I last blogged in January when things were going quite well, with Ruby declared sound at her booster. We carried on with increasing our road work and her hooves seemed to be growing quickly with a well defined angle change visible.
Around this time we had some saddle issues, which are ongoing and very messy. When Ruby first arrived, I ordered her a jump saddle with a big name saddlery company via their 'Young Horse Scheme' which was sold to me as a system of re-adjusting fit over a period of 18 months as you pay the cost of the saddle off. Deposit paid in November 2012, and by February 2014 I still hadn't received a saddle to my specifications (you name it, they got it wrong; width, colour etc etc!!). Eventually a saddle fitter new to the company came up to visit and exclaimed the saddle that had been provided did not fit (unsurprisingly as it constantly slid back). Within a few weeks they were back with a bespoke saddle that felt far too narrow. I was told to ride in it and that it would 'bed down'. It made Ruby feel horribly short and tense and the bad fit was confirmed by a visit to an independent saddle fitter.
The original saddle company refused to give me a refund and we reached stalemate. They have since gone into receivership which complicated matters further. In amongst all of this mess, I got a lovely second hand Albion K2 jump which fitted Ruby like a glove. She seemed to approve and started to build up some muscle along her weak topline.
Naked hooved utopia was short lived however, when Ruby developed a particularly nasty abscess in her right fore in February. The poor mite was exceptionally painful, so rather than leaving the abscess to blow on it's own, after 5 days of 'hopping' lameness I dug the blighter out of her toe. Relief was instant, but healing was slow, slow, slooooow. The abscess refilled not once, not twice but three times. I discovered Red Horse Products Hoof Stuff just in time for my first skiing holiday to Switzerland.
I had only started skiing this winter at the fabulous indoor slope in Glasgow, and found my 'rider's thighs' were made for the slopes. It certainly helped as an alternate outlet for getting my adrenalin fix in the absence of jumping. Eventually when my legs had had enough, I hired a sledge, which made for aching-sides laughter. We also consumed vast amounts of chocolate and cheese - ooops!!
On my return, Ruby was looking good (many thanks to freelance groom Jade & my friend Kirsty) and was ready to start ridden work again. However, a week after returning home I was very suddenly taken ill. What followed was a pretty horrible and scary time for me (Months later and I'm still not properly better) and I found myself signed off work and on extreme bed rest for a couple of weeks. When I was able, spending time chilling out with the ponies made me feel human again, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't spent quite a bit of time having tears mopped up by Ruby. She is my bestie.
After camp, I became a little concerned that Ruby didn't feel level again. This was confirmed when I video'd her trotting up. There were lots of tears, particularly as her insurance 'year' was pretty much over. I spent a lot of time on the internet researching our options and looking at stories of other horses with palmar foot pain that conventional treatment had not worked for. And that's when I decided upon OUR NEXT STEP...
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