Oh what a relief it is...!

As of January, 19th, I officially own a diabetic horse. That's right ladies, the walnut brain's blood test results came back showing significantly elevated levels of insulin. The pleasantly plump, accident prone, punk, has done it again, and we embark on (yet another!) journey of discovery, frustration, and perseverance. His specific diagnosis is Insulin Resistance lending itself to Equine Metabolic Syndrome, and would you believe it, it just so happens that nearly 3/4ths of horse owners happen to be experts in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition! How darned fortunate is that?! I kid, I kid, however it sure seems like it! Luckily, some (actual) experts, my vet, and knowledgeable endurance gurus who have encountered the condition have steered Oz and I on the road to fit and happy pony land. The condition is, from what I gather, easily treatable with some basis management and we should still be green lit for our endurance goal. Simply broken down his new diet entails:

• No grain based products; with the exception of beet pulp (fed sparingly)
• Meals consisting of <10% combined sugar and starch content 
• Grass hay with <10% combined sugar and starch content
• No cookies or sweet treats
• Limited access/no access to lush pasture
•  Exercise, exercise, exercise...
• Exercise, exercise, exercise, exercise...

 The diagnosis was unfortunate, but somewhat expected. Oz has been steadily gaining weight since I moved into the Lexington area for college, and went from a hard keeper to a pontoon in about .5 seconds of grazing on rich, sweet, bluegrass. I had told myself, over, and over, that if the blood test came back positive, I was going to sell Oz. I know, this sounds terribly harsh and out of character, as anyone who knows me knows how much I love my pontoon, however, I wanted to set a boundary of issues I would just not deal with. Metabolic conditions, being at the top of that list. Obviously, I am terrible at setting boundaries since it took my vet minutes to talk me into keeping the lug nut, but that's another issue entirely. So, here we go again.

Bad news attended to, *phew*, its time to move on to the weekly recap of what the heck we did in and out of the arena over the past however many days. This week, Oz and I spent our first week with a local dressage trainer. She is absolutely wonderful, and I have seen bounding progress over the past few rides. Oz, very simply, is a dressage horse at his core, and I am merely forcing to wear biothane tack and then carry me for miles on end. In his element, occasionally I feel guilty watching him being ridden, just knowing what he could have been with a (smarter, better, faster, braver) more advanced rider can be cringe inducing. I am not bragging, but that horse is a far better animal than I am a rider, and seeing him ridden by a professional is eye opening.

So this week we are working on  rapid fire trot to canter transitions, intermixed with lots of lateral bending and flexing, and lots of changes of direction. Doesn't sound too bad until you realize how much Oz likes to pop his right shoulder, and how woefully out of shape I am. Leg, leg, leg, leg, leg, and then jelly. I feel what I look like sometimes and it makes me want to get off and plead for forgiveness, almost. But! I have been feeling much stronger as a rider over the past few weeks of regular work, and I feel much more stable which is improving my confidence tremendously. However, I am having some difficulty relaxing through the pelvis and it is bugging the heck out of me as I have always had a soft seat. I hurt my hip a few weeks ago, and while it does not hurt anymore, I think the injury (in combination with my general weakness) has something to do with my stiffing up. I will be doing relaxation exercises during our warmups and at home, and will revisit the issue in a few weeks time.

Other than that, we had a delightful night ride in the arena and went on a toodle through the gelding field this week which was also lovely. I think I am almost mentally ready to tackle the open fields across the road soon, which we were frequenting before Oz's ligament issue last fall. I have regressed in confidence since then, but hope to be doing trot sets out there in no time. Pending there are no super scary Canadian geese resting in the pond, because if so, oh lordy...here we go again. I have to sit back and remember sometimes that I am ridding a 1,300 lb. animal with a brain the size of a smaller than average walnut. Knowing Oz, it might have a sputtering connection too!