Category:

I Am Still Alive

4/23/2018

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

Interesting Lake View

7/3/2017

4 Comments

This is in no way horse related, but I think you'll find it interesting.

You might remember that last fall we moved out to the edge of town along a small lake. We've enjoyed watching the birdlife, fishing from our back yard, and most especially, we've delighted in the peace and quiet.

Newly working fountain.

One way to beat the heat.

On Friday afternoon, that peace and quiet was shattered by a distinctive whomp whomp whomp. I zoomed out to the back patio to see a helicopter flying over our pool!

Not the view you expect to see from your suburban backyard.

We see helicopters in Bakersfield when someone's been lost in the river and the sheriff is doing a search and rescue, or when BPD is tracking a suspect on foot. Neither of those things seemed likely in my neighborhood. A quick glance to the southeast revealed a smoke-filled sky.

That's EXACTLY where I fish!

I could hear the helicopters landing close by, but I couldn't see where, so I went out our back gate and followed the lake path around the corner. I met the rest of my neighbors sitting in the grass. When the helicopters returned, I had to pick my jaw up off the grass at the sight of those huge machines hovering over my fishing spot. They were drawing water out of the lake to spray on the grass fire that was just a few miles to the south.

I know it's hard to tell, but those helicopters were right in the middle of our neighborhood. It might look like they were some distance away, but they were practically on top of us. The spray generated from their blades soaked me as they hovered there. The wind was so strong that you had to shield your face from the sting. I watched them refill their tanks three or four times before heading back to the house, but they came and went for several hours.

It made for an interesting view!

My husband made it home from work to see them in action too. I was sorry to see those guys working so hard, fire season's going to be bad this year, but it was a pretty exciting afternoon for my quiet little neighborhood!

My husband drove over to the burned area on Sunday. Several homes were threatened in the blaze but nothing but grass burned.

4 Comments

3, 2, 1, and Done!

5/2/2017

6 Comments

Alternately titled ... How To Waste $18.95, My Horse Is a Destroyer of All Things, and How to Lose a Fly Mask in Three Days.

No joke. Three days. That's how long Izzy's fly mask lasted. And lest you think he has rude neighbors, he doesn't share a fence with anyone, AND his paddock is HUGE, so it's not like he's touching the fence every time he turns around.

This is not a criticism of the fly mask. I love the Cashel Crusader Fly Masks, especially since 5% of the proceeds get donated to charity. A purchase of the orange, blue, or pink fly mask supports the financial needs of Animal Rescue Efforts, the Wounded Warrior Project, or the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

I've bought quite a few of these fly masks and find them sturdy, easy to clean, and effective. I particularly like the special hole cut for the forelock to poke through. I also like that these masks are trimmed with a low-napped fleece that doesn't attract stickers or other debris. The mesh is also very soft and is purported to block 70% of the UV rays.

I have no idea how he managed to rip it completely apart, but there is no way Izzy is getting another one this summer. It's frustrating because the flies are swimming in his eyeball goop, and the sun shines like 20 hours a day here throughout the summer. Not only is it bright, but it's also particularly fierce.

Do they make fly masks out of metal?

6 Comments

Really Gross, Butt ...

4/14/2017

3 Comments

No matter what you call it, monkey butt, swamp ass, heat rash ... it's a serious pain in the butt. If you live anywhere that experiences summer, you know how butt sweat can leave you doing a duck waddle.

We aren't at full summer yet here in California, but it is just around the corner. Spring or not, the mercury has already played with the 90 degree mark, and I've been hustling to restock my monkey butt remedies.

First up, Body Glide. You can buy it at various sporting good stores, but it can be hard to find. Instead of asking the salesperson where to find it and then getting The Look, I now order mine from the Riding Warehouse.

Body Glide comes in a deodorant shaped tube and dispenses the same way. It goes on smooth without being sticky, and it doesn't stain anything. While the packaging claims that it provides all-day protection, I've discovered that in the middle of summer, my bum prefers more frequent applications.

As a side note, I've discovered that the tube keeps getting smaller. When I opened the box containing my most recent order, I was shocked to see that the tube was half the size it was last year. I did some googling and found that the size/price varies from $9.99/1.5 oz. to $5.00/0.35 oz. Riding Warehouse now carries an 0.8 oz tube for $7.95.

Next Up - the Powders.

My first defense is Body Glide, but after a really sweaty ride, I still get chafed. While the powders don't help prevent the rash (I must sweat A LOT), they do help soothe the skin after the fact. I now see Anti Monkey Butt Powder in stores locally, even at my feed store, but again, I just order it from the Riding Warehouse. A 6 oz. bottle goes for $5.50.

Another solution, Change Clothes.

No matter how summer weight breeches claim to be, they don't live in my summer. I regularly ride in temperatures of 90 - 100 ℉. No pair of breeches, especially full seats, can keep you comfortable in those temperatures. As unflattering as it usually is, I strip out of my breeches in favor of a pair of shorts. I keep them in my barn bag, ready to go at all times.

And finally, Clean Up and Use Fresh Undies.

I don't know why sweat cools off your face but burns your bum, but it does. Other than using the swimming pool right after riding, I've found that simply "tidying up" can also pre-empt swamp ass. I keep these little moist wipes in my barn bag all summer. And if I know it's going to be a long day, like a two and a half hour drive back from a lesson, I'll also bring a clean pair of undies to go along with my shorts.

Whether you call it swamp ass or monkey butt, sweaty, chafed skin sure is a pain in the butt!

3 Comments

Podcasts

4/4/2017

2 Comments

A year or two ago, some bloggers turned me on to podcasts. I now listen to them almost exclusively during my half hour drive to work and on my drive to the barn in the afternoon. Some are just to amuse me (Tell Me Something I Don't Know), while others feed my curiosity about science or medicine or politics (Freakonomics). This week, I've been listening to S-Town produced by Serial and This American Life - both of which I also listen to.

All I can say is holy hell, if you're into podcasts, download it quick! They released all seven episodes at once, so you don't even have to wait to catch the next one.

I am not even going to give you a hint as to what it's about, but episode two literally felt like a sock to the gut and episode three had me sobbing all the way to work. I've got two episodes left, enough to get me through today and tomorrow's commutes. Listen to it. You won't be disappointed.

This is related to horses; I swear.

Another podcast that I listen to is the TED Radio Hour. That podcast is based on the TED talks. The topics range greatly, but they tend to focus on ideas that make the world a better place. In a recent episode, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions," the TED speakers explored how we make decisions. During the episode, there was one particular speaker who was so intriguing that I replayed her segment at least three times.

She said, and I am paraphrasing, when we have a decision to make, there is often an obvious best of the two choices, so we make the decision without angst. Other times, neither decision seems better than the other. In this case, the choices are on a par. No matter how hard we try, we cannot predict which choice will lead to the best outcome.

The TED speaker explained that when this happens, it is because neither choice is better than the other. There are simply too many variables to determine which one will ultimately have been the best choice. In situations such as this, the speaker said the solution is to choose one to which you can actually commit. When we commit to a choice, our brain begins to build a case for that choice, ultimately proving it to be the "best" decision.

So what does this have to do with horses? A lot actually. Every single day, we are faced with decisions about our horses: feed, medical procedures, training practices, showing, supplements, farriers, and on and on. Rather than agonizing over which choice to make, I've been stopping and asking myself if this is one of those times when the choices are on a par. If yes, I look at the choices, and instruct myself to just pick. And once the choice is made, I stick with it and refuse to second guess myself.

You know what? It's working! I have been able to minimize a ton of stress by simply making the decision and moving forward. That speaker was right: the choices I am agonizing over don't really matter. In most of the cases, both scenarios will go how they're going to go, and neither will ultimately be better than the other. Just different.

I am okay with different.

2 Comments

Rodeo Queen to Dressage Queen

3/30/2017

10 Comments

This story has come up here and there over the years. I've never really told it start to finish, but in the mid-1980s, I was crowned Garberville Rodeo Queen.

My "publicity" head shot used for the newspaper and other rodeo advertisements.

I was horse crazy from birth. I couldn't get enough of it, so when I got my first horse, I wanted it all - shows, travel, parades, the works. Unfortunately, we didn't have a trailer, nor was my dad interested in schlepping me around the county doing any of those things.

I had thousands of acres at my disposal though, so I did everything you could do for free. We jumped logs, ditches, and anything else that would hold still. We swam the horses in the river and even skied behind them with one person riding and another grabbing on to the tail. We camped out in the hills with the horses tied to trees. I even rode my horses to school one day to use them as a demo for the junior high agriculture class.

I was always on the hunt for something else though. A friend of a friend of a friend once trailered us out to a popular trail head and let us ride for a few hours. Watching that trailer behind the truck was like winning the lottery. Another time, a friend of my dad's, who was just getting into endurance riding, took me along with him for a camping/trail riding weekend with a big group at a local ranch. I was definitely hooked on travel after that.

Sunny was small but mighty!

I don't remember how it happened, but the summer before high school, I heard about the Garberville Rodeo Queen contest. I had never aspired to pageants, but I did want to ride in a parade. I went to the meeting, signed up, and before he knew it, my dad was schlepping me around more than one county selling raffle tickets.

Newspaper photo of my dad and me as my win is announced.

My dad drove me to the Laytonville rodeo where I sold tickets and he maybe had a beer or two. He drove me to a number of bars where he camped out for the afternoon as I manned the door catching patrons both coming and going. In the small town where I grew up, it wasn't unusual to have someone's kid hanging out at the pool table or jukebox.

My step-mother also helped out by picking me up in town on her way home from work. I'd ride the bus to Garberville after school and sell tickets all afternoon. Other rodeos in our area had "horsemanship" or "poise" portions of the contest, but my town was solely interested in ticket sales. I could sell tickets, and I did.

Trophy, tiara, sash, and a shiny pony. There wasn't much more a girl in the 80s could ask for.

Being rodeo queen was the coolest thing that toothy 14 year-old had ever done. I led the rest of the girls down main street in the parade and then we drove out to the rodeo grounds for two days of as much fun as I could stand. We borrowed a trailer from a friend, and I slept under a tree at the rodeo grounds with Sunny tied to the trailer. We rode in the rodeo's Grand Entrance where I got to do a victory lap in front of the grandstands.

Small town parade.

Eventually, I left home and went to college. I couldn't afford a horse back then; I could barely afford to feed myself. Within a year after graduating though, I had a horse and shortly after that, I was hitting the endurance trail with friends.

For the past 25 years I've taken my horses everywhere and done a lot of cool things - camping at the beach, endurance races, play days, poker rides, dressage shows, and even another school demonstration. Once you've been bitten by the horse bug, there's simply no cure. The only thing you can do is scratch the itch!

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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.

July 2017 - Photo by Sue Dockweiler

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 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:
Score 5:

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 -
Score 3 -
Score 4 -

2018 Show Season

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

2018 Pending …
5/27/18 Tehachapi (*)
6/16-17/18 El Sueno (***)
6/24/18 Tehachapi (*)
7/22/18 Tehachapi (*)
8/11-12/18 RAAC (Q ***)
8/26/18 Tehachapi (*)

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 (***)

I Am Still Alive

TMI ... And Not Really Horse Related

Barn Breakout

Hey, There It Is!

Tongue Tension?

Interesting Lake View

3, 2, 1, and Done!

Really Gross, Butt ...

Podcasts

Rodeo Queen to Dressage Queen

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