How Digby's topline used to look... (FYI - not me holding him)
I need some help. I'm a giant baby in the heat (I chalk some of this up to the fact that I work outside and I literally sweat all. day. long.) and PA is warm in the summer. Not 100+ degrees all the time Texas hot, but it's toasty. And humid. Ugh, the humidity! Anyway, no use in complaining because it's a fact of life in this state. That being said, the vet told me to give it a few days for the Previcox/Adequan combo to start working and then get back to work, especially in building his topline. I have been working on building it previously but I'm wondering if anyone had a good idea for how to build topline when it's roughly 1029 degrees out. Doing a lot of trot/canter work is out of the question. I know pole work can help but honestly, Digby doesn't tend to lift his back when going over poles. This defeats the purpose. We do have a few hills but they are out on the trails, which I'm not comfortable going on unless I have a friend. Lunging (with or without a chambon, or vienna reins, or whatever gadget you'd like) on a regular basis is out given his lameness issues. I really can only lunge once a week maximum and for a short period of time. This leaves us with transitions and correct work. I feel like transitions in the walk only, maybe with snippets of trot, isn't going to be super helpful. Maybe I'm wrong?
I could ride in the morning when it's cooler but I need to be at work by 7 am so I'd need to arrive at the barn around... 5:30? AM. Not ideal since no one will be at the barn until 7-7:30, leaving an awful long time period if I fall off and get hurt. Gah! So what do you do in the "extreme" heat to keep your horses fit? Deal with it? Try lighter work loads? Drink cold beers instead?
This is what happens when I try to take photos of my horse:
Yeah. So that's why there are rarely any new photos of Digby on the blog. He's photography challenged. As you may remember, the vet came out on Monday. Basically, she just thinks it's his usual navicular issue acting up.
We are testing for Lyme and for metabolic issues, as he's been drinking a TON of water lately. We're talking like 3 buckets in 12 hours. We also started him on Previcox for 10 days just to help with inflammation and another round of Adequan. Spending alllllll the monies. He's looking a bit better after his time off and he's probably a .5 on the lameness scale so she told me to ride him if I want to. Unfortunately, we are having a heat wave this week so my schedule of being able to ride in the early afternoons is not working well when the temps are all 90 degrees or up.
I should get the test results back in a week so fingers crossed there's no lyme or metabolic issues and it's just his usual lameness!
2010. Do I even have new photos of the hony?! (Answer: no.)
After texts, comments on FB and on here, and some in person conversations, I'm feeling a bit more positive than I was yesterday and earlier in the week. I think I just needed to get the whining out of my system! The vet will be coming out on Monday. We're planning on checking out the hony, getting some flexion tests, probably pulling blood for Lyme, and most likely starting another course of Adequan. That always seems to help. I'm sure she'll come out and we'll figure out what else we should do.
In other vet related news, I am CRUSHED to find out that my vet practice said my new barn is too far away to regularly work with Digby!!! (Cue panic.) The vet is located pretty far away in all honesty, I can't fault them there, and the vet I typically use was super polite when telling me. She is mostly worried about emergencies. They are based out of the county next to mine so it is quite a drive to do shots for one horse, although they service large barns within 15 minutes of mine. In a dire emergency, they might not be able to get there in time and I totally get it. I appreciate being told that they won't just take my money and then not be able to get there when I really need them. She did say she'd come out on Monday but that I need to plan to use someone else for vaccinations and emergencies in the future.
That being said, what in the ever loving heck do I do now? The barn I'm at does not require any one vet so there are two vets (besides mine) that are used. One vet is, how can I put this, an idiot. I will not use him for anything. I suppose I'd be ok with him giving shots but that's where the buck ends. So he's out of the question, especially given Digby's opinionated nature and lameness issues. The other vet practice is much more reputable. I was planning on giving them a call today but life happened and now here we are, after normal business hours. I will call tomorrow just to feel them out and let them know I might be using them in the future. Ideally, someone in the barn will be having them out (not for an emergency, I hope!) so I can meet them before Digby has something else wrong. I thought about calling them out for this lameness but I love my current/soon to be old vet and she was the one who took the images of Digby's feet originally so she knows years of history.
Thanks again everyone for the lovely comments. I really appreciate them! I'm a bit more optimistic now that the vet is coming out. I figure it's either going to be ok or it's not and there's peace in knowing that.
Be warned, this post gets a little bit a lot whiney but it ends up ok in the end. Maybe.
Dig My Size, 2012
Do you ever have one of those days when nothing, and I do mean nothing, seems to go right?
The kind where no matter what, you're grumpy. The kind where stereotypical, sad country music songs all seem to fit. The kind that make you wonder if you need to drink several adult beverages or just sleep for 3 days. The kind where even (multiple) chocolate cupcakes and hugs don't help.
Yeah, we've all been there once or twice.
In all actuality, there are plenty of things that go right, or at least things that don't go wrong. The day could be worse and you know it. Nevertheless, there's a giant ball of "EVERYTHING SUCKS" that you can't seem to deflate, or a heavy weight on your shoulders, or a giant monster sucking out all the joy in life stuck to you, whichever metaphor you prefer. You punch, kick, scratch and claw your way into a better frame of mind. You fall down, you get back up. Wash, rinse, repeat.
"I am a wild steed!" (2010)
I'm a goal oriented person. I thrive on continuous process analysis and improvement. I struggle with people who say things like "well, we do it this way because we always have" and "no we can't do that because I said so." I feel like most (can I make that generalization?) riders, especially bloggers and ones who compete, have similar feelings. We are consistently analyzing, trying new things, trying old things, seeking feedback. While we can lack patience, we know it's necessary. We are willing to sit chilly and wait it out. "It" could be the distance to a jump, the days of stall rest, the time it takes to build up fitness, or anything in between.
Sitting chilly and waiting "it" out has its limits though. There are situations that will bring that "EVERYTHING SUCKS" ball/weight/monster around like kryptonite. You fight it and try to stay buoyant. You have to, for your own sake and the sake of those around you.
I can't really pretend that Digby is sound anymore. His lameness is my kryptonite. It's just happened too many times, for too long, for me to ever be ok with it. My first reaction has become "fuck this." I immediately get irrationally angry. I'm angry because I spend all the monies on board bills, feed bills, vet bills, farrier bills so I can't do other things I'd like to and I can't even ride. I'm angry because I had my hopes up that maybe we'd start lessoning in the fall with a local trainer. I'm angry because I can't enjoy my horse like I'd like to. I'm angry because I'm not asking him to jump or do Grand Prix dressage and he still won't stay sound. I'm angry because I've owned him for 5 years who has been lame for at least half of it. I'm angry that EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (lolz) gets to ride their horse. I'm just angry in the "it-doesn't-matter-how-many-cupcakes-you-eat-you're-still-mad" way.
Digby's been on/off sore/borderline lame for a while now. There's always a progression to his lameness. He gets not quite right behind, sore in the back, and then lame up front. We tried a different set of shoes but those have not helped curb this progression. He was back sore earlier in the week. He didn't look bad but didn't look great on the lunge line on Monday. I rode on Tuesday and he was definitely more ouchy, enough for me to not work him, sigh heavily, admit that he wasn't reaaaally sound and brace myself for my impending mood drop. He was about a 1.5 out of 5 lame trotting in the field yesterday. Although he's been sound for several years, in similar workload, whatever we're currently doing is causing him to be lame. Again. The worst part of Digby's lamenesses is that there's never any heat. There's no swelling. There's no physical "thing" that I can look at and say "oh, that's worse than it was yesterday" or "yay it's gone down!" He's just either sound or he's on the lameness scale of 1-5.
2014
I may be melodramatic. This is certainly a first world problem to be this bummed about a horse's lameness. He's just a horse, right? I wrote a post the other week about how he's not my heart horse. If he is, I don't know it yet. Why do I care so much that it ruins my whole day, week, month? I suppose it's because I'm emotionally and financially invested. Relationships, even of the equine/human nature, are hard. You stay with something long enough, you end up having hopes and dreams and goals. Digby, in his own charming way, keeps crushing them. I need to remind myself that life is not over, you're fine, you'll figure it out, he'll get sound again, he always does.
If you'd like, cross your fingers, throw in a little prayer, give advice, make a wish for me. Digby needs to tell me what in the hell I'm supposed to do with him.
And I need to find a few cupcakes. They may not help my mood, or my waistline, but they sure are tasty.
Much has been happening in the world of Digby. I fell off last Monday as you may remember so I took it easy last week, both as far as working and riding goes. I generally pick up a few extra jobs during the week, since my "full time" job has made me part time until the middle of August, but I either said I couldn't do it (like walking a very cute, very bad lab) or tried to do less (like helping at Digby's barn).
Digby's new shoes
Digby got some new kicks on Thursday. He was in a set of steel shoes with a wedge pad but as you can (maybe) tell from the photo, the wedge pad hasn't been doing great things for his heels. My farrier changed him into an aluminum (ahhhh! MONEY! *cries*) wedge bar shoe, which is supposed to help with that issue. We shall see and more on that later!
Ghost and Digby
Digby has completely settled into his routine of going out with his friend Ghost, coming in, breakfast, hanging out in his stall all day, he eats dinner, I show up, we sometimes work, then he goes back outside. I wouldn't say Ghost is his BFF but they get along well.
I hadn't ridden Digby since I was nursing my back but wanted to try out his new shoes. Sadly, I had the busiest days on Friday and Saturday so I wasn't able to do anything except work and work some more. Sunday had a high of 93 (or 95, depending on where you look) degrees with a horrid heat index so I made the adult decision to not work my horse.
The joys of trying to get a conformation shot by myself
Monday had similar weather but I was dying to see what Digby thought of the new shoes. I put his rope halter on just so I could see what he was going to think. He was honestly a bit of a jerk. There was some head tossing, grumpy faces, even a leap or two. I couldn't quite decide if he was expressing his opinion on the shoes or if he was a bit miffed at working. I'm not too concerned as it was still pretty hot at 8 PM when I was "lunging." That's used reaaal loosely, as it was about 6 minutes on the line with no gear to make him actually use himself. Maybe he was just being a grump about having to "work."
Lots of tries later and this is the best one...
I think I overdid it a bit yesterday as my back had been feeling a lot better (aka perfect) but it's sore again. I may try to ride later or I might wait it out until tomorrow. Waaah!
I LOVE this blog hop! I like the reasoning behind it. Nicole over at Zen and the Art of Baby Horse Management had such good points based off of Emma's post over at Fraidy Cat Eventing, which I also LOVED. I encourage you to read Emma's post if you haven't yet. Basically, the internet sucks sometimes and people can be way too judgey-judgey. No one is perfect, even professionals, and it is very disheartening to have people assume and judge you when they don't know the whole story. This is true in real life, like in a business setting, not just in the equine world. So I'm going to join in posting some of my terrible, not perfect photos of Digby. While I don't have a ton of media of Digby and I, and even less of him truly misbehaving, here's some good silly ones:
What Digby thinks of horse shows.
I call this "how much like a giraffe can Digby look?"
Derp derp.
Oh, so that's how you ask for a lead change?
I sits.
Cannot stand still, all photos are blurry.
How is this... anything remotely like good riding?
I've been paying attention to Digby's sweat lately. He's not the best drinker in the world. I give him electrolytes year round to encourage him to drink more. Horses are actually supposed to get 1-2 oz of salt a day, when they're not in work. Typically grains do not provide even close to this amount and often horses can't lick enough on salt licks to get this daily. In the winter, if I don't give him an electrolyte, he doesn't drink a lot and then is prone to colic. In the summer, he doesn't sweat well. Every summer I just keep an eye to make sure he's sweating well. This summer, however, I've been keeping a closer eye. I've been trying to look and make sure the sweat marks, both under his saddle and otherwise, are symmetrical. I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for. For example, he seems to sweat more in the middle of his neck and at the base near his withers. Does this mean this muscle is working harder? I suspect yes.
"Give me cookies NOWWW" face!
Let's hear it! What do sweat marks mean to you? Do you pay attention to them? Do you look at the marks on your horses body or just where the saddle goes? Any tips?
So back at the end of June, I responded to this blog post on Viva Carlos about falling off. I remember thinking I was tempting the "horse falling off gods" and that I needed to knock on wood. I did, if I recall correctly. This weekend I judged a local horse show. A small girl fell off her adorably bad pony when he went from trotting along full steam to itching his leg while they were schooling. She was fine but shaken up. I got her trainer, who tried to convince her to get back on but the child wouldn't. The trainer and I joked a bit and I said I was due for a fall because I hadn't fallen off in years.
Also not mine.
Let's recap: Posted at the end of June that I hadn't fallen off in a while and that I was due. Said on Sunday that I hadn't fallen off in a while and was due. Wrote a blog post on Monday (although I posted in Tuesday morning) about how steady eddy my horse was and that he's been SO GREAT lately.
Yeah.
So anyway, blissfully unaware that I had jinxed myself multiple times in a two week span, I strolled up to the barn on Monday. I helped turn out the horses then got Digby ready. He was a bit miffed that I had turned out the horses before I rode, rather than after, but I convinced him that he was probably going to live by feeding him a few treats. That seemed to help his feeling of impending doom and death and he behaved while I tacked up.
We went into the outdoor. You know, the one I've ridden him in at least 10 times since we moved to the new barn at the end of June. He was a bit tense and decidedly a bit more "looky" than usual. Not spooking, not being bad by any means but just a bit more "what in the hell is that?!" and needing to peer at things. That, my dear Digby, is a pole that has been laying in that same spot for two weeks now. Carry on with your life. Kthx.
Like I've talked about before, he's got some vision problems so I wasn't sure if it was just the weather (overcast, not windy) or if it was darker than normal (I usually get on around 6:15-7 which is when I was riding) or if he was just being a little bit silly, but either way, I proceeded aggressively. I really focused on getting him to pay attention to me, with bending and transitions. We've been upping our trotting amounts so we got some good exercise in. He was doing well, less focused on things to look at and more focused on me.
I personally have been trying to work out more and my legs were a bit tired. I remember thinking "my legs are a bit sore, I'm really glad Digby isn't actually spooking or being bad because I'm not sure if I could stay on."
Definitely not mine, but I love it!
No more than 30 seconds later, Digby decided that something (AKA A NOTHING MONSTER) outside the ring was absolutely terrifying. Cue hard spook to the left, buck, leap straight up in the air and another spook. End scene with me on the ground on my back.
Curse you, horse falling off gods!
I've had some doozies over the years but this one had me getting up pretty darn slowly. Luckily, Digby stood next to me still as a statue. I remember thinking, "no seriously, Becky, you need to sit up NOW because there isn't anyone else by the ring, they're all up at the barn, and if he spooks, he's going to step on you and probably get caught in the reins too. Sit up!" Ugh. I finally managed to sit up, since I had the wind knocked out of me. Once I took a quick assessment that I was 1) alive, 2) nothing was broken and 3) the air was eventually coming back to my lungs, I stood up and hobbled back to the mounting block. I was hesitant to get back on because I was already quite sore in my back and shoulders and I was positive I couldn't sit through any more bad behavior. I didn't want Digby to think that me falling off meant he got out of work though. I got back on and did some more walking and a bit of trotting. He tried to scoot away once in a pretend bolt right after I got on and I basically sat him on his ass. In no way, shape or form, did I want that to occur. Other than that, he was perfect.
I am fine, albeit sore, and have been totally on "team ibuprofen" Tuesday and today, for the record.
I'm behind on my blog reading so I was doing some catching up. I read the heart horse post over at Stories from the Saddle and this post over at No Longer Fiction and it got me thinking. Jenn at SFTS said that she'd change her riding discipline if her horse didn't like doing the jumpers, which has forever been her goal. I know Allison from Pony'tude in real life, so I know she went from H/J land to eventing because Dino likes it way more. Andrea over at The Uncatchable Number 257 used to event primarily but has done everything from driving to endurance and everything in between with her mare, O. There are plenty more bloggers, and people in real life, who have done similar things. They buy a horse, the horse prefers one discipline over the other, they make changes. On the opposite side, there are people who buy a horse, the horse prefers another discipline, they find the horse a (hopefully!) good home in new discipline and purchase another horse who fits their goals.
I think this was our first show? In 2010. Obviously, we wanted a good experience over mini fences.
The No Longer Fiction post really hit home for me. I've been in that situation. Digby is darn athletic. He's 15hh and has schooled 4'3". It's easy for him, even if he is pint sized. I was so upset when I couldn't keep him sound enough to jump. I thought about selling him. I've always enjoyed flat work but did I really want to just do dressage for the rest of my life? I always thought he loved to jump. He didn't stop at fences. He seemed to get more peppy (occasionally even running away with me...) when we jumped. Flatting Digby is a whole different beast than Jumping Digby. I was so bummed that he wouldn't be able to enjoy jumping anymore and felt like we weren't living up to our potential.
Digby jumping 3'6" with a barn girl (aka not me). Also 2010.
Here's the golden question, did we love it? I thought we both did but now that we no longer jump, it's become so clear to me how much more relaxed we are. He's such a steady eddy most days that I don't worry nearly as much about non-horsey people being around him. He's pretty darn easy to handle both on the ground and in the saddle. When I ride other horses, I realize just HOW easy my horse is. You can get on any day of the week, even if he hasn't been ridden in a few days, and walk, trot, canter basically on the buckle. He does gets more challenging when you actually ask him to work or when we go on trail rides.
Dino when I thew him on the lunge line to see "what I had" after I realized he was my project. Yeah, he's kicking at me.
I'm going to call out Alli and Dino for a second here because I know them both in real life. I knew Dino (and Alli!) from college. He was actually my special training project, a year (or two?) after she had him. We did not get along. That was a very frustrating time for me. Dino was miserable, I was miserable. There was much crying and frustration. See above photo for more proof. We were trying to do things that Dino hated because that was my assigned "goal" for the project. I believe I was supposed to get from around a 2'6" course and do a Training Level dressage test. I assumed there was something going on that needed a lot of testing because ponies are not THAT bad just "because." We didn't ever get anything checked out, although I did plead and try my best. I went to her first BN event to provide support (I'm not sure I succeeded, haha!) and to see "XC Beast Dino."
Tolerating each other. Why my shirt is not tucked in, I have no idea.
Needless to say, I was floored. The pony I knew had me spending day after day in the middle of the ring with him bucking. Seriously. The first week or two I was riding him, he just bucked. I couldn't get him to do anything. He'd sit in the middle of the ring and kick out and buck. Awesome. Even by the end of the semester, it was hit or miss. We had good(ish) days and bad days. He never really used himself well. We were frenemies who begrudgingly tolerated each other because we had to. This "new" Dino was EATING UP the jumps! He was happy, ears forward, no remote sign of any badness that I was so familiar with. I've read her blog for years but it was so impressive and different to see in person. It was awesome and I definitely felt all the feels, even if she was worried and didn't think it was their best showing. I think compared to how the pony used to be, she should of gotten a 20 in that dressage test and gotten a blue ribbon for more improved for the SJ and XC. The pony was happy, confident and clearly loves his job. Ok, I'm done flattering/embarrassing Alli now.
Do I think dressage is Digby's favorite thing in the world? I'm not sure. He certainly doesn't have as strong a reaction to jumping versus dressage as Dino does to playing in the sandbox versus cross country. He seems to be happier in his skin though. He is generally calmer and seems more "ok" with his easy life. I can only hope one day I figure out what Digby TRULY loves to do so I can impress people with how far he's come.
How do you figure out what job your horse wants? Is it an extreme reaction, like Dino, or more subtle, like Digby?
Jenn over at Stories from the Saddle has started a pretty cool blog hop here that I knew I had to write about. I've had the pleasure of sitting on a lot of cool horses so far in my life. I sat on a horse who went to Rolex (Remind me to talk about this because it was SO COOL) and played around with dressage for 45 minutes. I've ridden barely broke horses who you could tell were so wildly athletic and talented. On the other hand, I've ridden horses who I detested and horses who detested me. So, do I have a heart horse? I'm not sure. Honestly. I have trouble committing to any one favorite of anything. I have two favorite colors. I basically run and hide when people ask me who's my favorite band. I have several favorite movies. I have about 15 favorite foods. Yeah. I just can't pick a favorite of much of anything. So to me, heart horse is a hard concept because I tend to love horses individually and for completely different reasons but they mean no less or more than another. I am partial to Digby as he's the first horse I've ever actually owned but there are still other horses that I love. I will keep this list to 3 horses (errr, 1 pony, 1 hony and 1 horse) for the sake of time.
Wannabe Platinum, aka "Oscar." I braided him myself for shows and it looks like he rubbed them pretty good here.
I leased Oscar for several years while I was a junior. My barn got him cheaply and he legitimately was afraid of everything. Fly spray, hoses, velcro noises, geese, poles, water bottles, you name it he was probably scared of it. He had two gaits - jig and gallop. Nonetheless, my trainer swore up and down that he'd be a great pony one day. She was right. After much blood (all mine), sweat (both of ours) and tears (hopefully all mine!), he ended up being an awesome pony. He is allergic to rails and very sweet. He ground ties anywhere. He basically self loads and you can take him anywhere. He's got a stop in him but he generally tries hard. I love this pony. I was going to buy him after I graduated college but it happened that when my barn was selling him, I was in my junior year of college and studying abroad for a semester and they couldn't reach me. (I mean, they definitely could of... But my trainer had left the barn and they didn't try very hard. Sigh.) I try to keep in touch with his current owner, just to make sure he's in good hands. I have offered to take him if she ever can't afford him. I just don't want him to end up in a bad home as he deserves a great retirement home. He's earned it.
Charlie, my favorite crazy chestnut TB.
I met Charlie my freshman year at college. Isn't that usually where people meet their husbands? Oh well, I met a horse. I only rode him a few times but I LOVED him. Charles had a knack for being bad. I've watched him spook, buck, rear and take off on several other riders. For some reason, he liked me. For some reason, I liked him. He went really well for him and one of the instructors at the school, who had never seen me ride before and certainly not Charlie, immediately yelled, "you need to buy this horse!" He's the horse who broke my knee, in case you read that post, and hands down my favorite horse to flat to date. It wasn't that he was the most broke (I think the Rolex horse takes that cake) but we just got along so well. I called up his owner and offered to lease him, as I couldn't afford to buy him while I was in college and she said she would think about it. I never got a call back and he didn't return to school the next year. I think about him every once in a while and hope he's ok.
The infamous Dig My Size.
Digby and I have had a very rough partnership. I met him the summer after my freshman year in college (so I guess I met two horses at college and no husbands?? Haha!) and was instantly smitten. He was wild, bad like a pony and super talented. Unfortunately, he had been donated to the college and very much hated his life there. I've written about his history a lot before, so I'll sum it up real quick. He hated college and was very bad. I adopted him to be my 3'6" horse. I wasn't sure I made the right choice and thought about selling him. He went lame almost right after that. He was on and off lame (and naughty...) for years. He's now sound and for the most part, well behaved. There were many, many days in the past that I discussed selling him. There are many, many days I love him. There are lots of ups and downs. Lots of tears, lots of smiles. I still am not sure he's in the best home for him but I do my best.
I've got a few horse related blog posts on the way (ya know, still in my head and haven't had the time to type them out) so here's a quick today by the numbers:
10 - Jelly bean's eaten (I love me some "Island Punch" flavored jelly beans!)
9 - Horses I put my hands on today
8 - Miles ridden on my bicycle
7 - Times I tried to take photo's on my phone. The dinosaur phone, a 6 year old HTC Incredible because my iPhone finally died, failed to take all but 1.
6 - Houses I passed on a new bike route and thought "holy shit, I'd totally live there!"
5 - Hours put in at my "full time" job
4 - Unread e-mails.... from the past hour
3 - Wagons of straw unloaded at work
2 - Dogs walked
1 - Time I careened off the road on my aforementioned bike because I was trying to turn too quickly. (Don't worry, I'm fine! I may however need bike riding lessons from a small child...)
0 - Digby's ridden
Since my camera wouldn't work today, here's a Digby photo from 2010!
Digby has been perfect lately! I rode with a friend on Saturday and he was great. As an odd note, he did try to lay down when we were done in the ring? He wasn't colicking, as he had pooped while I was riding and was otherwise chipper. The only thing I can think of is his girth was a hair tighter than normal. He's been putting weight on (whooooo!!!) and he's in between holes on my girth. If I leave it at one hole, it feels like a hair too loose but the hole up is a hair too tight. Well, I was nervous because we were going to walk around the property (aka mini trail) so I put it to the tighter one. That's the only thing I can think of. If he ever does it again, I'll definitely have the vet or my chiro come out and look.
We've been sticking to the mostly walking plan, although I had some trotting thrown in there to make sure he was thinking about going forward. I've been doing a lot of reading as of late, both online and via actual books. I'm working on fitness, as part of my July goals, and a lot of that is developing muscle in his topline. He is very much lacking after his time off and weight loss issues this winter. We worked in the ring and then followed my friend and her horse out for a stroll around the property. The hony was pretty well behaved! Some jigging, lots of super forward walking and no near death experiences. Win!
On Sunday, I lunged for about 15 minutes. I don't typically lunge much, especially not twice in a week, but I have lunged him in a chambon before and it tends to make him go well. It's a good reminder on how I want him to be thinking. He really focuses on stretching down and out and coming over his back. I like that it's effective, I can keep the session short and he gets to stretch out and build some muscle without me flailing around on his back.
First off, Happy Fourth of July!! Hopefully everyone has off from work (or isn't working all day) and is going to relax by the beach or a pool with some BBQ and adult beverages. :) I know I will be after work!
I'm sure you're all waiting with anticipation to see if my horse has tried to kill me again between Wednesday and now. Based off the title of this post, you can safely assume that the answer is no. Your assumption would be correct.
Such wild. Much craze.
So the wild hony has been well behaved since his meltdown on Wednesday. On Thursday I had full intentions of working him in hand and doing a quick lunge as a reminder of what proper behavior is without worrying about me being on his back. Lunging isn't my favorite tool since it's hard on their legs but I think it has it's purpose. For me, it's good to get some solid transitions and I tend to keep it as short as possible. Sadly, by the time I got to the barn around 6:15 PM it was raining. There was a 20% chance of rain (go figure) so I turned out the horses. I did make sure that Digby behaved on his way out to the field. It started raining harder. It rained various levels of heaviness from around 6 PM until 8 PM. I waited around until 8 but eventually had to leave as I had other stuff to do in the evening. Of course it stopped raining shortly after I left the barn but such is life!
Friday evening I made it to the barn a bit later than I wanted so I turned the horses out. let Digby graze for about half an hour while I set up poles in the ring and got his feed and hay ready for the next day. I was going to actually put tack on him to lunge but got lazy based off the time and just put on his rope halter. We laid down some solid walk/trot work and he was perfect. I mean, PERFECT. Never whinnied, never went around like a giraffe, didn't even think about melting down. Granted there were horses outside today so that probably helped but all in all, I was pleased. I'm planning on hopefully riding tomorrow and Sunday in the ring again.
So tell me people! When, if at all, do you use lunging as a training tool? Do you prefer other forms of groundwork? Why do you like/dislike it?
I'd like our rides to eventually look fun, obedient and relaxed like that video above. Bonus points if it's a freestyle because I'm DYING to do one, even if it's at Training Level! They currently look more like this:
Yeah.
So you all should see what direction this post is going...
Digby is a bit of a nervous horse, opinionated to boot, and thus can be QUITE bad. I know, I know. But Becky, he's usually super sweet, he's generally well behaved, so how could he possibly be bad!? Those who know some history of Mr. Dig My Size know that he can be very, very naughty. I can't stress this enough. He can be actively trying to kill you bad. I wish I had pictures or video footage of just how bad he has been before I purchased him because people who meet him now never believe me. I'm 100%% ok with never showing off this old side or people not believing me because I prefer my horse to not try to kill me, ever. I love and enjoy the cool, generally well behaved Digby. Luckily I am still young(ish), dumb(ish) and unshakeable(ish) still. I'm actually much more easily frightened when I'm on the ground than if I'm sitting on a horse in a ring. I'm at the point in my riding life, especially with Digby, that I'm like "oh? You're going to pull THAT trick out of your hat? Lolz. Alright, whatever, I'm going to ignore your meltdown, kick on, and you're going to eventually do what I want so really, it's easier if you just do it now versus in 5 minutes after a long fight that you're going to lose. Now do it. Cool, thanks." If I'm in an enclosed ring, I'm pretty much solid mentally regardless of what bad behavior happens. If I'm out on trails, I'm less confident. If I'm jumping, I will have a full on meltdown. It's not pretty. Luckily, we no longer jump. I haven't jumped any horse in a very long time. I suspect one day I will jump again, mostly because I think I missed my calling as an eventer, and will deal with those demons at that time.
Back on topic, I sat on Digby yesterday with the intention of minimizing any meltdowns and mostly walking. I don't want to do too much trotting given that he's, on the grand scheme of things, pretty out of shape. He rarely huffs and puffs but I worry about his legs holding up. The last thing I need is to create MORE opportunity for lamenesses and go scooting around with zero regard to fitness. I recognized that he was going to be pretty up most likely since it was a new ride and we were likely going to be riding alone, without any other horses in sight. The ring is situated at the top of a hill. You can see the pond, a neighbors house, a field, and the turnouts from the ring. You can sort of see the barn but none of the horses. I knew this could be tricky and hard for Digby to deal with so I came into the ride with a flexible idea of what "good" was going to be. I was hoping for at least some small signs of relaxation (no screaming for other horses, not being a total giraffe) and a few transitions which would include a halt that didn't involve dancing and not wanting to actually stop.
We tacked up ok. Digby was diagnosed about a year ago with limited/no vision in his right eye. This really doesn't effect our daily life at all but it can make new wash stalls and grooming areas a bit tricky. He doesn't like to go into any areas (trailers, stalls, wash stalls, etc) that are dark or small. I used to think he was claustrophobic but I think it's more vision related, as the vet had said his vision has probably been going for a while now, and it seems to be worse when it's dark or when he's going from really bright light (like a sunny day) into a darker (like the inside of a barn) area. I don't blame him. He stepped up into the grooming area after some hesitation and gentle reminder from me with my dressage whip that "yeah hey, I'm attached to this rope, you go forward when I say so." Digby's reaction to EVERYTHING he doesn't like is to go backwards. If anyone has a good tip for this, please, please, please let me know. I try my best to have a whip if I know it's going to potentially be bad but it's always his first reaction if he doesn't want to do something for whatever the reason may be. In the case of new wash stalls, trailers, etc, I try not to get upset because I think it is likely because of his limited vision so I give him a few tries. I accept any forward movement and, really, anything that isn't flying backwards. He got into the cross ties, we groomed, we tacked up. There was some yelling and dancing but he's a nervous dude and Rome wasn't built in a day, you know? I led him down to the ring. He stopped once on his own accord but otherwise was happy to walk next to me down to the ring.
Hind sight is 20/20. This ride was a job for my running martingale. I haven't used a martingale in several years so why would I right? Ok, so it was brand new area, I didn't hand walk around him or lunge him before, and I should of put it on just for a touch more control. Nonetheless, we marched around for about 10 minutes. He was pulling out some standard "fun" tricks, such as rooting on the bit HARD (he pulled me so hard once that I felt like a small child on a pony by how far I got pulled forward), jigging, grinding his teeth, chomping on the bit, flinging his head around, whinnying, going sideways, generally just being nervous about where he was and why he was suddenly the only horse alive in the entire world. He was pretty good about forward and was responsive to my leg. I got a few good transitions, he eventually stopped yelling, and we even had two good halts that lasted a second or two with no movement until I put my leg on. I was able to lengthen my reins a little bit more and he didn't try to kill us. I thought "ok perfect, this is fine. We lived, he learned he won't die and nothing in the ring is scary." I was JUST about to get off when a fellow boarder started turning out two horses. Digby saw them before I did. Their field is next to the ring. Digby LOST HIS BRAIN. He was SO upset that these horses were here, he decided that he needed to express his disapproval for me still riding by rearing.
Ok. So. Yeah. You read that right. Rearing? NOT OK. Never.
Not us, not my photo, but I suspect it looked similar to this.
I'd be lying if I said anything other than he reared and I just sat there like "What? What is happening?" I was stunned. I expected the jigging, grinding teeth, head flinging. I did not expect my horse to rear with me on him. He has never reared under saddle with me before. For him to do it twice in a row was mind blowing to me. Digby is the perfect size for me so I can sit out his naughtiness with minimal issue. I was never worried about falling off or him flipping over. I was mostly stunned and puzzled as to why that just happened. I knew that this was a "kick on and worry about it later" situation so I did just that. I booted him to get him to go forward. His response? Fly backwards with much head shaking. Also not ok, nor what I asked for, Digby. So we had a discussion about what the correct response to leg was, ie GO FORWARD OR I WILL END YOU. I believe the exact words out of my mouth were "are you f*cking kidding me? Hell no." I've got a potty mouth and it gets worse in stressful situations, what can I say?
Where is poor boarder who just wanted to turn some of the horses out during this debacle? She was at the end of the ring asking what she should do. I was trying, in between, you know, riding Satan (aka my horse), to tell her that if she could stay there with the horses just for a minute or two until we calmed down, I'd appreciate it because Digby was now very much near the edge of the "actively trying to kill his rider" tipping point. She stood at the end of the ring with the two horses and Digby eventually (mostly) accepted that whole stop when I say stop and go when I say go thing. It should be noted that I actually turn out the horses most days, including last night, to "work off" some of my board and the boarder was just trying to be nice. I was not riding during turnout time. I did not expect horses to be walking past the ring or I would of stopped riding before that happened. I know that on his first day in the ring, Digby would not be able to handle that without having a total meltdown. I was right. She walked away with the horses after I said ok and I made Digby keep his big boy undeez on. He didn't love it, I couldn't get an immobile halt but he wasn't trying to kill me. I can handle teeth grinding, chomping on the bit and head tossing. I'll put it in the win column for the night, I suppose? I mean, we lived right? Ugh.
Afterwards, we walked back up the barn. He didn't try to bolt back, which I really was expecting him to do. We untacked, with about the same amount of dancing as before. The aforementioned boarder came over and we were chatting. We may eventually put out our horses together, as Digby still needs a friend, so she brought her gelding over so they could meet. She did this without asking me, which miffed me a little, considering my horse just had a complete meltdown that could be been really bad for all involved and maybe you should ask? I chalked it up to me being a little bit angry at my horse and tired after working all day and then that lovely adventure. They met without any incident. I sponged off Digby because he was only sweaty in his saddle area. He walked out to his turnout like a gentlemen and left me with quite a few things to think (and swear) about.
As part of a blog hop started by Hand Gallop, I had full intention of taking new photos for this post and my phone has a new trick (TWO DAYS IN A ROW! CURSE YOU IPHONE!) in which it turns off regardless of battery life and refuses to turn back on until it's plugged in. Once plugged in it realizes "oh yeah, I've got battery left, duh! My bad!" and goes on with it's merry phone life at it's previous percent of battery life. Charming. It started a week ago but is getting progressively worse. So here are two old photos to demonstrate my tack:
The hony only does flatwork. One day, maybe, we'll get a dressage saddle but this one fits pretty well so it's staying for the time being.
Vespucci Fancy Stitch Hunter Bridle: Got it for a steep discount. I like it and it has lasted all the years I've had Digby. Not the softest leather anymore but I wasn't the best at cleaning it for a while. Can't blame the maker there. :) The one fault is that the reins are LONG since Digby is small. I don't mind it now that we just flat but it was a bit of an issue when we jumped. Digby was a wild child and I always worried the reins would somehow get tangled in his legs when we were jumping. If I were still jumping, I think I'd take it to a cobbler and have them shorten the throat latch (super long!) and the reins.
Happy Mouth Double Jointed Roller Dee: This bit seems to please Mr. Sensitive mouth the most, while allowing me some control. Digby goes best in the thinner bits because he has a tiny mouth. I think in an ideal world he'd like this to be a bit smaller but he goes the best in this bit out of all the other ones I've tried. He's never chewed through the plastic so I've had it for years now.
No name standing martingale/no name running martingale: I've used both. He either came with both or I got the standing martingale for free. I honestly can't remember. Typically he doesn't go in a martingale anymore but I'll throw one on if I think he's going to be bad.
Ovation Show Jumping XCH Saddle: Picked the saddle up at a local tent sale. Luckily it fits pretty darn well! I really can't fault this saddle at all. It's looks way nicer than what I paid for it, it's comfy, it fits both me and Digby. It's held up GREAT over the years.
Mattes Half Pad with Shims: Digby's a tricky saddle fit so at the advice of a local independent saddler fitter, I splurged and got a Mattes shimmable pad. I haven't regretted it for a day. It helps my saddle fit better and Digby goes better with it.
Saddle pad: I use basically any pad. I've got a fancy BOT one and then cheap ones. I do make sure that they're all high wither/shaped ones. He's got large withers and if the pad isn't shaped, the pads will sit on his withers when I ride. This displeases Digby. I usually buy pads on sale and based off their color. I'm not super picky.
Arc de Triomphe Anatomic Girth: Another splurge that I snagged at a discount. I've had it for a few years now and LOVE IT. Seriously. Great quality. It's lasted even if I don't wipe it off every ride. I try to since it was $$$ but let's be honest, sometimes I'm busy and it's either ride and don't clean the tack or don't ride. I'm going to ride!
Boots/Wraps: I used to ride him in Roma Open Front Boots but now that we don't jump, I don't use those much anymore. If I'm going to use leg protection, I typically use plain old polo wraps or a pair of cheap-o no name neoprene splint boots.
Hmm, so Blogger seems to have eaten my post about July goals... Ok then.
Us in 2010.
I realized while talking to Alli last Friday that I really miss having goals. While it's hard given the hony's soundness and my perpetual fear that he's going to come up lame, I wanted to make a few (small) goals for July.
Without further ado:
Digby's July Goals
- Stay sound. Enough said.
- Work on building up our fitness. Since he had all winter off (thanks -4 degree weather and ice/snow) and then some time in the spring until he gained weight and thennnn our June lameness issue, the hony has been pretty much out of consistent work. I'd like to start back with lots of walking and then slowly progress. I'm going to play it by ear based off of how he's responding.
- Get out on trails at least once. Ok, this seems like a ridiculously small goal but hear me out. We just moved to a new barn which is a big transition and I'd like to get some solid ring work down. Trails were never my favorite event (although I'm becoming a fan) and Digby can be a big jerk on them. The new barn has lots of surrounding acres and trails so I'd love to get out of the ring as often as possible. With my schedule, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to meet up with others and I don't want to go alone for a while. I'm planning to go at least once in the entire month of July!
Human goals
- Fitness. This should read, "Becky, stop being a fluffy marshmallow and learn to control your body. Love, your horse." I've got a schedule all printed out and I've mostly been sticking to it in June! I'd like to keep it going in July.
