Current Riding Playlist

1. Ritual// Ghost B.C.
2. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked// Cage the Elephant
3. Role Modelz// J. Cole
4. Lazaretto// Jack White
5. All Along the Watchtower// Jimi Hendrix
6. Tessellate// alt-J
7. Don't Fear the Reaper// Blue Oyster Cult
8. Don't Let Me Down// The Chainsmokers ft. Daya
9. Alright// Kendrick Lamar
10. Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)// Steel Panther

The chorus of Fat Girl is Lexie's anthem.

Moving from our temporary field to the new barn on Wednesday! So excited to get back at it.

Explains Candy's behavior at all times.

- K & C & L

Low Jumps, High Standards

Some barn drama and my lesson on Lexie this last weekend got me really thinking about my personal philosophy when it comes to riding. I putter around 2'6-2'9. I lease an older, but athletic horse, who, at her peak was going 1.10 m. I've been leasing her a year, but have been puttering around 2'9 at the most for about the last 7-8 months. Why? A myriad of reasons. Confidence issues for one- a freak face plant over a 3'3-3'6 vertical several years ago, fitness issues from the horse and rider, soundness issues for the horse, and a desire to move up in a manner I agree with.

My personal philosophy is that jumping is flatwork with speed bumps. I want to be fit. I want my horse to be fit, and our flatwork impeccable. Because Lexie is an older horse with past soundness issues, I'm careful about bringing her along, and limited to riding 4-5 days a week with school, work, and being on call. Would we be jumping higher if I rode 6 days a week every week? Without a doubt- she would be fit, and I would be ready to handle her fitness.

H and I had an epiphany during my lesson yesterday- Lexie doesn't run to be a brat. Sometimes, she really feels herself and wants to be strong and fast, but her flat, strung out canter? It's fitness. She isn't strong enough to hold herself, and I'm not strong enough to help her. Does a strung out canter matter over a cross-rail, 2'6, even 2'9? No- it really doesn't. Even most horses can get away with 3' flat and strung out. But to me, I can't ride a horse who feels like that.

I want a powerful hind end rocking back. I want a supple, rhythmic canter. I want to have a partnership with my horse where I am strong enough to support her when she needs it and she is strong enough to hold herself without me.

We're getting there- this last month hasn't been easy between abscesses, weather, and schedules, and Lexie has lost fitness. So H lowers the jumps in the lessons, and I up the frequency of trot sets and trot work and increase the time of our flat sessions (although, being on call the next 14 out of 21 days will make it interesting). 

I would rather jump small and tight than big and sloppy. I want the flatwork to be there before anything else. Once the flatwork is there, the jumps and the distances fall into place.

- K & C & L

Flat Session: An Internal Dialogue

If anyone wants to know how my loose ring snaffle rides on Lexie go... Welcome.

K: "Leg yield a little bit. Get straight. Come on. Leg yield the other way. Freeee walk... Lift your back... Thank you..."

K: "Well, this trot is lovely. Even better over poles. What a good girl."

K: "Get off your forehand at the canter. Yes, we can hand gallop. Stretch your legs. Good girl..."

K: "Alright, let's try some collection. Equal pressure between hands and the mouth. Add leg to make her push up into the bridle, ask for a little contact. Leg into the hand, leg, leg, leg."

K: "Ok, leg yield at the trot. LEG YIELD. STOP CANTERING. Leg yield, leg yield, leg yiiiield- thank you."

K: "Haunches in- FOR THE LOVE, STOP CANTERING. STOP RUNNING. WHOA. BACK UP, back up, back up. Good girl. Light seat, slight squeeze, think swingy, and... haunches in, haunches in."

K: "Now canter. CANTER- STOP RUNNING. GET OFF YOUR FOREHAND. USE YOUR BUTT. LIFT YOUR HEAD. LOWER YOUR HEAD. STOP HAULING AND I'LL STOP HAULING. This is it... this is how I die.."

K: "Less hand, more leg and seat? MORE hand, MORE leg, MORE seat- stop sucking back. Supporting inside leg, wiggle inside hand, squeeze outside hand, bend, bend, bend, aaaaand that's it. That's an actual canter. Look at you, using your back. Look at me, actually riding. Now let's move off the circle, and trot."

K: "Ok, let's trot like a full size horse... What are your legs even doing right now? Are we gaiting? Are you having a seizure? Use my core, small post, smaller post, smaaaaller post, sit deep in my seat, and stop my body, aaaand we're... not square."

K: "Well, my thighs are burning, I can't feel my left hand, my abs hurt, and my back hurts... You're done. Let's walk, and you can have a cookie. Thanks for not killing me, and thanks for trying so hard for me."

"I do wut I want."

- K & C & L

Guess Who's Back... Back Again...

Lexie's back. Tell a friend.

Homegirl is SOUND. The vet peeked at her and Candy- declared both problem children sound. Candy is still getting foot rads done to be safe, because with his body type/breed/age, I worry about a Cushing's related laminitic episode (I am a vet student after all).

I finally hopped on Lexie Friday for our first ride back. She was breathing fire. When she gets like this, I like to run through Novice and Training (eventing Novice and Training) dressage tests until she supples, and then we call it quits.

Saturday... I guess I was so excited she was back, I temporarily lost my mind and popped her over some medium cross-rails (2'6" in the middle). She was wonderful- responsive, and really using her hind. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that in order to slow her down, I have to bend her, and ADD leg to get her pushing up into the bridle.

Lexie finally got her new half pad and she loves it!

ROOTD.

We're lessoning twice this week so hopefully more posts to come.

- K & C & L

Whomp Whomp

Lexie is still vaguely lame- her owner, H, is consulting the vet to figure out where to go from here. H wanted me to ride her this morning and see if she was less lame with weight/not on a lunge line. She exploded on the lunge line in her usual fashion to the left, so I'm hoping she's still improving. Lexie was a doll for our quick ride. She's willing and wanting to be forward and round, happy to be back at work, but still uncomfortable. There's no heat, no digital pulses, but she's still tender in her left front foot. I'm just hoping it's stubborn residual bruising.

Shambly hairnet situation. Not 100% awake at this point in time.

Basically, got up at 4 AM to go ride a lame horse at 5 AM. Candy was his ridiculous self; he and Lexie got moved to the fat kid paddock, and he wanted to leave with us. Once we left, he galloped/gimped rapidly up and down the fence line screaming.... So... the herd bound factor is real for him.

She is a pretty lady. I can't blame him.

"Never leave me again."

- K & C & L

Updates on Updates

Lexie probably 90% sound right now. She's got some pretty bad hoof bruising from the abscesses, but has a shiny new set of four shoes. She just finished up her Magic Cushion regimen (and it is now stuck everywhere), and got her last gram of Bute yesterday. I'll lunge today, and if she's sound, give her another day off before returning her to work. If not, she'll just hang out until she is sound. Bruises take time to heal!

The only benefit of a solid week of no work, half hour of grooming, and bathing- DAPPLES.

Ok, so this isn't the best picture of dapples, but she's so shiny.

(And for Lexie, tons of cookies shoved in her face so she would stop being a cow about Bute- Dearest Lexie, I can still reach the top of your head even if you lift it really high. Stop trying.)

Candy has been happy to spend tons of time with the girlfriend (of course).

He's gotten his fly mask funk, so lots of Blue Stuff is being applied.

I've been hacking Charlie, one of the lesson horses. Being a lesson horse, he's quirky (tongue sticks out, never knows where all four limbs are at the same time), but he seemed thrilled to pop over some 2'6ish fences. He wasn't thrilled when I asked him to be round and work through his hind during our lesson last week and his flat session yesterday, but you can't always get what you want, Charles.

Other than that, Equine Critical Care has been a blast. I've been passing nasogastric tubes, placing catheters, and finally got to rectally palpate a horse! It was so cool feeling everything, and now I can finally make a little more sense of where things are internally.

Finally snagged a photo of the elusive LilaBear.

- K & C & L

Applying School to the Real World

I just finished my Equine Surgery and Sport Horse Medicine rotation last Friday. Saturday, I gleefully went out the barn, hopped on Lexie, and started our trot work, when I noticed it... a head bob. She was lame in the front. I had spent the last two weeks watching horses jog, trying to learn how to pick up a lameness and learning differentials for the varieties of soundness we saw.

For whatever reason, probably being tired or slacking on horse care, I had neglected to check her hooves and digital pulses before tacking up. I brought her in, and checked her hooves- hot. Poor thing had abscessed both front feet.

1 soak per foot, multiple boot changes, 2 blown abscesses, 2 pulled front shoes, and 4 new shoes later, Lexie is on the mend. She was still a little painful today, so she just got a groom and a gram of Bute before going back out.

As much as it's a bummer to not be able to ride Lexie at the moment, it is so cool to be able to apply things I learn in school to real life!

- K & C & L