Friday, July 7, 2017

Back in the Saddle!

Enjoying some play-time after work

Sunny is healthy and ready-to-go again! He did test positive for antibodies (ie exposure) to Anaplasmosis.  This could have been the cause of his tying-up, but we will never know -- hopefully it doesn't happen again!  I started him on IV antibiotic/oxytetracycline initially (the recommend treatment), while waiting for the oral doxycyline to arrive. In hindsight I should have just waited for the oral doxycycline... The morning after his 3rd IV dose he wouldn't walk up from the pasture and wasn't able to put his head down to eat, Argh!!! After a few minutes of initial panic and some emergency phone calls (thank you Dr. Lynne Johnson!!) we realized the IV must have gone extra-vascular and caused severe inflammation/pain. All his vitals were fine and he was very happy to eat with the bowl held up to head/neck height. Graham and I set him up with everything raised to head/neck height and started him on pain medication (Equioxx).  Luckily the oral antibiotics arrived later that day and he didn't miss a dose of treatment. He improved rapidly with rest and pain management and soon was back to normal.  He also tested negative for PSSM type 1.

In the meantime Sunny and I both enjoyed playing in our downtime.  I dug out my old tarp to see what he thought, he wasn't too impressed --- the grass was much more interesting!  I also started introducing a bit, he has never worn a bit and while I don't intend to ride with one, I think it is an important part of horse's education since they are commonly used and I never know what weird situation I may end up in someday (like forgetting or breaking my bridle/halter and borrowing someone's bridle for a ride, etc). I introduce the bit as a fun game.  I hold the bridle as I normally do, asking him to lower his head.  When he bumps the bit with his nose I give him a treat.  Soon he is very interested in the bit and taking it in his mouth!  Every time I bridle I hold a cookie below the bit and when the horse takes the bit in his mouth he gets a cookie too! Over a few sessions Sunny worked up to grazing with the bit for a few minutes, but I wouldn't say he is comfortable with it-- we'll get back to this during winter weather or other rest breaks.

When starting back to exercise I initially kept it light and easy with some arena riding.  We are starting to incorporate more gaiting into our rides and I finally got a segment videoed to hopefully ID 'the gait'.  I believe he is doing a saddle rack based on reading Lee Ziegler's book and watching gaited horse you-tube videos.

Link to her book: (https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gaited-Horses-methods-training-pleasure/dp/1580175627/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499464390&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=easy+gait+lee+zeigler)

The saddle rack has an almost lateral hoof pick-up and then an even 4-beat hoof set down.  I hope to certify him (ie finalize his registration) with the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association later this summer. I basically need to video him consistently gaiting (which requires him to consistently gait, LOL, and for Graham to video for me!)

Today we had our 2nd conditioning ride since Old Dominion.  It was fantastic, I focused more on having fun and moving out, and thus avoided big climbs and rocks.  We ended up doing almost 21 miles, with an average speed of 5.5 mph (which is fast for us, considering all of our stopping, play in the water breaks, etc) and an average moving speed of 6.7 mph  (Wow! that might be our fastest conditioning ride yet!).  And I didn't think we had much elevation change, but apparently we had 4112 ft of gain/loss.  Hmm, Sunny will be a little tired... good thing our plans include a break from conditioning and dressage/horsemanship session with Theresa instead!  The dressage is very relaxing; it is tiring too but in an entirely different way and focuses on a different set of muscles than conditioning.  And on a different note, I am planning on participating in the rider heart rate monitor study during my 50 at Ride between the Rivers. So today I took my HR immediately after stopping several times and it averaged around 140 bpm.  If that is consistent while I ride, then I am staying at 75% of my maximum heart rate and riding for 4 hours is some significant exercise!




I also tested out a pair of Scoot Boots on today's ride. I have heard so many good things about them and would love to stop replacing cables on my renegades!  I measured his feet and sent in measurement photos.  He was between a size 2 and 3 on the front and the dealer recommended a size 2 for a snugger fit since we do endurance riding.  When I received them the size 2 was difficult to seat on front hoof and I had to tap it with a hoof pick. The heel straps were visibly digging into the heel bulbs and the center gap was 1.5 cm --- the boot was too small!  So I tried it on the back hoof, it seemed to fit perfectly -- the center gap was about 8 -9 mm, it went on easily, was snug but not close to digging in, and I could not easily twist or rotate it.  However, during our first canter/gallop I lost both Scoot boots (that added a few more miles to the ride!) off the hind hooves. I tried switching to the front as sometimes new boots stretch out after a little use.  They were still tight on the front but I didn't think they would rub or cause a problem.  Within 2 miles they were off too, ugh!  I put the renegades back on, and they stayed perfectly (as they always do) until a cable snapped after about 15 miles.   After talking to the dealer (who has not had this happen before) I hypothesize that horses that do well in Renegades (movement and hoof shape-wise) may not do well in Scoots and vice versa.  The dealer's horse won't keep Renegades on and I have heard that from other people who horses are doing well in Scoots (Jamie M.!)  So now I have an almost new (5 miles of riding) pair of size 2 Scoot Boots (minus 1 of the trail gaiters...) and an unopened set of Scoot Boot endurance gaiters for sale :)  Guess I will be buying more Renegade cables....

Happy Trails and see ya at Ride between the Rivers!

1 comment:

  1. Regarding the Scoot Boots, you might be right. My gelding shucked those suckers off unless I had them professionally fit, and I can't afford that for every ride, and the fitters I know don't always come to all our rides when I need them to work, so I gave up on them. Course, he has thin soles, so we're trying to figure out what to do for his feet.

    But, for my Paso Fino mare, I had a Scoot Boot dealer come and fit her, and, the only times they've come off have been user error. They do twist on the rears some, but so far, I've been pleased with them.

    So, I think that some of the fitting might be the way a horse moves. Not sure yet.

    Course, I like the Hoof Armor as extra insurance too. :)

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