Ashland

 photos: 7-26 ashland

Farrier this am. snafu, so... got funny shod and then took her to ashland to ride. not the original plan but it worked. Met sharon but did flat work first before sharon got there. a little feral because they were prepping for the jumper show. but walked up to jump arena and she was brave with the tent and oliver. Gave him some more dragonflies. 

flatted. a little distracted at first... because of jump arena. but then settled finally. got some decent work. got one change (not on purpose) but then got some counter canter shallow loops. canter felt much nicer today. sat the trot into it. did some baby trot half pass. got decent trot lengthen to working trot. only a few steps of lameness but when super distracted. totally fine the rest of the ride!

almost finish and baylor walked up and funny got distracted, so had to get a good finish. then went for a nice long hack. tiny bit of trotting. bugs not too bad.

So hot!

Argh... But also not argh. Funny got her shoe put back on yesterday. So I'm very grateful for that. I was going to wait til Friday and not bother Patrick but.. then with Dan and Lyric both being unridable (lost shoe and injections and two lost shoes), it meant I couldn't ride anyone all week. And it's hot.. it's fine. But then I noticed Patrick drive by while I was doing the dishes. He was obviously going to Jeans. So I texted him asking him if he'd be willing to tack Funny's shoe on, but no pressure if he was tired and wanted to go home. He said he had to get to his daughters soccer game but probably could. Bless him. He ran by and tacked it on real quick. Yay!

 

Which meant... I could do my lesson!! However, the heat index was supposed to be crazy high today and I knew it. Actual temp was supposed to be 97 with a real feel of 110!! UGHHHH. I asked if we would still ride last night and they said yes... But I knew better. Plus, I wanted to make sure Funny was sound before I hauled to my lesson, so... I hopped on this morning. I figured worst case scenario, she'd get ridden twice. But she's young... she can dressage in the morning and jump in the evening. So we rode. I did keep it fairly short though. Partly because I was anticipating having a second ride and partly because... it was already hot and humid and icky. 

I didn't get on quite as early as I had wanted to, but it was still doable. It wasn't too bad tacking up but as soon as we hacked out to the arena the sun broke through and it got hotter. But, in reality, it wasn't any worse than it has been. And she was rather feral! When we got near the arena she started shaking and snaking her head and threatening to be naughty. I debated whether I needed to get off and lunge her. But we managed to get to the arena and once we got in, she settled pretty quickly. We warmed up with the walk work... shoulder in, haunches in, and leg yield and then she was fine. No more antics. 

She was quick but not too bad. Overall, a pretty good girl and a decent ride. It was getting hot so we kept it short. She had a few funky steps here and there but only intermittently and not consistently. I couldn't always recreate it either by repeating the same circle or whatever. I do suspect that the padding just was squishing the sore spot at that particular moment. So, I'll get him to double check her on Friday when he does the rest of her feet. Poor guy!

We played with the trot lengthens again. And it felt like we got some legit ones today. I think! Her canter is getting better again. I had come across a post from Ritter Dressage about how you should pay attention to what your body is doing when your horse is going nicely and how you want. Then make your body do that all the time. Oooh, that's a cool way to think of it. When she's going nicely.. what am I doing with my body? And then... if I can continue to do "that" with my body, will she go soft and nice again? Worth a try! Plus it sort of helps me pay attention to my body and takes the burden off Funny. So instead of being mad that she's not doing what I want... I can focus on what I need to do to help her do what I want. And maybe, just maybe, this way of thinking will help me to fix some bad habits. Despite that.. our trot walk trots still sucked today. Ugh. Oh  well. Our halts were decent though and the walk work is better. 

And then... right around lunchtime.. Jacel cancelled our lesson because it was just too hot!! So.. I'm soooo glad I rode this morning because I would have been extra sad had I not ridden when it was bearable vs waiting til it was too hot to bother. 

Bored and Hot

Oh this weather is awful. So hot and humid!! 

Funny made me smile with her antics. :) She's so much like Dan.

She also got adjusted tonight. She was mostly good. She did reach over in slow motion like she was going to bite me! I can't decide if she was just being silly... or if she was actually going to do some mutual grooming but then realized that's not what we were doing... or what. But she caught herself. Smart move! Otherwise, she was really good. I actually got some really nice ajdustments in her poll and she was not nearly as fussy and defensive as she usually is. And we got big yawns. So yay for that! However, she was fussy for her lower cervicals. Oh well. Nothing too crazy. 

Drats!!! Shoeless

 Darnit!!!

Lyric was missing a front shoe on Wednesday when I got home. And then Thursday morning Funny came in hopping on three legs. NOOOOO!!! She had twisted her front shoe half off and was stepping on the clip (and maybe a nail too?). I grabbed the tools and was working on getting the shoe off when she jumped and put her foot back down, then immediately picked it back up and was bleeding. I managed to get the shoe off. She had the clip embedded in her white line area and a nail had gone into her sole. Ugh.... I soaked it in iodine and then got stuff together to clean her and wrap her. I tried soaking it with epsom salts and iodine but she was not cooperative. So, I gave up and just hosed it off, then doused it with iodine. Then I squirted some PenG in the two spots, wrapped it in iodine soaked gauze and am hoping for the best. She also got two grams of bute with her dinner that night. 

Russel came on Friday and we pulled the wrap off. She had bled some, but wasn't currently bleeding. He said we should leave the shoe off since the 3d pad covered the hole and it would probably pack debris in it. And it would be hard to treat. Sigh... so now that means no riding for another week. Grrrrrr. Hopefully she won't abscess and turn that into more than a week of no riding! I've got Chatt schooling in two weeks! 

I redid the PenG and wrap. Friday evening she still had the wrap on and looked much sounder despite no more bute. Now I'm just debating whether I should start her on SMZ's or not. 

Liz Lesson

Liz lesson day! I rode Funny first. She was great. She warmed up soft and quiet and was quite chill. We started with the walk. We worked on walking from the halt, with connection. Instead of always walking from a loose rein and gradually picking her up. I mean, I did that first, but then we halted.. then walked off. And repeat... and repeat. We also worked on a nice collected walk and then straight to the canter. It surprised her. So much that she didn't even canter for a few seconds. She was confused. Hee hee. But it was a good exercise. 

I had to make sure I wasn't nagging her. Instead of kicking every step.. or even every few steps... just squeeze her. Hug her with my legs. Which... is interesting because she's so sensitive that I feel like I can hardly touch her, but then apparently I'm nagging every step. If I squeeze her like toothpaste though... she isn't too jumpy or tuning me out after a bit. (It works for Dan too!). I also need to put my body in the correct position so that she can go in the correct position. Which, conveniently is to place my body how I want her body. Like.. if I want her shoulder in, then I need to turn my shoulders in. So when she is falling in tracking left.. open my left hand (just... always... always open my left hand), tip my belly button to the inside, open my outside thigh, sit to the right, and invite her to come to the outside via my weight too, so she shifts and gets all four legs underneath her and is straight. If that doesn't work.. but it usually does.. then add my inside leg and squeeze and hold.. not kicking. But that should be a last resort because usually I make it worse when i use my inside leg because I almost always grab the inside rein too. So definitely do not grab the inside rein. Which, duh, but.. muscle memory. But it got easier today. And when I got quiet and stopped nagging and opened my thigh to give her space, she didn't get fussy! 

Of course she did get fussy some. So when she does get fussy and "lateral" in the walk...it's because I'm trapping the energy. SIde note... getting lateral in the walk, technically means going laterally because I have shut the front or back door. Her getting that weird pacy walk that loses rhythm should be called pacing. Not lateral. But semantics. So.. when I'm trying to keep her from trotting or jigging, I tend to get tight and shut her down, hence the pacing and tension. So.. send it forward. Really send it forward.. .swing my hips! Lift my core. Give the energy an out! Her tension is her energy trying to escape and if I close the front door, she can't go forward. Soften my hands and swing my hips and she relaxes and softens into the forward. 

We also played with piaffe. We got her walk small and collected but not blocked. It's hard though. If I lift my hands instead of pulling back... use my core to collect and lift her (instead of stopping the forward).. we can get it. Or at least a very baby version of it. Still cool though!

When we worked on the trot, Liz had me sit between my transitions. Up and downs. Sit a few steps in and out of the gaits. It's a cool tool now! It used to be that I had to really ride and shorten and collect her before I could think about sitting.. but now I can sit and then she responds by shortening and collecting. So cool! Another tool!

At the canter, I had to ride it as if I was riding the sitting trot or the piaffe. Strong core, lifting and slowing but not blocking or shutting down... lifted soft hands.. and we got some really nice canter work. She just can't hold it long. It's hard! For her and me. 

So lots of fun and helpful. Liz suggested that I don't drill the walk to canter or piaffing walk or walk from a halt collected very often. Mostly because.. it'll just piss her off. Ha ha.. And make her anticipate. It's a good tool, but... use it sparingly. 

Much Improved!

  

Ahhhh.... Today was our last day of vacation. We pretty much got up, packed up and drove home. Sadness. I do miss the "beach time" laziness. But it was good to get home and see the animals. Funny seemed to be the only horse that missed me. She came up for snuggles and cookies and then got rinsed off. And hung out a bit. Dan and Lyric did come say hi too but didn't hang out as much. 

After I unloaded and got some laundry done and sat for a bit... it was soooo dang hot!... I finally decided that perhaps I would go for a hack at Ashland. I debated which horse to bring. Funny seemed like she was bored and the most likely to volunteer as tribute. But I do have a lesson with her and Liz in the morning... of course I also have a lesson with Lyric and Jacel tomorrow too. And I thought about Dan because... he would love a nice hack and I may need to get him working so that he's not been sitting around for his vet appointment. But... I decided that Funny was probably the best choice. She hasn't been to Ashland as recently as the others.... I could take Dan tomorrow for a hack, but not her..... she seemed the most eager... so, that's what we did. 

   

We had the farm to ourselves. Guess it's too hot and buggy for everyone. Or it's just... Monday. I put on the dressage saddle and we headed out. We tried to stay in the shade but the bugs were bad in parts so we had to be in the open field some. She was a super good girl. For not having been ridden in a week, she just walked along on the buckle for most of the ride. We did some trotting in the fields and she was very big and quick. It's hard to post in a dressage saddle when she's got her "outdoor" trot. Hee hee. I tried to get her small, but it wasn't really happening. We did have fun though. And we had a good canter. 

 

I let her go in the lake and was going to let her splash but she wasn't that interested in splashing. The geese were floating by and she was intrigued! She might have thought about rolling though, so I added some leg and she walked out. The bugs were bad so I decided to go to the XC field and walk the banks. We did. We even did the big one! Up and down. She is getting a little better at non-water banks and judging them okay. So then we trotted in the field and trotted into the water. I walked her up out of the baby bank and she wanted to lunge at it. And she almost didn't get her hind leg up and maybe slid a bit. Girl!! This is why we need to slow the banks down and get you to fully understand how they work. So we tried a few more times. She definitely wants to rush them. I tried my best to make her walk them and get to the base. She launches from so far back that she's going to end up face planting into it one day because her front feet around going to land on the top! 

 

So then I tried to do some flat work in the field. She was a bit fresh and quick and big. I was just fighting with her. So I decided to do the water treadmill and she got quite nice in there. And then we came back out and tried to trot again and I realized I was hanging on her with both reins. Arghhh. you can't do that Holly! That's why she braces and runs! Duh. So if I held the outside rein but LET GO on the inside rein... she was really quite lovely and soft and round. Yay! So we did about 5 minutes of the nice trot. It was actually pretty consistently nice too. It may have been a bit "big" for the dressage arena but it was round and balanced and she was sitting more. So  yay! We did a little canter and then we trotted up the hill and headed home. Good girl!

   

I figured she was thirsty so when I went to hose her off she was trying to drink from the hose. Except someone drove over it or stepped on it and it was spraying in 17 different directions, so I tried to give her a bucket. She was licking it like a dog. Ummmm.... girl! What's wrong with you? Just drink like a horse! It's gonna take you forever to get enough water to quench your thirst this way you wierdo! We walked over to the other spigot so I could spray her off more effectively and I grabbed a bigger bucket. Maybe she feels claustrophobic?? But nope... she kept lapping it, like a dog. I actually am wondering if I need to be concerned. She does drink from the trough normally though. Right?? I mean, I'm not imagining it... I don't know if it's claustrophobia?? I guess maybe I'll have to try a wider bucket. Although I did try the small tiny water trough at the last horse show and she wasn't interested. Maybe a muck bucket? Maybe I have to pull her halter off so she can drink? Although she does drink with her halter on in the pasture trough... I'm pretty sure... She did drink tonight after dinner and while I didn't get up there quite quick enough to make sure she was drinking instead of lapping, it looked like she had been actually drinking... 

Oh, and... when we got home and I unloaded her from the trailer... her shoe edge got caught on the little trim piece of metal that bolts the edge of the rubber liner on the ramp down. And she pulled it off. She peeled it like a carrot skin... The whole piece of metal came back off the ramp with her, as she flew down it. She twisted and contorted that metal and because it was attached, she kept backing. I finally got her stopped a few feet off the ramp and when she stopped, the metal piece fell off. Thank goodness it didn't cut her! It didn't even really mess up her shoe. Just pulled some of the packing material out. Dang! That was lucky. But jeesh.... 

Arghhhh

 Today was just not my day. Well, it wasn't that bad. Just a ton of minor inconveniences and frustrating, but... not a bad day. I slept in... got the ponies fed. And then the weather was ... uncooperative at best. Well, actually, the weather wasn't that uncooperative. It was the weather channel that was uncooperative. It said rain all morning and then basically all day. And it looked like it was going to rain. So I did some things I needed to do this morning first... and it never really rained. I called the crematory about Jedi... I called and scheduled a vet appt for Cody, Magnum and Toby... and they said that they could probably come today as the rain was going to likely cause their afternoon farm to cancel. They said around 1 or 1:30. Okay, sweet. And then I was supposed to have a lesson at 7pm, but then that ended up getting cancelled because the arena's were a mess. 

So after I did all the "things" I had to do... I decided to go ride Funny. Because now the radar showed the rain starting around 11:30 and staying all day. So... I got her tacked up and hopped on... just as it started to drizzle. Of course. But it was fine. It was a light drizzle and it was pleasant enough weather, so... it's fine. It's all fine. Aside from the fact that my tack will likely never dry and be moldy, but... it felt pretty nice. So we headed to the arena and rode. The footing wasn't bad either. A couple of few puddles but quite nice. Though I do need to drag, but that's not likely to happen because it's just too wet. 

We started out nice at the walk. And then we had a decent trot to start. And then we cantered. And then she got quick. And stayed quick. And was fussy. I tried doing all the things but it just never got super great. And then my phone kept dinging at me. I finally checked and it was the vet... they were 15 minutes away. Ummm.. it's barely 11 am!!?!? What happened to 1ish? So.... I was annoyed because I really didn't want to finish my ride because it had sucked. And it had stopped raining again. So I replied that I was on a horse and the cats weren't contained but I would do my best. I texted Mike to have him contain the cats. He's the cat whisperer anyways. And then I tried to get a nice trot from Funny so we could end on a good note. And it just wasn't happening. I'm sure because I was annoyed and rushed because "we needed to get it good and now so we can end"!. Yeah.... I should know better. So then the vet texted me back and said that they would go trim some goats first real quick and then be at my place between 12 and 12:30. Okay, yay. Except now I'm already irritated and thus, so is Funny. And I was a little worried about Dan too because when I got Funny this morning he was laying down. Which, is his usual nap time... but then he was laying down again while we were riding. So... did I just interrupt his beauty sleep and he wanted more, or... was he not comfortable?? So that didn't help. (side note.. he seemed totally fine the rest of the day so maybe he just needed more beauty rest).

]

So we tried... I tried so hard to stop and breathe. And we did have some better moments. But it just wasn't a great ride. I finally called it quits and headed back and hosed her off. Not the last ride I wanted before our vacation break, but it is what it is. Oh well. 

Steppin' up

 Well okay miss Funbuns! Way to rise to the occasion. I guess she heard me bragging on Lyrics fancy ride. Although... there is a tiny little curiousity in my brain... I've put her on omeprazole powder the last few days, and... she's been overall much better in our rides. Is it coincidence? Is it just that I happened to really learn how to ride better and she's rewarding me for that or... is it because her tummy feels better? Sigh... I really ought to get her scoped but... apparently it's $450, which isn't bad, but.. I just hate having to fast her overnight... even if I take her to Barrows for the night and let them do it. I contemplated doing it when Laura is having Smarty done, because then at least she's have a friend she knew. BUT... the morning she has the scope scheduled is the morning of my biopsy, and... I can't do both. So.. guess I'll see what happens once she runs out of the omeprazole powder and then decide. Or see if she gets worse again before we run out of it. Or, maybe I'll just end up scoping her at some point regardless. ;) Probably that one.... 

Anyways.... it was so hot and humid but I was trying to get her ridden so that Mike and I could go to the lake potentially and the weather was looking like afternoon storms were a possibility. Plus I had ridden Lyric so I was already hot and sweaty and dressed for it. So I grabbed her and hopped on. 

 

We started our warm up with the walk and some shoulder in and haunches in and some walk half pass. Then we picked up the trot. And she was kind of super. In fact, she was mostly super the whole ride. She was much more consistently in contact and soft and through her back. And her tempo stayed mostly slow. We even got some nice actual trot lengthens and back to working trot. We also cantered fairly early on and while that needs work, it wasn't bad. We got one amazing upward transition into the canter and some decent downwards. We did some leg yield and even did some baby trot half pass. One way is definitely harder. She was so good. I rewarded her with letting her jump the little jump. Twice. Oh, we also worked on our halts, which are not great, but better when I half halt with the outside rein and then switch to the inside rein for the final halt. And sit. And close my thighs. We also played with trot walk trots and those are slowly getting better. 

I was tempted to do a little bit more but she was so good I decided to reward that. So we headed back home and she got a nice long rinse. Good pony!!!

 

Now I really want to show her at Chatt again.. and I can do Lyric at Ashland... and Dan at the WE show at Stableview. It's gonna be a busy August :) 

I'm glad we rode when we did because it stormed on and off all afternoon. But we had a pretty sunset!

Not to plan

 Today did not go how it was planned. And even my plans were kind of wrong. I don't know, maybe my brain has melted into a slimy goo. I tried to make my day make sense... I had the saddle fitter coming at 4:30 ish... maybe 5. Then Sharon wanted to ride mid morning with me. And I really wanted to take Dan to the covered arena at Ashland and practice our test for tomorrow. So in my brain.. since the saddle fitter was coming for Lyric... I decided to ride Funny with Sharon and Savannah. And in my brain, if I rode with them at 10:30, I could be home and ready to leave for Ashland with Dan at 1, and get home in time for the saddle fitter. Perfect! Except... not so much. 

 

It was a comedy really. And nothing crazy.. just minor silly inconveniences. I stayed up too late. Then didn't want to get up, but wanted to snuggle with Mike. Mission accomplished.. and still had time to get to Ashland on time. Except, I was sort of stalling and then for whatever reason got worried so I messaged Sharon. She didn't get back to me immediately and then I decided to pack some breakfast. So I made my egg quiches thing (just microwaved them) and stuck them in the car with my waters and went to catch Funny. I wasn't postponing, but I wasn't exactly in a hurry to get to Ashland. Of course they were in the far corner because Jean was riding. So when we got back to the trailer and I got her loaded, my eggs had been found by the ants that apparently live in the truck. Luckily there was only one or two on the egg carton and not yet the eggs themselves but there were a ton all over my truck console. So I put the eggs on the door rest and went to grab fly spray to kill the ants. Well, the stupid eggs fell off and landed in the m10 driveway. ugh. I managed to get the ants sprayed and then I just said "eff it" and brushed the debris off the eggs. So then we were on our way. I still hadn't heard from Sharon so I decided to stop and get gas as I was pretty low. (I think in my brain I was thinking she had overslept or something). I pulled in and the easy diesel pump was flagged as not working/empty. Sigh. So I drove around to the other end and there was a car at the pump and then another diesel truck waiting in line. So I waited. Luckily they were all quick. So I pulled in. And then realized I didn't have my purse. Oh man! So then I had to just leave without getting gas. Luckily I was able to maneuver out past the giant pepsi truck blocking my exit. By then Sharon had messaged that her and Savannah were already on the way. Doh! Whoops. Now it's looking like it'll be 10:30 before I get there. Oh well. So then I got to Walnut Grove and just before the boarding barn entry traffic was stopped. I guess they had blocked lanes for the roundabout construction so we sat there for a good 5-10 minutes. And a bunch of people were turning around. So... I panicked and texted Lucy to see if I could park at the gray barn. She said yes, so I just pulled in there and avoided the wait. Although in retrospect, the traffic started moving right after. Although who knows if I would have made that cut. So I texted Sharon that I would tack up and hack over. Well.. she didn't get my text because she was hanging with Savannah, so... they were stalling and waiting on me and then I showed up tacked up and ready to ride. So then I had to wait for them to finish tacking up. At this point, it was almost 11 am and I had to leave by noon/12:15 at the very latest. Which.. is fine, but... I was just antsy. Which meant Funny was antsy. 

   

So while they were getting bridles on, peeing, and putting helmets on, Funny and I walked around. I played with turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches and she was pretty responsive. Finally we were all on and ready to go so we headed to the hills behind XC. Funny was motoring so she led. We went up the backside of the big hills and then tried to take "Turkey Trot". But man alive the deer flies were horrible! Funny was getting attacked. I don't know if it's because I didn't use the deep woods Off or she just tasted good or that section was particularly bad... but bless her. She was kicking and dancing and jumping about but not trying to launch me. I kept swatting with my whip but couldn't reach it. I finally got the really bad one off, but then more kept coming. We finally got away from the swarm and headed for the open fields trying to avoid bugs. 

 

We had a good ride after that. We did some trotting and ended up by Halfshire. I told them I probably needed to head back. I had wanted to do some more "work" and pop over a few XC jumps even. I was intending to leave them and go canter our way back to the XC field but they offered to come with me. So... they did agree to trot and even canter some. We did make a pit stop at the lake because... Funny wanted to. She almost rolled but I kept her up. But then Mystic rolled. Hee hee. Whoops. Been there! So, I did leave them at the lake because I was running out of time. I headed out and Funny didn't want to leave so she was a little "drunkely" trotting to XC. But she settled and we popped over a couple of jumps, including the sharkstooth. We did that into the water and then the up bank but yep.. she is definitely taking way too long of a spot at the up banks. So we walked it and then trotted it and I held her to the base. We'll be doing lots of that I think. Because I'm terrified she's doing to leave too long and miss the top and face plant. We popped over a few other jumps and she was great. Then we walked back to the gray barn. And I realized... I didn't know where to hose her off. Luckily I had enough water left in my tank to sponge her off. I'm sure I could have used any of the hoses or maybe even the washrack in the barn, but I didn't want to be rude. I was feeling kind of guilty already. So the sponge worked. Oh, but in the meantime, while we were riding Patrick texted asking if I was going to be home this afternoon. Yes... Please come put hind shoes on Dan!! But he didn't know exactly when. So... by the time I untacked and was on the way home, he messaged saying he could meet me at the house around 1:45. GREAT! Except.. argh.. because that means I can't ride Dan at Ashland which means I could have stayed out on Funny longer. Doh. Oh well. It's fine. I'm just grateful Dan's gonna get shoes. And grateful Patrick was willing to fit us in rather than making us wait. 

 

Once I got home and got Funny unloaded I grabbed my purse and filled up the truck because we're showing tomorrow and my luck we'll be running late and I won't have fuel. Then I ate lunch. And then I just rode Dan at home.. .except it started to thunder and then I saw about 8 streaks of lightning. So... I just turned him back out and hung out with Mike for 20 minutes. The storm passed around us and I was able to ride Dan and finish in time before the saddle fitter came. Even though she was late. But it's all fine. Just minor inconveniences. And I still had fun. My ride with Sharon and Savannah turned my frustrations into laughs and we had fun.