Consistency is key

Maddy, Amanda, and I have all been working together to keep Lucy in consistent work so that she doesn't go through another episode like she did after Christmas. Maddy has been riding a few nights a week and trying new (and IMO insane) things like letting Lucy trot around with the reins looped over the horn of the saddle. Brave girl!! Amazingly, Lucy really responded to this and Maddy reported that she trotted around with her head down just cruising along.

Amanda has been doing a ton of GREAT groundwork with Lucy and then switching it off with under saddle work. One thing she has done that I think has helped Lucy a lot is to start off with groundwork, then ride for 20 minutes, then get off and do some more groundwork, then get back on and ride some more. Without meaning to, I had Lucy conditioned to think that 30 minutes of work was the absolute MAX she could handle, and god forbid you stood in the middle of the ring with her to let someone jump a course or something; she thought she was done and if you tried to make her go back to work, she was very unhappy about it!

All of these issues are slowly resolving themselves and Lucy is a much happier horse when she has a consistent job so I am very grateful that Amanda and Maddy are both putting in so much time and effort to keep her going.

Last night Maddy organized a trail/versatility training night at the barn. She set up a whole bunch of different obstacles and everyone got to try them out. Lucy and Amanda did so well! Lucy had seen a lot of the same obstacles before, but not for a long time, so I was pleased she remembered them and behaved herself.

She even wore a hat!

Going over the tarp: no problem!

Going over the dark cloth rug caused all of the horses to take pause and
Lucy was quite scared of it at first. Once she got to sniff it all over and
look at it from every angle, she walked on it, and then Amanda was able
to ride her over it.

It was a fun night!

10 degrees? Sounds tropical!

Ahh, New England in January. Yesterday: temps in the mid teens, 8" of snow. Today: Temps in the low double digits, sunshine. Tomorrow: 30 degrees, sunshine. By Monday: 50 degrees and rain.

So ridiculous.

Today I got so much baby-planning stuff done and rewarded myself with a trip to the barn, where I donned two pairs of fleece pants, two pairs of socks, and Kenny's huge thick heat-reflecting Columbia jacket, which fits my growing bump the best.

While waiting for my water heater to warm up some water so that each horse could have one warm bucket with their dinner, I tossed Lucy in one of the grass turnouts and she had a bit of a spin:

And this, my friends, is why this horse wears bell boots! 

I love her so much. Look at that face.

 She was very happy out there and got some energy out so I grabbed her rope halter and my helmet and climbed aboard :D

I haven't ridden in a while but Amanda has been doing so much work with her on the ground, and I could read her body language today and knew she was in a good place mentally. She was perfect for me. We just walked around the paddock twice and had a little trot up the long side. I hopped off and gave her a big hug after that. I love her.

good girl!

Show Report

Thanks for all the supportive comments on my last entry. Truly, the only day I felt sad about getting laid off was the day it happened, and it only lasted about 5 minutes. I am not the type to let things like that get me down. My resume went out to a pro to be revamped and I spent the week searching job listings and applying to ones I liked. I am feeling hopeful that this layoff may be a blessing in disguise, and I may end up in a better job where I am valued and appreciated.

Lucy has been doing great this week. She didn't have too busy of a schedule because Amanda was working a ton, and I was busy job hunting and helping Kenny with the house renovation projects. We finished spackling and sanding earlier in the week, and the first coat of primer went on last night. It looks really good in there!

It's funny how the day flies by even when I don't have a job to sit at for 8 hours. I thought I'd have a ton of time to spend at the barn but in reality I do not. I'm sure as I figure out my new "schedule" sans work, that I'll be able to hammer out my barn time. Good news is that Lucy seemed to do well with the extra days of R&R, and was a superstar yesterday at the show.

The morning started out well enough. We planned to leave around 8, and wound up leaving at 8:17. NOT BAD! :) Brantley loaded up great and Lucy practically ran onto the trailer to be with him. Sometimes, a horse's attachment to their buddy sucks. Sometimes, though, it rocks ;)

Both horses were nice and quiet for the ride over to the farm that was hosting the show. Of course it started to rain en route, but a little rain never killed anyone, so we weren't concerned. Amanda and Maddy checked in and picked their classes, we unloaded both horses, and the girls took them for a small tour of the farm so that they could see everything.

After that, Maddy took Brantley into the outdoor ring to lunge him a bit, and Lucy was almost beside herself. Now that is the kind of buddy-buddy attachment I cannot STAND. Amanda was trying to hold Lucy as Lu was walking all over her. I suggested that she take Lucy and do a bit of groundwork with her, lunging on a small circle, changes of direction/speed, etc. Lucy started out very distracted and not wanting to listen, but quickly turned her attention to Amanda instead of Brantley, and soon was looking much calmer and less concerned about where her friend was! We didn't have any additional problems with them needing to be together after that.

Amanda signed up for the Open W/T division, and also the OTTB W/T division. She did a small warm-up with Lucy and noted that she felt Lucy was the type of horse you didn't really drill before going into a class, which was totally spot-on. She did just enough to make sure Lu had a brain in her head, and was supple, and then went into her classes and did so well! Lucy was quiet, calm, and happy. At one point she got a little pissy so Amanda took her out of the ring, gave her a break while the next class went, and then returned back to the ring. Lucy's brain had totally reset itself thanks to her break, and she went better than ever.

I was glad there were other horses in all of Amanda's classes. This show is sooooo tiny that sometimes you're the only person in the ring, and there's no point to that! We can ride by ourselves at home and not pay to do it ;)

Maddy and Brantley had a great day, too, but I'll let her tell you all about it on her blog!

Here are some photos:

warming up in the misty outdoor

how cute is that face?

winner winner chicken dinner! Lucy was all, "DUH..."

Champion of the Open W/T division

Back in the ring for the OTTB division

After this class was over, the judge commented to Amanda that she had a lovely,
calm mare and the judge really liked her.  Amanda pointed at me and said, "she
belongs to Kate over there" and I laughed and said, "thanks for the compliment;
she can be pretty wild and this is her first show back after six months off for an
injury so we are thrilled with her behaviour!"

Then the owner of the farm we were at asked us if we wanted to breed Lucy
to an Arab stud.

Umm...

Would you ride a Lucy x Arab cross? ;)

She was so chill, didn't care if they were standing around or not, and calmly
hung out while Brantley was in his classes.

Great job, ladies!

The whole crew, from left to right: Natalie (Comic's owner), Brantley,
Maddy, Me, Amanda, and Lucy!

Loading up to go home was a bit of a challenge. Brantley was not having any of it, and I really felt for Maddy because I have been in her shoes so many times. It is extremely frustrating for your horse not to load after a long day at a show/clinic/event when everyone is so tired (and cold and wet in this case). Brantley had whacked his head on the trailer getting off of it earlier in the day, and he seemed to be saying, you want me to get back on that thing? HELL NO! But with time and patience, he calmly stepped on. The only good part about all of that is that after duking it out with Brantley for a while, Maddy suggested we try to put Lucy on first. Lucy had been eating grass a ways away with Amanda's mom holding her while we tried to load Brantley. Now Lucy is notoriously a horrible loader, but to all of our amazement, she walked right on even with Brantley not loading. Good girl!!

After putting everything away, cleaning the trailer, and turning the horses out with very generous piles of hay, we went and stuffed our faces at a local pizza place. Maddy and I returned the trailer to her friend who let us borrow it, and thus concluded our show day!

Secret Santa

I LOVE this time of year because it is Secret Santa time! I always participate in the CoTH exchange, and my barn also does a Secret Santa.

I love shopping for other people more than I love shopping for myself. It's fun to get my CoTH match because the person I'm buying for is always a total stranger, and I enjoy the challenge of getting them something they'll love based off a few paragraphs about them. Sometimes their letters ask for specific things and other times they are more vague.

I always try to do something creative for them. This year I am painting a saddle pad. I also got her a few fun things at Equine Affaire, and then based off her likes and dislikes (silver jewelry, natural/low-key colours, horse-related bracelets), I bought this off Etsy for her:

Purchased from Beach Side Leathers on etsy.com

The barn Secret Santa exchange is the best, though, because I actually get to see the person's face when they open my gift, and that is the greatest part! It's also cool because we all know each other in real life, so it's easier to figure out what to get the other person. Some boarders know one another better than others, so it's an opportunity to learn more about someone you may not talk to a lot. Our barn has two separate barns, rough board and full board, and so we don't all see each other all the time. Plus, everyone's schedule is different! I am pretty sure my barn giftee reads my blog so I will have to wait to disclose what I got for her, but don't you worry: IT. IS. AWESOME.

Of course it's also really fun to receive Secret Santa gifts, too! One year someone drew a portrait of Lucy for me and it still hangs in my kitchen. As an artist, I really appreciate and value other artists' work and it was such a sweet and thoughtful gift! I also usually mention my favourite Dark Horse Chocolates (peppermint ponies), and my favourite Stubben Coat Care spray that I can't find anywhere around here. I just ran out of it the other day and I was very sad! Last year at my barn Christmas party, my Secret Santa got me a beautiful Alex and Ani bracelet that I love. So it doesn't have to all be horse-related!

How many of you guys participate in a Secret Santa exchange? What is your favourite gift you've ever gotten?

another great day!

First, I actually succeeded in getting Kenny to the barn in a somewhat clean ensemble, with the dog; and also I managed to clean the 2" of dirt off Lucy that I found her covered in this morning. I even had to shampoo her legs - they were disgusting!

Maddy took the photo for me and..drumroll please....

everyone's looking (kind of) at the camera!!! SUCCESS!!!

Then I tacked up and had another super ride, and this time, I got photos!

YAY! Good pony! I should go buy a lottery ticket or something.

Then Amanda got on for a few minutes:

AND she got to ride Merlot the dreamliner.

Then Maddy got really brave and decided to jump Brantley over one of the XC fences:

So all in all, it was an A+++++ day and everyone had a super time!

out and about

Ugh, when I'm not riding Lucy, I have so much more time to do the really annoying chores, like cleaning my tack.

Over the holiday weekend, I took home ALL of my leather tack to clean and condition it. It took me about three hours to do three bridles, one English saddle, one Western saddle, one extra set of leathers, one breastplate, one standing martingale, one running martingale, and one girth.

My poor Western saddle had been especially neglected, and it
really looked like a million bucks when I was finished with it!

I cleaned it all out on my back deck and really went to town with the soap, since I could make a mess out there and not really have to worry about it. I used "Supple", which did a great job getting rid of the grime and bringing out the shine! Hey, I should market that phrase.

I even used a toothbrush to clean the tooled parts of the Western saddle, and all of the other hard-to-reach places on my other tack. That HAD to have earned me at least some good leather care karma.

Good news is that my previously neglected-looking $5 breastplate that I got at a tack sale earlier in the spring now looks very fancy. The leather is lovely and rich. I don't think it was originally an expensive piece of tack by any means but it certainly looks like it's worth more than $5 now!

I have a few other items that I have lent out to various horsey friends since I am not using them during Lucy's vacation so I will do those when they get back...maybe ;)

I appreciated the feedback on Lucy's upcoming second attempt at acupuncture, with Ace. I spoke to a wide variety of people who had acupuncture done on their horses, plus two vets, and the consensus is that Ace MAY or MAY NOT have a detrimental effect on the effectiveness of acupuncture but it will not harm the horse in any way, so we are going to give it a shot. One of my friends said "You've already mentally spent the money, why not give it a try?" And that is so true, since the vet did not charge me for the failed first attempt.

Lucy has been going out on grass every day with her boy toy Brantley, now that he's home from training. They are in love. Well, Lucy is in lust. Brantley is in love with the grass. Somehow this works for everyone involved.

Kenny also taught me how to drive his motorcycle. My car is a manual 6-speed so I picked it up very quickly.

And finally, yesterday we walked in the local Memorial Day Parade with Cairo, as part of the local dog group. She soaked up all the attention and loved saying hi to the kids who were watching the parade. She was perfectly behaved and a lot of people asked what breed she was. One lady even said, "I know that dog! I saw a photo of her wearing a lion costume!" so basically, my life is complete.

jam-packed Saturday

I always go to the area tack sales to browse, but yesterday was the first time I have ever gone as a seller. Lauren and I, along with our friend Nate, all split a table at a local sale and I am thrilled to say I sold most of my more expensive stuff! I still had to bring a lot home, but the extra cash will help purchase more hay in a few weeks. I bought one thing: a nice-looking breastplate for $5! The leather looks kind of neglected but with a bit of TLC it will come right back to life.

I got back to the barn around 2pm, and at 3pm, my friend (J) arrived to do some Reiki on Lucy and I. I've never experienced Reiki but I am open to anything. From my very limited knowledge on the subject, Reiki is all about gathering energy and sending it places. J has been working on humans for a long time but wants to start working on horses, so she asked if Lucy could be a test subject. She "read" Lucy's energy, going around her whole body, and said she felt something very powerful just in front of her right hip, high up. She said she wasn't able to tell if it was an injury or something just bothering her, so she sent positive energy into the area. I gave my full attention to the way J was holding her hands, and tried to feel what she was feeling. Lucy started out agitated and untrusting of what J was trying to do, especially when she was next to Lucy's hind end, but after a few minutes Lucy calmed down so much that she was closing her eyes and dozing! She also worked on me a bit and said my energy lacked confidence and I was unsure about a lot of things in my life. Yes, I'd say that is pretty accurate. She gave me a few exercises, not physical exercises but more like meditative things, to try.

After that it was time to give poor Lucy her shot to bring her into raging crazy heat :( :( :(

I felt SO bad, seriously, I have watched this horse go through a lot of vet-related procedures (palpation, clearing out a obstruction during a colic, dental stuff, countless shots, etc) but this was the WORST thing I have ever had to watch her go through. I gave the shot and it went just fine; she was well-behaved as usual. About two minutes went by with no reaction and then suddenly, her whole hind end buckled under her, her head went up and the look in her eye was one of shock and fear, like what the hell is going on back there?! I just about had a heart attack and said to J, who had thankfully stuck around to watch her with me, should I call the vet? And she said, give it a few minutes, let's see how she does.

Lucy got very sweaty - she was sweating profusely on her chest, neck, and ears. Veins were popping out all over her body as if she'd just been for a gallop through the field, but other than the muscle spasms that came every 5-10 minutes for the first 40 or so minutes after I gave the shot, she seemed totally relaxed and continued eating her hay! I had left her halter on in case we had a real issue and I had to get her up or something, but thankfully it did not come to that. The spams were very obvious and looked painful - each time, her whole hind end from her hips backward would contract under her body. Being a female, I have an idea of what she was experiencing but I am pretty sure cramps in a horse are a whoooole lot worse than what I have had to endure. I just hope on Wednesday when the vet re-ultrasounds her, we can either move forward with the spay because that right ovary isn't doing its job, or we can put this whole issue to rest!

Anyway, after about 40 minutes, she stopped sweating and the cramps ceased. J headed home, and Maddy had come to the barn at that point so we both left to get a beer - we really needed it! ;)

In FUN news, my Ninja Rider shirt came in the mail and it is SOOO cute. I debated whether I should get one for a while and then they posted a 25% off sale, and I can never resist a good sale lol. I bought a baby pink t-shirt with the ninja and the grey jumping horse. SWEET!

"Oh, a PHOTOSHOOT? Let me get right in there."

"Well now I see I am not the focus of this photoshoot, only a PROP."

Trying to look more awesome than the shirt.

Trying to cover UP the shirt. She is something else!

ahhhh such a great ride!!

I planned to ride in the indoor today, and maybe do some jumping, but just as I got on a lesson started and I didn't want to interrupt. I decided to ride in the outdoor instead, but when I got on I realised the footing really kind of sucked. After all that snow fell last weekend and Maddy and I rode in the outdoor, we had an entire day of rain, then it froze, then it was very warm for a couple days (in the 40's), then it froze again, and the result is a lot of layers of uneven and slippery footing where the footprints were from last weekend's ride.

In the small grassy paddocks, though, the footing was perfect because no one had been in there. I gave it a shot and can I just say, LUCY WAS PERFECT.

Here are some photos!

just as I started riding, the snow began falling. we're supposed to get another
six inches by tomorrow! 

here I was saying, alright this footing sucks -- onto plan b!

YAY heels

got her back, got her together, and got her back into the canter in less
than two strides. NICE :)

Lucy says, I'm glad that you love me and all but where's my damn cookie?!