tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post4638503319357414398..comments2024-03-26T05:15:39.663-07:00Comments on Equestrian Ink: Ride a Gimpy Horse?Jami Davenporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05259390150273030284noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-20332182581884210482011-04-09T11:39:57.531-07:002011-04-09T11:39:57.531-07:00You know, Laura, my mare is not sound at this time...You know, Laura, my mare is not sound at this time, and I've always assumed I could retire her to trail riding. Even if she is gimpy, as long as she isn't in pain, I figured I could trail ride her on even ground.Jami Davenporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05259390150273030284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-61596681720960475192011-04-07T15:18:28.140-07:002011-04-07T15:18:28.140-07:00Mikey--Your comment brings up a point I really str...Mikey--Your comment brings up a point I really struggle with. My oldest horse, Gunner, who is 31 this spring, lives fifteen minutes from my house--in a place where he can be turned out 24/7 in a big pasture where he can graze. He looks GREAT for 31 and is still pasture sound, lopes and bucks and plays. He is fed equine senior every morning, so someone sees him and gives him a rub every day, but we just don't get a chance to hang around with him much, because we're busy and he's not at our place. So I feel kind of guilty. But the flip side of the coin is my horse Plumber, who is "retired" at 22 because I don't have time for two horses right now and Sunny is a better trail horse. I try to turn Plumber loose to graze most days and we do give him attention, but I sometimes feel guilty that he's not living in a pasture like Gunner and free to graze whenever he wants. So I feel like I can't win for losing. I don't know which is the better choice for a retired horse. I just don't have time to give them all the attention that would be ideal.<br /><br />joycemocha--It sounds like you have really got a handle on Mocha's issues. And I noticed Sunny being much gimpier during that long rainy spell we had. Since the weather got better and we've been riding--and he's been running around his big corral more now that its not so muddy--he looks quite sound. So the cold and wet really had an influence on him.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-21362409550321402982011-04-07T13:35:54.168-07:002011-04-07T13:35:54.168-07:00Mocha has had off and on spells of front-end lamen...Mocha has had off and on spells of front-end lameness, to the degree that the vet scratched her head worriedly when we diagnosed the hock problems at age nine. I figured it was a muscle issue as well as possibly some tendencies toward white line disease, and addressed the latter. That fixed things, but what really improved both the front end and hind end was taking the time to stretch her forelegs and bend her neck, as well as apply liniment to upper legs and neck after anything but the lightest conditioning work (she develops knots in a muscle that, according to the Jack Meagher book I have on muscle soreness in horses, can cause mild front end lameness).<br /><br />It worked. In addition, she started muscling up more in her chest and forearms. And, as an additional bonus, it seems to take her longer between hock injections (we blocked them only, not x-rayed because the block in the hocks pretty much showed the drastic difference). The hock issue is possibly from an injury since she's not been worked that hard and I've seen her torque that hock when she fell in a paddock due to an unsuspected molehole.<br /><br />In-stall or in-pasture doesn't appear to be a factor, what appears to be the crucial piece is the foreleg flexing and stretching. I can put a hand on her neck now and she'll bend her head away from it, plus she'll drop her head and breathe slowly on my neck when I extend her foreleg out in front of her. If I take slow, deep breaths, she'll do it with me. And if she's stiff when I do the foreleg rotations, or unable to stretch her leg further, careful warmup usually gets her past it. Plus I know that she's sore and will ride her appropriately on those days. So the stretches really help me figure out where she is physically from day to day. I adjust the work based on that, and I do slow, careful warmups and cooldowns, as well as lots of conditioning work.<br /><br />Damp and cold is definitely a factor in her gimpiness. Unlike most horses, she tends to be a slug in cold and gets perky in heat. However, this winter was the first one I did the stretches with her, and she's been perky all winter, which makes me think that the stretches have addressed the front end problem. We'll see how long it is before she needs her hocks injected again. It's been six months in the past, but we're on six and a half months right now, and I'm only now starting to feel the gimp come on, very slightly.joycemochahttp://joycemocha.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-68483834163186885622011-04-06T18:22:44.751-07:002011-04-06T18:22:44.751-07:00We've often joked about renaming this place th...We've often joked about renaming this place the "Crippled Critter Ranch" or "Odd Dog Ranch" both of which I like, lol. <br />I think this... old horses, especially those who "worked" can get so despondent retired. They LIVE to get out. A slow short ride, a light person, kids, etc. makes for great joy in their life. <br />We took in Casper for Mercy. Broken down knees, retired rope horse. For 6 years when they'd leave with other horses he'd run the fence, begging to go with. Not understanding why he got left behind. We moved him from CO to AZ to help him be warmer, and he carried Mercy around when she was 2. She learned to team sort on him. Very slowly of course, but that old horse, you could see him swell with pride. Cows were something he knew. He was doing the most important job and he was so happy to have a job. When he could no longer get around, we retired him (and bought Mercy the next horse). He stayed front and center here, receiving tons of carrots and still letting kids sit on him. When he could no longer get around his pen, we held him as the vet did the right thing. <br />He taught me a powerful lesson about cripples and elderly animals. They still need to be needed.Mikeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03574914465998507310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-33551181333049573832011-04-06T13:39:50.390-07:002011-04-06T13:39:50.390-07:00Tansy--What a nice horse you have. And I, too, kno...Tansy--What a nice horse you have. And I, too, know that feeling about half an hour into a relaxed ride, when my horse starts to feel really free and wants to move out. You can tell that they're happy to be there.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-62607641843325545362011-04-06T13:37:32.147-07:002011-04-06T13:37:32.147-07:00Thanks, Kate, for a very thoughtful comment (as us...Thanks, Kate, for a very thoughtful comment (as usual). I did not even go into the real evil done by those who push gimpy horses past their comfort zone in an effort to win some competition or other. I've gone off on this before, and hopefully you all know I don't believe in this. My point, as I know you understood, is that gimpy horses can enjoy light riding. And I do, agree, from what I've read on your blog, that Drifter's former owner was probably quite relieved to hand him off to you. And there are very many people who would not enjoy such a horse. You, on the other hand, have the time, skill and inclination to work with him--and you clearly enjoy it. I think that's what counts. Those who are enjoying their horses are on the right path.<br /><br />Promise--I hear you. It can be a roller coaster, dealing with lameness. But it sounds like you are making all the right choices for Promise.<br /><br />Jackie--Yes, I say that, too. I am stiff starting out, but I still like to go. I think our horses often feel the same.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-79786831695817571222011-04-06T13:35:59.186-07:002011-04-06T13:35:59.186-07:00I have a 16 year old TB. He was raced, evented, sh...I have a 16 year old TB. He was raced, evented, show jumped to 1.20m (about 4ft). <br />He has an old injury in his left hind (it looks as though he's sat on a T-post and cut halfway through his hamstring, but I really don't know.) this makes him unsound for any of this anymore as he is weak already on the one leg, though it is not painful. At the moment I'm suspecting the beginnings of arthritis as well, as he's sound at the trot in the pasture, but takes a while to warm up when out riding. About half an hour into a trail ride you can feel him really start to rev up and move forward more easily. <br />He is the most fantastic first horse I could ever have wished for though. Yesterday when out for a ride in an area we'd never been before, someone was shooting. At the sound of the gun Harry lifted his head, planted his feet and stood still. A few seconds later we moved off as though nothing had happened. Knowing that that's as much of a spook as he's got has done such wonders for my confidence you wouldn't believe it!<br />Together we go trail riding and do small amounts of dressage, mostly for my seat and posture and to keep him flexible. <br />Here's to the older, slightly gimpy horse: Cheers.Tansyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13591073671602947254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-56325847791385862642011-04-06T13:12:24.916-07:002011-04-06T13:12:24.916-07:00Don't have a gimpy horse, but my mare, 11 this...Don't have a gimpy horse, but my mare, 11 this year, is stiff at first until I warm her up. I anticipate issues with her in the future...she was broke/framed/overridden at 2, and I expect her hocks took a hit for all the WP bad training she had. I have her on joint supplements now to help ward that off.<br /><br />I must say, however...I am stiff starting out, have aches and pains, but they do go away when I warm up. And I am no where near ready to be put out to pasture :)HorsesAndTurboshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03607758320356759231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-67891044068757520672011-04-06T08:32:19.909-07:002011-04-06T08:32:19.909-07:00My mare has been anywhere from 2-legged lame to sl...My mare has been anywhere from 2-legged lame to slightly gimpy for going on 2 years now. We've been dealing with injury after injury - starting with the right stifle, presumably a strained tendon, although I refused to do an ultrasound when she didn't get worse after 2 weeks stall rest. After 10 weeks stall rest, she was sound.<br /><br />While it seems to have healed, she is nearly 17, and it most likely changed from strain to arthritis to go with what she already had in the hocks. She certainly doesn't "bounce back" like she used it. Plus, she's 16.2 and 1700 lbs.<br /><br />She tweaked it late last spring, and wasn't off, but wasn't sound, either. No one noticed but me. I gave her more time off. Mid-summer, she came up three-legged lame again. Still more time off with only minor improvements.<br /><br />I had it injected in November and I got an incredibly short 2 months out of the steroid. I had it injected again in February and 2 days later, she was found cast via that same leg, between a gate and a fence. How she managed it, we'll never know. <br /><br />8 weeks later, she's still got some dings. BUT, I put her on a new joint supplement 2 weeks ago, and now she's sound at the walk, and about 90% at the trot on the lunge line. So, I've been getting on her bareback. The first time, we walked for about 10 minutes and called it a day. I was just happy to be riding again!<br /><br />This past weekend, she was raring to go, so I gave in and let her trot. She felt completely sound. My eyes on the ground said she looked sound. Maybe that extra 10% of lameness at the trot is simply being on a circle. I don't know. But, I figure if I can get on and walk, and maybe build up to doing some short trail rides, I'm going to enjoy what little soundness she seems to have left in her. <br /><br />So, yes, I'm riding a slightly gimpy horse. :) And as long as she's happy while we're doing it, not showing any signs of soreness afterwards and doesn't come up lame, I'm going to keep doing it!Promisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12338935046262804307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-28479958601699921062011-04-06T08:29:35.206-07:002011-04-06T08:29:35.206-07:00As you point out, there's gimpy and then there...As you point out, there's gimpy and then there's gimpy. My Noble had high ringbone in one front foot when I got him at age 17, but was always perfectly sound - up until him mid-20s when I stopped riding him because his hock arthritis made him somewhat uncomfortable.<br />I like your trot-in-a-straight line test for light working horses.<br /><br />I do hate to see, however, horses who are obviously lame in the show ring - happens all the time in the equitation classes even if the horses are supposed to be "serviceably sound", whatever that means. Some of these horses are OK and some are miserable - you call tell by the eyes.<br /><br />But keeping an older horse moving with light riding can be the best thing for mild gimpiness, particularly if it's caused by arthritis. And they love the attention and activity, too.<br /><br />You are absolutely right that there are lots of folks out there who are overmounted. In my experience, there's often a trainer in the picture when this happens - trainer gets nice commission when client buys fancy horse, trainer gets paid a lot to do frequent training and warm-up rides and owner thinks they know how to ride since they can go into the show ring and compete on a horse that has been first lunged to death and then schooled by the trainer before the owner gets on.<br /><br />And then there's the folks who purchase young/untrained/badly trained horses out of ignorance, or who buy a horse, pull it out of the pasture a couple times a month and expect everything to be OK - that's how I came to have Drifter - he was under ridden and his owner didn't really have the skills to cope when stuff came up, which it did. He certainly didn't do anything bad to her, but I'll bet she sighed a big sigh of relief when my trailer left her property. And all young horses will have their moments - even my Pie who has the best foundation on him anyone could expect at his age (and then there's the older ones, like my Dawn, who have their moments too - in fact she's my most difficult ride) But I have the time and desire to work with them - they wouldn't be the right horses for someone who didn't want to do the work I do.<br /><br />Matching the right rider to the right horse is difficult - but older horses, as you've said before, can be worth their weight in gold, mild gimpiness or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-70686340647846669022011-04-06T08:23:11.462-07:002011-04-06T08:23:11.462-07:00Linda--I totally agree. Getting light exercise (no...Linda--I totally agree. Getting light exercise (not being pounded hard) is absolutely the best thing for slightly gimpy horses. With my oldsters that I don't ride, they are kept turned out in big pastures and move around a lot to graze. And all are pasture sound--even into their thirties. That regular, light exercise just does wonders. <br /><br />I love hearing about your gimpy herd. They sound like great horses--and very much loved.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-72129841936675488932011-04-06T08:11:56.866-07:002011-04-06T08:11:56.866-07:00I have the gimpiest horses in the West, I assure y...I have the gimpiest horses in the West, I assure you. And that is why I LOVE my farrier--he somehow keeps my problem horses sound. I have a 30 year old who is obviously gimpy because he's old and arthritic--mostly in the shoulder, a 19 year old who's a great trail horse, but really stiff, a 14 year old who broke his P3 four years ago, but has still been my main riding horse, a soft-soled QH (young) but who is often gimpy, however, is the most solid trail horse you'll ever ride, a somewhat club-footed Mustang, and the goofiest footed Paint on God's green earth. I think my horses put the gimp in gimpy, but I'm like you--as long as they're rideable, we're using them. My farrier says it's the best thing for them--all of them.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303523299217618526noreply@blogger.com