Quick August Post

A very quick recap of August so I can move on to current events.

• At home I've been working on impulsion, a more consistent connection, and suppleness, I fell of once at home doing no stirrups work and scrapped up my nose, but was no worse for ware. I've also been able to sneak in a few trail rides which have been really nice.
• I've been to two horse shows, the first show I got some pretty good scores in the low 60s on T-3 and T-4 from Betsey Berrey and Kristi Wysocki. I really liked Betsey Berrey, every time I halted at "G" she had something nice to say about Werther. The second show was tough, 3 out 4 of my classes Ulf Wadeborn who seemed like a nice guy but was very tough, I got my lowest scores yet from him, but I did get some helpful comments. My one T-4 that was with Sue Madden Madras. I got a 60.8, straight 6s through the whole test, except for a 7 on Werther's gaits.
• We have been doing some matinence work with Werther, we had a really good osteopath Dr. Audrey come out and work on him, and Dr. Sarah did hock injections.
• I recently read "Principals of Riding" by The German National Equestrian Federation, excellent read for newbies as well as experienced horseman, I would recommend it.

Lesson

Sarah said Werther was very good for her on Monday. Werther must have used up all his good will for the week, because he was definitely a little bit of a brat with me. After warming up, we started working on a very forward trot, while still maintaining a nice frame. Werther was less than pleased with this development, and tried to suck back a couple times and when I corrected him with the whip he kicked out. I think we are reaching a new stage in our relationship where I have gotten good enough at riding him that I can actually make him work, and Werther can't do whatever he wants. I think he is testing me to see if he can intimidate me into getting his way, and after a couple good working rides where I don't let him take the upper hand, he will acquiesce. The canter transitions were OK, I had one really good one at the end. We spent a good chunk of the lesson on halt walk, at trot halt transitions though the walk. This was very challenging work. We used the quarter line, so I didn't have the wall is a crouch to help me keep Werther straight. I really struggled with getting the halt exactly were I want it, I would prepare too much and he would die before the spot, or I wouldn't prepare enough  and he would go past it. Getting an energetic walk after the halt is going to be very hard, and if I don't have enough impulsion it is going to be near impossible to stay straight.  Also maintaining the frame in the halt, so I don't have to do too much to get him round once he is completely still is going to be tricky. I just need to practice, but I have to do it in such a way that he doesn't anticipate too much. Werther got his feet done today, he was supposed to get his hocks injected today but the vet could not make it out, and now she says she can't make it out till monday which kind of irritates me. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out on Friday, so I wanted both of our times off to coincide, and if he gets his hocks done on Monday he misses a ride with Sarah and I miss my lesson. If she can't do it tomorrow or friday, I will just have to aim for Wednesday of next week. 

Outside!

The guys rolled and dragged the ring for me this weekend, and the weather was nice enough I got to ride outside for the first time in about five months. I had Sarah ride Werther outside on Monday, since it has been such a long time since he was out of the indoor. Sarah said Werther was very good. I went to take Werther outside and he was sure the new statue in the picture above my Mom had delivered that day, was some kind of horse eating demon lying in wait for him. After some dramatic giraffe poses and snorting, he pretty much got over it and we went into the ring and got to work. Werther was fine, but I didn't ride very well last night. I had two days in a row off, so my left leg was tight and I had trouble keeping that stirrup and my balance was off, I had to work really hard to sit further back and get my center of gravity where it should be. On the circle I had some trouble being effective pushing him away with my leg, and he kept falling in on his shoulder. The canter transitions were slightly better, but no major breakthroughs. The one thing I am really happy about is that I memorized the first intro level test and road it for the first time. The second half was much better than the first half. We were really good about having a clear define bend in  our turns, and the circles were decent. The biggest challenges are going to be keeping impulsion (especially since I have to look like i'm not making an effort in the ring!) and the upward transitions. The hardest one was after the first halt, he walked a little crooked off, because I didn't have enough impulsion. I hope he gets just a tiny bit jazzed at the shows, it would really help me out!

Good news, Wesley is still hanging in there! Dr. Sarah came out and looked him on Monday, she thinks his swelling is down a little bit, and when I saw him on Tuesday night he seemed very bright eyed a chipper, in spite of his current difficulties. We are going to monitor him very closely, but this is better than I ever hoped for. I talked with Dr. Sarah tonight, she agrees with me he is a tough old guy, if any horse could pull though it would be him, he certainly likes deifying the odds. 

Free Friday

No work today, so I spent a long time at the barn in the afternoon. I cleaned and oiled tack, washed brushes and boots, and did horse laundry. Werther has been really good, he has been really round in his topline, but he is also going very slow, I need to work on impulsion. My focus the past two days has been transitions and my equitation, mainly moving my elbows and sitting deep in the saddle. I also spent a long time grooming Wesley, he was happy for the attention. He is still not doing very well, his left hind is stocked up as well, and the has some swelling on his stomach. He is however, still eating and drinking well, and all body functions seem to be working. Dr. Sarah is going to come out and evaluate him on Monday, but I don't see this thing ending well. I'm kind of at peace with it right now, but I know when it actually happens I'll be devastated. I've decided I don't want to be there when they do put him down, I would rather think of him the way he is now. Even though this is incredibly hard, it is not sudden, like a young horse with a broken leg or colic you expect to have in your life for a very long time. The girl who owned Wesley is a few years younger then me, a former boarder. I asked my Mom to talk to her dad, so she knows the situation and can come out and see him if she wants. I think if I tried to talk to her, I'd just start crying, and it isn't the kind of news you want to send someone over the internet, so it is probably better this way. 

Wesley

Got some bad news today, Wesley is not doing well. His hind leg is swollen all the way up to the sheath , the vet thinks it is related to his melanomas. Dr. Sarah put him on antibiotics and bute, so hopefully that will help. We've done everything for Wesley we know how, Cimedidine and a new tumor vaccine which is new but has shown to be successful. This horse has been so good to me, I'm just going to be heartbroken when the inevitable happens, but I hope we can get this fixed and Wesley will stick around for awhile longer.  

Busy Barn Day

I met with the dressage trainer today, Sarah (not to be confused with Dr. Sarah, our vet). She is a year older than me and is in her second year of full time training. I was putting on Werther's bridle when we she got there and I she went out the indoor with me to watch me ride. As I got on Werther, he knocked over one of the heavy post caps as he was going to crib on the viewing area railing which made a large thud on the floor. Werther was good and didn't flinch response was "well, I guess he's not spooky" which was pretty funny. My Mom was hacking Spike, and I think Werther was excited to have another horse in the ring because he was a little fresher than usual (aka a normal horse quiet). Sarah works mainly out of Brightonwood Farm which is not too far from us. The object of having Sarah coming out today was to have her observe me and Werther and how we work together and to discuss my goals. I pretty much did a routine hack, but I threw in a couple extra simple and flying changes since I have been struggling with the canter transition. She was very complimentary of Werther, she said he looked like he was very elastic (especially for 15!) that he had a very nice canter and good flying lead changes. She had the suggestion of his getting his hocks done to help with his rooting, but he had them done on November 4th. We also talked about bits and Sarah recommended changing to a french link snaffle with a ball instead of a flat center piece Werther currently has. I talked to her about my goals, which is to basically up my game on the flat and get stronger. If everything works out, Sarah is going to ride Werther once a week and give me lessons twice a week. The only thing I am concerned about is that she seemed a little bit timid about my disability, but I think after a few lessons and developing a relationship with her I can convince her she does not have to treat me like I am made of glass. I've run into that problem with trainers in the past, they get afraid to push me even though I tell them I like to be challenged and I perfectly capable of telling them when something is too much and I need to step down or change something. After Sarah left Mom and I went to Anoka to pick up Wesley after he had his tumor vaccine shot. I learned that they actually inject the vaccine into the lymph node, which is really interesting. Mom drove the trailer into the indoor so she and Andre could practice loading with Violet and Beckham, two of our young horses. Violet was a pill but Beckham was great. Dr. Sarah is coming tomorrow to give horses shots so they are leaving the trailer in the indoor and having those two practice loading and unloading a couple of times for the next three days.

Wesley with Mom waiting to show the young'uns how it is done:

Violet, checking out the scary horse eating ramp:

Beckham with Chloe in foreground:

Hair Cut

Werther was getting too hairy so the guys clipped him last night. The poor guy looks kinda dorky, we left his legs and neck hairy so the parts of him not covered up by his blankets would not get too cold when he goes outside.

I turned Werther out in the indoor first to see if this new state of undress would inspire any freshness, which it did not. Dr. Sarah was at the barn this morning doing hock injections for the horses going to Thermal and she drew blood to check Werther's iron and magnesium, which were low when we did the blood-work on the pre-purchase exam. He has been on red cell and a magnesium supplement, so hopefully that will have improved. After all that I did not have much time to ride and we just had a very quick hack. Werther was good picking up the canter initially, and I did a flying lead change each direction which is easy for him, but good for me to practice.

Hocks

Dr. Sarah came out very early and injected Werther's hocks. She said he really needed it. Werther will be off until Thursday. I go out of town on Friday for my niece's baptism for the weekend, so I am going to ask Andre to hack Werther on Friday. While I don't think the hock injections while turn him into a wild man, it is nice to have the trainer be the guinea pig. Wesley is doing well after his biopsy. He is such a cheerful horse, Wesley is not phased by much. It is nice they were able to just do a local block for the biopsy and they did not have to tranquilize him. 

Sunday Visit

Quick trip out to the barn today, Becky came over with a girl who currently works at her boarding barn to interview for a grooming position. Tom is no longer with us, so my Mom is trying to find someone before she goes to show at Thermal. I groomed Werther and Wesley, Werther's scratches are greatly improved. I was going to take some pictures with my camera but the battery died. It was nice to spend some extra time with Wesley, I don't want him to feel like Werther takes up all my attention. I worry about Wesley with his melanomas too, his condition is stable right now, but I don't know for long that will be it could be years or only weeks. When I rode Wesley he really took care of me and gave me a lot of confidence, I just want to make sure I return the favor. He is going in tomorrow to get this tumor biopsy done so they can make a vaccine from the tumor cells which they inject into him and is supposed to help reduce the tumor size. We had some more leads on Dressage trainers, Dr. Sarah recommended a person, and a woman my Aunt Karen used to ride with gave her a name as well. Debbie was also going to ask a trainer who works with the Leatherdale's, a local high end breeding barn. 

Dr. Sarah Visits

No riding today, Dr. Sarah came to do shots and worming so we let the horses have the day off. The horses were turned out late, so I took the opportunity to spend some time with Wesley and groom him. He has a little scratches spot on his left front ankle, it gave me a chance to practice using the clippers, which is something I am not totally comfortable with yet. Werther was good with his shot, he did not care for the worming paste at all (and why should he?). I also had a doctors appointment today with a PT MD. She is concerned with the amount of pressure the current level of  spasticity is putting on my knee. I need to do more stretching and after she gets some records from my surgeon she is going to start me doing botox injections every 90 days in my leg, which they think will help provide some relief. 

Just a Little Trim

Werther got his whiskers and ears trimmed today.

We did his legs after I was done riding. Werther is getting entirely too hairy for a heated barn and will be body clipped soon. He has a little bit of scratches on his hind legs so we put some stuff on that to help him out. Dr. Sarah makes up her own anti-scratches cream, I think it is a mixture of anti-biotics and DMSO. It was windy and in the high thirties today, so I rode inside with Becky who was out riding Victoria. Werther was very good at trot, moving forward with little urging but I ran into trouble with the canter transition again, same issues as Saturday. This week is less crazy so I'll be able to have a lesson with Andre and she can evaluate to see if Werther needs a tune up.

Pampered Cribber Indeed

Werther's new cribbing strap came from Smartpak today. It is very fancy with his name embossed on the side:


When the grooms came into the barn this morning they said his hind legs were stocked up, but by the time I got there had had been turned out for a awhile and the fluid had gone down almost completely. We hacked inside today, the outdoor footing was not good to ride in after the rain we got yesterday. Werther was very good at the walk and trot, even a little bit fresh. However, I am still having trouble getting the upward canter transition. I think it is combination of his tendency towards laziness, my signalling and his Dressage background. My CP causes all the muscles in my left leg to be constantly contracted, so when I ride my heel is either level or slightly up, I cannot get it down. The muscles in my left arm are also slightly tight, and it makes the fine motor skills of contact with the bit with my left hand and using the stick on his left side difficult, but not impossible. This also makes balance difficult, so I am not at my best in those initial first steps of moving up to that faster gait. Right now, most of the times I ask for a canter, he think I want an extended trot. I've tried moving my leg back to an exaggerated position like a Dressage rider would have it for the transition, but that makes it more difficult for me to stay with him when he does go faster. I am having a lesson with my trainer tomorrow,we primarily jump in our lessons but I think she will be able to help me with this flat work piece too. I want to look into maybe having a dressage trainer come out and help me with him on the flat. Dr. Sarah came to the barn as I was leaving, she left a magnesium supplement for Werther. When we did the blood test for his pre-purchase exam we found him to be slightly deficient in Magnesium and Iron. So now he is on two new supplements, Red Cell and Magnesium 3000. We think these deficiencies are due to his lack of turn out when he lived in Colorado, and our good Minnesota grass will help with this as well.