Sweat equity: July-August goals and progress

[Kyra's Mom]

Kyra is well although I am somewhat frustrated. Certainly not with her but frustrated that at the current rate of riding, she is not building up top line or muscle. Of course, part of that is the weather from hell...literally. I just don't handle the heat well and if I do ride, I keep it pretty short. We have finally (prior to tonight anyway as today is supposed to be 104 or something ) gotten some lows in the mid 60's. It almost feels cool early in the morning. But, I had appointments almost every day last week and they were all mid-morning...needless to say, she got most of the week off hence the frustration with working her enough to make gains. Since when is early afternoon a 10:30am slot? This week looks better.

To go with that, I have found it really hard to even get my butt out of my recliner to do any meaningful exercise:oops: . My rowing machine is in my garage so I guess I need to get up and do that first thing in the morning. By evening it is in the 90's out there and forget it. That is on the days I don't go to the barn first thing. It just seems so hard to work everything in but I must. I have been doing some more walking...after it gets dark. I have a Liberty Trike arriving sometime in the next 10 days. Yes...I am officially old and am getting a trike. Bonus...it is electric but you can peddle all you want independent of the motor. I got it thinking I MIGHT be able to get Mom on it? I already tried the helmet on her. Hopefully, that will get me more active. Even though electric, I might actually go somewhere. My feet just aren't up to walking miles...1 is about my limit. Should be fun I hope.

I did have a nice but short ride yesterday. Still working on the connection at walk. I kind of had to start over since she had most of last week off. I did a few trot reps and did some trot circles with walk to TOF with her turning her hind end INTO the circle. That has the new inside hind stepping under and then immediately back to trot. She did that quite well and stayed nicely connected. For some reason my back spasmed on me and I didn't try any canter. I still need to figure out why I am sitting so heavy on the left as evidenced by the larger sweat/dirt smudge on that side of her back. Then to figure out how to fix it.

I think I am going to ask my sister to come sit with Mom one day a week. Mom is still pretty independent but does she resent me going to the horse and if my sister could some entertain her for at least a couple hours, that might get me out one more day/week.

I am looking for a different barn. I am so tired of the rocks in the footing where I am at. I only have about 3 barns outside of the one I am at that are a distance that won't have me in the car for longer than the 50-60 minutes (round trip) I have now. One of those does not have an indoor but being the weather weenie I am, I don't know if that matters so much?

Happy riding all.

[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. Be kind to your self and try to not let mom keep you from riding when you have time. My mom did similar stuff, keeping me from riding, but then she would complain I wasn't riding enough when she wanted to "watch" from her window!

I did not ride as much as I had planned this weekend; wound up going to and ring stewarding a dog show on Saturday instead. By the time we finally got home, all I was good for was ambling down the road on Rabbit. Sunday, I just couldn't fire up the motivation to ride after church, yard work and house work. That's my excuse, anyways...really it was because I was just sick of riding in the oppressive heat. Luckily, I had some really productive rides on both boys this last week through Friday so it's all good.

[blob]

I'm also in the apathy and slump mode. So, it's nice to see everyone else's progress.

Work has been super busy with a new project kicking off and adjusting to being back in the office 3 times a week. So that's left less time for riding. Add very hot days and a 5 days with a stomach bug and this has NOT been a very productive month.

Canter work with MM has been a bit of a struggle as of late, even though it's usually her stronger gait. I don't think I'm getting enough engagement with the outside hind. She's dragging it rather than really pushing off on it. I can get that engagement if I go for a big extended canter, but when i go to collect, I can't seem to get a truly engaged collection, i end up just getting draggy canter. She's doing it on both leads equally, and she's not doing it when i lunge her. So, I'm pretty sure this is a ME problem and not something that she can't do. She's just not offering the thing that takes more work since i'm not effectively asking for it, or I could even be blocking it. On the more positive side, I do feel like our extended trot work has improved a lot. It is still not very good objectively speaking, but it is a real improvement and as a result I think we have a much more animated trot halfpass, which I am happy with. It flows very easily and nicely to the right and can be just as nice to the left, it just takes a bit more work on my part.

RP is also not doing great right now, but he really craves consistency, so not having back to back rides really hurts progress with him. I ended up giving him about 12 days off because it seemed better to give him that whole time off than have too many intermittent rides. Starting to now get him back in work and am dealing a bit with a scattered brain. With him I'm also having more trouble at the canter than at the trot (again, clearly a ME problem). The left lead has been a challenge with him, he really is looking for any opportunity to swap to the right. When I was lunging him the other day I found that when cantering on the left lead, when I would ask him for a downward to from canter to trot, he would swap behind just as he was coming into trot. So it would be like half a stride where he had swapped behind, something easy to miss if you blinked, but definitely telling. So, under saddle i think we will work on lots of t-c-t transitions to get stronger.

Still debating the end of July show. It would be the last show I can take MM to this year that works with my schedule and I haven't had her out all year. I still need just one more score for my bronze. On one hand I would like to feel more ready than I currently do. On the other hand, I currently have a horse who is sound and is trailering again and it feels like something I should not put off indefinitely. I don't want to regret not trying when I had the chance. But I also don't want to 'fail'. So, I need to make my decision in the next 24 hours.

[Moutaineer]

Tacked up for my lesson this evening, went to pull the saddle pad up into the gullet and nearly got my head bitten off...

Big hematoma like lump to the right side of his withers. Praying he's just rolled on a rock and bruised himself, not chipped the top off his withers.

Ugh. We've had some nice rides recently and were beginning to relax around each other. No clinic for us next weekend, either, I'm assuming.

Damned horses, already.

[khall]

I’m so sorry mountaineer!! Jingles it’s nothing too serious! And yes horses:( sometimes I feel like we need our heads examined for owning and riding horses

My update is we had another weekend of WE here on the farm. I’ve for the most part built all the obstacles minus the bull. Have not gotten to that yet. I still need some tweaking. Most of the rails need to be raised 12 in and right now we’ve just had them on the ground.

Joplin is a bit of an overachiever in WE. RB she gets on autopilot. So I can understand chisamba with Kimba. She does not get tense though just very movey. Soooo different from my sticky WBs!! We had a great time though. Fun to put our dressage to purpose. Gaila sat this one out. It was very hot and she had gotten bitten by some nasty bug right where her girth goes

[StraightForward]

Shoot Moutaineer, I hope it is nothing serious with Potter's. How frustrating!

Tesla was a little snarky for saddling today too. I think she is still sore in the shoulder as her surgical incision is finishing the healing process. Luckily I already have the girls scheduled for a saddle fitting appt on Friday, so we'll rule that out. I went ahead and worked her and she seemed a little sore in the shoulder. It could be that she made herself sore throwing an unholy tantrum when I tried to lunge her over a little cross rail on Sunday. Regardless we did a light walk/trot ride and introduced some more purposeful turn on the forehand, and she didn't do anything naughty. I'll try to get out and do some bodywork and SureFoot pads with her tonight and see if we can work out what's bugging her.

Annabelle is I think just going to be in what feels like a plateau for a while. All the buttons are installed, but she needs to build so much more strength and suppleness to be through and in self-carriage to some extent.

Khall, the WE weekend sounds like lots of fun! The trail course challenges we have here are a bit more than I have the guts for with my girls, but some easier obstacles would be a good change of pace.

[Moutaineer]

Bless my dear vet for squeezing me in to his busy day today after having been up all night operating on a colicky horse, and losing it, which he takes very personally.

We are kind of in a "wait and see" mode while we get the swelling down. I have a DMSO and cortisone potion to apply daily for a week and he's on an anti-inflammatory. The only thing I can think he's done from the position of the bump is to get himself cast under the autowaterer in his stall, and really smack on the top of his shoulder blade getting up. There's literally nothing else he could have injured himself on that I can see. He reduces his stall to complete chaos every night so it would be hard to tell if he's had a distressing incident or not...

Interestingly enough, my vet confirmed that he has indeed knocked the top off his withers some time in the past. I'd love to know when he did it, where the pieces are and whether they could be a contributing factor to the electric spook...

[Kyra's Mom]

Jingles for Potters. At least you didn't get on him when he was hurting so bad.

I had a nice ride yesterday. Trying to beat the worst of the heat. I did some more trot work yesterday and got in some canter work. The trot work, I worked bending lines with some serpentines. I did ask for a lengthened trot...just as a question. It wasn't the most dramatic but she did lengthen and was able to hold her balance the whole diagonal. She can get so big in the effort, she loses her balance. Nice to know it is there. It took a lot to find it in her younger days . Canter work, once we got some warm-up canter, I did some very shallow loops to hint at CC. Right lead was good but I got some stiffening and bracing on the left lead so some good info to work on.

I fiddled around with some position things to try and figure out my heavy left cheek. What I discovered yesterday is that I actually have to step and weight the right stirrup more. With a fake right hip and surgery on both feet (which I don't always feel full sensation), I think just moving my butt over to the right doesn't 'anchor' anything. If I weighted the right stirrup with what felt like a lot of weight, I could actually feel my seat bones much more evenly and the sweat marks under the pad were closer to the same size right and left.

We will see how the next ride goes. I reached out to another stable today, trying to find one with better, more uniform footing and I think they all have waiting lists...horse property is disappearing around here at light speed so not sure if or when that change will happen.

Susan

[blob]

Sighhhh. Sent in show entries last night. Today found myself a lame RP. Not quite sure what's going on--it's definitely left front. But leg is tight and clean, he's weight bearing on both legs at stand still and will readily let me pick up either. Hoof testers aren't finding anything, neither is palpating the shoulder/back. But at both walk and trot he is very lame. However doesn't seem to be in a pain just standing around.

Right now, I let him get his usual turnout and will see how he is tomorrow (better, worse, same) and go from there.

[StraightForward]

Aww crap! I hope RP comes right soon. How do they know when you've just made a show entry?

I just printed out a prize list for a show towards the end of August. This is the exact kind of thing I'm afraid of (and Annabelle acting like a complete knob at the show...).

[Moutaineer]

I'd mailed the check for the clinic next weekend on my way to the barn yesterday.

[blob]

good news is that RP was much better today. not 100%, but a pretty substantial improvement. So, whatever he did, hopefully isn't too serious. He got today off and will get tomorrow off as well (too much work to get to the barn). Friday, if he is back to normal, i might do some very light work.

[StraightForward]

Good to hear that, Blob! Tesla seemed just fine this morning as well. Just the slightest bit short on her right shoulder, which I think is some residual soreness from the surgery, and needs movement, not rest to get better. Now hopefully Potters comes right as well!

I am leaning towards entering the show, but can wait a few weeks to make a final decision. Annabelle needs to get out in the big, wide world, and it's at a barn where we've shown and cliniced before, so hopefully not too big of a stretch to blow her mind. With showing first level in mind, I shifted my focus on our schooling session this morning, to improve more of the first level elements. LY right needs work, and of course the trot lengthenings, as well as prompt, square halts. The good news is our stretchy trot and circle geometry is pretty good. Guess I'll need to find out if the loose ring Baucher I've been riding her in is legal or not.

[heddylamar]

This is a rather timely piece, since most of us are riding in some pretty aggressive heat.

The findings aren't particularly surprising IMO. It echoes my own observations about myself — distance runner, DC area, lots of heat and humidity — I recover better if I stand in a cold shower for 10-15 minutes and air dry v. quick cold shower, dry off immediately. With the later, I'll be sweating again before I even slap on lotion. With the former, the fan/AC continue to cool me further.

And, no, I don't take a sweat scraper to myself, so no real 1:1 comparison

I am feeling guilty for every single time I didn't cold hose Maia forever now. Girly is *thick* and does not handle heat well.

[StraightForward]

And, no, I don't take a sweat scraper to myself, so no real 1:1 comparison

I mean, you should. For science.

When I lived on the surface of the sun, also known as Bakersfield, CA I would ride right at dusk and then do the cool shower thing to get off the layer of sweat-based mud and cool off enough to sleep. You can definitely feel the cool sinking in after a few minutes. A quick rinse and the heat just rises right back to the skin.

We are getting a break a bit from the heat here and low to mid 90's has felt so nice after 100 and more every day. I spent about three hours dinking around at the barn tonight and had the place to my self. It was down to 75 by the time I left. Jumping lesson in the morning, so hopefully the cooler weather will have Annabelle energized.

[Chisamba]

Soooo... I am doing an online course related to my work with individuals with behavioral disorders. And I am learning about stress. ( flight or fight response)

did you know that the flight or fight response can inhibit our ability to make new memories and lean new things. so when your horse is fighting you or anxious they actually cannot learn new things and make new memories. not only that, cortisol, the stress hormone, impairs long term memory building and kills brain cells and amplified emotional disorders. ok so that should to my human clients more but isn't it interesting when thinking of horse learning.

guess what counter acts stress? activity with slow flowing movement that encourages rhythmic breathing. focusing on a positive, or connecting with someone you love or trust. so think that applies to horses too? I do

[Aleuronx]

I got a half-halt to come through at the trot in both directions this morning with Kora. So that's pretty big.

A piece of the current puzzle has been sitting the trot to help her with consistency in the connection, strangely enough. Now if we can get the half-halts both ways consistent, watch out world!

[exvet]

Soooo... I am doing an online course related to my work with individuals with behavioral disorders. And I am learning about stress. ( flight or fight response)

did you know that the flight or fight response can inhibit our ability to make new memories and lean new things. so when your horse is fighting you or anxious they actually cannot learn new things and make new memories. not only that, cortisol, the stress hormone, impairs long term memory building and kills brain cells and amplified emotional disorders. ok so that should to my human clients more but isn't it interesting when thinking of horse learning.

guess what counter acts stress? activity with slow flowing movement that encourages rhythmic breathing. focusing on a positive, or connecting with someone you love or trust. so think that applies to horses too? I do

True about dogs too, and most mammals I would expect...........

[Ryeissa]

Soooo... I am doing an online course related to my work with individuals with behavioral disorders. And I am learning about stress. ( flight or fight response)

did you know that the flight or fight response can inhibit our ability to make new memories and lean new things. so when your horse is fighting you or anxious they actually cannot learn new things and make new memories. not only that, cortisol, the stress hormone, impairs long term memory building and kills brain cells and amplified emotional disorders. ok so that should to my human clients more but isn't it interesting when thinking of horse learning.

guess what counter acts stress? activity with slow flowing movement that encourages rhythmic breathing. focusing on a positive, or connecting with someone you love or trust. so think that applies to horses too? I do

yes, I totally agree with this.

[piedmontfields]

Interesting notes! I was think again today (probably for the 200-th+ time) how grateful I am that Emi sweats well. I don't work her hard in high heat, but she sweats and is comfortable. We did an easy week after she seemed a bit muscle sore after increased work with canter, will do chiro tomorrow, and then proceed easily in the heat to come.

Chisamba and others, I was just listening to a podcast from the authors of "Burnout." They emphasize how important it is to *complete* the stress response cycle in order to release stress. I was immediately thinking about how horses know how to do this---they react, stress, run/whatever, and when safe, exhale, look around and go back to life/grazing. Horses don't normally stay stressed as a way of being! No wonder horses are such good teachers to us humans.

Here is a link to the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... goski-dma/
The point is that us humans frequently interrupt and do not complete the full neuro-biological stress cycle, and that can cause serious long-term harm, mentally and physiologically.

[piedmontfields]

Also, high heat here in the E TN valley is ~90 with highs in the mid-90s F this week. But I was able to go a few thousand feet up and go trout fishing this weekend in much more mild temps. Thinking of you all dealing with extreme heat, fire, drought. Even here the smoke from NW US fires has been plainly visible (and felt in the lungs) this past week.

[Moutaineer]

Quasimodo gets to see the specialist vet tomorrow for his shoulder, but it seems much less sore even if still rather swollen. But he's his normal, cheerful friendly self. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can get things moving along.

I went to see Laddie this afternoon, who is looking well and happy and seems quite sound, but who knows if he would stay that way in work.

[exvet]

We finally have sun! Since Thursday we've had torrential monsoon storms. At our house we measured 8.5 inches of rain in 4 days which exceeds our rain total for all of last year by 2 inches. Suffice it to say that I was able to ride Thursday morning and Saturday (rode out on the roads) and that is it. It's going to be way too soggy to ride for at least 1-2 days. Gearing up for muggy weather and mosquitoes. Unfortunately just across the border there's been an outbreak of VEE. When I consulted with my veterinary distributor I found out that all remaining VEE doses are on back order. Another way Covid is sucking the life out of most everything even still. Hoping we don't have VEE here but with the masses of people coming across the border (this includes animals crossing as well) I think only a miracle will keep it out of the US this time.

[blob]

RP is still not right. I thought he was much better, but that was a false positive. Ha. It's definitely the shoulder, as the lameness is more pronounced when he has a shoulder on and even worse with a rider on. Though it is there even with no saddle or rider. So, for now he's just getting time off and I'm trying not to panic about the fact that it is the same shoulder as his serious injury about 1.5 years back. The vet is coming wednesday anyway for MM's chiro and so I will have her peak at him. Though I don't think the vet will change much as either way he will get time off and I won't do stall rest unless ABSOLUTELY critical. I will isolate him to a solo paddock so there's less invitation to run and play. But i'd rather have a bit of a longer healing time than deal with the stress of stall rest and the over excitement that comes when you finally let them back out.

MM is doing well and we are planning to go to the show this weekend to chase our elusive last bronze score. And I am in a mild panic about it and trying to remind myself that it does.not.matter.what.i.score and that everything.will.be.fine. one decision i do need to make about the show is around equipment. in the past i have shown her in the double (at home, she goes about equally often in snaffle v. double). But I'm thinking this time around I might ride her in the snaffle. When i get nervous I often let my reins get long and while the double helps keeping her from looking as strung out if I do that, for hte same reason the snaffle might force me/better remind me to keep my reins short and actually get an honest/correct connection. The other equipment decision is around spurs. At home i ride her in 3/4 inch prince of wales spur. At shows she can get a bit lazier (and I can get a bit tighter), so I often save my rowels for the show only. But the rowels often make her hop up more thtan push out and it's the latter I need more. A more confident gal would ride int he prince of wales spur. But we'll see. Obviously all the options will go to the show with me, but i'd like a game plan going in.

Today will be our last ride before the show at home. Then she'll get tues-thurs off.

[Ryeissa]

Here is a link to the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... goski-dma/
The point is that us humans frequently interrupt and do not complete the full neuro-biological stress cycle, and that can cause serious long-term harm, mentally and physiologically.

Its very timely to me as I'm not doing so hot. I ordered it! thanks for the suggestion. Once I solve my midlife crisis I can get back to riding.

[Ponichiwa]

Good luck at the show, blob!

Finally stopped raining here! New complaint: sauna season is in full swing. Having to limit rides to 25 - 35 min with a walk-heavy warm-up to acclimate the both of us to working in 90+% humidity and misery. Luckily, like piedmontfiedls' Emi, Queso is a champion sweater.

Even my dogs are starting to veto walks unless we sneak one in that glorious hour after the morning dew burns off and before the heat of the day sets in-- usually 10a-11:30a. Still not back in the office yet, so getting lots of opportunities to walk (even if I'd honestly rather not because I'm at risk of melting).

August is right around the corner, and things I've accomplished are:
- Fewer rides than I wanted (rain); the rides I'm having lately are pretty high-quality though. Exploring a more collected balance in trot and canter and thanks to the walk warmup, the walk pirouettes are getting much crisper and cleaner.
- Lost 5lb but have plateaued for the last 2 weeks. Keeping on keeping on but it's truly a slog.
- Basically walking the feet off the dogs (displaced I-need-to-go-outside-and-do-stuff energy from the weeks of rain/too-wet-to-ride arena)-- 20-25 mi/week

Here's hoping we can all keep it together in August!

[piedmontfields]

It is now a seriously sweaty week. E TN has finally joined the nation in the heat dome. I did an easy walking hack yesterday and realized at the end it was more than appropriate. Emi is fine, but we will take it very easy until we get back to the low 90s F.

[blob]

This week has also been much hotter suddenly for us too.

The vet was out at the farm today, so I had her take a look at RP. He looked better and then bad again and has stayed there for the most part. We did some blocking and were able to isolate the lameness to his hoof. But he had no reaction to hoof testers and there was nothing she could feel or see. We didn't have time to do further diagnostics and the vet agreed it was best to give it a bit more time. It could be a deep abscess that isn't reachable by testers. But that if it isn't better by end of next week, chances are it's not an abscess and then we might need to do an xray of the hoof to get other diagnostics to make sure there isn't something structural going on. So, here's to hoping for an abscess!

I'm not doing much riding this week until the weekend. Work has been busy and with the show this weekend, I'm fine giving MM a very light week--she may as well come in feeling fresh and it's best that i don't get into my head and over drill anything or make a mess of something. So, she'll get weds and thursday off and then friday we'll school lightly at the show grounds.

[exvet]

Good luck at the show Blob. Having a similarly built horse and currently much of the same weather, I think your plan and approach are spot on. It's tough on the compact and muscular to handle this type of weather as well as the rider. I'm always juggling between too much vs too little warm up when it's muggy - need enough to achieve relaxation and softness but not so much that you lose what limited energy can be sustained in such conditions. We'll be anxious for a show report.

[Moutaineer]

cooled off a little bit here, and we have had some much needed rain, though not enough. However, that means we have humidity, which we are surely not used to!

I had a new vet come out on Monday--sporthorse specialist who is also a chiro. She was coming to chiro another couple of horses in the barn, so I thought I'd have her take a look at Potters and his shoulder while she was there.

She declared the shoulder no big deal, but having watched her doing a very thorough and precise lameness eval on another horse in the barn who is a complete physical trainwreck, I had her give him a good going over, too, which was very informative and helpful.

She said that he's such a good mover he manages to hide most of his issues quite well, but that he was really only going at 80% capacity and could be quite a bit more comfortable and move quite a bit better--however, apart from the front feet, which we know about, and which she said we could do a great deal to help, she said everything is really what you would expect from a sport horse of his age and level of training.

So, on Monday he got some chiropractic adjustment and yesterday he had an afternoon of further targeted diagnostics and some joint injections. 3 days off, 2 days of light work, then back to the fray, and we'll see how it goes! The difference in movement with the nerve blocks in the front feet was pretty telling.

Turns out her own horse has some gnarly navicular x-rays, too, so she's pretty up to date on all the protocols.

I was hanging out waiting for Potters to fully come round from sedation so I could take the wraps off and hose all the surgical scrub off his legs, and dear old Walker started colicking and thrashing around in his stall. (Weather-related, I'm sure, as the thunder and lightning were crashing around the barn at that point.)

Banamine, much handwalking, a good groom, more handwalking, and he finally had a world-beating fart and snapped out of it, but he did give me quite a scare. Much as I love him, at 25. semi-retired and with other things going on, he's a DNR for colic and major veterinary issues, and I am happy I didn't have to make that decision yesterday.

[khall]

Blob be careful out there! The dog says of summer are full on in Georgia right now. I just can’t face trying to work horses in this heat and humidity. I got one ride in this week and that is it. Trying to get ready to go out of town on vacation Saturday. Chasing my tail to get everything done before we leave. Weather is killing us right now. Trying to get hay up and it keeps raining one entire field a total loss to rain the other to army worms (caterpillars). It’s just ragged stalks.

I have updates on Joplin. Getting her canter much better now!! Going large really helped. That and she self loaded Monday for a vet trip both going and coming home. That’s the first time it has not taken two to load her.

Rip’s update is his airway cicatrix is progressing which means my decision to stop riding him was the right one for him. He’s fine being a pasture potato but unless they come up with something new this is a progressive disease that will ultimately cost him his life unless something else gets him.

Gaila is fat even with a grazing muzzle on. Looks good when I’m working her but not being able to as much as I wished. Triple digit heat index is nothing to play with

[Lipsmackerpony88]

I've been reading and rooting for you guys! I've not posted because things were frustrating with Lynx being injured/having his feet crumble and get sore. I think we all sound really over the heat as well!!

Things are looking up though. Vet was pleased with the progress on his stifle. Feet are getting better. Trying glue ons on his hinds soon, boots have been tough and nail ons are only working on the fronts.

Horses sure test our patience!!

[StraightForward]

Glad to hear from you LSP, I have been wondering how you and Lynx have been doing. Fingers' crossed he keeps improving. It seems to be the way that it can take several months to get a new horse on the right road.

Wednesday I hauled Annabelle to the big indoor and she was foot perfect. I even rode her across the parking lot to warm up in the outdoor arena, and then back to the indoor to school. She only spooked at a circle that was spray-painted in the parking lot, but even that was more of a stop and look. We had a good jumping lesson with Annabelle this morning. We only jumped like 18" but I'm getting better at riding to the jumps proactively and not falling apart or panicking if she takes a weird spot. We are supposed to get a cool-down and rain starting tonight which will be delightful. My instructor is back the following weekend, and hopefully for several weekends in a row after that. I'm thinking for the show we'll just do T-3 the first day and T-3 and 1-2 the second day to keep it fairly simple. I don't like how 1-1 rides, and 1-3 looks a fair bit more challenging, so I'll give that a try if there's another opportunity to show this fall.

Tesla had to get excess scar tissue removed and frozen on her surgery site, and now she is sore and swollen up again. We were starting to have some really nice rides too. With the NS Turtle Tactio she is starting to give me some contact, and is almost too forward in her trot right now. Working towards her allowing me to change the speed and tempo a little without getting behind the leg or too crooked. Hopefully in a few days we'll be back at it.

Six rides on the Shire so far and he is already doing much better, paying attention and staying more connected. We are doing lots of W/T/W and H/W/H transitions as well as LY and ToF. Soon I'll get brave and go for a canter on him. His owner's big complaint is that he doesn't take the right lead, so that is my goal. I think I'll try to ride him for two more months and see how much progress he can make.

[Ryeissa]

Didn't do much in July- too hot! I've got my own health issues too, so that is being dealt with. Glad to hear all the updates!
Jingles to all who need it.

[exvet]

Agreed Ryeissa, July has been challenging with the weather. More jingles sent to all who need them.

Well I got the pivo back out because we're dealing with slightly cooler weather temperature-wise though very muggy and loaded with gnats and mosquitoes. This is typical after our monsoon storms and usually dissipates once we dry out (two-three days). Unfortunately since we had more rain yesterday morning I feel the weekend is going to be more of the same. While my phone and pivo decided to not overheat and as such I got video on both Brandon and Junior, I see so much that needs tweaking (and no it's not because I've been watching the Olympics - I've only seen a total of 3 rides from the entire competition). While Brandon is no longer sticking his tongue out at all with the Happy Bomber bit he is still uber fussy. His balance is gradually improving but it's hard to work on balance when you have a horse who is all over the place trying to resist any contact with the bit - more hitting it and trying to jerk me off than going behind but he'll occasionally go there too. So I've solved part of the problem but not all of it. I'm used to greenie meanies so while I know some of this will get better with time, patience and consistency it's hard to persevere when he stumbles or slips due to his issues with his mouth. He's still growing and gangly so whenever he gets real fussy he'll lose his balance and stumble or slip or whatever. Frustrating and at times unnerving; so, one thing I'm going to do is go back to one of the other 'tongue relief' bits I have and see if there is any difference or if the tongue comes back out or if he's better. I also am going to try Junior's saddle on him again. He's so narrow compared to Junior but it seems he's found his chest and has a leg on each corner instead both fronts coming out of the same hole and both backs coming out of the same hole. It's possible that it may help. Hopefully the temperatures in the morning will stay below 90 so I can keep using my Pivo. The biggest advantage of the Pivo is that with one view I can already see that what I'm feeling is real; so, if I can't use my Pivo I'll still know if I'm choosing a correct path to pursue.

With Junior I think I need to try riding with a shorter stirrup. I ride with a really long one because he's so round; but, I want to see if my seat improves and thus he improves if I go shorter. I didn't realize just how long the stirrups were until my daughter got in the saddle and didn't have to lengthen them. I do think the different tact I've taken with approaching Junior's resistance to get into the right rein is helping. I tried actually coming down the long side in the counter canter and head up the center line to go in to the half pass. I actually got a better half pass to the left in the canter by doing so and was able to keep him in the counter canter. He waited to change leads when I asked so a minor victory.

Poor guy was very irritable due to the darn gnats and mosquitoes. I can't say I've ever seen him so bothered. I feel so bad for him and still he tries so hard. We had guests over last night and the 3 boys were racing around and playing last night (much of it due to the gnats and mosquitoes) putting on quite a show. Everyone (none horse people) commented on how much 'prettier' Brandon moves vs. Junior. It's very dramatic for me to see the difference in how much better Junior moves when he's under saddle and the sheer power he possesses - very different horse. Monty was that way and so was Junior's great-grand dam, my very first purebred welsh cob.

I'm hoping August brings a chance to really start riding more and working on specific things but I'm guessing my hopes will likely not be realized until September.

[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 chair flying backwards...luckily ds partially caught me so i didn't whack my head on the heavy oak chair as we went down. Unfortunately, my back most definitely did not appreciate my acrobatics, and so I have not ridden all week because I can't lift the saddles onto the horses yet. I had to use a cane for a couple of days because my left leg lost strength and feeling. I'm getting better every day but now it's county fair time and I have a dog show to put on. At least the ponies are freshly shod now and ready to go when I have time.

Exvet, I agree, the mosquitoes and gnats are horrible right now. I feel bad for the horses.

[exvet]

Well August has started out with a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel mostly having to do with Brandon. I did shorten my stirrups on Junior and it was definitely the right move. Today Junior's job, along with Ace, was to hit the trails out on the preserve to search for an evasive BLM mustang who got away from it's trainer a little over a month ago. It was sighted near our house yesterday and at that time I discovered a kid who grew up with my daughter owned/had adopted it. So we went out to track it yesterday with Ace and then today with the two horses. No tangible success was achieved but we did see where the little smart stinker has been spending most of his time. The owner is having the catch pens that were set up to trap this guy moved to the coordinates where he was sighted yesterday and where we saw his hang outs and preferred paths to travel. Hopefully since he's still living with a halter and lead on he will be caught and made safe soon. Once he's caught he may end up here for a short time depending on what the owner wishes to do.

As to dressage or just training Brandon, I made the switch from the happy bomber bit to one of my mylar's designed for tongue release yesterday. WRONG move. In a bit of desperation I made two more changes. I pulled out my old but in very good condition rubber mullen. I had purchased it for my son's Arabian many years ago and hung on to it. I also switched saddles. I went from my Roosli to Junior's Prestige now that Brandon is wider/maturing. Well it wasn't nirvana but I suddenly had a horse whose issues, baubles and minor resistances were all in my wheel house. We were cantering NICE 20 meter circles by the end of today. It was such a relief to have a horse reach out to and take the bit. He is such a mouthy horse picking up the dogs' toys and playing with them as well as all the feed pans. I think he really like the ability to mouth and chew the rubber (may be not the goal; but, I had a much more rideable horse). There was still some chomping on the bit and of course the back and forth in tempo as well as some minor curling from time to time all having to do with age, balance and figuring things out as opposed to just being upset that there was this thing in his mouth. At no time did he stick his tongue out or gape his mouth open. The Bomber stopped the tongue from coming out but it still wasn't making him happy; but, today I was easily able to steady him with my seat and balance him into each rein evenly and get him to relax. We had many strides where we were up and open and not careening desperately like a dirt bike out on a motocross course. Now this was fun

Way too muggy and buggy today; but, nice to end on a high. Happy riding y'all....just 30 more days until September

[heddylamar]

Maia came in with a puffy knee this morning. Definitely lame. No heat. No reaction to manipulation. No fever. No mud/dirt skid marks (the normal tell-tale sign). I carefully applied DMSO ... Maia carefully applied DMSO to me

Hopefully she'll have some miraculous recovery tomorrow. Or at least be clear about what she did to herself this time /sigh

[Aleuronx]

Thinking positive thoughts to all having a struggle time with their mounts.

We've been plugging along. Sitting trot is still seemingly helping the connection so we're running with it. I don't know if it's because it's easier to micromanage the left front or what. Canter is slowing coming back into balance as well so very interested to see how our lesson goes tomorrow. We're heading over to my trainer for a double header. I took Monday/Tuesday off work to have a chill long weekend.

I'm trying to get saddle fitter for adjustment and our schedule is just not meshing as she's in the area when I'm dealing with a virtual India company 2 day audit for work. Still waiting on timing to see if I can still swing it as now that Kora is fitting up well saddle is sitting a bit low but using a halfpad is making it too tight for her comfort (she likes it loose and wide I guess?)

[blob]

Oh no, heddy--keep us posted.
Great to hear updates from everyone who is riding.

RP still lame--no better, no worse. I have been hoping for an abscess, but for that to be the case, it would need to get worse before it'll get better, and right now it's the same. So, waiting game continues. If there's no change for better or worse by end of this coming week, i'll have the vet back out to do an xray.

Show report:
It was a VERY hot weekend and even though my ride times weren't too late in the day, only those riding before 9am had a shot of tolerable temperature. We rode 3-1 each day. I am still trying to learn not to get my head when showing third level. And so both days I missed out on a lot of points that I really shouldn't have--a crooked centerline, a 10 meter circle that was too big, a missed transition, doing my reinback before taking a deep breath/pause to show that my halt was confirmed, etc. I also missed out on other things as well--my trot halfpasses and the extended trot have really improved since the last time I showed, but I wasn't able to really show that off as much as I would have liked.

But despite this, it was a very successful show overall: MM was super for me--she did what was asked, she had energy and motivation and was in great spirits in an out of the saddle with ears up and bright eyes the whole weekend, one of the judges even commented on how focused she was. My nerves, though still there, were much better and more manageable. MM self loaded beautifully on the trailer (our first outting in a long time), so that was huge progress. And we got the scores we needed for my bronze! We only just got it, so there is a lot to work towards. But this was something I really really wanted to be able to accomplish with MM and so it felt incredibly rewarding.

Going forward, the show also highlighted many things for me to work on, including precision. So, I feel motivated to keep plugging away on our work so that I am able to string together the pieces into a stronger test. I won't be able to show MM again until next spring from a scheduling standpoint, so I have time to really buckle down cleaning up pieces and on keeping my reins short!

[khall]

Blob excellent show report! Yeah on your bronze!! Riding in Spain and Portugal busted me on being much more precise. Glad the show went well all the way around

On vacation at the beach so no riding to report

[Ryeissa]

is anyone out there doing ....well....lately? seems we are all having a rough go. Air quality issues and heat this week mean more sidelines for me.
Blob seems to be the Shining Star of the week- contrats on the show and BRONZE!!! whooo hoooooooooooooooooooo

[heddylamar]

is anyone out there doing ....well....lately?

We were doing great. Then, this morning

[StraightForward]

Congratulation Blob, that is exciting and very inspiring too!

[piedmontfields]

Many congratulations, Blob, to you and Ms. M! Your perspective on wanting to develop more is just part of the training journey.

Fingers crossed for others and maybe me too. Emi clearly backed her eye dealing with some terror (some swelling around eye, but eye is good). We'll see what tomorrow brings. But she worked well today.

Basically, as with Walker, we just want them to stay alive unless they don't want to! A humbling process, for sure.

[exvet]

Congratulations Blob. Sounds like MM deserves an extra carrot (or peanuts in the shell which I'm trying to get my somewhat IR-like guys to accept as treats ). Nice to read about such a dependable mare and obviously the scores were well earned. You should be proud.

[Moutaineer]

Congratulations, Blob! Well done indeed!

Potters looked lovely on the longe this afternoon. Lesson tomorrow, so we will find out how he is under saddle...

Walker has been a bit of a test this week. Tried to kick barn manager's head off on Friday, for, I'm told, no reason. Hmmm. He was a good and sound boy to ride this afternoon once he'd got over a bit of drama about horses on the next door property, but he's not looking so great. I think its time for a vet visit. Poor old guy.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Congratulations Blob on the score and overall success at the show. Even though you realized you had room for improvement, I personally think that's the best way to walk away from a show. Knowing clearly where we can improve is a big part of this sport!

Jingles for RP! I hope it's nothing serious.

[blob]

thanks, all! I realized i have very few riding pictures of MM, so I did sign up for the show photographer. I will share if i end up getitng any of them!

[Moutaineer]

How is Maia today, Heddy?