Sorry this has taken some time to write; I keep waiting for the chiropractor's notes and I still haven't gotten them.
Arya went to the chiropractor on Monday - weighing in at an impressive 1200 lbs and change when she got to the University clinic - and got her lower back and poll, in particular, worked on heavily. She was a nervous and anxious girl (though some of the adjustments definitely felt good enough to stop her from wanting to walk or look or be #anxietymare) and the doctor told me she'd bet money Arya has ulcers. She also showed me some interesting items from an angle I don't normally get to see; from on top of her adjusting blocks, the doctor took some photos with her iPad and showed me how uneven Arya's haunches (her butt cheeks, really) are from the top. I've always thought her tail placement was... odd.. and that she had a weird shaped back end, but generally don't complain because clearly there is a lot of power there. However, from the muscle differences (which are huge) the Chiropractor is guessing that no one really rehabbed her after her surgery (I am, frankly, not totally surprised about this) and building up her muscles and evening her out is going to be an important next step in going forward. She also, very delicately, pointed out that Arya doesn't yet trust me and that a trusting relationship would go a long way to help me keep her calmer and more controllable, and move past the hurdles of our escalating issues because we'd be working on a basis of trust.
And while I have always been trying to take it slow and be patient with Arya, the last couple months haven't left me with a lot of spare time for long, chill grooming sessions, nor has the weather really encouraged anything other than hurrying to do chores and get back inside before my face freezes off. Nature hasn't been kind to Arya and I's relationship, and that is an uncomfortable truth that I have to deal with. So starting on Monday when I got home, all plans have been put on hold, indefinitely. I plan to bring Arya back to "work" this weekend with some lunging and have been trying, all week, to slowly start putting credits in the trust bank. With Arya's feral nature right now, this means I've been working on approaching her and doing something brief and positive, like rubbing her ouchy/itchy spots, petting her, telling her she's a good girl, a quick treat... and then I leave her alone. I haven't been catching her, and we haven't gone back to work yet.
Both Arya and Bailey, because Bailey is a total follower, have gotten it into their heads that running away from me is a super fun game, so I need to nip this issue in the bud. I need to be able to walk up and catch them, whether or not they think they're going to be worked or not.
Besides spending lots of time out there, do any of you have any methods that have worked well for the hard to catch horse? I know I need to not chase... it's my weakness but I hate it when they run from me, because they think it's quite fun and it irritates me.
On the ulcers front, I am running with this post from Cob Jockey and am starting Arya on Nexium tonight. I am going with the dirt cheap route, using Costco's generic, which cost me 14$ for 21 days worth of pills. I also am heavily looking at changing Arya's feed (and probably everyone, because why not) from regular "blue bag" Ultium to the "purple bag" Ultium Gastric Care. I haven't used it before, and I'm not 100% sure I believe the mumbo-jumbo but it's a 0$ change (the bags cost the same, or slightly less than my blue bag), and that's the kind of money I have to spend right now.
Other than that, I did get a ride in on Bailey - over the weekend, and Wednesday. Talking with S, who owns Bailey's mom, the whole "being a bear to get back to work" runs in the family, so I tried to not be so gloomy about it, and shocker, being less gloomy made riding more pleasant. We're just doing basic W/T/C right now, but I am thinking I may drag out some jumps because even I am getting bored with that.
So yeah, we're existing over here.
Arya went to the chiropractor on Monday - weighing in at an impressive 1200 lbs and change when she got to the University clinic - and got her lower back and poll, in particular, worked on heavily. She was a nervous and anxious girl (though some of the adjustments definitely felt good enough to stop her from wanting to walk or look or be #anxietymare) and the doctor told me she'd bet money Arya has ulcers. She also showed me some interesting items from an angle I don't normally get to see; from on top of her adjusting blocks, the doctor took some photos with her iPad and showed me how uneven Arya's haunches (her butt cheeks, really) are from the top. I've always thought her tail placement was... odd.. and that she had a weird shaped back end, but generally don't complain because clearly there is a lot of power there. However, from the muscle differences (which are huge) the Chiropractor is guessing that no one really rehabbed her after her surgery (I am, frankly, not totally surprised about this) and building up her muscles and evening her out is going to be an important next step in going forward. She also, very delicately, pointed out that Arya doesn't yet trust me and that a trusting relationship would go a long way to help me keep her calmer and more controllable, and move past the hurdles of our escalating issues because we'd be working on a basis of trust.
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| Weird butt. |
And while I have always been trying to take it slow and be patient with Arya, the last couple months haven't left me with a lot of spare time for long, chill grooming sessions, nor has the weather really encouraged anything other than hurrying to do chores and get back inside before my face freezes off. Nature hasn't been kind to Arya and I's relationship, and that is an uncomfortable truth that I have to deal with. So starting on Monday when I got home, all plans have been put on hold, indefinitely. I plan to bring Arya back to "work" this weekend with some lunging and have been trying, all week, to slowly start putting credits in the trust bank. With Arya's feral nature right now, this means I've been working on approaching her and doing something brief and positive, like rubbing her ouchy/itchy spots, petting her, telling her she's a good girl, a quick treat... and then I leave her alone. I haven't been catching her, and we haven't gone back to work yet.
Both Arya and Bailey, because Bailey is a total follower, have gotten it into their heads that running away from me is a super fun game, so I need to nip this issue in the bud. I need to be able to walk up and catch them, whether or not they think they're going to be worked or not.
Besides spending lots of time out there, do any of you have any methods that have worked well for the hard to catch horse? I know I need to not chase... it's my weakness but I hate it when they run from me, because they think it's quite fun and it irritates me.
On the ulcers front, I am running with this post from Cob Jockey and am starting Arya on Nexium tonight. I am going with the dirt cheap route, using Costco's generic, which cost me 14$ for 21 days worth of pills. I also am heavily looking at changing Arya's feed (and probably everyone, because why not) from regular "blue bag" Ultium to the "purple bag" Ultium Gastric Care. I haven't used it before, and I'm not 100% sure I believe the mumbo-jumbo but it's a 0$ change (the bags cost the same, or slightly less than my blue bag), and that's the kind of money I have to spend right now.
Other than that, I did get a ride in on Bailey - over the weekend, and Wednesday. Talking with S, who owns Bailey's mom, the whole "being a bear to get back to work" runs in the family, so I tried to not be so gloomy about it, and shocker, being less gloomy made riding more pleasant. We're just doing basic W/T/C right now, but I am thinking I may drag out some jumps because even I am getting bored with that.
So yeah, we're existing over here.
I'm glad the chiro gave you a baseline and some ideas on what to work on. Hopefully changing things up a little yields success! 🙂
ReplyDeleteMe too! It was very educational, and I came in very suspicious. She does, however, seem more comfortable in her skin this week. She's probably always going to be a more anxious type, but I'm hoping I can make some investments now and build a horse for the future.
DeleteFor hard to catch, I would go out with no agenda for a few days. I would have a peppermint with me, and just feed a peppermint pat them then leave. As this repeated, "catch" time decreased dramatically. Then I added bringing in for a groom and food, and finally food and a workpit. Always the peppermint. Now my hard to catch horse scares the other herdmates away so he can get to me first 😂 Individually wrapped peppermint with crinkly wrapper helps immensely.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have loaded my pockets with peppermints and have been trying to make all of our interactions positive. She's got a blanket strap loose so today will be a status check day... previous attempts to fix said blanket strap except at dinner time have resulted in running away.
DeleteI'm curious to see how the ulcer treatment works for you! Definitely keep us updated.
ReplyDelete