Having fiddled around for a while now, trying to make Echo more comfortable, things took a rather different turn this week. One of my best friends is an equine physiotherapist and came on Monday morning to have a quick look at Echo. She wasn't going to treat her, just have a look. She knows her pretty well and has known her since she was a yearling, so I trust her judgement.
She had a feel along her back and said she was quite sore from the 9th vertebrae back, and that something was not feeling right in her right hind - that there was a lot less muscle in the main groups of the right hind in comparison to the left. She then watched her on the lunge. Recently, Echo has been doing a weird hop up into trot on the lunge - unwilling to push off her right hind. It isn't so noticeable when she's ridden, but on the lunge it looks awful. She pushes off the left, then sort of hops on her right hind, seeming to not want to bring it right under.
Ella watched her on both reins and said that she was really unhappy with her right hind and she would recommend getting a vet to look at her. She said that if she was asked to make the call whether the horse was lame or not, she would say she is lame. Marvellous.
So I called the vet that she recommended and he came out yesterday. He performed flexion tests on both hinds, watching her trot up, and said she is definitely lame on the right hind. He said also that the flexion test affected the left hind too. He then watched her on the lunge in the school and on grass, then watched her trot up again, and said she was worse after work.
He nerve blocked just above her fetlock on the right, and she showed no different. She didn't think much of being injected, and nor did I. I forgot how squeamish and affected by needles I am - I nearly passed out, as I stupidly watched him inject her!
He then nerve blocked the top of the suspensory area / base of the hock in the right hind and she was much better. However, when she was better on the right, she showed some lameness on the left. He didn't have time to do any more yesterday, but is coming out again tomorrow and wants to block the hock joint, to see whether that makes any more of a difference than we achieved yesterday. He told me to ride her as normal today, so that he isn't seeing her after having a few days off. That was really tough. It's one thing riding a horse that you're not sure is sound, but riding a horse that you know is lame is really upsetting. She was very good, but of course I could feel her lameness every step now that I KNOW it's there!
Last night, I stupidly did lots of reading on some of the possibilities that he was discussing. I read about high suspensory injuries, about arthritic changes and about spavins in the hocks. And all of them sound horrible and terrifying. She is insured, so I will get her fully sorted out, but the idea of months of boxrest with a horse that a) gets frustrated when she has more than a few days off, b) gets cross when she's left in longer than the other horses and c) has a habit of jumping out of her stable when she decides she's had enough of being in there, is, quite frankly, hideous. I had a brief chat with Lyn, the yard owner this morning, who said that she is sure we would be able to work something out with a small pen in one of the fields for her to go in.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I don't even know what it is yet. Something deep down, some instinct - that may well be wrong - is telling me it's a suspensory injury, probably in both hinds, but I am obviously hoping it is something easier to treat than this. I should know more by tomorrow, but in the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for her.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Friday, 17 February 2012
Not quite as I'd hoped
Today I had a lesson with Jane. It was...interesting. She is happy with the saddle and it does seem to fit well, although I now no longer have any idea whether saddles fit or not. I lunged Echo for five minutes before the lesson and she was great - no crazy galloping or anything. When Jane arrived, I tacked up and got on.
As I said yesterday, she has been starting to overbend in trot and she's never done this before. It's only been in the last couple of weeks that she's done it. It ties in with the Bowen lady saying she was really tight around her withers.
I am finding it hard to know what to say about the lesson. She trained with Phillippe Karl and I have only a limited knowledge of what he does. She was getting me to lift Echo's head up, then ask her to flex, so that her head carriage was much higher. I'm not totally convinced by this, although it did seem to combat some of the overbending problems. I did find it made her a bit stuffy in her wither area though, as if she was finding it harder to walk. She said not to worry about the angle of her head too much - we just want to get her neck coming out of her shoulders at a better angle.
In walk, this was ok - we did lots of halt transitions, and they did get better and lighter in front. However, in trot, the overbending got worse and worse. She had us racing around at a great speed, trying to lift her head up, so that she could bring her hindlegs more under her...but it didn't really work like that. I felt like I had nothing in my hands at all - I just couldn't get her to stretch forward at all. Towards the end it got a bit better and my hands were nearly at her ears, but it didn't feel like it used to.
I can't work out what it is that made me not enjoy the lesson. Echo has gone much much better in the past and I didn't really agree with her method. She also kept telling me that the reason she is so overbent is because of the way she has been trained, from the hand first. If you've read this blog before, you'll know that I have trained her myself and I really don't hold the front in. There is a lot to improve in my riding, but she was going really well before her year off, so I can't really accept that. She was talking to me as if I didn't know that a horse needs to work through from behind...which was a bit odd.
In addition, she charged nearly twice what I was expecting (moral of the story - always ask how much a lesson will be before booking it!) and I could have had a lesson with Carl Hester for that price! But the saddle is good. I think. But then when I said I wanted to buy it but would have to sell my saddle first, she got a bit funny. She said she knows someone who might like it, but she would sell it for £50 less than the one I am buying, and then she'll take 20% commission. When I said I would rather sell it myself on ebay, as I can't afford that, she said she wouldn't let me borrow the one that fits unless she sells my saddle for me. I was really shocked - she's got me in a really difficult position, because I really want this saddle and want to be able to keep the work going now, so I need to hang on to it. So I have to let her sell it, and pay over £100 that I don't have.
I feel really disappointed. Not only was it a bit of a rubbish lesson that cost me a fortune, it's going to cost me loads to get the saddle.
Right - here are the photos and video. The video isn't great, as the camera goes out of focus when it zooms in and out and you can hear the zoom mechanism working...but hopefully it will illustrate some of our issues.
This was in walk near the beginning:
This one shows (rather exaggerated) the overbending problem!
Nothing on the end of my reins!!
This isn't too bad, but it was quite near the beginning of the lesson. Am struggling to upload videos so for now, click on this link:
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Tears, tantrums and...tentative progress!
Since my despairing last post, things came to a bit of a head, then got rather suddenly better. I am so grateful for all of your suggestions about what the problem might be. Lots of people queried what food she gets, and I had a chat with the yard manager about this, but found that she is still only getting a scoop of chaff (without molasses) and a bit of water three times a day. She has a supplement called Digest Plus, made by Baileys, which is a prebiotic and supposed to stop ulcers. She has a big pile of haylage in the field during the day, and then hay twice in her stable - once when she comes in and once at about 8pm. She was getting half hay and half haylage in her stable, but I've asked if she can have just hay to see whether the sugar in the haylage is having an effect.
Having written that last post, a friend at the yard had an instructor in to help her find a saddle and start giving her some lessons. She has been looking for a more suitable saddle for Echo but I didn't hold out too much hope - she seems to be so hard to fit! My friend said she didn't mind sharing the school, so I decided to lunge Echo while they were fiddling around with saddles at the other end. I took her into the school and Jane, the instructor, asked how I was getting on. So I promptly burst into tears. It really annoys me, but this is my reaction to everything at the moment - what an idiot! I think Jane took pity on me, so I explained how I was feeling a bit nervous of her and she said to just lunge it out of her. I wasn't supposed to lunge, as she had had another Bowen session, but it had got to the stage where I thought I would rather be safe, and hacking her out in straight lines in walk didn't feel safe (or very productive as she spent a fair amount of time cantering sideways with her head in the air - hardly the relaxed long and low it was supposed to be!)
I was worried about lunging her, as last time she had gone so crazy that I had to stop - I thought she was going to hurt herself. Having Jane there made me a bit more confident, so I put her on a circle and she promptly galloped flat out - in that really ugly two feet at a time gallop - dragging me in a huge circle and getting faster and faster. This was the point where I previously would have stopped her, but with lots of encouraging shouts from Jane at the other end of the school, I kept going. It was as if a switch flicked. She suddenly stopped galloping, put her head down and trotted quietly. Five minutes of craziness had returned my horse to me.
Jane had a look at her and thought she might have a saddle that would fit her - it's a dressage saddle made by Lovett and Ricketts - not a particularly grand make, but it fits! It sits nicely behind her (enormous) shoulders and seems to fit the odd shape of her back. Jane had a look at me lunging her in it and was happy that it didn't move and sat in good balance. She is a HUGE perfectionist and won't accept a saddle if it isn't perfect, and she was happy with this on Echo. I think I had worried her, so she asked if I wanted her to lunge me on Echo, but she was like a different horse - back to the Echo that I know and love, so I was happy to just get on and ride.
She felt good - she could move through her shoulder and seemed much happier. She was obviously also knackered from all the galloping, so that helped!
I was so so relieved. I know it's only a small step, but knowing that my horse is in there somewhere was a huge relief.
Jane said I could borrow the saddle for a while and then have a lesson to see whether it's working for us. I was planning to work her as much as possible that week, but then it snowed and the arena was totally out of action for over a week. Yesterday was the first day I was able to ride and I knew I would have to lunge her again first. I don't want to have to lunge every time, but as she had had 10 days off, I thought it would do us both good. She did gallop a bit, but not as wildly and not for as long, so that seems like a positive step. I put the saddle on and got on - and she was great! It was really windy and there are tall trees by the school that hide nasty horse-eating monsters, but Echo didn't notice them at all. She went very well - we walked and trotted on both reins and did a bit of leg yielding in walk. It's interesting actually - for the first time in months, she was happy to leg yield to the right - really happy.
If I am being fussy, she did feel very overbent, and in her last Bowen session she was really blocked behind her withers - although all the tension had gone from her hind legs, which, given all the foot balance issues, is remarkable. Teresa, the Bowen specialist, said I should work on getting her properly long and low, not tucking her nose in. I wondered whether it was her bit, as I had in the last few months changed to a fairly thin loose ring sweet iron snaffle with a central lozenge. She found it strange at first, so I wondered whether she was still not keen on it. I have put her back in the loose ring single jointed snaffle that she always had in the past, but she is still overbending and not really taking the contact forwards. Early days though.
I was hoping to ride today but work commitments stopped me; tomorrow I am having a lesson with Jane and I am really really looking forward to it. I will try to get someone to either take some photos or some video for me to upload.
I have also possible found someone to ride Echo for me a couple of days a week, so that she can get some rather more consistent exercise. She's a teenager whose horse has fractured his pedal bone and her has months of box rest ahead. She's a tidy rider and is keen to have some lessons, so it could work out very well for all of us...I'll let you know how she gets on!
I will try to update my blog more regularly now, as I know I have a lot of very kind, loyal followers who would love to hear more regularly how Echo is getting on. I have just got a new laptop after months of a terrible old one that could barely do anything on the internet. It has been driving me mad and made me so reluctant to even switch it on! But this one is fabulous. So I will do my best.
But your loyalty and interest is very much appreciated.
Having written that last post, a friend at the yard had an instructor in to help her find a saddle and start giving her some lessons. She has been looking for a more suitable saddle for Echo but I didn't hold out too much hope - she seems to be so hard to fit! My friend said she didn't mind sharing the school, so I decided to lunge Echo while they were fiddling around with saddles at the other end. I took her into the school and Jane, the instructor, asked how I was getting on. So I promptly burst into tears. It really annoys me, but this is my reaction to everything at the moment - what an idiot! I think Jane took pity on me, so I explained how I was feeling a bit nervous of her and she said to just lunge it out of her. I wasn't supposed to lunge, as she had had another Bowen session, but it had got to the stage where I thought I would rather be safe, and hacking her out in straight lines in walk didn't feel safe (or very productive as she spent a fair amount of time cantering sideways with her head in the air - hardly the relaxed long and low it was supposed to be!)
I was worried about lunging her, as last time she had gone so crazy that I had to stop - I thought she was going to hurt herself. Having Jane there made me a bit more confident, so I put her on a circle and she promptly galloped flat out - in that really ugly two feet at a time gallop - dragging me in a huge circle and getting faster and faster. This was the point where I previously would have stopped her, but with lots of encouraging shouts from Jane at the other end of the school, I kept going. It was as if a switch flicked. She suddenly stopped galloping, put her head down and trotted quietly. Five minutes of craziness had returned my horse to me.
Jane had a look at her and thought she might have a saddle that would fit her - it's a dressage saddle made by Lovett and Ricketts - not a particularly grand make, but it fits! It sits nicely behind her (enormous) shoulders and seems to fit the odd shape of her back. Jane had a look at me lunging her in it and was happy that it didn't move and sat in good balance. She is a HUGE perfectionist and won't accept a saddle if it isn't perfect, and she was happy with this on Echo. I think I had worried her, so she asked if I wanted her to lunge me on Echo, but she was like a different horse - back to the Echo that I know and love, so I was happy to just get on and ride.
She felt good - she could move through her shoulder and seemed much happier. She was obviously also knackered from all the galloping, so that helped!
I was so so relieved. I know it's only a small step, but knowing that my horse is in there somewhere was a huge relief.
Jane said I could borrow the saddle for a while and then have a lesson to see whether it's working for us. I was planning to work her as much as possible that week, but then it snowed and the arena was totally out of action for over a week. Yesterday was the first day I was able to ride and I knew I would have to lunge her again first. I don't want to have to lunge every time, but as she had had 10 days off, I thought it would do us both good. She did gallop a bit, but not as wildly and not for as long, so that seems like a positive step. I put the saddle on and got on - and she was great! It was really windy and there are tall trees by the school that hide nasty horse-eating monsters, but Echo didn't notice them at all. She went very well - we walked and trotted on both reins and did a bit of leg yielding in walk. It's interesting actually - for the first time in months, she was happy to leg yield to the right - really happy.
If I am being fussy, she did feel very overbent, and in her last Bowen session she was really blocked behind her withers - although all the tension had gone from her hind legs, which, given all the foot balance issues, is remarkable. Teresa, the Bowen specialist, said I should work on getting her properly long and low, not tucking her nose in. I wondered whether it was her bit, as I had in the last few months changed to a fairly thin loose ring sweet iron snaffle with a central lozenge. She found it strange at first, so I wondered whether she was still not keen on it. I have put her back in the loose ring single jointed snaffle that she always had in the past, but she is still overbending and not really taking the contact forwards. Early days though.
I was hoping to ride today but work commitments stopped me; tomorrow I am having a lesson with Jane and I am really really looking forward to it. I will try to get someone to either take some photos or some video for me to upload.
I have also possible found someone to ride Echo for me a couple of days a week, so that she can get some rather more consistent exercise. She's a teenager whose horse has fractured his pedal bone and her has months of box rest ahead. She's a tidy rider and is keen to have some lessons, so it could work out very well for all of us...I'll let you know how she gets on!
I will try to update my blog more regularly now, as I know I have a lot of very kind, loyal followers who would love to hear more regularly how Echo is getting on. I have just got a new laptop after months of a terrible old one that could barely do anything on the internet. It has been driving me mad and made me so reluctant to even switch it on! But this one is fabulous. So I will do my best.
But your loyalty and interest is very much appreciated.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
OK
Ok. I have been putting off writing a post for a while, as things haven't really been easy. It must seem like all I ever write about are problems, but that's sort of how it feels at the moment.
The saddle has been...ok. I don't think it's perfect - she has moments where she feels great, and moments where she feels like she is really uncomfortable with it on. Her feet are also ok. Not great yet, but improving - these things take time. And lots of it.
The day before I went up to see my family for Christmas, I rode Echo in the school - we had been doing quite a bit of riding and hacking - mostly in walk, but she had been really good. I rode her in the school on this day and she was great. I was just about to get off, when she shied really violently. I don't know what spooked her, but it got some of the other horses in the fields around too. I let her listen and look for a moment, but it was nothing, so I rode her in a circle, taking her past that place again. She shied even more violently that time and went totally rigid underneath me.
Since I was about to finish anyway and there was a really novice rider in the school, I thought it best to get off. She is normally fine to lead after spooking, so I went to lead her across the school to the gate and she reared, and started bouncing off all four feet at once. Echo has NEVER reared - ever. I stood her still, spoke to her, tried to calm her down, then went to walk off again - and she did it again, then cantered sideways all the way to the gate. I was quite scared to be honest - that was not my horse at all. I got her out of the gate, thinking that she would calm down then, but she did it again, this time rearing at me with her front feet. I had to let go of her, as I only had her reins to hang on to and her feet were coming too close to my face. But then I envisioned her causing havoc on the yard so I launched in and grabbed her reins. A guy at the yard who had just been long-reining his horse ran over and took hold of her, and put a lunge line on her.
She calmed down pretty quickly, but I had been really scared - this really isn't like her at all. I know she's had lots of time off, but the whole time she was out of work when I was living with my parents, I trusted her completely - thought I knew every reaction she has in her - I've had her since she was a yearling for goodness' sake!
The worst thing was that I then had to leave her for over a week and couldn't sort out whatever was wrong.
When I got back, I lunged her a couple of times - the first time she went crazy - probably to be expected, although she's never really been crazy on the lunge before. The second time she was great - really calm - and then the third time she was totally wild and I had to stop, for fear that she would hurt herself.
Despite the fact that her saddle has only just been fitted for her, someone at the yard was a different person out to get their horse a saddle. Although not a saddler, this woman is a BHSI and apparently (according to lots of people, including my farrier) is amazing at fitting saddles. I just asked if she would take a look at Echo's and she immediately said 'well, that doesn't fit at all.' She explained that Echo has quite a shaped back and modern dressage saddles all have flat panels - it will be putting pressure on her lumbar region (where she gets sore) and digging into her shoulders. It does make sense. But I could have cried.
So...she is looking out for a saddle that she thinks will fit her better. In the meantime - I didn't know what to do. I started off not riding, then got a Bowen specialist out to treat Echo's back. This is someone that a good friend of mine has been badgering me to try for a while, and it does seem like it's done something. She was really tight through her lumbar region, but when the Bowen specialist, Teresa, had a look at the saddle - guess what! She didn't think my saddle is that bad a fit.
I decided that if she thinks it's ok, I would start riding her again gently in the saddle that I have and see what happens. If the BHSI finds me a different one, I will happily try it.
After the Bowen therapy, I was advised to only ride her in straight lines for a few days, so no school work. Great - particularly when I have a horse that I have suddenly become rather a lot more nervous of and which hasn't been ridden since before Christmas. But, I didn't want to waste my money by doing the wrong thing, so I dutifully hacked out, on what was possibly the most stressful hack I've ever been on. We saw everything that we could possibly not want to see: a huge field of pigs, all standing right by the track, who decided - all 60 of them - to bolt away from us as we rode past; a giant turf lorry hurtling towards us on the track; a truck pulling a bouncing flat-bed trailer appearing beside us out of nowhere.
Echo was very good, in fairness to her. She was scared of the pigs, but that's understandable. It just wasn't very calm. I then went out with someone else two days later and it was just as eventful; I had to get off her at one point to get her past a huge tap by a reservoir that was hissing madly and spurting out water - she probably would have been ok, but she wanted to give it a wide berth by going onto a turf field - and the farmers charge you by the hoof print for that!
I rode in the school on Sunday, in what can only be described as a gale, and then hacked out today. It was much calmer out - except that Echo felt like a coiled spring and spent the first 20 minutes pretty much passaging along - feeling like she was totally solid through her back and neck and not listening to me at all. She calmed downeventually and we did do some trotting today, so that was really good.
It WAS a really positive ride today, but I am just finding this all so stressful at the moment. I feel like I don't know my horse at the moment and it's making me nervous. I've never been nervous on Echo - not even when I backed her. She's just really unpredictable at the moment and it's really, really upsetting me.
Perhaps it's the saddle. If she is still uncomfortable, that does seem to have a huge impact on her temperament. I know she's had loads of time off and it will take time, but I don't feel like I'm making things any better at the moment and I don't really know what to do.
She's having another Bowen session hopefully at the weekend, which will be interesting, as if she's tight again then I will know that something is wrong - she'll have been ridden about five times since the last treatment by then, so if the tightness has come back then I'm guessing there must be a reason for it.
In the meantime, any words of advice or encouragement would be gratefully received - 'cos I don't really know what the hell I'm doing right now.
The saddle has been...ok. I don't think it's perfect - she has moments where she feels great, and moments where she feels like she is really uncomfortable with it on. Her feet are also ok. Not great yet, but improving - these things take time. And lots of it.
The day before I went up to see my family for Christmas, I rode Echo in the school - we had been doing quite a bit of riding and hacking - mostly in walk, but she had been really good. I rode her in the school on this day and she was great. I was just about to get off, when she shied really violently. I don't know what spooked her, but it got some of the other horses in the fields around too. I let her listen and look for a moment, but it was nothing, so I rode her in a circle, taking her past that place again. She shied even more violently that time and went totally rigid underneath me.
Since I was about to finish anyway and there was a really novice rider in the school, I thought it best to get off. She is normally fine to lead after spooking, so I went to lead her across the school to the gate and she reared, and started bouncing off all four feet at once. Echo has NEVER reared - ever. I stood her still, spoke to her, tried to calm her down, then went to walk off again - and she did it again, then cantered sideways all the way to the gate. I was quite scared to be honest - that was not my horse at all. I got her out of the gate, thinking that she would calm down then, but she did it again, this time rearing at me with her front feet. I had to let go of her, as I only had her reins to hang on to and her feet were coming too close to my face. But then I envisioned her causing havoc on the yard so I launched in and grabbed her reins. A guy at the yard who had just been long-reining his horse ran over and took hold of her, and put a lunge line on her.
She calmed down pretty quickly, but I had been really scared - this really isn't like her at all. I know she's had lots of time off, but the whole time she was out of work when I was living with my parents, I trusted her completely - thought I knew every reaction she has in her - I've had her since she was a yearling for goodness' sake!
The worst thing was that I then had to leave her for over a week and couldn't sort out whatever was wrong.
When I got back, I lunged her a couple of times - the first time she went crazy - probably to be expected, although she's never really been crazy on the lunge before. The second time she was great - really calm - and then the third time she was totally wild and I had to stop, for fear that she would hurt herself.
Despite the fact that her saddle has only just been fitted for her, someone at the yard was a different person out to get their horse a saddle. Although not a saddler, this woman is a BHSI and apparently (according to lots of people, including my farrier) is amazing at fitting saddles. I just asked if she would take a look at Echo's and she immediately said 'well, that doesn't fit at all.' She explained that Echo has quite a shaped back and modern dressage saddles all have flat panels - it will be putting pressure on her lumbar region (where she gets sore) and digging into her shoulders. It does make sense. But I could have cried.
So...she is looking out for a saddle that she thinks will fit her better. In the meantime - I didn't know what to do. I started off not riding, then got a Bowen specialist out to treat Echo's back. This is someone that a good friend of mine has been badgering me to try for a while, and it does seem like it's done something. She was really tight through her lumbar region, but when the Bowen specialist, Teresa, had a look at the saddle - guess what! She didn't think my saddle is that bad a fit.
I decided that if she thinks it's ok, I would start riding her again gently in the saddle that I have and see what happens. If the BHSI finds me a different one, I will happily try it.
After the Bowen therapy, I was advised to only ride her in straight lines for a few days, so no school work. Great - particularly when I have a horse that I have suddenly become rather a lot more nervous of and which hasn't been ridden since before Christmas. But, I didn't want to waste my money by doing the wrong thing, so I dutifully hacked out, on what was possibly the most stressful hack I've ever been on. We saw everything that we could possibly not want to see: a huge field of pigs, all standing right by the track, who decided - all 60 of them - to bolt away from us as we rode past; a giant turf lorry hurtling towards us on the track; a truck pulling a bouncing flat-bed trailer appearing beside us out of nowhere.
Echo was very good, in fairness to her. She was scared of the pigs, but that's understandable. It just wasn't very calm. I then went out with someone else two days later and it was just as eventful; I had to get off her at one point to get her past a huge tap by a reservoir that was hissing madly and spurting out water - she probably would have been ok, but she wanted to give it a wide berth by going onto a turf field - and the farmers charge you by the hoof print for that!
I rode in the school on Sunday, in what can only be described as a gale, and then hacked out today. It was much calmer out - except that Echo felt like a coiled spring and spent the first 20 minutes pretty much passaging along - feeling like she was totally solid through her back and neck and not listening to me at all. She calmed downeventually and we did do some trotting today, so that was really good.
It WAS a really positive ride today, but I am just finding this all so stressful at the moment. I feel like I don't know my horse at the moment and it's making me nervous. I've never been nervous on Echo - not even when I backed her. She's just really unpredictable at the moment and it's really, really upsetting me.
Perhaps it's the saddle. If she is still uncomfortable, that does seem to have a huge impact on her temperament. I know she's had loads of time off and it will take time, but I don't feel like I'm making things any better at the moment and I don't really know what to do.
She's having another Bowen session hopefully at the weekend, which will be interesting, as if she's tight again then I will know that something is wrong - she'll have been ridden about five times since the last treatment by then, so if the tightness has come back then I'm guessing there must be a reason for it.
In the meantime, any words of advice or encouragement would be gratefully received - 'cos I don't really know what the hell I'm doing right now.
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Sensitive little soul!
On Wednesday, I picked up my reflocked saddle and was so excited about trying it on Echo. Thursday morning I decided to ride in the school in it, just in walk and a tiny bit of trot - pretty much all that I have been doing bareback - and see how she felt. I was really disappointed. She just didn't feel right in it. She kept stopping and napping, swishing her tail and shaking her head. Now, I know that she's had a long time off work, but this is not like her at all. I encouraged her forward and got her to keep her head carriage low, so that she could stretch under the saddle, but after ten minutes I'd had enough.
There was an instructor just coming into the school and her pupil asked how the saddle was - I briefly said that I wasn't that sure, so the instructor had a quick look. She said she thought it was tipping me forward and that the balance of the saddle was a little low at the front. She recommended that I play around with trying different pads under the saddle, to see if I can raise the front fractionally. With this in mind, I rode her on Friday morning, with a little patch of sheepskin under the front. It was like riding a different horse. She walked on as soon as I mounted, felt relaxed, wasn't pacing at all and was happy to half-halt and take a contact.
It's amazing how sensitive she is (although several people have said to me that cobs often are) but I guess it is a good thing that she is so adament when she is uncomfortable. Once I was happy that she was comfortable, I took her for a walk to the end of the track outside the yard and back. I couldn't go any further than that on my own as there is a lovely big field of pigs just round the corner and she has only seen them once before - and was not impressed! I think we need to meet them again when we have a nice calm friend with us for support.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was AMAZING to be out on my beautiful horse again - and here is a view that I cannot tell you how much I have missed!
There was an instructor just coming into the school and her pupil asked how the saddle was - I briefly said that I wasn't that sure, so the instructor had a quick look. She said she thought it was tipping me forward and that the balance of the saddle was a little low at the front. She recommended that I play around with trying different pads under the saddle, to see if I can raise the front fractionally. With this in mind, I rode her on Friday morning, with a little patch of sheepskin under the front. It was like riding a different horse. She walked on as soon as I mounted, felt relaxed, wasn't pacing at all and was happy to half-halt and take a contact.
It's amazing how sensitive she is (although several people have said to me that cobs often are) but I guess it is a good thing that she is so adament when she is uncomfortable. Once I was happy that she was comfortable, I took her for a walk to the end of the track outside the yard and back. I couldn't go any further than that on my own as there is a lovely big field of pigs just round the corner and she has only seen them once before - and was not impressed! I think we need to meet them again when we have a nice calm friend with us for support.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was AMAZING to be out on my beautiful horse again - and here is a view that I cannot tell you how much I have missed!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Things are looking up...hopefully.
Well I moved her. We're now back at the yard she was at before I took her up to my parents' house last year, and everything is back as it should be. I feel bad, to be honest - I hadn't realised how unhappy Echo was until I got her back here: she is a different horse - she's my horse again.
It's been such a relief to have her back here; this yard suits my lifestyle so much better and evidently it suits Echo too. She's still in a field on her own, but she has a horse on each side and regularly has chats over the fence. We haven't had any stress in the stable, even though she is left in nearly until last every morning, and she has only got through the fence once. If I had written this post last week, I could have said there have been NO breakages whatsoever...but last week she decided to get into her neighbour's field. In fairness to her, the electric fence wasn't on, she had finished her hay and she didn't do anything once she was in there, so it was all OK. And best of all, there was no nastiness from the yard owner - she just said that we need to remember to put the fence on.
So in other news, we are still working on getting her sound and it's taking so long!
In the last four months, Echo has had a saddle on twice. Twice. But I am really really hoping that things are about to start improving. She had the farrier out last week, who said that at last we are starting to see some growth on the outside of her foot - not masses of it, but this is progress. He watched her walk on the hard surface and was happy to see her moving much straighter now too. With any luck, this set of shoes might be the last ones that have to have studs in, as she is starting to level out now.
So following on from this, we had a saddler come out as well. I was convinced that my saddle didn't fit - she had become so sore wearing it back in July when I first moved her down here that I thought it had to be a poor fit. The saddler measured her back and shoulders, drawing diagrams on a piece of paper. She then had a look at my saddle and said that actually she didn't have much of a problem with the way it looked on her back - it needed a bit of work, but was a good width for her right now. Interestingly, she pointed out that it is in fact a wide fit - I thought it was medium-wide. She's always been a MW when in work, so the saddler suggested that it would be worth sticking with what we have for now, as it is possible that she will change shape and need a new one at some point.
So she has totally stripped the saddle out and reflocked it, shaping it much more accurately for her back - she has quite a lot of shape in her back at the moment, and the panels were much too hard and flat for her. Unfortunately the saddler can't come out to look at it again until the middle of December, so I am going to have to pick it up from the shop, try it on her myself and hope that everything is OK.
In the meantime, I have been riding her bareback quite a lot. I was using a polypad with a surcingle, but recently a friend lent me a bareback pad - a lovely suede one that has a western style cinch to fasten it. I tried it on her last week, got on and she hated it. She has got into the habit of stopping dead and refusing to move if she doesn't like the feel of something. While this sounds as if it would be helpful, I do think she milks it a bit...When the saddler came out she tried my saddle on her with a prolite underneath it to soften the feel of the panels. When I first got on, her back came up and she refused to move. I was worried that this meant it didn't fit, but I managed to turn her and push her on and she soon settled down, eventually feeling fine in it.
However, I really hope I'm not ignoring a huge problem here. When the bareback pad made her stop dead, I took it off and put the polypad and surcingle back on - and she was fine - she walked out comfortably. I really just don't know what to think. Probably, the only way I will know is to try the reflocked saddle on her and see how it goes. I suppose it's possible that she is finding the feel of the girth a bit odd, as it has been so long.
So tomorrow I hope to pick up my saddle and I will let you know how it goes. Next on my list of things to do is to get her back and pelvis looked at by a Bowen specialist. But she has cost me a fortune already this month - that might have to wait until after payday!
It's been such a relief to have her back here; this yard suits my lifestyle so much better and evidently it suits Echo too. She's still in a field on her own, but she has a horse on each side and regularly has chats over the fence. We haven't had any stress in the stable, even though she is left in nearly until last every morning, and she has only got through the fence once. If I had written this post last week, I could have said there have been NO breakages whatsoever...but last week she decided to get into her neighbour's field. In fairness to her, the electric fence wasn't on, she had finished her hay and she didn't do anything once she was in there, so it was all OK. And best of all, there was no nastiness from the yard owner - she just said that we need to remember to put the fence on.
So in other news, we are still working on getting her sound and it's taking so long!
In the last four months, Echo has had a saddle on twice. Twice. But I am really really hoping that things are about to start improving. She had the farrier out last week, who said that at last we are starting to see some growth on the outside of her foot - not masses of it, but this is progress. He watched her walk on the hard surface and was happy to see her moving much straighter now too. With any luck, this set of shoes might be the last ones that have to have studs in, as she is starting to level out now.
So following on from this, we had a saddler come out as well. I was convinced that my saddle didn't fit - she had become so sore wearing it back in July when I first moved her down here that I thought it had to be a poor fit. The saddler measured her back and shoulders, drawing diagrams on a piece of paper. She then had a look at my saddle and said that actually she didn't have much of a problem with the way it looked on her back - it needed a bit of work, but was a good width for her right now. Interestingly, she pointed out that it is in fact a wide fit - I thought it was medium-wide. She's always been a MW when in work, so the saddler suggested that it would be worth sticking with what we have for now, as it is possible that she will change shape and need a new one at some point.
So she has totally stripped the saddle out and reflocked it, shaping it much more accurately for her back - she has quite a lot of shape in her back at the moment, and the panels were much too hard and flat for her. Unfortunately the saddler can't come out to look at it again until the middle of December, so I am going to have to pick it up from the shop, try it on her myself and hope that everything is OK.
In the meantime, I have been riding her bareback quite a lot. I was using a polypad with a surcingle, but recently a friend lent me a bareback pad - a lovely suede one that has a western style cinch to fasten it. I tried it on her last week, got on and she hated it. She has got into the habit of stopping dead and refusing to move if she doesn't like the feel of something. While this sounds as if it would be helpful, I do think she milks it a bit...When the saddler came out she tried my saddle on her with a prolite underneath it to soften the feel of the panels. When I first got on, her back came up and she refused to move. I was worried that this meant it didn't fit, but I managed to turn her and push her on and she soon settled down, eventually feeling fine in it.
However, I really hope I'm not ignoring a huge problem here. When the bareback pad made her stop dead, I took it off and put the polypad and surcingle back on - and she was fine - she walked out comfortably. I really just don't know what to think. Probably, the only way I will know is to try the reflocked saddle on her and see how it goes. I suppose it's possible that she is finding the feel of the girth a bit odd, as it has been so long.
So tomorrow I hope to pick up my saddle and I will let you know how it goes. Next on my list of things to do is to get her back and pelvis looked at by a Bowen specialist. But she has cost me a fortune already this month - that might have to wait until after payday!
Friday, 7 October 2011
Livery Nightmare
Echo and I have been having a bit of a tough time.
Her feet are still pretty bad - she has now been shod twice since we first realised the imbalance, but unfortunately they are still growing extremely unlevel. She has a stud in the outside of each shoe, to provide a 'false level' as my farrier calls it - this seems to really help when she's on hard ground, but it makes little difference on a soft surface as the stud just sinks in.
The farrier says it will take 5 or 6 sets of shoes to get her truly level again - it is so frustrating.
Added to this, I don't even know if her feet are the only problem. She looks really uncomfortable in her hindlegs - not lame, just a bit odd. I know that her feet are a major factor - when Gary trimmed them on Monday he said they had grown to almost an inch out - the outside of the foot is an inch shorter than the inside. All her (considerable!) weight is going through the outside of her foot and crushing it so that it doesn't grow. He trimmed loads from the inside, but nothing from the outside - there was no growth at all there.
So... I haven't been working her. Gary said the worst thing I can do is lunge, as it will put so much pressure on her joints with her feet being unlevel. The problem is, Echo loves to work and becomes really frustrated when she isn't doing anything.
The yard I moved her to is not working out - for this very reason. We tried turning her out with another mare in a field a month or so ago and although she seemed ok at first, she started chasing and kicking the other mare so violently that the other owner (understandably) wanted to take her mare out. Everything was fine for a while and Echo was on her own, but surrounded by other horses. However, a new horse arrived, so the turnout plan was rearranged and Echo got moved to a field in front of the stables. She can't really see other horses from here but there is another horse that's turned out next to her from 7-12 each morning. We started off by turning Echo out at the same time as this horse, then when he went in for the rest of the day, opening the gate through so she could have both fields - the one that she was in for the morning was tiny and had no grass at all.
However. This routine did not suit Echo at all. I don't think she could understand why she was allowed to walk through the gateway at some times of day but not at others. So...she just pushed through the tape gate. She does have a bit of a history of doing this, and we have always solved the problem by putting barrels in front of the gate - the physical barrier tends to put her off. This worked for a few days, but then she managed to find a gap and as the electric fence wasn't on (it never is really) she went straight through. She doesn't do anything when she's on the other side, she just thinks she should be allowed in there.
By this stage I had already decided to move her back to the yard I was at before moving up to my parents last year. However, the owners of the yard I'm at at the moment have got quite nasty and have said that Echo is dangerous and so they won't let her go out in the field until after the other horse comes in at 12. She has to stand in her stable all morning, while every other horse gets to go in the field.
I just find this so unfair. They moved her to a field that she clearly is unhappy in - and yet they are punishing her for behaving in the way she has been. Having already handed in my notice, I received a text message a week later (after the breaking the fence incident) telling me to leave as soon as possible - which I was trying to do anyway.
I have since been told all sorts of things that the owners have said about me - including them being cross because I'm not working her - "If only she would work the bl**dy horse, we might not have a problem" is apparently what was said. Why would I work a horse that is not right?
I am so upset by this - I take it really personally anyway when someone is rude about my horse but what gets to me the most is the fact that they are taking it out on her. She was perfectly fine until they moved her field - and yet she is the one having to stand in her stable all day. And of course when she charges about in her field when she DOES get turned out, it is obviously another sign of her being a 'dangerous' horse.
Well, the farrier suggested I start riding her now - only in straight lines and on a firm surface - so tonight I got on my 'dangerous' horse bareback (as my saddle needs checking and I'm not prepared to cause more problems) and rode her for about 15 minutes - mostly in walk, but with a couple of short trots as well. She was fabulous - and really enjoyed doing something.
As you can probably tell, this has all been getting to me a bit - and I am so so busy with a job and finishing my dissertation, so I could really do without it. I went round to the new/old yard this week to see if there was any way she could squeeze us in before the date I was originally given. Lyn asked how Echo was and I promptly burst into tears (I've been doing this a lot recently!) She took pity on me and has agreed to come and get Echo early next week - this will be before my month's notice is due, but as I was told to leave as soon as possible, I don't think it will be a problem. I did, however, receive a bill for the whole of October yesterday - when I tried to ask the owner about this - querying the fact that, as I handed my notice in in the middle of September, surely I wouldn't have to pay a whole month's livery, he said: "We charge for full months here," and he walked away from me, refusing to discuss it.
I'm not really sure what to do. I want to get out of that place as soon as possible - Echo is miserable and so am I - the best thing we can do is go, but if I am paying for a stable for the whole month, perhaps I could leave some feed bins in there or something. I am very conscious of the fact that they have a waiting list and will be able to fill the space immediately - I think it's unfair if they are just trying to make money from me...what do you think?
My goodness - this was going to be a quick update and it has turned into a full-blown rant! Hopefully, by this time next week, things will be looking a lot more positive and I will have a happier horse on my hands.
Her feet are still pretty bad - she has now been shod twice since we first realised the imbalance, but unfortunately they are still growing extremely unlevel. She has a stud in the outside of each shoe, to provide a 'false level' as my farrier calls it - this seems to really help when she's on hard ground, but it makes little difference on a soft surface as the stud just sinks in.
The farrier says it will take 5 or 6 sets of shoes to get her truly level again - it is so frustrating.
Added to this, I don't even know if her feet are the only problem. She looks really uncomfortable in her hindlegs - not lame, just a bit odd. I know that her feet are a major factor - when Gary trimmed them on Monday he said they had grown to almost an inch out - the outside of the foot is an inch shorter than the inside. All her (considerable!) weight is going through the outside of her foot and crushing it so that it doesn't grow. He trimmed loads from the inside, but nothing from the outside - there was no growth at all there.
So... I haven't been working her. Gary said the worst thing I can do is lunge, as it will put so much pressure on her joints with her feet being unlevel. The problem is, Echo loves to work and becomes really frustrated when she isn't doing anything.
The yard I moved her to is not working out - for this very reason. We tried turning her out with another mare in a field a month or so ago and although she seemed ok at first, she started chasing and kicking the other mare so violently that the other owner (understandably) wanted to take her mare out. Everything was fine for a while and Echo was on her own, but surrounded by other horses. However, a new horse arrived, so the turnout plan was rearranged and Echo got moved to a field in front of the stables. She can't really see other horses from here but there is another horse that's turned out next to her from 7-12 each morning. We started off by turning Echo out at the same time as this horse, then when he went in for the rest of the day, opening the gate through so she could have both fields - the one that she was in for the morning was tiny and had no grass at all.
However. This routine did not suit Echo at all. I don't think she could understand why she was allowed to walk through the gateway at some times of day but not at others. So...she just pushed through the tape gate. She does have a bit of a history of doing this, and we have always solved the problem by putting barrels in front of the gate - the physical barrier tends to put her off. This worked for a few days, but then she managed to find a gap and as the electric fence wasn't on (it never is really) she went straight through. She doesn't do anything when she's on the other side, she just thinks she should be allowed in there.
By this stage I had already decided to move her back to the yard I was at before moving up to my parents last year. However, the owners of the yard I'm at at the moment have got quite nasty and have said that Echo is dangerous and so they won't let her go out in the field until after the other horse comes in at 12. She has to stand in her stable all morning, while every other horse gets to go in the field.
I just find this so unfair. They moved her to a field that she clearly is unhappy in - and yet they are punishing her for behaving in the way she has been. Having already handed in my notice, I received a text message a week later (after the breaking the fence incident) telling me to leave as soon as possible - which I was trying to do anyway.
I have since been told all sorts of things that the owners have said about me - including them being cross because I'm not working her - "If only she would work the bl**dy horse, we might not have a problem" is apparently what was said. Why would I work a horse that is not right?
I am so upset by this - I take it really personally anyway when someone is rude about my horse but what gets to me the most is the fact that they are taking it out on her. She was perfectly fine until they moved her field - and yet she is the one having to stand in her stable all day. And of course when she charges about in her field when she DOES get turned out, it is obviously another sign of her being a 'dangerous' horse.
Well, the farrier suggested I start riding her now - only in straight lines and on a firm surface - so tonight I got on my 'dangerous' horse bareback (as my saddle needs checking and I'm not prepared to cause more problems) and rode her for about 15 minutes - mostly in walk, but with a couple of short trots as well. She was fabulous - and really enjoyed doing something.
As you can probably tell, this has all been getting to me a bit - and I am so so busy with a job and finishing my dissertation, so I could really do without it. I went round to the new/old yard this week to see if there was any way she could squeeze us in before the date I was originally given. Lyn asked how Echo was and I promptly burst into tears (I've been doing this a lot recently!) She took pity on me and has agreed to come and get Echo early next week - this will be before my month's notice is due, but as I was told to leave as soon as possible, I don't think it will be a problem. I did, however, receive a bill for the whole of October yesterday - when I tried to ask the owner about this - querying the fact that, as I handed my notice in in the middle of September, surely I wouldn't have to pay a whole month's livery, he said: "We charge for full months here," and he walked away from me, refusing to discuss it.
I'm not really sure what to do. I want to get out of that place as soon as possible - Echo is miserable and so am I - the best thing we can do is go, but if I am paying for a stable for the whole month, perhaps I could leave some feed bins in there or something. I am very conscious of the fact that they have a waiting list and will be able to fill the space immediately - I think it's unfair if they are just trying to make money from me...what do you think?
My goodness - this was going to be a quick update and it has turned into a full-blown rant! Hopefully, by this time next week, things will be looking a lot more positive and I will have a happier horse on my hands.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Crazy flying circus horse
My goodness, there is some catching up to do. Every time I think I will have time to get going again, life gets in the way. I have now moved Echo back to where we lived before, although to a different yard, as we are now doing DIY livery. Things are good - I managed to get a horse transport company to move her, relatively cheaply, as I was too stressed out by the idea of hiring a lorry and driving her myself. She travelled really well and arrived relaxed and settled in quickly to her new yard.
And then she came into season.
I have seriously never known her like this. She is in a field on her own, but has three horses on one side and one on the other, so she is far from lonely. Actually, in the field, she is fine. And to be honest, she is fine in her stable too - she just has rather different ideas about when it is time to leave her stable. On Sunday, when I arrived at the yard, they told me she had jumped out of her stable when the horse n ext to her was turned out. Literally, jumped her stable door and galloped off down the track to her field.
Amazingly, there was not a scratch on her, but I was pretty worried. Echo has a bit of a history of getting her legs over the stable door, but she hasn't done it since she was a 2 year old, so although I still have anti-weave bars, I haven't had to use them for so long. They were too big for her stable door, and the guy who was able to cut them down was not at the yard until yesterday, so yesterday morning, she tried again. When the horse next to her was turned out (he has to go first as he's in an adjoining field) she got her legs up over the door and it took two people to wave their arms at her to keep her from jumping out.
The bars have now been fitted, and she is also back on Oestress, a supplement to soothe hormonal mares, but I am a little baffled. I guess as she has been out for a year and not in work for 8 months, she has got a bit used to thinking for herself...and being rather stubborn about getting her own way!
I can't even keep her occupied by working her, as she has to have more time off. I have been riding her in the new saddle - it fits adequately, although when I can ride again I'm going to get a saddler out again to check it. However, I could tell that things were not right with her hindlegs. She started pacing in walk, creating a 2-time gait, and felt uncomfortable behind. She would not half-halt in trot and felt as though she were running onto her forehand all the time. I honestly didn't know what to think - I had had the vet in November, who thought she was a little stiff behind and mentioned the possibility of arthritic changes in her hocks, but I hadn't pursued this any further, as I wanted to see what she was like when she came back into work.
I booked a massage for her, and got my old farrier to come and take a look, thinking that I would be best off starting with her feet. It's a good job I did - her foot balance is so dreadful, after a year with a different farrier, that he said it's a wonder she can walk at all. He showed me her heels and the vast difference in levels: In her left hind, the outside heel is an inch shorter than the inside, and it is similar in her right hind. He explained what this would do to her pelvis and her hind-leg action, then showed me what he meant as she walked away from me. He said it would be at its most pronounced in walk (which it is) and that each time I ride, I will be doing damage.
I am mortified. You put your trust (and money!) into professional people who have passed exams, and then they wreck your horse. He has said that he wants more foot to work with, so I have to wait until her shoes are nearly falling off before he will start working on getting them level again. He said it'll be at least 8 weeks of not riding, but it will be nearly a year before her feet will be truly level.
One of my friends has just qualified as an equine physio, so I got her to have a look at her, the day before her massage was booked for. She watched her on the lunge and said she was obviously uncomfortable, but also that she looked a bit lame on her right hind. Echo has always had strength issues with the right hind, but when she is fit, you hardly notice it. She also said she was really tight through her right side and sore in her lumbar area. When the massage therapist came the next day, she agreed with this, so set about releasing her muscles through her rib-cage and loosening the lumbar region. She was really quite uncomfortable and found it hard to stand still, but she did release through those muscles, and seemed a lot happier afterwards.
My physio friend came to look at her again a couple of days later and said that she was much more sound now - it's amazing what muscle tightness can do! She said the right hind is still weaker, but it could well be the old issue and when she is able to work again, she will give us some exercises to do to work on that weakness.
So...things are not quite as grim as they looked at the beginning of last week, but there is a way to go. First thing is to sort her feet out...and to stop her injuring herself while she's in season! She is hopefully going to be turned out with another horse soon, so perhaps that might take her mind off things.
And then she came into season.
I have seriously never known her like this. She is in a field on her own, but has three horses on one side and one on the other, so she is far from lonely. Actually, in the field, she is fine. And to be honest, she is fine in her stable too - she just has rather different ideas about when it is time to leave her stable. On Sunday, when I arrived at the yard, they told me she had jumped out of her stable when the horse n ext to her was turned out. Literally, jumped her stable door and galloped off down the track to her field.
Amazingly, there was not a scratch on her, but I was pretty worried. Echo has a bit of a history of getting her legs over the stable door, but she hasn't done it since she was a 2 year old, so although I still have anti-weave bars, I haven't had to use them for so long. They were too big for her stable door, and the guy who was able to cut them down was not at the yard until yesterday, so yesterday morning, she tried again. When the horse next to her was turned out (he has to go first as he's in an adjoining field) she got her legs up over the door and it took two people to wave their arms at her to keep her from jumping out.
The bars have now been fitted, and she is also back on Oestress, a supplement to soothe hormonal mares, but I am a little baffled. I guess as she has been out for a year and not in work for 8 months, she has got a bit used to thinking for herself...and being rather stubborn about getting her own way!
I can't even keep her occupied by working her, as she has to have more time off. I have been riding her in the new saddle - it fits adequately, although when I can ride again I'm going to get a saddler out again to check it. However, I could tell that things were not right with her hindlegs. She started pacing in walk, creating a 2-time gait, and felt uncomfortable behind. She would not half-halt in trot and felt as though she were running onto her forehand all the time. I honestly didn't know what to think - I had had the vet in November, who thought she was a little stiff behind and mentioned the possibility of arthritic changes in her hocks, but I hadn't pursued this any further, as I wanted to see what she was like when she came back into work.
I booked a massage for her, and got my old farrier to come and take a look, thinking that I would be best off starting with her feet. It's a good job I did - her foot balance is so dreadful, after a year with a different farrier, that he said it's a wonder she can walk at all. He showed me her heels and the vast difference in levels: In her left hind, the outside heel is an inch shorter than the inside, and it is similar in her right hind. He explained what this would do to her pelvis and her hind-leg action, then showed me what he meant as she walked away from me. He said it would be at its most pronounced in walk (which it is) and that each time I ride, I will be doing damage.
I am mortified. You put your trust (and money!) into professional people who have passed exams, and then they wreck your horse. He has said that he wants more foot to work with, so I have to wait until her shoes are nearly falling off before he will start working on getting them level again. He said it'll be at least 8 weeks of not riding, but it will be nearly a year before her feet will be truly level.
One of my friends has just qualified as an equine physio, so I got her to have a look at her, the day before her massage was booked for. She watched her on the lunge and said she was obviously uncomfortable, but also that she looked a bit lame on her right hind. Echo has always had strength issues with the right hind, but when she is fit, you hardly notice it. She also said she was really tight through her right side and sore in her lumbar area. When the massage therapist came the next day, she agreed with this, so set about releasing her muscles through her rib-cage and loosening the lumbar region. She was really quite uncomfortable and found it hard to stand still, but she did release through those muscles, and seemed a lot happier afterwards.
My physio friend came to look at her again a couple of days later and said that she was much more sound now - it's amazing what muscle tightness can do! She said the right hind is still weaker, but it could well be the old issue and when she is able to work again, she will give us some exercises to do to work on that weakness.
So...things are not quite as grim as they looked at the beginning of last week, but there is a way to go. First thing is to sort her feet out...and to stop her injuring herself while she's in season! She is hopefully going to be turned out with another horse soon, so perhaps that might take her mind off things.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Experimenting Bareback
Well...the saddle arrived...and I have no idea whether it fits. You know when someone says 'obviously you'll know whether it basically fits or not'...well I don't. I have always been absolutely useless at judging the fit of saddles, and I have lost all faith in getting a saddle to fit Echo recently. It's so frustrating.
I popped the Ideal Jessica on her the day it arrived, but only literally dropped it on her back to have a look, and my first impressions were pretty positive. I think it looks quite short, but that is the length my saddler told me to go for, as Echo tends to push the saddle forwards onto her shoulders if it's any longer.
I then lunged her in it on Friday and had a proper look at it and...I don't know! I think it needs adjusting, as it seemed to sit a bit high at the back, but I hope that this will be possible. I had a chat with a friend yesterday about it and she was explaining that as Echo has next to no muscle tone at the moment, saddles are not going to fit her that well. As long as it isn't pinching and I can pad it out underneath to fit, then it will give her muscles the space to build up correctly under it.
So, feeling a little despondent about it all, I decided to ride her bareback on Monday. It was the hottest day of the year (so I figured she'd be a little lethargic) and so I just lunged her gently in a polypad and surcingle for 15 minutes. Then I got on! She was a little surprised, and walked fairly hesitantly for a minute or so, stopping regularly to check that I was seriously going to make her walk like this, then I think as I relaxed, she relaxed and she really started to enjoy it. She stretched her neck down and strode out happily.
It was so unbelievably good to be sitting on my horse again - I was grinning from ear to ear and all I was doing was walking! We had a hairy moment near the beginning when she spooked at something in the bushes. Gripping with knees and no saddle equals one very big response from Echo!
I walked her forward on both reins, doing a few circles and just a couple of steps of leg yielding, then had a trot down the long side on each rein. I actually think that if I can be brave enough, I'd be better off cantering, as it would be more comforable for both of us. I don't know if I did the right thing putting the polypad and surcingle on, but it definitely made me feel a little more secure and comfortable.
She was a little reluctant to take a contact to begin with and I couldn't work out why. But then I realised that I have changed her bit since I last rode her - the dentist recommended that I get her a thinner, double jointed bit with a lozenge in the middle. I can imagine this feels quite different, and, although she's used to it on the lunge, she hasn't really ever had any contact on it before.
The saddler is coming out tomorrow to take a look at this saddle and I have absolutely everything crossed that she can make it fit somehow. Echo has put on quite a bit of weight round her shoulders, but this is usually the place she loses it from first, so this makes saddle fitting a little tricky!
I imagine that if she can alter it she will take it away with her, so I expect we will get to have a few more bareback adventures in the next week or so.
*************************************************************************************
I meant to post yesterday too - as yesterday was Echo's 7th birthday! I know I've posted this pic before, but it's cute enough to look at twice I reckon! This is Echo at a few hours old.
I popped the Ideal Jessica on her the day it arrived, but only literally dropped it on her back to have a look, and my first impressions were pretty positive. I think it looks quite short, but that is the length my saddler told me to go for, as Echo tends to push the saddle forwards onto her shoulders if it's any longer.
I then lunged her in it on Friday and had a proper look at it and...I don't know! I think it needs adjusting, as it seemed to sit a bit high at the back, but I hope that this will be possible. I had a chat with a friend yesterday about it and she was explaining that as Echo has next to no muscle tone at the moment, saddles are not going to fit her that well. As long as it isn't pinching and I can pad it out underneath to fit, then it will give her muscles the space to build up correctly under it.
So, feeling a little despondent about it all, I decided to ride her bareback on Monday. It was the hottest day of the year (so I figured she'd be a little lethargic) and so I just lunged her gently in a polypad and surcingle for 15 minutes. Then I got on! She was a little surprised, and walked fairly hesitantly for a minute or so, stopping regularly to check that I was seriously going to make her walk like this, then I think as I relaxed, she relaxed and she really started to enjoy it. She stretched her neck down and strode out happily.
It was so unbelievably good to be sitting on my horse again - I was grinning from ear to ear and all I was doing was walking! We had a hairy moment near the beginning when she spooked at something in the bushes. Gripping with knees and no saddle equals one very big response from Echo!
I walked her forward on both reins, doing a few circles and just a couple of steps of leg yielding, then had a trot down the long side on each rein. I actually think that if I can be brave enough, I'd be better off cantering, as it would be more comforable for both of us. I don't know if I did the right thing putting the polypad and surcingle on, but it definitely made me feel a little more secure and comfortable.
She was a little reluctant to take a contact to begin with and I couldn't work out why. But then I realised that I have changed her bit since I last rode her - the dentist recommended that I get her a thinner, double jointed bit with a lozenge in the middle. I can imagine this feels quite different, and, although she's used to it on the lunge, she hasn't really ever had any contact on it before.
The saddler is coming out tomorrow to take a look at this saddle and I have absolutely everything crossed that she can make it fit somehow. Echo has put on quite a bit of weight round her shoulders, but this is usually the place she loses it from first, so this makes saddle fitting a little tricky!
I imagine that if she can alter it she will take it away with her, so I expect we will get to have a few more bareback adventures in the next week or so.
*************************************************************************************
I meant to post yesterday too - as yesterday was Echo's 7th birthday! I know I've posted this pic before, but it's cute enough to look at twice I reckon! This is Echo at a few hours old.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Exciting things
The last few months have been rather exciting. So although I haven't been riding, the future is starting to take shape. This year I've been doing a Master's degree in journalism, living at home with my parents while doing the course. It has been incredibly hard work - even more than I thought it would be, but also extremely rewarding.
As part of my course, I had to do a 2 week placement at a newspaper or magazine. I sent out loads of emails with my CV, asking if they would take a work experience placement, but had very little success. However, I then sent an email to Horse magazine - one of the national monthly equestrian magazines - and had a reply within about 20 minutes, saying that I could definitely go there and to let them know my dates. It was so exciting - writing for a magazine like that has been a dream for so long!
Horse is based in London, so I had to leave Echo with the person who shares the field. It was the most awesome two weeks ever - I got to write one of the magazine's main news articles on horse passports (on which I am now an expert!) and then do all sorts of interesting things, including interviewing Joanne Eccles, the World champion vaulter, writing an article on building your own stables and writing captions for readers' photos of their horses.
It was tough, particularly writing the news article - I am much more of a features specialist and I found the hard news style quite a challenge, but they were happy with it and it got published in this month's edition, which was unbelievably exciting! I have more things in the issue coming out at the end of this month too, so my name should keep appearing for a while.
I left there on a real high - then a week later, just as I was finishing all my university work, I had an email from the editor, commissioning me to write two more features for them - paid this time - for future issues. How flattering is that?! I was absolutely over the moon. It's come at a pretty tricky time though...I had to finish all the work for last semester; I'm also teaching part time at a local school to earn enough money to live, then I've also been marking exam papers, so time-wise it wasn't great...but I did it! I have now written an article on the information you need if you're considering sharing a horse and one on adults who choose to ride ponies rather than horses. The latter, particularly, was great fun and I got to speak to some really interesting people.
I think the editor was pretty happy with what I wrote, and she's said she'll keep me in mind for future articles - I have also said that I will continue to suggest feature ideas, as it shows enthusiasm and commitment. And NOW...a job has just come up at one of the other national equestrian magazines. But it's in the wrong place in the country. Damn. I think I'm going to apply for it anyway, as the experience of applying is so useful, but seriously - I would LOVE that job.
So with my career looking a little more structured, I can fill you in on what's been happening with Echo. The answer? Not a lot. Her mysterious weight-loss problem disappeared when we moved them onto a field with lots of grass (funny that!) and she is now probably too far the other way. We had our field fertilised and rested for a few weeks, and now they're back on it and looking really well. I now just need to get her back into work!
With the articles done and everything at uni except my final project finished, I can start spending a bit more time with her now. I lunged her yesterday and it was a bit depressing - she was absolutely wild - has forgotten all her manners and didn't seem interested in doing what I wanted her to at all. However, the reason I am all motivated to get her going again is that I have just bought a new saddle! It was a bit of an impulse buy - I saw it on ebay and the auction was ending soon. It was a good price and the style and size that I have been told she needs, so I just went for it! It arrived today and I put it on after lunging her. Now, I don't trust my judgement at all, so I have a saddler coming out next week to look at it, but I think it might fit. She is bound to lose her excess weight when she starts working properly, so there will have to be some adjustment, but it does look like it sits on her quite well.
I will have a proper look at it on Thursday and perhaps lunge her in it. She was much more sane and sensible today, so it seems that she hasn't forgotten everything after all. I absolutely can't wait to get back on - it's been far too long!
The next bit of news is that we're moving back to where we were soon - but I'll write more about that next time. We will be here until the end of July, then moving back to our old area...although not our old yard, as my change of career is going to require DIY livery. And perhaps a sharer, but more about that later too!
As part of my course, I had to do a 2 week placement at a newspaper or magazine. I sent out loads of emails with my CV, asking if they would take a work experience placement, but had very little success. However, I then sent an email to Horse magazine - one of the national monthly equestrian magazines - and had a reply within about 20 minutes, saying that I could definitely go there and to let them know my dates. It was so exciting - writing for a magazine like that has been a dream for so long!
Horse is based in London, so I had to leave Echo with the person who shares the field. It was the most awesome two weeks ever - I got to write one of the magazine's main news articles on horse passports (on which I am now an expert!) and then do all sorts of interesting things, including interviewing Joanne Eccles, the World champion vaulter, writing an article on building your own stables and writing captions for readers' photos of their horses.
It was tough, particularly writing the news article - I am much more of a features specialist and I found the hard news style quite a challenge, but they were happy with it and it got published in this month's edition, which was unbelievably exciting! I have more things in the issue coming out at the end of this month too, so my name should keep appearing for a while.
I left there on a real high - then a week later, just as I was finishing all my university work, I had an email from the editor, commissioning me to write two more features for them - paid this time - for future issues. How flattering is that?! I was absolutely over the moon. It's come at a pretty tricky time though...I had to finish all the work for last semester; I'm also teaching part time at a local school to earn enough money to live, then I've also been marking exam papers, so time-wise it wasn't great...but I did it! I have now written an article on the information you need if you're considering sharing a horse and one on adults who choose to ride ponies rather than horses. The latter, particularly, was great fun and I got to speak to some really interesting people.
I think the editor was pretty happy with what I wrote, and she's said she'll keep me in mind for future articles - I have also said that I will continue to suggest feature ideas, as it shows enthusiasm and commitment. And NOW...a job has just come up at one of the other national equestrian magazines. But it's in the wrong place in the country. Damn. I think I'm going to apply for it anyway, as the experience of applying is so useful, but seriously - I would LOVE that job.
So with my career looking a little more structured, I can fill you in on what's been happening with Echo. The answer? Not a lot. Her mysterious weight-loss problem disappeared when we moved them onto a field with lots of grass (funny that!) and she is now probably too far the other way. We had our field fertilised and rested for a few weeks, and now they're back on it and looking really well. I now just need to get her back into work!
With the articles done and everything at uni except my final project finished, I can start spending a bit more time with her now. I lunged her yesterday and it was a bit depressing - she was absolutely wild - has forgotten all her manners and didn't seem interested in doing what I wanted her to at all. However, the reason I am all motivated to get her going again is that I have just bought a new saddle! It was a bit of an impulse buy - I saw it on ebay and the auction was ending soon. It was a good price and the style and size that I have been told she needs, so I just went for it! It arrived today and I put it on after lunging her. Now, I don't trust my judgement at all, so I have a saddler coming out next week to look at it, but I think it might fit. She is bound to lose her excess weight when she starts working properly, so there will have to be some adjustment, but it does look like it sits on her quite well.
I will have a proper look at it on Thursday and perhaps lunge her in it. She was much more sane and sensible today, so it seems that she hasn't forgotten everything after all. I absolutely can't wait to get back on - it's been far too long!
The next bit of news is that we're moving back to where we were soon - but I'll write more about that next time. We will be here until the end of July, then moving back to our old area...although not our old yard, as my change of career is going to require DIY livery. And perhaps a sharer, but more about that later too!
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