I feel like I could have worded that title better, but I'm having a brain fart as to how it make it more precise. Haha
Today I noticed that Lacey seemed..."off" somehow... Not horrifically off or anything, just a little something that made me wonder and caused me to go easy on her with our ride today. I know that eventually she's probably going to start having more and more issues arthritis-wise (this year, at age 26, she was started on the first glucosamine supplement that she's ever needed) and I want to be prepared for that eventuality by knowing what to look for.
Really, I'd like to know how I determine if she's off enough that I shouldn't ride at all or if she's really fine and just needs to work out of it... I'd assume that part of the equation is if she starts moving normally once she's fully warmed up then that's good, but how do I know if she's worked out of it if I'm riding her? And also, what's moving normally?
She's changed quite a bit in how she carries herself when she moves this year due to all the hills and such in her pasture so she's moving very differently than she used to when I was able to watch her move more... For instance, I see a lot more movement in her butt getting up hills recently, she seems to be really stepping under herself, so I could either interpret it as her dropping a hip as she trots or her really working under herself...
Her right back leg does seem to have issues, she drags the toe a little (I can't see it but my trimmer tells me she does) and it is the loudest footfall out of the four when we ride on pavement, but other than that she seems fine...
She's generally perfectly willing to w/t/c and I don't canter her until we've had at least 20 minutes of walking (of varying speed) and some trotting and I feel like she'd either completely refuse or go bonkers crazy if she really had an issue with whatever our activity was, but still.
Is there some sort of guideline to follow? I don't have any horse knowledgeable people around me so it's not like I can just go over to ol' Sally Jean's house (or whoever, haha) and have her take a look, yknow? Haha
Today I noticed that Lacey seemed..."off" somehow... Not horrifically off or anything, just a little something that made me wonder and caused me to go easy on her with our ride today. I know that eventually she's probably going to start having more and more issues arthritis-wise (this year, at age 26, she was started on the first glucosamine supplement that she's ever needed) and I want to be prepared for that eventuality by knowing what to look for.
Really, I'd like to know how I determine if she's off enough that I shouldn't ride at all or if she's really fine and just needs to work out of it... I'd assume that part of the equation is if she starts moving normally once she's fully warmed up then that's good, but how do I know if she's worked out of it if I'm riding her? And also, what's moving normally?
She's changed quite a bit in how she carries herself when she moves this year due to all the hills and such in her pasture so she's moving very differently than she used to when I was able to watch her move more... For instance, I see a lot more movement in her butt getting up hills recently, she seems to be really stepping under herself, so I could either interpret it as her dropping a hip as she trots or her really working under herself...
Her right back leg does seem to have issues, she drags the toe a little (I can't see it but my trimmer tells me she does) and it is the loudest footfall out of the four when we ride on pavement, but other than that she seems fine...
She's generally perfectly willing to w/t/c and I don't canter her until we've had at least 20 minutes of walking (of varying speed) and some trotting and I feel like she'd either completely refuse or go bonkers crazy if she really had an issue with whatever our activity was, but still.
Is there some sort of guideline to follow? I don't have any horse knowledgeable people around me so it's not like I can just go over to ol' Sally Jean's house (or whoever, haha) and have her take a look, yknow? Haha