Optimistic

So here we are, in the very beginnings of fall. I came back from my yearly vacation and my driveway already has reddish brown leaves littering the pavement. I admittedly love summer more than anything, so the beginnings of fall are always a little sad for me. (I know, I'm weird!)

I don't think I could have imagined being at an 'ok' place in Diego's rehab last year at this time. The stresses of various events kept me from seeing very far into the future for so long. Yet, here we are, riding around - constantly active - a year later! I need not take for granted getting on his back and heading off for a ride. Never again.
 Last year at this time he was fresh out of a very bad laminitic attack and could barely walk. It was a solid 1.5 months before I even saw him willingly trot. :(
This year he is trotting around his drylot (albiet carefully because of the hard ground), mounting mares, cantering down barn aisles etc. He's absolutely full of himself. ;)


I will touch breifly on a few of the things we've been battling in August up till now though for catch up:

•  Thrush!

 I hate it, nasty stuff. I believe I mentioned being frustrated about Diego loosing some robustness in his frogs due to being stalled more than I would like nowdays. It finally occurred to me that part of the problem however, was thrush eating away at what had been healthy tissue. Apple Cider Vinegar wasn't touching it this time, and I'm out of my trusty Resolve spray - so I resorted to soaks. Lysol (diluted) to be exact. I made sure it was very mild and then stuck soaking boots on him for a good 20 minutes for 5 days straight. I was pretty pleased with the result - before I left on vacation his frogs had shed some nasty little flaps and grown harder and less "mushy" with the daily soaks and the occasional scraping black tissue away with a knife.

BTW, check this site out for tips on treating thrush. Linda Cowles has alot of useful resources!

•   PPID (Cushings) Seasonal Rise

Just another reason for me to be apprehensive about fall: it's the hardest time of the year for Cushings horses. Recent research has shown a documented (and in PPID - exaggerated) fall rise of the ACTH hormone which is heavily involved in the disease. Plain and simple this means that I will see more negative effects of Diego's disease from late Aug through Nov/Dec. The very first year he was diagnosed the biggest symptom was laminitis - worst case scenario. Other very typical symptoms include:

-More muscle wasting over topline, neck and ribs (appearance of weight loss)
-Large scale stubborn rainrot infections (back, butt - large areas)
-General lethargy
-Occasional symptoms like foot sensitivity and gastric ulcers (these don't always happen)

As you can see, it's a basket full of kittens to deal with this mess when the weather is getting cooler and all you really want to do is go outside and trail ride! Yuck...  I'm sure Diego feels similarly.

In our case though there is a key to battling the SR - I increase his medication through December. We did this last year and it really helped him remain perky and happy, despite recovering from severe laminitis. I remember by November he was a hot-aires-above-the-ground-MESS.  ;)
So this year I started increasing, but I think it was a bit late: I was already seeing sudden back muscle wasting in late August - I should have caught it sooner. After returning from vacation Tuesday I found him in an excellent mood. He seems to be doing quite well.


So with all of that said - we're back to where we began at the top of my post - a good place! My hopeful plan for the fall is to start serious trail riding. I met a new local friend over the summer who has volunteered to trailer me over to her place for rides, and another friend just bought a home in the mountains of north Georgia (complete with guest room - HAH!) so we may be traveling up there too!!! So much to do and see!


Stay tuned...

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.

Spring Has Sprung

I sent a huge cloud of yellow powder into the air this morning when I turned my windshield wipers on...   yep.  It's that time of year. The big hardwoods at the barn are still looking scraggly but neon buds are popping out on the tips of their branches. The grass is blindingly green - poking up through the dead stuff from winter.

Everywhere horses are dropping mangey hair and stating to look gorgeous and sleek (except D: stupid Cushings coat), and riders are gearing up for summer. I think I've been bitten by the bug - the spring bug... I have the overwhelming urge to get back in the saddle and ride until I can't feel my legs anymore. The urge to gallop over countryside until I'm sunburned and sweaty.


Maybe it's the spring weather, those last few joyful rides on Diego, or too much of reading Andrea's old blog posts, or the girls at my barn dusting off the saddles and heading out for trailrides...   I'm suddenly dying to be back in the saddle, training for the next big thing, or galloping along endlessly over hilly terrain listening to nothing but hoofbeats and horse breathing. Or flying over tall obstacles and turning tight roll-backs in a sandy arena.

This brings up an internal debate. 3 years ago I had given up on my competition dreams, somewhat sadly. 2 years ago I came to a feeling of contented acceptance and was quite happy with my new journey with D. So, what on earth is this all about? Diego is never again going to be able to do the things he once did. I still have grand hopes of him making a recovery to "fit old horse" condition, but "fit old horse" & "fit young/middle-aged horse" are two different things. Most jumping is in our rearview mirror (sadly), as is taking uneven terrain at a fast pace. Older tendons just do not have the same resiliency as young ones: it's not safe. Getting him back in 'work' has proven difficult this month: we're enduring more setbacks from unexplained hoof inflammation and when he has that - I CANNOT ride. Work in hand can only go so far, he is not fit enough to trot or more than 10 minutes and the warm weather is not sitting well with him anymore (I'm honestly alittle worried about anhydrosis). *sigh*

Soooo with all that said - I'm obviously stuck. The 'urge' is killing me though. I had not previously thought past Diego to 'what if I had another horse?". So far all attempts to keep in good riding shape with a 'loan' have been very short lived. I've ridden a handful of horses since D's laminitis: anything from the green broke Throughbred to the old OTTB, to the pokey trail QH. I have truly appreciated each and very opportunity but have sadly realized something very important: none of them are D. I don't like ANY of them near as much. Sitting on D is like having 4 legs instantly wired to my own brain and nerve receptors. Sitting on other horses is awkward at best - like when I was a kid and took riding lessons on different ponies. New stride length, new type of movement, new timing, different ribcage width, different reaction times to spooks etc. This all boils down to that fateful day someday: getting a new horse is not going to be fun for me. :(


But on a happier note ~ I do have the opportunity to train some now, if I so choose. There are a couple of school horses at my new barn that I'm allowed to fool around with. I took one for a short ride yesterday evening at W/T (cute little chestnut). Boy do I need some work! I did ok, tried to be loose and light/soft, but I'm really going to have to get out in the field and trot it out to see how my muscles really handle riding again. I can feel the pull in my lower calves and my upper ribcage today... And I lose my balance all too easily. Funny how that works, used to my body knew right 'where to be' in relation to the horse at all times.


Hopefully I'll get some pictures soon. This whole blog has gone without for too long.
B.o.r.i.n.g!

The Triumphs of March

The close of March draws near this weekend and I find myself stunned, wondering where the month went. I love summer with a passion, so it's always my goal to make sure spring doesn't slip by unnoticed: I love having a long prequel to summer. ;)

I think it's safe to say Diego is settling in well at the new place. This month he's taken to scrapping with neighbors over stall gates in the barn whenever we walk past, he's perking his ears when the pasture horses creep closer to investigate us, rather than looking worried and hiding behind me. His personality is coming out in full force: bold, energetic and bully-ish. The barn manager expressed surprise and amusement over it just this week. We all agree spring is in the air and he's feelin' it.

Once I got his diet settled and squared away last month, then it was time to address his trim. His hooves need a different trim now than they did though the winter: change of terrain, time passed and work intensity all demand a change. Change is by nature difficult for me and I find my habits and muscle memory slow to alter, so I've taken a step back and given him a month without any hoof changes and will alter the trim as needed soon.

So what's left on the agenda after diet and trim + regular in-hand work is all addressed?

RIDING!!!

I've gotten to sit on him quite a few times on calm evenings at the barn after our walks. That in itself was HUGE.
   I spent some time feeling down and guilty though after my first few mounts: Diego kept moving away from whatever mounting object I was using. We know eachother well enough for me to know this is from a hesitancy due to pain, not a desire to 'get out of work' (this horse could outwork ME if he wanted). I got on him anyway (the part I've been feeling guilty over), and once mounted he seemed perfectly fine, if anything, antsy to walk and really stride out. His huge strided walk is back in full force! Slowly though as we've progressed to taking 10 minute rides down the driveway - I start to feel less guilty. Some well timed articles detailing the horses' two fold ability to live in the moment and protect their body from pain AND also remember back to painful memories and protect their body from that remembered pain (whether currently relevant or not) surfaced this week and I found myself analyzing the situation yet again. Diego has alot of remembered pain from years of imbalance and his lumbar issue, then a year of being forced to work with a rider on his back when he had sore and sometimes laminitic hooves. I cringe at the thought but that was the reality... meanwhile I had been frustrated as I could be looking at external solutions like tack changes and joint supplements. I find it interesting that after a handful of decent, very short rides D has come to stand still (albiet impatiently) for mounting.

Since we only spend 10-15 minutes each time with me riding I've been at a loss for what to work on. One thing I decided this time around - was I did not want to let him go 'long and low' 100% of the time. Learning how the back works I've learned that letting the nuctural(?) ligament take up the slack and hold me up (which is what it's doing when he lowers his head way down) will not accomplish my goal of building back muscle properly. Naturally I don't want him to go around tense, high headed and hollow either, so there had to be an in-between.

   So far he's operating at 100%, meaning as always he remembers and can execute almost anything right off the bat: leg yields, half passes, shoulder in, haunches in - you name it! I was shocked. Instead of starting back at square one, mentally he's starting back at square 8 out of 10! I have to be careful to remind myself his body isn't as far along as his mind is, but regardless he's surprisingly flexible. Maybe all this time healing those hooves have truly helped him in that he's not moving with hoof pain anymore!
I've taken to trying some shoulder ins this week, with varying degrees of rein contact. I do enjoy riding on a very loose 'live' rein, but in light of not wanting his head all the way down to or below his chest 50% of the time I'm forced to ride with more contact than either of us are used to. I'm thinking this is a good thing in a way though:

1) his bitless cavessons that I use don't seem to transmit the 'drape' of the 'live rein' very well, so he's not alert and responding to the rein till it hits his neck for the most part.

2) anytime I take up more contact he gets excited, stiff, raises his head and does his age-old shuffle/jig, expecting us to go galloping down the barn aisle.  O.O
Yeah... no dude.

So slowly I plan to get us used to both types of contact again. I think that's going to be important. Maybe eventually when he can comfortably carry his neck higher again, we will return to a looser 'live' contact but with higher carriage. Granted I'm not trying to force a frame here, and if I get the slightest hint that he can't do something, I certainly won't insist. I think that's an important part of our rehab, trust and mutual respect.


On the horizon? Long walks. I think he will be able to handle those soon. We've spent almost a month taking these baby steps to riding, in April I want to try him on varied terrain and longer distances. The goal is 30 minute walks for the end of April!