Trail Riding Hero

Sara Busbice (the president of FFI) and I decided to participate in the B&O Trail Ride fund raiser at Natural Valley Farms. She rode Stormy and I rode Jewel. The third member of our TB contingency was made up of Sue Pratt and her TB gelding Printout. Although we knew that Stormy had been trail ridden extensively before he came to my barn, we still wondered what he would do.

It turns out that he was awesome. Not only was he confident, he really had no qualms with needing to be near the other horses. In fact, Sara says that there were a few times when he thought it would be great to just go down a different trail. She reported that most of the day, she rode him on the buckle. He would trot off a few times to catch up with the group, but in general was just awesome!

As far as soundness is concerned, he had an issue with jumping up the bank to get out of the creek. Oh yeah, we rode through a creek too. Because of the bursitis in his right hip, he was sore after being required to jump up the bank in order to get out of the creek. I gave him bute for a couple days after the ride and it seems to have helped. Due to a cold I’ve been dealing with, I haven’t been out to the barn in a few days though. Assuming he stays on fairly level ground, I think Stormy has found his calling. Here are a few pictures from the day:

Sue & Printout (Left) and Sara & Stormy (right)

Sara & Stormy
Sue, Sara & Amy

 

Very Pleased

Well, Stormy has been an interesting character to work with. He’s definitely going to take someone with confidence, who knows what they’re doing. But, aside from that, I’m really quite pleased with how he’s coming along. I think he really understands the concept of the bitting rig. I rode him today for the first time since starting to work him in that rig and he was like a different horse. He still has stiffness issues, but he was eager to seek out contact with the bit and we got upward and downward transitions (walk to trot and trot to walk) wit his head down and stretching forward. I could actually feel his back lift! Yippee! Yes, he was on the forehand, but considering where we had been (giraffe land), I’m very pleased with today’s ride.

As for my initial comment, he’s a bit obstinate. I think he has been both a bully and was bullied. He will put up a fight if you let him, but at the same time, he responds very well to praise. A confident owner and handler will be key with this cute fellow.

 

Pictures of Stormy

 

Stormy Learns About Sidereins

Today Stormy had his first lesson in the bitting rig. As far as I know, this was his first lesson in sliding siderein. The bitting rig is a little different than just a sliding siderein because it has a padded elastic strap that goes around his hind end which encourages him to step under and carry himself. I must say, its great to have a round pen, where I don’t have to worry about a lunge line affecting his balance. I like being able to let him figure it out for himself. I think it was the first time he ever had something like that around his butt because he gave a few good bucks and it took him a bit to figure out that it wasn’t coming off and it was easier to just accept it and move on. I was excited to see him actually chewing and trying to figure out how to stretch down into contact instead of fighting against it.

When he stretches down, he really does have a nice trot. Every once in a while, he takes a funky step with his hind end. I think its from the bursitis in his hip, but its also that he is still terribly on his forehand. That will get better, and did get better after working in the bitting rig today, but its a long process.

I have some pictures and short video clips from today’s work out. I’ll post them when I have the chance. I also put some new pictures of him on the FFI website, so be sure to check those out!

 

NEW HORSE: Storm Cellar

Jimmy has found a new home. His adoption is pending and all looks well and is moving forward for him. And so, I have a new foster horse to play with. This new guy is Storm Cellar (aka Stormy). Stormy is a solid bay, just shy of 15.1h. He is very sweet and willing with a very comfortable walk and trot. Here is Stormy’s page at FFI: http://horse.friendsofferdinand.org/index-%20three.html

Stormy arrived at the barn on Saturday and is fitting in very well. I rode him for the first time on Tuesday and he was very sweet. He stood well in the cross ties, although I’m not sure he entirely likes them. He stood quietly for grooming and picked up all four 4 feet. He also stood quietly for tacking. He doesn’t seem to have any vices when it comes to these tasks. The only thing he needs working on, in regards to grooming/tacking, is bridling. He has a bad habit of locking his jaw and throwing his head in the air when its time to bridle. We’re working on this. Today I coated his bit with Karo syrup and it helped, although he still lifted his head quite a bit. Its a good thing he’s not any taller than he is or I’d be in trouble.

Our ride was pleasant enough. Although he was trail ridden a lot at his previous home, we stayed in the indoor arena. I prefer to get to know a horse before I ride them outside. Anyhow, Stormy is quite sensitive to the riders seat. All I had to do was think “Halt” and he did. He also would move forward well off my seat. Like a typical ex-racer, he is very hard in the mouth and stiff throughout his neck. His conformation is a bit down hill and ewe-necked. Therefore, he has a tendency to hold his head up very high (like a giraffe). In other words, he carries and uses himself very upside down. He pulls himself around with his front end instead of pushing with the hind. When I rode him, we worked on flexing one side or the other, just to get him to release the poll, the neck and/or the jaw. Its going to require a confident rider to help him learn to be soft in the jaw and poll.

Today I free lunged him in the round pen with side reins on. I usually work new horses in the bitting rig and surcingle, but I left the bitting rig at home so I just used sidereins. I don’t particularly care for non-sliding sidereins because I feel like they have a tendency to bang unsteady horses in the mouths unless they are cranked in tightly. I much prefer to use the sliding siderein (which is what is on the bitting rig) so that if the horse moves their head around or up/down, they slide around in the siderein without losing contact with the bit. Anyhow, because of Stormy’s habit of pulling his head up, I chose to attach the sidereins to the underside of his girth and run them up between his front legs. This way, there was only pressure on the bit and poll when he lifted his head up. He was immediately rewarded for moving forward with a lowered and relaxed neck and jaw.

When I first attached them, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to move. He tried to rear once, but quickly decided that was a bad idea. After a couple of minutes of standing and walking slowly, he seemed to figure out that it was easier to go around with his head down, rather than up like a giraffe. His trot to the right is a little funky due to the weakness in his hind end, but his trot to the left looks quite nice and even. I believe this will continue to improve as the strength in his hind end and topline improves. Even when free lunging, he is currently very much on the forehand. But this too will improve as he is encouraged to work long, low and over his back.

I plan to take my camera next time I go out. I want to get pictures as well as video clips of him working in the round pen. I’ll have those posted on this site, as well as on his FFI page as soon as I’m able.

 

Adoption Pending for Jimmy!!

I am happy to report that Mynard Road, aka Jimmy, has a an adoption pending! We wish him and his adopter a very happy life together!

 

A Long Term Process

Well, it turns out that Jimmy has a soler abscess. While he is much more comfortable on the bowed leg now that it is wedged up with two wedge pads and a shoe, he is still NQR on the abscess foot. Due to the long term healing process (daily soaking, etc.), Jimmy has gone to another foster home south of Indianapolis which specializes in daily care. He’ll be able to get the attention he needs in order to heal the foot. And when he’s cleared for working, he’ll be back to my barn for under saddle training.

In the mean time, I may or may not be getting another horse in. We’ll have to see what comes through the doors of FFI. Stay tuned!

 

Waiting on Clearance for Take Off

It looks like we’re finally on the mend. We’ve been waiting for the abscess to clear up, which I think it *finally* has. I’m still packing the hoof with iodine soaked cotton pads in order to keep it clean, but there is no heat in the hoof wall and Jimmy tells me through his actions that he is feeling GOOD!

Now that the abscess is taken care of, we’re going to shoe him and put a wedge on the bowed leg to offer some support to the tendon. The farrier is due out on Tuesday. After that, if Dr. Angie thinks things are going well, we’ll be ready for some limited turnout and perhaps light riding again! Yippee!

 

Still Irritating

Well, the abscess has once again reared its ugly head. This darned thing just won’t go away. I thought it had, and stopped wrapping his foot and a few days later – BAM – its back. The vet put him on another round of Tucoprim, which this time, he’s not real keen on eating. We’re also soaking his hoof and keeping it wrapped all the time to keep it clean until we’re sure its gone.

In addition to all this, because the abscessing foot has been sore he has been carrying a lot of his weight on the bowed leg. Therefore, the bow is warm again. It hasn’t rebowed, but it is definitely tender and is warm to the touch. We gave Jimmy a temporary wedge pad using baby diapers, vet wrap and a special boot. Once the abscess heals and he can have shoes on both feet, we’ll have the farrier out to put a wedge pad on the bowed leg and provide relief for that tendon. In the mean time, he’ll be wearing the temporary wedge. The good news is that he seemed to be immediately more comfortable with the temporary wedge in place.

Keep jingling for Jimmy!

 

Abscess Wars: Nearing The End

I think that Jimmy finally seems to be near the end of his battle with the abscess. Ryan broke it open again on Tuesday and I packed it with Betadine for a couple of days and now I’m using a gentle Iodine. Ryan also trimmed the front feet. He said that the back feet were nearly worn down to nubs, and didn’t feel that there was even enough to trim. He also mentioned that the front feet did not look like the soles had been cut away due to white line disease. He also mentioned that all of Jimmy’s feet were WAY out of balance. He doesn’t know how much correction he’ll be able to make in the few months that Jimmy is with me. It will be vitally important for whoever owns him to work with a shoer or trimmer that will properly balance the feet. This will be essential to him staying sound on that bow and work in comfort once he’s in regular work.

Back to the abscess…I know its draining because the smell is pretty awful when I unwrap the foot. Jimmy is barely limping anymore. I put him on the lunge yesterday just to see what his walk looked like. He kind of stabs that right front (the abscessed foot) into the ground when he walks. He offered a little trot and was pretty stiff in his hind end. He creeks a lot when he first comes out of his stall. I think he’s definitely got some arthritis in the hocks and perhaps the hind pasterns. I think getting outside will do him some good. If the weather is decent tomorrow, we’re going to turn him out in the grass outdoor arena. He’ll have a chance to blow off some steam. It will be his first time in a large turnout area (he’ll have his boots on), but I think the grass will offer some deterrent from running and jumping. He has a whole lot more attitude now that he’s feeling better and still confined to the stall. He’s still sweet, but he’s very obviously bored and has a hard time standing still. The bow remains cold (or at least no warmer than the non-bowed leg) although he does rest it frequently. I think though that it may have become a habit during his recovery period to rest that leg. Who knows?