The long road to recovery continues 24/6/17

We are now into week 3 of rehabbing Jack from synovitis and things are going well at the moment!  He's been quite a handful at times but we have managed to do 2 weeks of walking without any disasters.  While Jack was trying to find everyway he could think of not to stick to just walking we did manage to with only a bit of jogging and a few excited leaps and jumps and the odd spin just for effect! 
I am so glad I still had plenty of freestep super fixes Instamag left to take the edge off him, I've not needed it during rehab the previous 2 times he has been through this process but this time he is much livelier!  I'm not sure what the difference is this time but he is very forward going and much sharper than in the past.  Hopefully he is just feeling well!  Anyway as we are now into week 3 we have been able to introduce a small amount of trot and so far he is feeling fantastic!  I think he is enjoying being able to go a bit faster!  So we now have 2 weeks of building up the amount of trot each day and if all is still going well at that point then we should be able to introduce small amounts of canter work eek neck strap at the ready for that!
In the current heat I took him for a walk round the newly cut hay field late one evening this week and it was exciting to say the least, I though the heat may have taken the edge off him but no he was super keen and we spent quite a bit of time going sideways, jogging and broncing on the spot!  Not quite the relaxed wander round the field I had planned!  It is nice however to have him feeling so well and wanting to go after having so many set backs and years of him not wanting to go forward before his KS diagnosis.
I'm still keeping up with the carrot stretches everyday and doing 1 light lunge a week but mostly hacking to build his fitness back up gradually.

While Jack has been sidelined through his latest injury I have been lucky enough to take my best friend Lucy's fab pony Jay out to a show jumping competition at Arena UK, I have jumped him occasionally at home but not at a competition in over a year and I am pretty out of practice having not jumped a course in 9months myself so expectations were low.  I also couldn't get over to practice with him in the weeks leading up to the competition either, not ideal preparation!  Lucy doesn't like jumping much but she did some little fences and lunged him over some bigger ones to help get him jumping!
She was doing dressage on him at the same show so the class we would jump was dependant on her dressage times.  When the times were released on Friday Lucy had a nice early time of 9.20am but the open SJ classes were not starting until 11.30am with 60am Open, I had wanted to do 70cm as Jay jumps better over a bit bigger fence but with the lorry needing to get back to the yard we decided to enter the 60cm class as needed to get done as soon as possible.  It was also due to be 30degrees + on Sunday so didn't want to be waiting around any longer then necessary.  In the end due to the heat there were not many entries.  When I warmed him up it was so hot I thought we might melt!  Thankfully we were allowed to go in without jackets.  Jay warmed up nicely over the practice fences, he was forward but not strong and I felt confident.  I walked the course and learnt all the turns ready to give it my best shot then went back to hop on Jay for a final couple of practice jumps as we were first in.  As the last people finished walking the course we had another quick jump then waited to go in.  It really was baking hot and I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible and get Jay back out of the Sun.  As soon as we entered the ring the bell went and we were off, by fence 3 we were into a lovely rhythm and Jay was making nothing of the fences jumping beautifully.  We jumped clear all the way so as we reached the timed section I kicked on and took tight turns doing a nice quick clear over the second part of the course and giving the rest of the competitors something to chase.  As soon as I was done I jumped off and lead Jay round to cool down so saw the next few competitors and knew I still had the lead.  Jay then needed to get back on the lorry so we quickly washed him off and got them on their way while I stayed for the results.  I was so thrilled when they announced over the tannoy we had won!!  No lap of honour as no pony but a lovely red rosette and a qualification for esuk championship to boot!  Even better Lucy had also won the dressage on him so we will all be off to the champs!

My Horse Box Product Review

I was very excited and lucky to be asked to do a review via Haynet for My Horse Box, thank you to www.hay-net.co.uk for thinking of Jack and I to do this exciting new product review :0)

So first up if you haven't heard of My horse Box what exactly is it? 
Well My Horse Box is an equestrian subscription box, you sign up to a 1,3 or 6 month subscription and then every month are sent a beautiful box filled with equestrian goodies for you and your horse. They ensure each box contains at least 4 high quality items and guarantee the collective RRP of a boxes products totals over £50!  The most you will pay is £34.99 for a 1 month subscription so it's a total bargain!  There is also a rider interviews and discount vouchers in every box. 
The products featured are hand selected, mostly new and exciting things you probably won't have tried before and from companies who are not so well known plus occasionally they feature great products from established, well known companies.  The products are of a high quality and can include horse tack, cleaning/grooming products, supplements, clothing, sports wear, safety gear, accessories, and much more.  The best bit is not knowing what you are going to get but knowing it will be good!

I was very excited to receive my box, it was like Christmas waiting to see what was inside the shiny wrapping!  When I ripped the outer packaging off I was not disappointed, the box itself is exactly how they describe it on their website - quality and luxurious leaving me with a super first impression.  With how good the outside looked I couldn't wait to see what was on the inside.

My box contained the following items:

Safe-care Equine Soothing Rapid Relief

3 pairs of Equitech socks

 

Ecohoof Equine Pink Hoof Clay

 

Husk hi-vis reflective tail wrap

 

Discount codes for Hawkins Organic and Ring Craft Equestrian

Each item is full size and useful to every equestrian from happy hacker to competition horses and riders.  None of them contain any banned substances so really can be used by anyone.  I will certainly be making use of them all and hoping the rapid relief can help to sooth Jacks dry elbows and the pink hoof clay can help protect his delicate little tootsies!

I particularly love the Equitech socks, they are so comfy and the designs are eye catching and unusual.  My other favourite is the Husk hi-vis and reflective tail wrap, who doesn't love helping their horse to be safe and seen on our busy roads.

The discount codes will also come in useful next time I need to make an equestrian purchase.

All in all I think it's a great idea and I highly recommend joining up to My Horse Box, you wont be disappointed, it's fun and exciting receiving your box and anticipating what might be inside and a great way to step away from your usual go to items and try new products you might not give a chance to otherwise and all at much less than it would have cost you in the shops - what's not to like!

I have added a My Horse Box subscription to the top of my upcoming birthday list and already looking forward to receiving my next box!

Find out more and sign up here:  www.myhorsebox.com

Back On Board - Rehabilitation Begins 5/6/17

After a week off in the field to relax and unwind from his 2 weeks of box rest Jack was able to start rehab this week.
He's been coming in during the day and having some soaked hay and is out at night in a small paddock which has kept his weight down.  He is always very keen to go out at the end of the day!  He gets like this after a period of box rest, for a good few weeks after he hates being in the stable and even just a few hours in winds him up like he's been in for days!
I rode him for the first time on Saturday afternoon, after he had been in all day, which perhaps wasn't the best plan!  He was very on his toes which wasn't helped by the farmer next door trying to round up his sheep while I was tacking up, all the shouting and dog and sheep running about really wound Jack up.  I could tell it wasn't a good idea to get on him and try to hack out straight away so I put him on the lunge in the school first and let him get it out of his system a bit.  He had a little canter and buck but settled quite quickly.  I was pleased to see he looked completely sound and was moving really well!  When I got on he put his head down and his back came up ready to bronc but I was ready for him and quickly pulled his head up and walked him on.  He felt tense but didn't do anything wrong.  Once I felt him relax we headed out for a short hack with another horse who was very safe and sensible.  He was quite excited to begin with jogging and skipping about but behaved himself and managed to keep a lid on it even when a big tractor and trailer passed us, a train went under the bridge as we rode over it and a noisy motorbike passed us far to fast and close.  We only went round the block about 20mins in walk as advised by the vet but he felt great, no sign of any pain or unlevelness just very keen and forward.
On Sunday I decided riding in the morning when he had been out all night might be a bit easier.  We headed out with 3 friends but Jack was still pretty excitable and strong.  We did the same route as the previous afternoon and with it being a Sunday morning fairly early it was nice and quite so after a while Jack did settle down and we had a nice ride with friends and a bath when we got home. 

I had planned on riding today but I needed to get my little boy to the dr's so I rushed to the farm after work to do Jack's stable and put him out for a bit thinking he could have a hour or 2 in the field to chill out a while then I'd go back and ride after sorting Thomas at the Dr's.  Sadly it poured with rain and so I couldn't ride.  It was really windy too which isn't the best weather to try to ride in on an already very fresh horse so maybe it was for the best and I will try again tomorrow.
  
I will be doing a couple of weeks hacking in walk building up the time everyday and hopefully in 2 weeks he will be ready to start doing a small amount of trot and see how he gets on.  I'm going to take things slowly and carefully doing all I can to keep him healthy and sound.  Fingers crossed rehab goes well and we can begin to enjoy ourselves again with some nice hacks and bit of dressage to begin with.  Hoping in the long run we will be able to jump and event again, the vet doesn't see why not but I have to be honest I am a bit worried with the amount of set backs and injuries he has had that he might not be able to.  Having said that he doesn't need to be super fit to do BE80 level eventing so maybe we can get there given the time and correct rehab.