Six Months Later

It's been half a year since Quest's mysterious lameness was diagnosed as a RF suspensory injury. The journey so far was a rollercoaster ride of emotions but the overwhelming stress I felt at the beginning has gone down to something more emotionally manageable over time.

The blog has been quiet lately but much has been going on behind the scenes. After the vet's suggestion to let her rest in pasture for a month back in mid-June, I decided to extend the time by 2 more months since 24/7 full turnout access would slow healing/recovery period and push back when we began the "active" rehabilitation phase. In our case, the decision to give Quest the extra time off was the right one. This past weekend I palpated LF and RF legs and didn't note any difference in reaction. The cooler autumn weather was also giving her that extra pep in her step and Quest was sound sound sound.

Most rehabilitation plans reintroduce undertack walking at 3 months after injury and as the half year mark loomed closer and closer, I kept a watchful eye on her progress to determine our next course of action...not wanting to jeopardize our hard won progress by rushing forward with too much too soon. Fate is rather funny though. As if to answer any doubt about the mareface's ability to  handle a undertack walking rehab workload, the questions were dashed in the next instant.

I had only just put Quest back out in pasture when she first picked up a trot then suddenly began to full out GALLOP through the pasture like a wild hooligan. The entire galloping herd then suddenly appeared from the lower pasture. Quest joined up with them and they all thundered up and down the hills while I stood watching by the paddock gate trying not to have a heart attack. Thankfully the herd soon came to a stop by the upper paddock and I was able to observe Quest move afterwards. No head bobbing. I let out a sigh of relief.

Near heart attack aside, being able to see firsthand her moving that freely did my soul much good though and I finally allowed myself to feel a sliver of hope that hid itself away for many months.

After 3 months of pasture, Quest is definitely on the rounder side...but nothing that slow steady tack walking won't cure though. I'm happy, still cautious, but happy. We're a long way from where we were before but hopefully things are on the upswing. Fingers crossed for continued improvement!

Happy September

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I’m so very glad we were spared the wrath of Hurricane Hermine and able to enjoy a long weekend under blue skies and bright sunlight. I took an extra day off from work last week to run some errands and visit Quest. My mom decided to accompany me to the barn since she has never been to WSS since we moved.

When we arrived, I found Quest was peaceably standing in the run-in with B’s warmblood mare Duck while the rest of the herd grazed much further out in the main field. Duck can be rather alpha in pasture and Quest is usually with her mid & lower ranked mare friends. All was well though.

After getting mareface groomed and cleaned up, I touched up her fronts. I’ve been doing little trims to try as much I can to keep her comfortable while healing.

Then we played dress up with a new black biothane trail bridle I found SUPER cheap on a FB tack group. I was looking for just black reins and found the bridle with the reins thrown in as part of the package. The price was way too good to pass up.

The browband was a little huge but everything else fit fine

I retied the orange rope halter and added on some purple paracord- it looks so snazzy on Quest! I also organized my tank trunk and took a bunch of stuff home to wash. It was a short visit but a lot was accomplished.

On Saturday, I was able to snag a ride at the old barn. I had not ridden Smokey in a couple months but it went well. A told me he got worked hard the day before so I really had my work cut out for me with an extremely unmotivated horse. We focused on forward trotting and managed to get in some nice short canter sets before calling it a day with arena riding. A and I then took the horses out for a short trail ride.

Western turned English pony  

All in all, it was a good horse-filled start to a long weekend. I’m really looking forward to riding more this month.