Rule #1 being that it will always cost more than you
think!
As the first few warm days of spring arrived, I started my
Excel spreadsheet entitled “Rides I Want to Go on This Year.” The list was lengthy, encompassing my
research on State and county parks and horse trails, as well as rides planned
by the TROT group.
We started off so well.
There was our amazing ride at Wye Island. We went to Little Bennett Park three times. We enjoyed rides at Schooley Mill, the Agricultural
History Park and North Tract, as well as countless rides at Rachel Carson (RC) Park. RC is across the road from the farm so it’s
an easy ride (except for getting across the two roads between speeding cars).
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| Enjoying the wide, flat trails of North Tract |
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| The beautiful meadows at Little Bennett Park |
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| Queenie's least favorite ride--in the water at Wye Island |
Today, I saw my plans come to a (thankfully, temporary)
screeching halt.
I knew that Queenie had some arthritis when I
adopted her. I was fine with that
because it was love at first sight and because I was quite certain all I wanted
to do was enjoy slow, quiet trail rides.
As I gained confidence in my riding and learned about all of the other
possible horseback riding adventures, my goals for Queenie and I expanded.
With the vet's okay, we've been doing 10-12 mile trail rides, mostly at a walk but with some gaiting and cantering (and the very occasional "galleaping").
Lately, Queenie has been tripping more on the trail,
particularly when the terrain changes or she is tired. She has also become
increasingly reluctant to pick up her left front and rear legs so I can pick
her hooves. I had noticed the same thing
during farrier visits. My normally
placid girl would put up some resistance to extending those legs for a
trim.
Everything came to head last week when Queenie kicked out
and nailed the farrier when he tried to pick up her left hind leg. I called the vet and she came out to do x-rays and found that the arthritis was about
the same. In fact, the vet referred to
the arthritis as “moderate” for a horse Queenie’s age (almost
20).
Because Queenie looked slightly lame on the left rear, the
vet decided to x-ray the hock as well.
And there she discovered the bigger problem. In
addition to arthritis, Queenie has a bone spur in the upper hock.
The bottom line was that daily Previcox was not providing
sufficient pain relief. It was time for
injections in both legs.
As a frequent recipient of spinal injections to relieve back
pain, I was reluctant to start down that road with Queenie. My back injections go something like, “You’ll
just feel a little pinch as I put in the numbing medication.” And my response is always, “Are you f---ing
kidding me? That is no ‘pinch’.” Okay, I don’t really say the f---ing part to
the doctor but I would like to. The “numbing
medicine” is followed by an even more painful steroid shot. But the results are worth it so I keep
going
back for more.
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| Source: Washington Post, June 8, 2014 |
Luckily for Queenie, the vet heavily sedated her for the
shots. (I was jealous!). The vet had to administer the sedation before she could even shave the injection sites because Queenie is terrified of the
clippers.
So Queenie will have a two-week vacation from trail rides to
give the injections time to relieve some of her pain. In the meantime, fellow boarder Deeanne
graciously allowed me to ride her Quarter horse, Adobe. This sweet 14-year spent much of his
early years as a rodeo turn back horse.
These horses are used to hold cattle from running to the opposite end of
the arena. Two riders stay between the
cow that is being worked and the judges' stands. These are the turnback riders;
they turn the cow back to the contestant, if it tries to escape to the far end
of the working area.
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| The fast turns and quick stops are hard on the horse's legs |
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Adobe is incredibly well-trained and was such a joy to
ride. Like Queenie, Adobe's early career left him with bone spurs so we enjoyed a slow, leisurely Sunday
morning ride through the park near the farm. As wonderful as Adobe is, however, I miss my
girl and I can’t wait until we are back on the trail together.
