Well, things haven't been that great with Woody lately. Our last good ride together was my lesson with Connie. Since then he seems to be getting even more sore. The last couple times I rode him, he ended up bucking frequently, I am assuming he is doing this due to his back being sore.
On Monday I went out and just longed him to see how he was moving. To me it looked like he was more limping then short stepping in the rear. Made me think more and more that he may in fact not have PSSM and there is another issue that needs to be faced. So instead of riding I practiced a little showmanship, which he seems to be picking up quite well. I think he finally has setting up down pretty well to the point that when he stops he is automatically squaring up.
On Wednesday Connie was there and wanted to see how he was moving. He didn't look as bad as I thought he did on Monday, and she even thought that he didn't seem that sore when she tested him. I told her about my conversation with the vet and the suggestion on giving him bute before I ride to see if it is a pain problem or if it is neurological. She advised against the bute since it can be harsh on the horses stomach and instead suggested B-L Solution. So I have the job of hunting if down in our area so we can give it a try to see if it helps him any. She also suggested riding him bare back to see if he acts the same way without a saddle on. So it looks as if I will brave riding bare back when I go out to ride tomorrow, should be interesting since I haven't done this since I was a kid.
Wish me luck!
Christina
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A much needed update....
Okay so I have been neglecting the blog recently, so I have a lot to talk about.
Pre-Turkey Circuit
I ended up taking Woody over on Sunday just to get some exposure. He did great!!! I didn't get any nervous energy from him (well except when the water truck came into the ring as I was leading him out). Even though the warm up ring wasn't packed, he did very well in the traffic. I also finally felt that we were clicking better and I could finally get him to lope instead of canter.
Second Chiro Visit
Before Dr Foeling came out to work on him again, I started noticing that he was flinching when I was rubbing the liniment into his hips, which means he was getting more sore again. Dr Foeling came out and ended up testing him for Lymes since even though his body soreness had improved some, not as much as it should have. She recommended changing his diet, having his teeth floated and 1% wedge pads. At that time I didn't change his diet. The Lymes test came back negative so I scheduled another appointment for her to come out to draw blood for the PSSM DNA test.
Another Vet Visit
Connie suggested that I have Dr Foeling do a flex test on Woody to rule out any issues with his hocks or stifles. It was noted that he was still short stepping on the lunge line, but after the flex test he actually moved better so she ruled out any hock/stifle problems and thought that he probably had PSSM. She took his blood and float his teeth. After this visit I decided to change his diet to Southern States Low Starch, keep his hay the same and start him on a supplement called Endure that and PSSM horse in the barn is on instead of feeding the corn oil. I also decided to turn him out in the front lot with the other show horses. I felt so bad for him when I first turned him out as he just kept running away from the other horses, but he now seems to have settled in and is allowing the yearling to play with him. I must admit I am not happy with the yearling playing with him as I don't need the cost of replacing his new blankets right now.
Our First Lesson
I finally scheduled a lesson with Connie and felt that I learned so much in such a short period of time. Basically she had me work on holding him up in the bridle to help him round his back better. This helps me so much with what I need to work on with him as I just started to feel like I didn't know what else to do. I am debating about putting him in training for this upcoming month as money is kinda tight, so I will have to talk it over with my SO. If I don't I plan on scheduling two 60 minute lessons over the next month.
The Results are In
Well Dr Foeling called me today to let me know that Woody was negative for PSSM. From my understanding the blood test is only a DNA test, but he could actually have it and only a muscle biopsy would determine for sure if he did. At this time I am going to continue with his new diet and see if he improves. If he does not improve in 4-6 weeks then I will think about having the biopsy done or other evaluations done to see if it is something else completely.
Christina
Pre-Turkey Circuit
I ended up taking Woody over on Sunday just to get some exposure. He did great!!! I didn't get any nervous energy from him (well except when the water truck came into the ring as I was leading him out). Even though the warm up ring wasn't packed, he did very well in the traffic. I also finally felt that we were clicking better and I could finally get him to lope instead of canter.
Second Chiro Visit
Before Dr Foeling came out to work on him again, I started noticing that he was flinching when I was rubbing the liniment into his hips, which means he was getting more sore again. Dr Foeling came out and ended up testing him for Lymes since even though his body soreness had improved some, not as much as it should have. She recommended changing his diet, having his teeth floated and 1% wedge pads. At that time I didn't change his diet. The Lymes test came back negative so I scheduled another appointment for her to come out to draw blood for the PSSM DNA test.
Another Vet Visit
Connie suggested that I have Dr Foeling do a flex test on Woody to rule out any issues with his hocks or stifles. It was noted that he was still short stepping on the lunge line, but after the flex test he actually moved better so she ruled out any hock/stifle problems and thought that he probably had PSSM. She took his blood and float his teeth. After this visit I decided to change his diet to Southern States Low Starch, keep his hay the same and start him on a supplement called Endure that and PSSM horse in the barn is on instead of feeding the corn oil. I also decided to turn him out in the front lot with the other show horses. I felt so bad for him when I first turned him out as he just kept running away from the other horses, but he now seems to have settled in and is allowing the yearling to play with him. I must admit I am not happy with the yearling playing with him as I don't need the cost of replacing his new blankets right now.
Our First Lesson
I finally scheduled a lesson with Connie and felt that I learned so much in such a short period of time. Basically she had me work on holding him up in the bridle to help him round his back better. This helps me so much with what I need to work on with him as I just started to feel like I didn't know what else to do. I am debating about putting him in training for this upcoming month as money is kinda tight, so I will have to talk it over with my SO. If I don't I plan on scheduling two 60 minute lessons over the next month.
The Results are In
Well Dr Foeling called me today to let me know that Woody was negative for PSSM. From my understanding the blood test is only a DNA test, but he could actually have it and only a muscle biopsy would determine for sure if he did. At this time I am going to continue with his new diet and see if he improves. If he does not improve in 4-6 weeks then I will think about having the biopsy done or other evaluations done to see if it is something else completely.
Christina
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Another loss for the industry.....
The country is facing difficult times. Many people are feeling the squeeze, including those in the QH industry. Over the past year I have read many threads on PH regarding cutting costs, ways to save money, how to show on a budget, etc. Early on, a lot of this stemmed from high gas prices. For many it was too expensive to show the same circuits they did the prior show season. Many were only going to shows that had large numbers in the hopes of big pointed classes. Some stopped showing QH all together and went to the Open show scene where one could typically win enough money during the show to pay for the show and then some. And then there were some that stopped showing all together and turned their horses out so they could just be horses.
I remember a couple months ago someone posted on PH about a local company that had a tack store and trailer sales that went under. Now recently another company has gone bankrupt, but this one is a much larger chain, one that owns Sergeants Western World. It was announced at the beginning of November that this company was going bankruptcy proceedings and that on November 26, they would start liquidating all the merchandise at their stores, about $70 million worth. Unfortunately due to this they stopped processing orders online and over the phone.
I must admit I was pretty disappointed that I could no longer order from Sergeants. I had just sent my Mom a list of stuff that I wanted from there for Christmas and of course she hadn't ordered anything yet. But overall I am upset to see yet another company fall victim to this economy.
I wish that I lived in Texas or that there was a Sergeants close to me so I could do some shopping. I was able to shop there once when I went to the Youth World in fort Worth in 1997. I was in heaven and wished we had a store like it where I lived. After that visit I frequently found myself circling items I wanted in the catalog.
Now ten years later, things changed drastically in tack retailers. SLT is not the same company as it was. I remember SLT being more like how Schneiders is now, a store that carried everything for horse owners at an affordable price. I remember my parents ordering many things through them for me. I believe they even got a couple of my old Hobby Horse outfits through them. Another retailer I feel has changed is Millers. I remember drooling over every page of the Millers catalog, now I feel Millers is no different then the current SLT.
Those were the days.....now only if I can find equipment carriers similar to the ones Sergeants had for around the same price.
Christina
I remember a couple months ago someone posted on PH about a local company that had a tack store and trailer sales that went under. Now recently another company has gone bankrupt, but this one is a much larger chain, one that owns Sergeants Western World. It was announced at the beginning of November that this company was going bankruptcy proceedings and that on November 26, they would start liquidating all the merchandise at their stores, about $70 million worth. Unfortunately due to this they stopped processing orders online and over the phone.
I must admit I was pretty disappointed that I could no longer order from Sergeants. I had just sent my Mom a list of stuff that I wanted from there for Christmas and of course she hadn't ordered anything yet. But overall I am upset to see yet another company fall victim to this economy.
I wish that I lived in Texas or that there was a Sergeants close to me so I could do some shopping. I was able to shop there once when I went to the Youth World in fort Worth in 1997. I was in heaven and wished we had a store like it where I lived. After that visit I frequently found myself circling items I wanted in the catalog.
Now ten years later, things changed drastically in tack retailers. SLT is not the same company as it was. I remember SLT being more like how Schneiders is now, a store that carried everything for horse owners at an affordable price. I remember my parents ordering many things through them for me. I believe they even got a couple of my old Hobby Horse outfits through them. Another retailer I feel has changed is Millers. I remember drooling over every page of the Millers catalog, now I feel Millers is no different then the current SLT.
Those were the days.....now only if I can find equipment carriers similar to the ones Sergeants had for around the same price.
Christina
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
How Woody came to be....
Since I started this blog about five months after I bought Woody, I thought I would fill everyone in about how I came upon buying Woody.
The story actually starts in January '08. I had returned home from a deployment at the end of 2007. While I was waiting to start my new job, I was beginning to get bored sitting around the house everyday so I decided to find someplace in the area that possibly needed some horses exercised. I really can't remember what caused me to want to start riding again, if it was the trip down memory lane as I opened a box that was filled with horse photos or if out of the blue I just decided I was ready to get back into horses.
I came across Connie Christopher's number, whom I remember from my days as a youth showing on the VQHA circuit and gave her a call to see if she needed any help. She advised me she had a young horse she just didn't have the time to ride and that I could come out to see if it would work. I went out the same day I spoke to her to ride Rachel, a 2 or 3 yo HUS filly. I had advised Connie before making the trip that I hadn't really ridden in 8 years, but she advised me that I didn't look too bad for someone who had been out of the saddle that long. I continued to ride almost daily until I started my new job mid-February when I would only go out on the weekends.
Around the same time I started riding at Connie's, I had also gotten in contact with old friends Julie & Jerry Slemp. I had known Julie since I was a little girl riding at LaGrange and when Jerry was a non-horse person. Through the years Jerry eventually got into halter horses and actually started training. I would go down to their place on the weekends to ride and catch up, though it was a hike since their place is in Louisa, VA.
I also started to go to some of the VA shows to see how everything had changed, and ALOT had changed in the ten years since I had been in the show pen.
The horse bug had officially bitten me again and I found myself searching horse ads even though I knew I really wasn't ready to buy anything. By May, Mikhail and I were in the process of house hunting and I had decided that it would be best for me to buy a horse after buying a house and getting settled in. Well nothing ever happens the way you plan it to. I June, I decided to head to the Southern States show for the weekend to help out since Jerry was showing and they had one in the sale. I didn't bother to look at the sale catalog before heading down there since I wasn't planning on buying anything. I did stumble upon a Radical Hour 3 yo gelding that was going through the sale soon after Jerry's horse was. He had the breeding, plus the pretty and size I was looking for. But I couldn't find anyone to talk to about him and to test him out. One of Julie's friends had looked at him and were interested in him as well and had already tested him out and said he was very nice. Finally shortly before we was to go into the sale pen, he was out being ridden so I was able to hop on and man was he nice. After riding him I wanted him so badly and pretty much everyone had talked me into buying him. He went through the ring and I guess someone else wanted him even more then I could as went over what I was willing to spend. Oh well, wasn't meant to be!
While at the sale, I got to talking to a guy that had his son's horse in the sale. He was telling me about a friend of his that had a Good Version gelding that she was trying to unload. He gave me her name and number, but since she was asking much more then I was willing to spend at the time, I really didn't think much about it. I eventually came across the horses ad, and nothing about him really impressed me so I never got around to calling her. One day Julie called saying that this women was really pressed to unload some horses so I should give her a call at least. I called and set a time to drive down to her place the upcoming Sunday. While on the phone she also said she had some other horses she would be willing to sell as well. Mikhail and I drove down to Jerry's, and headed down to Farmville to check out the horse.
Even in person the horse didn't impress me at all, in fact he was still hairy in June, his feet were a mess and I just thought he was going to have a lot of problems down the road. Her main reason for selling him was she really could not ride him very well since he was spur trained and she had issues with her knees and couldn't keep her leg on him very well. I hopped on just to please her, Julie said that I actually got him to lope better then she did, but another horse had already caught my eye. He was in the paddock next to the ring, and drop dead gorgeous. He was a dark bay with 4 white legs and some white on his face. I asked her about him and had her pull him out so I could take a look. Upon Julie and Jerry's advice, I decided that he was the one I wanted. We worked out the details of the prepurchase exam and pick up and then were on our way.
I was pretty quite on the way home, everyone kept asking what was wrong. I just think I had was in shock because I just bought a horse and was worried if I was ready to do this. I mean I had gotten Mikhail's okay, but he really didn't know what he was getting himself into. He sure found out soon enough though:)
We left Julie and Jerry's and took the same route I always use to come home, but this time it wasn't the same at all. I was following a car that had pulled out in front of me and I possibly had thought the person driving may be slightly intoxicated as the car was kinda all over the place or maybe he just had distractions. Suddenly he braked and swerved to the right as to avoid hitting the car that was stopped to turn. I was able to stop my car in time and I checked my rear view mirror and noticed the truck behind us was approaching to fast. I didn't even have time to warn Mikhail. The next thing I knew, my car was facing the opposite direction. We were very lucky that neither of us were seriously injured. It ended up being a 5 car accident that blocked the road we were traveling on. Of course my car was totaled. Just what I needed on the same day I just purchased my first horse. But everything so far has seem to work out in the end. I was still able to purchase Woody, get a new car and buy our house in the end. I will just always remember the day that I bought Woody, June 15th, Father's Day.
Christina
The story actually starts in January '08. I had returned home from a deployment at the end of 2007. While I was waiting to start my new job, I was beginning to get bored sitting around the house everyday so I decided to find someplace in the area that possibly needed some horses exercised. I really can't remember what caused me to want to start riding again, if it was the trip down memory lane as I opened a box that was filled with horse photos or if out of the blue I just decided I was ready to get back into horses.
I came across Connie Christopher's number, whom I remember from my days as a youth showing on the VQHA circuit and gave her a call to see if she needed any help. She advised me she had a young horse she just didn't have the time to ride and that I could come out to see if it would work. I went out the same day I spoke to her to ride Rachel, a 2 or 3 yo HUS filly. I had advised Connie before making the trip that I hadn't really ridden in 8 years, but she advised me that I didn't look too bad for someone who had been out of the saddle that long. I continued to ride almost daily until I started my new job mid-February when I would only go out on the weekends.
Around the same time I started riding at Connie's, I had also gotten in contact with old friends Julie & Jerry Slemp. I had known Julie since I was a little girl riding at LaGrange and when Jerry was a non-horse person. Through the years Jerry eventually got into halter horses and actually started training. I would go down to their place on the weekends to ride and catch up, though it was a hike since their place is in Louisa, VA.
I also started to go to some of the VA shows to see how everything had changed, and ALOT had changed in the ten years since I had been in the show pen.
The horse bug had officially bitten me again and I found myself searching horse ads even though I knew I really wasn't ready to buy anything. By May, Mikhail and I were in the process of house hunting and I had decided that it would be best for me to buy a horse after buying a house and getting settled in. Well nothing ever happens the way you plan it to. I June, I decided to head to the Southern States show for the weekend to help out since Jerry was showing and they had one in the sale. I didn't bother to look at the sale catalog before heading down there since I wasn't planning on buying anything. I did stumble upon a Radical Hour 3 yo gelding that was going through the sale soon after Jerry's horse was. He had the breeding, plus the pretty and size I was looking for. But I couldn't find anyone to talk to about him and to test him out. One of Julie's friends had looked at him and were interested in him as well and had already tested him out and said he was very nice. Finally shortly before we was to go into the sale pen, he was out being ridden so I was able to hop on and man was he nice. After riding him I wanted him so badly and pretty much everyone had talked me into buying him. He went through the ring and I guess someone else wanted him even more then I could as went over what I was willing to spend. Oh well, wasn't meant to be!
While at the sale, I got to talking to a guy that had his son's horse in the sale. He was telling me about a friend of his that had a Good Version gelding that she was trying to unload. He gave me her name and number, but since she was asking much more then I was willing to spend at the time, I really didn't think much about it. I eventually came across the horses ad, and nothing about him really impressed me so I never got around to calling her. One day Julie called saying that this women was really pressed to unload some horses so I should give her a call at least. I called and set a time to drive down to her place the upcoming Sunday. While on the phone she also said she had some other horses she would be willing to sell as well. Mikhail and I drove down to Jerry's, and headed down to Farmville to check out the horse.
Even in person the horse didn't impress me at all, in fact he was still hairy in June, his feet were a mess and I just thought he was going to have a lot of problems down the road. Her main reason for selling him was she really could not ride him very well since he was spur trained and she had issues with her knees and couldn't keep her leg on him very well. I hopped on just to please her, Julie said that I actually got him to lope better then she did, but another horse had already caught my eye. He was in the paddock next to the ring, and drop dead gorgeous. He was a dark bay with 4 white legs and some white on his face. I asked her about him and had her pull him out so I could take a look. Upon Julie and Jerry's advice, I decided that he was the one I wanted. We worked out the details of the prepurchase exam and pick up and then were on our way.
I was pretty quite on the way home, everyone kept asking what was wrong. I just think I had was in shock because I just bought a horse and was worried if I was ready to do this. I mean I had gotten Mikhail's okay, but he really didn't know what he was getting himself into. He sure found out soon enough though:)
We left Julie and Jerry's and took the same route I always use to come home, but this time it wasn't the same at all. I was following a car that had pulled out in front of me and I possibly had thought the person driving may be slightly intoxicated as the car was kinda all over the place or maybe he just had distractions. Suddenly he braked and swerved to the right as to avoid hitting the car that was stopped to turn. I was able to stop my car in time and I checked my rear view mirror and noticed the truck behind us was approaching to fast. I didn't even have time to warn Mikhail. The next thing I knew, my car was facing the opposite direction. We were very lucky that neither of us were seriously injured. It ended up being a 5 car accident that blocked the road we were traveling on. Of course my car was totaled. Just what I needed on the same day I just purchased my first horse. But everything so far has seem to work out in the end. I was still able to purchase Woody, get a new car and buy our house in the end. I will just always remember the day that I bought Woody, June 15th, Father's Day.
Christina
Monday, November 10, 2008
New insight.......
Thursday
Matt came out to shoe Woody. I couldn't be there due to work, but he called to let me know that his front and rear left feet were a half inch longer then his right.
No wonder he is all out of whack. I know when I am trying to decide on what shoe to wear it is uncomfortable to have two different heights on, I can't imagine what the last five weeks have been like for him.
Friday
Since I was off work, I headed out to the barn after my MRI appointment. With Connie's advice, I put one of her Skeeter's training saddles on him. When I went to mount he still wouldn't stand still like he used to, but I expected it since I knew his back was not going to feel better right away. When I asked him to move forward all he wanted to do was crow hop. I was finally able to get him to long trot to see if he was still short striding. Kim told me to try out the old Circle Y as another horse had similar issues and was fine with this saddle. After switching saddles again, he seemed much better and I actually felt like we had a very good session, probably the best one since I had moved Woody.
I went back out to the barn in the evening to put his blankets on and Connie advised me that the Vet would be out Monday morning at 9.
Saturday
We had another good ride. I think he is finally settling in and not so tense. Connie commented that she saw a vast improvement on his movement by just changing the saddle.
By the time Mikhail arrived with Mikayla, I had just finished riding. I took her out to the round pen to get on Woody. For only her second ride she did really well. I lead her around at the walk for awhile and then asked if she was ready to jog. She was ready so I asked Woody to jog and she just sat there and smiled. Watch out lead liners:)
Monday
This morning I went out to the barn since the Vet was coming. Jana Froeling from Full Circle Equine Service. Not only is she a vet, she is a chiropractor also. I gave her a quick run down of what was going on with him. She tested him by running a point over him to determine where he was sore. He showed reactions in his shoulders and hips. She looked at his feet, had me take him outside to walk him. She said he was short striding in the hind end at the walk. She pushed around on him in the back and hip area and then had me walk him outside again. She said she could see an improvement in his stride. She also advised me that he is tipped to the rear which basically has to do with his front heels being too low, something Matt has already begun to fix. While outside she would hold one of his front legs up and have him hop a couple times to the side. She also checked out his teeth while outside. Well it turns out that he still has one of his Wolf teeth, but it seems like someone may have tried to remove it but broke it as she said it is pretty rigid. Back inside she showed me an exercise that I need to perform on him before and after I ride to help stretch his neck/shoulders, it's called the carrot stretch and basically I have him bend his neck around to touch his side. There are three different positions, first with both legs on the ground, then with a front leg bent up and lastly with a front leg stretched out. Obviously I am going to need to find a helper for the last two. Finally she did acupuncture, mostly on his hips and his shoulders and then injected B-12. Woody was definitely relaxed during the acupuncture as he kept yawning the whole time. After she removed all the needles, she noticed he started breaking out in hives on his hips.
Overall the outcome is that his hips, back and right shoulder are sore. She also mentioned that his hocks are slightly sore as well. It is recommended that I do the carrot stretch before and after riding, 10 tail pulls and start walking him over elevated poles to help engage his hind end. Plus to have his teeth done soon. She stated that if he doesn't show an improvement, that I should get him tested for Lymes and that we may want to put him on a high fat diet as she noticed muscle spasms, a sign of EPSM.
Poor boy, he did get lots of treat though.
Christina
Matt came out to shoe Woody. I couldn't be there due to work, but he called to let me know that his front and rear left feet were a half inch longer then his right.
No wonder he is all out of whack. I know when I am trying to decide on what shoe to wear it is uncomfortable to have two different heights on, I can't imagine what the last five weeks have been like for him.
Friday
Since I was off work, I headed out to the barn after my MRI appointment. With Connie's advice, I put one of her Skeeter's training saddles on him. When I went to mount he still wouldn't stand still like he used to, but I expected it since I knew his back was not going to feel better right away. When I asked him to move forward all he wanted to do was crow hop. I was finally able to get him to long trot to see if he was still short striding. Kim told me to try out the old Circle Y as another horse had similar issues and was fine with this saddle. After switching saddles again, he seemed much better and I actually felt like we had a very good session, probably the best one since I had moved Woody.
I went back out to the barn in the evening to put his blankets on and Connie advised me that the Vet would be out Monday morning at 9.
Saturday
We had another good ride. I think he is finally settling in and not so tense. Connie commented that she saw a vast improvement on his movement by just changing the saddle.
By the time Mikhail arrived with Mikayla, I had just finished riding. I took her out to the round pen to get on Woody. For only her second ride she did really well. I lead her around at the walk for awhile and then asked if she was ready to jog. She was ready so I asked Woody to jog and she just sat there and smiled. Watch out lead liners:)
Monday
This morning I went out to the barn since the Vet was coming. Jana Froeling from Full Circle Equine Service. Not only is she a vet, she is a chiropractor also. I gave her a quick run down of what was going on with him. She tested him by running a point over him to determine where he was sore. He showed reactions in his shoulders and hips. She looked at his feet, had me take him outside to walk him. She said he was short striding in the hind end at the walk. She pushed around on him in the back and hip area and then had me walk him outside again. She said she could see an improvement in his stride. She also advised me that he is tipped to the rear which basically has to do with his front heels being too low, something Matt has already begun to fix. While outside she would hold one of his front legs up and have him hop a couple times to the side. She also checked out his teeth while outside. Well it turns out that he still has one of his Wolf teeth, but it seems like someone may have tried to remove it but broke it as she said it is pretty rigid. Back inside she showed me an exercise that I need to perform on him before and after I ride to help stretch his neck/shoulders, it's called the carrot stretch and basically I have him bend his neck around to touch his side. There are three different positions, first with both legs on the ground, then with a front leg bent up and lastly with a front leg stretched out. Obviously I am going to need to find a helper for the last two. Finally she did acupuncture, mostly on his hips and his shoulders and then injected B-12. Woody was definitely relaxed during the acupuncture as he kept yawning the whole time. After she removed all the needles, she noticed he started breaking out in hives on his hips.
Overall the outcome is that his hips, back and right shoulder are sore. She also mentioned that his hocks are slightly sore as well. It is recommended that I do the carrot stretch before and after riding, 10 tail pulls and start walking him over elevated poles to help engage his hind end. Plus to have his teeth done soon. She stated that if he doesn't show an improvement, that I should get him tested for Lymes and that we may want to put him on a high fat diet as she noticed muscle spasms, a sign of EPSM.
Poor boy, he did get lots of treat though.
Christina
Thursday, November 6, 2008
His name is Houdini....
Well I learned yesterday that Woody has the ability to take off his own blankets without unbuckling any straps or ripping anything in the less then ten minutes. Pretty good huh! It turns out that my horse has quite the personality.
Yesterday, we did not have a good ride at all. Since it was raining, I rode Woody in the indoor for the first time. I probably didn't longe him long enough, but he wasn't really acting fresh on the line either. I should of know something was wrong when I went to mount him and he just would not stand still. He has never done this before, he just always stands quietly when I go to get on him. He didn't want to stand still when I was bending him either, which I also never have a problem with. He just was not paying attention to me at all. I did get him jogging nice and relaxed eventually, but when I asked for a long trot he just was not consistent. I felt that he was short stepping again as well.
Before Connie left the ring, I told her I think I need to go ahead and put him in training sooner then I was planning. She thought he probably still isn't completely settled in, but did think he was short stepping and had me long trot him. She said he was short stepping both in front and behind it looked like and thought maybe he had something wrong with his hocks/stifles or his back may be sore.
Well I unsaddled him and she pocked around on him and it seems that his back is sore, but not his hocks/stifles which is a good thing. It seems my saddle is too tight in his shoulders, and maybe Jerry's saddle didn't fit him that great either because my saddle wouldn't make him sore this quickly. I threw one of her saddles on which fit him slightly better, but it looks as if I am going to have the chiropractor out to work on him and see what is really going on. Tomorrow I am going to ride him in one of her saddles to see if he acts any better. He also seems to be going through a growth spurt as he is a little down hill right now which would cause more pressure on his shoulders as well.
Keep you updated!!
Christina
Yesterday, we did not have a good ride at all. Since it was raining, I rode Woody in the indoor for the first time. I probably didn't longe him long enough, but he wasn't really acting fresh on the line either. I should of know something was wrong when I went to mount him and he just would not stand still. He has never done this before, he just always stands quietly when I go to get on him. He didn't want to stand still when I was bending him either, which I also never have a problem with. He just was not paying attention to me at all. I did get him jogging nice and relaxed eventually, but when I asked for a long trot he just was not consistent. I felt that he was short stepping again as well.
Before Connie left the ring, I told her I think I need to go ahead and put him in training sooner then I was planning. She thought he probably still isn't completely settled in, but did think he was short stepping and had me long trot him. She said he was short stepping both in front and behind it looked like and thought maybe he had something wrong with his hocks/stifles or his back may be sore.
Well I unsaddled him and she pocked around on him and it seems that his back is sore, but not his hocks/stifles which is a good thing. It seems my saddle is too tight in his shoulders, and maybe Jerry's saddle didn't fit him that great either because my saddle wouldn't make him sore this quickly. I threw one of her saddles on which fit him slightly better, but it looks as if I am going to have the chiropractor out to work on him and see what is really going on. Tomorrow I am going to ride him in one of her saddles to see if he acts any better. He also seems to be going through a growth spurt as he is a little down hill right now which would cause more pressure on his shoulders as well.
Keep you updated!!
Christina
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The flood...
It turns out that Woody is quite the trouble maker.
When I arrived at the barn yesterday I noticed his stall empty and then found him in the next stall over. It looked like they were doing work to the floor of his stall, no big deal. Well it turns out that somehow Woody pulled off the top of the automatic waterer in his stall. Not only did he flood his stall, but the two stalls across from him. I am hoping this is not going to be a weekly occurrence as it seems every time I go to the barn he did something.
I never did post about our first ride at the new barn. It was this past Friday and I must admit he was better then I thought he would be. By the time I got there, no one was riding outside and it was getting dark out so I figured he would be very looky and scared of the monsters he has in his head. It ended up he was really more concerned about all the traffic coming in and out due to the lessons that were going on. It was very hard for me to keep his attention and it seemed every time a car was coming or going and we happened to be on that side of the ring he would get spooky. Let's say he was a little high strung.
Last night's ride was much different and much better. I was able to get to the barn earlier and there were a couple other people riding as well. I also made sure to longe him until he started to calm down and move the way he is suppose to, not flying around like he starts out doing. I can't say for sure, but I actually think he was a lot less nervous with other horses out there then he was last Friday. The horse I knew seemed to be returning.
I did have a couple issues with him though. It seems as if he now does not want to keep his head down. I feel like I have to consistently keep bumping him. I am sure it has to do with him looking around at whats going on, but this also causes him to not pay his full attention to me. By the end of out ride though I had him jogging around nicely with his head low like he usually carries it. It is actually too low, but for right now I rather have it there then way to high. I have a feeling that since I have been keeping a tighter rein on him, he does not want to keep his head low. I need to remember this next time I ride to test my theory. I find it is harder to ride in this ring as it is much larger then Jerry's and there are trail poles set up all over the place so this is probably why I am keeping a tigher rein on him right now.
He also started his crap again regarding my spurs. It's like he is throwing a little temper tantrum. I'm not spurring the crap out of him, but when I ask him to pick up the lope he will sometimes stop and act like he doesn't want to budge and crow hop some. It's really annoying and with other people out in the ring I felt limited on what I could do to him. It also seems he is not responding quite as well as he should be to the spur stop or when I ask him to back. I have a feeling this has to do with no longer being ridden everyday.
Yesterday, I finally felt like his lope is starting to become more collected. But it only seems like this when I lope him in a circle in the corner of the ring. If I let him go in a straight line, its like WATCH OUT EVERYONE HERE WE COME. I also noticed that when I would begin to turn him into the ring to make the circle he would speed up but then become collected once again when we got back on the rail.
Let's see what progress we make together on Wednesday!
Christina
When I arrived at the barn yesterday I noticed his stall empty and then found him in the next stall over. It looked like they were doing work to the floor of his stall, no big deal. Well it turns out that somehow Woody pulled off the top of the automatic waterer in his stall. Not only did he flood his stall, but the two stalls across from him. I am hoping this is not going to be a weekly occurrence as it seems every time I go to the barn he did something.
I never did post about our first ride at the new barn. It was this past Friday and I must admit he was better then I thought he would be. By the time I got there, no one was riding outside and it was getting dark out so I figured he would be very looky and scared of the monsters he has in his head. It ended up he was really more concerned about all the traffic coming in and out due to the lessons that were going on. It was very hard for me to keep his attention and it seemed every time a car was coming or going and we happened to be on that side of the ring he would get spooky. Let's say he was a little high strung.
Last night's ride was much different and much better. I was able to get to the barn earlier and there were a couple other people riding as well. I also made sure to longe him until he started to calm down and move the way he is suppose to, not flying around like he starts out doing. I can't say for sure, but I actually think he was a lot less nervous with other horses out there then he was last Friday. The horse I knew seemed to be returning.
I did have a couple issues with him though. It seems as if he now does not want to keep his head down. I feel like I have to consistently keep bumping him. I am sure it has to do with him looking around at whats going on, but this also causes him to not pay his full attention to me. By the end of out ride though I had him jogging around nicely with his head low like he usually carries it. It is actually too low, but for right now I rather have it there then way to high. I have a feeling that since I have been keeping a tighter rein on him, he does not want to keep his head low. I need to remember this next time I ride to test my theory. I find it is harder to ride in this ring as it is much larger then Jerry's and there are trail poles set up all over the place so this is probably why I am keeping a tigher rein on him right now.
He also started his crap again regarding my spurs. It's like he is throwing a little temper tantrum. I'm not spurring the crap out of him, but when I ask him to pick up the lope he will sometimes stop and act like he doesn't want to budge and crow hop some. It's really annoying and with other people out in the ring I felt limited on what I could do to him. It also seems he is not responding quite as well as he should be to the spur stop or when I ask him to back. I have a feeling this has to do with no longer being ridden everyday.
Yesterday, I finally felt like his lope is starting to become more collected. But it only seems like this when I lope him in a circle in the corner of the ring. If I let him go in a straight line, its like WATCH OUT EVERYONE HERE WE COME. I also noticed that when I would begin to turn him into the ring to make the circle he would speed up but then become collected once again when we got back on the rail.
Let's see what progress we make together on Wednesday!
Christina
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