I'm working on a post on aids, cues and defining boundaries, but while that's perking, just a brief update on the equine crew.
Everyone had a day off yesterday - they were redoing the footing in the indoor, and there was lots of equipment, dump trucks and bobcats running around - so we elected to have a grooming day.
Dawn had a few days off, and she and I had a marvelous ride in the outdoor this morning - lots of lovely work, with excellent softening and connection. I was able to keep my posting very minimal - almost like sitting but letting her lift me, and kept my elbows in and eyes and head up, and a following contact - she responded very well to this. It was a beautiful, cool morning, and we enjoyed our ride. And no more saddling complaints - she apparently approves of our new, reduced, shimming arrangement.
I also took the chance that occurred to move Dawn to a new stall, which she seems very happy with. It has ventilation from the outside, not the arena - less dust. It's at the tack room end of the aisle - less horse traffic in front of her stall - and only next to and across from a mare - both of which make her less unhappy. I'm hoping the squealing, stall wall biting and occasional kicking will be reduced. She really hated her last neighbor - a perfectly inoffensive paint gelding.
Pie is very crabby and sore - poor guy - he pins his ears when I go in his stall, but is sweet and resigned when I stroke his face and massage his neck and back. The first batch of his doxycycline should arrive on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to helping him feel better from his Lyme infection. He had a day off yesterday and again today, and we may do a little light work tomorrow to help him stretch his muscles.
Red is feisty and alert and wanting to do things. I didn't lunge him today to check on his soundness, due to the new, deep, arena footing - it should settle a bit in a day or two. But I did hand walk him yesterday and today, and he was moving well - no toe dragging at all and he motored up and down the hill between the upper and lower parking lot - his neuro symptoms are gone and let's hope the lameness is better as well. Update on Sunday - I did lunge him, and his soundness was much improved. To the left, no lameness was detectable at the trot. To the right, he started out short-striding with the left hind, but moved out better as he went - still not 100% in that direction but much better.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Lyme in Horses - Looking Back at Symptoms
Now that Pie has tested positive for chronic Lyme - an infection lasting longer than 5 months, I was looking back at my records to see if anything indicated when the acute infection might have occurred. It's clear that we're in a hotspot area for Lyme in extreme northeastern Illinois - here's the CDC map showing human cases of Lyme. Pie came to me from north of Minneapolis (also a Lyme area) in the winter of 2010-2011. From the moment I got him, he impressed me as a very quiet, calm and sensible horse - he wasn't spooky or nervous at all. The spring of 2011 was a terrible season for ticks - of course the very small ticks that carry Lyme often aren't visible, but there sure were a lot of the regular type of ticks. In the April/May 2011 time frame, a couple of very odd things happened. Pie became extremely muscle sore - in fact he cramped up on a trail ride to the extent that he was in severe pain, but it didn't act or look like classic tying up. His muscles stayed pretty tight and sore, and he subsequently developed a case of laminitis. He also became extremely grouchy and reactive to touch - he would bite when touched or groomed - this was very atypical for him. By June, he seemed to be feeling a bit better, but continued to be a bit stiff and was still reactive and spooky - there were a number of big spooks leading up to my fall off him in mid-June. He subsequently appears to have developed his first case of EPM in the fall Since then, he's remained very tight in his muscles, although able to work, and remains somewhat grumpy, although he's had no further episodes of footsoreness or someness to touch. He remains basically calm, but very visually reactive.
His titer levels on the new Cornell multiplex test - he tested negative on the A and C antigens and positive on the F antigen, and his symptoms, are consistent with an acute infection with Lyme in the late spring of 2011, with a chronic infection persisting until now. We're waiting to hear back from Cornell on his treatment plan, but I have hopes that the grumpiness, muscle tightness and visual spookiness may in fact be continuing symptoms of his chronic Lyme that can be mitigated by treatment.
His titer levels on the new Cornell multiplex test - he tested negative on the A and C antigens and positive on the F antigen, and his symptoms, are consistent with an acute infection with Lyme in the late spring of 2011, with a chronic infection persisting until now. We're waiting to hear back from Cornell on his treatment plan, but I have hopes that the grumpiness, muscle tightness and visual spookiness may in fact be continuing symptoms of his chronic Lyme that can be mitigated by treatment.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
More Photos, Two Mysteries Solved and One Mystery Remains
Before I rode Dawn today, I took some photos of the crew. Red and Pie were close together (Red in front, Pie behind) as always - this is about the farthest Red is ever away from Pie:
Red keep grazing while giving me the eye:
Pie took a big bite:
It always surprises me how far from side to side horses' jaw move while they're chewing:
Dawn was busy grazing too:
And putting some effort into it:
An an obligatory "beautiful butt" picture:
Dawn has been complaining at saddling time - pinned ears when I start the saddling process and even more protests when girthing up - for a while now. I'm slow on the uptake, apparently - it's clear the first thing to look at is saddle fit. I've had to shim Dawn's saddle all along, but recently she's been gaining some weight and we've dropped some holes on the billets. But today I thought about the shims - perhaps she needed fewer shims. I reduced the shims (which are pretty thin) from four to two on each side, and was interested to see that the saddle was sitting level - and she didn't mind saddling or girthing at all. Bingo! As she'd gained weight, of course she's also gained some in the withers and shoulders, so fewer shims were needed. Dawn, bless her heart, just kept asking for what she needed until I finally paid attention.
At least one horse at our barn has tested positive for Lyme - there's a new, much more accurate test now available from Cornell which also pinpoints where in the stages of infection a horse may be. Here's the CDC map for the highest risk areas for infection with Lyme disease. They test for three different antigens, one that's present only at the very beginning of infection, one that peaks early and then declines to zero at around five months, and one that starts slowly and then increases to a stable level and persists. The horse that tested positive for Lyme had a couple of symptoms that occur in equine Lyme infection - stiffness and unusual reactivity/spookiness. Other symptoms that can occur in horses include muscle soreness, grumpiness, and dislike of touch. Pie remains reactive and spooky, despite his otherwise calm disposition, and has always been somewhat tight in his muscles, and is often quite grumpy. In the summer and fall of 2011, Pie had several episodes of severe muscle soreness, extreme grumpiness - the the point that he actually bit another boarder, which is completely atypical of him - and extreme aversion to being touched or groomed, as well as one odd episode of laminitis. While we were doing our final EPM blood tests for Pie and Dawn, I had blood drawn for a Lyme test. Pie tested negative for the first two antigens and positive for the third - which means he has chronic Lyme and has been infected for at least 5 months. The treatment which is now recommended is fairly low-risk and easy to do - doxycycline pills. Co-infection with EPM is possible, and it may be that when we detected and treated Pie's first case of EPM last year, we failed to pick up that he also had Lyme. (Red tested negative to all three Lyme antigens, and Dawn has not been tested.) My vet/chiro is consulting with Cornell about what treatment options we could/should pursue with Pie at his antibody level - I don't have a good grasp of what the titer level means.
Red has completed 8 days of his paste Oroquin-10 treatment for possible EPM, or inflammation subsequent to EPM. I tested him on day 6 on the lunge, and was disappointed to find that his lameness in the left hind was essentially unchanged, although his neurological symptoms have pretty much gone away. It may well be that we have multiple things going on, so I'll retest him on the lunge on day 11 or so - after he's done with the paste treatment - and see what we've got. He'll also have a retest for EPM at about day 14 to see if his titer levels have changed, and my vet/chiro may try evaluating him for soundness before and after doing some muscle stretching and therapeutic ultrasound of the Achilles tendon area to see if that helps him.
I had a molar pulled this afternoon - the cumulative effect of Dawn kicking me in the jaw in 2009 and my falling off Pie on my head and face in 2011 did it in. So only Dawn got ridden today - I hope to be back in action very soon.
So a couple of mysteries clarified and one still remains . . .
Red keep grazing while giving me the eye:
Pie took a big bite:
It always surprises me how far from side to side horses' jaw move while they're chewing:
Dawn was busy grazing too:
And putting some effort into it:
An an obligatory "beautiful butt" picture:
Dawn has been complaining at saddling time - pinned ears when I start the saddling process and even more protests when girthing up - for a while now. I'm slow on the uptake, apparently - it's clear the first thing to look at is saddle fit. I've had to shim Dawn's saddle all along, but recently she's been gaining some weight and we've dropped some holes on the billets. But today I thought about the shims - perhaps she needed fewer shims. I reduced the shims (which are pretty thin) from four to two on each side, and was interested to see that the saddle was sitting level - and she didn't mind saddling or girthing at all. Bingo! As she'd gained weight, of course she's also gained some in the withers and shoulders, so fewer shims were needed. Dawn, bless her heart, just kept asking for what she needed until I finally paid attention.
At least one horse at our barn has tested positive for Lyme - there's a new, much more accurate test now available from Cornell which also pinpoints where in the stages of infection a horse may be. Here's the CDC map for the highest risk areas for infection with Lyme disease. They test for three different antigens, one that's present only at the very beginning of infection, one that peaks early and then declines to zero at around five months, and one that starts slowly and then increases to a stable level and persists. The horse that tested positive for Lyme had a couple of symptoms that occur in equine Lyme infection - stiffness and unusual reactivity/spookiness. Other symptoms that can occur in horses include muscle soreness, grumpiness, and dislike of touch. Pie remains reactive and spooky, despite his otherwise calm disposition, and has always been somewhat tight in his muscles, and is often quite grumpy. In the summer and fall of 2011, Pie had several episodes of severe muscle soreness, extreme grumpiness - the the point that he actually bit another boarder, which is completely atypical of him - and extreme aversion to being touched or groomed, as well as one odd episode of laminitis. While we were doing our final EPM blood tests for Pie and Dawn, I had blood drawn for a Lyme test. Pie tested negative for the first two antigens and positive for the third - which means he has chronic Lyme and has been infected for at least 5 months. The treatment which is now recommended is fairly low-risk and easy to do - doxycycline pills. Co-infection with EPM is possible, and it may be that when we detected and treated Pie's first case of EPM last year, we failed to pick up that he also had Lyme. (Red tested negative to all three Lyme antigens, and Dawn has not been tested.) My vet/chiro is consulting with Cornell about what treatment options we could/should pursue with Pie at his antibody level - I don't have a good grasp of what the titer level means.
Red has completed 8 days of his paste Oroquin-10 treatment for possible EPM, or inflammation subsequent to EPM. I tested him on day 6 on the lunge, and was disappointed to find that his lameness in the left hind was essentially unchanged, although his neurological symptoms have pretty much gone away. It may well be that we have multiple things going on, so I'll retest him on the lunge on day 11 or so - after he's done with the paste treatment - and see what we've got. He'll also have a retest for EPM at about day 14 to see if his titer levels have changed, and my vet/chiro may try evaluating him for soundness before and after doing some muscle stretching and therapeutic ultrasound of the Achilles tendon area to see if that helps him.
I had a molar pulled this afternoon - the cumulative effect of Dawn kicking me in the jaw in 2009 and my falling off Pie on my head and face in 2011 did it in. So only Dawn got ridden today - I hope to be back in action very soon.
So a couple of mysteries clarified and one still remains . . .
Monday, September 24, 2012
Analogy of the Dance
I'm thinking about the analogy between working with a horse and a dance between two people, which may help make what I'm talking about in my prior posts on my two challenges a bit clearer. Despite the fact that the horse is big and the person riding/working with the horse is much smaller, and the two people are roughly the same size, I think this difference matters almost not at all to the analogy. If you haven't already, it would probably help if you read yesterday's post in order to understand what I'm trying to say.
So, imagine two people dancing together - no words allowed, with a leader and a follower. The way most of us were taught to ride, this would involve one person (the leader) pushing and shoving on the other person (the follower) to get them to do what was wanted, and occasionally jabbing, jerking or whacking the other person when they did something "wrong" or didn't understand what was wanted quickly enough. Some of this would be characterized as "you're the alpha", "your partner has to respect you", or "get after them and make them obey you". It might even be characterized (in some respects wrongly, I think - I think this phrase is often misunderstood) as "make the wrong thing difficult". Doesn't present a very pretty picture, does it? The dance that resulted would involve a lot of frustration, resentment, anxiety and missed opportunities. Most human dance partners wouldn't put up with it for a minute, but most horses unfortunately do. (This is why Mark Rashid often jokes that all horse people should have to start with a mule - he says that would result in a lot fewer, and a lot better, horse people, since most mules won't put up with that sort of stuff.) I was certainly taught to ride that way. You see a lot of this style of riding in all disciplines, and it can even be successful, but only because a lot of horses are so darn forgiving, although some aren't - the ones that get labelled as "problems".
But perhaps the leader in the dance wants to work in a better way, and produce better results. The philosophy shifts to one of mutual respect, but with one person still being the leader. The leader still uses physical touch and body cues, but does so in a way that allows the follower a legitimate opportunity to offer a try, and then rewards the try with a physical release. There's still some pushing and pulling possible at this stage, although the leader can learn to apply physical cues offering softness, without bracing. If the follower doesn't understand what is wanted, or can't do what is wanted because of a physical problem, the leader doesn't physically discipline them, but tries to understand (without words) what's going on. This attitude of mutual respect by the two dancers, and the elimination of physical discipline as a training "tool" allows for better learning and the beginnings of a partnership involving mutual understanding.
The next stage is a refinement of the last one - the leader now looks for ways to minimize physical cues, and use the direction of energy, breathing, focus and intent to lead the dance. The dance is getting pretty good at this point, and the follower is much more willing and more "with" the leader.
Finally, you get to the point - I'm seeing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in my mind - where the two dancers are moving together on feel alone. In the case of horses, there's still a leader - the human - who offers the thought to the horse - and a follower, the horse - who connects with the thought and performs the action. But at this point, there's very little separation between the two - they act as one, connected by a live "feel", and perform the action together as if they were both doing it.
That's where I want to go - it's the work of a lifetime but that's just fine with me. Even at the ultimate stage, or between the last two stages, there's a place for cues and aids, but I think their use at that point is a bit different than our usual way of thinking about them. More about that later . . .
So, imagine two people dancing together - no words allowed, with a leader and a follower. The way most of us were taught to ride, this would involve one person (the leader) pushing and shoving on the other person (the follower) to get them to do what was wanted, and occasionally jabbing, jerking or whacking the other person when they did something "wrong" or didn't understand what was wanted quickly enough. Some of this would be characterized as "you're the alpha", "your partner has to respect you", or "get after them and make them obey you". It might even be characterized (in some respects wrongly, I think - I think this phrase is often misunderstood) as "make the wrong thing difficult". Doesn't present a very pretty picture, does it? The dance that resulted would involve a lot of frustration, resentment, anxiety and missed opportunities. Most human dance partners wouldn't put up with it for a minute, but most horses unfortunately do. (This is why Mark Rashid often jokes that all horse people should have to start with a mule - he says that would result in a lot fewer, and a lot better, horse people, since most mules won't put up with that sort of stuff.) I was certainly taught to ride that way. You see a lot of this style of riding in all disciplines, and it can even be successful, but only because a lot of horses are so darn forgiving, although some aren't - the ones that get labelled as "problems".
But perhaps the leader in the dance wants to work in a better way, and produce better results. The philosophy shifts to one of mutual respect, but with one person still being the leader. The leader still uses physical touch and body cues, but does so in a way that allows the follower a legitimate opportunity to offer a try, and then rewards the try with a physical release. There's still some pushing and pulling possible at this stage, although the leader can learn to apply physical cues offering softness, without bracing. If the follower doesn't understand what is wanted, or can't do what is wanted because of a physical problem, the leader doesn't physically discipline them, but tries to understand (without words) what's going on. This attitude of mutual respect by the two dancers, and the elimination of physical discipline as a training "tool" allows for better learning and the beginnings of a partnership involving mutual understanding.
The next stage is a refinement of the last one - the leader now looks for ways to minimize physical cues, and use the direction of energy, breathing, focus and intent to lead the dance. The dance is getting pretty good at this point, and the follower is much more willing and more "with" the leader.
Finally, you get to the point - I'm seeing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in my mind - where the two dancers are moving together on feel alone. In the case of horses, there's still a leader - the human - who offers the thought to the horse - and a follower, the horse - who connects with the thought and performs the action. But at this point, there's very little separation between the two - they act as one, connected by a live "feel", and perform the action together as if they were both doing it.
That's where I want to go - it's the work of a lifetime but that's just fine with me. Even at the ultimate stage, or between the last two stages, there's a place for cues and aids, but I think their use at that point is a bit different than our usual way of thinking about them. More about that later . . .
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Two Challenges - Part Two: Develop Your Own Style
A couple of days ago, I did a post on the first of two challenges that Mark Rashid gave me at the clinic in June. The first challenge was to ride all my horses the same - here's the post on that, which you might want to read before you read this one so things make some sense. The second challenge was to develop my own style, not just imitate how others ride. That's what this post is about.
I've been thinking about these things a lot, and just mulling them over. And it occurred to me that a lot of this applies to life generally, not just horses. But that makes sense - it's not possible to separate horses from life, and how you are in one place is going to be how you are everywhere else. For a moment, think about how things are in your life. I know for me, a lot of what I've done over the years has either been compliant/imitative - doing what others want me to do or what I think others want me to do (not always the same thing), or oppositional - not doing what others want me to do (resistance) or trying hard not to imitate the behavior of others because I don't like their behavior or just don't want to be like them (righteous opposition). In thinking about this, this imitation or opposition sounds a lot like bracing, and has made a lot of what I've done or been "deformed" by trying to either accommodate or avoid acting like someone else.
But where is the "center" of me in all of this? If we're defined primarily by imitation or opposition, then who are we, really, in ourselves? I think this is the key to both challenges. In the first challenge, to ride all my horses the same, it comes down to offering all my horses the same feel and connection, rather than deforming my style based on a "story" I'm carrying about them. (Mark says people often tend to fall into the trap of riding each horse in the way its prior owner did, which tends to reinforce whatever it is that's causing issues.) That feel and connection has to come from me, first, consistently, before the horse can make the connection.
The second challenge is to develop my own style. Mark says that his goal is for his students to surpass him - that's one of the reasons I consider him a master horseman and not just a trainer. I'm not sure that's necessarily possible for me but the fact that he says it is very freeing - this means that in the process of developing my own style, not just in imitation of him or Heather, he's encouraging me to think outside the box - even the box he's drawn for me so far - and develop my feel, technique (although I think that's the least of it) and understanding, for myself, in my own way. I also have to avoid riding in a way that's just oppositional to the ways others ride that I don't like - that's a brace in the opposite direction.
So if imitation and opposition can produce braces, mental or physical, what am I to do? I think the answer has to come from my own values and perspectives, expressed in my relationship with the horse. And another important thing - those values and perspectives have to be expressed in the rest of my life, too, to have them be most effective in my horsemanship.
So, what are your values and perspective, from the center of you, and how are they expressed, or not, in your life with horses and your life without horses? I think if our horsemanship comes from this center, from our deepest values, then it's possible to build a personal style that can take parts of what we've learned to do (or avoid) from others, and make something that's our own. It takes a lot of self-examination to do this, and it's not easy. It involves experimentation, and a willingness to change what you do and adapt what you find useful from others.
Here's where I've been so far in my horsemanship journey over about the past 10 years (I started out as a traditional "whack them and make them obey" rider, and became disatisfied with this, both because it didn't work well with - and in fact harmed - lots of horses and because it began to be at odds with my personal values):
Stage one - wanting to hear what the horse has to say and understand the horse's point of view - "what does the horse think about that?" Beginning to understand that horses don't do things - even extreme things - out of cussedness - they always have a good reason for what they are doing. Almost all horses with "problems" have people problems. Wanting a better way - one that doesn't involve coercion or punishment for wrong answers or gadgets as a training method (although not understanding, really why gadgets are a bad idea - I now believe it's because they have no "feel"). Becoming aware of how we inadvertently train our horses to do things we don't want them to do.
Stage two - learning how to recognize when the horse makes a try - however small - towards your goal, how to give a properly timed physical release, and how to ask without bracing/pulling/blocking. Learning how to build a "learning chain" of links starting from the foundation up. Learning how to breath and move with the horse's movement. Awareness - of your own body and the horse's body. Beginning to communicate - to ask and wait for and acknowledge a response, rather than make/dominate/force. Offering the horse leadership by your focus and intention for speed, direction and destination.
Stage three - learning to influence the horse by dialing down cues to almost nothing, and using breathing and thinking how actions would feel to you if you were doing them to lead the horse with your thought. Learning to feel the feet in order to better time and influence movement. Still operating on the outside of the horse, but beginning to access the inside of the horse - riding "in" the horse instead of on it - looking for softness from the inside. Improving your ability to "be" with the horse mentally and to offer the horse your leadership through thought. Releases become much smaller and approach and then become simply mentally softening. I've been mucking around with this stage for a while now, having progress, set backs and revelations along the way.
Stage four - having the horse's body be your body and the horse's feet your feet, and actually feeling that. Offering the horse "feel" at all times - any physical connection is only a whisper - the drape of a rein, the lie of a leg on the horse's side. Offering softness at all times so the horse can meet that with softness. Hands, legs and seat now only boundaries - all the communication is mental - you offer the thought of what the horse's/your body and feet will do and the horse makes the mental connection and just does it - not riding on, or even in, the horse - you are the horse. The work, and connection, and joy in that, with continuous feel/softness, is the release. This is where I want to go - I'm getting glimpses of it from time to time, but I think what Mark was saying to me is that I can't get there without beginning to meet his challenges.
Now none of these stages are bad - even the first stage represents a big improvement from how I was working with my horses before. Technique can be very good, and if used correctly can produce excellent results. But stage four isn't about technique, it's about feel. To develop feel, and my own style, it has to come from the inside of me - my values and perspectives - not from anyone else - to the inside of my horse. I'm still very interested in learning anything any true horseman (especially the Dorrances, Ray Hunt, Harry Whitney, Mark Rashid and those from their lineage) has to offer me. I'm also interested in hearing about more useful techniques offered by competent trainers, although I'm a lot less interested in technique (except insofar as it helps me understand an approach to doing something with my horse I've never done before) than I am in the development of feel. But I have to take what's offered by others and examine it and consider it in light of my own values and core - who I am and how I act in the world. It has to come from my center, no one else's. I also have to be willing to experiment and just get in there and do it - sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't but it's all part of the learning. And it's never done - there's always new ways of approaching things and more feel to develop.
So it's all one thing - ride all my horses the same and develop my own style - from the inside of me to the inside of the horse. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey!
I've been thinking about these things a lot, and just mulling them over. And it occurred to me that a lot of this applies to life generally, not just horses. But that makes sense - it's not possible to separate horses from life, and how you are in one place is going to be how you are everywhere else. For a moment, think about how things are in your life. I know for me, a lot of what I've done over the years has either been compliant/imitative - doing what others want me to do or what I think others want me to do (not always the same thing), or oppositional - not doing what others want me to do (resistance) or trying hard not to imitate the behavior of others because I don't like their behavior or just don't want to be like them (righteous opposition). In thinking about this, this imitation or opposition sounds a lot like bracing, and has made a lot of what I've done or been "deformed" by trying to either accommodate or avoid acting like someone else.
But where is the "center" of me in all of this? If we're defined primarily by imitation or opposition, then who are we, really, in ourselves? I think this is the key to both challenges. In the first challenge, to ride all my horses the same, it comes down to offering all my horses the same feel and connection, rather than deforming my style based on a "story" I'm carrying about them. (Mark says people often tend to fall into the trap of riding each horse in the way its prior owner did, which tends to reinforce whatever it is that's causing issues.) That feel and connection has to come from me, first, consistently, before the horse can make the connection.
The second challenge is to develop my own style. Mark says that his goal is for his students to surpass him - that's one of the reasons I consider him a master horseman and not just a trainer. I'm not sure that's necessarily possible for me but the fact that he says it is very freeing - this means that in the process of developing my own style, not just in imitation of him or Heather, he's encouraging me to think outside the box - even the box he's drawn for me so far - and develop my feel, technique (although I think that's the least of it) and understanding, for myself, in my own way. I also have to avoid riding in a way that's just oppositional to the ways others ride that I don't like - that's a brace in the opposite direction.
So if imitation and opposition can produce braces, mental or physical, what am I to do? I think the answer has to come from my own values and perspectives, expressed in my relationship with the horse. And another important thing - those values and perspectives have to be expressed in the rest of my life, too, to have them be most effective in my horsemanship.
So, what are your values and perspective, from the center of you, and how are they expressed, or not, in your life with horses and your life without horses? I think if our horsemanship comes from this center, from our deepest values, then it's possible to build a personal style that can take parts of what we've learned to do (or avoid) from others, and make something that's our own. It takes a lot of self-examination to do this, and it's not easy. It involves experimentation, and a willingness to change what you do and adapt what you find useful from others.
Here's where I've been so far in my horsemanship journey over about the past 10 years (I started out as a traditional "whack them and make them obey" rider, and became disatisfied with this, both because it didn't work well with - and in fact harmed - lots of horses and because it began to be at odds with my personal values):
Stage one - wanting to hear what the horse has to say and understand the horse's point of view - "what does the horse think about that?" Beginning to understand that horses don't do things - even extreme things - out of cussedness - they always have a good reason for what they are doing. Almost all horses with "problems" have people problems. Wanting a better way - one that doesn't involve coercion or punishment for wrong answers or gadgets as a training method (although not understanding, really why gadgets are a bad idea - I now believe it's because they have no "feel"). Becoming aware of how we inadvertently train our horses to do things we don't want them to do.
Stage two - learning how to recognize when the horse makes a try - however small - towards your goal, how to give a properly timed physical release, and how to ask without bracing/pulling/blocking. Learning how to build a "learning chain" of links starting from the foundation up. Learning how to breath and move with the horse's movement. Awareness - of your own body and the horse's body. Beginning to communicate - to ask and wait for and acknowledge a response, rather than make/dominate/force. Offering the horse leadership by your focus and intention for speed, direction and destination.
Stage three - learning to influence the horse by dialing down cues to almost nothing, and using breathing and thinking how actions would feel to you if you were doing them to lead the horse with your thought. Learning to feel the feet in order to better time and influence movement. Still operating on the outside of the horse, but beginning to access the inside of the horse - riding "in" the horse instead of on it - looking for softness from the inside. Improving your ability to "be" with the horse mentally and to offer the horse your leadership through thought. Releases become much smaller and approach and then become simply mentally softening. I've been mucking around with this stage for a while now, having progress, set backs and revelations along the way.
Stage four - having the horse's body be your body and the horse's feet your feet, and actually feeling that. Offering the horse "feel" at all times - any physical connection is only a whisper - the drape of a rein, the lie of a leg on the horse's side. Offering softness at all times so the horse can meet that with softness. Hands, legs and seat now only boundaries - all the communication is mental - you offer the thought of what the horse's/your body and feet will do and the horse makes the mental connection and just does it - not riding on, or even in, the horse - you are the horse. The work, and connection, and joy in that, with continuous feel/softness, is the release. This is where I want to go - I'm getting glimpses of it from time to time, but I think what Mark was saying to me is that I can't get there without beginning to meet his challenges.
Now none of these stages are bad - even the first stage represents a big improvement from how I was working with my horses before. Technique can be very good, and if used correctly can produce excellent results. But stage four isn't about technique, it's about feel. To develop feel, and my own style, it has to come from the inside of me - my values and perspectives - not from anyone else - to the inside of my horse. I'm still very interested in learning anything any true horseman (especially the Dorrances, Ray Hunt, Harry Whitney, Mark Rashid and those from their lineage) has to offer me. I'm also interested in hearing about more useful techniques offered by competent trainers, although I'm a lot less interested in technique (except insofar as it helps me understand an approach to doing something with my horse I've never done before) than I am in the development of feel. But I have to take what's offered by others and examine it and consider it in light of my own values and core - who I am and how I act in the world. It has to come from my center, no one else's. I also have to be willing to experiment and just get in there and do it - sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't but it's all part of the learning. And it's never done - there's always new ways of approaching things and more feel to develop.
So it's all one thing - ride all my horses the same and develop my own style - from the inside of me to the inside of the horse. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey!
Friday, September 21, 2012
What Does a Low EPM Titer Mean?
Red's EPM ELIZA peptide antigen blood test results came back:
SAG 1 - 2
SAG 5 - 2
SAG 6 - 2.
This is essentially a zero antibody result. In a horse who's had an active EPM infection (neurological symptoms and a previously high titer), it likely means that the horse has had EPM and the infection has cleared - this usually will result in significant improvement in neurological symptoms. This was Red's status after his first bout of EPM and treatment. At that point he made a full recovery and had no neurological symptoms at all - he was completely sound and rideable.
At this point, he has clear neurological symptoms, not just lameness in one leg (with no heat/swelling or any other indication of residual mechanical injury). So what does this zero result tell us? - it turns out that, as more is learned about the disease and its mechanisms, particularly about early stages of the disease, there are a number of possible answers. There are apparently other horses out there with low or marginal titers who do have neurological symptoms - so what's up with that?
Here are the possibilities as I understand them, from reviewing information on Dr. Ellison's web site, published papers, and talking to my vet, who has had experience with a significant number of horses with EPM. Please remember that I am not a vet, and some of what I'm going to say is speculation at this point regarding the disease process and what may be going on with Red, so please do not attribute what I'm saying to anyone other than me - any errors are mine. Ongoing research is being done on some of these possibilities, and Red's case may be clarified in a couple of weeks as we're planning to do a follow up blood test.
We are going ahead and treating him with the ten days of Oroquin-10 paste (decoquinate/levamisole) and follow-on 90 days of low-dose decoquinate feed top dressing - the reasons for this will become clear as we review the possible explanations. So, here are the possibilities:
1. Red has another neurological condition than EPM. Although we did do a blood test for Lyme (results not back yet) my vet thinks this is unlikely. His symptoms are much more consistent with EPM than with any other cause of neurological symptoms, although we may be missing something. If something else is going on, treatment for EPM will likely not change his symptoms, and his titers will stay low on retest.
2. He has not been infected with a new strain of EPM (his prior infection was with strain 5), but rather is having an exacerbation of symptoms due to inflammatory processes - some horses who've had, and cleared, EPM appear to remain susceptible to inflammatory redevelopment of symptoms, which can be triggered by a number of things, including recent vaccination or other illnesses that stimulate the immune system. (Some of these cases may have previously been attributed to "relapses".) Red has not been recently vaccinated nor has he been otherwise ill or stressed. If this is the case, the levamisole that's in the paste treatment should help reduce this inflammation, and his symptoms should abate. In this case, titers will stay low on retest.
3. He's had a low-grade infection for a while with a new strain - likely strain 1 - but the low-dose feed top dressing treatment he was on from June through August (intended to prevent infection) held the organisms to a low enough level that he did not produce a robust antibody response, although he did develop symptoms. If this is the case, the levamisole in the paste treatment is there in part to stimulate a robust immune response, and if that happens and his titers go up in two weeks, we'll know that he's got an active infection. It is also likely in this case that the treatment will improve his symptoms. In this case, some of his symptoms back in the summer may have been attributable to EPM. This is possible, but I don't have a clear understanding of the mechanisms that might be involved so I don't know how likely it is.
4. The symptoms in the summer were primarily mechanical in nature, and have since healed - he was making a good recovery by the end of August and was improving. He started to get worse again, and the symptoms became more clearly neurological, by the middle of September. He finished up the 90 days of low-dose (preventative) treatment at the end of August. It may be that he has subsequently developed a new infection with strain 1, since the end of August - it may be that he couldn't develop an infection while he was on the low-dose powder. (Pie had an infection with strain 5, cleared it after treatment, and had a subsequent infection with strain 1, also treated and cleared, and remains symptom-free, so these sequential infections are possible. This also might have been characterized as a "relapse" before the ability to accurately characterize the strain causing the infection.) Apparently a robust antibody response may not develop in the first three weeks or so of infection, although symptoms do appear in that time frame. Although this explanation has more moving parts, and I would otherwise be suspicious of it, it fits the facts and timing quite well. If this is the case, then treatment should improve his symptoms, and it is also likely that we'll see an increased titer on a retest in two weeks.
In summary, in both possibilities 3 and 4, we should see abatement of symptoms as well as possibly an increase in titers at two weeks. It otherwise won't be possible to distinguish between these two explanations, although based on the timing and nature of his symptoms, I think 4 is a more consistent explanation, although if he's treated effectively it won't matter. In possibility 1, there would be no abatement of symptoms and titers would stay low. In possibility 2, symptoms should improve but titers would stay low - this would also be effective treatment of the inflammatory process, due to the levamisole, although we'd need to keep a good eye on him in the future in case he has other episodes that require treatment.
Time will tell - Red will be having his fourth paste treatment today, and I'll be doing a recheck on his neurological symptoms soon to see if anything is changing.
SAG 1 - 2
SAG 5 - 2
SAG 6 - 2.
This is essentially a zero antibody result. In a horse who's had an active EPM infection (neurological symptoms and a previously high titer), it likely means that the horse has had EPM and the infection has cleared - this usually will result in significant improvement in neurological symptoms. This was Red's status after his first bout of EPM and treatment. At that point he made a full recovery and had no neurological symptoms at all - he was completely sound and rideable.
At this point, he has clear neurological symptoms, not just lameness in one leg (with no heat/swelling or any other indication of residual mechanical injury). So what does this zero result tell us? - it turns out that, as more is learned about the disease and its mechanisms, particularly about early stages of the disease, there are a number of possible answers. There are apparently other horses out there with low or marginal titers who do have neurological symptoms - so what's up with that?
Here are the possibilities as I understand them, from reviewing information on Dr. Ellison's web site, published papers, and talking to my vet, who has had experience with a significant number of horses with EPM. Please remember that I am not a vet, and some of what I'm going to say is speculation at this point regarding the disease process and what may be going on with Red, so please do not attribute what I'm saying to anyone other than me - any errors are mine. Ongoing research is being done on some of these possibilities, and Red's case may be clarified in a couple of weeks as we're planning to do a follow up blood test.
We are going ahead and treating him with the ten days of Oroquin-10 paste (decoquinate/levamisole) and follow-on 90 days of low-dose decoquinate feed top dressing - the reasons for this will become clear as we review the possible explanations. So, here are the possibilities:
1. Red has another neurological condition than EPM. Although we did do a blood test for Lyme (results not back yet) my vet thinks this is unlikely. His symptoms are much more consistent with EPM than with any other cause of neurological symptoms, although we may be missing something. If something else is going on, treatment for EPM will likely not change his symptoms, and his titers will stay low on retest.
2. He has not been infected with a new strain of EPM (his prior infection was with strain 5), but rather is having an exacerbation of symptoms due to inflammatory processes - some horses who've had, and cleared, EPM appear to remain susceptible to inflammatory redevelopment of symptoms, which can be triggered by a number of things, including recent vaccination or other illnesses that stimulate the immune system. (Some of these cases may have previously been attributed to "relapses".) Red has not been recently vaccinated nor has he been otherwise ill or stressed. If this is the case, the levamisole that's in the paste treatment should help reduce this inflammation, and his symptoms should abate. In this case, titers will stay low on retest.
3. He's had a low-grade infection for a while with a new strain - likely strain 1 - but the low-dose feed top dressing treatment he was on from June through August (intended to prevent infection) held the organisms to a low enough level that he did not produce a robust antibody response, although he did develop symptoms. If this is the case, the levamisole in the paste treatment is there in part to stimulate a robust immune response, and if that happens and his titers go up in two weeks, we'll know that he's got an active infection. It is also likely in this case that the treatment will improve his symptoms. In this case, some of his symptoms back in the summer may have been attributable to EPM. This is possible, but I don't have a clear understanding of the mechanisms that might be involved so I don't know how likely it is.
4. The symptoms in the summer were primarily mechanical in nature, and have since healed - he was making a good recovery by the end of August and was improving. He started to get worse again, and the symptoms became more clearly neurological, by the middle of September. He finished up the 90 days of low-dose (preventative) treatment at the end of August. It may be that he has subsequently developed a new infection with strain 1, since the end of August - it may be that he couldn't develop an infection while he was on the low-dose powder. (Pie had an infection with strain 5, cleared it after treatment, and had a subsequent infection with strain 1, also treated and cleared, and remains symptom-free, so these sequential infections are possible. This also might have been characterized as a "relapse" before the ability to accurately characterize the strain causing the infection.) Apparently a robust antibody response may not develop in the first three weeks or so of infection, although symptoms do appear in that time frame. Although this explanation has more moving parts, and I would otherwise be suspicious of it, it fits the facts and timing quite well. If this is the case, then treatment should improve his symptoms, and it is also likely that we'll see an increased titer on a retest in two weeks.
In summary, in both possibilities 3 and 4, we should see abatement of symptoms as well as possibly an increase in titers at two weeks. It otherwise won't be possible to distinguish between these two explanations, although based on the timing and nature of his symptoms, I think 4 is a more consistent explanation, although if he's treated effectively it won't matter. In possibility 1, there would be no abatement of symptoms and titers would stay low. In possibility 2, symptoms should improve but titers would stay low - this would also be effective treatment of the inflammatory process, due to the levamisole, although we'd need to keep a good eye on him in the future in case he has other episodes that require treatment.
Time will tell - Red will be having his fourth paste treatment today, and I'll be doing a recheck on his neurological symptoms soon to see if anything is changing.
Witness Protection Program (!)
When my vet/chiro sent Red's blood in for his EPM test, she had to let the researcher Dr. Ellison as well as the pharmacy from which his medicine was ordered know that Red was the horse previously named Drifter, whose records they already had. My vet/chiro told me that she told them that Red was in the witness protection program - the pharmacy tech I talked to actually remembered that and mentioned it to me when I mentioned his name change. I got a good laugh out of that description! Red is certainly a reformed character - he's gone from a difficult, worried, sometimes pushy or aggressive horse, to one that's still sensitive and spirited but who is also very willing to try to the best of his ability to do anything I ask. I think his name change was a good acknowledgement of how far he's come, and allows me to think of him as the new horse he is rather than the troubled horse he was.
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