Progress and Research...

On the brighter side of life, Scottie seems to be improving. We are almost four weeks post treatment and about ready for our retest. He is getting stronger every day and keeps packing on the weight and muscle. His toe dragging is virtually eliminated. His tripping is gone, except for the random hole here and there. I am still trying not to get my hopes up too high just because sure as I do, it will end in heartbreak, but my fingers are crossed nonetheless. On the not so brighter side, now that his EPM is residing it is becoming evident that he has a stifle problem. We are unsure at this point if it is injury or aging joints and I do not really want to pursue that until after his EPM test. Dynah is now referring to his case as "peeling away at an onion" while trying to resolve his issues and piece together his history. We are definitely still in agreement however that this project is worth the time and it will all work out. While speaking with the vet, the subject of joint injections came up and I was a big unsure of exactly how they worked so I did a little research on my own... The AAEP has a wonderful short article that clears up ALOT about joint injections, and all types of joint medications/supplements actually, so if you are like me please check it out! AAEP Lameness and Joint Medications

Scottie is not the only horse in my life that is improving by leaps and bounds... The Woodridge Farm girls are doing wonderful as well! Allouette III, or 3Lu as we call her, has recently been started over fences and she absolutely loves it! This horse has jumper or eventer written ALL over her!! Her canter is coming along surely and she gets more confident in herself and me as her rider every day. Today we actually hacked out around the property, by ourselves -Shock and Awe- with only one tiny spook! Such a grown up! Wiebella, aka Wiebit, has been working on her self carriage and is coming along nicely with that, thanks to some help from Laurie Hedlund. She gets a little lighter and more sure of herself every day. We are still working on collecting her canter while in self carriage but it will come with time.

3Lu exploring the property on our morning hack

Overall, I am very happy and content with life and horses right now. Things seem to be looking up and heading down the right path (for once!) and that is a huge sigh of relief. Look for a new post shortly regarding Scottie's test results and any other random happenings! Until then, always remember to keep kicking!