FOLLOW US

See Ya, ’17!

Hands Up: Any other riders have a rather challenging year?

I write this after indulging in my own whine-fest regarding having had a thyroid surgery that took away my voice and ability to work for nearly the entire year, followed by a frightening injury recently received by Traum (more on that in a moment). Then last night I saw a Facebook post by one of the beloved members of our horse community, Trayce Doubek-Dierks who informed us all that her husband and farm co-trainer, Eric Dierks, sustained a horrific injury while doing ground work with a mare which kicked him in the face. Despite wearing a helmet, Eric sustained terrible facial and ocular injuries and as of this writing, has had surgery but is suffering great pain and swelling. You can imagine the hardship of trying to run your busy training business with one partner down, so please consider helping this couple by donating to Erick’s gofundme account:

https://www.gofundme.com/eric-dierks-injury-recovery?pc=fb_co_shareflow_m&rcid=r01-151246857483-637239dcd9834dcb

Moving on to Traum, we were making some steady progress after having him injected and witnessing his metamorphous into Captain Happy Hocks. He didn’t become Valegro, but his hocks began to actually articulate when I rode countless trot-almost walk-trot transitions, and he was feeling more supple and comfortable in his shoulder ins.

And then disaster struck. Bringing Traum in from the field to his stall for lunch and to get him ready for his lesson with his mom, Sharon, I went into my house to grab my own lunch. Sometime within the hour Traum, we *think,* stepped on his inside hind left hoof and essentially tore away a perfectly sliced piece of hoof. Think of a massive hang nail. It was gruesome and his shavings were spotted with blood. In a panic I phoned Sharon, my farrier and vet. My farrier, Sean, shrugged via text and replied, “Seen this before on two horses. No big deal. 3 months stall rest.” When Sharon arrived she was as stricken as me, yet the other professionals, my vet Bibi and her assistant, Jamie, also treated it as the sky definitely wasn’t falling. They clipped away the flap of hoof, medicated and wrapped it. No stitching required, just antibiotics and orders to apply a sugar/iodine paste, baby diaper and wrap daily. I’m including 3 photos below. Don’t look if you don’t want to, but I’m including them as hopefully educational should you ever see this on your horse, you won’t freak out and think it’s the end of the world. Ready? Side by side, before, during, and but ONE month later, gentle reader–Traum’s healing has been nothing short of amazing:

That last photo I took in his rehab paddock yesterday, just before tacking him up to walk in the field, as per doctor’s orders. The arena sand would obviously be too abrasive but walking the fence line is soft as it is still grassy. I cannot even tell you how grateful we all are. The daily cleaning, bandaging and hand walking has paid off in spades and Traum has something else to look forward to–during his stall rest this past month, my husband Paul and I finally got around to clearing all the fallen trees and debris in the woods behind the barn and what a perfect, loamy track awaits both Traum and me to walk towards the beautiful winterview of the mountains, which serves as a perfect metaphor for my life. Even when I can’t see or feel it, Providence awaits to draw me near.

To all who celebrate, a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you all!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

CATEGORIES

TAGS

RELATED POSTS

1
Connect with Your Horse through Biomechanics
Article_5-Videos-to-Watch-for-Better-Balance-800-×-500-px
5 Videos to Watch for Better Balance
Article_5-Videos-to-Watch-Before-Your-First-Show-DTO
5 Videos to Watch Before Your First Show
hock
4 Common Training Problems Solved • Understanding Hock Health

TRENDING ARTICLES

DT-suppleness-left-rein-kehr-01
How Can I Achieve Suppleness on the Left Rein?
horse cribbing
Myths and Truths of Equine Cribbing
DT-horse-lumps-under-jaw-01
Are lumps or swellings under the jaw reason for concern?
dressage horse too short neck symptoms
4 Signs You Are Riding Your Dressage Horse Too Short in the Neck