Chalk it up to experience.
Zippy was still alive after eating the chalk I bought, so I've given it to Jazz too. They both seem to find the oily food more palatable with it in. It's cheap stuff, so I'll just keep them on it I think, as it counteracts our acid soil and their oily diet. I was recommended to feed it years ago by my vet and stopped when I no longer had a horse with cracked feet. Now I have one definite and one possible worrier who are ulcer risks, so it would seem wise to keep using it as a preventative. Zippy always does tiny poo balls like a foal, and it will be interesting to see if it changes that at all. Some detailed poo inspection and reporting is called for! This morning, after having the limestone flour last night, he was very calm. But so was Jazz, and he'd had none. So unless Zip influenced Jazz, there was some other reason why they were both chilled this morning (physically, it'll be becuase it was minus 4 with the wind-chill last night :-0, but I meant mentally!)
I rode Jazz outdoors in spite of a biting wind because I wanted the space to do lengthened strides. He wanted to run today and I had some trouble getting him balanced. He was also wriggling like a worm and determined not to go straight. I did get some very good reaction to the aid, by shortening him right up and then lengthening into a working-towards-medium (thanks Anna, your suggestion :-). His reaction to the aid is very clear and very pleasing, but it will take a few weeks yet to get medium, I think.
We also did some walk to canter, where I had to make a very conscious effort to keep my weight on the inside seat bone on the right rein, otherwise he simply went off in counter canter. Having got the up, we worked towards canter/walk for the down and we are getting there. I think this is only our second, third at most, try at it and he is responding very well, with only a couple of trot strides before a decent walk.
He tried to tell me two or three times that he thought he'd done enough. He stood at the entrance to the arena. In the old days, he'd have walked straight out and back to the stable if I tried to make him carry on. Now, he turns and says "OK, just trying you out to see if you meant it :-)" and does some more solid work.
I was frozen by the end, so Zip and I went indoors. To be honest this was also to give me no space to get tempted to start asking for that stunning medium/extended trot again. He may be physically capable of doing it, but I really don't think that it's the sort of thing a horse that hasn't even reached 3 1/2 yet should be asked to do, with immature joints and muscles. He was a lovely boy, some super rounded walk, and the same in trot. Balanced, rythmic, obedient even though he was a bit rattled by Jazz jumping around at something outside. It is always so tempting to do too much with him, but I have resisted it so far - though sometimes only by not riding at all!
Off to order budgie limestone flour now.
C
posted by cptrayes @ 3:34 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
very difficult resisting that temptation with Zip, i imagine, well done!
Good for Jazz to keep going when he'd decided it might be time to finish up. Once more evidence of a changed horse.
You are right in not stressing Zip's joints, etc. with too much work. You have plenty of time to bring him along so he will live a long SOUND life with you.
Tucker is now on a feed designed for Cushing's horses, because it should help him if he is also insulin resistant. Hard to say if it has made any difference in his attitude because the changes were so dramatic after the ulcer treatment.
Budgie limestone flour? I presume for birds? If so that should be pretty darn safe. Birds are very sensitive little critters. Sort of like horses with two legs and wings.....*G*
If there is any change in attitudes, it will take a few days before you can be sure. As you say, right now, too many other factors can influence a single day's performance.
I sometimes have to just not ride him at all Claire, it's such a temptation to do more than he should. He's only 3 years and 5 months old, but he does such advanced stuff that it can't possibly be good for his joints. In the indoor, he trots perfect circuits and keeps the bend around 10 metres - how many 3 year olds can even attempt that?
I didn't realise that there was a suspicion that Tucker was insulin resistant Jean. What was it about him that gave you that idea?
C
Again, it was Patrice suggesting that because Tucker is such an easy keeper (ie, kind of fat for a Thoroughbred) and that he has a nice crest to his neck that he might be insulin resistant. She suggested if so, it would make him prone to being muscle sore and, therefore also less eager to go forward.
My vet said before I invest in all kinds of supplements I should have him tested. Didn't do it yet but I probably will. In the meantime, I did switch his feed. My hay was tested by the guy who sells it and it has good levels of all the right stuff, so I don't bother doing a lot of soaking, etc.
Mmmm - certainly not normal for a gelded TB, is it? I think my eventer Scooby, who got laminitis when fit and not overweight, had it. There seemed to be no possible other reason why he would get laminitis from grass. Fed his ordinary hard feed and haylage, he was absolutely fine, but a touch of the green stuff and up came the pulses and the foot shuffling started. Hopefully Tucker will do fine on the new diet, as I think the test is difficult to get a reliable result on, isn't it?
C
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