***DISCLAIMER***
I don't want today's confession to be taken the wrong way, because absolutely I'm at a point in my equestrian life where I will do everything in my power to make sure my horses are comfortable and thriving.
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| We used to show on grass regularly. This was at Shallowbrook. |
That said, sometimes I wish I could go back to my early days of ignorance. Long ago, in my youth, horsing was a lot different than it is now. We rode on all kinds of terrible footing. Wet footing, slippery footing, deep footing. UNEVEN footing! The horrors! And no, horses weren't more sound back then. But our diagnostics also weren't as good. Probably we didn't realize half the time when the horse was just a little off. We had a term called "Serviceably Sound" in which the older horses might have a wee hitch in their get-a-long but they got along okay. Growing up, I remember a lesson horse that only cantered one direction. Probably she had raging EPM but we didn't know what that was yet. Now that I think about it, that same horse tripped and fell down with me the second time I ever jumped. Yep, probably had EPM. Ah, hindsight. (Also, this may have contributed to my being a giant weenie... not the EPM but the falling down while learning to jump.)
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| Blurry photo of the big field at Fairfield on a bright sunny day (with good footing) |
I remember showing at Stoneleigh Burnham one summer in the junior hunters (back then there was only one height for the junior hunters, and that was 3'6"). It was raining so hard I couldn't actually see where the jumps were until we were a stride out. We didn't scratch! That was unheard of! The show went on! (I was champion because appendix horses aren't little princesses like today's warmbloods.) Another time we were showing on the big grass field at Fairfield. It had been raining for DAYS. The grass was both muddy and slippery. Jumps were still 3'6" but we were allowed to use bell boots in the hunters that day. My friend's horse lost both front shoes in a single class. I can assure you, if I faced either of these situations today I'd be at home enjoying a rain day on my couch.
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| Here we are jumping in a ring that was literally a parking lot when we had horse shows. (Still is in fact.) |
And the reason I bring this up is that footing is making it rather tricky to get my horses really back in the groove this spring. The weather tricked us with some beautiful spring days a couple weeks ago. Now it's back to being stupid cold (my horses have heavies back on, 20's tonight!), insanely windy, and rain nearly every day. Ahhh spring in New England. It's delightful.
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| I'm so old, when I showed at Indoors (I think this is Washington, but it might have been Capital Challenge) they just had sand in the arenas. None of the new age stuff we have now! |
The footing at the boarding barn is very different from the indoor to the outdoor. The indoor has TravelLite footing which is the paraffin wax stuff. It's nice because it's dust free, but it can get packed down and hard. I think they either really need to get in there and dig it up to get it fluffier or they need to add a little more footing. For my horses though, I prefer a little harder vs something deep. We've had our share of soft tissue problems (looking at you Eros...) so harder is better in that respect. Then there's the outdoor. The outdoor has sand footing similar to what I have at home, but it's a heavier sand than mine and it could use about an inch or two less of it. Too bad it's not the same stuff as in the indoor as that would be a nice fix for both rings! Knowing what I know now about horses and soundness, I'm really careful about transitioning back to the deeper footing outside. But with the weather, it's just been so inconsistent. I feel like we're constantly starting over with the reconditioning out there. And getting not much accomplished otherwise. If this was 30 years ago (boy am I old!) I wouldn't think twice about this stuff. I'd just work the horses! And probably they'd be just fine. Or maybe I just wouldn't notice if they weren't.
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| This kid knew nothing about soundness. I can guarantee that! Nor fashion sense... The helmet. The too big jacket. THE MISMATCHED BRIDLE. |
Obviously I'm glad to know what I know now. And also obviously I would never want to purposely risk injuring my horses. All I'm saying is ignorance certainly was bliss!
I sometimes wish I could rewind with the knowledge I have now because I wonder how my relationship with Promise would've been different and/or better through the years.
ReplyDeleteBut I definitely remember arguing with a trainer at a show because I wanted to scratch my jumping classes due to rain and it being in a grass ring. Promise didn't have studs at the time, and I just wasn't willing to risk her body - or my own safety, for that matter - for a freaking ribbon! I scratched because it was the right thing to do, but man was the trainer mad at me! Crazy!
Oh I definitely wonder what I could have accomplished with my junior hunter if I had him now!
DeleteGood for you standing up for your horse's safety. I've been in that situation before too.
I prefer a little harder to a little deeper too… unless the worry is fragile feet (hai Charlie!) instead of soft tissue lol ugh #cantwin… for real tho, it’s been interesting figuring out the footing at our new barn too. The outdoor does NOT hold up to wetness at all, gets bottomless and soupy, and then dries hard. Makes it challenging for us to get our conditioning in all, uh, conditions, since now we can’t school in the rain like we could at the last place
ReplyDeleteIt's so tricky! I'm so glad my footing at my house holds up pretty well in the rain. But it sure is frustrating when you can't get done what you have planned.
DeleteI think about things in this vein too! Mostly about tack- I never considered whether my saddle fit my horse well. Was it off the withers and relatively level? Good enough! I rode in a bridle with a drop noseband that I had adjusted as a regular cavesson for years (why didn't anyone point this out to me?) because I didn't really know what the difference was. While I'm glad I know better now, sometimes I do think ignorance was bliss lol
ReplyDeleteAlso, I also have memories of doing the dressage phase of an event on a surface that was usually a parking lot, so maybe this was just a thing LOL
In the old days ANYTHING could be a ring! Haha!
DeleteAnd yes, totally about saddle fit! I rode every horse in the same saddle for YEARS. Those poor horses.
I also prefer harder to deep footing. Looking back on horses I’ve known over the years I’m pretty sure that they had ulcers.
ReplyDeleteSame, I'll take too little footing over too much any day.
DeleteYes ulcers! So many "problem" horses I knew for sure likely had ulcers. Ironically, I had one we thought had ulcers (this was before scoping was so easy and accessible) and treated him with daily Mylanta. Only to find out the hard way that he actually had an enterolith. And that Mylanta was making it worse all those years. I'm glad modern veterinary medicine has come so far! Though often enteroliths still can only be confirmed with surgery.
Same. My trainer doesn't show at our local rated venue unless it's a special class, like medal finals, because the footing is horrible. She'd rather haul hours away to other venues with better footing, and while I appreciate that, my wallet does not. I sometimes wish she wasn't so picky, but I know she's just looking out for the horses and I do respect that.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah I get that too! That venue needs to update their footing!
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