The Passier saddle fits Bouffe great, but that was the extent of the good news from today's visit. It was very hot today, even at 9 am; so, I wasn't planning on riding even if the saddle fit like it did.
After fitting the saddle I put the longe line on Bouffe and longed him as Leslie suggested. Going in a counter-clockwise direction, like at the racetrack, he was sound when he jogged and even cantered a little. But as soon as I had him change directions he balked, and not only didn't want to trot he wouldn't even walk without encouragement from the longe whip. When I finally got him to jog he was off again in his right hind and I stopped.
I have been reading articles and books this afternoon about lameness in OTTB's and they all pretty much say the same thing... left front causes lameness in right hind and vice versa. If you look at Bouffe's photographs, you will see the osselets on both ankles along with white hair on his left front, which isn't an identifying mark on his Jockey Club papers. The hair on the left front turned white because somewhere along the way someone did something (blister, surgery, or the likes) to his ankle that killed the pigment in the hair.
Where do we go from here? I'm not sure. The first thing I want to do is longe Bouffe in a bigger paddock so I can make the circle larger, which may help him move easier in both directions. Steuart Pittman from the Retired Racehorse Training Project says, that continuing to lunge horses with problems behind helps, along with an equine chiropractor and massage therapist. I will start with the longing on Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment