My new horse!!

Can you get a pic of the offending leg, a nice close shot or 5 from different angles: straight from the outside and inside, one from the back of the leg, and whatever you can think of, including at least one of the leg flexed. Squishy lumps can be anything from a normal playing ding to a windpuff (totally harmless blemish( to something nasty; fortunately, most squishy things are relatively harmelss, and if it is cold, it isn't inflammation. I would still work on that leg a bit with massage, and it might take down the squishy bit.

You meanie!!! making him walk!!!ROFL He probably is a bit confused by the round pen - not an everyday sight on Standardbred farms or training centres unless it is a very small one used to give an injured horse a bit of freedom without enough room to cause more damage. I do understand the paranoia very well - I made my living with race horses and you fuss over every little thing, even if you know, logically, it is a long ways from his heart; so you start putting the blue stuff on any little rub, work on ice cold legs, fuss about shoes, equipent fit, hopple length, you name it, it gets fussed over. This is normal in the racing world, so it completely baffles me why they tossed him to the canners. A little trotting won't hurt if everything is set and cold, just as long as he doesn't overdo it.

I think he sold for a good buck.......and I looked at him myself and decided he, like any colt from the east, would cost too much to ship out west, at least for one person. I've also looked hard at the Shark Gesture babies, and the Grinfromeartoears, and dozens of others. I need a project again, Quitkickingdammit is too old to race now, so I am getting the colt itch again. and no, that isn't my last guy's real name but he sure knows wiat it means

I'll get some pictures of his front legs today

Well, I got some pictures of both his front legs.
This is the one that had the injury



and here's the good leg





and here's one of him in the pen.


I took some videos, but don't know how to post them.

He is absolutely GORGEOUS

Hopefully his leg doesn't give him any problems, I am so jealous

I'm not sure how to post the video, but below is the address for it.
This is me walking him in the round pen, and him being a silly goofhead!
http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...t=MVI_6225.mp4

That leg doesn't look too bad at all......middle bow, looks set but there is some filling aka the squishy things. Would certainly benefit from some good rubbing, will reduce the filling and may even reduce the small bulge on the tendon. I've seen far worse looking bows than that and the owner of the bow raced on it after rehab. Thing with a bow is slow work and lots of miles at walk and slow jog (with this, you will be grateful he is pacing bred because you can get them to amble at around 6-8 mph). If you can find it, get The Bowed Tendon Book by Tom Ivers - great info there. The only problem may arise because this is slated to race horses rather than riding horses. At any rate, I am just a post or pm away from at the very least a vague answer - not too good sometimes at putting what I know into words,

Thanks for the reply. I will certainly try to find that book. How much time should I be working him for? I've been doing about a 1/2 hour per day of walking with a bit of trotting. Afterwards, I have been hosing down his legs with cold water, and giving them a bit of a rub. The leg seemed a little harder today (not as squishy).

That's why I asked for an apporximate on when he did this. I am assuming they at least had enough brains to boot him out in the snow - that is a really good thing for tendon injuries. At any rate, it is going to take a few months of walking and slow jogging and in a straight line if possible, no circles like a round pen would give. Have to work him up to 10ish miles a day and hold him at that for a good while before you even think of asking for speed - we figure almost a year from the time a bow sets (loses the inflamation and is no longer hot or warm to the touch) to next race start or return to nomal work simply because of the weakened tendon fibres around the original tear. That area is weak, and will rebow in a heartbeat if you go too fastm corner too hard, add the wrong new thing too soon. You are looking at at least 6 months of walk/jog before you even think of trying somthing.

Keep with the cold hosing and the rubbing and it will tighten more. Once you get him built up to an hour walking/jogging (5-6 miles), and keep up the cold hosing and rubbing it may even lose the filling entirely, although it may return in a lesser amount after a day or two off.

Ok, so no round pens. That makes sense. Do you think it would be ok for me to ride him at a walk bareback(I weight 130lbs). That would make it easier to talk him for longer walks as I could use the arena. I don't want to rush him though. If I need to walk him by hand I will.

If he's broke well enough to ride, go for it, walk only, though until the leg strengthens. The tight the circles of a pen put undue stress on the inside of one leg and outside of another and tend to make them eventually move funk. An area is acceptable at the speeds you will be going, just make your corners as round as possible. If you have access to a training track close by, even walking him around that is much better than the circling. Do watch for him to get silly as he gets fitter and Standardbreds have very agile mines, and you have to keep that mind working.

He's very good with someone getting up on him, but doesn't know his leg commands all that great. Now I'll be able to work on two things at once (at a walk of course ) maybe that will keep him from getting too bored.
It will be nice to get back on him- only rode him briefly before I bought him.

Well, I don't think he's as broke as he seemed when I bought him . He must have been passive from being so underweight, cause he in no way wants someone on his back. He was very skittish when I went to get on him, then refused to walk, and when I nudged him to get him to go, tried to bite my foot! I ended up walking him by hand (after I made him walk around the ring once, just to show him who's boss)
I like that he has spunk, but that means I'm going to have to start from scratch with him. Now that he's putting some weight on him, hes becoming quite high-strung with a mind of his own.
After just three days of working him though, his leg feels much better. The squishyness is almost completed gone and the leg feels nice and hard.

He is absolutely gorgeous.x

What are you feeding him? Keep him off the rocket fuel and only give straight oats for grain; no super grow food, stuff guaranteed to fatten him up, nothing like that, just straight oats (no more than 5 pounds per day) and all the hay he wants or grazing. The only 'supplements' I will suggest is one feed of alfalfa (8ish pounds) and loose stock salt because alfalfa is high protein and calcium, needed for growing and salt to restore what he sweats out in the heat.

I have been feeding him prohorse 200, which is what the vet had suggested I put him on. He told me that straight oats doesn't have enough nutrition for a horse his age?
I don't think the food is causing him to act weird about someone on his back, I just think he didn't have the proper training before they threw a saddle on him and I think he's spunky cause he's feeling much better.
If there another type of food that would be better, maybe like a pelleted version or something?

Never heard of prohorse 200 and google comes up empty for it as a brand or a mix in a line of feeds. Is it local to you? Would need to see the ingredients list to see what's what with it. I'm more concerned he is sensitive to something in it, like soy, a common equine sensitivity and if this is a 'complete' feed, it is likely full of soy. A minor system upset CAN make them silly and weird although some is likely because he is feeling better over all.

Throw the saddle on him for a few walks - the extra weight isn't going to damage him at a walk. Would be a good time to teach him some stuff slowly even to the extent of largish serpentines - if the arc is big enough, a couple of those won't hurt, it isnt the same as pounding in a circle in a pen.

I'm not sure what the ingredients are, I will have to call the feed store to find out.
I have never seen a horse that thinks so much with his gut. All he wants to do is eat. Whenever I try to walk him, he's constantly trying to drag me off to find some grass .

Al is not the same horse we bought. Now that he has put on weight and has good feed, he has tons more pep. Still extremely gentle, but has tested us once in a while...not wanting to leave the barn area. Dragging me over to eat grass while leading him. A rope halter has stopped the pulling and he now willingly leaves the barn area for solo rides. It is a learning experience for both him and me.

He no longer is the low man....having to fight with the other alpha horses for good pickings at the round bales that were available in the pasture. He gets 2 scoops of grain a day and 2..2..and3 folds of hay. Plus pasture 4-5 days a week. I think your horse probably was in the same boat....Al was just as thin.

He eats a TON! I think it stems from being deprived and thinks he may still have to fight for it at some point. He had lots of scars and came with one fresh bite wound that has since healed. The joke at the barn is "give it to Al, he will eat it".

So, don't be surprised if your horse is totally different eventually. A horse that feels good is totally different from one that does not. But with all the love and patience you have and good training and his age, I bet you end up with a great guy.

Ya, Flash has a huge scar above one of his eyes- not sure what happened there. Could have been when he fell and hurt his leg. He definaly will eat anything, and I think its as you said, he's not sure when his next meal will be so he's trying to get as much as possible. Hopefully that will settle down once he realizes that he'll be getting food every day.

Aw, poor boy.....We really don't know how they survived..do we?

Regarding the food, I think Al is a slow learner!!