I wrote this Tuesday but didn't published it(duh):
We rode early Tuesday before Ranae took Dusty to the vet. It was a nice early morning ride. The air is kinda crappy from the fires here in Calif. It's hard to ask a lot from the horses when the air hurts my lungs.
Monday evenings Ranae plays tennis so I have been watching my DVD's. Finally, I get to the "find the center" exercise for helping your horse do a circle without caving in or pushing out. The tips I had gotten from Matt Sheridan were helpful, but I think this exercise will help both of us a little more. The difference is, I think the find the center exercise gives her more of the responsibility to do it right. And, because she has assumed most of the responsibility for doing it wrong, I think this will help her a lot. We've already picked out a few places we can do this exercise (our training area is too small) and I can't wait to give it a try. Like follow the fence and passenger lesson it may require some time in the first session and those are the most fun for me.
I'm really not sure how much riding will fit in the rest of the week. We got tickets for a concert Friday night and I just found out guitarist Gary Hoey is playing here tomorrow night and I would really like to see him. Maybe Jessie could use some time off and we'll let the air clear.
Dusty lameness test went well. He has some arthritis. Ranae got a lot of the answers she was looking for.
It's supposed to be very hot again this weekend...
Thursday AM:
We rode last night and I got to work for about 15 minutes on the find the center exercise. It's hot and the air still is bad so we stayed at the trot. I think she was beginning to figure it out, but it will take more time to get the "concept". It's tough for me not to steer and try and help her out. We'll work on it a bit more this weekend.
4 comments:
I didn't realize you were that close to the fires. Be safe.
What did the vet suggest for Dusty's arthritis? He isn't very old is he?
Monterey is 300 miles away, but Bakersfield is at the very south end of the San Joaquin Valley and our weather comes mainly from the North West. The fires don't actually pose a burn hazard to us. The particulates in the air were supposed to be in the 200 range today and they are normally in the 80's. It's very hazy out and still hot.
The vet gave Ranae a few do's and don'ts (like jumping). He's 13. We got some bute powder she said to give before the ferrier comes. He had an injury to his eye and left front leg when he was young. The xrays showed those were probably worse than we had thought.
Yikes - 13 is young. Do you think a daily supplement will help? MSM, Glucosamine or Chondroitin?
We have used those in the past for months at a time. The supplements didn't seem to dramatically change his symptomology(sp). He is a little stiff when she starts riding him, but he generally works it out. She doesn't do much GW before riding so like all of us, we're just a little stiff. As you saw on the Julie Goodnight show, HE doesn't let it effect his performance. I've taken to calling him Huck (as in Finn) for the tenacity he has for avoiding work.
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