Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Swine Flu


Ok, I have (a few) real and valid excuses for not posting.
First and foremost, I've been sick. For Friday and Saturday, my throught hurt so bad, that I went out and bought soup, cough drops, pop cicles, and hagen daaz. The ice cream is really what got me through.... I'm doing better now, i can eat and drink without wishing I was dead. I do feel a little stuffed up in my ears, but I figure I'm on the road to recovery. Swine flu-0, Alison-1
Next, we had an epic storm on Sunday. It kind of screwed with my social plans, since I wasn't going anywhere in that rain, not to mention that I'm not sure I could have made it out of the unpaved driveway. During this storm, I lost power in the apartment for about three hours. It felt like I was camping, until I realized that I was playing chess on my laptop and using my cell phone as a flash light and to text people because I was bored. Not quite roughing it...
But anyway, I'm here now to bring you a shiny new post. There is no video, but I figured I would drown you in picture I've taken. Turns out the wildlife comes out to play after a storm.
Anyway, RC was good again today. I think that we might be ready for the show, but probably not. MD said that I tend to throw him away when riding the tests. Great. At least I'm learning this now instead of after I show.
Deli keeps getting better and better. She's still got that balking habit, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. Now it's more of a thought then a plan or avoidance. As it turns out, she's best if I only lunge her a little bit, then ride for 20 minutes, or so. That was she's not too tired to walk/trot/canter with me on her. I've said it before (every time, actually), but I freaking love this horse.
Now for the pictures:

There were probably 5 butterflies around this plant....

This little guy was sitting next to me today while I was watching MD work a horse and tossing a piece of hoof for Tempi... It's not easy sneaking up on a lizard. Just call me Naturalist #1...

And the final picture is of freshly clipped... kinda... Tempi

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A Real Dressage Horse

For all of you who have been following, you should know that RC has a love/hate relationship with what I'm trying to accomplish this summer, and as such, I have a love/hate relationship with RC (but mostly love). Yesterday RC was definitely hating it. We worked on canter pirouettes to get him to sit on his rump through his canter/walk transitions. Turns out, transitions are MUCH easier then pirouettes, as RC found out. He was doing everything his little mind could come up with to avoid sitting and actually (gasp!) using his butt, which mostly consisted of throwing his head. Once he figured out (and I actually did it) that every time he started to be fussy with his face, he had to go forward yet back. Not forward AND beck, forward YET back. Which means that he had all of the power and energy of a medium, but was sitting like a collected canter (no wonder RC hates me). So that was yesterday. I was expecting an angry Mr. Chompers to emerge today. Especially since I didn't work him first. Since MD was at the vet with Ami (she has a good feeling about this time...), I pulled Diva's mane then RC's mane then I rode RC. I was just warming up when MD pulled in, so RC and I didn't get to avoid a lesson. RC was Mr. Fabulous today! I have no idea where it came from, but he was like "you want me to sit, ok" and "you want a trot and canter half pass, ok". Now there is the work ethic that has been missing. I guess the answer is to really work him hard and ask for the advanced stuff one day, then he's more then happy to be a first level horse the next day. RC's good attitude prompted MD to tell me that "Now you have a first level horse" with the potential to show second THIS YEAR and maybe third next year! Obviously, I won't show him in second level this year since I'm trying to qualify at training and first but it's still cool to hear that RC is making so much progress from someone who isn't emotionally invested in the brat. After RC's wonder-ride, I took him for a little ride down the road. Because it seemed like it would be fun, I ran him down the racehorse track for a little while, maybe a quarter or half mile. it was so much fun! And he loved it, which I did not expect. He didn't set any land speed records, but he wasn't doing a little tiny canter either. I may have to do that again... Unbeknownst to me, I had a tail during my trail ride. Tempi followed me out this morning. Usually she turns around at the end of the driveway so imagine my surprise when I turned around and there was a little sand colored poodle meerkating about 100 yards back. I'm not sure what's worse, that I didn't know that my poodle was following me, or that RC only got a 100 yard lead while cantering out... Anyway, her tongue was nearly dragging the ground, and she laid down, belly up when I approached her. I felt bad so I dismounted and picked her up. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to mount a horse while holding a poodle? It's a good thing that RC is quiet and Tempi was dead tired... She sat like a little person in front of me, taking stock of the whole situation during the ride. I wish I had a picture of it.... After RC, I rode Diva for MD's sales video. I had her all fixed up: mane pulled, tail brushed out and conditioned, coat polished, white polos, the works. Evidently MD isn't as picky as Lyndon about turnout in sales videos, because she was actually surprised at how I had Diva prepared. Anyway, the video is attached (hopefully) so feel free to check it out. It's not MD's official video, I just played around with a few things on my computer. I hope you like it! After Diva, it was the cremello. She's starting to turn a corner. The progress is slooooooow but still there. She isn't trying to kill me anymore, so I'm counting it as a plus. She's letting my lay over the addle and awkwardly steer her and ask her to walk-whoa-walk-whoa without throwing a fit, so MD asked me to sit up on her without walking (since that's when she blew up last time). Evidently she can handle the weight, but looking back and seeing a person up above her really freaks her out. She's no Deli, but she's getting closer.... Then it was Deli. When i went out after lunch, I was actually worried that it was going to rain, since Deli doesn't do well in the rain (she has big ears that she doesn't like to get wet), but all it did was rumble. So the ride was all good to go. And she was very good. She had a major spook-jump-buck while I was lunging her and a mastoodle ran out from under the horse trailer, but other then that, I think that she didn't want to use up any more energy then necessary in this weather. Under saddle, she has developed a slight balking habit, which is usually corrected with a slap on the neck or shoulder. If I tap her butt, she wants to buck, so there is no sense in doing that. Yesterday the balking was so bad tha I got off her to lunge her again, so that she didn't get to stop working just because she was balky. Then MD saw what I was doing and stood in the center of the circle while I worked Deli holding a lunge whip and moving towards Deli every time she wanted to balk. Today, balking was much less of an issue. It's still there (which is why I bought a wonderful crop with my birthday money, I cant wait until it gets here!), but she is less likely to prop and buck then she is to give in and go forward. After cantering her both directions, I let her finish for the day. Even if she is being bratty, she is much further along then RC was at two (sorry Mom). She is even starting to drop her head to the contact and can trot in a straight line and change directions through a circle. Not bad for a two year old, huh? In other news... Deli and RC were both wormed today... MD was amazed that RC would be begging for peppermints with his moth full of wormer. That horse couldnt care less what you feed him, he just swallows it whole anyway.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Good Start...

So today has been a good day. Scorching, but good. I think that it was the hottest day that I've experienced since I've been here. Just when I thought I couldn't stand it any more, the clouds rolled in, and I think it's going to storm tonight. The day started with RC, once again. He was a little champ. He started out stiff, but I think I'm figuring out how to move him off my leg and hold my hand (with out wagging his nose side to side trying to make him feel less stiff...) when we warm up so that he uses his back. His feet are way long, so he was tripping left and right today. Even with that, I think that today was one of his better days. If I can get days like this for a few days in a row, then I'll have a great little dressage pony. After RC, it was the Cremello's turn. She's becoming less of a nut, but she still has major issues with people sitting on her back. She went into total flip-out mode when i was sitting on her and MD asked her to take a step... It was a total choice to leap off that horse. Anyway, now I'm just laying across the saddle while she walks; trying to work on steering and halting while hanging like a sack of potatoes is not an easy task. Then it was the pony's turn. Deli really does like to work. She enjoys being lunged (except when she hits a deep spot, then the Diva in her rebels). She's working on the riding aspect. She can be a little balk-y, wanting to stop and kick out at the leg in the trot, but we're working on it. It's still uber cool to ride her... And finally... Shady had 8 puppies on Saturday morning! They are going to be huge dogs!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Getting in the Swing

So, now that I've been here for about a month, every day is getting much more predictable. I usually work with 5-7 horses a day (depending on who MD doesn't want to works with), Take a lesson, scarf down lunch and sleep... Because let's face it, but 7 pm, I'm beat. But for the updates that my small but loyal group of followers are asking for... Tempi: She's all better. Tempi is up and running around, playing fetch, doing tricks and being all around adorable on all counts. (PS: Court, you need a poodle) MD, Dan and I all yell at her if she's even remotely near a horse though. I dont think that she remembers being squished, because she just looks at all of us like we're being paranoid mothers or something. She's settled into the life here now though. She walks to the arena, watches me work, walks back to the tack room, naps, rinse and repeat. I still think that it's nifty to have a dog that shadows me, even if I do get exasperated at her... RC: Well, today we worked on long and low, but he's been really developing his hind end and his back. His lengthenings are becoming mediums and he's actually getting a collected canter. Miracles DO happen, evidently. I suppose I shouldn't be feeling too confident, after all there are only two weeks til the show... And I'm still swinging between "I suck" and "I'm getting this shit!". We'll have to see which side wins out at the show, but I'm more confident about it then I was at lamplight. Deli: Well, I;m going to start this one by saying that you have no idea how COOL it is to be able to say that you broke your own horse. I mean, two weeks ago, I couldn't ride her, and how I lunge her for a few minutes, then I can walk trot and canter (not for long, but still) in the arena! Her steering is still kind of iffy, and she's not totally sure that she likes the concept of contact, but it is so amazing to be trotting around, doing 20 m circles, on a horse that has never been ridden by anyone else. I do believe that buying Deli was a great great thing!
I'll leave you with a little video of me on Sonnet (its NOT RC!) on a particularly windy ride...
And now I'm off to nurture my newly found social life in El Paso...

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Lag...

Sorry about the lack of posts! I've been suffering from spotty internet access and entirely too much weekend fun.
Honestly, absolutly nothing of interrest happened today, so this is going to be the worlds shortest post. RC is working his little heart out and Deli is coming along. She's not perfect (yet) but she's getting there.

As for my uber fun weekend, El Paso is looking better and better with the more people I meet who are my age. It's really nice to have some non-horse, twenty somethings to talk to... Now I'm out.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wind

So today was much like yesterday. I worked with six horses, and everything went really smoothly, except for the wind. Evidently El Paso gets pretty windy, which wouldn't be bad, except for the sand. It stings! Anyway, RC was pretty good. Today was much like yesterday. I did figure out that he swings out when going to the left because of me. Yep. My fault. So, I need to physically bring my left hip forward since I want to drop it back and push with the right. Turns out I'm one sided too. But now that I know the problem, I am acutely aware of every time my right hip is leading... After RC, it was the cremello's turn. She was much much better on the lunge today. She still won't canter without pulling back and shying, but we got the walk and trot just fine. MD even laid across the saddle today and the mare didn't spook or fidget even when I walked her forward a few steps. Slowly but surely... The it was Deli. After warming up at the walk, trot and canter to both directions, I got on her. She was a little worker pony on the lunge, so I didn't think anything of it. She even gets her leads nearly every time now. After that warm up, MD lunged me on Deli. I walked, trotted and cantered (both directions!) on Deli! After working on transitions for a moment to make sure I could stop her, MD unclipped the lunge line, and I walked and trotted Deli around the arena. Turning was interesting, but it was way cool trotting her around. Evidently to turn her, I need to give the inside rein a few tugs, then let go (like a lunge line). Tomorrow I'll walk and trot her again, and maybe on Friday, I'll be brave enough to canter her off the line... We shall see. After lunch, the wind started. I worked with the baby pony first. He bit me. There isn't much of a bruise, but it sure hurt. I was brushing all of that fuzzy baby coat off of him, not fully paying attention (obviously) and he got me right in the ribs. I should have known better, having been around RC at that age... After a quick walk around, It was the stallion's turn. MD helped me tack up the little Welsh stallion in his carting finery. He's awfully cute in his harness. I lunged him around, like yesterday, over the trot poles and even over a little jump. He's a cute little jumper, so I asked him to do it a few times. I felt kind of bad when he was huffing and puffing by the end of it. I wrapped up my day with Sonnet. She and I are reaching an accord. I'm learning to ride with my body more then my hands, but it's a slow process...
Tempi Update: She's made another leap forward. Today she's trotting when we go outside, and was even playing with her toy tonight. Keep sending her your good thoughts, I think they are working!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

First Ride


So today I worked with 6 horses. 6. And it was hot. I must have downed at least 6 bottles of water. I swear it's like all the water gets sucked out of my body around here...
Anyway, I started the day with Dive, since MD was at the vet getting some mares checked. She was good. Much better then she has been for me in the past. I think that I'm getting more confident with her.
After Diva, it was RC's turn. Unfortunately for him, MD returned in time to give me a lesson. Today's lesson was all about transitions while keeping RC soft through his neck without turning his nose to the outside. It's not easy, but I think that we're getting there... slowly. I need to stop twisting him to the outside. I know why I do it, and now I know that its wrong! Darn.
Well... After RC had his bath, it was the Cremello's turn. She's a little spastic. I can't quite wrap my head around it, she is a flinching nut on the ground, but on the lunge line, you nearly have to beat her into the trot. Weird little horse. I told MD that all the pretty ones are crazy...
After the cremello was Deli. And yet again, I broke new ground with Deli. After a little lunging to warm up at all three gaits to both directions, MD lunged me on Deli and the walk the trot and the canter!!!! That's right. I cantered on my little mare... After being lunged on all three gaits to each direction, MD unclipped the line and I rode Deli around the arena at a walk and a trot. MD thinks that possibly by the end of the week, we'll get a walk trot and canter out of Deli, off the lunge!! I'm not gonna lie, it is so much fun working with a horse from the ground up.
After lunch, I lunged the little pony stallion for a while. The poor little guy got a little sweaty, but then he trotted over cavelettis for a while... After the little Stallion, I rode Avril. She is still one of the most fun horses I have ridden, no wonder MD loves her. She makes you feel amazingly LIGHT. MD took a quick video of us, so I didn't get a complete lesson, but maybe I'll add video footage at some sort. Anyway, after MD was done taping me riding, she helped me work with Avril on the piaffe. That horse tries waaay harder then she needs to, but it still feels really cool.
Tempi Update: Ok, so Tempi is on the way to recovery. She was pretty lethargic this morning, but by lunch, she was up to trotting outside. She's still off of her food for the most part, but seems willing to eat cheese. She perks up after getting her pain meds too. She has one more day of house arrest, then we'll see if she can join me outside again. Thank you to everyone who's asked or expressed concern for Tempi!!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Signs of Life


Well, Thank you to everyone who has called/emailed to hope that Tempi makes it (above you can see a happier, fluffier Tempi then I have now...). Last night was pretty rough, her coordination was all but gone until 9 or so. Even after that she's heavily favoring her right side. I am going to hope that it is just muscle damage from the kick and not something neurological. I stayed up pretty much all night, just to make sure that Tempi hadn't slipped into some sort of coma. Fortunately, other then groaning all night, she made it through. This morning she even got up to ask to be let outside to pee. She's horrified that she peed in the house last night (one of the shots the vet gave her to slow or stop the swelling in her brain has that side effect). As of 6:30 this morning, Tempi was alert and moving around on her own (slowly, but still). She's going to be on house arrest for a few days or until I can't stand to keep her inside any more. At the moment she's content to sleep on the pillow I set up on the floor for her. So here's to hoping....

Well, it would seem that Monday is going better then I had worried about. For one thing, I turned 22 today (yay me)

RC's lesson was less brutal then usual. We worked on transitions. As it turns out, I've been doing them wrong forever. I tend to pop him to the counterflexion, then pop him back to fake a softness, and that's not the MD approved method. So now I have to learn how to actually make him soft though the base of his stiff little neck. Darn, but doable...
And today I rode Deli, again today. I lunged her for about 30 minutes first, working on transitions to voice commands (which she's very good at). The only kink in that chain is that today she was not about to have anything to do with the whip at all. She bucked like a little hellion when I tapped her with it. So when I got on, we worked at the walk and trot, with MD lunging us for control. We opted out of the canter work today... it would have ended poorly for me. But I think that I'm going to like sitting Delis trot. It's amazingly smooth, not some choppy little pony trot. I think that I'm really going to like this little mare.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The El Paso curse strikes again

So... The weekend. Well, saturday was ok, I didnt do a whole lot. I trail rode RC, to give him another mental breather day which he claims he sorely needed. And I RODE DELI. All by myself. It was only at the walk and we did some circles, but it was pretty cool to be up on my own mare, alone for the first time.

Ahm, and now for the Curse. I made it through the whole day until dinnertime. Then while MD was tossing out hay, Tempi got kicked. Or stepped on. Or something. She didnt move for about 2 minutes, she just layed there when I picked her up. She wasnt breathing ro blinking but her heart was beating, so I didnt think she was dead...yet.
So, MD drove me to the vet, who said she wasnt in any immediate danger, so that relieved my mind a little bit. She got some shots to control the swelling and the drooling. The only downside is that now she has to pee. All the time. I'll take it. If she's going to be better.... to be continued

Friday, June 5, 2009

Finally Friday


Yep. Friday.
So MD had to fly out this morning to head to Houston to whoop my mom and sister for a few lessons. Don't worry Court, I told MD that you really wanted to work hard....

So this morning, before she left, MD helped me with Deli. I walked and trotted on her! Yay! MD told me that while she thinks Deli isn't going t be the type who misbehaves out of fear, she might misbehave because it wasn't her idea. Just like Opie. It's so exciting to be starting her out.... Make me thinking about how she'll be once we start showing.
After Deli, it was RC's turn. We had a really really light day. I took him for a trot down the road. He liked having a trail ride day, it was a nice breather for him. This way he doesn't think that his back and butt are gonna be sore every time he gets saddles up.
And to wrap up my very easy day, I took Sonnet for a ride. For some reason, i just couldn't get the head flipping under control. It really didn't get any better until i just sat the trot and left her head alone. I didn't quite get everything to feel 'right', but I ended on a much better note then I started on. Always a plus.
Well, Now I have most of the day to myself... What to do, what to do....

Thursday, June 4, 2009

First Ride


Today was probably the best day this week so far. Deli's eyes are starting to look better and my riding was pretty fun, not pure torture....
RC was pretty good. It's amazing the difference it makes when I'm not pissed off at something else entirely. Who would have thought. It turns out that MD and I are planning on entering a show in July in New Mexico. I guess I need to get cracking on this first level stuff then.
After RC, I RODE DELI. Well, not actually, But I sat up on her while MD led her around. It was sort of fun, kind of scary. I kept waiting for her to lurch, or buck or run. I know she's not a fan of being poked in the belly, so I though that leg signals were going to be her undoing. Nope. She was a little hesitant about it, but she didn't kick out or buck and twist. She stopped and shook her head. The other thing that she might not be simple about is the rein contact. She did pull down and do a sort of head flippy thing. It was so much fun to just sit up on my little horse!
Well, I'm tired so it's brief today. Enjoy, and leave a comment!

Oh, and today's picture is of one of the resident mastoodles... Say hi to Latte.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Standing


So today was a definite improvement on yesterday and Monday. It started well, and pretty much stayed that way. Other than the laundry, but that's just because I hate laundry.
It all started pretty much the same as all the others, with the exception that I gave Deli her anti-histamine in her feed this morning and put that steroid goop in her eyes. It must be working because she looks tons better then she did yesterday or Monday. Whew. Now I can stop worrying that she's going to die....

Of course, I started my riding day with Mr. RC. Again, he was a turd. I rode some test for MD, after a long and low warm up. I thought that he would be happy since he didn't have to sit as much as we've been working on. But no. Mr. Chompers was not a happy camper today, not at all. After a slight hissy while I was riding first level test 4, we sorted things out. The lesson finished with work turning onto the center line. If RC is going to be able to compete at first level, he has got to be warming up like a second level horse. Damn... Oh well, we're getting there, one frustrating step at a time.
After RC, I got to ride Diva. I rather like riding her, especially after my lesson with MD. She has a lot of go, and is sometimes a little lacking on the whoa. But today, she even came back from the canter to the trot when I asked for it not just when ever she felt like it. Either I'm improving, or she is. Either way, it's fun.

Later, it was Deli's turn. Yep, now that Deli can see again, she's back at work. She stood like a champ for the saddling and bridling, as if she never had four days off for health reasons. I lunged her both directions at all three gaits with the stirrups down and flapping. She did take a little offense to being smacked in the sides by the irons in the canter, but other then that she acted as if she was an old hand at all of this. Even her "moments" were nothing that I haven't ridden on RC or Opie. I really like this little horse.
Anyway, after twenty minutes or so of lunging, MD and I decided that she was probably ready to hold some weight. We spent probably ten minutes, standing in the stirrup, holding myself up on her side, then dismounting, rinse and repeat. By the end of the session, I was laying across the saddle while MD held her. If Deli keeps this up, next week, MD will lunge me on her. The next step will be walking and trotting without the line. Yikes... I cant wait.
After Deli strutted her stuff, MD and I worked with the Cremello mare. In a case of competitive two year olds (or in this mare's case, three year olds), she did everything that Deli did, even though it was her first day to wear a saddle. I was surprised at how good the little mare was, given on how spastic she can be. There wasn't even a buck. I'm not going to lie, I was nearly disappointed. Everyone likes to watch other people's horses misbehave... Or maybe that's just me.
To wrap up the day, MD and I went on a trail ride. We disobeyed the posted signs and everything. So for an hour, I rode Sonnet who did not relax for the whole hour. If anything she grew steadily less confident in her surroundings. RC would have loved it. Maybe next time for him....

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Allergies....


So.... When will it end? That's all I want to know. To have something happy, I have added Tempi, Sand Dog as the picture of the day. She's loving it here; she runs all day, keeping up with the big dogs, then crashes hard as soon as we get inside.

Ok, day started the same as usual, except that Deli's eyes were no better. In fact both were now starting to swell. They started to swell yesterday mid morning. Not good.
But I went about my bussiness, figuring MD would think that it was nothing. SO i too my RC lesson. Boy was he bad at the end. I thought that he started out really well, I mean he was stretching forward and down and it felt like he was really swinging through. And that was the best we got all day... His trot work wasnt that bad, in all honesty. I did many leg yields, trying to keep the bend through his body and not letting him throw that hip in or out. The I did some shoulder-in to renvers, which really helped our straightness. The difference was amazing; turns out that I need to actually USE my outside leg. Damn it. But after those exercises, RC executed our best yet half-passes. The was wonderful. Then came the canter work... This is where it went down hill.
Instantly, RC locked his back, drove his shoulders down and popped his butt up into the air. Charming. It took me ten minuted to move his shoulders out in line with his hips. And then, since "No horse has EVER been able to do this!", according to RC, he started locking his neck and swpping behind. Finally he got so upset that he actually reared (it's ok, it was a mini rear) with me. Thats when MD got on him. He was awful for her! He was throwing body parts every which way, trying to fall when his feet weren't where he needed them and bucking up a storm. I felt kind of bad; I mean, if anyone is going to be bucked by RC it should probably be me. But as it turns out, loose 10 meter circles are only impossible in THAT spot. He could do them every where else but there. It was a cursed-horse-eating corner of the arena. When I got back on him, we did two 10 meter circles in THAT spot, and two canter-walk transitions, then called it a day and went for a trail ride. No race horses this time.
After I put RC in his new turn out(he's been moved for being a jerk to everyone), I went and worked with the cremello. I really wish she had a name. I've been calling her Sunny, but that's so generic. Awful. Anyway, Sunny was pretty goood. I mean she only freaked out three or four times while I put the bridle on her. She was fairly decent while lunging, but going clokwise was way scarrier for her then going to the left. She is the anti-Deli. Everythgn Deli takes in stride, scares the shit out of the cremello mare. Go figure, Blondes....
After Sunny was back up,I went out to catch the pony colt, Buttons. At least that's what he's being called for now. I brought him inside so that he could stand in the wask stall while I groomed him. MD sticked him at 11.3h. I thought he was smaller then that. Other then flirting with Diva and making an insane amount of noise, he was pretty well behaved. I think he was making the noise because MD was telling me about how much he's changed. Evidently he used to be all body with a little head and skinny legs, like a tick. I think that should be his nickname. It would stick about as well and the Galloping Sea Cow....


As I put Buttons in his new pen, MD looked Deli over. She said to call the vet. So we did, and an hour later, Deli was loaded and on her way to see the vet. By the time the vet saw her, her left eye was nearly swollen closed (you can see in the pict, she is NOT blinking). That's the side that we thought had knocked into something. The right side was beginning to swell too. The vet, Dr. Garza I think, took one look at her in the trailer and said allergies. Evidently sometime yesterday, Deli was stung or bitten by something and voila. Here we are. So now I have to put some steroid paste in her eyes every 4 hours or so and feed her an anti-histamine twice a day. He said to call him back if she doesnt improve by tomorrow,so here's to hoping.
That was my Tuesday. Wow, huh?

Monday, June 1, 2009

Mondays Suck.


Yep. Read the title. Mondays Suck. Epicly. As anyone who bothers to read may know, last Monday I got bucked off and my pride was horribly bruised. How could anything top getting bucked off of a horse? Well, read on....
So MD had to take a mare to the vet to get checked for pregnancy (Amy isn't pregnant, so she stayed at the vet), so I did all of my morning chores, then rode RC, sans lesson.
I only worked him for about 35 minutes, then we both got a little bored (plus, he was being really really good), so we went on a trail ride down the path where the race horses exercise in the mornings. It was all gravy until there were the morning explosions, and a race horse came sprinting up behind us. I wouldn't let RC wheel around, so he just sat low and held it, in case I changed my mind and we did decide to flee. We didn't, so he just looked like a loser, but I got a smile and a laugh from the exercise rider. after about 10 minutes out, i decided it was time to turn around. This time when a new race horse came up behind him, he acted like he had never been afraid of anything in his life. I saw Martha's trailer pull into the deliveries drive as I made it back onto the property. Perfect timing.... or so I thought.
This is where my day went down hill, and down hill fast.
MD went inside to change into riding clothes, and while I'm untacking RC, I hear her yell. She grabbed a halter and rushed to Derringer. When I had turned him out this morning, he had a slightly higher then average (for him) temperature of 104.6, his heart rate was racing (per his usual) at around 75 bpm, and he was sort of panting. I wrote it up to not receiving his banamine injection in the morning, as MD wanted to talk to the vet before giving him anything more. His feet were finally not swollen, and he was eating his grass hay, so I turned hin out.
I rushed over to where MD had haltered Derringer, and he was sweating, but felt icy. Bad. Very very bad. When I checked his gums, they were white as a sheet. He was still panting and his heart rate was still high and erratic, but now he was pawing and reaching around and nosing not his stomach, but right in front of where the girth would be. MD and I tried to get him out of his pen, but he seized and collapsed before we made it. He fell and sort of rolled under the fence. He made it halfway under then he died. Right there. It took a few minutes, but when he left us, we both knew it. I doubt there was anything either of us could have done. He was buried this evening in the desert.

Wow. Great day, huh?

To top it off (for me) I didn't ride Deli today. RC ran her into the door, and her eye looks like she came out of a prize fight. So either flys mucked up her tear duct and I'll have to get the vet out to flush it, or RC is a major bully and beat the shit out of my poor Deli. But the poor little mare stood like a champ when I held an ice pack on her eye for ten minutes. The she didn't even flinch when I rubbed hot pink Swat fly repellent on it. It still looks like she was playing in her mom's make up.
On the riding front: I got my lesson of the day on Diva. I think that the lesson made me a whole lot more comfortable with riding her. This way I know what she does, how MD handles it and how much to expect of her. After Diva, I rode Sonnet (the one who bronced me). She was thinking about it again, especially since I was riding her while the back hoe was digging Derringers grave. She was decent until they started to move Derringer. Then it was get off or get thrown off. I opted to vacate the saddle by choice. After Derringer was out of sight, MD got on Sonnet to school her, then I got back on. It was really fun, again knowing how MD handled her and what to expect made a big difference to me.
Finally, last horse of the day, I got to ride Avril after MD. I got to do a 9 extension, play with her half passes and ride her passage. Awesome. Majorly awesome. Then MD wanted to school Avril's piaffe, with me as the pilot. It wasn't easy, but it sure was fun. I have never sat on a horse that moved so... springy. Sitting on Avril is like walking on the moon, I imagine. The hang time in the trot is amazing (and my abs are killing me just to prove it). It was pretty cool.
So the day ended much better then it began... But it still sucked.

Late night update: Boys suck..... (so do mondays.)