I'm in a weird state with Banner right now, in which I both have a lot to say and nothing to say at the same time. There are lots of things going through my brain but nothing that seems ready to voice to the world yet. He's happy, healthy & sound, which is always a good place to be. Our partnership seems different than it was & I can't quite put my finger on it. We toodle like pros, but real work has not really been our forte lately.
Hence why the blog has been once again taken back over by my sweet Charmer pony & there has been a little bit of radio silence on Banner. Its just a weird place to be, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let the world into my brain at this time with this particular issue. Luckily, with the world - and show season - on pause for the time being, it's a good time to take the pressure off.
I know there has been a crazy amount of discussion all over social media (whether it be FB, insta, blogs, etc) whether we should keep riding at this time. It's a question that has been very charged on both sides it seems, and a question that has crossed my mind as well. For many, this question has a black and white answer, as many boarding barns have shut their doors to their clients for the safety of the barn workers (understandably so - where would we be without incredible barn staff).
For those of us with our horses at home, its much less of a black and white question. I see both sides of the argument for sure. Its hard to pass up the beautiful spring weather, but also there is always real risk of getting on a horse at any time and can be harder to justify with many hospitals being overwhelmed across the country.
I have continued to ride through this time, but I do reevaluate this question all the time. And I have skipped a couple rides when I just felt like I wasn't in the headspace for it, weather was bad or ponies seemed wild. Typically, I flat probably 90-95% of my rides at home, as I usually only jump in my lessons (although those may be on hold even more indefinitely than however long the virus affects us). I've maintained my schedule of almost entirely flatwork during this time, as jumps always increase the potential risk level. Likely I may still jump during this time, but smaller fences with less complex exercises.
If the cases in my area in my state grow drastically, I will continue to reevaluate my decision and maybe change the plan. But for now, owning two reasonably predictable horses (as predictable as an unpredictable animal can be I guess), that I've owned for nearly 5 and 2 years respectively, I feel okay continuing to ride with caution.
Especially as I've been bringing Charmer back into work, I've noticed that having several days off in a row have made him more backsore, and keeping a consistent program seems to keep him the loosest, happiest and most comfortable. In the interest of keeping Charms comfortable, I'd made an appointment over a month ago with our mobile vet for 4/7. We were considering canceling, but since my property is so private, my vet has continued to do the appointments at the smaller farms so there isn't a huge backlog of appointments when things begin to get lifted.
I absolutely adore my vet, especially because she is also certified in chiropractic & acupuncture work! Both of the boys got their spring vaccines done & Charmer was scheduled for a full chiropractic appointment. I already had an inkling of all of the places that he was out, so I gave her a full rundown of what I'd been noticing undersaddle. Sure enough, pretty much every single place I had noticed was a little off, showed up a little off as she examined him as well. Nothing too major, but definitely just a little tweaked in several places (a year off will do that to ya).
He definitely did something funky to his poll, as he was more out there than expected. I'd noticed a little bit of him holding his head slightly crooked undersaddle but it was pretty minor, but he was more out there than I thought he'd be. His neck was actually pretty good for the most part (yay!), but shoulders were pretty tight - LF more than the RF.
As we got to his back, both the vet and I were a little surprised to find he was more sore on the right side of his back, despite wanting to be bent to the left most of the time (typically the more sore side is the side they bend to, as they don't want to stretch the sore area out). Luckily all of the long & low work that we have been doing made a fairly significant difference as to how sore he was in his lumbar spine. He was still sore in that area, but much less so than he had been a week or so ago when I first noticed it.
The place he was most screwed up (and I knew this going into it) was his pelvis. He was high on his right hip (again, I'd noticed this undersaddle), and sore in his left hind. We got some big reactions and releases from him here, when he clearly felt a LOT better after a few of those adjustments. It'll be really interesting to see how he holds this adjustment undersaddle over the next few weeks! I popped on him for a basic ride last night and he was definitely moving much more evenly behind, which was fantastic to feel.
Also, I always have my vet do a quick hock check on Charmer when she's out, as he's shown soreness there in the past and I always want to be cautious and ahead of the game if he needs maintenance in his hocks. She said they felt great! YAY! Looks like the Cosequin I have him on has been doing its job keeping him comfortable and fluid in his joints.
I'm thinking there will be another appointment for C in the next few months to make sure he stays even and straight through his body, but it was great to get a pretty good bill of health on him at this appointment!
Hence why the blog has been once again taken back over by my sweet Charmer pony & there has been a little bit of radio silence on Banner. Its just a weird place to be, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let the world into my brain at this time with this particular issue. Luckily, with the world - and show season - on pause for the time being, it's a good time to take the pressure off.
I know there has been a crazy amount of discussion all over social media (whether it be FB, insta, blogs, etc) whether we should keep riding at this time. It's a question that has been very charged on both sides it seems, and a question that has crossed my mind as well. For many, this question has a black and white answer, as many boarding barns have shut their doors to their clients for the safety of the barn workers (understandably so - where would we be without incredible barn staff).
For those of us with our horses at home, its much less of a black and white question. I see both sides of the argument for sure. Its hard to pass up the beautiful spring weather, but also there is always real risk of getting on a horse at any time and can be harder to justify with many hospitals being overwhelmed across the country.
I have continued to ride through this time, but I do reevaluate this question all the time. And I have skipped a couple rides when I just felt like I wasn't in the headspace for it, weather was bad or ponies seemed wild. Typically, I flat probably 90-95% of my rides at home, as I usually only jump in my lessons (although those may be on hold even more indefinitely than however long the virus affects us). I've maintained my schedule of almost entirely flatwork during this time, as jumps always increase the potential risk level. Likely I may still jump during this time, but smaller fences with less complex exercises.
 |
| Or maybe we will just do stretchy trot 24/7 |
If the cases in my area in my state grow drastically, I will continue to reevaluate my decision and maybe change the plan. But for now, owning two reasonably predictable horses (as predictable as an unpredictable animal can be I guess), that I've owned for nearly 5 and 2 years respectively, I feel okay continuing to ride with caution.
Especially as I've been bringing Charmer back into work, I've noticed that having several days off in a row have made him more backsore, and keeping a consistent program seems to keep him the loosest, happiest and most comfortable. In the interest of keeping Charms comfortable, I'd made an appointment over a month ago with our mobile vet for 4/7. We were considering canceling, but since my property is so private, my vet has continued to do the appointments at the smaller farms so there isn't a huge backlog of appointments when things begin to get lifted.
I absolutely adore my vet, especially because she is also certified in chiropractic & acupuncture work! Both of the boys got their spring vaccines done & Charmer was scheduled for a full chiropractic appointment. I already had an inkling of all of the places that he was out, so I gave her a full rundown of what I'd been noticing undersaddle. Sure enough, pretty much every single place I had noticed was a little off, showed up a little off as she examined him as well. Nothing too major, but definitely just a little tweaked in several places (a year off will do that to ya).
He definitely did something funky to his poll, as he was more out there than expected. I'd noticed a little bit of him holding his head slightly crooked undersaddle but it was pretty minor, but he was more out there than I thought he'd be. His neck was actually pretty good for the most part (yay!), but shoulders were pretty tight - LF more than the RF.
 |
| I threw blogger Micaylah in the tack for funsies |
As we got to his back, both the vet and I were a little surprised to find he was more sore on the right side of his back, despite wanting to be bent to the left most of the time (typically the more sore side is the side they bend to, as they don't want to stretch the sore area out). Luckily all of the long & low work that we have been doing made a fairly significant difference as to how sore he was in his lumbar spine. He was still sore in that area, but much less so than he had been a week or so ago when I first noticed it.
 |
| ALL the stretchies |
The place he was most screwed up (and I knew this going into it) was his pelvis. He was high on his right hip (again, I'd noticed this undersaddle), and sore in his left hind. We got some big reactions and releases from him here, when he clearly felt a LOT better after a few of those adjustments. It'll be really interesting to see how he holds this adjustment undersaddle over the next few weeks! I popped on him for a basic ride last night and he was definitely moving much more evenly behind, which was fantastic to feel.
Also, I always have my vet do a quick hock check on Charmer when she's out, as he's shown soreness there in the past and I always want to be cautious and ahead of the game if he needs maintenance in his hocks. She said they felt great! YAY! Looks like the Cosequin I have him on has been doing its job keeping him comfortable and fluid in his joints.
I'm thinking there will be another appointment for C in the next few months to make sure he stays even and straight through his body, but it was great to get a pretty good bill of health on him at this appointment!
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