Springing into May and June - Goals and progress

[Kyras_Mom]

LSP…glad to hear from you. I am so glad things are improving and life is looking up.

Blob…jingles coming your way for RP.

Kyra has been on the shelf for a bit too. I did my trip to Iceland which was fantastic but I brought home COVID and of course gave it to my Mother. She has had a tough time. She wasn’t really that ‘sick’ with COVID symptoms but she just has felt crappy and I have been having trouble getting her to eat and drink. I took her to the ER for some fluids on Wednesday. They gave her Paxlovid but she felt even worse on that and it had a bunch of drug interactions with her meds (one of which she was explicitly told to continue ) so we stopped that after 2 days. I think she is finally on the mend.

I finally got to the barn Thursday. I had only been out once since before my vacation. My horse is gross…her tail was coated with pee and poop and her back legs were urine stained since she pees outside where the ground is kind of hard . I guess one of my barn mates felt sorry for her and wanted to give her a bath (but didn’t). That is our chore for tomorrow.

I lunged her on Thursday just to see what I had after 2 weeks off. She seemed quite happy to move. I did ride yesterday and spent 80% of out session at walk. My sinuses are still wonky and it doesn’t talk much exercise to get my nose dripping copious amounts . We worked on some LY and SI—>circle—>HI. I also worked on reinback. I wanted her to get her back up and working so we did serpentines (at walk) then I asked her to halt on CL then reinback. She did really well on that. Trot work we just worked on forward, soft and rhythmic. She felt a little irregular but it wasn’t bad. Will continue to monitor. I needed to cut her some slack after 2+ weeks off.

Susan

[StraightForward]

LSP, good to hear from you, and sorry to read about the difficult family issues. I hope all is on a good trajectory and you can begin to enjoy life and your horse again soon!

Blob, I guess good that something was found, but it does sound like it could be a significant issue. I hope you are able to work something out for RP.

Susan, hope your mom is better soon. Glad you enjoyed your trip; I know you've been planning it for so long!

Tesla has been putting in some good work lately, and loving jumping. Our warmups are becoming shorter so we can do some "real" work each ride, though sometimes I just make the ride shorter as a bit of a reward. Happened to squeeze in a last-minute lesson with my regular instructor yesterday morning where we really leveled up in the contact. It helped that it was cool and T came out very fresh, but without any naughtiness. It was really the basics of pushing the bend to get her standing up on her outside shoulder while staying through and in front of my leg. She had me sitting down and even putting my shoulders back a touch since I was working with a serious powerhouse, then she said to get a contact like pushing a punching bag forward with my fist. I found that really helpful as a way to give forward while maintaining an elastic feel.

Today we rode T1 and T2 at a local event derby. T came off the trailer literally kicking and screaming, and by the time I got her saddled and got to the warmup area, I only had seven minutes until my first ride time. I just put on my big girl britches and got on and put her straight to work, but then someone let me know the show was running way behind, so I was able to relax. It turned out they were over 90 minutes behind by the time they got to my first ride, and I have to say T dealt with it really well and stayed with me, even with the giant backhoe operating on the property behind the arena. By the second ride we were both tired and over it, but she still continued to listen and gave me nice canter transitions. Our halts and walk work were garbage, but we did get one 8 on a trot movement. Overall we got dinged for laterality in the canter, and needing suppleness over the back and ended up with 64 and change for both tests. My primary goal for the day was to get her fully in front of my leg in the show arena, so I felt the mission was accomplished.

My dad was there, but said he only got 26 seconds of the first ride, and then his phone died halfway through the second ride. He's 80, so I guess I'll give him a pass for the technical difficulties. Hopefully we'll have another opportunity to school a few more dressage tests this summer, then I'm targeting first level tests at a recognized show in August.

[Kyras_Mom]

SF..90 minutes! That IS way behind. I am glad with the exciting start that you accomplished your goal.

Susan

[exvet]

Gosh so much to catch up on.

LSP so glad you're back. We've had similar addiction issues sneak up on our family. It's a tough road and one you have to take just one day at a time.

Susan, glad you enjoyed your trip and wishing your mother a full recovery.

SF - I can so relate. Today I took Junior and Brandon to a schooling show. The weather was great, seemed like everything was good; but, the TENSION monster had both my boys in the vice grip. My goal with Junior was to try not to have a skip a change in third 3. Mission accomplished - one clean change (braced) and then a late change. For now I'll take it. Unfortunately all our work on suppling and true connection didn't show as much as I had hoped. Still when I looked at the video, I felt that except for some fixable mistakes, there has been some improvement. Loads more needed (especially to be able to reproduce it in a show). We earned a 61.8. Then Brandon decided he was going to be a fire breathing dragon who couldn't keep the contact, was stiff as a board, and kept giving me the middle hoof. I rode 1st 3 twice. First time we got a deserved 58.9 and on the second ride after a bit of work to establish better connection in the warm up we got a 65.8; so, improvement but the two headed monster of tension is so difficult to rid.

Here is a video of Junior. The judge did at least say that the trot work was to 'die for' and though I still need more improvement in the canter, I do think that we're better than we were. https://youtu.be/8osUhRlQwkM

Here is Brandon wearing his royal blue in the warm up. I had my daughter call the test since I needed every bit of focus on the fire breathing dragon so no video. I got lots of 'tactful rider' comments on the first test LOL.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Thank you all for the kind words!

Blob, I'm so sorry to hear about RP. I sure hope that he starts to feel better and I know that it wasn't the news you wanted but hopefully at least knowing what's going on gives you a workable plan. I wonder if that is part of all of his gut issues? Dealing with an old injury?

SF, I'm still blown away with how much Tesla has matured the last year. That's so exciting for you guys!

Kyra's mom, I'm so sorry about all the COVID. My husband actually brought home COVID from his treatment center. I had managed to not get it once over the years but that finally did it probably because of the stress. No fun. Hopefully your mom feels better.

Exvet, thank you. I know addiction issues are certainly not uncommon. It's one of those things that I thought would never happen in my family so it's quite a shock. One day at a time. On another note, you and Junior look good as always! And even in the photo you can tell Brandon was a little up! They both look good though and what beautiful scenery you get to ride in.

[Chisamba]

So Saiph and I are entered in fourth level at the rated show. I know I'm not PSG ready but I took her to a schooling show in PSG because I need both the practice and the input. I made a stupid error in that I forgot my spurs. If it had been a real show I world have been eliminated. Turns out half way through the class Saiphs trailer mate outside started calling for her, she balked and i could have used a spur so I really didn't get to show my best canter work. Also looking at the video I let my reins get to long and she dropped in the forehand.

Ugh.

But it's a goal met. 11 years after losing Kea I have finally trained another horse up to PSG.

[Moutaineer]

ExVet, I thought Junior looked pretty good. A bit tense, and it's frustrating about the flying changes, but I was expecting you'd get a higher score than that. I'm envious of your lovely solid position and quiet leg!

Good on you, Chisamba, for going out and doing the PSG. I'm sure you got a lot of useful information out of it for the next time.

I had a half-decent ride for a Monday today. Mr. Lazy didn't want to be in front of my leg on the left lead which led to some flying change shenanigans, but I persevered, and we ended up having some nice work.

I really do have to have a very focused ride on him and ride every single stride with no "down time" at the moment. At the end of 30 minutes on a hot sultry mid-day ride, I'm physically and mentally wiped out. I sat down to do some work when I got home and fell asleep!

[Chisamba]

Moutaineer I really identify with 2 things you said. if they are not in front of the leg the changes are just not good enough, and riding the beginning, middle and end of every exercise means focusing on every stride because there is no down time .

Exvet, Junior looks so strong and fit, I don't think it's strength. I think the real knack of training is making the horse believe it can do what you are asking it to do. The first time you ask for a leg yield the horse thinks why should I go forward and sideways? It's ceaser to just aim for the rail. Once you have convinced Junior he can do th canter work easily it will fall into place.

Blob, I am sorry to hear about the pony. A friend had a thoroughbred in training and I ended up being a pasture ornament with SI issues. Injection and all the things didn't help.

StraightForward, well done on Tesla's show.

[blob]

Chisamba--congrats on getting back into the PSG ring--what a great accomplishment! You have brought Siaph such a long way.

Exvet--sounds like a successful show and a really nice turn around between tests.

Mountaineer-- some horses really seem to do best with very focused ride. When I was actively competing MM and was at a barn without trails or places to ride in the field, I couldn't really ever do 'light days' with her. I could do our normal working rides; days off; or short rides that were still high intensity. But I couldn't do the 'we take it easy today or just stretch today' because I'd pay for it the next ride. It was for a different reason than it sounds like with Potters, but still something I needed to adapt my riding to. There were days where I would warm up and only do 10 minutes of work, but it would be focused work with high expectations and then done.


Thanks for everyone's well wishes for RP. I am feeling quite discouraged, esp because of the calcification. The more I've spoken to the vet and others the more it seems like that level of calcification will be very limiting. We will see what the injections do, we will try shockwave (though it's likely not going to be enough), and then we'll see where we are. But I think I need to start planning or thinking where he can go after all this. Unfortunately he does not have the right temperament to be someone's trail horse or therapy horse. So he might need to find a home as companion horse. Given his size, he could be a good friend for weanlings. But in the meantime as we figure out whether we can rehab his SI situation back, I've adjusted my plan. Right now I am doing a lot of handwalking in the hills (good for both of our butts) and lunging in side reins at the trot only--keeping him long and low to really get his back up. Right now given how much time he's had off and how long he's been in pain, I think I need to rebuild his general back and hind end strength before we can even see if the canter issues have improved with the injections. The trot has always been sound, so this is also something that isn't pushing him in a place where he is in pain. I will do this for two weeks or so and potentially even get on him in that time and just hack the hills, maybe some stretchy trot. After the two weeks, I will try to see how he looks in the canter on the lunge, this would have given the injections the 2 weeks they need to really start working.

In the meantime, I have gotten the wild hair of an idea of doing ET with MM. I am too anxious to breed her directly, esp given she is older. But when I think about the horse I want in the future, it is her with the chance to do some things differently with what i know now. Of course, breeding will not get me a carbon copy and it seems silly to breed a mustang. But, I am looking into how much ET would cost me, what all it would entail, etc. If I did it, I think it would likely not be until next spring, so I have time to figure things out. The stallion I've already picked out, so that part is easy

[StraightForward]

Blob, I'd be interested to hear what you find out on ET costs. As much as Tesla has challenged me, I've also thought of breeding her. We were joking recently that if I used Annabelle as the recipe mare, the baby might turn out a little sweeter.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Chisamba, congratulations on your goal met! That has to feel super satisfying

Blob, My sister-in-law has a horse that had scar tissue and calcification in his lower lumbar. Which I know is very different from the SI but I did want to put out there that they did some shockwave sessions that helped dramatically. Like he had dramatic scar tissuevand swelling that you could see and it was pretty remarkable how much the shockwave helped that. Although they also did injections too. Again I don't know how much that is going to correlate for the issues you're having but I just wanted to provide a little kernel of hope.

[blob]

Thank you, LSP. That is a good kernel of hope!

[khall]

Blob I hope you can get RP back together again. So hard when they’ve had injuries that were not known. As for ET the best mares for ET are younger and have had foals. The problem with older maiden mares is that their cervix has never been “used” and tend to not want to open for business trapping bacteria that are not conducive to pregnancy. It took all fall to get Gaila clean. Gaila is 15 and a maiden. So far I’ve spent about $5000 in straws and the hoops aka treatments my vet had to jump through getting her in foal. Now the second breeding was bad timing an issue because of frozen and using 1 straw. But there can also be reactions in utero to semen extenders causing fluid etc to build up so it’s often best for certain mares to only be bred once in a cycle.

For me the biggest issue with an older maiden is just getting them in foal.
Once in foal there is no more risk than pregnancy and foaling is for mares. Now an aged broodmare can have issues especially those who’ve had many foals. But it’s not a given. I had a 24 yr old foal out with no issues.
I was in the breeding facility business for awhile as mare stallion foal handler and the tech at the back end of the mare catching the flushed embryo. Talk about nerve wracking! At that time it was around $3500 extra for ET which did include the recipient mare. My vet was telling me last year recip mares are in high demand now because ET has taken off in the breeding world. We flushed and shipped to CSU who had a recip mare herd there. Now many vet clinics keep their own herds and want the mares back.

I know 2028 is a long way away! That is when my foal will turn 4. Breeding is definitely a long game.

[Chisamba]

I had thought about breeding Kimba because there are so many positives about her, and those are the mares that should be bred, breed your favorite riding horse, not the one no one wants to ride ( my motto) . Anyway, I haven't because do I really want to be riding green horse in 2028? And then I think but do I want to be riding a completely unknown at the mercy of someone else's breeding decisions at 70. Two of my friends who are still riding in their seventies the hardest thing in earth had been finding them a safe good horse. And one is still looking recovering from a nasty fall trying a supposedly safe horse. I mean there is an advantage to knowing everything about the horse you are riding when you get to a certain age. Maybe I should breed her after all lol

[exvet]

Boy do I hear you guys on the advantages of riding what you know as you get older. I far, far, far prefer to ride those I've bred and raised; however, I will say that I lucked out with Brandon. Key is I knew the breeder and her program; so, in essence that worked well as it did before I started breeding my own in earnest (I had produced the occasional foal prior). Many of the youngstock I ended up getting that I had not bred were from mares and stallions I had either handled, ridden or even shown; so, the foal (still always a bit of a gamble) wasn't a complete unknown. I also absolutely advocate only breeding the mare you want to ride. My mares had all been shown and two were mares that my kids rode/competed regularly. I'm afraid I've always had a 'habit' of breeding the older maiden mare. By the time the mares I wanted to breed had 'proven' themselves, they often were already 8 or older. I've had two mares who were maidens at 14, both caught on the first cycle. I also successfully got a 16 year old pregnant and carry to full term as a maiden on the first try. My stallions always had very good semen collections. Though I always did AI, the semen was fresh, still used an extender I had experience with and seldom a problem. Having a stallion or at times 2 made my timing so much easier to calculate and be right. I have not for myself gone the route of ET but I've pursued it professionally with success. It does add to the expense especially if you don't already own a recipient candidate or are not able to lease one for the cost of care. Though it narrowed my options down and increased my overhead, I decided a long, long time ago that owning the stallions I bred and having them on property was the way to go in order to decrease the other side of the expense equation. Of course it also helped and worked well in my scheme because I enjoy riding/showing/handling stallions for the most part - easy to make them great geldings whenever need be too I do miss breeding but that's why I made sure I didn't buy a mare when I was 'casually' thinking of buying another and ended up with Brandon. In the end, at my age, I simply don't need the extra work. If I were younger though things would be different; so, Blob I wouldn't discourage you from pursuing ET if you have the financial constitution for it. As I move forward with horses I plan to keep very selected, hand picked breeders close to the vest. I continue to keep an eye on their stock and will only consider foals from mares and stallions I know personally and have been proven in the performance ring as well as the breeding shed. As long as I can throw a leg over I will continue to buy unstarted stock. For me that has proven to be the least dangerous. The caveat of course is that I'm also very, very picky on disposition of the foal and think I have it narrowed down to what type of disposition I work best with in the long run.

[khall]

The only issue I would be concerned about with MM blob is her allergies. I’ve noticed it’s not an uncommon issue with mustangs in the SE and those allergies can be debilitating to some. That can be passed on to a foal. Joplin’s dam had few issues that I was worried about passing on except her crappy feet. Joplin unfortunately inherited those sketchy feet and has been in shoes all the way around for years now. They are great shod but cannot take the abuse of our hard ground here without protection. Gaila has gorgeous feet. Wears fronts only because she does bruise in the toe on our summer hard clay.

One other thing with breeding is that I’ve had my own farm ever since I had my first foal born in 1989. Gets expensive paying board on a baby that takes years to grow up and be a riding horse.

I do think you can find good fun horses to ride out there. Prices are high though and even higher for very talented ones. I’ve lucked out over the years finding horses for clients in the out of the way places. Not uncommon here to have backyard horses that others don’t really know what they have. Chex is a prime example. While he’s not perfectly suited to his owner because he’s pretty sensitive and she’s not used to riding that he’s safe and quite talented as a dressage horse. He was only ridden western a bit of reining and bareback kids pony. They had no idea until I rode him in a dressage saddle and had him put together some. Even a bit of counter SI. It’s a slog though to try and find the diamonds in the rough

There is a trainer in Ocala that is doing just this though. She’s finding grade or stock type horses and ponies just solid citizens putting some all around English and jumping on them then flipping them for $15,000 all day long. She often sells sight unseen because of her good reputation

Gearing up for Cedar coming in tomorrow. Have an overflowing clinic

Happy riding all!

[Josette]

I've been reading these posts with both curiosity and interest as I appreciate everyone's diverse backgrounds and the areas where everyone lives. I've never owned a mare but can understand the desire to breed your heart mare. However, khall mentioned exactly what I was thinking as a former long time boarder and then finally much later a small backyard owner (6- acres with wood trails). I know my prior life when working a full-time demanding job with a long commute was hard - plus add in daily visits to the boarding barn after work. (High car mileage for sure!) I rarely missed a day checking up on my horses unless work travel prevented it. I had both retired elderly and riding horses at that time - always one in a high maintenance status. The expense was understood and expected but my time limitations were frustrating some days.

Khall - One other thing with breeding is that I’ve had my own farm ever since I had my first foal born in 1989. Gets expensive paying board on a baby that takes years to grow up and be a riding horse.

Ditto - also what khall said about finding the talented ones in unexpected places - they are out there. Good luck whatever you decide.

(Today - may only do a short trail ride as checking air quality from Canada fires sending smoke into the NE states. Horrible situation there - but I know others here have dealt with it too.)

[Chisamba]

The air is bad here

[Josette]

Air has become worse since this morning.

N.J. smoke misery meter hits red ‘unhealthy’ stage with air quality plummeting

https://www.nj.com/weather/2023/06/nj-s ... eting.html

[Tanga]

I'm sorry, east coast, for all of the bad air. This is the first time in five years on the west coast where to looks like we might be OK (because everything has burned.) I have three air filters for the house with cleanable filters I bought three years ago because it was so bd.

Interestingly at my barn they spread the manure on the trails on rotate it in like they have been doing for 15 years. One spot has caught on fire three times! It just got hot and started burning. The weather has been very cool for here and it's in a spot that gets a lot of wind. Super weird. The manure pile hasn't caught on fire (it's in a cement area) and that's the only time I've ever seen that happen before.

[blob]

Chisamba, I was in NYC for work Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday morning I went into my meeting with perfectly normal, sunny day. But by the late afternoon, it was awful. It had quite the impact on travel too and my flight was many hours delayed, including a long wait on the tarmac.

re: ET: I really don't think I feel comfortable breeding MM directly. I know ET is more expensive, but I don't think I will pull the trigger otherwise. My vet has a herd of recipient mares, so they can find one that is cycling at the same time and then you can lease the mare for the duration of the pregnancy. If the pregnancy doesn't take, then I don't end up having those extra costs, so then the money 'lost' is not much more than a regular pregnancy that doesn't take. I do think all the recipient mares are used up. So, I probably need to wait until next year. But I can do the work to get all my ducks in a row now.

Khall, the allergies are a valid concern that I've spoken to a couple vets about. Both feel in her case that the respiratory are likely related to the infection she had when she was younger and aren't worried about genetic transfer. So, there is a risk it could pass on, but they seem to think it is is minimal.

[Moutaineer]

Of course, EqEntries have sodded up my entries for the show next weekend. I'm sure it will get sorted out, but really...

[Chisamba]

Of course, EqEntries have sodded up my entries for the show next weekend. I'm sure it will get sorted out, but really...

Oh no!

[exvet]

Today's lesson did NOT have anything to do with the flying changes. I think Junior was rather relieved to be honest. It did, however, focus on keeping Junior more supple and round during my medium and extended gaits as well as more power and bend in my half passes. Molly said that I'm leaving too many points on the floor when I really go for my medium and extended gaits because Junior becomes so braced and focused on taking over that I lose the essence of suppleness and coming through the back for the next 3-4 movements. As I already knew, she pointed out how it's all a numbers game. She took this last test and showed me that if I had ridden my medium and extended gaits more conservatively yet still showing clear transitions (so that I scored a 6 instead of 7s) and so that Junior remained on my seat and would remain supple through the corners I probably would gain 0.5 - 1 point on all my lateral work which constitutes so much more of the test. She proved that I would have scored much higher. So, I am going to try to not 'go for it' on the mediums and extended this next schooling show which is in July. Might as well experiment a little right?

The purpose of today's lesson was to give me exercises to help with the quality of gaits and how to keep Junior supple and round when power is needed. We began with the walk and Junior was giving me more than a 6 walk even under saddle by simply using my leg in a way to get him to 'almost trot' but not and NOT by pulling back or using my hands. It's kind of hard to explain but it worked to keep his withers up and him marching well enough forward that I was getting over track which I used to witness when he was two and at liberty. The remainder of the exercises were similar to ones I've done in the past but with more emphasis on certain aspects. First exercise was for me to work on medium/extended trot across the diagonals. I was to set up through the corner getting Junior really soft, supple and getting him engaged (this was the easy part) then come out of the corner asking for lift off and power and as I came to the centerline I was to literally face him towards A or C and leg yield him for the remainder of the diagonal to the long side and he was to CROSS his legs. Once I hit the opposite long side I was to bring him politely to a walk and then halt all the while keeping him round and through the back. It only took a few tries in each direction for Junior to stay lifted through the withers and coming over his back during the exercise. The next exercise was in the canter. I was to come through the corner and ask for lift off and by E or B ride a 20 meter circle asking for true gallop, then as I continued down the long side I was to collect the canter and before I hit the corner I was to trot/walk/halt. Rinsing and repeating this one really helped Junior stay on my seat and come back without resistance or blowing through my aids. I then went to work on the half pass. I was to ride through the corner and ask for medium (of whatever gait I was in) down the long side and as I hit F,H,M, or K (dependent on my direction of travel) I was to count couple of strides of true medium and then form the shoulder in and then travel side ways keeping control of that outside shoulder. Fortunately my compact spark plug really developed good bend without falling in on the inside shoulder and had some really nice up through the wither half passes both directions. If he had fallen on the inside shoulder I was to ride straight in the medium gait again for 2-3 strides and repeat the half pass. Molly's pretty convinced that he has '8' quality half passes but requires Junior to agree to engage and push which up until now has been pretty elusive. I noticed in the show last weekend that Junior did a better job of keeping his mouth closed. There were a few times he got mouthy/gaping but they were really very, very few as compared to the past. Today, during my lesson, he didn't open his mouth once to evade the bit or become tense. It was pretty clear that I had better control over his hind end through much of it. So, Chisamba I think you're right. It's not about getting him stronger. It's now about convincing him that he can do it (sit and push) and by incorporating the medium gaits, even the coming back part and going side ways parts are as fun or as rewarding as the blast off parts (ie, he will turn inside out to get a 'good boy').

[Moutaineer]

Mischief managed... they'd sent the confirmation to Justin, not to me who signs the checks, so to speak.

I had an excellent ride today, which I did not deserve as I discovered when I got off that I'd fastened the cavesson over the cheekpiece on the right side. Duh. I thought he felt a bit unresponsive to the right rein. However, he soldiered on despite my stupidity.

He's a happy camper running through tests. I wonder if it's maybe because I have other things to think about and I get out of my (and his) head and let him do his job. Maybe!

Anyhow, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable about the whole showing thing after today. We nailed some nice flying changes and managed some extension in the canter on the long side without dying, and proved we can handle an entire diagonal of extended trot. Driving home, however, I realize the one thing we have totally failed to practice is the canter half pass. I guess we will be working on that tomorrow!

But really, it's all about the lightbulb moment of a couple of weeks ago as to how much the collection and getting him to sit and come up in front of my leg gives me control over his body and brain. (Sound familiar, exvet?)

Life's good, really.

[StraightForward]

Those sound like some really good exercises, ExVet. I think I want to try that one on the diagonal in particular.

Moutaineer, glad you got the show stuff figured out. I'm excited for you to get a chance to hit the show ring with Potters!

I had a great jumping lesson on T Monday morning, and a productive ride yesterday working on canter quality. With her it's just a fine line of asking for more without making her feel like she's failing and causing a shutdown. Once she shuts down, it always seems to take a fairly miserable month to get back to where we were. I should be taking lessons the next three days as long as we don't get washed out by thunderstorms. We've had a couple intense ones, but at least they don't last too long. Clinic with Carrie Harnden is still on for the following weekend too, as far as I know, so we have lots of lessons in our future and hopefully will come out the other side with more of a 2nd level horse.

Goal for this weekend is also to get Annabelle braided up and get some "Glamour Shots" and edit together a better video for Dreamhorse. I've had a bit of interest, but things seem a little slower than I would expect. If you know of anyone in need of a really cute hunter, send them my way, lol.

[Kyras_Mom]

Well…I have tried. I’ve had a couple rides on Kyra this week…and wished I hadn’t. I can’t blame the horse entirely. I have just been worried about Mom and obviously not present where I need to be. She was also in heat and therefore lonely. She was just a ball of energy and tension and distracted looking for all her barn buds. She was just super strong, over tempo and not particularly listening to me.

So rather than get on a third time and play the same game, I dug out my side reins and threw her on the lunge line. Just hoping to get some softness with a better chance of having the correct muscles working. She looked quite nice and was totally cooperative. I am going to do a couple more sessions the same over the next couple works before I get back on. She has had a lot of time off and I think getting her some memory of using herself correctly will help…plus she will be out of heat by then.

I still need to schedule Kyra’s tooth root extraction but Mom has had most of my attention…and still does. She just isn’t perking up after her COVID episode . I keep hoping she will bounce back.

Susan

[StraightForward]

Jingles for your mom Susan!

T went back to the Dark Side last night and we had a rough lesson and had to jump her through a grid a few times to even get canter.This morning was better. We are doing lots of over bending, LY out on a circle, changing the posture and just short bits of canter. We did get a few snippets of lovely round, 3-beat canter, so at least it is in there. Another lesson tomorrow. Probably a good thing that she regressed just when I had a lesson block scheduled; hopefully we will nip it in the bud this time instead of me taking 3 weeks to get it worked out on my own.

Clinic next weekend was cancelled, but that is actually a good thing, as I'll be able to audit Leslie Morse on Friday so I know what to expect when I ride with her in the fall, and my instructor will probably be back in town over the weekend since her horses are in Idaho temporarily.

Not to forget Miss Annabelle, we had a lovely ride last night. It was the best she's felt in quite a while. She is just such a sweetie.

[Moutaineer]

Forgive me SF, if I overstep here... I'm half a bottle of wine into a Saturday evening.

I think you should keep.sweet Annabelle and enjoy her. It sounds like you are banging your head against a brick wall with Tesla.

Susan, jingles for your mom. That's worrying.

[exvet]

Sending jingles for your Mom, Susan. Hope she starts to feel more herself soon.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Lynx was finally ridden last week! The Dressage trainer hopped on him. We lunged him a tad longer than planned (maybe 15 minutes?) Because he was a bit excited and distracted. But when she hopped on he was a gentleman. She was only on for about 10 or 15 minutes. But he looked good (was it adrenaline?) And was a good boy. I'm going to continue groundwork and then she's going to ride him one more time next week and then after that I'll start riding again too.

With the stifle stuff, not sure if my dressage dreams will pan out with him, But the plan is to continue on for a few years and gift him to my daughter. He could really teach her a lot (lateral work, pole work, maybe tiny tiny cross rails.) He just is too young but there is a really good boy in there. I think in two years they both will meet in their progress. My daughter has a nice seat and hand. She's fair and kind. So in two years of more learning and Lynx being 8 years old would be great. And who knows where life will take me, but I will never give up on my dreams! For now I'll enjoy Lynx though.

[StraightForward]

Forgive me SF, if I overstep here... I'm half a bottle of wine into a Saturday evening.

I think you should keep.sweet Annabelle and enjoy her. It sounds like you are banging your head against a brick wall with Tesla.

I guess I don't see it that way My goal is FEI and I'm willing to put the work in to get there. Annabelle struggles with the second level work, and I would not enjoy trying to push her to do the third level work. Maybe it's more that I have to break through walls with Tesla, but each time, she levels up. No she is not easy, but I've put in every single ride myself since the beginning and she has come a long way. I hope I don't give the impression that I don't enjoy her, because I do, and the percentage of good rides is increasing over time. Unfortunately my camera stopped recording after two minutes today, but we had a quite good lesson. Starting to find more of the bend and suppleness she needs, and she was obedient to all of the canter aids and we had some pretty super trot work. Lessons again Friday and Saturday.

[Chisamba]

Show weekend done and dusted. 3 days of showing and learning moments and improvement each day. Lessons learned.

1) I not likely to ever have a relaxed confident ride from Saiph so getting the best out of a distracted tense horse is the goal.

2) you can spook, jump o to the ring and jump out again and they will still let you ride your test. Lol

3) after the first day I thought I need to ride at home more like I ride in the show and ny day the I decided I need to ride in the show more like I ride at home. I suppose the moral is a bit of each.

Oh I happily got sevens on my flying changes by the last class, but horribly, fives on my half canter pirouette. ( big but round. )

My mare would give her mediums and extended for about four steps then decide the far end if the arena was too scary to approach with voom and shut down. So did not get nor deserve decent scores.

[mari]

Show weekend done and dusted. 3 days of showing and learning moments and improvement each day. Lessons learned.

1) I not likely to ever have a relaxed confident ride from Saiph so getting the best out of a distracted tense horse is the goal.

2) you can spook, jump o to the ring and jump out again and they will still let you ride your test. Lol

3) after the first day I thought I need to ride at home more like I ride in the show and ny day the I decided I need to ride in the show more like I ride at home. I suppose the moral is a bit of each.

Oh I happily got sevens on my flying changes by the last class, but horribly, fives on my half canter pirouette. ( big but round. )

My mare would give her mediums and extended for about four steps then decide the far end if the arena was too scary to approach with voom and shut down. So did not get nor deserve decent scores.

Point 2

[khall]

Susan jingles for your mother!

Lsp glad Lynx was ready to go back to work! Jingles you are able to enjoy your horse and riding again

Chisamba well glad you can see the positives in a bumpy show experience.

SF T has come a long way with your work. She’s definitely a tough cookie but the progress is definitely evident every video you share. Definitely keep sharing your journey. I have my badge with such a difficult horse as well. Makes me appreciate Joplin!!

Well our second Cedar clinic is a wrap! All had great rides and we’ve all learned so much and showing progress every clinic. Joplin is such a star. Learning more and more of the minute details in the work. I have my homework to play with and hope to be able to show progress next Cesar clinic in September

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6 ... tid=r8mrGG

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6 ... tid=r8mrGG

https://youtube.com/shorts/s_QIMMVexro?feature=share

[khall]

A couple more videos

A workout!
https://youtu.be/hZI7CPl9NsQ

https://youtube.com/shorts/DSlAFDeNwrY?feature=share

https://youtu.be/ZLexrdG64Dw

[khall]

One more! Henry photo

https://www.facebook.com/10000086155357 ... tid=r8mrGG

[Moutaineer]

Ah, I hadn't realized Annabelle had hit her limit so hard, SF. Yes, I do agree there is no joy in banging a square peg into a round hole.

And I'm impressed with how you've persevered with Tesla. She has been a tough nut, to be sure. I also forget that everyone is younger than I am and that really makes a difference in one's attitude towards tough-nutism!

We trailered over to the show venue this morning for a pre-pre show ride--I haven't shown for what? 4 years, my trainer has a horse in to sell that has third-ish level training but has never been in the show ring, and my fellow student is on a 4 year old who has barely been off property, let alone in the show ring, so we all thought that as much familiarization as possible couldn't hurt!

Potters was a total gentleman from beginning to end. For a start, you've got to love a horse that cheerfully self-loads onto someone else's trailer... that's worth $10K before you even get started I did manage to spook him when I had a coughing fit in the judge's booth as he and Justin were right underneath us, but after that he ignored our foolish ways and just trundled on happily. What a good boy!

We will go back over on Thursday afternoon when both arenas are set up and there are flowers and people and chaos, but so far so good. It's handy being 10 minutes away.

Khall, I will enjoy watching your videos later when I'm not supposed to be working!

[Aleuronx]

Oh wow khall!! Canter in hand? My mind is blown.

I'm on a bit of a wobble yes/no for competition on Saturday. We've had quite of bit of rain and organizer emailed today (schooling day) that competition arenas will be closed to allow them to drain for best conditions for the weekend. Well... it's supposed to start raining again tomorrow afternoon and stop sometime on Sunday. My trainer is up for the weekend so I'm going to get intel on whether it's worth the drive up on Saturday to ride in the rain. TBD

Kora has felt great and I don't need to risk her for a practice round truly. We've been digging into our walk homework which is hard but pays off. We've popped a change each way on a couple of 'great' feeling days as requested by trainer. We will dig into them proper post our show season.

[Moutaineer]

It just bucketed down with rain all night and all day until about 2pm. Then we went over to the showgrounds to have a practice ride in condensed mud soup. At least it wasn't slippery. We got back to the barn looking like we'd been hunting in Ireland. Cleaned horses, cleaned tack, and now at 7pm I've just got home and admit I'm sitting in the car in the garage trying to get the strength up to go inside and do something about dinner.

Still, Potters was a super mudder and took everything in his stride. Justin shows him tomorrow and then Saturday its my turn. I'm just going to do 3.1 and call it good, I think.

Let's hope it dries out some overnight!

[exvet]

The last two days have been a blur moving horses (took two trips with my 2-horse) and dogs from the valley to our place up in Prescott. Temps are predicted to hit over 110 next week in the valley so we were in a crunch to get them moved to the higher elevation. Can't say that our place in Prescott is actually 'done' but we were done with waiting; so, here we are. Gradually getting the 'herd' used to grass. Went for a trail ride yesterday which was awesome and plan to go again on some new trails today. Hopefully will get some pictures. The astonishing thing to me is that Ace, the mustang who came off the reservation as a mostly feral stallion with his band of mares and foals that I later gelded after he put enough weight back on turned into a very submissive, avoid conflict at all costs sort of horse in the desert/dry lot setting. Here he is 7 years later acting like a typical feral stallion with the other two geldings. He's back on top. He's still respectful under saddle and easy to handle but there's a spring in his step and a go for it attitude that disappeared shortly after I gelded him which was in the winter. I don't know if it was the setting, the climate or what but it's fun to see him so 'alive'. As for dressage news, after my trail ride yesterday on Junior I worked a little in a real dressage court. Nice to now have access to one whenever I want and also not have to be the one to drag or take care of it. The other surprise to me is that there is actually a large number of men (relatively speaking of course) that have horses and trail ride here. This of course makes my SO quite happy. I may be spending more time on the trails this summer than schooling dressage between the nice weather, the company and the fact that these trails are PERFECT for conditioning. While I hope things dry out for those of you on the East Coast, I'm actually hoping we start getting a little rain.

[StraightForward]

Good luck with the show this weekend Moutaineer, can't wait to hear all about it!

Didn't make the Leslie Morse clinic as a career opportunity came up and I spent much of Friday updating my resume and submitting a job application (internal temporary appointment, not a huge life change). At least a saw a clip on FB so I know I don't have to braid

Tesla got shoulder and SI taping on Thursday, and we had good lessons yesterday and today. She has gotten quite a bit more supple in the trot work, and it is slowly transferring over to the canter. It is interesting that she goes wide behind in canter. I did get some video this morning, and it really seems to be a balance issue; she gets stiff, and then throws her hind out to the side to balance when things get off kilter. There are moments that everything comes together, and the shit show moments also seem to be getting fewer and farther between. This morning she got really forward and unleashed a few of her patented Tesla Stomps, and was kind of all over the place powering around through trot and canter. If I can eventually channel and shape all of that, we will have something pretty impressive! We noticed at the end that her left haunch was much sweatier than the right, so I'm hoping that's a sign that she's starting to accept weight more honestly on the LH. Two weeks until our next dressage lessons, so I'm looking forward to hitting the homework and seeing how much improvement we can make by then.

A little clip of simple changes through the trot: https://youtu.be/OUfQnAF4GC0

[exvet]

Nice transitions SF!

Good luck at the show Moutaineer!

[heddylamar]

Maia got herself a big bruised bite mark last week, right under the right panel, so she’s been off since Tuesday. No flinching when I gave her a good curry yesterday or today, so I saddled up to ride today.

Glad I opted for a bit of groundwork first! She put on a great bucking clinic! Then I tightened the girth to confirm it was the bruise — yep, she flinched away from the saddle. I owe her lots of cookies and grass to apologize

Does arnica work on horses?

[StraightForward]

Yes, I believe arnica is a main ingredient in Sore no More. There was a thread about liniment recently on CotH discussing it.

[Moutaineer]

Good Monday morning all!

If you take my riding out of it, the show was a roaring success... The weather turned perfect, cool and sunny, and the rings had dried out just right overnight.

It turns out, Potters really likes to go to a show. He happily went to sleep on the cross ties while I braided him, happily stepped onto and off the trailer, stood patiently, was a superstar in the crowded and spooky indoor arena warmup and was a solidly steady and safe good boy in the ring.

Justin rode 3.1 and 3.3 on Friday, and got a 69 and a 68. Bearing in mind that this was Justin's second ever rated show and his first ever time riding third level, and Potters' first time in the ring in 3 years, we were pretty thrilled with that. He was only half a point behind our trainer's winning score at the 3.1.

I rode Saturday in front of Mike Osinski. I got a well-deserved totally awful score of 57. I just could not get him moving. (Back story being that I had managed to give Mr. Sensitive a spur rub a week or so ago and was worried about opening it up again in the show ring, so I had on the plastic ball spurs that are worse than useless and he completely and totally ignored my leg. I might as well have not been there.) So I got heavily dinged for behind the leg and lack of impulsion and therefore lack of collection, which I richly deserved, and then to add insult to injury I went badly off course and got discombobulated.

Oh well, a bit of public humiliation never did anyone any harm.

(I have a new classic test comment for the record... for the extended canter score of 1: "So much trotting...")

Lessons learned: 1. New spurs ordered! 2. I will carry a whip and have a reader next time, and 3. I will have ridden through the test many times at home. I realize that I hadn't actually ridden the whole thing all the way through before we went in the ring. Bad planning.

However, we did get a few nice scores amongst the carnage--several 6.5s and 6s, a 7 for our left to right flying change, which is normally the troublesome one. The right to left, which is usually a shoe-in, didn't happen at all--he broke at the start of the diagonal and was not going back up to the canter in the available space for all the urging I could give. And the judge's comments made it clear that he understood what was going on. As my husband said after reading through the test sheet, "I think "Capable pair" means "get your shit together and you have a chance.""

He'd been super in the warmup, but he's a wily old bird and he just tuned me out in the showring, and I didn't have the tools on hand to remind him that's not the way it works. And, of course, I lost my brains.

Justin rides 5 holes longer than I do and is 40 years younger and stronger than I am so he doesn't have the same issues.

BUT... The whole thing was a truly confidence building exercise, which was kind of the point of my first show in 4 years and coming off some crippling confidence issues. And my little horse got so many compliments, hilariously for being "such a kind, steady boy," as well as for his general handsomeness.

I'm not scared to do it anymore. And the only way to get good at showing is to show. Kind of like cantering, really.

[Moutaineer]

Lovely day for a horse show!

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[Moutaineer]

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[Chisamba]

Moutaineer, so much trotting . Kudos for a lovely sense of humor. It is incredibly frustrating to have a horse behind the leg in the show ring!!!.

Lovely pic of Potters and his humans

[StraightForward]

Great show report! The first is the hardest and it will be all up from here I'm sure

I had a jumping lesson this morning and set up The Circle of Death - four jumps on a large circle. I just had two at crossrails and two on the ground, and worked Tesla through it. Eventually we were able to canter all the way around, and hallelujah she let go in her back and gave me the softest canter I've ever gotten from her. I put everything up to small x-rails and rode Annabelle through, and it seemed to do her good as well. Next week we'll see if T can manage all four as x-rails. The BO confirmed that she will now torture her other students with this exercise for the rest of the week.