Gia - session 108 - more line lunging, and new therapy for Gia!
Today I worked with Gia on the lunge line with the exact same workout that I have done the last two days. She was a bit distracted and grumpy at first, especially to the left, but by the end, she was giving me her best canter transitions yet!
On a completely different note, I started Gia on a new therapy today.
A couple of months ago, I had noticed that she was a bit grumpy while being groomed and saddled. Since she had previously been pretty good, I took this as a sign of something physically bothering her. I decided to have Butch's bodywork specialist take a look at her. I had been taking her down to CDP Stables, where Butch stays once a week anyway, so Cameron could just take a look at her while we were down there.
He checked her out, and did a baseline comprehensive soundness evaluation. Basically, he checked her all over, watched her walk and trot and evaluated her body and gaits.
To address the grumpiness that I had noticed, he recommended that I start her on something to help alleviate or prevent stomach ulcers. Horses are HIGHLY susceptible to stomach ulcers, especially performance horses. Several good preventatives are to keep the horse outside as much as possible. Check. Gia lives outside 24/7. To give the horse as much high quality hay or forage possible. Check. Gia gets free access to a round bale of fescue/orchard grass hay. She also gets a sliver of alfalfa hay twice per day. Alfalfa is high in calcium, which is a buffer to stomach acid as well. Also, to feed the horse no more than 4 pounds of grain or concentrate per meal. Check. Gia gets a little less than 4 pounds of grain AM and PM. However, even when you do all those things, the horse can still get ulcers, especially if they are in stressful situations like horse shows or events. Traveling to CDP Stables once a week for a session on the hot walker is mild, but does count as a stressful situation, partly due to the travel in the trailer, and partly due to the new environment.
So, Cameron recommended starting Gia on Purina Outlast. Outlast is a supplement that Gia gets twice per day to help reduce the acid in her stomach. She can also get it prior to any stressful event to help with the stomach acid as well. I started Gia on that shortly after Cameron's assessment.
In addition, Cameron found that Gia traveled with her haunches more to the right. And that her right front foot was slightly more upright than her left front foot. And that her left front and right hind are her dominant legs.
To combat these imbalances, he suggested a TheraBand pad. If you click on the link, you will see that the TheraBand pad is actually used by people to correct imbalances, but it's great for horses too! He suggested getting two of the green ones for Gia - the lowest resistance level. He wants Gia to stand on it first with just her left front foot, and to work her up to 1 minute. Eventually, he also wants her to stand on one with her left front and right hind, and then with both front feet.
So, I decided to start incorporating the TheraBand into her grooming routine. I will post a video of how it went when I post this to Facebook.
Horses can be a bit funny about standing on strange surfaces, but Gia took to it almost immediately! She only stepped off once, and then stood perfectly still, even licking and chewing for an entire minute. I will probably do this for a few more times before adding the right hind, but it was definitely a good start!
On a completely different note, I started Gia on a new therapy today.
A couple of months ago, I had noticed that she was a bit grumpy while being groomed and saddled. Since she had previously been pretty good, I took this as a sign of something physically bothering her. I decided to have Butch's bodywork specialist take a look at her. I had been taking her down to CDP Stables, where Butch stays once a week anyway, so Cameron could just take a look at her while we were down there.
He checked her out, and did a baseline comprehensive soundness evaluation. Basically, he checked her all over, watched her walk and trot and evaluated her body and gaits.
To address the grumpiness that I had noticed, he recommended that I start her on something to help alleviate or prevent stomach ulcers. Horses are HIGHLY susceptible to stomach ulcers, especially performance horses. Several good preventatives are to keep the horse outside as much as possible. Check. Gia lives outside 24/7. To give the horse as much high quality hay or forage possible. Check. Gia gets free access to a round bale of fescue/orchard grass hay. She also gets a sliver of alfalfa hay twice per day. Alfalfa is high in calcium, which is a buffer to stomach acid as well. Also, to feed the horse no more than 4 pounds of grain or concentrate per meal. Check. Gia gets a little less than 4 pounds of grain AM and PM. However, even when you do all those things, the horse can still get ulcers, especially if they are in stressful situations like horse shows or events. Traveling to CDP Stables once a week for a session on the hot walker is mild, but does count as a stressful situation, partly due to the travel in the trailer, and partly due to the new environment.
So, Cameron recommended starting Gia on Purina Outlast. Outlast is a supplement that Gia gets twice per day to help reduce the acid in her stomach. She can also get it prior to any stressful event to help with the stomach acid as well. I started Gia on that shortly after Cameron's assessment.
In addition, Cameron found that Gia traveled with her haunches more to the right. And that her right front foot was slightly more upright than her left front foot. And that her left front and right hind are her dominant legs.
To combat these imbalances, he suggested a TheraBand pad. If you click on the link, you will see that the TheraBand pad is actually used by people to correct imbalances, but it's great for horses too! He suggested getting two of the green ones for Gia - the lowest resistance level. He wants Gia to stand on it first with just her left front foot, and to work her up to 1 minute. Eventually, he also wants her to stand on one with her left front and right hind, and then with both front feet.
So, I decided to start incorporating the TheraBand into her grooming routine. I will post a video of how it went when I post this to Facebook.
Horses can be a bit funny about standing on strange surfaces, but Gia took to it almost immediately! She only stepped off once, and then stood perfectly still, even licking and chewing for an entire minute. I will probably do this for a few more times before adding the right hind, but it was definitely a good start!
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