DefinitelyDressage.com

Sue B

Having a down day, but I did ride over Labor Day weekend and, as always, had a great deal of fun. Yesterday, I galloped Rudy through a grain field that had been harvested. I don't know who had more fun, him or me, but dang it felt good to just fly along like a kid again. Welcome back Demi. Glad to h...

Sue B

I saw these at a local shop, might be just the ticket for Tennessee fishing. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwidloX3697yAhVuam8EHZEhDk4YABAQGgJqZg&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD2FTov5-eHbO2ZGanLNU-EScnsI9WlCSbjemf87jK0NLJYAt18BxyBqdw4OQd2ofPi3A1-WuRu...

Sue B

Aside from work, PF, that is one thing DH and I share...love of fly fishing. Whether it's a 6" brookie on a 3 wt rod or a 34" steelhead on a 9wt, there is nothing like flippin' flies. Beware of fly tying, it's a real time sink, lol. The only thing I would recommend, however, is use quality...

Sue B

5 months in and totally obsessed with learning the French horn. I often practice 1.5 to 2 hours a day, sometimes more on the weekends. I had to stop myself from playing this morning because I played 1.5 hrs last night alone (I was stress baking cookies for all my "kids" in various armed se...

Sue B

SO sorry about Walker, Moutaineer. DHs horse lost condition over one winter, and when he didn't bounce back on lush pasture and Senior feed over the summer, I had to make the call for dh and euthanize him before winter set in. It was so very hard on DH to say good-bye to his friend of 34 years, but ...

Sue B

Thanks you guys. It has been quite a year for "new beginnings" for dh and I. So, early Saturday morning I had to load up ds's turkeys from 4H to get butchered. That made me teary-eyed too! (And not just because these turkey were really sweet and fun to have running around our backyard :P )...

Sue B

Lad had that after he injured his stifle, but I attributed it to all the damge he'd done to the skin--he basically shredded all the skin around his flank and stifle in a blanket accident. Then, years later, Tio tweaked his stifle when he lost his mind on the lunge one day. He also had a weird sweat ...

Sue B

Well, I did it. I managed to raise one kid from conception to college. :lol: Dropped my ds off at University of Idaho this week, and it feels good! He's a great kid, dh and I will miss having him around, but I also feel good that we managed to send off a kind, competent young man out into the world....

Sue B

My vet friend called last night. her 9yr old German Shepard is failing. We did a splenectomy a few weeks ago, histo came back hemangiosarcoma and now she's acting like she has gastric bloat. I'm hoping she wanted someone to "take the fall' and suggest euthanasia because that's what I did; haven...

Sue B

One time I was riding Rudy and he would. not. take the left lead, and once he did he locked his back. I finally stopped, hopped off and took a look. Somehow, I managed to tack him up with the right rear panel of his half pad folded under. Poor kid, why he didn't protest more loudly i do not know! Pa...

Sue B

When Tio hurt his stifle (being an idjit on the lunge line on spring) I gave him a few weeks of down time and then put him back in work. He lives 24/7 in a large, hilly pasture with Rudy and now, Rabbit. At first, he was only walking up the hills, but by a week in, he would resort to cantering cuz w...

Sue B

I do a lot of mini stretches in all 3 gaits whenever Rudy feels like he's "holding" his neck or back. Currently, this seems to be particularly effective in the canter, probably because I'm working on getting more "jump" in his collected canter. Out on the road, I initially start ...

Sue B

Beautiful pictures, Blob. You two make a lovely team!

Doing back flips for you Chisamba---Awesome scores, what an exciting show for you!! CONGRATULATIONS

I was at fair all week, so no riding/horse report. They seem to be all sound and alive, that's all I know. Lol

Sue B

Just keep working on her trot and transitions. She WILL canter when she's ready, and, if she's like Tio, when she's ready, she'll just step right into the canter as though she'd been doing it all along. When I really wanted to start working the canter (before I got hurt) I did radually increase the ...

Sue B

Jingles Tanga, I hope you find a solution to your dental/sinus problem very soon! Jingles for Maia for her swollen knee and to Odin for his stinky prepuce! A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Blob and MM for another successful ride at 3rd level! (And jingles for RP) Mountaineer, happy that Potters is doing so...

Sue B

So, ds's dog, Nigel, took me out Tuesday night when I was stepping over him to get to my chair. I must've startled him cuz he jumped up just as I lifted my leg, and he is well-trained to freeze if someone tries to step over him (we did that so he wouldn't trip my mom.) Anyway, he sent me AND the cha...

Sue B

Ugghh, I feel your apathy, KM. I am so done with this non-stop heat. Perhaps some of of Kyra's topline issue is that she's getting older and so it's harder to build that muscle? As for you, the trike sounds fun! I have no other advice since I too, seem to be lacking motivation to properly exercise. ...

Sue B

PF: Your current struggle with c-t is why I do both w-c-w and t-c-t with Rudy. I noticed a year or two ago that as his w-c-w improved, his t-c-t declined, especially the downward transition. I think that, in some ways, it is harder to do a really clean, forward c-collected trot transition than to do...

Sue B

Small vent....Because of 4H obligations, I had to ride in the early evening when it was still 97 out. Sweat was dripping off my face before I even got on, but at least the gnats and flies were laying low waiting for temps to drop. Both Tio and Rudy (didn't have time for Rabbit) were wonderful to rid...

Sue B

Holy Cow, SF, that's a mighty big fella! What's his story? I rode Th, F, S but not Sunday cuz my head hurt too much (I think the smoke is triggering some migraine activity). Tio, on Friday, came up with a scraped/punctured inner right forearm that was sore, warm and swollen so he got out of being ri...

Sue B

If you come to a place for "refuse" the political board is probably perfect (don't know cuz I never go on that board). But if you come for "refuge" then come here with an open heart where you will be met with love and kindness. Sorry for your losses.

Sue B

I forgot to add that later that day, I rode Tio again, did cavalletti and jumped him over a cavelleti at its tallest setting. We also finally had a canter all the way around the arena and a 20m circle, all without making my back sore. He really was a very good boy. Rudy, when not being a snot, is st...

Sue B

Definitely sweating, not sure about the equity. I don't really have any actual goals involving horses these next 2 months except for getting out there and riding and getting Tio out to new venues/new situations more often. I did manage to ride every day since Thursday in spite of the heat. I am fort...

Sue B

Great news heddy! Sounds like Chisamba and khall both had great times at their clinics too! So I rode something like 5 days in a row, maybe6/7 days I think so yea for me. On Saturday, friend came over with one of her horses (one she hopes to turn into an eventer) and I took her on a ride to show her...

Sue B

Tio LOVES all things cavalletti and jumping and always has, Rudy has always stressed over anything cavalletti related. So because of this challenge, I have changed out my raised cavalletti for trot poles on the ground and one random pole to canter (or trot) over in order to finally get Rudy to accep...

Sue B

So the 2" hole is now an elongated 3" hole, but the zip ties are still intact and all is good with the rest of the muzzle and the halter. I keep a back up one on hand just in case, so durability is on par with the other muzzles I've tried. Also no tooth damage. I did not tried green guard ...

Sue B

Great clinic report, Moutaineer! Sounds like Potters is going to bring you to a whole nother level of rider

Sue B

I have tried ToughOne, Shires and ThinLine Flexible Filly. ToughOne worked the first 2 years but I had to put real sheep skin on all the contact points because it was causing wear points on his face. he eventually learned how to remove the muzzle no matter how I adjusted it. Shires (I think it was S...

Sue B

Moutaineer, can't wait for your clinic report. So excited for you and Potters :mrgreen: I have now ridden a whole 2 days in a row despite the heat. DH happened by and watched me ride Rudy for a bit. When I told him my left leg always feels wonky, he took a closer look and noted that my left stirrup ...

Sue B

This is going to sound incredibly dumb and probably self-serving but...what surprises me both about life (I'm 60) is just how much joy I feel every day that I manage to crawl out of bed! Sometimes, in the middle of the night, when the pain is almost unbearable, I get up and walk around our lovely (v...

Sue B

As Personal Rep for my mom's estate, what I am learning is 1) make sure any accounts you own have a beneficiary listed and 2) make sure that beneficiary isn't some non-existent trust! This paperwork stuff is driving me crazy. I also discovered that I had power of attorney all along! Had she told me ...

Sue B

Just got back from a week long vacation down exvet's way so I only rode this weekend. For vacation, we drove to Bryce Canyon, then Pipe Spring and North Rim Grand canyon, (stayed 1 night in Page, Az) then South Rim, then Montezuma Well, Montezuma Castle and Tuzygoot. Tried to go to to other pueblo s...

Sue B

Exvet, my mother was not particularly religious, but she most definitely enjoyed going to church with ds and I every Sunday. Having social interaction with people around her age who are positive, active, and who find joy in their lives was critical to keeping my mother from letting anxiety and/or de...

Sue B

I finally got to ride, a little bit on Saturday and a lot on Monday. Matter of fact I managed to get all 3 ridden on Monday! Rabbit still struggles with stepping over a single pole in the trot so no cavelletti for her yet, but I am doing both boys. I love this time of year, even though we are sudden...

Sue B

Pasture of orchard grass, a little blue grass, and, in the north pasture, about 40% alfalfa. I admit, there are weeds also, like mustard and morning glory and thistle but they don't eat those, and we're trying very hard to get rid of that darn thistle. Pasture is tested and fertilized every other ye...

Sue B

Moutaineer, I love exvet's example of trainer vs owner/rider views. They are both "correct", it's merely a matter of individual timelines and goals. For myself, I mentally do much better once the pain/discomfort has subsided. Perhaps your painful hand is affecting you more than you know; i...

Sue B

Problem solved! I got her to take the saddle as a donation to the club and she will put a metal name plate on the back with Polly's name.

Sue B

To clarify, my mom had short term memory loss from a TBI she incurred when she was 85 or so. She refused medical care and therapy, which, in my opinion, would've brightened her outlook on life. But again, she was of the mindset that she should've died by then so whatever. I also had the "joy&qu...

Sue B

My friend's dad died at age 75 while riding a 3yr old he was training up in the mountains. Coroner couldn't say if he died and fell off the horse or if he fell off the horse and died. He was a life-long cowboy. My sister is 64 and still mountain biking. She is also a breast cancer survivor. My mothe...

Sue B

I love those ideas! Thank you!

Sue B

Oh man, khall, btdt! The problem is, that 5 yr old is only going to regress more, it is so hard to watch and live with day-to-day. I loved my mom, we had some really good times together and she loved the chance she got to be there day-to-day watching our son grow up, but she had always planned on be...

Sue B

So, this is crazy...I have inherited 3 saddles from my friend who passed away last fall. One of them is a Collegiate Mentor dressage saddle that I have been loaning to another friend. Well, her coach saw the saddle and wanted to borrow it for one of her Pony Club kids to see if it fit kid/horse, and...

Sue B

Used to do that with Rudy, now I do TOH squares instead.

Sue B

It's too bad you don't have a safe place to ride out. I think you are making tremendous progress, nonetheless, and in another year this most likely won't be an issue anymore. She does sound so much like Tio in attitude and reaction. On the one hand "less is more" but on the other hand you ...

Sue B

Don't know if this will help you, SF, or if it's even helping Tio, but...for the last month, I have been doing road work with the T. We do a minimum of 1 mile trot sets (sometimes as long as 2 miles) without stopping, over uneven ground as our warmup. 1) I am wanting to increase his aerobic capacity...

Sue B

Tuesday Rudy did fc one way and hind only the other way. If the change isn't clean it's always because he's early behind. Trotted Tio 1 mile, then some lateral work in the arena. Wednesday (last night), I trotted Tio a little over 1.5 miles (this is through a grain field on an ATV track btw,) and th...

Sue B

Gorgeous pictures, Chisamba. We are definitely NOT that green here yet. Heck, my lilacs are only, just now, thinking of blooming!

Continued jingles for you Moutaineer!

Sue B

I don't think I have any one particular talent or whatever, but I do have good, natural timing. I can't very well say out loud what each leg is doing because I seem incapable of putting what my body "knows" instinctually into words. I did notice that whenever I count the walk out loud, I a...

Sue B

So I rushed home and got a couple rides in last night after work. Usually I ride Rudy first; 1) because he's "easy" and 2) he's the herd boss and royalty always goes before peasantry, lol. But every once in awhile, just to keep things interesting, I hop on Tio first, like I did last night!...

Sue B

So I only rode ONCE this last week, very bad on my part. Otoh, it is what it is i guess. I had intended to ride at least Friday evening but it wound up being 85F and neither I nor the horses were prepared for that sudden heat wave (day before it was raining and 45 I think). Saturday started out blus...

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