Make way for hormones!

One of the boarders at the barn was feeding his horse Poulin MVP and had to stop because it made his horse nuts. He had a bit left over and asked if I wanted to see if Lucy liked it. I decided it couldn't hurt (it's just vitamins and minerals) so I have been giving her a handful with each meal starting this past Saturday. Last night was the first day I've ridden her since I started giving it to her and she was like a bottled up rocket. I expected to get on and do at least WT, and hopefully some canter, but she was so UP that she could hardly concentrate enough to trot without bouncing around. So we spent almost 40 minutes walking, doing leg yields and shoulder in/out to get her attention, and then at the very end I got a few nice circles at the trot and we called it a day. It has to be the new grain that's doing it; nothing else has changed and she has been getting turned out full days in one of the bigger paddocks, too, so you'd think she'd be calmer. Needless to say, no more MVP for that horse!

I think she is also in heat. She is my first mare so this whole hormone thing is new to me, but she did not like me around her hind end last night, and seemed very sensitive.

One of the horses at the barn was having a bad colic last night when I got there, and the vet had to come out. Things were not looking good for a while, but luckily a dose of banamine and some fluids from the vet had him looking and feeling much better. He is one of my favourite horses at the barn and everyone at the barn was rooting for him. So, yay banamine!! He was looking much better this morning, too.

I also was able to buy a new tube of banamine to have on hand for future emergencies since the vet was there treating the other horse. The one I had bought when I first got Lucy was used on another horse at the barn a few weeks ago. I have felt uneasy about not having it on hand ever since, so I am really glad I had a chance to get a fresh tube last night.

This morning, Dr. Katz the chiropractor was at the barn bright and early to do an adjustment. As soon as he stepped towards her back end, she pinned her ears, tried to BITE me as I was standing there holding her, and swished her tail. Hello, hormones!

Despite her wanting to eat the poor guy, he was able to do a great adjustment on her, and said he was really happy with her progress so far. He said that she is 50% less sore than the last time he was here, and he's happy with her muscle development. Her pelvis was not nearly as out-of-whack, and she reacted much less to his palpations down her spine.

At the end we did some stretching exercises with her and her neck got a nice adjustment. She got some treats and then she was happy again. Silly mare!