Fall is my favorite season for riding -- esp for hacking out! And I have approximately 8,000 random pictures taking up precious storage space on my phone so... brace yo'self for a whole bunch of scenic vistas awash in golden dusk!
 |
| picturesque <3 |
Tho, to be honest, there are only so many different ways to talk about walking a horse around a hayfield LOL.
 |
| cruisin the "low" side of the hills -- there's a pic on the "high" side from a later ride below |
We walked, it was pleasant, Doozy is the best. Yada yada yada.
 |
| still haven't made it around the entire hay field |
You get the picture.
Literally, lots of pictures haha..... |
| hacking home during golden hour! |
So instead, I'd rather write about a recent evening with our friend Charles. Tho ya know. I guess there are only so many ways to write about doing ground work with a retired neurotic thoroughbred too.
 |
| a new day -- frosty morning waiting for the farrier! |
So. Eh. Pick your post poison: a wordless Wednesday post of pretty pictures... Or a
slightly wordier post about trying to help Charlie chill the F out.
 |
| "that friggin cat is right behind me, isn't it" -- skeptical dooz |
Anyway. The poor dude was probably pretty neglected after my weekend of running around before, during, and immediately after the Maryland 5*. I'd been to his farm plenty (it was the best most central location for staging supplies etc from various members of the party), but with limited attention for him.
 |
| pictured: friggin cat lol |
So I made it my business to stop by for some purposeful grooming the other night. And... Ugh. I'm glad I did, bc the horse was a certified pill.
 |
| we do love our barn kitties tho! |
It was already dark when I arrived, and they're still on nighttime turnout. Not sure if this makes a difference for him -- maybe there are a lot of active animals in the surrounding woods this time of year? Maybe having limited sight out of the barn is triggering?
 |
| barn cat snoopervising while we wait for the vet for fall shots |
I dunno. Regardless, I'd planned to just groom and love on him for a little bit.... But after observing him dancing around like a fool, bumping into the walls, whinnying piteously, and
pooping prodigiously...  |
| artful grazing? |
Well. I concluded that maybe this was the exact circumstance in which reinforcing our ground work practice would be beneficial.
 |
| and another sunset hack!! this is the "high" side of the hills |
And omg, it totally was!
 |
| missed the most spectacular light unfortunately, but the tree color is still pretty! |
We've had quite a few practice sessions already since I last wrote about it. The horse remembers all the exercises but I haven't shied away from correcting any pushiness in him. And in particular, I've really focused on reinforcing boundaries about my space vs his space. Not perfectly, obvi, but in a way that he understands and is clear about.
 |
| fall is 100% my favorite season for hacking |
So it worked out that on this particular night, when he was really quite stressed and tense and basically beside himself (for reasons that are way beyond my understanding), he was still able to answer each little question I asked of him.
 |
| anyway. sucralfate. do yo' thing! |
And my only goal was to see if I could get him to relax a little bit. So I basically just praised the shit out of him for being so clever in getting everything so correct. And was very slow and deliberate and soft in my own positioning. This night was not a night of "boundaries" - but rather a session to reinforce, "yes, friend, you know this and are good at this and are the
best boy."
 |
| the legend himself. looking... needy. sigh, charlie <3 |
And whadya know, after a little TOH / TOF practice, a little leading forward and backing up, a little sending and bringing back... all with lots of pets and praise... he lowered his head, softened his eyes, and yawned and licked and chewed and just....
chilled.
Good boy, Charlie. That's all we want. Idk what his problem is, exactly, but we're a few days into the sucralfate treatment now so maybe that'll make a difference. Maybe swapping turnout from nights to days might help too? Idk. I'll keep ya posted tho!
And in the meantime, it's nice to know that this silly little ground work we're doing can at least help channel him when he's particularly pitiful!
The fall hay field hacks are just perfect!! I'm always here for those through the ear pics.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what made you reach for sucralfate vs omeprazole this go round with Charlie? (That isn't meant to sound at all judgemental btw, just, y'know, a certain bay gelding with some anxiety as well may have a new teeth grinding behavior I'm working on 🙄)
my knowledge on sucralfate is limited to what i've understood from talks with my vet and other trusted horse friends, so ymmv. my understanding is that it treats hind gut ulcers and can act as a soothing barrier during stressful situations. for instance, a friend uses it before trailer travel or running cross country or other high energy / high impact type rides. this friend and others i know have also been prescribed the sucrlafate as part of treatment (with omeprazole) from ulcers confirmed via scope. i started using it with Doozy for similar travel / competition type experiences and maybe it's just in my head, but i think it's been good for her.
Deletemy idea for charlie is that it's a lower cost "test" to see if his stress lately might be related to gastric pain / ulcers etc. there are less concerns with starting and stopping sucralfate, vs omeprazole that needs to be tapered or you risk a big blowback in acid production (again, this is just my understanding here). so my vet called in a prescription to wedgewood for a one month's supply, and we'll see where that gets us in terms of his behavior. if there's no difference, i'll stop using it (i have some concerns about it interfering with the absorption of his beloved equioxx). if it makes a big difference, i'll likely continue and/or go for a full blown omeprazole protocol. again tho, ymmv!
Gotcha!! Thanks for the explanation. Honestly Ben probably just needs a round of gastrogard again given his history and his unwillingness to respond to any of the GI support things like the KER fish oil or Relyne. But it's frustrating to do the gastrogard of I don't have a way to prevent them once we finish that.
Deleteoof poor Ben! it might be worth asking your vet if he might also have the hind gut ulcers (which i don't think you can see from scoping), and whether that could be part of his chronic issues / lack of response. my understanding (qualifications errywhere lol) is that this is why many vets will prescribe both drugs after confirming ulcers via scope -- bc the omeprazole doesn't make it to the hind gut.
DeleteMiss Mae has been on sucrafate for a few years now and she hasn't had a resurgence of ulcers since (and if you recall, she had a bad bad case). She is still "mare" and "OTTB" but you can tell she feels better in general and is much happier
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just have to softly work them through to relaxation. I’ve had a lot of success with this with both horses.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful riding photos you shared of your outdoor adventures with Doozy! And your sessions with Charlie sound like they are going well. I think many horses pick up on the fact that we are making an effort for them, even if we struggle a bit to figure out how to keep them more mentally engaged, relaxed or physically comfortable. Hoping the new meds help too. Enjoyed the barn cat media, by the way. :-)
ReplyDeleteDoozy's farm is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad that the ground work session helped reset Charlie's angsty brain, at least for the moment. I swear, this time of year is just really hard on some of them.