Cautiously Optimistic. On bits, hay, and coaches.

I decided I needed to take a step back with respect to WIlly's weird mouth issues.  I borrowed a bitless bridle from my friend and plan to use that for the next couple weeks. I think perhaps I didn't give him enough time to recover, though I did try by giving him time off, riding bitless and using wrapped/rubber/happy mouth in the meantime. At least this way I can remove the bit as a possible source of discomfort and hopefully start with a clean baseline.

My first bitless ride (since the one a week and a half ago) was Wednesday. When I brought Willy in I could already tell he was better. I can't really articulate the difference but I'm sure most of you know what I mean. He was himself again. I tacked up and off we went.

He's generally been a lot better this week on all fronts and the last few rides have been a lot better too. I think, in part, something had resolved itself and that his improvement was reinforced by keeping the bit out of his mouth. Still, he did some very minor head bobbing at the very end of the last two rides (bitless) while I was cooling him out.

I do wish bitless bridles were a little more...refined. It's hard to pinpoint what I don't love about them. I've used a bitless now and then with both Brumby and Willy. The bridles available to me are synthetic, Nurtural bridles. I like the design but the problems I find are that it's hard to know how the release and take translates to the horse (I wish the release of the cross pieces under the jaw was more pronounced, for example). I find them fairly crude in terms of contact. The synthetic material also makes his face sweat more and this irritates him. Aside from that, I'm glad I have an option to turn to.
~~~
On another note, the lab results of our hay tests are in! I'm working on translating that into what he is actually consuming nutritionally, with the help of some information Jason passed on a few months ago (thanks Jason!). It's a bit of a slow process as I haven't had much time. I spent last night getting ALL the info into spreadsheets which should greatly facilitate my calculations and make any future changes/updates etc. easier to incorporate.

I seem to recall Jason saying something to the effect that determining a horse's nutritional requirements and/or intake is based on a whole lot of assumptions. As I begin sorting through everything in earmest I sure can see what he means. At least the assumptions are based on logical estimates and therefore have to be better than nothing!

I'm really looking forward to getting a better handle on Willy's feed. I'll post more about this soon.

~~~

As of today, I officially have a new coach! I know I've hinted about this change but it's been a mentally and emotionally taxing process and I just haven't had the umph to blog about it yet. But now that I have secured coaching from my first choice when I thought about getting a new coach, I am feeling optimistic and excited for the future. Hopefully I'll still have a reader or two to read all about it!
 ~~~

Ok, that's my update. Oh, and I'm working almost every weekend in March. Ugh!! I`m conducting some research and we will be more successful scheduling participants on the weekends so...yeah. I'm just trying to focus on the accrual of some much-needed lieu time!

Willy is...a punk rocker.

Well, we still have mysterious head tossing. It is annoying and worrisome in equal measure. I've ridden twice with the copper bit and although it is not worse, it is not better. It's a single joint and so I can't be fully sure that the lack of improvement is because he prefers a double-jointed bit. This is where I get into the minutia which probably matters more to me than to the horse. But there is no way to know.

He head bobs on the cross-ties. He head bobs under saddle. He does settle down during rides but any time I take a walk break it starts up again. He spent a few minutes biting on a blanket bar outside a stall before the ride. Not cribbing, just holding it between his teeth and occasionally doing a kind of chewing motion. From what I could tell he was using a fair bit of jaw pressure. I let him do it for a few minutes because it was odd and I was trying to see if I could learn anything from it.  Nada. I have no idea what it was about.

A few people are trying to convince me that he's just trying to evade work. While I agree that horses often learn this, I don't think that's the case since he only started the head bobbing a week ago, immediately after our first ride with the wrapped bit. He still had to work the next day and the day after that, so I really don't think he learned to evade.

I can't shake the feeling something else is going on. I have no idea what but that little kernel of doubt won't leave me alone. I have a few bitting options left and if they don't help we will have the vet back out. Seems weird that it's worse since the diagnosis of metal sensitivity, doesn't it? Especially since he hasn't been exposed to that metal since.

I'm at a loss, I really am. My coach (well, technically former coach sorta-kinda - whole 'nother post there!) assured me on Friday that I have steady hands and nothing I'm doing could be causing this. I needed to be sure and I know without a doubt she would tell me otherwise. I should feel more confident in this since I've been with him about 8 months at this point, but I still needed to hear it.

As it stands, my theories are: a) Willy is a punk rocker, or b) brain parasite. Good reasons as any, at this point :-/

Looking My Gift Horse in the Mouth.

"Maybe he wasn't meant to be a horse," says the Barn/Willy's owner. I laugh, ruefully.

In the last week, I've tried a few new options to make Will comfortable and I'm afraid it's not going well. I was given 4 doses of dexamethasone to give to Will one dose/day, every other day, to help with the inflamation in his mouth. During this time, I rode bitless and gave him several days off. I wanted to make sure he had a chance to normalize before starting my bit experimentation.

My initial thoughts on how to proceed were pretty basic: a) stay away from any metal for awhile, and b) try not to purchase bits without knowing if they will work for Will! I was worried that any metal could contain whatever the metal was that Will was reacting to and since I didn't know exactly what that was (though I suspected nickel), it would be best to avoid altogether. The next "rule" was purely practical as this could be an expensive venture if I purchased everything I wanted to try.

I also decided that I would need to get to know what his mouth was like if I was going to be able to tell if he was ok or not. I know how his legs, feet, eyes, etc look on a daily basis but have never before inspected his mouth! Every day for the last week I briefly inspect his mouth, mostly feel his bars. Honestly, I have NO idea what's normal in there. Hopefully in time...

The first day after his last dose, I rode in a Happy Mouth shaped mullen mouth that another boarder kindly lent to me.

The ride went ok. The bit test was slightly confounded because Willy had too much energy from his extra days off, plus I've never had him in a non-jointed mouth piece before and have almost exclusively ridden him in a double-jointed bit. I got the sense that any weirdness was due to the configuration of the bit, not the composition. Still, the Happy Mouth was inconclusive. I have a bias though - I admit Happy Mouth is my least favorite option since it is plastic, and an "apple-scented" one at that. I will get whatever Willy likes best, of course and without reservation, but I would be happier if it weren't a Happy Mouth.

In the meantime, I contacted Stubben to find out the composition of the "Steeltec" part of the bit I had been using. Turns out it is:

Iron 70%

Chrome 18 %

Nickel 12 %

So I think my nickel suspicion was correct.

Next, I decided to try the "simplest" option that Dr. B repeatedly mentioned, which was to wrap it. Initially, I thought the vet had recommended vet wrap but actually it was another onlooker who said that. I remembered correctly later, but apparently was taking in too much information at the time. I did try vet wrap the very first ride after diagnosis with mixed results. In any case, I soon learned of Sealtex, a thin latex sheet that can be cut and molded to just about anything.

So, on the evening after trying out the first happy mouth I went on a foray to my favorite tack shop, Apple Saddlery. I found some Sealtex and at only $10 decided to pick some up. I also bought a D-ring single jointed copper bit. Yes, I said I didn't want to buy a bunch of bits BUT my DH Alex pointed out that he can analyze the bit and get the metal composition of it. This meant I could be sure that the copper bit (which was a vet recommendation) contained no nickel and, if it did, return it for full refund.The analysis of the copper bit showed it to be (within error):

Copper 90%

Zinc 5%

Tin 5%
I was happy to see the very high copper content. Of course, this is what you'd expect with an "all copper" bit but I was prepared for worse. I was encouraged to see no nickel in the mix, so I will give this bit a go in due course.

For the next day, I decided to try the wrapping approach.Of course, I recognized that this wrapping job, even at it's simplest, would tax my patience. I'm not proud of it but I definitely have limitations when it comes to annoying detailed work like that. I wanted to ask Alex...but kinda didn't want to ask, at the same time.

There are definite advantages to loving someone who knows you very well. When Alex saw me with a bit and sealtex in hand, he essentially asked me if I'd have enough patience to accomplish the task - without actually saying those words. He managed to phrase it so that it was completely non-offensive and was simply a recognition of our relative strengths. I gladly relinquished the task to him (ha-ha!) and appreciated the result immensely. I can't believe I didn't get a picture.

Tuesday was my first ride with the wrapped bit and it went well. I could tell he was a little weird about it but it wasn't clear whether something was still actively bothering him or if it was just the difference in feel with the latex wrap (or if that itself was irritating). After the ride while on cross-ties, he started bobbing his head. This is not something he has ever done before and it made me think it was a response to being uncomfortable but since it only started after the ride I thought it was possible he was just anxious to get back outside.

Wednesday I used the wrapped bit again, since it seemed pretty good the day before. The head tossing began the minute I put Will on cross-ties and continued through the beginning part of the ride. It was an awful situation since there was no real reason why the wrapped bit should be irritating him (I had only a very light, consistent contact) so I didn't want to let him learn that head tossing got him out of work but I also didn't want to ignore his signals of discomfort. So hard! He did settle in and we had a good ride but the head tossing started again as soon as I dismounted to cool him out. After, I handwalked him outside and he kept rubbing his mouth on the snow over and over. Clearly he is uncomfortable.


I am so discouraged. I know I have several options left but it is worrisome that he is still having issues even with the bit wrapped. I guess it's unbearable to know my horse is still uncomfortable or in pain and not be able to fix it right away.

I am trying the copper bit tomorrow - wish us luck!

Vet Visit

I have several other posts that I've been trying to finish so I can post them. But life is what happens while you're trying to finish blog posts! So instead, I feel like telling you about our vet visit today. Stay tuned though because I have some important changes to update you on! I plan to get all those posts out this week.

I had Will on the vet list today so he could be checked for whether he needed his teeth floated. It took a bit longer to get the right vet, Dr. B, out but it was worth so I could talk to him about Will's stifles while he worked :-D  Willy's teeth were done about 7 months ago but things have been increasingly pointing to the need for a float since just before Christmas. Or so I thought.

Dr.B felt around inside Willy's mouth for a bit and then asks me what kind of bit I'm using. I was a bit taken aback (no pun intended!) simply because I thought he was going to comment on the harshness of the bit. Because I know the bit isn't harsh, that would mean I am. Those thoughts instantly went through my head as I stammered, "Uh, a D-ring snaffle...uh, double-jointed...with a copper oval peanut..."

This one. I love(d) it.

As it happens, my poor beast has developed a sensitivity to the metal in the bit. I honestly never even thought about anything other than his teeth! Dr. B said his gums were completely inflamed and there was so much swelling he could fold the swollen tissue from the sides of his gums over the top!

I am still paranoid that somehow it's my riding but I've been assured that although it's not excessively common, metal sensitivities do happen and they can take time to develop into a problem. He also pointed out that I've been riding Willy for 7 months and switched his bit ~4 months ago; he asked if I thought for a second it would take that long for crappy hands to hurt his mouth. I had to admit that was highly unlikely since the onset of Willy's mouthy troubles came on toward the end of December and have stayed about the same since.

With that issue more or less put to rest (time will tell!), my task is now to find a new bit. Dr. B suggested I could wrap my bit in vetwrap too. Obviously I think the best long-term solution is to find a new bit and besides, wouldn't vetwrap be kinda scratchy in the mouth?

Anyone else out there think this might be the excuse I need to try a Herm Sprenger bit?  The slightly more reasonable option would be rubber but I suspect that selection is limited (although I haven't really looked for rubber before).

All other news is good. Willy's stifles have absolutely no signs of problems, the ligament is gliding where it should. We discussed long-term prognosis and although of course he can't give exact answers with respect to timeline he could say that the majority of horses like him are absolutely fine and confirmed that "conditioning" isn't something you do in a month or two (like most people at my barn seem to think) but rather lifelong. At the same time, that doesn't mean he will always need this intensity of work.

I also asked what Dr.B thought of Willy's condition and weight. He said he is looking nice and fit and thinks his weight is good. That was nice to hear but I have to keep in mind this man vets a lot of racehorses, so he's used to the racing physique. I don't like fat horses but Will could still use some coverage. But I have progress on that front too, coming soon!

Fun Show 2012

This year's fun show was a bit more dramatic than I expected! Will was pretty freaked out at the change in the arena and he began acting up a bit in the morning. After working through some sticky spots - a balance between letting him look and getting after him for not moving forward - he was pretty good. I know this horse well and I know that if he is given a second to look at the scary spot, he will move on and it won't be an issue anymore. Ok, so he might have a mild issue like a bulge of the inside shoulder around a scary corner. Not great but definitely something I can work with.

The morning flat classes ended up pretty solid, considering we've only been schooling for a couple months. In the afternoon I had some issues with my coach that I will bitch about discuss in my next post. A little icing on the cake for what I've been experiencing with her lately.

All that aside, I was very happy with my boy. He has never behaved so badly, lol, but then we changed his whole world. He is currently very fit and fed lots of high-energy feed. Although he is typically anything but hot, it does not surprise me that he has more "umph" for raising a fuss this year compared to last (someone else rode him but he was an out-of-shape, underweight, grass only fed, dead-head). Considering the week before we hacked out again when we saw a snowmobile for the first time, had a horse gallop past us out of "nowhere," and passed several cars on the road, all without much issue. I think he will be fine before too long, if handled well.

Will meeting Laura from littlekeebler.

I was so glad to see her and wished I had more of a chance to visit.

 Will would not stand still so I let him walk a circle around me for a bit.

I think I'm wondering what happened to his brain in this pic.

But he starts to settle down and pay attention once we get going.

Oooh, THAT corner again!

Head comes up but I'm happy anyway because 

of  his activity with his hind legs. Nice lift.

Canter in warm-up.  I haven't had any pictures or video for a long time, 

except for the gallop video, which is hard to see much in. 

I like how I can see his muscle development in his hind end

and the extent he is reaching under himself in canter.

Kisses!

Silly goober.

Facing the scary corner! Note the brace in the hind legs, 

ready to move should the boogey man jump out.

But after a look around, he starts to focus.

Still unsure though and looking for my direction.

 Yip! Careful hind legs but he's looking at something that has 

his attention - something that isn't the next jump! I should have

had a bit more outside rein to straighten him & focus his attention.

Rockin'

He's got some scope, once we get the worry down.

That is a 3' oxer.

Oops! Crash towards the scary corner.

Poor guy, look at where his attention is.

Tried to get a nice photo at the end of day but bay-boy

has had enough. I don't blame him, so have I!

2011 Year in Review.

I'm a little late, but here is my replay of 2011. I really wanted to do a review this year as I think it can help focus my direction for the year to come. I need to spend more time thinking about that, since I just finished reviewing the last 12 months. 

 

January

In January, I attended a fun show with Brumby. He was awesone in warm-up but fell apart a bit with the spectators etc. My coach made us trot through our first 2’6” round which made the horse rather irritable, mwhahahah! We had fun and it was a good learning experience.

February

February is busy with cooking, travel, and foster puppies.  My mom and her husband fall in love with and adopt the puppy we had through December and January. She is a wonderful dog and they’ve done a fabulous job with her. We also take in a puppy who was abandoned with his littermates on a night that was colder than -20°C. He was only around 4 weeks old and needed 24 hour monitoring for the first week. He gains strength and learns quickly and demonstrates his dominant nature very early but we have no problem working with him and teaching him.

Sasha and start some seedlings and delight in the smell of earth. I also make a public commitment to spruce up my blog design. Um, yeah, didn’t really happen!

March

I take Laura up on her offer to ride Rusty and feel pretty useless at tacking up with a western saddle. We have a good ride and listen when Rusty tells us the footing sucks.

I snap a tendon in my hand in silly circumstances and it still bothers me to this day. Our little orphan, Logan, grows.

By the end of March, things have progressed with Brumby enough that I’m confident we can make a go of the show season. Which meant I needed show clothes. I spent a small fortune but got some quality clothes. I’ve lost about 12lbs since then, so hopefully everything will still look ok!

April

Hazel is caught sleeping on the job. Logan is euthanized despite our fight to save him. I come to terms with the decision after a while but am quite devastated at the same time. I am still of two minds about what the right decision was and haven’t been able to foster since.

 

Alex and I celebrate 4 years together and our fence blows down.

Forsythia blooms on April 28^th. Not as early as the previous year, but still pretty early.

May

Good horse work continues and we start to get to the root of some of Brumby’s issues, even though there are some struggles. I have minor surgery and don’t blog much…mostly a result of having dumped a glass of wine on my new laptop. I start planning the show season despite the rain keeping the jumping course from opening.

June

I talk about Will and wonder whether his skinny butt is simply due to being a growing youngster who rarely gets anything other than hay, or if there could be an underlying condition. Continued frustrations with Brumby’s owner lead me to the tentative decision to lease Will after the show season is over. This way I can move on from Brumby and get to know this guy better to see if he really is a decent purchase prospect.

My laptop, who drank too much wine in February, is slowly coming back to me, albeit in pieces.

July

Hazel gets a thundershirt

I am thrilled with the riding progress. Every ride gets better and better. I remember what it’s like to have fun on horseback! I’m not so happy with my game face but readers assure me its normal. Uh-huh. I’m not ugly, I just look that way ;-) lol.

We set a date for our first show. Of course, Brumby loses a shoe the week before but we luckily get it re-set before the weekend. Everything was organized and planned out. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled due to lack of entries. I was really disappointed but started planning for the next one right away.

Two days later, everything changed. It still amazes me that things can do a 180° so fast but there it is.

 

My garden is growing strong and beautiful and I’m getting some great produce.

August

August starts with one of the scariest days of my life when I hear about a helicopter that went down in one of my husband’s field areas. Two Geologists and the pilot died in the crash and a couple hours pass before I get confirmation that Alex is ok. This was not just a little worry, the details matched so closely it was all but a sure thing (to me). It took several days before I felt even somewhat normal. Even now, if I think about it too long I feel the horror all over again. So let’s move on J

I decide to try leasing Willy, the horse I’ve been on a few times over the last couple years. He’s young and green but we “click”. It also means I don’t have to leave the barn I’m at, which is a huge bonus. I feel obligated to look at other horses, and I do, but don’t find anything suitable within reasonable distance. Of course, 2 months later there would be all kinds of horses available!

Our new beginning is thrown a curve-ball when it turns out Willy has locking stifles. My coach tells me it’s happened before but she never told anyone(!). We get veterinary advice, which is to put wedge pads and condition. My coach falls off another horse and suffers a serious compound fracture that required surgery. Willy’s stifles are good for a bit and then start locking again.

Vet comes out and prescribes working at least 6 days a week and galloping twice a week. I decide I will stick with it and give it a go, partly because I like this horse and partly because if I don’t do it he will just suffer and no one will make him better.

Taking the vet’s conditioning advice to heart, I ride, ride, ride…and lose 12 pounds in 6 weeks! Somewhere in there Hazel gets skunked for the first time and I’m getting very tired of having to deal with everything on my own. Alex’s return from field “to-do” list grows ;-)

September

Oh, September. It broke my heart. My grandmother has a fall and breaks a hip. Although the surgery goes perfectly, other complications result in her death after weeks of ups and downs. I miss her. She always looked out for me, especially as a troubled teen. I miss being able to look in her kind eyes.

October

Willy and I continue our conditioning program and end up riding in a clinic with Per Meisner. I discover just how curious Willy is and use it to my advantage on the trail. My garden is still going strong and we are busy canning, freezing, and dehydrating the splendors of our garden.

It becomes increasingly obvious that Willy’s saddle doesn’t fit. I end up deciding to get our local amazing saddler to fit him and I buy my first nice saddle. Of course, this purchase necessitates buying a matching bridle ;-)

November

Alex and I begin to struggle with the demands of my riding schedule and having only one car between us. I contemplate some of Will’s behavior and the best way to deal with it and after trying out a new approach I figure out how to manage things.

December

December sees the end of our gallop sessions. I’m lucky to have been able to gallop that late in the season but I’m still sad to see it go. I’m still eating fresh produce from my garden thanks to a very mild start to the winter and we figure out how to deal with a turkey that doesn’t fit in the oven. I also learn about Xxterra cream, feel horrible for melting my horse, and learn to use a barrier cream to prevent damage to innocent tissue.   

 

My spirits are lifted when the month ends with a glorious hack through the snow.

Whew, so there it is!

Next up is some goal-setting, which I really need this year, and a post about the fun show I was in today!

A Perfect Winter Ride.

I had the pleasure of going on a hack outside on Tuesday. It was perfect - there was finally enough snow to provide a bit of a cushion from the frozen ground and since I had the day off, I was able to get out while there was daylight. On top of that, I had arranged a hack date the day before, so everything was perfectly in place.

Headin' out. 

It was right around 0°C, so it was also a perfect temperature. I didn't start getting cold until almost an hour had passed which is pretty impressive given that the ride was all at the walk.

Despite being at the walk, I think it was a great ride as it wasn't in an indoor and the deep-ish snow plus uneven terrain was great to get Will picking up his feet and therefore exercising those stifles.

Me trying to make funny noises to get Will's ears up.

I appreciate the ride that much more since the temperature plummeted yesterday and we are currently hovering around -20°C. Hard to imagine we are supposed to be back in the positive by Saturday. This year just can't get itself straight.

Now, for your dose of cuteness. The following pics are our two new-ish barn kittens. They are now big enough to start venturing out more and more...which means they are getting in more and more trouble! One night I was grooming when Willy scooted ahead suddenly. I saw the grey tabby scrambling up his back from the opposite side. Kitty got bucked off :-/ (Willy was a pretty good boy though - he bucked a couple times on the cross-ties but didn't pull on the ties and he settled down quickly after). 

Ok, so we are fostering potentially bad habits here. ;-)

 

This girl was born to be a horsie back-warmer!

A much safer option for a warm place to sleep.