Some answers

February 19, 2012 1 Comment

Up your nose with a rubber hose.

It’s been a while since I’ve written, because until late last week, there wasn’t much to say.   Derby was finally re-scoped on Thursday, and we now have a better understanding of what is going on in his larynx.   Dr. Chris Downs from Merritt Equine, the surgeon with whom my vet Dr. Nicky Wessel has been consulting, concluded that it’s likely that Derby has a partially entrapped epiglottis, and that the situation may be alleviated with a relatively minor surgery to free the entrapment.

Once again, while the scope was in, Derby displaced his soft palate. Below you can see what his airway looks like, before he displaced.  Even a layperson can see the asymmetry of the structure of the larynx, which contributes to the problem.   In addition, one of his flaps (arytenoid cartilages) is paralyzed, and the tie-back surgery he had as a two-year old has failed.

Derby's airway, before displacement. Click on the image for a larger view.

Here’s a picture of the airway after he displaced.

Derby's airway, when he displaced his soft palate. Click on the image for a larger view.

When a horse displaces its soft palate, the airway is significantly constricted, which you can see in the photos above. The epiglottis disappears under the soft palate, which is the strangest thing.  The entire confirmation of the airway appears to change (and, in effect, does change) in a split second.

The drugs Derby has been on (SMZ, dex, Previcoxx) have had a significant effect in reducing the inflammation of the airway structures since the first scoping.  However,  Derby has developed a fairly large ulcer on the edge of his epiglottis (clearly visible in the second photo, above) so we’re continuing with the SMZ and other meds.  Dr. Downs did his surgical internship at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee in Kentucky – one of the top clinics in the world and one that does a lot of work on Thoroughbreds.  He’s going to send Derby’s pictures to some colleages there for a consult, but right now, it looks like a surgery to help free the epiglottis will be the next step.

Separately, I mentioned in an earlier post that I was wondering if Derby’s meds were having an effect on his rideability recently.   However, after talking to my vet and some others, it looks like the cause of the hot and spooky behavior was weather-related.  We’ve had really strange weather lately – including a nose dive into real frigid temperatures, followed by more abnormal warmth.   My vet tells me that they’ve been inundated with calls complaining of horses acting crazy, and others at my barn are being uncharacteristically loony.

During this time, I stood down.  If you recall, I’ve come off Derby twice in the last couple months.  Neither fall was a bad one and I was able to get back on.  However, when on the heels of those falls Derby started acting crazy, my confidence was rattled.  After a couple rides in which I rode numerous stupid spooks, I decided to take a little time off, since those falls were pretty close to the surface.  Simply put, I couldn’t push through it.   I can ride spooks, and Derby’s aren’t bad.  However, the change in overall behavior (big blow up spooks on the ground, and under saddle) combined with still-fresh bruising from my last trip into the dirt were just too intimidating for this ammy.

While I doubt that we’re out of the woods with weather induced behavior, I did ride on Friday, and Derbs didn’t put a foot wrong.  Unfortunately, I’m now laid up with a bout of the flu, and won’t be riding until I feel better.   But I’m happy that the problem isn’t the meds – if Derby needs to stay on some of those meds for a longer term, once the weather warms up, I should have my old sweat pea back. :)

 

Filed under off track

Fits and starts.

February 8, 2012 4 Comments

We had a middling lesson on Monday, but last night I ended up staying out of the saddle because Derby was clearly back sore, and was absolutely evil in the cross ties, snapping and pinning his ears flat against his head.   This isn’t normal behavior for him, so I put down the brushes and gave him the a once over.  His back was reactive.  He was also sensitive to very gentle touching on his sides and his tummy.  This is also new – he enjoys being groomed and generally doesn’t object to having his tummy curried, except when I need to employ a bit more vigor when removing clods of dried mud  – but that wasn’t the problem yesterday.

Unfortunately, the appointment to re-scope him was cancelled and we’re still trying to synch everyone’s schedules.  In the meantime, I’m going to call the vet today – at this point, given what I saw last night, I wonder if he’s not getting some ulcers.  His behavior has been strange, and last night was markedly worse, and he has been on a variety of meds lately (Previcoxx, SMX and Dex.)   Time (and the vet) will tell, I’m sure.

 

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Flat tire

February 3, 2012 2 Comments

Well, so much doing “a little bit more”  in my lesson last night.  Derbs was covered in mud – and missing a shoe.   He’s getting his flat tire fixed today, and I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow.

In the meantime, I’d like to give a frequent commenter, Annette, a shout out – she’s taking her Thoroughbred to a show this weekend.   I can’t wait to hear how they fare – I will admit to being completely in love with her tall, dark, handsome boy Tuscon – can you blame me?  He is FANCY!

(I am shamelessly ripping off a photo from her Flickr account to show you how lovely they are.)

Good luck, Annette! :)

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A little bit more, each day

February 2, 2012 1 Comment

Things have been a little strange lately, because 1) there are a whole new set of variables in the mix and 2) I have an overactive (and overly protective) subconscious.
I’m investigating some of Derby’s breathing issues, and had him scoped about three weeks ago.  As my vet put it, there was “a whole lot of pathology in there.”  Derbs, who coughs a lot, and leaks water (and worryingly, sometimes food) out one nostril, has a deformed epiglottis, some paralysis of his is flaps (the arytenoid cartilage) and displaces his soft palate.  The good news is that his trachea scoped clean – my biggest worry was the possibility of his aspirating food and water down his windpipe, which would be very bad indeed.

He’ s being rescoped on Tuesday, with a specialist in attendance.  And since the first scoping, he’s been on a ton of drugs.  SMZ, Previcoxx, and Dex.    He’s clearly feeling good – Previcoxx is also indicated for arthritis and his gaits look fantastic.  And on some nights, he doesn’t cough, at all.

However,  a few recent events – including a meltdown spook at an open tack trunk that we’ve passed literally hundreds of times as we were walking back into the aisle, toward his stall (and the cookie jar) after a ride had me wondering about whether or not the drugs were having some effect on his behavior, or causing ulcers, the symptoms of which can manifest themselves in all sorts of ways.
Long story short, I became very worried, especially after riding a couple crazy spooks at the same tack trunk, which apparently is hiding a yawning void which sucks horses straight into the Nether World.  And by “worried” what I really mean is that legitimate concerns give way to overblown, irrational fear.

My concerns stem from my experience with Jag, when I unknowingly pushed a horse that wasn’t feeling good too far, and spent six weeks in a cast contemplating my mistake.  So “listening to the horse” has become one of my rules.   I simply don’t want to put myself at risk riding a horse that is NQR, or worse.    Commence the dithering.

I’ve spent some time talking through things with Christy, who reminded me that Derby has taken significant exception to weird things in his environment when other people have ridden him for me when I was out of town   A folding chair, a chain, and a partially open door have given him pause and reason to spook.  This was actually helpful, because in talking with her, I was able to conclude that his behaviors are in fact normal for him, not drug induced.   That soothed my mind.

I’ve had a couple trepedatious rides, and finally, a better one last night.  I have another lesson today.  I’m hoping that within a few more days, I’ll be completely over myself, and able to get back to some real work!  The clock is ticking toward our first outing this year, and we are so. not. ready.   As Christy says, we’re doing a little bit more than we did yesterday, and the day before. If we keep doing a bit more, we’ll back on track.

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80% of Americans Strongly Oppose Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption

February 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

A break from our regular programming folks, to highlight pending legislation that I hope many of you will support, namely the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 2966 and S. 1176 ).

The ASPCA released results of a survey in which Americans strongly opposed horse slaughter. From the press release: The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced in a newly released poll conducted by Lake Research Partners that 80 percent of American voters are opposed to the slaughter of U.S. horses for human consumption. The nationwide survey reveals that Americans oppose horse slaughter overwhelmingly regardless of their gender, political affiliation, whether they live in an urban or rural area, or their geographic location. Further, it confirms that a vast majority of horse owners are also against the slaughtering of our nation’s equines.

Read the full release here: ASPCA Research Confirms Americans Strongly Oppose Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption

If slaughter could be done humanely, and if the slaughter pipeline was regulated so injured horses weren’t sent to auctions, stuffed onto double decker trucks designed for cattle and shipped for days without food and water, then frankly I’d be all for it.   I’m not opposed to the idea of slaughtering horses.  I am opposed to the cruelty of the current US system, and frankly, the economics of this tiny industry are not likely to be swayed by public opinion as has been the case for the processors of cattle, pigs and chickens, all of which have seen improvement in the treatment of animals.

I hope you ‘ll take a second to call or write your Congressmen and women today, and ask them to support the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

 

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Get up laughing

January 24, 2012 6 Comments

Tonight’s ride took an unexpected departure – in more ways than one.

As we warmed up, I hopped up into two point and let Derby roll.  He was clearly feeling good, going around at a spanking trot.  For fun,  I pointed him at a pole laying on the ground.

He jumped it.  Seriously jumped it, as gathered himself and jumped it.

It has been three decades since I jumped.

He cantered off but came right back to me, as I exclaimed “Oh, my god, we jumped!”  Liz was riding and concurred, adding that it was a proper jump, not a crowhop over the pole.

Christy walked back through the arena and I exclaimed (again) “We jumped! Christy, we jumped!”

“Let me see!” was her response.  I demurred, then said, what the heck.  We picked up the trot, I hopped back into two point, and aimed at the pole.   As we approached, I (very unnecessarily) gave Derbs a little click.

Derby proceeded to LAUNCH himself over the pole. I felt his back round and then found myself popped out of the tack.  Okay, holy crap, that’s what bascule feels like.  Upon landing, Derby was a bit exuberant and got away from me.  I wasn’t balanced, nor was he, and we didn’t make it around the turn. Or, more precisely, he made it, but I didn’t.  I slithered off after riding a couple strides up on his neck. Happily, I was able to hop up laughing, and go fetch my horse.

To his credit, Derbs is not a fan of losing his rider.  He stood, looking worried and doing that stressy, heavy, rapid breathing that horses do when they are worried.  He balked at the mounting block, and was still visibly upset. I intended to get back on, but he looked like he might lose his marbles.  We walked around for a while, until he regained his composure.  By that time, however, my hind end was starting to tighten up.  Yep.  I landed on my butt again. Given the alternatives, that’s the spot I would have chosen.

After the fact, Christy and Liz told me they guesstimated the height of Derby’s jump approached 3 feet.  Christy confirmed that he was really round.  So, he’s a fancy jumper.  That’s great.  I might experiment with jumping again – when the weather is a lot warmer and maybe the horse will be more inclined to use an appropriate amount of effort to get over obstacles.  And I’ll be a lot stronger in my two-point when that time comes, too.

For now, I’m just glad I got up laughing.

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Clarifying lateral work basics

January 23, 2012 1 Comment

Beginning our work on a 20 m "square"

Tonight I wanted to work some more on improving my ability to activate Derby’s hind legs, and really get him to step under himself.  Christy devised a great exercise that helped me tremendously.   We started at the walk, on a 20 m “square.”  Instead of a circle, Christy had me ride straight lines, and then ride each turn like a deep corner.   This ensured I bent the horse, and straightened the horse, and bent again.    Then she had me add a couple steps of leg yield on my straight sides.  I was amazed that we were able to do this easily, and without a much insistence on my part. We repeated the pattern at the trot, and as we rode through it,  I could feel the contact and the gait improving.  It was a neat exercise that really helped me develop more feel about what a decent leg yield requires, and what it feels like.

Switching directions, however, things got a little sloppy in the corners.  Christy remedied this by having me fix my eyes on a spot on the wall, and ride toward it.  Then going into the corner, he had me turn my head, find a new spot, and ride to that.  This little trick cleaned up my corners in a hurry.  I started riding them deeper and getting more well organized.  Best of all, I felt a real improvement in my connection and the horse’s back end.  You can see from the picture below that he’s really using himself.    It was a great lesson and this exercise is one I”m going to use a lot!

Goal achieved. Derby is using himself well behind.

PS.  I put my small spurs back on tonight.  My lower leg is staying really quiet! Yay!!!

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Retired Racehorse Training Project

January 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Newly retired racehorses were introduced to their new trainers at the Horse Expo last week.

I’ve enjoyed watching Christy bring her young  OTTB Remy along over the last year, and I think you’ll agree with me that the results have been dramatic.  So I was glad to see OTTBs taking center stage with the Retired Racehorse Training Challeng, which kicked off Friday at the Horse Expo in Timonium MD.

Hosted by the Retired Racehorse Training Project, a 501(c)3 that has as its primary mission the promotion of ex-racehorses as pleasure and sport horses, the Challenge will track the progress of three horses and their trainers.   For the next five weeks, the horses will undergo retraining with their new trainers.  The trainers will show off their charges at the Pennsylvania Horse Expo in February, where a winner will be selected.

Follow along with the Challenge here: Retired Racehorse Training Challenge

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Everything is a little better

January 21, 2012 3 Comments

Using leg yield to get better connection at the trot

Today’s ride was really solid, on a number of different levels.  I did a make up lesson with Christy, after temperatures near zero put a stop to lessons on Thursday, and we picked up where we left off – building my strength in my new position and starting to apply the aids.

Derby felt great today, but it took some coaching from Christy to get me to ride him more back to front, with a better connection.  I started the day by going in a nose-poking-out stretchy frame that looked like a baby green hunter.   To establish a better connection, I need to first and foremost get Derby’s back end activated and engaged.   Getting him through and working from behind is a real weakness of mine, and it’s something I must fix.

The good news is that my lower leg was steady throughout the ride.  I feel like I can crack coconuts with my new-found inner thigh strength! Okay,I exaggerate, but in just a week I’ve gained a lot of strength in this area, which is a big help.

So back to the issue du jour, working from behind.  Christy had us do an exercise at the trot which simply entailed talking the quarterlines, and then leg yielding toward the wall.  My first few attempts were totally ineffective.  Then Chrisy had me do a little shoulders-in to get Derbs into the outside rein, and reminded me that quality bend was also required.  Better prepared on our next try, we got a few little steps, and then a few more.  And as we schooled this exercise, the trot started to feel stronger and more powerful.  The quality improved tremendously.

The key take away for me today was pretty straightforward – I need to deliberately ride the movements, and if I don’t get the response I am asking for from the horse, I have to fix it, now.  I’ll be focusing on hind end engagement in the near term.  Life will be easier when Derby and I improve these skills.  Overall, though, I was happy with this ride.  Everything – our contact, our trot quality, my leg, quality of bend, the works – was a bit better today.

After I rode, I watched Christy ride Liam.   I swear, I learn as much watching her on the ground as I do in lessons.   Liam had been off for a few days, and Christy wasn’t happy with the quality of the trot she was getting.  She deliberately worked on isolating and moving his hind legs, and once she established that control, the gait quality significantly better.   Watching her ride, and seeing how she used leg yields and other movements to activate Liam’s hind legs – and then witnessing the subsequent improvement in the gaits – really solidified my lesson in my mind.

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Pat your head, rub your tummy

January 18, 2012 2 Comments

Putting it together - still leg, bending, round horse.

I squeezed in a lesson tonight, because we’re slated to have temperatures so cold tomorrow that riding will be questionable at best, and working the horses would be a bad idea.

As I mounted up, I told Christy that I had done my homework last night, posting laps keeping my feet light in the stirrup, while feeling my inner thighs burn.  While things were easier last night, I admitted to Christy that I had found putting it together – getting the horse round and bending, for example, was tough for me while I was also thinking about carrying myself correctly.  I know the muscles aren’t there yet, but I told her I wanted to start working on adding aids as I develop strength.  Multitasking, I said, was tough.

“Like pat your tummy, rub your head,” said Christy.  “Okay, then! “

She put us on a circle, asking me to spiral in and out at the trot.  Keeping good rhythm was non-negotiable.  Off we went, and I am happy to report that I’m finding it easier and easier to carry myself correctly in the saddle.   We set up the bend by softening the inside rein, and pushing the horse into the outside rein from my inside leg.  However, I was so fixated on my position that I forgot some other essentials.  Christy reminded me that when bending, to move my outside leg back a bit. Duh! I couldn’t believe I had forgotten that, but that’s what I do when I’m focusing on one thing – it’s often to the exclusion of everything else.  Slowly, she put the pieces back together, stopping every now and then to have me stand a couple beats to realign myself.

With Christy’s help, we were able to produce nice circles with respectable quality, and best of all, I was maintaining my steady lower leg and carrying myself correctly. Definite progress.

I think he's man enough to wear pink!

 

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