Retirement time?

Harley is almost completely sound now, physically.  Mentally, he is not doing as well.  Since I can only ride him on good footing because of the ringbone, and not on hard ground, that means riding in rings.  He hates being in a ring.  So now I have a dilemma.  Do I make him work in a ring, which makes him angry and potentially unsafe, or do I let him retire to a nice big pasture, hopefully in a place that has some trails that aren't really hard ground?

Or do I wait and see if his attitude improves?  Is he really angry, or just being uncooperative because he doesn't want to work?  Or is he feeling pain and only showing it when we are in a ring?  Or is his feisty attitude a result of a new supplement I started him on a few weeks ago, to help with his legs?  And, is it the supplement that has made him so sound, and if I take him off of it to improve his attitude, will his lameness return?  Or is he just being feisty because he feels better? 

Going to let him loose in a ring so he can run and buck, maybe get some of it out of his system, and hopefully he won't come up lame afterwards.  Will also take him off the new supplement and see what happens.  Film at 11.......

The Treatment Program

2-25-12:  Harley has new shoes which are rolled in the front, and we are gradually raising his heels.  He has received 2 rounds of Shockwave therapy on his left front pastern and 1 on the right.  Today he got his second shot of Pentosan.  This evening, 10 hours later, there was a marked improvement in his left front!  Hoping and praying that the combination of treatments will bring him at least to a point where we can walk, trot and canter on good footing.  Not sure if there will be any jumping in his future, but that's okay.  If he's improved this much after only 2 shots, he may be sounder than ever before after the next 2 loading doses.  Then he goes on monthly shots.  Hard to tell if the Shockwave has helped, since he was on Bute when he got his first treatment, and had already started the Pentosan when he got the second treatment.  But throwing everything at his legs hoping one or the other or both will help. 

Film at 11..........

Ringbone and Navicular.......dang.........

1-20-13:  Harley's lameness issues became more chronic over the past couple of months, although he was almost always sound walking straight. The lameness only showed up when he turned sharply. I had the vet out to do his teeth a week ago, and Harley came out of his stall quite lame. 2 days ago, the vet came back and did nerve blocks on his front feet/legs and took x-rays. Harley has some navicular changes in his right front foot, and ringbone in his left front pastern (due to his toeing in on that foot). There is also some very slight ringbone in the right front.  So much for the sore shoulder theory. The good news is that with Bute, Pentosan and corrective shoeing, Harley will be much more comfortable.

2-24-13 Update:  After a week on bute twice a day, Harley is completely sound.  Now he is on bute once a day.  He will get new special shoes next week, which will help even more.  I also now have the option of shockwave therapy, courtesy of Dr. Jenny Johnson, Harley's chiropractor/vet.  She needs to see his x-rays first, and then we will decide.  She has had very good success with shockwave treatment for ringbone, and may possibly be able to use it to treat his navicular.  I'm very optimistic about Harley's future.  The goal is to keep him pain free, and to slow down the progress of both conditions.  Either way, he will be a much happier pony!

It will be interesting to ride him once he's on his meds and his new shoes are on.  I'm just very glad to finally know what the problem is and to deal with it.  I'm sure Harley is glad too!

A Little More Progress.....

Harley seems calmer in a ring now.  I have to ride him on a very light contact, and when I ask for trot I can't use my legs, only my voice, but he has been trotting calmly in rings that before he didn't want to walk in.  We're also working in the round pen again, only now it's an open round pen, not the enclosed bull pen we used before.  He has thrown a couple tantrums in the beginning, hoping I'll feel bad and take him out.  But it's not working, and he eventually gives up and behaves himself.  He's a tester, an envelope pusher, and he has a strong spirit so he's not one to give up easily, but he's also extremely smart so I have to be smarter.  Baby steps.

Harley has also begun tormenting mares in the grooming stall next to his stall.  He mashes his face against the wire mesh and sticks his tongue through it, knowing they can't get to him and enjoying the ear pinning, teeth gnashing, hind leg kicking and squealing that he creates.  He thinks it's funny.  And considering that these are mares who try to bite his face off whenever he gets too close, it is funny :)  Never had a horse with a sense of humor before.  But then, Harley is special.....

Another Piece of the Puzzle

Harley is complicated.  Always will be.  He's like a jigsaw puzzle in a box, with pieces missing.  Some might be on the floor, under the table.  With Harley, I think some pieces are just gone.  That's okay.  I'll work with the pieces I have.  He's so worth it. 

It seems Harley has been having some tummy upset from his supplements.  He was on a hoof and coat supplement and started getting moody.  Took him off it and much happier.  So now nothing but joint meds and probiotics to keep his tummy happy. 

Still not convinced he wants to be ridden in a ring, may be too much damage done in the past.  Had a wonderful trot on him yesterday around the ranch.  Still wish there were more trails off site.  Doing some hard thinking about that.  In the meantime, my goal is to have Harley feeling good, physically and mentally.  Like this.....

Three Months of Discovery

In the past 3 months, Harley has improved somewhat being ridden in a ring.  I finally found a saddle/maker fitter who reflocked my saddle to fit Harley perfectly, and he is much happier.  I suspect that some of the saddle issues were connected to the abuse he endured from the dressage trainer who had him a few months before I bought him.  I think Harley equates saddle discomfort with the abuse, so his saddle needs to fit exactly.  Now it does. 

So, after 3 months of watching him closely, I don't know if Harley will ever be happy working in a ring.  Out on the roads and trails, he's completely happy.  When I ride him in a ring, I can tell he'd rather be anywhere else.  He's been that way for most of the 3 years I've had him.  I haven't cantered him in almost 2 years.  I want to canter my horse.  I could do that on a trail, but there aren't any near where I board him.  Big problem.

I'll give it a couple more months and see if he is any happier doing ring work.  Maybe if I can start jumping him a little, he'll relax.  Perhaps he just hates flat work.  It is rather boring, after all ;)

Decisions, Decisions...

One of the biggest issues Harley has had in the past is impulse control.  He would get upset and just explode, thinking something horrible and out of his control was going to happen.  I think what has made the most positive impact on this issue was in working him at liberty in the big ring.  He was able to make choices on his own, good or bad, without any negative consequences.  Given the choice, most horses will choose to do the right thing, although not without trying a few wrong things first ;) 

Harley began making good choices when he realized he could just walk away from me rather than circling around me.  Instead of chasing him down, or driving him into a gallop to punish him, I simply waited for him to come back.  Once he realized I was not going to run after him, or worse, punish him for walking away, he would come back to me, sometimes the entire length of the ring from about 100 feet away.  I would act like nothing had happened and just continue working him in a circle around me.  After a few quiet circles at the walk, I would call him in to me, tell him he was a superstar, and we were done.

Being allowed to make his own decisions gave Harley confidence, and removed his fears of failure and punishment.  It also made him feel safe, knowing that no matter what, nothing bad would happen.  It also taught him to respect me as the leader, because I did not react to his incorrect decisions, but highly praised the good ones.  I feel like I'm seeing the real, original, "the way he was meant to be" Harley for the first time, and it's wonderful!