Progressively Progressing

Our sights are fixed on Longleaf Pines HT.  There are four and a half weeks between now and then.  OMG, THERE ARE FOUR AND A HALF WEEKS BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.

Project Solo Fitness better keep on cracking the whip.

Saturday saw our first jumping lesson post-Wormageddon. I wondered if Solo would be exhausted by the end, but my worry was misplaced; he did better than I did! And David said it was the best he'd even seen the Red Boy move, words which warmed my heart. I did sit on some fairly wonderful canter steps...

I've picked up a nasty habit of digging my heels in for forward, but since my legs are so stinking long, that requires some heel lifting. Which tips my upper body forward and tips my horse forward. Norty norty. So David had me focus on really sinking my heels on approach and after landing from a fence to help keep my upper body back. As always, his little fix was eminently helpful and Solo cantered through a triple line in the prettiest little soft rhythm you could ask for.

So I shall be doing my homework on that one. Some of that will require extra strengthening of my core muscles too -- since I know my back is my weak point, I need to make sure that my other muscles can compensate and keep me sitting up when I really need it!

Now that it's actually daylight after work (WOOHOO!) we can get on the trails during the week and continue building muscle and wind with lots of walk and trot work through the woods. This has an added bonus of spring wildlife sightings; Sunday we met a brilliant orange banded water snake as he leaped with surprise into a stream. It thrills my entire day to see those guys.

Yesterday, our saddle fitter made some necessary tweaks to both saddles to revive packed down wool, so a certain chestnut with a princess back had better not get too fussy now! Please let spring karma be kind to our ragtag endeavors!

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Are You Ready To Be A Horse Owner?

Wondering if you are ready to take the big step of having a horse of your own? I have come up with an iron-clad test of preparedness for horse ownership.

Step 1: Go to your bank and withdraw $500 or the balance of your account, whichever is greater. Small bills are better.

Step 2: Take your cash home and carry it to your backyard.

Step 3: Carefully arrange your bills in a pile on the ground. This is why you want small bills -- it makes a bigger pile.

Step 4: Sprinkle the pile liberally with diesel fuel.

Step 5: Drop a match into the center of the pile.

Step 6: As you watch your money burn, carefully evaluate your feelings.

If:  you are bothered by the sight of your hard-earned cash being incinerated before your eyes for no apparent reason, you are not ready to be a horse owner.

If: you find yourself undisturbed by the sudden and unexpected disappearance of your money and maybe, in fact, you even giggle a little and dance around the flames, congratulations: you will make an excellent horse owner! You have no emotional attachment to your liquid assets and will remain calm when asked to part with most or all of it on a regular basis. Head on over to DreamHorse now!

That's a pretty big smile -- obviously a seasoned owner!

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Something About Good Things And Waiting

Yes, there were good things this weekend. 

Saturday brought us a two hour hack in the sunny woods. It was marvelous -- both because of the spring warmth and green grass and because a month ago, Solo couldn't walk for 20 minutes without exhaustion. Now, though, his bright trot and eager canter are making their way back and it warms my heart.

Ahhh, the peacefulness in the jingle-swish-clop of our trail ride sounds. The seranade of the Carolina wren: teakettle-teakettle-teakettle. The serenity....

GROWL-RUMBLE-CLANG-SNARL-ROAR

Oh yeah, and they're putting in a new gas line back there too.

Sunday...Solo made his return to the cross country field! The stamina is not back yet, but with lots of breaks, he was jumping well and taking it all like an old hat. He offered a steady lead to the greenies and stayed soft in the bridle the whole time with cool confidence. And the best part of all? HELMET CAM! My apologies for some unsteadiness that resembles riding in an earthquake -- my schooling helmet needs some extra padding, it's feeling a bit loose these days. Maybe my head shrank when worry caused mass die-off of brain cells?

This one is a particular triumph of mine. I have been eyeing this overturned boat for three years. It's a Training level fence that is high and wide and just looks intimidating from every angle and I have wanted to jump it with burning jump-lust. Today, well, it was time. As you can tell from my big dorky whoop, yeah, it was good.



Next we have a particular gem -- the video starts with BO and her green TB, Evan, doing their first down bank into water. Evan's labrador belly-flop illustrates his signature jumping style and I think he found the splashing quite satisfactory. Then Solo and I go up and down the larger bank with some splashing of our own. No, I have no idea what is blowing across the lens in the beginning. It was about 70 degrees, so I am pretty sure it's not snow.



It feels damn good to be on the way back.

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This Is How We Roll: Safety Vests

This week has been spent rebuilding Solo's muscle and fitness.  Which means transitions, lateral work, hill work, and longeing.  Which means he is b.o.r.e.d.  As he comes out of the barn, he says "Please god, don't take me to the sandbox again.  PLEASE GOD!"  Today, a long wander through the woods on a warm sunny day is in order!

We are back to the vet next Thursday to check blood levels, etc and hopefully progress will continue.

This morning though, I wanted to talk about safety vests. A must-have item for any aspiring eventer and generally falling into the "big ticket item" category at prices from $100 to $500. Fortunately, unlike helmets, you can fall on them repeatedly without having to replace. Whew.

But the air vests are $800, you insist. Yes, yes they are. And they also require a conventional vest underneath. And they also have failed to provide me with sufficient data that they are anything more than yet another product riding on a tide of very successful marketing. I know there are people out there who claim, "It saved me!" but I claim, no, your conventional vest underneath and your helmet saved you. It's simple physics: an air vest CANNOT PROTECT YOU FROM A 1200 POUND HORSE CRUSHING YOU. Not going to happen; for that you need a rigid structure, like the Woof Exo's magnesium cage, which I have recently heard will soon no longer be available? An airbag will also not protect your neck from any of the torsional injuries which are usually associated with a fall from a horse; once again, you would need a rigid, fixed structure for that. In fact, it will not doing anything more than offer a bit of cushion from bumps and blows. Which is exactly what the conventional vest you are already wearing does. So, to this particular scientist, I cry redundancy.  However, if data (anecdotes do not equal data) does become available, I am open to hearing about it!

That said, if folks have the money and simply want to wear it (or you are a BNR and you get a free one, but then I doubt you are reading this smurf blog, ROFL!), knock yourself out. I do believe that it does offer an extra layer of bump protection, but that is not something I personally have that much money to throw at. But please don't make any wild and crazy claims unless you have good data to back it up.

Ok, moving on....

My criteria for my own vest: BETA 3 approved -- yes, I know this is not required. However, it tells me that some level of testing has been done on the product I am trusting my internal organs to! And it may be required in the future, at which point I do not want to have to re-shop. The vest must also be comfortable, not restrict range of motion, and be easy to put on/take off.

The first vest I owned was a secondhand eBay find.  It was comfortable and did the job for schooling, but I needed a little better fit as we moved on to competition.  Mum once again generously stepped up and offered to donate one for my birthday (parents like safe kids, LOL!).  So I ended up contacting the good folks at VTO saddlery and submitting a set of measurements for a Rodney Powell Elite vest.

I LOVE THIS VEST. And I have, uh, "field-tested" this vest. In all ways. Yeah, even that way. Hey, no, not that way! Get your mind out of the gutter!  You can laugh at my stupid picture face instead.

It fits like a glove. When you put it on, within two minutes, the foam conforms to your body and you no longer even notice you are wearing bloody body armour. My range of motion is completely unimpaired. After two Carolina summers, I can tell you it is no hotter than any other vests I have tried on, which is pretty impressive considering this is heavy-duty armour!  I also did get the shoulder pads -- I'm not sure I buy their claim that it will prevent collar bone breakage, but they certainly will absorb some impact to the shoulder in a fall on an otherwise unprotected area.  I can't say I wear them every time, but for big courses, I strap them on!

I highly, highly recommend this vest and the VTO folks to anyone in the market. Each vest is custom built to fit you based on a series of measurements you send in. They also have a model specifically designed for those of you with large female metronomes in the chest region. ;-) Can't tell you much more about that, sorry, I am happily not a member of that group! But Rodney Powell has made a great, great product that will serve you well in your eventing adventures, so I would encourage checking it out post haste!

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Who Said Horse Owners Weren't Creative

Once Solo finishes his 14 day regimen of daily omeprazole later this week, he graduates to ranitidine. Dr. Bob merrily handed me this big jug of pills and says, "Here, give him 5 of these with each meal."

I look at pills. I look at Dr. Bob. Because horses are so easy to give pills to. Especially shiny, picky, food-snob horses who don't even like peppermints. I open the jug and sniff suspiciously. Dr. Bob watches me with great puzzlement.

"Do I have to crush them up then?" I ask warily. "Because Solo is not going to eat these voluntarily."

"Sure!" he says as if this is all no big deal.  As if now I don't have to come up with some ingenious plan which involves my BO not having to crush horse pills every time she feeds and Solo not snuffling out the medication into a neat little pile left in the corner of his feed bin.

My last experience with crushing horse pills (aside from SMZ's which dissolve so nicely in water) was watching lifeshighway with a bowl and a hammer and a strategically placed paper towel, banging away on a daily basis. I am committed to go to any lengths necessary not to engage in this particular activity.

I go home and check with SmartPak, who, much to my delight, will not only grind it up for me, but add yummy flavours! Yay for no work for me!

But for the next month, it's me. And the jug. And five fat yellow pills per meal.

Ho ho, nasty pills, I am tricksier than you thought! Enter my compatriot, Mr. Pill Crusher and his strong, inescapable jaws! Combine that with a little tape, some empty SmartPaks, and my favourite sharpie...

And VOILA!! I emerge victorious!! One neat little package for each meal.

Just one more day I escape my BO's hatred at feeding time...

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