Positive progress 23/10/17

Following on from my last post where things were not going so well I am over the moon to be able to write a more positive blog this week!

I had booked Optimal equine's Rachael Barker to come out and see Jack and to also check his saddle which I thought could be a possible cause of his current issues.  She came out on Friday and started by asking me if Jack was having any problems at the moment.  I described his lack of power and engagement in the trot and my concerns regarding my saddle and his back.  She had a quick look at the saddle first and noted some uneven wear on the back panels, one side is flatter than the other, she also checked the tree and thankfully the tree is sound.  She then measured Jack before having a look at the saddle on him and found that whilst it is the right size for him, as I suspected the saddle is tilting back putting more weight into the back of the saddle and causing some tightness and soreness in his back.  The good news is that with some re-flocking the saddle should be fine as it's general fit is ok and it is in pretty good condition.  I need a master saddler to do this so need to find someone local who can sort this for me fairly quickly. 
Next she assessed his musculature while he was static which I was pleased to hear is fairly evenly developed with no areas of under/over development or causes for concern.
After this she had a look at him walking and trotting in straight lines and turning a tight circle and noted he was dropping his left hip which could also be adding to Jack's lack of impulsion.  He still plants his off fore when asked to turn tightly to the right but this appears to be more out of habit than an actual problem.  As I have a current open claim on the off fore I will get the vet out to have another look and make sure they are still happy but he feels sound under saddle so I'm hoping it's not a big issue.

Rachael then worked on him to relieve the tension in his back and adjusted his pelvis then gave him an all over massage and stretch, which Jack mostly enjoyed!

She left us with a exercise plan and will see him again in 3 months unless we need her again sooner.

Following this Jack was returned to the field to relax for a couple of days, as instructed, before I rode him again on the Sunday afternoon and boy what a difference!!  We just went for a gentle hack as this was what Rachael recommended. He felt brilliant from the start, no stiffness or lack of forward momentum and plenty of energy. Like he should be! It was so nice to feel him stepping out, using his body and just feeling my normal Jack again!  I could not be happier with the results.

We did another couple of days of nice gentle hacks keeping him soft, relaxed and forward and he continued to feel great.

After another day off I schooled Jack Thursday night and he was again feeling so much better.  He still needed a bit of encouragement to work in the trot but there was definitely an improvement and when I asked for more this time he was responding where as before he just didn't change at all.  In the Canter work he felt amazing, he was really forward and light, stepping under himself and carrying himself beautifully.  I was so pleased with how he felt.  Luckily my friend Claire was riding at the same time and was able to capture some of his Canter work on film.  Watching it back he looks pretty good too so we seem to be back on the right track now!  I also like how you can see his core muscles working in these pics showing that he's engaging and lifting his core and working through his back :0)

Then yesterday morning I took him for an early morning ride in the huge stubble field we have use of over the Winter.  It was a lovely bright morning and we were out just after sun rise.  We started by just ambling round the field to check what the ground was like and it was pretty much perfect with a bit of give under foot but no hard or deep areas.  The fencing in the field is currently being replaced and there was a big pile of the old posts and rails in the middle of the field which Jack had a bit of a snort at so I took him over the have a look and a sniff so he knew they weren't going to eat him!  Once he had had a good walk round on each rein we had a trot then picked up Canter.  Recently even when we've been out I've been having to really kick Jack to get him going (one of the reasons I knew something was bothering him!) so I was absolutely delighted when he pick up a good Canter from the start, taking the bridle and not needing any encourgagement from me!  We got to the first corner and he just took off back up the field with me like a bat out of hell!!!  I was wooping with delight as we galloped up the field!  What a feeling!  We both had huge grins on our faces!  It is amazing that he feels well enough to really let loose and go for it, having a good gallop is so good for both body and mind and we both had an absolute blast flying round the field!  Great start to the day :0)

So next up Jack will have another day off and we still need to get his saddle sorted which is hopefully happening next week.  If anyone has any suggestions of a Master Saddler in the Derbyshire area that can come to us I would be greatful as we are struggling to get someone quickly.

Another bump in the road 17/10/17

Since his break from being ridden while I went away to get married at the end of the summer Jack just hasn't quite been firing on all cylinders and to be honest I'm starting to get a bit worried about him.

He had about 10 days off in all, which shouldn't have affected him too much, and prior to the break he had been going very well.  I had planned to start jumping him again properly after the holiday but when I brought him back into work instead of feeling up for it and full of energy he seemed to feel a little flat and lazy.

We had barely any grass left in the paddock he'd been in all Summer so I suspected he may just be lacking energy and perhaps needed a bit of a boost with some higher energy food.  He just has a light balancer through the Summer but I usually find he needs a bit more in the Winter months so I popped to the local feed shop and picked up a bag of competition mix to give him a bit more fizz.

I have gradually been introducing this over the last few weeks and while there has been a small improvement I still know something isn't right. 

He doesn't look or feel lame but he is just lacking power and impulsion, and it seems to be in particular at the Trot, his Canter is actually very good and if I only rode him in Canter all the time I wouldn't notice anything was really different.  This is the total opposite from when he was suffering from Kissing Spine and he couldn't Canter!  In fact my friend watched me riding him in Canter last week and thought it was the best she'd ever seen him go.  I was doing an exercise where I rode him over 2 poles at opposite ends of the ménage counting the strides in between then adjusting the canter to take a stride out or add a stride in.  He was really adjustable and did the exercise the best he ever has, starting out with 7 strides then shortening to 8 and even 9 before opening up to get 6.  He even managed some flying changes for me. In contrast his trot is very fixed, I cannot adjust the tempo or stride length and he is very on his forehand.  It's strange!

I also clipped him out last week as he was getting pretty hairy and becoming very sweaty when being ridden but this didn't make any difference in his performance either.  Another thing I noticed when I clipped him was he was sensitive to the clippers over his back, particularly where the back of the saddle sits.  Since his surgery I have not fully clipped him until this year, always opting to leave the hair long over his back, but I decided this time to just take it all off so I don't know if he would have reacted the same before or not but his reaction did worry me.

I said not too long ago, when he was feeling good, that if I ever found myself having to kick him along when out hacking I would know there was something wrong and sadly this is where we are at the moment.  He is better out of the ménage but by no means as forward as he usually is.  He is doing everything I am asking him to do but he's just not got the sparkle and energy he had previously and when I ask for more energy either nothing or very little happens, he just continues at the same sluggish pace or picks up for a couple of stride before backing off again.

With all this in mind I decided I needed to have him checked out but battled between calling the vet, McTimoney practitioner, Physio or saddler first!  I finally decided as he is not obviously lame I would get his back and saddle checked first and go from there.  Unfortunately after waiting and waiting for our usual saddler to get back to me I found out she has had a bad accident falling from her horse and is unavailable for the foreseeable future so I needed to find an alterative.

Luckily for us our McTimoney Practitioner is also a qualified saddle fitter so we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and get his back and saddle checked at the same time, which we are doing later this week.  If this has no effect on his performance then a vet visit will be booked. 

We do know he had some arthritic changes in his hocks, diagnosed back in 2014 when he was diagnosed with KS, so perhaps we need to investigate this further and he may need the hocks medicating.  If he is not using his hind end properly because of pain in his hocks this could soon lead to problems elsewhere and could be the cause of the soreness in his back.  On the other hand the soreness in his back could be stopping him from using his hind end effectively.  Either way I just hope we can soon get him back to being full of beans like he was before the break.

Hoping to have a bit more of a positive update for you later this week, until then I will continue to work him with some gentle hacking to keep him ticking over.  He also got a bath this weekend and was pulled and trimmed and looking smart for once! 



In the mean time I have been able to keep jumping on my best friend's fab pony Jay and recently took him arena eventing for the first time where we jumped a confident but fairly steady double clear to come 2nd which we were all chuffed to bits with as it was our first attempt at solid fences.  We also went to a trail blazers show jumping competition and jumped our biggest class to date jumping a fab, fast and confident round just rolling a pole on the smallest fence on the course!   So no qualifying round this time but we will try again soon!