Recovery week 15 - 18/5/15

This weeks big milestone was trotting under saddle and whilst it has not gone quite as smoothly as I had hoped over all I'm pretty pleased with our progress and Jacks work on the lunge continues to be excellent.  I suppose I was expecting something to go wrong before long as it had all been going rather too easy so far!

Having had last weekend off I began Monday by lunging him in the pessoa, he was working well and was settled despite the break so we progressed to 4 ground poles on a circle a bounce stride apart and he popped over them in walk trot and canter nicely using his back end and keeping a regular rhythm. As he seemed to be finding this all very easy I decided to up the difficulty again by raising 1 end of the poles slightly to get him picking his feet up a bit more and really having to use his back end.  Jack didn't disappoint and popped through on both reins again in walk, trot and canter looking comfortable and keen but maintaining a good rhythm and shape.  I was really impressed with how well he worked and even managed to get some videos and pics of him whilst lunging, not the easiest task trying to hold and film on a phone while holding a lunge line and whip and keeping him going!   I wont win any awards for the footage or pics but they will be useful when reviewing our progress.

The next day one of the other liveries was hacking out in the afternoon so we were able to join her for a nice relaxed pootle round the village and back down the canal tow path home.  In the past we usually canter/gallop along the wide grass verge at the side of the tow path and both boys were a bit keen as we walked along so I thought a bit of a trot might help them settle.  With Jack in front we set off and they were keen to say the least but we managed to stay in trot, just!  Jack felt awesome!  He was doing a beautiful extended trot pushing from behind and swinging through his back, it felt great and my friend commented how well he was moving too - good Jack!  We managed to get them back before they boiled over and walked the rest of the way home.  So first trot done and another milestone ticked off on our journey back to full recovery :) big smiles and lots of pats all round!

I followed this up the next day with a pessoa session of the flat which went well.

Thursday was an altogether more interesting day!  Jack is turned out during the day with a muzzle on because our grass is rather too good and plentiful at the moment, he hates it but other than not being to cooperative when putting it on and trying to rub it off he doesn't usually bother with it too much. He is also often in the paddock on his own in the day as the other 2 come in during the day for a break from the grass, he is next to others though so not lonely.  He has never been a problem to catch or bring in up until now but today he decided as we walked to the gate that he was going to rear up and spin round catching me totally off guard and ripping the lead rope out of my hand in the process, he then disappeared back up the field at high speed with the rope dangling round his legs.  He has never done anything like it before the little monkey.  He wasn't difficult to catch again as all he wanted to do was stuff his face now his muzzle was off!  The only problem now was he had managed to break his headcollar and lose it somewhere in the field.  I managed to locate it and get it on him again and lead him back down the field only for him to do the same thing again when we got to the gate!  I was ready for him this time and held on but unfortunately the headcollar repair gave out and off he went again back up the field leaving me stood holding an empty headcollar!  I was by now getting a little frustrated and decided if Jack wanted to behave like that so that he could eat the last thing I was going to do was let him graze, so he I chased him!  He then went galloping round the field like a loony for the next 10 minutes!  I have to say he looked great and certainly could move!  So now, running very late and feeling pretty frustrated, I grabbed a bucket of chaff and a complete headcollar and managed to get the little pig in!  I had planned on getting straight on him but due to his behaviour I though better of it and gave him a bit of a lunge first but he seemed to have got it all out his system in the field so I hopped on board.  After doing lots of stretching and walk halt walk transitions I decided to try a trot in the ménage, this is where he had been struggling pre surgery so it was a big test to see how he would react.  He was a little hesitant especially on the right rein where he went crooked and threw his head up first and needed quite a bit of encouragement but did a few transitions on each rein so I was really pleased and left it there for the day.

I wanted to hack Friday but there was no one to ride out with and I didn't feel ready to go solo just  yet so lunged instead.  I put poles out again and in the pessoa lunged over 4 poles this time spread out evenly round the circle.  After a warm up he walked trotted and cantered over the poles on both reins getting a nice even 3 canter strides between each pole.  As he seemed to be finding this nice and easy I again upped the difficulty by raising the outer end of each pole and he rose to the challenge cantering over them beautifully - clever pony!

He had a day off Saturday as I was at Chatsworth horse trials for the weekend - fantastic and fairly local event which I love going to and usually pick up a few bargains too!  I did manage to ride Sunday evening when we got home.  I considered lunging first but decided against it and hopped straight on board.  I was pleased to realise he had not been swinging his quarter away from the fence when mounting since he's come back into work - before his op he would always make it difficult to mount by swinging his quarters away from the fence or mounting block or backing up but he's not done that once since I've been riding him again so I am taking this as a good sign!  Anyway I warmed him up in walk doing lots of big circles changes of rein transitions to halt and serpentines before trying trot again.  He was being quite behind my leg and was reluctant again to trot going crooked and throwing his head up and when I insisted this time he reacted a bit more to my request by planting himself and threatened to rear.  I felt like I had been transported back in time, this is exactly how he had been before surgery.  I quickly turned him on a tight circle to stop him and gave him a smack with my whip to let him know I wasn't going to put up with that and when I asked again he was much better.  After that he did some good transitions and was much more forward so I was really pleased.  I am hoping the reluctance is just out of habit and memory pain and that riding him through it he will come to realise in time that it doesn't hurt anymore.  Just in case I have also arranged for him to have a physio session to relieve any soreness he may have and make sure he is as comfortable as possible.  My vet has also suggested giving him bute for a couple of days to help if he is sore.  He will have an easier time now until the physio has seen him.

I am now trying hard not to convince myself that there must be something else wrong!  Am I doing the right thing by trying to ride him through the bad behaviour?  Is it really just memory pain or is there something else bothering him?  Should I get the vet out? 

I am hoping the physio will be able to give me some answers and advice! 

This kissing spines journey really is a roller coaster!
   

Recovery Week 14 - 11/5/15

Its been an exciting week as this week I finally got to get back on board Jack for the first time in about 4 months!! 

My last post details the events of the first ride but to be honest it was actually very uneventful and Jack behaved beautifully, hurrah!

I am surprised everyday with just how easy Jacks recovery has gone and how laid back he has been about being back in work.  When I think just how horrendous his behaviour had become prior to his surgery in February I keep waiting for it to all go horribly wrong again but so far he has taken everything in his stride and behaved impeccably.

His surgeon said to me before going ahead with the surgery that all being well there was no reason why we could not be back to full fitness and competing, even eventing, before the end of the season.  Whilst it was a possibility I am very aware of the fact that a lot has to go right for this to happen and I didn't ever think that we would be lucky enough to not hit any bumps in the long road back to full recovery.  So far Jack has far surpassed all my dreams and expectations by being absolutely wonderful!!

It is still very early days in his ridden rehab and I am very aware of the need to take things nice and slowly to give him time to adjust, build up muscles and to realise the pain he has lived with for so long is no longer there.  I have now ridden him 3 times, twice in the ménage having had a lunge first and once on a little hack where I got straight on no lunging beforehand.  Each time we have remained in walk the first session was simply just walking and halting with no pressure on what shape he was in etc. but he felt rideable, listening and pretty relaxed so the following 2 sessions I asked him to work in a long and low outline and he obliged without resistance, good pony!  I was particularly pleased with him during our first hack, he was relaxed and forward taking the lead and listening the whole way.  The only slight issue being the huge decorative wheelbarrow that has been placed near to the entrance to the farm by the village in bloom team!  Both Jack and his hacking buddy where very unsure about the whole thing and took a few minutes to get close and have a look at it and realise it wasn't about to eat them!   

His lunging is going from strength to strength and he is now happily lunging over raised poles in walk trot and canter on each rein and seems to be really enjoying himself with it!

He had to have an enforced break over the weekend due to my OH, his parents and my BFF all being away on the same weekend (how dare they!) so no childcare meant Jack enjoyed some extra time in the field (with a muzzle on the little piggy!) I don't think this was a bad thing as it has meant even if I wanted to I couldn't over do things to soon!

I will be continuing to ride and lunge alternate days over the coming weeks, still taking things steady and hoping to avoid pushing Jack too quickly and risk upsetting him.

To say I'm thrilled with his progress would be a massive understatement, I am immensely proud of how he has dealt with everything thrown at him and has just got his head down and worked so well when he could easily have been tense, stressed and difficult about it all.  He really is such a trooper, doesn't make a fuss and gets on with things, what a horse :)

The big day 5/5/15

Finally the day arrived when I would be able to ride Jack for the first time since before he had his surgery 3 months and 3 days earlier.  I never dared to dream he would recover so well and so quickly!

The saddler was booked for the afternoon and I was slightly concerned that the weather was so bad, the wind was really howling and when it rained it was absolutely torrential, not great weather for riding a fresh horse that's not been sat on for months! 

I dashed to the farm from work to drag Jack in from the field and typically he was filthy having had a good old roll in the wet mud!  So I quickly scrapped as much of the mud off him so he was slightly respectable looking and then set about cleaning up my saddle that's not had its cover taken off in about 4 months!  I was so annoyed to discover that while my saddle has sat covered and unused for months the cats have decided to start using it as a scratching post and it was covered in claw marks !!!  There were several swear works said and much ranting!  Once I'd given it a good clean it looked much better and luckily most of the claw marks were not deep into the leather but I could still kill the furry beasts!

I then got a call from the saddler that she was running a bit late so I set about cleaning up Jacks  stable and filling haynets etc. while I waited.

When she arrived the heavens had well and truly opened, it was awful, so we are very fortunate to have a covered yard for this sort of thing.  We started by having a chat about what Jacks had done and where we are in his recovery and then she took his measurements.  Unsurprisingly there is a significant difference between his last measurements and the current ones, he is slimmer (hurrah!) and there is more of a dip behind his withers.  I explained that I would like to keep my saddle if possible as it is so comfortable but would change if needed.  She very gently placed it on his back and I watched carefully for signs of him being painful or uncomfortable but he didn't seem to notice anything had happened!  She had a good look at it on his back and felt that with a little adjustment we would be able to keep our current saddle, although she did recommend using a half pad for a while until he builds the muscle up a bit more which will happen as his work increases.  After making some adjustments and in a brief gap in the downpours we dashed out and lunged so she could see it on in motion and make sure it was still a good fit and again Jack didn't seem to notice he had a saddle on for the first time in months.  Still happy with the fit it was then the moment of truth, time to get on board at last!  This would be a big test in seeing whether the surgery has really worked and I really felt the pressure! I lead him to the mounting block fully padded out with my body protector was please that he didn't swing his quarters away like he was doing before the surgery, I gingerly leaned over him and nothing - no reaction at all he just stood there !  So I swung my leg over and sat up and she checked that the saddle was still sitting correctly before we had a little walk around the ménage.  Would this be the moment he exploded? No we walked round on both reins doing a few circles and walk - halt -walk transitions.  Jack was perfect he walked calmly and smoothly round the ménage listening and soft and relaxed - phew!!

That was enough and I was on cloud nine so I hopped off gave him a few mints and un tacked him.  The saddler checked his back to make sure the was no sign of anything rubbing and then she left happy that it was fine for now but would need checking again in a few weeks.

I will gradually increase his work over the coming weeks and keep everything firmly crossed that he continues to do so well :)

It is a huge relief to get that first ride done and find that he doesn't appear to have any issues/pain at the moment.  There is still plenty of potential for the wheels to come off as his work increases and he finds things harder, to be honest I can't believe its been this easy and I'm convinced it will all go horribly wrong at some point.  I'm hoping to keep his work easy and fun so that doesn't happen but we can't stay in walk forever if we want to get back out eventing can we!!

  

Recovery week 13

Jack has now been home a week and it's like he's never been away!

It took us a few days to settle back into a routine and I found that being a bit out of practice I was a bit slower at completing tasks, items having gone walkies while we weren't around didn't help but we are now fine, found everything and have got a good routine that suits us both sorted out!

Initially I was bringing Jack in during the day, exercising him after work, turning him out for a few hours and then returning late evening to put his grazing muzzle on for the night.  Jack didn't seem very happy with this arrangement!  He was unsettled during the day as had no company, was very full of himself during his work and was not keen on being caught in the evening knowing the muzzle was going on so at the weekend I changed to turning him out during the day muzzled, bring him in late afternoon and working him then leaving him in for the night.  This is much better for him for several reasons, he has company at night as there is another pony that stays in next to him, he has been out so is more chilled to work and he's not on the spring grass for a long, there is also the benefit to me of only 2 visits a day rather than 3 so everybody is happy!

Following his return home last Monday Jack began working, my last post details the first few days.

Having attempted long reining fairly successfully for the first time on Thursday I tried again on the Friday and even managed to walk over some ground poles on each rein albeit a bit wobbly!  Then we had a slight technical issue when one of my lunge lines snapped!  Thank god it did it when I had a second attached and was able to stay in control!  Saturday down to 1 lunge line we had another session in the pessoa this time with ground poles at B and E on the circle for him to step over.  Having changed is routine the night before he was 100% calmer and he walked trotted and cantered over the poles nicely on both reins with no bucking or kicking or silliness at all :)

On the Sunday I was able to borrow another lunge line and give long reining another go, he was a super star again and we were able to walk over a line of 4 poles on each rein and even did some trot although I seriously need to get fitter as I was struggling to keep up! 

Monday we returned to the pessoa again this time with 3 ground poles 1 canter stride apart on the circle.  After a good warm up on each rein he walked trotted and canter over the poles beautifully.  He was doing it so well I decided to up the difficulty and raise the poles at one end so he had to use his back end that bit more.  Jack rose to the challenge and popped round on each rein in walk trot and canter with no problem.  He had a really good work out and I was so thrilled with him.

He has been working far better than I expected him too and I'm almost waiting for the wheels to come off again!  It seems to good to be true that he will come back into work without having some issues.  Perhaps he is just saving them all for when I get back on board, which is tomorrow eek!!

The saddler is booked for the afternoon and typically the weather forecast is for high winds, just what you need when getting on a fresh horse that's not been ridden in months!  I am really hoping that the hard session on the pessoa, being turned out for the day before hand and being lunged for a bit first will be enough for the saddlers visit to go without too much drama and we can get his saddle sorted and begin his ridden work proper!  It is such a big occasion, it feels like all the hard work all boils down to this moment when I put my bum back in the saddle and we will get more of an idea if the surgery has really worked and if it has all been worth it.  Obviously there is still a long way to go and unfortunately there is plenty of potential for things to still go wrong further down the line but all being well if I take things nice a slowly and keep things easy and fun for Jack to give him time to realise he is no longer in pain I will have my boy back.

My loose aim at the moment is a charity fun ride in September.  It's a long way off and a lot will have to go our way in order to get him fit enough and accepting me on his back enough to take part but I feel we need something to aim at and not being a competition there is much less pressure on the both of us.

I shall report back after Tuesdays saddle fitting how we have got on!

Work at home begins for Jack 28/4/15

Having brought Jack home on Monday night he enjoyed a couple of hours out in the field before much to his disgust I arrived to slap a muzzle round his chops for the night!

The next morning bright and early I went back to the farm and brought him in to his stable for the day with a nice little net of soaked hay while I went off to work.

Once my boring day job was out the way I headed straight to the farm to see Jack and tackle our first lunging session on the pessoa!  He was a little on his toes and calling to his mates out in the field a lot.  I am obviously out of practice as it seemed to take me ages to find all my stuff, get it all organised, tack Jack up and actually get into the ménage!

As I lead him through the gate Jack started jumping about, throwing his head and stamping his feet and I was glad I had got my hat and gloves on!  He shot off on the circle leaping about, kicking at the pessoa and cantering at speed but bless him he never tried to pull away just kept going round and round me!  I made sure the circle was big and tried to encourage him to calm and slow down!  It didn't take too long until he was working properly. I even managed to get my phone out and take some video - this is a still taken from the video:

I think he looks pretty relaxed and is working well!  The pessoa is attached to the bottom ring between his front legs and quite loose to encourage him to work long and low to use his back and hind end correctly and keep the muscles developed from the aqua treadmill.

I'm thrilled with how well he worked, although he was a bit excitable he didn't take too long to settle and the work he did when he was calmer was really good.  His stride length is longer and he is using his hind end much better than before the surgery with a clear 3 beat to the canter.

I had intended to attempt long reining on Wednesday but Jack was even more excitable and wound up so in the end I was only able to pessoa him again.  I don't want to pessoa everyday as it puts a lot of pressure on his joints so hoped in a few days he would settle enough to being long reining.  We had never attempted it before so I felt he needed to be calm and listening before we gave it a try! 

Thursday I lunged him just in loose side reins and took in a 2nd lunge line so that I could try the long reining if he was ok.  He was much calmer on the lunge and only trotted off this time with less bucking. leaping and kicking!  After a good warm up on each rein he seemed to be listening enough so I attached the 2nd rein and positioned myself behind him slightly to the side so he could see me.  I started next to the fence on the track to help get us going the right way and after a few tentative steps we were off.  Jack seemed to get the idea pretty quickly and we managed some large circles figures of 8 and to go large on each rein in walk.  I'm really proud of him and how well he is doing!

I'm hoping to start bringing in some pole work and even venture up the lane if he is behaving himself for a change of scenery. 

Tuesday is our next big milestone the saddler is booked to come and check his saddle which will mean him being ridden!  He has not been sat on since early January so this should be interesting.  I will have a neck strap attached and a body protector on just in case and the saddler will be there to pick me up should I need it!  He will be out all day and lunged before I even attempt to get on!  Fingers crossed the saddle will just need some minor adjustment that can be done on site, then we can crack on with ridding!!  EEEEKKKK!!!!