#mareproblems Continues

My poor mare is really having a tough time. I got out there tonight hoping that she would be feeling better but she was a bit worse. The ointment did what it's supposed to and is keeping her from chaffing but it is making the mess on her back legs even worse.

I got her cleaned up and then went to groom her but she was so sensitive around her lower back that she was tossing her head and pinning her ears with just me lightly brushing her. I gave her some bute and cleaned her stall and gave her another night off.

Her stall had clearly been soaked but my BM had added a bunch of extra bedding and done a late night cleaning which isn't typical. It's so frustrating knowing that she's uncomfortable and that there isn't anything I can do. If this didn't happen each spring I'd already have called the vet and I certainly will be if she doesn't seem better over the next day or two. Unfortunately this is just pretty typical for her and when I've talked to vets they haven't had any ideas beyond what I'm doing for her already.

Our weird weather this year certainly isn't helping. Fingers crossed that she's feeling way better tomorrow!

Ride Recap

Katai and I had a great ride tonight but both of us worked pretty hard. She was full of energy (my fault) and spring sass (not my fault) so I started her off on the lunge. I had her do a good amount of trot and canter in both directions and at first she wasn't listening to me AT ALL which is unique to her mood with our spring weather. She bucked, kicked out, and spooked a few times but mostly was just really good.

CRAZY weather for February in MN!!

She did enough work that I didn't plan to do much with her under saddle but once I hopped on she still seemed ready to burst at the seams with energy so we ended up doing ALOT of trotting. She was really moving nicely and was really being good, she just needed to move.

I did ask her for a bit of lateral work but she was so fizzed up that it was tough to get her to sit back and do it right. I got a good try in either direction and called it. It's almost always worth giving her the benefit of the doubt rather than pushing her and this is so unusual for her recently that I just put the blame on the excess energy and rewarded her for the try.

He played like this for a few minutes :)

We also did a few rounds through the cavalettis and I was impressed that she did them nicely since sometimes running for her means lots of very small quick steps which don't go well with cavalettis set for a lengthened stride :)

After LOTS of trotting (with a walk break in-between) I asked for a canter transition and got a decently calm one. I did a minimal amount of canter and then tried the other direction and again got almost no drama. More trot, more fizzy pony and then I called it. She'd done a really good job and I certainly didn't want to run her into the ground, just drain some energy.

This is How I Instagram

I went out to the barn tonight and had a great time. I was in an odd mood because I had just dealt with a serious employee issue at work and if the weather wasn't getting so cold later this week I would have just stayed home and watched Friends while de-stressing.

I'm glad I went though and so was Katai. She was SOOOOOOO itchy because she is shedding like a wild thing.

I probably shouldn't have worn black but this is after I brushed most of it off. I scratched all her itchiest places and then had a great, if speedy, ride. She is really starting to be able to carry herself nicely going her weaker direction. Hopefully photos of me riding the cute pony will follow at some point but for now I'll leave you with a photo of my most recent project.

I love these bell boots and they're the only ones I can find that come close to fitting. However, they were rubbing her when she was wearing them all the time. I finally decided that I could probably figure out a way to line the top with fleece or something and I did! I found a special glue that is flexible, waterproof and can be used on fabric so now I just need to test them out!

We're Still Here

I promise :-)

Things have been weird lately. Crazy weather dumped 12-18 inches of snow on my area while leaving places only 20-25 miles away completely clear. Spring has hit in a big way, other than the previously mentioned snow storm, so pony mare has been NUTZ. Easter. The EHV-1 thing has been staying quiet, knock on wood, but after being put off so many times I still kind of feel like I’m stuck in limbo and was having trouble getting excited for the move plus work has been busy and I’ve got a big independent project I’m working on that I’ve been having fun with so I’ve put a lot of focus into that.

Because of all of the above I missed going to the barn from Monday-Friday last week and which made everything feel even weirder. When Thursday came around and I had my lesson I regained motivation and was pumped to get back and work with Katai. Since then I haven’t missed a day.

Friday I lunged her with side reins for the first time in a long while and had them a bit shorter than I normally do and she was excellent! I also groomed her and fed her her grain which is more necessary than it has been in awhile since I can see her ribs! Saturday I rode and made a lot of progress. I felt like I was actually retaining some stuff from my lessons and it was working the way it’s supposed to! She was more through than she’s been but she was also INCREDIBLY spooky. She just does these funny little jumps in place and then moves right on but after about 10-15 of these things it started to get funny, and a little frustrating, since I felt like even though she was listening pretty well her mind was somewhere else. Sunday I spent a couple of hours with her on Easter morning and the weather was spectacular! Warm, humid, warm, sunny, warm! I remembered what it was like to not feel like you’re just trying to survive outside. We went on a short trail ride and despite the temperature she was amped up.  She really does a good job of listening and not being overly naughty but she was right on the edge of even listening so I kept it short and positive. After we got back, in one piece, I took her out to graze and her gratitude was so clear that I actually teared up. All of the other horses, whos’ owners rarely make it to the barn, were staring at us and trying to convince me to take them out as well.

Tonight I was out again and it was rough. The hussy mare has decided that she CAN'T SURVIVE without her friends, cue sappy music. She had lost her mind, gone, poof, no mind here, and spun wildly back and forth while tied to the wall. I may not always be the smartest human but I realized pretty quickly that we weren't going to make any positive progress doing anything that involved brain cells so I brought her outside to the round pen to gallop in crazy speedy circles for awhile and finally worked on clipper and spray bottle desensitization. I am extremely proud to say that we are finally making some progress with those things and she stood fairly still for both tonight. I groomed her, rebagged her tail and let her graze and eat her grain and then put her back. 

Hopefully the hormones will calm down soon and I'll have my reasonable Katai back.

All Kinds of Change

Weather: we finally had our first day over 50 degrees since October. It's been sunny and most of our snow is gone. The arena is dry enough that we can do some riding although it does need to be raked and de-rocked again.

Myshla: She found a new home! It's right in the area and they are going to keep me updated on her progress. It is a 4-H home where two teenagers are going to get her tuned up and ready for a kid. She is an awesome pony but they do have their work cut out for them if they want her to be kid ready which I did mention to them. Luckily they do have a couple of small adult friends who may be interested as well. She just left today and was a good girl hopping right on the trailer even if she was very up with the windy day.

Katai: is learning to be a big girl. I decided to work with her every single day for a month as long as the weather cooperates. She's been pretty much left alone all winter and has gotten kinda wild again so regular handling would be good for both of us.

Today after she'd had a chance to calm down I took her out to lunge her. She wore her saddle and bridle and was a really good girl on the lunge despite the windy weather. We have a storm coming in tonight supposedly and all the horses are on edge so I was very proud. Other than dancing a bit when she was tied after I worked her she was excellent. I worked with her a lot on the lunge on her stiff side getting her to flex and bend in the direction she was going. She was more flexible and moving better today than she has in a long time and her feet were doing well too. Proof that the proper trimming does make a huge difference :)