Just Keep Sweating On: July/August Goals and Progress

[blob]

New thread! I have a bunch of travel this period, so I am trying to make my goals appropriate

Me:
Find time to ride
Eat healthy
Get some exercise to make up for days when I'm not riding during travel

MM:
Keep her comfortable through heat
Continue to keep fitness up (even if it's other people riding)
Enjoy her

RP:
Get consistency in the HI/make it not so hard
Work in more half pass
Work on more uphill downhill transitions
Changes?

[Aleuronx]

Aww, I love the "Enjoy her" goal blob. Shouldn't we all keep that to front of mind. These are some big dream months, looking forward to the next step.

We are in the midst of our master bathroom rebuild due to water damage from leaking skylight as the straw. There are wants and there are money considerations so what it ends up as are TBD. But it would be nice to have the main bathroom back before the snow flies again.

Section Goals:
P-S-G! Have solid debut efforts in July that I feel proud of and smile in that tailcoat.
Sub-goal: 63%+ score for 4th Freestyle qualifier and Silver medal...
Build more self-carriage in the trot
Half-steps more confirmed and 'there' when aided
Keep on self-fitness (Hiking/Tread/Weights)
Keep sanity in renovation work

[Chisamba]

Im going to make more concrete goals.

1. Show Kimba twice rated shows second level. Im working on developing her canter to this goal.

Show Pauletta schooling show at training level. Also working on easier canter transirions less anxiety more relaxed canter.

Do NOT gain weight. Tone up and tighten skin (not sure how one does that. )

Keep progressing my training horses and mostly keep on enjoying riding. I want to meet my goals but not at expense of joy.

[StraightForward]

I'll be starting to ride before work soon, so just trying to keep consistent while also fitting in workouts and not falling asleep aty desk.

Show 2-3 at the end of the month and then clinic with Lilo. There is another show the following week, so hopefully will wrap up my 1st and 2nd level scores and be done showing for the year

Find my sitting trot
Clean up out c/w transitions and get the ToH a little more confirmed.
Obedience to the canter aids.

Also jump at least once, preferably twice per week.

[heddylamar]

Me:
I need to make a goal for myself to be better about riding before work I'm up in plenty of time, but I'm not getting out the door in time. And then I decide to ride at the end of the day, which gets lost in a mess of all the things that need to be done that were no where on my current/pending to-do list previously.

Maia:
Finally, yes, finally, officially start Maia over actual fences, not just little cross-rails — woot!

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Goals: continue to work on the pole work. Start using the equiband again more consistently. Continue working on our canter. I had wanted to ride in a clinic at the end of the month but some unrelated things have come up that are causing some financial stress. Clinics are so outrageous anymore I'm not sure if I can spend $600 on a few hours of riding right now.

I always want to lose 10 or 15 lbs. Continue to work on my fitness best I can.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

This probably belongs here more than the other thread, but after the pole clinic last Sunday, one of the other riders in it, told me Lynx and I looked really good and she's so impressed with how much reach and lift Lynx had. I was honestly shocked because I felt my riding was a bit off and Lynx was a bit quick over the poles. It honestly felt like a dumpster fire in many ways (I was proud of Lynx for a few things.) Just one of those rides where I walked away thinking, wow, we really can do so much better than that!

Anyways, I told my trainer and she was like yeah and that lady really doesn't give out compliments easily. I joked with my trainer that I'm starting to not think that's true and if anything she just really likes Lynx and I. LOL! Or my trainer is bribing people to give me compliments ha ha. Kidding but it's a bit perplexing me. I do appreciate it though It's very nice and I try to be the same, encouraging others too.

Happy 4th of July!

[Tanga]

Do NOT gain weight. Tone up and tighten skin (not sure how one does that. )
.

I'm doing this one, too! Lost several pounds this last week alone in my 18 hour days getting my mom's emergency pain taken care of and swatting down one mess up and emergency after another. Maybe, finally, can think of something else.

Not goals, but the girls had a show on Sunday. The judges are making me nuts. NO clue sometimes. Some of the best rides ever from both. Quinn 58% GP (NO mistakes, just some slight tension) 68% GP FS, Quilla I-1 64%, I-1 FS 72%!!

My goal, maybe--figure out how to get some correlation between what I see and know is true and the scores.
Quinn GP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDr2Z2i0Zao GP FS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKlG9l5hUHM
--Get an ACTUAL collected walk in a test. I swear I did nothing last week but practice walks and halts.
--Get Quinn to chill and relax without having to do at least one GP test first.

[Tanga]

Quilla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzhV_bSBbn4

Goals, get an actual collected walk and halt at the beginning of tests.

Make her look forward and energetic. This is me really, really, really asking for forward, and she's barely moving, Sigh.

Oops. heres the actual freestyle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qYeH5qK5hA&t=73s

Do you think I should keep this music?

[Tanga]

One thing has gone right. I haven't been to the barn in days because of my my mom. Weds. my leasor couldn't get a piece of "grass" out of Quilla's eye eye, so I was going to go in the morning to get it out. I had urgent stuff to deal with my mom all day and finally got there 6:30. The "grass" was still there and I couldn't get it out with eyedrops and a Q tip. I grabbed it with a pair of tweezers and pulled. Her tearduct inverted and I pulled this out! I'm not sure if it is a foxtail or what.

Miracle of miracles, no reddness, cloudiness. Eye looks great. HTF did she manage this?

(I had to compress this like 20 times to get it to download.)

[Moutaineer]

Owie, Tanga! That was a lucky escape!

LSP, take the compliment and enjoy it. Your work is paying off.

[blob]

Tanga, hope the eye is still doing great, that is a sneaky one!!

LSP, what a nice thing to hear!

This week will be a tricky one. I will be out of town and the heat is spiking. Unfortunately, MM has decided for the first time to stop sweating. I've started the One AC and beer. I'm hoping it helps.

[StraightForward]

Well, I have joined the unenviable club of people with ailing parents. My dad went in for heart valve surgery and it triggered a stroke, so I was with him in the ICU in California for the last several days. He has substantial aphasia and paralysis on his right side with no use of his right arm. They are trying to get a few things more stabilized so they can transfer him to acute rehab. It's a tough pill to swallow since he was up until now completely independent and very active. Hopefully his relative fitness will help him in the recovery process. Luckily my brother is currently a stay at home dad with kids that are getting to a less needy age, so he'll be able to provide more support through this process, but I'll probably be going back to help and give him some breaks.

So anyway, Tesla ended up getting eight days off after the clinic. I lunged and did a quick ride this morning and she felt great. I was in the jumping saddle as I'd left my dressage gear at home thinking I'd clean it after the clinic, so I decided the glorified warmup was enough to do on our first day back. At the end I decided to throw in some rein-back, and was really happy with how smooth and obedient they were. Something I worked through with Carrie in the clinic, as well as our ToH which is a coefficient for 2-3. Tomorrow we'll get back to proper dressage schooling. I need to get my letters up so I can do some test practice.

[khall]

I’m so sorry SF you are dealing with your dad’s stroke. That’s tough to go from hale and hearty to needing rehab from a stroke. My watch has been over for almost a year now. I spent the last 7 of my parents life being intimately involved in their care. It’s tough. Long distance is especially difficult. I didn’t face that problem.

Lsp I definitely would take the compliment! Sometimes we are so close to our riding and horses we don’t see the progress made.

We just returned from 10 day vacation in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. Our first time there. Saw some beautiful sights got to do some fun stuff and rested spending some family time with our almost 25 yr old DS. He starts his after Masters graduation job next month. Excited for him.

Joplin stayed in work while I was gone thanks to friends who helped out. Rip I hope is sweating some will probably treat him again with acupuncture. Blob I hope you can get MM sorted!

Otherwise all is good. Back to the swelter of Georgia summer! Next trip is Portugal in September:)

Stay cool all!!

[Aleuronx]

Tanga those are some nice tests! Talk about come back after your health struggles. I really enjoyed the Quinn’s 2 tempi bent/circle line and the piaffe to the X-files was quite fun. Quilla, I get the balance of trying to get relaxation and freely forward. For me the canter music is a little overpowering but the trot work is nice in the freestyle. In the I-1 the changes on the zig-zag are tight behind but that’s beyond my abilities to recommend a fix, just noting as the 3’s and 2’s where much more reach behind and clear so she can do them. (Also eyes skeeve me out, please update us that all is okay after pulling that plant life out)

SF, sorry to hear about your dad and jingles for recovery. Ages and stages of having to deal with ailing relatives seems to come for us all.

khall - super jealous of Kauai. Was there ~20 years ago with my parents and had an incredible time, sounds like you did too.

We survived the 4th of July shenanigans, barely. Kora lives out 24/7 with a TB pasture mate that is ahem, stereotypical TB neurotic (bless her heart) and tends to narcolepsy by nature if ‘things’ change. Well several nights of fireworks being set off by all sort of neighbors means very little sleep for ponies. If TB couldn’t sleep she apparently wasn’t going to let Kora either. Poor Kora was exhausted all weekend from it. I’ve never ridden her so laggy and dull. Much was just sharpening to the leg and calling it a day. She walked like a proper quarter horse peanut roller with nose to the footing.

Today’s ride was phew, my horse is back and not a kick ride. Played around touching on each part of the PSG and moving on. There are only so many rides left before show time!! Lesson this weekend Saturday and maybe Sunday if I beg. Funny how it feels like forever to come and now super fast.

[Tanga]

Aleuronx--THANKS for the feedback! It's useful to hear. I'm always making modifications to the tests and music. Quilla's was sort of last minute and I am always waffling about changing it or not, but it's kind of a bad idea to change much and go to champs. not having ridden it in shows. I know what you mean about Quilla's zig zag changes. If I am not super careful, she will be together or late behind. Good feedback. If nothing else, I will think of your comments when riding them so I ride them better!

And yes, Quilla is fine. Zero problem with her eye. It's a miracle.

Sorry about the fireworks. My girls do not care. Two barns ago they lived above a police firing range, so used to hang up in the pasture listening to that all day.

Good luck on your show. I'm pretty sure you will kick ass at PSG.

SF. So sorry about your dad. This is ROUGH. I've been on two weeks of about 18 hours a day trying to settle my mom. The first week she was screaming in pain 24/7, literally not sleeping for more than an hour at a time, ever, because her knee was so bad it was like an ice pick in there. moving her knee felt like a bag of glass. Took her to an orthopedist a week in and he said she has so much arthritis in there and no knee caps left it was hard for him, who does this ten times a day, to get a needle in. The relief was almost immediate. And we're working with other docs to mediate what is left with drugs and sleep meds. Went to the dentist in a bit to see what is going on with the 7 teeth left (she had all of them less than ten years ago) and her long time pain. Massive infection in the lower jaw, and most of the teeth left are broken and rotted. All really need to come out in a hospital environment. The more I find out, the more and more angry I am at the abuse and neglect. But the psycho is STILL keeping her $7 k a month income, and spending it on the credit cards. (Got a text on her phone about it yesterday.)

I am so happy here we are having a mild, cooler summer. We needed it. I am sorry for most of the rest of you. Girls are doing well. Either two ot three more shows, mostly to make sure we have enough ring time, but qualified every which way for champs.

[heddylamar]

I'm sorry you've joined this sucky club, StraightForward. Lots of jingles.

In horse news, Maia and I had a breakthrough (for her) lesson today, and she finally decided to yield that last little bit and relax her under neck without popping up over the bit the moment I give on the rein.

It was a struggle getting there, mostly steady, persistent pressure on my part, which garnered all sorts of fun reactions from the mare. My instructor had me use a bit heavier contact, like I did to get the walk halt transition. When Maia initially refused to give, we did trot/halt transitions on a 15-meter circle, so using something she already knew and applying it to the trot. There was some running backwards, and some violent spooking. And then she got it

I love spicy, big emotion mares

[Chisamba]

Do you think I should keep this music?

I liked parts of the music but it seemed to take a while to get exciting enough to enhance your ride.

About what it might take to score higher. I am not judge and my opinion may not be worth salt, but perhaps if she appeared to sit a bit more and step under herself more from behind it would improve the overall impression of all her movements. I think she seems beautifully supple and responsive .

[Chisamba]

SF and Tanga. Tough times taking care of your parents. Wishing you strength and all.

I love to hear of the small and big successes everyone is sharing about their riding.

Kimba seems to be kicking into gear in terms of better jump on her canter and for that matter better connection. Could the two be connected, hmmmm . Lol.

Pauletta thinks leg yield and shoulder fore are difficult and should be met with high neck dropped back and no stepping under. Confused at what to address first I took a really difficult but good lesson and its all about that base ( back end stepping under and learning to sit)

Ever a point of difficulty in my riding. If I look back at photos of me on my previous horses I think things like, if I knew then what I know now....

Hope you are loving the summer, enjoying your horses and treasuring your good moments with friends and family.

[Tanga]

Do you think I should keep this music?

I liked parts of the music but it seemed to take a while to get exciting enough to enhance your ride.

About what it might take to score higher. I am not judge and my opinion may not be worth salt, but perhaps if she appeared to sit a bit more and step under herself more from behind it would improve the overall impression of all her movements. I think she seems beautifully supple and responsive .

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think I'm changing the music because it will mess me up at this point, but I really worked on editing it and getting it just right so it's clear and shows the movement better.

And, you are 100% right about her stepping under more. That's exactly what I am working on. She's sneaky and when we do work sometimes, esp. in shows, she is great at sneaking and dropping in front a bit and getting that stiff legged look and where she gets together behind. I am working on more from behind and up into the contact without losing her marbles. We just need to do it at a show! She and Pauletta sound like they have similar tendencies. And my advice on that is I have never worked on one or another, but both, back and forth and back and forth.

[khall]

Chisamba I agree about the better they are engaged the better they are in the bridle. At least for some horses. Definitely true for Joplin. I really have to concentrate on coiling the HQs and quickening her HLs. She’s a bit long and rather ah hem blasé about life. She’s a weird mix of ill power up and charge along forward but the engaging well that’s work. I do much piaffe and active short trot work with her in hand and more and more US.
I know it had to be hard to let Saiph go but glad she’s going to a good home.

Blob just wanted to pop in and say Rip is responding to the acupuncture for his anhydrosis. He’s had 2 treatments. He’s still not where I hope he will be but he’s comfortable in his stall even in our 90+ steamy air that you can wear Georgia.

[blob]

Khall, I'm so glad to hear that! My vet does accupuncture, so that makes it easy. but we are worried MM may not be a great candidate. She has a real fear of needles, so getting them in and keeping them in might be a struggle that's not worth it. But I will talk to her again if nothing else works. So far the beer + one AC has done nothing really. But my vet says she's had some real success stories with some chinese herbs, so they're on the way and we'll give them a try. For now, MM is totally off work while we try to navigate this.

Very much agree about engagement and in the bridle. It's very true for my two. MM is generally totally uncomplicated in the bridle, even if she's not engaged. But the feeling you get in the hand when she is REALLY engaged behind is so incredible--both like melting butter in that you can position it anyway you want, but also steady and strong in that you can drop the reins and she would stay up and in front. RP can be super fussy in the bridle, but his head tossing or chomping is his way of expressing that something isn't right in his body. If he tosses his head a lot, i know he is not feeling right or working right somewhere in his body.

I'm out of town until Wednesday evening (left on friday), so not a ton of riding lately, but what I have had with RP has been good. Focus has been mostly on really sitting. It's hard physical work and i know the improvement will not be sudden since for him it's really about building muscle to carry at all, not just carry consistently. With MM this stage was much easier, she is naturally so strong behind, that i could REALLY get the sit for a bit at a time and then slowly increase how long she carried it. With RP it's not just about duration, it's also about extent. So I have to just keep reminding myself that it will happen but it will take time, so we keep plugging away. On the plus side on my last ride before heading out of town, I asked RP for a change. We haven't worked on them in awhile since hte focus has been so much on collection and transitions. But he felt balanced and adjustable in the counter canter, so I thought, why not? It was perfect--unevent, clean, on my aids, and the canter after felt just as good as the canter before. I ended my ride with that and maybe should just quite riding altogether while i'm ahead

[StraightForward]

Thanks all for the commiseration and sympathy. At least he finally was able to move out of ICU to the rehab unit a couple days ago. My brother said he was communicating better yesterday, and hopefully being in a focused therapy program and out of the ICU will be helpful.

Tanga, that sounds so sad and just like an overwhelming nightmare.

I'm focusing on getting ready for out show weekend after next. We had a really good ride today. Out main issue right now is her just giving up and falling out of the right lead canter when it gets hard. Overall her canter feels souch better than even two months ago. Rein back has improved 300%, but we still have some work to do on the ToH. She can do it when I ride them correctly.

[Moutaineer]

Still alive... just about. I had L3/L4 joint space injection 5 days ago. I'm greatly improved, but still pretty painful at times and annoyingly disabled. I need to have patience. I know these things can take 2 weeks to full effect.

DH took me down to the barn this morning so I could watch Potters go and have a change of scene and some human contact. Potters looks great. I guess every cloud has a silver lining and at least he is getting the full benefit of full training.

[Aleuronx]

It is officially crunch time. Saturday was clinic w/trainer and we worked on the 4's to 3's when she's holding a bit of tension being away from home/comfort zone. It wasn't so much the count as it was the 4-5 strides on the diagonal before starting that I really had to hold her on the line and keep the submission to 'wait' instead of just 'do'.

I begged (slightly) into a lesson at her place on Sunday, and she decided fine with having it be a full test run through. After warm-up, we touched on the zig-zag placement, how many strides I need to prep her straight before the change versus X and the corner, a little bit of pirouette canter in which I asked her to sit and come under then light touches with the whip to keep the activity. Walk break then straight into the test, gulp. It wasn't terrible but some handbrake on mistakes that clearly was her plan all along to have me finally ride the full test and get that nervous bit out.

Not gonna lie riding down center line with trainer standing at C is more intimating than any judge! At this point I'm just such going to enjoy the moment, ride each movement as it comes and then celebrate the heck out of it afterwards with friends. Ride tomorrow to touch on reaction to the leg aids then we rock on for Friday morning!

[Moutaineer]

We'll all be riding down center line with you on Friday, Aleuronx! Best of luck!

[khall]

Whoop aleuronx! Jingles for a great ride!!

[Lipsmackerpony88]

As always, love reading all the updates. Sounds like many are making progress while navigating the struggle that is life!

Lynx has doubled as kid pony this week. We have been throwing my daughter on him at the end of my lessons and she's been having a little mini lesson from my trainer. It's SO adorable to watch them together. He's good for her because he's sensitive to the seat and leg while also being the easiest horse on the world in the bridle. The biggest struggle is keeping him straight (which is with every rider.) But he's teaching her how to really use her legs and seat and of course inside leg to outside rein connection!

Today she figured out how to regulate his trot rhythm with her seat. Cool to see them figure it out.

He's been feeling good for me too. Really focused, light to the aids but forward going without tension or anxiety.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Best of luck to everyone heading to a show!

[Aleuronx]

Quick pop in to say we survived our first test in tails! All the pieces there with some blips due to distractions in the tempis but a very controlled and confidence building round for us both which was honestly just as to plan. 59.7% is just off the mark but we can spice it up tomorrow and ride with our hair on fire to wow the judge with more impulsion.

Video and pics to come but I’ve been up since 3am and need to recover for a crack at round two. So very proud to call her a certified FEI beast.

[StraightForward]

Yay, you are an FEI duo. Best of luck tomorrow!

LSP, glad you are having some good ride son Lynx, and it's great that you can share him with your daughter.

This morning I went out to ride before T's chiro appointment, and noticed her RH was puffy and warmish just above the fetlock. Put her on the line and sure enough she was lame AF at the trot (like 3/5), and I noticed she was a little stiffer with less fetlock drop at the walk, so I was on the phone to the vet as soon as they opened. By some miracle my regular vet had an opening at 11:30 so I charged home to grab my rig and adjust my work meetings. +1 for working with animal-friendly people. I was having PTSD because that is the exact same location where Annabelle had her DDFT injury that sidelined her for an eternity. Luckily, the vet said her tendons palpated totally clean, and he followed up with radiographs that were also clean (so at least we know her joints are looking good back there). So we concluded that she probably whacked it on the fence panel trying to kick at her neighbor, which is corroborated by the small bite marks on her butt. Sweat wrap and some Previcox, and we are hoping she'll be good to go by Monday or Tuesday. Really hoping not to have to withdraw from the show and clinic with Lilo, and I guess I'll be setting up a "dressage court" in my back yard and practicing tests on foot this weekend. Horses, I swear!

[Moutaineer]

Good going for the first time out, Aleuronx!! Give it some wellie tomorrow...

Urgh, SF. I really hope you get to your show and clinic.

Still not doing so great here.

[khall]

SF ugh. Yes horses. Always something to worry us.

Yay aleuronx!! Go Kora. Whoop!

Cedar is taking the stallion out at GP for the first time this weekend. He’s such a good boy.

Please jingle for a friend. Chex’s owner was riding her other horse who spooked and bucked her off. Landed on her left hip breaking her femur. Surgery yesterday. We just had bought our plane tickets to Portugal. She was one of the riders going. Highly doubt she would be able to ride in a mere 7 weeks of recovery. She was working so hard to be ready for the trip. As SF said horses. Ugh

I’m back schooling Joplin trying some harder canter work. Renvere CC simple change to true canter HI moving back and forth between leads and changing direction via half volte in HI back to other CC renvere. Makes the simple changes so smooth because she’s so engaged in the lateral work in the canter. Will start adding in FCs shortly me canter HP some counter SI. Half volte in counter SI just really pushing the canter work more. Refresh with some forward back.

Playing a bit of counter SI and HI in canter with Chex. He’s such a fun pony. Guess it will just be me riding the little guy for awhile while his owner is laid up.

Now to add Gaila into the mix. She needs to go back to work

Rip continues to do well. He’s acting better than he has in awhile. One more acupuncture treatment Monday. Putting in sun shades and misting system in their dry lots so I can actually start using them.

Stay cool all of us dealing with the summer swelter! And happy riding!

[Aleuronx]

You. Guys.

We turned it on for our next test and took some risks with more sitting canter piros and bigger overall to snatch a 64.706%!! I'm still in the stratosphere about it. Pleased, proud, grateful and so, so happy. It felt great to send that update to her breeder, much toasting was had that night all over. Our barn manager also gave the PSG a crack on a clients horse and got close to scores but improved on the next day. So we all celebrated.

Fingers crossed for some nice pics from the photographer. I will apologize for the more spamming if they do. Still waiting on other video from friend of friend of the better test but here's some nice snippets from our 1st PSG.

https://youtu.be/JhpHrFK00Es?si=jtGvXj7AGYO7ZpxX

PSG.jpg (141.16 KiB) Viewed 52533 times

Early morning ride for the 1st go means celebratory mimosas were had by all!

Cheers.jpg (136.74 KiB) Viewed 52533 times

[blob]

congrats, Aleu! what an accomplishment and I love that smiley picture of you on Kora.

Khall, glad to hear your herd is doing well and that Rip is responding to acupuncture.

things have been very tough with MM. It's a bad cycle to suddenly have anhidrosis and a breathing issue given that now they are both steamrolling into one another. I'm having to do a round of dex while we try to manage the not sweating and i'm feeling a bit hopeless about it all

[StraightForward]

Huge congrats Aleu and Kora!!

Blob, jingles for MM!

T seemed pretty much sound this morning. Im going to try to get her front shoes on tonight and hopefully ride tomorrow.

[Tanga]

Good job, Aleuronx. I knew you had all of the requirements to do it.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

I had a whole post that went poof! Alueronx- congratulations, you have worked so hard for this and with such a great attitude, you truly deserve it this! I was refreshing the board all weekend to see if you updated:)

Blob, jingles for M.M. That sounds really tough to battle right now. I'm beginning to dislike summer myself, It just seems like it makes things harder. Almost more so than winter.

SF- I hope T is good to go tomorrow and feeling good!

Over the weekend I lunged Lynx in some (fairly loose) side reins. I'm trying to be consistent in doing that once a week. It's not great for his stifles obviously but good for his back so trying to find a happy medium. Today he was very good, the neighbors were working in their backyard again on their porch and he hardly batted an eye at them. He's been wayyyyy more focused in his work the last few months. He's gotten to be an absolute pro at doing shoulder in to renver at the walk, it's great to keep his focus and he seems to really enjoy renvers especially. You know his go to move has always been haunches in but it was becoming detrimental. So basically anytime I would have done haunches and I switch it out to renver.

We walked some poles, did some transitions and I had some of the best canter transitions yet! Still battling him wanting to take over at times but he was more settled today.

I hope everyone is staying cool. It's been 95 almost everyday for weeks and weeks now. Getting tired of it!

[Aleuronx]

Of course after making that post I finally received the video, lol. Like I said, y'all can enjoy or ignore the spam. Not sure why the 3's got wonky for the right change other than tension as they were coming off more consistently better at home and late in front is hilarious for her as not her standard mistake. But very happy with how I rode her developing pirouettes. They are going to be something.

https://youtu.be/c8lctk-5Zy0?si=WzXUoNGvGw3rySX-

I can't wait to get back out there this weekend for another go. Jingles for no thunderstorms!

SF - Jingles that it's no big for T and she's okay to take. Horses love to give the drama when it comes to plans.

blob - Jingles the dex gives her some relief and maybe a weather reprieve as well.

Tanga - Thanks! I feel like even if the pieces are green they are recognizable. I can understand why when I told my coach in the spring that I was going to do 4th Level first she rolled her eyes a bit. Then understood when I needed the scores, lol. This PSG has also nicely pipped my goal to have a qualifier to do 4th Freestyle. Not sure if I'll have my previous music/chore revamped or start from scratch. A conversation of the rest of the season to be had after the competition this weekend.

[Tanga]

You did a good job, Aleuronx. Solid. I recognize the tension in the 3's--Quinn does that weird stuff when she gets tight and changes late in front like that. You did pretty solidly on all of it, and your pirouettes were much better than the other video. For your first time out, good. My friend did PSG at the show I was at and she's done it a few times. Last time her mare would not change for the canter pirouette, and this time she messed up both changes, and walked in the canter pirouette as well as sticking a walk pir. So, it's not easy to get most elements right from the start.

Go with whatever you want for the music. It's got to be something you like. You never know what the judges will do. Last show a very experienced judge loved my music and ride for Quilla and I got a 72%. Sunday was at least as good of a test, maybe slightly off the music, and she didn't like the music and gave it 63%. (New S judge who rides a lot of PRE types, so really likes the cranked in neck look--not me!)

[khall]

I’m so sorry blob. That is tough. It’s definitely a rough time in Georgia to not sweat. Do you use misting fans to help cool her?

Aleuronx good luck at your next show! Awesomeness from you and Kora

Cedar made her GP debut with the Lusitano stallion and is now qualified for regionals at GP. She also qualified a PRE she has in training at 3rd for his owner. So in 2 show weekends she’s qualified 2 different horses at I2/GP and 3rd. So happy for her!

Me I’m just riding here at home trying not to die of heat stroke. Wow it’s hot and humid.

Looking at a schooling show October and November. Entirely too hot to show right now

Jingles for all who need them and happy riding all!

[blob]

congrats on the 72, tanga, that's super!
and congrats to Cedar as well, Khall.

We don't have a mister fan, but we do have a quick chill blanket that the barn has been dunking in ice and putting on her. Of course she is getting fungus now from being wet so much and so often. But that is the least of the problems.

[Moutaineer]

Congratulations, Aleuronx! Nice job.

And Tanga, good on the 72!

Blob, fingers crossed that MM can get some relief. Ive never had to deal with a non-sweater. Do we know what causes it? It seems to happen more in hot and humid climates?

Well, my small.progress, I actually managed to drive to the barn and back today, and watch Potters go. Its progress... I have a follow up with spine clinic on Monday. We will see whether I am in track or not. It will be a while before im riding. Walking and standing are a bit of an issue still. But I feel like I am showing a bit of improvement.

[StraightForward]

Well T came out sound last night and felt great. She had some right lead wonkiness but I've taken some tow and flair off her hinds and haven't put shoes back on. I'm going to get her hind shoes back on tonight and hopefully that will help. Ride times came in and my latest is 11; the weather isn't looking too stupidly hot. The only bummer is my 2-3 test is before my 1-2 test. Since we lost prep time I'm just planning to ride 2-3 as a dress rehearsal and focus on getting my last first level score.

Mountaineer, I'm glad you're up and around more, hopefully you'll be back in the saddle soon!

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Feel better Mountaineer!! I hope the follow up goes well.

SF- hope the show goes well.

Well Lynx was fabulous and maybe a touch tired during our ride today. When I went to get them from turnout he felt a little warm / slightly sweaty already so I suspect he had ran around a little and self exercised. But he was focused and felt good. He struggled a bit on the right lead, just doesn't feel as strong that way, but that's always been the case with him. His struggles being as straight that direction in general. But he was chill enough after the little canter work we did for my daughter to hop on him again for the last ten minutes. She said she's getting more comfortable with him and you can tell he's feeling more comfortable with her too. He just went around with a head down like a picture perfect pony.

But he would not be Lynx if he wasn't doing SOMETHING to worry me a little lol. Right now he is resting his right hind a little bit more. Mostly when I go to pick his feet. He's an honest boy so I'm sure something, even minor, is going on.

Debating on what to do. I noticed it a little last week. He had Tues and Wednesday off. No change with that. The chiropractor comes back on the 1st...

I really can't just have the vet out for every single weird thing... But at the same time I do want to be careful if that stifles getting sore.

Does anybody have any thoughts on what they would do? Right now I'm thinking of maybe giving him a few days of Equioxx and staying on straight lines? Or dropping to walk only work?

Or continue on but adding some surpass on his stifle for a few days? And using my massage mit on him more.

There's also a part of me that's like should I actually just continue to strengthen him?

He's been feeling so good otherwise it's hard to imagine that it would be bothering him too much... He hasn't been spooky or anything. In fact a hand walked him into the other arena where they had set up a dummy cow. He walked right up to it without even blinking. He's been very confident, Forward moving and not spooky... And when my daughter was riding I noticed he had floppy ears. So I just feel like he really doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain? Gah. I wish they could talk.

[Tanga]

LPS Mine always have something. Quilla will change off resting each hind legs, and sometimes after standing around, will walk off like she's completely lame on it (it changes) and then be fine. It's almost like it fell asleep. Quinn is always tight, and if she's like that showing, she slams down her feet too early in changes or something. I just do stretches/massage (as much as I can because my hands are so much weaker now for massage.)

My new one for both of them is to pick up their hind legs and lift up and forward and stretch that. They both love it. If it's a little tight instead of relaxed right away, I just bounce it little until I can stretch. I can't really bend over, so I'm doing it standing straight (5'8".) I also always do front leg stretch forward--Quinn especially loves it and I put her leg between me knees and she does a big stretch with a good stretching sound, and then I move it around some. I also always just pull on their tails to both sides and backwards to loosen/stretch that.

My focus with everything (me, other people, horses) is always about strengthening and stretching. I think that solves about 99% of problems. I can't imagine what I would be like if I didn't keep moving and working through pain until I got stronger and more supple--I'd be a big, stiff blob.

[StraightForward]

So stretching I've been doing with T is Masterson's down/back method for the hind legs. The trick is to push the foot up towards the stifle until they start putting the weight down into your hands, then slowly move down/back. If they start to pull back, go with sooner rather than later until they start letting you take the weight again. The goal is to get the foot resting back so that the hip drops, which helps rotate and free up the lumbar area. To add to that, the chiro I've been working with said it's good to get the foot more back behind the standing back foot if possible, because that helps open up the stifle where they can get tight.

I don't do this as often as I should, but it seems to be helping T with her issues of being really grabby and tight with her hind legs. I don't think they can usually accomplish the same stretch on their own, but maybe resting a leg is an attempt to either relieve tight hamstrings or loosen up the lumbars.

[StraightForward]

We got in yesterday early afternoon, so I was able to get a ride in the show arena. T was not spooky, but she found quicksand over by R and kept trying to stop. That is the general area where the in gate is, so I was concerned that she would be even worse about it today with actual horses waiting. CC was also a problem since she was more tense than usual. So I was already on the fence about scratching our 2-3 test today, but waking up feeling like garbage at 5:30 sealed the deal and I scratched. We're stabled next to my trainer friend with her mare that T has "met" a few times, and then her student's 4 year old mare. They all got good and herd bound over night, so it was somewhat pandemonium this morning. I warmed up in the indoor with a view out the gate to our stabling area, and T kept growing roots at that spot, but I eventually got her moving pretty decently. Our 1st-2 ride was right after the break, so Lilo said I could go in as she was walking back, and then rang the bell when I was about halfway down the first long side. So I just had to give it a go with no idea what horse I was going to have under me. It turned out to be a quite forward but tense horse, so we had a pretty clean test but lots of remarks about being to quick, needing more stretch etc. and finished with a 65.3% and all marks between 6.0 and 7.5. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to bring more relaxation and eek out another 2%.

On another note, the indoor here has a full wall of mirrors on the short side. SO nice. I want mirrors, LOL.

[khall]

Hope T settles down for you today SF!

Here I’m dealing with my barn cat being bitten on top of his head by a big rattlesnake. He was envenomated. Been at the ER vet since Friday evening. Received 3 vials of anti venom and a plasma transfusion last night. Fairly bright but not wanting to eat. Not sure what the outcome will be. Also makes me stressed worrying about where the heck that snake is. I have had one horse bitten before years ago. Rip’s mom while pregnant with him bitten between the front legs. Not much treatment involved. Leo the cat has been sticking fairly close to the barn in the heat. We have no trees close to the barn.

Anyway please jingle for Leo.

Stay cool all! We are facing 110 heat index here in Middle Georgia. Blob how is MM doing?

[texsuze]

Gosh, Khall, super jingles for Leo! Not much on the top of a kitty's head except some thin skin and skull underneath--hope those are all intact. Glad you have an ER vet and one who knows snake bite protocol. I've relocated 2 rattlers from my barn in the last few years; never experienced a bite to any of my previous horses.