Wizard Ride 75; JR Ride 30: Frustration
Monday, 4/13/09
Not a great night :^/ I grazed Wizard for about 30 minutes and let him work on some alfalfa while I longed and rode JR.
JR longed well- he longed with his head free most of the time but I put side reins on for about 5 minutes. After about 20 minutes of work with longing/long lining, I rode him. He still does not quite feel right but he did not do anything wrong- I felt him tense up a few times and flick his ears back a few times. Since we were riding outdoors in the deeper footing, I kept the ride to a 10 minute walk. If he is still backsore, I want to make sure he really feels better before I ask for any work.
I longed Wizard for about 15 minutes, and asked for about 5 minutes or less with side reins. He moved out pretty well and I noticed that he was a little bit less fidgety about grooming. Did the bute have anything to do with it? Maybe, maybe not.
I got into the saddle and could immediately feel that Wizard was uncomfortable. He pinned his ears flat to his head and his whole body was tense. I asked him to walk just a lap or two around so that I was not immediately getting out of the saddle when he pinned his ears. I am working very hard to listen to his needs but I also don’t want to teach any bad habits along the way.
Wizard is such a sweet and willing horse that I am sure something is really bothering him to react the way he is. I’m stumped. Everything is passing through my head, from saddle fitting issues, to terrible diseases like EPM or Lyme Disease, to an old injury, to an ulcer flareup. I have an appointment scheduled for the chiropractor when I get back from my trip to Kentucky, but I might have the vet out before I leave to take a look at him. I just had the saddle fitter out to look at him, so it seems doubtful that the saddle that was deemed good a month ago suddenly is no good. Plus, Wizard was so willing and forward just 5 rides ago. I’m perfectly happy to take things slowly as long as the horse is willing and comfortable, but stumbling blocks like this are frustrating.
On a good note, check out how nice he looks!
Taken Easter morning…
Taken March 12…
Taken December 4…
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 
He looks so much better, Sarah. Even the look in his eye has changed. Yay for you!
Wish you were on the West Coast to work your magic on my Casey. He’s still got the sad, scared look.
Aw, thanks, OS! It was several months before I started seeing big changes in Wizard and hopefully you’ll start seeing the same with Casey. It took a lot of time and money- more than I expected. The spring shed definitely adds to the beauty of the horses this time of year!
I was going to comment last time that bute and ulcers can be an ugly combination, but wanted to see how things went first. Bute is just like aspirin for humans — hard on the stomach lining, and especially hard if there is a pre-existing weakness. Have you stopped using the ulcer guard?
Thank you, DP! I always appreciate feedback, especially when it relates to the comfort of these horses.
I was worried about how bute would react with his stomach, but really there’s no proof that he even has ulcers. I am still giving him Ulcergard, but I have not exactly seen a dramatic improvement, so I’m not sure if I’ll continue it. Does not seem like the bute did anything, either :^/
I posted current pics of Casey on my blog just now. Please tell me what you see and what you think if you get a chance to take a look.
Ok, besides that my black horse is very, very dirty from playing with his girlfriend before his photo shoot!
You got it!
Hey Sarah
Sorry to hear about the training frustrations, I hope both Wizard and JR start to feel better. But you take beautiful photos of the two horses! I always like checking out the blog to see what new pictures you have posted 🙂
Wow, what a huge improvement in Wizards condition. He looks great. I hope you can figure out what is bothering him. I have been down that road several times with mine, I just wish they could speak (sometimes). Last time we were having problems, I had a nuclear scan done to find out the source of the problem. It saved us lots of time and money in the long run. Otherwise I would have been going through the process of elimination method for a LONG time.
They are both beautiful! Hope they are feeling sound very soon.
Jen