And we're back! I hope...

A little taste of his frolicking... he's putting on quite a rodeo. TURN OFF YOUR SOUND! My camera make's a weird clicking sound and records it!

Hurray! So its almost exactly three weeks since he injured himself, and he's been sound for two days in a row!

I mentioned that last Saturday I ponied him around the trails and started him back trotting a little bit at time. He did really well that day, then had Sunday off. When I went out for lunch on Monday he was harassing the old mare and trying to get her to run. He probably galloped around for a good 10 minutes solid, bucking, kicking, rearing galore and of course he slipped and tripped and stumbled (being a clumsy awkward teenager). I caught the last bit on video. He finally got the old mare to move around with him, but the despite how crazy he looks, the major part of his rodeo was actually already over. I did catch his "I'm hot and sweating and I SO need to roll" move, he does it all the time. Just a little bit in he totally slips and it makes me cringe every time I watch it. No wonder he can't heal! So with all that I really thought it was time to put a stop to this and keep him confined if he was just going to be silly and hurt himself, but although you can tell he still looked off when he was trotting, and it looks like cantering was easier, but he just was fine walking afterward. By the time he was done with his shenanigans he was puffing and dripping in sweat. Silly boy... what am I going to do with him? So I took advantage of a hot horse on a surprisingly warm day, and gave him a really good hose down. Then his rehab for the day consisted of 20 minutes of walking until he was dry.

Dun, da, dah! Tuesday he was sound, even at the trot! YEAH! I took him to class and trotted him out for the two trainers. One said, "Which leg is he lame on?" The other guessed it correctly based on a slightly shortened stride on that side. So I lunged him walk-trot and I could barely even see it, and wouldn't have noticed a thing if was looking for something to be wrong.

Today, he was perfectly sound again. I lunged him for 20 minutes walk-trot (well mainly walk-trot, he did burst into a gallop a few times... and did a lovely leap into the air! grr...) but he looked great. So we are on the upswing of things. Hurray!

I'm hoping for a week solid of progressive trot conditioning and continued soundness. I'm so relieved to have a happy healthy horse again.

One step forward, two steps back...

The rehab continues, and clearly Bear has no intention on following my schedule for healing! Its been two weeks since I last blogged... at that point I was all sunshine and rainbows. I made a very optimistic plan for his recovery knowing that it may not go that fast, but at least looking at it with a best case scenario gave me some courage to not keep thinking that my horse is broken forever! Our plan helped my emotional processing, but hasn't worked on his leg.

We were golden with the progression of his recovery for a whole three days... then was hobbling about doing the toe walk thing again. So I'm not sure what's going on. I'm not totally confident in the vet's diagnosis, because when he's off it's like there is something catching in his fetlock that prevents him from flexing fully and causes him to step down on that toe but then it will suddenly jerk back to the flexed position. Maybe that's just where I see it, and there is a tendon or ligament catching farther up in his leg but I only see the effect at the bottom? I was determined to wait it out at least a week before calling another vet out for a second opinion, but despite the fact that its like one day he's toe-walking every couple steps, and the next day he's fine, he does seem to slowly be making progress. I'm going to get a second opinion from the two trainers at class this week for starters.

For now, lots of walking! I'm be in great shape by the time this is all over! Especially as we get into the trot conditioning part and I'm jogging next to him for 5-15 minutes! ;) Friday he was limping about again, and I highly questioned forcing him to walk when his fetlock looks like it catching and I imagine the pain he's in and long term damage it could be doing if the vet is wrong in her diagnosis and treatment plan. But when it comes down to it, it seems like he is only off when he's been running around like a looney! So its his own damn fault, and the walking is supposed to help. So Saturday I gave him some bute, mainly to help witht he getting in and out of the trailer and we drove out to a really easy trail that's flat, wide, and relatively enclosed. It was his first time out on a real trail so my sister came along to ride the old mare and I followed behind leading Bear... good for me to get some exercise, but I'd sure rather be on him! He was a star, and we even walked over a bridge! Yeah for continueing training while rehabbing.

Sunday I think I must have just ponied him around the pasture again, and the rest of the week I rotated between ponying him down the back roads and up a big hill, and hand walking him (which was great to take him off the property alone and leave the old mare screaming bloody murder in the pasture! He was fine about leaving, a little more nervous without her but not naughty at all.) I even got all his tack on and used the long lines to drive him around the pasture once this week, and round penned him (at the walk...) once because I didn't have barn shoes with me and couldn't walk around much. So far I'm doing a great job keeping us from getting bored by switching it up each day. Then this Saturday I took the two horses out to the trail again, but solo this time. I successfully ponied him around for a full hour and they both did great! He LOVED being out there, and was clearly glad to have a change of scenery. We even trotted a bit since thats supposed to be the next step in the reconditioning process. Overall he seemed fine all day, but every so often he'd take two or three toe-walking steps, then be fine again... but I still think we're making progress.

Its slow going, but he's looking a lot more sound when he does get running around and being stupid in the pasture. He can still canter both leads (HUGE sigh of relief!) and do flying lead changes. I'll still be doing the class even if Bear isn't really keeping up with the other horses. It sounds like we'll be starting off at a more basic level than I ended on last class. With Training I we got the first couple rides on him, and a walk-trot-canter twice. For the most part we worked at a walk. With this class were going to be doing a lot of flexing, bending and yeilding, all of which will start from the ground. So even he if he takes another three full weeks before I even get on him and walk I think we'll still get a lot out of the class.

Its a work in progress, but its been less than a month. The simple fact that he's not on any pain killers and he's looking happy and more or less sound the majority of the time is a step forward. I just need to make sure I'm wearing my patience pants for a while.

He seems like a normal horse again!

Bear is trotting out perfectly sound even without Bute this morning. So we'll try the next two days without it and see if he's still good. I am highly suspicious of the vet's diagnosis now. His leg was never locked back like it would be with a locked stifle, and he wasn't taking high kicking steps like if it were catching. He was walking on that toe like couldn't fully step down so it was like something was catching, but I have no idea what. Also he never had any swelling or heat in the stifle area, but he had some swelling across the front of his hock. Who knows… if it happens again, I’ll have the equine sports therapy/chiropractic vet out instead. I should have called him in the first place but I wasn’t thinking straight and just called the general practice vet since that’s the number we have stuck to the fridge.

Anyway, now I’m just thinking about rehab time. He’s been doing about 15 minutes of walking a day, so that’s now bumped up to 20 minutes of walking, and tomorrow we’ll do 25 minutes which will include the big hill. The vet suggested not getting back on until he’s been worked up to 20 minutes of jogging. The trick is going to finding creative ways of slowly bringing him back at the jog when the pasture is too wet, and jogging down the road is just stupid. There a few straight level spots in the pasture where I can trot him out, but they only last about 60 ft! But I guess it’s a start; trot the length walk around and start again. Then I guess I’ll be hauling out to the arena to start some real trot work Saturday and Sunday. It would probably be good for him (and me) if we did some more long-line work, and I never really got to the point where I could drive him at the trot, so that will be the plan. Good for the training, good for the slow conditioning.

Class is still up in the air. It starts in a week, and we’ll at least go to the first one and see what they’ll be doing and how much he’s capable of. I doubt we’ll do any work the first night since we’ll be spending quite a bit of time talking about what the class will cover. So I’m hoping to go a little early and use the arena to get some trot work in. Which would give me a two-week goal to get back on him for the second class. If things are still going well and Bear is sound still after two weeks of conditioning, I think we’ll probably be safe to start back into slow training. Obviously we won't be loping circles anytime soon! I’ll be taking things cautiously, and we might not be keeping up with the class, but I’ve got a feeling that the class will be starting off really slow as well. So far so good! I just have to be really consistent for the next two weeks, let’s hope for no rain!

Six days after the bubble burst...

So I guess I'll start with a little more details because for the next month or so this will be more of a rehab blog than a training journal.

It was first noticed at feeding time Monday night.

I came out and looked at it first thing Tuesday morning on my way to work, and based on the way he was holding it I guessed stifle. But really there wasn't any swelling or heat there. He didn't want to move much, and I didn't make him, but by the time I left he had clearly moved around while grazing. The vet came out that afternoon, he was really ouchy if walked and pitiful at the trot. Vet said upward fixation of the patella. This could be just because he's growing, and is seen often in young horses with long straight legs. She said bute twice a day, and hand walking at least 10 minutes to make sure he's using it. So I waited until he had the bute in his system and walked him for the first time. He was really off, and stepped down with his toe pointed, and his fetlock didn't fully flex. So he gimped around on his toe for 10 minutes before I gave him some love and went back to work.

Wednesday (and New Year's Eve so I only worked the morning), I had a bit more time to just hang out with him. He trotted up to the gate when I came out, and although he was still dead lame on it, at least he was feeling good. I was feeling lazy and totally depressed about the whole thing, so I hopped on my old mare to pony him instead. Yet again I am so glad that he ponies from other horses. I walked for at least 10 minutes, and he looked much better and his leg was fully flexing with each step. So I let him off, the rope and continued to ride around the pasture for a bit and just watch him. He started running and bucking and playing! Totally unsound and definitely shaking his head out of frustration, but still spunky. Then he just had to roll, and I had taken his blanket off so I knew I would be spending at least 20 minutes scraping the mud off before I could put his blanket back on. When he got up after rolling its like he just sprang right up into a buck. I don't know how its physically possible for a horse to buck from the sitting position, but that's precisely what he did. I was feeling much better that this had been something minor, and he'd quickly recover.

Thursday (New Year's Day so still off work), he was back to walking on his toe, and couldn't fully straighten his leg. Looked that way the whole time I was out there.

Friday I came out midday when someone else could cover the phones for me at the office. It had been raining so they were both in the pen, and the pasture was super wet. So I walked him down the road instead. He's been out there before, but never without the mare. He got all big-eyed and high-headed about the cows and some big green plastic container by someone's barn, but was otherwise pretty well behaved for a pent up energy youngster on his first walk away from his best friend who was dashing about and calling like a crazed lunatic at home! I'm so glad that he's more sane than she is; he's better behaved at 2 years old than she is in her mid twenties! AND HE WAS WALKING SOUND! Yeah!

Saturday, my parents report to me that my horse is CRAZY! He treated them to his rodeo show at it's finest. Bucks, rears, rolling and then bursting into the air from the ground, and all his general let-the-spunk-out routine. Of course when I got out there and got the old mare's hackmore out (yes, she knows which things go on Bear and pose no threat, and which are coming for her) she took off at a dead run with her tail flying like a flag straight in the air, and Bear calmly ate his lunch while she zipped past him each time she crossed the pasture. So you can guess I had a couple retorts about just which horse is crazy, and since officially the old mare is my mom's horse I only claim her when she's acting well trained. Anyway, Bear looked so good while I walked him, that I started wondering if he was off at all anymore. He had cantered off a few times and looked pretty good, stiff, but not lame. So just before leaving I ran back out to make him trot a few steps. He still was off, but definitely better. I'm starting to have hope.

Everything I've read has said that slow and consistent conditioning is the best thing for these things. Long walks, hills, lots of turn-out, and gradual increase of work. First of all he's always turned out since he's on pasture. Second, aside from the once a week Training 2 class, I really was planning on spending the next 6 months doing nothing but moseying along the trail anyway. He's too young to start a ton of collection work or jumping, so this really won't kill my spring. I probably won't be on him for a few weeks, but its rainy anyway and this will give me a chance to tune up the old mare again since she's meant to be my sister's beginner mount when we go out riding together. So a lot more ponying and consistent easy exercise; I'm hoping for the best.

And the bubble is burst...

Sad news and a frustrating diagnosis; Bear came up lame Monday night. I had been laughing at his attempts to frolic in the slippery pasture on Friday, but now its not so funny. We think he must have slipped and fallen sometime Monday because he was fine that morning and noticeably lame that night.

So needless to say I'm more than frustrated about having to give up all my immediate goals and plans for him. We had planned on trailering out for his first real trail ride today, and clearly the January show is out of the question. In fact even with a best case scenario I doubt that he'll be able to go to my horse training 2 class. But more than anything I'm just worried how sound he'll stay in the future and if this will affect him later on.

The vet prescribed bute and hand walking and waiting! We'll talk about what the next steps are on Saturday depending on his improvement by then. He was certainly feeling better today, and trying his best to be silly despite the slick pasture and a bum leg. So he was back to bucking and kicking and running about. But he's definitely still lame, and is throwing his head like he's frustrated that he can't run like normal.

Anyway, I'm heart broken, but trying think positively. His training log is probably on hold since all his work will be in hand for a while. I hope to have better news soon!

All I want for Christmas...

Rainy, muddy, cold and miserable... I SO want an indoor arena! I would be so much more productive.

It had been so long since I went out to ride, that I actually had to look at the calendar to figure it out! 16 days! Leaving a barely broke horse to sit for 16 days is not the best way to progress, but between the rain and the holidays it couldn't be helped. Unfortunatley it also means that he spent most of that time locked up in a pen because of rain, and when he is out in the pasture its too slick and muddy to actually run.

So yesterday I was determined to get back out there. We have just 15 days until the schooling show, and I'd like to be able to do a walk/trot class (without crashing into other horses!) I head out in the afternoon feeling a little rushed to get done before dark, so of course I end up cutting corners and regretting it! Because of Bear's run-around-the-pasture-before-being-ridden routine, I decided to take off his blanket first, and then get his lunch ready. I went straight out without a halter or anything, and as soon as I get all the buckles undone except the front two, he starts walking off. So off he goes with straps slapping and banging about, so needless to say, he spent the next 5 minutes trying to get those straps to stop flapping! Every time he bucked, they hit harder, so he'd buck harder! He was distracted by the running and bucking because he had to be REALLY careful not to slip and fall, so he wasn't really watching where he was going. I was just laughing too hard to really do anything about it. He noticed a big boulder at the last minute, and had to jump over it. Then he ended up tripping and sliding when coming up to the old mare, and he only came to a stop when he actually crashed into the side of her!

If it was too slippery to have fun galloping and bucking, lunging wasn't going to be an option, so I planned on sticking with the round pen just in case he was a nut case. I hobbled him while I tacked up, so I've at least spent one extra day working on the one item I swore to do everyday about two weeks ago! Then I walked him around and I addressed some of the ground manners I've been getting a little sloppy on like stopping when I stop and not walking ahead of me. Then we worked in hand through the trail course that I've set up with poles and logs, before finally heading into the round pen to get on. He was just as good as he was 16 days ago! Its so wonderful that we don't have to start over at the beginning just because I've been too busy. We just did work at the walk, and worked on stopping and backing up, then called it a day!

Today (Saturday) we trailered out to the big arena with my sister and old mare. He was pretty full of it while lunging, so I'm glad he had a place to stretch his legs and get some exercise. Since we worked on turns and stopping yesterday I took advantage of the big arena to focus on going forward. So we trotted and cantered around, and I even got his left lead! YEAH! He moved forward on a loose rein and was happy and relaxed the whole time. He's such a good boy.

We're off to a good start for the schooling show January 10th, but I need to keep this up everyday to be ready in time.

Trail Training

So we've been troubled by the holiday busyness and the bad weather, and riding time has been pretty slim. My Tuesday class is over, and my weekends have been full, so its been hard to find the time. I could get up an hour early and give up my current "hour of sipping coffee on the couch trying to wake up" in order to ride, but despite all my good intentions I just can't make myself do it when morning comes.

Wednesday we had a great training day. I trailered out to a friends house to join in on her appointment with the barefoot specialty trimmer. I was super happy with her work, and it was a good excuse to skip out on work for the day. So first of all this was a much longer trailer ride than usual, and he was going alone. We have three set places to train: home, the covered arena for class (10 min trailer ride), and the big arena (20 min trailer ride). He's used to those places, he's secure there, and my mare usually is around so he's go his security blanket. So needless to say when he arrived at this big open pasture with 14 horse staring at him from a pipe barn, without his security blanket buddy, he was more than a little overwhelmed! He wasn't naughty, just hot, and constantly distracted. When I took him back up to the trailer and tied him for 10 minutes before tacking him up he neighed his head off the whole time. They were huge full body neighs! His little stubby tail would shoot out and shake everytime! So funny. But when I actually took him down to the arena to lunge him, he was surprisingly quiet and relaxed. I rode with the friend and her husband around their 20 acre pasture. It was great trail training with a good gradual hill, lots of crossings through a natural creek bed, bumps to go up and over, and ground poles to walk over. He was a star! He normally follows my mare because she walks so much faster, so I expected him to follow the other more experienced horses. From the very beginning he took the lead and bravely walked wherever I pointed him at a nice forward pace. We trotted up the hill, and practiced stopping and backing up the hill while we walked back down. He did spook once, and half spooked a second time, but we easily recovered and continued on as planned. (And now I at least have an idea how he'll spook.) He seems to be a "spin to the right and stop" kind of horse, and his half spooks are just the sort where the seem to jump to a halt. Overall is was a really great training experience, and he's definitely ready to start trail riding.

Since then he's done nothing, but I've got a goal now. There's a local schooling show with a couple of walk/trot classes on January 10, so I have just under a month to get him going enough to try his first show! Yeah!