We haven't ridden in this meadow for quite a while. The horses love it. I love it. It's relaxing and uplifting at the same time. We saw a family of elk and several good sized deer.
The meadow part of the ride is about a mile.
I'm going to come back to this photo in a minute.
After this there's some nice forest riding along a pretty good-sized creek (Big Creek) where Huckleberry was a bit surprised to find himself swimming, not wading.
Then we crossed the creek and a short jaunt on the road and we were going to make a loop of it but the loop has been ruined by logging, so we took another way and figured we'd just eventually go back the way we came.
Not far down that soft logging road Sawyer started sniffing the ground, then itched his foot. Not that weird. He doesn't usually sniff the ground, though. A little ways further he put his head way down again to sniff the ground, or so I thought, but he laid down! I jumped off as fast as I could in case he rolled, but he didn't. He laid there for a bit, sternal, and then got up. We walked him back. He seemed tired and he kept nudging me & stumbling. He stuck his nose in a hollow stump and parked himself there for quite a while. His gums were wet & pink and his capillary refill time was good. His heart rate was a little high at one point but after standing still for a minute or two it was normal.
Now, we had only done just over 2 miles on level ground when he laid down. It was warm in the sun but probably not over 75 at 8:30 in the morning. But look back up at his neck in that last picture. After only a mile in the meadow he was that sweaty?
This isn't colic, he was pooping nice wet poops. No gas. No dehydration. Maybe he's just too old? Maybe he does have something wrong internally? Maybe his toes are too long? He's due for a shoe re-set in 3 days but his hooves grew too fast. Aarrgh. Horses. I might have the vet run some blood. I'll definitely ask my farrier about his hooves.
Is it possible that he is healthy and just wanted a break? My youngster laid down when I was riding her once. Of course, she is extremely green, not a seasoned trail horse.
ReplyDeleteWhen Cowboy was young he did that with a green rider. He just dropped to his knees as laid down. She thought he was dying. Then he rolled and got back up. I saw a horse root around on a trail ride and I warned the rider to yank him up. She would, but then he’d be back to rooting again and she’d let him. Pretty soon, he dropped those legs and hit the ground and she jumped off. I’m not sure why he’s doing it for you, but I’d make sure he keeps his head up in the meantime. No sniffing or itching.
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about letting my horses put their heads down unless I don't trust them at whatever moment. I've seen horses lay down on their riders, usually in water, but mine don't. Sawyer will work himself to exhaustion for me. This is something different than naughtiness or laziness.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, during his last bout of colic and yesterday, he was sweating a lot only in one side - the left side. Does that ring a bell?
Hope he is doing better!
ReplyDeleteJust curious, has he been tested for Cushings?
He hasn't. What makes you think cushings? I did wonder about it when I first got him, because of his biggish belly and weakish back, but hadn't worried about it in so long I forgot I ever even considered it, until you asked.
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