Horse Hospitals Are Even Slower Than Human Hospitals

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Remember the Flying Solo Test Of Horse Ownership Preparedness?  Oh yes, we're at it again.  Actually, when I called my insurer to give them a heads-up on what was going on, I swear I heard them sigh in despair when I said NC State.  They just sent me the kick injury check last week.  They are not thinking I am a good investment at the moment.

All surfaces hoseable...

Since Encore was NQR (Not Quite Right, for the uninitiated) at our lesson, I followed David's advice and so today found us meeting with the head orthopedic diagnostic guru at NC State University's veterinary hospital.  He and his flock of undervets and minions flexed and jogged and watched Encore under saddle and videoed and scribbled.  Oh, and this was all around 1:30ish.  Our appt and arrival time was at 10:30 am.  Ha.

I had given Guru a strict lecture -- I am a state employee and Encore IS insured, but there is still a 30% copays for diagnostics.  Guru turned to his head undervet and said, "what would you recommend for this horse?"

Undervet replies as dreaded:  "Bone scan.  But I think it's going to be a hard sell."

"Why is that?" asks Guru, "Just because it's money out of her pocket?"

Gee, thanks, man.  Oh well, just fix my horse.

The equine version of those little bracelets

Guru did agree with my assessment that Encore's limbs were fine, but there was something going on higher up.  And he wanted to scan his whole body since that pesky little LF limp step was showing up -- it's been there since the beginning, but I figured it was a bad foot thing and it goes away after a few minutes of warmup.

I did tell them that I already have radiographs of his front feet and his hind leg where he was kicked, so there's something...and I just paid his insurance deductible thanks to the lovely kick injury.

I wasn't alone though -- a girl just a bit younger than me was handgrazing her horse on the front lawn as I walked by and asked me beggingly, "Please tell me good news!  I just need to hear someone has good news."

"Sorry," I sadly replied, "I have none.  Horse ownership is pretty much a period of dealing with issues punctuated by brief interludes of bliss doing what you actually love."

We sighed together.

So Encore must stay in the hospital until Friday and will be released once he is no longer radioactive.  If you are curious about bone scans, you can read the layperson version here or the total science nerd version here.

I had read about bone scans and the procedure, but I suppose I hadn't really processed that I would have to leave him there and drive home with an empty trailer.  Undervet apparently recognized the blind panic on my face and suddenly became a great deal gentler.

"Don't worry," he said, "We'll take very good care of him and we will call you with any updates and before he goes in for scanning."  He took down feeding notes and had I been a bit younger, he might have patted me on the head.

Do not like.  Take home now, please.

I went to say goodbye to Encore, who kept trying to sneak out the door in a nervous lunge to please not stay here, mum!  I gave him a hug and told him to be a good boy and promised I was coming back for him (ok, maybe I cried a little, but no one saw it so it can never be proven) and took a deep breath and walked away.  It was a very loooong walk back to the trailer, with a brief pause at the checkout to give away a massive sum of invisible money.

They tell me images will be available on Friday morning, so we will know more then.  I have fearful suspicions, but hope that they are very wrong.  I do want something to show up though, because if it doesn't show up on a bone scan, that means it's soft tissue, which is far harder to pinpoint and treat.

All around though, I can assure you, hospitals still suck no matter what species you are.  At least in a person hospital, it's just me that's nervous.  In the horse hospital, I am nervous, Encore is nervous, then I am trying to be not nervous so he will not feed off my nervousness, then I get nervous that he looks more nervous...really, they should just give out Xanax at the door and be done with it!

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All Work And No Play

It's not really like me to sit around and sigh for long when I can't ride my little project.  It's not as if there is ever a shortage of things that need tending to!

I always work very hard to make sure that I keep my BO's happy no matter where I am.  While Solo has become a very easy horse to take care of, Encore practically needs his own wait staff.  With five kinds of food, a wheedling plea for better hay, and constant adjustments to try and get back all the weight he dropped in the farm move, I want to simplify and contribute as much as I can to the farm.  I will bend over backwards and work all day long to make my boys' home the best it can be.

Feeding spreadsheet duct taped to bins on waterproof paper?  Check!
Supply my own shed for all my eventing crap so I take up zero barn space?  Check!
Prepare the next feeding myself whenever I am there so the next feeder has life easy?  Check!
Perform archaeological dig in shed, cleaning it, and add some gravel and stall mats to stabilize the floor?  Check!
SmartPak it up so there is no supplement scooping or buckets to fill up the shelves?  Check!
Cap all the t-posts?  Check!

I even go further.  Given that the boys are now on full pasture board and the pasture horses are fed via gator feed transpot, I provided colour coded buckets with their own labels thanks to SmartPak's ingenious covers (seriously an awesome invention)!  You can't tell in the picture, but yes, their names are embroidered in TFS powder blue.

 
 And while I liked my shed, divided neatly in half so I could imprison Solo and Encore could eat his dinner in peace, its open sides meant it only really provided shade at oh, noonish, and only was a rain shelter if the rain came straight down with no wind (pretty much never).  So while the BO had offered to enhance the shed construction when he had more funds in a few months, I decided to take an afternoon and give the boys some sunblock on their western wall.  The BO can consider it his early Christmas present. 

Of course, I had forgotten that sheets of treated plywood weigh 47,000 lbs, so everyone in Lowe's got to see me fall flat on my face when one dragged me over.  Oh, and also that lumber costs a gazillion dollars.  And I invented some pretty interesting rock climbing moves to get the top crossbeams up.  But I conquered it all myself except the two top sheets of plywood (yeah, you try it!) so I roped in one of the women who works at the barn (horsewomen are awesome and can do anything) to help me lift and screw in the top sheets and cover boards for the seams.  Four 4' x 8' sheets of plywood, four 2 x 4 x 10's, a box of super-magic treated lumber screws, and a lot of acrobatics and "magic words" later... 

Before.

After.  The prisoner entreats in futility.

 These horses better freaking love me.

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When Is Naptime Again?

There are so many things I want to write for you, so many "almost ready" posts to breathe life back into the blog.  I am just trying to figure out how to do that while trying to be four people at once. 

I am, for some reason, expected to show up at work in order to get a paycheck (entirely unreasonable, I think), so there goes 40 hours.  The horses, well, who knows how many hours that is. 

Dealing with life itself, that can't even be counted in hours.

If you haven't already clicked over to Facebook to follow Team Flying Solo there, I am putting up extra content for you to have fun with because it's just a little bit faster. 

Everything Encore is pretty much in slow motion until a thousand million seconds pass and we meet with the Equine Sports Medicine Man at NCSU.  And after tonight's ride, I know we'll have to keep it slow until then.

Which means I have some time to get on Solo again; Solo, who has reduced from hippopotamus to normal horse size since the move, which is nice (unfortunately, Encore has been subject to the same phenomenon, dang TBs) so a little work has been done for me. 

So I think tomorrow, we'll put his boots on, I'll swing a tired leg over his back and settle into my favourite home for a very familiar ride. 

I can't wait.

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Full Stop

It was madness on Friday.  Dashing 100 miles from our last field site of the day home, changing bags, changing trucks, only to dash again to the farm and pick up Encore and wind our way up into the Blue Ridge of Virginia.  We made it to our friend's farm around 9:00 pm, I tucked Encore in in his pasture, then passed out shortly after.

I played video and pole girl Saturday morning; it was interesting to watch the lessons I taped.  The first, especially was tackling the same problems I was having and I laughed as she finished, "I think you just got my lesson!"

We had a quick lunch with David and I was excited to saddle up Encore and show off how far he'd come.  We started our typical Warm Up Circle of Death, but as soon as we got to the canter work, I knew something was wrong.  Encore was falling out hard behind and kept doing a strange hop step with his hind feet on his left lead.  David watched carefully and said, "I don't remember this horse doing this before."

"No," I said, "he's been uneven but this is the worst it's been."

He put us through a low bounce gynmanstic.  After we did it for the fifth or sixth time, I knew he was concerned.  We never work through a gymnastic line that many times.  We tried a couple of small courses, but every jump was odd.  I stopped and said, "David, I can't see anything, it doesn't feel right, I feel as if I've suddenly forgotten how to ride, there's nothing there?"

"That's because there is nothing there, you have no canter," he responded.  My heart sunk.  "You know," he said, "I had a whole plan for this horse today but as soon as I saw the canter issues, I had to throw it all out the window."

It was like a knife to the heart but I knew he was right.  And I couldn't say it was a total surprise either.  I'd been watching Encore for a few months, not sure if it was strength issue or something else, as horses are often uneven behind until they get stronger.  But as the work got harder, the issue became more pronounced.  Our dressage trainer noticed his left hind didn't flex as well as the right and even Dr. Brian asked if he'd ever had stifle issues.  David was just the one who came right out and said, "You have a mechanical problem."

"I've just been really hoping he just needed to be stronger," I pleaded.  "I've been gun-shy since the Solo Incident."

"I completely understand that," he said, "but there is nothing to be gained by being an ostrich.  Go do your diagnostics, pinpoint the problem, then you can fix it and move on with the myriad of treatment options available today."

I was disappointed, yet at the same time, very grateful for his direct assessment and the recommendations he offered.  It gave me a concrete game plan to step forward and address the issue and his eye gave me credibility to take to the diagnostic center.

Sorry, mom.  But I wanted to make sure the insurance was worth it!

My money is on the left stifle and I am hoping it is something simple.  I've known several other horses with similar issues and a simple stifle injection or something similar had them back on track.  Well, I am really hoping it is nothing, but anyone who's been in horses long enough knows they are horses:  it is not if but WHEN you be looking sorrowfully at your lame partner.  It doesn't matter what breed or type -- they are all walking suicide machines (except for Shetland ponies, but I believe evil sustains them).

On the plus side, he is not out of riding commission, so we can still work on things and do fun rides, but we cannot step forward in training until we resolve this and he is able to even up behind.  At the very least, our spring eventing season was done anyway, my summer work schedule is picking up, and we had no horse trial plans until the fall.  So I suppose if any timing is ever right, this one is.

Tomorrow morning, I shall consult the Batphone and we shall see what there is to be seen.  This, indeed, is why I insisted on insurance for the first year!

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Just A Few Notices

(1)  I have finally broken down and made a Facebook page for TFS.  I admit, the curiosity got the better of me, even though I don't use Facebook much anymore.  But there are often quick things I'd like to post and it offered a faster medium than writing a whole blog post, so there will be extra content, fun pictures, videos, polls, and more -- so find the link here or the permanent link in our sidebar and have even more dorky ridiculousness in your life!

(2) I still have some times for sale on the "Sale" tab, so check them out.  Thanks to those who have purchased and I hope you have fun with your new Solo karma!!

I do remember these books though!

(3)  I NEED YOUR HELP!  I am clearly a moron and suddenly am incapable of remembering to turn on my helmet cam in the XC start box.  Help me come up with a clever solution that even an amoeba could remember and post it in the comments!  I thought to sharpie it on my arm, but that requires remembering the sharpie and remembering to write it.  I did have a sharpie with me, but did not remember to use it.  Life stress really reduces brain function!

You do get extra internet karma if you test your solution on an amoeba and it works.

EDITED TO ADD:  Pictures from Encore's run at the Carolina Horse Park this weekend are up for your entertainment.  Although he was tense in the dressage test, he still had some good engagement behind.  He definitely still jumps like a greenie, but he looks damn cute on XC!  You can view them here.

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Lessons

Yes, I am lax in my posting.  Field season pulls me away 2-3 days per week and I've been gone every weekend.  I never want to drive again.

I am also a moron because I keep forgetting to turn on my helmet cam.  This weekend, I did remember at jump 3 and made a valiant attempt to turn it on there.  Unfortunately, Encore had just settled into full TB gallop and those jumps just aren't that far apart at that speed; one handing the XC course did not feel like a good idea.

I know, no cam, what's the point, right?  But we did get some good mileage.

Lesson:  Encore is great in the dressage warmup; I am finally learning what works for him and I had him soft, responsive, supple, and ready to go.  Then we left the warmup ring and entered the dressage arena at A, at which point Encore threw his head up, startled that he was suddenly alone and stared at, and I was unable to unlock his jaw for the next five minutes.  To my aghastment (it's a word now), we still scored a 36.09.  :-o  It felt more like a 45.  But baby needs a lot more mileage so he can get comfy and relax his topline in the arena and we will be hitting the dressage schooling circuit this summer, instead of the schooling HTs I had originally planned.  Not as fun, but cheaper.  The boy already knows how to jump, I'll save those jumps for the fall.

Lesson:  I was starting to figure out a few things in the SJ warmup.  I kept my leg on all the way to the base of the fence and over, hooking a finger through the martingale strap so there was no mouth catching, and we got some LOVELY jumps.  Once we got in the arena though, any place where there were two jumps in a straight line, he charged like a bull and I was left to try to half halt and be soft at the same time.  I think I have at least partially created this problem.  Basically what happens then is I end up trying to hold him to the base of the fence instead galloping through it, which will almost always mean back rails get pulled behind, and I forget all about keeping my leg on.  Hopefully, David will fix us this coming weekend.  If there is a turn or corner to use to balance, we do fine and I can focus and get him back.  A friend was nice enough to catch the rail bowling jumping round on her phone for your entertainment (I would recommend full screening and maxing the resolution)!

YOU ARE VANQUISHED!!!

Lesson:  Encore is getting more confident on XC, yeah!  And WE JUMPED THE LAST JUMP.  Oh yes, the bright rolltop nemesis was defeated with a holler and a smack.  I don't think I would change a thing about his course.  It was the same funky course as Longleaf, which I still think doesn't work well for Novice horses in several places, but it made my coursewalk much easier.

The point of SCHOOLING horse trial is SCHOOLING and I am very happy with the experience we got.  Encore feels a little more sure of himself each time out and the horse trial itself did its job of showing me where our weak spots were.  So to the drawing board we go, to come back in the fall with a big fat BANG!

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Moving On

For a variety of reasons, the time came for Team Flying Solo to find a new home base.  Thus began the hunt for the perfect combination of facilities I need to train, space for my horses to move around, and no drama.  Ha, well, two of three can't be impossible.

Through an eventing friend, I learned of and visited a farm up the road and as I stepped out of the vehicle, I immediately felt calm and content (I am big on vibe).  It's an old Walking Horse farm, so it had a long low barn with no windows, surrounded by hotwalkers, several round pens and a sea of paddocks.  I wandered around and peeked in stall doors and kicked some dirt and sniffed some hay.

It wasn't glamourous, most of the fencing was high tensile wire and grass was cropped short and sparsely scattered.  But each pasture had a fluffy, nice round bale or two and I could find no manure just lying about.

All of the horses were in good condition, their feet were taken care of, and everyone was perky and bright.  No cribbing collars, no stall weavers, and every horse got at least 12 hours of turnout a day.  There was an arena with lights, a dressage arena measured out in the back, and a freshly built set of jumps.

"Can I have a pasture with a shed where my horses just live 24/7 and the fence gets a strip of white hot tape added?"

"Absolutely, no problem, when do you want to move in?" the owner replied.  He is just a SUPER nice guy, answered all my dizzying questions, and my board costs got cut in half then and there.

I'm not sure they've ever had a sporthorse boarder, as there were plenty of giggles at my detailed feeding spreadsheet and Encore's Mt. Everest of food.  The owner breeds VERY nice old-style Walking Horses, the ones I loved to see when I was a kid:  compact, sturdy, balanced, and built to last forever, with a willing, honest brain and solid feet (the new anorexic looking ones with deer legs make me sad).  In fact, the boys' new neighbours is one of the broodmares with her week old overo foal (SQUEEEEE!) who hops like a kangaroo and squeals to amuse himself.

The half-built shed.

The owner shows all flat-shod walkers now (hooray!) and has gotten enthralled with the versatility classes (horses do their regular gaited stuff, but also have dressage tests and jumping courses), so he is excitedly learning about dressage and jumping from my eventing buddy and applying it to all his training horses.

So as of Saturday, this is the TFS new compound.  I've built a tack locker by my horses' paddock so between it and the trailer, I just have my own space and my own end of the farm with the dressage arena and fields for hill work and XC schools.  As soon as I got the boys settled in, I realized this was going to be EXCELLENT desensitization for Encore.  Yes, he's already seen all the stuff on the track, but now he is seeing....

-miniature spotted donkeys braying for their dinner
-horny ducks who like to mate repeatedly while the pervy geese circle them and honk
-peacocks who call from the trees and leap on top of his round bale to squawk to the hens
-ponies whose main job is to kick the yearlings and teach them some manners
-and my favourite....

Meet Rocket, the mini stud who lives across the lane/fence.  He comes up to, oh, a little above my knees, but he reckons he can take on both those chestnuts and show THEM who's the boss.  He came "for free" with a recently purchased mare, but is actually a very nicely put together little horse and will do some breeding of his own and take over teasing duties from the owner's stud.



He paws like a little bull and assures us all that he could beat all our asses in a 'fro contest.

Solo and Encore, happily, put their trust in each other and rolled about the pasture together in an ADD frenzy, unsure of whether to be fascinated or concerned about the shrunken denizens that surrounded them.



They even showed off a new pairs routine they'd been working on, in beautiful synchronicity.



But by the time I came back on Sunday, they were relaxed and chowing down on clover and hay, the novelty of birds and stallions and donkeys having already worn off in favour of working out what the new breakfast and dinner schedule was. 

It's a big change for us, but so far, a happy one.  I've got a few projects to finish, including matting the shed and some pasture management, but in a few weeks, they'll be set and settled and I can take a deep breath and just enjoy the peace!

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Your CHP Novice Coursewalk

Team Flying Solo basecamp

Mea culpa for no helmet cam, but I CAN give you a coursewalk, plus a few bonus bits of fun.  So take a deep breath, put yourself in the Carolina sandhills, and gallop out of the start box for your horse's first Novice course.

A simple log pile to get things going.  Then a huge U-turn to...

The ubiquitous CHP cabins.  Run down the hill to...

The BIG brush.  It has wide steps on both sides.  Say hi to our buddy Sue!

Gallop up the hill to the coop.  No visual distractions here.  Focus on your jump.

Run through the tree tunnel to 5 & 6.  Since they are numbered separately, you ARE allowed to circle between them.  But I want to challenge my horse, so we ride straight through.

The course had a nice flow up until 6.  Then it went all wonky.  You galloped down a steep hill and wound through several tree paths and made an odd turn to the table at 7.

Now you immediately rebalance down the hill so your horse is ready for the baby sunken road and rolltop at 8.  Sue is getting tired of being in my pictures.  Too bad!

Down another steep hill to the trakehner.  Encore had never jumped one before so eyes UP, light tap with the go stick and LEAP over and charge up the hill to wind another crazy line to 10.

Sue insists on being the human element for scale.  Now that you have found 10, it's a simple cabin, than a hard left turn.

The water at 11 is a simple run through, keep your eyes on your next jump and don't ogle.  As an aside, this is only HALF of the big water complex at CHP, is it not amazing??

Sue threatens to tackle as you pick your way through the trees at an angle to 12.  Encore knocked a hind leg here, it was an awkward turn and he got an off stride, but he made it work.

Now you get your stirrup back, dodge a few more trees and go down another steepish hill to 13, and immediately balance so...

You can run through the second water at 14.  Don't miss your line because you have charge up the hill to...

15 A & B.  This is a combination so NO circling.  Up the bank, one stride, jump, then a horrible right turn IMMEDIATELY to...

Our not-so-friendly 16.  But it was a terrible line.  You can see the finish flags right behind it.  Sigh.

Then, ostensibly, you have done it!  As I noted earlier, after jump 6, the course notably lost its flow.  For a Novice horse, he should be able to gallop nicely through it in a rhythm and the jumps should come up naturally, as they did with our previous, much beloved course designer, Jeff Kibbie.  But he has moved on, sadly, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.  I will send in my event evaluation to provide some feedback, organizers do value those, so send yours in too!

And just for fun, Indian Smurf made some new friends:

Our VERY favourite starter, Bill -- you can often find him at CHP and several of our area schooling trials.  He always makes you laugh and relax before you set off and was recently featured in EventingUSA magazine for his awesomeness!

Our TD and friend, Cindy (who is also our national Adult Rider coordinator) and her apprentice TD, Tim, enjoying the shade of the golf cart and having a smurfy good time!

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Sometimes Disappointment Is A Good Ending

That was one of the reasons I have always loved Audrey Hepburn's classic Roman Holiday:  there is no perfect bow and there is no closure except goodbye.  Life doesn't wrap itself up in a nice, neat little package where everyone always ends up exactly where they wanted to be in the first place.

But before we go there, I will give you the answer you've all been waiting for, the question that has held you captive since Tuesday's Hoof Quiz:  half of you are right and half of you are wrong.

Hoof A has a robust, heavy wall and a sole that is concave, thick, and hard as a rock.  The frog is giant and the heels are strong.  There's a teensy bit of a thrushy crack, always a project.  Hoof B is narrower, with a sole that is almost flat, has little callous and jerks back dramatically in response to contact with the tiniest bit of gravel.  The middle of the frog got thrushy (grrrr) from a muddy pasture.

So who was right?  *drumroll*  A = Encore and B = Solo.  So Val, Amy, Beka Burke, Abbie, Lyndsey and RiderWriter got it right!

This has taught me the huge role that genetics play in hoof quality and integrity.  That old saw that OTTB's have crappy, shelly feet?  Well, buy one with good feet and you won't have that problem.  My QH has wussy, cracky feet that need constant attention despite six years of me obsessing over them. 

As for that little horse trial we went to...

Overall things went smoothly.  Although, there was this one time, in middle of downtown Raleigh where I clenched the steering wheel and yelled a string of very bad words, realizing in the complete chaos that was my Friday that I had remembered everything....except feed for my horse.  Fortunately, there's a lovely feed store in Southern Pines which is open for Saturday morning panic shopping runs.

Encore is a very smart horse.  As soon as he unloaded, you could see the lightbulb go on as he remembered the Horse Park and he knew what he was supposed to do in each section we rode into.  He warmed up for dressage rather well, but I still have not completely figured out what he needs.  More canter?  No canter?  More suppling?  A different rider?  I know I slipped into an old habit and tensed up as we rode in the ring.  As a result, he never relaxed and rode up into the contact, and we ended up with a mediocre score of 41.

The judge was fair and accurate and I am sure that our results were a mix of greenness and Encore just having a week and a half off due to injury.  We had ONE dressage ride in the last two weeks. 

Cross country followed and you can hate me because I forgot to turn on the helmet cam.  I'm going to start writing it on my arm.  I will post a virtual course walk when I get the pictures organized.

Now that we were running Novice, I was finally able to let Encore run a little.  Wow, does he have a powerful gallop.  It took everything in me to slow down and balance enough for the fences.  But he was bold and solid -- baby sunken road, water, trakehner, bank, combination, HUGE brush -- he gave it an excellent run and responded to everything I asked immediately.

Until Jump 16.  Three strides from the finish line.  The last jump on course.  It was a simple rolltop, although a bit narrow, and newly built out of light, treated lumber.  I knew it was a steering question and it came off an odd turn, as the whole second half of the course lacked flow in its design.  But I aimed for the middle and closed my leg.

See, the smurf has no problem with it.

Encore is a very quick and athletic horse, as I'd already learned in Februrary.  He slipped out to the left at the last second.  I was stunned.  We had already done all the hard stuff!

Then I made the mistakes that did us in.  I simply rode at it again, thinking he would just jump it the second time.  He didn't.  Then I did the same thing the third time with, unsurprisingly, the same result and that was our endgame.

What I didn't do is get proactive fast enough.  The second time, I should have switched the crop to my left hand, dug that left spur in and used a right opening rein to close the doorway he found.

But as I walked back to the barn and commenced the "Saturday Pack of Shame" of those who get eliminated on the first day, I wasn't entirely unhappy.

I was unhappy with my failure to get the riding job done, yes.  But when we were warming up for XC, I had noticed that while Encore jumped the XC jump very well, he rushed the stadium fences, getting flat, hard, and fast in the last three strides.  I didn't like it and I am fairly certain that it is a training issue that I have caused.  I have some ideas, but I need some video or sharp eyes on the ground to solve it. 

But it needs to be worked out and I did not want to run him around the stadium course like that, as that could potentially make a problem much worse and become a negative experience for us both.  As a result, I was thinking of withdrawing after XC and going home to up our show jumping game.

In the end, the choice was made for me.  So while I have a bit of wounded pride for an E on Encore's record (it doesn't stand for "excellent," folks), when I take a step back and look at the big picture and what is best for Encore's career, I see that we achieved experience in the dressage arena, got both our leads and were fairly accurate, and had a great schooling run around a Novice XC course for jumps 1-15 on a horse who was at his second real horse trial and his first go at Novice.

The experience matters.

Like Gregory Peck, I didn't get the princess completion I wanted in the end, but I got an invaluable experience for my horse and I feel comfortable knowing that our show jumping round (in the rain) today could very well have not been what it should.

And that is what makes eventing a challenge and a long game if you want to build an eventer who is confident in his rider and knows how to get his job done.  It's not all clean rounds and sunshine, but it's the hard decisions and how fast you can roll with the punches that sort the wheat from the chaff.

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Tune In Sunday...

...for the much-debated, long-awaited Hoof Quiz answer!

...and why our Big E today turned out to be not such a bad thing (for those of you watching the live scores).

If you're not watching live scores, well, SURPRISE, I'm home early and Encore is happily grazing in his pasture.  No people or animals were injured in the making of the story to come.

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Game On!

I jumped Encore tonight the second I got home from field work.  Note to self:  if you leave a young OTTB pretty much off for 1.5 weeks and then point him at a jump, you will have your hands full.  But.  He JUMPED SOUND and the leg finished CLEAN AND TIGHT.  So Plan B is a go!  Complete with veterinary approval!

I'm not giving out the quiz answer yet, I am having way too much fun reading everyone's guesses and justifications.  I am both intrigued and entertained, congratulations!

As for Longleaf, you will find live scores here.

You will find ride times here.

The unicorn will be doing dressage at 11:06 am on Saturday, then he will run cross country at 3:08 pm.  Then his rider will ingest large amounts of carbohydrates and fluids and Sunday, show jumping will run in reverse order of placing.  This will be his first Novice HT, so one hopes his rider will do her job properly and not screw him up, ahem, like last time.

I am hoping if I ride Thursday and Friday, I will NOT have a fire-breathing dragon on my hands on Saturday...

No, I have no idea why Longleaf is run in classic format, while others, like SoPines I, are not.

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Up For A Little Quiz?

But before the question, I have some gleeful news to share:

I rode Encore last night in the arena and he was SOUND AND FRISKY AT W/T/C!  In fact, after I got off, his leg was cleaner and tighter than when we started, which is what I was hoping would happen once he got moving.  He kicked out with a giant buck picking up one canter, I think it was part exuberance and part annoyance at having just one leg wrapped in layers (I didn't want arena grit in the scab).  I have many smiles, it feels good.

Now, on to your quiz.  It's a simple one...or is it?  These are pictures of my horses' feet.  Both are back hooves on brown legs, both have been barefoot with the same farrier for roughly the same amount of time and both get the same management and same base feed.  No hoof supplements.  Size is irrelevant, the camera was just a different distance from the hoof.  So -- which one is a shiny Quarter Horse and which one is a doe-eyed OTTB?

 If you answer correctly, you win.....

AN ALL-EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO -----

wait for it.....

READ THIS BLOG SOME MORE!

Yeah, I know, best prize ever right.  *insert self-deprecating snicker here*

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Why Not A 5 Day Weekend And A 2 Day Workweek?

I vote for that instead.

The Horses:  

Encore radiographed clean on Friday *HUUUUUGE sigh of relief* and was pronounced "He Who Hath Excellent Bone Density" by Dr. Brian.  He is on another course of antibiotics because there is still a little fluid pocket around the wound and slight fill in the ankle/tendon.  But it looks a little better every day.  No more bandages, just the daily bute/abx and tomorrow, I'm going to hold my breath and get on him.

Solo got his huge, shiny butt ridden today -- I think he will always be lopsided (not that he ever was NOT) because of the scar tissue in his back and his weakness there, so the bulge to the left is just default now.  I correct every second stride or so, along with constant reminders that locking the left side of one's jaw is not allowed.  I have begun to let him jump about 2' and under -- he is so terribly excited to jump again that he locks and goes, overjumps dramatically, flings his head in the air and tries to take off at a XC gallop every time.  Mr. Shiny may get his martingale and jumping bit back after all...

The Weekend:

Yes, it is Longleaf weekend, my favourite event of the year.  And I WILL pack up my trailer and my OTTB and we WILL go to the Carolina Horse Park on Friday.  Because the cruelty of eventing is that you can't get your money back.

The Plans:

Plan A:
We do the world's most expensive dressage test on Saturday and then withdraw and volunteer for a while before heading home Saturday evening.

Plan B:
We do dressage, check the leg, if it looks clean and tight, we run XC.  Cold wrap leg and standing wrap it overnight and if he jogs out tight in the morning, move on to SJ.

Plan C:
We do dressage and if leg does not look perfectly tight, we have a chat with Ground Jury to see if we can skip XC and just CT-it by show jumping on Sunday for the schooling experience on level footing.

Plan D: 
None of my plans will go according to plan and I just wing it, tottering about CHP on my bike with my bright orange milk crate while my brain chases its tail trying to figure out what to do.

The Added Bonus:

No matter which plan actually occurs, I still get to use the New Totally Awesome Horse Organizer's Dream Box.  Check it:

It starts like this.  Boots added for scale.  TFS sticker added for coolness.

Then it does this, like a fishing tackle box.

That's right, my OCD friends, just remember
to wipe up your drool.

Of course, I have to make it our own.

 Not only that, but it has a retractable handle like a suitcase.  And wheels.  WHEELS!  And you can lock every section.  Can you just step away and let me and the box have a few minutes alone together in the tack room....

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