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| bleh. poor horse. |
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Punch You in the Eye
Well, well well. Hampton's little wound near the corner of his eye has now decided to become an infected, swollen oozing issue. It's quite swollen right under the eye - an area that was not affected originally, although now there is a missing patch of fur there. It was fine last night when I fed him. But this morning it was a different story. This time I DID call the vet, who gave me some bute and eye ointment. Hopefully that will clear things up. So, no riding for Hampton for a bit. That means Baxter and Zippy get more attention this week.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Hampton: 0; Run-in shed: 1
I guess it's a good thing I planned on giving Hampton the day off today! I found him out in the run-in shed, shivering, and blood running down BOTH sides of his face and one front leg.
A quick inspection stopped my near-heart attack as I realized a call to the vet won't be needed. The wounds were not bad. The "incident" must have just recently happened as they were still oozing blood. I took Hampton in, fed him, changed his blanket and then doctored him up with ointment. His leg had just a scrape. One side of his face had a thin line about 3 inches long - like maybe he caught it on a nail or side of the shed? It wasn't bad at all. The last wound was very close to his right eye. Thankfully, the eye was not hurt. But it was a close call. It is the worst of the cuts and again looks like he ripped a small chunk of skin off somehow ... maybe on the shed? It doesn't look like a horse bite. He was a good boy and let me clean that one up and slather ointment on it. It had stopped bleeding by the time we even got to the barn.
I'm not sure if he got to playing with someone and just got tangled up in the run-in shed? Or he got cast? Who knows! I do know that in gross weather like this (36 and spitting rain and snow), that he will hang out in the shed a lot. I'm thinking he may have just gotten into a rumble. *sigh*
A quick inspection stopped my near-heart attack as I realized a call to the vet won't be needed. The wounds were not bad. The "incident" must have just recently happened as they were still oozing blood. I took Hampton in, fed him, changed his blanket and then doctored him up with ointment. His leg had just a scrape. One side of his face had a thin line about 3 inches long - like maybe he caught it on a nail or side of the shed? It wasn't bad at all. The last wound was very close to his right eye. Thankfully, the eye was not hurt. But it was a close call. It is the worst of the cuts and again looks like he ripped a small chunk of skin off somehow ... maybe on the shed? It doesn't look like a horse bite. He was a good boy and let me clean that one up and slather ointment on it. It had stopped bleeding by the time we even got to the barn.
I'm not sure if he got to playing with someone and just got tangled up in the run-in shed? Or he got cast? Who knows! I do know that in gross weather like this (36 and spitting rain and snow), that he will hang out in the shed a lot. I'm thinking he may have just gotten into a rumble. *sigh*
Oh furlough, how I luv thee
Since I am on furlough this week, I have been spending my days out at the barn. The weather has been mostly cooperative - although yesterday was soggy and today it's looking even more wet and miserable. Oh Indiana - you kill me!
Hampton has been doing well. When I lunged him Wednesday (I do still lunge him once or twice a week to help him warm up), his right hind looked weak again. It had been looking so good lately. I'm not sure what happened. The mud in the pasture is super sucky - and I do mean literally sucky - so perhaps he tweaked himself or it has just put a strain on that leg. He's not lame, it's just an obvious weakness. I made yesterday's ride pretty easy on him. Big circles, some leg yield. We even did some leg yielding at the canter. That went pretty well - after he figured out how to organize his legs. The first time I asked he tripped and almost face planted. While the footing isn't slick, it was sloppy and a little deep in areas so I'm blaming that, too.
Since it's extra crappy today he'll get the day off. And so will Baxter and Zippy.
I really need to STOP riding with my cell phone in my sweat shirt pocket! It has fallen out 5 or 6 times now - from Hampton's 17.1-hand back, into the wet sloppy sand. And it keeps ticking! Guess I have to give it credit. But really, I need to remember to either have it in a zipper pocket or leave it in my car.
Baxter just keeps getting more fun each time I ride him. If I ever get enough money to take 2 horses to a show later this year, he will go along and be my First Level poneh.
On Saturday, a friend and I are traveling to Illinois to visit out old trainers (we used to ride Morgans together "back in the day."). They train mostly Saddlebreds now and do have a few Morgans left. I'm amped to visit with them and see on the Skadaddlebreds work. It's such a different world to me now, even though I grew up in it. I do still appreciate the beauty of the horses and they ARE fun to ride ... it's just more about running damage control when you ride them, rather than the focused, goal-oriented skills in dressage.
In non horse-related news, I also have two job prospects on the table right now. One in Colorado and one in South Carolina. They both sound pretty good. :) Both would be a big move for me, but I'm ready for it.
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| Baxter and I. |
Since it's extra crappy today he'll get the day off. And so will Baxter and Zippy.
I really need to STOP riding with my cell phone in my sweat shirt pocket! It has fallen out 5 or 6 times now - from Hampton's 17.1-hand back, into the wet sloppy sand. And it keeps ticking! Guess I have to give it credit. But really, I need to remember to either have it in a zipper pocket or leave it in my car.
Baxter just keeps getting more fun each time I ride him. If I ever get enough money to take 2 horses to a show later this year, he will go along and be my First Level poneh.
 |
| My saddleseat days |
In non horse-related news, I also have two job prospects on the table right now. One in Colorado and one in South Carolina. They both sound pretty good. :) Both would be a big move for me, but I'm ready for it.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Show photos :)
Thanks to my friend Steph for taking these. :)
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| Yipee! I remembered my test and didn't fall off! :) |
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| Walking to the show ring ... |
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| Hampton's all like "Um, what just happened to me?" |
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Box of Rain
It's gross and rainy today and I have to work this evening so pretty much all motivation has been lost to go ride. Meh. So here's a roundup of progress this week. (I'm still waiting on my friend to send me photos from the show ... I'll post those when I get 'em)
HAMPTON
We had a lesson on Tuesday in which my instructor really challenged both of us to step up our game. Lots of bending to the right (one of our "issues" right now), keeping the canter uphill, 10-meter circles, shoulder-in, many leg yields and the First Level shallow canter loop were some of the exercises we did. Our leg yields have, for reasons unknown to me, improved so much over the winter that my instructor was somewhat shocked and raved about how proud she was. That made me feel great! Last year, Hampton would yield sideways but he would shuffle over with minimal crossover. Now, he glides over with awesome crossover and is light off the leg. I do not know what I did but I'm happy with it! I also need to work on our halts. They tend to be sloppy and not always square. This is my fault for simply neglecting them. It's easy points in the test and there's no reason I should screw them up.
He has been good the rest of the week. The canter is really starting to improve as he gains strength. In fact on Thursday I was able to do counter canter. The big ring is large enough that counter cantering around one end is just enough of a challenge but still do-able for a green horse. It's not something that I am going to concentrate on at the moment but I wanted to see if we could do it. He still needs the canter half halt to be better before we start doing more advanced work. But I am so proud of him!
ZIPPY
Ok, this guy is turning out to be a sweet, sweet soul. It is obvious that he just needed a calm, confident leader. The snorting and spooking in the barn has stopped. He stands quietly tied and to be groomed. The only real issue with him is he still is somewhat difficult to bridle. I have to wonder if it's his wolf teeth (I can easily feel them). I told the BO and the dentist comes in April. Otherwise, this "white stallion" as I call him is now walk, trotting. He is light off the leg. His steering is now 100% improved. Light in the mouth. He's not spooky and has smooth gaits. He is going to make a super, super schoolie. Next up I am going to teach him to canter.
BAXTER
The first time I rode Baxter, there was lots of cussing and spinning in circles. He loves to run through the right rein. And when I say RUN - I do mean bolt and levade sideways at Mach 10. He got me one time. I don't believe I've ever crossed he length of that arena so quickly! I even had his head pulled to my knee - doesn't matter to him, he was running sideways. I got him stopped ... ok the fence on the other end of the arena got him stopped ... and then made him work. Next time I rode him I felt him begin to bulge through that right rein and I CLOCKED him hard in the mouth.
That's when I got his number.
Since then he has been super fun to ride! Shoulder-in, half pass, leg yields, half steps - you name it. He is well trained and knows a lot. But he is a punk and will take advantage of a rider if they do not make it clear that his punk ass behavior will not be tolerated. He is going to be so good for my riding since he is so SO opposite of Hampton. While Hampton can be stiff in the body, Baxter is an outright squirrel. Hampton can be a little dull at times; Baxter is HOT and sensitive. You have to give the correct aids or he will not do what you want. Hampton will keep on trying and guessing even if you are screwing up.
I am a lucky, lucky girl to have these three boys to work with right now. :)
OTHER NEWS
So, my horse trailer isn't really worth fixing. I'm selling it.
BUT ... I am getting a new one. Let the trailer shopping begin! I am hoping to get one by April. March wasn't looking good for shows anyway because of my work schedule. So my plan for March is to train train train. Then see about some shows in April.
I hope everyone else is doing well. Spring is almost here!
HAMPTON
We had a lesson on Tuesday in which my instructor really challenged both of us to step up our game. Lots of bending to the right (one of our "issues" right now), keeping the canter uphill, 10-meter circles, shoulder-in, many leg yields and the First Level shallow canter loop were some of the exercises we did. Our leg yields have, for reasons unknown to me, improved so much over the winter that my instructor was somewhat shocked and raved about how proud she was. That made me feel great! Last year, Hampton would yield sideways but he would shuffle over with minimal crossover. Now, he glides over with awesome crossover and is light off the leg. I do not know what I did but I'm happy with it! I also need to work on our halts. They tend to be sloppy and not always square. This is my fault for simply neglecting them. It's easy points in the test and there's no reason I should screw them up.
He has been good the rest of the week. The canter is really starting to improve as he gains strength. In fact on Thursday I was able to do counter canter. The big ring is large enough that counter cantering around one end is just enough of a challenge but still do-able for a green horse. It's not something that I am going to concentrate on at the moment but I wanted to see if we could do it. He still needs the canter half halt to be better before we start doing more advanced work. But I am so proud of him!
ZIPPY
Ok, this guy is turning out to be a sweet, sweet soul. It is obvious that he just needed a calm, confident leader. The snorting and spooking in the barn has stopped. He stands quietly tied and to be groomed. The only real issue with him is he still is somewhat difficult to bridle. I have to wonder if it's his wolf teeth (I can easily feel them). I told the BO and the dentist comes in April. Otherwise, this "white stallion" as I call him is now walk, trotting. He is light off the leg. His steering is now 100% improved. Light in the mouth. He's not spooky and has smooth gaits. He is going to make a super, super schoolie. Next up I am going to teach him to canter.
BAXTER
The first time I rode Baxter, there was lots of cussing and spinning in circles. He loves to run through the right rein. And when I say RUN - I do mean bolt and levade sideways at Mach 10. He got me one time. I don't believe I've ever crossed he length of that arena so quickly! I even had his head pulled to my knee - doesn't matter to him, he was running sideways. I got him stopped ... ok the fence on the other end of the arena got him stopped ... and then made him work. Next time I rode him I felt him begin to bulge through that right rein and I CLOCKED him hard in the mouth.
That's when I got his number.
Since then he has been super fun to ride! Shoulder-in, half pass, leg yields, half steps - you name it. He is well trained and knows a lot. But he is a punk and will take advantage of a rider if they do not make it clear that his punk ass behavior will not be tolerated. He is going to be so good for my riding since he is so SO opposite of Hampton. While Hampton can be stiff in the body, Baxter is an outright squirrel. Hampton can be a little dull at times; Baxter is HOT and sensitive. You have to give the correct aids or he will not do what you want. Hampton will keep on trying and guessing even if you are screwing up.
I am a lucky, lucky girl to have these three boys to work with right now. :)
OTHER NEWS
So, my horse trailer isn't really worth fixing. I'm selling it.
BUT ... I am getting a new one. Let the trailer shopping begin! I am hoping to get one by April. March wasn't looking good for shows anyway because of my work schedule. So my plan for March is to train train train. Then see about some shows in April.
I hope everyone else is doing well. Spring is almost here!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Equine ER: Life of an Equine Vet
Someone was doodling around on You Tube ... ok it was me ... and I stumbled across this series of short clips. They are really pretty interesting and at times funny. You may have to go to You Tube to watch them as for some reason Blogger cuts them off. Grrr.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Show results!
Having arrived at Come Again Farm safe and sound, I unloaded the horse and found our stall. There was a little bit of yelling on his part, but as soon as I threw him a few flakes of hay, the screaming and talking stopped for the rest of the day. Good boy!
Because of the drama with the trailer, I had arrived later than I had planned and had only about 30 minutes to clean him and tack up before I wanted to go lunge and warm up for our first test: Training Level Test 1 Novice Horse. I had hoped to at least handwalk him around the show arena (it's an indoor in another barn on the property), but I was out of time. We would have to enter the show ring cold turkey.
Our warm up was ok, but we did battle some tension. He was well behaved but was tense in the back and his strides were short and choppy compared to what his normal gaits were. Surprisingly, he didn't buck into the canter transitions which is normally what happens when he is a bit tense. But the canter was out of balance and "Thoroughbred-like." No offense to TBs, but I think everyone will know the "type" of canter I am referring to when I say it was TB-like. It wasn't ugly, just not has rhythmical as he is capable of. My parents were both there and my father is the ultimate ringmaster - giving me the time and minutes I had left before my test each time I trotted by. LOL. I said he should be careful or someone is going to rope him into being a warmup ring steward at a rated show.
It was time and we walked over to the show ring.
And to my pleasant surprise, Hampton handled it well - having never seen the ring before in his life. No spooking, although he did want to stop at the big open door a few times. Our test went pretty well, the canter was still icky but we had good moments. 64%!! First place!
After the first test, things just kept getting better. He really started to relax. Second test was Training Level Test 1 Open. Better canter, more good moments. And more sucking back at the open door. This caused us to break at the canter once, but I had a good recovery. Another 64%. First place!
Last test was Training Level Test 3 Novice Horse. I had a brief moment of panic when, while walking over to the ring, I realized I did not have this test memorized! Damn Karen what kind of moron are you! So I would have to mostly guess at what I could remember from reading it a day or so ago. This time, during the warmup I schooling him past the open door a few times and booted him past it when he sucked back. HA! I thought, fixed that issue.
We started our test and NOW he spooks at the OTHER end of the arena! LOL!!! We had a really good test except the last canter he did one of those spook-canter sideways-deals which then caused me to forget where to do the stretchy circle. So -2 points there. With those bobbles, 62%. First place!
Frankly I could not have been more happy with his behavior and performance. He is green, I am green and rusty. And I consider it a success when you take a young horse to his first show and 1) you do not fall off. 2) you stay in the show ring and 3) you don't plow someone over in the warmup. The good scores and great rides were icing on the cake!
My friend took photos which she will hopefully send to me soon. Hampton was so cute with his mane braided!
**
In other news, my friend's father was nice enough to fix my trailer for me while we were there. The door is shut now, but it will need new welds and hinges in order to be usable again. Next week's project is to take the trailer in. If it's going to cost a ton of money, I'm just going to sell it and get a new one. It's not worth putting a lot more money into it, in my opinion. We'll see.
Our warm up was ok, but we did battle some tension. He was well behaved but was tense in the back and his strides were short and choppy compared to what his normal gaits were. Surprisingly, he didn't buck into the canter transitions which is normally what happens when he is a bit tense. But the canter was out of balance and "Thoroughbred-like." No offense to TBs, but I think everyone will know the "type" of canter I am referring to when I say it was TB-like. It wasn't ugly, just not has rhythmical as he is capable of. My parents were both there and my father is the ultimate ringmaster - giving me the time and minutes I had left before my test each time I trotted by. LOL. I said he should be careful or someone is going to rope him into being a warmup ring steward at a rated show.
It was time and we walked over to the show ring.
And to my pleasant surprise, Hampton handled it well - having never seen the ring before in his life. No spooking, although he did want to stop at the big open door a few times. Our test went pretty well, the canter was still icky but we had good moments. 64%!! First place!
After the first test, things just kept getting better. He really started to relax. Second test was Training Level Test 1 Open. Better canter, more good moments. And more sucking back at the open door. This caused us to break at the canter once, but I had a good recovery. Another 64%. First place!
Last test was Training Level Test 3 Novice Horse. I had a brief moment of panic when, while walking over to the ring, I realized I did not have this test memorized! Damn Karen what kind of moron are you! So I would have to mostly guess at what I could remember from reading it a day or so ago. This time, during the warmup I schooling him past the open door a few times and booted him past it when he sucked back. HA! I thought, fixed that issue.
We started our test and NOW he spooks at the OTHER end of the arena! LOL!!! We had a really good test except the last canter he did one of those spook-canter sideways-deals which then caused me to forget where to do the stretchy circle. So -2 points there. With those bobbles, 62%. First place!
Frankly I could not have been more happy with his behavior and performance. He is green, I am green and rusty. And I consider it a success when you take a young horse to his first show and 1) you do not fall off. 2) you stay in the show ring and 3) you don't plow someone over in the warmup. The good scores and great rides were icing on the cake!
My friend took photos which she will hopefully send to me soon. Hampton was so cute with his mane braided!
**
In other news, my friend's father was nice enough to fix my trailer for me while we were there. The door is shut now, but it will need new welds and hinges in order to be usable again. Next week's project is to take the trailer in. If it's going to cost a ton of money, I'm just going to sell it and get a new one. It's not worth putting a lot more money into it, in my opinion. We'll see.
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