I bought Charlot a 4'9" heavy duty winter turnout rug. I know he will need it for the forthcoming winter or, failing that, we will have to put him in a stable. We don't have any spare stables at present. Jo's stables are already booked for this year's foals and Indie this winter and Charlot will not have a peaceful winter if he is stuck in a separate field gazing at them whilst waging war against Indie. Hence the rug purchase.
The last time we put a rug on Charlot (last spring), he nearly went into meltdown but this time, he was mellow and unphased by this, including having the fillet string passed through the back of his legs with straps done up underneath his belly. Charlot's behaviour cheered me up as we have done nothing with him this past month. He remained calm, interested in yet another mad scheme and co-operative. I am glad we tried it on him now rather than in an emergency situation (you know, Gale Force 10, rain lashing down and trying to get a rug onto him while he shook with cold, wet and misery).
Daisy calmly led him around the school (and btw, he was also fairly easy to catch too) and then, on a roll ,we decided to "do" feet, ie Jo picks up each hoof, cleans it out and puts it down with no fuss. Well, that is the theory anyway and the practice was actually completely different.
The front two hooves were no problem but the back two resulted in Charlot becoming more and more adept at target practice. He would not give in and lashed out the minute he felt Jo's hand on his back legs. Not good, not good at all.
Never one to give up, Jo persevered until Charlot became used to feeling her hand on his leg reaching as far down as his hoof. At times, he was dangerous and panicking. Jo said you could hear his heart beating very very fast. She kept going until she could run her hand down his back leg without him lashing out.
We know that we have to keep going but our luck has run out for the time being. I have wrecked my back and doctors orders are to rest with gentle mobilisation. Hanging onto a rope with nearly half a ton of horse trying to evade an issue is not "gentle mobilisation" in any language! We will do our best but it is probably more beneficial to let him learn to be in a herd environment rather than to try and train him occasionally without all our strength and concentration. We cannot help him if we are not firing on all cylinders.
