Underwater basketweaving

One of the great things about living in Kentucky is that we now have access to some seriously swanky horse farms. Take, for instance, one of the top TB rehab farms in the area (they rehabbed this year's Kentucky Derby favorite) ... has an Aquatread. And they just so happen to allow haul-ins to use it!!

It's $35 to haul in for a session so I made an appointment on Monday to haul Hamper over there. He has never seen an Aquatread before, but I imagine he will react to it in typical Hampton fashion.

"Human, what is this?"
"It's an underwater treadmill, Hamper. You need to walk on it for a while."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm, let me ponder this dilemma."
"Here's a treat Hampton"
"OK!!! I'll do whatever you want!"

What are the advantages of Aquatreads?

• Properly controlled exercise in the treadmill adds significant tone and conditioning to the back and stifle muscles. (Hmmm, know any big bay geldings with sore back and stifles? ....)
• Promotes bone density and encourage muscle development, while minimizing injury.
•  The water takes 40 to 60 percent of the horse’s body weight off the horse's legs.
• A safe, controlled environment

I am curious to how Hampton will feel under saddle a day ot two after this session. Will report back with details. :)

33

It's my birthday today. :)

I'm turning 29!! For the 5th time!

For realz tho, the 30s is the best decade. I can't believe I was ever scared to leave my 20s.

My parents took me out to lunch and gave me a wonderful gift in the form of a check which will be more than enough to purchase a new-to-me eventing saddle. Let the shopping begin!

Also, here's yours truly as a wee little piglet. (early '80s)

You say I'm a dreamer, we're two of a kind

Hacking in the back field (that shed is where I tack up and keep my supplies)

Hamps has been going so, so nicely lately. The weather has cooled off (for now), his rain rot/skin funk is clearing up nicely. His back is no longer sore and he's just been a dream to ride.

 

I have been using the hill in the jumping field to school trot lengthenings and I think it is starting to make a difference. I'm starting to get significantly more "float" now and less plowing on the forehand.

 

Here's what else we have been working on:

• Canter. Proceed across short diaganol, counter canter the short side and half of long side. Trot. Stretchy circle. (Helps with collection/compression, then a release to make the back swing)
• Leg yield all the way across the arena
• Shoulder in down the long side, switching to haunches in at B/E.
• Walk, canter, walk. Increase the jump, keep the balance in the downward transitions.
• Half pass. Half pass left is pretty good for having just started it. Half pass right can still get a little stuck sometimes. Refresh by trotting forward and trying again.
• Half steps. Have to be careful not to play with this too much as sometimes Hamps wants to jig, which I don't really want to discourage either.
• Trot. Halt. Back. Trot.
• Zig zag leg yields.
• Leg yield head to the wall.
• Slowing the tempo. One of the things Alex Gerding told me was that I tend to over-ride the trot. By slowing down and releasing the neck and back, I'm much more likly to get him swinging when I ask for a bit more forward.

This weekend a friend of mine from college asked me to come judge dressage at her farm's little schooling show. I am really pumped!!! I will be judging mostly intro and training level tests but I believe they offer up to Novice eventing tests. Mostly I am excited to see my friend who is really one of the coolest people I know. I am a little nervous to be judging ... I hope no one gets mad at their scores and throws vegetables at me or something. I know I have really appreciated those judges who were kind in their comments and I intend to do the same this weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll love the experience and enroll in the "L" program for dressage. :) 

After I get back from judging, there is a little shindig at the Lville zoo in which you get unlimited amounts of beer (for a pricey ticket, however). I can't see how this can go wrong. Beer + friends = taunting the animals? Nope, can't see anything going wrong there. :)

Post by Hampton: Annual review



What is wrong with this picture?
Answer: There are no treats being dispensed!


Greetings blog readers. This is Hampton. Karen, the usual author of this blog, is my humble servant human companion. Since she writes so much about my abilities and performance under saddle, I feel it is only appropriate to also give her a review. So here you are, people.


Core competencies


Grooming:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations

Needs improvement. Personally I believe I should be curried on my butt cheeks for a good 15-20 minutes each day. I am lucky if Karen briefly curries my butt cheeks - only to get a good laugh since apparently my reaction is funny to her. Most days I get a very ordinary grooming and then I have to promptly go to work. I'd rather be groomed for an hour and work for 5 minutes, not the other way around. Also, more treats.

Riding abilities:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations


Meets expectations. Sometimes the human asks me to do things I find are stupid (such as walking on the bit when there is a cute mare galloping around in the next field) but overall I enjoy our adventures and I especially enjoy going out in the big fields and running at jumps. This scares my human but I get a kick out of it. I wish she would quit trying to jump the jumps for me, however. I mean who has four legs here? Me. Clearly capable. Since I am so intelligent, I do enjoy her challenges and for the most part she treats me fair so I try my best to keep her butt in the saddle. This rating would be upgraded if she would give me treats WHILE riding.


On time completion of scheduled activities, farrier, vet, vaccinations, de-worming:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations


Exceeds expectations. GOD FORBID the human slacks off on the vet schedule. But I do likes the chiro lady who helps my tense back and hip (symptoms of NOT ENOUGH TREATS). The farrier dude is cool, too. Not a fan of wormer but somehow the human is able to trick me ito ingesting this gunk by offering me treats. Tricky lady she is!

After my dentist appointment, I was soooooo wasted man.

Level of endearing comments regarding said equines, both online and in person:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations

Meets expectations. While I am aware that the Human constantly brags about me on her so-called blog, I'm not sure anyone realizes just how awesome I am. I am a big deal. People know me.

Stylishness and comfort of transportation rig (trailer / truck):

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations

Meets expectations. I suppose my current limo is acceptable. It is large with plenty of natural air conditioning. I wish the Human would install a TV so I could watch something other than the haynet during long trips. Or at least a radio for crying outloud. Her driving skills leave a lot to be desired, too.


Number of treats per interaction:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations

Needs improvement. I'm not sure why she hauls me in out of the lush grass only to make me stand around while she fidgets with brushes and tack. Why is there not a Fancy-Feast type platter of Mrs. Pastures treats in front of me? Typically, I can convince Human to give me a treat or two by acting cute. But overall, the Human does not dispense nearly enough treats.

Cleanliness of stables and pastures:

A: Needs improvement

B: Meets expectations

C: Exceeds expectations

Exceeds expectations. She lets me live the bachelor life by living outdoors with my homies. I drink out of a creek and there is unlimited grass to eat all the time. Sadly, she quit feeding me the yummy grain I used to get. She said something about me getting fat. That is nonesense. ... More treats would be nice, however.

Here we go again

So ...

Looked at another farm today to potentially move Hamper to.
My money situation is forcing me to make some decisions.
Sell the truck. Sell Hampton. Or move Hampton somewhere for cheaper board.
I'm trying option #3 first since 1 and 2 aren't appealing.

So. I LOVED the farm.

• Large indoor arena with slanted walls. Nice footing, a plethora of jumps to play around with.
• Large stalls, automatic waterers.
• Hay was of nice quality
• Right now horses are on night turnout.
• Horses looked in good condition, happy. Even saw an old cushings horse who appeared happy and well taken care of.
• Huge, air conditioned tackroom.
• Bathroom with running water
• Two big washracks.
• Plenty of ventilation.
• Hay and supplies kept in a separate barn.
• Clearly a laid-back, no pressure atmosphere.
• Board is way cheaper. ($100+ less) Possible option to work off even more of it.

As I was walking around, I immediately had a sense of "home." This is something that I do not feel at our current barn, as nice as it is.

THE ONLY problem with this new place is the distance. Our current farm is about 15-20 minutes away. This new farm is a solid 30.

Is it practical to move with the cost of gas?

This is what I have to figure out.

Thoughts?

Edited to add cost calculations:
New barn: 20.3 miles one way. I'm going to say my truck gets 8 miles to the gallon. It prob does a little better than this, especially on the highway, but I'm going to go with worse gas mileage estimate. This comes out to one way using a little less than 3 gallons. So, roundtrip = 6 gallons, or $21 each round trip if gas stays around $3.50.

Current barn: 10.6 miles one way. Round trip uses about 3 gallons. $10.50 round trip.

Say I go to the barn 4 days week, x4 so that's 16 days per month.

New barn: 21 x 16= $336 in gas money/month
Current barn: 10.5 x 16= $168 in gas money/month

Current board: $325 a month
New board: $225 (possibly to lower this with barn work)

Board savings: $100
Gas increase: $168

... conclusion: I would be losing money by moving there. :(

No Pumping Canter Departs!

On a whim, I was able to nab a spot with clinician Alex Gerding on Thursday afternoon for a dressage lesson.

You may know Mr. Gerding from this:



I find it too bad that his lessons are so ungodly expensive, because I LOVED HIM. He picked out our flaws right away and we went straight to work fixing Hampton's issues. I came away with several new exercises AND ... AND ... I asked him if he would help us put the foundation for half-pass on and within 10 minutes were were half-passing from the centerline to the rail! He was bossy and no-nonsense with high standards which is the type of teacher I THRIVE on. We also worked on counter-canter, transitions, haunches-in and leg yield zig-zags.

I laughed out loud after he scolded me for schooching Hamps into the canter during a walk-canter transition. I tend to do this when he is behind my leg. Alex (in his German accent) says "Hold it!!! There will be NO pumping canter departs!" ... so I had a do-over. Exactly what I need!

He is also a hoot to hang out with, especially after a few beers. He just doesn't give a crap about politics, so he says. He sure did have some mighty interesting things to say about our Olympic teams ... and some not-so-politically correct things to say about Obama, Native Americans and immigration. A total riot to be around.

This morning I had a jumping lesson with E, and Hamps was game for that, too. We worked on some gymnastics. One stride to one stride, bending line to a vertical, roll back to another vertical, a fairly large oxer and we also jumped a skinny! Yup, he ran out a couple of times, but it was my fault for not putting him together quick enough. Overall really productive.

Hamps will get a few days off now ... unfortunately, he has a sore back and some nasty skin issues. I BELIEVE his sore back is from rain rot/skin funk right where the saddle goes as it seems like it is skin-sensitive and not muscle-sensative if that makes sense. Someone may have bit him but I can't find any broken skin, just funky hair. The saddle is probably irritating it. Poor guy. I've been treating with MTG.

He's got gross bug/heat bumps on his neck and some patches of missing hair on his face - probably from more funk or fungus. Gross.

Kudos to his new farrier, Bobby, who did a really nice job. When I had Hamps trimmed back in May, by the guy who does most of the other horses on the farm, he was shockingly tender and footsore on gravel. He has NEVER been tender after a trim in his life. So I tried a new guy this time around and thankfully Hamps has no issues with gravel this time!

That wraps up this installment of What Karen Has Been Doing to Torture Hampton.

Even more Hamper photos

MORE photos from Sunday. :)

Fence 1

I don't know what I'm looking at. derrrr

Not perfect, but look how my lower leg is stabilized in this saddle. I'm also
less perched up over my elbows now.

heh. I find this moment cute.

Dressage warm up

Holy beautiful Kentucky!

butt shot