Hindsight...

I was looking back through Barokko's journal, trying to get a timeline for when he started showing symptoms of his respiratory issues. Made me realize how long it's actually been since his training has been really on track :(

In Sept-Oct last year, Barokko was showing really good progress. I was getting a better handle of keeping him steady on the bit, we were working on things like counter canter, leg yields in trot, turns on the haunches, lengthenings in trot and canter, and beginning collection work. The way our training was going I expected to debut him at 2nd level at a November show.

In late October he began feeling a bit not-quite-right. At first I thought it was a problem in his front legs, he'd had a bit of swelling in both after a day where some ponies broke into the gelding pasture and they spent all day racing up and down the hills, but I later found out that the swelling was incidental, the NQR'ness I had felt was due to a saddle fit problem. Vet located the problem, told me to try to ride bareback, and if he felt OK then ride him without the saddle until the inflamation had settled and of course to get a new saddle. I rode him bareback for 2 weeks, and got some swesome work out of him in that period. Those 2 weeks in November last year were actually the last really good dressage rides I've had on him...

After the 2 weeks were up, he felt good in his movement and didn't show any pain in his back. We hadn't been on trails much in those two weeks, so the first few ride with a saddle were out in the woods, to let him stretch his legs a bit. After we'd gotten that out of our systems, I was eager to try out the new dressage saddle. Tried to ride him in the arena, but he resisted my forward aids, and again felt NQR, sigh... I checked his back, I tried riding him bareback, tried him in the jumping saddle, but looked like it wasn't a saddle problem this time, now it was something new. He had a bit of a cough, but I didn't think a cough could lead to this kind of reaction...
I called the vet, who suspected a systemic infection. He took a blood sample, and the day after came back with a diagnosis: he had had a mild case of tying up!

The next weeks were spent mostly walking, trying to get him recouperated after having tied up. I adjusted his diet to an EPSM-type diet, made sure to keep a quarter sheet on him for warm-up/cool-down, was very strict about loooong walks before and after exertion, got him out of the stall for turn out or walks several times daily, really did everything in my power to help him get better.
A few weeks later he was doing better, I began slowly adding some interval work to get his endurance back up, began jumping a little again both in the arena and on trails etc.

But alas, already in early Feb, once again he showed a lot of resistance when I asked him to go forward, pinned ears and all. Vet diagnosed a minor infection of the airways, gave him a course of expectorant and told me to keep him in moderate work, as he needed to get the mucous loosened up to get rid of it. After the meds he did get better, and we were able to get back to training. He still didn't go forward nearly as willingly as he did pre-tying up, and training-wise we were almost back to square one.

In late Feb, a bright, sunny, brisk morning, he let me in on his secret dream of being a bucking bronc horse :/ Spiked me head-first into the dirt, resulting in a concussion and neck trauma. A combination of pain and confidence issues meant that I didn't ride much in the next 4-5 months. In March I moved him to a new barn, and got a new trainer who helped me work with Barokko in-hand, which was new for me. I used the in-hand training to keep him supple and to build his topline despite not riding him.
When I did ride him it wasn't really good. Some things were developing positively through the in-hand work I was doing, for example he's gotten really good at lateral movements, but he was very unwilling under saddle, dull to the leg aids and resistant when asked to go forward. But I thought maybe it was to be expected to some degree? He was on 24/7 pasture April-mid August (= fat and lazy?), not ridden in dressage in ages (= dull to the aids?), out of shape from irregular riding (= quickly tires, so that's why he doesn't want to go forward?), and 6 years old (= teenager with attitude?), PLUS I was out of shape from not riding - maybe it was naïve of me to expect anything better???

During the summer he was ridden more often on trails to get him back into shape, and I began riding him more often myself, also, as I regained confidence on him after having practiced on other horses in the meantime ;) When I worked him on the longe I could see that his gaits were good, the residual stiffness after the tying up was completely gone, he was fluid and smooth in his movement, and his topline nicely developed from the in-hand training.
But he's still not rideable in dressage. He does not want to close in the throatlatch and he does not want to be pushed more forward than what he offers himself. He'll give me some very nice transitions, but when asked to keep a good trot or canter he'll resist strongly, tense up, and if pushed too hard he'll pin his ears, swish his tail, and maybe even throw in a buck for good measure - he is not a happy athlete...

During the past few weeks I began noticing he was again coughing a little, and that he easily became winded when riding or longing. I decided to get the vet to check him out. He saw Barokko on the longe, and pointed out that a lot of Barokko's mannerisms that I've gradually become accustomed to, actually are symptoms of respiratory problems. Unwillingness to go forward in a generally energetic horse, pushing his nose down and out (like a parody of FDO) in trot and canter, exagerated rounding of the back in canter, unwillingness to stay in canter despite a perfect, sharp, obediant transition... All of these things have been "normal" for Barokko for months, I've just been blaming myself for not being able to ride him well enough, or not keeping him in good enough shape.

I also became more consciously aware of his breathing patterns, he hyperventilates after very little exertion, and the breathing rate remains elevated for an abnormally long time after exertion. He doesn't cough very often, but he regularly prrrr's to clear his airways. Recently, he's also begun tossing his head a bit, as though his nose tickles (I tried out a muzzle net this morning, and he did toss his head less than he has done the past few days, so maybe it helps that particular symptom a bit, I think I'll continue to use it). Also, his exhalation is sometimes noisier than normal.

When the vet was at the barn, he said he thought it was hypersensitivity/allergy, and to get Barokko moved to a stall with more fresh air, and less dust. I moved him across the aisle to a window stall that same day, and within a couple of days I noticed some improvement. A few days later we had gotten a new stall ready for him, in the far end of the barn, away from the hay loft and grooming areas, the cleanest stall possible in the barn. He's been in the new stall for almost 2 weeks now, but he hasn't improved since the initial improvement from a non-window stall to the first window stall...

I ran into the vet Tuesday, and had a chat with him about Barokko. He basically said if he's not better now, he might not be able to get better without a complete change of environment. I don't have a car, so I'm limited in how far away I can move him, and in the area where I'd realistically be able to have him boarded, there aren't any alternatives that can offer a better environment than the one he has right now... We talked about the possibility of medicinal treatment, but he kind of hummed and hawed, and finally said OK, try a cortisone treatment, and we'll see what happens, but even if it works it's not a treatment he can be maintained on due to the side-effects. He said there might be some other medications that could help, but he seemed very unwilling to suggest any other way of treating him than moving him to a new environment - not that he had any suggestions as to where I could find a better environment for him.

I'm calling a different vet (highly recommended specialist in respiratory problems) tomorrow to get a second opinion, I want him checked out more thoroughly so I know exactly what I'm dealing with, what the treatment options, are and what the prognosis is for him.