Ups and downs

Geez, Mom, can I have some privacy?

I couldn't help it, I had to take a picture. After probably about four weeks of loose manure, and a couple weeks of daily doses of yogurt for probiotic benefits, this firm poop was pretty darn exciting.

I think - I know - that Bestie has been gorging on grass. Since the grass came in, she hasn't been eating much hay at all, just grass and the small amount of grain she gets. I think it's been too much for her, and actually,she wasn't the only one - there were other horses at the barn with loose manure. A couple of weeks ago, it seemed to get better for a bit, but went back to cow patty-like. Today it was normal in consistency but still green as grass. Bestie's field was mowed and the mares have eaten it down, so those two factors may be helping, too. Fingers crossed we're back to normal for good.

Yesterday we had a lesson with Sue. I asked her to help me with Bestie's tendency to walk off as soon as I get up on the mounting block. Sue first took the saddle off to be sure there was no physical discomfort. It turned out that Bestie is a little tight in the back, but Sue didn't think that the saddle was causing it. More like she needs to get her core in shape (with you on that, girl). So we spent probably 15 minutes working through the walking off, and then practiced it again at the end. It will be interesting to see if she tries it when I ride again. Basically the drill is that I get ready to mount, tell her whoa and if she walks off, I get off the block, back her and try again.

The rest of the lesson was good. We worked on getting her to walk at a speedier but relaxed pace so that she actually works for a bit; more than she does at her usual mosey. Did a little walk and trot in a serpentine pattern. And posted. Yikes, I haven't posted in a while, so I pooped out quickly. Plus it was toward the end and I was feeling a little fried. As was Bestie too, I believe, because she kept speeding up and I had to keep asking her to slow down. Every time Sue called out, "It's a beautiful trot!" I felt it was too fast. :) I need to regain my confidence again.

So to recap, "ups" in the past two days were our lesson and a normal poop. And "downs"? Ugh, a field altercation during turnout last night ... more on that in next post.

Because she hasn't been eating her joint supplements (Senior ReitSport from HorseTech), on the barn's recommendation I'm trying her on Cosequin. First dose tonight with her grain. We'll do the loading dose of two scoops daily for a couple weeks and see how it goes. She has gotten really "clicky" in her leg joints, and the chiropractor had mentioned left hock arthritis, so hopefully the Cosequin will help increase her comfort level. A couple horses at the barn have responded well to it. I'm sad to be leaving HorseTech though; we've been with them a lonnnnnnng time and have been very happy, but despite my best efforts, I just can't get her to eat the senior supplement and it seemed like the one she had been on wasn't helping. I also bought a can of venice turpentine to treat her ouchy soles with on the farrier's recommendation. That will start tomorrow; ran out of time today.

Swelling, salt, and a side of yogurt with that grain, please

A bit dozy on a hot day.

When I returned to the barn on June 6, Bestie's legs remained stocked up. And there was a new and exciting development - she had a half-lemon sized lump on the lower edge of her neck about 4 inches down from her jaw. I definitely wanted another set of eyes on her, so I checked in with Joe, who owns the barn. The lump didn't seem to bother her, and we couldn't see any skin breakage, but he thought it might be either a kick or an insect bite. Really bizarre. As for her swollen legs, when I described to Joe how she'd been going to town on her salt brick, he suggested taking it out of her stall for a while (there is a mineral block in her field that she can find).

It took a couple days, but her legs returned to normal. Maybe she was retaining fluid due to overconsumption of her salt block. I've been offering it to her just while I'm at the barn, so she typically only gets it for a few minutes. The swelling in her legs hasn't returned.

However, the neck swelling has taken forever to go down. Each day I soaked the area with Sore No More liniment, and the swelling started to flatten out right away, but even today, almost a week later,  it is still slightly visible. 

I talked to Sue again about Bestie's poop, since it concerns me that it has stayed loose for so long (about a month now). Sue suggested trying her on yogurt, on the premise that maybe she needs a little extra probiotics to jumpstart her system back to normal. So Bestie's getting a spoonful of plain yogurt with her am and pm grain ... and acquiring a bit of a reputation as high maintenance. The first day she did not like it at all, but now she's licking her bucket clean. She's been on the yogurt regimen since Wednesday, June 14. Her manure today actually had some form to it. We'll see how it goes. 

We've had some nice rides and one more lesson. Still working on positioning for me and relaxing my hips. A lot of stretches and hip openers on the lunge line last week during my lesson, and during the week I rode on my own quite a bit without stirrups to lengthen and relax my legs and sit deep in the saddle. Tomorrow she'll get a trim from the farrier so I won't ride. Her feet have gotten quite long in the last six weeks.

The girls

This is Bestie's girl gang. Well, until today. I understand one more mare may have just gotten introduced. She's new to the barn and young, and hopefully will assimilate with no difficulty.

The dynamics seem to be that Bestie is the alpha, and when she's not out, the other 20+ year old mare moves to alpha. There are two young girls who defer - a heartfelt ear pinning by the older mares sends a clear message to them. And then there's Shirley. I'm not sure how old she is, but she likes to push buttons. She and Bestie seem to have moved into the detente period after a few skirmishes early on. They've agreed to disagree.

The field is very big, so they definitely don't need to get in each others' way. I think most of the run ins occur in the run in - the shed gets a bit small if they all crowd in there to escape rain or flies. Another dicey spot is at the gate when one of them is coming or going.

Things have been going pretty well with the group. My fingers are crossed that the new girl doesn't rock the boat.

I've had some good rides with Bestie recently, doing more trotting with some patterns and trying to get her - and me - back into shape. My last lesson with Sue was exhausting (for ME, anyway), as she put Bestie on the lungeline and we did a lot of positioning work. It was good though. Last week some of the obstacles were out and we actually rode across the mattress for the first time. Sometimes Bestie so surprises me - she walked right across the squishy thing without batting an eye.

Her poop has not been normal/firm for a couple of weeks. Folks at the barn think it's because we've gotten so much rain the horses are basically eating wet grass all the time. But we just had three days of sun and her manure firmed up a bit but not to normal. Maybe as a result of the loose manure, she's been going to town on her salt block recently. She does seem to be drinking normally. Today her lower legs above the fetlock were swollen. Not super swollen, but definitely noticeable. I walked her, then hosed her, and soaked the area in Sore No More. She wasn't lame. I plan to see how she looks tomorrow and then confer with someone at the barn as to what plan B should be if the swelling is still present. I have seen her back legs stocked up, usually due to too much standing, but never all four. I wonder if it's possible that all the salt block licking is causing her to swell in the legs? I dunno. Seems like horse ailments are always such a puzzle. I'm anxious to see how she is tomorrow.

Lunge, ride, graze and groom

Today was hot, 90s hot, so I left Bestie's door open to encourage the air to circulate while I was poking around the barn. She took the opportunity to lick up her neighbor's grain crumbs.

Then when he came over to check her out, she gave him the cold shoulder, but it was kind of a mixed message - one ear back, one ear forward. Her whole posture was saying, "I'm not looking at you. And I don't know who licked up your grain crumbs." So mare-ish.

She had just had a drink from the blue bucket; that's why there's water all over the floor. It's funny - that bucket is for the dogs, but whenever Bestie has access to it, she guzzles from it, even if she has water in the bucket in her stall. The grass is always greener...

Sunday when I got to the barn she was in major heat and pretty crazy, acting like she hadn't been out of her stall in FOREVER, and whinnying at the horses in the barn and in the fields. We went out to the indoor with the lunge line and I just let her run. She hasn't done that in a while, so maybe she needed to let off some steam. We had the place to ourselves. Afterwards, she wandered around the indoor checking out the poles, and muck buckets, and new waterers while I picked up poop.

On Monday she was a little calmer, but still kind of on edge, so I lunged her again.

I rode on Tuesday in the indoor. We did a lot at the walk, with some trotting. We've been doing a lot of serpentines. One curve would usually take us by the open door, so she got to gawk at the horses in the adjoining field, but she didn't try to head out there.

And now, with temps in the 90s for three days, I'm just going during the day to get her out for some mid-day hand grazing and to groom her. Today I scrubbed her back legs with Betadine; she's got a bit of the crud going on. I'm not  hand grazing her very long because she's had pretty loose manure for about a week since we got new hay. The hay looks great, it's dry and green, really fresh looking, but maybe the combination of that with the overnight turnout is giving her too much green. I took her off her supplements and just put her on the probiotic today, and we'll see how that goes. She's totally perky and eating and drinking normally, so everything seems ok, but I hope her poop firms up soon ... if only so that I don't have to inquire when I get to the barn, "How's her poop today?"

A gorgeous day for a little ride

So beautiful at the barn today! When I took the photo, the horses had their heads out, but because most of them are black, they're not visible. :) Bestie's is the second stall on the right after the center hallway.

All in all, this week has been gorgeous with sunny skies and really pleasant temperatures. I didn't ride on Monday because when I got to the barn, Bestie was in the line-up for a trim from the farrier. On Tuesday we spent some quality time doing serpentines in the indoor. She has been a little sluggish. I don't know if she's tired during the day from being out all night, or if she is just being a stinker (nahh, I don't really feel like trotting), or if something is bothering her. 

I had her chiropracted a couple of weeks ago - after my lesson - and he said she was in good shape for a horse of her age, and only pointed out a bit of arthritis in her left hock. She just turned 21 at the end of April, so I was pretty happy with his assessment. I put her on a senior supplement that has a bit more "joint juice" as well as Devil's Claw for discomfort. The problem is that she isn't eating it. I've tried to entice her - chopped up peppermint candies to mix with it, and Horace at the barn has doused it with corn oil. The oil seems to do the trick, so guess I'll be buying oil. 

With three days of rain beginning tomorrow in the forecast, I decided to ride again today. We went in the indoor for about 15 minutes, then strolled around the paddocks. No one was out, even next door - I think that the neighbor must also be doing evening turnout - but Bestie seemed fine with that. The walk around the paddocks offers a couple of little hills, so it's good work for her. After we were done she seemed to expect her grain and turnout, but it was a bit early. Her inner clock was off. I headed for home to mow more of the lawn before the rain comes. 

A lesson!

After a seven months-plus hiatus, Bestie and I had a lesson yesterday. I was really looking forward to it and definitely feeling like it was time to have another set of eyes on us. I rode the day prior to the lesson, and she was good.

There was a little mix up with the lesson time, which meant that we didn't get the full amount of time Sue typically allots. Which was ok. Because when we were done, I was done. It wasn't that Bestie was bad, but she was definitely a bit "up." She's in heat, and overnight became super attached to her new stall neighbor, as well as excessively interested in everyone's business. Her new stall neighbor happened to be having a lesson in the indoor while we were in the outdoor, so there was a lot of calling back and forth. And a lot of replying from the horses in the barn. Lots of conversations that were wayyy more interesting to her than what we were doing in the ring.

With her head way up in the air and super attentiveness to everything going on around her, I felt all my old nervousness coming back. We did just one circle at the trot, and spent the rest of the time at the walk working on encouraging Bestie to focus, and on addressing my old bad habits, which also had come back. Arms too stiff. Turning my hands palm up. Holding too tightly to the reins. It was good to have the feedback. Good to have someone remind me, "take a few deep breaths," and feel Bestie respond. She's been so laid back, it kind of threw me for a loop to have to deal with the lack of focus and "nah, I don't want to listen to you" stuff again. Good to have the lessons to keep us on track.

New house, new barn

It's been an odyssey, these months since our September move from Vermont. Thank goodness for the lovely interim home for Bestie at Laurie's in Marshall. After looking online for boarding near our new home in Culpeper, I found Joe London Training Center and in early February we were able to move (timed for just as we were settling into the house after our stuff arrived from VT). It was a bitterly cold day despite some sun; really, one of the few cold days we've had. Bestie loaded like a champ, but then we discovered that the halter clip was rusted, so she had to come off while Laurie found a new one. Then, after a few "no, I don't want to get back on" attempts, she loaded and off we went for a 45 minute ride south.

The photo above is from a few days after the move when the weather warmed and they opened the horses' half doors in the main barn. Let's just say that Bestie love love loves the half door - no surprise since she felt the same way about the half doors at Laurie's. It look out on the "front yard" of the barn, the driveway, a few of the paddocks, and the indoor. Lots to see.

It felt funny to get her there, unload, settle her into her stall, confer with the folks there about her feed and supplements, hang around for a bit, then leave. Reminiscent of when we took the girls to college and left them, feeling a little empty handed. Of course I drove back the next morning to check on her. It was a lovely sunny day and there was a free paddock, so she got out for a while. 

After a couple days she was introduced to the mares' field. I think there are five or six mares. I say "I think" because I have trouble keeping track of everyone. There are lots of field boarders, just a few full boarders, horses in for training, and horses that are there hanging out (oldsters, I believe). So there's a lot of coming and going. That was one thing that I think Bestie had trouble processing - why other horses were staying out when she was brought in. And a few times she would be the only one in the main barn, with the other full boarders in the side barn. So there's been some adjusting, particularly since at Laurie's, the group of four mares did everything together ... all out, all in, all eating.

But it's been good, overall. She seems happy and her care has been great. She had an altercation the second week that resulted in a swollen right hock and some gimpiness for a few days. Then last week it looked like she got kicked again, this time inside the left hock. Again, swelling, but no gimpiness this time. Of course it happened on a day I didn't go to the barn (like, really? I go almost EVERY DAY) so by the time I saw it, it was pretty crusty and yucky. It's healed up fairly well. I rode her today and she was fine.

The only other thing healthwise was some yellow nasal discharge for a couple days two weeks ago. I mentioned it to Sue at the barn and Joe took Bestie's temperature a few times - normal. The conclusion was that perhaps something in the hay or something coming out in the field had bothered her. It did clear up.

She's had her teeth done and her hooves trimmed once. She got wormed on April 3. We're still waiting on shots, which should happen soon.

We've been easing back into regular riding with some time in the indoor (nice to have one again!) and then a mosey around the paddocks. Last week as we came back toward the barn we rode under the gorgeous blooming cherry trees. Miss Unpredictable: right from the get go she walked out to go around the property's perimeter with no goofing around. I couldn't believe it, since it was always hard to get her past the paddocks at Maple Valley. Today we did about 20 minutes in the indoor, then rode around the paddocks, and she didn't even blink an eye at the gate swinging and squeaking in the wind, and the empty paddocks. My plan was to give us both some time to settle, and now I'm ready to get back into lessons, hopefully one every other week, and need to talk to Sue about that. Maybe we'll even be able to do one of their fun workshops at some point. And maybe, maybe, we'll be able to join someone on a trail ride and explore the fields beyond the barn's property. Big plans!