Doc being silly.

Yes, this is my horse ROLLING in the pond in his field.  Jet looks on wondering what on earth he is doing.  

The Fork, Sunday

Doc jumped a lovely stadium round today.  He had a slight bit of heat on his knee this morning, but we iced him and treated his leg.  He was sound.  The stadium course was big and challenging.  Doc had two rails.  In my entire division there were only two clear rounds.  At the end of the day Doc and I finished the weekend 13th out of 30 starters.  This weekend was a good test for both of us.  It was a good mental preparation for Rolex and it was a test to see if Doc could hold up to completing an advanced horse trials.  I will assess him tomorrow and Tuesday, but finishing cross country sound and jumping again today was the biggest physical test for his leg between now and Rolex.  For the next two and a half weeks I will be able to train and condition him in controlled environments.  Three more weeks will only leave him stronger.  It looks like we are going to get to go this year!  I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have "life" give me this opportunity.  This has been such a goal of mine.  I feel a little bit incredulous that we are so close, but at the same time I am very excited.  My goal this year is to go and have fun and let everyone see what a special little boy Doc is.  Of course on dressage day it may be a capital "S" special, but in the jumping he will shine.

My redhead Jet also jumped well today.  He felt stiff in his back after making the time on cross country yesterday, so we had two rails.  That is unusual for him, but he should be just fine with a little arnica and a massage.  How spoiled the boys are!      

My wonder-hubby Brian is driving us all back to Ocala as I write.  Tomorrow will be a day of cleaning and catching up with my boys Monte, Wes, and Gavin at the farm.

Until next time!

Ashley   

The Fork Update

Just a quick update!  On dressage day I had two nutty horses.  Neither one of them has been to an overnight show in several months.  In his test, Doc scored a one and a nine and EVERYTHING in between.  I think it is one to frame!  Jet's test was more consistent than Doc's, but he still enjoyed spooking at a muck tub at one end of the ring.  

Today was cross country.  Both horses were awesome.  They  loved being out there.  The course was big and encouraged galloping.  There were three water jumps on Doc's course and he jumped them with confidence.  The Fork also holds what they call Heritage Days the same weekend that they run this show.  Heritage Days is a community weekend that encourages the enjoyment of the outdoors.  The weather was beautiful today so there was a nice sized crowd.

It is a fun show this weekend because it is a big prep for the spring three days.  Everyone seems to be here this weekend.  Tomorrow we will see how sound Doc is.  Things are starting to look more positive for Rolex.  We'll see if we can keep him patched together!  My fingers are crossed!     

The Fork

Doc's jump school went well on Monday and we are currently en route to The Fork in Norwood, NC!

IRAP to the Rescue

My student Jane found this for me on the internet.  Thank you Jane!  I have also discovered that high level human athletes like football and baseball players have started to use IRAP treatments, though the injections are not yet legal in the States for people.  Doc had his third IRAP shot on Thursday and is sound today.  Tomorrow we will jump school and see if he stays comfortable.  On Wednesday Doc and Jet both leave for The Fork.  Jet will go prelim and Doc will run advanced pending how he feels this week.

"Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD) and is one of the main causes of lameness in horses.  Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage surrounding the joints is destroyed, which produces pain and inflammation.  Areas that are affected the most are knee, hock, fetlock, and coffin joints.  Usually therapy involves intra-articular medications such as hyaluronic acid and/or steroids, rest, NSAIDS (bute or banamine), shockwave therapy, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) such as Adequan, intravenous hyaluronic acid (Legend), and oral supplements (for example GLC500) that contain glucosamine and/or chondrotin sulfate.

Treatment with Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein (IRAP) utilizes progressive gene therapy to combat osteoarthritis in  your horse.  Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a type of cytokine and is secreted by many types of cells.  A cytokine is a chemical secreted by the cells of the immune system to attack infections and apoptotic (damaged or dying) cells.  IL-1 is an important part of the inflammatory response but in the case of your horse's joints, sometimes can be detrimental.  The joint fluid carries a protein called interleukin-1, which plays an important role in inflammation and accelerates the deterioration of tissues like joint cartilage.  Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein (IRAP) blocks IL-1 from binding to tissues and inhibits the damaging consequences of IL-1.

The procedure begins with drawing blood from the horse that will be treated with IRAP into a syringe.  The syringe is specially prepared with glass beads that stimulate production of the antagonist protein and an anticoagulant.  The blood is harvested, incubated ad centrifuged to separate the plasma (abundant with IRAP) from the blood.  Typically, IRAP treatments are once a week for three weeks and usually, after that time, the horse can return to normal work.  

IRAP therapy is another therapy to be added to the battery of weapons that the equine veterinarian has to combat osteoarthritis in your horse.  The reason IRAP is so exciting is its potential for a long-term effect on battling osteoarthritis.  Whereas some of the therapies listed above might only have short-term effect, IRAP has the potential to stop the cartilage matrix from being degraded and increase healing.  IRAP has the ability to stop the inflammation cycle and bring comfort to your horse.  The research on IRAP is ongoing but the results have been very encouraging."

     

Rocking Horse Spring and Rolex?

Jet and Doc ran at the Rocking Horse Spring horse trials last weekend.  Jet competed in the preliminary division and Doc in the intermediate.  It was Doc's second competition back from his injury.  Jet put in a consistent, though not flashy show.  He was a little tense in the dressage but jumped well and was a good boy all weekend.  

Doc also had a successful show.  His best phase was the cross country.  He felt happy to be out again.  The day after the competition when I turned him out, he began to playfully frolic about the field.  He was very pleased with himself.  Unlike his preliminary run two weeks ago, his knee did carry some heat after this competition, but we are icing it and continuing to work.  Because he seems to be back in action, I currently have our entry for Rolex on my desk.  It looks like we are going to make a bid again this year.  We are slated for two more runs before Rolex, both of them advanced.  The biggest question is will he be able to take the "pounding" necessary to get fit and jump the bigger jumps.  I am continuing to treadmill swim him to help his fitness with less impact on his legs, but over the next few weeks he will have to do consistent gallops and jumps schools.  Time will tell, but I think we have a real shot this year.  Doc has already told me that he wants to go.  

Until next time!

Ashley 

Clinic Weekend in Pennsylvania

When I flew to Philadelphia on Friday it was a balmy 59 degrees there.  When I left yesterday it had dropped to a more seasonable temperature of 33 degrees with a blizzard en route.  My flight left the Philly airport at 4:55.  Snow had dusted the ground through the day.  We learned when we landed in Orlando that by 6:30 P.M. the storm had hit and the airport had shut down.  I was actually sad to miss the snow storm, because I do love snow when you can hunker down and sit by the fire all day.  When you have horses to ride, however, the snow can impede you.  Right now I have horses to ride!

We had a good group who participated in the clinic this weekend, and although I could see some decline in the fitness and coordination of both the horses and the riders (which is perfectly normal for the equestrian in Philadelphia in late February), overall I was pleased by the level of riding. 

Back in Florida, we are spending the week preparing for the Rocking Horse Spring Horse Trials next weekend.  I will take Doc over to Bruce Davidson's farm tomorrow or Wednesday for an intensive jumping school.  My plan was to run him intermediate this weekend and advanced in his next run.  I just found out that because of the cancellation of another event, Rocking Horse is going to add an advanced this weekend.  Pending how the jump school goes, I may bump him up, but I have a feeling I will stick to my original plan.  I was happy with letting him have two runs at sub-advanced level to get him going again.  Jet will also run this weekend at preliminary level.

Off to do trot sets!

Ashley