1.1 Asymmetry: Sofie

So the first straightness training module introduces the concept of natural asymmetry. There are 8 types of asymmetry, 5 static and 3 dynamic.

Static Asymetry:
1) front legs - are they right handed or left handed?
2) back legs - are they right handed of left handed in their back legs - bit like goofy on a snowboard
3) lateral - do they have a twist in their spine and naturally bend in one direction
4) horizontal - do they weight bare more in their front legs/are they on the forehand?
5) torpido - are their hips wider than their shoulders?

Dynamic Asymetry:
1) diagonal - do they fall through the shoulder on a circle and bend their neck to counterbalance
2) vertical - to they rush forward, or motor bike to maintain their balance
3) topline - do they hollow through the back

The static asymmetry facets of a horse will result in the dynamic asymmetric way of working which will prevent them from working well under the saddle. The aim of straightness training is to improve the symmetry of the horse by strengthening and stretching exercises in order to enable it to work comfortably. The end goal is to have a horse that is supple and can carry its weight in the center. Step one to addressing Sofies issues is to work out what imbalances she may have.

1) front legs
I think Sofie favors her right front leg. The shoulder is larger on this side and she gets tension in her neck on this side. Her right side is her stripy foot, which is slightly larger than her left foot - though there isn't much in it.

2) back legs
I think Sofie favors her right hind leg, her left hind leg is weaker - and I suspect she might have some arthritic changes in it as it has swelled occasionally this summer. Her hind feet seem to be the same size and shape as far as I can tell.

3) lateral
I think Sofie is slightly left bent in these photos - but her dynamic movement suggests she is a right bent horse. I am confusing myself now - perhaps these are just rubbish photos!

4) horizontal

Yes sofie weight bares on her front legs and has difficulty pushing from behind when in work - this is probably contributing to her problems with her front ligaments.


5) torpido
I'll be honest I am not sure I get this one, but Sofie does have wider hips then shoulders (like most horses)


It is interesting to look back on her heat photos from last summer. They seem to be telling a similar story - tension in right shoulder, issues with back left hind.

6) diagonal
I know Sofie is asymmetric - but I am struggling to remember which reign she had problems with in particular. She pushes her saddle to the left hand side so I think she is a right bended horse.  I remember her shoulder falling out and I think it was on the right reign falling to her left shoulder but I forget now. On the lunge she seems to struggle and her weight in getting thrown out, making the circle larger. However she does not conform to all the things on the right bend check list so I am unsure of the extent of her one-sidedness.

right bend checklist
0 The horse will easily bend to the right and not as easily to the left.
0 It will turn easily to the right and not as easily to the left in the arena.
0 it can feel as if the horse holds on to the bit on the left side and does not want to accept the bit on the right side
0 The saddle moves to the left.
0 The rider slips to the left.
0 The stirrups hang lower to the left.
0 The horse ‘walks into’ the left leg of the rider
0 While riding a circle to the right the horse bends easier to the right and can tend to over-bend to the right. This can make it fall out through the left shoulder
0 The horse will prefer to lean inwards on a circle to the left rather than bending its body. It will try to keep the right bending and at the same time fall on the left shoulder, making the circle smaller.
0 The horse puts more weight on the left front leg.
0 The horse always walks with a hindquarters-in when he walks on the right rein.
0 The horse does not easily step under the point of weight with his right hind leg.
0 The right hind leg is straighter which makes the hip higher on that side.
0 On the left rein the horse will speed up more automatically, especially in canter.

0 While backing up the hindquarters will turn to the right.

7) vertical
In the past Sofie has been known to motor bike, I now realise it was due to poor balance. Nowerdays she gets round the issue by avoiding going forward.

8) topline
I don't think Sofie is particularly hollow in walk and trot but does hollow when going into canter

.... so things to work on. Well my assessment for one as I am still not 100% sure I have it right that Sofie is a right bent horse. But assuming I have got that right I need to stretch out her right side, as well as address her horizontal balance.

Spring is comming

Sorry for the blog hiatus - it sort of reflects a very quiet few months in the land of Sofie.

Tonto has made it through the winter just about and Sofie has been keeping him quite and convalescing with him for the past few months. She misses the girls, but got a bit of extra company from the horses over the fence and after a while little baby Charlie pony snuck in and has become like their child. Sof seems positively broody. Other than that not much has happened, the days have been spent gently eating hay and the passage of time has been marked my Sofies every expanding waste-line.

But the daffodiles have started springing to life and the days are getting longer and warmer. Spring is on its way and with it brings new hope of getting Sofie back into work.

We still have the ongoing issue of Tonto's health and inability to be separated from Sofie to get round - and to be honest I am not sure the answer to that one. But this morning I was determined to stay upbeat and so have invested in a straightness training program as something to focus on over the summer. This is something I could do with Sofie in the school whilst Tonto eats his tea.

So if all goes to plan this blog will become a log for straightness training sessions. Next installment comming soon....

pony for sale -£361.50

So things have been a little odd of late. I've wanted to blog about them but my head is so full of mixed feelings its hard to get things down.

I had agreed with Sofie's owners that when the insurance runs out I would make a decision about Sofie. I thought this meant at the time the claim runs out (December) but they meant when the policy runs out (November) so it came as a bit of a shock to me when they started to press for a decision this month. Still its only 4 weeks difference and an honest miscommunication.

Anyway, timing is not great from my perspective - Tonto has been unwell and costing me and arm and a leg and family and friends are hardly supportive of the idea of pony number 2 - especially when pony number 2 might well be permanently lame. I think I would have tried to rehome Sofie at this point... except for the fact that Tonto won't let me. He loves her and apparently refuses to live without her. Sigh!

In a bid to help me make a decision, and also aware of my finances, Sofies owners offered to pay her insurance for a year if I signed over ownership. Given a) Tonto refuses to live without her and b) in all honesty I would be heavily involved with finding Sofie a home and won't let her be put down if one could not be found I conceded and said yes. Ultimately, I am committed emotionally now either way, so doing it legally doesn't make much odds.

It turns out you cannot insure a horse that is not in your name - and so I have been written a check to cover the insurance costs. In effect, rather bizarrely, I have been paid to take Sofie. This makes Sofie the cheapest horse yet:

1. Tonto - £850 (rip off)
2. Sam - £650 including tack and rugs
3. Frodo - an old dishwasher
4. Sofie - -£361.50

All I have to do now is work out how to complete the paperwork to make it official on her passport. This would make Sofie the first horse I legally owned (as all the rest were in my parents name).

I should be feeling elated. I don't.

I feel sort of relieved that the decision has been made and I'm not going to loose Sofie just yet - but also incredibly guilty that I have gone against my family - and in particular my husbands wishes. I also feel guilty that I have taken on a horse I cannot guarantee a home for life. I still don't know what I will do if we have a family. I would feel better if they were both out in the field costing a bit less money, but I am not sure Tonto's health is quite up to that yet.

And to make matters even worse Sofie has started rearing again! This is not endearing her to me in the slightest. I wonder if she can pick up on all my mixed emotions and this is the cause? Who knows, but it is really not helping.

A day of vets and chocolate

Tonto on his way back to the field,
feeling woolly headed from sedation

Sofie's insurance is coming to an and - so I thought I would get one last vet check on her policy before her leggies are written off.

At the same time I got Pete from Liphook out to give Tonto a veteran MOT.

Frustratingly, like busses the vets all arrived at the same time - so I didn't get the opportunity to focus my mind on either horse. As Mr T was heavily sedated I stayed with Sofie and her vet Mary for most of the visit.

Mary was very kind and remembered Sof from her visit back in March. She commented on what a sweet horse she was. We did a lamness check and unfortunately Sofie is still lame, slightly better than in March but not much and worse on her right leg (the one with a split in the hoof). Sof seemed fairly sound on a straight line, but not good on a circle. We didn't nerve block to take a further inspection, but didn't really need to as even I could see she is lame. Sofie was also foot sore on the hard ground which made the assessment difficult. Mary suggested three courses of action:

1. another MRI
2. wait 4 months and take another look in February
3. trial walking and see how she goes

The preference was another 4 months then see - which was sort of my plan anyway. Riding in the winter is miserable and I can't separate her from Tonto at any rate.

We had a discussion about my ambitions with Sofie, and Mary seemed optimistic that as a light hack she might be alright. She did suggest I could always give her bute to ride - but I have never felt very comfortable with that approach. Mary seemed happy for me to do the straightness training thing - though I am fairly sure she was just humouring me at this point.

Pete agreed that Tonto is looking better. He suggested adding a bit more protein into his diet and keeping him on one bute a day for the legs. Pete was running late that day so not in the most amicable of moods which was a bit frustrating. He also didn't get to do a full assessment of Tonto, because Tonto immediately ran off and we decided better to sedate. I figured an impatient vet and a stressed Tonto were not a great mix. Unfortunately my distraction with Sofie meant that I forgot to ask Pete to check out Tontos gentleman parts. I'm really annoyed at myself for this as I would like them to be checked out as they continue to cause him problems.



consolation chocolate

So by the end of the day I was feeling a bit deflated. The visits have probably cost me £500 to tell me things I already know! I probably won't ask the vets to come and see Sofie again - its just a waste of money really. I still hope to send her to Rockely Farm, but am not sure how to separate her from Tonto to achieve this.

I also know I am being stupid. Sofie, most likely, will never be truly sound. I should just hand her back to her owners and walk away - or see if I can get her a retirement home. But the thought of loosing them both is too much. Plus if I got rid of Sofie I could never justify getting another horse. There goes my dreams of cross country and drag hunting.

Deflated, I went home and had a feast of chocolate brownies, chocolate gue pots and a glass of wine in front of the fire. It didn't really make me feel much better but it was worth a try.

Ground work and straightness training

Now that the nights are dark weekday ride and leads are out, but we do have a flood lit school to our disposal. I have also been feeling a bit guilty that Sofie has been so side lined by Tonto’s health so wanted to re-ignite my ambition to do ground work with her in the school after work.

There is an instructor at the yard who does do groundwork and bonding lessons. This seemed like an easy place to start so I thought I would give it a go. Our first lesson was really interesting. We worked on the concept of ‘grounding’ which is the ‘being present’ thing from the trust technique course I did a while back. Interestingly I found this really uncomfortable with Sofie. I felt very anxious around her. I didn’t expect her to react to me but she almost instantly started to sinc with my breathing when we started. She was also very keen to be with me, at one point dragging the instructor to me when I managed to ground myself with positive energy. The only problem is Sofie is so insecure that she wants to be ontop of me, which then makes me worried. When I worried, Sofie shuffled. My main worrisome thoughts were ‘I can’t do this’ which is something I often think. Something for me to start to tackle I guess.

We then moved onto walking and parking – to try and improve Sofies space issues. The idea is that Sofie learns to take ques from me for where I want her to be, and learns that it is OK to be standing away from me. This had a slightly faulty start when the instructor tried to demonstrate what she wanted… but applied too much pressure and Sofie reared. I felt bad about that because I forgot to mention the rear thing – Sof hasn’t reared since May so I had forgotten about the trick. It also made me anxious again as I don’t like her rearing so close to me. Never-the-less we continued and I got her to do some parks. Sof clearly felt worried about what I was asking so I never got her to stay in one place too long. All in all we were out there for 45 minitues. The time passed so quickly!

Last night I gave parking another go. This time I focused on being relaxed and positive. After all we are only walking and halting! Once I stopped stressing Sofie was much happier. She got it really quickly, only taking a few goes. I then decided to stop there before she got too bored and worked with Tonto. I find working with Tonto much more comfortable. He doesn’t make me as nervous and Sof. Tonto understood park almost instantaneously, this shouldn’t surprise me. We have had 17 years to understand each other, we are like an old married couple in this respect.

Going forward I plan on doing more with Sally (the instructor) and also working on straightness training to see if I can build in some physio aspect. This might help both ponies with their aliments. I’ve already downloaded and read Marijke de Jong’s e-book and signed up to some fb groups. Silke at the yard is also going to give us a lesson on Monday night which I am looking forward to. It is really nice to do something proactive for a change, and I look forward to learning some new stuff. 

Mr T feels better

Sorry for yet another Tonto update: his health issues are somewhat occupying me atm, poor old Sofie has been pushed to the back burner a bit.

Anyway a little update on Tonto. He seems brighter and happier for all of his pampering. He has started to be naughty again on a regular basis and is taking more interest in food and the world around him. He has got a little better at standing on three legs – though still notably sore when lifting his front right foot. He has put on a bit of weight, but you can still see his ribs, but I think his coat looks better. We have recently started to reduce his bute and he seems to be coping well. His feet are still riddled with thrush – and his gentleman parts are still a bit skanky, though he has gone off me checking them so I haven’t rummaged for a while. However jury is still out as to whether Tonto does, or doesn’t have Cushing’s. He might just be feeling happier because he is coming in at night and not feeling stress from separation with Sofie. The vet is coming back out tomorrow for a check-up so I shall seek his opinion then.

Still I’m glade to have a slightly happier horse, even if he is crippling me financially. 

Tonto vet history

The note I gave to the vet for Tonto's medical history
 

Summary

• about 20 years old
• up to date on tetanus, not on flu
• retired since 2013
• history of back pain, believed to be  muscular but not fully investigated
• has arthritis in hocks
• ringbone in front feet
• history of being a good dooer but struggling keeping weight on in recent years
• often has thrush infections in feet
• has had unusually mucky sheath of late which he has found uncomfortable
• suspected of Cushing’s but tested negative on tests
• has some behavioural issues – needle phobic (I have aural sedation to hand for visit)
• seems to have a very high threshold for pain
• condition is on the decline and debating PTS due to reduced quality of life
• owner wants to rule out all possibility of improving quality of life before deciding on PTS 

Summer 2011

Diagnosed with chronic ringbone effecting joint margins on both front feet in 2011. Was continued in light ridden work and prescribed bute as needed. Shoes were removed.

Autumn 2010 photo - the day I saw he was lame

Summer 2013

 

By 2013 Tonto was showing indications of increased pain. Some difficulty holding up right for when picking out feet and had a ‘goat-on-rock’ stance when saddle was presented to him, his back was also sore. Tried putting shoes back on, but didn’t help. We re-Xrayed and confirmed significant degeneration with damage surrounding the ligament connective tissue in front feet and arthritis in both hocks. October 2013 fully retired to field livery and on bute during winter months. Shoes removed.

 

Autumn 2014

 

2014 blood test for Cushing’s. Came back with normal result.

Summer 2015

Summer 2015 living out on lush grass field but not gaining weight the way he used to (now a healthy weight). Had some episodes of choke with his feed.

 

Autumn 2015

October 2015 started to loose weight despite good grazing, was seen separating himself from the rest of the herd, noted he seemed uncomfortable behind and had repeated episode of choke despite having wet feed. Teeth were investigated and rasped, on inspection there were some sharp edges, but nothing very significant. Tonto continued to loose condition and developed a mite infestation in his feathers. Saliva test revealed he had tape worm. Had a bit of a runny nose on and off. Bloods were taken which revealed slightly elevated white blood cell count but no other significant markers. Cushing’s re-tested with cortisone levels slightly higher than normal values but below threshold.

 Winter 2015/6

December 2015, was not coping with mud, with regular trips and falls in difficult footing so put on stable livery. He put on weight but appeared withdrawn on occasion. He started a course of catrophen to see if this could ease symptoms. A slight improvement was seen – but this realistically could have been optimism on the owners part.

February 2016, moved to a dry flat field to try and help mobility and living out. He was given an unlimited supply of hay and a daily feed and was taken off bute. Lost a little condition but not too much, occasionally seen standing with head lowered and withdrawn – but difficult to observe as field was remote.

Spring 2016

April 2016, moved to field livery at westlands. Re-tested for Cushing’s, again borderline but negative. Given a booster shot of catrophen. Continued to struggle with mobility but fairly happy in himself. Weight was healthy – but needed daily feeds to achieve this (always thinner than the other horses on similar grazing).

 

Summer 2016

June 2016, was seen weight shifting on back legs. Vet called to find he had fly strike in his sheath. This was treated but he still seemed uncomfortable behind. Seemed better after a night on box rest with limited socked hay. Pulses felt by farrier, but not by vet. Tested again for cushions, with a borderline negative result. Decided probably not lamanitic and so injected hocks with steroids (with a conservative dose for safely). When injecting vet noted there was very little space left in the joint margin (by feel). Some immediate improvement seen but not long lasting. Other bloods ran, no significant markers barring a slightly elevated white blood cell count. Weight healthy – but needing daily feeds to achieve this.

 

July – August 2016 continued issues with mucky sheath and having to work hard to keep weight on (feeds daily). Some weight shifting seen on and off behind.

Autumn 2016

September 2016 lost more condition – with some further muscle wastage and tucked up behind. Seemed depressed. Moved to rich grazing and extra fatty feed but no improvement. October 2016 moved to stable livery.