Stupid Stifles Suck

I appear to have an 's' theme lately.   I'm not fond of this addition.

Encore continues to enable my phenomenal overthinking powers.  It's probably easier to just turn the volume up for you (warning: brain insides not necessarily or consistently rational), internal dialogue follows -

Ok, I'm finally able to begin putting us back together.  Topline & butt need remuscle-ing.  Task doable!

Learn your stifles (pic digilibraries.com)

DEC:  Hmmm, he still feels a bit loose behind.  And is sore in left stifle after a brief but focused long line session.   I don't feel evidence of any tears, consult Dr. Bob (wow, thanks Android, for automatically filling in his name in draft, way to rub it in).

No edema or other damage found; cortisone for both stifles & a steroid to help boost us up out of the unfit-loose-sore-more-rest-unfit maddening cycle (want to avoid blister if possible).  Commence Plan Hill-acious.


JAN:  Hey, muscle definition!  We can hop some things calmly!  I'm still getting some slip behind, we just work through it, right?  Bute & baby steps?  Annual back injections (see TFS Injection 101 here), check, they take 3 weeks to settle, patience, right?

Right?!

FEB:  Mmmnggghm, this is still NQR.  I KNOW him, the vibe is off & he's crabby.

Test on hills.  Not terrible.  Test in arena.  Maybe he's better.  Test on longer trail hills.  Dammit.  Not better.

Pampering is so exhausting...

MAR:  Inspect saddle.  Some small lumps, time to fluff, ok, try other saddle, will have fitter out to adjust.  Better.  Wait, what was that?

Put hands on horse.  Oh, maybe the 20 knots along left side of withers, back & butt explain something. *facepalm*  BUT.  Task doable.  Commence Plan Bodywork. 

Test bareback to remove confounding saddle variable.  Better!  And lots of nice new pops in carrot stretches as things relax.  AND I can work deep into hips & stifle tissues without pain response like he had when he DID tear something.  Yay!

Wait, maybe - nope, not better.  But muscles feel smoother, continue bodywork.  What if I - no, waffle time is over.  Let's get to the bottom of this. 

Yeah, that's the condensed version. :/   But we reconvene with Dr. Bob Tuesday.   There will be heinously thorough inspection, but research & consultation indicate: act now, get the rehab done, so maybe, hopefully, please pretty please, we can bloody well MOVE ON.

 At least that's the Plan.

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How To Get To Good: Be A Better Lab Rat

Encore & I always look like this. Ha.

You get on your horse, warm up & organize your various pieces & parts, & then you begin work.  Ask him to move forward, connect back to front, create suppleness & adjustability, aiming for the best you can create at both of your levels of ability.  Obvious, right?

We often even think of that process as "easy" in that we can say, "Sit up straight, apply leg, maintain steady, elastic rein connection, do that breathing thing."  And if we do all those things properly, our partner will reward us with a round, rhythmic canter, stepping up through his withers & pushing energy out through the bridle.

Stop me now if that works out for you every time.  Anyone?  Buhler?  Yeah, the devil's in the details.

Solo: Master of Subtle Opinions...

On Monday, your horse decides "leg" means "let me show you my best llama impression!"  Wednesday, his response is, "Eh?  Did you say something?"  Thursday, your left elbow is convinced "steady connection" is best achieved by "death grip against my horse's locked jaw."  You're sorted on Saturday, wow, that canter felt great -- so when you have a chance to get on a different horse, you apply the same process...only to enjoy the Trot At Terminal Velocity with as much bend as a 2 x 4.

Fortunately, we have helmets to deal with the subsequent *headdesk* repetitions!  But what gives?

I posted a teaser quote from a current reading project, so now I'm following up on my promise for more.  Mary captures the individual approach horses require from us, even from one ride to the next, with a great analogy:

"Imagine that each horse, in his evasive movement, resembles one entrance to a maze, which has at its center the good movement we are seeking. With every horse we go on a unique journey & initially, in particular, the feelings he gives us & the difficulties he poses may be strikingly different. The knowledge we glean from one journey may only serve to confuse us on the next – at times we may even have to do the exact opposite of something we previously experienced as being a surefire way of getting us to the center."

Y U play hard to get, cheez??

My suspicions are supported:  our horses really do use us as experimental laboratory mice!  I knew I could hear snickering as I blundered about in search of that cheese with perfect bascule...

What I like best about her imagery though, is that it shines the focus on each ride, each journey, as a puzzle (there could be a puzzle-lover bias here, heh) instead of an assumption.  To solve a puzzle, we have to think about the process, breaking it down into progressive steps towards our goal of a nice transition or a balanced circle.

Mentally, this automatically puts me in the moment, listening to my body & feedback from my horse, then trying something different if we aren't at "good" yet.  At the same time, it subconsciously gives me the critically important freedom to do "the exact opposite of something" that I tried before, creating the opportunity to discover, hey, if I let go, my horse really doesn't run away.

BAM.  (extra hunter Solo for Lauren, hee)

Which I have far better luck with than my approach from past years, of "I did all the things, this is still sucking!"  Trapping us in a dead-end, repeatedly walking into the same wall, blindly hoping it will just fall down & present a full cheese platter.

Now I have a cheese craving, dangit.

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A Singularly Solo (S)Celebration

Can it really have been 10 years??  As I broke Solo's favourite candy canes into his 20th birthday breakfast last Sunday, I couldn't quite believe in a DECADE.

A DECADE - that's encompassed what feels like several lifetimes.  Maybe that's why I fantasize about naps, ha.  While our official 10-year anniversary isn't until Memorial Day weekend, I can't help but feel like we've checked a major milestone.

Beginnings: our trot in Aug 2006

LITERALLY our first jump together (& awesome critique here)

2009: My 30th, his 13th

I don't know Solo's actual birthday.  All I had was the Coggins in the envelope with the bill of sale, taken in January of 2006, describing a 9-yr-old gelding.

When I met him that May, he was advertised as 10, so I decided to give him my own birthday, sitting neatly in the middle & a date I might even remember.

June '07: Ian Stark shows me what my horse can really do!

Given the electric phenomenon of our initial encounter, I suppose I should have known that unimaginable adventures lay ahead of us.  But, well, I was an exuberant 27...and they were unimaginable!

May '07: 1st show (I still thought we were hunters, LOL)

Solo may have been the first horse who was ever my own, but I have had the privilege (some more pleasant than others...) of working with countless others, as far back as my memory can reach.

June '07: That Stark guy suggests he might have some jump (my eyes are closed in terror)

Yet, he remains astonishingly unique, truly his own sphere of being, capable of becoming what BFF once accurately described as "a force of nature," ALWAYS on his own terms.

Solo discovers his calling when Ian takes us XC that summer

But his kindness & fiercely loyal generosity have more than once moved me beyond words.

June '08: Our first XC at BN Foxtrack, making it up as we go

The greatest gift of my life, that chestnut face is also the sole remaining bridge to the person I was & the person I loved before the loss whose story is still trapped inside.

Fall '10:  We've found our stride...literally. Photo purchased from Brant Gamma.

Spring '10: The joy of flight. By Pics of You.

Many of you know I'm a painfully practical biologist, not prone to anthropomorphize.

However, I also know that "different" is not the same as "lesser;" I have seen animals defy our limitations too many times.

And Solo's ability to look into my core, to lend me his strength, his joie de vivre, to become so intently still when things fall apart & promise me, on a level of communication I can't explain, that he will wait with me & it will be ok...that horse continues to save my life.

It's a worn-out cliché, but a truth nonetheless.

May '07: Our first blues

So, my notoriously shiny, larger-than-life, impossibly endearing, hopelessly optimistic, greatest partner, everything I have & am is yours.

You taught me that trust opens up the sky for soaring, that being patient & fair is often more important than being right.

Apr '10: Owning Novice Longleaf HT. Photo by Pics of You.

You never let your body get in the way of your enormous heart, you gave...simply because I asked.  Even when you shouldn't have.

SJ at 2010 Longleaf HT: Poetic partnership.  By Pics of You.

Oct '10: Steeplechase w Becky Holder

We're both older, each with some busted-up cartilage, joints that predict the weather, & a longing to burst out of that start box together once more.

I can at least give you wide pastures & good friends, for which I'm so grateful.

May '11: Training Level sexy

And we can pause together in the loblolly's shade, watch the heron stalk unwary fish, & relive a thousand memories in every touch.  And if we're lucky, share many more new ones.

From a 2010 indulgence of my inner 12-yr-old, an illustration of...us:

Song by Templeton Thompson, a very talented & kind singer/songwriter/horsewoman I had the pleasure of meeting at an Equine Affaire in Raleigh.

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You Can Win The Triple Crown Of Eventing – At Beginner Novice

Or Novice.  Or Training.  Or even Prelim.


This is not a joke.   This is a real broadcast from the “Awesome Eventing Opportunity” system.

You may have read a few posts here about a certain long format 3-day-event that comes around on the first weekend in May.  That’s right, Heart of the Carolinas (HOTC) 3DE at the spectacular Southern Eights Farm, just across our southern border in Chesterfield, SC.

Follow HOTC's New Media Channels!

2015 BN3DE Prizes

A spring sister event to the Waredaca 3DE that first inspired my (as-yet-thwarted, sigh) singular T3DE completion goal, HOTC brings it all to the table: a destination facility, a championship-level cross country course, phenomenal clinicians, incredible sponsors (no, Sponsorship Coordinator is not biased at all, hee)…I have so much to share, but that’s another post.

I can’t resist some tempting breadcrumbs, though: how about Sally O’Connor, Carol Kozlowski, special editions from Jim Wofford, Doug Payne…but I digress.

Yeah, Get To That “Triple Crown” Part

While there is a great KY Derby party, that’s not the one I’m talking about.   Last year, some inspired heads came together & created the Carolina Eventing Challenge (CEC).  And HOTC is the final leg of this series.  Are you ready??

Equine opinion may vary (2015 HOTC Jog)

CEC Levels - Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, & Preliminary (as noted)

To win, horse & rider team must complete a minimum of TWO of these –

1. Southern Pines HT (Carolina Horse Park; hurry, entries close 23 Feb!) 
2. Longleaf Pine HT (Carolina Horse Park; always my favourite HT) 
3. HOTC 3DE (Southern Eighths Farm; includes CEC description) 

One must be HOTC and only the 3DE divisions count towards the CEC mega-prize (to be announced).  The one exception is Prelim, as we do not have a Prelim XC course at HOTC, the Prelim CT, which incorporates some Derby fences, will be included in the Challenge.  Lowest scores win.

That’s right, you don’t have to be Pippa Funnell to win an epic eventing series!

2015 TIP Delights

More Than One Way To Play

Not ready (or still working on that quarter jar *raises hand*) for the 3DE yet?  Come on down for our parallel HT divisions, including a new Intro course & the just-created BN-Assisted division.   Bonus:  your OTTB can win cash prizes from the Jockey Club's TB Incentive Program in the HT as well!

Evil goal-thwarting horse (*raises other hand*)?  Um, our volunteer swag is kind of awesome & you can attend all the clinics/coursewalks/lectures for free!

You can find details in the USEA Omnibus listing here.  We already have some amazing prizes for the 3DE (all three long format divisions receive prizes through 8th place); you can check out our ever-growing list of sponsors on the event website.

Can’t make it, but want to be a part of the action?  Fence sponsorships are inexpensive & open to anyone: the LOWER (League of Weenie Event Riders, I love it!) group has supported a XC fence, Riding Warehouse is sponsoring the water complex with more fab prizes…it would be great to have a Horse Bloggers fence, if someone wants to help organize it!!   Leave a comment note or click the email icon up top to give me a shout.

For more information, including TFS posts, EN articles, program links, & more, I maintain a clearinghouse page here, which is also linked in the slider at the bottom of our homepage.

Come fly the Carolina skies! (2014 BN3DE Haffie Whinney The Pooh, I'm not making that up)

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Allow Your Horse To Believe In You

The concept of "belief" can at first sound nebulous, but in our riding, it directly translates to the essentials of trust and confidence.  In ourselves, in our partners, and theirs in us.

I've been picking away at a captivating book -- that speaks my language:  "The Natural Rider:  A Right-Brain Approach To Riding," by dressage and biomechanics author, Mary Wanless.  There is a long list of insights to discuss already & I'm only halfway through!

But one that continues to jump (pun not intended!) out at me speaks to both the foundation & the everyday process of training & schooling.  This is what we must carry with us in order to succeed in defying gravity in all its forms:

Yes, Solo once had a (exceedingly strong-willed) mane!  There are many layers of warm fuzzies in this blast from the past...June 2007, our clinic with Ian Stark (collected reports here) which took us to a brave new world. 

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