DefinitelyDressage.com

heddylamar

Today was the first actually cold day here, and we had a lesson :shock: In true red-headed fashion, Maia was a handful for the first half of the lesson, then very fun and forward for the rest of the ride. We worked on one thing the entire ride — how many times can I ask and receive overbend on a cir...

heddylamar

It's great to see you back here, Flight & Mari!

heddylamar

All the good recovery thoughts headed your way @Chisamba! My mom is doing the same thing — I'm headed her way in a few weeks to take care of her and the menagerie while she gets a new hip. She'll have two bionic joints with this one. The recovery was pretty easy for her the first time because she wa...

heddylamar

My aunt's last prix st george horse was also her trail horse. And my uncle hunted off her. Back country and guns kind of hunting, not chasing hounds through fields.

heddylamar

Apparently finding a new jumping trainer is in my forecast for this set of goals. Mine has decided to no longer teach out of our barn, and I just don't have the time to haul over to where she's teaching conveniently nearby but at very inconvenient (for me) times. Goals: - Start with a new jumping tr...

heddylamar

@Khall, my mom's old appy used to stand outside looking up at the sky, trees, birds ... We used to say (not entirely jokingly) that he needed glasses. He was quite the funny guy. I'm always amused by horse people (sorry for generalizing ;) ) diagnosing some whacky problem they've perceived that my h...

heddylamar

That sounds incredibly frustrating @Fzybtfrm! It sounds like your place is too quiet. I'd use this off season and start amping up the pressure at home — if he's okay with tarps, add flowers and balloons. Ride him up to the open (empty) horse trailer, ride him next to the open horse trailer with a ra...

heddylamar

That is awful, Aleuronx. My uncle had something similar happen with his sweet hunting horse (the long gun variety). It sticks with you. I've been hugging my girl a lot lately. Maia's being funky. She's probably going into season like most of the other mares, but with her medical history, I'm watchin...

heddylamar

The gypsy sounds like a great arrangement @lips! So generous! Maia's loving the jumping, and I'm happy that I can do it again! She had a blast running through a gymnastic this week. We're a bit of a trek for the dentist I used to use, so I had the barn dentist do her teeth back in May, and it wasn't...

heddylamar

I am finally done with physical therapy, and 99% muscle spasm free! Woot!! Considering where I started this journey over a year ago, that's a major win. My PT discharged me today with a new loading exercise plan, to keep challenging the misbehaving muscles — something we've been doing in steps since...

heddylamar

That all just sounds miserable, Mountaineer. You should definitely get on for a walk post-ride. If you are a candidate for a hip replacement, I second how effective they can be. My mom's just scheduled her second (it will be both hips now). The first was life-changing in a good way, the second can o...

heddylamar

I'm sorry you've joined this sucky club, StraightForward. Lots of jingles. In horse news, Maia and I had a breakthrough (for her) lesson today, and she finally decided to yield that last little bit and relax her under neck without popping up over the bit the moment I give on the rein. It was a strug...

heddylamar

Related to my new goals, I'm finally closing out on a high note. I don't recall if this was goal, but it should have been: we finally figured out my muscle spasms!! I'm down to under 20 a week. Yeah, that still sounds like a lot, but when the high was over 100 a day, I think this calls for celebrati...

heddylamar

Me: I need to make a goal for myself to be better about riding before work :? I'm up in plenty of time, but I'm not getting out the door in time. And then I decide to ride at the end of the day, which gets lost in a mess of all the things that need to be done that were no where on my current/pending...

heddylamar

Ponichiwa's serpentine method is almost identical to what I do with Maia, including adding in some random 5-meter (or smaller) circles. Plus a few more things: the three part breathe yoga technique and riding squares. This probably doesn't apply to your guy, Lips, but it may help someone else. Maia'...

heddylamar

I had a good ride yesterday morning. Mom's here, and hasn't seen Maia in months and marveled over the differences. I finally tried the new bit at the end of the ride, and it's worth exploring. After a few minutes of "what is this thing??" Maia settled and moved forward nicely. Congrats eve...

heddylamar

Clearly I should have asked here first! Thanks, blob. That makes too much sense. Oh Potters. That's just lovely. Horses can be such doinks. Lol, Ponichiwa. That's pretty great! Mom used to do a soak, and then scrub, with ivory soap and call it good. It was always still yellow-tinged. George wouldn't...

heddylamar

Hmm. I should take some oil out to try too.

How is Potter's tail?

heddylamar

Troy is adorable! And what a terrible experience for your neighbor. Maia's finally lost the lumps on her back — there are still a few on her belly. I'm presuming they were fungus related, because the combo of prescription anti-fungal shampoo (human) and desitin finally did the trick. Too much rain h...

heddylamar

I went out to ride this morning, and Maia looked like she'd rolled around in a fire ant pile — all small scabby hives, everywhere. Poor girl. I threw the kitchen sink at her, and gave her a handful of zyrtec (and peppermints because the silly mare will eat anything if scraps of carrot or peppermint ...

heddylamar

I wrote a post then didn't hit post. Maia and I had a lesson Friday. It was our first ride in a week — I was out of town dealing with a very sick parent — and kind of a "what the hell" ride. We worked mostly on walk halt transitions, which might seem minor, but when you're a stubborn red h...

heddylamar

It was a baucher. It was upside-down. She was not an easy person to point that out to. How do you use a baucher upside down??? That's hurting my brain. Maia has a habit of putting her tongue over the bit when I put the bridle on, and that's incredibly apparent with the baucher. I can't imagine upsi...

heddylamar

I ordered from Dover last December and it took forever to arrive too. Fortunately it wasn't anything I needed immediately. Does Smartpak have the helmet you need in stock? They're generally pretty quick. Or does Dover have a store nearby? I've done "ship to store" orders before, and I feel...

heddylamar

To be fair, my stomach was wonky before we left. I probably should have gone to the doctor before going backpacking, but I didn't. And then it was hot and dry, as were the water sources, so I definitely got a bit dehydrated on top of everything /sigh

heddylamar

Maia has been having a bit of a break. I went backpacking, came home, and seem to have caught a stomach thing that was just not going away. And then two of our three guinea pigs got sick, one is recovering, the second is being hand fed every few hours, and has a followup with the vet this evening. P...

heddylamar

Ouch! Fingers crossed that's as uncomplicated as my oldster's roofing nail experience was @Goldhorse!

heddylamar

@Mountaineer, I've always found a good sudsy bath will loosen the long hair. Speaking of crooked, Maia very much refuses to bend right :shock: We're working on it. She does bend now. But, wow. 12+ yo and we're still working on bending to the right! She's an entirely different horse to the right. Hop...

heddylamar

Maia and I had another very useful fruitful lesson this morning, continuing working on suppleness and throughness. We're really starting to understand all the bits and pieces, and it's really starting to come together. The wind was absolutely howling, and lifting the doors away from the barn 4-5', t...

heddylamar

Great lesson this morning! And I have video :) I need to edit that, and post a clip or two, maybe of us not doing weird things ;) We spent most of today working on incremental changes for me — shifting my weight to the left seat bone tracking left, moving my legs slightly forward so my heels aren't ...

heddylamar

They make a great pair, LSP! I hope everybody (including Ace) is feeling better. Maia and I have a lesson Friday morning. She's finally starting to grasp the concept of relaxation and self-carriage. I'm excited to see where we go next! As for goals: – Get these muscle spasms figured out (definitely ...

heddylamar

Riding: – Continue the regular lessons (today's was invaluable!) Add in working with the eventer, and Sundays afternoons for working equitation. Every other week, and it's been fantastic! I have a whole new horse :D I'm shelving jumping until I get the muscle spasms under control. – Get out to ride ...

heddylamar

We're in a constant state of angst. The DH's our main breadwinner, and a contractor for an agency that's not hit the chopping block yet. Frankly, I don't understand how. They're huge. Meanwhile, my main client is suffering a death of a thousand cuts. Two thirds of our funding is private, and I think...

heddylamar

My last lesson turned into 35 minutes of lunging, 10 minutes of riding. She was safe, and had finally learned to stretch down, when I finally got on. 50+ mph wind gusts make for an exciting mare!

heddylamar

That's rough, exvet. Skilled care is crazy expensive. I'm glad that it's available — we couldn't give my dad the care he needs at home — and I'm happy that the nursing staff at dad's home earn a decent wage, but it's painfully expensive and medicare doesn't cover much. He's in a skilled nursing unit...

heddylamar

Last time was relatively moderate, and it still took me 6+ weeks to kick covid. Paxlovid helped a ton, plus a combo of antibiotics and steroids. The first time, it was 6+ months.

heddylamar

I've somehow managed to drop a pesky 10 pounds since August. Only 10 more to go to get back to my pre-2018 weight, when I had to stop running 50+ miles/week. I'd be happy with 5-6 pounds. The only real change to my routine was adding B12, both oral and injections. I'm not really sure how to recreate...

heddylamar

Another great lesson on Friday! Mybtrainer asked what I wanted to work on, and despite not riding all week, Maia was super low-key (for her), so we tackled the disaster that is her canter. We're great on the straight away, or in a large field, but 20 meter circles are a hot mess. She wants to bulge ...

heddylamar

We had fabulous rides both Friday and Saturday, but now Maia's getting a few days off. Not because it's cold — it is and we both *love* the cold — but because there's no hot water at home. The 12yo hot water heater hit the end of it's lifespan with a bit of drama Friday night. I kinda like showering...

heddylamar

Maia is feeling sassy with all this cold weather and snow! Our ride yesterday was a bit exciting! Just above freezing temp-wise (though, that windchill), and snow sliding off the roof of the indoor ... plus people and cats leaping out in front of her :roll: I put a new skillset to work — my trainer ...

heddylamar

We're in the midst of a cold snap, so Maia's all bundled up and cozy in what I call her "NH blankie" — her grandma's old 400g fill turnout. She's finally changed shape enough that I may need to look into finding a new one.

I'll go ride her fuzzy butt tomorrow morning.

heddylamar

Heddy, what is a tonal? It's a pretty neat, but $$$, home gym system . I've got everything I could need — mats, weighted balls, free weights, bands with a wall mounted rail system. Plus rower and treadmill. But the DH absolutely "needed" this thing, and as the one who exercises regularly,...

heddylamar

Riding: – Continue the regular lessons (today's was invaluable!) Add in working with the eventer, and Sundays afternoons for working equitation. – Get out to ride 3-4 times during the week ... that's complicated by work, light, and cold, but it's do-able. I just need to get over the fact it's dark a...

heddylamar

Maia and I rode alongside the Monday afternoon working eq group in the indoor. They were working around huge inflatables. And that damn tarp. Maia didn't even bat an eye at the inflatables, but that tarp got a good long look when they were folding it up at the end :lol: We're working on some of our ...

heddylamar

It's really disheartening riding with someone who can't see your or your horse's potential. My barn owner and one time trainer in Texas was great at making every horse and rider sound like they could be great ... but made sure that they knew they had no potential except in some unachievable situatio...

heddylamar

The first ride with the new trainer wsn't a fluke! Maia and I rode with her again yesterday morning, and since we'd mastered everything from the previous ride, we moved right along. Plus she got to see a teensy taste of spicy red head :lol: Colder temps, windy, morning ride ... Maia's always been a ...

heddylamar

I seriously contemplated doing it this weekend anyway — Maia will stand for a blow drier

But that would put a serious kink in her willingness to stand for the clippers! She's got a very short timer on how long she'll cooperate.

heddylamar

Maia needs to be clipped, but unless I somehow grow time between now and Friday, it's going to have to wait for the next warm spell.

heddylamar

@zybtfrm If it's not something that they can straighten, you should be able to find a fabricating shop to build a new fender for you.

heddylamar

That is absolutely terrifying, Aleuronx. Walking right back on? Kora is an absolute trooper. She needs extra carrots for a few weeks! What a fabulous girl <3 :lol: :lol: Chisamba :lol: :lol: I hate waste, but I'll toss brand new underwear immediately if they can't resist transforming into a thong. T...

heddylamar

Somewhere over the past 2+ years, I lost control of Maia's midsection, and she stopped fully engaging and we lost the explosive impulsion. Honestly, I wonder the long ass hot trailer ride to Texas took a bigger toll on her than was obvious, because when I first rode her there she was an entirely dif...

Search found 1494 matches