Some good news at least. I went back to the tack shop last Thursday to pick up a saddle to try on Isis. It’s a wide-tree all purpose Spanish-made Zaldi saddle. Lovingly taken care of by the previous owner. It’s very soft. Unlike the other four saddles I’ve tried on Isis, this one settled perfectly on her back. The seat was level. Her whithers were the proper distance from the pommel, instead of...
Continue reading...Horses
Lameness, revisited
Poor mare. She is still lame. When the farrier came out today, I asked him to watch Isis move before trimming her. We brought her into the ring and asked her to trot and walk (briefly) both directions. Clockwise, she bobbed her head slightly and was obviously limping. Counterclockwise, she flung her head and trotted with her tail up with out an evident limp. (Last time she flung her head around like that,...
Continue reading...Trooper saddle
Isis is not a dainty mare. She is built like a tank; something inherited from her Crabbet breeding. Her sire takes a regular tree, as did her mother. Isis has to do everything in a special manner, and that means she is difficult to fit with a saddle. At the tack shop the other day, I picked up a trooper saddle made by M&W Saddlerly here in Tennessee. The tree had the just...
Continue reading...Spoke too soon…
I should have known better. Isis is lame again today. Again, seems impossible to tell exactly which leg or area is causing the lameness. No swelling. No heat in her legs or feet. Maybe just ouchiness? It’s been almost a week since the trail ride. I did find something interesting: she did not want to be brushed on her neck under her mane on the right side. Last week when she was not...
Continue reading...Soreness, part 2
Isis is still lame today. We’re going to give her a bute tonight and tomorrow and see how she does. The liniment seems to be helping. The lameness is very strange. It is worse going counterclockwise in the ring, and barely noticeable going the other way. Hard to pick out what is causing it when her feet are sore from the rocky trail. Related Images:
Continue reading...Ouchy Kid
Isis was incredibly sore the day after the trail ride. We both were; although she certainly was worse off. My legs were sore, but not bad. Her entire body was sore. She carefully walked around, picking her way through the paddock to walk over to me. I rubbed her down with liniment and walked her in the ring for 15 minutes in hand. Enough time to get some exercise and stretch her muscles...
Continue reading...Trailers, loading, and tension — oh my!
Last night I was a little worried about riding Isis on the trail. Would she listen to me? Would she pay attention and not freak out? We’d never ridden in a wide open space or woods, much less with a horse she didn’t know. Trail worries were soon replaced by trailering ones. Isis doesn’t load very well. Last time, it took several hours to get her to load. During the phone call last...
Continue reading...Trail ride jitters
Isis will (eventually) start lessons just like Logan has. He’s been doing very well and has been a real champ about it. He’s so much more fun to ride now. Yesterday I lunged both Isis and Logan. Friday Isis had a full workout with a nice bath. Saturday was Logan’s turn for the majority of attention. It had been severl weeks since I’d done much with him. He saw the bit and actually...
Continue reading...Yeehaw!
This has been a mixed day with some excellent news! This morning the vet came out to examine Isis again to make sure she is sound. After the routine exam, the vet watched Isis trot in the ring. She’s sound alright. Only a sound horse would try to kick me with her back feet while we were trotting! She has never done anything like that before! I apologized to the vet and immediately...
Continue reading...Back in the saddle…
Isis has been a real trouper this summer. And last summer too. She’s been recovering from laminitis and a tendon injury. Her feet have been looking better. Last time the vet was out, she gave me a regimen for Isis to gently ease her into riding again. The riding has been going well. We’re just doing basics, walk, a few minutes of trot, and some more walking. All on level ground. No trails,...
Continue reading...Finally!
After ages and ages, I finally rode Isis! Not much because she is still recovering from her tendon problem. The vet asked me to ride her for four weeks on a slowly increasing work load. The first week we walked undersaddle 15 minutes. We’re slowly building up to about 30 minutes this week. Next week, we’ll add a little trot (3 minutes). The following week we’ll double that trot time to 6 minutes....
Continue reading...Isis update
At least there is some good news: Isis is no longer lame! Her swollen tendon looks normal. The vet will be coming out on Tuesday to do a sonogram on her tendon to verify that it’s fully healed. If it is, then Isis will begin a light work routine until her hooves have fully recovered from the laminitis after-effects. Isis has a condition called ‘seedy toe.’ Last week, the farrier noted that her...
Continue reading...Riding lessons
To be sore enough so you can’t walk, take riding lessons! Join the few, the proud, the walks-like-a-cowboy crew! And grin like a fool while you’re doing it! I’ve had my third lesson in as many months and it’s a blast! My friends look at me funny like, “I thought you knew how to ride?” And yes, I do, but it never hurts to hone your skills, especially if you are planning on...
Continue reading...Ah c’mon, Isis… just a little bute
Isis, like her sire, is very intelligent. She tasted the bute (horse aspirin) in her grain and refused to eat it. Even crumbling treats into the grain didn’t tempt her. She picked them out and left the grain. We had another trick up our sleeves! The barn manager quartered an apple and inserted small pieces of a bute tablet into each section. Isis ate the first one, then spit out the a piece....
Continue reading...Laminitis and tendons, take 2
The farrier came out today and had some excellent news. Even after Isis had a mild case of laminitis, her feet are in excellent shape. The white-line growth is normal and she isn’t lame any more. As far as he was concerned, her feet were good enough to start riding again. Six weeks pasture rest and the grazing muzzle had paid off! Except for an annoying swelling on the inside of her right...
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