2012: Equine goals for the dressage arena

As I map out my goals and plans for 2012, I'm thinking about what to do about my equine plans, hopes and dreams.

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Ultimately in 2012 I'd like to compete - either on Kadey or a different pony. The only downside to a different pony is having to get rid of Kade. But my partner said we have room for two this afternoon, as long as I can afford it. I think he may go back on that if push comes to shove but it was something I hadn;t even considered - what about keeping Kadey, leasing or purchasing a schoolmaster for 18 months and keep Kadey in work with my trainer. Then at the end of the time period, sell or return the schoolmaster and compete with Kadey.

My secondary goal would then be to work with Kadey until he calms the %&*$ down and can be ridden sensibly. 

It could work, I like it :)

Reinpony Kadey is unimpressed

Poor Kadington, I made him into a reinpony for Christmas :)

What to do...

Pretty much everyone, aside from my trainer, is saying SELL KADEY. My family, my partner, even the saddle fit guy. I think yes, no, yes.... no. I watched a video a local lady made today about why we do dressage and it hit me - with Kade, it will take me a LONG time to compete properly; mainly because I have to spend so much time not only educating him but even getting him to calm down enough to enter an arena calmly at A! But then... it's still hard. I love him, he's my oversized furbaby who diligently ignores me unless I have food and I'm used to that now.

Then I see things like this:

Showjumper / Dressage SCHOOLMASTER

“Centro Robba”- dark bay, 16yr old 16.2hh Thoroughbred with great confirmation is sadly offered for sale.
Robba is a schoolmaster type in the disciplines of Dressage and Showjumping. Robba’s a D grade show jumper who happily jumps 1m - 1.10, and has attained a dressage level of elementary. He has been lightly competed in 2010 & 2011 in combined training days, local shows and the Fraser Coast Interschool Equestrian. At the 2010 interschool, he won his dressage and jumping classes. He is a complete gentleman, who is extremely well mannered. Robba’s quiet demeanor and extensive experience would make him an ideal mount for an up and coming young rider to progress on. Robba loves trail rides by himself or with company, is great with traffic, trucks, tractors, dog’s bikes and no spook/shy in him.
Robba is absolutely vice free. Very easy to catch (waits at the gate for us), wash, worm, shoe, rug, clip etc…. Paddocks well by himself or with others, self- loads on the float, ties up all day long at events. Robba never hot’s up even after a spell. Robba is definitely a confidence builder for any rider most patient and willing to teach them the ropes………
Robba is reluctantly offered for sale as his current rider has now gained the confidence to move onto a new mount. He will be sold with his summer and winter rugs & a work bridle and bit.
We would like to see Robba continue with his outings and competitions, so he will only be sold to the best of horsey homes.

$2,500

Ph: 41268382 or 0429018939

 
I'm going to call them in March and if he's still available, I'll go have a look. It'll help me decide either way. 

Broken pelvis, broken dreams.

In less than optimum news, I'm now stuck on crutches with a broken pelvis and can't ride for 3 months. THREE. WHOLE. MONTHS. Meaning I'll miss being able to use my Christmas holidays to ride, I'll lose out on all the hard work Kadey and I have been doing AND I'm going to miss most of the next show season as I can't ride til March, then will need a few months to get my seat back in order as it'll be a bit different.

My family all want me to sell Kadey and I guess I have some big thinking ahead. It's so hard, we've done so much work and I love him to tears. But he's always going to be a bit flighty. But he's so lovely. But, but, but....

Hungry pony is hungry...

I had to walk Kadey to his old agistment place this morning as the neighbours are bringing a crane into his paddock to access their yard (super). Must have been a funny sight - pouring rain, girl carrying 2 massive and heavy buckets of horse feed and an umbrella in one hand and a hungry thoroughbred in the other....

Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
Kadey: Can I have some now?
Me: No.
.......

Kadey moves to our new home :)

Tonight is Kadey's second night in the new property - we moved in on Saturday and thanks to a Herculean effort from my Dad, we had the fences up by Tuesday afternoon.

As I walked him up the drive way for the first time he was a bit nervous and his ongoing weirdness around other horses kicked in when he saw the two neighbouring horses. However after a few sniffs he bored of them (no squeals, thank goodness). In the paddock he was super excited about the thick lush grass, which made me worry about colic. We created a large yard around the stables and I locked him in there for the night - partly to restrict his access to the greenery, partly for security. The yard is lit by the driveway lights, which we left on until he understood where the fence was.

He was reasonably calm until half way through dinner kept walking towards the fence and staring into the darkness. I eventually worked out that he could hear Dad tightening the wire fence. Tonight he was fine until the neighbouring horses disappeared from the fenceline - I think they are kept on the other side of the property at night. Cue panic, as Kadey spent the next while cantering about his yard panicking about being alone. Keeping him alone isn't optimal, but I'm hoping once he settle in he'll be happy to have the horses next door and those across the road and be happy to be on his own at night. If we move later on I'll get a second horse to keep him company.

But for now he's in his yard, not thrilled and a little upset but he was at least dry and standing still when I checked on him an hour ago. Looking forward to when he settles in :)

First lesson on Kadey!

Today was my first lesson with K, a girl who also agists at the property Kadey is currently agisted on.

It was - great. Mixed.

Kadey leaned like a train and ran - but it was good to have a second pair of eyes to say 'sit here, do that' as he responded well and really my pushing him to work correct was the reason for his poor behaviour as he tried to evade contact and actually having to use his muscles.

At one point he ran into canter - while it wasn't what I was asking, it was beautiful to sit his flowing, rocking horse canter which I haven't ridden since I trialled him in April.

He opened his mouth to evade the bit and ran, so after the lesson we fitted his new bridle with a crank/hanovarian/flash noseband. Hopefully that will help next time I'm on him.

It was great to feel a bit of direction, rather than feeling a bit lost and alone and unsure what to do or how to resolve certain things. K and another agistee also offered to take me out on a trailride so hopefully I can get Kadey accustomed to being outside and not freaking out :)

I finished the day with a full bath, including his grotty, greasy mane and tail. Kadey was quickly bored and started playing with his leadrope and pawing at the concrete/water. He also let me know in no uncertain terms that bafftime is not his favourite thing in the world, particularly if I want to wash his face!

Lesson points to remember

1. Three hip stretches
a/ point toes in towards each other
b/ flex foot and put leg out sideways with knee locked straight. Rest on highest point i can manage and push to go higher over time.
c/ bend knee and pull ankle high over thigh of other leg.

2. Tilt pelvis forward and don't hollow back

3. Keep shoulders down and relaxed

First fall

Today I had my first fall from Kadey.

I took him out for our virgin ride on the side of the road, outside the safe confines of the agistment property. I'm still riding him bareback as bareback > saddle that hurts him, even if it means I'm less secure.

He was a bit jumpy but eventually calmed down... until we turned to walk back to the property. Then he became quite silly. This wasn't helped by a strange rattling sound of a truck pulling a rattley trailer over bumpy ground behind a bush somewhere. So when that truck and rattley trailer eventually whizzed past us on the road (at full speed.... past an obviously freaked out horse.... who does that?) he freaked out and tossed me off. Luckily it was one of those slow motion falls where I had time to make a choice as to how I came down so was able to land on my feet - though I then fell back on my butt.... but at least my feet took the brunt of the force and not my head.

I wanted to jump back on (uhh... kinda) but he was too silly and wouldn't step into a ditch so I could jump on (he's too tall for me to jump on unassisted). Instead I walked him back to the property (mercifully not too far) then remounted using the mounting block. I rode around the property for another 10 minutes just to ensure neighter of us was too shaken or left things on a bad memory. Obviously it'll take some work but at least we had a sensible finish.

So... my lessons for how to avoid falls in future:

1. Having a saddle rather than riding bareback would assist with grip when he's spinning about like a loon. Fortunately his saddle fitting is in 2 weeks so nearly there...

2. Perhaps lunge him before our next ride out. If possible, ride out with another horse.

3. Don't finish rides by walking straight back to the saddle up spot. Instead ride him back and forth past the property (or if doing arena work, back and forth past the saddle up area) so he doesn't think pointing towards that spot = end of ride = reason to be silly.

4. AVOID RIDING HIM AT FEEDING TIME. This factor didn't help and we had to walk past the feed truck on our way out, which he wasn't pleased by. Not helpful. A girl who used to agist there said the only time her horse ever threw her off was when she rode him at feed time. Lesson learned. Tough one as often that's when I'm there but I'll have to work with that.

5. Having Kadey in a roadside paddock in the new place (if it proceeds) may assist with getting him used to scary trucks and things zooming past him.

6. Remember to wave my arm for speeding cars and trucks to slow down. If I don't ask and if they're not pony people, they may not realise. The truck slowed down when he saw me on the ground, but sped off when he saw I was on my feet. What an idiot!!!

In all, at least it was a gentle fall (though my foot REALLY hurts now!) and we were able to ride a bit more before putting Kadey to bed.

Hoof issues: Wet periople/white heel bulbs = scaley hoof regrowth

I called my farrier in a panic following observing the following on Kadey's hoof regrowth:





Can't quite see? Here's a close up of his creepy, scaley growth. Eeew.






It looks about the length that I've had him, which suggests a few things:

1. It's related to the feed I've moved him too from what he was on with the previous owner
2. It's related to the wet weather
3. It's related to the agistment place where he lives now.

The farrier said it was most likely number 2 and went on to describe the frog's relationship with the perioplium/periople. Which reminded me of the following pictures I took during the wet weeks we had when I first got Kadey:

The bulbs and periople were white, soggy and outright WEIRD. I think this is related and will take a print out when the farrier comes this weekend.

Hmm!

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Mystery solved: Hay waster in action!

Following on from an earlier post, I foind out why there is always hay on the ground in Kadey's shelter and in front of his feedbin...

 

Shiny pony is shiny

...even with his wooly winter coat!

Saddle Fit clinic: Best money I've spent on my horse so far

Today I attended a full day saddle fitting clinic with Jane Clothier, a bodywork specialist who started studying saddle fitting after seeing so many horses suffering from ill-fitting gear.

It was a really enjoyable day - partly due to the fact it was 8 horse mad ladies in one space swapping stories and being distracted by commenting on passing equines; but mostly because saddle fitting is so insanely important and I so desperately want to learn as much as I can about everything to ensure Kadey is comfortable and happy.

I knew my saddle, a Bates Precieux, didn't fit him; but I had no idea just how much! It's too narrow at the back, the panels are too thin and it sits down on his shoulder due to muscle atrophy over his back (6 months spell + 7 years racing...). Add to that he's very tight and sore (oh hai again, seven years on the race track...) and needs a lot of work.

Strangely, I'm happy about all of this. I know what's up with my horse and can now work on a list of treatments to resolve the problems.

So, from here:

1. Book a saddle fitting session with Graham Aitken, master saddler. I'll have to buy a new saddle so I'm hoping he does a 'pay as you ride' scheme.

2. Try on the third saddle I have, the A/P that came with Kadey. The dressage that came with him is busted and my Precieux doesn't fit so I'm hoping the A/P fits well enough to use until I get a new saddle.

3. Book bodywork sessions pronto.

In the meantime, if the A/P saddle doesn't fit I might ride bareback or try to find some other alternative.

The saddle fitter said something interesting today - just because the horse is initially happy (or at least not markedly unhappy) in a new saddle doesn't mean that saddle fits, they may just be relieved that the old saddle is gone. Which is consistent with Kadey - his old saddle meant that he'd rear and grunt as soon as he was led out of the saddle up area and initially my old saddle didn't. But now that he's had a few rides in my old saddle he's less than thrilled about it and is letting me know. So I'm looking forward to getting a new saddle ASAP!

The farrier also visited today - he got me to buy a small hoof knife to take on minor trimming of Kadey's heels. It's a bit nerve wracking as I don't want to hurt Kadey, but at the same time I'm keen to learn more about horse management and to gradually take on tasks like this. Kadey's hooves were really good (unlike the last visit) and fingers crossed he's not too sore tomorrow when I go out to see him.

Riding solo :)

This morning was our first solo, unassisted ride.

It's exciting because...

1. I rode Kadey and in no way did he attempt to kill me :)
2. I rode before work, proving that my master plan to train, work, succeed is actually possible :)
3. I rode Kadey without my trainer holding my hand (or his hoof) :)

My trainer gave me a riser pad she isn't using the bring the saddle up - it wasn't secure on his back and the seat was tilting down, which caused me to lean back. With the riser in place he's moving forward happily and isn't having the bucking/rearing fits that marked our earlier sessions.

I'll have to remember to take my camera tomorrow to document the process for posterity :)

Lots of smiley faces - Sunday's lesson was great and the better-fitting saddle has opened things up to me again where I can train, ride and be happy :)

My trainer asked me to work on suppling him by asking him to bend his neck and flex his head to the inside of the circle without coming off the track. One side is MUCH easier but I'll work on it until our next lesson.

Now I can start doing training plans and looking to ride out in the open to improve his fitness, rather than riding him in the arena on sand which isn't a great start to bringing him into work. This morning his fetlocks were a bit warm post-ride so I'll have to check it out tomorrow. So far we've only ridden in the round yard aside from a small ride in the full arena; but I'm thinking tomorrow I might start in the round yard then take him over to the arena or for a walk around the property.

Yay for progress!

Kadey is 95% sound!!!

Kadey is 95% sound!!!

I visited him on Saturday morning - he met my boyfriend, they got along well :) - and he seemed a lot less tender when I led him down to the washbay to treat his hooves.

So today (Sunday) I gave him a light lunge to see how he went. He limped a teeny bit at the start of his trot work but was SO MUCH better! Last week he was visibly limping at the walk and clearly uncomfortable; this time he was fine and just limped a touch initially which disappeared after a minute or two. I even asked him for a canter in both directions and he had enough in him to do his usual 'lunge canter = bucking spree' moves.

I concentrated on a lot of transitions - walk/halt; walk/trot and just one trot/canter in either direction - to both give him some light work but also to get him used to listening to me and obeying commands. The 'stop' command is great now and we also seem to be speaking the same language now when it comes to the lunge aids for transitions.

Yay!

Going to spend much of this week lunging him and will try to book an evening or weekend session with my trainer for later this week as I think he's going to be a bit of a rocket under saddle! So much time off and full feed but no work = excitable horse!

But yay! I'm almost a bit shocked and scared - I've gotten used to just lunging and handling him; actually riding him, particularly given how silly he was last time, is a bit scary but I'm working on my mindset to change that. I'll blog later about a great motivational book I'm reading that has an interesting perspective on managing your fears and getting a better outcome and relationship with your horse when riding :)

Kadey was also really affectionate tonight. When I saw him on Saturday I hadn't seen him for two days and he was a bit standoffish. But tonight he was lovely, very affectionate and playful :D

Bit behind, will post pics of 'interesting' soggy white heels I took on Friday morning tomorrow.

Just wanted to post that yay, today Kadey got to try out his new winter turnout night rug. It's a Weatherbeata Orican Freestyle in medium weight - after breaking his Axiom rug after one wear I was looking for durability!

I don't have any photos as I didn't take my camera and it was pitch black, aside from the lights off the tackroom/office. I know when I see him tomorrow it'll be dirty and muddy as he'll invariably roll in it, but I'll take a pic anyway for posterity.

Another agistee suggested copper deficiency for his hoof and windsucking issues, so I'm going to look into it. I also need to return the call of the lady from County Herbs, so hopefully she can give me some pointers.

The agistment owner said the farrier took too much off the hoof and also made it so he's walking on his sole, which isn't cool. So I'm going to get another farrier out for a second opinion. I don't want to get into the second guessing game - as they say, opinions are like..... and everyone has one; but in this instance I've only had info from one person (my trainer goes to that farrier so she was just saying what he said) and Kadey is STILL lame and the agistment owner said it doesn't look like seedy toe. Argh, I just want a sound horse.

At the same time I'm trying not to focus on competing as I'll go insane; so instead I'm thinking about enjoying building a relationship with Kadey and having fun with him :)

Farrier update: Wait it out, sunshine

The long awaited farrier visit happened yesterday morning. His message was essentially - it's normal for this region and weather, suck it up and realise you're not going to get to ride a lot until it dries out'.

He was brilliant, he gave me a great lesson on the anatomy of the hoof and how to treat his issue, which is essentially a fungus problem.

He explained that the fungus existing in Kadey's hoof actually should exist in the hoof, just not where it is which is why he cut it out. He gave me an antimicrobial treatment to put on the affected areas once every 2 days and the rest of the hoof once a month or so for maintenance.

He cut off the broken and chipped parts from Kadey’s hooves and cut out the black areas of fungus, which he called ‘Fungus poo’ (his words, not mine). He said Kadey’s hoof shape was actually pretty good so whoever had been doing them had done a good job. I’ll book him again for 4 weeks time and until then hope for the best.

As per our phone call, he suggested walking/riding on hard and rough surfaces, with loose rocks the best and bitumen the next after that.

So… hopefully Kadey is a bit sound this weekend and I can ride him a little. I’ll take along all three saddles and show my trainer, who I’m hoping can come out at some point, so we can work out which fits him best. Knowing my luck it’ll be the jumping saddle!

It was hilarious all through the farrier’s visit as while he was giving me a very serious lesson in hoof care, Kadey was growing progressively bored and so getting up to mischief, including pulling the guys hat off, nudging his shoulder, picking up the (plastic) hoof stand and throwing it about and when facing into the wash bay, stole a few people’s items (brushes, sponges etc) and throwing them about in addition to pulling on the ceiling mounted washbay hose.

So very cute but SO VERY DISTRACTING!

The farrier also has some interesting rules – he trains in natural horsemanship and so works off body language; during the session Kadey wears a rope halter and is the farrier’s horse; I’m not allowed to interact with him in any way. Instead, my job is to be a post to give the horse a sense of security but still allowing him to feel that he (Kadey) is holding himself rather than being tied up. When moving around the horse I had to keep an open body and to make him step back use hip motions. I might look to do some natural horsemanship with Kadey some time soon as he’s a nice horse and I want to develop a better feel for him and a great relationship and bond  :)

Bonding time: Mum meets Kadey

Today was such a good day!!

I took my Mum out to meet Kadey - we used to ride together a lot when I was younger; and my lovely patient Mum schlepped me to every show, competition and riding lesson I ever went to.

She likes him and he was a perfect gentleman :)

It's so great - every day he opens up a little more of his personality to me as he becomes more comfortable and we build more of a relationship. The thing with his mouth where I thought he was going to bite me was actually him just sort of 'mouthing' my fingers - he grabs your hand and sort of 'gums' your hand gently with his lips and teeth. At first I thought he was getting snatchy for a snack or treat but it looks like it's just his thing, he's mouthy and likes to play. We even had a cute game of tug'o'war with his lead rope as I offered it to him as an alternative to chewing on the wood of the hitching rail and potentially wind sucking.

We groomed him for a bit and then I lunged him. He was really well behaved, we're understanding each other a lot better now :)

We also had fun playing the 'got your nose' game - I still can't work out does he really hate it (which he probably should?) or if he enjoys the game and the attention. As Mum pointed out, he is attuned to me now and follows me with his head whenever I walk away.

I've also found his weakness - liquorice! He'll happily guzzle piece after piece. I'm happy that he trusts me enough to take treats and also that I've found what he likes. That said, I'm going to try giving him an apple again in case it was just that he didn't trust me before.

In all, it was great - we all bonded and Kadey was on his best behaviour. Every day brings new and exciting things, and even though I was down yesterday about his lameness I'm hopeful and looking forward to being able to ride and also enjoying our increased bond.

Yay!

Lame pony is STILL lame and I'm emo

I'm pretty emo right now - Kadey is definitely out now. He was a little stiff when I walked him in hand but I went to ride him as per the farrier's suggestion. But as soon as he was led under saddle he started to rear and grunt. He calmed down so I got on but as soon as I did he bunched up and started to kick out. He was so jumpy, he ran off a little when i got off.

I'm putting it all down to him being sore; that he's just princessy about having a sore hoof and doesn't want to walk under saddle as it hurts, which is fair enough.

It also sucked because he was windsucking a bit and so rather than building a bond with him I had to keep repremanding him, pretty much undoing all of the bonding we've done over the last week.

So I'm pretty disappointed at the moment and worried about the following:

What if...
1. He is lame and will always be lame OR highly prone to being lame. Ergo, expensive lawn ornament.
2. This is going to cost $$$$ in farriers, vets, equissage and who knows what else to sort out.
3. What if he's always going to rear and buck when I try to work him?

I'm trying to view things in a businesslike manner - ie at worst if he's lame for life I sell him/give him away and save up for the next horse. Not ideal but just means I need to save dollars. Doesn't mean my riding career is doomed, just delayed.

I also don't want to be scared to ride my horse.

This is all just. not. optimal. :(

Lame pony is lame :( BUT he likes me!

The good news:

Kadey has calmed down and is turning into a marshmallow - easy to handle and enjoys hiding his head in the crook of my arm. Awwwww!

The bad news:

He's lame. The limping I noticed when I free lunged him this week is because his off side for hoof wall is separating. I had my trainer out there and she had a look and recommended a really knowledgable guy who specialises in barefoot tirmming, who I've booked for Wednesday morning after the Easter holiday. Dammit, was hoping he'd come out while I'm on holiday!! Will have to beg the boss to let me start late that day :(

The guy said the best thing is lots of movement and as he's able to walk freely I'm going to start taking him for trail rides this week just to get some saddle time and to stop both Kadey and I going ca-ray-zee. I'm hoping by trail riding it'll keep us out of the boggy arena and into some hopefully harder ground that'll firm his hoof up.

My trainer advised that the trimmer may make some suggestions that'd be great in an ideal world but in reality would be hard, particularly given how strict my agistment place is. For example putting down rocks so they have something hard to stand on.

Apparently due to all the floods plus the acidic soil in the area where Kadey is agisted has led to a number of horses having fungal issues lately. I just want him to be ok and for this to not turn into a million dollar experience. Eeek!! His comfort and safety comes first, I just need some time to save up so I have a buffer again to cover me for any emergency expenses like this.

Progress!

HE LICKED MY HAND, THEN TOOK A PIECE OF SUGAR!!!

Ok so he spat the sugar out a minute later, but whatever. He took a treat from my hand.

YAY!

END: So, it looks like perhaps he's more of a salty horse than a sweet treats one? I'll add a salt block to his paddock (picking one up tonight) and will also try a few savourvy treats with him in future.

But really, I'm just so happy that he now trusts me enough to interact with me in that way. Having him lick my hand was one of the nicest things to happen to me all week :)