Healing Progress

I am very happy to say Cupid's healing has been progressing smoothly, without any setbacks!  He has been a model patient, staning loose in his paddock while I wrap his legs and hasn't removed a single bandage. 

We've had lots of quality time the last few weeks

 About a week ago I could tell his patience was starting to wear thin - nothing bad but every day both the blankets in front of his stall were on the ground, he was a bit more peppy on walks, just a few small signs.  Luckily, his wound was healed over well enough that the risk of it reopening is minimal so starting last week he got to go back out to group turn-out, and I've even gotten on his back for a few 20 minute walks!

First ride in about a month!!

I think the wound is healed enough that it won't scare anyone - for the full graphic progression see the pictures on Instagram.

23 days post surgery

Cupid has also resumed his teaching duties.  My son loves to trot, and is very eager to start jumping 😆

A Day at the Vet Clinic

First rest assured that my long, unexplained absence from blogging has nothing to do with either Cupid's or my health.  Just busy, with not a lot of actual developments and feeling a bit burnt out.  But I did want to write about my experience taking Cupid to the vet clinic.  

We are fortunate to have a top-notch clinic with a full surgical suite locally available.  Over 20 years ago I got to tour this clinic with my pony club, and very thankfully I have not had to go back since.  I have been very lucky that in my 30 years of horse ownership with multiple horses, I've never had anything really serious happen to either my horses or myself.  (Knock on wood!!!!)

Cupid was scheduled for an outpatient procedure to get that mass on his leg removed.  Unfortunately he had knocked it again, so I decided it was probably past time to get it taken care of.  Cupid was able to have a light breakfast at home, and we got to the clinic a little before 9am where he had a stall ready.  He had an initial examination and xrays, and bloodwork done, and was cleared for surgery and less than an hour later he was getting a catheter placed. 

Getting the catheter placed

By 10:30 he was getting led into the surgery suite.  Unfortunately I could not watch (or maybe that's a good thing!), but my regular vet did come by and took a look and gave me an update!  I made myself comfortable on the patio and did some work.  They also had a conference room, and coffee and water available and wifi, so aside from worrying a bit about your horse it's not a bad place at all to work remote!

Surgical suite

Heading in for surgery

The head surgeon came out just after noon, and told me everything had gone well.  Initially they were not sure if they would be able to close the incision fully, and even mentioned possibly doing a skin graft.  But luckily they were able to close it up, even though I was told the stitches may not hold.  Cupid got a few hours in the stall to recover from the anesthesia, then he was sent home with bute and antibiotics.  He will be in his stall the next 2 weeks until the stitches come out, with a few hours turnout in a small paddock allowed as long as he behaves.  

Cupid's leg was already wrapped when I saw him post-op, and that bandage will stay on for about 72 hours and then my regular vet took a look and changed it.

Back home

So far Cupid has been handling stall rest a lot better then he ever has in the past - I'm not sure if he's just in pain or more settled now.  He's also been a model patient in general - even his post-op report mentioned how good he was!  He's been very well behaved during his bandage changes.  He doesn't love the medication, I alternate between mixing it in his feed with molasses and squirting it directly in his mouth.  If I put it in his feed he kind of picks at it, but will eventually finish it all.  

Luckily the injury/surgical site is not near any joints or tendons/ligaments, and Cupid should make a full recovery relatively quickly.  Fingers crossed for no surprises!

A Hunt for new Field Boots: Ariat vs. Dover Riding Sport

I have had my Ariat Heritage field boots for about 5 years.  I ride my one horse about 5 days a week.  I would say I'm somewhere in the middle as far as taking care of them: I always keep them in a boot bag with trees, and usually only have them on while I'm riding not just wearing around the barn (though of course I occasionally do).  However I'm not very consistent about wiping them down or conditioning them, I just knock the dirt off with a brush before putting them back in the bag.  I have dress boots for showing (which I wear on occasion in between just so they don't shrink and so I'm used to them).  

 Being a petite 5'2", "regular" height tall boots off the rack won't really fit me and at the time I got these boots there weren't many options for shorter heights.  They are a 7.5 short height, regular calf.  The calf has always been a touch big, but for schooling I'm not that partial.  They were quick to break in and comfortable from the start, I think I may have used heel lifts the first few rides but don't recall them being painful.  They've held up very well the first 4 years, I never had to replace the zipper or had any noticeable issues.  However over the past few months they've really started showing their age, first with some separation on the top of the boot between the outer leather and inner layer.  And then a wear mark appeared on the inner calf where the bottom edge of my saddle flap is, eventually rubbing all the way through the outer layer!  I'm actually overall quite happy with how these boots worked out, and thought 5 years was a reasonable lifespan for <$300 boots.  However most of what I've read on the internet indicated that the quality of Ariat boots has gone down quite a bit the last few years, so I'm a bit hesitant about getting the same ones.

So sad!

Dover had a recent sale on their Riding Sport brand boots, so I figured why not give it a shot.  At just over $100 I wasn't expecting them to last forever, but hoped that I might get a good year out of them - and a good opportunity to try some brown ones!  

Pretty brown

 Unfortunately did not meet even my low expectations.  From the size chart I thought they might be a bit big, but I didn't expect to easily fit my whole hand inside the top of the boots.  The leather is low grade as expected, but what really turned me off was the almost foam-like inner lining, which I imagine would be pretty sweltering on hot days.  

Weird foam-like inner lining

Regular width calf runs large

So these boots are going back - I have a different, new-to-me brand on order but if those don't work out either I'll probably just go back to Ariat!

A Weight Lifted

This has been a great week.  First, Cupid's biopsy came back clean.  Though we don't know the exact cause why that lump grew, at least it's not a tumor.  For now I will just keep an eye on it for further changes.  Removing it is a fairly minor procedure, but would primarily just be for cosmetic reasons (with a small benefit of avoiding him knocking it again.)  If we have a bad fire season again and I'm not going to be riding or something like that, we may just get it done but it's not urgent.

But possibly even better news it for the last several rides Cupid's finally felt like his old self, no crankiness much happier to go forward.  Whatever was bothering him seems to have resolved.  He's been on GutX for over a month so maybe it was that.  Or just kind of resetting our relationship with contact (taking it away completely for a while then slowly building back).  Or just some other body soreness.  

He feels active and engaged, I don't have to chase him into a canter, and can actually shorten and lengthen his trot a bit.  I'm feeling pretty happy and optimistic for the first time in months!

A Medical Mystery

Cupid injured his leg in a pasture accident many years ago.  After that accident he formed a slight lump on his leg which I attributed to a popped splint.  It was high enough and forward enough to not interfere with any tendons or ligaments, and never seemed to both him.  But over the past year, that protrusion has been slowly growing bigger and softer, though never with any heat, lameness, or sensitivity.  (And we're talking about a horse who's legs swell up after the most minor scrapes.)  But eventually they got to about ping pong ball size, and though it doesn't seem to bother Cupid I thought we should take a look at what's going on.  I thought it was likely that something chipped off and he was building fluid around the chip.  My biggest fear was bone sequestrum.

To my surprise, the x-ray revealed that the splint bone had never fractured, and his bones actually look great!  Rather the lump is some sort of fluid or soft tissue mass under the skin.

So the next step was ultrasound, which revealed two separate encapsulations, fairly similar in size and consistency though one perhaps a bit more dense. No sort of fluid core or giveaway that it would be an abscess. Possible origin cyst or hematoma.

The vet said if I want to continue, that next step would be biopsy. He cautioned me that it could well be inconclusive, but relatively low cost and not terribly painful to Cupid. I thought it over briefly but I’m curious enough to try it.

So he stuck the biopsy needle into the less dense sac, and we see nothing. After a few moments of suction he gets a small amount of clear fluid (not sure at this point if we got inside the sac or just the surrounding fluid.)  There was some external bleeding as he pulls the needle out. Then he hit the more dense looking one, and again nothing at first then he gets a bit of blood. The two samples are going off to the lab, and we should hear back in about a week but again it may or may not reveal anything. Vet still thinks either hematoma or some sort of cyst possible.  Tumor unlikely, fingers crossed!

It is a bit inconclusive at this time whether the lump could be drained in the field, or need to be fully opened up in a clinical setting.  Right now the lump is more unsightly then problematic, so if the lab results are inconclusive then I’ll have to decide how much to pursue this or just observe for further changes.  In any event the vet said if we are to plan a removal he recommends waiting until dry weather, so we can do some turnout while he heals.

Winter

The first rains have come, and with it Cupid's first pulled shoe!  It was right at the end of his trimming cycle, hopefully just a single fluke occurrence.  

Despite a little bit of friskiness in the pasture, Cupid's generally the same to ride.  In fact we're still working hard on getting him to move more promptly off the leg, and on me not nagging him all the time!  I'll have to write an actual post at some point but just wanted to at least come on and say all's well.

He's currently in half round shoes

 

Barrel Racing with Tracy Maurer

You run at a barrel and whip around it, point to the next one and circle the other direction, whip around the third barrel, and hand on for dear life as you fly back where you started - how hard can it be, right?  Turns out there is a lot more to barrel racing, and clinician Tracy Maurer did an excellent job laying that foundation!  Step 1, tie the horse at the trailer for a quick overview of the sport and running through the pattern on foot!  

Apparently there are a whole lot of different organizations/associations that run barrel races and their rules vary slightly.  For example, under some rules knocking down a barrel is a time penalty but in others it means you get no time.  But there aren't too many ways to get disqualified - going off course; falling; missing your order of go.  Some orgs will disqualify you for any backwards motion, like the horse spooking.  But for this intro-level clinic we were just focusing on the basics, with a primary focus on good horsemanship.  

Tracy explained that usually there isn't much space behind the start timer.  Some of the associations allow you to circle behind the timer (though the highest levels don't); we practiced with the circle to help set us up for our first barrel.  Especially if you're cantering, to make sure you have the correct lead and to establish your bend.  For our practice we started with the barrel on the right side (right lead / circle to right), but the rider can choose either direction.  Tracy placed a cone several feet from the barrel, and she said to start we would think about leg yielding just before the cone (to help establish the bend we want to go around the barrel) and halt with the horse's nose on that cone.  This is so your horse learns to not rush or get too excited.  Then we covered 3 circles, from biggest to smallest the large fast (just to the outside of the cone); half round (mid-way between the cone and barrel); and regular turn (tight around the barrel).  Tracy impressed upon us that if we lose the horse's shoulder through any of these turns then we need to either go the next size up, or drop to a slower gait.  Even just walking it she reminded us to keep our shoulders even; she said if we walk with a dropped or raised shoulder we will probably ride it that way too!  We practiced the entire course around all three barrels and back through the timer line. 

Then we got on our horses and started with the circle behind the start line - I tried to do mine in the middle but Tracy corrected me to do it on the right side so I have a short path to the first barrel.  Then approaching the cone think a slight leg yield and halt at the cone.  Not surprisingly Cupid was good at that part. =)  Then we started on our large fast circle, and when Tracy was satisfied our circle was even, with the correct bend and not falling through the shoulders we went to the half round circle, then the regular turn.  The regular turn started out really good but got egg-shaped on the other side, I think maybe a bit of a magnetic pull towards the gait!  So we worked on fixing that.  And then Tracy said as soon as I got a good circle move on, don't keep drilling it because then it will quickly not be fun for the horse.

Some of the technique is a bit different then I'm used to - a slight raise of the inside hand, and moving both hands towards the barrel.  But there was also a lot that was familiar, such as using the inside leg effectively - timing the cue before the horse picks up that foot, with enough intensity to get a response then leave the horse alone.  

After completing the pattern at a walk, we trotted in, stopped at the cone, trotted the large fast (if you could do it correctly), and walked the half round and regular turn, then trotted off.  Tracy said our halts were quite good, of course we've had plenty of practice halting at X in the dressage court!  Eventually instead of halting at the cone it was more just a half halt.  We didn't get past cantering a large fast, then trotting a half round and walking the regular turn. 

Then we did a little work away from the barrels, practicing spiraling in and out at the trot and canter, then at the walk we spiraled in eventually to a turn on haunches - which Cupid and I struggled with a bit as he moves his haunches a bit too much.  I told Tracy I will try to work on it in hand and she agreed that is a good approach.

We ended with a few last runs around the course.  Cupid was getting a bit tired at this point so we only cantered up to the first barrel and transitioned to the trot at the cone, did the regular turn at the walk, and trotted to the next cone.

At no point during the clinic did Cupid get lit up, which I was super relieved about!  The slow and methodical approach really just allowed us to have fun practicing the same things we usually practice (smooth transitions, responsiveness to rein and legs, proper bend without losing the shoulder, balance, etc) just in a different way.  I don't aspire to actually barrel race because speed isn't really my thing, but it was super fun learning more about it!

Race Horse PTSD

Cupid is so easy going most of the time, people can't believe he's an ex-racehorse.  He's great on trails, my 2.5 year old rides him, etc.  But every so often something can set him off and he reverts to racehorse mode.  It happens so rarely that when it does happen it catches me off guard.  Today was a foggy day, which can make him a bit more looky but usually nothing too bad.  Nevertheless I decided to ride in the covered arena, where he is usually less distracted.  The covered arena is higher then the paddocks and pastures by it, and with the trees and outbuildings around it you can only catch occasional glimpses of the horses outside.  However, we could definitely hear them, and one of the pastures was playing hard.  When Cupid gets excited, 3 things happen:

1) His tail shoots straight up in the air.  This is a dead giveaway something is about to happen!

2) He has to face the excitement, no matter what.  He will pretzel himself if needed to accomplish this.

3) Apparently the ground around us turns to lava, and Cupid must keep his feet off the ground.  He prances like he's on his way to the racetrack.

I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit I decided to hop off.  I know he probably wouldn't do anything that would get me off, but I hate trying to ride out #3!  I tried doing some in hand exercises to get him to refocus, but #2 made it difficult.  

But just as quickly as it began, the horses outside settled down and Cupid did too.  I got back on him, trotted around and he was a perfect gentleman.  We cantered and even jumped a small vertical, mostly just so I can prove to myself that we my original plan for the day included doing some jumping.  Even though it was a bit of a long spot I didn't really feel the need to correct it, but I think it was good we did it.  The rest of the ride was very uneventful.  We did a lot of circling and bending around the jumps at the trot, and did a few walk to canter transitions.  

Today I had the lunge cavesson on, but I did actually get a proper side pull.  It's by thinline, and just all leather (no hard core) with metal rings for the bits.  But I put it on my western headstall with split reins and just didn't want to deal with that extra length while jumping.  But we've had a few good rides with it, and have been practicing our neck reining which is actually going well.  We've gone through most of our training level dressage tests, I think it helps to have something familiar because even if Cupid isn't totally certain about the cue he can fall back on following a familiar pattern! 

Thinline Side Pull, on my old western headstall

We have an appointment with a western saddle fitter coming up.  I don't mind being the odd man out in an english saddle when I'm cattle sorting or doing trail trials, but I also wouldn't mind having a western saddle that fits both Cupid and I because why not.  If we find one that fits, we may even try a little showing of some variety.  I was a little disappointed to see that for western dressage, while you can use certain bitless bridles if I understand correctly the side pull isn't allowed. 

Bitless

We originally planned to do one more show this year, but showing is never our top priority and with the way things have been going I think it's safe to say we can scrap that plan.  Instead we're just going to take it a bit easy and just have fun while we figure out if Cupid needs any maintenance, medical help, or maybe just a bit of a break.  So I decided to try riding him bitless for the time being.  This will help take the pressure off trying to ride him a certain way (I can't try to make him "on the bit if there is no bit!) and hopefully we can work on some other skills in the meantime like riding him more off my seat and legs; I can work on my strength in two point without any help balancing on the reins; and it's easier for me to focus on keeping my elbows by my side and hands closed when I'm not trying to maintain contact.  

I don't have a real bitless bridle.  I've ridden him plenty just with a halter and lead rope but I don't like how much the halter moves on his face, often ending up almost over his eye or just awkward.  But I thought we can start with my lunging caveson.  (I did order a leather side pull, which I now got but I realized I need a bridle with shorter cheekpieces, mine are already at the top hole for a bit.)

Riding him in the caveson has been going better than I expected.  We've been having fun cruising around the property, doing more jumping, practicing opening and closing gates.  Cupid's been a really good boy.  Our first ride in the caveson was a foggy day, deer jumped out by us, and there was some tree trimming going on.  I thought to myself that he is finally becoming more like my childhood horse that I could ride anywhere, when it occurred to me that he is still younger than Dee when I first got her.  I never really appreciated that before, and it makes me optimistic that we still have many good years ahead of us.

I was starting to think maybe we're dealing with a hock thing because for a few rides the biggest problem area was having to chase him into the canter.  Once he picked it up it felt okay, but the transitions were not prompt at all.  Then I realized, we are used to the transitions with contact on the bit not a stretching frame.  I decided the easiest place to work on this might be the round pen, and decided to try it from the walk not trot.  As expected, the right lead was easier but the transitions were smoother and definitely more prompt so I think I just need to be more clear in my aids.

We've been loping around small courses, and Cupid seems very happy to be jumping and my confidence is getting better as well.  This jump combined several things I don't like: the stone wall; it's skinny (usually we have 2 of these wall panels side by side); and no upright standards to funnel through.  Our first time over it I kind of caught Cupid off guard on the approach, I think he was looking at the crossrail next to it and I almost bailed but managed to straighten him to it.

When Something's NQR

In many ways we've been very lucky this year with no medical problems aside from a few minor scrapes.  No thrown shoes or abscesses, he's been holding weight and building muscle in all the right places, and his coat is shiny.  In the spring Cupid felt light and willing and I saw First level on the horizon.  But for a while I felt like we were just treading water, not moving forward.  And then lately I've been feeling frustrated that we have to work twice as hard and not even get quite the same result.  Cupid is not lame, he's picking up both leads, but something just feels not quite right.  

It may just be in my head, but for peace of mind I scheduled an appointment with our vet.  He watched Cupid trot on hard ground, did flexions, and then watched Cupid on the lunge at all gaits in softer footing.  The vet agreed that Cupid isn't lame but saw what I meant about him looking a bit restricted in the canter.  But nothing obvious about what is bothering him - maybe just unloading his right front a bit early but the vet said that was being picky.  The vet didn't think it was coming from his neck, back, or SI.  Possibly feet or hocks.  We decided to start with a bute trial, and then xray the feet coinciding with his next farrier appointment.

We started the bute trial, and I didn't notice an immediate change.  (Paste bute is really hard to get out of the tube, I'm not a fan!!)  But then I checked my calendar and confirmed with our shoer that Cupid's next appointment was actually that week so we ended the bute trial early.  

The feet xrays actually look terrific - better angles and a bit more sole compared to his last set 4 years ago!  The coffin bone was what we really wanted to see, and it was fine.  So good news/bad news that we could rule that out.  Since the farrier was there too he discussed it with the vet, and they agreed to try setting the shoe back just a hair and try half rounds.  

The vet said if the shoes help he would expect to see a change around two weeks.  OK to ride as usual for now, see how things go and depending on that we might re-do the bute trial, and/or try Legend. 

A Promise Fulfilled

A while ago I promised Cupid if he scored a 65 or higher, our next lesson would be jumping.  I jump him a few times a month, both for some variety and so it remains not a big deal, but we haven't had a jump lesson in over a year (aside from the near-disastrous Bernie clinic).  The truth of the matter is I'm a lot less nervous if no one is watching me, and I can pick my own jumps (which usually means no combinations!) or trot them if I want or change my mind about the course etc.  Even though we've had several good jump sessions recently, I was still a little nervous doing it in front of my trainer!  Which I know is silly, she is there to help me.  

Excuse the poor quality, got this through text message

Anyways I told her I wanted to do a little work on my two-point, and getting the kind of canter I can jump from, and then just have same fun with little jumps.  We start just cantering over a cavaletti, and focused on getting a straight approach and touching my seat to the saddle to avoid Cupid's tendency to go long.  We went through a little bounce a few times, but I think it made me a bit nervous thinking it would get Cupid a bit revved up so my trainer said we don't have to do that today.  Then we did a little course a few times.

It was super fun!  My trainer said my position was a lot more secure, and I could feel I recover after the jump a lot quicker than I used to, probably since I wasn't jumping ahead as much.  My trainer said Cupid has nice form even over tiny jumps, and if we worked on tightening his knees a bit he would be a pretty cute hunter.  Which I agree with, but I just don't think I can get my act together to be able to show over jumps.  At least not any time soon, I'm just now finally starting to not curl up into a ball at dressage shows!

Osierlea - From a New PR to Humble Pie

Cupid and I had qualified for RAAC - our regional adult amateur championship.  However after our last show my confidence was pretty shot and I felt like it wasn't worth going just to be so far behind everyone else.  Even though I had been looking forward to it and it was a goal for the year.  There was another show the same weekend, and I tried to justify going to that one instead because it's closer, cheaper, a place we've been before, and I figured would be less hot and less likely to have bad air quality.  Well it was still hot, but 90 degrees instead of 100 at the RAAC show.  And then the second day, when the actual RAAC classes were held, apparently the AQI was 150+ so from the perspective we made the right choice.

With the heat I decided not to lunge beforehand.  But I still got to the warm up ring way to early, especially after I found out there was a 15-20 minute delay.  The covered arena was being groomed, but as soon as it was ready we went over there for some shade.  Cupid was definitely on the lethargic side so I tried some transitions to sharpen him up, though I feel like our workout could have been a lot better planned.  It was kind of spurts of work followed by several minutes of walking/ambling due to the heat.

We rode Training 1 and 2.  We only had about 15 minutes in between tests, so we grabbed some water but didn't get to see the first test sheet or scores before our second round. They felt okay to me, but I thought maybe a bit more like a pleasant hunter under saddle style then dressage.  Plus we had a rare off course in Training 2, which considering how many times I've ridden the test shouldn't have happened but I think the heat melted my brain a bit! Scores from the morning varied from mid 40s to low 70s, so I figured this judge was not overly generous but rewarded when appropriate.  But I guess they looked better then they felt as we got a new personal record of 66.7% for our first test!  And 63.9 for the second (if only we didn't have that darn penalty!)  Not only that, but we got our first ever 9!!!  On reviewing the video I think that was rather generous since the hind legs weren't square, but I'll take it.  I was a bit overwhelmed and had literal tears when I saw my test sheets, feeling like our hard work the past few months has paid off.

It's been a while since we've stayed at a show overnight.  Well, Cupid did, as I drove the ~1.5 hours home to have dinner with my family.  I know a lot of people like to go to the showground a day before to settle in, but I've always felt like for whatever reason we've always struggled a bit on a second day.   Cupid had a large 16x24 stall and seemed quite content.  Our classes the second day weren't until the afternoon, so I spent the morning taking him for walks, letting him roll in the lunging area, grooming, and braiding.  It was hot again, though a bit cooler then the first day.  We were lucky though because a bit of smoke came through in the morning, but it cleared up.

I didn't want to start warming up too early again and got on about half an hour before our first ride time.  When I got to the warm up the steward told me they were about 15 minutes behind again so we were kind of just ambling around taking our time.  The steward confirmed the delay a few minutes later.  We just started putting it together when someone else came to the ring and said no, everything is on time and the rider before me just finished so I need to get there immediately and as I was approaching the ring someone said they already rang the bell so hurry straight in without circling.  I tried not to feel flustered and tried to recapture the magic of the previous day, but I knew it wasn't coming together as easily or well.  The day 2 curse struck again, and we were (deservedly) in the high 50s for both tests, with the same judge.  I don't know if it's fatigue or what because Cupid doesn't seem upset being there, he is very relaxed in the stall and eats and drinks well.  So I guess we have to either do it more often and get used to it, or not at all. 

In the end I'm happy with my decision to skip RAAC.  I kind of regret my decision to show 2 days because the first day ended on such a high.  But progress is not always linear, and we are lucky we get to do what we do so I'll try not to complain too much =)

Impulsion

It's probably become an annual occurrence that I come to the realization that Cupid likes to ignore my leg and I should probably do something about it.  So we (mostly) fix the problem, and then over time let standards slip again.  So it's that time again.  Ask with a light squeeze and follow with the whip if I don't get a suitable response.  To start we mostly focused on accelerating out of the corners.  I'm trying to really feel the push from behind, which is a bit difficult for me.  I can feel when the front end gets lighter but have a harder time feeling the rear. 

 Riding Cupid this way is definitely more work for me - but actually not as much work as I thought.  I was expecting him to get a bit more pissy about we expecting more from him, but he is actually quite agreeable.  If I was able to ride him more effectively, he'd be quite a nice horse 😂

I feel like I've made good progress with my upper body, and some progress with my legs though as you can see in the picture below I still end up bracing on my stirrup a lot.  And also in the photo, I still have a bad habit of throwing my hands forward when I'm asking Cupid to go. I still have a hard time keeping my fingers closed on the reins, the rainbow reins are very helpful for me to see when they slip but I was thinking of trying a few rides with a stopper like for a running martingale where I keep my hands.  If I can get the darn things on my reins!

We also did a bit of stirrup work our last lesson.  I've been trying to ride without stirrups about once a week, but I still find it a bit harder to sit while maintaining the stirrups. 

We've also been doing a bit of jumping.  Last week felt really great - Cupid found the sweet spot carrying me to the jumps but not rushing.  The first time over the stone wall was a bit of a flyer that jumped me out of the tack, but our second time over was much smoother.  This week we did a little 2'-2'3" course.  I'm still not planning to show over fences, but it's fun when I can control the jumps and course! 

Unexcused Absense

Time flies, and I just haven't gotten around to blogging for no real reason.  Aside from a few outings, and some very minor bumps and scrapes, there hasn't been a whole lot going on with Cupid and me.  

We did an equine biomechanics clinic with the Traveling Horse Witch last month which certainly merited its own post, but I just didn't get to it and now the details are hazy.  But I will say that Cupid thoroughly enjoyed the session, and felt much looser through his shoulders afterwards.  We are looking forward to Celeste's return in November and hopefully I will be more diligent about taking some pictures and writing about the process!

We also made several trips to the Horse Park, for a few lessons as well as some solo rides.  We walked around the XC course and through the water but didn't do any jumps.  We also showed there, and I felt good about my tests but got really crappy scores which sent me into a bit of a funk about not understanding dressage and how could we be getting worst not better when it felt like we were improving.  I was quite discouraged, but had some good talks with a few experienced friends as well as my coach, found a few things to focus on, and am now ready to give it another try.

It was a rare quiet day at the Horsepark, we pretty much had the place to ourselves!

We've taken several people from our barn trail riding, some with green horses and some experienced.  Our lovely shaded parks are a great place to ride in the summer, though thankfully aside from a few days it hasn't felt too hot.  And even more thankfully we have not had any fire threats or smoke, knock on wood.

Back in the Ring

Cupid and I did our first show in several months!  It was at a venue we hadn't shown at before.  With these two factors in play, I decided to enter Training 1 and 2 - start with a short easy test to get a feel for the ring.

Photo by L. Taylor

I was expecting a 4am wake up, but it turned out my rides weren't until 2:30 and 3:30 so I had a leisurely morning.  I was very happy with how my braids turned out (I know it's tradition, but ... as you can see in the photos I braid on the left - Cupid's mane naturally lies to this side, and I somehow just got used to braiding there and now it feels weird trying to do it on the right!)  

I got to the show grounds around noon and let Cupid snack on his hay while I looked around.  The show arena was mostly hidden behind bushes.  There was a covered arena, plus an uncovered dressage court you could warm up in and the secretary told me there was a third arena where you can lunge.  I tacked up and headed towards the lunging arena, which was another dressage court, and to my dismay had sprinklers on.  So I walked Cupid around a bit, then headed back to the lunging arena.  Now the sprinklers were only on the back half, so I lunged Cupid in the front half even though it was a little sloppy.  Cupid was well behaved on the lunge, and moving quite nicely with the side reins.  If only I could hold my reins that steady...

I glanced at the scores from the morning, and to my dismay saw lots of 50s and low 60s - very unusual for our area.  Now I didn't actually see any of these rides, but I had to assume the judge was maybe on the stingier side.  At this point part of me was thinking if my warm up doesn't go well maybe I'll just pack up and go home!

I decided to warm up in the uncovered arena, since it was most similar to the show arena.  It was warm, but thankfully not too hot.  The warm up had tall bushes along one long side, and the other long side was on the main driveway where horses and the occasional rig passed by.  Surprisingly Cupid was not very distracted in there, and I was pretty pleased with how he felt in warm up.  And then we headed to the show ring and T1 felt like a tense, distracted mess.  Cupid broke gait several times, and picked up a wrong lead.  

I was a bit tempted to lunge the ____ out of him before our second test.  But my rational side took over - he hadn't been showing excess energy on the lunge or during warm up so perhaps there were some other things we should work on.  I took him back to the trailer and offered him water and a little break.  I got on him with just under half an hour to my second test and tried to focus extra hard on making sure my reins weren't slipping too long, that I was sitting up straight, and keeping my heels under my hips as we did lots of transitions and light lateral moves.  Then we went back to show ring and had a much improved second test!  

At the end of the day the high point for all levels and divisions was only a 69 - probably the first show I've been to where no one broke 70.  So I was quite happy with my scores - 58 in the first test (which was actually better than I was expecting regardless of the judge), and 62.4 for the second one.  But more importantly I was very happy with how well Cupid handled himself at a new place after not showing in several months.  And I was happy with myself for letting cooler heads prevail and making good improvements.  Of course after watching my video I still see many things to work on but it's finally starting to feel like it's coming together!

Stag, You're It!

Today's ride was interrupted by 3 large bucks, first lurking outside the arena and then briefly venturing into the arena!  Cupid was surprisingly well behaved with them lurking around, and when they came in Cupid thought it was a fun opportunity to use his cow skills.  I didn't want to get too close, so the deer don't run into the mirrors or something.

I think Cupid was a little startled when they ducked back out through the fence, cows don't do that! 😂

I'm glad I happened to have my camera set, even though this was a bit of a Soloshot fail.  I'm not sure why it loses me for so long when I wasn't even close to the camera.  

After the deer left, we practiced some transitions and ran through the T1 test.  Even though the deer were still lurking in the bushes behind A, Cupid was not distracted.  I had the german martingale on for some extra help keeping the contact steady, hopefully to help build the muscle memory. We have a show coming up this weekend, our first in quite a while at a new to us venue so we need all the help we can get!

Pasture Wars

For me, the mental and physical  benefits of group turnout outweigh the risks.  Cupid is in a large, slightly sloped pasture with 5 other geldings during the day.  Most of the time they just eat or stand around, but occasionally one gets the notion to run which usually results in the whole herd taking off.  

Just over a week ago Cupid came in with a scraped up leg.  The barn manager texted me a picture and cleaned it up.  It seemed superficial, though there was a bit of swelling the next day.  My vet happened to be in the barn so took a quick look, but said it should be fine if I just clean it and apply ointment.   Cupid was not lame on it, and by the next day the swelling was gone.  I walked around the pasture to make sure there weren't any loose boards or nails but didn't see anything out of place.

Injury on right front, above his old puncture wound and popped splint

 

A fair amount of swelling for a surface level scratch

All bandaged up

Then this morning I didn't get to the barn until after the horses were already turned out.  As I was walking towards Cupid's pasture I saw and one of the retirees grooming each other and thought, how cute.  However a moment later apparently the other horse had enough (or maybe was embarassed to be caught, lol) and just turned and kicked Cupid!  I thought maybe he didn't connect, but unfortunately there was a fresh wound on Cupid's other front leg!  Since I didn't see the first injury I don't know for sure it's a kick, but they are pretty similarly placed.  

Second injury, on left front

My barn takes precautions, like horses in group turnout are not allowed to have hind shoes and new horses are introduced gradually, after a few days in an adjoining pen.  But horses will be horses, and even an established herd of mostly easy going gelding get rowdy every now and then!  Luckily these injuries were mild and I still believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

Best Laid Plans

I got the brilliant idea from Amelia Newcomb to create this shirt (with masking tape) to help me easily check my alignment if I video myself.  I was really pumped to try it, and managed to execute a proof of concept but unfortunately had my tracker turned off for all but the last minute of our ride, when we were just walking around.  Whomp whomp.  

Here I'm turned sideways talking to someone outside the arena, but it gives an idea how it will look.

Now here I'm basically just neck reining Cupid on a long rein, at least my shoulders are level but there is really no reason for my spine to be that curved.

And after that turn even going into the corner I'm still holding some of that crookedness, making us counterbent going into the turn.

I think this will be a helpful thing to try a few times - assuming I'm not a total dummy with the camera again. 

Horse Camping - How to High Line

I was very excited when I saw there was a Trail Trials just over an hour away - most are about 3 hours.  I was decidedly less excited when I realized the park it would be at has "horse camping" sites but they do not have any sort of pens.  I immediately disregarded the high line poles they offered, and started searching for where I can rent portable corral panels (apparently not a service that exists, though it should along with horse trailers you can rent!), and then started looking at barns in the area that would allow an overnight stay.  Then I started to look into portable electric tape-type fencing and finally settled on the QuikFence available on Amazon, which has tape strands integrated into the posts.

We were also initially debating between going up Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, but for traffic and work/school/family considerations decided to only stay the one night.  

The estimated delivery time for my fence was between Monday and Wednesday the week of the trip.  On Monday Fedex tagged the package in Kansas, heading to California.  On Wednesday there weren't any further updates, so I called FedEx and told them it was imperative I receive the package on Friday.  I was a little concerned when the rep told me he would try to locate it...

Same thing on Thursday, and I called them somewhat panicked Friday morning.  They still seemed totally unsure where the package was and when/if I would receive it.  At this point I pretty much shrugged my shoulders and threw a long rope in the truck and hoped for the best.  At least I knew I would have a lot of horse camping experts around, and sure enough several people helped me get set up and Cupid was high line tied overnight!

The high line poles are just very tall sturdy wooden poles with an eye hook screwed in, so tall I needed my mounting block to reach.  The rope needs to be taut, and it is pretty much impossible to get it taut enough without a ratchet which someone was nice enough to lend me.  I initially envisioned a ring on the rope so the horses can move along the length of it, but I was told that is not what you want.  I did not have a swivel snap, so I just tied a loop in the rope and attached a carabiner to that (I'd rather Cupid get loose than tangled...)  You want the horse tied so they can just barely reach the ground.  (And since the high line rope is up kind of high, the trick is to throw the lead rope over the top and use that to pull the high line rope down to tie the lead rope to.)

I tied Cupid to the high line after our ride so he would have time to get used to it, and I could observe him the next few hours.  He was totally fine being tied there.  During the day I had his hay net there, but for night time I just put the hay loose on the ground.  And this may be somewhat controversial, but I did not leave water out for him because he likes to dump it but I offered him water regularly throughout the day and he drank a good amount. 

I'm not going to lie, I was somewhat terrified going to sleep that night (right nearby in a tent), and also felt like a pretty terrible horse owner for doing this to my horse.  But I tried telling myself that the portable stabling at some shows isn't any bigger, and can be hot and horses get cast in them all the time...

We stayed up talking with a group of other Trail Trialers, and I went to bed around 11.  I woke up at 1:30 (which is usually around the time my son wakes me up so I'm just used to waking up then), and took a peek out to see Cupid peacefully sleeping lying down!  Not stretched out on his side but with his legs under him.  My barnmate's horse was dozing standing up.  They both seemed perfectly content.  I woke up again at 4:30, and Cupid was still or again lying down.  Then I woke up at 6 when birds started chirping and horses rustling.  By then Cupid was also standing up and happy as can be. 

So our first experience high lining was a success.  I'm still going to be a little scared if I have to do it again, but at least I'll be better prepared!

And of course on Sunday I came home to this...

Trail Trials at Skyline Wilderness Park

Last year Cupid and I went to a Trail Trials clinic, and we were finally able to put that practice to use in our first Trail Trials!  We went to Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa, about an hour and a half away and camped overnight.  Despite the name, the park is actually quite suburban, just minutes from town and with amenities such as a disc golf course and archery range.  Even though there were lots of hikers and bicyclist on the trails, they were very polite both passing on the trail and when obstacle judges asked them to wait while someone was completing an obstacle.  Dogs are allowed in the camping area, but not on the trails.

Saturday's ride was about 5 miles, with 12 judged obstacles.  Sunday's ride was shorter, about 4 miles with 8 judged obstacles.  They were considered separate events, we did both days and there were no repeats in the obstacles.

We rode as a group of 4, though ended it up more riding in pairs and meeting back up at the obstacles.  It was a little hard for Cupid to have horses "leaving" him, and then he was too distracted to focus on some of the obstacles.  Both days the first two obstacles did not go very well for us, but afterwards he started settling down and getting the hang of it and things improved considerably.  

I read the rules and had attended the clinic, but the obstacles were more difficult then I expected.  I guess I've gotten a little used to working equitation - I thought just crossing a bridge would be an obstacle but it was more complicated.  One of our bridge obstacles it was: walk onto the bridge and stop between the flags; trot the rest of the way across the bridge; walk at the next flags and turn on haunches 180 degrees, walk back across the bridge.  Luckily that is all easy to do (well maybe our turn on the haunches isn't a true turn on the haunches...), just sometimes hard to remember all the directions!  One Cupid and I had trouble with had us step with front feet up a slight bank on the side of the road and side pass.  Cupid stepped off the bank a few times, and each time you step back it counts as a "refusal."

Another sneaky one was the very first obstacle on Saturday.  You were supposed to enter the course dismounted, and mount.  So for Trail Trials that involves a bunch of rules where you need to make sure your reins are secure (I used a carabiner clip since my saddle doesn't have a horn) and lead from your halter and lead rope, stirrups are run up while you're dismounted, and check your girth before you mount.  But the real test was a bale of hay next to the mounting block!  We got penalty points because naturally Cupid had to try to take a few bites!

There is some terminology specific to Trail Trails that I didn't understand, that messed me up on a few obstacles.  I hadn't practiced dragging something behind Cupid, and one of the obstacles had a noisy bag tied to a rope we had to pull on the ground.  (Similar to the bag we picked up and carried in our most recent working eq clinic, which Cupid was very good about but I wasn't sure about dragging.)  To my pleasure Cupid did it perfectly!  Unfortunately for us, in Trail Trials "pulling" means you have the object in front of you and rein back, and what we did was "drag" which means have it behind you and walk forward.  So we got all 24 penalty points for the obstacle because we didn't fulfill the objective.  I was still thrilled with Cupid because he did exactly what I asked, but so disappointed I didn't understand the directions!!  But now I know the difference for/if there's a next time.

Overall I was happy with Cupid, although we have several things we need to work on.  Side passing for one!  And I was thinking maybe he doesn't see me like the leader and that's why he gets so focused on being with other horses.  It's a hard one, even when there were horses still behind us he wanted to go with the others heading on ahead and it was a bit discouraging at times because we messed up some obstacles I know we should be able to do better on!  I'm not sure I'll go to any more Trail Trials this year because there aren't any more that are close-ish to me, but if I go again in the future at least I'll have a much better idea of what to expect!