Checking Boxes

I keep getting busy and disappearing from the blogosphere. It feels like I'm a little bit living a lie with TC scoring so well in shows and then being so tricky at home with his condition and his throughness. I mean, he isn't lame, he loves getting out and doing his job. He just doesn't look as well muscled as he should for this level, that's really all it is. But it's consuming me. It's probably misplaced pandemic stress, to be perfectly honest. I can't control anything but I can control how my horse is looking maybe?

Some good moments among other not so good moments

We did get more news this last week from the vet. TC does not have EPSM. So with the last vet check, we've ruled out everything except ulcers. It's time to just give the ulcerguard time to work. I'll also be doing his first round of adequan (7 doses every 4 days) when I can get off my ass and order it.

He is 8 days into his ulcerguard and is feeling pretty good actually. Way more energetic and we haven't had a moment of me having to have it out with him about moving forward off my leg. We HAVE had a day (Sunday) where he was so unbelievably nutty in front of my leg yet low tone that I had no ability to ride him. So that wasn't great. He got yesterday off so hopefully today he's going to use his energy for good.

See, we get moments where he looks almost normal again

Two days after the show, TC showed his classic weakness in his left hind leg. He worked right out of it within a circle or two of trot and has been sound ever since. But it got me thinking.

Back in late 2016, TC came up lame in his left hind and the vet came out to find that it was a stifle weakness. TC had been an avid hill climber as a young horse, we did lots of hills until he got injured in December 2015. Then he was off from hills for a year and he started showing his stifle weakness.

Then we trail rode a lot in 2017 in an effort to try to get him off the property more. It wasn't a ton but he did climb hills semi-regularly. He showed no hind end weakness that year. In March of 2018, we moved to the flat lands outside of Sacramento and abruptly stopped hill work. He showed the stifle weakness in September 2018.

In 2019, TC hated his boarding barn, so we trail rode a ton and he was strong and sound as ever. We continued that into the fall and started back up in spring 2020. With shelter in place, the only way I could really have a good day was to go out on the trails, so we went out a bit.

Then with horse shows starting up, we stopped trail riding in an effort to take more lessons. And now a stifle weakness again.

Learning to be shorter in his body

So I think the horse is telling me he needs hill work! So we went out on the trails on Friday afternoon and it was wonderful. I had TC lower his neck as he climbed up the hills and asked him to sit down a bit more as he climbed down. Not all the time, just enough to make me feel good that he's working the right muscles while out there.

He tripped behind a couple of times at the end, which told me that he was a bit weak. We'll do this same trail (about 4 miles) for a while until he feels strong, then we'll go on longer ones sometimes.

For the hind end, I've also been asking him to rein back up the little mounds that used to be a bank complex in the field at our barn. And I'm putting sore no more on his weak stifle before work, and sore no more on both stifles, all tendons, hocks, and his back/neck after work. 

The sweetest

At this point, I think I'm doing everything I can do. I don't know what else there is to do, really. I think we're now going to play the waiting game to see how all of this is going to help him out. Then we'll reevaluate.

I think I'm seeing a glimmer of hope with his condition. After he works, he's showing really good muscle over his topline. Still not what I'd expect at his level, and there are still some "yikes" moments while we're riding, but I do see a difference now. Fingers crossed that he continues to improve and that I can stop obsessing over him and move onto the next thing to obsess over.

I'm really absolutely done with this covid thing, ugh. Wear your fucking masks.