Hello There
Now where did we get to? Ah yes – wanting to ensure Hugo is 100% comfortable (if that’s even possible for any of us?!) Top vet, Jessica Kidd, came and had a look at me trot Hugo up, I could feel (and hear) that he wasn’t completely ‘loose’ as we set off, Jessica agreed.
So we had a chat and we didn’t come to any hard and fast conclusions; he could be a bit ‘jarred up’ which is a not a very specific term but is generally understood as ‘possibly sore from some sort of intense exercise’
He did so well at Hickstead (I’m not sure that wasn’t some higher power!) and he was bursting out of his skin when he got home the next day, remember this video?
Then at the one day event in Cirencester there was just a couple of teeny things that concerned me (the head up going into canter, the buck before starting the showjumping), before he then went clear cross country.
He's had more treatments for comfort than Kim Kardashian (or whoever – I’m not really up with these things) and throughout he’s had various areas of ‘tension’ come up including, as Jessica felt, his sacroiliac joint.
However, as a general pattern, Hugo seems to be doing better and looking more comfortable every month since he’s been here. So the question is: Are we managing him well? Does he need more treatment than we can provide at home? Does he need veterinary intervention?
In the old days the set response was ‘give ‘em some bute and a week on box rest’. Don’t shoot the messenger – that was The Thing!
As I remember, it quite often worked to a point. The bute and rest brought inflammation down after all, and helped prevent further damage in the meantime. But I feel sure there is a more sophisticated approach nowadays – besides he’d hate box rest and it’s to be avoided if at all possible.
The plan at the moment is that he has some time off in the field with regular massage and pulse mag from Equine Physio Abi here. If he still doesn’t seem 100% in a month or so we may have to look at pain blocks with Jessica to see if we can pinpoint the issue and treat accordingly.
Handily I’ve got Gillian Higgins coming to stay in a couple of weeks. I’m sure she’ll want to look at him too 😊
I’m writing this to educate (sounds slightly pompous) but someone could say ‘there can’t be anything wrong with him – he’s just gone clear cross country’ but of course, you and I know there absolutely can. Even if it’s very, very slight, it’s better to get there ‘before it happens’ than wait until there’s a real problem.
It's a coincidence that Abi was using the pulse mag and massaging him today she said to me ‘he’s not shouting anything at me’ – and she didn’t know I’d already started this letter and called it ‘The Horse will Tell You’.
‘The Horse will Tell You’ is going to be a two parter as not only have we listened to Hugo and he’s told us he’s a bit achey but there’s a BIG story about Barney, a horse that stayed here a while. And you won’t BELIEVE what he told us and what he’s doing now! (It’s amazing honestly!)
But more on that next time…
I will leave you with a reminder that if you missed the Equiculture webinar on land management systems that save time, reduce costs, improve welfare and simplify management, you can now watch the recording – which I highly recommend for anyone who owns, manages or works with horses and the land they live on.
Members don’t miss your chance to win £150 worth of Top Spec products, sign up to the November prize draw.
Finally, keep an eye out for the next IH magazine coming very soon!
Lots of Love
Kelly x
PS. if you have a friend who might find these email interesting do pass this on!
