Absorbine Stain Remover & Whitener Review (and how my horse is a saint)

Riley had rides 2 and 3 with his boots this weekend, we attempted a ride on Thursday but his feet have expanded/had and I could not get his LF boot on (grrr), and he's going really well. I've been relying on Andrea for moral support, professional opinions and for generally talking me off a ledge. She recommended using nylon socks (of the human variety) inside the boots to help slide the foot in until they're broken in. I also took charge of the flares by means of a Rider's Rasp and managed to get his hoof to stop grabbing the boot while I was trying to put it on. Success!

Saturday I went out to the barn early to lunge Riley (we've been keeping his sessions quite short to prevent issues with the boots), when I arrived the place was buzzing with activity and was more or less a three ring circus. Most of their volunteers come on Saturdays/Sunday from 9-12, they have a regular group of people who go on a morning hack on Saturday, visitors are permitted during that time and there were plenty of weekend warriors out to see their horses. On top of that, a new gelding was moving into Riley's field so he and Henry were inside while they transitioned the new horse in. I wasn't too worried, but the energy level was quite high. I got Riley booted up, threw his surcingle and bridle on (btw, Riley's new game is to pretend that he doesn't know how bridling works) and headed up to the arena. I had two goals for Saturday... lunge Riley to check for soundness in the boots and to ride him bareback (!!!). We headed up to the arena and so did everybody else... we were joined by a western horse and his two owners (who are ALWAYS screaming at each other, it's so awkward, but they are perfectly nice to anyone else) doing rollbacks etc on one end, a woman schooling dressage on her lovely warmblood, and a black and white mini with THREE tiny riders taking turns going around the ring... also, along the fence line an old TB who had just been switched to daytime turnout just about lost his mind when his turnout buddy went for a trail ride (he literally screamed and paced the whole time), and a growing group of onlookers.

It would be super cool if I could bend my elbows:/

I gulped and hoped that Riley could keep it together in the middle of the ring for lunging (I really get nervous when people are watching). Luckily, he was pretty well behaved, there was some tail-flagging and one half-hearted attempt at a bolt (I wanted to get after him a bit more for some other cheeky behavior), but I was really not willing to test whether or not he'd get away from me with a bunch of little kids in the ring, ha! Once he warmed up I decided to get a leg up and hop on, and wouldn't you know he was foot perfect. Such a good dude! I cheated a little because of the crowd and left his surcingle on, but he was quite comfortable and I think he enjoyed it! I walked and trotted each way and called it a day. I couldn't have been happier with him. So much activity and distractions and he just took it all in stride. It's easy to forget that he's only 4! The women on the rail told me how nice he was and they almost fell down when I told them how old he is!

This is my happy face -- Riley's too, do you think he likes the Happy Mouth or what?

Later Emily let me ride both of her mares because she is an enabler of the best kind. I rode Kiwi first while the workers were resetting all the jumps in the ring (she was curious but did not bat an eye). She's all business and appears to have a terrific work ethic already! She exudes presence and I've loved her since Emily brought her home. She's only 3 or 4 rides under saddle but she is going to make someone REALLY happy. She's very alert and intelligent and gives nicely off the leg (bonus!). Her trot is gigantic and I felt like I was in the air for ages while I was posting!

Kiwi Gal -- trotting

I feel incredibly lucky that I am able to ride other horses while we get Riley up to speed. One thing I am really discovering is just how out of balance I am because of not riding consistently for the last 2 years. I've lost my finesse and I need to get my sea legs back. The only way that is going to happen is by MORE TIME IN THE SADDLE. Period. I rode Emily's RRTP horse Prima for the second time since she's had her and all I can say is WOW. The mare has transformed! I probably rode her 2 months ago on her 3rd ride post-track and she could barely steer. She is fancy, balanced, and so athletic. She feels like a powerhouse underneath you! And her canter? To die for. I had the biggest grin on my face cantering her around and when I came across the arena she offered a lovely balanced change even though were just circling. She would make a lovely pure dressage horse, but she seems to have a real aptitude for jumping too! Emily has done such a wonderful job with her I can't wait to see them show their stuff at the symposium on Sunday.

We had a little photo shoot on Thursday -- Go Prima and Emily!

Back to Riley... Sunday I headed out in the afternoon hoping that things would be much quieter (um, is was a ghost town), I grabbed Riley who was covered in dirt and got him ready. I was excited to finally put my saddle on him to see how he felt in boots while I was aboard. We warmed up walking and trotting in both directions while being annoyingly herded by the resident border collie. Honestly, I don't care that the place is a little bit of a zoo, but it is REALLY aggravating having that going on while you're trying to ride. Riley doesn't spook or anything at her, but he does use it as a distraction. Tracking left he felt great but he still felt odd tracking right. He's been doing this weird thing where rather than moved forward off my leg he sucks back and throws his head up, when I push him forward he starts cantering up front. He felt very uncoordinated which resulted in him slipping behind and tripping over his front feet. Hm. So I hopped off and ran to grab the lunge line and the side-reins. I needed to see it from the ground. I sent him out on a circle and he looked great tracking left W-T-C, switched sides and he was really stick tracking right. I know it's his stiff side, but I had to really get after him to move out. We moved on to the canter he got a little belligerent with me. He's young, but he's well beyond fully challenging me on the lunge. I sent him out and made him canter giving him lots and lots of verbal praise. When he came back to the trot he was head-bobbing lame... terrific. I took a quick look to see if there was anything noticeable, and sent him back out... the same. Oh crap! I took a look at my phone to see how long we had been working and it was less than 40 minutes (if you include me running the get the lunge line) but I worried that I had over done it with the boots. Not surprisingly, when I pulled them off, his LF (of course) had heel rubs. Oops. nothing too bad, but enough to bother Mr. Twinkle Toes. I had planned on giving him the spa treatment yesterday anyway, so I thought he might enjoy a long bath and lots and lots of attention.

Drying off in the warm sun

I don't give Riley full baths too often. I'm from the school of thought that too many baths = stripping the hair of natural oils that help protect his skin. He's already sensitive-skinned enough so I don't want to aggravate it with too many products. That said, I feel like I 12 year old girl when I am in a tack shop looking at horse bathing products. I want all the shampoos, detanglers, brushes, sprays etc and I love trying new things out. I have started bathing him in Vetrolin Bath shampoo. It's gentle enough for his skin with many soothing qualities and good enough to get all the dirt and dandruff out of his coat. For his mane and tail I use Absorbine's 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner which is convenient and rinses out easily too. As far as his blaze and sock go, they are always a challenge. Even with a fine toothed curry and lots of soap his rear sock is perpetually poop-stained, grass-stained or otherwise and his blaze has a permanent brown spot from his halter. Absorbine makes a product called Stain Remover and Whitener that is a miracle worker. Now, if you have a grey horse you probably have your own tricks, but this is great for pieces of chrome and it's EASY. I like to get the bath started soaping up his whole body, then with a soapy sponge I work the white areas specifically trying to loosen the dirt and help remove the stains. This usually get the white parts of him half-way clean, meaning he still looks dingy. Then I go back with the stain remover simply spraying it all over his sock and blaze. You leave it on for a few minutes and rinse off and voila! bright white chrome again! It's pretty amazing stuff and after my trial bottle is gone I'm going to stock up! I should take some proper before and after shots one day when I bathe him, but look how bright his whites are!

So fresh and so clean! Thanks Absorbine! Side note: I should have named him "Phone Home" based on his ET-like blaze!

Also, look at his flaxen top layer!

I'm sure he won't stay clean long, but this time I decided to hand walk him around the property until he fully dried off. Riley was happy to oblige as long as he got to eat as much grass as he wanted. We met a couple of friends along the way including a gorgeous little mini that Riley felt the need to show off for.

Obviously when a horse is 1/4 your size you need to make yourself look bigger, right?

Right. After trying to touch noses and shocking himself on the electric fence, Riley's secondary course of action was to look as tall as possible,

We headed down toward this area where there's a little stream crossing in the woods with a very steep embankment on the landing side. I once half-heartedly attempted to get Riley across it under saddle and failed so I thought maybe he'd be game on foot. He got close to the edge, stopped and snorted. I showed him the carrot I had and convinced him to take a few steps closer and we stood side by side at the edge of the 2 foot wide stream. I hopped across thinking I'd have better leverage that way and when I turned around he was already leaping across to be with me (and the carrot). I think I saw my life flash before my eyes as he hurled himself across, but he saw me and ran himself into a tree instead. He was rewarded for the effort and for not killing me in the process. Good boy.

This is the view from half way up the hill (we started on the other side), you can kind of see where the path leads to the stream. That's the tree that Riley collided with instead of me (I was on the path right next to it)

Generally, speaking, I am a VERY safety conscious person. I don't typically put myself in danger like that, but I honestly had to laugh at Riley's willingness to follow me and his quick thinking to not land on me. He gets and A+ for effort that's for sure. We headed up the path (which comes out at the back end of his pasture). We walked all along his pasture and I had him follow me over a few of the small XC for fun. I have to say, he's looking happy and shiny these days.

Shiny, happy pony after his bath enjoy all the noms.

I'm glad we're getting back into work, but I have to admit that all this time on the ground with him over the last couple of months has really paid off. He's still no saint, but he does seem to understand that I am his person and further more than I am in charge. He tries hard, I don't over face him and he meets me half way. That's all I can ask for. I ordered him a larger (used) pair of the sport boots so we can keep his work consistent throughout the trim cycle. He was trimmed less than 2 weeks ago and the size 2's are almost too small already! This way we've got back ups! He already seems more comfortable on gravel, though he's still very gimpy, and he seems very comfortable barefoot on grass and in the arena. I'm hoping to ride him barefoot in the arena Wednesday to see how he feels (for reference we have sand/rubber footing). Ps. I've added Durasole to our routine as well!

Riley says, "that's all for today, now get that camera out of my face".