http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7eyqCQYBGY
I listened to this song many times on the way to Poplar Place, and it's very catchy.
After the Up of Poplar, there is now a slight Down. When he walked out of the crossties Tuesday afternoon (4/5), his walking looked a little off. I thought his left hind looked a little funny but everyone else noticed his left front. I jogged him for Dana, and he basically hopped along holding up his left front. I decided it must be only his left front and that it might be an abcess. However, there wasn't really any signs of one. Dana poked at his left front shoulder too (important later), and he reacted very slightly. Actually, maybe not at all. There wasn't any heat or swelling there. I maybe felt a little rough patch/scab on very top, inside part of his leg when grooming him but probably assumed it was the little scabby stuff he gets once in awhile there. I packed his hoof with Magic Cushion and wrapped it.
The vet came out yesterday afternoon, and I took his diaper/vet wrap/duct tape boot off to jog him. He walked normally but was still lame when I jogged him. The left hind was much more visibly weird. So she flexed his hock/stifle area and front pastern, and I jogged him several more times. She thought that every time we jogged off he looked like he wanted to canter. I thought he was just "hopping" weirdly for lack of a better term. There wasn't much variation between the front and back flexions although he was a bit worse after the hock flexion. That time he really looked discombulated with legs going four different directions. She also did some of the neurological tests for safe measure because his small relapse last summer presented itself more as a lameness at first too. She couldn't pull him off his path during the tail pull, he spun around as coordinated as a Reining horse in the spin test, and before Poplar, I had Bill's vet check him out while getting the Health Certificate, and he did yoga-like moves with his legs no problem.
Right before we left the arena, she noticed a small scrape (just the hair gone), some slightly swelling, and warmth on the inside of his left front leg, near his chest. He reacted strongly with barely any pressure. She shaved some of the hair off to get a better look and couldn't tell if it was a scrape or possibly a mild puncture wound. So she decided to give me antibiotics and Fura-Zone, and I need to coldhose it ~20 minutes 1-2 times a day. She also gave him a tetanus shot just to be careful. On Monday, unless he's dramatically better, she's coming back in order to do Xrays and blocking. She thinks there could be a possibility that he's being a big baby about a tiny scrape but the hock/stifle flexion is still something to think about.
All that is very minor compared to what was happening at our barn while I was dealing with Ti. My Down is no big deal compared to it. I'm happy Ti is still happy and fine despite his somewhat mystery lameness.
Just before I drove into the barn, the barn manager's horse was galloping with two other horses in the pasture when he slipped and fell. He was on a flat, grassy, dry area but somehow he slipped. I don't think they realized how bad it was until the vet got there and determined he had broken his shoulder. Within an hour, the owner went from watching her horse in the pasture to putting him to sleep out there. It was a horrific freak accident, and I feel very badly for her and her daughter. I wish I could so something to take away the pain, but I know they just need time to deal with it. RIP Myles. He was a very pretty dark bay and full of personality, and I know he's very missed. :(
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Poplar Place Recap
I originally wrote a recap a few days after Poplar Place, but I deleted it because it kept showing up as one huge paragraph. I'm way too OCD to keep that! So I'm just going to do a brief recap again.
Dressage- My dressage ring was originally in the arena that ended up having very, very deep sand footing. They moved it to the usual cross country warm up which was much better, but it did have some divets and slightly slippery footing, especially in the corners. We had an absolutely great warm up that was less than 20-25 minutes. Our test wasn't quite as good but still a very solid test. I could have prepared better for the corners and my transitions. I also got slightly sloppy about being accurate with the geometry. We got mostly 7s, a couple of 6s, and three 8s for a 32.2.
Stadium- My warm up was fairly good, but I let him be behind my leg at the beginning. Then the last few jumps were good. We were both relaxed, and he was even a bit on the lazy side. The first two fences were good, and then I started tipping with my shoulders. When I tip with my shoulders, he tends to start taking off earlier and landing stronger. I really tried to be a thinking rider, sit down and "lift and lighten him" like Allison says, but I wasn't getting it done. I ended up steering him around very sweeping turns and pulling too much so we ended up with 2 time penalties. I think I really need to focus and light a fire under myself to ride better than I have been. At the very least, I saw WAY scarier rides at Training although that's a terrible excuse, and I did have a better round than January Poplar.
Cross Country- I used a Gag instead of his normal Slow Twist Full Cheek. I really do not need that strong of a bit and plan on going back to the Full Cheek, but looking back, I don't regret using it because it made me let go of his face in between fences. I know I need to get out as much possible and practice pacing, and I have been doing this when the footing isn't super wet. Unfortunately, it has been very, very muddy and wet recently, but I've fit in a few 'gallops' in between that. Using the gag finally made me realize that I'm not going as fast as I think I am. I do think I could have been a little softer to and over the fence, but it was an enormous improvement over January Poplar. It was a pretty small, straightfoward course anyway, but he made it so easy! I felt like we were balanced up and down the hills, and there were some fairly steep ones on course. Many of the horses were stopping at the first fence as well as peaking at the Dog Cabin with cutout. I wasn't really expecting any issues in the first place, but he was very good. I'm really looking forward to seeing the CatchRide Video so I can see what it looked like!
Dressage- My dressage ring was originally in the arena that ended up having very, very deep sand footing. They moved it to the usual cross country warm up which was much better, but it did have some divets and slightly slippery footing, especially in the corners. We had an absolutely great warm up that was less than 20-25 minutes. Our test wasn't quite as good but still a very solid test. I could have prepared better for the corners and my transitions. I also got slightly sloppy about being accurate with the geometry. We got mostly 7s, a couple of 6s, and three 8s for a 32.2.
Stadium- My warm up was fairly good, but I let him be behind my leg at the beginning. Then the last few jumps were good. We were both relaxed, and he was even a bit on the lazy side. The first two fences were good, and then I started tipping with my shoulders. When I tip with my shoulders, he tends to start taking off earlier and landing stronger. I really tried to be a thinking rider, sit down and "lift and lighten him" like Allison says, but I wasn't getting it done. I ended up steering him around very sweeping turns and pulling too much so we ended up with 2 time penalties. I think I really need to focus and light a fire under myself to ride better than I have been. At the very least, I saw WAY scarier rides at Training although that's a terrible excuse, and I did have a better round than January Poplar.
Cross Country- I used a Gag instead of his normal Slow Twist Full Cheek. I really do not need that strong of a bit and plan on going back to the Full Cheek, but looking back, I don't regret using it because it made me let go of his face in between fences. I know I need to get out as much possible and practice pacing, and I have been doing this when the footing isn't super wet. Unfortunately, it has been very, very muddy and wet recently, but I've fit in a few 'gallops' in between that. Using the gag finally made me realize that I'm not going as fast as I think I am. I do think I could have been a little softer to and over the fence, but it was an enormous improvement over January Poplar. It was a pretty small, straightfoward course anyway, but he made it so easy! I felt like we were balanced up and down the hills, and there were some fairly steep ones on course. Many of the horses were stopping at the first fence as well as peaking at the Dog Cabin with cutout. I wasn't really expecting any issues in the first place, but he was very good. I'm really looking forward to seeing the CatchRide Video so I can see what it looked like!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Poplar Here We Come!
This week has been busy so far! Homework (200+ pages of Love Medicine....yay. Not) is calling my name, but I really don't feel like getting off the couch!
I left yesterday at 12 to make the 3-hour trek to Franklin. I've never driven that far alone, and I told my mom to take some Ulcerguard because she was so nervous my car and I were going to be flattened like a pancakes by a semi on I-40. I survived*! And gained even more appreciation for my parents; the interstate is very boring.
Jump Lesson
He got picked up and trailered down the street to Bill's ring to jump so we could do the grid set up (Crossrail-Bounce-Vertical-One Stride-Vertical-Two Stride-Oxer).
We were jumping out of the more forward stride again today which worked out very well. My position is stronger than it was at the beginning of the year, and I feel less of a need to go snail's pace in order to feel in balance. I do think I will need to continue to be careful about my organization after the fence (i.e. Keep riding the canter and think about where I'm going in order to do it well) on course, but we were doing fine Sunday and today.
We did a lot of angled lines today! I planned on taking pictures but never got a chance. I haven't done much of that with Ti, but that's where his experience comes in to play! He knows what he's doing and takes care of me. We did a Coop-Forward 3-stride-Angle Vertical, Angle Vertical-steady 3-stride-vertical, and a Angle Vertical-5? Strides-Angle Oxer. We pieced that together with the two outside lines and had some really great, forward rides. One of my favorite parts of the lesson was when I did the forward 3-stride (and got a little long but right out of stride to the Vertical) and then came right back and easily did the very steady 5 stride in the 4-stride line.
Good boy! :)
Dressage
I changed tack quickly and had Bill hop for 5 minutes to get a quick tune up. He said his canter was straighter, and I was happy because I have worked on counter canter every single ride to get him straighter again (and myself straighter of course). Then I got on for 10 minutes and really got a supple, bendy, forward trot and canter. And we were straight!
So I'm very excited about Poplar, and I think I'm much more prepared and riding better than our first event there in January (which was also our first event in 7 months!). So off we go tomorrow morning at 8am!
*However, my poor car still got a beating. My superior reversing/driving skillz led me to scrape some of the paint off the front right side of it backing out of a garage. Today, I almost missed/kind of did miss the turn to the barn Tiamo is stabled at. How did I fix this? A mini off roading adventure by slamming to a stop, off the road (the drop ended up being much bigger than anticipated), and through grass. Except somehow my car ended up in neutral and...just yeah it wasn't my brightest moment. So far there haven't been any visible damages from it (yet).
I left yesterday at 12 to make the 3-hour trek to Franklin. I've never driven that far alone, and I told my mom to take some Ulcerguard because she was so nervous my car and I were going to be flattened like a pancakes by a semi on I-40. I survived*! And gained even more appreciation for my parents; the interstate is very boring.
Jump Lesson
He got picked up and trailered down the street to Bill's ring to jump so we could do the grid set up (Crossrail-Bounce-Vertical-One Stride-Vertical-Two Stride-Oxer).
We were jumping out of the more forward stride again today which worked out very well. My position is stronger than it was at the beginning of the year, and I feel less of a need to go snail's pace in order to feel in balance. I do think I will need to continue to be careful about my organization after the fence (i.e. Keep riding the canter and think about where I'm going in order to do it well) on course, but we were doing fine Sunday and today.
We did a lot of angled lines today! I planned on taking pictures but never got a chance. I haven't done much of that with Ti, but that's where his experience comes in to play! He knows what he's doing and takes care of me. We did a Coop-Forward 3-stride-Angle Vertical, Angle Vertical-steady 3-stride-vertical, and a Angle Vertical-5? Strides-Angle Oxer. We pieced that together with the two outside lines and had some really great, forward rides. One of my favorite parts of the lesson was when I did the forward 3-stride (and got a little long but right out of stride to the Vertical) and then came right back and easily did the very steady 5 stride in the 4-stride line.
Good boy! :)
Dressage
I changed tack quickly and had Bill hop for 5 minutes to get a quick tune up. He said his canter was straighter, and I was happy because I have worked on counter canter every single ride to get him straighter again (and myself straighter of course). Then I got on for 10 minutes and really got a supple, bendy, forward trot and canter. And we were straight!
So I'm very excited about Poplar, and I think I'm much more prepared and riding better than our first event there in January (which was also our first event in 7 months!). So off we go tomorrow morning at 8am!
*However, my poor car still got a beating. My superior reversing/driving skillz led me to scrape some of the paint off the front right side of it backing out of a garage. Today, I almost missed/kind of did miss the turn to the barn Tiamo is stabled at. How did I fix this? A mini off roading adventure by slamming to a stop, off the road (the drop ended up being much bigger than anticipated), and through grass. Except somehow my car ended up in neutral and...just yeah it wasn't my brightest moment. So far there haven't been any visible damages from it (yet).
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Jump Lesson
Anyway, I didn't write about it in my last post except for the title, but our next event in obviously March Poplar! It's this coming weeking, and we're entered in the Novice Rider division. I'm officially an Amateur this year, and it's kind of sad not being in the Junior division anymore. I feel kind of...old.
I had a jump lesson today with Bill that went very well and was a good confidence booster. It was fairly short but productive! I did mini courses at solid Novice/small Training height and worked on staying soft with my elbows and seat, waiting with my shoulders, and riding my canter through the turns. Bill emphasized that I needed to canter a little more forward, especially through the turns, so I had something to adjust. At the beginning, I was coming into the jumps with a pretty slow, quiet canter. It wasn't underpowered, but it didn't give me many options if/when I messed up. When I added a little more forward and power, I had something to adjust to the fence. I know I'm not explaining it correctly in my writing, but I understand it within my riding. I think I did well with this part of the lesson!
Waiting with my shoulders, especially when I have to move up a bit to the fence, is always something I'm working on! I ended on a good note with this and had some very nice jumps when I did wait with my body.
Organization and a good canter after the fence was a part of the lesson as usual. Bill got onto me about just pulling back and letting his haunches start swinging out in turns (and also pulling him to the long distance. Pulling never works out in any situation! Luckily I only did this to the vert first warmup fence and then fixed it). The turning issue happened only a couple of times, and I had to do a circle and think about my dressage canter (Bending around my leg, having the soft connection on the reins, etc). I thought about my lessons with Allison during this as well, and I became better at maintaining the good canter around the turns or after the fence. Most of the time we did approach, take off, and land in the same quality canter, but sometimes we didn't, and I have to be quicker about getting myself together in that situation.
All in all it was very fun, Ti is such a good boy, and I can't wait to go back Tuesday! I have a lot to organize and repack before then too.
I had a jump lesson today with Bill that went very well and was a good confidence booster. It was fairly short but productive! I did mini courses at solid Novice/small Training height and worked on staying soft with my elbows and seat, waiting with my shoulders, and riding my canter through the turns. Bill emphasized that I needed to canter a little more forward, especially through the turns, so I had something to adjust. At the beginning, I was coming into the jumps with a pretty slow, quiet canter. It wasn't underpowered, but it didn't give me many options if/when I messed up. When I added a little more forward and power, I had something to adjust to the fence. I know I'm not explaining it correctly in my writing, but I understand it within my riding. I think I did well with this part of the lesson!
Waiting with my shoulders, especially when I have to move up a bit to the fence, is always something I'm working on! I ended on a good note with this and had some very nice jumps when I did wait with my body.
Organization and a good canter after the fence was a part of the lesson as usual. Bill got onto me about just pulling back and letting his haunches start swinging out in turns (and also pulling him to the long distance. Pulling never works out in any situation! Luckily I only did this to the vert first warmup fence and then fixed it). The turning issue happened only a couple of times, and I had to do a circle and think about my dressage canter (Bending around my leg, having the soft connection on the reins, etc). I thought about my lessons with Allison during this as well, and I became better at maintaining the good canter around the turns or after the fence. Most of the time we did approach, take off, and land in the same quality canter, but sometimes we didn't, and I have to be quicker about getting myself together in that situation.
All in all it was very fun, Ti is such a good boy, and I can't wait to go back Tuesday! I have a lot to organize and repack before then too.
Countdown to March Poplar Place
It's been a busy month since the Allison clinic last month! The following Sunday, Dana and I were "trainers" for each other and did parts of the same coursework except the one stride vertical line was a low bounce, and one of the oxers became a Swedish made with wide planks. It was a pretty successful jump school for being on our own! The next evening I got a somewhat frantic text from her asking "Where is your horse?!". Ummmm. What? Long story, short. We found out Ti had a dwarf molar right under his eye last fall, and our equine dentist Dr. Galloway wanted to remove it because it was in a terrible spot if it were to become infected or crack. We had to wait until the Spring to remove it though. My dad had driven Ti over to the vet clinic that morning for his surgery; I had absolutely no clue that it was happening anytime soon. Unfortunately, the tooth was partially removed when his palette started tearing, a rare occurance that would happen to my poor horse because of my luck. It was sutured, and he had to be in the stall for 5 days. No grazing. No hay. Just soaked Senior 3x a day, antiobiotics, and E-Gard for his stomach. During the day, he was reportedly a little terror. But when I came at night, the barn was quieter, and he was a little angel (albeit a little more hyper than usual). As of now, there is a small part of the tooth still needing removal on 4/4. So that kind of messed up any riding up for awhile. I couldn't ride him for a week, and then I was swamped with schoolwork in the pre-Spring Break cram that always seem to happen before a school holiday. So I rode him 3 times after 1.5 weeks off, and then went out of town for 6 days. Not the best timing, but it was a really nice trip and my plane tickets cost $5 roundtrip which was hard to pass up.
I got back yesterday and took him for a hack. Today, my dad and I drove over to Nashville so I could have a lesson with Bill and drop Ti off. I'll be driving back in my car Tuesday afternoon! I'm sure my teachers will be thrilled, but I only have 1 month left of academic classes and 1.5 months before graduation!
I got back yesterday and took him for a hack. Today, my dad and I drove over to Nashville so I could have a lesson with Bill and drop Ti off. I'll be driving back in my car Tuesday afternoon! I'm sure my teachers will be thrilled, but I only have 1 month left of academic classes and 1.5 months before graduation!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)