Recovery week 29 - 24/8/15

Wahay another good week under our belt :) this is becoming a habit I could very happily get used to!
Jack is still not forward when we start and takes a bit of time and encouragement to get going and working properly but the ability is there and bad behaviour isn't so I'm not worried at the moment although I am considering whether something like a massage pad on before being ridden to warm his back muscles up might help, I will discuss this with Tamsyn our physio when she comes later this week to give him a check up.
I started the week with our usual lunge in pessoa and I worked him hard getting him to really open up and move forwards hoping to give him the confidence to do the same under saddle.
On the Tuesday the weather was windy and we had no one to hack with, the big field is now out of bounds as the cows have arrived so I decided to tackle a bit of schooling in the ménage for the first time in a couple of months.
I gave him a good warm up in walk doing lots of stretching and long and low and lateral before picking up trot.  Jack had other ideas and felt that he would rather just keep walking thanks very much!  So after a little discussion we were trotting, it was slow and behind the leg but he was going at least!  We did a few more trot walk trot transitions and then he brightened up and started to work properly.  A spook at the bottom of the school resulted in us picking up canter and as he was feeling happy and forwards I sat and allowed the canter to continue.  I then changed the rein and asked for canter the other way and got it without any hesitation :) after that he felt so much better and was giving me some really nice work! I then did some figures of 8 in canter changing leg through trot over x and he was just awesome coming back easily and then picking up the correct lead everytime with no issues and not the slightest hint of hesitation.  Thrilled was an understatement!  I was grinning from ear to ear as I cooled him down :) I wasn't sure what to expect but he surpassed any expectation I had!
On Thursday I took him for a hack and we did the longest solo hack we have done since his operation.  We went all the way to the end of the bridle path and back, about 4 miles in total, mostly trotting and cantering with a bit of walk where the ground was a bit deep and sticky.  Jack tired towards the end but we had a lot of fun and he behaved beautifully all the way even through the roadworks with lots of spooky signs, cones, barriers and tape to look at.  Another good day :)
Friday is always a bit of a rush so we just did the shorter hack that day, again on our own, going solo doesn't seems to be an issue at all now and again we had a lovely relaxed hack finishing with a lovely canter all the way back on the bridle path, Jack is obviously feeling fitter as he was keen and pulling all the way and still bright as a button when we got home.
I had to ride alone again on Saturday and didn't fancy another hack on the same route so with a free paddock I decided to try schooling out in the field to see if he felt any different.  It was very very warm and the ground was pretty hard so I was planning on sticking to walk and trot. Also the paddock that was free is not flat and contains a public foot path so I took things steady.  Jack felt lethargic and his walk was very flat and sluggish so I tried to liven him up a bit which he didn't appreciate, he didn't do anything wrong just stopped dead and refused to move at anything other than the pace he was happy with!  When I insisted he did give me some better work but he was hard work and didn't feel like he wanted to do it much at all so I didn't do too much.
There could be a number of reasons, lower energy levels due to poor grass, the heat, the hard ground, being away from all the other horses etc.
I will have a discussion with Tamsyn about it all when she comes next week and see if she can identify any issues or provide any advice on it.
Hopefully there is nothing too worry about and he certainly doesn't appear to be in pain or unsound.
The issues with his near hind have disappeared completely.
Fingers crossed he is back to feeling on form after a holiday as we go away for 8 days at the end of the week and he will be chilling in the field for the duration which I think will do him good.

Recovery week 26 - 3/8/15

I am actually quite excited writing about this week as it has been a brilliant one and just what we both needed after a frustrating few weeks of making little or no progression!
As I blogged last week we finally got all 4 feet off the ground (intentionally) for the first time in approx. 9months.  Since then we've have a great deal of fun :)
We started the week on the Monday with lunging session on the pessoa and Jack was fine if slightly lazy!  While I was there our YO was putting some xc fences out in our big field now the hay has been taken off and we can use this for the next few weeks until the cows arrive to graze on there for the autumn.  So no time like the present we headed out to have a look at them on Tuesday my friend Jo with her lovely sensible horse Toby giving us a lead.  We had a walk round the field and showed them the fences, which were only upto 60cm so nice and easy, and then had a trot and canter round to warm them up. Jack was keen but behaved himself and managed to contain his excitement even when the cows in the next field all ran over to the fence to see what we were doing!  We then trotted over the first fence, which is just a little cross pole to get you going, then circled away coming again and doing fence 1 again followed but the next 2 which are small but solid xc fences.  Jack was jumping brilliantly and Toby was giving us a fantastic confidence giving lead so we carried on and jumped the line of 5 no problem - I was grinning from ear to ear.  Jack has never jumped so well the difference in his technique since his operation is amazing, his jump is so smooth and easy to ride and he was really coming up through his shoulders, he was also wanting to take the fences on and I didn't have to kick him at all I was able to just sit and let the fences come to us.  What a difference!  To finish, as Jack was being so good, I decided to try taking him in the lead to see what happened and was absolutely thrilled when he just jumped through exactly the same full of confidence, full of enthusiasm and really enjoying himself.  I was on cloud 9, I honestly was doubting if we would ever be able to trust each other and enjoy ourselves like that again in recent weeks and I was absolutely blown away with how great it felt.  This was just what we needed to get us back on track after a frustrating time feeling like nothing what getting any better of late.
As is the way with horses having been on such a high on the Tuesday Wednesday brought bad news, Jack was slightly lame :( There was no apparent reason and I couldn't find the cause.  We have just moved them into a different field and there are a lot of stones so I was hoping it was just bruising from standing on a stone and not anything to do with the jumping the day before.
He trotted up sound on the Thursday so I took him for a little hack round the block for 30minutes and he felt fine again.  We had a trot and canter back along the bridle path and he felt sound thank heavens!  It was one of the nicest rides I've had on him on our own, he wasn't spooky or silly at any point and we had a relaxed and fun time.
On the Friday I was planning on going out into the big field again but not jumping as I was on my own.  The field is on a gradient and there is a bank down one side so I was going to go up and down the bank for a bit of 'hill' work (we don't have any real hills round us!) but as I was tacking up my friend Marie arrived to ride and she wanted to join us and do some jumping.  As we had had so much fun on the Tuesday I didn't take much persuading to jump again!  The only thing was this time we would have to be the lead as her mare has only young and has just started jumping so the pressure was on he behave and be a good lead.  The jumps where already really small as one of the other girls had used them earlier so they were ideal for a young horse.  Jack bless him was so good giving her a great lead never hesitating or deviating from the line.  He was growing in confidence and started taking strides out :)
Once Marie was happy with what she had done she put the adjustable fences up for me so I could jump through something a bit bigger.
Jack was a little reluctant to go away from his friend but he didn't do anything wrong he was just a bit reluctant.  Once we got nearer the bottom of the field he perked up and when we turned to the jumps he was flying again he cleared 1 - 4 beautifully seeing a flyer at the 3rd, then all of a sudden between fences 4 and 5 he slammed the anchors on and started to bronc.  I had to slip the reins to stop myself being pulled over his head but this gave him more chance to get his head down and buck!  I managed to stay on and grab the reins back to pull his head up gave him a good few kicks and shouted a few profanities and as quickly as he started he was off again and flew the last fence like nothing had happened!  Little monkey!!  I was still absolutely thrilled with him and I think it was just excitement getting the better of him.
I had to give him the day off on Saturday as I had planned to ride in the evening but unfortunately it threw it down which wasn't forecast and I didn't have time to get him in a dry in time to ride so we had a quick loose school instead.
On the Sunday I got down to the farm early and took him out to the field again on our own and we did what we had planned to do on the Friday using the bank and gradient of the field to help get Jack using his back end more and strengthen his back and quarters.  He was a little hesitant to go down to the bottom of the field out of site of the yard on his own but with plenty of reassurance and calm persistence we got there and then did 20minutes of trotting and cantering up an down the bank and up from the bottom of the field.  He was very good and I could really feel him having to work over his back to power up the hill :)
That afternoon I went over to my best friend Lucy's to ride Jay for this first time since I took him to the show, we set up a little course of 3 jumps in their ménage and jumped him round a few times and he was ace as usual.  I love jumping his little guy he is so honest its really nice to ride something so straight forward!  He's inexperienced but he never says no even when he's not sure and he's great fun.
Lucy got some pictures of us in action, it's a shame I've not got any of me jumping Jack yet.  I will try to get some next time :)

     

Recovery week 25 - 27/7/15

I seems to me that everyday is a mini roller coaster at the moment with as many highs as there is lows.  This is better than all lows but I have to admit to finding the 50/50 ratio a little disappointing, it would be nice to have more highs and less lows!  Hopefully over time that will happen for us.

Back at the start of last week I planned to lunge in the pessoa on the Monday as I usually do, time is limited on a Monday and doesn't usually allow for riding!  Anyway I also had to fit in a dentist appointment which would have been ok if it not for the fact I was left waiting 40minutes for my appointment and then another 15minutes after waiting for my paperwork to be send to the receptionist so all in all for a straight forward check up that usually takes about 5minutes I was in there over an hour!  Thanks to this I was left with no time to do anything with Jack other than check him over so he enjoyed an unplanned day off in the field.  On the Tuesday I decided to take him out into the large back fields which have just been cleared of hay and currently empty.  There are some nice flat areas which you can school on plus a bank to ride up and down and if you go right to the far end of the field you can have a nice long slightly up hill gallop back (great for getting them fit for eventing or just having a good blast!) you can also get down into the river for a bit of water practice too!  Anyway not being quite ready for uphill gallops just yet I decided to just try a bit of schooling in the open and then have a walk round the field and use the back to do a bit of walking up and down hill.  I was really pleased with Jack, he was more forward in the open and actually did what felt like some really nice work, he was much softer to the left than normal and was staying straight and going forward most of the time which was so different to in the ménage.  We only walked and trotted but was happy with the session.  I cooled him off with a walk round the edge of the field and up and down the bank a few times.  The newly located xc jumps were really tempting but we just walked around them, I didn't think our first jump in about 9months should be over solid fences out in the field on our own! 
Wednesday and Thursday were lunging days in the pessoa, Wednesday on the flat and Thursday over raised poles.  Jack was a bit reluctant again but once warmed up and moving lunged well especially over the poles. 
Friday was an exciting day as it was the day we were booked to have a photoshoot with Chrysalis photography which I had won on their facebook competition last autumn.  I booked the afternoon off work and arrived at the yard at 11am to begin the mammoth task of cleaning up Jack!  The weather forecast was awful but so far the rain was holding off so I bathed and brushed and trimmed Jack to a presentable state and then dashed home to get myself ready.  Then the rain came and it didn't stop, Chris the photographer arrived and we sat and waited for a bit but with no sign of the rain stopping we decided to rearrange the shoot for another, hopefully less wet day!  I gave Jack a little loose school and then went home and used the few free hours I now had to catch up on a huge pile of ironing - exciting eh!
I arrived at the yard on Saturday afternoon with the plan I would put a little jump up in the field and see how Jack felt about jumping.  Just as I arrived Claire one of the other liveries pulled up and she had the same idea as me so we carried a couple of poles and barrels out to the field and constructed a tiny cross pole!  We walked them round the field together then split up to warm them up properly, Jack was reluctant to go away from Rango Claire's horse but he didn't do anything wrong just needed a bit more leg where as heading towards him he was much more forward!   As this would be my first time cantering Jack in a few weeks we decided to canter together to encourage Jack to get moving a bit.  The first canter was away from home and nice and sedate with no rushing, racing or silly antics.  We turned for home and picked up canter again but Jack was much more forward this time racing ahead and enjoying himself then all of a sudden he stuck his head down and started broncing on the spot!  This has happened before so luckily I was prepared and I managed to sit up and get his head up to stop him before being deposited in the dirt and was quite glad I had decided to wear my body protector!
At this point I put him on a 20m circle around rango and Claire and cantered him on both leads to get him settled.  He was fine to the right but less than enthusiastic to the left and took a lot of leg to get him going.  It wasn't pretty and he was crooked and in counter bend for most of it but the important thing for me was that he cantered when asked and didn't misbehave which we managed.
So after this it was time to tackle our long awaited first jump since Oct 14.
The jump was tiny, he could have stepped over it if he wanted to!  Claire positioned herself the other side of the jump so Jack would be wanting to go that way back towards his mate, I trotted into it was over we popped no hesitation, no drama, no messing just trot - jump - trot like it was nothing I gave him a massive pat and took him over on the other rein, this time he was more enthusiastic as he now knew we really were jumping he picked up canter himself a few strides out and popped over beautifully.  I was so chuffed with him.  It is a major milestone to get this first jump done and I never expected it to go so well.  I didn't do anymore with him, it's always tempting to push for more but I am very cautious of not doing too much too soon so Claire had a little jump too then we walked down to the river and back to cool them off.
Our yard owner is putting a line of xc fences in down the length of the field next week and hopefully we will get to use them over the coming weeks!
Sunday was appalling weather so Jack ended up with a day off again making sure he got rid of any clean patched left from Fridays bath!
I took some pics of him as he looks now as we are about to start using Spirulina to see if that can help support his topline development.  I will take some more in a few weeks to see if it is having any effect.
I am starting to worry about his continued reluctance to work, he is fine hacking out so I am really hoping it is just a matter of time and not anything more serious.

Recovery week 24 - 20/7/15

This week was all about Jacks follow up physio appointment, 6 weeks ago when he first saw our new physio Tamsyn since coming home from his hydrotherapy rehab at Bennetts he was very sore in his SI and Tamsyn had her work cut out helping him loosen off.  Since then we have done some lunging, lots of hacking and schooled just a couple of time but have been really happy with his progress.  I have just been lunging in the pessoa for the last couple of weeks using lots of ground poles to help get the SI joint loose and moving and strengthen all the supporting muscle and ligaments in an attempt to prevent him getting in the same state again.  I felt the signs looked good as he has not been doing the odd leg lifting with his near hind for a few weeks now and he is not struggling over ground or raised poles.  He was still slightly shorter with the near hind over poles but nothing like he had been before her previous visit where he was hopping over poles rather than stepping through.
On the Monday and Tuesday I lunged him again doing ground poles on the Monday and raised poles on the Tuesday and felt pretty confident Tamsyn would find an improvement from her last visit.
Wednesday morning Tamsyn arrived and we started by having a chat about how he was getting on, I told her about his little incident on the yard where he was spooked by something and had become trapped by his headcollar and panicked so I felt sure he would be sore in his neck/poll area.  I also told her about him being slightly shorter with the near hind over poles.  I showed her him picking that foot out to demonstrate how much better he was with that than the last time.  We then took him out and walked and trotted him in straight lines, turned him on tight circles and backed him up all of which he did fine we did both notice that he was not crossing his off hind under himself as well on a circle as he was his near hind which was slightly odd as I expected it to be his near hind he'd struggle with.
Next Tamsyn gave him a check over and found that he was indeed tight and sore in his poll area, then she checked down is spine and he was fine.  He was also not reacting in the SI area like he had the last time - she had barely been able to touch him last time without him trying to get away, kick or rear!
It was such a huge difference to his previous treatment, this time he just stood trying to groom anything within reach and then fell asleep :)
Tamsyn was really pleased with his progress and commented on how much muscle he has developed in his SI area since her last visit. 
I am to continue doing all the stretches I am currently doing with him and she is booked for another visit in 6 weeks.
Following the treatment he had s couple of days off for everything to settle back down before doing 2 days of lunging then I could ride him again :)
So Thursday he got to chill in the field before having a gentle lunge in the pessoa on Friday and Saturday.  He seemed a little stiff to start with but once loosened off worked well.
Then Sunday I got back on board for the first time in weeks!
I was on my own so I thought it would be best to stick to the school for the first ride in a few weeks just in case!  When I got on Jack there was no reaction so I started by warming up in walk with some walk-halt-walk transitions and then some leg yields down the long side.
After about 20 minutes in walk I tried asking for trot but all that happened was some head throwing!  With a bit of encouragement he did get going and for a few horrible moments he felt unlevel behind and very reluctant to go but once we got moving he did loosen off.  After a few more transitions the trot really improved and I was able to pick the contact up and get him working.  I felt a little disappointed that his ridden work still doesn't seem to be improving much despite him appearing to be much more comfortable.  I am hoping it is all just memory pain affecting his confidence and not more issues somewhere else!  I suppose only time will tell.  I have also change his food and put him onto Top Spec lite balancer and ordered some spirulina to help build his top line.
I will continue to mostly hack and lunge this week and maybe school once a week just to measure if there is any improvement.
Finally I received a picture of Jack as a 3year old from his previous owner today - how much has he changed!

 

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 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    

Recovery week 16 - 25/5/15

Wow I can't believe we are 16 weeks post op already - those first 6 weeks on box rest felt like a lifetime at the time but now they are a distant memory and we are already 10 weeks on from there!

Anyway those of you who read my last post will know that we have had a bit of a blip when it came to trotting in the ménage and I had decided that a physio session was needed to check Jack over before pushing the issue any further.  Well unfortunately the physio has been that booked up she has not been able to come yet so the plan until she can come at the end of the week is just to take things a bit easier.  I have also discussed my concerns with my vet and rehab centre manager and they both agreed a change in his work until he is seen by the physio is a good idea so we have been doing a lot of gentle hacking and no schooling or lunging.  This change in work has lead to a lot of firsts again this week including first hack alone, first canter (unintended by still great!) and first loose jump.

I had not intended on tackling our first solo hack so soon as we had only been on 2 accompanied hacks but I had arranged to hack out with one of the other liveries who then had to cancel at the last minute, as I was already ready to go and we used to hack alone a lot prior to surgery I decided there was no time like the present and to just man up and get on with it, we didn't go far but Jack was foot perfect the whole way and felt very relaxed and happy what a good boy and no need for me to worry!

We also went for a little hack with one of the liveries daughters on her pony, Jack was not too impressed at being asked to slow down and wait for a littleun!  We trotted back along the grass on the bridleway on the way home and Jack was really going for it again and felt so keen that near the end I decided to let him go and see if he would canter, he picked up straight away and cantered to the end so that's another huge milestone under our belts and I'm thrilled there was no dramas about it!

Over the busy bank holiday weekend I was rushed for time so on one day I didn't have time to ride but still wanted to give Jack some exercise so I decided to loose school over a little jump and see how he went. I didn't want to put him under too much pressure so I only put up a little cross pole and let him decide if he was going over it and at what pace.  Well he just cantered off round the track and popped over the cross pole over and over again with his ears pricked and a smile on his face!  I have never seen this horse jump with such enthusiasm!  He was taking strides out and really giving them some air!  The biggest difference I could see from before his op was how he released over the fence with his back end, in the past he has been sticky and stuttery in his approach preferring to chip a little stride in than stand off and often rolling a pole from dragging his hind legs over, presumably due to the tightness and pain in his back.  There was none of this now, he was making a great shape and didn't touch it once!  The other huge difference was his attitude and enthusiasm, he was flying with ears pricked and looked smooth and comfortable, looking for the fence and needing no encouragement from me to keep jumping.  I didn't want him to do too much so I had to stop him!

This has pleased me no end, by far the biggest improvement since his op and very exciting to see!

Im afraid I wasn't quick enough to get any pics or video to evidence his jumping doh!

Onwards to next week the plan is more gentle hacks letting Jack choose how much or little we do until the physio visit.

Here he is modelling his new fly sheet one of the bargains I picked up from chatsworth horse trials last week