August 9, 2010

In Which Solo Tries Once Again To Off Me Via Cardiac Arrest

So I may have mentioned that Solo is out of shape a bit. And I may have mentioned that we had a great ride for a couple of hours yesterday. That involved a fair share of trotting and cantering on hills. Which we haven't done, oh, since May-ish. But still, not too terrible. So I thought.

I went over tonight with the intention of just doing a light longe session since I will be away with work for the next three days. I pull Solo out of his stall after feeding the horses and nonchalantly begin a quick grooming. La la la, no biggie. I go to pick out his feet since the horses have been in due to heat today. La la la, easy peasy. Until Solo will NOT pick up his left hind. I ask a little more determindly, puzzled because he ALWAYS picks them right up. He sags his weight down through his hip and wobbles lopsidedly in the wash rack to the point where I worry he may lose his balance.

I, being me, immediately decide he has some terrible neurological disorder or nerve damage in his hip and move him back to his stall to continue my expert diagnosis without danger of falling on concrete. I poke and prod ankles and hocks, carefully watching every ripple of muscle. I walk him, I back him, I turn him. He doesn't look lame, but he STILL won't pick up that foot, no way no HOW. As I ponder calling the vet to deal with this certainly serious injury, I see BO walking up to barn and figure I will have her have a look.

She pokes, she prods, we take him out of his stall. I jog him up and down a slight incline, where again, he shows no sign of lameness. I stare and fret and in my core, my heart is beating a mile a minute. BO tries to pick up his foot again. Solo obliges this time. And you know what?

How about an out of shape horse goes on a vigorous trail ride, then spends a day in a stall (which he is not used to, since they only come in to eat or in extreme heat) so his joints stiffen. Oh, and he's overdue for his Adequan.

Ok, so maybe I overreacted a teensy tiny bit. But, hey, it's not my fault my horse had this huge melodramatic response like he was going to fall over and die if he lifted his leg. And then he was fine after ten steps of trot.

Horses....

7 comments:

  1. Ah ha ha, I am well aware of your panic and I see how you came to conclusion that a nice jaunt out on the trail would lead to neurological damage.

    Perhaps he thought you were coming for round 2.

    ReplyDelete
  2. But of course, wouldn't that be a logical progression -- oh, he trotted down a hill and all his nerves just failed!

    Whereas in Solo's mind, it was more like "Agggghhh, look at meee, ohhh I'm crippled, I can't possibly work off fat todayyyy..."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry, but I had to laugh at this! Silly ponies! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. ROFL - I have so been there! Slowly I'm getting to the place where I don't assume the worst. I assume the 3 steps from the worst. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm pretty sure I would pretend to be lame if someone made me trot and canter hills one day and then tried to make me work again the next day. ;-)
    Glad to hear that it's just stiffness and not Spontaneous Nerve Combustion! Sounds like some liniment is in order...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Do NOT get complacent!!! I too am a Paranoid Horse Owner & thought I was finally improving and learning to handle situations calmly. The other day my BO texted that she was really concerned, Mosco was covered in huge bumps. I thought, ho hum, hives, must've eaten something weird - note, if your BO is normally the one calming YOU down about your horse & SHE'S freaked out, take heed! Turns out, he must've gotten into a bees nest, was covered in giant bumps where he'd been stung (4-5 inches in diameter) and now as he's healing, he looks like a disease Dalmation (covered in scabby looking spots)and I'm thankful he didn't have an anaphylactic reaction. So I'm going back to performing neuro tests on a regular basis so I know what his baseline is & freaking out because is he a little sluggish today? (yes, because the heat index is in the triple digits again). Sigh.

    Horses, gotta love 'em, despite their life-shortening propensities.....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Friz, you forgot the jump school we did the day beFORE the hilly ride!

    Awww, poor Mosco, I hope he feels better soon!!!!

    ReplyDelete