Monday 6 October 2008

Just call me lucky.

What is it with me at the mintue if there's the possibility of something going wrong it will and is.
My saddle eventually arrived so sent off to ride Ali on Sunday wasnt till I got on the saddle I thought something's missing here..knee rolls! I had a feeling there was something missing when I unpacked the saddle but the penny didnt drop till I sat on it, some are on the way.

Ali was very good on the hack but incredibly lazy he's definitely a horse that needs to be kept semi fit to have any oomph ive never encountered this before certainly not with Polo.
I took Polo for a short hack to see how he was doing its hard to explain but he felt a bit stilted to begin with but then loosened up and felt freer.He was pretty good in that hurried manic way of his after a lay off they realy are like chalk and cheese.Although AliG is more trainable,sane and safe sometimes im not sure if he's for me I find it hard work riding a horse that isnt forward and for all of Polo's hang ups and unpredictability he is very forward.
Hopefully i'll be able to get more time in the saddle and resume our lessons with D it definitely was making a difference but at the minute it wouldnt be fair to expect him to work hard for an hour when he's unfit.

Today i'd planned of longlining AliG in the school but when I got there I noticed he had a swollen hot area on his chest/lower neck area-GREAT!
Not sure if ive mentioned it on the blog but he's had a few of these hot lumps on his bum sporadically over the past few months after a few days it goes back to normal then the hair falls off.I thought after the last time it was the fly spray but ive not used anything lately,they are itchy too.Ive washed it and thickened it in Aloe vera gel, this is what I did to the others lumps,will see what its like tomorrow then decided whether the vet needs to come out.It looked less swollen this afternoon from the morning so hopefully it'l be fine but it might need further exploration if it keeps happening to see whats causing it?!

9 comments:

Muriel said...

ringworm? Another parasite? Insect bites?

Poor AliG that muct be a real pain!
Are you following Bejay's blog on EE? It is excellent. I am not a clicker fan but with her non-moving horse she got great result. She wrote about it on the first pages!

I repeat I am not a clicker fan, but for lazy horses it does work. But I won't use it for horses like Jazz or Zipp. Perhaps it might work with AliG????

Claire said...

well hurray! on the saddle front. are you still using the wipwop on AliG?

Nicola said...

Definitely not ringworm if it was a parasite i'd think Polo would be affected too?My thoughts were insect bites but why would it suddenly start after a year and a bit of being here?
They are large areas im talking about which seem to appear overnight are hot and sticky
for a few days and without any obvious puncture site..weird.


Ive not used the wipwop lately Claire but think i'll get it out again.
The thing is he was progressing with the lessons improved fitness so I know it gets better but in essence he isnt a forward horse and I actually find it painfull at times....patience is not a friend of mine!:)))
I have toyed with clicker I might try tomorrow on the longlines if I get time.

cptrayes said...

That sounds like some kind of allergy - a plant he lies on? I have had at least one horse bite look "hot and sticky" too - are you sure there are no marks of individual teeth? Base of the neck and the bum are common bite sites.

///Although AliG is more trainable,sane and safe sometimes im not sure if he's for me///

That's how I feel about George.

Nicola said...

Yep C that was my thinking .The reason I ruled out plants is its the same field as he's always been in its looking more and more like a bite isnt it!
The field is pretty open with less flies than any field ive ever been in but have noticed a fair few horseflies around .
I was talking to my friend about getting him a fly rug for next summer as he's been scrubbing his mane and tail off and on.

Truthfully its my fault he's lost his oomph ive hardly put any work into him lately but its been impossible with the pups.I honestly couldnt face another Polo in this lifetime so I can hardly complain can I..................
oh and yes they escaped again!!

Jean said...

Ticks??? Tucker gets lumps from them, sometimes very large. We have teeny tiny ticks here. Often they leave a sticky area where they've bitten the horse.

Or it could be hives from some kind of plant that changes with the season. Any burrs around? One of those tiny little "spikes" could stick him.

As the seasons change, the bugs/plants, etc., change as well.

Repeated work with lots of demand for "forward" will make AliG more forward. You will need to be determined, but you can change his energy.

Jean said...

Whoops! Just read your comment that the pups had escaped again! Used the rope ladder ploy, eh?? How about a playpen with a cover?

I can just picture the little devils conspiring. *lol*

Muriel said...

Wasps or bees perhaps?

These pups are Evil and you want to sell them to us LOL!

Muriel said...

Hey! Blondie! too busy to write ^-^ what is up?