The mountain and the molehill

When I am working with Stella, I don't think of her as particularly small ('slight,' yes, but not short). However, when I move over to Lance's stall to groom and tack him up, he seems like a mountain – a giant, red MESA of a horse. I rarely think of him as my big, red goober anymore, because it seems like his 'goober-ness' is gone along with his energy. His bloodwork is normal and his breathing isn't particularly labored right now; I'm going to try giving him a couple grams of bute a couple hours before a ride. If that makes him feel markedly different, then his lethargy must be due to discomfort, probably from the arthritis in his neck and maybe his S/I. That would present an ethical question, but I will cross that bridge if it presents itself. In the meantime, I try to get him out often for an easy 30-minute ride; last night it was during a lovely sunset:

Earlier I went down to turn Stella out to play, and found her like this:

With her long tail over her crossed back legs and the lovely turn of her neck and head, I think she looks like a lounge singer, the sexy beast. I am also gratified to see some roundness to those hip bones; she was much more angular when she came here.

Here are some photos I took of her last week:

There's not much else to report; I continue to work on gaining her trust and building our partnership.

Gutted and going on

We just came through a very difficult weekend. It was clear that Jackson's decline was becoming incapacitating, and that the hardest decision was at hand. While I finished exercising both horses yesterday afternoon, my husband and son dug a grave; when I came up from the barn, I sat down on the floor with my dear dog, ever the "hand-holder," and said a heartbreaking good-bye.

Before and since, Stella has helped distract me. On Sunday, I saddled her and led her around for awhile, then turned her loose in the arena to play as she chose (except for rolling; I didn't give her the option of choosing that). On our warm-up walk, we stopped by Rick's vet truck and he dewormed her with ivermectin; now, with the addition of daily dewormer to her rations, she can get the benefit of all her feed.

Love her straight legs but that right hip almost always looks dropped. 🤔

In the arena she let loose, running and bucking. The last time I shared photos of her frolicking a reader wished for videos, so this time I have that, too:




When Stella finally consented to being caught, she was winded, hot and sweaty, so we walked around again to cool her out. In spite of basically being turned out her whole life, it's clear she's not really fit. That's why I ordered this book:

Almost three years ago I attended the author's classroom presentation and riding clinic (Lance and I were a demo pair) and was extremely impressed with her knowledge and methods. I think this book will help me develop Stella into a sound, strong, engaged partner.

This morning I worked at the office job and then ran errands. While at the farm store, I checked the clearance rack and found a dressage bridle for just under $20(!). Since it was returnable, I bought it home to try. Not only does it fit (I tried it on in 'pieces' – first just the cavesson, and then the headstall), it is very attractive on Stella's small head with its narrow pieces and sparkly silver-accented browband.

So this evening I occupied my hands and mind by treating the whole thing with some super-duper Leather Seal I bought at the FEI World Cup we attended right after the Jec Ballou workshop. Now I need to find a bit; the one I used for fitting is Kate's. She brought over a bridle and two bits of Dinah's for me to try on Stella; the bridle was too big and I don't think either bit is the best choice.

I can see more clearly now...

...the rain smoke is gone. Still hoping for a good, cleansing rain, but at least Lance can exercise again!

It's tough when conditions prohibit applying the best recommendation (30 minutes of forced exercise daily) for one condition (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) because of another condition (Inflammatory Airway Disease). Exercising Lance when the particulate matter in the air from wildfire smoke was off the charts would have been devastating to him, so my meaty mustang just hung out. Thankfully, his breathing didn't seem impacted by the air quality.

Now that the air quality is much improved, we are back to work. I planned to climb back on last Thursday, the first cooler day in ages, but the smoke was actually worse, if possible. On our way back from Salem (DS had wisdom teeth removed), this was the view west towards the hill on which we live; couldn't ride in that!

But Friday was much clearer, so Lance got the whole enchilada – a thorough grooming, a photo shoot to document his current condition, and a sunset ride about the hill.

rubbed-out mane; check

fat pads; check

lump on jaw; check

handsome anyway; check

"What did you say?"

"What do you mean, 'Handsome anyway'?"

About that lump on his jaw. I first noticed it at the end of the apple-eating day of the last post; when I mentioned it to Rick he joked that it must be apple poisoning (he thinks I'm a "horse hypochondriac"). When the hard, tender lump didn't improve, I finally got him to x-ray it. Rick couldn't see a fracture, so apparently Lance bruised it badly somehow. It's still tender but fortunately sits behind the bridle's cavesson; Rick said it may never go away. 😕

We rode again Sunday and Monday. After last night's ride, I timed his respirations for the first time in months – perfectly normal at 10 RPM. Unfortunately, he also stumbled dramatically at the beginning of our ride, so we just walked up and down hills to minimize momentum.

In other horsey news, during last week's lesson my youngest student got bucked off her Haflinger. The mare was protesting the canter depart (I think she's uncomfortable) not trying to unload her, but it really shook the student's confidence and I don't know yet if she'll be continuing lessons. With Brian back in school as of today, I'll have to figure out a different time to teach students 2 and 3 (if she continues) anyway; gotta pick up the boy from school every afternoon.

Tomorrow I'll be picking him up early so he can drive in the state fair's draft horse show again. On Sunday he won the youth driving class with a wagon and team of two; tomorrow he drives in the youth cart class. I'll post photos of both his classes when the dust settles.

Naked lunging

My handsome Chippendales dancer ;-)

Rick asked me to lunge Lance without saddle or surcingle to see if the lump still occurs. "How could it?" I thought, but complied anyway. And you know what? The answer is not conclusive! There did seem to be something, maybe a thickening, along the right side of his spine in the problematic area afterwards, but I can't be certain it wasn't there before starting. Plus, Lance had several other bumps (bug bites?) scattered over his back today. I'm thinking I need to replicate this experiment and palpate more thoroughly "before" in order to more accurately compare "after."

Rick said he might be able to ultrasound Lance's back tomorrow, but the cobbler's children know better than to get their hopes up about shoes.

We're both rusty

I handed my camera to Brian yesterday while I rode Larry so he could shoot some video footage. None of the videos really turned out (operator error), but I saw enough to be unhappy with my posture. This is why regular instruction, or at the very least mirrors or a knowledgeable person on the ground are so valuable. Our perceptions can be so very different from reality! Granted, Larry's 2x4 body is a bit more challenging to balance upon than Russell's was (it would be easier if I were built like a 2x4 as well!), but that's no excuse. Part of the problem is that I've lost some of my core strength.

So when I rode this morning, I focused on bringing my shoulders back and down; stretching my neck and spine tall and straight by imagining a string from heaven attached to the top of my head; keeping my legs long and quiet and my heels down. I am also looking ahead to the end of March when Julie is in Oregon to housesit for her parents. Russell and I attended a couple clinics with her back in 2010 which were very beneficial, and in another four weeks Larry should be conditioned enough for more intensive work.

Every time I ride Larry it feels like he remembers more. At first he acted clueless about things I know he has been schooled in at some point, like reinbacks, leg yield and lateral work. His gaits are slooowly gaining some consistency. I just wish I could see some gain in his body condition score! Sometimes I call him "Larry the dairy cow" because of his prominent tailhead and hip bones....

The call of the show ring

I recently got an email about some changes to an upcoming League show (less expensive than USEF/USDF approved). The date has been changed to October 11 from the following Saturday, and the location has been moved to the Oregon State Fairgrounds from farther away. Furthermore, unlike a lot of League shows that only go to First or Second Level, this one has a class for Second Level and above. All of this adds up to a tempting outing to shoot for!

I don't know that I need to enter as a schooling motivation since I've been doing pretty well since starting this blog, but it would get Russell out where he can be seen by prospective buyers. I don't know that I've mentioned it here yet, but I do have Russell for sale.

Russell is not built ideally for dressage, having a long back and a rump that is higher than his withers. One of the goals of dressage is to develop a horse's "carrying power," gradually getting them to shift their natural forehand-heavy balance backwards and learn to carry more of their weight on their hindquarters, which frees up their shoulders and allows them to move more expressively. With his long back and "downhill" balance, Russell has to work much harder than some to cantilever his front end up. We have worked our way up to Third Level and keep stalling out there, when Russell shows signs of being less than comfortable in his work. He does have some arthritis in his neck (confirmed by x-rays and ultrasound-guided steriod injections), so it's not like he doesn't have reasons. After a successful outing at Third Level this spring, his neck started bothering him again. Since I love the training process and taking a young horse from knowing nothing all the way up the levels, dropping back to Second Level and coasting along indefinitely was not an option for me. I decided to try and find my dance partner a new home where he could be a low-level, level-headed schoolmaster for someone who would appreciate him, and then get a new prospect. That hasn't happened yet, obviously, and I couldn't just let him morph into an out-of-shape marshmellow. So I spurred myself to get back in the saddle for both our sakes. Of course, now that we're going out dancing regularly again I am enjoying our rides immensely, and it would be very hard to let him go. Plus, I'm not sure I have the time it takes to start a young horse right. I guess I'll keep riding, pray about it and leave it in the Lord's hands!