21st October 2005
4th December 2005
In January 2006, he developed a large abcess on his lower jaw, which burst. After x-rays of the jaw, he was diagnosed with osteomyalitis of the lower mandible, and my vet explained to me, honestly, that his chances were pretty slim. Salsa was put on immediate box-rest and had several penicillin injections to fight the infection. He was then put on a daily cocktail of antibiotics and painkillers, and began loosing weight and condition, despite several feeds a day. His jaw had to be cleaned and dressed twice daily. My vet felt that if the antibiotics hadn't made a difference by the date of his next x-ray, he would have to travel to Newmarket for the jaw to be operated on to try to remove the infected tissue. By late February, the abcess wound had virtually healed externally, and the vet suggested that he be allowed to exercise in the school, while we waited to see if the bone itself would begin to mend.
Finally free! - February 2006, after almost six weeks boxrest
A well-deserved roll!
Fortunately, the medication worked, and by the date of his final x-ray, in April, my vet happily informed me that I would be able to start to ride again. I decided, having only had two months riding before his illness, just to go back to scratch with ground work, lungeing, long-reining and pole-work. Salsa had lost a lot of condition, so it was necessary to begin ridden work slowly and carefully, building him back up to fitness.
We had our first "quiet" hack out in early May. Unfortunately, it turned into a horror-ride through the woods. Salsa bolted and we crashed into another horse and rider, who had tried to block our path. The result was a dislocated shoulder and concussion for me, and a broken leg for the other rider. Fortunately, both horses were fine, and after a call for assistance, and one to the police to alert them to the loose horses, they were both found safely. I was so shaken by the incident that another livery offered to ride him round the route we had taken to show him that he couldn't get away with it, and I agreed. After only a few days everyone thought he was a devil horse, "too much" for me and I started to seriously consider just giving up.
I have always lived by the mantra "Teeth, back and tack", and although I couldn't honestly say that bolting was "out of character" for my horse (having only had two months riding before his illness), I knew I had to check out all the physical issues prior to giving up. My instructor suggested that he go on a calmer, and be ridden with a martingale and flash noseband. I had his saddle checked, and my vet came out in his role of dental technician to check his teeth. My vet's opinion was that his jaw may possibly still be tender, or it could be "remembered" pain, and Salsa was scared that the bit was going to hurt him, as he wasn't bothered by the vet's investigations of his mouth.
Salsa and I - May 2006
Despite regular lessons, I couldn't seem to get on top of Salsa's cantering issues. As soon as I asked for the canter transition, he would leap into a gallop and I would feel immediately out of control. In July, I took him to our first show together, and entered the Tack & Turnout and In-Hand classes - I didn't feel I could trust him for anything else, especially given the excitement of the showground itself. I booked him for another saddle-fitting, as I wasn't convinced that it wasn't the cause of the problem.
Tack & Turnout - July 2006
At Sal's second saddle-fitting, I was finally told that the saddle didn't fit "correctly", and he had considerable back pain. I was recommended an equine physiotherapist and over Summer and Autumn 2006, Salsa had several treatments, and several more saddle-fittings. We tried, on various saddle-fitter's recommendations, front-riser pads, rear-riser pads, thick saddle-cloths, no saddle-cloth... nothing made any difference, although his physiotherapist did inform me that the pain was improving.
By Winter, I started to question why we were still trying to make the saddle fit, when it clearly didn't. It was an adjustable Wintec 500, but Sal seemed to be in-between sizes. I felt I had missed out on a year's worth of work and fun with my horse, and Sal had spent most of the year suffering. My instructor rode Salsa on one of our regular schooling sessions, it was a disaster. He was clearly unhappy and uncomfortable. It was the final straw, and I had another saddle-fitting session. I tried a new, wool-flocked Sabre saddle in December. Salsa's behaviour improved and so I bought it in January 2007.
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