MIlner Downs - The start of the week

Last week we ventured to Milner Downs to return to what was one of my favorite shows last year.  It's hard to beat a big, gorgeous, grass field to gallop around in all week, but on top of that the staff is crazy friendly, the hospitality is great and it ends up feeling more like a fun summer camp than a frenzied horse show.

Our plan was to step Windsor up a bit from his extra (extra) light duty at Tbird last month and see how he felt.

Tuesday he hacked out well, so I was excited to see him go Wednesday. 

Windsor, was also excited to go Wednesday (though not excited about selfies) - and the single warm up round at 2'9" turned into three, as Mister Man lacked a bit of focus and manners during his first (two) trips around.

Loose hair, don't care!

Here's the first round - not bad by any means, but if you know Winds, you can see that he's powering off the ground and tight in his back, both signs that he wants to paaaarrrrrrrty.



By the third round he was a bit less excited to be out in the big world:




It was a bit to be expected, we haven't been lunging him at all (which I like) - and even last year when Milner was our 6th week of showing, he perked up quite a bit when he got out in the big field. 

We ended the day on a good note, and opted to hack the Under Saddle just to let him explore the ring a bit more.  With all the extra classes he ended up with a very unplanned Reserve Champion in the Schooling 2'9" Hunter division.

Definitely didn't mean to take him around the ring three times, but height doesn't seem to affect his freshness (much), so I'm glad we kept it low at 2'9" and let him work out his wiggles without too much effort. 

Looking at the schedule for the rest of the week, my 2'9" Modified AA's was stretched out over Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - leaving a nice gap on Friday for Winds to maybe contest the Derby. 

Since he hadn't popped over anything over 2'9" since last November (gulp), we added one round at 3' on Thursday to see if he felt loose, or if the added height brought out any old symptoms of discomfort. 

(looks like a different beast when he is braided)

He jumped the 3' better than the 2'9" so we finalized our plan to have him do the (one round Canadian style) derby Friday, and just cart me around one round at a time the rest of the week.

Stay tuned for the DERBY, and also my triumphant (low) return to my beloved 2'9".

Showtime. (finally)

Trunk Packed.

Trailer Packed.

Horse is on a trailer!

snugglepuppy

My actual Windsor updates have been a bit sparse the last few months (well, all of my updates have been a bit sparse I guess), but things have been plugging along quite nicely. 

Aside from being perhaps a tad too chubby, Winds looks great.  He's feeling strong, supple and eager to work.  We've been slowly building up fitness and increasing his jump load, typically bouncing around ten to twelve 2'6" jumps a few times a week. 

His changes are light, he's loading his hind end beautifully at the base, and it feels like he's landing and carrying through better than has.  Mind you, the jumps are tiny, so all this should be easier - but still...

It all means that I can finally justify a field trip to get off the farm a bit - So we are headed to Tbird (for one week only) to see how Winds' brain is off the property and see how he does opening up on a bigger stride and jumping around a tad. 

Expectations are... non-existent, and I don't even know what exactly we'll be entering.  Probably something at 2'6" or maaaaybe 2'9" but I'm not certain.  the idea is to do a course (possibly two) for a couple days, then he'll just hack out easily over the weekend without any classes.

I think we're both ready for a change of scenery though, and I'm eager to see if he looks as good as he feels!

The slow winter and spring have been great for our skills though, and while I know at this point we'll take the rest of the season relatively easy - everything just feels a bit more polished and put together than it did this time last year. 

Finally - I uh.... have been shopping a little and there may or may not be a few new possible "Brads."

Things are cooking, and I'm hoping to share some pics/deets soon!

2015 - Start to Finish

I will be the first to admit that we are finishing 2015 significantly differently than I would have ever imagined.  2015 saw a lot of changes on the horse front, so let's dive right back in:

January:

January saw Prair's return to working over fences.  We cantered some (very) small lines, set our sights back on Thermal and slowly continued our rehab.  I went on the Great Girth Hunt of 2015 and ended up buying like four when I really only needed one.  (shocking).  I fell in love with my new Konig boots, and sent our beloved Gus off to his new home.

Bye Gus! Don't Forget to write!

February:

Pair's ultrasound confirmed that she was "totally healed" so we finalized plans for Thermal, and off we went.  Showing with a baby in tow is... harder.  Though The Boy was a CHAMP and made it all work out ok. 

She's totally ok here while I go for my Under Saddle, right?

I hated that somehow my show clothes were tighter 7 months post baby than they had been the previous year at Thermal when I was TWENTY FOUR (ish) weeks pregnant.  wtf.

But, Pair and I got off to a great start and it was so much fun to be into he ring again, even if we were still jumping the tiniest fences imaginable.

I love her neck.

March:

We finished up Thermal with another Circuit Championship and a couple second half awards as well.  I really can't emphasize how much I love showing for weeks on end in the sunshine.  You get to fix mistakes right away and there are so many gorgeous horses to watch and so much crappy show food to eat.  It's amazing. 

When we got home Pair was a tad sore, but it ended up not being anything scary, and after a few days off she was back to herself and cleared for full turnout - even though she just hid in her loafing shed like Chicken Little.

Inside Horses stay inside.

April:

We started (and ended) our local show season with two weeks at the Fairgrounds.  We discovered that apparently warming up is for losers and Pair walked straight from her stall to the ring with very encouraging results.  We were both Champion and Reserve in our Hunter and Eq (switching which one was better each week) and won our 2'6" medal both weeks as well. 

I was impressed (the baby was not)

I started feeling like maybe, just maybe we could start calling ourselves real hunters, but then I had the Vet out and we found out that Pair was actually extremely sore on her Left Hind.

Staring at the second soft tissue injury in a year, I drowned my sorrows in wine and started expressing myself in only Emojis. 

Who needs words.

Of course, I managed to pull the trigger on a new show coat right before the vet ended our season.  So that was neat.  (for the record that coat still has tags on it).

May:

Things got boring fast.  Prair got all the shockwave and PRP and wraps and cookies.  I spent lots of time in her stall (again) grooming (again).

So fat. So boring.

I started taking lessons on a goofy gelding with some significant quirks, and for the first time since Prair showed up I started seriously perusing the online horsey ads again... I mean... no harm in just seeing what's out there, right?

June:

Still bored I started to get creative with my horsey time.  I went shopping (duh), called a pet psychic (wha?) and got all warm and fuzzy seeing Gus in his new home. 

This is what a happy horse looks like

Prair had a discouraging ultrasound, but we did manage to solve the issue of her perpetual poo, so at least that counted as a small victory. 

July:

Literally nothing happens.  I don't even take a picture of my horse on stall rest, because nothing is different.  I come to terms with the idea that I don't want Prair to jump ever again, and The Boy takes me on vacations so I don't notice (as much) that I'm not off enjoying a fun Summer Show Season.

August:

The mare was still locked up in her stall, so I pontificated on the issue of Drugs in the Hunter Ring and watched the baby MOOOO at the Mini Paint on the farm. 

Not a Paint, so this one was "woofed" at

September:

The horse shopping begins in earnest.  I'm so excited I revert to using emojis again

I fall in love with a darling little Casall stallion and even go so far as to take some preliminary x-rays.  Ultimately he is not the one, but I lay awake at night watching his videos on repeat.

His jump was dreamy though

October:

This month was a pure hell of waiting.  Tickets for Germany were bought, but the trip was still an eternally long six weeks away (I hate waiting).  I started thinking about things for a new horse like insurance, and saddles, and all the fun trimmings long before we know if I'd even find one.  Prair moved to a new home for her extended rehab and I find a cool shop on Etsy and have some of Prair's favorite photos posterized.

November:

The real fun stared right away with the champagne on a plane.

Because, Yes.

There were SO MANY gorgeous horses I wondered how many I could take with me.  Ultimately I found and fell in love with Windsor, then spent most of the month figuring out how to vet him and get him home.

Then actually we got him home and it was the best Thanksgiving Day Miracle ever. 

December:

Windsor got to eat about 42 flakes of hay a day, learned that Hunters do a lot of flatwork and I don't always nail my distances....

But most importantly, it's clear we made the right choice with him.  He is a huge, goofy, patient boy and even though he isn't a pro at his job yet, it feels like just what I need right now. 

Cheers to a turbulent, but educational 2015, and here's looking forward to more learning and adventures (and maybe some derbies) in the New Year!!

Happiest New Year from all the gang at Pisa's Parade...

Summer Vacation... in Fall

Once again, me and my ability to collect horses with special needs - have been bailed out by one of our oldest, dearest friends. 

Lacking the significant improvement we were hoping for at Prair's September check-up, my vet gave me a look that said "thanks for continuing to write me checks... but I really don't need to look at your (still) lame horse this often.."

Well, shit.

Enter Plan B (or is it F or G at this point?), a slightly long-er term layup at our friend's barn up North. 

With a still positive flexion test on the books, I made plans to pack up Prair's bags and send her to a lovely Summer House... just in time for winter.

The plan is to give her (more) time on stall rest - though she is allowed to make us of a small run! - and then see where we are in the new year. 

Moving her (to our savior's farm) allows us to significantly reduce Prair's bills (she wasn't really making use of that "full training") which is the only way we can afford the (possible) addition of another horse to the herd.  (Also, it's possible The Boy has requested that while we can have more than one horse... maybe we only have one in active full training at a time... I guess that's fair)

It's just like the Jitney...

Moving Prair buys us some time to see what her future holds - will she come back sound? She's certainly comfortable at this point, but who knows under what circumstances she'll stay that way.  I'd be lying if I wasn't hoping that D is able to work her magic "somehow I get horses sound when no one else can" magic, but you know.... no pressure. 

I do know that I trust her implicitly, she has great horse sense, a great team of service providers and manages to make even the most difficult beasts somewhat personable and friendly (see - Pia). 

oh right, Pia.  Remember her? Well when the special red mare made it known that she would not be stalled D was our savior again in providing a flexible, lovely home while we figured out wth to do with her. 

Oh, and when we had to move Gus but didn't know where we were going to land? D to the rescue... He had a fun stopover at her farm as well.

And if we're going way back, D also inherited and adored the original Pony that started all these adventures back when we were barely teenagers (that cranky old pony was with us until just a couple years ago btw)

So yes, if there's anyone I trust to watch over the Big Mare while she enjoys her convalescence... it's her.

She's farther away now (though D pointed out not that much farther away than I already drive to the barn...) but hopefully we'll still get to go kiss her lovely nose and give her some love - though I know she isn't lacking in that department...

Enjoying the new view

(also, can we discuss her sexy topline even after all this time off???)

Prair.

All the scheming and planning for the Germany trip has been a GREAT distraction from what is (or more importantly is not) happening with the big mare. 

The trip itself isn't actually until early November, so in the meantime I must sit on my hands and watch gorgeous videos of prospects then hope no one else snaps them up in the meantime (for the record this makes me very anxious). 

Prair has continued to happily rest in her stall.  How she's keeping her wits about her, I have no idea - but honestly she acts like she hasn't been cooped up at all and this is totally normal. 

Tomorrow (Monday) the mare has another checkup.  I'm expecting that it won't be much different from our last several evaluations, and it will be sort of a final baseline before I move her to a good friends home for continued rest and rehab (thereby making room for what will hopefully be a new mount). 

On the off chance that miraculous healing has been taking place - Prair will stay where she is and we will start the long (slow) process of bringing her back and seeing what we are working with. 

The steady string of gorgeous prospects has made it easier to take the emotional pressure off Prair and her recovery time... but I am still crossing fingers and toes that we have, even minimally, good news to report. 

In the meantime, it's important to keep boots polished, because... well, I don't really know why. 


next step is teaching her how to spiff these up on her own...

Vet Updates (again in plural)

You know it's suboptimal when you've had more visits with the vet(s) in the last month, than lessons...

While not unheard of in the horsey world - it's certainly not my favorite balance...

Anyway, when last we spoke (about Prair), she had a disappointing 3 month checkup and had her turnout totally pulled. 

Last week we had a 4 (jesus..) month checkup, and finally got a glimmer of good news. 

Prair was a 1.5 or 2/5 on the lunge (tight circle) and a 3/5 on the flexion.  It's a tad depressing that a 3/5 felt like a good result, but it's the first time we've seen significant improvement (from a 5/5) in this process, so I'm letting my expectations think that maybe, just maybe this is one of those super slow healing strains and we still have a shot of a solid recovery to flat work.

So, we've got a couple more months of hanging out again before we re-check, because at this point... clearly we need to go extremely slow and we don't have an agenda in terms of showing or seasons, or anything.

With regard to the poop doctor, the combo of antibiotic and high quality pro-biotic seems to have been a great 1-2 punch and for the last few weeks, all signs of diarrhea have been absent.  I've even been able to comb through her tail since it is no long in a constant state of manure-dreadlock.  So, while I'm sure Prair feels better, my grooming routine is also much more gratifying. 

I strongly prefer combing out a nice tail over pressure washing manure streaks off her poor tushy.  So that's a win all the way around (literally).

On the life front, there is a new nanny, so I am inching back toward the semblance of a schedule I was carving out that allows for some regularly scheduled days, both for the office and barn.  Very eager for that normalcy to be back. 

Beyond the regular life front, a casual perusal of potential new horsey options is still underway.  I'm trying to be more patient than I usually am, since a) I'm not wanting to move Prairier along any time soon (even as a brood mare) and b) with a kiddo the cash and time is severely restricted so there's no need to rush into a new pony commitment.

But that doesn't mean I can entertain suitors, and potential good matches.  There might be a gray that I'm flirting with, along with a couple other matches.  though I'm learning that shopping in a (good), structured program feels more like entering into an arranged marriage than my usual approach of going to the bar and trying to find a decent option that looks good, dances decently and doesn't have any obvious issues....

Moooooooo!

Oops, it's been a month (almost).  Sorry for that.  Though rest assured, not much has happened in the last few weeks. 

Or at least, not much has happened with the mare.  My life on the other hand has been full of First World Problems that have literally thrown all planning and organization out the window.

They can be easily summed up by all of the following happening in a week:
Dealing with a crappy all inclusive resort, bringing home whatever god damn stomach bug everyone gets in mexico, firing the nanny and sending The Boy on the road for several consecutive weeks for work. 

I'm fully aware that all of these things fall squarely in the problems-that-aren't0really-problems category as they pretty much all have to do with being on vacation, or the jobs that allow us to go on vacation... but still - Life. Is. Chaos.  And also, if I'm going to (uncomfortably) lose 10lbs, I'd prefer it to happen BEFORE the beach and bikini trip, not after.  K thx.

When last I wrote, we were just headed off for the Summer Wedding Tour 2015.  It started off dandy- a lovely mountain wedding in Idaho with good friends and good dancing.  Then we headed south to Mexico, where we were again surrounded by great friends (and good dancing), but the resort itself was comedically tragic. 

In theory it was really nice.

In fairness it was really pretty...

but the reality of the place meant that literally everything that could go wrong did go wrong and that made for some stressful moments (especially for our lovely bride). 

I spent most of the time ignoring my phone, sending my parents terse "don't text. expensive. we're fine" messages, while simultaneously exchanging countless texts with my vet (oops) including one 25 minute phone call. 

Sorry mom!

Prair got a "quick" 3 month (face palm) check up which resulted in one (still) bad flexion and confirmation that while the DDFT is healing nicely, the suspensory branch is still inflamed and pissy. 

So, Prair's precious turnout got pulled and she's back on the previcox and aggressive icing protocol to try and get that under control.  I'm confident Prair is a good girl in turnout, but maybe the increased confinement will be the game changer.  Who knows. Fingers crossed.  She gets (another) check up next week where we will ultrasound if the flexion looks significantly better. 
On a slightly more entertaining level - I took the kiddo to the barn, which I realized I haven't actually done in a while.  I've been hoarding my barn time for myself and now that kiddo wants to run and play and put everything in her mouth (including manure bits she finds on the ground), taking her with me significantly dampens my ability to do anything other than stuff Prair full of treats. 

The baby hasn't actually seen the horses since she's started walking (or talking) and she was very entertaining.  Since we have mastered all our animal noises, she identifies everything by the noise it makes.  If she sees a cat, she meows and points, quacks at ducks, etc....

So obviously, when she saw all the horses, she... woofed.

Repeatedly. 

Pointed and woofed. 

And then cried if any of them snorted or sneezed or nickered or did anything with their noses. 

Because that's terrifying I guess.  Who knows,  the crying seemed rude to me, but she's a toddler, what are you going to do.  After I ran out of carrots, I took Cayla for a walk around the farm with the idea of introducing her to the pony barn and letting her pick one out.  I thought maybe smaller "woofs" would be less intimidating. 

She loved it.  marched around pointing woofing at everything despite all of my proclamations of  "no, not woofs, PONIES" sigh. 


intrigued

Finally we got to a pasture with ponies and she went "OOOOOOOOooooOOOO!" which I considered to be a more encouraging response. 
As the ponies walked up she still pointed and woofed, until she got to the little mini, who is a paint - so she Moo'ed. 

Cowgirl.

In fairness, I guess she's spotted like a cow, and at that point I was ready to accept anything that wasn't a woof.

So, Moo.

Vet Updates (because we're doing these in groups now..)

Not an extremely exciting post - but Prair has little to report on these days.  The good news is that her poop situation has stabilized.  It no longer seems like she is uncomfortable, instead we are back to our low grade leg/tail nuisance.  so that is a small victory to celebrate.

On a more empirical level, all of her lab work has come back clean.  No scary infectious diseases, no scary blood imbalances (though we thought that was an issue before we figured out the lab equipment was broken and had given (the same) weird results on every sample....). 

So that's good.  Current next step is a antibiotic that our vet has had some luck with on unexplained diarrhea.  It's sort of a shot in the dark, but whatever, might as well attempt it?  the only drawback is clearing out all the good bacteria in her gut, so her 5 day treatment won't start until we have a really good pre/pro-biotic on hand to issue at the same time. 

In terms of non-poop related updates, the mare looks good.  Her legs are staying much tighter with less wrapping and I'm hoping that means there might be less edema surrounding the suspensory.  (fingers crossed).  Prair's tummy edema is also gone, and she's a happy lazy mare in her turnout.

I crossed paths with our sports medicine vet today, and since she'll be on the farm again next week, she's going to do a minimal exam on the mare then, since it will have been 4 weeks since the last ultrasound.  she'll palpate and flex, which presumably will still show tenderness.  If that's the case that's all that will happen.  If by some major miracle all tenderness is gone, we'll ultrasound again and see what's going on. 

All in all Prair is good.  Whatever weird stress she was responding to a couple weeks ago, seems to be gone.  It's nice to see her back to herself and enjoying all her curry comb groom sessions. :)

Ultrasound Update - Cue Despair

Prair has been getting more than her fair share of attention from her arsenal of vets recently.  Aside from the check up on her Left Hind, our GP has been out to try and investigate her chronic diarrhea which has made a angry resurgence.

I'll start with the check up on her left hind, since that's most of the drama. 

We started by lunging Prair on a small circle, where, even with a heavy martini in her veins, she was still exhibiting Dragon-like-symptoms.  But once a bit settled, she looked great.

Both directions.

No limp, no shuffle, no quick step.  Sound.

So we flexed.

And that's where the wheels fell off the wagon. 

Her left fetlock flexion is still really positive.  She shows obvious discomfort at the flexion being held and the first two steps off the line looked nearly as bad as I remember eight and a half weeks ago when this adventure started. 

I almost canceled the Ultrasound since we knew it wasn't going to show brilliant progress, but I was too curious and too interested to delay the opportunity to get more information.

The (little bit) of good news is that general inflammation in the area is down.  There is still some edema around the suspensory, but less than there was 8 weeks ago.  The medial branch of the suspensory still shows a small area of disruption, but appears to be making (some) progress.  This would be great news f the DDFT was following suit, but the DDFT looks exactly the same as the images we saved from the previous ultrasound.

There is s slight line showing on the DDFT, which is likely a small split in the tendon.  We can't confirm exactly what or where without an MRI, but I'm still holding off on that procedure since confirming it's a split doesn't change any treatment plans. 

Essentially, the vet took one look and asked for two more months of stall rest followed by another ultrasound.  A pattern we would keep repeating until we see either improvement in healing or scar tissue form. 

crap

Obviously not what I wanted to hear.  I am extremely skeptical of miraculous healing when there hasn't been much indication of progress in the initial two months - especially when the structures received PRP and shockwave to invite progress with limited results...

So. 

There we are.  I spent the long drive home from the barn being fatalistic and trying to think about my (reasonable) options.  One thing I am fairly certain of is that if we can get meaningful healing, and Prair comes back sound on that limb, I don't think it's fair to ask her to jump (however small) again as her primary job.  Attempting to rehab her as a solid, exceptional Dressage mount for an Ammy seems more responsible. 

At this point (as in today, thought I'm sure I'll waffle on this), I still really want to jump, so if Dressage-Ammy-Mount was an option, I'd likely be looking for a home I trusted for the big mare.

Of course I have to consider the possibility that she won't be serviceably sound and think about what that means too. 

She's pretty, she has great bloodlines and two (stunning) babies on the ground, so we know she has value as a broodmare as well... it just seems too soon for her to become a professional mama.

Anyway, obviously for the time being some patience is probably what I need the most - but it's hard not to let my mind race a year down the road and wonder if I should try to move her now to a less expensive facility where she can enjoy her (extended) rest in a slightly more affordable fashion. 

Though my immediate reaction to that thought is concern over moving a horse that I want keen eyeballs on to a facility where the service level might be lower and the staff won't be familiar with her.... Not necessarily a great tradeoff, especially for peace of mind.

Lots of thinking to do, and thankfully a sunny, beautiful weekend coming up so I can wallow in my Mare Despair, probably with wine in hand

Ugh.

Insanities.

So many insanities over the last couple of weeks

Not the least of which involved me going to the tack store armed with multiple credit cards to take advantage of a 20% off everything sale.  (crap crap crap).  Thankfully I had an enabling friend with me who somehow managed to make sure I knew that there were things I could buy with a horse on stall rest. 

New show coat? nope, just got one (omg, it's here and it's so pretty I wear it around the house in my yoga pants).

New saddle/bridle/girth? Nope, all are relatively new in the last year

New Boots? nope, those are new too...

New show shirts? nope, have some I haven't even worn yet..

Breeches? I can always justify new breeches

Gloves? also useful

maybe a new show helmet if they've got something velvety in my size...

So we tore through the store, I managed to find a pair of cute Pikeurs to school in for a steal, some sparkly Samshield gloves (because rhinestones will totally help mask my busy hands..) and a new curry comb since mine disappeared?

Both my breech and glove sizes were bigger than I remember...

Anyway, obviously spending $$ is what you do when you have mountains of vet bills and a horse that isn't showing, let alone using her regular schooling equipment. 

Speaking of vet bills, we also spend the weekend spending $1,200 on diagnostics for the cat to learn that he "probably" fell off a tree (or a fence, or a tire swing) or something and "will be fine."  Why this irritates me so much I'm not sure.  Lord knows we've far exceeded the $1,200 mark for Prair's diagnostics, and I'd gladly write a check of that sum to learn that she was going to be fine. 

So instead of a $25 shelter cat, now he's a $1,225 fancy cat with a confirmed healthy heart, (thanks ultrasound!) and lots of consults to confirm he probably fell out of a tree (or something).

Staying on the cat insanity track for a moment, kitty's outdoor adventures were limited while we thought he was legitimately dying, but he snuck out and since we have a GPS locater on his collar, I was pissed when I saw he had wandered about a mile and a half away. 

That's totally within his normal wandering range, but at midnight, when he's not quite 100%  and there are raccoons and coyotes about, I was ticked and wanted him home.  So The Boy and I loaded into the car and proceeded to follow his little GPS beacon around the neighborhood with the windows rolled down and shaking a bag of greenies and calling his name.

Just about the time I was feeling sketchy as all get out and embarrassed about our creepy behavior in the middle of the night, kitty came running (everything in our house is motivated by food) and we scurried home before anyone called the cops on us for prowling arnoud the neighborhood at 2mph and poking around in bushes. 

Finally, to cap off the long weekend (that wasn't spent horse showing) The Boy and I enjoyed a long walk, which involved me obsessively watching a HUGE HICKEY on his forehead develop from slightly red to deep purple.  Now, how does one get a HUGE HICKEY on your forehead you might wonder?  Well, see the baby has these great suction cup toys that I adore because she can't immediately toss them on the ground, but obviously they are funnier if you STICK THEM TO YOUR HEAD and shake it around.  Baby thinks it's hysterical and - whammo - perfectly round, huge hickey accomplished. 

I should have taken a picture.  it was fairly epic.

So my friends, that is how you spend a 3 day weekend while all your friends go horse showing. 

Cat bills, hickeys and tack stores.  A perfect trifecta of something, just not sure what. 

Then the insanity continued this week with the arrival of The Vet Bill (because all previous vet bills were just practice for THIS ONE), followed immediately by wine to mitigate the realization that I am not in fact saving any money by not showing.  Wednesday I finally had my phone call with the Pet Psychic which was awesome and aside from her being really certain I had some unresolved daddy issues which clash with Prairie's PTSD, she was pretty spot on, down to the location of Prair's stall in the barn (remember, this lady was 2,500 miles away and talking to me on the phone... not meeting us in person, which would make identifying Prair's stall location not impressive at all). 

More to come on that phone call.  I have lots of notes written down and am sort of eager to schedule another call?  But maybe I should pay my vet bills first before blowing more cash on psychics in different time zones...

I could be a pro hand-grazer I think.

Also I nearly chopped off one of the baby's toes (though I didn't, so I'm grateful for that) and worked out for the first time since 2013 which means I'm functionally crippled.  (the baby isn't though, her toe is healing, I'm the only one limping around the house, thank god)

All the Toys Now...

Went down to assist in the Mare's spa day with the vet, which really only entailed me holding my checkbook firmly and watching the dolla dolla bills fly away home. 

Hairy. Eyeball.

Prair received her final shockwave session and a PRP injection into the medial branch of the suspensory.  Right now we are operating under the hypothesis that the Suspensory is the "primary" injury, and that the strain on the superficial and the DDFT are ancillary to that. 

It's never a good day at the vet when you see them unpack every single machine from their truck. 

ultrasound, check.

centrifuge, check.

shockwave, check.

I suppose we left the digital xray safely packed away, but still - I had to take a gulp as I watched all the Pelican boxes get stacked up and unpacked...

I had never watch PRP done before, so I was semi fascinated with the actual process of separating the blood sample (60cc of it.. holy smokes that's a big syringe) into red blood cells, platelet poor plasma (PPP) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).  After processing, you come away with about 2cc of PRP, a lot of PPP and a lot of RBC.  Fascinating.

The horses were less fascinated and in fact were less than thrilled with something that smelled like blood and sounded like a spaceship. (I don't really blame them)

The PRP injection is guided by ultrasound, so we got a partial peek at what things look like, although since a different probe is used, it's not as useful (or comparable) an image relative to what we saw before.

It was pretty easy to see where the disruption of the suspensory is - in fact it shows up on the screen as a cloudy dark spot.  The sort of "void" that makes my stomach totally clench up and freak out - though my vet assured me the dark is an interruption but not a lack of tissue.  She still doesn't feel there is a full tear or even "lesion." So I tried to comfort myself with that interpretation.

Since we're only three weeks out from diagnosis we wouldn't expect to see much in the way of healing yet, but there was still a part of me that was hoping for some sort of miraculous progress.  Instead we'll wait 5 more weeks before we do a full comparison ultrasound.

As such, we're back to our regularly scheduled programming... turnout in the morning, wraps in the afternoon, stall and naked legs at night.

wash, rinse, repeat.

Puffy.

We've settled into a good stall rest routine for the mare.  We learned a lot last time around and I think everyone is happier for it.  For one thing, I'm still riding.  There's a.... sensitive gelding who I'm able to lesson on a couple times a week.  So that helps me.  a lot. 

The mare is still behaving, so she's getting several hours of turnout each day, which has to be good for her.  It's like she knows she has to be on good behavior because she is cool as a cucumber, more so than she normally is.  I've pulled her hind shoes, and her fronts have swapped back to regular shoes (not bar) while she's out of work.  In an ideal world I would have liked to pull her fronts too, but I don't trust the quality of her hoof right now and I don't want to add any soreness to the mix while we're stabilizing. 

More grazing - now with wraps

The only setback has been that the mare's legs got very, very puffy on Monday.  Like, stovepipes to her hocks puffy.

Prair has a pretty regimented wrap schedule right now.  She's naked at night, and while she gets turned out in the morning.  Then, when she comes in she gets ice boots, which has been followed by standing wraps with a poultice. 

I learned yesterday when I was there (and poking at the very puffy legs) that she was also getting poulticed (but not wrapped) overnight to help keep things tight.  I think that perhaps her skin got irritated?  I have no other explanation for equal swelling in both legs (swelling that was present when her wraps were removed).  I was worried that so much fill had reached her hocks.. and was showing no sign of leaving, even after bute, tri-dex (in case it was allergic) and handwalking.  But the mare was quite, eating, and comfy with no signs of distress or concern.  I left her in plain standing wraps with assurances that I would be called if things looked worse.

Today, Prair's right leg is normal (whew) but her left hind is still holding some fill, with a little up in her hock.  I'll be back at the barn tomorrow, and if things still aren't normalizing, I'll have the vet out.  The vet is already planning to be out on Monday for shockwave and PRP, so I'd like to avoid adding another trip, but I don't want to mess around with prolonged swelling, especially if it's creeping up the limb... (ugh).

As for me, the catch rides are good.  Mr. Gelding Man is the opposite of Prair in pretty much all possible ways.  He's compact and quick, light in the bridle and loves jumping but is a reluctant student on the flat.  He's rock solid where Prair isn't, and he's hard where Prair is easy for me.  So basically I'm exhausted after every ride and able to work on some of my own mental hang ups.  I'm a very confident rider on the flat and don't mind a horse that bucks/kicks/takes work to move off my leg or collect.  Mr. Gelding Man does all of those things, (where Prair is a willing partner on the flat) so it's good work for me.  Over fences, Mr. Gelding Man is supremely confident and very comfortable from any distance.  I can miss by a mile and he is just as happy as he would be with a perfect ride.  Prair is decidedly not happy when I miss by a mile (or an inch), so it's a good opportunity for me to stop overriding and get comfortable in a quieter, softer ride. 

Most importantly though, I finally picked up more horse treats, so the cookie dispensing can return to its usual, elevated rate. 

Stall rest and rationed treats are not well suited partners.

holy crap this is going to get boring in a HURRY (more wine)

Even as I was snapping my (typical) pictures of Prair standing in her stall with her head out and munching on grass - I was rolling my eyes and wondering how many more of these things I can actually take.

Activity #2

Here's one with her ears forward!

Here's one with her looking like a total nerd horse.

Here's her eating grass!

grass with our ears forward!

A new blanket on!

etc etc, FML.

So consider this a proactive apology for the EXTREME BORINGNESS that will be the blog for a while. 

Again.

In less monotonous news, Prair has had two of her shockwave sessions and is scheduled for a third and some PRP (fly money, FLYYYYY) later this month.

I also maaaaaay have an appointment with a pet psychic on the books, but that clearly is its own post...

Prair also continues to be an obedient and quiet mare so she's still getting daily turnout which makes my heart hurt a little less during this process.

However, she is beating the shit out of her wraps, so I'm investigating alternatives.  She totally tolerates her ice boots and polos, but her standing wraps are apparently a no-go.


Finally the child has started eating shoes (wtf?) and furniture.  So... more wine.

Week Off

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments about our show success :)  I'm grateful the "no warmup" plan seemed to work and grateful I have a trainer who is willing to think outside the box like that.  It was a strange process but all in all a great show for both the mare and I in terms of learning and good, positive experiences!

Yesterday, Prairie got a little once-over from the vet just to make sure all is well and the two weeks of showing didn't set her back at all.  She lunged totally sound, but was maybe a .5 or 1/5 on her pesky left front on the hard pack.  Our vet didn't seem too concerned, even thinking that might be her new normal - which is something I might have to accept.

All in all though, she thought the left front looked great, and that two long weeks at 2'6" seems to not affect it negatively at this point.  So that's a big WHEW.

The only slight bummer is that her back was showing a lot of soreness to palpation.  I haven't noticed any increased sensitivity when I'm currying her/poking around during my regular inspections - but in full disclosure, I also didn't groom the mare once at the show, and as good as our guys are, I'm not sure they would have noticed if she started to get a tad flinchy.  I get serious horse-owner guilt when I acknowledge that Prair was probably uncomfortable and I just wasn't hands on enough to pick up on it.  It's definitely the risk of not doing your own grooming.  the flexibility and convenience is a huge upside (especially when balancing work and a baby and a show), but the downsides are real and unavoidable.

I also don't know how much Prair's fall on the lunge the first week could have knocked things around or possibly angered a few vertebrae.

If I had to guess - I'd say it wasn't the fall, but rather her long, low back that is just in one of its angry cycles.  When we reviewed notes, it's been nearly 18 months since her last round of injections, which is pretty darn good.  Initially we were expecting to need to inject every 3 months, but if good work, and strong muscling can help us stretch that interval - well I'm all for it.

So the mare has the rest of the week (and weekend) off, and we'll get back to some light hacks next week.

In the meantime, here are a few more photos from last weekend.



not exactly perfect, but much less lurch-y!

sweet baby jesus we're almost straight



Ears *almost* forward

 

The Princess P

Princess P was a name reserved for Pia when she was at her most...opinionated and self assured about how life *should* be.  And Frankly it's a name that's never really fit Prairie's personality or tendencies, but OMG - today, it fits.

So I had a good flat lesson (meaning, we WTC both ways, I felt moderately effective and the mare didn't flip me off too many times) and I figured that since she's had a couple days of hard work in a row, it would be a good day to put Prair outside again for the first time.

I booted her up in case she acted like a lunatic.

I switched to a light sheet in case all her antics got her sweaty and warm.

I even gave her a small cocktail in hopes that would take the edge off enough to keep her from jumping the fence and galloping to the next county.

Then I prayed.

I prayed to the horsey gods that she wouldn't undo months and months of painstaking rehab work with one dumb flying mare move.

And then we took a left out of her stall instead of a right and we headed for the open sunshine.  We jigged.  Prair threw her head in the air like a terrified, dominant llama, and we jigged toward the closest (smallest) paddock.

Then, because there is some metaphysical law that states all paddocks must have a large puddle by the gate, we stopped.  Because Prair hasn't had to do a puddle since Spring 2014 and it just wasn't going to work for her.

Naturally that meant I couldn't pick my way along the fence line and hopscotch myself through the puddles and to the other side.  No no, instead I had to march my (freshly polished, sniffle) boots through the puddle and drag the big mare behind me. 

Then I gave her a treat, unclipped the lead and scurried out of the way.

......

nothing.

and I mean, nothing.

She stood, snorted at her neighbor twice then walked herself into the run-in shed and stood under cover.

To be clear.  First time turned out in eight (+) months - and the mare... turned herself in.


I will truly never understand mares.

Prairies go here.  away from puddles.

Ice Vibe Boots - The Theory

Okie Doke.  While Prair is enjoying some well deserved time off and while I sit inside since its raining in the desert (still).  Might as well geek out a bit on the latest tack ho acquisition.

The Ice Vibe Boots.  Anyone have any experience with these things? They seem super sneaky and pretty cool and I kind of wish I had pulled the trigger on them earlier in Prair's rehab process.  But no matter - no time like the present to catch up on absurd purchases :)

So the Ice Vibes.  They are made by Horseware, which means we have access to one of their direct reps (and that can be interpreted as either access to a good deal, or access to peer pressure for all the cool things).   Basically they function both as a traditional ice boot and a sonicare toothbrush.  Why the combo?  Here's a blurb from their own site:

Ice-vibe can improve the realignment of the tendon fibres during the healing process. Cooling on it's own only prevents inflammation by resisting blood flow and slows down the metabolism. Ice-vibe uses the combination of cold and vibration which minimises swelling while encouraging blood flow and speeds up healing.

(silly English spelling)

Big promises for such a reasonably priced boot...($280ish for the pair).

 

During Prair's rehab one of the biggest challenges was reducing inflammation while still encouraging increased bloodflow.  All of you who have nursed a soft tissue injury in the lower limb know how hauntingly sparse circulation is down there - and any blood flow is helpful to healing...

but inflammation on its own can cause problems... so what are you to do? 

For Prair the stall rest (and reduced movement) was the primary "anti inflammation" treatment, while fairly aggressive (and sedated) walks were how we tried to encourage increased bloodflow.  Prair stopped all anti-inflam medicine (previcox, bute, etc..) which then had me worried how to keep her back comfy during this whole process. 

Whether it helped or not, part of my plan was to just plaster the mare in Back on Track products to help increases/normalize circulation without causing too much heat... 

So this is where the Ice Vibes would have perhaps been helpful.  Cooling to reduce the inflammation, then vibration to stimulate circulation.... (Sounds like an Icy Hot commercial..)

A few ladies in the barn have tried these (one with her reiner with another trainer) and they swear by them.  Seems to be a baby version of the Theraplate... something that I've heard lots of good reviews on...

The boots have varying levels of intensity in theory for different purposes (again from their site)

Level 1 - Treatment of inflammation with cold pack
Level 2 - Rehabilitation
Level 3 - Boosts Circulation

So I like the idea of them.  Especially at long shows where Prair is potentially getting sore/tired...

Will be sure to get you a full report once I actually strap them to the pony's legs... but for now I am intrigued.

Right Down the (very small) Line

Prair continues to work well, and I'm doing my best to catch up.  This week's lessons were good ones for me and confidence building for us as a pair (read: no faceplants, freakouts or general disasters).

Tuesday had us focusing on cantering some cavaletti on a circle, and later on a line in either five or six strides.  Prair was good.  I still want to brace a bit before she goes over anything (poles, jumps, leaves..) but it turns out, when I don't, she's much more responsive (who knew).

Down the line it became very obvious that adding six was easy (EASY!) to the left, but a tad trickier to the right.  She feels a bit stronger in my left rein to the right, and less.... squishy... in her back.  It's subtle, but it's there and it has my "don't-be-hurt-again" antenna up.

Saturday we cantered some cavaletti again to warm up (again, easier to the left than right..) and it became apparent that my go-to strategy of "hold, hold, hold, ADD!" is not working for us.  To the left I can feel her hind leg easier and am much more comfortable stepping up, but to the right I don't feel as connected and we end up leaving long or chipping regardless of how clever I think I'm being.

Then we moved to a (small) line trotting in and cantering out in 5.  I got a little nervous, but I shouldn't have - N told me to "trust her to make a good decision" (LOL) and believe that she'd be good, rather than prepare for potential naughtiness. I tried, and even though I felt myself really wanting to brace my knee, Prair was a star and calmly loped down the line softer than I've ever felt her between fences. 

I still asked her to halt in a straight line after each jump so we didn't even play the lead-change game or worry too much about rebalancing, so I don't want to hang too many victory banners yet but I can feel were we maybe might be someday when all this rehabbing is over. 

And I like it.

We did the line both directions, the difference between the left and right leads were nonexistent (though we were traveling straight) and then we finished with a long canter across the diagonal to a small gate (very small), again halting in a straight line after.

snuggle

All in all a good week and one that makes me feel like the 18" division at Thermal is doable... who knows, we might even flirt with 2' and 2'3" again!

It is nice to feel like we're riding again and I can get back to not being so paranoid about every little step.

Return of the Lessons

I'm totally screwed.  Here I've been bopping along in the horse world all year all fat and pregnant and happily judging life from the ground until I could climb back on the Big Mare and hack around which I've been doing (quite happily) for some time now.

But now Prairie can work some more, and that means I have to work some more and that means I need lessons. 

Real Bad.

If there's one thing pregnancy/rehab does for you riding it's allow every bad habit I've ever had grow and blossom and thrive like a large, rampant weed.

Crap.

Today was my first rude awakening as I had a little mini lesson while I gave Prair her daily hack. 

First up - my damn hands.  Always too low, always with broken wrists, always doing something wrong.

Next? My hip angle, I've gotten comfy just scooting back on my ass and riding a bit too vertical for Hunter Land.  I'm comfy but I'm driving with my seat a lot and I've got to get up and out of the tack a tad more again.

Also? I'm bracing in my stirrup, letting my leg come too forward and using a tad too much inside rein.

So aside from feel like a floppy-slop in the saddle, I've also got to get used to riding a happier, healthier mare. 

Prair is naturally balancing herself better and more willing to maintain her shape and roundness with minimal reminding.  This means there's no excuse for me to get comfy hanging on my reins.  the mare doesn't rely on a super heavy contact anymore, so I need to not remind her how much she liked it.

The mini lesson felt great though.  Prair was super supple laterally and a very calm, rhythmic ride.

We finished canter some poles on the long side and holy MOLY it felt like a totally different horse than the one I was riding a year ago.  I'm not sure how to explain it, but her back is so much more adjustable.  It's much easier to ride her hind leg and in turn when I need to adjust for a distance it feels like her whole back rolls up and waits, or springs forward and lengthens without losing balance. 

ITS SO COOL.

I've never felt her so adjustable or relaxed over poles - it was really fun.  And usually I wouldn't qualify ground rails as anything overly thrilling. 

So time to buckle down and become a better rider for the better mare that seems to have shown up.

Srsly lady, get better.

Ultrasound Update

Friday was the big day.  I had been simultaneously anticipating and dreading our next appointment with the vet and seeing what Prair's DDFT actually looked like. 

On days when she felt great - the ultrasound couldn't come fast enough to confirm what must be good healing. 

But on those days when she felt less than stellar I was dreading the possibility of seeing angry, disrupted tendons that weren't healing as hoped...

But irrespective of my mental mind games, Friday came, and so did the ultrasound.  First my vet looked at her under saddle - Prair was particular hot to trot which made it hard to get (and keep) a steady rhythm, but apparently she looked sound, sound, sound, so we progressed to the ultrasound.

Vets have such a good poker face when they are doing diagnostics... I literally had no idea if she was loving what she saw, or gravely concerned until she was done taking still images and stood up with an assertive "okay, here's the deal."

(heart sink)

"She looks great."

(ohthankgod)



Ready to get back to business

Basically the ultrasound showed a much happier DDFT with really nice edges and minimal scarring.  Back in July the same view showed quite a bit of fiber disruption and rough edges on almost the entire medial DDFT.  Now there's just the tiniest spot of a rough edge and everything else looks beautiful.  There are a few flecks of scar tissue, but apparently given the initial strain - it's a minimal amount and not something my vet is worried about in terms of return to full work. All great news.

The disadvantage of doing the ultrasound instead of returning to WSU for a full MRI is that we really can't see what's going on with the navicular - which if you recall, is what we currently believe to be the root issue.   But since we think the soft tissue is a direct reflection of her comfort within the navicular.. we're extrapolating that it is also less inflamed and angry. 

Right now I'm comfortable making that assumption and think that it outweighs the cost, risk and energy involved with shipping back to the University for an MRI again..  I don't think we'll have to go down that road unless something unexpected happens in the coming months.

In terms of continued rehab, the visual confirmation of healing is what we were waiting for to ramp up the workload again.  The balance of the month will be spent on more flatwork and increasing the workload on that left front limb (pole work, extended canter, etc). 

Assuming all goes well, we are cleared to return to crossrails in the New Year, then we'll ultrasound one more time in early Feb to ensure that we haven't lost any ground with the increased work.

Prair will keep her reverse shoe on the LF for added support, and we'll add in some Tildren treatments this year to help support the navicular.

For those who haven't used it - Tildren basically impedes bone remodeling.  For us this means that we stop the bone's natural response of increasing it's density - which in turn causes it to become more brittle...

So, flatwork until Jan, Crossrails and increased work until Feb.  One more ultrasound so see if all is still well, then some Tildren to help support the navicular bone.

All in all about as good of a report as I could hope for. 

Now I just have to remember how to ride.....

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