Wed. Misc.

A little excitement in the training sessions last two days. Sorry for more autobiography.  Hope to take good vids soon when blogger is less busy.

 Finally got an open trot under tack from #7.  Gallop next.  Also was able both days to take full advantage of our very nice training area to get legit riderless speed bursts out of both horse .  On Tues.horses galloping together with the 18 yr. old did about 3f at near full speed.  On Wed there was one nice 2 or 3f burst probably about :13.5s, a longer 4f slower gallop and a final of about 6f that looked mostly in :15s.  Decent exercise. Finally! Breathtakingly beautiful to see these enthusiastic youngsters galloping full tilt along a ridge.  Hopefully can catch that on vid.  There's some fun in race training even away from the track.

I would hesitate to exercise #148 with his hock except that I consider this crucial right now.  The horse had already been off 3+ weeks, is about to undergo the operating table that likely would be 3+ more weeks of inactivity--6 or 7 weeks of nothing turning fast twitch muscles cells to slow at a time when the horse needs to be increasing the number of fast twitchers.  My vague memory of exercise physiology--once those fast twitchers turn to slow can they be turned back to fast twitch fibers?  My understanding--no--and best that can happen is they turn into a fast twitch-slow twitch combo.  Thus we assume whatever risk there is right now in exercising #148.  He's moving very well on the hock.

#148 hock:  Again, txs. to Lazar Simic for comment.  Forgot to ask vet re his estimate of location of chip. Did ask vet if he thought there was ligament or tendon involvement because in hock diagrams there is a major ligament that goes right over this area.  Doc said in the negative.

Horse is scheduled for surgery week from tomorrow at University of Missouri Vet School, if we can get him there. A Dr. Keegan, who checked the Xrays and opined that swelling is totally caused by the chip, and also (interestingly) that chip might have started before barbed wire. Unknown where he got that.  Surgery time though dependent on weather and getting trailer out of mud in time to trailer train before arctic blast hits next week.  Will see.  Interestingly, after Tues. hard but short riderless gallop the swelling had gone down dramatically. After today's higher volume work I noticed a little swelling coming back.