WW: Big Bend National Park

All photos courtesy of R. Heard, because I suck at taking pics.

Moonrise over the mountains (we called these the Bacon Mountains lol)

There's a marsh in a bend of the Rio Grande where we saw this guy, some nutria, and a great blue heron.

This ammonite we found on a hike was about 18 inches in diameter 

Creek in the Chisos mountains. It had snowed the week before so the desert was blooming and there was actual running water!

Really pissed off 5 foot rattlesnake in the Chisos mountains

More Chisos mountains scenery

We even saw a mother black bear and her cub!

Really cool clouds

Desert panorama

Flowering yucca

St. Elena canyon. US is on the right, Mexico is on the left.

More desert panorama

XL grasshopper

Hiking into St. Elena canyon on the west side of the park

Sunset over the Rio Grande

Re-starting a young horse with a "classical" cavesson instead of a bit

When Leo came to us last September, we knew he had decent gaits, 60 days at a colt starter, and he was very spooky and reactive. The first time I went to saddle him, he about had a meltdown over the saddle pad. He was terrified of the mounting block. He wouldn't move once you got on, and when you finally got his feet unstuck, he tended to scoot if you were the teeniest bit unbalanced. He also chewed the bit like it was his job. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP.

Pre-haircut days. He's now sporting a mohawk because I just could not with that mane.

Never having had such a young horse before, we were at a bit of a loss of how to approach things. My husband was gone quite a lot last fall and I wouldn't get on Leo unless someone was there (important for dialing 911, you know), so I ended up doing a lot of in-hand work. Walking, stopping, backing in hand. Trotting in hand (that was mind-blowing, omg). Turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches. Hanging out by the mounting block. Leg-yielding in hand. Anything I could think of, we did it in hand.

Once he figured out I had an endless supply of cookies and scratches, he also "helped" with the chores.

Initially, I used a halter, but I quickly decided I wanted something a little more refined. Last year when we visited Sweden, I'd picked up a cavesson to play with. It's not at all like the longing cavessons we have in the US, although you can use it for longing. It's a bit more like a bosal that western riders often use to start their young horses. It has a bicycle chain over the nose, but it's extremely padded (I only figured out it has a chain in there because I squished it really hard to see if there was any metal in the middle - there are also cavessons made with a solid metal noseband, so this one is quite gentle). It's made to fit snugly, and it doesn't rotate like a halter can.

As a bit of an aside - apparently in the 16th century (and possibly earlier), horses were often started in a cavesson, which could have been anything from a rope nose to a two or three part serrated metal nose (modernly these are called serratas and seem to be used on bullfighting horses, google at your own risk). Trainers were supposed to teach the horse to stop, turn, steer, etc. with a cavesson before putting a bit on the horse, to save his mouth. The bit was gradually introduced, along with the cavesson, and then eventually the cavesson was removed entirely and the horse went solely in a bit.

Rope cavesson from de Pluvinel (c. 1623)

Modern serrata. I've seen Iberian horses (in Europe) with scars from these, so they are definitely still used. :(

I figured there was not only historical precedence for this arrangement, but I also know several folks who have started their "classical" horses in a soft cavesson and then transitioned to a bit. Clearly, Leo was not super happy about a bit, for whatever reason, so we took the bit out of the equation and worked with the cavesson alone. That actually went really well - he was able to relax, and we worked on the basics of How to Horse (stopping and turning on request is important, yo).

Cavesson and bit in action

About a month ago, we decided to go ahead and start riding him with a bit as well. Of course his favorite bit is the French link Neu Scheule off Taran's double (couldn't go with the cheap option, could you Leo?) I just stuck the bradoon hanger under the cavesson, and volia! Fancy baby horse transition bridle.

Just the bradoon

Cavesson over bradoon

Here's what the whole thing looks like. I'm actually getting used to handling the double reins!

I'm very glad I had a chance to play with this option, because it's working great for Leo. At the beginning of the ride, I use the cavesson exclusively, and I pick up a little more feel on the snaffle as the ride progresses. He's able to get used to carrying the bit without actually having it do anything, which seems to be helping with his acceptance of it. 

Sometimes he even looks quite fancy and grown-up!

Have you ever used a cavesson before, either to start a young horse or as a bitless option? Curious to hear about your experiences!

Things horses do when on vacation

Taran's got a couple of weeks off with some light work while we wait for his second ProStride injection, this one in his RF coffin joint, to take full effect. I opted to bring him home to hang with his Haffies, because let's be real, boarding is $$$$$.

T has been living life to the fullest. Daily activities include:

Sharing hay with Leo (he's only stalled at feeding time and at night so he can eat all his alfalfa, but he likes to share hay over the stall door so he can visit)

Hanging with Paddy.

Looking snuggly AF in his Canadian winter wardrobe while nomming hay.

Licking the manhole cover in his pasture. Weird horse is weird, y'all.

I don't even know where he found this mud puddle but I washed this blanket THE DAY BEFORE. 

Testing out the heated water trough. He definitely approves and I've notice overall water intake has gone WAY up for everyone, so if you can heat your trough in the winter, DO IT (1)

And of course, grooming with Paddy at every opportunity! I love watching herd dynamics and these two make my heart melt. So cute!

I know lots of the US has had really bad weather this last weekend... if your horses are on vacay, what are they up to? 

1) No seriously, heating water works. http://extension.udel.edu/equine/2012/12/05/winter-water-for-horses/

WW: Unattended cookies

I don't think I ever introduced Logan, but he's our Craigslist Husky that we adopted after Elias passed away last Christmas. He's everything you'd ever want in a Husky - adorable and annoying, but oddly not very talkative (unless tacos are involved).

Actually a rare Siberian Taco Hound, who knew?

He's always on the lookout for a sucker person to pet him. My mom is a good target.

Does this count as interspecies snorgling?

Um-hello-the-alarm-went-off-2-seconds-ago-are-you-getting-up-yet? 

Dashing Christmas Doggo

And my personal favorite:

Excuse me but have you noticed these unattended cookies next to you on the couch? 

Theraplate: cures everything or not so much?

My trainer has one of those fancy Theraplate thingies at her barn. If you believe what the company says, using it will cure everything from a headache to cancer (1). If you're a skeptic... well, to be fair, there's a LOT to be skeptical about (2).

We've been putting T on it now and then in hopes of increasing the blood flow to his feet, which in theory should help improve his sole depth (note that getting lots of movement and having a heel-first landing will do the same thing). The thing is, he's had some weird experiences on the Theraplate that makes me a little skeptical about it.

How about we just have alfalfa and skip the theraplate?

At first, he'd hop on and hang out, but then he fell off it a few times partway through the session. Eventually he broke his halter, so we decided he needed adult supervision while on the Theraplate ride.

Oops.

We added a tub of alfalfa in front of him (which he didn't eat), and a little side railing to keep him from leaving. I watched him a couple of times, and as soon as I turned it off, he sort of staggered right off to the side. He didn't seem to be particularly enjoying it, but he's a stoic guy and puts up with a lot.

I decided to try it for myself, and after three minutes I felt a little dizzy. When I got off, my legs from the knee down were sort of "buzzing," and my feet felt kind of like they weren't quite attached. If it has the same effect on horses, I completely understand why Taran did what he did.

Not the face of happiness and joy.

So, no more Theraplate for the Wonderpony. Maybe it works for some horses and people (there are a couple of folks at the barn that LOVE it for themselves), but I think we're going to stay away from it.

Have you tried a Theraplate? Have you used it for your horse? What were your experiences?

(1) https://www.theraplate.com/
(2) https://www.doctorramey.com/shake-rattle-roll/

ProStride joint injections for the Cushings horse

One of the many fun things about having a Cushings horse is the long list of drugs you cannot give them. High up on this list are steroids of any kind. You see, Cushings causes the over production of glucocorticoids, which are steroid hormones involved in metabolism (1). Administering additional steroids to a metabolic horse who cannot properly regulate can induce laminitis (steroids can actually cause laminitis in any horse, but metabolic horses are more susceptible). Sadly, steroid-induced laminitis usually rapidly progresses to acute founder, so use of any steroids is strongly contra-indicated for metabolic horses (2).

Also strongly contra-indicated: having your dressage horse try to throw himself down the 15 foot bank and into the river. 

And do you know what's in those lovely joint injections that help many older horses? Steroids (and hyaluronic acid, but details).

So when Taran came up off on the right front and it blocked to the coffin joint, injecting the joint seemed like a good option... just, not with steroids. A couple of years ago, we would have been stuck with either retiring him or trying steroidal injections and hoping he didn't have a laminitic episode, but these days we have other options.

Having lots of blanket options is also good, so you can wear your fluffy 400g fill when it's under 50 degrees.

There's a technique called ProStride (yes it's trademarked) that's actually IRAP + PRP, plus some HA mixed in for good measure. They can spin down your horse's blood in about 20 minutes right at the barn, and the injection is done immediately. It does take 2-3 weeks to see the full effect, but it supposedly lasts up to a year or more, which is much longer than traditional steroidal injections (3, 4).

The down side, of course, is cost. Traditional steroidal injections have run me $130-150, not including farm call and tranqs to do the injection. ProStride was $500 for the injection alone.

Fortunately this dual-use mane comb/horse scratcher was only $0.50, so obviously I had money for injections.

But honestly? I wasn't willing to risk possible laminitis/founder that a traditional joint injection would bring. If that had been our only option, I would have just retired him. It's just not worth it.

The good news is that at our 3 week recheck, he's sound on the left front. The bad news is that he's now off on the RIGHT front. To be fair, that's the foot that had the nail through both the navicular and the coffin joint back in 2011, and it's been about 2 years since we injected it, so he's definitely due. So... fingers crossed that after 2-3 weeks he'll be back to 100%, because we're BOTH going stir-crazy!

Whoa there buddy.

1. https://thehorse.com/129313/cushings-disease-in-horses/
2. http://www.laminitis.org/laminitis.html
3. http://virginiaequinepllc.com/exciting-new-joint-therapy-prostride/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24471750

WW: Why I didn't ride

I drove out to the barn the other day to ride, but when I arrived T was out for the count:

Gah when they rest their noses on the ground it's just SO CUTE!

If there's one thing I never disturb, it's a sleepink poneh. I sat in the car and read a book for almost 45 minutes, waiting for him to wake up, but he just continued to nap. I finally gave up and went to run errands.

*insert snoring noises here*

A friend was out riding and told me that T finally got up about 30 minutes after I'd left. I guess he was partying pretty hard the night before and needed his beauty rest!