The temperature has risen above zero. And Woody left the barn under his own steam and walked happily across the yard to his stable. I have never come across a horse with such strong memories that it affects his behaviour as much as this.
It is, I have to say, adding considerably to the difficulty of judging his rehab because first of all I have to work out whether he is actually in pain or only expecting to be in pain.
In spite of feeling lousy with a cold, I've taken him out on a hack this morning. He was nappy and backward and refusing to take the contact, but I worked it through and got him to walk on. Then he suddenly went absolutely hopping lame. First of all on the front right, then moving to the rear right. I nearly got off to check his feet, but he was fine in walk so I carried on. I'm sure I would have heard if he had trodden on a stone or anything, and I just thought that he was lame in trot today.
A few minutes later he napped again at the beginning of one of our trot places. To stop the nap, I sent him on into trot, and blow me down but he was sound as a pound (though perhaps with the state of the economy I need a different expression :-) Not only that, but he was game to trot up the following hill as well, so we did. So - was the lameness a final attempt to get me to turn round and go home? Or what?
On the way back, he was much better than he has ever been. He spent most of the distance walking nicely relaxed and forward into a gentle contact. That isn't a slight improvement, it's a sea change. That's more like it Woody :-)
He went over two "test patches" of rough road surface without changing stride, which no horse with sore feet can do because of the size and sharpness of the stone that has been used as top dressing. So he definitely does not have sore feet, thank goodness.
It's a lovely day outside but I have no more energy left to ride the other two. They will have to wait, sorry boys :-(
C.
My first trainer had a Thoroughbred who would start to limp after about 3 minutes on the way out on a hack. Worried, the first time it happened, I turned him around to go back home, and--sudden miracle--he was completely sound. Once he knew that I knew, I turned back to go out again and he was fine on the rest of the ride.
ReplyDeleteIf being lame has kept Woody from working in the past, he may well have developed a limp as a strategy for getting out of it. If he keeps on feeling good and actually starts to enjoy himself once in a while, it should go away.
I always think it's much easier to train the body than the brain. *G*
I did wonder if he was simply faking the lameness Jean, it was so extreme!
ReplyDeleteC
My friend had a mare who used to fake lameness to get out of work, so it is entirely possible!
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