We Have Merchandaise!!!!

I've been keeping a secret from you. I wanted to wait until the fruit ripened into its full fruity awesomeness before I shared it with you.

A little while ago, I was contacted by the folks at Build-A-Sign, offering Solo & I some custom printed goodies of our own to try out.  Unable to resist every horse owner's weakness of wanting your horse's name on EVERYTHING, I tried not to sound like a giddy schoolgirl when I said yes.

Our stuff arrived in my mailbox today.  Yeah, that was that screeching whoop you heard about 5:00 pm.

BECAUSE OMFG LOOK HOW AWESOME IT IS!!!!

Yes, my very own license plate displaying Flying Solo pride.  I can't say enough how totally great & professional it looks & how wonderful their rep was to work with; she sounded just as enthusiastic about the whole thing as I was!   AND, as if this wasn't cool enough, they also printed me some bumper stickers. 

Now, I currently have...a few...of these.  I am pondering making some available in giveaways.  Would anyone out there be interested in displaying some Team Flying Solo pride of their own?

If you can hardly contain yourself, here's how it's going to work:  if your name is specifically listed on the "Pit Crew" menu link at the top of this page, you are entitled to a free sticker -- you have given an immeasureable gift to Solo & I with your help and support, so it's the least I can do to repay you!  Should you, as a core Team Flying Solo member, want to cash in on this (undeniably once-in-a-lifetime) offer, just click our email link & I will hook you up!

Now, don't lose hope if your name isn't on the list, it is still totally possible to attain this incredible badge of honour & glory!!  If you, dearest of readers, express interest, there will be a contest whose nature I have not yet decided to disperse said priceless items.  So let me know in the comments if there are any of you who can't wait to emblazon your vehicle/tack truck/horse trailer/desk/refrigerator/cat with these totally fantastic stickers!

I'll stop now, but not without a huge THANK YOU to Megan & the folks at Build-A-Sign for your generosity towards my humble endeavors here at We Are Flying Solo. You have a great product & you've absolutely thrilled us to bits.

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Bad Boy's Back!

It was 72 degrees today (don't hate the player...) so I decided some jumping was in order!  Which of course meant I had the perfect excuse to try out the new helmet cam.  So, the end result after two hours of fidgeting with the crappy software it came with?  Your 18 seconds of entertainment...



No, I have not yet figured out how to make it fit within the column. Or how to upload it to our YouTube channel. Or how to even truly crop the video. Or how to make it not sound like there is a hurricane on my helmet. Thus far, we can only get it onto the camera manufacturer's website, sigh... Baby steps.

While Solo did get very tired quickly, his stride felt good and his jump felt GREAT. He was rounding and using his back end to get over the fence again and seemed comfortable even hopping through a bounce. Oh, I hope this is only the start of good things to come!

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Looking Up

Dr. Bob gave Solo two thumbs up during a brief visit on Friday. Now all we have to do is keep building those blood levels back up. We definitely won't make our planned March HT, so our level move-up schedule is getting pushed back, snif, BUT if the goddesses are kind, we can make our April event. Please be kind....

In other good news, the ever-lovely SO gifted us with a helmet cam for my birthday (that's it right there, on the left)! So Solo's galloping adventures shall be recorded in HD from the saddle. Thanks, baby! I can't wait to try it out!!!

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I KNEW Dr. Bob Was Awesome!

Look, he was on my favouritest TV show of all time!!!



(Thanks, RiderWriter, for reminding me of my other favourite Dr. Bob!)

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Butt Velcro

First off, happy 15th birthday, Mr. Shiny McJumpy Pants!

Rehab is boring.  But the slowness of it forces you to work on things you might otherwise pass over.  Since Solo has the energy level of a dead sloth right now (low red blood cell levels, etc.), I can't exactly practice much high energy stuff.  I decided, why not hop on bareback and practice walking on the bit at a speed somewhat faster than a death march (always a weak spot).

We wove in alternating curves around our dressage arena cones; left bend, right bend, left bend.....no shoulder popping, now!....right bend, left bend....stay on that outside rein!...right bend.  We marched straight  approximately down centerline and bent around a 20 meter circle, all at a walk I tried to maintain without nagging, focusing on a steady, supple contact.  If Solo started to lock that left side of his jaw, I just massaged it with the bit on that side until he let go again.

Stretch break!

Then I couldn't resist a single lap of canter on each lead. The arena is not huge and I wasn't going to make him be round, just to stay balanced and rhythmic. Having just gone to Mr. Physical Therapist today too, I wanted to experiment a little with my seat; my constant problem is that I am unable to unlock my lower back and hips. They are generally tight and sore, so I cannot simply "relax and swing" with the horse as one is directed to do. But things have been improving, so I gave it a go.

Once we picked up the canter, I imagined that there was velcro between my butt and the saddle: the hooky side was on my butt and the soft side (you know what I mean) was on the saddle. My goal was to keep them stuck together without rubbing or moving, they just had to stay stuck. Above all, I didn't want to mentally "hear" that scritching sound you get when you rub velcro sides together. I imagined PLANTING my half of the velcro onto the saddle's half and smooshing it there.

Crazy? Possibly.

Successful? Yes! It did help a lot. I suddenly could feel and realize how much motion there must be in the lower back and pelvis to swing with the canter. And it's a LOT of motion! But my velcro did not scritch and slide all over the place very much, although I didn't have eyes on the ground to confirm this. 

I have obviously invented some priceless horsemanship secret and will now become a millionaire! HA! But it may be worth giving a try, it just seemed to help my body make sense of what I was asking it better than me screaming at my ass, "Stay put, you sorry bastard!" Does it help you? Do you have another image that works for you? Do share!

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We're Going Pro

No, I have no delusions that I am the next coming of Boyd Martin.  But....We Are Flying Solo has an honest-to-god address of its very own!  That's right, look up -- up there in the URL bar, you should see our new home:  www.teamflyingsolo.com. Don't worry though, Blogger will still redirect you if you are linked to or came in via weareflyingsolo.blogspot.com.  Hopefully you will notice few changes during the carry-over.

Excuse me while I give in to an inappropriate level of excitement.

Carry on...

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Omeprazole Is Omepre-great!

I just wanted to post a very excited update:  upon monitoring (i.e. poking and prodding and staring with furrowed brow) last night, Solo has about a 90% reduction in pain in his back and hindquarters and no longer flinches when I touch his sides!  Yes, this is after only two tubes of Ulcerguard (which I just discovered can be had at almost half the price I paid for it.  I hate you, overchargers.).  I gave him his third tube with a smile; I am so relieved to have my boy feeling better.  It is a horrible, helpless feeling knowing your horse is hurting.

In the warm sun of early evening, we also said goodbye to Solo's winter tail and unfurled it to freedom (right). He now resembles that girl in 1988 who spent way too much time with her crimping iron.

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This Is How We Roll: Helmets

It's warm outside! And Solo slowly begins to feel better, with a little less sag to his belly and a little more sparkle in his eye. Although he no longer trusts my sneaky hands: every time I approach his stall, if he cannot see two empty hands, he backs up warily, quite sure that I am about to either (a) stab a giant needle in his man-boobs or (b) squirt something nasty in his mouth.

Today, though, I thought I'd throw about a couple of helmet reviews as folks are getting ready for spring seasons (jealous!!!!) and checking to see how gear fared over the nasty winter.

Helmets are getting a lot of attention lately, but you know I've always been a helmet nazi. Thanks, mum, for instilling good safety habits! Remember, not only do you need a helmet (well, at least if I like you. If you are annoying and mean to your horse, meh, I don't care if you fall on your head), you need a helmet that (1) fits you correctly and (2) is in good condition.

That 10-year-old Troxel that you've fallen on six times and the dog chewed on? Yeah, sorry, it's got to go. Helmets should be replaced roughly every five-ish years OR after you fall on them. Whichever comes first.

I know it hurts to spend the money if you've just bought the thing and it only has one good clunk. But helmets work by absorbing shock in compressing foam. Once you have compressed the foam lining, it doesn't spring back. The helmet will no longer be able to absorb that shock and it will instead by directly transferred to your skull. Not cool. Ask lifeshighway how important that is.  So really not worth it, suck it up and replace it! For more info, check out the riders4helmets website.

On to what's in my tack room: two actually, and I have glowing love for both.

The very popular Tipperary Sportage. I've had two (the first one met the ground). Lightweight, very comfortable, and I really like the generous head coverage. Plenty of vents for those Carolina summers, which is of utmost importance. And best of all, at $60, AFFORDABLE. Because here's the truth: a $40 approved helmet works just as well (and in some cases, better) than a $350 (or $700 or $900) approved helmet. Don't let the damn marketers convince you that pricier is better. They have all passed the same tests so the science is the same.

I also like to have something a bit dressy and more "traditional" for dressage and for recognized horse trials. I had a very VERY old black velvet Troxel, but it has long outlived its time and it doesn't fit very well anymore, so it came time to replace it. I REFUSE to buy Charles Owen (because they are trendy and yes, I am THAT stubborn that if something is a hot trend, I won't touch it), so I turned to IRH. Mum very generously agreed to sponsor it for my birthday this year (thanks again, mum!) so I am now the thrilled owner of the IRH XR9 (why can't they give them normal names, what's with all the stupid numbers and crap?). It fits perfectly, is very light, uber-comfy, and as a bonus, looks nice on your melon. At around $130, it's not the cheapest one out there, but definitely one of the most affordable helmets that will dress you up for a recognized show.

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The Horse Owner's Vigil

It's been a long night.  I hate horses.

Ok, you're right, I don't hate them. Well, maybe just a little.

I rode Solo on Monday evening, lightly. He felt like crap on toast. Burnt toast. He was sore and flinchy on his sides and back. I put in a call to Dr. Bob Tuesday morning (when do I get assigned my own red "Dr. Bob Direct Line?") and waited.

I had the distinct pleasure of a truly horrible meeting all day at work on Tuesday, so when we pulled in the driveway at 5:00 pm, I leaped in my truck and rumbled over to the farm to hug and groom my mess of a horse.

He met me at the stall door and lounged quietly in the crossties as I trimmed the mohawk and knocked the dried grass out of his hair. His sides and belly were even more sensitive and he showed a good deal of pain on top of his bum, but his face was calm and he'd gobbled up his food, so I put him back and let him be. I went home to worry and get a calming hug from my good friend, Jose. You may know him as Mr. Cuervo. He's a good man.

7:00 pm, I've been home for about 40 minutes, and the phone rings. It's lifeshighway and she reports Solo is behaving even more oddly; he pooped, he drank, but he has "grumpy face" and has to be dragged bodily from his stall to the pasture, where he stands pouting with his head in the corner. He never behaves like that unless something is REALLY bothering him.

That rushing sound you heard was the blood draining from my face as Anxiety Girl stepped in.

BO is not home, so I start pestering her voicemail and simultaneously leave a message with her DH, who IS home and will put some eyes on Solo after lifeshighway heads home. My brain has already leaped to worm impaction colic, so I beg of Jose to stay with me a little longer.

My call log for the next two hours looks like this:

6:58 pm: lifeshighway
6:59 pm: lifeshighway
7:04 pm: BO
7:05 pm: lifeshighway
7:08 pm: BO
7:15 pm: lifeshighway
7:39 pm: BO
7:49 pm: lifeshighway
8:29 pm: BO
9:20 pm: BO

No, I am not making that up. Don't you wish you were in my contacts list? HA!

Do I call the vet? Do I not call the vet? Is it better to alert him at 7 pm that "my horse is acting weird" (whatever the heck he is supposed to do with that information) or is it better to wait until 10 pm if things progress? I cannot make up my mind and Anxiety Girl just seems to enjoy making it spin faster.

When I finally get in touch with BO around 7:40, she promises to check Solo as soon as she gets home and then before she goes to bed. As long as everything is fine, she won't call me.

Ok, I can live with that.

Oh, Jose, your calming powers are unmatched. Surely, our reverence for you is justified.

8:30 pm, my phone rings, it's BO's number. OMFG, five years drop from my life as I answer.

But it's BO's dear husband, who knew the call would freak me out, but wanted to reassure me that he just walked out and checked on Solo, who was calmly munching hay, oblivious to the blind panic of his custodian. The DH just wanted to give me some good news, bless him!

As the night creeps on, I formulate a plan. If BO checks him around 11 pm, then I'll go check him again at 3 am so he is not left for a long period of time (in which he is surely thrashing and dying, Anxiety Girl helpfully chips in).

I crawl into bed fully clothed, alarm set, and cell phone and keys next to the bed. Laying in the dark, I am sure that right this very moment, Solo's intestines are disintegrating into a puddle of moosh (when he is probably, in fact, still eating hay).

It's not really sleep, more of a fitful snooze until the alarm hits 3:00 am. I punch the button and stumble into the truck; I am eminently grateful the farm is only three miles down these dark, empty roads.

When my headlights hit my horse, he is resting calmly on the ground next to his buddy. He gets up and they both come to the fence for petting. Obviously suffering greatly. I sigh, but it's worth it -- if something DID happen, and I DIDN'T come, I would have never forgiven myself.

Solo's belly still hurts though, so I call the vet this morning to give them an update. When Dr. Bob calls me back, we agree that we need to hit Solo hard for ulcers immediately and I promptly hand over the hundreds of dollars it takes to get your hands on Ulcerguard (omeprazole). Geez, that stuff better make my horse into a unicorn. Or something.

For now, all Solo functions seem to be operating normally. We all know that colic can kick in with little or no warning though and losing Ben last fall is still fresh in all our minds. There will be a week of intensive omeprazole treatment and then at least two more weeks at a reduced dosage, then we'll see where we are.

It makes sense though -- Solo doesn't want to lift his back because to do so, he'd have to engage his abdominal muscles. Engaging those probably hurts like heck, so he holds his body carefully to avoid jostling the sore bits, which then leads to other sore bits.

Can this please be over soon? I'm not a big fan of 2011 so far.

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A Day Of Red -- For Two Reasons

Happy Valentine's Day!  (Or #%@#&! Valentine's Day, as the case may be)

Red Number One: Love. Love for the horses (of course!). But I also have to pay tribute to the love of my very special SO. He made all of this possible five years ago when he bought me a shiny orange ball of heart with its own swishing tail. Forever generous and forever supportive of my singular and consuming dream, I couldn't do it without him. Work keeps him far away for now, a situation that many in this country have to deal with these days, but miles are no barrier for something so unique and so deeply wonderful. Thank you, darlin', for all you do and for giving me a much-needed weekend of relaxing and recharging, I love you more than anything (well, ok, except Solo, wink wink).

Who are you filled with love for today? Is there a very special someone whose picture you stare dreamily at on your desk? Hint: four-legged someones ABSOLUTELY count!!!

Red Number Two: Blood. Solo's blood to be precise. I had a chat with Dr. Bob on Friday, just before I hopped a plane to St. Louis for Red Number One, as the blood panel results were in. Solo's red blood count has dropped again and he showed an elevation in white count as well. Both of these can most likely be attributed to the parasite load. The decreased RBC levels, Dr. Bob feels, are also a likely factor in the gum inflammation. It is very lucky we gave him a steroid shot when we did, about two weeks ago, or he would be in far worse shape then he is now.  He may also have some gut ulceration from the worms, but we just have to wait and see how he feels on that one.

In two weeks, then, we'll give him another steroid shot to build the blood back up (good thing I kept him on his vitamin supplement!). Dr. Bob also recommends a Panacur PowerPac in six weeks to make sure everything is cleaned out. I will start riding again tonight, keeping it low key for a bit and feel things out.

In the back of my head, I can't help but think of the looming spring season. But I have to pull the curtain on that particular window, so as not to lose focus on today. If we make it, we make it, but I CANNOT let that drive what we are doing in the here and now.

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Dr. Bob To The Rescue, Chapter 37

Yes, we went to visit our good friend again today as Solo showed no improvement when asked to engage his hind end after a week and a half of taking it easy following his chiropractic adjustment. My instincts screamed at me that there was something else holding him back.

I gave Dr. Bob my observations of the week: locked left jaw with heavy leaning, inability to lift the back or engage the hind end, inability to balance on the rear quarters, strong resistance to bending to the left, muscle twitching on the right side of the body when stretched. From a horse, who though sometimes opinionated, does NOT have belligerent in his character. There was much poking, prodding, and Solo giving me pathetic faces of dismay.

Dr. Bob is nothing if not thorough; he always starts at the nose and works back. And he immediately discovers Solo has gingivitis! His gums are inflamed around some of his teeth and bleed when rubbed. I insist that he has not been eating gummy bears and neither will I take up flossing his teeth for him. Also, he has had no problems eating hay or grain and dives readily into both.

His neck and back have held their alignment well but it is quickly apparent as Dr. Bob runs practiced fingers over his midback and hindquarters that there is a great deal of soreness there. Then he palpates Solo's belly midline and my horse twitches and kicks a hindleg at his stomach (which I have noticed has become rather potbellied of late). To finish, we draw blood for a panel and grab a nice fresh turd for a fecal.

Today's verdict: my instincts are not wrong.  There are four big ligaments that attach the pelvis to the spine (see the turquoise spot on top of the horse's butt at left).  These are very very sore, so they each get injected with a muscle relaxer.  Solo does not particularly enjoy this process.

The belly can have several explanations. (1) Sand in the gut (although it's a bit far forward for that apparently). (2) Ulcer. (3) Something else. However, after checking on the fecal, we discover that poor Solo is *choke* full of worms. WTF????? Valley Vet, I have been paying for your yearly wormer premium pack and following the directions and now my horse is a wormball??? Me not happy. At all.  Guess that potbelly is not a hay belly. 

There are a variety of reasons a pasture can become loaded with worms and that a horse can subsequently adopt said worms. Our pastures are Bermuda grass, kept mowed short for weed and tick control (ticks are HORRID here) and dragged once or twice a week. Of course, the shorter your grass is, the more densely packed the worms are on the blade. And the more you drag when the weather is warm, the more worms are spread around. But if you don't drag, you have poop hell and the flies dance a dance of joy, unless you follow your horse around with a pitchfork and a bucket. And the longer you let your grass grow, the more ticks and weeds you get. Seems to me we have a near-impossible situation, but BO is in charge of pasture management, so that is something beyond my control. And obviously what we do works at least some of the time -- of four horses who got a fecal last fall, all were clean except one who just had a few scattered worms (he is an old guy).

So. Solo gets the weekend off anyway, as I will be gone. I jammed a tube of moxidectin in his mouth when I brought him back to the farm, horrified that my horse is parasite-ridden despite my attempts at perfect wormer application.. Starting next week, I will start rehab work (volume II) and see if we get some more improvement this time. I'll have blood results tomorrow, so that may give me some more information as well. I suspect the gum issues may be related to the parasite load, but that I am not sure of yet.

We also got a new (improved!) worming schedule. *drumroll* For agressive parasite control, worm every six weeks with:

Winter: (1) Panacur/Safeguard (fenbendazole)
            (2) Quest/Quest Plus (moxidectin; Quest Plus
                 [moxidectin/praziquantel blend] is currently not
                 available but company swears they will start
                 making it again soon)

Spring: (1) Zimectrin Gold/Equimax
                 (see generic ivermectrin warning here)
            (2) Quest/Quest Plus

Summer:  (1) Panacur/Safeguard
                (2) Guess what?  Quest/Quest Plus

Fall:  (1) Strongid (pyrantel pamoate)
        (2) You know it, Quest/Quest Plus

In addition, make sure you worm for tapeworms at least 2x per year (praziquantel does this).

If Solo is still showing signs of issues after we clean this mess up, then we will try feeding psyllium for a week and/or treating for ulcers.  I am hoping that will not be an issue...  I will never know what he did to himself.  Most likely, he slipped in the pasture and just slammed his hips playing.  But what I beg/plead/gasp/hope/want now is for him to get better!!

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One Day At A Time, One Day At A Time

I am having to make this my mantra. Because if I go any further ahead of myself than one day, I start flipping myself out and have to refer myself back to the previous post.

Yesterday was a bright 56 degrees and the sun warmed everyone's cold and grumpy spirits. I got to give Solo a bath to work out the ground-in winter dirt that brushes just seem to move around. There are even patches of grass beginning to peak out from the bare pasture soil. We are well overdue for some soul renewal!

P was out giving lifeshighway a lesson, so I begged her to watch Solo canter in each direction and tell me what she saw, since she is used to watching him go and has a good eye. She reported that he looked pretty decent and did not display anything other than his normal slight stiffness on his stiff side. Which means I need to stop obsessing and just ride the damn horse.

She also confirmed that we are doing the right thing by taking it slow. Even though it drives me nuts to sit on the horse and not ask for much. If you don't give the rehab its due time, the problems can haunt you for years down the road and THAT is the one thing that keeps my impatience in check.

P has dealt with this in the past as well. Her Dutch mare was a bit uneven behind and had to be ridden in shoulder-fore for 3 YEARS before it went away. Which on one hand makes your eyes bug out, but on the other hand, tells me that no, my horse is not oddly crippled, he just needs time strength-building and we'll get back closer to good.  I need to forget about what is happening a month from now, two months from now, and focus on today.

Just ride the damn horse and stop flipping yourself out, just ride the damn horse...

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The Demands We Make On Ourselves

Operation Solo Rehab is on Day 3. It's hard to not ask him to be round and bendy; it takes me forcing myself to just get up off his back, give him his head and just let him trot and canter around per Dr. Bob's orders. I put the jumping saddle on last night so I would be less tempted to sit there. God knows my two point needs work anyway.

He feels ok. I still think there is something going on in his left hind. But he's ALWAYS been uneven in that leg. Maybe he always will and I just need to accept it and move on. He's not lame, it's just a little weaker and more resistant there. It is very subtle, I can't even see it from the ground, but I can feel it at certain times.

Which brings me to my current subject of thoughtful contemplation: patience. It's something I pretty much suck at with people, but have an abundance of with animals. And it's something we as horse people are constantly challenged by, as I am recently reminded by several other bloggers who are struggling with issues, as we all have at one time or another.

Part of me says, well, I took Solo to vet, vet went pop, pop, pop, Solo should now be fixed and fine so let's get on with it already! But, as we all know, it doesn't work that way. I am telling myself over and over, you have to give the body time. Time to heal, time to strengthen, time to adjust.

It is so hard for me to do this: I have a goal (which is rare for me, I'm generally all about the day-to-day journey), I have a plan. I am ready to take steps forward to that goal. So when I am derailed in the plan, I beat myself up. You messed up, I tell myself, you mismanaged, you were too slow, you made the wrong decision, now you are off track.

This, of course, is not really fair. I don't let my friends do this to themselves, however, I expect myself to be superhuman. Something which I don't think is all that uncommon among the ranks of independent horsewomen (and men, although I think just due to our natures, us girls tend to be a bit more blame-y on ourselves. We get emotional, I can own it). So this is a lecture to my brain.

Training is the same way. I've talked before about how horse training is NOT a linear process. We must be patient and allow that there are going to be bad days, there are going to be mistakes, and there are going to be backtracks. But instead of beating ourselves over the head when this happens, we instead should welcome the opportunity to fill in training holes and to really focus on what our horse is telling us. Because I have found that I often learn the most about myself and my horse when working on these holes and as we fill them in and tamp down the metaphorical dirt, the pleasure of the more complete horse you get out of it is measurable.

Now can I live up to all of this? HA! Not bloody likely! But I aspire to it. On rare occasions, I pull it off. More often, I sit my frustrated self down and give myself a stern talking-to while prying my clenched teeth apart with a drill bit. I should probably just print "BE PATIENT" on a huge piece of posterboard and tape it to Solo's stall door.

David told me recently in a jumping lesson, "Allow the jump time to develop; the greater the quality of the jump, the longer it will take to develop and occur and it's ok to just wait for it to happen. Rushing it will only cause it to fall apart." I think it's a good analogy to extrapolate to any other situation you can imagine: allow things time to develop, time to happen, and allow yourself time to process, learn, and adapt. When we rush things or when we fail at being patient with ourselves, it all just falls apart and we end up in the corner, punching ourselves and muttering angrily (ok, maybe that last is just me).

Let's all remind ourselves to take a deep breath and cut ourselves a little slack. It's good to be driven and it's good to be accountable. But let's give the process time to happen and be ok with however long that time is, whether it be healing or learning or strengthening. And maybe when we catch each other falling into the self-flagellation trap, we can offer a helping hand of encouragement -- or at least a damn stiff drink.

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Solo Deepens His Relationship With Dr. Bob

I kick myself for not thinking of the chiropractic thing earlier.

I unloaded Solo at Dr. Bob's clinic (having already given all my money to my own body-fixers and various other bill collectors, I decided to save myself a farm call charge, since the clinic's only about 15 minutes away) and peeled off his shipping boots. Dr. Bob looked like he'd had a rough day, his hands were all cut up, and he was uncharacteristically quiet so I hoped that we could quickly find the root of Solo's problems and provide him with a "happy" case of the day. I told him I had ascertained thus far that the problem was somewhere behind his nose -- beyond that I had given up in exasperation.

He started at Solo's nose and began to work his hands over accupuncture points and joint spaces, looking for tightness, soreness, and reactivity. What I saw was my horse twitching and jumping at practically every touch (except his feet - yay feet!). By the time he reached the tail, my well-developed sense of guilt had slapped me in the face.

"So is there any spot where he ISN'T sore?" I asked desperately?

"Sure, lots of them, don't worry!"

*sigh* Well, ok, maybe I am not a complete failure of a horse caretaker then.

Dr. Bob retrieved his booster step and went to work coaxing all the wayward bits back into place. There were two rotated cervical vertebrae at the poll, another at the base of his neck. L-3 and -4 (lumbar vertebrae) were rotated as well, as were his withers, and several S-I (sacral) vertebrae were elevated out of place. The shoulders needed a good stretch and pop and Solo was quite happy to lean back and help out. We also added another shot of Winstrol to help tighten and rebuild some lost muscle tone to try convince things not to pop back out.

"So, he's all fixed now, right?" I was only half-kidding.

"Of course -- go ride him!" Dr. Bob seemed to have brightened a bit, so it gave me reason for encouragement.

The plan: Bute for 3 days as a balm for sore muscles. Do only conditioning rides for 7 days, trot and canter in a loose outline, avoiding collection or too much bending. Then work back into a normal schedule and see what happens.

Please be fixed, please be fixed, please be fixed...

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Nunn Finer = Excellence In Service

About a month or two ago, I ordered a pair of Nunn Finer dressage leathers. They were 3/4" unlined leathers. Stirrup leathers aren't cheap these days so you can imagine my dismay when they started cracking in about a month. I am not usually one for returning things, but this time, I was planning on making an exception. I also posted a comment on the Chronicle of the Horse (COTH) forums about my problem.

Well, would you believe that not 24 hours later, a Nunn Finer rep emailed me and offered to replace the leathers for me! Now THAT, my friends, is how service should work.

I came home today and waiting on my front porch were a beautiful pair of black leathers (I went for the nylon-lined version this time) that I can't wait to put on my saddle!

Thank you, Nunn Finer, for your totally awesome service, for standing behind your products, and to John Nunn for your ever-generous support of eventing!

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Back To Basics

I was hard at work last night, whining about how I couldn't ride my horse and throwing myself about the house in true adult fashion.  Lifeshighway had the audacity (the nerve!) to break into said whining fit and suggest just doing something fun with Solo on the ground so at least I wouldn't just be staring at him with sad puppy eyes.

She is a very smart friend.

Add to that it was 60 degrees and sunny; it was simply not possible to stay in the house and pout, so I rolled over to the farm and decided to blow the dust off our groundwork, something I'd not done for probably two years.

Ground exercises are so very simple, yet they can be vital underpinnings to not only our relationship with our horses, but our ability to handle them safely. But in their very simplicity lies the ease with which we neglect them. I believe it is vital that every horse we own should have these basic cues thoughtfully installed for two reasons: (1) It allows us to control their body movements from the ground. (2) It helps to establish our role as a leader in our horses' mind. (3 - ok, I thought of another one) It lets our horses engage their minds through communication in a language they understand: pressure/release and body language.

Here is what I consider the basics:

-Yield the hindquarters to pressure behind the girth area on both sides. This includes a proper cross-over step with the hind legs.

-Step back from pressure either on the bridge of the nose or the chest.

-Lower the head from pressure on the poll.

-Walk in a circle around me in both directions, maintaining the motion unprompted until I say whoa.

-Lead quietly next to me. Stop when I stop. Back up when I back up. Wait patiently when we are standing still.

It's not rocket science. I use a rope halter from our good friends at Sunset Halters (Solo is even on their photo page in his halter/bridle they made for him!), a 10' lead rope, and a dressage whip. Solo models his custom halter, below. And as a side note, these halters are fantastic; it still looks as great as it did five years ago and you can wash it in your washing machine! They never fade, stretch, or break.

This picture is so old, Solo has a mane!

I use the butt of the dressage whip to give pressure cues on the chest and rib cage. I use my fingers for pressure on the poll or nose. I use body language to control the whoa and backing up at a distance. And I ALWAYS maintain a relaxed, calm, patient demeanor so that Solo is at ease too.

It usually works like this:

I hold the lead rope in one hand and standing next to Solo's left shoulder, I ask him to yield his hindquarters to right using the butt of my whip against his ribs. I use the lightest pressure possible, only increasing if he does not respond and releasing as soon as he does. I repeat three times. I have no idea why three. It feels good. I repeat standing on his right side.

I place the fingers of one hand on the bridge of his nose and ask him to back four or five steps. I then put three fingers on his poll and ask him to lower his head.

Next, I ask him to walk three circles around me in each direction. I just like three, ok. After three circles, I lean slightly to one side, fix my eyes on his hip and ask him to swing around and face me squarely at the halt. Eyes are powerful, so he does.

I walk up, pat him, then tie the lead rope around his neck, so he is now at liberty. I walk off, he follows with his nose at my elbow. We circle and loop at the walk, turning both directions, some big loops, some smaller. Then I stop. He stops. I take four deliberate steps backwards. So does he. I have not touched him since tying up the lead. I start forwards again and now I trot. He trots. I stop and back up quickly and he does the same.

Now, I turn and face him straight on and raise my arms above my head, square my chest and ask him to back up two steps. He does and I lower my arms and relax. I count to ten, then move into him and rub his forehead, he licks and chews and we are done. Maybe fifteen minutes has elapsed.

He is now re-tuned into my body and my energy, he is attentive to me and when I untie the lead from his neck, he follows me quietly back to the barn. Even though it's been a while, he remembers his exercises well and I am satisfied.

So, fellow horse-folks, how are your basics? Rusty? Polished to a spit-shine? Not yet installed?  Can you complete each task on the list?  Do you have other favourites that you insist your horses know?  Do share!

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Despondency Is No Fun At All

All bummed out and nowhere to go.

Solo did not feel any better on our test ride today. Which means our problems are probably not inflammation, since the bute had little to no effect. He still won't lift his back and push from behind. He still locks down the left side of his jaw HARD. So I am still miserable.

Next step: he is due for a chiropractic adjustment anyway, so I'll call the vet on Monday. If I'm lucky, they can adjust and inspect our mysterious problem.  If I'm really lucky, that will SOLVE our problem.  The hard part will be detecting something that causes no limping, swelling, or heat.

Till then, Mr. Shiny will be hanging out with his buddy, Pete, waiting for dinner and getting fat. *sniff*

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Me So Handy

I am hoping the warming weekends mean that winter is moving on out. If it's not, I may use the pitchfork in a forceful manner to encourage it to do so.

Solo is finishing up his bute regimen and I will attempt to get on him tomorrow to see what I have under me. Keep your hooves crossed please!

Since one must keep oneself busy in winter to avoid assuming the shape of an eggplant, I decided to load all my power tools in the truck last weekend and attack some crippled jump standards we'd been storing. Yay, power tools! Music to a girl's ears...

There were four gate wing standards.  Two had legs rotted off and several of the middle boards were, well, held together by duct tape.

I'm on it!! Just give me an extension cord and I'm entertained for hours! Ok, at least an hour till I get impatient and figure out some shortcut that won't look quite as good but hey, it's fixed! Check out the prowess in action! Thank god I am better at building things than I am at dressage.

I know, it's amazing I didn't saw a finger off. Solo and I share accident-prone genes. We make up for it with, uh, our charmingness, of course!

Voila! One of my newly patched masterpieces. Mad skillz, baby, mad skillz.

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Big Red Fire

I spoke to Dr. Bob again on Tuesday.  We agreed given the sudden onset of Solo's discomfort and the fact that he wasn't "warming up out of it," he's probably tweaked something while leaping around in the pasture on the crappy winter ground.  So now it's a week of bute and no work for him and a week of staring despondently for me, while I hope fervently every day that this is just a passing ache and that I'll soon have my horse back.

As a consolation prize, I had the DVD release of the 2010 film "Secretariat" in hand, eager to revisit the magnificent horse I met long ago (left). Since it was the Disney version, I braced myself for historical inaccuracy and cheesiness. Turns out, they should have named it "The Penny Chenery Story," as Secretariat seemed to play a minor supporting role. And the horse who played Red could not capture the legend's incredibly regal eye and proud soul. But it was a fair introduction to this mind-blowing athlete for people who may not have grown up with his story and included Big Red's bitter rivalry with Sham, a brave bay (ironically, bred and owned by Claiborne farm, where Secretariat retired) who never raced again after his defeat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

But the redemption of the film is in watching beautiful horses run; it never fails to make me catch my breath and go still. Because I know how it feels to sit on top of 1200 pounds of red fire. I know the sound of each foot as it hits the ground and pushes off, propelling a chestnut rocket to ever greater speed. I know the chug of air that rushes into two flared nostrils to fuel the flame stoked within. I know the incredible surge of muscle as a burnished copper back and hindquarter coils and releases immense energy in the name of the gallop. And I know the electricity of sitting on top of the unadulterated joy of running, the flaming of a soul who lives to stretch out well-muscled legs and eat up the earth in quickening strides.

I have been lucky. I have been blessed. And I will never forget it.

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Hamsters On Drugs

This is how my brain operates: (1) Imagine a hamster's feet while he is running on a wheel. (2) Put that hamster on speed. (3) Now put him in a hurricane.  And the hamster may at any time leap completely off that wheel and shoot into a different one that you didn't even know was there.

That's the general idea. Fast and crazed and completely unpredictable. 

There's a lot going on. I spoke with Dr. Bob as I mentioned in my previous post. Ok, by "spoke," I may mean "I called and blabbered my general freaked-out state in some nutty horse-woman fashion, convinced that I had ruined my horse forever." He says I am a crazy person (well, I don't see how that is relevant!). But he feels that Solo's stiffness is rather due to the prolonged and bitter cold and the frozen ground (Mr. Shiny does enjoy airs above the ground in his pasture on a regular basis), not any changes in management. However, since he is the lovely Dr. Bob, he had already faxed in a new Adequan Rx for us and hoped that I was right anyway and after a few shots, I'd have my horse back. Otherwise, I just have to wait for it to get warmer and hopefully, the stiffness will subside. It better, because wouldn't you know I just planned out our spring season...

On Saturday, I also attended the USEA Area II Annual Meeting in Leesburg, VA. A whole day of sitting around just talking about horses and eventing -- what could be better than that (aside from actually riding said horses)? It was a great time with some really well-done presentations (and OMG, Eventing Nation actually reported on something I went to!!). We have a new Adult Rider chairperson and she has loads of fantastic ideas. A local physical therapist talked to us about human biomechanics in relation to riding and how we should shape our fitness accordingly (this one had a lot of surprises). John DeSilva of Ecogold gave a hilarious and informative presentation on their boots and saddle pads. He just made me want to buy his stuff because he was awesome! A geneticist/breeder also talked about equine conformation on a skeletal level and had quite a few fascinating illustrations. It was well worth the drive north (and freezing my ass off up there)!

Today, BO and I took our boys out XC schooling. It was her young TB's first time out, so Solo was needed for "lead" duty. Solo was still stiff so we didn't do as much as I would have liked, but we did tackle a few of the big things out there and, though he wavered a bit, I kept my leg on, DIDN'T CHICKEN OUT, and we had ZERO refusals, which is a big BIG step up for us in the "Quest To Jump Big Scary Jumps." You might remember this giant (2010 photo below) from last year. Last February, it took me three tries and some serious gulping to get over it. Today, I sat down, wrapped my legs around that horse, and we leaped it (not pretty, but hey, it was clean) in one go.

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Epiphany?

I think I found our problem. We have been trying a new joint support program as per Dr. Bob: a monthly IM injection and an IV shot of polyglycan every 3 months. He thought it might be more affordable and offer similar or better results than our Adequan regime. We're about a month and half in.

And I don't think it's doing a damn thing.

Solo was rushing and on his forehand. He could not step up under himself and was bearing down on the bridle. The whole left side of his body is locked tighter than it has been in a long time.

I know this horse. After almost five years, I know how he feels, I know his mind and body inside and out. And I know that I should listen to my gut, which is telling me we should go back to the Adequan.

I'll chat with Dr. Bob tomorrow and see what his thoughts are...

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Gritted Teeth

It's always been a problem.  Solo locks the left side of his jaw and just. won't. let. go.  Meanwhile I descend into frustration and the whole left side of my body takes on the approximate suppleness of an I-beam.

Sigh.

So, not the best ride tonight. I'm not sure why. I've been working hard with the chiro and feel much MUCH better in my own vertebral sections. Solo is muscle-y and had been going along nicely.

Could it be the cut on his jaw is irritated despite the super-fabulous horsey band-aid I made to protect it from bit rubbing?

Exhibit A at left.

Could it be he's still a bit stiff from the 3 hour ride in the woods on Sunday picking our way through ankle-grabbing, bent over pine yearlings that exasperated the both of us? I gave him Monday and Tuesday off to rest...

It could be both. It could be neither. It could be something else entirely among the 1,208 variables I can think of off the top of my head. I don't suppose it matters too much -- although perhaps just knowing could abate my own knotted jaw muscles. The jaw thing is something that's always been an issue: he clenches, I clench back, then we both just hang there and growl at each other. So when it rears its (ugly ugly) head, I get mad that I have not yet defeated this persistent monster.

I need to let go, take a deep breath, keep the frustration locked in its closet, and use the lateral work to soften him back up. Of course, remembering to do that AT THE TIME is the challenge I continue to fail. Grrr.

Focus on the positive: after every crap ride comes a good ride. I will be eagerly awaiting its appearance tomorrow. I need someone standing next to the arena just chanting, "Supple the horse, supple the horse, supple the horse..." Maybe then I will get it through my thick, thick skull.

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Solo Makes A Friend

Back in November, I promised you some pictures.  Pictures of Solo greeting Mr. Glowy, a fantastic prize that you helped me win for creating the most amazing yard art imaginable!

I always follow through! Eventually.

Solo greets Mr. Glowy in the customary equine fashion.

Oh, great Solo, I prostrate myself before thee! Thy greatness is even greatness-er (what can I say, flamingos don't have great grammar) than I could have imagined. Oh, please, won't you honour me with your acceptance of my humble pink self? I glow in the dark!!

Uh, ok, lighten up, lil pink dude. It's not a big deal, sure we can hang out. And my prostate is fine, thanks for asking though. 

And so it was that two great creatures came to befriend one another. Forever united in crime awesomeness, they survey a better world.

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There Is No "I" In Team

But there is a "me" which is practically the same as a Solo! Hey, it makes sense in my head.

Who makes up our team? I have talked about them before, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize the core members -- without whom we would be unable to accomplish any of this crazy adventure.

Each one is "mission critical" & I am indebted to them all. There are, of course, others who have touched our lives along the way, but if I write them ALL down, I fear you'd be stuck reading for days.  So, in no particular order, on the short list, I introduce to you --

Team Flying Solo:

Dr. Bob: Our vet & answerer of all my 1,001 questions. A former eventer himself, he always has a ready smile & an apparently boundless store of information about the needs & management of the sporthorse. He always answers the phone with a "So, how's my buddy doing?" & never fails to consider what is best for Solo over what is best for his checking account.

Johnathan: Our wonderful farrier. He always takes his time, never brushes off my inquiries (Dr. Bob is not alone in being subjected to my barrage of questions on regular basis), & is always working to further his own education & broaden his skillset. He can also simultaneously discuss the latest triumph or flop on American Idol.

Priscilla: Magical dressage trainer. Capable of sneaking progress up on us when we thought we weren't doing all that much. Generous, encouraging, & creative when it comes to doing an end run around Solo's dressage tantrums. She can also keep you entertained for several hours at a time with horse stories.

David: (right) Oh-so-patient jumping trainer. Since he has completed the "big boys" of Burghley & Rolex, I never fail to be intimidated when I walk in the ring. But he is unfailingly kind, generous with his time, & extremely talented at bringing out the best in horse & rider. He doesn't even yell at me when I do something stupid -- I believe he has noticed that I tend to beat myself up plenty, no use kicking a girl while she's down.

Mum: What can you say about mum? Not only a cheerleader, but taker of great pictures & the one who makes it possible for us to even attend competitions. We'd be stuck bored to death at home without her support!

Jim: (left, with Smokey the wonderdog) Do I even need to list why? I will anyway. Not only did he make a gift of Solo, he supplied us with our rig & other goodies, including more than a few great photographs of his own. His unfailing love & support in this great passion of mine was a true & rare gift & one which I will always treasure no matter what.

lifeshighway: Our BFF & conditioning partner. She & her horse, Pete, are endurance racers & have taught me so much about conditioning & managing the equine athlete. She has also, for some nutty reason, listened to all the intricacies of the ups & downs of our journey with never a complaint as I flounder my way along, thinking out loud.

All of you:  That's right, my fellow horse junkies.  Your kind words & support mean the world to me & are a bolster to my courage when progress stalls or motivation lags.  The fact that you take the time to read & contribute is a great & thoughtful thing.  Thank you!

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Raise Your Hand If You Have Arthritic Changes!

Mine's up.  Solo raised his hoof too.

The chill outside doesn't help. It's a sharp, clear cold. The stars are harsh pinpricks in the ink black sky and Orion hovers in sharp focus in the southern sky above the barn. A biting wind cuts through every doorjamb and under every wall to pierce the back of your collar with its icy fangs.

I've spent all week bouncing around doctor's offices; my neck and back have been locked up for ages and I'm sick of just tolerating the pain. My physical therapist dude has been working on it, but we both can tell the problem is deeper. The chiro studies the xrays and says my neck is permanently screwed, there's no curve left in it at all. "But," he says, "we can keep it mobile and at least all your discs look good." Then he cancels out that by pointing out the arthritic changes along the processes of my lumbar spine. Damn. But hey, the discs are good!

Then this afternoon, it's the eye doctor's turn to crush my world a little more. My eyes have decided to be even lazier than they were before and I've moved from a 6 to a 7.7. Ouch. That was unexpected.

"So, I know that's way too high for Lasik to fix; are there any options for repair at this level of myopia?" I hold my breath, hoping for an impossible affirmative answer.

"Nope," he replies, "not till you're 60 and you get cataracts, then we can just give you a new lens."

"Oh. So you're saying that I should basically try to give myself cataracts."

"Yeah!" (He seems a little too enthusiastic about this...) "Just take your sunglasses off and let the UV do its thing. Well, no, on second thought, then you'll get macular degeneration, so never mind. Nope, you just have to wait."

Then he finishes me off with the old "but, hey, you never know what scientific advances they'll make in the next ten years!" *sigh* Yeah, sure.

By the time I got home, I was thoroughly discouraged. It's not all bad though -- the chiro reckons we can keep things moving and manage the pain back down to human levels and physical therapist reckons he can help keep everything suppler, if that's a word. I can't see worth a crap, but at least I have finally found contacts I love and stay comfy even in the dustiest, most hay-filled sheds.

Then there are irreplacable friends -- lifeshighway generously offered to be my seeing eye old lady when my eyeballs rotted at age 40 and even offered to hit people with her cane when they got in the way. Now THAT'S a true friend right there!

Nonetheless, I maintain, aging is a bitch and I highly recommend avoidance at all cost. And insurance is a joke -- this shit is still ridiculously expensive, even just in co-pays, how the heck are people supposed to take care of themselves if they want to buy groceries too???

And that is the end of my whining for now. Back next time with horse stuff. Because horse stuff is way better.

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A Day With David

Saturday was jump lesson day.  Blowing snow be damned.

Solo is not an easy horse to jump, or should I say, jump well at height; he does not have a naturally uphill balance, so his preferred method of jumping is to dive at the base of the jump and then hurl himself over.

However, if you use a combination of 47 different muscles, perfectly timed aids, and stick your tongue out a bit, you can get him to jump with a lovely, smooth bascule.

I know, what's the holdup, right? I, unfortunately, seem to only be able to occasionally coordinate about 12 of the 27.5 required things to get him straight, balanced, uphill, and round.  About every jump out of 8, I can pull it together.  The odds are getting better, but it's still frustrating when I can't get in "the flow."

I will not admit how much time I spend mulling it all over in my head.  A constant refrain from David is "lift his poll." At the same time, I am supposed to keep my reins short, but not lift my hand.

Thus far, I have failed to work out how to achieve these two seemingly contradictory things.  Or, to be more accurate, I understand how to do them in theory, but fail to get my body to perform said theory.

Join us, then, for parts of a lesson with our jump coach, eventer David O'Brien; he is unbelievably patient with my blundering and has played no small part in bringing Team Flying Solo along.  Apologies for shaky video -- the wind was blowing hard and cold and our dear friend/videographer, Cindy, was shivering!

Part I: We've done our flat warmup of bendy death circles and now we do some small jumps and combinations.



Part II: Moving on to courses and some great Solo tips from David.



I have a lot to work on.

Solo was busy trying to figure out where his friends were and OH SOMETHING MOVED OVER THERE! so he never really softened and focused.  I am still riding too defensively in the stadium ring (being flipped over a pair of ears will do that to you) and I need to allow myself to be a bit more forward coming to the jump and stay softer in my waist.

Before each jump, I need to be more focused on my body in general and remember to use my thigh and core to lift my horse's shoulder as he prepares to pat the ground for takeoff.  My legs are slipping back and getting sloppy.  And I need to have a firm discussion with my arms so they figure out what to do!

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This Is How We Roll: Dressage Saddles

For quite some time, Solo and I played in the sandbox in a Wintec Dressage Pro. However, it was no longer fitting for us, so it was time to find its replacement. For my funky-shaped horse. And funky-shaped me. Yay. Cause we've had such fun with saddle fitting in the past.

But then, for a brief instant, the universe smiled upon us. Because I was out of cash, I thought my search was doomed. But then the SO stepped in. Yes, the same wonderful one who made my one life dream come true five years ago. He was probably sick of listening to me whine incessantly about the horror that is saddle shopping. So he did himself a favour and shut me up by funding My Precious.

And by My Precious, I mean our new dressage saddle. 17.5 inches of black beauty.

I like to pet it and stare at it...oh, sorry, you want details! It is a Black Country Eden, chosen because, of their two dressage trees, this one has a little more scoop to it and sat on Solo beautifully. These saddles are hand built in England -- you pick the tree (or they can build one off of your wither tracing) and then you pick all the options (for no extra charge!).

So I spec'd it out:

Grippy heritage leather
Wither gussets to fill those hollows behind Solo's withers
Thigh blocks that were not too big
A flap angled slightly forward to accomodate my freaky long thighs
Dropped panels to spread weight over a wider surface area on Solo's back

Here's an example of dropped panels on a jumping saddle, they fit in behind the shoulder:

End result: awesomeness. You sit in it and it's like sliding into a glove. Gorgeous balance and oh so comfortable, it's like an easy chair. I have mad, mad love for it and will never let it go.

Thank you, darlin'.

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Down Time

I hate winter. I may have mentioned that a time or two before.

It makes me feel like a prisoner: footing sucks, it's dark every day after work, and it's so damn cold I spend half my time putting on or taking off layers of strategically arranged clothing. I long for the day when I can walk outside with one shirt on. Just one. Sheer bliss, that is.

Solo seems to be taking it lying down.  With his eyes closed.  On a bed of sun-warmed hay. At least one of us is comfortable.

It is then left to us sun-starved and shivering riders to come up with tasks to fill our barn time when the ground is slop. Or frozen. Or covered in a lethal mix of ice and snowpack. Because I am freaking tired of riding around in circles in the stupid arena. And so is my horse.

As a result, my trailer dressing room is organized with new and OCD-appropriate containers. Including a, get this....wait for it....magnetic paper towel holder. I consider it my crowning achievement in trailer pimped-out-ness.

I have also mended Solo's blanket linings with my dazzling seamstress skills.

Do try to restrain your awe and envy. I am sure Hollywood costume designers are already googling my number.

I have also reorganized my tack room corner, devised a way to store my extra baling twine, invented a saddle pad hanging system, cleaned the feed room, and cleaned all my buckets.

Now what?

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I Didn't Think We Could

I was cleaning up some draft posts today -- I store snippits of thoughts and ideas for later pondering.  At the top of the sorting list was this one, from late in March of this past year, 2010:

Can Solo even make it to Training Level? Can he take me to my goal? Have I aimed higher than his body can accomodate? Perhaps I am being too ambitious and we won't be able to get there.

I remember well the grave and lingering doubt. The spring season was almost over and we had not completed one event and finished in 18th with a pulled back muscle at another. My horse felt tired and I wondered if we would ever be able to conquer Novice level.

We did another HT that weekend following my troubled thoughts. I believe I recall flying jump rails, although I also recall a thrilling dressage score.

But the flickering wings of doubt still hovered around mental corners and I studied my horse with many a furrowed brow.

And then there was summer and field season and me working myself to death and then there was heat and more heat and still more heat and Solo's summer break.

And then there was fall.

I studied my goal and I got back on my horse. Vitamins had brought his body back in balance. A vacation had pricked his ears. Hmmm....

Then I had a conversation with Becky Holder. I asked (trying not to appear tipsy and idiotic even though I'd already thrown back a wee bit of barn aisle wine...) if I was perhaps a moron for wanting to take a horse to a classic 3-day when he would be 16. Becky had just taken Comet to WEG at 14 and I wanted her insight. I believe her words were Absolutely not. And we talked about management and fitness and timing and all of a sudden, I found myself able to believe again.

Two days later, my horse hopped up and down double steps on the cross country field and popped through combinations without blinking. And my goal was resuscitated, the doubt shoved back into its cage, and I knew we could do it.

The point of all this rambling, you patient readers, you, is that sometimes, yes, this whole crazy journey seems impossible. There have been times and probably will again be times where my willpower staggers in the face of uncountable variables. And the place I am in today, the place that Solo and I are in right now, is not one that I expected. It was beyond my visible horizon, and yet, here we are, getting ready to embark on Training Level and storm the barricades around our 3-Day goal.

Which brings me to you: all of you out there who have some thing you want to do with your horses. When we start out, sometimes it seems too big or too hard, but I am standing here today and telling you -- just because you can't see it on your horizon, doesn't mean it's not waiting just beyond the curvature of the earth. Just because you can't see the entirety of the road that takes you there, doesn't mean that path doesn't exist. All it requires of you is that you keep putting one foot, one hoof in front of the other and that you keep trying.

Because before you know it, my friends, you will wake up one day and, surprise, you will be there. Maybe not along the route you thought, and maybe not at the time you planned, but progress will indeed have found its way to you.

Solo and I still have a long way to go. It means a great deal to me that you've participated in our journey thus far. We really have come to a place that I wasn't sure we could make and I am stunned and thrilled to be here. We're going to keep on trying and keep our eyes on the track ahead. And the message that I want all of you to hang on to, even when you feel discouraged or too far behind or too tired, is that, whatever your goal is, whether it's running at Prelim or jumping a crossrail or going on your first trail ride, if you keep at it, you can do it.

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They Deserve A Round Of Applause

This year, our Area II (DE, MD, NC, NJ, PA, VA) Adult Rider coordinator came up with the idea of contacting eventing instructors and asking if they would give a 10% discount to Adult Rider members. The sad part: mine doesn't. The really great part: many of them said yes.

I want to say thank you to these people for their support. It is hard to squeeze the money for lessons out of one's budget. It means a lot to us when you cut us a break and help us out. So thank you, thank you, thank you for this gesture and for all of you out there contemplating lessons, if one of these folks is in your area, give them a call! You, of course, need to be a paid Adult Rider member ($20, I think) and have your membership number to qualify for a special rate.

The winners (I have added locations where I could):

Allison Springer (VA)
Jane Sleeper (PA)
Bobby Costello (NC)
Mark Weissbecker (NC)
Carol Kozlowski
Mogie Bearden-Muller (MD)
Christopher Hitchcock (VA)
Molly Bull (VA)
Courtney Cooper (PA)
Phyllis Dawson (VA)
Doug Payne (NJ/SC)
Holly Payne (NJ/SC)
Sally Cousins (PA/SC)
Gretchen Butts (MD)
Stephen Bradley (VA)
Yvonne Lucas (VA)
Jan Byyny (VA/SC)
Lynn Symansky (VA)


Dude, I should move to Virginia, sheesh. There are probably others on that list who winter in Aiken (SC) but you can inquire if you contact. Pretty much all of them have contact information available on a quick google search.

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Splish Splash, We're Taking A...Lesson

P came out yesterday to check on our dressage progress. Neither of us can stop remarking how different he is than the horse I sat on a year ago. With more spring in his trot and a lovely new ability to carry his weight on his hind end while cantering (WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS POSSIBLE??!), he is becoming a real pleasure to ride.



Of course, not all is sunshine and rainbows -- for nearly the entirety of the lesson, Mr. I-Woke-Up-On-The-Wrong-Side-Of-The-Pasture reminded us that the footing was sloppy and he was still a redhead after all and therefore still possessing of strong opinions about when one should (never) and should not (always) do dressage. I did my best to swallow my frustration, take deep breaths and work calmly through his fussing instead of resorting to my instinctual tactic to grit my teeth and fight him (ah yes, which always works out SO well).

We focused on using shoulder-in and leg yield to keep encouraging His Fussiness to engage his inside hind and step into the outside rein. Then we combined this with changes within the trot: compress to collected trot, quietly expand to medium trot, back to collected trot, then medium trot, then collected, then ask for some extended steps. As you can see, occasionally my requests get a wee bit overenthusiastic -- on our first attempt to extend down the long side, he goes all right, just not quite in the right gait... (I recommend full-screening it if you wan to see anything. Sorry the corners are cut off, the camera doesn't do wide-angle.)



So our homework: keep using the lateral work in the walk and trot to strengthen. He is only strong enough to carry his canter for about a lap and a half so far, so it's better to let him return to trot to rest, then do a bit more canter work, rather than try to force a tired canter. Start adding leg yields at the canter more often, then if we feel we have suppleness, canter some shoulder-in.

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