Dawn's legs are back to their normal size today - the vet thinks the filling may have been a reaction to the rabies vacinnation. We had a nice walk/trot/canter lunge session, and she's moving well. She still has some difficulty sustaining the right lead canter, but I think this is her usual normal - she tends to want to carry a bend to the outside - rather than anything related to her bout with EPM.
Pie had his eighth dose of Oroquin-10 today, and we had a short lungeing session at walk and trot. I'm delighted to say that he is now completely sound and moving well at both gaits, his transitions were normal, there wasn't a single bad step or trip and he looked great. Tomorrow I think he'll be ready for a short session of trot under saddle.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Outstanding Ride on Red, Saddle Fit, Trailer Repairs . . .
A lot happened today, most of it very good.
I took my 4-horse gooseneck - a Featherlite - in for service this week. I asked them to repack the bearings, but to also check it over for anything else that needed fixing: tires, brakes, electrical, condition of floor, etc. It turns out that the brakes were in need of serious maintenance, so that got done - it costs some money - likely $600-700 - but well worth it. Everything else was good - I've had the trailer for 8 years, so I'm not surprised it needed some major maintenance. Better to find this sort of thing out when it's in the shop instead of when it's on the road.
Today I had an outstanding ride with Red. Our session started with him nickering/whinneying to me as I went to get him out of the pen, and he came to the gate to great me. I think this is the first time he's really greeted me when food wasn't involved - I was pretty pleased by that. Heather said he'd been pretty feisty yesterday, with some head shaking and crow-hopping - she'd given him a day off and it was windy and chilly, so she got off and did some ground work with him. After he'd worked off some steam, he was good for her ride.
Everything about our ride today was good, from the moment I got on. He was reliably soft at the walk and trot, and his halt and back were as perfect as they could be. There was almost no bracing at any point - his head did pop up a bit on a couple of early walk/trot transitions, but he didn't brace and the head popping up stopped almost immediately - I just ignored it and kept on working. The quality of his trot was amazing - big and strong and engaged, with lovely softening and a real live connection with the reins. That was going so well that we moved up to canter - we did little canter work last year since I had my accident in June, didn't ride until August, then he developed EPM, then it was winter (with no indoor at the old barn). The canter work was very good from the start - it's a bit easier for him on the left lead, but the right lead isn't bad at all, and we had almost no bracing and some very nice softening work from the start. And the quality of his gaits is amazing - his canter is big, and round, and engaged. All I had to do to get really nice canter/trot transitions, where the forward was preserved, was just exhale while thinking the new rhythm. It was just all around lovely!
Red's looking very good - lean and fit and his summer red coat is really glowing. At long last, his corneal ulcer on his left eye seems to be starting to heal up - I brought him a new fly mask to wear in his paddock. Heather and I agreed that he's a real blast to ride, since he's so sensitive and athletic - not always the easiest horse but a very fine one. Red would be about ready to go home with me at this point, but the Mark Rashid clinic is in about 3 weeks, so I'll be leaving him with Heather until then since he's already up there - less stress for him.
Then, after sharing an apple with Red, I drove home and rode Dawn and Pie. Dawn, unusually for her, had some fill in both hind legs - not sure what that's about as she never stocks up - but walked and trotted sound on the lunge, so we had a quick 30-minute ride with only walk and trot work. She worked very well, and the swelling was reduced when we were done. Before I rode, I adjusted the saddle fit - she's been telling me for the past few days by shaking her head and snarking that the saddle wasn't right, and when we cantered, the pad was working its way under the saddle even though the girth was snug - a sign of bad fit. Somehow, the saddle and shimmed Mattes pad that used to fit her no longer does - I expect she's developed some more back muscles and that's throwing things off - she's naturally a bit downhill and the lift in the back is throwing the saddle down and forward. I added two more small felt shims to the front pockets on the Mattes pad - we're up to three shims on each side now - and that seemed to do the trick. "Her snarkiness" was much less so, so we must be on the right track!
Pie and I had a quick 20-minute vigorous walk work session. He's improving neurologically - he's on day 7 of his EPM treatment. His backing is almost normal again, he does the turning test well in both directions with good hind leg crossover, and he's starting to really resist putting his hind legs in the wrong position in the foot placement test, and corrected both hinds on his own pretty quickly. I'll likely lunge him to watch him trot before doing it under saddle, but we're very close to that, I think.
It was a very good day with horses!
I took my 4-horse gooseneck - a Featherlite - in for service this week. I asked them to repack the bearings, but to also check it over for anything else that needed fixing: tires, brakes, electrical, condition of floor, etc. It turns out that the brakes were in need of serious maintenance, so that got done - it costs some money - likely $600-700 - but well worth it. Everything else was good - I've had the trailer for 8 years, so I'm not surprised it needed some major maintenance. Better to find this sort of thing out when it's in the shop instead of when it's on the road.
Today I had an outstanding ride with Red. Our session started with him nickering/whinneying to me as I went to get him out of the pen, and he came to the gate to great me. I think this is the first time he's really greeted me when food wasn't involved - I was pretty pleased by that. Heather said he'd been pretty feisty yesterday, with some head shaking and crow-hopping - she'd given him a day off and it was windy and chilly, so she got off and did some ground work with him. After he'd worked off some steam, he was good for her ride.
Everything about our ride today was good, from the moment I got on. He was reliably soft at the walk and trot, and his halt and back were as perfect as they could be. There was almost no bracing at any point - his head did pop up a bit on a couple of early walk/trot transitions, but he didn't brace and the head popping up stopped almost immediately - I just ignored it and kept on working. The quality of his trot was amazing - big and strong and engaged, with lovely softening and a real live connection with the reins. That was going so well that we moved up to canter - we did little canter work last year since I had my accident in June, didn't ride until August, then he developed EPM, then it was winter (with no indoor at the old barn). The canter work was very good from the start - it's a bit easier for him on the left lead, but the right lead isn't bad at all, and we had almost no bracing and some very nice softening work from the start. And the quality of his gaits is amazing - his canter is big, and round, and engaged. All I had to do to get really nice canter/trot transitions, where the forward was preserved, was just exhale while thinking the new rhythm. It was just all around lovely!
Red's looking very good - lean and fit and his summer red coat is really glowing. At long last, his corneal ulcer on his left eye seems to be starting to heal up - I brought him a new fly mask to wear in his paddock. Heather and I agreed that he's a real blast to ride, since he's so sensitive and athletic - not always the easiest horse but a very fine one. Red would be about ready to go home with me at this point, but the Mark Rashid clinic is in about 3 weeks, so I'll be leaving him with Heather until then since he's already up there - less stress for him.
Then, after sharing an apple with Red, I drove home and rode Dawn and Pie. Dawn, unusually for her, had some fill in both hind legs - not sure what that's about as she never stocks up - but walked and trotted sound on the lunge, so we had a quick 30-minute ride with only walk and trot work. She worked very well, and the swelling was reduced when we were done. Before I rode, I adjusted the saddle fit - she's been telling me for the past few days by shaking her head and snarking that the saddle wasn't right, and when we cantered, the pad was working its way under the saddle even though the girth was snug - a sign of bad fit. Somehow, the saddle and shimmed Mattes pad that used to fit her no longer does - I expect she's developed some more back muscles and that's throwing things off - she's naturally a bit downhill and the lift in the back is throwing the saddle down and forward. I added two more small felt shims to the front pockets on the Mattes pad - we're up to three shims on each side now - and that seemed to do the trick. "Her snarkiness" was much less so, so we must be on the right track!
Pie and I had a quick 20-minute vigorous walk work session. He's improving neurologically - he's on day 7 of his EPM treatment. His backing is almost normal again, he does the turning test well in both directions with good hind leg crossover, and he's starting to really resist putting his hind legs in the wrong position in the foot placement test, and corrected both hinds on his own pretty quickly. I'll likely lunge him to watch him trot before doing it under saddle, but we're very close to that, I think.
It was a very good day with horses!
Monday, May 7, 2012
EPM Symptoms
I was filling out the questionnaires for the EPM group on Yahoo, and it was interesting to see a list of the various symptoms Pie, Red and Dawn have had in their bouts with EPM.
Pie's case is most complicated, as he's now had two separate infections, first with antigen strains 5/6 and then with antigen strain 1. Dawn only had strain 1 and Red only had strains 5/6. Strain 1 is purportedly more serious, and Dawn certainly had a serious case in a very short time - she was a bit wobbly both in front and in back - all my other cases only affected the hind legs. Pie's strain 1 case wasn't as bad symptom-wise, but that might be because he'd earlier had an infection with strains 5/6.
Some symptoms were common to all three horses and some were different. All four cases were diagnosed after neurological exams and ELIZA peptide antigen tests. Here's my summary:
Pie, strain 5/6: head shaking, head pressing; tongue lolling, frequent yawning and some "gulping" noises while swallowing; swollen glands in throat; heat intolerance; body soreness; strong reluctance to move forward; gait abnormalities - little impulsion and toe dragging/tripping/catching with left hind; difficulty backing normally; felt off at trot; very difficult to pick feet; chronic resolving colic - he would have severe pain, lie down and groan and then would be OK after about a half hour - this went on for several weeks and was diagnosed at U Wisconsin with abdominal "lumps" that may have been inflamed lymph nodes - they did not suspect EPM. He may have had this for a while before we caught it.
Red, strain 5/6: extreme reluctance to move forward and irregular gait, left hind most affected - toe dragging and short striding; very difficult to pick feet.
Dawn, strain 1: swollen glands in throat; gait and balance abnormalities - tripping, odd steps, little impulsion, foot dragging - particularly left hind; felt wallowing and fronts also affected as well as backs - stopped riding because she was so unsteady.
Pie, strain 1: swollen glands in throat; gait and balance abnormalities - tripping, odd steps, little impulsion, foot dragging behind, difficulty backing, trouble going downhill.
So far, treatment with Oroquin-10 (levamisole plus decoquinate) plus the 90-day decoquinate feed top dressing, seems to have fixed our problems and all horses are currently doing well. Dawn is at about day 30 in her treatment for strain 1 and is doing well, although I have to careful not to overdo as her deficits were pretty extensive after a short period of infection. Pie is on day 6 of treatment for strain one, and is walking under saddle and doing well - we're not ready to trot yet but we'll get there.
I must say this EPM experience has been interesting, although I would have preferred to have avoided it!
Pie's case is most complicated, as he's now had two separate infections, first with antigen strains 5/6 and then with antigen strain 1. Dawn only had strain 1 and Red only had strains 5/6. Strain 1 is purportedly more serious, and Dawn certainly had a serious case in a very short time - she was a bit wobbly both in front and in back - all my other cases only affected the hind legs. Pie's strain 1 case wasn't as bad symptom-wise, but that might be because he'd earlier had an infection with strains 5/6.
Some symptoms were common to all three horses and some were different. All four cases were diagnosed after neurological exams and ELIZA peptide antigen tests. Here's my summary:
Pie, strain 5/6: head shaking, head pressing; tongue lolling, frequent yawning and some "gulping" noises while swallowing; swollen glands in throat; heat intolerance; body soreness; strong reluctance to move forward; gait abnormalities - little impulsion and toe dragging/tripping/catching with left hind; difficulty backing normally; felt off at trot; very difficult to pick feet; chronic resolving colic - he would have severe pain, lie down and groan and then would be OK after about a half hour - this went on for several weeks and was diagnosed at U Wisconsin with abdominal "lumps" that may have been inflamed lymph nodes - they did not suspect EPM. He may have had this for a while before we caught it.
Red, strain 5/6: extreme reluctance to move forward and irregular gait, left hind most affected - toe dragging and short striding; very difficult to pick feet.
Dawn, strain 1: swollen glands in throat; gait and balance abnormalities - tripping, odd steps, little impulsion, foot dragging - particularly left hind; felt wallowing and fronts also affected as well as backs - stopped riding because she was so unsteady.
Pie, strain 1: swollen glands in throat; gait and balance abnormalities - tripping, odd steps, little impulsion, foot dragging behind, difficulty backing, trouble going downhill.
So far, treatment with Oroquin-10 (levamisole plus decoquinate) plus the 90-day decoquinate feed top dressing, seems to have fixed our problems and all horses are currently doing well. Dawn is at about day 30 in her treatment for strain 1 and is doing well, although I have to careful not to overdo as her deficits were pretty extensive after a short period of infection. Pie is on day 6 of treatment for strain one, and is walking under saddle and doing well - we're not ready to trot yet but we'll get there.
I must say this EPM experience has been interesting, although I would have preferred to have avoided it!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Pie Shows Signs of Improvement
Pie has had four doses of his Oroquin-10 paste treatment (levamisole/decoquinate) for his new bout of antigen strain one of EPM. Today was the first day he began to show signs of improvement. His front foot placement has been normal throughout - Dawn showed deficits in her fronts and backs. Today, he began to resist incorrect foot placement with the right hind; the left hind was still abnormal. The biggest change was in his backing - he'd been dragging his hind toes and "searching" with his hind legs for where to put his feet. Today, he backed almost normally in hand - lifting rather than dragging hind feet and putting them down toe first (in diagnonal pairs with the corresponding front), and he could back straight and there was no "searching" with the hind feet. Walking forward, his walk was more deliberate.
So we rode at the walk for about 20 minutes - his walk was forward and free-moving and rhythmic, and he was able to do softening work at the walk. He also halted well and backed well without dragging any feet. There were no trips, stumbles or odd steps. Tomorrow if he continues to feel well, we'll try a little trot to see how he feels about that.
I'm encouraged - I think we caught his new EPM infection very early and I'm hoping the treatment will take care of it in short order. He had his fifth Oroquin-10 paste dose tonight, and there'll be five more after that - he's very good about his paste but I expect he'll be glad when that's over!
So we rode at the walk for about 20 minutes - his walk was forward and free-moving and rhythmic, and he was able to do softening work at the walk. He also halted well and backed well without dragging any feet. There were no trips, stumbles or odd steps. Tomorrow if he continues to feel well, we'll try a little trot to see how he feels about that.
I'm encouraged - I think we caught his new EPM infection very early and I'm hoping the treatment will take care of it in short order. He had his fifth Oroquin-10 paste dose tonight, and there'll be five more after that - he's very good about his paste but I expect he'll be glad when that's over!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
88 Rides, Two Baths and a New Saddle
Today Dawn and I had our 50th ride of 2012, bringing my total rides for the year to 88. This time last year, I'd ridden only 42 times - having an indoor arena makes a huge difference - it doesn't matter what the weather is doing and the footing is never too wet. This time last year, I'd only ridden Dawn 9 times and only rode her 61 times in all of 2011. And Pie and Red have had many additional rides in their training with Heather - lots of miles for all three horses. I find with my horses, riding them consistently is the best way for us to really make progress together.
Dawn and I have worked hard five days in a row, so she'll get two days off starting tomorrow. In those five days, we've been working together on developing our mutual softness, using my new found understanding of consistently of using a following/allowing hand and providing the horse with a "soft" spot by not pulling/bracing and also not throwing away the contact when the horse finds it but instead mentally softening. Every day Dawn and I have worked, we've been more consistently finding that softness together, and today was probably the best ride I've ever had on her. Today, she was almost continuously soft at the walk and trot - only a few moments of bracing - and her short and long trot work was both soft and exhilerating - she was in self-carriage for most of it and it felt amazing - great drive and impulsion without any bracing. And the most amazing thing is her head position has changed - her original impulse was to go low and in with head behind the vertical. Today she was upright, lifting from behind, with her head and neck raised just so and head not behind the vertical . . . just amazing to feel in my hand and body. And this is a horse who is built somewhat downhill - for her to achieve this at almost age 15 is a testimony to her athleticism.
It's an About the Horse Saddle, size 16 seat and #1 tree (which is the tree size Dave Genadek, the saddle maker, says is right for Pie and Red based on the photos and tracings I sent him) and it's cordura, which means it's lighter to lift- it's shipped and with a little luck it'll be just right - keeping fingers crossed and waiting for it to arrive - the seller is a very nice lady from Michigan who has agreed to my trying it for 10 days to be sure it fits, with a right of return if it doesn't - and we used a written agreement and Paypal to be sure we're both protected.
Dawn and I have worked hard five days in a row, so she'll get two days off starting tomorrow. In those five days, we've been working together on developing our mutual softness, using my new found understanding of consistently of using a following/allowing hand and providing the horse with a "soft" spot by not pulling/bracing and also not throwing away the contact when the horse finds it but instead mentally softening. Every day Dawn and I have worked, we've been more consistently finding that softness together, and today was probably the best ride I've ever had on her. Today, she was almost continuously soft at the walk and trot - only a few moments of bracing - and her short and long trot work was both soft and exhilerating - she was in self-carriage for most of it and it felt amazing - great drive and impulsion without any bracing. And the most amazing thing is her head position has changed - her original impulse was to go low and in with head behind the vertical. Today she was upright, lifting from behind, with her head and neck raised just so and head not behind the vertical . . . just amazing to feel in my hand and body. And this is a horse who is built somewhat downhill - for her to achieve this at almost age 15 is a testimony to her athleticism.
Since it was hot and humid, when we were done I gave Dawn her first bath of the season, using EQyss Micro-Tek medicated shampoo - I rarely bathe my horses to perserve their skin oils, although I do rinse and scrape them off if they're hot.
My work with Dawn has been seriously improved by my work with Red. I've been working on the same allowing/following hand and mental release with him - he's at least as sensitive a horse as Dawn and perhaps more so, and he's got at least as much fire and forward. As Heather said, he'll never be a beginner or intermediate ride and neither will Dawn - they both require a very careful and sensitive ride and they're both in the process of taking me where I need to be. Pie, on the other hand, could be a beginner ride at some point in the future - he's a stoic and also basically very easy-going. My ride with Red last Wednesday was the best ride I've ever had on him - this week is a week of bests. He came out very up and forward, and we worked for a bit on directing him in various figures to help him focus - there were lots of distractions but he managed to come back to me and focus. And then we worked on transitions - there were no hops and very little bracing, and pretty quickly we had lovely, soft, engaged transitions. And, as with Dawn, his head position is now different - he no longer does the head to chest, I'm-all-cramped-up thing, but his head and neck were raised with his head just relaxed and soft. He's built more uphill than Dawn, which makes it somewhat easier for him - his bracing is more mental than physical. And we had some amazing moments of softness and self-carriage - the feel in my hands was soft and relaxed, and he was able to do short and long trot with ease - it was just outstanding, and by the end our transition work was effortless. Tomorrow I go up to ride him again, and I'm hoping for more of the same . . . And Heather said he dealt very well with a serious distraction the day before I was up - she was riding him when another horse decided to dump his rider and "leave" (as Heather said) at a water crossing obstacle - Red just observed the whole thing and didn't get upset.
Pie is getting a few days off until his hind end is a bit more stable and he's comfortable working. He's on day two of his 10-day paste treatment for the new strain of EPM. He's developed some loose manure, so I've started him on probiotics. Pie was also stressed a bit by the heat today - he's very sensitive to the heat - nostrils big and breathing hard when I brought him in around 11 a.m. I cold hosed and scraped him and left him in his stall and then washed him after I was done with Dawn. To finish up, since I (momentarily) have two clean horses, I washed my brushes. I don't expect Dawn and Pie will stay clean - lots of rain and mud coming up - but at least some of the accumulated winter dirt has been washed away.
And a big piece of news - I've bought this saddle:
It's an About the Horse Saddle, size 16 seat and #1 tree (which is the tree size Dave Genadek, the saddle maker, says is right for Pie and Red based on the photos and tracings I sent him) and it's cordura, which means it's lighter to lift- it's shipped and with a little luck it'll be just right - keeping fingers crossed and waiting for it to arrive - the seller is a very nice lady from Michigan who has agreed to my trying it for 10 days to be sure it fits, with a right of return if it doesn't - and we used a written agreement and Paypal to be sure we're both protected.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Geography and EPM
I've been thinking about my horses' four cases of EPM (out of three horses, that's a lot). And I started thinking about the circumstances - moving barns. And in Pie's and Red's cases, moving from one geographical area to another, and then in Pie's case, moving barns again. And then I started thinking about possums, and looked up some more information about them. I knew that they originated in South America, and are the only marsupial in North America.
And then I looked up their geographical range - here's a map from National Geographic - the light-colored area is the possum's range - I don't know the date of this map or how exactly correct it is but it'll do for this purpose:
My apologies to readers who aren't from the States, since the state boundaries aren't indicated. You will note that they generally aren't present in the far northern tier of states, or the mountain West. Over (a very long) time they have extended their range to the north, but they apparently haven't reached Montana, the upper part of Wisconsin, or most of Minnesota.
Now here's the interesting part. Pie was bred and raised in Montana and lived there until he was a weanling. Then he moved to Minnesota, in an area somewhat to the north of Minneapolis. And Red was bred, raised and always lived a few miles from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. All of these areas seem to be outside the usual range of the possum - hence it is likely that neither Pie nor Red were ever exposed to the organism that causes EPM before they moved to live with me. When they moved to the old barn, both developed infections with strains 5 and 6. But Dawn did not - she had been living there for almost 10 years and also was bred and raised in Illinois, which is within the possum's range. It is likely that she was previously exposed to strains 5 and 6 and either didn't get infected or had an infection and developed immuity - she did have an odd neurological episode several years ago involving a very stiff neck and some odd neuro signs like twitching - we attributed it to an atypical rhino (she'd been vacinnated for the usual rhino strains) but who knows? It's also possible that exposure to the EPM organism as a foal, either through the environment or as a result of getting antibodies in mare's milk, could confer some protective immunity.
And then Dawn and Pie moved to the new barn and both, within a matter of weeks, developed active infections with strain 1 - neither had obviously been exposed to this before. Strain 1 tends to be more symptomatic and severe than 5/6, so it's likely that I noticed the symptoms more quickly than I would have, and I was also familiar with what sort of symptoms were likely to be there so I noticed them. Different barn, different hay - one of the most likely vehicles to transmit EPM is hay, and there's not a thing the hay farmer can do about it.
I corresponded with Dr. Ellison (the researcher who developed the new blood test and treatment that is in clinical trials) by e-mail, and she agreed that moving from a familiar geography to a new one can result in infection when the horse is exposed to the EPM organism for the first time or to a new strain. She recommended preventative treatment with the low-dose decoquinate powder when I move Red back to the new barn in June, starting when he moves.
I could have done without the geography lesson, but I must admit it is interesting . . .
And then I looked up their geographical range - here's a map from National Geographic - the light-colored area is the possum's range - I don't know the date of this map or how exactly correct it is but it'll do for this purpose:
My apologies to readers who aren't from the States, since the state boundaries aren't indicated. You will note that they generally aren't present in the far northern tier of states, or the mountain West. Over (a very long) time they have extended their range to the north, but they apparently haven't reached Montana, the upper part of Wisconsin, or most of Minnesota.
Now here's the interesting part. Pie was bred and raised in Montana and lived there until he was a weanling. Then he moved to Minnesota, in an area somewhat to the north of Minneapolis. And Red was bred, raised and always lived a few miles from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. All of these areas seem to be outside the usual range of the possum - hence it is likely that neither Pie nor Red were ever exposed to the organism that causes EPM before they moved to live with me. When they moved to the old barn, both developed infections with strains 5 and 6. But Dawn did not - she had been living there for almost 10 years and also was bred and raised in Illinois, which is within the possum's range. It is likely that she was previously exposed to strains 5 and 6 and either didn't get infected or had an infection and developed immuity - she did have an odd neurological episode several years ago involving a very stiff neck and some odd neuro signs like twitching - we attributed it to an atypical rhino (she'd been vacinnated for the usual rhino strains) but who knows? It's also possible that exposure to the EPM organism as a foal, either through the environment or as a result of getting antibodies in mare's milk, could confer some protective immunity.
And then Dawn and Pie moved to the new barn and both, within a matter of weeks, developed active infections with strain 1 - neither had obviously been exposed to this before. Strain 1 tends to be more symptomatic and severe than 5/6, so it's likely that I noticed the symptoms more quickly than I would have, and I was also familiar with what sort of symptoms were likely to be there so I noticed them. Different barn, different hay - one of the most likely vehicles to transmit EPM is hay, and there's not a thing the hay farmer can do about it.
I corresponded with Dr. Ellison (the researcher who developed the new blood test and treatment that is in clinical trials) by e-mail, and she agreed that moving from a familiar geography to a new one can result in infection when the horse is exposed to the EPM organism for the first time or to a new strain. She recommended preventative treatment with the low-dose decoquinate powder when I move Red back to the new barn in June, starting when he moves.
I could have done without the geography lesson, but I must admit it is interesting . . .
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Dawn is Amazing!
I rode Dawn this morning, and she was truly amazing. I was hoping to ride in the outdoor arena, but the mud between the barn and the outdoor was just too bad. So we were stuck in the indoor - this is only the second time I've ridden her in there while all the other horses were out in turnout. She wasn't too happy about that - she did some screaming while I was grooming and tacking, trying to determine if there were horses alive somewhere, since there were clearly none in the barn. But she was otherwise very good and stood well for grooming, tacking and for me to get on.
At the very beginning, there was some balking near the door to the turnouts - she would stop going forward and try to turn back towards the door. Last time when this happened, I got off and lunged. This time, I just kept turning her to keep her feet moving and kept my eyes and thoughts focussed on where I wanted to go - the other end of the arena. Within moments we were headed there and she didn't balk again, although she did tend to become distracted for a moment as we passed the door. And she coped extremely well with some other major distractions - two horses that came into the arena and then left for the turnouts, which is where she wanted to go; a barn worker washing water buckets in the wash stall just behind a closed double door - lots of clanking and banging; and two more barn workers just outside an open arena door putting in a section of paddock fencing - digging, banging, drills, nail guns, and several tractors transporting posts and boards. The only small spook she did was when the sound of concrete mix being poured into a post hole - it made a loud "ssshhh" sound - startled her.
Despite all of those potential distractions, and by herself in the arena at an unfamiliar time, she was amazing. We worked on our softness with my new understanding of following/allowing contact and mental softness, and I actually think that contributed to her ability to cope. Dawn, who has a reputation as an extremely high-strung and spooky/reactive horse, concentrated on her work and we managed some really nice stretches of truly soft walk and trot work - our mutual softness helped keep her from getting upset. She did get distracted from time to time, but was able to return right to work as soon as I asked. I couldn't have been more delighted! She was glad to get back to the pasture after we were done, and cantered off - and I counted at least 6 perfect lead changes!
Pie will be starting treatment (again!) for his EPM tomorrow, as soon as his medicine arrives. I'm hoping that he recovers quickly, as Dawn did, and since he's now been infected with all three strains that affect horses, I'm hoping for permanent immunity from any more opossum-induced diseases!
At the very beginning, there was some balking near the door to the turnouts - she would stop going forward and try to turn back towards the door. Last time when this happened, I got off and lunged. This time, I just kept turning her to keep her feet moving and kept my eyes and thoughts focussed on where I wanted to go - the other end of the arena. Within moments we were headed there and she didn't balk again, although she did tend to become distracted for a moment as we passed the door. And she coped extremely well with some other major distractions - two horses that came into the arena and then left for the turnouts, which is where she wanted to go; a barn worker washing water buckets in the wash stall just behind a closed double door - lots of clanking and banging; and two more barn workers just outside an open arena door putting in a section of paddock fencing - digging, banging, drills, nail guns, and several tractors transporting posts and boards. The only small spook she did was when the sound of concrete mix being poured into a post hole - it made a loud "ssshhh" sound - startled her.
Despite all of those potential distractions, and by herself in the arena at an unfamiliar time, she was amazing. We worked on our softness with my new understanding of following/allowing contact and mental softness, and I actually think that contributed to her ability to cope. Dawn, who has a reputation as an extremely high-strung and spooky/reactive horse, concentrated on her work and we managed some really nice stretches of truly soft walk and trot work - our mutual softness helped keep her from getting upset. She did get distracted from time to time, but was able to return right to work as soon as I asked. I couldn't have been more delighted! She was glad to get back to the pasture after we were done, and cantered off - and I counted at least 6 perfect lead changes!
Pie will be starting treatment (again!) for his EPM tomorrow, as soon as his medicine arrives. I'm hoping that he recovers quickly, as Dawn did, and since he's now been infected with all three strains that affect horses, I'm hoping for permanent immunity from any more opossum-induced diseases!
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