She's so pretty. I used to think that varnish roans looked dirty but now my heart tugs every single time I see a picture of one. Love my girl!!!
Close-up of her right hind with arrow pointing to the bump.
She's getting better with letting me put her SMBs on (she usually gives me some trouble with her injured leg). She continues to move completely sound from what I can see. I will cut her down to one serving of the joint supplement at the end of this week and plan to walk her down the road tomorrow - she is spooking at nearly everything right now: barn cats, people cleaning stalls, people opening and closing gates, people pushing wheel barrows. I'm hoping to get her mind working and expend a little of the extra energy that she's dealing with.
Mustang mare Vegas may be here as soon as this coming up weekend. So excited and nervous! I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. Jennie was told that Vegas was broke at one time but that's hard to believe since she's been steadily popping out babies since she was first adopted. We'll find out soon enough.
Ruby is not enjoying her time off. She's not really sure what to do with herself now that she's not being ridden and is not being turned out with her buddies - definitely going a little stir-crazy. She's completely forgotten how to stand still, especially when I'm trying to put her boots on. Swelling on her fetlock is nearly gone, though she does have a small, hard knot there (the knot appeared after her fall in the trailer). She hasn't taken a lame step since that last trail ride, and I'll probably start hand-walking her off-property later this week. Monday marks two weeks since the incident. Vet said that I could ride her at a walk after two weeks, but I plan to give her a bit longer before putting her back under saddle. No trotting, walking only until May (approximately). I can deal though, if it means Ruby will come out on the other side happy and sound. Oh, and if anyone is wondering how Princess Ruby feels about her joint supplement, I think she would eat it by the case if the opportunity arose. It looks and smells like alfalfa dust. She's taken to licking her feeder clean morning and night.
Jennie should be back from vacation in a few days, after which time we will finalize all the details regarding Vegas. Hubby is trying hard not to hyperventilate, knowing how I get attached. No real worries there though - can't afford two horses so Vegas won't be a permanent fixture unless we win the lottery :)
When Ruby was diagnosed, I began wondering what I was going to do with all of my horse-focused energies. I was also concerned with the lack or riding of time, and falling out of riding shape while she's down and out.
A few days ago, a stall opened up at my boarding barn. Hmmm. I started thinking that maybe I could foster a rescue while Ruby heals up; it would keep me occupied and not so focused on the what-ifs of her condition. I contacted Jennie and let her know what I was thinking, asked her if the rescue would pay for the horse's expenses and if she has a horse that she thinks I could help.
Her answer was a resounding yes. She currently has three: one unbroke, shy mustang gelding, one 18-year-old Choctaw pony that is said to be broke, one 7-8 year old Nevada mustang mare that was said to have been broke at one time.
I said no to the gelding, as other people will be feeding and turning out - I cannot take a chance that the horse will panic and hurt someone (well, anymore of a chance than usual, I suppose!). Jennie decided that she would like for me to try the Nevada mare.
Vegas, as the mare is named, is a beautiful red dun. She came in pregnant and with a 7-month-old filly by her side. A few months later, she miscarried. Not long after, she had a potential adopter but that fell through when Jennie was unable to raise the funds to have her put into training. Her current foster is too timid to try training her. She's hard to catch, halter-broke, good with grooming and picking up feet. Ugh, I'm both excited and nervous.
So, Vegas will be here in a week or two. Fingers crossed that everything goes well.
1. Have you ever owned a horse?
Yes, two. My first was a 4-year-old Standie/Morgan cross mare named Karma. I was a completely green rider, Karma was a super-green horse with a heart of gold. She took care of me. I met Miss Ruby late last year, but she didn't come home with me until this past January. Again, I got ridiculously lucky, as Miss Ruby also has a heart of gold!
2. What is the favorite aspect of your discipline?
My only real discipline right now is trail riding, though I aspire to be more. I would have to say that my favorite aspect is the time spent exploring on the back of my horse.
3. What pet peeves do you have concerning your discipline?
If I had to name something, I guess it would be that there are some (definitely not all!) recreational trail riders who don't put the health and comfort of their horse as their first priority. Some don't seem to care if their saddle doesn't fit, their horses' hooves are cracked and need trimming, or want to make any attempt to help their horse to carry them down the trail more easily. Some don't seem to want to educate themselves on how to better care for their horse.
4. Do you do barn chores?
Every single day, couldn't afford a pony if I didn't. But, I love the fact that it means that I need to be out there every day.
5. What is your least favorite barn chore?
Cleaning a stall in which the horse has pounded the manure into tiny little chunks that are dispersed throughout the entire stall. *cough* Ruby *cough*
6. What do you consider to be the worst vice in a horse?
In my limited experience, I would have to say a horse that charges. I've had three separate horses try to run me down. Two learned their lesson: the first, I side-stepped her and grabbed her forelock as she went by and held on. I don't condone this behavior but when something scares me, I morph into an angry psycho and I just reacted. It didn't take her long to stop and stand still to be haltered. Ruby also tried to run me down, but that time I happened to have a whip. When she turned towards me (and I saw her eye get that glint in it), I smacked the ground in front of me hard two or three times. She ended up forcing my hand, and I had to smack her across the nose to get her to turn. The other was a friend's (truly mean-spirited) gelding. He was staying in my pasture for a week and I was leaned over inspecting a scrape on his leg when he started coming towards me. I was standing on his left, my head towards his rear, bent over (but not squatting down, thank God!) checking his leg. His left shoulder bumped me, so I stood up and he turned his chest full on towards me and started charging me. I was pushing off of his chest with every stride, while his front feet were hitting my shins, scraping down my legs and landing on top of my feet and toes. I was barely able to keep snatching my feet back out from under his. He probably took 4-5 strides before he turned away. I collapsed to the ground, I couldn't even stand up to crawl through the fence boards, I had to roll under. My husband saw everything and had run over to the fence; maybe his running towards us made the horse turn away. He helped me into the house and I had to beg him not to get his gun. Instead, he called my friend and had the horse hauled off that day. Some of the bones in my feet were broken but it could have been soooo much worse. My guardian angel works some serious overtime.
7. What is your favorite brand of saddle?
I can't say that I have a favorite brand really, as I have not tried enough saddles. I do love my Sensation though.
8. Do you ride in a quarter sheet in the winter?
Um, Florida, so no need :)
9. Does your horse wear boots? What kind?
For leg boots, she has some SMBs for her hinds. For hoof boots, we have a pair of Easyboot Gloves for her fronts.
10. Full-seat or knee-patch breeches?
I've only ever tried knee-patch.
My poor redhead seems to think that's she's being punished for something. See the hope in those eyes? Pulls at my heartstrings! While I have you here, also notice her pathetic puff of forelock; beautiful tail, decent mane, puny forelock??? She is half Appaloosa so it could be worse, I suppose!
For anyone interested, the ingredients list for Vet-Flex.
It still boggles my mind that this company does not have a website. I didn't think it was possible to have a thriving business without a website. More power to them, I guess.
I paid nearly $120 for 9 lbs of Vet-Flex (including shipping); which is 144 days of 1 oz. servings, so nearly five months. Not bad considering that Cosequin ASU (seems to be the most popular joint supplement?) is $60/month for maintenance. Ingredients list is very similar to Cosequin but the selling point for the vet we saw seemed to be the hyaluronic acid. Cosequin ASU + has HA, and is $85/month, yikes. Vet-Flex also contains frankincense and perna muscle, which Cosequin does not have.
Since Ruby is 'older' (though you can't tell by watching her), I've been thinking about doing the research and finding an AERC-legal joint supplement for some time. I understand that MSM is illegal but I'm not sure about the rest. Maybe I'll get around to it one of these days!
So, I have been reading and reading about suspensory ligament injuries since she was diagnosed yesterday. I figured that for future reference, I would type out my current plans here.
The vet did not prescribe stall/paddock rest for Ruby (the general protocol), but I am a 'play it safe' kinda gal. Here in FL, we've just gotten our first real cold snap (in the 30s last night) so the horses are all very full of themselves. For now, and probably for the next few months at least, Ruby will be turned out daily into the round pen. It's better for her, mentally, than her stall while still restricting her movement and separating her from her crazy buddies. Sorry, Rubes. There is grass in there for her to graze on but I will have to start providing some hay during the day for her in the near future. I'm thinking a month or two, minimum, for this. Maybe longer, we will see.
For support boots, I went out and purchased some Professionals Choice Medicine Boot Elites. Basically, I wanted something now and there weren't a lot of options in this area for something different. But I plan to put in an order for some Equiflexsleeves later this week. When in the round pen, Ruby will have her boots on. I haven't decided for sure but I'm thinking sleeves on overnight and medicine boots on during turnout after my order arrives. Thoughts would be appreciated!
Ordered Vet Flex this afternoon. If anyone is interested, I'll post a picture of the ingredients list when it arrives.
Liniment once a day, before the boots go on; boots will not be put on until the liniment dries.
Ultrasounds: once in March, then again in May? That's what I'm thinking for now anyway. We'll see what the future holds.
Then there is the issue of gaining weight. It's getting cold and Ruby's confined to what will soon be just a sand lot. I'm going to need to provide hay during the day. But what quantities to keep weight on her and keep her warm without having her gain too much weight? Her usual hay, a very nice orchard/alfalfa mix, might be too much so I will probably buy some coastal hay (lower nutrient grass) and provide that during the day. From what I hear, coastal is not very tasty. Time will tell if Princess Ruby will even eat it.
Not as bad as torn, thankfully. I believe the initial injury may have occurred this past spring when Ruby fell in the trailer. I had a vet come out and look her over but was unable to find any heat or swelling, or even pinpoint exactly where she was lame. General consensus was that she had pulled a muscle or two, rest.
Ruby got 6 or 8 weeks off during that time. I gave her an extra few weeks after she was obviously sound, as extra insurance against getting re-injured. I noticed that she had developed a hard spot on the inside of her right hind fetlock; had a vet take a look and was told that as long as it wasn't bothering her, don't worry about it...*sigh*
Fast forward to today. Another vet was coming out to look at one of our senior residents so I texted him and asked if he'd examine Ruby when he was here. I palpated her fetlock this morning before he arrived. The swelling was the same as yesterday afternoon, localized to the one spot, faintly warm, not sore until you palpated the opposite side of her fetlock. She walked and trotted out sound so I was hopeful this wasn't serious.
Wrong. True that it could be worse, but it is most definitely serious. Vet said at least two weeks off from riding, then I can ride at a walk but no faster for six months. If she takes a lame step at any time get off. Support boots for turn out (since she was SPRY this morning, geez), liniment, bute to decrease swelling for the next week, joint supplement, re-evaluate for soundness for endurance in six months.
Ruby and I went riding with someone knew today, someone who rides a certain RMH mare (that Ruby has a real issue with for some reason), and who rides faster than most of my trail riding buddies. We did five miles, alternately walking and trotting (gaiting for the other mare) but Ruby was acting like she had to pee so we went back to the trailer for a short break.
She peed at the trailer and we had time so we decided to go ahead and ride the short 3 mile loop, thinking we'd be back at the trailer in 45 minutes or so. Things stared well, we walked through some uneven ground up a slight grade for 1/4-1/2 mile or so. Around the time that the ground evened out, I heard a 'pop' or sound that could possibly have been Ruby hitting a tree root or something else hard. She didn't hesitate or take a wrong step so I didn't think anything of it, though she was being slow again. When I asked for a trot, she just felt wrong...then I realized that she was head-bobbing. I asked the other girl to stop and hopped down to check her feet for stones, her legs for obvious injuries or heat, but saw nothing. She seemed sound again so we walked a bit while I found a low spot to park her in so I could re-mount. We walked a little more, she was slow but willing and I could not feel any lameness. She went down a hill very willingly but back up was much more slow. I asked for a trot again, head-bobbing. I hopped down again; it was time to walk her in. She was keeping up with me (I was walking at a much faster pace than she was willing to walk with me mounted), but showing no signs of lameness. It seemed so bizarre. I had the other person watching her too but she didn't see it either. I checked her girth (was she being pinched?), thought maybe it was her back (we'd trotted a lot during this ride), other rider was saying maybe she stepped on a rock wrong and was getting a stone bruise; we were basically just talking out all of the possibilities that we could think of...it was a very long walk, my personal walk of shame.
We had to cross a road to get back to the trailer - still walking sound and fluid, so weird!!! Tie her to the trailer and check again - obvious swelling on the inside of her right hind fetlock, damn. She was slightly sore upon palpitation of the swelling, but much more sore on the opposite side of the swelling. When we got home, I hosed it for a while. Tomorrow one of the barn's usual vets is coming out to see another horse so I'm going to have him examine Ruby and possibly schedule an ultrasound.
When I got home, I posted about my pony troubles on Facebook. My horse buddies have come to the conclusion that it looks like a wind puff. Apparently it's not usually a big deal but according to the research I've done, it could be a VERY BIG deal. So, prayers and healing vibes would be appreciated. In the meantime, I'll try not to stay up all night thinking about the possibilities and wondering if there's something I could have done to prevent this (or if I did something to cause it).
So, it's that time again, the time to make plans that may or may not come to fruition. Lists like these help keep me motivated.
Greenway Getaway - Jan 2 & 3, 2015. This ride has an intro ride both days. A barn buddy of mine has a TWH gelding that she wants to take as well. I think I have the babysitter figured out, and if my barn buddy goes I'll have both a back-up trailer and truck. This might actually happen (crossing fingers). For now, I'm going to train as if I've already sent in my check. I'm not worried too much about Ruby, I'm much more concerned with being a good partner. Because I can't run or even walk very far, I will do what I can with strength training.
Hunter Paces - the local fox hunting club holds a hunter pace once a month. They have several divisions, including flat. I want to make it to one of these sometime in the next few months. I've always wanted to fox hunt. I don't plan to gallop over hill and dale, but rather just concentrate on keeping a steady trotting rhythm over the course...for now.
Possible endurance pace? I've been toying with the idea with checking interest for an endurance-paced trail ride in this area. First I will have to locate an experienced endurance rider to lead it, though, so this may not happen.
Fun shows, as I can. Things are picking up around here as everyone wakes up out of their summer hibernation. Horse shows are going on every weekend, so I will try to make it to a few as a fun little side job for Ruby.
And since it's Veteran's Day, I thought I'd drop this here: SGT Reckless. If you have a few minutes, read this mare's amazing story. People aren't the only heroes in war.
And, a funny that I saw on FB the other day - I laughed so hard that my kids had to come over to see what was so funny. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has thought about it!
This past weekend's obstacle challenge highlighted one of Ruby's great fears to me: being followed by something noisy. When we drug a tire a few weeks back, she did it with no problem but when those empty plastic bottles started 'chasing' her on Saturday, she nearly lost it.
So, Heather tied a bunch of plastic bottles together with hay string and we've been doing a lot of desensitizing with it. She was doing so well yesterday that I decided to drag it behind us at a trot (after lots of dragging it at a walk, of course). It started off really well...and I should have stopped her immediately and praised profusely, but apparently I am one who has to push the envelope.
Ruby neck-reins okay for a horse that hasn't been specifically taught to, so I was steering her around the arena with my left hand, with right hand holding the string. Then she started to get nervous and decided not to listen to the half-halts, uh oh. Coming out of a corner, she completely forgot that we'd already been dragging the bottles at a trot for a lap, and started side-passing at which time I decided to let go of the string. Only, I wasn't just holding the string anymore...at some point during the ride, I had a dumbass moment and put my hand through the loop. I had to roll my right shoulder to get the string off and Ruby stopped abruptly when the noise stopped - resulting in me nearly flipping over her left shoulder. And Heather missed the whole thing. I'm not sure how but she is never looking when I have these near-misses. Ruby settled right back down and we drug the bottles again (at a walk) in order to end on a good note. We also drug them around today. I'm so glad that she's one who gets over these things easily.
It was a loooong day. We got there at 8:00 am but didn't compete until early afternoon. Ruby was mostly good but it was cold and windy and she picked yesterday to be buddy sour on Candy. It was quite ridiculous actually. She got down to business during the actual competition part, however, so I can't complain too badly. We didn't place because we had one total failure (on my part) and a few refusals but after the competition was over, we practiced and completed each refused obstacle from the ground a few times.
The video isn't very good but it's all that I've got. From 2:45-5:45 we are just standing and waiting for the second judge to walk over so we could complete the course. Other random stopping happened when we'd out-walked the judge and had to wait for her to catch up. The end of the course is around 13:05, the rest of the video is of someone asking me about my saddle - which gets so many more questions than my horse ever does, lol. If you decide to watch the video, I suggest you mute it unless you like the sounds of wind, random conversations and Candy's screaming for Ruby. And make it full screen if you want to see anything at all.
Quick rundown of the obstacles:
1. Pole laying across two barrels. Goal: Pick up one end of pole, walk around second barrel making complete circle without pole falling off of barrel.
2. Walk over/between pool noodles. Advanced horses had to sidepass, long-ways over them yikes.
3. Walk through pit full of empty bottles and feed bags.
4. Walk between noodle-covered, hanging barrels. (Ruby was all 'You know I can't fit, right???')
5. Walk into diamond, turn 360 degrees, walk out other side without knocking anything down.
6. Walk between white plastic sheets.
7. From tree, grab rope which has several empty plastic bottles tied to the end, drag bottles to next tree, hang up rope. Ruby does a fairly impressive job sidepassing once she hears those bottles. I held onto the rope as long as her nerves could take, then let it go.
8. Walk between tires and under pool floaties.
2:45-5:45 waiting
9. Walk through stacked barrels. Ruby put her head in front of the tiny opening between the barrels and stood there. Good enough for me for a first time so we moved on.
Petting and waiting for judge (again)
10. Walk through this pool:
Those balls were swirling around and the pool water was dirty, so the horses couldn't see the bottom. Ruby was like, I love you but not enough to walk through the pool, sorry.
11. Walk through black tarp cave of death - no problem.
12. Walk through police tape, streamers, scary face. Ruby only hesitated at a mat they had on the ground there.
13. Walk to bucket, grab hula hoop, walk around tree, hang hula hoop back up.
14. Teeter-totter. Ruby's never walked across a teeter-totter before so I called it good when she placed both front feet on it and stood for a second or two.
15. Embarrassing - I couldn't get her lined up to sidepass over that pole but oh well, it's not like we were going to win at this point anyways. The second set of poles were supposed to be backed through.
16. Walk between trees and past barrel with face on it.
17. Walk past table (table had a bubble-maker which was turned on for advanced horses).
18. Walk through ditch with three different-colored tarps, next to yellow umbrella and sprinkler. Sprinkler was turned on just enough to drip loudly onto umbrella.
19. Pull rope to lift trash can lid, releasing balloon, drop rope.
20. Walk under streamers (I originally thought we were to open and close a rope gate).
13:05 All done
After the last rider was done, I took her around by hand. With encouragement, she walked through the hanging barrels, across the teeter-totter, and went through the kiddie pool. Wish I'd gotten pics of her going through the kiddie pool, though. She would step with one foot and use it to launch the rest of them over the pool - almost like the part of the canter stride when the first front foot hits the ground, the other is reaching forward and the back legs are being pulled forward. Eventually I did get her to put two feet in the pool when crossing, but we didn't have a lot of time to work. It was COLD and getting colder and I still had to make it to a birthday party.
I think she did well for a first time. Things to do differently next time - ride around without and away from Candy or other calling barn buddies. I had my hands full as soon as she didn't have obstacles to keep her focused. Another thing I have to remember is that she is still green so I have to focus on not getting upset when she acts like it. And that is all. No, we didn't knock their socks off with our impressive skillz but there's always next time.
