Give A Dog A Bone

Okay, maybe I should say give him a dog bone. Ever since the driving lesson where we learned Rosemary hated her bit, I have been wondering about Roscoe too. For Rosemary we put the Herm Sprenger Duo on and she seems less defensive under saddle. And since she is not fighting the bit, she is actually listening better, which allows for better work overall.

 Unfortunately, though she was softer driving with the Duo, she also figured out that it has less bite and proceeded to ignore Mom's cues. Not good when that is your only communication link to the horse. So for driving we will have to keep looking.
Since the rubber bit worked well for Rosemary, I decided to try one on Roscoe. He was started with a Happy Mouth mullen, so it was worth a try. I saw a black dog bone bit in the grain shed and decided what the heck, I would try that.

Well Roscoe seriously thought I was joking. "You want me to put that in my mouth?" said the pony who normally puts the bit in himself. I finally convinced him to give it a try. He chewed and chewed, slightly worrying me it would be too fat. By time we walked to the arena he settled until we were moving. The bit was weird and it took most of that first ride for him to figure out it was not too bad. He was softer, less resistant and because of that he did not pop that left shoulder as badly. T's advice helped get his shoulder over the rest of the way.
I was pleased with the positive result, but not sold yet.

Two more rides makes me think the bit is working for him. Each ride he settled quicker and was reaching into the contact. Roscoe is still thinking really hard about the bit which makes him move really slow, but I can ask for more later. A part of me wonders if he has some teeth issues because with the metal bit he was against turning left. It was a battle to get him to go left. He has not fought turning left after putting the dog bone on his bridle. I will have to check with Mom to see if he is due for a dental visit. At least with this bit I am more optimistic about Roscoe's progress.
That is good news after a two negative vet visits. One for Winston's eyes which resulted in a diagnosis of uveitis. The vet believes it had been brought on by his periods of puffy, leaky eyes over the years. So now Winston is on Previcox for life. Luckily the dose is only a 1/4 tablet a day which will cost us about $200 a year. At least the medicine won't break the bank. The other visit was for Deliah. The poor puppy was walking crooked and with her back hunched like a cat stretching. She was in considerable pain. We thought it was a tummy issue since her belly was tight. Deliah has always been a picky eater with digestive issues. I really think she was a runt. Anyway, she looked slightly better Monday, but still not great so Mom took her to the vet. I received a call from her telling me it was not her belly, but her back. They did xrays and found no spinal damage. She had injured the back muscle causing her serious pain. The scary part was that the vet put her left hind foot in a bent toe position and Deliah did not fix it. Definitely will be watching that. So now she is on a muscle relaxer and pain medication. Plus she has to stay quite, no stairs, no jumping and no playing. The vet thinks it is possible 100lb Shadow bumped or ran her over while playing. At 19lbs Deliah is pretty small. It was pretty hard to see her shaking and in pain. The good medicine helped her yesterday look more normal. Later she will need chiropractic and acupuncture.
A life with animals is never boring.

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