Al continues to be so much happier outdoors. Today he started out very distracted and I was about to be VERY disappointed that he was reverting back to naughty Al. Fortunately, he was just distracted by the turnout shifts changing and once that was done, he went right to work. We even popped over some tiny jumps out there!
When doc came, we had to do our evaluations indoors unfortunately because it was back to being very cold and the wind was just silly. The good thing about that was doc finally got to see Al in full shut down mode which he's never seen before. Rather than doing a lameness evaluation we had more of a therapy session. And the end result is getting a little more aggressive with the ulcer treatment. We're taking him off the senior feed he's been getting (and not really eating) and switching him to just a ration balancer and hay pellets. We're doing a slow changeover so that will be fully changed sometime next week. We're also doing an omeprazole/fenbendazole paste in the mornings before being fed. And lastly, I'm to give him 6oz of U-shield before riding him to coat his tummy. The U-shield just arrived today so we haven't started that yet. I also waited a few days to start the omep/fenben paste because we make supplement packs up for the horses here and I didn't want to throw away the ones I had made that omeprazole powder already in them with other things he's on. So the only change that's really happened so far is the feed, and he's already eating better. Not sure if that's just because it's different, or if it's helping him. But either way, I'm glad he's eating. Fingers crossed all of these changes will get him on the right track. I really would love to show him some this summer! But first we need to achieve a forward canter all the way around the ring.
Eros' evaluation was pretty uneventful, which is the best kind of vet check. He's still a touch uneven on that weird leg of his, but we've kind of just accepted that as him at this point. It doesn't change at all with flexions and while we didn't do any blocking this time, in the past it doesn't really change much with a block. I think it's more of a mechanical problem than a painful problem. His back is still somewhat sore, but much improved over the last visit. Doc was really happy overall with what he saw soundness wise. But I told him I still can't get a right bend out of him, and I think that's contributing to some his other issues. So we decided to inject his shoulders again. I haven't had that done for a few years, but the last time we did it he felt amazing afterwards. And I do feel like that's where he can't bend. Like I can get him to turn his head, and I can get his belly to bend some, but nothing in the shoulder/lower neck area. So he got his shoulders injected and doc also pumped the shoulders with air which we haven't done in a long while. He also had his back shockwaved which proved to be even more tight than he let on. He was legit moaning for it despite being pretty heavily sedated. We tried to get video of it, but the phone only picked up the shockwave noises.
We wanted to see how the new saddle panels were doing for him, so doc used the thermal camera he has to show where the hotter points were both on the saddle immediately after riding and on Eros' back. The fit is actually pretty good and even throughout heat wise, except for the area where I'm perching forward because the balance is still pretty wrong for me. So that's useful information for when I get the fitter back out. But the really interesting thing we learned when the thermal camera was out was on his legs. Doc pointed it at his front legs, and the right leg looked pretty normal for right after work. Mostly blue at the front of the cannon bone, and around the back you could see where the vessels were warm from work. But the left leg, his weird one, was just all blue. Like no red or yellow at all. Very strange. Doc had never seen anything like it before and basically said I have no idea what this means. So we're tabling that for now.... More research needed. Interesting though. And kind of made me wonder if the unevenness could be from a lack of feeling in that leg maybe? I mean I know he can feel things. He reacts to flies on it and what not. But I wonder if it feels kind of asleep to him maybe? There's obviously enough circulation since his foot grows just fine. I dunno. It's a mystery for now. But certainly interesting!
Shiny's evaluation went just fine too. She was a touch positive on the stifle flexions, but the hocks still looked good and the front end flexed fine too. We decided to go ahead and do the stifles which she hasn't had done before. She had plenty of fluid in them still which is great, but it was pretty yellow which suggests inflammation, so it was the right call to do them. She also had her neck shockwaved and doc pumped her shoulders too just to see if made any difference. She's not been feeling unsound, but she's reluctant to come round and just wants to bounce off the contact. I know that the schokwave usually helps this so it will be interesting to see if pumping the shoulders helps even more.
Al stayed in work all weekend since he didn't have any real vet work done on him, but the other two had the weekend and Monday off and started back to work Tuesday. I've been riding everyone outside this week, and that put a little wrench in a true evaluation of how they're feeling. The footing in the outdoor ring is sand and it's just a little bit deeper than I really like, but not what I'd call bad footing. Between that and the fact that it isn't level, and it's a real tough workout when the horses first start working out there. I can feel all of them working harder on the little up hills and even just in the deeper footing in general. Al is feeling more used to it since he's been out there more than the others so far. I will say though, that even though I can tell the horses are working harder out there, I can still feel that the vet work has made a difference for both of them. They're both really reaching through their shoulders in a way I haven't seen in awhile. Eros is finally realizing he can, in fact, bend right. Though it does take some time each ride to convince him. Shiny's trot, while still slower than I want it to be, is much more powerful. Like it's almost hard to sit her trot now. So that's a good sign. She still isn't thrilled with coming round, but when she does there's much less bouncing off the contact. So I think they're both on the right track. I probably won't jump either of them this week. I'll give them some more time to acclimate to the different footing before we start that. But I do want to jump Al some again soon. We only did like five jumps today and they were MAYBE 18" high, so he certainly hasn't done much. And he seemed genuinely happy when I pointed him at the fences, so I think he'd like to have some fun. We'll see what the weather does.
The rest of my weekend was full of some fun with friends at a Chili Cookoff and an adorable theater experience with my family (my younger niece was in 101 Dalmations). Tonight I drove up to the University of Connecticut to give a braiding demo and lesson to their riding club. It was fun! It's easy to forget how hard braiding can be when you're new at it. They all did a great job though and also had good questions for me. It's a lot of fun, and I keep thinking I should offer braiding lessons locally. I'm just not sure what kind of insurance I would need for that. Something to look into though maybe.
That's it from here this week. This weekend is quieter so hopefully I'll do some fun things with the horses.
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