They're gooone!!

The beasts from Hell are gone. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see two dogs get in someone else's car before in my life. I am so happy, happy, happy. (That Duck Dynasty reference was just for you, K.K)

hairy, dirty beast.

I deviated from my original plan today. After taking Bobby's blanket off and standing back to observe his rather large belly, I decided to start him riding again. He's only been off for three weeks and it's not like he's recovering from a physically strenuous season, but I want to bring him back slowly anyway. So I threw my dressage tack on after dropping the girth a hole (fatty!) and we did fifteen minutes of walking. Look out, right?

The first ten minutes were long and low and forward, and the last five minutes I worked on putting him in more of a dressage frame. He was kind of bleh about the whole thing, but I'm not too bothered. It will come as he starts doing real work.

just about time for new boots.

Sarah pulled in as we were finishing, so I grabbed Spyder to ride with her. He had a total freak out on the crossties when I reached out to unbuckle his blanket. Not sure what that was all about, but I stuck him back in his stall to tack him up and fed him some cookies and he remembered that we're friends.

Spyder is such a slow, drunken sailor warming up. He's has that total green bean wiggle worm to him, but it's all in slow motion. I grabbed a whip and we went to work on forward, forward, forward. Once he was loosened up at the walk and trot, I did some sitting trot with him to straighten him out. I'm much better getting things across when sitting. I'm just not as effective with my tush when posting.

We got sorted out pretty quickly once I did that, and when I moved into the posting trot, he finally stepped out a bit more. We moved on to the canter, getting the correct lead both times. Every time I watch people ride him in lessons, they have an awful time getting him to pick up his leads. Maybe I'm not such a bad rider after all! Yay!

He did have a bit of a boot scootin' boogy to the right, getting a little unbalanced making a circle and exiting stage left. I asked him to pick the canter back up at the wall and he boot scootin' boogied forward, so we came back to the trot to regroup and finished with a really nice canter circle to the trot to a halt.

I got off and my legs were like, "What were you thinking? We hate you!" Weakling. I need to get back on some horses again!

Back to work.

The easing back into being a domesticed riding horse instead of a wild, furry nut bag has begun. He probably won't get ridden again until I get back from IL after Thanksgiving, so for now he's on the longe.

i left him alone for two seconds and he upended
my grooming box in the search for cookies.

The poor neglected beast acted like he'd been abandoned by all human contact for months. He wouldn't stay out of my pockets, and he nearly pinned me against the wall leaning into the curry comb. Poor, poor thing. I don't know how he's even still alive. No cookies and no currying? Someone call the SPCA on me.

"someone parked a trailer in the driveway! AGAIN!!"

After the obligitory spook at the trailer, I put a surcingle and side reins on him and we went to work. He was fine w/t/c to the left. No changing leads behind in the canter! And then we switched to the right and he was a hot mess behind at the canter. URGH! The footing in the indoor is semi-deep as it is and it got even more churned up on the longe circle. I don't know if that was the cause, or if it's something else. It's been ten days since he got adjusted and he hasn't done anything but get turned out since then.

I don't know if this is a result of a soundness issue, a footing issue, a strength issue, or just a plain old piss-poor conformation issue.

worst hind end known to horsey-dom.
(and look at that hay belly! someone has been getting STARVED!)

I took him off the longe and let him run around loose with side reins still attached and he was still swapping to the right. I finally took the surcingle and reins off and let him loose and he hauled ass around for a good five minutes before deciding he was done. We fooled around with a little join up, but he was much more interested in leaves and ponies than in me and cookies today.

I'll probably be out again Friday and Sunday, and maybe once more before we leave next Wednesday. AND these fucking dogs go home first thing Thursday morning! I can't wait!!!

Whyyyy???

I have terrible, awful news that really affects no one but myself. I have poisin ivy again. I must have looked at some while Hubby and I were cleaning up the fallen trees last weekend even though I was wearing gloves and even though it's almost winter so this shit really should be gone by now, right?! It's all over my right hand and left forearm, but it's remained contained to those two areas for the past few days. I'm hoping I'll be able to get away with cortisone and benadryl alone this time, both of which I've been sleeping with. I hate you, poisin ivy. I hate you more than these two stupid dogs that have invaded my house.

I was not made to be a pet sitter. My doggies have had manners drilled into them from day one and we get along just fine. These two are just dumb. You know how people always joke about their animals being stupid?

baby bobby looking dumb, but he's actually a smart horse.

Well, these dogs are genuinely stupid. No brain cells fire inside their giant curly heads. The vacancy light is on up there, folks.

I did go out to the barn yesterday to drop off Bobby's supplements and switch his medium weight to his sheet for the next several days. He was just getting ready to go out, so I only gave him a handful of cookies. No torturous grooming this time--which was fine because he was totally clean!

"feed me cookies or get out of my way."

heading up to his field with spyder.

At some point I'm going to write a Bobby and Carly post ala Red and Carly since not much else is going on and I think we all need some more Robert in our lives, no? First I'm going to bother my friends to see if anyone has any foal and weanling pictures of him. I joined facebook way late and with the demise of my college laptop, I lost a ton of pony pictures. I thought for sure I had uploaded a bunch of his weanling pictures my friend Nicole and I took on a snow day to a webshots album, but if I did, they're gone now too. Balls.

Speaking of Nicole, more pony good wishes are needed. Her pony (No, it really is a pony this time!) Plato is recovering from emergency colic surgery. He went in Wednesday to have six feet of small intestine removed from sand impaction in the colon and a blockage in the large intestine. His recovery is going slowly. He's still not allowed any food or water, but he seems to be taking it in stride. You better get well soon, Plato Puss! It seems like this year has been especially rough to friends' horses, hasn't it?

plato. i nicknamed him spatula head in college
because his stripe looks like a spatula.

Pet Sitting.

For some reason I agreed to pet sit a friend's two Springer Spaniels for a week.

Sassy is a four year old female whose nickname is the Clydesdale for her giant feet:

Gunner is a six year old male:

It didn't sound like too bad of a deal. My dogs like other dogs, these two like other dogs, and we have a giant yard for them to roam around in. Our giant yard does not have a fence, but no worries, said their owner. They're totally fine off the leash!

Well, I let Sassy/Clydesdale/Fatty/Clod Hopper off and she sniffed around with Gunner for awhile. I turned to talk to Hubby for a second and away she went down the road. It wasn't even a "I don't know my boundaries, I'm going to wander over here." It was a "Down the road I go for a journey to someplace that isn't here!" She crossed the main road (which really only sees grain trucks and the occasional school bus so it's not too busy) and went to visit the town hall where everyone was voting. Someone grabbed her and back on the leash she went.

It's only been one day so far and I'm already exhausted. The two of them spent all night last night pacing around the house, scratching on the bedroom door, and whining. They follow the cats around to the point where I'm ready to hiss and claw at them.

hell cat says, "you are not part of my family unit, dogs. begone!"

Next time someone tries to take advantage of my disability to say no and my love of animals, remind me that this is a bad idea! Is next Wednesday here yet?

Breeders Cup wrap up and our own awards

I think I made personal Breeders' Cup history Saturday. I am notorious for my win picks coming in second or third. Without fail, no one ever actually wins when I pick them. But I was picking winners left and right!

Juvie Turf: I honestly only knew the name of one horse in this race. This is one of the stupid add on races I give the thumbs down to. Brown Almighty did not win. Stupid, fake BC race, I'm not counting you anyway.

F&M Sprint: Groupie Doll won, and was my pick. But again--no reason fillies and mares can't run in the Sprint sprint. Boo.

Dirt Mile: Had Tapizar. Another stupid additional race.

Turf Sprint: Had Reneesgotzip who came in third. Phew, back to my old tricks. Another stupid additional race.

Juvie: Shanghai Bobby! All of you better have been rooting for him with that name!

Turf: Little Mike was my long shot pick, but I didn't think he'd actually win.

Sprint: Not going to lie, I had Amazombie. I think Trinniberg's little pom pom is silly. Fail on this one.

Mile: Hubby was trying to win me over to Animal Kingdom's side, but I stuck with Wise Dan. I can't wait to see him next year!

Classic: Mucho Macho Man was my pick through the Triple Crown trail. Awesome to see the giant beast come in second, especially to such a gritty winner as Fort Larned.

These results will never happen again. Don't listen to me when I pick who I want to win. That's fair warning!

So on to another Bobby. Hubby and I went out yesterday to check on the wild beast (not that he needs checking on, but for $400 a month, I'd like to drop in and see him every now and then). We brought along his season winnings for a photo op for a photo book I'm making of Robert's first full year as an event poneh.

contemplating a move to hunters to acquire more ribbons.
you guys bring in this haul in one show! and a tricolor to boot!

It was tricky and a bit miserable. It was freezing, Bobby was distracted by the crinkling wrapper in my pockets (hence the awkward hand positioning), the crappy camera was being a priss about the crappy weather, and it was cold. Oh, did I already say that? Whatevs.

I guess I probably ought to throw a thank you to Hubby out there. He is, after all, my driver, groom, cheering squad, photographer, emergency medical contact, and carrier of heavy water buckets. He deserves his own year end tricolor. Poor dude only half knew what he was getting into when he signed on to date a horse girl. Here's to many more years of slavery partnership, Hubby!

bobby looks like a midget mugging for treats.

I jumped on Mr Magee for about ten minutes to see how he was feeling after his bum adjustment. BM said he'd hadn't walked out noticably lame like last time, so that was a good sign. He was willing to jump right back into where we left off dressage-wise, but halfway through cantering to the right, he swapped behind. Argh. The footing in the outdoor was deep (is deep year-round) and wet, so maybe he just doesn't like it. He definitely only switches when he's out there.

we're going to get that head and neck up into a proper dressage
frame next year! showing first level is on the list.

He then, of course, gave me some really solid circle work with the hind end at the trot. He's still very much on vacation for a few more weeks, but even with driving training still on the books, I can't wait to do some more dressage work with him.

 

Isn't it amazing how I can still find things to post about and help you procrastinate doing real things even when I have literally nothing going on right now?

Breeders Cup!

Happy Breeders Cup Day! Things actually kicked off yesterday, but I'm not at all a fan of the dozen and a half new races and the two day format, so I'm having my party today. To celebrate, I thought I'd share some of my favorite races over the years since I first started watching in 1997.

Awesome Again wins the 1998 Classic. This race was full of amazing talent: Silver Charm, Skip Away, Arch, Aweomse Again, Touch Gold, Victory Gallop... Notorious for Swain's cuh-razy drift to the outside, Awesome Again (who is one of my favorite sires) made a monster of a move that no one seemed to notice until he was winning. Look for the bay horse in the black and red silks sneak in between drifiting horses and turn on the turbo boosters in the final furlong.

what a hunk.

Adoration sneaks off with the 2003 Distaff. Adoration was a seriously underrated mare and second place finisher Elloluv was one of my favorites. This field was full of super talented fillies and mares, and I remember being very pleased these two ladies pulled off an upset.

adoration in the distaff.

Ghostzapper. Enough Said. Winner of the 2004 Classic, there was seriously nothing this horse couldn't do. (And coincidentally a son of Awesome Again.)

horse of the year and now a hall of fame member.

Fantastic Light's 2001 Turf. Watch the finish, Holy cow. Have you ever rooted louder for a second place finisher, even if you wanted Fantastic Light to win? Milan was flying, but Fantastic Light proved why he was two time Horse of the World.

winning!

2008 Juvenile Fillies. Stardom Bound basically put the field on pause on the final turn and strolled by them. Plus, who doesn't love a grey? She went on to win a few more Grade 1s, but she was sadly pushed aside for the Rachel Alexandra fad. A super classy filly, I think.



Rachel Who?

I also recommend watching either (or both) of Tiznow's wins in the Classic. Also, of course, Zenyatta's Classic win if you want something a little more recent.

Dressage Results and Chiro Adjustment

Michelle emailed me my dressage test. Score of 31.5 would have put us in second by half a point had I finished the course (assumably with no xcountry faults). We got fours for both canters because of the cross cantering. We also got a five for the transistion back to trot after the second canter because I transistioned him down early to avoid the worst of the swap behind. However, we eeked out six (!) eights and the rest were sevens and one six and a half. Overall comment was: "Unfortunate problems at the canter due to lost balance from the slippery footing. Well handled."

I'll take that. Body work this winter and studs come spring and we'll be back in cantering action, slippery footing or no.

I stopped in to the barn today to drop off my board check and put Robert in his medium weight blanket since it's supposed to get super cold at night now, and I walked in to see the Chiro. I was all, "Heyyyy! I was going to call you! Any chance you can squeeze Bobby in since you're here?" She had two other horses to do, but she fit me in at the end. Excellent.

working on j's mare macy who is ADORABLE.

Right off the bat, she said that he looks like a totally different horse. He was happy and mugging for cookies and didn't sit on the floor when she checked for soreness. She did acupuncture first which Bobby had zero issues with ("Needles? So? I love cookies.") Here are her comments:

"Stuck in his low neck (left side only), sore all down his back and into his hips. Right lower back and rump more sore. Hocks and stifles sore. Right hind fetlock gets achy. Adjusted poll, low neck, mid and low back. He is overall much better and happier than in March. Keep riding!"

I knew his hind end was sore, and she agreed that it he's weak all the way back and that's just the way he is, so it's always going to be something to work on. She was really happy with his neck; in March she had to do both sides because he was stuck in three spots all the way down, and this time he was only stuck in his lower neck on the left. She said even though his back was sore, it wasn't nearly as bad as in Spring and to just keep doing what I'm doing because obviously it's working.

She also couldn't get over how much more happy and confident he seemed with himself. Plus, she was rather impressed with his carrot stretches which he was pleased to show off for her. Any excuse for cookies is alright by Bobby, even if they're being dispensed by someone new.

Bobby also got new front shoes. I'm glad the farrier noticed that the other one was getting pretty loose, too. Heck yes for having an awesome farrier again! He'll get his hinds done next week.

AND! Want to hear some crazy news? One of my roomies from college won a horse! Who knew people actually did that? Her new pony! Really it's perfect because her current horse is in semi-retirement and she's been thinking about retiring him for good. So now she has new project! She's going to meet him next week to get background checked basically, and I fully intend to flood you with her baby horsie pictures.

roomie and her horse dancer.