Since it’s a holiday weekend I figured we could all use a little extra dose of foal cuteness, and the kiddos were more than happy to participate in providing the media. Well, ok… the fillies and Percy were interested. Mostly those 3. The fillies in particular really seemed to like their tutus and tiaras. Hope everyone is having a good long weekend and holiday – these guys sure are!
Maybe it’s because he had such a rough start but Percy is quickly emerging as a favorite of the 2021 class of foals. It’s hard NOT to love him, he’s such a sweet little dude. Plus like… his ears. LOOK AT DEM.
He’s continued to do well, with gradual but steady progress. Every week his legs look stronger, and he’s been growing like a weed. I think he’s easily doubled in width for sure over the past few weeks.
You can tell that he’s looking more proportionate, with the rest of his body catching up to his head and legs. He’s still got some filling out to do, but it’s a massive improvement for sure.
He’s also quite perky. Now that he’s got his legs more coordinated, cantering is his favorite.
Besides getting his gallop figured out, he’s also starting to master the art of becoming airborne. These jumper-bred foals, I swear. They’re like little bouncing balls.
It’s going to take more time before he’s totally caught up, but this is good progress, and his temperament has remained superb. Just a sweet little kiddo that’s doing his best to catch up with the others, development-wise. Percy is very easy to love and it’s fun to see him start to blossom. I may or may not have a particular soft spot for him, given that Presto also had a rough start. It’s amazing what they can overcome with time.
All your good thoughts have worked well for him so far, so please keep it up!
I don’t really want to talk about what’s going on in my world right now because this week has been absolute shite, so how about a light-hearted blog post instead? The heavy stuff can wait. Bel Joeor posted a fun Bathtime blog hop and I do quite like bathing products (for horses anyway) so let’s do it. (Also – pssst – Riding Warehouse is doing a Bargain Bin sale for the holiday weekend, check it out)
Do you bathe regularly, or only before shows?
As necessary, really. Before shows or if they’re really dirty, or pre-body clip. In our mild climate they can get hosed off for most of the year, and mine are pretty much always clipped, so they don’t tend to get super dirty.
What’s your temperature cutoff?
65 if they absolutely must be bathed, but I’d rather it be 70. We’re Texans, we’re allowed to be weenies about “cold”.
Any favorite gadgets or shampoos?
Ooo boy do I have some favorite products.
My “gadget” I suppose would be my Power Shower sponge. It’s a regular sponge on one side and a Tiger’s Tongue on the other so I LOVE this thing for bathing. It’s a super all-in-one little tool.
My favorite shampoo/conditioner line is probably Espana Silk, it washes out easily and smells fantastic, plus the conditioner does a really good job detangling the tail with little effort.
I also do an after-bath rinse where I fill up a bucket about halfway with water, add a few glugs of liniment (usually Vetrolin because it’s more economical, sometimes Sore No More if I’m feeling bougie whene I’m buying liniment) and a capful or two of baby oil.
I sponge that all over the coat and it’s a nice brace for the horse’s muscles plus the little bit of baby oil leaves the coat nice and rehydrated and shiny without needing to use any kind of silicone spray afterward.
In the winter if it’s too wet to bathe but they’re particularly dirty (you know how clipped horses get super dusty? Or your horse – ahem Henry – loves to lay in poop?) I like to use a good waterless shampoo and dampened towels to get them clean.
Any other strong opinions?
I have a lot of strong opinions, but not many about bathing. As long as you’re not freezing your horse to death by bathing them when it’s too cold, you do you.
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