The Tale of Two Rides

So I rode both days this weekend. Trotting in hand is not exactly fun, and we had decent enough weather to tack up and ride. The first ride went pretty well. I was more nervous than Spyder since I only got on one other time in this 8-9 month span. I started with the round pen and moved into open space near the round pen once I felt confident that he wasn't going to act up. Of course, it's all still walking, but the 2 minutes of trot gave a little bit of something to do. We walked for 10-15 to warm up enough for trotting, and we stayed in a straight line for that per the Doctor's recommendation. His walk was more forward than usual which leads me to believe he was happy to "have a job." The babies (young stb's that are beginning training under harness) were acting up and biting/chasing each other, but all Spyder did was watch as we got close to them. He did so well!

The second ride went much the same, but it was feeding time so I took more precaution to keep things calm. I stayed in the round pen because I didn't want him to start rearing and acting wild because he wasn't going to his stall to eat with the rest of the farm as he used to do. This is where I got really upset with the trot. He can trot perfectly to the right, but the left is still the same issue as before. Yes, we were supposed to stay straight so I was trying as hard as possible, but the swinging leg to the left is the injured one (right front). He could not trot when asked to with that leg on the outside, only canter which is where we were when this all started. This stresses me out big time, but I know each ride will be different. The local vet did tell me it could be something that he'll do forever because of compensation, but maybe he can be trained out of it? Maybe he's just doing it because it's weak still? Obviously I have no idea, but the stress of what will come of going to the left in the future takes a toll on me. I plan to ride tomorrow, but I will stay straight so that I can hopefully build it up enough to trot in one direction or the other.

I have to add that on my timehop, I was reminded that one year ago yesterday, Spyder ditched me and I broke my finger (that still hurts sometimes). It'd funny how much a year has changed everything. Riding on the track and learning to not spook/canter better to being hurt and trotting for 2 mins after sitting for so long.. ahh!

Post Appointment and Further Information

I'm still waiting on the discharge information from New Bolton, but the good news is it's not bigger. It's getting a little better, and slowly, but surely, it's coming along OK. I say OK because they can now see where the puncture to the area was. They could also see the old bow better in another area because of the new images. So it seems that leg just "has issues." I know it's not ever going to be the same, I just hope we can go back to doing the riding thing at some point. It's now 40 minutes of exercise with 2 minutes of it being trot for week 1. Each week after gets 2 minutes of trot added up to 15, I think? They really need to send me the discharge sheet so I know what to do and what everything was called so I can look into it more.

Another development/discovery is in Spyder's heart. He has different issues on each side, but the murmur is the more common and lesser of the two worries. The other side of the heart has a leaky valve, and they aren't sure if it's in a bad spot or not from just listening. In being asked to ultrasound the heart, I asked a few questions. 1) Will it change his performance? 2) Does it change his life expectancy? Both answers seemed to be no assuming that it wasn't anything more than what they heard. I was assured it's nothing that will make him drop dead while riding, it may just become a conditioning issue. They recommended ultra sounding it if I was a worry wart to know that it wasn't going to be an issue. Since there is nothing that can be done for it, I figured I'd wait on seeing if anything comes of it before checking it out, if at all.

2-3 months will go by before we go back for yet another ultrasound to see if the trot has gotten it to heal/get more stable/build more fibers. They seemed happy with where it is, but he still can't be turned out. He'll have a good old time keeping it cool (aka bored out of his mind) in the round pen which brings us to almost a year (in May). And so we wait some more.

Hey, stop making fun of me. Hay in his tail is from sleeping in it in the sun today.

Mr. Baldy Legs

It's a Bust

The appointment was rescheduled because of the blizzard we were supposed to get. We got just a few inches (and were supposed to get up to a foot or two), and the farm got an inch or two. I'm a bit upset that I had to reschedule the ultrasound for next week, but I guess it was better to be safe than sorry. I'm over waiting, and excited for next week. Wednesday should tell us more.

Checkup

Spyder's checkup is going to be a week from tomorrow, January 27th at New Bolton Center at UPenn again. I have a shipper ready to go because I still have yet to install the trailer floor due to the weather - meh.

I am both excited and worried (because it does seem a bit stocky again), and I hope we see some healing this time around. It'd be nice to stop hand walking him since I have been doing it for months now. Of course, it's what he needs, and I'll do what it takes, but I'm ready to get back in the saddle. I can only hope that spring will bring getting back on and that his attitude will be adjusted from last year. May will mark 1 year in this journey of lameness. Time will tell, and I'm so anxious.

Wrapping Up 2014

OK - So I've been far removed from this blog for reasons such as a lame horse, no riding, grad school, and the holidays. I can't even think to look at my 2014 goal list because I'm sure nothing really happened. I'll update on how that all went...

On my list...

• Get off the farm with the trailer... a truck would help.
• Canter straight. Stupid, but I can't even think of where to start
• Do a CTR or the like - there is a trail riding group in the area that should be helpful with this
• More trails - need to explore around the farm
• De-spooking - he doesn't spook much, often, but what fun it'll be to play with pool noodles and plastic bags
• Clinic - do one, do something
• Look into endurance - ask questions, network, decide if it's a fit
• Another hunter pace - pony club is scheduled to do another in April, I'm in

OK, so I got a truck, but the trailer needs work so it hasn't gone anywhere except to the welder. I did the CTR and learned about endurance. Sure, I did the hunter pace, too, but that's when everything went down hill. It's been that way with Spyder since May... great. So all of what I thought we could work on is still on hold, and it's been a TBD since May.

I left off with we'll talk about my lessons and how the 25 mile competitive trail ride went, but then I got lost. I haven't been riding, and I haven't even had the desire really. Spyder's showing no improvement (they said a maybe on fibers coming back in last they checked), and he's been a jerk about it. He's miserable (and lashing out about it) and his leg is puffy again. He had colic on December 14th when I wasn't even in the country, and he got an emergency tube. He's been miserable ever since, and that leaves me plain miserable. YAY 2014!

I'm hoping to work on my trailer floor (have everything to do it, just need to make time) so that I can get him back to the hospital to re-ultrasound him and see what's going on. Let's hope they see improvement this time around or I'll have to come up with a Plan B for what to do with him. I know if I give him back, he doesn't stand a chance of a life like he has with me, and certainly that's not an option before I know for sure if he'll be sound again or not. If he won't be sound, I will be heart broken because keeping him isn't really an option. Spyder, get well soon.

Spyder's Checkup

On October 8, which would be 2 months since the initial diagnosis and 5 months from the suspected injury, we went back to New Bolton. I was worried about the news I would get because I haven't seen Spyder do more than walk, and his lameness isn't apparent in that gait. I was both excited and nervous to see him trot, but he was so much better than the first time around, even to the left. There was no head bobbing, but he was still having trouble bringing that leg up to speed. Sure, it was better than last time, but it was still apparent.The discharge papers say, "A mild, less than 1 out of 5 degree, right front lameness is evident most pronounced when circling to the left. This is significantly improved from his last visit."

On to the ultrasound. They were already happy with the lameness exam and seeing that most of the fluid dissipated. It was a quick move to get the ultrasound completed because they knew exactly what to look for when poking around. More good news! It looked like there were fiber patterns in the previous areas that were torn. They were black spaces the first time with no fibers seen, and now,  the area was turning gray because of the rebuilding. Whoo! The old injury which I forgot to talk about before (because I forgot what it was) remained the same. It says, "The old superficial digital flexor lesion is unchanged." Hmm, wonder if he had that before I got him or if that was part of this same injury

Now what?  We're still hand walking and waiting for more fibers to regrow. The progress is headed in the right direction so we'll go back once we get up to 45 minutes of walk. The suggestion is another 2-3 months. If that appointment brings more good news, some of the walk will turn into trot and we'll go from there. I can get on him to do the exercise, but for now, we're keeping it on the ground to work on his manners. I'm glad it's been good news and hope for even better news next visit.

I did have a lesson that went over heels again, and I did a full jump course which was a blast. There was a lot of cantering and sinking into my heels as well as two-point... and even an attempt at posting the canter. Yes, it seems impossible, and I did try, but I failed. I'll talk about that and my ride this coming weekend next post.

Get Your Heels Down

I had another lesson a few weeks back on a much different horse/pony (? he's kind of in between). He was hard to get moving and you had to push, push push, but he was a DREAM for cantering once you got him going. Perfect for getting my damn heels down, right? I did a lot of of going around in two-point and a lot of sitting back in the saddle as far as possible and stepping into my heel for so many strides at a time. 5 steps of trot in the left heel, 5 steps of trot in the right heel and feeling them bounce and take impact vs. lock and be a swinging mess. I did the same at the canter and man did I feel the burn. It was a GREAT change to fix my heels, and I'm a bit confused how the left is worse now instead of the right, but either way, they both need help.

I kept my stirrups long since I was getting used to my dressage saddle and the endurance one, but they had to go up after the first jump I did. Yeah, those damn heels. I also had to work on my thumbs. Thumbs on top? Ha, yeah right. My thumbs always turn in towards each other and look bad. I had to trot and canter around with a crop in my hands to keep them straight. Funny thing is that the crop kept getting more and more vertical as I went. Sure it kept my hands together and my thumbs closed, but both of my hands would turn together, and I'd be reminded to keep the crop horizontal. If only I had a horse to practice this on more than once or twice a week and sometimes a month.

Little arab

I didn't just throw what I learned here away, rather, I used it when riding the arab that weekend following the lesson of good habit creation. Riding on trails is obviously a lot more lenient than the ring, but your heels should always be down for those moments when you might die (aka fall out of the saddle into sand - ha). The owner of the arab realized I was really working on my heels, posture, and balance. He let me know that I was a lot more balanced in the saddle and looked great compared to prior ride. Thinking about what I learned was just something I needed to be told because it wasn't coming to my mind on my own. Sure, I knew it, but I never tried to fix it. Soon, it will become second nature again. We did like 10-15 miles in a few hours with some controlled canter for a change. There was one episode, but we didn't get the scoot. He was falling into the bit and getting sloppy in the sand and had a nice trip, but problem solved - heels were down!

Campsite on the lake.

I didn't ride the arab the first weekend in October because I was camping with my friends in a state park nearby, but he was ridden for me to keep him in work. I am not riding him this weekend because the owner is away, but next weekend, we're riding both days because the 25 mile CTR is the following weekend - 25th!! We're going to go over the pattern that you need to do for vetting and hook up a heart rate monitor so I know how the horse is. Next post, I will talk about Spyder and his follow-up appointment as well as my last lesson which was the day after his ultrasound. Trying to keep up to speed, but all of the hand walking keeps me busy.

Spyder looks like a slob - no muscle and ungroomed everything

Fall is starting to come to the farm