A good reminder..

  The most crazy amazing thing happened last night.. A horse was choking! It's a really long story and I would rather not get into it here... But it was an amazingly helpful reminder that you should love like there is no tomorrow. With horses, well anything really, you can loose it in just minutes. One day you have a perfectly healthy horse, the next minute, even hay can become life threatening! Of course, the horse is fine. It's a lovely stable with lovely helping people where you can be sure your horse is safe, even in scary situations. Crazy though. I'm happy with Udex and every time I leave the barn, I always say goodbye like it's my last. I'm lucky to have a sound horse. Even though there are a lot of scary problems that are ahead with him and I, he's alive, we have a bond, and we're both happy... and thats what matters.
  Also I gave Udex a rutabaga!! Guess who totally adores them!? That's right!! Loves it!! The boy cracks me up with his awkward appetite!
 

                 OSTEOPATH WOMAN COMES NOVEMBER 3rd 5:30
FARRIER COMES OCTOBER 24th 3:30

"Rollkur opponents care for horses. Rollkur proponents care more for success."

I saw an extension I had no idea existed.

   Today I decided to free run Udex as his warm up, and then get to work with the pessoa. I have recently switched his feed to a performance mix with his pellets made into a mash. Although its only been a few days of him being on it, I can already see a big difference. For example, lets take today! I saw an extension I had no idea existed within Udex. When he free runs he has a great extension, I love it. Never over exaggerated with his front legs, but always has them "pretty high up there." Today however he gave out such a mighty extension. I could not believe I was seeing my horse give out a trot that was the exact same as his grandpa, Weltmeyer. It was so floaty, high, elegant, and most of all, he did it with ease. That did make me even more excited to take him back up the levels again! I can't wait!!!!
  Pessoa session was good with Udex. He always does his best, even when you can tell it doesn't feel so well on him. I do feel cruel putting the pessoa on him. I know if I was a horse I would not want that thing on me.. But at the same time I have to remind myself that it is helping his muscles and going to make him the horse he used to be again. I just want to pull out my hair and scream! ROLLKUR! Ughhh. It's the reason for a lot, if not all, of the pain and problems in poor Udex's life. If only that small choice of not using rollkur was made... Humm.. Overall, I am thankful though that he was rollkur ruined. Because of that I can help to get the word out that rollkur is cruel and hurts more then it does good. Udex needs justice.
  So yup!! Udex was a joy!! My 14th birthday is Thursday, and I plan on buying Udex a double bridle and a few new bits. Who knows how soon we will get to the double, but it's still a nifty thing to have!! I know he prefers the double, since he was trained with it. I am so thankful for my talented sweet horse. <3 If I was asked to design my very own dream horse, it would have been Udex. <3

Hiccups!

   I am pretty sure not every horse owner gets to experience hiccups in horses. Most times when I ask my friends, trainers, farriers, or even vets, if they have ever seen a horse with hiccups they reply "No!" I can tell you right now that I have seen hiccups in horses.. Well to be more specific... In Udex. Since rollkur damaged his esophagus pretty bad, when it comes to the respiratory area of him, he can do a lot of things most horses can't do. Burping in horses was declared "impossible" but ah, my rollkur horse does in deed burp. He has big, loud, man burps! I have known a few other horses that can burp, not from rollkur but from being that is the way they are! In a way, I am happy he has since then developed his talent for burping. I guess I do never have to worry about colic in that area, since he can just burp up the acids!
     -However, back to hiccups!!- I won't forget when I saw him hiccuping for the first time. It was a normal warm sunny day and I had took him in from the paddock to give his usual white -then yellow/brown from arena sand and dirt- a shampooing! I had tied him up, groomed him, finished bathing him, and while he was drying I thought I would give him a bit to eat as well. I got my bucket full of his feed and held it while he happily, -and greedily!- munched away!! He did eat that one kilo of pellets up awfully fast I was thinking. So around five minutes of him eating his grain I was back to grooming him before I would put his fly sheet on and turn him out again. While I was grooming him he would pause, put his head alll the way up in the air as high as he could, flip his upper lip up, and then go back to standing quiet. I did think this was a little interesting since this was very unlike Udex to be displaying this behavior. I thought it was probably just from the bubbles on the floor from the shampoo that I had rinsed of his legs causing him to be confused as to what the smell was. After this smelling session he did something that mortified me! He lunged forward, curled his neck in, and made a very short, high pitched sound, almost like an "EEE". Along with the "EEE" sound, I heard a "thummmmp-thump" sound as well. Being the paranoid owner I listened for gut sounds, checked his gums, and waited a few minutes. Every few seconds he would repeat the process of lunging forward, eein'g, curling his neck in, and that thump thump sound. In between he would lift his lip up and burp very loudly.
    I still didn't think that this behavior was normal, so I got the owner of the barn right away and asked if he had ever seen anything like it. He told me to take Udex to the arena and free run him, just to be on the safe side. Udex was going along like normal. Showing his fancy trot off, cantering, stopping at the windows to see his friends, and of course, whinnying to them! After about thirty minutes in the arena, I took him out and slowly the strange behavior stopped. I watched him about an hour afterwards just to make sure nothing serious was going on!!!
    That night I turned him out, but the entire drive home I was so afraid I was going to get a call saying something along the lines of Udex was found dead outside. I could not eat I was so worried about him!! I suddenly remembered about that great technology of today and immediately went online to try and search of what this strange behavior could mean! I was relieved when I came across something called thumps... aka equine hiccups! There could be a few reasons horses get the thumps. Low on calcium, eating too quickly, and also a not too good esophagus. I give Udex a mineral/vitamin biscuit everyday, so I was quite sure he was not low on calcium, I did however know that Udex gulped down his food faster then usual and that his esophagus isn't in best condition. I was so happy to hear it was just hiccups! All that worrying for nothing!!
   Since then I have started feeding him more slowly, but even with him slowly consuming his grain they still happen every now and then. I just hang out with him and keep him company until they finally die off, and then continue what we were doing. The hiccups are all part of dealing with an ex-rollkur horse!
   The other day it was raining, windy, and bitter outside. I decided to keep Udex in on a day like that, since the horses do like to kick and run and the mud was perfect consistency to slip and fall, and possibly hurt themselves. Anyways, I came to feed him his grain like usual. When I did he ate like normal, and well, got the hiccups. He kept on eating while he had the hiccups and started to choke!! I took him out of his stall and he stood with his head down, and dropping thick saliva out of his mouth, while having the hiccups going on. Lucky for him I know horse anatomy and what to do when a horse is choking! I dislodged the stuck pellets and immediately he was back to normal. This choking due to hiccups session did open my eyes to a new possibility of what can happen when he continues eating while hiccuping. Since then I have been even more careful that he eats more slow!! Maybe I will buy a special grain dish for him so he can't eat fast enough to either hiccup, OR choke!
   So I wrote about hiccups today for several reasons! The first being if someone else had a horse hiccuping, but no idea as to what it was can find this and get a good look at hiccuping! There is not too much info about thumps on the net. The second reason I wrote this was to help people become more aware of the cruel effects rollkur remains to have on the horse, even after he is done with his rollkur training! The third reason being that I think I would like to look back on this and laugh again at how scared I was the first day he got hiccups! Since then I have become much more relaxed about the entire ordeal, and can even giggle at the silliness of it all! I have to bring my camera and catch it on video one day, because it is pretty cute to see a hiccuping horse!

Happy birthday!!!

June 5th was Udex's birthday!!! I think he had a great day, and was definitely spoiled!! He got to go outside in the paddock "nakey!" Since he is allergic to bees, I keep a sheet and fly mask on him 24/7 (except for riding) so he has maximum protection! He is not too fond of wearing a sheet, and when I turn him out "naked" he is extremely happy and always gallops away to his palls faster then usual. Towards the evening though he was being spoiled and the little flies were irritating him pretty bad, so then the blankey came back on him, but for most of the day he was totally naked!
     Also, besides being naked, he got two presents! The first, a nice new pair of blue polo wraps to match his other blue tack! Electric blue really compliments his pretty color!! Now, the best gift of all??? A new rabbit fur brush for his face!! Udex is sooo picky about having his face brushed, (from bad past experiences and enlarged jugular veins from rollkur.) Anyways, he really enjoys having his face brushed with a softer brush! It makes me happy to see him so relaxed instead of jerking his head up to resist being brushed. I think he really enjoyed those gifts, possibly even more then I did!!!
    I have a few more gifts coming for him in a few days! I have a nice new, light, electric blue lunge whip! (Well I guess thats more so a gift for me!) The icing on the cake; a beautiful new electric blue crystal brow band!! I can't wait to put that on him, with the matching polos and saddle pad! Ahh, I can already see the beauty to that! I'm so excited! I think he will just love the attention that gift gives him!!!

   Okay, enough about gifts, and more about Udex!! So for his birthday I took him in and groomed him, loved on him, played a game with carrots, and gave him his birthday cake!! I made the most beautiful, tasty, amazing horsey cakes, EVER!! I am so proud of myself!! They were so good he licked the last remaining bits of them off the ground, which is very unlike Udex! He got six little cakies! The recipe for them was super simple too!! The perfect thing to "wow" everyone at the barn and make your horse go wild!! If your horse has a birthday, I definitely recommend those tasty little cakes!
     So now Udex is 14!!! I can't help but think about how fourteen years ago someone had this little foal, and looked at him thinking that he could be the next dressage champion. Breaks my heart about how bad rollkur messed him up, and how he got in such bad condition. (More about that later! I think my next article will be about his rollkur story.)
     Lessons are going great with Udex!! It is still a long road to recovery, but he remains so strong and always is trying his best! What a trooper!! Today we practiced leg yields and haunches and shoulder in's! He did really good, like always! He is such an intelligent horse and you really have to ride him well. You can't just ride him with your legs, or just your reins, or a little bit of both. You really have to sit on him nine hundred and fifty percent perfect before he begins to work. It is the most magical feeling to sit upon such a well trained horses back!!! Once again, the fact they had to use rollkur and ruin him really makes me angry. Anyways, my trainer and I have been working wonders with him. I am so proud of my trainer, Udex, and I! All three of us are a team. We all give our best every time. We are all doing this for the same reason... To help Udex become a horse again. All three of us have a special connection, and everything just works. I think if I didn't have the trainer I have now, that Udex and I would not be improving as much as we are now. The world needs more good people with big hearts out there!

     So, I will post soon about my horses rollkur recovery story!!! My goal is to get a website against rollkur out there, and hope to put an end to this horse abuse! It won't be easy but I know there are other riders like me out there who hate rollkur too! My goal will be to share Udex's story, in hopes that people can open their eyes up to what rollkur does to these horses. -More on that tomorrow.-

picture of Udex when I first got him curling up behind the bit out of fear

It's warm, it's summer, and things are going great!

     Guess what? It's warm, it's summer... and there is grass! Okay? Grass? No big deal, right? NOT! Grass is a definite big deal when your horse is skinny and needs to gain some weight! Since it's warm Udex gets to be grazing outside 24/7 (okay more like 20/7 because I do take him in to work him!) Anywho, this grass will be the number one reason he starts gaining weight! So, shall I say it again? GRASS!!!! Different meaning this time, right? Okay, okay, maybe I am obsessing a bit too much... Oh well, point is it's warm, constant grazing, and Udex is getting bigger and happier each and every day!

Wow! Look at that back!

     So Udex is gaining weight. Yip-yip-hooray! Not only is it just "weight" it's muscle! He is looking so great! On his rump and legs is where you can see the most muscle! His ewe neck is going away (thank goodness!) His back is getting bigger! I remember before sitting upon him bareback was a painful thing to do, but now, he feels worlds better! He looks fantastic! He still does not look good in the eyes of a stranger, but compared to before he looks more then amazing. 

Ms. Meagan playing with the green foals in the paddock

     A very amazing friend of ours came and taught me a bit of Parelli natural horsemanship! What a treat! She is a very talented woman who knows a lot about horses. She is one of those special people that click with all animals. I don't think I ever mentioned Udex getting nervous if he is brought into the barn and there is no other horse with him or in sight. However, if I am riding him in the arena, then he is fine. Anyways, tacking up a huge horse (over 17.hh tall) while he is pacing, throwing his head up, whinnying every five seconds right in your ear,  and kicking out is not a very easy task to do! Ms. Meagan taught me what to do with him, and oh boy! The techniques she showed me were amazing! Udex calmed down and was actually quiet! He was alone in the barn and when I first brought him in, a bit nervous, but as soon as Ms. Meagan showed me what to do with him and we preformed it on him, he was a new horse! I was amazed! If you ask me if I had ever witnessed a miracle, that would have to be it! I am so thankful for such amazing friends like Ms. Meagan who are kind enough to share their talents with others! Udex and I are so, so, SO thankful!

     As I write this it is around 12:30 at night, and constant worries are going through my head, as always. Typical worries that every owner of a horse share. "Will my horse be warm enough tonight?" "Will he have a freak accident in the paddock!?" "What if he starts to colic in the middle of the night?" I guess thoughts like those are normal when you love another life just as much as your own, if not even more. I am so thankful to have an amazing horse like Udex. I watch him do his fancy natural extended trot in the paddock and just think to myself about how God must like me a lot more then I could have ever imagined! To put such an amazing boy into my arms and to be giving me the opportunity to bring him back up to where was. Oh man! I am so, so, SO blessed! I have a lot of amazing friends! Each and every one of them have helped me so much!  I can't thank them enough for helping in the ways they have!! I'm not lucky.. I'm just blessed. Every night before I go to bed, and as soon as I wake up I say a prayer... and instantly all my worries of Udex fade away and I feel stronger then ever that we can do this and make it to the top. 

It has been too long since I wrote! UPDATES!

     Sooo it has been a while since I last wrote! I am extremely sorry to anyone who has been reading or keeping tabs. Anywho, I have been uber busy with Udex lately! I have a lot to write about! Jeez, not writing really adds up; grr.
     So most importantly... We found out a bit more from Udex's past! We got curios and typed in the address on his papers from where he was born, raised, and trained and his trainer... And boy were we shocked! Apparently Udex was trained at this very elaborate, stunning, fancy, advanced, dressage training stable. Have a look for yourself here. I was shocked! I mean, I knew he was trained up to Grand Prix but NEVER would I have suspected at such a grand, nice, sophisticated facility! W.O.W.! We asked and sure enough they remember training an Udex to grand prix. So that was a huge shocker to know that fancy stable was his home... Now it is just a matter of getting him to where he used to be.. Hmmm.

     CLIPPING!!! I attempted to do just that to Udex, and well, you could say I successfully failed. 

When at the tack shop I somehow managed to grab the human clippers instead of the horse clippers. How I did that; don't ask. All I know is that when I got him I realized that it was awfully small to be for a horse. I did use them though, and they did work! However, they died. I would use it for fifteen minutes, then charge for an hour, then use for another fifteen minutes, charge for an hour, etc. You get the point. So after about 3 hours out of his stall Udex was a little cranky (you can't blame him!) I only got his neck, chest, parts of his back legs and parts of his belly done. What a trooper! Not a lot of horses I know can tolerate that, but Udex was very patient and doing his best! Anyways, I will get actual horse clippers this time and finish the job!

 

     Ahh it is finally warm enough to turn the horse out without a winter blanket, but as a substitute, a nice fly sheet instead! Udex looks very handsome (and feels very great for that matter!) with his gold fly sheet and hood on! No annoying flies on him this year! I am paranoid with the bugs! All it takes is for one bite and who knows whats happening next. 

Have you ever heard of a "Pessoa Lunge Training System?" If you have not, what it is is a device that encourages a horse to use his back legs, develop his topline, and maintain a nice head frame. Any ways, with much thought and consideration I have decided that it would be best for him to stop riding, but instead work him in other ways such as with a pessoa, taking walks, and doing other exercises! So, I have been working him in a pessoa lately. It is too soon to see any improvements, but I have high hopes for this gadget! He is very familiar with it and seems to enjoy it! 

      I switched bits! Udex seems to hate having a thick, gawky, soft eggbut snaffle in his mouth. Udex loves the feel of a sharp, thin, bradoon instead! I think that has to due with him being trained with a double bridle. I guess he is more used to sharper feels. I am glad I found the bit that works for him! I am thankful I have soft hands while riding him, because heaven knows a bradoon bit in the wrong hands *shiver* can lead to a lot of problems.

     But wait... There is even more news to share! I have been riding Udex with just a halter, and sometimes even without a halter or any other tack! He is so smart! With a halter and lead rope, he puts his head in a nice head frame! I was definitely impressed! Everyday he has a new surprise for me! I love him so much, I can't even try and explain it. Bareback and bit-less he really enjoys. 2-5 times a week I hop on him and ride him like that! If he was not too thin I would trot him more and canter him without anything! For now its just a bit of trot and lots of walk because he is so thin and high withered. Anywho, we both enjoy it lots!

     ULCERS! *Sigh* Poor Udex! lately he has been walking away from his feed, acting different, misbehaving when being worked, and preforming almost all the other symptoms of having ulcers. It makes sense considering his past and what he has been through. We are treating him for ulcers and changing his diet. So in a few months, he should be ulcer free! (:

     The dentist came out for him! He has a slight overbite. He is not parrot mouthed or anything, just a teeny 2 cm overbite, totally fixable so no worries! It is causing him to have slight problems eating, and maybe some irritation with the bit, but other then that it's not a problem due to it being just a slight difference of alignment of the teeth.

     So, that was the last time I ever go a long period of time without writing! I should be back to daily, or every other day, posting starting tonight! So thats whats been going on with Udex and I! (: Everyday he is improving a lot and teaching me so much! I love my baby sooo much! I can not believe how much of a bond we share! I can hop on him without any saddle or bridle and know that he will listen and obey my every command. I tell you, with trust, love, time and patience, anything is possible. One day I will have Udex back to the Grand Prix horse he once was, and everyone who made fun of us can be sorry. Until then, I am going to kick back and enjoy these precious moments that are making my horse and I an even stronger team.

      

Sharing the Arena

Tonight I was very impressed with Udex. Although he has been in the arena numerous amounts of times before, tonight was his first time sharing the arena with another lovely horse. To be more specific, the other horse is not boarded at the barn, but trailed to the barn for use of the arena, (making the horse a total stranger to him.) At first, I was a little nervous to see Udex's reaction to this new mare. I was lunging Udex when the mare arrived. At first, Udex was a bit excited and did start to speed up his canter. Though after about a minute he calmed down and slowed down to a very nice relaxed, ideal, canter. He handled the situation perfectly, I could not have asked for better.

HUGE improvement!

       Now, as you know, Udex's muscles are not as good as they used to be. In order to re-develop his muscles, I need to walk Udex a lot more then I would a normal, up to par horse. When he walks, he is working on using his hind leg muscles, resulting in him developing those muscles! (Yay!)  For the past few days I have been walking him a lot... Today I saw the difference. HE WALKED WHILE HE WAS ON THE LUNGE!!!!!! This is great news!! Before, udex would not want to walk, due to it being a bit uncomfortable for him. Today I saw the past few days really pay off. The fact that he decided to walk instead of just stop or start a trot, really means a lot to me!!! Already my horse is improving drastically! To name a few improvements, he is walking more, looking shiny, listening to me perfectly, recognizes his name, a lot calmer, and so many other things I could add to the list!

    Overall, I am very impressed with him tonight! There are many other ways that the night could have went, but luckily for me, my horse trusted me enough to show him the way. I am so thankful for Udex, and his willingness to learn. Tonight was fantastic!

The Journey

       Why buy a horse like Udex? I mean, who in their right mind would want to buy an underweight, un-muscular, scrawny, HUGE, energetic warmblood? ("Me! Me! Me!!") An ideal first horse for a thirteen year old girl, would probably be a horse that is calm, sweet, muscular, well fed, and well ridden, that you could take to shows several months after buying, and ride everyday after it arrives at your barn. That's not the case with my Udex though!

   While looking for a rescue horse to fix up, I came across Udex. I almost immediately knew that he was the horse for me.
I am truly lucky to have such an amazing horse. I honestly can say that I am proud that my horse needs work. To me, that means that my horse and I are on a journey together. On our journey, we will both become disappointed, share our happy moments, have many laughs, have our falls, have our times when giving up comes to question, spend lots of time on just working out little flaws, and also become frustrated, but most importantly... We will achieve the one thing that matters most in the horse world... A bond. I know that together, Udex and I can accomplish all of our goals and prove many people wrong. The key to success with a horse is trust, a bond, patience, and love. I know that it will be anything but easy to complete our journey. There will be many days when I will question the goal... But I know, that in the end, we will complete our journey successfully and that the prize is oh, so worth it. So here we are, at the beginning of our very long journey. I know that together, Udex and I, we will do this.