Recovery

Cupid's made a lot progress towards recovery in the past week.  The wound is now pretty much a large scab, it looks like it will close up without needing to cauterize!  He did get a little laser therapy last week, but the technician said at this point it may not have much effect on the wound but it could help bring down the lump/swelling still around it.

Cupid has had a lot of energy the past few days.  I've also noticed he has gotten a lot more assertive with other horses.  He was always very friendly and liked to go meet other horses, stretching his nose out to them but always keeping his head pretty low.  Now he is more playful and nippy, and tries to keep his head over the other horse's.

A saddle fitter was at the barn this weekend, so I figured I'd take a look at some dressage saddles since I sold mine recently.  She spent a lot of time measuring Cupid, and remarked how well behaved he was.  But when I took him on the ring and got on, he was super hyper.  I've only been on him a handful of times over the past month, plus the weather had turned cool again after a sunny week, plus the arena had a bit of activity.  So I sat in two saddles, but I couldn't really say anything about them because I was too busy trying to keep Cupid from freaking out to pay attention.  All I could say is that the saddles didn't get in my way, and I felt okay even though Cupid was jigging all over the place.  I felt kind of like how I imagine parents feel when their kids throw tantrums in public!  But the saddle fitter is going to give me the 2 saddles on trial so I can get a better feel for them.

County Competitor

This morning I got on Cupid and we just walked around the property.  He was perfect, stayed relaxed throughout.  We just trotted a few steps.

Healing

Cupid has been slowly healing and thankfully has not had any setbacks thus far.  Over the past 2 weeks the wound gradually filled in with granulation tissue.  Over the last few days it started looking like it's closing up.  I don't know for sure whether we will have to cauterize it or not.

Cupid has continued being a good patient, but does run around and buck when I let him out.  He really wants friends to play with!  If he sees other horses across the fence he will run along the fence and buck or rear up in front of them to try to get them to play!  Most horses ignore him, but every once in a while he gets one to run along the fence on the other side and I think it makes him happy!  

Look at me!  Look how much fun I'm having!  Come play with me!!

Wheee!!!

 

Finally someone will play with me!!

I've gotten on him just to walk around a few times.  Two days ago when I did he was very nervous.  It was a little windy, but I'm not sure if that's why.  We were on a little trail he'd been down a hundred times before.  I could tell he was getting a little anxious, then he started prancing a little and I tried asking him to bend one way then another to get his focus back.  He was just getting worse, then he started popping up a bit on his front legs (hardly an inch) - I decided to just get off and walk him.  But he was spooky and nervous and just chomping on the bit.  I did some groundwork exercises, and he did them but he was not happy.  Every time he got silly I would turn him and walk him the other way, but he just would not relax.  I spent about 45 minutes trying to get him to settle.  I'm still not sure why he was so nervous.

Last week I had a lesson on a different horse.  It felt strange, but it was definitely good for me!  The horse was very nice, and also a little lazy.  But I was a little nervous because I haven't ridden a horse other than Cupid in a while, and I just didn't know what to expect.  This horse was a lot bigger than Cupid, turning him was very different so I had to adjust.  We just did basic walk/trot/canter, and by the end of it I was starting to get used to him a little. 

Bobbing for Apples

I tried a new toy for Cupid, making a hole through a large apple and hanging it in from his stall.  It was funny watching him try to take a bite, but he pretty quickly figured out how to pin it against the bars so he can eat it. 

Cupid saw the vet on Friday, and apparently his healing is right on track.  Unfortunately we still have several weeks to go still.  The vet clipped the hair around wound, and though Cupid did not enjoy it he was good about standing.  The vet said we would probably have to cauterize the wound.  I was expecting this, since we did it last time with an almost identical wound.  He also said that a little light riding at a walk wouldn't slow down recovery, just keep it bandaged.

So on Friday afternoon I saddled up for a 15 minute walk around the property.  That was the plan anyways; it ended up being 10 minutes of prancing then 5 minutes walking after Cupid finally settled down.  We had a few iffy moments there, but I tried to sit up and keep my leg on and keep going.  Finally Cupid relaxed and remembered being ridden wasn't such a big deal.

It rained this weekend, and even snowed/hailed a little.  Cupid didn't mind getting hailed on when I brought him out for some grass.  The paddocks had been drying up, but unfortunately now they are pretty muddy again so I won't be able to turn Cupid out because I don't want to risk an infection.

Playtime

Cupid has been on stall rest since his injury.  So far he has been behaving very good, but he is getting a little pent up energy.  I walk him/let him graze at lease twice a day, before and after work.  My trainer has taken him too.  I've turned him out for 10 or so minutes into a small paddock, and he gets excited running around and bucking.  Here are some pictures of him frolicking. 

He has been very good about letting me clean the wound and wrap his leg.  But twice I've found him in the morning with his bandages off.  I've never seen him trying to undo it, but they looked secure the night before when I left so I'm not sure what's happening.  Yesterday I added an extra layer of duct tape over the velcro, and this morning it was still on.  He gnawed at one of the wraps that came off, and his cooler blanket, making a series of small teeth holes almost like mice had gotten to it!

Another Injury!!??

My hopes that Cupid would grow out of his accident prone-ness have not materialized, as on Friday morning I found him with another deep gash on his leg.  I'm not sure how he could have hurt himself in his stall (caught himself scrambling to stand up maybe?)  It's possible he could have done it in turnout, but I think the barn staff would have noticed when they were bringing him in.  And it still looked pretty fresh.  Who knows?

Cupid's fan club

I was planning on going for a quick ride before work, perhaps just hack around the property since it was finally dry.  Early morning it is pretty dim in his stall.  I started brushing him, and when I got to his leg he kept picking it up.  He is pretty sensitive, but this seemed unusual so I grabbed a light and was aghast when I saw the large wound, almost the same spot he injured it 2 years ago.  I cleaned and bandaged it, and called the vet.  The vet came after I left, and said it was unstitchable but gave Cupid a steroid shot for the swelling and an antibiotic shot, plus left me anti-inflammatory (dexamethasone) and antibiotic medication (uniprim) to give him the next several days. 

So Cupid has spent the last few days in his stall, just coming out for light walks and grazing as often as I can.  So far he has been a model patient, very good about letting me clean and wrap his leg.  I usually do it while he eats his grain, so that probably helps. :p

At least there is plenty of grass!

Today I got to the barn early, and discovered a broken water pipe!  The aisle was under several inches water, but luckily the stalls are raised a little and stayed dry.  The barn staff made swift work of getting the water out.

Cupid is the further dark bay on the left

Recap

A recap of our last week:

Thursday: Raining.  Had a lesson.  Since it was hard to hear in the arena with the rain on the metal roof, we started out with me doing my normal warm up (start with a little walk each direction, then add shallow loops, then move up to trot with some circles and loops and working on a little bending) with my trainer observing, and then offering suggestions.  She liked what I did but said that after the first few laps around I need to make sure I have Cupid going more forward.  We went over poles, and then ended with a small crossrail.

Friday: Raining.  Took the day off.  No turnout.

Saturday: Not raining!  Got to the barn a little later, had Cupid tacked up around 9:30 and the arena was a madhouse.  With all the activity and him being kept in the last 24 hours he was a little lit up.  We started walking around, trying to get him to focus and relax but he was just getting more amped up, which made me tense.  I tried getting on a circle and trotting with my inside leg on, but it was hard with all the people in the arena and Cupid just got more keyed up.  I decided to get off for a bit and do a little groundwork outside the ring.  We walked around the property around 20 minutes doing halts, yielding the haunches, backing up, and a little jogging in hand.  Cupid was very good. 

We went back into the arena, there were still a lot of riders plus someone with the audacity to take up a good chunk of the arena lunging their bucking horse.  X(  I was trying to remain calm as I got back on.  We kept it simple, trotting circles and a few figure 8s.  Cupid was a little quick but overall I thought he was good.

Sunday: Not raining, but very windy!  Only one other person in the arena, yay!  I did 5 minutes of trotting in 2 point, which my trainer recommended for improving my leg.  I'm supposed to work up to about 5 minutes each direction.  Cupid had one little spook when the wind really rattled the plastic siding of the arena, but it wasn't too bad.  He got very upset when the other horse left.  He still listened to me and did what I asked, but he screamed non-stop, a shrill little baby scream.  This isn't even a horse that is in his pasture, but they walked side by side a few minutes while his owner and I chatted.  We just did basic walk, trot, and canter.

Monday: Not raining, and I had the day off work.  Yay :)  We trotted and cantered over a ground pole.  It was good at the trot, but I still have a problem getting ahead at the canter.  We also practiced leg yielding.  It started out a little rough, but once Cupid realized what we were doing he responded.

Crazy winds overnight blew some branches down

Tuesday:  Raining.  Lesson.  Cupid started out a little lazy, but warmed up out of it and we had a great flatwork session.  We practiced our hand gallop.  I had to work hard, Cupid wasn't too keen on going that fast.  (Good boy!)  I still have a tendency to pump with my arms, it's such a habit I don't even notice.  My trainer laid out 3 poles and we trotted over a few times each direction.  Then she moved them further apart and we cantered over them.  Cupid got a little quicker when we were cantering, especially to the left, so I really tried to make sure I was sitting up.

Wednesday:  Not raining.  We took the day off.

Thursday:  Not raining, but very cold.  (37 degrees when I arrived at the barn, only warmed up to 41 when I left!)  Lesson.  Cupid had some energy, but was not being too quick.  Flatwork focused mainly on me sitting up straight (I tend to collapse through my ribcage), shoulders over hips.  And also toes pointing forward and not too far through the stirrup.  We ended the lesson by trotting over a tiny crossrail, with 2 other horses in the arena.  I was worried Cupid would be distracted, but I think it bothers me more than him.

Mud pit

Happy birthday Cupid!!

Cupid is 6 years old today!!  Even though he has no idea why, he got extra treats today. :p

Birthday boy

Birthday treat

He still had to work though, we had a lesson this morning.  We started off a little lazy, I had to work a little to get him going but he seemed like he was feeling okay.  My trainer reminded me that he is due to see the chiropractor.  I worked on trying to just squeeze with my calves instead of kick with my heels/bring my heels up.  I also focused on my hands, often times one of them will just float up or out, or twist at the wrist.  My trainer reminded me my whip should be pointing down, and if it's not my wrist isn't straight. 

We did a little canter to loosen up. My trainer encouraged me to get him going in a bit of a hand gallop down the long sides (using my legs not pumping with my upper body!) 

Next up was some pole work.  We started with three trot poles, and Cupid went through smoothly each direction.  Then we did a little pole pile at the canter, working in some walk-canter transitions.   I focused on sitting upright - it's just a pole so I don't need to come into two point!  We did a good job at coming to the base of the pole.  Then my trainer moved the poles out, so we bounced through three poles.  A few times Cupid got a little quick going through, somehow the three poles seemed to make it a lot more exciting for him.  I tried to remain upright, even thinking of leaning back - which gets me pretty straight even though it feels like I'm behind the vertical I'm not!  We had a little added distraction of people moving jumps just outside the arena, but Cupid was good.

Yesterday we lunged in the round pen.  Cupid hadn't been there in a while, and had a lot of energy bucking and crow hopping around!  Initially I had him off the line, but I thought I better put it on before he hurts himself!  I'm not sure why he was so fired up.

Last Friday and Sunday we did some conditioning work for both of us - 5 minutes of trotting in 2 point, and cantering a few minutes each direction.  On Sunday we also did a little walk around the property, which we haven't done in a while since it had been so muddy.  We had a nice little break from the rain, but it's supposed to be back tomorrow night. :/