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Cloudy Days

11/16/2018

... metaphorically speaking. We haven't had any measurable rain since maybe March. As our favorite meteorologist put it, "If we do see some precipitation next week, it will mark the second latest start to the rainy season for Bakersfield." So those clouds aren't real.

Where are you, happy Brown Horse?

Since I already had my pity party - many thanks to my ranch owner for being such a good listener and having such a warm shoulder upon which to cry (not really, but she would have if needed), here's the short story: My relaxed, happy, shiny, Big Brown Horse has disappeared, and in his place is a hot mess.

Remember these days? They're back.

As we all know, I am not a quitter. Sometimes I wish I were; life would be be a lot easier. So instead of throwing in the towel, I texted my trainer and asked what the freaking hell was going on. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, isn't a quitter either, so on the fly she came up with a game plan to help me find my horse of last month.

Today at lunch marks the beginning of my Thanksgiving break. As I mentioned above, rain is unlikely, so I have a week of nothing to do but ride. Chemaine's plan involves a lot of riding. Think about it like an endurance ride she said.

My world might not be filled with rainbows and unicorns right now, but I can always find a silver lining. I love riding, and now I get to do a lot of it. Wish me luck.

2 Comments

Save Your Forehead

11/15/2018

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... and if you're like me, maybe even your hair. Any guesses as to what this ugly thing is? No, it's not a beanie.

Whatever it is, it's ugly!

I am pretty gentle on my helmets. They're stored "inside" and out of direct sunlight. I wipe them off periodically with a damp cloth, I don't drop them, and I replace them after several years. Obviously the ugliness up above is helmet-related.

I finally figured out why the skin on my forehead was getting rough and why the hair around my face was suddenly getting shorter and wispier. Even though I periodically remove my helmet liner and wash it, I realized that it had arrived at gross. Just gross, nothing else.

I live in the land of nine month summers. My helmet gets sweat in more often and for a much longer duration than for what it was designed. The liner of my helmet had finally reached a point where I could no longer stomach putting it over my hair. It was crunchy, rough, and frankly, it smelled a bit off.

Oh. Not so ugly from this angle.

While perusing the Riding Warehouse for something completely unrelated, I finally decided to toss a helmet liner in my cart. At just over $9 - I had a discount code, I reasoned that I could afford it. I am actually kicking myself for not getting a second one so that I could wash and dry one while using the other.

So, you're welcome. That's my PSA for the year. Replace your helmet as needed, but for the love of all that's holy (I am looking at you, Sweaney), replace the liner with a bit more frequency. Your forehead and hair will thank you.

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Digging for ... Treasure?

11/14/2018

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If you've been reading about Izzy for any length of time, you might remember that he loves his toys, there was the big ball - which didn't last very long, and the barrel - which he still has. Those things provide(d) some entertainment, but his true love is digging.

There doesn't seem to be a reason for the digging other than boredom. He lives on nearly a quarter of an acre with various toys scattered around, and he gets ridden 4 - 6 days a week. That's about all of the entertainment that I can provide. The digging was a problem at the last place we boarded, but at the ranch, it's no big deal.

Reggie is standing in hole number 1 while pointing at hole number 2.

Reggie lives at the ranch and takes care of things that need fixing. Unfortunately, Izzy is constantly finding things to break which then need fixing. I hope Reggie sees it as job security.

Reggie laughed when I asked if I could take his picture while he was in the holes checking them out.

One time, Izzy dug so far down that he uncovered a water line. I am sure Reggie was thrilled by that one because it was instantly decided that the water line had to be relocated for Izzy's safety. All eyes immediately turned to Reggie as he's the fixer of all things. I made myself scarce that day as I didn't want anyone remembering that it was my incorrigible horse causing all of the trouble.

It is so nice to have workers willing to fix things for the safety of my horses.

While I rode, Reggie brought in the tractor and filled in the holes. Afterwards, he dragged things smooth again, hiding where the holes had been. Before he started working, we had joked about how long it would take Izzy to remember where his holes should be.

Our running joke is that Izzy's either looking for a way to escape or simply hunting buried treasure. Reggie and I have agreed to split whatever he uncovers. If Izzy doesn't find something fast, I'm going to have to get Reggie a case of beer to thank him for all of his hard work!

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The Non-Equine Members of My Family

11/13/2018

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I try to keep things horse related around here, but sometimes a dog post will slip its way in, but who's going to say no to dogs?

The dogs are a big part of our life. We make our day plans around them which means they usually come with us. If they can't, we make it a point to be home in time to feed them dinner, or we don't go out until they've had their dinner.

The Kern River

On Saturday, my husband needed to drive up to Kernville to pick up his case of Citra Double IPA at the Kern River Brewery. It's an annual thing for him. You have to pre-order the beer, and there's only one case allowed per customer, and they mean it. The rules are pretty funny. I am surprised he hasn't tried to get me to order a case so he can get two.

Since the drive is pretty dog-friendly with plenty of places to stop and hike along the river, we all piled into the truck. Truthfully, I was the fifth wheel of the group. Husband and the dogs make this trip quite often while I am at the barn, so the dogs know the drill.

Trying to get Yellow Dog to sit still for a picture. Um ... nope!

Usually when we make this trip, we actually hike, but both of us have been sick for a few days, so we simply parked near the water and called the 10 yards we walked "a hike."

She's truly a ham.

We got to the brewery too early for lunch, so we took another stroll through the park in Kernville. Yellow Dog is friendly, but Tobias, our black lab, lives to meet strangers. People always stop and ask to pet him. He just has the kindest vibe, drawing people to him no matter where we go. On this walk, two elderly ladies stopped and gave me the look that asks if he would stop to be petted. Tobi was thrilled to reach out to each one of them for a friendly pat. The smiles on those ladies' faces made my day.

Husband with Tobias and Yellow Dog (her name is actually Brienne of Tarth, but she's Yellow Dog to me).

We eventually made it to the brewery and had a delicious lunch. Husband picked up his coveted case of Citra, and we headed home. Not less than five minutes in the truck, I leaned back to close my eyes and ended up sleeping all the way home. When we got home, I dragged myself into the house and took another nap.

It's a dog's life around here which means there's no such thing as too many naps.

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Happy Veterans Day in the Wild, Wild, West

11/12/2018

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A friend of mine, a southern California dressage rider and eventer, works for the Riverside County Probation Department. Not only is she an excellent rider, but she is a badass at work. She also happens to be one of my favorite people.

From her Facebook page, "Thank you Marta and her team at the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter for helping another homeless dog! Rascal was neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped on Friday! Best part of my job is getting to help animals too ❤️ and so grateful I have resources to help!"

I mean really ... how many of us carry a gun, deal with dirt bags, and then spend our free time doing this? Like I said, she's my favorite Badass.

From her Facebook page.

Over the weekend, her best friend shared the Riverside County Probation Department's answer to the #lipsync challenge.

The Riverside County Probation Department is proud to release our Lip Sync Challenge video! Staff had a great time and raised over $2,000 in donations to benefit local fire victims through the United Way of the Inland Valleys Holy Fire Fund in the process. The video features Wild Wild West by Will Smith. Special thanks to The Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team Equestrian Drill Team, Water Wheel Saloon, March Field Air Museum and Mt. Rubidoux. You can still donate to the fund by clicking the donation card int he video. Learn more at https://support.google.com/youtube/?p...

The video is great, but what I love the most is that my friend is in the video riding her best friend's horse, Penny (with the windmills in back). But wait, there's more to this story. My friend is also married to a Marine who is actively serving. This weekend they attended a ball celebrating the 243rd birthday of the Marine Corp. Dog Nitro, a retired canine Marine, went in full dress.

At this weekend's Marine Corp Ball. Nitro is retired, but served as a bomb sniffing dog among other duties.

My friend writes:

These two marines, Danny and Nitro, had a great time celebrating the 243rd Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Nitro had many fans and many people wanting to take his picture and pet him. He was most happy hanging out with his dad and visiting with the other marines. It was apparent the Marines were in good spirits with the anticipation of their upcoming deployment, as the “hoorahs” were shouted out about every 5 seconds.

While we honor our veterans today, I think we should also keep in mind those who serve to protect us here at home. Families like my friend's, who serve both abroad and here at home, deserve a special thank you.

It is so fantastic to see a woman out there serving our community and doing it in style. I am honored to call her my friend.

You rock, girlfriend!

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Nobody Died

11/9/2018

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Well, not yet anyway, although I am not feeling so perky this morning - darn bug! If I had to pick who had to feel crummy, me or the boys, I'd pick me every time. It's a lot cheaper and easier when something's wrong with me than with them. Am I right?

Free range horse - we're not eating him though.

So even though I wasn't feeling great, I headed out to the barn yesterday afternoon to see how bad things were. The day before, Izzy's leg had poofed up to twice its size with no apparent cause, and Speedy was still a bit off on the right front. Let me tell you, two broken horses is enough to depress even the Pope.

Surprisingly the old wound never causes problems, and the poofiness is not related.

While Izzy's leg was still poofy, it was much improved over the day before. One of my cure-alls is a long walk. It's surprising how many ailments can be fixed with a stroll. Even though Izzy lives on a quarter acre, I thought a tour around the property might do some good.

Speedy wasn't very helpful.

Speedy was already loose, free grazing, so I knew he would follow along. Unfortunately, he made things quite exciting as he would zoom up to us, causing Izzy to think monsters were chasing us. Speedy was having fun though, and that is also the purpose of a walk.

We circled around the ranch with Speedy flipping his tail over his back and prancing by. With all of that adrenaline coursing through his veins, he looked quite sound. And actually, when we got back to their pens, I trotted him out on the grass, and he looked perfectly sound. It was only on the hard packed road that I could see a bit of unevenness in his stride. He'll be good to go in another day or so.

It wasn't all drama though - there was also a bit of snacking

By the time we finished, Izzy's leg was nearly as tight and clean as always. Whatever caused it to poof up has to be minor, and it's nothing I feel I need to worry about. Speedy looked quite good, so I was able to head home looking the worst of the three of us.

Now, if I can just kick this cold quickly, everything will be right in my little corner of the world, especially since it's Friday of a three day weekend.

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Glad to Have You Back, Juke

11/8/2018

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I could bore you with my litany of First World Problems, but I won't. Suffice it to say that each of my three areas of happiness are running on low. My three "Must Be Rights" are my home life, work life, and horse life. If one of them is off, I am okay, if two are off, I am a hot mess. While not outright off, each of them is running a bit wonky.

My husband has been sick for a few days and it looks as though he has passed his bug off to me. I am resisting for now with hot tea and a throat lozenge, but my home life is not running very smoothly right now.

On a recent visit to Cambria.

While I have a pretty good job, there are many, many things to complain about. The biggest being how much teachers spend on their classrooms and how many extra hours we work. Check and check. I am feeling pretty resentful lately, not to mention poorer and tired.

On Tuesday we took our annual field trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

So what's wrong with my equine life? Well, maybe nothing, and maybe a whole lot. Over the weekend, Speedy came up sore again. It's been close a to a year since that particular malady has reared his head. He's been whirling and pacing in the afternoons as he waits for me. He finally whacked his hooves enough times that he's bruised. In the past, it's taken about ten days for the pain to subside. I am hoping he's sound by this weekend.

Big brown horse

And the big brown horse? He just had a great chiropractic adjustment. I showed up last night for a quick check and noticed his left hind was twice it's normal size. No wound, no scratch, no puncture ... just a fat leg. Palm to face.

Love you, Juke!

The one bright spot in my week is that Juke got to come home last night. Driving home from the body shop, I reveled in the luxury of heated seats, satellite radio, and my back up camera. Blue Truck has tons of power and cruise control, but that's it. My remote to lock the doors doesn't work on the driver's side, it's bouncy as hell to ride in, and it's a pain in the but to get into even with running boards.

I hope that just having my car back will lead to harmony and peace in the rest of my jacked up life. Have a great day!

2 Comments

Chiropractor to Izzy's Rescue

11/7/2018

2 Comments

I am so fortunate to have such a knowledgeable chiropractor in my area. Not only is he good at his job, but he's a trainer, judge, and all around excellent horseman. When he works on one of my horses, he always talks about the roles that nutrition, training, and riding play in their skeletal and musculature health.

Izzy adores him and resists nothing!

While he gave Izzy a once over, I explained what indicators I had seen. Izzy wanted to carry his haunches to the far right, he couldn't canter on a left lead, and he was suddenly more spooky and tense than usual. And oddly enough, all of this appeared over-night.

He quickly found "the spot."

While Izzy needed a bit of work here and there, it was the C7, the transverse process of the last neck vertebra, that was causing most of the discomfort. I knew that the C7 was the bottom vertebra, but I had to look up the transverse process part. Don't want you thinking I am a smartypants.

CC explained that when the horses are "out" at the C7, all kinds of things start going wrong. I get that. Just watching him work made me identify all the parts of my own body that protest when asked to reach or stretch or lift.

And then he worked it from the other side.

Every chiropractor works differently, but I appreciate CC's approach. He works slowly and methodically, getting the horse to relax and let go on his own. Rarely does he need to jerk the horse, but he does occasionally need to catch them by surprise. He had to use the surprise method to get that C7 joint to finally settle back into place. After working Izzy's body to the right, he came over to the left side, asking Izzy to bend and flex his neck to the left. When it seemed that Izzy was completely relaxed, CC gave a firm push, rocking Izzy back on his haunches.

Even after a surprise maneuver, Izzy still loves him.

Izzy has had CC adjust him three to four times a year for the past three years. Even with all those visits, this was the first time I've seen Izzy get so much relief that he did the tongue thing. He always licks his lips during an adjustment, and he gives snorts and signs, but this was totally different.

His tongue practically fell out of his mouth. He swung it around, flapped it a few times, and let it hang out. And then he did it again. The longer CC worked, the more active Izzy's tongue became. Anyone who is skeptical of the efficacy of chiropractics needs to come and see one of my horses get some body work done. There's no mistaking the relief my horses feel.

Once the C7 was taken care of, CC spent some time stretching Izzy and showing him that he didn't need to brace his body in expectation of discomfort. I love that strategy because that is what our horses do - resist when they anticipate pain. CC also worked the remainder of Izzy's body from his poll to his tail.

Feeling good.

While I was dismayed that Izzy had found a new place for me to keep my eye on, I was relieved that his hocks weren't the issue. I asked CC if the misalignment could have been due to our recent work with the counter canter and half pass. He thought maybe, but it was more likely that Izzy just tweaked something during a random moment, and it took a while to show up.

This week is already packed with work commitments combined with shortened daylight hours, so it seems a good time to give Izzy a few rest days. I don't think he'll mind too much. By the way, if you're local and looking for a good equine chiropractor, let me know, and I'll pass on CC's number.

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Life with Blue Truck

11/6/2018

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A week or so ago I had a small accident in my daily driver, the Juke. As much as I love this car, this is the second accident I've had in it, and the third time it's been in the body shop. All short stories with no injuries, but that car has racked up nearly $8,000 in body work - none of it my fault.

I love you, little red Juke, but please be more careful!

All of that means that I've been driving the less-than-efficient Blue Truck every day. I drive exactly 51 miles a day on my home to work to barn to home tour. To add insult to injury, Blue truck is a gas guzzler; I am going through more than 5 gallons a day. With fuel prices what they are, I am spending at least $20 a day in gas. Even though Juke is an apparent fender-bender magnet, at least its fuel mileage is more efficient. I spend about $5 a day in it.

Even so, I can't live without you, Blue Truck.

I grumbled about it all week, and then while at the feed store, I groaned as I tried to lift my tailgate to close it. That thing weighs a ton. I grumpily told the guy who loaded my feed that I was getting old. He chuckled as he closed the tailgate for me. I think he was about the same age as Blue Truck. Laugh all you want, Buddy, just wait until you're my age.

When I got to the barn, I dropped the tailgate and hopped up on it for a few minutes, swinging my legs like you do when you're young. It made me remember all the times I had done that as a kid while I watched my dad work. It reminded me of high school parties out in a field and camping at the beach. Tailgates are wonderful things, especially on an old truck that's been part of the family.

Nothing better than tailgating.

As I sat there swinging my legs, enjoying the sunny afternoon, I paused to wonder just how old I was when we bought Blue Truck. I know Blue Truck is getting up there at 18 years of age, but if that's true, I must have been pretty young when we signed on the dotted line. After doing some quick math, I realized that we've had Blue Truck since I was about 29 years old. I am now 47.

It struck me that Blue Truck has been in our family longer than any dog or horse we've owned and even longer than many people have had their kids. The only thing in our household older than Blue Truck is our marriage license.

Blue Truck may be a bit geriatric, but sliding in behind its wheel is like slipping on a pair of well worn slippers. I'd love a new truck of course, but Blue Truck is going to be hard to replace.

Keep on truckin', Blue Truck. Sorry I complained about you.

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What's Wrong With You?

11/5/2018

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Somebody needs to tattoo the answer to that question across my forehead. A week ago, I wrote about how reliable and easygoing Izzy has become. I had just finished the best ride he'd ever given me. I'd even taken to calling him McDreamy. Life was great.

Living the good life.

The very next day, he turned into a monster. On the ground, he was still polite, but tense and spooky. He started craning his neck while being tacked up, something he hasn't done in a long while. Walking to the arena, I could hear him suck in short breaths, and his eyes had lost their softness. Under saddle, he just couldn't. He couldn't relax, he couldn't soften, and he couldn't canter left.

From long ago and not this dramatically, but you get the idea.

It took me three rides before I finally snapped in frustration, What's wrong with you? And like a lightening bolt from above, I remembered: He probably needs to see the chiropractor. I have been having chiropractic work done every three months, but when he didn't need an adjustment in May, we decided to try for an every 4th month schedule.

November was to be his adjustment month, but I was hoping to do it mid-month when I had a bit more time. I guess that was one week too many for the big brown horse.I put in a call to the chiropractor over the weekend. If everything goes to plan, he should be out this afternoon. I have a jam packed week, so I really hope we can get it done today. The way Izzy felt on Saturday, I am not riding him until he gets some work done.

So in answer to the what's wrong with you question, It's not you. It's ME needing to stick to the schedule.

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime 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

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse and occasional trail horse. He is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy 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 schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand Zweibrücker gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

Second Show - July 2016

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

Stuff I'm Working On ...

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 61.282%
Score 3: 62.879%

CDS Championship Qualifying
Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 61.282%
Score 3: 62.879%
Score 4: 61.970%
Score 5: 62.973%

CDS Ruby Rider Award
Training Level Scores:
Score 1: 70.179%
Score 2: 72.600%

First Level Scores:
Score 1: 66.093%
Score 2: 68.750%

Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 62.879%

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award
Score 1 - 62.879%
Score 2 - 61.970%
Score 3 - 64.242%
Score 4 - 64.268%

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

2018 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USE
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2018 Pending …
Season over

2018 Completed …
1/14/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
2/10/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
2/24/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
3/17/18 Hurtado Clinic (t)
3/18/18 GEAHS (*)
3/31/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
4/14-15/18 El Sueno (***)
5/27/18 Tehachapi (*)
6/16-17/18 El Sueno (***)
6/24/18 Tehachapi (*)
7/22/18 Tehachapi (*)
7/28-29/18 El Sueno (***)
8/11-12/18 RAAC (Q ***)
8/26/18 Tehachapi (*)

Cloudy Days

Save Your Forehead

Digging for ... Treasure?

The Non-Equine Members of My Family

Happy Veterans Day in the Wild, Wild, West

Nobody Died

Glad to Have You Back, Juke

Chiropractor to Izzy's Rescue

Life with Blue Truck

What's Wrong With You?

About the
Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

National Awards

Stuff I Read

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About the Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

National Awards

Stuff I Read

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About the
Writer & Rider