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Sheesh ... I just got back, right? I know, but Christmas break started on Friday afternoon, and I am off to visit family. See you next week!  When I got to the ranch on Sunday, I saw this.  Is he breathing? Every horse owner loves to see her four legged friend take a good nap, but every single one of us has, at one time or another, gone into panic mode when the sleeper looks a bit too stiff legged. Our smile slips, and we look for the tell-tale rise and fall of the belly. We look to see an ear twitch, the tail shoo away a fly. It doesn't take much movement to reassure us that he's still alive; any little twitch will do.  OMG, he even dug his own grave! As I snuck up on Izzy, I prayed that he was still alive while also trying to be quiet in case he really was just resting. As morbid as it sounds, I continued snapping photos even as I worried that he had had a heart attack after breakfast but before I arrived. They get breakfast between 7:00 and 8:00. It was 9:30 when I got to the ranch, so if he had had a heart attack, it would have been in the past hour. How quickly does rigor mortis set in anyway?  Can't a guy get in a nap? Even though I was trying to be very quiet, Izzy still heard me. He snapped his head up to see what monster was about to get him. I think we both took a quick look at the freshly dug hole. He was probably worried that I was about to push him in. I worried that he was going to fall into it and break his neck as he tried to get up. Once he saw that there was no monster, just me, he gave a deep sigh and relaxed. I crawled through the fence to sit with him. I tried to tell him he could go back to sleep, but the moment had passed. He hauled himself to his feet and looked for a cookie.
I love to watch my boys nap, but it gives me a heart attack each and every time. There was no snow involved here, so of course there wasn't a snowman, but we did have a frost. Finally! For those of you who live where there is winter, you're probably wishing for a warm sunny day. Maybe we can work out a trade.  Up until Tuesday, we've been stuck in fall here in Central California. And by fall I mean "cool summer." We've now seen three rainy days, and you can believe we celebrated them all. The first was in mid-October, the second in early December, and the third was two days ago. That storm brought a fair amount of snow to our mountains. From my house, I can see that the snow level almost hit the valley floor.  Over the weekend, as a precursor to this recent storm which our meteorologist called an atmospheric river, it was cold; we had lows in the 30s, and at the ranch, it might have even been in the high 20s. That's cold enough to kill off a lot of fly eggs and larvae. Then Tuesday's storm hit, bringing nearly an inch of rain here in Bakersfield (don't laugh, it was a lot for here) and a hefty amount of snow and frigid air.  And to the flies I say, Take that, you little boogers.
During my lesson on Saturday with Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage, we came up with a new theory about Izzy's recent anxiety. Sean is always very diplomatic when talking about a rider's or horse's weaknesses. He never calls Izzy names. He never says Izzy was a bad purchase or that I should cut my losses. Instead, Sean explains that Izzy is complicated and a tough nut to crack. He constantly reminds me that with the right tools, we will get to the root of Izzy's anxiety and tension. It's just going to take time.  September 2020 Through all of the yeas that I've owned Izzy, we've been through this up and down thing dozens of times, probably more. We make great progress, and then the wheels fall off the bus. We spend months working on the tension, and then comes another period of wonderfulness. Each time we find ourselves back at the tire repair shop dealing with those missing wheels, I write imaginary (and sometimes real) for sale ads. Last Friday, I replaced the For Sale sign with one that read Free to Good Home. When Sean joined me on Pivo Cast on Saturday, the first thing I did was let him know how frustrated and discouraged I have been feeling. There are so many things I appreciate about Sean's training style, and one of them is how even-keeled he remains no matter how close I am to throwing in the towel. Rather than agreeing with me, Sean just listens and watches. Then he reminds me that this is a process, and it's one in which we're making progress. Since I know his methods work, it doesn't take much to bring me back to center. Just as an aside, if you can't find a trainer in your area, invest in a Pivo Pod and find a trainer willing to work remotely. I can give you the name of two, Sean Cunningham and Cassandra Rabini. I can guarantee that there are a lot of other trainers who would happily give you a lesson from their computers.  Also Septemer 2020. As soon as I put Izzy to work, the spooking started. He spooked so hard during the first few minutes that I was 100% sure I was about to hit the ground. I am knocking on wood as I write this, but so far, Izzy has yet to dump me despite some massive efforts to do so. That spook was so hard that I lost both stirrups and the reins. I don't know if gravity just took a coffee break or if my guardian angel had a hand in it, but either way, I stuck the spook. What made it so frustrating is that those really hard spooks come when I give the reins forward or when I give Izzy a walk break as a reward. I explained to Sean that it feels as though Izzy is waiting for those moments when I've let down my guard. It's as though he sees his opportunity to escape and takes advantage of those moments when I am rewarding him or giving him a break. Sean thought about what I said, and suddenly a new thought occurred to him. We both know how trapped Izzy can feel which is why I am constantly looking for ways to give him as much rein as I can.  Proof. Thinking out loud, Sean wondered if Izzy is feeling more trapped than we know. It might be that he uses those breaks to escape because he is feeling confined and truly does see a moment to get away. On the spot, Sean proposed a new strategy. He asked me to make my corrections as small as I could while still being safe. Instead of asking for three inches of give, he suggested I ask for a single inch and then release the rein immediately. Sean hoped that this strategy would keep Izzy from feeling so "trapped." I work very hard to ride with elastic elbows and soft hands, but Sean wanted me to be even more subtle with my aids. The thinking was this: if my corrections were very small, they became much more of an ask which would make the decision to join me, Izzy's idea. It wasn't easy to ride a spooking horse with only the most minimal of aids and contact, but it did seem to work. We started at the walk with me just barely asking for anything and then immediately giving the rein. Izzy tried to avoid working by evading the E side of the arena. Rather than muscle him over with my inside leg and a firm half halting rein, I let him avoid the rail, but I asked lightly for him to yield just that little bit.  More proof that I want to give him the rein. The longer we worked with me making only tiny corrections, the more relaxed he became. Instead of violent sideways spooks, he started squirting forward instead. Both Sean and I recognized that the change in the degree of his spooks showed that we had the right idea. We moved on to some trot work with me doing the same thing. Keeping my corrections super small was very challenging on a horse who wants to bolt forwards or sideways. Each time he tried, I kept control without really correcting him. It wasn't pretty to look at of course, but like Sean said, we're not really working on the dressage movements right now. Instead, we're working on getting Izzy to accept the work without feeling trapped. The more we talked about it, the more it started to seem that the past seven years have been about finding the root of Izzy's tension and then dealing with it. I think that for so long, I've ridden without knowing where the problem was coming from. When I started riding with Sean, he started cracking through Izzy's tough outer shell and has been able to find the first hint of the origin of the tension. Rather than getting better, things have been getting a bit worse as we dig deeper into Izzy's issues. It's an abscess of sorts. Once you find the sore spot with your hoof testers, you dig down following the track of the infection. Once you get deep enough, the abscess is revealed and drains.  July 2020 It sounds gross to compare Izzy's anxiety to an abscess, but I truly think Sean is finding the root of the problem. It is Sean's belief that we are getting closer and closer, and once we get there, Izzy's talent will take over, and I'll have a horse to ride. That's hard to believe of course, but I am an optimist, so I am willing to keep working on it. Sean reminded me that this horse is making me a much better rider, and that's really why I do this. It's all about learning and improving.
I guess I can take down that For Sale add - today anyway. Well, shoot! I missed Speedy's Gotcha Day. Last month. I accidentally remembered Izzy's but then turned around and forgot all about Speedy's. I nearly always forget though, so he's used to it. Speedy joined my family on December 8, 2007 - 14 years (and some days) ago. Most days it seems as though he arrived just a year or two ago. Other times, it feels as though he's always been with us. Truthfully, it's hard to remember not having him in our family.  He's always a polar bear in the winter. While he's still quiet healthy, he is starting to age more quickly than I'd like. Over the weekend, I pulled him out of his paddock for the first time in several weeks. I took him up to the arena for a quick lunge. I had noticed that he had been hanging out by himself in a corner which isn't like him. A quick lunge told me that all was not well. He was lame. I thought it was the right front, but when I put the hoof testers on, I got no reaction on the right hoof but saw an immediate OUCH on the left. I was pretty sure that it was probably "just" an abscess as there was no heat or filling or obvious wounds. Either way, seeing him uncomfortable always makes me worry.  Back in the fall of 2020 playing around even though he was "retired." On Sunday, I gave him a quick trot out and was very happy to discover that he was sound. I took him back up to the arena and lunged him for ten minutes. He got happier and looser the longer we went. After making sure he was sound at all three gaits in both directions, I let him off the line for some free play. He galloped around snorting and snaking his head at me as he gaily flew by,
Speedy has given me opportunities that I never would have had without him, so he gets whatever he wants in his retirement. If he's tired of working, he can loaf around for the next 15 years. If he wants to get back to work, I can make that happen too. We had a good amount of rain last week - the first rain in over a month, so there might be something brewing in his front feet. The sudden wetness could easily cause an abscess. As of Sunday, he looked perfectly sound, so I'll just have to wait and see. As we all know, "let it be an abscess" is the horse girl's prayer. |
About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. 
Photo by Lori Ovanessian
About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
National Rider Awards
USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013
State Rider Awards
CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
State Horse Awards
Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2022 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic (Q) Qualifier 2022 Show Schedule
(*) Tehachapi 7/24/22 (*) Tehachapi 8/28/22 2022 Completed … (*) Tehachapi 5/22/22 2022 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying 2 Scores/1 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Archives
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