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Shazeke
Shazeke is a 14.2hh bay mare that is at least 22 years
old. She is quite an opposite character to 'Trigger', as she is quite nervous
and a bit of a worrier. She is in really good condition for her age and
looks more like a 4 year old. She obviously adores trigger and prefers to
follow him everywhere to give her confidence in strange surroundings.
When Shaz first arrived she really didn’t want to go into her stable and it
took a lot of coaxing and bribery to encourage her in, but once she was in
her new bed she soon settled and ate the apples and carrots we had ready
which had a bit of Rescue Remedy on them to help calm their nerves. Shaz had
also been a really popular riding horse during her time at Model Farm and
many supporters from there will hopefully be coming to help with their
everyday care and pay them lots of visits.
Spring 2010
Shaz is currently resembling a woolly mammoth as she has had such a thick coat through the winter. She is now shedding her fur and it’s taking lots of grooming to help it to come out.
She is in good health and now that spring is here we just have to keep a close eye on her for Laminitis.
She likes to hang out with Paddy and Trigger, the men in her life. Although at tea time she stays faithful to Trigger and stays with the slow group as they walk down their field.
Shaz had her teeth rasped recently and was sedated as she’s so nervous of the vet, but her teeth are in good working order now which is good news.
She has also improved a lot with having her hooves trimmed and cleaned out, having overcome her fear of pain from her Laminitis last year.
November 08
Shaz is well and happy and still good friends with old Trigger.
She did become ill with Laminitis trough the summer, and had to be on box rest for three weeks .This was a hard time for her as she dislikes being kept in but as her hooves were sore she accepted this quite well. We kept Trigger on the stable yard for most of it too, so that she wouldn't become lonely.
Thankfully she is fully recovered now, and back out in the big horses herd. She was tested for Cushings Disease as a precaution and we were pleased that it came back negative. As we have integrated Zak & Lady into the big horses herd now, Shaz seems quite pleased as she is no longer at the bottom of the pecking order!
Shaz will be carefully monitored through the rest of winter and come next summer we will be keeping her grass intake right down to minimise the chance of her getting Laminitis again.
February 08
Shaz is coming along really well and we are pleased to say she has settled down with us, it has taken such a long time as she is so nervous and she spent around 25 years in the same home before coming to us.
She has put a little too much weight on so we haven't put a rug on her this winter. Horses are very good at keeping warm even in very cold weather, and overweight horses keep warm by burning fat off. Because of this she has grown a very wooly thick coat and she resembles a giant shetland pony!
She recently had her teeth done and all her injections, she was very well behaved for this and otherwise she is in really good health for her age.
May 2007
Shazeke is doing very well and seems to be enjoying her retirement from working in the riding school all her life.
However she seems to have put on a lot of weight which is probably because she is no longer exercised so we will be watching carefully and if necessary will have to take measures to help her lose weight by restricting her grass and exercising her.
She is still a very nervous pony and we often wonder how on earth anybody managed to ride he as she is so spooky, but she is very sweet and always tries her best to pick her hooves up nicely to be cleaned out and to stand still whilst we groom her.
Sometimes she doesn't want to come down from the field into her stable to eat her tea so it takes a lot of patience and kind words and the odd apple or carrot to coax her down but she is very gradually becoming more trusting, we think that as she lived in the same home from when she was a small foal until she was twenty five years old, and being such a sensitive pony that it is taking a long time for her her to settle in , but we are helping her in every way we can so hopefully soon she will be a lot calmer.
Trigger is always a good friend to her and seems to reassure her whenever she is feeling insecure.
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