I Like Small Thoroughbreds

But I have big warmbloods coming out my ears. I'm not complaining, though. While my own small TB is on layup, I'm so grateful to have horses to ride. I just really, really hope I get to ride Lex again. I'm still filled with dread about it. Today I was expressing that to R, and she was like, "Have you taken a step back and looked at her lately? Because she looks FANTASTIC. Like she could walk out of her stall and onto the grounds of an A show." It's true. She's plump and shiny and bright-eyed. But I still think there's something wrong with that left hind, and I feel sick about it. My vet will be out in a week to talk some sense into me.

ANYWAY. Enough of me being a big dumb Eeyore. If I can will her to soundness, I shall. In the meantime, I got to ride three great horses today.

Do you recognize that horse? That's Veronica II at Devon! The very definition of an uphill trot. She's soooo fancy. The good news is, I think her issue is a quarter crack in her hoof. We can fix that! I'd like to get her teeth done, I think she'll be happier, but she's so pretty and lovely and I can't stop smiling when I ride her. I think she's the best mover I've ever sat on. She is just so, so cool. I let her hop over a little crossrail because she kept looking at it, and I could tell she really enjoyed herself. The farrier is coming out Thursday to take a look at that foot and tell us what our options are. Yay!

Next, I rode Mira, who just weaned her baby a few days ago. LOVE. Love love love. This mare did the 1.30m jumpers before she started having babies. I'm not sure why she retired, because she's sound and loves to work. I think she likes working more than having babies, to be honest, although she was eying Peanut as we went past. R came down to the ring to tell me how thrilled Mira looked, and that made me super happy. I love her, and I told R that I have plans to sneak her to some jumper shows. Oh, and guess what? She has the same sire as Hickstead. Can't beat that!

Zephyr, rolling with his homies.

Then, of course, my little Zephyr. He was very good, but lightning struck very nearby just as we were hopping over a crossrail, and that was the end of the ride. We're working on forward forward forward. He's not a horse you have to kick a lot, really, he just worries and slows down in the corners, so I'm teaching him to balance himself and use that inside hind leg to power us around the turns instead of shrinking his stride. He's coming along! Of course, the lightning meant a thunderstorm, which meant rain, which means the big ring is pretty flooded again. I hope it drains fast, because these are three big horses who don't have the balance and muscles they need for the little ring.

I'm so lucky I get to ride these cool ponies. And I'm so lucky to own Lex, the coolest of them all. Tell me a story about a horse whose soundness you worried about who turned out okay. I'm collecting them as bedtime stories for myself.

R-U-N-N-O-F-T

I love the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, what can I say? But I didn't runnoft. I've just been to busy for words. Literally?

Lex is doing okay. She had a bucking fit in the round pen one day and now I'm terrified that she's reinjured herself. The vet came to see her and suggested I start her on Reserpine to help get us through the next couple months. After a lot of hemming and hawing, I decided to go with oral rather than injectable Reserpine, because I am a huge wuss and it isn't the world's safest thing. That said, I'm not sure it's working. Instead of turnout in the round pen, I'm supposed to hand walk her for ten minutes a day, and the Reserpine is supposed to make that manageable. The thing is, it isn't really. She's still a six year old OTTB who wants to runrunrun, and she has more energy than she knows what to do with. Unfortunately, my vet went to Ireland for ten days so I'm just here by myself trying to figure all this out. I'm not going to pretend like I'm not a little discouraged. I just want my sweet, happy, healthy, calm horse back.

Zephyr is being good on the whole. I've jumped him twice - well, "jumped." The horse actually steps over things like they're cavaletti until they're over 2' tall. So far, it's just one jump at a time, down the long side, with trot poles spaced five feet apart for his colossal step. We're working on forward and straight, and that's all, big fella. Eyes on the prize. Forward is interesting on him, because his stride is so big that he feels like we're going somewhere when we're not. I think he's going to be really cool when he grows up. That huge stride will help get us out of some sticky spots, I'm sure! BUT, R and I spent three hours trying to get the silly horse on a trailer the other day. I don't know what got stuck in his craw, but we missed a dressage lesson with my favorite dressage instructor and I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated. Anyone got good trailer loading tips? I've never not gotten a horse on a trailer, and I tried everything I could think of short of drugs.

Veronica, sadly, is not sound, so we're not sure she can stay. I gave her a week off (for reasons that will become clear) and then got back on her yesterday, and she was super forward and amazing but seemed a little off still. I dunno. I love her, I think she's sweet and really fun to ride, but if she's not sound, we can't keep her as a lesson horse. Fingers crossed, please!

I've also been riding a cool horse named Calvin, an eight year old unraced TB who is being leased by one of the girls at the barn where Lex lives. Trainer C has come to give me a couple jumping lessons on him, and it is great fun. He loves Calvin, as do I. He's a good jumper with some gaps in his education that we're trying to fill without ruining the things he's good at. It's very generous of my friend M to share him with me!

But why did I give Veronica the week off? Because I was on foal watch for six nights in a row waiting for the world's CUTEST baby. He's a tiny little thing. He's the offspring of a mare boarded at the lesson farm. She's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she took to being a mother instantly. I got to help with the delivery (she wasn't smart enough to lie down) and watch as he stood up for the first time. I'm in love. He doesn't have a name yet, so I call him Peanut because he's itty bitty.

And speaking of babies! Rocket is four months old already! Bananas! And she is huge beyond all reason. Mom put the stick to her and saw 13.3 but she's going to have the vet measure height and weight tomorrow.

My mom is about 5'6", just for reference.

Does that look like four months to you?
I'd never believe it if I didn't know for sure.

Her face is so refined considering her size!

That shoulder angle makes me squee.

She looks so... sane.

Well, maybe not.

Rocket and her BFF, Gulliver.

I'll try to get some pictures of the other kids soon. Send your soundness vibes this way, please!

Lots of Fun Things! Not Much Time!

Hi y'all! Sorry it's been a minute. All sorts of entertaining horsey goings-on have been afoot.

Lex

With the ever-faithful Dr. Slim

Lex is doing well, and it's only two more days until she can go out in the roundpen for thirty minutes with some Ace! YAY. She has been excellent with hand-grazing, standing on the crossties to be groomed, and dealing with life in general. I am so impressed. Also, she is done with her stupid Adequan shots, so now I only have to inject her when she needs Ace. Which, given that she's so chill, I'm hoping isn't much, but better safe than sorry.

Zephyr

Sooooo handsome.

 Zephyr has continued to be a very good boy, though I think I won't keep riding him in the field. His canter is TERRIBLE, and the field just gives him too much room.  He needs to be made to balance himself. So he's spent some time on the lunge line, but I think I'm getting carpal tunnel and using the lunge whip hurts, so trying to get him cantering on the lunge line is tough. We're aiming him at a schooling show at the end of August. R wants us to do Training 1 and 2, but I'm not sure we can canter and stay in a dressage ring at the same time. I'm especially concerned because he's been Abscess City lately and we haven't had a chance to ride every day for a few days. He popped one abscess out of his coronet band, which is normal, although he wasn't ever lame. He also popped one out his crest, which I have never seen. I kinda went hmmm. Then today I was feeling along his crest and found another spot that seems like it's an abscess about to pop. What in the world is this? R thinks he had some whack to the neck of some sort and the trauma just went two directions. I hope she's right but he doesn't seem to be feeling like himself. I went out in the field to check on him and he just wanted to snuggle. It was cute, and he's always a friendly guy, but he doesn't feel good. I'm hoping tomorrow he's better. If he were my horse, I'd have the abscess cultured, but Regina wants to wait and see, and I don't blame her.

Duchess

Best. Horse. Ever.

 Duchess is doing great. Everyone loves her. This week she's the camp horse for a really cool 12 year old and they're getting along famously. And I got to try riding side saddle, which was weird but fun. I'd try it again! But only on Duch, because she's so good, she does what you want and keeps doing that until you tell her otherwise, so you don't have to make constant corrections. Love her.

The New Kid

CUTENESS.

Meet Veronica! R and I picked her up the other day. She's a VERY fancy Dutch warmblood who has been sitting in a field doing nothing for years. She's made some pretty babies too. So we're hoping she can be a lesson horse/broodmare. When we went to try her, the lady pulled her out of a field with weeds that were actually taller than her, and she's big. I tried her on a driveway full of rusty farm equipment and she reared a little. It was nerve-wracking, I really hate rearing, but she really has the best trot I've ever seen in my life. We've been calling her "Dreamy Trot Mare" because no one really likes the name Veronica for a horse. Anyway, R and I decided to sleep on it and the next day we told the lady, who knows R well, that we want to try her at home for a little while. So she's at Lex's barn and I'm riding her every day for two weeks to see what happens. So far, she's been great, although she definitely acts like she needs her teeth done. She's unhappy in the bridle. We'll see how she does tomorrow, but I'm enjoying riding her. She's going to be a good girl.

I think that about gets everyone caught up! Also, congrats to Sprinkler Bandit for her new OTTB!

Moar Rain

This rain is the worst. I can't teach lessons, I can't make money, I can't get new tires for my car. The jumping ring is totally under water. But there has been some fun!

In a break in the rain yesterday I hand-grazed Lex for awhile. She's so perfect.

Dr. Slim was there!

It's hard to see in this pic, but she's hella dappled.

BFFs

 And today, Lex learned something new!

Gimme that muck rake!

I can clean my own stall!

I mean, if it keeps her occupied!

Zephyr has been having fun. Last night I crashed the other instructor's lesson because it was happening in the field, not the jump ring for obvious reasons. It was a group of advanced riders and they were all happy to have Zephyr along because he's so pretty and cute and everyone loves him. Considering it was his first ride out of the ring that I know of, and he was with a group of five other horses, he was very very good. I mean, he wasn't rideable exactly - he was doing his best giraffe impression and he thought standing still was stupid. He'd paw at the ground, turn his head around to look at me (he has a very long neck!) and nibble on my toes. But! No explosions of any kind. The canter was sideways as often as it was forward, but he didn't buck, spin, or bolt. You know? I'll take it. He's no Lex, but he's a'ight.

Zephyr Hearts Puddles

We have been getting a disgusting amount of rain here in Florida. I have a whole bunch of greenies to ride. This combination isn't always great. Yesterday, Riley wouldn't go in the ring because it was too muddy - it took Kris and I awhile to get her in there, and then she spooked at every damn thing she could think of. Shadows, footing, lawn mowers, horses kicking walls in the barn. I love her, but jeez.

By contrast, today I was hand-grazing Lex and a huge branch fell out of a tree. I was standing right where she could jump on me if she'd wanted to. She just watched the branch fall, hit the ground, and was like, "Huh." Back to grazing. You can't put a price on a brain like that.

Yesterday's ride on Zephyr was also interesting - someone keeps taking the stirrup leathers off the dressage saddle I'm using on him. I was in a huge hurry, I grabbed the leathers I thought were mine, and... they weren't. They were children's leathers, and even on the longest hole, they were like jockey-length. Sooooo I made the questionable decision of taking them off the saddle and riding the enormous green six-year-old with the 17-foot canter stride without stirrups. My legs hurt real bad, but he was actually really good. I got back on him today and the ring was a swamp, but he had a LOT of fun splashing in the puddles. I didn't make him work long, it didn't seem fair. But I was very encouraged by his bravery with the water - maybe we'll make a cross-country horse out of him yet.

Lex is getting so close to the end of her stall rest! Today when I said goodnight to her after finishing the evening feeding (which takes over three hours, it's insane), she was all sweaty, poor thing. It's insanely hot. The vet also recommended I keep a fly mask on her to keep all the dust flying around in the air from getting in her eyes, but I think it makes her hotter. She's got a fan and three water buckets. I'm not sure what else I can do for her. I'd love to not worry constantly about that horse!

"Your Horse Doesn't Act Normal"

"She acts like a person."

That's what my vet said today, and it's totally true. Lex really has a human quality. She's funny and smart, and I know she's bored out of her skull and sad that she doesn't get to go outside much. I'm hoping she feels better soon. The vet said I can really probably hand-graze her for longer than ten minutes at a time, and that it might be smart to do it in the round pen so that when I turn her out in there, she won't be like "WHAT IS THIS NEW PLACE?!" She's a smart lady.

The vet came out today to do a hyaluronic acid shot in her stifle, which is a bit puffy. Nothing to worry about, just trying to prevent synovitis. The vet sedated her to work on it, and she enjoyed the opportunity to have me hold her head. She's such a good girl.

I rode Riley again today, and she bucked a lot at the canter. I think it's because she hurts. She's only 17 days off four months of stall rest. I'm not 100% sure she should be doing all this stuff, but what do I know. The barn owner and her husband are vets. I love getting to ride her, but I don't want either of us getting hurt doing stuff she's not ready for. I won't have a chance to ride her tomorrow, so we'll see what her owner says if she rides her.

Also, lovely commenter and fabulous friend Shellian posted this video of Pal in the comments yesterday, and you should all see it because he is really cool. I think he just needs some consistency in his life.

Sleepiness is taking over, but I thought that what the vet said about Lex was too adorable not to share. I have a ton of lessons tomorrow so I'd better get a good night's sleep!

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Trailer

Today my mom told me that Rocket is 13.2hh at the withers, 14hh at the croup, and string tests at over 17hh. I won't be at all surprised if she gets over 17.2hh. That'll be fun. Stacey at Behind the Bit has a fun post on foal height from a few years ago.

In other huge-horse news, Zephyr has been kind of a butt lately. Yesterday he broke the cross-ties AND his bridle when he took off after I'd put the reins over his head. I'm just glad the camp kids weren't in the barn at that moment. It was scary, watching all that stuff dangling around his very expensive legs while he galloped away. The thing that really made me mad was that he wasn't scared or anything. He just decided he'd rather go graze. I caught him, R fixed his bridle, and then I lunged him for awhile, and rode him as long as I could. He was great under saddle, he's just a moose on the ground.

When he is good, he is very very good, but when he is bad, he is horrid.

Today I got the chance to ride a very good horse who I've been in love with for a long time but for one reason or another, never got to ride: Duchess's four year old daughter Riley! She belongs to the lady who owns the barn where I used to board Lex (I still work there).

Snugglenose.

Before I bought Lex, I was sure I could never love a horse as much as I loved Riley, and I hadn't even ridden her. It never worked out for me to get on her, and then she was on layup for four months after she had an ultrasound-guided injection into her stifle to treat her subchondral cysts. What is it with me and bay fillies with stifle issues? Anyway, she was awesome. This was only the third time she'd been under saddle after coming off stall rest. She's got a great mind and will be a very good horse for someone who has a whole lot more money than I do.

Then I hopped on a gelding who belongs to Kris's friend, Pal. I don't have any pictures of him, I'll have to try to get some. I wouldn't call him a handsome guy, but he's a sweetheart. He's a cremollo with blue eyes. We're interested in him for the lesson barn, so I'm going to see if he'll be a nice solid citizen. He was spicier than I expected, which I like. Kicking isn't my favorite game.

Speaking of spicy, I also got another ride on Sahara, that palomino pony we're trying at the lesson barn. I haven't used him in any lessons because I don't have any riders who are both small enough and big enough. I think I'm much too big for him, which is too bad, because I adore him. I'd snap him up if I was about 40 pounds lighter and a few inches shorter. Alas. I don't think he'll work for us, because he's too hot. He's not a kid's pony. If anyone wants a FANTASTIC pony jumper prospect, please call me. He's wonderful. He's stopped his bucking, but he did bounce a horse-length one-stride the other day in a lesson with the other instructor. He's got the athleticism, enthusiasm, and the intelligence. He's just too small for most adults.

Last but the opposite of least, all Lex wants to do is snuggle. I spoke too soon about her puffy leg, which was a little puffy again today. The vet is coming out tomorrow anyway for some follow-up stuff, so she'll take a look. I was almost alarmed at how cuddly she was today - I hope she feels okay. I'm sure she's depressed. She started whinnying when I rounded the corner into the barn. My poor girl. I'll be out there for hours tomorrow because I'm doing the evening feeding, and I'm looking forward to being around her more.