Chopped Hay, Chaffhaye And A Third Meal

We have had a slight breather recently, but we have two shows coming up. The last VA Welsh show is Saturday and the dressage show is the 17th. I am taking the leap to Training, fingers crossed, and I convinced my Mom to ride Rosemary in the show.

During the break we were able to take a look at our older horses. Dottie has been battling diarrhea for awhile now. Nothing has completely cleared her up, but she is doing better. The vet said that older horses have trouble absorbing fluid. We added diatomaceous earth, pysllium and pro bi to her meals to support her system.

For awhile now, we have chopped soft hay for the older horses. We use a leaf vac/cutter to chop the hay to a length easier for them to manage. During the worst of Dottie's diarrhea we soaked the hay to reduce the scratch factor.

The vet also recommended feeding her chaffhaye. This is also called "pasture in a bag."

Chaffhaye is premium, non-GMO, bagged alfalfa that mimics the characteristics and nutritional benefits of fresh pasture.  It is carefully cut and harvested to retain its natural plant juices, preserving the natural probiotics of the feed.  It is lightly sprayed with molasses to initiate natures fermentation process and compressed into air tight bags within hours of being harvested.  This process locks out dust, rain, mold, rodents and other undesirable elements to maximize nutrients, palatability and 
digestibility.

It is very strong smelling, but Dottie and DaVinci love it. We worried when we found white spots in the bags, some bigger than a hand. So we carefully picked out those spots. We feared it was mold. But the vet relieved that fear when she came back out for Ember by telling us it is yeast. The horses can safely eat it. It seriously still turns my stomach to feed though.

And finally Peggy gives Dottie a third meal in the afternoon. DaVinci protests that he is the oldest and should get the same privilege, so he gets some chaffhaye. After about a month of wet chopped hay, chaffhaye and third meals, Dottie is looking the best she has looked this year. She even walks away from the chaffhaye. I guess she is full. She has even been more active in the field. So great to see :)

DaVinci has been looking good without having fluid on his belly, but he has been flaring. Mom scheduled his next chiropractic appointment for next week to help him prepare for winter.

Senior management is tough sometimes because you don't always realize how far they have slipped and getting them back is a long haul. Luckily we caught Dottie before winter. The way she looked, I don't think she would have made the season.

Now we just need to get her past this abcess she has developed... and DaVinci past his swollen eye. Gotta love the vintage ponies. They keep you on your toes as much as the young ones.

"To Everything There is a Season"

When Mom told me the news that Byrds song came to mind. We know the time will come for all our horses but it is still sad.

So big, but so sweet

For Dottie, she has moved into the next season of her life: Retirement. The sad fact is that these big horses age faster and gravity is much harder on them. Mom had the chiropractor out to work on her and Deliah. We worried about the fact that Dottie had not been rolling as often and was stocking up more. We know she has issues in her neck and hind end. And everyone knows that "no hips" means "no horse." Not surprising the chiropractor found arthritis in her neck. What was surprising was that the arthritis in her neck was causing ataxia in her hind end. This causes her some instability and the end ridden work. The kids can still play with her, but no more adults. Plus the ataxia has probably lead to the loss of muscle we have been seeing. My sister, who is Dottie's main rider, worried she caused it by not riding very often. Our chiropractor made sure to tell her that was not the case.
Dottie was full of acupuncture needles and they must have released some blockage because she peed in the aisle. That lead to another revelation when the pee had mucus in it. The muscle loss has caused her girly part to recede and create a shelf, so she must have some back wash. Fortunately, the vet today said there is no infection. Anyway the chiropractor said the needles stay in longer for Dottie because she is an Earth Horse. Ha, I pinned her right. Some definitely were painful at first, but Mom said she relaxed as the pathways opened up.
We don't have to make the tough decision, but it is closer than I would like. This winter will be telling. The vet today put her on Previcox to help her feel a little better. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical companies have figured out they can get twice as much money from us by making an equine formula. Thanks a lot for making it harder to provide pain relief. I am going to try and order a bunch of Previcox before Winston's prescription expires so that the cost is lower.

So Dottie moves into the purely pampered pony category and will hopefully feel much better. She already has rolled more. I was never so happy to see a dirty horse before.

Dirty Dottie :)

On other news, the entire barn is now fighting the cold virus. As ugly as it is, we can only just keep doing the supportive care and let it run it's course. Ember was checked out by the vet today and got a thumbs up except for a wormy belly. A fecal will help us fix that problem.

Nothing cuter than a baby in a blanket

And finally Roscoe's oldest foal, Castleberrys Debonair, finished the Royal in Canada as Reserve Champion Cob. He came in second to an awesome mare who was bred in PA and used to show against Roscoe. The funny thing is, he seems to dislike baths. That is a trait he shares with Daddy. Roscoe has improved over the years but it will never be his favorite activity. PC for photos: friends of Debonair's Owner

Good News!!!

Life has been a series of hot, humid days with a lack of riding. I'm still deciding what classes to do at the show next weekend if it is not raining :(, but the horses shined during a family visit. Rosemary, Dottie and DaVinci pulled pony ride duty, plus Rosemary gave carriage rides. My niece was much braver and decided to ride by herself on Rosemary. Dad walked her around the trails and the arena. We tried a little trot, but she was nearly bounced off. Rosemary gave me a look like "I told you she was not ready" since pony girl hesitated to trot. Meanwhile my nephew rode Dottie. Mom lead him out on trail, but we cut him loose in the arena. Dottie is a super babysitter and will just follow someone on the ground or Rosemary. We did give him tips on how to steer her and get her to walk on. Surprisingly, he picked it up and got her moving where he wanted. It was so cute to see his little feet kicking at Dottie. If you ride with clear intent, Dottie will listen and answer. He had a blast riding the big girl.

DaVinci says "I'm retired, you know that right?"

When he got on DaVinci, he said he walked too fast and he wanted Dottie back. I think part of it was he could not be cut loose with DaVinci. Rosemary was a star dealing with my fur nephew running in front of her and my niece flapping her "reins." We are so lucky to have such adaptable horses. Here is a video of them riding the girls.

 After, my nephew was thrilled to become a member of Manure Pickers of America by helping with the evening clean up.

"He is my favorite"

My niece was more interested in when she could get a horse. The question of little girl's throughout time. She laid claim to both Rosemary and DaVinci.

I have also started working on Alanna's Foal Pool prize. I should say I have started again. The colors were not right when I worked on it during the trip to Indiana, so my sister reworked the pattern. Now I am making progress. It will be the biggest one so far and uses the most colors too.

And finally I received good news over the weekend about Roscoe. Remember the collection at the end of last month? Well it seems the breeding took and there is a possible 2017 foal coming! Roscoe kept to his pattern of first cycle successful breeding and now his first by AI. I think it was meant to be considering how smoothly everything went that collection day.

Worth Her Weight in Gold

This holiday Peggy had a couple family members visiting. They toured DC and Middleburg with a bonus of seeing a foal at a friends house. At the barn they got to go for a drive with Comrade, who was much better behaved than his last drive. On their last full day, they got to go for a ride.
We ended up putting the western saddle on Dottie for the guests to ride, while Peggy and I rode the cobs. Dottie is our steady, trust worthy mount. Since she used to do therapeutic rides, she knows how to read a rider and won't do more than she feels they can handle. Once everyone was mounted and we taught her niece to steer, we headed out on trail.

All in a row, even the dogs :)

Rosemary had to go first because she was not in the mood to regulate her walk. Comrade took up the rear with Dottie in the middle. We kept the ride on the more level areas and kept it short. Dottie did great and only trotted once when she felt like catching up to Rosemary. Peggy had to school Comrade a bit but it did not bother Dottie.

So I breathed a sigh of relief that all went well as we came back to the arena. Peggy wanted to let her brother ride Dottie, but somehow it turned into her niece trotting around on Dottie. She got comfortable once I showed, as best I could, how to sit the trot. Though Dottie did wonder how she got drafted into doing a lot more work then expected. Dottie gave her niece a great ride and even walked over some poles for her. That mare is worth her weight in gold.
Then Peggy says she has to go cook dinner and she puts her brother on Comrade. Now you all know I love Comrade, but he has his moments. I though her brother would just be walking around. Oh, if only. I looked over from watching Dottie to see Comrade cantering down the long side. He pulled back on the reins and Comrade came down to a trot, but he would not walk. I had to tell him to turn him into the fence. That worked, but Comrade was wound up now. Peggy owes me big for watching over him. I was so relieved when pictures and ride time were over. The horses at least got paid well with treats and carrots so they were happy.

 

When I got home, Lisa texted me a Roscoe update. Still no mares ready yet. That figures since she and Roscoe on working better together. Ah well more time to fine tune. I did tell her we were have withdrawal and she needed to send pictures. So she did one better and sent a video. She said she missed his better movement, but what she did catch was pretty awesome. He looks to be maintaining his weight even with all the round pen work which is comforting. Can't wait to go see him next month though. Here are a couple shots from the video.

Nympho No More

This year has been hormone filled between Dottie and Roscoe. For a bit we let Sonny service Dottie and keep her happy. Unfortunately, like a typical male he would not leave her alone when she was on the downside of a season. So we cut off her stud service.

Dottie Dear

Well she was a total nympho after that. She teased Roscoe horribly. Plus since Roscoe did not see Sonny claiming her, he figured he had a chance. I seriously worried about our shared fence lines.
So we put up hot wire insulators that stick out 5 inches and ran the wire along the meeting area. Roscoe went from twanging the wire to jumping back when it was turned on. He has a healthy respect for hot wire. One problem solved.
Then we ran into an issue with the stall door that faces the paddock. Roscoe comes in for his dinner to keep Comrade from stealing. With his hormones raging and him growing, Roscoe is like a teenage boy when it comes to food. Starving!! One day after dinner, he actually busted through the door. Dottie was locked in to eat, so while he went over and preened to her, I went and locked Rosemary inside a stall. No repeat of the Cob run around, please. Then I shooed him off Dottie, waited while he chatted with Rosemary and then walked up to him to lead him back to the stall. Yep time for a more heavy duty door clasp.
Dottie meanwhile was crazy hormonal. Flirting, teasing and also being witchy to the grey boys. She was getting hard to live with. The real sign she was desperate was when Comrade let himself out of the stall to join the grey boys and girls. Dottie attached herself to Comrade and tried to convince him he knew what to do. Poor Comrade did not know how to handle Dottie rubbing up against him and nudging him.

So when we went to the Dover Tent Sale, we looked at supplements. In the natural, herbal selection area they had products for mares. As we looked and read I said "Where the heck is the Nympho No More?" Of course none came out said they helped like that, but you could read between the lines. We decided to try Mare Magic, a raspberry leaf based product, costing $15 dollars for the small size (60 days). It has only been about 10 days and we have given her the load dose, but she seems calmer. The real test will be when she comes into season again next month. I really hope it works because Dottie has lost muscle and weight since she has been dealing with all these hormones. Though I told Mom she should have awesome butt muscles from all the squatting she does.

Just enough bling for the big girl

Dottie also got a new brow band with a widow's peak and rhinestone heart on it from Peggy. The big girl had a spring in her step wearing her new tack. A friend said the right clothes make a girl feel sexy. All of us responded that Dottie needed no help in that department.

Two for One

I was still dragging on Saturday which surprised me. I guess Black Friday takes more out of a person than a horse show. Peggy and I did a bunch of cleaning in the fields before she started feeling sick. So I finished the necessary everyday tasks before I put my mind to riding. With this lovely time change that meant it was already getting dark.

I decided to get on Rosemary bareback and also decided to bring Dottie down to the arena. If I had more time I would have put her pad and bridle on, but that was not happening. Normally I would pony her with Rosemary. This time I did not even try. Rosemary is too quick for Dottie to keep up with, if you can believe that. 16 hand Dottie gets out walked by 14 hand Rosemary all the time. So I just closed both arena gates and let her loose. Now I would not do this with any other horse, it would not be good. Though I did do it after Roscoe was born, which was fun.

Ah, how time flies

 Anyway, I knew from a previous time that if I lead Dottie then take off the lead she will follow Rosemary on her own.
Rosemary and I had to push her off the fence line a couple of times when she got distracted by grass, but overall she followed us the whole time. She only walked, even when we trotted. Dottie made sure to change direction and stay on the inside track during the ride though. She also made sure she was there to get her piece of sugar when I was giving some to Rosemary. That is not a stupid horse.
Sugar decided how long the ride ended up being which was not long. Though not a typical work session, the ride did engage both their minds and require them to move in the sand arena. I like that fact that it is a two for one deal for me. With all the horses we have, being able to work more than one at a time is very helpful.
The next day Dottie gave me an awesome ride out on the trail. She even jumped something she would normally walk over and picked up a canter afterwards. I love that this 21 year old Draft may not have the best muscles, but she is feeling well enough to put in the effort. She is one happy horse. Hopefully, I can get her doing more of what she enjoys over the winter.

Nap time after losing all that hair

Dottie's clip art on her haunch

Trace clip #2, Dottie, is done in time for the warm blast we had. That leaves the grey boys left to do. I wish the weather would figure out what it wants to do. These temperature jumps and dips are hell.

Hilton Herb Mudfever/Scratches/Rainrot Trial Observations

Some of you may remember that Dottie became a part of a Hilton Herb trial 6 months ago. I signed her up because she got really bad crud last summer. She was so itchy it was hard to trim her feet. Knowing the quality of Hilton Herb products I figured it was a win win situation.

3 month supply

They sent two shipments of 3 month supplies of trial supplement and a topical trial lotion. They also included a coal tar neem shampoo. Dottie being 16h and 1300lbs received 5 50ml scoops of the supplement a day. Fortunately it was highly palatable. Smelled really good too.
As for the lotion we did not get to try it until the last month or so. Dottie only had one spot the first 3 months and that cleared on its own. Last month she got another spot, about dime sized on her right hind. I cleaned it using the shampoo and applied the lotion. The shampoo smells like a barbecue, but the lotion smells really great. It is not sticky either which was nice. A couple of applications and the spot was just a hairless area, no more crud. I was really pleased with the results.

Crud spot

After treatment no sticky stuff came back

For another situation, I found rain rot on Sonny who is Peggy's 30+ anglo arab. I brought her one of the lotions (I had 3) and some shampoo. She cleaned and applied the lotion to his back for a few days. After that she could not even find a hint of where the rain rot had been. That lotion is good stuff.
I had to fill out the final questionnaire this weekend, so hopefully the product will be available sometime soon.
They asked whether I felt the supplement made a difference. Yes I think it definitely cut the amount of occurrence and the severity. Dottie previously would have her whole coronet band area effected by the crud. Since using the supplement she has only had two instances of dime sized spots.

They asked if I saw a difference in her skin or coat. For the most part I did not, but Dottie's normal feed contains flax, so that was not surprising to me. What I noticed was that every shed season Dottie rubs this spot on her throat. This year she did not, so I guess there was some skin improvement.

They asked whether or not the lotion served as a barrier. Since I only applied it when she had crud, I could not say. Seeing how quickly it helped it is possible it could act as a barrier.

Then of course they asked whether I would buy the products. I would and I would recommend it too. For horses/ponies that regularly get scratches or rain rot, definitely put the money into the supplement. If it is only an occasional issue I would just get the lotion to add to your first aid kit.

Dottie has one more container of supplement and we have lots of lotion so we are set for this summer. I may even try it on Rosemary who gets itchy from bug bites. I am glad I signed up for this trial since the results have been positive.
They are asking for name suggestions for the products, so if you have any ideas I will pass them on to the company. If they pick your name, they are giving a prize.

Weekend Work and Fun

It is definitely great to have warmer weather. I seem to get more done and generally feel better overall. That could just be the longer daylight hours and that there is so much more work to do this time of year, but I am thinking positive.
 Saturday M and K came to ride the girls. Dottie was so excited to get to work and K seemed happy to end her riding drought caused by her broken bone. I worked with both of them to make sure they were moving in the right direction. With the bad winter, the older horses lost a lot of muscle and need slow work to get it back. Dottie is not a fan of walking, so I had K doing transitions. Making sure she had Dottie actually moving forward and not just plodding. I also made her exaggerate carrying her hands higher, so we did not have a repeat of her fall. For Rosemary, M needed to work on softening her neck and poll. Rosemary was getting a bit inverted with M before winter. I had her do circles or bending lines. As she circled the inside rein came in, turning the thumb like a hitchhiker, to get the bend in the neck. When Rosemary gave and stretched she brought the hand back in line and added leg to keep her moving forward. If she stiffened, M repeated. Sometimes I had her bring the inside rein back against her neck with the inside leg also asking her to move over into the outside aids. The best part was that Rosemary showed when M was not asking enough and when she was doing it correctly. To the right, M really had to make sure Rosemary was looking inside because she was quick to cheat by looking out. When they put it together, they had a lovely open trot with a nice long neck line.
After they cleaned up the girls, I asked if they could stick around while I got on Winston. When they agreed I got a piece of Rescue Remedy gum and tacked him up. Talk about a big difference in his weight. I was able to use DaVinci's saddle and girth. The saddle is a size down from his usual and the girth is 2 inches shorter. Plus it was up four holes on both sides. I was a bit nervous when I first got on since he was shifty. M held him while I picked up my stirrups. Then we headed out to the front of the barn. He was cool and I got better as I relaxed. He did keep leaning on the left side, which is a change. With inside leg he moved off and into the outside aids. We gradually picked up trot, more for me than him. I think he was happy to be working again. This was his second ride since the laminitis last year. By the end I was able to just enjoy his floaty trot and chatting with M and K.

Then the work began. I had the never ending task of picking the sacrifice area, which takes awhile right now after the wet winter prevented us from keeping up. I let all the horses go out and graze while I tackled the picking. A special treat for Winston. When I quit that task, I had to address Roscoe's feet. The influx of spring grass had brought on massive toe growth. Let me tell you that boy is so flexible. I can put his foot on the stand to trim the bottom and he will play with the floor mats or anything close by. As long as he does not yank his foot away and I can work, I let him be. It was probably the best he has every been during a trim, so I was really pleased. The better he is, the quicker I can get done.
Well, I figured I would attempt to work on his mane. Another ongoing process. I have used grazing as a distraction before and thought to try again. Ah, Nope. The grass was not enough, so it came down to my patience versus his evasions. I won...barely. He eventually figured out I was not pulling, just using a clipper blade and stood somewhat still. Short manes look great but are a total pain in the ass to get that way.
And then on Sunday, I got nothing done except Rosemary's feet because my nieces came to visit. Lily first said she wanted to ride the "White" horse, but then changed to the "Brown" horse. When I pointed out that Dottie is the "Brown" horse and Rosemary is the "Black" horse, she changed her choice to "Black." Rosemary was super, even with the crazy winds. I even let her trot after asking Lily if she wanted to go fast. Lily soon decided slow was better. She also decided she wanted to ride the "White" horse. So we put her down and then put Anna up.

"NO HANDS" :)

 The helmet was really big but we made it work. She would not hold on, so my brother had to make sure she stayed put. Lily led Rosemary around for her sister. Anna was happiest when the pony was moving so it worked. Then Lily said we had to go back to the barn, so she could get the "White" horse.
Well DaVinci ended up taking US for a walk. He kicked in his cruise mode and we had fun keeping up. Lily even asked my brother to hold on which she normally hates. I guess that's what happens when the pony has not worked in a while. When we got back to the barn, I figured she was done. Yeah Right! She walked over to Roscoe and said she wanted to ride him. Lily has had a connection with him since she saw him the day he was born. I told her she could, but Daddy had to keep a hold of her.

Matching Braids :)

 Roscoe made things difficult by letting out a big breath after we got her on and then not having enough holes to make it tight. He was a little worried by the new situation combined with the wind. Lucky me got to fend off nips, his bad habit he reverts to. But he really was a good boy. We told Lily she was helping to train him and she enjoyed that fact. Since he is so narrow and walks so big, she really felt the dips which worried her a little, but she stuck with it. When we got to the arena, I had her get off so I could work him a little. Burn some of that energy with a familiar exercise. Then Lily decided that while she wanted to ride, she did not want to put her helmet on. Sorry little lady, no can do. No helmet, no ride and she knows it too. So we all walked back.

 Meanwhile, Deliah and Bailey had been keeping Anna company as she enjoyed the freedom of running in the field. Prepare for cuteness overload :)

Free face washes!!!

 A fun day, but exhausting too. Roscoe and Rosemary both needed naps afterwards.

Kitty Hugs

Hilton Herb Mudfever Trial

Well this must be our year to participate in trials. Though unlike Winston's Laminil trial, this Hilton Herb trial will last 6 months and will involve Dottie. A few months ago Mom saw a posting about the trial and a request for horses. This year Dottie had a few times where she popped up with krud ie mudfever. One time is was bad enough she had puss running down her hoof. Most of the time it is when they have not cut the grass in a long time and the dew causes problems. She was so very itchy it was difficult to do her shoeing. Having a 1300lb horse lean on you to scratch her legs is not good.

We used Cowboy Magic's Krud Buster for a while with good results, but they no longer make the product. So we fell back on an old trick we used back when Sherman was effected: Medicated body powder. It dries out the icky spots and helps with the itch. Smells good too.
When Mom saw the post, I figured what the hell and signed Dottie up. I had to fill out an initial survey about her and our feeding/turnout practices. Then about a month later they requested pictures of the affected areas. For her it is basically her legs. Then another month later I received an email saying the products would be shipped soon.
At this point I have not be given any specifics other than I would have to fill out surveys and we could not use any other treatments during the trial. I was even more curious when the UPS tracking information came and it showed the package was 32lbs. Whoa!! What were they sending?
And the answer came on Monday:

5 containers of the Mudfever trial supplement
1 bottle of the topical lotion
1 bottle of coal tar, neem and tea tree shampoo

This is a 3month supply and more will come towards the end of that period. Dottie at 16h has to get 4 scoops (50cc) a day of the supplement. It smells really good. So far we think there is garlic and flax seed in it. Wish I knew what the rest was. They said you may have to ease them into eating it, but Dottie is already familiar with the flavor since we feed minced garlic during the summer. She licked it right up. We only feed one meal which makes 4 scoops a lot at one time. To help we are making a medicine ball out of a scoop for the lady to feed her at night. Let's hope she does not mix up Rosemary's and Dottie's medicine balls.
The lotion is to be used if she has a breakout. To be preceded by the shampoo if necessary. Both are suppose to be able to be used on broken skin.
So that is the scoop on this trial. We shall see how this goes.

Hilton Herbs is a great company that makes natural supplements from herbs to help not only horses, but dogs and cats too. They are pricey, but worth it. At least all this is free for the trial.

Ill Observer

That is what I have been for the last week. In retrospect I totally should have called out of work, but I always felt not too bad going in. So well I was out of commission my poor parents had to shovel a dump truck load of sawdust into the shed, strip stalls and load stalls. This was after a weekend of getting another load of hay, which I was able to help with. But as bad as I was feeling I did see some great things.
Saturday an old friend and student of Mom's came out to our barn with a friend to ride. My head was way to muzzy to get on a horse so Mom rode DaVinci while they rode the girls. As we watched both Mom and I tried to give them pointers. Our friend riding Dottie kept leaning forward following Dotties downward head drop instead of picking her hands up and making Dottie lift her front end. Dottie will not give anything extra without being asked to. She goes into the lesson horse "jog" and takes advantage of any weakness she feels. After telling our friend to keep her shoulders back and her hands up, Dottie started to look better. At one point Mom demonstrated picking up the front end with DaVinci who performed it like a pro. Of course he was in total show off mode.
The other girl rode Rosemary, who showed she was not doing anything if she felt the girl was not ready. She did a deliberate plod as I have only seen her do and would walk if given a chance. I noticed the girl got stuck doing long side, circle, long side and never changed direction. Pony girl was completely bored. She kept going though and never fussed. When Mom finished with our friend, I sent her over to the other girl. With Mom's help she got Rosemary moving in a truer trot and more focused. I love that as green as she is, she still takes care of her rider. The girl could not get her to canter, no surprise, but seemed to enjoy the ride.

The girls stole a bale later on

Even more than the ride they seemed to crave the instruction. I can respect that especially when they are riding our horses. I think the girls have gained new riders to play on the weekends.

Afterwards Mom worked Roscoe on the line to show off his movement. He was ready to work and listened really well to her commands. Later on when I turned him and DaVinci out they both took off running. I love watching my guys run in the field. Such a joy when I had been feeling so bad.

Roscoe working

Roscoe at play, Love his upwards canter :)

Then on Sunday we went to the National Zoo. So pretty with the trees changing colors and all the animals. I did okay for the first part, but was reminded that I was still sick by the end. Worth it though. So here are a few pictures.

Gat and Lita, youth cheetahs named after the fastest Americans in 2012 Olympics

A Maned Wolf, looks like a red fox on stilts and smell like a skunk. He was enjoying a treat.

The famous Mama Panda enjoying a snack away from baby

Lion marking his territory while pacing

Przewalski Horse, so cool to see in person.

Red Panda, it was heading for a drink of water

6yr old Grevy Zebra, I love those ears. They only have bachelors and train them until they are needed for breeding.

Look familiar, they do target/clicker training with the zebras to move them  around. They are so aggressive the handlers never go in the enclosure with them. The other two brayed when they heard the clicker, knowing what was happening

Super cool leg stripes

Interesting raised dorsal stripe

Out of 53 animals, Lily chose to ride the Zebra on her second go round.