It's been a minute.
But I have reasons.
You see, I've been listening, like really listening to my horse. When we last left off we were scheduled to do a xc school and a debut at BN. *buckle up, this is going to be a long post*
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| BN log:) |
Well, we went XC schooling, kept all our shoes on and really got to test out the new jump saddle. Riley was jumping in great form and felt very, very good. I left the course feeling quite confident about our show the next day. We left St. Augustine and headed over to Olde Hope to walk the course which wound up leaving me feeling a bit nervous (as it was a legit course), but within our ability. Looking at their Intro course I was really wishing we had signed up for that as I think we needed a solid, positive outing for this early in the season. Nevertheless, we took the ponies home and got ourselves organized for the show the next morning. Both horses were tired after their outing, but nothing out of the ordinary. I choose to turn Riley out despite our early start because I like to stick to his normal routine as much as possible (night turnout).
Sunday after the ponies ate (and got groomed, etc) we loaded up without issue and headed out for the hour trip down to Olde Hope. They traveled well and stood quietly while I walked my course again and got us registered. Emily's sale horse was an absolute rockstar at his first event and I watched them do their dressage test and got my self dressed and tacked up for mine. This is where I really should have started listening. As I was warming up I noticed that I did not have the same horse as the day before. Riley felt SLUGGISH. Yes, he can occasionally get lazy, but he reacts to leg and is generally more "up" at shows. He was not. I was offered my whip, but I declined because I didn't want to deal with him being offended for getting a little spanking, so I thought we could just work through it. I assumed he was just a bit tired from the day before, or hot because the weather was actually unseasonably warm. We did our usual warm up and lots of transitions (which usually sharpens him) and headed over to do our test. It was a muddled disaster. The worst test to date in part because I could not get him to move. He actually refused to pick up the canter tracking left (his easy lead -- I pony club kicked him into it finally) and broke to the walk (during our trot work) for no reason. He felt dull.
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| As good as it got (we scored a 45.2) |
Full disclosure. I too, have been suffering from some physical issues lately (fatigue, aching joints, lethargy) so I don't think I gave him the best ride, but I was pretty upset when I left the ring because he DID NOT FEEL RIGHT. And, while I was quick to blame myself (and continued to do so all day long, much to the dismay of my trainer) I knew that something else was going on. I've never struggled so much to get my horse to MOVE. I opted to scratch for the rest of the day and again, I know that I delved deep into a depression spiral of negative thinking about myself, but in retrospect I'm still glad that I listened to my horse. After my division finished we headed home and I sheepishly made my way around the farm unloading the trailer and tending to my horse. I left feeling really defeated. I knew there was something going on with my body, but what was different with my horse?
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| A few hours later. |
He colicked (mildly). I got a call shortly after I got home that we was down and showing colic symptoms. He temp spiked and he was trying to roll. The vet came to treat him almost right away and got him feeling much better. It was a moderate gas colic (he's not a "colicky" horse by any means). The vet and I chatted and we chalked it up to him being a bit dehydrated from the weekend's events. Riley drinks A LOT of water, anytime, any place, any water, he'll drink it. Saturday he did not have as much access as he's used to (post xc schooling) and was perhaps already dehydrated by the time we got to the event Sunday. Okay, Riley, I'm listening.
So I got him some electrolytes to add to his feed for any sort of strenuous work and/or travel based activities.
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| I'm just gonna stick this here (confo shot, end of March 2016) |
While I got myself checked out (still trying to get to the bottom of all that -- but it's not Lyme disease), we took a bit of a step back. The event camp we were gearing up for got cancelled, which I was super bummed about, but in a weird way it was a blessing in disguise. I've been able to work on getting myself feeling better, and was able to take the pressure off Riley and figure out what he needs. The camp being cancelled also allowed a very cool consolation prize to come my way...
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| Pretty dressage saddle makes us BOTH look good. |
By chance, a friend of a friend was trying to unload her very nice, gently used Neidersuss dressage saddle. I figured it would be worth a try since Riley had been having saddle fit issues (mostly resolved with the Prestige for jumping) and the dressage saddle I sometimes ride in isn't a good fit for me. This thing fits us BOTH so well. Emily said it's the best my position has ever looked (I just need to embrace lowering my stirrups like another 2-3 holes) and I feel great in it. I actually sit up straight and my pelvis feels tipped into a position that allows me to really be effective. And the SO offered to buy in lieu of the camp... okay then (#pinchme).
After losing some confidence after the show and the weeks that followed, we (Emily and I) discussed a plan moving forward. I've gotten really inside my head and needed to take a small step back while she improves on Riley's education. He needs some serious training rides (especially over fences) but also because he's started to be a real twit under saddle. A few weeks ago we had a really, really rough lesson where Riley gave me the middle finger and twisted his body so weirdly when I tried to get him to canter right. It was a bit bizarre and I actually thought he was going to buck me off. He was feeling dull/heavy but also explosive, a very weird combination.
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| We ended the session with me re-learning 2-point:/ |
Emily got on and he was really, really bad. The following rides and lessons offered more of the same plus uncharacteristic spookiness. A spooky horse he is not. One day I just lunged him (in our small lunging ring, not on a lunge line) and he told me in no certain terms that he could not canter right. Eventually, he worked out of it and we got some really nice, engaged work, but it took some serious effort. He was due for a trim and reset and after talking to the farrier about his stiffness (and the tripping behind that was just getting worse) we thought that we should experiment with pulling the hind shoes to see if 1.) he stops tripping behind and 2.) if it helps eliminate some of the reluctance tracking right. The day after, he colicked again... much milder, and gas related again, but my vet (after reviewing the weeks in between episodes) determined that all signs point to ulcers.
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| I'll do anything to make THIS GUY happy. |
Mild gas colic at feeding time, uncharacteristic spookiness, severe, unexplained stiffness mimicking back soreness... I'm listening. And look, I get it. We really upped the level of his work this year. He came back earlier in the season than any of the previous years since I've owned him. We do a lot more actual dressage work. We gone off the property quite a bit. And he's being ridden more times in one week than ever before. So, I said bye bye to any immediate competition plans/$$$ and started him on Gastrogard.
The first couple of days after starting the Gastrogard were still a bit hairy regarding the spookiness, but he was much less tense/sore/stiff tracking right!
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| In between spooks, some really nice work. (note: relaxed tail) |
The tripping has almost completely gone away and we have *fingers crossed* kept our front shoes on (even out on grass).
I guess that's why things have been so quiet here on the blog. There was so much
and so little happening and I wasn't really sure we had figured out what was going on with Riley. I didn't want to talk too much about all of it until we had some sort of conclusion (btw, the vet did run through a myriad of tests with him and watched him go), and sometimes conclusions just take TIME. And while I appreciate feedback from my blog readers, I trust my trainer, vet and farrier to make the calls. I do enjoy sharing all the ups and downs of our journey because I feel like our story might help someone else struggling with issue X down the road. I've never dealt with ulcers before so this is all very new territory for me, anything you guys want to share would be greatly appreciated!
I'm still listening for signs that he's not comfortable or not enjoying the job(s) I've given him. But I'm also listening for signs that he IS happy. Like:
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| Best expression |
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| Curious and playful |
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| Just generally being a hunk (this was taken just a few weeks after the conformation shot above!) |
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| He likes this bit/bridle |
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| Shiny and dapple-y (the first dapples since I've owned him) |
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| Putting one hoof in front of the other (together) |
*What do you say readers? How do you listen to your horse? Sometimes it's tough to get quiet enough to really listen when the signs are so subtle. How do you take a step back and re-evaluate?
