Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Blue Lotion

Wednesday, 7/22/09

The order arrived from San Francisco Herb Company a few days ago. I ordered marshmallow root, cut peppermint leaves, and raspberry leaves. I’ve never used any herbal supplements for horses before so I’m interested to find out if they have any effect on the horses. They were all nicely packaged and they smell fresh and lovely. Selena and JR loff all the herbs. Wizard is more picky, but I think he’ll come around to them.

JR: I turned him out in the big arena for a few minutes. He happily trotted around a few times but the wet footing kept him from really kicking up his heels. I took him for a brisk hand walk around the property, working on some ground cues for slowing down and speeding up. When I groomed him, he felt mildly backsore but not as bad as he was last night. He appreciated some hand grazing time.

Selena: Gave her a good grooming, grazed about 15 minutes, and took her for a hand walk on the trails. She’s already getting the hang of me. The farrier should be out soon to work on her feet to get her ready for under-saddle work.

Wizard:Put him on the longe line for a few rotations in each direction so I could see how his right hind leg is looking. I still see an uneven gait but it looks better. The chiropractic adjustment did a world of good for him, as he was arching his neck and prancing on the longe. I had to make sure he did not play too hard. I put a little blue lotion on his stifles and hocks. He and JR have been turned out every night and I think it’s helping him to not get too rowdy during his daytime turnout time.