Have not commented much lately. Busy with other things.

Since last update, Rody sustained a minor injury. Looked bad, but we got it fixed up well.

Here are some before and after …

The history of this injury …

She jumped the fence (a 5 foot tall fence = “grand prix” 1.5 meters = that is the highest they jump in the olympics, world cup, etc)
    and got in with the ‘rough stock’ – she wanted go make friends with Nicky the B&W Pinto gelding.

She must have stepped sideways real fast
    and it was a little muddy
    and her right rear hoof nicked her left rear (as pictured below).

steve called me, told me he would put some bag balm on it for me.
    i said “NO! Don’t put bag balm on her, don’t touch her! I will be right over.”

It was swollen twice the size it should have been …

Horse, Nicked Leg Wound, Close-up image

    and I thought it needed stitches
        the hide was split all the way through the skin, to the soft tissue

steve, rob etc. said they didn’t think she needed stitches
    but I called the vet anyway.

The vet was leaving for two weeks in two days, to go overseas
    she said she could squeeze rody in early the next morning, for a few minutes

I knew she couldn’t do the sutures until the inflamation receded a little
    so it wouldn’t do any good to have doc bridges come out in a few hours
    so decided that I would wait until the next day, to see whether we needed to get her a “backup vet”

gave her some bute (phenylbutenol, a pain killer + anti-inflammatory)
    washed it off real good
    applied some three-in-one antiseptic cream (I use the kind for humans, it works great for horses, too!)
    wrapped it up with some vet wraps
        (all I could get were pink ones, below is the first one. please note: she did not want to stand real still for me, hence it was a little sloppy looking wrap job, but the next day on they all looked professional)

   
Anyway, every time she stepped sideways, it would re-open the wound.
    So I had to keep the warp on her whenever she was outside in the “boot sucking mud”

you see, when the footing is too deep/soggy/sucky,
    then she moves her hooves so quickly that:
        > when one hoof gets stuck in the mud, just like when you are walking in real “boot sucking mud” – your boot/shoe does not lift as fast as you are used to it lifting
        > well, Rody would already have another hoof coming into the same spot, for her next step, and the other hoof was still stuck in the mud when the new hoof came into the same spot.

I am pretty sure that something like this is what aggravated her feet/hooves up in Mt. Vernon (did you see the footing in their arena? It looked like 8-10 inches of sawdust, and it was dusty as hell, = they probably dampened it a lot with water to keep the wood-dust down, = she would come off one of the jumps in their tiny arena and would have to make an immediate hard left turn. But the “boot sucking” wet sawdust footing did not allow her to get her front left hoof out of the way fast enough, + her hoof could not rotate in the deep/wet bedding = it was always under duress, and the inflammation never receded).

anyway, every day I would clean it out, put new anti-septic ointment on her, use non-sticking sterile gause on top of that, wrap it in the pretty pink vet wrap, and then put either: (a) a “gallop boot” / knee boot over it, or (b) after a couple of weeks we switched to polo wraps (and she looked real good in some polo wraps).

Here is the first vet wrap job (image at right) >>>

(click to enlarge Rody's nicked leg injury, with Pink Vet Wrap)

i repeated that every day, for about 4 weeks,
 finally, the wound was all closed up, and she was not re-opening it,
 so I began leaving the vet wraps/polo wraps/knee boots off of her a couple of weeks ago.
 she has developed a fairly hard bony callous on the spot, but the hide/skin has closed up with no noticeable scar (you can see a tiny area where the haircoat has not yet fully grown back – if you look real close, and know where to look – but it may take a while for it to completely disappear)
anyway, she is all better now,
    and she is now following my lead implicitly.

i taught her to “follow the lead rope” when I don’t even have a lead rope or halter on her!
    i just hold out my hand like it has a lead, and she follows my hand around (how cool is that, huh?)

am teaching her to come to my hand – as though I had a 50-foot lead rope on her – from halfway across the paddock or the arena.
    I just turn my back to her, and hold out my hand like I am holding her on a lead,
    and she comes right up to my right behind my right shoulder, and follows my invisible lead …

it will take a while to get it perfect, right now she is doing it whenever i am lunging her:
    I stop and turn my back on her
    hold the lunge line out in my right hand, and begin taking up the slack
    she keeps coming up to the slackline, until she is right behind me.

the secret, of course, is to NEVER look back at her!
    the way a horse thinks: “I will follow a leader. If the person keeps looking back at me, then they must not be the leader, so I won’t follow them, I will look around for a leader”

that is why it is so important to do it in this order:
    1) win her HOOVES: get control of the horse’s hooves. to a horse, whoever controls her hooves controls her.
    2) win her MIND: do not be confused and/or “give an uncertain signal” = do not give in to her, and stay with asking her to do something until she does it (Rody – like many high-bred horses – will challenge you to see if you really are the person in charge, but this is because she needs to know that the person in charge knows what they are doing and she can trust them)

   … slowly, after taking control of her hooves, and then gaining her trust and willingness to follow
        then she will start giving you what she can do,
        and it sends chills up my spine, when she does it.

    4) eventually, the goal is to win her HEART,
            gain her respect and complete confidence and trust
            and she will do anything

I was taking “lessons” for a couple months (until it became too cold a few weeks ago).

the second to last lesson (before it got too cold at night, and we called them off for a while)
    I got Rody into a gathered, “medium trot” (which is faster than all the other horses’s fast canter, almost gallop-speed)
    and got her to turn only on my knee (no rein)
    and rode her in figure-8’s and circles
        getting tighter and tighter
    until finally we were cutting tight little perfect circles: 10 feet in diameter (about the  size of a jump ball circle on a basketball court)

and she maintained her gait PERFECTLY!
    never missed a beat, never slowed or sped up,
    until finally I had to stop because i was getting dizzy.

Ashley: there aren’t many horses that can do what she can do with her hooves

a couple of weeks ago
    I have taken to lunging her for a few minutes, to warm up her old thigtness (from when she would not stretch out her front left hoof, and the muscles became bound up);
    after a few minutes, I would remove her lead and let her run up and down the arena, to show off and to get some full-speed burnouts

anyway:  
    she would run from one end of the arena to the other,
    stop and look at me for a few seconds
    then take off at a gallop towards the other end
    stop and turn and walk a few paces towards me to make sure I was watching her
    then explode to the other end
over and over

this once:
    she was at a full-speed gallop right up to the end of the arena
    she – one leading seamlessly into the other – a combined:
        hard slide-stop
        at “blink-of-an-eye” speed she completed it as a stop-turn in place (it looked like the spun around on a wheel)
        and lunged towards the other end of the arena at a full-gallop on the very first step!

Ashley: she left a foot and a half deep divot in the arena, where she:
        (slide-stopped) + (stop-turned) + (lunged-at-gallop)
    all in the same single movement.

there aint’ a whole lot of horses that can do those types of things,
    (and NONE of Maryanne’s horses can come even close)

oh well, she is all fine now

regards,
mark

Tags: injury
Posted in A work in progress, Archives - history | No Comments »

Dateline: November 23, 2008 5:18 PM

    After spending a few weeks performing due diligence concerning Rody’s soundness issues, trying to find the best possible hoof and foot equine professionals to assess Rody’s condition for me, and to prescribe her rehabilitation/treatment (if any) ..

I finally settled upon a course of action: get a really good HorseDoc/AAEP, working with a really good farrier, and see what Rody’s real condition is, and how best to manage her.

follows: a “progress report” to a trusted individual ….

Dear M***A***,
 
Found Rody’s pedigree, published it online at >> http://www.lazyrminis.com/rody_the_showjumping_tb_mare.htm
    (above includes a Buckpasser video, from the famous ‘chicken flamingo’ stakes at Hialeah Downs, etc.)
 
My decision to get Doc B******, and farrier g**** h**, to work together on Rody was the best thing I ever did.
    > thanks for suggesting a good vet and farrier to me (I took a few weeks deciding which ones to use)
 
Within a week:
    > she seemed like nothing had ever been wrong with her …
    > she seemed to “forget” that her hoof hurt,
    > and wanted to go faster and faster … (without asking her – at her own pace)
 
We have her back to about 95%-97% sound [my estimate]
    (she sometimes starts a very marginal “quarter-game” limp when she gets tired, but often forgets which hoof to limp on, Hhhhmmm… do you s’pose she may have been scamming me? )
    I think she has “the Winston Churchill syndrome” (she ‘does not gladly suffer fools’ – or incompetent riders/handlers; I know she already has me buffaloed, and I think she knows it, too.)

    M***A***, Rody is

    > an “ornery horse” (headstrong and challenging of the rider’s leadership and authority),

    > but her temperament is as sweet as can be (her hunter event name was “Ain’t she sweet”).

She wasn’t a jumper, as we were led to believe. She was originally trained as a HUNTER! (big difference in that world).
    > she passed around quite a few owners’/riders, eventually ended up in some Jumper facility/school near Mt. Vernon,
    > apparently ridden by some rich kid,
    > and when the girl did not perform at “grand prix levels” riding Rody,
        (we also found evidence of a minor injury about that time, which probably was not correctly handled by the Rody’s owner; when I later contacted Rody’s vet during that time, the vet did not wish to discuss the horse or the treatment with me. fortunately, Doc Bridges said that she did not need, or even wish to receive, any information from any previous vets),
    > the rider threw Rody in the trash bin…
 

In my unqualified, non-professional opinion: Rody never should have been a jumper,
    > she was not bred for it, nor was built for it (she looks like she is ready to win a two-mile race on the senior mares cards – this is Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing stock, not tiny-arena showjumping stock).
    > Her US Jockey Club registered name – “Wannabeajumper (unraced)” – may be a giveaway that the breeder intended ONLY to develop her as a jumper (which seems like a great idea to me, as well, until I learned more about the facility she ended up at…), hence she was never raced;
    > but the above is probably only my opinion (what do I know about TB’s ?)
 
Anyway, just thought I would let you know what we found out about her.

\best regards,
mark rector

Tags: AAEP, buckpasser video, chicken flamingo, good vet and farrier, hialeah, hoof and foot equine professionals, HorseDoc, jockey club, Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing stock, trained as a hunter, unraced, Wannabeajumper
Posted in Archives - history | No Comments »

This past week, the owner of the boarding facility called me, concerned that Rody the Horse had been abandoned (again) at her place.

[note: When the facility first accepted Rody - on very reasonable terms - I had given the owner several business cards. I asked her to PLEASE call me first, if she ever determines that Rody the Mare is an abandoned horse. That I would accept Rody myself, in lieu of the current "owner" (my grandniece).]

     Friday night, I arranged for a friend to help bring Rody up to another friend’s facility near my home. I needed a temporary boarding facility, until I could locate a permanent solution; and I wanted Rody the  Mare to be at this facility because their farrier was coming on Monday, and I trusted that they would retain a highly competent farrier.

follows: a message sent to the temporary facility owner ….

Dear M***A***,
Thank you so much for giving me a place to put Rody temporarily.
     I still have not been able to reach Laurie, where X Marks the Spot is being boarded & trained.
     I must do research tomorrow, it just has to be done tomorrow for a major project.
     Please let me know when your farrier shows up, or is expected to show up: ***-***-**** [my cell]
     I will do as much discovery as is possible at the Cottage Lake library, but I may have to head to the UW library if they do not have the necessary data accessible at the King county lib. systems…

I am hoping to get ahold of Laurie tomorrow during the day, and be able to get Rody hauled out tomorrow.
    IF not, then I guess I will be going to Bob or Mark Atchison, to see if they have a place for her. 
    I just want her to be around other horses, in a fairly good footing situation so we can determine if her gimpiness improves.
    It will take me a few months to save up enough money to take her to Pilchuks…

best,
mark rector

follows: Her reply …

Mark,
     She can stay here long term if you’d like, for $525 per month, as long as no one is riding her without taking lessons.
     Farrier is supposed to be here today, I don’t know when. I’ve called him twice.
     I’ll call you when he shows up.
Running!
     Not terse—just flying.
\M***A***

Tags: abandoned horse, competent farrier, gimpiness
Posted in Archives - history | No Comments »

Soon after aquiring “Rody the Show Jumping Mare” it became apparent that there were some soundness issues. I reached out to one of my most trusted advisors in Washington State …

From: Author – MarkRector
Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 12:02 PM
To: M***A****
Subject: For M***A****, from Mark Rector, re: assessing/evaluating a horse

Dear M***A****,

I need to evaluate the soundness of a horse.
     I know you and C**** evaluate the training levels and and skills of horses.
     Are you able to suggest somebody who can evaluate the soundness, also?

The issue:  Ashley got a great deal on a free horse, from SafeHorse rescue.
   ~ It was an emergency, first come/first served deal. She was not able to obtain a prepurchase examination, as we had strongly urged her to do with any horse.

Rody the Mare …
     ~ 7 yo, 16HH TB mare from California, trained in SJ, bought and transported to WA ($30,000).
     ~ Owner/rider (a young woman) got a last-minute scholarship to some LV, Nevada Equestrian school; had to fly out over the weekend to be present on Monday morning.       She dad nowhere to put the horse, so she “gave it away” to somebody who was not maintaining it well (confining it in a dog kennel).

     Ashley accepted Rody, without verifying its history, or the story that came with the horse.
     ~ When the horse arrived, it had a very mild gaminess in FL foot.
     ~ She was told that the mare had incurred a slight strain, during trailering, and that it would go away within a few days.
     ~ The condition has not improved; it is apparently a recurring issue over the last 2 years (cronic occasional lameness, in the same leg – which appears and recedes sporadically).

     Yesterday, I spent several hours driving around Issaquah asking people for referrals to a competent assessor of soundness in horses (not a veterinarian, not a trainer or teacher).
     I also, went to the owner of the pasture where she is being boarded.  The retired gentleman was not able to advise, but he told me that the mare’s condition is very sporadic: sometimes she will hardly move around, other times she will run and jump and kick etc.

     M***A***, I do not know who to trust – among the “professionals” in Washington – to be competent to assess the soundness of this horse.  I
     (1) I fear she has been misdiagnosed, or more probably incorrectly and/or misadvisedly treated, by the previous owners for 2 years.
     (2) Specifically, I think Rody’s condition may be incipient, well, I don’t want to say what I think (do not wish to affect your thinking).

I would feel comfortable with using somebody that you advised – if:
     (1) they are not a “dope them up” veterinarian – with little other equine practitioner experience (e.g. I would not want a racetrack vet, or a breeding stable vet, or a training facility vet),
     (2) or if they are exclusively an equine practitioner for several decades (AAEP), with a more holistic approach to diagnosis/treatment.
     (3) If they were an Amish practitioner, old school (none out here, though) – one who brings horses back from unsoundness (not necessarily wanting Amish-style “training” – of course)

My questions:
     (1) Would you feel competent, and willing, to assess Rody?
     (2) Would you be able to refer me to somebody who is competent to asses Rody?

Best regards,
Mark Rector

     p.s. M***A****, I am no judge of “horse flesh” – but when I first saw this horse I was shocked at the quality of horse that was given to Ashley for free. ==============

Her reply ….

Mark,
     Here’s the Monday morning quarterback talking: Pre-purchase exams are such a lovely thing. Any time you’re getting a horse, unless it doesn’t matter whether you ride it or not, do a prepurchase exam. They’re just as expensive to keep and much more time consuming and expensive to treat if they’re lame.
     Get off it about vets. You’re operating on old information. There are bad ones and good ones, but they aren’t all crap, and the Amish have screwed up just as many horses as the rest of the horse world. They just wear better hats.
     C**** can assess lameness very well in terms of identifying which body part is the problem- stifle, hock, or fetlock kinds of questions, but to identify whether it’s a strained tendon, arthritis, ringbone, a chipped or green-stick fractured bone, shin splints, cancer, muscle spasm, or just chronic crappy training you need a very good vet, and you need x-rays, and you need luck. There isn’t any such thing as a good assessor of lameness that’s not a vet, because you need someone who can use diagnostic tools. Good vets don’t dope them up, they use flexion tests to determine lameness issues, then having identified the leg involved, if the location needs to be specified they will use a block like a Novocain injection first to the foot itself, then the fetlock joint, then the knee… when the horse trots out as though sound you have a location to x-ray.  You often don’t get a definitive response, even so, because lameness is not simple. But, you get a ball park and the vet gives you treatment options for the assumed injury, and you then get a response or you don’t for the treatment.
     For a thorough soundness exam I’d go to a good veterinarian. I don’t know the vets in your area. To get the referral, call the most expensive hunter/jumper barn in your area and ask the trainer who she or he uses for pre-purchase exams. The high end horse owners, especially jumper owners, try really hard to assess those legs before they invest $80k in to a horse. There will be a “leg man” they like and you’ll get that recommendation.
     For treatment options, talk to the vet, read up about what they suggest, and make an informed choice—they aren’t all nuts.
\M***A****

~30~

Tags: AAEP, assessing, assessor of lameness, breeding stable vet, chronic crappy training, evaluation, flexion tests, fractured bone, green-stick, judge of horse flesh, leg man, misdiagnosed, more holistic approach, Pre-Purchase exams, prepurchase examination, quality of horse, racetrack vet, shin splints, soundness issue, the Amish, training facility vet, wear better hats
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