charlie + mud fever

Gosh, it's been a minute since we've featured our good friend Charlie here on ye olde blogge!! Which is criminal considering he's obvi the biggest star around <3 <3

the muddy swamp monster himself, looking adorable as ever <3 <3

The truth is, Charlie's out here living his best life. Getting his daily grooms and scritches and cookies.... Just being a downright pleasant horse to spend time with and be around. 

He's just... Not particularly sound. Still. I was legging him back up for a while, but then he got pretty sore again after a recent shoeing appt.... And I dunno. I kinda backed off completely. Probably not permanently, tho. I'll probably start riding hacking him around again, even if it's just to help him maintain a good enough baseline condition to support his massive frame. 

his group finally moved out to the lusciously grassy summer pastures!

In the meantime, his group finally started the transition to grass. Honestly not sure why it took so long this year, and honestly probably wouldn't have even happened yet if I hadn't gotten them started on the first day myself. But it's done, and everyone is much happier for it. Thoroughbreds + grass are a match made in heaven, imho!!

scrub-a-dub-dub

Well. Except, ya know, there are a few downsides!! Like all the bugs and gnats that are chewing up poor Charlie's belly!! That'll get partially resolved when they switch to overnight turnout instead of daytime... But for now, it's a real pain for him (literally lol). 

Also, all that dewy grass can wreak havoc on hooves and legs. Charlie is notably prone to mud fever, aka scratches, aka pastern dermatitis, on his one white sock. It's a nasty scabby persistent painful skin infection that is a pain in the you-know-what to clear up, but that you don't really want to leave brewing lest it explode into a larger systemic infection like cellulitis. 

i washed the leg with regular shampoo first to get it mostly clean, then did a proper scrub with the betadine cleanser

I've tried to be proactive over the years with keeping Charlie's legs clean and clear of all scurf, and routinely treating with MTG to get ahead of any scabbing or small abrasions... 

But honestly? I think 100% prevention is probably a losing battle. At least for horses with white legs. Maybe there's some sort of special secret sauce I'm missing (in which case, lmk!), but, eh, Charlie seems to get an infection about once a year, like clockwork. 

the infection kinda just looks like an innocuous scab. these things are stubborn and persistent, tho, and can take a bit of determination (and strong drugs) to clear up

So we focus on treatment. Skin funk in horses is one of those areas where opinions vary widely. I have seen and heard of folks using so many different topicals on this type of skin issue. 

MTG, That Blue Stuff, Coat Defense, Krudzapper, Furazone, Desitin (yes the diaper rash cream), Vitamin E, Silver Honey... 

Not to mention all the various cleansers and scrubs, like chlorhexidine, betadine, Listerine, apple cider vinegar, etc....

they're usually a bit painful too. this issue is the main reason why i don't put fly boots on Charlie's hind legs

The lists go on and on and on. Please definitely add in the comments if you swear by something I didn't mention! 

And while I've had better luck with some of these treatments vs others, in the end I've come to the conclusion that.... the most important distinction in which treatment works vs which doesn't is... Your time, attention, and dedication in actually doing the treating. 

a few more scabs on the other side --- and all those slightly deeper pink spots are potential eruption sites

At least in  my experience, this is not the type of skin funk that you can treat once or twice and then be on your merry way. For Charlie (and Isabel before him), it usually takes about two weeks of consistent near-daily attention to completely clear the infection. 

this has been my go-to treatment since the isabel days. always handle with gloves. will test positive on horse show drug tests too

The "standard of care" method that's been recommended to me by a vet involves first scrubbing carefully and continuously with a betadine solution (I like the surgical scrub product, personally). Then let the leg dry completely, before applying a steroidal antibiotic ointment Animax (also known as Dermalone or Panalog Ointment). 

I get the ointment directly from the vet. It contains steroids, so always handle with gloves and be thoughtful about using it if you have imminent recognized/rated competition plans.

unrelated -- found another lone star tick, this time on charlie. photo for future reference in case i need to know dates... ugh

A lot of folks consider this medical grade treatment to be the "nuclear option," tho, and prefer to start with using either natural or less medically intense remedies first. Again, I don't necessarily think there's a right or wrong way -- so long as you're attending to the treatment regularly.

This seems to work for us, tho, so hopefully Charlie's socks will be all nice and bright white again in short order! 

at least Icee's cute <3 <3

And hopefully I'll be better about grabbing more pics of the handsome guy (maybe from actually taking him out for rides???) in the near future. Can't keep going so long without updates on him, right?? Doozy is cool, and all, but Charlie is still my favorite haha <3

Anyway. Anybody else dealing with skin funk or other seasonal ailments? Discover any new tools or techniques in helping the horses adjust to summer??

disease vectors

Happy Friday, y'all! We are officially into the height of spring around these parts. The local flora absolutely erupted into leaf and flower thanks to frequent rain showers and rising temperatures, and with all that comes the bugs omg the bugs! 

pictured: ticks, so many ticks

Tho, realistically these days... The ticks are with us year round. Actually, at least in my experience, the winter ticks are the sneakiest of them all bc nobody expects or is looking for them... I was appalled to find an engorged one hiding under Doozy's jaw recently, ugh. 

Normally I can get 'em the first day or two after they attach, but that one managed a full meal. Oh well, it happens!

oh look, there's one right there! fun thing about lone star ticks is they don't even try to hide, they'll just bite the horse in any old place, like on the shoulder or right there on doozy's belly

Virtually every horse in my region will have a mildly positive Lyme titer, reflecting at least some presence of antibodies. Tho I'll still do a test if there are indications of a more acute case. 

Around here, we'll usually say that if you're horse is acting a little off, his behavior or manners are a bit changed, he's cranky or maybe seems body-sore or NQR in a hard-to-pin-down sorta way, it's wise to at least run a titer. 

common tick types
source: Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Science

In recent years, another tick-borne illness has become increasingly common: anaplasmosis. Charlie had a case back in 2020, following my first run-in with a lone star tick. 

I was honestly expecting he'd pick up the infection mostly bc of the huge swelling at the bite site, despite the tick being fairly freshly attached. And Charlie miserably obliged that expectation after a 9 day incubation period by spiking a gigantic fever and feeling very sorry for himself.

an increasingly common diagnosis. familiarize yourself with these symptoms: BIG fever, puffy legs
source: https://stablemanagement.com/barns-grounds/tick-diseases-in-horses/ 

Treatment was fairly straight forward and the horse recovered quickly... It's honestly not a huge issue. Except that if you aren't thinking of tick-borne illness when those symptoms appear, it can be easy to panic or freak out. Nobody likes giant fevers and swollen legs! 

let the countdown begin, i guess...

Time will tell if Doozy goes down the same path. It's possible that I missed the tick the day before... but doesn't seem likely given that it was right at the girth groove. So I'm guessing it latched on the morning I found it. Getting it off was a little weird tho --- the body came apart in pieces!

sorry it's fuzzy, but the body literally tore in half when i tried to pull it out -- not just the body separating from the head 

Like, the segment of the body where the white dot is came off from the rest of the body, which has literally never happened that I can remember in years of plucking ticks off horses... Like, sure, the head will often pull apart from the body... But idk, this was weird lol. Luckily a barn mate knew where an old pair of forceps was hiding, so I could dig out the last little bits o' tick (ew). 

 

is this lifestyle worth it? yes lol, the answer is yes

Doozy, for her part, seemed very grateful for that little bit of attention and vigorously nuzzled my elbow while I worked, as if to say, "Omfg it itches get it out get it out!" 

So we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll get lucky? Anybody else had to deal with tick issues? 

merry-go-round

So I had a whole bunch of big plans leading up to another show this weekend... But with Doozy getting kicked and missing some rides from that (and also from me being out of town... and also from, on occasion, having other things going on in life... you know how it goes), things are kinda up in the air now. C'est la vie, amirite?

hangin out at the trailer like the most civilized creature while Amy + Punky had their lesson first

Ambiguity and fluidity are new friends to me, and... honestly, I'm appreciating just enjoying my horse on a day by day basis. On this day, that enjoyment took the form of another eagerly awaited dressage lesson with Trainer C -- intended as show prep but still independently delightful!

"cookies pls!"

There's an actual metric buttload of video footage... But, eh. It looks a lot like a green TB trotting around inverted, weak, hollow and counter-bent while her rider fumbles around trying to put all the pieces together. To me? Glorious! To the average viewer tho? Well. You know... LOL....

fair warning --- i cherry picked only the best moments from legit endless footage of my untrained racehorse twirling around like a dervish

So I did everybody the favor of parsing through all that footage frame by frame to find the little moments where pieces clicked together, where one or both of us had a little "aha!" or gave a big try. In other words, pics today aren't exactly "representative" of the ride, but rather little "dots" that eventually I want to be able to connect into a bigger future picture.

when slanty walls attack!

And guys, it was a good lesson. Like, really getting back to our roots here. This arena has such good juju, Trainer C has been such a supportive and positive coach over the years (since 2015 omg!), and Doozy and I are really feeling like a proper team. 

sorta kinda tryna leg yield

It's a relief, in a way, too. I cringe at so many photos of me riding these days bc I feel sloppy and slouchy and all over the place... And ya know, I am.... Bc that's just the reality of having to come back from a period of protracted downtime. Skills, strengths, abilities... They're only ever really on loan, ya know? We don't "own" them. Use it or lose it, right?

"ohhhhh bennnnd" -- doozy, figuring things out

That's where the video is so helpful, too, tho. Like I can only realistically keep track of mayyybe one or two body parts at a time when I'm riding. 

Given enough routine consistent coaching, eventually all the various bits and bobs fall in line.. but right now? Good lord, if I'm focusing on one hand, the other is probably wafting out into the stratosphere. If my mind is on keeping my inside leg draped down long like the pole in a carousel horse... my outside leg is likely stuck straight out ahead of me like some kind of brace. 

 

proof that even this monkey of a rider can eventually write shakespeare, if only briefly

Doozy, meanwhile, is legitimately always counter-bent. Like. Wayyyyy more than I realized. And honestly, I think it's bc of how I try to slow her down -- that I try to hold her out. But seeing it in this lesson, paired with Trainer C's coaching, really made it plain. 

canter transitions!

Trainer C wants me to constantly be thinking about bringing Doozy's nose in, while keeping my outside hand low -- as if to invite her outside shoulder to stay out and upright. I should be always aiming for a sorta "leg yield" feel, without being afraid of putting my inside leg on to not leg Doozy's rib cage push inward.

trotting diagonals without bolting off into the sunset

We practiced some very basic figure work -- first trotting circles in the ends of the arena focusing on bringing the nose in, slowing down the trot. Then we'd go up the long side along the "second track" (about 8' off the wall, so kinda halfway to the quarter line) and try to gently glide back toward the wall with an "out and over, out and over, nose slightly in, body out" type feeling. Not exactly a leg yield, but working on that feeling.

probably did the most trotting of our lives in this lesson lol... step one to making the trot better is actually trotting at all

We found that smaller circles (15m or even smaller still) helped in the ends of the arena, esp when I tried to channel the spiral work we've been practicing. And obvi trying to keep the pace steady and not rushed --- thinking of telling Doozy, "wait!" then relax, "wait!" then relax, again and again to help her sort of understand the beginnings of a 'half halt.'

and another canter transition!

Doozy, for her part, was a superstar. I legit wish I'd tinkered around with her bridle way sooner, bc this flash strap is making a huge difference. Trainer C actually said she starts all her babies in a flash -- bc it's easier to start with "this is a normal part of the bridle!" that can be discarded if unnecessary, vs having to add it in later. In retrospect, I wish I'd done the same -- bc I can be a lot softer now with my hands and we both like that!

pretty pleased with this pony
(no idea why i look like an illustration from an airplane safety instructions booklet here... but it's a cute pic anyway!)

Separate from the bridle, tho, Doozy was just... again, really good. She tried so hard in this lesson. Legit trotted for about 7 goddamn minutes straight at one point (I know bc it's all on video) without trying to break into canter once. Like.. wow. Good girl! 

It was hot and humid and we were both sweaty and puffing (and I may or may not have almost damn near fallen on my ass when I dismounted LOL), but she tried the whole time. Doozy has a "tell" when she's getting worked up and tense, where she sorta whistles and groans and holds her breath... Like a cartoon bomb about to drop... But she didn't go there once this whole lesson. Just stayed present and responsive, in her own red way. 

good girl, dooz!

For me, this is the good stuff -- and I'm so excited to keep growing and developing with this special little mare <3 <3

mystery bridle

Friends of the blog, internet sleuths, and connoisseurs of fine tack --- I need your help! We had our first real ride in Doozy's new consignment bridle last night (which, recall, also has a new bit on it), and I'm feeling pretty optimistic!

not gonna lie, it's growing on me!

The bit is has a french link mouth piece instead of a lozenge, and obvi the bridle has a flash strap. This combination felt really promising -- Doozy was responsive even when she would have rather been a bit explosive. And I felt like I could push the contact forward more often vs just sorta hanging on for dear life. Progress!

 

adjustable anatomic "V" crown design is very roomy

So. Here's where I need your help --- if this bridle is going to become a normal part of Doozy's outfit, I should probably, uh, know what it is. Like, who makes it, ya know? 

snap on browbands are so convenient, esp for monocrown bridles

It was unlabeled at the consignment shop and I didn't think to ask. A barn mate has an almost identical match, except the logo on the browband snap is slightly different... But maybe it's still the same? I'll ask her when she's back in town, but am feeling impatient lol. Any ideas???

the whole thing is very nicely stitched and padded

I was most attracted by the adjustable crownpiece design -- which, again, I recognized from my friend's bridle. While I love the look of Charlie's hand-me-down bridle that Doozy has been wearing, it's always been a bit of a squeeze around the poll and ears. And in the early days it was a bit tricky getting it settled into place and getting all her hair pulled through and laying flat without the mare protesting about all the ear touching. 

pairs well with the new county saddle!

Getting this bridle on, on the other hand, is a breeze. Sure, there are more buckles for the flash and all... But, eh, #worthit!

forgot to get a picture of the bit, but it's a basic Korsteel 5.5" french link

Our ride itself was fairly straight forward. I wanted to get up to the jump ring for no reason other than to be fenced in (lol) in case Doozy needed to let loose a little bit. It's a bit tricky bc she definitely recognizes the jump ring as the place where... obvi we jump. And definitely gets a bit amped and anticipatory... 

that feeling when you keep layering nice tack on your horse to cover up all the training holes LOL

But. Eh. Just bc there are jompies doesn't mean we get to play with them, Doozy! I did, however, set up a whole bunch of ground poles that could be trotted or cantered. One exercise was a long straight line of 6 poles each spaced 9' apart... Which honestly felt a bit aspirational, but, eh, why not. The second exercise was a gently bending curve with 3 poles spaced 18' apart. 

aerial view of the crown design

Doozy warmed up nicely, actually, and seemed to have a nice contact in the new bridle situation. The trotting and cantering was a bit tricky bc the way the ring was set up, there were a couple weird bottlenecks where there was only really one path between a cluster of jumps and the rail. So I mostly just kinda stuck to a walk while the other horses were doing more speed work.

ready for adventures!

It was all good, tho. We walked through all the pole exercises a few times in each direction, and then managed to trot the curved line too!! Repetition proved to be key bc Doozy definitely wanted to rush and break to canter, but seemed to actually think it through the second time. 

gentle bend of 3 poles spaced 18' apart, can be trotted or cantered in both directions

Tho, naturally, Doozy gets what Doozy wants, and she did ultimately break to canter (which, it is actually intended to be a canter exercise anyway), and executed the distances very nicely! I'm sorry not to have any of it on video!

long line of bounce poles, can be trotted or cantered, spaced 9' (tho this was post ride, you can see the pole closest to dooz got rolled by the end)

Ditto the long straight line! I thought this exercise would be somewhat aspirational bc we can't really do anything in a long straight line without kinda bolting at present.... And again, it is technically a canter exercise, but I wanted to try to start with trot just to help protect Doozy from crashing through the whole thing if she got excited. 

Go figure, tho, she actually was able to canter the thing quite nicely off both leads, with me feeling like I could soften the contact and just sit there holding her straight, letting the poles and exercise do the guiding for me. Perfect!

jumps from a couple weeks ago when we were preparing for thornridge

Obviously it would be more ideal to have regular jump lessons, but we do what we can. And exercises like this, paired with adjustments in the bridle, will hopefully help Doozy figure out the finer points of this whole jumping thing. 

I'm plopping in some photos from our last jump school about two weeks ago, right before Thornridge, as kinda a counterpoint. Doozy was very keen in this ride, and honestly the clips don't really look bad, per se. Actually, you might even think she looks pretty good at times!

keen dooz is keen. unsure emma is unsure about letting off the e-brake

But the pace felt way too fast, covering way too much ground. Like the above shot -- when we jumped into a 60' diagonal line and she made it down in three strides dear god. Again, it's in the video, and it doesn't necessarily look bad, and there was *not* another stride to be had in that moment. 

But it isn't quite ideal lol. Especially given that Doozy still doesn't really know what to do at the awkward distances. I'd rather not be always going at maximum speed and maximum stride length, right? Bc if you get to a weird distance and you're already on your maximum stride... You kiiiinda run out of options. 

figuring it out, slowly but surely

Doozy's a smart cookie, tho, and even from this jump school to her show jumping round at Thornridge, it felt like she was figuring out and learning how to use her eye and rate herself better to the fences.  

quick clips from that ride, for posterity

Even so, I see a lot of ground pole and gymnastic exercises in our future! Maybe it's time to break out the Grid Pro Quo book again???

she's pretty cute, not gonna lie <3

But ya know, that's the fun part, right? As far as I'm concerned, this is the good stuff. Figuring out fun little exercises to help keep things moving along. And, obvi, dressing the pony up in pretty tack lol....

bad moves dooz

Happy Monday, y'all! It's been... whew, a long weekend. After what was a long week, not gonna lie. I spent most of last week in a hotel conference room in the Twin Cities for my company's bi-annual staff retreat. 

It was time very well spent -- I've worked remotely since 2016ish so it's always really great to see my colleagues in person! But it was also a densely packed few days of meetings and social gatherings. Was happy to get home again!

she missed me <3 <3 <3
(obvi so did charles, who was mucho pitiful after not getting his daily grooms!)

My animals seem to do well enough in my absence... The cats suffer most since they're used to having me home for work, but the horses did just fine. Charlie was crusty and sad from lack of diligent grooming, but otherwise managed to keep all his bits attached with just a touch of his perennial demon, mud fever / scratches on his white sock. 

farm strollies on le fresh TB!!

Doozy, meanwhile, seems to have had a wonderful week off! I was happy to give her the time physically, esp after so many intense days at horse shows and dealing with saddle fit issues. Felt like a good time for a little rest. 

wisteria along the driveway!!

She impressed me, tho, with being able to basically more or less get back under saddle again after a full week off! We started with just a very basic hack about the farm -- no pressure, no rings, and no company. Just me and my Fresh AF red mare, out for a stroll! Not for very long, and not without a few skitters and pops lol.... But just fine.

mmmmmm luscious bridle paths

Second ride was a more purposeful flat ride -- still solo but this time in the dressage ring, and in the rain, natch. Doozy was very very good. It had just started raining relatively lightly so the footing was damp on top and dry underneath, meaning it was really easy to see our footprints. Which was perfect for practicing the spirals we worked on in the Sprieser clinic! 

Doozy actually really settled into the work at the walk, despite feeling a bit sharp and wild. Like, it was honestly amazing, probably the most relaxed on the aids I've ever ridden this horse on my own. But, eh, the rain kept coming and Doozy's quarter kinda ran out. We managed some ok enough trot and canter, but she felt maybe a little trapped and like she needed a bit more freedom but was guaranteed to use all that power quite irresponsibly. So I got a few good praise-able moments of trot and canter and called it a day.

best frens!! who would never ever kick each other trying to win the race in for dinner...

Realistically, being able to have a solo w-t-c ride in the dressage ring with some shining moments wasn't exactly realistic two months ago. Even more realistically, we never even really rode in the dressage ring before February / March. Let alone solo + cantering. So I'll take it as a win and be satisfied with it!

ahem. ok. yea. rosette definitely kicked her on the way down for dinner, womp...

Obvi I planned to just keep on incrementally layering on the schooling rides throughout the weekend, but Doozy had other plans. This is at least the 3rd time she's been kicked by her bestie on the way in for dinner. And like.... c'mon, at what point will she learn to like.... maybe don't run up Rosette's butt?? 

The girls like to come galloping over the hill down to the gate (see this post's first pic for a visual), and the whole silly episode was witnessed by my friends who were at the gate calling them in. 

the kick produced an almost immediate geyser of blood

This was useful given the wound was a real bleeder. Ugh. Phone calls were had. After hours vet consulted. Pros and cons weighed carefully... And ultimately the counsel was that, since the horse was completely sound, let her stay in the pressure wrap the evening shift folks had managed to get on, and forgo the emergency visit. 

The after hours vet (who has treated both my horses over the years and is extremely practical and thoughtful) felt like conservative management would be sufficient and stitches not likely necessary. My own vet followed up later in the evening saying she assumed we'd already moved forward with a treatment plan but she agreed it was likely just a skin bleeder and not serious. 

and poor doozy coped with her first day of stall rest since i've had her. well. "cope" is a strong word. here she is almost murdering us both in one fell swoop while working off some energy before i could change her wrap

All the same, we opted to keep Doozy stalled the next day to get a full 24hrs in the pressure wrap. I was volunteering at Waredaca's recognized HT, so headed over afterward and immediately flew my wild red kite out to a paddock to let off some steam before she could be reasonably handled. Poor pony, this was her first stall rest episode with me, believe it or not!

"I AM THE CHAOS" -- doozy, licensed to kill us both, and probably the fence too

The folks who did the original wrap did a very nice job, tho. The wound had clearly continued to bleed through the inner layers of bandage material for some time... but it was completely dry 24hrs later, Even after all the shenanigans in the paddock. No swelling, no bleeding, and honestly not at all a significant wound. Funny how that works out some times!

'twas a close call, but we think she'll survive!

She'll get a course of SMZs to be safe, got some bute, and had the leg wrapped a second night but then returned to turn out today. Bc let's be real, keeping her confined is nobody's idea of a good time!

coping thru tack shopping!

So ya know. It's looking like the wound was more bark than bite... So hopefully I'll be able to keep riding again in short order. But in the meantime, obvi, I did what normal people do and bought more tack LOL....

what do you think? love it? hate it? too much bridle, or just right?

I didn't photograph probably the most important selling point -- the crown piece design. Doozy has like, a gigantic poll lol. Sometimes I kinda feel like her poll and ears are a bit squeezed in the bridle she normally wears. I'll get a pic of the design of this bridle, but it's a lot roomier and more anatomic. Also like the built in flash. 

feels very modern haha, now to just ride in it! c'mon dooz, we got stuff to do!

It's a lot, tho, honestly. Haven't decided entirely what I think -- we'll have to ride in it to really see. We're also trying a new bit on this bridle, since the hackamore proved to be a total fail (womp lol). All in the name of experimentation, I suppose!

Anyway, hope you all had a nice weekend, or least eventful in better ways! Lemme know what you think of the bridle in the comments tho haha, for better or worse!