This week, I've seen a tremendous change in Florida.
On Monday, we had a successful trim with sedation. Using sedation allowed me the time to do a great job, without going beyond what she was comfortable with. It was a pleasant experience for both of us & I was pleased with how her feet shaped up.
We continued to work on hand targeting during catching, groundwork, especially Rub Up & Rub, & laying down. She has begun to seek me out when I'm across the fence working with another horse & she's been much better to approach with halter in hand.
With the chance of storms that we had (& the chance of more mud), I opted to wait to give baths until next week.
Here's a video showing just a few of the things we've been working on & hopefully shows how dramatically her expression has changed.
Jen, with Knotty Equine, visited us today & did a partial first session where the main focus was on her head & neck. She's likely got quite the headache which contributes to her spookiness. She was out in C1 & C2, C4 through 7, & T1. Jen spent a fair bit of time working around her left mandible & believes she may have a bit of lymph & sinus congestion. Has she had that indentation behind her jaw bone on that left side since she was born? Would you happen to have photos of her as a foal & as she was growing up? She was calm enough while being worked on that we'll feel comfortable hauling her up to Knotty Equine & having her in Jen's vet room while she works on her with the Acuscope/Myopulse.
Florida should feel much better after her dental today, too. She had quite sharp points & had two upper wolf teeth removed. We also noted that one of her central incisors hasn't come in or been able to come in. The central incisors erupt at 2.5 & are in wear by 3 years old so that tooth may not come in. We'll keep an eye on it to see if there's any change while she's here.
Next week, we're going to continue to build her confidence now that she's improved leaps & bounds. We'll finally be ready for Leading By the Feet & we may saddle for the first time here.
Next week's update will be posted on Friday night.