Danny's Debut

Yesterday I got an email from the Western Horse Review (here is a link) out of Canada, asking if they could use some pictures of Danny for an article on Stringhalt.  Wow!  So Danny is gonna hit the big time.

I sent them some of the pics I have on here, plus I took these last night.

Some serious high stepping

He is a rare case who has it on both rear legs, although his RR is not as bad as his left

Look how high up his rear end goes at a trot

These two show how he has to push off to move faster than a walk

I just like this picture, he looks handsome. 

Left Rear is the worst

Right Rear almost as bad.

Now, I want to clarify that Danny does not always exhibit his condition in both legs, but it was about 20 degrees out when we took these and cold affects his condition quite a bit.  It is highly unusual for a horse to have it in both legs, but then Danny has always been special.

When I sent the pictures I gave them his history and what I have learned about his condition. Most importantly that exercise is vital for horses with Stringhalt.  I don't know if they can use any of my findings since I'm just an old gal figuring things out as I go, but I gave them the info anyway, and I sure hope I can be of some help.  When it comes out I will post a new link.

An update on his condition, the exercise he has been getting daily along with the Equine Senior seems to be helping alot, and he is doing fine after getting beat up by Killian.  You can read that story here.  Since the clinic and show have been canceled this weekend, I think it is time to go back to riding him at the arena.  Perhaps I can get some good video of that.

Photo update- Chilly morning

Since I know that Danny did not hurt himself now, I feel much better about life.
Of course he is full of energy when it is chilly out.

This pic really shows how high is leg goes up

he has to "Jump start" to get running

It sure doesn't stop him from rolling though

He really runs funny

The rear view of his full condition

I wish I had had my camera with me Saturday.  I let all the horses out at once, they all raced around the pasture as fast as they could go. Danny included. A few times Killian went after Danny, but just chased him, never really tried to hurt him.  It was so nice to see them all out together for a change.

Since I know for sure that he is not swollen and did not hurt himself I will go back to his exercising and start him back with some light riding.

Vet Check

Dr. Bruce Connely came down this week to look at two of my other horses. While he was here he took a quick look at Danny. 
He said he looks great, he did not see any swelling in his bad leg at all.  I was told to continue on with what I am doing, but to make sure that if I ride him, to keep it on soft ground in case he lands toe first again.  Less likely for permanent damage.
So with that in mind we will go back to our weekly outings to the arena.

Unsure

I am still unsure of what to do with Danny.  He does not seem to be swollen anymore, yet sometimes it still seems as though he is not wanting to put weight on his foot.  It is so hard to tell with that bad leg as he has very little control over it to begin with.  He is so stiff and slow right now with the cold.  He acts as though every move is painful for him. I put the blanket on him yesterday.  I wish he had had it on a few days ago.  It got down to -6 the night before.  Had I realized it was going to be that cold, they all would have been blanketed. I am concerned that I have over done it with him.  or maybe I am under doing it.  I really don't know.  It is hard with out the help of a vet.  Maybe it is time for Bruce to come down and have another look.

Blessed

This post has nothing to do with Danny, or even horses at all, but I am posting on both of my blogs because I feel it has merit.

Two days ago I was in Walmart (my least favorite place in the world) to get some medicine for Simon who has tonsillitis.  The was an older man in there, African American, who was dressed in old raggy clothes.  As I sat on the bench waiting for them to finish my prescriptions, I watched this man.  He shuffled past me and I noticed that he had a sparkle in his eye and a smile that warmed the entire room. He said hello to me, and asked how I was doing.  I said hello back and told him I was good, and asked how he was doing.  He said, "Oh I am blessed."   Then he moved to the end of the line to wait his turn. Each person he came in contact with, he asked the same thing, and each time the other person reciprocated out of politeness, he always answered the same, "Oh I am blessed." 

Now here is the thing that was the most interesting to me.  Each time I heard him say those words, "I am blessed." you could hear the sincerity in his voice. This was a man who was truly happy to just be a live another day.  It was obvious he did not have much monetarily but it was also obvious that to him, it was irrelevant.

Have you ever been around someone, either a stranger or someone that you knew, who just carried with them an air of peace and serenity, or perhaps genuine spirituality?  This man had that.  You could actually feel it while standing next to him.  It is a rare thing to find. My Meemaw had that.  She was not just a religious woman, she was a very spiritual woman, and it showed in everything she said and did.   

Anyway, back to the man in the store.  As I sat there sort of basking in the warmth of his smile, I had to ask myself.   Am I blessed?  Well of course I am.  Do I recognize that I am blessed? No not near enough.  How often do I get caught up in the trials and tribulations of each day and forget how blessed I am?  Pretty much everyday.

So today, and everyday I challenge myself to recognize how wonderful my life is & to accept the blessings that come to me each day with grace and gratitude.  I challenge myself to be a kinder gentler person, who brings warmth in a smile to others.  I challenge myself to love life with a spirituality that is tangible to others. 

Maybe, just maybe, if I can meet those challenges, I can change the way someone else sees the world just as that man changed things for me. 

Who knows...maybe it will even start a snowball effect of spirituality around the world.

Not much to tell right now

Since my page is blank I figured I could at least give a little update.

I cannot tell for sure if Danny is a little swollen since our last ride.  It is harder for me to tell in the winter when they all have thick hair on their legs.  Some days I look and they all look swollen, but when I feel with my hands, no one has heat and they feel normal sized.   I have a tendency to be a little paranoid.

I found that Danny has scratched the scab off where he had his gash last summer. It was bleeding a little, not bad though. I will throw some Natures Edge on it to help it close back up again.

It is cool to watch him on the mornings I let him out.  He runs and runs all over the pasture. He seems so happy.  He and Trax are best of buds.  They share food, and if Danny runs, Trax follows.

The last time all the horses were out together I was impressed by what happened.  Sassy came up to say hello to her old friend Danny, then Killian saw them and had to get in between.  Then of course the "fight" started and Killian chased Danny away.  Trax was off to the side, but when he saw what was going on he ran over and put himself between Killian and Danny.  He went to protect him.  He stayed with Danny from there on out.  Trax is an odd character.  He could care less about mares, he will not start a fight.  If another horse gets crappy with him, he just moves away. He pretty much gets along with anyone.   So to see him put himself in a position where confrontation was likely was unusual.  But he and Danny are pretty good friends.  Where Danny goes, Trax will follow, almost always. 

I think all the horses are tired of Killian's bullying. Even Sassy seems eager to get away to say hi to the others.  I wish it would go back to where they all just got along.

Arena Ride #......

Well it would have been arena ride # 2 but I chose not to take Danny down on Sunday.

When I went out to get him, his stringhalt leg seemed to be just a tad swollen. There is no heat and he seems to be putting weight on it just fine, but if he strained it when he landed toe down with me on him, then I want to give it time to rest.

Of course I will say that no sooner did I remove the halter and turn him loose, but he proceeded to race around the pasture as fast as he could go.  Not once or twice but about ten times.  So I am guessing he is feeling ok.

I actually have two days I can ride this weekend, so I'm thinking he will go again, but this time while I am on him we will keep it at a trot.  No since pushing it.