Dressage Mom

Day off for the boys, day on for the girls

2009-07-03T15:56:00.007-05:00

Today Craig and I took the girls to the barn to go riding.

Here is Lily -

And here is Macey. Even though she is younger she is much braver about horses.

Cheers to Albert for being such a good sport! Fantastic little boy!

Tomorrow all three boys will work. I'm looking forward to it.

So I say, "My horse is so lame...."

2009-06-30T19:03:00.004-05:00

...and the crowd responds,"How lame is he?"

Then I say, "He's so lame that, um, well, he's not lame!"

Wait, you didn't think was funny? Neither did I, when the vet came out today only to find my horse not lame anymore. Well, just a teensy bit off, hardly noticeable, and much more sound than he has been.

Here is how it went down - as you recall, Dr. G saw a video last Friday (taken Thursday) of me riding Kaswyn that clearly showed the horse was off on his left front leg. I got specific instructions on what the game plan was. I stopped all medications and worked him every other day, admittedly not hard because he felt terrible and I didn't have the heart. But he was ridden, and continued to get turned out every day. This was presumably to keep him lame enough that Dr. B could have something to see and treat today.

Well, I started off at the trot and Kaswyn felt much better than he had on Sunday. Loads better than Thursday. In fact, he didn't feel hardly off at all. He took a few funny steps to the left, and then when I went to the right he just felt like he didn't want to go but didn't feel off. Dr. B watched me go for quite some time, and finally I stopped and said, "So, what do you think?"

He said "What do YOU think?"

I said "Well, this is the best he's felt in a month. He feels better to the left, which is weird."

He said "Really? Because he looks better to the right."

I said "Well to the right I just can't keep him going, and he doesn't feel like he wants to work. Actually it's kind of hard for me to tell a difference between the sides."

He said "Yeah, he doesn't look off today, except for a slight favoring in the left hind. He just looks like he's protecting it but I can't even call him lame. You really have to watch him go left and right and watch the left hind and how it travels slightly differently than the right. He's just not bringing it up as high and as far forward as the right."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well I don't need to do anything to the left front because he's sound and even there. I don't know what was going on Thursday but it's not going on now. But lets go ahead and block the left hind and see if he improves."

So he blocked the left hind, then I rode again. I got more energy, but he took a few funny steps to the left. He felt better to the right because he actually was okay with going when I asked him to.

Dr B said "So? What do you think?"

I said "I think he's better except for those funny steps every now and then to the left."

He said "I agree." He also commented that Kaswyn looked good in the hocks and didn't seem to be having any hock issues today.

Then we had a discussion about how to proceed, what caused it, and the prognosis. First, since Kaswyn has improved Dr. B thinks I should keep him on a light work schedule, keep up with the Surpass on the left hind, ice after working, and use bute if needed. We discussed shock wave but he thinks that Kaswyn will continue to improve if I keep doing what I'm doing work and medication wise. He does not want to inject the joint.

Then we talked about how this might have happened. Basically what Kaswyn has is a very slight case of ringbone, the common name for arthritis in the higher pastern joint. Since I started working him hard in February I probably aggravated it. Dr. B said that laying him off could cause other problems when I try to bring him back, so I need to work him to keep him in shape while allowing him to heal. Working him lightly to moderately every other day, with at least one light day a week, plus the Surpass, ice and bute should work out well.

Lastly we talked about Kaswyn's future. Dr. B says that ringbone typically gets flared up by one thing or other (the horse takes a funny step, gets overworked, or over stresses the joint) and it takes a while for it to calm down. But once we get it under control he should be able to train moderately and show without a problem.

So I'm going to take it easy with him for the next few weeks and see where that leads us. Like I've said before I don't need to do any hard core training on him because he knows his job. I just need to keep him in shape and practice small bits of the tests. And keep him sound.

In other news, Skyy and Albert are both doing well. Skyy is really making a nice connection with the bit and the canter departs keep getting better. I get more good ones than bad ones from him lately. And Albert is working on shoulder- in and half pass. Since the show we've had some issues with the trot lengthenings. I feel like he got a chance to really move out at the show where we had a lot of room, and now in the small arena he's not relaxing his back and coming through. I'll have to get him outside or in a big arena and see if it's mental or if I'm doing something wrong.

Another show for Skyy in less than three weeks! And hopefully continued healing and soundness for Kaswyn! And, er, big kisses for Albert!

Another video session

2009-06-27T20:31:00.005-05:00

After a week on Equioxx and Surpass I got Skyy's owner to video Kaswyn again for me. He still had not felt right and I knew he was in pain because he was not keen on working. Also when he was hurt before in the left front he would blow out through his nose when I was riding him, and he started doing that this last week. Not like he was blowing snot out, but a rhythmic blowing out as he worked. He didn't do it on the video but you can certainly see that he is off.

When he saw the video he said "Now he's off left front. Right hind looks good, still slightly off left hind."

I told him that Dr. B was coming out Tuesday, so he said to stop the Equioxx ans Surpass. Then he gave me a set of instructions for Dr. B. First, he's to watch me ride Kaswyn. Then he is to inject the left front neuroectomy site to block it. Then I ride again. Is he is still lame block the left hind pastern. Then I ride again.

I asked what happens if he's still lame then and he said "Then you look at the suspensory, but I don't think you'll get that far." I asked about his hocks again, and asked if he did a Churchill test (it checks for hock pain) last time Kaswyn was there. Dr. G looked confused and said "No, I don't think this is hock pain, and I didn't do a Churchill." I told him that Dr. B would probably do a Churchill and if he comes back positive he's going to want to inject the hocks and Dr. G said "No, he doesn't need to do that. Tell him that the old man said inject the left front neuromas, then the left hind pastern, and then go from there." I reminded him that Kaswyn also had that splint injury on the left front and he said "I doubt that's it, but you never know. But this is all really good. We keep solving the problems as they come. You see horses will always react to the thing that hurts them the most, and when we fix that then they go to the next thing that hurts them. Nobody ever wrote a book that says when horses are lame they only hurt in one spot. This is the way it goes. We're making progress!"

So I'm supposed to ride him until Dr. B comes on Tuesday. It is so hard to ride him when he hurts because I know he hurts and I feel so bad for him. I know he will work if I ask him to but I feel lousy doing it. I went out today and rode Skyy, and was going to free lunge Kaswyn, but he was taking a nap and I didn't have the heart to disturb him. I'll do something with him tomorrow - probably ride bareback in a halter just to get him moving.

Tomorrow Susan and I might be bringing Albert and Skyy to the nearby polo fields to ride in the dressage arena there and also to ride a bit down the trails. It's kind of a pain because we have to haul them over there in the trailer, but it's worth it if I get to work in an outdoor arena. We might not go, but that is the plan. I'm sure the horses will love getting out there!

Since there are only two people going we can only bring two horses, so Mr. K has to stay home. I feel a little bad about it but since he's not 100% I don't want to push him. Certainly once we get him fixed up we'll take him out. He'll love that!

Ladies, let's talk...

2009-06-22T13:11:00.002-05:00

Men, you'll probably want nothing to do with this post. You have been warned.

If you read my blog on a regular basis you know that I work in a fertility clinic. I do lots of embryo transfers, which involve a procedure that is very similar to a regular pelvic exam or pap smear. The patient is undressed from the waist down and is covered with a sheet. When we are ready to do the transfer the patient is instructed to scoot down to the end of the bed, lie on her back, and put her feet in the stirrups. Then a speculum is inserted into the vagina so that the physician can view the cervix. When placing the speculum the doctor needs to clearly see the genitals of the patient. This is why the stirrups are set widely apart.

So, the point is ladies, we need to see your business. All of it. This is not the time to be modest here. We've seen it all before, trust me. Please, when your feet are in the stirrups, don't try to keep your knees together. You're having a pelvic exam, not tea with the Queen. Open your legs! It does not mean that you're slutty. We will not think any less of you.

Another bonus is that by keeping your knees apart you will be relaxing muscles that will make the speculum feel less uncomfortable. I'm not saying that you'll LOVE your speculum, because very few people enjoy having a metal medical apparatus jammed in their hoo-ha. But it will make it better. Try relaxing your butt muscles too. No reason to clench at this point.

So remember - next time your feet are in stirrups that are not attached to a saddle, keep your knees apart! Your doctor and your hoo-ha will thank you for it.

Sunday show Videos

2009-06-21T21:30:00.000-05:00

I didn't ride until the afternoon on Sunday, but I still came out early to watch the other people from our training barn ride, and to help out where I could. Truth be told I didn't do all that much. Everyone that was at the show is very self sufficient and everyone is capable of getting their own horse ready.

Albert was first with First Level Test 4 again. He was feeling a bit tired, especially in the right hind. I think this could be from me insisting more than usual that he stay straighter at the canter to the right. This forces him to keep the right hind properly placed instead of putting it to the inside like he does most of the time, and it might have made him a little bit sore.

For some reason I don't have video of this test. Probably technical difficulties with my camera, since I know Skyy's owner was there to video the ride. Regardless, it was a very nice test. On that first lengthening I gave him just a little too much gas and he broke to the canter. My mistake. The second one was nice even though I didn't give him that extra push. The rest of the test went very well.

I rode for the same judge that I rode for on Saturday when I made the walk error. After my test was over he asked me how I finished in the Saturday class. I said "Fifth place." and he said "Fifth!? Damn! I thought you'd have been higher!" I said "I did have an error, so that affected my score." and he said "You did? Huh." I said "Yes", he started writing, so I said "Thank you!" and walked on. It's really nice to hear that the judge wanted you to place higher in the class. Obviously he likes the Bert since we got another 65%.

About one hour later I was supposed to show Skyy. I gave him only about 15 minutes of warmup time, because I gave him 35 minutes on Saturday and it was much too long. I was lucky on Saturday that they were running early, but on Sunday I was going right after a scheduled break so I knew I would not be early.

This test started out wonderfully. It was for the same strict judge that I rode for Saturday, but the test was all 7's at the beginning so she liked what she saw. Then we did the walk, or jigged instead, and things started to go wrong. Skyy got impatient and tense and the second half of the test was icky. She really nailed me on that last canter to trot transition - we got a 3. What started out as a test that could have gotten a nice score turned into a 58%.

I know what I need to work on with Skyy. Steadier connection with the bit, more push in the canter departs, and the ability to walk calmly in the middle of our workouts. He broke from the walk in all three tests, and that must stop. I have been practicing walk work at home, but obviously not enough.

Albert just needs fine tuning. More bend in the canter right, as well as more straightness. Better positioning in the leg yields so the haunches don't trail. More jump and slightly more round at the canter departs. Other than that this boy is ready.

And then there is Kaswyn, sweet Kaswyn. We just need to get that boy sound and free of pain. He knows his job and was actually a little wound up by Sunday afternoon because he didn't get to show Saturday and it wasn't looking good for Sunday either. I went into his stall and he ran up to the door and pushed me a little with his shoulder, like "Hey, it's my turn!" This horse really loves to show. I have got to do what I can to get him there again.

So only one more big recognized show before Nationals, and this one will only be for Skyy so that he can qualify. The rest of the shows will be schooling shows just so I can practice the tests. I'm not allowed to have a reader at Nationals, so I better get those tests memorized. You can bet your buttons that I won't make a mistake on the walk work in Training Level Test 4. I've got that movement down.

Movie time with Dr. G

2009-06-20T20:10:00.003-05:00

After a week of bute and some time off I rode Kaswyn three times. I had Susan video the third ride Friday morning because Dr. G wanted to see how the stifle treatment went. He also wanted to see if the Surpass on the left hind pastern had made any improvement.

Before I headed over to the clinic I rode Mr. Skyy. That little boy is really getting the hang of the canter departs. I got three nice departs in a row each direction where he did not toss his head in the air. Very good boy.

Here is the video of Kaswyn -

Dr. G thinks that Kaswyn is better but still off in the left hind. He wants to put Kaswyn in Equioxx for one week and then see a new video. He said keep working him. This is hard for me because my horse does not feel right and I hate working him like that, but it seems like that is what I must do in order to help with diagnosis. The next step will be to have Dr. B come out and watch me ride. Then he will block the pastern and see if Kaswyn is sound on the block. If he is, we do shock wave therapy. It worked very well with the left front injury, so we'll try it again. Shock wave is preferable to injecting the joint because Dr. G said that sometimes you can get a fracture of the pastern after injecting there. And we certainly don't want that.

So I'm in the process of making an appointment with Dr. B. He's usually very booked so he'll probably not be available until after our week on Equioxx anyway. Hopefully I can get him out soon and we can start therapy. I have deadlines to meet, people!

Saturday Show Videos

2009-06-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday I had Skyy to ride first at Training Level Test 1 again. His warmup was even better on Saturday and I was anticipating another very nice ride from him.

I personally think this ride was better than Friday's ride, but this judge was much tougher. I wouldn't say that she didn't give out high scores, because some of the horses who rode before her got high 60's. I think she has a clear idea of what she wants to see, and if she sees it you get a nice score. However, if she doesn't she's pretty critical.

She wanted to see much more of a connection than Skyy has had before. It's too bad because I think this test went really well. That connection to the bit is coming, it just wasn't there yet.

Since I had a six hour break before my next ride, my trainer and I went out to the lunging area and took video of Kaswyn. At the beginning of the work he actually looked pretty good and I was starting to think I was a little quick to scratch him. However, the more work he did the more the lameness showed up. At the end of the video he takes one of those "stepped in a hole" steps that are obviously painful. Then I knew that I had made the right decision to scratch him.

Later when Dr. G viewed the video he thought he looked pretty good in the beginning but then the lameness showed up on the left hind, especially during turning and changing direction. He said the canter wasn't really helpful to watch and that the trot and the walk are the most important to see. I'll keep that in mind when I video him next time.

I was so happy when it was finally time to ride Albert in his Training Level Test 4 class. Again the little trooper was right on the money and laid down an awesome test.

So, here is what happened in the walk. The movement is Walk at C, Working walk from C to B, Free walk from B to V, Working walk at V. First, I didn't look at the test enough before the class, which I should have done - shame on me! Then, when I heard my reader say "Working walk from C to B" I thought she said "C to V". B and V sound a lot alike, and I totally don't blame her. But I started to head towards V, and then I heard her say "Free walk from B to V" and I thought "Wait, there is something wrong here, I'm already going to V."

Then I heard a whistle.

There were three arenas set up for the show, right in a row. They try to have the judges in all three rings have a different signal to tell the rider when to enter the ring, or when the rider had made an error. In the past it's been brass bell, whistle, and cow bell. This time they had the two brass bells on the outside arenas and the middle arena had the whistle. When I heard the whistle it sounded like it had come from the other arena, and not mine, so I kept going. I didn't hear another whistle so I never stopped.

I realize now that it was in fact my judge blowing the whistle at me. The reason I know this is because I just happened to be riding in the far left arena at the same time that my trainer was riding in the middle arena, and her trainer was in the far right arena. As I was leaving the show area after my test I happened to be coming out at the same time that my trainer's trainer was coming out too. His arena also had a whistle, and I think he was doing Second Level. There is no way his judge could have blown the whistle to tell him to enter the arena while I was walking and have him finish his Second Level test in the time it took me to do half of a Training Level test.

I told this to my trainer later and asked her if I should have stopped since I was unsure if the whistle was for me. She said that if I was unsure I should not have stopped, and the he probably saw that I had gotten back on the right track so he didn't blow the whistle again. She said that if there is a doubt as to if the judge blew the whistle or not that I should keep going, because if I had stopped and the whistle was not for me then I would have to get an error for nothing. If the judge really wants to stop me they will blow the whistle (or ring the bell, whatever it happens to be) again more forcefully to stop me.

Anyhow, I was already partway to the centerline when I realized my mistake, and I wasn't sure what to do. You can see that for a second I decided to head back over to B, but I realized I would not make it so I just did a free walk over to V. I was really bummed about this because the test had been going so well up till that point. The whole test is 7's until my error, which got a four and a five, and that really effected the score.

I'm still frustrated with myself for making this mistake. I know he still got a 67%, which is an amazing score. But it was my error that kept him from getting a higher score. He was on his way to a 70%, and 70% won the class. I can forgive the horse for making a mistake, but for me to make such a stupid error that cost so many points is just poor preparation on my part.

One more day to go!

Tuesday rides

2009-06-18T06:12:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness the dcotor gave me antibiotics for my sinus infection. I feel better today, but I still have have some pain and pressure. Last night the pain got really bad so I took a Vicodin. Boy was that a bad idea. It gave me some pretty intense nightmares, so I didn't sleep well at all. At least I think I'm getting better.

Since I'm at work, the plan is to ride today! I'm hoping to continue some of the work I did on Tuesday. I might not get through all three horses, but I'm going to try. On Tuesday I started the evening out with Skyy. I didn't really know what to expect. We had made great progress at the show, and by Sunday I felt that he was making a much steadier contact with the reins than he ever had for me before. I was hoping that he'd remember this and we could just pick up where we left off from the show. However I wasn't expecting that to happen.

Well he surprised me by making a pretty good connection. He wasn't as steady as he was on Sunday at the show, but still better than before we left. The canter departs were hit and miss as far as him staying on the bit. For most of them he threw his head in the air and ran, so then I would have to stop him and ask him again. He got really frustrated so I put him on some small circles with changes of direction to distract him. Then the next canter depart was very nice, round, and pushing, even if it was a little quick. I was able to get two nice ones each direction before I quit.

I also interrupted the trot and canter training four times to concentrate on the walk work. He broke into a little jiggy trot during the walk phase in each of his tests so I made sure that we practiced it at home. He was very good at home, so I think I'm going to have to take him away from the farm and work in the big public arena nearby. He might be a bit more wound up there, like he would be at a show, and then we can work on calming his nerves at the walk and insisting that he walk like a little polite man when asked.

Kaswyn was next and he did not feel right. I couldn't exactly tell what was off, I just know that he wasn't quite right. But per Dr. G's instructions I worked him for ten minutes. He'll have tomorrow off and then another ride on Thursday. Susan will be able to video me riding him on Friday. After the taping session I will run the video over to Dr. G's and he can evaluate.

Albert was last. We warmed up and he felt great, so I started work on the walk pirouettes. I started off with a large turn on the haunches. He was fantastic to the left, but didn't get what he was supposed to do to the right. When my legs and seat weren't getting the idea across I did some tapping with the whip on his left heiny. He did not like that and tried to jump around and get all tense, but I talked to him and just kept going. He started to get upset and put his neck in the air, but I put it back down and started again. Since he is such a smart fella he figured it out and was able to accept that the whip was not a punishment but a tool that I can use to help him understand. We'll work on those some more on Thursday.

We also did some trot half-pass work, which was pretty nice. He still gets tense like he did when we were working on the leg yields at first, but he is slowly starting to relax. He's going to have a very nice half-pass when he relaxes and pushes through them. The canter half-passes still make him very tense, so we only worked on a few of those. They will be nice eventually too.

So I had good ponies after the break. Good job boys!

Owiee!

2009-06-17T07:47:00.004-05:00

Last night as I was loading up the Friday test videos I started to get a bit of pain in my teeth on the upper left side of my mouth. Then I sneezed. That simple act blew something up in my head and now I have intense pain in my sinuses. I've had this before, so I know what it is. A sinus infection.

I'm at work, and I have a doctor's appointment at 11:00. Hopefully I can get some antibiotics and some kind of pain medication. This is such strong pain that ibuprofen or Tylenol just is not going to cut it. I need real drugs, man!

Now I just have to wait until 11:00. During that time I'm going to suppress the urge to yank all of my teeth out, or drill a hole in my check to relieve the pressure. Fun fun fun!

Friday Show Videos and Tests

2009-06-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

My first ride on Friday was Skyy. He had been a bit of a booger on Thursday and I was worried that this behavior would continue into Friday. I was pleasantly surprised when he went into the warm-up and was a completely different horse. He was focused, calm, and ready to get down to work.

He was really very good for his test (Training Level Test 1) and we got that qualifying score of 62%. I was thrilled and hoping this newfound work ethic and concentration would continue!

My next ride was Kaswyn in the fourth Level Test 3 class. I wasn't sure how he would feel, since this was the first day that he was supposed to be in full work after his stifle injection. He felt just a bit off in the warm-up, especially at the beginning. Then he faked us out by improving after a little bit of work. My trainer and I discussed what I should do, and I decided that he didn't feel bad enough to scratch, so I'd go in and ride the test.

You can see that at times he just doesn't look quite right at the trot, and just as he does the down transition from the trot to the walk he takes a funny step. He got a nice score but I could tell that he didn't feel right. I was concerned that it was the right hind, so I scratched him for the rest of his classes. He's already qualified so I didn't think it was worth possibly injuring him further by showing him when he's off.

Next up was Albert and First Level Test 4. This is a horse I can always count on to do his job. He will get a bit rattled if he thinks he's in trouble, but he knows what is expected of him.

In this test during the second direction of the canter work he either got bitten by a bug or he *thought* he got bitten (or was going to be) and I could feel his swishing his tail to the right and bringing his right hind up and out a bit like he wanted to kick out at the bug. I'm surprised that you can't really tell from the video, becasue I was sure he was going to break and kick at the bug. He got a 64% which qualified him for Nationals.

One day down, two more to go.

The downloading has begun

2009-06-15T19:15:00.002-05:00

I'm just now starting to download all the show videos. It's going to take quite a while. Also I need to figure out a way to scan the test sheets, since I broke my scanner after I scanned the test sheets from the last show. It was up on the filing cabinet and I was fussing with the computer connection and sort of pulled the scanner down. It fell on my back and the glass broke. I really don't want to buy a new scanner so I'm going to try and convince Craig to take the test sheets to work and scan them for me.

I will finally ride again tomorrow. I took a week off from riding to take care of some stuff at home and to get Kaswyn to Dr. G's. It's been nice to have time to do other things besides ride horses, but I'm feeling pressure to "get stuff done" and make some progress on those ponies.

Yesterday and today I did ring maintenance, since nothing had been done to the arena since before the show. I had to pull all the footing off the kickboards, fill in holes, level out some uneven spots, water, then drag. When it was all finished I was able to lunge Kaswyn today. He looked sound, but it seems like he's only off when he's under saddle. So I will ride him tomorrow and Thursday, and then on Friday Susan can video us. My plan is to run the video right to Dr. G's and have him take a look. Hopefully he'll see something that will help him decide if it's stifle or pastern, and how to deal with it.

Skyy hasn't done anything since the show, and I feel guilty for that. However now that I've taken care of some things on the home front I feel like I can dedicate some guilt-free time to riding him. Albert hasn't done any arena work but he's done some police horse work at parades. Those are long days for him and Susan said she thought he was pretty tired after that, so I'm okay with him having some days off. He is seventeen so I need to watch how hard I work him. I guess I'm learning from my mistakes with Kaswyn. I don't want to hurt Albert too!

It will feel good to get on a horse again. I'm very much looking forward to it. I hope Skyy hasn't forgotten all the great progress we made at the show. Actually, I'm counting on him not forgetting - I'm going to expect much more from him at home now that I know what he is capable of.

Skipping over

2009-06-12T09:13:00.004-05:00

I know you all are expecting show videos and test sheets, but those posts are not even close to being done. I got the videos transferred from the camera to the computer but now they all need to be downloaded onto the blog and that takes a lot of time. And time, even a little extra time, is something I have had very little of since the show.

I do have some time right now at work (amazing!) so I'm going to sum up the past two visits I've had at Dr. G's in the past week.

Monday after the show I went to Dr. G's to let him see the videos of Kaswyn at the show. We watched the first half (the trot work) of Kaswyn's Fourth Level test, and after the first two movements he said "Left hind. No doubt about it. You can see when you change direction that he hikes that left hip up just a little. It's subtle but it's there."

I asked him "So what would you like to do?"

He said "Bring him in. We need to figure out what going on there."

So yesterday I was able to use the truck and trailer and bring Kaswyn to see Dr. G. Susan was stressing about me driving the rig, so she and I took a little drive around the block on Tuesday. I hadn't hauled a trailer for five years since I had gotten rid of my old trailer, but it all came back to me quickly and I had no issues. It is a wide trailer and on some of the smaller back roads by the barn I had to go over the line on the right so I wasn't over the yellow line on the left, but it all worked out.

Anyhow, we got to the clinic and Dr. G started with his usual flexion and trotting lameness evaluation. When he had done both legs he smiled and said "If you don't put a saddle on him he'll be fine." Then he winked at me. He had his vet tech walk Kaswyn in small circles left and right, and you could see a slight lameness to the left. He pointed it out and explained "We might not have picked this up if I hadn't seen the video of him working under saddle. Because of that video I know something is bothering him."

Then we went in and got x-rays of the whole leg, from foot to stifle. Kaswyn is so fantastic about being there and getting poked and prodded, and when the vet techs remarked about it I said "I think he likes to come here to get his fix. He's really a junkie and wants you to hit him up with those tranquilizers! He loves it here!" I know we shouldn't be making fun of my horse when he was all doped up, but we all had a good laugh. He didn't seem to mind.

Then Dr. G took at look at the x-rays. He found the area in the pastern that had been found by his son three years ago. It's in the front of the pastern and there is some slight remodeling of bone which indicates stress and inflammation. It's at the point where a few ligaments attach. He also found a large OCD chip in the left stifle that was also discovered by his son. An OCD chip is a chip that comes off of the main bone due to a developmental defect in the bone, meaning that Kaswyn has had the defect and probably the chip his whole life. Kaswyn's OCD chip is in an area that is non-weight bearing. He said the hock looked really good and found nothing remarkable in it.

We started a discussion about what it could be and what to do. He thinks it could be either the stifle or the pastern, but he's not lame enough to be able to block the pastern and see a difference. So that leaves us with treating him and seeing what helps or not. Dr. G initially said he wanted to inject the stifle and the hock, but I told him that I've injected his hocks twice now and have not seen any improvement from it. He said he'd stay away from the hock then, and just inject the stifle.

I asked about injecting the pastern, but Dr. G didn't want to inject the pastern because he said that once you inject there the horse is prone to get fractures in that bone. So instead he wants Kaswyn treated with Surpass (anti-inflammatory topical cream) on the pastern twice a day. The thought is that if it's the stifle that Kaswyn will be sound in 6 days. If he's still off, then it's the pastern. I asked about working him, and told him that Kaswyn doesn't need to show until September so I could lay him off, and Dr. G said "No, right now he needs to be treated and worked. Once we figure it out then we'll lay him off if he needs it. But don't stop working him now because we need the work to help us diagnose."

The OCD chip is causing the stifle joint to carry more fluid than usual, and since Dr. G could definitively see lameness in the left hind leg he wanted to be more aggressive in treating the left stifle than the right. He injected into the joint with more fluid (Hycoat, which is hyaluronic acid, the typical joint injectable) and then added some prednisone around the joint to help bring the swelling down.

During our discussions we talked about Kaswyn's lameness history over the last three years. My take on it is that at some point when I was not riding while I was pregnant with Macey, Kaswyn hurt himself. I don't know if it was in front or behind, but it got to the point that he was uncomfortable both in front an behind, but not enough to be really lame. Just enough to be off. Eventually we pinpointed it as the left front splint bone, and that took a long time to heal. When that finally healed I put Kaswyn back to work, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. The sudden increase in work could have aggravated both the OCD chip area in the stifle and the arthritis in the pastern, or one or the other.

So, the plan is more hand walking, light work Sunday, normal work Monday. If he's not off then it probably was the stifle. If he is off, then it's probably the pastern. In either case I don't know where we go from here. Dr. G said the prognosis is open since he doesn't really know which is the problem.

Before I left, I asked him again "Honestly, do you think I need to retire this horse? Because a few people have hinted or outright said to me that it's time to stop this."

He put his arm around my shoulders and said "I have been doing this for a long time. I've seen horses with problems worse than your horse come back and be just fine. You have to understand that these people don't like to see you going through all of this. They think this is making you unhappy and that if you retired him that you would be happier. They don't realize that retiring him would make you more miserable than all this that you are going through. Your horse doesn't have anything that we can't get him through. When it's time to retire him, believe me, I will tell you."

I said "I think some people are also concerned about Kaswyn, but I know he loves his job and I don't' think he wants to retire either..."

He said "Oh no, this horse would not be at the level he is if he hated the work. Let me tell you a story. We were watching this big jumping competition on TV here a few weeks ago. These were big jumps, it was a jump off, and these horses were going all out. It was a big time competition. You know who won it? A 21 year old horse." With that he patted me on the back and walked away.

When I got home I called Marge to give instructions for Kaswyn over the next few days. Marge has said to me a few times that she thinks it's time to retire Kaswyn, so I relayed this story to her. She has known Dr. G since he graduated from vet school, and in fact used Dr. G's mentor as her vet. She said "Well, I trust him completely. If he says it's not time to retire him then it's not time. He is a brilliant man, and if he told me that my horse needed a fifth leg I would go out and try to find a donor." HA!

So hopefully this latest round of treatment will give us a clue as to what direction we should go in next. Right now I still have time if Kaswyn needs to be laid up for a few weeks. Regardless I will make sure that I don't work my horse too hard. I'll stick to very other day and even make sure that one of those days is a light day. He knows what to do, and likes doing it. I just have to keep him sound enough to do it.

Sunday Show

2009-06-08T12:02:00.003-05:00

I was going to write about the show on Sunday when I got home, but instead I played games with the girls and then watched a few episodes of The Office with Craig instead. So you're getting an abbreviated version today. I don't have the score sheets with me, so the percentages and placings are approximate.

Albert was first to go yesterday, and he felt a little tired in his right hind. He was still willing and put down a very nice test for me. He got a 65% and was 4th in the class out of 9 I think.

Skyy was fantastic for the first half of his test, but when I asked him to walk things went a little pear shaped. He got a 58% and a 5th place put of 7.

By the time we got all packed up, back to the barn, unpacked, and I was heading home I could barely stay awake I was so tired. But then I got home and got involved with the girls and the games, and I woke up a bit.

All in all it was a great show. Skyy will be going to another show in July, but Albert is all qualified. We'll just go to a few schooling shows between now and September to brush up on the movements. Kaswyn is still a mystery as to what we're going to be doing over the next weeks, or months. I'll be meeting with Dr. G today to find out what the plan is.

Eventually I get all the video downloaded and test sheets scanned. Then I can give the whole rundown of the show. It probably won't be anytime soon since the littlest girl has her birthday tomorrow (!) and I have to at least pretend I'm a wife and do some laundry and housework. Wouldn't that be something!?

Saturday show

2009-06-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

Another quick rundown, then shower and bed for me again.

Skyy was even better today, but the judge we had was a bit more strict. He got a 59%, so I'll need to take him to another show this year to get him his qualifying score.

Bert was SO good, I can't even tell you. Well, you'll see the video. He got a 67% and a 5th place out of 18! The only reason why he didn't place higher was totally, 100% my fault. I'll explain later, don't have the energy to get into it now. I just feel stupid. But at least he got his score so now he is qualified for Nationals at both Training and First levels.

One more day to go!

Friday show

2009-06-05T17:43:00.003-05:00

I'm tired so this is all I can post today. I'm still sick and my asthma is acting up so I have had to manage my coughing with my asthma meds as well as my inhaler. Not having a clear airway is more tiring than you might think.

So, Skyy was fantastic. He got a 62.1%, which is a qualifying score, and won his class. I'm thrilled! He just needs two more scores.

Kaswyn didn't feel quite right, or look right to my trainer. He wasn't lame, just slightly off. We debated about scratching him, but he got a little better with more work so we decided to keep him in. He didn't feel right in the test, even though the judge didn't mention that he was a tiny bit short on the right hind. He got a 61% and a second place, but I decided to scratch him for the rest of the show. It's not worth injuring him over since he's already qualified. Tomorrow we're going to get video of him trotting and cantering in the show footing (which is level and even) and then we're going to call Dr. G and my blacksmith for consulatations. Those two men aren't big fans of each other but I'm going to urge them to try to work together for the sake of this wonderful horse.

Albert was a star as usual and got a 64% and a third place. He is now qualified for Nationals at First Level. I'm so pleased with the way this horse works. He is an absolute pleasure to ride and show.

Of course there will be videos, test sheets, and more details once the show is over. But now I'm going to take a shower, some medicine, and get to bed. I'll update tomorrow unless it gets too late.

Pre-show

2009-06-04T08:18:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was hectic!

I had a full schedule of things to do at work, and then I had a bunch of stuff to do at the barn. First I rode Kaswyn, and he felt very good. I didn't ask him to collect or anything since yesterday was supposed to be a light ride, but he didn't feel off anymore behind. Then he got clipped and got a bubble bath.

Next was Skyy. I wasn't going to have time to ride him, so he got clipped and bathed. He was better about both than I had hoped. I thought maybe he'd be scared of the clippers but he let me clip his birdlepath, muzzle, and even the feathers on his fetlocks. He wasn't happy about getting his face washed (who is?) but he let me do it without too much fussing. Unfortunately just as I was rinsing him the guys pulled into the parking lot with a bunch of big equipment and started banging around like crazy. Skyy was pretty scared but managed to keep it together. I had a bag of carrots so I kept biting them into little pieces and giving them to him. That kept him occupied and his mind off of the racket long enough for me to finish and get him out. I was very proud that he held it together, since he dislikes both the washrack and loud, banging noises that he can't see.

Next Bert got clipped, but then I ran out of time and I had to go. Susan will bathe him today.

There is still so much to do! Grain needs to be bagged up, hay loaded in the truck, tack and buckets and brushes and other equipment needs to get in the trailer, all that stuff. Luckily my boss is going to let me go early so I can get to the barn and help Susan with the remaining stuff. I'm hoping to pull out of our barn at 2:00. That might be really optimistic, but we'll see. Since we have to get there, unload, set up, and then I have three to school I'd like to get started as early as possible so that I'm not there until 9:00 tonight.

Here are my ride times, which don't seem bad at all -

Friday 8:45 AM Skyy Training 1
12:51 PM Kaswyn Fourth 3
1:57 PM Albert First 4
Saturday 9:59 AM Skyy Training 1
11:14 AM Kaswyn Fourth 3
4:42 PM Albert Training 4
Sunday 11:53 AM Kaswyn PSG
2:12 PM Albert First 4
3:17 PM Skyy Training 2

The weather is supposed to be very nice Friday and Saturday- partly cloudy, low to mid 70's. However, Sunday is supposed to be 80 degrees and a few showers. Ugh, I might be showing in the rain. Everyone hates that.

I'll try and update every night, but no promises. I think I'll be kinda tired!

Flagh

2009-06-02T18:54:00.002-05:00

I am still sick. I think I might be getting worse. I have too much to do to be sick! Someone needs to stop this.

Anyhow, I lunged Kas-Man today and boy did he feel good. Better yet, he looked good. I don't know if it was just my imagination but he seemed to be picking up that right hind better. I expected that he might bear weight on it better, but I didn't expect that the entire motion of the leg would improve. Kind of makes the left look a little lazy. Not bad though. I was very pleased. Tomorrow I will do a light ride, clip, and then bathe him for the show.

After I lunged him I decided to put him out on the grass for about an hour with Tao (he's a 34 year old Morgan gelding!) and Albert. Susan said "He's going to run." I said "No, I'll walk him out there and keep him on the lead line for a few minutes, he won't run." She said "Yes, he will." I said "Come and watch, he won't!"

Well, Little Miss Know-It-All (that would be ME) was wrong, wrong, wrong. He was a spaz just getting out to the grass part of the pasture, and then he wanted to trot circles around me. When I thought he had calmed down I let him free and he TOOK OFF! He cantered around and bucked and kicked. I'm sure it felt really good after being inside for six days. It lasted all of about 30 seconds and then he stopped to eat. He looked fine on that leg so I don't think he hurt himself, but I'm going to stick to my original plan of not putting him out anymore. It was a dumb idea, but I just hate locking my horse inside!

Then I got on Skyy, and he was pretty good. He did have a little tantrum at the canter and really took off with me. I was afraid that we weren't going to make the corner, but somehow I got him turned and stopped. That little episode cost him four more good canter departs. Tomorrow he'll get a clip and bath too.

Bert was my last ride. I only had 20 minutes to ride him, but he was a star. He had a little bit of an issue with the canter when he thought I wanted him to make a loop and I what I actually wanted was a change of lead through the trot across the diagonal. When he realized he had made an error he freaked out and bolted a few strides with his head in the air. I got him stopped, told him he was fine, and we started again. The next attempt was prefect, if a little tense. He always expects that I'm going to beat him up if he makes a mistake, which I have never done. Some habits just die hard, I guess. Tomorrow Albert will go outside at night, so he'll get his bath at the show on Thursday after our training ride. I'll clip him tomorrow if I can to save some time on Thursday. Now that's going to be a long day.

So I have a lot to do for the next few days, and all I really want to do is stay in bed. Luckily Craig looked at me during dinner and said "Look, if you feel bad why don't you take some medicine and go to bed after dinner? I can handle these kids while you get some rest." Now, how wonderful is he?

Some kind of wonderful I say.

More lessons

2009-05-30T19:59:00.014-05:00

So here is what I remember from my lessons on Thursday. I didn't come home and take notes so I'm sure I'm missing stuff.

For Albert, him main problem is straightness. He has been carrying his haunches a bit to the inside, more to the right than to the left I think. So I just need to concentrate on making him straight without compromising the bend or quality of the trot. It's totally possible but I just need to work on it.

Also I can improve the canter if I start riding him in a more uphill balance. He's fine for first level but if I start thinking second level frame then I can make the canter have more jump and a bit of collection even at the working canter. That could help to improve my scores if I can do it without making Albert tense.

I have lots of video from Skyy's lesson. I had to break up the largest movie into three parts. You can hear my trainer talking about what I need to do, and see how well I was able to accomplish it. Or not, as the case may be.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Then we ran though Training Level Test 1.

And then Training Level Test 2.

He was really a bit of a stinker throughout the lesson, but I think he had improved by the end. I had all intentions of having to work through all the same things the next time I rode him, but since the lesson Skyy has been a star at home. If he can keep up this good behavior until the show is over I'll be thrilled! And we might be able to get those scores if he continues to behave and focus on his job. I just think he was pissy for some reason on the day of the lesson. It's too bad because if he had been better we would have been able to work on other things besides getting him on the bit and in a steady rhythm.

Kaswyn has been fine, but since we are on handwalking duty I don't have any idea how the leg feels. He doesn't look lame, so that's good. I think I'm going to keep him on no turnout until after the show. No need to tempt him into doing something dumb like he did before the last show.

And now for the bad news - I'm sick. I caught a bad cold/flu thing and so have the girls. Craig is as of yet unaffected. It's settling in my lungs, like it always does when I get sick, so I'm taking my asthma meds and vitamin supplements in hopes that I'll get over this before the show. I don't want to show if I'm sick but I will if I have to. It just won't be fun. AT ALL.

In process

2009-05-29T21:13:00.002-05:00

I'm working on commentary and video of my lessons on Thursday. Since Kaswyn is healing I only had two - the first on Albert (for which I have no video - bummer) and the second one on Skyy. As always, I got a lot out of my lessons.

I'll share the info when I get it done.

Visiting Dr. G

2009-05-27T20:50:00.005-05:00

It always sucks to have to take your horse to the vet, but Dr. G's office is great. I actually like to go there because I always learn something. It would just be nice if I didn't always have to learn on my horse.

Susan was able to finish with work early and get to the barn in time to drive her truck and the trailer to the vet's office. When I was able to get a good look at the trailer I decided that I could have done it, but was just as happy to let Susan do it. After all, she had hauled the trailer before, and it was her truck.

Before we left the barn I got two videos of Kaswyn at the canter, since that is where I felt the problem the most. I didn't feel anything at the trot but that didn't mean it wasn't there. However, Dr. G has space to trot the horses for the lameness exams, but no room to canter them since he does the lameness exam on the road on a straightaway.

Here is the video of Kaswyn cantering to the left.

And to the right. Watch in this one where he takes a bad step. This is what it felt like when I was riding him yesterday. I thought this would be helpful for Dr. G to see.

We got to the clinic and the barn was almost full. They have eight stalls, I think, and it was obvious that they were very busy. We just happened to be the last ones of the day, and we had to wait a bit. My trainer was able to get finished with her lessons and training horses and she met us there. As soon as they could they checked us in and got the lowdown on why we were there.

As usual, they took Kaswyn's vitals and then Dr. G. did his exam. After trotting him outside and doing the flex tests he concluded that it was indeed his right hind leg that was the problem. We headed back inside and I showed him the videos. When he saw the bad step on the one to the right he said "Oh, that was a painful step right there."

Then he started palpating the right hind leg, saying "It's certainly right hind, but I don't think it's the hock. I think it's higher up here in his stifle." Then he had me feel the stifle joint on the inside, explaining that he felt there was fluid in the joint on the right, but not on the left. I could certainly feel the difference when he showed me the proper place to press on the joint. He wanted to get x-rays of the ankle, hock and stifle so we could see what was going on in there. The findings were as follows -

Right ankle - No Significant Lesions - NSL
Right hock - No active arthritis, middle joint a bit narrow. Dr. G. added "This hock looks great for a horse of this age and activity. If this were a pre-purchase exam and you wanted to pay $50,000 for this horse I'd say yeah, go ahead."
Right Stifle - Plateau of tibia looks good. At articular surface of tibia there is a bit of density. Some calcification seen on surface of tibia over darker area at cranial cruciate ligament attachment site. Three pits exist in cruicate area of femur. Tibia articular surface has a black remodeling area.
Left Stifle - NSL.

What all this medical speak means is that my horse has inflammation in the stifle joint at the attachment of the cranial cruciate ligament attachment site. I asked if this was from concussion, poor footing, or if it was a traumatic incident, and Dr. G said "It's because he's 18."

He suggested injecting the joint to get rid of the inflammation. The plan after that is as follows -

Bute - one gram two times a day for five days (starting Thursday), then one gram once a day for five days.
No turnout and hand walk for five days.
Day 6 lunge
Day 7 lunge and light work
Day 8 back to normal

I commented that would mean that he could go to the show, and he said sure. My trainer asked him if he was sure he was okay with this horse going to a show in ten days, and Dr. G said "If he's sound, yes. The only way we are going to know if we are right about the stifle is to treat it and put him back to work. If he's sound then we know we are right. If not, then this is just Plan A. We still have Plans B, C, D, and E to go. So don't worry."

Then he was ready for his team to get to work. He said "Okay, I'm going to inject that right stifle. I need him sedated and then I'll need 9 cc of Hycoat and 1 1/2 cc of Depo. Sue, you scrub him and Heather, you get on the penis."

At that, the entire room came to a halt. My mouth fell open and I stared at Dr. G. I was pretty sure he just told his tech to get on the penis. I looked at my trainer and she was thinking the same thing that I was. Then the techs looked at us and burst out laughing.

I said "Did he just say 'Get on the penis'?" They were all laughing too hard at our reactions to explain, so Dr. G said "I mean she needs to hold the penis and sheath out of the way. I need to get to the inside of the leg and it needs to be held to the side." Oh well, that makes perfect sense.

I asked if I could shoot video of the injection, so here it is.

Kaswyn was, of course, awesome for all of this. I discussed Kaswyn's work regimen with Dr. G, telling him that I used to work Kaswyn every other day, but recently since I had been riding the younger horses 5 or 6 days a week I had been doing the same with Kaswyn. My trainer commented that I had been doing hard training on those days and not having an easy day in between. Dr. G said I should just work him every other day like I used to, and his advice was to "Train light and show hard." He also said that he'll be able to pull Kaswyn through this and keep him going, and when I have a break in my show schedule that I might want to consider IRAP treatment. Then I asked him if I should consider retiring Kaswyn. He said no, not right now. Whew!

So, I have to say my trainer was right. She was concerned about Kaswyn after the last show, but I insisted that Dr. B had said that Kaswyn was fine. My trainer had said I should take him to see Dr. G, but I didn't and he got better so I didn't think anything of it. Now I see that I was way wrong. It appears that my poor judgement has not done huge damage to my horse, and that Dr. G can turn this around. Oh, and he'd like Kaswyn to stay on the Polyglycan. He says it's a great all around arthritis preventative.

As soon as Kaswyn woke up and was more alert we headed out of there. He was the last horse to leave. As we were loading him in the trailer Dr. G was driving away in his car, and pulled up beside us to say "Dr. B says hi! He's halfway to Pennsylvania to look at horses! He's really booked up!" It's really wonderful that both these great vets can work together without their egos getting in the way of the care of the horses.

So, good news - this is fixable, and Kaswyn might still be able to go to the show. Bad news - I have to hand walk him for five days! We both HATE that!

Oh, and tomorrow I have lessons at my trainer's with Skyy and Albert. I'll try and get more video. It's going to be another long night = my husband is a saint. And sexy, really really sexy. Smart and funny too. Just so you know.

Nervous

2009-05-27T08:09:00.002-05:00

Kaswyn took a funny step yesterday when I was warming him up and now he's off. He had felt sore on Saturday so I had Susan give him one gram of bute twice a day and he had two days off. Then yesterday he took a bad step behind and then was really off. I wouldn't call it lame, but certainly not as good as he should be. He got another gram of bute. Then I started making phone calls.

Dr. B is booked until next Tuesday, as was Dr. G. However, I called Dr. G's office this morning to check for cancellation and he has a 4:30 today. That means I have to borrow Susan's truck and take the trailer over there myself. Susan would do it but she's working. Luckily the truck is all hitched up (she and Albert had a parade on Memorial day) and I know where the keys are. But Susan has put the fear of God in me because the trailer is long and wide and she's afraid I'll have problems hauling it. It's a three horse slant load bumper pull so it's been awhile since I've hauled something that big. But it's not a far trip.

This is not what I need right now. All I can think is that he pulled his suspensory.

FDA - what's going on there?

2009-05-22T11:41:00.005-05:00

I got this comment on another post, but I'm assuming that this comment is in regards to my last post about using the Polyglycan instead of the Legend and Adequan -

"The issue really is do you want to use a product that is not FDA approved and therefore requires no testing and can claim anything they want on an animal you love to save a few bucks. There is a reason is cheaper. "

This looks valid on the surface, but let me give some information out about the FDA. FDA approval just means that the FDA has approved a certain device, protocol, or drug for a specific procedure or treatment. It does not mean that items that are not FDA approved are harmful, aren't functional, or don't have any benefits. In fact, we use non-FDA approved protocols, solutions, and devices in our lab routinely. And it's LEGAL and safe.

Here's how this works - and by the way this is an extremely simplified version, and applies to human subjects. Non-approved items may be used under two circumstances -

1) The item and/or it's use has been published in peer-reviewed journal articles as being effective in whatever capacity that you want to use it in. For example, lets say that the FDA has approved whisks for the use of scrambling eggs. However, there are articles that say that forks are very effective in scrambling eggs. Forks are FDA approved for using as eating utensils, but not for scrambling eggs. Since there is literature backing up the use of forks for scrambling eggs, then forks may be used without FDA approval for egg scrambling.

2) In order to get data for the published journal articles mentioned above, an investigator (scientist or physician) must submit a proposal for research with the Institutional Review Board, or IRB. The IRB looks at the proposal and will grant permission for the research study to proceed. Patients who fit the criteria of the study are asked if they would like to participate, and will then sign papers that give consent. The papers outline the risks and benefits of the research, and no patient is obligated to participate. These experimental studies are how medicine and technology advance and new procedures become available. Using the whisk example, perhaps chefs would be asked if they would like to try scrambling eggs with forks instead, and give their opinions on the ease and success of the procedure.

So, it's true that Polyglycan is not FDA approved for use as a joint supplement. It is approved, however, as a wound lavage (wash) used in joint surgery. Here is a quote from the web site on the properties of Polyglycan - "Introducing Polyglycan into the synovial space as a post-surgical lavage and fluid replacement will assist in the normalization of the joint following arthrotomy."

Using Polyglycan as a joint supplement is off label use, and the company makes no claims that it works as a joint supplement. In fact, I'm sure if I called them they would strongly advise against using it in a way that it is not approved for. It says so right on the bottle, for one thing.

As for off label use, is my vet doing anything illegal by prescribing this for my horse in an off-label use?

Searches for articles on PubMed (The National Institutes of Health and US National Library of Medicine database which lists all medical published literature) using each of the three main components of Polyglycan plus the words "equine joint" came back with the following numbers of published articles -

Hyaluronic acid sodium salt - 92
Sodium chondroitin sulfate - 32
N-acetyl-D-glucosamine - 5

The answer is NO, my vet is not doing anything illegal. By having many published articles using components of this product, FDA approval is not necessary. Of course the FDA would prefer if you didn't use it, but it's not breaking the law if you do. Dr. B not only has read the articles but has treated other horses with it and has had good results.

And come on, people! I'm a scientist! Of course I did my homework before injecting my horse with something in an off-label use.

Now, Adequan (and probably Legend too, but I haven't been able to find any) has their own studies that show that it is more effective than the Polyglycan. And that's okay. I understand why. They are trying to make money with the product that they developed, tested, and approved. Just for fun, I did a search for whisks and forks. The least expensive whisk was $9.99. The cheapest fork was 63 cents.

Here is my point in a nutshell. Just because the FDA has approved something does not mean it is the only appropriate, effective, safe, and legal product available. Items that are not FDA approved can be used within certain guidelines, and can be just as effective, or possibly more so. Being a well informed owner can help too, so do your homework before just accepting what your vet (or doctor, for that matter) is telling you.

Keeping it straight

2009-05-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm taking three lessons in one night I'm starting to have problems remembering what I have to do with who. It was easy with one, not to bad with two, but with all three I think I'm forgetting things. So after my last lesson I came home and jotted down some notes.

5/18/09 lesson notes

Skyy - make steady uncompromising contact, but not pulling or holding. think elastic side reins and try to keep position consistent so he knows where I'll be. steady deep seat in canter. keep hips from drifting in on corners by controlling inside hind. work on canter departs and not letting him toss head in transition. also work on centerlines and halts. big improvement from last lesson

Kaswyn - canter half-pass left - losing positioning/bend, neck getting tight, and letting right hind trail. must get it under. exercise - half-pass across diagonal to quarterline, then walk in half-pass position and keep right hind stepping under. from that position canter and continue half-pass. very nice work on piaffe/passage.

Albert - canter loop - take more time to make turn. think 4-5 strides to do turn instead of 2-3. keep control of haunches on corner and don't let them drift to inside. trot half-pass left same problem as Kaswyn, except shoulders are moving too fast for right hind to keep up. must slow left side and not let him rush through left leg. left trot half-pass is good - nice and slow and relaxed. just rushing to left. keep positioning. fixing this will help issues in right lead canter, as he tends to leave right hind to inside and instead of reaching under he's propping it to inside and does not use right lower back. makes canter not fluid and not through back. exercise - renvers (haunches out) left going to the right. Better than travers right while going left.

I've been working on these things since the lessons. Skyy is making lots of progress. His biggest issues right now are balance and organization. Instead of having his hips fall in line behind his shoulders he sometimes whings a foot out to the side. He needs to be able to track all of his legs straight when he moves forward instead of scrambling all over the place. It's not terrible but it gets worse in the corners, so I'm really trying to help him there by hugging him with my legs to give him boundaries that he can feel.

I worked Kaswyn very lightly the day after the lesson because he felt a little sore and was due for a Legend shot. However, instead of Legend Dr. B said I should try Polyglycan. He says it's both Legend and Adequan in one shot, but it's cheaper than buying them both separately. I've read literature from the Adequan people who claim the Polyglycan does not work as effectively as Adequan, but I would expect them to say that! So Kaswyn got his first shot of Polyglycan. I'll ride him on Friday and hopefully I'll see a change for the better. Or at least not a change for the worse.

And Bert is just a star! He is so smart and willing to work it's wonderful. We've been working on the trot half-pass to the left and now it feels as good as the right. After he gets over his first reaction of "Something new!! Ahh! Panic!" and we work it out he just gets his head in the game and does his job. And even now those panic moments are getting shorter and shorter. My trainer said during his lesson "You know, after Nationals you're going to have to, you know, do something...", and I said "Yes, Second Level. I agree. We'll do something about that." He's already schooling shoulder-in, half-pass, and counter canter. By fall he'll be ready. Finally, at 17 years old he'll move on from Training Level! He could have done it before now but Susan just hasn't had the money to put him in training and I haven't had the time. The only thing that might be really challenging is the flying changes. I think we're going to have to take those slow and break them down as much as possible.

So the plan is to take all the boys to my trainer's place next Thursday for lessons in her big arena! I'm so excited! Susan has the day off so she's going to help me. I'll bring my camcorder and get some video if I can get someone to shoot it for me. I think all three of them will feel more free in the bigger space. I know Kaswyn does for sure.

Just about two weeks before the show! Let the stressing begin!

Hey Mama, I have something to tell you.

2009-05-19T13:14:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday evening Macey had the worst temper tantrum of her life.

Seriously, it was a doozy. I mean screaming at the top of her lungs for easily ten minutes. When she would not calm down I told her she would have to go to bed, so I just proceeded to get her ready for bed. Eventually in the course of getting her in her jammies, picking out clothes for the morning, and brushing her teeth, she calmed down. We had a little chat and everything was fine again. Craig was not home for this, but heard about it later.

Fast forward to Saturday. Craig was not home again, but that's not a big deal. We had just eaten lunch and it was time for napping. Lily can go without, but Macey needs a nap or she gets super cranky in the evening (she napped Wednesday, so there was not excuse there). Lily has a pull-out trundle bed in her room and on the weekends, if they request it, we let Macey sleep in Lily's room with her. Usually it all works out okay and they go to sleep, but sometimes we have to pull the plug because they won't settle down.

The trundle was still pulled out Saturday afternoon for nap, and they asked if Macey could sleep in with Lily for nap. I said yes, as long as they settled down. Of course they didn't, and after a warning I went in and took Macey out of there. Instead of putting her back in her room, I decided to be nice and let her lie down with me, which she usually likes to do. However Macey had other ideas.

She began screaming "LILY!" as soon as I put her down. No explanation, no other words, just "LILY!". I tried to talk to her, but she was whipping herself up into a state. I told her to calm down, I tried rubbing her back, reasoning with her. None of it worked. So I told her if she screamed "Lily" one more time that she would lose computer time that evening.

She screamed "LILY!". So I told her that if she did it again, she would lose TV. Again, she shouted her sister's name. I even told her I would swat her on the butt, which we rarely do, and after she screamed Lily again I did swat her on the butt.

She looked me right in the face and bellowed "LILY!"

So I scooped her up and put her in her bed, telling her that if she cannot control herself that she would have to be in her room. Then I closed the door.

That child screamed like I was killing her. She kicked her feet on the wall, pounded her fists on the bed, and made herself hoarse. Much more impressive than Wednesday night's little tirade. It was so over the top that Lily called for me and asked what Macey was doing. I told her that she was having a fit. Lily said "Yeah, she's really screaming loud." I said "She sure is. I don't think you ever did that." and Lily said "That's because I always got what I wanted!" HA!

Eventually Macey stopped crying, I went in and we talked, and she went to sleep.

Later that afternoon, when I would not let her watch TV or even watch Lily play on the computer, she says "Mama, I don't like you."

I said "Really? Why is that?"

She said "Because you won't let me play on the computer or watch TV."

I said "That is because you are being punished for having a fit."

"I don't love you."

"Well, I love you."

"I'm not your daughter. You're not my mama. I'm Lily's cousin and Aunt Tracy is my mama."

At first, this was like a little dagger in my heart. I knew she was saying it to hurt me, but I wasn't going to let her know that I was crushed. Instead, I said "Well, we need to call Nana and Pop-pop and tell them that you aren't my daughter."

She got a blank look on her face as I called my parents. I told them the story, and of course they howled with laughter. Then I told Macey to tell them what she had told me. When faced with having to tell them the hurtful things she had said to me, she changed her tune and said simply "I love my mama." She smiled sheepishly at me, and then wouldn't talk on the phone any more. We didn't discuss it further, and she found other things to play with and amused herself without any more griping.

So far there have been no more atom bomb tantrums. Oh, I know she'll have more of them, and as she gets older I know they'll get more refined. I also know that her hurtful comments will get more mature and will more easily find their mark. I just hope when she's fifteen and screams "I wish I had never been born!" that I don't cry in front of her.

Pressure

2009-05-18T10:46:00.002-05:00

Skyy's owner sent me an email telling me that he needs three scores, not two scores, to qualify for Nationals. ACK. I'm only showing him in three classes in two weeks, so I need to make every class count or I will have to take him to another show. I need three scores of 62% or better. Yikes! There is a show in July that I can probably go to, but I don't think I'll take Kaswyn. Albert probably won't go either, so I'd be able to show Skyy in more than one class a day. If he needs to go, that is. Good thing Albert is going to this show in two weeks because it turns out he needs two scores also. Somehow I got it into my head that he was already qualified.

Thankfully all three boys are doing really well, and I'm having another lesson night this evening. I don't know how many horses I will get to, but I hope to be able to ride them all. It just depends on how much time my trainer has. I'm starting to feel very pressured to get Skyy ready for this show. Albert is totally ready, and Kaswyn is my horse so I don't have an obligation to anyone but myself. But Skyy still needs work!

I think I'll go double check those qualification requirements again. And maybe print them out this time!