Updated Bucket List

 Last week USHJA announced the dates for inaugural Adult Hunter Finals.  Big shout out to former blogger L.Williams for being on the committee that got this done!!  I shared a post on FB about how qualifying and competing at finals is now a bucket list item, and it got me thinking of my long neglected bucket list I have on the blog. So, let's update my bucket list; updates in bold. 

gratuitous pony pic to break up the wall of text 

• Show 3'6", hunters or jumpers
• Nope, I'd be happy to get to 3' now. No need to go any higher
• Qualify and compete in a medal finals
• Qualified and competed in the 2013 LOH Hunter Medal Finals, placed 6th.
• Qualified and competed in the 2024 OHJA Foundation Medal Finals, placed 6th.
• Show at Thermal and/or TBird, and if I win the lottery, Spruce Meadows and WEF
• If I can't show at Spruce or WEF I'll take watching there
• Traveled to Spruce Meadows in September 2022
• Ride in a Hunter Derby
• Have done a few 2' derbies at schooling shows 2023-204. Updating this to have my trainer show Cinder in a National Derby, and if I have the nerve do one myself.
• Jump the open water
• No thank you
• Clinic with as many top riders/trainers as I can
• Watched the George Morris clinic at Whip N'Spur Dec 2015, 2016, 2017
• Audited an Anne Kursinski clinic Dec 2022 
• Breed and raise/train a baby
• I didn't breed her, but obviously have raised and trained Cinder
• International horse shopping trip!  My cousin's husband's sister has her own barn in Belgium and starts and shows babies.  She's told me anytime I want to go ride with her or go shopping to just let her know.
• Still want to go horse shopping in Europe. 
• Have my own one ton pick up w/ living quarters trailer.
• Meh, I'm kinda on the fence about this. I do like my current two horse and LQ trailers are pretty damn big and expensive. I'm also at the age where I really like sleeping in hotels for horse shows as opposed to staying in the trailer.
• Win a cooler
• Done 2023. Won the MDTE 2'Hunter Series Champion
• Show at Adult Hunter Finals
• Would also check off showing at Thermal on the bucket list

Freeman Farm November 2024 Show

 We managed to make it to one last show this season, at at venue I haven't show at in ten years.  The farm was established in 1921 and was owned by the same family till they sold in 2022, and I'm so happy the new owners managed to keep the same vibes and aesthetic while doing some much needed upgrades.  

Cinder got her first winter clip the day before the show. Not great timing, but at least she wasn't a sweaty mess at the show

I had asked Trainer M if she had trailer space to haul for me, as it would cost about the same in gas for my truck as her mileage fee, and that way I didn't have to get up at 5am. She did, and apparently Cinder took great offense to being loaded at 6am in the dark. She got loose from M and jogged around the front pasture to say hi to M's two year old stud colt. But once caught she loaded fine and settled into her day stall at the show. I arrived about 30mins after the horses got there and she was happily munching her hay. My classes were the last of the day so I helped my barn mates showing earlier and then took Cin for a little lunge in the round pen. Unfortunately the footing was full of rocks, so we didn't do much in there. We then went for a walk around the outdoor that was being used at the warm up ring. There was a pig and a very big rooster in a paddock next to the ring that had been causing multiple horses to loose their minds all morning, but thankfully both were in their shelter and didn't cause us any problems. 

She came into flaming heat on Monday, so that probably explains some of her behavioral issues on Saturday

In typical horse show fashion I thought I had enough time to order a burger from the concessions, but classes ran fast and I needed to start tacking up as soon as I got it. One of the teens from the barn was helping groom, and was helping me with Cinder while I scarfed down my lunch. I was standing about five feet from the stall eating as fast I could when I saw Cinder poke her nose out the unlatched door then take off. So for the second time that day Cinder was loose. She was easily caught by another trainer while I ran after her. She then lost all of her privileges and was tied up in the stall while I finished tacking up. 

This show was jumpers and equitation, and the eq only went up to 18". My main reasons for coming were to support the restarting of this show series, and to get her out to a new venue, since she's only shown at Heirloom this year, and Freeman Farm is completely new to her. I figured she'd be fairly distracted and up, and I was completely right. Trainer M hopped on her first and while she was a bit looney in warm up, she settled once they started jumping. They were allowing schooling rounds so M took her in one since she can't do the eq. Cinder looked great and they had a nice round. 

Spoiler alert

I got on and we went in for the flat. We held it together, but Cinder felt spicy and was very distracted by an open door at the end of ring. I was a little caught off guard in our first over fences round by how forward Cin was and got left behind at the first fence. The rest of the round was decent, but Cin kept building and it felt like trying to keep the lid on a pressure cooker. I dropped my whip before going in for our second round but Cin was even more wound up. I ended up making her do the adds in the lines, to emphasize the point that she has to listen to me and not blast around like a rocket ship. She also missed a lead change and then got mad and we ended up trotting a fence because she was too frazzled to pick up the correct lead. We definitely put the "schooling" in schooling show. There were only three in our division, so we ended up second on the flat and for our first over fences round, and third in the second round. 

To put the icing on the day, Cinder once again protested at having to load in the trailer to go home and got loose for the THIRD time that day. Her and Trainer M had a conversation involving a stud chain, and Cinder walked right on after that. I apologized profusely for my horse being a rank asshole, and we made a new rule that Cin must always have a chain when loading. I was expecting her to be spicy and fresh, what with being freshly clipped and the weather deciding it's really fall now, but I wasn't expecting her to be that bad. We might need to rethink how we deal with showing in fall/winter going forward. 

Spooky Season

Autumn has arrived in the past few weeks with a drop in temps and the start of rainy season. Cinder loves the colder weather and now that's she feeling much better after her abscess we have a very spicy, spooky mare on our hands. 

Halloween jump decoration is perfectly fine with her

She had an absolute meltdown in the outdoor arena a few weeks ago, when jumps that had been used at the horse show returned home for the winter and were stacked in the corner of the outdoor. She's jumped all these poles and the coop multiple times, but god forbid they hang out on the pole rack in the corner. Cinder is fine going past the spooky corner when we're jumping, but as soon as you're walking and not doing anything, she's trying to spin and rear. She got so bad during one of my lessons that Trainer M got on her and had a little discussion. 

Said scary poles and coop

She has thankfully gained all the weight back that she lost over summer so we cut her grain back and M has been making it a point to work her more outside, weather permitting. I haven't been able to ride outside since her big meltdown because by the time I get off work and get to the barn it's dark or and when I've ridden on the weekend its been raining. 

The mounting block was strategically placed there for a certain red mare

But we've also had our share of spooky things in the indoor. M has been setting a lot of gymnastic exercises with the poles/cavaletti/brush boxes and Cinder took a lot of offense at being asked to trot into the exercise above. She thought it would be much easier to go around the boxes than over them. How dare we ask her to use her body and sit on her hind end over two little bounces. I foresee a winter of skinnies and gymnastics in our future. 

The Queen is not Queening

Cinder is a drama queen. She is a redheaded mare after all. She let's you know her opinion on things, especially if its a negative opinion or if she's hurting. So it came as a total surprise when she blew an abscess last week. 

I didn't get my phone out quick enough for the full on mare glare, but I'm sure you can guess her opinion on having her foot soaked

The past few weeks Cinder has been feeling about 98% sound, with just an occasional off step on the right hind. No heat, no swelling, no reaction to palpation. We though it was just a remnant of her issues this summer, and maybe the joint injections were still not taking full effect. The off steps would go away once she warmed up and was really moving out, so we weren't too worried about it. Part of the reason we decided to show her was to work her more and see if the lameness got worse, but that didn't really happen. 

That lovely little line at the top of her hoof was the culprit 

Thursday while I was tacking up for my lesson I noticed she had a slightly puffy right hind. No heat, and no reaction to palpation, but she did have a fresh scrape on the leg. We figured she probably whacked herself in turnout and since she is one to swell at the drop of a hat, it wasn't anything major. Trainer M had me walk for 20mins and the swelling went down so we did a light lesson and she felt fine.

Cinder gets a trainer ride on Fridays, and when M pulled her out, she had a lot of gunk on that right hind hoof. M poked and prodded and "a big ass abscess" blew out the top of the hoof.  M told me with how big the abscess seemed to be, she would have expected Cinder to be way more dramatic and in pain than she was showing. When she had her fist abscess at two and half, she acted like her leg was falling off, so I agreed with M. The drama queen was not drama queening. 

I had to hold up a front leg so she would stand full in the water

Since Cin was still as sound as she had been, M had me ride in my Saturday lesson. We just walk-trotted, but Cinder felt the best she had in a long time. We think the abscess had been brewing for a while and that was what was causing the occasional off step. Hopefully that's the case and she continues to feel sounder. 

MDTE September 2024 Show

 Surprise! We went to a horse show. Cinder is finally feeling good enough that I asked my trainer her thoughts of doing a couple classes at the last MDTE show of year. We were in first place for the 2'3" hunters, and in third in the 2', for the circuit awards and as much as I hate being that person, I wanted to point chase. Trainer M thought a few classes would be doable, so off we went. 

Medal Finals participants got these nice glasses and having my morning coffee in them at work reminds me why I have to have a job to pay for these horse shows

To back things up, Cinder was cleared for jumping only two weeks ago. We had been doing a lot of pole work at the walk, and when we started trotting and cantering poles/cavaletti Cinder was quite enthused. Like, I was getting left behind and slightly run away with when we did a line of four trot poles and the first day we started cantering the 1' cavaletti I almost asked for a bigger bit. It was more funny and exciting that Cinder was so obviously happy to be back "jumping" than scary, but I did pull the ammy card and have Trainer M do the first official jumps back on her. But she was a perfect lady and jumped like she's been jumping all summer and didn't have a five month break. 

quick, pre-lesson power nap

Since I hadn't been planning on showing until the last minute, I had scheduled a dental for Peebs and agreed to feed dinner at his barn the day before the show. Trainer M had space in her trailer so she hauled Cinder and schooled her Friday at show without me. I know that's a fairly common occurrence in h/j land, but it felt so indulgent to me to just show up Saturday to the show and have my horse and tack all set up. I got a report that Cinder was foot perfect on Friday, and was even an emotional support horse to another of M's clients whose horse was melting down in the arena while schooling. 

hot mare morning walk

We decided to have Trainer M take Cin in a 2' class to see how she'd do, then have me do a 2'3" round. Cinder warmed up well. She was moving beautifully and hopped over the warm up fences with no problems. M's round went well, minus one corner when she went to rebalance and Cin tried to break to the trot, but they pulled out the win. M hopped off and Cin got a little break while I finished getting ready. 

Spoiler alert

I got on and did a quick walk/trot/canter and jumped like three warm up fences. M had told me the outside lines rode well, but the diagonal line was a little long and that I needed to make sure she was in front of my leg and that I had enough pace to make the six. So of course in our round I saw the waiting, quiet distance to the in of the line and then proceeded to sit there like a sack of potatoes and not make a decision of moving her up or holding for the add. God bless this horse for making the decision for me and getting down the line in a long six. Other than that the round was really nice. She landed all of her leads, we nailed the other lines and found nice distances to the other fences. There were only two in the class and we won. 

With those two rounds we were able to win year end circuit champion in both the 2' and 2'3" hunter divisions. Cinder won two nice leather halters with engraved champion nameplates. Honestly though, the halters were just icing on the cake at that point. Just getting to jump and show my horse again was amazing, and that she felt so good and was so professional and perfect plus winning two championships made the last five months of vet bills and rehab hell worth it. 

OHJA Medal Finals: Day 2

 For the lower medals (the 2'3" and the 2'6") the third and final round is held on the flat. There were enough entries in the 2'6" to separate them out into a junior and adult divisions, so I hopped on about half way through the junior division while the adults were finishing their warm up. We were riding in the big hunter derby ring and the warm up for that ring was a bit small. It was chaotic with the 2'6" adults and the 13 in my class all trying to ride at the same time. There was a couple of ponies I was sure I was going to run over, and apparently no one knows how to pass left shoulder to left shoulder anymore. Thank god no one was jumping or there would have been accidents for sure. 

The judge was calling for a lot of sitting trot and transitions between trot and canter in the 2'6" classes, so Trainer M had me doing that in our warm up. Maya's trot is not the most comfortable, and my back wasn't super happy with all the sitting trot. But she was listening well and I felt as ready as possible heading into the ring. 

The derby ring has really nice new footing that makes the footing in the other hunter rings look like absolute shit in comparison. I hope they replace the other footing with this for next year. 

The flat ended up being one of the most brutal flat classes I've ever ridden. There was a lot of sitting trot, lengthening the trot, two canters each direction, and basically no walk except to change direction. Going right the judge had us lengthen the canter. I was just behind a group of about 4 horses that were on the rail going past the judge and my first thought was "This could be very bad". I turned on the quarter line to try and avoid the pile up but as I was passing a couple of horses, I see one tuck his butt and then explode. The announcer quickly called for us all to halt, and in doing so Maya turned away from the horse bucking. I heard the pop of the rider's air vest go off and Maya scooted forward, spooking slightly at the noise. 

Thankfully the kid was ok and the horse stopped once she was off, so no more mayhem was caused.  We went back out on the rail and the judge started calling some of us into the center while continuing to test the others. I was one of the first called in, which was fine by me. The judge called again for a lengthened canter, and I could see all the trainers at the rail flinch. Like dude, this is a 2'3" local medal and you already got one kid bucked off. 

First time winning a neck ribbon

I don't remember what my final score was, but I know I got a 60something in the flat. We ended up dropping to 6th overall, which I'm still super happy about. For only riding Maya once before showing her, I'd say we did pretty damn well. 

OHJA Medal Finals: Day 1

OHJA medal finals are held over two days, and have three phases. Phase one (a written knowledge test) and phase two (over fences) are held on Friday and phase three (a flat phase for the 2'3" and 2'6" medals, over fences for the higher medals) are on Saturday. The finals are held during a regular rated show, but I only did medal finals. The show was held about 20mins from the barn, and Maya has shown there a ton, so we decided to haul her in for those two days. 

We were supposed to take our written test between 7:30-9:30 Friday morning, and of course my round wasn't scheduled to go till 4:30pm. So I headed over to the show around 8, took the test, and watched a few short stirrup rounds go. There had been a study session held at the show on Wednesday night that I went to and was initially irritated by because it lasted all of 20mins, but the test was the exact questions they gave us at the session so it worked out. I got a perfect 10/10.

Everything was wet because it rained Thursday night and on and off on Friday

 I then went to the barn, hung out, cleaned, and organized my shit before we loaded Maya up around 2 to head over. Maya is a great traveler and was content to hang out in the trailer with a hay net while Trainer M and I watched the bigger medal classes and ate lunch. They opened up the course around 3 for a combined walk for the mini and foundation medals. We walked, made our plan then headed over to the trailer to start getting ready. 

All pro photos from McCool Photography. The show office charges each entry $35 for photos and you get digital downloads of all your pics. 

Trainer M hopped on Maya first, as she can sometimes be a bit spunky at the shows, and M would rather ride her through it instead of lunging her. Once I got on the nerves started to get to me a little. It didn't help that Maya was a little annoyed with me and tried to buck a couple of times. I was riding in her owner's saddle, that has a much deeper seat than mine, and I felt like I was sitting in a hole and slightly behind her motion. I was trying to be more in a half seat, but couldn't quite find my balance. We jumped a few fences, then went to watch a couple of rounds, planning on jumping one or two more right before going in. 

There was a posted order of go, but as the way of hunter ring, there was an open gate for about five minutes. I asked Trainer M if I could just go and get it over with, instead of sitting there letting my anxiety increase. She agreed, the back gate guy gave his blessing and off we went. I felt Maya perk up a bit, and once we picked up our canter she became all business. She really listened to me and was right with me every stride. I liked that the course was twisty as it gave me more to focus on instead of a lot of long straight lines. We landed every lead, and most of the distances came up well. I know I half halted a bit too strongly coming around the corner to fence 3, but otherwise everything else rode really, really well. It was honestly one of the best rounds I've ever ridden. I had given my phone to a friend to video, but it unfortunately died just after my round started so no video. 

We ended up with a 76, so combined with my 10 from the written test, we had an 86 earning us second out of thirteen. I was so beyond happy with our round and honestly don't think I could have done any better on Cinder, or if I had ridden Maya more. Maya got a lot of cookies while we untacked and cleaned her up, and then we headed home ready for round three the next day. 
 

Horse of a Different Color

Its slow going in rehab land. Cinder is feeling much better after her stifle injections, but we underestimated how much muscle and fitness she's lost being off since the end of April. We also forgot that we cut her grain while she was on stall rest and didn't up it once she was back in work, so she lost a bit of weight. For a few days she was looking like the before pic in a rescue before and after. But we've tweaked her diet and she's already looking a lot better. 

Peebs got pulled out again for some walkies, and we actually trotted a circle! He was not amused that I contemplated putting him back into work  

Unfortunately, she's not going to be ready for next week's Oregon Hunter Jumper Association Medal Finals. That was my big goal for the year, to qualify and compete. I also received a $500 grant from OHJA to help cover costs, and a $100 early qualifier voucher, which basically covers my show entry fees. When I realized Cin wasn't going to be ready in time, I cried. A lot. Over the course of many days. I know that's how horses go, you work your ass off and shit goes south, but it still hurts. 

So I texted Trainer M and asked if there was any possibility of getting a catch ride. An hour later she had one for me. One of her other clients is letting me use her mare, a 17yr old Holsteiner named Maya. She's a been there, done that three ring schoolmaster and took her owner to 6th at the same medal finals a few years ago. She can be a little sassy, and likes to test new riders a bit by going slower than a snail and pretend spooking at things, but jumps anything put in front of her. 

Bay ears view!

I had a lesson last night with Maya and she was way more fun than I thought she'd be. She's about the same height as Cinder, 16.3-17.0 hands, but thicker and longer, but she didn't ride as big as I expected. She was also more forward and responsive to my leg than we expected her to be, so much so that Trainer M took my spurs off halfway through the lesson. Maya wants you to establish the pace, then leave her alone and she'll maintain it, while Cinder needs more help maintaining her pace. We ended up jumping a full course and only had one slightly iffy distance. I saw the long one into a line so we kinda cannonballed it and I really had to sit back and get her together to get the five, but we did it. Not bad, considering I've barely cantered and haven't jumped since the end of April and this was my first time riding her. 

Riding the Spiral

 When we last left off Cinder had just gotten a much needed chiro adjustment and we were hopeful that would fix her slightly unevenness. Unfortunately, it didn't. She still felt off, and after a few days of easy work was actually lame. Assistant Trainer M was teaching lessons that day, and videoed us to send to both Trainer M and Doc. Both AT M and I thought it was in the front, possibly left front. And at least Cin picked a good time to be lame, as we had four days of 100+ temps during this lameness spell so I wasn't like I was missing out on much riding time. 

Might have spiraled a bit and briefly thought about pulling Peebs out of retirement. I'm sure you can tell by his ears how enthused he was about this idea

I had been having visions of torn tendons and ligaments during the week between her coming up actually lame and the vet visit, despite no heat or swelling in any limbs. I was making plans of how I could scrounge up money/ a horse to use for medal finals at the end of August, and if I could afford to move Cin home to rehab since a stall at Peebs barn is opening up next month and then part lease something at Trainer M's. As mentioned above, I thought about seeing how sound Peebs was and if he could come back into work. I did hop on him for the first time in over a year and we took two steps from the mounting block before he stopped, put his head up, and let me know that was as much work as he was wiling to do.  

He is down for showers on hot summer days tho

Doc put us on the list for a lameness exam last Wednesday, which is her normal day to come out to the barn. I wasn't going to be able to make the appointment as we had an accreditation inspection at work Wed-Fri last week, but Doc ended up having two different emergencies to go to so Cinder got bumped to Saturday which I was able to be there for. 

As soon as the lameness exam started, Doc clocked the issue as being in the hind not the front, and more in the right hind. We flexed the fronts just to be thorough, but nothing popped up. Cin's hocks were slightly positive to flexion, but the stifles were the real culprits. Cin does have a small bone spur in her left stifle, and we injected both about a year and a half ago, so it wasn't surprising that it's time to inject them again. Doc prefers PRP, so Cinder will be getting injected this week with that in both stifles. Doc is hopeful that we can get her sound and fit enough for medal finals, so fingers crossed the PRP does the job. 

Rehabbing

 Cinder has been rehabbing for the last three weeks. We started off with just a few minutes of trot, adding a few minutes each day based on how she felt. The first day Trainer M rode her, and it was a bit of a rodeo. I had a lesson the second trot day, and while Cin didn't play rodeo bronc with me, we did trot around as fast as she possibly could while being horrifically on the forehand. Not the best feeling in the world when rehabbing a horse. 

Her first day back in turnout and she spent 10mins running laps, then slipped and fell down, and then decided grazing was a good idea

Thankfully those first two days were the worst of it, and she was back to her normal lazy, somewhat balanced self after that. I had to start carrying a whip again during our second week of trot. We were in a lesson, supposedly lengthening and shortening the trot, and I was pony kicking the crap out of her and not getting any difference. There's a whip holder on the side of the arena so I grabbed one as we went past, and it made a world of difference. Cinder did remember how to move out, who knew. 

We went on my first trail ride here, just a 10min loop around some of the pastures after our lesson last Saturday.

Last week we got the ok to start cantering, but unfortunately Cinder felt a bit off. A time or two during our trot weeks she would feel a bit uneven up front in the first few minutes of trot. I had mentioned it to our vet, who thought it was mostly likely due to Cinder needing a chiro and generally being weak. Between all the trauma to the left side of her neck, being stuck in an isolation stall at the hospital for 6 days, being stalled with no turnout and just hand/tack walking for six weeks, and falling in turnout, Cin's body is slightly beat up. Doc was on vacation last week, but was able to adjust Cinder yesterday and said she was out pretty much everywhere. We're back to hand walking for five days, and then can get back on and see how she does. I'm really hoping this does the trick and we can move on with the rehab. 

WW: Finally

 

And not a moment too soon, because Cinder has become quite a handful and we would definitely need some chemical assistance if we had to keep walking much longer.  

Walk it Out

 We are 5 weeks out from Cinder's colic, and 3 weeks into our tack walking rehab journey. For the most part I've been really proud of how Cinder has dealt with no turnout and limited exercise, but last week she started to come unhinged a bit. 

Last Monday she kept trying to take off as soon as I put my foot in the stirrup to mount, and I ended up asking assistant trainer M to hold Cin while I got on. We stood for a minute at the mounting block after I was on, until I felt Cinder sigh and realize she wasn't allowed to blast off. For the most part, the first 3-5mins of our walks have felt spicy, but usually Cinder settles down after that. 

Last Wednesday Trainer M rode and said Cin tried to buck her off twice, once at the beginning of the ride and once about half way through. The next day I had a little mini lesson with assistant trainer N, and once again I had her hold Cin while I got on. Cinder was actually super relaxed and we spent our 30mins mostly on the buckle working on getting her to move off my leg and me to use less hand, especially my inside hand. 

Cin got ridden Friday by Trainer M and was very good, and I rode Saturday during my normal lesson time. I don't know if it was the early morning, cooler temps, the fact that there were four horses in the ring, or some combination of all of the above, but Cin was LIT. She decided she absolutely could not turn left, she spooked at the stall cleaners starting up the four wheeler, then kept spooking at the open door of the indoor. She was doing a fantastic pogo stick imitation, bouncing up and down. I never felt like I was in danger of coming off, but it was obnoxious and annoying. Trainer M and I did discuss getting some drugs from the vet to help keep Cin's brain inside her head. 

Thankfully, Cinder was quieter Sunday and Monday, to the point where I was able to do the second half of our ride on Monday outside. She did spook a little at then neighbor kids screaming while playing in their pool, but that's fair because I'm also scared of screaming children. I was hoping she'd get seen by the vet yesterday, as Doc is usually at the barn on Wednesdays, and was really hoping we could start trotting, but I haven't heard anything yet. Her clot is no longer visible and while I'm not palpating the area hard, I can't feel it either. Fingers crossed we can start doing more work and/or she can start getting some turnout soon! 

MDTE Spring Show 2: April 2024

 So the week before Cinder colicked, we did our second show of the season. I was waiting for the pro pics to come in before posting about it, and then they came the same day she colicked and I never got around to posting about the show. 

All photos bought from Lark Photographs

We hauled up on Friday to school and settle in. This show was about double the size of the March show, and the biggest one yet for MDTE. I was lucky enough to get on Cinder during a lull in the ring, but she was a little wound up and kept spooking at the sun spots coming through the windows in the indoor arena. She was backed off when we jumped, and we ended up adding in the lines, but Trainer M was ok with it as I was giving her a good positive ride and not letting her antics work me up. 

Saturday Trainer M asked if she could do the first round of the 2' hunters and I happily handed over the reins. It had been warm and sunny all day, but a storm blew in with a lot of wind and sideways rain right as I started to get ready. Thankfully, as cranky about the rain as she was, Cinder seemed in a much better headspace than on Friday. She and Trainer M won their round together. I hopped on and did a quick w/t/c in the outdoor before going in for the second round. I don't remember how we placed, but we did get all our leads and made the strides in the line. I was really happy with the rounds. My last class on Saturday was the 2' derby and oops, I did it again and went off course. Stupid bending lines. The rest of the round was great, but apparently I can't remember where to go. 

Sunday we had the Fun Class and the 2'3" hunter division. The Fun Class for this show was Simon Says, and they broke it up into juniors vs adults again. The sun was back and we were in the indoor, which unfortunately had a bunch of bugs and bees flying around in it. We had just started the class by putting one hand on our heads and were trotting around when a few bees started buzzing us and Cinder took offense. I chose life and dropped my hand to grab my rein and was the first adult to get eliminated. 

They had a Mexican food truck come to this show and the pork nachos were the best horse show food I've ever had 

Cinder pulled her classic move of just barley tapping the rail of the first fence in our first 2'3" round and pulled it, but the rest of the round was great. Again, we were able to get all of our leads and made the strides. In the second round she spooked at the sun spot coming through the window again as I was picking up the canter, causing us to get the wrong lead, but the rest of the round was pretty darn perfect. I was really, really proud of us. The under saddle was also pretty darn perfect. I didn't let her break in the canter or pick up the wrong lead and we won! That with thirds in both the over fences rounds gave us the reserve champion for the division. It was a fantastic show and I was really so happy with both Cinder and myself. 

Not Today Satan

After my last post Cinder took a turn for the worse. She spiked a 104 temp on Friday the 3rd, and pretty much wanted to die. Thankfully Doc Wilson was at the barn when Cin got really sick, and watched her for a couple of hours. The new antibiotics take about 48hrs to really kick in, which would be around midday Saturday, and unfortunately there wasn't much we could do other than oral banamine and cold hosing Cin to combat her temp. Doc absolutely did not want to put anything in her vein due to the abscess and clot, and we would only take her back to the hospital if there was absolutely nothing else we could do at the barn. 

Trainer M made sure Cin was bribed fairly compensated for all her shots with cookies

  Saturday morning saw Cin's temp down to 102, and when I got to the barn around 10 she was at 100.5. I had cried the whole 1hr and 15min drive up to the barn, so those numbers made me feel a lot better. I took Cin out for her 30min hand walk and graze, and seeing her so sore was heartbreaking. Her neck was obviously hurting, as putting her head down to eat took a couple of tries.

Saturday night her temp was down to 99, and she tried to smash Trainer M against the stall wall during the temp taking process, so we all cheered that Cin was feeling better. Doc stopped by again, just to check on her since I'm pretty sure it was her new life's mission to keep Cin alive. 

Sunday Cin looked so much better, way more alert, and was able to graze a little easier. We did our hand walk and graze, and every time we took her temp it was under 100. I was supposed to go out of town Monday-Thursday, and had been waffling on going, but with all signs pointing in the right direction, I decided to go. And thankfully Cinder kept getting better while I was gone. She had her last dose of banamine and antibiotics on Wednesday, but she's still on the ulcerguard and surpass on her clot. 

the best view

Doc cleared Cin for tack walking on Friday, and I gave Trainer M the honors as Cin hadn't been ridden or turned out in over two weeks. It was our first really hot day, around 85 when M got on, and Cin usually melts in those temps so I was hopeful that that would discourage her from being naughty. And it did. You could see Cin start to think about spooking, then decide it was too much effort. I rode on Saturday, and for the first few mins Cin felt a little up, then settled in really well. 

Now the biggest hurdle is clearing the blood clot. Doc wants to take it very conservatively, so Cinder's lost turnout privileges, and is tack walking only. We started with 20mins, and can add 5mins per week for the next four weeks, and then we'll recheck the clot. Cin is also allowed hand grazing. She's lost a fair amount of weight (I actually had to go buy a girth in a smaller size), and while she's back up to her pre-colic rations, we're not adding anything while she's rehabbing. Doc would rather her be skinny and quiet instead of adding a bunch of food and making her hot while she still has the clot. Fingers crossed the next month is uneventful and Cin can tolerate the walk only work well!

The Neck

 Cinder finally made it home from the hospital on Wednesday. They called me around noon and said she could be discharged anytime, and I was there 30mins later. 

Unfortunately Cin did develop a blood clot at her IV site, plus the abscess. Her temperature was normal on Wednesday when they sent her home, and I was given a weeks worth of SMZs. I was also given surpass to put on her neck, and instructions to keep her on ulcergard for a few days and to take her temp 2x/day.

Her lovely new haircut with the slight swelling from her clot

Thursday morning saw a return of her 102 degree fever. She was wearing a light sheet as the overnight temps were in the high 30s/low 40s, and after having her sheet off for an hour her temp was down to 101.3. Doc Wilson, our normal vet, was called and she wanted to hit the infection with some harder drugs. So now Cinder is on penicillin and gentamicin, in addition to banamine and ulcergard. She's on soaked hay, in a hay net, small soupy grain mashes, and 30mins of hand walking with 10mins of grazing.  She's also getting heating pads on her neck. 

First fresh grass in a week

Obviously we're not even a day into this routine, but I got a message that her temp was 100 this moring, she had normal poops, and was good for her am shots. I'm so thankful for Trainer M's team for taking charge of her care, and keeping me updated. I feel relieved that she's at a barn that takes such great care of her, but also guilty for not being able to get out there everyday to help. Fingers crossed we've turned a corner, and the new antibiotics will kick this abscess's ass.  

Cinder vs the Hospital

 Last Thursday I got a text around noon from Trainer M that Cin was a little colicky. She hadn't eaten all of her breakfast and wasn't touching her lunch alfalfa. They gave her banamine and were watching her. I got up there around 3, and took her out for a walk and she finally passed some manure. A pic was sent off to the vet, and because Cinder hadn't had anything to drink since that morning, we made some soupy mash for her per the vet. She drank some, but as the hours went on, not enough, and the vet came out around 7:30. All vitals were good, and gut sounds mostly normal, but she was starting to get a bit dehydrated so she was given electrolyte paste and walked some more. She ended up downing about five gallons of soupy mash and seemed to be getting better. 

Around 9:00pm she got very uncomfortable, very quickly. The vet was still there, and a quick listen indicated no gut sounds. We discussed sedating her and doing a rectal, but then Cinder tried to go down, and we decided to send her to the vet school. Trainer M quickly hooked up a trailer, and off we went. 

At the hospital, they were able to feel a small colon impaction, but felt that we had caught it quickly and they believed she could pass it without surgery. She did have a slight fever upon arrival, but they put her in a regular stall and got her hooked up to IV fluids. I left around 1am on Friday, after giving the ok for surgery, if she needed it. I got about 3hrs of sleep before heading off to work, which is on the same campus and the same street as the vet school. I got a call from vet school around 10:30 saying she hadn't passed any manure, and her fever had gotten slightly higher, and they were worried about a possible salmonella infection. 

I got off work at noon, and was able to have a quick visit with Cin. They had moved her to an isolation stall, but she had passed three piles of manure and was obviously very pissed and hungry. Fecal PCR tests had been sent off, and I was told we'd have results in 24hrs.

I didn't hear anything else till 10ish on Saturday morning. Cinder had pooped a little bit more, and had started getting some soupy mash, much to her delight. She did attempt homicide on the vet students, so I assumed she was feeling much better. I was then told that we wouldn't have the fecal PCR tests till Monday, but as her fever had broken and she seemed much better, they weren't as worried about a salmonella infection as they had previously. They were going to slowly start refeeding her, and if all went well, I could take her home Monday.

 

in her isolation stall 

I got a quick update on Sunday morning, mainly that she was very hungry, eating and pooping well. She did have some swelling at her IV site, so they pulled the IV. The vet said she was a little worried that Cin might have developed a blood clot, so they were going to ultrasound the area to check. But we were still on track for a Monday afternoon discharge. 

Since I had been getting updates around 10am everyday, I eagerly awaited my update Monday morning. At noon, when I hadn't heard anything, I called and was told there were numerous emergencies and I would get a call back within the hour. At 2pm, when I still hadn't heard anything, I called again. I was told I'd get a call back in 10-15mins. At 2:45 as I was dialing the phone, I finally got my call back. They had just finished the ultrasound on her neck, 28hrs after they said they were going to do it. Thankfully, there was no sign of a clot, but there was a lot of inflammation. The vet was more worried now about an abscess forming. They had sedated her, so I needed to wait a few hours for her to wake up before taking her home. The vet also suggested that it might be good for her to stay so they could monitor the IV site, and since it would be late by the time she'd be awake enough for me to take home, I agreed to leave her for one more night. At least the preliminary fecal sample had come back negative for salmonella.

So of course, in my morning update phone call, Cinder has spiked a 102 temp and has the beginnings of an abscess in her neck. They started her on antibiotics, and FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, she can come home tomorrow. She's totally over the colic at this point, and I'd rather treat her at home for the abscess than leave her there any longer. I'm really upset about the lack of communication, and the lackluster care Cinder has received. Why did it take them 28hrs to ultrasound my horse to check for a blood clot in her vein? Why, when the horse was supposed to be discharged at 3pm, was no one calling to tell me that that wouldn't be possible until 2:45pm?  I'm 100% sure that we can manage the abscess at home, and she's going to be so much happier. 

Spring has Sprung

 We've been in that weather rollercoaster know as spring for the past few weeks now. A few warm and sunny days, followed by cooler and wet days, and I even had to wait for my car to deice yesterday morning. The trees, flowers, and bushes are all flowering and pretty, and thus the pollen count is sky high. So far I haven't seen many bugs out yet, but apparently they're here. 

The murder mares, Gin and Cin, as coined by my lesson mate on Saturday. 

I got a report that Cinder was bucking and running like a crazy horse in turnout last Wednesday, and was super worked up when bring brought in. When I was grooming her on Thursday before my lesson, she was Very Not Happy with me brushing her belly. I leaned down to take a look, and found edema just in front of her teats, weeping blood. I asked Assistant Trainer N to look at it, and she texted pics to the vet. 

I didn't get any pics before we put cream on it

Vet called almost immediately, and we made a game plan. We're assuming Cin got stung by something, probably more than once, as this seems more than just bug bites. Cin got put on bute and Zyrtec for a few days, as well as vetasan ointment. It took three of us to put the vetasan on the first day, me holding her shoving cookies into her mouth, Assistant Trainer M holding up a front leg, and Assistant Trainer N applying the ointment. She was better in the following days about having the ointment applied, and it only took one person thankfully. 

I didn't ride in the lesson, and Cin got Friday off as well. When I went out Saturday for my lesson, she had the slightly manic look in her eye that said she needed to do something, so we did the flat part of the lesson and then watched the others jump. She was actually better than I expected her to be, but Sunday the bute and Zyrtec fueled ADHD was in full effect. There was lots of cantering involved in that ride, but we were able to end on a good note. She's been of the meds since Monday, so hopefully she'll be less manic for my lesson today.  

Assist Me

 Trainer M's program includes two assistant trainers, ML and N. ML usually teaches the beginners, while N usually plays more of a barn manager/show groom role and teaches when M is on vacation. Well, Trainer M has been on vacation for the last week and a half, so not only have we had our first lessons with both ML and N, but Cinder has been ridden by both of them as well. For those that are counting, N was person #4 to ride Cin, and ML was #5. 

sharing the last of the show pics

I was a touch skeptical going into my lessons with both AT ML and AT N, mainly because I haven't really seen them teach much. I have seen N ride, and she's a very soft, sympathetic rider so I figured she'd be ok with Cin. I got good reports back on Cin's pro-rides; she did try to pull some "who the hell are you" shit with N, but they worked through it. ML told me she's a sucker for a chestnut mare and prefers the hunters, so she loved Cinder. ML also took Cin out on her first trail ride around the property and said she was perfect. 

I've have enjoyed my lessons with both ML and N. The weather's been cold and rainy, so we've been focusing on pole and cavaletti work in the indoor. We struggled a bit in our lesson last Thursday doing a  quasi circle of death, it was cavaletti on the short side, to a cavaletti bounce, two strides to another bounce on the long side, ground pole on the short side, to another cavaletti bounce then a short five strides to a ground pole on the other long side. Cinder said no thanks, that's a lot of work, and kept trying to duck out to the left when we were tracking right. N mentioned that I was dropping my inside shoulder, which I've heard plenty of times before, but suggested I think about dropping my outside shoulder to square myself up and help hold a counter bend so Cin can't run out to the left, and I've never heard it phrased like that. It really helped. I have to remind myself that it's good to lesson with different people, even if it's just to hear something I've heard dozens of times said in a different way that makes more sense. 

MDTE Gallops Saddlery Preview: Sunday

 I decided to sleep in Sunday and not play jump crew and it was nice to have a somewhat leisurely morning. I got to the show around 9 and watched the jumpers go before getting Cin ready. We had the 2'-2'3" medal and the 2'3" division on Sunday. 

 I did wear my spurs, which made Cin a little pissy about having to go forward, but more in an annoyed don't tell me what to do way, rather than an I'm exhausted way. We did a quick warmup, jumping like three fences, and then went in first for the medal. I almost forgot the halt after fence four, but was really happy with the rest of the round. We ended up winning!

Trainer M came in to hand out ribbons and give congratulatory scratches 

The medal has no oxers, but the 2'3" division does, and I'm not going to lie, they looked big standing at the back gate. I realized I haven't jumped an oxer since before my riding break, and I let that get in my head a bit. In our first round I didn't really count our strides, just tried to ride forward and keep my leg on and told myself the oxers were nothing to worry about. It worked, and we won the first round. Cin was getting tired, and despite my nice first round, I psyched myself out in the second and got a bit discombobulated. I ended up having to circle coming into one of the outside lines, but was able to fix our falling in issue and keep going. We rightfully placed fifth out of five for that one. 

I swear it looked bigger

I was determined to not let Cinder break in the flat, and to have crisp transitions and we almost did it. She was really good tracking left, and for most of our time going right. She did decide to break in the canter going right, just as we passed the judge. I did call her a bitch under my breath, hoping the judge wouldn't hear. Either she didn't see the break, or everyone else was way worse, because we placed second. With that, we ended up reserve champion in the divison. 

Despite our little bobbles, I was really really happy with how the show went. I was nervous showing after not riding for months, and switching trainers, but Cinder has grown up so much that everything was old hat to her. We know what we need to work on going forward, and I can't wait for our next show later in April. 

MDTE Gallops Saddlery Preview Show: Friday and Saturday

 While Trainer M's barn runs this show series, our home barn isn't set up to host shows, so most of the shows are at the gorgeous Heirloom Equestrian Center about an hour away in Washington. In the past, Trainer A and I hauled in for the shows, but Trainer M had a lot more clients going, and asked her riders to help out at show, so we got stalls for the weekend. M also arranges pretty much everything, so literally all I had to do to get ready was clean my tack. M loaded and hauled my tack trunk, her groom and working student set up the stalls, packed hay and grain, and did all the feeding and cleaning all weekend. I did end up hauling Cinder and one of M's lesson horses, so that way M didn't have to make two trips with her trailer.  It was nice to not have to worry about logistics, other than hauling the two, who were both perfect passengers. 

All pics bought from Lark Photography

I got to the show a few hours after the others did, and took Cin for a quick walk before putting her in her stall. She normally gets a pro ride on Fridays, and Trainer M said she'd school her at the show and I could hop on after for a mini lesson if I wanted. Cinder has grown up so much, and has been to Heirloom enough that I figured she'd be fine and I didn't want to do too much with her, so I told M that I didn't need to get on. M rode Cin for probably 20 minutes, hopped over two jumps, and declared her perfect and that she agreed that Cin didn't need to do more. 

My sleeve and glove were so wet after this class

Saturday morning was jumpers, and I played jump crew to help work off some of my show bill. I figured if I was going to be there anyways to watch, might as well make some money. This year the show is offering fun classes (rose all day, ride a buck, toilet paper relay) between the jumpers and hunters on Saturdays and M told all of us that were doing them. This show had the rose all day for the 21 and over group, and a post and pop for those underage. We were given a cup of water (because the show manager "Didn't want to waste perfectly good wine.") and sent out for a judges command type class. I was nervous about how Cin would do riding one handed, in a slightly chaotic arena, and with me holding something out to the side of her, but she was surprisingly good. We survived the two point, sitting trot, posting trot, canter and both trotting and cantering a cross rail. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad M made us do it. 

We had a couple hours between the fun class and my 2' rounds, so Cinder got to go back to her stall and I contemplated running to the Gallops trailer to buy new gloves because mine were so wet. I slowly got ready for the 2' and before I knew it it was our time to warm up. Cinder was little confused about having to go again, and a little behind my leg, but warmed up well. In both of our over fences rounds we had a case of first fenceitis, where I didn't get her forward enough and found crappy distances. In hindsight I should have put my spurs on. Most of the issues we had were from lack of pace and impulsion. We placed third in both classes. We also suffered from a lack of impulsion in the under saddle. Towards the end, in our right lead canter, Cin broke and would not pick the canter back up, so I nailed her with my whip. I knew at this point we were placing at the bottom of the pack, so why not school. M agreed with me when I came out of the ring. 

Our last class of the day was the 2' derby and I was determined to have her in front of my leg. The course was pretty fun, a canter in trot out line, a halt, and a bending line. Cinder was a little confused as to why I was suddenly asking her to trot in the line so our trot fence was meh, but I liked our halt. And I legged the crap out of her after the halt to pick the canter back up since we were going right past the gate. I was not about to have her suck back or break on me. So of course when I was so focused on her going forward, I completely forgot where I was going, and did the bending line to the wrong jump. Whoops. And had I jumped the correct jump, I probably would have won the class. Besides that stupid mistake, I was otherwise really happy with our round and glad we were able to end the day on a more positive note.