The last month

Tomorrow, I go to see my 'little miss muffit' (said in Cheryl Cole voice).

She has now been at Rockley 6 weeks and is in full ridden work and I can ride.  Very exciting and a little nervous.  I haven't ridden for 5 months now.  I think this is the longest I have ridden for in about 13 years.  So, I fully expect to be a little sore on Monday!

I am also a little worried where my hat, gloves, boots etc are.... and do they still fit?

Lots of people have been asking me if I'm looking forward to riding again?  If I am really honest I am not 100% sure.  Life has been so easy looking after the other 3 and not riding.  I have been able to catch up on lots of jobs and each week I have set myself a task.

2 weeks ago.   The cat climbing frame.

and last week I tidied up the arena and decided to put the poles in a convenient place

Both of which I think I am quite proud of.  I assume there is only so much DIY you can do?

The best news also is that when she comes home in January, I have arranged with work a 4 day week.  Spending, each Wednesday riding!

I'll post hopefully with pictures after the weekend.

Eager's 3 week update

I am amazed and very proud of my little girl :-)

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/eagers-update.html

Especially with the changes in foot lateral balance from pictures 3 to 4. 

Support group?

When Eager was first diagnosed with Navicular I searched on Facebook (among many, many other places) for any information I could find.  I found two closed membership forums and I can't really remember finding anything that useful on them that I didn't find elsewhere but, I think it's nice to have a bit of support.  

Rockley have their own support forum.  Strictly for people who have had their horses at Rockley.  Which is great, because there is a lot of negativity out there!

A post last week on one of them happened to ask if there were any Ex Rockley rehabs out there.  I said, I was.  The lady in question was in the US and as she couldn't get to Rockley.  She wanted as much info as possible.  I PM'd her, just giving a brief description of Eager and pretty the rest being what is on Nic's blogs.  Anyway, we got a bit of dialogue going which is not something I would normally do with a complete stranger.  But, I really felt for her and she really believes in what Rockley do but doesn't have a similar place in the US.  It again made me thankful that Rockley is in relative terms,on my doorstep.

Now, the lady in question happened to mention in a further post that one of the trimmers she used to use made her horse sore every time.  She had then changed trimmers and the horse hadn't been sore since.  Pretty innocuous post to be honest.  Not a statement of blame, just a statement of fact.  Whereupon, a trimmer (I so gather) left what can only amount a 500 word rant about how dare she blame trimmers, blah, blah, they do their best in a bad world.... along those lines.  Not content with one post, she then continued to start again in another.

Now......  I took a little exception to this.  As not at any point did my American friend say anything derogatory about anyone, just made a very small comment that one trimmer made her horse lame and the next one didn't....  So, not wanting to really start a row.  I tried to defend my new found friend, whilst also trying to defuse the situation and make a statement I totally stand by.

 

As you can see.  That went really well for me. LOL

I do admit, maybe my NEVER was a little aggressive and understand this could annoy. I then found out this woman was the administrator of the forum and I couldn't really see how this was going to end well.  So, to avoid me getting into a silly online row, where clearly things would be taken out of context (by one person).  I deleted my membership.  So I can't tell you where this conversation went as I can't see anymore!  

I now realise this is a bit of a shame.  As I have spoken to my American friend and she stays on it to try and learn as much as she can about Rockley.  I just can't see how what the nutty trimmer has said is in anyway supportive.  It wasn't a trimmers support group (which she clearly needs amongst other things) it was about navicular? So technically, all the other people out there who can't afford of aren't able to send there horses to Rockley, lose a source of information on how horses are successfully rehabbed.

Situations and actions do create reactions. The fact of the matter is that Eager's weakness in her foot was exacerbated by my farrier leaving the toe too long on the foot.  Yes, I take responsibility for this as I looked at her feet for a couple of months thinking it didn't look right.  I don't really even blame the farrier.  He did what he did with best intentions and how was he/me to know that she had something going on in her foot that means they need to be kept perfectly? With most other horses if may have made no difference.  None of us are perfect, all we can do is the best we can with the information we have been given.  But we do have the choice to look for it.

Eager landing heel first in just 2 weeks!

It's now been 2 weeks since I took Eager B to Rockley and she has had her first Rockley blog entry

Http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/eagerly-awaited.html
 

And I have just had an email from Nic this morning telling me she is being a good girl and has settled really well..... Also that she is consistently and clearly already landing heel first with every stride. Wow!  In two weeks! I am over the moon :-) 

So she will now be worked on more challenging surfaces.  As she is now landing heel first and using her foot correctly I can only assume the inflammation in the foot will start to go down and the pain should diminish. 

Over the last week or so I have acknowledged in my head that there is no doubt in my mind she will come sound. So I am already looking forward to next year and the work involved to build a solid base of work for Eager to continue with her soundness.  This will be mainly based on hacking and building muscle and fitness. As I recently put in an email to Becky 'like in the olden days'.  

Sitting here on the train I have a big smile on my face.  All is becoming clearer to me what I should do.

Also, it has now made me doubly annoyed with the insurance company for not paying out.  Not just for me, but all of those people who do not have the money to pay for this treatment.  Because, it is a lot of money. I am now formulating in my mind a letter to the head of SEIB and the insurance ombudsman.  It absolutely needs to be done! 

Eager the 'Rockley' dude.

So I started typing this in the car park at Rockley.

The journey took us 6 hours, including about 30 minutes of stoppage time.  Eager travelled like a dream.  Barely leaving a moment without munching on her hay. Which made it very stress free for me and David. This is also aided by the fact I could see her munching on her hay on the camera in Jacqui and Andy's fabulous little lorry.  I really couldn't have done it in the Landy!  The last bit of the journey being the most stressful around the windy roads.  But this literally was the last 30 mins.

 

So I've just been told she settled in amazingly well last night. Bless her cotton socks. She has always been such an easy horse to have and be around, it would appear other horses think so too.  I hope this doesn't change.

I have just walked around the tracks with her and she seems fine, maybe a bit perplexed but not unhappy.

 

Nic's taken all of her photos and has said there is a lot to like about her feet.  Just the media lateral twist that would be the problem. She thinks she'll progress really quickly.  Which is great.

So that's it!  She's here.  I am very excited to see the blogs about her progress.

Huge massive thanks to Jacqui and Andy for lending me their horse box. It made the journey a pleasure for all concerned and obviously saved me some much needed pennies. 

Thank you Marian for being one of the only people in the last few weeks to make me feel better about myself and having the balls to tell me I was doing the right thing (even if it was just to make me feel better)

Also, a big thank you to David for supporting me on the long drive up there and staying at Faulty Towers.  Taking over driving on the way home, when I finally crashed and burned (not literally) and lastly but certainly not least, covering the cost of Rockley because the insurance company wont.

Miss you already Miss Eager B. X

Rockley T+5

Approximately, 11 weeks ago after Eager was showing very intermittent lameness.  She was to my shock at 5 years old and barefoot, diagnosed with Navicular Syndrome.  Told almost there and then the prognosis wasn't brilliant, but maybe able to do light work and possibly a bit of dressage after remedial shoeing.  Not in line with buying an eventer! 

Approx. £3.5k, 2 visits from my vet, 1 visit to Rossdales, 1 X-ray, 1 MRI scan, steroid and huyaloric acid injections, a tildren drip and a few differences of opinion later I am finally 5 days away from my trip to Rockley with Eager (which is where I decided she was going the day I was told the diagnosis) She is still shoeless!

In those few weeks I have remained mainly positive, because my dreams for her are still very much alive (if a little extended). I no longer feel ridiculously unlucky.  Infact, I feel fortunate.  Yes, I had already had two horses diagnosed in their prime to retire.  But, they are still with me and I was fortunate enough to have the money (just) and the space to get Eager.  I am aware and reconciled to the fact she, for the foreseeable future will be my final horse.  But they are all still with me and will spend the rest of their lives with me, in as much comfort as I can offer.  I have not had to make any decisions because I can only afford to keep one on a livery yard or equally have had to give up when Conor retired in 2007. I have had 3 good attempts and learnt so much in that time.  I still carry on learning everyday.  I simply cannot imagine a life without Conor, Zulu, Eager and even Bess. I don't regret a moment.

I have taken advantage of the recent time off and tried to do a combination of house stuff, yard and relaxing :-)  A small glimpse of what normal people do.  I even went to IKEA yesterday and this morning  made and waxed a table! 

Becky sent her dates out for next year, last week and I literally do not know what to do.  I am a little fed up with planning.  I have spent the last few years planning my riding a year in advance... And I'll be honest it hasn't really worked for me.  What I will actually need to do is just get on and ride! Whenever and wherever I can! If I am lucky.......

So, I have had a few blips in the last couple of days because last chance saloon is a week away.  Its easy to function when a dream is still very much attainable.  I very fleetingly allow myself to question what I will do if it doesn't work? But it's so fleeting I don't have an answer.  I'll cross that bridge if and when the route means I have too.  But preferably, I'll jump that river on a cross country course :-)

I remain to live by my motto "you only regret the things you don't do".

Sometimes, I feel its just me

Struggling to fight my corner for Eager to go to Rockley has actually been quite hard and I can totally understand why people do as they are told.  Especially if you are not as confident as I am that I'm doing the right thing.  Even 10 years ago, I may have done what I was told.....  Mmmm well you never know :-)

Equally, I have questioned whether I have just been pig headed.  Am I one of those women that just argues, when in reality I don't have a clue.  I know I like to play devils advocate in a lot of situations.... Sometimes I just can't he help myself.  I just like to see both sides of the coin before I make a decision. Although, I guess if one side of the coin looks particularly attractive you are going to do what you can to make it land up every time. That may even involve sticking blue tack over the less favourable side (I have no idea if this would work, but you get what I mean)

I suppose it may be reasonably easy to trawl the internet to find people that agree with you.  I have tried to be as objective as I can and have even tried to google navicular and prognosis trying to be 'pro shoeing' and I'll be honest while there are good stories.  There are not too many and they appear to be short lived success.  But you try and google navicular on a forum and it not end up with Rockley being the success route.  You'll be very, very hard pushed.

So why, do barefoot people get such a bad name?  and in my opinion, its a few things.. 

Firstly, I think a lot of people do it badly and unsuccessfully.  They don't research, they just take their horses shoes off. Proclaim to be barefoot and carry on as normal....  They don't condition the foot.  When I took Zulus shoes off I hand walked up the road, everyday for a month. By week two he was crippled and I was wondering what the hell I had done.  By week four he was completely sound on the road and walking across stoney fields! Another thing is diet, which I won't go into now but can be crucial.  But thankfully is pretty much what I was feeding anyway. The next is a brilliant trimmer or now I realise lots of hacking (over 10 miles a week) to keep the foot functioning correctly and by all accounts they self trim.

Secondly, people who go barefoot successfully have generally really looked into the whys and wherefore of what they are doing and apply the above diet, trim, lifestyle (of the horse, not the owner!).  We totally understand (or try too) it's how the foot should function and how it hopefully should lead our horses to live a longer sounder life. If you have applied a lot of research into something and it resonates within you, it becomes part of your belief system. This makes people passionate!

Thirdly, from the day we start riding, researching, loving, training to be a vet, farrier, etc,etc we invariabley see a horse with a shoe on.  No one even thinks of a horse without a shoe on.  Its ingrained in us.  Hearing a horse clip clop up the road still inspires the urge in me to run to the window and have a look. Having read a post of Nics recently there is even a photo in a veterinary book of a hoof cut in half so you can see inside.  It still has the shoe attached!  They aren't born with them on! She mentions barefoot is not even covered in the prospectus of a vet?  It's just what happens.  You're on a yard people you do what everyone else does.  You put shoes on every 5/6 weeks.  How many people, question why you would put a rigid metal on a living flexible thing?

Anyway, I can't even remember why I started writing this post now.....  I'm sure I've digressed.

But, what I must mention is that clearly there are many horses that last for years with shoes on, with no ill effects.  If it isn't broke, why fix it?  Maybe these are the horses with perfect conformation?

I also know one person who in her heart is totally barefoot, but for medical reasons (laminitis) her horse has shoes on and this is how she has incredibly successfully managed a near impossible situation for years.  I also know she gets very upset about our passion and feels she is being ostracized .  This is so not the case, your amazing and you've done an amazing job. 

I for the record do not consider myself pro-barefoot.  I am pro your horse moving as soundly and as ethically as possible.  For some this may mean shoes, for others it doesn't.  I'm pro people doing the best they possibly can with the information they have available.

I think for this reason, vets are not going to easily (aha I've remembered my point of this post) recommend barefoot therapy for caudal heel/foot/navicular/DDFT (the list could become long) problems.  Because, quite simply a majority of horse owners will not be prepared/have the education or have inclination to change THEIR lifestyle in exchange for their horses for the rest of its life. 

But, what they haven't taken into account is that some people do and will.  They don't know the circle of amazing people I have the pleasure of knowing and sharing my horse journey with. :-)  I am truly blessed.