Remember when? (Groton House.)

Remember when we were kicking patootiebootie at Groton House in 2009? Tied for second after this particular dressage test with a 31.5, broke the tie with a clean and very close to optimum time run on XC, and moved to first after a clean stadium round. The competition was so close that the leader after XC dropped all the way to 5th after one rail in stadium. That show was my favorite of the season and a highlight of my year, and watching these old videos makes me hurt all over wanting to do it again so badly.



You have no idea how badly I want to breed this mare. I kick myself every day over it. Nobody knows how that baby would turn out, to be sure, but if it ends up anything remotely like her at all, it will be my dream horse a million times over. A million and one times over.

(Edited to add: I am not going to get an OTTB. I'm just not. Nor am I looking to purchase another horse anytime in the remote future. I don't want another horse just to have one. Horses are expensive and a risk. The likelihood that I will get another horse while I still own Gogo (which will be until the end of her days) is pretty small, unless it's her foal. So no suggestions on what I should go out and buy! I'm not going out and buying anything.)

An Interesting Question of Ethics (Breeding)

During my little bit of downtime during the holidays, I've had a chance to really sit and organize my thoughts on breeding and what exactly the implications and responsibilities of it are. I'm no longer talking just horse breeding at this point, however. I mean everything - dogs, cats, hamsters, people. Yes, people. I want to open a discussion on ethics and social responsibility. I fully expect to get a lot of heated response.

I had quite an outraged response to my ideas about breeding Gogo. In essentially everyone's mind, she is not fit to become breeding material ever at all for any reason. Imagine if I had written up a post stating that Joe-Bob the neighbor's grade stud had jumped the fence and bred my mare in the night of his own accord, and we found her to be pregnant. Personally, I would not think twice about having a vet go in and crush the crap out of that embryo. I'm sure there are people who would disagree with me for playing God and taking control of the situation. But for the most part, a lot of you sensible people would probably fully agree with my decision.

If I were to write up a post stating how Gogo was pregnant (which she is not), I would probably get more than a few nasty grumbles. Imagine, if you will, what the response would be if I were to write up a post stating how I was pregnant. (Don't worry, I'm not either!) Not a single person would come forward and chastise me for being a) irresponsible financially b) not in a stable long-term relationship capable of properly raising offspring c) genetically inferior to those who ought to be breeding. On the contrary, none of you would ask questions. You in all likelihood would heartily congratulate me - can you imagine the social outrage you'd invoke in others around you if you said otherwise? When I opened this topic of discussion earlier in the year, I had a lot of completely contradictory responses from completely sane people. The same people who thought my mare to be of inferior breeding quality because of her general mediocrity turned around to tell me that I wasn't giving myself enough credit for my own abilities, and that ordinary and plain people ought to breed because extradordinary people don't produce extraordinary offspring. Why do we insist that only THE best horses should breed, which is true, if we also don't think that only THE best people should breed as well? It's a weird moral dilemma that we have as a species because whether we like it or not, we have a naturally ingrained species survival instict. Generally, we want to breed and continue to fully dominate and trash the earth. When I wrote out my reasoning for selecting myself out of the gene pool - my medium-level intelligence, mediocre conformation, inability to truly add anything worthwhile to society - everyone insisted I was completely wrong. If we are so strict about breeding animals, why should we not show a little more restraint ourselves?

I understand that I sound a little pseudo-Nazi in my ideals, and I assure you that it's not really the case. But I mean really, people. If my horse, who is in my eyes much more talented as an individual than I am, is not of enough quality to breed, what kind of sick and egotistical beliefs would I have to have in order to believe that I am? People with known inherited genetic issues are still popping out babies left and right, spreading disease and dysfunction on to their offspring. If they are lucky, our ugly and useless crippled foals will end up in a field eating grass somewhere, or if they are luckier, humanely euthanized so they do not have to suffer unnecessarily. Our useless human beings? Forced to live useless, miserable lives in a society that values perfection (presuming we are talking about Western culture). I cannot possibly understand how people can just go on breeding amongst themselves without thinking about the consequences, or why folks who want kids don't just go adopt them instead of adding to the perpetual population issue. I actually just had a conversation with a woman about that same issue; she had the audacity to tell me that she would never have adopted kids because 'she wouldn't have loved them the same way.' Seriously? If I go out and buy a horse instead of breed Gogo, I'm not going to love that horse any less. Then again, I think this logic doesn't apply to those sorts of people, because anyone with that twisted of a mindset could never love animals in the way that those of you reading this blog do.

We control the breeding rights to animals because we believe them to be inferior to ourselves. In modern-day Western human society, if you adopt the same strict breeding principles to humans, you are likened to Hitler. In a way, this is both comprehensible and incomprehensible to me. I understand as a gay woman how completely unfair it for other to claim they know what is best for my relationships and my body, and tell me who I can and can't love. I appreciate all humans for the intelligent individuals that they are, and the rights they have as sentient beings. At the same time, though, the sensible part of me still doesn't understand.

Maybe those of you with children can flesh it out a little better for me. I have no interest in them so perhaps I don't understand. Often times people that go out and willing spay and neuter your pets like they should don't generally seem to consider doing the same for themselves.

I have enough sense in my head to cull myself from the breeding population. If I could rip out my uterus and not have to bother with the hormonal issues involved, I would do it, just to make sure it could NEVER happen, even by some sort of horrible accident. No animal on the planet, humans included, should ever have to be born because of an accident. That is no way to come into the world. How many oopsie dogs, cats and horses end up discarded and thrown away? How many children?




Discuss.





EDITED TO ADD: Remember, all of the preceding is not in defence of breeding or not breeding Gogo. I am not defending myself. We are discussing the bigger picture. Ok, now read on!

Breed, or Buy?

Hmmmm. I think I have a bit of a quandary when it comes to the whole process of adding a second four-legged beastie to my little herd of one.... I can't quite decide what I want to do! I am perpetually going over the two most concrete options in my head – breed or buy? – and keep going back and forth between the two. Doing what I WANT to do and doing what I SHOULD do are possibly two different things. Or perhaps they’re the same thing. I don’t know!

First of all, I am conflicted as to WHAT exactly I want in my next horse. If we are talking in terms of buying my next horse instead of breeding it, I have two very differing desires, and can’t quite make up my mind about either of them. Part of me wants to find something goofy and fun to just toodle around on. Not something to replace or match Gogo in terms of talent and ability, but something that I can see how far I can take against whatever odds there are. Ideally, however, I don’t want to BUY that horse. I want to free lease it. I don’t think I want something nice enough to warrant paying a lot of money for a lease, and then ultimately having to give it back. Covering expenses for a lease horse, of course! But additional money on top of that, no.
The other half of me wants to find the nicest, most promising animal I can find for the best price that I can, and nurture it until it is ready to break and ride. The problem with this is that, realistically, I’m going to have to probably pick up a weanling for this to work. It’s not likely that that same quality horse will be available to me financially as a 3 year old. The slightly selfish part of me is grumbling about this – my current horse is unrideable, and I want to ride now! But I don’t want to BUY a cheap horse just so I can sit on it today, and then potentially be stuck with it later on down the road. You know I’ll get attached to it, and then when it breaks or maxes out somewhere, I’ll never be able to get rid of it because I am a bleeding heart. I already have one beautiful hayburning poopmaker in my field, I don’t need two!

So I guess it boils down to basically this: if I am going to BUY, I should buy the best horse that I can afford, and not just a cheap project. I refuse to let my emotions get involved when there isn’t even a real horse in question to think about yet. Speaking subjectively, investing in a young talent over a cheap project would possibly bring a higher emotional/financial payout for me in the end. I don’t mean to sound so cold about it, but I have to be rational. I’m already hopelessly in love with Gogo, and could never think about getting rid of her, even if it means she has to spend the next 25 years sitting in my backyard doing nothing beyond eating and and getting groomed. That’s already being a bit irrational from a financial point of view. Money is no object when it comes to Gogo, and I know it’s going to be the same with a new horse, so I need to make my choices wisely. Horses are expensive enough as it is.


But. If we are talking about investing in a young talent, then I need to seriously consider the breeding route. And of course I WANT to breed her! I think she’d be an excellent mother, and I think the offspring would be very nice. Even if that baby came out crooked and ugly, I would love it and keep it. But I have to keep all of the potential cons in mind too. That baby COULD come out wretchedly. I have no idea what it would capable of. It might not be capable of anything. Breeding is a gamble, and you never know what you’ll end up with until it arrives. If I were to find something already on the ground, I would at least be able to see what it looks like conformation-wise, and get an idea of an attitude. I think there is a large chance that the nicest horse I will be able to really afford is one that will come right out of her directly. But I can’t sugarcoat her faults: that terrible topline, her less than perfect front legs, her narrow chest. Nobody’s more aware of her faults than I am. And am I taking a major gamble by breeding a lame horse? Usually, lame horses make more lame horses. While the vets and I strongly believe that this is a matter of bad luck and an acute injury rather than a long-term, conformation-related issue, you still can’t help but wonder: is baby going to break at some point too? All horses can get hurt, and all horses probably will get hurt in one way or another in their life, but it doesn’t make it any easier. No matter what happens, I cannot guarantee the soundess of anything I breed, buy, or lease. If I breed a youngster, it might break at some point. If I buy a cheap project that may have inherited issues, it might break at some point. Hell, even if I buy the nicest horse on the planet, you know full well that it could break at some point too. You just don’t know. You never know. Look at Gogo… never so much as has a stone bruise for three years, and then bam! One day, it’s all over.
The other consideration I must make is Gogo’s comfort level and soundness. Currently, even with an acute injury, she is marching around as sound as ever at the walk, completely happy and comfortable. I don’t dare jog her out, but Jen did say that yesterday she was prancing around in her field in the morning of her own accord, and that afternoon her leg looked better than it ever has since the reinjury. Since she’s been on turnout, her attitude had improved 110% from when she was at the other barn. At the other barn, when I was riding her every day she was perfectly content to go about her daily business and be happy, but once she reinjured she was mopey and weirdly quiet. Now, she’s completely delighted and more than satisfied to go out and eat 10 hours a day. If we are thinking of a breeding, it would be in May or June, about six months out from the original injury. Baby wouldn’t hit the ground until the following April or May. That gives us well over a year before the foal would get big enough to put additional weight stress on her body. I don’t think at that point that her hind legs would be compromised in any way… mares are tough cookies. I remember a mare at the farm I interned at that had a pastern fusion from a career-ending broken pastern, and she was a tiny thing with a big colt. She kept tromping around like nobody’s business even though she wasn’t exactly what anyone would call sound. I also remember having not one but TWO mares at school who had DLSD and carried more than one foal to term without issue. (Now why you’d breed a mare with suspensories so degraded that their fetlocks pretty much were sitting on the ground is beyond me, but they did it anyway, year after year. And that’s a major genetic issue that is definitely inherited!) I think she’d be fine, but I can’t rule out her discomfort as a potential limiting issue. I’m not going to do anything that is going to hurt her. Although I guess you can argue that carrying and birthing a foal can be pretty painful….!


What I would LOVE to do is plan for a springtime breeding in 2011, and find something to lease in the area during the interim. Something I could have a blast with, but not have to invest in long-term in case it doesn’t end up being suitable for what I want to do in the end. Once baby hits the ground, or possibly in the year following when baby hits the ground, I could send back the lease and concentrate on the munchkin. Following weaning, I think it’s quite possible that I might be able to reevaluate Gogo’s riding career and see what I have. I’d really like to give her two years of as much turnout as I can possibly provide, and then seeing what we have at the end of it.

That’s in the ideal world. I could just as easily pick up a lease and NOT breed her, or pick up a young horse at a good price and bring it along instead of breeding her.


You know it can’t hurt to dream though. You know who I really, REALLY would love to breed her to? Catherston Dazzler. I had never considered him until recently because I was trying to stick to Holsteiners, but once I took a better look at him, I about died and went to heaven. If there ever was a dreamier dreamboat for eventing babydaddies, I’ll eat my helmet. And you know what they say about breeding like to like:




Catherston Dazzler has hundreds and hundreds of offspring competing in eventing, and many at the four star level. His son Midnight Dazzler is 18 and competing at the four star level, and has been for MANY years – so the soundness is there. Dazzler crosses REALLY well with TB-type mares like Gogo, and the resulting crosses are proven black/brown, flashy, uphill XC machines.

One problem. He’s dead. Frozen semen only. Yes, I know that first-cycle pregnancies in maiden mares are higher than any other type of mares (meaning foaling or barren mares), but still. That’s quite a risk. And it’s not cheap. There are less than 10 doses of his semen left in the US as we speak. So the chances of that happening are KIND of slim.

But it doesn’t hurt to dream. MAN what a foal that would be.

Fragile Life

I've had a very rollercoaster-esque week at work since my last post. In contemplating life and fragility, I've had plenty to think about surrounding life's recent events and everyone's comments, which I thank you all for. You all have had very valid arguments on both sides of the fence, most of which I had already been thinking about, but some of which that had not even occurred to me and gave me even more to digest. Thank you for that. Friday, I was reminded of just how fragile these huge animals can be sometimes. We had a client horse here at the farm who ate breakfast, pooped, drank water, went on the treadmill, and acted normally all morning. I was grooming horses all morning, and while on my third one at around 11:30am I heard someone pawing down the aisle. It didn't stop, so I went to go check, and here was the client horse, digging a hole to China in his stall and curling his lip. Awesome, he's colicing. Ok, call the owners, check his TPR (99.8/HR 32/RR 80!), give him 1000lbs of Banamine and start walking. He worsens within a half hour and so we get the vet on the phone. He continues to worsen and I pick up a whip to keep him on his feet. The vet is there within a half hour, and we sedate him and do a rectal. Hmmm, where is his colon? Not where it is supposed to be. That's... bad. We tube him as well and find nothing out of his ordinary. He also has a murmur. The second the sedation wears off, he is back to pawing like mad, so the moment the owners arrive I hook up my trailer, tell my staff to hold down the fort, and load him up with another dose of sedative on board. The moment he arrived at the clinic, he was back to being painful again, so surgery was almost a certain thing. I headed back to the farm, heard around 4pm that he was headed to surgery, and waited for news. At 6pm, they told me there were complications and they needed to remove a piece of colon with compromised blood flow. I heard nothing from them again until 8am; I had assumed the worst. But he had come through surgery by some miracle, and was back on his feet. As of today, he is still alive and doing fairly well, but we aren't out of the woods yet at this point. My first major emergency as a young professional... very scary stuff. Honestly, he was fine that morning. I checked on him during my morning rounds like I always do, and he was normal. I can't figure out how the hell these things happen sometimes. Just terrifying to think about, you know? Of course, the following day things did not improve around here. One of the big jumper mares was getting freelunging in the indoor in the morning, and she decided that she was going to make a break for it.... through a tiny half-door. There was a very small opening to the outside over the top of the swinging door, which can be shut in by a sliding garage door, but it was open at the time. This mare - who is HUGE I should mention - trotted to the opening, jumped, smashed her back into the roof of the doorframe, flipped forward and caught the heel of her hind shoe IN the drywall ABOVE the doorframe, hung there for a moment doing a handstand, and then front-flipped out of the doorway onto her side on the gravel driveway. I missed the entire thing and never heard the noise it made (the guys were blowing the aisle and I was in the office) so I was quite alarmed when my boss came flying in saying, "there's been an accident!!" Good lord, I had a heartattack. By some miracle, the mare is fine - a few cuts and scrapes, but honestly, nothing worse than that. She is sound and fine. Phew. So needless to say, I rather enjoyed my quiet day off yesterday. Anyhow, about Gogo... I'm not breeding her. Of course I WANT to - who doesn't WANT to? - but that doesn't mean at this point that I SHOULD. There are lots of reasons on both sides, obviously, as to why I should or should not, but in the end I know that while it really is a good time to do it, there are plenty of reasons to wait. Honestly, the biggest one for me isn't one that I talked about or any of the comments really touched upon. My biggest stop is this: what has she done to really prove that she deserves to spread her genes? Has she won Rolex? No. Had she gone to the Pan-Ams? No. Did she win a medal at the Olympics? Nope. And quite obviously, I don't want a horse that is ever going to do that, so that isn't the horse I'll be breeding for, but I want a horse capable of Prelim at least, you know? And quite frankly, even though her injury was just a stupid accident as far as we can tell and she SHOULD make a full recovery, what if there isn't some sort of long-term breakdown issue there? I won't know until we continue on into the future, and I won't be breeding her if there is. Once she proves herself a little more to me - if she can reach Prelim and stay sound after this injury, and she does well as it - then we'll talk. Yup, I'll be breaking a baby when I am closer to 40 than 30, and that's a little bit scary to me because I cannot POSSIBLY comprehend being that old. But that's life, you know? I'm a little hypocritical about breeding because I see human breeding and horse breeding in a similar way. As for myself, I know that, like Gogo, I am completely middle-of-the-line mediocre. Yeah, I'm athletic enough to not be a fattie on the couch. Yeah, I'm smart enough to not totally fail at life I guess. Yeah, I'm pretty nice. But I'm simple. I'm average. I'm nothing interesting or exciting. I'm okay with that. I'm not going to change any lives, save the world, or make the human race better for any reason, so I know that my genes are not worth passing along. Whether or not I end up wanting kids - sometimes, I think maybe I will - I have already opted to take myself out of the gene pool because I am not worth replicating. I'm just not. I see no reason to add another mediocre life into this world. We are SO overrun with extra lives and SO overpopulated as is. Why do mediocre people breed? Why don't just the good ones breed? And then if they also produce mediocrity, remove those individuals from breeding as well? (I mean let's let them live and be happy and stuff, let's not go the full Hitler or anything... just don't let them breed!) I don't understand and I never will. Same with horses though.... Gogo is just as mediocre as I am. So why am I breeding her? Because I love her and want another one similar to her? That's what human parents do... they replicate because they love each other, and then create more mediocre humans. In a way, it doesn't make sense. Too much to think about, on this gorgeous spring day. At least the weather has been like 90 degrees... love that. Om nom nom grass... icky bugs.

Breeding: Pros and Cons?

In contemplating Gogo's future for the next year, I keep coming back across breeding as the one thing that sticks out as simultaneously the most important thing I could do, and the most undecided. I've already ruled out eventing for this year - even if she bounces back fast from this injury, I see no reason to push her and fit her up for it. We have time. I have two different vet opinions on breeding - one says definitely, one says put her back to work and don't bother. While I do agree with putting her back to work at least in a rehab sense, as that is the best and most controlled way to strengthen and heal a tendon, I'm not planning on hitting any big shows anytime soon. And seeing as I had planned on breeding her next year anyway (before this injury happened of course), this isn't exactly a spur of the moment thing. I've given it a lot of thought, and it's a definite yes for her future. The question, however, is when. Do I breed now, or do I wait? If I don't breed her this year, chances are (should she recover well and go on injury-free) that I won't have a chance to breed her for several more years given her ideal competition schedule. And let's be honest, it's a gamble all around to have an older maiden mare, and sometimes it isn't worth it.

So that leads me to now. This is the ideal time... or well, almost the ideal time. If I do breed her now, that probably cuts out next season as well, seeing as it's a full time job to be a mom, a double full time job to be a mom and a riding horse, and a triple full time overtime no lunchbreaks job to be a mom and a riding horse who is getting fitted up for a competitive season. (Although hell, that way I might finally get her to lose some damn weight!) And that isn't ideal in my mind either, losing two seasons. On the other hand, it will absolutely get me to take my time. Forget about worrying, forget about planning for a season, forget about feeling the need to push her before she may or may not be ready - I won't have that option, so it won't happen.

She'll be 9 this coming year, 10 when baby hits the ground, which means it won't be until age 11 that she's back to eventing fully again. God, that sounds old. Way old. But by breeding her now and REALLY taking my time, I might just secure a seriously long competitive career with her down the road. Who knows, she could be eventing until she's in her 20's! Lil' Tricky was 21 when he did Rolex. The nicest dressage horse in my barn is a Grand Prix horse who is 21, still in full work, and not on a SINGLE supplement. Nothing. He is a far more supple and expressive mover than all of the other horses in the barn combined. That's impressive. But back to Gogo... god forbid I try and get her back into work too soon and she reinjures herself, because she'll probably be done. And then she'll be making babies anyway, so there you have it. It's just a matter of NOW or LATER?


I've made my very basic list of pro's and con's for you all to see. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but I want your opinions on this. Breed her THIS YEAR, or DON'T?



Reasons to breed this year:
1) Good time - recooping from an injury, not competing
2) Gives me plenty of reason to take as much time as I need - won't have a competition season next year either most likely so this injury will have absolutely maximum potential for not ever happening again!!
3) Will have a super awesome, well-bred event baby to start up potentially when Gogo's career is winding down - good timimg all around
4) Breeding now prevents her from being an older maiden, which are harder to get pregnant, keep pregnant, and foal out safely
5) Did I mention having an adorable, bouncing, rearing bundle of joy!? I have no interest in purchasing my next horse elsewhere. I want her kiddo and nothing else. I would be the happiest kid in the world to end up with a complete carbon copy of her. In fact, I'd prefer it that way!

Reasons to NOT breed this year:
1) Money. I am doing well enough at this point for myself and will be able to afford two horses without issue, but still... two horses is double the expense of one. I enjoy spending lavishly on Gogo, and I do remember what it was like not long ago to be spending lavishly on Gogo and then going very hungry myself. Not where I ever want to be again. This is really the most enormous reason. Of course I'll be able to afford it, but I kind of am enjoying being able to spend extra money on ME for once! I also eventually need to be thinking about, you know, my life and future beyond all this... do I want a house someday? I have a really small savings fund for my supposed someday retirement, should I be thinking about this some more? I mean, as a horseperson I will NEVER retire until the day I die, but you know. The future is eventually going to be the present.
2) Cutting out an extra competition season. I suppose this is just for selfish reasons really. Can't wait to get back on that mare and gallop XC! But there will be time for that in the future. Sometimes it just feels like everything is a ticking clock though.
3) Time. With two horses, probably at two separate barns, I will lose large amounts of time that I already struggle to find somedays. Yesterday I got home at 9pm from the barn, just because I was there cleaning! I didn't ride anybody, so imagine if I had two horses to ride! I also would probably lose travel time, due to both the time and money issue. And that's fine, a sacrifice I can make (because I've already sacrified it anyway, sadly), but you know. I like having the option even if I don't actually have it.





So what to do? Breed her now, take two years to get back into competition, and then go on to have a long career while baby grows up and gets reason to head out just as she is winding now? Continue to ride her and not breed, and have a competition season next year and extra time and money for myself but have to breed her later as an older maiden and risk sitting out several seasons while I have neither mare nor baby to ride? A hard choice.
I will tell you this, I had a dream two nights ago that Gogo did in fact foal out right in front of me and randomly (don't think I knew she was pregnant in the dream). I went in to clean her stall, and she popped out a baby while STANDING, and it lasted all of about 5 seconds. It was a huge, bright bay colt with those distinctive I'm-going-to-grey-out markings around his lil' nosey. Oh noes, not a grey colt! We want a dark bay filly just like her mom!






(One of my boarders snapped these two pictures of her looking adorable. She has the oogly-eyed skeptical face on in the first picture because the guys were in the hayloft getting reason to throw down lunch hay, and in the second she is obviously getting up to get her lunch hay!)

Baby Daddy A Go-Go

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Cicera's Icewater:



Gogo's (almost certainly) chosen baby daddy for next year. The video is not of the best quality but the stallion IS!

A little blurb about him:

"Cicera's Icewater is the American Holsteiner Association 2002 approvals tour Stallion Champion. At the time of his approval Icewater was the highest scoring and highest bonited Holsteiner stallion ever approved in North America. He is also approved and licensed RPSI and GOV (Oldenburg Breeders Societ/ German Oldenburg Verband). He stands 16.3+ hands. He is a leggy, refined, modern type. At his AHHA approvals he received 53 bonits: type 8, topline 7, front legs 7, hind legs 7, walk 7, trot 9, canter 8. The German judges loved his huge, elastic gaits! For his pedigree he was awarded the absolute top score 10! He is one of only two stallions ever have received the score. In 2003 Cicera's Icewater competed in the Five Year Old Young Jumper Championships, and placed in the top 15 at the East Coast Finals at the Hampton Classic. In the spring of 2005 Cicera's Icewater completed his stallion performance requirements in eventing with Team O'Connor. Icewater placed in the top three of all five events that he competed at, with notably excellent dressage scores. Icewater is also approved RHPSI Stallion Book I, with a total score of 60, with bonits such as "8" type, "9" canter, etc. Icewater is by international show jumper Corofino (by Corrado I), out of State Premium Mare Cicera, Stamm 474A, Cor de la Bryere - Liguster. Cicera is full sister to the late Cicero that stood in the US and to the international show jumper and extraordinary sire Cavalier Royale (see link at the bottom of this page and read about his impressive progeny!). Several years after his premature death at 17 Cavalier Royale is now also a leading sire of eventers 2006, (he is, for example, sire of Cavaldi, second place at Fair Hill CCI*** 2003, and Starlight). Cavalier Royale had no less than THREE entries in Rolex 2007, including the WINNER Ben Along Time. Cicera, the dam of Cicera's Icewater, and full sister to Cavalier Royale, is also the dam of the young international Grand Prix jumper Kira (by Carthago). Ridden by Ludo Philippaerts, Kira (a maternal half sister to Icewater) came third with a double clear round in the 2004 $91,488 Grand Prix of Cannes, one of the most coveted Grand Prix in Europe. In 2003 year she successfully competed in the international Audi-Championship for Young Horses. This proven pedigree with depth heightens the predictability of passing on awesome performance and looks! Icewater's sire Corofino I competes in international show jumping under Italian colors, and is one of the Holsteiner Verband flagship stallions per frozen semen. His full brother Corofino II recently qualified for the German Championship of five year old stallions. Corofino has sired a number of approved stallions, successful jumpers and excellent dressage performers, and is especially known for passing on outstanding rideability. If you are looking for an EXTRAORDINARY MOVER that also can jump, here you go! Icewater comes from Holsteiner Stamm 474A, one of the best and most successful motherlines in the world. This motherline Stamm 474A has produced close to 40 approved stallions plus international sport horses. At the 2004 Holsteiner Verband approvals no less than two stallions from Stamm 474A were approved. Icewater's first foals are a living proof of Icewater being an outstanding refinement sire of modern type: they are very elegant, refined, athletic and correct and most of all they are destined to excell in performance."






And this is the part that just makes me think they're a match made in heaven, which I posted about a long time ago:



They are jump twins. Love it.



Concering what Gogo's high and low points are:

Gogo's Physical and Mental Strengths:
- Incredibly intelligent
- Independant, bold, level-headed and calm
- Excellent feet
- Textbook shoulder angle, excellent for scope over fences and reach in dressage
- Huge natural gallop
- Three quality gaits, exceptional canter
- Nice hind end
- Compact yet light build
- Overall body angles quite correct - athletic build

Gogo's Physical and Mental Weaknesses:
- Can be very opinionated.... need a stallion with a tractable mind!
- Forearm a little shorter than desireable
- Upright LF foot (not genetic as far as we can tell)
- Offset front cannons
- SLIGHT (VERY slight) toeing out in front
- Somewhat tied in below the knee
- (Really, in general, not the best front legs... but she's been completely sound on them and they are not glaring, violent faults.. just there when you look for them. They are blemish free, tight, and cool every day of her life!)
- A hair flat in the croup
- Weak topline, neck put on slightly upside down (her biggest and most noticable fault in my mind)
- Slightly narrow in the body and chest
- Needs more room in her throatlatch throatlatch


So the biggest improvements that I'm looking for are a much improved topline, more depth to the body, and nice correct legs. Icewater's topline and legs all scored 7's, which is acceptable. From what I've heard from people with babies, his foals all seem to be correct or at least quite improved in the topline, and it's kind of hard to tell with the legs but I see no glaring faults on any of them. And not that this is important, but not all of them are grey! I would love a steely grey that stays steely grey, or maybe one with lots of dapples, but I have zero desire to ever own a fleabitten grey. I pitch fits over Gogo's TINY little socks.... can you even IMAGINE me with a grey horse? I'd be killing myself every day and my hands would be perma-purple from all the whitening shampoo. Obviously color is beside the point, but well, you know ;)

With this stallion, I would have access to unlimited event/jumper potential via sire and damside. He didn't get a perfect "10" for his pedigree for nothing you know! Most notably, Icewater has Cor de la Bryere on both sides, a legend in his own right with a very strong prepotent tendency to pass along his mind-boggling bascule. Icewater's dam Cicera is also full sister to the legendary Cavalier Royale, arguably one of the most influential and highly sought after event stallions of all time, proven producer of multiple two, three, and four-star horses and Rolex champions, most recently Clayton Fredericks' Ben Along Time in 2008. Having access to these bloodlines means tapping into an entire world of proven event breeding, which is EXACLTY what I want. His pedigree is completely different from hers, which I quite think is an asset in this case. She has Ladykiller xx twice in her pedigree, which is fantastic - can't have too much Ladykiller in my mind - but I would rather NOT double up on anything else in her family. His family, however? Doubling up on the Cor de la Bryere gives me the good goosebumps.

Icewater's produce at this stage are hard to assess, because as a younger and less-proven stallion he has inadvertently been bred to not the highest quality mares. The offspring I've seen are a mixed bag given their completely varied mothers, but I've seen improvements in all of them. At this point, you can't give them any uniformity though. You couldn't pick an Icewater foal out of a herd at this point. Out of quality mares, he is producing champions on the line. As Gogo herself is a pretty nice mare and I would be TOTALLY happy to have another carbon copy of her with absolutely no improvements at all, it's certainly a risk worth taking for me in case no improvements come of the match. I fully expect, however, that the two of them would cross VERY nicely and I'd have a fantastic eventer on my hands.


Now let me also tell you why I nixed the other two potential stallions on my list. I have always had my eye on Lintas, the highest bonited stallion in AHHA history, but since being imported he's done absolutely nothing so I have no idea of what he's capable of. His produce are all very nice, but again, what are they useful for? The thing that killed him for me though was not his lack of a competitive career. It was the fact that he's already been doubled up on Landgraf I. Basic rule of thumb if you're ever looking at this particular line: never can have enough Ladykiller, but more than one Landgraf and it's TOO much. Landgrafs tend to be a little late-maturing and somewhat opinionated, and having Landgraf twice in a pedigree is an almost certain recipe for, ah, behavioral issues. Gogo has Landgraf on her sireside (her grandsire) and we all know how temperamental she gets sometimes. I'd really rather NOT add fuel to that fire, thanks.

Exactly the same reason I nixed Riverman. High quality stallion, high quality offspring (or total barf offspring... there seems to be no middle ground), proven producer of high-level eventers. BUT Riverman offspring are notoriously difficult to break, I don't care what anyone tells you about them. Once they get going they're not so bad, but they really can be TOUGH and they are OPINIONATED. Why? Probably something to do with the fact that he too has Landgraf on both sides. Everybody ALWAYS asks if I'll be breeding to Riverman. Uh, no thanks... I'd rather keep my brains intact. Fantastic quality offspring for a professional, but for me with my already Landgraffed and opinionated mare? I'll tell you one thing, crossing strong-willed with strong-willed is not a good recipe for a fun time.



I am also happy to report that given Gogo's performance history, type and potential future, the breeder (a wonderful woman) has informed me that she knocks $1000 off his stud fee for performance mares like mine. That's what I like to hear ;)



EDIT: Video of a nice colt by Icewater.



And go here to look at more Icewater foals - make sure to check out the video of Cerano, an Icewater colt with Landgraf I in his pedigree too. Sweet!

It's Gonna Be a Happy New Year

Yes, indeed it is! 2010 is here and we can finally let the last decade die in peace. How weird is it that ten years ago I was still in middle school, standing around at Epcot in Disney World waiting for Y2K to shut off all the fireworks and lights? Aaaah, ten years come and come. We've learned many things in the past decade, answered many burning questions such as... how does one unfreeze an iPod? Should I shake it like a salt shaker or a Polaroid picture? Should I vote for Kerry just so Bush won't win? A decade where somebody finally realized that skinny shirts were out, skinny jeans were in, and skinny models should finally eat some more sandwiches. A decade where buildings got attacked, space shuttles fell out of the sky, and long wars started. A decade that gave us Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone, publicly available hybrid cars, and the pinnacle of human achivement, the Snuggie. A decade where I entered and finished both high school and college, owned all three of my horses, and saw many pets, family members, and friends come and go. It's quite remarkable to look back on it all and realize just what a huge amount of time a decade really is, especially for someone like me who is not quite two and a half decades old. That's practically half my life right there. That's crazy.


As is tradition, it's time to go over all the 2009 goals I set for myself and for Gogo, and to come up with new 2010 goals. 2009 was sort of a hazy year for me - started out SO strong (winning three events in a row!) and then ending on such a crappy note (a RF, a last place finish, a 5th after a rail, and a tendon injury!), so it wasn't quite what I had hoped for. Most of these goals didn't get accomplished at all.

2009 Goals:

1) Qualify for and attend the AECs at Novice – place top 10
Well, we easily qualified for them, and we attended them, and we WOULD have finished 4th out of 40 people. I suppose I consider this goal not totally a failed completion. Freak things can and do happen, things we would have never guessed could have. The fact that she kept going through that challenging course while being seriously injured unbeknownst to me and never questioned a thing or hesitated anywhere means more to me than any placing could, because of the heart and guts she showed. She just kept going. That takes a special horse to just keep going.

2) Break 70% (at First Level or Novice/Training)
We did in fact do that! But only once, which was a little dissapointing. While the average of our overall scores went down - and was VERY consistant - our lowest score was still only a 29.5. That's not as low as I want it. We'll work harder at that this year,

3) Show First Level 1-4
Nope. I just didn't have the finances.

4) Hopefully show Second Level 1-2 (not an official goal, due to money constraints)
See above. Hopefully this year.

5) Show Training Level eventing
Again, we WOULD have done this had she not injured herself at the AECs. She was mentally ready and she was definitely fit enough. So not a TOTALLY failed goal, just an uncompleted one due to circumstances beyond my control.

The goals I set for myself last year are also for the most part incompletions, or total failures. My problem ended up being this: I spent too much time focusing on my horse, and not enough time on myself. Which you know, certainly could be worse, but I am a firm believers that all people should have other things they love and enjoy to do away from their careers and career-like things. If I had a desk job somewhere, then of course my horse would be the perfect outlet away from that, but she's a large part of my daily career work, as are all her horsey comrades. I think it's very healthy to maintain other fun pastimes too, because of focused I get on just her. For most of this past year, she's been my entire life. Everything I've done from waking in the morning to sleeping at night has revolved totally around her. And that's great when things are going swimmingly, but extra devastating when things aren't - I had nothing else to turn to that I was putting any sort of emotion into. One of the (very) few good things about her lay-up has been that I've had so much extra time to do all the stuff I enjoy but don't have time to do when she's in heavy training. I focused a lot on myself. I go to go on small vacations. I traveled a bit, I spent more time with friends, I painted and wrote, and I did a lot of yoga and reading. It was nice, just getting to go for a stroll in the woods and not think about my next upcoming show. So this upcoming show season, while I won't be any less driven in the slightest, I fully intend on letting myself be a multifacited person. Sometimes I get so focused on one thing, I forget all the other aspects of my being. I'm crazy about skiing. I love to exercise. I love getting my hair done and a new pair of shoes. I adore sailing, travel, and walking up to total strangers to strike up a conversation. I have to allow myself time for these things this coming year. That way, if something else happens that's not in my favor (but it WON'T because I SAID SO), my whole life won't feel totally ruined.

The other problem with last year's list? It wasn't specific enough. It was very vague, and so therefore I had nothing concrete to hang on to or to focus on. Things never got done because I didn't have enough of an idea of what I really wanted to do in the first place. I'm starting over this year with a more difinitive list, both for myself and for Gogo. And for both of us, there will be a bigger list of things that are NOT just sport.

So, without further ado, our yearly goals.

2010 Goals:

Gogo:
Qualify for and attend the AECs at Training Level, top 10 finish
Break 70% at First Level or Training Level (Score in 20’s)
Show 1st level 1-4 (Schooling or recognized)
Show 2nd Level 1-2 (Schooling or recognized)
If finances are available, show in GMHA’s N3DE (do the T3DE next year!) – or at least attend/support/volunteer/donate to it
Take her to Holsteiner approvals and get into the MMB
Do some fun competition type things: the 2010 Equine Affaire Versatily Horse & Rider Competition, a competitive trail ride, hunter trials/hunter paces
Go foxhunting!

Me:
Travel as much as I can – Madagascar/Egypt/? At the end of the year
Complete the 100 Pushups/200 Situps/25 Pullups/200 Squats challenges
Learn how to run barefoot and compete in a 5k barefoot
Do yoga once (or twice) every week
Eat healthier – buy fresh food every week and learn to MAKE IT
Save money for other things than the necessary – shows, and breeding next year
During the winter, ski every Wednesday that weather allows
Complete Metro's scrapbook
Have a poem published
Finish Patrick painting

Now there's two or three things in there that might have caught your eye. First, it's true - GMHA is running a Novice 3-Day this year. THAT IS AMAZING. If I am still point-chasing, it's unlikely that I'd be able to do this, as they're running it a couple of days before their regular event. But if I can't ride in it, I still fully intend to support it, either through volunteer work or financially. With the time we've lost and my inability to really find someone out here that I'd really like to train with (any suggestions?), doing the T3DE is not a viable option this year, sadly. I don't have the qualifications or the knowledge to do that alone. I need a teacher and a guide. But you never know, maybe someone amazing will come along and we'll try for it!

Secondly, did you say breeding? Yes, that's the plan - finally, I'm in a situation where I will be financially strong enough, as well as be in a stable living/job situation, where I will be able to breed her in the summer of 2011. The goal all along has been to breed her before the age of 11, then go back and compete for several more years before retiring her as a broodmare. It is infinitely easier to get a younger maiden mare pregnant and mainain it to term rather than an older maiden mare, and it's actually quite common in Europe for a mare owner to breed the mare at the age of 3, foal out and see what's she's capable of producing, then break and train the mare until she's older and ready to be retired to be a full-time mom. Young bodies are good at these kinds of things, and old bodies are more concerned with keeping just themselves healthy and going. So for mid-late summer 2011, I am finally setting it all down in stone. Two and a half years from now, expect to be introduced to a bouncing, rearing bundle of joy. I can't WAIT already!! BUT, clearly that is a long way away, and I need to start planning and saving now if that's what I really want to do. All the pieces are ready to fall into place - I even have an inexpensive place to keep the wee one when he/she is weaned for very cheap... right here in my backyard! Turnout all day and an arena and everything! If that's not a great situation, I don't know what is.

Thirdly, did you say... running barefoot? In all the commotion in the past few posts about barefoot horses and barefoot human athletes, I got to thinking about it. Here's the thing: I LOVE to run. But I've essentially stopped every time I've really gotten into it because of the horrible pain it caused me. Knee pain, back pain, shin splints, cramps in my feet, and let's not even get me started on my bad hip. I was running in crappy shoes at the time and attributed it to that. I went out and got myself a fancy pair of running shoes and tried again, and strangely enough, the pains in my feet got way, way worse. I would have to stop mid-run sometimes because of the shooting cramps I'd get in my arches. It was weird, it didn't make sense. So now here I am, getting fat on the couch while my horse gets fat in her stall. I'm not running because my feet and my body hurt when I do it regularly. I have pretty good form... so what's the problem?
And then I had a lightbulb moment when everyone was bickering about it. Why not try running barefoot myself? It sounds ridiculous really, when I write it down, but I'm serious. If it worked so well for my horse, maybe it could work for me too. It's quite the same set of principles - nature gave us these feet and intended us to use them unfettered, and it's quite a growing movement. The human evolved as a bipedal walking/running machine, meant to be on their feet and going all day long. If I want to try this, I need to do some serious research and ask some very real questions. If it hurts me too much to run in shoes, maybe I should just try without them, and see what happens. Who knows? I might come back swearing with glass in my foot and write the whole thing off. But maybe, just maybe, it'll change me as an athlete for all time. I'm a novice runner - a very novice runner - but I want to do it and I want to do it a lot. I love it. I am no Stacey but I do want to try, late in the year, a 5k road race. Maybe I'll end up back in running shoes - who knows? But maybe not. It'll be an interesting experiment, and a sweet way to run a little bit of a parallel to the nekked hooves movement. I know what it's like to be an athlete limited by my shoes! So stay tuned to see what happens on that front.


Happy New Year, everyone!

Gogo's Dream Schedule

It's cold. No really. It's really freaking cold. My Weatherbug right now says it's 4 degrees without windchill. The horses did not go outside today... we handwalked and lunged everybody instead. Gogo got two long handwalks today, and I was going to lunge her in the chambon but wow, it really was just TOOOOO COOOOOOLD. She got wrapped behind tonight and had a hot grain mash, and drank plenty of warm water all day. It was nice to just slow down and hang out with her and snuggle for a little while... I need that for tomorrow.

Someone asked me what Gogo's longterm plans are, so I thought I would write a little bit about that tonight. I have a very hazy schedule sketched out in my head that I want to put down on paper (or internet!). Obviously, this is a completely tentative schedule, and one that I'm sure will only work if all the stars in the world align and money and success suddenly come raining down on me (which I am inviting them to do, lol). I'm NOT going to push her to do anything that she's not mentally or physically capable of, so if we're not ready, we're not going to do it. I HOPE that we'll able to roughly stick with this, but obviously only time will tell.



2009 Plans:
Eventing: Run Novice, qualify for AECs and Areas at Novice, finish year running a Training or two
Dressage: Show First Level in spring, by fall be hopefully ready to show at least Second 1-2

2010 Plans:
Eventing: Run Training, qualify for AECs and Areas at Training, finish year running a Prelim...... also complete a Training 3-Day at the end of the year (some good information from the Ocala T3DE can be found here, and some more information can be found here.... I will explain what it is further in a later post, if you'd like to know more!)
Dressage: Second Level

2011 Plans:
Eventing: Run Prelim early in the year
Dressage: Second/Third? Level
Breeding: Breed mid-summer!

2012 Plans:
Breeding: BABY! (And yes, I've thought this out a liiiiiiiiiiittle too much... this will be a D year for Holsteiner fillies, so I will insist that she pop out a little filly and I'm going to name her Disturbia, for her mother's tendancy to be a little... weird.)
Other: Start to slowly get back in shape, see how well and how fast she comes back from foaling and nursing and weaning and go from there! You better believe I'll still be sitting on her bareback and walking around right 'til baby comes (which is good for them anyway... hard to have a baby when you're an out of shape chunkaloo)

2013:
Prelim, Third level, and then?



For those of you that didn't know, I actually have a college degree in Equine Reproduction, so it's sort of my forte, and I'm REEEEEEEALLY excited to breed her.

EDIT: As pointed out by Beckz, it seems a little weird ot be breaking up her competiton schedule like that, but there is a reason for it. Gogo is currently 7, and in 2011 will be 9. IDEALLY, you want a mare who is going to at some point be a broodmare to have at least one baby before the age of 10, at which point if she successfully carries the baby to term and all is well, you can go back to competition for a few more years. Trying to get the older maiden mare pregnant is SO difficult, and especially if she's an old show mare who has been on chemicals like Regumate or Depo (Gogo is not and will never be), you'll potentially dump thousands of dollars into trying to get an old body suited for something it doesn't know how to do. However, if you breed a mare at least once at a younger age, her body has already been conditioned to maintain a pregancy and will therefore have a MUCH easier time concieving and carrying to term if you choose to breed her again later. A lot of top mares are often bred once before being started under saddle, and then go on to have a competitive career, at which point they can then be bred again at a later date. This also shows what kind of produce the mare will create, and whether or not she will be a good investment in the long run.
So I am breeding her at the age of 9 to ensure her reproductive soundness at a later date. Once a younger mare has carried a pregancy to full term, she will have a much easier time concieving and carrying when she is older.


So who am I going to breed her to, you ask? Well, there are several options but I think my favorite by far is a Holsteiner stud called Cicera's Icewater. I have a DVD of him somewhere that I requested and MAN this horse can MOVE and he can JUMP, and his babies are all very nice too. VERY nice. He was competing at Prelim with Team O'Connor, but I think he's back home currently. Here is some information on him off of West with the Wind's website:

"Cicera's Icewater is the American Holsteiner Association 2002 approvals tour Stallion Champion. At the time of his approval Icewater was the highest scoring and highest bonited Holsteiner stallion ever approved in North America. He is also approved and licensed RPSI and GOV (Oldenburg Breeders Societ/ German Oldenburg Verband). He stands 16.3+ hands. He is a leggy, refined, modern type. At his AHHA approvals he received 53 bonits: type 8, topline 7, front legs 7, hind legs 7, walk 7, trot 9, canter 8. The German judges loved his huge, elastic gaits! For his pedigree he was awarded the absolute top score 10! He is one of only two stallions ever have received the score. In 2003 Cicera's Icewater competed in the Five Year Old Young Jumper Championships, and placed in the top 15 at the East Coast Finals at the Hampton Classic. In the spring of 2005 Cicera's Icewater completed his stallion performance requirements in eventing with Team O'Connor. Icewater placed in the top three of all five events that he competed at, with notably excellent dressage scores. Icewater is also approved RHPSI Stallion Book I, with a total score of 60, with bonits such as "8" type, "9" canter, etc. Icewater is by international show jumper Corofino (by Corrado I), out of State Premium Mare Cicera, Stamm 474A, Cor de la Bryere - Liguster. Cicera is full sister to the late Cicero that stood in the US and to the international show jumper and extraordinary sire Cavalier Royale (see link at the bottom of this page and read about his impressive progeny!). Several years after his premature death at 17 Cavalier Royale is now also a leading sire of eventers 2006, (he is, for example, sire of Cavaldi, second place at Fair Hill CCI*** 2003, and Starlight). Cavalier Royale had no less than THREE entries in Rolex 2007, including the WINNER Ben Along Time. Cicera, the dam of Cicera's Icewater, and full sister to Cavalier Royale, is also the dam of the young international Grand Prix jumper Kira (by Carthago). Ridden by Ludo Philippaerts, Kira (a maternal half sister to Icewater) came third with a double clear round in the 2004 $91,488 Grand Prix of Cannes, one of the most coveted Grand Prix in Europe. In 2003 year she successfully competed in the international Audi-Championship for Young Horses. This proven pedigree with depth heightens the predictability of passing on awesome performance and looks! Icewater's sire Corofino I competes in international show jumping under Italian colors, and is one of the Holsteiner Verband flagship stallions per frozen semen. His full brother Corofino II recently qualified for the German Championship of five year old stallions. Corofino has sired a number of approved stallions, successful jumpers and excellent dressage performers, and is especially known for passing on outstanding rideability. If you are looking for an EXTRAORDINARY MOVER that also can jump, here you go! Icewater comes from Holsteiner Stamm 474A, one of the best and most successful motherlines in the world. This motherline Stamm 474A has produced close to 40 approved stallions plus international sport horses. At the 2004 Holsteiner Verband approvals no less than two stallions from Stamm 474A were approved. Icewater's first foals are a living proof of Icewater being an outstanding refinement sire of modern type: they are very elegant, refined, athletic and correct and most of all they are destined to excell in performance."

He also successfully completed a CCI*, and was third, I think... his dressage scores from two different judges were a 71% and a 73%... which is AWESOME.






And this is the part that just makes me think they're a match made in heaven:



THEY HAVE THE SAME DAMN JUMP. I LOVE IT.


Now, we've all been mad at FHOTD for her irritating posts as of late, but her basic concept is one I stick to - breed the best to the best, and that's it. Don't breed crappy quality horses. Don't breed mediocre quality horses. Breed QUALITY horses only. Gogo is a lovely mare but she has her downfalls too, as does every mare, so I'm only going to breed her responsibly and for my own future pleasure horses, ones that will be guaranteed a good home for life. And she really DOES have the potential to throw some pretty high-quality offspring, especially if paired to a matching stud who will build on her strengths and enhance her weakesses.

Gogo's Physical and Mental Strengths:
- Incredibly intelligent
- Independant, bold, level-headed and calm
- Excellent feet
- Textbook shoulder angle, perfect for scope over fences and reach in dressage
- Huge natural gallop
- Three high-quality gaits, exceptional canter
- Very nice hind leg
- Nice short, strong back
- Overall body angles very desireable and correct

Gogo's Physical and Mental Weaknesses:
- Can be very opinionated.... need a stallion with a tractable mind!
- Forearm a little shorter than desireable
- Upright LF foot (not genetic as far as we can tell)
- Offset front cannons
- SLIGHT (VERY slight) toeing out in front.... which I'd rather have over toeing in!!
- A hair flat in the croup
- Weak topline, neck put on slightly upside down (her biggest and most noticable fault in my mind)
- Slightly narrow in the body and chest
- Needs more room in the throatlatch area


So the biggest improvements that I'm looking for are a much improved topline, more depth to the body, and nice correct legs. Icewater's topline and legs all scored 7's, which is acceptable. His foals all look to be very correct in the topline, and it's kind of hard to tell with the legs but I see no glaring faults on any of them. And not all of them are grey!!! I would love a steely grey that stays steely grey, or maybe one with lots of dapples, but I have zero desire to ever own a fleabitten grey. I pitch fits over Gogo's TINY little socks.... can you even IMAGINE me with a grey horse? I'd be killing myself every day and my hands would be perma-purple from all the whitening shampoo!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On an unrelated note, we seem to have an Adequan problem here. Gogo last summer went through the initial loading dose of once per week for four weeks, and then moved on to one shot per month.... but I have recently heard information saying that once monthly Adequan is apparently a waste of money, and isn't actually recommended by the company. WTF, why did nobody mention this to me before? Apparently, what IS recommended is once every two or so months, doing the entire loading dose thing over again.... flooding the body with Adequan, I guess. Well, I can't exactly afford to do that, so I was going to ask around and see if it might be possible for me to go every three months and then maybe do three doses for three weeks instead.... which is the same amount of money as the once a month thing, only more effective, apparently. Gogo is actually moving better than she ever has, and isn't giving me any indication that she might be feeling her little bit of arthritis, so hmmmmm.

Adequan. Stop trying to confuse me. Money is tight enough around here as it is.




Tomorrow is the anniversary of one of the saddest days of my life, and I don't want it to come. At least I have it off.....