Well there's still snow on the ground, but the temperatures have warmed enough that I don't freeze my patootie off when I go to the barn. It has been three months that the horses and I have had off from riding and so it is time to swing a leg over again.
I decided Saturday would be the day. While I'm sure Pony would have been her Perfect Princess Self, I decided to be wise and let her stretch her legs in the arena first with some free lunging for a couple minutes. Then I put on the surcingle and bridle and did a bit of ground driving. She seemed to have her brains about her so I tacked her up and did our usual ground work exercises first and then got on.
And, well, she was perfect. We didn't do much, as we haven't ridden much and I want to leg her up carefully (and since there still snow and ice on the ground, I won't be riding her outside for a while), so just a little walk and trot for 15 minutes or so and then called it a day.
I had ordered some MDC stirrups back in the fall. I was willing to try anything to help my hip and since Riding Warehouse has a 1-year free return policy I had nothing to lose. But I haven't put them on my saddle or tried them until Saturday. I rode Saturday and Sunday and they didn't cause me any problems. So fingers crossed that they work for me and allow me to ride pain-free.
I did get a hip injection maybe 6 weeks ago (for the bursa, not intra-articular) and while that hurt a bit at first, I did get some relief from it. I do think part of the problem might be my foot. I'm going to see a different orthopedic surgeon soon. And if he can't come up with any answers, then, well, I'm on my own I guess. But I'm feeling a lot better, so I'm hopeful.
Yesterday's ride was better than Saturday's. Pony was light and responsive and she felt really good. I'm so looking forward to getting back in the groove with lessons again! I'd like to do some showing this year - both dressage and h/j - so I need to get a regular program going again.
Looking forward to spring, that's for sure!
Monday, January 30, 2017
Thursday, December 8, 2016
SNOW!
Well, it is snowing here! It started a couple days ago with a light dusting and then didn't really snow yesterday, but this morning it is SNOWING and the horses were covered in a layer of snow when I went out for breakfast.
This picture is from lunch outside on the first day of snow.
Pony's sleazy is now off but the last of the open wound is still closing. It has healed nicely and she's on full turnout (solo, still) and her movement doesn't seem to be affected at all.
Just for giggles, I thought I'd do a first ride - first show video comparison. She sure did come a long way in a year!
This picture is from lunch outside on the first day of snow.
Pony's sleazy is now off but the last of the open wound is still closing. It has healed nicely and she's on full turnout (solo, still) and her movement doesn't seem to be affected at all.
Just for giggles, I thought I'd do a first ride - first show video comparison. She sure did come a long way in a year!
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Out of jail!
The vet came on Wednesday to take Pony's stitches out and she got the okay for turnout - yay! I'm not turning her out with the other horses, but she does get to go in her own paddock. Since she and Paddy get along well, she can go out when Paddy is out of his paddock. At night, when Mac goes out, she goes back in her stall for lockdown (well, she can put her head out the dutch door).
Princess Fancy Pants has been very good for her turnout. For the first two days, I did it for breakfast only. She never got up to any hijinx (that I could see, anyway) and was very calm and well-behaved. Now she goes out all day and comes in for dinner and overnight.
When the stitches came out, the vet said it looked very good and that it is healing well. It looks gross to me still, but I'm not a vet so I take her word for it. I didn't get a picture of it today, but it looks so much better than just three days ago, so she's continually improving. Part of it just can't be stitched up, so the skin will have to fill in and grow together - this is how it looked on Wednesday.
PFP doesn't seem to be favoring that leg so that's good news. I did buy her another sleazy because the first one got bloody, even though I put a maxi pad over the wound. I think she was fussing with it a lot. For the new sleazy, I bought a roll of non-stick batting (I'm sure it has another name but it escapes me right now) and so I'm cutting a big square of batting and then safety-pinning it under the sleazy. When I took it off to change it this morning it was appropriately bloody and the sleazy was mostly clean, so I think this is a better solution.
I guess the best thing to come of this is that for all the doctoring I'm doing with her in the barn aisle, she's getting much better about standing quietly in the cross ties!
Princess Fancy Pants has been very good for her turnout. For the first two days, I did it for breakfast only. She never got up to any hijinx (that I could see, anyway) and was very calm and well-behaved. Now she goes out all day and comes in for dinner and overnight.
When the stitches came out, the vet said it looked very good and that it is healing well. It looks gross to me still, but I'm not a vet so I take her word for it. I didn't get a picture of it today, but it looks so much better than just three days ago, so she's continually improving. Part of it just can't be stitched up, so the skin will have to fill in and grow together - this is how it looked on Wednesday.
PFP doesn't seem to be favoring that leg so that's good news. I did buy her another sleazy because the first one got bloody, even though I put a maxi pad over the wound. I think she was fussing with it a lot. For the new sleazy, I bought a roll of non-stick batting (I'm sure it has another name but it escapes me right now) and so I'm cutting a big square of batting and then safety-pinning it under the sleazy. When I took it off to change it this morning it was appropriately bloody and the sleazy was mostly clean, so I think this is a better solution.
I guess the best thing to come of this is that for all the doctoring I'm doing with her in the barn aisle, she's getting much better about standing quietly in the cross ties!
Friday, November 11, 2016
Fresh air!
Poor Pony has been stuck in her stall for almost two weeks now. Even though I clean her stall every day (four times a day), her feet are a mess because she pees so much, and pretty much all over her stall, and of course she poops and she is standing in there all day on stall rest. I take her out once or twice a day and tie her up to clean her stall and groom her and tend to her wound, but her legs are stocked up and her feet are in need of drying out!
Her wound is healing up well. I ended up getting a sleazy to put on her to cover it. I put the sleazy on, then put a maxi-pad over the wound, then I safety-pin the maxi pad to the sleazy so it stays in place. It helps a little bit with the drainage and to also have something soft over the wound. At first I just stuck the maxi-pad there but they kept falling out so I moved on to safety pins.
The vet has come out a couple times to clean it and re-do the stitches a bit. The top part of the stitches healed well and right away - it is just the bottom part (distal) that is taking longer to heal. It looks gross to me, but the vet said it is on track and looking good so I'll take her word for it!
I thought Pony would appreciate some fresh air for a change, so I tied her out with her hay bag for breakfast while I did my morning chores. You can see how beautiful she looks in her sleazy!
I worry about the stocking up in her legs and her getting fat (I pretty much keep hay in front of her all the time so she'll be occupied and won't lick at her wound), but first things first - the wound needs to heal. After that, then we'll start a rehab program and take it from there.
Her wound is healing up well. I ended up getting a sleazy to put on her to cover it. I put the sleazy on, then put a maxi-pad over the wound, then I safety-pin the maxi pad to the sleazy so it stays in place. It helps a little bit with the drainage and to also have something soft over the wound. At first I just stuck the maxi-pad there but they kept falling out so I moved on to safety pins.
The vet has come out a couple times to clean it and re-do the stitches a bit. The top part of the stitches healed well and right away - it is just the bottom part (distal) that is taking longer to heal. It looks gross to me, but the vet said it is on track and looking good so I'll take her word for it!
I thought Pony would appreciate some fresh air for a change, so I tied her out with her hay bag for breakfast while I did my morning chores. You can see how beautiful she looks in her sleazy!
I worry about the stocking up in her legs and her getting fat (I pretty much keep hay in front of her all the time so she'll be occupied and won't lick at her wound), but first things first - the wound needs to heal. After that, then we'll start a rehab program and take it from there.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Pony vacation time (gross picture warning)
But not for a happy reason . . .
I was planning on giving Pony the winter off of riding (we'd still do trail hand walks or long-lining as I could stand it in the cold weather), but she had to go ahead and get herself an early vacation time by injuring herself.
We went on vacation to Hawaii and our farm sitter did an amazing job as always. I was hoping to make it to a h/j schooling show on Saturday, but after getting back at 1 am Thursday morning and being still on Hawaii time, and having a bunch of winterization projects to do before Colin has knee surgery, I cancelled.
Now I wish I had sucked it up and gone because if I had then Pony would not have gotten herself into such a mess.
It rained a lot while we were gone and for a couple days after we got back. The horses had only been out singly while we were gone because I didn't want the house sitter to have to deal with all the horses running around together. I put them out on Saturday for lunch together. I can imagine what happened, knowing each of the horses. First, there had been running around such that the horses banged on the fenceline from inside their paddocks. The line between Paddy's and Pony's paddock had gotten bumped enough that the metal post bent outward. In doing so, the caps over the pipes were either knocked off or pushed inside the pipes such that there was now metal exposed. Something happened to make Pony either run into that directly, or swing herself around (a la pirouette) and slice her pectoral muscle. I did not see this happen, but it is my best guess.
Originally I actually thought she ran into a tree branch or something, and when Colin was scouting the paddocks to see if he could find the culprit, that's when he found pony hair there and told me that he suspected that was the source of her injury.
In any event, when I went out in the afternoon to gather the horses (because I was going to lunge Mac and/or Pony to see how everyone is feeling), I saw Pony standing funny. And then limping. And then I saw the wound. Ugh. Yuck. Cry. I put in an emergency call to the vet right away and went about getting Pony into her stall. She would not walk. She would not budge despite my efforts at leading her. So I left her where she was, grabbed a feed bucket and put pellets in it and walked out to her. Of course she would be motivated by food! She slowly ambled her way into her stall and ate her pellets. Colin came out to help me with chores so I could wait by the phone for the vet to call back. We closed her in her stall and waited. I sat in front of her stall and cried.
The vet came out and administered a sedative, cleaned her up, stitched her up, and left me with after care instructions to keep her in her stall and my regular vet would come out on Monday for a re-check.
The on-call vet and my regular vet did Face Time to consult and see how bad it was. The vet could not feel bone when she put her finger into the wound - that was good news. There was a flap of muscle that had to be cut off as it couldn't be sewn back together - that was bad news. Pony was a perfect patient throughout it all.
On Sunday she was in much better spirits and perkier. Yesterday (Monday), she was perkier still. I took her out of her stall and put her in the covered arena so I could do a good stall cleaning for her. She was walking MUCH better, much, much better! She was happy and sweet. After I cleaned her stall, I put her in the cross ties so I could groom her for the vet's follow-up appointment. I wiped the Vaseline and drainage goo off her leg so the vet would be able to get a good look at it, I brushed her mane and tail and of course the rest of her body. She tried pawing a little bit with the ouchy leg, but thought better of it and switched legs to paw. At least she's got her personality back!
Vet said continued stall rest for two weeks until the stitches come out. I can hand walk her for maybe 10 minutes a day (think I'll just start with one lap around the arena a couple times a day). Banamine protocol ends tonight. She'll be on antibiotics for 10 days. Her poops look good (she's on a probiotic because of the antibiotic), she's eating and drinking normally, she's bright and alert, her TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration) are normal, there's no heat or swelling or stink or sign of infection at the wound. The vet did back out the stitches just a bit to change where the drainage would go.
Pony has been a perfect patient . . . well, except she doesn't like her Banamine! She is happy, doesn't seem overly annoyed at being in her stall, and she's not acting naughty or anything like that. I'm sure it helps that her brother Paddy sticks his nose in the open stall window (not hers, the one next to her that is empty of horse but which we use for storing shavings and stuff) and she can touch his nose from her stall (stalls are separated by half-walls with grills, doors to outside are dutch doors, so while the stall itself is not accessible to the horses, Paddy can stick his nose through the open dutch door top to check on her).
So that was NOT the kind of vacation I was planning for Princess Fancy Pants. Vet thought she should heal up just fine with no gait abnormalities as a result. She's already walking better so we'll just follow doctor's orders to facilitate healing.
I'll say this, though. No more joint turnout with Mac. He's the troublemaker and it just trickles down. Paddy and Pony can go out together, but Mac will have his own dry lot pasture (which I've been busy pulling weeds in to re-set-it-up for him). Oh, and Colin went straight to work repairing the fence so that those posts are covered again. Gah!
I was planning on giving Pony the winter off of riding (we'd still do trail hand walks or long-lining as I could stand it in the cold weather), but she had to go ahead and get herself an early vacation time by injuring herself.
We went on vacation to Hawaii and our farm sitter did an amazing job as always. I was hoping to make it to a h/j schooling show on Saturday, but after getting back at 1 am Thursday morning and being still on Hawaii time, and having a bunch of winterization projects to do before Colin has knee surgery, I cancelled.
Now I wish I had sucked it up and gone because if I had then Pony would not have gotten herself into such a mess.
It rained a lot while we were gone and for a couple days after we got back. The horses had only been out singly while we were gone because I didn't want the house sitter to have to deal with all the horses running around together. I put them out on Saturday for lunch together. I can imagine what happened, knowing each of the horses. First, there had been running around such that the horses banged on the fenceline from inside their paddocks. The line between Paddy's and Pony's paddock had gotten bumped enough that the metal post bent outward. In doing so, the caps over the pipes were either knocked off or pushed inside the pipes such that there was now metal exposed. Something happened to make Pony either run into that directly, or swing herself around (a la pirouette) and slice her pectoral muscle. I did not see this happen, but it is my best guess.
Originally I actually thought she ran into a tree branch or something, and when Colin was scouting the paddocks to see if he could find the culprit, that's when he found pony hair there and told me that he suspected that was the source of her injury.
In any event, when I went out in the afternoon to gather the horses (because I was going to lunge Mac and/or Pony to see how everyone is feeling), I saw Pony standing funny. And then limping. And then I saw the wound. Ugh. Yuck. Cry. I put in an emergency call to the vet right away and went about getting Pony into her stall. She would not walk. She would not budge despite my efforts at leading her. So I left her where she was, grabbed a feed bucket and put pellets in it and walked out to her. Of course she would be motivated by food! She slowly ambled her way into her stall and ate her pellets. Colin came out to help me with chores so I could wait by the phone for the vet to call back. We closed her in her stall and waited. I sat in front of her stall and cried.
The vet came out and administered a sedative, cleaned her up, stitched her up, and left me with after care instructions to keep her in her stall and my regular vet would come out on Monday for a re-check.
The on-call vet and my regular vet did Face Time to consult and see how bad it was. The vet could not feel bone when she put her finger into the wound - that was good news. There was a flap of muscle that had to be cut off as it couldn't be sewn back together - that was bad news. Pony was a perfect patient throughout it all.
On Sunday she was in much better spirits and perkier. Yesterday (Monday), she was perkier still. I took her out of her stall and put her in the covered arena so I could do a good stall cleaning for her. She was walking MUCH better, much, much better! She was happy and sweet. After I cleaned her stall, I put her in the cross ties so I could groom her for the vet's follow-up appointment. I wiped the Vaseline and drainage goo off her leg so the vet would be able to get a good look at it, I brushed her mane and tail and of course the rest of her body. She tried pawing a little bit with the ouchy leg, but thought better of it and switched legs to paw. At least she's got her personality back!
Vet said continued stall rest for two weeks until the stitches come out. I can hand walk her for maybe 10 minutes a day (think I'll just start with one lap around the arena a couple times a day). Banamine protocol ends tonight. She'll be on antibiotics for 10 days. Her poops look good (she's on a probiotic because of the antibiotic), she's eating and drinking normally, she's bright and alert, her TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration) are normal, there's no heat or swelling or stink or sign of infection at the wound. The vet did back out the stitches just a bit to change where the drainage would go.
Pony has been a perfect patient . . . well, except she doesn't like her Banamine! She is happy, doesn't seem overly annoyed at being in her stall, and she's not acting naughty or anything like that. I'm sure it helps that her brother Paddy sticks his nose in the open stall window (not hers, the one next to her that is empty of horse but which we use for storing shavings and stuff) and she can touch his nose from her stall (stalls are separated by half-walls with grills, doors to outside are dutch doors, so while the stall itself is not accessible to the horses, Paddy can stick his nose through the open dutch door top to check on her).
So that was NOT the kind of vacation I was planning for Princess Fancy Pants. Vet thought she should heal up just fine with no gait abnormalities as a result. She's already walking better so we'll just follow doctor's orders to facilitate healing.
I'll say this, though. No more joint turnout with Mac. He's the troublemaker and it just trickles down. Paddy and Pony can go out together, but Mac will have his own dry lot pasture (which I've been busy pulling weeds in to re-set-it-up for him). Oh, and Colin went straight to work repairing the fence so that those posts are covered again. Gah!
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Pony's First Show!
I hemmed and hawed about signing up for Pony's first dressage show. When it was about the time to send in the entries, we had a really cold snap and I couldn't foresee myself getting up at 5 a.m. to go to a show when it was so cold outside. But I decided I'd rather have the option to scratch if the weather report was bad versus having a good weather report and then not being able to go. So I sent in my entry. Turns out, is was a beautiful day for a horse show, after all.
I signed her up for Intro A and B (walk/trot classes) since all I wanted was for her to have a good experience, and I figured the easier we kept it, the better our chances would be of having a nice go of it. Colin was a champ and came as my groom and to video our rides. It is really helpful to have a second pair of hands, and he did a perfect job of it.
Since spring-time, I've prepared Princess Fancy Pants as best I could. She couldn't have been any more ready, I don't think. I've been hauling her out at least once a week for some sort of lesson; first we started with some ground work (tarp and improving trailer loading) lessons with one person, did some other lessons with a cowboy, and just 10 weeks ago had our very first dressage lesson. Five weeks ago we had our very first jumping lesson. She's been to an away 5-day clinic in California, and for the past couple weeks she's had one dressage and one jumping lesson per week. She's handled it all very well.
So Sunday was show day. I got out of bed at 5 a.m. (probably woke up around 4!) to feed the horses and give myself enough time to eat and do some yoga. I had my whole morning planned out. Wheels up at 6:30 a.m. to get there at 7 a.m. and hand walk and check everything out.
I wondered how she'd do about loading up in the dark and so that was my first hurdle. Well. We loaded up no problems! Started down the driveway, and . . . automatic gate would not open. Great. Colin had to run back into the house to get the key to the gate arm to swing it open manually. I hoped it wasn't a sign of how the rest of the morning would go.
We were the first ones there and got parked (in the wrong side of the parking pasture, but I didn't know!) and unloaded. The facility is lovely - immaculately maintained - and had a round pen. I thought I'd offer her a chance to run around if she liked. Nope. She just wanted to be with me. Instead of trying to make her go out and gallop around, I decided it was nice that she wanted to be with me and seemed to be feeling confident and curious, so we just hand walked and got our number and hand walked a little more. They let you walk around the perimeter of the dressage arena (which is set up in a fenced arena), so we did that in both directions. I made sure to stop at the judge's booth to give her some cookies.
She was so non-plussed, I just shrugged my shoulders and said it is time to tack up!
So we tacked up. Numbers were bridle tags, which I hadn't practiced with. But she didn't care.
Ok. Off to the warm-up arena with the other horses. Thought it might be interesting and a potential disaster since we only always ride by ourselves. Nope. Perfect pony in the warm up arena.
I didn't want to over-warm-up so after the first rider went out, I went out after her to just hang out by the arena (we were third to go). Dooo deee dooooo. Boring.
Okay, our turn. Go have a lap around the outside. Hum deee dummmm, la deee daaaa. Nothing. Trot? Sure. Walk? Sure. Whatever.
Bell rings. We trot around the outside and up centerline and then do our test. She felt a little pokey once we got in there so I felt like I struggled a bit with impulsion and then contact - head up, head down, whatever. I tried to at least focus on having decent geometry.
Finished the test. Nothing exciting happened. Nice halt at the end.
(I decided to have my coach read the test for me - I've never done it before and I had my tests memorized inside and out but thought it would be good to at least have one less thing to worry about, so that's her voice you hear.)
Well that was certainly uneventful!
I only had 10 minutes or so before the next test, Intro B, and so we hung around outside the arena for our turn again. Went in for our circle around the arena and then the judge rang the bell (why do they always do that when you are not in a good place? I had to turn around, walk back a little bit so I'd have room to pick up a trot and prepare and go in). Ugh. Got a horrible turn up centerline so was very wiggly and our halt wasn't really a halt. Figured I got a 5 on that one! I thought our trot circles were nice and round and our free walk was okaaayyyyy - we'll need more work on that, for sure.
The rest of the test went fine. I tried for more impulsion and so gave up more in other aspects. My geometry wasn't as good in the corners, contact was still hit or miss, but we had a decent up centerline for our halt and salute.
All in all, though, I couldn't be more proud of her!!! I told Colin that morning as we were driving there that all I wanted was for her to have a good experience. And she did. She was amazing. You wouldn't guess it was her first show. It was my first show in years and it was so much fun!
So, for our scores . . . . drumroll . . . .
Intro A we got a 72.5! We got three 8s and in the collective marks actually got a 7.5 for impulsion and a 7 for gaits. Acceptance of contact was a 6.5 but that's no surprise. We got an 8 for geometry and the judge wrote "appreciated your attention to detail and geometry!" "Well done!" "Nicely ridden test!"
Intro B we got a 65.625! We did get a 5.0 for our centerline/halt/salute, which I expected. No 8s and more comments about bracing and stiffness. It is funny that I tried for more impulsion but actually lowered our score in that area to a 7. I felt like we were less consistent going between forward and bracey and stiff and whatever. Judge's comments were "Cute, energetic creature" with a smiley face - can't go wrong with that! Stiffness over topline was the theme for that test.
So we came home with a blue and red ribbon and a very happy and proud Pony mom and a perfectly fabulous Princess Fancy Pants! I couldn't be more pleased, she surpassed my expectations.
Now to plan ahead for a little h/j show at the end of the month and then it is Pony vacation time!
I signed her up for Intro A and B (walk/trot classes) since all I wanted was for her to have a good experience, and I figured the easier we kept it, the better our chances would be of having a nice go of it. Colin was a champ and came as my groom and to video our rides. It is really helpful to have a second pair of hands, and he did a perfect job of it.
Since spring-time, I've prepared Princess Fancy Pants as best I could. She couldn't have been any more ready, I don't think. I've been hauling her out at least once a week for some sort of lesson; first we started with some ground work (tarp and improving trailer loading) lessons with one person, did some other lessons with a cowboy, and just 10 weeks ago had our very first dressage lesson. Five weeks ago we had our very first jumping lesson. She's been to an away 5-day clinic in California, and for the past couple weeks she's had one dressage and one jumping lesson per week. She's handled it all very well.
So Sunday was show day. I got out of bed at 5 a.m. (probably woke up around 4!) to feed the horses and give myself enough time to eat and do some yoga. I had my whole morning planned out. Wheels up at 6:30 a.m. to get there at 7 a.m. and hand walk and check everything out.
I wondered how she'd do about loading up in the dark and so that was my first hurdle. Well. We loaded up no problems! Started down the driveway, and . . . automatic gate would not open. Great. Colin had to run back into the house to get the key to the gate arm to swing it open manually. I hoped it wasn't a sign of how the rest of the morning would go.
We were the first ones there and got parked (in the wrong side of the parking pasture, but I didn't know!) and unloaded. The facility is lovely - immaculately maintained - and had a round pen. I thought I'd offer her a chance to run around if she liked. Nope. She just wanted to be with me. Instead of trying to make her go out and gallop around, I decided it was nice that she wanted to be with me and seemed to be feeling confident and curious, so we just hand walked and got our number and hand walked a little more. They let you walk around the perimeter of the dressage arena (which is set up in a fenced arena), so we did that in both directions. I made sure to stop at the judge's booth to give her some cookies.
She was so non-plussed, I just shrugged my shoulders and said it is time to tack up!
So we tacked up. Numbers were bridle tags, which I hadn't practiced with. But she didn't care.
Ok. Off to the warm-up arena with the other horses. Thought it might be interesting and a potential disaster since we only always ride by ourselves. Nope. Perfect pony in the warm up arena.
I didn't want to over-warm-up so after the first rider went out, I went out after her to just hang out by the arena (we were third to go). Dooo deee dooooo. Boring.
Okay, our turn. Go have a lap around the outside. Hum deee dummmm, la deee daaaa. Nothing. Trot? Sure. Walk? Sure. Whatever.
Bell rings. We trot around the outside and up centerline and then do our test. She felt a little pokey once we got in there so I felt like I struggled a bit with impulsion and then contact - head up, head down, whatever. I tried to at least focus on having decent geometry.
Finished the test. Nothing exciting happened. Nice halt at the end.
(I decided to have my coach read the test for me - I've never done it before and I had my tests memorized inside and out but thought it would be good to at least have one less thing to worry about, so that's her voice you hear.)
Well that was certainly uneventful!
I only had 10 minutes or so before the next test, Intro B, and so we hung around outside the arena for our turn again. Went in for our circle around the arena and then the judge rang the bell (why do they always do that when you are not in a good place? I had to turn around, walk back a little bit so I'd have room to pick up a trot and prepare and go in). Ugh. Got a horrible turn up centerline so was very wiggly and our halt wasn't really a halt. Figured I got a 5 on that one! I thought our trot circles were nice and round and our free walk was okaaayyyyy - we'll need more work on that, for sure.
The rest of the test went fine. I tried for more impulsion and so gave up more in other aspects. My geometry wasn't as good in the corners, contact was still hit or miss, but we had a decent up centerline for our halt and salute.
All in all, though, I couldn't be more proud of her!!! I told Colin that morning as we were driving there that all I wanted was for her to have a good experience. And she did. She was amazing. You wouldn't guess it was her first show. It was my first show in years and it was so much fun!
So, for our scores . . . . drumroll . . . .
Intro A we got a 72.5! We got three 8s and in the collective marks actually got a 7.5 for impulsion and a 7 for gaits. Acceptance of contact was a 6.5 but that's no surprise. We got an 8 for geometry and the judge wrote "appreciated your attention to detail and geometry!" "Well done!" "Nicely ridden test!"
Intro B we got a 65.625! We did get a 5.0 for our centerline/halt/salute, which I expected. No 8s and more comments about bracing and stiffness. It is funny that I tried for more impulsion but actually lowered our score in that area to a 7. I felt like we were less consistent going between forward and bracey and stiff and whatever. Judge's comments were "Cute, energetic creature" with a smiley face - can't go wrong with that! Stiffness over topline was the theme for that test.
So we came home with a blue and red ribbon and a very happy and proud Pony mom and a perfectly fabulous Princess Fancy Pants! I couldn't be more pleased, she surpassed my expectations.
Now to plan ahead for a little h/j show at the end of the month and then it is Pony vacation time!
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
No poop
That could be the title of a post about colic. But this isn't about colic! This is about the little things...like pony poops!
I've been trailering Princess Fancy Pants out for a once-a-week lesson at various places for the past six months or so. She's gone from not wanting to go on the trailer, to going on and rushing back out, to grudgingly going on but only with the help of a flag, to now going on with just a lead rope and some direction (although she still doesn't walk right on the first time). She no longer rushes out or gets nervous or fidgety.
And the past two times she's loaded up for lessons, she hasn't pooped! Now, that seems like a "so what?" kind of thing, but I see it as a sign that she's getting more comfortable with trailering and isn't anxious and doing a nervous poop. When we got to our lesson this morning, there was no poop in the trailer! She also has started eating hay while traveling, so I take that as a good sign too.
It is getting pretty chilly in the mornings here. I've taken the horses off the grass because there has been frost these past few mornings and that's a time when it isn't good to put them on the grass (low overnight temps, sunny warm days) so they are dry-lotted all the time now. Maybe that will last until spring. Our water is getting turned off in a few weeks and so I probably won't be putting them out anymore.
Pony has been so good in both her dressage and jumping lessons that I'm considering a little schooling show before year's end. Considering. It is, after all, very cold in the mornings, and getting up early to get ready for a show when there's frost on the ground isn't my idea of a good time.
We'll see.
I've been trailering Princess Fancy Pants out for a once-a-week lesson at various places for the past six months or so. She's gone from not wanting to go on the trailer, to going on and rushing back out, to grudgingly going on but only with the help of a flag, to now going on with just a lead rope and some direction (although she still doesn't walk right on the first time). She no longer rushes out or gets nervous or fidgety.
And the past two times she's loaded up for lessons, she hasn't pooped! Now, that seems like a "so what?" kind of thing, but I see it as a sign that she's getting more comfortable with trailering and isn't anxious and doing a nervous poop. When we got to our lesson this morning, there was no poop in the trailer! She also has started eating hay while traveling, so I take that as a good sign too.
It is getting pretty chilly in the mornings here. I've taken the horses off the grass because there has been frost these past few mornings and that's a time when it isn't good to put them on the grass (low overnight temps, sunny warm days) so they are dry-lotted all the time now. Maybe that will last until spring. Our water is getting turned off in a few weeks and so I probably won't be putting them out anymore.
Pony has been so good in both her dressage and jumping lessons that I'm considering a little schooling show before year's end. Considering. It is, after all, very cold in the mornings, and getting up early to get ready for a show when there's frost on the ground isn't my idea of a good time.
We'll see.
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