Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
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Post by Othello Buskirk on Sept 25, 2013 1:48:43 GMT -8
Introductions
Today we started the rehabilitation clinic. When I was accepted into the clinic and was told about the horse I would be working with, I can't lie and say that I wasn't happy that I got such a large breed to work with, as I'm not short and I think working with a small horse would cause me more problems than anything else. After listening to Dr Carr go through the rules, we were taken over and introduced to out charges.
My first impressions of Barque was that he was a well put together horse, great conformation, lovely colouring and markings (he has the whitest stockings, and the one on his back left leg almost covers his entire leg), he was standing nicely on all four feet, wasn't at all displaying any signs of the bad back that his papers said he had (all of this I assessed from the gate).
After getting his sparse grooming supplies (which will be my next job, getting him a proper grooming kit and a halter that Barque can actually call his own), and some alfalfa cubes, so that I can bribe him to let me near. Walking back out to him, it didn't surprise me that he hadn't moved - all of the rehab horses look a little shell-shocked - and walking into the yard, I approached him and used some of the cubes to get him to walk the rest of the way to me. His walk didn't seem too off, but once I began grooming his he was quick hypersensitive when I was going over his back and sides, and then when I picked his feet out, his feet looked clubby - almost like there was too much heel - so I'll need to get the farrier to have a look at them.
Since he had been so great while I was grooming, I offered him some more cubes and left him to it. I then went a did a little research on my ipad to see what I could find out about horse back pain, and found a few handy sites, one was informative about the dos and don'ts about checking for back pain, which I will try out later on.
Post by Othello Buskirk on Jan 11, 2014 1:08:33 GMT -8
Assement
I have been working with Barque for a couple of days now, he seems to slowly be accepting me, but as soon as I walk near him with the halter and rope, I can almost see him sigh and roll his eyes (as we humans would when we can't believe something is going to happen, but resign ourselves to it happening).
I haven't even thought about doing any work with him, as I want the two of use to get to know each other, and for him to stop thinking that I am only going to see him to make him do something. I'm guessing that his attitude about this is coming from him being a cart horse, and he would have done the same things day in and day out for all of his life... I couldn't even begin to imagine how tedious that must have been for him, no wonder he rolls his eyes when he sees me.
As well as grooming him and just letting him get used to me being around, and him not having to work, I've also done a vet assessment of him - under the watchful gaze of Dr Carr - and he gives all the textbook reactions to a horse with a sore back - as his sheet says - flinching when I run my hand down his spine, flattening ears when I put weight on his back - me standing on a box to make me taller so that I can push down without having to reach. I know that he seems to be telling me that he has a sore back, but I don't want to just settle on that until I have done more research on what could be causing his pain, just because it looks like back pain, it may not be his back that is in pain, it could be a secondary reaction... ok, now I'm sounding like I'm wanting to find something else.
On an end note, as strange as this sounds, I have found that Barque LOVES cucumber slices. I was eating lunch, leaning against his fence, and he plodded over on his giant Clydesdale feet to see what I was up to. I was eating a chicken and cucumber sandwich, and the next thing I knew, I could have been sitting in the middle of a cyclone, for the amount of inhaling and exhaling Barque was doing. I guessed it can't have been the chicken, so I offered him a cucumber slice... in my defence Dr Carr - when you read this - there was lettuce between the chicken and the cucumber... Barque pretty much inhale the slice and snuffled my hair looking for more.
Post by Othello Buskirk on Jan 11, 2014 1:39:47 GMT -8
Where to from here?
Now that winter had reared her ugly head, I'm not able to spend as much time out in the yards with barque as I'd like, but due to his extra thick winter coat, with the addition of a medium-weight rug, I can spend an hour or two out there with him - as long as the sun is shining. However, being stuck working with him inside has its good side as well, as Barque accepts me without thinking that I am going to take him out to work... ok, this took about a week for him to click that just because I'm in his stall, even though he could hear the rain pounding on the roof, doesn't mean that I'm there to gear him up and take him outside. It seems that his past has left more scars on them then the physical symptom of having a sore back.
Because it's so wet, I did some research online and a lot of the sites I read contradicted each other on the best way to look after horses' legs during the winter months, to trim the feathers or not, to add lotions and potions or not... Then I found a site on how a lady cares for her Gypsy Vanners in the winter. Yes, I know that Clydies and Vanners are two completely different breeds, but their feathers are the same - in a sense - so I have decided to go by what the writer said, as long as his legs are healthy, I am leaving them as it. The site also mentioned lice and mites that live in the feathers during winter, so I have added that to my daily checks, and if I see any hint of them, I'll ask Dr Carr if she's got anything I can use.
I think I'm finally getting somewhere with Barque, he's happy for me to be near him, he's also happy for me to walk him on the lead line. I just want to know where I should go from here? In out next group session, I'm going to ask Dr Carr if I can lunge Barque, see what his reaction to the lunge is - there's a chance that he may never have been lunged before - but I'm also working on the fact that on a long line, there shouldn't cause enough bend in his spine to hurt him even more.
