 |
[RC] Horse acting sluggish (wasn't previously)-- Long, sorry - Claire NystromI have a 9 yo. mustang/tb cross mare that I got as an untrained/unhandled 5 yo. to be my future endurance horse. I've never done a ride, was planning on starting in CTR. Finally, this year, she is trained enough (had major behavior problems) that I can think about conditioning her; however, she's having some health issues that will probably preclude her for doing much more than being a fun trail horse. When she was 7 and we were living in Md, she was diagnosed with heaves even though she was on 24/7 turnout in a 55 acre field. I could not ride her for months as she could not do more than walk without coughing. Once fall came, she was fine. She was also treated for Lyme disease that summer and perhaps that had something to do with it. I haven't had any problems with her again till this summer, she went through some coughing, etc. in June, but I switched her hay and she's been fine. She's a bit out of shape right now as I couldn't ride because I had meningitis. I'm back to riding again and she's acting sluggish, something she's never done before-- she's usually raring to go all the time and I never, ever have had to use leg on her to keep her going until recently. She's also really fat and I think that she's insulin resistant, but have not had it confirmed by bloodtests. She gets 2 flakes of hay am and pm (no grass in her field) and just enough grain to mix her supplements with. She gets a hay balancer, Source, and magnesium. I am having the vet come on Tues. to test her for Lyme disease and check her thyroid and was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what else I might ask her to take a look at. I don't think she's in any pain as she has always been ridden in treeless saddles (she has the build for them) and currently rides in a Sensation. She is barefoot and I use Easyboot Epics on all 4 hooves to go on the trail. She is still sweet and acting normal, just a bit lazy when I ride, and does not seem uncomfortable with anything that I do. I'm just feeling a little frustrated right now as I'd like to do a 25 on her next spring, but I always have trouble getting her fit as her recoveries are always really slow and she always seems to have breathing problems (even if no coughing) in the summertime (ie. gets winded easily even when ridden consistently). I don't push her beyond what she can do (she wouldn't let me, she's way too smart for that). I always thought that the breathing problems she has when she was 7 were perhaps related to the Lyme disease, but I think that they just disappeared at the end of summer when the weather changed and the pollen count was lower. At this point, I would just like to do some 25's on her and some CTR, as I rather doubt she's cut out much more-- when the vet looked at her last summer, she held the same opinion. I am disappointed, but love Gala so much that I'm not sure that I could actually sell her to buy a more suitable horse, and, unfortunately, am not in the financial position to own more than one horse. Sorry this is long, I just thought maybe someone might have some suggestions for me or have had a similar experience with a horse. Thanks, Carol =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|