Tucker Back In Action

And I Ride Two on a Sunday

I rode both Tucker and Chance today. The weather was lovely and the flies left us alone. What more could anyone want?

Tucker seemed quite pleased to be chosen first, and was at least moderately cooperative at the start of the ride. For him, that simply means walking on without any fuss.  Of course, that was on a loose rein.  When I picked up the contact a little, he hesitated, but then cooperated with a little less energy than I want from him.

But, I always like to give my horse the benefit of the doubt at the start of a ride in case muscles and joints need to warm up a little before he can be expected to start moving out as he really needs to to work well. Having ridden Chance twice before finally getting back aboard the newly shod Tucker, I must admit I truly appreciate the correct steering obedience Tucker offers in contrast. What I don't always appreciate is his tendency to think about protesting if I push a little extra with my leg or the whip.  A light tap of the whip might make him flatten his ears and threaten to kick out. I usually correct that with a sharp verbal reprimand and then he goes on as asked, but his attitude is "all about Tucker" at times like that.

The same goes for the first time I ask him to canter. So, after about a twenty minute session of general schooling and the riding of a pretend training level test, I focused on some right lead canter departs, one after another, simply expecting him to respond willingly and at once to the aid without any kind of "buck threat" or "attitude."  After three lovely departs, I immediately let him walk, gave him a pat and dismounted.

I always consider that his hocks may be bothering him, because he has had some soreness before and may even have some arthritis there, so the first canter depart may actually be a little uncomfortable for him. But if that's so, he certainly overcomes it quickly, and offers some nice quiet departs soon after.

With Chance, it's quite the opposite. He would much rather canter than trot with good, forward impulsion. So, I worked on trotting with him, concentrating on repeated figure eights with a nice change of bend in the middle. Unlike Tucker, he does not yet move laterally off my leg into the new outside rein on a change of rein, so I used the dressage whip to help reinforce that by just pushing it against his inside shoulder to help him understand how to respond to my leg.

He caught on pretty quickly and, while going from right to left was a bit harder for him, he did give me some nice changes of bend. More work needs doing, but it was a good start.

Ironically, his reward as some canter work. We did a bit on each lead and called it quits after about 20-25 minutes.

Once again, I am not asking for dynamic, on the bit, strong work from either Boy, so it's all about the basics which will allow me to shape and develop correct muscling and strength as their fitness and mine progress.

All in all, another good day in the saddle.

Will Summer Ever Quit?

Or Stop Being Soggy?

Rain off and on these last few days--nothing like the torrential rains in Britain, however. (Sending my best for some sunshine over there!)   But it really didn't matter too much on the riding front.

I decided not to ride on Thursday, mostly because my knees were sore, as was my back. I think I slept in a bad position.

Friday I decided to swim.  I went to the pool for the lunchtime hours and nearly had the place to myself.  When I came out to drive home, the temperature and humidity were quite uncomfortable. I was sorry I was wearing my terry hoodie set instead of one of the sleeveless dresses I often slip on after a swim.

On the way home, I stopped at Kohls.  For those of you unfamiliar with this store, it is a large department store carrying all kinds of clothing and housewares such as bedding, bath, and kitchen items. The selection is huge, but better than that, their prices are wonderful, especially when they have sales.

Here was the deal this week. 15%, 20%, or 30% off all purchases with either a coupon from a flyer sent to my house, or a scratch off coupon in the store. Top that off by nearly everything in the store on markdown, and a $10 Kohl's cash reward to be spent at a later date for every $50 purchase.

There are plenty of brand name items in the store too, so these are not low quality products.

I went in looking for a new pair of jeans. I came out with several pairs of colored jeans, the ones I was looking for, and several really soft knit tops....and some Kohl's Cash so that I will have to go back next week to spend that. (They are SO clever with their marketing.)

I think I have only gone into that store once without making a purchase. Obviously, I am an easy mark for their tactics. *G*  But they do carry a lot of really nice items exactly in my style and price range. Oh, yes, they also have racks of clearance items at up to 80% off. I once got a dress there for $8 that had originally been priced at $80. (Chaps)  It's always worth a shuffled through the clearance racks if you want a real bargain.  And, those percent off coupons work on the clearance items too.

It was still miserably warm when I got home, so once more I gave up on riding. I had swum for an hour, so I didn't need the exercise and it just didn't seem worth it to get both Chance and me all sweaty.

Scott is coming so shoe today, so Tucker will be back in action soon. Here's hoping summer finally breaks and we get some of that lovely fall weather that inspires me to ride. I still plan on swimming twice a week, so that leaves five days of saddle time to fill in.

So Far, So Good

A Bit Warm Today

I went for my swim in the morning, concerned that if the predicted thunderstorms came through, the pool would close. Even though it is indoors, the pump equipment is outside so it runs the risk of lightning strikes which could then go through the rest of the water.

I'm pretty sure I did a couple more laps than my usual 20, but I did swim for about 50 minutes before calling it a day.  I always feel so invigorated after a swim. I don't know if it's the exercise or the water, but I really do enjoy it. The trip to the college pool is about 15 miles and can be an annoying drive, but it's worth it.

It was warmer today, and just on the edge of being uncomfortable outside. So I figured I'd wait until early evening to ride.

That's one reason I  stopped to do some grocery shopping on the way home to buy ingredients for some beef barley soup. The restaurant we often go to for lunch after church makes the most wonderful beef barley soup and I am determined to make a version of it so I don't have to keep buying some there for takeout. I'll try a version tomorrow to see how it goes. I was going to start it today, but discovered I needed some meat and ended up going to another supermarket in the afternoon.

By then, it was time to feed the Boys. About an hour later went out to ride Chance again. (Tucker is still shoeless.)  It was better today. I was much quicker on correcting his tendency to stiffen through his back and lift his head.  Although the frame was still pretty unsteady, it was much better.

I do have a bit of work to do on suppling him laterally. He tends to get himself well shaped on one rein and then almost "locked" into that bend so when I change rein through a circle, I have to make some fairly strong aids to get the bend changed through his body.

Again, much of this is typical of a green horse.  I simply haven't schooled him a lot.  As I've said before, he is such fun to ride out on the trails that we've spent more saddle time out in the woods and fields then in the schooling arena. It's fine, actually, but knowing myself as well as I do, I definitely need to bring up his level of training to something akin to first or second level dressage before I will be satisfied. Ohterwise, even on the trail, there will be moments when I will just not be happy with how he's going, and that can only lead to unpleasant results.

Once we are at second level, I can go most anywhere from there. The essentials will be in place and if, by chance, Chance happens to show a real talent for dressage, I may decide to show again.  If not, I'm sure I will still play around with the upper level movements, just because it's fun to do that stuff.

Meanwhile, we'll work on a good solid foundation.  As I said, so far, so good.

At Least I Have a Chance

Or, At Most I Have a Chance

With Tucker's hoof wrapped in Gorilla Tape--seems to hold up, unlike duct tape--and Elastoplast to keep his sole protected and the walls from breaking down, I have the barefoot Chance as my prime riding horse. 

Oh, yes, Shannon, Tucker wears bell boots all the time. Not sure they actually keep his shoes on better, but the idea is sound. *sigh*

Anyhow, back to the program.  I saddled up Chance for a short workout, every mindful of the fact that he hasn't been ridden in at least a month.  I have learned to carry the dressage whip with me mostly because he as several modes of motion, most of which are slow.  Very slow. It is honestly amazing how he can practically canter in place with, by the way, really good rhythm. If I every do decide to do some dressage competing with him, I suspect collection will be the least of his problems. 

Well, his trot started off rather enthusiastically, so I just let him move on, trying hard to ignore his tendency to bulge out noticeably as we passed the gate out to the woods. Though tempted, I decided to stick to the arena for the day, just working on the basics. 

And what are the basics with Chance? He walks, trots, and canters correctly on both leads, and he steers with relative accuracy, so those basics are done. He walks with his head in a nice stretchy frame, and will actually transition from walk to trot without using his head for balance. But in between, mostly at the trot, he is unsteady about both his frame and his pace.  However, all that being said, I must admit that each time I do ride him, the previous lessons do seem to stick. A very slight give and take on the outside rein is usually all it takes to get him back into a training level frame. But I do need to be quicker to fix his stiffening before it gets to that point. 

I don't want to "play" the reins every stride, and I do want to reward his correct carriage by being soft, so I really need to focus on the exact moment I need to make a slight correction before things go so awry that the slight correction has to be "less than slight."  

Much of it is his balance. He likes to "lead with his shoulder," particularly on the left rein.  That seems to be his stronger side, with the right rein as his hollow side.  That's why I often find my own seat slipping to the right when I ride him. He tends to "drop me into the well" he creates when his right hind doesn't track quite straight under his body, but slightly to the outside (left) in taking a weaker stride. 

In his defense, that right hind is the one he has some problem with, so as we go along, I will be doing exercises to help him get stronger. For now, it's mostly my job to ride straight myself and keep asking him to try to do so as well. 

The good news was that I really didn't feel much difference at the trot on either rein.  That may be different today if his right hind is tired from the first ride, but again, it is something that in the past seems to work out as he gets fit. 

His canter was lovely on both reins, with the right lead a little "softer."  This may well be his biggest improvement over time as he used to really rush on the right lead.  

After I finished the schooling session, I took him on a two minute ride through the front paddocks. He was very confused by this. I've never ridden him around his turnout area and he was just sure I simply could not mean to do such a silly thing. He stopped several times to question me, but behaved well otherwise. It's not even half an acre, so we are talking a mini mini mini hack here. *lol*  It was just enough to cool him down after the ride and allow me to take him back into the barn at the front door. 

Going to go for a swim today and, if the weather holds--storms predicted--I'll try to get another ride in as well. 

Shoe---t!!

Shoulda Kept My Mouth Shut

I never should have told Tucker I was going to ride him today.

Last night he pulled his left front shoe.

I've wrapped his foot with Gorilla tape and Elastoplast for the time being. And, of course, I called my farrier.

It was just about time for trims and shoeing anyhow, but it would have been nice to get on for a bit.  If the Cavello boot fits that foot...not sure...or one of the EasyBoots I have, I may try a little ride later anyhow. But the trouble there is that usually with only one boot on, Tuck's stride is really uneven.

However, we shall see.  More later.

Arena Nearly Ready

And I Lunge the Boys

I worked on the arena, the pasture and the paddocks yesterday. The weeds have taken over in a number of places, so I gassed up the lawn tractor and headed out to so some mowing.

While I mowed the "horse areas" the Boys mowed the back yard for me. It makes it a lot easier to work in the paddocks when they are otherwise occupied, so I let the out in the yard to nibble the grass. They were quite pleased and I was able to get a lot of work done.

I had to actually mow the riding arena as well. Grass has grown up in the several inches of sand, and along the edges some pretty determined weeds have taken hold. It was not a perfect mowing job, but if I continue to use the arena drag, especially after it rains, I will get most of the errant grass pulled up.  The weeds along the fence still need trimming, but I might just surrender to them until I get around to trying to put the fence back together in all the places the Boys have knocked it down playing "horse volleyball."

I also mowed several large patches of weeds in the pasture .  It really should be done with bush hog to get things really cleaned up, but until I have some extra money to pay someone, it will have to do as it. It does look a lot better, and the Boys seemed pleased as I saw them grazing in some of the newly mown areas today.

The weather seems to have broken for the moment, so after I fed the Boys dinner, I waited about an hour and then went out to lunge Tucker and Chance.

Tucker looked good. I was a little concerned about his left front where he'd lost the shoe last week. Scott had to trim him really short to get a shoe back on, but he looked just fine, with an even gait at the trot.  All went well until I put him on the right rein and asked for canter. He exploded into one of his typical Tucker Bucks and bolted off, powerfully enough that I had to let go of the lunge line.  Off he went in a mad gallop with the line trailing behind. This time, though, I had a "magic weapon" in my possession-horse treat in a very crinkly plastic wrap. One "crinkle" was all it took, and Tucker was back at my side so I could catch him.

Proof you don't need a clicker to get instant obedience!  *lol*

I finished with him along with another bucking depart I manage to control, and then put the halter and lunge line on Chance.

Once again, he was fine on the right rein, but when I trotted him on the left, he was giving a short stride on his right hind leg.  This is a chronic problem with him which does get better when he is more fit. We suspect it just might be a weak stifle. I urged him into a canter, which he took easily, and after a good number of times around, brought him back down to the trot. This time, his gait was even and forward.

When I ride him, if I feel that unevenness, I will do a bit of canter on the left lead to see if that improves the trot. I might be just a muscle issue that needs to be warmed up. Either way, I can only do what my vet recommended when we first noticed the issue.  I will just have to get him fit and hope for the best.

So, lovely weather continuing, I will ride tomorrow. Nothing big, but at least I'll be in the saddle.

Hope Tucker behaves himself. *G*  (I will carry a pocketful of treats.....)

Still Sweating

You'd Think I'd Be In Better Shape

While fall is in the air, summer's heat seems to have decided to stay around a while. It's not as hot as it has been--in the 80's F instead of the 90's, but it was decidedly more humid today than I expected.

I dressed in my breeches thinking I might take a bit of a ride after doing some barn chores. The chores consisted of cleaning under the west run in roof and poo picking the riding arena...again.

Five wheelbarrow loads later, I was soaking in sweat. And, to my surprise, rather worn out. The surprise comes from the fact that I had been swimming all summer for at least 45 minutes a day.  And over the last two weeks, I have been swimming twice a week, again for 45-50 minutes, including five lengths of butterfly.

You'd think my stamina would be a lot better. But, then again, when I swim, I am not hot. And, while I use my muscles. it's not exactly weight lifting the way poo picking and wheelbarrowing are.

Towards and end of my work, The Boys came to "assist."  For Tucker, that meant standing right where I needed to use the pitchfork and then dropping a new load of manure not too far off--I guess so I didn't have to walk any distance to clean it up.  For Chance, it meant first moving into place for a quick cuddle and then trying to push the wheelbarrow by one handle.  Luckily, I asked him to stop helping a second before the whole thing toppled over so I didn't have to clean everything up all over again.

There was a fair breeze and when the sun disappeared behind some clouds now and then, it felt pretty nice out there.  I think, that after I feed later on, I will go back out and at least lunge the two non-retired boys.  But that does not mean I will not give Toby a carrot too. Not exactly proper for a horse with Cushings, but I can't see depriving him of all the joys of life.

I hope the predicted cool front comes in soon. I really do want to ride, but it's still uncomfortable out there and the flies are really annoying.

First day of Fall on the calendar, but Summer still lingers.

The Season Changes

Is It For Real?

Suddenly, with a wave of thunderstorms, a cool front rushed in.

The last three days have been beautiful!  Now all I need to do is rekindle my energy for riding and saddle up the Boys for some exercise.

I made the first move Sunday by picking the riding arena, but I still need to mow in there and drag before I get serious about it.  And, before I do that, I need to go the the gas station to get some fuel for the mower and the Kubota tractor.  Before I do that, I need to clean up the gas containers.

Notice how one goal seems to depend on another in a stream of complications?

Ah, well, as they say, "I'll get around to it."

However, I have been swimming twice now since the pool closed. I headed off to the college campus once last week and once so far this week to hit the pool.  Swimming indoors is not quite as nice as swimming outside--feel the same way about riding--but it is a wonderful option for me. I'm not sure how I will feel about it as the colder weather creeps in as it's a fair walk from the parking lot to the gymnasium, but I have vowed to swim at least twice a week.

I already have a substitute teaching job for next week, so I will be there one day and I have one more day to drive over this week.  It's about 15 miles to the college from here and not the nicest drive in the world as I have to spend at least some time on US Highway #1.  It's a busy road and when there is some kind of traffic jam it can become a parking lot.  I do have a couple choices to avoid US #130--the fastest route when all is moving well--so when I get bored with traffic lights and trucks I can cut off through the countryside for a break.  I calculated the mileage of going to the pool there twice a week and it pretty much matches going to Crystal Springs seven days a week in the summer, so my fuel consumption is pretty much a wash.  If I substitute more often, then I will swim more often as well.

Meantime, I need to ride.  I think even Tucker is looking for something to entertain himself, and certainly, indulging my whims when I am on his back--or not indulging my whims when I am on his back--would certainly be an entertaining diversion for him. Chance and I will need to get out on the trail, provided some of the flies decide the chilly air is not to their liking.

But, I really need to get some of that mowing done...and the run in shed cleaned out...and the fence fixed...and some weed whacking finished....and.....

Complications.....

End of Swimming Season

Take A Tour of My Pool Complex

Today, Labor Day, was the last day the pool was open. I've spent nearly every day this summer swimming there.

I dropped by with my camera and took some pictures to share with you all. Guess this will have to hold me until next season. 

 Entrance with prices, if you can read them. Not cheap at the daily rate. I have a season membership. 

Here is the entrance.

The kiddie pool.

Sapphire Bay, the family pool.

The wading pool for kids.

Several views of the Lazy River.

The water slides.

The lap pool where I swim.

The picnic area.

 

On the way out, office and plaque. 

Interior, shower and changing room.

Cute mermaid on the wall. 

Part of the parking lot.

I'm going to miss my daily swim, but I figure I will go to the indoor pool at the college where I substitute to swim at least twice week during the off-season. It's a bit of a drive compared to this pool--about 3 miles away by road, only a mile or so "as the crow flies."  but twice a week at 15 miles one way is about the same as going to my "summer pool" every day.

Labor Day, the end of summer here in the USA. Sad to say good bye to the water. 

The Political Horse

How Horses Affect My Vote

Well, sort of.  In this case, let me warn you, I am going to be making a very political post here, so if you aren't interested, don't keep reading.

First, let me tell you, I am politically biased. I am a Democrat and rather liberal, so there is a definite slant to what I say.

But, in the interest of fairness, I did watch a good part of the Republican National Convention, where--for my non-US friends--Mitt Romney was nominated to run for the office of President of the United States. Mr. Romney has already made his less than impressive mark in Great Britain where he criticized the Olympics, so some of you may know of him.

Here in the USA, he has gained a reputation for being a kind of "wooden" figure with little human personality. He made his acceptance speech last night, and did his best to present himself as a warm, compassionate person. To a large extent he succeeded.

However....I am forced to question his sincerity mostly because of, get this....HORSES!

Ironically, the Olympics also figure into this.

As you may well know, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann, own the Olympic dressage horse, Rafalca. The mare competed in the 2012 Olympics under rider Jan Ebling and while she did not medal, they put in quite a solid, nice performance.

Regardless of what I think of Mr. Romney, I was quite excited and pleased about Rafalca, and was proud to know dressage had moved into the national spotlight because of its connection to the Presidential race.

Too bad Mr. Romney didn't feel that way too. In fact, the horse became quite a sore issue in the campaign. Many newscasters mocked out the Romney's for their "expensive, elite" lifestyle filled with dancing horses--"horse ballet."  OK, well enough. Add to it the $177,000 income tax deduction the Romney's took for the cost of their horses, and I suppose some of that criticism was valid. But, I didn't mind all of that too much. I was happy the Romney's had horses and happier still with their dressage connection and felt it did make them more "human."

Until...the crucial moments.  The week of the Olympics arrived and Mr. Romney was questioned about Rafalca's Olypmic debut.  What did he say?  In an interview with NBC news, here was his take:

"I have to tell you. This is Ann’s sport. I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it, I will not be watching the event. I hope her horse does well."

What?!  Mr. Romney brags about his saving the Salt Lake Olympics from bankruptcy, suggesting a strong commitment to the Olympic games, and he doesn't even know when his own horse will compete? Worse, he claims it's his wife's horse and he doesn't even have enough interest to support her passion?

My take. The political heat was too much for Mr. Romney. He simply did not have the courage to stand up to negative press and say, "This is a once in a lifetime experience for my wife and our family. I am proud of our horse and Jan Ebling, and delighted to be a part of representing the United States in the Olympic games."

Nope, instead, he ran away from the whole scene.

OK, political expediency perhaps excuses his behavior, but then, last night in his acceptance speech, he lauded his father for standing by his mother's side during her run for office by saying:

"When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, 'Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?"

He admired his father for that, yet somehow, he could not emulate his own hero.  Further, in the film introducing him to the convention, he said of his wife: 

"He recalls telling her that he would be a happy man 'as long as I’ve got my soul mate with me.' "
 Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/08/31/what-you-missed-while-not-watching-the-last-night-of-the-republican-convention/#ixzz258OhREHT

Well, he certainly didn't think enough of his "soul mate" to bother being at her side during one of the most exciting and important events of her equestrian life. 

"Hypocrisy" comes to mind and sticks there. 

And that's a prime reason I will not vote for Mr. Romney. 

Mustang Under Saddle

Rosie Grows Up!

My friend, Stacie, bought a mustang mare from the Rutgers University young horse auction two years ago.  At that time, Rosie was 2 years old and had just been groundworked.  

Students in the program do all the horse care and basic training, as well as monitoring the feeding and general health care of the horses. In the last few years, they have added American Mustangs to their program.  At the end of the school year--in the Spring--they auction the horses off to the general public. 

Stacie sent Rosie to a trainer for a month and now has her back home. Aside from a gallop off or two, Rosie has been a star pupil.  Personally, I think she is adorable. 

Here's a picture of Stacie riding her a week ago or so:

Looks like the start of a great partnership. 

Surrender

To All of Nature's Quirks

I have not been riding, in case you haven't noticed. Even on the days when I could, I don't. The prospect of facing the B52's, mosquitoes, and other flying attack pests just overwhelms me.  To put the bug armor on when I saddle up takes perhaps another ten minutes of tack up time. Because the horses are not fit, I would only be riding for perhaps twenty minutes.  Doing all the extra prep work therefore, takes up about the same amount of time I'd spend in the saddle. Hardly a bargain.

Meanwhile, Tucker's flysheet is now fastened on with two double end snaps and baling twine loops threaded through the broken surcingles. The sheet is not torn, but the surcingle buckles are missing. What in the world has he been doing to break both surcingles while not doing any damage to the sheet itself?  I've never quite seen anything like it.

On a sad note, my friend Stacie, had to put her horse Lucky down yesterday.  Lucky was a lovely, large 13 year old warmblood she had raised from a yearling. She competed him very successfully through first level dressage before he developed a chronic lameness in his front end.

I think I posted about this years ago, when Lucky underwent surgery to clean up some necrotic bone in his front ankle.  Despite super care and Stacie's devotion, he never did become sound enough to ride again, so Stacie retired him to her farm where she has loved and cared for him for many years since the surgery.

Unfortunately, over the last year or so, Lucky had become more and more unstable in his hind end due to some kind of neurological issues. Yesterday morning, he went down and was not able to get back up despite all of Stacie's efforts, efforts her friends and neighbors, and the help of her veterinarian.  It was hopeless and the only answer was to humanely euthanize him.

Regardless of the circumstances, losing a horse that has been a loving, willing companion for so long is always a heartbreaking experience. While we all know there was no other option, my heart is still breaking for her.

I'm sure Lucky is now off galloping the green pastures of heaven with all the other beloved horses lost and mourned by those of us left here.

RIP Lucky Luciano. Your life was a gift to all who knew you. Run free.

Finally a Dry Day

But Still Hot

We are supposed to have a cold front eventually, but so far, the heat is still on.

But the humidity has dropped a little and for once, I don't think there are any thunderstorms in the forecast. So we have at least one day's reprieve until the unsettled weather returns for the weekend.

The upside is that here in my part of New Jersey, the crops are growing well. Tomatoes, corn, and all kinds of veggies are plentiful, and the field crops seem to be thriving.  I don't know how the hay crop is doing, though, as the frequent showers might be making it hard for farmers to dry and bale.

Also good for me is that with rain, the aquifer replenishes and I don't worry as much about my well drying up so that I have no water. We have had years of rationing in the past, but not this year--so far.

The swimming pool closed down on Tuesday due to storms. Yesterday, I drove by around 3 PM or so and it was closed again. But then, I called and found out if I had been 10 minutes later, they would have been open again.  I quick changed into my suit and drove back over to get in my swim of a bit over 30 minutes, and even managed a couple rounds on the Lazy River. I showered, headed home and within another 15 minutes or so, thunder began to rumble again, so I suspect they closed down again.

I really do get addicted to swimming nearly every day, so the pool's closing is really frustrating.

Needless to say, with the heat and the bugs, I haven't been riding. It would have been cool enough this morning, but I overslept and by the time I got out to the barn, the sun was already filling the arena, beckoning the B52's.  No fun there.

I certainly hope that when autumn rolls in I will get back into the habit of riding regularly again. My knees still are not fully recovered from the surgery, but riding doesn't seem to cause too many more issues than either swimming or riding the exercise bike.

When I was younger, the summer heat did not stop me like it does now.

I guess I'm suffering from a little bit of age and motivation at the same time. *sigh*

While the Grass Grows

I Mow Again

The grass keeps growing this summer despite periods of really hot days. The intermittent thunderstorms are just enough to perk up the crabgrass and weeds, of course.

So I had to mow the lawn again.

And the Boys are spending time actually grazing in the riding arena. The surface may be sand, but around here nature uses any opportunity at all to take root.  Since I haven't been riding, the grass has taken hold. I'm sure it will pull up as winter approaches and I drag the arena more. But, oh, my goodness, in the meantime, it's pretty green out there.

And the bushes and other weeds have really taken over along the fenceline. I honestly cannot keep up with it as I have neither the energy or the strength to deal with the growth.

Then too, of course, most of the days recently have been really hot and that puts me off completely. When I was younger, I could bear up in the heat. No more.

I also have to do some bush trimming along the driveway where the lilacs and maple saplings seem to be trying to take over. I guess I will have to do a little at a time until I get things under control.

Were I in a better financial state, I would hire a yard company to deal with some of this stuff, but my budget it too tight at the moment. Things may ease up, eventually, but it's not to be so right now.

It is kind of fascinating. Behind my riding arena used to be a farm field that my grandmother used to plant. When she stopped farming, she leased the land to a local farmer. You'd never know it to look at it today. It is a total forest.

My grandmother's house has been torn down and her property--now part of the State Park--is also virtually total forest as well. It hasn't been dozens of years either.

Around here, you have to beat back the forest if you want to keep some open space.

Nature insists on having its way. It's a blessing and a curse.

Olympic Disappointment With a Huge Grin

A Grin Mitigated with a Frown

First, hats off to Steffen Peters for pulling out all the stops in a extremely difficult and well ridden kur. He said in an interview, that Ravel seemed "distracted " today, hence the uncharacteristic mistakes in the test, but there is no doubt it was still a tremendous performance. I certainly wish he had scored higher--I think in his case some of the scores were lower then deserved--but it was a masterful effort.

Ravel will probably retire now and as a gelding, live a happy life, I hope. There is no hint that his owners intend to sell him, so that's good.

Disappointment was overcome by the incredible rides of the British dressage riders! Wow! Charlotte Dujardin's  ride brought tears to my eyes, and a worried shudder at one small mistake at the end. But for once, fate and the judges chose wisely and she won the gold medal with an incredible 90.089%! (Gee, she would have beaten Tucker!!)

The best part was watching how correct her horse, Valegro, was. He was ever so slightly in front of the vertical in all the extensions and in the piaffe as well, carrying himself in beautiful natural balance without being cranked into the bridle. He was round, engaged, willing an just beautifully ridden.

The worst part was, again, Adelinde Cornelisson's 88+% ride on Parzival. Once again her horse was tight and
"closed" in the neck, opening his mouth against the bit. Despite the restricted frame, he was able to move well enough and execute the exercises, but it was far, in my mind, from the grace and beauty dressage should  present. Parzival  is an amazine horse to be able to extend his gaits while his neck and frame never lengthen to match his stride.

I was watching the tests with my friend on the phone--she is a dressage rider as well--and after Adelinde's test was over, she was sure it must have scored out of the medals. I warned her, "Just watch. She's going to have high score of the day."

My friend replied, "No way, that was horrible." And then, when the score was announced, she said it again, "NO WAY!"

At that point, both of us were cheering Charlotte on with a vengeance.

Once again, the good guys won. I hope against hope that the British victory might  begin a new era of dressage where truly correct training and performance once again wins the day over horses forced into submission by the evils of rollkur.

Here are the FEI guideline pictures:

These exercises are acceptable for ten minute intervals.  How does this picture from the Olympics compare?

NOT!

And Tucker Earns a 90%

While The B52 Aborts Chance's Score

Every time the Olympics come around, I love to pretend I am riding there, scoring way above everyone else in a Grand Prix test. Today was no exception.

I was out in the arena during the lunch break in London--something like 8 AM or so here. It was the first truly cool and not too humid morning in weeks. My arena was still in shade and it was quite pleasant riding.

I rode Tucker first.  After a short warmup--neither he nor I am exactly fit for a long schooling session--we performed Olympic First Level Special Test Number Whatever. The Boy was a star. Leg yields were fine as was all the rest of the trot work. We were heading for a 98% score when I asked for the right lead canter depart and Tucker laid back his ears and simply refused. I didn't have my whip, so I slapped him on the should with the rein, at which point he half reared, and then lifted himself into the canter.

Ooops....no good score on that one. He is very opinionated and does not like to be corrected. I'm not sure why the canter is still and issue, but since we weren't in a real frame and he probably wasn't exactly prepared by me to canter, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. His indignation at being slapped was obvious, but it did make the point and he was fine for the rest of the ride.  Obviously, his score suffered from the disobedience, but the rest of the test was so perfect, he earned a high score of 90%--good enough, I'm sure, for the gold medal.

Chance was next and after another short warmup, we started to ride Olympic Training Level Special Test Number Somrthingorother/ We made it through most of the trot work when competition was disrupted by the arrival of one rather determined B52 Bomber Fly.

Because it had been so cool and lovely, I had not dressed Chance in the protective bug armor, but just used some Mosquitp Halt fly spray.  Apparently, despite it's rather noxious odor, the spray does not deter B52's. Now, Chance has never bucked with me, but he was certainly getting fussy and really distracted by the evil bug's attack.

Discretion was once again the better part of valor, so I called it quits, dismounted and got Chance and me back into the barn as quickly as possible.

Competition aborted. But the rest of the ride was lovely with nice trot and canter, so I suspect he might have earned that elusive 98% if we'd been allowed to continue.

Better luck next time....as soon as the next lovely day arrives.

More Controversy

Olympic "Hands On" the Horses

So now, a few Internet folks are raising questions about the bits and rigs riders are using in the show jumping.

And, I do have admit, some of the contraptions are pretty ugly. I'm not even sure how to describe them in correct technical terms.

In small defense, jumping is generally a lot more dangerous than dressage, so there is some reason to want more control over the horse....but, when does that become overkill and should it really be necessary??

Someone, on a post, suggested that if a horse could not be ridden in a snaffle over fences then something was wrong with the training. Well, that may be, but even my super well trained hunter--who did do all his show hunter rounds in a snaffle, needed "a little more bit" cross country. He was an enthusiastic fellow who'd jump nearly anything I set him at, but once we were "out in the field" he'd like to take charge so much I might actually not be able to point him at the right spot without a little more leverage. I used a kimberwicke and never needed anything more.

I can fully understand, therefore, the need for more bit on a jumper, especially on a course requiring speed, sharp turns and accurate "take off" spots. But I do have to question some of the complex rigs with tie downs, weird, severe bits, too tight nosebands, and who knows what.

All of that gear is a shortcut to hours of really good training. Disagree if you will, but there should be a limit as to how much hardware a horse can wear in competition.

As for the dressage, there are bitting rules, strictly followed, but even they do not protect a horse from a rider's abusive hands.  Sure, the judges can only score what they see in the competition arena, but a horse behind the vertical can be penalized on each score and  also have scores lowered in the "general impressions" section of the test.

If I recall correctly, in an extended gait, the horse is supposed to extend his head and neck a little. The frame lengthens with the gait.  Here's another place a rollkured horse is not going to gain any points. Just because a horse has the natural talent to go well despite some incorrect training or riding should not be the basis for an "8" or "9" on a movement. It's a sad commentary on what "classical' dressage has become as a competitive sport.

Ah, well, the debate will continue until someone in power takes a stand on all of this.

I'm glad I'm not a judge or official in the midst of the controversy. I'd be cringing, knowing how my decisions might "make or break" some of the top scoring riders and that I'd probably run into all kinds of flack from my fellows. The FEI rules are rather "whimpy' on all of it, after all, but there's a lot left open to interpretation.

Maybe it's time someone took the risk of interpreting them in favor of the horses.

Rollkur Rears Its Ugly Head in London

And the World Watches

Once again, dressage was dealt an ugly blow in front of the entire world.

Some of you may have seen the warm up picture of Patrik Kittel using rollkur in the Olympic schooling arena. It's gone "viral" on the Internet and is causing an uproar in the dressage community. Bad, indeed, but according to the FEI, no rules were broken and the rollkur was "momentary...."  Yeah, right...

Top it off by Adelinde Cornelisson's entrance into the competition area, cranking Parzival's head right, left, right, left over and over every time the horse even took a breath or stretched correctly into the bit. I was screaming at the screen, "For pity's sake, leave his face alone!!!" prompting my friend who was on the phone with me to ask what was wrong.

But it gets worse. Even during the test, Parzival tended to go behind the vertical with the only "payback" to his rider during the reinback. They halted, and then Cornelisson asked for reinback, Parzival momentarily resisted, as if to say, "What do you want? My head curled up, or something else?"

During a replay of the test they showed a close up of Parzival's head with only a scant few inches between his chin and chest.

But the final blow was the score. Second place at over 80%.

As long as that kind of riding gets a reward in the competition arena, it's not going to stop. As long as it's tolerated in the warm up, it will be used.

And now the entire world thinks that's how a dressage horse should be ridden.

*SIGH*

Colbert Rides Dressage

What a Great Horse to Take a Lesson On Conchita, a 14 year old Hanoverian mare, owned by Michael Oyson was the mount of choice. Mr. Oyson is on the Phillipine dressage team, and has won numerous Grand Prix tests riding this girl. We are not talking child's school horse here. Conchita does spook, probably at the cameraman, and if you notice, Colbert sits that out really well. His seat at the passage is darn good too, making me pretty sure he's done some riding in his life. Rumor has it he rode dressage as a child, but it looks like there's been some more recent saddle time than that. I'm glad too that he's wearing a safety helmet, even though he did have a top hat to wear instead. Last question: what competition hands out jeweled tiaras as a prize? That is just plain unusual, as far as I am concerned. Anyhow, hope you can view and enjoy this adventure into the world of "frou frou" dressage.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen's Dressage Training Pt. 2
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Stephen Colbert Learns Dressage, Part 1

How Did Barisone Keep a Straight Face? For those not in the USA, Stephen Colbert is a late night comedian who does a lot of political satire. Since Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife is part owner of Olympic dressage horse, Rafalca, Colbert has declared dressage the "sport of summer." He never does things halfway, so in order to research, he took a lesson with Michael Barisone. Part 2 will be aired tonight.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen's Dressage Training Pt. 1
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Olympics!

I Am Captivated


I admit it. every time the Olympics come around, I get glued to the TV, and this year, the computer.


Of course, I am always rooting for the US teams and athletes in everything, and the horse sports are my number one interest, but it goes much further than that.


I find myself cheering on competitors of every nation and in nearly every sport I see. This year, I was rooting like anything for the Japanese rider who held the lead in the 3 Day eventing.  As much as I wanted our riders to win--they are in the middle of a very elite pack right now--how cool would it be for a rider from Japan to actually medal in such a field of riders from countries with long histories of success in equestrian competition?


Or how about a 15 year old swimmer from Lithuania who won the first ever swimming medal for her country, beating my world champion from the US, Rebecca Soni (who happens to be from here in New Jersey, living within 20 miles of me!) in the 200m breaststroke. Surely, I wanted Rebecca to win, but what a triumph for Ruta Meilutyte and what a delight to see her reaction on the medal stand. 


I love the unlikely winners, the unexpected performances from the "non-favorite" athletes who somehow reach for the best in themselves and snatch the gold medal.


Whoever they are, and from whatever nation, nearly all of these competitors have trained, struggled, and worked for, at the very least, four years to make their Olympic teams. They have put their lives on hold to strive for that elusive dream of an Olympic medal. 


I know it sounds corny and cliche to be so caught up in the principles of the Olympic dream, but it's so much fun to watch and in particular, to enjoy the whole experience. 


In the Three Day cross country, one of the best things was hearing the massive crowd watching the course cheer on Yoshiaki Oiwa as he galloped along. And what a groan of disappointment as he slid out of the saddle at the drop fence, ending his Olympic dream. There were thousands of fans there, most from every country in the world except Japan, and yet, they were behind the unexpected leader as he tried to go for the gold. 


Wouldn't it be great if more than once every four years we could all support each other like that? 




PS: So far this year NBC TV here in the US broadcast about 4 dressage rides from the three day and perhaps 75% of the cross country--4 hours worth--on the regular television. Live stream on the Internet has shown everything and since I have cable TV, I can access it. 


Looking foward to the dressage. This time, for a change, there are strong teams from many countries including Britain and more than just one or two fabulous horses. It's going to be a strong and amazing competition. 


Sorry about the strange post format. I accidentally reset the background color for my text and there was no way I could get it back to how it's supposed to look....blogger has its limits......

So Far, So Good

Thank You, Fellow Bloggers

Gray Horse Matters suggested Stud Muffins to get Toby to eat his pill.  So far, so good. He has twice taken his meds stuffed in a muffin. I give him a "pillless" one first and then the pill.  I don't know how long this will work, but so far, so good.

I'm not sure I see any difference in his attitude since he started on the pergolide, but he does seem a bit more interested in things and has been "asking" for his feed more than in the last month. Then again, we have also had a number of cooler mornings and evenings, so perhaps that might also be a factor.

At any rate, I have all the rest of your suggestions to follow should the muffins fail, so I thank you all for the good advice.

I mowed the lawn yesterday and today, I used my DR Trimmer to trim at least part of the front bank and the weeds along the other side of the driveway.  The sun came out midway through the effort and I was dripping with sweat by the time I finished. Despite a shower this morning, it is supposed to be another super hot day.

I took a cool shower when I came back inside, as much to cool myself off as to soap off any possible poison ivy residue from the trimming. I noticed, a bit too late, that I was mowing right into a patch of the noxious weed.  The DR is more like a hand mower and doesn't quite through up weed residue like the hand string trimmer does, but there were still bits of weeds on me and my clothes when I came in.  Hopefully the shower and good soap will keep me from any issues.

Just so you all know, if you are exposed to poison ivy, you need to wash off with cold water, not hot. The hot water actually makes the urushiol, the irritant in poison ivy, get absorbed into your pores.  My Grandmother used to make her own "brown soap" that she used every time she came back in from a walk in the woods and she swore by it as a way of avoiding a poison ivy rash.  There are washes on the market, one by Technu, that supposedly clean the urishiol off your skin.  


Hopefully, my precautions will save me a week or so of rash and itching.  I've managed to kill most of the poison ivy on my property with a brushkiller, but I never thought to look in this particular patch of weeds. And, as some of you may know, poison ivy is a hardy, determined invader that will simply take over if left to grow on its own. 


I've been keeping up on my swimming regimen, managing a half hour to forty minutes of laps every day the pool is open. I have, however, missed a few days during the last week due to the threat of thunderstorms which causes the pool to close.


Hope I get my swim in today. I need it. 

Medication Meanderings

How to Get A Horse to Take a Pill

Pergolide is apparently very bitter tasting. So, the problem is, how do you get a smart, sensitive horse to take his daily dosage?

Toby is not a good eater to start off with. He will stop eating if he's upset or if I put a supplement in his feed and he decides it "tastes different."  He is not what I call a "stomach horse,"  meaning that food and treats are not a great motivator. If he's decided he doesn't want to be caught in the paddock, a treat will not lure him in.

So, how do I assure that he gets his daily half tablet of Pergolide? Please note, the pills are very small. A half tab is perhaps a 1/16" long and half as wide.

Suggestion number one, from a friend who has a horse on her property on Pergolide, is to stuff the pill in a mini marshmallow. All well and good provided the horse in question likes mini marshmallows.  Toby is not so sure. I lured him into complacency with three minis, unspiked, and then gave him the mini with the pill. He ate it, but that was that. He refused the next offering of "untainted" mallows and hasn't offered to eat once since.

Scratch off the marshmallow alternative. On to the bananas. This was my vet's recommendation.  I'm a little leery of this one too. I gave Toby a sample slice of banana, and he wasn't too thrilled. I still have several bananas left, so I will try again to see if he will begin to like them more, but until then, I'm not going to stuff a pill in one to see if he will eat it or spit it out.

I have, for the time being, resorted to the old tried and true method of applesauce and a dose syringe.  Melt the tablet in the applesauce, spoon it into a syringe and give it as you would a paste wormer.  Bit of a mess and a little worry that perhaps all the medication is not getting into the horse as it's spread throughout a couple teaspoonfuls of applesauce. But, I decided to put the dissolved pill in a little applesauce in the syringe first followed by more applesauce to push the medicated stuff into his mouth first. It works, but isn't exactly the most efficient method when you consider I will have to do it 365 days a year.

Some other suggestions have been to stuff the pill in a chunk of apple, but I have to wonder.

And, my friend said that all the methods she tried worked for a while, but eventually the horse caught on and stopped accepting the various treats she offered.

Surely there is an easier answer somewhere, but for now, the jar of applesauce, the syringe, the pill, Toby, and I will be companions.

Some friendship, huh?

Toby, Toby, Oh Dear....

Cushing's

Just got a call from the vet. Toby's blood test was positive for Cushing's. Apparently, this is the cause of his "almost lamitintis" of being footsore. He has also lost some weight and muscle, although he does not show any of the rough coat symptoms. In fact, his well shedded summer coat is shiny and healthy.

Cushing's is essentially a malfunction of the pituitary gland and is very common in older horses. (He's 22)  According to one article I read, some 70% of horses develop Cushing's as they age.

Dietary controls are important in the treatment. Low starch and low sugar feeds are recommended along with low sugar forage.  The feed I've been using is alaready a high fat, low starch/sugar mix, so that's OK. The hay?  I don't know if my supplier has tests on it this year, but last time we checked, it was pretty good too. The only regular variable is the grass around here.

Now, I certainly do not have lush pastures. But there is some speculation that the changes in weather might impact the sugars in the grass I do have. But, there is no way I could imagine a horse being able to survive on the grass that's available in my paddocks and pasture. There's just too little of it.

At any rate, Toby will be getting Pergolide, the drug of choice for Cushing's and I will be adding some magnesium supplements to his diet. For the summer, at least, he will have shoes.  He has shoes and pads on now and seems quite comfortable.

Not sure what else to do at the moment but I am researching.

On the weather front, it has cooled off considerably over the last two days. I went swimming yesterday bot at the moment, today, it just might be too chilly.

Looks like some riding would be some good exercise!

Singing in the Wish It Would Rain

And Toby Seems to be Doing Fine

Toby is now in shoes and pads. I am still giving him bute twice a day and will do so for a week, then dropping the dose to once a day. I suspect that may be helping as well, but he does look good in the new shoes.

Scott, my farrier, and I had a bit of a discussion about barefoot, mostly because a number of people whose horses have been going barefoot for a long time are getting shoes this year. We speculated about what might be going on, but apparently the heat and dry ground, possibly coupled with rain here and there might be causing some extra hoof issues.  Strangely enough, this does not seem to be an issue in the winter months.

The vet thinks that Toby just needs the extra protection of shoes on the hard summer ground, particularly when he is stomping at flies.

Speaking of, I do not have a bad fly population here. I use fly predators and feed through fly control and it does seem to keep their numbers way down. Still some of them do seem to survive and like to land on the horse's legs.

Why the singing?  I performed two solos in church in the last two weeks.  I was supposed to sing two songs last week, but the minister saw the title of one, "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?" and asked if we could do that one this week because Daniel was the topic of her sermon. So, we did "There is a Balm In Gilead" last week and "Daniel" today instead.

I've tried to upload the files directly,but they don't seem to work.

Here, instead, are direct links to them if you care to have a listen.

There Is A Balm In Gilead

Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?

The microphone is not close to me, so the feeling might be a bit "distant" but you can hear me anyhow. I don't use a mike when I sing.

Now, if it would only rain a bit here I'd be happy. We've had a few showers now and then, but the hot sun really does dry things up.  Then again, if it rains, I really will have to mow the lawn. It's looking a bit "weedy" right now as the weeds are still thriving while the grass gets dry. Not sure if mowing would be a good idea at the moment--at least that's my excuse!  *G*

Ah, Well

Chance Plan Aborted

It was hotter than expected. In the morning, when I fed the horses and cleaned stalls, I was soaked with sweat in about 15 minutes.  That put me off for an early ride. So I figured I ride in the evening.

Best laid plans?  I went for my swim early as I had a chiro/acpuncture treatment in the early evening and I also knew there was going to be a swim meet at the pool and it would be closed later.  I swam 20 laps again. Right now, that's about my limit before I start to wear out.

Came home, changed and headed for the chiropractor. Here's where the plan goes astray. Just about every vertebrae in my lower to mid back was out of alignment as well as all the usual ones in my upper back.  My pelvis was out, which may have accounted for all the other issues too.

Why? Who knows? It could be anything. This is one flaw in being too flexible. While it is a benefit in being able to move my seat with the horses so sitting the trot is not particularly a problem, it does make me prone to displacing vertebrae from their proper alignment.

Now, Chance does tend to carry me a bit crooked. With his one uneven hind leg he tends to throw my seat to the right so I continually need to compensate so both he and I are straight.  Riding him after an adjustment would not have been the brightest idea. So, with the heat and that, I opted out.

Or whimped out. Whatever the case may be. Now it's supposed to get hot again over the next week or so. Guess I'll just have to play it all by ear to figure out if I can work a horse or not.

As to Tucker and stretching. If you recall, I got Tuck as a two year old, and broke him to saddle with Kenny's help.  From Day 1, under saddle, I asked him to stretch down and use his back.  By the by, it's part  of Kenny's basic under saddle work--"give to the bit."  In his clinics he tries to get people to stretch their horses all the way to the ground as a relaxation exercise.

As a result, it is often Tucker's preferred way of going. When I put him on the lunge for free work, he will put his nose way down as a matter of course.  He's not always forward when he does this, and he can be "relaxed to a fault," but he is down and round.  When  am riding him, the cool thing is that if I push him more forward, he will connect nicely into the bit and just go long and low.

Toby works that way too, but Chance is still in the training phase.  I should have spent far more time with Chance on that, but he was too much fun to just hack out, so his training is far behind.  However, if I spent a month working him several times a week, he'd have it too.

You can work it in hand. Stand beside the horse, pick up one rein only, and hold your hand up at the same angle the rein would be if you were in the saddle.  Put pressure on the rein. As soon as the horse offers to drop his head, release the rein entirely.  You have to be quick and reward the right response as soon as the horse offers.  After a while, all it will take is a light touch and the horse will drop down.  This is the "give to the bit."

It translates into riding and is great for the warm up. Rather than spending  all that time waiting for the horse to soften, you get softening early on.

Now, this is a little of working from the front to the back, rather then from the back to the front, but it does work.

Lockie Richards used to tell me there was the French way of riding and the German way. French suppled  the front and that allowed the back to come along. German rode the back into the front to get the same result. I guess my riding is a combination of both. I certainly believe a supple horse can become forward more easily, so I often do lots of suppling work when I train.

WHEN I train. That's the operative phrase. Not doing much now, I fear. *sigh*

Addendum:  Lunged the Boys this morning. The arena was in shade and really felt pretty nice.

Chance went well, despite taking off in the canter when Tucker bolted through the arena gate.

Tucker went well despite twice bolting off--once getting away from me--when I guess he was attacked by a deerfly. Those things give a painful bite.

Toby let me hook him up to the lunge line, but after a part circle, I brought him in, put him in his stall and called my farrier.  That call was soon followed by a call to the vet. He was definitely moving like a horse with the start of laminitis. Same time last year. This is very mild, but I do feel a pulse in his foot and he was trying to land on his heel with a shortened stride. That is not at all normal for him.

The vet is on her way.

More later.

MORE:  The vet just left. Toby is sore on both fronts. It may be a bit laminitic, but he may more likely be just sore from being barefoot/concussion with thin soles.  I have a call into my farrier. We are going to put shoes and pads on him. He will be getting some bute for a week or so and needs to stay in at least until he is shod.

Needless to say, he is not a happy camper. Every time Tucker goes out of the barn or disappears from view Toby has a fit. It's going to be a long week keeping him in. But, since it's also going to be hot, it's pretty likely Tucker will be spending most of his time in the barn.

Second time this has happened, so just to be safe Dr. McAndrews took blood for a Cushings test. Toby does not show any obvious symptoms, but it's worth checking into just in case.

Tucker Gets a Turn

Cooling Off a Bit

It is a little cooler. Not great, but with the breeze, certainly tolerable. So, as evening started to roll in, I brought Tucker in from the pasture and saddled him up.

This took a while as I put on his Cashel but armor. It is in two pieces and needs to be tied under the saddle and onto the bridle. I did not put the face cover on with it, but used a set of ear protectors instead.  I do need to sort out the bug armor pieces as I have three sets--deals on eBay.  One of them is a different style in front and it doesn't work quite as well as the others.  But for today, the unmatched piece were just fine.

My main focus with Tucker for now is just to get him moving off my leg.  He tends to challenge "forward" at times, but usually, once I tune him up with a few transitions, he's good. What I want to develop is an immediate forward response to my leg. As long as he's not sore anywhere, it should be fixed pretty quickly.  The flies definitely do not help as he is very distracted by them, so the Bug Armor is an essential.

We worked for about 20 minutes or so, walk, trot and canter. I finished up riding a version of a training level test just to put everything together. Had it been in the show arena we would not have scored particularly well. His frame was a bit erratic and he resisted the right canter depart.  His free walk was lovely, though, as was the stretchy trot on the long rein which I suppose some judges would say was "on the forehand."  But he was actually rounding down through the bit, so I was quite satisfied.

After we finished our ride, I handing out carrots all around.  I'm putting Chance on the agenda for tomorrow, weather permitting.

Done riding, I headed over to the pool for a nice swim. I only did 15 laps today--20 yesterday--and two rounds on the Lazy River.  It was getting a bit late and as the sun began to dip it actually felt cool.

All in all, it was a good day at Follywoods and beyond.

Snoozing

Where's Chance?

The other night I went out for late night feed and found only two horses ready to come into the barn to eat. Toby was in Chance's stall and Tucker was wandering about in under the run in roof.

I put the feed in and got the two older Boys into their own stalls.

Chance's stall was still empty. There was no sign of him.

On a hunch I went out to the arena run in shed. In the dark, I caught a glimpse of a white blaze--low and close to the ground.  There was Chance, snoozing in the sand. He made no move to get up, even when I called.

I was a little concerned, as I'm always worried about colic and that's where I found Toby lying down when he had his bout of laminitis.

But all was well. My Chancyman was just having a nap and wasn't really hungry enough to bother getting up for midnight snack.  He finally hefted himself to his feet and walked over to me, got a hug and then followed me back to the barn where he finally went in his stall to eat.

Two good things come from this. First, Chance is completely confident and comfortable in his surroundings. And second, Chance does not at all feel hungry.  Unlike Tucker, he is clearly not one of those "food motivated" horses.

I guess a nap is far more appealing. *G*

Ponderings

Thoughts for a Hot July

It's been pretty unbearable for the last few days. The heat is easing off just a little today, but I think it's mostly that the humidity may be a little lower.  In case you hadn't heard, New Jersey was hit by some pretty severe thunderstorms over the weekend.  Thousands of homes south of here are without power. With wildfires in the West and severe weather here in the East, the US is suffering Mother Nature's wrath for sure. I don't know if all of this is a consequence of global warming, but it certainly does make you think, doesn't it?

I was at an indoor picnic yesterday. I was supposed to be a dressage judge for driving show, but the organizer--my good friend--cancelled the show due to the heat. But, the after show picnic was already planned, so the party still went on.  I met some really nice people--all carriage drivers--and had a long chat with a women whom I knew years ago when I was still competing hunter/jumper.  She had all kinds of stories from "the old days," and seemed quite pleased to have someone to share them with.

Later, my neighbor, whose family reunion in South Jersey had been moved here after the storm devastated the campgrounds where they were gathering, came over with a cooler full of sweet corn husks for the horses.  He brought a group of young kids with him--all cousins--and they had a grand time feeding Toby, Tucker, and Chance the nice green husks.  I did limit the amount we fed the Boys, however, as it's never a good idea to overfeed anything like that.  I've parceled out the rest over the last two feedings, so the Boys have a nice little extra green treat with their hay.

And the hay...My hay man got the delivery of new hay from New York.  It's pretty stemmy as it's first cutting.  To look at it, some of it almost looks like straw.  But, fortunately, the Boys do seem to like it quite a bit. I would like something softer as an ideal, but as long as the horses like it, that's just fine. Since Tucker and Chance are already too fat, they don't need really rich hay anyhow. I do give Toby a bit more as I do keep an eye on his weight. As an older boy--22--I need to give him some extra calories to keep him in good flesh.

I figure I could stand to lose a few pounds--well, more than a few--so I started doing a little research on burning calories.  I found a really cool calorie calculator online that has all kinds of activities including riding and, believe it or not, feeding livestock.  If you are interested, here's the link.
Calorie Calculator

The only depressing part is that in order to lose a pound, you need, according to this site, to burn over 3000 more calories than you consume. Pretty depressing. That means I need to stop eating altogether and either swim or ride for about 10 hours a day for a month to lose enough weight. (Well, a slight exaggeration, but....)

I think I'll start that program tomorrow. *G*