May only the leaves fall this Fall. September October training Bimester

[Dresseur]

Tanga that description of the reactions actually makes me feel better. The swelling in the limbs was really weird and concerning to me. He’s perfectly sound so far.

[StraightForward]

Jingles for Miro to get over this quickly!

Khall, I know I have a job ahead getting a work ethic installed in this one; just trying to find the line of pushing her a little, but not to the point that she gets too tired and belligerent. Full warmblood probably won't be my first choice the next time I'm horse shopping, to be honest.

[Moutaineer]

Dresseur, give him a carrot from me... (Today, I know exactly how he feels. I had flu. tetanus and shingles shots yesterday and have spent the day feverish, swollen arms, sore and achy all over and generally feeling like I have been hit by a bus. Blech. Too much at once.)

Looking good SF!

Tanga, go show and have fun. We can live vicariously through you.

Laddie felt lovely when I rode him on Tuesday. With luck, we can get back to it tomorrow and get some decent work in during what's left of the nice Fall weather.

[mari]

You guys are all looking great!

Odie and I are working very hard on our changes. We had a lovely session on Wednesday (in the jumping saddle). Did loads of transitions, then some CC circles, asking for the change on the circle. He seems to do better that way than trying it in a straight line. We got 3 lovely calm ones, and one whiplash one. Of the calm ones, one was clean, and two were late in front. So it's definitely progress, it's just very slow and often quite painful.

Today I worked on pure CC without any changes, because he tends to become a bit insane about them and will be leaping about for days afterwards. But he was completely steady in the CC, didn't offer to change or tense up or hop around like a loon. So more progress! (Also, I was in the dressage saddle and my neck and my courage did not feel up to asking for changes unsupervised... )

[Aleuronx]

Dresseur do speak with your vet if you haven't already. My last horse had a similar reaction after Flu/Rhino vaccination, tree truck hind legs but perfectly sound, went away after a couple of days. Talked with vet and we swapped which vaccine manufacturer we used just for her, the office had to order separate but wasn't a huge deal. I believe Zoetis and Merck both make them and there might be others Exvet might have some insight. In talking to my vet its often not the vaccine itself that is the issue but the carrier used in the solution. Swapping manufacturers fixed the issue for that mare, never reacted again. I hope he's better soon!

I've had a little bits and bobbles type week. Had a lesson this past weekend where we just continue to move a step forward which feels great! For Kora on the left rein in canter and trot doing some small broken lines to really use the turn back to the track to rebalance. Right rein in canter doing a some leg yield to the wall to get her standing up on the left rein which is hard for her in this weaker side. Also working on trot squares on right rein for the same reason to build the trot.

Monday off to the clinic for annual dental check which was odd to hand her off in the parking lot and wait there due to Covid-19 precautions. Once done the vet came out to give full positive report so we're good for another year.

I had a 3am epiphany about the struggles she has with other horses in the ring/activity going on that's not consistent. I figure I can't control her reaction to that but I can train her to calm back down and refocus. Plan going forward is to every ride regardless to carefully turn up the heat and then teach her to come back to the good place under saddle like she can on the ground. In the hopes I can build on this skill so when she gets into a complete dither about other horses or whatever we can get back to a relaxed state more easily.

[exvet]

Exvet might have some insight. In talking to my vet its often not the vaccine itself that is the issue but the carrier used in the solution. Swapping manufacturers fixed the issue for that mare, never reacted again.

Well as for the insight, "In the human literature there is evidence that the bovine proteins remaining in the vaccine can drive adverse reactions to the vaccine. While not the planned antigen of the vaccine, BSA has also been investigated as a cause of vaccine reactions in the horse. [from a paper and lecture given in 2018]"

Though I try to avoid such [as stated above] vaccines, I still get vaccine reactions in my horses occasionally. The other piece of insight is that like the above reference, in killed vaccines it's usually the vehicle not the antigen/disease/infection being vaccinated to protect against that causes the reactions which is why switching manufacturers may help. In vaccines in which there is a live component, it is more likely that it's a reaction to the protein related to the infection/disease you're trying to prevent. In this case you have to decide which is of greater risk/benefit for the horse - risking getting the disease or risking/dealing with a vaccine reaction. If you think about it, we deal with vaccine reactions in people all the time and usually live to tell the tale. Please don't take this as an invitation to get into a debate about the necessity or validity to vaccinate. Not a soapbox I'm going to take a stand on when I'm on my day off.

Also (taken from AAEP Guidelines)

It should be recognized that:

1. Administration of multiple vaccines resulting in administration of both multiple antigens and adjuvants at the same time may increase the risk of adverse reactions.
2. Safety and efficacy data are not available regarding the concurrent use of multiple vaccines.
3. Administration of MLV (modified live) and killed vaccines in the same location is discouraged as adjuvants may inactivate the MLV.

Therefore, veterinarians may elect to use a staggered schedule when multiple products are to be administered. Such a schedule should allow at least a 3-4 week interval between inmmunizations.

The following is my personal experience:

Because of the buy-outs of many of the original vaccine manufacturers there are a lot of produce under 'new labels' and manufacturer names but still made with the same adjuvants as days of old. Zoetis and Merck do make some options that are BSA free but you have to read the label, look up the FOI and/or call the tech services vets for the manufacturer to get the information to select wisely.

[Tanga]

Yeah, the swelling is weird. I haven't had it with vaccines, but my older mare has had some odd swelling in her hind legs. She's not lame and it has no effect one way or another. I finally decided I think it's some kind of reaction to flies or some of these nasty weeds that have little needles on them. We had some cows move into the barn and there suddenly seem to be these nasty flies that HURT when they bite, which they do me all of the time.

Like with everything with myself, just watch and see and if the lumps and bumps don't cause any problems, there is only so much you can do.

I have not entered the show. Yesterday and today the smoke has been bad enough that it's unhealthy to very unhealthy again, and who knows how long it will last. I had JUST got the horses back to full work a few days ago after the last smoke period, so I don't know if I can get them back again in time to be healthy, depending on how long this lasts. UCD recommends 2 to 6 weeks complete rest after that much exposure to smoke. Sigh. I think I'll wait and see a bit.

[Hot4Spots]

Well, had the vet out today (she was already coming for another boarder) and it appears that the reason Mark has been mouth/bend fussy turning to the left is that he is sore in the TMJ. She said that it could be injected, but she recommended using Surpass first, so I've ordered some and should have it in 3-5 days. In the meantime, HUS type contact. She also said he might have a little arthritis low in his neck, but that was probably less of a factor. it's a "whatever" sort of thing: I will do whatever is necessary to.keep him comfortable. It's not as if he were ever going to truly show again, so if we have to play HUS from now on, that's fine. He's really been enjoying being able to canter a bit. We're up to twice around the arena in each direction.

massage and accupuncture are quite helpful for TMJ issues. Is he sore due to muscle tension or is there damage to the actual joint?

Don't know the why of the issue. Knowing Mark, however, it could well be tension. He's been a tense horse all his life, so...It's one of the reason that while he got decent scores through second level, we never got the kind of marks he was truly capable of considering his quality of movement. I would have lessons where he was lovely and relaxed, but 90% of the time, he'd be hyper and tense at shows. He always got his best scores at a venue where the show ring was completely enclosed and very quiet.

[mari]

We had a lesson this morning, tried some changes. I asked my instructor to take video, and it was a relief to see that it looks much safer than it sometimes feels to ride.

Attempt 1: https://youtu.be/OFnOpFm610o
Attempt 2: https://youtu.be/LRjZw-o03fc

The more he kicks out, the more rigid and holding I tend to get to try and protect my fragile neck. Which doesn't help the situation. But these kicks are more rideable than they were a few months back, and he's also stopped hollowing and taking off after, even if he's thrown me off balance pretty badly. Graft graft graft...

[exvet]

We had another great lesson yesterday. I'm starting to get used to and really like my 'new to me but ancient' Roosli. Starting a new fund in order to save up to buy a newer one (brand new ones cost $7000 ) but the unicorn search is going to take a long, long time due to the seat size I need combined with tree size - right place, right time situation I'm betting.

Any how, I was discussing with my coach where we're at with the changes. I discussed the ongoing challenge with the change monster and the modest progress we've had with collecting Junior but really focusing on the forward and straightness with true acceptance of the outside rein going into the change as well as in maintaining the counter canter; but, still a little bit of a battle/challenge. I told her that my greatest concern is with his change happy attitude whenever I try to counter canter that as I'm trying to develop that proper on the aids throughness in the canter that he's going to get too used to making a late change when he's popping them in as an anticipation thing or as a resistance to get truly through especially on the outside rein..................I asked, "so, do we work on the FC today or what?" Not too surprising she said, "We work on developing that power over his back and get him moving 'LIKE' it's a medium canter but not and we start to ask him to keep his front piece closer to you (meaning the legs) but without shortening his neck - ie, keep him up and open but using his top line and not is under neck. It was a big ask; but, we got a really nice canter with lots of air time and him definitely using his top line and lifting his wither. We did not do any counter canter or fc with him. We did work on the same aspect in terms of the quality of canter, maintaining it NO MATTER WHAT HIS PONY BRAIN TRIED TO THROW AT ME, and lateral work at the canter, especially travers. Junior has been most resistant in the canter half-passes and really turning into the FC king when we attempt them and I NEVER have schooled or introduced the changes with the half pass work......so..........I have my homework. For the next week we will do no intentional FC work. We will work on the canter quality as we did in my lesson and we will work to make the travers at canter easy and then the half pass easy all with the idea (not the actual stride) that it's in medium gait. I'll keep you updated if we're successful. I do think that if we are, I will be on the right path for developing that ability needed to adjust his canter within the phase of the stride so that the FCs are exactly where an how we need them - no deflating, no resistance, and enough jump to come through clean.

[Tanga]

We had a lesson this morning, tried some changes. I asked my instructor to take video, and it was a relief to see that it looks much safer than it sometimes feels to ride.

Attempt 1: https://youtu.be/OFnOpFm610o
Attempt 2: https://youtu.be/LRjZw-o03fc

The more he kicks out, the more rigid and holding I tend to get to try and protect my fragile neck. Which doesn't help the situation. But these kicks are more rideable than they were a few months back, and he's also stopped hollowing and taking off after, even if he's thrown me off balance pretty badly. Graft graft graft...

Mari--You have an Appy! Awwww. Those look good! I'm sure they are rather energetic to ride, but I see him trying to do the right thing. He just hasn't figured out you don't want him to kick up like that and just change and go forward. Possibly try riding more forward into and out of them so he thinks that's what you want and not to see how high he can get his butt.

[Flight]

Mari, arghh I remember going through the kick up stages. He looks so close to getting it though, hopefully they disappear soon. I know that they never look as dramatic as they feel too. I actually had to lift Ding's head up more, ride him more up and open in front to help keep the bottom down. But you have a coach and it looks like you are very close to nice changes

I met up with some friends yesterday and rode in a posh indoor arena. Covid has settled back down here, so we can have a bit more movement around the place. One of my friends rode Norsey, and it was sooo cool to see. She's a nice rider but hasn't ridden for ages and she rode her first asked for flying change and some canter half pass. I felt quite proud of Norsey being well a schoolmaster really. I struggled a little bit with how to explain the aids and how to ride him though! Teaching is quite tricky.

[Dresseur]

So, big whew... Miro is sound, the stocking up has subsided - but he appears to have retained a touch of bog spavin from whatever reaction he had. It wasn't there before the shot, and its emergence coincided with the rest of the symptoms, so I'm not worried about it and I think it will also subside eventually. He had very, very light work on Sunday, so we'll still do a bit of a half workout and build up since he had a few days off.

[blob]

great news, Dresseur, that kind of reaction can be scary. Joint swelling can sometimes take a bit longer to come out and sometimes requires a bit of movement/work, so hopefully the bog spavin will go down over the next few days.

Tanga, sorry the show didn't work out, but sounds like a safe decision given the air quality. And hopefully in January things will work out. In the meantime, there are many virtual shows popping up and I wonder if you might find it useful to get some feedback from judges via virtual show?

Mari--those changes look like they are coming along and I suspect the extra effort behind will tame down as he gets more used to them!

Good to hear everyone's progress!

I'm in a bit of a rut right now. Work has been stressful which has limited riding time and also put me in not a very good frame of mind when I do have time. MM often struggles with season changes. Every year in spring and fall, I have a month or so where she is just simply lackluster and grumpy. So, we're having a bit of that now. Which is not ideal timing given my own feeling very defeated about our late changes. The Ritter course has been interesting so far (we're 3 weeks in), but so far it is mostly working through prerequisites that MM finds quite easy. He's been good about answering questions/commenting on video. But thus no real a-has or improvements or changes. But I know there is no 'fixed' button, so I am continuing to plug along.

RP has been doing well. I've been introducing w-c-w transitions with him. And he's taking to them quite well. Tracking left, he wants to pick up the wrong lead from the walk, though it's never been a problem from the trot, so that it is interesting. But his right hind is definitely his weaker hind, so makes sense that the strike off from walk would be more challenging. Lateral work, however, is a bit of a challenge with him. He understands the concept of moving laterally and can do LY, full pass, SI, HI, and TOF at the walk. At the trot, we have a bit of a baby leg yield, but it takes nearly the entire longside to get to centerline and he has tiny legs! So there still isn't nearly as much cross over as their should be. And shoulder in/shoulder fore at the trot has not really translated well/easily to him. He tends to get scrambly behind. I wish he was able to do a few strides so I could reward and then let him straighten to build on it. But we're not even really there yet. It's funny because it took MM a long time to get good w-c-w transitions, but she took to lateral work pretty much immediately. Just another way in which these two are so different.

[demi]

I’ve been reading everyone’s reports here but haven’t reported myself for a while. The progress is so slow, sometimes I just feel like going back to trail riding. I don’t know if I’ll meet my goals for this time.

So, the canter is the main problem. Before I started trying to do dressage with Rocky, the canter was easy. She got her leads every time from the very beginning. I’d had her since she was a 3 yr old (she’s 13 now) and all we did was trail and long rein pleasure type work, only dabbling a little in dressage. Then I got seriously hurt on another horse and when I started riding again, I only had enough confidence to walk and trot. Finally, I found a good dressage trainer that I trusted and she helped me get my confidence back. Then about a year ago, trainer insisted that I shorten my reins. This was hard for both Rocky and me as it was a big change from our established routine. We are both getting it at walk and trot, but when it comes to canter, I am missing the right lead consistently. The only way I seem able to get it is to throw away the reins. Which of course means I can’t even do a good training level test....

I’m not really ready to quit, but I have to quit obsessing about canter, which means I may not meet my goals this time.

I actually think I may have figured it out yesterday, but the soloshot didn’t record any of my ride that day #@%# grrr.

Fortunately, today is a new day. (And really, considering all the problems in our world right now, dressage is no big deal!) I’m not going to mess with the soloshot today as it just frustrates me and I need to be relaxed to work on this right lead issue. We have a lesson tomorrow.

[PhoenixRising]

As always, I'm late to this thread. Mostly because I really didn't have many goals other than "ride until its uncomfortable". Which happily, hasn't happened yet!

Last weekend I rode Phoenix in what will likely be our last clinic until after baby. I was 25 weeks at the time. I found it hysterical the comments made about my still riding and the clinician making comments like "Now I feel like I have three lives to worry about" and "how do I even teach a person growing another human" lol. Another boarder told my husband he needed to make me stop, he apparently laughed and told her "you can't tell my wife to do anything, she's going to do what she wants. Try and make her stop and she'll do it just to prove you wrong".

The second day of the clinic my trainer got on at the end of the ride for some help with the changes, and managed to get a clean change both ways. We were both very excited as changes have been difficult to introduce. She's often late behind and has been jumping around and throwing her head a bit when she gets confused. I'm leaving it to her entirely to teach them, I'm not quitting riding yet but I'm also not going to try and ride THAT with a big belly.

I did get the news that my trainer will be out of town in January- March. She'll be going to work with and learn from our two regular clinicians at their barn in California. I'm a bit bummed Phoenix will end up with a minimum of two months off since I'll be on maternity leave at the same time, but I'm SO excited for what this will mean for us when she comes back having had three months working with them and learning new things.

If I have one hope/goal for now, it's that she gets far enough with the changes by December that we aren't starting from scratch on those again next year.

[exvet]

Looking good Phoenix! Thanks for the pictures.

[heddylamar]

B5CB7F00-2043-4974-AD2C-E57AF7ED8559.jpeg (195.21 KiB) Viewed 8640 times

I’ve been looking for a jumping saddle for ages that fit both Maia and me, and I finally found it! Sooooo happy! Now we can finally get to the important work of jumping

[Chisamba]

PhoenixRising, I rode in a show at 7 months, then I had to stop because poor Mikhail was too close to the pommel. my doctor was also my riding student and as a rider he was a good source of real information as to the dangers.

you look great, healthy and happy and the " pony" looks really good!

it's one they are born that it's hard to find riding time.

[Ryeissa]

Doing as many lessons as I can with my three trainers (eeh!) I have three but it seems to work well. They focus on different things. I think a few years ago that would have been too much. I'm pretty independent and able to describe with each person what i need. It's a a good mix of me riding and getting someone to ride my horse. If/when we start changes (?) that will be super helpful.
Planning to pick away at 2:1 and 2:2 for fall online shows.

[chantal]

Nice work PheonixrRising, Pheonix looks great. And congrats! I rode until 6 months with 2 of my kiddos so I hear you. So exciting!

demi-i hear you, it's frustrating. we worked through a right lead thing for 6 months last year. An ill-fitting saddle episode started it and i reinforced it. but you will get it. i had to put it aside at times and just work on other stuff. i did lots of reading on it to put me in the right frame of mind and tried different things to figure out what would work for us. Sending you positive right lead canter jingles.

All you people working on the changes, yay!! Lots of stuff to work through, I just keep reading and filing information away, thank you. Medium canter (exvet) and not holding (mari)-which applies to everything-gah- are constants. Gosh, I'm working on just being able to regulate stride length in the canter with him. Hence the poles work and building strength. I am hoping to get to changes next year. We'll see.

Sitting trot has been a challenge for me as his trot is so big and I have some physical issues I'm fighting with. It's getting there. I have to build strength too.

I hope you all are enjoying the fall weather. And for those in CA, praying for relief from the fires and smoke. Gosh... no words...

[Ryeissa]

love the shirt. Good sense of humor. Glad you had a good clinic

[demi]

Nice pictures, Phoenix and heddylamar! Thanks for sharing.

I had a lesson Tuesday and it felt good. I still don’t have enough strength in my right leg/hip but I’m getting longer moments of feeling the right leg to left rein connection. We didnt do any right canters but we did several left canters, both walk-canter and trot-canter and my trainer was very happy with them. I felt like they were good, too, but it helps a lot to hear her say it. I have been consistently getting good left canter at home but until yesterday, her canter was never as good at lessons.

Also, I got some of the best connection at trot, both left AND right. I didn’t ride yesterday to give my leg a rest, but today, I was able to carry over the same feel in my ride today.

[Sue B]

SO, I have been riding all week and starting last Friday, my weirdness over cantering Tio completely disappeared! I can now canter whenever and where ever I want, his t-c are super nice and balanced, blah, blah, blah. All I can say is that i am now 100% sure it was all me and my reaction to getting hurt 2 years ago. I noticed that even on Rudy, I was reluctant to really let him move out in medium or extended canter. I blamed that on the saddle, but I really think it was just the usual weirdness that goes on in my head starting on the first anniversary of a serious riding-related injury (yup, been down this road before )

Should I share any more pictures or do y'all not like them? I noticed no one commented on them.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Sue B, I love seeing everyone's photos. You are a lovely rider. Post more.

[demi]

SueB, those were great pictures! I had to go back to find them because I somehow missed them. Like now, I am often in a hurry and just plain miss stuff. I also missed a whole bunch of other pics that I will go back and look at later this afternoon. Dh is bugging me to get a move on we are going to get flu vacs.

POST MORE pics Sue!

[PhoenixRising]

After my riding lesson Tuesday, I think my riding time might be coming to an end until after he's born.
I didn't think much of it, but at the clinic I got a sharp pain in my side once or twice but if I took a walk break it went away and I could go on.
But my Tuesday lesson, the pains were there again and got horrible when I went above a walk.
I suspect round ligament pain, but its sharp enough I can't ride through it or just take a small break. I'm going to try my lesson one more time next week, and if it's there again I'll hand my reins to the trainer until she leaves for Cali in January.
At least then she'll get a couple more days a week to work on changes before she goes so its not a total loss if I stop.
I'm 26 weeks now, will be 27 at my lesson next week. So if this is it, I made it to almost 7 months!

[khall]

Phoenix you made it farther than I did. I had to quit between 4-5 months. It just hurt to ride. Hopefully you will bounce back quickly and be back on your mare quickly.

My oldest niece is expecting in January. My sister is 5 yrs older and had her two early 20’s. This will be her one and only grandchild.
Such a difficult time to be pregnant right now.

[blob]

Great to see everyone's pictures and progress!

[exvet]

Phoenix, I rode right up through 8 months of pregnancy with my first. She was a civilized 6 lbs at birth and my first. When I had my second, my son, he was 10 lbs and 3 weeks overdue. I had to stop riding at 6 months in because he was just so big. You have to do what is right for you. With both I was in the saddle 2 weeks after delivery but I was fortunate in that I really had little trouble throughout my pregnancies or with delivery. Our horses really don't care in all honesty. I know mine were a little out of shape but really not a whole lot of catch up to do......they had longer layups with really bad weather years during winter/spring..........so............relatively minor hiccups in the overall plan.

[mari]

Great to see all the pictures!

Odin managed to injure himself quite badly on the outside of his one front leg, on the coronet band. We suspect wild paddock shenanigans. Cue more expensive vet visits, bandaging and anti-inflammatories. But he trotted out sound this morning, so back to work from Sunday.

I really wish I could afford two horses, so there is one to ride when one is lame.

[exvet]

Mari, I'm sorry to read about Odin's mishap. Honestly having a 'back up' is primarily the reason why I bought Brandon. I've been lucky (knock on wood) despite Junior's body slamming antics his injuries have been few. He tends to give more injuries than he receives; but, it's always a crap shoot. I know others who feel I should have separate paddocks for each to limit their shenanigans but I've had them injure each other almost as much when I owned a facility that allowed such just shadow chasing each other up and down a fence line that wasn't even shared. Can't bubble wrap 'em; so, I just let horses be horses and hope for the best. Years ago when I did have only one riding horse I had a friend who had some personal issues and 4 horses who needed riding. Worked out well for me when my guy ended up with a tendon injury. For the 6 months my guy was laid up I got to ride and show some pretty nice horses. Sounds like Odin is already mending nicely though.

[StraightForward]

Mari - glad Odin is on the mend. Silly horses. It seems like Murphy's law (and I've decided that Murphy must have been a horse), that if you have one, things will happen to it. If you have a backup, they will both stay sound and healthy. There is a guess the vet bill thread in the Observation Lounge.

Tomorrow I'm taking Tesla to a jump chute clinic. I'm guessing she could jump the moon if she wanted to, but it's the want to that will be the question. The field trip is more the point than the jumping, but it will be interesting to see how she does. I will definitely try to get video!

[Josette]

We appear to have another lameness issue - yet again. I lost all of the nice fall weather last year with rehab for 6 months - then slowly restarted this spring and now lame. We were just working on simple lower level w/t/c work - easy no stress stuff. So frustrating as an older rider because I really do not want to give up riding yet. I'm not interested in leasing or riding lesson horses - especially not during this covid situation. Buying another horse at age 64 may be a really stupid idea.

[demi]

Sorry to hear that Josette. I get it about being older but just saw an interesting post on my local dressage club FB page about an 86 year old guy doing dressage and even competing.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/bo ... n3t8gpC8Ho

You’re just a kid compared to him So maybe buying another horse at your age might not be a stupid idea. I hope I’m not enabling when I shouldn’t be.

It would be nice to have another horse when one gets lame, as Mari said. But then there’s the cost and the time and the energy etc,etc. And as exvet pointed out you can’t bubble wrap them...its still a crapshoot. And to keep it real, I even have a good second horse but At 67 I just don’t have the energy to do all I do with Rocky and still have enough energy to do dressage with Emma, too. Emma is high maintenance as simply pet. I bought her knowing it would be a gamble, and I lost. Sorta. She’s a sweetheart and she really seems to appreciate all the extra grooming I give her to manage her fly allergy.

[Josette]

Thanks Demi - I have a call in to my vet so waiting to hear back. I already had an appt with chiro for next Friday too. She did the cold lazer therapy on him in the past. I'm not sure what happened maybe I asked for too much during our rides. He is typically in front of my leg with quick transitions. Then he started holding back and I was monitoring his response. Thankfully, I keep him at home so that is a blessing. He has turned into such a pet and I was really hoping for some more riding times with him. Our bonding is so important to me and we physically fit each other perfect.

[demi]

I scrolled back and looked at the pictures. We really do have a nice group on this board!!

SueB, I would never believe Rudy has a difficult conformation by looking at those latest pictures. I especially like the second picture. Your position looks super connected.

Adorable pic of Jr. and exvet! Good observation on their facial expressions, Flight!

Heddylamar, your red headed mare has a red headed look in her gaze! I should know this, but is she TB? She looks like she knows how beautiful she is like many TB’s seem to!

Phoenix, those are gorgeous pictures. I like them all, but third one is my favorite. Well, the second one is close...and I didnt notice your shirt till Rye pointed it out. Haha haha!

Annabelle looks very good. Very exciting. I think I posted about that...

I love all the pictures on this board. I feel like I know all these horses. Like when I boarded my horses, I’d always get attached to the other horses in the barn. All of them.

[Sue B]

I love having 2 riding horses hanging out, Josette. Maybe get something like exvet or sf or ponichiwa got. You know, I nice grade horse to play on and be your next best friend. I bought Tio to be my "old lady" horse, and while his gaits are much easier to sit, he has turned out to be a lot more horse than I planned. If my dh allows it, I'm considering looking for another horse in the next few years (I turn 60 in a few months.) Riding is the best thing for aging bodies, injuries notwithstanding. Meanwhile, jingles for your pony!

Phoenix, listen to your body! I think I rode through the 7th month until it got to hard for me to safely dismount from my 17.1hh pony. The last month or so I only walked and cantered, no trotting.

Mari, jingles for Odin and a speedy recovery! My horses are pasture "pets" so easy for me to have more than one!

SF, can't wait to see what Tesla does over fences!

Demi, congrats on getting back to lessons. Now that I can, I too am working on stretching my legs down. Work in progress, work in progress.

[Moutaineer]

If you've got two, they will both manage to injure themselves at the same time... or the injured one will require so much care you don't have time to ride the other one.

One of the last few glorious days of fall here. I'm inside, cooking for a little dinner party tonight for Mr Moutaineer's 80th birthday. We should be in England with the kids and grandkids at the moment.

[exvet]

Yes, today is a beautiful day here in the Southwest.

Josette, so sorry to hear about your horse. Hopefully it is something that can be managed with a swift recovery. Having observed many older horse riding friends and relatives over the years I do think that riding as long as you can keeps you 'younger' and in better shape. I had a great aunt who rode well into her mid 80s including jumping. She continued swimming too well into her mid-90s.

Junior is clearly my 'main' riding horse. He is helping me advance my riding and if the powers-that-be are willing hopefully we'll make it to grand prix and earning our gold some day. That being said, I also have Ace who is the trail riding boss! He is so perfect, taking care of his many riders who come to visit us. I ride him at least 3-4 times a week just to keep him exercised and tuned up but he also gives me a grand opportunity just to work on my equitation. He is very comfortable and easy to ride. When I work him my focus is solely on my alignment, my hands, my elbows, etc. He really has helped me safely and easily improve my seat. Stinker is just a pasture puff but a cute pasture puff. Brandon is my back up or will be my back up. I can still ride two to three easily which I was doing before Stinker had to be retired. So I'm all for facilitating those who can afford.....just.....one......more

Today I had a good ride on Junior. After Wednesday's lesson which was a repeat of the previous Friday's lesson - all working on canter purity, getting him more collected and bringing his hocks more underneath him, I continued the theme today with really sticking to my demands that he come through and meet my connection on the right rein. There are still some bracing or resistant moments but today they were much fewer. We also worked on more travers at the canter which is starting to finally become a little easier for him. Little pieces of progress which I will happily accept.

Brandon also did very well today. He's not been too happy to have that metal thing in his mouth. I've been experimenting with bits and low and behold he's decided he likes Junior's mylar. I long lined him today and his steering and acceptance of the bit was much, much better. I've had three pony rides on him thus far and looking forward to doing a wee bit more this weekend. He's also starting to fill out and finally look like a real Morgan though still butt high

Ace, as described above, was just a cool cucumber letting me work on my seat. He's such a sweet horse.

[Josette]

Thank you all for your support and enabling! It is so frustrating as we were really enjoying our rides and improving our fitness level. We both managed to shed some pounds - size 6 is a easy fit on me. I totally agree how much the riding improved my fitness and that mental feeling of well being. I'm perfectly happy being a recluse during covid when I could ride. So I need to get the vet out to see if we can resolve this issue. I hear you all about owning multiple horses as this is one rare time when I've been down to one. Typically 2-3 but others were always retirees and unsound. I'm lucky I no longer board as I did for so many years - so that is good.

[Ryeissa]

this time in 2011 Rye died.(well mId- nov). Time flies.
Doing lots of lessons now, things are going ok. I am seeing improvements on TOH (why on earth are they SO HARD) and of course we then forgot how to do half pass. that's dressage
BUT I should be able to do all the second level tests by spring show quality. That's the plan from my couch, will see. We did ok with 2: 1 at a schooling show, so I can always do that again. It wasn't too bad, I was able to stay connected and my horse was ridable. People keep telling me to move up, so I guess I should listen.

[khall]

Josette I hope your guy will come round. I do agree having more than one to ride is a plus. Horses are too damn good at hurting themselves

I’m consistently riding Joplin now and it’s such pleasure to work with her! I have video from today now to figure out how to post it!

Figured it out!

https://youtu.be/BCzhm_oR-GE

https://youtu.be/tK5ySeLFpZY

[Anne]

SueB - Awesome fantastic news on the non-weirdness when cantering Tio!! I completely understand and sympathise, because I think I have a little bit of that weirdness when I canter Connor. This is after my last fall from the bucking ratbag Fergal (over a year ago) which was from a canter. Connor (the ex-racehorse) has a great canter, but is super sensitive and if I tense up a little or screw up the transition (am not clear enough, or am too 'big' with my aid) he can do a bit of a leap/head-toss, especially on the left rein, which is his difficult side, and I also find it harder to aid that way. I can't quite work out what I'm getting wrong in that left transition, but once we are cantering we are both pretty OK. Anyway, it's fabulous that you are feeling more confident with your canter work. And yes, please share more photos! I love to see everyone's pictures.

I had a bit of an 'ah-hah' moment yesterday : I'm still working on an easy / fluent shoulder-in (just in walk for now), and realised that I tend to stop following the walk movement with my hips when I go into the shoulder-in. I start thinking about everything else, and forget to keep 'swinging' with the walk. So that will be my focus for the next little while (I'm hoping it will eventually become 'automatic'!).

Much enjoying reading about everybody's progress.

[heddylamar]

Heddylamar, your red headed mare has a red headed look in her gaze! I should know this, but is she TB? She looks like she knows how beautiful she is like many TB’s seem to!

Aww, thanks <3 She's a sassy mutt! Sire's a sensible TB, dam's a redheaded Polish Arab/QH.

[demi]

Heddylamar, your red headed mare has a red headed look in her gaze! I should know this, but is she TB? She looks like she knows how beautiful she is like many TB’s seem to!

Aww, thanks <3 She's a sassy mutt! Sire's a sensible TB, dam's a redheaded Polish Arab/QH.

Well no wonder I like her! My main mare Rocky is Arab/QH and my other mare, Emma, is by a purebred Arabian sire out of a TB/WB mare. And they both are “little Miss Attitudes”!

[StraightForward]

SF, can't wait to see what Tesla does over fences!

Sue, first, of course we like to see your photos and want you to keep posting them!

Tesla was quite the entertaining pupil through the jump chute. They were sending her over the ground poles when I realized I didn't have my phone, so I left, and when I got back (still sans phone) they were sending her over cross rails. She promptly crashed through the first and broke one of the poles in half which phased her not one bit. The handler at the end of the chute was serving horse cookies, so after a few trips, she started growing roots about halfway back when she saw the sending handler get close. Tesla prefers cookie end of arena She did not think the cookies were worth the level of effort to get over the oxer, though she clearly has plenty of scope. Towards the end she made a quick rollback from the send and showed off her fancy trot all over the arena, though they were able to get her sent through successfully after dropping the oxer, and we called it a day. One of the handlers noted "wow, this horse isn't afraid of the whip... or anything really." A friend who boards at the barn grabbed some videos, but we deemed them all bloopers reels, as she did *something* on every trip. They're planning to do these regularly, so I might bring Annabelle next time. She actually gets keen to fences even though she's not very scopey.

[Chisamba]

Well Kimba and I headed to our second show at Square One. I did second level because I wasn't ready to show third with her changes still being unreliable. She did nicely with her counter canter but tends to hide a little in her left flexion. I am excited to announce she won the series championship with an average of
66.5 which was pleasing. I didn't realize I was going to get an award so I had already untacked

[StraightForward]

Wow, that is awesome Chisamba!

[exvet]

I agree that is awesome Chisamba and what nice photos too, especially with the sash!