Darr on the Brink of December

Sarry is feeling a bit under the weather , so I am taking Darr reporting duties. In today's news:

• Erin was unexpectedly away in Ottawa on Wednesday (!) so we weren't able to have our lesson time with her. No worries. The four of us had a lovely time riding (Darr and Sarah, Ginger and I) with the arena all to ourselves. We are hoping to spend some time with Erin soon, particularly Sarah can begin work with the draw reins and later on, lunging per your notes.
• We are staying on track with the program you sent - 3 sets of approx. 2 minute trot intervals and lots of varied walking -  spending about 40 minutes altogether in the arena.  Sarah is continuing with large circles and wide-curved serpentines.
• Darr continues to look healthy and happy, moving smoothly with no sign of stiffness.
• Ever since the chiro treatment, Darr has been extra energetic. From the first day, he has been alert and willing to go, but now he is raring to go. Sarah reported that he was verging on breaking into canter more than once, and she had to rein him back. This was while she was working a two-point at a brisk trot. Probably a good sign! Hey people! Let's get this show on the road!
• The bumps on his rear hoof are disappearing; we have been remiss on reporting on this front. Apparently the Hoof and Mane treatement works!
• Darr is most co-operative with the ice treatment, by the way. It doesn't seem to bother him in the least to have a giant ice bag strapped around his leg. Interesting, since he doesn't seem too fond of his boots.
• Your notes, Jenny, are superb. Very detailed and methodical, so thank you very much! Helpful both for us and in communicating your intentions to Erin, too.
• Darr likes to chew on his cross-ties.
• And, last but not least, here is a silly picture:

 

Where are the treats?

I can't say enough about his pleasant disposition. He is one of the quietest, friendliest. most curious horses we have ever had the pleasure of riding. Very sweet indeed! While I am no horse trainer, I have to assume that you and Victoria have treated him kindly and well.

Boots

So happy to hear he is back in action and feeling good!

I am thinking, why don't you ask Erin what she thinks about boot/leg protection?  I think you can certainly lose the back ones - I never liked that style and seems like he doesn't either!  Ana hated them.  And then for the front, Erin may have something, or some ideas, about what is best as he progresses. 

Trot'n'Roll

After a few days off, Darrington was ready to roll yesterday! He was good as usual when tacking up, but once I got on his back, he didn’t want to stop! Not that he was bad, just a little restless. It was a good ride, nonetheless. Although, afterwards, the little bugger decided to poop on my stuff. I guess it was payback for neglecting him for a few days. Anyways, we’ve decided not to use the polos yet (because my polo technique isn’t quite up to snuff) and I think we’re going to start leaving off his back boots as well if he doesn’t really need them. He did a lot of stomping yesterday, trying to get them off. That’s all for now, and hopefully we’ll be going to see him again today!

Darr's Moving Smoother Now

A quick update on Darr!  After three full days off post-chiro, Darr was moving beautifully today. No sign of stiffness. He was quite energetic, too, clearly wanting to work and to get moving. Not sure if the time off inspired his restlessness or the weather: first snowstorm of the season today. Well, snow, mini-hail, sleet and slush.

We rode for 25-30 minutes today, walking and trotting in keeping with his program to date. We haven't connected with Erin yet in person to hear a full report as to the chiro but we'll let you know as soon as we do. We are planning to spend a our lesson time with her this week to talk about Darr, his recovery program, draw reins, etc,. We'll take your notes, Jenny, and let that be our launch point, and we'll share Erin's view form the ground.

Sarah will be back soon with her own "from the saddle" report. 

Darr Taking a Post-Treatment Break

Darr has been enjoying a few days off from the ring after his chiro treatment on Wednesday. Sarah visited him on Wednesday, but she rode Andre the Gentle Giant for her lesson (Andre, who looks like he should be pulling the Budweiser wagon but moves with remarkable grace):

That's a lot of neck to brush!

Sarah will be out to ride Darr on Saturday and we will have a full update!

Schedule for November 19-25

Hi Lisa and Sarah,

I am forgot to hit publish on my last post attempt!  Sorry for the radio silence on this end :)

Mainly I was just going to say that for this week, it would be great if you could incorporate 30 second - 1 minute trot intervals into his walking.  I am thinking three sets would be good, with a few minutes of walking in between.  And then as before, no tight circles or abrupt movements as much as possible.

That's not great news that he appears stiff - was it just in general, or with respect to one leg, or his hind end or something, did Erin say?  And did it get any better as he continued?  I am just wondering if it is possible that he is a little lazy, or perhaps not fully comfortable without shoes on, or if indeed he has done something to himself... Keep me posted on that, and if it keeps up and you have video capabilities, would you mind taking a short video of it?

Talk soon!  Hope Sarah's play tied up well and she had fun.

Week 2 Report

Unfortunately, my phone isn't 100% compatible with blogger, so a couple times it didn't save and it didn't post. So today I will quickly highlight the events of this week:

Wednesday: Finally, we have everything we need! We had a nice long stroll without the distraction of traffic around us, and he was lovely as usual :)

Thursday&Saturday: Nothing much to report today, just another good walk.

Sunday: First trot! Woo! Great fun :) Although, at one point, Erin observed  that he was moving a little stiffly. She suggested that something might've happened to him in the paddock. Other than that, he was good, and happy. He didn't seem to be favouring that leg at all, but we'll check further into that tomorrow.