An update on Deli's tack and various allergies (and what I'm doing about them).

Tack update!

Our tack is finally in a decent place. In a workable place. My plan is still to jump into saddle shopping with both feet when my work life and income is in a more predictable state, but for now my saddle is working and gives even sweat patterns. This is helped by my other tack in combination, of course.

Observe:

Right now I’m booting her all-around as the weather has made her feet fairly soft and she moves out more confidently in her boots. That ride was the first time I tried her out in her new pair of Easyboot Gloves that I put a pad in – something I’ve done so that we can trot on roads more comfortably and without serious strain on her legs. Her front feet fit in 1.5 wides normally, though they get annoyingly difficult to put on and take off in the last 3^rd of her trim cycle. These are size 2 wides with a firm pad added. Plus powerstraps (I use powerstraps on all my Gloves). They stuck on well and she didn’t trip, so I was pleased. We are still trying to figure out what the best option is for her hind feet (which are more irregularly shaped and have that fetlock scar to contend with), but right now the Renegades I have for her at least stay on even if I am not super happy with the fit there.

As for other tack my parents got me the Thinline Sheepskin Endurance Pad I’d been coveting for my recent birthday, and Deli clearly LOVES it. Though I must say a little part of me dies when I take a clean fluffy sheepskin pad and within 3 rides it is disgusting from sweat and dirt. Her back is soft when I get off. For arena work I use a fleece-cotton square pad with a Thinline Contour pad on top.

A shot from Deli's most recent trim.

Using a crupper is also working out well to help with our long-running issue of the saddle being pulled forward due to Deli’s big laid back shoulder and forward hearth girth. Now we ride with a seriously loose girth and snug crupper and breast collar/plate and have had no issues with saddle slippage under saddle yet. I still can’t mount from the ground, but I have never been able to with this horse due to her meat-tube shape. Luckily she has become a pro at standing quietly while I use trees and rocks and ditches and random farm equipment to use as a mounting block.

I’ve also been using an elastic breast girth (as is used by eventers) instead of my Zilco breastplate for the simple reason that it stays above the area where her skin is upset from her allergies. It seems to work fine so far, and Deli seems to appreciate the elastic. I haven’t tested it yet on hardcore hill climbing but will soon.

As for an update on Deli’s allergies…

Deli’s skin issues due to hyper-sensitivity and insect allergies are an ongoing management head-scratcher. Riding does not make it worse, though I forgo riding when the tack touches any of her hotspot areas or when they are in places that stretch during normal movement (like her armpits – a typical spot for flare ups) because they clearly HURT. For the most part the flare ups are confined to her chest and between her front legs – which my vet thinks is because the spider bite several years ago that seems to have triggered her extreme histamine reaction was on her lower chest. It is really gross, in general. Her skin gets localized fevers in “hot spots” during the worst of it, making her skin peel off and the area especially sensitive. She will get scabby skin around bites or in hot spot areas. During bad flare-ups I have been giving her generic Zyrtec, which seems to help quiet the inflammation though I still wait for the peeling-gross skin areas to heal.

I’ve been experimenting with different supplements and have her on a Smartpak’s Bug-Off Ultra pellets, which I supplement with extra MSM during her flare-ups. She also gets lots of Omega 3s and other than her hot spot areas her skin and coat are shiny and healthy. Recently I added both chamomile and spirulena to her supplements as well, and one or both do seem to be helping as this past week her skin has been more dandruff-y than scabby and inflamed. When I lived in California both spirulena and chamomile were very helpful in easing some of the symptoms of her (mild) dust allergy as both have anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. Living in Oregon now the dust allergy comes up less often. At worst she usually needs to cough a couple times when we start trotting and then will be fine for the rest of the ride.

For topical treatments I use several things. Hydrocortisone has clear results in calming the initial inflammation and so I’ve made up batches of my homemade healing goo (which includes essential oils in a coconut oil base) with human-grade hydrocortisone cream. I also have my goo without the hydrocortisone which I put in areas she often gets bitten – including working it into her tail hair on her dock as it also functions as a skin and hair moisturizer. This works very well as a protective layer too, I’ve found, as the oil sticks around for a couple days and soothes her raw skin (when a layer has peeled off). The essential oils I use (Melrose and Purification, for those curious) also have an added benefit of repelling insects. 

If we ever do get to an endurance ride it’s likely I will make up some of my homemade goo without any AERC banned ingredients in it to put as a proactive protective layer before competition. My other favorite product is Healing Tree T-Zon Equine Healing Cream, which also provides Deli a lot of relief. I also use Eqyss Micro-Tek products and usually bathe her problem areas with some kind of gentle medicated shampoo (like Micro-Tek’s) at least every other week and then moisturize her skin and coat afterward.

Last but not least I rub her dry with clean towels and often use Dermacloth to clean sweaty areas after a ride to prevent any skin irritation that may occur from residual sweat and dirt. I also use these to clean around her eyes and the sweaty marks left by her bridle, as her eyes often get irritation from dust and insects as well.

My vet has confirmed that red-headed horses (like red-headed humans) do seem to have more issues with sensitivity in the skin. I think Deli has had allergies in some form as long as I have had her (the first thing I noticed was she would get white flaky skin when fed corn). The dust allergies seemed to be caused by an unfortunate illness she had when I first got her - the one where she was forced into quarantine against my will in a dark dusty stall. "Against my will" meaning I was trying to find an open solo pasture for her to be in quarantine given she had never been stalled and was still new to being handled regularly. I wasn't allowed to remove her and we were both traumatized by the experience for various reasons.

The insect issues are tied to that spider bite on her chest which was very nasty and made her skin get infected, requiring antibiotics.

That's not even half of what we've gone through, but as it relates to allergies that's about it. That, and she gets welts from many fly sprays...

Special special red mare.

Last time: What we've been doing on our "trails" lately.

Exploring the world of bit-less riding!

When I started Deli I began with a copper full-cheek snaffle. In my opinion this is the best bit to start a horse in since it clarifies the direct-rein signal while being very gentle on their mouths. Because Deli is back off the bit, I opted for the copper mouthpiece because she seemed to enjoy it more. For non-horsefolk readers, bits are typically made out of stainless steel, but copper and sweet iron both oxidize in the horse’s mouth and give it a flavor that some horses prefer.

 

After Deli and I mastered basic steering, I switched her to an even milder bit — a steel egg butt French link with curved bars. At this point we worked on refinement, flexion and relaxing into the contact rather than avoiding it. I found that the bars on this bit were a little too thick for her, however, despite liking the curved bars and general concept of the mild French-link. 

So I then switched us to a bit which was a combination of the two: a high quality D-ring (which functions similarly to a full-cheek) with thin but curved bars and a copper roller in the middle of a double joint. This bit is mild in that it functions as a French-link and has less of a scissoring-action on her tongue, but it is also thin enough to give me precise control when needed. The D-rings also reinforce steering while being comfortable on her outer lips (where she is particularly sensitive). We have stuck with this bit quite happily until recently when our daily workout has moved away from dressage and towards trail riding and conditioning. 

Deli does fine with this current bit — she softens and seeks contact with my hands easily enough. But you can tell she doesn’t like it. In the arena I always warm her up “on the buckle”, and when I take up the reins she responds with tail-swishing. Originally when I started riding her I worried that I was somehow hurting her, but after getting thorough checkups for both teeth and back my veterinary team and I concluded that taking up the contact meant work, and Deli was opposed to work. My horse is essentially a very lazy creature, and asking her to use herself in a way that is optimal for carrying a rider is HARD work. I resigned myself to the fact that her tail would swish and moved on.

Now that our focus is shifting from dressage to trail riding, I’ve noticed that with each successive trail ride my reins get longer and longer. Not only does Deli stretch out her head to power up hills, but her walk is ultimately forward and free-flowing without me having to hassle her constantly. If anything, I feel like the majority of our rides lately have consisted of me doing my best to stay out of her way when she is maneuvering over obstacles on the trails. This means putting more weight in the stirrups to get off her back and loosening my reins to give her head full range of motion. She also likes to look around on the trails — I have a feeling that she has an exploratory personality which only recently feels comfortable enough to reveal itself. The result is that I have been employing direct-rein much less.

At any rate, it got me thinking: why ride with a bit at all? Granted, we are probably going to stick with the bit for arena work because I haven’t found anything quite the same when it come to clear communication with Deli. But on the trails? I’ve only felt the need to take up the reins twice, and neither time was it to do something I wouldn’t have been able to do without the bit in her mouth. There would also be other advantages to going bit-less, which as making it easier for her to drink and eat while on the move and keep her more comfortable for the long distances I hope to someday conquer with her. There is also the advantage of never having to do the halter-bridle swapping game, making it easier to tie her safely wherever we are. There are disadvantages too. Bits are ideal when it comes to fine tune control or control in an emergency situation. Usually this has to do with stopping power for a bolting horse. Deli’s naughty side (which hasn’t been an issue at all recently) usually involves spinning in circles in an effort to avoid something that is making her anxious. For that kind of reaction, having a bit (particularly a full-cheek or D-ring) is highly useful but I’m not sure it is necessary. As for bolting, it is not Deli’s style (taking off at a dead gallop takes quite a bit of effort), so I’m not as concerned about stopping power. She has always had a magnificent halt — I never need to even employ the reins at all in normal circumstances – it only takes the tightening and holding of my abs to get her to plant her feet.

It also made me realize that on even our average days, the bit, bridle and reins are only my “backup” for steering and stopping. It’s Deli that taught me not to rely on my hands for control or comfort because she is a much happier beast when I use my seat and legs to guide her. For dressage, the bridle has served the primary purpose of achieving relaxation and the use of her top-line or re-directing her attention when it goes astray. I can probably do latter and maybe the former with a bit-less setup.

A good friend of mine lent me her Dr. Cook bridle and a simple rope halter sidepull to try out. After some short experiments in the arena today, I am leaning towards the sidepull. Deli seemed happier in it, and my general control was better. I’ll do more formal reviews of both types later once I use them both a couple more times in the arena, and at least once out on the trail . I like what I am seeing about the rope bridles online — particularly where some of them are modified so you can snap a bit on easily (like the one shown on this page), making it a bit-less, halter, bitted bridle combo! Versatility can only be a good thing when exploring the wilderness astride a horse like Deli — and when it’s something simple as well? Sounds like an awesome tool to me!