Sick horsie....

So it happened. The C word.

Colic.

But don't worry, he's ok now!!
Sorry, didn't mean to totally scare the heck out of you, but trust me, I was terrified. I got a call from my barn manager on Saturday- "Horse isn't acting right, rolling alot, not feeling well and not wanting to eat. The vet is on his way down."
She called the vet for me, and I raced down to the barn, which was the longest 30 minute drive of my life, considering in my panic to get into my car, my jacket caught on the turn signal lever and SNAP, awesome, my left turn signal was now stuck ON.
Me, driving as fast as legally possible traffic would allow, with my left ticker on the whole way.... tick, tick, tick, tick....."eye twitch".

I grabbed my husband for moral support and we got to the barn to find my kid standing in the round pen. Just standing. I walked up, and gave him my usual greeting. He didn't move.
Didn't even twitch. Just stood there, head down, tensed lips, ears back. He rolled a couple of times, and finally settled to the ground, just laying there. Thankfully the vet arrived right then, or I would've started crying, seeing my big guy like that.
The vet checked his gut, and found a huge gas bubble on his right side, and let me listen to it. He had Altivo stand, and then got the long glove out. Rectal exam time, sorry horsie!!!
He didn't feel any impactions, so he gave him a shot of pain meds, and then some mineral oil through a tube in his nose that snaked down to his stomach. Altivo felt so cruddy that he didn't even fight any of this, just stood there stoically. The vet told us to observe him, and let us know how he progressed, since he had to rush to another horse colic. We put him into a stall and offered him some food, and by now, his pain meds were kicking in, and he seemed interested in the pellets we offered. Husband and I needed to grab some food, so after watching him for a while, we decided to go get something to eat and come back immediately. Horsie seemed ok, not rolling or thrashing, so we decided to run in to a store really quick for some cat food (cats do NOT appreciate starving just because a horse is sick.) and around that time, got another call. Altivo was down again, rolling and kicking at his belly. Barn manager offered him a nice mash with tasty things in it and he turned it down. One of the barn girls was handwalking him while the vet was called back and we rushed back down to the barn. Sorry kitties, you have to wait on dinner!!

We got back and the vet had arrived shortly before us. He said his pancreas seemed a little swollen, gave him more pain meds, and another rectal exam. He pulled out some icky stinky feces and said there were still no impactions, and that things should start moving soon. If they didn't start moving, our next step would have been surgery. For those who don't know, surgery for colic is ginormously expensive. Like, more than 4 grand expensive. Yikes.

I walked him around the arena, since, oh yeah, it was storming like MAD and freezing cold to boot. We walked for a few minutes, and I hugged him and told him to get better or else.

The pain meds made him mildly loopy but he still wasn't feeling great. I put him back in his stall and we ran home to let the dogs out, feed them, and put on warmer clothing. Husband was wonderful, and even though he probably could've found a million better things to do, he insisted on going back to the barn with me. We sat at the barn for about 3 hours, watching my horse's every single move. I looked up from checking my email at one point and didn't see a horse standing there, so I peeked into the stall. It's not a great picture, but here's something showing sick pony-

Normal Altivo: hungry, mouthy (bad habit), hungry, outgoing, hungry, interested, hungry, curious, hungry, and friendly. Oh, and hungry.

Sick Altivo: listless, disinterested, sad, and sadly, not hungry.

Around 10:45 that night, I grabbed about a cup of pellets and threw them into the feed bucket. He was standing, and heard the pellets drop. He turned around, sniffed them, and then dove in like a crazy person horse, chomping and munching until they were gone. He looked up, and said, "got any more?" I gave him a little bit more, and he drank some water after eating them. We were cold and exhausted, and decided to head home for the night. Barn manager is an angel in disguise, since she got up a couple times that night and checked on him, and he was fine each time.

We got back to the barn early the next morning, and walked up to the stall. He nickered, walked up to the front of the stall door and tried to search me for food. "He's back!" we said. I walked him around and then gave him more food. He was the Normal manifestation of my horse. During the day, we had a commitment to go to, and the barn kept an eye on him. He had a relapse of rolling and unhappiness, and I was too far away to get back to the barn to be of any use (I'm fairly useless in a barn anyway, lol) so I had him walked and my barn manager gave him some electrolytes and he seemed better but still ill. We finally headed to the barn and when we got there, he was seemingly well, wanting food, and I gave him about a handful, knowing the barn staff had been feeding him small meals, and I didn't want to throw a wrench into his diet. (Though he would probably try to eat a wrench if I did give him one...)
He couldn't eat those few pellets fast enough, and was drinking and wandering around his stall, so when he finally settled down and took a nap, we went home to sleep and get ready for work the following day.

The next day, it was as if nothing happened. He was bucking during his turnout, eating like a champ- trying to eat everything and everyone, and had no issues. I went the following day to see him, and he wanted to know where his treat was.
So where does that leave us?
Well, apparently, an enlarged pancreas can either be an angry pancreas, a pancreas getting shoved around by intestines that are gassy, or perfectly normal in certain horses. This means that this issue could rear its ugly head later on, or it may never be an issue. We won't know until it decides to happen again, which could be never.

It was heartbreaking to watch him in pain, and not be able to do anything about it. I now know the signs of colic, what to do while waiting for the vet, and what to do after the vet has come. I'm grateful I have a support network of horse people to help me out during these things, since I had NO clue what to do, ask, or anything.

This is just a reminder of how much I don't know.

The MakeGoStick brings guilt

So it's been raining off and on since I posted last- I was soooo bummed that we didn't get to squeeze in one more trail ride before the rains came- and the worst part? We cancelled the ride, let everyone know, and the day came, and the sun came out, and it was a great day after all. GRRRRRR.

I'm plotting when I'll be able to get back out on to the trail again...I know Altivo is bored with the arena work, and I know I'm getting there...

He had some more body work done, and his hock was sore, so he's been on a "no tight circles" regimen.

He seems to be testing me more lately, and I have read/heard it said that when your horse is being "naughty", it's usually because you're not doing something right. I wonder about that...sometimes he seems to test me just to test me. Like today, he decided that he was going to dance around the mounting block as opposed to holding still like usual. Not like a spooky dance, but more of a, "I'm going to wait till you get to the top of that thing and then sidestep all over the place, haha!"
I did something I've never personally done to him....and I felt SO guilty! After resetting him a couple times, then moving the mounting block a couple times, I got frustrated. I had his reins in my hand, so I hopped off the block and made him lunge around me a few times while waving the riding crop at him. I then put him back next to the mounting block and he stood perfectly still.
I still felt bad, since I knew that part of me had reacted in anger, and first off, it wasn't something that should have sparked my temper, and second, training isn't the right setting to be negatively emotional. He seemed put off that I actually punished him and that made me feel worse. I made sure to give him lots of praised and encouragement during our ride, and he was super good for the most part. He tried jumping head first into a tree to grab some leaves, so I made him walk by it several more times, and I only had to swing the riding crop between him and the tree once to give him the idea that the tree wasn't worth the effort.

I've decided next time I head out to see him, I need to just sit for a moment and clear my head and calm my nerves, because I'm not usually like this with him. Maybe I'm the one having an off day?

Husband Horse!!

So when I was reading sale ads for horses, dreaming of owning a giant beast, occasionally the term, "Husband Horse" would come up, as a positive trait in the horse.

Basically this means that the horse being described is so well behaved and amiable to a complete idiot riding him, and therefore, can be trusted with one's idiot, er, husband. I jest! I guess because it seems in the horse world, unless a guy is out there making a gajillion dollars a month on training/rodeo/dressage/whatever, (think Monty Roberts/Clinton Anderson/Ken McNabb, etc)  he's not into horses at all. Therefore, he must be relegated to a boring, bombproof, and reliable mount.
So, one day while perusing CraigsList, I mention this term to my husband. Would Husband ever consider a horse of his own, at all? I got a shrug of disinterest, a "I dunno", and nothing else. I asked him if he'd ever consider riding with me. He said, "Sure!! On my motorcycle!" hm.
Where am I going with this? Well, I suppose I could describe Altivo as a husband horse, but really, he's an anyone horse. Oh, I got sidetracked again.
Ok, here's the story-
I was on the phone with my sister one day, who isn't really into horses, but she mentioned to me that she'd like to ride Altivo someday. I told her that could be arranged, since he puts up with me on him, I figured he probably wouldn't notice a difference in the horsemanship level between her and I. Well, I hung up the phone, and turned around to see my husband looking at me. I looked back. I asked, "what?" His facial expression didn't give much away, but he said to me calmly, "I've never ridden Altivo."

Whatwhat??!?!?!?!?!?
Of course he'd never ridden him, he never asked!
So last weekend, I plopped my helmet on his head and told him to hop on. He did, and he meandered around on mah pony.
Would you know that my stoic, unaffected, food driven horse was watching me for direction??? Holy My Little Pony, he kept his eye on me the whole time, almost asking me, "hey, is this what I should be doing?"

He didn't stress, he listened to what Husband was telling him to do, but he still kept turning his head to watch me....and at one point, I went around the side of the arena, out of sight, and Husband reported that while Altivo still followed his directions, he kept his eye on the corner where I had disappeared.

So I guess that's what horse bonding feels like? I wasn't sure he had even gotten attached in any way to me, as he never nickers at me when he sees me, he doesn't seem to "perk up" or get excited when I show my face, unless I have food in my hand, and even then he just wants to relieve me of it by any means necessary.

But to know that he looked to me for direction was a wonderful feeling- I hope our bond grows even stronger!!

As for the Husband- He's not into riding, but I will say that he does go to the barn with me occasionally, and helps me groom and tack up so that I can ride. And I think I'm ok with it that way....Some days that I ride by myself, I have a chance to be in my own mind, focus on the horse, and even occasionally, just sit up on that big guy and we zone out together, him almost dozing off with me laying on his neck. It's a good place to be.

Happy Halloween!!

Due to some family issues going on, I went to the barn before Halloween and took these pictures, but figured I'd wait till today to post them.

I love Halloween, because it's the only day you can put anything on that you desire, and people can't call you out on it. Plaid and stripes? No problem. Fairy wings and a water gun? Great. No one can say you're crazy, since it's a costume!!
Haha!!

So....I thought long and hard about what to make my horse dress up as for Halloween. Now, he's sorta white, and really big, and loves to mow down anything in his way to get food. So....I searched through my spare fabric reserves and spent many a minute sewing it. I dressed him up...any guesses as to what his costume is?? Ok, ok, a sailor collar isn't a good enough hint...

Maybe seeing his hat will help...

He's the StayPuft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters!!!

 He was such a good sport for the whole thing, holding still for his sailor collar to be put on, and then I showed him the hat, and after trying to eat it, I held it over his head. I plopped it on and he lowered his head and held still while I tied it under his throat. I snapped a few pictures before relieving him of his embarrassing getup, but he seemed unaffected by it and probably would've worn it for as long as I asked.
This was just for fun, no costume contest or event, just because I could. I've already got plans for next year....

YES!!!

That's what I said on Saturday afternoon...at least in my head. Ok, so here's what we've been up to:

Altivo and I had a lesson last week with our instructor about how a horse can possibly be in a horse trailer without breaking it. (in case you don't remember, here's the blog posting explaining that...) So, my teacher brought one of the lesson horses with us to be a trailer buddy. When horses are riding in a trailer, some of them can be more comfortable if they are with a friend, so we made sure to put the trailer buddy in first, then loaded Altivo up.
He went in without fussing, but wasn't too excited about letting the divider close near him. After some encouragement, he allowed it to close and lock, and we stood outside the trailer to make sure there wouldn't be any anxiety attacks on the inside.

He made it that far! We then drove around in a large circle, and ended up where we started. We stopped, we listened. We got out, we listened. All quiet. We opened the trailer, and unloaded him. No issue. Now, this was important, since I had secured a slot in that very same trailer for the impending Saturday- a trail ride at a lake about 20 minutes away. A. Trail. Ride!!!!!!! Trail ride!!!! ahem. Trail ride.

Saturday came, and I could barely contain my excitement!! This was one of the reasons, maybe even the MAIN reason I have always wanted a horse- to go wandering around the wilderness on horseback, taking in the scenery, and discovering trails. All total, there were 3 trailers, and 7 horses. We made it to the lake, and unloaded Altivo.

The look on his face when he looked around was that of shock and amazement. His ears were perked forward, his head was up, and he sniffed the air, trying to figure out where he was. He wasn't scared, just curious.
He must have been quite a sight to see, since some people who were returning from their rides came up to meet him, and one of them even asked if riding him was possible, since they didn't think draft horses were able to be ridden. Say what?? Oh, sillies.....I educated them, and they were very nice with a pretty palomino. 

After tacking him up, I stared at him, trying to figure out how to get on him....mounting him is a pain as I'm 5' 4" and he's 16.2 hands...so I looked around....and found....a picnic table!


I led him to one of the picnic tables nearby, and he stood nicely while I hopped up. All 7 of us started down the trail that would lead to a lovely 2 hour jaunt. Oh, there was one thing he did NOT like!!

 Yes, a yellow wheelbarrow was parked near a muck pile, and as we came around a corner, it seemed to appall Altivo that anyone would make a wheelbarrow YELLOW. He startled, looked at it, quickly determined that it wasn't food, and walked on.  I'm aware that with alot of horses, the words, "Horse Eating" maybe be applied to the beginning of an object to describe things. Like, "Horse Eating Balloon", or "Horse Eating Mundane Object", since, being prey animals, they tend to fear things that to us, seem silly. One of the horses on the trail ride startled at a large rock, so therefore, it became a "Horse Eating Rock". Get it?
Well, nothing beside the wheelbarrow wanted to eat him, even when confronted with a lone cow. (HF calls it a steak-horse, and anytime I think of that, I giggle.)

Anyhoo, we meandered through the lovely countryside, up hills and down them, over a fallen tree, and to a lake bed. And he didn't trip once! I asked for a trot several times, and he happily obliged without the use of a Motivation Stick (aka Mr. Spanker), and he seemed to have a good time. Both of us, being out of shape, were dragging a little on the way back, but I can't wait to go again!!!

So there you have it- OH!! And Monday, he had his teeth floated, and I didn't get photos cuz there's this pesky thing called "work" that I had to do, so that I could pay the vet....but, the vet said there wasn't anything remarkable, just the typical points on the teeth, which to me meant that they needed to be done.
And I'm working on Altivo's Halloween costume- stay tuned for pictures!!!

Improvement? We haz it!

So, first off..

An open letter to Altivo.

Dear Lazy White/Grey horse:
I cheated on you. I went on a trail ride on another horse. A mare, even. I blame HorseFriend. She's the one who threw a bareback pad on her Quarter horse and told me to hop on. She was there with her Morgan, so I can't lie about it- I have too many witnesses. Next thing I knew, we were out on the trail and I just couldn't help it!! I was a little scared, since I was bareback, and her mare is a little green, but her personality is similar to yours so I did all right. I know you won't really care since I bring you apples and pears but I just needed to come clean. Guilt is an awful thing.

We didn't ride for very long, really, and the brush wasn't that edible....so don't be mad, ok?

-BigGreenGirl

Ok, next on the update-
Big improvements with the big horse (my sister said he's as big as a bus....) since I blogged last!!

First, here's what we did.

1. I had a bodyworker touch him. I admit, I was skeptical that the bodyworker would be able to do anything for him, after all, a horse bodyworker doesn't seem to be able to do much, but really, it was interesting watching her. She lifted his ribcage, pushed and pulled on various parts of his body, and yanked on his tail. She showed me how to do certain moves sort of like a "horsie yoga" and how to stretch parts of him to keep things aligned and happy.

2. Asked the trimmer to back up his toes a teeny bit. Basically, he shaved down the hoof in the front of it slightly, so that it gives lazy horses who don't pick their feet up a little more ground clearance as they move.

3. Bought a new bit. This one is a sweet iron twisted snaffle. That means that the part that goes in the horse's mouth is made of "cold rolled steel" which rusts and supposedly has a sweet taste to it. I didn't get the bit for that reason, I got it because I wanted a twisted snaffle bit and the sweet iron one was the only kind in his size....Yeah. Most bits are 4-5 inches wide...he's a 6 1/2. sigh.  Moving on... Twisted means that instead of a straight piece of metal, it's twisted around to give the horse a different feel in his mouth. It doesn't hurt them, but it does make them pay attention just a little more. Here's a picture-

4. 2 times a week he gets a "schooling ride", where he is put through his paces by someone who knows what they're doing.



Now....all of this combined....and the tripping has all but stopped. I took him out this morning for a ride, through the sand arena, the pea gravel round pen, the dirt arena, the back pasture, and the gravel road. He tripped once in the back pasture, because he was staring at a cat in the field and not watching where his feet were going. I worked on trotting him and controlling his direction at the same time, as he seems to be rusty on it, and he trotted willingly and without issue.


I'm overdue for a lesson, but I was on vacation and then the weather got so insanely hot that I backed out of a couple- I can't concentrate when it's 100 degrees out and I'm on top of a 100 degree animal. But I'll blog about it when I take another lesson. Should be soon.

Oh, and I found yet another horse blog that I love- here ya go!!

www.horseandman.com

Altivo in the arena

Lesson recap!


 Actually, I've had 2 since my last post, but I'll lump them in together, since they were quite similar, just with different horses. Why am I not riding my big baby? No, he's fine, I'll get to that in a second. Both of these lessons involved trotting, and learning to post the trot. Posting is where you let the horse's gait raise you out of the saddle, in a timed and controlled manner to make the trot comfortable for both of you. It's a TON worse if you just sit and jiggle about for the trot, and I don't think the horse appreciates it too much either.


 So you have to time your muscles to "catch" yourself and lower your butt in time to have it thrown out of the saddle again. It's all about finding the rhythm of the horse and going with it. The first horse I rode while trying to post the trot was Casper- remember, he was the very first horse I rode at lessons?? He is a Quarter Horse, so his trot is very quick, meaning lots of little posts, rather than lots of time to find the rhythm. His advantage, though, is that he's small, very wise, and is sort of a "babysitter" for newbies.

Next, Chinook. He's a big Tennessee Walker, around the same height as Altivo, so I was familiar with that, and his trot is quite similar to my horse's. A very slow, even trot that is easy to follow, however, he's very eager to go, and may offer to gait for you, instead of trot.


I have to say, Chinook was more comfortable, however, it was good that I rode Casper first. I had that tripping issue with Altivo- remember?  I have to admit that it made me just a teensy bit fearful of trotting...afraid that the horse I'm on is going to trip and fall and I'm going down with him. This, I recognize, is not good. I seem to be more comfortable controlling the horse on my own, and I think that it's because on the lunge line, it's a tighter circle, there's the element of turning fairly sharply thrown in there, whereas if I'm controlling the horse, it's in a larger area, no rope connecting us, and I have more balance. I talked to myself (don't we all?) and tried to tell me it wasn't a big deal, I need to relax, but I'll need to keep talking.





Ok, so the big guy is stumbling occasionally while under saddle at a trot. Y'all remember the blog post about the tripping episode....right? Well, here's a video of him, and it's not until the veeeeerrry end that he trips.....so if you don't watch it all I can't blame you...it's a giant white horse running in circles. I am unsure what to do since he doesn't have anything wrong with him that anyone can find....but that's why I'm not riding him in lessons. I need to be able to learn on a dependable horse who doesn't trip all over the place, and until we know what causes his fumble-footedness, I can't ride him in lessons. I know every horse is dangerous, inherently, but I'm not sure what to do for him, short of taking him to UC Davis for a full workup. BLARGH.