A-Okay

It occurs to me that I have simply neglected to post about the results of the blood test.

His blood test was 'unexciting', which is good news. But this still leaves the overt ribbiness as quite the mystery unfortunately. I'm generally clinging to the view that it's the lack of adequate grass statewide at the moment that is making it especially hard to put weight on him, so I do hope that when the rain returns he'll start leaning towards the fat side of things.

In other general Riggs news, I spent some bonding time with him on Sunday afternoon as I, and I feel so guilty, have not had the spare time to spend with him lately. I intended to pull his feral horse mane, but he had other ideas and wouldn't stand still long enough to let me detangle it! I then attempted to just groom the rest of him, but he really had ants in his pants at that point and was weaving and trying to run away from me and digging to China... And then because he wanted me to feel really bad about taking him from his paddock, he played the sore back card. This sort of irritates me a bit as some days he's ducking away from brushes and then, literally the next day, he'll be fine. Does anyone else's horse do this to them? I then gave up and just gave him a bath and he fought less with me over that, so that was a pleasant surprise! I even got sprayed with minimal water!! And then towards the end of the bath he gave in and stood quietly so I was able to detangle his mane - victory is mine! BUT, he wouldn't let me cut his bridle path properly and now he looks like a tool... one day I will conquer the head shyness. I thought I had at one point because he stopped pulling away from my hand going within the vicinity of his ears, but adding the scissors to the mix was too much. Little by little, we'll get there.

He also had a long pick at the grass on the lead (because he's got the great racehorse mentally when being hand picked that 'OMG I AM NEVER EVER GOING TO SEE GRASS AGAIN!) and he nosed a broom, which moved causing him to jump on me. Total ditz.

So that's what's new... I am going to see him again on Thursday and am going to pull his mane then while it's still nice and detangled so I will take some photos then.

I didn't realise I had any recentish shots, but this one is about a week and a half old - he's trying out his new fly mask. Is purple his colour?

Video Time!

So, I know photos are great and all, but I thought it might be interesting for those who can't just come and visit him to actually see him in action :)

Weighty Issues

Over the past month Riggs has done nothing but drop weight. To try and counteract this he was first fed more. When no change was observed his feed was changed and two weeks from that point he still hasn't managed to put on any weight!

 12/11/12

29/12/12

12/1/13

He is currently being fed a sizeable mix of oaten and lucerne chaff, Hygain Ice and rice pollard twice a day. He eats all of his meals and flips the tyre feeder to see if more will magically appear. He also gets hay and is in a paddock 24hrs a day. I have no idea what his issue is! His trainer and wife told me over the weekend that he is normally on the tubby side and all I have to say to that is that 'the plot thickens'. Riggs is proving a genuine puzzle.

So the vet is making a first visit on Thursday, and much to my eternal delight (this is sarcasm) I am unable to be on hand for it. Fortunately, they do their bloodwork internally. So I'm sort of hoping to have an answer on Friday.

This has been infinitely frustrating.

Boots, Wraps or Nude?

As I'm sure I have mentioned countless times, Riggs has an eight month old bowed tendon. I don't know the specifics of the injury except it happened during his final race, felt like a catastrophic sesamoid snap to his jockey, is a low bow and has healed/is healing really well. I find no heat in the leg after light trotting on the lunge, but then the real test will come when the heavier work begins. I watch my horse's legs like a hawk to detect the slightest amount of troubling heat.

With injury comes the question of prevention and support. As a human with multiple tendon and ligament injuries in all limbs (and now a broken bone) it has always been my strategy to provide strength and support to my given injured joint when under stress. I have heavily utilised strapping tape, tubi grip, straps and braces to strengthen, protect and support susceptible limbs. But is it the same for horses?

So far as I can tell there are two schools. You protect your horse's legs or you leave them bare.

Within the protective group are those who use polo wraps and those who use boots. The pro polos out there spout the support polos give, but given the nature of that wrap, how can that be? Research has suggested that the support offered by polo wraps is about 1% and for me, the negatives far outweigh the positives. Those negatives being the potential for bandage bow and the array of dangerous situations incorrectly wrapped polos can create. Further to that, it is strongly suggested from multiple sources that polos do exactly zero to prevent injury. However, many others (vets included) suggest that used correctly, polos provide a superior support, but not necessarily protection. At the end of the day, I must confess that I am not comfortable wrapping my horse's legs.

Boots are another matter entirely. I think that the primary function of boots is to prevent hard impact, in which case Riggs' legs would be in no way supported. He has a set of tendon boots which, for all intents and purposes, stop him or anything else knocking his tendon. So this is a kind of prevention, but not necessarily the prevention/protection I am after. In the course of my research I have become partial to sports medicine boots (SMBs). However, I am still sceptical about how much support they'd give Riggs. But that doesn't stop me from returning to them. I'm particularly fond of the way they cover the fetlock - something I value for a horse with a low bow. My other great concern with any kind of neoprene type boot is the heat retention - which brings me to my final school of thought.

Bowed tendons need to be brought back slowly so that the tendon fibres can realign in a way that allows as much movement in the leg as possible. The tendon also must be kept cool. So this is where the bare legs come in. Many feel that there is no substitute for pure conditioning to strengthen a horse's legs with the aid of boots or wraps. Some feel that boots, SMBs in particular, weaken the horse's legs as they learn to rely on the support of the boot or wrap. All these boots and wraps also affect the natural heat dissipation of the tendon. As the tendon surpasses its optimum temperature the cells begin to die and the tendon is left in distress - which is why we are told to remove boots after exercise and to hose legs off. And there is another reason to leave his legs bare. In terms of prevention, this is essentially it.

On the whole, this is a subject that continues to trouble me. I want to do the best by my boy; I don't want to protect him so much that I hurt him. But I also don't want to under protect him to the point of injury. And still the question remains... boots, wraps or nude?

On the lunge

It's New Year's Eve in Australia so let me to be the first to say happy new year!

I visited Riggs over the weekend just past and was delighted to see how friendly he was! He left the company of his girlfriend to greet us and later voluntarily followed me up to the barn (no halter or lead!). He's so very sweet now that he's settled in and it's rewarding to see his personality shine through.

He also had his third trot on the lunge and despite some general silliness (though it was nice to see him feeling well all the same) he moved quite freely. And this was a vast improvement on the way he dragged the inner hind and was brushing two weeks ago. He's a total giraffe though, head in the clouds haha. Can't wait to teach him to drop his head.

We also made zero progress on learning 'woah'. However, he is crystal clear on 'stand' and 'stand up', so I may well settle for those. The other thing that was mildly concerning was seeing how ribby he'd become. He looks alright standing but on the move... just wow. We have added pollard to his feed so hopefully we'll see the positive effects of that shortly.

 The girlfriend... how cute are they!

 See, he looks alright here - light on, but alright

 But the ribbiness here actually makes me want to cringe

Giraffe!!!

Going Forward

So, with 2013 just around the corner it seems timely to plan out Riggs' retraining schedule. If things are going really well into the middle of the year then I may seriously see about taking him to the local show in October - just in led classes - to see how he goes out and about. But, much needs to be done before that is truly on the table...

Starting from (hopefully) this weekend, I'm going to teach him some voice commands. I'm currently physically incapable of doing anything with him other than leading him around. And leading him around is only possible because he is the politest, most sensible race trained thoroughbred I have ever had the pleasure of working with. So I'm planning on teaching him some basic voice commands with emphasis on 'woah'. I believe that 'woah' will prove useful in the future.

Once the cast is off and my wrist has regained reasonable strength I will lunge him regularly, gradually increasing his fitness. I will also use full tack to de-sensitise him to wearing the new saddle and incorporate side reins to teach him to respect the bit and help him learn that pressure does not equal full gallop/psycho action, as well as teach him to round up and use his hind quarters. I fully expect this process to take a few months as I want to make sure both he and I get it; further, I don't want to spoil him by rushing through anything.

I will be keeping a close eye on his bow, which is seven months old, to ensure the circle work is not adversely affecting the tendon. Once he's good about the bit and rounding up a bit I hope to start riding on the lunge (how much trouble can he cause going in a circle?) and learning how I can aid him.

January will be about forging a tight bond and light lunging when my Aunt isn't busy. I really, really want him to trust and respect me so we can work as a team. As well as the voice commands I plan to just spend time with him and see how he talks to me so that I understand him in return.

I am super pumped for 2013 and getting really started with my boy!!!

One month with Riggs

Today marks one month with my wonderful boy - and it's both an exciting an eventful ride.

He arrived on a warm Wednesday morning - November 21st to be exact - and he caught his first glimpse of four lunatic zebra looking things. That first look was enough to send him flying back up the paddock toward the driver who'd dropped him off. However he soon overcame his fear and was chatting with the Fjords over the fence! He soon went out into a more private paddock to settle in.

Meeting Gus

Checking out his new digs

Two weeks later and he had settled in well, chatting with the Fjords over the fence as frequently as possible. He was eating well and even flipping his tyre feeder when he thought he hadn't gotten enough. Riggs also received his first bath and was a very good sport about it (even when he stole the hose while drinking out of it) and he was an even better sport when I removed all the knots from his mane. On December 1st I also *attempted* to ride him for the first time. The ride ended in a very convincing bucking bronc display that included much spinning around, bucking, rearing and pig rooting. Once all four feet started leaving the ground the saddle turned into an ejection seat, a stirrup came clean off and I went past his shoulder hand first fracturing my scaphoid (don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either... apparently it's a carpal bone under your bone). Riggs was then turned out with Gus for the first time and they had a merry time cantering around the paddock together. He also gave a secondary bronc display (someone is super keen for the rodeo!!). His bowed leg pulled up really well from the hi jinks, so he'd be getting lunged after that display from that point on!

Looking smart after his bath 

 Looking smart and sexy all saddled up

 Running with Gus

A taste of the bronc act... This photo taken with my broken hand ;)

Another two weeks passed and he had his first visit from the farrier (Saturday just gone)! She liked him a lot and was happy with the condition of his hooves. She also commented on how he walked, flicking his toes out and putting his heel down first indicating no hoof soreness at all! So very good news indeed. He was also so good about the trim!! He didn't move at all - quiet enough for me to hold with my fractured wrist. He's the most perfect gentleman on the ground. He's also started lunging last weekend and the weekend before and happily remembers exactly how to do so. He thought we were truly awful people putting his bridle on and making him trot in circles... much lip flapping and head tossing was done. 

This week, one month into his new home he met the two retired standardbreds on a neighbouring property and he is absolutely in love with these mares. My aunt tells me he spends his day chatting. Yesterday he refused to come in for dinner (and he loves his food!) and had to be caught as part of being convinced and this morning he rejected breakfast altogether! Unbelievable. It must be comforting though to see horses that look much more like the racehorses he'd been around for around eight years - I can see how the Fjords would be a huge culture shock! Happily though, he didn't need much convincing to come eat his dinner tonight.

Overall, he's settled in really, really well. He prefers being out with the Fjords to being on his own (his head is down grazing far more often) and he's super sociable with people. He comes up to the gate when he sees you, loves his carrots, pulls faces at meal times and even blows the occasional raspberry. He's so gentle and polite that I can't believe he threw me! I can't wait for my wrist to heal so that our next month can be even better!

An OTTB and a horse mad girl

My name is Adrienne. I live in Australia and recently graduated high school. I also became the owner of my very first horse.

Like many before me I became enthralled by the sport of kings. From my primary school years I remember avidly following my ill-fated hero Mummify, cutting out newspaper clippings of him and many other thoroughbreds and plastering my walls with them. Other girls followed bands and the latest teen sensation movie star (who were the big names of that decade?) but the champions of racing proved my idols. I watched from my lounge room as Makybe Diva won her legendary three Melbourne Cups and became infatuated with the baldy-faced Apache Cat who will always be my favourite racehorse. So it came as no surprise to my parents that I made friends with stablehands and late in 2008 got a Sunday morning volunteer position with a leading Victorian racing stable. Fast forward to 2012 and I've worked in three stables with some of the top Australian racers of the past few years. For me, it became about the horses as I'd never been able to be so hands on with them so often before. I learnt to handle horses in these stables and learnt toughness, firmness, patience and understanding. I also made some great friends, human and equine.

So when I quit my job in May this year I quickly found that something was missing. And that something was an equine connection. As a consequence I resolved to find a horse to call my own for when school finished. I decided that this horse would be an ex-racehorse or off track thoroughbred (OTTB) as I felt most experienced with thoroughbreds as a breed. Through friends that I had made in racing I found Mr Riggs. I'd seen this horse racing and he was a tough old campaigner, frequently seen on metro tracks. The trainer and his wife had not yet decided whether to keep Riggs or let him find a new home, but after much thought they decided to let him go home with me. It was heartening to see a trainer care so much for his horse and I feel very privileged to be Riggs' new owner.

Everyone who has worked with him describes him as a loveable charmer with bucketloads of personality. He was also described as quiet having helped trained an apprentice jockey and gone on trail rides as part of his race training. Since his arrival I have found him to be a complete gentleman - gentle, polite and very easy to handle. He's also very funny with his facepulling and tendency to blow raspberries. His only 'baggage', so far as I can tell, is his bowed tendon. However, the injury is now seven months old and has given him zero trouble since his arrival.

I know that this journey will be challenging and a steep learning curve, but I am ready for it. And Riggs is too.