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Re: [RC] Judgement Call - Mike LewisLaurie, Your point has been duly noted, as I've already been (rightfully) chewed once or twice by others here. I did some things that were not particularly smart with Molly during that 25 and learned my lesson. Certainly there are others here at Ridecamp who have learned some lessons after unintentionally asking more of their horses than they were ready to deliver. My belief during the ride was that Molly's being "off" was probably due to stepping on a rock earlier in the ride. She never FELT off, but I did observe that her head was dipping very slightly more when one front foot landed than the other. This was not persistent throughout the ride, which made it difficult to judge her condition and if she could be pressed. As a matter of fact, she felt and looked perfectly balanced and happy 2-3 miles prior to coming into the vet check at the 17 mile point. I thought she was okay, and she may very well have been at that point. Lesson 1: things that appear to have resolved themselves may not have done so. Even though Molly seemed okay by the time we reached the vet check, I should have mentioned this to the vet and asked for a closer look and his opinion. The run-in on a surface that was harder than originally thought is what led to the swelling above Molly's fetlock. The swelling was completely gone by the next afternoon and Molly has been doing fine this week with her groundwork and light riding. No swelling, no heat in the joint, etc. Lesson 2: I should have been more aware of what we were riding on and adjusted Molly's speed accordingly. I didn't set out to hurt a horse, and thankfully Molly wasn't permanently injured. Not having owned her for long, I had wanted to see how easily she would slow from a run--haven't had the chance in our local training area due to very soft footing there. Our game plan will probably be to spend a year or so riding slow 25s and maybe a 50 before picking up the speed to "normal" levels. Mike --- LinLaurFarms@xxxxxxx wrote: Mike, I find it very strange that you said she felt slightly off at the 1/2 way point. Maybe the swelling could have been from the full out (part your hair) flat out runnnnnnnn you did on the hard road and rocks at the finish of the 25. I thought you had lost your reins or something and your horse was a runaway. Then I realized it was intentional. Oh and was she bare foot also? She is a real nice mare, cut her some slack. That is just my opinion............ Laurie ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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