Naughty or Pain

A common theme I've seen with my 3 horses is that they really don't like conflict and try avoid it as much as possible. Conflict in the wild gets you eaten!

It does come in different degrees;

Allie my "momma" of the herd, avoids conflict at all costs.  She will do whatever you ask her, regardless of the cost to her comfort or desires. She will walk or turn away from any challenge from another horse with an indifferent "you are not worth my time".

Bella my "princess".  She will challenge just a little to make sure you or another herd member is serious.  Unlike Allie, it is worth her time to make sure that you mean what you say.  In the end, if you  mean it, she accepts it

Chance my "challenger".  He will make sure there is something in it for him and make you prove you are serious.

They all have their pros and cons.

Allie I really have to watch that she is not in pain or uncomfortable.  I also have to be diligent that she doesn't get pushed around.  Avoiding conflict at all costs can be a negative, all though the pros are a very calm, easy going, easy to be with horse.  She is like a flower child :)

Bella I have to push a little harder to see if its attitude or pain.  Unlike Allie where I know I have a serious problem if she doesn't want to do it, Bella just might be asking "are you serious?  because you know I'd much rather just sit here and look pretty".  She also can throw the nastiest looks at other horses, but I bet if one just threw the look back her way, she'd huff and move on.

Chance, I love him.  When I walk into the barn, he nickers and gives me this look that clearly says "state your business so I can determine if you are worth my time."  He is honest as honest can be.  There is no guessing, are you in pain?  Do you not like that?  Do you like this?   You get immediate, honest feedback from him.  With him, I have to be firm and serious,  but I know that the response he gives me is clear.  There is no guessing if he is in pain or if he's challenging me.

Recently, my princess, Bella, started tossing her head when asked to trot tracking right.  It progressed to raising her head, trotting fast, ear pinning, canter, trot, hop, canter.  At first, it was thought she was being piggy, bitchy.  "I don't want to trot, I am not going trot, DON'T MAKE ME TROT!"  So we responded with, oh yes you will trot, move forward!  When it got worse and she displayed the same behavior with my trainer, which she knows there is no escape, you will do what she says, we started to look for pain.  Saddle was adjusted twice, feet done, massage, chiro, still same behavior.  I brought in a thermal imaging specialist.  Unexpected heat in the heels on all four feet, with very high heat in front and bulbs of feet.  More on the right than left, this makes sense since tracking right resulted in more fussiness than left.

What we didn't know yet was what was causing the higher heat.  It could have been an abscess,  navicular, wrong angles, sole thinness, the list goes on and on.

Next step, x-rays

And viola, her P3  angle is too flat.  Instead of being flat to border line angled down, that last bone in her leg (P3 or coffin bone) should angle slightly down,  3-8 degrees.  The effect of her current status is equivalent to us humans walking around on our heels, ALL THE TIME, OW!

From an article on Low Palmar or Plantar angles ....

The horse compensates for this chronic discomfort by adjusting overall body posture to take pressure off the extended joints of the limbs.  The horse may appear to be overly straight in the hind legs despite good conformation, and may have stifle or hock problems.  Some horses become tightly braced through their shoulders, back or loins, showing an uneven spinal profile over the lumbar and croup region with virtually no pelvic flexion in any direction.   Other horses adopt a camped-out stance, or may stand in a saw-horse posture even when the feet themselves are not uncomfortable or laminitic.   A short step length and toe-first landing with the front feet can be a sign of a low palmar angle in one or both forefeet.   In the hind feet low plantar angle may manifest as a short step length with the toes being stabbed into the ground, especially noticeable at trot.

The stay apparatus of both the front and hind limbs, which enables a horse to rest or sleep whilst standing with no muscular effort, depends on an even balance between the extensor and flexor systems of each limb.   That even balance is disrupted when any or all of the four coffin bones are not sited properly within the hoof; the horse then needs to put some energy into the muscular effort required to maintain his balance and posture.   Consequently, the horse may appear to tire easily, showing low energy or stamina despite adequate nutrition and conditioning.

The moral of this story is that Bella's behavior could have been interpreted as naughty, avoiding work, disrespect.  If ignored, it could have easily escalated into dangerous behavior; rearing, bucking, shooting across the arena and eventually flipping over with rider on.  OR her shutting down totally and continuing to work all though in extreme pain and eventually the breakdown of her limbs. Thankfully, her issue is an easy fix and because we caught it early, permanent damage should be minimal if any.

Before resorting to tie downs, martingales, harsher bits, punishment, I beg you to rule out any possibility of pain both physical and mental.  Remember, horses really don't like to argue with you.  They prefer a quiet, harmonious energy.  When they resort to behavior that does not support that, there is something going on.  Be especially aware of this if you have an "Allie", be sure to ask your question clearly and firm if you have a "Bella", listen to your horse if you have a "Chance".  Horses don't lie, it's one of the many qualities I love about them.

Happy Riding!

Emergency!

I said I would post about my experience with taking Allie to Pilchuck.  Really, the most important things to take away from that experience are:

1) be prepared to transport your horse to another facility for care.  This means having your own trailer, or access to one immediately.  I could not imagine the additional stress of having to locate and secure a trailer on top of what I was already dealing with.  Time is of the essence in these situations, be prepared.

2) be prepared to make some tough decisions.  The vet that was on call has been in practice for many years and has seen some dire situations.  She told me some tough things that brought me to tears immediately.  She warned me about the cost of surgery if there was an obstruction and also let me know if I didn't want to spend that, I should think about putting her down.  It brought me to my knees.  Surgery can range between $5k to $20k or more.

3) be prepared to spend a lot of time in a barn.  When Allie was released from Pilchuck, I then had to watch her carefully.  I still count her poop piles in the morning and monitor her water intake.  I know exactly what "healthy" manure looks like and take a look at it everyday.

4) be prepared for a LARGE vet bill.  Not only did I have the vet bill from the emergency visit, I then had the hospital bill and medication.  I will be honest, vet expenses are one of the things that keeps me from taking in every lonely, sad horse.  I don't ever want to be in a position where I cannot afford the care my horse needs.

5) be prepared for a vague diagnosis on what caused the issue.  Over the last few years of the sudden sickness, colic, transient lameness, I've realized that there is a lot that is unknown in the equine medical field and a solid "this is what caused this, stop doing this" answers are really hard to come by.  Allie's hospital visit they think was a result of a bacterial infection that resulted in colitis. She was tested for the 3 major bacterias, all resulted in negative.  The vet said there are millions of different bacteria, and that we will never know what tipped her over into the colitis.  This was hard to hear as I never wanted to repeat this experience.  When she went slightly lame in her front right, we did xrays, lameness tests, never anything conclusive.  After we returned from the hospital, she then started to colic around the same time everyday.  We ended up doing an endoscopy looking for ulcers, again nothing conclusive just 1 tiny spot that could of been the start of an ulcer.  My point is, rarely do  you get the pin point diagnosis you are looking for in order to stop what is happening, for people like me who want to know exactly what it is so they can take action this is frustrating.

In the end Allie was ok, I am so thankful.  Like I mentioned, I still monitor her poop and water intake.  I am hypersensitive to when she itches her sides and her mood.  I am very cautious about any changes to her feed or routine.

Learnings: Have the income necessary to handle large vet bills, if you never have one consider yourself very lucky. Have the means to transport your horse within 30 minutes or less. This does not include renting a trailer and asking someone to borrow their truck.  Have Banamine or Bute handy, but do not administer without your vets approval.  Dosage and when to give it are best left to a professional, they will let you know over the phone on their way in if you should give it to your horse.  People have killed their horses thinking they were doing them good.

Be prepared and hopefully nothing like this will ever happen to you!

Happy Riding!

Next Phase

Wow time flies, I can't believe it's been a year since I've updated this.  A lot has happened, I got to the point where I wanted Allie home with me, so we started looking for a place where that could happen.  Viola! I have moved to Gig Harbor, have a 2 stall barn, 4 acres of pasture and am loving it.   I am exhausted, go to bed around 8 every night but looking out my back window and seeing her, hearing her nicker at me when I walk in, security in when and what she is being fed is definitely worth the work and the lack of night life.  I do miss the covered arena......someday I'll have one. I found this plaque and hung it in my barn, it really summed up the last couple of years for me.

Keep believing in your dreams!

Happy Riding!

Listen To Your Horse - Know Some Basic Vitals

When I was thinking of getting my own horse, I had this misconception that horses were hardy creatures. Provide the right food, supplements and exercise and horses will be healthy and happy, nothing to worry about. I learned the hard way that horses are actually very, very fragile creatures. Aside from a horses tiny legs, their next weakest feature is their digestive tract. Horses have a very inefficient and poorly designed digestive system.

This blog is to encourage you to know what some basic vital signs are for horses, how to take them and encourage you to listen to your "horsetuition". No one knows your fuzzy baby better than you, when something feels wrong, it most likely is. Also, proper medical care for these fragile, amazing creatures is not cheap. You can get a horse for next to nothing, even free. But you must be prepared and able to shell out some serious money in the event your baby gets sick or have a very, very tough heart which I don't think many do that include horses as part of their family.

Allie had become "pokey", one of the reasons I chose her was because she was so responsive to leg cues. My trainers response was "shes being lazy". Not having the faith in my "horsetuition" I brought the crop out and tapped her on the butt (please know I don't whip, I actually don't even whop, in fact, my trainer laughs because I am one of those that taps, but that is all she needs) When she was struggling to get up to a fast trot, and struggling to transition into a canter, I knew something was not right. I ended the session immediately and brought her in. Tacked down and put her in her stall. Her head was low and she just seemed "tired." I was worried, but she was eating, drinking water, she just seemed down.

I checked on her the next day and she just hung her head. No nicker, she barely raised her head when I walked up to her stall. I was scared. I berated myself for not listening to the voice in my head yesterday and called the vet. Of course, it was one of those days where there are a million emergencies and so Allie and I waited while I stroked her head and tried to get her to eat. She refused, I remembered in the recesses of my mind something about "keep a horse moving if they have colic" I wasn't sure if she was colic, but keeping her moving and me moving kept my eyes off my watch so we walked. I was a little encouraged by her dives for grass now and then, but could see that she just wasn't herself.

As I willed the vet to transport herself to us, I kept walking and loving her. Letting her eat grass when she wanted to, walking up to her water bucket trying to convince her she wanted to drink the water. I finally got a text the vet was 20 minutes away. I put her in her stall to rest and waited at the end of the drive to be sure they didn't miss the driveway. This is where I share what I wish someone would have told me earlier:


1) The vet is going to ask you if the horse is running a temperature. Have a thermometer, know how to use it. It isn't as simple as it seems, its not hard, but trying to take the temp when you are stressed out makes it even harder. Practice it when your horse is fine.

2) They are going to ask how their pulse is

3) They are going to ask if they are breathing normally.

4) Gum color, practice looking at your horses gums while they aren't feeling sick so when you try to look when they aren't feeling well, it isn't something that stresses them out

5) Time it takes for capillaries in the gums to return to pink after being pressed with a finger

6) BUY A STETHOSCOPE - they really aren't expensive, it will save you some grey hairs, especially if your horse has had a colic episode. I cant tell you how many days I spent with my ear to my horses sides after she was sick.

Here is a link with all of the above normal range vitals. Print it out, keep it in a notebook in your tack box. Write down what is "normal" for your horse.

Horse Vitals


Allie ended up going to Pilchuck, this is the equivalent to a human trauma center. Good news, she is fine (knock on wood). I'll go into more details around what she was diagnosed with and my learnings from that in another blog.

Happy Riding! 

When I was very little, I remember galloping and trotting around the house neighing at the top of my lungs. I rode my spring rocking horse until all of the springs were stretched out and made everyone stop at every stall in the 4-H horse barn at the fair.  I would look at each horse and imagine myself riding freely across the field, just me and my pony.  I would draw my dream horses, wild and crazy arabians with flowing manes and tails, unicorns, Pegasus (yes I dreamed big!) I read Black Beauty and sobbed, The Black Stallion and dreamed of a horse finding me, Misty of Chincoteague, I watched The Black Stallion the movie and was so jealous of that boy who played Alec.

Around the age of 7, I was lucky enough to go to summer camp at Aqua Barn.  A whole week of grooming, riding and learning all about horses.  There was also the stupid stuff like swimming, which I couldn't wait to get over so we could do our second ride.  The week went by so fast!  I was lucky enough to go to horse camp 4 years.  My Mom saved her daycare money to send me as we both shared a love of horses.

 Tina was my ever so patient chestnut QH




then Sunny, the palomino that I got to "barrel race" on (it felt so fast, but I am sure he was trotting around those barrels if not walking fast)








Gypsy, the little Dun pony that should of had that year off so she could raise her foal without the annoying camp kid on her back. (I got Tina two years in a row).   I loved every second of it, I was not a child that loved to get up in the morning, but for that 1 week in the summer, I could hardly sleep at night and could not wait to get to camp.






Every time we went to Ocean Shores, I'd beg to do a beach ride.  The time went by so fast, I hated when they made us turn around because I knew the end was coming fast.  I just wanted to hang out with them, pet them, love them.  Horse smell to me is a calming balm, I never get people that think horses stink.

Horse camp was expensive and I was entering that teenage phase where boys and friends take over your life, so horses moved to the back of my mind.  I never stopped admiring them or spending hours in the horse barn at a fair, but the opportunities to ride or be near a horse were very limited.  Then graduating, working, getting married, raising a bouncing baby boy, advancing my career all took priority in my life, pushing my opportunities to get my horse smell fix to the Puyallup Fair once a year and the occasional horse back ride while I am on vacation.

Move forward 18 years and I now have some time on my hands.  A Groupon comes out for horse back riding lessons.  I carefully read the Groupon to make sure it is not strictly for children under the age of 10! I look at some feedback and see that there were other adults that took advantage of the offer so I bravely buy one and show up for my first lesson, where I am surrounded by 5 little girls around the age of 7.  LOL  I think the mom's kept wondering where my kid was.  The instructor was nice and didn't treat me like I was 7 (which I appreciated).  She let me help bring the horses out which gave me the extra few minutes I craved to just be with these amazing creatures before the tack up, lesson, tack down routine. I couldn't believe how sore I was and secretly hated those little whipper snappers who had no issues jumping up and off those horses and could run to the car after their lesson.  Regardless of the pain, I was hooked (again). I looked for other Groupons, checked out lesson facilities, bought "Horses for Dummies".  There was so much information out there now!  I Googled everything about riding, increased my lessons to 2x a week   I found an instructor that was more than willing to let me do everything.  In hind sight, I realize that she was basically getting a free barn worker, lol, but I loved it.

She gave me the opportunity to go to a schooling show where I got a ribbon (the ribbon was really a result of the horse being so well trained, but it was still fun).  I loved lessons, but you have a limited amount of time to just "be with the horse" which is my favorite part. I would try to show up at lessons early to get more of this time, but there would be someone before or after me and never felt like I got to just "breathe" with the horse.

I schemed about how I could just hang around a horse, and learned there was this option to lease a horse!  I had no idea this arrangement even existed and immediately started researching it.  It was the answer to my dilemma.  For a set amount every month, I could ride, groom, hang out, love on a horse!  Perfect!  Now, where to find someone willing to let me love their horse.  My husband finds everything on Craigslist, according to him, "if you haven't checkout Craigslist first, you are missing out".  I roll my eyes and sigh and click on Craigslist where I learn there is a Farm & Garden section and lo and behold, lots of people that are willing to let you spend time with their horses for a monthly payment.

I ask my riding instructors (yes I had two at this time LOL) if they thought I was ready to lease a horse. Both of them looked at me like "of course, anyone could lease a horse" and encouraged me to check it out.  In enters Roo.  Roo was a 9 year old QH, 14.2 hands and slow, slow, slow.  Roo loved poking along the trail, in fact he loved poking at everything.  Roo and his owner were the perfect first time lease situation, I will always be thankful for both of them.

After leasing Roo for almost a year, I wanted my own.  I loved Roo, but was looking for a horse that would be happier in the arena and would not resist moving faster than a walk for at least half the time we rode.  It was so hard to let him go, I get very attached to any animal but I knew that Roo would not be happy going around and around in the arena and some where out there, was a little girl that would LOVE to trail ride which he would be perfect for.  Happy ending, a girl did buy him and she trial rides with him.

I started the search for my very own horse. I had some specific requirements, older, calm, trained, forgiving. I had been bucked off by a horse a few months earlier which made me a little guarded.  Again, I was so jealous of those little whipper snappers who fly off horses all the time and get right back up.  I remember ruling out Thoroughbreds because of the general assumption they are hot, so when I saw an Appendix (QH,Thoroughbred mix) I was hesitant.  I checked out a QH who was dripping wet with sweat when we got there.  That meant the owner had lunged her into a sweat, trying to tire her out before the test ride (this is not a good sign), but gave it a try.  The horse bucked every time someone asked her to canter, another bad sign.  Most likely she was in pain somewhere - horses are very sensitive creatures that really, really want to please.  When they act out like that it is most likely a result of pain somewhere, in general, horses do not WANT to be bad.  Their vocalization is limited  (prey animals are meant to be quiet in order to not get eaten), they cant whine or fuss like dogs when they are in pain.  They internalize pain until it is unbearable which then results in the buck or rear.  I am not saying there are no bad horses, some do learn to get out of working by acting badly, but please look for pain before immediately jumping to that conclusion.  Just my lil shout out for horses :)
Anyway, needless to say, I passed on that horse.  Next was the Appendix.

She was at the guys house.  Her ad had a picture of her in her prime, she had basically been a pasture pet for the last couple of years and no longer in her prime LOL
She still had the sweetest face, was calm, friendly, respectful.  She hadn't been run into a sweat, in fact she was out in the pasture with her friend, 25 year old Jake.
She won my heart, of course I hadn't even ridden her yet, but I loved her.  I did ride her around their pasture, she was responsive, knew her gaits. She was mine.

.

Allie has taught me a lot:
1) Horses are forgiving and patient, if they have not given you the answer or response you wanted, you did not ask correctly
2) You "hear" a lot more when you are silent
3) These furry babies are expensive - be prepared to spend $
4) Be prepared to spend hours in a barn just watching them to make sure they poop and pee. It is heart wrenching when they are not feeling well
5) There is no connection like hearing your horse nicker at you when you walk up to their stall
6) Being in the present, there is only the present for a horse and it is a valuable lesson to apply to life

After many hours of riding and many, many more to come I still stop and look at her and can't believe I really, truly own a horse of my very own. This was such a dream for me when I was little, and such an out of my reach concept for me in my 20/30's that it still takes my breath away when I walk into the barn and see her.

This was the long introduction, next few blogs will be shorter. I am thinking of creating my next few blogs on things I learned that I wish someone would have told me.  What else are people interested in?

Happy Riding!