Better Late then Never

Axel is still gimping around on his front knee. I lunged him for a bit in the arena to get him moving. He ran around a bit kicking up his heels.

J was riding Dolly in the arena when I tacked up Cody and got on to ride. He was sort of okay for the most part until we turned to go to the left. Unfortunately we didn't go left until we had already been going for a while so I'm not sure if it was the act of going left or just the time frame that upset Cody. He wouldn't stay on the rail, would counter bend all over, wanted to stop, was just plain hard to control. We had spent a little time trying to work on some lateral work so then when he was being a pain tracking left he'd spontaneously swing his rear end like he was trying to sidepass even though I wasn't asking. When J was done riding I made the mistake of asking Cody to canter which was just a good excuse for him to bulldoze around the arena. I am looking forward to when he stops being a pain in the rear, that's for sure.

Last Shot for April

Axel had his last shot for April last night. That completes his month of 7 shots in the loading period. He'll just get one a month from now on. He's still sore on that front right knee though so I'm not sure what's up with that. If I can find some natural rubber gloves I might try the DMSO and see if he can tolerate that. Otherwise in a month when I get more Adequan I'll get some Surpass as well. Until then we'll keep up with the lunging and see if just some exercise and moving helps him feel better.

His head swelling seems to have gone down as well so I'm hoping that doesn't come back randomly. His mud fever is getting a bit better as well. I didn't really pick any scabs last night, a few came off when I was brushing and what not but I did scrub his legs with the Norwex cloth again. I'd like to shave more hair off his feet again but the scabs are kind of making that difficult. Next spring I'm going to shave his feet as early as possible and just keep scrubbing with the Norwex cloth and see if that will keep away the mud fever to begin with. The Norwex lady said that she never heard of a person using the cloths in the barn but at the very least I can leave it in the barn and it doesn't stink. If the cloths are supposed to get ride of acne causing bacteria and what not why not try it on mud fever bacteria!

A Good Ride

I couldn't sit at the horse expo all weekend and not go see my own horses so I left the expo earlier today than planned and went out to the barn. Axel's face swelling is down a bit and he's still a little off on his front knee. I brought him into the barn and got him groomed up a bit. He still has some brown winter hair left that I haven't been able to get completely off. I wish the Furmanator wasn't so expensive. I didn't work on his scabs at all but it didn't look like he had any new ones so that's a good sign. I put him in the arena but forgot to put his bell boots on before I turned him loose and he took off like a bat out of hell. He was cantering and bucking and generally let loose. I was able to get his boots on when he stopped to say hi and before he went off running and bucking again. He kept slamming down on his front end both feet at the same time. By the time he was done letting loose he was limping pretty decent again. I lunged him for a few minutes but he didn't want to walk and trotting hurt so he'd bounce around and canter a bit. I tied him to the wall while J&J were talking to a farrier about Logan's shoes and he was fairly patient with that situation.

I grabbed Cody when Axel was done right as B was driving up. We groomed our horses and joined S and her friend in the arena. Cody was fairly well behaved in the arena with 3 other horses that he technically doesn't know. I spent a little time working on some lateral work against the wall. Cody doesn't completely get it but started to take some steps in the right direction. We played with the big green ball for a while but Cody doesn't like to push it and he started acting afraid of it and shying away from it. Diva really loves pushing the ball around, she's fun to watch. Eventually we set up a little jump and took all the horses over it. Cody did pretty well and jumped it after just stepping over it a few times. He even managed to ground tie when I got off to reset the jump. Of course all that good had to be followed up with something not so great, Cody decided to pee in the barn aisle when we were done riding so I had to get that all cleaned up so it wouldn't stink. Hopefully I got it washed off good enough.

Picked up all the vaccines at the expo this weekend so I have to give those sooner than later and I need to pick up some de-wormer as well. Plus Axel will have his last Adequan shot tomorrow for the month. I talked to the chiropractor that the vet recommended at the expo and I'll have to give him a call sooner than later and have him adjust Cody.

Cody Wants to Kill Me

Well Axel is starting to thin down a bit, since his swelling has gone away on his belly and sheath and he's off the round bale he's looking pretty good. His knee is a bit sore still. The mud fever doesn't look any worse but I didn't work on it last night. The swelling on his face apparently didn't change after being in a stall all night but when I saw him yesterday afternoon he looked good and it was almost gone. So hopefully whatever thing he ate was a one time deal and it won't come back. J is going to keep an eye on him.

Cody had been so calm the last time I lead him down the road I thought I'd try riding him this time and see if he was doing any better. We actually got quite a ways (down to the neighbor's driveway) before he started stopping and backing up. I urged him forward and he had a mini hissy fit so I got off and made him circle in the field and stand and look at me. I walked him a ways further to the drainage ditch before I got back on and pressed forward. He was a little more speedy forward but slowed down when I asked until we got to the next drive way area. My plan was to stop and wait for a truck to pass and then turn around and go home since he was behaving at that point. As soon as that truck drove by Cody whipped around and tried to bolt for home. I had the right rein about a foot from the bit and had his head pulled around but he just kept going and tried to back out of the ditch right into the path of the truck. I managed to 1. stay on 2. keep him in the ditch and not get run over. He finally stopped but was clearly freaking out. I chose to ride back to the barn and work him in the arena (safer). He tried to trot the whole way back on the road and wouldn't calm down until we were midway past the pasture.

So we trotted in circles for quite some time. And actually he was really starting to get on the outside rein circling left. He kept going around and didn't start to slow down until he was tired so we kept going. We trotted in both directions, cantered several consecutive circles to the right, cantered a couple messy circles to the left and then trotted some more. He actually wasn't huffing and puffing or anything but I think we went long enough to wear off some of the adrenaline so it was back out to the road ditch.

This time we didn't go as far but that wasn't the point. I just wanted a forward non-freaked out walk, which he did. But when I turned him around he tried to bolt again (not as bad as before). So we turned back way from the barn and kept going. Third time was the charm, I asked him to turn around and he calmly turned and continued to walk. I really hope we can get over this hump soon.

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me ... Again

Monday I go out to the barn after doing some yard work and bring Axel in to work on his scabs. I get him hooked up in the cross ties and I notice his face is swollen. He has a big welt on his left check. First I thought it was from falling over and maybe hitting the stall door but that was the other side. Then I notice his throat latch is swollen and under his chin. Seriously? It was like 7pm and I didn't particularly want to pay for another vet visit. I took his temperature and he didn't have a fever. His eyes were clear, no lumps anywhere else, no snot, attitude was fine, he had been grazing and happy. J&J didn't have any ideas so I called the vet and left him a message. He called back just a few minutes later and couldn't give me a snap diagnosis from the symptoms but thought he'd be fine if we just watched him a few days. One idea was swollen salivary glands. Upon further investigation I found something called "grass glands" which is swollen salivary glands due to possibly an allergic reaction.

So last night I went back out to check on him and go back to work on his scabs which I neglected then since we got sidetracked with the swollen face. His swelling is mostly still there, kind of spread out a bit, maybe a little lower, hard to tell. I poked at him to make sure it wasn't tender and he seemed just fine. I set to work on grooming and picking scabs. I did end up getting a lot of scabs off and scrubbing him with the chlorhexidine. There are still some scabs left but I'm hoping to get them all off gradually.

J said she'd leave Axel in a stall overnight to see what happens. Apparently if the swelling is "grass glands" then it should get better overnight when he's not grazing and then get worse after a day on the grass. It won't really change anything I don't think but we'll know we're probably dealing with an allergy. I'm hoping it'll go away as he gets used to the grass or whatever it is he's eating goes away. From what I can find on the internet is another sort of common ailment that you just put up with. It doesn't seem to bother him so far but I haven't tried working him or riding him yet.

I had been neglecting Cody so I groomed him and then took him for a walk down the road. He was even more calm than the time prior so I think tonight maybe I'll try and ride down the road and see how he does. And I need to get Axel lunging again but at least he's moving around more in the pasture. His knee is a bit sore lately which I assume is from increased movement.

Scabby Axel

The boys are back out in their pasture and Vinnie is out back with the geldings. I guess he's not terribly happy with the situation and would rather be up with my guys. But it seems like Cody is pretty happy with where he is. Jesse and Steele are in the paddock so even when I take Axel out he has other horses to visit with. He didn't call for Axel at all when I had him in the barn tonight.

I ended up wrapping Axel's back leg with a wet cloth to try and soften up the scabs so I could pick them off. Axel won't stand with his foot in a bucket and the water is super cold so I guess I don't blame him. He was weirded out about the wet cloth but he stood patiently. I couldn't get all the scabs off yet but made some headway. Hopefully if I keep working at them this week I'll get him all cleaned up. I also bought a cordless clippers from one of the boarders so I'll probably clip up his feet again as best I can (it's hard to work around the scabs).

The good news is that his belly swelling was all but gone tonight. The 3 dimensional swelling he had is now flat, it's still a bit hard (pitting) but it's not raised. Soon he'll just be flabby and fat. The swelling in his sheath has gone down as well. So that's all an improvement over the last week. They've only been on pasture for a day or so, so I'm not sure I can chalk it up to lack of round bale but in any case it's good to see.

Oh and I forgot our little mishap. I was picking Axel's back right foot and he kept pulling it forward toward his belly. I don't usually let go unless there's a problem, he can learn to not yank his foot away. Well apparently there was a problem I was unaware of and pretty soon he had fallen on top of me and pinned me to the stall door. He scrambled a bit and got on all four feet again but I'm left with a bruise on my elbow and my shoulder. Guess I better start working out more if I'm going to be holding up a 1300lb animal.

2 More to Go

Just two more shots for Axel left for this month and then we'll be going monthly or maybe every 3 months, we'll see. He's definitely not "miraculously healed" so far. From the sounds of it, this will just help him not get worse.

So apparently a few days of not grooming + rain = weird half shedding wet curly horse. So after a very long session of grooming and standing in the barn aisle with Logan we went into the arena for a little work. I forgot I was going to vet wrap a wet cloth on his legs to soften up the scabs, I'll do that the next time I have some time.

Overall he's still gimpy at the trot. And he's not really trying very hard. It'll be difficult to distinguish between lazy and hurting for a while I think. He's getting better at staying out on the circle when we lunge at the walk so that's a good side effect and we spent some time working on "walk up" so that he's not just lumbering along at a snail's pace. He is sound at the walk and not taking short steps which is an improvement over this winter. And I'm still not working him very long on the lunge, I was kind of hoping he'd show up sound one of these days but I think it'll be a slow process. I'm sort of paranoid to try the DMSO even though it seems to work for a lot of people's horses and Axel is pretty tolerant. I for sure can't use it on his ringbone since he's covered in scratches right now but perhaps I can try a bit on his sore knee and see if it does anything.

He really needs to start moving around, the small paddock isn't exactly helping matters but it's at least keeping the spring crazies to a minimum. After a few minutes of lunging walk and trot I scrubbed his back legs again and we took a walk down the road and grazed for a few minutes in the ditch. Axel's been a bit more swollen the past week so I'm not sure what that's about. I'll be happy when he's off the round bale. Then maybe we'll be able to tell the difference between fat and swollen.

Back on Track

Tuesday I just ran out and gave Axel his shot and some MSM. They were back in the pasture for the night since it was raining and there is no shelter in the small paddock. Cody and Vinnie were out in the rain grazing and Axel was hiding in the back of the lean-to.

Friday the barn was busy. Riley had some people out interested in buying him. Stitch and Cody2 were out riding on the road. I had Cody in the aisle for a few minutes to groom and then had Axel in to work on his back feet a bit. And A brought Vinnie in to get ready to work in the arena.

I hand walked Cody down the road ditch just up to the neighbor's property. He wasn't perfect but he was a million times better than he had been last time I rode him. I might keep that up for a while and see if he makes any progress before trying to ride him down the road alone again.

I wasn't able to get too many more scabs off Axel but the foot that I had cleaned up on Monday was doing good. I got the other foot cleaned up a little bit but it still needs work. If Axel would let me soak it that would help. Maybe this week I can wet a rag and wrap that foot with some vet wrap then he can stand there acting helpless while the scabs soften up. Easier than dealing with a bucket.

When the arena was open I went in and lunged Axel at the walk again for a few minutes with a few stints of trotting mixed in. He was looking sound at the walk but a little gimpy at the trot which was to be expected. He takes a few bad steps at the walk still but perhaps that is due to no exercise for 5 months. I ended up getting on bareback with just the halter and lead rope. Last time Axel was recovering from whatever random lameness he had he was sound at the walk but with a rider he was still lame. We did a few laps in each direction and he was pretty darned sound even with me on his back. He was very interested in looking out the open arena doors and he was a bit hard to control with just the halter but he did really well and didn't offer any unneeded feistiness. Yay Axel!

Saturday bright and early I ran out and gave Axel his 4th Adequan shot before heading up to the We Can Ride tack sale. I ended up buying a few things at the sale: John Lyons rope reins, new riding tights, a foam english saddle pad, and some black saddle bags for Axel's saddle.

Sunday I went out to Murphy with A and rode Danny. Cody just won't fit in A's trailer and riding Danny was like a vacation. It's been a long time since I've had a calm trail ride. It started out a little hairy when the horses thought some hikers were going to eat them but after that everyone settled in and it was a gorgeous day.

I groomed Axel outside when we returned and then worked him a bit in the arena. He was not about to let me lunge him outside where there was grass to eat so we had to go in the arena. He was sound at the walk with the exception of a few wrong steps and he trotted a little on the lunge line. We only worked for a few minutes before I unclipped and sent him out at liberty. He went 1 lap in both directions at the trot (a bit of canter to the right - I think that was the direction). He was a little gimpy which was no surprise. Right now I just want to work him up to doing more trot and getting back into shape. He looked a bit more swollen as well which I hope is just because it's been warm and there's a lot of standing around with the round bale in the small paddock. All things considered, he's not that much off when he trots. The cranky head tossing or pawing seems to have dropped a notch and he'll trot fairly willingly when asked. I'm sure we're dealing with some laziness as well. We'll just keep plugging away.

Only 3.5 Hours

I only spent 3.5 hours at the barn last night. Maybe a little longer than planned but it was farrier day so there was a lot going on and a lot of people to talk to. All the boarders are pretty spread out in the times they are able to ride. I'm usually there week nights, A is there later on weeknights, S is there during the day as well as S&L and J, and B is usually on the weekends. So we don't all run into each other very often unless we plan something.

J was fertilizing the pastures and hoping for rain. There was a note on the white board that Dallas was sold already. S&L are getting out of horses so they can move to FL or something. I was surprised how fast Dallas sold and I guess Riley has some lookers as well. I guess Dallas is going to a 6 year old girl that does breed shows so that should be a really good home for him.

I brought Cody in first and tied him in the arena with Amigo. He was tied near the open barn door but he was still kind of concerned at the happenings going on around him. He calmed down a bit when I brought Axel in and tied him next to him but he managed to dig himself a pretty impressive hole in the arena that I had to fill when we were done. Cody stood for the farrier as well as he usually does. He has a crack in his left front that the farrier marked with a rasp to see if it's getting worse or growing out at all. Axel was a little less than patient and really didn't want to stretch his back left out behind him. I should probably start working on the leg stretches with him too. The farrier looked at his xrays before trimming so maybe he'll be able to get around a little better now.

While we were working on Axel, S suggested we clip Cody's goat beard. I had my doubts that he'd actually tolerate the clippers but she thought her clippers were quiet enough so she gave it a try. Only a few minutes later and Cody is a new man sans beard. He looks so much nicer now. I guess he was just fine with the clippers. S is going to be selling all her equipment when Riley sells so maybe I'll see if I can buy the clippers from her. J might also be interested so we might have to duke it out.

I ended up lunging Axel at the walk for 5 minutes in each direction. He did pretty good for the first 5 minutes but the second 5 minutes he was getting bored and wanted to stop or slow down. He ended up doing a little bit of trotting just to pick up the pace and so I could ask for a walk and hopefully get it. He was moving well at the walk though, more sound than he's been all winter. He was pretty cranky about getting into the trot but would settle in after a few head tosses. I think by the end of the month he'll be trotting fine, I bet most of it is just annoyance at having to work again. Lunging at the walk is really difficult I've found. It's boring and hard to keep the horse moving and out on the circle without wandering away.

I lunged Cody for a few minutes as well and he did finally break into a canter but it wasn't great. I was happy he at least did it considering the last time we tried. I ended up putting both horses back in the pasture before B arrived and wondered if I was going to ride. So I went out and got Cody again and decided to get back into the dressage saddle (note to self, wear breeches next time, jeans + dressage saddle = not fun). B wanted to work on her posting and whatnot for the show she's doing this weekend so we were exchanging tips and tricks. She was trying to find the right stirrup length both for her saddle and for her ability to trot. We ended up swapping horses so she could try and post on Cody and I could try Diva. And we've determined it's not her ability to post it's Diva. She is so bouncy you just can't help but post high out of the saddle. I felt like I was three miles above her. I'll stick with my QA/Paint horses I think. Yikes! Cody and I managed to get a left lead canter after a few tries and B got a right lead canter albeit pretty lazy on Cody's part. So I called it a night at that point and helped video tape B so she could analyze her riding before the show.

My plan next is to keep working on Cody from the ground doing some of Kirsten Nelson's exercises that I have in her first workbook. I'd love it if I could get Cody back to sane without the chiropractor and then just use the adjustment as icing on the cake later on. Cody is going to need some sane as soon as the pastures are open again because Vinnie is going in with the big kids and Jesse is probably going back with Logan and Steele and Cody hates change. We've decided the pasture arrangements are as such "the geldings", "the girls", "the old men", and "the big kids." Cody and Axel are the old men.

Still Trying

Friday Jeff had a photoshoot so I had more time than usual to visit the horses before going out to the farm. Axel needed his shot and I had time to do more work than that. Both horses were pretty crusty so it took a while to get them groomed.

I put Axel in the arena (with his bell boots on) and he trotted around for a few minutes, lifting his back legs up as far as they'd go. At least he was working a little harder since he was annoyed at his boots. When he started to get lazy and just wander around I grabbed the lunge line and had him walk on a circle. I only had him work for 5 minutes total including both directions. Near the end of that 5 minutes (going counter clockwise I think) he started to get annoyed with me and fling his front legs out like he was doing the Spanish Walk. I think Axel has perhaps forgotten some of his ground manners and thinks that work (no matter how easy it is) is not on his agenda. So I'll continue to work him little by little until this first month of Adequan is over and then we'll start trotting more and maybe some riding.

Cody was crustier than Axel since he was a ball of sweat on Wednesday and rolled in the dust. I debated on what I was going to do with him when A came in to ride Vinnie. I decided to tack up Cody and just ride in the arena. He was calm in the cross ties until Vinnie went into the arena then he started to get restless. He did pretty good in the arena. I did some circles in both directions before I got on just to make sure he was paying attention to me and not Vinnie.

We walked and trotted and, if you can believe, cantered on the left lead after only 2 tries. We manged the right lead as well but it was pretty spastic and short lived. When Vinnie stopped in the middle Cody had a hard time not darting into the center to stop, we'll have to work on that more. But considering how bad our ride was on Wednesday it was a nice change, though we didn't try going outside. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get Cody walking down the road in hand instead of undersaddle.

It Didn't Work

So my thought that maybe the teeth floating and sheath cleaning would make Cody a happy camper was so wrong. Maybe it was bad timing. I think he's got a bit of anxiety right now since they've been pulled off their pasture and put into the small paddock with one new-to-them horse and they are right across the fence now from the horses in the big paddock. Right as I brought Cody into the barn to groom J, S, and J came riding up the road. Cody wanted to look out the door behind him as well as out the door in front of him so he was being kind of a spaz in the cross ties. They tied Amigo in the cross ties in front and put Jesse in a stall and by the time I was done grooming Cody had pooped 5 times and was shaking from nerves. He just can't stand not being part of everything that's going on around him.

I hand walked him in the arena for a while to try and calm him down. He was a sweaty mess and I hadn't even done anything yet. He was very calm doing a few circles at the walk and trot and changing directions. I got on and rode at the walk for a while and then a little bit of trot. Stitch was tied in the arena but it didn't seem to faze Cody too much so I decided maybe we'd try going down the road again.

We didn't even make it to the end of the driveway before he started backing up. So we kept backing up all the way back to the barn before I let him walk forward again. We did the usual weave down the road in the ditch desperately trying to see the barn/pasture. Our first lap back toward the barn was fast but not totally spastic. We passed the driveway and kept going, he calmed down a bit but then had a fit on the way back so we went for lap two. More freaking out and backing up and stopping so there was a third lap. And then a fourth lap but this time in the plowed corn field. I thought maybe having to work a little harder to move would make Cody think twice. He actually moved out pretty good at first but got pissy again when we turned around. He had one minor hissy fit when one car passed but was fine for all of the other cars passing, like I said, cars are just an excuse to bolt for home. He wasn't really settling in so I took the smallest try and called it quits and went back to the barn.

We trotted quite a bit in the barn and then worked on some cantering. We were good to the right but we could not get the left lead canter to save our lives. Over and over again I tried. Cody got to the point where I'd barely move my outside leg back and he'd leap into a canter, but on the wrong lead. I didn't want to end not getting that lead but I had to get a move on so I got down and tried to lunge him and get the left lead, couldn't even get a canter at that point. He was pulling out some really nice extended trot but just wouldn't pick up a canter. I had to stop at the point, he was dripping wet. Luckily I think the wet was from the 70F weather. He didn't seem to be breathing hard so I don't think I wore him out too much. We've rode a handful of times lately so hopefully I'm not overdoing it for him. I stretched him out before putting him back in the paddock.

He chased Axel around a bit and then a flock of birds before he flopped down on the ground and proceeded to make himself as muddy as possible, dust + sweat = mud all over his face. Oh and I didn't kill Axel with his first injection, he was just fine and thought I was there to take him out of the paddock and do something like give him treats. Poor Axel, doesn't know what's in store for him once he feels good, hay belly be gone!

Xrays and Teeth and Shots, Oh My!

Friday I buzzed out to the barn after work to meet up with another vet who was scheduled to do Axel's x-rays since the regular vet doesn't have a portable setup. S and a friend were getting Stitch and Cody ready to go riding but other than that it was pretty quiet on the western front. We went through a whole series of x-rays before the vet's computer decided to lock up and not save any of the pictures we had just taken. Luckily for my checkbook we then only retook a few of the different pictures since we knew what we were looking at. Axel stood pretty well but was getting fairly impatient by the end of the whole ordeal. He kept lifting up his back left foot when we'd barely touch it to put the x-ray sensor close to it.

Cody had gotten himself into something and took a big chunk out of his leg. The best we could figure was he maybe clocked it on the automatic waterer.

So the inital reading from the vet doing the x-rays were that his left knee is worse than his right and his right knee swelling/soreness isn't neccessarily from the arthritis but perhaps soft tissue. We'll see if that clears up with a bit of work and the Adequan. The hind left with ringbone is looking pretty nasty these days. One side is nearly bridged while the other side has a ways to go yet. She thought the joint itself was getting pretty narrow indicating that it was starting to fuse. Apparently as the joint fuses he might turn up lame more often/worse than usual. Once the joint fuses then he should feel pretty good.

So then Saturday the regular vet came out to do teeth and sheaths. Cody went first because we thought he'd be the toughest, might as well get that out of the way right? Cody was awesome. He scooted back a little trying to get away from the filing but hardly acted up at all and took the injection well. He got a little extra bump so the vet could clean his sheath. He had a pretty decent sized bean, maybe a bit bigger than a jelly bean, and a ton of plain ole' junk up in there. So much junk in fact he had an abrasion on his bits from it. So now he's all squeaky clean and I can't wait to see if he's a happier guy on Wednesday. Nothing major in the teeth department, only points this time. The vet had me stick my hand up in his mouth to feel some of the sharp points. I'll admit I didn't feel any points but I was a bit distracted that I had my arm up Cody's mouth and how slimy it was in there, ew. ;)

Axel did fine in the teeth department as well. He just had points as well, one in a not usual spot but nothing scary and both horse's ulcers in their cheeks from last time had heeled up fine. Axel didn't get his sheath cleaned since he's so accommodating anyway, but the vet pointed out where to look for a bean and said Axel didn't have one right then.

Both horses chilled out in the arena for a while to sober up. Walking Cody into the arena was pretty entertaining, he was swerving all over like he was drunk. It didn't take long for both of them to "come to" and get to go back outside. I missed the initial turn out of the new Clyde that J picked up at the sale and Cody and Axel didn't seem to even notice that he was on the other side of the fence. Oh well.

On Sunday we got back from the farm around 8 and ran out to give Axel his first shot of Adequan. He was very good about it and didn't even flinch when I put in the needle, though I wasn't surprised. I'm still a little paranoid, like maybe I didn't pull back enough to really see if the syringe was in a vein by accident, or other ridiculous notions. I'm sure by the time this month is over I'll be a lot less paranoid about giving injections. Once a year doesn't quite have the same effect as once every 4 days.

A Few More Steps Forward Than Back

Okay Cody, let's try this again. It was really nice again yesterday so I kept up my plan to get Cody over this "running for home" issue (which isn't really running for home but he'd do it if I let him, it's more like trying to run for home and acting like a complete idiot in the process). I know the last time he had this issue a chiropractic adjustment fixed it. But it would be really nice if some steady work also fixed it. But I won't discount the chiro, I just need to make an appointment and grow some money on a tree.

So I groomed him in the crossties as usual and got everything ready for a ride. Step 1. some circles from the ground in the arena, changes of direction, hey horse pay attention to me I'm the boss. Step 2. head down the road ditch, slowly, weaving, trying to look back at the barn. Step 3. Stop abruptly, back up several steps, weave, take a few steps forward, repeat. Step 4. finally take more than several steps forward, minimal weaving, yay we might be getting it! Step 5. reward time, let's head for home, turn around, snort, blow, crow hop, insist on running back to the barn as fast as possible while at the same time being stopped by, remember this part, the boss! He was not happy. We twalked (trot/walk) the rest of the way back toward the driveway. Step 6. reward revoked, we walked past the driveway in the other directions. He was a little calmer now as this side of the driveway still has some pasture so he could see some of the other horses, but he wasn't totally happy with life and kept drifting up the side of the ditch toward the barn. Step 7. turn around again and walk calmly toward the driveway. Step 8. Cody chooses to turn into the driveway without being asked so we pass the driveway again. Step 9. turn around again and walk almost past the driveway before "the boss" asks Cody to turn in.

That is pretty much what we've been doing the last 3 rides and it's getting very annoying. Granted the backing up and the crow hopping have gone down in intensity a bit since the first time. I don't want to reward him for going back to the barn so we went into the arena and trotted some spirals in and out and then worked on some cantering. We actually made it around 2 laps without stopping. His canter is unbalanced and kind of scrambling so we might have to get back on the lunge line for some work in that department.

For a cool down we were working on some turns on the hindquarters. I'm trying to get him to back up a few steps so he's on his rear and so that his front feet are lined up for stepping over each other before I ask for the turn. And if I can remember to neck rein he "kind of" gets it.

So about the time I was ready to be done everyone else showed up at the barn. J and S were going to go down the road and A thought maybe she would as well. I hemmed and hawed for a while, knowing Cody was being a pain lately but also wanting to give him the chance to get over it. I thought it would go pretty well if Vinnie went and if we stuck to a nice walk and everyone was calm about life. I ensured (so I thought) that we weren't going to go too fast and we'd stick to a walk and all that. S had already seen what a freak Cody had been. I circled Cody some more to further tire him out while waiting for everyone to tack. He was pretty sweaty by the time we left.

So all four of us set out on the road. Cody was okay. A little weaving, a bit of lagging behind, and some tail swishing but more content than prior rides. Halfway down the mile stretch S asked if we wanted to canter! Really? Are you kidding me? After some probably very exhasterbated explination that no we won't be cantering and no you cannot go canter ahead of us without giving the rest of the horses a heart attack, A and I decided we'd go to the end of the mile and turn for home and J and S could go canter to their hearts' delight. The parting of ways went really well. Cody was calm for the first 1/4 of the way back. Vinnie was a little concerned at the parting but nothing major. Cody's walk was pretty speedy but much happier than leaving the barn. He did start twalking which required a lot of correction but he wasn't going to bolt. He even remained calm as some cars passed. So we made it back in one piece and Cody had partially dried off (read: calmed down enough to stop sweating).

One Step Forward, 17 Steps Back

The mud is quickly drying up so Axel's mud fever won't be too much of an issue for too long (I hope). I did shave Axel's back legs on Sunday anyway. Surprisingly enough he let me shave them without yanking each foot away. He did not let me pick the scabs or even try and soften up the scabs with a wet rag. So I did the best I could and scrubbed both legs with the hibiscrub. I'm counting down the days until Axel's been on the Adequan for a few weeks and we can start working in the arena. He's gotta have some energy to work off, he certainly has some hay to work off!

Cody was pretty impatient in the cross ties when I groomed him and chatted with some folks for a while. We trotted around the arena for a few minutes to see how we were feeling and then we set out for the road. Slow down the drive way, slow and weavey for the first block, then moved to the ditch so if we decided to freak out we wouldn't get run over by a car or anything. That's when we started backing up. We made it down to the culvert finally and turned into the drain way. And then backed up. We finally made it a little further down the drain way, then we backed up. And spun around. And backed up. Snorting and huffing and puffing the whole time. Rinse and repeat. We Cody finally took several almost calm steps forward we stopped and turned around.

The trip back was fast and snorty. Trot walk trot walk trot. He finally started walking when we got back to the edge of the pasture. So we walked past the drive way and kept going. He was still a little snorty but calmer than before. We crossed the road and headed back toward the drive way, and went past it again. A car passed us and Cody remained calm so I gave him a lot of pats before we turned around (he's not afraid of cars he just uses them as an excuse to bolt). We walked down the driveway and did a few trot circles near the pasture gate before we went into the arena and did a little more work. He was a little worked up in the arena and had a pretty big trot and a kind of cruddy gallop/canter. We cooled down doing some serpentines at the walk with seat and leg cues followed by some leg and back stretches when I dismounted.

I'm hoping for some attitude change between the dentist, sheath cleaning, and chiropractor. One of those things has got to make him a slightly happier pony.

Vet Visit #1

Today the vet came out for spring shots and to basically check on things. He ended up getting there early so I didn't get the full fledged grooming done that I had hoped but neither horse had rolled since I groomed last so that was good. Cody did great in a stall while I groomed Axel in the aisle. But by the time it was his turn for the vet he was pretty hyper. He had a hard time standing still for his rabies shot and coggins. He could have been much worse of course. The vet decided he has a wide blaze and not an official bald face. Just a little fun fact I guess.

Axel went last since he had the most going on. He was his usual unfazed self for the shot and blood draw. The vet doesn't do his own xrays so we didn't end up having that done. I've gotta call another vet that does that and he'll email the films. But he did have me lunge him so he could watch. Axel hasn't been lunged since the beginning of December at the latest. He was quite feisty considering he's still pretty much lame. He picks the canter over the trot since I think it hurts less. So we trotted in hand for the vet since the lunging was a bit of a bucking fest. He did a flexion test on that right front and we trotted him again, he was very lame after the flexion. So we've decided on arthritis but we'll get the films to see just how bad it is.

So we discussed some options and talked about Adequan. The vet prefers Legend but that requires a vet to administer via IV once a month. So cost + vet appointment cost + trying to schedule an appointment all the time just seems like a lot of work. So I'm going to try Adequan first. It'll be spendy as well since there's a loading time but it's still cheaper than the daily supplements. I'm so excited to get Axel feeling better. We also talked about using some surpass for when his pain is chronic. It's easier to administer (topical) than bute and doesn't risk giving him any stomach issues.

He also checked both their teeth. Cody was less than cooperative which I expected but he was able to check him out as well as Axel and they both seem like they could use a float. I expected as much since it's been probably 4 years and before that a lifetime. The last vet said they were fine but I had my doubts. So we ended up making an appointment for next Saturday for teeth floating. A little sooner than my checkbook had hoped but it'll be nice to get it done as well as a thorough sheath cleaning. And S needs to have the chiro out so I might get in on that as well for Cody.

So all in all a successful visit with a few more to come. Lots of money but it's actually cheaper down here than it was when the horses were in Jordan.

Mud Fever Season

I had heard through the grapevine that both the boys had been enjoying some time laying and rolling in the mud so I planned a longer grooming session than normal. And I was right to. When I got to the barn everyone was standing around napping and there were at least two horse-sized body prints in the mud next to the round bale on a bit of a hill. It's been a while since I've not seen the horses with their faces shoved as far in the round bale as possible but I guess warm weather + sun means more napping and less stuffing their faces.

Axel has been brewing a nice batch of mud fever (scratches) since there was snow on the ground. I'm guessing since he hadn't been moving around much higher up on his feet have remained wet for a longer period of time. So I pulled him out of the pasture first and put him at the hitching post for some outside grooming. I like grooming outside because it means not having to sweep hair from the barn aisle. Though it does mean wearing more horse hair all over my face and down my shirt. Axel is on round two of massive amounts of shedding. I still haven't figured out what makes me start chewing on the lead rope. It might just boil down to time spent standing around.

So when I finished the bulk of the work and got the tornados out of his mane I set to work on the mud fever. It's kind of a hard thing to deal with since I can clean him up to perfection and then I have to turn around and put him back out in the mud. So it seems kind of silly but I suppose it's good to get it cleaned up, aired out, and treated. He's fussy about his back left still, when I go to pick out that hoof or touch him he yanks that foot high up in the air. I can't imagine my barely touching it hurts especially since he's back to putting full weight on it but he's still protective of it. And woe is the person who puts water or betadine on either of his back feet. He raises one up and hops around like I stabbed him with a hot poker. So I scraped with a hoof pick for a while to get some mud off, then I tried to put his foot in water, then I dumped the water over his foot, then I sprayed him with betadine, then I tried to scrub more mud off with water, then I donned the rubber gloves and really tried to rub the mud off with a rag (note: get more rags). When I had it mostly cleaned up and as mud and scab free as it was going to get without reinforcements I got out the hibiscrub and went through some contortions and experiments in application until I finally had scrubbed all of the offending parts. Let's hope this stuff works as good as it's supposed to (it's antibacterial and antimicrobial which is a much better option for the nasty mud fever bugs and it's supposed to work for up to 6 hours after application, betadine actually fails in the presences of bodily fluids so kind of pointless once you pick the scabs, sadly the hibiscrub is spendy).

So after all that we went for a walk down the road, just a few more minutes of not having to go back into the mud to give his legs a chance to dry off a bit. Maybe I need to get Axel an antibac rag from Norwex ;) He was calm on the walk, looking around and back at the pasture. We didn't go far but at least in that distance he hadn't done his oh-so-fun head tossing. So yay Axel, I can't wait to get him back to work and in shape again.

Then there's Cody. Old man Cody is back on his "OMG I can't leave my pasturemates" kick. The barn seems to be an okay place but the hitching post was a little bit scarier. There were things to look at, other horses, and whatnot and apparently that leads to realizing you aren't actually in the pasture with your friends. The extent of his display of dissatisfaction was just pawing and a bit of pacing but still, get over it already! I scraped a metric ton of hair and mud off of him and inspected him for any signs of mud fever - none thank goodness. And then I decided he needed to walk down the road too. Since our first ride down the road was a less than fun one, let's try walking in hand.

First we rushed a bit and tried to get ahead of me and turn around. I fixed that by asking for "easy" and putting my hand with the bite of the lead rope in front of his nose as I said it and redirecting him back to walking a straight line. Then a car came. Oh but not any old car, a truck pulling a horse trailer. Cars don't actually faze Cody, cars are just a good excuse to spaz out and bolt for home. Or in his case, try and bolt for home and then get really mad that he can't bolt for home because I'm at the other end of the lead rope. I'm hoping whoever was in the truck with the trailer saw how nice and calm I was as I let Cody freak out while I pushed him forward into a circle as the truck got out of our way. "Fine, horse, have your hissy fit and then we will circle and circle and circle and when you are calm again maybe we'll move along." We made it back to the barn and we did some more circles in the drive way, you can't just get off scott free without work! And then Cody got to go back to the pasture.

So I think it's time to get back to work in the arena and out of the arena. It sounds like it won't be very nice tomorrow so we might be in the arena but arena work is better than no work.

Oh the Mud ...

I just stopped out at the barn on Friday so I could groom some of the mud off the boys before we went to the farm for the weekend. And boy did they find the mud. Both Cody and Axel were caked in it.

Axel was feeling mostly okay. Belly swelling has reduced quite a bit again. His sheath is still not back to normal but looking a little better. His ringbone flare up seems a lot better, he's careful but he puts full weight on it. And finally his knee is still a bit puffy but he's getting around pretty well. He's got some pretty decent scabs going on his back right foot from mud fever. Friday when the vet's out and I have a lot of time it will be scab picking and disinfecting time. I might have to borrow a clippers as well and get his legs cleaned up.

So after I scraped all the mud off of him I set to work on Cody. I think Cody was worse, since his new found love of laying around all day. I promise he's going back to work soon. I noticed just how nasty Cody's sheath is and tried to gently pick some "stuff" off. Cody protested by trying to kick me. Guess who's getting their sheath cleaned next time he's sedated? Until then I guess I just have to work on desensitizing him "there."

I hope to get out and do something at the barn on Wednesday and then the vet is due on Friday so I took the day off so I hope it's nice out. It would be great to groom outside and not have to clean up all the hair ;)

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I had a meeting on Monday so I couldn't get out to the barn to check on Axel so I was a little scared going out there on Tuesday. I had left a note in the barn that if Axel looked worse on Sunday night he could have more bute. There was a note in response that said he looked good so they didn't give him anything. I went out to fetch him and he seemed a little careful of that back leg but by the time we got to the driveway he was walking really well, almost sound. In fact the lame back left seems to balance out the lame front right. Heh go figure!

I was very relieved. It's been raining lately so I'm glad he's moving around well enough to get in the shelter if he wants. So I groomed him and gave him his MSM. He's a little resistant when I go to pick out that back left. I don't imagine holding his foot hurts him but he yanks it away for some reason.

The belly swelling has gone back down again. The sheath swelling is the same. The next warm day that I have a lot of time I think I'll bring a thermos of hot water out and try cleaning him out again. Maybe on vet day since I have the day off. Gotta find a thermos first ;) I put Axel in the arena to walk around and roll if he felt like it. He was kind of wet so I thought maybe he'd roll but he just explored a bit.

So it was finally a good visit to the barn. When it stops raining I'll have to shave Axel's back legs to help fend off the scratches he's so prone to getting. I'm going to try using some MTG as well, he has a few spots I had put it on the other day which were already growing hair the next day. Even if the MTG doesn't stop scratches it might help his dry skin a bit and maybe soften up some of the scabs on his legs.

Adequan for Axel

Been doing a little research to prepare for next week's vet appointment. I plan have Axel's knees xrayed as well as his back legs where the ringbone is. Assuming his knees are just arthritic then I'm thinking we might try Adequan. From what I read it has some pretty good results. If we do the month of loading and then inject once every three months or so (since he's not ridden more than twice a week) the daily cost of the Adequan is cheaper than the 4-in-1 feed through supplement he was getting. The second year would be pennies per day. The IM injection would be easy for me to give and then we'd know that he got it all. The feed through is a bit more of a hassle of course, who knows what horse ends up eating it.

I'm actually very excited about this idea as Axel has been notoriously stiff in his movements from the moment I bought him. He's improved quite a bit with exercise but I wonder if arthritis is holding him back. I'll have to make some before/during/after videos of him to see if there are any overall changes. If this stuff works as well as some of the testimonials I've heard I could have a whole new horse on my hands, which could also mean a harder to handle horse ;) I'd guess that it's easier to rein in a horse that feels good than it is trying to get a cranky horse to cooperate.

His ringbone shouldn't be affected by the Adequan so I think I might talk to the vet about getting some Surpass for that. It's a topical NSAID that's supposed to work pretty well. It would be way easier to apply than trying to get him to eat Bute and it's not as bad on the stomach since it's topical. I could use that either when we ride or when he ends up kicking himself lame. And if I get around to making the ankle boots for him I can hopefully minimize the impact of him kicking himself.

Keep your fingers crossed. Axel is way too young to have all these issues and way too loveable to be in such a bad mood all the time.

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