Switching Sides

It's commonly discussed that horses have a good and bad side, or stiff and hollow side. But what happens when those sides seem to switch?

Generally, going to the left is Kachina's hard way. The left is the the direction where I fight to get her to turn and where she has a tendency to be counter-bent to the outside. However, on my last ride, it was the opposite. Kachina did really well to the left and we struggled a lot more getting the bend to the right. 

I did wonder if our recent chiropractor appointment had caused this change, but she has had other rides in the past where randomly she would go better to the left (like at the first show this year). I like to think that the switching means that Kachina and I are fairly balanced so each side has good days and bad days, but I have no idea if that is actually true. It could also be that our problems to the right and the left are caused by completely different issues and she does have a consistently stiff side.

Have you ever experienced having the left the bad side some days and then having the right be the bad side on other days? Any thoughts on the reason?

Chiro Time

Yesterday Kachina saw the chiropractor. This was a first for both of us.
(Disclaimer, because chiropractic care is new to me, take all my descriptions with a giant grain of salt)

You get flower pictures from my garden instead
Love the little wild pansies, even if they are technically weeds
They were the first things to bloom in my garden this year

I've mentioned before that Kachina has a tendency to open her mouth and twist her head. She does it when I ride, but she also does it in a halter, so it's not a bit problem. I've had two different vets and an equine dentist look at her and they didn't find anything. It may just be a behavioral thing, and if it is, that's fine. However, I want to fully rule out any pain or physical reason, so I figured chiro was worth a shot.

Flowers under snow a few weeks ago

We hauled to the local rodeo grounds to meet with Dr. A, who is both an animal and human chiropractor. I learned my lesson with the equine dentist, and did a full check of her qualifications and what they include. Dr. A has a huge amount of training under her belt and has the certification that actually means something. She also is firm in her opinion that chiro must go hand-in-hand with vet care, it's not a replacement for vet care, I appreciate that.

Robin on our fence

I expected that the session would take place in a stall, but we ended up doing it in the open space outside in front of the barn. That meant my hands were pretty full holding Kachina so I wasn't able to take any photos.

More wild pansies

Kachina was pretty well behaved, she didn't seem to mind anything the chiropractor was doing. However, standing is not her forte and so there were a few times where she moved off and some circling was required to get her to stand again. Dr. A didn't make a big deal out of it and was patient which I appreciated.

And even more, love the variety

Dr. A started by rubbing some pressure points on Kachina's hindquarters which immediately made Kachina lift up her whole back quite dramatically. Apparently she showed good reaction and range of motion. Dr. A then started work on the back end of her spine. She explained that Kachina was pretty good in the lumbar area, but was off in her sacrum. Her sacrum vertebrae were apparently tilted to the side, which allowed her to spine to bend right but not left (this would match up with Kachina's tight and loose side while riding). She did some adjustments there. Kachina was also apparently quite tender in the tail head. After working on the back end, Dr. A moved forward. No issues were found in the mid-back or shoulders, and just one adjustment was needed in the withers.

White lilacs in bloom

Dr. A then came right up to the head and worked the rest of the way back from there. Kachina was out in her C1 vertebrae so that was adjusted. It sounds like with poll issues, the C2 vertebrae plus something in front of the C1 can also be out, but with Kachina it was just the C1 so that's good. Dr. A then got Kachina to bend her neck in each direction and she found something out in her mid-neck.

Dr. A finished by doing a tail pull and putting pressure on her jaw in a way that is relaxing for the horse. Kachina must have thought it felt good because her eyes started to droop and it looked like she was going to fall asleep!

Purple lilacs - they smell amazing

The overall verdict as I understand it, is that the mid-neck and C1 issues could explain her weird mouth opening. The front end issues are probably a result of her overcompensating for the sacrum area being out.

These tulips were such a nice surprise
(we moved into the house in fall last year, so didn't know they were here)

After the adjustments, we were standing there chatting and Kachina had 6-7 big yawns back to back so it seems like the chiro work did something for her. I'm going riding this afternoon so I'm interested to see if I feel any differences.

No idea what these are, but they're pretty

Dr. A has a policy that for first-time patients she likes to do a minimum of 3 appointments, so we'll be going back next Tuesday for #2. My plan is to do the 3 appointments and see how that goes. What I'm not sure of is how often follow-up appointments should be going forward, or if follow-ups are required, any suggestions?

Sweet little white flowers

Entered

Well it's official, I just sent in my entries for the first recognized show of my season.

Claresholm Bronze Show, I'm looking at you, June 11-12th, 2016!

I've been thinking about it, and even though it's been 7 years since I started to change my focus to dressage, this will be my first recognized dressage show ever!

When I started dressage with Ellie, we lived in an area with some really good quality schooling shows so I just did those (I also didn't fully comprehend the differences between recognized and unrecognized shows at the time). Then, with work, founder, moving, and changing horses, I was sidelined from showing for three years. I tried to do one Bronze show towards the end of last summer but Kachina came up lame right before it and I had to scratch.

Anyways, I am entered now so the pressure is on! I have four and a half weeks until the show, so a fair bit of time, but also a lot to work on!

Sorry, no new media, so posting this photo again because I like it

The real challenge is that I've mostly been showing Walk/Trot this year so far, but this show doesn't offer Walk/Trot so I am making a forced move up to Training level. I think it's good actually, gives me a little more motivation to really work on that canter because I know we can get it better.

I'm entered in Training 1, Training 2, Training 3 as an AA (Adult Amateur). I'm also going to try out the Dressage Equitation class!

Have any of you done Dressage Equitation before? This is the first show I've ever seen it at, and my understanding is that it is a fairly new program started by Equine Canada. It seems like you do both a rail class with other competitors, and get your score from that added to your score from a Training Level test that you do separately. I'm not clear on all the details though so if you have any more information please feel free to share!

Horsey Snuggles

Riding is my happy place. It's where I can fully focus on the horses and push aside any of the other stresses in my life.

Any horse related activity is good, but they aren't all equal. Working hard on bending the horse's ribcage around the inside leg, or adding energy into the collected trot is one kind of therapy. However, for certain situations, nothing beats being able to hug the neck of a special horse and breathe in their horsey smell. For me, that's truly good for my soul.

My last mare Ellie was great at that. I had her for 14 years and she got me through a lot of crappy stuff - middle school bullies, first crush drama (no judging, I got Ellie when I was 11 haha), more serious breakups, moments of not knowing what to do with my life, a disease diagnosis, and even the deaths of family members.

The late, great Ellie

In the saddle, Ellie was not above bolting or trying to buck me off. But on the ground she was solid and I could always count on quality time with her.

Kachina is the opposite. In a lot of ways, she's a horse that I can trust more while riding and do more with. However, she's not a horse who has much patience at all with standing. We've done a lot of work with groundwork and we're improving, but there's a number of days where it's a bit of a fight to get her groomed, saddled, bridled, and led into the arena. The fun doesn't usually start until I mount up. Even in her pen, Kachina is happy to come and say hi or be caught, but she'd rather do a lap of the area instead of standing around for pets or scratches.

On Sunday night, I was having a tough time. I had been feeling sick all day. I had just found out that a couple of my good friends are moving far away. I was stressing out about work. It had been a long, tiring weekend out of town (filled with horses, but not with my horse). I just really wanted some horsey snuggles with Kachina. And you know what? She stepped up. She started walking towards me the second she saw me. She was happy to hang out and let me hug her neck and breathe in her horsey scent. She politely ate all her treats. And she stuck around until I was ready to let her go.

Happy to hang out

Ellie was definitely a heart horse and can never be replaced. Yet, I'm starting to gain a bit of that connection with Kachina and that's pretty awesome. This weekend showed me that I was craving time with My horse, not just any horse time. The ten minutes of horsey snuggles with her made everything else seem okay. Tonight we'll go back to trying to get her bent around my inside leg.

Bonus, semi conformation shot
- I'm really happy with her weight and condition right now
P.S. this is after a week of no grooming, so that shine is all her

How about you? Is it all about the riding for you or is the personal connection with your horse an important piece of the puzzle? How long did it take you to form that bond with your horse? Was it immediate or did it slowly grow over time?

Reserve Champion!

This weekend was the third and final show in the Carrots & Cocktails Dressage series.

I showed in the first two shows (I and II), but I elected not to enter the third show because it's only been three weeks since the last show and a trip to Toronto plus a couple of really busy weeks at work mean that I haven't been able to ride much in between. Also, these shows are super well organized and are at an awesome facility, but they are the most expensive shows of my show season. I didn't feel like it made sense to spend $400 on entry fees and gas to be given all of the same test comments as last time.

I still went to the show though, just not with Kachina. My friend was still showing so I went to help her drive (she can't haul herself yet) and be groom/test reader/moral support/etc.

Anyways, at this final show they announced the Champions for each level from the average of all three shows, and I was there to pick up my Reserve Champion ribbon! Even though I didn't show this time, my scores from the previous shows were high enough to get me second place overall. Yes, it was for the Walk/Trot division, but this is Kachina and I's first year of actually showing together so I'll take it! I neglected to take a close-up photo of the ribbon yet (blogger fail) but it's super pretty and my first tri-colour.

Official Champion photo: credit Carrots & Cocktails, RMSJ
That's me, standing behind the super cute Champion Fjord

Coggins Test

Sigh of relief: Kachina is negative for EIA.

I know that Coggins testing is pretty standard in some areas, but around here I only really knew of people getting it done in order to cross the border with their horses.

Lately however, there has been increased concern about Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) in Alberta and Saskatchewan. There have been a few cases of the disease found in the more northern parts of the provinces, and several shows have recently made the move to requiring a negative Coggins test submitted with entry forms.

For anyone who doesn't know, EIA is a very contagious horse disease with no cure. A horse can be a carrier even if they don't show symptoms, and they will carry it for life. Therefore, a positive Coggins test is essentially a death sentence. All animals testing positive must either be euthanized or live in a very strict quarantine area for life. (note: the Coggins test tests for EIA, that confused me at first)

Photo credit: Flickr star5112 (creative commons)

Because of the increased awareness this year around EIA, I got my vet to do a Coggins test on Kachina at her recent appointment. I knew it was the responsible horse-owner move (plus it is now required for one of my shows this year), but it still started the internal panic cycle. I've only had Kachina for a year and a half, her history is a bit unknown, and she's never been tested before. While I know that the disease is still pretty rare, all of this made part of me terrified that somehow the test would come back positive. Kachina is perfectly healthy, but that's not a guarantee that she isn't a carrier. The last few days have been stressful waiting for the results. Even when I talked to the vet office today, it felt like the tech was taking far too long to actually say the result. Thankfully, the final word was negative! I can now take a deep breath and set the panic button to off.

Horse Keeping Style

There is a huge variation in how horses are kept around the world. I don't think there's necessarily a right answer, and I am willing to modify any of the below if my horse ended up having different needs. This is how Kachina lives right now though:

Home/Living Conditions

Kachina lives in a pen/paddock with two other horses. She is outdoors 24/7 but has a shelter to use if she wants. The pen is 45'x60' so is big enough for them to trot around.

Ideally I would love her to live out in a big pasture. However, the barn I am at only has one big pasture, it is full of cattle at the moment. In the summer, the cows go out to community pasture and horses get the home pasture. However, Kachina still doesn't get to go out there because one of the barn owner's geldings lives out there and he is pretty aggressive. My last mare lived out there because she could stand up for herself, but Kachina would probably get run through a fence and I won't risk that. The lack of pasture space for Kachina is the biggest con about my current barn, but the pros outweigh it for now, and it does have larger pens than the two other places I looked at.

Width of pen, shelter, round bale in econet

Feed

Kachina has 24/7 hay in the form of a slow-feed net on a round bale in her pen. The hay is mostly grass hay but has a bit of alfalfa in it.

I like the slow-feed net for the following reasons:
A) she maintains a good weight
B) I don't have to worry about her being the low horse in the pecking order. Since the hay is there 24/7, there isn't the same competition for food
C) I don't have to worry about pulling her away from her food if I come out to ride at suppertime
D) I have a smaller slow-feed net that I take to shows and so I'm not disrupting her usual way of feeding.
E) Supposed to be better for ulcers, teeth, etc.
F) She has hay at all times if she needs extra to keep warm in the winter

All the pens have access to an automatic heated waterer. There is a salt block in her pen, and the owner of Kachina's pen-mates throws in some Hoffman's Horse Minerals in a couple times a week that Kachina has access to.

Otherwise, that's all. Kachina doesn't get any other kind of feed. At one point she was getting a tiny bit skinny so I supplemented with some senior feed after rides, but she's looking good now so I just let her live on hay.

Blanketing/Clipping

I have a heavy weight winter blanket for Kachina and a rain sheet. I use them when required, but that doesn't end up being very often. I use the winter blanket when it gets consistently below -15C. We had a super mild winter this year though so that was only for a few days (I still can't believe that winter is over, it almost feels like it never came!). She wore the winter blanket more last year. I use the rain sheet for bad combinations of cold rain and wind chills. We don't get much rain though so that also doesn't happen very often.

January 2015

For the rest of the time, Kachina has her natural hair coat. I used to blanket a lot more when I lived farther north, and with my last mare who didn't grow as thick of a winter coat. Kachina grows great winter hair though. Also, where I live now, we get large and fast swings of temperature. It can be -10C at night and warm up to +15C the next day. My barn doesn't blanket, and it doesn't make sense for me to come out multiple times a day to change blankets. I know that Kachina can much better regulate her warmth by flattening and fluffing her own hair, so I let her do that. She also has two other horses to stand with and a shelter to use.

Naked fuzzy pony
(when they get to the bottom of the round bale, they rip the hay out of the bottom)

For the reasons above, I don't clip. With how Kachina lives and our climate, she needs her winter coat. It does mean that I sometimes need to spend 2 hours cooling her out and drying her off after a half hour ride in the winter though.

Feet

Kachina is barefoot all around. She has great feet. I can even ride down gravel roads with her barefoot and she is totally fine. If she needed shoes I would get them, but she doesn't so I am very happy to keep her barefoot.

Back feet, mid-trim

Reasons I like barefoot:
A) don't have to worry about her losing or twisting a shoe
B) she can eat out of her slow-feed hay net and I don't have to worry about her getting a shoe caught on it
C) less snow pack in the winter
D) cheaper

I am looking into the option of hoof boots in case we want to go trail ride in the Rocky Mountains.

Vet/Health Care

Kachina gets dewormed four times a year (by the barn).

She gets annual dental work, vaccinations, and a check up by the vet.

Chilling at the vet clinic, waiting for vaccinations
Her blue eyes look freaky in lots of photos, but this blue/red combo is new

She doesn't regularly get any chiro or body work, but I am getting a chiropractor to come look at her this spring for the first time.


I feel like my horse-keeping style is pretty bare-bones compared to some of the bloggers I read about. How does your horse-keeping style compare? If your horse gets extra care (e.g. custom shoes, indoor board, etc.), is it because your current horse has a special requirement for it, or would you do the same with all horses? What would you do differently if you had no constraints on where you keep your horse?