DefinitelyDressage.com

heddylamar

My aunt's been using the human version for a while now. She's on her second or third round. Apparently the first few weeks suck — her ankle is very tender and feels even worse. After that, it's great, and she has no problems.

heddylamar

Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear about Daisy. She's lucky to have you, and a whole stable of doting students, Chisamba. Yes, it was a very close scrape (no pun intended) with a joint injection. There's a visible divot in my knee where they dug the abscesses out. I finally got the stitches out and the all...

heddylamar

I just lost a novel, having to re-login :x Me: Get healthy. Maia: Stay sane, safe, and don't explode into a giant, red bouncing ball. I was trail running on Friday, tripped, and cut my knee. I started to run on, then realized that maybe I should stop: there were rivers of blood running down my leg. ...

heddylamar

exvet wrote:Ok, Ok y'all win.............

Definitely not a competition! But ditto on the all making out okay. I'm very glad you walked (or limped, because damn, that hurts) away from your car accident.

heddylamar

I'm not sure I can (or should) inherit your black cloud, Exvet. We were a group of four, backpacking in Idaho last week, and very nearly needed to use the inreach. One bad step, and one of us was hiking out on a broken (stabilized) leg with trekking poles :( Yay for horse peeps who can wrap anything...

heddylamar

It was only when i began to work with people with severe behavioral difficulties that I realized how complicated "normal life" can be for people who have different neural pathways. especially the generation before us, where no treatment, recognition and absolute ignoring and hiding a prob...

heddylamar

Maia just got to work — somehow even better than she was with regular riding in December — and is about to have a two week reprieve :roll: When I get back: – Trailering 101 :twisted: – Get back into regular lessons – Increase my workout intensity in prep for a high elevation backpacking trip in July...

heddylamar

Finally putting words to all of the things going on in my personal life the other day were clearly a foretelling. My dad died yesterday morning after nearly a decade trapped in a very rapidly, then slowly failing, prison of a body and mind. He was a deeply complicated, very angry person who spent hi...

heddylamar

I've not been doing a whole lot of riding. Between a super-demanding client (plus lots of hours for the others), managing house repairs, and an estranged parent * in hospice, I've been mentally strained. Maia is not a horse you ride when you're not 100% engaged. Anyway, we're still here, still alive...

heddylamar

I need to stay on track too ... not running as much makes it all very hard. Outside of riding and hiking, running is definitely my happy place. I am very much a happiness motivation required exerciser. Anything indoors doesn't give me that spark. I'm trying to bribe myself into rowing every morning....

heddylamar

Our horses spent the storm out, playing in the snow. All the fields got fresh round bales on Saturday, and everyone has a run in, some fields have multiples, plus heated waterers (that work). We had the snowblower out twice. The last time was around 4:30, so there's another good coating of white stu...

heddylamar

I'm happy to kick off 2026 early! 2025 ended with a thud. We're all still here, but it wasn't looking great for a few days. In happier things, my retiree, Anzia, is looking fabulously feral 8-) Everything was hectic and stressful, so I didn't try to ride Ms. Anxiety, but I did give her a good scrub ...

heddylamar

Maia has the rest of the year off. I'm sure she's crushed :roll: I'm at my mom's for her hip replacement, and hopefully to ride both oldsters. Not right now, even though it's nice out. I've caught whatever nasty thing is going around. Or bronchitis. Or the plague. So much coughing 24/7. Did you know...

heddylamar

I know your sensitive eye struggles! When I'm riding out, if I'm not wearing regular sunglasses, I'm wearing amber sunglasses. As for gloves, are you wearing winter gloves? That's the first step. Then, unfortunately, you need to experiment to find the right pair. Make sure there's room for airflow. ...

heddylamar

Today was the first actually cold day here, and we had a lesson :shock: In true red-headed fashion, Maia was a handful for the first half of the lesson, then very fun and forward for the rest of the ride. We worked on one thing the entire ride — how many times can I ask and receive overbend on a cir...

heddylamar

It's great to see you back here, Flight & Mari!

heddylamar

All the good recovery thoughts headed your way @Chisamba! My mom is doing the same thing — I'm headed her way in a few weeks to take care of her and the menagerie while she gets a new hip. She'll have two bionic joints with this one. The recovery was pretty easy for her the first time because she wa...

heddylamar

My aunt's last prix st george horse was also her trail horse. And my uncle hunted off her. Back country and guns kind of hunting, not chasing hounds through fields.

heddylamar

Apparently finding a new jumping trainer is in my forecast for this set of goals. Mine has decided to no longer teach out of our barn, and I just don't have the time to haul over to where she's teaching conveniently nearby but at very inconvenient (for me) times. Goals: - Start with a new jumping tr...

heddylamar

@Khall, my mom's old appy used to stand outside looking up at the sky, trees, birds ... We used to say (not entirely jokingly) that he needed glasses. He was quite the funny guy. I'm always amused by horse people (sorry for generalizing ;) ) diagnosing some whacky problem they've perceived that my h...

heddylamar

That sounds incredibly frustrating @Fzybtfrm! It sounds like your place is too quiet. I'd use this off season and start amping up the pressure at home — if he's okay with tarps, add flowers and balloons. Ride him up to the open (empty) horse trailer, ride him next to the open horse trailer with a ra...

heddylamar

That is awful, Aleuronx. My uncle had something similar happen with his sweet hunting horse (the long gun variety). It sticks with you. I've been hugging my girl a lot lately. Maia's being funky. She's probably going into season like most of the other mares, but with her medical history, I'm watchin...

heddylamar

The gypsy sounds like a great arrangement @lips! So generous! Maia's loving the jumping, and I'm happy that I can do it again! She had a blast running through a gymnastic this week. We're a bit of a trek for the dentist I used to use, so I had the barn dentist do her teeth back in May, and it wasn't...

heddylamar

I am finally done with physical therapy, and 99% muscle spasm free! Woot!! Considering where I started this journey over a year ago, that's a major win. My PT discharged me today with a new loading exercise plan, to keep challenging the misbehaving muscles — something we've been doing in steps since...

heddylamar

That all just sounds miserable, Mountaineer. You should definitely get on for a walk post-ride. If you are a candidate for a hip replacement, I second how effective they can be. My mom's just scheduled her second (it will be both hips now). The first was life-changing in a good way, the second can o...

heddylamar

I'm sorry you've joined this sucky club, StraightForward. Lots of jingles. In horse news, Maia and I had a breakthrough (for her) lesson today, and she finally decided to yield that last little bit and relax her under neck without popping up over the bit the moment I give on the rein. It was a strug...

heddylamar

Related to my new goals, I'm finally closing out on a high note. I don't recall if this was goal, but it should have been: we finally figured out my muscle spasms!! I'm down to under 20 a week. Yeah, that still sounds like a lot, but when the high was over 100 a day, I think this calls for celebrati...

heddylamar

Me: I need to make a goal for myself to be better about riding before work :? I'm up in plenty of time, but I'm not getting out the door in time. And then I decide to ride at the end of the day, which gets lost in a mess of all the things that need to be done that were no where on my current/pending...

heddylamar

Ponichiwa's serpentine method is almost identical to what I do with Maia, including adding in some random 5-meter (or smaller) circles. Plus a few more things: the three part breathe yoga technique and riding squares. This probably doesn't apply to your guy, Lips, but it may help someone else. Maia'...

heddylamar

I had a good ride yesterday morning. Mom's here, and hasn't seen Maia in months and marveled over the differences. I finally tried the new bit at the end of the ride, and it's worth exploring. After a few minutes of "what is this thing??" Maia settled and moved forward nicely. Congrats eve...

heddylamar

Clearly I should have asked here first! Thanks, blob. That makes too much sense. Oh Potters. That's just lovely. Horses can be such doinks. Lol, Ponichiwa. That's pretty great! Mom used to do a soak, and then scrub, with ivory soap and call it good. It was always still yellow-tinged. George wouldn't...

heddylamar

Hmm. I should take some oil out to try too.

How is Potter's tail?

heddylamar

Troy is adorable! And what a terrible experience for your neighbor. Maia's finally lost the lumps on her back — there are still a few on her belly. I'm presuming they were fungus related, because the combo of prescription anti-fungal shampoo (human) and desitin finally did the trick. Too much rain h...

heddylamar

I went out to ride this morning, and Maia looked like she'd rolled around in a fire ant pile — all small scabby hives, everywhere. Poor girl. I threw the kitchen sink at her, and gave her a handful of zyrtec (and peppermints because the silly mare will eat anything if scraps of carrot or peppermint ...

heddylamar

I wrote a post then didn't hit post. Maia and I had a lesson Friday. It was our first ride in a week — I was out of town dealing with a very sick parent — and kind of a "what the hell" ride. We worked mostly on walk halt transitions, which might seem minor, but when you're a stubborn red h...

heddylamar

It was a baucher. It was upside-down. She was not an easy person to point that out to. How do you use a baucher upside down??? That's hurting my brain. Maia has a habit of putting her tongue over the bit when I put the bridle on, and that's incredibly apparent with the baucher. I can't imagine upsi...

heddylamar

I ordered from Dover last December and it took forever to arrive too. Fortunately it wasn't anything I needed immediately. Does Smartpak have the helmet you need in stock? They're generally pretty quick. Or does Dover have a store nearby? I've done "ship to store" orders before, and I feel...

heddylamar

To be fair, my stomach was wonky before we left. I probably should have gone to the doctor before going backpacking, but I didn't. And then it was hot and dry, as were the water sources, so I definitely got a bit dehydrated on top of everything /sigh

heddylamar

Maia has been having a bit of a break. I went backpacking, came home, and seem to have caught a stomach thing that was just not going away. And then two of our three guinea pigs got sick, one is recovering, the second is being hand fed every few hours, and has a followup with the vet this evening. P...

heddylamar

Ouch! Fingers crossed that's as uncomplicated as my oldster's roofing nail experience was @Goldhorse!

heddylamar

@Mountaineer, I've always found a good sudsy bath will loosen the long hair. Speaking of crooked, Maia very much refuses to bend right :shock: We're working on it. She does bend now. But, wow. 12+ yo and we're still working on bending to the right! She's an entirely different horse to the right. Hop...

heddylamar

Maia and I had another very useful fruitful lesson this morning, continuing working on suppleness and throughness. We're really starting to understand all the bits and pieces, and it's really starting to come together. The wind was absolutely howling, and lifting the doors away from the barn 4-5', t...

heddylamar

Great lesson this morning! And I have video :) I need to edit that, and post a clip or two, maybe of us not doing weird things ;) We spent most of today working on incremental changes for me — shifting my weight to the left seat bone tracking left, moving my legs slightly forward so my heels aren't ...

heddylamar

They make a great pair, LSP! I hope everybody (including Ace) is feeling better. Maia and I have a lesson Friday morning. She's finally starting to grasp the concept of relaxation and self-carriage. I'm excited to see where we go next! As for goals: – Get these muscle spasms figured out (definitely ...

heddylamar

Riding: – Continue the regular lessons (today's was invaluable!) Add in working with the eventer, and Sundays afternoons for working equitation. Every other week, and it's been fantastic! I have a whole new horse :D I'm shelving jumping until I get the muscle spasms under control. – Get out to ride ...

heddylamar

We're in a constant state of angst. The DH's our main breadwinner, and a contractor for an agency that's not hit the chopping block yet. Frankly, I don't understand how. They're huge. Meanwhile, my main client is suffering a death of a thousand cuts. Two thirds of our funding is private, and I think...

heddylamar

My last lesson turned into 35 minutes of lunging, 10 minutes of riding. She was safe, and had finally learned to stretch down, when I finally got on. 50+ mph wind gusts make for an exciting mare!

heddylamar

That's rough, exvet. Skilled care is crazy expensive. I'm glad that it's available — we couldn't give my dad the care he needs at home — and I'm happy that the nursing staff at dad's home earn a decent wage, but it's painfully expensive and medicare doesn't cover much. He's in a skilled nursing unit...

heddylamar

Last time was relatively moderate, and it still took me 6+ weeks to kick covid. Paxlovid helped a ton, plus a combo of antibiotics and steroids. The first time, it was 6+ months.

heddylamar

I've somehow managed to drop a pesky 10 pounds since August. Only 10 more to go to get back to my pre-2018 weight, when I had to stop running 50+ miles/week. I'd be happy with 5-6 pounds. The only real change to my routine was adding B12, both oral and injections. I'm not really sure how to recreate...

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