Dude gets a job

Still giving my knee time off, so no riding time. Gina at the barn came to me with a proposal: she has a new student, brand new, and she was wondering if she could use either Dude or Bestie in her lesson. After thinking about it, and chatting about it in the aisle with editorial commentary from barn manager Caitlin about Bestie's tendency to let loose her inner Arabian, we decided to go with Dude. :)

Wednesday night we saddled Dude up and Gina took him out to the arena to test him. She put him on the lunge line and flicked the whip a couple times to see what he'd do. He barely blinked an eye. Then she got on and rode him around a little bit, while making funny will-this-spook-him movements like hanging off to one side, and waving her arms, and throwing a leg over his withers. No reaction. So he passed the test. I was so proud.

Last night was the night for lesson #1. I didn't go to the barn because of yoga. Pretty much as soon as I got up today, I started wondering how the lesson had gone. I restrained myself until about noon then texted Gina.

Me: Hey Gina, it's Karen. How was Dude last night? Good experience for your student?
Gina: They were sooo great together!! I think he enjoyed it too. Thank you!

Yay! Another proud mother moment! My kid behaved!

And I bet he did enjoy it too. Dude is sort of a crusty character at times, but he has always been happiest when he's in a program, and he's always good with kids. Gina is great at making a fuss over the horses, and I'm sure he likes that. The lesson and another weekly session with Gina will keep him moving and help him start to get back in shape, and that I'll be able to then jump on when my knee heals. Win-win for all.

Shiny ponies

In an earlier post I wrote about switching over Dude and Bestie to a new supplement - staying with HorseTech but going with Reitsport Senior to provide them with a bit more "juice" as they age. Bestie has been on the Reitsport Senior since mid June (full dose by the end of June); Dude has been on a full dose for 2-3 weeks now. This picture isn't that great (dark barn aisle, black horse, inept photographer), but it's clear how shiny her coat is. Someone commented on her beautiful coat a few days ago as I was grooming her, which led me to step back and really look at her. Her cold weather coat has started to come in, so she's gotten darker than she is in the summer, and she IS shiny. Super shiny. I noticed the same thing with Dude, too, this week. He's turned a richer more coppery color, and his coat has a nice sheen to it. Nothing else has really changed with their diet, so I'm happy to credit the Reitsport. :) 

We're doing lots of quality grooming time as I hurt my knee a week ago in hockey. I was going for the puck with someone and ended up doing the splits ... but on my knees. "Pop" - I felt the same sensation as I did 3 years ago during another spectacular fall that landed me with a torn MCL. I'm icing and ibuprofening and it's feeling better than the first go-round, BUT I can't ride. Just the thought of swinging my leg over a horse makes my knee ache. So that's a bummer. I had just gotten back to riding Dude and felt like I was settling into the ol' two horse schedule. Bestie's a scrub grazer so this time of year I spend a lot of quality time picking the burdocks out of her tail. Every day I put conditioner in her tail in hopes that the burdocks won't adhere. It doesn't seem to be working...

A perfect fall afternoon

I rode Bestie yesterday, and decided just to graze Dude when I got to the barn today. After a gray morning, the sun had come out, and the afternoon was really pretty. Dude was totally intent on steadily consuming as much grass as possible along the pathway to the outdoor ring, which gave me an opportunity to take a few photos while holding the lead rope tucked under my arm.

The line of rain clouds was pretty defined as the front moved through.

The hills beyond the hay field were lit up in the afternoon sun ... the leaves are starting to turn.

This shot is of the hills across the road. The white tape is the edge of our pastures; the field beyond is just scrub. Then there's the road, and the field that Larry hays, then the treeline. A couple weeks ago a hot air balloon that was touring landed in that hay field.

Looking back toward the barn. A new indoor arena is getting constructed right in front of the old one. One arena will be for lessons only. Funny, Dude was in between me and the construction and the curve of his back is just visible in the bottom corners of the photo.

New farrier

A few months ago, in a sort of convoluted way, I found out that farrier Scott had bought a farm in Tennessee and it seemed as though his plan was to move down there. Permanently. He said that he was going to keep traveling up to Vermont to shoe his clients, and he did, for a couple of appointments. I told him I'd stick with him as long as that remained the plan, but if the plan changed, to let me know and to please suggest a farrier that he thought might be a good fit for Dude and Bestie. I pretty much expected that the end was coming, because after all, who buys a farm in TENNESSEE and commutes to VERMONT??

So one day, he came to trim them, and I unfortunately could not make that appointment, and I arrived at the barn to find his bill with another farrier's name and phone number written on it. And that was the end. I don't even remember when we started with Scott - it's been that long. He's a fun guy and very nice and I certainly wish him the best.

However ... I was completely stressed out about finding a new farrier. I didn't know the farrier Scott recommended, and neither did anyone else I shared his name with, except for someone who thought they had heard that a friend of theirs didn't like him. So I started asking around, to see who was happy and whether their farrier might be a good match, all the while keeping one eye on the calendar and the next trim date. Some were just too busy, some were too expensive, some specialized in things that I don't think Dude and Bestie need. 

I decided to try Justin, who had left his card on the board at the barn. He's new as a farrier, and has been in training with his dad Jim, who comes to the barn to do barn owner Julie's horse. I was also familiar with Jim because he used to come to Meadow Run to shoe a couple horses there.

We're now into our second cycle with Justin. At the first trim, Bestie, Miss Textbook Hooves, was a non-event - a quick trim, no issues, feet in good shape. Dude, on the other hand ... well, no surprise that his feet were cause for consternation. He's always been in a perpetual state of mild to medium thrushiness, and his frogs are u-g-l-y. Justin, in consultation with his dad, trimmed Dude right up. In fact, he took a lot off. I was pretty worried about the amount trimmed, but they kept hoof testing him, and he was fine. His feet afterwards were beautiful, probably the best I've ever seen them. So good, I took a photo to send to Katie as documentation of the fact that, oh my gosh, Dude Has Frogs. Not textbook, but way better than usual.

The problems developed a few days later. Dude has to walk along a gravel path to get to his turnout field, and he got ouchy. I had the vet x-ray him to be sure that it was sole soreness and nothing more serious. It was good timing for the x-rays as he hadn't been looked at in a while. Diagnosis: thin soles. Luckily Julie and Larry at the barn were flexible, and switched Dude and his friends to a field where they don't have to walk on the gravel path.

And I got him sneakers. They're pretty cool, a fairly substantial rubbery bottom with a bootie made of heavy duty nylon and velcro. I don't think they'd hold up to day-to-day turnout, but he wears them when I hand graze him and when I ride him, which is when the gravel path is unavoidable. They are easy to get on and off, much easier than some of the other boots I looked at. 

The game plan is to see how he goes over this second cycle and if he is still footsore, I'll put front shoes back on him. I really can't expect him to get special treatment forever in terms of fields, and I'm not expecting the whole boot thing to be a long term solution. He's got another month until trim #3, and we'll just see how it goes...

The give and take of the partnership

John Killacky is a commentator on Vermont Public Radio. Last week I caught his story about his interaction with his Shetland pony. It was the second commentary I've heard him do about the pony, and I've enjoyed both because his description of their relationship always emphasizes the partnership. This is the introduction to the most recent story, with the link to the full story following:

"With me holding the reins long and soft, my Shetland pony pulls me along in a cart. We work on cadence, trot, and turns. The arc of her neck and impulsion from her hindquarters are my focus.Her relaxed mouth accepting the bit, results in a sublime interplay between us. We fly through space and then help each other slow down and come to a stop."

 Continue reading on vpr.net

The supplement dilemma

Our supplement collection is kind of a mish mash of stuff, so I've been looking around for an all-in-one possibility that might reduce the measuring and mixing as well as better suit Bestie and Dude's needs as "seniors." They've been on HorseTech's Glanzen GL for years, and I've been happy with it. It's mainly been Dude that has created the supplement complications, as various vets have suggested more vitamin E, probiotics and MSM for him.

I started by looking at additional HorseTech products, and turned up the Senior Reitsport, which has glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid and other things like devil's claw, prebiotics & probiotics, and vitamins A, C, D and E plus B vitamins. As the company literature says, "complete support for hoof, coat, attitude, digestive tract and joints." HorseTech was nice enough to send me a 5 pound trial bag, so I gradually introduced Bestie to it. She seemed to love it, and has been on the new supplement since mid-June. 

Right before I started investigating supplement alternatives, I had just purchased a new container of MSM for Dude, and didn't want to waste it, so he's still on the Glanzen GL mixed with the MSM, probios and vitamin E for now. Based on how much MSM remains, I expect to switch him over to the new supplement in another 2-3 weeks.

I think it will be good for them to have the additional joint support provided by the chondroitin and hyaluronic acid.

Purchasing the all-in-one is also slightly cheaper. :)

Heza Handsome Guy Mr.

Actually his show name is Heza Flashy Dude Mr., and he IS a handsome guy. :)

Took these photos to text to Katie in the big city since she misses her guy.

When I take Dude and Bestie out to graze, this is always the starting point - the patch just up from the indoor arena's door. Then we work around the fence corner to the grass alongside the paddock path. You can tell in this photo that his top line and back end are really unmuscled after being off for a year with the hind end injury. We're slowly working on that. Now that I look again at this photo, he looks quite weirdly proportioned. He does have a long back, but his neck isn't nearly as giraffe-like as it seems in this photo. Photographer error, most likely, since I was leaning back holding the lead in my left hand while taking the photo with my phone in my right hand. Hats off to equine photographers who make them look so perfect!

He's a good boy.