The Great Shoe Debate

My farrier was out the very next day, thankfully, to get Hampton set up with his new shoes.

However, there was a problem.

The vet had prescribed an aluminum reverse shoe.

Yes, that would be a shoe put on backwards.

Example of a reverse shoe

BUT. My farrier disagreed for a number of reasons.
1. Hampton lives outside and would burn through an aluminum shoe quickly.
2. He didn't like the idea of the toe being unprotected.
3. He has never had a vet prescribe a reverse shoe ever, except in severe laminitis cases where the horse is on stall rest and on fluffy shavings.

Farrier suggested we start with bar shoes.

However, when he called the vet - who by the way, is working for one of the top lameness vets in the state if not the country - the vet said, and I quote, "Put on the reverse shoe and I'll take the blame."

So this puts my farrier in a weird position. His gut, and YEARS of experience shoeing horses, says start with a bar shoe. But he doesn't want to go against a vet's request because that could really damage his reputation if word got out. The majority of his business is referrals from vets.

I totally understood and respect that.

So here I am, stuck in the middle of two men who admittedly have large egos, and all I want is WHAT IS BEST FOR MY HORSE. I was annoyed that this vet didn't even TRY to discuss a plan with my farrier. It was just my way or the highway. Oh if the horse suffers for it I'll take the blame? WHAT? WTF MAN?

So Hampton ended up getting bar shoes which I am totally OK with. I know vet's have this big degree and everything, but they don't work on feet for a living. So I went with what my farrier's gut feeling was. I feel like this was the best decision for Hampton right now. And if it doesn't work, we can try something else. You can always get more aggressive and creative. I also got the opinion of another farrier I respect, and he also said that reverse shoes were not his favorite. I am sure they do work in same cases, and may work on Hampton, too, but I'd rather start with the bars and see what that does. I'd rather not leave his toe unprotected unless I have to. Both provide the heel support he is probably wanting anyway.

Porkchop got custom welded straight bar shoes with clips

And I won't be telling the vet! Ssshhhhh.

What would you have done in this situation?

Answers and a plan

I HAD TO.

My normal vet is on vacation so a colleague came out and took a look at Porkchop.

I lunged him both directions, still lame pretty consistently both ways on the right front. Vet could not find any heat, swelling, etc. on any tendons or whatnot which has been the case since Hampton first presented.

So, next stop would be blocking.

My gut said it was something in the foot, and it turned out I was right. He blocked almost immediately sound on the right foot. So, whatever was causing the pain was likely the coffin joint and/or navicular area. *groan*

A few X-rays later, and it was confirmed.

Hamptons RF X-Ray. You can see the changes around the coffin joint.
Hard to see navicular changes on this angle.

There are arthritic changes in the coffin joint, and definite changes in the navicular bone.

I've got a whole set of X Rays and will share more whenever the vet uploads them. I only snapped a photo of this angle since it was the one the farrier needed.

I knew this was probably coming, but not quite so soon! I mean horses are big (esp. Hampton), the feet are small, and he works hard. This is extremely common in performance horses.

 Thankfully for now it seems minor and very manageable. But deep down, I know that the clock is now ticking on his upper level dressage career.

But I felt a little better knowing there was a plan.

Hampton got his RF coffin joint injected, and the vet left me with instructions on shoes to give to my farrier.

We had the same expressions after all this vet work.

.... which then turned into a whole new saga.

What happens when your vet and farrier disagree about treatment for your horse?

I was about to find out.

(to be continued ...)

Lameness Psychosis

2017 Third Level

About two weeks ago, Hampton suddenly came up lame on his right front.

It wasn't awful, but he was slightly head-bobbing at the trot, and only to the right. I initially thought stone bruise, or possibly an abscess presenting weird. Hampton is stoic, so sometimes he does not display pain like some other, wimpy horses might.

After waiting a few days, still no change. It wasn't getting better, and wasn't getting worse.

So, I called the vet for an exam.

And that is when Lameness Psychosis kicks in.

You all know what I'm talking about. It is a mental disorder I believe all horse people acquire at some point during horse ownership.

Symptoms include loss of appetite, insomnia, anxiety, grumpyness, fear, and racing thoughts.

Some of the thoughts that went through my mind include:

Is this serious
What if it is?
Should I just take him to Rood n Riddle for a full work up?
What if he needs an MRI?
WHERE WILL I GET THAT MONEY
What if it's a collateral ligament injury?
How would he do on long term stall rest?
Not well!
Would I be able to afford to send him to a rehab farm?
What if he will never be sound again?
Where could he retire?
Should I sell him to be a lower level school master?
He's only 11 dammit!
I cannot afford two horses.
He deserves a good life forever though. I can't sell him.
Would I be ok just trail riding him?
What if he can't be ridden anymore?
What if the vet finds something awful?
What if there is no hope?
WHAT IF HE DIES.

You can see how thinking these things for several days drove me nuts. Like, I did not eat a meal for about a week I was so worked up over this. Lameness Psychosis. IT IS REAL.

Upon notice of resulting vet bills, more severe symptoms may include vomiting, fainting, and banging your head on a wall.

Anyway, on Tuesday the vet came out and did an exam.

We found the issue pretty much immediately.

(to be continued ...)

The Cost of Horse Shows

Alternate title: Why I probably need to just start hooking on the corner.

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Have seen a few related blog hops going around, so I'm jumping on the wagon!

Breaking down costs is probably going to make me cry and/or vomit but here goes.

USEF/USDF Recognized shows
Since each day is a separate show, fees are paid twice.

Stabling: This can vary from cheap ($90 at the HHP) or take-it-in-the-butt, like KHP for $150+ So for these purposes I will just go with $100 and that is for 2 nights. $100

Shavings: $7/bag, I usually get 5 bags. $35

Entry fees: This year I entered 2 PSG classes, and one Freestyle each weekend. A qualifying PSG class is $65 (x2), and a freestyle is $65. So, for one weekend in entries: $195

USEF fee $23 x2 = $46

Office fee $35 x2 = $70

Poof all my money gone.

Total for entries: $446

Hotel: Liz and I are cheap-asses, so we often escape with little or no hotel fees unless we are far away from home (like Balmoral). I have both Liz and Jen to crash with in Indiana, and my brother lives in Lexington so that area is covered as well. I have also slept in the truck a couple of times if the weather is ok. If a hotel is needed, we split it between at least two of us, sometimes others. So for this I will just average out to $100 for lodging, even though it really varies. $100

Food: I try to bring snacks, but almost always eat out anyway. Plus booze. $25

My bestest horse show friends!
#teamboozewater 

Gas: Gas is also split in some way. But on average, I'll end up putting about $75 in the tank. $75

Misc: Just going to add in another $100 for misc. shit I always end up spending money on at horse shows. A new shirt, treats for Hampton, something I forgot, etc. etc. $100

Other expenses: $300

Grand total for a weekend (2 rated shows): $746

Walking with Liz at the Hoosier Horse Park

This of course does not include membership dues or anything like that.

I haul myself, thanks to borrowing Liz's truck, and I do all my own grooming, tack cleaning, care, etc. etc.  It is A LOT of work, but I find it super rewarding and honestly having all that work to do keeps me from getting any show anxiety!

A porkchop and a Conner.

I need to do a post on my show routine and how I manage to stay on track without a trainer, etc. etc.

Schooling shows are WAY CHEAPER, often costing me just a little more than $100 when it's all said and done.

Welp, that ended up totaling about what I thought it would. *puke*

But it's fun and I enjoy it, which makes it worth every penny.

Also, I'm a ribbon whore.

Tempis and treadmills

Remember when Balmoral was 75, breezy and no humidity?! Ahhhhh
PC: J. Kaiser

My goal is to show PSG, my freestyle and Equitation at regionals this year, but I've also started to look a little beyond that, too! Like ... maaaaaybe I can take a peek at the I-1? The only "new" things are whole canter pirouettes, two tempis, and a baby canter zig zag. The full pirouettes are not an issue, they are actually easier than a half one for some reason. Probably because I have a case of the dumbs when I do them. But most of my worries come from learning the two tempis! Well, might as well just jump in the deep end!

The other day I played with the 2-tempis a little bit! I have never ridden the twos, not even on a schoolmaster so it was the blind leading the blind here. But slowly I am finding the rhythm. I can get about 4, before I start to lose the balance and jump in the canter. I'll slowly start to add more as we get better at this. In the I-1 you have to do 7 changes in the line of 2s. And by the time you get to Grand Prix I believe you have to do nine changes. So you gotta start somewhere! I figure I would keep doing 4, and making them good for a while and then start to add a couple more - instead of just trying to flail through 7 when it's not necessary right now.

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And last week during a super insta-sweat day, I took Hampton down the road for a session on the water treadmill! We are so lucky that our farm is about 1/4 mile from a large race training facility. Might as well take advantage of that! I didn't even need to trailer. Just walked my horse down there like the hillbillies we are.

At first Hamp was a little skeptical of this contraption, but willingly walked in. And the two guys were absolute pros on teaching horses about treadmills. Once Hampton figured out all he needed to do was walk, he relaxed and actually looked pretty happy and cocky about figuring out this new game.

The guys said most horses start blowing and puffing after about 5 minutes for their first time on the treadmill. Hampton did so well he ended up doing 8 minutes and was not winded whatsoever. Gradually, you increase their time to about 20 minutes. The race horses work on the treadmill daily!

It cost me $60 so this certainly won't be daily for Hampton, but maybe every other week? It was super cool to see how he had to work all his muscles, and I think it might be good to add to his program. Especially since he enjoyed it and really took to it!

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On out way walking back the owner of the farm drove up next to us in his car. He said "Excuse me. I would like to know why you were on my property with that horse."

I was like, "Um we were using the aquatread and we just live down the road so I walked?" And he sort of laughed and said no problem and drove away.

I mean, does it look like I am stealing a race horse sir? Look at my horse. LOOK AT HIM. lol. But the fella was nice he just didn't know what the hell we were doing. #wehilljacks

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Next plans include a show in August, and hopefully a clinic!

The Heat is On

Most def NOT the current situation.

Kentucky has been as hot and humid as satan's butthole lately.

In the early mornings, there is this mist everywhere because even the air is sweating. I have been riding around 7:30-8 am and STILL Hamp and I are dripping sweat even before we work!

On Monday I rode a brief 15-20 min and really had a hard time getting Hampton's respiration to come down to normal. I hosed and scraped him for about 15 minutes, and it did improve but he was still puffing even after that and he usually recovers quickly from work. So he got a tube of electrolytes, and I have started giving him alfalfa slushies which he is loving.

Video of Hampton and his slushy. Turn up volume for full effect.

Here are a few other things that I have found really help in this awful midwestern heat and humidity:

What do you all use?



This BodyArmor drink is the best thing I have found for myself to keep hydrated! At shows I will add some Sprite to it, which encourages carbonation addicts like myself to keep drinking. Sometimes I do get a little sick of certain flavors, but this stuff is awesome and I have never had any heat related issues which I had this stuff to drink.



Gatorade chews are basically what I live on at horse shows. They are a quick, easy little snack and won't make you feel full. They are also appetizing even on nasty hot days when you are not hungry but you know you need something. I like to eat these in the mornings and it gives me a good boost through lunch.



I give Hampton the tube version of these electrolytes. Everyone has their own preference on brand, but I don't really have a favorite. Most of them are pretty much the same. But my local tack store has the Summer Games and I grabbed some. Anytime the temp is 90 or above I always give the "heavy sweating" dose.



There have been a couple of horse shows where this seemingly innocuous towel has been a lifesaver! I keep it in the cooler with the ice and water, and then take it out and drape it around my neck, or over my head. It's like turning on the AC!!


So those are a few of my favorite things to help make this awful heat a little more tolerable.

Stay cool everyone!

Scholarship announcement!

I have been working with one of my local GMOs on a scholarship in memory of my dad.

It will be called the Dan Taylor Family Scholarship! To start off, it will be available through the Indiana Dressage Society. But my hope is that I am able to raise funds over the years and 1) Make the IDS scholarship self-funding and 2) start a couple other grants to give to other organizations such as therapeutic riding organizations.

But first I start small!

The IDS grant will be available to AAs who train their own horses. You have to apply, and there are a few other requirements. More information soon will be available through IDS.

But my hope is to offer a little help to those who are working so hard to train and show, plus hold down a "regular" job as well! It is NOT for people who have someone else train their horse and then hop on to show on the weekends. (Nothing wrong with that, but I had to set some perimeters) 

Right now one scholarship will be available per year but if I can raise enough funds it could grow to more. Would be nice to offer 2 or 3 someday!

I'm hoping to give back to the dressage community, as well as keep my dad's memory alive. And his legacy as an awesome show dad! Over the years he was a gatekeeper, announcer, food sponsor, groom, did work around the farms, class sponsor, horse holder, treat giver, stall cleaner and water guy, amongst so many other things!

If you want to donate, I would be forever grateful. I need to raise $1000 to fund the IDS scholarship for 5 years.

Hampton as an awkward 3 year old! ha!