March (and April) of Progress

[khall]

Good luck at the show Exvet!

I do think changes are a game changer for riders. Some horses just find them easy some do not. We will see with Joplin hopefully later this year though in my work I’ve felt her thinking about changing. I do think the TB types find changes pretty easy but their canters tend to be their best gait.

Flight I can understand you stepping away from the show arena and moving into WE. I have to say though the last video you posted of Norsey in WE comp was just lovely. You both looked very polished and quite accomplished.

Joplin is back to normal and I’ve played with her in hand some. Me I go for mri Monday to get some answers. Still having numbness tingling and weakness in the right arm. Pain is better. Gabapentin is helping. Still though trying chiro acupuncture and start PT next week. I hope to try riding next week or even Saturday. Fingers crossed!

[exvet]

Thank you khall. I'm glad to read that Joplin is back to normal. I hope your MRI gives you the feedback you need and recovery is swift. I've been plagues by numbness, weakness in my right arm for many years now (hard to believe). I will get tingling in both hands from time to time especially after completing multiple surgeries. I found acupuncture helped me the most; but, after a while I couldn't keep up with the treatments and cutting back on the surgeries alone helped the most. Still the damage is done and my quest is to get the most out of my riding that I can before physically I'm no longer able to ride.

I'm heading out to take Junior over to the show venue to run through our test again and get him acquainted with the Equidome. It's an intimidating indoor arena for some horses. Then I'll haul him home and turn around to take Brandon over to ride, school and settle him into his stall at the show grounds. I'm lucky that I live relatively close to the venue. I can't haul the two together and then handle them alone because of Junior's antics. I have a day stall for Junior. The barn manager thought she was doing me a favor by allowing me to have my day stall and Brandon's weekend stall together. I had to explain to her that EVERYONE will want Junior in a completely separate barn. She evidently got it because she moved his day stall to a barn at the opposite end of the show grounds LOL. I'll take Junior back tomorrow morning so that I can ride both horses as if they are 'my only' horse at the show which keeps everything so much more peaceful and less stressful oi vey.

[khall]

Exvet you have my admiration for tackling riding 2 in the same show. I hope you have some help. Understand about the issues with being too attached. Most of mine have some the same whether they are pasture mates like Rip and Joplin or just get attached from the trailer ride. I’ve rarely been able to haul two and not have that issue. Rip usually does not care unless it’s Joplin

[Chisamba]

Good luck and good changes, exvet

[Moutaineer]

Good luck, Exvet!

Well I got first tracks of the year in the outdoor arena today. It was wonderful. Potters is such a happy boy outside.

[StraightForward]

Good luck ExVet, can't wait to hear how it goes!

Moutaineer, hurrah for riding outside. I can't imagine the cabin fever you all must have by now!

Annabelle continues to be a good little nugget. Starting to think we'll pivot towards marketing her as HJ instead of a dressage pony. This morning she gamely tackled this 3'3" ish oxer. Seems like it might very well be worth having Autumn take her to a couple local shows if she continues to do well. Last night I popped T through some jumps, and she is definitely figuring it out how to get through a bounce, and never refused. We'll try a jump lesson next Friday.

Sadly, my SoloShot seems to have bitten the dust, so there will be no bloopers reel from my jumping attempts with T. Mostly it's the battery, so I need to see if I can send it in and get that replaced, or maybe they can rebuild the whole thing. At least I did get five years out of it, but I'll need to make friends with Pivo now, I suppose.

[Chisamba]

Good luck, Exvet!

Well I got first tracks of the year in the outdoor arena today. It was wonderful. Potters is such a happy boy outside.

Wow it was 90 here. The outdoor was hot and buggy

[Chisamba]

Nice shot of A!!

[Moutaineer]

Good luck, Exvet!

Well I got first tracks of the year in the outdoor arena today. It was wonderful. Potters is such a happy boy outside.

Wow it was 90 here. The outdoor was hot and buggy

It snowed on the way home from the barn...

[khall]

Geeze chisamba your hotter than Georgia! We are hitting low 80’s today for the first time this week. It’s actually a beautiful day with a little breeze. We are still having a good bit of rain that is keeping things cooked off. Heck last weekend we froze with 40’s and heavy rain. Just nasty weather

Hate that some (mountaineer) still dealing with snow. Yuck.

Have a wonderful weekend all! Not sure if I’m going to try riding or just work on the ground until I get mri results. Especially after talking with a nurse about my numb fingers

[Chisamba]

Khall, my horses have not even shed their winter coats yet, they were so hot. It cooled and rained today. It certainly won't barn your horses to wait till you know what the problem is.

I'm contemplating a show in two weeks. I don't feel ready but do I ever feel ready lol.

[exvet]

Thank you everyone. Unfortunately, as it often seems to go, Junior and I left our game in the warm up yesterday. He's never competed in the Equidome before and so we went in there to get used to the indoor and see what pony I brought. He was fabulous. Not bothered by anything. Sure that everyone sitting in the stands had a treat for HIM! He was forward, hot off my leg, coming round and staying soft. We had one late change but the other three were clean. I did comment to Molly that I may have just used up my Kmart pony and it appears that I had. Today he was in a good mood; but, definitely had NO gas. He wasn't totally sullen but my mediums were barely there and I got nailed for all of it. I did get 7s on my two halts on the center line. I got a 5.5 for one flying lead change - clean but braced. My walk pirouettes received 7s (so at least no points left on the floor there) I got a few 6.5s but all in all ended up with a 56 and change. No where near qualifying. It's too bad because while there were other horses spooking in the arena. Junior could have cared less. The judge did say we were a cute pair and to keep working on improving; so, that we will.

Brandon unfortunately was a PITA. He was rooting and fussing and just all around being a huge TWO YEAR OLD complaining the whole time. We managed to pull 61s for both of our first level tests. I really didn't expect much for our first test of the day. He tends to start out all tense and unsure. His second test had some really good moments and we would have scored a wee bit higher but the sh!t head threw in a CLEAN flying change right in front of the judge. He wanted to break from a canter to a trot and I wasn't going to let him. I put both of my legs on him but I guess my one leg was a bit further back than normal (not canter request back though) to keep him from falling haunches in and voila there was a very clean change (I know the judge and she was kind enough to let me know )

The weather has been great, not too hot and not too cold. The show has been very well subscribed. Lots of higher level horses appear to have changed hands so there were quite a few "new to dressage" debuting at second and third level on previous FEI horses which was interesting. Scoring over all has been very conservative.

Tomorrow is another day. Not feeling really good about our chances for better rides but who knows. My guys have pleasantly surprised me in the past.

[Ponichiwa]

Hope Day 2 went well, exvet! And Straightforward: what a great shot of Annabelle. Chisamba I do not envy your weather-- I know 90+F days are in my not-too-distant future and let me tell you I am not ready.

I just wrapped up at a local show and finally got the scores I was looking for at 3rd: 63 and 67. Might have been a gift, but I'm not complaining. Left points on the table, again, with my turns on the haunches (why am I so bad at those!)... always something to work on in this sport.

[exvet]

Hope Day 2 went well, exvet! And Straightforward: what a great shot of Annabelle. Chisamba I do not envy your weather-- I know 90+F days are in my not-too-distant future and let me tell you I am not ready.

I just wrapped up at a local show and finally got the scores I was looking for at 3rd: 63 and 67. Might have been a gift, but I'm not complaining. Left points on the table, again, with my turns on the haunches (why am I so bad at those!)... always something to work on in this sport.

Thank you Ponichiwa. It did. Junior and I earned our second and final qualifying score for the regionals at third level. Both of his flying changes were truly flying and clean (just a wee bit braced in one and definitely braced in the other BUT CLEAN) woo hoo! I made sure that lacking forward would NOT be the problem today. Junior and I finally have solidified our turns on the haunches/walk pirouettes by receiving 7s on all of them. Brandon did great in his first time at first level test 3 and we earned one qualifying score towards regionals earning a 65. I have A LOT to work on though because he got so fussy and lacked being supple. I think it's a tack thing again but not sure where. Still, I'm happy overall. My next recognized show is in June and I have one schooling show just before it. I plan on just taking Brandon to the recognized so that will make things a little easier and with any luck will earn another qualifying score for regionals at first level and have an opportunity to show both training and first level at regionals with Brandon and now third with Junior. We don't have a chance in hell to place but just being able to be in 'the company' is good.

[exvet]

Far from perfect and loads to work on; but, here is Junior's test from Sunday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmJfUAbMX0Q

Once I am able to upload Brandon's video I'll add it for y'all to see my conundrum with him too

[khall]

Zoom! Exvet you certainly got Junior in front of your leg in this test! Love the medium trot down CL:). Junior definitely excels in his trot work. That extension was lovely. Canter and FCs are definitely coming. It looks like his just difficult to keep soft in the bridle asking for the more difficult work. He reminds me of Rip in that they are quite strong but not flexible. To be quite honest I would be working more piaffe work. But that’s my go to for strength and flexibility.

I’ve been working Joplin consistently in hand now. Plated with canter in had more insistently Saturday. I think I worked harder than she did! Trot work we are good it’s the canter she’s not making much effort in. So that’s our focus for a bit. Though today was HI in the draw at the trot in short active trot. Easy left much harder right. Then some lovely piaffe on the spot L to short active passage? I think. Right is harder. Used to be the opposite. Horses. Keep you guessing

Gorgeous cool spring day ahead of much warmer weather this week. Hoping for beautiful weather first weekend in May for Cedar clinic

[exvet]

We have been working with quite a bit of piaffe work. I need to get him more comfortable cantering poles and jumping. He still wants to hold his breath when he goes over anything. It's the sit and push he needs to develop a comfort level with in order for us to get better. Flexible is not really in his first language but we're hoping to develop his fluency in his second language.

Here is Brandon, also a tough nut to crack. I'm having difficulty getting it on to my YouTube channel so if you want to see it, hopefully you have Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/messenger_medi ... 1646162319

[mari]

Thanks for posting your test videos Exvet! Junior's trot work is so lovely, agree with Khall, that entry down CL was lovely.
I also loved your initial few strides of the canter lengthening, he really seemed to take off properly, but then lost the expression about midway through.

[Flight]

and I guess I'm just not skilled enough to help her regain uphill as we go

Chisamba, I know it's easily said than done, but I feel you just have to keep doing them. Every day, just keep trying a few. It takes time for them to work it out and not become a big deal. It's hard on the rider because it feels terrible, but the only way to get better is to keep doing it. I struggled a lot with my two, but in the end it was just keep trying and time.

Exvet, your second test on FB wouldn't open for me but your youtube one was good! Nice and active. Have you ridden in a curb yet with Junior? That's what I would do, just to help now with the collection.
I like your outfit, we are still the traditional white saddle cloth, white joddies for dressage in Australia.

Straightforward - awesome jumping pics. Bummer about your soloshot. They are great, but once you get the hang of pivo you wont go back.The quality isn't as good, but they are quick and easy.

We are organising a holiday in Montana!! I've always wanted to go and ride at a ranch there since I was a kid. I was one of the horseless but horse crazy kids and one of my favourite book sets was based there. So, 2 overseas holidays this year is a bit special.

My horses are good. Fluffy. We have had some beautiful autumn days, I had to sleep most of the day after nightshift today and when I finally got up the day was too nice not to miss a quick ride around the block.

93241824-C021-4BEA-9154-0FA902E4223D.JPG (112.41 KiB) Viewed 52509 times

[khall]

Flight where in Montana are you going? We did Lone Mountain Ranch several years ago. Not a working ranch but a resort that had horses we could ride out on the trails. I went with just the wrangler and we had a blast galloping out in the trails. The food was awesome. We stayed in a cabin. One of the farthest from the lodge. Opened the back door and had a bull moose grazing out the back. We also took a day trip to Yellowstone. So awesome even with the crowd. We got to see a wolf trotting across a meadow. He was HUGE!

There were several day trips you could do from white water rafting or fly fishing or hauling off the horses to ride off property and of course Yellowstone

My next trip I want to do the ranch thing:). The friend who went with me to Spain and Portugal wants to go as well.


https://lonemountainranch.com/

My son loved the high ropes course.

[Flight]

We've booked in to Rocking z ranch near Helena. That one looks great too, wouldn't mind going in winter for a ski!
We are also going to do a few days up at Glacier National Park, and then a few at Yellowstone. Will be a busy trip but I'm very much looking forward to it

[exvet]

Yeah Mari, I know we lost the gas in the extended canter. I was so happy by that point in the test to get a response of push and larger stride in the beginning. To be honest I was afraid if I really hit the brake pedal he would have broken because it was getting hot and I had already ridden him hard for a solid two days prior. If we decide to go to regionals, I will go for broke and hopefully have a stronger pony by then. I do think his canter has improved even if it doesn't match his trot work yet. I worked in hand on more piaffe and jumping and some spanish walk. I think all is helping. I'm also going to try to get a little bit more weight off of him. He's lost a fair amount over the winter; but, my coach has convinced me that he needs to lose a little more to be able to do the work. I just have a very hard time working towards a greyhound of a welsh cob.

Flight, I have not put Junior in a double bridle yet. I have his sire's double but we've had such an issue of Junior gaping his mouth whenever I lose the hind end that I'm afraid the double would only accentuate that fact and not help it. I do think we're getting closer to giving it a try. My 'other' coach wanted me to put him in the double to train the flying changes and I knew that was not the answer. I need forward and suppleness before collection and I just don't think the double is going to help promote that. I plan to work him on the forward button for another solid month as well as developing more of a push off the hind end. You see collection isn't really the problem. He can sit all day long. It's the push/lift once collected where he truly gets stuck. Believe it or not he can do a pretty good half pirouette at the canter. I've managed to convince him that he can turn and canter at the same time it's coming out of it where he gets stuck. Any time I really gather and collect him at the canter he gets stuck. It's getting better BUT I need the forward to get him unstuck. Once I'm satisfied that the forward is there and will always be there, then I'll introduce the double bridle.

I rode the Princess (aka Brandon) in a different bit today as well as a different girth. Voila minimal rooting (the few times he tried in the beginning he got the boot) and no fussiness. This will last for a little while until something else isn't fitting perfectly. He's a true princess and the pea. Hopefully I can get enough time out of this 'new' combination to develop better balance with him and more consistent use over his top line.

Here is the youtube video of brandon at first 3. It looks like I at least temporarily fixed the issues we had in this test (at least a very quiet mouth yesterday). He did not appreciate the heat, the flies or the sweat dripping; so, hopefully I can manage those pampered Princess' issues in the future too (didn't have it to the same extent yesterday).

https://youtu.be/zUfh4Tij-AE

[Moutaineer]

The weather has been totally schizophrenic here. We rode outside yesterday in a howling gale, which could have been more fun. I think I picked most of the county out of my eyeballs when we were done. Apart from a significant boggle at the landscaper's skid steer--he really has a bit of a thing about skid steers--we had a good ride. I'm focusing a lot on my position at the moment, but I also have to keep the boy busy so he doesn't find other things to amuse himself with. Justin is working on his collected canter, with a lot of counter-canter work involved, which a few weeks ago would have involved some considerable bad behavior, but now he's getting the hang of the balance required, he's actually trucking along with the program.

Today, not only was it cold and wet and windy, but a new construction project was underway which apparently required smashing a large concrete slab near the outdoor arena using a giant track hoe... We rode indoors, which was quite useful as I could attempt to watch myself in the mirrors, and the footing in there is just lovely now. I'm actually quite pleased with how my position has improved over the last few months. Now I've got my upper body under control I need to focus on my creeping knees and work on getting my leg really long. It was better today. I'm looking forward to riding with Mette in a month or so and getting her opinion on where I am.

Teeth got floated today--he had really sharp edges along his bottom molars on both sides. It's been an expensive month for routine maintenance. And we have the farrier on Thursday.

3 months and I think the worst of the construction and landscaping projects will be done. The new barn owner's daughter is getting married at the start of August, I think at the farm, and I believe that's the deadline. Thank Gawd. You can only take so many training and desensitizing opportunities before you just want a quiet ride where you can focus inwardly rather than always watching for the other wrecking ball to drop.

I need to watch you all's videos. DH is out tonight so I will have a moment to do so!

[blob]

SF, Annabelle and her jumper rider look fabulous! That's an amazing picture. Do you think she would enjoy life as an eventer?

Flight, sounds like a great trip. Glacier is one of my favorite national parks, though it has gotten a lot more crowded in recent years. That's one great thing about Yellowstone--there are parts that get crowded near the entrance where great prismatic and old geyser are, but the park is so big that you can truly find places to explore where you feel fully in the wilderness.

Khall, hope you are getting some relief!

Exvet--thanks for sharing video and congrats on a very successful sunday, even if saturday was not quite ideal. It's great to see Jr progress through the third level work. And to see how far brandon has come. RP is also a princess and the pea when it comes to everything, so I can very much relate to that. Brandon has gotten so much steadier in his work and is starting to really move like a big, fancy horse. How tall is he now?


I finally had my vet appointment for RP. The vet thought he looked fine on baseline at trot and walk and a bit uncomfortable at canter, but not specifically OFF. Though, she is a vet I have a good relationship with and she trusted me when I said 'his canter may not look awful, but it looks really not right for him." Next we moved to flexions and he flexed positive on right hock and right stifle. She also thought he seemed sore higher up as well (SI) but suspects that is likely secondary. We did some xrays and are some arthritic changes, not very far along, but she suspects that since it showed up on both right hock and right stifle, it's feeling more noticeable. We talked through options both from what makes sense and costs. And for now plan is to inject hocks with steroid/HA, but do pro-stride on the stifle. She said the prostride is more valuable for a high mobility joint like a stifle, where there's more potential risk of extended steroid use than in the hocks. And since doing prostride all across would be quite costly, this seemed like the best route. I think in future I could use pro-stride in the hock as well, if it seems like he was responding better to it.

I'm kicking myself for not having noticed this issue sooner as opposed to thinking of his canter issues as a training issue. Fingers crossed that within in the next several weeks he starts feeling a lot better.

[exvet]

Fingers cross for RP, Blob. What you describe does not only make sense but would be how I would lean.

Thanks for the input on my two. Brandon is still only 15.1. My daughter was absolutely sure he had grown when she last came to ride him (a few weeks ago) and put my stick on him. He measured the same. He has filled out more, like Morgans do.

[Moutaineer]

Lots of interesting videos in this thread now I've had a chance to sit and watch them all!

Tanga, that was a tough score, even though I think the PSG is a very hard test to score well on. There are a bazillion nit-picky little things that can drag you down, it would seem. I think I watched all the PSG tests at the AGDF and was surprised by how hard it was for even the national-level horses to get really good scores.

Mari, you know I love a nice appy FCs are looking good!

Flight, you know, that really does look like fun and quite challenging! Norsey rocks! And I love taht Autumnal between the ears shot.

Exvet, no lack of forward from either of those two horses! Brandon has really filled out and grown up and Junior's getting the concept of flying changes even if they are a bit... overexuberant... at the moment! I see Regionals are in your neck of the woods this year. Not sure I'm going to attempt to qualify as I'm guessing it will be all indoors and I'm not too sure how Potters would handle that. We'll wait and see.

I'm sure I've missed something, but it was all helpful to watch.

(I think that's a good plan for RP, Blob. Aren't we lucky to live in a time when we can offer these horses so much relief in so many ways?)

[mari]

Yeah Mari, I know we lost the gas in the extended canter. I was so happy by that point in the test to get a response of push and larger stride in the beginning. To be honest I was afraid if I really hit the brake pedal he would have broken because it was getting hot and I had already ridden him hard for a solid two days prior. If we decide to go to regionals, I will go for broke and hopefully have a stronger pony by then. I do think his canter has improved even if it doesn't match his trot work yet. I worked in hand on more piaffe and jumping and some spanish walk. I think all is helping. I'm also going to try to get a little bit more weight off of him. He's lost a fair amount over the winter; but, my coach has convinced me that he needs to lose a little more to be able to do the work. I just have a very hard time working towards a greyhound of a welsh cob.

Jumping makes a huge difference for us. I have weekly lessons with a proper jumping instructor. So much of the lesson is spent in canter, working on the quality and adjustability. It really helps to push me to do LOADS more canter work than I'm actually comfortable with. We don't jump big, or even full courses. I'm in a lesson with real showjumpers, but because I don't have nerves of steel I do lots of cavaletti and gymnastics and short patterns over little 80cm/90cm fences. And we canter and canter and canter, and get shouted at a lot about the quality of canter, and the discipline of asking for and getting immediate responses between poles.

[StraightForward]

Blob, sounds like the workup for RP was well worth it. Although not ideal, it is good that the diagnostics seem to point to something and there are viable treatment options. You might already be aware, but PAAG might be another option. I just read this article a few days ago and it sounds interesting. https://thehorse.com/186371/polyacrylam ... nt-option/

Not sure if A will ever make it as an eventer. Someone would have to get over her hatred of water of all kinds. On Friday we're going to haul her over to school some different jumps on the grass. They do have a cross country course there, but we'll probably just stick to the SJ obstacles this time.

Had a nice ride on T last night. A couple other boarders turned their wild TB mares out just before I came out to the arena and T was a little excited by that. They said "let us know if they're too wild and we'll bring them in." If anything, it was helpful to have T a little more up so she got in front of my leg earlier in the ride. Canter is feeling much better. Current struggle is that she locks up and sucks back when I take up the reins and ask her to walk on contact. I have a few tricks up my sleeve such as picking up the reins as we go over some walk poles, and just keeping my hands wide and booting her into trot then back to walk while taking up the reins a few inches at a time. My previous ride we did accomplish some good medium walk on the bit.

A got a full spa treatment with bodywork, back taping and Bemer on Monday, so I'm hoping that will get her feeling better in the lateral work.

[Chisamba]

and I guess I'm just not skilled enough to help her regain uphill as we go

Chisamba, I know it's easily said than done, but I feel you just have to keep doing them. Every day, just keep trying a few. It takes time for them to work it out and not become a big deal. It's hard on the rider because it feels terrible, but the only way to get better is to keep doing it. I struggled a lot with my two, but in the end it was just keep trying and time.



My horses are good. Fluffy. We have had some beautiful autumn days, I had to sleep most of the day after nightshift today and when I finally got up the day was too nice not to miss a quick ride around the block.

93241824-C021-4BEA-9154-0FA902E4223D.JPG

Good advise. With that in mind I just keep doing change work today. the silly Grey mare after about 20 minutes she decided it wasn't as big a deal as she thought. Otoh, when I ask the buckskin to stay uphill she only gives me one, instead of five. Lol but I'll keep plugging away.

[Chisamba]

Flight, I absolutely loved your big boys equitation round.

Exvet, I think junior would look a little flashier lean. I have the same problem with Saiph.

Tanga the most frustrating thing is comparing yourself to others and wondering why the score differences were so disparate. I try to avoid it and consider only how my ride would appear to the judge. And how could I make my ride appear better.

Mountaineer our weather has become more honestly spring like. Cool mornings. Warm afternoons. I hope yours gets there soon

[exvet]

Chisamba the current plan is to cut back further on his well solve and once we move up north for the summer increase his exercise regimen to 2 xs a day for at least 4 days a week. As you know these air ferns don't lose weight quickly.

[exvet]

Just got back from another lesson and a very good conversation of planning in terms of the where and how to move forward with both boys. Basically the goals with Junior are to keep the forward and teach him more how to use his pelvis while developing more strength to push off so-to-speak. Of course this also incorporated a discussion on how we both know that he gapes his mouth whenever I lose the hind leg or the other way to think about it, he resists having to use his hind legs and engage to the degree that I want now. He's learned that if he gaps his mouth or 'complains' that I will often soften the hands to appease him so I am having develop a different thought process. The lesson focused on trot and canter on 10 meter circles. First getting the forward, then getting him supple and then using the 10 meter circle to get the sit. He figured out pretty quickly that I was not going to back off on the contact (give him a release/reward) until he kept his mouth closed and if he broke from canter to the trot or slowed in the trot I was going to reprimand him and make it clear that I didn't ask for 'that' response and it was/is his responsibility to stay in the gear I wanted/asked for consistently throughout the exercise until I asked for a clear down shift in gait. We did loads of figure eight 10 meter circles, 10 meter circles along the long side, etc. Thankfully Junior is pretty smart and got it during the lesson. He really has a very nice canter once he realizes that my requests are not going away and that the rewards come only when he does it right. So throughout the lesson I developed the feel and coordination to release the hand whenever he used his pelvis properly as opposed to focusing on his mouth/head/neck. I really liked the results and I especially liked the fact that I seemed to have a happy pony at the end of the lesson...........now comes the work over the next several weeks of building his strength for this (one day heavier on the canter 10 meter circles, another day where trot 10 meter circles are needing the focus, working on rein back every single day and lots of steep leg yields interspersed with trail rides as well as a day to focus on the flying changes set ups. Of course I will also continue to work him in hand as I've mentioned earlier. We developed what I think is a pretty good plan/schedule of exercises over the course of a week to succeed in this endeavor to develop and strengthen without injuring his hocks or SI, in other words, build him up properly with the right conditioning. I also will be sticking with the plan to get more weight off of him.

Brandon of course will need a completely different approach. While I'm big on using a million transitions to fix so many problems and help with developing the horse. Brandon gets hot the more transitions you do; so, tempo and doing the exact opposite of what he wants/expects has to be the focus. This also should help with his bully type of temperament. Timing and placement of the transitions will be key to still accomplishing what I'm used to getting done with them without feeding into his desire to speed up and take over or give the middle hoof at any request to yield in his body.

I'm done with showing Junior at recognized shows until the regionals. I have at least 2, maybe 3 schooling shows I'll take both boys to before then. Brandon will be going to the recognized show in June; so, I have a lot of work to do to improve on this last one in a relatively short period of time. He's pretty smart too so I'm hopeful that we'll get this. Weather is great so I won't have that as an excuse. Hope the weather is getting better for everyone given the time of year.

[Moutaineer]

Potters is feeling great. My bank account is weeping.

We had some lovely work today, culminating in a really nice canter pirouette -- I could just feel it was right there, so we did it...

Double bridle test run day tomorrow. That should be fun! I'll try and get some pictures.

It was snowing hard enough this morning that there were two fairly gnarly accidents on the freeway between home and the barn. It'll be winter again before this winter is over.

[exvet]

Moutaineer I would be very interested to hear about your double bridle test run. Both Molly and I agree that Junior isn't ready for the double; but, the other issue I have is that due to my right arm paresis, I would also have to learn (per Molly) how to ride with my left snaffle rein and both curb reins in my left hand and just my right snaffle rein in my right hand. I suspect that it will be a hard go. Not just because riding and properly using a double takes some practice but I used to ride in a double using both hands with two reins in each hand; so, I think the transition will be challenging for me physically and mentally. Still I always find it interesting what individuals feel they get (benefits) from the double and to what degree. Glad ot read that Potters is feeling great.

[Chisamba]

It's one of the most interesting conundrums in training. How to avoid appeasing and only reward the correct response without over pressurizing or being harsh.

I'll tell you what I do with Saiph. It's not been perfect because I cannot do it in the show ring where she is her most tense. I do what I call a moving turn on the forehand no matter where I am or what I am doing. I slow the shoulder keep the bend and contact and quicken the hind end it might take 45 or 360 or evenore that one circle but I only soften the contact when she is quick behind and her jaw and mouth are " happy" then we continue with what we were doing until I have to do it again
Now she simply has learned that forward into happy contact IS the reward.

Edited to add that it was clearly shutting off behind that accompanied the open jaw. Usually a spook or scary spot.

[exvet]

Thank you Chisamba. I actually do something similar with Brandon. The challenge with Junior, though now between my Pivo and with Molly's 'blunt' help, is that while I started out pretty well in his early days with establishing good solid contact with rewards only when he maintained his softness, we eventually got to a place (re: 2nd/3rd level demands) where I ended up with a very pleasantly obedient pony who figured out that I 'needed that' in the show and I became too obsessed with trying to prevent his mouth gapping. Whenever the demands of work got hard and he wanted to avoid really using himself properly he'd gap his mouth and I'd be admonished (pre Molly) to strap his mouth shut and not 'teach him that' or soften my hands more or, or, or..........well it's funny how things are coming back full circle. I'll intersperse what you suggest in with the 10 meter circles because I don't want to over work his hind end and he does need to be quicker with the hind.

[blob]

SF, that sounds really interesting and worth talking to my vet about for next time!

Yesterday morning RP went in for his joint refresh. We did the prostride for the stifle and steroid/HA for the hocks. He'll finish his 24 hours of stall rest around lunch time tomorrow and then gets to go back outside with MM, who probably hasn't missed him at al . Then tomorrow I can start light riding. Given that we have done prostride in one place and steroids in another, the vet suggested a slightly more conservative approach to getting him back into work. Since his trot had been fine on baseline, but not his canter. We will hold off on canter for 10-15 days or so to let the prostride start working on the stifle. So, I think this weekend I will hack around and then Monday/next week I'll get him trotting. Fingers crossed.

Exvet, i'll be interested to see how the double journey goes with jounior and for you as you figure out a different way to hold the reins.

I'm afraid to jinx it, but MM has been doing so well this spring, that i'm starting to think about whether I might want to show her again, something I'd sort of written off as no longer being in the cards. If I could get her back to third level shape, I think there could be value in me really getting comfortable and confident riding that level, even if we dont' progress beyond it.

[exvet]

Exvet, i'll be interested to see how the double journey goes with jounior and for you as you figure out a different way to hold the reins.

I'm afraid to jinx it, but MM has been doing so well this spring, that i'm starting to think about whether I might want to show her again, something I'd sort of written off as no longer being in the cards. If I could get her back to third level shape, I think there could be value in me really getting comfortable and confident riding that level, even if we dont' progress beyond it.

Blob, it's been recommended to me that I don't consider using the double on Junior until he's ready for Intermediate/Grand Prix mostly due to the lack of forward/mouth issues which really is his disinterest in using his pelvis the way I would like. It's great to read that MM is doing better. If she were mine, I would definitely start conditioning her with third level in mind. With each horse I've taken to a specific level, especially third, I discover more I didn't know If you have a horse capable and willing, it's a wasted opportunity when one doesn't try to improve and they have all the tools to do so - at the very least your relationship continues to grow and the next horse benefits even more.

[Aleuronx]

Wow, time has gotten away from me but I've been reading along as I can.

I had my first lesson back with my trainer last weekend and got the pleasantly surprised. It's been a miracle to continue to train over the winter and wow, how much progress you make with that even without lessons/assistance. Felt like we picked up right where we left off in November but with a straighter and stronger Kora. We worked on shoulder in right in trot on a 18m-ish circle to pop with the heal/spur to develop some bounce steps. Omg, I giggled so much it was a blast when we got it. Then lots of canter work to work on the crappier right lead for us and getting our leg on from walk-canter. Going back this Sunday for more torture just as well since it's supposed to rain buckets all day. Better there than fighting for indoor space at home!

I'm giving up hope of unpacking the most beautiful Jerry's Harness custom made double bridle from my previous mare. I can't quite stomach to give it up but Kora is currently so happy in the contact of a sprenger Duo bit (plastic, mullen mouth) nothing that would translate to a double. When we get to PSG (our large goal) I really feel like it will be in this snaffle. It has completely stopped the snatching she would do. In metal bits, even when pushing with the hind leg and honest in the contact, this bit has ghosted that behavior. The mare chooses and we say yes ma'am.

[Moutaineer]

So, yes, I had my first ever ride in a double today (I don't know how I've managed to ride for 55 years without using one before, but there we are!)

Potters is experienced in a double and I bought the same bit set up as his previous owner was using.

Very interesting. A completely different feel. I felt like once I got the contact correct, which was easy--very little contact on the curb, really just the weight of the rein, and a fairly normal snaffle contact, I could do what I'm meant to do and leave the head alone and ride the body--always a problem for me in a snaffle.

Potters needed a bit more leg--but he's also had a pretty big week, so he might just have been reflecting that, he started off hiding a little behind the bit but soon got over that and took my hand very nicely. He was really quiet in his mouth, nice but not excessive foam.

What I felt was that I could ride him up to a very quiet hand and his back expanded and widened under my seat. He felt attentive, respectful and submissive. Canter departs were prompt and smooth.

We talked about the various rein-holds and I tried out a few different ways, including the 3-in-1, which actually wasn't that hard--trainer says she tends to use it more for things like lateral work and pirouettes, 3 reins in the inside hand, just the snaffle in the outside.

I settled on the pretty classic snaffle where it should be and curb between the ring and middle finger as a good way to start--I felt that the fillis style with the curb between the pinkie and ring finger and the snaffle through the top of the hand would probably cause me to overuse the curb at the moment. I notice CDJ rides with her curb under her pinkie finger, which is the way I've ridden with a Pelham in the past, but yet again I think that probably allows more curb use than I need on Potters.

All in all an interesting and successful ride!

I feel as if the last 3 months of largely pro work are really paying off. It's been more than a bit frustrating sitting on the sidelines so much, and there have been many times when I have questioned my sanity at handing over all this money and not riding my own horse, and felt like a bit of a failure for not having the confidence and ability to deal with his problems myself. But I think it has been the right choice for both the horse and for me at this stage in our lives. Neither of us is getting any younger so dealing with our problems expeditiously is in both our best interests.

Yes, dressage is all about the journey, but now I at least feel our journey can resume in a place of safety and confidence for the two of us.

[Chisamba]

Kimba came in with a hugely swollen hind leg. I have very scheduled next week since cold housing ice and nsaids I can manage . If it doesn't respond I'll do the urgent weekend thing.

Andrea is coming this weekend and I'll report back on Saiph. I'm getting a little more riding fit again. I think it will be a day of fixing the straight line changes.

I'm feeling a bit glum because my aunt got a tooth abscess and is in a Coma from infection from it.

[exvet]

So sorry about your Aunt, Chisamba, and Kimba too. Hope all improve and soon.

I had a decent ride on Junior and Brandon, each. Junior's changes were clean, still wanting to brace for two of them but the third one was nice, quick and on the aids (of course to his easier side). Brandon and I had the discussion that if he rooted we were going to make the work harder and when his mouth was quiet and he was polite, well, he got a quiet hand maintaining very light contact but contact none the less. I actually had very nice stretchy trot circles and polite, connected free walks after Brandon got the idea that being rude was futile.

[Kyras_Mom]

Wow…lots of activity going on. I am sure it is spring somewhere . It has still been tending to the cool, windy and snowy. It doesn’t stick but enough already. It is supposed to start warming up this weekend.

Exvet…Brandon really reminds me of Kyra with his head fussiness. I hope not. Have you checked his cheeks back behind the corners of his mouth.
This is where Kyra was getting pinched.

A015DB8C-FE7C-4054-B102-15BC229E3BE7.jpeg (58.22 KiB) Viewed 52245 times

The damage isn’t really isn’t evident unless it is really bad. It is really annoying to them though. I hope that isn’t his problem. Speaking of bits, I changed Kyra’s again. She was working OK with the Fager MM Baucher in the PS of Sweden bridle but the bridle was rubbing her face. The Baucher ring is so small and the loop that goes through the ring is double so I switched it to a plain bridle with no noseband. I could get her to work but it is a very much a challenge getting her to not brace and when she was bad, acting like she wanted to swallow her tongue . The Fager is fat enough that I think, despite the tongue relief, it puts too much pressure on her tongue.

So today, I dug out my Myler MM with tongue relief and put that on the PS of Sweden. She seemed happier. She was working her tongue but quietly and not gagging on it. No bruising on her cheeks so we will see how that goes for a bit. I have her bastard double bridle (bitless + Weymouth) but I would like to get her (and ME) a little fitter before I go to that. It was a long winter.

She did work very nicely today despite some wind and cold weather and a day off. I always try to come up with some kind of program for the day. I did SI—>renver—> SI and some LY zigzags for during our walk warm up. I. Trot, we made yin/yang figures with changing direction through the circle. I tried to establish a nice forward working canter on a circle (2/3 laps) then as we approached the rail, back to trot and LY back to the rail (our arena is about 30m wide) then back to canter on the next short side—rinse and repeat the other direction. We did a few rein backs during our cool down then up the hill and back to the barn.

She had her 6th (of 7 doses) of Adequan today. I think it has helped a bit maybe but her right lead canter is still a bit stiff. When I get her tooth attended to, I may set it up for a lameness exam before the tooth surgery. We couldn’t do a lameness exam when her was there for spring stuff due to #$*@#! Ice. She isn’t showing any major resistance to doing anything it just feels a bit stiff/rough. Hey, it is only money and I really would like her comfortable.

My riding sessions are pretty short (20-40 minutes). Mom is taking more time but that is the way it is. Right now I can’t afford to show and I am surely not fit enough to do much in lessons so we do what we can and are happy with it.

Jingles for your aunt Chisamba.

Susan

[khall]

Jingles chisamba for your aunt and Kimba.

Aleuronx that’s awesome you’re seeing progress from winter training! How is your mom doing?

Flight fun trip! Can’t wait to hear about it!

Mountaineer that’s great you had such a good ride first time riding in a double.

Exvet glad you are having success with changes now.

Kyra’s mom ugh it’s almost May! Wow long winter. I’ll have to look closely at Joplin who can also be opinionated about the bridle. See if her mouth is ok


Blob thanks for the well wishes! I hope RP bounces back quickly from his injections and yay for MM!!! Gaila worried me a bit this spring with a funny cough. Vet had us put her on Zyrtec for a few weeks she’s been fine. It was a horrible pollen year.

News on my end. 30 day check with Gaila today and we have a ball on a string and a heart beat:). Whoop!

I’m feeling much better now on gabapentin. Had mri get results next week. The only thing that bothers me is driving the suv. Truck is fine but the seats roll that shoulder forward which I can feel messing with the radial nerve. More PT and acupuncture finger tips still numb.

And I could not take it I’ve been in Joplin a couple of times. She just flat out does not lunge with much enthusiasm. WIH she’s fine.

Some gorgeous weather here. I’m heading to perry ag center tomorrow to watch a bit of the Arabian show but mostly to watch the Iberian show. I’ve never seen one before.

Happy riding all. Have fun at the clinic chisamba!

[Chisamba]

Yay for the heartbeat Khall. Keep an eye on her progesterone levels. I've had to supplement a few mid term Mama's with regulate to save the pregnancy

[khall]

Thanks chisamba! I will definitely do so. Was able to pull her off regumate after her progesterone levels came back just fine. I definitely am going to do everything to keep this pregnancy healthy as I can. Saphiro is retired so only available frozen now with no lfg. Coupled with an older maiden mare. I’ll try not to stress but DH said I’m a glutton for punishment lol!

I did forget the other huge news! My DS graduates next month with honors and has been accepted into master’s program at Georgia Tech. We are very proud of him and what he’s accomplished

I do have some thoughts on training stuff but short on time this morning. Have a great weekend all!

[StraightForward]

Wow, lots going on here!

Chisamba, jingles for your aunt and Kimba.

Moutaineer, sounds like the double bridle will do great things for you. With just the few jumping sessions I have had put on Annabelle, I was telling my husband that I'm starting to understand why people pay someone else to ride their horse, LOL. I wish there was someone I could have ride T while I'm out of town.

Khall, how exciting to have Gaila in foal!

Aleuronx, good to hear from you and glad that the winter has been productive for you and Kora. Sometimes it's hard to see the progress when it feels like such a slog through winter.

The weather is still all over the place here. The other day we had the "sampler platter" of precipitation - snow in the morning, sleet for lunch, and graupel in the evening. We were going to haul A out for a practice ride over some different jumps yesterday, but it rained the night before and we decided jumping on grass would be a no-go. So she is signed up to do 2'3" and 2'6" showjumping at a schooling show next weekend and we'll se how it goes without the benefit of any off-property prep beforehand.

T continues to progress. My goal is to get her in front of my leg properly within the first 20 minutes of the ride so we can actually do some progressive schooling after that. We have had some really lovely canter here and there in the past week and she is managing to jump through a small grid without turning it into a yardsale. My instructor will be back in two weeks, so we'll hopefully demonstrate some improvement from last time. Tomorrow I head out of town for work, so T will have several days off and the question will be whether she regresses (goes over to the Dark Side, as the other person I ride with sometimes says).

[Chisamba]

Unfortunately my Aunt passed. I also murdered a lamb . Sob. I have a barberpole worm problem and two of the lambs had adverse reaction to the antihelmithic. One survived but the other didn't. It was horrid. It's just been a horrid week. I called my SIL for her birthday to find she had been diagnosed with colon cancer that spread to her lung. The oncologist said its in operable. My brother joked rather darkly that when you get to our age the only way to avoid burying the people you love is to die first. I'll let you all know about Kimba next week.

I have a direction to go with saiph and multiple changes.


I know adversity builds strength, mistakes build knowledge and grief only occurs where there had been love. So there is nothing to do. Just keep living.

[exvet]

Brandon has a loose shoe that due to my 'issues' with my hands/wrists I am unable to pull despite my efforts. Called my son to come over and help and understandably he's busy 'til late this afternoon. So, we decided to go on a trail ride, taking Junior and Ace, met up with some friends to enjoy a nice day in the desert.




Straightforward, good luck at the show. Hope you get pictures.

I'm so sorry Chisamba. Hugs to you and yours.

[blob]

I am so sorry to hear this, Chisamba. Sometimes all of the hard things seem to happen all at once. Sending you love.