Pedigree Query

We're a week out from arthroscopic surgery on my OTTB. In seven days, the hand-walking regimen begins, starting with five minutes a day.

I am looking for ways to make these uneventful minutes. The poor horse went through two months of rehab and got up to thirty minutes of walking before surgery (complicated circumstances). On certain days (when we couldn't get the arena (covered) during the optimal 1-3 p.m time when the horse's energy was lower, or when it was windy) there would be antics. I can hold him (the vision of him galloping around the arena makes me strong), and there is no malice in his actions, just the energy of a five year old who has not been able to dictate his own movement for a while.

It's six weeks of handwalking to his first turnout in a small pen.

I can give him Ace, as the farm where he did his first two months of rehab recommended, though I was going to save this for his first turnout so he didn't get carried away.

Any use trying any of the calming supplements or is this just going to be a trying period for both of us? I have seem people recommend a beer a day. I wasn't clear if that was for the hotwalker or the horse, or both.

I am working with him in his stall on silly tricks, and on ground training, like yielding his head and hindquarters, and anything else I can think of that will engage his mind a bit. In the stall he is quite relaxed and easy to work around, and the barn is busy, so he can study the farrier at work, or make overtures to the other horses, or the teenage girls who are all convinced they are his favorite.

He is on a virtually all-hay (six flakes of nice grass hay) diet, with just a cup of supplement, BOSS and a mineral block, and lots of carrots and lovely spring dandelions. The hay keeps him busy for most of the day, and he seems to be maintaining weight okay. He's really not hot-headed except in the arena.

Oh, and he has stall toys, though they are not very interesting to him unless there is a person to activate them. Fortunately I am working at the barn so I am there quite a bit.

Any suggestions, for either the handwalking or the stall?

You can't walk him outside or through the barn instead of the arena? Maybe you could barrow a good older horse to pony him with? Thats all I can come up with. We hand walked a post-op dressage horse in an open field so he was basicaly walked/grazed but he was also a colic surgery and on pain meds so slightly tranqed. The beer a day is a low dose for the horse and too much for the hotwalker if he starts to play too much(slow responce time), well I wouldn't risk going for a drag. Good luck!!

Kezeli, the footing is much better in the arena than outside on the hard gravel, and there are considerably more distractions out there! I was handgrazing him a bit as well on days when he is reasonably chilled out, and hope to be doing the same again soon, but the walking is about keeping motion in the joints to prevent arthritic changes, so we go at a brisk pace.

You are right about the hotwalker needing to be completely tuned in. His upper lip starts to twitch when he is building up steam. The beer would be for afterwards!

Ponying is an interesting idea. He might find that reassuring and familiar.

I've just read this and it made me laugh becuase I had a yearling filly that was in a cast for 8 weeks. When we finally got to the hand walking stage, she did her best to be good, but this strange quiver would start in her hind end and she'd just sort of explode into this bouncing thing. It was so funny, like an earthquake that just took over her body. After one or two bounces, the painful leg took the wind out of her sails. But by the time we were up to 45 minutes, I could count on at least two 'earthquake' events. You could tell she had no control over it, her body just really wanted to move.

Hope your horse is doing well and by now is getting some turn out. It sucks when they have to be stalled up like that.

Kami, you made me laugh too. It is like a tremor that runs through the body -- dammed-up energy seeking an outlet. His quiver begins in his upper lip, which begins to wag back and forth just before his head shoots up in the air and he starts to prance... There is no pain to take the wind out of his sails!

For his own safety and mine, we resorted to a mixture of low levels of Ace and Reserpine. With this, not only can be be walked with a minimum of rodeo, but he can hand-graze afterwards. He might jump and start still, but the adrenaline surge is quenched quickly after. Today, while handgrazing, I allowed him to have a good roll in the grass. He went over and back, stopped to nibble a little while lying down, and then rolled a few times more. I haven't seen him look so happy in a long time.

Two weeks until first turnout (in a small roundpen) where he can decide where he wants to place his feet for himself. I hope he re-emerges from this process with his personality intact as well as his ankle.

I wanted to try ponying him, but no steady geldings stepped up to volunteer, curiously...