Wednesday 30 January 2008

What a difference a day makes!

Rode AliG yesterday with M on Ellie we decided to get him on the roads with her as El is excellent in traffic.The lane is quite narrow and we get a fair few cars on it now with the new livery yards so he was behind Ellie most of the way,when we got to the top of the lane Ali came alongside Ellie,he then seemed to lose the plot a bit!
He pinned his ears back and was wriggling around beneath me scowling and acting really threatening.I couldnt think what was causing it, he wouldnt settle and had his ears clamped back I said to M to keep going and gave him a few sharp smacks when he felt like he might go up. He walked along the road in this agitated mood for a good 5/10mins with me just keeping my leg on and telling him to get on,we turned off the main road and still he continued.A bit further down I told M to let me go infront with him to see what he did errr 30secs to one minute later the ears came forward and on he went sweet as you like?!?!
As we rode home I chatted to M about it as he's done this 3times now BUT only when he's out with Ellie,the first time he reared up.Ive racked my brains and the only reason I can think is Ellie tends to scowl and argue when horse's get close to her out on hacks,she's very submissive in the field and low ranking.
So I reckon she's done this to Ali and he's either felt threatened by it or he's got mad with her because she's usually so submissive,the more I think about it his body language was head down and sort of snaking(if thats a word) the way a stallion herds and chases(I havent picked up on it because Polo ignores her and M doesnt ride often so he hasnt been out with El more than a handfull of times).
So im pleased in one respect as the previous 2times I thought it was the treed saddle or something I was doing,I tend to blame myself if I cant think of an obvious explanation.
Also the fact he didnt rear this time shows he's progressed and accepted being ridden through it despite him being mad....he was also excellent in the traffic passing a bus while infront:)))

The vet came today and the both had their jabs,it was the same one who did all of Polo's abcess lancing so I had a long chat about Ali's splint and Polo's 'dropping shoulder thing'.
Firstly she agrees with the trimmer the splint has possibly developed because of his upright,high heels but was happy with it saying should reduce a good deal in size over time but suggested wrapping his legs in cooling gel or a cool boot after work for half and hour.She tried to suggest natural balance shoes to which I replied "mine dont have shoes" so she said well when he's getting more work and you shoe him to which I replied "no mine dont have shoes and wont be having any":))
She looked a bit baffled so I explained how i'd gone down the barefoot route due to Polo having months of lameness and stumbling then came sound 3weeks after shoes came off.
She had a good feel of Polo's shoulders and legs manipulating and stretching them,she couldnt pinpoint any areas of pain but found a hint of puffiness in his o/s leg(may or may not be related)... she did say 'now they are proper feet' when she picked his legs up:))
Her initial feelings are probably stiffness/arthritis so I have to bute him one a day over the weekend then ride if he goes better then its pain related and she recommends a course of the Adequan(sp?) she thinks he'll be a good candidate and it cant hurt to try.
Looking back i'd say he wasnt footy with the mud but it was in fact the heavy going was affecting his joints:(
The thing is he's actually pretty low milage for a horse of his age but he's had a few nasty injury's and accidents over the years or it could be that he was broken in to drive and trotting on hard tarmac early on or simply because he's built the way he is..impossible to know but I suppose he's done ok in that its only been the past 6months where age seems to be creeping up on him.
The weather reports are very poor for the next few days and the weekend but I'll start the bute tomorrow and hopefully ride Fri and over the weekend then I should know more.

4 comments:

cptrayes said...

Jean's Tucker is on Adequan so you can compare notes. Your "mud is hard work on arthritic joints" works for me.

C

Jean said...

Adequan is fantastic. I used to use it on Toby when his hocks got sore and it fixed him up in a day or so. Tucker is on a course of 7 shots, the new protocol, I guess. Expensive stuff, though--somewhere around $60 a shot from what I figure. Hope you get it for a lot less.

Arthritis can be as much a conseqence of old injuries as of stress or overwork.

AliG sounds as if he is expressing his dominance with Ellie. She must be sending signals that he can bully her so he's showing off, especially if he thinks she thinks she can bully him first. *G* Brazen fellow! *lol*

Nicola said...

Yes i remember you mentioning Tucker was on a course of it.Luckily she'll put it down to his hocks not shoulder so the insurance should cover it said i can give him the jab's ...lucky me!
She seems quite fond of him and his funny ways.

Ellie does get anxious around the gate and if the other horse's get too close so i think he was responding to her scowls.
Least i know its not me just case of getting him out with her more often!
Nothing today just fed, managed to trick Polo into eating the bute in a slice of bread &jam but dont think he'l fall for it tomorrow somehow:-)

Jean said...

Hate giving bute. Best thing to do is dissolve the pills if you're using them, mix them in some applesauce and feed it from a syringe. If you have the powdered stuff it's even easier to mix it with the applesauce. I have plastic dose syringe--might be able to use an old wormer syringe??