Dapple Greys & Dapple Bays

Normally Chewy is the front runner of my string, so I wanted to take a minute to brag about my sweet little OTTB, Fugi. He has been with me for 6 months now and he is really starting to blossom. He has near automatic changes, jumps 2' courses very confidently, and has started leg yields and shoulder ins. He is such a quick learner! I adore this sweet little sports car of a horse. In 6 months he has really come far and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him.

Now, I already own a handsome dapple grey, but what about my dapple bay? When I first bought Fugi he had some dapples across his stomach and hindquarters - in the middle of winter, with no blanket! Since then we have had a little bit of a war with worms, and finding the right diet for him without making him too hot has been a bit of an experiment. We have now gotten rid of the worms, and Fugi has definitely put back on some weight, probably not quite enough yet though(darn skinny TBs). I curry the crap out him every day, and have been adding vegetable oil to his feed, and still no dapples. How in the world do you get those suckers back? I know people say most bays don't get dapples because of their genetics. Either they have the dapple gene, or they don't. But I know Fugi has the dapple gene, I saw it!

I use Manna Pro Calm Coat Premium shampoo for his sensitive skin to bathe. I feed him Nutrena Empower Boost with his feed to keep his weight up along with the vegetable oil to help his coat. Any suggestions are welcome!

Stay cool,

Ellen

It's Official! My First Blog Post

Yesterday was Jimmy Wofford's XC clinic at Fair Hill. Chewy was his usual whimsical self, not being able to take anything seriously but leaping over everything easily. Jimmy wanted me to get a little more of a gallop going to get him to focus and be in a better balance before going to some of the spookier jumps. Don't pull, don't kick, just correct when needed and be soft. I love lessons with Mr. Wofford and I think the exposure for Chewy is great.

There was a hunter show at Grazing Acres where I board on Sunday, and my goal was to get Fugi in a baby greens class, but unfortunately I had to leave for work before the class was called. The atmosphere was a lot for poor Fugi, who has only been off the track a little over 6 months. I thought for sure his heart was going to pound through his chest, but he behaved himself beautifully. He danced around a bit, but settled after a walk around, realizing there were only ponies galloping around, no true competition for him! :) I'm hoping to get him to another show soon where we can get over some fences and prove that he is way more than just a racetrack reject. 

Chewy schooling the baby options at the water complex at Fair Hill during the Jimmy Wofford clinic