Outdoor Jumping, Updates & Pictures

One day world... one day I will get back to near daily post! Catching up hoping that maybe this will be the week... 

Lauren had to unexpectedly retire her eventer last week. Echo is going to be taking over her normal Wednesday lessons that she was taking on her horse. Most likely she won't have another horse until August to focus on so Echo is about to get bumped up in priority standings. 

Last week I took Dakota out with Echo and Lauren and we set out to ride around the outdoor jump field. She jumped the barrel cross rail jump in the picture below. 

 

Called it a day, cooled her out and then Lauren and I switched horses. The switching was a struggle for both of us. Lauren... is tall and Dakota is short. Dakota is a jerk and only likes me... Myself... switching meant sitting in Lauren's Voltaire. Which means intense blocks and knee rolls. I didn't know what to do with myself. On positive / funny note... I decided I'd ride her at a trot to remind myself what her trot felt like. I was laughing because I couldn't remember how to post and kept saying 'what's wrong with her trot'? Apparently I've forgotten what a real trot feels like after these years of only riding Dakota...

 

In a last minute decision yesterday, I switched farriers for Echo only (for now). I may switch with Dakota too after the next reset. I used Lauren's farrier and FINALLY Echo's hooves look like well... hooves. No more boxes. Also her hind hoof has fully grown out!! The heart bar shoe is GONE!

Finally yesterday was Dakota's birthday! Happy 14th birthday to the worst best gelding of all time. Hopefully here's to another 14. 

3 Month Hoof

Yesterday marked the 3 month mark since Echo's hoof injury. Time flies when you're having fun? Something like that. 

Note the growth! This is the inside off the hoof where the damage had been done. There is some proud flesh there but 1-2 more trim's you might not be able to see any remains of it. The shoe will probably come off on the next farrier visit. 

The outside of the hoof. You can see the ridges and bumps. It's probably going to take a while for the hoof to look completely normal but we're getting there. The coronet band is new growth - hence the nice whiteness of it. 

Last Friday was her first day out on her reseeded grass paddock, which she obviously loves. She's only on it 2-4 hours right now so she can be adjusted back to eating that much grass since she's been on a drylot almost since she left Lexington last October. 

Shes Back!

I've failed to get pictures, but Echo has officially been ridden twice now! L took her out on Friday and again Monday evening. 

Friday they stuck to the arena, doing walk/trot, some circles and stopping and starting. It was mostly a ride to see how she would handle it. Her hoof placement looked normal, other than her usual annoyance with the bell boot that's still over the hoof for extra protection. 

Monday L was eager to push Echo to see what she'd mentally handle, so after a few rounds of the arena, I just heard the words "this is boring" so she took her outside to ride around the grass 'track' area. I had told her about my outside riding attempt with her back in Michigan so I think she was secretly hoping for some bucking action. Echo however was her normal rock-star self and only had a few moments of not wanting to go forward. 

She got trimmed / reset today so I'm anxious to see how she progresses from here. I promise pictures of her next outing. 

Catching Up: MareFace

Hello blog world. Haven't completely forgotten about you. Going to do my best to update everything over the next couple of days so I can go back to regular post going forward. 

The beastly Echo is doing as well as I could hope. We've had quite a few lunging sessions between L and I. L has spent time with her just playing around getting to know Echo - something we all know MareFace needs. L is equally as stubborn as Echo and doesn't let her get away with her lunge line antics, super amusing and impressive to watch. 

Both horses were scheduled to be trimmed / reset today but moving cost has me delaying it an extra week, pushing them to a 6 week trim instead of 5. Not overly worried about the extra week since 5 seemed a bit early to me, but you can see they both are ready. Yay for fast growth in the summer. Her hoof is looking great while she's slowly getting less aggressive each time I pick out her injured hoof. 

Weight gain, despite as much hand grazing as possible, seems to have stopped. Still without our rice bran pellets but I think the temporary substitute I have her on is at least maintaining her at the maximum amount to be fed of it. May 17 is D day for her to go out in her grassy paddock - which has grown a ton and looks great after being mowed. 

We're no longer on any type of stall rest. She's been out in muddy paddock a few times and it's caused no problems so we're free and clear there! Which has made for a happy mare too, getting to go out nightly. Also off our calming supplement that I put her on to get through stall rest. 

Partial Clearance

One day I'll have a better schedule for posting updates! I'm now in a two week frenzy of packing, Rolex, moving and then Kentucky Derby. Maybe by the end of May I'll have an ounce of sanity, but not likely. My June vacation / time off is looking better and better. 

In good news... Echo has farrier AND vet clearance to start ground work! My farrier was confident she would be fine two weeks ago when he was here to trim / reshod but I was hesitant so I put off talking to my vet about it until this week. Today marks week 8 post injury and my vet agrees that if I go slow she should be fine and just to let her tell me when she's had too much. 

I'm going to go as slow and light as Echo will allow. She's going to be her beastly self.  I figure I'll start with 10-15 minute walk and trotting on the line and slowly build up from there. Maybe building up time first and then attempting cantering and then going to tack and side reins etc. 

Sorry hoof is kind of dirty... I had hard time getting it cleaned up yesterday!

Time Change Hangover

I really need to be better about posting updates on my day's off work. However, time on my laptop when the weather is so nice is limited so yay for lengthy Tuesday updates. Also I feel like I got zero weekend time and time change has thrown me completely off. At least I come bearing pictures and/or video. Videos are from Instagram so I apologize for the not so great computer quality.

Saturday the arena was busy so MareFace just got to go walk and trot around a little on her lunge line. She was not pleased, but she lived. Here are a few compiled clips of her from her first days of arena freedom. 

My unstressed mare. Thanks to someone at the barn for sending this to me Saturday.

Sunday Echo got freedom in the arena again where she just decided to run. A lot. She needed a good cooling out so we set out to walk the 'track' outside. I need to measure it but I've been told one lap is about 3/8 of a mile. We walked it twice so about 3/4 of a mile. She loved it, definitely in our new hand walking routes. 

Monday I met my farrier super early in afternoon (not the plan) and he threw a shoe back on Dakota. Dakota already inside and 65 degree weather? I knew I'd kick myself if I didn't ride. The round pen was dry except for a small area at one side. I put ground poles up against the wall to attempt to block it off and put Echo outside. I didn't want to witness her buck show and probable attempt to play in the mud so I went back inside to get Dakota ready to ride. Apparently she put on quite a show for bystanders... 

Anyways, I decided to attempt riding Dakota, and not just sit there and wander around. Holy... note to self, be sure to stretch again before riding, and probably after. Heels down? Pfft. Shoulders back? Pfft. I mostly worked on staying in a steady walk rhythm, something we always struggle with. Then the dreaded trot battle. We did a solid 10-12 walk / trot transitions where the trot was his 'I want to be a gaited pony' trot. Miserable. FINALLY got him to move forward and not up and down like a gaited gait. Called it a day. By that time we were both sweating. However I hadn't had enough apparently because somewhere in my mind I thought it'd was a good time to attempt a solo outside ride. Luckily we both survived and he only had one moment where I felt him contemplating his options of how fast he could take off, but we managed to stay at a walk! Overall I was very happy with him ending on a good note, an achievement for us in a ride. 

Love any view that's between those ears. 

After riding I cleaned stalls and reeled in Echo from the round pen. It was warm enough for a bath finally and she was in dire need. I left for a bit to go visit a friends new mare but came back to the barn for the evening to finish up. Took Echo out for a walk and some hand grazing time. 

Hopefully tonight we'll have another hand walk outside before the weather gets crappy and cold again tomorrow. 

Two Week Post-Injury Vet Visit

Notes from today's vet visit. 

• Her hoof has cornified and her risk for infection has significantly decreased, almost to non existent. 
• Still on stall rest but activity level can be increased. This means Echo now gets to be let loose in a dry arena, round pen, etc. As long as she isn't where she'll be in mud she can be out. 
• I can wipe down the hoof now with wet towel, cloth, etc to clean it. Before I was forbidden to get it wet. 
• Hoof wrapping is no longer going to be 5 layers, but now two: vet wrap and duct tape. 
• I can continue her low dose bute if she's acting off a day or over does it in the arena like she did today.
• Vet's extremely happy with her weight from where she was after coming from Texas, night and day difference in her. Vet also was happy to see how content Echo is with me. Since she's the one who really found Echo and passed on her need for a home to my friends she has a special place for Echo and loves her. Echo is pretty fond of her as well, which she proved by continuously searching her for cookies. 

I have video of her arena outing that I will have to post over the weekend. Lots of running! I don't think she'll get so amped up now that she'll get to do this every day. 

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Shameless plug for horse racing. Tomorrow there will be a rematch between the first two place finishers of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Watch if you can! Such a great rematch and day of racing. This stuff still makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Click the image for more information on watching. 

Two Weeks Post Injury

Yesterday marked week two since Miss Echo's injury. After a bout of my stomach not doing so hot yesterday after I ate something I should of, I skipped out on doing a hoof wrap change on Echo last night. 

Tomorrow my vet is coming out in the morning before I head to work to do a check up. Fingers crossed that I can get her cleared to have some more freedom. Ideally I'd love to be able to set her free in the arena to do her own thing, probably with a bit of ace the first time. However, I'll be happy if I can even get the ok to put her on a lunge line and try and control how fast she goes. She's still handling stall rest fine, but her hand walks are getting more and more challenging. 

Video of Echo being... Echo.

Back to Bute

The good news is Echo seems content still being on stall rest. Not too nervous or stressed. The condition of her stall wouldn't let you believe that but she's not a neat mare to begin with. 

The bad news is she seems to be resting the injured hoof more than she was in the inital couple of days. I've started her back on low dose of bute to see if it helps. I gave her 1 gram last night and will earlier on tonight to see if I can see it kick in at all. 

She's resting her hoof and wearing a hole her 2 day hoof pack in less than 24 hours. Through many many layers of Gorilla Duct tape, which should say something. I also ordered one of these hoof wraps to put it's strength to the test. If it holds up to her wear and tear on this hoof I'll be a believer for life. 

Also Dakota pulled a shoe yesterday! Bad pony is going to get beaten by me. Hopefully I can get it back on ASAP. 

Hooves Don't Lie

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a tiring week since Echo was injured last Wednesday. Last big update on her injury was the next day when the podiatrist came out and put the bar shoe on her hoof Thursday. Well, Saturday my vet came out for the first hoof bandage change and while I was at work, it was reported that she was pretty naughty for it but the hoof itself looked clean and in ok shape. I was told to go ahead and proceed with every other day changes and stick to the hand walking plan. 

Monday I was at the barn bright and early to meet the farrier. First I held Windy for Colleen while he got his front hooves done. He's had chronic abscesses problems so she decided to have my farrier have a look at him and he did a great job with him. Next, Dakota stood like a pro (unlike last time) while his shoes were reset. Farrier was really happy with how his hooves have changed in the short 6 weeks he's been working on him. 

Stall set up. Moved Jolly Ball though and added a second hay net. 

Next up... Echo. Plan was to at least get through her front hooves and if she would tolerate it to try trimming the hind left (uninjured one). She was hesitant to pick up the fronts but was very well behaved for the ordeal. She actually offered up her hind left so the farrier went after it. Good news is the hoof is trimmed. The bad news is the hoof was in very poof shape. He said the trim she had right before leaving Texas set her hooves up for failure and that the right hind one probably tore easy like paper. Essentially the bars of the hoof weren't trimmed proper and over grew and created a nice hook for her to catch things on.

Last night was my second hoof wrap change. I got new no-bow wraps which I will write a review on at some point after we're through all of this to see how they hold up. They're the Lettia Coolmax ones and I love my other Coolmax products so I'm optimistic. I've been keeping her hind legs wrapped almost 24/7 just for support. She's had some filling in both with minimal heat in the right. Wrapping itself last night was smoother than Monday's hoof change thanks to Colleen and her ability to entertain a yearling state of mind. 

CANNOT stand still!

This definitely happened...

Me: "Crap there's another piece of gauze up in there" 

Picks up hoof and looks to see how I'm going to get it out.

Me: " I can't tell if that's gauze or... lamina"

Colleen: "Yeah that's lamina" 
Looks closer

Me: "Well I'm happy I didn't try to tear that out!"

Breathe Deep & Don't Overreact

First and foremost, I'm so grateful to everyone at the barn who got to her so fast on Wednesday. Their quick action drastically reduced her risk of infection. Secondly, thank you to everyone who has sent me messages tell me Echo has been in her their thoughts, the support means a lot. I'm sure I'm not the only horse owner that jumps to the worst conclusion and outcome. I was a mess Wednesday and those who were there did a great job trying  to keeping me positive. 

Podiatrist from Rood and Riddle came out yesterday to take a look at MareFace. I got there a few minutes before him since I stopped along the way to get hay and some supplements. Her stall was trashed and she had managed to get the duct tape off her hoof but was quiet and putting slight weight on the leg, thanks to bute. 

Podiatrist gave her a double dose of sedative since after one she still was freaking out if you went near her leg. Despite this, him and his 2 interns kept calling her a princess which made me laugh! He unwrapped her leg most of the way and then did a nerve block so he could work freely with the leg and not cause more pain. Once the block kicked in, he pulled all the gauze off and his first comment was that it's not as bad as expected. The diagram below - the one on left is what we thought it was, the one on right is actual. If it had been the one on left her suspensory would of been involved and more hoof tissue would of been exposed. We still have to worry about growth, scar tissue and infection but that is half the things that could of gone on if the cut/tear had been deeper or at a different angle. 

I quickly asked to see it, because my inner desire to be a vet comes out. It was... bloody, and gross but so interesting. Pretty sure his intern was peeved he had to keep holding Echo when I wanted to see something but I can't help myself. Anyways, the podiatrist proceeds to tell me he thinks we can bypass the hoof cast and go with a bar shoe and lots of padding. 

He trimmed the rest of her hoof since she's scheduled for a routine trim Monday, so her hoof was in best condition to put a shoe on. Packed the gap in hoof and under bar shoe with gauze and wrapped it up. He put a standing wrap on her leg since she had been blocked he didn't want her pulling something stupid. 

We're proceeding with a vet check up tomorrow from my normal vet.  I have to change her bandage every other day so she will take a look at it when it's time to be changed. She's expected to not need bute by the end of the weekend. If it's dry outside 100% she can go out for short amounts of time in her field. After 2 weeks I don't have to wrap her hoof as extensively, it won't be as crucial to keep the hoof dry. She can also be hand walked in the indoor if she's moving comfortably. The best news is when I said something about it being 10ish months of healing he stopped me and said it's more like 3-4 months because of it being by the heal and that equaling more blood flow. Plus once we see what the scar tissue does, he sees no reason that in time she can return to normal work.

Pictures:

The Tear

Removed Piece of Hoof - I won't lie. Last night Colleen and I found this piece laying around in the dirt, cleaned the blood off and had fun touching parts of the hoof and feeling the lamina. 

Standing Pre Leg Wrap

Finally her standing on it after being all wrapped up. Gauze filling in the shoe and injured area, vet wrap, more wrap, duct tape and then a leg wrap since she was nerve blocked during the procedure: