Yep - Tai Chi for riders. I had a lesson on Saturday after being back on Skate since his shoe pulling incident. My instructor thinks he hurt his shoulder...which may or may not be related to the shoe pulling. He was still a smidge stiff and not striding out with the left front when we started (I couldn't see or feel it, but she could).
We worked on getting him to stretch, which was difficult as he was crankier than usual and really NOT into the lesson! Lots of falling in around corners and jigging during walking. Argh. Nothing frustrates me more than jigging. Once we moved on to cantering I was shocked to find Skate totally sucked back. He's rarely (can't even remember the last time) sucked back...he definitely tends towards rushy. I mean he was so far behind me and my legs I nearly topped over his head. I had to give him a good whack w/ the whip to convince him forward was best.
Anyhoo, as usual, our transitions were just plain awful. Lurching into the upwards and falling into the downwards. Frustration all around. So, my instructor decided to try Tai Chi. Basically deep breathing to the footfall of the horse to raise my awareness of where Skate is and to really help my feel. At first I was a nonbeliever...I thought my feel was just fine, thank you. After doing an upward transition with my seat into the sitting trot and then watching Skate stretch into the contact willingly while snuffling softly, I was changed. I am now a believer! And I realize I had no feel at all like I do w/ this technique. The old saying of sitting 'into' the horse's back came true...I could easily feel Skate's hips and my sitting trot was exponentially improved. For the piece de resistance, we did a few downwards using only my seat and Skate obliged while keeping his back up! It wasn't a miracle worker in the canter...but hey, two out of three gaits is enough to make me happy.
Amazing. I haven't had a ride that changed so significantly from start to finish in a while. I'm psyched to ride again...but alas, Skate pulled his other shoe off yesterday. I'm stuck with a lame horse again, damnit. So much for another good ride anytime soon. Time for a chat w/ the farrier, too.
Oh, if anyone is interested in Tai Chi for riders: www.horsehero.com/5201/13908/24930
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Absentee blogger
Hi folks -- no, I've not fallen off the map! It seems life has just gotten in the way of riding.
Lori, Tango's owner, moved to another state last month, so we ended the lease in July and I sent my handsome buddy on his way down south. I miss him, but I know Lori and her family are thrilled with their move, and I'm sure Tango's got great new digs.
So I had to reevaluate my options... and rather than search for another "hitchhiking" arrangement or half lease, I decided to put a temporary hold on horseback riding for the remaining year or so of grad school. This was such a hard decision to make. But the home stretch of this PhD will be incredibly demanding on my time. To boot, my wonderful boyfriend will soon begin work on a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship out of state, and long-distance relationships are financially demanding as well. I hated to admit it to myself, but the reality is that this upcoming segment of my life just does not have room for horses.
So needless to say, I won't have posts of my own to contribute any time in the near future -- but I'll keep reading and commenting, and hopefully in a couple years I'll be back in the saddle again.
Lori, Tango's owner, moved to another state last month, so we ended the lease in July and I sent my handsome buddy on his way down south. I miss him, but I know Lori and her family are thrilled with their move, and I'm sure Tango's got great new digs.
So I had to reevaluate my options... and rather than search for another "hitchhiking" arrangement or half lease, I decided to put a temporary hold on horseback riding for the remaining year or so of grad school. This was such a hard decision to make. But the home stretch of this PhD will be incredibly demanding on my time. To boot, my wonderful boyfriend will soon begin work on a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship out of state, and long-distance relationships are financially demanding as well. I hated to admit it to myself, but the reality is that this upcoming segment of my life just does not have room for horses.
So needless to say, I won't have posts of my own to contribute any time in the near future -- but I'll keep reading and commenting, and hopefully in a couple years I'll be back in the saddle again.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Getting Acquainted
Hey guys. Phoebe continued to get ouchier and ouchier for a couple rides so she got about a week off and I've started back riding her. The last two rides have been probably 95-99% sound. She'll step a bit short around turns every now and then, but for the most part she seems good to go.
Since our first ride we've gotten a lot more used to each other. She's an interesting ride in that she's not really off your leg when you start, she doesn't go forward, but then again she also stays at a steady tempo/speed. So I've started letting her stay in her comfort zone until we walk/trot/canter in each direction. Once she canters a bit her motor gets going and she'll go forward when you ask. Our turning has improved, we can actually stay in the ring now. ;) She tends to lean in on turns and prop on her inside shoulder, so now I'm working on that with her. She's also a good education in canter departs. If I drop her front end as I ask for the transition she runs through it, but if I keep contact she'll usually step into it nicely.
One thing I'm rapidly falling in love with are her gaits. Her trot and canter are both ZOMG-amazing ;). Super easy to sit, even once she gets rolling. I have no idea how they'd score in the dressage ring, but for riding they're a lot of fun. This evening once she got rolling I could see why she'd been at an event trainer. Cantering her around made me want to go take her XC and jump around and I'm a giant wuss :). She's just a lot of fun to mess around with. If I can keep her in consistent work for another week I'll start pushing her for more stuff. Right now I'm trying to just keep her mostly correct and let her build up some muscle. Hope everyone else is having fun.
Since our first ride we've gotten a lot more used to each other. She's an interesting ride in that she's not really off your leg when you start, she doesn't go forward, but then again she also stays at a steady tempo/speed. So I've started letting her stay in her comfort zone until we walk/trot/canter in each direction. Once she canters a bit her motor gets going and she'll go forward when you ask. Our turning has improved, we can actually stay in the ring now. ;) She tends to lean in on turns and prop on her inside shoulder, so now I'm working on that with her. She's also a good education in canter departs. If I drop her front end as I ask for the transition she runs through it, but if I keep contact she'll usually step into it nicely.
One thing I'm rapidly falling in love with are her gaits. Her trot and canter are both ZOMG-amazing ;). Super easy to sit, even once she gets rolling. I have no idea how they'd score in the dressage ring, but for riding they're a lot of fun. This evening once she got rolling I could see why she'd been at an event trainer. Cantering her around made me want to go take her XC and jump around and I'm a giant wuss :). She's just a lot of fun to mess around with. If I can keep her in consistent work for another week I'll start pushing her for more stuff. Right now I'm trying to just keep her mostly correct and let her build up some muscle. Hope everyone else is having fun.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Goodbye, Pookie-Head (Pepsi's Gone)
This is NOT the update post I want to be making, but it looks like it has to be made.
We had to take Pepsi to the vet school today because he wasn't eating his breakfast and was showing neurological symptoms. (He couldn't seem to figure out where his hind end was, what to do with his hind legs, etc.) They gave us a range of possible diagnoses, anywhere from a bone spur impinging on his nerve (from which he would probably heal completely) to EPM/EEE/West Nile Virus, which we couldn't have really done anything about.
When I left him ~2:30 this afternoon he was eating hay and seemed fairly content. Lindsay (who works at the vet school) called about 3:30 to say that she & Rachael went back to check on him before they went home and that he had a catheter in him to help him pee, but was otherwise still in good condition and was being an absolute gentleman about everything.
I basically thought we'd have to make some hard decisions Monday (which is when we were going to run all the diagnostics to avoid an emergency diagnostic fee on the weekend), but never got the chance. I got a call tonight about 8:30 that he had fallen down in the stall and couldn't get back up. The vet also said that he couldn't pee or poop on his own, so I decided to put him down.
My mom and I drove to the vet school, and I was there with him while they put him down. He was laying down in the stall, looking around and being his normal sweet & mouthy self when we got there. They gave him some hay and a giant bowl of cookies to eat, and he was quite happy with all of the food around him to munch on, and kept nosing me for more. I was there right beside him as they gave him the drugs, and he was enjoying his cookies up to the very end.
The ironic thing is that he'd been SO good lately, and we'd really started to work on some of our last remaining issues. I was SO looking forward to taking lessons on him, to taking him to different clinics, and to get him started on Adequan so that he could keep going strong.
The good news is that at least now he's able to run freely in green pastures, and he can have all the cookies he wants forever.
So everyone, go kiss your horses, tell them you love them, and then give them a carrot or a cookie from me.
~Mary
***Run free through green pastures sweetheart. I will always love you, and now you can go play with Bandit...until I see you both again over the rainbow.***
We had to take Pepsi to the vet school today because he wasn't eating his breakfast and was showing neurological symptoms. (He couldn't seem to figure out where his hind end was, what to do with his hind legs, etc.) They gave us a range of possible diagnoses, anywhere from a bone spur impinging on his nerve (from which he would probably heal completely) to EPM/EEE/West Nile Virus, which we couldn't have really done anything about.
When I left him ~2:30 this afternoon he was eating hay and seemed fairly content. Lindsay (who works at the vet school) called about 3:30 to say that she & Rachael went back to check on him before they went home and that he had a catheter in him to help him pee, but was otherwise still in good condition and was being an absolute gentleman about everything.
I basically thought we'd have to make some hard decisions Monday (which is when we were going to run all the diagnostics to avoid an emergency diagnostic fee on the weekend), but never got the chance. I got a call tonight about 8:30 that he had fallen down in the stall and couldn't get back up. The vet also said that he couldn't pee or poop on his own, so I decided to put him down.
My mom and I drove to the vet school, and I was there with him while they put him down. He was laying down in the stall, looking around and being his normal sweet & mouthy self when we got there. They gave him some hay and a giant bowl of cookies to eat, and he was quite happy with all of the food around him to munch on, and kept nosing me for more. I was there right beside him as they gave him the drugs, and he was enjoying his cookies up to the very end.
The ironic thing is that he'd been SO good lately, and we'd really started to work on some of our last remaining issues. I was SO looking forward to taking lessons on him, to taking him to different clinics, and to get him started on Adequan so that he could keep going strong.
The good news is that at least now he's able to run freely in green pastures, and he can have all the cookies he wants forever.
So everyone, go kiss your horses, tell them you love them, and then give them a carrot or a cookie from me.
~Mary
***Run free through green pastures sweetheart. I will always love you, and now you can go play with Bandit...until I see you both again over the rainbow.***
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Jay gave Skate some new ideas....
for getting out of work! I think he's been reading this blog : )
Skate pulled his brand new shoe partly off early last week. The BO pulled it the rest of the way off for him. Somewhere in that process he went lame - either from stepping on the clip (first time ever in shoes w/ clips, dangit) or from bruising while waiting to have the shoe reset, or some sort of soft tissue injury from torquing that shoe off. Who knows, really.
Anyway, we soaked and buted for a few days and he came sound this past weekend. I even rode for a while and he was great. I went out yesterday to ride again and he was lame again! Maybe there's just an abscess brewing in there...so I soaked and buted him again. I'm still turning him out - he's sound enough to gallop away when I take his halter off - ha.
So, I guess we'll just take the wait and see approach.
Skate pulled his brand new shoe partly off early last week. The BO pulled it the rest of the way off for him. Somewhere in that process he went lame - either from stepping on the clip (first time ever in shoes w/ clips, dangit) or from bruising while waiting to have the shoe reset, or some sort of soft tissue injury from torquing that shoe off. Who knows, really.
Anyway, we soaked and buted for a few days and he came sound this past weekend. I even rode for a while and he was great. I went out yesterday to ride again and he was lame again! Maybe there's just an abscess brewing in there...so I soaked and buted him again. I'm still turning him out - he's sound enough to gallop away when I take his halter off - ha.
So, I guess we'll just take the wait and see approach.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Freebie Ride
Hey all! Finally a riding update. :)
I get to ride Phoebe for the week. She's a 16.2ish bay mare who evidently was doing some eventing previously and jumps up to 3'6" (not that there are really any jumps at the barn, but still, it's nice to know jumping is an option if I keep riding her after this. She's some sort of warmblood, I forget what though. I'll try to remember to snap a picture of her this evening.
Last night I didn't do too much, because she hadn't been ridden in over a week due to getting adjusted. She's also been slightly off for most of the 3-4 months she's been at the barn. Her feet are getting rehabbed so we're not sure if it's her feet, her body from being stiff and out of shape, or what. She works out of it and doesn't seem particularly uncomfortable so the plan for now is to just monitor it and see how things go.
She's a VERY different ride from Pro. She has no concept of power-steering, is pretty resistant to leg (she goes when you ask, but doesn't really power along), and after Pro's giraffe antics I feel like her head is at her knees ;). She was fun to mess with though and seems to have a pretty good attitude. I think I'll probably end up trying to do lots of bending exercises with her. We did some walk serpentines and then when we were trying to figure out what leg the lameness was in I did some square turns with her. She did very well with those and she apparently KNOWS dressage, so I think the lack of bending is probably just her being lazy.
I cantered her for a bit on a 20m circle and was really impressed. Her canter was much more put-together feeling and I got her to rock back some at the canter and use her butt some. I'm thinking I might be able to do lots of canter-trot transitions to get her off her forehand some at the trot?
I don't know if I'll ride tonight, it's apparently going to be freakishly hot and I'm doing stalls for the barn manager since it's her birthday. Hope everyone else has been having some nice rides as well!
I get to ride Phoebe for the week. She's a 16.2ish bay mare who evidently was doing some eventing previously and jumps up to 3'6" (not that there are really any jumps at the barn, but still, it's nice to know jumping is an option if I keep riding her after this. She's some sort of warmblood, I forget what though. I'll try to remember to snap a picture of her this evening.
Last night I didn't do too much, because she hadn't been ridden in over a week due to getting adjusted. She's also been slightly off for most of the 3-4 months she's been at the barn. Her feet are getting rehabbed so we're not sure if it's her feet, her body from being stiff and out of shape, or what. She works out of it and doesn't seem particularly uncomfortable so the plan for now is to just monitor it and see how things go.
She's a VERY different ride from Pro. She has no concept of power-steering, is pretty resistant to leg (she goes when you ask, but doesn't really power along), and after Pro's giraffe antics I feel like her head is at her knees ;). She was fun to mess with though and seems to have a pretty good attitude. I think I'll probably end up trying to do lots of bending exercises with her. We did some walk serpentines and then when we were trying to figure out what leg the lameness was in I did some square turns with her. She did very well with those and she apparently KNOWS dressage, so I think the lack of bending is probably just her being lazy.
I cantered her for a bit on a 20m circle and was really impressed. Her canter was much more put-together feeling and I got her to rock back some at the canter and use her butt some. I'm thinking I might be able to do lots of canter-trot transitions to get her off her forehand some at the trot?
I don't know if I'll ride tonight, it's apparently going to be freakishly hot and I'm doing stalls for the barn manager since it's her birthday. Hope everyone else has been having some nice rides as well!
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