In the Arena #44- First ride of the year = best ride of the year ;)

My knee has responded very well to (about a million) ibuprofren and getting iced frequently over the last few days, so I headed up to the barn as soon as I could break away from work for the year's first ride. I woke Val from his trance for a nice grooming, tacked up, and off we went.

Today I thought a lot about Erik Herbermann's analogy of keeping your horse, of keeping the energy, "between the riverbanks". You create the "riverbanks" with your aids. You don't want the energy to leak out laterally, so you channel / focus the energy between them. (It just occurred to me while typing this that if the energy isn't leaking out there should be more forwardness!) That was a great place to start, as Val was more of a noodleneck than usual. And I always benefit from trying to coordinate my legs and arms.

We worked on straightness - in Val's neck and our movement within the arena - utilizing the cones and staying on the quarter line. There were some nice round 10 meter circles in both directions. Our trot work was fun and enthusiastic. We were round, and Val was reaching for contact. His trot felt big... posting took less effort and when I sat the first few strides of each transition it felt like I could keep on sitting. Val was carrying himself. Best of all, he seemed like he was enjoying the work. 

I have two theories about why: One is that the deep footing I've been fretting about (and avoiding trotting in) doesn't bother Val at all - in fact it encourages him to engage his core and use his back. I think it feels good to him!

The other is that discovering and treating Val for this "needles in the hay issue" over the past few weeks has strengthened our relationship... the trust he has in me. No kidding, he voluntarily comes over to the spot where I take care of his mouth every evening, patiently waits and stands ground tied. He keeps his head low and within reach while I'm working on him and seems to get great relief from the process. Tonight I finished the treatment by repeatedly rinsing his gums with a diluted Listerine (vet recommended) solution after the saline rinse. He didn't bat an eyelash. I was impressed, as Listerine (the brown kind) has a pretty harsh flavor. I can barely keep it in my mouth :)

So even though I'm distressed that Val has been so uncomfortable, something good seems to have come from the situation. I confirmed the dentist's recommendations with our vet today, and feel confident that Val is on the mend. I tried to get in touch with the man who grew the hay to let him know about the foxtail issue, but low and behold, his phone number has been disconnected... I sure am tired of throwing hay out money down the drain!

At the barn #29 - Danger lurking in your hay... am I the only person who didn't know about this?

Although Val's mysterious gum issue doesn't seem to be getting worse, it's not going away. I have (temporarily) replaced the nibblenet with a couple of easier to eat from hay bags. I've been feeding his beet pulp from a ground pan so he doesn't have to mash his face into it as he gobbles his evening meal, and I've been steadily treating him with my go-to home remedy - warm salt water rinses - after gently brushing his gums with my soft rubber dog toothbrush that fits on the end of your finger.

 

Being the consummate worry wort that I am,  I've been contemplating whether to go off island to see the vet. Then I had a brainstorm, and emailed my future new natural balance horse dentist on the off chance that she might have seen something like this before.

BINGO!! She emailed me right back and said it sounded like foxtails in his hay. She's seen a ton of horses afflicted with mouth trauma due to foxtails this year. Immediately I knew that was it. I remembered noticing the fluffy little seed heads when I first got this hay. Turns out it's infested with them. The hairs sticking out from the seed head are like little cactus spines. They often lodge in the horses mouth / gums / lips and create inflammation and potentially infection. Sounds hellish doesn't it?!

And I wasn't far off in thinking that the nibblenet had something to do with the situation either. Because of the way Val grabs hay from the nibblenet, he apparently was driving the little spines right up into his gumline. The dentist said that my treatment was exactly right, and that the condition will eventually subside on it's own.

I'm so bummed that Val had to go through the pain and suffering. If there were a bright side to find, I guess it would be that Val pretty much showed me he was having a problem, and where. And he has been exceptionally cooperative about getting treated. We've definitely bonded over this toxic weed situation. It has deepened our relationship. But it's still a drag. You can believe I'm going to let the hay farmer know what he was selling. And from now on I will be the

major pain in the butt every bale inspecting hay purchaser!