Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Watch 'er Go Video :)

It's done!
Sorry I added some extra, unnecessary stuff; I couldn't help myself. This was fun :)

And if you don't like the music, just turn the volume down. I just didn't want it to be silent in the back round :)
I like the ending, in case you want to know.
And if it says "still processing" check back a little later.

6 comments:

Mrs. Mom said...

OK Mel- I watched. What I see first is she "waddles" behind. Translation: watch her hind feet. As Daisy walks, she swings them in towards each other. Kind of like a reverse paddle (generally paddle in front, with feet swinging more outwards.) Normally, you expect to see hing legs travel in a relatively straight line from departure to landing, rather then have that swinging deviation.

Watching her hocks, she does tend to jack the one a bit higher than the other, which does take away from symetrical movement.

Her stifles are most likely a bit weaker than ideal. It did seem that Daisy had a tough time getting comfortable in the canter on the line: she didn't really seem to relax her topline at all, and tried to stay straight through her body rather than reaching her hind legs up under herself, and driving forward from the inside hind leg.

Add those up, and you have Daisy- sound. She just has a bit of character to how she moves.

What would we suggest to help build her up?
- Lots of walk warm up. LOTS. In the walk, use your seat and legs to change the walk speed and stride length. Ask her to move off your legs, two steps left, two steps right, as you are travelling in a nice line.

- Trot. Circles. Again, ask for different speeds, and stride lengths.

- Line work: walk. Spiral her in at a strong walk, so that her hind leg reaches up under her midline, and pushes off into the next stride.

- In hand: BACK. Lots. Two steps here and there to start, but backing often. Backing does wonders: builds rump muscle, and helps horse strengthen midline, making it easier to lift the belly up out of the way.

Overall, Daisy moves differently, but really not that bad. Work on building up those stifles and belly muscles, and she'll come along well. I bet if you can video her after about six weeks or so of working on these areas, you'll see a difference ;)

(And don't feel like you are the only one doing this stuff. This is what Sonny has to do, EVERY single day we work. With him, it's been a slow slow process, but he is gaining ground! Daisy has a big advantage- she's already sound! ;) )

Unknown said...

I noticed right away she does not track strait in her hind end. As mrs mom said. I see this A LOT when assessing a horse
Sometimes this can be conformational. I would definately get a chiropractor out for her though because she is clearly not comfortable at all at the canter and the back legs tracking inwards. May have a lot to do with muscular/skelletal strains but definately not all. Shes how old now? If you do get someone to work on her make sure you lunge her for them like you did for us here.

Bethany, Dahlia, Julia, and GEB Lucky said...

that was so cool! :) great job! :)

Michaela said...

Grr everyone beat me to it. It's hard to tell which hind leg it is or if its both, but keep in mind horses are lame on diagonals. So if she is off on her right hind, you will also see some lameness is the left front, and vice versa. I agree it could be conformational, but Daisy looks fairly well built. It might be a stiffness in her stifle. I would try what Mrs. Mom said, and if you don't get results within a few weeks I would arrange for a full lameness evaluation by a vet. It is definitely better that you caught this early on.

If anyone tries to tell you it's because she's barefoot, don't listen. If anything, the lack of shoes is helping her in this situation. Sometimes though, a horse transitioning from shoes will develop an abscess, Indigo did in hi front leg. It doesn't look like an abscess kind of lameness though.

Daisy is pretty good at hiding whatever this is. At first glance, she looked completely sound. It took a while before I picked up on the small little things.

Good luck I'm sure you'll give her the best care. <3

Mellimaus said...

Thank you for the input, everyone! I'm starting out with what Mrs. Mom said :) and we'll go from there. I'm excited to have something to work on!

Anonymous said...

I found this website about barefoot horses and thought you might enjoy it.
Have a great day!
http://www.barefoothorse.com/

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