I am so relieved. We still have a long road of rehab to go but our future is much more certain. I am still afraid that he won't heal up correctly but my fears are probably unfounded. So here's to a slow but complete recovery for Bohdzilla!
Rehab so far has gone like this...
Weds-Walk 10 mins
Friday-Walk 15 mins
Sat- Walk around the barn with lots of breaks 20 mins
Mon-work on the lunge at the walk and trot (me walking with him so the circles were giant!) 10 min
Thurs walk work (tried a trot not ready for it)
Sat 15 min lunge, 15 mins ride some clicker work. (He looked great!)
Sun(10 mins of riding only)
So far he has been really good. I am never sure if I am challenging him enough or pushing him too far. He has been 100% willing to do all of it and never seems very taxed. I guess it will take a while to find where the sweet spot is.
So obviously no more show season for us so I guess I should change our goals a bit. I want to work on...
Golden Goals
- Being lighter on the bit.
- Having more impulsion in upward transitions
- More responsive to all aids
- Working off my body and not my hands for turns and downward transitions- working towards bridleless
- Work on softness in the bitless bridle
- Work on lateral work on the ground
- Perfecting Liberty work
I need to work on
- giving very precise cues
- my delivery of both - and + reinforcement
- Being limber and loose (especially by lower back and hips)
- Core muscles
- Cardiovascular
So if you were forced back to square one what would YOU work on?
OH that is SUCH good news!!
ReplyDeleteGood news! Dawn and I are working on a lot of "restart" issues like yours, although getting more impulsion isn't on the agenda for Dawn - she's got more than enough of that already!
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad you received a negative EPM.
ReplyDeleteGREAT NEWS!!!
ReplyDeleteYep, I AM at square 1... it sucks.
OMG I have been out of the loop for a week but soooooooo (with lots of !) glad to hear that it was negative. That is a very scary thing to think about. I am so happy for you and Bodhi!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that the test was negative. I think that starting from square one is a good rehab beginning. He will come back, you'd be surprised at how quickly they heal. He's young so it should go well. I would do what you're doing, lots of walking and then when he's ready a little trotting thrown in. Ask the vet what she recommends.For example, should you only do a few minutes once a day or a few times a day? I think you will know by how he acts and feels what is right for him. Good luck with his recovery.
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ReplyDeleteSo, so sweet! Well, not the skunk part, lol. I enjoyed your last pooch post too, what a cutie!
ReplyDeleteGreat news!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think I live in square one. I can never string enough training days together to move on.
Someday. Someday.