Wednesday, May 19, 2021

What's Up Wednesday

 


Okay, so let's just address the orange elephant in the room shall we?

"Who me?" -Pammon probably

Yeah. If you follow me on Facebook you probably already saw the news. Pammonypony here has once again managed to wrangle himself more time off. He was unsound for my lesson Tuesday, but fortunately, the vet was scheduled to be at the barn Friday for a few other horses so at least I could get him seen fairly quickly. The news was not good my friends. It's not the worst possible news, but it's still another road block in our journey. A long one. He tore his right hind suspensory. And he tore it pretty good, there's an actual hole in it not just disruption of fibers. The good news is that it is down low, just above the branch. The bad news is that it's a minimum of six months off. Rather than subject him to full stall rest and hand walking, the vet and I have decided to let him go be a horse for six months. He's going to live outside in a field with a couple of other horses and a run in shed. He'll get his regular feed and be lightly supervised (in case he knocks the fence down...) but otherwise will enjoy being a feral animal for a bit. He will be very close to my house so I can visit any time which I am happy about. He will move out there June 1st, and we'll be hand walking, having regular turnout, and icing/wrapping when in until then. 

So what does this really mean you ask? Honestly, I've removed any hopes and dreams from his shoulders. If he gets better, I'll get him going again on the flat. I'll see if my stepmom wants to ride him, and if not, then I'll try and find him a low level dressage home or maybe a short stirrup up to 2' job if we think he can sustain that. Either a lease or a sale to a good home. I just don't think I can keep trying any more with him. My vet is confident he will recover 100%, but even if he does, what will he injure next? He's 14 now, and I just don't think it's fair to expect him to go be my jumper anymore. 

I promise it's not all depressing, gloom and doom over here though. Honestly, it's not. Eros and Shiny are doing great! (Knock on some wood for us though please... let's not tempt fate.) Shiny gave some very important first pony rides last week to my nieces!


She was a SAINT. Seriously. The older one attempted to get on like 50 times. I'm talking foot in the stirrup, right leg partially over and then panic and abort. Over and over. And Shiny just stood there like a rock. Eventually she did get on (as evidenced above) and we walked several circles together. Very slowly. Niece is not the adventurous type, lol! I get it, I was a nervous kid too. The younger one climbed right on (I think to show up her sister) but then immediately informed us she wanted to get down. When we asked her to stay up there and pretend to be happy for a photo, the request increased in volume and shrillness but Shiny still just stood there like a champ. This pony guys. She's a special one. Despite it seeming like both girls might hate riding, they want to come back again this week. So we'll see how that goes I guess? They both very much enjoyed grooming Shiny so at least they weren't terrified to be around her. Baby steps!

Good ponies get bareback snackies

She's been pretty good for me lately too. I was jumping around Saturday and we were somewhat out of control... She was taking me to the jumps, but taking me to nothing and not listening when I asked her to wait for the base. So I let her walk for a second, then went back to canter and really made her keep her back up and poll soft... You know? Canter correctly? And then like magic, she was soft, rideable, and all the distances came right up out of stride. Imagine that? Riding correctly makes the jumps easier? Weird. It goes to show that she's really growing up though. Last year, I never dictated the canter at the jumps. She wasn't strong enough to keep herself together like that and jump at the same time. Nor did she understand how to do that. But now that she's capable, the old method of flailing around to the jumps doesn't work anymore. Amazing. I just really enjoy her and it's icing on the cake to see her becoming a grown up pony. 


Eros is back to being the horse I know and love thanks to the addition of ear plugs. Part of me hates using a crutch like that, but on the other hand if it helps him feel relaxed, what's the harm? We don't show dressage so they're legal for us if we need them. He's back to getting kinda strong when we jump...
But I've been lazy and jumping him in the leather two ring which I know doesn't work for us especially well over fences. I'll use the pletcher bit next time. Despite being in the wrong bit, after him dragging me to a few fences last time we jumped, I had him figure eight over some small cross rails until he got bored and softened and rode nicely to them. Then we called it a day. My plan is to do just that, keep him going and jumping around tiny until it's boring for him. Only then will we make the jumps any bigger. Then once that's boring we can add harder questions. I honestly think he's just really excited to be jumping, so we need to make it not so exciting. There's no rush. Excited to have the freedom to take my time and try a few different things with him on my own to see what works best. 

But look how cute he's jumping this 2' fence!

Which doesn't mean I'm not also super excited for trainer to get back from Florida and come help me with him. I'm both dying to get her on him and see what magic she can work up there, and also excited for her to help me from the ground. I need all the help I can get!

The kids got new snackin' jackets as Shiny outgrew
hers and Eros' never fit right to begin with.

I had another braiding job last weekend. Just one medium pony, mane only. So quick and easy! 


The trainer at this barn is an old friend of mine, and her regular braider seems to me MIA, so I may find myself there more often. Part of me thinks I should start braiding more now that I'm retired... But the other part really enjoys sleeping nights. We'll see what happens! But guys... the wildlife at this barn is intense. I saw a couple mice skittering about (normal, who doesn't have mice?) but it was this spider I found alarming... (Don't scroll down if you have arachnophobia...)
That's my foot for scale. I'm not particularly afraid of spiders (except the ones that can kill me, those are terrifying) but this thing made my uncomfortable. It's enormous! I was glad to be on my ladder while it was walking the floor.

And in news that has nothing to do with me at all but is seriously adorable, there was a promposal at the boarding barn last night! One of the ladies I (used to) ride with in my lessons has a son that decided to prompose from horse back. He's not a rider, but they have a family horse (Buddy) that is saintly so they used him. 
It's a little hard to read, but says:
"I'm not horsing around, PROM?"
(And that's Buddy in the background)

They actually tied the sign around Buddy's neck, the boy climbed aboard, and waited just outside the indoor ring. The girlfriend's parents brought her, blindfolded, through the barn then the indoor and then pulled her blindfold off. It was ADORABLE! They didn't do promposals when I was in high school, but I would have loved it! So, SO cute. The cutest though? The girlfriend's dad petting Buddy's nose, and telling all of us barn rats (in the sweetest way though this sounds condescending, it wasn't) how lucky we are to be around these sweet horses all the time. Like he really was in awe. So sweet. And kind of a nice reminder as I was there icing my broken horse. We really are so lucky, even when it doesn't seem like it.

18 comments:

  1. Ugh, I'm SO sorry about Pammon :(

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  2. aw that promposal is absolutely adorable!! and lol @ that pic of Eros being SO EXCITED OMG at jumping haha. for real tho, i'm so sorry about Pammon. what a disappointment, but i totally agree with your thoughts that maybe it's best to not keep trying for him to come back to be a jumper. ugh tho, horses are such heartbreakers :(

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    1. Wasn't it cute?! All of us barn rats were so excited about it.
      Eros' expression on the way to the jumps kills me! He's clearly having a great time.
      And thanks, yeah, horses... It's a good thing we love them so much!

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  3. Really sorry to hear about Pammom. Why is he going to board somewhere else for time off instead of you bringing him home?

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    1. I don't have a great turnout situation at my house. Just the ring and a small paddock. Neither has shelter. So it's better for him to go somewhere set up for living out. Plus he'll have buddies!

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  4. Oh Pammon. I don't even know what else to say! At least we are at the time of year where he can hang out in a field without freezing. Silver lining?

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    1. True! I think he's going to love it out there. So for him it's probably a win!

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  5. Dammit Pammon 😭😭😭 I'm glad you found a good situation for his recovery though! And omg Eros is having so much fun over those jompies!

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    1. Pammon the problem child... Lol! I think he's going to love living out with buddies, so if nothing else, he'll be super happy.
      Isn't Eros hilarious? He's all "JOMPIEESSSSSS!!!HERE I COME!!!!"

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  6. You have a great attitude about Pammon, but I'm stil really sad for you. So sorry :(

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    1. Thanks! I guess it nothing else, I've learned to manage expectations?

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  7. I am really sorry. I can tell you if he needs a new home down the road ping me. My barn would LOVE to have a short stirrupish lower level horse like him. Very little work with lots of love.

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    1. Thank you! I will definitely keep that in mind for his future!

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