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RE: [RC] A Much Better Proposal - heidiJim has a valid point here. Horses can look "fine" after a
metabolic episode, but they are often still very vulnerable for a
period of time. It pays to be cautious and give them adequate
recuperative time.
My hubby had one of those "comedy of errors" metabolic pulls this
fall. Ride was a long way from home--took two days on the
road. Horse was still somewhat inexperienced--had done 2 LDs, and
this was to be his third 50. Mistake #1--combining long haul with
his first trip without a buddy from home. Mistake #2--hauled with
a stallion and a strange gelding. Mistake #3--unavoidable
sometimes, but had a breakdown on the road on the second day, and spent
time in the shop. Horse "appeared" to be just fine, but in
retrospect, had not eaten or hydrated adequately. Horse was
pulled for thumps about 3/4 of the way through the ride, which seemed
mild but did not improve. Horse also had zero gut sounds.
Vet made a good call--hypocalcemic. Gave some calcium in a liter
of fluid, and horse was once again "just fine." Thumps gone, gut
sounds back.
So, should that horse have gone to a ride in the next few
weeks? No way! He's a super guy, and if the two-legged
components of his "team" don't make any more bone-headed mistakes like
they made at this ride, his long-term prognosis is rosy. But it
takes TIME for gut, hormonal regulatory systems, etc. to stablize after
even a mild insult like that. It isn't just a matter of putting
the "right stuff" back in--the horse has to once again fine-tune all of
those internal systems so that he is once again self-regulating
properly.
In this horse's case, it was October--and we live in the "Frozen
Nawth." So we pulled his shoes and kicked him out. He can
have a fine season next year.
Kristen, in the case of the muscle cramp, did you do blood work to
see if there was a tie-up? And remember that muscles can be the
"weak link" in situations like my example above. The time off is
definitely justified.
Heidi
Heidi
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