My last ride on Breezy was lovely. She was relaxed and pleasant. A real treat.
She had a quieter year. We did, however, ride in the Rose Parade!! in Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Wild Horse Club was in the parade. It is FIVE miles of crowds, max-trains, and noise. Not exactly my cup of tea...Or Breezy's. She was not impressed. We did make it through and are not planning on doing that anytime soon!
After the parade, she was back to her usual bossy form and not happy about being ridden. So! She was turned out with a cohort and had some time off. We'd pull her in occasionally to so a kid could ride her or I would give her a relaxing lunge. Either way, it was easy-peasy.
That has seemed to have helped. As I began with, my last ride was lovely.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
On the TrainingSide
Despite the two gas colics, I have been slowly progressing with Trevor.
I stil take him on walks down the road and through the vineyard, as well as our lunge sessions. The lunge sessions have expanded to free lunging which allows him more freedom to make decisions and still be respectful of me.
As the "EVERYTIME lunging" before I get on and ride, Trevor has graduated to a walk around the arena in both directions. On the days he is rather fresh, I incorporate "moving away" exercises.
This decision was made for two reasons: 1) As with all horse shows, lunging is not always an option sooooooooooo we better use other ways of relaxing in new places. Don't forget to chew!!! 2) Since he is recovering and getting stronger, the need for a non-weighted warm-up becomes less of an issue.
It has been a real pleasure getting to know Trevor and see him become the confident, brillant horse I know has been hiding in there. We've been to four schooling shows this year and plan on one more come October. "A" shows here we come!!
I stil take him on walks down the road and through the vineyard, as well as our lunge sessions. The lunge sessions have expanded to free lunging which allows him more freedom to make decisions and still be respectful of me.
As the "EVERYTIME lunging" before I get on and ride, Trevor has graduated to a walk around the arena in both directions. On the days he is rather fresh, I incorporate "moving away" exercises.
This decision was made for two reasons: 1) As with all horse shows, lunging is not always an option sooooooooooo we better use other ways of relaxing in new places. Don't forget to chew!!! 2) Since he is recovering and getting stronger, the need for a non-weighted warm-up becomes less of an issue.
It has been a real pleasure getting to know Trevor and see him become the confident, brillant horse I know has been hiding in there. We've been to four schooling shows this year and plan on one more come October. "A" shows here we come!!
Oh Frabjous Day!!!
Today is Septmeber 22, 2010.
I have been seeing this day in the future since the last September 22. This is the one year anniversary of Trevor's colic surgery. I wasn't sure if he was going to make this milestone.
We had one rather scary colic episode in March. He managed to eat stall pellets like they were candy before I could remove them from his stall and decide that I would NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. Even when I watered them down to soften them up, he munched. Twelve hours later, we were in full-blown colic. I called the vet out, all the while preparing myself for the fact he was going to be put down.
However! One gut palpation (gas only) and a "torbe" (a sedative) shot later, Trevor was resting comfortably. I, however, was up all night checking and re-checking Trevor's status. He recovered well.
That. Was a hard lesson.
Then, after eating wild cucumber in May, he had mild colic episode (Can ya tell he's REALLY DUMB ABOUT FOOD). Aha!! I said!! Get the Torbe!! I happened to have a shot that the vet left for me from the March colic. I called a got the OK from the vet and let 'er rip. After a mild snooze and farting, he woke up and went on with his day. The torbe allowed his system to relax and the gas to pass quietly from his system. Whew!! What a relief.
Now, I keep a shot of torbe on-hand for the possible next episode.
As he is consider a high colic risk, I still am meticulous about HOW I feed him and what I allow into his diet. I want his gut to be as stable as possible. Hopefully through consistent feeding and relaxing exercise, Trevor will maintain and thrive more and more.
I have been seeing this day in the future since the last September 22. This is the one year anniversary of Trevor's colic surgery. I wasn't sure if he was going to make this milestone.
We had one rather scary colic episode in March. He managed to eat stall pellets like they were candy before I could remove them from his stall and decide that I would NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. Even when I watered them down to soften them up, he munched. Twelve hours later, we were in full-blown colic. I called the vet out, all the while preparing myself for the fact he was going to be put down.
However! One gut palpation (gas only) and a "torbe" (a sedative) shot later, Trevor was resting comfortably. I, however, was up all night checking and re-checking Trevor's status. He recovered well.
That. Was a hard lesson.
Then, after eating wild cucumber in May, he had mild colic episode (Can ya tell he's REALLY DUMB ABOUT FOOD). Aha!! I said!! Get the Torbe!! I happened to have a shot that the vet left for me from the March colic. I called a got the OK from the vet and let 'er rip. After a mild snooze and farting, he woke up and went on with his day. The torbe allowed his system to relax and the gas to pass quietly from his system. Whew!! What a relief.
Now, I keep a shot of torbe on-hand for the possible next episode.
As he is consider a high colic risk, I still am meticulous about HOW I feed him and what I allow into his diet. I want his gut to be as stable as possible. Hopefully through consistent feeding and relaxing exercise, Trevor will maintain and thrive more and more.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
My Darling Boy
Yeah, I really like and love this horse.
I began riding Trevor in February. Due to his surgery and that slicing of those ever important belly muscles, his riding is progressing slowly. I look at riding him quite differently then I ever thought I would. Most importantly, he has a large paddock to graze when the weather in rainy. Which it is...a lot. However, when the weather is beautiful, he has a good two acres on the side of a hill to run, play, and eat. He does all three. The grazing is important for his brain and his digestion. The running and playing on the side of a hill is important for is body. It only makes him stronger. The goober can canter three meter cicles when he's on a toot!
As far as riding, theses are the things I've added to our routine. First, I changed my girth from a regular leather girth to a soft fleece girth. The girth is wider and more flexible. This allows for the pressure of the girth to be spread over a larger area and greater comfort from soft form. I've also added lunging EVERY TIME before I ride. This allows for him to warm-up his back and belly area before ever having to deal with my weight.
He is a clever horse. He has learned that if he canters, his trot is more free and comfortable. I swear it was all his idea. On the lunge line, he'd offer the canter soon after the trot work began. When he asked, I allowed. Having to bring those hindlegs underneath his body in the three-beat gait, stretches his back and over his gluteals down to the semis (hamstrings). Not to mention, he has to pick that belly up, as well. In turn, with the lunging, his body and brain are warmed-up and our rides have been going well. We also began instituting leg-yields at the walk and trot. Good belly work.
I recommend lunging for any horse before riding and as a change from ALWAYS being ridden. Lunging is not to wear the horse out, but to help them figure out his/her body, as well as learn the art of relaxation while moving. Wait for that chew before you change the gait and see how your horse improves. Get the brain, change the body. It. is. BEAUTIFUL.
I am in no hurry. This year for Trevor is about strength and well-being.
I began riding Trevor in February. Due to his surgery and that slicing of those ever important belly muscles, his riding is progressing slowly. I look at riding him quite differently then I ever thought I would. Most importantly, he has a large paddock to graze when the weather in rainy. Which it is...a lot. However, when the weather is beautiful, he has a good two acres on the side of a hill to run, play, and eat. He does all three. The grazing is important for his brain and his digestion. The running and playing on the side of a hill is important for is body. It only makes him stronger. The goober can canter three meter cicles when he's on a toot!
As far as riding, theses are the things I've added to our routine. First, I changed my girth from a regular leather girth to a soft fleece girth. The girth is wider and more flexible. This allows for the pressure of the girth to be spread over a larger area and greater comfort from soft form. I've also added lunging EVERY TIME before I ride. This allows for him to warm-up his back and belly area before ever having to deal with my weight.
He is a clever horse. He has learned that if he canters, his trot is more free and comfortable. I swear it was all his idea. On the lunge line, he'd offer the canter soon after the trot work began. When he asked, I allowed. Having to bring those hindlegs underneath his body in the three-beat gait, stretches his back and over his gluteals down to the semis (hamstrings). Not to mention, he has to pick that belly up, as well. In turn, with the lunging, his body and brain are warmed-up and our rides have been going well. We also began instituting leg-yields at the walk and trot. Good belly work.
I recommend lunging for any horse before riding and as a change from ALWAYS being ridden. Lunging is not to wear the horse out, but to help them figure out his/her body, as well as learn the art of relaxation while moving. Wait for that chew before you change the gait and see how your horse improves. Get the brain, change the body. It. is. BEAUTIFUL.
I am in no hurry. This year for Trevor is about strength and well-being.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Trevor!
Well my darling boy is doing well.
One side effect of surgery was he began to be NEUROTIC...again...
Scritching his teeth, biting, walking over me, panicking. Ugh! Didn't I deal with this once?? Well, here's the lemons so how about some lemonade. What else could I do? I needed to have my horse's brain back.
When I first got Trevor, he was rude, rude, rude, and super stressed. I worked long and steadfast to address those issues. He came out of surgery in great shape, but fell right back into the rude and stressed behavior.
So that has been out focus. It is going well. He's remembering that his job is to be a gentlemen when ever he has to deal with me. I haven't started riding him...yet. I'm in no hurry. I want him to be fit and focused when we reintroduce the riding aspect to his brain. It's a good brain.
One side effect of surgery was he began to be NEUROTIC...again...
Scritching his teeth, biting, walking over me, panicking. Ugh! Didn't I deal with this once?? Well, here's the lemons so how about some lemonade. What else could I do? I needed to have my horse's brain back.
When I first got Trevor, he was rude, rude, rude, and super stressed. I worked long and steadfast to address those issues. He came out of surgery in great shape, but fell right back into the rude and stressed behavior.
So that has been out focus. It is going well. He's remembering that his job is to be a gentlemen when ever he has to deal with me. I haven't started riding him...yet. I'm in no hurry. I want him to be fit and focused when we reintroduce the riding aspect to his brain. It's a good brain.
Breezy's progress
So, last I left the Breezy update, she was improving within her shoulders, and hence, in her hindquarters.
Due to Trevor's rehab status (handwalking with light turnout) my lessons with Jackie Browning have been on Breezy. That's a good thing!
One of Breezy's compensation behaviors while being ridden is to gape her mouth and carry her head behind the bit. Just another evasion, avoidance, unwillingness, or what have you, to engaging that hindend.
With mouth-gaping, the head becomes the horses's focus instead of the rest of the body. Not only does the jaw, poll, and neck become inflexible, the back, ribcage, and hindend also become too ridgid. Not to mention it is really ugly.
Jackie suggested shutting her mouth with a figure-eight caveson.
A figure-eight wraps around the jaw of the horse with the upper strap sitting in front of the facial crest and the lower strap sitting in front of the bit like a dropped noseband. The pieces cross on top of the nose and create the shape of a figure-eight. Hence, the name. You can adjust the tightness of each piece since both straps have buckles. It also allows for greater flexibility and is less restrictive then a flash noseband.
It took a few minutes, but Breezy relaxed into her new mode of operation quite well. However, she still futzed and fidgeted if she wasn't moving. So, after a short ride, I decided that she just needed to SHUT UP! for real and stand quietly with me hanging out on her back.
**I want to note, that even though Breezy is being ridden, she is still getting her massage and lunging session to help her stay supple and relaxed. I bodywork the areas on her that need addressing - a lot in the groin/hindquarters - and wait for the relax and chew. Also, I wait for the chews in each gait before I move on to the next (starting with walk). She is learning to stretch down and forward in her gaits. The mobility in her back gets better and better as she moves on the lunge line. There is movement over the topline (ribcage, back, loin, and pelvis) where before there was NONE!**
I had her stand in the arena and she was NOT! happy with my decision. I started with my reins in a "riding" position and as she relaxed, I gave her more and more rein. That, was something that took awhile. She was a COW and threatened to rear or run me into the wall when all I wanted her to do was stand. I did not make a big issue of these behaviors, but I did tell her it was not OK!! We ended up at the opposite end of the arena compared to where we started. That was OK.
Breezy finally decided to stand still. Then an AMAZING thing happened. I felt her lumbar/sacral area self-adjust. There were three adjustments - clunk, clunk, clunk. The adjustment was soft, no loud cracking or painful reactions. It just went back into place. Immediately after the adjustment, her head dropped, she chewed and sighed with relief. It. was. BEAUTIFUL.
Without addressing her mouth-gaping issue, the adjustment in her spine would not have happened. Breezy needed to pay attention to that problem area to help "fix" it. Now, I'm not saying that if your horse doesn't come through and use his/her body correctly that you should clamp his/her mouth shut and the figure-eight is the end-all and be all of troubleshooting. I'm saying this is what worked for Breezy.
BUT!!!! Yet again, we've modified her bridle. Our rides were going well, she was relaxed and moving off my legs, and still receptive to her bodywork. Then she was a COW. Don't know why, she just was. Breezy regressed back into her brutish behaviors and we had a lousy ride. Even with two days of relaxing lunging and bodywork, our next ride was much the same. We changed her bit out from a soft loose ring to a thin loose ring. Pick youself up and use it!!! The figure-eight began the process of her starting to carry her herself and use her hindend and now the thinner bit will help it along.
It is a process.
Particulary with horses that have "baggage" from former injury or poor training/handling techniques or what ever they bring to the arena. You move forward and then you plateau. As you can work through it, the plateau begans to rise again. Look at options, see and feel what the horse is telling you, assess it, and make a plan.
Breezy and I had a fabulous ride the other day. She did every thing without complaint. The ride was short & sweet. So she got to play. A good reward for a good job.
Due to Trevor's rehab status (handwalking with light turnout) my lessons with Jackie Browning have been on Breezy. That's a good thing!
One of Breezy's compensation behaviors while being ridden is to gape her mouth and carry her head behind the bit. Just another evasion, avoidance, unwillingness, or what have you, to engaging that hindend.
With mouth-gaping, the head becomes the horses's focus instead of the rest of the body. Not only does the jaw, poll, and neck become inflexible, the back, ribcage, and hindend also become too ridgid. Not to mention it is really ugly.
Jackie suggested shutting her mouth with a figure-eight caveson.
A figure-eight wraps around the jaw of the horse with the upper strap sitting in front of the facial crest and the lower strap sitting in front of the bit like a dropped noseband. The pieces cross on top of the nose and create the shape of a figure-eight. Hence, the name. You can adjust the tightness of each piece since both straps have buckles. It also allows for greater flexibility and is less restrictive then a flash noseband.
It took a few minutes, but Breezy relaxed into her new mode of operation quite well. However, she still futzed and fidgeted if she wasn't moving. So, after a short ride, I decided that she just needed to SHUT UP! for real and stand quietly with me hanging out on her back.
**I want to note, that even though Breezy is being ridden, she is still getting her massage and lunging session to help her stay supple and relaxed. I bodywork the areas on her that need addressing - a lot in the groin/hindquarters - and wait for the relax and chew. Also, I wait for the chews in each gait before I move on to the next (starting with walk). She is learning to stretch down and forward in her gaits. The mobility in her back gets better and better as she moves on the lunge line. There is movement over the topline (ribcage, back, loin, and pelvis) where before there was NONE!**
I had her stand in the arena and she was NOT! happy with my decision. I started with my reins in a "riding" position and as she relaxed, I gave her more and more rein. That, was something that took awhile. She was a COW and threatened to rear or run me into the wall when all I wanted her to do was stand. I did not make a big issue of these behaviors, but I did tell her it was not OK!! We ended up at the opposite end of the arena compared to where we started. That was OK.
Breezy finally decided to stand still. Then an AMAZING thing happened. I felt her lumbar/sacral area self-adjust. There were three adjustments - clunk, clunk, clunk. The adjustment was soft, no loud cracking or painful reactions. It just went back into place. Immediately after the adjustment, her head dropped, she chewed and sighed with relief. It. was. BEAUTIFUL.
Without addressing her mouth-gaping issue, the adjustment in her spine would not have happened. Breezy needed to pay attention to that problem area to help "fix" it. Now, I'm not saying that if your horse doesn't come through and use his/her body correctly that you should clamp his/her mouth shut and the figure-eight is the end-all and be all of troubleshooting. I'm saying this is what worked for Breezy.
BUT!!!! Yet again, we've modified her bridle. Our rides were going well, she was relaxed and moving off my legs, and still receptive to her bodywork. Then she was a COW. Don't know why, she just was. Breezy regressed back into her brutish behaviors and we had a lousy ride. Even with two days of relaxing lunging and bodywork, our next ride was much the same. We changed her bit out from a soft loose ring to a thin loose ring. Pick youself up and use it!!! The figure-eight began the process of her starting to carry her herself and use her hindend and now the thinner bit will help it along.
It is a process.
Particulary with horses that have "baggage" from former injury or poor training/handling techniques or what ever they bring to the arena. You move forward and then you plateau. As you can work through it, the plateau begans to rise again. Look at options, see and feel what the horse is telling you, assess it, and make a plan.
Breezy and I had a fabulous ride the other day. She did every thing without complaint. The ride was short & sweet. So she got to play. A good reward for a good job.
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