New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

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exvet
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby exvet » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:42 pm

Good luck LSP. I too was looking at showing training level with Brandon for the upcoming show in May. I don't know if I will. Brandon has to be far more solid at the canter in terms of accepting the bit. He can be a bit dramatic if he thinks I'm restricting him too much on the right rein, in general, but especially at the canter. I won't show him at training level until he can put in a pleasant test. He has days where he is so good and just a fun ride and then the brat comes out with the 'don't touch me there!' slight rear or threatening to.........he's realizing I'm not a pushover which is good. These baby horses will get there. One thing I've learned over the years is not to react or be overdramatic in response to his resistance and if need be, scale things back and re-establish a nice forward relaxed and accepting horse, ie, we continue to work on bend and suppling but at a pace where he's more comfortable.....if that's only at walk a trot on those days he's being particularly sensitive, so-be-it. What is encouraging for me is that Brandon's canter isn't scrambling or horribly unbalanced. His issue is working forward into the contact and lunging is definitely helping with this; but I can't put a timeline on it. There will be other shows for us to test training level out if this one turns out to be too soon.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Tanga » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:47 pm

Thanks, LSP. I am really OK with it. I was happy with both horses and know we've made progress. That's why I wait to post sometimes. I need to let the annoyance pass and move on. In the end, no one else cares and we all do it for ourselves. If I wanted to "win," I could drop levels and do that. He he. It was almost 80 degrees that day, so I'm just glad I managed four rides. (Yeah, it's been warm spring here. We're in big, big trouble unless we get rain.)

Go and have fun with your pony and have a blast at the show, doing whatever level you want!
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:58 pm

Thanks for posting your rides, Tanga. It's helpful to see what you are doing as I attempt to make progress!

Yes, its going to be nice to be able to wear not-white breeches and not be considered an outlier! (I've been wearing tan or light grey for a while. I always preferred grey on my appy, so got out of the white habit and went for tan with Laddie.)

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:44 pm

Exvet, you always comfort me knowing I'm not alone and always offer great advice in stuff I know you are very experienced. Thank you.

Lynx sometimes wants to hand gallop in the canter. I think it's just a balanced thing right now. Other times he feels wonderful in the canter. I do think the spooking is less real fear and more just distraction. I think we could do training level but mentally for me- I just don't think I'm ready. This is only our second Dressage show and Third show ever. It's a bit exhausting to me lol.

Tanga, yes it's totally just for us but I do get it. When you love a sport, it's hard to not be annoyed at any inconsistencies. But change is slow ...

Hopefully I will get some video this weekend. I haven't seen video of us in months. It's always helpful even if it hurts to watch sometimes at first ha ha.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Chisamba » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:14 pm

Tanga, I adore the slowness of your extended gaits but you will score better if you allow a bit more run. Wierd but I've seen it over and over
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Tanga » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:17 pm

Chisamba wrote:Tanga, I adore the slowness of your extended gsits but you will score better if you allow a bit more run. Wierd but I've seen it over and over


I know! It depends on the judge, but some just love running. I can't let Quinn do it, though, because she does the "trip" and breaks into canter, which if you remember, was a huge issue for a long time. So, for her, I'm always going to go for bigger and slower. Quilla I can let "run" a bit, but it's always up. I actually get some 7's on her ext. trots! (Which is bizarre considering Quinn's are much better.)

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Tanga » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:30 pm

I think this is just perfect.
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:09 pm

I love it Tanga! Good advice.

One of my biggest nerve inducing things for this show, is the warm up will be in the indoor, outdoors are all closed. So that will cut our warm up significantly and possibly hours before my tests. Lynx gets a bit tense when riding with large numbers in big arenas. I know this is a good opportunity but it definitely will be a challenge too.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Thu Feb 17, 2022 11:11 pm

Here’s some positive thoughts for you , LSP. You are going about training your young horse in an admirable fashion. He’s a neat horse. You’re a neat owner/rider. You look super nice together. Whether you show or not this weekend, you are just on the beginning of your journey and there are lots of places to go and things to do ahead! Good luck!

I’m itching to ride and assess my trot lengthenings but I am giving my body a rest from riding and the aerobic routines for a few days.I’m still doing the upper body weights and the lower body minus the ankle weights. I over did the program and I dont want to risk more damage to my hips. They feel much better after only 4 days. My plan is to ride at walk for a few days starting tomorrow and then go back to my aerobic routines on Monday.

SF, good thinking about not riding Tesla the other day! She is certainly athletic!

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:53 am

You are very fortunate to be able to introduce him to all sorts of things without leaving the barn, LSP! Such a good training opportunity! If things get weird, you can easily bag the whole thing and leave it for another day. Trust me, no-one who matters would think any the less of you or him for it.

The advantage of warming up in the same space you ride in is that there's no change in lighting. Poor Laddie used to find it quite hard at shows with indoor warm up and outdoor show rings.

I'm dying to ride, too, Demi. But I think I'm destined to be off until Monday as I have the floaty wet noodle feeling going on still. Blah.

Trainer rode today, and apparently, Potters has his brains back.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby goldhorse » Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:53 am

When I was in charge of mentoring the numerous graduate students in my husband's lab, I would often give them a few pieces of advice. This was usually in regard to public speaking but I think it has application to many aspects of life.

1) If you don't ask, you don't get.
2) Before you start whatever it may be, ask yourself what's the worst thing that can happen? Can you live with that? If so, then what are you waiting for?
To put that in horseshow language: can you handle what Lynx may throw at you? I know that the answer to that is YES. Can you walk away from a bad ride and say "oh well, next time"? Only you can answer that.

I need to remember my own advice for my next show. I underestimate my abilities to handle what crap he throws at me.
Piggy is having a bout of laminitis so who knows when that will be.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Fri Feb 18, 2022 4:23 am

Oh, no! Poor Piggy. I hope he feels better soon.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby mari » Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:32 am

I booked a few lessons on a riding (specifically jumping) simulator. I have a very upright posture (thanks dressage...) when jumping, and I often feel like I get left behind when Odin is jumping particularly enthusiastically. Also, because he is so keen, I want to sit up too early, which either unbalances him or causes my butt to be bumped out of the saddle and I land in a sprawl.

The first lesson yesterday was an evaluation. It was so interesting that the instructor made exactly the same observations as my biokineticist. I injured my right ankle badly last year. My right leg was always the super quiet, steady one. It has completely switched around. My left leg is rock steady and quiet, on the right not so much, because a year of pain has taught my body to shorten that side to try and protect the ligaments. Also, my glutes (both max and medius, although mostly medius) are just coasting along and doing as little as possible. My lower back, hams and quads are doing all the work, even with glute-specific exercises. So back to the bio I go in a few weeks, to see if we can get these things to fire.

Anyway, back to the lesson. After some evaluation stuff, I did a line of endless (and I mean really endless) crosses, with 6 strides between them. Really focussing on pushing my hips back on takeoff and rotating my pelvis forward with TIGHT abs for landing. It felt very weird, but super cool. Can't wait to go back.

Here is a promo video of the simulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl2f0ZuOOhA&t=2s
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:37 pm

Demi, Mountaineer and Goldhorse, thank you all for the positive thoughts and advice!

I decided I'm going to try and focus on what I want to show off and what I want to improve a little on. I think last time we did a great job on our accuracy. I think my circles are a highlight but I think I can improve a bit more there too. And my goal is a nice free walk!

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:40 pm

Mari, I have always wanted to try one of those. I haven't seen any nearby me though. You are lucky! Was it expensive?

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby exvet » Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:25 pm

I rode on one of the dressage simulators a few years ago. It was a clinic that gave us the ability to work on it for 30-45 minutes three days in a row. I found it enlightening but it was very expensive imo.

I rode Junior and Brandon at home today since my lesson was postponed to tomorrow. I've noticed that Junior has a very slight 'dip' in front of his withers where his neck/topline attaches to his wither. I don't think most would notice it; but I realized that it gives me a really good visual of where I need to make sure he's coming through all the way to the bit and not getting blocked there. Unfortunately, I need as many visuals as I can rely on if my proprioception isn't too good a any given day. On another noted, I have found a couple of exercises I really like for working on the flying changes. One I did today, and it seems to be helping with getting more jump in the canter and keeping him forward through the change. If I ride counter canter through the short side really focusing on getting him through evenly on both reins and yet because it's CC I get a really nice clear jump in the collected canter. I then ride a shallow loop serpentine toward X, straighten and then as I head back to the long side, I move the haunches slightly to the inside (towards the new lead) as I give the aid for the lead change and voila, he's straight, forward and changes clean and on my seat. Junior just got his teeth done again and while he needed it, I can't say I appreciated any improvement/change as a result. He's one of those that gives his all regardless unless he's in stinker pony mode which really doesn't happen all that often.

Brandon is getting more work on 'you will be polite and soft in the connection and when I ask you to give, you shall give ;) ' We also worked on the canter departs so that the strike off is balanced, not running and soft in the bridle. Brandon is realizing that growing up is hard to do but he did show definite improvement in all areas. He is in some ways very different from Junior but like Junior he's another horse that once he realizes that what he's resisting is actually easier and resistance is (for the most part) futile because it wastes energy, the light bulb goes on and stays on. The reining trainers next door (some of them were featured on Yellowstone in the reining competition BTW) stopped what they were doing this morning for a few moments and watched Brandon and I working. They gave a thumbs up ;) I think they recognized the improvement of one I'm training on my own.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:00 pm

Mari, your explanation of the muscles you are using is very interesting. Jumping is different than dressage, of course, but it’s good that you’re able to identify which muscles you’re using (or not) and have a plan for optimizing your efforts. There may be a dressage simulator around my area and if I was 25 years younger I’d go for it.

Goldhorse, sorry to hear about Piggy. I hope he comes out of it soon. You were on a roll and I know it must hard to have to wait now.

Exvet, I like your descriptions. The one recently about medium trot was perfect for me at this time. I wish I was at a point to try the fc exercise. If you ever feel like getting it on video, I’ll save it for future reference. Cool about your neighbors being on Yellowstone! Bloomer Trailers, that are shown all through the series, is in the corner where I turn to go to my horse vet.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Feb 19, 2022 3:11 am

So Mr. P popped an abscess out of what I had thought was a grab on his coronet band. He's perfectly sound on it, though a bit sensitive to prodding. I think posh barn ladies were a bit shocked that I didn't put him on stall rest and call the vet... I think he's better off out and moving around on it, and I can't see much point in soaking it once its opened up. I'll go wash it out again tomorrow, and see how it looks.

A 20 meter long section of ice came off the indoor arena roof while I was standing there deciding whether to climb aboard for a short walk. I took the fact that two very competent people were left clinging on for dear life and my trainer said "I'm getting off now" as a sign.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Feb 19, 2022 3:22 am

Exvet, years ago, I was working with Walker, my dear departed appy, on elementary lateral work of some kind. I had the arena to myself and we were pretty absorbed in what we were doing. I came up for air to find that the three Western Pleasure trainers on the next door farm were sitting there in a row on their horses watching me. "We wish we could do that, it looks so pretty." (Unlike the crippled hobble that they were practicing back then, I do hope times have changed...)

The very accomplished Reiner in our barn enjoys watching the dressage horses go. She's often watching lessons.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby StraightForward » Sat Feb 19, 2022 3:40 am

Moutaineer wrote:(Unlike the crippled hobble that they were practicing back then, I do hope times have changed...)


No, it hasn't. Yesterday a client and trainer were at the haul in arena when I took Annabelle. I wanted to ask if they even like horses at all. The poor horse seems to get random shanking and spurring for the tiniest infractions, and no praise, ever (I've shared the arena with them several times this year). :cry:
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Anne » Sat Feb 19, 2022 5:51 am

Tanga, I love the 'rules'; we all need to say the last one to ourselves regularly :-) For myself at least, I can say I need to apply the rest as well.

As usual, I'm enjoying reading everyone's reports, and commiserate with those having horse/human health/behaviour difficulties. Connor has been out for the last 2 weeks with bruising on one heel, he's OK on soft ground, but ouchy on the harder going. Fergal continues to be difficult, though loading in the float is improving, so that is something...

LSP how was the show?! (it was today, right?). Looking forward to a report :-)

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Sat Feb 19, 2022 9:39 pm

The show went pretty well. There was a few obstacles beforehand and then a bobble in the second test but we came away with a 70% and a 64% which I feel is respectable. Earlier this week I had wanted to scratch. We have been stuck in the arena with no dressage letters for 2 months. So I definitely hadn't practiced any of my tests. Yesterday he was good except when we went for the canter- he decided spooking might be a good distraction.

So today, after I spent last night washing and blanketing him (he is the definition of stinky pig) I showed up to find him somehow disgusting under any corner he could get under the blanket. Then we had no warm up. They had cleared out one side of the outdoor arena, but we haven't rode outside in 2 months. So my trainer and I weighed the options. Because she was riding a few other youngsters, She would not be able to warm me up. And we weren't sure if he would be a spooky silly boy outside, so I just went without a warm up (I just hand walked him a bit around the barn.)

So show nerves, muddy, dirty horse, no warm up or coaching. But he put in a great Intro B. And Intro C was good but we didn't get the canter. The judge told me he looked like an awesome youngster. She said if I wanted to win, to think about Western Dressage. She said he's a very relaxed and well-behaved guy. I do think he was more behind the leg but I think that maybe was lack of warm up/my not riding assertive enough.

I am very proud of him but I know I need to step up! I'm hoping next time we can be a little more ready.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:11 pm

Congrats,LSP!!! Good job. I admire your attitude. And those are great scores. Did anyone take pics? What do you think about the judge’s comment about western dressage? Oh, and did you wear the traditional outfit or did you go for some color? Lynx is going to be fun to pick colors for in the future!

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:16 am

Thank you Demi! It definitely went well considering the headspace I was in beforehand. I do think I could have rode better as well but I think my elbows are much better which is a big victory that I'm trying to focus on.

My 10-year-old daughter took a video on my husband's phone which doesn't have a great camera, but I will include a screenshot.
I wore light grey (almost white) breeches, a grey sweater and a red vest. It was just a schooling show so dress was casual. Although my trainer was trying to talk me into wearing some teal breeches that I wore the other day ha ha. He looks good in so many colors.

Regarding the western dressage comment, I'm not sure what to totally make of it. I think it was more encouraging, as in, we could absolutely clean up there. But there was the comment of his lack of suspension. I totally understand that we won't ever be very competitive in traditional dressage but it is what it is. I have no desire to lug around a western saddle! And I will defend Lynx, he had no warm up and was a bit behind the leg (and mildly bulking at random things around the arena.) He can definitely move a bit better than he did today although he will never be a fancy horse.
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby mari » Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:57 am

:D Glad the show went well Lipsmackerpony88! My instructor should cover her ears, but I prefer showing with minimal warmup, actually
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby mari » Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:59 am

Lipsmackerpony88 wrote:Mari, I have always wanted to try one of those. I haven't seen any nearby me though. You are lucky! Was it expensive?


Comparable to my normal lessons. It's R400 (South African) per lesson, which is about $27 Google tells me.
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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Kyras_Mom » Sun Feb 20, 2022 7:44 am

Good job LSP. I think you will be surprised at his gaits after some more training. I'm like you...no western saddles. I don't think I could even get it up on the horse. He looks very nice in the screen shot.

I have had a rather frustrating week with Kyra. I just cannot seem to maintain a good degree of relaxation with her. Like yesterday...I warmed her up and she wasn't too bad. I actually let her warm up with a bit of long and low/stretching. I tried it again at the end of the ride and every time she stretched, she just rushed off. I ended up spending about 20 minutes at walk just picking up the reins and when she was quiet in the mouth letting her chew the reins down. It took until the end until she quit rushing off when I let her have her head. I was careful not to just throw the reins away.

She has been gnashing the bit...a lot...with both the PeeWee and the Neue Schule. She has been salivating/foaming a lot where usually she just has some nice lipstick so I am thinking teeth need to be done sooner than later. I have taken a couple peeks in her mouth but can't really see very far back without a speculum so it seems time for the dentist.
I long reined her today and the mouth was always going as it has been on all my rides this week. It seemed like she was doing some weird things with her tongue. She is as obedient as can be, bless her heart but with tension and a lot of over tempo. Reminds me of the old days when my instructor said she was doing flamenco dressage :lol: . She is just as calm and chill as can be in her stall and with grooming so the tension seems to be just with work and not a general environmental thing. I take some timothy pellets to give her before I ride so she has something in her stomach. Along with a dose of Outlast cookies. Her base diet is alfalfa and she is a bit tubby hence the timothy pellets for her pre-ride snack vs alfalfa. So, my differential is teeth vs ulcers. She was fine the few rides I did during the winter freeze...but I rode her bitless so tomorrow I am going to drag out the bitless bridle and see how that goes.

It could also just be that Spring is in the air thing as today she was kind of saucy and threw out one of her evil pony tricks...bolting when I turn her out. I consider this nasty habit my fault. She hasn't even hinted at trying it since I moved her...until today. She was a bit warm so I took her up the hill to turn her out so she could get a good roll. She still had her bridle on and I had my lunge line through both sides of the bit to lead her and I was trying to put the end of the line around her neck so I could hold onto her and pull the bridle without socking her in the teeth with the bit. Well, as soon as I went to put the rope over her neck, she jetted. Due to the various infirmities I have had over the last few years, she has figured out she can flip her head as she bolts and get the rope out of my hand. Well, today, since she had the lunge line on, I had time to set myself and boy was she surprised when she ran out of rope and I still had a hold of it. I hated that the rope was through the bit but oh well...she was the one that decided to pull that crap again. My Apple watch had to ask me if I fell :P . That would be no. It took me about 30 seconds to reel her back in. She was sure she was in big trouble but I figured she punished herself enough. I then got the bridle off without incident and boy did she enjoy her rolls in the dirt.

Susan

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Chisamba » Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:30 pm

I had an interesting evening last night. I left the barn as early as I could, picked up Mikhail at work and we rushed to Lyndhurst to see an ex pupil and working student / friend of ours perform at Medieval Times. She knew we were coming and we got to go back stage and meet the horses etc. It was super too see a girl who I had introduced to dressage, who had been a really nervous rider and (an occasional brat) perform. She did piaffe, and passage, some Spanish walk and flying changes on an Andalusian stallion. Then while we were back stage I got rather an alarming phone call. A neighbor at my barn called me to say they're were five fire trucks at the barn. My heart dropped. Fortunately he drove over and called me to say the horses were all fine and there was no fire. The old gentlemen who owns the property couldn't get his brakes to function and plowed through a fence. There is quite a steep drop off and he had the car on its side wobbling and he was stuck inside.

This morning I had a lovely neighbor come help and we repaired the fence.

It's always something isn't it.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby goldhorse » Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:49 am

LSP, you did great! Doesn't it feel wonderful that you managed to put it all together when there was so many things that weren't optimal? That just means that you are an awesome rider with enough skills to handle what's being thrown at you.
As for Western Dressage, I think that is a judge's way of copping out. I have been lucky to get judges that recognize that many of us AA's (especially of a certain age) would be over-horsed on some of the warmbloods out there and that we are competing on perfectly appropriate mounts. Lynx and Piggy will never make it to 3rd level (at least Piggy won't :D) but that's not their job. Their job is to provide us with 1) safety; 2) enjoyment; 3) enough challenge to improve our skills.

Chisamba, that must have been terrifying. I think a good big glass of wine is in order.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby StraightForward » Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:30 am

Nice show report, LSP! The mental part gets easier with each show. Nothing wrong with western dressage, but I agree that Lynx will probably surprise you as his gaits develop.

Chisamba, so glad everything was OK. What a scare! But how neat to see your former student performing like that!

I had a really nice ride on Annabelle yesterday. I spent some time focusing on building some power in trot, because I think we've slacked off there. I got video and it was interesting to see how much more she was stepping under at the end of the ride. We've been noodling with CC more the last few rides and it is so much better than last fall.

Tesla was a little sticky yesterday, and spooked by a fellow boarder's new puppy that was playing by the arena. The BO's hounds don't bother her much when they're running around, but this doodle pup is so floppy I think that is what didn't sit right with her and set her off. Once the pup got put away, I managed to coerce her into a canter for the first time since probably November. I was going to try for the other lead as well, but she is doing this thing where she starts jigging and crab walking when I pick up the reins after a walk break, so we spend the rest of the ride just picking up and dropping the reins and trying for a relaxed walk. Today a storm was rolling in, so I ended up lunging and then riding her in the indoor. It was probably our best ride ever; she was paying attention, going nicely forward without energy blockages, and we did some shallow loops, smaller circles, change of direction, ToF and even a little SI and sitting trot. I had a big grin at the end. She was also better about the jigging. She has started this thing of sort of pushing the bit away with her lower jaw - I watched her do it very purposefully in the TW transitions while I was double lunging - but I started getting the hang of going with her just enough to keep a friendly contact, and then parlaying that into a nicer telescoping neck in the walk, instead of the curling and jigging.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Mon Feb 21, 2022 2:19 am

LSP, good job! Sounds like Lynx behaved like a grown-up and got on with his job. The western dressage comment was probably meant as a compliment. I can promise you that no-one is going to say that about my little hooligan.

Chisamba, that must have been heart-stopping. Glad all is well.

Potter's abscess looks like it's done its thing. He walked into the barn from turnout soundly and rather more jauntily than usual... He's got that look in his eye that tells me he really needs to go back to work! I soaked it and wrapped it again today, but tomorrow, I think he at least needs to go on the line to see how he looks.

We are awaiting the arrival of a snowstorm which could be nothing or could be quite an event, depending on where it actually lands. We REALLY need the water, but I'd also really like to get to the barn tomorrow!

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:07 am

Gosh, Chisamba. What a scare. Glad it turned out ok.

LSP, I wondered what you thought about the WD comment because I was hoping you wouldn’t be interested! While I think it was a nice compliment, I am with the others that think you will be surprised at how Lynx’s gaits develop. I thought his movement had a lot of potential from the vids you posted before you bought him.

Kyra’s mom, I finally had to turn that function on my Apple Watch off. It kept going off when I was throwing hay bales or unloading feed, and the response buttons are so close together that I was afraid I’d accidentally get the paramedics out here!

I rode Friday and Saturday but didnt have time today. Probably a good thing to let my hips recover from whatever I did to them. On Friday I started out walking but felt up to some trot and canter. I did a short ride because I didnt want to push it. It was painful when I started out but got better after trot and canter, which I think is a good sign. Saturday I just walked doing the lateral work from second level, and then walked through First Level test 1. I didnt feel that I could push my hips/legs enough to ride the test for real. I want to get it videoed before the end of the month (one of my goals) but time is getting short. We have company through Thursday so my riding time will be limited. I have some Tylenol#3 from when I injured my piraformis in 2018 and may resort to taking that before I ride if I need it to get the test videod.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Mon Feb 21, 2022 4:14 am

Kyra's mom- I know a lot of the mares (and some geldings) around our barn have been extra spicy, so I wonder if it's just the time of year. Hopefully she settles a bit soon!

Chisamba- how scary! I am glad everyone is okay though.

Regarding the comment- I do think it was largely meant as a compliment but I do not plan on taking it up! Plus he really can move better than he did in the test but hey, with no warm up it was the best we could do.

I do hope to actually get to 3rd level work although I don't really have dreams of being competitive at that level! Both trainers I've been working with seem to think it's in Lynx's capabilities as far as doing the work when he's older of course. We will see. So much of it is just about the journey. And he's really teaching me so much. And I can't help but get excited at the prospect of letting my daughter learn from him when they are both about older and more experienced. He could be one heck of a school master one day. He already knows leg yield, shoulder in, haunches in, TOF, TOH and the idea of half pass. Now it's just taking the next few years to work on the quality of gaits and really building him up. But I got so excited thinking about how lucky my daughter will be to learn from such a fun horse one day. And for that effect alone I can overlook a little lack of fanciness.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby exvet » Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:24 pm

So I decided to post after I had a couple of days to digest things. I took both boys to have lessons on each on Saturday. My wonderful daughter met me there and took video on my phone. I'll start with the good. Both horses loaded like a dream and hauled well for the 1 hour 15 min haul (keeps getting longer due to more traffic lights and construction). Both horses were dramatically improved in their behavior when each were taken away for their lesson, and both loaded well to go home. Exposure was the purpose of taking both to lessons and of course trying to loosen or cut the umbilical cord. It would seem that my plan and efforts are working.

Now to the not so good. My instructor is a friend of mine. She is close to 10 years older, a L grad with distinction, still rides even green horses and has a great eye. My daughter noticed that she's become much more 'sensitive' and seemingly not as 'adept' at picking up what's going through the horse's brain. These observations were made to me long after the lessons were over when my daughter and I had dinner together that night. I was discussing with her my own troubles/quandary. As you can guess my lessons did not go as planned. There was nothing disastrous and I did get some takeaways especially after viewing the videos. To sum it up, I have found that now that I'm much older I have a harder time being able to mentally process in the moment multiple directions at once. I'm still a cool cucumber in a crisis and can manage medical emergencies and the whole 3 ring circus at work (I digress but at work on Wednesday I had an 18-year-old dog in surgery, fully open when all of our power went out and no backup generator. I had my anesthesia equipment on 30-minute back up batteries but no monitoring equipment or lights working. Thanks to 3 technicians who monitored the patient manually and held flashlights I was able to maintain hemodynamics and finish the surgery. The dog went home alive.) As for the riding though this instructor has always been a rapid fire, ride through you type. In earlier years I never struggled following her directions; but lately I find it more difficult to listen to her comment on eg. me losing the horse's left hind leg and use more left rein and more left leg and I want more bend and, and, and all in the span of 20 seconds. All the while I'm riding and feeling the horse not truly shift the balance where it needs to be so I'm riding and trying to correct THAT. My brain seems to be in more competition with her rapid-fire directives and what I feel on the horse that needs to be done. Now don't get me wrong. I appreciate it when she tells me things like I'm losing the left hind when I don't feel it because I'm concentrating on something else or her iron fisted insistence (which I need) that my right hand is doing something all on its own of which I'm unaware. However twice, once on each horse she was having me back off on things that needed to be worked through due to her fear of where the horse was going versus my sense of self-preservation and needing the horse to understand that certain things weren't going to be tolerated. It's hard to explain but both times she apologized for not realizing that I was right and told me she would just let me train. The other thing I hugely disliked after viewing the videos was how curled Brandon was. Yes, his movement/gaits were to die for, and he was coming through the back, but I've never been one to ride with the poll low unless I have the horse on a free-rein or asking for active stretching out to the hand.

So Sunday I simply rode on the trails which Junior just loved - canter trot sets for 5 miles. Brandon was happy to not be doing dressage but I think his 6 mile trail ride he found a bit much but he'll survive. I'm going to take the end of this week and work on things and use my Pivo to compare and then will have to have a talk with my friend. I don't have many options in instructors these days so I'm not really sure what else to do. Hopefully I can explain to my friend what type of assistance I need and she realize that I still need her eye but not stifle her to the point that she feels she can't say anything.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby khall » Mon Feb 21, 2022 2:58 pm

Congratulations lsp!! What a good boy Lynx was to go in cold!

Chisamba how utterly heart stopping. I’m glad it turned out to be ok glad you had help fixing the fence.

Exvet sounds like some definite positives even if the lessons did not quite go as you wanted. I don’t really have regular lessons per se but I do have a friend who comes every week just to have eyes on the ground. I’ve learned to take what helps which is generally good help especially with my position but leave what just does not resonate. For me it’s just good to have those eyes helping to keep me on the right track. I hope you can come to a good place that is helpful to you with your friend.

Riding has been a bit miss. Terrible wind and cold and rain then work around the farm Saturday. We have fence posts to replace ugh not fun! And some maintenance on our house we are addressing. Finally found someone who can do what needs done.

But I rode both my girls yesterday and just enjoyed. I hacked Joplin out in one of the hay fields going further than I normally do though the footing was a bit soft so was being careful. It’s a huge 10 acre flat field but can stay wet being low. We jumped some deer on the way down to the field which got Joplin’s attention yet she still stayed with me and we did a bit of WTW transitions in SI and HI. She does them well. Did just WT work because of the footing. Not sure how much longer I will be able to ride out needing to burn off the fields soon.

Chisamba I was thinking of you as I rode Gaila bare back! It is just so fun to climb on and tootle around. Gaila worked well WT do not do canter bare back at this time. Her back is just too round for me to be comfortable trying it. I need to get a bareback pad this is the one the Valenca’s recommended
https://www.brockamp-pads-usa.com/ I rode Gaila’s dam Gallie all over WTC bareback but she had these nice hollows to help stabilize me and a bit more wither. Anyway it was fun to get my britches dusty and hairy since mine are shedding now. I did a bit of transitions in lateral work on Gaila as well. It’s easier for Joplin.

Our weather after rain today warms up considerably. Stalls and fans for several days then another cool down. Try to figure out when to uncover my strawberry plants. 28 deg is too cold even with 80’s this week

Hope all will be seeing spring weather soon! It’s my favorite time of year

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby blob » Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:29 pm

LS--sounds like a really good show experience overall. And I agree with others that you will definitely be able to train in more suspension and bigger ground cover as the training and work continues.

Yikes, Chisamba--glad everyone is ok and that you got help on fixing the fence.

Khall--I am jealous of your big hay field for riding, sounds wonderful!

Exvet--I think there is value in telling your trainer what you told us: that you are having a harder time processing a lot of quick in the moment corrections all at once. If you make it about you rather than about her, it might be an easier conversation to have. You could also look into supplementing with a trainer that does virtual lessons. I think that option is becoming more and more popular. And since you have a PIVO, I think you also have the main tech requirements!

I also had a lesson yesterday with MM. I really needed help recalibrating when i need to push through and when I need to back off. I've been trying to hold a higher standard of keeping my reins short and consistent and expecting forward into the contact and not giving up one thing for another, like 'ok, i'll take bend even if we loose forward'. But in doing this, I have gotten in my head about when I am getting unfair/overly demanding v. when I need to maintain the consistency. So the lesson was very simple--just w/t/c. But very clear guidance on when and how to push and when and how to reward/lesson pressure without throwing things away. So that was nice and helpful.

Meanwhile the barn search continues without any really good news. I have to say I am very sad about leaving my current BOs. I really adore them and their new property is wonderful and the new barn is beautiful. It's everything I'd want other than an arena without a full jump course set up. I've looked at a couple options in the area and all have various pros and cons that are hard for me to make decisions on. There are more options if i expand my area. Currently I drive south of the city, but I could go east or west (going north is a traffic nightmare). But if I go east or west i'll also be starting from scratch with vet, farrier, and would have to consider a new trainer and/or ride with my current trainer a lot less often. So those are also not ideal.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Sue B » Mon Feb 21, 2022 5:51 pm

Susan, sorry about spicy Kyra, but I am glad to know I'm not the only one with a bratty teenager! :lol:

Exvet, I would couch your discussion in the form of needing more coaching less teaching. That your brain/body this time of life needs processing time. Basically, we are all becoming older computers, with not enough RAM to keep up with the newer, rapid-fire software out there! :lol:

Blob, jingles you find a barn that will suit your and your horses' needs.

LSP, congratulations on a successful outing. Sounds similar to Rudy's first show (except we won all our classes in spite of Lad screaming his head off the whole time I was on Rudy, hehe) All signs are there that you have found an excellent show partner!!!!!! :mrgreen:

Chisamba...Talk about a flashback! You must have been petrified. Thank goodness it was a false alarm of sorts.

Moutaineer, so glad Potters is healing up well! Knock on wood, Tio has yet to pop an abscess this winter.

Khall, glad you found your inner horse-crazy girl and got to go for a bit of a bareback ride.

So, I rode this weekend but only Rudy. I was severely limited by where I could ride due to the always annoying combination of really slick mud over frozen subsoil, ice and snow drifts. Did most of our work on the road to the west of my arena and a bit in the pasture to the north. I did let him canter a bit where the footing was a touch safer, but he really wanted to go for a gallop which simply was not possible. The road where I rode is sort of paved and, because they had extra paint left over from marking the highway, they dropped a center yellow line down it. I used that line to practice lateral working; fixing the shoulders or hindquarters on the line and moving the other part over using a subtle an aide as I could. Rudy and I both found it mentally and physically challenging, so successful ride I believe. Tio stood around looking terribly handsome, and Rabbit gave me a quick bareback tour through the snow in the arena.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Kyras_Mom » Mon Feb 21, 2022 7:09 pm

Chisamba, I am glad there was no issue with the horses. Man, you don't need any reminders.

Sue...we use whatever is available. I haven't ever really boarded at a "complete" barn. You can get very inventive.

Well...I rode Kyra in a bitless bridle yesterday. She was much better. I actually had to use my leg from time to time. Canter was a hot mess but I have trouble keeping her off the forehand in the canter without a bit. So, we just didn't do much canter. I didn't want to allow bad (worse) form...not sure how our form is at best :? .However, the trot was much more relaxed and her tempo much better. She did do a big spook once. Of course, I was asking her to stretch so had yielded the reins. I about punched myself in the nose when she jumped forward. Despite that, she came back to relaxed fairly quickly. So...time to call the vet and get her teeth done. We will start there.

Susan

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Tue Feb 22, 2022 5:07 pm

Exvet, do you think you are just in a rut with the current instructor? Hopefully she can change her teaching style a little bit that you can still work with her. Or like someone else suggested, maybe try video lessons? You are certainly good enough But I think you could probably get a lot out of that. I'm not sure if I could yet but I know some people have huge success with that.

Blob, I feel you on getting into your head about that stuff. I'm very much the same way and it can be a struggle. I'm very empathetic to the horse which of course is not a bad thing but I also think it is one of my greatest weaknesses too. It makes being effective harder, I think. We are all stuck in the indoor arena in most of the winter and some days there is many jumps. And many people. It definitely can be a struggle for a dressage rider so I understand your hesitation about moving with the current barn owners. Although I will definitely try not to complain about having an indoor arena at all!

Kyra's mom- I'm sorry but I had to lol a bit that you punching yourself in the nose. As someone with a little bit of a spooky horse I could see myself doing that too! I also need to get on the books to get teeth done soon.

I have to say that despite my good scores from the show I've been feeling bit defeated. Which is a running theme no matter how well we do it anything. I am thinking I should seek a sports psychologist at some point lol. I really think part of it is just winter. It's just hard to be consistent and really feel like we're progressing. Right now it's 3 degrees outside and it's supposed to stay bitterly cold for a few days.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Aleuronx » Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:00 pm

Been working 11-12 hr days getting an FDA response together for a client for the last week so just feeling ragged. Managed to sneak out for lesson with trainer as she was up Friday, which was okay until the hurricane winds really kicked up toward the end of our session so just managed the melt down and called it quits. Just feeling the overall struggle at the moment.

Last night as a February thaw day, tacked up and just marched around the outdoor in the melting ice and snow be damned.

Our moment of zen
zen light.jpg
zen light.jpg (183.61 KiB) Viewed 4494 times

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Tue Feb 22, 2022 11:14 pm

Very zen, and very cold, by the look of it!

Bitter cold and grey here for the next few days, with intermittent snowfall. Ugh. Depression weather.

I did, however, get to ride my horse today and put my new tough love policy into effect. Short reins, forward and focus, shenanigans beget circles or other consequences. It seemed to capture his attention and we had some nice work. All the work I'm doing with the physio for my shoulder is reaping positional benefits for me, too.

But I'm feeling pretty "meh" about things too. I'm grateful I'm in full training this winter as it makes me go to the barn and challenges me to get something done, but im not feeling like I'm taking sufficient advantage of the opportunity to improve at a faster pace. Nonsense really as things happen at the pace they do.

I think I just need some warm sun on my back and to not be in grumbling discomfort from my shoulder the whole time. I'm going to discuss accupuncture with the PT in my session tomorrow. There is a good guy at the clinic, apparently.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby MsM » Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:21 pm

It is hard to keep up when riding is intermittent whether due to time, weather, soundness, etc. I know people talk about training for the next level in winter, but I am generally happy if we can just maintain. I have become a cold weather wuss in my old age, so don't ride as often!

Exvet, I am to the point where when I work with a new instructor I start with an explanation on working with an old, somewhat broken woman! :D I tell them that I am slow processing, so give me directions with plenty of warning and don't expect me to remember too much at once. I am trying, it is just one of my challenges. I also need frequent breaks for my back (and in the winter, because my nose runs!). I hate to start with what sound like excuses, but found things go more smoothly.
With one instructor, I found it useful to set out what I felt we needed to work on. Otherwise we spent all the time with her correcting me in ways that I knew needed to improve, but was already aware of and working on (just going to take time), when I would find it more useful to get new insights or tools on something else.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby exvet » Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:06 pm

Thank you for the input and suggestions. My lesson usually starts with me stating what I want to focus on for that lesson as well as a recap of what we've been doing since the previous lesson including what's gone well and what hasn't. I did tell my instructor this last time that I needed to be told what the full exercise is before I start so that I can better understand 'where we're going' instead of being told turn here, turn there, etc in the moment. That way I could better respond to the 'more left leg, lower the right hand, etc' without pregnant pauses. I plan to approach the next lesson with just telling my instructor the cold hard facts and we'll see how it goes. The majority of her students are older, as in their 60s and 70s with one being 81 this year. She does very well with them. As it happens, they are all training or first level; so, I think some of this is because she gets 'excited' as in looking forward to being able to do more since I'm one of two 'upper level' riders who currently take lessons from her. She was just gifted a GP horse so I think that is also fueling her 'rapid fire, squirrel like directives in terms of darting from one thing to the next'. She's always been a bit of a chatter box so as she's gotten older 'this' part of her personality has crept into her teaching style more and more.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Wed Feb 23, 2022 4:36 pm

We’ve been having a week of nice weather followed by a week of bad. Im happy to be able to get in quite a bit of riding on the good days and even a little on the bad.

I rode yesterday, testing out my bad hip joints and was encouraged that they didnt feel too bad. Resting from the aerobic dance stuff is helping i think. We have company so I havent had much choice except to rest a bit. I am also thinking I’ll need to quit using my western saddle for trail rides. It’s a western type endurance saddle and almost as light as my dressage saddle. I love it but it may be that my hips cant take the width anymore…at least I cna still ride.

I am still hoping to complete my Jan/Feb goals by getting a video of 1st-1 sent to virtual horse sport for coaching/judging. The weather and other things (life) have made it hard to get the video. I feel ready to move on to videoing 2nd, but I’ve promised myself to get all of the 1st level tests recorded and judged first. I think once the weather settles I’ll be able to go through them rather quickly. Virtual tests are much easier than actual horse shows. Not as good in that the judge has a limited view, but still a nice option.

I have an 8 day trip scheduled in early March but after that I am looking forward to starting lessons again. I looked into virtual lessons with Pivo but didnt find a trainer that sounded like what I need. I will keep looking. I think it would be a good complement to lessons with my regular trainer.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Wed Feb 23, 2022 5:45 pm

Its -6 at the barn today, with windchill.

My lesson got cancelled.

Baaah.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Lipsmackerpony88 » Wed Feb 23, 2022 6:44 pm

Exvet, I think the fact that you know yourself and what you need, will help you work this out with your instructor. I feel like I also need to know things a little ahead of time. For me I'm a very visual learner so I have to be able to picture it in my mind and understand why we're doing it. Instead of just applying aids when someone is telling me to do so!

Demi, glad your hips are doing better for now. And exciting goals you have! I'm confident you will do it wonderful first level test.

Mountaineer, yep similar temperature here plus some snow. Lynx is getting a few easy days! Brrr. I might just go do some carrot stretches with him today. But not much else.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Kyras_Mom » Wed Feb 23, 2022 7:26 pm

Frigid here too. The wind chill...brrrr.

Kyra's trimmer has canceled on me twice this week(both good reasons) and I am doing physical therapy twice a week so with all my stuff and of course Mom has had appointments too so maybe next week I can get Kyra's dental set up. In the meantime, we will just stick to basic stuff in her halter or the bitless.
Yesterday it was cold but I needed to get her out of her stall and get her some exercise. I put her on the lunge line and just let her move. The ground wasn't totally frozen as the arena did get salted but I didn't want to be too demanding. She was happy to move without being goofy. She even gave me a couple nice rounds of Spanish Walk. She is finally getting the idea of actually walking as she raises her legs. She even just looked at the deer strolling through with interest but they weren't even snort worthy.

I get it demi and Mountaineer. My hip bursitis/tendonitis was making good progress then the weather changed precipitously and I think a couple of the newer exercises kind of got to it and I was sore all weekend. It seems to be a constant struggle but it is what it is. I am continuing with my exercises and it seems to be getting better again. I have got to get walk-worthy. I want to go to Iceland next year and I need to be able to walk.

Susan

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby khall » Thu Feb 24, 2022 2:34 am

Geeze some of you having to deal with such harsh winter conditions:(. Apparently TX had an over 50 deg drop in temp in one day. I cannot imagine. Hate to say but we are having a heat wave here. 80 degrees and I got overheated riding today. Georgia trying to have summer early

That was after 12 hours of 55 degree rain. Lots of rain. Stay warm all!!

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby demi » Thu Feb 24, 2022 3:20 am

Yep Khall, we had almost 80 yesterday and 26 high today. Hard on the horses. They were glad to have their blankets.

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Re: New Year, New Goals - January-February 2022

Postby Moutaineer » Thu Feb 24, 2022 4:48 am

Igh, those temperature swings are not uncommon hee in the spring and fall and are pretty scary from a colic perspective.

PT has left me feeling beaten up and left for dead, and I know it will be worse in the morning, so I doubt I'll be in riding shape tomorrow. Oh, well...


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