Speedy or Slow?

Riding in a group is always an interesting adventure. When three or more horses are together on trail, their herd mentality sets in, and they try to jockey for the position in the pack that suits their leadership role (or lack thereof). Our jobs as riders is to level the playing field so that we remain the leaders, and they remain engaged with us instead of each other.
My horse is the gaited variety, and therefore pretty speedy on trail. Since I ride with a lot of quarter horses, it is a constant effort to slow her down to keep her in line with the group. Whereas this could be considered annoying, it is actually a great opportunity to teach my horse to walk at a speed that I assign, instead of what comes natural to her. If she is in the lead, we practice walking slow and collected. Or we move out a bit and stop to wait for the others to catch up. I will even put her in the back, which forces her to slow down and keep her distance behind the others. Either way, it is a training opportunity which makes her a better horse, and makes me a more in-tune rider. Here below is one of my favorite quarter horse riding buddies, Lori Stein and her horse, Toot!

Wednesday's Miracle

Well, this was not a good week for me, and especially not for my friend, Mika. Here she is in the photo. She is on her 5-year old horse named Cassanova. We were coming down from a trail that is carved out of a mountainside about 150 feet above a golf course. It is a super scary and narrow trail, and one that I actually would't ride for the first year it was built because I had a horrible nightmare that I fell of that cliff with my horse. But I was eventually convinced. So here's what happened. We were on a pretty steep descent on a 6' wide portion of the trail and Mika's horse was behind me. He fell on his face and rolled over on top of her! He had her pinned underneath him, unable to get his footing to upright himself. The only thing holding them both from rolling down the cliff was a 2' metal and mesh fence. I dismounted, without a clue as to what to do and called 911. Mika was hysterical, with her leg and most of her body under her horse. Paramedics came and didn't know what to do either. By this time, Mika was in a real panic, having lost the feeling in her left leg. She begged them to shoot her horse so that she could get out from underneath him somehow. They asked me to back my horse up, who was actually calming Mika's horse down, because as soon as I did, her horse started thrashing. She was screaming and getting beaten up down there. It was horrible! I couldn't watch. Only could pray. Her horse ended up rolling over top of her, crushing the fence. They both fell down the cliff, but Mika managed to be slowed by some brush. Her horse broke free with his saddle undone, but his breast collar attached, and he continued to plummet down the steep cliff about 100 feet. Miraculously.... Mika escaped serious injury! Just twisted her knee and bruised her shoulder and a lot of places on her body, and she was in shock. I'll tell you though it was a good thing she had a helmet on because the horse's weight broke her helmet in two. After Mika was carted off to the ER, the trainer from our ranch came to get the horse. With his breast collar holding his saddle around his neck, he was caught up in a tree and had his bridle entangled in some branches. It took three hours to get him loose. And just like Mika, he was uninjured! So, that is the latest drama. I hope that you guys are safe on trail, and I know they look dorky, but those helmets save lives!

Now it's official...my book is on Amazon!

Remember seeing those crazy rodeo and circus performers doing tricks on their horses as they raced across the arena? Well, that's what I learned to do as a kid! And now I have a fun book based on the sport of " vaulting." You can find it on Amazon.com. Here is the cover below. It is written for girls ages 8-13, but I think anyone who likes horses will get a real kick out of it. Be aware when you go to order it that there is another book with the same title, but that one is a werewolf/vampire book. Haven't we exhausted that topic in young readers' literature already? I bloody think so! To find my book in a snap go to http://www.amazon.com/Cry-Moon-Jayne-Haines/dp/1453822852/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313360091&sr=1-8
It's a long web address, I know!

P.S. Fashion is doing great and I've been enjoying lots of time in the saddle between getting this new book launched. Happy Trails!

Vet Time $$$

So, a second opinion was in order, as the 2 minute check-up to confirm that my horse is sore (duh) did not satisfy. I employed a top vet who was recommended by our local polo club. I figured that this vet would be an expert on leg issues. Was I right?

They did a flexion test, which involves tweaking a horse's leg back for 30 seconds, then moving them out quickly to see if they limp. She did. Mostly on one side, the side that she tripped on, which made sense. As they went along to locate the problem area on Fashoin's leg, they did a nerve block. They numbed her hoof, and she still limped after flexion, so they moved the numbing up all the way to her pastern. As I moved her forward after the flexion test, BAM, she fell again! I pulled her up, so she didn't contact the ground with her face as before, but she repeated the same fall on the same foot. Now the vet could see what I was talking about.

For the next several hours they conducted blood tests, poked her everywhere and took X-rays to see if they could learn more about poor Fashie's tripping problem. Good news was that she didn't have any broken bones, and that her blood was pretty normal. So now what?

Before I agreed to continue the ongoing series of tests they suggested, we decided to pull Fashion's shoes and see where her angles want to be. At the same time we came up with that plan, I had an "Aha" moment!

I realized that I had tried Fashion barefoot for a year, and it didn't really go well because her white hooves got pretty chipped on trail. After I put the shoes back on last October, however, I noticed that she was sweating more than usual when I rode her, which is an indication of pain. Could it be that the new shoe regimen was not right? Maybe she got used to a natural angle, and then once she had her shoes back on, it tweaked her. Without much else to go on other than my gut, I will be having her shoes pulled this week and we will see what happens from there. I will be back in the saddle in a few weeks and will hopefully have my horse underneath me.

And I thought this blog was going to be about my trail riding adventures... hopefully soon!

Too Old To Bounce

You might be asking, "So why is a picture of Tigger on a horse blog?" Well, that's who I am reminded of these days after ANOTHER bout of Fashion rolling to the ground while I'm on board. Tigger bounced for a living, but I am no Tigger! It was just like a replay of the previous fall we had on Dec 8th, only this time she kicked it up a notch and came to the ground during one of her fabulous gaits. We rolled like a couple of stunt riders in an old time Western movie. I'd like to think I'm getting good at this, but I really don't want to make it a habit, let me tell you.

So, here are the similarities of the two falls. I am so curious as to what is going on. After a vet came out with the farrier to give his diagnosis, I am still not convinced that he has targeted the problem.

Both times she fell right after getting new shoes (the most recent fall was within minutes of her shoeing)
Both falls happened when she tripped on her right hoof.
Both times, instead of bringing her left leg forward to catch her fall, she rolled over on her side.
She hit the same spot over her right eye (the second time her old wound just opened slightly).

This time, however, instead of catching a craggy ridge under her hoof, she tripped in a patch of deep sand at the ranch. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have taken her through it at a gait with new shoes, but the old Fashion wouldn't have had a problem with that. Fortunately, the deep sand made for a relatively "elegant" and pain-free dismount. The trainer at the barn saw the whole thing. Too bad she wasn't taking a video, ir it would've been a blockbuster Utube for sure.

I immediately called the vet and the farrier (note: I used a new farrier this time) to come over and see what the deal was. The vet pulled her hoof up, gave it a whack with a metal vice, then pinched her splint bone all the way down to her pastern. She flinched (wouldn't you?) and he said that she shouldn't have. Immediately after that palpitation, I was to walk her forward quickly. No doubt she limped for a few steps. Diagnosis: suspensory ligament problems - and I need to stay off her for a month. WHAT? That's like asking me not to breathe! It all leaves me curious and confused. I mean, she really is not a trippy horse, nor does she exhibit any signs of pain (sweating or grunting) when I'm riding her. It's just those two little incidents when she forgot to catch her fall. Well, twice is twice too much if I am to feel confident and safe out there on trail. But, letting her stand doesn't sound like a good idea either. So.... I am searching for a magic cure. Any suggestions?
I'm holding my breath.

Lady and the Tramp

If you remember the movie, Lady And The Tramp, you might recall the scene where the two pups enjoy a spaghetti dinner date. At one point they latch upon opposite ends of the same strand of pasta and suck it up to end in a kiss. Well, imagine that happening between a blade of grass and two horses and that's pretty much what's been going on lately between Fashion and her gentle giant beau, Jack. We have now completely spoiled our mounts with frequent stops along the paths we ride along, just so that they can indulge in the salad bar buffets that have completely preoccuied their pea brains. Albeit a temporary loosening of the reins (pun intended) we have justified it due to the high vitamin content of the herba and the rarity of our meadowlike environment.

Spring in January? It seems to be so. We will enjoy it until we once again return to dust and weeds, and have retrained our steeds to focus on their mission of carrying our sorry butts wherever we please. Give and take. It is all so good!

Muck!

What a mess we have here in San Diegoo! So much for the La Nina they predicted. I think we are looking at a wet Winter and Spring. That's great for all of us, but our horses aren't too happy! As much as I muck and shovel and hoe, I still come back these days to this mess below:

So what can ya do? I trenched this mess, and bought a few bales of shavings to give Fashion a dry place to lie down. To all of you horse people out there: enjoy the workout! This is called "paying your dues." Much appreciated by our furry friends. And with our low temps these days, I do mean furry!
Happy New Year to you all!