About a week ago I told my riding instructor that I'd like to be at the barn more often, and asked if the horse I usually ride would be available. She's not. But as luck would have it, another horse is. This horse's owner is going to be in Southern California for the summer and was looking for someone to lease her horse...for free.
As it turns out, he's recovering from poor shoeing, which on top of poor confirmation means that he's really sensitive on his front feet and limps. He's been checked out by the vet and is on the road to recovery, but he's basically only able to walk and trot for now.
On top of this he has environmental allergies that result in hives all over his neck and sometimes, when they're bad, his sides and stomach. And he's thin enough that I can see his ribs. Easily. Without trying.
I figured I could either get cranky that my instructor didn't exactly get that I was looking for a horse to ride more often, or I could take advantage of this great opportunity to help this horse get as healthy as possible.
And thus began Makeover: Horse Edition.
I'm going to try to update here as much as possible to see how he progresses over the summer, just to see if I made any difference, either in his health or my riding. And his being able to walk and trot only isn't really that big of a problem for me; if I remove the stirrups, a walk and trot for 30 minutes is a huge workout.
So Wednesday last week I met him, got to know his feed, lunged him and rode him a bit. He seemed noticeably lame; he was stumbling every 10-20 feet or so and seemed very hitchy on his front end. His stride is very short for such a tall guy (he's 16.1 or 16.2 hands at least). It took him 10-15 minutes on the lunge line to warm up, and even after a good stretch-out he was still off. So we didn't do much.
His hives were pretty bad, all over his neck (both sides) and sprinkling on his stomach sides. Seemed mellow in temperment, like he really didn't want to be out there but was so eager to please that he wasn't about to complain.
Sunday I went up to see / ride him again. Although he took longer to warm up on the lunge line (20-25 minutes), he was way, way better riding. His gait actually felt normal, and only started to get wobbly / hitchy towards the very end of a 4-5 mile trail ride (at a walk / trot mix). After our short ride, I rinsed him off with cold water and his hives looked noticeably better. I'm going to try to rinse him off every day that I'm out there from now on, as it seems to help immensely. Still a short stride, but he seemed much happier and more active. We also started him on some anti-inflammatories, so hopefully that will help him also.
Yesterday (Monday) I had my lesson on the other horse I ride, but stopped in to give Jack grain and his meds. His hives seemed less than Wednesday, more than Sunday. His temperment seemed a bit down, but it could've been because it was evening and he was about to go to sleep (9:30pm). I've almost doubled his grain ration, and will keep doing so until he starts to gain some more weight. I'm pretty convinced that part of his problem is that he's not getting adequate nutrition. At least, once he's getting adequate nutrition I'll be more convinced of the external sources of his troubles, but for now I'm helping him out on that front.
And friends wonder why I don't have children yet. With two dogs and now a horse, I have enough on my plate, thanks. :)
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