What's Our Motivation?

Before heading out to the farm for the weekend I only managed to sneak out to the barn on Wednesday. I wasn't feeling overly motivated so I groomed both horses and tried a bit of lunging in the arena. Axel just for a few minutes at the walk. I asked for a trot but he was quite reluctant to go anywhere. Cody was being his lazy self again. I'm going to have to figure out how to get him moving again. The best I can figure is that I need to work with him on the short leadline with some change of direction and then switch to the lunge line after he's for sure paying attention and hopefully more alert. After fighting with him on the lungeline for a while I unclipped and chased him around the arena to get him moving more. At least that way he was able to get into a canter and stretch his legs a bit.

Home Again Home Again

Well the boys survived the week while I was in Colorado. Not only did they survive but at some point they were blessed with a round bale in their pasture. I swear to god they look fatter already. I'm really going to have to stay on top of things and keep Axel moving this winter, no slacking. Maybe having a round bale when there is still grass will help ease them into it. I guess time will tell. What I do know is that they already have a good start on their winter coats. Axel is almost all the way black again and Cody is starting to look like a teddy bear. I guess it's time to make sure the coolers and wool blankets are at the barn. How does this happen so fast?

I just ran out to check on everyone so I brought Axel in to groom. His wound is looking good I didn't even put any UHM on it this time. I did give him some MSM as usual. He was walking pretty good just lazily. And since they have the round bale now it seems like they are spending a little less time in the mud. I scrubbed Axel's back legs again. Next time I'll have to try and shave them up again and I'm almost out of Chlorhexidine so I'll have to pick up more of that.

Cody's scratches weren't looking too bad either but his back right leg seemed a bit stocked up so I scrubbed him as well. I might have to shave his legs too just so I can keep an eye on them. I put Cody in the arena for a few minutes to do some circling and we worked on driving over the fake bridge. The plan for both horses is going to be a lot of ground driving and lunging this winter. Now I just have to finish making my driving lines.

Gorgeous Sunday

We're headed out to Colorado for a wedding this week so my trip to the barn yesterday was my one and only for the next week. I figured I better get out there and count everyone's limbs and get a handle on the status quo so when I get a phone call stating that one of them has decided to amputate something, I'll know how bad it is.

J and J were getting the big boys ready for a carriage ride when I got to the barn. I didn't have too much time since there was a ton of stuff left to do at the house before leaving for a week so I opted to not go with them. Axel seemed like he was moving pretty good so I saddled him up in his dressage saddle and set out on the road for a quick trip. Axel was very very sticky and I didn't have a whip so we inched our way past the pasture and didn't even make it to the trees. The team passed us so we turned around and headed back to the barn. He didn't seem terribly "off" just annoyed and stubborn. Granted this would be the second time he's had a saddle on since last December. I guess I'd be annoyed too. I also didn't give him any bute so cutting the trip short seemed like an okay idea just in case.

In the meantime Cody was acting like I hadn't taken Axel away in years. He was calling and running around. Not sure what got into him. Another boarder was there and had forgotten her bridle so she was bummed that she couldn't ride with us. Probably a good thing since her horse had thrown a shoe anyway. But it would have been nice to get a longer ride in. She was hand grazing Steele out in the ditch when we were tacked up and ready to head out. I got a little speed out of the drive way. I asked for a trot and Steele was standing at the end so Cody was a little more willing to move. We took the ditch (slowly) down to the path between the fields. So far Cody hadn't tried to turn and bolt so I asked him to turn into the drainway between the plowed wheat and the bean field and then I asked for a trot. It took a couple times to keep him moving and I asked for a canter. We took maybe 10 sort of bumpy strides in the canter but when I asked he went back down to a walk and was calm about the whole situation, despite having his head up in the air like a giraffe. So I asked him to turn around, which he did without bolting. His reward was a walk back to Steele with a loose rein where I dismounted and let him graze. I probably shouldn't reward him near the barn like that but he did behave very well.

I ended up hosing off both Axel and Cody's legs before I rode. J&J had the warm water hose already out so the boys got a treat in that respect. Axel's wound is looking okay. I think the scab was coming off so it was a little raw looking but not too bad. Cody has got himself some mud fever on his back shins (basically) so I actually shampooed his legs and then scrubbed them with chlorhexidine. I was hoping he'd drop while I had the bucket of soapy water but he's not a fan of the hose so I didn't get a chance to clean up his man bits. At least he's been letting me use a baby wipe, it just doesn't clean as well. The mud out there is like cement I don't know how they get it all out of the Clyde's feathers. Even with warm water, shampoo, and scrubbing Cody's legs were still pretty dirty.

On my drive home I passed the team coming up the highway in perfect sync so I slowed down and stuck my phone out the window to take a photo. Wish I would have had a real camera!

Just a quick ride in the arena

Not a whole lot exciting on my last trip to the barn. I decided to give Axel a shot without any bute this time. Unfortunately he was having an off day so I rode bareback in the arena for 5 minutes at the most. So that was a little disappointing.

I tacked up Cody and rode him in the arena while J rode Logan and tried to convince him that Cody wasn't going to chase him. Cody tried to convince me he'd rather be napping but with a little help from Mr. Dressage Whip we got a little inspired. Just some trotting and a tiny bit of canter so I could convince him I could ride without yanking on his face. He's very inconsistent so we'll be cruising along just fine when all of a sudden he surges forward and leaves me behind and usually yanking on his face. I haven't quite decided what I want to do to work on this issue yet but I'll come up with something.

I generally spend a lot of time and effort trying to keep Cody on the rail which right now means he's nearly always counter bend and my inside leg is always dying from exhaustion. We had been working on a little bit of leg yielding and things like that which Cody never seems to understand until he wants to avoid doing something else. Frequently I'll push him to the rail and instead he'll either speed up or spin around like I asked for a turn on the forehand. He actually executed a very nice turn on the forehand for me on Tuesday even though that was not what I was asking for. So I played along and kept asking and insisted he go around a full 180 degrees. Good to know he can do that stuff just wish he'd do it when I asked!

After that I worked on getting the brush through his tail (need to get more show sheen the miracle groom doesn't work as well) and I was able to clean up his bits and pieces again with no kicking. Next time he gets a bath (with warm water) I'll see if I can convince him to let me clean him up with a sponge and soapy water, works much better than just a baby wipe.

Axel on the road!

I really should keep better track, I can't recall if I went out to the barn on Friday or not. I think I did and just groomed but who knows. I did go out on Saturday after some extensive napping. I decided to groom outside again, the weather was perfect. I took Axel up to hose off his legs again since it's been a while. The mud just won't go away so it's kind of pointless but I want to keep tabs on the mud fever and make sure it's not getting any worse. He's actually got it on his shins (basically) right now. There's really not much on his ankles where it usually is but the front and back of his left rear cannon have some weird scab like bumps. Those don't seem particularly awful, they are more like clumps of skin and hair than they are scabs. I scraped off as much as I could and scrubbed him down with the chlorhexidine as usual. I hosed off his front feet as well and put some more Underwood Horse Medicine on his wound. It's looking pretty good, seems like it's healing up decently. I decided since Axel seemed to be feeling pretty good the past week that for a change of scenery we'd go out on the road for a quick ride.

If Axel stayed at his current state I'd be happy. I grabbed his bridle this time but opted to get on bareback since the picnic table makes such a nice mounting block. Axel was a little figity with the bit and spent a fair amount of time diving for grass but other than that he settled in to "work mode" a little better than I had expected. We walked to the west for a bit and then to the east, staying on the shoulder area where we wouldn't have to fight with gravel. I think overall he remained more sound than he did when we last rode in the arena. And really, how many people can get on their horse bareback for a ride down a semi busy gravel road after the horse has been out of work for 9 months? I didn't time it but I'm sure we didn't go for more than 10 minutes. I hope I can get him back in shape enough to do easy trail rides at the walk. Even if he needs a couple grams of bute every time we ride, a couple times a week shouldn't be too big a deal. I think the combo of the injection and the supplements seems to be finally paying off. We'll see if he'll ever get back to trotting shape or not. I think walking and carrying weight will be the first hurdle. I'm trying to go conservative on the pain meds so I can see if riding is making things any worse for him, so far it seems like it's having no negative affect.

When Axel was done I brought Cody into the barn to groom and tack up. He needed another ride on the road, I'm determined to keep it up and see if he improves at all. There's bound to be some trail riding this fall and I'd like a sane horse. We made our way down the driveway and down the road pretty slowly. Once we got past the culvert and a few moments of "I won't go forward" things picked up a bit. We actually made it down to the second to last field entrance before the intersection and Cody was moving out and not weaving so I asked him to turn around. Of course that was the moment a nice big wind blew up his tail and he scooted forward so we turned around and tried again. After that we walked back to the barn at a nice pace with no trotting. Except for the moments of not wanting to move forward we're making it further and further each time. I'm still trying to reward him for going forward without hesitation so I haven't pushed him further than the first mile. Next time we have someone to go with we'll most likely go further.

Cody on the Road - Try Try Again

It was too nice out to not go for a ride down the road even if it had to be a slow one with Cody. I groomed and tacked outside to avoid having to clean up the barn aisle since I was short on time. Cody was his usual pokey self going down the driveway. He decided he needed to go left out of the driveway first. I assume he was looking for his almost-girlfriend, Diva, who has since left the barn. When I turned him around it was slow going again down the first part of the road in front of the pastures. We ended up in the ditch that they had mowed fairly recently. As soon as we passed the first culvert Cody stopped and started his backing up routine. When I finally got fed up with asking nicely and kicked him on he gave in and moved forward. I asked for a trot and a canter to wake him up but the canter ended us in the middle of the road. So we went back to the ditch and continued away from the barn. But I had his attention at this point and he moved forward without proding so we turned around (calmly) and headed back to the barn.

I generally make Cody walk past the barn before we turn in so he doesn't get any ideas. So we stayed in the ditch and passed th driveway at a bit of a trot. When we turned around to go back past the driveway I turned him around again and this time he didn't want to go back to the barn. He was dead set on going back down the road in front of Diva's and Dolly's pasture. Then he was dead set on going past the pasture toward the highway. I'm not sure what got into him maybe he was lost. I finally turned him around and aimed him back at the driveway. So it's still not relaxing to ride Cody down the road but he's getting better, slowly. It's been a long time since we've gone all the way down past the first intersection with or without some one else, we'll have to give that a try. At least the rides haven't been scarey or dangerous like they were earlier this year. And of course when we returned to the barn everyone got their last two cobs of sweet corn as a reward for being just so darned cute.

Everyone's got their groove back!

It's been a while since I've gone to the barn and felt like I got done as much as I should have. Axel seemed to be feeling okay in the pasture so I brought him in and gave him some MSM and bute and cleaned him up a bit. Flies seem to still be an issue but I'm out of fly spray so I didn't clean off all the mud on his legs, plus most of it was still wet. When I put him in the arena he was probably 95% sound at the walk. He wasn't feeling terribly feisty so I didn't put his bell boots on (I didn't think it would have been a good idea over all the mud in the first place). I scrambled up on him bareback and he walked off. I'd say he went the first 5 minutes 90% sound and maybe dipped down below that for the last 5 minutes. I tried to keep him moving the whole 10 minutes. He stopped quite a bit in the last half of the ride and started backing up a few times but I wanted to push him a little to make sure we were getting past any behavior/laziness issues and were just dealing with soreness. Overall he was pretty stable and didn't seem to get any worse the longer I rode. Lazier for sure, but his gait stayed constant.

Before I rode I picked up both front feet and held each knee bent for a minute. It seems like after the farrier was here he walked out so much better and I wondered if it had anything to do with being a little more stretched out. So I flexed his front knees and stretches his front shoulders before riding. He still braces himself when he stops (head up in the air) and when I go to dismount, though this time he didn't grunt as I slid off. I'm still not sure if that's pain related or just Axel related. I flexed his knee again after I dismounted and then did some massage on his front shoulders, back, and rear end. He seems to really enjoy having his rear end muscles massaged. And of course I scratched his itchy spot behind his girth. Anything to give him a good memory of being ridden. When we were done I gave him a couple cobs of sweet corn that Jeff decided were past their prime for our personal consumption.

I decided that I'd just do some ground work with Cody instead of riding in the arena for a change of pace. We haven't really worked on anything in a long time. He really needs some time on the lunge line building up some muscle but he also needs to remember that he has to move when I tell him to. So we started with some regular lunging but he was reluctant and it was hard to get him to move so I removed the lunge line and got him going at liberty. Without the lunge line I can weild the lunge whip a little more effectively and inspire a little more movement out of the old man. So he trotted around looking very nice for a while and then cantered around in both directions. When he was nice and awake I put him back on the lungeline to get a few more structured circles out of him as well as some change of direction. By this time he was back to his responsive self, changing directions with energy and paying attention. So I'm thinking we must get back into the habit of working on this sort of thing more and I have to make sure I don't settle for less than an energetic response to my requests.

Cody on the Road - Another Attempt

J&J were just about to hitch up the boys for a ride down the road when I had grabbed Cody out of the pasture. J asked what I had planned and told me to "throw a saddle on and ride" in response to me not knowing what my plans were. I had Wednesday off to head out to Canby for the wedding but Jeff had to work so I used some of my time up at the barn. Unfortunately I didn't know how much time I had so I could have spent much more time out there than I did. Cody has been pretty sluggish lately so before I got on I asked him for some circles and change of direction in the arena. He's not nearly as peppy as he used to be but he seems to still be paying attention. He was very concerned that the clydes were heading down the drive way without him. I took that opportunity to mount up and hopefully have a little more inspired ride down the road than usual.

I did get him to trot a bit down the drive way and his speed was a little faster than the snail's pace he usually finds but the clydes were far enough ahead that they weren't much for inspiration. Luckily that also meant Cody wasn't going to feel the need to chase after them. We did make it down the road with very little incident. I didn't make him go all the way to the intersection and picked a moment when he was calm and not weaving to turn around. And luckily our change of direction did not mean bolting for home. He picked up a little faster pace but that was about the extent of it. Cars passed and he ignored them and he refrained from grabbing for grass. So overall I'd say the ride was slow but successful. I hope I can recall this fact and keep riding the old man all winter so he stays fairly cooperative. Which might not be too hard if Axel decides to be lame for the rest of his life.

Speaking of, I'm pretty sure I rode Axel a second time last week but seem to have lost track of when. It was maybe Tuesday; bareback with a halter and lead and only for a few minutes. If you'll recall he sped around the arena the time before kicking up his heels and was not worse for wear. So I got on a second time and he was his usual gimpy self but as long as he's not getting worse I think we shall persevere. This time, however, he was quite sore after I dismounted and led him back to the barn aisle. But after standing in the aisle for a few minutes he walked out fine. I've been giving him 2g of bute on the days that I ride just to take any edge off. The next day he was the same as ever so his momentary soreness must have been just that. I am tempted to save up some cash and have that knee x-rayed again next year just to see if anything has changed. We'll see how he holds up this winter. I have the long lines ready so even if I don't ride I'm going to try and keep him moving. Axel's other injury seems like it's healing up decently. You can see more skin starting to grow back so that's a good sign.