Mid-January already??

Where do the weeks go? Our lives are so full of activities that the days just seem to fly by....

E and I had a short break from horsey fun around the holidays while we took a trip to Belize (read about that here!). This week, however, we've made many trips out to the barn to check up on our guys.

Curly is about the same - some days are okay, some days he seems to be stiff and in pain. I will call chiropractor to evaluate his condition in the next day or two - just need to get the phone number from a friend.

While we were away, Curly's blanket was left on him so his coat is now a bit thinner than I like. I've decided to go blanket-less this past week anyway (temps in 30s) because I really think the horses are more comfortable without them. I'm afraid that he might get a little chilly at night (dips down to 25 or so) but overall I think he'll be okay. Crossing my fingers that some of that hair grows back in!

E has ridden Monte twice in the past week; he was super energetic (no surprise!) and she actually got dumped on Sunday. We think he spooked a little, she lost her stirrup and her balance and accidentally kicked him in the flank which he responded to by running off. That's when she fell off, and thankfully her other stirrup leather came off the saddle because she got caught up in it and was drug a couple of feet. She's okay - sore, maybe some pulled groin muscles - but it did shake her up. E walked Monte around the arena to settle him (and herself!) and then got back in the saddle. He appeared very contrite. :-)

Tuesday's ride was also full of energy but E was able to manage him much better. She chose Western for this ride as she couldn't post while riding - too sore from her previous fall.

Both horses are complete mud balls at the moment. And they have awful, snarly manes. I bought some Cowboy Magic detangler to help with all the tangles - and it really is magic! I can't wait until we can get them both sparkly clean again.

Hard choices delayed

I just love that big, velvety nose of his!

I was reminded last night that I haven't written on the blog for a while. It's not that we haven't been spending time with our boys - quite the opposite, in fact.

I've been anxious about Curly. For so long there hasn't seemed to be any change in his level of pain; he just plods along, stiff and slow. I've continued to hand walk/trot him and E even ponied him with Monte. Curly always does what we ask, but he just doesn't feel very fluid and happy in the doing.


And then a couple of days ago my barn manager approached me at a party we were both at and informs me (with a huge smile on her face!) that Curly suddenly appears to be doing much better. He has begun to quickly trot out to the field in the morning and then back to his stall at night (food - the great motivator!). And yesterday, when I went out to check on him, I saw him actually galloping across the grass. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. :) All those acupuncture visits, steroid shots and supplements must be finally making a difference.

I had honestly resigned myself to the fact that we would have to put our big boy down in a few months at most. I couldn't, in all good conscience, force him to live in continuous pain. Plus, we really can't afford to keep just a pasture pet for a decade or more - and Curly could easily live that long since he's only 12.

I still have to determine if he'll be ridable...and if he's not....well, I still may have to put him down. Seems so harsh. These are the times when I wish we had our own property so I could just put him out to pasture where he could be fat and happy for the remainder of his life. But with boarding, I have to consider the financial impact of owning a non-working horse. Such a hard choice.

Winter coats

The temps have finally fallen to below freezing around here. It is expected to be around 18 degrees tonight, even colder this weekend.

So far this fall I have not used the horse blankets (except for one really wet, cold day - and it was the damp and wind that prompted me to put them on the boys) but tonight I decided that Curly really needed his.

The poor boy appears to have a cold or some other bug. He's off his feed a bit and pretty lethargic. I hear that this has been going around our barn and that the other horses that have had it recovered without incident within a day or two - so I'm hoping Curly will be back to normal by tomorrow.

At any rate, I figured he didn't need to work to stay warm while also trying to fight off some virus. Plus his coat just doesn't seem as thick as it has gotten in past winters. I hope that either I'm not remembering correctly and it really is the same, or that it's still a bit early and will thicken more as the winter goes on.

Monte, on the other hand, is a little teddy bear! I went ahead and put his blanket on as well, but he probably would be fine without. I'm glad that I bought only a lightweight one for the little man - I don't think he's going to ever need more than something light to help keep the wind off and just a bit of body heat in.

A Trip to the Vet

E and I have been talking quite a bit about when we think the bucking and head tossing started and we decided it might have been around the time they both fell and E broke her ankle (Sept. 2007). But I'm not completely sure about that - we were relying on my often faulty memory! (I'll have to go back and read through this blog to see if I can tell from my postings. I know he came to us with some head tossing issues - but they were different than his current head shaking.) It is possible that he may have injured himself but we didn't notice right away because not long after the fall, he had his first (of three!) hoof abscesses and then the shoulder inflammation that required even more time off.

I had a lengthy visit with the vet today and as he examined Curly I gave him all this information and we talked about possible causes for the obvious pain the horse is in. So, he agreed it could be from an injury or it may even be something called "kissing spine" syndrome. It also could be caused by a saddle rubbing on the area just behind Curly's withers. (The connection between his withers and the rest of his back is a rather dramatic drop off instead of the more normal slope. Consequently, the saddle may be putting too much pressure on this spot.) The vet does not see any problems with Curly's legs/other joints, so he doesn't think the back pain is a symptom of some other issue.

Dr. Kress uses a lot of common sense in his practice, so his first suggestion is to use several cut-away pads that will elevate the saddle off of the area just behind the withers to see if this alleviates Curly's pain. He also suggested moving the saddle back an inch or so, putting more of the weight farther back as well. And thirdly, he'd like me to take Curly on a longish ride, but being ponied rather than ridden. This might help me see if he reacts at that magic 20 minute mark only when he's saddled up and being ridden or if he starts the head shaking/bucking routine even without the rider.

Since there is no way to x-ray Curly's spine here in Walla Walla (and I'm not ready to make the commitment of driving to Pullman) we really have no way of knowing if there are some vertebrae rubbing together or some other injury to the spine. We went ahead and administered a steroid shot to help with any possible inflammation (second shot to be given on Wednesday) and Dr. Kress wants me to continue with the joint supplement we started last week. Both things could possibly help and neither will hurt him.

It's so hard to know how much of all this is truly originating from back pain and how much might be originating from his brain/personality. As I've spent more time with the big guy over this past month, though, I've begun to believe that he isn't all that naughty and it breaks my heart to think he may have been in immense pain for a long time.

Learning To Jump

E and Monte had their first Pony Club mounted meeting today. E was so excited, she was determined to go no matter what. And I probably shouldn't have let her....

Last Wednesday, she (possibly) fractured her right ankle. The pediatrician didn't see anything on the x-ray but he said the location and amount of pain indicated more than a sprain. He thinks we'll be able to see the (healed) fracture on the follow-up x-ray later this month. He asked her to wear her walking boot for as long as she thought was necessary and then to move on to a brace until it was all better.

Anyway, like I said, E was excited so I let her decide if she could ride or not. I truly didn't think she would last more than 20, maybe 30, minutes of the lesson but she didn't decide the pain was too much until the last 5 minutes of the ride. She even managed to post while trotting for much of the time!

The instructor, Marla Foreman, was working on jumping with the kids. The other 2 riders have jumped previously, but this was E and Monte's first go at it. They started with trotting over poles placed on the ground and worked up to going over two crossed poles (approx. 12" high). Monte really wasn't sure what was supposed to happen and managed to trot over the crossed poles instead of jumping. So they actually only "jumped" once during the whole lesson. But they'll eventually get it.

Daily walks

I started Curly on a joint supplement this week, hoping to relieve some of his back pain. How long until the stuff starts doing its job, though?

I also made an appointment with the vet to begin looking for the cause of these troubles. My internet "research" is making me worry too much so I need to begin eliminating some of the more horrible possibilities. Today I convinced myself that he has some sort of degenerative arthritis in his spine and will just continue to go downhill, quickly. Of course, I have nothing to base that on, just a web site that may or may not be accurate. Gotta love the internet!

I have been hand-walking Curly several times a week as well. I don't know if it is helping at all, but I do know that I am enjoying the time with him. Plus the boy needs to drop a few pounds so the exercise has to be doing some good in that department. The walking and jogging can't be hurting me any either!

Today I took him into a pasture that has a few dirt hills in it - along with 2 other horses and a donkey. Curly wasn't too sure about the little donkey and kept an eye out for the him the whole time we were going up, over and around the dirt piles.

Catch up

Life has been busy around our house (nothing unusual there!) so I've been ignoring the blog for a while. We've actually been spending a fair bit of time doing horsey things lately so I thought I'd write a quick entry and record some the recent events.

Curly is still receiving weekly visits from the acupuncturist. After 4 visits, the poor boy appears to be in the same amount of pain as before. And both Dr. Norris and I are stumped as to what may be causing him so much pain. He has never had an animal not respond at this point, and the doctor has said he will discontinue treatment after one last visit. Curly, bless his heart, patiently stands through each treatment even when we can see that it is quite painful for him. Makes me love the big guy even more....and as I've already said before, it helps explain some of the bad behavior he has dished out over the past year.

Electrical currents have been added to the acupuncture treatments - Ouch!

The next step is a trip to the vet. It is possible that the back pain is secondary to another problem - like arthritis in a joint somewhere. So we'll begin the process of testing for bunches of other things as soon as I have a penny or two in my pocket to pay for all of this. I'm crossing my fingers that we discover the cause quickly and easily.

E has been working with Monte on a consistent basis and things just keep getting better and better for them. At her 4-H Halloween ride she was able to ask for, and get, a counter-canter for the first time. Their costume, by the way was very cute. Monte was very patient with the whole mermaid tail thing. (I'll post a picture of them as soon as I remember to download from the camera!)

She joined Pony Club this week and will begin riding with that club very soon. I'll be curious to learn which she likes better in the long run - Pony Club or 4-H. For now, I'll be taking her to both (Tuesdays - 4-H, Sundays - PC).