March 1st 2015 - Sneaky little sit on.

so, another vet visit on Friday, to confirm that I can start doing some really light work with him.
My super vet is happy with the ways things are going, although he'd still like to see a better angle in his left fore. But the improvement he has made since september is incredible.

Adam hates my vet. Well and truly makes him feel very unloved! I cannot blame the monster, but he has met him quite a few times now! Enough to chill the hell out! Fool!
So the vet continued to wrap his arms around his neck, awaiting a less scowley face. 80% Successful!

I took him for a drag with Mero that day, thinking perhaps he'd be at least slightly excited at the prospect of going out the drive. Nah! cool as a cucumber. He looked more comfortable down hills and seemed 90% sound most of the way around. Apart from waving his head at Mero and trying to wee on every grass verge we passed.

I long reined him a few days after. Complete gent and didn't put a foot wrong. He now has a need saddle (whoops!) and I had a sneaky sit on for the first time since september. A legend as usual! 

February 2015 - Finally in the field and saddle fitting.

Whoooopie! Adam is finally in the field!
He has finally settled down and has his own little paddock to chill in. About the size of a postage stamp but it keeps him sane!

We have also had the saddle fitter out....he is now a wide ;/ Little fatty! So I will be selling my year old saddle and looking for something that has a changeable gullet. VSD, Cob type. I am not planning on getting on quite yet. I want him to be on field rest for at least a month to just get used to being outside and seeing things again. Once I feel he is ready, I will take him out with Mero ride and lead which I'm sure he will enjoy!

I don't miss anything more at the moment then just going for a plod on my little man.

Enjoying some winter sunshine at last.

Peekaboo!

Summer memories of sunshine! Hurry up summer! 

September 2014 - January 2015 - Remedial shoes and a holiday!

Since my last post, Not a huge amount has changed. Things are looking more positive but we have also had some draw backs.

Adam has had 4 remedial shoeings and was feeling rather good. It then bucketed it down with rain for weeks and the field became an ice skating rink for him. I believe he slipped in the field and hurt his neck. I was then presented with the possibility of him having arthritis in his neck (I nearly threw up when I was told this) but it looks like he had hurt his brachiocephalic muscle and it was made worse by bracing himself walking to the field and back. Poor sausage was just trying his best to balance but hurt himself in the process.

So those shoes where taken off fairly promptly and replaced with something that would give him more grip.

Then next draw back - got him in from the field and he had a very fat left pastern. His left foot is his worst, so I called the vet. Cold hosed him for a few days (that really helped the mud fever....not) and the vet came to see him on christmas eve.
He scanned and found a hematoma under his collateral ligament. He was given 2 weeks box rest with minimal movement and Danilon to take the edge off. He has been a super star on box rest, although he is a little grumpy and fed up!

After 2 weeks box rest, vet revisited, scanned and re x-rayed both feet. The ligament had only 15% left to heal (Whoooopie!) and his feet are looking much more positive. Unfortunately I do not have the x-rays to put up at this current moment in time, but his Right fore is now on 3% angle, and the left is no longer in the minuses. This is good news, and his heel is starting to look much better.

I have taken photos of his last shoeing, which was 2 days ago and the vet is very happy with his progress and surprised at how much we have achieved since September.

Right fore

left fore

Left fore

I cannot tell you if he is sound, as I have not ridden him for over 2 months. I figured that the more I strained that tendon, the less likely it is to heal. So he's got rather round and has enjoyed his holiday. Our aim for him is to hack comfortably, even if its just in the summer months and manage him carefully through the winter months. He is looking very well (if not a little too well) and has a super shine to his coat. Today I can take him out of his box for the first time in nearly 2 months to allow him to walk in hand. I don't have any worries about this, he's cool as a cucumber.

The weather in Cornwall has been awful, the walk to my field is very muddy and very deep, so him being on box rest probably hasn't been a bad thing after all.

Although I had alot of worries about remedial shoeing, I spoke to alot of people, and did so much research that I thought my brain was going to implode, but I feel that I have done the best thing for him at this moment in time. Barefoot could be an option later on, but right now the vet is feeling very positive.

October 2014 - A happy chap, but front limb lameness.

Adam is still feeling and looking great (if not a little tubby!)...

Unfortunately we have had some problems recently with intermittent lameness in his left fore.
I put it down to his side bone... but then started to doubt myself and had the vet visit.
He has horrifically flat feet...something that was picked up in his vetting when he was a 4 year old and also something that my farriers have always tried to correct. He has very poor heels and his HPA is incorrect.

I took photos of his feet from the last time he was shod, and you can see a real difference in the two fronts.

Left

Left

Right

Right

So then this was our next step...

 Which involved alot of these pretty pictures...

And the outcome was this... (vet talk cooooming up!)

As you can see from the x-rays he has coffin joint DJD (low ringbone) in both front feet; he has changes at the insertion at the distal margin of the flexor surface of the navicular bone; he also has marked foot balance issues.
 
His palmar angle should be somewhere between 2-10 degrees but this is almost in the minus degrees! As a result he has changes within the DDFT and insertion on the navicular bone. As his HPA is broken back the compression on the early ringbone is also causing lameness.
 
He needs gradual remedial farriery to correct his HPA and his palmar angle. We don't want to change too much too quickly and we can't make his feet something they aren't. I would put either a roller motion or natural balance shoe to encourage breakover and open the coffin joint longer during the stride. Ideally we would put some heel extensions on but he will just rip these off as he over-reaches.
 
So... I want maximal breakover, I want very tiny heel wedges to start and I want his sole packed... If you are happy with this Mark? Once we have got somewhere with his foot balance we shall discuss medications. These medications will most likely be coffin joint medication with steroids/sodium hyaluronate and intramuscular osphos (a bisphonate similar to tildren but without the side effects and having to come into the practice to administer).

This isn't a shock to me, and I am glad we have thought up a plan to make him more comfortable and try to sort this problem out. Nothing is going to be a quick fix, but after our kissing spine rehab, I don't believe in quick fixes anyway. He is being kept comfortable with Devils Claw Flex (James Hart) and is ridden every other day, either hacked lightly or schooled lightly. Vet told me that work is going to help him stay more comfortable, as long as its nice and steady. 

At the moment, he is very happy and the best he has felt in respect to attitude and forwardness. I am 100% sure that if he was in any horrific pain, he would of told me by now as he is usually a very sensitive flower! 

The best part though, NFU accepted my insurance claim today and his new Nike Air Max shoes are being fitted on thursday, so I suspect he will be feeling a bit sore. 

I'd like to apologise for the rubbish gap I have left between my blog posts. As you can imagine, I have felt rather gutted about this, as he's had a fantastic showing season and was going so brilliantly. I felt very closed off about it all up until I had a solution and a plan. This is not the end of Scaddy! 

Hacking beautifully and a happy physio check.

Things are so so positive.

I haven't managed to get Adam out competing much recently. With my granny passing away and family to be around, he hasn't been the top of my priorities. But hopefully partying a little more from now on. My trailer test is also on the cards!

But....!

He is hacking like a complete beaut! 95% of the time he is a different horse. He still has his testing times but with my confidence now more so in clouds rather than the sand, I am able to cope with the other 5%!

He now hacks infront! Something I never ever thought I'd manage with him. He'd either plant, stick himself into reverse gear or spin. If I questioned any of these behaviour problems, it would result in him rearing and me crapping my pants...
Now if he does any of the above, the argument is much shorter, I am much firmer and I ALWAYS win. He very very rarely has another horse take the lead these days.

For those who have known Adam since he was 5-6 or maybe even before, you will probably remember that hacking has never been his strong point. Climbing hedges, sitting on bonnets, waving frantically at cars (him not me!) And using that trusty reverse gear given any opportunity! Funny how it took me years to teach him to rein back...

I'd love you guys to see him now. He's made me very proud! Even if he is 13...

He is also schooling brilliantly...
And I can feel such a difference from using his massage pad for 30 mins before schooling. His transitions are smoother, he's softer much quicker and seems generally happier in himself.
We even managed a counter canter last week which was a real achievement! :)

Our lateral work is still 'work in progress' but it is getting there slowly. Also teaching him to cross over behind from the floor after lunging him. He's getting much better at it!

Now onto the physio! - We had our 6 month check up 2 weeks ago.
She confirmed he has no spinal pain. Just the usual little bits where his muscle is developing and changing. She was really positive with how he is going and looking and said he looks like a different horse. Holding muscle in the right places and much more compact.

We are still using Cortaflex, GastriKalm and our equilibrium products, although it is a little toasty for his magnetic back pad at the moment, very very hot in Cornwall!

Something I am excited about is a product I have just won on Hay-Net blogging site.
All I'm mentioning is that its a calmer. Nothing that I have ever heard of before and something I'm looking forward to reviewing.

I will keep you updated on this!

Hope your kissing spine horses are coping in this heat! Keep positive :)