Not only did I survive my week away at camp, I’d say I actually thrived. It was a great week, and for a few days after returning home I just wanted to go back. It is nice to be home though and getting back into the swing of things.
Ace is looking pretty good these days. He still seems a little weak in his right stifle when he turns, but isn’t in pain or lame or anything. I’ve got him back in light work, walking and a little trotting long straight line up hills in the pasture. I’ve been riding bareback this week for several reasons: I’m too lazy to use full tack, it’s good for my position and strength, it keeps me from wanting to push him too hard too fast, and I can really feel how he is moving.
He was super happy to be doing something again, and really seems to like riding out in the field. I was going to just walk the first day back, but he kept asking to trot so I let him. The more we trot, the better his movement feels.
Right now I know I need to just focus on conditioning and not so much on training. It’s hard, because I want to do more than just walk and trot straight lines. I have the “go” mentality of a thoroughbred, that’s for sure. But I’m behaving myself so far. I’m doing little things, like working on bend and flexion and straightness and moving off my legs.
Ace is turning into quite the sensitive, responsive horse. And the amazing thing is, he’s doing that right away after having nearly a month off! It makes me realize that he’s totally worth it, even if we have spent more time off with injuries than I would like. Ace has been through a lot of change in the last year, so it’s not really a surprise that his body is still adjusting (and sometimes rebelling!).
It’s been a crazy few weeks in the Baker household; my hubby was gone for 10 days, we’ve had some weddings and some traveling, we’ve been finalizing stuff with the house (check out pictures of our house here), packing to move to said house, prepping for a week vacation, and keeping tabs on my lame horse.
Ace is doing well. He’s not completely sound, but I’d say he’s 90 percent of the way there. I’ve been grooming him, loving on him, and lunging him just enough to see how he’s moving from day to day.
He does better outside in the grass than in the sand. As of today, he looks completely sound probably 85 percent of the time. The pasture where I check him is on a slight slope, and he gets just a bit gimpy on the downhill side. There is still the occassional clicking in his stifle when he’s trotting to the left, but it’s not as frequent or as loud as it was. And as I encourage him him to move out and really stretch under himself, the better he moves. And the longer he goes, the better he gets.It’s the kind of “off” that only his mom or someone with a really good eye would notice.
So, while we aren’t completely out of the water yet, we are really close.
It’s a good time to go on vacation, because I won’t be tempted to push Ace too fast too soon. I’m feeling confident that by the time I come home he’ll be back to normal.
In the meantime, Ace has greatly enjoyed having me come around just for grooming and loving and treats. I think we’ll both be ready to get back to work though!
Ben and I head out on Saturday to be counselors at a youth adventure church camp (think high ropes, rapelling, games) for a week. Think of me as I lead a cabin of young girls on less sleep than I’m used to getting. I’m probably more comfortable handling 8 horses for a week than 8 kids, but I think I can make it!
I’ll be back at the end of the month, hopefully with lots of good news about how my boy fared in my absence.
My horse is a problem child … and a klutz. He’s tweaked something in his stifle and has been off all week. I’ve gotten quite an education researching stifle problems this week, and learned that Ace has several conditions and symptoms that predispose him.
Stifle Issues
His predispositions for stifle issues include:
being out of work for a long period of time and then starting training
lack of muscle condition n the hind end (see above)
confirmation flaws including slightly straight back legs that are also base narrow
General symptoms I’ve noticed before:
back legs slip out from under him occassionally (a stifle lock symptom)
sticky left lead
Current symptoms:
lameness at a trot on turns and in deep footing
popping sound in stifle when turning at a trot
He’s totally sound at a walk, and he trots pretty well in straight lines on hard ground.
I did call the vet, but he didn’t want to tell me anything without hauling Ace into the clinic for a full lameness evalutation complete with nerve blocks and xrays. Since he’s not too seriously lame and he hasn’t gotten worse, the vet said it wouldn’t hurt to give him some time and see how he does.
Treatment for weak stifles and stifle lock is primarily conditioning. Lots of walk and trot work up hills to strengthen the muscles.
So, currently I’m handwalking Ace in the driveway, which is conveniently long, straight, and on a slight hill. Then following that up with cold hosing and pouticing his stifles. I’ve also got him on bute to reduce any inflammation he may have in the joint. And looking into some good joint supplements. I’m not keeping him in his stall because that would just stress him more, and he would spend the whole time walking in small circles - which definitely wouldn’t help.
Revelation
At first I was frustrated that we weren’t able to ride and work AGAIN for the third time since I got him last August. We were making such good progress and then we were stalled. But I realized yesterday, what’s the rush? We’ve (hopefully) got years ahead of us. Ace and I always have a blast together even if we’re just grooming, hand walking, or treating injuries. It doesn’t have to be all about being in the saddle. I still love this horse like crazy even if I can’t ride him right now!
Awards
I’m glad OnTheBit likes me, because she always manages to send blog awards my way just when I’m in need of encouragement. And I do love getting them, even if I’m terrible about responding to them right away! It is nice to be appreciated, and fun to have a chance to recognize others.
Zombie Chicken Award
What on earth a zombie chicken really has to do with blogging, I don’t know. The people who come up with this stuff are either way more creative than me or have entirely too much time on their hands.
Here’s what this award is about:
The Blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the Zombie Chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…
Actually, I think I might just take a zombie chicken apocalypse over my horse having abscesses, injuries, and hurt stifles. And what would I do if I were attacked by a zombie chicken? Beat it up with my dressage whip, of course. Then run really really fast.
Blogs I love to read simply because I can really relate, and who would totally show grace (and their dressage whips) in the face of a zombie attack are
Green Slobber On My Shirt (she’s a great writer and I think her horse Gabe is actually Ace moonlighting as a gray TB)
Nuzzling Muzzles (maybe zombie chickens in your yard would keep those annoying neighbors away!)
Oh Horse Feathers (Mrs Mom is the best! She’s the most helpful when it comes to hoof issues, and I think I’d rather face the zombie chickens than her wrath (rasp?)
I’m sticking with three for now. Hopefully that’s enough to keep the ZC’s away.
He apparently feels the need to challenge me occassionally in an attempt to reassert his role in the relationship. What he doesn’t know is that while he may outweigh me, I will always out-think him in the end.
Wednesday we got stuck out of the blue. No matter what I did, we were standing in the middle of the arena, never taking more than a step or two and never getting back out to the rail.
I went to the barn Thursday with a good attitude, hoping that Ace would live up to my high expectations rather than down to low ones. I mounted him in the far corner, where we weren’t stuck. But as soon as we got to the other end, we were right back to where we left off on Wednesday. Very slightly disappointing, but not unexpected.
One difference that second day was that I had dug out my spurs to make it a little harder for him to keep ignoring me. He didn’t like that! I could get him to walk a few steps eventually, but steering was non-existenent and we couldn’t get out of the middle of the ring.
I stayed calm and tried to work through it for about 15 minutes. Then Tracie offered to help from the ground. She grabbed a carrot stick/whip, and got ready to wave it behind Ace when I asked him to go. That finally got his attention! She waved it behind him once and he jumped a bit and pinned his ears. Second time we almost had some forward momentum. At the third, a hard loud smack on the ground, we were off. He launched forward and broke into a trot.
And just like that we were unstuck.
I rode Ace through the middle of the ring, stopped and started in the sticky locations just to make sure we were all good, and dismissed Tracie and her services.
We worked to the right for a while and then went to change directions. And then we were stuck. I wasn’t about to start that again, so after no response to my legs I applied the spurs. Ace didn’t like that! He started backing up to show his displeasure. But I kept after him, and when we had backed up the length of the short side and had no where else to go, I gave him a good boot.
He launched forward into a trot, and we haven’t had a problem since.
Somehow we managed to go from having our best ride ever to our worst ride ever within a span of two days.
Oh, it started all right. Walk warm up, stepping over poles with nary a bump. Trot warm up, some figure eights, some trot poles without any touches. We weren’t overly energetic, but the bending lesson had stuck and we were navigating corners beautifully and going nice and straight down the long sides.
Then we trotted over some poles, and Ace caught his back foot. He didn’t even hit it hard enough to knock the pole out of position.
And then we were stuck.
For the next half hour, we were stuck in the middle of the ring, never going more than a step or two forward. I tried everything I could think of, from outhinking him to making it as uncomfortable as possible, to coercion. I tried just sitting there for at least ten minutes, hoping his brain would reboot and start functioning normally.
And he just stood there.
He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t upset. No matter what I did, he stood there with his head down, his ears up, refusing to move.
It’s like he didnt like something (hitting the pole), and so he suddenly refused to do anything.
Eventually I got off and led him out of the middle to the far end of the ring. I remounted (from the ground, which I haven’t tried in ages and was glad to discover I could still manage it), and it was like nothing had happened. I got in the saddle, took up the reins, gave the slightest squeeze with my legs, and we were off.
Until we had to turn early in one end to pass another horse and got close to the middle. Then we were stuck again.
I dismounted, led him away from the vortex of the ring center, and off we went again.
Now I’m stuck.
I don’t really know what to do about this. And past experience with Ace tells me that he will be stuck from now until I find a way to unstick him. He doesn’t usually magically forget and go on again as normal the next day. I can always hope though!
I just mostly hope we won’t be starting from scratch again when we do resolve this issue.
In two rides this weekend, Ace and I had some major successes.
First, Happy Birthday to me! Ok, not really. It was months ago. But I finally got my present from my hubby: PVC pipe! Eight 10-foot pieces 3-inches in diameter to be exact. A girl needs some jump poles after all. I’m sure you are the few people in the world who can understand why that was an incredibly exciting present.
So, we started working over poles. The first step over, Ace just gave it a good hard look as he walked over. After that, he went through a series of 1, 2, and 3 poles in a row walk and trot with no hesitation. He was a bit of a klutz at first and kept knocking his back feet, but he was already paying better attention to where he put his feet at our second ride.
I was totally thrilled with his response to the poles. No hesititation and no grumpy faces. Very soon I can start using my jump blocks and raise the ends for elevated trot poles!
Canter Work Video
I’m trying something new and letting a video speak for itself today. I actually had some buddies in the barn and put them to work with the camera. Here’s a bit of Ace and I trotting and cantering (it’s short):
Please excuse my chicken wings for elbows. At least after watching the video and looking at pictures I know what I need to work on! Ace did a nice transition here for me, but was a little difficult about maintaining gait (apparently he needed a potty break, and he was much more forward once he got one).
This is the first time you’ve gotten to see my boy in a video. Kinda scary! I definitely feel like I’m putting more of myself out there with a video than with a picture.
We still have plenty to work on (like my arm and hand position and his occassional head tossing), but for now our motto is forward and straight. He’s getting good at both of those, and even carries himself well a lot of the time. When we’re really solid, then I’ll put more effort into other areas.
Bending Improvements
Ace is responding much better to my leg these days, and even understands how to move different parts of his body. We were still having some issues in turns, though. Sometimes he’d have a beautiful bend. More often than not, he’d bulge his shoulder and rubberneck through the turns.
Yesterday, I decided to really address it. Of course, by then I’d also seen these videos of myself and was very conscious about bringing my elbows in and my thumbs up. I discovered just how much more effectively I could use my reins to straighten his shoulders through the turn when I was riding in better position. We had three turns at a trot where I really exaggerated my leg, seat, and rein aids and where Ace bent beautifully. I praised him like crazy after each. After that, he seemed to get the idea. I was even able to get some vast improvement in the turns at a canter too. It was a huge leap for us.
So, just a quick recap of the weekend, our successes were:
starting pole work (great attitude, improved hoof placement)
improved canter transitions (we did some from a walk down the straight side, and got our leads each time)
fixed our overbending issues in the corners
awareness of my position flaws and starting work to correct them
Things we need to keep working on:
my arm and hand position
strengthening my leg position (2-point is my friend!)
longer canter work with even more responsive transitions
increasing trot pole difficulty and improving Ace’s awareness of where his feet are
We are still moving forward … in more ways than one.
1. Under Saddle Training
Ace has grown very sensitive to my legs and takes very little pressure to respond appropriately. We are now doing walk, trot, canter regularly and have even gotten some transitions straight to canter from a walk. He is very energetic and forward at the trot especially. He’s starting to pick up his energy and pace at the walk too.
I also discovered the other day that Ace will turn with just leg cues. I still have a lot of trouble with bending him properly in the arena. He goes through the corners with his head to the inside and throwing his shoulders to the outside. I’ve been working hard to correct this by using my legs to adjust the position of his shoulders and hindquarters and the reins to keep his head straight. Last week I popped on bareback for a little bit, and discovered that he would turn beautifully around my legs. With my inside leg at the girth and outside leg back (still have to exaggerate the cues) and the reins sitting on his neck, we walked three perfectly round circles.
We’ve worked out in one of the pastures several times since it hasn’t rained much and the ground has hardened. It’s nice for my big boy to not be constantly turning in the smallish arena. There’s also a slight slope on the long side, so we’re working up and a down a hill. Ace likes working out there much better and we have been able to do some good canter work, and have even started establishing some flexion. We’ve gotten used to traffic buzzing by on the road, the neighbor dog running up to the fence line and barking her head off, and birds flying out of bushes. The first time I asked for canter in the pasture, Ace gave me a little buck. He must have thought it was fun working out there, because he came to a dead halt outside the arena and refused to go back in when we were finished.
2. The Health Department
Finally having green grass to eat has done wonders for Ace’s weight. He’s a big boy and it’s been tough getting his ribs covered and his butt to fill out. After a month of grass, he’s sleek, shiny, and not showing any more ribs. I can always tell when he’s gaining weight because he gets thicker through his withers and across his back. It’s a beautiful sight!
He’s still looking a little ridiculous as he finishes shedding out. I’ve learned that horses must have a thick, short undercoat during the winter, like ducks have down. I was never really aware of this before. But Ace made it really obvious, because his “down” is nearly black. When he started shedding out his light bay winter coat, he was very dark underneath. He was light with all these dark patches. I thought it was just his summer coat.
Then he started getting light patches under the dark, because he was shedding the dark hairs too.
So, his summer coat is a lighter, redder bay than I originally thought. And he still has a few goofy looking dark patches that need to shed out.
I got him at the tail end of summer, so the dark hair I thought was his summer coat was apparently his winter liner starting to grow in.
Who knew.
Oh, and all of those old cuts have healed up pretty nicely. He has a nice jagged scar under his chin. I tell him it makes him look like a pirate.
On one backwards note, my tack started to rub the top of his gigantic withers yesterday. We’ve never had a problem before, but yesterday I found a spot the size of the dime where the hair had rubbed off. That’s going to be fun to deal with, considering he’s very high-withered even compared to high-withered horses. My saddle does sit several inches above his withers, and I’m using a wither relief pad with a regular square pad underneath. I think part of the problem was that the saddle slid back some as we rode. Any suggestions you might have will be very welcome.
3. House Stuff
We have a contract on a house we love, and are just waiting for the sellers’ signatures. Securing our mortgage and scheduling inspections is next. I’ve got some pictures of the house posted on Flickr.
And because I get this question a lot, no, we are not looking for a house with room for Ace. First, I dont’ want to have my horse at my house. I like to board. I like the freedom it offers, I like that Ace has buddies, and I like that I have buddies. A big part of the fun of being around horses is being around other horse people. Second, a farmette isn’t in the house budget this time around. Third, Tracie might just kill me if I took Ace away. She’s kind of attached to us.
July 2, 2009 
Posted in Horse Health, Training 
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It is nice to be appreciated, and fun to have a chance to recognize others.
In two rides this weekend, Ace and I had some major successes.
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