Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
After Dr. Tolley worked on Speedy for so long, I think he was a little worried that Izzy was going to take even longer. Nope. Izzy is actually quite easy to treat. While he's ridiculously worried, he's also more brawn than brain. When over-faced with a a situation that he can't run from, he looks to the humans around him to fix things. In this case, it was Dr. Tolley with a cocktail. After that, Izzy was putty in Dr. Tolley's hands. Like we did with Speedy, Izzy's first stop was the scale. If you'll remember, we recently spent four days cantering and doing some trail work at a near endurance pace. I noticed that Izzy was looking particularly lean after all that work. The scale supported what my eyes were seeing. A year ago, Izzy weighed a hefty 1,350 pounds. For this visit, he was a much lighter 1,270 pounds. Dr. Tolley wasn't worried. A week or two of lighter rides and a heavier bucket ration will put the weight back on. Once Izzy's weight was discussed, Dr. Tolley listened to his gut sounds, read the thermometer, and gave him a once over. He couldn't find anything worrisome although he noted a chip in Izzy's hoof. I explained that it was new and was the result of trotting over some rough ground the week before. My farrier came the other, and now, you can barely even see it. While Dr. Tolley was looking at Izzy's teeth, I had him look at a wound on Izzy's lip that has been healing and breaking back open for several months. At first, I assumed he'd bitten himself because there was a matching wound on the bottom lip. Both slowly closed over, and it didn't seem to bother Izzy. It took longer to heal that I thought it should, but I left it to heal on its own.
Eventually, the bottom wound healed and disappeared completely. The one on his upper lip came back though. I was slightly worried that it was some kind of fungal infection, but I figured it could wait until our late winter vet visit. Dr. Tolley examined it and declared it to be healing fine. It's pretty well closed up now. Dr. Tolley thought it might have been a small splinter. Dr. Tolley took the opportunity to poke at Izzy's sheath, but I told him I had just cleaned it. He agreed that it looked fine with no beans; I am pretty thorough. After going over Izzy's teeth and giving him his annual vaccinations, that was it. Izzy was declared healthy as a horse. It was a long afternoon, but as usual, I left with two horses well cared for and a few more chapters to add to my "book of knowledge." Thanks, Dr. Tolley and Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital, for all the work you do!
Jamie
2/27/2020 06:40:15 am
Glad to see you, couldn't access your blog yesterday for some reason 2/27/2020 06:42:12 am
Technology, right? I published a post - I think anyway! But thanks for checking in on me. :0) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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