It has been a long road with Kasane’s various leg issues and our lesson today felt like a triumph over all of those things. She was bouncy, had hang time in her trot, picked up her canter leads really well. She just felt great. It was one of our most exciting lessons just for the sheer joy of riding her. My mom was there and thankfully recorded some snippets of our lessons. Kasane’s...
Continue reading...Horses
On the loss of a horse
A person I greatly respect lost one of her old mares today. My friend sat up all night in the rain and the mud with her mare until the vet could arrive. Ultimately, there was nothing that could be done except make a very difficult decision… and let the mare go. I felt my heart break when I read her Twitter feed and Facebook posts from last night through today. Saying “I”m so...
Continue reading...Playing catchup
Life has been hectic, to say the least. The new job I started in January has been good, but it’s a lot more time and focus than my previous gig. Also more travel: I’ve visited Miami, Malaga in Spain, and soon San Francisco. No complaints. It is fun and interesting work, if a bit stressful and chaotic. Combine work with riding and gaming, and well, that’s my week without too much time set...
Continue reading...Long time no type
It’s been a very long, muddy winter. And fall, and most of the previous summer too. I had a curious confluence of events that kept me feeling slightly overwhelmed. You know, that feeling where you are juggling everything but can not add one more ball to the mix without dropping everything. So I didn’t blog. I have a lot of things to write about, including Kasane, Breezy, kitties, old job, new job, more...
Continue reading...New shoes for Kasane
After her hock issues, we’ve been evaluating everything with Kasane to try and help her as much as we can. The farrier was out and had a good talk with my vet about some shoe ideas for Kasane. She has her front shoes on backwards now. This helps alleviate pressure from her front suspensory issue and helps with breakover in her stride. The farrier also watched Kasane walk and noted that she is...
Continue reading...Kasane is home from the hospital
Kasane is finally home. She came home a few days earlier than expected and she is immediately settling in. She is so happy to be here. Not as happy as I am to have her home. Now begins the recovery process: stall rest followed by small paddock turnout followed by more small paddock turnout. Eventually, in-hand walking, followed by light riding and a very gradual return to work. Because of the heavy-duty antibioitcs she’s...
Continue reading...Results of synovial fluid tests for Kasane
My vet called with some good news for Kasane. The synovial fluid test and culture came back today. Preliminary culture results are no growth. Yay! The ultrasound of her joint fluid looked clear with moderate synovial thicking. This is some of the best news we could have had because it means that there is no bacterial growth and that the joint damage from this whole issue could be minimal. Apparently, Kasane also liked...
Continue reading...Update on Kasane
My vet is awesome. She has been keeping me updated on how Kasane is doing. She’s had her hocks lavaged twice she since arrived at the hospital. She’s done well both times. Today, the joint was not as distended. Here’s what my vet said: The joint fluid has some blood in it from the synovial lining. The cytology test results from the joint fluid sample had many neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes as well...
Continue reading...Kasane hospitalized with a hock infection
Yesterday, Kasane’s hocks were swollen: soft swelling like too much joint fluid. My vet said that if we found any swelling, to contact her immediately. She came out 30 minutes after I sent her pictures of Kasane’s hocks. The result from the vet visit is that Kasane has had a reaction to the joint injection in both hocks, worse in the back left then the right. The vet had to drain the extra...
Continue reading...Breezy has her first rides
Saddle trial achievement unlocked! This past weekend, my friend helped me put the initial ride on Breezy. And today, we had our third ride in her new saddle. We’re taking things really easy. Our rides are 10-15 minutes max. She’s starting off in the rope halter because she’s currently teething. I ask her for a few steps and turns and whoas. All very easy. She was superb. I’m so happy with her. The...
Continue reading...Ms Breezy gets a saddle of her own
A friend of mine is helping me get Breezy ready for her first ride. I’ve done all of the basics: ground driving, bitting, saddling, and the like. I’ve leaned on her back, put weight in the stirrup, and she’s been like “Oh hi, what are you doing?” No panics, no worries, just accepting that her human is doing weird things. When I was starting Kasane, I did not know a lot about saddle...
Continue reading...Kasane was stiff in her hocks
Kasane did very well over the summer with riding and lessons. We had improved so much. And then we had two hurricanes back to back and lots of rain. When I got back on her finally, it was like riding a different horse. She felt stiff behind and did not want to move freely like she had before the storms came through. She also had a swelling between her knee and fetlock, shown...
Continue reading...Canter departs
Thirteen years ago, my horse somersaulted and landed on me when we were cantering during a riding lesson. I don’t remember what happened exactly. We were cantering down the long side at the end of the lesson and she felt magnificent: strong impulsion, light in my hands, and then something. The world spun and I slammed into the dirt face down between her legs. She kicked once with her back legs and hit...
Continue reading...Kasane post-rehab
Kasane’s slow rehabilitation from her suspensory ligament injury made last year feel longer than almost any other year. Doing the rehab itself wasn’t hard. It just took dedicated time every week. No excuses (well, except for weather — can’t do much walking or riding in the rain without a covered arena). The hardest part was trying to remain positive when the odds were not in my favor. My vet had warned me that...
Continue reading...Returning to writing and riding
I finally feel like I have enough energy to start writing and riding for fun again. Kasane’s rehab took the majority of my energy last year. On top of that, things at my old position became…less than optimal. While I enjoyed everyone I worked with, the last reorganization ended up in my position changing from what I loved to something intensely frustrating. I did what I could from within the position to work...
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