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

Gaited Horse Fun

A woman that lives near me that has ties to people I ride with asked if I wanted to help her bathe on a nice day when Chris was away last weekend. Of course I wanted to... I love the sun! It was such a nice day and we chatted about how we were connected, who we knew, and what we knew. I got the run down of both of her horses and she wanted me to come back to ride one while she rode. Horse 1: Paso Fino Horse 2: Saddlebred Cross (potentially). Both are beautiful horses, nearing their 20's and in great shape for their age.

I was riding the saddlebred cross when I went back, and her daughter was on the paso. From bathing the paso before, I knew how pushy he was, and he was a bit pushy being ridden. I mean, it was to be expected after not being ridden in a year, but he was rude nonetheless. The saddlebred cross thing was good once he calmed down. You can tell he has nervous energy when you get on, but he's a dream on the ground. You could ground tie him and he'd stand all day.  He had also been off a year after going through bits upon bits to determine that no bit is the solution! I rode in a hackamore that still cause him to flip his head a bunch, but he listened well. I almost want to see what Spyder would do bit-less, but I'm afraid to try. I guess it will be worth a try when we start out in the round pen, if he can be ridden again. Oh Spyder, I miss you.

I stuck to walk and trot, and I was surprised that from his looks, we didn't get a running walk or another type of gait. He's SOOOOOO comfy, and I rode in the owner's austrailian saddle for added comfort. Gosh, I need a comfy saddle! I rode him until he relaxed and kept it on good terms, good horse. He could use some "you will do what I tell you to do when I tell you, not when you feel like it" fixing, but he's a great horse. Of course we stayed in the paddock because trail riding was not in the near future for these guys having been off so long, but we hope to get them out and ride together again soon. Trails this fall.. maybe?

Arab Ride x3!

Before getting into the ride story, I did want to mention that I rode in my English saddle for the lesson. What I used to love and have known my whole life, I'm questioning. My dressage saddle and the endurance saddle with the long stirrups I've been riding in made my lesson painful and left me wondering if I should get rid of the thing. I never in a million years thought I'd say that, but man, I've been missing out. Yes, my English saddle is comfy, and yes, I should have gotten off to increase the length of the stirrup, but I'll have to wait until next time. I hope I end up liking it again because I've had such a hard time getting rid of it when I know I need to upgrade.

Another arab ride, and man was it fun! When I got to the barn, we had planned on doing a quick ride to beat the rain. That quick ride quickly turned into 16-18 miles and 3 hours later. We went right out and started with a bunch of trotting. We turned off of one trail and did a little bit of walking before a REALLY long canter... then asked for a gallop. We had one episode of the horse I was on scooting out and grabbing the reins like he did before, and I finally figured out that the more you give him, the more he slows. Putting him "on the bit" means he grabs the bit and goes much like a racehorse would. Why I figured this out ride 3, I have no idea, but I'm glad I did.

In the gallop phase, we just WENT! It was SO much fun and the other horse caught up to us eventually. The owner kept saying sit back, sit back to get him under control, and when I did, two-point, two-point. I did also get a, "don't hold back, he's not going anywhere. Look at this long road!" While reassuring, it was also nerve wracking because "real horses" canter/gallop and I haven't done that in quite some time. Breathe, Jess, just breathe. I had to keep reminding myself. I did lose a stirrup during all of this excitement so I yelled over to the owner and we came back down before picking up a more controlled canter.

CANTERING!!! I forgot what it was like! It's fun when you're not getting run off with, and the horse calmed down about 10 miles in! HA! We found some water stops along the way to have them drink, came across the state park police, and even went through a campground to find some people out there in the middle of no where. We took it easier on the way back. Both horses were pretty beat as we pushed pretty hard through some deep sand. I love my back yard and I love the pine barrens!