Cross Country School

"But wait!" you say. "Your horse is lame, you said!" Stop boo hoo-ing, I'm saying now. The more my horse has been ridden, the better he's felt. On Friday I took him up to the outdoor so I could test out the canter in a larger space than the indoor. Without the confines of the small arena, which basically means he's constantly turning despite not riding circles, his canter was miles better. I even let him canter some piles of poles set as a small course, and he was a happy beast.

he's such a hunk right now

I had one of the junior riders w/t him for me Saturday since I wasn't going to be at the barn, but I didn't want to give him a day off either. When I gave him last Sunday off (like, not yesterday, but the Sunday before that. That made sense, didn't it?) he came out gimpy on Monday. Without getting days off this week, he's been steadily improving. He's also going to be cracked back into place tomorrow, so overall I was feeling pretty comfortable taking him up to the xc field Sunday. The jumps are small, and we stuck to the relatively flat top part of the field.

look at that luxurious tail. it's gotten so long this year!
(shut up, people with fancy tailed horses. his runty tail is getting there.)

After a nice long walk where we reveled in the fact that the stupidest filly on the planet was currently not out with the mares and therefore annoying the shit out of us, we had a good warm up where he didn't feel hitchy at all. S is currently going through a quarter life jumping crisis and is trying to rebuild her confidence. She was all, "I'm only going to jump those two tiny logs and nothing else!" I was all, "Let's jump all of these! DO IT NOW." We warmed up over the cherry log both ways, then moved on to the tiny hanging log.

first time over

Bobby was great to the cherry log, very calm, and he was fine trotting up to the hanging log the first time. Then he got very excited and had himself a wiggle fest where he was like, "JUMPING! Oh, but she wants me to trot the approach. BUT JUMPING! Maybe I can canter? Just a little? AHHH, JUMPING!!!" I tucked my fingers into my grab strap and let him sort himself out. After that I just let him canter, and while he got quick, he was at least straight.

We went up and down the baby bank several times. I worked on keeping my reins long and staying out of the pony's way while going down the bank. No issues going up.

up

And down:

The ditch was next. S opted out since she was still feeling confident and didn't want to wreck that, and instead pranced around on Memphis and jumped the cherry log a few more times. I had Bobby trot the ditch the first time, and he half assed his way over it. I made him canter it next, and he opted to just, you know, canter through it instead. Our ditch isn't very deep and it's currently grown up a bit, but still. He's been over it a hundred times. He knows how to do a ditch.

just jump it!

I got after him with a couple of well-timed booty smacks and he actually picked up his silly feet.

We schooled the stacked logs where Bobby wanted to get very fresh on the approach. He never stayed completely rhythmical, but at least he listened enough to remain relatively steady.

It doesn't help that he builds and builds as he continues to jump, and the jumps up here are so small that they don't back him off any. He ended with just putting in big canter strides over both the stacked logs and another solo log.

Overall it was a really good school. I did a lot of repetitions on each jump (although "a lot" is relative because I usually jump twice in a row at most before having a meandering walk break) because there's not a lot up there to work with. Bobby felt strong and willing. When we were done and back in the barn waiting our turn for the wash stall, he was resting his legs evenly between both the right and left.

really not as fat as he looks.

I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm really hoping the chiro will be able to clear up any lingering soreness he's got going on.

Game Plan

Hot damn I love me a good game plan.

I finally got in touch with Chiro who told she wouldn't be able to make it out to my barn for three weeks. I was all, "Nooooo. I need you now." So she was all, "Well, you can come to my house if you want." Of course I was all, "Sign me up. We're there."

She's almost an hour away, but I'm going to trailer the dude up there this upcoming Tuesday afternoon for a good cracking. Like any chiro in PA has to be, she's also a practicing vet so if she tells me that this issue will not be fixed by putting his stifle back into place, then I'll scratch from August's show and have my vet out pronto. In the meantime, I'm vigilantly continuing with the DMSO mix on his stifle area.

Bam. Game plan. I like it. You can dislike it if you choose, tell me I'm not doing my due diligence (sorry, I had to poke fun), but I feel no need to justify myself on a fucking blog.

burton waiting patiently for more peppermints to be dispensed.

This morning the report from BM was that Bobby had walked in looking completely sound, with the exception of looking a little hitchy coming down the steepest part of his paddock's hill. Good results after getting worked almost for reals yesterday. She asked me how much Bute he was on, assuming that was what had caused the improvement. Bobby, however, has not been on any Bute after the first day (being last Wednesday). That still leaves it up in the air about what did cause the improvement, but c'est la Bobby.

In the indoor he wasn't quite as limber as yesterday, but definitely a marked improvement from Monday. He still wanted to jet about in the canter, and it still felt just downright weak, but he also still didn't offer to swap behind. After the canter I did a little no-stirrups sitting trot (mostly because I am so ineffective asking for quality flat work in my jump saddle, but my legs need short stirrups so badly) and he felt completely sound again.

puppies on a walk because no new pony pictures

I touched up his feet again since it's been a whole week since they last got done, painted his fancy sauce on, and forcefully stuffed him back into his stall so that I could close the door because ohmygod he needed all the cookies not just ten. Also, no pointed toe stance the entire time I was there.

You are a magical mystery, Robert. So speshul.

Lameness Progress

Oh, Bobby. Never one to make things easy.

Yesterday we headed right out on a trail ride. He felt great. Powering along, stretching out, interested in his surroundings, happy to work harder by walking up the steeper hills instead of trying to run up them. I let him trot the only clear flat section and I didn't feel a hitch in his step at all.

I stopped in the freshly dragged indoor on our way back to the barn and asked him to trot in there to make sure I wasn't imagining things and he really was feeling sounder. Nope. Noticeably off.

What the fuck, bro?!

sassy tail and preferred awkward resting stance. 

Now, in the above picture, you'll note how he's resting his weight on his tippy-toe. That's why BM originally told me to check for an abscess, and yesterday BO suggested heel pain. I put a boot on that foot and trotted him out for them. He's always trotted out sound with a boot on when footsore before. Within a single stride, both BO and BM called out, "Still lame!"

I soaked him in epsom salts for twenty minutes anyway, slathered on the ichthamol, and wrapped and booted him for the night. I was hoping I'd be able to draw out something--heat, glorious pus and blood, a suspicious looking spot?

No cigar.

flirting with his favorite lady horse ever.
it involved heavy breathing in the creepiest of ways.

when she went back to her hay, he started licking her halter. 

BM reported that he still looked off walking down the hill this morning, and after a thorough scrubbing of the RH hoof I found absolutely nothing. He still doesn't respond to any probing of the stifle. Always in the past when he's hurt anywhere, he'll grind his teeth, kick out, and/or bite the air. He's not shy about expressing discomfort.

SO SHOW ME WHERE IT HURTS, ASSHOLE!

I am dead set in thinking it's stifle. It literally cannot be anything else. I'll get video over the weekend of how he looks under saddle, and none of you will be able to disagree. I mean, you might just to be contrary, but I won't believe you anyway.

while i was grooming him he held his tail over rigidly like this. i was instantly like,
"he is dying of a neuro diseases right now." but i pulled it over and he let is hang relaxed.
i think he was busy flirting with tasha and also thought he was a mare in heat? 

We gave him the most basic neurological exam: Can he turn in a small circle? Easily. Can he resist against a tail pull? Easily. Will he uncross his legs himself? Yes, and then he looks at you like you're a fucking idiot, and where are the cookies.

"cookies now?"

I got on him in the indoor, and when asked to trot he moved right out into a big easy stride.

And he was perfectly sound.

Oh, really? Make up your mind already! At the canter, I did feel some looseness behind as you would expect from a weak stifle. But he still cantered around easily, albeit slightly crazily as two weeks of no cantering and a hackamore were too much for his brain to work out.

I pushed him hard. I want to see what I get tomorrow. We did a lot of (totally sound) trotting, a fair amount of canter work to try to get him slowed down (where he didn't offer to swap behind once), and I even set up a single 2'6" vertical to canter him over once each way. He was perfection for the jump and seemed pleased with himself when we were done.

Back at the barn, he didn't hold the weird pointy toed stance once. I painted the DMSO mix on yet again and put him away. I'm waiting for the chiro to call me back to schedule an appointment. I strongly suspect that he popped his stifle/hip out of alignment while being a moron out in the paddock while I was gone, and he's just in desperate need of an adjustment. Fingers crossed anyway.

VCBH: Equestrian Fashion

From L.:  I want a pictorial tour of your closet. Not your riding clothes, but your equivalent of the crazy cat lady ugly cat sweater.

I thought I was going to embarrass myself with how many horse related shirts I have, but I remembered I purged my dresser and closet over the winter of the shirts that were literally falling apart at the seams, so that cleared out a lot of space. Now I only have about a half a dozen left which is a totally sane amount for any horse person.

Probably even on the low side.

Probably should go buy some more!

the obligatory college hoodie, permanently stained with wormer. 

the one college shirt that survived the dresser purge.

my two OTTB Tees.

my two dapplebay shirts

my one horse designs shirt i won from amanda

my riding warehouse shirt i won on a FB contest

my awesome litographs The Last Unicorn shirt

close up. the entire book is printed on the shirt.

Come on now.

Remember a few months ago when I was complaining about the nuisance bear in our backyard? And I was all, "I hate the country. It kills my soul and my bees." Well Friday morning it tried to kill my stripey cat as well.

FUCK YOU, THE COUNTRY.

I was down at the end of my driveway that morning sticking a show entry in the mail and collecting my garbage can when, from the power lines right behind me, I hear a massive bird take off. I glance up only semi-interested assuming it's nothing more than a turkey vulture, see that it's a big brown bird, and think nothing more of it.

Back in my kitchen, I'm getting myself a bowl of cereal when I hear the dogs sound the "Invader!" alarm. I look out the window to see if someone is pulling in and see the massive bird dive-bombing my cat who was busy playing with a bug on the back patio and is now flat against the ground in terror. Fortunately, my dogs are bad ass ninjas and were leaping in the air trying to attack this mother fucking bird who I now realize is one of the baby eagles from down the road.

these little alien bastards who are now exceptionally larger and all brown.

I run out the door yelling and waving my arms, and the bird finally gives in and flies off. I chuck the cat inside and tell my puppies they're the best puppies in the whole word. I haven't seen any of the eagles since, but poor Stripes--who loves being outside during the day--refuses to leave the covered front porch unless someone is outside with her.

And that is another reason logged in my book of why the country sucks.

On the Bobby front, we rode in the freshly dragged outdoor Saturday with S. The footing was pretty deep from all the rain we've been getting at night so Bobby wasn't really feeling it. He was stiff as a board and didn't want to move forward. We walked the majority of the time before heading out on a short trail ride with S. First thing we saw on the hill?

more my style of bird. turkeys don't eat cats.

Bobby doesn't have the best history with turkeys--or really any small animals--but he behaved himself Saturday and continued to politely trudge on. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and he got Sunday off after four straight days of walking hills.

Today I was back out at the barn. BM reported that he looked pretty good coming down the hill in the morning, but because she was looking for something she did see the little hitch in his giddy-up. I did feel like he was getting better every day I rode him, but I obviously wasn't expecting him to return to normal in less than a week.

I saddled him in his stall, then stood in the aisle talking to BM before bridling him. As I watched him, I could see him shift his weight to that RH, then it would be like his hip almost buckled before he'd catch himself and he'd stand square again. Very weird.

friday trail ride, listening to deer crashing through the bushes.

I clipped the lunge line on him and gave him a spin first thing. Aside from looking a hair short on the RH right off the bat--and I was looking hard for it--he went beautifully. No sass about moving out, canter looked great, tracking up at the trot, yada yada both ways.

I got on him and felt nothing at the walk. At the trot he immediately felt off. Again, he moved right out and didn't seem, I don't know, distressed or whatever, but the RH was definitely the culprit, and it still feels like stifle to me. I trotted him a couple laps each way to see if he'd work out of it all, but when he didn't I quit and got off.

BM and I poked and yanked and groped every part of his RH and got zero reaction from Bobby. Usually he's extremely reactionary if he's hurting somewhere. He hasn't even given me a grouchy look since I've been back. Obviously something is going on. He wouldn't be lame if there wasn't. But what the fuck is it?!

BM gave me a DMSO mix to paint on his stifle for the rest of the week. If that doesn't give us significant improvement by Friday, I'll have the vet out. I don't even want to start thinking this is an N-word problem.

Board Price: The Results

No, I didn't forget about all your responses. I just sort of forgot. But I yelled at Excel some, had a minor freak out about doing math (Even if it was only addition and division. Still math.), and then scrolled through everyone's answers until my eyes bled.

Plus this time I made the graph all by myself!! So if your eyes start bleeding trying to decipher it, oh fucking well is all I can say to that.

Without further ado:

If anyone wants the spreadsheet emailed to them that lays it out clearer, let me know and I can do that. And I'll tell you that you have no life, but that's okay because clearly I don't either. Yay, besties!

There were several states/provinces that only had one answer for them, so the averages were obviously not averages and instead just your answer, but at least you can compare to other people. I didn't really know abbreviations for you lovely Canadians (with the exception of British Columbia) so you get yours all spelled out. Yay, you!

Also someone should give Alicia a prize for paying the most out of any of us. Yay, Alicia! I think?

July Review, August Goals

1. Straightness. Much improved. Before, I would put my outside leg on and he'd go shooting off sideways like a drunken noodle. Now he actually travels in a straight line. Magic.

2. Trailer out for a trail ride. I went out twice this month before getting waylaid by "family obligations". I plan on continuing this fun now that I've found such awesome trails.

3. Sharpness off the barrels. He was a bit of a distracted fool at the rodeo, made worse by my lack of spurs, but at home he was really starting to get it.

4. Don't kill the in-laws. Barely accomplished. Barely.

he is so very long. (and also dirty, hence the lack of shininess.) 

1. Hill work. No more being lazy. Just because the best trails at our barn are closed off doesn't mean we don't have hills galore. With his stifle issue popping back up, he's got to get up one after every ride.

2. Stretchy trot. We suck at this, and unfortunately it's in all of the First tests.

3. Trot-Halt-Trot. When we actually practice these, they're very good. When we don't--which we haven't been--we also suck at this. So we need to practice these.

That's all I've got this month. With his stifle acting up, I don't want to set any goals for jumping because we won't be doing much. Such a great way to get ready for a horse trial. I'm always so well prepared.