Friday, December 20, 2013

Shoes It Is

A little over a week ago the kids all got trims and new kicks to get them ready for the winter. I'm a less is more kind of girl so I agreed with the farrier that we should pull B's back shoes. He was fine with just the front before and I didn't put shoes on him until he had the abscesses and came up lame anyway.

We've been having issues getting back into the swing of things but every time I worked with him on the ground on the line or even under saddle, he got quieter and quieter and back to himself. Sending him around the arena though was another story. He'd pick up a trot and tuck his tail and scoot under himself. I thought maybe he's cold and just needs to warm up. Then I'd ask him to come into me and change direction and pick up a lope. Kissing to him and pointing, I got a couple of strides and his back feet straight in the air over his head... (**So THAT'S why I fell off**) It happened again tonight but he'd move down to a jog then walk and turn in to say, "I'm done." He'd jog around fine but as soon as he started to pick up any speed he'd get really heavy on the forehand kick up his back legs then scoot when he landed. FOOTNOTE: I also noticed that his back was a bit sore when tacking up which was the first sign of an issue. END FOOTNOTE.

I think the biggest thing that gave it away that his feet were hurting was the tail tuck... He did this before when he was tight, tense, and uncomfortable before I sent him to CC to work with the Cowboy. I moved all the poles and standards out of the arena and got on with a halter and a lead rope thinking maybe he just needs to drop his head and free ride around the ring without me asking him to do anything but move forward. He did just that, jogged a bit, and even listened to me when I asked him to change direction with my leg. It was when he started to pick up speed into a working trot that he started to scoot and lift his head and just get short all together. Little R came into the ring and watched him and confirmed the feeling I got... Sore back feet... Fml...

I ended on a good note at the walk and decided to get off and call it a night. You could see the complete change when I got off and he just hung out while N was riding. He was comfy just not to move or do anything. His tail even unlocked from it's tucked position, yay!

As soon as I got home I decided to text the farrier. He asked if I rode today and I said yeah, he's pretty sore still in the hind end. I left out the soreness in his back and the tail tuck... I didn't want to stress him out to rush out because he's got a lot going on. B and I can just walk now that I know what's going on with his body.

The reason I like pulling the back shoes if not all is because of traction on the ice. Yeah, I could put snow shoes with studs and the works but it's easier just for everyone if they can go barefoot. So I'll lose the traction on the ice, but I'll keep a sound horse and that's what counts!

posted by Madeline C. @ 11:56 PM   6 Comments

6 Comments:

At December 21, 2013 at 9:34 AM , Blogger Val said...

Why do you tie the tail tuck to his feet?

 
At December 21, 2013 at 6:12 PM , Blogger Amanda said...

Definitely start with his feet, but keep an eye on that sore back...tail tucking/holding it at a strange angle usually means ouchie back. Poor B!! He needs to be right as rain so you guys can come up and go riding in NH with me this summer :)

 
At December 21, 2013 at 7:34 PM , Blogger L.Williams said...

Hopefully the shoes fix it

 
At December 22, 2013 at 12:06 AM , Blogger Madeline C. said...

It's hard to explain how expressive he is with his tail but to try to put it easily, you can see how everything works together when he trots or canters. Because his feet hurt, he tries to stay more on his forehand which is uncomfortable for him, so he tightens through his back and down his hind end, getting short in his legs. Because he's uncomfortable, his tucks his tail like a dog as if to say, "ow ow ow". It's kind of seeing it all work together. I can just tell by his tail that something isn't right.

 
At December 22, 2013 at 12:09 AM , Blogger Madeline C. said...

I think his back hurts because he's trying to compensate. He's worked so hard to use his hind end so now that he's trying to stay off it and has to move his body differently to make up for it. He was like that the first time he went to Cherry Croft and I had him checked. And YES! We want to go. Trailer... Truck... I'll think about that later.

 
At December 22, 2013 at 12:10 AM , Blogger Madeline C. said...

Me too!

 

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http://www.controlhaltdelete.com/ Tear Drop Winken: Shoes It Is

Shoes It Is

A little over a week ago the kids all got trims and new kicks to get them ready for the winter. I'm a less is more kind of girl so I agreed with the farrier that we should pull B's back shoes. He was fine with just the front before and I didn't put shoes on him until he had the abscesses and came up lame anyway.

We've been having issues getting back into the swing of things but every time I worked with him on the ground on the line or even under saddle, he got quieter and quieter and back to himself. Sending him around the arena though was another story. He'd pick up a trot and tuck his tail and scoot under himself. I thought maybe he's cold and just needs to warm up. Then I'd ask him to come into me and change direction and pick up a lope. Kissing to him and pointing, I got a couple of strides and his back feet straight in the air over his head... (**So THAT'S why I fell off**) It happened again tonight but he'd move down to a jog then walk and turn in to say, "I'm done." He'd jog around fine but as soon as he started to pick up any speed he'd get really heavy on the forehand kick up his back legs then scoot when he landed. FOOTNOTE: I also noticed that his back was a bit sore when tacking up which was the first sign of an issue. END FOOTNOTE.

I think the biggest thing that gave it away that his feet were hurting was the tail tuck... He did this before when he was tight, tense, and uncomfortable before I sent him to CC to work with the Cowboy. I moved all the poles and standards out of the arena and got on with a halter and a lead rope thinking maybe he just needs to drop his head and free ride around the ring without me asking him to do anything but move forward. He did just that, jogged a bit, and even listened to me when I asked him to change direction with my leg. It was when he started to pick up speed into a working trot that he started to scoot and lift his head and just get short all together. Little R came into the ring and watched him and confirmed the feeling I got... Sore back feet... Fml...

I ended on a good note at the walk and decided to get off and call it a night. You could see the complete change when I got off and he just hung out while N was riding. He was comfy just not to move or do anything. His tail even unlocked from it's tucked position, yay!

As soon as I got home I decided to text the farrier. He asked if I rode today and I said yeah, he's pretty sore still in the hind end. I left out the soreness in his back and the tail tuck... I didn't want to stress him out to rush out because he's got a lot going on. B and I can just walk now that I know what's going on with his body.

The reason I like pulling the back shoes if not all is because of traction on the ice. Yeah, I could put snow shoes with studs and the works but it's easier just for everyone if they can go barefoot. So I'll lose the traction on the ice, but I'll keep a sound horse and that's what counts!