Cassie came home last night. After a long talk with the trainer, vet, and running the numbers, I decided I'd bring her home to do her vet work. She traveled like a dream. When she got home I walked her around a little to familiarize her with the place- she took it all in- was so funny to watch! I took her in the arena and had her do a couple of big circles so i could see the lameness- ya, definitely there. Not as awful as i thought it would be, but definitely concerning...and familiar.
So, she's scheduled for a vet's visit on June 9th. Hopefully we'll be able to diagnose her quickly and find a treatment that will help, and hopefully get her back on the working horse roster.
Cabo is doing great- he's such a little pony-pimp :) And now he has 2 girls in his field to play with. We plan on riding this weekend- hopefully all my chores and errands will not get in the way of that!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Dressage Boy
Cabo man got himself a fancy new dressage saddle! I got it last night, and couldn't wait to try it on him. Beautiful fit- comfy for me, really helps my twisted hips. I can definitely feel the crookedness of my body in the saddle- which is good because now I can go about correcting it.
We've been working on the longe line as of late- learning how to power ourselves from the hind end instead of doing a fake headset and plodding along, or hollowing out and not really working correctly. Its been working, because when I got on yesterday, I could feel a difference in his carriage.
Now I have to get myself in the saddle. My goal is 3 times a week to start with- mostly stretching that hip. I really really really have to fix it- because it has gone from being just ugly to now being painful too. It seems as though it'll cramp at any movement. No good. Though, this morning I do not feel sore at all- which is a good sign.
No new updates on Cassie-la.
We've been working on the longe line as of late- learning how to power ourselves from the hind end instead of doing a fake headset and plodding along, or hollowing out and not really working correctly. Its been working, because when I got on yesterday, I could feel a difference in his carriage.
Now I have to get myself in the saddle. My goal is 3 times a week to start with- mostly stretching that hip. I really really really have to fix it- because it has gone from being just ugly to now being painful too. It seems as though it'll cramp at any movement. No good. Though, this morning I do not feel sore at all- which is a good sign.
No new updates on Cassie-la.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Potty Training
I'm going to start out with a funny story just cuz the other stuff I have to write about is no good.
I go to clean Cabo's stall yesterday, and the first thing I notice is that there is no pee spot. That bothers me, because every day there is a pee spot in the same place in his stall. I go in his stall, and I see he chucked his rubber feed bowl into the middle of the stall. But wait, its wet. The horse somehow peed directly into that bucket without getting it anywhere else. HILARIOUS! I can't imagine he did that on purpose, but we'll see! Nice aim, Cabo!
And now on for the Cassie update. She is not holding up- turns out the shoes were a temporary feel-good fix and now we're back to being lame. So I will most likely be picking her up this week and we will begin the Great Lameness Diagnosis w/ Dr. Hannah. Starting off with films and blocking and going from there. I could just leave her in training, but the board is so expensive, and I just can't justify it when my board is so cheap, which would leave more $$ for vet workup, and savings for going back into training, if able.
Joy.
I go to clean Cabo's stall yesterday, and the first thing I notice is that there is no pee spot. That bothers me, because every day there is a pee spot in the same place in his stall. I go in his stall, and I see he chucked his rubber feed bowl into the middle of the stall. But wait, its wet. The horse somehow peed directly into that bucket without getting it anywhere else. HILARIOUS! I can't imagine he did that on purpose, but we'll see! Nice aim, Cabo!
And now on for the Cassie update. She is not holding up- turns out the shoes were a temporary feel-good fix and now we're back to being lame. So I will most likely be picking her up this week and we will begin the Great Lameness Diagnosis w/ Dr. Hannah. Starting off with films and blocking and going from there. I could just leave her in training, but the board is so expensive, and I just can't justify it when my board is so cheap, which would leave more $$ for vet workup, and savings for going back into training, if able.
Joy.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
All Better?
So Cassie's twinkle toe appointment had to be moved from Friday last week to Wednesday due to farrier illness. In that time, she progressively got more lame, so aside from getting a couple of baths, didn't do much.
Got a call from the trainer last night...and...drumroll please... Cassie was great for the farrier AND appears sound! *hand clapping* YAY! She will be worked this morning to test out her new shoes...let's hope she's better!
YAYAYAYAY
Got a call from the trainer last night...and...drumroll please... Cassie was great for the farrier AND appears sound! *hand clapping* YAY! She will be worked this morning to test out her new shoes...let's hope she's better!
YAYAYAYAY
Friday, May 15, 2009
Headshaking Status: GONE
Just a little update for Cabo. I lunged him today with sliding side reins so he could move his head wherever- and he was perfect! Looks like the adjustment did the job!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Adjustments
I'm back! Time for a little update on the pony kids.
Cassie is doing really well in training. She's not proving to be an extremely quick study, but she IS trying and doing well. She has a physical setback though, which we are trying to work through. I've always known she had this high/low syndrome in her front hooves. The left front is high, the right is tends to run out long- and is bigger. Over the years I've kept her trimmed to be comfortable, as every time we back that toe, she goes lame. There was never much point in trying to fix it, as she was not in any sort of training, and her fear of strangers too traumatic for her to sit through a farrier session. But, I knew that once she was in regular work with either myself or a trainer, that the hoof would most likely need to be addressed.
At the beginning of training, she started showing some soreness. Farrier came out, thinking we needed a set of shoes, which i suspected would eventually happen. Farrier says that horse has great hooves- no need to shoe, let's just try trimming her up and more frequently. In doing so, revealed some heal "corns" that had old blood in them. She walked off sound. Over the next 2 weeks, she has gotten progressively more lame- the angle was changed too much.
Farrier thinks now that we should try shoes and pads- that perhaps her coffin bone has rotated so much over time that the only way to keep her comfortable is to pad her up. Seems to think that'll get her sound very quickly. The good news is that her hoof quality is so nice that shoes will likely stay on for a full setting (which will be nice since Faith always needed resets after 3-4 weeks, LOL)
If the shoes and pad doesn't work, she's probably not going to stay sound enough for work. Right now her level of work is pretty light- 4 days a week, 45 minutes at walk and trot, some cantering.
So, if this doesn't work, not sure if I'll pursue it much more. I can let her hoof grow out and just let her stay pasture sound. Or I can see if over time of consistent theraputic shoeing will help. I'm wondering if it is coffin bone or tendon. If her hoof has been long basically her entire life, shortening it up has got to change things in her body...so is it reasonable to jump right to the coffin bone? I'm betting xrays are in our future.
But right now i'm hoping the silver bullet solution will work on Friday.
And now on to Cabo. He's doing well. He's had a couple of weeks off, but yesterday I got back and started working him again. He also got an adjustment done, out of the blue, as my body worker was at the barn for another client. Before I left, I noticed that he had been shaking his head a lot and sneezing, but i forgot about it completely. With the bodyworker, i was mostly looking for a check on his back, since that has been his main problem. When she was done she said his back was perfectly fine- strong, just a couple of front ribs out, but that he was REALLY out at his poll. I was super excited about his back- I think it is safe to say that 2 years later, he's fully healed. It was only when I was driving home that I realized the connection between his head shaking/sneezing and being out at the poll. So I'm excited to see if that adjustment fixed the problem.
So there ya go. Let's hope the farrier work works for Cassie. I may have myself a beautiful pasture pet in the near future. Such a bummer, but at least I have Cabo to play with! Here's to hoping he'll stay sound *knock on wood* LOL
Cassie is doing really well in training. She's not proving to be an extremely quick study, but she IS trying and doing well. She has a physical setback though, which we are trying to work through. I've always known she had this high/low syndrome in her front hooves. The left front is high, the right is tends to run out long- and is bigger. Over the years I've kept her trimmed to be comfortable, as every time we back that toe, she goes lame. There was never much point in trying to fix it, as she was not in any sort of training, and her fear of strangers too traumatic for her to sit through a farrier session. But, I knew that once she was in regular work with either myself or a trainer, that the hoof would most likely need to be addressed.
At the beginning of training, she started showing some soreness. Farrier came out, thinking we needed a set of shoes, which i suspected would eventually happen. Farrier says that horse has great hooves- no need to shoe, let's just try trimming her up and more frequently. In doing so, revealed some heal "corns" that had old blood in them. She walked off sound. Over the next 2 weeks, she has gotten progressively more lame- the angle was changed too much.
Farrier thinks now that we should try shoes and pads- that perhaps her coffin bone has rotated so much over time that the only way to keep her comfortable is to pad her up. Seems to think that'll get her sound very quickly. The good news is that her hoof quality is so nice that shoes will likely stay on for a full setting (which will be nice since Faith always needed resets after 3-4 weeks, LOL)
If the shoes and pad doesn't work, she's probably not going to stay sound enough for work. Right now her level of work is pretty light- 4 days a week, 45 minutes at walk and trot, some cantering.
So, if this doesn't work, not sure if I'll pursue it much more. I can let her hoof grow out and just let her stay pasture sound. Or I can see if over time of consistent theraputic shoeing will help. I'm wondering if it is coffin bone or tendon. If her hoof has been long basically her entire life, shortening it up has got to change things in her body...so is it reasonable to jump right to the coffin bone? I'm betting xrays are in our future.
But right now i'm hoping the silver bullet solution will work on Friday.
And now on to Cabo. He's doing well. He's had a couple of weeks off, but yesterday I got back and started working him again. He also got an adjustment done, out of the blue, as my body worker was at the barn for another client. Before I left, I noticed that he had been shaking his head a lot and sneezing, but i forgot about it completely. With the bodyworker, i was mostly looking for a check on his back, since that has been his main problem. When she was done she said his back was perfectly fine- strong, just a couple of front ribs out, but that he was REALLY out at his poll. I was super excited about his back- I think it is safe to say that 2 years later, he's fully healed. It was only when I was driving home that I realized the connection between his head shaking/sneezing and being out at the poll. So I'm excited to see if that adjustment fixed the problem.
So there ya go. Let's hope the farrier work works for Cassie. I may have myself a beautiful pasture pet in the near future. Such a bummer, but at least I have Cabo to play with! Here's to hoping he'll stay sound *knock on wood* LOL
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