Squeak
Well-Known Member
Thanks both, if I go next year I'll try and be on it and get the hostel accommodation - I'd be hoping to go for the week and the hotel would end up astronomical!
Retraining ex-racers thread
- Thread starter TheMule
- Start date
Thanks both, if I go next year I'll try and be on it and get the hostel accommodation - I'd be hoping to go for the week and the hotel would end up astronomical!
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
I think you're right. We had one in particular I remember who would start sweating up and jiggling round his box at the sight of plaiting kit or travel boots! He had to get there early enough for a full bath and he was one of the yard oldies!
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
Progress update…my little ex racer is doing amazing well! We are mainly hacking and the odd bit of flatwork, he’s so willing and really wants to look after me 
Had a fab lesson today, lots of work on but so far so good. He’s moving a lot more loosely now, am about to start him on some tumeric for general stiffness, hopefully will help! He can be a bit stiff until he’s warmed up fully. The Pure Working seems to be doing the trick too, he’s put on a bit of weight and looks good for it!
Even had my first jump on him, my first one in over 20yrs! Had a big break from riding, I think the last time I jumped I was 18 and in pony club
absolutely tiny jump but it felt good 
pics attached x
Had a fab lesson today, lots of work on but so far so good. He’s moving a lot more loosely now, am about to start him on some tumeric for general stiffness, hopefully will help! He can be a bit stiff until he’s warmed up fully. The Pure Working seems to be doing the trick too, he’s put on a bit of weight and looks good for it!Even had my first jump on him, my first one in over 20yrs! Had a big break from riding, I think the last time I jumped I was 18 and in pony club
absolutely tiny jump but it felt good pics attached xAttachments
ponyparty
Well-Known Member
Sad news from me. My girl will be going on reschooling and sales livery at an ex-racers retraining centre at the end of this month. I cannot dedicate enough time to her. I constantly feel guilty about letting her, my son, the dog, myself (career/health/fitness/sanity!) down. Something’s got to give, and the most sensible/only thing that can go is the horse.
I’m absolutely devastated - but hope I’m doing right by her, by sending her off for reschooling so she’ll be more marketable and hopefully get a good, knowledgable and loving home
I’m absolutely devastated - but hope I’m doing right by her, by sending her off for reschooling so she’ll be more marketable and hopefully get a good, knowledgable and loving home
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
Oh that’s sad, but totally understandable. Life is a juggling act and I can understand how tricky it must be! Don’t feel guilty, you are doing the right thing by her, I’m sure she’ll find a loving home in now time xSad news from me. My girl will be going on reschooling and sales livery at an ex-racers retraining centre at the end of this month. I cannot dedicate enough time to her. I constantly feel guilty about letting her, my son, the dog, myself (career/health/fitness/sanity!) down. Something’s got to give, and the most sensible/only thing that can go is the horse.
I’m absolutely devastated - but hope I’m doing right by her, by sending her off for reschooling so she’ll be more marketable and hopefully get a good, knowledgable and loving home
IrishMilo
Well-Known Member
Sad news from me. My girl will be going on reschooling and sales livery at an ex-racers retraining centre at the end of this month. I cannot dedicate enough time to her. I constantly feel guilty about letting her, my son, the dog, myself (career/health/fitness/sanity!) down. Something’s got to give, and the most sensible/only thing that can go is the horse.
I’m absolutely devastated - but hope I’m doing right by her, by sending her off for reschooling so she’ll be more marketable and hopefully get a good, knowledgable and loving home
Completely fair, you gave it a good go and it hasn't worked. Your girl will be fine and so will you!
IrishMilo
Well-Known Member
I'm off to the vets on Tuesday with my one. Since I've had him I've had resistance to work on a contact and complete stiffness on the left in canter so I want to make sure there isn't a physical issue for it. He's also always been very trippy which concerns me a bit. That being said, I've committed to taking him barefoot for at least the next 6 months. I think there's a massive chance that his lack of proprioception is to do with a lack of feeling in his feet. Got some hoof boots on their way. Bit rubbish that competing and 'serious' riding will be off the cards for a long time, but I'm hoping that this is one small stint in increasing his comfort and longevity.
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ponyparty
Well-Known Member
Crossing fingers for you that it’s not a serious problem and perhaps just some assymetry or something that you can work on to increase his strength… my body worker mentioned that exracers are often more asymmetrical than “normal” horses.
Good luck with the barefoot journey, I’m sure it’ll do his feet the world of good
Sail_away
Well-Known Member
Introducing…. Moose 
He’s super sweet, I had a sit on him at the racing yard and really liked him. Balanced, soft mouth, pretty equal each rein. Enough about him that I won’t get bored
He ran just last month so will be having a fair bit of downtime before I start anything. I don’t really have plans for him until next year so there’s no rush to get going.
He’s 16.3ish and five so just a big weak baby at the moment, but I think he’ll make a nice horse. He’s out with my older gelding and has been very well behaved, friendly but not clingy so that bodes well. And, of course, he’s very pretty - I said the next one had to be pretty too, as all the others are, otherwise it’d get self esteem issues.
Obligatory pic:
He’s super sweet, I had a sit on him at the racing yard and really liked him. Balanced, soft mouth, pretty equal each rein. Enough about him that I won’t get bored
He ran just last month so will be having a fair bit of downtime before I start anything. I don’t really have plans for him until next year so there’s no rush to get going.
He’s 16.3ish and five so just a big weak baby at the moment, but I think he’ll make a nice horse. He’s out with my older gelding and has been very well behaved, friendly but not clingy so that bodes well. And, of course, he’s very pretty - I said the next one had to be pretty too, as all the others are, otherwise it’d get self esteem issues.
Obligatory pic:
spacefaer
Well-Known Member
@Sail_away he's rather lovely
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
He’s stunning 
SashaBabe
Well-Known Member
He's certainly very pretty.
Gamebird
Well-Known Member
I recognise him! Was his last race a charity/yard staff race at Thirsk?? He looks like he'll turn out nice.
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
Very nice indeed, lovely conformation.
Sail_away
Well-Known Member
Thank you . He’s turning out to be a bit soppy which is nice - he was pretty wired when I tried him and the first couple days here so I didn’t know if he’d be a people horse or not.
Yes that’s him! One of his better runs bless him.
. He’s turning out to be a bit soppy which is nice - he was pretty wired when I tried him and the first couple days here so I didn’t know if he’d be a people horse or not. Yes that’s him! One of his better runs bless him.
humblepie
Well-Known Member
Thank you
Yes that’s him! One of his better runs bless him.
Ah saw him advertised and thought what a nice chap. Good luck.
Gamebird
Well-Known Member
Thought I'd do a quick (or not so quick?) report of our trip to the RoR National Championships. It was a bit last minute and I didn't think I'd be able to go, so I only entered the non-qualified classes.
We arrived on Monday afternoon, and it was very odd being back at Aintree but not racing! So many little differences! No requirement to have a bit/chifney in the whole time, and having to completely muck boxes out on departure were the two biggest ones.
After a bit of time in his box to chill I popped on for a leg stretch in the 'outdoor arena' (which is actually the cool down area for big races). My horse was fairly tight and a little worried, which is pretty unlike him, even at shows, so I just let him stretch a bit and look around. He's better when he has a chance to look at things, rather than trying to pretend his worries don't exist.
A good bath and back to bed for him, and I popped down to the main arena to collect my number and have a look. Oh my word! I thought the SJ course looked tricky enough, and that's without taking into account the course dressing, trade stands and general atmosphere. To be honest I thought we'd be lucky to make it to the first fence, let alone jump anything.
I stayed in the Stables Inn - a 5 min walk from the stables, and 100yds from the main arena, which was perfect. Dinner was with a friend who I met via HHO probably 15 or 20 years ago - back in the good old days!
First day of competition on Tuesday - an intro test, 70cm and 80cm jumping classes, then a prelim test. And all done by 11am, so no time to swap saddles or anything.
Our tests were on grass in the middle of the racecourse. It was too much for some horses! Mine was tense and worried, but rideable. Not the quality of work he can do when he relaxes, but he kept it together. 65% and a 6th place rosette. I was over the moon!!! Rushed over to the showjumping - I definitely felt his stress when we went indoor. So busy, so noisy, and a huge blast of music every time anyone went clear 
. There was no-one around to help with practice fences so I jumped a small x-pole, followed by a huge oxer (that would NOT have been my choice! 
) and went in. He needed a little encouragement to trot round the ring, then the bell went, I pointed him at the first fence, the handbrake came off and he was awesome! Clear until the last when I got a little complacent and it came down. So thrilled! I genuinely wasn't sure we'd jump a single fence! To cut a long story short the 80 went pretty similar and we actually got placed in both classes and got to do mounted prize-givings and laps of honour! After all that excitement it was back out to the grass for his prelim test where he again tried his hardest for another solid 65%.
Wednesday we just had two tests and he came out mega chilled. To the point where we offered to babysit someone in the warmup whose horse was rather losing it. There was a mix up with times (they'd only allowed 2mins per test - I know they're all racehorses, but dressage probably shouldn't be THAT quick! ). So I just let him mooch around on a long rein waiting, then geed him up with a strong canter around the arena before the bell. He did a really nice, rideable test. I wasn't happy with the final halt, so gave him a kick, walked on a step and re-halted, which was a better halt. I thought it was a very sweet test, but when I looked up the scores on line I was absolutely astounded. 73%, and a win by 6% from 2nd place! 
There were tears and a huge hug for him!
One last test to go - prelim 19, which I'd only realised the night before is long arena, and definitely upper level of difficulty for him. By that point I was so happy and just didn't care anymore. I just wanted him to have a nice time. We got the first canter strike-off wrong, but other than that it was really sweet again. 69.59%. No rosette, but absolutely thrilled. He's probably done 3 or 4 prelims in his life total so it was a fabulous effort.
We genuinely had the BEST time. My goals were purely to turn up, have fun, hopefully get a nice photo and a stable plaque. I didn't even dream that we'd get one rosette, let alone a collection. What a horse!
We arrived on Monday afternoon, and it was very odd being back at Aintree but not racing! So many little differences! No requirement to have a bit/chifney in the whole time, and having to completely muck boxes out on departure were the two biggest ones.
After a bit of time in his box to chill I popped on for a leg stretch in the 'outdoor arena' (which is actually the cool down area for big races
). My horse was fairly tight and a little worried, which is pretty unlike him, even at shows, so I just let him stretch a bit and look around. He's better when he has a chance to look at things, rather than trying to pretend his worries don't exist.A good bath and back to bed for him, and I popped down to the main arena to collect my number and have a look. Oh my word! I thought the SJ course looked tricky enough, and that's without taking into account the course dressing, trade stands and general atmosphere. To be honest I thought we'd be lucky to make it to the first fence, let alone jump anything.
I stayed in the Stables Inn - a 5 min walk from the stables, and 100yds from the main arena, which was perfect. Dinner was with a friend who I met via HHO probably 15 or 20 years ago - back in the good old days!
First day of competition on Tuesday - an intro test, 70cm and 80cm jumping classes, then a prelim test. And all done by 11am, so no time to swap saddles or anything.
Our tests were on grass in the middle of the racecourse. It was too much for some horses! Mine was tense and worried, but rideable. Not the quality of work he can do when he relaxes, but he kept it together. 65% and a 6th place rosette. I was over the moon!!!
Rushed over to the showjumping - I definitely felt his stress when we went indoor. So busy, so noisy, and a huge blast of music every time anyone went clear . There was no-one around to help with practice fences so I jumped a small x-pole, followed by a huge oxer (that would NOT have been my choice! ) and went in. He needed a little encouragement to trot round the ring, then the bell went, I pointed him at the first fence, the handbrake came off and he was awesome! Clear until the last when I got a little complacent and it came down. So thrilled! I genuinely wasn't sure we'd jump a single fence! To cut a long story short the 80 went pretty similar and we actually got placed in both classes and got to do mounted prize-givings and laps of honour! After all that excitement it was back out to the grass for his prelim test where he again tried his hardest for another solid 65%.Wednesday we just had two tests and he came out mega chilled. To the point where we offered to babysit someone in the warmup whose horse was rather losing it. There was a mix up with times (they'd only allowed 2mins per test
- I know they're all racehorses, but dressage probably shouldn't be THAT quick! ). So I just let him mooch around on a long rein waiting, then geed him up with a strong canter around the arena before the bell. He did a really nice, rideable test. I wasn't happy with the final halt, so gave him a kick, walked on a step and re-halted, which was a better halt. I thought it was a very sweet test, but when I looked up the scores on line I was absolutely astounded. 73%, and a win by 6% from 2nd place! There were tears and a huge hug for him! One last test to go - prelim 19, which I'd only realised the night before is long arena, and definitely upper level of difficulty for him. By that point I was so happy and just didn't care anymore. I just wanted him to have a nice time. We got the first canter strike-off wrong, but other than that it was really sweet again. 69.59%. No rosette, but absolutely thrilled. He's probably done 3 or 4 prelims in his life total so it was a fabulous effort.
We genuinely had the BEST time. My goals were purely to turn up, have fun, hopefully get a nice photo and a stable plaque. I didn't even dream that we'd get one rosette, let alone a collection. What a horse!
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Mondy
Well-Known Member
What a host of lovely horses in this thread! I can only contribute as a spectator with some pictures of my sister's gorgeous, incredibly bright and charismatic mare. She has a genuine talent for collection, a precocious sense of how to stage herself for maximum dramatic effect, and loves playing with 'the difficult dressage stuff'. She is by Beat Hollow with Gulch as damsire and won and placed as a flat-racer in Denmark after being imported from the US as a foal.
Obligatory pictures:
She thinks she is the most beautiful creature in the world, and I am inclined to agree with her.
Obligatory pictures:
She thinks she is the most beautiful creature in the world, and I am inclined to agree with her.
humblepie
Well-Known Member
@Gamebird - I saw some photos of you and the results and saw you were having a good one. What a star. The indoor looks even more full on that in previous years so a lot for an inexperienced horse to take in. I think from what I have seen that RoR have pulled a lot of stops out with it this year, as last year's one was a bit doh compared to previous years but they have taken suggestions on board. We are heading up tomorrow. Fab results and well done.
Gamebird
Well-Known Member
Thank
On another note I went to an RoR dressage clinic on Saturday. Yet again I was the only one there. Such a great resource, and so underused
Thank you. The indoor for the jumping was incredibly full on, and in our second class the first fence was tight against the edge, right next to the banners, trade stands and spectators. I was absolutely thrilled to get round. Very good luck to you, and I expect a report now!
On another note I went to an RoR dressage clinic on Saturday. Yet again I was the only one there. Such a great resource, and so underused
BronsonNutter
Well-Known Member
Well done @Gamebird, I saw you on the entry list. Unfortunately my horse decided to not make his coming-out-of-competition-retirement comeback as he ripped a shoe and half his foot off the day before... Shame as it's such a nice show and I was looking forwards to a stable door plaque & rosette (not many in the elementaries on grass - hence why we enter those!)
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
What fabulous results well done!!
Quick question…TBs and fragile skin…is this a thing?! Mine only needs to look at something and he seems to be coming in minus some hair! He’s rugged now when he’s out and stabled at night with a decent thickness bed…he’s out with my older Welsh pony and they are very happy together but he does seem to come in with various nicks on him. Legs, face, you name it! This week I’ve noticed his bridle is rubbing his face!
Any suggestions to help with this or is it just one of those TB things? He’s now on Turmeric for a bit of stiffness and I must say I’ve seen a marked improvement since we started it.
Otherwise he’s doing amazingly well, working on polework, he’s coming lovely and round in the school too when I ask him. Pic from this weeks polework…I’d say about spot on for weight now too!
Quick question…TBs and fragile skin…is this a thing?! Mine only needs to look at something and he seems to be coming in minus some hair! He’s rugged now when he’s out and stabled at night with a decent thickness bed…he’s out with my older Welsh pony and they are very happy together but he does seem to come in with various nicks on him. Legs, face, you name it! This week I’ve noticed his bridle is rubbing his face!
Any suggestions to help with this or is it just one of those TB things? He’s now on Turmeric for a bit of stiffness and I must say I’ve seen a marked improvement since we started it.
Otherwise he’s doing amazingly well, working on polework, he’s coming lovely and round in the school too when I ask him. Pic from this weeks polework…I’d say about spot on for weight now too!
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Squeak
Well-Known Member
Yes, thin/ delicate skin is very much a thing! Others will probably have some additional tips but I find that rugs have to have silky linings and fit well, if they pull back or rub slightly then they'll rub badly. In winter when they're clipped I find them the worst for getting rubbed by tack and then sheepskin is your friend - girth sleeves, rein sleeves, breastplates etc etc. I also have multiple fly masks so that I can swap them if they start to rub.
If mine messes around in the field, then he does get nicks, I'm lucky that it's fairly rare as he's usually quite quiet and settled but if it's happening a lot you might want to look at when/ why he's catching himself - mine sometimes nicks himself when he's stamping at flies so mesh fly boots are useful - but again you have to be careful they then don't rub if they're on for a while!
I don't think I've had a bridle rub, it might be worth double checking for pressure points on it or looking at if it's moving around and if so why.
As yours is new to you, I wonder if a good balancer could be worth a go to see if it improves his coat and skin and makes any difference? They do have thinner skins and coats than a lot of other breeds though so it could just be him.
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
Thank you! Yes he’s on pure feeds ‘working’ which has a balancer in it, he’s looking amazing actually his coat is super shiny! I’ve fiddled with the bridle so will see if it’s better now it’s a little tighter, it was moving a bit the other day as the leather has stretched a bit I think. The turmeric is meant to be good for skin too I think so we shall see…
The wound cream/silver spray is getting its use in any case
humblepie
Well-Known Member
A very late RoR Nat champs show report. My horse has been off and only lightly back in work so not the classes in all cases we’d normally do but as it’s Aintree wanted to go. The journey up was horrendous taking 6.5 hours but he is super chilled these days about travelling. Competition wise he didn’t get through to the evening championship final but realistically given his time off wasn’t expecting it. He did get a win and placed in all his non championship classes so brought a red rosette home. I think he has won at least one class every year. He gets to parade in the Always a Star parade which is always emotional. The gorgeous Smad Place was parading as was Desert Encounter who won about£1.3 million. In the past we’ve had a singer singing as part of the parade and this year they played I Vow to thee my Country. Was nearly in tears. Better journey back. It’s always nice at Aintree as see people I only see once a year as from the other end of the countryside.
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spacefaer
Well-Known Member
The boy doing some jumping last week. He's going really well at the moment and has seriously strengthened up. We've backed off the competing while the ground is hard and he's really benefitted from it. More lift in his paces and even more athletic over a fence!
Very sadly my journey with him is ending as we just can't justify the expense of him so if anyone would like a nice horse , please send me some pound coins and he's all yours. More than a bit gutted but my OH has put his foot down.
Very sadly my journey with him is ending as we just can't justify the expense of him so if anyone would like a nice horse , please send me some pound coins and he's all yours. More than a bit gutted but my OH has put his foot down.
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Squeak
Well-Known Member
Well done, sounds like a successful show. Out of interest - how did you find the standard of the horses showing this year compared to others?
humblepie
Well-Known Member
Chatting to someone and we said there wasn’t an obvious standout contender for the supreme albeit hadn’t watched any classes that was just from knowing the horses that were there. It seems a little bit of a transitional year with some of the very established ones not being there but other very experienced ones such as First Receiver previous champion and HOYS winner competing and some lovely younger ones.
We did watch the in hand final and absolutely stunning horses. We didn’t see any of the other finals as was getting my horse ready for the parade. I know from previous years the winners of the amateur, veteran and challenge classes and they are seriously smart horses as are a number of the other placed ones.
There definitely wasn’t anything but didn’t deserve to be there.
Squeak
Well-Known Member
Great, thank you. That's really interesting, I had looked at the results and recognised a couple of obvious names. Will be interesting to see the results for the R2R at Hoys.
Taliesan
Well-Known Member
Now I've had Alfie in my care for 9 months, and on my regime and in with Apollo for 4 months, I thought I would do another update on how he is getting on as well as sharing some progress photos of him from the day he arrived at the yard in January to yesterday.
Although he has kissing spine, I think that is a bit of a red herring in terms of his issues. Yes, it is a problem, but from my own understanding and what I have seen, kissing spine on its own is rarely /the/ problem and is, instead, generally a symptom of other issues the horse is dealing with.
Namely, in Alfie's case, awful foot balance with strongly suspected NPA behind, ulcers, dreadful posture leading to an incorrect way of going and general compression within his body. Add into that he has an undershot jaw caused through severe levels of tension causing him to suck his lower jaw back which has impacted on his tooth wear pattern. (Everytime the dentist visits this gets better, but it is a slow game of undoing the tension in his body then correcting the teeth a little bit, then undoing more tension and correcting the teeth a little more. If the whole pattern was removed at once, without the tension going as well, he wouldn't know which way was up as his body is so used to operating in that pattern.) The dentist is coming again on 16th September so I am really hopeful that the remaining dental pattern for the sucked back jaw can be removed and his teeth will, at last, line up.
So, here is the series of images with the first being taken on the 7th January 2024, then the 21st January 2024, next is 9th March 2024, then 13th April 2024 (you can tell this was when I was first able to brush him!), next is 23rd May 2024, then 9th June 2024, then 14th July 2024 and finally 1st September 2024. Previously I took his boots off for the sake of consistency in the photos but then I realised I got a more accurate picture of how he was feeling in his body with them on, so left them on for the last two photos.
I am not sure how easy it is to see the state of his feet from the pictures, but the fronts had decent depth looking at them from the outside and then utterly nothing underneath. Minimal sole thickness and the frog tubules had blended perfectly with the sole towards the end due to the poor health of the foot and where the pressure was going. There was no digital cushion or resilience at the back of the foot either. When he first arrived with my friend and she had the shoes pulled the farrier had set the shoe inside the foot at the golden line. It has taken close to 12 months for that damage to grow out. Underneath his foot you could see this huge curve away from the wall where the toe clip of the shoe had been.
His back feet were, and still are but they are getting better, bullnosed with badly underrun heels (the shoes on the backs were pulled at the same time as the fronts, approximately May 2023). Again, there was no sole thickness or digital cushion depth at the back of the foot. They were just so weak all round. In order to help his feet develop he spends most of his time in boots with pads and his feet are trimmed every week. I've found this to be the most successful way to bring the foot on as fast as possible and prevent unhelpful wear from the ground. As much of a faff as it is (and cost in terms of replacement boots) the changes I have seen in his feet mean all of the effort, tears and financial pain are worth it. Plus, if he is walking and holding tension in his body because his feet hurt then this is going to be counterproductive to the changes I am trying to make in his body.
During all the time I've had Alfie I have never done kissing spine rehab. What I have done is invested in his foot health (still ongoing and I suspect it will be another two full capsule growth cycles before they are decent), given him a lot of bodywork (physio, craniosacral, Equine Touch and osteopathy - plus regular red light pad sessions) to help release all the tension he was carrying, engaged in postural work to show him there is a better way he can move that doesn't involve ramming the base of his neck into his chest, bracing his thoracic sling and compressing through his back (I have regular lessons with Dan Wain as well as including, although I know it is a bit marmite, aspects of the BTMM work that I feel fit with my methodology and what I am trying to achieve overall).
I have also spent a lot of money on resolving the discomfort he was experiencing with his ulcers by using the Ron Fields products. For context, Ron generally advises that most horses need to be on the pre-ulc powder for 10-30 days before they can transition across (it needs to be until they stop showing signs of discomfort linked to ulcers) - Alfie needed to be on it for 6 months, only recently have I been able to transition him across to the ulc30ex plus powder and, even now, he still has the routine ulc in the morning which contains some pre-ulc powder.
Add on to all of this, I have spent so much time helping him mentally unwind and let go of all the stress he was clearly dealing with and holding onto. This is going to be a process that I expect will take many years to fully complete but, already, he is so much better. He now checks in with me regularly on walks if he is unsure and gains confidence from my reassurances that it is OK. (Before he didn't believe anyone other than himself and that was when he checked out and proceeded to either plant, rear, bite or attempt to run back in the direction we had come from - sometimes a combination of all four.)
What is fascinating is that, without focusing on his back directly, all the work I have done means that his back doesn't hurt anymore. When I first got him I couldn't even look at his back with any intention of touching it without him telling me where I could shove that idea. It then progressed to when I was touching it or working around the muscles in the area he would pin his ears back and tell me that he absolutely could bite me if he wanted to. Now I can run my hands all over his back, and the surrounding muscles, with no issues. When riding him he doesn't care at all when I get into the saddle and there is no tensing or bracing of his back (or body) that would indicate pain or discomfort.
I am only riding him very infrequently, and not at all for the past few weeks, as my gut is telling me that now is not the right time to do so. His fascia on his side along his ribs is so stuck (when you run your hands up his side it all rolls and wrinkles up, I strongly suspect there are adhesions there) and I cannot in good conscience put my weight on already compromised fascia when we are making such good progress in terms of releasing all of his compensation patterns. It is better than it was, loads better, but still not where I want it to be. (I suspect this is from his racing days as the location of the adhesions is exactly where I would expect a racing saddle to sit.)
When I have ridden him, what is really interesting to me, is that he absolutely loves it. Alfie needs a job - and that is not something I thought I would ever say about any horse. (Surely the only job they want and need is to be in an environment with other horses and their five freedoms fulfilled?) However, Alfie has completely changed my view on this as his whole demeanour lights up when he realises we are going out for a walk, going into the school or if he gets tacked up for a ride. What is truly admirable about him, and what I suspect also helped him be so liked and last so long in racing, is that he applies himself to his job 100% every single time. No matter what it is, he gives it every ounce of his attention, focus and effort. You can see this attitude in the videos of him racing as well.
Just to finish off the post and update, here's one of my favourite photos of his happy face using my skull as a chin rest:
And another one of my favourite photos when I rode him bridleless in the school (this was probably only the third or fourth time I had sat on him in the school - he'd never been ridden without a bridle before either and we both enjoyed it, so I will definitely be doing more bridleless riding moving forwards):
Overall things are looking much more positive for him and I am really excited to see where he is again in another 6 months or so. My aim is to be able to go out and do endurance, as I think he would love that, but I am open to doing whatever he tells me he enjoys. I'd quite like to do some dressage and low level jumping, but I won't even contemplate asking him to go over anything until his feet are sorted and he is comfortable without the boots.
Hopefully one day I can be joining in with all of the other posts about trips to Aintree for the ROR championships or posting photos of us out and about enjoying ourselves at competitions or other events. For now though, the rehab journey continues and I am keeping everything crossed that Alfie continues to progress positively in the way he has done so far this year.
Although he has kissing spine, I think that is a bit of a red herring in terms of his issues. Yes, it is a problem, but from my own understanding and what I have seen, kissing spine on its own is rarely /the/ problem and is, instead, generally a symptom of other issues the horse is dealing with.
Namely, in Alfie's case, awful foot balance with strongly suspected NPA behind, ulcers, dreadful posture leading to an incorrect way of going and general compression within his body. Add into that he has an undershot jaw caused through severe levels of tension causing him to suck his lower jaw back which has impacted on his tooth wear pattern. (Everytime the dentist visits this gets better, but it is a slow game of undoing the tension in his body then correcting the teeth a little bit, then undoing more tension and correcting the teeth a little more. If the whole pattern was removed at once, without the tension going as well, he wouldn't know which way was up as his body is so used to operating in that pattern.) The dentist is coming again on 16th September so I am really hopeful that the remaining dental pattern for the sucked back jaw can be removed and his teeth will, at last, line up.
So, here is the series of images with the first being taken on the 7th January 2024, then the 21st January 2024, next is 9th March 2024, then 13th April 2024 (you can tell this was when I was first able to brush him!), next is 23rd May 2024, then 9th June 2024, then 14th July 2024 and finally 1st September 2024. Previously I took his boots off for the sake of consistency in the photos but then I realised I got a more accurate picture of how he was feeling in his body with them on, so left them on for the last two photos.
I am not sure how easy it is to see the state of his feet from the pictures, but the fronts had decent depth looking at them from the outside and then utterly nothing underneath. Minimal sole thickness and the frog tubules had blended perfectly with the sole towards the end due to the poor health of the foot and where the pressure was going. There was no digital cushion or resilience at the back of the foot either. When he first arrived with my friend and she had the shoes pulled the farrier had set the shoe inside the foot at the golden line. It has taken close to 12 months for that damage to grow out. Underneath his foot you could see this huge curve away from the wall where the toe clip of the shoe had been.
His back feet were, and still are but they are getting better, bullnosed with badly underrun heels (the shoes on the backs were pulled at the same time as the fronts, approximately May 2023). Again, there was no sole thickness or digital cushion depth at the back of the foot. They were just so weak all round. In order to help his feet develop he spends most of his time in boots with pads and his feet are trimmed every week. I've found this to be the most successful way to bring the foot on as fast as possible and prevent unhelpful wear from the ground. As much of a faff as it is (and cost in terms of replacement boots) the changes I have seen in his feet mean all of the effort, tears and financial pain are worth it. Plus, if he is walking and holding tension in his body because his feet hurt then this is going to be counterproductive to the changes I am trying to make in his body.
During all the time I've had Alfie I have never done kissing spine rehab. What I have done is invested in his foot health (still ongoing and I suspect it will be another two full capsule growth cycles before they are decent), given him a lot of bodywork (physio, craniosacral, Equine Touch and osteopathy - plus regular red light pad sessions) to help release all the tension he was carrying, engaged in postural work to show him there is a better way he can move that doesn't involve ramming the base of his neck into his chest, bracing his thoracic sling and compressing through his back (I have regular lessons with Dan Wain as well as including, although I know it is a bit marmite, aspects of the BTMM work that I feel fit with my methodology and what I am trying to achieve overall).
I have also spent a lot of money on resolving the discomfort he was experiencing with his ulcers by using the Ron Fields products. For context, Ron generally advises that most horses need to be on the pre-ulc powder for 10-30 days before they can transition across (it needs to be until they stop showing signs of discomfort linked to ulcers) - Alfie needed to be on it for 6 months, only recently have I been able to transition him across to the ulc30ex plus powder and, even now, he still has the routine ulc in the morning which contains some pre-ulc powder.
Add on to all of this, I have spent so much time helping him mentally unwind and let go of all the stress he was clearly dealing with and holding onto. This is going to be a process that I expect will take many years to fully complete but, already, he is so much better. He now checks in with me regularly on walks if he is unsure and gains confidence from my reassurances that it is OK. (Before he didn't believe anyone other than himself and that was when he checked out and proceeded to either plant, rear, bite or attempt to run back in the direction we had come from - sometimes a combination of all four.)
What is fascinating is that, without focusing on his back directly, all the work I have done means that his back doesn't hurt anymore. When I first got him I couldn't even look at his back with any intention of touching it without him telling me where I could shove that idea. It then progressed to when I was touching it or working around the muscles in the area he would pin his ears back and tell me that he absolutely could bite me if he wanted to. Now I can run my hands all over his back, and the surrounding muscles, with no issues. When riding him he doesn't care at all when I get into the saddle and there is no tensing or bracing of his back (or body) that would indicate pain or discomfort.
I am only riding him very infrequently, and not at all for the past few weeks, as my gut is telling me that now is not the right time to do so. His fascia on his side along his ribs is so stuck (when you run your hands up his side it all rolls and wrinkles up, I strongly suspect there are adhesions there) and I cannot in good conscience put my weight on already compromised fascia when we are making such good progress in terms of releasing all of his compensation patterns. It is better than it was, loads better, but still not where I want it to be. (I suspect this is from his racing days as the location of the adhesions is exactly where I would expect a racing saddle to sit.)
When I have ridden him, what is really interesting to me, is that he absolutely loves it. Alfie needs a job - and that is not something I thought I would ever say about any horse. (Surely the only job they want and need is to be in an environment with other horses and their five freedoms fulfilled?) However, Alfie has completely changed my view on this as his whole demeanour lights up when he realises we are going out for a walk, going into the school or if he gets tacked up for a ride. What is truly admirable about him, and what I suspect also helped him be so liked and last so long in racing, is that he applies himself to his job 100% every single time. No matter what it is, he gives it every ounce of his attention, focus and effort. You can see this attitude in the videos of him racing as well.
Just to finish off the post and update, here's one of my favourite photos of his happy face using my skull as a chin rest:
And another one of my favourite photos when I rode him bridleless in the school (this was probably only the third or fourth time I had sat on him in the school - he'd never been ridden without a bridle before either and we both enjoyed it, so I will definitely be doing more bridleless riding moving forwards):
Overall things are looking much more positive for him and I am really excited to see where he is again in another 6 months or so. My aim is to be able to go out and do endurance, as I think he would love that, but I am open to doing whatever he tells me he enjoys. I'd quite like to do some dressage and low level jumping, but I won't even contemplate asking him to go over anything until his feet are sorted and he is comfortable without the boots.
Hopefully one day I can be joining in with all of the other posts about trips to Aintree for the ROR championships or posting photos of us out and about enjoying ourselves at competitions or other events. For now though, the rehab journey continues and I am keeping everything crossed that Alfie continues to progress positively in the way he has done so far this year.