Comment

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 4:43pm

He has been trained to go with or without a bit and saddle or bare back pad.  I remember now that when he saw the saddle come out of the locker with my coach working with him he got right pissed off.  Me too!  Where do you live Jackie and what is your riding disclipline?  I am sure it is  in some of the emails way back from the beginning .  Do you believe in the merits of ground work?  I don't mean lungeing but almost playing with the horse?

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 14, 2011 at 4:35pm

The bit may have distracted him from his foot pain.  It may also have been a key for him to use the trained part of his brain, at least if he was trained with a bit!

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 4:18pm

I see what you are saying for sure.  That is why all the checks of tack and body and mind before riding again.  Even teeth can be an issue from time to time.  His first bucking fit was with a bitless bridle though.  We of the aged vintage have to keep in touch as we are different in mind and body than we were in past years.  Also, time out of the saddle in my case, makes me more fearful.

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 14, 2011 at 3:09pm

Thank you.  It is hard for me to put this into words!

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 3:01pm

The more I reread you latest email, the more it made sense to me.  He has never been sore or ill in any way other than the laminitis in his 13 years of life, 11 of which he and I have been together.  Good thought.

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 2:59pm

That could all be true and I  thank you for your thoughts.  I will start on the ground for a while at least until I have the other professionals to check saddle etc.

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 14, 2011 at 2:51pm

Hey Gail, it IS nice having this group active again.

I am not convinced that our horses really care if we are afraid of them.  Once I HAD to catch a breeding stallion where I was boarding, and I was shaking all over with my heart beating loudly, but since I acted like I did with my horses he did not really seem to care and cooperated fully with me, even when I led him past another stallion and several mares, scared every step of the way.

I find that horses' personalities can change with changing circumstances.  Your horse pain free uses a different part of his brain than when he is hurting.  You do not need to worry about respect, you need to calmly train this new part of his brain just like you did the pain free part of the brain.  Then when your horse is truly pain free he will either go to another part of the brain, which you might have to train again, or if you are lucky he will go back to his old self.

With my MS I am not the type of person that a horse looks for in a leader, at least until they get to know and trust me.  I never worry about a horse respecting me because when I prove by my actions that I am worthy of respect I get obedience to my aids, well usually, and if I don't I just become gently persistent, ask and release, repeat if necessary.  Do they end up respecting me?  I really don't know.  But with gentle training, and being prepared to "re-train" them when they use a different part of their brains, the horses usually obey me when I ride and handle them.

It sounds like pain.  It ALL sounds like pain.  Calmly retrain until he knows what to do when he is in pain.  Give him more time to figure things out, he has to think through his pain and this is a new skill for him.

May all go well!   

 

 

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 2:15pm

I was watching Canada am the other day and there has been another way of testing for cancer of the colon.  It is done via a urine sample. Not sure if it is available in Canada but I sure would rather do that.  I am changing doctors at the end of May.  The one I have works one day a week at family practice.  I would prefer someone with a bit more office time.

Comment by Gail Morse on May 14, 2011 at 2:07pm

I am glad you both think I am on the right track.  He had his last massage April 5 and then his saddle rejigged to fit him.  It is a custom saddle made for him and me so it has an adjustable tree and can be done at the barn without having to have the saddle leave the property.  Expensive but proving its worth.  I have access to a second massage person and also a chirpractor if necessary.

 

I find at this age we wait for a lot  of things that we really would not rather have to think about at all.  But old age is grand.  We have things go wrong but our memories are bad enough we often forget what was wrong.  I will await your word  on your results of your EKG and blood tests.  The colonoscopy is one thing I have avoided like the plague.  I am afraid of what they might find and also have no idea how a person with low blood sugar can go a day without eating.

I am not sure if you are allowed so say no to you doctor if they want you to go for a colonoscopy.  I am still working on reasons as to why I can't go and do it.  There is nothing I can find in print that can get me out of needing to get it done.

 

More later!  I am working on ground work with my coach tomorrow.  It can also be a lack of respect for him as I have not been a good leader for him in a while and he knows when I am fearful.  It transfers to the horse. It is also a good place to start as I would rather not ride him again until I am sure it is a pain issue.  I had forgotton about the older than 60's group but am sure glad it has resurfaced.  We need it!

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 14, 2011 at 1:59pm

Cindy, I hope all the results are good.  Modern medicine is often good, but it is rarely fast (except the emergency rooms if you are really bad, I hope!)

It is good that you have riders you can trust with your horses.

Right now it sounds like you may be forcing yourself trying to get everything finished.  Just remeber to rest often!  With my MS I had to learn long ago that even important stuff can often wait until tomorrow.  Perfectionism is great with horses, but it takes a LOT of work to keep horses perfectly!  Take care of yourself so you can go on taking care of your horses (isn't that the true meaning of life?)

I have found that Hawthorn Berry helps my heart.  It is an old herbal remedy.  I take pills every day (Wal Mart has them) and have the tincture for when my heart decides to do funny things.  The King Bio company (www.kingbio.com) has homeopathic combination remedies for hearts and blood pressure.  They also help me, and I even gave them to my regular doctor after he had a heart attack, and he actually took them and said they helped him some.  The homeopathy I only use as needed, and I haven't needed them for over 2 years.  I'm not saying this stuff will fix your problems, but all of them seem to give my heart support when I need it.

Unfortunately I know of nothing to prevent colonoscopies.  I wish I did! 

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