It bugs me!
I got back from the longest hack Jazz has done so far and picked his feet up to look at them as I usually do. To my absolute horror he had a big round hole all squishy with blood on the first one :-0 He hadn't been lame and I couldn't imagine how he'd done it. Once I had wiped the squashed bug off with my glove, I was able to admire his perfect, rock-hard smooth sole :-) I don't have depth of vision, so it's impossible for me to look straight down and tell the difference between something that dips in and something that pokes out - boy was I relieved when I realised what it was!
The great news is that he has LOADS of breath. Although he isn't nearly as fit as he was, he was able to trot straight up hills that were causing him problems six weeks ago. And he's making only a tiny whistle, which I doubt can be heard from the floor. He seemed to hardly believe his luck, and kept increasing the speed of his trot until he was pounding along and I had to steady him back. What a relief, the operation has worked.
He behaved well, relatively, too. He tried to refuse to go back past the field with the cows in, but I had a rope round his neck and a chifney round mine and I knew he wasn't going to win. As it happens, he gave in before I had to use them, and was very brave about the horse-eating hens later on. His walk today was sublime - all power and swing, like a professional dancer :-)
Zippy was interesting again. I was trying to get a relaxed walk but he was a bundle of tension. He is amazingly adept at holding tension, it's obviously going to be his speciality evasion. With the tension he had lost his rythmn and swing. It took me about 25 minutes, but I finally got it by making him halt straight and walking off. On about the tenth depart, he kept the looseness and walked well, so we did one more and then stopped. Prior to that I had tried trotting, trotting faster on a circle, trotting slower with more contact, walking small circles, flexing the neck to the outside and inside, long rein, short rein every which way rein. Unlike any other horse I have ridden he is able to do all those things while still refusing to release the tension. Clever fellow, but it's going to make him very difficult to manage if he ever decides to seriously disagree with me!
What great news for Jazz eh? He was tired when we got home, but very contented.
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 5:53 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
You wore a Chiffney as a collar??? ^-^ LOL
Caroline, I know you are a traditional girl at heart, but ... woudl you not like to try one of this light rope halter ...
It does not have to be Parelli ... they have pretty cheap one on Ebay ...
Minky/Nicola had great success with Polo. So did I with Linda ... she would not bear to lean in one ...
Zippy is going to be a tough one, you will have to be very ingenious with that one ...
really good news ... but what about this whistle? will it eventually subside, do you think?
Aaah, Muriel, but you also know that I don't like spending money! And the chifney works just perfectly with no resistance whatsoever - so what do I need a pressure halter for :-) ???? A bit is only as severe as the hands on the other end. If he respects the chifney and I don't pull on it, then we have a solution that suits both of us - win win, no?
I think the whistle will stay Claire, but I don't care as long as he can breathe :-)
C
I should add that I was told before we did it that the operation has only a 75% success rate, with success defined as improved performance (not necessarily complete peformance, just improved). And only a 60% probability of a cure of the noise. As far as I can tell so far, we have 100% performance and 98% on the noise so I'm as happy as Larry. From the ground, I think the noise would be impossible to hear, so without the scar he would now pass a 5* vetting without comment. He's not for sale though, I think he is magnificent.
C
Wow, what great news about Jazz and his oxygen intake. What I love is that his enthusiasm has increased as well. That promises big things for your jumping.
Keep the ulcers in mind for Zip. Apparently, baby horses can get them if they are weaned too early or don't get enough of mama's milk. So far...so far...it seems Tucker's tension was all about the ulcers, as once I started the Ulcergard, he has relaxed remarkably. I know I am really stuck on this idea, but all the research I have done points to its being a far more common problem than anyone might suspect. Just put it in the back of your head as a possibility if the tension issue keeps cropping up.
Sounds as if you tried just about every exercise I can think of to soften him. When a horse is so talented all the more difficult movements are easy for him, it's really hard challenge him with something that will make him submit.
I have the ulcers in mind a lot of the time Jean. He is definitely a dreadful worrier - you can see it in the way he narrows his eyes and how much bigger they are when he is confident. Is there anything cheap I can try as a tester - a bottle of Gaviscon maybe ???
C
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