Ups and Downs

Whoa it has been way to long since I have updated this blog! It seems like every time I would think about updating this blog, I had a lesson planned so I would just tell myself to wait so I could post about that. But anyway... Well the good news there has been a lot going on in the past few months and almost all of them have been positive!
Well the biggest update is that Black has started jumping again! Little cross rails and cavalettis but it has been too much fun... My mom is gearing her pony up for a few starter events this summer so she wanted to go xc schooling a few weeks ago. I took Black to tag along and be able to ride somewhere different and last time he was there we just hacked around. I could tell that was all he was expecting to get to do this time too- but instead I jumped him over a few logs and mini coops that were around the same size at the cross rails he had been doing at home. Oh my gosh he loved it! He was having a blast. I even did a little ditch to a little coop and he got pretty amped up after that haha. He started locking onto everything that was close to him! I just love that guy. He makes every ride fun!

:)

Onto the not so fun stuff. About two weeks ago, I had a lesson with Phoebe and she felt Black was extremely weak in his hind end compared to the time she saw him about 3 weeks earlier. Both of us found this to be really strange since all I do is hillwork! We have a small ring but the corn fields around us haven't been planted in yet so I really only work him out there. Plus he had some stifle weakness last fall so I've really been working hard on keeping that in check and building his hind end for his dressage work and jumping. I had asked Phoebe in the lesson before if she thought he needed his hocks injected and she didn't think so but agreed that something needed to be done now. After talking with Dr. Cooper Williams, he thinks it may be his SI, his stifles, AND or his hocks that need some attention. Which isn't news to me. His hocks were getting injected every 6 months while we were competing and I have been told the last few years that they would all need to be done at some point. I guess this is some point! He is 16 this year and he raced, competed to the 2* level, packed my butt around a ton of trainings and a prelim, sat in a stall for 7 months, endured rehab and is now starting back jumping. That's a lot on joints. So Cooper came out last Monday and when I jogged Black for him he was a 3 out of 5 lame on his LEFT FRONT..... Like what the heck Black?! Leave it to Black to keep it interesting. Cooper ruled out his foot and we blocked up to his knee and he went sound. So we took some xrays and found some pretty significant arthritis in that left front knee. I remember Dr. Odian mentioning that Black may have some arthritis in his knees when we vetted him 4.5 years ago but we didn't really worry about it since we were more concerned with his kissing spines at the time. So the game plan is to inject the knee and then in a couple weeks we will reevaluate his hind end and go from there. I am actually waiting on Cooper right now! I'm way too excited because I haven't ridden Black in two weeks because he hasn't been sound on that knee. He was almost sound on it the other day but I decided it would be better to wait. It certainly stinks since he has been going so well, but it's only a minor setback and I'm sure we'll be able to get back to where we were in no time! I'm just thankful
he's here and I get to enjoy him :). That's all that really matters.

Onwards and Upwards

I really do have good intentions about keeping up with this blog but it never seems to happen! I had to stop and write something because Black and I had the most incredible dressage lesson with Phoebe Devoe yesterday that I almost burst with excitement! Black and I had some holes in our flatwork that really came to light in the SJ before he got hurt and I had made it my goal throughout his rehab to really try and nip those things in the bud from the get go. Courtney Sendak has done an incredible job on calling me out on a lot of those bad habits from first lesson I had with her so we can not be dealing with the same issues all over again in the spring when we start jumping. My last lesson with Courtney she told me I really needed to work on Black responding with "Yes ma'am!". Instead of questioning me and answering four strides later because that just doesn't cut it when you're cantering up to a maxed out triple! We worked on that and Black came into our lesson with Phoebe 'yes ma'aming' me from the get go! Phoebe really put us to work asking Black for a 1st/2nd level frame and getting him to lift his shoulders and give me more contact. Boy, are my shoulders and abs sore! We also worked on the counter canter which isn't something I have been messing with a whole bunch at home so that is part of our homework. I was so thrilled with Black because the things that I had told Phoebe we struggled with before he got hurt (tendency to be on his forehand, slow in his hind end) weren't an issue in this lesson! It was the first time that I felt like all my blood, sweat, and many MANY tears throughout his rehab were worth it... So many people have told me "oh y'all will be better than ever!" But now I'm really believing it. This past year wasn't a waste and we learned from it and we'll be better, stronger, and more bonded than we ever have and that's something I'll be forever thankful for. I almost cried at the end of our lesson because maybe... just maybe... this was all worth it.

First Lesson!

Well Black and I have reached an exciting milestone in his rehab: our first lesson! I've been playing with the idea of taking a lesson for the past month or so because I know both Black and I have gotten into some terrible habits and I'm sure they're not helping his rehab. So we went to An Otherwise Perfect Farm and had a lesson with Courtney Sendak last Saturday! I knew Courtney had rehabbed her super pony from a suspensory so I felt confident that she would be able to help me navigate this next scary step of working Black SLOWLY back into full work. I have not gotten the go ahead from my vet yet as we have been playing phone tag and we seem to have opposite schedules- so frustrating! But after Black got some serious kinks worked out from the chiropractor he has been a different, happy horse and I know he's telling me he's ready for more. I've added more 20 meter circles and some smaller (15m) circles as well as serpentine's, leg yields, shoulder in's and spiraling in and out at the trot and canter. But I haven't had anyone watch me ride Black in almost a year. And boy did we need the help!

We were VERY excited :)

Courtney was really great on picking up immediately that Black tends to take advantage of my kindness and talks me into letting him get out of working! Apparently I've been riding with my hands really wide and overflexing him so he just pops his shoulder instead of using his hind end. I had no idea I was doing that!! She started by having me leg yield all the way across the arena to get his hind end engaged. It took a lot of work on my part and a lot of grunting on Black's part but it helped a lot to get his hind end awake. We also put Black perpendicular to the track and leg yielded him down the long side. That was really tough but really helped his hind end come through. I would have never had the guts to do that without Courtney's guidance. Courtney really helped me to understand how much to push Black and that he's sound enough and mentally ready for it. I'm, on the other hand, struggling with that. I want to wait until February or March to jump him since I'm in no rush but I think I'll need that much time to get myself mentally ready to jump him without being afraid of breaking him. At this point, I really have no idea how much he can handle and I'm terrified of finding out the hard way. I've been so careful and done everything I can for Black's rehab that it makes this next part really scary. His rehab has been carefully planned out by the vets up until this point. Now I'm told to take things slow but keep adding work. That's really hard to know were the line is! Well I'm now up to 3, 10 minute trot sets and on a different day 3, 5-6 minute canters. He's working for at least an hour every time he's ridden and between 4-6 days a week. That's pretty dang close to "full work"! But what does that even mean?!
We really pushed Black (and me!) at our lesson and he felt great the end. He was more through his back than he has been in a long time and he was SO happy to be working harder! The best part was his leg was tight afterwards and tight the next morning! WAHOO! While we have a lot of homework to do before our next lesson, more than anything it made me more comfortable with pushing Black during my rides since that's the only way we're going to get back to where we were and even better! Thank you to Courtney for your help! We will be at our one year "anniversary" of Black's injury in about 2 weeks! This year had really flown by...

Are We There Yet?

Well to put it simply, Black and I are dying. I've had a hard time finding the motivation to even ride which makes me feel guilty because in January I couldn't wait to just sit on Black! We are at a really difficult time in his rehab where he's feeling better but we don't really have anything new or exciting to add or look forward too. We just have to continue to add more trot sets and canter sets to his rides until his tear fills in enough that he can be cleared for full work. It's hard because it is so  b  o  r  i  n  g! Although Black does try to make the rides interesting if they get too boring by bucking or spooking like a 4 year old at birds or trash cans as it was today! His newest trick is doing a leaping, flying buck in the canter over tall weeds! Even if I try to avoid them, I SWEAR he drags me to them so he has an excuse to be do something dumb. I think that's him telling me he wants to jump... It does nothing but give me a panic attack.

Best buddies!

Black has adjusted extremely well to his turnout and loves it. He's just as happy to come in during the day which I thought might go away with how long he was on stall rest- he loves his fan too much! I'm very apprehensive about turning him out with our other two horses since he cannot stand my moody, marish pony. I do turn him out occasionally for a couple hours with my mom's 22 year old retired Appy and they are now best buddies! I've never seen Bam Bam take to another horse like he did to Black! We even caught them grooming each other and we've never even seen Bam Bam let another horse get that close to him in the 10 years we've owned him. It's so cute watching them- everybody deserves to have that kind of friend :)

This blog has been a great way to for me to document Black's rehab and cannot wait for the post that I get to tell y'all about his first show back or his first jump school. Until then, we'll keep trucking through the not so fun stuff to get back to the super fun stuff!

7.5 Month Ultrasound

Dr. Cooper Williams came out to do Black's ultrasound today! There is still a lot of filling in for Black's suspensory to do. The fibers have not come in as longitudinally as they should be so we will continue with his controlled exercise in hopes that they will fill in over time. We had a bit of a scare with sesmoid bone as the ultrasound showed some abnormal shapes to the apex of his sesmoid bone. We xrayed to be sure that there wasn't a bone spur in the suspensory or floating in the apex of his sesmoid bone but the xray appeared normal for a 15 year old horse just some normal bone deterioration. Very scary moment for me and I just about lost it. But Cooper cleared Black to go ahead and be turned out since at this point he's doing more damage to himself mentally being in. He's also stocking up a lot more than he has been. I'm also looking forward to not having to clean his stall so much!! We'll also increase his trots to another set and add a little to his canter sets.

Black "escaped" and put himself in the crossties

While I'm glad it's healing, I've been feeling pretty discouraged lately. What was originally going to be a 4-6 month rehab has turned into 6 months, 7 months, and now almost 8 months. I'm now hoping he'll be back in full work by a year. That doesn't include all our concerns about reinjury. I've done everything and more right and still feels like that isn't enough. I knew from the get go there would really be nothing but time that could heal this injury, but what I wasn't prepared for was the mental stress and strain that came along with it. For me and Black! I would say a larger part of this battle has been keeping Black's brain in one piece and keeping my sanity in tack. I have nightmares about what his leg will look like in the morning. Yes, I know I'm crazy! But when you've spent 7 months of time, energy and money into a horse, it drives you to be a bit paranoid. Not only do I want Black back in work because I enjoy riding him but because he loves his job more than any horse I've ever met. I've put so much work and energy into his rehab because he wants to run cross country again and strut his stuff in the dressage ring. When I take him places where there's jumps set up he gets so excited thinking they're for him! He loves his job and after all he's done for me, I feel like I owe it to him to get him back to that no matter how much of my sanity it may take! I'm so thankful for everyone who has helped me keep my sanity through this ordeal. My mom and Matt for their i
ncredible moral support. Susan for calming me down when I find a new bump. Megan for calming me down when all I want do is go run and jump my horse and Katie (better known as Peach) for taking great care of Black when I've been away and reading my ridiculously long lists that I leave for her. Thank you guys so much! We'll get through this and we'll be better for it.

Seven Months and the Move

Black hacking at Gordonsdale!

It has been 7 months today that Black tore his suspensory. It's hard to believe it's been that long. But at the same time we are both really struggling with the rehab here lately. We had been trotting for 10 weeks... That gets old pretty fast. We were finally able to canter this week and it was pretty exciting! We're starting with 1 minute on each lead in the middle of his trot sets. Dr. Boone told me this is a really critical point in rehab because cantering puts a lot more strain on his suspensory. He's stayed very sound and seems comfortable too! Happy momma to say the least... We'll go see Dr. Cooper Williams at the end of next week or the beginning of the following for our next appointment. I'm a little nervous about switching vets but obviously I don't have a choice and Cooper is one of the best in the area for Sports Medicine injuries. The rain has made keeping up with his rehabbing pretty difficult this week but hopefully it'll start to dry up. 
Black really struggled with the move. I could tell when we were preparing to leave he was reaching his breaking point with stall rest. I could just feel it.... Well I was right! Since we only have 2 other horses at my parent's farm, he struggled with there not being constant movement in the barn. The first couple days were rough with complete and total breakdowns on Black's part and then my part. The last thing I needed was him doing further damage. He stayed pretty drugged for the next few days so I could get him to stay calm. I then borrowed some round pen panels from some people in the area. I made a couple round pen stalls in the fields so when the other two were out he could be too. Once we got a schedule going he started to settle in. He seems happy now that we have a schedule down pat! Black lives and breathes his schedule!

He's tried to keep his figure :)

I will update y'all when we go back for another ultrasound with hopefully good news! Both Black and I are praying for turnout!!! :)

Update!

Black and I headed up to Tryon one last time before we move home this weekend and it was bittersweet. We stopped by Dr. Woodiman's for one last chiro appointment and said our goodbyes. It was great to see her one last time but hard to say goodbye. Dr. Woodiman has been adjusting Black since I bought him and Black loves her as much as I do! We also said goodbye to Amy. It was a lot harder saying goodbye than I was expecting...
We then headed to Tryon Equine for one last ultrasound and check. Dr. Boone flexed him all the way around and he flexed sound on his right front! Pretty exciting! He was extremly stiff in his hocks to the flexions so we went ahead and had his hocks injected- he was due anyway I just didn't want to inject them when he was just sitting in a stall. She also lounged him on the soft ground and he was sound to the right but a little light on his right front to the left. Dr. Boone explained that it is possible that because he was stiffer in his right hock, he is compensating with his left front and so making it appear that his right front is lighter. Or because it is his right outside suspensory branch, and when working with it on the outside it is still bothering him. So injecting his hocks will help us narrow that down. She was also really happy with the ultrasound. While there isn't complete uniformity (and probably never will be), it is getting denser and denser so that is a good and exciting thing! Dr. Boone said that with a tear this bad, we should be very happy with where we are at 6 months since his injury. Black will continue doing his 3 x 4 minute trot sets and then 3 x 5's for a total of 4 weeks and then we will get to canter! Still no turnout.... which will be difficult. Black's reaching his breaking point which I don't blame him at all. I'm thinking when we move home, I'm going to set up a round pen stall that I can move around near the field where the others are turned out. He's been so good but I have a feeling he's going to break soon and I don't want him to hurt himself when that happens! From what Dr. Boone says, these next 6 weeks or so will be pretty critical because adding a canter and keeping him sound is a big step. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Dr. Boone reminded me that tears this bad can take 8, 10, or 12 months to completely heal but we are certainly on the right track. It's hard to believe it's been 6 months that Black has been off and in some ways it feels like its flown by but the thought that we could only be half way there is a little scary. I'm prepared to take my time because Black's well-being is absolutely my first concern but it doesn't mean I don't miss competing and jumping my horse. So please keep Black and I in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to fight for our sanity and as we make the trip back up to Maryland this weekend. Thank you all!