The Mountain

Poor, muddy, and not-so-happy horsie.....

So the trimmer was out today and Lady is definitely laminitic, probably chronic. She was also quite certain that we had an episode of founder pretty recently, which would definitely explain the last week.

<lots of sad faces>

I have not had a vet out to look at her, but since I won't get as close to conventional vet medicine as a single minute dose of Bute anymore, there doesn't seem to be much point. I'll get a diagnosis at best, and spend way too much money, at worst.

So, there won't be any magical, fast cures happening, but we will get through this one too.

Since Lady now has a set of 4 lovely manicured feet, I plan to keep my tools close at hand so that those hooves stay pretty and don't grow out too far. I cannot use nippers on her feet because she has thick and rock-hard hoof wall and I'm just not strong enough.

I don't completely agree with the practice of pulling laminitic horses off of grass because it just doesn't seem right or natural. Limiting grass intake is another matter, and I probably will do that by taking both the girls into the small paddocks for 8-10/12 hours per day. We'll see.

Exercise is going to be another part of recovery, as well as lots of herbal and vitamin/mineral supplementing.

Fingers crossed that the plan in my head works out and we are back to regular work again soon.

Rain!! + Blog Hop: Right Here, Right Now

This week, Viva Carlos asked "What are you currently working on in your rides or lessons?"

I have not been taking lessons, at least not from a specific trainer. I've just been studying on my own, which isn't always the best route, but its the most I can afford at the moment.

So, ummm... I am currently working on keeping my horse sound. It's been over a week since I actually rode. But besides that, we are working on rhythm, relaxation, and responsiveness, and being consistent in those three areas.

We were working on this without much structure, but because of the lame horse this week, I've done some more reading and contemplating and I've realized that I need to allow and encourage more forward motion. I think that big school movements will be good for both Lady and for me. She has not been very forward lately, and I know that my position and unconfidence don't help that.


I'm really happy to say that Lady seems to be doing much better. The girls are still separated to keep the horse off of grass, so there is some tension, but it is nicer to see Lady trotting back and forth along the fence instead of standing in one spot and sweating with anxiety, but not willing to move a foot.

The trimmer will be out tomorrow at noon and hopefully we can find some answer to this puzzle and some way to keep it in check without making my poor horse too unhappy.

In other news, it has rained ALL DAY here today! Some areas nearby have been reporting up to 5 inches of rain! It feels SO good! :D

Improvements

I'm a bit wary of saying this, but I think Lady is doing somewhat better today.

<checks to make sure nothing bad happened....>

I'm quite certain she was doing better today. :)  Definitely not right yet, but better. She has been a bit awkward with her hind legs over the last 36ish hours, but not really lame or sore on them. I can't seem to figure out which front leg is actually bothering her the most (maybe its both. sigh.) but she looks a lot more normal at the walk.
I was most impressed that she was able to trot again. She was visibly lame at the trot, but actually doing it is already improvement! Still anxiously waiting for the trimmer to come and give me her opinion on Friday. There hasn't been any heat or swelling or funky stuff like that, so I'm really not sure what is wrong.

Cute picture of the Lady-girl. :)

She is still being kept off of grass as much as possible and I'm checking/cleaning her hooves 3+ times per day, or as often as I can. Since I only have evening plans for tomorrow, I want to spend extra time with both the ponies - something I neglect to do far too often.

Personal Life Good News - I completed the last of my finals today and am done with the spring semester! I have one summer course which starts in July, and then the fall semester before I graduate in December. :)

Other Exciting Thing - Over the last two days, I have mowed the entire front "arena" so that I can begin to turn it into a workable area. I plan to put several obstacles and jumps in. Hopefully, I can get it completed soon and keep it maintained.

Bad and Good

Really, really wanted to see improvement today, but it seems that is not going to happen quite yet.

Lady is still sore. And now I know for sure its not just my mind playing tricks, or a little stiffness. She was clearly sore on both front feet and very reluctant to walk. Yesterday she was still willing to do a little trot and even a tiny bit of canter. Today she could not even trot a full stride.  :(

Pretty horsie. How I love her.....

I got in touch with my old barefoot trimmer, but she won't make it out until Friday, which leaves me with another four days. Hopefully she's not hurting that long though.

My research isn't pulling much up either. Since she does not seem to have any shoulder issues going on, I really think its her hooves. She keeps shifting her weight back and forth (besides stomping flies) and picking up her feet alternately, but so far I have found no heat or high pulses, which doesn't follow the usual pattern of laminitis/founder. I'm a bit stumped, but I cut off their access to the lushes part of the pasture and I think I'll pull Lady out to the front pasture again where there is less grass.


One bit of good news that I am quite pleased about. It has been two and a half weeks since I put the horses out on the smaller pasture with the pond and all the hills. I noticed this last week that even though they have both put on weight from the grass, Lady has already built a really nice lot of muscle along her back and hindquarters. Very happy about this!  :)

Catching Up and Concerns

So, I haven't been keeping up this week... with anything. Finals are this coming week, which is actually not that big of a deal, but does add a bit of stress. Yup... life just keeps coming on, whether I keep up or not.

Cute pony picture for your enjoyment. :)

Monday. Everything else took up so much time, but we had a lovely little bareback/bridleless ride in the dark. We didn't do anything very challenging, just worked on some basic yields.

Tuesday. No groundwork or riding.

Wednesday.  Again, no groundwork or riding. Writing took up a lot of time!

Thursday.  Did some basic groundwork.

Friday.  Got half-way saddled, and Lady just did not look right, so I cleaned her feet and loved on her instead of riding.

Saturday.  Still didn't feel quite right, but after getting her out two different times to check on her, I finally saddled up and rode for a little bit. And it felt worse from her back than it looked on the ground.


Sigh. I'm quite worried right now. Lady has been sound and fairly solid for all of 2014 so far, and I really do not want to go through the process of trying to figure out and solve whatever might be wrong AGAIN. She looks and moves pretty stiff through her shoulder and especially her right front leg/foot. Nothing appears to be wrong with her shoulder and there is no heat or swelling. She does need her feet done pretty badly, so I'm hoping that is what is wrong. Really hoping. *weary sigh...*

May 2014 Goals

Internet photo. Didn't take it myself <sad face>

I'm entering May with a lot of hopes and dreams, and yet with a bit of a heavy heart. It feels like it has been years since I heard a piece of good news. Therefore, even though I have a lengthy list of goals for the month, I have been hesitating to post it because of that piece of fear inside me that says I can't do it. I have been thinking a lot about what my priorities really are because there are so many things that I love working on. With finals next week to mark the end of the semester, maybe I'll have more time, but I still need to search for work to support all my various hobbies.
Enough rambling. Here is my list.

Personal Goals:

• Study through the book of Hebrews.
• Post 2 blog posts (other blog - the writing one!)
• Keep to the workout routine I set up in April.
• Proofread Rebellion (my novel)  for the final time and pass it off to someone else for revision - scary!
• Reading:
• finish reading There's an Owl in The Shower - actually finished this today before writing this :)
• finish studying through The Horse Riding Manual
• After Diana (biographical novel about the Royal Family of England)
• The Garden of Eden (by Hemingway)
• Play the violin again. I have two short duets that I would like to work on.
• Practice the piano 3x per week for at least 30 minutes each time.  I play every day, just don't practice. Also, I want to re-polish and memorize at least two pieces (from the following.
• Movement 3 (Allegro con brio) from Sonatina #3 by Denes Agay
• Waltz in A-flat Major (Opus 69, No. 1) by Frederic Chopin
• Important Event (Opus 15, No. 6) by Robert Schumann
• Taekwondo
• Memorize the complete purple belt form.
• Put together a sword form for the World Expo (needs to be done by mid-June).

Horse-Related Goals:

• Film (at last!) I want one video of a groundwork session and 1 of a riding session.
• Get The Pony comfortable with being caught.
• Trot every time I ride. Get some assistance so it becomes more comfortable.
• Really nail down our trot change of direction and all transitions (groundwork).
• Lead by a hind leg (follow a feel practice).
• Play with tarps.
• Start riding comfortably past our driveway and off the property.
• Work on leg aids - my timing and her responsiveness.
• Set up my arena and make jumps for it.
• Have a Spring photo shoot with my horses :)

My lists feel very long... :(  In a way I feel like I ought to cut some things out to make it easier on myself, but so many of the things would be so simple if I really focused on getting things done.

On another note - tomorrow is Kentucky Derby day!  Who watches the race? :)

April's Goal Review

April 2014 Goals - Horse Related

• Film 1 riding session.  Didn't happen. Was supposed to over one weekend when I had help, but got sick instead. :(
• Practice riding the trot with help.  Did not happen for the same reasons as above.  :'(
• Take The Pony out 4 times.  Not 4 times, but it did happen twice. She is no longer wearing a halter in the pasture and is doing so much better!
• Complete a set of Online Level 3 tasks.
• Work with a flag.  We worked on this twice and made some progress. Lady is still tense about it, but not scared.
• Lead by one ear and backwards by a hind leg.  We did some leading backwards by the tail which went well, and played with the ear. Got her comfortable with the idea.
• Back up and draw on a 22 and 45 foot rope. We never touched the 45 foot rope, but did work on the 22-foot. Got a little bit better.
• Solid transitions and trot change of direction on the circle.  The change of direction has gotten better in one direction and not the other. Transitions are 10x better!! 
• Move sideways from Zone 1 (in front). Gotten lots better. Still have to "hold her hand".
• Play with tarps.  Nope. Never actually went to look for a tarp.
• Separate the medium and free walk.  Not exactly, but we started to get some difference.

April 2014 Goals - Personal

• Start a workout routine. Can't say this became a routine yet, but definitely started working out.
• Go to Wednesday  night church.  Went twice out of five times. :P
• Win Camp NanoWrimo with 30,000 words.  YES!!!  Finished and Won! :D
• Record a video for my blog.  A little late, but doing that this morning.
• Read four novels.  Finished two and a half. 
• Practice piano 3x a week.  I didn't exactly practice, but have made a point to play every day.
• Learn 2 new songs on the violin.  Bad me never picked up the violin.

Finals are next week and then I won't have school to worry about, so May goals should be happening much easier! :)