A chilled Filly

Sunday 26 October 2014

Filly is home

On the 11th October I finally brought Filly home. And she came home to our new yard. From just those two sentences it is obvious much has happened !
The new yard is so different from where we were. It's a bit smaller, absolutely spotless and better equipped. It even has a hot shower for horses and another one for humans !
When I say it is spotless I'm not joking. I've even felt obliged to pick up some shed hair I groomed out of Bonitao as it stood out so much. Everyone on the yard has been very friendly and gently interested in how we train and ride our horses. But to be honest it is so quiet there that we rarely have to share the huge outdoor school with others. Even if we do it's not a problem, even if a jump lesson is taking place at the same time.
When we moved Bonitao there it took him a day or two to settle in. However he only ran away from them a couple of times in the first week and has not done so since. The energy levels of the place are much lower and I think that has made him more confident.
One big plus is the fact that we can leave the yard straight on to great paths for hacking out. No road work at all. Being on the side of a hill that's made of chalk it's dry as well. We are told that some of the paths get very muddy in winter, but up to now it's been mostly bone dry, even after rain.

We picked Filly up on the 11th October after her 3month rehab holiday on Exmoor at Rockley farm. She loaded very well for the journey home, but the journey was difficult again. She "danced" for around 3 hours of the 4 1/2 hour journey and got off the trailer very stiff. I could go on about her progress at Rockley, but that is better done by the Rockley farm blog .
After we got home the farrier happened to come around the next day and looked at her feet. He was horrified and from a farriers point of view I can see why. However she is not being shod anymore and is also half way through rehab. As a result of his concerns I took the trouble to have my vet look at the photos and the report from Rockley farm. Over the phone he sounded very impressed by her progress and wants to come out in the next week or so to see Filly in person. The lower part of her hoof is not the shape that you would normally see on a horse, however if you look at the photos the new growth that is coming down the hoof wall is at a radically different angle. Projecting that down one can see what shape the new hoof will be. Primarily the front of the hoof wall will be much steeper. That means that the coffin bone will be held at a steeper angle. This will reduce the stress on both the deep flexor tendon and the navicular bone allowing both the opportunity to repair themselves.
Yesterday we had our horse osteopath also come out and take a look at her. Her main comments were that the hamstring muscles are very tight and we need to stretch them. Her view on the hooves was pretty much the same as ours. They are work in progress and she can see how the new growth will rebalance them.
So two out of three professionals think we are moving in the right direction giving us the confidence to pursue this path.
When she first arrived the yard manager was concerned that she was pretty "footy" going up the track to her field. The track is a very challenging track for a barefoot horse being very rough and rocky. Even Bonitao, who is shod, is very careful. Talking to the yard manager yesterday she said the Filly is coping much much better with the track now.
So all in all the picture is positive but we have a way to go. I've set a personal target of riding her again by next March. It may happen earlier, but I'm not going to ride until she is ready. As they say "take the time it takes and it'll take less time". If I ride her too soon I could put progress back and it'll take longer in the end.

No comments: