It is amazing the amount of criticism that I am getting for posting what has happened to Princess Sparkle' s horse on my own blog.
And not ONE criticism of someone who posts on my blog 'each and every one of your horse's ends up the same......' and continues her intense and offensive criticism for days when asked to stop and told by several people that she is wrong.
Not ONE criticism of her saying on hho that I was making up Ace's illness to hide why I could not ride him.
Not ONE criticism of her maintaining to the bitter, and God was it bitter, end that I have had him put down because I didn't have the balls to ride him.
I have made no judgements, at any time, on my blog or on hho about how PS rode her horse or about her decision to have him put down. I have simply stated facts given in public by PS herself.
Let's have some balance!
.
Monday, 13 October 2014
Monday, 8 September 2014
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
New boys, new updates
This is Henry and Rizzle. If you want to know more about them, I am doing an email newsletter instead of blogging. My email address is cptrayes at btinternet dot com.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Found out who it was.
If you are going to read this phrase also read the blog including the comments from November.
I have discovered that Fran Turner, who posted the unwarranted criticism of the way I am rehabbing Ace, is Princess Sparkle from Horse and Hound Online.
This thread shows how her horse behaved in a competition a few days ago, after four years in training with her. She's says that he regularly does the same in training and will only hack on a warm summer day or he is dangerous.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?649661-Addington-High-Profile-report
While I'm here, I'll just update that I have discovered that Ace was badly affected by the acidity of the new season haylage. I am soaking it to reduce the acid, and feeding him bicarb, and he is doing brilliantly.
And thank you all for all the lovely messages of support you have sent or posted.
Bye again :-)
C
Update October 2014, in the mother of all ironies, having accused me of looking for reasons to put Ace down because I didn't know how to ride him, Fran Turner/Princess Sparkle, put her horse to sleep this month for behavioural issues.
Some people have read this as gloating. I am not gloating. I am finally able to put to bed an episode that gave me great pain., made much worse by Fran Turner s extended criticism of how I rode and managed Ace, and her refusal on the hho forum to withdraw her allegation that there was nothing wrong with Ace that a decent rider (her) could not fix.
I have discovered that Fran Turner, who posted the unwarranted criticism of the way I am rehabbing Ace, is Princess Sparkle from Horse and Hound Online.
This thread shows how her horse behaved in a competition a few days ago, after four years in training with her. She's says that he regularly does the same in training and will only hack on a warm summer day or he is dangerous.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?649661-Addington-High-Profile-report
While I'm here, I'll just update that I have discovered that Ace was badly affected by the acidity of the new season haylage. I am soaking it to reduce the acid, and feeding him bicarb, and he is doing brilliantly.
And thank you all for all the lovely messages of support you have sent or posted.
Bye again :-)
C
Update October 2014, in the mother of all ironies, having accused me of looking for reasons to put Ace down because I didn't know how to ride him, Fran Turner/Princess Sparkle, put her horse to sleep this month for behavioural issues.
Some people have read this as gloating. I am not gloating. I am finally able to put to bed an episode that gave me great pain., made much worse by Fran Turner s extended criticism of how I rode and managed Ace, and her refusal on the hho forum to withdraw her allegation that there was nothing wrong with Ace that a decent rider (her) could not fix.
Monday, 2 December 2013
Goodbye
This is my last post.
Radar is fit and raring to go hunting, this Saturday if the weather allows.
Ace is on an upward path to full recovery from his back problems.
In the last two weeks, I have lost most of the pleasure that I used to get out of sharing the life of my horses with people who I do not know in person.
It's time to give it up, and restrict my sharing to people who actually know me, and my boys.
Thank you to everyone who has ever posted ideas and support. Thank you especially to Jean, whose comments were on many days the only thing that let me know that I was not posting into thin air.
Bye folks.
C
Radar is fit and raring to go hunting, this Saturday if the weather allows.
Ace is on an upward path to full recovery from his back problems.
In the last two weeks, I have lost most of the pleasure that I used to get out of sharing the life of my horses with people who I do not know in person.
It's time to give it up, and restrict my sharing to people who actually know me, and my boys.
Thank you to everyone who has ever posted ideas and support. Thank you especially to Jean, whose comments were on many days the only thing that let me know that I was not posting into thin air.
Bye folks.
C
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Just perfect timing :-)
The timing of our first trip away from home could not have been more perfect. It has radically increased both Ace's confidence and my own. He even appears to be saying to Radar - nerr, I don't need you to lean on ALL the time you know!
For me, it has confirmed that his really explosive reaction to uncertainty has massively reduced, and that we are more likely to get a shrug than a buck. And that's alowing me to ride him much more positively too.
So this morning he was just perfect. A quick warm under the lights while he ate breakfast and a minutes lunging before I got on. He stood like a rock, and warmed up long and loose in walk, trot and canter all in the first five minutes. His walk was long and free immediately from the off, which is new and really pleasing. So is the drastic reduction in time before he's happy to have the reins picked up and do some real work.
After warming up the trot and canter, he then did a wonderful session of figures of eight in trot without changing the contact through the change of bend. Followed by figures of eight in trot with change through walk and a really forward up transition. Then trot shoulder in, (with a bounce that I have never felt before with such obvious forward three track work), with lengthening again on alternate sides of the arena. Then trot with proper lengthening on each side of the arena, which ended with him begging to be allowed to do it again :-) And finally walk to canter and some 'Ace personal best' canter to walk with the transition coming almost entirely from my seat. He was foot perfect, quiet, unspooky, responsive and every other great adjective under the sun you'd like to use.
And in case that sounds like too much work for a horse in rehab, the entire session including the warmup was less than 30 minutes, he just did everything well almost immediately.
I am now angry that I allowed myself to be made to doubt what I was doing, and by a person who had only ever seen Ace when he was a sick horse as well. But doubt myself I did, which put together with the fact that I set my own rehab program made for a few tough days of feeling like 'the world' was reading my blog just waiting for me to fail.
I defy anyone to have seen the happy horse enjoying his work this morning and tell me that he needs a firmer hand or a more confident rider. I intend to continue to listen to him, since there doesn't appear to be a dishonest or lazy bone in his body. In fact my biggest issue schooling is that once he has done something once, or twice at most, he knows what's required and offers it before it's wanted. It's a great 'problem' to have :-) !!
C
For me, it has confirmed that his really explosive reaction to uncertainty has massively reduced, and that we are more likely to get a shrug than a buck. And that's alowing me to ride him much more positively too.
So this morning he was just perfect. A quick warm under the lights while he ate breakfast and a minutes lunging before I got on. He stood like a rock, and warmed up long and loose in walk, trot and canter all in the first five minutes. His walk was long and free immediately from the off, which is new and really pleasing. So is the drastic reduction in time before he's happy to have the reins picked up and do some real work.
After warming up the trot and canter, he then did a wonderful session of figures of eight in trot without changing the contact through the change of bend. Followed by figures of eight in trot with change through walk and a really forward up transition. Then trot shoulder in, (with a bounce that I have never felt before with such obvious forward three track work), with lengthening again on alternate sides of the arena. Then trot with proper lengthening on each side of the arena, which ended with him begging to be allowed to do it again :-) And finally walk to canter and some 'Ace personal best' canter to walk with the transition coming almost entirely from my seat. He was foot perfect, quiet, unspooky, responsive and every other great adjective under the sun you'd like to use.
And in case that sounds like too much work for a horse in rehab, the entire session including the warmup was less than 30 minutes, he just did everything well almost immediately.
I am now angry that I allowed myself to be made to doubt what I was doing, and by a person who had only ever seen Ace when he was a sick horse as well. But doubt myself I did, which put together with the fact that I set my own rehab program made for a few tough days of feeling like 'the world' was reading my blog just waiting for me to fail.
I defy anyone to have seen the happy horse enjoying his work this morning and tell me that he needs a firmer hand or a more confident rider. I intend to continue to listen to him, since there doesn't appear to be a dishonest or lazy bone in his body. In fact my biggest issue schooling is that once he has done something once, or twice at most, he knows what's required and offers it before it's wanted. It's a great 'problem' to have :-) !!
C
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Ace hasn't read the book
Ace hasn't read the book. Either that, or he read it at four and then spent three years with things hurting every time he tried to do what it said, so now he doesn't believe the book any more. I'm talking about the book that says that all young or unsure horses must be ridden firmly at a particular speed in a partcular direction.
I got on in the middle of the yard and picked up the reins on the buckle, or at least where the buckle would be if they weren't plastic reins without a buckle :-) He walked up the yard, out of the gate and refused to turn left and go down the hill, instead he turned right (which is a very unusual manoeuvre for him) and tried to go up the hill. I turned him back but he would not go home, he tried to turn again and carry on the hack.
What at eye-opener that was! It's not that he doesn't like hacking at all, it's that he doesn't want to go down the hill. The reason for that needs a little more exploration, but there is no way that I would have known it unless I had allowed him to express an opinion and listened to it when he spoke.
I got off and walked him down the hill to watch and see if he had any physical difficulty with it. He didn't appear to. I got on from a bank at the bottom, again took the non-existent buckle in my hand, and off we went for a lovely and completely spook free hack, with a slow stride but a completely free and swinging back. I even had to stop him and turn him to come home again.
He's not confident, he's cautious, but he's a hell of a lot more confident than when I pick up the reins and try to force him to increase the pace. That just raises his fear of pain to levels that he can't tolerate and he tries to go home. Leave him to take the time he needs to assure himself that nothing is hurting, and all the problems disappear.
This, for me, is what riding is all about. It's not about what books say. It's not even always about what knowledgeable people who actually know the horse say. It's about knowing when you need to listen to the horse and when it's just having you on. It's about when things were working and then stop working, going back to what you were doing when they were working and trying to figure out what went wrong.
Ace doesn't have a nasty bone in his body. He's the most forgiving creature I've ever come across. Twice this year alone I have taken the pain away from him only to 'betray' him and let it come back again. Once with the injections and again with the bute. Why should he trust me this time? I know at least two horses with no physical reason for their refusal to be ridden after kissing spines operations. I am so, so lucky that Ace forgave me a third time. What a lovely, lovely boy he is.
I don't doubt that it's going to take a long, long time to despook him in a dressage arena, if it's even possible. And do you know what? I don't care if it isn't possible. If he never believes that an arena can be pain free, I can completely understand where he's coming from. I'll just have fun training him at home and thank my lucky stars to ride such a talented horse on my fabulous arena.
:-)
C
I got on in the middle of the yard and picked up the reins on the buckle, or at least where the buckle would be if they weren't plastic reins without a buckle :-) He walked up the yard, out of the gate and refused to turn left and go down the hill, instead he turned right (which is a very unusual manoeuvre for him) and tried to go up the hill. I turned him back but he would not go home, he tried to turn again and carry on the hack.
What at eye-opener that was! It's not that he doesn't like hacking at all, it's that he doesn't want to go down the hill. The reason for that needs a little more exploration, but there is no way that I would have known it unless I had allowed him to express an opinion and listened to it when he spoke.
I got off and walked him down the hill to watch and see if he had any physical difficulty with it. He didn't appear to. I got on from a bank at the bottom, again took the non-existent buckle in my hand, and off we went for a lovely and completely spook free hack, with a slow stride but a completely free and swinging back. I even had to stop him and turn him to come home again.
He's not confident, he's cautious, but he's a hell of a lot more confident than when I pick up the reins and try to force him to increase the pace. That just raises his fear of pain to levels that he can't tolerate and he tries to go home. Leave him to take the time he needs to assure himself that nothing is hurting, and all the problems disappear.
This, for me, is what riding is all about. It's not about what books say. It's not even always about what knowledgeable people who actually know the horse say. It's about knowing when you need to listen to the horse and when it's just having you on. It's about when things were working and then stop working, going back to what you were doing when they were working and trying to figure out what went wrong.
Ace doesn't have a nasty bone in his body. He's the most forgiving creature I've ever come across. Twice this year alone I have taken the pain away from him only to 'betray' him and let it come back again. Once with the injections and again with the bute. Why should he trust me this time? I know at least two horses with no physical reason for their refusal to be ridden after kissing spines operations. I am so, so lucky that Ace forgave me a third time. What a lovely, lovely boy he is.
I don't doubt that it's going to take a long, long time to despook him in a dressage arena, if it's even possible. And do you know what? I don't care if it isn't possible. If he never believes that an arena can be pain free, I can completely understand where he's coming from. I'll just have fun training him at home and thank my lucky stars to ride such a talented horse on my fabulous arena.
:-)
C
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Milestone; first lesson.
Don't get excited, I've not been yet. It's this afternoon. I'm just posting to share how excited and anxious I am to see how it goes. I won't be working him very hard, but it's our first time away from home, and in a spooky arena that he knows from before and may have some association with pain. A lot feels as if it's hanging on what happens this afternoon. First I'll be schooling Radar this morning, so check back later! About six should do it.
I'm ba-ack!
Well that went better than it might have done. Ace was spooky, but it is an extremely spooky arena with stuff stored behind wire fences, no walls, just a roof and fencing, big mirrors and windows of an office and a bungalow looking directly onto the arena. But he never felt explosive like he always used to when he was at that arena, he just looked, swerved a bit, and carried on.
He did some of his best trot yet, and we even cantered one transition on each rein to finish. I'm chuffed to bits with his progress. He's let me push him to do stuff that he wasn't mentally comfortable with without exploding. He found them physically easy, and then relaxed. He's kept his cool even though it has clearly tired him out mentally to be away from home and asked to work in a strange place.
Here is a minute of video of his most settled trot, to show you how well he is doing. The tail flick he does now is so much reduced in power and so comparatively infrequent, it was clearly a sign of pain all along. And look how straight he is, especially in that right (left as you look at it) front leg. At the moment I am still focussing on keeping him swinging through the back, so no comments on the slow tempo please, it's exactly where he and I want it.
http://youtu.be/X56TvL8yOB0
The bad news is that I haven't found a new trainer. I wasn't happy about a number of things, but taking a non urgent phone call in the middle of 45 minutes that I was paying 50 quid for was the last straw. With the arena hire, because she won't travel to me, it cost me 65 pounds didn't feel like value for money.
We are going to hire the arena a few times over the next three months, because the spooky environment is good for him, and continue the search for a trainer on our wavelength. I think we may end up travelling to Sonia again at this rate, I just can't find anyone who compares.
C
I'm ba-ack!
Well that went better than it might have done. Ace was spooky, but it is an extremely spooky arena with stuff stored behind wire fences, no walls, just a roof and fencing, big mirrors and windows of an office and a bungalow looking directly onto the arena. But he never felt explosive like he always used to when he was at that arena, he just looked, swerved a bit, and carried on.
He did some of his best trot yet, and we even cantered one transition on each rein to finish. I'm chuffed to bits with his progress. He's let me push him to do stuff that he wasn't mentally comfortable with without exploding. He found them physically easy, and then relaxed. He's kept his cool even though it has clearly tired him out mentally to be away from home and asked to work in a strange place.
Here is a minute of video of his most settled trot, to show you how well he is doing. The tail flick he does now is so much reduced in power and so comparatively infrequent, it was clearly a sign of pain all along. And look how straight he is, especially in that right (left as you look at it) front leg. At the moment I am still focussing on keeping him swinging through the back, so no comments on the slow tempo please, it's exactly where he and I want it.
http://youtu.be/X56TvL8yOB0
The bad news is that I haven't found a new trainer. I wasn't happy about a number of things, but taking a non urgent phone call in the middle of 45 minutes that I was paying 50 quid for was the last straw. With the arena hire, because she won't travel to me, it cost me 65 pounds didn't feel like value for money.
We are going to hire the arena a few times over the next three months, because the spooky environment is good for him, and continue the search for a trainer on our wavelength. I think we may end up travelling to Sonia again at this rate, I just can't find anyone who compares.
C
Monday, 25 November 2013
An interesting test
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
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
Sunday, 24 November 2013
One for the foot geeks.
This is the hole in Radar's sole. It is around about an inch wide, and the black hole at the bottom forms a perfect tube which penetrates right through a centimetre of sole, to an empty void underneath. He did himself a lot of damage with whatever he trod on, and I am exceptionally lucky that he caught it at the edge of his toe, where it didn't come into contact with the pedal bone. We were about an inch away from quite possibly losing him altogether. At the moment, I flush the hole daily with hydrogen peroxide and plug it with half a cotton wool ball. When I am absolutely certain that there can't possibly be any chance of an infection rebuilding, I have some Red Horse paste that a friend has given me to plug it with. It looks a lot more frightening in real life, I must say, because in the photo you can't see the depth of it.
And this tells an interesting story. These ripples occur on only one side of one of Radar's feet, the left hind. It's a foot that he has always grown an extension on the side of. In the early days of barefoot we were taught to take these off. Since then, we realised that for many horses they are diet related, and you need to fix the diet not rasp the hoof wall thin. And for others, like Radar, they are a structural response to a limb which is not perfectly straight.
The more I school Radar, the less of a flange he has on this foot. The lower ripple is when he came back into a lot more work after his summer break to get fit. The higher one was my mistake! I got too handy with the rasp one day, thinking that the flange was going to go anyway, I rasped it off and made his foot look pretty. His response was to put it back double quick, and produce the second ripple. I won't be making that mistake again.
C
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Well would you believe it!?!?!?
That Radar chose today, a wonderful day weatherwise for hunting, to stonk across a rubble car park without the slightest sign of any pain! Toad!!!! It was a meet so close to home, too :-( Oh well, better safe than sorry I guess ...
But you'd believe it, wouldn't you - cos that's horses for you :-)
You won't believe the next bit though. I have been mulling over why Ace was happy to hack when he started his rehab and isn't now. Two things have changed. The first is that I was hacking every other day and now I am doing one in three. I don't think that would have made this much difference.
The second is that I started by letting him go along with his nose on the floor and a stretched back and completely unrestrained, just to make sure he was pain free. And now I have picked him up and I am telling him to move faster and do things my way.
So today, just for the hell of it, I got on and picked up the reins on the buckle. I had the gate to the road open, but I also had the three gates to the arena open, so that if he turned back, I could ride him forward straight onto the arena and pretend that's what we wanted all along.
So what happened?
He walked out of the gate into the road. I gave him a neck rein and body aid to turn left down the hill, and instead of that he turned left and continued the turn sharply.. Just as I thought that he was going to go back down into the yard, he turned even more and continued up the hill away from home and broke into a trot.
Pretty shocked at this point, we continued a long reined hack up to the other side of the A537 and then back down again. He was calm, curious, cautious and lovely. He stopped whenever I wanted with a western rein aid of lifting the hands higher without taking contact with the mouth (both my horses seem to know this instinctively, I have not actively taught them it).
He waited at the junction of the main road until it was clear. He pulled in to let a car pass him in a very narrow spot. He looked at some sheep that ran towards him, prepared to spin if he needed to, and I held my nerve and did not pick up the reins and he stayed calm and carried on walking.
He's not marching anywhere, but he is swinging along with a loose back, and that's all I ask for. I'll be trying the same approach again, obviously, but first we need to do flexion tests on his hocks, because reluctance to walk downhill is often the very first sign of trouble with the hock joints. I don't expect it to show anything, but we must rule it out, since it's so easy to do.
Now tell me you would have expected me to write this today!
C
ps some of you have been kind enough to write to me saying how much you have learned from reading my blog. Please don't learn too much from this one. It is not a sensible way to teach a reluctant horse to hack, and with the wrong one it could end in disaster. It's a weapon of last resort only :-)
pps those of you with a good memory may recall that this non-confrontational non-controlling approach to spooking at the dressage letters also resulted in our first point at elementary. It will be something to bear in mind when we compete again if he continues to spook at dressage letters. Ace is very mare-like in the way he has to be negotiated with and not dictated to. I wonder if he's gay :-) ???
But you'd believe it, wouldn't you - cos that's horses for you :-)
You won't believe the next bit though. I have been mulling over why Ace was happy to hack when he started his rehab and isn't now. Two things have changed. The first is that I was hacking every other day and now I am doing one in three. I don't think that would have made this much difference.
The second is that I started by letting him go along with his nose on the floor and a stretched back and completely unrestrained, just to make sure he was pain free. And now I have picked him up and I am telling him to move faster and do things my way.
So today, just for the hell of it, I got on and picked up the reins on the buckle. I had the gate to the road open, but I also had the three gates to the arena open, so that if he turned back, I could ride him forward straight onto the arena and pretend that's what we wanted all along.
So what happened?
He walked out of the gate into the road. I gave him a neck rein and body aid to turn left down the hill, and instead of that he turned left and continued the turn sharply.. Just as I thought that he was going to go back down into the yard, he turned even more and continued up the hill away from home and broke into a trot.
Pretty shocked at this point, we continued a long reined hack up to the other side of the A537 and then back down again. He was calm, curious, cautious and lovely. He stopped whenever I wanted with a western rein aid of lifting the hands higher without taking contact with the mouth (both my horses seem to know this instinctively, I have not actively taught them it).
He waited at the junction of the main road until it was clear. He pulled in to let a car pass him in a very narrow spot. He looked at some sheep that ran towards him, prepared to spin if he needed to, and I held my nerve and did not pick up the reins and he stayed calm and carried on walking.
He's not marching anywhere, but he is swinging along with a loose back, and that's all I ask for. I'll be trying the same approach again, obviously, but first we need to do flexion tests on his hocks, because reluctance to walk downhill is often the very first sign of trouble with the hock joints. I don't expect it to show anything, but we must rule it out, since it's so easy to do.
Now tell me you would have expected me to write this today!
C
ps some of you have been kind enough to write to me saying how much you have learned from reading my blog. Please don't learn too much from this one. It is not a sensible way to teach a reluctant horse to hack, and with the wrong one it could end in disaster. It's a weapon of last resort only :-)
pps those of you with a good memory may recall that this non-confrontational non-controlling approach to spooking at the dressage letters also resulted in our first point at elementary. It will be something to bear in mind when we compete again if he continues to spook at dressage letters. Ace is very mare-like in the way he has to be negotiated with and not dictated to. I wonder if he's gay :-) ???
Friday, 22 November 2013
A tale of two horses
Well actually not two horses, but it may as well be. I hacked Ace out yesterday and its as clear as daylight that he is simply not enjoying himself. He'll do it, but it certainly isn't because he likes it, or is even indifferent to it. Contrasting it with the happy relaxed horse I rode on the arena today (more about that later), and I can't help but wonder what the point is of forcing him to do something he finds so unenjoyable.
Until I had Jazz, I would have sworn to the death that there was no horse which would not eventually either enjoy hacking out, or at the very least suppress its dislike so that it was unreactive to it.
Then Jazz put that arrogance right back where it belonged, and anyone else who thinks otherwise needs to wait until they meet a horse who is simply terrified that there are daffodils growing on a verge where they were not last week :-)
I've only had the two, Ace, who is much more polite about it than Jazz was, and jazz, who was extreme. There's a horse that competes PSG on HHO forum with a very experienced rider who won't hack safely too, so more,exist, and of course Jean has Tucker , who in the early days would not even be led out on a trail ride with a professional trainer.
So let's get to the point, which is, is there any point in making a horse which does not want to hack do it? What fun is there in forcing a creature, even when you can do it safely as I now can, to do what he simply doesn't want to do? He's radiating enthusiasm on the arena, and radiating the opposite about hacking out.
The only reason I can think of to make him continue is that it's good for his feet. I could just about see the suggestion that it's good for his training to get him to understand that I can make him do things he doesn't want to do, but he is so physically talented and mentally in tune with dressage that I fail to see how forcing him to hack along a road against his will is going to help me teach him tempi changes. (though passage and piaffe can sometimes be the result and we had a couple of nice levades yesterday :-)
I school Radar when he doesn't want to school because it's beneficial for all our other work to develop his athleticism and my control of his huge frame. I can use my rasp on Ace's feet to replicate the road wear, and I'm struggling but failing to see any other benefit. In the old days, I'd really have enjoyed 'winning' by making a horse do what it disliked doing. I'm struggling now to see what benefit it can be to either of us. Especially when I bought him purely for dressage.
Ideas on a postcard from everyone who hasn't read this as me chickening out of hacking Ace, please - should I carry on, or not?
Part two.
Oh golly gosh, fourth schooling session in a row where Ace has just been superb
I can now use trot and canter early in the warm up phase and he is working more and more consistently with the contact with a marked absence of tail swishing. Today I reintroduced shoulder in in trot with no problem at all. I also took the trot work back out to the side of the arena where the cat scared us both witless without any signs of tension. After two or three walk trot transitions he releases a superb up and forward trot, and once I've got that I can get medium on the straights, collect the corners, and he's really lengthening. This is the exercise that let me know in no uncertain terms that the painkilling injections had worn off, so it's taken a bit of courage for us both to really commit to it, but we've got it now.
Bearing in mind that according to our rehab instructions, he should not start canter work for another two weeks, and then only on straight lines, I keep the canter to two circuits in a low frame, but he is quiet, willing and flexible.
We were supposed to have a lesson with our new trainer yesterday but it's been postponed to next Wednesday. It will be our first trip away from home since the operation, and I am really looking forward to it.
Part three
Gosh it's a long one today!!!
Radar is 100% sound unless he treads on a stone with the thin part of his sole. I could have him shod with a plate of plastic to protect it, but I would rather miss hunting for another couple of weeks than do that. Tomorrow's will be a real loss, but the week after is a bad journey and one I never go to anyway.
I'll just have to sit on my hands for a while longer.
C
Until I had Jazz, I would have sworn to the death that there was no horse which would not eventually either enjoy hacking out, or at the very least suppress its dislike so that it was unreactive to it.
Then Jazz put that arrogance right back where it belonged, and anyone else who thinks otherwise needs to wait until they meet a horse who is simply terrified that there are daffodils growing on a verge where they were not last week :-)
I've only had the two, Ace, who is much more polite about it than Jazz was, and jazz, who was extreme. There's a horse that competes PSG on HHO forum with a very experienced rider who won't hack safely too, so more,exist, and of course Jean has Tucker , who in the early days would not even be led out on a trail ride with a professional trainer.
So let's get to the point, which is, is there any point in making a horse which does not want to hack do it? What fun is there in forcing a creature, even when you can do it safely as I now can, to do what he simply doesn't want to do? He's radiating enthusiasm on the arena, and radiating the opposite about hacking out.
The only reason I can think of to make him continue is that it's good for his feet. I could just about see the suggestion that it's good for his training to get him to understand that I can make him do things he doesn't want to do, but he is so physically talented and mentally in tune with dressage that I fail to see how forcing him to hack along a road against his will is going to help me teach him tempi changes. (though passage and piaffe can sometimes be the result and we had a couple of nice levades yesterday :-)
I school Radar when he doesn't want to school because it's beneficial for all our other work to develop his athleticism and my control of his huge frame. I can use my rasp on Ace's feet to replicate the road wear, and I'm struggling but failing to see any other benefit. In the old days, I'd really have enjoyed 'winning' by making a horse do what it disliked doing. I'm struggling now to see what benefit it can be to either of us. Especially when I bought him purely for dressage.
Ideas on a postcard from everyone who hasn't read this as me chickening out of hacking Ace, please - should I carry on, or not?
Part two.
Oh golly gosh, fourth schooling session in a row where Ace has just been superb
I can now use trot and canter early in the warm up phase and he is working more and more consistently with the contact with a marked absence of tail swishing. Today I reintroduced shoulder in in trot with no problem at all. I also took the trot work back out to the side of the arena where the cat scared us both witless without any signs of tension. After two or three walk trot transitions he releases a superb up and forward trot, and once I've got that I can get medium on the straights, collect the corners, and he's really lengthening. This is the exercise that let me know in no uncertain terms that the painkilling injections had worn off, so it's taken a bit of courage for us both to really commit to it, but we've got it now.
Bearing in mind that according to our rehab instructions, he should not start canter work for another two weeks, and then only on straight lines, I keep the canter to two circuits in a low frame, but he is quiet, willing and flexible.
We were supposed to have a lesson with our new trainer yesterday but it's been postponed to next Wednesday. It will be our first trip away from home since the operation, and I am really looking forward to it.
Part three
Gosh it's a long one today!!!
Radar is 100% sound unless he treads on a stone with the thin part of his sole. I could have him shod with a plate of plastic to protect it, but I would rather miss hunting for another couple of weeks than do that. Tomorrow's will be a real loss, but the week after is a bad journey and one I never go to anyway.
I'll just have to sit on my hands for a while longer.
C
Thursday, 21 November 2013
The Fran Saga continued
In case you miss it buried in the,responses, I think Fran's latest comment deserves,a blog of its own. I apologise now that if you read my response on yesterday's blog, it contains,a very naughty word indeed!!!
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Did ya miss me?":
My discussion is with you Caroline, I will only respond to your posts.
It is all well and good to declare you do not desire a response; however posts like yours above and below cannot be ignored (especially when you seem to be rather missing the point at times). If it is such a regret that I will continue to read your blog, make it private –it’s quite simple and is a solution you have often suggested to others when they receive advice they are not in agreement with.
It has been mentioned before that I have seen you ride. Although why that would any difference to our discussion, I am not sure.
I think you are misinterpreting my OP – I am not suggesting you whip him into a white foam to get the response required, I was suggesting that you don’t let Ace decide what response is required. If at home he gets to walk/trot/canter whenever he wants (or indeed stand fully tacked in a field instead of working), why on earth should he listen to you at another or time?
If I am interpreting your paragraph ‘...what posts have you been reading to think that you need to tell me, of all people, horses need black and white boundaries? Talk about grandmothers sucking eggs!!!’ correctly (and forgive me if not, it is hard to detect over the internet); then you are insinuating my own horses do not have boundaries. You are at liberty to pursue that train of thought, but horses without boundaries do not consistently score high 60’s at PSG, they do not score over 80 at Novice and they do not score over 70 at Elem (and with their background and breeding, boundaries and sympathetic schooling are necessary). No eggs to be sucked here, thanks. Horses are happy and so are we. Were they not, their results and progress would surely not be as glowing?
Furthermore, our trainers and sponsors continue their support and are also pleased with all areas.
As an aside, I appreciate I am very competition orientated but there is truth in saying that a horses’ competition record is a reflection of the training in place. (Though there are extenuating circumstances of course such as young horses, inexperienced riders and even the atmosphere at ‘big’ shows can make the most established of horses lose confidence in themselves and the rider.)
Of course it is none of my business; it was only a suggestion from me to you and a public blog. At the end of the day, it is only a comment and you are perfectly capable of taking or leaving it.
I would press though, that you will indeed have to progress as a rider, in order for Ace to progress, that is how it works... As he becomes stronger and more established, you will need to be there to rider that stronger and more established horse.
I trust that all makes sense now and I feel I have clarified all I can. Please note my comments are intended to be completely neutral; it is no fun being frustrated with an activity you ought to be enjoying and it is a situation of which any horse rider would be sympathetic.
Good luck with Ace, we’ll compare progress in a few years maybe.
Regards, Fran.
Posted by Anonymous to diaryoface at 21 November 2013 13:20
I think I understand a bit more about what is happening here. The first thing is that having seen me ride such a lovely and obviously talented horse as Ace at a competition, Fran is assuming that I am as motivated to gain points as she is, and genuinely thinks she is helping me achieve that. Mistaken on both counts, I'm afraid.
The second is that she is reading things that I write one day and assuming that they still apply weeks or months later. It's many sessions now since I allowed Ace to choose when and at what speed we should move on the arena. But Fran thinks it is still happening. Likewise, she believes Jazz died still behaving like he did as a four year old.
Thirdly, like the grandmother sucking eggs comment, she simply does nit understand some of what I write.
And lastly, she does not listen when corrected, either by me or by blog commenters. For example, Ace did not achieve his objective by being left in a field. His objective was not to stop work, his objective was to get back to Radar. He did not achieve that objective, and I can't recollect any horse I have ever ridden achieving their objectives through bad behaviour. I've explained that and it's been ignored.
So, let's wrap this nonsense up now and put it to bed, shall we? (This is a rhetorical question). Ace is finally a happy and healthy horse who I am going to really enjoy training. I hacked both today and the contrast was marked. I have some musings formulating for a post tomorrow about horses who simply do not enjoy hacking out.
C
ps Fran I am now fed up with advice and criticism from you that I do not want. If you post any more of it I will delete your comments as you have suggested I should do.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Did ya miss me?":
My discussion is with you Caroline, I will only respond to your posts.
It is all well and good to declare you do not desire a response; however posts like yours above and below cannot be ignored (especially when you seem to be rather missing the point at times). If it is such a regret that I will continue to read your blog, make it private –it’s quite simple and is a solution you have often suggested to others when they receive advice they are not in agreement with.
It has been mentioned before that I have seen you ride. Although why that would any difference to our discussion, I am not sure.
I think you are misinterpreting my OP – I am not suggesting you whip him into a white foam to get the response required, I was suggesting that you don’t let Ace decide what response is required. If at home he gets to walk/trot/canter whenever he wants (or indeed stand fully tacked in a field instead of working), why on earth should he listen to you at another or time?
If I am interpreting your paragraph ‘...what posts have you been reading to think that you need to tell me, of all people, horses need black and white boundaries? Talk about grandmothers sucking eggs!!!’ correctly (and forgive me if not, it is hard to detect over the internet); then you are insinuating my own horses do not have boundaries. You are at liberty to pursue that train of thought, but horses without boundaries do not consistently score high 60’s at PSG, they do not score over 80 at Novice and they do not score over 70 at Elem (and with their background and breeding, boundaries and sympathetic schooling are necessary). No eggs to be sucked here, thanks. Horses are happy and so are we. Were they not, their results and progress would surely not be as glowing?
Furthermore, our trainers and sponsors continue their support and are also pleased with all areas.
As an aside, I appreciate I am very competition orientated but there is truth in saying that a horses’ competition record is a reflection of the training in place. (Though there are extenuating circumstances of course such as young horses, inexperienced riders and even the atmosphere at ‘big’ shows can make the most established of horses lose confidence in themselves and the rider.)
Of course it is none of my business; it was only a suggestion from me to you and a public blog. At the end of the day, it is only a comment and you are perfectly capable of taking or leaving it.
I would press though, that you will indeed have to progress as a rider, in order for Ace to progress, that is how it works... As he becomes stronger and more established, you will need to be there to rider that stronger and more established horse.
I trust that all makes sense now and I feel I have clarified all I can. Please note my comments are intended to be completely neutral; it is no fun being frustrated with an activity you ought to be enjoying and it is a situation of which any horse rider would be sympathetic.
Good luck with Ace, we’ll compare progress in a few years maybe.
Regards, Fran.
Posted by Anonymous to diaryoface at 21 November 2013 13:20
I think I understand a bit more about what is happening here. The first thing is that having seen me ride such a lovely and obviously talented horse as Ace at a competition, Fran is assuming that I am as motivated to gain points as she is, and genuinely thinks she is helping me achieve that. Mistaken on both counts, I'm afraid.
The second is that she is reading things that I write one day and assuming that they still apply weeks or months later. It's many sessions now since I allowed Ace to choose when and at what speed we should move on the arena. But Fran thinks it is still happening. Likewise, she believes Jazz died still behaving like he did as a four year old.
Thirdly, like the grandmother sucking eggs comment, she simply does nit understand some of what I write.
And lastly, she does not listen when corrected, either by me or by blog commenters. For example, Ace did not achieve his objective by being left in a field. His objective was not to stop work, his objective was to get back to Radar. He did not achieve that objective, and I can't recollect any horse I have ever ridden achieving their objectives through bad behaviour. I've explained that and it's been ignored.
So, let's wrap this nonsense up now and put it to bed, shall we? (This is a rhetorical question). Ace is finally a happy and healthy horse who I am going to really enjoy training. I hacked both today and the contrast was marked. I have some musings formulating for a post tomorrow about horses who simply do not enjoy hacking out.
C
ps Fran I am now fed up with advice and criticism from you that I do not want. If you post any more of it I will delete your comments as you have suggested I should do.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Did ya miss me?
I've been offline for a few,days while I decided whether to continue to blog, following the discovery of a lurker who suddenly saw fit to tell me that I am failing my horses in spite of never having met them or me. And was rude enough to continue her criticism when I made it clear that I felt it was unfair. The comments on the previous post are there for you to read if you wish.
Frankly, I am baffled as to how anyone could have read a post written when I was feeling really ill, and translate it into Ace going so wrong that I would need to sell him. Personally, I think I've done pretty well to rehab a horse with significant memories of pain to where he is schooling beautifully. We had one bad hack. Does anyone in the horse world seriously think horse training is an unbroken upward path?
So, an update. The day after I left Ace safely in a field across the road, unable to graze because of the way I had secured his reins, I took him out for exactly the same hack again. You'll remember that I had put him in the field to ensure that he did not achieve his objective of napping to get to Radar.
On the rerun of the hack, with the worst of my combined cold and flu jab (baaaad timing!!!) over, he was great. He attempted to nap at the sheep again, but was easily prevented. On the two schooling sessions since, one outdoors and one in, he's been utterly delightful. Quiet, responsive, flexible and happy to take up the contact again without fear that his back will hurt.
This morning in the barn his walk to canter was just beautiful, and the canter walk almost as good. I really enjoyed riding him on a snow covered arena yesterday and looking at the size of bis overtrack :-)
You'll also be pleased to hear that Radar has been in work for three days. The abscess never brewed again, he either absorbed it or it was 'just' a bruise, though clearly a really severe one to go on so long.
He did a superb schooling session this morning and seems finally to understand
how to work into my hands and use them to help himself balance. I daresay this will disappear again when he's in full hunting mode, but it's very welcome right now and bodes well for some potential unaffiliated eventing next year that I am toying with doing with a good friend of mine.
The questions now are whether Radar will be fit enough to hunt on Saturday, and if so whether the hunt is actually on, with the weather we have forecast ......
Watch this space.
C
Frankly, I am baffled as to how anyone could have read a post written when I was feeling really ill, and translate it into Ace going so wrong that I would need to sell him. Personally, I think I've done pretty well to rehab a horse with significant memories of pain to where he is schooling beautifully. We had one bad hack. Does anyone in the horse world seriously think horse training is an unbroken upward path?
So, an update. The day after I left Ace safely in a field across the road, unable to graze because of the way I had secured his reins, I took him out for exactly the same hack again. You'll remember that I had put him in the field to ensure that he did not achieve his objective of napping to get to Radar.
On the rerun of the hack, with the worst of my combined cold and flu jab (baaaad timing!!!) over, he was great. He attempted to nap at the sheep again, but was easily prevented. On the two schooling sessions since, one outdoors and one in, he's been utterly delightful. Quiet, responsive, flexible and happy to take up the contact again without fear that his back will hurt.
This morning in the barn his walk to canter was just beautiful, and the canter walk almost as good. I really enjoyed riding him on a snow covered arena yesterday and looking at the size of bis overtrack :-)
You'll also be pleased to hear that Radar has been in work for three days. The abscess never brewed again, he either absorbed it or it was 'just' a bruise, though clearly a really severe one to go on so long.
He did a superb schooling session this morning and seems finally to understand
how to work into my hands and use them to help himself balance. I daresay this will disappear again when he's in full hunting mode, but it's very welcome right now and bodes well for some potential unaffiliated eventing next year that I am toying with doing with a good friend of mine.
The questions now are whether Radar will be fit enough to hunt on Saturday, and if so whether the hunt is actually on, with the weather we have forecast ......
Watch this space.
C
Saturday, 16 November 2013
Two steps back
Radar is no different today and it looks like I'll be calling for an xray on Monday so we can find out what is going on in that foot.
Ace was horrid. I hacked out and he was so nappy that at one point I had to get off. He simply refused to walk past a herd of sheep that have been in that field all year. There was a churned up patch (which he could not see) that indicated that they had been worming the flock, and perhaps he smelt something that made him feel anxious, but really it's a poor excuse and I was very disappointed in him.
I have no option but to get off, as he has now escalated his napping to include small bucks. I simply can't take the risk of being bucked off on a road, even with an air jacket on.
He spooked the whole time, and he napped badly twice more, but I didn't have to get off for those, I was eventually able to turn him and persuade him to go where I wanted.
But at home, he simply would not allow me to choose when we were going to go in the gate. I got off and walked him more than halfway back down the hill, thinking that would make him realise that if he didn't do what I wanted it would just result in more work. Instead it made him worse. I tried walking him past the gate in hand, then getting on and riding back past it, but he began to feel dangerous and not just obstinate.
So I got off, put the reins behind the stirrups and turned him into my friend's field directly opposite the gate, where I left him to cogitate on his sins until I had done some stuff with Radar and calmed myself right down too.
I can honestly say I hate him today. I feel lousy from a flu jab yesterday, which my immune system appears to think is full blown flu, and I have worked so hard and so long to get things right for him. Just when I begin to get on an even keel with the schooling, he won't even do a hack he knows inside out without feeling dangerous.
I really think I deserve better, but that's horses for you.
C
Ace was horrid. I hacked out and he was so nappy that at one point I had to get off. He simply refused to walk past a herd of sheep that have been in that field all year. There was a churned up patch (which he could not see) that indicated that they had been worming the flock, and perhaps he smelt something that made him feel anxious, but really it's a poor excuse and I was very disappointed in him.
I have no option but to get off, as he has now escalated his napping to include small bucks. I simply can't take the risk of being bucked off on a road, even with an air jacket on.
He spooked the whole time, and he napped badly twice more, but I didn't have to get off for those, I was eventually able to turn him and persuade him to go where I wanted.
But at home, he simply would not allow me to choose when we were going to go in the gate. I got off and walked him more than halfway back down the hill, thinking that would make him realise that if he didn't do what I wanted it would just result in more work. Instead it made him worse. I tried walking him past the gate in hand, then getting on and riding back past it, but he began to feel dangerous and not just obstinate.
So I got off, put the reins behind the stirrups and turned him into my friend's field directly opposite the gate, where I left him to cogitate on his sins until I had done some stuff with Radar and calmed myself right down too.
I can honestly say I hate him today. I feel lousy from a flu jab yesterday, which my immune system appears to think is full blown flu, and I have worked so hard and so long to get things right for him. Just when I begin to get on an even keel with the schooling, he won't even do a hack he knows inside out without feeling dangerous.
I really think I deserve better, but that's horses for you.
C
Friday, 15 November 2013
Good news - Radar's much worse!
Now I know that does not sound much like good news, but it is. It makes it very unlikely that there is anything wrong with his foot but a second abscess, particularly as the heel of his foot. Is now very warm. I fully expect it to pop open at the weekend. It should then be easy to clear it.
Ace was a star today. I didn't want to ride him on the arena because of my nerves. But it was such a calm, still day that I made myself. He was the best he has been. Really quiet and gentle, and beginning to produce some really forward and springy trot. I cantered as well and he was lovely.
I didn't think there could be much more increase in movement to come, but his free walk that we end on loosened another notch today and feels extraordinary. My only problem is that even on the arena, his shoulders are now pushing the saddle back too far!
C
Ace was a star today. I didn't want to ride him on the arena because of my nerves. But it was such a calm, still day that I made myself. He was the best he has been. Really quiet and gentle, and beginning to produce some really forward and springy trot. I cantered as well and he was lovely.
I didn't think there could be much more increase in movement to come, but his free walk that we end on loosened another notch today and feels extraordinary. My only problem is that even on the arena, his shoulders are now pushing the saddle back too far!
C
Thursday, 14 November 2013
No hunting Saturday :(
Radar and I won't be hunting this Saturday either. He has started limpng again and this time he is treading on his toe, where the hole is, but avoiding putting weight into his heel. It looks horribly like that abscess tracked in two directions and only the forward one was resolved by the hole that broke open in his sole. The other is going backwards towards his heel, where it will probably pop out over the weekend. It was a really nasty puncture, whatever it was he trod on.
The hole at the front is clean and dry, and I plug the deep bit in the middle with cotton wool every day to keep any mud out. I'm not happy to have anyone trying to cut a hole further back to try to connect with the one that is making him lame now, and he is only slightly lame on it. Neither bute nor antibiotics are a good idea for abscesses in the foot, they can make them take longer to come out. But if it is not resolved by the weekend then I'll have to call a vet.
Poor boy has been on and off work the last couple of weeks, he doesn't know whether he is coming or going.
There was an extremely strong wind blowing this morning and as I took Ace out onto the arena I asked myself what 'success' would look like today. My answer was that it would look like doing some walk, and maybe some trot, without any explosions, together with keeping him out there slightly longer than he wanted to be out there.
The second was easy, because from the start he was itching to go back to the stable, so that part was achieved in one circuit of the arena :-) He did skip a couple of times, which of course I was afraid was going to turn into an eruption, but it didn't. He trotted very reluctantly at first, but we finished on good walk/trot/walk on a circle on either rein.
I was pleased with that, and turned them both out.
C
The hole at the front is clean and dry, and I plug the deep bit in the middle with cotton wool every day to keep any mud out. I'm not happy to have anyone trying to cut a hole further back to try to connect with the one that is making him lame now, and he is only slightly lame on it. Neither bute nor antibiotics are a good idea for abscesses in the foot, they can make them take longer to come out. But if it is not resolved by the weekend then I'll have to call a vet.
Poor boy has been on and off work the last couple of weeks, he doesn't know whether he is coming or going.
There was an extremely strong wind blowing this morning and as I took Ace out onto the arena I asked myself what 'success' would look like today. My answer was that it would look like doing some walk, and maybe some trot, without any explosions, together with keeping him out there slightly longer than he wanted to be out there.
The second was easy, because from the start he was itching to go back to the stable, so that part was achieved in one circuit of the arena :-) He did skip a couple of times, which of course I was afraid was going to turn into an eruption, but it didn't. He trotted very reluctantly at first, but we finished on good walk/trot/walk on a circle on either rein.
I was pleased with that, and turned them both out.
C
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