Month: October 2018

Have you ever noticed that the moment you say “never”, life throws you into a situation to change your mind? The Universe sure is a funny thing.

I’ve never understood the idea of having a back up horse. A horse that isn’t your main mount, but is rideable for the times when you want to and your main mount isn’t able. I mean, I had Gem – a horse who is always sound and has the ability to work more than I ever have the time to work her. Any time I wanted to ride, it was as simple as tacking her up and going. Well, maybe not quite that simple as some days it took me 40 minutes to catch her and the rides were anything but “easy” but physically she was always there when I could ride. What would I have ever done with a back up horse besides pay to board it? I barely found the time to keep Gem in consistent work.

But then Doofus entered my life and has been out of commission more than in and when I looked down and saw that missing shoe I lost it. Poor Hubby got the brunt of it with his ill timed call and by the end of my spewing rage at the Universe in general, Doofus in specific, he told me to go and buy a second riding horse, remove the shoes from Doofus, let his hooves grow out as originally planned while out in the pasture being mindfully ignored until next summer, and be done with this nonsense.

And I finally get it. I understand the need for a back up horse. Thanks Life for the lesson.

It is tempting.  I went so far as to specifically lay out in my mind what I would want: 15 yo, been there done that, no spook/rear/bolt/kick/bite, has experience at BN xc or in the jumper ring to 2’6″, goes out on trails alone or in a group. SOUND. Barefoot. Basically what I was looking for when I decided on H’Appy only double the age because the back up horse wouldn’t need to be my main mount for the next 10-15 years as I hoped H’Appy would be (I still think if he lives to 10 I will be lucky).

I looked through sales pages again. Found a mare I really, really liked and went so far as to contact the seller and set up a test ride (she sold later that same day) and tracked down a horse Trainer recommended as a BN packer type (he requires a lot of maintenance though and that doesn’t qualify for a back up horse in my mind).

And then Sunday I shoved his barefoot hoof into the boot and went for a ride. Was it perfect? No, Doofus is still Doofus and while not exactly the horse I thought I was buying I know he is in there and can feel in my gut that he is worth sticking with. I’m excited to see where we will be in a year if he stays sound, injury free and with shoes on.

I’m not ruling out getting a back up horse though. When the Hubby gives a green light to buy a horse I’d be stupid to completely ignore it. It is so very tempting with an injury prone PITA gelding that can’t keep his crap together long enough to get 3 rides in a week. Back up horse would be there, ready and able to to go when H’Appy found himself yet again laid up with some self induced trauma or another and I could get back to my own riding goals and progress.

The thing that holds me back is what on earth I would do when H’Appy decides to turn into a real horse, stop injuring himself and get with the program and now I have two horses that need ridden and one butt to do so. I don’t have a show barn with kids lining up for any free ride they can sneak in and I have enough trouble squeezing three rides in a week myself.

Like I said, I’m not ruling it out, but I’m not actively seeking it either. My eyes are open and I am ready to jump on something if it looks absolutely perfect, but I won’t be making an ISO ad or spending hours on the internet scrolling through sales ads. Most horses are out of my price range (back up horse also needs to be cheap), too young, or not experienced enough for what I want. We will see. I may look into a free lease option, but damn if I’m not too type A to handle having a horse I can’t call all the shots on.

Do any of you have a back up horse waiting in the wings for when your main mount goes rogue on you?Does it ease the stress of not being able to ride or add more when you see the horse and know you don’t have time because main mount is able bodied again?

One thing H’Appy is bound and determined to teach me is to loosen up, go with the flow and screw perfection. Those are hard lessons to learn at 36 with a life time of being excessively Type A behind me.

He finally stopped trying to run to the next county when I touched his back on Tuesday. The scratch was healing nicely and I looked forward to getting him back to work. Again. The thing with him is that he isn’t always fun right now but I know without a doubt that once he is back to a routine and getting worked consistently again he will be amazing. It’s that whole consistency thing we are having issues with at the moment.

I was hoping to ride Friday but it was disgusting out. In the low 40s and pouring. The type of cold that gets into your bones and will not leave. Yeah. No thanks.

Saturday was gorgeous though and Sunday was supposed to be even better (spoiler it was!!). Dusty did morning chores at 540am before he headed to work and all was fine. At 12:30pm I headed out and was greeted by a nicker from Gem which always pulls me in the pasture for scratches. I should write a whole post on how different she is in retirement. Anyway… there I was scratching on my main mare when Doofus, the most jealous horse on the planet, comes sauntering up and shoves his head in my back for attention. I look at him to push him away and that’s when I saw that he had lost his right front shoe.

Of course he had. He knew I was planning a trail ride for Sunday. Damn him!

Unfortunately for the hubby, he called at the exact moment of realization to tell me he was on his way home. He regretted that instantly as I spewed my frustration complete with many, many expletives over the phone. So much so that he told me to just go buy a back up horse and be done with this crap.

I stormed off into the house and pouted for a while before hitting the sales pages and pouting even more.

Sunday morning was as glorious as promised Sunny, mid 60s and a breeze. I was damned if I was going to miss a day on the trail yet again due to his pain in the butt. Typically I wouldn’t ride with a missing shoe but he has me at my breaking point with all his crap. Oh! I never wrote about a few weeks ago when he came in with a bloody chin. Or Friday when his left front leg was bleeding even though he had been in his stall all day. I was done.

I shoved his right front into his hoof boot, put his butt on the trailer and went anyway. See. I am learning to just go with the flow and make do. I needed to ride.

The ride itself was pretty darn good overall. Well minus my now broken toe. I’ll get to that. His biggest flaw or training hole perhaps is his herd bound tendencies. It was the reason I was literally shaking the last time as I did up his bridle. The group xc school I went on had him tearing off to join his brethren the moment I slipped the halter off.

But while the big man is stubborn, he isn’t as stupid as I once thought and a lesson learned typically stays put once planted. This time he was Mr. Chill at the trailer. Barely moved and didn’t even fling his head when it came time to bridle. He stared in a very embarrassing way at the other horses at the trail head, but never even made a peep. It’s a big deal and he got a lot of Nickerdoodles for it.

I still decided to hand walk him away from the trailer and mount once on trail but I mounted sooner than before an we were off. And by off I really mean it. He had a fire up his butt for some reason and I was happy to oblige on a crisp fall morning down a lovely trail. We even cantered. I forgot how much I love his canter.

Two road crossings later I found the reason for the fire. He was hunting a horse. A drop dead gorgeous Arab gelding that we had run into on our last ride out there. H’Appy charged into the lead and we proceeded to have a much more sedate ride as the other lady only walks and I was fine giving my guy a break. He was sweaty and puffing pretty hard.

She led us down to the lake which is something I never did with Gem as she hated water. The first entrance H’Appy was none too sure of the waves and wouldn’t get in. For some reason the second time we went down he was all for it and I barely stopped him from swimming. He was almost to my toes before I got him to turn around. Next summer we will be swimming!! I’m super excited about that!

Off we went again and soon we came to a crossing with a left hand trail that was a short cut back to the trailer. I’m not interested in H’Appy learning trails always mean run until you find a friend, so I politely took my leave and split off.

Or tried to anyway. He wasn’t ready to leave his new BFF who I’m pretty sure didn’t even know he really existed beyond a big orange butt he was forced to follow. H’Appy slammed on the brakes. He spun. He threatened to pop up. I bailed and brought him to a halt and hopped down. He needs to learn to go away from other horses but if it means I do it on foot for a bit I’m fine with that.

I led him away and he was pissed but followed up a long hill that made me regret getting off. When I went to stop him and mount he spun, landed on my right foot, twisted and stepped off. I knew right away he broke my 5th toe. It hurt. A lot.

I hobbled on foot for a ways trying to determine if I could feel the blood of an open fracture but I didn’t and eventually I got back on. Posting hurt like heck so we walked. Until my foot went numb and then we trotted just so I could be done sooner.

It didn’t take very long for him to chill out again and once his brain was refocused we trotted and cantered a bit covering the last two miles to home and he was a very good boy for it all. He is not a spooky horse and this time I stayed mounted for all the creek crossings which were very full from Friday’s storm plus he went over the bridges without hesitation.

Once this guy is exposed to something he really does absorb it. It’s getting his head out of his own butt that is the issue at times.

He was a perfect gentleman back at the trailer, loaded no issue and came home where he let out a surprised nicker that yet again I brought him back to his herd instead of the slaughter house.

I ran over to Dusty’s work to X-ray my toe and sure enough there is a fracture there. It isn’t displaced so it will heal in about 6-8 weeks. I have a super busy beginning of the week of non horse things (an important meeting with Duke energy to attend Tuesday after work, trick or treating Wednesday night) but hopefully I can shove my foot into the paddock boot come Thursday for a ride in the arena. I’m not taking that much time off so toe be damned. I’m riding.

Riddle me this:

How much time off does a horse need coming off a 5 month hiatus for hoof related lameness?

The answer?

10-14 more days.

I probably sound like a broken record, but I can’t stress the fact that in nearly 10 years of owning, riding and competing Gem , she never had a lameness and only had one incident with a wire fence while being boarded that required veterinary care and time off enough. Even now, happily retired she is sound, healthy as can be and injury free.

Oh, and she was also only $800 and I did not do a PPE on her. I’ve never even seen her legs or feet on xray. Oh, and she was barefoot for everything except the 100 mile ride.

I’ve had H’Appy for 5 months. In that time he has had two vet appointments for lameness, a very expensive farrier appointment with pads and custom shoes, and has been given most of that time off for lameness and/or injury.

Today was supposed to be a great day. I took off work, scheduled a lesson and a saddle fit appointment through Custom saddlery. Life has been one big giant suck fest lately and I really, really needed this day.

H’Appy and I tackled our first trail ride last weekend and all went well. Then on Monday he came in for dinner with this:

Thankfully he stayed sound on it, but it was angry and over a joint so that granted him the beginning of the week off to heal. Come Wednesday he looked spiffy and ready to rock and roll for the lesson Friday morning.

Only last night he came in with this:

Now, Dusty is forever telling me to suck it up and ride the dang horse, so when I had him look at it and he told me no way should I ride and he would need at least 10-14 days off to prevent that from splitting wide open and requiring sutures, I sagged in defeat and texted Trainer to cancel the lesson and oh yeah no saddle fit either.

Plus I texted Emma to commiserate with. Life sucks less with friends.

Adding this all up – in the time I have has H’Appy he has had maybe 2-3 consecutive rides before yet agian needing a chunk of time off to heal something or another. At this rate, we may be ready to show by 2025, if he is still alive at that point which is highly unlikely.

Deep down in my bones I’m a trail/endurance rider. My heart and soul live in the woods and my peace of mind can be found on a single track, hilly trail.

H’Appy killed any shred of confidence I had when he threw me over his head at a walk in the pasture. Before that I laughed at his shenanigans and shrugged off any behavior I didn’t like. Once I landed in a heap in front of him, all of that changed and fear and mistrust replaced it. I now know that he can pull a nasty buck and rear maneuver and he isn’t above being mean to get his way.

All of this has created a lot of tension in my rides of late and I felt like it was time to turn to my trusty trainer – the trail.

The proper trail can teach a horse a lot of things, but what I love most about it is that the trail itself has a personality and requires respect from both the horse and the rider. I ride better on the trail. My posture is better and I hold my horse more accountable than I do in a lovely, flat and secure arena. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am more lax in the arena often times allowing the horse to not walk immediately or turn after I had wanted or cut a corner because what does it matter? On the trail, a cut corner could mean falling over the cliff and an ignored halt could result in getting run over by a car at a road crossing. As such, when I give an aid I expect it to be listened to immediately without question when on the trail.

In addition, the trail hashes out a lot of things in a way that makes the horse responsible for bad outcomes instead of the rider. If you ignore my request to rebalance and slow down and then face plant over a root, that’s your fault. If you stop paying attention and walk into a tree, again your fault horse. Plus most horses aren’t stupid enough to go charging off through the brush on a whim.

With all that in mind, I reached out to just about anyone I could think of in my area to see if they wanted to ride Gem to babysit H’Appy and me on the trail. Everyone was busy (or claimed to be so as not to have to ride my Gemmie) and so I found myself with my heart in my throat at the trail head of my favorite system, alone.

My biggest fear with him out and about is his herd bound tendencies. Once another horse is around, I no longer exist. Pulling into a busy trail head scared the crap out of me and so I decided it wise to hand walk him along the road, out of sight of the trailers and into the woods before mounting. Once in the woods, I realized this was the first time I’ve ever mounted him from the ground and it took way too long to get him to stand still for me to do so.

Once on him I was very very nervous and forced myself to breathe deeply and exhale relaxing my body and mind. Unfortunately a big part of the start of the 6.5 mile loop had been redone since I was last there and they lost about a mile of woods replacing it with a wide open gravel road. I was planning on using the terrain to keep any bad behavior at bay but now found myself in the open.

H’Appy actually did very well. He didn’t spook at anything we came across: downed logs and piled up branches (Gem’s nemesis), deer bounding away, squirrels rustling in the leaves above and cars racing down roads. Once we hit the woods again after the gravel road, I calmed down a lot and put my faith in the trail.

It did not disappoint. H’Appy learned that by cantering instead of trotting he would miss turns and run into a tree. He stayed a trot or came back with a very small half halt after that. He also learned that when I ask for a walk after trotting and he doesn’t, he will regret that choice as he barrels down a hill and nearly face plants at the bottom. After that he slowed to a walk every time I asked.

The biggest thing I hope he learned was to pay attention at all times. We came across my biggest fear with a mile left to go. As we crossed the road I heard horses up ahead coming towards us. When we got to them, they pulled over and we passed. He didn’t throw a tantrum because there was another horse ahead of us going our direction. We quickly came upon them, the lady pulled over, we passed and then she followed attaching herself behind us. Thankfully H’Appy was happy to lead (something Gem would not have done) and I enjoyed a small bit of company. When we crossed the final road though, the lady peeled off and we went straight. Well, that was too much for Doofus who had spent so many miles alone to finally find a friend. He stopped paying any attention to me, threatened to rear/spin/bolt back to them when he stumbled on a rock and near face planted. I laughed. The rest of the trek back to the trailer he focused on me and the trail although he threw in a few melancholy calls to his long lost new BFF.

All in all it was a good time. Once I got over myself and started trusting him a bit. He ended tired and sweaty which is the exact way a horse should end a technical and hilly trail ride even though we walked 90% of it. I’m actually excited to go back out with him and hope that with time and miles the beginning settles down. I think I may try to do more trails and less arena work for now until I get a better understanding of how he works since I am most comfortable on the trail.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane (I’m no longer sure which) Michael is currently pummeling us with high winds and an ocean full of rain. I got up early to help tuck the horses in the barn with hay for the day. I don’t think they actually cared about being outside in the rain. The temps are still in the mid 70s so the rain was probably a bit refreshing. They have plenty of natural shelter and instead chose to stand in the middle of the open pasture grazing, but I felt better tucking them in and letting their feet dry so in they went.

Last night though, I grabbed the Orange Beastie for his test ride. Thankfully all four shoes have remained in place and his bell boots seem to be preventing heel grabs. He over reaches with his hinds just hand walking him. You can hear his hind hoof hit the front as you walk him in/out of the barn, so I was a bit skeptical they would remain. I love to be proven wrong.

I put the Kieffer on him and still really like the fit. The cut back pommel gives him plenty of wither room and the panels tuck behind his massive shoulders nicely. It remains a size too small for me, but it is serviceable for now. Anyway…he lunged sassy and bit bratty trying to reach down and grab bites of grass (yup my arena still sucks and I can’t get anyone to actually show up to an appointment to quote me) but with a firm hand he got the memo that it was time to work. He threw in some bucks and squeals for funsies and was perfectly sound both directions.

I’ll admit to a bit of trepidation getting on him all alone in the arena. His theatrics were a tad impressive on the lunge and I wasn’t feeling particularly brave in a slightly too small saddle. He stood to be mounted (a feat that took about a month to instill in him) and off we walked. You know how you try to do what is right and think you are but then realize you weren’t the entire time and feel like shit?

Yeah. That was me.

Not only did he give me a gloriously forward and long strided walk, but his entire back felt freer and he was much happier with his existence. Sorry, buddy. I love the way he moves in the Kieffer and with shoes/not sore feet.

I don’t love the sass and he kept trying to curl back and offer up more than I was asking which awarded him with a ton of turns of direction and random halts to keep his feet moving and his brain engaged. I still haven’t figured out if he is really stupid or wicked smart yet. Really it is a toss up most days.

On to the trot work and um…where on earth did this guy come from? No more shuffling old man gait. Nope. He was on fire. He kept asking to canter instead and I’d continually bring him back and make him trot. He would then try to curl behind the bit and that rewarded him with a boot forward. This is all evasion behavior, by the way. Why trot nicely and use the hind end when you can blow out all the shoulders and whip around and pretend you have no idea what being a gentleman is all about? Maybe I’ll get scared and get off. When that didn’t work he began halting and standing there with his ears back on me like “Ok…that was fun. We are done now though.”

Big Orange Beastie has enjoyed his vacation.

I didn’t work him too much because the storm was blowing in and the skies were looking pretty angry. By the time I got off and put him out they opened up, so I stopped just in the time. While it wasn’t the best ride ever, and was a bit frustrating in all honesty, I’m glad he is feeling better and he was without a question 100% sound. He wasn’t bad by any means, just feeling fresh and sassy and trying to get out of going back to work. I know with a consistent schedule again he will return to his normal pliable self. I don’t fully trust that he won’t throw a buck or a small rear in there for fun, so I am a bit more tense and rigid than I know I should be. He isn’t the only one out of riding shape.

With him feeling better, I got back on trainer’s schedule for a lesson next week and asked if she would hop on him first to get a feel for him and help with a plan. She was game, so that will be fun!

It is a common theme on here that I truly believe the Universe has a wicked sense of irony and a dark sense of humor.

Last Monday, H’Appy went for his lameness eval and it turned out t was exactly as I thought: crap feet and a sore back from saddle fit. He got his new shoes put on that same afternoon and was given the vet prescribed week of pasture rest and bute.

Last week the weather was gorgeous. A bit hot and humid still, but the mornings and evenings were cool and the sun was shining. Nice weather to ride in. Or you know to walk your horse with expensive footwear in and out of the barn for food. Either works I suppose.

This week. Now this week I was allowed to do ground work Monday and if all looked good I could hop on for a light flat school Tuesday. I was excited. If all went right we could finally be back on track feeling good and working towards goals. I was a bit bummed when my body work lady rescheduled his Sunday session to this Saturday as I was hoping to get him feeling his best muscle wise before I hopped on and while still on the bute, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

And then Monday dawned cloudy but dry. I left work at 500pm and was excited to get to work the big orange beastie. I pulled into my drive and the sky opened up dumping a ton of rain on me. Ok…it can’t last long. I’ll feed the horses and start dinner and by the time Dusty is home it should be clear. And clear up it did. Until he came home after an emergency c-section at close to 7pm and the skies opened up once again.

No working him Monday.

Yesterday the day was clear and bright but cool and wonderful. I figured I’d lunge him first to watch him go and then hop on him if all looked good. Hahahahahahahah!!!

Yup. You guessed it. Once dinner was started and I was heading out the door to ride it decided to pour once again. As of writing this Wednesday morning it still hasn’t stopped.

Sigh.

I’m telling myself that waiting isn’t a bad thing. More time off can only help his feet heal and after waiting 5 months what is another few days to a week?

In the meantime I’m making plans. Nothing set in stone but I’m looking towards the fall and penciling in some fun horse times because damnit after the summer I’ve had with him I deserve it!!! Between some hunter paces and a couple local schooling jumper shows it could be quite the exciting fall and early winter around here. If the weather cooperates and if my horse is sound. You know, the minor details.

When I started this contest, the goal was to get people thinking about giving back and spending maybe a little less time competing and more time lending a hand to allow others to do so.  Amy, you really knocked that out of the park. I know WEG helped that number out, but that does not detract from the fact that you took time away from work and family to go volunteer several states away.

Typically this prize package is worth around $50, but I thought of something you might really like and it is a stretch over that. Since I fund this myself nobody can argue about my spending, right? (Except the Hubby, but shhh…) And you deserve the extra bit spent with all those hours.

I’ve been reading a lot about these new mohair endurance reins by Wild West Endurance Company. Apparently they are absolutely amazing and while I’m not currently competing in that sport, I am already drooling over a pair. Mohair for life for me.

You like purple, or at least that is what my stalking abilities came up with, and so you will get purple. Exactly what type of purple and what else is added in will be a surprise. Something has to be a surprise, right? Anyway…I hope you love them as much as everyone else seems to and thank you for getting out there. Email me your mailing address at agemofahorse at gmail dot com and I will get them ordered.