Bit of a mixed bag!

Well....shock horror..AliG aint perfect after all :0
If you remember Ellie broke into the field with him and Polo a few days ago ,everyone was fine and they'd all be in together for a month Ellie just getting stripped off because she was getting too much grass so nothing to write home about.
Ellie came into season a few days ago and Ali has been rather interested but fine and managable just bit of shouting and 'bits' hanging out etc.
Marina went up to put some hay in for Ellie in her bare paddock Tuesday evening and he somehow managed to get past her into Ellie's bit,they then both ran past her again and escaped into the big field!
Marina said Ali was trying always to have his wicked way and Ellie was very happy with the attention!She tried for over an hour to catch Ellie who kept running away with Ali so went and asked the YO's hubby for help, they eventually caught Ellie but as they were leading her out AliG managed to squeeze out the gate THREE TIMES so she put Ellie in the nearest stable and you guessed it Ali squeezed in there with her too!
I have to say I couldnt for the life of me work out how he managed to get past them that many times ,im afraid i'd have got a whip or a brush and walloped him after he'd barged past the first time that type of behaviour is a danger to him and other's.Having said that I dont think he was being out and out naughty it was just the smell of Ellie and the lingering hormones but it still doesnt excuse what happened and mean he should be allowed to get away with doing it.
Anyway it all sounded a bit crazy so Alig and Ellie are going out at opposite times for the next few days until she comes out of season,we may have to strip the field in half for the winter until all the hormones are gone but will wait and see how they go when Ellie rejoins them.They were all absolutely fine in together before and they've are right next to each other in the field now so im very suprised it's all happened now.
Its funny but Ali so knew he was in bother when I got to the farm lets just say keeping his head down was an understatement,I brushed him, picked his feet up to test him and he did everying immediately with a sheepish look in his eye..well least he had the decency to know he'd done wrong!Funny but Polo' like that too,when he's done something silly or naughty he really grovels for attention afterwards:)
Guess what Polo did during it all??Kept out the way and watched I KNEW he wasnt 100%:))

Which leads us on to today.The vet came out and I was quite suprise with her findings but it makes sense.I explained he wasnt quite right,terrible to school and just didnt feel completely sound so she had a look at his side said there was a little bit of puss still there to get out but not that bad to account for what I was describing.So watched him trot up and down and reckons he has a touch of arthritis in his hocks with his right one being slightly worse.She thinks it a combination of him having time out of work,putting weight on,loss of fitness/condition and simply his age!She feels said its very slight and is sure once he gets back into work and fitter he'l be back to normal ..I suppose he's never shown any signs of aging before so I felt rather sad about it;(
She wants him on bute for a while to get him loosened up and mobile then hopefully reduce this down to only if and when I think he needs it..Caroline you still got any of your DIY stuff?
Im going to get my Bowen lady out next week,vet thought it would be really beneficial to him and ive got to track down some Echinacia (place I bought it from in the past doesnt have any now).
To top things off he'd broken out in loads of lumps and swellings all over his body, put a clean rug on that i'd washed and the detergent must have irritated him(he's had these reactions in the past),its the same one as usual but bless him I think his immune system must be a bit challenged at the moment.
Oh had a chat about AliG's splint and she agreed rest then when its completely cool and hard start work again but thinks a couple of longreining sessions on soft ground wouldnt do any harm.

So Polo is to have gentle work with a long warm up,bute and Bowen..AliG is getting his cream on his leg and a couple of longreining sessions a week.

Long reining and PICS!

Nothing horsey Saturday other than feed and poo pick. Didnt get anywhere at the dog show which I'd expected cos her coat isnt 100% right,having said that it is a very clicky show and ive never once been placed there but its on my doorstep so may as well go.

Rode Polo on Sunday and he was pretty good,got a bit wound up coming home cos he 'thought' he could see something about to eat him but pretty chilled for him.He on the Ranitidene for the moment ,I cant find anywhere you can buy the Ulcerguard etc over here but I think Ive found somewhere I can buy the human version, just going to be working out the dosage that'l be the hard part!

Ali had a brush and feet picked out(good again).

Today I rode Polo in the school,I put the pelham in to see how he went and he was definately softer but I still dont think he's quite right.Im going to ring the vet tomorrow to see if they can come have a look and possibly get him some physio,he didnt half hit the fence and I reckon walloped his side on a post so there could be more underlying damage than just the abscess.Its gone through the insurance now anyway so a few physio sessions will just get added on that too.

AliG got longreined today,I was expecting him to be a bit silly because he's done nothing for a week and a half and has been,well lets just say feeling the weight of himself since Ellie broke in with him and Polo(she's now in season).

He was a star ..bet your getting sick of me now:) but he really enjoyed it.Marina walked alongside him at his head to start with then unclipped him because he was fine and listening to me.He walked out really well so im going to do this for the next week or two so he's not missing out on work but isnt getting the strain on his leg with me not on his back.Poor Marina nearly keeled over trying to keep up,she does have asthma and a bit of arthritis :0 so ive roped Jo into helping me tomorrow.

...pics are probably at the top but anyway they are 'there' somewhere.

Breaking out.

..Ellie that is!She broke out of her bare paddlock into the field with the boys last night,Polo was delighted and im sure he had some 'fun' with her he wouldnt let AliG anywhere near her,Ellie came in licking her lips:)

Had a schooling session with Polo yesterday..god he was terrible!Seems like we are back to square one with him having that long break,resistant,rushing,unable to bend:0 needless to say it wasnt pretty but he didnt strop once so think we have that side of things sorted.I do wonder sometimes whether its worth going through this I reckon his breeding makes it so difficult for him but he 'can' do it and when he's going nicely he knocks people socks off just takes alot of regular sessions to get him there.I know physically its beneficial for him to be working more correctly but whenever he has a break we have to start all over again.
I did wonder if some of it was due to the fact he could hear Ali shouting made him less focused?we could hear Alig for the whole time we were away, whenever we've been out Ali is always covered in shavings so I think he has a roll in a bit of a paddy!

Had a short ride to day around the stubble fields this tends to blow Polo's mind but he was really good today only getting a bit excited when we turned for home.
Ali had a good brush and picked his feet up pretty quickly too which is good news.
Debating whether to lead Ali out for some walks as he's getting rather porky,he has filled out a lot in general his chest is much wider than when he first came and his butt is fuller now too but its the waistline thats had the biggest growth!
I dont want to do too much as the splint def has a bit of heat in it and annoyingly looked a bit bigger today (that could just be me) but walking out in hand should be okay...what do you reckon?

Dog show tomorrow with the Mooster,not expecting anything her coat isnt right but it should be in much better for the November show.May aswell go as its on the doorstep for a change and Buster can come to have look around..just hope he doesnt bark at everything that his latest response to EVERYTHING..boys {sigh}.

Dentist time.

Polo,AliG and Ellie had their teeth done yesterday.
Ali was no problem,suprise suprise :)the dentist said they were a bit sharp but not too bad,she was very admiring of him.Polo as usual had to put up a fight,he lifted me off my feet a one point but got done in the end...I always know when he's not right if he doesnt put up his token resistance!

Didnt do alot today cos ive switched onto waking nights again for the rest of the week so needed some sleep(got about 4hours)..they both got a brush and AliG picked his feet up no problem so I was pleased.
Its lovely to watch them in the field now Ali follows Polo around like a puppy and looks like he wants to eat the same blade of grass as Polo:))
...must get some pics soon.
My friend got some excellent pics of Polo jumping in the summer..not me riding him im afraid!He hadnt jumped for about 6years other than the old log or stile, I wasnt that brave but he looks amazing on the pics clearing them by a mile and making a lovely shape.He has a natural ability and really enjoys it just a shame he's always been so silly when we went anywhere or he could have done more im sure.

Still not 100%

Ive still got a lingering migraine today so feel a bit hungover and yucky but rode Polo and did the usual jobs.Im sure his side is flaring up again,its leaking a bit and he just doesnt seem quite right but we'll see how he goes.Im going to get him some Echinacia tomorrow to give his immune system a boost so hopefully things will settle down.
My friend has some 'stuff' from Crossgates that they made up for her horse when he had a splint so she's going to dig it out for me to give to Ali,its drops in to take orally and a lotion to rub on.Worth a try AND its free..hey Caroline your starting to rub off on me!:)

My sister came to see AliG today with my little niece who's a year and a half.She was a bit wary of the horse's at first more interested in chasing the dogs,mainly Minx cos she'l stand and let her do whatever!I went in to brush and tack Polo up when my sister said look at Ericka, niece was lying flat on her stomach looking under the stall guard so she could see what I was doing,wish i'd got a picture it was so cute.

Anyway Polo was good again but determind not to let Jo's old boy anywhere near Ellie everytime he got too far infront he put the breaks on waited for the other two then squeezed in between,think he misses her cos she's stripped off on a bare paddock to try and lose some weight..love!:)

All Quiet on the Eastern Front.

Think I over did it yesterday so didnt do too much horsey stuff today.

Yesterday I rode out with my friend who's horse has just returned after being away 'somewhere' getting some work while she was on holiday,Polo was a good lad.Even though he has his hang ups he's very forward going so nearly always ends up leading.My friend's horse has a thing about the donkeys at the bottom of our lane so she ended up having to get off and lead him past them Polo aint keen but he trusts me enough to go past most things, usually with a bit of snorting mind;)
I poo picked the field,scrubbed and hosed out Polo's stable and mats, trimmed his feet,which are looking fab BTW(he actually has proper frogs now!) then did AliG's feet that proved to be a bit more difficult.He's such a sod about picking up his front feet he 'knows' what I want he gets this stubborn look in his face and no matter what I do he just will not pick them up.
Ive resorted to moving him back and forwards then picking them up as he moves, so what did he do??well he was refusing to move full stop!
After much sweating and straining I could feel myself starting to get mad so out came the Richard Maxwell rope halter.I did a few mins schooling,backing him up then coming forwards immediately or the pressure would go on he got the idea pretty quickly,I then went back to getting him to step towards me and picked his leg up first time!GRR
AliG's feet were all over the place when he came, high heels,small smelly frogs and lots of flare on his outside hinds so I think foot care hasnt been something he's had a lot of but he picks his hind feet up straight away so dont know why he's as awkward with his front feet?
I then went out for a Chinese meal for my Dad's birthday it was gorgeous but I had a stinking migraine at this point so just wanted to get home and lie down in a dark room:(
Incidentally one of the waitresses was showing eveyone pics from her phone of some Eastenders actors who'd been in earlier, they were up to do the Great North Run which was today...Max was one of them.

Today I went to visit my friend who's just had a baby boy then went to the stables.Poo picked field and brushed the boys then my Dad came to see AliG for the first time,he was very impressed with him and needless to say Polo got plenty of attention,my Dad's a huge fan of Polo!
Claire then arrived for a visit so more attention and fuss for the boys AND dogs who jumped in Claire's car.AliG was getting rather cocky with it all and became a bit mouthy but I reckon thats mainly his age and those little lingering hormones,I move him away from me when he does this.Ive got to be carefull to not allow him away with this, Polo is very cuddly and in your face for affection but he never has a nip but Ali is a lot younger and still learning the ropes.
Felt a bit rough from the migraine and couldnt face riding so fed and turned them out..it was a lovely day so sheets back off,hard to know what to do for the best at times the weather's so up and down!

I then made Sunday dinner,did the most terrifing pile of ironing then hoover and cleaned..see I AM superwoman;)


Ps Claire do you have my email to send me those pics?

Dam..blast ..and bugger!

Well AliG has developed a splint..I think this has been why he's been reluctant to walk out and why he's been better after a couple of days off!
Its very small but I didnt spot it until after I'd rode him today.He wasnt happy when we were out even though we didnt go far he kept dropping back and I could see he was getting annoyed when I was getting after him to walk on his ears clamped back and felt like he was threating to rear at one point!
Feel a bit guilty for not keeping a closer eye I had wondered if something like this had the potential to flare up somewhere down the line simply because he's gone from soft arena surface to hacking on harder ground.He's not lame and it not huge so hopefully it wont get any worse but im kicking myself about it..I should have sussed when he was better after a couple of days off that it wasnt just a case of him being lazy.
Just done a bit of reading up and the standard recommendation seems to be minimum 30days rest then see how it goes,also the obvious cold hosing,Arnica and Ruta Grav(think that the one).
Polo had splints,probably the norm when breaking in trotting horses on roads,and it never bothered me but feel annoyed I could probably have avoided it if i'd been bit more carefull.:(