River is not being an a$$hole!! *knock on wood*

Yay!!!

About a week ago, I took him off SmartCalm Ultra.  It didn't seem to do him any good, and people on COTH had commented that it made their horses worse.  I figured it couldn't hurt to stop it, so I did.  Thursday, he started something new--Vision by Vita-Flex.

O.  M.  G.

I can't be sure if it's stopping SmartCalm, or switching from Ultium to Strategy, or the weather getting better (except we have snow again--WTF, Mother Nature?  It's April!), or the new supplement, or getting brought in with a lip chain a few times, or whatever.  I don't care.  But he's been so GOOD when I bring him in!  I've been putting a chain over his nose, just in case, but he's been fine.  Which is a big change from a month ago, where a chain would get him extremely upset and make his behavior worse.

Now, he's much calmer, no spinning, no rearing, no bucking.  He's not dead quiet, but he's behaving.  He had one moment of "OMG what's going on?!" when a couple horses started bucking and galloping as we were walking past them, but who can blame him for that?  Crossing my fingers he keeps up the good behavior!


Last night I decided to try out the $8 chambon I got from the HorseLoverz liquidation sale.  As I've said before, I'm not big on gadgets, but the chambon is something I've been wanting to try because it actually rewards the horse for going down and forward.  Even Sustainable Dressage doesn't really object to it.

He needs to use his butt a little more...  at some point, I'll try it with poles, but his longeing isn't quite that solid yet.