Last Sunday was absolutely beautiful so I decided to ride Dude. As I was saddling up, another barn mate was getting ready and we decided to ride out to the outdoor together. It worked out well - her horse is young and Dude's role was to be a good influence, and having someone else out there kept me in the saddle a little longer, which was a good test of the ol' knee.
It was fun. Dude was a little hoppy as we approached the outdoor, but not bad. Turned out there were deer along the treeline, and horses in the adjacent field that were just barely visible through the trees, and that was the cause for a little bit of consternation on his part. We trotted a little bit, but mostly walked. There was a jump course set up, so it was good practice to ride him around in little patterns. At about the half hour point I felt like I needed to take my right leg out of the stirrup and stretch out my knee, but other than that I felt pretty good.
So good, in fact, that I asked Emma if I could join the lesson group she has on Tuesday nights with a bunch of moms whose kids are off (or soon off) to college. It'll be a lot of fun to ride with other people and learn from each other, and I really enjoyed my lessons last winter with Emma on Dude, so I'm looking forward to it. I think Dude will enjoy it, too. He likes being in a program. We'll both be getting back into shape together.
Katie got home last night and rode him today. I'm sure he's glad to have his kid home for a bit.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Leaving the kids with the sitter
Wednesday night was prep night for leaving the equine kids in the barn manager's hands. I had to leave Thursday morning for a couple days in Boston. I don't go away all that often and I don't often miss a day at the barn, so it's always something of an event. Getting ready to go reminds me of when I would leave the kids with a babysitter, and how I'd run through the ol' mental checklist to make sure everything would be covered.
The equine version of the checklist:
Note on both of their stalls with a plea to take off their turnout sheets if the weather warmed up over 40 degrees - check.
Contact numbers for husband (who will be home) left for barn manager - check.
Discussion with husband about calling vet in case of any emergency - check.
Desitin still outside Dude's door to be rubbed on his scratches prior to turnout - check.
Extra bag of shavings outside Dude's door in case his stall gets really bad - check.
Supplement drawer full - check.
Kisses to the ponies as I ran out the door of the barn late Wednesday evening - check and check.
Got back home last night around 7:30 and decided to be a sane person, trust in the barn management, and not run to the barn to check on Dude and Bestie. Looking forward to seeing them today!
The equine version of the checklist:
Note on both of their stalls with a plea to take off their turnout sheets if the weather warmed up over 40 degrees - check.
Contact numbers for husband (who will be home) left for barn manager - check.
Discussion with husband about calling vet in case of any emergency - check.
Desitin still outside Dude's door to be rubbed on his scratches prior to turnout - check.
Extra bag of shavings outside Dude's door in case his stall gets really bad - check.
Supplement drawer full - check.
Kisses to the ponies as I ran out the door of the barn late Wednesday evening - check and check.
Got back home last night around 7:30 and decided to be a sane person, trust in the barn management, and not run to the barn to check on Dude and Bestie. Looking forward to seeing them today!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Another attempt at getting back in the saddle
This afternoon the skies cleared after a stretch of really gloomy weather and it was just beautiful. I went to the barn early in the afternoon since I felt like I had been short-changing the horses all week with rushed evening trips after work. They went out in their paddocks today, which was great. Bestie had gotten a little stocked up over the weekend from being inside, and I was happy to see that after today's turnout her ankles were fine. I had eight muddy feet and lower legs to clean up because it's still pretty soupy in spots from all the rain we've had.
I decided to make another attempt at riding Dude since my knee has been feeling pretty good. Got him saddled up and we rode out to the outdoor ring, circled it a couple times, then headed back. He was full of it, which for Dude -- generally a pretty low-key guy -- means head way up in the air, frequent breaks into a trot, and lots of looking around warily at the field across the road and the woods up above the path, which he seemed convinced hid some sort of threat to his well-being. All in all pretty tame behavior for a horse that hasn't been ridden since August. Ha. I love riding him at this time of year. He's so fuzzy it's like riding a big chestnut teddy bear.
My knee felt good and it was fun to ride even though it was a short one. The last time I got on (September?), my knee got all twinge-y right away, but I didn't feel much of anything today. Fingers crossed that this is a sign that other activities I've missed, like playing hockey, will soon follow.
After I scrubbed Dude's back heel where the scratches are, I used a little purchase from yesterday, a microfiber mitt intended for use drying dogs that quickly absorbs the wetness and cuts the drying time w-a-y down. Magic! Set of two mitts, $4.99. Thank you, TJ Maxx!
I decided to make another attempt at riding Dude since my knee has been feeling pretty good. Got him saddled up and we rode out to the outdoor ring, circled it a couple times, then headed back. He was full of it, which for Dude -- generally a pretty low-key guy -- means head way up in the air, frequent breaks into a trot, and lots of looking around warily at the field across the road and the woods up above the path, which he seemed convinced hid some sort of threat to his well-being. All in all pretty tame behavior for a horse that hasn't been ridden since August. Ha. I love riding him at this time of year. He's so fuzzy it's like riding a big chestnut teddy bear.
My knee felt good and it was fun to ride even though it was a short one. The last time I got on (September?), my knee got all twinge-y right away, but I didn't feel much of anything today. Fingers crossed that this is a sign that other activities I've missed, like playing hockey, will soon follow.
After I scrubbed Dude's back heel where the scratches are, I used a little purchase from yesterday, a microfiber mitt intended for use drying dogs that quickly absorbs the wetness and cuts the drying time w-a-y down. Magic! Set of two mitts, $4.99. Thank you, TJ Maxx!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Rider aches and pains
When I got on Dude several weeks ago to test out my knee I thought for a minute about how it felt to him once I got in the saddle. Right from the get-go it was clear that I wasn't really balanced (if I ever am!) because I couldn't hold my right leg in the same position as my left. I've got some muscle tightness issue going on related to my knee, although I've definitely noticed an improvement in recent weeks.
Then I came across this article about being a relaxed rider on HolisticHorse.com and found it really interesting. So much to think about when you ride, and the fact that there may be some slight imbalance that you don't even notice but that can be felt by your horse.
When I read the tip in the article about using two scales to detect leg heaviness, of course I had to run around the house and find two scales. Turns out I'm 5-7 pounds heavy on my right leg. It actually came as no surprise to me (well, the range of weight did!), because when I ride I've noticed that I put more weight on the right stirrup. I guess the first step is to be conscious of it, and second step is to correct. A friend of mine told me she's working with a physical therapist to correct some posture issues that impact her riding. We're talking at the barn about finding some one locally to come in and do a few clinics and something on balance and posture analysis might be useful.
Then I came across this article about being a relaxed rider on HolisticHorse.com and found it really interesting. So much to think about when you ride, and the fact that there may be some slight imbalance that you don't even notice but that can be felt by your horse.
When I read the tip in the article about using two scales to detect leg heaviness, of course I had to run around the house and find two scales. Turns out I'm 5-7 pounds heavy on my right leg. It actually came as no surprise to me (well, the range of weight did!), because when I ride I've noticed that I put more weight on the right stirrup. I guess the first step is to be conscious of it, and second step is to correct. A friend of mine told me she's working with a physical therapist to correct some posture issues that impact her riding. We're talking at the barn about finding some one locally to come in and do a few clinics and something on balance and posture analysis might be useful.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Still wrestling with scratches
Last Monday I got to the barn and the area just above Dude's back left fetlock, the heel that has the scratches, was swollen. I called the vet and they said they could come out the next day and suggested I give him a dose of smz tablets that I had on hand. That night I scrubbed the area again with Betadine, and asked someone to wrap him to help with the swelling.
When I arrived for the vet appointment the next day, the swelling had really gone down - the miracle of smz's! The vet checked him over, including a little mystery spot that I had noticed on his back RIGHT coronary band, which turned out to be an abscess popping through. It had basically popped through overnight, because when I noticed it the night before, it was sort of like a tiny bubble. Sigh. I guess it was good that it came through, because she said that I just needed to soak it for a couple days to get it cleaned out, and dab it with ichthammol afterwards, and that he could continue to go outside (yay!). That spot seems to have healed up nicely.
Back to the scratches. She wanted him off the smz's and the bute until the abscess healed, unless the swelling got bad again. So I took him off both, and kept wrapping him (actually - having other people wrap him - more on that) at night. The swelling pretty much stayed down until this weekend, when the horses had to stay in because of the weather, but it hasn't been too bad, and he wasn't lame when I trotted him tonight. The scratches seem to be healing, but it is a s-l-o-w process. Basically the irritation is right in the crease that occurs when he rests his back left foot. I think that even though I've been working the Desitin into the whole area, it sort of oozes/squeezes off that particular area when he bends the foot. The vet was pretty dismissive of the Corona's effectiveness, so I quit using that.
Upon the recommendation of someone in the barn, last night I started trying a new concoction, a mixture of equal parts of Desitin, antibiotic cream (a Neosporin generic) and a hydrocortisone cream (a Cortaid generic). It seemed to be a mix that made sense. I thought his heel looked better today, but that darn crease is still fairly red. Scrubbed him again and lathered the mix on. I'm starting to feel like I always have the aroma of Desitin wafting about me.
Back to the wrapping. I never learned to wrap; the kids always did it. And our horses really were never wrapped for much except for traveling, and in recent years I've used shipping boots. And for some reason I was really paranoid about doing it "wrong." I guess I've heard all these horror stories about bad wrapping jobs that stuck in my mind for some reason. But truly, it was getting a bit ridiculous always asking people to wrap for me so I took the plunge this week. I've done it three nights now and have had more expert wrappers in the barn double check me to make sure the job is done right. So far so good. I'm horribly, painstakingly slow and poor Dude definitely gets the award for patience. Tonight I thought I detected a sigh from him as I clipped him into the crossties in preparation for wrapping. :)
When I arrived for the vet appointment the next day, the swelling had really gone down - the miracle of smz's! The vet checked him over, including a little mystery spot that I had noticed on his back RIGHT coronary band, which turned out to be an abscess popping through. It had basically popped through overnight, because when I noticed it the night before, it was sort of like a tiny bubble. Sigh. I guess it was good that it came through, because she said that I just needed to soak it for a couple days to get it cleaned out, and dab it with ichthammol afterwards, and that he could continue to go outside (yay!). That spot seems to have healed up nicely.
Back to the scratches. She wanted him off the smz's and the bute until the abscess healed, unless the swelling got bad again. So I took him off both, and kept wrapping him (actually - having other people wrap him - more on that) at night. The swelling pretty much stayed down until this weekend, when the horses had to stay in because of the weather, but it hasn't been too bad, and he wasn't lame when I trotted him tonight. The scratches seem to be healing, but it is a s-l-o-w process. Basically the irritation is right in the crease that occurs when he rests his back left foot. I think that even though I've been working the Desitin into the whole area, it sort of oozes/squeezes off that particular area when he bends the foot. The vet was pretty dismissive of the Corona's effectiveness, so I quit using that.
Upon the recommendation of someone in the barn, last night I started trying a new concoction, a mixture of equal parts of Desitin, antibiotic cream (a Neosporin generic) and a hydrocortisone cream (a Cortaid generic). It seemed to be a mix that made sense. I thought his heel looked better today, but that darn crease is still fairly red. Scrubbed him again and lathered the mix on. I'm starting to feel like I always have the aroma of Desitin wafting about me.
Back to the wrapping. I never learned to wrap; the kids always did it. And our horses really were never wrapped for much except for traveling, and in recent years I've used shipping boots. And for some reason I was really paranoid about doing it "wrong." I guess I've heard all these horror stories about bad wrapping jobs that stuck in my mind for some reason. But truly, it was getting a bit ridiculous always asking people to wrap for me so I took the plunge this week. I've done it three nights now and have had more expert wrappers in the barn double check me to make sure the job is done right. So far so good. I'm horribly, painstakingly slow and poor Dude definitely gets the award for patience. Tonight I thought I detected a sigh from him as I clipped him into the crossties in preparation for wrapping. :)
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