Too hot for this nonsense

 So.. Dan is bored. And OVER this ridiculous weather... and over being on rest... and just.. over it!  Me too rugrat... ME TOO!!!

Sadness

Poor Danimal. Sigh.... Poor me. 

I"m trusting God and His will, but darn I wish Funny hadn't kicked Dan. He's been a bit crankier lately and seems sad. Not his usual cheeky self. I did get him to smile for cookies today and he wanted butt scratches yesterday but... he seems blue. Me too, Dan, me too. 

And now I know why... I was bush hogging today and they ran for a little ways and... he's really lame. Like... really lame. :( Ughhhhh..... I really really hope and pray that this is just irritation and not an actual ligament tear. I'm not sure he and I can survive another 6 months to a year off. Even if he's allowed to be in the pasture... Not that we'll have a choice, but gah..... 

 

So... I'm praying that God heals him for me. In the next two weeks. And that he will bounce back, we can inject his arthritic stifle and he'll be ready to at least hit the trails again, but honestly... I'd really like to do more, if it's God's will. I get it... I'm being greedy.... but, I want it for Dan too. I think... I think he likes doing things... I think he gets bored just staying at home. I think he enjoys showing off. I know he likes trail riding but I think he likes the other things too. 

Anyways.. just blue today. But grateful that he's still here and Funny didn't break his leg. I'm grateful for the beautiful views on my beautiful farm. And I'm grateful that Dan is a bit like me and will keep fighting too. 

 

Foiled...... postponing the rererererererereredebut

Are you effing kidding me???? 
DAMMIT FUNNY!!!

Ugh.... I got home from our mountain trip.... unloaded Dan and was on the phone with my Dad. I let Dan sniff noses with the girls at the fence as they had come running up. All seemed fine so I turned him out. I had barely pulled the halter off when Funny came up, turned, double barreled him and wheeled off. She nailed the tar out of his right stifle. Right in his patella! Hard enough that I heard a crack and then Dan trotted off on three legs. For about 2 minutes. I honestly thought she had broken his patella or leg. Luckily.. within a few minutes, he put it down and was bearing weight on it but he was definitely sore!! I sort of let him be for a minute as there seemed to be no further shenanigans and I had to go check on Fleck, because he was apparently struggling the whole time I was gone too. 

 

So, poor Fleck was practically dying.... increased respiratory rate, tucked up, toe touching alternating on both hind feet and his hind fetlocks were covered in pus and wounds. At this point, I'm in tears. I gave Fleck IV banamine, hosed him off, cleaned his wounds, and he was breathing better. So I called Dr. Barrow in a panic.. ended up accidentally calling her cell phone 3 times in a row... By then, Fleck was a little less "dying" looking and Dan was obviously sore but ambulatory. So she was able to talk me off the ledge and we decided to schedule a regular appt vs her coming out then. 

I gave Dan previcox and put some surpass on the area and got Fleck situated and settled and figured I'd see how they both looked the next day. I did start Fleck on antibiotics too. 

But seriously?? COME ON!! Why?? why why why??? Sigh... I'm grateful she didn't break his leg... or break my leg. But still... we were so looking forward to our redebut!! And this is the first time in years he's been this sound, without medications! Sigh... 

I'm gonna go cry now. 

So... the next morning they were both a little better, although not a ton. Dan was resting that hind leg the whole time and still lame at the walk. So we made an appt for the next day. 

I hauled them both to Dr. Barrows Tuesday and God bless Fleck... he just loaded right up even though it's been probably 3 years. I was a little worried he was going to fall down in the trailer but I gave him more IV banamine and he was tough. Both boys were awful at Dr. Barrows... screaming for each other and agitated, so they probably weren't as lame as they really were. We got Fleck cleaned up and medicated and came up with a plan and switched his antibiotics. Then we watched Dan. Obviously lame at the walk and not real happy about trotting and mega lame at the trot. So we x-rayed him... and thank you God nothing noted. Well.. nothing new noted. His stifle joint is super arthritic with spurs medially. Ouch! Not a happy stifle. And there was a lot of effusion. So we ultrasouned. She saw lots of inflammation and "trauma" but also had some concern about a partial tear on the middle patellar ligament. She said she couldn't rule out inflammation from the kick creating artifact debris, so.. she recommended rest for 3-4 weeks, previcox, and rechecking him then. Sigh... No showing for us. 

 

Mountain GOAT!!

A Mountain Adventure!!

Me and Missy decided to take the boys (and Mike and Marty) to the mountains. There's a place with a cabin and a two stall barn and paddock that has access to trails right there! So we conviced the significant others and made plans! The owner warned us that you needed a small trailer, so, Dan and i hauled to Halfshire and I dropped my rig and hooked up to Missy's trailer. Mike met us later on the bike and Marty followed us n the car. Dan loaded right up into Missy's trailer without any hesitation. Even before Indy got on. :) But apparently he ate her chest bar padding along the way. Doh! Guess I'll be replacing that. Dammit Dan!

We got to Leatherwood mountain and while the trip there wasn't bad at all, the trip from the bottom of the resort to the actual cabin was AWFUL! I'm soooo glad I didn't have my gooseneck but good gravy it was still scary! The roads were very narrow, one way only roads, that twisted and turned. There was even a rollback or two. We also weren't sure which house was hers, but luckily Mike went to scout it out and found it for us. We were able to park on the road and walk the boys down. (Apparently at one point, someone took the horse trailer down the driveway and got stuck and they had to get a tractor to tow them back up because there wasn't enough room to turn around down there! Eeeks!). 

It was a lovely place!! The boys had two nice stalls set into the side of the hill and a decent sized hilly paddock. They got settled but neither wanted to eat their dinner. We picked a bad weekend for weather because we had a bunch of rain in the forecast. So we decided to put the boys in their stalls while we went to dinner. Maybe they would eat then too. Plus... bears! So we headed out to dinner in the truck. Holy moly that was a tough drive too! GPS sent us some wild way through the mountains and what felt like some backroads that weren't really roads. And then it rained too. It was a harrowing drive and at some points I could only go about 15 mph. Good grief! But the view up top at the restaurant was awesome and the food was sooo good. Then we headed back home but had to stop at the grocery store so the roads were even scarier that way! I think the fastest I got was 30 mph!!! Poor Mike. ;) 

We slept in the next day and turned the ponies out for a bit. Then they came back to their stalls for breakfast but neither of them ate. Argh! Oh well. We tacked them up and went to hit the trails. Marty took the dogs for a walk and Mike went out on his bike. We tried to pick the "easy peasy trail" because of all the rain but... you know me and maps. ;) We started out okay but it was pretty muddy and sliick with all the rain we've been having. And the mud was quite deep in spots. The ponies started out nervous but were good and helped each other be brave. Dan kept wanting to walk on the edge of the cliff's to stay out of the mud. Fine dude, but... now we're gonna fall down the mountainside!!! And then, we hit some steeper down hills and he kept trying to run down them. I guess it was easier than sitting and balancing. But a little scary and unfun for me. But overall it was fun. The trails were pretty and we had a good time. The boys took turns leading. Somehow we got off the easy path though and had no idea how to get home. The lady who owned the cabin had told us not to take Robnson trail down, as it was super steep and not an easy trail. So of course... somehow that's where we ended up! And it was exactly what she said... "grueling and steep, especially when it's wet".... Doh! It felt like we were going on a 45 degree grade. I felt like I was laying on Dan's butt to keep from tippng him over or sliding down his neck and over his head! About 1/2 way down  I called Uncle and got off and walked him the rest of the way.  I was afraid he was going to slip and fall and felt like he was gettng fatigued. Finally we got to the bottom. Well... it should only get easier from here on out!

We found a nice creek and let them drink and then we let them snack on the grass there as it was good grass and the pasture didn't really have anything. We headed back home and hosed all the sweat off them and turned them out for a rest. And we had some lunch... sat in the hot tub.. and then walked around the resort. Marty and Missy played one round of pickleball while I sat with the dogs. Mike was still out on his bike. We decided to do dinner at the resort restaurant vs driving those roads again! Afterwards we hung out on the screened in porch and then headed to bed. 

Saturday morning we slept in a bit again. The ponies still weren't eating great. We had breakfast and then went for another ride. Last night Mike had showed me how to use the satellite map and we had figured out a better trail path so we didn't risk getting super lost agaiini. We had a pretty good ride. We ended up on the "road" a good chunk of the ride instead of in the woods, but it was still pretty. We found some hilly trails and some steep cliff edges with switchbacks. Dan wanted to start bucking down the hlls. Dude, no!! Why do you always want to do that?! We found a cool bridge and crossed that and then we let them snack while another couple out riding passed us. They weren't very quick and lost too, so we caught up to them quick and then they wanted to follow us. But then Indy got worried so we asked them to lead. But that made Dan anxious. We were at the creek and because they were a bit ahead Dan jumped it. And then Indy did too. But then Indy lost his boot. We found it, but he lost one of the straps. Missy got it back on but she was afraid he would lose it again because she didn't have the strap. So we carried on but when we got to the road, she wanted to just go back. Sigh. So we headed back.  I really wanted to do some more riding... we had driven so far and there was so many more trails to explore.. but we had been riding for two hours and t was hot. So we hosed them off and then hand walked them down to the creek to drink and graze. And Dan decided to jump the little creek. The ground was so soft that he sunk into it and pulled a shoe. Dammit Dan! Argh. Oh well. We let them graze and then eventually took them back up. They got to spend the day in the paddock. Mike and I took the bike to lunch and got rained on. ;) But it was still fun. That night we had dinner at the cabin, cooked by Marty. It was tasty. We all hung out and listened to the storm rolling in. The horses spent the night in their stalls again.

Sunday we packed up and headed back home. It was a fun trip and I'm proud of them for figuring out how to maneuver in the mud and the hills. Those weren't easy trails. And they were sweet with eath other the whole trip. Although Dan did chew on Indy some on the way home. Oops. 

photos; Leatherwood

Videos

And then...  I finally got home with dan and turned him out. Before I could even pull his halter off Funny squealed and double barreled him!!! Right in the right stifle!! I heard a solid crack/thud and Dan held his leg up and was trotting on three legs for a good two minutes. It was terrifyng! I thought "well, frick.. she just broke his effin' stifle/patella!". But after a few minutes, he put weight down on it and was walking but clearly lame. And then...  I checked on Fleck and he was in so much pain from his feet that he was panting and tucked up. I bawled right then and there... gave Fleck some banamine and treated his wounds. He had some scratches going on and I guess he was abscessing in two feet. I called Dr. Barrow in tears but we decided to have her look at them on Tuesday. Dan got banamine too. So yeah... a great(ish) trip... but not much fun coming home. 

All In!!

 Well... I went ahead and signed up for Poplar, even though we didn't get to jump yesterday. I signed him up for a BN three phase. And then splurged and added a 2-3 test! Why 2-3?? I have no clue.. because it also had the turn on the haunches and I wanted to see how we scored on those. But it's got the three loop serpentine counter canter! ACK! And then it dawned on me that I've only got three rides left before the show. Not counting our mountain rides. I can ride today.... I can ride next Tuesday and next Thursday. And then we show Saturday. Somehow that crept up quick. So then I panicked. ha ha. Oh well. In reality... it'll be fine. I'll just be sad when we score poorly. But again... I mostly want to see what our comments are so we know what to work on. At least that's what I say.... 

 

Regardless... I decided to go ride today. Even though it wasn't my original plan... But I felt like if I could pop over some jumps, my anxiety would be better. So I rode Lyric first... then did some packing and prepping for the trip, and then... before it could decide to rain... I caught Dan and we headed to Ashland. The radar showed nothing. But of course when we got there I noticed some big gray clouds amid the blue skies with fluffy white clouds. I got on and we did a warm up hack around the little lake, to the cross country field, and then up the hill to stadium. I hopped off and set the fences up a hair. I didn't measure but I think most were roughly BN height. As I was finishing I started to feel raindrops. Are you kidding me?? Luckily though, no thunder or lightning, just rain. And it rained a fairly significant rain. I was pretty much soaked through. Ugh. Oh well. I was already on... we're doing this buddy! Besides... it kind of helped cool things off. It was so steamy and miserable. 

 

So we warmed up. I did try to do a three loop serpentine a bit, but it's hard in the jump arena to know your space. We did manage some more significant counter canter, but also got a partial change. I didn't do a ton but enough to warm him up. Then we popped over the cross rail a time or two and then.. we got to jumping. I started with four fences in a row... and he was great! I was not; however. I kept looking down at the fence and basically.. holding him. But he went and he even rocked himself back a few times to jump from the deeper spot. yay! Good boy! We then added some more fences and finished with a 8 or 9 fence course. And he was great!! Okay phew... I feel better now! 

 

So then we went to hack but we somehow ended up in the cross country field. And it was still raining. So I thought... well, let's just pop over one or two. The banana jump was right there, so we popped over that. He was super. Then we added the cabin. Then I decided I wanted to do the brush fence to the hanging log. But then I realized it wasn't a brush, it was the fake ditch and wall. But... we can still do it. Then I found the brush roll top... so we did that, to the fake ditch and wall and then to the hanging log. And he was super! Then we added another cabin. He was great but wasn't quite jumping boldly out of stride. Of course it was so wet and squishy that it was literally squealching with every footfall. I wanted to end with something a little more positive so we did another cabin and poor guy slid at the base but jumped anyways. Okay... I'm crazy but not that stupid, so... I decided it was best to quit while we were ahead. I'm feeling pretty confident that we can do the BN 3 phase next weekend!

 

So then went for a short cool down hack. I didn't want to go splash in the lake or do the water treadmill because heaven help us if we lost another shoe! So we just walked around the XC field a bit and then headed in. Poor guy was still puffing when we got to the trailer. I don't think it was so much the amount we did.. but more the heat and humidity. It finally stopped raining as we were finishing cross country jumping but then the sun came out and it was sweltering! Poor guy. He cooled off with his bath and a little more walking. It just got so hot and humid so suddenly this week! 

 

We headed home and filled up with gas so we're ready for tomorrow!

 

This is how we started the day!! Daniel! I had to hose him off before I left for Ashland. 

But, this is how we finished the day.... We'll see how he looks in the morning though. ;) 

 

Fancy Pants

STAYCATION!! Ahhh... today was the first day of it. Yahoo! And Dan got his shoe back on. Thanks Patrick! So... we rode at home. And he felt so good! In the very beginning he felt slightly neuro but then once he warmed up, he felt fine. And it felt like the front right, so maybe just leftover sweeney stuff. 

 

We warmed up and got going and then we played with some of the second level work. We did some walk to canters... He was good. Like, good enough that I'm contemplating donig a second level test at Poplar even! 

 

Yay! Fancy pony. But man are we hot and sweaty!

Bareback fun

 

This morning I slept in just a little. And then I was a little short on time but I'm glad I snuck in a ride anyways. I had to get to Aiken with Lyric to school XC but figured I could sneak in a quick bareback school with Danimal. Even though the turkey is missing his hind shoe, less than 24 hours after Patrick did him! Ugh. 

He was filthy and orange but I curried the chunks off where the saddle went, threw on the bareback pad and bridle and off we went. We hacked up to the arena and did our ride. We spent a good bit at the walk and then worked on the trot. He was a good boy and I tried to focus on my weight aids. I had sort of wished I had brought his neck rope so I could practice bridleless riding but I did focus on my weight and seat and leg aids vs mouth aids. But of course, I defaulted to the reins a good bit. We did some canter work and tried to do some changes. He did two good shallow serpentines and then I tried to get a change. Both ways he did eventually give me a change up front. I rewarded him, because even though it's late, not behind, and icky... he tried. Then we went back to canter to walks, which are still sucking. So that might be a big part of my problem. But we had some good canters. We also played with our extended trots and some more sitting trot work. He was a good boy and was trying hard. It was super steamy this morning again. UGH... summer is here. 

We finished up, hacked back home, and he got a nice rinse while he ate some clover and then out he went. I was able to make it to Aiken in time with Lyric, so yay! I'm glad I decided to hop on him this morning. And hopefully he'll get his shoe back on. I did find a hind shoe when I went to catch him but I think it's the missing wedge of Lyrics... unless he has wedges still too? I can't even remember. ;) But... I did find a shoe, so maybe it was his. It didn't look old enough to be Lyrics. But honestly, I thought Dan was in frog support pads without the wedge but I could be wrong. Ha ha!

Shoeless hack

 

We had a fun day today. We went for a nice hack with Kelli, even though he was missing his hind shoe. I tried to keep him off the rocks and we took it easy. He was kind of weird though... like he was crossing his front limbs and standing on himself a bit. He was almost acting neurologic. But all subtle. 

   

Before we went on the trails we started in the arena. Because... Kelli. So... of course, me being me, I had to play a little... The footing is so good there... We practiced our half pass and leg yield so I could focus on "Swooping with my seat" and it does seem to help! I was trying to sit on the outside seatbone to influence his hips and push him over with my seat and outside leg... but also swoop/wipe with my seat. It's still a work in progress but... it did seem to be helpful. But we didn't do a lot because of his shoe. 

   

Tonight I started to teach him the "smile" trick. Not his old smile trick where he puts his ears up, but the flip your lip smile! Only.. he hasn't quite gotten it... he sticks his head out and twists his neck though. And his ears are up, so close enough for now!! :) 

 

Oh, and also... later in my cross country lesson with Lyric... we rode with Margaret and she asked how Dan was doing. She said it made her heart joyous to hear that he was doing well and that she thought the whole horse community was rooting for him all along and currently. Awwww... it made my day!!