How Does That Work?

I am a big fan of trying to look into how traditional and commonly suggested treatments work.

Today's thought process was on Blu-Kote.  Once again, on a local horse group on facebook someone was asking for suggestions on how to treat a medical condition without actually asking a veterinarian for advice.  Blu-Kote was one suggestion.

Now I've actually used Blu-Kote in the past, so today's homework was to go look and see what's in it.  The manufacturer's website wasn't particularly helpful, so off to search some of the databases.

VETERINARY USE ONLY

Active Ingredients	% W/W
Isopropyl Alcohol	37.5%
Urea	9.1%
Sodium Propionate	9.1%
Gentian Violet	1.0%
Acriflavine	0.15%

How does this work?  Isopropyl alcohol denatures proteins and destabilizes cell walls via destroying lipids [for the non geeks: it destroys building blocks of various germs.  Not 100% though].  Useful for application involving fungi, bacteria, and viruses.  However, it's not bullet proof.  Generally, it's used in concentrations around 70% in a microbiological application.  The surface needs to be allowed to air dry and it can be harsh on the skin.  Probably a good reason why we don't go rolling around in rubbing alcohol each day.  But also think on how that loving phlebotomist wipes your arm with rubbing alcohol [isopropanol] before pulling blood.  The idea behind this is to remove the bacteria living on your skin before injecting a needle through the skin into the bloodstream. 

Urea is a waste byproduct in urine typically, but is often used in fertilizer applications.  I am assuming, but not certain that in this situation that is used to try and pull protons from bacteria present to disrupt activity. 

Sodium Propionate is a common food additive.  Just check out your packaged bread products or lunch meat.  It's effective against molds and some bacteria.  

Genetian violet also kills some fungi and bacteria and is a historic treatment for issues.  Anyone ever stain bacteria in a science class?  It's that purple stuff that stains all over yourself.  Occasionally useful, but primarily considered outdated.

Acriflavine is another antiseptic that kills some fungi/bacteria like genetian violet.  It's orange in color and was also used historically. 

So there you go.  Ever wonder what's in Blu-Kote?  

Mostly a mix of alcohol with a very low dosage of antiseptics.  So while it may work in some circumstances, I am leaning towards the opinion of directly treating with an antibacterial/antifungal mixture which can be done cheaply and easily through picking up items OTC at a drug store after a thorough scrub with chlorhexidine or betadine. 

On This Day

On this day in 1991, a postal worker by the name of Joseph Harris went postal and killed two former co-workers after having killed his supervisor and fiancee the night before.  Truly, someone that spawned/spread the saying "going postal".

There are moments of insanity that it seems that saying applies, but then not really.  Work is crazy like normal and I wonder what it would be like to have a job where insanity isn't present in every minute.  But at times, I think I would miss it.  There's always something to do and a person never knows what's going to happen next.

After another insane day of work, I went out to the barn.  I worked a bit with the filly in hand.  Tacked her up in the western saddle, but I think I'm just going to stick with the close contact saddle for now.  The western saddle is good for more desensitizing work, but I'd need to find a pony sized girth to ever expect her to ride in that thing and number two, I think it wouldn't as comfortable on her.  Spoiled little filly will go back into the close contact complete with merino half pad and back on track pad.  Might as well start her out right, right?  

I rode the semi feral mare afterwards and she was pretty lazy going to the right.  By the time I started working on left hand things, she was getting tired.  I think she needs a bit more stamina or something.  Hello, Arab, how are you tired?  But when she gets tired, she starts to try and use evasisive tactics instead of being soft and compliant.  Her favorite is to try and pull down, but she usually does it quietly enough that I give her rein.  Bad rider, bad!  Hard to try and correct and force the mare to pick herself back up, but I'm working hard on trying to get better and slowly, but surely I think there's an improvement.

The veterinary chiro is coming out in 12 days to adjust the semi feral mare, so I think that's good.  She tends to be quite uncomfortable in the poll and I imagine that probably doesn't help in some of our work either. 

How about you guys?  Have your horses worked on by chiropractors? 

I'm a big fan of a lot of voodoo things.  It's made a big difference in the horses in my life, but I try and keep an open mind.  I think it can be hard to find the right person or thing to try though!

Have a great Thursday and remember Friday is just around the corner, so next time you think about going postal: don't.  That claim to fame was already taken.

My life is hard and difficult.  I only got two carrots today instead of three.

And The Ears Have It

I enjoy a good news article involving horses.  Better yet, I like research involving horses, but when I don't have enough time to dig up the long articles, I usually head out online to see what people dig up.

So tonight's light reading was How Horses' Ear Direction Affects Jumping on thehorse.com

I'll have to see if I can find the entire report, but it's something to think about.  I know often in training, it is desirable to have at least a split ear showing some attention to the rider i.e. in lunging.

But, it seems the arguement in this article is that horses need to focus on the jump.  But I don't necessarily buy that.  Horses have monocular vision so each eye sees independently with a blind spot in the front (and immediate back) of the horse.  They essentially can't see the jump right at it, so why the need for additional focus.  To focus on something close up, horses are like folks with bifocals: raising their head and looking down their nose.  I buy more into the theory that the ears are showing enthusiasm or heart.  Perhaps a flicked back ear shows a bit of hesitation.

To all who jump, what do you think about the article?

Successful Weekend

I'd call it a successful weekend.

Yesterday was a typical Saturday morning.  Went and did barn chores.  My awesome friend J came up from a few hours away to stay for a day and such.  Barn chores go even faster that way!

The semi feral mare looked less like a grey and more like a pinto, so I went ahead and gave her a bath.  Unfortunately, she already has quite the winter coat so she had to stand around for a while to get reasonably dry so I could put her rain sheet on her.

So J had been working with, lunging, and just generally playing around with the little red filly, who really isn't that little anymore as she is two and a half.  But something I had been working on is having her be comfortable by the mounting block.

So, both J and I gave into temptation and sat on the filly.  

That's me on board.  J was holding the lead rope and trying to take a picture on her phone which didn't work so well.  The filly just wanted another cookie, so was trying to follow J forward to get more food.  So there you go.

Not really on doing anything exciting with the filly, but I can at least say I successfully sat on her.  Maybe I should have picked the saddle that has stirrups on next time, but who's worried.

Now for the fun part.

I survived the dressage show with the semi feral mare.  She was a little loud and obnoxious at times when she was feeling a little left alone (which was mostly in the ring).  I had an error on the first test as I forgot the first circle was on the opposite end, but that is life. 

My goals were 

1. Go the right gait 

2.  Go the right direction

3.  Stay inside the ring

Sometimes more difficult than you think with such a mare.  

I'm glad to say that except for my brief operator error with the starting the wrong circle, I succeeded in my goals.

The second test was pretty successful and we scored 8% better.  ;)  The mare mostly kept her mouth shut too and had a couple good moments of being soft and going on the bit.  We even managed to get an 8 on the medium walk.  I think that may have been generous, but hey I wasn't watching, so who knows.

So, there you go.  I bit the bullet and went to the show with the semi feral mare and survived.  :)  I have some good things to work on, so onwards and upwards. 

Freedom Friday

It's finally Friday.

Unfortunately, I have run out of energy since I feel like a little like a butterfly on a windshield.

But in the spirit of Freedom Friday here are some free and feral looking horses.  It's what my horses look best at doing.  The Semi Feral Mare would especially agree.  She thinks she is marginally cuter with a carrot in her mouth and a baby at side too.

Sore No More

That's about what I'm thinking right now!   I could use some Sore No More which by the way, I love for using on my horses, but that's a topic for another day!

I decided to go ahead and jump into Viva Carlos' 2 point challenge, especially the part with the situps.  I have mostly modified it to crunches on my exercise ball, since that was an exercise that my physical therapists wanted me to continue since my back injury.  But good grief, my abs are certainly feeling it.  I remember being in high school cranking out a couple hundred situps no problem.  Have I really gotten that far out of shape? 

Apparently so.  No wonder I can't sit and use my core on my horse like I used to. As I continue to expect and ask my horse to do more athletic endeavors, it's only fair that I continue to try and improve my physical fitness as well.  I think most equestrians could use a stronger core.  I, personally am a long, willowy rider with more torso than bottom half which I've been told affects center of gravity and makes some aspects of riding more difficult.  All the more reason to try and strengthen and maintain control I think.

No riding tonight, however.  I rushed out to the barn after a day of crazy work, trying to make the farrier appointment on time.  Fortunately, a superstar of a barn friend held the feral filly and had just caught the semi feral mare when I pulled up.  Certainly makes work easier when I have a work schedule that is so uncontrolled.  Thank goodness for kind people!

The barn owner managed to cut a third cutting of hay off the fields which is great, however, the hay wagons are in the indoor arena, leaving just a small area to lunge in.  So lunge I did.  I just had the mare in the lunging cavesson and side reins and off we went.  She did quite well and isn't trying to suck behind and avoid contact as much as she did in the past, so that's a win I think.

I then decided to drag the filly back out of the fields.  I bought a blanket from Eous to try on her and I  think it'll do.  I'm hoping it works out well since it has a three year guarantee!  I don't know of anyone else that currently has one, so if any readers have input I'd love to hear.

I then decided to actually work the filly for the first time in a week and put the saddle and cavesson on her as well.  She was good and quiet and rather lazy, so she also got the side reins.  My idea right now is to have them rather loose.  As typical of most Arabians, I think it's easier for them to break at the third vertebrae and duck to avoid trying to hold steady.  I'd rather her just have the side reins a bit looser so when she looks like a total duck going around, she finds that restriction.  So far, so good.  :)  She had a few good laps carrying herself rather well and not so lazy, so a win in my book.  No use harassing the baby much longer.

But I couldn't help myself.

So I drug her over to the mounting block and reminded her that she is supposed to stay standing next to it and not on top of it like me.  Sometimes she has a hard time making that distinction.  Then we just worked on basic baby stuff.  Leaning on the saddle, rustling the stirrups and so forth.  I stood waiting a bit for a reaction and then I finally got it.

Yawn

Seriously filly?  She just turned her head around with all of my shenanigans and make a slow, drawn out yawn complete with eye roll. 

OK, point taken.

A few more carrots and back out into the field she went.  Hopefully she is as quiet under saddle when I start her as she is now.  We shall see.  She is a chestnut mare after all.

Countdown...

Dear Semi Feral Horse,

I am not sure if I am ready for this.  But I hope you are.  If we manage to stay inside the appropriate boundaries and maintain the appropriate gait and pattern, I'll call that a win.  

"Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use."  Ruth Gordon

Love,
Semi Feral Rider

But I'm all sweaty!  And something might eat me, like an umbrella.