Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 1 of 4

Between the fireworks on the 4th and the continuing earthquakes, Speedy's last couple of days have been rather rough. He's okay, but he is definitely getting a few days off to recover.

If we're friends on Facebook, you already saw the machinations and launch of Operation Bubble Wrap (OBW). The 4th of July kind of sucks if you own horses and dogs. Everyone is okay - mostly, but it was a stressful holiday for team Speedy.

He's wrapped from head to toe!

Speedy does not like the 4th of July. He does not like barbecues. He's also not too fond of New Year's Eve. Basically, he's a big party pooper.

Stage 1: clean legs

Early last week, the ranch owner and I discussed how to get Speedy safely through the 4th of July holiday. We all know what he can do to himself on a day without explosions and flashing lights. The first thing that we always do when the activity level exceeds his threshold of acceptance is to restrict his movement.

Speedy's daytime quarters. There are neighbors behind the tress and across the river who like parties and music and loud things.

Speedy lives in a large paddock during the day, but at night his gate is opened to allow him turnout when things are quiet and not likely to press his over-react button. When anything unusual happens, like when the neighbors throw a party, he gets locked in at night. I've found that while he's protesting the noise by hurtling his body through space, he can't pick up as much steam in his paddock.

Booted up!

Given that limiting his space to run wild hasn't eliminated his ability to rip himself to shreds, I decided to cover as much of his body as possible. On July 3rd, many people start their fireworks display, so I did a dress rehearsal. I wrapped only his front legs hoping that he would leave the bandages alone. I didn't want to do all four legs at once in case he freaked out because of leg wraps.

The fly mask served as a helmet of sorts.

Then I started covering the rest of his body. He got his regular fly mask, and I covered him with a fly sheet that I had tried a few years ago. The first time he wore the flysheet HE. HATED. IT. which is why I never used it again. For this go-round, he acted as though he wears a flysheet daily. Win-win I figured. 

OBW - dress rehearsal.

I left him on July 3rd with my fingers crossed that Operation Bubble Wrap would work. To my surprise, everything was still in place on the 4th. The sheet was undamaged, the wraps were snug and clean, and the bell boots were firmly velcroed.

Woohoo!

I took everything off, gave him a good grooming - he was ITCHY, and then rode him long enough to get him good and tired. I figured it couldn't hurt to wear him out a little. That alone can minimize his desire to run wildly. ​​​I gave him a bath, turned him out in the yard to graze while he dried, and then I reapplied everything, including the bell boots and wraps on his hind legs. Operation Bubble Wrap was launched, and I all could do was wait and see if it kept him safe.

I guess I didn't wear him out as much I thought!

To be continued ...