AmiRobertson
Well-Known Member
hello again I haven't posted on here for ages due to a crazy winter but just wanted to have a little hooray as I posted on here at the beginning of winter when I first brought my mare after discovering she was a terrible napper and seemed constantly depressed.
Well I am happy to say that after a long few months of box rest and a bit of an emotional journey we are on track. Through the process of solving the napping problem we discovered that she was actually 3 not nearly 5 and through tracing her history I also found out she was very well bred (related to Frankel) but had been very badly treated on her journey to me. I also discovered that the vet that had vetted her was arrested a couple of weeks after i bought her for being in some not very nice dealers pockets. Had a couple of interesting coincidences the first being that she is actually second cousin to my best friends horse and that my current vet was involved in the process of getting the vet that had vetted her done (if thats the right term).
We have had a long process of physio and rest to sort her back out. The physio believed that Dizzy had had a bad fall when she was a foal (obviously can not ever prove this) and it has was likely she was backed very very young while in a considerable amount of pain and its likely she has constantly suffered with headaches through the pressure that was in her poll. At the end of our first session (which was 2 and a half hours!!!) my horse was longer, relaxed and instantly fell asleep on her stable door. See picture
She was then given 2 weeks off to get used her new body. I actually had a horse now that wanted to play and charge round with the other mares. It was lovely and she seemed so much happier in herself.
We started her work and the first week was amazing the napping had pretty much ceased to exist it was just a case of showing her that walking round that corner wasn't going to hurt anymore. I had thought of turning her away for the rest of winter but I wanted her to relearn the basics before a break so she wouldn't finish on a bad note. However disaster struck in the shape of a massive abscess so we were back on box rest for about 3-4weeks the mud was just so bad it wasn't worth the risk.
The day came when she could go back in the field and again we were struck with disaster where my friend called me to say that Dizzy couldn't walk and her leg was sticking out in a funny way. PANIC! By the time I had got back to the yard they had somehow managed to get her to her stable but she was wobbling everywhere and nearly fell over several times and the leg was just floppy so I just cried and cried completely broke down we were just starting to get back on track and the stress of so much box rest and seeing her like that was horrible. My friend had already called the vet and when I started to calm down I could properly look at what was going on. There was no heat or swelling and she didn't seem to be in any sort of obvious pain. However she was still struggling to stand and was refusing to walk at all. The vet showed up and with in 5 mins had diagnosed radial nerve paralysis the posh term for a dead leg!!!!!! He said she had been kicked in the shoulder and it had trapped the nerve hence why the leg was just floppy he said it wasn't a common thing to happen and she might be right tomorrow or in a few days. Unbelievably she was completely sound the next day!!!!
Since then we have had several puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes lost shoes and from watching her in field I have learnt she likes to roll in awkward places and try to hoon through the trees and bushes so she could always be a trouble maker.
We also finally managed to get her working. And she is amazing so soft forward and eager to please in the school with fantastic paces. Hacking she is spooky but getting better and she is still petrified of trailers but we are going to work on that. I have learnt through this ridiculous winter that she is incredibly honest and have vowed to always listen to her. She is now having a break for 2 months to have some time getting her head round what she has learnt and to grow (she has currently gone very bum high) and then the summer is going to be spent hacking bombproofing and doing a few in hand shows.
I am very lucky to have her and she has taught me so much already. In all honesty when I bought her (my first horse since teenage years) I really didn't think through how much impact she would have on my life, she has literally changed it (for the better) and I love her to bits quirks and all!!
How she likes to eat her breakfast
More sleeping on the door!
And one of the many poultices this winter
Thank you for reading!!!
Well I am happy to say that after a long few months of box rest and a bit of an emotional journey we are on track. Through the process of solving the napping problem we discovered that she was actually 3 not nearly 5 and through tracing her history I also found out she was very well bred (related to Frankel) but had been very badly treated on her journey to me. I also discovered that the vet that had vetted her was arrested a couple of weeks after i bought her for being in some not very nice dealers pockets. Had a couple of interesting coincidences the first being that she is actually second cousin to my best friends horse and that my current vet was involved in the process of getting the vet that had vetted her done (if thats the right term).
We have had a long process of physio and rest to sort her back out. The physio believed that Dizzy had had a bad fall when she was a foal (obviously can not ever prove this) and it has was likely she was backed very very young while in a considerable amount of pain and its likely she has constantly suffered with headaches through the pressure that was in her poll. At the end of our first session (which was 2 and a half hours!!!) my horse was longer, relaxed and instantly fell asleep on her stable door. See picture
She was then given 2 weeks off to get used her new body. I actually had a horse now that wanted to play and charge round with the other mares. It was lovely and she seemed so much happier in herself.
We started her work and the first week was amazing the napping had pretty much ceased to exist it was just a case of showing her that walking round that corner wasn't going to hurt anymore. I had thought of turning her away for the rest of winter but I wanted her to relearn the basics before a break so she wouldn't finish on a bad note. However disaster struck in the shape of a massive abscess so we were back on box rest for about 3-4weeks the mud was just so bad it wasn't worth the risk.
The day came when she could go back in the field and again we were struck with disaster where my friend called me to say that Dizzy couldn't walk and her leg was sticking out in a funny way. PANIC! By the time I had got back to the yard they had somehow managed to get her to her stable but she was wobbling everywhere and nearly fell over several times and the leg was just floppy so I just cried and cried completely broke down we were just starting to get back on track and the stress of so much box rest and seeing her like that was horrible. My friend had already called the vet and when I started to calm down I could properly look at what was going on. There was no heat or swelling and she didn't seem to be in any sort of obvious pain. However she was still struggling to stand and was refusing to walk at all. The vet showed up and with in 5 mins had diagnosed radial nerve paralysis the posh term for a dead leg!!!!!! He said she had been kicked in the shoulder and it had trapped the nerve hence why the leg was just floppy he said it wasn't a common thing to happen and she might be right tomorrow or in a few days. Unbelievably she was completely sound the next day!!!!
Since then we have had several puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes lost shoes and from watching her in field I have learnt she likes to roll in awkward places and try to hoon through the trees and bushes so she could always be a trouble maker.
We also finally managed to get her working. And she is amazing so soft forward and eager to please in the school with fantastic paces. Hacking she is spooky but getting better and she is still petrified of trailers but we are going to work on that. I have learnt through this ridiculous winter that she is incredibly honest and have vowed to always listen to her. She is now having a break for 2 months to have some time getting her head round what she has learnt and to grow (she has currently gone very bum high) and then the summer is going to be spent hacking bombproofing and doing a few in hand shows.
I am very lucky to have her and she has taught me so much already. In all honesty when I bought her (my first horse since teenage years) I really didn't think through how much impact she would have on my life, she has literally changed it (for the better) and I love her to bits quirks and all!!
How she likes to eat her breakfast
More sleeping on the door!
And one of the many poultices this winter
Thank you for reading!!!
