I had a lesson with Amy on Saturday and I told her about Flo's general stiffness, not wanting to give her ribcage going right, exasurbated laziness, and unwillingness to pick up the canter. Amy watched me ride and noticed that her hips weren't moving up and down much and her steps seemed shorter behind. She seemed to warm up and move more freely so arthritis seems to be the culprit. Flo is 14 this year and has been incredibly sound up to this point. I've started her on a joint supplement and Amy and I both concured that I should look into getting her hocks injected.
On Wednesday, I took her to Nolensville Vet Clinic because they were considerably cheaper than anyone else around. Dr. Nicole flexed her and agreed that having her hocks done would probably improve her overall comfort. She gave her the sedation shot and Flo had her head on the ground in about .2 seconds! It made me really nervous because it seemed like she was going to fall on the ground at any second as Dr. Nicole was shoving a needle into her hock joint. Yikes! When she put the needle in her right hock (the one I suspected was worse), no fluid came up. Fluid came into the needle on the left hock, but it was clear meaning that is was no longer viscous. She spent the night up in the barn with River (don't worry Taco, it ment nothing) and then was turned out in the morning. I can ride her again on Sat afternoon. I can't wait to see how she feels!
The ticks are knarly right now. River and Pom Pom both have bad reactions to them (allergic?), Mia and Flo have them too but don't have quite as many bumps all over.
It's nice to be able to ride and JUMP more consistantly now that we've moved. I'm hoping to bring some more jumps over this weekend. I only have a few there right now. It looks like a XC warm up with one cross rail, one vertical and one oxer in a row! Hey, I'm happy to have it in a field that's not total mush, believe me!
On Wednesday, I took her to Nolensville Vet Clinic because they were considerably cheaper than anyone else around. Dr. Nicole flexed her and agreed that having her hocks done would probably improve her overall comfort. She gave her the sedation shot and Flo had her head on the ground in about .2 seconds! It made me really nervous because it seemed like she was going to fall on the ground at any second as Dr. Nicole was shoving a needle into her hock joint. Yikes! When she put the needle in her right hock (the one I suspected was worse), no fluid came up. Fluid came into the needle on the left hock, but it was clear meaning that is was no longer viscous. She spent the night up in the barn with River (don't worry Taco, it ment nothing) and then was turned out in the morning. I can ride her again on Sat afternoon. I can't wait to see how she feels!
The ticks are knarly right now. River and Pom Pom both have bad reactions to them (allergic?), Mia and Flo have them too but don't have quite as many bumps all over.
It's nice to be able to ride and JUMP more consistantly now that we've moved. I'm hoping to bring some more jumps over this weekend. I only have a few there right now. It looks like a XC warm up with one cross rail, one vertical and one oxer in a row! Hey, I'm happy to have it in a field that's not total mush, believe me!