Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
The speedy pony has not made much of an appearance here of late. There hadn't been much to report. Speedy had a hole in his foot, and all I could do was check daily for lameness and see how much progress had been made in the closure of said hole. Finally, there's something to report. While the hole hasn't filled in entirely, Speedy is 100% sound on it. For the past several weeks, my soundness checks have progressed from can he walk a few steps?, can he walk down the grass?, can he trot on the grass?, can he walk down the driveway?, until finally, I asked him if he could trot in the arena. Last week, he finally trotted out sound in the arena on a circle going both directions. Progress! When I felt confident that he was sound, I added my tack and a lunge line and asked for walk/trot transitions. When that looked good, I added some cavaletti poles which he thought was the most fun he'd had in months, which it was actually. And when I asked him to canter the cavaletti poles, he about died and went to heaven. Yesterday, I rode him for the first time, and his good mood evaporated. Oh, yeah, this is work. We finished up by trotting the poles which reminded him that he is (almost) a Third Level horse. A lot has happened in Speedy's world recently, which bothers him immensely. He really doesn't do well with change. Besides suffering from multiple abscesses, that would wreck anybody's mood, his pasture mate, Willy, moved away which left Speedy alone in his large dry pasture. While he loves the 24/7 turnout, he hates the alone part. He's not actually alone. A lovely mare lives in the large sandy pasture adjacent to his. Changes though. Her side of things are being worked on. Freshly composted dirt has been added with an updated sprinkler system. Grass should begin growing shortly. In the meantime, she has moved to the neighboring small pasture that has grass. Speedy can see her, but he can't touch her. He thinks he's going to die. Of course, adjacent to her pasture are two more friends, Winaro and the mule. While Speedy can't touch them either, they're all within chatting distance. And let's not forget that Izzy lives across from him in his own large dry pasture (although not so dry right now). Speedy doesn't care how many horses live in his neighborhood. He wants someone to live with him, and if that's not possible, then someone, preferably a hottie like red mare, should at least live where he can breathe on her. Since none of that is happening, he has decided to live at the gate. And by at the gate, I mean RIGHT NEXT TO THE GATE. His decision to confine himself to this small space has driven everyone at the ranch nuts. We've had to move his feeder here, but the most annoying part is that he is now standing in mud. He has a HUGE area to roam, but since he only stands HERE, the ground is getting all mucked up. Living at the gate has caused one last problem. As he paces and whirls, he has carved a substantial pit. In its farthest corner, the hole is more than a foot deep. As this is the gate used for the tractor, this has made things a bit awkward for Reggie who takes care of dragging and spreading manure. If Speedy doesn't quit being such a jerk, he's going to get us all kicked out. Just kidding. I think.
So now we're all caught up on Speedy's life. Hopefully we can get back on a riding schedule and tackle those flying changes again. As I look out my window this morning - it's still dark, I see rain. What's one more day? 2/5/2019 07:18:25 am
Right?!?!? Sounds like a great solution. 2/10/2019 08:35:34 am
Oh my gosh, do NOT even get me started! My best friend and I have this plan to drive minis when we get too old to ride, but I want one NOW! LOL 2/6/2019 08:16:20 am
Does anyone have a donkey or goat that could live with him? Would you be willing to buy/ adopt him a friend? I think a donkey may have issues with the alfalfa, but goats do fine with it. Just a thought for poor lonely Speedy. 2/10/2019 08:20:43 am
All great ideas for sure. Anybody smaller than Speedy would probably be able to walk under the fence though :0. I am pretty sure the mare will be moving back in soon. It would definitely be awesome to find a pasture pal for Speedy - someone who eats as slow as Speedy and is willing to be bossed around a little. Comments are closed.
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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. 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.
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.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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