Clinic Time

Best Pony and I are off to a clinic in Cochrane with buddies EM and Spider.  Wish us luck!

In the meantime, we got our pro photos from the endurance ride a few weeks ago.

This was probably about 6 miles in, Dee and Snappy still were convinced that zoom was the only acceptable pace

L is only 10 and her pony is 5, combined they have less experience than Dee (and while Dee was good, they were great!)

Best Pony Has Nicer Stuff Than Me

So while I am in the midst of trying to clamp down on spending, since we are in the process of buying an acreage (if we ever find one we can agree on), I have made some purchases recently that I feel zero guilt about. (Who am I kidding, tack purchases never make me feel guilty)

I love shipping things to work, I get to take time out of my day to play grabby hands!

First off, PS of Sweden had one of the bridles I've been eyeing up in their outlet.  It was so reduced it was practically begging me to buy it. So Dee now has a beautiful brown Flying Change bridle. The nose band is a little stiff so it fits a little funny right now, but as it break in I am sure it will be fabulous! The only weird thing is the throatlatch I ordered has no holes in it.  Has anyone else ordered one? Is this normal, do I just punch holes in it? Now the hunt is on for a brown dressage saddle!

It's so snazzy!

A while ago, I ordered some stuff from Beka.  She was super awesome and let me order some things I'd seen her do but weren't in her store. Because Canada Post moves at the speed of a glacier I just got my package yesterday.

It was completely worth the wait! And the timing actually worked out well. I got it just in time to use my new "Good Juju" charm for our first XC school of the year. And it worked, we couldn't have had a better ride. I knew I wanted a white skull but that was it, so I told Beka that the rest was dealers choice.  I love how it came out, with the teal bead and the stamped tag. This will live on my jump bridle from now on.  I can use all the help I can get.

I also ordered another "Best Pony" tag for her halter since I lost the one Beka had originally made for me (Two Pointober winnings!). A "Courage In The Middle" bracelet and a set of tags for my field boots rounded out my order. I can't recommend Straight Shot Metal Smashing enough. Beka is a joy to deal with. Since her Etsy store isn't set up to ship to Canada and I ordered items not on her store we communicated via email and she was quick to respond, super helpful and gave me many options I didn't even think of.

I also got a few extras in my pacakage. One of the extras is her signature bracelet with the horse shoe. I LOVE IT.  I've been wearing it for only half a day and I've had multiple compliments on it.  It's perfect for me to wear to work.

I also got a key chain that I will be using as a halter tag for the #littleasshole. Seriously though folks, Beka is the best, go visit her store and buy it all!

How perfect are these?!?

Eventers do Endurance

This weekend saw Dee return to competition. Since we have just been cleared to start jumping it was not an event or even a jumper show.  Nope, we attended our first endurance ride with my friend Julie and her daughter Laurel. Since I've never done this before (and neither had Julie), Dee is returning from an injury, and it was located in the Devon river valley (extremely hilly) I decided that we should just do the fun ride rather than the 25 mile. The fun ride was only one 12 mile loop.

I love eventing, but if I ever get to the point where I no longer feel the passion or desire to continue I will transition to endurance. That's how much fun it was!

The ride was incredibly well organized and everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful. The organizers had appointed one person as the liaison for the 12 milers. She was awesome, she walked us through the whole process and was always around to answer questions.

We registered and then vetted in. The vet actually commented on how nice it was to have one of the fun ride horses stand still. We vetted in with all A's and got a very enthusiastic "good luck" from the vet.

We still look like eventers :)

We decided to head out with the first group since Julie's horse doesn't handle standing around and waiting very well. We stuck to the back of the pack and held back after the first mile. All 3 horses were raring to go but manageable.

Smiles all the way around

About halfway through the ride someone rode right up Laurel's butt (we never heard them call out, we would have stopped and waited for them to pass), spooking her young pony. Her pony bolted into Julie's horse, who bolted into Dee. Thankfully Dee is Best Pony and she basically ignored them.  They both were getting there horses under control while the pair who caused the incident just kept trucking along past us. Irritating but manageable.

Shortly after this we caught up with another pair of 12 milers right before Suicide Hill (it's steep, but not nearly as bad as the name makes it sound). We waited until they were half way down the hill before we started down. Their lead horse kept stopping and refusing to go, so we ended up asking to pass. Apparently they thought it would be a great idea to use us as a lead down the hill and promptly put their horse's nose into Laurel's pony's tail. Poor pony had had enough of that nonsense and kicked. Thankfully she did not connect when she kicked but we got a lecture about red ribbons at the bottom of the trail. In an effort to be polite we just smiled and nodded.

They passed us again and we shortly arrived at a very long, steep hill. Once again we waited until they had a head start before starting up.  Once again their horse kept quitting part of the way up so we caught up to them around one of the bends. In a seriously irritating move they then told us that our horses were puffing way too hard and we should take a break.  There was absolutely no where to stop safely and comfortably until you were at the top. Our horses were puffing, but not to an extent I was worried. Hills are not something we have around our place so we don't get to do much hill work. So once again, I just smiled and nodded.

We took a short break for the horses to catch their breaths at the top of the hill and then continued on. We caught up to the pair again, passed them and thankfully didn't see them again.

The rest of the ride passed without incident and all 3 horses pulsed down quickly. We ended up completing in just over 2 hours. We vetted out with all A's again, thanked the volunteers, scarfed down some delicious cookies that were provided and were on our way home.

Despite a few small irritants it was possibly one of the funnest rides in a long time. On the way out and on the way in we passed a bunch of longer distance riders and every single one wished us luck or asked us how it went. I'd go back in a heartbeat.  And do the 25 mile.

*Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the grease crayon number off Dee's butt? She's had a bath, been groomed and nothing is making a difference*

Not So Wild Anymore

*No horses or humans were injured during the following events, despite many dark thoughts by both*

We've been working with Sullivan at least once a day for the past 6 weeks now. For the first 4 weeks I vacillated between "Oh god, he's awful and he'll need to find a new home" and "He's just a baby, a super smart baby with a mile-wide stubborn streak, he'll come around". And then at the beginning of week 5 he got his feet trimmed...

Wide-eyed, but he stood quietly for 2 hours

I love my farrier. Sullivan, despite having had all 4 feet picked up every day for well over a week, decided he wasn't having any of this farrier nonsense. He would pick up his foot and promptly jerk it back. When that didn't work well, he reared up, backed up, threw himself into the wall, whatever he could think of. He knocked my farrier on his ass and managed to catch me in the chest with one of his front legs during a time when he reared and tried to run me over. After that he got quite a thrashing. It seemed to give him the clarity required. After that he stood like a perfect gentleman for all 4 feet. He's also been super good for his feet since.

My mom worked him in the round pen (She used to train and her timing is so much better than mine)

He then spent a few hours in a stall (for the first time) while Dee was hot shod. He handled the smoke and banging much better than I anticipated. The next day I borrowed a western saddle from my mom and he learned to pony, once again, it went much better than expected. I'm not sure if it was the clarity instilled by the farrier or just something clicking but he's been super since that day.

Notice his legs are basically the same length as Dee's?

In the last two weeks he's learned about fly spray, blankets, baths, trot poles, going down the road, and trailer rides just for the sake of it. He's even jumped cross rails in hand! He's been super about all of it.  He may object at the very beginning of something new but it doesn't take him long to figure out what I want.

So clean and soft now

I feel confident in kicking him out to pasture now.  Sure he may be a little wild when he comes back in but the foundation is now there.

Exercise sheet works perfectly as a training blanket

He loads solidly now, ramp, no ramp, back out, turn around, it's all good

#littleasshole

My horses are actually at the same facility for the first time! In the middle of April I moved both Dee and Sullivan to our summer barn. The plan is to have Sullivan there for 4-6 weeks so that he can grow up and learn some manners. After he's had some education he's going to get shipped out to a family members cattle farm. I want him to grow up in a big field and to just be a horse. He'll go out with half a dozen ranch horses and I have confidence that they'll keep him in line.

Up until this point Sullivan has lived at Shimmer-E's, where he was born. Unfortunately her place is over an hour from me, in the opposite direction of where Dee has been boarded. Between working full-time, part-time university classes, working out at least 3 days a week and one performance horse I hardly have time to see The Boy, never mind trek out to fight with an opinionated rather obnoxious weanling. I have complete faith in his care so I refused to add more stress to my life and instead decided to bring him home in the spring and deal with him then.

This is still his default attitude (he was maybe 9 weeks old here)

It sure has been an experience.  After a few go-rounds this winter, where Sullivan refused to be caught or lead we dubbed him #littleasshole. He ripped off a few (leather halters), threw himself on the ground rather than cooperate and was rather disagreeable.  It took us over 90 minutes to catch him and get him out of his pen when I went to pick him up.  I never would have guessed that getting him to walk out of his pen would be harder than getting him to load.

I bribed the neighbour kid to work with him. She's basically a savant with young horses. She's 12 and has already started more horses than most people ever own. So she works with my little monster and in exchange I will pay for, and haul her to the Beaumont event in June.

Such a donkey

In the two weeks he's been home she's taught him to be caught (still a work in progress, but vastly improved), to stand tied, to lead and to pick up his front feet. While he still has moments where he gives you the death glare and says no, he has come a long way. He has an opinion on everything and doesn't hesitate to share it with you. Perhaps he has the soul of a chestnut mare ;)

I have a feeling that he will always be my #littleasshole no matter how big or well-behaved he gets.

He can be cute and well behaved

Always One More Time

I've been doing a lot of this...

Long slow straight distances

And more of this, on varied terrain...

Best Pony thinks water is great fun

And with company...

DogDog is fat and needs more exercise so she comes on our walks

We are up to 6 minutes of trot :)

We've been going for daily walks that last between 60 and 90 minutes.  This gives me plenty of time for introspection. I've been thinking alot about how much anxiety I have because of jumping. Frankly, I'm terrified on a regular basis. I rode my friend's Training level packer in a lesson over fences that were 2'6" - 2'9" and I spent a good portion of the lesson just trying to breathe through the anxiety. I knew that no matter what happened Martini would take care of me and yet I still struggled.

Before the red mare and my accident I had no concept of this kind of fear. Now it is a daily struggle. I have a safe and honest horse. I'm a good rider with a solid seat. Yet, cantering down to a 2'6" oxer can paralyze me with fear.

But I keep coming back to it. Eventing has a hold of my heart and no amount of misplaced anxiety seems to be loosening it's grip. So I keep saddling up and keep giving it a solid effort.  Some days are highs and some are lows but every day is still a step in the right direction.

Today I came across this post and it resonated with me so strongly I immediately had to write this post.

Always one more time has been my philospohy, Alexandra Franzen just gave me the right words to describe it.

When I get disheartened I will remind myself. I will softly repeat it every time I feel like giving up. I will recount is loudly every time I canter up to a XC fence that unnerves me.

Always one more time.

We're Not Dead, Just Boring

I can't believe it is already April!

I haven't blogged in quite awhile because first things were super busy, and then they got supremely boring.  Dee and I hauled down to Cochrane for a Sandra Soklowski clinc (she's a physiotherapist who works with riders) and squeezed in some lessons with our alternate trainer Sam. The next weekend we cliniced with Sandra Donnelly again, with great success.

Then on February 15, Dee came in from the pasture lame. Head-bobbing, painfully lame. I buted her and decided to give her a week off.  The pastures were super icy from this year's lovely freeze and thaw cycle so we figured she slipped. When a week had passed with no improvement I hauled her out to my vet.

After a lameness exam and copious blocking it was decided that she was sore in the navicular area and the most likely culprit was a collateral ligament injury. Dr. Jazz and I discussed doing an ultrasound but she told me it would be hit-or-miss if we could see anything. An MRI was the most foolproof way of conclusively diagnosing. Since the treatment would be the same I decided to hold off on the expensive imaging and just take her home to let time do it's job.

Stall rest has given me a horse that is excited to see me (or my cookies)

The treatment? 6 weeks of stall rest. Dee has a habit of weaving when she is stressed so it was imperative that we keep her content. Thankfully my barn has an outdoor medical pen. It backs onto the pony pen  and the shavings shelter so she has company and a windbreak.

We're into the 6th week and she is feeling better for sure.  Handwalking is akin to flying a kite or taming a dragon. In order to keep her calm and collected I've taken to ponying her and we're both much happier this way.

All our spring plans are cancelled or put on hold.  But my horse is happy, and really the timing could have been much worse. Hopefully we get the all clear on Monday to start the rehab.

Fat and furry but getting interested in people.

Crippling Vet Bills Averted

Best Pony continues to be awesome.  I've been putting drops in her eye for 6 days now and not once has she been rude about it.  The worst she does is squeeze her eye shut so hard I can't pry it open.  So I just pull down the lower lid, insert drops and voila!

I did have the vet look at it and she said it was healing perfectly and to just keep doing what I'm doing until I see no signs of the injury.

4 days of drops

I also managed to track down a flymask for her to wear until it is fully healed.  She looks completely ridiculous (it's got bug eyes)!  Hopefully only for a few more days.

Everyone wants cookies

Horses Be Horses, But It Still Sucks When It's Yours

I went out to the barn yesterday, excited for our first jump lesson since before Christmas.  When I pulled Dee out of the field all the excitement vanished.  Her eye was swollen, hot and leaking.  I might have had a few moments of panic because of what had just happened to a horse my mom knew.

This is the most she would open her eye yesterday

One of the horses at my mom's barn scratched his cornea on Jan 1.  The owner treated it for a few days and then waited a few more days before taking him to the vet.  When they did make it to the vet he was completely blind and the eye was so damaged that the only option were to remove the eye or put him down.  As he already had balance issues, which would have been severely compounded by the loss of his eye, they opted to put him down on Jan 9.

I know that eyes are not something to mess with.  So I called my vet as soon as I took a deep breath and stopped the runaway my-horse-is-going-to-die-and-leave-me-with-crippling-vet-bills-and-no-best-pony thought train.  He recommended flushing it with saline and putting in medicated eye drops (the kind you can get for people) for a day or two.  If her eye isn't looking better by Friday then I will take her in. Of course, the only thing I don't have in my (extensive) first aid kit is eye drops.  I do have salt so I can mix up a mild saline solution though.

Best Pony may have to be renamed Sainted Pony.  She was incredibly tolerant of me rinsing her eye.  After I'd rinsed it as best as I could I then hot-packed it for 20 minutes.  I think she actually enjoyed that part. Luckily the barn owner had some eye drops that she gave me so I was able to treat it.

I drove out this morning to do the whole thing again and it was marginally better. The swelling has come down some and it wasn't running anymore.  Once again she was completely compliant and didn't' even try and avoid me.  Fingers crossed that it is looking better tonight.

It may look like the middle of the night but it was almost 8am, I'm so sick of winter.

WW:Baby's First Trim

Best farrier.  Worked with him since I've failed on that front and got all 4 feet done

**I'm a terrible blogger.  I've actually been busy at work so I'm hoping I will get back to it soon.