Jen has had a couple of more rides this past month. She is very eager for her turn to get to play. Mandy tacked her up with no problems, other than her bracing and getting worried when girthing up. I suspect that will take a good long time to overcome the old "kick in the gut" girthing process. But we went slow, one hole at a time, with a lot of reassurances, and she never moved a foot.

The last time Mandy rode her, she saddled her up and just did a few laps of the paddock. I noticed that when Jen had to reach forward with a front leg to step over a big rock (we have a LOT of rocks in the paddock, big boulders, ledge, etc.) she would get a grumpy face and flip her nose. So I slid my hand under the saddle, and noted that the medium gullet was too tight for her in the Wintec, and that her shoulders were interfering. So the last time we took her out, I remeasured her for the gullet size, and she measured right on the wide side of medium wide, so I decided to put the wide gullet in the Wintec with the thicker fleece pad (I really hate changing that thing, "easy-change" is a misnomer and it takes quite a bit of grunting, slamming, and swearing to get it back together). I looked more objectively at Jen's back, and she has the same conformation as her sister, Lakota, which is not a good thing. She has those huge shoulders that rotate about 4 inches under the saddle, and the same weird long withers, short back and forward girth-groove (sigh). But I was hopeful this would work for her. So after saddling up, Mandy led Jen around a bit to make sure her mind was connected, and they did fine.

Mandy REALLY wanted to bring Jen out of the paddock the last time, so we did. Jen was worried, she is an extremely herdbound horse, so considering that she did quite well. We left the gate in stages, taking breaks, turning back from time to time. I think it helped that the other 3 didn't really care that she left (although they stood at the gate and screamed for Lakota when she was out).

We made it out to the yard, and checked it all out. She was nervous, I could feel it, but she was well-behaved and tried to be brave. The ducks were flapping around, as were chickens, the goats, the goose was playing it up, it was a lot to take in for a horse that hadn't been out of the paddock in a year, and had only been out two or three times in two years. Then I took Jen for a bit, and asked her to move her feet around me, and we meandered her and there and I asked for her attention. Then Mandy laughed this weird laugh that only 12 year olds can manage, which caused Jen to spook and teleport a little, so I knew then that she was quite tense as I had suspected, but was trying to stuff it down and be brave. So I slowed down then, and just spent some time standing and petting her, chatting with Mandy, and relaxing. And then Jen started to drop her head, blow, lick and chew, and relax. Her head was about at my waist level now. I decided that was enough emotional stuff for her today, so we slowly brought her back to the barn, stopping along the way to look at this or that.

Then Mandy hopped on her for a short bit in the paddock. Jen was a bit anxious about that, and she had a real grumpy face as we walked through the paddock. Then we stopped for a photo op. Jen didn't look real happy, and she kept biting at Mandy's foot.

So I decided that the saddle still wasn't fitting well, and asked her to hop off. After untacking and putting our gear away, I decided at the last minute to toss the Barefoot London treeless saddle on her, just to see how it looked. It looked OK on her, so then I asked Mandy to hop on. We went for another short walk, and I was really blown away by the difference in Jen.

The Start of a New Season

Jen has continued to gain weight over the winter and is looking pretty darned good now. She no longer looks like a "rescue", though she does still have quite a bit of muscling to build up.

I have spent a lot of time just loving on her this fall and winter. No expectations other than politeness. She gets lots of rubs, and is told how much we love her. I speak softly to her while stroking her neck. She is much less anxious about life in general these days, though she still does tend to rever to anxiety of something gets her emotions up.

Jen has been begging for some attention lately. She sees how much the other horses enjoy enteraction and one-on-one time with us humans, and Jen wants some, too. She would sit in my lap if I let her, she gets so jealous when the others are "chosen".

Today was Jen's day. Unfortunately, I left the camera in the house, but hopefully I'll remember next time.

We changed out the gullet in my daughters saddle and messed with girths until we got an OK combination. We decided to stay in the paddock to keep her emotions down for the first time we've done anything for about 8 to 10 months. She was only mildly concerned about saddling, but treats took care of that, she sighed and did a lot of licking and chewing. She took the Bitless with no problems at all (you may recall that she refuses to accept a bit, clamping her jaw shut and throwing up her head).

I stood on the ground and we practiced a lot of lateral flexion. Her first reaction to the feeling of any pressure at all from the reins is that her head goes up and she braces. I don't escalate pressure (start where you want to end up), I just take up contact and wait, while she works it out. The head goes up, it goes down, she tries pulling the rein out of my hand, then finally, the neck relaxes and she gives her nose. BINGO! instant release with a click, and then a treat. Yehaaa!!!! Repeat ad naseum.

Jen has a lot of braced default behaviors that is going to take a lot of time and repetition to undo. Did the same thing on the other side. Then hubby came home, so I stopped to talk to him for a bit. Jen fussed, pawed, fidgeted, and was trying everything to figure out how to get another treat. She finally settled down, dropped her head, relaxed, closed her eyes, and then it was time to reward her with more fun.I briefly repeated the lateral flexion on both sides, and she braced at first again, but remembered much quicker this time. I think I'm going to have to use this sort of thing for her for awhile, a lot of repetitions on one thing, then a break and do it again. She tends to forget between sessions, so hopefully a break and repeating it will break that habit. She also needs repetition, or she gets anxious wondering what the next behavior is that she will get rewarded for. She gets fizzy and tries too many things. Lakota, OTOH, gets bored, so we do something until she gives me a good try, or improves, then we move on to something else, and go back to the first thing (maybe). Interesting difference in horsenalities.

So then I had Jen walk along side me, and we practiced backing up a step each time I asked her to whoa. Interestingly, she settled down, relaxed and was very happy to be moving, where she was more tense with the flexion at a standstill. I think she was anxious about the other horses in her space while there was food involved. But she needs to learn to deal with that, too, and she actually was much better than she has been in the past. Then, rather than saying whoa and stopping abruptly for a halt, I decided instead to "breath out" and just "stop riding(walking)", and blow-me-down, but she whoaed beautifully and so relaxed! We practiced that for a bit, and it was fantastic, she was so soft and relaxed, very unlike herself, it was beautiful!

It wasn't in the plan today, but she was doing so well, I asked my daughter to hop on board. Jen is supposed to be her horse, I didn't know she had so many issues when I bought her, but I did figure she wouldn't be as perfect as the seller said she was. She hopped on board, and we walked through the paddock. At first, I did the leading, as we had to walk past the other horses grazing, and Jen can be pretty defensive of her personal space, I wasn't sure if she would act differently while someone was on board. But she was! She did fantastic! At first she braced and her head went up, but we didnt' ask for anything. Just stood there at the rock she mounted from, and scritched her withers while I rubbed her neck and told her what a good girl she was. When she softened and relaxed, we moved off. After a few laps, I gave up the reins to my daughter, although I walked alongside just in case I needed to snatch them. But she did beautifully, and whoaed on a breath out. Gorgeous!

But the BEST part, was we dismounted/untacked on the far end of the paddock away from the barn, and Jen was astounded! She sniffed at the saddle and mouthed it multiple times while my daughter wsa holding it, and I had the bridle hanging in my hand, and she turned toward me and put her nose right into the noseband. Awwwwww....... she wanted to keep riding!!!! Both of us were just so happy to see this, after the tense, anxious little girl last year. This is exactly how I wanted to leave her, wanting more, not thinking "When will this be over with?"

Darn, I wish I had the camera.

Brrrrr

I got up this morning, and put my hands to the glass slider door to thebalcony in the bedroom. I said to my husband "Its around 15F out there". He laughed.

I fed dogs, booted up the computer, then headed out with mush for Whinney the toothless pony, and hay for the rest of the girls. It was 7 am, with 10 inches of fresh snow on the ground, and the wind blowing some more flurries around. I'm still pretty numb at 7 am, especially before coffee.

When I came back in the house and checked the weatherbug, the computer said 23F. It sure felt colder, but it was darned chilly in the house, so thought it was just me.

After coffee and breakfast, I headed back out to grain and muck, and even with a couple of hours of hay in their tummies, Jen acted cold. She wasn't shivering, but she was acting like she was starving, and a little anxious. Everything else seemed fine.

I thought perhaps it was because there was no sun, and the wind was blowing a fine mix of sleet and snow around, even though she had done so well when it was 10 with wind chills down to 1 and 2F, the sun was out and it was clear, so she could soak up the sun. I put her blanket on, and within an hour she settled down.



I headed back in the house, and had to reboot the computer because it was moving like molasses in January (gosh, I need a new computer, this one is older than my 7 year old son!), and when it all booted back up, my weatherbug said it was 14! No wonder she was chilly, with the wind whipping that snow around, and why I couldn't get the house warmer than 60.



Ah well, all snug as a bug in a rug now. I guess she can handle the cold when its nice out, but combine it with precipitation, and its just more than she can handle yet. I'm so thankful for horse blankets! It pays to watch your horse, and know their habits, and how they act all the time. I usually sit for about 15 minutes before leaving the barn after feeding to watch them, make sure everyone settles into their hay and none are feeling off. It is well worth the effort.



Here she is, hiding inside while her sister checks out the neighbor plowing his driveway.

The Horse: Fracture Recovery: A Stem Cell Case Study

Well, that was lame, I could have done that. I sent this article straight from Horse.com to here, hoping it would post the entire article, but it didn't.

In any event, this article is a perfect example of Ana's injury, only Ana's was more severe, with more factures and more pieces separated. It took this 12 year old mare a full year to be comfortable at a walk, and her future is broodmare sound only. She was hospitalized for 102 days and in a cast for another 45 days after that.

This article just reiterates for me that I made the right decision. There is no way an 8 month old baby could have gone through that recovery and stayed sane.

The Horse: Fracture Recovery: A Stem Cell Case Study

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All Better

Thank goodness that didn't take long. Jen's abscess burst by Monday morning, the deadline I gave her before calling the vet :-)

She's feeling so much better. It came out her heel bulb. I think the wrapping was actually keeping it held in, so Sunday night I wrapped it very, very loosely, just enough to hold the poultice and soak on, and sure enough, out it came.

She is so much happier now, and back to racing around the hill. She couldn't wait for me to open the gate and let them all up in their "playground" area, where she was seen racing around, bucking, spinning, and having a grand old time with the girls.

We had a very early, VERY cold snap for a week. Temps were down into the 20's during the day, and teens at night. It felt more like January. I was a little worried about Jen, being the Southern girl that she was, and last winter I kept a blanket on her because she was still gaining weight. Incidentally, she has now topped the 200 pound gain mark, and is 860 pounds. She weighted 660 a week after she arrived, and had already gained in that week.

Anyway, I watched Jen closely for any signs of being cold. Her ears, chest, and flanks stayed toasty warm, an she never shivered once. She didn't stand around in the barn, or act cold in any way. I had the blanket all ready to go if needed, but I was really hoping she was now at the point where she could go "au' naturel".

Here is a photo I snapped one morning, it was around 14F, and Jen was being a little equine solar panel, soaking up the sun. That's her favorite mid-morning napping spot. The only way you can tell how cold it is, is she keeps that naked little tail tucked inside her little butt, to keep her girly bits from being exposed to the frigid air.

Loook at how long and thick her tail has gotten!

Early Thanksgiving Morning, Jen wants to know why its only old, toothless ponies that get a soaked mash?

Umm, that would be because you are still perfectly capable of chewing your own hay, Jen.

Poor Miss Jen

There has to be one in every herd, doesn't there? Jen seems to be the accident or injury prone one. First, there was the stick in her coronary band back in May. Now, Jen has an abscess in her left front. She is just miserable.

It started Wednesday. She was intermittently off on the left front. But she was still trotting and cantering around, so I thought she had perhaps stepped on a rock, or whacked the ankle against a rock while goofing around. But she was still off Thursday. Then Friday she was dead lame. I went out to feed in the morning, and she was all the way at the top of the hill and not coming down for breakfast. Of course, panic sets in when they don't come in to eat, especially someone who enjoys her food as much as Jen does. But she was up there, calling to me. She couldn't come down on her own. So I gathered halter and lead, and trecked up that darned hill, and we made our way down. Thank goodness for cell phones, I had to call hubby and get him to make the kids lunches and put them on the bus, while it took us about 15 minutes to make the 2 minute walk down the hill. Then of course assess the damages, feed, clean, etc.

So while Jen was horribly lame, there was no heat, swelling or anything. I put her up in the stall so that she wouldn't get chased off her feed, and had to put the other horses up on the hill so we could install the doors on the barn. Jen began to fret and panic when she heard the gate close, even though if she just looked out the other door she could see them. But no, she was too upset. Thank goodness for minis! I brought April down, and put her in the stall with Jen, and Jen settled down. It helped that Lakota finally answered her when she called, also. April was bought to be a companion, and she is awesome at the job. All the other horses love her, and she fits in a stall with them with no problems, keeping them company ,but not causing any troubles.

I attempted soaking Jens foot, but as history repeates itself, she HATES to have a boot on her foot, and won't put it down, so the water only gets to the toe and never to where it needs to go. So I slathered her hoof in epsom salt poultice, wrapped it in a paper towel soaked in warm water, then wrapped that in vet wrap, then put it in a boot to protect it. By the second day she hated the boot, so I stopped booting her. I think the heel bulb was getting sore and the pressure of the boot just touching it was too much. I also gave her silica 30c to help the abscess burst. I tried bute once, but it didn't help at all, so gave that up quickly.

I found a line of dirt under the lateral bar, so I started to trim that down a bit to see if there was something under there. I never did get it cleaned all the way out, and the bar was definately tender and uncomfortable. I was afraid to invade her sole too much, or take out too much bar. So I continue to alternate soaks with poultice in the mornings, and apple cider vinegar/warm water in the evenings. I called the farrier and left her a message.

On Saturday her leg began to swell up the cannon. I told Jen she had until Monday and if it wasn't better by then, I was calling the vet out. She was horribly lame on Sunday, rocking back on her hinds and just not moving, laying down a lot. I was getting very worried. On Sunday night, she about had a panic attack when she saw me coming with the vet wrap. I promised her I would only wrap it loosely to keep the wet towels on there, and not wrap it tight. Then I started wondering if wrapping it was keeping it from being able to burst.

The green stuff is staining from the poultice

Sure enough, Monday morning it had burst out the lateral heel bulb. The pus coming out stunk pretty badly. I cleaned it up and applied icthammol. She is now weighting the foot about 50%, but there is still pus coming out. The farrier called Monday, she had been in California. She was in California when Jen ran the stick in her coronary band, too. I told her that she better keep her butt home and quit traveling to Ca!!!

So Jen is on the mend, albeit sore. There is bruising on the laternal heel/quarter area, so I'm not sure what she did to create so much damage. Hoof abscesses are NOT fun to deal with, for horse nor human!

Subtle Changes

I have seen quite a few changes in Jen over the last few months. They have been subtle, but I think quite significant.

Physically, Jen is still filling out. She is starting to have some muscle tone now. In the past, she felt very frail, and fragile, as if you could easily break her, or knock her over with a breath. Now, when I pet her, she feels more substantial. Some of it comes out in photos, but not the extent of the change. Her muscles are beginning to have some tone and definition to them, and she's beginning to look less like a rehab and more like a healthy horse. She is even getting some muscle in those pockets one either side of her withers. Her neck is finally starting to look more normal, and less strappy. She is building a nice little fat crest, so she doesn't look quite so much like a llama anymore.

Emotionally, there have been many changes. Jen spends less time with her head way up in the air, and more time with it neutral and relaxed. She sighs, and licks and chews now. She never would relax and sigh near a human. She was only braced, and ready for what might happen. Now if she tenses, I stroke her neck gently, tell her all is OK. And she says "Yes, you're right, I remember", sighs, drops her head, licks and chews.

Her expression is so much softer. The wrinkles over her eyes and around her mouth are gone. I'm amazed at the change in her facial structure! You would think that a horses face is what it is, but apparently it is not! Her chin is so much fuller, as is her upper lip. She always had these three deep creases in her upper eyelids. I just thought she was abnormally wrinkly. I was wrong. It was stress. Those creases are completely gone. I wish I had the photos to compare, but I lost 7 years worth of photos in a hard drive crash back in June. So all my old photo's of Jen (and all my horses, dogs, cats, and most importantly, my children) are gone.

In any event, Jen's upper lip is now full and round and soft. There are no wrinkles around her lips and the corners of her mouth. Her chin is no longer tight and winkled, its fat and soft and relaxed. She used to screw her mouth all up and pop her lower lip when she was ticked off. She doesn't do that anymore.

She now believes me when I tell her everything will be OK. I can speak softly to her, stroke her neck, and she will sigh and relax in less than half the time that it used to take.

And I saw Jen and Lakota grooming each other yesterday. That makes me so happy! I thought they would never be friends. I noticed that this summer I would often find them in the run-in together, napping in the afternoon, nose to tail swishing each others flies. Lakota, obviously, is still alpha, and always chases Jen off food. Jen still tries, but half-heartedly. But to see them grooming really warmed my heart.

I am really looking forward to the day that my daughter and I ride off down the trails on these two sisters. Both completely rehabbed, fat, happy, confident, relaxed, and comfortable.

Jen, exploring the wooded area of their paddock