Category:

Another Monday

3/18/2019

I had a rough last week. Fortunately it wasn't because of horses; they've given me enough gray hairs this winter. On Thursday, a friend tagged me in a Facebook post that pretty much saved the rest of the world from total annihilation as I was very close to going postal - how much crap can one person take?

Dwight, the successful co-worker who lacks social skills and common sense.

It's Dwight's face that cracks me up the most. I know that's the look that Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, must have on her face when Izzy starts with his jackassery. I looked at that meme all weekend long, laughing harder each time. It's easy to get a little punchy though when you're on the edge.

Thankfully, while horses can drive us to the brink of insanity, they can also keep us standing squarely on our two feet. My own equine therapists, a Goddess and a Wild Card did their jobs well (sort of) over the weekend, leaving me mostly prepared to tackle Monday. My husband drew a name for last week's book give-away. Congrats to Mag for winning a copy of Is Your Horse a Rockstar.

Mag wrote, "I think mine would be the "mean girl" even though he's a gelding. He has to show everyone that he's in charge - pasture mates, stablehands, etc. I would love a copy to see if that's one of the choices!"

Mag's copy is in the mail, headed her way. And Mag, I'm wondering if your gelding might be The Macho Man, The Boss, or even The Prize Fighter. I hope you'll let me know!

1 Comment

Relationship Alert

3/11/2019

6 Comments

I am sure that all of us think that our own horses are more sensitive (meaning "special") than others, but I am here to tell you that Speedy wins the "snowflake" of the year award. Right now, he is in the midst of tantrum that's been going on for a good month. Which brings me yet again to Dessa Hockley's book, I s your horse a Rockstar?

If you haven't bought it yet, do it. I promise you won't be disappointed. I don't get anything if you buy the book, but it really is that good. In fact, I love the book so much that I am going to buy a copy for someone who wants one. If you want the book, leave a comment, but make sure to fill in your website or email address so I can get your snail mail address. I'll do a random drawing on Saturday (March 16).

The reason I bring up the book is that Speedy is having a pretty rough winter. He's abscessed several times, been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease, and torn open both front legs. All of that means he isn't getting very much positive attention. To him, it feels as though all I do is poke him in sore places or jam weird tasting stuff in his mouth.

He couldn't get away from me fast enough.

"Speedy is what Dessa Hockley refers to as The Goddess (Submissive, Energetic, Curious, Friendly). If he were a bit more dominate, he would be a Rock Star, and frankly, there are days when he does fall into that category. For The Goddess, the relationship is everything. Right now, Speedy's a bit pissed at me because he's not getting the saddle time he thinks he deserves. The ear pinning and tail swishing are dead give-aways that he's feeling slighted.

Speedy's mission in life is to be adored by me, and anyone else in his vicinity is welcome to jump on that band wagon as well. It doesn't matter what we do; he's happy to please as long as accolades and adoration are his reward. Cookies and candies are also expected. As The Goddess, he is, after all, a divinity."

I wrote that in January of 2017 - probably in the midst of some other injury. It is just as true today as it was two years ago. Speedy is so unhappy right now. Everything in his life sucks a big fat lemon. He now has to take a Prascend pill every morning which he hates. He hasn't been turned out in at least a month because I don't want him to re-injure his front legs or cause some new injury. And the worst thing to him is that he's no longer in regular work. I rode him last weekend, but then it rained all week, so I didn't get to ride again until this weekend.

He was so happy to be out of his paddock.

While Speedy was happy to be out and being ridden, he was so resentful that everything I asked of him turned into a chore. Bandaging his legs caused drama. He didn't want to be bridled. He refused his peppermint candies. I was frustrated, and he was frustrated.

It's going to take some time to rebuild our relationship, and I have a feeling that I am going to be doing a lot of butt kissing over the next few weeks. And if Speedy has anything to say about it, there had better be some better treats involved.

Like I said, he's a Goddess. And a big fat "snowflake!"

6 Comments

Stick A Fork in Me

2/25/2019

4 Comments

'cause I am done.

Well, for a few days anyway. It might even be a couple of weeks - I am taking a PE class on Tuesday and Thursday night after work, and then next week I am taking another Tuesday/Thursday night class on the Professional Learning Community (PLC). Eventually, after taking five more of these class, I'll get bumped over to the next pay column which means a raise. In between classes, you can find me wrapping Speedy's legs.

This entire winter has been made up of me tackling one equine problem after another, so adding in these two classes while I bandage legs should feel like par for the course. Just how many problems have my boys had this winter? Let's review.

Sometime in the fall, Izzy abscessed, but I didn't take him to the vet right away as his body seemed to be taking care of it. It was still a giant worry though, and I poulticed it for the better part of a week until he was mostly sound. The problem with wrapping him is that he doesn't get ridden. And every day that he isn't ridden, his energy level goes through the roof guaranteeing a doozy of a ride once my butt is finally in the saddle.

Kind of like this.

I finally took him to the vet when Speedy abscessed. Yes, that's right. Both horses had an abscess at the same time. It was decided that Izzy was over his, but Speedy got a nice hole carved into his foot. The very same day that he seemed sound, Speedy abscessed on the other foot. We repeated the trip to the vet for a matching hole on the second foot. He improved, but then he got worse, a lot worse. I loaded him back up for yet another trip to the vet where he got an even bigger hole in his foot.

Somewhere during all of this, Izzy pulled a shoe while my farrier was in Arizona. We finally got it replaced, and then there were about three days where everybody was healthy and all shoes were where they were supposed to be, and I got to finally ride Speedy.

Whee!

The Universe just can't leave well enough alone though. During all of the abscessing, it was determined that Speedy now has Cushing's Disease and will need to be medicated for the rest of his days. Big sigh.

And then of course, a few weeks ago, Speedy tore open the front of his fetlock requiring sutures. After we got home from the vet, I turned him out and rode Izzy. When I came back to put Izzy away, I saw that Speedy had sliced open the other leg. We'd only been home about an hour. All I can say is that boy has a thing for symmetry.

Over the weekend, both boys made another trip to the vet so that Speedy could get his sutures removed. Since I was making the trip, I decided to have Dr. Tolley give both horses their spring vaccinations and do their dentals. I've driven out there so many times this winter that it didn't make any sense to do it again in a few weeks.

When I unloaded Izzy from the trailer, I saw this.

Like I said, put a fork in me. Sheesh!

4 Comments

Clippers

2/13/2019

7 Comments

This is definitely not a topic I've ever covered here before. Why would I; who wants to talk about clippers? When I first had that thought, I realized the answer was just about every other equestrian in the normal world. Clipper land is just not some place I visit very often which makes me the abnormal one. Weird, but true.

New blades!

While I could body clip, or at least do a trace clip, to make winter grooming easier, I prefer not to. I don't blanket because our winter weather is just way too mild. We rarely get temperatures that are both wet and cold. On top of that, it only rains about 10 times a year. If I were to blanket, they would have to be removed every morning and replaced every afternoon. The ranch owner doesn't really want to do that, and neither do I. So, my boys grow winter coats and shed them when they're ready.

Over the weekend, I finally got tired of wrestling my bridles over the jungle of hair that was growing behind both of my boys' ears. Bridle paths, jaw hair, fetlocks, and protruding ear hairs are all that I actually clip. During show season, I keep their bridle paths, and all other above mentioned areas, neatly trimmed. A messy bridle path is more than a little obvious against a sleek, summer coat. During the middle of winter though, it almost disappears, or is at least unobtrusive, when viewed through Speedy's polar bear coat. The same goes for fetlocks and jaw hair.

Hey, Speedy has his own little hedge.

A month or so ago, I finally bought a new pair of clipper blades, but I hadn't yet used them. See above. With a three-day weekend, I had enough "extra" time to pull out my clippers and replace the old blades. As I was cracking the blades out of their hard plastic casing, I stopped to wonder at how old my clippers were. Pretty old I realized.

Do they even still make these?

I did some quick googling and found that yes, Oster does still make these clippers and they even come with the same accessories that came with mine nearly 20 years ago. I count the age of something based on where we lived when I bought the thing. We've lived here just over 2 years. We lived at our last house for 11 years, the one before that for 2, and the one before that for 6. Add it all up and take away a year or 2 because I don't remember exactly when I bought them at that first house. That means that I bought these clippers somewhere around '99 or 2000.

Every replacement blade I've ever bought.

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I take terrible care of my clippers. I never clean them, unless you count blowing on the blades to remove stray hairs. I know there is a filter under the bottom cap that I have dusted off, but it's been years. I never oil anything, spray anything (except some cooling spray that is as old as the clippers), or get the blades sharpened. In fact, I use the blades until they literally cannot cut through a single hair. Gross, I know.

Storage bag, also as old as the clippers.

The only good thing I do for my clippers is to keep them in a storage bag. I also refrain from winding the cord around the clippers themselves. At this point, I am afraid to do anything other than replace the blades. I am pretty sure whatever dirt and hair are caked to the motor are what is holding everything together.

Braiding box.

My clippers get stored at the bottom of my braiding box. Hey, that counts as another good thing I do to protect my clippers. As I dug through the pile of loose braiding bands and discarded candy wrappers (Speedy's not mine), I found an old pair of cordless clippers that never worked right. I realized that my braiding box was a jumbled up mess. I was inspired to do a thorough cleaning.

Much better!

After attaching new blades and dumping everything out of my box and reorganizing it, I finally got to Speedy's bridle path; Izzy's too. And you know what? New, sharp blades actually cut straight through the hair! In one pass! Who knew?

At least it's short.

Both boys started shedding in January. I can't decide if I want them to hurry up and shed the rest, or do I want them to slow down because February is turning out to be much colder and wetter than normal. Either way, I am now armed and ready to tackle this summer's bridle paths. And jaw hairs, old man ear hairs, and Speedy's fetlocks.

Anyone else out there living with old clippers and shaggy horses? We need to form a club.

7 Comments

Making Ends meet

6/28/2018

12 Comments

Speaking of showing ... Just how do we afford all of these shows anyway? Well, if you're like me, you supervise the children's version of jail. Kidding, of course. Sort of.

Pun intended!

You see, at my school (I teach 5th grade in case you're new here), we have lunch time detention. It runs for the 30 minutes of lunch recess. Students get approximately 30 minutes to eat followed by another 30 minutes to play.

Kiddos who get in trouble, either from our school principal or another staff member, serve noontime detention with whichever teacher has detention duty. Most often, that's me. I run detention every Monday and Friday. The other nine intermediate teachers rotate through weekly so that they serve Tuesday through Thursday about three times a year.

Why do I do it so frequently you ask? For the "money," of course. I make approximately $12 each time I serve as the detention teacher. During the course of the school year, I gave up my lunch twice a week, sometimes more if I "subbed" for another teacher. In June, I got my extra duty check for the second semester's detention as well as for serving as my school's Battle of the Books coordinator.

My check was a "whopping" $822. I used the money to pay my entries for both June shows, coaching at each show, and Izzy's new bridle. My husband was horrified that I would give up my lunch twice a week to supervise naughty children for $12. Looking back, It does seem like a lot of work for so little pay.

School starts again on August 16th. I have another month or so to consider whether missing my lunch hour two to three times a week is worth one or two shows during the summer. But you know, if Izzy doesn't break anything next spring, I could turn that check into three shows. My colleagues certainly hope that I'll continue with the Monday/Friday detention schedule as it means fewer days they have to serve.

Who wouldn't want to do more of this?

It's worth it, right?

12 Comments

I Am Still Alive

4/23/2018

15 Comments

Sorry to drop off the planet like that, but I did warn you it might happen. Many thanks to those friends who checked in with me last week. I really appreciated it.

I have tons of stuff to share - the show, some super cool hot weather finds, and a photo of Izzy's sire. That will all have to wait a day or so. I may be alive, but I am still NQR (not quite right for all you non-horsey folks).

My MRI came back clear, so that was sort of a relief. I say sort of a relief because no brain tumor means we still don't know why the frequency of migraines has increased so suddenly.

Yes to all of them.

I also had a thorough eye exam by my ophthalmologist which also revealed no issues. And she checked. She ran every eyeball to brain test that she could think of. Again, I was mostly happy to get a clean bill of health. It's not like I want a tumor or blood clot or something equally terrible, but it would sure be nice to land on some kind of a cause, preferably one that doesn't require surgery or me losing any part of my body.

As of today, I am mostly migraine free, but I still pack around a daily headache that ranges from a 1 - 3 on the pain scale. I am on a couple of medications that seem to be fixing things, most notably the weird sleep pattern and bizarre dreams. Yeah. Sleeping for an hour and a half at a time while the Cartoon Network loops over and over in your dreams is not okay. Just saying.

I see the neurologist again today. I have a long list of questions for him, some that are nuts and bolts type things while others are suggestions friends have made. I really hope that ear piercing thing gets a thumbs down because I really don't want yet another thing that I need to medicate and look after. The ER doctor gave a whatever eye roll to acupuncture (although he did say it wouldn't hurt me), so I am curious to hear what the neurologist thinks.

I'll be back. :0)

15 Comments

TMI ... And Not Really Horse Related

4/6/2018

11 Comments

You might remember that I recently wrote about suffering from migraines. As of yesterday, I've had some form of a migraine for five straight weeks. To say my quality of life has suffered would be a massive understatement.

Some days, I've had to choose whether to ride for a few minutes, work on that stupid class I am taking, or cook dinner. I absolutely couldn't do more than one. And even choosing one of those things made my migraine worse. I've spent many nights huddled on the floor bawling my eyes out because my head hurt so bad.

A non-headache day!

I've been keeping a headache journal per the neurologist's recommendation, and Tuesday night was kind of the last straw. I hit a 9.0 on the headache scale - 10.0 is where I truly look for a permanent exit. Had I not been going to see the neurologist early Wednesday morning, we would have gone to the emergency room.

As it was, the neurologist had me admitted anyway. I spent the better part of Wednesday hooked up to various fluids and drugs as my husband hovered in the background alerting the nurse every time the machine beeped out a warning.

No headache here either.

I went to work on Thursday mostly headache free, but it's still there hovering slightly. The neurologist doubled my meds, but there have been some side effects already. I see him again in a few weeks.

I tell you this story only to explain why I haven't been able to watch the videos of my lessons with Chemaine Hurtado from last Saturday. I took Izzy off the property and had a BRILLIANT ride on him. He was AMAZING. Not only that, but Speedy and I finally figured out how to ride the three loop serpentine while maintaining the canter lead. That's one of the trickier movements from Second Level Test 3. We've even done it at home without Chemaine coaching me!

Migraine hovering this day, but we did it!

So, forgive me if my blog posts get a little weird or if no post appears. I am trying to keep it all together, but it's been challenging. And of course, the whole time I was laying in the ER with needles jabbed in my arm everywhere, all I could think about was the show next weekend.

Migraine or not, I am going!

11 Comments

Barn Breakout

11/17/2017

4 Comments

Speedy's patience finally ran out on Tuesday. This whole not working until he has some hoof under him finally got to him. He kicked down his gate and busted out.

Dude!

Speedy's desire to work or play with me can be a bit ... cloying at times. I love that he loves me, but honestly, did he need to tear down the barn?

Gate is temporarily chained back into place.

Speedy gets at least 12 hours of turnout a day. At dinner time, this gate is chained open so that he can use the large sandy pasture at his will. At breakfast time, his gate gets locked so his neighbor gets daytime turn out. This system works great for me because I no longer have to worry about whether or not my horses are getting enough time out of their stalls.

Cranky, but secretly delighted to see me.

For Speedy though, turnout isn't enough. Yes, the nighttime walking dissipates his energy, but it's the social interaction with me that he needs to be happy. He has a neighbor who he plays with, but the dude knows I am his person, and his feelings get hurt when he doesn't get enough of my time.

All was forgiven.

Speedy's been laid up for two months. During that time, I've spent a few minutes each day with him caring for the hoof, looking for any cuts or bumps, and checking his weight. At least one day a week, I bring him out for a groom and a graze on the lawn. In the last three or four weeks, I've also hopped up on him bareback and ridden around the property in a halter. It obviously hasn't been enough.

After I'd already groomed him!

Even though Izzy hasn't been ridden in three days, I devoted Thursday afternoon to my gray pony. He practically purred. I scraped off as much of the crusted-on dirt as I could, and then led him up to the arena. I still don't have an all-clear to ride, but I wasn't worried about damaging anything with a walking ride.

Speedy was high as a kite, but he was thrilled to be working again. I did a bunch of leg yields, haunches in, and a bit of half pass - all at the walk. When we were finished, I hosed him off while he stood politely and quietly. Satisfaction simply oozed from him; all was once again right with his world.

Equally funky.

I think he's ready to get back to work, even if it's just at a walk. I know he'll get the go ahead in a few weeks anyway, so if I start by working him at the walk now, he'll be just that much fitter and more supple once we start trotting.

And really? I've missed him just as much as he missed me. Maybe more so.

4 Comments

Hey, There It Is!

7/13/2017

2 Comments

I don't get to see Izzy's RPSI (Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International) brand very often. But lately, his summer coat has gotten so thin that it's finally peeking through.

My Arabian mare, Montoya, was freeze branded. I knew how to read that brand. Sydney, an OTTB that I had before Izzy, was also branded; he was imported from New Zealand. HIs brand was also interesting, and once I knew the code, it was easy to read.

Since I only get to see Izzy's brand for a few weeks in the summer, I always forget how to read it. I know that the bridge represents the Zweibrücker bridge of the RPSI which tells us that he is registered with the RPSI in Germany. That means that the beginning of his registration number is 51.

It's a 36, but it's hard to see.

The numbers below the bridge, a 36 (hard to read, I know), are the final two digits of his personal identification number. His full registration number is DE 451516723608.

The DE means Germany.
The 4 means he was born after 2000.
The 51 refers to his breeding district (born in the USA but registered with the RPSI).
The 5162736 is his personal registration number.
The 36 is the number branded on his hip below the bridge.
The 08 indicates his year of birth - 2008.

Anyone in the know could figure out a lot of Izzy's registration number just by looking at his brand. A quick glance at his brand would tell someone that he is registered with the Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International registry, and that his individual registration number ends with a 36. The RPSI would immediately know to look for a horse with the number DE _51_____36__.

I think it's a pretty interesting system. I only wish that I could see his brand all year long.

2 Comments

Tongue Tension?

7/11/2017

8 Comments

On Friday, I wrote about Izzy's bitting journey. I tried out the dressage legal bit by the way, and I had some very interesting results. Before I share that though, I want to talk about tongue tension.

Is that really a thing? Who knew? Over the weekend, I was flipping through the Mylers' book, The Level Best for Your Horse, when I stumbled on an article in the appendix. As a side note, I've said this oh, at least 47 times already, but this book is totally worth having in your equine reference library. You can get it here. Anyway, the article was written by Dr. Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS and is entitled "Anatomy and Physiology of the Mouth as it Relates to Bits."

You need this book!

The point of the article is to explain how the bit affects the horse's mouth which is directly tied to the front of the horse's body. According to Dr. Harman, some of the muscles of the tongue connect to the horse's hyoid apparatus. That's the thing that always gets broken in the human neck when a person is strangled. From the hyoid bone there are two major muscles that connect to the horse's front end. One attaches to the sternum and the other to the inside of the shoulder.

Look for the light purple and light blue sections.

What this means is that there is a direct connection from the horse's tongue to the horse's sternum and shoulder (via the hyoid). If there is tension in the tongue, there will be tension in the sternum which means the horse can't lift his back.

Dr. Harman goes on to explain that there are other muscles that connect the hyoid bones to the jaw and poll. The jaw houses an important nerve center for proprioception, that thing that tells a horse where his feet are without him needing to look at them. We have the same system - we know where our limbs are without needing to see them. It's how we do things like a drive a car. Tension in the tongue affects that nerve center which affects a horse's coordination system.

What all of this means is that when a horse's tongue is free and soft, he will move much more freely with better coordination and balance. Izzy is the first horse I've owned with such a sensitive tongue. With that said, it's difficult to move to a bit with minimal tongue pressure as tongue pressure helps the rider keep control. As Izzy gets more and more broke though, I am seeing him move better as I transition him into bits with less tongue pressure.

I am really excited to keep trying out the low extra wide ported barrel bit!

8 Comments

<<Previous

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. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy 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 warmblood 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

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

2019 Show Season

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

2019 Pending …

4/12-14/19 - AA Clinic (c)
5/26/19 - TMC (*)
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/22-23/19 - SCEC (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)
7/28/19 - TMC (*)
8/10/19 - RAAC (Q) (***)
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:

CDS Championship Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level:
Third Level:
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

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

Another Monday

Relationship Alert

Stick A Fork in Me

Clippers

Making Ends meet

I Am Still Alive

TMI ... And Not Really Horse Related

Barn Breakout

Hey, There It Is!

Tongue Tension?

About the
Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

National Awards

Stuff I Read

By Topic

Archives

About the Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

National Awards

Stuff I Read

By Topic

Archives

About the
Writer & Rider