Why are you still here? Update your URL!

I have temporarily disabled the redirect on the blog because the universal feedback I'm getting is that it is very very slow.  It's slow for me too - and it seems to be causing some residual slowness even when you get to the new site. 

So, until I have a better redirect, please please please make sure you are on my new URL before leaving a comment etc. 

www.bootsandsaddles4mel.com/blog

Please let me know if there's any other difficulties with the migration!

Thanks!

Mel

New URL!!!!

If you tried to come directly here, you may have noticed that the blog looks a little bit different and you were directed to a new URL (www.bootsandsaddles4mel.com/blog).  If you subscribe through a reader of some sort, you were probably NOT automatically redirected and you are reading this post!!!!!!

I've finally gotten around to doing what I've meant to do for years - get my blog off of blogger and onto the my main webpage. Increasing problems with blogger (such as the search function randomly malfunctioning and the inability to edit widgets once I add them them to my side bar) finally reached critical mass.

Please update your bookmarks to the new URL (www.bootsandsaddles4mel.com/blog).  I know that the site isn't as readable as the old one (font is hard to read and formatting is a bit weird) but I'll be fixing that soon. A rainy day(s) is sometimes the motivation needed to buckle down and get website todo's checked off the list!  

All the content and comments that have accumulated here over the years (5 years!) has been moved over to the new URL, so you won't be missing out on anything!!!!!  

Please let me know if you have any problems or there are issues with the new site. 

:)

Mel

Selfie

Was planning on writing a cute little story about how me and Farley went on a lovely little ride this afternoon since it would take too much brain power to write about Tig and a very interesting Farley/Tig ponying ride earlier this week. 

I even took selfies of us prior to ride.

 See how thrilled she looked?

Almost as thrilled when I saddled her up and she realized she wasn't just being taken out for carrots and who knows what else . 

She gave me perhaps the worst ride I've ever gotten out of her in the 6 1/2 years I've owned her. 

The footing was bad, the sky was grey (I'm very amused how my camera phone tried to "adjust" the exposure in the picture above and made it look like there was blue sky and clouds.....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  It was totally grey and sun-less) it was misting/raining/sprinkling and she was infuriatingly BAD.

My head is still spinning. My blood pressure has returned towards the direction of normal.

Tig has been challenging this week. Farley actually put in a stellar performance on Monday that helped me out tremendously with Tig (more on that later). With all the drama, ALL I WANTED WAS A RELAXING NORMAL RIDE ON MY BROKE AND TRAINED HORSE.

BUT OH NO. 


Today reiterated that the difference between Farley (15 year old with thousands and thousands of miles) and Tig (4 year old who just cantered under saddle last week for the first time) isn't necessarily that one is EASIER to ride. Farley is just more PREDICTABLE.

As in, PREDICTABLY doesn't like rain. Or quiet trail walks in bad footing. Or conditioning. Or doing something she sees no point in. But PREDICTABLY when the sh*t goes down, she isn't going to dump me or hurt herself.  Which is reassuring.....BUT DOES NOT ENDEAR HER TO ME WHEN ALL I WANTED WAS A NO BRAINER RIDE AND SHE DECIDES READ ME THE BOOK "MARE EVASIONS - PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE".

The good news is that Tig already has 2 rides this week and a third planned for this weekend, and there's absolutely no reason to take Farley out again before I'm good and ready....so I can pretend horses don't exist for a couple of days, go out for some nice mood-cleansing runs, and take some deep breaths. (while studying for Monday's test, Wednesday's surgery etc.).

Not cool Farley, not cool at all. Be good or I swear I will RETIRE YOU and will call you old to your face instead of just behind your back. Getting ALONG and LIKING each other for 12 to 24 hours at a time on the trail is PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION.  Not just being fit and trail savvy.

I nominate last week as "Best Week Ever"

I'm going to tell you about my AWESOME week.

Even though very little of it has to do with horses, or endurance.

As you may know (or guessed) I tend to keep this blog specific to a small portion of my life.  This isn't a diary or a journal or a "tell all" or a blog about vet school.  However, I like to think we have a deal.  Most of the time I stick to horses and endurance, but if SOMETHING REALLY COOL HAPPENS, I'll make sure that you, My Dear Reader, get to hear about it. Because after all, we are more than distant bloggers or blog readers - we are friends.

Fasten your seat belts (or rather grab your horn or OS shit strap) because HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

1. Monday I had *my* spay surgery.  I was the surgeon (not the assistant or the anesthetist), so this was *mine*. I had visions (nightmares really) of a huge in heat pit bull bitch….but when I got there I had an adorable older boxer mix. Incredibly sweet and…..I had a feeling already spayed.

On my physical exam I could feel a ventral midline scar, which is VERY suggestive of a prior spay surgery. However, the shelter can't adopt them out unless they have proof of spay - which means since she didn't have a tattoo on that scar, she had to be opened up and checked for a reproductive tract.

Nope. No tract. I closed her back up.

Some body cared about this dog enough at one point to spay her. She was obviously a pet and was incredibly sweet. Her history indicated that she went into the shelter as a "stray". If anyone is looking for a sweet older boxer and is interested, she came from the Antioch animal shelter in California (crossing my fingers she already has already been adopted but I haven't checked).

I had mixed emotions.  It was harder to say there wasn't something there, than to grab the horn of the uterus and proceed with the procedure. So, in that way it was a good learning experience. I was able to reflect how much better I am with surgery now.  The cutting, the suturing, the anatomy identification.  Gowning and gloving, scrubbing, operating room prep……I am actually starting to feel like a doctor. I am a little disappointed that I didn't actually get to spay a dog (there are no replacement animals for this lab), and she went through an unnecessary surgery.  As I closed her up I put a little dot of tattoo ink on my incision so that she never has to be "re-spayed" again.

2. Tuesday I did a delivery and fetotomy lab. Now, unfortunately so much of what I did this week you are going to considered "really" cool, or is going to elicit the "EW!!!! don't tell me more, and please for the sake of everything decent don't post pics!" reaction. So, I'm going to walk the line between satisfying the curious readers while also keeping those readers in mind that have gentler sensibilities.

A note about any pictures posted in this blog for any school admin types that are poking around. These are NOT from the school and these are NOT any that I took (except for the dog spay picture above). As usual with ANY vetmed related pictures that I post, they are random pictures from the internet or from references. 

Now, where were we?  Fetotomy.

First I want to emphasize that a fetanomy is ONLY done on a dead fetus. If the calf can't be born vaginally and it is alive than we do a C-section. However, if the calf is dead and is either in a position that can't be corrected for normal birth, or has some sort of birth defect that makes it not possible to exit through the vaginal canal whole, then a fetonomy can be a better option than a C-section because it can be easier on the cow.

Cutting up a dead calf inside of a uterus safely is quite a skill. There are traditionally 6 cuts (but you don't often have to do them all to get the calf out) and it's quite challenging to get the equipment placed properly and to make the cuts so that there are absolutely no sharp edges of bone that could damage the uterus of the cow.

The combination technique, skill, and physics of the procedure - with the challenge of it all taking place hidden inside of a fake uterus/repro track - made it utterly fascinating. A piece of wire, threaded through  a "fetotomer", placed in just so slicing through just the right spot to create no sharp edges.

More information (videos!)

3. Now, if cutting up dead fetuses blindly with a wire is not your thing, how about fetal monsters? On Wednesday, in preparation for our C-section (on real live sheep! With live lambs!) we practiced our uterine suturing skills with uteruses (uteri?) purchased from the local slaughter house.

I chose a good looking one that had a large fetus in it and proceeded to make my cut.  And out flopped a acephalous lamb!!!!!!!

This is sorta what it looked like:

From this paper here.

Except *mine* had an orifice between the two ear looking things.

They let me grossly necropsy it and it was SO COOL.  Totally normal except where I got to where a head should be. Even the trachea was totally intact, all the way down to a fully formed epiglottis just hanging out at the end.

It sorta made up for my already spayed spay dog…….

Later on Wednesday I had another lab on regulatory medicine, which was cool but doesn't deserve it's own bullet point.  I practiced my ear tattooing, tag applying, cattle aging, intradermal injecting skills!!!!!

4. You might say that I've already had more fun than any one person deserves in one week and you would be right….but wait, there's MORE.

Time for the Ovine C-section!!!!!

Ever since I poked my head into a room as a first year and saw third years doing their sheep C-sections, it was the surgery I MOST LOOKED FORWARD TO. Sure, neutering and spaying is important, blah blah blah. But I couldn't wait until I got to do my C-section!!!!!!!!!!!  I was really afraid that this surgery was something that was going to be dropped in the new curriculum - but they kept it in the food animal stream, so I got to do a C-section!!!!!!

It was absolutely, totally awesome.  I've never had so many different body fluids dump onto me in such quick succession.

Peritoneal fluid WOOSH
Urine from ewe peeing on table WOOSH
Intrauterine/amnioic/allantoic fluids WOOSH
Blood all over my gloves
More Urine WOOSH

It was AWESOME.

I'm really glad I wore my rubber boots.

Tried to find some videos/pics for you guys….but the only decent sheep one I found the guy wasn't wearing gloves (WTF?) and the goat one was good, but the goat was on it's back instead of it's side so not quite the same effect. So instead I'm posting some pictures (off the internet) and I'm still shaking my head at the no gloves in the pics - so apparently it wasn't just video guy.

Anyways. I'm sure you can use your imagination and imagine the WONDERFULNESS OF IT ALL.

Of course, our ewe was witchy and refused to bond with her lamb until the next morning and my job was made harder that night by worrying that the postpartum depressed mom was going to murder her baby and I was going to find carnage on my next (very frequent) barn checks.

I didn't get a lot of sleep.

Three or four hours to be exact.

Which was punctuated by nightmares that this was going to turn into a bottle baby and because these are range lambs they were going to make us keep the lamb at the hospital and I was going to have to bottle feed the*(&^%*&(* until weaning.

But every worked out fine, mom and baby went home this morning and by all accounts (my surgery partner had the checks last night and today) were doing very well together and all bonded etc.



5. And the fun wasn't done!  Friday was an awesome bovine embryo transfer lab. Your life isn't complete until you get to play with embryo's in a petri dish.  Oh sure, flushing the live cows was fun.  Practicing our stylet passing technique in the dead uteruses in a tray was interesting…..but staging and classifying embryos and sucking them into a pipet? Priceless.

6. We STILL haven't gotten to the end of the awesomeness that this week had to offer, although these last things are more personal accomplishment.

On my lunch hour Friday (yes, after staying up to the wee hours getting my lamb and ewe to come to some sort of agreement) I decided to run a 1 mile test. 

I havne't done so since Oct 30, 2012 where I ran a personal best of 7:42. It was the first and only time I had run a mile under 8 min.

Mile tests are an excellent way to monitor your fitness and so every once in a while I try to remember to schedule one of the miserable things (funny - I'm faster and more fit now but the mile test isn't any more fun than it was in high school…..) and it was on my list of "goals" for the month of January.  And because it was 1/31/14…..it was time to do it.

I used the jog out to the track (1.5 miles) as my warm up, trying to run very slowly so save my legs but hoping the long warm up would compensate for the fact I had forgotten my inhaler at home (I have exercise induced asthma that kicks in when I put in really big sprint efforts). I ignored the fact it was breezy (running in the wind sucks) and sunny (I had forgotten my sunglasses).

Got to the track and lined myself off.

GO!!!!

I ran with no other plan than to run each lap as fast as I could.

Usually I have some sort of idea what time I'm "planning" for, and I do *some sort* of pacing from the beginning and run the whole thing at a fairly even pace/effort with a bit of a negative split near the end.

Sleep deprived, tears streaming from my eyes due to the wind and the glare, and a blood-like metallic taste in my mouth, I just RAN.

On my first lap I realized that my one minute sprint intervals had altered my perception of what was fast and what was reasonable for more than 1 minute. My tempo runs are minimum 3 miles and I had no idea what perceived effort I could maintain over a mile.

I hit my split button at the end of my first lap. I didn't even look. I started my second lap.

There was no way I could maintain this break neck speed. I was going to have to slow down.

I did. Just a tad.

My legs kept moving, my lungs kept breathing, and my arms kept pumping.

Surely I couldn't sustain this. Surely I would have to take a walk break. I was going too hard for being just into the second lap.

I was so focused on pushing forward I forgot to hit the split button between laps 2 and 3.

Lap 3 started and I was sure I was going to have to walk.  This was insane. I had failed. I had started too fast. I knew better. I had made the beginners mistake. It was OK.  That was what these tests were for. For learning.

I was 3/4 of the way through lap 3 and realized my legs were still moving and my lungs were breathing and my arms were still pumping.

I hit the split button as I started lap 4.

Maybe I could do this.

I pressed on.

There was no gallant kick to the finish.  Just a maintaining of speed.

I ran with snot and spit and tears running down my face, ignoring the high pole jumpers practicing in the adjacent lanes with their coaches, who were probably looking at the slow jogger putting in the pitiful effort and RAN.

I realized I was going to puke when I was almost finished with lap 4 and I could see the finish.

Three steps away from the line I started dry heaving.  I tossed my body over the line and hit the button.

Done.

I had no idea what time I had done it in.  Because of how I was using my chrono to track my warm up and mile splits and then my cool down jog back to school, it wasn't until I got to class and did the math that I realized what my time was.

So….not knowing how fast or slow I was, my face as bright as a cherry and my breathing ragged and wheezing I ran the 1.5 miles back to the vetoed campus.

I HAD to run back.  Otherwise I wouldn't make it back to school before my lunch hour was over.

My legs felt totally dead, my lungs as if I had inflated every single little corner in the effort.

I showered, went to class and reviewed my splits.

Lap 1: 1:32
Lap 2/3: 3:42 (1:51 average)
Lap 4: 1:49

Total 1 mile: 7:03

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just ran a seven minute mile.

A SEVEN MINUTE MILE.

Which is approximate twice as fast as any mile I ran in high school.

Which is 40 seconds faster than a year ago.

Which is 1 1/2 minutes faster than the one mile test I did right before I started adding HIIT to my workouts.

They say that sprinting is the best strength training a runner can do. Which boggles my mind because it's so cardio intense.  But apparently strength training = the recruitment of more muscle fibers to do the job and sprinting recruits enormous amounts of muscle fibers that are involved in running.  Which is what you do when you lift heavy weights.

I was reminded of this concept this morning. I'm SORE from running that mile. It was *just* a mile - but I'm more sore than some 10 milers I've done.  AND this mile was completely flat. I feel like I did squats or some sort of weight training, just because I did it fast.  I've got to remember not to take short distances lightly - they can be just as valuable as the longer distances if the intensity is right!

7. Horse related awesomeness. Of course there was horse related awesomeness this week as well. A night ride on Tig earlier in the week, and then a 50 minute 6 mile ride of walk/trot/canter SOLO on the trail this morning (that started out with mare naughtiness, but then she actually RELAXED and settled when I allowed her to canter and was lovely the rest of the ride). But since I regularly wax eloquently (or less than eloquently depending on my state of sleep deprivation) on Tig, Farley, riding, and the awesomeness of my equine related activities, that is all I will say on this subject for now.

Tig recap

It's that time!!!!!  My favorite time.....where I look at goals, progress and redefine where we are going :).

First off, I want to recap the lessons learned!  

Tig has taught me that....I'm braver than I think. I cannot reiterate enough that I'm NOT a particular brave or courageous rider. But yet, like Farley did before her - Tig is REALLY good at telling me when she's ready to take the next step.  I don't know if I've gotten better at listening, or if the TKR mares are just really good at talking....but I can't believe how much stuff I've done with Tig over the last 7 rides that if you told me 2 weeks ago (or even 1 week ago...) I would be doing, I would have laughed in your face.  (The very successful night ride tonight comes to mind.....)

Sometimes having a deadline and a quota is a good thing. I tend to take it very slow when it comes to my horses.  Weeks of ground work, driving, with just short occasional rides in the beginning - not necessarily because they need it but because I feel like *I* need it to get to know the new horse!  After all - I'm starting a relationship that is going to last years and we have all the time in the world. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing!  But.....now I'm riding someone else's horse with the quota of 3x a week riding and a deadline of 3 months to deliver a horse I can be proud of.  Not only have I found myself rising to the challenge of moving along more quickly, I'm  actually enjoying it.

I have clarified my overall goals for Tig. This last week I've managed to pin down exactly what I want at the end of these 3 months.

1. I want Tig to have a strong and appropriate fitness base going into race training this summer that minimizes her risk of injury. As I discussed last week, this means that she's going a little faster and further right now than I would normally ask of a that was looking at strictly endurance as a first career. But for the effort that will be asked of her later this year, it will be appropriate. 

2. I want Tig to have a really good shot at a second career in something she enjoys if she doesn't make it on the race track.  39 rides and 3 months is not much time!  But while we are building fitness, I am focusing on giving her as much breadth as possible in terms of new experiences.  I'm striving to make every ride we do is a little different.  Maybe we do the loop in an opposite direction, or we do it in the dark, or we turn around in a different spot, or we make an extra lap, or we go down new trail, or we do it at a trot......or we do it in a different bit, or I add different saddle backs, or I add a breast collar.  You get the idea. Tig seems to THRIVE under this new philosophy - while she seems to enjoy some routine in her management schedule (like having her feet picked prior to tacking, a brushing down after a ride, a post haltering carrot, a post ride bucket etc.) she seems to REALLY enjoy having variety in her work.

I have defined her upper level of fitness, so have a starting baseline. Tig couldn't have comfortably done a longer or faster ride than the 2.5 hour, 9 mile trail ride we did last Saturday.  Looking at pace chart approximately 70% walk (or stopped), 30% trot (mostly slow, short trots throughout with some longer sustained trotting, of up to a couple of minutes). Canter did not contribute much to overall time/pace.

Without further adieu, let's move onto the plan and revisions.

My progress comments are in pink/purple.  I've crossed out stuff that no longer applies, and added revisions in red. You will continue to see this plan change as we move forward - but revising the plan is an important part of the process so I've included it in the post.

Month 1 (mid January-mid February) goals
- Have a walk, trot, canter under saddle and train any gaping training holes in order to be ready to start physically conditioning at the beginning of month 2. - On track. Gaping training holes identified: canter under saddle, hatred of arena, still occasionally bumps into my space, periods of balkiness that result in not loading/not moving forward over "obstacles" etc.

- Focus on relaxation, calmness, and "neutral" bridle work (light contact, encourage reaching down). Coming along very nicely, on track.

Week 1: low key, low stress. What do you know? Lunging, lead line, arena, trail. Let's get to know each other.  Complete

Week 2: pushing the limits. Not teaching new behaviors or skills, but push what we have so far and see what happens. We did a trail ride at a walk. Now let's do some walk/trot trail stuff. We've been trotting in the arena, what if I ask for a bigger trot? Let's tackle some trails that are a little more technical. Completed everything here PLUS MORE. We cantered under saddle, a couple of days before the plan. But the timing and feel was right so we went for it! 

Week 3 and 4: teach new things and work on known problem areas. Canter under saddle! Trim her feet (she's very defensive about her hinds). Continue to build up trail work until Tig can do 30 min at mostly working trot. Three gaits in the arena or continue to ask for all canters on trail if she continues to be better on the trail.

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Month 2 (mid-Feburary to mid-March) goals 
- Work up to 60-90 min walk/trot. Near end of month 2 introduce a small bit of cantering on trail add a little bit of cantering as regular occurrence on rides (arena or trail, ie as for a few transitions). Walk/trot/canter dressage work focusing on straightness, being through, and being solidly on the bit, whether this work is done on the trail or in the arena.

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Month 3 (mid-March to mid-April) goals
- Work up to 120 min walk/trot. On shorter rides, increase amount of cantering (but keep the overall amount small. Cantering will mostly be in the arena during dressage schooling). Correct and balanced transitions. Continue to Lateral work. Work in arena enough that she knows expectations and behaves herself.

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Tig canters!

Saturday Aurora agreed to babysit me and Tig on an "appropriate mount" and I headed out to Oroville for a meet up.

This ride represented the end of 2 weeks of rides on Tig, and our first "big" trailering out ride.

After loading up gear I had 30 minutes to load Tig.  PLENTY of time.

And…she hopped in on the first try.  YES!!!!!!!!

Unloaded Tig and she immediately started to eat.

And eat. And eat. And not the nervous "grab a bite full and turn around" type eating - nose buried in the feed bag and can't be bothered to post for a picture eating!  Sounds like an endurance horse to me!

We tacked up (including a breast collar AND saddle bags) and hit the trail.



Tig was AMAZING. Early on the ride I managed to actually snap a few "ear pics".

Here's just a sampling of the things me and Tig did together on Saturday

1. passed by people walking their bikes (Tig was an angel)

2. Highway traffic that did not slow down while we were on the shoulder (Tig was a veteran)

3. Several asphalt crossing at intersections. (Tig stood there patiently)

4. Crazy dog pack yapping at us with their (mostly drunk?) owner crashing through the bushes yelling at them. (Tig stared in amusement).

5. Go down a steep bit of section that I was certain I was going to die on, and making plans to bail and just lead down, with Aurora looking on in amusement as Tig tucked her butt and scooted down like a pro. In general Tig is so well balanced going down the trail, I have to continually remind myself that's she's young not to let her trot down hill.  She reminds me of my partner's ride and tie horse who can canter so balanced downhill that if I closed my eyes I'm not sure I would know I was going down hill.

6. Take off a crinkly jacket and tie it around my waist.
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Aurora asked me whether I sometimes forget I was riding Tig and treat her like Farley.

The answer is absolutely.  I don't ride a lot of young horses, so my body, seat, and hands are accustomed to doing a set of things to either ask for something, or to correct something.

I don't ride Tig like a baby….I ride her like a horse.

The result is that most of the time she behaves like a horse.

Sometimes when I ask her to stop jigging, or lower her head, or move to the other side of the trail, she DOESN'T respond like a horse - and so I take a moment to be extra patient and explain it, and then we move on.

I think as a result, she responds by mostly behaving like a horse.

This sort of "ask-explain-move on" sort of philosophy is different from the philosophy I was taught and used when I was riding youngsters many years ago. Back then I had a good seat and could read a horse fairly well, but I lacked the "refined" riding communication skills that two years of intensive dressage training, and thousands of miles on a broke horse.

Back then I what could have been described as a "explain-drill-next step" approach.  The horse and I did the same things over and over until they did it near perfect and then we stopped and moved on to the next thing.  Each "obstacle" was trained, practiced, and drilled. Crossing water, mounting, staying in gait until I absolutely cued something else. Crossing poles, side passing, opening gaits.

Nowadays I do very little drill or repetition.  We move down the trail, I ask and she either responds or not. If she doesn't I explain what I want, she then does it correctly and we move on.  No repeating until it's perfect, or to prove a point.  If we ride for long enough, the opportunity for the same lesson will come up again and again I'll ask, and again she'll have the option to respond, or I'll re-explain it.

It's a no drama, no fuss with an emphasis on relaxation and confidence and giving her the opportunity to be an adult at every opportunity.

Aurora pointed out that one reason I might have changed my approach is because the type of horse I was riding fundamentally changed. Back then I was riding stock type geldings.  Now I ride Arab mares.

I think by de-emphasizing "drill" I also de-emphasize making something a "thing". Which, in my experience with smart, opinionated horses, is easy to do. For example, I could easily make crossing water "a thing".

Tig had several opportunities to cross a tiny bit of water crossing the trail.  Headed out from the trailer there were 2 crossings.

At the first crossing I had to use my dressage whip and leg more than I would have liked to urge her across. It took longer than I would have liked. When she finally crossed, it was more "bolt-y" than I would have liked. But she did it.

We moved on down the trail.  That was her reward for finally doing what I asked. We got to move on.  The stress between us immediately diminished and she could focus doing the next thing I asked right.

Let's imagine if I had turned her around and asked her to go back and across and do it "better".

And again

And again

And again…..

In this situation how have I rewarded my horse finally giving into pressure and doing what I asked? Is rewarding the horse by making it repeat the stressful situation over and over more or less likely to result in the horse doing what I want the next time?

Sometimes you can fix an issue by making it a non issue.

I had never thought of myself as an "arab person", but I might very well be one. What a strange thought.

I'm not claiming to know what will work for every horse, or every arab, or every riding situation.  No one "absolute" approach works for everything.  But after working with a dog whose training very much depends on minimizing stress in order to maximize learning, and working with my horses (and others) over the years - I've leaned more and more towards a mostly low-key approach and had a lot of success.

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The highlight of the trip was, of course, cantering Tig under saddle for her very first time.

She loves the trail as much as she HATES the arena, and because I feel more comfortable going at speed on the trail, Funder and Aurora encouraged me to introduce Tig to the canter on the trail.

Aurora had in mind a certain hill - good footing and long enough we could get up to a canter but the probability of things getting out of hand were low because it was steep.

Sounded good to me!

I'm not a brave rider, but I can usually tell when a horse is ready to give and have a knack for choosing the right moment for success. On the second half of the loop, headed back the trailer I felt like Tig was ready to canter. So, a little ahead of plan, before we got to the big hill, I asked Aurora to move out in front of me on sections of trail where it was slightly uphill with good visibility (most of the trail we rode on was single or double track) and no rocks.

This was the moment Aurora's mount Scrappy had been chosen for - a sensible Rushcreek who would set a sensible speed and not get on hanky if some excitement behind him ensued!!!!

Scrappy moved out at a rocking horse canter.

I sat the trot, kissed, and bumped Tig with my heels.

I fully expected some small bucks as she coordinated her feet and balance for this new gait, and so when she lurched and gave a slight buck I sat calmly as she worked it out and encourage her with my voice and seat.

And boom!  I had one of the loveliest canters I've ever had the pleasure of sitting.  Uphill, balanced, and gorgeous.

When she dropped to a trot, I gently encouraged her to canter again.

Another few uncoordinated steps and a little buck and there is was again!  Cantering!!!!!

We moved down the trail in the fashion - walking, followed by trot and canter transitions (down and up) where the trail allowed it.

I could tell Tig was having fun - she was totally getting this and she was having FUN. Sit, kiss, bump with my heels and she would transition nicely up to the canter, and then on cue back to the trot. Since the trail naturally lends itself to certain gaits depending on footing and turns, I didn't have to drill a cue - I just matched my body language to what was most efficient and practical for that portion of trail.

Now, with smart horses (and dogs) I've learned there are certain stages of learning I can expect.

At first they are giving me a good try. And as long as I'm fair and patient, they take a lot of joy figuring out what I want. Any apparent "naughtiness" is not intentional - they are just trying to figure it out.

Then, when they get it, I get this sense of pride and joy radiating out from them.  They just seem so PROUD of themselves.

And then…..they usually push the limits. They gave it to me nicely a couple of times but now something in their brain says "that was OK….what about THIS?"

Tig's "THIS" was a full on rodeo bronc buck.

I was sort of expecting this.

Canter is FUN.  Cantering is an awful lot like bucking.  Bucking seems to be a horse's version of even more fun.

So, when out of nowhere my feet were suddenly jammed forward at her shoulder, I saw/sensed hind feet whizzing about at the level of my ears, and she went down for a giant BUCK during a lovely couple of canter strides - I was ready.  I had been maintaining light contact with her mouth, focusing on a deep seat with heels down. So when she bucked, I was able to growl, pulled her back into a trot, and then re-cued the "more obedient" canter. I was quite proud of myself. :). I knew naughtiness would come at some point, and I felt like I had responded in exactly the right way.

Near the end of the ride we came to the giant hill that we were originally going to ask for a canter.  I decided this would be our "fitness test" hill.

I pointed her at it and said "let's go!"

She was game.  She gave it her best shot.  She cantered. She did a couple gallop strides.  She trotted. And finally….she walked.

At the end of the 3 months, I'd love to see her be able to trot up that thing nonstop.

Near the end of the ride about a mile from the trailer Tig decided she was done. She started looking around for grass to nibble (didn't I tell you she is a GREAT endurance prospect) and she started doing what I've learned is her "MO" for being done. Stopping. Balking.

The first time she did this to me was in the arena and she nearly gave me a heart attack, thinking she was tying up.

But nope. I quickly figured out that a mentally or physically done Tig is a Tig that stands quietly being balky.

In some ways a temper tantrum would be easier to deal with.  A quietly standing non-moving horse can be quite the conundrum!

I could tell that Tig was close to being done and fortunately we were very close to the trailer and it was perfect timing - I want her to know that I won't ask too much of her - she doesn't have to protect her self by refusing to come with me. She saw the trailer and picked up a little jog.

When it was time to load her up for the ride home, Tig decided she couldn't possibly be asked to one.more.thing. and stood at the entrance of the trailer, refusing to step in (if "refusing" can be defined as standing there quietly and calmly but not moving forward…..). Aurora helped encourage her from the back and she stepped in.  I got the feeling it was less about getting in the trailer (she knows how to load and isn't nervous about the trailer) and more about her not trusting that I wasn't going to "ask too much". She wanted me to know that she was reaching the end of what she had to give me at that time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've learned a lot about this horse in 2 weeks, and -  like I think happens whenever you listen to what an animal is telling you - I learned some things about myself in the process.

But those are topics for the next post!

Post test/ride relaxation

Before taking a test this afternoon that I definitely-probably did not fail, and I rode Farley on a quick trail ride.

Farley either feels REALLY good after chiro, or heard me call her old earlier this week and decided to blow through aids and half halts like a FREIGHT TRAIN.

That about describes it.

Incidentally this is exactly how I feel after most endurance rides.

The cartoon above is from "Dana's Doodles" and she has a ton of cute stuff, including adorable stall cards.  I've always been a fan of fat pony cartoons.  Laurie Pace may paint horses the way I "feel" about them, but fat pony cartoons capture my "life" with horses.

I decided my Friday afternoon could be productively spent looking up horse cartoons that made me laugh. Here are my favorites.

From Dave Elston

Kentucky horse lovers store

Donna Barstow

And then of course there's the one and only Thelwell.  Thelwell was probably the first fat pony cartoons I came across. Here's a few of my favorites.

48 hours post chiro

Took Farley out today for the first time since the chiro.

Wanna hear what I think so far?

Pictured above and below is the "bump" that's on top of her butt. I couldn't get a whole body shot of her in the fading light with my cell phone camera, but it's definitely still reduced from where it's been lately!!!! (both pics are from today, just slightly different angles).

 I tried to find a recent pic that I had on hand to show how pointy her butt was before and see if I could show the difference, but this one was the only thing I could find (*only thing I could find* = happened to be in my dropbox folder under "camera uploads"at this very moment....)


 It just doesn't show up very well, so you are just gonna have to believe me.

Moving on from the diminished bump.

For the last two weeks I've been having to use an additional saddle pad under my solstice. The clearance has always been closer than ideal (huge withers!) top to bottom but I started seeing/feeling the saddle sort of cocked to one side when I was mounted up - I could feel with my fingers that one side of the pommel of the saddle was closer to the wither than the other side, even though it was centered on her back?  It made me really nervous because I don't want my saddle to touch the wither on the top OR THE SIDES, so I've been using a cushioned "insert" pad on my woolback to elevate the saddle off the wither area more.  This imbalance wasn't caused by anything I could feel - the saddle was on straight, I was balanced. No amount of adjusting or squirming fixed it. It was driving me and my OCD-ness bat sh*t crazy.

Today I tried the saddle with just woolback and.........THE SADDLE SAT STRAIGHT ON HER BACK. Even spacing on both sides of the withers. At rest and while moving.  HALLELUIAH!!!

She also was standing much more square and not camped under. I tried to get pictures both before and after the ride. But most of them looked like this so I gave up:



Admittedly I wasn't trying *that* hard. Bad light, cellphone camera, and anxiety problems from poor stress/life management that I *knew* would go away if I COULD JUST GET ON AND RIDE THE PONEH!!!!!!!  

She still looked around when I tightened the girth (slowly and gently like I always do. *sigh*) so I counted her as still girthy. I guess you can't win them all.

When I picked her hind feet, she still seemed a bit stiff and tense.

So, mixed results.  Some improvement, but some no-changes as well. 

Below: Burning in the evening of orchard prunings and some pulled out trees. Farley was acting 15 going on 5.

 Stepped out on the trail and I noticed that she seemed to move free-er.  But I thought she might just be forward since it's been a couple of days since she's been out. After our normal warm up stretch we started jogging, moving onto a working trot. Shortly after that I was trying to convince her that we did NOT need to do an extended standardbred racing trot *just because*. Umm....15 years going on 5? Where's Tig? I need to do a little relaxing trail riding. 

Anyways. All I can say is WOW. The last time I felt something this dramatic in how she moved was when I got her hocks injected.  Which was in the neighborhood of $350, not $50.

Her hind end was so much more active, engaged, and through. I could feel her little motor in the back going, with the hind legs actually extending behind her in long strong strides.

She didn't brace her neck on the side she normally braces on.  She actually traveled straight.

She still had a preference for which trot diagnol (rise and fall with the right shoulder), but today the diagnols felt so close to the same I had to actually look down to see which one I was on. When I changed diagonals on a straight away there wasn't any adjustment in her gait or step - it was totally smooth from one diagonal to the other. 

Now, you could argue that this is entirely a placebo effect. And it's true that some days she feels more engaged than other days.  HOWEVER, I've put THOUSANDS of miles on this mare.  I know the range of what normal for her she feels like, and she felt DIFFERENT today.  Straighter, more active pushing hind end.  She wasn't lame prior to the chiro appointment - I've actually been really happy how she's been moving the last couple months. But, she's always had a tendancy towards uneven-ness and a preference for a "stronger side" or lead. Her diagonals and canter leads feel different from each other.

As we flew down the trail today at a trot she felt perfectly even and smooth even at higher speeds. Normally because she has/had a stronger diagonal, it wasn't uncommon for her to feel almost a bit gaited, or push off harder on one side as if she's about to break into a canter - but not today.  I wasn't having to hold her together or encourage correctness of gait *at all*.

I was told to evaluate after 4 days for the full effect - so I'll continue to ride and evaluate. What will be very interesting is whether I notice a change back to the "old normal" in a couple of months, and whether another chiro session produces the same results (and if the findings during the chiro appointment are the same or different).

So far my verdict with this horse and this chiro (D* - same one that Aurora over at redheaded endurance uses!) is that it's worth it.

A run, a ride, a chiro, AND a vet. Oh My!

I'm going to tell you how wonderful my Monday was. All at once, because if I try to write separate posts on all the different aspects of my Monday, I won't get around to writing them.  So here you have it - Monday bliss in one huge multi-subject post :).

BTW - this ended up being a really long post. I started it at like 6pm?  And now it's 10:30p. With a test on Friday and surgery on Monday, this might be the only post you get all week so I hope you savor it! Because as you will see, Monday did not include *studying*.

Even when you love your career, Monday's are not always wonderful. But yesterday was :). 

We will skip the part where I woke up *early and finished the book that kept me up until 2am the previous night. Even though a cup of coffee and a good book is an excellent way to start the day.

*there was a "miscommunication" that resulted in my waking up early. I had told Matt to get me up when he left for his hunting trip so I could get my long run started. That was before I got absorbed in my book until 2am. So when he turned on all the lights and released Tess (best alarm clock EVER) there was no going back to sleep

First on the agenda was a 3 hour run. But then I realized that I didn't have time for a 3 hour run before I needed to meet the chiro for Farley's FIRST CHIRO APPOINTMENT, so I revised it to 2.5 hours.


Which was still longer than my last long run at home (2 hours) which was the whole point. 

Now, the best way for me to mentally get through a long run is to make a very simple rule. No matter how fast or slow I run, I get to turn around at the half way "time" point. So, I got to turn around at 1:15. This rule helps me not run too fast in the beginning (because then I will be *really* far away from home) and it motivates me to run faster on the way home).

I was only 45 minutes into the run when I reached my 60 min turn around point from last time. Worrisome. Because I was like over six miles away from home. Mmmm....if there's one thing I've learned over the last couple of years is that flexibility has done more for me than stauchly following the rules. I was really close to a river access point that I ride too so I made the decision that I would run to that access point and then turn around regardless of time. 

Tess and I made it to the river in 1:07 and spent a couple minutes cooling off.

 And posing for pictures

 And ignoring the fact I really shouldn't be this tired only half way through a run.

Tess had tons more energy than I did. The over 2 hours of running didn't even slow her down the rest of the day. 

Can you believe my little run and ride partner is almost 3? I think Tess is the only one of her litter to go to a home that wasn't "hunting-centered". A lot of the Brittany breeders I talked to during my research were really wanted details on what "job" my Brittany would have, or what lifestyle I planned for her, if it wasn't going to be a hunting home. Now that I have a hunting-bred Brittany I totally understand their hesitation to place a dog in a potential home that might not give a proper job or energy outlet. Fortunately I think my lifestyle and interests makes Tess/Brittanies a really good fit.  Going on long runs with me, hiking, and going out on horseback probably makes her just as happy as if she was hunting.  She gets to run, tear through brush, track game, look at birds, and even go for periodic dips in the river.

One of my favorite parts about taking her running or riding with me is to watch her do the giant figure 8's across the trail in front of me.  It's so methodical and instinctual for her. It isn't something I've ever taught her to do - but it's identical to a pattern that I've seen gun dogs that Matt has hunted with do. She works the field in front of me for as long as we are out without tiring, racing up and down inclines and popping through brush using a combination of her eyes and nose.  It's athletic and beautiful and gives me as much pleasure as watching a well put together horse do it's job well.

Anyways - I digress.

It was a long ways home. Six point five miles to be precise.

Around the two hour mark my midsection abdominals started to cramp BAD.

The last time this happened was at the trail 1/2 marathon at the end of October.

It's not a side stitch cramp.

It's not a breathing problem.

It's not a GI/internal cramping issue.

It's not a hydration/water problem. 

It's not an ab strength/fatigue problem. No lasting soreness post run (or today).

I'm totally fine until the 2 hour mark (both 10 milers I've done I've finished before the 2 hour mark) and then BAM! I can't run without making painful grunting noises. It stops when I walk but immediately starts up again when I run. When I run it hurts so bad I can't stand up straight and can barely catch my breath.

At my half marathon and on this run I thought it might be a pressure reaction from my fuel belt - so this time I actually took it off. No improvement. I loosened it, tightened it, re-positioned it. No change.

After the run I started to put some pieces together.
1. Sudden, extreme, non-resolvable pain in a specific group of muscles.
2. Started to return when I was trotting in saddle. But went away immediately when I walked.
3. Both 2+ hour runs were on warm days and I finished the runs with salt encrusted on my skin.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Electrolytes!  Electrolytes have been the answer in the past when I've had weird cramps or muscle aches that didn't make sense. My calves have felt completely fine (which is where elyte issues have manifested themselves in the past). But, I had salt completely encrusted on my face and skin after the run, so even in the "mild temperatures" - high 70's! - it was unseasonably warm and I should have pretended it was hotter.  I took my capsule 1 per hour (worked out to 2 or 3 caps for this run) but I'm thinking I need to increase the caps to one every 30 min which is their recommendation for "intense sweaty exercise".

So, plan is to double my elyte intake on my next 2+ hour run and see what happens. I won't plan a run longer than 2.5 hours until I get this figured out :).

Anyone else have any ideas?

Moving on. 

A shower...and then it was time for the chiro appointment!

It's been on my list to get a chiro out to see Farley for YEARS. Literally.

I was imaging worst case scenario - after all let's evaluate Farley's history. 

She's a 15 year old horse with a bump on top of her butt, who has never seen a chiro, has over 1000 endurance miles with many 100's, did recognized dressage shows and been worked extensively "on the bit", and had (successful) hock injections (2x) 4 or 5 years ago.

I was noticing a couple of small things -  which usually means there's a couple of "small things" wrong, and NOT a huge major thing wrong (love an honest horse that isn't a drama queen or a stoic)......But what if I was missing something BIG in all our work over the years and my "perception" of her "normal" was completely biased?

Currently, here's the "small things" that I've noticed about Farley that I thought might be chiro related
- sometimes her hind seems "tight" to me when giving and holding rear feet for trimming.
- More often than not she stands underneath herself. Not always, but enough that her "normal" isn't a square stand.
- Persistent one sideness in the saddle.
- Won't give me clean changes at the canter under saddle
- A bit girthy

And........it turns out that Farley wasn't actually that out of whack.

A few minor things here and there.

The chiro said that I had done a very good job managing her and that she actually looked really good. Some of the stuff, like tail pulling as she walks forward we do regularly (I'm lazy and like to tail) are actually good for her.  Farley loves rolling - which the chiro said is a way that horses can "adjust" themselves. She pushed on the bump on the top of her butt. Cracked/popped her spine in the middle of her back. Both femoral joints popped. One vertebra in her neck was out and was put back in. Left side of her rib cage.

I used to be much more skeptical of chiro and acupuncture for horses and whether they did any good. But now I've seen enough positive results over the years to make it worth trying on my own horse. I'm not someone that blindly continues to pay for changes I can't readily see. I've done/fed various things over the years - some very expensive - for as long as a year and concluded that I didn't see any real difference. And discontinued them. At the end of the day I have to see results.

So far, I'm impressed, just from Farley's reaction during the session.  Farley isn't a lovey-dovey horse. She's not overly impressed with grooming efforts.  She also isn't a big "chewer and licker". During the session Farley would move away under manipulation, something would pop, and she would come back for more. She was doing weird stuff with her head and neck and stretching. Her posture and how she was standing changed visibly during the session - standing more square with her hind feet further behind her. She sought out more physical touch (NOT like this horse).

Afterwards I turned her out in the arena loose so I could ride Tig and she moved away more smoothly. She extended her hind legs and hocks behind her more.   Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'll be hopping on to see what sort of differences I feel in the saddle. I've ridden this horse for enough miles, I'm hoping I'll be able to feel if something is different. But for now, even if I don't feel a drastic difference in the saddle, her posture change and the fact she liked it would make it worth doing again. I'll keep you posted!!!!!

I had just enough time between the chiro and vet appointment to ride Tig.  

I know you guys must be absolutely sick of hearing it....but Tig was perfect again.  I rode her on the trail once again, and once again she was an absolute dream. I'm keep pinching myself and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I'm thinking that tomorrow or Thursday when we return to the arena she'll probably be less happy and return to being a greenie beanie.... 

We did a longer ride on yet more new trail, walk/trot. She gave me a solid working trot with no fuss. There was still one or 2 good spooks thrown in there - but she's so honest and not mean about it that it's just a matter of sitting calmly, and reorienting her and asking her to move on. Which she does.  Anything that she spooked at last time didn't spook her this time.  Going down the trail she's relaxed - she isn't "looking for" something to spook at. Once we get past something, she moves on mentally and relaxes again. Light bridle contact, low calm head, in front of my leg. A DREAM. Forty min with probably ~35% trot. Finally got just a touch of sweat underneath my saddle (helps that she has a long winter coat and it was sunny and in the seventies!) which was a first.

This ride marks the beginning of week 2.  As a reminder....week 2 is focused on "pushing the limits of current knowledge". I'm not introducing anything new - just testing out where we stand now that we've gotten to know each other. For example:  I hadn't trotted her on the trail - so yesterday we trotted and went out for a little longer. I have an arena ride scheduled in the next couple of days, and on Saturday we will trailer out and do a longer more technical trail ride with a friend.

Up until this point I thought my preference was an older horse with some issues, rather than a green youngster.

Every horse has something to teach, and so far the lesson I'm learning with Tig, is that sometimes a greenie that has only be handled by experienced riders is the better bet. 

Tig is definitely a green four-year old horse. She's reactive, she spooks, she's unsure about weird stuff on the trail, I can knock her off balance with my seat, and our first windy ride is going to be interesting. Sometimes she forgets about my personal space.

But, she doesn't jig or rush home.  She doesn't buck or rear. She doesn't pull back. She stands while being mounted. She doesn't shy away from the saddle or the pad. She bridles without a fuss. She's catchable.

I'm finding out that perhaps I'd rather *teach and reinforce correct behaviors than fix wrong ones? I'm finding a lot of joy and peace shaping a youngster who's honest but green. I compare this to the feeling of frustration and irritation when a more broke horse is deliberately trying to "get away" with something worked in the past and now I'm trying to convince them that it's never going to work again.

*I'm talking about "middle of the road horses here! Like riding a sensible but green youngster versus trying to fix a bridling problem in a horse ear twitched improperly one too many times, or trying fix pulling back when tied etc. I'm NOT talking about the borderline crazy youngster that keeps exploding or the 12 year old ADHD bucking monster. Neither of those are on my docket. Life is too short.
 
Of course, I think that either way (green or broke) the personality match between horse and rider is critical - along with a match of ability between horse and rider, whether that is measured in pure "green-ness" or "acquired flaws".

As I was bringing Tig home....the vet pulled in!

Welcome to the last event of the day!  Vet appointment! 

I had 2 big things on the agenda for Farley.

1. Check for sand

2. Check teeth and float if necessary.

Farley is boarded near a river on a property with LOTS of sand. The sand makes the footing great in the summer.  However, it also means an increased chance of sand build up in the gut.

I had listened for sand in Farley's gut, but hadn't been able to hear anything.  Negative findings are always harder to believe than positive one so I really wanted someone else to back up my finding. Farley *has* had sand before and I've fed the physillium product and it took care of it back in August 2010.  But now after living for almost 2 years in a sandy paddock and *mostly* fed off the ground or on rubber mats.....I really wanted to know how she was doing. 

Verdict - SAND FREE. :). Can't tell you how happy this makes me. It means she's probably not prone to accumulating sand based on how she's being managed right now - and it doesn't get more sandy than where she lives now.....so I feel SO MUCH better about the possibility of a sand colic and my decision to not regularly feed physillium etc.

Second order of the visit was the evaluate her teeth.

Farley has a "smile mouth".

It's a wear pattern on the teeth in front (incisors - the ones you can see) where the side ones wear more than ones directly in front.....

This website here has some GREAT definitions and is where I got the images for this part of the post. I encourage you to check it out. My vet said that the more you learn about horse teeth and the more horse mouths you look in, the more you realize that no horse has a "perfect" mouth. Teeth are second only to feet on the list of "most interesting things about a horse" 

Here's a picture from the site above that describes smile mouth.

Obviously there are degrees of malocclusion and Farley's isn't as obvious in the drawing. This can occur because of an overbite (parrot mouth) but in Farley's case, it's more likely from an abnormal chewing pattern because of some unevenness in her jaw.

The important thing to realize about horse mouths, is that if there's something funky going on in front, it's going to cause something funky in the back! 

And that's exactly the case with Farley.

The abnormal chewing pattern that is causing a smile mouth causes her molars to develop a "wave".

This is in addition to many of the "points" that commonly develop on horse's teeth that require floating periodically. [go to that linked website to see a drawing of the points! It's sorta cool :)]

The good news is that caught early enough in a horse's life, dental abnormalities like the wave can be recognized, fixed, managed, AND not affect the horse's longevity.  

When I was growing up, if a horse wasn't at least 10 the vet wouldn't bother checking teeth. And then after that only recommend floats if he could feel obvious points. The problem is that waiting until the horse is 10, 12, or 15 is it can be too late. There's only a certain amount of tooth to last the horse into old age - hopefully into their thirties or beyond! A wave and other dental issues uses up some teeth faster - teeth that can't be replaced. A bad wave or other malocclusion has to be corrected over time - you can't take it all off at once. The horse has to be able to eat and chew when you are done with the dental procedure. 

Geriatric horses are a special passion of mine - and if there's two things you need to pay attention to NOW to give your horse the best shot at a high quality of life into their thirties, it's feet and teeth.

"But wait", you tell me. "My horse has a more 'normal' mouth - no wave or anything. Just some random points and I ride bitless anyways. So how does this apply to me?"

The issue is that having points on the teeth alters the plane and how the teeth can slide across each other. In class we were shows a REALLY cool 3-D animation of what it looks like when a horse chews - not just the side to side but the forward and back. I've spent an HOUR looking for something similar and haven't found ANYTHING. So I give up for now. So trust me on this that the horse teeth need to be able to do a full, complete, normal cycle in order for growth and wear to balance.

Even if you ride bitless, or never put anything in the horse's mouth, or if *all* your horse produces are points with no other abnormalities - that chewing cycle is going to change a little bit. Which is going to alter how the teeth wear a little bit. Which will make the malocclusion just a little bit worse and the points are going to be a little bit worse. Which is going to alter the chewing cycle a little more. And the teeth wear is going to alter a little bit more. Do you see where I'm going with this? And yes, contrary to some of the internet stuff I see, even if you only give your horse pasture and forage and no grain, they can *still* develop sharp points. Even at what level their feed is placed can affect the chewing cycle - the lower jaw natural moves forward and back as the head lifts and lowers!

Problems such as a wave cannot be seen or felt unless you sedate and put an oral speculum on the horse.  I had been surprised by how bad Minx's teeth were the first time we decided to have her floated - her molars needed floating much worse than was evident by the points in front and how the incisors looked. So, when I got Farley I had her sedated and had a full oral exam done.  It took ~2 years to fully correct the wave.  After getting it corrected, I had her floated at a more "normal" interval of every 1 1/2 to 2 years.  This time I waited THREE years. Not so big a deal in a horse that has a more normal wear pattern. Potentially a big deal in this case.

I was a little nervous.

My new vet was a little nervous. 

It was obvious from her incisors that it time to float - but they weren't horrible.....

But remember that because of the horse's chewing cycle - any funkiness in one spot affects the whole mouth! Funkiness in front likely equals funkiness in back.

What were her molars going to look like?

Got her sedated and the speculum in and.....there was some wave but not bad at all!  Moderate points in front and back, and a wave that was totally manageable and correctable.

Yeah! 

And now I know - On Farley I can keep an eye on those incisors and probably trust them to tell me when it's time to float!

BTW - another really good dental resource I found while poking around was this one: http://www.r-vets.org/Dentistry-Basics.html  It has a really nice "eruption" chart and notes on aging a horse by their teeth. I'm going to be printing out their little "eruption chart" and keeping it with me for clinics - most succinct one I've seen so far!

The Tig plan and why blogging is better than studying

A three day weekend is a great chance to study.

A three day weekend is a great chance to catch up on blogging!

Blogging is more effective than studying anyways.

I can't tell you guys how much the questions you ask me and the topics I write about here (usually because one of you has told me you want to hear my opinion on a topic) SAVE me in vet school.

I'm learning a very simple fact about myself - it is impossible for me to learn anything unless I have some sort of previous experience to plug it into.

The questions YOU ask give me that "prior experience" context that makes me care about topics that I wouldn't care about otherwise.

- My aunt got a piglet with an injured leg.  Later on we had a conversation about castrating
 and pig vaccination.  A week later when I visited a swine facility, I was able to learn and retain information by applying it in my mind to my aunt's pigs.

- I've been over horse coat color genetics a million times but it wasn't until I was forced to look it up during a conversation I was having with 2 friends to justify why Merrylegs would/wouldn't be grey that it actually "stuck".  The very next week I had a test on genetics that I didn't study or do the required reading for (it was review material from 2 years ago so theoretically I should have already known it)....and I aced it because there were a TON of horse color questions on it.

- Recently I had an class almost entirely devoted to dehorning goats and I took careful notes, since recently a member of the community told me a horrifying story of a mature goat dehorning "incident" involving a vet who perhaps hadn't realized the difference between a goat and a cow dehorning.

- I had only a superficial knowledge of acid/base balance (ie enough to pass on a multiple choice test) prior to doing a series of posts on it this summer.

- Another friend needed to know the difference between the teeth of a 4 year old horse and a 6 or 8 year old horse.

- Another friend wanting to know whether continuing NSAID therapy after joint injections was really necessary.

- What the heck a "vascular accident" is when in reference to colic surgery complications.

- What the most likely cause of some derm lesions in mid winter on a chestnut horse.

- The most current theory of the pathophysiology of recurrent equine uveitis and the appropriate treatment.

At some point in the last 2 1/2 years I've been taught all of this - but without a context to practice it in, I obviously didn't do a very good job retaining it. But looking it up for a friend is just enough to make it "stick" the second time around.

So please, don't feel like you are bugging me if you have a question.  If I don't know the answer it forces me to go back to my notes, do additional research if necessary. It's the only way I'm actually learning this information....

Anyway.  Where were we?  Ah yes, catching up on unfinished blogger business.

This week was such a whirl wind I never got a chance to post Tig plan!

Tig is staying with me for 3 months. I have goals for each month and weekly plans mapped for the first month.  I'm posting the whole kaboodle here and I'll re-evaluate every 1-2 weeks and add weekly plans for subsequent months as we go along.

The most often asked question I get, and that I see asked on various public forums is "how do I start conditioning for endurance?". 

Think of these "Tig posts" as the answer to that question.

What I am doing with Tig is *very similar* to what I would do in the first 3-4 months with any young "generic" endurance prospect.  Building on the work below for an additional 3 months would give me an LD-type distance in a total of ~6 months. 

Month 1 (mid January-mid February) goals
- Have a walk, trot, canter under saddle and train any gaping training holes in order to be ready to start physically conditioning at the beginning of month 2.
- Focus on relaxation, calmness, and "neutral" bridle work (light contact, encourage reaching down).

Week 1: low key, low stress. What do you know? Lunging, lead line, arena, trail. Let's get to know eachother.

Week 2: pushing the limits. Not teaching new behaviors or skills, but push what we have so far and see what happens. We did a trail ride at a walk. Now let's do some walk/trot trail stuff. We've been trotting in the arena, what if I ask for a bigger trot? Let's tackle some trails that are a little more technical.

Week 3 and 4: teach new things and work on known problem areas. Canter under saddle! Trim her feet (she's very defensive about her hinds). Continue to build up trail work until Tig can do 30 min at mostly working trot. Three gaits in the arena.

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Month 2 (mid-Feburary to mid-March) goals 
- Work up to 60-90 min walk/trot. Near end of month 2 introduce a small bit of cantering on trail. Walk/trot/canter dressage work focusing on straightness, being through, and being solidly on the bit.

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Month 3 (mid-March to mid-April) goals
- Work up to 120 min walk/trot. On shorter rides, increase amount of cantering (but keep the overall amount small. Cantering will mostly be in the arena during dressage schooling). Correct and balanced transitions. Continue to Lateral work.

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It's important to note that when I say "30 min walk/trot" or "120 min walk/trot" I'm not saying that EVERY ride will be that long.  In month one she should be able to comfortably do 30 min a couple times a week, building up to month 3 where we might do 2-3 rides during the entire month that will be the full 120 min.  Some ride will be 20 min or less - Dressage/arena rides tend to be much shorter because they are much more intensive both physically and mentally.  

Tig will only be ridden 3x a week - you don't have to ride a horse 5x a week or more in order to put a good base of fitness. Plenty of rest both mentally and physically is an important part of any program at any level. 

Other important questions you might have: 

What am I starting with? 
- Tig has been lightly ridden for about 4 months, and then had a month off.  She's never cantered under saddle.

What would you do differently if this was your horse? 
- Since Tig is only 4, I would plan on doing her first LD the spring of 5 year old year. AERC rules indicate that a horse must be 48 months in order to do an LD, but since my preference is to move up distances as quickly as the horse allows, I feel it's better to do that first LD as a 5 year old and have the option to move up to 50's if I need to immediately. That would give me ~14 months to prepare her for an LD effort. Right now Tig is being prepared for a race effort in the summer, but if she was doing endurance, there would be no point in having her peak so soon, so I would take my time. 

• I would probably spend 2-3 months lightly riding riding her (1-2 a week walk/trot  up to 30 min) and teaching the canter under saddle and taking her lots of places.

• Then I would spend another month doing much of the same except incorporating more ponying and lead line runs and increasing the riding.

• 2 months doing the "month 2" described above

• another 2 months building to the "month 3" described here, except less emphasis on cantering.  Cantering will continue to be a very small part of our conditioning with most cantering being saved for dressage schooling in the arena.

This brings us to a similar point that Tig will reach before she goes back to the breeder mid-April.

• The last 4 months would be focused on building long rides to 3-4 hours (no more than 1 per every 4-8 weeks), camping, riding in groups, etc.

She seems so young. What are you doing to maximize the chances she will have a long and productive career? 
- Cantering will play a very small part in our overall riding.  I think it's important to teach - I want her to know that there is another "gear" there - but we won't be using it extensively.
- Minimize sharp turns at speeds above a walk, and keep the schooling circles large.
- Keep conditioning speeds under 10mph.  She has a BIG trot like Farley.  Farley is comfortable trotting 12-14mph and trotting at slower speeds in inefficient and frustering for her. As a result we tend to do a lot of walking to offset the trotting. If Tig ends up having the same issue with trot speed  I'll let her travel slightly over that 10 mph speed as long as it's a comfortable working stride and not an extended "beast" of a trot.
- No trotting downhills.
- Pay careful attention to footing - not too soft, not too hard
- When in doubt give an extra day or week off.