It’s beginning to look a lot like… last year? May has been an interesting month to say the least. We started out with the first rodeo of the year the first weekend of May. And along with it came some alley troubles, again. I have been feeling like every time I enter somewhere, I might improve one thing, but then everything else is falling apart. I was able to warm up in the grass with no problems, but struggled getting into the ring. It wasn’t as terrible as I had last year but it is not something I want to keep happening. As for the actual run, our second barrel was pretty good, but that’s about it. I got really flustered going up the alley. Stinger started out on the wrong lead and then we kinda sorta trotted around the first barrel, plus we knocked the third. Like I said, everything was falling apart.
When I first came out of the run, I was trying to stay positive, picking out the good things and what we improved on, but the more I watched and rewatched the video (2.5 hours home allows for a lot replays and nitpicking), I was just plain embarrassed of that run. It’s so hard to go to a rodeo (even though we ran in slack) and have a run like that when I know we practiced and practiced and had much better runs at home. I know my nerves play a huge part in competition runs, so the week ahead involved practicing with headphones and music playing. I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t fall out in a run and that I could still think about what I needed to do.
Our next show was two weeks later. I entered the open class and was determined to have a better run. We figured out the timing for when to give Stinger his calming paste and when to warm up before the run. I had my headphones and music ready, and I felt really confident. The only obstacle we were expecting was getting up the alley. My Aunt Sue and I were draw 5 and 6, and we ended up in the same drag. She would usually lead me in and get on after, but I have to put her rubber bands on, so she needed to be on before I ran. This actually surprised us both and I was able to get Stinger up the alley without any help, although he did give me some trouble again, I managed. That’s where our run went south, or should I say north… Stinger ducked left at the first barrel and went up towards the third. I did make him come back around and finish the pattern, but I felt so defeated. Now that he did this twice, it couldn’t be a coincidence.
The next day we went to a small local show to try a couple exhibitions. We did everything the same, even the music, and we had the same problem. I tried to get him to lope a couple circles around the first barrel and I could barely get him to do that. I went in for a second run and it was worse, I ended up just walking the pattern. Finally, my Aunt Sue took him through the pattern, and she couldn’t get him to turn the first. She even tried to go to the left barrel first (which he turned beautifully), but when she got to the second, he still wouldn’t turn it. I was in tears, after everything we tried and now, we are back in the exact same spot as last year.
After the show and a lot of discussion, we decided to take him back to the vet to have his right stifle looked at. We had noticed Stinger would sometimes be stiff after first getting him out of the stall until he got moving around. Then while I was bathing him, he kicked me in the leg when I got towards his right hip. He had problems with his stifle locking last year and intermittently since, so I thought maybe that could be the problem.
So, for the next two weeks I just continued to ride at home and went to two other shows to ride around and for moral support, waiting for our appointment. In the meantime, we also went to our town’s Memorial Day Parade. Both ponies were perfect even with all of the commotion, the rain even went around us, and we stayed dry (we were prepared and rode in raincoats).
Our appointment at the vet was on June 4th. Almost exactly one year later from the first appointment and first lameness exam. I was expecting to find problems with his stifle thinking that would explain his behavior. After a couple minutes of evaluation, the vet decided to x-ray his right stifle and see what she could find. That ended up being nothing, no fractures, no arthritis, nothing of significance. So, we opted to continued investigating with an ultrasound of the area since he was already sedated. This just showed a small amount of effusion (swelling) on his meniscus, and she did recommend injecting it and see if he has any improvement. The thing that we weren’t expecting was a recommendation to also inject his fetlocks.
The vet asked us how long he had the swellings on his legs, which we thought were normal windpuffs. Apparently, his were not windpuffs, but fetlock effusions, which are not good. He has had them the entire time we owned him. We didn’t need to get any x-rays for these, because when the fluid is present it often means there is already arthritis in the joint.
After a long day at the vet, we started our one-week period of slowly coming back into full work, following the vet’s recommendations. Then we will see if there are any improvements, so come back for updates later.
This month really highlights the ‘downs’ of barrel racing. I wanted to be really transparent about everything I am going through with Stinger. Social media has plenty of the perfect runs and the camera-ready moments, but not enough of the behind the scenes and ugly runs. I was nervous about writing this post and including the videos of my runs, but I want to show other people they aren’t alone if they are having similar problems and to explain how I am working through these issues. I also filmed my very first reel from the May Rodeo for Facebook/Instagram! Well, my mom actually did the filming, and it only took about three or four takes before we got it right. Go follow us and check it out!
The Barrel Racer's Journal 