Red Deals with the Menacing Mini, Donkey of Doom and Panicking Pony

Tuesday, the day after the vet cleared him to start back to work, Red and I started real trot work again.  We've been walking under saddle for a long time, with occasional attempts at trot, but now we don't have to be so tentative about things.  He's terribly out of shape, so we're easing up on it by doing a few laps of trot, followed by walking for a bit, and then more trotting.  He still huffs and puffs - he's also a bit overweight although I think that will improve quickly.  We're still doing a long - 15 minutes at least - walk warm up to stretch things out, and our total trot work is still less than 5 minutes per ride.

After two days, he seems to be moving well and to be pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing - I expect he was quite bored with all the walking, as he's a pretty high energy horse.  It's great to be able to really ride him again.  He's a real blast to ride - incredibly responsive and forward and he carries himself beautifully - it's like riding on air.

Yesterday we had to deal with the Menacing Mini, the Donkey of Doom and the Panicking Pony.  When we entered the arena, there was a mini being looked at - he has an abscess.  This mini isn't in Red's herd - there is a mini in his herd but the other one is kept in a paddock as he's previously foundered.  So Red's eyes were bugging out at the unfamiliar mini, and his head was straight up in the air - he kept glancing at me as if to say "is it a dog? a wolf? a horse I don't know?"  And then, when the mini left, the donkey started doing that wheezy, raspy, almost bray that they sometimes do - the donkey shares a stall with the mini and worries when he's not there.  Red was clearly thinking that was just too much.  But he stayed with me, and very quickly started to calm right back down - I love how quickly he comes back to me now when he's worried about something.

As we were working, a pony came into the ring for lessons.  This pony has a tendency to race around and to have trouble settling down, particularly if the kid riding is nervous or tight.  The poor kid was wrestling with the pony, and both the kid and pony were getting more and more agitated.  Finally the kid was panicking, and so was the pony.  Since it looked like the pony was getting ready to bolt, I dismounted and held Red in the center of the ring - the instructor got on the pony and settled him down so I remounted.  Red was perfect for all of this, and our work session went really well.

He also seems to be enjoying having Surpass rubbed into his inside lower hock joints - I have to kneel down on one knee to do it in his stall while he's eating his hay after our ride.  I expect it may feel good right away - the spot I'm massaging does get warm as I'm doing it.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our renewed work continues to go well.

Fun with Nicknames

My three riding horses are all registered - a first for me as our others aren't.  So my three horses come with registered names.  I used to think TB registered names were often yucky (Slick Sheik, anyone?  - that was the TB registered name of one of my daughters' first horses) until I encountered QH registered names.  My first QH was Walla Bars Bonanza - sort of weird, but related to his pedigree and not too bad.  His nickname was Noble - he came with that name and it suited him.

But how about these three registered names - Silent Dawn (TB; always makes me think of dead birds; the name has nothing to do with the names of her ancestors); JTS Speed Glo Cody (QH); and Driftin' to the Money (QH; double yuck).  At least both the QH names are related to their pedigrees, and Red was bred to be a money-winning barrel racing horse.

Dawn came to us with her nickname.  Again, it's not one I'd have picked but it's OK.   Pie could have been nicknamed Cody but I'm glad he was called after Jimmy Stewart's movie horse Pie (not the Pie from National Velvet) - he came to me with this name also and I like it and it really suits him.  A side note - I rarely change horse's names when they come to me since they almost always know their names - there have been two exceptions, the first being Lily - she came to us nicknamed Lulu, which was just plain awful - Lily is very close in sound so we changed it to that.

Red's nickname when he came to me was Drifter, and he's the second case of a name change.  I'm sure the name was intended to draw attention to his double Driftwood Ike breeding, but I always disliked it - for me it had overtones of shiftlessness.  He also came to me with some serious behavior issues which took some time to get sorted out.  But once they did, it seemed that a name change in celebration of his personality transplant was in order.  Red is a pretty common horse name, but it suits him and he seems to like it.

But in addition to their nicknames, all three have additions that I regularly use when I'm with them.  Dawn is always Dawnmare; Pie is always Pie Pie; and Red is always Redman.  Does this happen with you and your horses?  What are your horses' nicknames, and do they also have "secret" nicknames?

The Nose Rest of Reconciliation

Dawn is feeling much happier.  When I rode her this morning, I lunged her first.  But we didn't need to lunge long - her demeanor was more relaxed, and I got good transitions pretty quickly.  And, although there was one muffled squeal on her first right lead canter departure - her harder lead - there was no bucking or kicking out.

And there was another sign of her better frame of mind.  When I took off the halter I'd been lungeing her in, to put on her bridle, she stopped me and rested her nose against my chest.  It was the "nose rest of reconciliation" - it was her way of expressing that we were connected again.  She rested her nose, I held her chin and stroked her face and neck.  We did this for quite a while.  When I bridled her and mounted up, we had a very nice ride - she was still very forward but was listening well and able to offer some softness.

Dawn is a very sensitive and emotional mare.  A few days ago, when she exploded, there was probably more going on for her than just the worry of another horse charging by nearby her.  My younger daughter, who's been home for the holidays had been visiting (although not riding) Dawn daily.  They're very deeply attached.  My daughter left Saturday for a trip and I expect Dawn is missing her.  And last Friday, Dawn's two closest mare friends, the ones whose stalls are next to and across from her, and who she hangs out with in turnout, left for the weekend.  Dawn was probably disturbed by that too.  One mare - the one she's closest to - came back yesterday - the other one is still at the trainer's.  When the other mare returned, and went to turnout, Dawn whinnied loudly to her and galloped up, and then proceeded to guard her from the other mares who were also interested in saying hello.

Dawn's feeling better now - her friend has come back, and she's decided I'll do, since my daughter isn't here.  That's one of the reasons I've always loved mares - their loyalty and fierce pride can make them hard to deal with at times but it's also a source of joy.

Good Day with Good News on Red

My morning started out with a good work session with Dawn.  This time, I lunged before I rode.  There were a few squeals and bucks at the canter on the lunge, but things were much quieter than yesterday.  I'll lunge again tomorrow before riding, but expect that will be the last day I need to.  After lungeing, Dawn and I had a nice walk/trot ride despite having to work around the guy watering the arena.

The vet came to see Red in the afternoon.  This was a vet I've never used before - they're a regular vet practice but also a referral clinic with a particular expertise in lameness evaluations and surgery.  I liked the vet - she was very quiet and thorough - my older daughter also likes her which was a strong recommendation.  She did a very careful examination of his whole body, not just of the left hind which was the leg we were concerned about.  She noted that his back was very strong. I lunged Red and he looked better than he has since his injury last June - just the slightest short striding on the left hind - it's just like when you make an appointment with the vet or doctor - things seem to always be getting better at that point.  The vet hoof tested - she said his feet were excellent, with large, properly flexible frogs, and did flexions of the joints on all four legs, to guage his reactivity and also make sure we weren't overlooking something - he had a slight reaction to both the left and right hock flexions and also the right front lower flexions - coffin and pastern joints.  But the change in his gait was slight, and even after the flexions he looked quite good.  I was very pleased with how patient Red was with all the fussing, poking and pulling, some of which must have been uncomfortable - he's come a long way and it was clear he was cooperating because it was important to me and he's now cooperative by default, instead of the other way around.

The vet also palpated every joint and structure in all four legs, not just the leg of main concern.  The only things she noted were some fluid on the inside of the lower hock joint on the left hind, and a muscular protuberance on the point of his left butt.  The first means that he has some hock arthritis going on and that the lower hock joint on the left hind is slightly irritated - I'm to massage Surpass cream into the insides of both lower hock joints daily for two weeks which should help bring down the inflammation.  The butt issue means he may have torn a muscle there - this is the same area where he had tightness and soreness that my chiropractor identified.  Both my chirorpractor and the new vet said he may have adhesions there and that the pressure point massage I've been doing should be very helpful.  As adhesions break, he may have a few days afterwards when he's a bit sorer.  She says he may need hock injections in the future, but not yet.  I liked her conservative approach, and the fact that she has training in alternative therapies - accupuncture - she approves of chiropractic and I heard her discussing the use of herbal as well as conventional therapies with another owner whose horse was being checked over.  She also liked that we kept him in full turnout during his recovery.

The best news is we're to keep on doing what we're doing, in addition to the Surpass and the massage.  I'm to ride him, and after a thorough - 15 minutes or so - walk warm up, we're to trot as much as he is fit enough for and comfortable with.  As long as he's not getting worse, or getting sorer during our work sessions, that's the plan.  I'm to use my judgement, and Red will tell me how much work is OK. We'll see where we are after two weeks, but I'm very hopeful, particularly seeing how well he was moving today.

And to finish off a very good day, I had an outstanding ride on Pie - he was forward, and soft, his bending to the right was much better, and his canter work was the best yet.

A good day with horses, indeed!

Wild Thang . . .

Dawn and I had an interesting work session this morning, that started out a bit too exciting and ended well.  Dawn had had three days off and it was cold, and the wind was blowing and the arena roof was buzzing and the doors were banging.  Ordinarily, if we had been riding by ourselves in the ring as we often do, that would have meant that she would have been very forward and taken a while to relax and be soft.  Today, though, was different, partly because with the hard frozen ground with no snow cover, none of the horses have been able to get their ya yas out in turnout.  And there were two other riders in the ring, who had set up jumps and were galloping around.

Dawn was on edge and making ugly faces at the other horses.  I mounted up - she stood perfectly as she always does - and started walking around while trying to stay out of the way of the gallopers.  As we rounded the corner, one of the other riders went over a jump fairly close to us.  Dawn squealed and launched herself vertically with a buck at the top.  I "rode air" for a second but by some miracle of physics came down in the saddle with my feet still in the stirrups.  Dawn's antics had caused the other horse to squirt away at speed.

I rarely lunge, but it was time for lungeing.  I use lungeing for several reasons, and in Dawn's case there were two - she needed to express her feelings and pent up energy (really one and the same) and I needed to get her mind connected to me again.  I was looking to get good upwards and downwards transitions on verbal cues, and cantering without scooting, bucking or kicking out.  I'm not looking for mindless movement at speed, although there was some of that until she'd burned off a little energy.  For a while there was head-high fast trotting, with cantering and explosive bucking thrown in, and snorting while standing still.  After a while we were able to do some transition work, and we kept doing that until she settled into it.  Then we added canter back in, and got more bucking.  More transition work, and then the canter work started to fall into place as well.  I just kept ignoring the stuff I didn't want and asking for what I did want.  She's so fit, and the arena was cold enough, that she only got warm and not sweaty.

Once we were there, I put her bridle back on and mounted up again.  By this time we were alone in the ring, which was helpful.  We walked around on a loose rein for a bit, did some walk circle work and then some trot work as well.  She was just fine again.  We didn't work for too long, as she'd had quite a workout on the lunge, and I wanted to reward her recovered good behavior and responsiveness.

Wild thang!

Happy Hoof Photos

My trimmer was out yesterday, and all three horses got trims.  All three horses were perfectly behaved, which is just what I expected.  A number of horses at our barn are sore footed right now, as the sandy, gravelly ground is frozen hard, with no snow cover.  The surface of the turnout pastures is also all chopped up, with frozen peaks and valleys, since there was rain and churned up mud right before the hard freeze set in.  Fortunately, my horses are having no problems and their feet are doing very well.  I think it's a combination of good nutrition - low sugar/starch feed - and regular exercise on a variety of surfaces.  Even Dawn, who has been sore-footed in the past (and is now on a supplement containing chromium to deal with suspected insulin resistance), is doing well.  All three horses needed no trimming of the sole at all - the abrasive surfaces they're on do that for us, and Dawn and Red needed fairly minimal hoof wall trimming (after 7 weeks), since their walls were wearing from abrasion, although Red needed a bit of work as well on his bars in several spots.  Pie grows an enormous amount of foot between trims, and since his hoof wall is very hard and thick, he did need some work, although my farrier said his feet were growing out very evenly and well.

Tonight I took some hoof photos - I had some camera difficulties so the photo set isn't complete, or quite properly posed, but they give some idea of how the hooves are doing.  None of this is a result of trimming - this is how their feet grow - all my trimmer does is remove excess hoof wall, and occasionally excessive bars as needed.  Things I'm particularly happy to see are even hairlines, good angles with straight growth, a balanced sole (more on this) and well-developed heels and frogs with good, broad, deep collateral grooves on either side of the frog - this tends to mean you also have good sole convexity.  I'm really pleased with how their hooves are doing - Dawn's hooves are still improving but are better with every month.

The camera was acting up most with Red's photos.  The hoof/pastern angle on this rear foot looks odd because he has the foot far forward.

Red solar:

My trimmer refers to Pie as "Mr. Perfect Feet" - here's a front Pie foot:

And a rear Pie foot - more about this foot below:

Pie solar shots - excuse the arena sand:

The photo just above is a solar shot of the same hind hoof that's just below - notice something interesting?  The solar view shows a perfectly symetrical foot.  But the heel view shows that the inner hoof wall (right) is fairly straight and the outer hoof wall (left) has a flare, and the heel isn't quite level - but this is the shape his hoof needs to be to load properly for the limb above it.  He's sound and happy, and the symetrical solar view shows that this foot is what he needs.

A Dawn front:

And rear:

Dawn solars - I think the apparent asymetry in the second shot is due to how I'm holding the foot.

Dawn has only been out of front shoes for a little over a year, and is doing really well.  Her heels and sole convexity are still improving, mainly I think due to our rocky, sandy turnout soil and her regular work.

Even when I don't ride, I seem to manage to find something interesting to do with the horses . . .

Almost-not-posting Trot

One of the things I worked on at the clinic last summer was what I've come to call the almost-not-posting trot.  I'm a fan of posting trot in general - it's a great way to allow the horse to warm up, whether you're riding English or Western, and if you want to move at a trot that's more than a shuffle/jog, posting can be more comfortable.

But posting can cause its own set of issues.  Your seat is away from the horse, so you lose the connection there.  And there are lots of ways to post that create braces and blocks in your body and therefore interfere with your horse's motion and softness.  (Of course, a sitting trot where you're stiff or braced, and your back and hips don't move freely, can be pretty darn uncomfortable for you and the horse both.)

Posting often creates a lot of movement in your body, and is frequently done from a brace - in legs, hips  or back - and often involves muscular effort which creates its own bracing.  None of that helps your horse move or your connection with the horse.

The thing about almost-not-posting is that you can't do it if you're braced or blocking.  The main idea is to use the lift from the horse's hip to create a very slight rise in your hip - just barely there.   The closest analogy is posting the trot when riding bareback or with no stirrups, but often that's done with a lot of pinching or muscular effort - the almost-not-posting trot should be effortless.

If your heels are jammed down, creating bracing and tension in your legs, you won't be able to do the almost-not-posting trot.  If your knees or thighs are pinching, same thing.  If your back or hips are stiff and not moving well, or if you're carrying an artificial, "mannered", arch in your back (often seen, incorrectly, in hunter riding), or if you've got your butt tucked under and you're driving with your seat (frequently seen in dressage and Western riding), the almost-not-posting trot can't happen.  If you're pushing up from your feet, you're probably squeezing at the same time, which creates a brace on every rise. If your balance is off because you're looking down or your head and chin are dropped, not happening.  If your contact with your horse's mouth is braced, or your hands, leg and seat aren't independent, no way.

The almost-not-posting trot requires a neutral position, and relaxation and softness in your body.  This, by the way, is independent of what your horse is doing - the horse can be excited or trying to brace - the almost-not-posting trot can actually help the horse "come to you" in terms of softness and relaxation.  I've found that, when I can do it properly - it certainly isn't there yet for me all the time and I still have to think about it to get it - my connection with the horse becomes much more consistent, and I'm much more "in" rather than "on" the horse.

My almost-not-posting trot work grew directly out of letting go in my lower back, starting at the walk - I'd had a big defensive brace going on there for years due to some earlier back problems.  Feeling the horse's hips and barrel move at the walk, and following/allowing with seat, back and legs (no pushing and maintaining a neutral, soft position) is very close to the feeling of the almost-not-posting trot, and good practice for it.

When a horse trots, and we're posting, we often think of it as rising with the outside front leg.  Instead, think about how the horse's hind legs and hips are moving.  As the outside front leg moves forward, the hind leg on the same side is pushing and that hip is rising - that's the propulsion for the almost-not-posting trot.  Feel the horse's hips rising and falling at the walk, and allow yourself to move with it - even exaggerate the motion as a form of practice.  Then do the same thing at sitting trot, being particularly attentive to the alternating upwards push of the hind legs in turn.  (This - feeling the motion of the horse's hips - is also is the key to being able to post on the correct diagonal without having to look at the horse's shoulders.) Now, just allow one of the horse's hips to create some very minimal motion in your hips and lower back - just the slightest lift of your hip, and very, very slight rotation of your pelvis.  Your seat should only just slightly come out of the saddle - maybe as much as an inch but not much more - and then follow the horse's hip back down.   If someone's looking at you, they may have trouble even telling that you're posting - that's the almost-not-posting trot.

I've found it to be a very powerful way to ride the posting trot, and I'm working on making it the only way I post, so my connection can be more consistent.  A ways yet to go on that, but as always, my horses are working hard to teach me . . .