Big Hard Decisions

  After the last three years of struggling to keep  Nick's      (Insert body part here)   , (hooves, teeth eyes, digestive system) from falling apart, I've decided that at going on 23, it might be time for a career change for the old man. It was a tough decision because he's so fun to jump, but when I started to worry(and I am not a worrier)  about his soundness with every long spot, hard landing or trip, I kind of felt like it was the universe saying that I might want to rethink when I was doing. Just because he would do it, should he do it? After some thought I decided that no he shouldn't. 

  For  a while I didn't even say my decision out loud, because he was feeling good and happy in the tack. I was thinking maybe I jumped the gun...maybe he has one more season in him...And he might, but I still think my reasoning is sound. 

   I rode a 30 year old horse the other night, bareback playing Pony Club Games, and he smoked everyone...I want to do the same thing with Nick when he's 30. I want him to be the "S" word as long as possible knowing that once a horse is in their 20's every year is a gift. 

     It's definitely the hardest thing when you have to make big decisions about your heart horse. Luckily in my case it's just about semi-retirement and not something more permanent, but it was still a hard.  We have so much wrapped up in our horses, financially but also emotionally. I've never taken Nick to big shows, so we've never won big prizes or anything like that. We are a long way from fancy, but he got me back into riding after a long hiatus, and rekindled my love for Eventing simply with his "Let's do it!" attitude. That quality is hard to find in a horse, and in truth probably my biggest fear when moving forward with another horse is will I find one with that brain again? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, but for now even though Jumping is out of the cards for Nick we have other things to work on.

 So coming Spring 2018 is Nick 2.0...The Dressage Queen..err...King. So watch out Dressage World non-fancy is about to be all up in your business. ;-)

6 Freakin Years!

 It's hard to believe it's been 6 years since I met this crazy pony. Nick was supposed to be a free ride for now kind of horse, he was too old, too crooked, and not a Connemara. But he ended up being exactly what I needed...a challenge.
   He's turning 21 soon, but in his mind 2+1=3...and that's how he acts most of the time, so he keeps me on my toes. My last horse was a tough act to follow. I didn't really think you could have more than one true heart horse in your life, but  Nick has found his way to occupying the same space. 

 

No Hoof, No Horse, For Reals People.

  So this summer did not exactly go as planned. At the end of May after a fabulous weekend at Inavale Farms annual Eventing Camp, Nick and I came back home more confident than ever. We had made huge improvements from last year, even from the beginning to the end of camp. We confidently sailed over a bunch of Novice fences, down banks over drops & ditches. It was really pretty awesome that my  20 year old horse was felt like a spry twelve year old, and was rearing to do more.
  We continued that streak when we got back with a few great Lessons with our coach Anne, and we started setting our sites on a few Beginner Novice events coming up, and at least one schooling at Aspen. But then the last two lessons set off a chain reaction I didn't see coming.
   I've been struggling with Nick's sub-parr Thoroughbred feet for the last 6 years, hence the "Bad Feet" part of this blog title. Even before camp, starting in March, I was having problems keeping shoes on him, his front left in particular. Then a not so great shoe job left him with an abcess as well.
Luckily this cleared up by camp, and by some miracle he kept all of his shoes on for the weekend. That was pretty much the last time his shoes managed to stay on.
  Twice he ripped shoes off during jumping lessons, and then the abcesses began, 3 since June. Add that to the extremely dry weather we've been having, and his front left foot basically crumbled to nothing.
  I am just now starting to ride him again, and for the first time since the beginning of march, he's kept his shoes on for an entire 6 weeks. Complete soundness is still a little elusive, since his foot is just super out of balance, and needs time to grow out.  He's been a bit sore on his hind right over compensating for his front left...So it'll just take time.
  A friend recently asked if I was considering buying a new horse, and the answer is no. Not that I haven't considered acquiring a new mount, but when it comes right down to it, I'd have to get rid of Nick to do it. The  Hubs, with all his horsey tolerance, is not ready to be a two horse household... And definitely not ready for me a to buy a truly competitive horse. (I'm still breaking him in) ;-)
  Nick will hopefully once again be a comeback kid, and in any case his home is with me until he goes to that big pasture in the sky. So for now I'll dwell on this happy memory from camp, and hope that we'll be back at it in a few months.

 

One Year Later...

This weekend is Nick's one year anniversary of actual work. Possibly the only year in his almost 20 years, that anything has really been asked of him since his very brief stint as a race horse in 1997. He's taken it all in stride for the most part,(pardon the pun) and even though he can be an emotional red head, he never really says no and means it.

  We've had sets back in health and in soundness (He is a delicate flower), like all horses do, but he seems like he's going to be a comeback kid no matter what.(Yes, I am knocking on wood.)

  In that year we've moved farms, and found a trainer that could see past his age and condition, to the diamond in the rough that he is. We attended an eventing camp, and didn't make fools out of ourselves, and competed in Nick's first show ever. Then we ended our season crossing off a bucket list item which was riding on the beach, and Nick stormed out across the dunes and into the waves like he's been doing it all his life.

   I'm super excited about this coming year, he's come such a long way in health soundness and training.  A big shout out has to go to my trainer, Anne Carr, and to my Vet, Dr.Wilson at Oregon Equine, for not running for the hills, or trying to talk me out of him. I really appreciate all of your help.
  And lastly a shout out to my husband Darren, who doesn't really get the "whole horse thing", but get's that it's important to me, sorry if I endlessly talk about Nick's Antics. :-)

 Enjoy these before and after shots. I think he's lost about 10 years. :-)

                                                                          Feb. 23, 2014

                                                                       Feb. 20, 2015

The Trials and Tribulations of Keeping a Senior Horse Sound.

Two months ago I took my trusty steed Nick to his first show ever. At age19 he was probably the oldest newbie in the crowd, but beyond a few green moments I could not have been more proud of him.
  Fast forward  two months and I've only been able to ride him a handful of times. For one reason or another the pony has been lame.  First, about a week after our event I came out to find both of his front extensor tendons blown up like balloons, this luckily only lasted a day, and was the result of a hyper active Lymphatic System, which according to my vet isn't that unusual in older horses that have had a few days off after a strenuous event. A couple tabs of Bute and he was good to go a few days later. Then he got kicked in the Butt, which he probably deserved, and was ouchie for a few days, and then right back to work we went. Then the Farrier cut him a bit short behind and we lost a couple of days there, and then finally after a really great lesson, he came in three legged lame from the pasture and appeared to have hyper-extended his hind right stifle.
  So that brings us to present day, the stifle injury was about a month and a half ago, he's now feeling pretty sound, or he was on Thursday anyway... I've been reading pretty much every article on conditioning the senior horse as well as exercises to strengthen stifles.(Shout out to www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com for a million helpful articles!) and I'm contemplating designing a custom Nick sized bubble wrap body suit for him to be turned out in.
  Luckily the competition season is pretty much over, so I think slow and steady, and a bit more concentration on Dressage will be the key to keeping my guy in top form. Hopefully come spring he'll be ready to go out and have some fun.

Credit Where Credit is Due.

  This cartoon pretty much embodies how I feel about my horse Nick at his very first show...and probably how he felt too. :-) We came in 11th out of 19 with a clear XC round and LOTS to work on in Dressage. :-)  I'm sure Nick never thought when we first met on a rainy morning in March about 5 years ago, that his life of being a leisurely pasture horse was coming to an end.
  He has come a super long way since then, and really most of that progress had taken place in the last 6 months. His health has made a tremendous turn around thanks to the help of my Veterinarian Dr. Wilson from Oregon Equine (http://www.orequine.com/index.pml) who helped me find the right supplements and grain to balance out his system. The improvements were almost immediately noticeable, from the condition of his coat and weight right down to the tips of his toes.
   I also need to give a shout out to my Trainer, Anne Carr (http:\\www.annecarreventing.com) who assured me at my very first lesson that my horse was not a P.O.S. Horse (Piece of Shit) just because he wasn't super fancy and fell into the Senior category in life. She also in no uncertain terms told me to stop making excuses because of the unhealthy horse he used to be, and start riding the healthy horse that he now is, and this alone has changed my thinking about our training. You can't move forward if you're always looking back.
  And last but far from least I need to give a shout out to my barn buddies who cheered me on, My mom who came from PA to watch, and to my husband, Darren, who had no idea what he was in for, but supports me anyway.

Kind of Nervous Beginner Novice.

  So it's the eve of the eve of my first event in almost 13 years, and I'm nervous. I'm nervous to jump 2'6". My 18 year old self is aghast and ashamed of me. Back then I would've jumped a car if you put it in front of me and said "go", and I had a horse crazy enough to do it.(and clear it)
  I'm also not the nervous type...at least I wasn't the nervous type..then...Now I'm a little nervous. Will I forget my dressage test? Will I remember my XC course(I wasn't that great at remembering this even back then.) Will Nick pick his legs up for stadium? I'm hoping this is passing nervousness so I can go back to being my calm and cool self. I'll keep you posted.

   I know whoever is reading this is probably thinking this is a strange maiden entry to this riding journal but the explanation of the title should be demonstrated by the images below.

                                         My feet Without Shoes (good thing I'm not a horse)

                                                               Nick's feet without shoes

                                                           Amy the Calfless wonder.

                                                       Nick's always bashful lower legs

'Nuff Said.