The Best at Time Off

He is the best at turnout

Between the bodywork lady and the farrier and the BO, we have worked out a plan of (in)action for Courage. Best guess is that he did something creative and awesome in the pasture which jammed his shoulders up.

Oh Courage.

He's taking a few more days off to get himself re-aligned. To help his muscles relax from their current state of spasm (ouch!), he got some bute today.

Here comes the cookie monster!

I think painkillers are a great thing when you're in pain, but I use them very sparingly, both for myself and for my horses. I guess my thought is just that if something hurts, I want to know about it and not push through it instead of drug accordingly and just keep going. I know that's it's not necessarily a popular mindset and I have to temper it with the fact that I'm pretty young and have limited aches and pains at this point in my life.

That said, my policy on anti-inflammatories is that they can be given post-exercise as needed. I do not bute in order to ride or pop painkillers to run. If I see the need to give a horse bute after exercise, then they get the next day off, provided they are in a situation with enough turnout to stretch their legs. If exercise is causing the horse to need drugs, then the situation needs to change. I don't see pain killers as a regular part of daily life for horses or humans.

That's a big part of the reason that Cuna is retired--given the right injections and enough drugs, he probably is passably sound to jump around 2'6" or so. I just don't believe in doing that to a creature. If drugs have to mask his pain, then shouldn't I be listening to his body instead of my desires?

Too adorable not to share

Is that just just me? Is it because I don't understand the aches and pains of growing older? How does everyone else use bute/banamine/advil/ibuprofen?