Cruiser in the Arena

I write so much about Cole, I thought it was time to tell everyone my plans with Cruiser over the winter.  First off, he pretty much stays inside in the indoor arena the whole time.  I don’t trust him on ice.  He has always been quick to panic on it, so the smallest amount of ice will keep me away.  Also, he keeps his shoes over the winter for support for his bowed tendon.  It was the vet’s recommendation, and last year, I decided to see what happened if I had his shoes pulled.  Within a few weeks, he became noticeably lame.  I gave him a week off, the lameness went away, and then I gave him another month of hand walking only until it was time for the farrier.  He got his shoes back and did so much better.

Anyway, for those of you who have never had a horse with shoes out in the snow, the snow balls up really bad in their feet, and it is nearly impossible to ride.  You can get special pads, but it isn’t worthwhile for the limited amount of winter riding that I do.

Last year, I had the hardest time with him in the arena.  He acted very strange if I took him clockwise.  This has been going on for a while, and each year gets a little worse.  Last year, he was fighting me hard, trying to turn around to go the other way.  I am sure it is something physical, yet he will go circles that direction—just doesn’t want to follow the wall.  The way he held his head made me suspicious about his eyes.  He will also react very startled if a light shines suddenly in that eye.  In the spring, I had the vet examine his eyes, and she couldn’t find anything wrong with them.  Still, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see differently in that eye than he used to.  I really don’t know what the problem is anymore.

The other issue with Cruiser is a “gait irregularity” that he has when he goes fast or is excited and travels with his head up like an ostrich.  When he fights me to keep going when I want to stop, his head will bob, too.  This has been going on for a while.  A few weeks ago, when the vet was out to give them shots, I talked her about it.  She said, at the age of 24, he probably has some aches and pains like the rest of us as we get older.  When we get up in the morning and are sore, we don’t stay in bed.  We go on and live our lives.  She said the best thing for him was to keep him moving.  That was just the advice I wanted to here.  After all, if it hurt unbearably to go too fast, I wouldn’t have so much trouble slowing him down, would I?

So, my goal is to keep him moving, keep him happy and try to bring back some of the old Cruiser.  So the plan is to work him regularly in the arena; gradually increasing the demands.  That’s simple enough. 

I also found a simple solution to him not wanting to work in one direction.  (I wish I would have figured this out last winter.)  I just make sure I start with that direction first.  If I do 10 minutes or so just on the wall at a walk and trot, he seems to resign himself to going that way.  Maybe I am desensitizing him?  I really don’t know, but it is working.  I can then work both directions without too much problems.  He still goes faster the favorite way.

Last year, he was acting so weird that I didn’t do too much with him.  The year before was when Mingo was sick, so my heart wasn’t into any riding.  I did it, but I was only going through the motions.  I haven’t really tried to work with Cruiser in a few years.  I would love to get him how he used to be—which is just lovely—but I don’t know how much is physical and how much is mental.  Can he return to his former glory?  We can only try.

Right now, he doesn’t want to settle down.  He goes all about with his head up in the air.  Then it dawned on me—this is how he always was for at least 20 minutes of trotting at the beginning of the ride, and then he would settle down.  It’s not really a problem at all.  Once I start to ride him longer—and the arena is less of a novelty, maybe I will get some relaxation.  That’s how it used to work.  How could I forget?

One thing that I have been suspicious about is the tumor on his thyroid.  It has gotten pretty big.  I’m not sure if he is comfortable to bend at the poll and travel with his head on the vertical for any length of time.  We are getting some brief moments, but only time will tell if he will hold he head there, consistently.  I certainly won’t force him.  We will just to a lot of half halts and transitions and see what happens.

I find that a summer of working Cole in the arena on weekdays has made me stronger, more balanced and better focused.  Will it help with Cruiser?  Will I be able to overcome his mysterious problems?  Or will I just be praying for spring when I can get him back on the trail?  Wait a minute—regardless what happens, I will be praying for spring…