24/4/17 Make the most of what you've got!

I think having a horse who has had a condition like kissing spines really opens your eyes and makes you much more aware of their physical and mental needs, potential issues and frailties and how important it is to do everything you can to keep them in the best possible condition in order to make the most of them.
Though rehabbing Jack from Kissing spines surgery 2 years ago and then his Palmer Annular Ligament injury last I have become acutely aware of all the factors which may affect him, I now give much more consideration to his fitness level, ground conditions, weather, warm up and cool down, inclines etc.  I also research far more into things like diet, supplements, alternative therapies, tack and the equipment I use.
I am much more critical and will assess things like conformation and gait far more closely.
It has made me appreciate and be far more careful about what I do with my horse and make sure I have done everything in my power to avoid any problems which are under my control like not Cantering/Galloping on hard ground, being sure he is fit enough, regular checks of saddle, teeth etc, keeping his weight down, soaking hay.....the list goes on and on!
Of course as much as you do your best to keep them safe and healthy there are things that are out of our control and there is not much you can do about it once they are out in the field playing the fool with their friends!
It would seem this is what Jack has been doing lately, the vet wanted me to ideally box rest him for 2 weeks following his xrays last week but as we had no diagnosis I said no, I wouldn't put him though it unless I knew for sure it was the right thing to do.  I also said as he is nice and quiet in the field and doesn't mess about or run around as long as he goes out everyday he would be fine and getting rest.  Just to prove me wrong Jack galloped off down the field Saturday night and again Sunday night when I put him out!  As being kept in during the day on his own and not doing any work seemed to be winding him up I decided it would be better to leave him out 24/7.  The grass is well eaten down now so I wasn't so worried about his weight.  He then must have been messing about or upsetting one of him field mates because he came in with a cut and fat knee Tuesday having received a good boot to his already bad leg!  Seriously Jack could you cause anymore grief!?!
This horse needs to work, he just gets himself in so much bother when he isn't occupied!  At the moment because he is board when he is tied up on the yard he thinks is hilarious to get hold of anything he can reach and throw it about, untie himself and go off for a walk! 
Anyway, I cleaned up the cut and cold hosed the knee to try to bring the swelling down, fortunately it doesn't seem too bad.  It's hard to say if he is any better for the rest so far as the bute he is on twice a day will be masking any pain but I will be trying him Wednesday afternoon to see how he looks and giving the vet a ring to update them and see what they say to do next.  He does seem sound at the moment but the swelling is still around the fetlock so I'm not convinced whatever it is is actually any better but I will wait and see.  Obviously it will be clearer once he finishes the bute.

With Jack out of action lately I have been busying myself riding friends horses when I can and was lucky enough to jump my best friend Lucy's lovely pony Jay at the weekend.  He really is a cracking pony, very different to Jack, and he loves to jump!  Lucy hired a big nearby indoor school with a full set of show jumps and fillers as the ménage at her livery yard is not great, the surface gets very deep and its quite small.  We hacked up to the ménage and wow the place was breath taking!  There was an immaculate drive flanked by manicured lawns leading up to a huge house.  When you reached the top of the drive you took a right and went through a gate into the yard, the stables and 20 x 60m ménage were all housed in a huge barn complete with wash down box, hot horse shower, solarium etc it was beautiful!  It was also so neat and tidy and quiet!  Having something like that at home would just be the ultimate dream!  Anyway back to reality, while I warmed up Jay Lucy set us up some jumps.  Jay was quite strong but very settled to say he had only been in the ménage once before.  Jumping the warm up cross pole he was very keen and really taking a hold.  I did wonder if he needed something a bit stronger than a snaffle as he towed me round!  Once we started stringing a few jumps together he was better after the fence but was still really pulling us in the last few strides and getting himself a bit deep to the jumps.  We both felt that the jumps were just too small and he wasn't giving them enough respect so while I gave him a rest and a long rein Lucy put a couple of the jumps up. They were now around 80cm and with fillers under too gave him something to back him off a bit and wait, it worked a treat and he jumped beautifully hitting the right spot and clearing the jumps with ease.  We then put them up again and finished buy jumping a decent 95cm fence the biggest Jay has ever jumped - clever boy, he waited, sat up and then flew with his little ginger ears pricked, a great note to finish on a real high!!

I've also been riding one of the horses on the yard who is very different again, she's a very hot little mare who has a high head carriage, gets very tight and fast and is very sharp!  Sooo different to Jack!!  I've had a couple of schooling sessions on her helping her to relax and take the contact more forward and down and to step forward in walk rather than jog, by the end of the 2nd session I felt she had made some good improvements despite nearly decking me when a duck flew out of the ditch next to the ménage just as we were passing.  Using lots of changes of direction and small circles during/straight after the downward transition she was doing much clearer trot to walk transitions with hardly a jog in sight so we definitely made progress!  She is shortly going to be sold but hopefully being ridden by someone new a few times will help when potential owners come to try her.  When she is relaxed and calm she has lovely paces and is very comfortable to ride.

I'm enjoying riding different horses and it is doing my riding the world of good but I cant wait to get back on my number 1 boy!  Hopefully he is sound at the end of the rest and bute and I can start to bring him back into work.

I've also been busying myself with lots of mundane jobs with the spare time I've currently got, my stable and rubber mats have been scrubbed, tack all cleaned, brushes washed, rugs sorted etc!  All rather boring but its nice to get these jobs done that are usually neglected!