Spa day

 well, not a spa day... but acupuncture and an adjustment :) 

good pony. he's so freaking cute!

Grateful, thankful and blessed

 So yesterday was Hurricane Helene here. It hit Florida and then moved inland and we were expected to get hit with 70 mph wind gusts and lots of rain and potentially lightning. And we haven't had any rain in 2 weeks, so... potential flooding. And more worrisome really was the likelihood of being without power, and thus, water. So... I filled all the water troughs and filled jugs with water for the toilet and... rolled down the barn aisle doors and prayed. I put shavings in the stalls but left the horses out because... that just seemed smartest. And we got super lucky. God protected us! We got lots of rain and some wind but really nothing more than that. We never lost power. Even in the morning when the rain slacked off and the wind picked up, we still had no issues. Thank you God! Unfortunately, others weren't so lucky. Tennesse and North Carolina got hit pretty hard. 

 

Normally Friday is a work day but since the storm warnings were so bad and I was scheduled to go to Tiger, GA and then the highlands, we cancelled. Which I'm grateful for because I did not sleep much at all the last two nights and I don't know how the roads were going to NC. But that meant that I got to study today. Thank goodness. I finished my quiz and actually passed! With a 90% even!! Thank you God! I still "cheated" and had to use my notes so... I'm still doubtful that I will pass the final exam next weekend, but... oh well. 

 

But after I spent the morning studying and finishing the quiz, my brain was fried! And it was 3 pm. So I decided to go ride a pony. I figured I could hop on Dan and walk the fencelines to make sure there was no damage and then check out the arena. Or go for a hack in the neighborhood. As I was getting tacked up Jean headed by on her horse, so... I opted to go check fencelines first. She would have been just enough ahead of me that it would have been annoying to both horses and Dan doesn't really do well with her anyways because he likes to lead. So we headed to the pasture and walked the fencelines. Luckily no damage! Although we did have to pull the electric line off the trees in a few places. But no worries because for some reason my charger isn't charging anymore. He was a bit frisky because the wind was blowing and threatened to bounce and bolt once but it was only half hearted. Good boy. 

 

Then we looked at the arena and it looked awesome! Only a few puddles. Nice. So we headed in and did some walk work. Then we trotted and the footing was holding up so... we worked! He felt very sloppy and neurologic even in the field and was lazy and just not paying attention. In the arena he still felt a little sloppy in the walk but once we started trotting he felt pretty darn good. We did our walk trot transitions... 15 each way. Then we did some cantering. I did a walk to canter each way and a trot to canter each way. It didn't feel terrible. Not the best canter but honestly, pretty decent. Then we played with some shallow canter serpentines and some trot half pass. Just once each go. And he was so good so... we headed back home. We went through the pasture again and headed home. He got a rinse because he got sweaty again with the haircoat. And then he rolled and got filthy again!

 

 

I'm so blessed

 Forgive me... I know I'll revert back to whining, being greedy, etc later. But for now, I woke up grateful and thankful. I'm grateful that God has answered my prayers... I still have Fleck to enjoy and love on. I still have Dan to enjoy and love on. He's happier and more comfortable after his neck surgery. He's still rideable. God has answered a lot of my prayers and today I chose to appreciate what I do have instead of lamenting on what I'm still missing out on. (We'll see how long this lasts though... hormones y'all... hormones are no joke!). 

 

After lunch I grabbed Danomite and tacked him up. We rode at home because it was already late enough in the day. I didn't really have a plan but we headed up to the arena and did some walk work. Then we did some lateral work. Then we did some trot walk trot transitions (15 each way) to help train his brain/nerves. Then we cantered and did some canter trot canter transitions. (Definitely NOT 15... like... 3). And then we played over the poles a little. We even did some walk and trot half passes (baby ones) and some trot lengthens. And he was trying!!! He was trying so hard and doing everything. And most of it quite decently. He stayed soft throughout most of it and softened when I asked him to. But... he was struggling a little bit. Whenever his right front was on the rail I could hear the dirt hitting the wood and felt like it was because he was dragging that foot a bit. He wasn't lame and he was happy to work. But there was a slight bit of drag/delay in that limb and the canter was a bit more labored. 

 

But you guys.... he's trying as hard as me! He wants to work and play. He wants to make me happy. How lucky am I?! His heart is so big! I had fun and then called it quits. It's hard to not push him too much because he gets all quick and bouncy and feels like he wants to go. And he keeps saying Yes! But... he was also fatiguing and it's hot still and he's hairy. And we did have fun. We had a good ride and did fun things, so... we took a leisurely walk home through the pasture. 

 

He got a nice long rinse and even let me spray his face. And then he had a nice roll. And then when I caught Lyric, I heard him IN the water trough... which he then flipped partially over. Doh! 

I love him so. I really hope that we can find something fun to do together that he enjoys and can remain comfortable doing. Something more than just trails because.... my heart will break if I push him to the back burner because the girls take up more time. He doesn't deserve that. And maybe trails will be enough. There's lots of fun places we can go... and places we haven't even been yet. So.. thank you God... thank you for this beautiful beast who is trying his best to get better. And thank you for answered prayers... and thank you for forgiving me (yet again) for being greedy and wanting more. 

 

Neighborhood Ride

 Today was super hot. Like.. ridiculously hot again. Ugh.. and Dan has puffed up his nice winter coat already. Poor guy. He is definitely going to need to be clipped sooner rather than later. 

 

I rode him this morning and opted to ride at home vs Ashland so I could have more time to do work and study. So we tacked up and I got on. I decided to go for a short hack to warm up instead of going straight to the arena. And honestly... I didn't know quite what I wanted to do. So we headed out. He was a bit up and forward but not nervous today. Yay! We hacked to the tennis courts and then... I decided I would do a little trot in the soccer field since we were there and then we could go up and down the little hill there. But then I realized that the field was in the shade a good bit and... we decided to just ride there! I started with zig zags up and down the hill. Then we did some trot transitions. He was tripping a good bit. I don't know if it was the terrain or his atrophied shoulder giving him trouble or a bit of both. And his stifle stuck once but he recovered. So we did some trot transitions and then some canter transitions. And then we played a tiny bit with some lengthenings and some serpentines. He felt pretty good. He was a bit fast and runny but still felt mostly loose and swingy! He wasn't tense and tight and running, so I figured... why not!? He was also maybe a hair above the bit at times, but overall he was pretty good. Tracking left was harder... he felt like he wanted to fall in onto my left leg instead of going out to the right/outside rein. But we got some good moments. We worked pretty hard for a good 15 minutes or so I guess and by then he was really sweaty. So we headed back home. I figured that was actually a pretty decent work out and considering how hot it was, there really wasn't a need to do more. 

 

So he got a nice long rinse and then he got to go enjoy the rest of his day. 

 

I did do the red light on his atrophy again today. It's looking pretty bad again now that his air has dissipated. But I'm not sure whether to keep doing it or not, especially since the last time he acted so painful with it. Sigh.. maybe the red light will help??

 

Eff it....

 

Maybe not the smartest thing I've done, but today... Dan and I just played. We did whatever... because by golly I'm so freakin' tired of rehabbing. And honestly... I'm kind of at the point where I just want to find out if we have a chance or not.  And if not... I'd like to know if he can at least go out and be silly in the fields and woods... Is he a *walk only* trail ride horse or could he be a *gallop through the woods and fields and pop over a few logs* trail horse. And I know that today doesn't mean anything... doesn't correlate. But my heart and soul just needed a fun day. And I think his did too. So that's what we did.

 

We hauled to Ashland and tacked up. We headed out and did some exploring. We met Caroline's ponies at the fence line. Dan offered a peace offering in form of a snack and the snarfed it down when they sort of seemed interested. Hee hee. They paid him back by galloping off. He was pretty good and got silly but not stupid. Then we headed to the woods and did some hills. We trotted. We dodged big spiderwebs. Then we hit the gallop track and trotted. And then... we cantered. And then... we galloped! Because oh how I needed a gallop. And then we galloped on the other lead. ;) He did both but seemed to be a bit more ... I don't even know what the word is... just different.... more collected but also more labored... going on the right lead. And at one point he swapped to the left up front but not behind and got stuck. I don't know if it's front end or.. back end?? So then we trotted a little more. Then we went to the lake and splashed. He did a good bit of pawing on the front right. Yay! Then some dog walkers and dogs showed up and he was intrigried. Then he thought about bolting but didn't. 

 

Oh, and he got to snack on his favorite leaf! He was making me laugh!

So then we hit the cross country field and I asked him to jump a few of the amoeba logs. And he did. Happily! Even took a few at the canter. He left long... and I'm not sure if it's because he knows he has to give himself more time to pick his front right up or if it's just he's always liked the long spots. Or maybe it's not even a long spot but because I'm so used to Lyric adding, it feels long. But he was having fun! So then I made him walk the amoeba XC course for me so I didn't have to do it on foot Saturday for Funny. And we popped over a few more. Then we trotted a few circles both directions in the water complex. And then we headed home. 

 

Oh, and this morning.... I was listening to an acupunctue lecture and decided to try it on him. I did seasonal balance for his scapula. I "attacked" the SI channel using seasonal balance, timed to when his surgery was (and thus the "injury" occurred). And while his needles were cooking, I also added GV-2 and LU-1 to help with his lumbosacral stuff and myofascial syndrome. And then I used the red light on his neck base and scapula. And he was releasing like crazy. Oh, and then a friend volunteered to do Reiki on him for me, so she apparently did that remotely while he was in the trailer on the way to Ashland. (not on purpose... that's just where we were when she did it). And... he did feel pretty good today. Maybe it's the shockwave of his stifles??? Maybe the steroids fully kicked in in his suspensories... maybe the reiki.. maybe the acupuncture.. maybe all the things... maybe it was just a good day. 

 

But... I'm glad for it. I'm grateful. It was a darn good day and we had a blast! I didn't dwell on the future... the what ifs... the maybes....We just enjoyed each other and the beautiful day!

 

 

Leg Day

 So.... I'm having all sorts of feelings about Dan lately.... mood swings, quite frankly. Sometimes I'm ready to take him out and chase cows and just let him be my shenanigan pony. And then other days, I'm ready to go to UGA or countryside and have them work him up nose to tail and tell me what's wrong and what needs to be fixed so that we can get back out there and do the T3D dammit! And other days.. it's a combo.... 

So on Sunday I shockwaved his stifles because... well, because I thought it might be helpful but also because I had to send my trodes back in to be replaced and they don't give you credit if you have 5000 or less shocks left, so I figured I might as well use up some more shocks while I had them. So I did. Then I also did his scapula for funsies too. 

So today I rode. I was running short on time and had taken Funny to Ashland so Dan had to get ridden at home. I opted to use the equicore on him. I don't know if that was the right choice or not. He's technically still rehabbing from his suspensories... but whatever. That's my mood right now. 

We tacked up and I put the bands on and we walked up Jean's driveway to the arena. We did some walk work and did a tiny bit of lateral work. Then we trotted a little bit and did 5 trot to walk to trot transitions. He felt pretty sound. I don't know...it's sort of hard to tell if there's a head bob but... it was better I think. So then it had been about 15 minutes and he felt a bit behind my leg, so I took the bands off. I definitely didn't want to overdo them. And he was a bit more forward although I still had to get after him once or twice. But it was better. We did some more trotting and even had some nice leg yields at the trot. I did a tiny bit of cantering. It still felt not quite easy and a bit labored... and maybe a bit stickier in the hind end. But... he did it. I had to keep pushing him a bit. He's also coughing a lot again. Argh. I'm not sure if I should treat him with doxy again or try acupuncture or what. I guess I should try acupuncture (Use my seasonal balance for Metal Time (Fall) and that means hexagram #18 conversion.. see I'm studying!). And then I can always add doxy. Or just... let him be. Depending on what happens. 

We had some decent work and he felt more symmetric on our baby trot lengthenings, so yay. Then we hacked back home and did a tiny little neighborhood walk about. He's getting fuzzy and it was humid so he was all crusty! And he had some major butt foam, so he definitely worked hard. But then I noticed after I moved him off the hose that he was standing very tight roped behind... like one hind foot directly in front of the other. That's odd for him! Very unusual. And he sat that way for a good minute or two before he corrected it. Hmmm... 

 

So... the good news is that Dr. Proctor mentioned a friend coming to play with cows and I invited myself and she told me I was welcome. So that might be fun. And after RRP, which is coming up soon, hopefully Jennifer will take me under her wing for some of the Newton County shows and we can try our hand at obstacles and trails and maybe even some western dressage. And... we've got our appt with Dr. Keelin in two weeks, so... I may just tell her to assess him and then... maybe let's just inject ALL THE THINGS! Like... literally... let's hit everything at once. Because he's probably due for his stifles by now... he may even need his neck done again.... his hocks and suspensories should be okay, but... I'm tired of chasing down the compensatory fires. And I'm more... more tired of not knowing if it's just compensatory fires or if I just need to let it go and give him a different job. So, I might go big one more time with "maintenance" and see what happens. If I can't get him going and maintaining for at least a few months... then... I may just have to accept it's not God's will and enjoy him as a trail horse. I don't mind injecting his stifles twice a year, his hocks twice a year, and his neck twice a year. I don't mind corrective shoeing.... I don't even mind shockwaving and bemering and all that. I just.... don't mind it IF he can go and do things. If I keep hitting this brick wall, then... I'm done. I'm tired. I'm worn out. It's not fun anymore. But I do think I owe it to us both to give it one last big hurrah... after all his surgeries and stall rests and such. So... yeah.