January is always a tough time for trail riders in our neighborhood-particularly for a person who works during the day. My sister works afternoon shift on most days, and of course, Kevin is retired. On a nice day, they can get out and ride on the trail. By the time I get there, it is dark. I can only trail ride on the weekends.
If the weather is bitter or the driveway, even during the weekend, you will find me in the indoor arena. Well, at least we have the arena. We did go a number of years without one.
Often, this time of year, the river is frozen, and it can be weeks before I can get a real trail ride. I just ride up and down the hill to the river 3 or 4 times.
It was with much joy that I got to go on a real trail ride one Sunday in the middle of January. It was about 35 degrees out-warm enough that the trail wasn't frozen. That meant, not only could I get down the trail and cross the river, but I could trot and canter.
It happened that that day Ellen had to work. I was on my own-well, not totally-I had Mingo.
My horses miss going out on the trail, too. Even if I can barely get Mingo beyond a slow jog/trot in the arena, if I get him on the trail when he's had a break from it, he can get very hyper. Since he's such a calm horse, his hyper moods transform him into an incredibly fun horse to ride-if you know what to expect.
We crept down the hill to the river. The day before, he only went up and down the hill a few times since the water was too high for us to cross. When I asked him to cross, he seemed surprised. The water was a little deep, and he went faster than usual to get to the other side. I just kept telling him, "Be careful. Be careful." He didn't listen to me, but we made it across without any problem.
He seemed to be surprised, again, when I asked him to trot. He went along very quietly, and I thought maybe it wouldn't be as exciting a ride as I expected. After a bit, I asked him to canter. Good thing I was prepared-he took off with a buck and grunt. I know to shorten up the reins during a canter transition when he hasn't been down trail for a while. After he got it out of his system, we had a very nice canter.
We stopped to go down a slope. At the bottom of the slope, we will typically start up, again, but I could see a pedestrian up ahead. I made him walk, but he fought me the whole way. Once we passed the hiker, I asked for a canter. He gave me another buck and snort and away we went. This section is such a nice one, that we call it the "canter stretch." It is about a quarter mile long, and is Mingo's second favorite section of trail. My normally slow horse sped up to the perfect speed, and I just sat there with a smile on my face and enjoyed it.
We crossed the river again. Now, for some reason, on the other side of the river, Mingo wakes up-even if it is 90 degrees out. (Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but he certainly likes it over there.) I knew that cantering more would not be a very good idea. I decided that if he didn't trot quietly, then we wouldn't canter. If he settled down, we would. He never settled down. He trotted so fast that, not only did I have to post (unusual with Mingo,) but I had trouble keeping up with him.
When we got to the last section of trail, I must confess, I hesitated. It's about a quarter mile-all in the open. It is his very-most favorite place to canter in the whole world. It is also the place he is the most likely to misbehave. I thought about it, and eventually decided to give it a try. Who knew when the circumstances would allow me to ride this far, again.
I did insist that he stay at a trot, and he did, but once again, he was very fast. I loved it. At the end, we turned around and trotted home. On the way home, he is calmer on this part of the trail because we never canter in the home direction over there.
We trotted a lot towards home, and he went at a reasonable speed. I walked the last 15 minutes and told him how much fun I had. I think he had fun, too. It was so nice to get out of the arena and really stretch his legs. I'm not riding Cruiser in the park at this time, and Mingo did his best to fill his shoes. Good job, Mingo.
On New Years Eve, Cruiser's leg swelled back up. I buted, iced and called the vet on January 2. He said to check for lameness and get back to him the next day. That evening, the swelling had vanished and he trotted sound. The vet was glad and came out to see him the following week to ultrasound. He told me that I could start riding at a walk for a month and then he'd like to check him again. He also took bloodwork to check him for Cushings Disease. I am still waiting for the results. Cushings weakens the tendons. By putting him on medication, it would take care of the problem. As I write this, I am still waiting for the results.
So, we have been riding around at a walk-at least we are riding. Most of the time, it is in the arena, and now and then, we can go out on the driveway.
Last Satarday, Mingo's hind leg swelled up, but he wasn't lame on it. I iced, wrapped, poulticed and buted. I came back the next day, and he was fine. The following evening, the other 3 legs swelled up, he could barely walk and even had trouble simply standing. He seemed very uncomfortable, but he wasn't distressed. His legs and hooves were hot. The original swollen leg seemed just fine.
I called the vet and told her all about it. She said since he was eating, it could wait until morning. She felt it could be a virus. Apparently, a virus can make the legs swell up. She told me to ice, wrap, give him 2 butes and call her in the morning. I tried to take his temperature, but the thermometer was broken. According to it, he was dead. I knew that wasn't true, but he did feel warm to the touch. The vet said the bute would lower his temperature as well as help with the swelling
Of course, I had to go to work the next day, but Ellen and Kevin were able to check on him. They said I was delusional-the swelling went away overnight, and we was walking quite fine. What a relief. I went out that evening, led him around and he was so very different than the night before.
He is fine, now-wow was that scary.
I don't know if there is any connection between Cruiser's leg swelling up or if it is just a coincidence. There is no sign of swelling in any of the other's horse's legs. Let's hope it was just another example of Mingo's terrible luck, and it won't go any further.
I'm looking forward to a better month in February.
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Here we go again. I got out to the barn on New Year's Eve, and found Cruiser's bowed tendon leg all swollen and hot. He head as big scuff on his hoof. I don't know what happened, but I'm thinking he might have gotten cast. Ugh. Of course, I know the drill, now. I iced and buted. I just called the vet.
Needless to say, I'm very upset, but I'm trying not to let it get me down. he is an older horse, and I have to expect problems. At least Ranger and Mingo are still in good health. For that matter, I might as well list my father-who hasn't had chemo in 3 years! Add in my dog who is doing remarkably well for being 11. My sister is fine, and I just have a cold. Thunder, my new kitty, hasn't had any digestive problems since that last trip to the vet-in fact, he has put on some weight and looks incredibly healthy. I think his coat has doubled in length and softness.
So life isn't too bad, after all. Cruiser doesn't seem to be in much pain-and that's really important to me. But I am still very sad and disappointed.
Trail Training Newsletter - Volume 83 January 2008
Dear Readers,
Bad news this month. Early in December, Cruiser came up lame on his bad leg during a trail ride. My heart fell. Common sense said that it had to be the tendon. We walked him back to the barn, iced, wrapped and started him on bute for the swelling. I called the vet out. He gave him a lameness exam and an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed some thickening in the tendon, but no lesions, so that was good.
He will be on stall rest for a couple more weeks, and then I can start some light riding-gradually building him back up. He is allowed 10 minutes a day of hand walking. That is for his mental state. The lameness is already gone. There is just a little heat left.
The vet said that this isn't unusual. We bring them along slowly, everything is going well and then there will be a setback.
I guess if this was going to happen, I'm glad it happened now. We had a terrific fall riding season. Winter isn't near as much fun to ride-particularly once the river freezes. We'll be ready by spring.
Just a reminder-if you received a gift card for Borders over the holiday, you can use it to buy my books. Treat yourself! **************************************************************************************
Be Kind
Ellen and I were coming home form a beautiful November ride up at the show ring area. We have been taking Mingo and Ranger up there on Sundays since last fall when Cruiser got hurt. They repaired and extended the trails, so we can get a quite a good ride.
On our way home, we came across some acquaintances on horseback. One of the party didn't like something that we did, and she presented her opinion to us in a very untactful way. This didn't surprise us, coming from this woman, but it still ruined our ride--for at least ten minutes. It got me to thinking how some horse people treat other trail users. Rather than politely educate them when they are doing something that they don't like, they treat them rudely by making smart remarks, yelling simply acting mean.
Kevin still, to this day, talks about the woman on a horse that gave him a hard time about jogging on the bridle path-even though he kindly stopped and went to the side of the trail to allow her to pass. (Joggers are allowed on our trails.) This was years before he ever imagined he'd own his own horse. He is still trying to figure out who she was. We have all seen joggers, hikers and dog walkers cower on the trail when they see us-as if they are preparing for a tongue lashing. I've seen some run off the trail into the woods when they see us coming. This isn't right. We are all out there for the same reason-to enjoy the trails.
Our park has rules that state that dogs should be on leashes and bikes should stay on their own trails, but when we see violators, should we give them a nasty comment or be rude? Do we understand how easily our trails can be lost to us forever? We need the fellow trail users on our side, not against us. In our park, we are easily out numbered.
When we see a bike rider on our trail, we ask them to stop and allow us to pass. If he does, we thank him and explain that horses can be startled. We don't need to remind them that in our park, bikes have their own trails. I'm sure they already know it.
If we see a loose dog that is not under control (some are so good, they don't need a leash) we slow down and wait for them to put a leash on. If they don't, Kevin will give them a long explanation about why their dog should be leashed. Ellen and I simply say, "Our horses kick." That does the trick most of the time. No dog owner wants to see their animal hurt-it suddenly makes perfect sense to them why their dog needs to be leashed. Most people are just ignorant and need to be educated. Once the dog is on a leash, we cheerfully thank the dog walker and ride on.
If we see someone sharing our trail and they aren't doing anything wrong, we say hello and act friendly. Really, we want these people on our side-lets be welcoming. If ever our trails are threatened, we want the dog walkers, hikers and joggers to say they want us there. Being rude is the last thing we should do. Friendliness can pay off where you don't expect it, too. That is how I met Kevin all those years ago. He was just jogger. If I would have told him that he shouldn't be on my trail, I would have never known all the joy I would have missed.
We don't have the luxury of owning a horse trailer, so we just ride on the trails that are accessible to our the barn. We are so glad that we have them. Since we ride them all the time, we know just about every step of the trails by heart. So do the horses.
This is always something we keep in mind. A horse that knows an area well will notice anything new on the trail. The other day, my sister was driving through the park on the way to the barn for our Saturday morning ride, and she saw the park put up a new sign in the Lagoon area fairly close to the bridle trail. We knew that it might bother the horses, so instead of trotting or cantering through there like we usually do, we slowed to a walk just as the sign came into view. Ranger and Cruiser eyed it suspiciously. If we were going faster, there is no doubt that they would have at least sidestepped. When I went by not long after with Mingo, he didn't care at all, but then he always has been a less reactive horse.
We were also cautious on the way home. Once again, they noticed it, but their reaction was less pronounced. A horse needs to see something from both sides before he is comfortable with it. After that day, they never looked at the sign, again.
There is another part of the trail that had an unusual obstacle/horse-eating monster. A woman in the neighborhood lost a dog near the park, so she plastered the area with signs. She also set up the dog's cage right next to the trail with his blanket and water dish. Unfortunately, we couldn't see it until we rounded a sharp corner, so it definitely made our horses dance the first time. I'm sure the dog owner never thought that the horse people in the area might have problems with it, but it worried Cruiser and Starry quite a bit. After the first time, we could ride past it, but they would cringe on the far side of the trail. Kevin and I would warn each other when we got near it so we would slow down before it appeared. Eventually, Cruiser would trot right by-as long as he wasn't close to it. I'm glad to say that the dog was found in a few weeks. The owner put on note on the "Lost Dog Signs" and took the cage home.
I have noticed that if there is an area that has things change all the time, our horses don't seem to mind. There are some signs close to the trail that people will attach balloons and such to point to a party in the park. They seem to happen often enough that the horses seldom care. They are used to the changes.
So if you are riding on one of your regular trails, and you see something new before your horse sees it, it is smart to slow him down to give him a chance to see
