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Post by janwilky on Dec 6, 2012 10:56:16 GMT 1
The swelling has gone down a lot, which is just what's needed for the op to be a success. I look a bit worse from in front though because my face is decidedly asymmetrical Surgeon says 6 weeks before I can eat solid food, but I should be up and about much sooner than that - as soon as I'm over the anaesthetic and the swelling's gown down again I guess. I'm not one for laying about once I don't really need to, so hopefully not too long! Jill I know what you're saying, and I don't disagree with it, but the more I think about it the more I think it was me that overstepped the mark and made a big mistake. I know Lucas well enough to know he needs more repetitions than many horses to get used to something new, and I should have checked, doubled checked and triple checked he was OK with the boots before cantering in them and I should have cantered him on the lunge first before doing it in the saddle. I was complacent because he'd been doing so well recently, but I overfaced him and in that sense I let him down. I have done the trailing lead ropes thing with him, though not recently, but preparing him along the lines Taklishim suggests would have been very wise. Certainly it's a lesson for the future, and I'll definitely be thinking how we can help him cope better with the unexpected and hopefully learn to react in a less extreme fashion. But I don't think there was anything about what happened that was deliberate on his part - he just flipped into panic mode and reacted the only way he knew how. It's up to me to make sure he doesn't do it again, not with me in the saddle anyway - that's going to be the challenge. Of course I may just be spouting drug-induced nonsense and I'll read all this in a couple of weeks and think it's complete rubbish ;D ;D
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Post by janwilky on Dec 6, 2012 11:07:58 GMT 1
Just seen your post Amanda and yes, you're completely right of course and I know that's why you're concerned about me getting back on him. I promise I won't until and unless we can address this issue. That extreme explosive reaction has always potentially been there in him, it doesn't show itself very often and I have twice now thought we'd left it behind and moved on. Different situations, different triggers, but the same reaction that seems totally out of scale with his character and the way he normally behaves. I strongly suspect it goes back to something that happened before I had him, but I'm not sure that helps much....
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Post by taklishim on Dec 6, 2012 11:24:58 GMT 1
you did your best for him Jan and certainly haven't let him down. I was just posting about the boot training really in case others are considering boots and having a second thought after what happened. In case there is anyone after I have done the flapping on the hoof bit I turn the horse out in the boots, on concrete/yard to start with and then in the field. So far it has been OK but it could of course cost me a boot but that would be preferable. When they start riding we stick to a walk for a long time and then have very short controlled trots. I am very cautious. Jan does Lucas have a hind gut problem? ie hind gut acidosis? I ask because I have one in that situation. He would be fine and you would think he was learning but then he would just freak way out of proportion to whatever had happened. His reactions were so over the top compared to what a normal horse would do. What for another horse was a small shy for him was major panic. Once I dealt with the problem there was a lot of improvement. Just wondered.
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Post by janwilky on Dec 6, 2012 13:40:12 GMT 1
Thanks Taklishim . I've wondered about hindgut myself, more than once, initially prompted by a bodyworker (Amanda knows who I'm talking about and it's come up as a possibility several times since. I don't know - he does often look stiff on the RH/doesn't step under as well on that side which I know can be a symptom of hind gut discomfort, though it did improve with Amanda's schooling. But he looks the picture of good health in every other way - shiny coat, plenty of energy, very good doer - his diet is good, and I feed yea-sacc. My grass is a little bit scary at times but he's on very restricted grazing with soaked hay and seems to manage OK on that - or not, perhaps . How did you diagnose yours, and what was the solution? Would I need to try something like Succeed and see if there was an improvement?
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Post by taklishim on Dec 6, 2012 16:51:19 GMT 1
HI Jan, I worked mine out by commonsense as I didn't think there was a scope etc for hind gut problems. Especially after eating if I walk alongside him with my arm over his back just behind the saddle he would double barrell me. He hated being groomed, the further back the worse it got. The worst part was the unreliability and the freaking. Yet I know both his parents and bought him for the brilliant temperaments of his parents. He was the sort of horse (15hh) that you should just have been able to lead around the roads and climb on off a bank one day and ride home. He wasn't. You took out life insurance to ride him.
I experimented with diet. I cut out all molasses in beet pulp and then even cut out unmollased beet pulp. He seems OK on 1lb per day FF and 8oz per day soaked hi fibre nuts. He is made worse by grass and spring grass turned him into a killer yet off the grass and on his diet he is a very sweet horse.
The biggest breakthrough is the charcoal. 2 x ml scoops of stable label for his morning feed. You have to stop charcoal to worm. At worming times he becomes horrendous again. I also feed limestone flour which seemed to help. Don't know if it is the antacid effect and yea sac of which he gets 2 x ml scoops per day. (have to seperate the supps to one feed and the charcoal to another)
On this he is very sweet, kind and not spooky. MIne is also a good doer and looks lovely. It may be worth a try to give charcoal a go. Will cost you around £15. The result if it worked would be less spookiness/panic type behaviour and a calmer happier boy. Won't do any harm and it would be another thing you had eliminated.
I had succeed next on my list to try if charcoal failed. The thing causing the spookiness appear to be pain but pains in the gut rather than stiffness/back type pain. Those horses just look uncomfortable but they are not unpredicatable and spooky. The hind gut pain seems to produce the irrationality and spookiness. Hope some of this is useful.
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Post by janwilky on Dec 6, 2012 18:40:58 GMT 1
Yes, thank you - something to think about while I'm recovering . I don't have any problems with grooming or girthiness etc, and he's probably the least spooky horse I've ever ridden - that's the odd thing about him, he either has no problem at all or a HUGE problem. But I have always suspected his behaviour is affected by grass (much more than his feet), and he's always been worst in the autumn. But he was on very little grass at the time of last week's accident as my field has been very wet and I didn't want to open any more up until it dried out a bit - so he's been on soaked hay with sparse pickings from the track and two small paddocks. But as charcoal is such a cheap option it might be worth trying, as you suggest. I'd been thinking of trying it for my other old chap, who's a windsucker.
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Amanda Seater
Grand Prix Poster
Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
Posts: 3,866
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Post by Amanda Seater on Dec 6, 2012 19:06:02 GMT 1
got a tub in stock if you want it Jan. We switched to your suggestion of bi carb for Bazil- it worked better.
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Post by janwilky on Dec 7, 2012 0:04:38 GMT 1
Helped Coco too ;D but didn't notice any difference in Lucas Blooming horses eh? Well that's me over and out until I come round. Thanks everyone for your lovely concern and well wishes, I'm feeling very buoyed up and strengthened by it all. I just want it to be over now. Will let you know how it goes xx
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Post by cheekychops on Dec 7, 2012 10:10:36 GMT 1
Good luck today Jan! thinking of you! xx
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Post by mandal on Dec 7, 2012 10:16:08 GMT 1
Glad to read the swelling is going down and I hope it's not too painful. Good luck for the op. x
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Post by curlytobiano on Dec 8, 2012 21:35:57 GMT 1
oo thinking of you Jan! Do hope you are not too sore after the op but it is a bit of a shock to wake up I guess.. Hope they are giving you plenty of morphine. Best wishes for a really quick recovery x
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Post by K8 on Dec 8, 2012 22:12:06 GMT 1
Hope your healing well.
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Amanda Seater
Grand Prix Poster
Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
Posts: 3,866
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Post by Amanda Seater on Dec 8, 2012 22:50:47 GMT 1
Jan is out of surgery and home tomorrow all being well.
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wills
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 4,657
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Post by wills on Dec 9, 2012 0:19:22 GMT 1
Hope your not in to much discomfort jan x
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Post by Dragonmaster on Dec 10, 2012 0:15:48 GMT 1
Just read through all this after reading Amanda's post on facebook. Sending healing vibes, but after the injury and surgery I strongly recommend you take arnica. You won't need to swallow any pills, they are tiny and dissolve under your tongue. Arnica is very good to help the body recover from shock and trauma and injury.
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