The Trail Ride Test

I thought I'd push the envelope a bit and I took Lilly for a trail ride today.  My cousins came up for the weekend, and they were keen to go riding.  Since the last two rides I did with them were rather short (as they were just getting used to their horses), I was determined to do a longer ride this time.

So off we went, into the state forest.  Walking, and trotting, and cantering and even going for a short gallop.  My cousins loved the gallop.

Lilly's soundness was maintained throughout the ride.  What surprised me was her willingness to be brave and go forward!  In the past, on these sorts of rides, she would sometimes have "chicken" moments, and I had to ask Crownie (and her rider) to take the lead.  Not so today.  Lilly led the whole way, without ever putting a foot wrong.

She loved all the fast work, and by the time we were doing the last canter she had enough sting out of her to just sit in and enjoy.  Enjoy the rocking motion, the fresh air in my face, the green trees whizzing by.

Faradic Treatments Completed

Yesterday we completed the Faradic treatments on Lilly.  When you now touch her in the girth area she stands calmly.  She used to come flying with her teeth!  But of course, the acid test is riding.

So I saddled her up (she still put her ears back and snapped when her girth was done up) and we ventured into the paddock.  Ahem.  I meant arena.

I lunged first - sure enough the lameness was totally gone.  She was as sound as a bell, trotting on both reins.  Then I jumped on and rode.  She seemed happy enough.  What amazed me though was that she was now willing to go forward.  And she could manage to do a 20m circle.

I am over the moon.

Intermittent Lameness

From the very first time I ever rode Lil I had this feeling that if I pushed her really hard (the way I push Dingo), then she would buck me off.  Or at least put in a really solid pigroot.

Now many trainers think I am just chicken.  But I'm not.  I know I am not.  And when I have a gut feeling there is a reason for it.  Finding the reason is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So I rode Lil with some suspicion and care until one day I went for a trail ride and she pulled up lame.  I couldn't see anything wrong with her leg, but gave her a break.  After four weeks she was sill "stiff" but not lame, and I started riding her again.  But she felt "stiff".  I had trouble doing a 20m circle on her.

Then, after more intensive riding, the lameness returned.  Six weeks break and the lameness was dimished but not totally gone.  You could see the head nodding in trot on the right rein.

Finally I called out the chiropractor.  He adjusted her spine in one spot, and then touched her rib cage just where the girth goes.

"And here is the source of your lameness" he said, as Lil almost ripped his head off.

"There?!!", I gasped thinking he was crazy.  I had expected the spine, the shoulder, the joints, but not the rib cage.  Mind you, if this really is the problem, then it would explain why Lil hates the saddle, and the girth, so much.

"Yep.  There is a muscle here, and if it gets injured it never heals.  You need to treat it with a Faradic machine. Three treatments of 15 minutes each, on three consicutive days should do it.  I've had a 100% success rate so far, and it never re-occurs."

Apparently, the said injury causes different issues in different horses - such as rushing forward, bucking, pigrooting and head tossing.  And a lot of vets fail to find it.

So we made the dates to fix the problem.  I shifted all my other plans so that Lilly's treatment could go ahead, and continued to wonder how many other horses are out there with the same problem, sending their owners mad and possibly broke in the process.  And, how many instructors are there telling their pupils to just "push" the horse through it?

Cross Country

A couple of weekends ago I went cross country training with Dingo.  I managed to convince a friend to come with me.  I really don't think it's sensible to train cross country alone.

We went to one of the local pony clubs that is lucky enough to have a cross country course.  The range of jumps was very diverse, and you could really challenge yourself with logs and ditches.

At home, Dingo is now jumping 70cm.  But cross country is a whole different affair, and we went right back to the littlelest logs we could find.

When it came to the water jump, I was really thankful for my friend.  Her horse is more experienced, and he happily waded into the water.  Dingo wasn't that keen on the water, but was happy to follow the other horse.  Once he discovered it was all safe I think he found it quite a lot of fun.

It was a great day out, and I am really annoyed that that particular cross country course is now closed in preparation for a competition.  I cannot wait to go again!