Riding Air Bag!

Has anyone else seen these new riding air-vests? They're geared towards eventers (who are required to wear a safety vest during cross-country), but can be used for any discipline. Apparently, some camps are claiming that they're the greatest safety invention since the helmet, while others feel that they're less effective than standard foam-paneled vests.

(Sorry, not sure why this is so pixelated!)

This is the Point Two inflatible air vest, which has a long lanyard that you clip to the stirrup bars of your saddle. If you are thrown from the horse, the lanyard activates the release of carbon dioxide into the "airbags," inflating them. They inflate in approximately half a second, so your neck and back are fully protected by a cushion of air before your body hits the ground (well, in theory). It is available from Smartpak for the low, low price of $699-799, depending on size.

Gaaaah! ALL my pics are fuzzy and pixelated -- ???

This air vest is also Point Two, but it is the custom color version. Because heaven forbid you get caught in some generic black air vest. Ick. Cross-country just wouldn't be the same without bright, glaring colors on every available surface of you and your horse. This vest is available in an array of colors, from Bubble Pink to Bright Orange to High Vis Yellow. What's that sound, you say? Oh, I think it's just George Morris's shrieks of horror and disgust. Oh, and by the way, this vest is offered for the bargain price of $839.95 from Smartpak. What a steal -- buy two or three!

For those of you not fortunate enough to have spare fistfuls of cash, don't fret -- there is a slightly less obnoxiously expensive vest available from Hit Air, pictured above and below. It doesn't come in any fun colors, but it does seem to provide exactly the same protection as the Point Two. This one retails for around $450 -- still crazy expensive, but at least it's an improvement.

And, check it out, you can even use an air vest whilst riding a camel! It doesn't exactly seem like a real dangerous sport, camel riding, what with the humps keeping you in place and the general dislike of moving faster than a snail's pace that most camels seem to exhibit. But, hey, I am all for safety!

Apparently, the rules state that, even if you are wearing an air vest in an XC competition, you must still wear a standard safety vest as well. I'm guessing this is because the air vests are so new and maybe haven't been tested/approved. Sounds like a lot of layering for a sport where you are most likely already sweating bullets.

So, what are your thoughts on the air vest? Great idea or total crock?

In Terminus

Whew! The last few weeks have flown by in such a whirlwind that it's been difficult to keep up with things. Buckle your seatbelts, kiddos, because this post is going to be loooong!

So, where did I last leave off? I believe it was Salem's chiropractic adjustment with the magical and wonderful Dr. Bob. The following day, I gave Salem a break from work and just hand-grazed him for a few hours.Wednesday I put him on the longe line and did about 20-25 minutes of walk/trot work with him, focusing a lot on walk/halt transitions.

Well, what do you know, afterwards I put him on the cross-ties and ran my hand down his left front leg to pick his hoof -- and I felt a large, hard, cool lump on the inside of his cannon bone. Yep, he had popped a splint. Now, it's certainly not unusual for horses to pop a splint, but it usually occurs during heavy work like jumping -- since when is 25 minutes of light longeing considered strenuous?! I swear, I think Salem pushed his Self-Destruct Button! He has seriously been falling apart lately.

Ugly Evil Splint

Close-Up of Ugly Evil Splint

The good news is that Salem was never sore from it -- it didn't seem to bother him in the least, and it had zero heat.The first few days, I iced his leg and left him in standing wraps. Made no difference, but it did make me feel like at least I was doing something. Of course, I immediately started researching about splints, and I read that a lot of people use Surpass on them with great results. So of course, I broke out the Surpass and faithfully rubbed it into that big ugly bump every night.

Unfortunately, a splint means no riding for a few weeks, so we spent the time hand-grazing, doing ground work, grooming, massaging, stretching, and just spending quality time together. I would put him in the front paddock for a change of scenery and just sit underneath the oak trees and watch him stroll around. Ruby had told me a few weeks ago that Salem would be leaving on May 1st, so I really wanted to cherish every second that I had left with him.

A few days after he popped the splint, I found out that the shipping date had been moved up to April 15th. And, being the OCD horsey foster mom that I am, I started planning for Salem's Travel Kit/Supplies. We all know that shipping long distances, moving to a new environment, adapting a new routine, etc. cause a horse to be quite stressed, which can lead to digestive upset and ulcers -- so I would of course need a few tubes of UlcerGuard for both pre-shipping and post-shipping. In addition, he would need a tube of Probios for a boost of probiotics. I also wanted to get a bunch of Horse Quencher, as horses tend to become dehydrated over long hauls. (If you don't have any Horse Quencher, I highly recommend getting a few packs to keep on hand!) The plan was to put a pack of HQ in a bucket of water and have him drink the entire bucket right before getting onto the trailer. Then I would give a few packs to the shippers for the transit, and include some in his "Welcome Pack" for when he arrived at his new farm. I placed an order with Valley Vet, confident that it would arrive in plenty of time.

Imagine my surprise when, on Thursday afternoon (April 8th), I received a call from the horse transporters confirming Salem's pick-up the following morning. (That's why this post is titled "In Terminus" -- it's Latin for "in the end.") I offically went into freak-out mode. I wasn't ready, either emotionally or logistically. Salem's "stuff" was scattered to the four winds, I had only half a bale of hay (I needed at least two for him so he could eat during the whole trip, plus have a bit for when he arrived), I had no UlcerGuard, no Probios, no HorseQuencher...nothing! The feed stores were all about to close. I'm pretty sure I had a small aneurism.

Luckily, I have some great fellow boarders, so I managed to pull together two more bales of hay and three tubes of EGard (generic GastroGuard). I had already bought some aloe vera juice to send up for Salem (it also helps to cut down on stomach acid), so at least I was semi-prepared -- not nearly as together as I had planned, but better than nothing. I had also spent quite a bit of time getting Salem used to wearing his halter fleeces and shipping boots. And I had switched him over to orachard/alfalfa hay instead of his usual timothy, because alfalfa can help reduce stomach acid.

I stayed at the barn until 10:30 Thursday night, packing and planning and fussing over everything. Salem got a bubble bath and a whisker trim, and Jennie was kind enough to pull his insanely thick mane (I pretty much suck at mane maintenance). Friday, I arrived at the barn at 6:30 in the morning to take Salem for one last long hand-graze/walk. We strolled around in the misty, dewy morning heat and enjoyed eachother's company for one last time.

Afterwards, it was time for a quick groom, as I certainly could not send Salem off all dirty and gunky. I kept thinking, "This is the last time I'll ever pick his feet...this is the last time I'll curry him...this is the last blah blah blah," and Salem could definitely tell that something was amiss. He had his Woried Eyes on. 

Check out Jennie's awesome mane-pulling job!

What's going on, FosterMomLady?

This is my Monty Roberts halter, which I loooooove. When you attach a leadrope to either

one of of the training rings, the entire bottom rope section tightens around the jaw.

It's both more gentle and more effective than a chain. (You just can't tie them or cross-tie

them from the training rings!)

Next, it was time to put on Salem's Travelling Outfit -- and, I have to say, he looked insanely cute in it!! Salem was so calm and laidback and Zen about the whole thing. Even when I walked him up to the very scary semi-trailer, he was perfectly behaved.

All geared up in his Shipping Outfit

This pic also shows that his topline needs much work!

That is one shiny pony! I have proven that you do not

need Show Sheen or any other silicone product to make a horse sparkly -- he is

glowing from good health and elbow grease (well, with a little help from

flax seed and Cocosoya)!

Smartpak catalog model in the making

This was Salem's sweet ride -- he was definitely travelling in style!

When the drivers set up the ramp to load Salem, I got a bit nervous -- the ramp was quite steep and I was pretty sure that Salem would not want to set a foot on it. (Wish I had a pic, but I was holding the Ponykins!) The nice thing, though, is that it had wings on the sides and they laid down a nice mat (like this) for traction. One of the drivers asked me, "Do you want me to load him up, or do you want to take him?" I told him that I wanted to take him, so I walked up the ramp and was shocked that Salem immediately and very calmly followed me like he had been walking up Scary Steep Ramps onto Big Scary Semi Trailers his whole life. I'm thinking maybe all of the work I did on having him put his feet where I want them (even on scary stuff like tarps and scary puddles) paid off. I was so proud of him that I almost got a little teared up.

All settled in for the ride

Once Salem was loaded up, I gave him one last peppermint and one last kiss on his muzzle. I had already had my little mushy "goodbye talk" with him on the way to the trailer (cuz ya don't want to look like a total mush in front of the big tough driver guys). I told him to be a good boy for his mommy and that I would definitely see him again sometime.

This was my last view of the Salem Ponykins

I know this might sound a bit stupid, but I really worry that Salem will think that I don't love him or I don't want him or that he wasn't good enough for me. I know it's completely anthropomorphising him, but I can't help it. For six months, I was his Person. We spent time together every day, usually for at least five to six hours. If he was out in his paddock when I arrived, he would run into his stall, whinnying his head off, as soon as he heard my voice. He was my favorite part of the day, and losing him has definitely left a big hole in my heart. Part of me hopes that he misses me, while the other part hopes that he doesn't. All I know is that I thoroughly enjoyed every second that I spent with him. He is such a special horse and I know that Ruby is going to adore him.

So, this is officially the end of the Salem Blog. I am planning on getting another horse in the not-too-distant future, so I will eventually be blogging about that. And I of course plan on keeping up with all of my horsey blog-y friends! Kristen over at Sweet Horse's Breath suggested that I start posting information-type blog posts, which I just might do.

 Thanks for coming on this ride with me, guys! It's been a blast.

I've got bad news, more bad news...and even more bad news

Today, Dr. Bob came out to work on the horses that were scheduled for Thursday. He is an awesome vet -- he went to Cornell, does chiro and accupuncture, and is so good with his patients. I really appreciate how he explains everything, tells you what your options are, and goes over the costs of each. And he definitely made the last six weeks of Mac's life much more comfortable. At our barn, we are not afraid of showing our affection for our fave vet --

Yep, we're a bunch of 12-year old girls. :-)

(Please also note that Salem is a member of "The BFF Club," of course.

That was written/drawn by Sage, an actual 11-year old girl.)

OK, so...on to the bad news. Dr. Bob started adjusting Salem and, at first, everything was great. He adjusted Salem's head and neck with no problems. Then he moved on to his back and everything went downhill. Salem's lumbar area is incredibly sore -- he started bucking like crazy and pinning his ears when Dr. Bob applied pressure to it. Even after he was sedated, he was cranky and bucking. It wasn't until the last ten or fifteen minutes of the adjustmnet that Salem actually started to relax.

So, what does this mean? I, of course, told Dr. Bob about our recent saddle-fititng debacle and how he had a week off, a professional massage, and is now ridden in a saddle that fits him and a Thinline pad. However, the good news is that the pain in his lumbar spine has nothing to do with saddle fit, because it is far behind where the saddle sits. Dr. Bob assured me that nothing I did/didn't do caused this. His exact words were, "He has major underlying back issues that are completely unrelated to saddle fit. He's had this for a while. And I'm not just saying that because you made me baked Brie." :-)

He can't diagnose what it is without taking X-rays. It could be arthritis, it could be kissing spines, it could be issues in his sacro-iliac joints. It could be a combination of things. Salem could need lots of chiro, accupuncture, injections, etc. Dr. Bob was not impressed that this was not picked up on Salem's pre-purchase exam, as it has most likely been there for a while.

Oh, and all that was just Bad News #1. Let's move on to #2, shall we? Dr. Bob did some flexion tests on Salem to see if hind-leg lameness could be contributing to his back issues. And, guess what? He classified him as a 2 on a lameness scale of 1-5 on the right hind. He said it could be hock or stifle issues. Again, not impressed that this wasn't caught on the PPE.  I do realize that flexion tests are a highly-debated issue, so I'm not sure how I feel about this. But it does mean that his right hind might need to be carefully scrutinized.

Last but not least -- Dr. Bob looked at Salem's teeth to make sure they're okay. And he said, "How old did you say this horse is?" I told him that Salem was sold as a 5-year old in October, so he's either 6 or coming-6. He told me, "Well, his teeth are telling me that he's at least 7, possibly 8." Oooooh, my goodness.

Dr. Bob working his magic

So, where do we go from here? Dr. Bob said that Salem was so misaligned that, ideally, he would be adjusted once a week for the next three or four weeks. And, of course, diagnostics like X-rays would be a great help. Unfortunately, I do not have a bottomless pit of money. Don't get me wrong -- if Salem was my horse, I would sell my soul to make him as comfortable as possible. I guess I have to hand this mess over to Ruby and let her deal with it as she sees fit. At least she knows that he has back issues, and she'll have to decide how to go about treating them.

For tonight, Salem got two grams of bute to help him feel better since he had such a major adjustment. Tomorrow, he'll get the day off. I actually asked Dr. Bob if Salem needed any time off of work and he said no. But I think I might call him on Monday and ask him if riding Salem will cause him pain. I love that horse like crazy and of course I want to ride him -- but I also don't want to cause him any undue pain. I'll keep ya posted.

Short But Sweet

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Just a drive-by post to say that I will soon be heading out to the barn for Salem's afore-mentioned appointment. Dr. Bob was already scheduled to come out, so I added Salem to the roster for a chiropractic adjustment. The poor boy has always been soooooo stiff to the right, and I really feel that he has some major alignment issues. I'm sure it makes him uncomfortable, so I decided to just cough up the cash and get it taken care of now. I am really working hard to make him as comfy and issue-free as possible before he leaves me.

OK, I'm off to make some baked Brie for Dr. Bob. I'll take some pics of the adjustment and write up a full report later. Cheers! :-)

UPDATE: No Dr. Bob today because he got an emergency call. :-( So, Salem Pony will have to wait until Saturday to get adjusted. I'm sure he'll live.

On the other hand, we had a lovely ride today, despite numerous distractions. There were four other horses out in the field with us, it was windy and cool, one of the farriers was there clanging away, and the neighbor's dogs were rustling around in the leaves by the fence. Even with all the ruckus, Salem hacked around all soft and quiet and focused. Such a good pony!

*Munch*

Since I only have 45 days left with Salem, I have gone into Crazy Picture-Taking Mode. Yes, I am going to document absolutely anything and everything. Seriously. :-) Today, we have a lovely selection entitled Salem Eating Hay In His Paddock Whilst Wearing A Halter. It is truly ground-breaking, as you will see:

Blurry, but still cute

This is actually only one of his three hay piles.

The horse eats aaaaaall day long

Look how thin his tail is! It was all thick and luscious,

but then he ripped out several big chunks of it in his water bucket. Booo!

What is that giant spot on the pic??

I also wanted to show Salem's Salt-and-Mineral Bar. Since I'm a huge nerd, I read a lot of articles about horse-y stuff, and I've read several which state that salt and mineral blocks are not ideal for horses because they were actually designed for cattle. Horses use their tongues differently than cattle and it's difficult for them to get enough salt or minerals without hurting their tongues. Also, most mineral blocks are mainly (like 90%) salt, so the horse can't get enough minerals without overloading on salt. My solution is to have one bucket of loose white salt and one bucket of loose free-choice minerals (if you get them, make sure they are specifically free-choice and designed for horses!). I don't know why, but I get a huge kick out of him eating out of these buckets.

Minerals

Salt (yep, there's some hay in there, too ☺)

In an ideal world, I would either:

A) Have Salem's hay tested for minerals, have an equine nutritionists find the holes in his diet, and then have a custom mineral blend created just for him

B) Have a full Mineral Bar of individual vitamins and minerals (look at the Complete Diagnostic Free Choice System) for him so he could pick and choose which ones he needs

Unfortunately, I am not independantly wealthy, so we'll just stick with the salt and mineral buckets! 

He even glows in the dark!

I got a super cute video of Salem munching on his hay, but for some reason I no longer have an "Insert Video" button on my blogger compose-y thingy. I also don't have a spell-check -- WTF?

Lots more Salem news, so I'll definitely update tomorrow. We've had some interesting rides the last few days! And Thursday, he has an appointment with someone who is going to make him feel soooooooo good. And, no, he's not getting another massage. Any guesses?

Six Week Countdown

In the comments of my last post, I tried to clarify something that some of you might not realize. Unless you've been reading since day one, you probably don't know that Salem is not my horse (you can read about it by clicking here). I know, I know -- I do write like he's mine, and I certainly treat him as if he's my own. That's just the way I've always been; every single animal that is under my care is going to get the best of everything that I can provide.

I've known Salem's owner Ruby since I was nine, and she's seen me "adopt" so many horses. Any horse that was given to me as a project always got spoiled within an inch of its life. I would buy supplements and treats and spend hours grooming and working. I suspect that this is a big part of the reason that Ruby felt comfortable having Salem stay with me. She knew that he would want for nothing and live the life of Riley. I pay for him to have the stall with the 1/2 acre paddock attached, I buy him tons of extra hay, supplements, flax seed, treats, products, massages, etc. He's definitely living the good life!

Saturday night, I got a text message from Ruby asking for the address to Salem's farm. She wants to set up the date for his shipping. Of course, I've always known that this day would come, but I tried to push it out of my head and focus on the moment. Ruby said that she's always planned on bringing him up May 1st, but it's news to me. I feel like time has flown by at mach speed.

So, I have six more weeks with The Boy. I'm sad because, of course, I will miss him like crazy. I've seen him every single day since he got here in October, and he's always my favorite part of the day. He's such a huge puppy dog and a total sweetheart. I know Ruby is going to absolutely fall head over heels in love with him. That makes me happy...but the fact that he will be leaving is also heartbreaking.

In addition, I feel like he hasn't progressed as much as I would have liked. And there are so many things that I wanted to do with him that might never happen. We've had so many setbacks along the way -- he had major tooth issues, sore/messed up hooves, muscle issues, and most recently saddle fit/back issues. That's a lot of issues to deal with! Of course, he also had a body-wide case of fungus and an abscess along the way, as well. All of that stuff took away from our progress.

That's not to say that he hasn't come a long way. He's certainly a much more mature horse than the one who arrived in early October. He's learned a lot and really developed physically. Of course, with horses you can never really have a timeline. You can have an idea of what you would like to accomplish, and goals to reach for. But you can't say, "OK, in X amount of time, such-and-such will be perfect." I actually felt a lot better when Heather (who's an awesome rider) told me that it took a solid year to really teach Sid to halt. In light of that, I think that Salem has really come a long way.

So, for the next six weeks, I am going to take advantage of the time that I have with Salem. Obviously, I don't need to buy a new saddle, so I am going to take the money that I have saved up so far and use it on Salem. We're going to take lessons, he's going to get massages and special horse cookies and maybe even a chiropractic adjustment. I am going to ride out as much of the "green" as I possibly can so that he will be ready for his new life in Chicago.

*sniff* I knew that I would fall in love with Salem and be heartbroken when he left. But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I'm grateful for every single second that I've had with him, and I'm going to cherish the few that remain.