It’s been seven days now since I started the new feed regimen for Fancy and Windy. It rained all week and today was the first nice day. I had to take an inch of dried mud off Fancy to even photograph her. What a pig! Windy was better, but not by much. (Look at the green grass in the arena and the alfalfa coming up in the field behind them! Incredible for March!)
One Week Ago
Today
Her coat appears in worse shape today but that is only because she is a filthy dirty mess. I chipped off the big chunks for this picture. If I see any difference at all, it is very subtle. Perhaps in the hips or it could just be the angle the picture was taken. The texture of her hair has not improved at all. But she is shedding a lot more, so hoping it will just be a matter of time. It’s only been a week so I wasn’t expecting anything drastic at this point.
The left picture was last week, the right was today. Again, I don’t see a huge difference. She might be rounding out a bit better on the hip – its just too early to tell, I think.
One Week Ago
Today
Windy was dirty, too, so you aren’t seeing the shine she had last week She looks good. If she has put on weight, I don’t see it, but I don’t think she necessarily needed to. I just know my riding time is going to be picking up and want her in great shape.
So what do you think? Am I missing anything or do you agree its just too early?
While I am showing before and after pictures, these pictures were taken out our front door. The one on the left was taken a year ago; the one on the right was taken this morning. Can you believe we’ll be mowing before long? Some of the ornamental trees at work are already blooming. Most often ours here at home bloom a few weeks or so after those in town; we are just a bit north of there. According to my notes, ours didn’t flower until the first part of May last year.
And last year it snowed 4 inches on March 26. I feel like we are VERY blessed with this weather but sure don’t believe we are out of the woods yet. I am looking at the weather bug right now and it shows 57 degrees at 10:00 PM. I’d better go saddle up!
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Way too early. Give it at least four weeks - better yet, eight - before you declare it a success or failure. All the hair you're looking at now, and that you were looking at last week, has already grown out and it's basically dead!
ReplyDeleteStill, I think Fancy's hips look better. :)
I think the hip looks better, too, Funder, but still not as good as Windy's. I took "crotch shots" of both of them today -- I was aiming for the upper leg/buttocks/thigh area. Fancy's is pretty weak. I wish we had more hills around here to work her on. I'll probably implement that into a post sometime, too.
ReplyDeleteSunny in SD asked if I had her teeth checked & no, I haven't yet. I don't notice her losing much grain but will ask the doc to take a look when we do health papers. I should have had him look when he did rabies last week.
Like I said - she's not the worst, but there is improvement to be made.
I don't expect you will see a change in Fancy's current winter coat, but you will when her summer coat starts to come in. You can think her piggish ways for the way her coat is currently. All that mud will really dry out and damage the hair!
ReplyDeleteI can see a little bit of a difference, but think it will be more evident after another week. Her winter hair is hiding some of the details...
Our Jamboree normally avoids rolling in mud but she's been wallowing like a hog too the last couple of weeks. That winter coat coming off so fast and so early must be itchy. Our trainer always told us to look for dapples on their rear when the new coat first comes in as as sign they're getting good nutrition. When you get her cleaned up in a couple of weeks, put her in the sun and see if they show up.
ReplyDeleteIt takes more time for them to get better than it does for them to go down, so give it some more time. She looks better though. I just found the old grain I used to use in Virginia and switched my guys back to that. Even though the feed tag says it's pretty comparable, I just didn't like how they were looking and I can't think of it being anything else but the grain. We'll see.
ReplyDelete