So I went and rode Lucas today. It was good and bad. Good because we had a 'stuck' free ride, and a good one where we worked together and had some fun. Its been a while and I realize now after working with the green horses at the 'home' barn how well trained he is, and how nice that can be! I've really missed his canter, although Lucy's jog was a lot easier to sit to!
It was bad however because the 'mild cough' that I was told about seems to be something more sinister. He's occasionally had a runny nose at odd times at home and at shows, and has always dunked his hay but now he has a nasty cough every once and a while. Hes not horrible, about 25% not right, and he is being treated for it, but I'm very glad he's coming home to our better ventilated barn. The old trainers place is nice for people (insulated and they use a lawn blower to 'sweep') but its not very horse health friendly.
The old boss did have some good hints about what to do and what to avoid, and like Mugs, http://mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/recommended that I not ride him in a nose band or ride in a very loose one. They've tried several different bridles with him and its not so much the bit, but how tight the nose band is, and how tight the curb is (if they ride him with one).
He also suggested that we mix the bits up, something different every couple of days to keep him from anticipating, and that Lucas needs a different program every ride. I just can't get on, do a little walk a little trot. I will need to keep his brain active and his body busy to keep him from getting stuck.
So we'll see how things go. He has a couple of weeks left on his meds, but the barn manager thought that a change in scenery (ie a barn with better ventilation, and more time outside in fresh air, along with better hay) he should be back to 100% in a week or two. Unofficially he's off the market for a couple of months although an old friend wants to come look at him, however any of that will wait till hes feeling better.
1 comment:
Glad to hear you had a good ride. I'll bet he's happy to be home. We're really sticklers for a well ventilated barn. We have a horse with allergies and asthma so it's a must. The windows are usually open, the stalls are very dry no ammonia smell from urine, they are limed everyday and we leave the end doors open a crack and it helps. We use a broom for the aisle and then a blower and then we clean the waterers after the dust settles so they have no dust in their water. Actually the barn is probably cleaner than the house! Hope he feels better soon.
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