Looking back and looking forward

My Oregon Dressage Society awards came in the mail this week. Rather than sticking them on a shelf with at least two other years' worth, I decided to pull out my plaque and get them all mounted.

Wow, that represents a whole lot of my horse history! The only dressage horses not included are Silver Ciera, a Paint we owned when I was first introduced to the sport, and Lance. In a year I will be adding a plate for Lancelot Dun Dino with at least the results of the two shows we already have under our belt/girth. Three years from now I hope to need another plaque!

My back is feeling enough better that I hope to ride a little bit on Sunday. Lunging is not a very effective method of conditioning or schooling Lance. I've been calling him lazy, but it has occurred to me that a lazy horse would not be so quick to engage with me at every opportunity. I mean, if he's turned out in the arena and I call, he trots up to me. A lazy horse wouldn't bother, or at best would take his sweet time. No, I think Lance just doesn't see the point in going around in circles, at the end of a lunge line OR under saddle. I may have to bite the bullet – or, more accurately, take a bite out of my bank account – and have shoes put on him the next time the farrier is here. That way we can ride out and about on the hill's gravel lanes. Years ago when I was training Axel (Rogue Hills Galaxy on the plaque), we did most of our schooling on roads and in fields; I had to haul somewhere to use an arena. I always said that our accomplishments (USDF All-Breed Awards from First Level through Prix St. George) would seem even more impressive if people knew the unconventional path we took to reach them! (Unfortunately, most of the fields, orchards and logging roads I had access to then are no longer available.)

From back to back

Yesterday was the end of Lance's two weeks of back rest, so I decided to lunge him with full gear. Laura lent me her synthetic Toulouse saddle with interchangeable gullets as a fitting option; Rick said it does fit Lance better than my Black Country so I used the Toulouse as a lunging surcingle. He moved very nicely with saddle and side reins, so that was good to see.

I was so curious to see if Laura's saddle fits ME, so after checking to make sure that no lump had formed during lunging, I mounted (from the arena fence, as usual). My back complained; the saddle tips me forward. I rode around for just a little bit at the walk, and then jumped off. Ouch! My back – more accurately, the right side of my S/I – was NOT happy. Was all this pain from just sitting in the saddle, or did I do something by mounting from the offside? I hobbled back to the barn and put Lance away.

When Rick got home I was in the barn picking stalls. I greeted him and asked about his day, and he responded, "Are you hurting?" That obvious, huh? Well, we have been down this road before. When Brian was a baby my back "went out," giving me a months-long taste of what my dad has been dealing with for years. An MRI revealed a small annular tear in my low back. Since then I've been somewhat careful – not bucking hay like I used to, for instance. I've had small flare-ups occasionally, but nothing major. Anyway, last night I took two naproxen sodium tablets and went to bed – once I managed to get my socks off. Reaching toward the floor, especially with my right hand, was excruciating.

This morning I had to have Rick put my socks on; I burst into tears trying. Looks like Lance's back gets a longer break....

Lazy, lovable Lance

Yesterday I put Lance in the arena for some exercise. Had to shush him around with the lunge whip to get him to exercise, because after rolling,

this is all he really wants to do:

So shush him around I did, with camera at the ready. I caught him in a lovely uphill, positive DAP trot,

and a lofty moment of canter.

But he's always looking to either stop and grub around, or come trotting up to me. Have I mentioned lately how much I like this horse?

Lance isn't a 'dressage horse' (as opposed to a horse who does dressage); he doesn't have the natural self-carriage and suspension that comes from generations of breeding for the sport, or the fire that makes for a brilliant (if difficult) competitor. But I know from experience how dressage can transform a horse from an 'ugly duckling' into a 'swan,' and Lance is by no means an ugly duckling – just a young goose. ;-)

Simple set-up

I'm still exercising Lance during these two weeks of 'back rest.' Sometimes I free-lunge him in the arena; sometimes I put a bridle and lunge line on him for a more structured work-out.

Even when twisted and tied up with the throat latch, reins are a bit of a hassle, so today I grabbed an old bridle with a single-jointed loose-ring snaffle attached, removed the reins, and used it for a lunging headstall. The color looks good on him – just as it did on the bright chestnut Swedish Warmblood mare I originally purchased it for many years ago.

Notice the fuzzy spot at the middle of his crest? This is what it looks like on the other side:

Yeah, SOMEone has been rubbing his mane out! :-(

Yeah, YOU!

Getting to the bottom of the bump

Sunday evening Rick ultrasounded Lance's back. I had ridden earlier so Rick could be sure of the lump locale, and had a very nice ride with the best canter work yet.

Anyway, at first Rick didn't see anything amiss. Then he muttered something about "awfully close." I said, "What? His spinous processes? You mean, like 'kissing spine'?" ACK! Eventually, he pointed out some areas on the ultrasound that looked inflamed, but told me he wanted to x-ray the area as well before attempting a diagnosis – and before I started freaking out. Too late....

No, really, I didn't obsess about it too bad, but I did do a little looking online and was surprised by what I learned. I thought kissing spine was an affliction caused by bad riding or terrible tack, but this article points out that there is thought to be a genetic predisposition in some horses, and that it's suspected to occur in 39% of ALL horses!

Somewhat relieved to learn that kissing spine is NOT the kiss of death, I waited for the next step. Thankfully, Rick made time on Tuesday afternoon to take x-rays.

The conclusion? Lance's back looks normal and sound, except for one little "nipple" on the back edge of one spinous process. Rather than kissing spine, it looks like Lance has "inter-spinous desmitis." That bony "nipple" is likely at a ligament insertion spot, a reaction to strain or injury – and a good candidate for shockwave therapy.

Yesterday morning Rick did the shockwave treatment . . . the third time in a week we've made a druggy out of my young horse! Sure hope he's not developing a 'habit'....  ;-)

So now we wait. Erring on the side of extreme caution, Rick wants me to keep everything off Lance's back for a couple weeks (setting saddles on to look at fit is okay). No restriction on movement, though; Lance can be turned out, free-lunged, or lunged with just head gear. It will be interesting to see if I can detect any difference in his movement during this time. He has never shown any classic symptoms of back pain, but under saddle his trot has never felt as free as I remember it being back in September when I tried him out.