More Old Friends

Remeber Chance, the skinny old pony with the bad teeth?  Well, Chance has been with Sadie's Place for 5 weeks now, and a whole lot has changed!

Here he is on Halloween, the day he arrived at his new foster home.

He arrived just in time for lunch.  His new roommate, Penny, joined him.  The waitress was very attentive.

Chance is still eating.  Penny, who is somewhat, ummm, fluffy(?), was noticed eyeing his lunch, wondering if she could woo him away from it long enough to grab a mouthful.  Unfortunately for her, once his nose went into the bucket, we didn't see it again until the bucket was empty.

Seasonal dessert--apple au naturel.

Dropping the apple au naturel--his mouth was still a little sore.  Penny is playing the part of a vulture here, waiting to swoop in and scoop up what Chance dropped.  Luckily, the waitress was on the ball that day, and Chance got to finish his lunch uninterrupted.

Finally, a nice quiet graze on the last of the autumn grass.  In these pictures, he hasn't changed much from what he looked like when he arrrived.  The big difference is in his attitude.  He's much more alert (particularly when there is the remotest possibility of food) and much more active as well.

Now, zoom ahead 3 weeks, to November 21.  Chance has gained a bit of weight, his bum is rounder and his ribs and backbone are disappearing just slightly.  The biggest difference here is that he has finally grown a real winter coat.  He is having more success eating hay, but I think we'll have to have the vet out to look at him again, to see if there is anything else that can be done with his mouth.

You can see in this picture that the area between his spine and his hip has filled in a bit.

Still ribby, but look at that full belly (though that might have something to do with he and Penny figuring out how to get into the bin holding the hay stretch pellets.  First morning ever that he didn't come and breath down my neck while I made his breakfast.  I wonder why...)

Side on, not a lot of muscle coming back yet, but we'll probably see more next month.

Stick pony in need of a good grooming.  Any volunteers?

And, here's the girlfriend, out having a last green snack with him, since they have already eaten everything with any pretense to being a green plant in the paddock. They're an odd looking couple, because it's pretty obvious that he's missed a lot of meals, and that she hasn't missed any, even ones that weren't meant for her! But still, they get along pretty well.  Chance stays in the barn, as he doesn't have enough fat on his bones to stay warm in the cold weather, and Penny stands outside or just inside the door and visits.  They encourage each other in naughty pony behaviour, but that's what ponies are all about anyway, right?

Well, need to go clean a stall and make sure my latest attempt at pony proofing the grain bins has been successful.  I'm really hoping this worked, because my next option is an in the wall safe with a 6 inch steel door. (And Penny will have that open 10 minutes after I head into the house.)  Have a great weekend and don't forget to hug your horse!