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Those are all great ideas! Thank you!

She never seemed to be as much into toys as some goofy gelding I know, but it's certainly worth a try as she does like to use her brain.

I was kinda hoping I could have a 3 day eventing lesson soon and take her and tie to the fence or something, but the last time I did that at the home barn a chair flew under her and she spooked and broke a fence post. (Even though she used to be the type of horse I would be comfortable tying infinitely long). Also the place where the lesson is the opposite direction of the barn from my dorm and significantly further.

Lexi is doing fantastically! We're now up to 10 minutes of trotting and she's informing me she's ready to gallop. Haha. Mom's trying to convince me I need to start acing her before I ride, but Lexi is only fake wild when I have a saddle on.... Otherwise she's in perfect form. Haha. Although today a bird spooked her and I thought I was gonna come off there for a second. lol. But then when I was coming off the side she was like Oh oops. And then stopped to let me back on. I don't think it was a real spook considering we probably have dozens of hours riding in the forest and almost nothing has bothered her.

The only concerning thing is at the beginning of every time trotting she really doesn't want to go. I'm not completely convinced if its physical or mental. She used to do something similar all the time. And she used to do it worse when we were in a pasture instead of an arena. (I know, super bizarre, but she's a very intelligent horse and she for sure knows the difference between work time and hang out time). However she was also doing it the worse she's ever done it right before she got really sore and we had to take her to the big vet 2 hours away.

Oh also, maybe try her on a lunge line with tack on! You'll be able to watch her gait closely for unusual movement or limping etc, and you can also see if maybe the saddle is bothering her somehow.

She doesn't sound crazy to me :D I had a paint gelding who loved to express himself as well, and they really are wonderful. If you let them express their personality, it seems they repay you by being willing to think through problems themselves, and being more willing to learn and work. With my boy, he would give a big head toss whenever moving into a faster gait. It used to terrify my mom until she realized that it was just a happy hop (he loved to run). He also had opinions if we had him turned out in the round pen... he would find a good spot and roll once or twice, but then if he got bored he would bang his hoof on the bottom rail (metal) until he got our attention... then make a pretty face until we came to let him out. =)) He was an absolute goofball and he was constantly trying to get away with something, but as soon as he got the idea that I wouldn't let him, he shaped up and put his energy into working instead.

I think it's a great idea to have her doing "work" while she's at the walk, then let her relax at the trot. That's the perfect way to work her back into a willing trot. I'd recommend dropping the reins as much as possible and letting her go whatever direction she wants to as long as she stays at the trot, but I'm not sure if that's possible if you have to control her speed. That was always a good mental break for my guy though... he got to wander and look at what he wanted to and go where he wanted to, but if he broke his gait then I got control back.

Can you do obstacles or ground poles with her or anything like that? Maybe a distraction from the anticipation of pain would help her to realize that everything will be ok.

Oh no, I'm so sorry! That's such a heartbreak to lose a beloved pet. My doggo is 13ish years old and starting to have health problems... I have the feeling this may be our last year with him, so he's been getting spoiled more than usual lately.

He's a rescue mutt. We think maybe chihuahua/rat terrier mix of some sort. Some guy was giving him away for free on the internet because he and his wife got divorced and neither of then wanted the dog around to remind them of each other. When I met this guy in the parking lot of a Walgreens, he pulled my dog out of the truck with about 3 days worth of dog food and handed him to me. No leash or anything. Then he just drove away.

My dog was really thin and allergic to his food, so he had no hair on his neck or chest and he was covered in scabs from itching so much. He was abused too, I think, so he was absolutely terrified of strangers. For a couple of years my husband and I were the only people he trusted and he would try to attack and bite anyone that came through the door. But after enough time he learned to trust people that we introduced him to slowly, and eventually he pretty much became ok with people, now he only freaks out if someone walks into our house without us letting them in. Which I'm ok with anyway.

Ever since we got him, he's gained weight and grown most of his hair back. He's completely spoiled and sleeps on the couch or human bed most nights. We know all of his favorite foods (watermelon, green beans, or hard boiled eggs) and I have a hard time keeping blankets clean because any time I get a new throw blanket he immediately claims it as his and curls up in it.

I know when he's gone I'm going to miss a million things. His nails click on the floor when he's walking around upstairs, and it drives me nuts when I'm trying to sleep. But I can't imagine not hearing it either.

11 1/2 years is an amazingly long life for boxers. She was lucky to have chosen a human who loved her so much and took care of her for so long. I hope your heart heals. Missing our babies never goes away... I had to rehome my gelding I was talking about when I graduated high school, because I couldn't afford to board him and my parents couldn't afford a horse that they didn't feel safe to ride. He went to a young girl who loved him to pieces and rode him in events. I know he's gone now (he would have been 33 this year) but even so, anytime I drive past a bay tobiano with a big butt, I still have to check the markings to see if it's him.

Just remember that your sweet girl loved you and knew that you loved her. I'm keeping you in my thoughts. Hugs <3

Ughhhh I'm jealous, that looks so fun! I love all of the horses in their shaggy winter coats. Looks like you managed to get some riding in before the weather decided to be ridiculous :P

She's beautiful! You're right, she looks much better in the first video. You looked much more at ease at the trot in the more recent one too... she has a really lovely gait. I ride western but was trained from a young age to post the trot. I haven't been able to break the habit and it make my mom's horse nervous for whatever reason (probably because she's always been ridden western by cowboy-types so maybe she thinks I'm going to bounce right off of her :)) )

Do you know how tall your mare is? She looks huge, especially bareback.

I think if she was sound we could do even better. I've put lots of work into her "spin".

Yeah it's definitely hard! There's not much acreage here either. But occasionally you'll find someone wanting a pasture ornament

Video coming soon but she looks really off in the hind end now and it's making me pretty worried again

It's hard to tell. They both look great to me but they're not my horses either. Lexi seems really willing and has really great forward movement... one or two stumbles maybe? It does look like she was itching for a good long roll int he mud towards the end, though :)) Seems like she's tracking well.

Boston reminds me of my gelding. He was a big tobiano paint gelding also, although my guy had more white on him. I miss that boy.

Isn't someone on here in a veterinary job of some sort? I feel like it might have been Lallyhop that I saw talking about it but it was a while back whe. I first joined. I don't know what I'm talking about with lameness unless it's extremely obvious, tbh. It doesn't seem like you're getting a lot of head tossing or hesitation when you ask her to change gaits, etc. Those are the kind of things I would notice more than anything.

I've never done any "real" jumping but always wanted to try. It's not particularly a western saddle-friendly sport lol and I've never ridden in anything else. I put my horse over a section of log once or twice and he put up with it but I didn't want him to get hurt.

Comparing back to the roping video you shared, I can see now that her trot seems a little more stiff in the hind legs than before. I imagine this is all similar to physical therapy for her? Like getting her muscle tone built back up and all?

My Mom and her BF (who is a small town ranch type vet) watched two videos last night and they said she's probably okay. I just need to warm her up longer and not do tight turns etc. But I'm not convinced. Same video I showed her last week and she's like OMG that's so horrible why didn't you get off. So I don't really feel better yet. If she's getting lame with less than 10 minutes of trotting and less than 10 minutes of cantering then I don't see how she be even pleasure sound.

I really appreciate the input

I appreciate it thank you.

Yea we used to have regular chiropractor visits for her all the time, but Mom didn't want to pay for a chiropractor for a horse that wasn't doing anything. I'll ask about maybe getting her a chiropractor visit now that we're trying to do more things again. I'm not sure what chiropractor options are now that we're at "school" and not home.

https://youtu.be/V9-ciMOmHuQ

@LumosRain

Thank you!! I"m so grateful to my Mom for Lexi.

Saddle fit is certainly a possible problem, but surprisingly the average cinchiness is slightly better. Although is vvaries WAY more. It used to always be moderately bad. And now its sometimes horribly bad and sometimes unnoticeable.

I'm so glad our arena is rideable now! While I was away on christmas break it was covered in snow. So I am very fortunate.

Yes, she's very special for me. I don't mind what we do together, I just hope she'll be sound enough I can ride in public without people coming up to me and saying my horse is crippled what am I doing riding her? (obvioulsy her being happy is the main thing, but as of now she still seems to want to work)

I really apreciate you reading through!

Lexi Saturday The pivo was being weird SAturday. So sorry video is terrible. But you can see a little bit.

When I was in equine massage school they emphasized looking at the back legs and how close they fell to the front hoof-prints, as a way to look for lameness and stiffness. I don’t believe you mentioned the exact legs she injured, but I went on youtube and watched some videos from 3 yrs ago to see how she moved then for a comparison. In the walk she steps really far under herself, her back feet almost always land in her front foot hoofprints. At the trot she's almost always steps what looks like a couple inches behind those front hoofprints. In your more recent videos she doesn’t always reach that front hoofprint at the walk, and steps a lot shorter at the trot as well. I would look at exercises to loosen her hindquarters and stretch and strengthen them. Calm slow lateral steps are what I use for my mare. The Balancing Act is a great book to read for any horse owner, especially those wanting the best for their horses.

For me I have found I have to trust myself more than others with my mare. While vets, chiropractors, farrier and mentors with decades of experience are amazing and are needed for their individual expertise. They don’t know your horse as well as you do. If you think she’s lame, or off, then she is probably off, even if they can’t see it. My mare did something to her stifle last summer, I had several people out to look at her nobody saw it, they even did a flexion test and didn’t see anything, they all said it was fine, and I should be fine riding her. But I knew her gaits were slightly off. I gave her two months off until I knew she was back to normal. Do I respect any of their advice any less? No. I just realized that I have spent years watching how my mare moves, and can see and feel the most minute difference in her way of going. Things others will miss because she isn’t their horse. Long story short trust yourself more. Lexi is your priority and you are doing everything that you can to help her heal, don’t doubt yourself.

That’s why you trust yourself, not Lexi. At least when it comes down to keeping her sound.

I have done a little bit of counter bending, but I use it to gain shoulder control.

This is a video of what I mean about lateral steps. It’s in German which I don’t speak so I have no clue what they are saying, but it demonstrates the steps better than any other video I have found. The first half of the video, is what I use to loosen my mare’s hindquarters so she can step under herself better. It also strengthens and stretches the hindquarters and back. The trotting I don’t do often since I’m not handy at in hand work, and shoulder in requires a degree of collection my mare doesn’t have yet. It also explains it in the description.
https://youtu.be/q1SoD6jznV8

Lexi felt fantastic today! Although I accidentally left the jumps up from Boston and she was CONVINCED they were set up for her and I thought she was gonna rip my arms off today.
2/11

https://youtu.be/AJ7OUpp8-KM

Another oh my god horrible day. The weird thing is I didn't catch it.... She felt great. My poor non horsey BF is trying to be comforting and im just freaking out. And of course I didn't video yesterday but she felt fantastic. And video from two days ago she even looked fantastic.... And it's a different leg than had been looking bad

Honestly, watching the videos for the 11th and the 14th my immediate thought is saddle fit. Bareback she did look fine, moving free and easy, but under that western saddle she seemed unhappy moving on a right lead and her gaits just weren’t the same. If her getting out of shape had changed her saddle fit, that could be her problem now. I'd definitely check it out before you panic, at least. If she's off under saddle and fine bareback, it could easily be her muscles have changed and now the saddle puts pressure on her in a way she doesn't like.

She just has to be difficult to figure out, doesn't she? lol If it were me, I'd lay off the trotting and cantering circles for a week or so again and see if that makes any difference in her attitude and her movement. If not, then working her a few minutes at a time is probably not what causes the difference from day to day.

The way she moved under saddle and the way she moved bareback were so different that it makes me think that's where the path to answers starts, unless of course there was another difference that day. Maybe a buddy going out without her (or a new horse coming in) made her fuss in her stall when you weren't around and she ended up sore, or it was colder and made her feel a little stiff, or maybe she was just feeling grouchy about doing arena work that day and has caught on that when she's lame you stop making her work.

Another big difference is the warm up time. On Saturday she walked around non horsey friends for 30 minutes before I did some riding and she looked pretty good. Saturday

I think it was too dense of an area for Mom's BF to x ray, but I wonder if the vet in the big city could do it?

Yeah its already snowing and its not supposed to stop for 3 days. I'm trying to decide if I can go out now. Its for sure too snowy for me to go out tomorrow or the next day. But I typically only miss one day in a row. It seems horrifying and somewhat like abuse to miss 3x in a row. (She's still in a stall per doctor's orders). Although I guess in the beginning she was in a stall for over a month, but I always came and visited her everyday and sometimes got her out to brush her even if we couldn't walk.

I just almost wonder if we should push back her next doctor's appointment.

Yes, I do lift her feet forward. It does seem to help quite a bit. Her western girth is pretty fleecy and she seemed to like it when we first got it.

It's a difficult area to xray for sure, but either of them should be able to once you ask them to do it. As for the vet appointment, I would call and talk to him, see what he says. Once he hears how she's been, he might want to give it more time and wait until you get her up to whatever standard he had set for what she should be doing by the time he saw her again. It's very seldom a bad thing to take a horse too slowly when you rehab them, but the opposite is very much not true. Slow and steady truly does win races eventually if it's done well, but hard and fast often leads to lame horses. The vet might even let you send the videos of her being worked, and then he could give his opinion on them. We could all just be looking so hard for lameness that we're seeing it when she's really just a little stiff or even lazy. lol

And missing three days in a row would only be abuse if you do all her feeding and watering. Since she's being boarded, I would think she'll be fine. She'll be happier seeing you, sure, but if you're not comfortable driving on ice then you shouldn't do it. You can't see her at all if you end up in a wreck and in the hospital.

When I had horses and the weather was bad most of mine, like me, just wanted to stay inside with a snack. ;) I still always had to brave the weather twice a day to feed and water, no matter what the weather was, but when it was nasty out nobody got worked except for me. :)) Every time we got snow in particular the power would go out and with it the well, so I would have to haul water from my storage barrels the first day, then from the neighbor's spring about a quarter mile away after that. The worst time was around 10 inches of ice and snow, then 13 days with no power because pretty much every line within fifty miles was on the ground and the local electric co-op only had four three-man crews. It was record-breaking cold for NE Texas, and by the time the power came back I was sure it was time to cut back from the 14 horses I was taking care of at the time, plus about a dozen goats and a hundred or so birds. Selling birds and eggs paid my feed bills, sure, but those two weeks without power I spent a lot of time wishing I didn't have them, especially when I was out in the cold chopping wood for the old iron stove in the big coop to keep them warm with no heat lamps. lol