Big Releases

If you've been reading the blog for any length of time, you probably know that I am a pretty big fan/sucker for anything that purports to make my horse's life more comfortable.  Magic saddle pads, magic liniments, magic bodywork, magic supplements... If you can market it as somewhat magical, I will probably buy it.

To my credit I usually suss out whether or not each "magic" thing actually has any magic.. if it doesn't I move on to the next shiny thing I can play with, but if it does, I make copious notes and probably start blabbering about it to everyone who will listen (whether they have horses or not).

I've always felt particularly strong about the value of good bodywork, but holy shit - after watching Prair get her spa treatment on Thursday I think I am slightly obsessed.

I operate under the assumption that if I like my semi-regular bodywork and acupuncture, then I'm sure my horses also appreciate it - plus when I consider that not only are they more athletically inclined than I am (at this point), their shear size and mass sort mean that we're fighting an uphill battle between fitness, comfort and the destructive force of basically being a big beached whale suffering under its own weight.

Given all that, it's a tad surprising that I haven't had any bodywork done n the mare since we moved barns, but part of my enthusiasm around any type of bodywork stems from a trust and confidence in whatever practitioner I am using.  Having moved beyond the travel range of my previous bodywork-er, I let Prair's maintenance schedule slide.

After several positive reviews from within the barn, I decided to give a new lady a go, and holy moly - so glad I did.  I have literally never seen Prair have more (or more obvious) releases in a single session.  Sure, maybe there was some serious low hanging fruit given the lapse in regular treatments, but wow.

So much work got done on that crazy tight Nuchal Ligament, along with releasing her poll/atlas and some serious tension in her throatlatch.  After some simultaneous work on her poll and throatlatch Prair was licking and chewing so much it was like she was trying to spit something out.  Then she sighed and closed her eyes.

After a big release at her poll she had a yawning fit (like 12 yawns in a row?) and her left hip also dropped about 2" in response.

Amazing how everything is connected... I mean we "know" the topline is one big connected spiderweb, but it's pretty powerful to see how directly impacted one area is by the tension (or release) of another.

By the end of her nearly 90 min sesh - Prair was leaning into her bodywork-er and begging for increased pressure at certain points.  Pretty cool.  Even in some super sensitive areas, she never avoided the pressure, but rather maintained a concerned eyeball until things released enough for her to relax into the work.

There were also a few spots of tension I wasn't expecting - like Prair's deep left pectoral, and her left hip, so those got some attention too.

Follow-up appointment is set for about 10 days from now to try and really stay on top of that neck/poll/throatlatch tightness.  I'd love to start to get those areas to stay soft on their own, hopefully the combo of Prair's new muscles and training along with the injections and bodywork will help support some continued relaxation.

I'm particularly motivated to keep that Nuchal Ligament happy - since stretching that down and forward (in a traditional "frame") is what helps physically lift the withers and allow a horse to truly work over its back, and that's exactly what Prair needs to be doing and strengthening all the time.

If the Nuchal is spasming or Prair is unwilling to stretch - that will inhibit our effort to continue to build up her back muscles, support that Supraspinous Ligament and alleviate the Kissing Spine symptoms...

So cool.  Plus it was super fun to watch and learn more about what the bodywork-er was doing/noticing/feeling and Prair was such a happy mareface that she was just nuzzling, grooming and licking me the whole time. I'm not sure the people at work appreciated the total tongue bath in mare spit when I got back to the office, but it was a fun snuggle time for me so who cares.

Prair's Left Front (as opposed to "My Left Foot")

Great movie... anyone? No? okay... moving on.

Met the vet Tuesday morning to reinspect Prair's sore tootsie.  Since it's been taking a while for the lameness to present, I tacked the mare up, handed her to an exercise rider (literally, from the track), and stood back to watch.

Maybe not the best person to be in the irons, as she had Prair really running and let her stay heavy in the bridle, but we were getting the job done.  Just about 10 minutes into trotting/running around, Prair started to look a bit guarded on the left front, and even though a head bob wasn't showing, when she changed from the right rein to the left rein there was a marked difference in her way of going.

(for the record, never before have I given the instructions "Ride her till she's lame."  Typically I aim for not that result...lol)

Anyway, I grabbed the vet, who popped in and started watching what we were working with.  Big circles, small circles, changing direction, trot, canter... all that good stuff.  The good news is that the lameness stayed way less pronounced than it was at the show, which the vet thinks helps rule out any major soft tissue damage - the theory being that a serious strain or sprain wouldn't heal significantly in five days off....

That makes sense to me, but I'm also totally willing to accept anything that helps rule out major soft tissue damage... She could be saying "well, there was a Blood Moon (whatever that was) last night, so that really helps rule out major soft tissue damage" and I'd be nodding my head all "totally, yeah, makes sense..."

(so I can't really be trusted in that department).

Anyway, feeling slightly less nauseous about Prair's leg rotting off, we talked about next steps.  Her "most likely" diagnosis is that Prair tweaked her coffin joint (likely landing funny or slipping around, or something similar), and the lameness was presenting as a result of inflammation around that joint, which would explain the increase in lameness with work, why it blocked out in the hoof and also why we weren't seeing any heat or soreness farther up the leg.  Additionally, Prair showing more discomfort when the leg is on the inside suggests an "impact" soreness as opposed to a "push off" soreness which would typically show stronger when the leg was on the outside...

Vet suggested that we x-ray the hoof to rule out any major bone/joint issues and then (assuming nothing weird) inject the coffin joint and give her one more week off.

So we x-rayed.  And everything was really, really pretty.

Part of me always gets nervous taking pictures of what's inside a horse, because if you look hard enough you will always find something... and that makes me a tad queasy.

 a surprisingly cooperative mare...

But, never fear, the x-rays looked great.  No arthritis, no remodeling, the navicular bone looks beautiful, the joints all look balanced and clean.  Her outside wall looked just a tad tall, but not to the point of impacting her lower limb alignment... worth showing to her farrier (I think x-rays always are) but not much of a correction to be made.

The only thing we did see on the x-ray, was a confirmation of what the Vet mentioned when we were poking and prodding - which was a slight swelling right above the cornet band, in the middle of the hoof.  She said that fluid there indicates inflammation in the hoof capsule, often without any heat associated with it.  It was impossible to see, but a few pokes of the finger could tell that the left front was just barely squishier than the right front in the same spot.

The x-ray showed this "squishiness" as a slight bulge right about the cornet.  the pic isn't the best since I took a phone picture, of the x-ray... on a laptop.  (a picture of an image of a picture... how esoteric).

I don't even want to talk about how long it took me to get an arrow on this picture.

We didn't ultrasound since Vet confirmed what my internet readings had said - which is that it can be rather tricky to ultra sound that low on the limb with any certainty, and that an MRI would do a more reliable job of identifying any issues....  Since we don't currently think we have a *major* soft tissue injury, she suggested that we wait and see if more diagnostics become necessary before going down the MRI road...

To sum up:

We don't *think* it's major soft tissue.  (but we can't say with 100% certainty)

We *know* it's not in the bones (the x-ray helped that, though that doesn't rule out some sort of bruising...)

And we are proceeding under the assumption that we are dealing with a tweak (or minor soft tissue) that should resolve itself in short order.  The injection should help get rid of the inflammation immediately, she'll stay on some anti-inflams for the week to help finish that job, and will be getting 30 minutes of Eurosizer or hand walking until we attempt to resume full work next Tuesday.

All in all, a pretty good update, not too scary and hopefully we are back to normal in no time!

Vet Visit and Morning Update

So, after a couple hours of not-that-productive work at the office I headed back to the show grounds to meet the vet and poke Prairie a little more.

When I arrived, it appeared that the mare was thoroughly enjoying her light duty day and thought that 8:15am was exactly the right time to be done with braids and showing for the day.

Snoozey Mare says she's taking a sabbatical 

When the vet got there, we threw her on the lunge and the slight head bob was about as apparent as it had been in her flat class (that is to say, noticeable, but not holy-shit-someone-call-a-doctor bad).  Prair then decided to be absolutely uncooperative and played her "lunge? how do you lunge?" game which involves her politely scooting her butt away every time you try to start her up.

Great yielding of the haunch, but totally terrible lunging manners.

What a brat.

We moved her onto the concrete to see a smaller circle on hard ground and her no-lungey antics got worse, to the point that I was thinking if something wasn't wrong before, something would be soon if all the scrambling and chasing on cement kept up...

Fortunately nothing bad happened, we finally got a couple trot circles out of the mare (yup, still lame) and then moved on.

Our vet didn't feel an elevated pulse, but she rechecked with hoof testers anyway and got the same result of nothing.  She also didn't see or feel any obvious injuries higher on the leg and Prair didn't react to any palpation.

Her first assumption is that we're dealing with a stone bruise, or a weird tweak.  Apparently a stone bruise (or bruise from overreaching) can sometimes not show up with hoof testers, but still be sore from the concussion of impact.  I've never heard that explanation, but it kinda made sense and I so desperately wanted to hear "stone bruise" and not "soft tissue" that I nodded enthusiastically and hoped that was the case.

Without any other sensitivities or symptoms, we moved on to blocking the foot in order to see if that erased our mystery lameness.

It did.

And I should have videoed the second lunge session because HOLY HUGE TROT, Prair got all excited about something and was floating around like a magician.  It took a minute for her adrenaline to wear off, but when she resumed a (more) normal trot, the head bob was gone and she seemed perfectly fine.

So, the vet left us with instructions to wrap the hoof overnight (why not) and see how she looked in the am.  Vet thought there was a 50% chance she'll turn up sound on her own in a day or two and a 50% chance this little lameness lingers, in which case we'll wait until next week for further diagnostics to try and pinpoint what's going on.

She was pretty adamant that given the schedule of events (crash friday, sound for long days sat and sun, day off monday, lame tues) that it's highly unlikely that Prair did something crazy during that stumble on Friday.

She thinks it's more likely she found the one rock in the warm up ring, or stepped on something during her hand walk monday, or just took a funny step.  I like when she says things like that, so I'm ignoring other, scarier possibilities until I can't....

SO, this morning - Prair was apparently sound on the lunge (!!!!!) which is great news. I'm scratching her from the remaining Pre Green classes, since she doesn't need to jump 3' and there's no reason to chase points or anything else.  The plan is to potentially add her into some 2'6"ish stuff this afternoon if she warms up 100%.  I don't want to work her super hard, but we do want to get her moving and see if it represents or not. If she's not off, she definitely needs to get out of that show-stall and move her tootsies around a little.

Obviously we'll be super conservative, the point is to have a long term sound horse, not collect a couple extra ribbons in an open 2'6" class.

So that's the gig.  Feeling cautiously optimistic that perhaps this was something simple and stupid, but only time will tell!

Lame! (literally, lame)

WAH.

So, I got up extra early since Prair had an Under Saddle first thing this morning.  All told I was sorta happy about it, I mean, there are worse things than leading off with a nice long hack in the spooky indoor before her over fences rounds, so that part was cool.

Prair had a pretty big day scheduled, Large Hunter U/S, all three rounds of the Large Hunters over fences, two rounds of her Pre-Green Division and a late Under Saddle for the PG's.

She looked great in warm up, definitely less tension in her eyeball, and N confirmed that she felt like (much like Thermal) Prair was much more settled to start week two and significantly less impressed with the atmosphere.

When the class started (pretty big, about 18 horses), Prair looked good and N was definitely able to float her reins a bit more without sacrificing her shape, but about half way through the first direction, I noticed that Prair wasn't really moving out like she normally does.  Less float, less toe flick, less of all of it.  Then, I thought I saw the slightest trace of a head bob.

When N trotted by she raised an eyebrow at me... I raised one back and kept watching.

The canter looked good, walk was nice and relaxed... but the second direction of trot was about the same.  Lackluster and borderline off.

Somehow she still pinned 5th.  Somewhat shocking, but whatever she's still pretty :)

We walked straight back to warm up to see what was what, but when N moved her back up to the trot she was seriously off - significantly more so than she had been in the class, so I went to the office to scratch the rest of the day, and N took the mare back to her stall.

N thought she could feel a bit more pulse in her LF, so we grabbed the farrier to use the hoof testers and see if maybe possibly (hopefully) she was blowing out an abscess.

I couldn't find any trace of heat or fill or anything suspicious on any of her legs, so when she was negative to the hoof testers we called the vet and now I'm in wait-and-see mode till she arrives later this afternoon.

Fingers crossed it's something super simple.  I'm worried it's something from her crash last Friday, but since she was totally sound and happy all weekend, I'm hoping that's not the case.

Bummer to miss out of so much of her showing, but hopefully we're back in business later this week. If not, I'll haul the mare home early and let her relax in the pastures.

More Maintenance (where's that 50,000 mile warranty!??)

Prair is all settled back in at home.  She had a few light hacks last week to stretch her out and get moving, but nothing too crazy given the stress of the show and then the ride home.

Friday our favorite vet came out to give all the Thermal horses a once over and see how the handled the stress and workload.  N and I both expressed our concerns bout Prair's back or maybe hind end and how she was jumping fairly inverted at the start of our last week showing, but seemed to work out of it by the time I was riding on the weekend...

N pulled Prair out to show the vet her movement under saddle, show some changes of lead etc.

The first thing the vet said was "wow. She really is a nice mare."

(um, duh :) I love her).

It hadn't occurred to me that the vet has only seen Prairie jogged and lunged, but never worked under saddle - and I am the first to admit that she looks like a floppy llama on the lunge.  I mean, you can see she's a big mover, but she looks like Phoebe from friends jogging... under saddle she looks, well.  Better.

oimg I actually found a gif to use.

Anyway, bolstered by the compliment, I cautiously probed for her opinion on that right hind/what she was seeing.  Always good when the response is... well, RH looks fine, I think it's the left? (damn, owner fail).

Good news was that when we pulled tack, it seemed like Prair's back was *less sore* that normal.  (note, that means she's not sore when I poke her, but still responds to the vet-palpation-of-doom.  

Most of her soreness seemed to be stemming from that stupid fungus that took hold right where her saddle goes, so we're working hard to knock that out.

In terms of her hind end... we flexed everything and saw about a 1/5 on both legs evenly spread across her stifles/hocks/fetlocks.  The fact that each joint was a little sore, but nothing was really sore - led our vet to think that the problem was higher up, perhaps in her SI.  A strong poke there produced a pronounced "ouch" from the mare and we had our primary suspect.  

Vet thinks that her SI is likely sore since she's using it more (since her back is happier) and that soreness is in turn showing up in her legs as a compensating factor.  (so... she's sore from being sore, from being sore?)

The suggestion was to inject her SI (so many injections..) and see what happens.  She thought that would alleviate some of the stickiness in the lead changes and also make her stifles/hocks/fetlocks happier.

So inject we did (oh my god that's a huge needle they use..) and Prair got 5 days off.

I went down to see her today and caught her just at the end of her 30 minute Eurosizer walk (so cute, she stopped to look for treats and got smacked in the butt by the divider...lol).  

She looked great, though the fungus is not as healed as I would have liked - so ther eis more work to do there... 

Otherwise, tomorrow CWD comes out for (another) fitting.  and then I am officially d.o.n.e. riding Prair until this baby (It's a girl! can't remember if I said that..) hatches in July. 

whew.

That's the update. 

True Costs of Big Shows Part II

As predicted, there are always extra costs that sneak up on you in preparing for larger horse events, so I figure it's time to add those in.  My original post True Costs of Big Shows Part I talked about the anticipated costs for three weeks at Thermal, but left the door open for more expenses...  This is definitely the point where if I weren't blogging, I would deliberately not add up all the expenses and avoid seeing a final tally at all costs.

But in the name of being honest (both with myself and the blog), I'm trying really hard to keep track of our expenses and report them faithfully.  This may result in me never, ever, ever hauling across states for another multi-week show ever again, but who knows.

The additional checks that have been written in anticipation of Thermal fall into two different categories.  One is "new gear" for me and Prair and the other is Medical.

The "new gear" can be argued that it's not a true Thermal cost since it will continue to be used after, but Thermal definitely triggered the purchase, so I'm choosing to include it.

All of the new gear is either because we are at a new barn and I really like to match, or because I'm pregnant and really like things to fit.

I didn't go crazy on the matching Barn Gear, but I did get excited and ordered some stuff - specifically a stable blanket and stable sheet to be embroidered, as well as a trunk cover and coolerette so I feel like a cool kid.

Purchasing these items didn't take significant arm twisting since we all know how I feel about matching - but they still required dollars to come out of my pocket in concurrence with other Thermal costs.

Granted, they are a one time cost (hopefully) - but they still hit the bottom line...

It helps that the barn colors (hunter green/burgundy/beige) are relatively common, so we are able to use SmartPak for the barn blankets, which are an affordable $96 for the blanket, and $79 for the sheet.  Additionally, we send out for our own embroidery, which cut costs a littler further.

Totally Acceptable

The Trunk Cover and Coolerette are both made custom by The Clothes Horse, which is decidedly not the cheapest outfit around, but their products are gorgeous and really well made.  Since we're able to avoid custom costs for the show blankets, I didn't feel quite as bad about forking over the $$ for some nice Clothes Horse Items.

I ordered the Deluxe Trunk Cover in order to match the rest of the barn.  My costs ran a touch higher than listed since my Trunk is an unusual (large) dimension.  The notion of spending $220 on a cover was a little much for me, but I'm not ready to invest in a matching trunk so it seemed like a good compromise.

The Coolerette is mercifully cheaper ($100) and although it's totally unnecessary, it is kinda fun to have your name displayed in such a classy fashion.  Really makes you feel a part of the team.

Plaid Coolerettes off to the right..

In addition to the new clothes for Prair, I also pulled the trigger on a new huntcoat for myself to accommodate my, um... increasing topline.  So far the belly is a non-issue, but the boobs are not going to cooperate with my current closet of show clothes.  Both Dover and SmartPak have some great, affordable options, and I ordered myself the R.J. Classics Essential Show Coat.

It's not fancy, but for $99 I'm hoping it'll do the trick while I have some baby-induced-weight for Thermal, and just in case it's still hanging around next year when I'm able to show again.

I have never purchased an R.J. Classics coat before, so I'm not sure what to expect, but it is one of the only jackets I was able to find that came in a "long" and stayed under $200.

So, in terms of "new gear" we're look at an additional $600.

More significantly, I must have been feeling extra maternal this weekend as I decided it would probably also be wise/kind to give Prair a round of GastroGard for the big trip.  Her tummy has remained in a bit of distress since moving barns and she's an anxious enough mare (sounds redundant) that I think GastroGard is a good proactive step to take for hauling so far and then being in a show environment for so long.

The 28 Day Pack is another cool $900 out of Prair's piggy bank.  Not nearly as exciting as fun new blankets, but probably more important - and frankly something that gives me peace of mind for the days I'm not able to join the mare in California.

Finally, I think Prairie will likely go on Regumate for the show (and potentially other shows this season).  Our barn is sending almost exclusively mares down south, so I can only imagine what the herd bound drama will be by the time they unload.  Additionally, N always requests to be stabled at the very far end of the barns where there is less hustle and bustle to bother the horses, but exaggerates the terror of leaving your friends and walking (forever) to the show rings.

We know how I feel about hormones, but my biggest goal is to give Prair a good, positive experience, and I am thinking that controlling her raging mare-moments might help that process.

Big bottle of Regumate will run $270, and while that allows for three months of continuous use.  So really, only 1/3 of that cost should be earmarked for "Thermal," but much like everything else, I'm not prorating :)

So medical costs are $1170.  Add that to the $600 of new gear and I've got a total of $1770 to add to my initial estimate of $11,555 for show costs.

New Estimated Cost?

$12,725

(vomit).

Saddle Woes

So, after Prair's little touch-up visit from the vet on Tuesday, I reached out to our new CWD rep since I knew she was paying a visit to the barn but never heard back.  Since our old rep is still listed on the CWD website I finally called Burbank and got New Rep's Cell phone.  By the good graces of horsey karma, I actually called her while she was on the way to our barn, which wasn't so great in terms of me being able to be there... but was fortuitous in terms of Prair actually getting looked at.

The verdict is that the saddle is still (STILL!) sitting too low on her back.  That's causing the weight to not be evenly distributed (read: pushed to the back) which is in turn causing the rub marks toward the back of the panels.  She also though there was some rubbing behind her shoulder, and when she watched her move, thought that her movement makes it tricky to eliminate all friction.

So, she was able to add some shims and lift the back of the saddle (even more).  - Remember the saddle was ordered with extra lift and then sent to Burbank for even more when it arrived.... argh.  Then she said that it was good we were going to Thermal because we needed to go to CWD while we ere there and have them take out the temporary shims and rework the panels.

She also told me to get an Ogilvy Pad asap since that will help even things out and also really help reduce any rubbing.

In the meantime The Mattes Half Pad is back on duty with some rear shims.

Of course, the hunt for an Ogilvy Pad started (and ended) this morning with an impulse buy from Dapple Gray.  Since I have no illusions that I can keep a white pad (that also gets used daily) white for showing, we went with a "greige" body with the new barn colors as our trim - just because we could.

So many fun options

Never fear, I did my usual "thorough" research on COTH and other random sites before reading my Visa number off over the phone (informed consumer over here).

In truth though, if I hadn't already heard so much good stuff about these pads I would have had a hard time dropping the coin on it.  Also, If I wasn't so paranoid about doing everything I can for Prair's back I probably would have mulled it over for a while longer (like maybe a day).

But when my vet says "fix the saddle" and my saddle fitter says "we can fix the saddle, but get a pad."

I get the damn pad.

Plus I love custom shit.  That's not exactly a tough sell for this girl...

Stay tuned for a full report and review!

True Cost of Big Shows: Part I

I'm going out on a slight limb and actually publishing my estimated costs for Thermal.  Usually I wouldn't consider this a "limb" per se, but it's friggin expensive and while all things horsey are expensive - opting to show in Hunter/Jumper land is hideously expensive, particularly for weeks on end and especially out of state.

So, it's a gross, ugly, giant number that I know will get varied reactions from "you only live once!" to "that's disgusting, my family of 5 could live for 2 years on that much money."  I assure you that choosing to spend this cash doesn't mean that The Boy and I have endless coffers or that it's a decision that was made lightly.  Obviously we are ultimately ok spending it, and it won't put our rainy day(/emergency vet) fund in jeopardy, but still.  Not an everyday expenditure.

(waaaaahhhh)

Being a relative newcomer to the H/J scene, (and also having never shown more than one week in a row) I'm surprised how hard it is to actually nail down what the true cost of showing with a bonifde Show Barn is.  Some of this is due to the fact that money goes in different directions...  I tend to pay my trainer for Day Fees, Travel and any Grooming I opt for, but then the Braider is separate, which is separate from the Show Office for class entries, stabling, etc...

Regardless, at my first few A shows, in spite of my best efforts to know what it was going to cost me, there always seemed to be some expense that snuck up on me. 

Add that to the fact that people tend to politely avoid talking about costs and money in general and you get a big 'ol black hole that you just stumble through and figure out.

For those who have either never experienced these show costs, think they might want to experience it, or manage to look the other way while a spouse or fairy godmother cuts the check.  Here are some cold. hard. numbers related to taking your horse to an A show.

I labeled this post "part one" because I hope I remember to do a follow-up post that includes our actual costs.  Lord knows estimates are rarely accurate....

Here goes:

Prairie is scheduled to show at Thermal for weeks IV, V and VI (HITS uses roman numbers, and I think they are cooler than regular numbers).  This requires shipping her (and equipment) 1,300 miles each way.  While there, she will be competing in two divisions with a Pro riding and hopefully two (or three) divisions each weekend with me.  She will have grooming, braiding and a double stall since she's huge and tent stalls are not.

In addition I am still trying to figure out how much of those three weeks I will be present.  Regardless, there are plane ticket(s) and lodging for me, along with rental cars, food and the inevitable horse show shopping.

So, based on costs from last year, and my entry form this year, here's how I think that major costs will break down:

Equipment Transport (hay, trunk, tack, drapes, etc):  $350
Horse Vanning:                                                           $1,500
Trainer Hotel/Travel Split:                                          $1,400
Out of State Day Fee (x21):                                         $1,365
Stabling (x2 for double stall x3 weeks):                      $1,200
Braiding (4 days/week x3 weeks):                               $1,020
Entries (4 divisions/week x3 weeks):                           $1.920
Lodging for Me (4 nights/week x3):                            $2,400
Rental Car:                                                                   $400

That brings the Preliminary Total to $11,555.  That is before shopping, office fees, tips, extra classes and feeding myself....  Which means I really should be mentally preparing to hemorrhage closer to $15,000 especially once Prair orders her matching barn clothes...

eleven thousand dollars. 

That's a lot of money.

Getting to the Back Gate aint cheap

In a weird way, I think the cost would have totally scared me off this adventure if I wasn't pregnant.  I'd probably hunker down for a season of local shows and aim for Thermal when I was competitive at 3' and I felt like my après-show bikini body was slightly more svelte.

My initial response when we found out I was pregnant was to cancel Thermal, rein in all pony related costs and hunker down.  But The Boy being The Boy, along with my proclivity for spending, means that in a weird way the pregnancy has us both saying "now or never."  Heading out of state for a multiple week show sounds even more expensive and even more difficult once a kiddo is in tow, so now it is.

There are in fact lots of things the "Thermal Money" could go toward, but we have had several open, honest conversations about it - and concluded that enjoying our already expensive, show horse someplace where we can also enjoy the sun and some time together sounds like a lot of fun. 

Additionally, our biggest household budgeting issue isn't the one-off costs (thankfully), but rather limiting regular monthly expenses.  Hence, a half lease, finding Pia the perfect home and exploring a less expensive boarding option for Gus.

So, no - I don't feel guilty.  I did for a bit when we were hemming and hawing over the pros and cons.  But now that the decision is made, I am ok with it and just trying to make sure that we enjoying this whole experience as much as possible, since it may not be an annual event.

Back on the Meds

I have literally gone through an entire checkbook this week.  Board, farrier, multiple vets (oy).... seems like I'm sprinkling checks around like fairy dust! wheeee!!!!

one of those checks bought a nice cocktail for Prair.  She looks pretty sexy (for a drunk girl).

I'll start with Wednesday which was pedicures and bodywork for both horses.  Prair was the clear winner here.  Her back is doing great, so we just focused on mobilizing her withers even more and limbering her up.  Nothing radical at all, though she did get her first shot of Hyaluronic Acid because... why not.  Might as well be proactive about her big giant joints instead of waiting for her to complain.  (I guess)

Prair's feet looked good.  She got a bit contracted in her show shoes over the summer, but is starting to spread her heels again.  The clips came off her shoes and I told her that she would get extra cookies if she didn't suck them off in the mud immediately. 

Gus had a bit rougher of a day.  After his rickety, stiff hack on Monday vet confirmed that his body felt like he had either a) been t-boned by a large truck or b) somersaulted down a very long, very bumpy hill.

rad.

Since neither of those events had (to my knowledge) occurred, we ruminated over whether to treat him like he fell (likely in pasture being a nitwit) or to proceed as though he was doing all this damage and tension to himself in an attempt to compensate for the every-awful Right Front.

Lacking any heat/weirdness in the RF, we went with "must have fallen being a nitwit" and worked appropriately.  Honestly, after 20 minutes of stretching and releases his demeanor perked up and his gait was significantly less - lurchy.  It was nice to see such an immediate improvement - however small.

Gus' feet are also looking pretty good (for him).  There's way less rotting, grossness around his white line and while his heels are still pretty crushed (and flat) they aren't as fractured as they were this time last year.  It's still a bit of a challenge to trim well, but his foot overall is much healthier and better balanced.  His fronts are finally normalizing and looking pretty good too.

Gus came away from the day with a prescription of a week of 2g bute daily, followed by 2 weeks of 1g... along with lots (and lots and lots) of walking.  Hand walking, tack walking - whatever.

When I hopped on him yesterday his walk already felt looser and more even.  I'm hoping some low key exercise and lots of carrot stretches help us stay on track.

This morning Prair got her third shockwave treatment on her back and that vet confirmed that she is much more comfortable to palpation - specifically with regard to her muscles.  She's still a bit ouchy if you directly poke at her spine/ligament, but we sort of expected that... So we're continuing with normal work, but she'll start a 40 day course of Previcox to try to help keep her super comfy and encourage proper use of her back while she continues to strengthen her topline. 

Whew. 

I'm am still full steam ahead on closet cleanouts.  I am also totally incapable of figuring out how to use paypal or anything else along those lines so this maybe be a case of "send me a mailing bag with a pre-paid usps label and I'll just pack and ship anything people want."  Stay tuned! Hopefully someone has a need for gently used Giant Mare sized things.

Gus Lameness Check In

Yesterday was glorious here.  Blazing blue skies, crisp leaves swirling around, pumpkin spice lattes, etc etc..

So, even though it's the quiet day at the barn and Prair's day off, I opted to tootle out to the barn and take Gus for a spin and see how he's feeling.  Truth be told I haven't been on him in... a couple months? I've lunged and jogged him what feels like endlessly, but it seemed time for an actual ride.

So we tacked up (complete in dusty pink polos) and went for a ride.

and he was lame.

Really. Really. Lame.

S mentioned he seems to work out of it (a bit), so we left the arena and opted to go hacking around the property and say hi to everyone in their pastures and just enjoy the sunshine.

Fuzzy Gus ear and Fall foliage.

He was perky and pleasant (as always), but felt really short on his right front, and a bit more stumbly than I remember him ever being.  We probably meandered around for about 20 minutes before I noticed that his stride was starting to even out - especially on firmer ground.  He still seemed a bit labored on deep/soft footing. 

Eventually we wandered back to the outdoor so I could at least get a little trot/canter in to see how things felt.

His trot felt absolutely awful.  Where he's usually been very soft in the bridle, he was braced and sort of lurched around the turns.  His canter felt much better, but his downward transitions (usually prompt and appreciated) felt awkward and stiff.

Now, I know this is likely due to him using that RF differently, but it's also possible that he is out of shape and unschooled.  Just to see how responsive he was I asked for a couple leg yields and a few flying changes.  All were duller and less willing that previous.  Whether it's because he can't use himself, or because he is in defensive and obstinate school horse mode, I don't know.  Probably both.

All in all we were probably only in the arena for 8 minutes, so it wasn't a long workout, just a varied one to see where things stood...

So, he's down to one lesson a week and I'm hoping to at least hop on and move things around for 10 minutes a few times a week to see if more regular/correct work improves things, or makes them worse. 

The good news is that his RF wasn't sore at all to palpation.  He is also due for a trim (Wednesday) and some bodywork (also Wednesday).  I'll see if either of those folks notice any big changes with him...

Gus says lame ponies deserve treats too!

He is just the happiest, easiest, most pleasant pony to be around.  Plus he's cute as a friggin button. I really enjoyed my walk in the sunshine with him yesterday. 

"Back" At It

In all my ranting and raving about Gus and my love-hate relationship with his current abscess, I totally forgot to update on Prairie.

Tuesday I hopped on the mare (after her four days off) and she felt pretty good.  It didn't feel like I got a brand new horse, but things felt really relaxed and swinging and easy.  Most notably she was much softer through her poll and neck, which I'm guessing is because she wasn't bracing against a super painful back....

Both S and I hacked her around for a couple minutes testing all the gears and kicking all the tires. When I was on S threw up a little crossrail (maybe 2'6"?) and I popped over it.  Prairie definitely felt bouncier, but it was hard to say if that was because she was feeling great, or because the construction men were playing on a genie lift and throwing roofing material around.  Also it was chilly.

I'd like to think she's feeling significantly better, her shoulders and wither definitely felt more mobilized over the jump, but I'm trying not to get too excited or hopeful just yet.  She has a trainer ride today and I have a lesson bright and early tomorrow which expand our data set significantly.

Still keeping fingers crossed for a bit..

For the love pete. Or Gus. Or whatever

Ugh.  Horses.  Just when you let yourself think that all the money that you spend and all the things that you do are justified and perfect decisions. 

They end up having an abscess.

Yup.

Gus, who oh-so-charmingly didn't flinch at the hoof testers when he first pulled up lame(well, lamer) is currently in the process of blowing out a huge abscess that has most likely been the culprit all along. 

Farrier found the edge of it yesterday during a trim, and upon exploring it's hovering right between his bars and heel, with a very ouchy region a little closer to his toe. 

So, aside from the three (3! tres!) vet visits to initially diagnose, then ultrasound, THEN follow up, it turns out nothing has gotten better partially because he's been all hopped up on anti-inflammatory drugs the entire time.

cue loud, angsty wail as I beat my head against my desk.

So Gus got his hoof packed and wrapped and since we were part way through his trim, he's currently bare upfront and waiting for the squishy gross pocket of goo to resolve itself before we tack shoes back on. 

Hopefully he's feeling better by the end of the week and we can proceed with life as normal. 

Twit. 

Here's a pic of the bit that's exposed now..

please forgive the HORRID feet.  They are so much better than they used to be, but I still cringe a bit when I see them

Black bit marks part of the void that we can reach without digging around

Horses.  Sigh.

Injected.

I had the vet (lameness specialist) out to check on Gussie on Friday and decided that while she was there I'd have her take a peek at Prair since we've not been able to resolve her dislike for R to L lead changes and S and I both have a sense that something is just not quite "right."  Part of me gets apprehensive about hunting for issues because I am certain that you can always find something wrong with a horse if you take enough pictures or poke enough places.  However, in my gut I knew Prair has been avoiding aspects of her work (however subtlety) and not exploring that gut feeling is not a very proactive method of fixing anything...

Gus, bless his little heart got a green light to return to turnout and also start back up in his lesson routine.  We are going to put him on some Previcox to help with the inflammation and play with what level and frequency of dosage keeps him happiest and sane.  We'll ramp his workload back up slowly and if he can't be used as often so be it.  But he seems happy and eager to do something.

Anyway, yay for Gus.  But onto the more interesting bit....

Prair was her normal self, a bit ouchie in her back, but otherwise happy and bright and in search of treats.  S and I gave a long, (not very well organized) account of our struggles and triumphs since we brought her home in April 2012.  This varied from more tangible information like which direction she is stiffer in lateral work to more squishy info like "her right hind just doesn't scoop up as much as her left."  I also discussed her tendency to hold tension in her neck (on the right side.. near her shoulder) and how she has twice been somewhat lame from the self-induced charlie horse. We talked about her history, her fitness, her willingness, etc, etc and then we got to jogging and flexing.

Prair hasn't really had serious flexions since I bought her and her PPE showed a nice, happy row of zeros across the board.  I held my breath a bit - only slightly terrified that something scary would have mysteriously crept into a joint over the last 18 months, but things looked good.  Prair maintained her zeros except for a mild 1 on her left front and a mild 1 for the right hind hock and a smidge on the stifle. 

Not perfect, but not horrid... and at least it was a matched diagonal set? I don't know.. The vet made noise that based on Prair's conformation and way of going on the lunge she was fairly certain the primary diagnosis was Kissing Spine, and that the low grade response on the flexions was most likely a result of her compensating and trying to work around the pain in her back.  Though she couldn't know for sure.

Fabulous.

So we stopped and looked at her back and my heart crept into my throat a bit as I stared at her (still moderately) dropped back.  Significantly more lifted than when I got her, but still a bit of a sway to it and rarely do I feel her really round up into it under any circumstance.  Everything the vet was explaining and demonstrating was making sense. 

The exaggerated curve of her spine behind the with meant that the dorsal spines were likely compressed and rubbing at the ends where they were most crowded.  Additionally arthritic change in the vertebras themselves was subsequently likely as was damage to the big fat ligament that runs across the top of the dorsal spines. 

yellow line where Prair is affected

conformation shot from May, showing the dreaded curve...

I okayed the next step of taking some x-rays to confirm what the hell was going on and we headed back to the barn aisle.  While I was sitting there I was filtering my rides and experience on Prair through a "kissing spine" window. 

- She tends to jump flat, though I have always attributed that to the fact that we jump low for her and she doesn't have to try very hard.

- She has always preferred a long spot to the short distance... but I always attributed that to not knowing how to jump, not to pain from having to get up underneath herself.

- When stressed out, she tends to motorcycle around turns with a short, choppy stride, instead of reaching underneath her. (again, avoiding use of her back).

- Especially early in her jump career she tended to land and freak out.  I thought she was being a nitwit, but maybe it was in anticipation of pain?

I snapped out of my recollections in order to watch the x-rays and hear feedback.

The first few pictures showed normal bone structure and spacing behind the wither, but then as we crept backwards, there was indication of some remodeling - though there was a big sigh of relief when we saw that none of the bones were actually touching. 

Huge.  Win. 

From the full set of x-rays I learned that we're still going to call it "kissing spine" even though the bones are really just air-kissing (think uppity socialites saying hello at brunch and not mashing into each other like middle schoolers on ski bus). 

So, the increased curve of Prair's back is stressing her spinal structure, that stress is causing damage to the attachments from the ligament to the bones.. causing some remodeling, but nothing horrid... yet. 

Vet explained that the increased stress made it very uncomfortable for Prairie to articulate her back normally which meant she spent lots of effort trying to keep it flat and immobilized (this fits with our training struggles).  Consequently, the muscles in that area have atrophied and increased the workload of the ligament holding everything together.

The next questions to explore were whether or not that stress had started to cause changes in the vertebrae themselves and what sort of damage the ligament had sustained from being overworked.

The vertebrae (god bless them) still looked normal so that was one more complication we crossed off the list. 

The ligament wasn't... horrible.  But there were definite signs of stress and fatigue and even a few spots of scar tissue that were visible.  (Oh did I mention we moved onto the ultrasound machine? For anyone who's tracking the vet-taxi-meter, it was running along at full speed...ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching...). 

Feeling slightly more optimistic than I had been, we started talking about what all this meant for Prairie getting/staying comfortable and what it meant for her career.

I think (knock on all the wood) that the prognosis is fairly good. 

The silver lining is that we decided to explore the issue now instead of waiting until Prairie refused to pick up the canter or started slamming on the brakes at small fences.  Right now her back hurts, but she's figured out how to work around it and it's only an obvious issue when I'm being picky about her form/self-carriage/whatever. 

The prescription was to inject the spine along the vertebrae that are most affected.  The ultrasound showed several spots with some serious edema and general inflammation from the stress of the curvature.  The hope is that the injections will alleviate the inflammation (and pain) enough that Prair will start using her back a bit more again.  In two weeks we'll start some shockwave to aid some of the healing in the ligament as well as for additional pain relief and we'll keep riding normally.  After we finish the shockwave (ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching) we'll put her on Previcox to really keep inflammation at bay and really allow Prair strengthen that part of her back and build up more muscle which will in turn hopefully support the ligament, prevent additional damage and make everything come up roses. whew.

We could have injected, done the shockwave and started the Previcox all at once, but I think there's information to be gained from each step along the way - and I like to isolate my variables...

So injections went in, Prair was told to take 4 days off (though turnout was ok) and we are to check back in with the vet at the end of the week.

I had to leave the barn and head straight for the airport to go visit a very pregnant friend in a very soggy Denver for the weekend.  Thankfully both the impending baby and the state of emergency were fabulous distractions from worrying about Prair, but now that I'm home I'm back to obsessing a bit. 

This afternoon we'll get on, and see what we feel.  The vet's prediction is she'll feel better than she ever has.  I'm dubious, but also hopeful.  I'd love if we can get the mare comfy enough to use her back and really work those muscles well.  Sounds like the perfect project for the off-season. 

I did have an interesting follow-up with the vet in talking about what sort of frequency she sees this condition and the varying outcomes... and it was pretty interesting.  I am slightly cynical and think that Kissing Spine has spiked in popularity recently, but I suppose x-rays don't really lie...   The vet had some interesting comments on how it's significantly more common than most people think and that a good number of successful Eq horses actually perform functionally with varying degrees of the condition.  She started talking about how a flat jumping style might not win in the Hunter Ring, but it is a hell of a lot easier to ride (attractively) in the Eq ring. 

Something I hadn't really thought about but did make me smile...

Anyway.  Climbing back on the mare this afternoon... more to come after we see where we are.

Holy Hammies

It's been a ridiculously busy week thus far (and I do realize that it is in fact only Wednesday... Or rather it was when I wrote this), but I was very much looking forward to a happy, fun lesson with the mare this morning (again, talking about Wednesday).. going over our foibles from the show and perhaps easing back into some serious work.

This image of loveliness was shattered by an incoming text from the trainer "Lunge line lesson or Bareback today.  You're choice!"

Um.  hmmm.  Both very productive things to do in lessons... and given my less than stellar Eq performances, probably well deserved, but Oh. God.  The only time I've sat on Prair bareback she kept threatening to rear, so that didn't sound super appealing... but given my mental exhaustion a crazy-picky Eq lesson on the line sounded like borderline torture.

sooooooo bareback it was...

Given my early(ish) lesson time, Prair hadn't been turned out yet so when I arrived, she was busy pitching a fit about being left alone in the barn... Which was exactly what I didn't want to see.  An irritated, cranky mare who's had two days off.  Picture perfect for our first foray into bareback riding. 
Dear god.

I did cajole S into hopping on her first just to make sure she wasn't going to freak out, but after four minutes of totally uneventful hacking she slid off and it was my turn.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how comfy the mare was to sit.  I've been moderately terrified of her shark-fin wither and slinky-dog back, but both were a non issue.  We stayed at a pretty dialed down pace the entire time but the focus was on relaxing my legs down and keeping everything floppy and loose.  Very helpful for my hips (which are never square) and straightening my ribcage.

We played with figure-eights, serpentines and transitions, then worked simple changes (performed on a figure eight as I passed through two poles) and a couple flying changes.  All very good things to practice when I can't get away with tipping over :)

It was very obvious that my abs need some strengthening as they were screaming at me the entire time.. my hammies were also... unhappy.  I think I don't engage them enough when I'm riding in normal tack, but it was oddly satisfying to feel them holding me down and back, anchoring me into the mare. 

Yes, they were burning... but I suppose that's good for me too.

The whole process was made significantly more comfortable (and easier) by borrowing a friends ThinLine Bareback pad, which aside from being shockingly comfy, was also very, very grippy. 



Helpful Torture Device

At no point did I feel loose or unsecure - and now that I've successfully attempted riding the mare bareback, I think that maybe I will try to force myself to repeat the process once a week. 

All in the name of fitness.

And a more independent seat.

And more straightness.

And confidence with the mare.

And building better Eq muscles.

And because it sorta makes me feel 12 again and secretly I'd like to be comfortable jumping without tack....

Break In Part II

The good news is that I'm liking the saddle more with each ride.  Given the time and $$$ poured into the damn thing, I'm calling that a victory (woo!)

The boots are still on a "love" list, but the blisters are less than charming.  They are now not being worn until the show to allow my feetsies to recover (a little).

The saddle has been lovingly oiled and rolled and is starting to feel really good.  The boots have gotten a 2 hour polish session which included the full blow-dryer system of melting the polish and they've got a good shine going. I was going to add another couple layers of polish last night, but my shoulder is so sore from the marathon polish session that I couldn't buff them!

How sad is that?! I think I might need to hit the gym a bit more if my shoulder is going to scream from polishing my boots.  Not sexy.

I'm serious when I say it's unhappy.  I've torn my bursa and ripped my rotator cuff from volleyball and I swear I have not woken up with a screaming shoulder like this since college.  I'm also pretty sure that NCAA volleyball was way harder on my shoulder than sitting on the floor polishing boots.  Not normal, but I digress.

So to sum up.  things are breaking in.  Saddle, boots, my feet and my shoulders.

On the actually riding front Prair has been SUPER RAD.  We had an amazing jump lesson Sat in a oddly busy ring with no stress or freight-train like behavior.  If we can get half that ride at the show I'll be really thrilled with her progress from the June show.

I already remembered to pick up my hunt coat from the drycleaners (win) so tomorrow is a morning of real work (boo) before heading out to the barn for baths, and packing and fitting a shockwave session for Gussie before we load up to haul out!

looking forward to a sunny, fun week of showing - Fingers Crossed!

Flippity-Flop-Flop

Well if last night I was leaning toward shoes this morning I'm leaning away from them. 

Tacky, but accurate...

Yesterday when I went to get Prair I was surprised to see a chain attached to her halter.  I used a chain with her briefly early on (when she was supremely unaware of where her beak was) and a few times when hauling to a new place (again, beak management).  I've never needed one at home so my little antenna went up.

Prair seemed quiet and normal to me when I pulled her out of pasture (if anything her relaxation and attention when being led has improved significantly in the last 4-6 months). I jogged her out behind the barn on my way back and she *seemed* to be significantly more comfortable than on Sunday. 

On Sunday her walk was a little short over gravel and her trot was reluctant at best.  In fact after I jogged her once, she gave me a "really lady??" look when I asked her to trot off again. (she politely declined)

Yesterday she moved up to the trot willingly several times.  Definitely a bit sore, but decidedly less so, and certainly more eager. 

Of course, if she was a loon bucket all day and needed a chain to get her to pasture it's possible that her "willingness" is really just excess energy building up from 10 days functionally off work.  I've seen Gus mask his lameness like a champ when he puffs up and gets excited.  He trots off like big fancy Dressage horse, but hen returns to his usual limp when he calms down... With that in mind I tried not to get too excited about the potential improvement, but still.

I threw Prairie on the lunge for a few minutes and while she did look a bit short, she didn't look uncomfy.  She's still swinging her head around, willing to stretch down, look around, etc.  When she's been super ouchy in the past she doesn't get distracted by what's around her and tends to just wear a face that says "ow, ow, ow, ow."

So, that info gives me hope that maybe I can get things under control more easily.  That hope prompted a text to the barn manager to move Prair to a dry lot for the time being and a text to the Farrier to not kill me if I haven't made up my mind yet.  He responded politely that he could easily push our possible appointment to Friday to give me one more day of observation...  (I really like him).

To speak to some of the comments on the last few posts, I appreciate the support.  I think my problem is that I don't know what my threshold is for allowing Prair to be sore.  I know successful transitions can take months (and months, and months), so I think my (unrealistic) expectations for a quick turnaround are predicated on the previous success we've seen.  I am honestly dismayed at how quickly Prair's feet got out of shape.  Rationally I know I shouldn't be surprised, I've seen feet transform in a week... so a couple months of shoes should have a huge impact on her feet, and specifically her soles. 

I would prefer to not miss the rest of the show season, but as I continue down this path, I'm not sure how mission critical that is, or how much I would enjoy it all the while thinking that the transition will just keep getting harder and harder if/when I ever try it again.

Gus and the Very Bad, Terrible, No Good Birthday Weekend

Poor Gus.  He did not have the Sweet Sixteen Party he was planning for.  Instead he had three days of poking prodding and feeling crummy. 

But let's back up.  The weekend started off with Promise (capital P).  M2 had thoughtfully gotten Gussie a nice box of birthday goodies (complete with a Vet Wrap bow) to usher him into the next year of Gus-filled-life. 

vet wrap!

Birthday Loot

Sadly this was as good as it got for the poor old man.

Friday my favorite vet came out to do Prairie's teeth (good god that girl grows fangs quickly..) and give Gus his birthday bodywork.  But Gus had some inflammation on his pesky Right Front (the site of the old DDFT injury) and when I jogged him out the vet made a frowny face that said "what the hell happened in the last 6 weeks."

Gus was obviously more lame on his right front (though his hind end seemed to be moving better, small win?) and we had no great reason for it.  The only change in his routine has been slightly less work since S has been busy with shows and has consequently missed a few of her regular lessons.  Gus doesn't seem to mind though, he just sunbathes in his paddock and proceeds to get as filthy as possible all the time.

The only other environmental change is a "heat wave" (by Seattle standards) that sent temps rocketing into the 70's (and even the low 80's) for about 10 days.  (we are wimps).

We chatted randomly for a bit, talked about how some horses just get puffy when the weather warms up and then got to business with the Thermal Imaging Camera.  I love that thing.  I know it's not a magic wand but it is just so interesting to see what clues it can give you about things. 

Things that seem great, Gus' medial/lateral balance on all 4 hooves.  Gus' hocks, Gus's back and Gus's big cute beak. 

The interesting finding was that the puffy right front was colder than the (less) puffy left front.  Vet lady dialed up the sensitivity and we looked closer at the Right Front and were able to see the scar tissue that has formed around the Annular Ligament.  It appears as though the Annular Ligament functions essentially as a tourniquet on Gus's Right Front (instead of a supportive structure) and totally chokes off blood flow to that lower limb. 

See Annular Ligament Here

Ultimately we decided that we will end up treating it with some shockwave to try and break up some of the scar tissue and regain some mobility, but since it was late and we didn't want to sedate the old man, we just applied some cold laser for the edema and Gus was very (very) pleased about that.  This horse loves any massage/acupuncture/treatment on that fetlock.  He stops mugging for treats and just snoozes whenever you do anything with it.

The laser got rid of the swelling very quickly and going forward he will work up to wearing his BoT stable wraps at night between now and the shockwave treatment.  Vet is also having me order some really cool trans-dermal patches for some meds in the meantime but I'll write more on those later. 

We re-jogged the man and he seemed to be moving better so hopefully reducing the swelling helped his comfort level.

Gus finished up the day with a flu shot (up the nose) and we called it a night. 

Saturday I hobbled myself out to the barn to check on Gus and see how his RF looked "the morning after."  The answer was pretty good.  One of his Adult Lessoners had just brought him in from pasture and both legs looked nice and tight (by Gus standards). 

What didn't look normal by Gus standars was his demeanor.  Usually Gus is fairly.... active in the cross ties. He isn't naughty, but he shifts around a lot and tends to use his head as a battering ram in an attempt to knock any loose treats out of your pockets/brain/body.  But Saturday Gus was just standing quietly and his head was calm and not at all being used as a battering ram. 

Red Flag. 

We took his temp and he was a toasty 103.7 which immediately explained the lethargy.  I shoved 2g of bute down his gullet, gave him a nice cold hosing and put him in his stall.  Approximately 90 minutes later his temp was normal and he was fussy and hunting for treats.  Poor guy.

He got his BoT wraps put back on for the afternoon and all was well except for this:

Yup.  Hind hoof, last of the acrylic filler busting off his heel and threatening to totally remove itself which would leave a 1/2" gap between hoof and shoe.  No Bueno.  I hopped on the phone with my farrier and he promised to be out Sunday afternoon for the repair and a reset. 

It is always something with this horse.

Sunday I got a text from S saying Gus' temp was still normal (yay!) but his right hind was all puffed up. 

Seriously horse!?

I zoomed out, wrapped all four legs, and waited for the farrier to fix at least one of our problems.  Gus was definitely back to his charming, mischievous self which made the shoeing process less than ideal. 

Also less than ideal is that Gus has crushed what heel we built up with the acrylics right back down to nothing.  His feet are horrid.  Even on a 4 week trim cycle (this was 3.5 weeks) he doesn't grow real hoof, but still distorts forward a ton.  There's nothing to "back off" to help his heels get under neath him, but his toe just runs out and those poor hind feet continue to break back.  It's a tricky situation and I'm hoping that as his diet and care has changed, hopefully he'll start growing more/better hoof, but in the mean time we're dealing with crumbly, crappy neglected crap that won't do anything remotely helpful. 

Eventually we opted to fit Gus with some pads.  I hate pads.  I feel like they don't encourage new healthy hoof structure but Gus' feet are so bad he needs some heel support now.  So he's rocking two degree pads with a one degree wedge shoe for a total of 3 degrees of lift.  He walked off much happier and hopefully that will help his overall healthy-Gus-factor.

The farrier finished up around 5, which left just enough time for a super fun shingles-sponge-bath before a fabulous Mommy's Day dinner with M2. 

Whew.

What a weekend.  Hopefully Gus got it all out of his (very cute) system. 

ps - S has been riding Prair and she is being perfect.

Mystery Lameness Solved (d'oh)

Sunday I went out to hack the Mare and she was fabulous.  The sun peeked out for a few precious minutes so we strolled around in the outdoor mostly on a loose rein.  I didn't want a hard "school" session and in fact some of the things I need to work on the most are sitting quietly with my seat and quieting my hands when Prair is being good.   For some reason this is easier for me when I mentally commit to "hacking" rather than just being quiet while also trying to "school" something.  Stupid mental games...

Anyway, Prair was lovely.  Soft, reaching over her back and light.  I hauled out a cavaletti just to work on rhythm and she stayed soft and quiet for that as well (both trot and canter).

After about 20 minutes I gave her a long walk break before picking up the reins and finishing with some long and low work to really stretch with.  Prair was great, until I switched to the right rein and felt a slight hitch in her left shoulder.

Ugh.

I serpentined a few more times to really feel it, but she was noticeably short on her left front and while not glaring it certainly seemed to be more and more pronounced.  I hopped off, pulled her boots and felt for anything weird (as though I would feel something immediately after pulling her boots).  Thankfully I didn't find anything so I untacked, informed S gave her some bute and figured I'd see how she was Monday.

When I got to the barn Monday I went straight for Prair's legs which were (mercifully) cool, tight and even. 

So I set some jumps (looking to expand on our "soft, steady, even" ride from Sunday) and tacked up.

Our walking warmup was lovely.  Soft, relaxed and light - I worked our typical suppling exercises, shoulder in, haunches out, leg yields, leg yield on the wall, haunches in, etc.  Then I moved up into the trot.  I didn't feel any sign of the short step from Sunday, and then BLAMO.  head bobbing lame. 

I took one more circle for good measure then halted, called S and frustratingly relayed that Prair was way worse than the day before.  While we chatted for a few minutes, Prair started to get antsy and began lifting/resting her left front.  As I started to go down the road of a massive panic attack, I flew off her back, grabbed the foot and breathed a huge sigh of relief:

That would make me lame too.

Never have I ever been so thrilled to see a loose/twisted shoe.  (yay!)

That elated thought that was promptly followed by some slight cursing of horseshoes in general.  You can't pull/twist/lose/break the shoes that you don't have... barefoot is just so much simpler (if sometimes difficult).

Anyway, I walked back to the cross ties and started to take a look at what happened.  All three medial nails were missing (clearly) but all three lateral nails were FIRMLY HOLDING TIGHT.  I couldn't wiggle the shoe and it certainly wasn't showing signs of wanting to let go all the way.

I think that the shoe was probably missing nails on Sunday, but the clip was preventing the shoe from twisting too much.  I'm guessing that it did have some play though and that probably is what ended up making Prair a bit sore as the ride went on.  Handy things clips... hmmm clips.  if the shoe was twisted and the clip wasn't showing anymore on the outside.... that meant holy shit it was IN her wall.

In a slight panic I reefed up on the shoe and extracted the clip from her separated wall and then stood there thinking I had been super helpful. 

proverbial thorn out of the paw.

Except now I was stuck in the cross ties, with a shoe that still wouldn't come off and I didn't want to set Prair's foot down and have her reinsert the clip into her poor little tootsie. 

Rad.

Oh, and it was Monday so the barn was empty.  Totally devoid of humans, aside from me hunched over a hoof trying to figure out how I was going to get anything resembling nail pullers or a crowbar while still keeping my horse's foot in the air.

My first call (while holding hoof in air) was to my farrier.  He was far, far away but his assistant was close and could be there in 40 minutes.  My second call (still holding hoof) was to S, who was only 20 min away and rerouted immediately to the barn to hopefully get some tools to help pull the shoe.

I could reach my hoof pick and the needle-nose pliers that I always keep in my brush box.  The hoof pick was too weak to leverage the shoe at all and while the pliers did an okay job of gripping the nails, they kept slipping off before they could actually pull the nails out.  

Eventually, one of the barn guys walked by and I called out a bit pathetically.  I did a bad job explaining what I needed help with. (at first I think he thought I was complaining that no one noticed Prair's shoe was falling off) but then with some epic gestures and charades-ing he happily retrieved a crowbar (eek) which we were able to hammer under the nails and then pull them cleanly, leading to getting the shoe actually off. 

Whew. 

Prair, god bless her, probably let me keep that foot in the air for 30 minutes.  She got lots of cookies.

Awesome farrier man made it out this morning to reset both fronts and after lots of watching her go we're pretty sure she just snagged the thing overreaching (damn fancy movement).  I guess she gets bells on for turnout now too...

Exhausting.  I'm already thinking about when I will be transitioning Prair to barefoot again... I need a plan for that.

(Note to self, pay attention to nails in shoes when picking feet and avoid all of the entirely...)