a friend visits!

My friend Cinnamon came to visit and work with Lucy today. C has not ridden for an entire year and yet she was brave enough to want to get on Lucy, who has had three days off (Kenny's birthday, farrier visit on Thursday, and saddle fitting visit on Friday).

When he was investigating the fit of my saddle, the saddle fitter pointed out right away that Lu's withers have widened significantly since he was last out, and the saddle was pinching her quite a bit. That would explain why she gets very upset if my balance is tipped forward at all. He reworked the flocking so that there is now plenty of clearance up front. C's ride today was the first ride in the altered saddle and I was really happy with how Lucy relaxed through her back and softened into the contact. I am positive that  C's quiet and balanced way of riding had a lot to do with that, but I am sure that the saddle not pinching helped too.

The saddle fitter also broke the news to me that I would have to start saddle shopping if Lucy got any wider or her topline built up anymore (which it will). The Stubben I have now has panels that are a smidgen too narrow for her back, i.e. there is not enough displacement of pressure and she is getting sore along her spine. Fixing the pinching issue will help, but he advised me to at least prepare myself for a saddle search. BLAH, I hate saddle shopping!! :(

Lucy has a chiro/massage appointment tomorrow and I am anxious to see what the chiropractor says about her back and hind end.

I was so impressed with how well C rode today. She really is a wonderful rider. I hope she doesn't wait a whole year before she comes back again :)

Lucy started out stiff and unyielding, as you can see here. She was like,
"la la la la oh is that your inside leg? la la la..."

and then she started out at the trot looking like a llama

but before long C had her looking quite nice

a bit of freshness at the canter

but C sent her right forward and had the whole thing resolved in no time.

right about this time I almost felt emotional. It was so nice to see
Lucy going well and looking happy.

a little tantrum (check out the Alfalfa-style forelock sticking straight
up into the air)

but right back to work.

stretching out at the end of the ride

the two ladies after a successful ride!

I also got some video:



Then this little oopsie happened, and I wasn't really sure if I should run over and hold the horse, or stand there and let C do her thing. I decided not to complicate the situation, since Lucy stopped fairly easily and didn't seem like she was going to rocket off anywhere. C displayed excellent horsemanship. Look how calm she remains, and how they go right back to work.

Lucy rearranges her paddock

Lucy's chiro appt was yesterday. He texted me a few times during the exam, since I was stuck at work, to ask me questions like when her teeth were done and what saddle pad(s) I have been using. I like this chiropractor because he doesn't just make the horse go pop and then call it a day. He takes everything into account, right down to the horse's tootsies. He reported that she only tried to kick him once (sigh), her neck was sore, her SI area was very tight, Lauren's saddle doesn't fit at all, and my saddle is going to have to be replaced in the future.

Uhhhhhhhhhh...

Ok, well this was a lot to digest on a Monday after a very long meeting at work. Poor Lauren, but at least my saddle fits well with the help of the fleece 1/2 pad I usually ride in. As for the kicking, this is nothing new and she doesn't try to kick the person, but she does tend to kick out slightly when her hind end is being messed with (I suspect she's just uncomfortable). I hope this was the case with the chiro because I really hate when she's naughty around professionals who are trying to help her. As for the neck soreness, that was confusing until I got to the barn after work to find Lucy down on one knee, butt up in the air, head twisted to the side with her left cheek on the ground wedged under the fence to get at the grass on the other side. "Well, this explains a lot," I thought.

I think I will get a second opinion on my saddle before do anything drastic. I cannot afford a saddle change right now and while the chiro assured me it was perfectly fine to ride in with the half pad, I want to plan for a change if that's what has to happen so that I'm not caught broadsided like I was last time (similar to what just happened to Lauren, except I had no saddle to ride in). I have a fabulously talented saddle fitter and if there's a way to fit this saddle to Lucy, even if I need to adjust the tree, that would be preferable over getting a different saddle.

Then I got a really fun phone call today at work to let me know that Lucy had gotten tangled in her hay net and in her effort to free herself, she pulled down a bunch of fencing in her paddock. Luckily this is not the fencing that keeps her in her paddock; rather it surrounds a tree and some vegetation that the barn owner doesn't want the horse to get into. It's steel panel fencing and I bet she really scared herself pulling all of that down. I am so grateful that Maddy got to the barn not long after it probably happened, fixed the fencing, doctored Lucy's scratches (her LF has a nice long scrape on the outside of the cannon bone), and rigged up a better system for her hay net.

I am not really a big hay net fan but she wastes hay like it's $0.50 a bale (um, try $7/bale) and the hay net really helps to keep hay off the ground and in her belly, instead. This causes a few problems, though, because I don't want her twisting her head to get at the hay, so I leave the hay net as low as I can without risking her getting tangled in it. Clearly this backfired today because she DID get tangled in it, so it's going to have to get rigged up a bit higher.

I just can't win!

Good news is that after work, I went to bring the horses in and feed them, and I let Lucy have a quick free lunge in the indoor before I gave her dinner. She rolled in her favourite spot, had a nice trot, then took off in a bucking and leaping fit up and down the arena that lasted a solid two minutes as I stood there with one eyebrow raised and an amused smile across my face.

Thank god I didn't decide to ride that beast today.

Lucy gets treated to a spa week

Lu has been working very hard, and she's been an excellent sport about everything. I decided it was time to treat her to a bit of primping. :)

Kenny and Lucy earlier in the week. She is so awesome.

What a good horse.

She got her feet done yesterday, which is a normal part of horse ownership, as it happens every six weeks. But today, she was adjusted by Dr. Steven Katz, a local chiropractor who is great with the horses, even sensitive flowers like Lucy. He also did a bit of muscle release/massage with her, and checked the fit of my saddle and Lauren's saddle. I haven't had my saddle's fit checked since I bought it last November, so it was waaaay overdue. The sorest points he found on her were her SI/hip area and her neck. Her SI joint has always been a bad spot for her, which probably stems from her time as a racehorse. Going from zero to forty miles per hour in a few strides puts a lot of stress on a horses hind end and after doing it for two years while still so young, the damage doesn't just disappear magically.

Dr. Katz doesn't need any fancy gizmos to do his magic. He comes equipped
with a couple milk crates to stand on, a clipboard, and a pen. Here is Lucy
waiting patiently with Cairo next to her waiting not-so-patiently for Dr. Katz
to come back inside after adjusting the flocking of my saddle.

Luckily for Lucy, Dr. Katz knows his stuff and he isn't put off by sensitive mares (ahem) and in a short amount of time, he had her feeling much better. He got some great adjustments in her neck and was able to release a lot of tension in her hind end. I always love watching him work with his patients because of the way he gets the horse to use their own weight to adjust themselves.

After Lu was all done, Dr. Katz posed for a photo with her. "She has a BLOG?"
he asked with a smile. Why yes, yes she does. Is that weird?

Next Monday, she has an appointment to get her teeth done. She is still young enough to need to be done every six months. Last time she was seen by the dentist, she had some sharp points and he had to remove some caps. We'll see what he says about her this time around!

Between the pedicure, body work, and dentist visit, she should be feeling quite wonderful! She deserves it, though :)

Lauren also had a great ride on Sunday. She and I went out on a trail ride together. It was supposed to be a "snow" ride but by the time we actually got out on the trails, the snow was almost all gone! We had a good time anyway, and after we got back to the barn I put the horse I rode (my little project Appy -- I really need to update about him, too) away and she had a bit of fun with Lu out in the field. It turned into somewhat of a Rambo commercial:

see? SNOW!

I also need to say a HUGE thank you to anyone who voted for me in the Tredstep Facebook contest. I won! Thank you for your support!