Not a disaster

The leg was a bit puffy this morning but no heat which is good. I tacked him up with the roller and side reins again and we went for our walk first thing and he was such a good boy. I took my thick handle end of the lunge whip with me and used that to keep him out of my space and after a few minutes he was fine and stayed away from me.

The blinkin' bandage came down and came loose which it seems to do if you put it under the fetlock but when we got back the swelling had gone right down and it was quite normal.

I turned him out after in the larger paddock and he was fine. When I got him in the leg was normal.

I would like to try and take him out at least once and possibly twice a day in hand if I have time. I am also going to do the side reins on the higher ring on the roller too so that it is in the position that a riders hands would be and not so low down.

I feel a bit more optimistic this evening about him. I was going to bath him this week with the intention of clipping him ready for more work but today I have decided to give it a couple of weeks until I see if he stays fit. I thoguht that if he was lame and had to have a long time off then I don't want to be trying to keep a clipped out horse warm through the winter if it isn't in work.

Ups and downs.......!

Yesterday I used the sedatives on Lancelot and was able to turn him out for a couple of hours in a very small area next to the sand school. I turned Jed out in a bigger one next to him and they settled down fine. L-lot had one big buck/fart session and then he just grazed. I went out at about 2.30pm and he was mega hot and really dripping with sweat so I brought him in for the rest of the afternoon.

He was quite dopey for the rest of the day but seemed none the worse for it.

This morning I got up and fed them and then about 10.30am got him ready to take out in hand. I used a roller and side reins on very loose and a bridle with a lunge rein. We walked up the lane and then down towards Monat. About halfway along I turned round and came back. He was obviously more keen to come back and was a bit pushy. He was also wanting to walk far too close to me. I was worried that if he spooked he would knock me straight over. All in all I was really pleased that he was so good.

When we got back I decided to turn him out in the bigger paddock and put Jed out in the smaller one. Unfortunately Jed wasn't very happy about this and wouldn't settle at all.

In the end I made a silly decision to turn them both out in the separate paddocks in the big fields. As soon as I turned L-lot out he went absolutely ballistic. He just galloped, bucked, farted, jumped, twisted, leapt, and did about anything he could to bugger his leg up again.

I was mortified but couldn't get anywhere near him to bring him back in. In the end I just left him there to get on with it.
I went out an hour later and checked his legs and they seemed fine with no heat or swelling.

I got the in about 4pm and he seemed fine.

I have just been out to give them their last haynets and he seems quite hot and a little bit sweaty and the leg does feel a bit thick but not badly so.

I have made a decision to leave him for tonight and see how it is in the morning. I will hose it then and bandage it.

Please god don't let me have caused him to do more damage to it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare... in fact a lot of a nightmare.

Sometimes I think I should have stuck with Fizz. At least I never had to worry about her apart from the sweet itch. Having a horse like L-lot is not easy.

Clipper practice

Today after I mucked out I wanted to spend some more time with Lancelot and do some bonding stuff with him. I decided to further his education by trying to get him used to the clippers. I started off with the dogs clippers which are smaller and quieter and to be honest he didn't bat an eyelid at them. In no time I trimmed all the wispy hairs from under his chin and was able to put it up by his ears and around his face. He was a bit apprehensive but quite still and calm.

I then got the big clippers and it was a bit of a different story. After a few minutes of holding them outside the stable and then inside and then touching him with one hand with the clippers in the other, he was fine. Within a few minutes I was able to hold the clippers against his skin and up his neck although I couldn't quite get to his ears. I have noticed that when he is stressed he nods his head up and down. He did this for a while but gradually got over it.

The strange thing is that when I went round to his off side he was really different and was not at all impressed with the clippers and I couldn't really get them near him.

I plan to try to do this at least once a day until he is really relaxed about them wherever they touch him.

He is such a gentle soul and is very kind and calm.

I have this real fear still about saying nice things about him or getting too fond of him in case it all goes wrong again. I am fond of him, very fond... but I am also wary about it too. I think that I might feel better once I am riding him and know him better. At least I know that he is a real pleasure to be around in the stable. I am never afraid of him even when he turns his bum towards me I am not afraid he is going to kick me like I am with Jed.

Three weeks box rest later!

Well that was a bit of a disaster wasn't it? After the free schooling session last time, Lancelot obviously twisted something or pulled something because a couple of days later I noticed that his tendon on the near fore was thick. It wasn't hot, just thick. I bandaged it and hosed it for a couple of days but it seemed to get worse and then I could see that the tendon was bowed out about 2" down from the back of the knee. I was worried because I was off to the UK for a week and didn't want to leave not knowing what was wrong.

In the end I called Boudry out and he was very good. Although L-lot wasn't nodding lame he was a bit sore and so he gave me some cortisone gel to put on it twice a day.

Considering that he has been in the box for 3 weeks without coming out he is so calm and chilled out. He really is a bit of a superstar. I did take him out once to graze on the lawn but he got a bit silly and I had to put him back. I am glad this happened though because it has made me realise that I am going to have to be careful about turning him out. I have decided to get some sedatives from the vet for the first couple of times I put him out in the field. I will also make a very small paddock initially so that he can't hooley round. It is a worry now that he has had this injury. I am almost frightened to bring him back into work.

Today I have started a program of desensitisation with him. I bandaged him first and then led him out to go up and down the drive and then out onto the road. We only went to the entrance to Rose's field and back but I wanted to just let him have a look round and to behave nicely.

He was very good and I do feel quite positive about bringing him out more and further without him doing anything silly. I am not frightened of him being a loony because he is not in any way frightening at all but I am frightened of him re-injuring himself.

We shall see how it goes and I will update here about it. I am really hoping to be riding him soon though and then we can really start to get to know each other.

Bad to worse

Last night Lancelot fell outside his stable. His foot slipped on the concrete and he went down on his knees really hard. He just stayed there for about 20 seconds looking at me and it seemed that he couldn't get the strength to get back up. Eventually he got to his feet and seemed a bit shocked. I put him back in his stable and he later ate his tea ok.

This morning I hosed his leg and I could see that the tendon was bowed about 2" down from the back of his knee. We went to Bourg Des Maisons to see Patrice as he is having the vet out. We are just waiting to see when he can come. Anyway when we got home I realised that I had forgotten to put the bandage back on and his leg was a right mess. The swelling was much worse at the back of the tendon and also there is a lump now on the side of his cannon bone.

I am so pissed off and feel quite frantic about it all. His legs were absolutely spotless and beautiful and now they are a mess. I am such a fool. I should never have free schooled him or jumped him.

I feel like crying.

A little walk

Tonight I felt a bit sorry for Lancelot and so I took him up the lane for a walk and a pick at the grass. Considering that he has been in for 3 days solid he was so laid back about it all. I only had him on the headcollar and he was quite happy to mooch along beside me looking at the view.

I just can't get over how good he has been since I had him. I know that he has this tendon problem and that is a pain but behaviour wise he has not put a foot wrong. He is such a sweety. I really do like him a lot. A daft thing to say but I do.

Lancelot has a sore tendon

I really don't know how to describe what he has done to himself. I could say he has pulled a tendon or strained a tendon but to be honest I don't know. All I do know is that the tendon running down the back of his cannon bone is thick and the fetlock is slightly puffy on his near fore.

I have been hosing it and he is on bute since Friday. It doesn't seem to be getting any better. Susan watched him in the school just walking and trotting free on Wednesday and thought that he was slightly lame though I am crap at recognising that unless they are nodding lame.

He is on box rest now and I am keeping it bandaged and hosed and we will see how it goes. If it is no better tomorrow then we will have to either take him to Duhard or B des M.

I am really gutted about it and Susan has been talking about months of box rest and other terrifying stories. It is all my fault as I shouldn't have free jumped him I suppose. It is hard to know what exactly he should be doing work wise as I know they were working him several times a week at Hartpury when I bought him.

Anyway fingers crossed that it is nothing serious and that we can get back to doing a little bit of work soon.