We're almost through the first month!!!

Well, thankfully, January is almost done! Taz is healing very nicely and the cut is almost gone! YAY! Flash has come back to Massachusetts but is staying up near Orchard Hill to continue his training over the winter months with the use of the indoor.
Apparently, there has been some love lost between Taz and Socks. They don't seem to be hanging out nearly as much as they used to and Socks no longer cares if Taz goes in for dinner first. Hmmmm. Even Smokey hasn't been hanging out at the barn at night. He's missing out on his cookies!!!! Holly gets them all. However, she's working for them for sure. She's learned shake, shake the other paw, and down (all the way). Next, I think I'll see if she'll crawl....she's fun to play with while Carolyn changes out Taz's bandages.

Next month, Carolyn, Lisa, and I will be attending a roundpen clinic at Crimson Acres. It will give us something to do that's horsey related and hopefully teach us something. The "babies" will probably do well with it too.

2016........

I've made a new year's resolution to keep this going this time for sure!

So, new year's started off with a bang with Taz getting a cut on his fetlock that ended up being a lot worse than expected. It almost hit the bursa and the synovial fluid was "very angry". Luckily, with the help of Essex Equine, he is healing and VERY tired of small enclosures. We spend quality time changing leg wraps and/or bandages every night. He loves the fact that he gets copious amounts of hay stretcher when we do it. Poor Socks, Rio, and Pacino don't understand why this guy gets so many treats while they are "poor starving peasants locked in jail at night". (Those are their exact words to me!)
In other news, Flash has gone to Vermont for some bootcamp work. He's learning to use his back better and apparently is learning some driving as well....bonus! It will be interesting to see his progress when he returns to Longrun.
Socks is doing well in his new role of Big Brother since Zak has left us in 2014. He's not so sure how to be a boss but he's doing the best he can with what little knowledge he has of the boss role. He's been Taz's companion in his journey of healing from his stifle surgeries to the present day injury. He also was accompanying him on his jaunts out back for rehab. That was great as I got to ride as well. I've been VERY spoiled riding Alazon up at Orchard Hill. He and Debbie are amazing teachers and I've come along in my lessons thanks to them. I've also gained more confidence on my dear Socks.
Rio and Pacino are growing like weeds!!! Mr. P has hit the 15 hand mark and Rio is hot on his heels to catch up. He's not too far behind that's for sure. Both boys are looking much more mature now. The goofy little colt stage is pretty much behind them now. They hit the big 3 in the spring. Whoa, what happened to the little tots that ran around the yard?!?

2015

So, I'm back and writing this out again. A LOT has happened since my last post for sure!
July 18, 2014, I lost my best friend. Zak's leg just got worse and the decision to euthanize him in the fall was made. He could enjoy his summer and we could spend that time together and not worry too much. Unfortunately, this wasn't to be. Zak went very, very lame and I decided that it was time. I spoiled him rotten that morning. He had alfalfa and cookies. Mom bought him some sugar cookies and he just about ate the whole bucket of them! He had all his friends with him at the end. By the grace of God, he went swiftly but gently and that was thanks to Dr. Nostrant and crew. There's a big empty space in my heart that will never be filled. It's not the same without him but we've moved on. He's around I'm sure.
We welcomed back Judy and her horse Flash to Long Run. She and CB finally got to do some rides! CB's horse Hope is a good girl. She's green but trusts CB.
The "babies" are getting big as well. Pacino is 14.2 and Rio is 14.1-ish already! They're still little rascals when they want to be but they are definitely growing up for sure. Both have had a saddle on their back without any fuss and both load on and off a horse trailer like pros. They're going to be 2 this year!!!!! Holy moly!
I also decided to get back into riding again come Hell or high water so I went back to Debbie Baldelli for lessons. I ride a cute little old Arab who is teaching me a ton! I've learned so much since August and my confidence has grown tenfold! I've also gotten the ok to try and do some light riding with Socks. This weather certainly hasn't helped much but my goal this spring is to be able to do, at least, a 20-30 minute trail ride.
So, we'll see where 2015 leads us..............

Holy crap I'm so behind in this!!!!!!

So, it's been quite a while! April 13th Kharma had a baby boy! Patriot for Patriot's Day weekend and his barn name is Rio. Watching him grow has been an amazing journey for sure!  He gets bigger every day just about.  It goes without saying that Carolyn was smitten with him from his first breath. He is a "pretty good egg" to quote Lindsay Robbins. Unfortunately for us, Judy has decided to take a break from horses for a while. So, the number of barn buddies shrunk to just 4 horses.

Socks had a second opinion (or 3rd rather) with Dr. Nostrant and he was finally deemed retired with his stifle not healing properly. It was bittersweet news to me. I was glad to finally have an answer and while I didn't have to worry about euthanizing (I was extremely worried about that), I now have 2 retired horses and no one of my own to ride. Socks was also put on Previcox for pain management. He has some ouchy days but for the most part seems happy being a pasture potato. We did get the ok to do some clicker training/in hand trail course stuff from the Dr. so hopefully we can do more of that.

In good news, we welcomed Lisa Gorski to Longrun as she had adopted a foal. She brought him and his mom home the beginning of August with the intention of weaning the foal and giving the mare back afterwards. Pacino was a weaning master and never looked back and Jerseygirl (the mare) just recently left us on the 15th of September to go to training to gain a step closer to a forever home for her too. Rio is having a bit of a hard time with the weaning process and still cries for mom despite being out with Pacino and Zak.

This morning, Kharma is going to training as well (same place as Jerseygirl) and she'll take her first steps into being a working girl for the first time in a while. She's going to Crimson Acres in Orange Mass. to work with Peter Whitmore. He's a pretty amazing trainer and I can't wait to see how she does. That being said, we're going to have to put Socks and the kids and Zak together and hopefully that goes seamlessly with no major problems. Crossing fingers for sure.

Ok, that was a whirlwind catchup post for sure. I'm going to have to try and post pictures and keep this up now that there are babies growing and Kharma in training. This should get interesting again!

Check your baggage!

Well, it's official. Miss Kharma is starting to get a little bagged up in her udder! It's a teensy bit but it's definitely there! She now has a bigger stall to have her baby in thanks to Speedy donating some of his to her. Thanks Uncle Speedy! =) She's getting more and more comfortable with Carolyn touching her all over too. She's also getting better with the farrier as well. It's all a very good thing!
We're still awaiting Miss Roxie's return to Long Run Farm from her training in Orange Massachusetts. She's been a good student for Peter and she seems to catch on rather quickly although being a girl, she does have her opinions. ;-) She'll be home soon to tell us all about it!
As for the boys of Long Run.....well, they're all fat and seemingly happy. I say seemingly as Zak is always grumpy in the winter anyways. Zak has been moving pretty good on his supplement and we await Dr. Heidi's arrival next week to draw his blood for his ACTH level recheck. With any luck, we can reduce his pergolide dose to one pill a day instead of two. My checkbook would absolutely LOVE that! Speedy has been going out for rides here and there. Our weather has not been very cooperative at all for riding though. It's either FREEZING or extremely muddy or icy or both. Socks seems to be moving well and is very happy to be out with friends. He was covered in dried mud last night and I curried his body and in my haste to find my horse under the coating, I curried his stifle that had the surgery. He didn't even flinch! YAHOO!

Catching up......

Well, Roxie is off to training and learning well. She's been round penning and such and learning to wear a person on her back. =) Kharma is getting bigger...and her belly is getting closer to the ground. Carolyn got a stall camera and we had some fun setting that up. Now she can see the big event when it comes time. That is, of course, unless Miss Kharma waits until 4 a.m. to have the little weenie tot. As for the rest of the scoundrels at Long Run Farm...Speedy is, well, speedy, Zak is back on his old supplement and moving great and Socks and I went for walks this past weekend with Carolyn and Kharma. Saturday was just a handwalk with tack on as he was a bit too hyped up for me but Sunday I was on his back to go "around the block". Let's hope that this is a better year than 2012!!!

White with a red stripe......

....and we're not talking candy canes folks! Yup, Carolyn did a pregnancy test on Kharma and it came back POSITIVE!!! How disappointing, scary and exciting at the same time for Carolyn! She will have the vet out Tuesday to get her some more info, like how far along Miss Kharma is. And so, the foal pool begins...I say, it'll be a February baby! We'll have to wait and see.

Hurricane winds of change are a blowin'

    Well, here we are almost into December. Things have changed for sure here again. Survi had healed from his suspensory injury but a nagging back issue caused some concern for CB. As luck would have it, the breeders agreed to take him back and trade a mare for her to take instead. After some long weeks (more like almost 2 months) Survi went back to Pennsylvania and CB didn't take the new mare. Too many issues both seen and also looking into her future. In the meantime, Judy found a little Arab mare in the Carolinas that she bought. The shipper totally sucked and his truck "broke" down and he wouldn't communicate well with her and all was very stressful. As she waited to hear from the shipper, CB started looking at rescues. She found a little gray Arab mare at Camelot and scooped her up for the exorbitant price of $200! Not a bad catch. They both arrived safe and sound the other day. Kharma (CB's) has a bit of a snotty nose and some loose manure but no worse for the wear seeing as she was in an auction house. Roxy had a little runny nose too so the girls are on antibiotics to clear anything up. Kharma is also a bit on the rotund side....perhaps CB got a 2 for 1 special? Only time and a vet will tell.
     On the Socks front.......he had a horrible setback and was EXTREMELY lame again. His ultrasound on the ligament looked good but the joint capsule itself was very inflamed. Not good. He got a round of steroids and more walking to do. He was still pretty lame again so back to Tufts he went for IRAP to be done. He got his 3rd and final one the other day and was still a 2/5 lame. Dr. Heidi Williams thought it may need more time...he may never fully come back or he may after 6 months to a year. Lovely. She was going to have a conversation with Dr. Jose Garcia (the surgeon) and we'd regroup from there. Lots of tears shed. I may never be able to ride my silly orange boy or maybe I can in a year. So much up in the air. It's amazing I haven't lost millions of pounds from stress!!! At any rate, during all this, I have to thank CB and Mary for letting me use their trailers and time getting Socks back and forth to all his appointments. Your friendship and help has helped me through this.
   Guess I'll mention the grand old man in this as well. Zak managed to choke a few weeks ago on the little bit of grain he gets. With the help of Dr. Fred Nostrant, we got the crud passed and he was no worse for the wear. Now, he gets his grain wetted down and he seems to think he gets a mash every night and is loving it. Thank God! Other than that and his wonky leg, he seems to be enjoying life and is still kicking his stall and running people over when he can. 
   Where do we go from here? Heaven only knows!!!!! I may be busy crewing for Judy and CB....perhaps being able to rehab (again) with my boy and get riding again this summer...helping foal out the potential mystery baby.....or, I can write all this down in a country song and become ridiculously rich!  At any rate, there's adventures ahead for us all!

And so it begins...........

So, Socks' surgery went well and he even trailered to and from Tufts wonderfully thanks to 1 mL of acepromazine IM.  Guess I'll have to use that to take off "the edge".  Of course it was a rainy day getting him  home and it's been pretty rainy ever since with a hail/thunderstorm yesterday.  YIKES!  At any rate, he's to have "strict" stall rest although I can hand graze him for a bit.  Survi, on the other hand, is getting walked about 40 minutes a day to keep his rehabbing on track.  He has another ultrasound soon to see if he can have a bigger paddock.  That will be exciting for him.  Socks can have a small, stall sized pen if I want and I'll probably do that once his stitches come out in a week or so.  That will help his little brain immensely if he can be outside with his "buddies".  Then, in another week, he too can start a walking regimen starting with 5 minutes a day and working our way up to 20 minutes a day.  He'll be happy to be able to do something and I'll be that much closer to riding again.  Hopefully CB will be riding again too in the near future!  As for now, we're planning a "Pity Party" and hope to see everyone from the "old" crowd to commiserate with us.

The winds of change.....and a nasty wind at that...

Well, Survi is still rehabbing and still in his pen.  He is progressing so that's a good thing.  Zak is getting out for about an hour to graze in the afternoon and is loving it.  He's lost a good amount of weight from living in the babysitter pen next to Survi and looks much better being on the Prascend pergolide pills.  That being said, Socks is the latest to fall victim to the black cloud that seems to loom over the barn lately.  He went lame a few weeks ago, had an ultrasound at Tufts that confirmed a tear in his ligament attachment to his meniscus.  UGH!!  So, he too is getting hand grazed with Survi but he has to live in his stall all day.  Thank God he's a neat stall keeper!!  The tear is such that he will be going into Tufts for surgery next Friday.  It hasn't hit me yet that he's going in and even though it's not too big of a deal....arthroscopic surgery.....it scares me.  He can then start rehabbing as well.
More sad news.........CB has been having the nagging thought of what Sereele is up to and finally tried to get in touch with Norman.  His phone was disconnected and his e-mail was cancelled......she called the equine dentist that he referred to her to ask if he (Dave) had heard anything.  He had indeed.  He received an e-mail from Norman thanking him for his service but also adding that he wouldn't need him any longer as "we're all dead".  Norman had euthanized all of his horses including Sereele and then killed himself that night.  This all happened over the winter around January some time.  =(  How horrible! Very sad, sobering news. 
With any luck, this nasty wind of change switches in our favor again and a redeeming wind blows these damn clouds away!  I am totally up for planning a Pity Party for us all.  We could sit and eat and drink and feel pitiful for ourselves for a bit.

More injuries to plague us!

So, it turns out that Survi has a suspensory injury and is stuck on small paddock turnout. Carolyn had Dr. Brett Gaby out to ultrasound and eventually do PRP with the hopes that Survi recovers quicker and with less scar tissue. Zak was Survi's original babysitter keeping the peace for a little bit anyway.....until Survi wanted to play more than Zak's old body could take which led Carolyn to separate the boys. Now, Zak has his own little paddock with Speedy and Toya behind him and Socks is by himself behind Survi which leads to the next little problem. Socks and Survi now play over the gates with each other and Socks even goes as far as pulling the pins out of the round pen panels!!!!! Bad boy! So, we had to make a space between the round pen and Socks so he won't do anything stupid or egg Survi on to do something stupid. ARGH. To add to the festivities, Socks somehow did something to his right eye and came in the other night squinting. An emergency call later, his eye is not scratched but he has to wear a fly mask for the week and get eye ointment in it for a week. Could we all just be healthy at the same time just once guys?!?!?!?!?!?

Shall we play a game?

Ok, so, Carolyn got a hold of a natural horsemanship trainer who agreed to come and work with her and Survi...and I jumped on the bandwagon as well. Socks had the training early in life and he could use some manners. So, we met with Bryan Martinez to let him meet us and the boys and see what he thought. Long story short, he "read" our horses easily and told us his training approach and even did some small stuff and we agreed this would be helpful to both horses. Bryan does the Parelli training so we had to learn the "7 games": friendly, porcupine, driving, yo- yo, circling, sideways and the squeeze game. Survi, being the sensitive one, was really good at most of the pressure games. Socks, not so much. He liked to try and test how far you really wanted him to go with the game. So frustrating! However, he did really well at the circling game and the sideways game for whatever reason. Maybe he remembered a thing or two. At any rate, we had 7 weeks for the 7 games and our horses actually starting to LEARN! GASP!!!! It was really great to see some things starting to click in their heads. Bryan is an amazing person with such a quiet disposition but when he got our horses, they definitely paid attention and did what he asked of them. Of course, Socks had to push the limit of sanity sometimes.....he would totally work harder than Bryan would ask but.......that's Socks for you. As our training went on, he "lost it" less and less. Survi was such a great little student. He was so sensitive that he picked things up very quickly with barely any aids to "remind" him of what he needed to do. For example, Carolyn really only has to wiggle her finger at him and he will back up...Socks still needs the rope swaying to remind him that he has to back up but he also needs less asking than he originally did. We just had our last lesson on the 10th of December. We figured we could work with the games and regroup early next year to continue and at least we have the basics to work with. It's been fun learning how to "talk" to our horses and watching them continuously do what we're asking of them is also fun and rewarding. I look forward to learning more and getting my horse to behave.......and watching Survi walk right on a trailer without flicking an ear at Carolyn! =)

Whirlwind of change!

Ok, so, really, really going to keep this blog up. I've been really bad at this! So, without further lapses in time, I need to introduce to you all Survivant! Legend decided that endurance wasn't his thing so he found a nice home with someone who wanted a reliable trail horse. Survivant is the horse that Carolyn had been looking at for years and he ended up being for sale again. It was fate that she was to get this guy!!!! Although he's 7, he hasn't been under saddle very long but is a very good boy about most things. Carolyn is pretty thrilled with him.

One little problem is that he's not a fan of the trailer. Carolyn had Bob Burelli come out and he indeed got him on the trailer but not really willingly so, taking a step back, she found another trainer willing to work on the ground with both her and her horse.......and me and Socks as well! =) Bryan (the trainer) has been doing Parelli with his horse for 6 years or so and although he isn't a certified trainer, he's been helping us gain some respect on the ground with our boys. We're learning so much about how we can work with the horses' instincts and it's actually fun to see results! Socks tends to push the the issue of how far he can avoid things a lot and Survi is pretty sensitive so he picks things up quickly. Both horses understand what is asked of them but need different levels to get the results needed. At any rate, we're seeing the horses become "better citizens" and it's fun to get things accomplished. I think it's time for me to learn how to upload some photos so this blog becomes a little more interesting to look at! ;-) Plus, we need an updated photo of the "new guy".

Summer is here?

Well, it's definitely questionable as to whether or not summer is here. There have been many nights at the barn where we're in fleece jackets or sweatshirts to feed! Luckily, I believe we may have finally gotten what we've been asking for....80 degrees and humidity.
Lots of stuff has happened since the last post. CB and Judy have gone to Vermont twice now and have gotten to enjoy the trails up there.....despite the snow in April and the rain in June. CB is on a mission to get Mr. Legend in shape for some rides this year. Speedy is always ready. ;-) With the wedding behind me now and planning not in the way, I can now start focusing on Socks. He really hasn't done anything in about 2 months.....or even almost a year with his silly abscess problem. I did get to jump on his back on Saturday and ride through the trails a bit. They were pretty muddy and slippery but he was relatively good seeing as we haven't done anything and he was by himself. He's a goofy boy but in general, I do have fun with him. Hopefully, there will be more posts of our achievements!

Winds of change again.............

So, here we are in March.....a lot has happened in a short time! Miss Sereele went to her new home with Norman last Saturday and seems to be settling in with her new friends. Carolyn has found a new friend as well. Please welcome WOW The Black Legend....or Legend as he is called. His granddad is Cass Ole who played The Black in the movie The Black Stallion! Very cool! He seems to be a good boy and a very promising mount for CB. Herd dynamics are pretty funny though....Legend is over Socks, who is over Zak, who is over Legend....they go in circles. I've been able to finally get a few rides on Socks too. I got the ok to start under saddle at the walk back in January but Mother Nature had other plans for us. BOOOOO! So, CB and I have been just walking up the street. She needs to learn/bond with Legend and I need to rehab Socks so it works out nicely. We went out yesterday despite it being a bit chilly. Socks was a total poke...I rode on the buckle nearly the entire ride! =) Hopefully, the snow continues to melt and the mud dries up a bit so we can venture into the trails.

summary since fall

Chris has done a great job keeping this blog updated, thank-you! This is more of a history of events than a fun story so I don't forget it all. so my summary is that although Sereele had been doing very well in regard to her tripping and falling, it was still happening sporadically. she fell on her knees while I was leading her down linden street and for some reason went to her knees while eating under the hickory tree. she fell while I led her down the street in chester but hopped right back up. I decided to try different shoes, found a natural balance farrier who did a nice job and she wore these shoes at the CDR and did AWESOME! I was feeling so happy! but after a couple of weeks she fell while riding with lou and rebecca, not a big deal, down to both knees, little scuttle and back up. tried the shoes again and she fell while I was riding with Jen Verelli and really freaked her out. there was just no reason for it, we were walking on flat dirt and she went down fast and ran on her knees for quite a ways before being able to get back up. that made me finally decide to get this figured out before one or both of us got hurt. had Bret Gaby come out for neuro eval and he was excellent. watched her move on longe and ridden, did some tests and said she was weak on RH, possible "searching" with RF with head elevated. had to ACE her to longe at the canter in the ring, but he got to see the bunny hopping. he suggested a myelogram. brought her to tufts who found her to be weak on the tail pull, did x-rays and saw some narrowing and possible instability at C4-5. they felt she was a wobbler and unsafe to ride. heartbreaking yet good to finally have an answer. I felt confident this was the diagnosis and declined the myelogram, didn't want to put her through it. but over the next couple of months she just looked so good, she really isn't neurological, I started to doubt the diagnosis. so I did bring her back, the neuro exam was totally normal and the myelogram was negative. they did a muscle biopsy for EPSM and blood test for vitamin E deficiency and suggested a couple of other motor neuron diseases. during all of this I have been in contact with a guy named Norman who is looking for a nice young mare as a companion for his mare. he came and met her and really likes her (of course) and will take her this spring I think, assuming she doesn't have some horrible degenerative disease. tufts neglected to start her on abx after the biospy and the incision was hot, oozy and a little puffy. emailed Dr Bedenice and Carmel and started her on SMZ's, things look better. will probably take the stitches out tomorrow. she looks great bucking and rearing and prancing around! this is all so frustrating and depressing.

Healing processes......slow but forward...

So, CB and Judy came back from Colorado horseless, but I'll let them tell that story as I wasn't there. =)
Socks went back to Tufts for his 4 week recheck on his collateral ligament to make sure it was healing correctly. He's been in a roundpen since he came home from Tufts. He hasn't been very happy alone all day either. Sereele came with him as she was having a myelogram done. It was a confusing day and the communication was a bit askew leaving me to escort CB and Sereele to her stall. Finally, I got to bring Socks to the ultrasound room to be checked. Well, he was screaming for Sereele who was screaming back so we had a bit of sedation......which he blew through...and then a bit more. Ah.....relaxation. Dr. Chope palpated his elbow first checking on the leftover bump from his abscess. She said it may be just something that stays and will be a cosmetic defect. No big deal to me. She did the ultrasound and was happy to report that the ligament seemed to be doing very well. Guess it was pretty bad right before he left to come home. YIKES! So, he got the ok to go in the "big boy" paddock with his brother and Sereele and let him acclimate himself to that for 2 weeks. If, in two weeks, he seems fine and not bothered, I can then ride at the walk! Looks like a lot of walking and with gradually adding in the trot, he should be all set to really work by late spring. WHEW! It's been such a chore with him being isolated and alone worrying about his leg. Now, if he'll only grow some hair on his leg where it was shaved.....that would be nice.

2011

Welcome to 2011. Not so sure of what's to come. CB and Judy will be leaving for Colorado on the 7th to look at a horse for her. Zakora....bay, fast, sound? and hopefully the one for CB. Socks has his recheck appointment to check on his leg on the 11th. Hopefully it's a good recheck. There are already plans for riding this year as the girls are headed to Cowshed Cabin in June. I'll be holding down the fort as I'll be just getting back from my honeymoon.....and who knows if I'll have a horse to ride myself. =(
Hopefully, there will be some great posts this year!

Happy Thanksgiving........

So, Thanksgiving, I got the phone call no horse owner really wants to get. Socks was dead lame and had a swollen upper leg. Now I'm frantic as I can't leave work and it took a little while to find my vet. She had to attend to another emergency before me so I got to the barn and ended up sleeping on some hay bales in my sleeping bag while I waited. She came in to examine him and he could barely even walk out of the stall! I was thinking the worst....it had to be broken! Shawn showed up with more jackets and a hot chocolate and unbeknowst to him, he was to be recruited for help with the exam. Dr. Williams took some x-rays and thankfully, nothing was broken. There was a small pinhole in his leg but it didn't appear to go anywhere. The injury was deemed a kick and stall rest and Bute was his future. We also hotpacked his leg and the weird lump moved down his leg and then the whole upper leg just stayed swollen. After a few days of him seeming to improve, I tried not to be too worried about him. But, then, he stopped getting better and seemed worse so, again, called the vet out. She could barely get him to flex his leg and made an immediate phone call to Dr. Garcia at Tufts to see if we could get in there. After about 30 minutes or so, Dr. Williams called back and said just go to Tufts, they're expecting you. Thankfully, CB was home and we made the trek to Tufts with Socks trailering by himself and Shawn leaving work to come with us. When we got to Tufts, Socks was a sweaty mess and only had one shoe on. How embarrassing! X-rays showed nothing and the pinhole again didn't seem to communicate with the elbow joint at all. He ended up having to stay overnight to get an ultrasound done. Around 5 pm, they called me to tell me that he had an abscess and it sat against the collateral ligament and they needed to lance it. UGH! Long story short, after waiting for the culture and sensitivity panel to come back, Socks spent one day short of two weeks at Tufts on IV antibiotics. Thank God for insurance! He got shoes put on about a week later and is continuing his stall rest until he goes back for an ultrasound recheck on the 11th of January. Summer was so nice and then.....BOOM......everything seemed to fall apart.

And it just keeps getting better.......NOT!

Socks ended up with some weird mystery lameness on one of our last rides together with CB and Sereele. We had trailered out to Upton? and were just starting to trot down the trail when he seemed just not right. We walked and he seemed fine, thought maybe he stepped on a rock but as we started to trot again, same thing...slight head bod and definately not right. I got off and headed back to the trailer sending CB on her way around a short loop on the trail. I was pleasantly surprised that Socks did not have a major meltdown walking away from his riding buddy. He called out a few times but did very well with me handwalking him back down the trail to the trailer. I let him graze a bit and all was well until he called and heard Sereele answer. YIKES, then the circling commenced and he seemed even more off than before! Luckily, Sereele and CB emerged from the trail and we tried trotting Socks out and he seemed fine again. UGH, maybe he didn't want to work. The next week was rainy so the week after I tried to ride again...still off. I called the vet and she took some radiographs and discovered that his pastern axis was off and suggested some wedged shoes. Tim came out and tried a wedge pad first that would be cheaper for me and give the same results....or so we thought. Socks couldn't handle the pad at all. It was a Myron MacLane pad with frog support and it must have been too much pressure on his feet. After another call to Dr. Williams and her and Tim talking, Socks got another pair of shoes on, this time the wedge shoe with leather pads as suggested. Again, he went lame....and of course, more phone calls were made to the vet. After about a week, he seemed fine and I got on him in the riding ring. He was poised to spring out from underneath me so after a few circles and a serpentine or two, I called it a ride and decided to longe him instead. He wasn't going to win this one at all. He seemed fine at the longe although a bit naughty. Later on in the week, I went out with CB and the dogs for a walk in the woods. Socks was so much better and happier and dare I write it....less ouchy with his new pads on. CB even got on him for one of the hills we had to climb on Mt. Pisgah. I was pretty happy that he was back in action and his gaits were nice and flowy again. YAHOO! It was also cool to see how my horse does under saddle as no one really rides him except me. =)