Wraps and Whips

McKenna got to make the acquaintance of both a dressage whip and standing wraps yesterday.  I'm pretty certain she's had exposure to both (maybe not a dressage whip, but some type of whip) at the track.  She's got an old splint on her left front so I'm 99% certain she's at least had front wraps on.

Bad mom for not noticing before tunout

When I pulled her out of her stall I did just a quick glance at her before turning her out in the indoor to get her yayas out while I did her stall.  I watched her move around at both the trot and canter and she looked fine.  When I put her in the crossties to tack up I noticed her right hind was slightly swollen and there was a cut and scab on the inside of it.

Not super big, but big enough

 She was fine about me messing it with it, and it wasn't hot so I decided that because she looked sound in turnout I'd still ride.  If I'm being super picky, she was maybe a touch hitchy when we first started our warmup, but by the end of the ride she felt more than fine.  We had some really nice trot work and our first few steps of an actual leg yield. Left lead canter wasn't a problem but the right lead was where we went off the rails.

McKenna's started this fun new habit of getting twisted and sucked back in our right lead canter transitions.  I almost have to crank her head around to the right because it's like asking a brick wall to turn right.  She also completely ignores my leg and a couple of times I had to thump her pretty had while growling at her to get any forward movement. I finally gave up today and had my friend hand a me a whip.  A few light taps behind my leg worked and suddenly she remembered she could go forward.  The actual canter itself was pretty nice, so we just focused on the transitions. We are supposed to have a lesson from our chiro/dressage instructor on Sunday and this issue is #1 on my list of things to talk about.

Once we were done I cold hosed the leg and put some antibiotic cream on it.  I was waffling back and forth over to wrap it because I was worried she'd get mouthy and pull or eat the wrap off overnight.  I decided I'd go for it and wrapped her.  She wasn't very happy about it but oh well mare.  For extra insurance I sprayed the wrap with some no chew spray my BO has for the horses that like to eat the wood.

Buddy's wraps are a touch too small, and Phoenix's were a touch too big

I ran out this morning before work (the perks of living 8mins from the barn) to check on her.  She was super good girl and the wrap was in perfect condition.  I pulled it off and while there's still a little swelling the cut looked good. 

Sleazy of Shame

I tend to turn McKenna and Phoenix out together, either in our indoor when it's cold and wet or in the all weather paddocks.  For the most part they get along really well.  Phoenix tends to be fairly submissive and while McKenna's not an alpha mare by any stretch, she does push him around.

I had them outside for a few hours on Saturday while I was doing chores and didn't hear a peep.  Sometimes McKenna will squeal, usually when she's in heat, if Phoenix gets too close for comfort. Obviously I wasn't watching them the whole time, but I do glance out there from time to time to check on them.  When I brought them in McKenna had a long, thin scratch on the right side of her neck.  I did have that "Do I need to call the vet" moment, but it wasn't super deep.  I washed it out with some Betadine and to me it looked like a bite.  Naughty Phoenix! I put some antibiotic ointment on it and then had a decent ride on the mare.

24hrs later

Sunday afternoon I had a lesson scheduled and I headed out early to do chores and give myself time to lunge the mare. First thing I went to check on the cut.  It wasn't hot, but there was some swelling around it (you can barley see it in the pic).  I cleaned it again and put more of the antibiotic ointment on it, as well as the EPF 5 which works wonders for swelling.  McKenna was great about it, didn't care at all.  We ended up having a really good productive lesson, one of our first such rides in a while.  My trainer and I joked that the key to getting McKenna to focus was to dose her on the EPF 5.

I wanted to cover the cut that night, but couldn't think of a way to easily wrap her neck.  So out came the full head and neck sleazy.  I hadn't put it on her yet, but I've used a shoulder guard on her before.  She was surprisingly good about having it put on, even when I covered her eyes.  I don't think she liked wearing it, or that fact that it clashed with her blanket. 

Really mom?!

The cut continues to look better each day.  I had ordered some stuff from The Herbal Horse and she was delayed sending it to me and included a free sample of the Heal Quick.  I got it last night and am excited to try it and the Be Calm on McKenna today.