I managed to ride Ace between the showers when the wind dropped this afternoon and had a session on the arena which was so normal as to have almost nothing to report. We walked trotted and cantered with no napping, bucking, kicking, just a bit of tail swishing and a reluctance to hold the bend on the second half of a 20m trot circle. I guess that's progress, having nothing much to write about :-)
He isn't standing right on the concrete yard and I think it is possibly making his feet a little bit sore. I might have to keep him in his stable tomorrow on his bed. On the other hand, a tiny bit of discomfort will thicken up his soles, like a builder getting callouses when he works with bricks for the first time. I'll see just how uncomfortable he seems tomorrow. If a stranger would look at him and ask if he was quite all right, then I'll keep him in. It is currently his choice to stand on the concrete, but the food is out there and he is very driven by his stomach!
Jazz is desperate for attention and I am determined to ride him tomorrow. I want to start riding Radar on the roads again too, his feet were an absolute nightmare of effort to trim this morning. His horn is half and inch thick at the toe and there was over a third of an inch of it to be rasped off. I tried to nip it but it was too thick and too hard!
SH is off the beta blockers from tomorrow. He was on them to hold his heart rate steady, so it will be a slightly nerve wracking day to see what happens as their effect wears off. We did two miles walk today and he's been bright all day.
C
Your "collection of boys" report is missing Buttie, but perhaps that's a good thing. For him, no news is definitely no mischief.
ReplyDeleteGlad again to hear a good report about Allan's progress. Each day it gets better and better.
Ace's new lifestyle--aside from the concrete--seems to be suiting him well. Could be there was a lot more stress in the herd turnout than you realized.
Jazz and Radar are going to appreciate the attention. Enjoy riding them both.
Good to come off the beta blockers as long as the rate stays steady. I was on them for a while and they really effected me, I felt like the ground was dropping away from me, bit like when you get new glasses in your lenses, I definitely wasn't really 'there' and I had trouble sleeping. I ended up on half a tablet a day of the lowest dose you could get and my GP said 'why are you taking these, at this amount it probably isn't doing anything' so I took myself off them and immediately felt loads better. My consultant was not impressed at all ....! Not sure he had met many people that said 'will this cure me or just mask the symptoms? if it's not going to cure me I'm not taking it. '
ReplyDeleteNo news is good news about Ace really, bet the others will be pleased of some work once you get back in to a routine and the weather stops being so bad.
Tracey he says that you have described it perfectly. I hope they wear off soon so he can sleep and feel normal.
ReplyDeleteJean I think you are right. Jazz and Radar were a double act and picked on Ace in the barn.
C
Are you going to be able to separate them when winter comes? I forgot how your barn is configured, but I guess you do have separate stalls? Seems to me it's going to make general management a bit trickier, but really worth it for Ace's welfare.
ReplyDeleteI don't need to separate them in winter Jean. In winter I feed them ad lib haylage and leave more in there than they can possibly eat. It is being short of food which is causing the trouble.
ReplyDeleteC