Ask And You Shall Receive

Whoops.  I should be careful what I wish for.  Stinker decided to give me a non-average ride after my whining about all the average.  He gave me some fabulous moments and some awful moments.

To the right he gave me some of our best trot yet.  He was stretching and I wasn't struggling to maintain the correct tempo.  We even had a baby stretchy trot.  Granted his baby stretchy is basically a normal horse's typical trot.  But it is a huge difference for him, especially when you consider his neck set.

I'm sexy and I know it

Apparently when we are tracking left it is impossible for him to travel straight.  Adding outside leg to put the haunches in line and asking him to step off his left shoulder results in forgetting how to horse.  After breaking things down step by step I got about three steps of what I wanted.  He was really frazzled so I told him what a good boy he is and got off.

The only thing that can make an HOA meeting bearable. 

Then to make things even better he got kicked yet again.  It is the third one he has gotten since we got back from getting my saddle fitted.  I guess I should be glad that he was fine.  But seriously horse get some social skills and stop pestering everyone until they beat the shit out of you!

Case Of The Averages

Stinker had a fair amount of time off between the vet visit, my work schedule, and then sticking his leg in the fence (thanks for that bud).  I was very happy how he handled our visit for the saddle fitter. He hauled for four hours quite well (he was a hot sweaty mess, but that is pretty normal for him).  He settled into a new barn extremely well.  He was even able to be turned out at night (that couldn't happen last December when we visited).  He even was good in his stall when his buddy was taken away and ridden.

He *might* have dumped his entire water bucket (big muck bucket size)

As far as the riding went, he was excellent for the amount of time off.  The saddle fitter looked extremely nervous when I made the comment (as I was getting on) that he hadn't really been ridden in almost two weeks.  He was a little nervous, but settled right down.  He was really relaxed for our ride the next morning.

Fat Barn Cat

Since we have been back, things have just been average.  The reality is not every ride will be the best, so when things are just average I should be happy.  Because he is giving me very consistent rides.  Consistent is good.  I just want more, but really it has been so dang hot that it is really hard to press for improvements.  At this point, I am just hoping to hang in there until things start to cool off.  I'm so done and over these 90s+ with 70%+ humidity.  In the meantime I am going to hang out with our case of averages.

Legs And Saddles

I was so happy Stinker's leg had zero heat and the swelling went down by Thursday morning. He is still a bit stiff, but he worked out of it. I haven't tried to trot him or anything yet, but we were able to get my saddle fitted.

On Wednesday we trailered down to my favorite dressage judge's place. I felt so horrible because Stinker had loading issues. He started really well but the step up with his hind was difficult because he was sore still. He tried once and missed then decided to nope out of the situation. We got the trailer moved so the step up wasn't as big but it took him a few minutes to get his confidence back. I finally got him on with a lot of coaxing and some bribery. He traveled really well despite the heat.  

The next day, the saddle fitter came. My saddle needed multiple changes. He went from a V head plate to a U. She did some reconfiguration with the panels to get the back lifted without dumping all the pressure up front. She changed the way the flap attaches so I have more room for my leg.

He felt really good in it and the saddle fitter was really happy with how he looked. I'm really happy with how the trip went and I really really really want a truck and trailer now. But I need to find a new job and get in a more permanent location before I start getting too crazy.

No More Massages!

Last week Stinker had a fairly light week between the vet telling me to give him a couple days off and my work schedule.  He got a massage on Saturday, and I gave him Sunday off because I was too tired to do anything.

Monday, I went out to the barn early and was ready to ride and all that fun stuff.  I was greeted with this...

Apparently someone (ahem *Stinker*) decided playing in the fence is a fun hobby.  His leg had quite a bit of heat but not much swelling (I am discovering he really doesn't swell much) and he was obviously sore on it.  He was reluctant to walk off at first but by the time we got up to the barn, he was starting to move better.

Instead, of my ride I got to cold hose his leg and then hide some bute in his timothy so he would actually eat it.  I decided since he seemed to move out of the soreness, instead of going in his stall like normal, I would have S keep him in the small ring by the barn.  She cold hosed him again at noon and I went back out in the evening and did it again.

Tuesday morning, he was moving better, but I still didn't like the amount of heat in his leg.  He isn't three legged lame or anything, but just not moving quite right.  The part that is killing me is I finally have a saddle fitting appointment on Thursday.  The little turd monkey had better be sound enough to walk and trot for the fitting, otherwise I might just give him to the farrier (JK the farrier won't take him I already tried).

How he stretches during his massages

He is still off (as of Tuesday evening) and I am really hoping for a miracle, but I am not that optimistic.  Hopefully, he will keep improving and be good enough that we can get my saddle fitted.  Otherwise I will be in the corner crying/swearing and there might be a Stinker up for grabs.

I've Got 99 Problems and Blankets Are One

I need to get some different blankets for Stinker this year.  The ones I got him last year were giving him shoulder rubs.  I tried a couple shoulder guards, but neither helped and one made it worse.  Initially, I got the SmartPak Ultimate Turnout blanket, because destructo pony destroyed his previous blanket before he moved down here.  The 10 year warranty seemed awesome.  I had one with a neck cover and one with the high neck that is supposed to prevent rubs.  Both rubbed.

Part way through the winter I acknowledged that the blankets just weren't working, so I asked on a saddlebred page about blankets.  The overwhelming response was to try a StormShield V-Free blanket.  So, I got one of those and it rubbed too.

Second attempt.

I think my problem is two fold.  One he is a saddlebred and they have large shoulder and withers compared to the rest of their bodies.  Secondly, he is built so uphill everything slides backwards.  This makes it tight on his shoulders and gives him rubs.

So, my questions are:

• Are there other blankets that will fit him better? (Please note I am measuring him properly)
• Am I delusional in hoping that I can find a better fitting blanket?
• Is there a shoulder guard that would actually help?
• Is there another trick to prevent shoulder rubs?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I hope everyone enjoyed the contest as much as I did.  So without further ado, here are the final standings.  PS I did have a couple mistakes on the dressage listings, that I corrected.  And I quadruple checked these (and ran them by someone else, since I obviously can't be trusted not to make mistakes).

1)  Kaity (Riding Warehouse Gift Card)
2)  Leah Strid (If The Bonnet Fits)
3)  Codex Dressage  (Dark Jewel Designs)
4)  L Williams
5)  Stephanie Hammer
6)  Love Laugh Ride
7)  A Pitts
8)  Olivia
9)  Jules At The Barn
10)  Bee Tea
11)  $900 FB Pony
12)  Carly
13)  A Gift Horse
14)  SarahO  (EDA Designs)

In addition to the top three and last winning prizes, I also had a prize for the most eliminated and for sharing the contest.  I think originally I had it listed as most falls, but that was too hard for me to keep track of so I just went with eliminated/withdrew.

A Gift Horse won the most eliminated/withdrew with her teams losing 7 riders (I sent you an email).  Finally, Olivia won the random draw for sharing.  I will be getting your prizes organized and sent out ASAP.

Stinker was sad I didn't let him play.

I want to thank everyone who participated, because this was really fun for me.  And I watched the teams with a lot more interest than I had in the past.  If you have any suggestions on how to change/improve things I would love to hear them, because I am already toying with some ideas for the future.

So Excited!

I have been worrying about Stinker's right hind for awhile now, despite my efforts to not worry.  I was waiting for the vet to come out for shots and coggins and just have him give Stinker a once over. He finally came out yesterday.  I was so terrified that he was going to say that Stinker was having problems with his hocks/stifles.

Awkward picture but he is still cute

But the verdict was Stinker just needed some adjustments.  The vet also said that Stinker is looking really good.  This makes me happy because he is very blunt and doesn't sugar coat things.  I was also very relieved that A) I wasn't totally crazy and B) it wasn't anything major for a change.

Drunk pony for the win!

Stinker is getting super spoiled this week, because he had the adjustments, and will get a massage this weekend.  Then next week I am finally (YAY!!) getting my saddle adjusted.  Of course I do need to mention to my bosses that I am missing some work next week.  In my defense they have been out of the country, so I am hoping to be able to give them some awesome data and then say oh by the way can have a couple days off.

I might get to play with this girl again.

In other news, Monday was one of those days that just sucked.  I was feeling super lazy and unmotivated/exhausted from work.  When I finally made it out to the barn, I had a fucking spider fall down my shirt.  It was IN MY SHIRT.  I barely managed to keep myself from ripping it off.  And I provided lots of entertainment with my squealing and jumping around.
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