Day off for the boys, day on for the girls

Today Craig and I took the girls to the barn to go riding.

Here is Lily -






And here is Macey. Even though she is younger she is much braver about horses.





Cheers to Albert for being such a good sport! Fantastic little boy!

Tomorrow all three boys will work. I'm looking forward to it.

So I say, "My horse is so lame...."

...and the crowd responds,"How lame is he?"

Then I say, "He's so lame that, um, well, he's not lame!"

Wait, you didn't think was funny? Neither did I, when the vet came out today only to find my horse not lame anymore. Well, just a teensy bit off, hardly noticeable, and much more sound than he has been.

Here is how it went down - as you recall, Dr. G saw a video last Friday (taken Thursday) of me riding Kaswyn that clearly showed the horse was off on his left front leg. I got specific instructions on what the game plan was. I stopped all medications and worked him every other day, admittedly not hard because he felt terrible and I didn't have the heart. But he was ridden, and continued to get turned out every day. This was presumably to keep him lame enough that Dr. B could have something to see and treat today.

Well, I started off at the trot and Kaswyn felt much better than he had on Sunday. Loads better than Thursday. In fact, he didn't feel hardly off at all. He took a few funny steps to the left, and then when I went to the right he just felt like he didn't want to go but didn't feel off. Dr. B watched me go for quite some time, and finally I stopped and said, "So, what do you think?"

He said "What do YOU think?"

I said "Well, this is the best he's felt in a month. He feels better to the left, which is weird."

He said "Really? Because he looks better to the right."

I said "Well to the right I just can't keep him going, and he doesn't feel like he wants to work. Actually it's kind of hard for me to tell a difference between the sides."

He said "Yeah, he doesn't look off today, except for a slight favoring in the left hind. He just looks like he's protecting it but I can't even call him lame. You really have to watch him go left and right and watch the left hind and how it travels slightly differently than the right. He's just not bringing it up as high and as far forward as the right."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well I don't need to do anything to the left front because he's sound and even there. I don't know what was going on Thursday but it's not going on now. But lets go ahead and block the left hind and see if he improves."

So he blocked the left hind, then I rode again. I got more energy, but he took a few funny steps to the left. He felt better to the right because he actually was okay with going when I asked him to.

Dr B said "So? What do you think?"

I said "I think he's better except for those funny steps every now and then to the left."

He said "I agree." He also commented that Kaswyn looked good in the hocks and didn't seem to be having any hock issues today.

Then we had a discussion about how to proceed, what caused it, and the prognosis. First, since Kaswyn has improved Dr. B thinks I should keep him on a light work schedule, keep up with the Surpass on the left hind, ice after working, and use bute if needed. We discussed shock wave but he thinks that Kaswyn will continue to improve if I keep doing what I'm doing work and medication wise. He does not want to inject the joint.

Then we talked about how this might have happened. Basically what Kaswyn has is a very slight case of ringbone, the common name for arthritis in the higher pastern joint. Since I started working him hard in February I probably aggravated it. Dr. B said that laying him off could cause other problems when I try to bring him back, so I need to work him to keep him in shape while allowing him to heal. Working him lightly to moderately every other day, with at least one light day a week, plus the Surpass, ice and bute should work out well.

Lastly we talked about Kaswyn's future. Dr. B says that ringbone typically gets flared up by one thing or other (the horse takes a funny step, gets overworked, or over stresses the joint) and it takes a while for it to calm down. But once we get it under control he should be able to train moderately and show without a problem.

So I'm going to take it easy with him for the next few weeks and see where that leads us. Like I've said before I don't need to do any hard core training on him because he knows his job. I just need to keep him in shape and practice small bits of the tests. And keep him sound.

In other news, Skyy and Albert are both doing well. Skyy is really making a nice connection with the bit and the canter departs keep getting better. I get more good ones than bad ones from him lately. And Albert is working on shoulder- in and half pass. Since the show we've had some issues with the trot lengthenings. I feel like he got a chance to really move out at the show where we had a lot of room, and now in the small arena he's not relaxing his back and coming through. I'll have to get him outside or in a big arena and see if it's mental or if I'm doing something wrong.

Another show for Skyy in less than three weeks! And hopefully continued healing and soundness for Kaswyn! And, er, big kisses for Albert!

Another video session

After a week on Equioxx and Surpass I got Skyy's owner to video Kaswyn again for me. He still had not felt right and I knew he was in pain because he was not keen on working. Also when he was hurt before in the left front he would blow out through his nose when I was riding him, and he started doing that this last week. Not like he was blowing snot out, but a rhythmic blowing out as he worked. He didn't do it on the video but you can certainly see that he is off.



When he saw the video he said "Now he's off left front. Right hind looks good, still slightly off left hind."

I told him that Dr. B was coming out Tuesday, so he said to stop the Equioxx ans Surpass. Then he gave me a set of instructions for Dr. B. First, he's to watch me ride Kaswyn. Then he is to inject the left front neuroectomy site to block it. Then I ride again. Is he is still lame block the left hind pastern. Then I ride again.

I asked what happens if he's still lame then and he said "Then you look at the suspensory, but I don't think you'll get that far." I asked about his hocks again, and asked if he did a Churchill test (it checks for hock pain) last time Kaswyn was there. Dr. G looked confused and said "No, I don't think this is hock pain, and I didn't do a Churchill." I told him that Dr. B would probably do a Churchill and if he comes back positive he's going to want to inject the hocks and Dr. G said "No, he doesn't need to do that. Tell him that the old man said inject the left front neuromas, then the left hind pastern, and then go from there." I reminded him that Kaswyn also had that splint injury on the left front and he said "I doubt that's it, but you never know. But this is all really good. We keep solving the problems as they come. You see horses will always react to the thing that hurts them the most, and when we fix that then they go to the next thing that hurts them. Nobody ever wrote a book that says when horses are lame they only hurt in one spot. This is the way it goes. We're making progress!"

So I'm supposed to ride him until Dr. B comes on Tuesday. It is so hard to ride him when he hurts because I know he hurts and I feel so bad for him. I know he will work if I ask him to but I feel lousy doing it. I went out today and rode Skyy, and was going to free lunge Kaswyn, but he was taking a nap and I didn't have the heart to disturb him. I'll do something with him tomorrow - probably ride bareback in a halter just to get him moving.

Tomorrow Susan and I might be bringing Albert and Skyy to the nearby polo fields to ride in the dressage arena there and also to ride a bit down the trails. It's kind of a pain because we have to haul them over there in the trailer, but it's worth it if I get to work in an outdoor arena. We might not go, but that is the plan. I'm sure the horses will love getting out there!

Since there are only two people going we can only bring two horses, so Mr. K has to stay home. I feel a little bad about it but since he's not 100% I don't want to push him. Certainly once we get him fixed up we'll take him out. He'll love that!

Ladies, let's talk...

Men, you'll probably want nothing to do with this post. You have been warned.

If you read my blog on a regular basis you know that I work in a fertility clinic. I do lots of embryo transfers, which involve a procedure that is very similar to a regular pelvic exam or pap smear. The patient is undressed from the waist down and is covered with a sheet. When we are ready to do the transfer the patient is instructed to scoot down to the end of the bed, lie on her back, and put her feet in the stirrups. Then a speculum is inserted into the vagina so that the physician can view the cervix. When placing the speculum the doctor needs to clearly see the genitals of the patient. This is why the stirrups are set widely apart.

So, the point is ladies, we need to see your business. All of it. This is not the time to be modest here. We've seen it all before, trust me. Please, when your feet are in the stirrups, don't try to keep your knees together. You're having a pelvic exam, not tea with the Queen. Open your legs! It does not mean that you're slutty. We will not think any less of you.

Another bonus is that by keeping your knees apart you will be relaxing muscles that will make the speculum feel less uncomfortable. I'm not saying that you'll LOVE your speculum, because very few people enjoy having a metal medical apparatus jammed in their hoo-ha. But it will make it better. Try relaxing your butt muscles too. No reason to clench at this point.

So remember - next time your feet are in stirrups that are not attached to a saddle, keep your knees apart! Your doctor and your hoo-ha will thank you for it.

Sunday show Videos

I didn't ride until the afternoon on Sunday, but I still came out early to watch the other people from our training barn ride, and to help out where I could. Truth be told I didn't do all that much. Everyone that was at the show is very self sufficient and everyone is capable of getting their own horse ready.

Albert was first with First Level Test 4 again. He was feeling a bit tired, especially in the right hind. I think this could be from me insisting more than usual that he stay straighter at the canter to the right. This forces him to keep the right hind properly placed instead of putting it to the inside like he does most of the time, and it might have made him a little bit sore.

For some reason I don't have video of this test. Probably technical difficulties with my camera, since I know Skyy's owner was there to video the ride. Regardless, it was a very nice test. On that first lengthening I gave him just a little too much gas and he broke to the canter. My mistake. The second one was nice even though I didn't give him that extra push. The rest of the test went very well.

I rode for the same judge that I rode for on Saturday when I made the walk error. After my test was over he asked me how I finished in the Saturday class. I said "Fifth place." and he said "Fifth!? Damn! I thought you'd have been higher!" I said "I did have an error, so that affected my score." and he said "You did? Huh." I said "Yes", he started writing, so I said "Thank you!" and walked on. It's really nice to hear that the judge wanted you to place higher in the class. Obviously he likes the Bert since we got another 65%.

About one hour later I was supposed to show Skyy. I gave him only about 15 minutes of warmup time, because I gave him 35 minutes on Saturday and it was much too long. I was lucky on Saturday that they were running early, but on Sunday I was going right after a scheduled break so I knew I would not be early.

This test started out wonderfully. It was for the same strict judge that I rode for Saturday, but the test was all 7's at the beginning so she liked what she saw. Then we did the walk, or jigged instead, and things started to go wrong. Skyy got impatient and tense and the second half of the test was icky. She really nailed me on that last canter to trot transition - we got a 3. What started out as a test that could have gotten a nice score turned into a 58%.



I know what I need to work on with Skyy. Steadier connection with the bit, more push in the canter departs, and the ability to walk calmly in the middle of our workouts. He broke from the walk in all three tests, and that must stop. I have been practicing walk work at home, but obviously not enough.

Albert just needs fine tuning. More bend in the canter right, as well as more straightness. Better positioning in the leg yields so the haunches don't trail. More jump and slightly more round at the canter departs. Other than that this boy is ready.

And then there is Kaswyn, sweet Kaswyn. We just need to get that boy sound and free of pain. He knows his job and was actually a little wound up by Sunday afternoon because he didn't get to show Saturday and it wasn't looking good for Sunday either. I went into his stall and he ran up to the door and pushed me a little with his shoulder, like "Hey, it's my turn!" This horse really loves to show. I have got to do what I can to get him there again.

So only one more big recognized show before Nationals, and this one will only be for Skyy so that he can qualify. The rest of the shows will be schooling shows just so I can practice the tests. I'm not allowed to have a reader at Nationals, so I better get those tests memorized. You can bet your buttons that I won't make a mistake on the walk work in Training Level Test 4. I've got that movement down.

Movie time with Dr. G

After a week of bute and some time off I rode Kaswyn three times. I had Susan video the third ride Friday morning because Dr. G wanted to see how the stifle treatment went. He also wanted to see if the Surpass on the left hind pastern had made any improvement.

Before I headed over to the clinic I rode Mr. Skyy. That little boy is really getting the hang of the canter departs. I got three nice departs in a row each direction where he did not toss his head in the air. Very good boy.

Here is the video of Kaswyn -



Dr. G thinks that Kaswyn is better but still off in the left hind. He wants to put Kaswyn in Equioxx for one week and then see a new video. He said keep working him. This is hard for me because my horse does not feel right and I hate working him like that, but it seems like that is what I must do in order to help with diagnosis. The next step will be to have Dr. B come out and watch me ride. Then he will block the pastern and see if Kaswyn is sound on the block. If he is, we do shock wave therapy. It worked very well with the left front injury, so we'll try it again. Shock wave is preferable to injecting the joint because Dr. G said that sometimes you can get a fracture of the pastern after injecting there. And we certainly don't want that.

So I'm in the process of making an appointment with Dr. B. He's usually very booked so he'll probably not be available until after our week on Equioxx anyway. Hopefully I can get him out soon and we can start therapy. I have deadlines to meet, people!

Saturday Show Videos

Saturday I had Skyy to ride first at Training Level Test 1 again. His warmup was even better on Saturday and I was anticipating another very nice ride from him.



I personally think this ride was better than Friday's ride, but this judge was much tougher. I wouldn't say that she didn't give out high scores, because some of the horses who rode before her got high 60's. I think she has a clear idea of what she wants to see, and if she sees it you get a nice score. However, if she doesn't she's pretty critical.

She wanted to see much more of a connection than Skyy has had before. It's too bad because I think this test went really well. That connection to the bit is coming, it just wasn't there yet.

Since I had a six hour break before my next ride, my trainer and I went out to the lunging area and took video of Kaswyn. At the beginning of the work he actually looked pretty good and I was starting to think I was a little quick to scratch him. However, the more work he did the more the lameness showed up. At the end of the video he takes one of those "stepped in a hole" steps that are obviously painful. Then I knew that I had made the right decision to scratch him.



Later when Dr. G viewed the video he thought he looked pretty good in the beginning but then the lameness showed up on the left hind, especially during turning and changing direction. He said the canter wasn't really helpful to watch and that the trot and the walk are the most important to see. I'll keep that in mind when I video him next time.

I was so happy when it was finally time to ride Albert in his Training Level Test 4 class. Again the little trooper was right on the money and laid down an awesome test.



So, here is what happened in the walk. The movement is Walk at C, Working walk from C to B, Free walk from B to V, Working walk at V. First, I didn't look at the test enough before the class, which I should have done - shame on me! Then, when I heard my reader say "Working walk from C to B" I thought she said "C to V". B and V sound a lot alike, and I totally don't blame her. But I started to head towards V, and then I heard her say "Free walk from B to V" and I thought "Wait, there is something wrong here, I'm already going to V."

Then I heard a whistle.

There were three arenas set up for the show, right in a row. They try to have the judges in all three rings have a different signal to tell the rider when to enter the ring, or when the rider had made an error. In the past it's been brass bell, whistle, and cow bell. This time they had the two brass bells on the outside arenas and the middle arena had the whistle. When I heard the whistle it sounded like it had come from the other arena, and not mine, so I kept going. I didn't hear another whistle so I never stopped.

I realize now that it was in fact my judge blowing the whistle at me. The reason I know this is because I just happened to be riding in the far left arena at the same time that my trainer was riding in the middle arena, and her trainer was in the far right arena. As I was leaving the show area after my test I happened to be coming out at the same time that my trainer's trainer was coming out too. His arena also had a whistle, and I think he was doing Second Level. There is no way his judge could have blown the whistle to tell him to enter the arena while I was walking and have him finish his Second Level test in the time it took me to do half of a Training Level test.

I told this to my trainer later and asked her if I should have stopped since I was unsure if the whistle was for me. She said that if I was unsure I should not have stopped, and the he probably saw that I had gotten back on the right track so he didn't blow the whistle again. She said that if there is a doubt as to if the judge blew the whistle or not that I should keep going, because if I had stopped and the whistle was not for me then I would have to get an error for nothing. If the judge really wants to stop me they will blow the whistle (or ring the bell, whatever it happens to be) again more forcefully to stop me.

Anyhow, I was already partway to the centerline when I realized my mistake, and I wasn't sure what to do. You can see that for a second I decided to head back over to B, but I realized I would not make it so I just did a free walk over to V. I was really bummed about this because the test had been going so well up till that point. The whole test is 7's until my error, which got a four and a five, and that really effected the score.

I'm still frustrated with myself for making this mistake. I know he still got a 67%, which is an amazing score. But it was my error that kept him from getting a higher score. He was on his way to a 70%, and 70% won the class. I can forgive the horse for making a mistake, but for me to make such a stupid error that cost so many points is just poor preparation on my part.

One more day to go!