08.18.06
Setback in horse training of youngster
AUG. 18, You don’t even want to know
So I was riding last night, having a good ride, Gil was doing great, my ankle was hanging in there, everything is hunky dorie¦ when all of a sudden I went to trot, started to post and felt a “pop” in my left foot. Yeah, the one that I broke, but it had stopped bothering me months ago (even with all the running I’ve been doing) and hadn’t given me an ounce of concern the last 2 weeks.
After the ‘pop’, I couldn’t put any weight on it, not posting, not standing in the stirrups, not even any pressure just to get my heel down. I can manage to walk on it, as long as I walk on the inside edge (the break was on the outside). I was planning to take today off anyway, so I’m hoping that it just got tired and strained and I’ll go back on Saturday and it will be fine. If not, this could be a HUGE setback for me and I and I’ll be so disappointed. It won’t be the end of the world, b/c I can do much more round pen work and leadline work, but I won’t be able to trot with him (on his back, or on the ground) unless I do some stirrup-less work which won’t last too long b/c I’m not in any kind of shape to be able to maintain that very long.
See how he flies… oblivious to Emmie’s painful ankle
I’m going to the store again today to see if I can find some kind of shoe insert that will offer some support to my arches and that area of the foot. If I were smart, I would have thought about that before all of this and maybe prevented it, but who knows. I’m just so frustrated. I’m worried this foot is going to be an issue for the rest of my life. I had gone at least 2 months without any kind of pain or soreness out of it, and now all of a sudden. I could tell my body was tired (especially my legs and ankles) but I was trying to be careful not to push myself too hard or take any stupid risks. This just came out of nowhere, totally random, just all of a sudden. I just went up for the first post of the trot and I must have pushed on just the right spot of my foot.
Oh well, woe is me. I’ll take a lot of Aleve, and wrap it in all kinds of bandages and get on with it.
Gill is such a sweetheart, by the way. I wish I had a video camera b/c I could really gain from seeing how he moves while I’m on him so that I can be sure that what I think I’m feeling, is actually what’s happening.
EM
BACKGROUND:
Gilford, our 3 yr. old Arabian/percheron, was started to ride and drive at age 2. We have boarded him for August near our daughter Emmie, who grew up riding and schooling horses through 4H and Pony Club, open showing and the Arabian show circuit. Training descriptions are from Emmie’s Emails reporting her progress, working with Gilford under saddle and doing prep work for his upcoming American Warmblood Society inspection.
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Connie Moses, petArtist– self-built website: PortraitsWithHorses.com
(horse and pet portraits)
