September! Wow Jester has been here over a year now!!

The summer sores are subsiding.He continues to be uncomfortable without boots on his fores, but there is some concavity forming that has NOT been there before!!! I boot him for turnout about half the time. I keep lowering the RF heel, little at a time. He still has dorsal flares I thought I was winning on those, but I have to wait for more concavity/sole thickness. Hind hooves are fairly stable and healthy. I mostly refresh the breakover and groom the bars and frogs. He is wearing fly boots on his fore legs. Far less itching on those lower legs :) The face wounds are no longer oozing. I will not miss massaging the fluid out of his face to get the encysted habronemas and the plasma type goo out. No more swelling. The lesion on his cheek is still proud. I am using Wonder Dust on it. Wonder dust is what I ended up using the most, and wrapping the edges of the fly mask with bandaids to prevent chafing. At least the left side of his face looks great! I'm increasing his pellet intake, trying to bring his weight up to "bloom" level. He's not skinny, just not in full flesh. Finances permitting, I'd like to show him once this fall. We can easily do Walk Trot classes!

Summer Woes and Whoas

UGH Jester is fighting habronemiasis again... 2 lesions on the head, one on a foreleg. If you are not squeamish try an image search. I am using every method I know to control them, and I'm winning on one of three so far. The leg :). Here is a partial list of the remedies he has been receiving-oral: ivermectin, Apple Cider Vinegar, bute. Topical: Fresh Aloe Vera, fresh onion, fresh crushed garlic, NuStock, Biozide gel, Banixx (worked great on the leg to knock down the inflammation), NoThrush, DE, SWAT, leg wraps, clay poultice, ice packs, Homemade fly spray with Avon SSS, ACV, water, eucalyptus oil, and tried adding garlic juice too. ACV is providing some systemic relief. Keeping the flies out of the face lesions is the toughest challenge. I HATE oozy proudfleshy bloody gooey wounds that don't want to heal! Apparently so does he, since he walks off every time he sees me coming with something new in my hands. Did I mention his eyes are off and on gooey too? Summer is definitely not his best time :( Hoofwise, I am somewhat stumped. Every time I back up the flared forward toes, he loses all concavity at the tip of the frog and flattens out and gets gimpy. On go the boots again. Just on the fores, fortunately, and once booted, he's good to go, even riding! It takes him some warming up to be able to hold a lope, he isn't getting much work above a jog these days. It is rather sizzling out!

First flying lead changes!

Took a short ride on Sunday night. In a grassy field, on a whim, I asked Jester for flying lead changes- I had no idea if he knew them- and he does- and they are beautiful.... right to left is easier for him, and smooth!! left to right was not automatic, but I tried several times and he did one nice one so I quit and walked him home. Good grief, it was over 105F! Total ride: 30 minutes

Amazing! First ride to S. Mtn.

Hey guys, it's me, Jester. Did you hear my news? My feet don't hurt anymore. I love going out for rides and showing off my gilded coat and regal appearance! I even went to South Mountain last Saturday morning with the prettiest little mare in the world... That paint cutie in the opening photo. We passed by a canal, a park, a scary fire hydrant (I'm sure it was going to bite my hind leg off), and lots of cars. Then we got into a wonderful place with soft and hard trails, ups and downs, and even stairs to climb. I hopped up them like a bunny. That was a blast! I felt so good afterwards. I got a shower and a bucket full of delicious feed, and the rest of the day off. What a day! What a life! I get to give kids riding lessons three days a week, have longer workouts once or twice a week, and munch munch munch all the grass I want. Oh, yeah, there's this little pony here keeping me company-her name's Taffy. What a brat... likes to nip at me to make me move. Ah, well, at least I don't get all stiff from standing around too long! Enjoy my photos. Don't I look terrific?!

Still pinching myself

May 26, 2013. Jester is not lame anymore. JESTER IS NOT LAME ANYMORE!!!!!! Woohoo!!!! He does creak in the hocks, needs warming up for at least ten minutes to be able to lope well, but he can do a collected and balanced walk, jog, trot, lope and canter. An old friend of his came to ride him today. He wore fore boots only. We rode about two hours, including half an hour or so of putting him through his paces. What a thrill to see him move so well!! I rode him twice more last week, with no evidence of sore feet. I lowered the RF heel twice more, and refreshed his breakover on the hinds. He grows quickly on the hind toes. The RF is the only foot that is distorted now, and lands flat or slightly toe first. He moves freely and willingly at all times. May 31, 2013 Jester has a new job- he is now teaching kids to ride and handle a horse. He has two students, a ten year old boy and a nine year old girl. He prefers the girl, but he behaves well for both. So now he is earning his keep :) Since his favorite speed is zero mph, he is perfect for beginners. Such a babysitter! June 5, 2013 Appetite is good, he's dealing well with the heat (105+ high temps daily now). He enjoys his twice daily bucket of 3 lb Lakin Lite, 2 lb Integrity Senior non molasses version, once a day Smart Flex Senior (great stuff), a tablespoon of chia seed once a day, and a tablespoon of salt mixed in and all presoaked. He also enjoys bermuda pasture free choice and 2-3 flakes bermuda grass hay per day. Taffy is his only turnout companion now. His favorite buddy the paint mare has gone to her owner's home, along with Honey my QH for company. He loves it when the little paint comes for a visit, though he did whack her with a hind foot once on a trail ride... She was too close for his liking. Taffy tolerates him: he follows her, not the other way around. Are any shows on the horizon for Jester and me? Time and money permitting, September or October may find us strutting our stuff. With more weight and conditioning he'll be ready at the ripe young age of 15. With healthy hooves and a gleaming coat, he is stunning. He lives up to his official name: First Class Contender.

photos

Full of life

Jester is such a character- loves attention and his twice daily bucket of feed! I left his feet alone for 3 weeks, and all I did after that long was toe breakover on the hinds, a little beveling on the lateral quarter on the right hind (his perennial flare) and lowered the heel on the right fore. He seemed tender for a day. Only a day! Now he moves stiffly only if he's been standing for a while or his feet are packed with muck. Once he warms up he moves fluidly. More flat landings with the right fore. Heel first or flat with the left fore consistently. His coat is a stunning gleaming deep golden....but his face is marred by fly bites- he was infected with habromenas again. ugh... So two oral doses of ivermectin 2 weeks apart, NuStock and absorbine liniment topically, and he seems to be beating them. If I forget his fly mask he will nudge me to ask for it. I have ridden him just a couple times in the past month, hoping he would put on some more flesh (he has) and continue healing. He is still turned out on the pasture except to have his bucket or overnight with his bucket and haynet. I haven't put boots on for turnout for over two weeks. I used fore boots just to ride on the property. We played around with walk trot, transitions, pivots, sidepass, and back. What a joy to ride! I asked for a few strides of lope- left he would do. He needs more conditioning to do the right... and maybe other therapy. His sacro-iliac/psoas issue is rarely evident. The only item left seems to be the right hind fetlock joint. Radiographs will be helpful once I save some pennies! Will try to add some photo and video...