Too many flies

Cody was looking better last night. Still a little iffy when he walks but he's moving around and doesn't seem to be bothered. They've figured out how to get him to take paste bute so now they're at least getting it all in and it's helping. I'm still hoping this lameness is just a pasture injury and will go away soon. Someone suggested that he did a "bambi" during the rain storm we had right before he turned up lame. I brought him into the barn and groomed him up and used the remaining fly spray I had on him. I even dug out the fly masks and cleaned them up for him to wear. The flies were pretty bad and he couldn't walk a step without flinging his head all over to rid him self of them. He pleased as punch to stand in the barn with me and even made a request that I scratch his forehead with the mane/tail brush. I filed his hooves a bit more (I'm still not very good at it and don't really get much off) and turned him out. He stood at the dutch doors with his head in the barn the rest of the evening watching me. Pretty sure he just wanted back in where the flies weren't as bad.

Axel looked pretty good so I groomed and squeezed a few drops of fly spray out for him. Steph was working on getting Kalani to figure out the canter in the round pen and everyone else was helping throw hay. Axel figured he better stay and help with the hay but I tacked him up anyway and we went out to the end of the pasture to ride a bit. He was feeling pretty good, quick even. But the flies were bothering him quite a bit so we didn't work long. Just some nice walking and some trotting. He'd take a step or two that wasn't quite right but he was mostly sound so that was a nice change. Particularly nice considering he's not on bute just that supplement, so a little off isn't a bad deal. I put the fly mask on him before turning him out too. It's only minor relief but at least it's something. I just think a fly sheet would be so warm. I still might get some fly wraps for his legs. That black horse is a magnet for flies it seems.

When we were done I watched Patti give Cody his bute for the night. He's still not a pro but she's got him figured out pretty well so it isn't quite the hassle it used to be. I'm wondering if he'll eventually stop flinging his head up with all this attention and let us de-worm him peacefully in the future. I think he is figuring out that people's attention = less pain. He's been a bit more affectionate lately, doesn't walk away when being caught, and asking for spots to be scratched. Not the "always on duty herd boss" Cody usually is.

Eureka! I hope.

So Cody ate his bute on Monday. And I think he ate most of it last night as well. In any case either one actual dose of Bute is helping or he's feeling better on his own. Last night he was looking pretty good as far as his ability to walk. I brought him into the barn to try and file his hooves down a bit as we were thinking they were too long. Of course looking at the photo I took the angles don't look nearly as bad as I had thought (outside opinions are welcome on the topic). My photo of the other foot isn't a very good representation so I left that one out. This photo he does have all his weight so his pastern angle might be a bit more than normal but shouldn't be too far off. So maybe it isn't hoof angle that's causing issues, maybe he just over did it in the pasture or something. Time will tell. We plan to keep him on the bute through Friday and then see how he does over the weekend. I think I'll keep filing his feet each time, at the very least so I can get better at it. It would be nice to keep them filed between farrier visits. He was very patient while I tried to figure out how to hold his hoof and file at the same time. I think he appreciated the fly spray and standing in the slightly less buggy barn all the while watching Kalani get his butt kicked in the round pen since he's been such a pill about cantering lately.

When Steph was done chasing Kalani around ;) we decided to go down to the creek. Axel had been sweating just standing in the sun and Kalani was pretty sweated up from working in the round pen. Wisely we opted to throw the synthetic saddles on, neither of us wanted to sit on their sweaty backs without one. I think I'll purchase a synthetic western one of these days, the Big Horn saddles that Kiko and Kalani use are pretty nice, lightweight, fit good, and are comfortable. Axel was moving pretty good again despite his lameness on Sunday. But he's pretty off and on as far as that goes with his ringbone. He's always very willing to jump right in the creek and then stand there and eat grass off the bank. Kalani was slightly less willing as he hadn't been in the creek before. Steph attempted to ride him in but he wouldn't take the plunge so she got off and lead him in which worked much better. She remounted and we walked down the creek a little ways. Axel was determined to get back on the bank and eat grass plus some parts of the creek are rocky and he has a hard enough time walking on flat ground. So he make a break for it every chance he got. Kalani took the whole creek business in stride. Stopping a few times to figure out what was going on when he started sinking in sand or there was a bit more of a current. He even found some spots in the creek where he was up to his belly in water.

Kalani's first reaction to getting in was to stick his head under the water almost up to his eyeballs. I found this to be very humorous. He then tried to blow bubbles with his nose. Overall we think he enjoyed himself. He didn't paw or try to roll, so I think that's a good sign. Fortunately (or unfortunately as it was sweltering) neither Steph nor I got very wet. And here's my second sales pitch of the post, I had used Kalani's saddle and pad and Kalani had on Kiko's. Kalani has a plain wool pad which I put on Axel's sweaty wet back. When we were done riding that wool pad was dry as a bone. I guess wool pads really do wick moisture. I might have to pick one of those up, I think the plain flat wool "underpads" aren't too spendy compared to most western saddle pads. And I think Fleet Farm now carries Reinsman tack.

Could it be?

Rumor has it that Cody ate most of his Bute last night. From the caretakers: "so we mixed the powder with water, mixed it with one cup of Lite Balance, and then mixed in two cups of regular senior feed. He ate almost the entire amount!" And this was still the apple flavored Bute. Yay Cody, hopefully he feels a little better today then.

Lame Again Lame Again Jiggity Jig

So on the way home from the farm last night I check my email (yay for phones will internet) and find an one from the caretakers:

"Sorry to have to say this, but Cody is extremely lame. He can hardly walk - it's terrible to watch. We've tried every combination of bute/feed/water/applesauce/molasses/paste all weekend long - but he will only eat a small fraction of whatever it is and refuse the rest. Axel is looking sore again, too. We gave him bute and applesauce in his feed and he ate most of it (all except 1/2 cup maybe). Hopefully he'll work out whatever that's about overnight!"

So I convinced Jeff to swing by the ranch on the way into the cities so I could determine if I needed to make a call to the vet or not. Axel was happily eating hay in the furthest hay feeder and probably pretty pleased that everyone else came up to see what was going on so he could stay back and eat in peace. His lameness just being the usual flare up of his ringbone. Cody, on the other hand, was standing in the paddock trying his best to keep the flies away without moving. I asked him to walk and reluctantly he moved forward, very slow, sore, and tentative. However, not nearly as bad as the email had sounded. Apparently they had some bute paste and managed to get at least some into his system earlier in the day so he wasn't nearly as off as he had been. Patti came out and walked him for me after I picked out his hooves. There was no heat or pulse but he still stands like he's foundering. His appetite is fine and he's drinking water like normal, just takes him longer to decided that it's worth the pain to walk to the feeder or water tank. I tried his boots on but that didn't provide an immediate improvement. He didn't "improve" much with walking but became less tentative the more he moved around. He picked up both feet for me, let me stretch him and bend him and had no issues with any of that. So we're still thinking shoulders.

Patti is borrowing some bute tablets to try tonight instead. Our thought is maybe the unflavored is going to be easier to conceal than the apparently nasty apple flavored bute he won't eat now. I don't think I'll be having the vet out at least for now, I'm pretty sure he'll suggest bute so we already have that covered we just need to figure out how to get him to eat it. We might try some cold hosing and maybe some linament rubs on his shoulders to see if that does anything.

After some discussion with Steph we think maybe what is happening is that his hoof angles have changed too much. His toes have been pretty long lately with the new farrier and with his heels getting lower and lower the change in angle might be causing him pain up in his shoulders. It seems like the diagnosis fits. So right now we're going to get bute in him, try and file down his toes bit by bit before the farrier returns, I'm going to meet with the farrier this time and see what he thinks (he'll probably need to be shod with wedges til winter to get the angles back), put him on Axel's supplement when the bute fiasco is over, and possibly even add some DC-Y to his diet (which would be good for Axel too but spendy so we'll see). Our other thought is to put him in those boots for a week of turn out and see if that helps. I don't want to do all of this right away or we won't know what is helping so it'll be a matter of trying different things.

But it looks like I'll be riding Kiko or Kalani for a little while at least until Axel is feeling okay again.

Andrea Rides Cody

Last Thursday (7/3) before Cody's lameness Andrea went out for the first time to ride Cody since our little trail ride. Here's her report:

"Went riding on Thursday with Patti and Dal, and Cody was practically angelic. We didn't go into the woods for fear of the gnats, but we rode around in the field-y part for a good 45 minutes or so, Cody lead the group, Cody was the last horse, and Cody was in the middle--very well behaved at all points.

Only when we turned for home (going up that final hill to the stretchy gate) did he decide he was annoyed. Some prancing was involved, then sidepassing, and when I tried to straighten him out a bit, there was a tiny little jumpy-buck-like motion, but nothing too serious. We then circled a tree and tried it again at a walk, and it was much improved. He walked very civilly into the barn :-)"

Now if only he could stay sound then this more than once a week riding is really going to be great for him. Leave to the "children" to go lame right as company is arriving.

She went out again this Wednesday and he wasn't really looking any better:

"So, I went out to Pinto Creek to ride tonight--though opted not to ride Cody due to his apparent soreness. His stance was even looking kind of sad, with his left front leg positioned further infront of him than his right. I took him around at a walk for a while on the ground with his long leadrope, just trying to see if it loosened up with some movement on level ground, but I just didn't think he looked sound enough to have a very happy or productive ride. I also didn't give him any bute, although Patti and Scott said that if you wanted to give it to him for the next couple days, they'd be willing to administer whatever dosage you'd like, just let them know. Again, I was just being cautious and not wanting to push him through pain, because it really did look like walking was painful for him today."

I'm slightly worried despite the assurances that if he really was foundering to the point of rotation and having to stand the way he's standing, I would have felt a lot of heat in his hooves. We're still thinking it's his shoulders right now. I told Patti to give him some bute last night but I guess that didn't go so well:

"You know the look on a person's face when they were SO ready for dinner, but the food was disappointing? That's totally the look Cody had, applesauce notwithstanding. He was not going to eat it, not more than two bites, anyway. How about molasses? Good for two more bites. Dumped that out and tried just sprinkling plain ol' bute on it and that was good for about two bites....then he was totally done and annoyed. I don't think he got much of the bute, sorry."

Kids, I tell ya! I'm starting to think I'm going to have to put Cody on that same supplement that Axel is on. Cody is getting up there at 18, but he really should still be in the prime of things as he has a pretty easy life.

Collecting Lame Horses

Stephanie pointed out that I seem to be collecting lame horses lately. Tuesday we went out to the barn and I planned to ride Cody in the pasture a bit. Patti mentioned that she thought he was off. So I walked him around a bit and sure enough he was lame. Steph thought he was off on the left and then he switched to being off on the right. There doesn't seem to be any heat in his hooves. He doesn't have a problem bending any joints. Our best guess on this one is his shoulders and probably just arthritis that the chiropractor had mentioned in the past. We put his boots on just to see if it was maybe a stone bruise or something like that and he did improve his gait but was still a little off. I ended up riding him bareback in the pasture just at the walk to see if he'd work out of it. He didn't seem too bad then. And his boots worked really well but they make a funny noise that makes me think they aren't staying on all the way but there was no rub marks or anything so who knows. As soon as I dismounted he was back to walking funny.

Axel of course is still not quite right in the rear on that leg with the ring bone. He walks pretty good. I saddled him up and rode him in the pasture as well. His trot is all off kilter though. Granted the ground was not even but he wasn't quite working out of it this time. He's a lot more willing and happy on the trail so I guess he ignores his pain then better than just plodding around in the pasture with me trying to get him to do things properly.

Steph spent the whole time working on Kalani's canter which he would just refuse to give her. She finally resorted to lunging him so she could get something out of him before stopping but he just went around in a tizzy. When I was done with Axel I finally got on and she lunged him while I was on his back. It still took him a while to work out of the fit his was having but he did finally calm down. Not enough to try a canter, the trot was still a bit spastic and me without reins, I didn't think a canter was in my best interest.

Cody's new rider

I've asked one of the We Can Ride staff if she'd be interested in riding Cody whenever she's out at Pinto Creek. She goes and rides with Patti sometimes so I thought it would be fairly convenient for her. So Tuesday she came out to witness the chaos that is Tuesdays at the ranch. Tricia brought Meaghan to have a riding lesson on Poppy. So while Steph taught her lesson we hung out and scratched horses. Axel was feeling a little off on his front left but we figured it was probably just the arthritis. When everyone was tacked and ready to go we ended up with 5 horses and riders. Andrea on Cody, me on Axel, Tricia on Kiko, Steph on Kalani, and Meaghan on Poppy. Axel worked out of his soreness quite easily. He wasn't quite up to his feisty self that he had been a couple weeks prior but he was moving out a little more than normal. He also progressed from fairly well behaved to obnoxious by the end of the ride. Constantly trying to eat grass, flinging his head due to bugs, and just being a regular space cadet. Evidence would be the scratches on my arm and lip from running into numerous tree branches. I actually had a hard time getting him to walk up the hill on the way home.

Cody wasn't an angel but he also wasn't totally horrible either. He gave Andrea a taste of his annoyance at having to ride, the huffing and puffing, sweating, and bit avoidance. But he was comparatively calm and she had him walking down hills pretty well. So hopefully she'll have some time to go ride him once every or every other week.

I guess Kiko was being a little bit of a handful herself. Poppy started out pretty quick but realized she couldn't keep up with the big horses and calmed down a bit. Kalani must have been just fine as I didn't hear too much from his direction. I ended up using Axel's new bell boots finally, I haven't had a chance to clean his old ones yet. Kiko has moved into the blue bell boots so she doesn't remove her shoes. And I donated Axel's combo boots to Dirt (Lexi's new horse) as he's wearing bar shoes right now and Tricia likes to have him in SMBs when she trail rides him. I'm too lazy so far to take the white saddle pad off the dressage saddle so we've been trail riding in style. I've gotta dig out the ear nets one of these days as well.

Next week we have no Tricia so I think we are going to take some photos of Kiko and Kalani for their sale ads. I thought I had another idea of what we could work on but it's not there. I think Steph wants to work on Kalani's canter more so maybe we'll just do some schooling.

Kiko and Kalani

I decided to make a separate post for Kiko and Kalani's videos. These will hopefully get put into an FLV so they look a lot better before we really start advertising them for sale. But if you're interested in my awesome video editing skills you can witness them here.

My kingdom for a seat saver!

A person should probably work up to a 4 hour trail ride in a hard western saddle. It's probably not the best idea to bite it off in one big chunk. But I never said that I usually do the smart thing. Rather than deal with Cody's trailer loading issues and Axel being possibly lame still, I just went up to Tricia's and we took Oly and the new horse out to Lake Rebecca park. The new horse is Tricia's niece's horse. His name is Rocky Top Scotch (or something like that) but they haven't come up with a barn name for him yet. We went through a plethora of ideas while we were riding though. Too bad I can't remember half of them.

On my way up to her farm I was getting a little concerned at the weather. It was raining in one part of Farmington, sunny in the next. When I got to Waconia it just started downpouring. By the time I got to Watertown there was no rain at all. I have learned my lesson being so far away from everything, that the weather could and probably is totally different on the other side of the cities. I was right about that. We made good time packing up the truck, loading the horses, and getting to the park. Then we had to clean the mud off of both horses. What is it with buckskin/palominos that make them roll in the mud more than any other horse?

The trail was pretty nice. No one else was there and most of it is closing starting the 7th of July for repairs. So we squeaked in right under the wire. It was a little buggy in some of the lower areas but only one really bad section of the 9 miles. The only bad part is there is only one picnic area along the way and no tie ups for the horses. The new horse is a little excited and liked to trot as much as possible. He was tough going down hills and he just kind of scrambled down them tripping and not paying attention. Other than that he seemed fine, nothing really bothered him at all. Even when Oly spooked at a few things he was calm about it. They did both spook at a tree when they turned to look at it a motorcycle zoomed by on the nearby road and they both jumped sideways, the new horse landing on Oly causing a bit of a chaotic mess. But they came out if it well and were just as calm afterwards. We kept our ride to a walk and a trot, not sure how the new guy's canter would have been. He's a smaller horse so it could very well be pretty choppy.

Near the end of the ride, about the time I thought I might die from hip and knee and rear end pain, Tricia and I switched horses so she could see how the new horse was. Now Oly has gotten himself a bad reputation. Something about trying to kill Tricia when she first got him. I had actually ridden him right after she bought him (pre homicide attempts) but hadn't been on him since. She's worked him through his issues and now he's a pretty solid calm trail horse. The difference in how he felt now from when I first rode him is pretty extreme. He still moves out but he's got a much calmer feel about him. We even had a trot near the end of our ride. It started raining about 10 minutes before the end so we trotted up pretty close to the end of the trail. Oly has a very nice trot, easy to post and not frantic. I'll have to ride him again sometime.

After regaining my ability to walk we loaded up the horses (the rain had stopped right as we got to the trailer) and stopped at the DQ on the way home. I'm a glutton for punishment so I decided as long as I was sort of in the neighborhood I would stop by Pinto Creek on my way home. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I figured I'd think of someting. Patti was feeding when I arrived so I groomed both Cody and Axel while they ate. It had rained there so trying out the hoof boots on the road wasn't going to happen (wouldn't want to get them dirty already!). I finally decided on riding Cody in the side pasture to see how he was doing. Surprise surprise he did really really well. We still had our usually dance around the mounting block. But the ride was nice. He was interested in the other horses but was listening to me. We did some circles and some figure 8s. We even went around the tree and worked a tiny bit on the other side of the trees away from the herd. I worked on a loose rein with lots of leg and that seemed to go well for Cody. Not quite as precise as it probably should have been as far as getting our turns when they were asked but he never ran off out of a pattern. I only worked him for a few minutes, he was being so good I wanted to be sure to end on a good note and not push it. We rode to the opposite side of the trees and dismounted there (at a good solid halt). I then untacked at the mounting block to practice our halt there as well. And I led him out to where Kiko was standing and turned him out at that point. So overall it was a successful ride. And my dressage saddle is way more comfortable than that western I had been riding in.