I am really pleased to report that Zue is doing really well! Its been really hard to stick to my own advice and work program! I now feel for all of you whom have been told to walk for x amount of time etc. Especially when you have a horse that offers so much, and only you know they are not physically capable of sustaining it!
His vet came out on a week ago and gave the all clear for him to return to the field, he was a happy boy. Some of you would have seen his videos on Equi-senses facebook. So he is now going out every day, building up from an hour a day.
His work is also gently increasing. He had been lunged for 2 weeks, approx 15 – 20 minutes maximum by the end, and mainly in walk/trot. His canter was so weak that I decided to do lots of walk / trot transitions to start building the strength in his quarters. After a week of doing this his canter was much better.
He has been under saddle now for 2 weeks. Again taking it really slowly and building fitness and strength gently. Starting out with 15 minutes a day and only the last two days has been 30 minutes. This he will stay on for a while. Again, mainly walk and trot with lots of transitions and lots of time stretching down walking after he has really engaged. After a few days of lots of transitions, he started to going into passage thinking this is what I wanted! What a trier. He now gets the hint I really only want a nice balanced trot pushing equally from behind.
His first canter was diabolical! Totally on the forehand, completely bent and no substance or jump! It was a good starting point and could only get better. Hence why I laid off the canter and concentrated on the trot, he just did not have the strength.
So now two weeks on, just the other day, I cantered again, and can report a great improvement. He is only cantering around the arena both ways a couple of times with transitions to trot and back to canter every time I feel him go weak and want to fall on his nose.
Physically I have picked up soreness coming through his whole body. He is quite tight in his gluteals, through his pelvis and sacro-iliac, this is definitely what I feel in the canter. It is likely that this tightness is a result of his stable rest as he has been unable to move. He is also tight through his back and again in his girth, this is typical of having not been ridden for a while and his muscles adjusting to the weight of a rider and the girth. Its nice to feel that his shoulders, where tightness had been for a while due to front feet injury, is getting better. I am restricting myself to treating him weekly to make sure I get enough of a comparison.
Shoes go back on Friday. So its off hacking next week! Cant wait to tell those tales!
His vet came out on a week ago and gave the all clear for him to return to the field, he was a happy boy. Some of you would have seen his videos on Equi-senses facebook. So he is now going out every day, building up from an hour a day.
His work is also gently increasing. He had been lunged for 2 weeks, approx 15 – 20 minutes maximum by the end, and mainly in walk/trot. His canter was so weak that I decided to do lots of walk / trot transitions to start building the strength in his quarters. After a week of doing this his canter was much better.
He has been under saddle now for 2 weeks. Again taking it really slowly and building fitness and strength gently. Starting out with 15 minutes a day and only the last two days has been 30 minutes. This he will stay on for a while. Again, mainly walk and trot with lots of transitions and lots of time stretching down walking after he has really engaged. After a few days of lots of transitions, he started to going into passage thinking this is what I wanted! What a trier. He now gets the hint I really only want a nice balanced trot pushing equally from behind.
His first canter was diabolical! Totally on the forehand, completely bent and no substance or jump! It was a good starting point and could only get better. Hence why I laid off the canter and concentrated on the trot, he just did not have the strength.
So now two weeks on, just the other day, I cantered again, and can report a great improvement. He is only cantering around the arena both ways a couple of times with transitions to trot and back to canter every time I feel him go weak and want to fall on his nose.
Physically I have picked up soreness coming through his whole body. He is quite tight in his gluteals, through his pelvis and sacro-iliac, this is definitely what I feel in the canter. It is likely that this tightness is a result of his stable rest as he has been unable to move. He is also tight through his back and again in his girth, this is typical of having not been ridden for a while and his muscles adjusting to the weight of a rider and the girth. Its nice to feel that his shoulders, where tightness had been for a while due to front feet injury, is getting better. I am restricting myself to treating him weekly to make sure I get enough of a comparison.
Shoes go back on Friday. So its off hacking next week! Cant wait to tell those tales!
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