Jim today, we were so happy!

C

carthorse

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Jan 6, 2006
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This was Jim today, he's just started coming back into work & shouldn't really be cantering but trying to keep him in walk is going to get me decked & the way he's hooning round the field makes this look terribly sedate.
He's unfit, he's not being asked to work, he's done no schooling for years & I'm riding like a lemon, but for a horse who came within 24 hours of a bullet this winter because we couldn't seem to get his ulcers & laminitis under control or manage his pain then I think he's doing very well!

I was crying again today, but at least it was in a good way x


 
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There were times when I wasn't at all positive. The time he was down for 3 hours despite the drugs I gave him, all his fight had gone & he wouldn't even open his eyes most of the time & just lay with his head on my foot - I promised him that if he'd had enough then when the vet got there then we'd say goodbye, but as her car pulled up he opened his eyes, rolled onto his chest & tried to get up. He needed help but since he was trying we decided to give him a little longer. And then the night I actually said to the vet that I felt we weren't being fair asking him to carry on, that I'd never seen him so low, that even a mouthful of hay seemed to have him on the floor & furthermore with his gut so wrong the laminitis was going to get worse. She talked me into giving him 24 hours, provided certain things didn't happen, & I spent most of that time dosing him with drugs, keeping him company, feeding him tiny tiny amounts of warm high fibre nut mash & drinking sweet coffee to stay on my feet. Obviously it worked, and there isn't a trace of that sorry, desperately ill Jim now! Indeed I offered up a quick prayer before letting him pick up canter & made sure I'd got three quarters of a circle before he'd be looking up the long side of the school lol!
 
That is dedication for you. I actually had a wee cry reading that (I'm a bit of an emotional wreck right now), you must be on cloud 9!
 
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Today he was certainly forward, I only did 8 circles & my thighs were starting to burn! He went in there thinking canter & I gave up on walk after half a circle . Trot probably looked good because every time I told him to slow the rhythm & stop rushing he just upped his outline & lengthened his stride so he had the same speed - typical Jim having to have the last word. For a big lad with arthritic hocks that backside can still generate some power when he wants it to, I was struggling to keep with him at times & need to fitten up fast! The canter, when I allowed it, was explosive & I'm ashamed to say I abandoned any hope of riding through it & started trying to regain trot after four strides because I think if he'd got to a point where he could head off up a long side I'd have lost him completely. As it was I could barely pull him up in time & there was some temper neck throwing & trying to snatch the bit. Back to walk & straight off before he had a chance to remember old tricks, so at least we finished on a good note & he could have a pick of grass again.

He's certainly feeling very well
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. It's lovely to see all the old energy & cheek back, & he's much stronger through his hind end than I'd feared. I know the hocks are arthritic, even without the x-rays you only need to look at them to see that, but they certainly don't seem to be bothering him at the moment. Does anyone have any tips for managing them in the winter? I've got some neoprene hock boots to try & keep them warm & was wondering about stable bandages because although they won't cover the hock presumably keeping the lower leg warm will help the circulation through it. Bute etc isn't an option for him unfortunately, so management is all I've got.
 
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