Save the Joy! | Medical Expenses - YouCaring.com

Save the Joy! | Medical Expenses - YouCaring.com

I keep forgetting to add the blurb to each blog post.  So, I suppose instead, you get a weekend reminder!  Can you spare $10?

Can you share our fundraiser with other enthusiasts?

Do you know anyone else who might spare $10?



Don't want to use the online payment system? 

E-mail me: equinesnob at gmail . com

E-mail Bridget: titanpony122 at yahoo . com

We can post your off-line donation to the website anonymously even!



Joy is competing THIS WEEKEND at the Mill Creek Pony Club Horse Trials!

http://useventing.com/competitions/omnibus-list?event=15578



Thank you for your support!  We look forward to seeing this wonderful horse cancer-free!!

Plan B

Fancy Pony was looking all sound on the lunge recently, so I swung up to ride!  I was so excited!  I was missing my Fancy Pony rides and all that she has to offer me... 

Shamelessly riding in all the mis-matched tack!

And she felt funny.  But in a different way...  The rhythm was even.

She was willingly going forward.

She was really quiet in the bridle!

None of the foreleg funniness was evident in the canter.

No, this time, it was the trot that felt funny.

I begged for eyes, and they both said, "It's the left hind."
*sigh*
I was dejected as I walked the poor girl back to the barn.

...

What luck! I have another horse to ride!

I pulled Cricket out of the stall (we're expecting her to move to a lot soon), and tossed her in the cross-ties.  I pretended like she was a perfect princess and needs no help.
...secretly, I wanted to know how bad she could get...
...I did absolutely nothing to set her up for success...

I brushed her down, picked her feet, and threw the tack on!  I tightened the girth and mounted.  Nope, no lunging today!  Let's just get to it!
She was comfortable with me on her back.  She stood stock still while I made sure everything was adjusted.
OK.  I guess I *did* set us up for initial succcess by starting in the upper-barn indoor area right outside of her stall... 
"Out the door!" said I.
"Oh, I can't go out there!" cried she.

"The world awaits us and we must make our appearance!" insisted I.
"Oh, it's so scary...  Please, hold my hand!" pleaded she.
So, I did.

Just in time, we make it out the door to get in line for a trail ride Coach is leading!
Cricket says, "Oh, look!  New friends!"
I hoped to use this to my advantage...
We had a moment before entering the trees where the downslope (2 steps worth!) and the new friends disappearing around the trees was just too much for her.

"Abandon Ship!" she cried!
Alas, I would have none of it.  With the reappearance of her new friends, we coaxed her down the tiny slope and into the trees we travelled!

Oh, the horrors of the mud!  She was trying to figure out how to jump a 6' swath.  We found a way around and saved that for another day.  There were a few more moments...  Oh, the bridges!  Dirt bridges.  How bad could they be?

About halfway back out of the woods, I knew the worst was yet to come.  A narrow strip flanked by a fence on one side and a drop off to a creek on the other.  I chose a time when she was being EXEMPLARY and dismounted to lead her.  Sure enough, when we got to the strip, and lost is twice and spun around to face the wrong direction.  She took any and all solace from my presence on the ground.  She was rather wild worried about the drop off... the horses ahead...  the wind...  her imagination...
Honestly, I was glad I wasn't on her back.  BUT, I was thrilled to have her out there in-hand with a group of other horses!

By the time we got back to the barn, we were back in familiar territory, so she was back to chill Cricket...
So, I took her in the arena for some trot work!
She was so willing to trot for me!  After a little bit, she even started relaxing over her back some and reaching into the bridle!  OH, how I had to focus on staying balanced, out of the way, and quiet as a rock with my hands!  As she relaxed into me, we went over to trot the poles we had been lunging over... And she pulled out a full stop to look at it! 

Each pole, she did it a little less, but she still STOPPED before going over.  Poles on the ground!
What THIS horse needs is CONFIDENCE!

So, we trotted out circle until it felt like a merri-go-round with no hesitation at any of the poles.  Of course, we had to leave the circle and change directions so we could challenge the new horse eye.  When I could trot past the group of horses gaggling on the fence, I knew we were getting somewhere and called it a night!

The Dreaded NOT QUITE RIGHT…

Last week, we had some serious rain.  The paddocks became mud pits.  The ponies became ‘creatures from the black lagoon’ or perhaps ‘swamp things’…  Not that they care!  Oh, the joys of a good mud bath!

I had pulled the Fancy Pony out to curry the mud coating off before a proper grooming and ride.  Underneath the mud on her legs, I found a small wound.  Just below the wound was a small amount of puffiness (no one else seemed to be able to see it), but I felt no heat.  I trotted her in-hand.  I watched her.  I had several others watch her.  No one could detect any lameness… So, I booted up and rode, paying special attention to the rhythm of my gaits.  Walk and trot seemed perfectly normal.  The canter was like nothing she has ever produced for me!

She was light and quiet in the bridle.  The canter was slower than usual and balanced.  She felt definitively uphill…  But there was just something funny… and it seemed to come and go…  It happened both directions…

Just for fun, I joined 2 other young riders practicing BN Dressage Test B in its entirety.  As in, we all rode it at the same time!  Three of us in a single file line!  Oh, how cool it looked!  The Fancy Pony was spot on and didn’t take a single funny step.  Hmmmmmm…

That yellow stuff isn't part of the wound...  The salve goop just smeared down her leg...

The next day, all signs of any puffiness were gone.  The small wound remained, of course.  Again, she appeared fine in-hand.  Under saddle, she was better, but there was just something…  Just in the canter…  Just a little funny…  This time, I left all leg-wear off to see if that made any difference.  She can be sensitive to things like sand falling into her boots.  We had cross-country schooling scheduled in 2 days and a schooling horse trial in 3 days.  I didn’t want to jump her if she was lame.  I didn’t want to miss it if she was really fine.  Oh, the agony!  This event had already been rescheduled once!  It was to be our first competitive horse trial of the year!  We were planning to debut at Beginner Novice!



Glory Days!  2 weeks earlier!

The universe was obviously conspiring against me.  As Coach was ready to remind me, you don’t want to take chances with limb lameness…  So, Friday night, I withdrew from the show.  Not because she was obviously lame, but because she was *not-quite-right*.

Meet Cricket!

Cricket is joining me for boot camp!

She is a 9 year old Arabian mare who was started for Western Pleasure (we hear), then worked as a Therapy Horse before trying her hand as a 4H horse for a delightful young girl.

They (Cricket and her girl) want to be competitive in 4H this year, so they have asked if I would confirm her basics.  I am honored!

One of those basics is loading in the trailer...  Which typically takes... A while... 



Who? ME??



I came along to help, and at the 40 minute mark, she finally walked onto the trailer breathing hard and dripping sweat...

I said, "Let's unload her and do it again a couple times..."

Typically, she only gets loaded when they have to be somewhere at a certain time, so at this point, the doors would have closed and she would have been on her way.

She walked right on twice more!!  I knew she could do it!

After an hour drive and a bit of grazing, I decided to put her on the trailer one more time "just for fun."

And she walked right on again!!

I praised her profusely and quit pressing my luck.

Unfortunately, she came out of the pasture with rain rot across her back.  Right.  Where. The. Saddle. Goes.

*sigh*

She didn't seem bothered by it during grooming, so I saddled up and warmed up on the lunge.  This horse, that takes an incredible amoung of coersion to get moving, couldn't stand still when I mounted.  I promised her that if she stood still, I would dismount and we could play more ground games instead.

She acquiesced, and we finished with some lunging over poles.

Iodine baths ensued!  What do you do while the iodine soaks for 20 minutes?

Hooray for long-lining!

I tried to focus on teaching her the basics of long-lining...

The inside hind is coming forward more!

Then I tried to get her a little more "through" her body.  She really would have rather visited with the neighbors...



how about we explore some bend and counter-bend?

She really prefers to live in counter-bend...

Time for my close up!

But, she is always ready to pose for a picture!

She's wickedly smart.  I think she has a ton of potential!!

Noble Outfitters ‘Over the Calf Peddies’ Socks

Noble Outfitters ‘Over the Calf Peddies’ Socks

http://www.nobleoutfitters.com/

The first thing I noticed about Noble Outfitters’ socks was ALL THE FUN COLORS!!  I couldn’t have decided on just one if I had to.  I was ecstatic when a pair arrived in my mailbox; they were “Lace”.  What a practical print!

The first thing I noticed when I put these socks on for the first time was how padded the foot felt!  It wasn’t big or bulky, and the socks don’t feel thick.  The foot and heel just felt cushioned.  Immediately following that impression was the cool breeze blowing over the tops of my feet!  THAT was a new feeling!  The top is vented to allow heat to dissipate.  It’s the sort of feature I would expect in a high tech sports sock.  Would is hold up in my riding boots?

The calf of the sock feels thin.  Not quite as thin as stockings, but distinctly thinner than the foot.  Despite that feeling, they really have proven resilient!  No accidental holes from fingernails or over-stretching.  I had the opportunity to really put this sock to the test.  I was wearing is at a cross-country schooling when the sipper blew out after I mounted.  Coach taped my boot closed, and away we went!  I soon had new replacement boots with an elastic gusset down the zipper for a nice, snug fit…  And, I was worried about getting this boot zipped up even before I put my breeches on!!

I grabbed my thinnest boot socks (my new Peddies!), and slowly zipped myself into my new boots.  I carefully pulled my socks on all the way over my calf.  If I don’t make sure they are all the way up, they sometimes scrunch a little between my calf and ankle.  They seemed to smooth everything out under my zipper!  I wore another sock later in the week and noticed the zipper rubbed my Achilles tendon much more than when I wore my Peddies.  I look forward to wearing these socks each rotation!  I’m going to have to get one of every color!!

Overall, I think these socks are supremely comfortable.  They are priced about the same as most boot socks.  If I ever find them on sale, I will scoop up one of each of whatever is available!  When I take them off, they retain the shape of my foot and calf, but they wash up to look like new.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these socks to a friend!

Sufficiently Demanding

An excerpt from:

Fox-Pitt Aims for Third Win at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

http://www.rk3de.org/news/foxpittaimsforthirdwinatrolexkentuckythreedayevent.html

Apr 27th, 14

A total of 55 horses started on Derek di Grazia's cross-country course, and 20 finished without jumping faults or time faults. Another 10 horses finished with no jumping faults but with time faults ranging from 1.6 to 14.8, and 10 more finished with jumping faults and time faults. Ten horses were eliminated, and six retired on course.

Fox-Pitt answered criticism that, with exactly half the field completing the course without jumping faults, the course wasn't sufficiently demanding.

"I don't think any of us thought it was easy. There were still quite a few that didn't get around, and I think it's very important to strike a balance," he said. "The ground was perfect, and the result shows the quality of the field." Hopefully it set them up to compete well at the World Equestrian Games in France late this summer.

I have mixed feelings about this statement that the course wasn't sufficiently demanding.  I feel like, at the highest echelon of the sport, where the elite are competing, most of them should be able to FINISH.  I'm not talking finish with no jumping penalties.  I'm not talking finish under time.  I'm just talking about leaving the start box and riding across the finish line.  The courses are becoming so incredible!  How much should we actually ask our horses to do?

I feel like, if things need to be made trickier, wouldn't it be safer to do that in the stadium ring?
I may not understand the context of the comment, since I wasn't there for the discussion.  Admittedly, I would love to talk about it - in person - with William Fox-Pitt!

My first reaction, however, was that I felt a little punch in the gut.  How would he have changed the course to make it sufficiently demanding?

I always find myself cheering for a nice, clean run **EVERY TIME** I watch a horse go cross-country!!

Tacky Tack

Inspired by Cob Jockey and her post: Matchy Matchy

As much as I would LOVE to be in the "Everything matches, and even my practice gear/clothes are put together like a princess in a fairy tale" crowd, I just don't have that much to spend on my grear.

Nor do I have the discipline!
Let's face it, folks.  I love the FUN STUFF as much as I love the perfection.  Eventing is a great fit for my bi-polar equestrian desires.

I discovered pretty quickly that the animal prints that I might have put on the solid bay Old Man were not going to work on the Fancy Pony with her roaning, Sabino splashes, and high white stockings...

My priorities are as follows:
1) SAFETY and FUNCTIONALITY - does it fit and do the job it was designed to do?
2) CLEAN - or, at least, is it clean enough to work in?  The clean standard is higher for shows...
3) DO I LIKE IT - I am becoming the queen of mis-matched tack in training because I like it, but it doesn't actually go with anything I already own...
4) MATCH - obviously, not always a priority...

I want to be all put together for dressage and look like I belong there...

monochromatic color scheme

But, I love the fun stuff, too.  I have been caught schooling cross-country with a PURPLE breastcollar to hold my running martingale because it is the ONLY breastcollar I own that fits the Fancy Pony...

I really do like bio-thane...

I'm shameless...

I wasn't actually shopping for a new bridle, but when I saw this one, I KNEW it was perfect!!

New bridle for dressage - sticking to the monochrome theme...

I couldn't resist this be-ribboned browband in my favorite colors!  Nothing in this get-up is matching!!

The browband - the breastcollar - but the Fancy Pony rocks it!