Damn it!

I have to swear! Maddy was kicked on her left hock. My mom was in town so we went out to see Maddy and I saw her hop. I immediately thought it was her left front which was were she fractured her coffin bone, but on closer inspection, I saw the blood running down her back leg and noticed the swelling. First the panic, then the dread, then the doctoring, and then the sleepless night. I had Dr. Barb Crabbe come out the next morning and take a look. She sedated her and probed her and said it wasn't as deep as she initially thought and that with antibiotics and a week off, she should be "ok." The above picture shows the wound, but it is covered in the "aluminum" spray that acts as a bandage. So when you apply this, I didn't need to wrap it.She gave me a regimen of medicines and told me how to clean and dress the wound for the next week. Unfortunately Maddy had other ideas. She didn't want me anywhere near that leg. Although she never got me, she did cow kick a few times and I gave up, preferring to keep my teeth and just went to the other side and reach across with a dab of Furizone (did I spell that right?:-) It is healing nicely, and the swelling goes down after the cold hosing. I am still nervous and worried about the outcome. I have to work on being more optimistic when it comes to her health, but it has been so hard to stay positive when one thing happens after another.

Out with the Girls

Maddy is a new horse. This week I have seen amazing progress. She is working well in the arena, she is calm outside, and two days ago she returned to her "gang." She is out with the mares again and so happy. I thought there would be some squabbling, but she walked out there and went right back to being Classy's best bud and Novi's nemesis.
I quit giving her ACE last Thursday and best of all, I hopped on her today and worked on some one rein stops and lateral flexion. It felt so good to ride my horse. I can't even put it into words. My farrier, Andrew Maris, did her shoes today and she behaved herself and didn't pull back...much:-). Still need to work on that. She gets a little tense from the sound of hammering, but Andrew said "she is on the verge of being a great horse." That means a lot to me because when I first got her, Andrew didn't even want to work on her. The sweat and tears are starting to pay off.

Lippizan or Quarter Horse?

Wow...today I thought Maddy was a Lipizzaner. I took her for her first "walk" in the arena after 4 months of stall rest. She walked in calmly. I let her sniff around for a couple minutes. Lots of pets, lots of hind quarter yielding and I let her look out the windows. I pointed to ask her to walk to the left and she went straight up into the air and hopped on her back legs. A perfect "courbette." Then she went straight up, a giant leap and then kicked back, a "capriole" to rival those of the Lipizzaner's. It was quite a show, but not one I wanted. I immediately went into task manager mode, getting her to back and come forward, put her in a couple binds, made her drop her head A LOT. She settled down, but of course I worry those hops could have hurt her fracture. The footing is deep hogsfuel and she has a bar shoe with clips, so hopefully no damage was done. Her adrenaline is so far up. I am thinking I may have to give her a little Ace to keep the edge off for her own safety. I sat with her in her stall for awhile afterwards to see if she remained calm or was agitated after being in the arena. She was content to eat and did lots of snorting. I shed a couple of tears as I watched her. Worry and stress got the best of me. Every day has been a learning experience with her. Such extremes...my greatest pain, my greatest joy.

Another X-ray

The close of 2007 brings an end to Maddy's stall rest....or so I thought:-) Today I had the vet out to take an x-ray and see where we are at. The picture is Maddy a little drowsy from the sedative, but still looking for food. I used a different vet, because Mark Revenaugh doesn't go mobile and I didn't want to bother my friends with trailers to help get her over there again. Barb Crabbe is the vet for the barn and had gone over Maddy's films last week. She did the x-ray and it looks great. There is a slight shade of black at the very edge, which she says could be fiberous tissue that will always look that way, or it is still the fracture healing. To be on the safe side, I am supposed to go two more months on stall rest, but I can start walking her in the arena and start getting her mind active again. I am thrilled. I know it isn't perfect, but I saw a HUGE change in the fracture and it looks great. I have things I have been neglecting to do with her while on she has been on rest, so now I will get back to work. I had focused a lot of energy on riding and working with Queenie, the draft-cross. I really need to find a balance between the two. In a perfect world, I wanted a complete heal and the green light to start up again, but this is the next best thing. It really is a great way to bring in the New Year. I am full of hope and am optimistic about where we will be in 2008.

Modelling her saddle

Maddy is showing off her new, used saddle. I bought the Wintec Pro today from Glisan Street Saddlery. Linda is so great over there. She shows Arabians and knows just about everything there is to know about tack. When I first started thinking about getting a new saddle, I was really set on the Wintec Isabell. In talking to Linda, she said when the Isabell first came out she was selling about 20 a month and the maybe 3 Pros. Now she is selling 15 Pros and maybe one Isabell. She says the Isabell really tilts your pelvis forward and very few people can ride in that saddle. She said if you have any type of lower back issues or knee issues, the Isabell is definitely not the saddle for you, go with the Pro. So she talked me into a much more affordable saddle and I lucked out because she had a used 17 1/2 that looked brand new. Yeah!!!

A riding lesson

Finally, after 6 months of ground work, I had my first lesson where I was on her back the whole time. It feels good to be back in the saddle! I am riding in a rope halter and reins and my homework for the week is one rein stops on the rail and lots of walk trot transitions. My trainer wants me to forget about steering and focus on bumps to keep her on the rail and if I want to turn, do it with lots of little bumps. Also, lots of loose rein. That is really hard for me. I hate to give up that feeling of control, but she is doing really well and if she gets going too fast, I just do a one rein stop. Michelle also checked out the used Wintec Pro I am thinking of buying. She liked it and thought it fit perfectly.

Nice Shot

At the Ann Kiser Clinic last week, a photographer ran around and got pictures of us doing our thing. It is nice to finally have some shots of Maddy and I together. I like this one just because my hair looks good. I am not quite sure how. I was so tired on Sunday, I just rolled out of bed and went. My mom and her boyfriend Cliff had flown in from Minnesota the night before and after the clinic on Saturday, I was exhausted. Clinics are a lot of work! Things are progressing with Maddy. I am focusing more on riding. I am using just a rope halter and lead rope for now, which at times is a pain and you have to anticipate turns and get your tosses right. Also I am saddle shopping for a new dressage saddle. My old one along with an Australian Saddle is on consignment at the tack store. Looking forward to lots of good stuff in May. Clinton Anderson is coming, I am auditing the Level 2 Ann Kiser clinic, and I will have my new saddle. Good times.

Half way there

So Ann Kiser was not able to give me the test on Friday, but after seeing Maddy in the clinic, she filled out the paperwork and passed her on all seven games. We just need to submit our riding skills by video and we get our red savvy string. Yeah!!! Maddy did so well all week. We tried some new games, like some "binding" exercises and lots of advanced driving games. I thought she would panic in the first binding exercise we tried. I could just see her mind going the whole time. Basically, I put the lead around her and moved it back in forth across her side and legs, I let go with the front hand and step back which puts pressure on her halter. Normally, they would want to turn towards you, but the rope is pulling them the other way. So if they are smart (like Maddy) the give to pressure and spin around the face you like she is about to do in the top picture. The bottom picture is Maddy giving some flexion in her neck. She likes to bend around and she just waits there until I scratch her chin. She is a spoiled girl.