It sure does get busy once summer hits doesn't it? All good things though! My old trainer is back from Florida for the summer which I think I mentioned already. She's home for two weeks at a time and away showing when she's not here. So we're trying to fit in as many lessons when she's home as we can. Which works out to two lessons a week because I don't like to jump more than that.
Lessons are going great! (Pivo was being a bit challenging though, so light on media. I think I have it working again now though!) Our first lesson was an easy one for trainer to get to know Al. It was lots of fun and didn't fill me with anxiety so that's a bonus too! The second lesson the jumps went up a little and the turns got harder. And it was even more fun, and not at all scary. I like when things aren't scary! None of this means I didn't make tons of mistakes, but every time I messed something up, I was able to come back and fix it the next time. And Al never got mad at me. No matter how stupid I got. Worth his weight in gold, this horse!
And then I changed the course for the most recent lesson. As mentioned yesterday, I hate what I set, but it's good to work on the things that are hard. And so we did. Oddly enough, I didn't mess up that line where I thought I would. Instead I messed it up the easy direction. Ha! Come on, we all knew I would at some point. But still, Al just laughs of my idiocy and tries again. We worked on some crazy hard turns, but broke them down to the point they really weren't that hard. And we also practiced doing the add stride, then the correct stride, then back again in the line. Al is really good at that game which is nice, because I'm not sure I'm always so good at it. The harder the courses get, the better Al is for them. I think he enjoys a challenge and it makes him pay attention. We really only run into trouble in two instances. The first being when I take out of the corner which is my favorite mistake to make. The second is when Al get distracted by something other than what we're doing. Both are easy enough to work on though. Just lots of practice. Trainer really likes him though, and thinks it's a perfect match. I agree wholeheartedly!
Eros wound up just having one jump day last week. I forget why exactly... I think it was mostly weather related. He was a good boy though the day we did jump. He's feeling pretty good with his maintenance done, definitely jumping a lot harder! Which makes me giggle because we're only jumping 2'3" and yet I'm getting tossed out of the saddle a little. Glad he's feeling good!
I popped him over a few jumps today and he was a wee bit spicy! Watching the video back, it doesn't look as difficult as it felt, so I guess that part is good. I didn't even attempt any related distances though. I know Torpedo Eros would have made an appearance, and I wasn't here for that today. Despite his excitement, we got a couple of cute photos at least!
Could he be any cuter?! I don't think so.
In a shocking turn of events, my vet had a cancellation on Friday and was able to come out to recheck Pammon and do Shiny's treatments. It wasn't the best of news for either of them, but nothing too terrible.
Pammon's injury looks fantastic (the good news!) but he was quite back sore again when the vet was there. I had noticed it some that week as well. I honestly think it was from getting off the ace. That was his first full week completely sober, and I think it was caused mostly by tension than anything else. Pammon is a worrier. He startles easily and is always kind of ready for anything. When he was having some ace mid day, I think that tension went away and his back stayed relaxed. I've been working really hard this week to get him working stronger. More through his back and really making him lift his belly. And he already feels better. He's also been more relaxed in general even in the barn. So I think he just needed to detox a little. Hopefully this hypothesis is correct. Because of the soreness in his back, doc suggested it might be best for him to consider a lower level dressage job rather than a low level hunter job. The thought being that a low level dressage rider will be focused on having him travel correctly through his back with his belly up. A low level hunter rider will not be able to do that. So for the sake of his longevity and comfort dressage might be the better job for him. I don't have a ton of connections in that world, but I do have a few so I'll need to start reaching out. He's ready for that job now, but would definitely need some training to fully convert of course. I can flat pretty well, but I'm not trained in dressage so I'm sure there are differences in how he should be going. My vet's tech did all the young rider dressage stuff as a junior, so I let her hop on and see what she thought about him. She thinks he can absolutely go through second level and possibly even third. I think there's probably someone out there who would love him for that job. Hopefully. It was nice to see him go! I don't think I've watched any one ride him... ever actually. My trainer went and tried him for me initially before I bought him, so when I went to try him myself she didn't get on first. I don't think I've ever seen him ridden other than a couple of jumping videos from his sales ad.
Earlier last week I let Shiny pop over a couple of these little raised cavalletti. They were the first "jumps" she has seen since last fall! She was really excited and took me right to them, so I think it's time we start jumping again. We'll go slow and keep the fences small.
As for her vet appointment, it was interesting. We already did her evaluation last time doc was out, so we just planned to do the injections we talked about. We did the alpha-2 in her hocks and did use steroid for her SI. SI went smoothly, but the hocks were where we got the less than stellar news. Her hocks were very painful to inject and the joints were pretty dry. Meaning her hocks are in terrible shape. It's hard to tell with her, because her flexions are always perfect. Doc says this is pretty common with quarter horses. They just don't tell you when they need help. So we did the Alpha-2 this time, but next time we need to switch to steroid. Which ugh. Ponies and steroids gives me anxiety. I asked if there was anything I could do to help her and also if I should or shouldn't allow her to jump anymore. Doc said jumping is fine, the hocks are what they are and we don't jump very high with her. Plus, Shiny isn't shy about telling me she can't do something. So I just have to listen to her. As for helping her... He just said pray. So... not the best news. But since Shiny doesn't really have a job or goals, it's fine. I'll make sure she's happy and as comfortable as possible. And if she has to stop jumping at some point, we will. And if someday all she can do is plod around bareback, I'll still enjoy her for that job. She's the most level headed of the bunch, so her real job is to keep the peace here at the farm. She can certainly do that even with bad hocks.
So you might be wondering why I'll keep Shiny no matter what but not Pammon. And the thing is, I just can't keep them all. I'm happy to lease Pammon out and get him back when he's done. Or sell him to a wonderful home if someone wants him enough with all of his baggage. But he's kind of the disruptor of the group. The breaker of the peace if you will... Plus. he's broken my heart so many times in the few years I've had him. I will make absolutely sure that he goes someplace he's well cared for, and will do my best to take him back if that home is no longer appropriate for him. But I think he'd like to have a real job with someone who loves him so why should I deprive him of that? Ideally, a lease would be perfect. I could get a little money for the lease that I can put toward his retirement so he'll at least help pay his way some. We'll just have to see what happens. Chances are he'll still be here awhile. I'm terrible at moving horses. In the meantime, we'll keep plugging along! And probably start popping over those little cavalletti that Shiny's doing.
Now that you're all caught up with the horses... I spent Monday this week catching up on some crafts I've been wanting to get done. It took way longer than I expected, so I still have a few to do. The most important (and already very late) one was my dad's Father's Day gift. I had planned to have it done in time, but some of my supplies arrived late. It happens these days, what can you do?! I made him a belt out of beta biothane and used the Cricut to put his boat image and name on it. I also put the image on a polo shirt for him. They came out great!
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(Yes, my dad's boat is ridiculous. But he earned every inch of that
boat all on his own. He's the son of immigrants and worked ridiculously
hard to build his successful business. PPE! It's lucrative.) |
I also had a couple coffee cups waiting for decals, but only was able to do one. The other one I need to try again. Another day. The one is cute though!
I also made myself a fake nameplate belt with biothane and the Cricut. It's hard to take photos of because it doesn't lay flat nicely, but it's cute once on. I'll wear it soon for Thursday's Threads so you can see.
That's mostly it from here. I have a few more crafts to do for a future Thursday's Threads outfit and some braiding jobs coming up. All kinds of things on the calendar! ALSO, trainer and I talked about finding some one day shows to attend when she's back from Vermont. So things are happening!
