Muddy's Pedigree

To view Muddy's pedigree visit http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/mia+utter+dean

Good News!

James said he'd be willing to do some riding on Muddy again. He only wants to walk which is perfectly fine. This will be great. I love riding with James. He hasn't had the opportunity to ride in the indoor arena yet. I think he'll enjoy it.

Riding Muddy 12-08

Lungeing Video

Rode Muddy!

It's been a total of over two months since Muddy has been ridden. I chose to lunge him at the walk for just a bit before getting on him as he seemed a bit grumpy when we were tacking him up. However, he was just fine for the lungeing as well as when I rode him. It came to about 20 minutes total of "work". He seems completely sound.

12/05/08 Brief Update

I have not ridden Muddy since his stifle injections. November has turned out to be quite a busy month for me. Each time I thought I'd be able to go out there and ride, something happened. He's gotten himself a full month of recovery from the hock injection. Normally, most people start their horses back to work several days after the injections. I'm a bit of a worry wort so I didn't mind taking my time. He does seem comfortable on his hocks. He has no trouble lifting them when I pick out his feet. Right now it's pretty muddy out at the barn so Muddy is looking quite like his name. Provided that I start feeling better (I have a cold), I plan to get up on Muddy this weekend.

Muddy & Jaclyn 10-08

Muddy Pictures from 04-08

Video of James riding Muddy

This is a video of James riding Muddy this past summer.

Day 5

James & I took Muddy & Star for a walk today. We went down the road and back. I want to start Muddy back slowly. I don't want to risk him pulling a muscle, getting sore, or injuring his hocks. His age is a factor as well as he hasn't been worked for a month. The plan is for this week to hand walk him quite a bit. We're going to walk him over trot poles & work on his halter skills. If everything goes according to plan, then this next Sunday I'll actually get up on him. He's eating better & doesn't appear to be gassy anymore. One thing to note is that he seems a little sensitive when I'm cleaning his front feet. He has thrush pretty bad. We're still working to correct his feet. When we got him, his feet were very underslung and had contracted heels with deep heel cracks. Muddy's feet are getting better with the help of his farrier Sarah Riggins, but it will be a long process.

Day 4

Muddy was outside when I visited the barn today. He appears to be doing well. He finished his feed , but he's still a little gassy. Today is the last day for the bute. I have some left over just in case. Tomorrow I plan to start him back to work very slowly.

Day 3

Muddy did not clean up his feed tonight. He is eating his hay with zest. Hocks are not swollen and do not feel hot. Muddy does seem a little gassy. Will monitor his condition. He did get to go out today which he was very happy about that. I know Star missed him.

Day 2

Muddy has spent two days in his stall. I've kept his back legs wrapped as he stocks up. He's getting lots of hay and Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage to keep him happy. We are allowed to hand walk him which he enjoyed. Muddy does not appear to be sore. He is receiving 1 gram of bute twice a day which he is handling fine.

Muddy Getting Injected

Muddy Getting Clipped

Muddy Waiting For The Vet

Muddy Goes For Injections

James and I took Muddy for hock injections on Wednesday, October 29th. It was very cold that morning so I put Muddy's blackwatch sheet on him for the ride over. We went inside the vet's office. Muddy wasn't too sure about it. Dr. Simpkins had to clip the areas where Muddy was going to be injected. Muddy stood very patiently as he was clipped. Then Dr. Simpkins and the vet tech scrubbed the areas very clean. It was explained to us that the environment has to be sterile as there is a chance of infection since the needle goes straight into the joint. Muddy then was given an injection to make him sleepy. I was told that it can be quite pain to inject into a joint. Muddy received three injections into each of the four locations. One was an antibiotic, one was a steriod, and one was like HA. Muddy didn't even flinch. Instructions were given to have Muddy on stall rest for two days and bute twice a day for four days. Total cost for the hock injections was $381.40 If all goes well, he will only need it done once a year.

Hock Problems

A few weeks ago during a lesson Muddy began bucking at the canter. I knew instantly that something was wrong. At first, I thought it was a sore back issue. However, I could not get a reaction from him when I pressed on his back.

When my farrier Sarah Riggins came out, I had her look at his feet to see if maybe it could be a hoof issue. She couldn't find any soreness.

It was time for my vet Dr. Simpkins to come out anyhow. I had him check Muddy's teeth, but they were still in great shape from when they were last done in April. He too checked Muddy's back. It was then he suggested that due to his age, Muddy's hocks could be the problem. Dr. Simpkins came back out a few days later. He did flexion tests on Muddy's hocks. Muddy reacted to the tests more so on his right hock. Next Dr. Simpkins took xrays. The xrays showed mild arthritis. Dr. Simpkins said they were actually decent for his age. We discussed options for Muddy. James and I decided to go with hock injections as they seemed his best bet for arthritis relief.

Who Is Muddy?

Muddy is a quarter horse gelding. His registered name is Mia Utter Dean. Muddy's AQHA registration number is 2970268. He was born May 25, 1990. Muddy is stands 15.2 hds and is bay.

I first met Muddy at a barn in Pensacola, FL called Pine Forest Stables. He was owned by a man named Rick Rankin. Mr. Rankin used Muddy for trail riding. I began half leasing Muddy in 1997. Muddy and I took lessons from French dressage master Philippe Galland. Muddy showed great potential in dressage. We were schooling 1st/2nd level movements. I ended half leasing Muddy in 1999. I did so because I knew I would never be able to buy him and I was interested in having my own horse.

Mr. Rankin moved Muddy to a barn in Lillian, AL where Muddy began to be used by hunter jumpter instructor Stephanie DeVries for lessons. Muddy went on to go to hunter shows and was very successful. For the next several years, Muddy was used primarily for hunter.

A few years ago I heard Mr. Rankin was selling Muddy. Unfortunately, I was unable to buy Muddy at the time. I had heard he went to a former student of Ms. DeVries. In 2007, I moved up to Gray, TN. Then in April 2008, I received a call from Ms. DeVries. In October 2007, she found out that Muddy was up for sale again. She went to look at him and found that he was being starved. Ms. DeVries immediately bought Muddy and brought him home to her barn. She nursed him back to health and began using him for lessons. Several months later she contacted me to see if I would be interested in buying Muddy. Finally, I was able to purchase Muddy with the help of my other half James.

Muddy has made the transition from a FL horse to a TN horse very well. At first, the spark that once was Muddy wasn't there. Now Muddy is finally acting like himself again. He comes when called and his ears perk up when he sees us. We are so happy that Muddy is with us and we promise to take the best of care of him for the rest of his time on Earth.