Daylight Savings

Once you have kids, the whole daylight savings thing starts to make a lot less sense. Our family morning routine and bedtime schedules have been out of whack for days...but I'm hoping things will get better soon. 

On the upside, additional daylight also means more hours in the day for barn visits to hang out with my best mareface.

We did a family barn visit this past weekend and managed to beat out the rain before it hit the area hard. 

I was so relieved to see that Quest's eye is 100% better, and no follow-up vet visit was warranted thankfully! She is certainly looking and feeling like her old self again. 

I gave her a nice grooming session- all the rain and pasture mud made that a FUN challenge. And I also did a quick maintenance trim while the rest of the family napped in the car waiting for me. Asides from that pesky RF mild clubfoot that we need to balance out, her feet are solid and easy to work with. I really appreciate a horse with decent feet. 

More daylight also means more trail time with Quest very soon. As mareface gets along in years though, I've been intentional in adjusting expectations as well. I recently read a great article What Ever Happened to “Serviceably” Sound?  that affirmed enjoying your horse doesn't end just because they aren't 100% in every shape and form. "A horse can be less than perfect and still be wonderful."

As long as Quest is ready for adventure, we'll be out enjoying our trails and daylight together until the day she tells me otherwise.

Of Tandem Rides and Eyes

The start of 2024 has been quite something to be sure. Since moving Quest back out to SV, I haven't been able to see her as often as I would like but she's definitely living her best life in pasture and with lots of horsey friends. I sorely miss the days when she was close to home but it's getting harder and harder to find a place nearby that has a good balance of all the things that we both need. Knowing how much happier Quest is being pasture boarded, I can't in good conscience keep her in a stall just for my convenience either.   

I'm thankful for a supportive non-horsey husband though and we try to do as many family barn trips on the weekend as possible. And with winter slowly giving way to spring (fingers crossed), there is riding to be done! Mareface is always game for a quick adventure and my son has been enjoying all of our tandem bareback rides around the property. Quest has never put a foot wrong with him on board. She's really just the best <3 I'm hoping we can graduate to trail rides soon, maybe that'll be a goal for the summer. 

A couple weeks ago, Quest had her first mishap in years. This mare has a really strong sense of self-preservation that she rarely, if ever, needs a vet visit. However one morning a couple weeks ago, the BO texted me that she noticed during morning feeds that Quest's right eye was watering. It looked a million times better after the BO took her in and cleaned it up. It wasn't as scary looking anymore and Quest didn't seem any worse for the wear. As luck and timing would have it, the vet was coming out for dental work at the barn later that week and I had them check out Quest's eye just in case. 

It turns out that mareface had somehow scraped the inside of her bottom eyelid! No debris or foreign matter was found, no stitches or anything else was needed. Just daily application of an antibiotic ointment. I was so relieved that it wasn't anything worse as eye injuries can get pretty bad very quickly.

Fingers crossed for quick, speedy healing!

Mareface Update

When Quest first came up lame, the barn worker suggested it might be Lyme since there was a huge outbreak at the barn this year. I was doubtful since she didn't exhibit any of the other symptoms at all. She was content, fat, and sassy. But of all the things to go possibly wrong, I'd take an abscess or Lyme over any other injury. It's strange how owning a horse changes your world perspective...

After immediately ceasing all work, I did my own quick diagnostic. I could tell the issue was on her right diagonal. There was no heat/swelling around the hoof or legs and zero reaction when I palpated suspensories (thank goodness). Other than the lameness Quest was totally fine so I opted to do a bit of wait and see. After almost a week of rest though, mareface was still NQR so I got the vet out. With nerve blocks, Vet K isolated the issue to the RF heel, took radiographs, and currently we have it diagnosed as caudal heel pain, possible soft tissue injury. It seriously sucks that we could be dealing with a similar issue yet again but the vet said prognosis is good overall.

After giving it some thought, it's really is a matter of form follows function. If you have bad form, there is bad function. Quest is slightly clubfooted on that leg. It has been a repeat offender and source of grief for two years out of three. From the very start, I have been responsible for her trims and used a professional to reset/check my work regularly. We have zero issues when doing rides in the arena or meandering on trails. However when the workload increases to include longer and faster mileage, that's when things appear to start falling apart.

Looking back, I dare to venture that this was about the same point in our training/conditioning timeline that the suspensory injury surfaced. The signs seem to point that Quest needs extra help to stay sound and active. This means corrective shoeing, which is something way beyond basic owner maintenance work. One of the things J mentioned to me right before we left WSS was that she would put front shoes on Quest if she were her horse. A year later, and probably none the wiser, I am finally going to do just that. We will see how the shoes work out and move on from there.

This newest development will change a few things in terms of management and competition. Obviously first is adding the front shoes but I guess on the upside, I now have more than enough Gloves for her hinds and for spare tires. As for competition, I'm not sure what the future holds for us distance-wise. As much as I would have loved her to be my first 50/100-miler horse, she may be limited to CTR/LD distances only. This will largely depend on how she holds up to future conditioning mileage. If the corrective shoeing proves to be the answer, maybe we could venture into the realm of longer CTR-format distances like a 2-day 50 or 3-day 100.

It's not the best news but we do have a game plan lined out with plenty options. I knew getting into distance riding with my own horse would be difficult but this has honestly not been an easy journey, especially with so many setbacks right from the onset. I've never been one to go down without a fight though, and we are not giving up just yet.

Another Hiatus

I guess distance riding wasn't meant to be this year.

Last week I pulled Quest out of the pasture to do our usual midweek speed terrain work. She looked a little funny walking down the hill so I had her trot out in a flat section of pasture and immediately called it quits.

She was lame. 

I checked her suspensories first and they are fine, thank goodness. No idea how the lameness happened but we've been getting quite a bit of rain and mareface does love her joy runs. I've arrived at the barn a few times in the past to see her galloping through the field, drinking the wind with tail flagged in the air.

I contacted the vets (yes, plural because the first two didn't have time to see my horse) but either or, I'm tossing her in pasture to let time do its work. Again. 

I'll be honest. I was angry and frustrated for a few days following but negative emotions does no one, especially me, any good. It's just sheer bad luck and we'll get over it. This does have me rethinking our long term goals though and I won't rush her recovery for the sake of the ride in October. We'll have to see what happens next.

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!

Setback

I wish this was a April Fool's joke. I really do. I've been sick to my stomach with worry for the past two days.

Quest was still not 100% after a couple days post-ride so I had the vet out to take a look and the news wasn’t good. Sore mid-body suspensory on her right front. Vet doesn't suspect a tear but he's put her on bute, anti-inflammatory meds, and a long acting tranq to keep her quiet when stalled. He'll be back out in a week to check. If there is no marked improvement, next is ultrasound to see what needs to be done.

I was at work when I found out. I barely managed to keep myself together....I felt like crying. I was hard on myself over the lameness at the ride and now this. I feel like I failed her.

We will know a lot more in a week's time but it's been so hard not to overthink this. My mind just dwells on the possibility our endurance career had ended before it barely even started. I started deleting things off my ride calendar last night and each time I took an event off, I felt the guilty heartbreak all over again.

This was not exactly the way I would have liked to start our first season but things happen. Only thing we can do now is make the best of the situation. With time and rest, the prognosis is positive and full recovery is possible. Mareface will have at least a full month off to recover and depending on how she is then, I’ll slowly leg her back up. I have no idea how long it will take.

I’ve been trying to process my thoughts in an orderly fashion but it has been hard. I’ve been a mental mess since Quest came up lame. Hardest part about this entire thing was that she felt and was SO good the whole time. If not for the sand, we would have easily been one of the top 10 scores. The only points we got deducted were from the lameness. I’m FAR from abandoning my goal to do endurance riding but honestly, it hasn’t been easy not to blame myself and my confidence in managing my horse appropriately has been shaken. J and B are great mentors and I appreciate all their help and diligence but no matter how you view it, at the end of the day, I’m the one responsible for making decisions for my horse and sometimes what works for others might not work for you.

I've been offered horses to catch ride so I'll still be riding this season though it probably be awhile before I am astride behind my favorite pair of black-tipped bay ears. I'm so heartbroken right now.

Back in the Saddle & Barn Tour

This past weekend was our first ride back since Quest injured her stifle two weeks ago. It was a walk-only jaunt in the pasture-arena but mareface was totally motoring around and moved out happily. She’s obviously still sore and there is some swelling but the wound is healing well thanks to J’s care.


I really missed this view <3

Despite not being ridden for almost three weeks, hopping back on Quest was a total non-event. I did half wonder if being in pasture would make her sour to work or hard to catch but she seemed to enjoy the attention and had a good attitude towards working, though of course she was more than happy to go back to the pasture once her job was done. I also took a few pictures to give those curious a quick visual tour of our new home. I had been meaning to do this sooner but things got crazy after Quest got hurt and I honestly was too stressed to think about anything else after it happened.

Barn, pastures, and hay fields that J leases. The hay fields are on the left across the road. They grow their own hay (which is like candy to Quest, she seriously LOVES that stuff) and everyone has been busy baling and storing for winter. The space in front of the barn is a fenced off paddock area. That's where Quest was until she decided fences were just a nice suggestion. Behind the defunct silo is the two layup stalls attached to the barn and opens up to the run-in sheds. To the right are more pastures.

Acres and acres of pasture. The ground isn't all level either and its a decent workout walking from the upper pasture to lower pastures and back. Plenty of water troughs and there's even a natural creek that runs below the tree line on the right. B jumps a lot with one of her horses so there are always standards, ground poles, and jumps set up in the what I have been calling the "pasture-arena".

Doing an about face, following the road to the left will take you to the trailheads and access to 27 miles of trail through forest, fields, rivers, and bridges. I've probably only seen/done 8-10 miles so far but I have been loving it all.

It's been almost a month since the move and Quest just might have finally figured out how to coexist with other horses. Fingers crossed the stifle wound was the first and last of the lessons she needed to learn. She's finally polishing off all of her meals too which is a very good thing especially with winter coming. I definitely do miss being able to see her more during the week but I can't think of a better place for us right now. A few people at the CTR last weekend actually said the same thing to me which was nice to hear since I still feel like I'm bumbling my way through decisions about my horse most of the time. But as with most things, sometimes you just have to trust your instincts and hope you made the right choice.

Lows and Highs

The past few days have been nothing less than an emotional rollercoaster.

While the barn move itself didn't worry me too much, I was most stressed about how Quest would do in a herd pasture turnout setting since I still know next to nothing about her history before I pulled her from auction.  Quest seemed like she was acclimating quite well though, maybe all my worrying was for nothing...


J called on Friday mid-morning saying that Quest got kicked in the right stifle while out in pasture. Quest was walking okay but there was a deep cut, lots of swelling, and she was lame at the trot. J asked if I wanted the vet out; I didn't need to think about it- I knew enough that stifle injuries are not to be taken lightly. By some stroke of luck, I already had taken the afternoon off of work to attend a local art convention so I was able to be there when the vet arrived for the examination. He poked and prodded the injury and watched her walk and trot. The vet surmised that the kick had landed square in front of the leg. While he doubted that anything was fractured since Quest was moving well despite the extent of the injury, radiographs were recommended to make sure that the patella wasn't cracked.

Since the cut was right on the point of the knee and any stitches would just get ripped out, the vet cleaned out the wound while I held her and J administered the oral antibiotics. The stifle was pretty swollen so the vet suggested if I wanted to get radiographs done to do it after giving it a weekend.  The edema was fortunately isolated at the stifle and Quest was walking around with little issue so I really hoped it was just bruised and something that will mend with time and stall rest. I stayed at the barn until evening and helped get Quest settled into her stall for the night. She wasn't too happy about that but it was vet's orders.

I headed to the art convention, met up with my friends and tried to enjoy myself but I was definitely not emotionally there at all. I got a text from J later that night, apologizing again and offered her horses if I wanted to ride that weekend. While it was a nice gesture that I sincerely appreciated, I honestly wasn’t in the mood....I know it was no one's fault but I was very worried because I didn’t know what any of this would mean for Quest's future.

On Saturday evening J updated me that the swelling was down by 50% and Quest had eaten all of her grain, which I was very relieved to hear. I decided to visit after church on Sunday and arrived right as J and B were tacking up for a training ride.  Quest's stifle was looking SO much better and she was feeling good too, evidenced by the laps she was doing inside of the stall. Despite my still worried mood, I couldn't help but grin at her energy- this mare definitely did not act like a horse that got kicked in the leg two days ago.

The vet came out last night to do radiographs. While I wasn't able to be there because he was scheduled to arrive right when I got out of work, I was told the visit went well and it was good news- Quest got the vet's okay to be turned out tomorrow!!

I'm so relieved right now. Like giddy happy relieved. It'll be a couple weeks before we can get back to riding the trails again but Quest is fine. We'll be fine. I knew the road to our endurance dreams would be a hard one, and this is probably just the first in a long series of challenges. Nothing has stopped us yet though.