Vet out to vaccinate Mac, and check Remi after falling on the road, and general soundness / movement check.
Vet said Remi looking v good –
soundest and muscles flowing over back best seen in a while, just need to
build up strength (and not re injure himself).
He said Remi sound and back and SI v good. :-) :-) Just bit weak and needs carefully building back up and strengthening.
Suggested lots of hacking and hill work. Said Remi a good weight and
very shiny :-) Said best he had seen him move in terms of all hind leg
actions being totally even – normally the left one tracks slightly
shorter.
[Side note Remi is rather random – left hind was shorter last week
before body work, and the extent to which he plaits varies week to week –
every time I observe him he is slightly different . . .]
I asked about work load / rehab work, and vet suggested less schoolwork
and more hacking. It is January and I
work in Central London re hacking – I am managing 2-3 hacks a week at
the moment which is good going.
Vet said the way Remi moves he drops his hips side to side in a
significantly more exaggerated side to side action than most horses (part
of the plaiting he does) so his SI joint is under more pressure than
most horses. So is his pressure point and the point he is likely to re-injure.
So to me a focused program of pessoa, hills, poles, 30 minute schooling
sessions (where most is warming up and stretching) seems logical.
(Avoiding tight turns / small circles). With the focus on building a lot
more protective muscle over his SI area in the next few months. Plus
bringing him in so not standing on a slippery hill if we have concerted
rain, at any time of the year. As slipping when tired of bracing in mud on a hill seems to be a high risk
factor.
Think I must hack him in a more connected way to help him get stronger. We tend to hack in a forwards but totally
disconnected way which we enjoy but wont help build muscle. So working hacking! Not slopping and whizzing hacking!
Summary is sound, and best moving on his problem left hind, muscles
good over back / neck / SI / quarters, and has some muscle, but is weak
and needs to be a lot stronger.
So we will crack on with the strengthening and building work. And see
where we get. I do think we need some consistency now – not sure I can
rehab another SI injury if he does it again in the near future. Am
hoping we can stay on current upwards trajectory, at least for a little
while. My hope is the longer we can get some good work done, the
stronger and more protected he will be. I have a fundamental belief that
if I can get him well muscled, with good supportive muscle and moving
correctly, he will have best chance of protecting his joints and soft
tissue and staying sound and comfortable.
Equally I think there must be a turning point – I am not sure it would
be fair on either of us, to go back to scratch again in the next few
months – there is a bit of ground hog day going on, so hopefully things
will mostly continue in an upwards direction for a bit. I suppose the
question is, is there another internal source of pain that means he
isn't building as much muscle and strength as you might expect? If so we
wont build the muscle, and we wont move on from this point, and he will
remain at high risk of a repeat injury.
That said the vet strongly felt
he has built up significantly from October and that his back / loins /
SI area are much stronger, so maybe I am impatient – as I am still
surprised he is so weak, and vet and instructor agreed he is weak.
However has been a miserable Dec / Jan stuck out on a wet hill, and so
maybe I need to be more patient. Hope so.
Oops have written and essay. Tea and cakes for those who reached the end!
No comments:
Post a Comment