After the whirl wind...

After Goat Fest and Ass picking on Saturday, I had my regular lesson with my mare, Sera, Sunday morning.

I asked Rex to ride her... I like to be able to SEE our progress and what we've been working on from the ground. It helps me grasp ideas and concept and it helps Rex check in cuz horses don't lie. If I'm compensating or hiding something in my riding.... it's discovered!

I warmed Sera up on long reins... walk, trot, canter... she was fine. Rex got on and Sera looked really good ... until .... the collected canter. She was simply not right.

She didn't seem in pain... she had those soft floppy agreeable ears and her eyes were soft... there was no tail swishing or wrinkled nostril or nasty faces... but it was as if each leg was attached to a different animal. It looked completely bizarre.

Rex said she's never felt anything like it... Sera's walk and trot work remained perfectly fine... really good actually.

hmmm.

We stopped and I called the horse chiropractor/acupuncture DVM I used in the past on Rosso (with good results) and made an appointment. Sera wasn't noticeably off at any other time... no heat or swelling or lameness watching her in her paddock or out in the pasture.

I met the DVM just yesterday... she watched her walk... again no obvious, big sign o' lameness, but Sera was hesitant to cross over with her right hind when asked to move her butt over. Further examination revealed she was quite sore in her muscles and had sustained an S-I injury.

The vet said this time of year it happens a lot... it's wet and slick and it just takes one bad slip to pull a muscle. She discussed ultrasounding the pelvic ligaments to see if it was worse but she felt from the sudden onset (remember Sera was the best she'd ever been on Wednesday in my clinic and then off in my lesson on Sunday) there were no BIG obvious signs of lameness, and the pain level was consistent with a muscle injury, that it was most likely a muscle tear.

6-8 weeks rest.

I can ride her walk/trot... she can be turned out as long as she is calm and not running around like a wild jungle animal. Canter is out because of the weight they need to put on the one hind leg... small figures and collection are out... all the stuff we've been working on! Sigh.

Like I said... I can still ride her ... it's not a serious injury that will put her out of commission... I'm worried about her but it seems as if things will mend and ultimately she will be fine. I have the cross over exercise to do to monitor her progress - once she begins to step under herself and cross over behind, she is starting to heal and feel better.

In the meantime, I have Rosso and I can work through my brain bugs with him now that he is pain free and holding all adjustments. May be a blessing in disguise?