It's been a little bit of a stressful few days in the horse department. We got back from Hamilton last Sunday and on Wednesday we were going to climb Columbia Mountain for some elevation and hill training. The only problem was that when I went to get Maggie out of her corral, she was lame. Not just a little off, but 3 legged lame.. I nearly vomited my breakfast when I saw it.. I have 4 weeks until the scheduled ride I am planning to attend.
This can't be happening??? Right???
God knows we have all been there...
She had some minor swelling just above the pastern and was holding her heel up just a little. "T" had just reset her two days ago. He was worried he had put in a hot nail on the reset. I was sure that wasn't the case. Horses show immediate pain when that happens and it had been two days since that. I ruled out what I could; no heat, no throbbing digital pulse, no evidence of a lodged rock, no cuts or abrasions. Given the fact that the night before she was tearing around the pasture just fine, I thought it was one of two things. She tweaked something out in the pasture or she had an abcess brewing. I decided it might be best to treat her for the abcess given the sudden onset and acutness of her lameness. I soaked her foot, then packed her foot in epsom salt poultice and put her in the round pen, gave her some bute, and waited for her to get worse..or better.
She got a little better by the next morning.. no signs of an abcess and she had walked through her packing. I didn't bother repacking it... gave her another dose of bute and waited some more..
The next day, she was better yet... and the swelling was gone.
By Saturday, she seemed back to herself.
I was feeling like I dodged a huge bullet by that point. I had to make a decision however. Try riding her or give her more time off. If I didn't ride today, she was going to get 3 more days off before I would have time to get any solid ride time on her. I decided to jgive her a test drive in the arena and make my decision on that. She trotted in circles, both directions.. Not a hint of a limp or gimp..She cantered... not a problem.
So, what else could I do?? I got back on the condition schedule... As it was she was only ridden once on the trail the week before and a long flat land trotting around a huge pasture for nearly two hours. I didn't feel like we could afford 3 more days of her sitting in her pasture loafing.
We had a hellacious storm last night and today it was hot, humid and generally sticky out. Something we are not accustomed to. The plan was a short 5-6 mile ride. However, Maggie was full of energy and the leg did not seem to be causing her any issues so we kept going, in spite of the heat . We did alot of walking and climbed a few hills at a walk.
We covered over 10.5 miles by the time we made it out. We were both covered in sweat and mosquito bites but happy nonetheless. Maggie still had plenty of energy.
I think we are back on track and it was just a blip on the radar.
Here are some scenery photos just because... I love Montana this time of year...
This can't be happening??? Right???
God knows we have all been there...
She had some minor swelling just above the pastern and was holding her heel up just a little. "T" had just reset her two days ago. He was worried he had put in a hot nail on the reset. I was sure that wasn't the case. Horses show immediate pain when that happens and it had been two days since that. I ruled out what I could; no heat, no throbbing digital pulse, no evidence of a lodged rock, no cuts or abrasions. Given the fact that the night before she was tearing around the pasture just fine, I thought it was one of two things. She tweaked something out in the pasture or she had an abcess brewing. I decided it might be best to treat her for the abcess given the sudden onset and acutness of her lameness. I soaked her foot, then packed her foot in epsom salt poultice and put her in the round pen, gave her some bute, and waited for her to get worse..or better.
She got a little better by the next morning.. no signs of an abcess and she had walked through her packing. I didn't bother repacking it... gave her another dose of bute and waited some more..
The next day, she was better yet... and the swelling was gone.
By Saturday, she seemed back to herself.
I was feeling like I dodged a huge bullet by that point. I had to make a decision however. Try riding her or give her more time off. If I didn't ride today, she was going to get 3 more days off before I would have time to get any solid ride time on her. I decided to jgive her a test drive in the arena and make my decision on that. She trotted in circles, both directions.. Not a hint of a limp or gimp..She cantered... not a problem.
So, what else could I do?? I got back on the condition schedule... As it was she was only ridden once on the trail the week before and a long flat land trotting around a huge pasture for nearly two hours. I didn't feel like we could afford 3 more days of her sitting in her pasture loafing.
We had a hellacious storm last night and today it was hot, humid and generally sticky out. Something we are not accustomed to. The plan was a short 5-6 mile ride. However, Maggie was full of energy and the leg did not seem to be causing her any issues so we kept going, in spite of the heat . We did alot of walking and climbed a few hills at a walk.
We covered over 10.5 miles by the time we made it out. We were both covered in sweat and mosquito bites but happy nonetheless. Maggie still had plenty of energy.
I think we are back on track and it was just a blip on the radar.
Here are some scenery photos just because... I love Montana this time of year...
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| a view from home |
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| some wildflowers found on the trail, I think it's a Glacier Lily?? |
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| Canola field view from home |
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