Hanging In There

Sofie continued to be a little off, a little tucked-up and ripply in her flank area through Friday. I went home on Thursday, in the early afternoon, and we went back to the barn early afternoon on Friday. She looked okay, but still slightly tense in her flank area, and she would occasionally show a slight colic symptom (just enough to really freak me out, all over again). She was eating well and pooping, so after squirting 10 more ccs of Banamine into her mouth, my mom convinced me to go home. I really needed to be home at that point, but I still felt like a terrible horse owner for leaving her when she still wasn't 100 %. It's always so hard to know what to do. But by then she had survived several days without actually colicking and dying, and the vets we talked to said that if she was eating, drinking, pooping and peeing normally, she just needed to work through her hormonal issues. She was definitely hormonal, for sure...distracted, herdbound and TOUCHY.

So I went home, checking in with Judy occasionally, and we tried to figure out what to do with our hormonal mare. We had already figured out that Regumate was not an option. Daily injections....not happening. $300 for a two to three month supply? Not gonna work. We had already decided to try an herbal "hormonal mare" supplement, but which one? There. Are. So. Many. Out. There. We were both in internet-research sensory overload, and we needed a little time to go home and think things through. It's overwhelming, trying to figure out which supplement to try for ANYTHING, let alone something vitally important. But we decided to try an all-herbal supplement with raspberry leaves, chamomile and wild yams, and we also have some chaste berry on order, which could be sprinkled over her feed or fed free-choice. All those herbs sound like they should help her out, and at this point it's worth a try.

For now, she's back on all her supplements, except for her Senior SmartFlex. I'm keeping her off of it for now, on the off chance that the sugars are exasserbating her issues. She's still moving well, even after being off it for five days, and frankly, right now her hocks are the least of my worries.

Today she seemed to be doing really well. She was relaxed, and interested in her surroundings. Her attitude was good for the most part, too. I free schooled her, and she started out a bit short strided but warmed up and moved out pretty well. She ate a snack of hay while I groomed and tacked her up, and she didn't seem to mind the saddle or girth.

We had a good ride today. She didn't flex quite as well as she has been (of course, we hadn't ridden since Tuesday) and was rather heavy on the left rein. She wanted to fall in and get crooked, but she moved off my leg well. She moved quite forward in the trot, a bit inverted at times, but she did occasionally reach into the contact all on her own, and she accepted a steady contact. She thought about bouncing around a couple times (she might've been anticipating the canter, haha), and later on in the ride she had her ears back in a few of our trots, but that was after her girth was tightened (and the person who tightened it for me cranked it up two holes on one side, which it really didn't need...), which could have been a factor. Regardless, she went forward, and she seemed content for the majority of the ride. Our rein-back needs work again...she was pretty heavy in the mouth, and very stingy with her backward steps. Oh, well. I did experiment with half halts a couple times, and she actually shortened her stride, which was cool. I didn't canter because I wanted to take it easy for this first ride. If she's still doing well on Tuesday, I will try cantering again.

So, we had a good day, which is a huge relief. I didn't really even want to go to the barn this morning, because I had no idea what I would find. So it was good to go out there and have some fun again. We should have a few weeks in here to just have fun and relax, and she should have her new supplement by next week. Hopefully we'll be able help her feel better next time she's in heat. She was much better this time around, just from being off Devil's Claw and on Magnesium, which is somewhat reassuring.

So let's hope for no more hormonal hell!!!