Aiken Spring 2024: Part 3 | Into the deep

 

My ego took a small hit at the dressage show, but clearly Hampton's did not.

Day 6:

After a weekend of emotional trauma horse showing, we decided to make Monday a lazy day and took two of the horses to Sandy Hills. This is such a neat place where you can do just about anything you want to - schooling in dressage areas, school stadium or XC, use the sand track, hack around or swim on the pond. 

As responsible horse girls, we of course chose to venture into the pond.

(View from Eli's ears) About the deepest we got. 

The pond is reasonably shallow unless you head out toward the dock area. It was my original intention to get Hampton all the way and hang on while he swam, but after some "What if" thoughts, we decided to chicken out and just wade in to about the horse's bellies. I didn't want to risk any horse or human getting injured, or running loose around this nice farm and getting us banned. 

No one got dunked either!

An interesting thing happens when one gets reasonably deep in water. All power steering and leg aids really cease to work. I felt like a rank beginner grabbing mane and trying to "shoo" my horse along. I don't know if that's just me or? But it was pretty hilarious.

Hamp enjoyed a fun splash

Hampton waded around, got in to about his belly and we just had a very relaxing, no stress hour letting the horses play and soak in the water. We hacked around the track a little bit too before heading back to home base. 

View on the track with H and Eli.

Day 7:

Tuesday it was back to work and we went to visit my favorite S judge for a lesson. Some takeaways:

• I am too tight and rigid
• "Pressurize" the horse in front of you, instead of pulling on the rein
• Hampton needs to be more round, "in a shape"
• Don't warm up in such a flat canter
• Left leg too far back
• Don't let him run! many many half halts to rebalance

Overall a really productive lesson. She will give the cold hard truth to you, which I love because then she makes it better. The level of skill and sophistication required is kind of overwhelming to me at times. This must be how our horses feel when we give them 10000 different directions and then get irritated they "aren't listening." Sorry Hamp! haha

And one of the biggest lessons I have learned in dressage, and learning to ride in general, is that you will hear complete opposite directions and ways of doing things from different people. This is normal, and you just gotta take what works for you. 

One more Aiken installment to come!

Post-lesson selfie
Hampton over my shit.

Aiken Spring 2024: Part 2 | Speed traps

Day 3:

After the Stable View schooling show and a really great Thursday lesson, the weather gods pretty much forced us to stay put on Friday. We had planned to go to Hitchcock Woods for a walk, but it rained pretty much all day. 

We found a brief window in the rain and went on a little hack just around Jumping Branch. Still ended up getting rained on though. 

Obviously we spent much of the day going to tack stores. 

Day 4:

The weekend was the rated dressage show, back at Stable View and the rated debut of my Grand Prix Freestyle! Hampton warmed up SUPER on Saturday but unfortunately I was in a very rushed and stressed headspace and decided to CHANGE MY PLAN at the last minute which, as we all know, you probably shouldn't do at a horse show. 

I marched right in the ring and proceeded to run poor Hampton right off his feet. He became unbalanced and frazzled, resulting in mistakes in the pirouette, the ones and then the trot work because so bobbly and unbalanced the judge eliminated us for being too irregular.

While somewhat embarrassed, I thanked the judge and gave Hampton many pats. He did nothing wrong and didn't knew we were kicked out. I knew right away it was my riding that was the problem, but did jog Hampton when we got back to home base just incase. He jogged out sound and fine.

Day 5:

We had a morning ride for my freestyle on Sunday and I took the truck and trailer just me and Hampton and was able to remain calm and focused this time. Again, Hampton warmed up super. He LOVES the Attwood footing I swear.

Pre-freestyle game faces

This time I went in and tried to go SLOW, swingy and remain accurate with in the test. It paid off and we scored a whopping 67%! In A Grand Prix freestyle! What?! Including an *8* on the left pirouette! I got just a tick ahead of my music a couple of times, but things will smooth out and I was really happy with Hampton and much happier with my riding.

Lesson learned. Slow the F down.

Hamp got a new halter!

Part 3 coming soon!

Aiken Spring 2024: Part 1 | Schooling and Fluffing

 

Ok so 2024 is starting to redeem itself a little bit after absolutely kicking my ass at first.

We had another fantastic spring Aiken trip! 10 days of nothing but horses, horse girls, shopping, showing, good food, a little booze, lessons, and more horses results in many moments of laughing, joy, stars in my eyes, a little guilt for the money I spent, emotions, exhaustion and dehydration. However, I would do it again many times over. 

Day 1:

Our first day in Aiken featured a lovely little middle-of-the-week dressage schooling show at Stable View. This was the perfect opportunity to 1) Loosen up Hampton from the haul the day before and 2) Do a run through of our Grand Prix freestyle with no pressure. 

Stable View schooling show

I got a little bit off my music, but ended up getting a 71% from a "r" judge and many great comments.

"I got to Grand Prix through blood, sweat, tears and Emotional Trauma"
heh heh. No, but really though.

Day 2:

On Thursday I hauled Hampton over to one of my favorite Aiken instructors, SD. This was THE lesson we both needed today. I spent a good deal of our warm up up in half seat just letting Hampton stretch out and briskly canter around. Sarah's objective was now that he is trained in the movements, we need to focus on "fluffing him up" and adrenalizing him so that he offers more of his own energy.

"Now that you are at Grand Prix, we get to the good stuff," she said. But, it's all basics. Basics get you to GP, and they also make it better.

We worked on throwing in some changes as well, working on getting them airy and open and not so stuck. This resulted in both of us losing our balance at times, but it's good homework. After each little burst of work, right back to half seat and forward and "galloping." 

We touched on some passage as well with the same idea. Ask for a bit of work, then right away forward and stretching. He really started to get lofty and offering passage on his own. It's not the easiest for Hampton to do, but he was really trying!

I think sometimes I get stuck in "being perfect" and too regimented that it's ok to let the horse gallop and maybe get a little playful. Then USE that energy for more expression and lift. It was such a fun, playful lesson!

Also, I bought a new stock tie and here it is:

Part 2 coming soon!

Buckley: 2007-2024

One of my favorite photos. lol

I lost Buckley on February 5, 2024.

***

After Buckley's bowel impaction was resolved shortly after Christmas, he really didn't perk back up like he had all the times before. He would drink, but would really only nibble at treats or food. 

He had gone from 19 pounds down to 15.

I took him back to the vet where we ran bloodwork for a second time since December. His bilirubin was high and he was diagnosed with Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver disease). After speaking with the vets (there are two at the practice I go to), prognosis was good as about 90% of cats recover from HP with aggressive nutrition.

January 17, 2024.
Hip bones sticking out, but he was still doing cat things

So, I tried syringe and force feeding for about 3 days before I realized it was just not going to work. I wasn't getting enough food in him (he was a ... larger boned kitty), and it was just mean to force feed a nauseated cat. The process was making us BOTH gag.

So, around January 26 I made the decision to have an E-Tube placed. Buckley handled the quick, 10 minute procedure like a champ. I took him home that day with a brief how-to on tube feeding a cat. At this point, he was down to 13.8 pounds. You could easily see and feel his spine. The day before I had the tube placed, he turned YELLOW. I thought, ok we seemed to have caught this liver disease early or just in time.

He was pretty jaundice

I was METICULOUS about feeding him. Slowly increasing his feed, diligently feeding him every 4-5 hrs. Although a couple of days he did go 6-7 hours because I had to work. Always fed 3 times a day, sometimes 4 or 5. My kitchen turned into an assembly line of bowls, syringes, medication and food. I woke up an hour early to feed him before going to the barn.

My Cat Hospice kitchen was a mess

He did develop a mild little skin infection under the neck wrap, and during a bandage change on February 1, the vets were really impressed how well his jaundice had approved and his weight loss had stopped! That day he came back home and was perky - even going out on the balcony and sniffing around. He watched me shower, and sunned upon his throne in the spare bedroom. 

February 2, 2024
Came up for trash TV/cuddle time

By February 3, I had noted his jaundice was almost completely GONE. 

On Monday, February 5, I fed him lunch at 11 a.m. He snored and purred while I fed him, which was not unusual. I left and took Hampton to Lexington for a photo shoot. I did not get home until almost 8 pm. When I walked in the door, he did not come out and greet me like he usually does. I called for him and he came crawling out from under my bed. This was not unusual, he has a nest in my box spring.

I sat down on the couch to take a break for a minute, getting his dinner syringes set up and warmed up. I turned on the TV and sat back. Buckley came around the corner, and walked up his step stool onto the couch and onto my lap. I noticed immediately he was in respiratory distress. His breathing was not rapid, but it was EFFORTFUL. Heaving with his abdomen. He laid down and purred and purred. I knew this was it as I called the Emergency Vet with my information. 

It broke my heart to have to get him up off my lap and into the carrier. He only ever wanted to be on my lap.

I arrived at the ER and they triaged him immediately. That, also, is a very very bad feeling. I sat in a bright, cold, sterile room until the vet came in and told me they had found a heart murmur (first I have ever heard he had one), and significant pleural effusion. Buckley was in heart failure. Diagnostics also showed an enlarged heart and slightly large liver.

When the tech wrote "Buckley, ER" on the board I nearly lost it

My decision was very clear and thankfully the vets did stabilize him first, giving him cat morphine and oxygen so he did look a little better when the vet brought him to me. He looked stoned, but better. He went so peacefully, just softly lying his head down as I pet him and whispered in his ear.

And then you are "that person" with an empty carrier walking out of the vet clinic at 11 pm, bloodshot eyes and make the lonely, lonely drive home.

My favorite of his haircuts - the mohawk hahahaha

***

I started to look for someone to blame. Should I have been more aggressive getting that bowel impaction cleared? Did the vets miss heart disease? 

But, everyone did everything right. His body just failed. My suspicion is that due to his age (and, um, weight most of his life) that heart disease was probably lurking behind the scenes this whole time.

Side note: When I found Buckley's adoption papers from when I first acquired him in 2015, I noticed his birth year said 2007!!! I did not realize the old man was pushing 17 years old! Possibly older!

CLASSIC Buckley pose

***

Since Buckley only ever wanted to be by my side, I elected to have him privately cremated and now his ashes are back home. It was oddly more comforting than I expected. 

I am so thankful for the friends and kind messages who hold me steady through such gut wrenching grief. And Hampton, too, has taken on double emotional-support animal duties. Buckley was with me for almost 10 years. And a lot has happened in these particular 10 years. There are some moments where he was my only friend. Many holidays and nights it was just me and Buckley. I am so thankful he and I got to cross paths in all the space and time continuum. 

Buckley I hope you find many cats in cat heaven to harass and smack on the head, one of your very favorite things to do. 

And all the sunbeams.

PoopGate and the Plague

Oh hey, 2024!

Mood.

Finally crawling out of a bit of a rough patch.

Buckley, my orange and white cat, went through a border-line life threatening bout with constipation at the end of 2023. He lost almost 4 pounds, and after weeks of getting enemas, lactulose, SubQ fluids, vomiting, (one day I found him exhausted from straining in the litterbox and he was face down in a pile of vomit), anti-nausea shots and general misery - my wonderful vets finally gave him one last enema, let it marinate and then one vet stuck her finger up his ass and the other vet pushed on his colon and they were finally able to get the impaction out. He was very good about it. I know I would not have been.

Recently got a bath because he was crusty with dried vomit, lactulose and poop.

So Buckley has lost his chonk status, but he does seem to be recovering and I am not even more of a stalker about his litter box habits than I was before. How embarrassing.

We also had a foster cat - Leo! He was wonderful and recently got adopted by a lovely elderly lady who had lost her feline companion. Oh by the way HE ALSO GOT SICK with an URI when he first arrived so it was a really great time.

Buckley getting fluids at my mom's house over Christmas.
 He had to go with me he was so sick.

Then, as I was trying to clean up my condo which had become a disaster area of Cat Critical Care, I came down with WestNile Covid RSV Bird Flu. 

Fluid bag station in my condo.

And of course it just so happens I had lessons scheduled with the BFF and instructor JC in Indiana. Hampton got two days off because I could barely function and was winded after doing simple barn chores. But I figured I will be recovered in time for lesson days.

hahaha.

I was very fortunate to ride a lovely Grand Prix PRE horse, and then honored to hop on the BFF's new young horse. Awesome horses, but I was gasping for air by the time I got on Hampton. I nearly lasted my whole lesson but had to cut it short when I started to hyperventilate and starting seeing white spots. I have never cut a lesson short like that. EVER. 

Hampton carrying my carcass around during a lesson.

Thankfully the next day I was on the upswing and was able to give Hampton a really nice ride. We are working on trying to lower his croup and get those withers up. He needs to send his energy UP and not lurching forward. He needs to learn to bend his hocks and carry weight, instead of pushing up in his croup. Always a work in progress.

So ... cool start to 2024. 

Onward.

An Aiken end to 2023

Stayed at Jumping Branch farm - our favorite!

Hamp and I skipped town for a short getaway to Aiken, South Carolina last week. I love Aiken and it doesn't take much to convince me to take some PTO and go.

We arrived on Wednesday and took the boys (Hampton and TB eventer/dressage buddy, E) on a 40 minute walk before absolutely binge eating at TakoSushi. This is becoming a tradition haha.

Lesson day

On Thursday we hauled over to SD's place where we both had super lessons. Takeaways:

Smoothed out I-2 trot half pass zig zag. Think shoulder-fore instead of pushing haunches out.

Less leg! Too much begging. Take legs OFF.

Travel the piaffe, then bring back and ask for more engagement. Let out.

Stay uphill in changes, if he dives abandon changes and circle

Shortened my stirrups a half a hole, this helped with dropping heels away

Keep following in walk and extended walk. Cue to piaffe is to stop following.

Leg yield in, half pass back to the rail

You bet your ass I double time him so he doesn't escape from the trailer.

Schooling day

On Friday we hit up 4 tack stores before 11 a.m. I was really surprised my bank didn't call me to ask what the hell was going on. I mostly behaved myself with one exception. I purchased a lovely pair of navy DeNiro boots, which off the rack fit me perfectly. It's the first time I have ever been able to buy a nice new pair of boots for myself. They are AMAZING and so comfortable.

This photo does not do them justice. A really pretty, subtle navy blue.

After boosting the economy, we hauled over to The Vista where both of us were able to work on our dressage freestyle choreography. My freestyle ended up being a minute too short, which was annoying but at least I found that out now. I spent the evening re-doing some of my freestyle to eat up more time. The Grand Prix freestyle has to be between 5:30 and 6 minutes. I can't believe the judges want to watch me for 5 minutes. I can literally do all the requirements in 4 minutes and then put you out of your misery.

The Vista is really lovely!

Show Day

We were up bright and early for an 8:39 centerline time for the I-2. Hampton warmed up great. The test was decently solid, pretty average really. Unfortunately I made a mistake in the 1s and let Hampton do 12 instead of 11. So we missed a 60 just barely. 

Love Stable View's indoor area with perfect perfect footing.

We have zero cushion at the Big Tour for any mistakes, so it is what it is. I need to ride better. I think I got in my head about how pretty it is to show at Stable View haha.

Sunday

After spending most of Sunday morning in Eventer Land, we got lucky with the rain and were able to go video my new and improved Freestyle. This time we hit up a new-to-us farm called Sandy Hills. They had two dressage arenas (with mirrors!), XC jumps, a POND TO SWIM IN, a gallop track and a derby field. Really cool place and we will be back.

It rained on and off this day but it was still beautiful.

Anyway, got the freestyle to hit the right time this go around. Done and dusted!

The dapples kill me haha

It's time to do some homework over the holidays, before heading back to Aiken in March. 

The World is not your oyster

Gotten a request to write more so ... here goes. haha.

I don't have experience in the trenches of many disciplines, so maybe my observations are off base. But is it just me or do dressage people expect to be constantly accommodated? 

Photo by L. Dean. October 2023. I-2

Years ago, I was at a small dressage show (recognized) and there was a tent for a vendor set well away from the show ring, but along a walking path for both people and horses. It was Friday and we were schooling. I hear a lady start to shout that show management should take the tent down because "it is spooking my horse!" 

Hampton fucking around at third level because behind the judge there was a wall he could see over and he wanted to look so I put my inside leg on him. Whose fault is that? Not anyone's but my sucky riding.

More recently, I saw a post on the book of Face, regarding construction going on at the Kentucky Horse Park. They are making improvements for equestrians and for the park in general. Including building brand new barns. Yes, some of that construction was next to a walking path for the horses. And yup, it riled up some fresh dressage horses. Boy did people complain. 

Horse fly attack. Also, no one's fault.

I have never ONCE seen any Morgan or Saddlebred people act so entitled and except the environment to be accommodated for their "spooky horse." They just sit back and hang on. And while I have not been heavily involved, I would be willing to bet the western disciplines would never make such a comment. They also have hot, spooky horses, in spite of what many might believe.

I have certainly had many moments where Hampton spooked at something in the distance, or a sound, or seemingly nothing. I remember one instance where a plastic bag flew right into the show arena while I was doing a turn on the haunches. Hampton never flinched. My training and our partnership won in that moment. 

Remember the time I threw event tack on Hampton and he stopped at the second fence AT STARTER and I fell off? He was doing I-1 at the time, by the way. He was buddy sour that day and I failed at riding. FAILED.

But other moments it did not. You know whose problem that is? Mine. And only mine. Not the show, not any other competitor, not my coach, not the person who served me breakfast. It is MY training and MY partnership with the horse. 

PSG

In summary, we need to suck less. Ride better, be a better handler, do more homework. Suck less. Also, horses will sometimes spook and go AWOL anyway. We need to better prepare our horses and ourselves to handle different environments. And if it doesn't go our way, laugh it off and try again. 

Quite expecting to be accommodated.