Horses settling in, take #2
3 December 2020*last update was a mess, here is more what it was meant to be :
Horses have settled in really well here and it's been a busy few months of getting to know them, gaining condition, a health surprise for Acorn, and adjusting to managing horses on smaller land at a time where feed is harder to come by.
Dennis has personality and sass for miles, he is friendly, jealous of any attention/food, playful, and a little bit cheeky and troublesome in the cutest ways.
Acorn is more hesitant around New people - she played hard to catch for a couple of days at the start. Now of course she is always trotting up first (Dennis is the boss so knows he can take his time and push her out of the way). Acorn also didn't let me pick up her hind feet, which, alongside the hard-to-catch thing rang of distrust. After some discussion, bodywork, and a vet call it turns out she has been experiencing a lot of pain with arthritis (which the previous owner was unaware of). Supplements, natural based feeding, a vet visit, veterinary supplements, and now regular medication (via injection) later Acorn is improving. It's been a slow journey, as she had no trust with her hind feet for trimming/hoof picking, and her last trim she was much more settled and allowed her hind to be lifted and held!
The next step for Rock Haven is searching for ways to manage the property to allow more people to come and engage with the horses safely. Also, looking for more land as the grass has quickly been gobbled up and these horses are precariously holding weight even with hard feeds and constant hay/balage access.