Peebs' Takes a Turn

 Despite the two atmospheric rivers the PNW got in December, it's been a dry year for us. We had about a 10 day streak at the end of January where it was dry and sunny, but cold at night. Temps in the low 20s overnight but warming up to the 40s during the day. Peebs, who has turned slightly feral in retirement and prefers to be outside as much as possible, was left out in the bigger paddock with the run in shed during this time.

I pulled into the barn one Friday night to feed dinner and could see him walking around in his paddock. He took a few off steps, then was fine, then took another funky step. I pulled him out and he was reluctant to walk across the gravel and into the barn. Definitely lame on his right front. I was thinking abscess so I wrapped him up and left him inside. He was slightly better Saturday, slightly worse Sunday, and by Monday was lame on both fronts. So I called the vet. 

On Wednesdays Tuesdays we wear pink

I kept wrapping both fronts as if he had abscess, and while he was more comfortable moving around with the wraps on, I didn't really think we were dealing with abscess. He's very stoic, and has had abscess before without showing any symptoms. He was also lamer during this time than he's ever been in the 10yrs that I've owned him. I did briefly think he might have been foundering. 

Thankfully all he has is some bruising on both front feet more than likely due to the hard freezes we had and his feet being a bit soft from the atmospheric river last month. He got a set of shoes and pads put on (he was very offended when the farrier started nailing shoes on after being barefoot for 4yrs) the day after our vet visit and walked away perfectly sound. Both my vet and farrier think he'll only need the shoes and pad for a cycle, maybe two and will be back to barefoot after that. 

Summer Shocker

 When we last left off over a month ago, whoops, Cinder was just back from getting her hocks and stifles done. She was feeling great, we had a plan for summer shows, and she had just gotten moved to a bigger paddock with more grass and was loving it.

I then got a call from Trainer M that Cinder was off. The vet was there for another horse and did a quick look at her and said she could come back two days later so I could be there for the exam. In that day between vet visits, Cinder got her feet done and by the time the vet looked at her she was 95% sound. Her feet had kinda exploded from the new grassier paddock and she probably should have been done on a 4-5 week schedule instead of a 6 week schedule. 

Her paddock is actually the one on the right in this pic

Cinder did get a chiro adjustment at that vet visit, and Doc wasn't super happy with how tight her whole topline felt. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but about two years ago Cinder started cribbing after being stalled across the aisle at our old barn from a horse who did it. Doc thinks the cribbing was causing her neck and back muscles to be super tight leading to her being out of alignment, and why she had a hard time really dropping down into the contact under saddle. 

Chestnut mare wonder twins, Cinder and Libra. Libra is the smaller, jumper version of Cinder. 

To try and break the cribbing cycle, Doc put Cinder in a grazing muzzle 24/7. We got a Flexible Filly one and cut the center hole a little bit bigger so she can eat her grain while in it. The first week or so Cinder was definitely going through withdrawals and was big mad. She has however gotten short periods without wearing the muzzle and hasn't cribbed, so it seems to be working. 

post shockwave drunk

To combat the tightness across Cin's topline, Doc wanted to try shockwave. She just got a new, top of the line machine that's the quietest shockwave I've ever heard. I was shocked (pun intended) at how powerful but quiet this thing is. For the first treatment we did Cinder's neck, back, and hips and then did two more treatments just on her neck. This was a total game changer. After the first treatment she was almost more lame than she was before, but once she was in front of your leg and moving correctly she felt good. Doc described it as breaking up scar tissue and having to work through the discomfort of going how she's used to going and fighting moving correctly. 

After the second treatment, she was moving absolutely wonderfully. Really dropping down and stretching in the trot, with a bigger more fluid canter. It felt awesome. Trainer M had been out of town for her best friend's wedding and hadn't seen Cinder go until after her third treatment and I got a phone call with how amazed she was with the transformation when she got back. I'm incredibly happy Doc suggested shockwave and with how well it worked. 10/10 would do again. 

Riding the Spiral

 When we last left off Cinder had just gotten a much needed chiro adjustment and we were hopeful that would fix her slightly unevenness. Unfortunately, it didn't. She still felt off, and after a few days of easy work was actually lame. Assistant Trainer M was teaching lessons that day, and videoed us to send to both Trainer M and Doc. Both AT M and I thought it was in the front, possibly left front. And at least Cin picked a good time to be lame, as we had four days of 100+ temps during this lameness spell so I wasn't like I was missing out on much riding time. 

Might have spiraled a bit and briefly thought about pulling Peebs out of retirement. I'm sure you can tell by his ears how enthused he was about this idea

I had been having visions of torn tendons and ligaments during the week between her coming up actually lame and the vet visit, despite no heat or swelling in any limbs. I was making plans of how I could scrounge up money/ a horse to use for medal finals at the end of August, and if I could afford to move Cin home to rehab since a stall at Peebs barn is opening up next month and then part lease something at Trainer M's. As mentioned above, I thought about seeing how sound Peebs was and if he could come back into work. I did hop on him for the first time in over a year and we took two steps from the mounting block before he stopped, put his head up, and let me know that was as much work as he was wiling to do.  

He is down for showers on hot summer days tho

Doc put us on the list for a lameness exam last Wednesday, which is her normal day to come out to the barn. I wasn't going to be able to make the appointment as we had an accreditation inspection at work Wed-Fri last week, but Doc ended up having two different emergencies to go to so Cinder got bumped to Saturday which I was able to be there for. 

As soon as the lameness exam started, Doc clocked the issue as being in the hind not the front, and more in the right hind. We flexed the fronts just to be thorough, but nothing popped up. Cin's hocks were slightly positive to flexion, but the stifles were the real culprits. Cin does have a small bone spur in her left stifle, and we injected both about a year and a half ago, so it wasn't surprising that it's time to inject them again. Doc prefers PRP, so Cinder will be getting injected this week with that in both stifles. Doc is hopeful that we can get her sound and fit enough for medal finals, so fingers crossed the PRP does the job. 

NQR but NQW

 So Cinder had her vet exam last week, and while she's still NQR, she's also NQW aka not quite wrong. She was feeling a lot better after her bodywork and let the vet palpate her back pretty hard without trying to kill her, so yay! We did do a quick lameness exam and she was 0.5 lame on her left hind, high up. Flexing both the hock and stifle didn't really show much, so since the ultrasound was set up for another horse the vet popped it on her stifle for a quick view. 

Shes standing slightly downhill, but I'm happy with her body condition right now

Stifle looked great so vet thinks her reluctance to get groomed could be a couple things. She either did something in the pasture or got cast in her stall and tweaked her back and it's just slow to resolve, it's her ovaries, or possibly hind gut ulcers. When the vet was palpating her, she hit an ulcer point and Cinder reacted hard, but the point can also indicate front leg lameness and Cinder had conveniently pulled a front shoe the day before. 

We got a lot of yawing during the session

We're going to do a round of treatment for the ulcers, and also did an electro-acupunture session that day. This was Cin's second time getting acupuncture, but her first electro session. She was pretty skeptical at first, but settled into and kept yawing and yawing. She almost fell asleep in the crossties, which is unheard of for her, especially as the barn was pretty busy. The vet did say Cin's left side wasn't pulsing quite as rhythmically as the right, indicating something was going on there and made her lean more towards the "did something in the pasture" hypothesis. I'm going to try and schedule more acupuncture sessions whenever the vet's out again as Cinder seemed to really like it.

The weather has been super shitty this past week, either pouring down rain and windy, or freezing cold (and we even got snow at my house) so Cinder has gotten some light rides. She was still pretty pissy about her SI being touched on Monday, but it was 38* and I had a lesson right before dinner time. I had put her in my BOT quarter sheet for the first time but she was highly offended by it so we pulled it off and A wore it during the lesson. We just did w/t in my lesson but Cinder was really good.

Screeching Halt

 First and foremost, it's now officially fall in the PNW. We had been enjoying an unseasonably warm early-mid October, till about 10 days ago. It went from 90* to 55* in the space of a week and from sunny and warm to windy/rainy/stormy in a day. And thanks to shifting wind patterns, the two days preceding the storm were full of wildfire smoke and the horses got a couple days off/easy days. So naturally, the day we could ride again all the horses were LIT. 

Never mad to hand over the reins to Trainer A

And naturally, that was the day I had a lesson scheduled. The big h/j program (IL) usually has quiet days on Fridays, so A has taken that as one of her busy lesson days. But because of the smoke and IL gearing up for a month of shows, they were schooling horses that same day. The indoor was busy and as I walked Cinder in, her eyes got the size of saucers and she started to vibrate. There was no where I could lunge and because I don't have a death wish I called A who was up at the barn and asked if she could get on first. She agreed and spent the first five minutes trying to stay in the middle of the saddle as Cinder spooked and jigged around the arena. 

A just kept pushing Cinder forward, and started pointing her at fences to get her attention. Cinder did stop at the white vertical above (A got there on a shitty half stride and Cinder rightly said nope) and at the brick wall with no standards (first time jumping it and it caught her off guard) and at a short diagonal one stride that she was convinced was evil. She did get over everything on the second attempt, even though the one stride was a bit hairy. 

The blue vertical was one fence of the one stride. The second fence had it's top rail angled the other direction. Kinda like a Swedish oxer turned into a one stride.

I then got on and did some flat work before popping over some of the cavalettis set up. Because IL was still schooling horses, we couldn't change fence height (even though it was technically A's scheduled lesson time. I'm not bitter about that or anything, why do you ask?) but I still had a good lesson. 

This lesson was eight days before what was supposed to be our last show of the season. Cinder had been a little grouchy when I tacked her up, but felt fine to both A and I under saddle. She had the next day off, and when I came out on Sunday she was even grouchier when getting groomed. Normally she loves to be curried and groomed; but that day she absolutely didn't want me to touch her SI/hips. A rode her the next day and said Cinder nearly took her head off when putting her blanket back on, but again felt fine under saddle. 

Marinating in Peeb's SmartPak brand ceramic blanket

After talking it over with A, we decided to scratch the show. Something was obviously up, even if Cinder felt sound. A did some easy stretchy rides with her during the week and on Friday she saw our bodyworker, L. L said that Cin was sore in her withers and SI/hips, and kicked when L first worked on them. But she settled down and was good by the end of the session. L thought the SI issues could be ovary/heat cycle related as Cin was showing signs of being in heat. Normally you can't tell when Cinder is in heat. She might have one flaming heat/squirting/winking/hussy attitude day a year, but otherwise, nothing. Cinder has been much better to groom/blanket after L worked on her, thank goodness!

The lameness vet is coming tomorrow at will look at Cinder and she's married to a breeding vet so if we need to, Cinder can meet him and get her ovaries ultrasounded.

State of Cinder

 First off, happy fifth birthday Cinder!! 

We hauled up last Sunday for our second lesson/pro-ride with potential new trainer (who will go by Trainer M). Cinder was both better and worse for her. Better in that she was a little more relaxed at the barn and with M on her, but worse in that she tested M more and was very slightly off. M said it felt like the right hind, which has always been Cinder's weaker leg. 

Still super tense with M up, but not quite as giraffe like as the previous week

They did walk/trot/canter each way and Cinder had a bit of a hissy fit about picking up her left lead. I was slightly frustrated and embarrassed about bringing a naughty horse into the barn, but M handled it well and was very complimentary of Cinder. I ended up getting on for the last 15 minutes and while still tense for me, Cinder did relax and go around quietly. I did feel what M felt in regards to the hind right and made a plan to haul Cinder up on the following Wednesday to see M's vet. 

Cinder no want to canter on her left lead

M's barn is out of my regular vet's area, and M's vet is there almost weekly so when Cinder moves in she'll be seeing M's vet anyway. Might as well see her for this lameness. And she also does chiro and Cinder was due for an adjustment. I really, really liked M's vet. She was incredibly thorough, and we ended up doing flexions and radiographs of both hind hocks and stifles. The left hock and stifle looked great, but the right hock has a small area of concern. We decided to do a round of Adequan and if that doesn't help, we'll discuss injections. Thankfully its mild, and we caught it early, so hopefully the Adequan does the trick. For now Cinder's hanging out in the pasture at home, and once we're towards the end of the Adequan series I'll start hauling back to M's for lesson or they'll have a stall open up and we'll move in.

Well, shit

 Things are at a bit of a pause at the moment. Cinder came home after the show and got a few days off. She also got her teeth done, a cap popped, and her spring shots. I rode her last weekend and she was good, if a bit sore. 

I knew my saddle was a bit wide for her, but with the Mattes half pad I could shim it and make it work. For the show, I didn't even think about it, and used my regular shaped pad. It didn't give her as much wither clearance and she was a sore the day after the show. That soreness was still apparent last weekend, and this week. 

 

 It's very clear that it's time to start shopping for her own saddle. I have one arriving today to try, and Trainer A (who is sponsored by Voltaire) is seeing when she can get the rep down to measure Cin for me. For now Cin is getting introduced to the BoT sheet and has the chiropractor coming next week. Pray to the saddle fitting gods we can find a saddle that works for both of us relatively quickly and cheaply. She's still got a lot of filling out to do and I'm 100% certain what works for her now will not work in another couple of years so I'm really hoping we can find a used saddle that will work for now.

Peebs is still very lame. Even on the Previcox he felt off. We have an appointment this afternoon with my vet, but I'm thinking it's time to let him be a pasture puff for a while. He's been on stall rest/walking/little bit of trotting for 10 months now and I feel horrible about keeping him locked up. We could do more in depth diagnostics, but if after 10 months he's not any better, what's the point? He deserves to just be a horse. Hopefully six months to a year in pasture will help, but if not, he's more than earned his retirement. 

We Know What It Isn't

 Peebs had his first lameness exam last night and while we didn't get a conclusive answer, we know what it isn't. We were the last appointment of the day and the vet was running behind so we ran out of time before completing the diagnostics. They're supposed to call me this morning to schedule our next visit; hopefully soon and hopefully I have service in the basement I work in so I can actually get their call!

We started with hoof testers, and Peebs had a slight reaction on the left front, but it was pretty mild. Moved on to jogging down the driveway and he was only slightly lame on the left front on the straight aways, more lame on the turn. Flexions showed it might be his coffin joint, but again, it was slight. Put him on the lunge (tracking left first) and while he was lamer on the circle he still didn't look that bad. But tracking right (so lame leg on the outside of the circle) and he was much worse. 

 

Maybe someday we can use his new bridle for more than barn aisle pics

We did a couple low blocks, and while they helped a little, still not enough to make him sound. Vet thinks he probably has some arthritis in the coffin joint, but not enough to make him as lame as he is.  Our next appointment will be to block the suspensory, and possibly the knee. Vet is leaning towards suspensory being the issue. We also pulled blood for a metabolic panel because, while not on rich pasture and not getting fed a whole lot either, Peebs is a chonk right now, and him being ~25% Morgan makes him much more prone to metabolic issues. And horses with metabolic issues can be more prone to soft tissue injuries. 

So think happy leg and blood thoughts for us while I pray to the god of appointment scheduling that they can get us in quickly!

Mr. Tender Toes

 While not as bad as he was, Peebs is still slightly NQR in both front feet. We've had some odd spring weather, with it getting hot and dry, then rain and some hail, then really dry, then a day of rain, then dry again. I think his feet are protesting the changing conditions. 

Oh hey look, the pics from Cinder schooling XC

 

His left front does have a little thrush going on, and I treated all four just to be sure. And to cover my bases I scheduled a lameness exam for him on the 15th. Friend A was having the vet out for Scottie, so I'm piggybacking on her appointment. 

"Thanks, I hate it."-Cinder, most definitely

Peebs gets his feet done next week, and I'll see what the farrier thinks as well. I'm hoping it's just the thrush and a little tenderness from the wet/dry cycles. I did scratch from our show in  a week and a half because even if he's sound tomorrow, I haven't really ridden in two weeks and we won't be ready. There's always more shows.

1.25 out of 2

 Technically I had a lesson and jumped both horses last week, just one lesson was abruptly cut short. Peebs has been s l o w l y transitioning onto his summer paddock with more grass, and has had a bit of the fresh grass crazies last week. So before my lesson on Wednesday I lunged. He had a couple good sized bucks to let loose, but looked fine otherwise. 

We warmed up on the flat, felt fine. Trotted two crossrails to warm up, felt fine. Landed after the third crossrail and came back to the trot for a few strides before walking. Trainer told me to pick up the trot again and let him go on loose rein. Not fine. It was slight, but Peebs had a head bob. Changed directions, and yep, lame. Not drastically, but lame. Trainer came over and pulled off his open front boot (but not his bell boot) and didn't feel or see anything on the leg. Picked up his foot, and nothing. So we ended the lesson and I went to cold hose and wrap my pony.

Our first jump together

 

Before cold hosing, I pulled Peebs' bell boots (he normally lives in them) and what do you know? On the inside of his right front pastern (the lame leg) he had a small, fresh scrape. My working theory is that somehow while jumping the third crossrail he whacked himself through the bell boot hard enough to cut himself. I did cold hose, wash the scrape and put ointment on it, plus gave him a gram of bute just in case. He got Thursday and Friday off, lunged sound on Saturday and felt fine for a light hack yesterday. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain like it's supposed to this afternoon and I can jump him and hopefully do more than three crossrails. 

 

I had my lesson on Cinder on Friday, and as I was walking to warm up Trainer A asked how I felt about jumping her that day. I told her I felt great about it, provided I didn't make her go lame a la Peebs. In our flat work A had me think about channeling my inner DQ and ride Cinder a little more "collected" for a few strides, before softening and letting her go more huntery. We also started doing some baby leg yields in the trot. I was able to get her more put together in the canter than I was last week. 

 

When we moved on to jumping, A told me to just trot around and pick up fences as I felt comfortable. Cinder jumps way rounder over crossrails than Peebs does, and it took a little bit to find my balance with her and not get left behind. But as much as she tends to jump up over the fences, she lands quietly and continues on like nothing happened. Totally not phased at all by the fences or me flopping around up on her. At one point after a few fences A asked if I wanted to canter something, and then laughed at the look of horror I gave her. But I pulled up my big girl breeches and cantered the outside line like she told me to do.

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Cinder has a really nice natural rhythm that made finding the distance easy. Like I could sit up, keep my leg on and it was there. She's a bit like riding a drunken sailor down the line, but even knowing the second distance was going to be a little long, I just kept my leg on and trusted her.  She's so much fun, can't wait to jump her again!

After the Show

Peebs got last week off after our show.  He's living outside 24/7 in a big paddock so he can at least move around.  I was planning on doing some light rides with him but between work, getting ready for my parents to visit, and some major horseshow hangover I didn't.  I was gone all weekend with my parents and cousins but I managed to lunge Peebs Sunday night.

And of course he was NQR.  He was crossfiring and wouldn't pick up the correct lead behind tracking right.  I had to force him into it and while he didn't look *lame* he was for sure NQR.  He's never had an issue crossfiring before.  I've called the chiro to see if she can come out this week because I'm going on vacation this weekend and won't be back till next Wednesday.  Looks like the Peebs gets an extended vacation.  At least he waited till after the show to be lame!

Two for Two

The vet was out Wednesday to check on the lame mares and, surprise surprise, both of them weren't lame anymore.  Damn it girls!  But on the plus side my home diagnosis for both of them were confirmed by the vet.

We started with Tia who was walking normally but still had some sensitivity on her suspensory.  Both the vet and I thought that she probably got worked up in her paddock last weekend when we had some thunderstorms roll in and re injured herself.  So she's on stall rest with hand walking for another couple weeks then recheck.

If you look close you can see it

With McKenna I told the vet about the on and off lameness and the slit on her coronary band.  When we pulled her out of her stall she had a very obvious spot of blood on it and when the vet pushed more blood/pus mix came out.  He did put the hoot testers to her and she wasn't reactive.  He recommended a few days of Epsom salt soaking to draw anything else out then switching to an iodine spray to dry it out.

We did her first soak later that night and she was surprisingly good for it.  She didn't want to stand still for very long but happily put her foot in soak.  She likes to put both her front feet in her water trough in the pasture and splash around so I was expecting some that to happen but she didn't. 

At least she's cute!

What Plan?

I'm pretty sure I should just give up trying to plan anything equine related. McKenna is still still off and on lame and Tia, who was doing better, lost a chunk of hoof, had to go barefoot for a cycle because she doesn't have enough of a right foot to put a shoe back onto, is now three legged lame. Of course she lost the chunk of hoof on her good front leg but somehow is three legged on the bad front leg.  The vet's coming back out tomorrow and at this point I'm just like whatever and am perusing DreamHorse and FB groups for sales horse.  

Hi There!

Not much as has happened in the month or more that I haven't been blogging.  Some really good rides on the mare, some not so good rides.  We were sticking with our once a week jumping lesson for a solid month but have gotten off the rails for the past couple weeks.  First it was super hot, like 108* hot, then the mare was sore, then she got better and I took dressage lesson, and now she's sore again.  But it looks like she blew an abscess in her right front and the farrier will be out tomorrow to take a look at her.

New fav pic of McKenna

I have had two teen girls out to look at her.  One really liked her, but I was worried that she was too inexperienced of a rider for McKenna, but I haven't heard from her in a couple weeks so..... I have really lowered her price because I'm at the point where I want her gone now.  I don't want to have to keep pouring money into her, I'm going on vacation and I feel guilty having her sit and asking a friend to take care of her, and most importantly I'm starting a new job on the 14th (the day after getting back from NY) with increased hours so I'm not sure what my new schedule will be.  It feels like this will be a good time for a whole new start.

The plus side is that I'm super, super, super happy about the new job and can.not.wait! to leave my current one.  I know a lot of my lack of riding/blogging/general unhappiness is due to stress from my job.  I fully expect stress and issues at the new one but it can't be as bad as where I am now.  And it's going to shave 30mins of my commute each way so that almost equals out the extra hours.

A good 95% of our field rides look like this.  Whoa crazy mare!

I was starting to do some ride on Tia, including three or four really nice and relaxing field rides with friends, until she came up lame and wouldn't work out of it.  We had the vet out and she was very reactive on her suspensory.  Our vet doesn't have a mobile ultrasound so we didn't see what was going on but he felt like it wasn't something major, probably a strain.  She never had any heat or swelling in the leg and was only slightly more lame then she normally is when she first starts out.  She's on 15mins of walking with twice daily Surpass for another week and then we'll recheck.  If she's not better we'll take her in for the ultrasound.  The plan was after I sell McKenna to lease Tia thru the winter but we all know how the best laid plans with horses usually turn out.