of previous infection or vaccination. 3) Equine influenza is a highly contagious disease that causes respiratory disease Symptoms: High temperature, snotty nose, swollen neck glands, loss of appetite, and lethargy. 4) Stiff limbs, lockjaw, and protruding third eyelid. 5)Equine herpes virus is a contagious viral infection that can cause abortions, respiratory + neurological diseases. 6) Strangles is spread by contact through touching infected objects such as halters and grooming tools and coughing. It can also be spread through the sharing of water and food sources as well as being in the soil.

1) would you be able to provide a separate holding aria for her (away from other horses) during feeding time? Fritter is food aggressive. 2) would you be able to take her to the vet regularly? Fritter may be in the early stages cushings disease. 3) would you be willing to send updates and pictures every now and then? I have grown to love this horse so it is important to me that she is in good hands and health.

Howdy! I haven't been home very much this month so Fritter and I have mostly been working on reviewing. I'm also trying to pick the theme, music, and costumes for the State Show. We have been working a lot on walking/trotting over poles and in and out of cones. We are still working on lunging and trotting. She is trotting a lot better and it doesn't take her as long to start off. I have been saddling Fritter every now and then just to desensitize her from things on her back, she does very well with it! Fritter has pretty much gotten ground-tieing down, I can walk around and jump, yell, run in circles, throw things, play with the dog, etc, and she doesn't care. We have decided to put Fritter up for adoption. I believe she would be an awesome horse for children or the disabled. Fritter does very well with other horses and animals around. Since her teeth are not in perfect condition she has to be fed pre-ground hay or alfalfa in order for her to get the proper nutrients. I am so grateful that I have been able to care for and work with this amazing horse, I would like to thank everyone who made it possible!

Video: 1) With the first video there's nothing I would really change, I liked it. 2)The only thing I saw in the second one was the barrels the horse jumped over were a little close together. But I did really like how much the horse trusted her throughout the whole thing. 3)In the third video I didn't really like the little tire drag and I think if she worked a little longer with the backing up she might not have to pull on the tail so hard. I did enjoy the trust the horse has in her when going over the teeter-totter. 4) I didn't really dislike anything in the last video. In my pattern I would like to: lunge a little bit, trot over a few obstacles, back-up under me( like in the first video), "say" left and right, ground tie, and if possible ride bareback

Howdy! This month I have been pretty busy, so I haven't been able to work with Fritter too much. I did get to saddle her up, walk her, and eventually got her to trot with the tack on. We have also been working on ground tieing which she is doing very well with. While working on ground tieing, Fritter was able to stay in one spot for up to ten minutes with me walking around, picking things up, jumping, the dog walking around and under her, etc. One thing she is afraid of is the bit. I use a split bit and can touch all around her mouth but, the second I attempt to put it in her mouth she spooks and tries her hardest to get away. She still doesn't understand how to lunge but I will still work hard on that. We also changed her feed program. After talking with the vet, she said Fritter needed more protein, fats, and minerals. She also needed alfalfa pellets because her teeth can't grind all the nutrients out of her regular hay. Fritter is gaining more weight and looking a lot better! I am so excited to see what we will be able to do together!

1) Ground tying is important because it teaches your horse not to follow you when you don't want them to. 2) teach your horse to lower its head, say woah and back away slowly, returning each time the horse takes a step out of place, backing them up and trying again and again until you can freely walk around and work wile your horse stays in place. 3)before sending your horse over an obstical you should master lunging. 4) False! When speeding your pace you should erge them from behind the "Drive line" or behind the solder on the belly.

This is a short video of a big accomplishment! We have had a hard time trotting so this was good. It doesn’t look perfect but it doesn’t have to right now!

Howdy! This month Fritter and I went to the vet and got her teeth floated and drew blood. Our Vet is a family friend, so she let me draw the blood. The vet said that her teeth were not grinding her hay fully, so she isn't getting all the nutrients that she would be if her teeth were healthy. We started feeding her alfalfa pellets so she could get a few more nutrients. This month I also saddled Fritter! She did great with this. We are not sure if she has ever been ridden, but considering her reaction, she has been. The only problem she had when being saddled was moving away when I tightened the girth strap. I am still working on getting her to take medicine out of a tube, and loading her in a trailer. When we try to deworm her she tends to throw her head. Also when we try to load her into the trailer she spooks and will not load up. We are going to leave one of our trailers in the pasture with her and feed her hay out of it so that she associates the trailer with food and food is good.

Howdy! This month Fritter and I participated in the Uvalde County Junior Livestock Show. Fritter did well in all the patterns, even though she didn't want to trot or even walk during some of them. Throughout the horse show, we placed 6th once, 7th twice, and 10th twice. I am very proud of Fritter for staying calm and happy! Before the show we had the farrier come out and trim her hooves, she did pretty well with this considering we do not know much of her past. The farrier said that after a few more trims she would be used to her feet being picked up and messed with. A few hours before we showed I gave her a bath at the show barn, she did well with this too, even though the water was cold and there were a lot of sounds and smells that she was not used to. During and after the show there were a few adults that approached me and told me not to give up and to continue to be patient and that with time it will pay off. I am excited to prepare for the state show. I can't wait to create my own pattern. Every day Fritter and I learn a little bit more about each other. Fritter fits in perfectly here at the Smith Ranch and I can't wait to see what new and exciting experiences await! Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to find my perfect horse!

1: a) It is important to be able to accurately take you horses TPR because is can help determine the health it is in. b) False, you should always check the vital signs when your horse is calm and at rest because it will then give you your horse's normal vital signs. 2: a) 101 b)28 c)8-12 BPM 3: my horses' TPR temperature = 96.3 (NOTE: we were using a infrared thermometer so it will not be the same. We don't have a regular one. heart rate = 48 BPM respiration rate = 24 Breath Per Minute

@alexiromo29 Yes ma'am. I will try and get you a video soon! I have taught Fritter to lunge going counter clockwise. Whenever I try to lunge her clockwise though she always faces me and keeps her hind quarters away. Thank you for the tips!

NO#1 a) It is best to have a younger forage because it is higher in nutrients and crude protein. b) In a higher quality bail you would more commonly see few stems and more leafs, as well as all the sides being one color NO#2 a) When using a weight tape the equation is: Heart girth x heart girth x body length divided by 330. b) My calculations on Fritter added up to about 923.( I don't have a weight tape I used a regular tape measure) 69 x 69 x 64 ------------------------------ = 923.345455 330 NO#3 a)1 to 9 b) along the neck, withers, behind the shoulder, along the ribs, flank, the crease down the back, and the tail head. My horses' BCS is a 4 because you can see her ribs and she doesn't have much fat.

Howdy! This month Fritter and I attended a 4-h horse club meeting. We were able to learn and go over the patterns for our county livestock show in January. In these patterns it is mandatory to trot, walk over poles, trot over poles, trot through cones, back up. There is also a brig and a small box to turn a 360 in. Fritter did well but she is a bit lazy, so she was not trotting. This is and may be a problem in the future being that the show here in Uvalde is so soon. Also at the practice kids ran up and down the metal bleachers to familiarize the horses with the sound so that they don’t spook during the show. Fritter did well with this and was calm and relaxed. I am currently teaching Fritter to lunge. I do not believe she has ever lunged before, so she is quite confused about what I am telling her to do. Instead of moving away from the pressure on her behind or on the ground behind her, she chooses to back up. I am also teaching her to pivot. I try to work with fritter as often as possible, even though December is a very busy month for us. We have not yet decided if we would like to adopt Fritter officially or if we would like to give another family the wonderful opportunity to call Fritter their own. We love her so much and she has been a wonderful addition to our ranch. Thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to love and care for this amazing horse! I will post the video soon!

Howdy! My partner, Fritter, & I have bonded a lot over the past two months. She has befriended our other mare, Ginger, as well as our German Shepherd puppy, Rip. Fritter has learned to patiently wait for her food, back up when needed without being told, how to cope with new and different environments and animals. Grooming, playing, and working with Fritter is always so much fun whether we run, toss a Jolly ball, brush (or nap if your Fritter) we always have a good time. She seems to do very well with basic ground manner such as walking, stopping, backing, and yielding her hindquarters. As well as some desensitization with a carrot stick, lung whip, crushing empty soda cans in a small area, etc. She does great. I am also going to start working with tarps and flags to desensitize her a little more. Sometimes we do have a small problem with Fritter not wanting to trot or lunge, but I try to work on that as much as possible without anyone getting frustrated or too tired out. I also try to reward her every time she makes the correct move (without spoiling her of course, even though that's hard sometimes). Although she has had it rough in the past, Fritter has been the most wonderful, gentle, safe, & calm addition to our ranch. We love her so very much and she seems to be happy here with us. Thank you to all who made it possible for me to find my perfect horse!

Question 1: It is important to know how to lunge and to work on lunging to help with getting extra energy out as well as to help build muscle and trust. Question 2: 1) At least one ear and eye locked on you at all times 2) Licking lips and chewing (thinking) 3) Lowering of the head 4) Circling closer to you (respectively)