Well, it's a big jump from 6 months to 2 years 🙃

However, not much has changed. Willie has been sound and without shoes for over a year now. I recently switched from hay to long stem roughage cubes and I do have to watch the amount I am feeding him. Also, Tika (whose intolerance to the local hay prompted the change) is a slow eater... and Willie is more than happy to offer assistance with any leftovers. 

He moves ALOT, compared to the first few months. Walk, trot, canter, bucking and carrying on... a joy to see. He has become the horse of choice for the kids, and my partner Gregory.

Going out riding, he generally starts out slow and lazy but, becomes progressively more enthusiastic once we have passed the cattle grids and log bridge. He is a real little trooper and I couldn't be happier.

5 months.. really.

 Remember, how we started out at 1288lbs on the weight tape? We're at 1052lbs now. With the roughly 100lbs lost before he got here, it is safe to say, that the butterball has lost well over 300lbs in total. Gonna start calling him slim Jim :) 

He is doing very well, all around. We were able to go to smaller shoes already; his back feet are about half the size they were when he arrived. A couple of months ago I added AniMed Remission to the feeding routine. Willie still gets about a 3/4 bale of hay a day, and just enough Optimal to get the Remission into him. He's not fond of it, anyways.

Other than being miffed about his grain, he is a happy-go-lucky little fella, loves to snuggle, and is tolerant of the grand peanuts. Both the boys had their maiden voyage on Willie and he seemed quite unphased. 

Week three began with a couple of concerns. Willie's water consumption and a slightly swollen scrotum.

I think I've figured out the water issue: It seems that he doesn't like my water  He breaks the ice outside and happily empties puddles, but turns his nose up at water buckets in the barn. I have not actually seen him drink from the outdoor automatic waterer, either. Hrmpfh. Well, I'd hate to rain on his parade... but, those puddles are going to disappear eventually; he will have to learn to like the water. The good news is, he is not dehydrated, so for now, his strategy is working for him.

The other issue we took care of yesterday when my vet came out. Yes, I may be a bit paranoid... in my defense, the last time we dealt with what appeared to be simply a dirty sheath, my horse was diagnosed with cancer. Willie's endowment, however, is not in any way related to any disease but, simply what one might think it is: A dirty boy. So, we cleaned him up and sent him on his merry way. This was, of course, the first time my vet saw him... she had a big grin on her face and nodded her approval. Perfect horse for you, she said 

My farrier came out today (Jon Graham - I just love him), after having checked on Willie last week by himself while I wasn't here. He knew I had called and wanted to see how urgent it was. He said that what he saw put me at the top of his schedule.

We did nothing with his front feet; the shoes still look good. His back feet, the left one in particular, are a different matter. Quite flared and dropped sole. We agreed on taking off less more often... so Willie will be on a 3-4 week trim schedule for now. And, I am to call if anything doesn't look right in between trims. 

Willie was very quiet and cooperative for him, though - that's nice to know. 

Poor little guy. I hope we can get his feet and his weight sorted sooner rather than later and that he won't get too sore.

Well, Mr. Butterball is not overly pleased with the Optimal feed. He will eat most of it overnight but none in the morning. I try to sweeten the deal with a few slices of carrot (which tend to disappear in a hurry) but, I may just go for some vitamins and minerals in granular form and sprinkle it over the hay. We'll see.

Due to the rather violent return of winter, there will be no round pen time this week. Bummer. The good news is, though, that he is moving on his own. Never above a trot - but still. Every little bit helps.

He remains sound.

Now, that the butterball is here, let's get to work.
I tried to use my weight tape on him tonight... *ahem* ... it's about and inch too short. Guess, I'll need a longer one.

Right now, he is sound. He's had bar shoes on for about a week and a half. From what I've been told, he has shed roughly 100lbs in the past 4 weeks at Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue Centre. 

*UPDATE* March 22nd, 2016

OK, I managed to get a tape around him and he came in at 1288 lbs. I'm sure that's not right but, I'm not so much concerned with accuracy at the moment; being able to confirm weight loss is more important.