Or... back to normal!?!

 I need to remember that Funny was quick and running and sassy before the ulcer/angry ovary, so... the fact that she's not planting/bucking/rearing/kicking out/squealing is a fabulous sign. And the fact that she's still quick and runny and not wanting to be slow and steady... is normal. For her. Although there is part of me that wonders now.... is it because she hurts? But... everyone who has watched her go says no. Kelli said her hocks and stifles were articulating wonderfully and making her jealous. Jacel said she's jumping even and great. Laura didn't see anything. So I think I'm just paranoid. I think she's just a sassy teenager who wants to go fast and do it her way. And quite frankly, that's exactly how Dan was. And kind of still is. :) As am I. BUT... I will definitely keep it in the back of my mind. 

 

Today we rode at home because I wanted to do ground work. I figured that maybe I have been slacking and part of her struggles is that she's not as developed in her thoracic sling as I wanted. And I thought about bribing her with cookies and rewarding good behavior. I honestly also thought that maybe I could come up with some sort of plan to encourage her to lift and go slow under saddle without having to resort to my usual tactics, but I couldn't quite come up with anything. But, I definitely think I need to do some more groundwork. I think it was hard because I couldn't ride Dan or Lyric, so Funny got bumped up too quickly and our groundwork fell by the wayside. So.. back to it! 

 

We walked up to the arena and did some pillar walking. And then we did turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches. And... she sat back and did it lovely. So she got cookies. And then, I probably should have done more, but I didn't. I got on. And we had a good ride. She was squirrely once but then she settled. I tried very hard to be soft and quiet and out of her face. Oh, and I put the maria bit back in, vs the oskar, just in case the oskar was pinching her still. We did our square turns and we did some of the pole exercises. And if she got too fast and I couldn't get her to slow down nicely, I just came down to a walk or a halt. And when she was super good, she got a cookie. She was still a bit stressed and chompy, like usual, but... she was better! We had a pretty decent ride and got some good moments. I'm also realizing that if I shorten my reins a hair, she seems to be better in her back and posture then when I have longer reins. And it's still a soft contact but her posture is better. Except, sometimes she gets too round and goes behind the vertical. And I do keep remembering to push my hands forward. I think it's more that when my reins are too long, I have to ride backwards with my hands sometimes whereas when they are shorter, I can send my hands forward more easily. So I'll keep playing with it. I need to get the pivo out so I can see what it actually looks like too. 

We cantered some too and her canter was SUPER big, but... I did manage to wheedle it down a bit. And her downward transitions were pretty good too. We even did some leg yielding at the trot too. And that helped our downward transitions not go from big canter to super big trot. 

I was quite proud of her today. I think my mindset change helped too. I wasn't so frustrated or aggravated and was able to be calmer. 

The only thing that aggravated me today was that it feels like my saddle is slipping on her a bit. I couldn't tell if I was crooked, if the girth was loose and she was throwing me around, or if I was throwing her around because I'm crooked....?? I don't know what that means... if anything. I'm trying not to be paranoid that the saddle doesn't fit her and/or is bothering her. But she liked it before so.... ??? 

We hacked back home via the road and I tried to take her to the lake to give her a cool off hack. She started to stare as we got close to the lake and then I saw the buzzards. Oh yeah... there was a big flock of them the other day... I'm sure there's something dead there. So I didn't push the issue. We just turned around before she even got stressed. 

She got another vinegar bath and got turned back out. 

And... back to shenanigans. And squirrel sorting

 rode at home. hacked to beach first. spooky at beach. didn't push it but am going to have to at some point. 

set up beths' cavaletti grid at home. Funny was good at the walk.. but then got immediately quick and sassy at the trot. Not like before when she had the obviously angry ulcer or ovary but... naughty like she has been prior to that.. quick.. fussy... bracing... running... sigh... had her back in the baby fulmer oskar... may go back to the maria in case it's pinching. 

had a rough ride. early on she got threatening and I lost it on her... screamed at her and spun in circles and ripped her face off. I'm over it girl !! OVER IT! sigh... managed to have to float her teeth a few other times but she stopped threatening to rear/buck. Still don't know if i should do my appt on tues or not. sigh... I'm just... don't want to know if anything is wrong right now. I can't handle it. I just want one unbroken horse.... sigh....

finally finished on a good note... got a canter that wasn't being run away with... then a decent trot. hacked home via driveway. chased the squirrel. 

bathed with vinegar... detangled her mane and tail. fly sprayed and fly geared up. Oh... started apoquel this morning too, because so itchy!

One day since our last shenanigans!

 I fixed her!! I fixed her!!! Well, hopefully. :) 

Either... she had ulcers and/or a big ol' angry ovary. :) 

 

I didn't ride Thursday because of the weather coming in so... she had another few days off. But, today I had time. I was going to ride her at home and take Lyric on a trail ride with Baylor, but.. I decided that since Lyric was going to Ashland tomorrow for a lesson, it would be wiser to take Funny today. So... that's what I did. We were going to meet at Charlie Elliott but poor Sharon got there before me and it was closed. Ugh. So... we rerouted to Ashland. They were having the show but we figured we could hit the trails. 

 

We hacked around and had a good ride. It poured buckets last night so it was really wet! Lots more puddles and "creeks" than normal. Funny was brave and went over everything with only a tiny bit of hesitation at a few. At the very beginning of our ride she was a bit jumpy acting but she settled nicely and there weren't any shenanigans. We tried to trot later on in the ride but it was so wet everywhere. We finally did trot at the ridgeline after Hoot and Holler. I was a little worried they would still be running cross country and I didn't want to pop out of the woods and scare anyone so we went along the road in the forest and came out by stadium. By the time we got up there, they had finished show jumping (and honestly, probably cross country too). So... we went in to do a little trotting. I wanted to test her out. And Sharon wanted to trot too. 

 

And she was great! She spooked at the jump poles in a pile on the one side but other than that, she was good. A little quick but not too bad. And no shenanigans. I even tempted fate by picking up the canter and ... no shenanigans! Then we trotted and then cantered the other way and then trotted again. And she was lovely! Whooo hoo! I quit with that. I was tempted to do more but we had already hacked a good bit and it was hot and I was still wanting to get back and ride Lyric. So we headed in. 

 

YAY! Good girl!! Guess we'll continue the omeprazole for a good bit. Of course it could have been an angry ovary, but... considering she started eating her food better, I'm guessing maybe more ulcers... which... sad, but also yay.. better than lameness. 

 

Successful Ride!

 So... it was a short and very accomodating ride, but it was successful. She's been on ulcergard (omeprazole/cimetidine paste) for 4 days now and sucralfate as long. Although I've not been able to do the sucralfate 3 times a day. But I've done it before meals most days and then I did it before her ride today. 

 

We tacked up and headed to the arena. She felt good and happy and was motoring and not chompy. We got in the arena and I was planning to take my time at the walk. We started out okay and did some nice leg yields at the walk. Then she got super spooky! It was a bit breezy and a cool draft blew in, and some rain sprinkles, but... she got super spooky! She was spooky at Lyric in the field.. the jumps stacked up outside the arena... And then she lost it. She exploded and blew up in place. I managed to rein her back in but decided I was getting off. It just wasn't worth it. Not because she scared me but because... I was frustrated and mad and knew that I would not react fairly. And... also, because at this point.. if she's naughty, it's going to be hard to not blame it on behavior and then I feel like I've got to "battle to the death" because I'm getting concerned that she's just smart and feels like she can intimidate me. But I know that's not the case. She's naughty but she's not like that. And, I don't want to have to "duke it out" if she's hurting, even only mildly, so... I figured I'd just get off. 

 

I got the lunge and sent her out on the lunge. She was reactive and jumpy and squirted off. She did the whole did down and canter with both back legs together, like a jack rabbit. She leapt about a bit. But it didn't last too long and she settled into a nice trot fairly quickly. It was quick, but not terribly quick. She then settled into a nicer trot with a nice soft neck. So then I asked for a canter and she exploded into it but then settled into a nice canter. She did swap behind and kick out but then cantered normally. And then trotted normally. A little chompy but not terrible. We got a nice trot again and then changed directions. She was more sane the second way and trotted nicely. I did ask for a canter and she did explode into it a bit but then settled. She did swap behind or maybe just kick out and fell out of the canter, but then cantered again normally. So... ??? Maybe something behind? Maybe sore? Maybe just ulcer pain still, although improved? Then she trotted nicely again. 

 

So... I got back on. We walked a good bit again and practiced our turn on the haunches, which were nice. Then I picked up the trot. And... she was good. She was quicker than I've been making her go, but not too quick. And she felt rather balanced. I decided not to push it and let her go slightly faster than ideal, but... she was soft in the bridle so... I let it go. Today, I'm picking my battles. We managed to do a fair amount of trot with some serpentines and changes of directions. She even let me ask for some bend without reacting. We did some very baby shallow leg yields. We took a walk break and picked the trot back up and still no reactions. So... I quit. I was so very tempted to canter and see what would happen. Partly because I wanted to investigate... did the canter make her worse again? BUT... she had cantered on the lunge and was trotting fine now, so... why did I feel the need to make her canter with me? And then I was tempted to do more trotting because it didn't feel like "enough", but... I am trying to be better, so.. I got out and let the ride end on a good note. This was the first ride that didn't involve escalating bucks/rears and she didn't seem upset. And, honestly, it was some nice trot work considering. So we hacked home and she was pleasant in the pasture. 

So... maybe it is ulcers. Or maybe it was hormonal and those are abating. Or a combination of both. I do have an appointment next Tuesday in case, but hopefully I can cancel it. I figured that I would do another two days of treatment (hopefully my tubes of fake gastrogard will come in tomorrow but I doubt it. I can at least do the sucralfate still) and then see how she felt on Thursday. Maybe on Thursday I can push her a little bit more... make her be a bit more quiet and slower in her tempo and try a canter again. And that should help me decide about her appointment. If she's even better, than yay! If she's not, then I'll keep the appointment. 

Lexi came this afternoon to work on horses and I had her do Funny after Lyric. I did warn her that Funny might be "in a mood". She was pretty good though. SOOOO itchy! She kept making us interupt and scratch her. Lexi was like "I've never seen a horse be so itchy before". And ugh... because this is on 20 zyrtec twice daily, fish oil, flax, smartpaks skin and coat supplement, year 2 of allergy meds, and fly spray and fly gear. Sigh. I may have to bite the bullet and do apoquel. Anyways, she was also super fussy and unwilling to let Lexi work on her poll and even neck base. Lexi didn't really find anything exciting though... a few spots in her back and pelvis... and then she tried to work on her neck and poll and was only able to do a tiny bit. But Funny did get some good releases! Lexi agreed that it felt more like ulcers than anything else, but... 

I also realized that she's been eating her dinner better lately too. She's not leaving anything and is eating quicker. So that's another sign that maybe it is ulcers. But man... even after I sprayed her with the IBH spray and fly spray, and coated her belly with the salve... she was still out there rubbing on the tree and wouldn't even come in for dinner with the others until I called her after the others were already eating. Sigh.. 

Ulcers??

 Sigh.... I started Funny on bute Thursday night... and today we went for a ride. I wanted to check her saddle fit and see if the bute made a difference. It absolutely did NOT! Unless it made her worse... 

 

She ate her carrots happily and we loaded up and headed to Ashland. They had the jumper show going on but it wasn't too distracting. We took a little hack to warm up around the little lake. She was a bit spooky and didn't want to walk across the baby dam. I had to pony club kick her. There wasn't even anything there! We headed to the arena and did some lateral work. She had a good turn on the haunches.. maybe a little quick and spinny but much more responsive than Dan. 

Then we trotted. It started out okay.... but then it got awful again. I think I probably rode for about 15 minutes total and she was flinging body parts again. Not quite as adamantly but consistently. Then we cantered because she went into it without me asking and.. then it escalated. It got so bad that I just gave up. Clearly something is wrong.... she was being awful. So I just sat there and cried a bit while Kelli and Marvin finished their ride. Then she offered to watch us. I got about 4 minutes of okay trot work and then she started doing the stop, prop, rear, buck thing... trying to pop me over her head. She started kicking out behind... throwing her hind end around. And even went to squealing at me again. I tried to power through and ride it out while ignoring it but then I got mad because... you're on bute! So.. maybe it's not pain.. maybe you're just testing me. After a particularly violent rear buck I whopped her on the top of her head... which did nothing really. Sigh... I finally managed to get a few steps of nice trot and pulled her up, in tears. I was tempted to just get off but decided to hack her to the lake to let her get a drink. It's HOT today. 

  

 

We snacked our way to the lake and she got in and splashed a good bit. She didn't roll, so yay! Then I decided that we would take the long way home because... darn it... walking might help if it is her stifles... and quite frankly, I don't know... I felt like I was maybe rewarding bad behavior?? I don't know. It was a beautiful day and I JUST WANT TO RIDE MY HORSES! Sigh.... So we walked across the dam. She started to balk and I was mad so I pony club kicked her and she went. There was no creatures! Except, then at the end, there was. Luckily the first goose walked right into the lake and she was brave. The second goose walked the other way... but then Funny got brave and "chased" him. So... that helped I guess. She didn't seem scared anymore. 

 

We hacked around the lake and headed back to the beaver dam. The pyteradactyl was there and hopped off a few times, which made her look, but not panic. She had to jump the tiny fake creek which was really wide today but she did. Then as she was about to cross the bridge we noticed the black snake slithering across it. She stopped and was okay with it. We walked across and as we got to the other side, I guess we scared Mr. Snake and he slithered into the brush, which made quite the loud ruccus considering. She spooked a little and Marvin freaked out and tried to bolt so then Funny got more worried. Her heart rate picked up but she held her ground. She settled pretty quickly but poor Marvin took a minute. We managed to get back to the cross country field with no further wildlife encounters. 

 

Kelli asked if I wanted to trot her in the field to see if it made a difference. So I did. She was better... she still felt slightly explosive and like if I pushed it, she'd explode. But... she held it together. She didn't want to bend very well and she was on the muscle, but she behaved. So... I picked up the canter to see... and she picked up the left, like I asked, but then swapped to the right and then got mad. Then when we trotted she was fussy. She threw in one little buck but then did a lot of slinging the hind end around. I managed to get a decent trot and then picked up both canter leads again and she was quick but behaved. I finished with a short bit of nice trot and called it quits before it escalated. 

 

At this point... I had sort of calmed down and Kelli felt it was safe to talk to me. She said that she really didn't see anything "stifley" with Funny... she was articulating her hocks and stifles very well, she looked even... she looked sound... She did say she maybe, if she looked super hard, saw a slight twist in the left hind on occasion and her tail was held left throughout the ride, even walking on the trails. When we got back to the trailers, I palpated her stifles and she wasn't fussy or reactive. I didn't feel any effusion, but... I also am not sure I know what effusion really feels like. I've never been good at that. Kelli got brave and palpated and said she didn't feel anything and even mashing hard on her, Funny didn't react. She's not reactive to her stifle points on an acupuncture scan either. So... I had started to wonder.. maybe it's ulcers. She had the stressful lesson and was naughty and the behavior was very similar to what she's doing now, so I was thinking it was behavioral, but... we had the lesson, one other ride, and then the show... which was super stressful for her being away and she didn't eat or drink well. And then she had the swollen groin and I gave her Dex twice... and then her behavior has just escalated... and then I added bute... and it definitely did not get better, so... maybe it's ulcers??? She did seem reactive when I put my left leg on mostly. (which... not sure if that signifies ulcers or not??). So... I'll stop the bute... put her on ulcergard and sucralfate and.. hopefully get in another ride with sucralfate on board before Tuesday so I can decide if I should do a lesson or not. 

I really hope it is  ulcers because... that's (in theory... but knowing my luck not so) easy enough to treat. And would be more ideal than her stifles or hocks... or OCDs... so.. we'll see. I guess if I can't sneak in a ride tomorrow or Monday, I'll not do a lesson and go ahead and get an appt with Barrow scheduled to do a lameness exam.

 

After our ride she was almost snuggly and had me scratching her butt. I'm sorry I was mad at you baby girl... although if you don't have ulcers and you aren't sore... then you and I are going to have to have a conversation about this naughtiness!!