Ari is a good boy. He’d like you to know that. Cookie please.
Ari came back to me after 5 years away (he was sold as a weanling and then changed hands). Sometime after he left the farm but before he came back, he injured a hip. We didn’t know about this at first. He was my daughter Callie’s mount for several years and took her to several expos and one endurance trail ride.
We didn’t notice anything while Callie was riding him, as he didn’t really have to work that hard. But then, sadly, Callie lost interest and Ari was looking for another rider. Enter Monica. Monica started riding here at Cascade Gold in 2008 and she took Ari over. She conditioned him and we went to the Milwaukee Railroad Ride where Galen and Ari both top tenned in the Limited Distance ride. Then, we went to Klickitat where he was pulled at the first vet check. At the time, we thought it was the pulled shoe (flying boot change with riders ahead and behind, woo hoo!)
Monica and Ari at Klickitat
We asked the ride vet if it was the pulled shoe, but the vet said it was something in the hind end. So, a round of (very expensive) Xrays showed a knocked-down hip, which was fine with lighter work, but once we really started conditioning, the ligaments started pulling away from the broken end of his hip bone. So, Ari got a few years off, being middle management for youngsters and basically being a pasture potato. We started bringing him back into very light work and finally, 4 years after his diagnosis, he looks great. I don’t think he was ever in any pain, he just didn’t step as far under with one hind leg. Slow work and lots of stretching seem to have overcome that though. In 2013, he participated in the August 10th Pacific Northwest HorseFlicks filming at the Washington State Horse Park.
Most of the group at the Washington State Horse Park. Ari is there with rider Angela.
He’s also been working up to being able to show locally.
Ari with rider Keiko Young at home.
Ari is now starting some low work over jumps and is doing very well. He is available for lessons and on a half-lease basis.
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