A Cheerful Horse

Sometimes, it seems to take a slap in the face to wake back up to the world after something like the struggles of care-taking and constantly pushing your needs to the back burner. Where is the happiness and joy I once felt with horses? Everything is a chore. I just want to get it all done and go home. 

Case in point lastnight, the Universe decided to smile on me for a moment.


The Cheerful Horse... when set right with his comfort by a cold shower, a high powered fan, a special clip of his Cushings fur for ventilation and a good showering of new flyspray... may intend to show case his thankfulness with random displays of joy during exercise.

I swear I wish I had pictures of this.



Lastnight we set out for some controlled free lunging in a paddock next to the barn. The area is nice - 2 large shade trees, soft grass, etc. The object was to stretch his legs and get circulation going because we'd had 2 days of intense heat (95*) and riding/working specific muscle groups, which I'm sure left him sore. D hadn't even gotten once around before he took off at a peppy trot and ended up on the other end of the paddock, head and tail in-air. He shot me a look as he passed... something like Haha! Didn't see that coming, did you?

Crazy horse. He exploded several times into nice canters (complete with head shaking and grunting), and several more times into spontaneous trots. Eventually we noticed a family of deer had wondered over into a neighbouring paddock and were watching us, aghast. D found this amusing and actually trotted closer to get a look at them, and possibly show off. I guess he wasn't so sore after all...


The reason this is so amazing to me is probably two-fold.
One - yes, he is 26 and his 'good days' are fewer now due to the complications with Cushings, hoof issues occasionally, joint issues, heat intolerance, etc. For a former founder, with a variety of issues, while he does well - he's not got the same level of energy he did as a young horse.

Two - the troubles we've kept having have continued to jade me and I often find myself thinking we won't get any better than what I see everyday: the mundane parts of life where we trudge through chores and exercise, call it a day to sleep to start over the next...
Seeing him, of his own volition out and about - sporting and showing off, whether for me or the deer, was a shock. And one I needed.



The Cheerful Horse, that's what I'm doing all this for.

Busy, Set-Back, Busy, Busy

Oops. I didn't mean to leave the entire month of October barren here...
The good news is it was almost exclusively taken up by RIDING! Woooooo!


In re-cap, we really made some progress last month:

•  We hit the 1hr ride mark regularly, Diego's fitness and stamina is definitely improving. 

• While I expressed doubts about hill-work here, it's pretty much unavoidable at our current barn unless you want to be confined to a hard-packed clay arena, and my opinion has changed on the subject. He's having considerably less trouble with hill now, than he did at Jamie's. We've even tried some steep ones, just for kicks (and working on MY seat and stability!). The only time I notice a real problem with him and hills is when he's feeling ulcery: he tends to be very reluctant and slow going downhill. Obviously I don't do them when he's not feeling well.

• We explored the canter a bit more. I had to kind of "find myself" again, as my old dressage-style seat no longer works to sit a canter (not with a tailbone problem). So taking my cantle off my saddle and employing a light "saddle grazing" seat with a slightly forward tilted pelvis has been a big improvement. Now we're working on Diego "finding himself". I find that he doesn't quite know where his canter speed really is - is it on the forehand speeding like a rocket into oblivion while fighting the reins? Is it a slow, rocking lazy thing that he falls out of at the slightest hint? He's done both and we can't seem to find a happy medium. He did hit what felt like a decent canter occasionally but I admit I pulled him up out of it from feeling scared. It was a bit too forward and powerful for my tastes at the time, despite it being pretty balanced.

• I'm getting my riding muscles back! While not strong by any means, I'm not waking up barely able to move in the mornings.  Part of the shift has been to stop trying to grip with my thighs so hard (a natural defense mechanism for me), mostly due to the fact that I ride in a Ghost saddle now...  Because of Diego's back I have to put a Cashel wedge pad up in there to lift the front gullet off his spine, but this adds more unwanted bulk in what would normally be the twist area. Instead of sitting on an A-frame shape I'm basically sitting on a barrel with my upper thighs - yeah good luck gripping THAT!

Things were going just swimmingly. I was totally ready to grab a hold of a friend and do our first trail-out trail ride...


Then Halloween happened.


Diego and his crew had been turned out 16+hrs on a roundbale of hay for most of the month. This experiment was going well, more turnout, more hay etc. The problem was that I couldn't test EVERY roundbale before it was put out for them, the cost and analysis time were prohibitive. So after the first test of a batch of them came back safe, I made the risky assumption that subsequent batches would be safe if from the same cutting. This isn't always the smartest decision when dealing with an IR horse.
    Needless to say we finally encountered a bale that was high enough sugar to cause a problem for Diego the day before Halloween (he had been on it 2-3 days). The poor guy had laminitis and felt terrible, so we pulled him off the hay and set up another regiment for him. I'm happy to say that with trigger (hay) removal, pain management (Microlactin), and inflammation control (short course of NSAIDS, hosing and light walking), he snapped out of it within 3 days.

I gave him 2 weeks off, carefully watching for any signs of change in his hooves (collateral groove depth changing, hairline changes etc.). After 2 weeks of him being perfectly normal, if not a bit of a handful I cautiously decided to start riding on soft ground again. (we're still bootless ATM)

I think he's ok, aside from an annoying battle with mild ulcers that we're treating. He's ok soaked hay, which as an added benefit is getting more water in him during the cold weather. I'm breathing a sigh of relief now - but it's not without a price (*I* have an ulcer now from all the stress, uuuhhgg).

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Moving forward in November, my main goals are starting him back gently and working on stamina - long and slow. We were going full speed by the end of October and honestly I wasn't seeing much topline growth (he was also on some major muscle supplements). I think relaxation and proper use of muscles is a big thing with him and he is most definitely not a relaxed horse when doing anything other than a walk! He doesn't feel tense, per se, but he's never that easy, rhythmic cadence either. A lot of his suspension has been lost to forward movement and I need to put that in check. (even as much as I hate his bouncy trot)


I've got a few ideas in mind for schooling, so when I report back we'll see if they're working.

Can't believe it's a month and a half till the new year... *head shake* Fhew!

First, the Good News

So in my long absence ~ I've been riding Diego lately! 

For a solid year and a half I lost part of what is probably the closest connection I've had with a ridden horse, yet. I remember longing, pining, dreaming of the day I'd climb on Diego's back again. I remember staring at his back, walking with my hand slipped suggestively over his spine, just imagining being up there. You don't know what you have till it's gone...

Now the days are back where I can hoist myself up on his back, with no ill effects and off we go... It's like nothing has changed... nothing... and yet - like the barn manager said the other day: everything has changed. So it's surreal.

May was filled with tentative rides: long walks, some hills and plenty of relaxation.
June? The work started: trotting, more hills, regular dressage and longer rides.

I find that as per usual - the most 'rusty' thing in all of this is ME. Whether it's getting my back and hips relaxed to sit a trot or remembering the all important nuances about fitness training that I learned many moons ago. Diego for the most part is smooth sailing. He still tires easily on humid days, but that's to be expected. GA summers are BRUTAL with humidity. As long as a good breeze is going, he'll keep chugging. We've done a couple of hour long walks now, which is great! Steep hills and all. He remembers almost everything perfectly (except "Halt" but that's another entry right there), including his wonderful laterals.

RAWR! Open pastures... lemmie' at em!

So now instead of the pity looks and the questions of when I'll be able to ride again, I often am the first one to tack up, and the one most often seen strolling through the pasture in the evenings.

It's much sweeter this time around, that's for sure.

Recovery Conditioning for the Older Horse

In light of the fact that Diego is approaching the point where he'll be 100% rideable again (fingers crossed) I thought I would spend some time explaining my thoughts and theories that I've based my plans on for our conditioning...  First I'll explain my influences, then the specific 'plan'.

My goal since 2010 has been to build as fit, athletic and happy a horse as I can. Plain and simple - that is what I want for D. The bulk of my work with Diego to build muscle, flexibility and thus balance: is governed by basic principles of classic based dressage. In short I want to encourage proper muscle use by making it fun and/or comfortable to use the right muscle groups. I want to minimize joint and tissue damage by avoiding: "drills" / excessive repetitive motions, unbalanced, fast or otherwise harmful movement to the body that's not bio-mechanically correct. A lot of our work has been very slow & subtle (leaving alot of viewers to believe we're doing nothing at all). Doing things slowly goes against my nature as a whole, so that should give an example of how much I truly believe in what I'm doing! I've learned alot from various places during my research, but the places I keep going back to for information & encouragement are:

Art of Natural Dressage
Science of Motion
Marijke de Jong (trained by Bent Branderup)
Dr. Deb Benett
Sustainable Dressage

I also use clicker training to help me 'mark' the correct responses that help build correct movement.

Throughout everything Diego has maintained a very basic level of fitness through hand walking. Now it's time to get FIT, and build those back muscles that have been nearly non-existent for years!

 Ze Plan:

As I sit here and write this I begin to see how futile it is to come up with a rigid plan, when I know that what we ultimately do each day is subject to SO many variables! Weather, mood, physical ability etc. None the less I intend to use this as a guide.

STATIC: (used daily or nearly daily)

• Belly Lifts (using a blunt object like the handle of a hoofpick - run it up and down under your horses doral/belly button line to encourage them to lift their back. Hold for 5-10 seconds. Repeat. 5-10 reps is our goal
• Butt Tucks (use thumbs or blunt object and press lightly on either side of tailhead, squeezing together and inward, horse usually tucks their croup) I was told by my chiropractor that this exercise helps stretch out the lumbar spine especially if the horse is taken to standing hollow alot, and it also exercises/clenches the gluteal muscles.
  5-10 rep goal
• Jambettes  (fancy word for foreleg lifts) We do this with clicker training and I encourage an upright posture during lifts, because the point of the exercise is to lighten and free up the shoulders and shift is bodyweight to a more horizontal orientation, rather than a forehand-heavy orientation. Head and neck position is very important and I find it alot easier to encourage him to hold the posture himself, rather than me restrain his head with equipment. He as to be self sufficient to truly learn muscle memory!
• Neck Arches  - also called Ramener by some. I encourage D to tuck his chin slightly so that his neck becomes soft and his face his just infront of the vertical, then I ask the base of his neck to lift as high as possible.  The purpose for this is to again encourage lightness in the forehand at the halt, to gently flex the poll and most importantly to work the muscles deep in the chest at the base of the neck teaching LIFT. If the 'lift' is not there, it doesn't matter how much he raises his head - it won't accomplish what we need for lightness. I also do this by clicker training for the same purpose as the leglifts: D has to learn to use his muscles in the correct way without my physical interference: it's all about muscle memory! With this exercise I can also modify it to work different muscle groups. Sometimes I focus more on the 'lift', sometimes we work more on softness in the vertical poll flexion.

In the long run, static exercises are key in body building and all important steps to balance and collection for us, and all we need is a relatively flat space to stand and do them!

MOVEMENT: (daily and semi-daily exercises)

• Walking - obviously lots of walking is in order for fitness, no matter what. I try to get in a minimum 20 minutes of a brisk pace everyday. Preferably at this point we should be doing 1hr walks but my body just can't handle that on some days and D can just about out-walk 17h horses when he gets going!
• Shoulder-In. We are finally to the point were his hooves have healed (read: grown out) enough to handle the twisting/torque of this movement. We should be doing this everyday by now. I'm noticing big problems coming off D's rest period, he's having problems with bend and balance - inevitably too much bend=loss of balance or too little bend/stiffness. We have alot of work to do. Ideally I want a gentle bend, without a break at the base of the neck (I want the shoulders involved and lifting), slow with a steady rhythm and engaged hind legs (which usually isn't a problem for him).
• Backing. I don't understand all the mechanisms yet, but backing really works! Once D has been properly warmed up and barring any significant problems or soreness, he backs very smoothly. I generally encouraged a relaxed/lowered head position, but again his head position is not something I interfere with physically. I do NOT feel that pressure on the head (which in turn affects the entire vertebra column) is of any benefit in this movement. I usually aim for backing atleast 20-50 feet 3x per instance. You can vary it and back in circles too but we haven't mastered that yet as D's one-sidedness causes uh... directionally challenged issues. LoL
• Hill work. I had very limited success with hillwork back in 2010 and 2011 before Diego's laminitis and Cushings diagnosis'. Hills in general were very painful for him (in my ignorance I followed the advice of others and pushed him to do the work constantly) and made it ultimately miserable for both of us. Needless to say what I thought was arthritis with his inability to walk down hills comfortably turned out largely to be hoof pain or residual problems from hoof pain. This week he is fairly gliding down steep hills with more gusto than I am... o.o
  Regardless, I am currently studying studying the break down of tissues in the older horse in an online class I'm taking and I will be using extreme caution with hills to preserve the integrity of D's tendons and ligaments. That is my major concern with the hills right now. The plan is to do long, gradual slopes at a walk ONLY.
• Trotting. Another milestone in D's recovery is being able to trot comfortably again with a heel fist landing. While the lunge line is not my favorite tool for the horse with hoof problems (again: torque on hooves), we don't currently have a roundpen or arena that would allow me to turn him loose. We are currently doing sets of trot for 5 minutes each, followed by breaks. I've had to really change by habits in this dept as I was always one to push a horse for more "engagement", bigger flashier movement, etc. I felt like if they weren't moving to suit my tastes they weren't exercising the muscles at their full range of motion. This article was key in busting my little bubble... Now instead I try to accept whatever speed and engagement Diego offers me, and study it to determine how he feels, what muscle groups seem stronger, which seem weaker - and is there improvement. I look for the 'bounce' in his step: gait suspension. Funny enough, when I stop pushing and leave him alone he often finds incredible trot-suspension on his own. His natural rhythm varies from day to day though and that admittedly throws me off sometimes.

UNDER SADDLE: current & future goal is 2-4x per week
It gives me chills to even write this - we are so close! I realize I'm being so painfully careful that it's giving half my horsey friends aneurisms, but I'd rather go "too slow" than too fast.

• Sitting.  Just sitting, not doing anything else.
  I read somewhere a couple years back about the concept of 'loading the skeleton' that is allowing the horses' body to adjust to the weight of a rider first (bone, tendon, ligaments, muscle etc.) before asking for anything else. In light of D's long break from real riding this is something I'd like to try. People constantly say "Oh you can't possibly weigh anything! It won't be a problem for him!" But consider a person you know in their 60's - a parent, grandparent. Let's say they weigh about 180lbs, average build. Put a 30lb medicine ball in a backpack and ask them to stand there with it for 10 minutes or walk around the local park. Between arthritis, and age related weakness - let's be real - this is not as easy or comfortable as is made out. That does not take into account Diego's prior hoof pain.
• Walking.
  So descriptive... I know. My goal is 30 min - 1hr walks eventually (over varied terrain) or fitness. Right now though I would settle for 10 minute walks around the edge of the pasture, avoiding an steep hills. 
• Trotting.
  We won't be doing this for awhile. I feel like it's too much weight and concussion on his legs and spine. I want ample muscle built in his back first and time for his tendons and ligaments to adjust.
• Poles.
  I'm not a huge pole fan, just because I was drilled on them as a hunter and later in jumping so much. Diego was never good at them either and tended to panic and try to jump them (it was always that 4th pole that threw him over the edge of reason) which in turn made me panicky about them. They're helpful though and I think despite our former bad experiences (and maybe because of them!) we need to walk poles... ALOT.

Hooves and Recovery

Today I'm doing some light reading - which is including materials on various trim methods. This is a weekly if not daily thing for me lately. I've learned so much since this blog started that I have trouble putting it all into words.

Diego's hooves have undergone an onslaught of assaults from various sources for over a year now, and we find ourselves this week - sitting on the 6 month anniversary of his most recent (and worst) laminitic attack. I am clinging rigidly and (understandably) desperately to all dietary and environmental restrictions to keep D from having another attack right now - but as the months creep by and we finally start to see progress through the dreary daily routine: I have finally started to feel a little more hope. 

We're 6 months out and this time, for sure, I am confident that we have good hoof form. As good as it can get really. I haven't had the money for Xays in a year now, so I've had to wing-it by just reading the external hoof signs as well as I can. I constantly scrutinize his sole, his gait and measure the collateral grooves, looking for more depth. The last and most frustrating piece to fall in place has been his soundness. His last event in August left him barely able to drag himself from the paddock to the grooming area and back. Boots and pads only made it moderately better. It was horrible to watch him have so much pain just walking... 

 We made huge strides (har har) though, and by November he was comfortable - trotting, galloping and bucking with his girlfriend. It was a sight to see! December brought cold nights though, and with  his damaged vascular system in his lower legs & feet started giving him issues. He had significant amounts of pain, his legs stocked up from not moving all day long (due to hoof pain) etc. I added some dietary supplements to help - but nothing is a cure. It's still just as cold out now in February, but at the new facility D is kept in at night (not ideal to me but the lesser of several evils I was faced with in moving him), where the temperature is consistently 10 degrees warmer than the outdoors. Guess what... no leg swelling! No owwie hooves with warm coronary bands! YAY! 

Try as I might to provide Diego with a more 'natural' lifestyle, it's becoming increasingly apparent that certain domestic 'comforts' are needed to give him the ability to live a decent life after the Cushings hammered away at his body unchecked for 5 years and laminitis ravaged the blood vessels in his hooves. So far this has included blanketing, wrapping the legs and being stabled at night. So I continue down this road of discovery: hopefully with less judgement about "right and wrong" horse management and attached dogma.  >.>'

Ok...  so maybe this wasn't as much about hooves as I'd intended to write. ;p
I just reread the first post on this blog from 2010 discussing his hooves. What a long way we have come! Few if any of the problems we faced then haunt us now (except heel contraction, but that's possibly a life long pathology by now IMO). I am forever thankful for Marian's willingness to educate me at a time when D and I really needed it.


Amusing event for the week:  I got a call from the barn manager early yesterday morning on my cell and promptly panicked (having just read a lovely study on Nitrate poisoning complete with graphic photos). As it turns out she was calling to give me a bit of amusing info. Diego has been introduced to his handicapped herd, but so far they have yet to accept him. There is an evil little pony who attacks everyone (horses and humans alike) who has it out for Diego. Diego finally decided somehow that the pony suddenly held no threat over him anymore and promptly turned his butt to the pony and shot him a "talk to the tail" look. Said pony was so distraught by this that he ran himself around the entire turn out area. I'm sure his ego was greatly damaged by this. I was told Diego had taken up trotting a little with the foals. I couldn't be happier for him... finally... progress!

3.9.11 ~ The Weight of an Older Horse

 I’m definitely not a newbie to caring for an older horse; we got my pony, Checkers between the age of 14 & 16 and cared for her till her death at 24 (joint/leg complications took her, not age). But she was an easy keeper all her life though, so hard keepers are a bit of a puzzle to me in general.

 Diego has seemingly made the switch from easy keeper, all of his life to a slightly harder keeper as far as his weight is concerned. We’ve had alot of hurdles to overcome in the past 6 months concerning his health: he was malnourished when he arrived at our current barn in June. Coat was decent but not too shiny, his hoof wall was terribly, dry, cracking, his skin was prey to constant fungal infections and was super slow to heal from even the smallest scratches or cuts. He became a pasture 24/7 horse last June and once I added a ration balancer supplement back to his program I started to see major improvement by Sept/Oct. I would have seen results within the first month but I made a mistake on the dosage <embarrassment> and did not up the dosage till Sept. Summer and fall that was all he needed to be healthy and maintain a proper weight: grass & ration balancer about 4-5 times a week. (1lb for light work)

Winter came though and this is our first winter together since being in a pampered barn with a stall every night. I admit I did not take the advice of putting weight on him before winter as seriously as I should have and I regret it. It’s too hard to try and put/keep weight on at the last minute, preparation for winter should begin in October if not before. Ideally once the grass dies and even before that, which for us living in southern USA, is around December - horses should have access to hay 24/7. According to Diego’s body weight he needs atleast 19lbs a day to maintain healthy weight & gut health. Unfortunately this winter we have had troubles at my barn obtaining enough hay and keeping it out there constantly for the horses. While Diego isn’t in any immediate danger he has gone through winter much thinner than I prefer and it has had me stressed and worried for far too many months. Work, family life and other commitments keep me from being able to come out everyday to feed. Sometimes I feel very guilty, like I’m not being responsible enough for his well being. =(

Now because of the lack of hay issue, I am having to look into alternative ways to put weight on him. To some people this may not be unusual, or a big deal, but to me it’s very unnatural (for him) and frustrating. Horses were not meant to ingest large amount of commercially processed grains. While he might go the whole winter with no adverse side-effects (IF I choose the feed wisely and limit the starch & molasses) from excess amounts of grain my instincts tell me this is not the way to go. How many people out there have been faced with non-ideal feeding situations with their horses at boarding facilities? I find myself really wanting to hear their stories right about now. I have opinions thrown at me from all sides and it can get very overwhelming. I face judgment sometimes from all sides as well, no matter what decision I finally settle on. Most people are well meaning but also all of them think they know what’s bets for my horse.   *sigh*

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The options I have settled on for now are: Beet Pulp & Rice Bran Oil.

I started D on ½ cup of vegetable oil and then moved up to a homemade mixture of coconut & canola oil. My trimmer pointed out that canola is higher than certain other oils in Omega 6’s though which can promote inflammatory responses in the body. With D’s arthritis that’s something I definitely want to minimize. I’ve switched to rice bran oil currently and may continue to use coconut. Uckele.com has a coconut/soybean oil combo for about $18 which was tried and tested for us many years ago (and met taste approvals of our horses) so that’s an option too. As of last week he is now up to 2c. A large amount I know but it’s not permanent - I am looking for improvement and will drop back to 1c for maintenence.

The beet pulp from what I hear is slow to put weight on but reliable. Just this week we have moved up to 4lbs of it (dried, shredded measured). The trick for me is of course managing his intake - he is fed in one meal 4-5 times a week, so that presents a challenge of not overloading his stomach at one time. I break it up into 2 feedings over a 2hr period:

*2-3lbs beet pulp upon my arrival, before our work

*2lbs beet pulp + 1lb ration balancer + oil & hoof supplement before I leave

We'll see how this goes...

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UPDATE on the weight issue: 3/31/11

Apparently it's not just him being a "hard keeper" that's been the problem all winter. I've been at the BP and oil thing for a month with only minimal results. Recently it was discovered that D has a jaw problem and there is significant suspicion now that the problem has caused the majority of weight loss through the winter. More on that in subsequent entries!