Spring, that is!
BECAUSE MY HORSE IS SHEDDING!
And Solo never tells a lie...
BECAUSE MY HORSE IS SHEDDING!
And Solo never tells a lie...
3 days ago
February 4, 2010
February 2, 2010
D-Day!!!
Well, you know, "I-Day" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Yep, yesterday, our favourite Dr. Bob came out and shot a bunch of cortisone into Solo's high and low hock joints. We decided to skip the HA (hyaluronic acid for the uninitiated, be happy if you have never had to think about it) because (1) it adds $200 to the price (why yes, that was my moan of agony you heard just now!) and (2) unless you are doing super upper level stuff, Dr. Bob has not observed it adding too much, especially if the horse is already on Adequan/Legend (which Solo is). After discussion with the vet and consultation of the science, I'll be dropping our feed-through supplement and just maintaining the Adequan.
The cortisone takes away the ow. The HA/Adequan helps rebuild fluid/cartilage and protect them from further degradation. The antibiotic shot in there with it all helps protect against infection from the injection itself. Dr. Bob has never had an infection and it's easy to see why -- he spends ages with the bucket of Nolvasan scrub and other little scrubby pads to the point where I would happily lick Solo's hairy legs.
Solo gets his lovely injection of happy juice and I am assigned to hold the head end up (yup, owner gets the bitch job.). The procedure then goes something like this:
Me: Holy crap, Solo, your head weighs 247 pounds! (Anyone who has ever held the head of a tranquilized horse knows EXACTLY what I mean!)
Solo: Heyyyyyy....don't...poke....my....leg...I'll...kiiiiiick....at....you....feebly...
Dr. Bob: Hey, Solo, don't kick Dr. Bob now or else we'll have to get some more drugs out.
*SLAM! BAM! WHACK! POW!* (The pasture abuts the barn directly behind us. This is Ms. Hunter Princess Moxie Mare using her head to hurl open the sliding barn windows and the washstall door in which we are standing as hard as she can to illustrate her desire to be let in and pampered above all others. At which point I thank all the gods that my horse is calm. And drugged. Don't let her innocent face in the picture fool you.)
Me: Ok, Solo, really, could you use just ONE of your many neck muscles at this point?
Dr. Bob: PLEASE DON'T TRY TO KICK DR. BOB!
Solo: Let me blow all the snot out my nose too....
Moxie: *WHACK! CRASH! SLAM!*
Me: My arrrrrmmmssss........
Dr. Bob: Only one more, be nice to Dr. Bob now, Solo!
Moxie: *SLAM! GALLOP GALLOP GALLOP!!* (This is the sound of thundering hooves as Moxie leads everyone in a riotous protest gallop since someone besides her is OBVIOUSLY getting pampered.)
Solo: Snottt.........
Me: OMG, not only have my shoulders dislocated, my head is now encased in a bubble of horse mucous as Solo seems to feel his only method of protest is blowing out his nostrils.
Moxie: *WHAM! KICK KICK KICK SQUEAL!* Freaking mares.
Dr. Bob: Done!
Solo: Duuuuuuuude.....
Me: Could someone pick my arms up off the floor?
So pretty much routine, you know, uneventful. Just another quiet day on the farm. At the end of it all, you might have heard another anguished scream, but don't worry, it was just my checkbook.
I am instructed to give Solo three days off. Which is not really a problem since currently the ground is covered in about 3" of leftover snow topped with a serious ice crust. Oh and freezing rain is falling on top of that. Then on Friday I can do some light walk/trot work (yeah right, it's supposed to rain some more Friday) then Saturday I can do whatever I want (since it's supposed to snow on Saturday).
For now, I will just lie still on the floor with ice packs on my arms and be grateful that we chain the washrack door shut precisely BECAUSE of Moxie's lovely little ways.
Yep, yesterday, our favourite Dr. Bob came out and shot a bunch of cortisone into Solo's high and low hock joints. We decided to skip the HA (hyaluronic acid for the uninitiated, be happy if you have never had to think about it) because (1) it adds $200 to the price (why yes, that was my moan of agony you heard just now!) and (2) unless you are doing super upper level stuff, Dr. Bob has not observed it adding too much, especially if the horse is already on Adequan/Legend (which Solo is). After discussion with the vet and consultation of the science, I'll be dropping our feed-through supplement and just maintaining the Adequan.
The cortisone takes away the ow. The HA/Adequan helps rebuild fluid/cartilage and protect them from further degradation. The antibiotic shot in there with it all helps protect against infection from the injection itself. Dr. Bob has never had an infection and it's easy to see why -- he spends ages with the bucket of Nolvasan scrub and other little scrubby pads to the point where I would happily lick Solo's hairy legs.
Solo gets his lovely injection of happy juice and I am assigned to hold the head end up (yup, owner gets the bitch job.). The procedure then goes something like this:
Me: Holy crap, Solo, your head weighs 247 pounds! (Anyone who has ever held the head of a tranquilized horse knows EXACTLY what I mean!)
Solo: Heyyyyyy....don't...poke....my....leg...I'll...kiiiiiick....at....you....feebly...
Dr. Bob: Hey, Solo, don't kick Dr. Bob now or else we'll have to get some more drugs out.
*SLAM! BAM! WHACK! POW!* (The pasture abuts the barn directly behind us. This is Ms. Hunter Princess Moxie Mare using her head to hurl open the sliding barn windows and the washstall door in which we are standing as hard as she can to illustrate her desire to be let in and pampered above all others. At which point I thank all the gods that my horse is calm. And drugged. Don't let her innocent face in the picture fool you.)Me: Ok, Solo, really, could you use just ONE of your many neck muscles at this point?
Dr. Bob: PLEASE DON'T TRY TO KICK DR. BOB!
Solo: Let me blow all the snot out my nose too....
Moxie: *WHACK! CRASH! SLAM!*
Me: My arrrrrmmmssss........
Dr. Bob: Only one more, be nice to Dr. Bob now, Solo!
Moxie: *SLAM! GALLOP GALLOP GALLOP!!* (This is the sound of thundering hooves as Moxie leads everyone in a riotous protest gallop since someone besides her is OBVIOUSLY getting pampered.)
Solo: Snottt.........
Me: OMG, not only have my shoulders dislocated, my head is now encased in a bubble of horse mucous as Solo seems to feel his only method of protest is blowing out his nostrils.
Moxie: *WHAM! KICK KICK KICK SQUEAL!* Freaking mares.
Dr. Bob: Done!
Solo: Duuuuuuuude.....
Me: Could someone pick my arms up off the floor?
So pretty much routine, you know, uneventful. Just another quiet day on the farm. At the end of it all, you might have heard another anguished scream, but don't worry, it was just my checkbook.
I am instructed to give Solo three days off. Which is not really a problem since currently the ground is covered in about 3" of leftover snow topped with a serious ice crust. Oh and freezing rain is falling on top of that. Then on Friday I can do some light walk/trot work (yeah right, it's supposed to rain some more Friday) then Saturday I can do whatever I want (since it's supposed to snow on Saturday).
For now, I will just lie still on the floor with ice packs on my arms and be grateful that we chain the washrack door shut precisely BECAUSE of Moxie's lovely little ways.
January 31, 2010
Where's That One Horse Open Sleigh When You Need It?
T-1 day to injections!
But we enjoyed a snow ride anyway, *crunch crunch crunch crunch*, sporting our sexy new quarter sheet. Hopefully, there will be an exciting vet report tomorrow...
But we enjoyed a snow ride anyway, *crunch crunch crunch crunch*, sporting our sexy new quarter sheet. Hopefully, there will be an exciting vet report tomorrow...
January 30, 2010
Snow Ponies
Apparently a worm hole in the universe has opened and transported me back to my chilly childhood days in Kentucky. Cause this sure as hell ain't North Carolina!!! It is "snowing" ice pellets for god's sake!
The farm driveway, complete with 6 inch pile of snow on the truck hood.
We are not impressed by your "winter."
Oh! Haz you come to bring me to warmth and treats?
Well. Read my disappointment when you do not.
I iz Moxie. I iz hunter princess. You bring me in now!!
NOW!!!!!!
You suck.
Even the farm birds are scrounging in the snow for scraps.
Even Smokey has an opinion.
The farm driveway, complete with 6 inch pile of snow on the truck hood.
We are not impressed by your "winter."
Oh! Haz you come to bring me to warmth and treats?
Well. Read my disappointment when you do not.
I iz Moxie. I iz hunter princess. You bring me in now!!
NOW!!!!!!
You suck.
Even the farm birds are scrounging in the snow for scraps.
Even Smokey has an opinion.
January 26, 2010
Wanna Rise To The Challenge?
So I have decided there is no point is pushing Solo too hard until post-injections, especially on the dressage work that really needs him to rock back and step under from behind. Therefore, I must remove temptation for me to keep working on this stuff so I don't get frustrated by the inability to progress.
As a result, I decided to take the stirrups off my dressage saddle until the shots are given. They came off last week and I am not allowed to replace them for any reason. I have left the stirrups on our jump saddle, so light jump schools are ok.
My concession to my body is that I have left my cushy sheepskin seat saver on the dressage saddle. I have no desire to kill myself.
So, all dressage schooling must be done sans stirrups. And yes, that includes W/T/C. This means that I will get tired and owie wayyyy before I'm asking Solo to work too hard, LOL.
We do a little less trot work (hey, I'm not Ironwoman!), but we do a lot more transition work. Lots of bending at the walk and canter. Last night, we warmed up with 5 loop serpentines at the walk. Then, staying on the serpentine, we would trot around the bends, but on the straighaways, transition to walk and leg yield three steps in direction of new bend, then resume trot. At the canter, we did a few 15-m circles, then added a couple loops of semi-counter canter to work on balance. Then my thighs hurt like a sonovabitch, so that was the end. Other days, we went on a trail ride or worked on bending around our trot circles.
My challenge to you is to join us in no-stirrup land for the week. C'mon, I double dog dare ya! It's great for the balance, building muscle and encouraging a longer, drapier leg. You do NOT have to do all three gaits if you don't want to. I will not make you post the trot or two point. Yes, it is hard. BUT, I'm not talking torture session here. My legs are a bit sore, but I'm not forcing myself to continue exercises when my legs are screaming. I agree with P, who says tired, stressed muscles that continue to be drilled will only result in incorrect work. So I do a couple of exercises, push myself just a little, then quit. Rarely do these rides last more than maybe 20-30 minutes.
So who's with me???
As a result, I decided to take the stirrups off my dressage saddle until the shots are given. They came off last week and I am not allowed to replace them for any reason. I have left the stirrups on our jump saddle, so light jump schools are ok.
My concession to my body is that I have left my cushy sheepskin seat saver on the dressage saddle. I have no desire to kill myself.
So, all dressage schooling must be done sans stirrups. And yes, that includes W/T/C. This means that I will get tired and owie wayyyy before I'm asking Solo to work too hard, LOL.
We do a little less trot work (hey, I'm not Ironwoman!), but we do a lot more transition work. Lots of bending at the walk and canter. Last night, we warmed up with 5 loop serpentines at the walk. Then, staying on the serpentine, we would trot around the bends, but on the straighaways, transition to walk and leg yield three steps in direction of new bend, then resume trot. At the canter, we did a few 15-m circles, then added a couple loops of semi-counter canter to work on balance. Then my thighs hurt like a sonovabitch, so that was the end. Other days, we went on a trail ride or worked on bending around our trot circles.
My challenge to you is to join us in no-stirrup land for the week. C'mon, I double dog dare ya! It's great for the balance, building muscle and encouraging a longer, drapier leg. You do NOT have to do all three gaits if you don't want to. I will not make you post the trot or two point. Yes, it is hard. BUT, I'm not talking torture session here. My legs are a bit sore, but I'm not forcing myself to continue exercises when my legs are screaming. I agree with P, who says tired, stressed muscles that continue to be drilled will only result in incorrect work. So I do a couple of exercises, push myself just a little, then quit. Rarely do these rides last more than maybe 20-30 minutes.
So who's with me???
