I was riding along this morning in the lovely winter sunshine on a day with no wind, through marvellous countryside that people pay to come on holiday to, on a fabuloous horse, upto have breakfast with a wonderful friend. How much better does life get than that?
I did an interesting experiment with Ace yesterday. I normally stick him under the lights for a few minutes just to settle his mind that his back won't hurt, and I use his comfort blanket., Last night, it was very cold and damp, and I rode him indoors when it was pitch black outside for the first time, with the lights casting a lot of shadow. I didn;t warm him under the lights or put on his comfort blanket.
He was much more tense than the last two times I have ridden him inside. I could feel his suspicion that things would hurt, though I could also feel from his back that they weren't going to. He walked and trotted nicely, and did a couple of walk/canter/walk up the straight side. But when I asked him to canter across the diagonal to do the canter/walk in the middle instead, he bucked and then hopped up and down. It wasn't serious and it was easy enough to sit, and then he stopped and took a deep breath and apologised :-) I carried on in walk for a few minutes, repeated a walk/canter/walk up the long side on each rein and then stopped.
I've been concerned about reoorts from someone who is rehabbing a horse at exactly the same stage as me, and the horse is very unhappy now trot has been introduced. That person also ignored her rehab instructions, and although the horse has more issues than Ace, it is unsettling to hear of one where it isn't going well.
So I was keen to ride Ace out on the arena today and make sure last night was simply because of missing his mental safety net out. I put him under the lights for five minutes while I untacked Radar, and I lunged him for one or two minutes in each direction. I do th is to check the walk overtrack, because if his back is stiff he loses it. And to see that he is not feeling too frisky!
I got on, and realised my girth was not tight, so I did it up on board for the first time since he has been back in work. We walked, we trotted and we cantered and he was absolutely beautiful He started a spook at the shadow of the top of my head appearing on the bank of the arena (it's bare rock and pops up by his side). But he stopped as soon as he started, realising there was nothing to be afraid of.
He takes three walk to trot transitions before he really trusts that he can push forward into the trot, but I've lost all my fear of that transition and just send him on into it until he releases his true movement.
We are now cantering two 30 m circles very happily, still in a low outline but swinging nicely. His tail is rarely flashing and his contact is more consistent than it has been for a long , long time
I couldn't be more pleased with his progress. Checking up the rehab prgram, we will apparently be allowed to canter two weeks tomorrow. Can't wait :-) !!
C
:-)
ReplyDeleteYup!
DeleteC
H-m-m-m...With that other horse, I would be highly suspicious of a saddle issue first. Then, of course, there's the ulcer potential. Don't know if that owner/rider has eliminated those possibilities. The saddle fit may well have changed since the horse's back has altered since the surgery. And, if the horse had anxiety before, during, and even after the rehab ulcers are always a possibility. A newly freed up back would make bucking a whole lot easier. (any way you can offer those ideas or find out if they have been considered?)
ReplyDeleteMeantime, it sounds as if Ace is progressing better and better as time goes on. I truly like the fact that you are still riding him in that long frame. It is one of the best ways I know to truly build up the horse's back muscles and his stomach muscles so he can carry himself correctly and round when he is back on the bit in a more elevated frame.
Uhm....two weeks left before you canter? Seems you are a bit ahead of that. *S*
Two weeks and we can canter straight lines out on a hack, Jean :-)))
ReplyDeleteI am so thrilled with him today, he's my sweet German dumbblood again.
C
I'm sorry I'm commenting here, but I couldn't figure out how else to reach you. I have a horse diagnosed with navicular syndrom, and I saw you posting what I consider "hope" on a forum about how going barefoot can reverse the problems. Is there any way you could exchange emails with me so I could ask you some questions?
ReplyDeleteMore than hope Elle, but a rehab that actually works most of the time and reverses what is said to be an incurable progressive disease. We have the crate to show for it. My email address is cptrayes@btinternet.com, but you need to take a look at rockleyfarm.blogspot.com and possibly contact Nic Barker, she's generous with her time even if the rehabs aren't going to her.
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The crate!! Predictive text speak for the xrays :-)
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