Ok - enough sappy stuff... lol
I am feeling much better - the pain in my leg is almost gone - and hopefully it stays gone. I still have some swelling and I can't wear any of my nice shoes yet, which is starting to bug me. I've been wearning running shoes and Uggs to work for the past 3 months and it's getting a bit old!
I had a follow-up appointment with a specialist this week and all of the tests for big bad illnesses came back negative, so that is good news. We are still working on the cause of all this mess, but that might take a bit of time. I feel good to have a couple of specialists and a very good GP on board to help me out. I'm back at work full time as of yesterday and it is taking some time to adjust, but everyone is very good about being patient with me. My work isn't stressful or demanding either, so that is good.
My Dr. was a little unsure about me riding - she told me to make an educated decision about riding - basically it is my choice to do so or not. I think I'm going to try riding this weekend and see how I feel. Rusty and I aren't very wild, so I'm sure it won't be a problem. He is being used in a lesson a week which is good, but that is nowhere near enough exercise for Mr. Chubbs (like his new nickname???).
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Rusty has also been giving me some trouble in the hoof/farrier department. Not all of it is his fault, but I have some work to do. The farrier we had been using was a good guy - fairly reliable and quick. He was also willing to trim Rusty without using the stand - Rusty has a huge problem with the farrier stand - not sure if I've mentioned that before.... Anyway, the trims that were done were starting to get pretty bad - one trim he wouldn't take anything off and Rusty's hooves would crack and chip and the next time, he would trim him so short, he was almost lame. He couldn't walk on any sort of stone or gravel and I just wasn't 100% happy with the way things were going. The other boarder was in a similar situation, but her horse was 100% lame...
The barn owner does all of her own trimming and offered to try trimming Rusty for me. I was happy to try this alternative, since I think all of her horses have wonderful looking feet. Well, we tried on Saturday and it didn't go so well. He was ok with the stand for his off front hoof, until she pulled his hoof forward to try rasping the front (like in the picture (which isn't Rusty)). He lost his marbles and did a little rear and caused the stand to fall under his back feet. He then tried to jump over the stand.... Crazy horse. Obviously we are back to square one and need to work on getting him de-sensitized to stuff under his feet. He can't even have a lead rope under his feet without losing his marbles, so I hope we can get somewhere with this.
The barn owner does all of her own trimming and offered to try trimming Rusty for me. I was happy to try this alternative, since I think all of her horses have wonderful looking feet. Well, we tried on Saturday and it didn't go so well. He was ok with the stand for his off front hoof, until she pulled his hoof forward to try rasping the front (like in the picture (which isn't Rusty)). He lost his marbles and did a little rear and caused the stand to fall under his back feet. He then tried to jump over the stand.... Crazy horse. Obviously we are back to square one and need to work on getting him de-sensitized to stuff under his feet. He can't even have a lead rope under his feet without losing his marbles, so I hope we can get somewhere with this.He also did not want to settle down after the incident. We wanted to spend a few minutes handling his feet with just the rasp so he wouldn't think he could just act up and get out of having his feet done. He was very jumpy and sensitive and had a hard time handling it (so did I, frankly)... We managed to get him to stand to have his hooves picked out, but that was about it. I do not want to be that person whose horse is bad for the farrier!
Luckily, the other boarder has just started working with a new farrier who has an excellent reputation. He came highly recommended by our vet and by another friend of mine. My friend has seen a huge improvement in her mares hooves since this guy has been working on them. He is coming out to the farm at the end of the month, so I have a bit of work to do before he comes. The barn owner and I are going to do a few training sessions with the old boy instead of riding lessons to see if we can make some headway with him on this. I find it funny that Rusty has such problems with stuff around his feet - he is so calm and so broke in every other situation that it still surprises me sometimes!
Well, that is all that is going on here in littlekeebler land!
Happy trails...
10 comments:
WHooHoo!! Back amongst the living ;) (Not that you were GONE, per say, but you know what I mean, right?)
Been thinking lots about you and Rusty Laura, first hoping to hear that you were gaining and feeling better and better- which you are! And Rusty just cause he is so freakin cute.
I have some ideas, which I didn't cover yesterday. First things first, rule out ANY pain issues. Seriously---- pain can do very strange things with some horses. Next is start in very small steps. Like, don't even LOOK at his feet. Ground work, ground work, ground work, and when you think he is getting it, do some more ground work. THEN, pick up his feet, clean them, and put them down.
OK- this whole thing could turn into a post here if I am not careful... lol... I'll shoot you an email. Meantime, slip that sweet bugger of yours a mint from me!!
I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. You'll have to listen to your doctor and your own instincts before you ride.
Rusty sounds like he just doesn't like his feet touched. I would guess that the more you work with him to desensitize his hoof issues, in time he will be fine. He may also not have liked the last farrier. Maybe he'll be good for the next guy. With horses it's always wait and see what happens.
We had a few horses that because of Lyme and PSSM, it hurt them to pick up their back feet. Our farrier is wonderful and works with our vet.So between medication, exercise and supplements their issues have been taken care of.
Good luck and continue to heal.
Glad you are feeling a bit better!
And good luck with Rusty and the feet issue - Mrs. Mom is right about the pain issues - if a horse has shoulder/front half pain, putting a hoof on the stand could be very uncomfortable.
I was going to suggest that you shoot Mrs Mom an e-mail and ask for her take on this. lol
Glad to hear you're feeling better and the test results were good :)
SO glad that you are starting to feel better and that you might get to ride. Take it slow and dont do too much at once!
I agree with the above that you have to watch for a pain issue but from the sounds of his issue with a lead rope I'd say there is something in that boys past that has him anxious about things around his feet. Maybe something like a small dog or snake?
Either way I hope you can help him out this is area, it is odd for a horse like him to make that big of an issue over something unless it was a serious fear in his mind. I like the exercise where you take the lead rope and tuck it in to their armpit and then rub lightly and work your way down...when the lead gets low enough that he shows the first signs of discomfort you stay there, rubbing and cooing until he relaxes and then take it away. You work your way down the leg and around the fetlock until you can catch the fetlock in the rope and use it to lift the foot up. Sending exercises would be good for that too...meaning that you teach him to be sent away from you and drive him (using release of presure for a try) over objects like tarps, poles or in Rusty's case maybe a pile of lead ropes (tied to ensure he can get hung up). Just some ideas:)
wow... glad all is better in the health and well being dept. We had out our farrier today 2 shoe 4 of our horses.. exccept for brady.. they all stood nice.. they trust him... he s a good "space" ... not to mention a great farrier.
blessings
gp
So glad you are feeling better!!!
Hope you can get Rusty's leg issues resolved. I agree with Mrs Mom. Ground work and desensitizing should really help. Can't wait to hear how everything goes!!
I'm glad you're feeling better, my friend.
So weird that Rusty is going through this stuff. I'm sure it must be frustrating, but it seems almost all horses have some sort of issue, even while they are 99% well trained and seem perfect in every other way.
For instance, I wish my mare didn't spook sideways and that she wasn't barn sour. In all other ways she is calm and quiet and a mostly good ride. And she is great with her feet, too.
It seems that all horses can even back-slide and what they did good one day, they have problems with the next.
I remember when Dusty Devoe had problems with Dusty accepting the bit and she had to work with him for several months to get him past it.
I'm sure you and Rusty will work through it just fine. Sure is frustrating, though.
((((HUGS))))
~
Lisa
I meant to ask you, "How often do you pick out his feet and just handle them?" And how does he do with you when you do those things?"
~Lisa
What a way to get a break from the stress at work, huh? Hopefully, your legs will be completely pain-free soon.
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