A Great Start to 2020

I am not sure how it happened but I am so far behind in blog posts. I haven't even done my recap of 2019 and my goals. I will get this done by the end of the week! I promise.

But I want to share about today. My ring has been frozen for the past 10 days or so. I have managed to get a little groundwork and riding in but it was at the walk. Not that I mind- there's a lot that can be done at the walk to work on flexibility and suppleness.

New Years eve was a quite rainy but that meant that today was nice and, even better, the ring was thawed out. Julia came out to ride and we headed up to the ring. Irish was feeling really really fresh. So was Carmen. I spent some time on the ground with her working. The work I do is to get her to soften and relax into the work. I am finding that she is responding well to this.

perfect way to spend New Year's Day

While I was doing this it started to rain, which turned to snow and then hail. WTF? Screw it, I'm not leaving. 
Carmen:  are you sure? 

Irish was being quite ADHD so I stopped to advise Julia. I turned to Carmen and she was quite relaxed. So I got on. She was energetic but forward. At times she would tense but responded well to my relaxing my aids. It's getting easier for me to do this and my lizard brain is less likely to be screaming at me that we're all gonna die. Fortunately the sun started to come out.

Irish quickly settled into work (a great side effect of aging- it doesn't take as long).  Carmen and I worked on our lateral work and it was pretty good. I even practiced a few half-passes. Our mediums sucked at the trot but she was keen at the canter.

Carmen is feeling good and my seat is feeling much more secure as well. But even more importantly, I have much more control over my mindset. It's easier to not get flustered or frustrated. I suspect that it will always be something that I need work on but it's nice to see progress.

Carmen: I was good, no? I should have more apples

But even more exciting is my update on Irish.

As you know, Irish was diagnosed with 'a neurological issue' several years ago. I have been trying various things to manage him. Of the things I have tried I have had the most success with:

• a daily dose of previcox
• lysine added to his feed
• magnesium (which greatly improved his headshaking. 

A few years after being diagnosed he began to present with urinary incontinence. It's been getting worse over the years. I've tried all sorts of things to protect his hind legs. Boots always end up getting stiff from the urine no matter what I do. The most effective protocol I have found is to wash them regularly (everything from hose-off to using dawn soap), then spraying with Blu-kote and sprinkling on powder. By 2019 he had a constant stream of urine and his stall was always a complete mess. 

Way back in April my vet (recently took us over from her dad) recommended that I try Vitamin E. Now in the past I had researched this but everything seemed to indicate that vitamin E at this point in his disease would be too late. However, she said that there was some research that massive doses might provide some benefit or maybe slow down his progression. Sourcing the amount required was not so easy but I settled on the Greenline Vitamin E. He's getting 1 scoop of that (10,000 IU) and a scoop of the vitamin E/Selenium making his dose rate approximate 11,500 IU per day. 

After a couple months I thought I saw some improvement in his leaking but wasn't sure that I wasn't seeing what I wanted to see. I kept dosing anyway. Last sunday I was brought Irish out to give his legs a good wash when the weather was warmer. Normally I have to dodge pee while I do this but there was none. I watched him the rest of the day and never saw any dribbling. On monday morning, instead of the normal soaked shavings I saw a more 'normal' messy stall. And I found actual pee spots. I was really excited and told Ed. 

looking good, you can see the blue on his legs

Irish: knock it off Carmen, this is my photo shoot
Carmen: whatever

I watched Irish carefully the last few days and found an absence of dribbles and more pee spots in his stall. When Julia came out to ride him I wanted to see how he was with the movement. Normally he dribbles more when working. And he did have some dribble when she was trotting him. But not a lot- just a little. Back in his stall after the ride he stretched out peed! Julia and I started cheering. Irish has not had a true pee (as far as I know) in years.  

And watching Irish go he was perky and forward and not looking like he's a neurological horse pushing 20. I saw some of the old Irish in him. 

I know that this may not be permanent but for now I'm really happy about it. 

would love to have this guy back

And on another note, Guinness' birthday is today. Believe it not he's three!!! He's become a great farm dog and companion.

Guinness: yay for birthday bacon! 

How was your New Years?

Potion Making

So after weeks of rain and mud the temperature dropped suddenly and a bitter wind began to blow. I had to cancel a lesson because it was so horrible. Today is beautiful but Carmen is lame. I can't find any heat or swelling- I think that it's likely a stone bruise/ possible abscess from the sudden change in footing.

At least I'm 90% sure that's what it is. The other 10% is convinced that she's going to die. But let's not dwell on that.

would rather be doing this....

In the meantime I thought I should write about how I try to manage Carmen's gut health. You may recall that last year I treated her for ulcers with good results. I was really concerned that they would recur this summer when we started to travel to events. And we all know that I love a good plan.

First thing I did was sign up for an online course at Equine Guelph on gut health. I learned that I already know a lot but there were a few things that helped me figure out what to do. The main thing is to not have their gut empty. Which is a huge issue when you have a horse that would eat herself into blimpdom.

Forage: A slow feed haynet is the answer. Carmen also shreds them like paper. I started using the web ones and so far so good. While they don't slow down as much as a small hole haynet it does help.

Feed: During the warm months she has access to pasture which is so good for them. I switched feeds to the local feed store brand of fibre nuggets. It is essentially fortified hay and both horses are doing really well on it. You can feed it straight or soaked. I do both- I need to soak it to add in the vitamins and minerals I add.

Supplements: 

I have gone from a person who 'didn't believe in supplements' to one who uses them regularly. I try to make sure that there is science behind it. These are what I add:

Magnesium Oxide: I started Irish on this to see if it would help his head shaking. There is research that it helps about 50% of headshakers. It turned out to really work for him and now he barely shows any. I wondered it if had to do with my pastures and hay being low in Mg so I feed it to both horses. It can be an expensive supplement but I buy the Mag Oxide from the local feed store  by the bag (it's a cattle feed additive) and it works out to about $40/year.

Pre/Pro Biotic: This was recommended by the equine dietitian on the course. I use the Mad Barn brand but there are many out there.

Vitamin E/Selenium: Irish is on a mega dose of Vitamin E for his neuro issues but that's another post. There is evidence that our area is really low in selenium and I don't want any issues to pop up down the road.

Chaste Tree Berry: Now this one is a bit of a stretch. Carmen is more spooky and reactive when she's in heat. She also acts sore and needs a long slow warm up. I had been doing some research and there is evidence that this can help. It is also supposed to be good for those horses who are insulin resistant. As an Andalusian I know that this is a risk for her. It seemed to be a cheap experiment so I decided to try it. I am not sure if it's helping with everything but I do find that she's not so tight and sore during her heats. Sometimes it's hard to tell if she's in heat so that is staying. She also loves the taste of it.

this is the brand I use. There are others. 

Aloe Vera Juice: Believe it or not there is actual scientific research that shows that this can be of benefit to horses. Not at the same level as omeprazole but it does help. I buy it from Walmart of all places. It is palatable for horses and cheap.


Ulcer Meds: When Carmen and I head to a show I start dosing her with Omeprazole two days before we leave and while we're away.

Acid Management: While I groom and tack up Carmen I put a wheelbarrow of hay in front of her. This makes sure that there's something in her stomach to absorb any acid. The day that we trailer anywhere I give her Di Calcium Phosphate in her morning feed. This is an acid neutralizer. It's not good for an ongoing basis but every now and then is fine.

 I also do my best (as you know) to manage her stress levels overall during our rides. I don't always succeed but I feel that I have more good rides than bad.

 I don't know if all of this is needed but, as Ed says, it's all cheaper than treating for ulcers. This year she didn't show any signs of ulcers so I'm feeling pleased with myself. Now I hope that I'm right about her lameness.