Not-So-Speedy Dressage

The Non-Equine Members of My Family

11/13/2018

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!

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Chiropractor to Izzy's Rescue

11/7/2018

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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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Holy Hoopla!

11/2/2018

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Hoopla is probably too strong of a word. It starts with H though, and fifth grade is all about alliteration. Have I ever mentioned that my class mascot is a stallion? Yep, we're Sweaney's Stallions. We even have class t-shirts.

Cute, huh?!

So if it's a hoopla, what's all the hoopla? Well, without intending to jinx myself, Izzy seems to be holding onto this round of shoes. Horseshoe gods, please don't take this as a challenge. We're just over half-way through the shoeing cycle, and his usually short toes are starting to look rather longish; comparatively speaking of course.

I hate to even share this as Murphy will be certain to ensure that it is off by this afternoon.

When my farrier was out last, I reminded him that I had started Izzy on Platinum Hoof Support. He gave a surprised, "Oh! That might be why his feet looked better."

I think it's doing some good?

Izzy's hooves weren't miraculously longer or anything, but my farrier did feel as though they weren't as soft and shelly. Of course, it takes months for real progress, but at least his hooves don't look worse.

This is what is meant by scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I ordered another tub last night which will last 6 weeks. At $52.43, which includes tax and shipping, the stuff isn't cheap. At $1.11 per serving, it's actually downright expensive. Let's not forget that Speedy gets 1/2 cup of Platinum Healthy Weight at $1.67 a day, and BOTH boys get a serving of Platinum Performance at $1.96 per day, each.

Hoopla indeed! I spend $3.07 a day on Izzy's supplements and another $3.93 on Speedy. And that $7.00 a day doesn't count the three bags of LMF senior that I buy every month nor the beet pulp that I buy now and again.

Holy hoopla, Batman! I need to get some lower maintenance ponies.

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More on Flying Changes

11/1/2018

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I had a lesson on Tuesday which renewed my faith in Speedy's ability to do Third Level. I need to quit being such a doubter. But you know how it goes, sometimes you do great in a lesson under your trainer's watchful eye only to crash and burn the next day.

Doing great under my trainer's watchful eye - moment of the flying change.

I am thrilled to report that when I rode Speedy yesterday afternoon sans trainer, I got an easy flying change at the end of the canter half pass! Not that our half pass is recognizable as such. It looks more like a beginner's attempt at a leg yield - more diagonal than straight, but who cares about that?

The thrilling part was that we got it on the first try with minimal effort on my part. Truth be told, I think he offered it before I had completely finished asking! Which leads me to hope that he might be ready to start offering changes at random moments during the canter as I lose my balance or shift my weight. Wouldn't that be awesome?

This video was during Tuesday's lesson, but it shows how well he can do a flying change.

As I rode yesterday afternoon, I reminded myself that if I am going to cram him into "the box," I need to at least occasionally "let him go" to see if he can stay there. We were both a lot happier. Self-carriage is a thing afterall; I need to let him do it.

Uphill?

My whole complaint this past of couple of weeks was that he wasn't sitting enough and softening. I think the photo above is proof that he can sit. If I can just get out of his way just a little bit and trust him to do his job, I think we might actually make it to Third Level.

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Trainer Saves the Day

10/31/2018

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Well that answers the can he or can't he question from the other day. If you don't have a trainer, and if you go through periods of huge self doubt, you really need to get one. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, really knows how to bring out the best in a horse and rider team without giving the rider false expectations.

She never came right out and said Speedy will be brilliant at Third Level, so quit worrying because in all likelihood he won't be. Instead, she helped me tackle the lateral work problem. The first issue was that Speedy was stuck on my inside rein and leg. As I started the trot half pass, Chemaine instructed me to ride a 10-meter circle while pushing him away from my leg. Then I went back to half pass, but every time I felt him heavy on my inside rein and leg, I repeated the 10-meter circle. We did a lot of 10-meter circles, but the exercise worked.

The next thing Chemaine helped me address was lightness. Speedy has been so heavy primarily because I am driving him to the bit. She laughed when she said that I've crammed him so far into the box that he can't get anymore into the box. She said I now need to let him go and see if he'll hold himself where he needs to be.

Taking a well earned break.

The exercise went a little like this: half pass, let him go, collect him, let him go. Repeat, repeat, repeat. And of course, the exercise worked. While the half pass didn't look brilliant, Speedy was finally soft in the bridle and moving laterally. I am sure he felt as relieved as I did.

Since my arena is short and wide, riding the half pass can be tricky as I run out of room. Chemaine gave me yet another new exercise that helps with the geometry while continuing the lateral work. It goes more or less like this:

tracking right, come down centerline, half pass to the right toward M.
as you near M, renvers through the corner to C.
come back down centerline on the same bend and half pass right to K.
At K, renvers again through the corner to A and repeat the half pass to M or move on to something else.

Of course, I couldn't keep my left and right straight, so it took Chemaine many minutes of patiently explaining which way was right, but I eventually got it.

The flying lead change from the video.

The last thing we worked on was the flying change. Surprisingly, the change wasn't the thing I felt we needed to work on; I've had those more or less under control. In fact, we got them without too much fuss. Chemaine, never one to leave me without something new to work on, suggested we put the canter half pass and flying changes together.

Guess what happened? Yup. Speedy and I got the flying change out of canter half pass the first time. I am not sure who was more surprised, me, or Chemaine!

Speedy wasn't a bit surprised. He knew exactly what he was doing.

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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 (*)

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?

Holy Hoopla!

More on Flying Changes

Trainer Saves the Day

About the
Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

National Awards

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About the Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

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