What's Up Wednesday

 

Well, the good news is that February is moving along much more quickly than January did. (Seriously though, was that no the longest month in the history of forever??) The bad news though, is that it just keeps doing winter things. We've had a few days above freezing finally, but not usually consecutively. And every other day or so we get winter precipitation. Last night we got a couple of inches of snow, nothing too crazy, but more than was in the forecast. Tonight we're getting a little more, but then it's turning to freezing rain and eventually regular rain. Which I imagine will freeze up over night because that's what happens here. At least the days are getting longer though! There is hope! It's a dim light... but it's there!

Anyway, enough about the weather. Let's talk about horses! 

Eros asked me to take a selfie today so I let him. I think he did a pretty good job for not having hands. He's feeling really good lately. He's moving more forward which helps pretty much everything else come together. I imagine the change in how he is going is mostly due to the Robaxin he's been on for just over three weeks now. He has a recheck hopefully this Friday though I haven't gotten confirmation on that yet. I'll find out then if he should come off and see how he holds up, or if Doc wants to keep him on it for a bit longer. We'll see what he thinks. I'm also wondering if he's really liking the re paneled saddle. I still hate it, but he's going so well I may have to learn to love it. It's not like I show him in the equitation or anything where I need to not look like I'm clinging on for dear life... That might be an exaggeration. Slight. Slight exaggeration. I did hear back from my rep though. She is going to help me figure things out, but she wants me to put 20 rides in it before we go further. She says it needs to be broken in again like a new saddle since the panels and the bottom flaps are brand new. And I can see where that might make sense as the more I ride in it, the less I feel like my legs are bouncing around. But I don't really think breaking it in will help the feeling of sliding backwards down a mountain. But you never know! I'm open to seeing how it goes. As long as the horse feels good, I can figure it out. 

With the exception of today... Al's been a pretty good boy. I had a feeling he wouldn't be good today, so probably I just caused that. I got to the barn a little bit later than normal, and the turnout schedule was a little altered today due to some other horses having things that needed to be scheduled around. So I rode Al last instead of first. And it was dinner time. Which I didn't really think should be problematic because Al has decided he no longer eats grain. He's done this before. I don't know what gets him to come around and start eating again. His appetite for hay is just fine. He likes treats. He just hates his grain. He's not acting colicky. Pooping just fine. He's getting his misoprostol. (I put that in a Dimples cookie so that he eats right up.) He's not getting his omeprazole since that's in the grain. So that's frustrating, He's also not eating any of his other supplements for gut health. I should probably just light some money on fire instead of trying to feed him. 

Eating habits aside, with the exception of today, he's actually been pretty good to ride. One day last week one of the other boarders was waiting for her farrier to arrive so she came and hung out in the ring while I rode Al. He loves company, whether it's human or equine (or the goat at the old barn) so he was wonderful that day. We even popped over a little raised cavalletti course. We both had fun. I think he misses jumping and I really should set some stuff up for him to jump one of these days. I make a lot of excuses, mostly about the weather, but maybe what I really need to do is be a little more serious and get to work. Spring is coming! But also I'm still kind of scared he'll spin and dump me on landing side since the ring is small and there's a horse eating door at both ends... I need to figure that part out. And dig out the brave pants. Forever a work in progress, me and Al. But we're nothing if not persistent!

I was walking Shiny out and she saw one of the other boarders in the lounge and wanted to hang out with her. So we got this cute photo through the window. Shine's doing okay these days. I'm feeling a little concerned because while she's dropped a lot of weight and looks good as far as weight goes, I feel like she's lost her top line and some muscling over her hindquarters. Part of me is spiraling and concerned there's something wrong medically, the more logical part of me thinks it might finally be time to adjust her Thyro-L dosage. Doc is going to see her again too when he hopefully comes Friday so we will discuss that. I may have him do a blood panel, just to check in. She is going better in some ways since being on the EPM meds. Up until today she hasn't tripped much, if at all. And when we've done some little jumpies she's using herself really well even though the "jumps" have been about 18 inches high. But she is still taking a really long time to warm up. And she definitely needs some vet work in the neck or maybe shoulder area as she's still bouncing on and off the contact in both directions at the trot. I prefaced the "she hasn't tripped much" statement above with "up until today" because today, she tripped so hard while trotting she went to her knees and had a very difficult time recovering from the stumble. I really thought we were both going all the way down. But she did work it out and we both stayed up right. Thankfully. I let her walk a bit before going back to trot and she didn't seem any worse for the wear, but she did trip a couple more times before I decided to just walk her out and see what we have tomorrow. I'm not sure if I should be very worried, or if the problem is actually just that the ring needs a drag. We have the travellite footing which is the wax stuff. It can get a little hard and packed down when it needs a drag (which it does) and she's barefoot so it's not uncommon for her to get a little caught up in that kind of footing. She also had a tough time with the GGT at the other barn. I've decided to hold off on spiraling until I see how she goes tomorrow, and/or after when the ring is dragged next. (Which I'm hoping is tomorrow, but we'll see!) 

So that's where we're at this week. Nothing too exciting, but nothing terrible either. Just kind of getting through the winter that won't let up. I'm not sure it comes across that way, but I am overall pretty happy with how the horses are going. Just a few things still to iron out, but that's horses isn't it? Always some things to keep improving on. Whether it's performance, or veterinary, or... psychologically. Just gotta keep at it!
 

Truthful Tuesday

 

It's been awhile since I did something really stupid. Slightly stupid things happen on the regular, but REALLY stupid? Been awhile. But ya know, I haven't had a lot of great Trutful Tuesday topics in awhile so this was good timing. 

The other day I was waiting for Shiny to come in from turnout before giving her the AM dose of her Ventipulmin. The horses are out half days at this barn, and she goes out in the morning. I had gotten to the barn later than normal, hence my giving it to her a little later. Anyway, once she was in, I gave her the meds, and then placed the syringe in her feed tub for a moment so I could take off her turnout boots and change her blanket. Important to note so you don't think I'm truly irresponsible, it was just a syringe to squirt the meds in her mouth, no needle. Anyway, I regularly place things in the feed tub for safe keeping and never have any issues because my horses are usually semi intelligent. Like sometimes I'll put one of Eros' wraps in his feed tub while I wrap the first leg to keep the shavings off the wrap for the other leg. Or I'll put a brush in there while I curry or something. I don't usually put smallish things in there. Like never a hoof pick. So I don't know why I put the syringe in there, but generally Shiny isn't the type to put things in her mouth that shouldn't be there. GENERALLY being an important word here. 

So, I've removed the boots, and I step just outside the door to put them in their bag when I hear "CRUNCH". OMG. She was eating the syringe. So I reached all up in her business and fished that thing out as fast as humanly possible. I swear guys, she was going to full on chew and swallow that thing. Thankfully I got it out before any pieces broke off and she didn't actually eat any of it. But holy crap. I nearly caused a very large vet bill for no real good reason at all. So that's my confession today. I did something REALLY stupid but thankfully no one died. Although I kind of wanted to. 

Anyone else basically invite your horse to eat something they shouldn't? No? Just me? Yeah... Hopefully this is a lesson I'll keep with me.

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Today the high was 28 and we had rain, ice, freezing rain, and rain. 'Twas a lovely day. But I did the thing and rode the horses because it's outfit day. Don't want to miss that! Though I will confess that I rode Shiny bareback for a not very long time today. She didn't mind. Anyway, back on topic. Al modeled today, and here's what we had on:

All the layers. It wasn't that cold (because these days 28 isn't that cold) but it was very damp and dark which made it feel colder. So all the layers. 

Here's a better view of Al's outfit today:

Look at that handsome boy. He always stands like an awkward turtle. I really should teach him how to stand up square. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

Did I ever tell you that my vet thought he was parrot mouthed when they first met? I can see why he'd think that because he holds his nose out a little bit, You can see it here. But his teeth are actually lovely and perfectly in line. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Mattes

Al has his winter saddle bald spot happening, so he's using some of Shiny's pads with the sheepskin underneath until his spring coat decides to come in. This is our newest Mattes pad, and I think it might be my current favorite one.

Boots: Anky

I really like these boots. They have a mesh lining which breathes somewhat, better than neoprene anyway, and they're holding up really well. We use them a lot and they've been through the wash more times than I can count and still come out looking new. 

That's what Al wore today, and here's what I had on:

Just the barn colors. Again. I can't help it. We all look lovely in green and beige. Especially Eros... But all of us too.

Helmet: One K

Still wearing this one, so here's last week's photo.

Sweater: Caslon

My dad and stepmom gave me a couple cashmere sweaters for Chanukah this year and this is one of them. They definitely get me! The jacket I wore in the top photo came from Target.

Belt: Noble Outfitters

I don't think I've worn this one in awhile! I love this belt because it's pretty much exactly my barn colors.

Breeches: Horze Grand Prix

I've had these for a long while now. They used to be a little big... but winter hasn't been kind to my eating my feelings habits so now they fit quite well. Oops.

Boots and Half Chaps: Celeris UK

I wore these again, but this is also last week's photo. I briefly thought about wearing full chaps today, but I didn't. Not sure why. They would have worked nicely with the outfit too. 

That's it for today! Any favorites pieces? What ridiculous tricks did the weather have for you today? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Um. You know what? I actually think I might be a reptile. Hear me out. Last week when we had a few days above freezing, I was all, "Let's get these horses fit and ready for some spring shows!!!" But now it's in the twenties again for like ever and ever into the future AND there's snow in the forecast pretty much every two days for the next 10... And I gotta be honest. My motivation is back to zero. Which, thankfully I was raised on guilt by a couple of boomers so I generally disregard my motivation and just do what I gotta do. So the horses are getting worked and hopefully fitter. But I will admit that we still haven't really done any jumping. They all got their feet done Saturday too which kind of messed up our schedule a little. I will admit that I absolutely used that as an excuse to be a little lazy. But it was a valid excuse. I don't really like to jump the day they get their feet done unless I can do it beforehand. And Sundays are for fundays so ya know. Couldn't do it then either! Lol. 

In case you haven't inferred from my rambling I don't have much to write about this week. But I'll give it a go. Al has been consistently inconsistent under saddle which is just who he is as a horse. But after speaking with my vet we decided to put him back on the Misoprostol. His spookiness has kind of ramped up, and while he's still more relaxed for our rides than he was a few months ago, he's spooking a bit more each day and starting to shut down a little too. Not as badly as he has in the past, but it's there. He's also been picky about his feed again. So back on the meds he goes. They arrived last night and he started them today so we'll see what we get in a few days. His canter is much better though, and he is doing some really brave things on all his own which I'm really proud of him for. Tuesday I lunged him before we rode because I had a feeling he needed to get some bucks out. With how the weather has been, they really can't do much playing out in the paddocks. The ground is either rock solid or slippery mud and so they mostly just stand around out there. Anyway, while we were lunging Tuesday, Al actually lunged right up next to the end door that he typically avoids like the plague. He wanted to look out the window while going past, but not in a spooky way so I allowed it. He's never ever done that in this ring before. It's kind of a silly thing to be excited about, but you know what? Anything that brings joy is worth celebrating these days. Even if it's just your horse looking out a window. 

Eros is feeling better and better these days. I think the Robaxin combined with finally getting his feet done are working wonders for him. We rode in the re-paneled saddle today, which... meh. I'm not convinced it fits him but to be fair, I have zero education in such things. He felt pretty willing and sound to ride, but I felt exactly the way I did before in it. I keep sliding back in it and it has me riding towards the back side of the flaps if that makes sense. It was nearly impossible to sit the canter. But if it turns out to be a perfect fit for Eros, then I will just suffer in silence up there. Time will tell. I sent some photos to the rep but she was off today, so we'll see what she has to say tomorrow. I think she's going to want a video so hopefully someone will be around when I ride him tomorrow to take one for me. If I've learned anything from this saddle experience it's to not try and save money on a saddle. I wish I had just spent the extra not that much more money and gotten him a custom one too. Live and learn I guess. Sometimes you get lucky, Shiny's saddle has worked great! But more often than not, I don't think you do. Saddle woes aside, the horse feels good, and that's the most important thing! 

Shiny's doing just fine these days too! I checked in with the vet as our two week trial on the Ventipulmin was coming to a close. I sent him a video of her belly while she was breathing... Vets must get the weirdest videos. Anyway, he was happy with her improvement but recommended we keep her on it for awhile. Which is fine with me since it's making her feel better. But it is a little bit of a pain. He recommends just squirting in her mouth twice a day rather than putting it in feed. It will be not very annoying when the horses are home, but with them not here? It's not the most convenient. I am really happy at the new barn overall, but the staff is a little disorganized and it's a lot of different people on a rotating schedule that I cannot figure out. So I don't really trust to ask them to medicate her for me. Most days I'm there long enough that it's pretty spread out. I give it immediately when I arrive and then last thing before I leave. But on Monday, my non riding day, it means I have to drive up there twice. It's not that far, about 25 minutes. But that's pretty close to two hours of my day off. Two hours less to get all my chores and errands done. But since I don't have a real job, I really can't be too complainy about that. Plus I take Rita at least one of the trips up there and she enjoys that. Boy I can get off topic... Anyway, Shiny is definitely breathing better and she's not holding her breath at the canter so much anymore. She's still bouncing off the contact and doesn't seem to want to really carry herself up into the contact, but we didn't do a shockwave last visit and I think that was a mistake. I'll own it, I said we should wait until after the epm meds have a chance to work to see if that was the culprit. But truthfully I know she responds well to the shockwave and I should have done it anyway. Doc will be back in a couple weeks though, so we'll do it then for sure. She's been much less trippy since being on the Toltrazuril and she's using her hind end a lot better. So I'm not disappointed that we decided to treat her. 

And that's what we're up to here! Just kind of more of the same. Complaining about the weather and trying to push through the dark days of winter (and the collapse of our civilization... but I digress...). Hope you're all staying warm and getting through it too!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that sometimes you get what you pay for. And in this case, that is a good thing. As you guys may remember, I sent Eros' saddle off to get re-paneled in December. It was not cheap. It was also money I didn't really have, but it was clear that Al's saddle wasn't working on Eros anymore, and so I found the money to get the job done properly. And then I paid a real premium to ship the stupid thing because I waited until close to the holidays when shipping fees were astronomical. No one's fault but my own of course. Live and learn. Don't put things off friends! 

Welcome back home, beautiful!

Anyway, I was thinking that I'd better keep a record of the new panel configuration because the stamp on my saddle would no longer match the flap stamps. Well color me surprised when I discovered that they also replaced the bottom flaps so the new panel configuration is what is stamped on the saddle now. 

Look at that shiny new flap and stamp

I was shocked! (In a good way,) I also got the old panels and flaps back so if for some reason I need that again, I can have those reinstalled. 

Old panel/flap

I have seen a few saddle for sale ads commenting on the saddles not matching the stamps because of re-work that had been done on them. So I assumed that's how it always went. But now I know, if you have the work done by the brand itself, that confusion won't happen. At least with Butet. I can't speak for other brands. Anyway, I do think this was worth every penny, and everyone cross all your crossables that it actually fits Eros. I can't wait to try it on him tomorrow!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day again! I know we've been a little boring lately. But fear not, Valentine's day is coming! In the meantime, we're a little boring again today. Eros is our model though, and he looks as handsome as ever! Here's what we wore for today:

Thanks to the mirror for our fab photo. And also for somehow making my leg look long and lean rather than stubby as they actually are in real life. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

He wore his D bit this week for outfit day because we did some "jumping" yesterday over that little raised cavalletti you can see in the corner of this photo. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes

Exciting news here friends! Eros' saddle should arrive back to us THIS WEEKEND fully re-paneled and ready to make his back happy again. Hopefully that means this is the last Thursday's Threads in which Eros will be using his brother's saddle. We are all very excited.

Wraps: Eskadron

Forgive all the dirt on there... The ring here has Travel-Lite footing which is lovely, but it's wax and sticks to everything. Comes off in the wash easily but I don't wash these every ride, so they're a little dirty. 

That's what Eros was wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

I also wore a vest from Columbia in a cognac color which you saw in the first photo. They make my favorite outer wear, but it's hit and miss if they have any good colors in a given season. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS with MIPS

Yep, still wearing this guy with the same color set up. I actually had to go in my emails and see how long I've had this one as it seems like it's been a really long time. Fortunately, it still has a good year or so left before I need to replace it. 

Sweater: THML

I forget if I got this from 2nd Round Equestrian or Chagrin Saddlery, but I think they both carried it. It's from last year, and I'm so glad I got it! I wear it all the time, and I just think it's adorable. 

Belt: Zazzle

I've done a real number on the buckle part of this belt, but otherwise it's holding up nicely! I love these belts and really hope Zazzle brings them back at some point. They've been out of stock for awhile now.

Breeches: Dover Wellesley

These have a cute leopard piping and I'm really sad that Dover isn't doing cute piping on these pants anymore. Or even cute colors. How boring. 

Half Chaps and Boots: Celeris UK

It got above freezing a couple times this week so I traded the full chaps for my sheepskin lined half chaps. The mirror photo isn't showing the colors very well, that light part is rose gold. I'm a fan of these. Definitely recommend sheepskin lining if you live where it gets cold. Which is pretty much everywhere these days.

That's it for this week! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I know it's cliche to say that this is the longest month ever, but seriously, HOW is it still January? I still have very little to talk about because, you know, it's still January. I have great intentions to start lessons and things sometime soon, but since it's STILL JANUARY I don't have the extra funds at the moment. Plus the horses are out of shape so I intend to get them legged up and starting to pop over some jumps again in the coming weeks. Hopefully once they're ready my bank account will also be prepared. Haha. One can hope.

The horses are all actually doing pretty well. Al isn't cantering like a bunny anymore which is great. The canter itself is still pretty awful, but I think there's improvement and I'll take that. Rome wasn't built in a day, and surely Al cannot be rebuilt in a day either. I had some memories pop up on FB recently that reminded me that Al's total undoing happened about a year ago now. So it's been a long road in getting him back to good, and while we're still far from reaching that goal, I think we've made a lot of progress. Not just Al, but I've learned A LOT in the past year about being a horseman. About listening to my horses. About setting aside timelines and plans to actually get my horse comfortable, happy, and wanting to do the job I've offered him. It was a hard lesson, and I'm definitely a work in progress. But I really hope I'm a better rider and horse owner now than I was a year ago. 

The Robaxin has defiitely kicked in for Eros the last few days. He's starting to move through his back again, and I don't feel like his hind end is out behind us in a whole other zip code anymore. So that's a huge improvement! The only down side is that I now I can feel all the other parts that could probably use some work sooner than later too. Namely that right front that is forever a challenge. But they're also all quite do for shoes, so I'm hoping some of what I'm feeling there will improve when he gets his feet done. He's very sensitive to his feet being long with that one wonky tendon. Hopefully our farrier will be out soon. He splits his time between CT, FL, and KY so sometimes he can't get here as early as I'd like. It's worth the wait though, as we really love our farrier. In more exciting news I got notice that his saddle is done and should be on its way back to me very soon! Yay!!!

Shiny is moving better too. I'm still seeing her breathing from her abdomen, but I'm not seeing the bottom of her ribs when she does it, so I think that's a good sign. She's more willing to come forward (after a bit of a discussion earlier today) and she's not holding her breath while she canters anymore either. I popped her over some raised cavalletti today and she felt SO MUCH better than the last time we did that. She rode right up to it and jumped across rather than trantering on the way there and then just heaving herself UP then over. Not sure if it's the Toltrazuril that's helping or the time away from jumping, but whatever it is, I'll take it! We'll do some more little stuff later in the week or the weekend and then maybe next week I'll actually set up a little course. We'll see how things are going and what the weather decides to do. It was pretend "warm" today. 43 degrees for the high, but it came with 40mph wind gusts so ya know... Typical January stuff.

That's the update from here! Nothing too exciting, but all is good over here. Just plugging away, hoping to be ready to do fun things come summer!