Recovery week 23 - 13/7/15

This week has been a bit of a boring one on the Jack front as no riding him while I wait for our physio to return from her holidays and give him a treatment.  While I'm not overly concerned as he still seems able to work well on the lunge and is currently not doing the odd leg lifting thing he has done before with his near hind I have noticed he is slightly shorter on that leg when doing pole work on the lunge and so would like him checked over before riding him again. 
I'm pretty sure he would be ok being hacked out but with all he has been through I really want every ride to be as comfortable and fun for him as possible so he is not having any negative ridden experiences to put him off!  He's had enough pain and discomfort while being ridden before kissing spines where diagnosed and the psychological effects are taking a while to overcome so I really want to make every ride now a nice one for him that he enjoys.
So I have lunged him most days instead in the pessoa and done various different pole exercises on the lunge to get him working his back end and keep things a bit more interesting.  He's lunged well although he has needed quite a bit of encouragement from me to really use himself!  I am wondering whether he needs a bit more energy as he seems quite lethargic at the moment  I'm also considering putting him on spirulina to help build top line, I know lots of other people who have used it during rehab for KS and recommend it.  While I usually shy away from using supplements unless they are absolutely necessary it does seem that a lot of people rave about spirulina for building top line in horses recovering from KS.  I think I'll give it a go, it can't hurt and if it helps build the muscles Jack has struggled with and needs to support his back and strengthen his core then its got to be beneficial.  The cost is not the usual inflated prices of main stream equine supplements as it can just be brought from health food shops/internet.
I will continue with the lunging for the next couple of days before Tamsyn comes on Wednesday to give him a treatment.  I'm really interested to see how he is this time compared to his previous treatment, that was 6 1/2 weeks ago, and I am pretty sure he wont be as bad but only Tamsyn will know for sure so fingers crossed!

When Jack had his surgery back in Feb 15 my best friend asked me if I would like to jump her pony while I didn't have a horse to ride with the aim of taking him to his first show yesterday (12th July) he is only young and Lucy doesn't like jumping but he does so she wants him to get experience and have some fun!  I have been going over to her's every few weeks (it's over an hour away) to jump him and over the months have done different exercises to get him ready.  He had only ever done a few tiny cross poles with her and jumped a few small xc fences with me last summer so he needed a lot of work to be able to tackle a course.  Its not been ideal preparation as I can't get over as often as I'd like but he is keen and genuine and really enjoys his jumping.  He has really gained in confidence with every session and tries so hard, he really wants to please!
The day finally came for his first show and Lucy did a lovely job of cleaning him up, she lead Jay to the show ground as she has no transport but the show ground was within hacking distance.  When they arrived the rain was pouring and we were all soaked before we even started!  The forecast was for it to be dry so I had not even got a coat just my show clothing!  I had to walk the course for the eventer trial in torrential rain!  I entered the 60cm Eventer trial and the 65cm show jumping.  I wanted to keep it small so it was easy for him and nothing too scary so he could enjoy his first experience of a show.  We all had no idea how he would be at a show ground as the only thing he had done similar before was a couple of hunts before Lucy brought him!  He was very well behaved and warmed up leaving his yard companion and not getting too worried there was just the odd whinny but he listened and jumped the warm up fences nicely.  I was waiting to go in with 2 horses before me when I noticed the course was not the same as I had walked!  The girl in front of me said the same and we both had a bit of a panic!  I had commented that the line from 5 - 6 was very strange to some of the others walking the course with me and we all thought the same so they must have changed it after I had walked it although they said they didn't, anyway 5 was now 5 a,b & c on an S shaped curving line - we had not practices trebles let alone on a curving line so this would be interesting, you could ride it straight if you jumped the jumps on the angle but again this was not something we had ever practiced however I knew Jay would be honest and try his best as long as I kept kicking so on a wing and a prayer in we went. There were other things we'd not practiced like water trays and skinnies but I felt we could cope as the size was never going to be an issue this pony has plenty of jump :)
So in we went and I knew I needed to keep up a forward canter to get close to the optimum time.  When I entered the ring I walked him up to the planks at 2 to give him a look as I thought he might be a bit spooky at them, he was unsure so I was glad I'd given him a look before hand.  We set out and he jumped the first 4 beautifully, 1 was a simple spread, 2 the planks then related distance 5 strides to 3 an upright then 4 was a skinny water tray.  I came back to trot for the water tray as the turn was tight and it was pretty narrow so I didn't want to risk a run out.  I then picked up the pace round to 5 but as we made the turn Jay napped towards the collecting ring and we were not on the ideal line, I had wanted to try to jump the 3 angled fences straight but we were too far past the line so we had to jump, turn left , 2 strides, jump, turn right, 2 strides and jump again.  Bless him poor jay was pulled about a bit and I had to ride pretty strong but we got through and were still clear!  6 was a skinny then the next few were quite straight forward 7 a parallel, 8 and upright and 9 a skinny all heading back towards the collecting ring.  The final fence was another skinny water tray right by the entrance to the collecting ring and unfortunately Jay was getting very strong and heading for the exit, I tried to bring him back and turn him but we were going too fast and he ran out through his right shoulder so we had to circle and regroup to jump it which he did.
Both Lucy and I were thrilled with him and couldn't have asked for more.  When the results came through we were 5th just missing out on a rosette which only went to 4th.  Without the run out and circle we would have been very close to the optimum time and 2nd so a great result.

We had a long wait for the show jumping class so we got drinks and took it in turns holding the horses.  The rain finally stopped and it actually became quite nice.  We watched the class before mine and thought the course looked quite easy, nothing too scary or complicated but it was quite slippy and in the end they decided to remove a fence as too many were slipping on the turn to it.

Eventually it came time for us to walk the course and I felt it was going to ride well.  There was a couple of related distances and 1 double but nothing difficult! 

I got my name down quickly so we were 5th to jump as the class was huge!  Jay went in and again I showed him the planks before the bell went.
He started out well but was strong!  1 - 2 was by the entrance and again Jay napped but made the turn and jumped cleanly, 3,4 and 5 were straight forward and he jumped 5 the planks no problem.  6 was the double and he had a tap on the 2nd part but cleared it and then napped a little again towards the collecting ring before going on and jumping the final 2 fences nicely, so we were clear and into the jump off!  We then had another long wait until the 16 horse jump off!  Clearly the course was riding quite easy!  We had qualified 9th to go.  A few before us had poles but the time was around 22 seconds which I thought might be a bit beyond us as the final turn was very tight.  There was only 4 fences and none near the collecting ring so I though we could keep up a good rhythm.  We jumped clear again but were not very competitive at 24 seconds, the final turn was just too tight for Jay and we had to go wider than most to make it.  We finished a very respectable 8th out of 16 and could not have asked for more, Jay was brilliant and really gave it his all, with a stronger bit and a bit more experience he will be competitive as he really wants to please :) some piccies below

   

Recovery week 22 - 6/7/15

Wow another good week with lots of positives and we have now reached 5months post op!

In that time we've done:

6 weeks box rest
2 weeks paddock rest
4 weeks hydrotherapy rehabilitation on an aqua treadmill
1 week lunging
2months of ridden/lunging rehabilitation

Things have not always gone smoothly but I'm really happy with where we are at this stage of his recovery and believe that most of his "issues" are psychological rather than physicological which given time I'm sure will improve.

I've worked really hard to try to do jacks rehab right, I've spent a lot of time and money trying my best to give him the highest possible chance of a full recovery.  I've also done a lot of research along side professional advice from my vets at oakham equine hospital and home farm, Tim at Bennett's rehab centre, my physio tamsyn and saddler to ensure I'm giving him every chance. It can be quite confusing as the more people I talk to the more conflicting advice I seem to get but I always put my vets advice above all others.  Other than having a recurring slight niggle with tightness in his SI which just needs physio treatment to help relieve physically Jack has recovered really well.  His scars have healed and he has no visible signs of the surgery on his spine.  Mentally he still has a bit of a way to go but he is getting better and growing in confidence all the time.  Time is the minds greatest healer and I'm in no hurry so Jack can take as long as he needs to recover.  The only time his issues manifest seems to be in the school so with that in mind I'm consciously not riding in there at the moment!  He is the most resilient little horse with great character and I know with time he will be better than ever so for now I want him to have fun, build and strengthen his core to enable him to work correctly and pain free and just forget about the pain and discomfort he's been in in the past.

Anyway onto what we've been up to!  It's been a scorching week which has starting out with a progressive pessoa session on the Monday, an enjoyable and stress free solo hack on the Tuesday another lunge on the Wednesday late evening when it had cooled a bit over 2poles on opposite sides of the circle, a short lunge on the Thursday due to the horrible weather and a unplanned but lovely loose jump on the Friday.  I had intended to attempt some join up with Jack on the Friday and so I'd built a home made round pen at one end of our ménage with barrels and poles on a curved line across the school and poles across the 2 corners to make it sort of round!  Jack soon put paid to any attempts of joining up by repeatedly jumping out of the pen, then back in, then out again!  As he seemed to rather be enjoying jumping and doing it without being asked I decided to ditch the pen and built a jump instead, I kept it small (around 65cm) as didn't want to push him and I let him choose his pace and how much he did but he happily cantered round on each rein and cleared the jump with ease over and over again :) his little ears were pricked and he seemed to really enjoy it!

Also on Friday I was treated to a cuddle with a very sleepy Jack in his stable!  In 4 years of owning him I have never even seen him lying down in his stable let alone been able to go in the stable and sit with him!  He has always jumped to his feet the moment he's heard the gate opening but today, perhaps because of the heat, he was out for the count snoring away and even when I walked into his stable and stroked him he only lifted his head!  I was able to sit with him for ages and even got a piccie having cuddles with him lying down.... so cute!

He's due a physio appointment but Tamsyn is away so she's not coming until the 15th and unfortunately my usually sensible pony decided to freak at something while tied on the yard and slip. He doesn't seem to have caused himself any serious damage but I am going to air on the side of caution and having had a couple of days off in the field I am just going to lunge him if he is up to it until she's seen him next week.  It wont do him any harm to do a bit more on the pessoa, he works well in it and the use of ground and raised poles will help to strengthen his back and core muscles further.  Hopefully Tamsyn and give him the all clear and I will ride him again after the 15th :)

Recovery week 21 - 29/6/15

I am really pleased that todays blog is another positive one, that's 3 weeks in a row now woop!  It really feels like Jacks confidence is building back up with every ride and lunge and he is actually enjoying his work again :)

The week started well with a lunging session in the pessoa and I decided as things had been going so well it was time to introduce some pole work again.  I put out 3 poles 1 stride apart on a 20m circle and then warmed Jack up in walk, trot and canter before moving on to using the poles, I watched him closely as he walked over the poles to see how he was using his back end, before his last physio treatment he was struggling behind with poles but now there was no sign of any difficulty so we moved on to trot and again he was moving well with no signs of any difficulty or discomfort.  As things were looking good and Jack was happily taking the poles on in a lovely forward rhythm I decided to try canter too and was soo pleased with his attitude and ability, he popped though over and over again adjusting his stride as necessary to meet the poles right without needed any interference from me and kept a lovely forward rhythm throughout.  It was the same on the left rein so before he got tired or made a mistake which could knock his confidence we stopped on a really positive note :)

The next day we had a little hack on our own just through the village and back down the canal path, Jack behaved beautifully and we had a really confidence boosting ride which is just what I wanted!  We had 1 really testing moment which could have spoilt things, as we were enjoying a nice canter back along the canal path home we came to the corner about halfway and were met by 2 other horses cantering along the other way, they were right on top of us so I quickly had to pull Jack up and move onto the path to let them past, they did slow to a trot to pass us and then cantered off again as soon as they had got passed us.  Jack did understandably become a little upset by this and for a few seconds he stopped, snorted and thought about taking off after them!  Luckily for us we were on the home straight and I think the desire to get home helped him decide to keep going in the right direction rather than turn round and give chase!  I was so proud of how he coped with this situation he was really grown up and he trotted the rest of the canal path and home without any issue.  If there was any moment he could have napped and reverted to being a rearing, bucking spinning monster it was this one and he did give it some though but he didn't do it, this feels like a huge accomplishment :)

He had the Wednesday off in the field with his mates.

Thursday I decided to try him in the ménage again, once a week is all I'm doing at the moment, this again was a bit of a test for him as there were tractors and bailing machines in the field next to the ménage bailing haylage into its plastic wrapping!  The noise and sight of the huge bales spinning round and round and the big plastic sheeting peeling off the roll would be enough to make even the most placid horse have a bit of a look!  Jack did find it all a bit much to start with so we kept to a 20m circle at the far end of the ménage at first and slowly worked our way down the ménage until he was going the round the full ménage without reacting too much!  We stuck to walk and trot again and did a few poles in walk as they had been left out but he felt great and the trot work especially was the best it has been in a long time, he felt forward, strong and started to get a bit of spring back in his step :) I was thrilled but just kept to half and hour not wanting to push too far and risk spoiling the great work we'd had.

On the Friday I didn't have enough time to ride so I lunged him in the pessoa again and this time did 4 poles on the circle 1 stride apart.  After a good warm up we did the poles in walk, trot and canter on each rein and the work Jack produced was just brilliant!  He was really taking the poles on stretching and using his back end much better than ever before.  I managed to get some videos and took some stills from these which really show how well he was working over the poles in trot and canter :) what a massive difference!

I am absolutely thrilled with the strides forward we have made lately, Jack seems to be enjoying his work, not restricted by any pain or discomfort and is gaining in confidence every day.

He has had the weekend off in the field as I went to Hickstead for the weekend to see the Derby for the first time, I had an amazing time and am inspired once again by the horses and riders I saw, maybe one day soon Jack will be ready to jump again!

Fingers crossed for another good week with my boy!         

Recovery week 20 - 22/6/15

I am really pleased to be able to write a blog post this week that is full of positives for once!

We have had a really good week and I actually feel like we have made huge progress in Jacks recovery both mentally and physically :) which is very exciting!

We started the week with a really good lunging session on the Pessoa with no silly or naughty behaviour and lots to like about Jacks way of going.  A huge improvement on last weeks pessoa session which involved Jack spinning around and buggering off in the wrong direction more than once!

We had a lovely surprise on the Tuesday when 2 fellow liveries were down at the same time as me so we got to hack in company for a change!  As the weather was nice and warm we decided to head down to the river and have a splash in the shallows to cool down.  I was really pleased that Jack went straight into the river at the first time of asking and had a good splash about, I think all that rehab in the aqua treadmill has done wonders for his confidence in water as well as his physical recovery.  We have not been that way for about 8/9 months but used to regularly go down and canter/gallop round the rivers edge last summer to help build Jacks back muscle up.  He does not appear to have forgotten that fact as once we came out of the river he was dancing and jogging about and felt like a coiled spring all the way back across the fields to the road.  I just about managed to keep him under control, but there was several occasions when I thought eek here we go as Jack bounced about on the spot getting more and more excited!  It was an exciting ride and Jack felt fantastic with not the slightest hint of pain or discomfort!  He lead all the way home and seemed to really enjoy himself!

He had Wednesday off in the field and we were happy to have company on another hack on Thursday, we had plenty of short canters and lots of trotting along the canal tow path and again Jack felt happy and comfortable taking the lead when asked and never hesitating :)

I decided as he had been feeling so good all week to take him in the ménage for the first time in over 3 weeks on the Friday afternoon to see if he felt any better in there.  He look a while to warm up and feel himself, he felt quite hard work and dead to my leg for about 20minutes but once he got going he did feel really good and there was no hint of a buck, rear or plant all session which I was thrilled with.  We only did walk and trot but I was very happy.

On Saturday again we had company in the afternoon (3 x in a week - that never happens!) and went for another longer hack,  we went on a route we have not done in about a year and again did lots of trotting and several canters with no problems.  Jack was keen, pulling me along the whole way and felt strong and comfortable.  He had a day off in the field again on Sunday and enjoyed getting filthy so will be in need of a bath!

Fingers crossed for more of the same this week :)     

Recovery week 19 - 15/6/15

The last weeks has been pretty good actually with more highs than lows so I'm feeling pretty good about Jacks recovery at the moment - it may not last but we are making the most of it and enjoying ourselves while it does!

We started the week with introducing a little bit of lunging again having done over a week of just hacking following Jacks last physio session.  The weather was pretty awful with high winds and heavy rain showers so riding was out anyway.  I popped the pessoa on and aimed to maybe do 15/20minutes gentle lunging not wanting to push him too hard as he has not been on the lunge for a few weeks.  We started out well and he warmed up fine if slightly tense, after a few minutes I attached the pessoa and he seemed to settle much better and concentrate on what he was doing.  unfortunately the wind really picked up and a gust caught under the saddle pad lifting it up and flapping it up and down on his back, Jack did not appreciate it and leaped about for a few minutes!  Once he settled down I changed the rein still planning on not doing more than 20 minutes, however at this point Jack did something he has not done since I first brought him nearly 4 years ago - he spun round on the lunge back on the left rein and then refused to stop! I was caught off guard and wasn't quick enough to stop him as he has not done this in years!  When I first got him he used to do it, he had not been lunged since he was backed so he was out of practice but he soon got the hang of it and has never offered to do it since, even the first time after several months off when I had my son or the first time after his KS surgery so why he suddenly did it now I've no idea.  All I can put it down to is the wind hyping him up.  Once I stopped him I put him back on the correct rein and off he went for all of about 1/2 a circle before he tried it again and despite me getting behind him with the whip he still spun and then just went backwards!  So once I had stopped him and untangled him from the line I was not going to let him get away with it again so I got right behind him with the whip and managed to keep him going in the direction I wanted!  So the whole session ended up being more like 30minutes instead of the planned 20minutes.  I have no idea where the spinning came from after so long but I will be ready next time, I stopped him doing it before so I'm sure I can again!

Anyway after this we went for a nice hack the next day with a friend and had no issues other then Jack feeling a little footy across stoney ground, he had a farrier appointment booked for the Friday anyway so I wasn't too concerned.

He had a day off Wednesday and then Thursday we did something we have not done in ages, we went for a run with my other half, he jogs and Jack and I trot along next to him!  We used to do it quite often but have not in ages so we took it a bit easier and had plenty of walk breaks as it was hot too but Jack coped fine and we had a lovely ride.  He still felt a bit sore on his feet over stones so I was glad he was having his shoes back on the next day, he's been without them for about 9 months so I think he's done pretty well!  The only thing that spoilt the ride slightly was a very rude bus driver that would not wait and give Jack and I room when passing despite my requests for him to stay back and wait, am email was sent to the bus company complaining so hoping to receive and apology and for them to educate all their drivers on the safe way to pass a horse and rider.

He had a full set of shoes on on the Friday and although he did struggle to lift his near hind and seemed a little uncomfortable while having that shoe on he wasn't too bad.  I decided after to give him a little loose school and attempt join up with him and was pleased with how forward and loose he was moving - he certainly didn't appear to be uncomfortable once the shoes were on!  We even managed a bit of join up which usually Jack just ignores me and walks off so I was pretty chuffed.

He has had a quiet weekend in the field and will be lunged again tonight - hopefully he can stay on the rein I put him on this time!

Recovery week 18 - 8/6/15

This week has brought up yet more challenges as I continue to try to find a way to help Jack use himself correctly, without pain and recover fully from his KS surgery in Feb.

We are now just over 4 months into his recovery and its fair to say it's been a roller coaster of a journey so far - the 6 weeks full box rest went largely uneventfully and both Jack and I coped far better with it than I expected, his hydrotherapy rehab was very successful as was lunging/long reining.  With everything appearing to go so well hitting problems under saddle was unexpected but unfortunately Jack found ridden work in the ménage difficult and it appeared very little had changed in this respect from before his surgery.

Following on from his physiotherapy just over a week ago which found him in pain behind the saddle the plan for the last week has been to work him long and low at a slow pace in straight lines to try to keep everything relaxed and stretch out the muscles which he was struggling with.  Unfortunately the horrible weather rather spoilt the plans as Jack isn't the best in windy weather especially on his own so he ended up have a few days off until the weather settled back down as I didn't fancy having a argument unnecessarily.  I have discovered on this journey rehabilitating a horse is definitely a marathon not a sprint and it will take as long as it takes so a few days off while frustrating is not the end of the world!  We managed to get some company for our first venture out since the weekend and although Jack was a little fresh he behaved and we had a relaxed and enjoyable walk down the canal towpath and back through the village.  The next day we were alone so I decided to keep things as simple as possible and take the same route we had done the night before, as we set out Jack was very relaxed and I thought we would have a nice ride although the wind had picked up a bit again.  As we got to the bridle path down the canal I popped Jack into trot on the grass to see how he was feeling, he showed no resistance to going up a gear and as we trotted along I was thinking just how lovely he was feeling, he was forward and making a nice long and low shape, stretching over his back and pushing evenly behind when all of a sudden from nowhere he stopped dead and refused to move.  If I pushed him on he reversed and several times tried to spin and go home.  If I gave him a stronger kick he would rear.  This went on for 15minutes and we were getting closer and closer to being back at the road!  I was starting to think we might be there all night when as quickly as he stopped he started again and once he was going in the right direction it was like nothing had ever happened, he completed the rest of the 30 minute hack without putting a hoof out of line!  Looking back I realise that at the weekend I only went halfway down the bridle path before turning round and going home (something that I've never done before but my mum was walking with me and struggling to keep up so we turned round instead of going the usual route.)  I think this may have been why he hit the brakes this time as it was at the same point we had turned back the last time he had gone that way on his own.  Anyway we got through it in the end and neither of us were hurt. 

The next day was Saturday and I had hoped to take him back down the same route again to reinforce the fact he can't just stop and have a strop whenever he thinks it time to go home.  Unfortunately the weather had picked up again and it was extremely windy all day, we didn't have a hacking buddy so in the end I decided it was not worth taking him out in those conditions as it just makes him jumpy and spooky, I don't feel the need to risk taking him out in conditions that are more likely to lead to us having problems.  As I had use of a car with a towbar and I had been asked to move my trailer I thought it would be a good chance to do a bit of loading practice instead.  Since the only time Jack has been in the trailer in the last 18months is to go to the vets he has become rather negative about it and although he doesn't do anything wrong he takes ages to decide he is going to load.  So I hitched up the trailer pulled it out on to some flat ground opened both ramps and the jockey door to let in lots of light and got a bucket of food and the pressure halter out.  It took Jack about 10 minutes of being planted at the bottom of the ramp before he loaded the first time, he had a few mouthfuls of food then I unloaded him and tried to load again, this time he went on in about half the time so again he had a bit of food and was unloaded again.  The 3rd time he only planted for about a minute and after that he loaded about 10 times with no hesitation at all - hurrah!  He even loaded without the lure of a bucket of food so good progress made :)

Sunday was a lovely day so I waiting until the cooler evening weather to ride, grateful there was no wind we tackled a hack on our own.  I did the reverse route going through the village first and then back alone the canal path, I prefer this way as the return along the canal path is slightly uphill so gives a better workout, I also thought the spot we had trouble in would be on the way home so shouldn't be an issue, I was right he hacked beautifully all the way round and we have a lovely trot along the last part of the canal path. 

Jack is still having bute but I have now cut this down to 1/2 a sachet a day and I continue to do his carrot stretches and pelvis stretches before each ride to help him be as relaxed and supple as possible.

Now our week of straight lines is done I can start to bring in some lunging and schooling to see if any improvement has been made.          

Recovery week 17 - 1/6/15

The last week has been both interesting and frustrating in equal measure!

As I felt Jack was not as comfortable and confident in the ménage as I would like and after discussions with my vet we have just been hacking until my physio could get out to see us.

He has done so well so far and an easier few days will certainly not do either of us any harm despite my desire to get back to normal (whatever that is....its been that long since we were 'normal' I've forgotten what normal feels like!)

We have been taking it nice and easy and on a hack Jack feels fine, he is forward and keen with no sign of any discomfort unlike in the ménage where he is stuffy, reluctant and generally hard work!  Although he shows no sign of lameness and is level he has been doing something slightly worrying with his left hind while I pick that hoof out.  This was first witnessed while he was still at rehab several weeks ago and I mention it in my blog at week 12 at the time a physio session found him to be tight in the hamstring and once loosened off was fine for a few weeks but it has slowly started to show itself again.  It is only apparent when he has been stabled over night.  I have to admit I was a little concerned as it was very similar to a horse with shivers however I was assured it was not this as he could perform the other tests of shivers without difficulty i.e turning on a tight circle and backing up.  The other possibility was fixation of the patella but again the symptoms didn't really fit.  As the physio was already booked I felt confident she would again be able to find the issue and help resolve it for Jack.

Mostly our hacks have been uneventful except one, we ventured out alone for a 30 minute stroll around the village and all was fine until we turned for home and had to deal with a very very loud motorbike, a lorry setting off its air brakes, a man dragging his pukka pie sign, a cardboard box blowing under our feet and 3 other horses trotting past a speed all in the space of about 500 yards!  This blew Jacks mind a bit and he jogged all the way home tossing his head and whinnying like mad!  It could have been much worse!

Saturday morning was a day I had been looking forward too for over a week as Tamsyn our new physio from the rehab centre was coming to give Jack a once over.  I felt sure he would be sore in places and feel better for a treatment.  I told her what we had been doing since she last saw him just before we came home almost 5 weeks previously.  She started by watching him picking up his feet and he demonstrated the near hind issue beautifully for her!  We next walked and trotted up in straight lines then on a large circle, confirming he is sound :).  After that he was turned on a tight circle and backed up again demonstrating he can do these with ease and confirming he is not a shiverer!  She checked his patella too and found no issue there again as expected.  She then checked all down his spine and found him very reactive in the sacroiliac on both sides and set about releasing the tension in this area.  Jack was finding it very uncomfortable and spent a lot of time trying to kick, buck and spin away from her as she got the tight areas moving.  Poor Jack had been in quite a lot of discomfort, no wonder he had been so reluctant in the ménage.  As she worked out his tight muscles we chatted and she assured me that it is quite common for them to get referred pain following surgery and not to worry about how bad he seemed.  Once she had finished Jack was totally relaxed and she was able to palpate the area with no reaction at all and the muscles were soft.  We then worked out a plan for the next few weeks.  As advised previously by my vet I am going to give Jack some bute to help work him for a few weeks this will help him work through any muscle tightness and soreness, we are doing another week of gentle hacking before trying the school again.  After the first week lunging can also commence again.  I have been given some stretches to do with him before and after riding.  He will also be having a nice hot water bottle on his sacroiliac muscles before work to help warm and soften up the muscles.  Tamsyn will return in 3/4 weeks to see how we are getting on.

While I'm disappointed and frustrated with myself for pushing him too hard I feel so relieved and glad that we have been able to find such a fantastic physio to support and work with us through the rehabilitation journey, she is so knowledgeable and gave me a lot of confidence that the problems we have experienced are totally normal and nothing to be overly concerned with.  I am now more confident that with Tamsyn's support we can rehabilitate Jack successfully.  I just need to be mindful that this is a long journey and will no doubt be an up and down one along the way.  We have an awful long way to go and I must be patient.  It is a catch 22 situation, you have to push them to work the muscles correctly but in doing so the risk is making them over use muscles that have not been working correctly for a long time and making them sore and uncomfortable and then the more you do the tighter and more uncomfortable they become so they then can't use the muscles.  Luckily with correct physio, short term pain relief and the correct work we should be able to break the cycle.

The positive news is he is showing no pain or discomfort in the area where his kissing spines were!  He was also a lot more comfortable bending to the left which had been an issue Tamsyn had had to work on with him previously.  The carrot stretches must be working :)

Rehab is a real eye opener for me and such a steep learning curve!

It all sounds so easy on paper but I suppose you cant anticipate what will happen along the way.

So having had the day off after his treatment in the field Jack felt really up for it on his hack the next day!  I am struggling to get him to eat the bute and thinking about a change of feed, he's currently only fed dengie hifi lite and speedy beet with a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement, a joint supplement and oil but he is leaving a lot of it so I think I shall change him onto a lite balancer and a different chaff, I can then cut out the vitamin and mineral supplement and oil and hopefully he will find it a little more interesting and palatable.

I'm also hoping that we get our towing car back this week after it was crashed into a few weeks ago by someone being chased by the police in a stolen car!  Once that's back I hope to take jack back over to the fabulous Bennett equine rehab centre for a top up session on their aqua treadmill.

He is looking in pretty good condition for a good doing 1/2 native