Happily on the verge of Summer

The past few months Jester has had it easy, just giving an occasional lesson and trail ride. He was muscle sore and hitting toe first on the right hind a lot after the show. I suspect he gets too tense in the trailer alone. Backing out of the trailer he nearly scrambled, perhaps exacerbating the soreness. So he got some magnet therapy, massage and laser, and I am keeping the breakover backed on the hind toes about every three weeks. Fore hoofs I am trimming only toe flare, and minimal heel trimming. Right fore still requires heel trimming, as it is his "grass foot"- habitually stands with it behind the vertical. His sole is still on the thin side, but with less frequent trimming he is happier and tolerates most surfaces. if he has to be in the stall (irrigation time) he stiffens up, but a few days of freedom takes care of it. He may need a size up in boots for the left fore soon, as it has widened. 2W on that side, Renegades! 2 on the right. Hinds haven't needed boots in a long time. He is getting ivermectin about every three weeks to ward off summer sores. So far so good, but the sweet itch is already plaguing him. Rounding out the armor is Fly mask, fly boots, fly spray, Smart Bug-off supplement. He feels good and is always happy to lip nibble on me while I scratch him... mutual grooming... Just no TEETH! I only had to remind him once. Note to self- lots of breaks on hinds while trimming to avoid sacro-iliac irritation.

Finding our stride! First show 100% barefoot

Jester has been feeling great. If his fores get packed with mud, manure, etc, he acts gimpy until I clean it out. He doesn't tolerate much pressure to the sole in front of the frog. So we have been riding without boots 90% of the time, and having a great time.

He and I were ready to try another walk-trot show, and go all-around this time. I borrowed an English saddle, dolled him up, and took my 'new to me' updated western saddle along.

He did not like to be smushed into the slant stall in the trailer. He really wants more balance room for his hind legs. But he worked out of his stiffness after we got there.

Just for kicks, I entered in the gelding halter (body-building/beauty contest)... Fourth of four. Good experience.

Showmanship (judged on the person and how clean, behaved and prepared the horse is) was fun, though Jester did NOT want to practice backing up, he did it in the ring. He tries very hard for me. We were third out of 8 or so entries. Good enough for me!

Western pleasure walk-jog was going just fine when a green horse breezed by us at a full trot and Jester wanted to go too. Small tantrum, extinguished... but we got into a traffic jam and that made him mad. I excused myself from the ring, not wanting to endanger anyone else.

Off to practice more and back to Western horsemanship walk-jog, a contest of maneuvers and rider finesse. Fourth of eight or so entries was just fine.  Trail class, a series of obstacles and speed changes, went well, with the exception of a rider error. We earned third. So far, I was thrilled to place and happy to be there at all. I had a good friend helping and taking photos, which made it all the more fun.

Finally, two English classes capped the day. Hunter under Saddle walk-trot (judged on the horse's manners, cadence and gaits), and Equitation, similar to Horsemanship, but under English tack. We placed first in both! I was quite amazed and pleased. Jester was pretty proud of himself too.

The surprise of the day came when we were called for the High Point Champion prize. A bucket full of nice horsey items was awarded to us for having highest overall score for our division. Yippee! Sadly, there were no horse treats in the prize bucket. Jester had to be content with his feed and hay.

Some things that helped- oral electrolytes, though he did drink, it wasn't enough, a big smile (hard to wipe that off my face, I had the prettiest horse in the place!), and the amazing help of my good friend.

What not to do next time- Calming supplement (he got a bit sluggish), leave stirrups too long for English (I posted halfway around the ring trying to regain my outside stirrup in Hunter under Saddle, get into traffic jams in large classes (go in last so I can adjust to the traffic), and no high hand in Western! Maybe I'll get some coaching....

Steady as she goes. Having a great winter

Rolling happily in the mud, bucking in delight, begging for scratches on his favorite spots, and hanging out with my mares... All in a day in the life of Jester. He has filled out even more, he's actually round over the top of his back! Nice bareback ride now :O) Hoof wise, he can handle going out without boots, just sensitive over gravel. Ordinary one or two hour jaunts down along the canal are no problem. Winter is good to him, I haven't changed anything in his routine... he still lives turned out all the time, sometimes with the girls. He feels so good some days that he's sassy! Not so fast mister!!! Hoofs are about the same, still one higher heel on the right fore, lower on the left, but it's the way he is. Keeping the breakover refreshed all around does the most good. This will be his best year yet :)

Steady improvement, first show together, no setbacks!

Busy fall! I got brave, hacked off the poor boy's mane, gussied him up and casted his forehoofs, and off to a show we went, end of Sept. Just entered the walk trot classes, which were at least 12 riders each. Wow. Horsemanship got us a 5th under one judge, Pleasure 8th under one judge, and 2nd in one trail class. I definitely need coaching to be competitive in classes that big! Jester is not an autopilot show horse! He behaved himself for the most part. He blew one class for us by jumping sideways in protest that he couldn't see his girlfriend, my friend's paint mare, who came along. They did great- placing over us in one class, at their very first show! I learned that hoof black covers casts quite nicely, that Jester chews on reins when nervous, that he needs a good half hour of work before showing to get his mind settled, that I prefer daytime shows, and that tail extensions are harder to put in than they look. (and remember to take off the wrap and noseband :) ) I'm encouraged with the effects of casting for thin soles. Jester gained concavity, and though I don't have radiographs, I believe there is more sole thickness as well. So far, it seems the protection they provide to the sole, and the stimulation to the caudal foot (rear half) are superior to boots and pads for thin soles. One drawback is that they do come off unexpectedly. I had to apply a new one upon arriving at the show, as Jester pulled one off in the trailer. Sure glad I packed the casting kit! He continues to serve as my primary lesson horse, and loafs around most days. He does well without boots as long as there aren't any rocks or large gravel. He hobbles over those. But not nearly as badly as just a few months ago. He still goes best to the left, and right lead lope is hard when he isn't warmed up. There's a bit of odd motion remaining in his hindquarters at the lope, more noticeable to the right. It does slow him down. His herbal anti-inflammatories and lots of stretches seem to help. He is just fine for trails, even rocky South Mtn. He is happy and content, having regained his weight and topline, loving his cinch chix full bale hay net and twice daily soaked rations. Plastic bags are losing some of their terror inducing qualities too! Leave a comment and I'll read it to him :)

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!