This has been a crazy week. Two exams, 1 quiz, homework due, and I squeezed in three horse shows, and have autocross tomorrow, too. Next week, 2 more exams and another quiz! The pace of summer school is insane, but I still know I made the right choice versus staying where I was at.
My last blog chronicled the adventures of me and Lar at the Oldham and Franklin County Fairs. I had planned to take Legs to the Grant County Western show in Saturday in a couple hunt seat classes and horsemanship. But she was still a little sore following her last farrier visit and I decided it best to give her more time off. She was trimmed a little shorter than I'd like, but her feet had broken up thanks to stomping at flies (despite her plastic shoes and the daily applications of fly spray the ponies receive) so there wasn't much alternative. Contrary to most navicular horses, she's soundest late into the shoeing cycle and most likely to be sore following being reset. The show had just a few classes that Lar could go in, two in hand and 1 riding, so I thought it wouldn't be too taxing to take him instead.
In hindsight I wish I'd skipped out. He was a good sport, but pretty pooped after the previous two shows this week. When I loaded him up to go home, he just stood at the doorway of the trailer with a "this is the last time for a while, right?" pleading sort of look before I finally coaxed him on. In showmanship, he didn't even want to trot with me, which isn't like him, and I had to use lots of leg to keep him trotting in our pleasure class. I don't think it would have mattered much anyway, since we were a bit out of our element and out of our league at a largely AQHA crowd type of show. The show management decided to allow cross-entering between the WT and WTC classes which they usually don't do at this show, which meant that my WT class was full of trainers on finished horses just looking to cash in on the payback money being offered. We were the only hunter horse amidst a crowd of fancy western pleasure horses. Nope, not gonna be our day.
Placings wise, the show was a total flop. But it did give me some valuable info. I've concluded that 3 shows in 4 days is too many! I'm sure 2 of them being night shows with carnivals was especially tiring for him. It was my first time using his tail extension. Everyone else at the show had one, so when in Rome... The first time I put it in, it didn't look so great; the second time was better, but I'll probably reserve it for more important shows since it was hard not to rip hair out when removing it. I learned that I can do a running braid in just over the time it takes to hold one flat class. I also concluded that Lar looks/does better in hand when presented as a hunter horse. He looks beautiful in his silver show halter, but compared to the real QH, he just doesn't have that heavy muscled stock horse look. Riding wise, the old Lar would have had fits about being ridden when tired. New Lar with nose net trucked on faithfully - he just needed a lot more leg. But he stayed soft, focused, and on the bit. This is HUGE progress over how we were going just a week ago. He has forgotten how to back under saddle this week, so we'll do some refresher work on that - after he's had a few days of R&R to recover from all the showing. I'm looking forward to all of the new progress we can make now that I have a more willing and relaxed partner!
On a side note, I have had four friends lose their horses unexpectedly during the past year (colic, laminitis, EPM complications). It's a sobering reminder to the rest of us to hug our equine friends often and appreciate them for their individuality and all that they give to us while asking so little in return.
This blog chronicles the acquisition, training, and life of my second Standardbred show horse.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Eureka!
Larry's training has continued in much the same fashion as I've reported previously. Small increments of progress, but still a fair amount of frustration. He'll show me glimmers of the good Larry but punctuated still by the horse that refuses to bend, wants to stop every 5 strides, and flips his head in the air or gets tense and wadded up. To stave off the drudgery of walking and trotting in circles every day, I proceeded to try some western with him. He's not half bad even as green as he is, and I can tell that he has the potential to be even better. I think he will have an easier time with the jog than Legs, who worked very hard for years to overcome her long-backed conformation and shorten her long hunter stride into a mincing jog. (Legs' lope, OTOH, can't be touched by most QH >:D ) I've been working him in a bosal since he's fussy mouthed and it also makes a clear distinction between his hunt bridle and his western bridle to help him figure out how to travel. It works out pretty well, though sometimes he takes advantage of the lack of bit, ignores steering inputs and meanders about like a frat boy at a Friday night kegger.
Last week we made some real progress. He was starting to trot longer and more steadily between head flipping episodes, and starting to bend and go in a relaxed frame on the bit. Things were proceeding in the right direction and I was looking forward to our next show adventure, the Nelson County Fair, which would be his first night show with organ music, walking horses, saddle horses and the whole shebang.
He was unusually nervous when we arrived at the showgrounds. I made an effort to walk him around the ring to relax him, but we had to leave after only a lap when they brought the drag and water truck in. I made sure to have him ready early for our halter class so that he could see the sights and relax near the ring beforehand. He was a little tense in halter, but stood pretty well and pinned 2nd. I warmed him up under saddle in the grassy field near the trailers to further assess his mood and get him to relax. He was distractable, but overall quite good. When I got his attention back, he was actually bending some and going in a frame for bits and pieces. But when we did our pre-class warm-up outside the ring, he was bad. Lots of head flipping, grunting, tension, and feet flipping. I tried punishing the bad and rewarding what good he'd give me, but it really didn't go well. This really wasn't a spooky arena or showgrounds. The fair wasn't going on so there were no carnival rides and just 1 lit concession booth with candy apples, funnel cakes, and the like. Evening gave way to nightfall, but the arena was well-lit and not shadowy. Some of the arena working equipment was parked outside the arena, and I let him investigate those. The mud run area was near the warmup area, but it was vacant. Larry kept giving it the evil eye, though, and I suppose at a glance it does resemble part of a racetrack with the long dirt stretch and low railings on both sides, so perhaps he was peeved thinking I was going to return him to the track.
So our first class was Open Walk-Trot with 9 entries. He started off ok, sort of in a frame and mostly a consistent pace, but things deteriorated quickly. He kept having fits, and when he wasn't having a blatant fit, he was tensing his head and neck and trotting very stilted. We trotted for quite a while, and as we were rounding the far end for the third time or so, he suddenly stopped, started hopping up, then put his head down and began bucking. I was shocked. He'd never bucked under saddle with me before. I pulled his head up and got him back together, but the rest of the class was fraught with fits and tension. I was pretty peeved at his behavior and schooled him pretty hard outside the ring after the class. But the fits and tantrums continued. I did my best to reward any sign of cooperation, but it's pretty hard when I could only string together about 5 strides of respectable tantrum-free trot, and every time I was about to stop and reward him, he'd have another fit so I'd have to keep working him. Argh, frustrating. Our next class was marginally better, but there was still a lot of head twitchiness, stiffness, and moderate episodes (but thankfully no more rearing and bucking). We managed a 5th out of 6, only placing above the grown man on the tiny donkey. Yes, there was a jackass in the class, but it wasn't the one with long ears... Grrrrrr.
I did a lot of thinking on the drive home. I know he's a strong willed horse, but it seemed pretty absurd that he couldn't tolerate very light walk-trot work without throwing a fit. I've heard of work intolerance, but in response to only half a dozen strides of slow trot? I was getting the strong feeling that something else was going on. I'd ruled out back pain, mouth pain, lameness and so on, but after some additional reading, I was beginning to suspect that Larry was a head shaker. Research on the subject showed that besides afflicted horses that bob their heads constantly, others have periodic fits where they sometimes flip their heads, or try to rub their nose on their legs or the ground to stop the sensation. That would explain the big head & feet flipping fits that he has (which are often accompanied by a grunt), the times I've lunged him and he's dragged his nose on the grass (without eating it), and his periods of tension and twitchiness. Basically, head shaking syndrome in horses is a misfiring of the trigeminal nerve which runs down the face and innervates the eyes, nose, and muzzle, causing intermittent intense pain sensations to the face. There's no single definitive cause - theories have linked it to allergies, genetics, photosensitivity, contact sensitivity, seasonal hormone fluctuations (primarily in geldings which are low on testosterone to shut off other endogenous hormones), certain vaccinations, occult dental problems, and trauma/defects of the head. Likewise, there's no single treatment. Anticonvulsants, allergy medications, drugs to block the pineal gland, and other meds have shown varying amounts of success. Some are costly and have to be given 3 or more times a day. Nerving has not been successful, as the horses tend to then rub their faces raw. Some photic horses respond to fly masks to block the light, and some horses respond to face masks or nose nets which desensitize the nerve through constant light contact to the skin. I can't really say what Larry's triggers are, though stress and stubbornness do seem to factor in.
The nose net seemed like a good place to start. If it worked, then I had my answer. If it didn't, I wasn't out much. I tried a variant made of panty hose that I saw online. It worked ok during our ride, but he still had some fits and seemed peeved by its presence over his whole muzzle and it was pretty unsightly, too. A second, more subtle variant was a complete failure, as he merely worked it into his mouth and proceeded to chew it. Commercial nose nets can be purchased for over $65! Fortunately, I have a sewing machine and creativity. A trip to the fabric store and an afternoon later, I came up with 4 prototype nose nets custom fit to Larry. Unfortunately, I had planned to show him the following day, so I had no chance to test the nets out before taking it to the show ring.
The Oldham County Fair would be our proving grounds for the nose net (under saddle only, since he didn't seem to have his fits in hand). He was again a bit nervous, but this time, the carnival midway was going on, and a Black Sabbath cover band was playing adjacent to the show ring, so I really can't blame him. Oddly, it was the (empty) cattle pasture and barn overlooking the prison that caught his attention the most. We did fine in our in hand classes, though he was a ball of tension in the first one, and was so sweaty by the Grooming class that we finished last despite all of my earlier grooming efforts. We went in the ring for the Adult Pleasure WT class sporting our black organdy veil with tidy velcro loops securing it to the noseband. And... he was pretty good. He had forgotten how to bend and how to go on the bit, but he never wadded himself up, and had only a few small head twitching moments. And, lo and behold, we won the class! He was still a little twitchy in our next few classes (and who could blame him with the ACDC and Black Sabbath serenade), but largely free of major fits. Certainly a BIG improvement over Nelson County just 5 days earlier.
With no rest for the weary, we entered the Franklin County Fair the following night. This was another night show with tent and organist in center ring, walking horses, call to the post before every class, and just to make it more exciting, the active carnival midway adjacent to the trailer parking and within sight of the ring (lots of flashing lights, whooshing noises, and screaming), an active golf course adjacent to the ring (Fore!), a poultry show across the way, and a tractor pull within earshot but out of sight. Boy would this test Larry's mettle! He got off the trailer and just stared and stared at everything. He held himself together well, just did a lot of snorting, stopping, and big-eyed staring. We had ample time to walk the arena (with lots of stopping and staring at things). He was good in halter (only bested by an Impressive bred "real" halter weanling whose rump already had more muscle than Lar's entire [not unmuscled] body) and he was fresh but not stupid on pre warm-up lunging. Net in place, we did an early warm-up just in case, and he was very good. After looking around was out of his system, he remembered how to bend and go on the bit. I was quite pleased.
This show had riders enter at the trot (or running walk), and I was worried about getting him to hold a pleasant trot that long. Previously, we did best when the trot was very short and he didn't have time to get as fitful. Well, we trotted for a long time, but he was a total superstar - soft and obedient on the bit, relaxed and trotting happily. He was a completely different horse than 6 days ago. For a moment in the English Country Pleasure class, I thought I'd brought the other horse (Legs)! Our next class followed immediately, but even so, he remained fit-free and relaxed and placed very well in a large Ladies' Pleasure class. We had a one class break, lightning tack change, and made our western debut together in Western Country Pleasure with our spiffy bosal tailored black net (which the judge looked at rather quizzically in the lineup). He had an even better trip than he'd been schooling at home and took 2nd in a huge class of 12! The good Larry finally came through. I was so proud of him all night! And yes, he finally got his A!
Eureka! So Larry's a head shaker. And I'd been thinking he was just stubborn (yea, he is) and something of a jerk. It makes sense when I think about it in hindsight. Hopefully the nose nets continue to work and we don't get too much flack in the show ring for using a non-standard piece of equipment (I know they're not legal for USDF dressage shows and some other sanctioned shows, which is a shame since it's a non-invasive, cruelty-free, non-chemical means to provide relief to certain horses). I still don't know what sets him off, but hopefully this will bring us both relief and greater unity.
Last week we made some real progress. He was starting to trot longer and more steadily between head flipping episodes, and starting to bend and go in a relaxed frame on the bit. Things were proceeding in the right direction and I was looking forward to our next show adventure, the Nelson County Fair, which would be his first night show with organ music, walking horses, saddle horses and the whole shebang.
He was unusually nervous when we arrived at the showgrounds. I made an effort to walk him around the ring to relax him, but we had to leave after only a lap when they brought the drag and water truck in. I made sure to have him ready early for our halter class so that he could see the sights and relax near the ring beforehand. He was a little tense in halter, but stood pretty well and pinned 2nd. I warmed him up under saddle in the grassy field near the trailers to further assess his mood and get him to relax. He was distractable, but overall quite good. When I got his attention back, he was actually bending some and going in a frame for bits and pieces. But when we did our pre-class warm-up outside the ring, he was bad. Lots of head flipping, grunting, tension, and feet flipping. I tried punishing the bad and rewarding what good he'd give me, but it really didn't go well. This really wasn't a spooky arena or showgrounds. The fair wasn't going on so there were no carnival rides and just 1 lit concession booth with candy apples, funnel cakes, and the like. Evening gave way to nightfall, but the arena was well-lit and not shadowy. Some of the arena working equipment was parked outside the arena, and I let him investigate those. The mud run area was near the warmup area, but it was vacant. Larry kept giving it the evil eye, though, and I suppose at a glance it does resemble part of a racetrack with the long dirt stretch and low railings on both sides, so perhaps he was peeved thinking I was going to return him to the track.
So our first class was Open Walk-Trot with 9 entries. He started off ok, sort of in a frame and mostly a consistent pace, but things deteriorated quickly. He kept having fits, and when he wasn't having a blatant fit, he was tensing his head and neck and trotting very stilted. We trotted for quite a while, and as we were rounding the far end for the third time or so, he suddenly stopped, started hopping up, then put his head down and began bucking. I was shocked. He'd never bucked under saddle with me before. I pulled his head up and got him back together, but the rest of the class was fraught with fits and tension. I was pretty peeved at his behavior and schooled him pretty hard outside the ring after the class. But the fits and tantrums continued. I did my best to reward any sign of cooperation, but it's pretty hard when I could only string together about 5 strides of respectable tantrum-free trot, and every time I was about to stop and reward him, he'd have another fit so I'd have to keep working him. Argh, frustrating. Our next class was marginally better, but there was still a lot of head twitchiness, stiffness, and moderate episodes (but thankfully no more rearing and bucking). We managed a 5th out of 6, only placing above the grown man on the tiny donkey. Yes, there was a jackass in the class, but it wasn't the one with long ears... Grrrrrr.
I did a lot of thinking on the drive home. I know he's a strong willed horse, but it seemed pretty absurd that he couldn't tolerate very light walk-trot work without throwing a fit. I've heard of work intolerance, but in response to only half a dozen strides of slow trot? I was getting the strong feeling that something else was going on. I'd ruled out back pain, mouth pain, lameness and so on, but after some additional reading, I was beginning to suspect that Larry was a head shaker. Research on the subject showed that besides afflicted horses that bob their heads constantly, others have periodic fits where they sometimes flip their heads, or try to rub their nose on their legs or the ground to stop the sensation. That would explain the big head & feet flipping fits that he has (which are often accompanied by a grunt), the times I've lunged him and he's dragged his nose on the grass (without eating it), and his periods of tension and twitchiness. Basically, head shaking syndrome in horses is a misfiring of the trigeminal nerve which runs down the face and innervates the eyes, nose, and muzzle, causing intermittent intense pain sensations to the face. There's no single definitive cause - theories have linked it to allergies, genetics, photosensitivity, contact sensitivity, seasonal hormone fluctuations (primarily in geldings which are low on testosterone to shut off other endogenous hormones), certain vaccinations, occult dental problems, and trauma/defects of the head. Likewise, there's no single treatment. Anticonvulsants, allergy medications, drugs to block the pineal gland, and other meds have shown varying amounts of success. Some are costly and have to be given 3 or more times a day. Nerving has not been successful, as the horses tend to then rub their faces raw. Some photic horses respond to fly masks to block the light, and some horses respond to face masks or nose nets which desensitize the nerve through constant light contact to the skin. I can't really say what Larry's triggers are, though stress and stubbornness do seem to factor in.
The nose net seemed like a good place to start. If it worked, then I had my answer. If it didn't, I wasn't out much. I tried a variant made of panty hose that I saw online. It worked ok during our ride, but he still had some fits and seemed peeved by its presence over his whole muzzle and it was pretty unsightly, too. A second, more subtle variant was a complete failure, as he merely worked it into his mouth and proceeded to chew it. Commercial nose nets can be purchased for over $65! Fortunately, I have a sewing machine and creativity. A trip to the fabric store and an afternoon later, I came up with 4 prototype nose nets custom fit to Larry. Unfortunately, I had planned to show him the following day, so I had no chance to test the nets out before taking it to the show ring.
The Oldham County Fair would be our proving grounds for the nose net (under saddle only, since he didn't seem to have his fits in hand). He was again a bit nervous, but this time, the carnival midway was going on, and a Black Sabbath cover band was playing adjacent to the show ring, so I really can't blame him. Oddly, it was the (empty) cattle pasture and barn overlooking the prison that caught his attention the most. We did fine in our in hand classes, though he was a ball of tension in the first one, and was so sweaty by the Grooming class that we finished last despite all of my earlier grooming efforts. We went in the ring for the Adult Pleasure WT class sporting our black organdy veil with tidy velcro loops securing it to the noseband. And... he was pretty good. He had forgotten how to bend and how to go on the bit, but he never wadded himself up, and had only a few small head twitching moments. And, lo and behold, we won the class! He was still a little twitchy in our next few classes (and who could blame him with the ACDC and Black Sabbath serenade), but largely free of major fits. Certainly a BIG improvement over Nelson County just 5 days earlier.
With no rest for the weary, we entered the Franklin County Fair the following night. This was another night show with tent and organist in center ring, walking horses, call to the post before every class, and just to make it more exciting, the active carnival midway adjacent to the trailer parking and within sight of the ring (lots of flashing lights, whooshing noises, and screaming), an active golf course adjacent to the ring (Fore!), a poultry show across the way, and a tractor pull within earshot but out of sight. Boy would this test Larry's mettle! He got off the trailer and just stared and stared at everything. He held himself together well, just did a lot of snorting, stopping, and big-eyed staring. We had ample time to walk the arena (with lots of stopping and staring at things). He was good in halter (only bested by an Impressive bred "real" halter weanling whose rump already had more muscle than Lar's entire [not unmuscled] body) and he was fresh but not stupid on pre warm-up lunging. Net in place, we did an early warm-up just in case, and he was very good. After looking around was out of his system, he remembered how to bend and go on the bit. I was quite pleased.
This show had riders enter at the trot (or running walk), and I was worried about getting him to hold a pleasant trot that long. Previously, we did best when the trot was very short and he didn't have time to get as fitful. Well, we trotted for a long time, but he was a total superstar - soft and obedient on the bit, relaxed and trotting happily. He was a completely different horse than 6 days ago. For a moment in the English Country Pleasure class, I thought I'd brought the other horse (Legs)! Our next class followed immediately, but even so, he remained fit-free and relaxed and placed very well in a large Ladies' Pleasure class. We had a one class break, lightning tack change, and made our western debut together in Western Country Pleasure with our spiffy bosal tailored black net (which the judge looked at rather quizzically in the lineup). He had an even better trip than he'd been schooling at home and took 2nd in a huge class of 12! The good Larry finally came through. I was so proud of him all night! And yes, he finally got his A!
Eureka! So Larry's a head shaker. And I'd been thinking he was just stubborn (yea, he is) and something of a jerk. It makes sense when I think about it in hindsight. Hopefully the nose nets continue to work and we don't get too much flack in the show ring for using a non-standard piece of equipment (I know they're not legal for USDF dressage shows and some other sanctioned shows, which is a shame since it's a non-invasive, cruelty-free, non-chemical means to provide relief to certain horses). I still don't know what sets him off, but hopefully this will bring us both relief and greater unity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)