The Calendar.

It is time I let you all in on one of my super ultra amazing record-keeping secrets: The Calendar. I've been keeping records like this for years, and will likely continue to do so. My horsey life revolves around it!

While I always make sure to have paper records just in case something were to happen to my computer records, I spend quite a lot of time organizing and planning my training via calendar. It's a simple Word document, but I can spruce it up any way I want, and by having it organized page by page I can get a good visual of incremental training.


The first two months of 2010 in a snapshot:




Here is what a piece of May 2009 looked like:




Annnnnnnd here is what January 2011 looked like:



Right. Well, maybe this time next year I will look back and laugh.


I live by the calendar. I know when she is due for anything, when to alter or increase my rehab work, what I did on a particular day last month, when she cut her leg on XYZ, everything. When she was in serious work, I had a training schedule all set up week-by-week, and I always knew what we had worked on and what I was planning to work on. I planned things out ahead of time, mapped out my show season, and worked backwards from there. When she was in rehab, I delicately mapped out every incremental increase in her workload, and had everything perfectly planned for weeks in advance. Obviously, there isn't much of a use for that kind of meticulous planning anymore.

OR IS THERE! With Marti set to arrive this Friday (3 days!!!), I can actually satisfy my crazy record-keeping goal-setting urges once again! He will of course get his own set of records:





I can't wait to get started with him. He's never really been away from the stable he's grown up at, save for a few times, so this may likely totally blow his mind. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the situation. He is really quite a baby and he is a very big boy. Honestly though, all I can think about is how totally hellacious Gogo was at his age. She was a nightmare! I couldn't ride her alone outside of an arena. I couldn't ride her at all outside of an arena! She would put her head between her legs and bolt for the nearest horse. She couldn't steer and she couldn't take a contact. And she had an opinion about EVERYTHING. She broke crossties and halters left and right. She fussed horribly for the farrier. And she tried to kill Nicole once by galloping straight into the horse she was riding while I sawed her face off trying to turn or stop her, neither of which I had any ability to do. I really think there is NO way on earth that Marti could POSSIBLY top some of the crap she dished out!

Tonight, it's absolutely pouring and temperatures are scheduled to drop into the teens with windchills in the negative numbers. Sleet, ice and quite a lot of snow are all forecast for tomorrow, so Gogo is tucked away in the barn out of the weather with a nice pile of hay, two blankets, and a fresh pair of wraps (she hasn't been wrapped in nearly two months but she's been stocking up whenever stalled so I opted to wrap her and see if it helps). I trimmed her yesterday, and the changes in her feet are REALLY interesting. With all the snow and wet we've had, her feet have gone back to looking a big Connectict-weather-like, but before that they were so hard, slick and shiny that they actually looked like polished marble, frogs included! When you tap on her frog with the end of a metal hoofpick, they sound the way knocking on hoofwall sounds - solid and HARD. And as expected, she is exfoliating her sole! I'll have to get pictures, it's totally wild - and the sexy sole underneath is gorgeous. Her cuts are all finally healed or healing, no amount of grooming gets her clean (although god knows I try), and she is also putting on LOTS of weight from being on pasture all the time. I see a grazing muzzle in someone's future...



Snowmare.

Wait a minute, when did 2011 happen?

Tada! It's the New Year! I can honestly say that I have absolutely never in my life cared less. I made only one single goal: to not rely on my goalmaking success for happiness. I have spent the past three years of my life meticulously planning out my year from January 1st on through show season, painstakingly setting up monthly and yearly goals, and planning to a T every clinic and show I planned on attending right down to every finance. It's pretty obvious that I can't do that this year. Every other New Years resolution I ever made complimented my competition schedule - exercising, dieting, etc. I made other small goals for myself too, of course, but nothing I didn't ever really regret not completing if I didn't.

This year, everything is different. I woke up on January 1st and felt exactly the same as the day before. I did not have any goals I was excited to get started on. I did not have anything in my forseeable future to plan for. We spent the night before down at the river, throwing away pieces of 2010 into the water as a symbolic letgo. I tossed in an old vet bill (paid of course!) to sybolize letting all of that endless heartache go. It was an incredible night, and a cleansing moment. Of course we were then nearly skewered by a wild boar who showed up on the riverbank. Or at least that's what we think it was... we heard crashing and squealing and decided we better not stick around long enough to find out.

As far as New Years Eves go, this one was amazing. I wish it had never ended, but of course it had to. I headed off to work the next day same as always, working a day that was just the same as before except quite a lot colder. I didn't make any goals. I didn't make any particular plans. I have ideas, but nothing concrete to name. It is oddly liberating, to tell you the truth. Something will come to me, I am sure. But as for right now, I am happy to just move with the wind until something comes clear.

I didn't make any goals for Gogo either. In fact, I think I am going to try and make a point of not making goals for now. She is happy being a chinchilla rolling in the dust every day, and her leg looks the same. Since I am once again her primary feeder, I am annoyed to find that apparently over the past year she has relearned her total attitude at feeding time that I had all but squashed out of her when I was her primary feeder before. It's nothing bad at all, but she makes some pretty surly faces that she never used to make before, and paws. I don't tolerate any sort of attitude from her, even if it's just an ugly face, so I have been creatively chasing her off with the mixing spoon we use to stir water into grain meals. I also refuse to approach her when she's making an ugly face. Only when she pricks her ears and looks at me in a friendly way do I bring her grain over. The spoon technique seems to be the most effective. The pawing has all but stopped after a few days of this, and the nasty faces are way less nasty and more quizzical. Hopefully we'll be back to normal pretty soon.

I also put her on the lunge yesterday for all of 25 seconds, just a few trot steps in each direction. She's still lame, but a fair bit less than she was when the injury first happened. We're only a month and a half our from the reinjury, which is nothing in the grand sceme of things. If we were still doing stall rest we wouldn't have even gone back yet for our first vet recheck. I think I will probably do this once a monthjust to see what she looks like, because it really can't hurt much at this point. Baby steps.


Really, there isn't much else to report. She's getting a thorough grooming, but not every day. She likes to be dirty and a horse for once, I think. She is happy to be out all day, and she completely trashes her stall every night. I for one really hope to get her out 24/7 in my backyard ASAP, seeing as that will be an additional perk.... not having to be on the receiving end of that pitchfork every day!



Big news-related things may or may not be coming soon. Pertaining to Gogo's living situation, I now have the option of keeping her in my landlord's 15-acre paddock, whcih also joins to a second 15 acres if I am interested. It's not quite my backyard, but it's close, so I will have to think about it and will have more on it later. I also may have something to ride! I don't know anything about the potential horse yet aside from his name, which is Trout. I dunno about you but I LOVE a weird name! More details as they come.


As for right now...

I am not making goals anymore for this year for Gogo. This may change at some point, but I have absolutely no expectations and I am not going to set myself up for failure and dissapointment.
I am not making resolutions for myself yet. I will when I decide the time is right.
I am letting things come as they will, and letting my interests point me in the right directions so that I can take the next step from here.
I am happy as a clam in this town and state. Really.



2010 feels a bit like it was a complete and utter waste, but I have a feeling that 2011 will be a total turnaround. I'm not sure why I get that feeling, but somewhere in my gut I know it's true. Something good is coming. Something really good.

Happy New Year!

End of November Analysis

Uhhhhhhh. Well, as far as goals go, I think last month was THE biggest failure in terms of completion that I've ever had. I guess some things are really just out of my control.


November Goals:

1) Make this the Month of Dressage! Lots of dressage work, focus on correct and confident work, start to add bits of collection back into the mix, practice tests, take lessons, etc!
Well, we STARTED strong... she was going better than ever, feeling stronger and sounder than ever, and giving me some amazing, mind-blowingly excellent movement. We tried to video a bit of my ride the day before she came up dead lame, and my camera battery died mid-attempt. Sigh.

2) Do records - EVERY day!
I did a terrible job at this. My hand-written records I just gave up on when Gogo went lame. My computer-written records have been going strong, but I don't want to rely on them because I think how things just sometimes magically vanish on computers. But I no longer need hand-written notes on all the training and things I did with her on a particular day... I just need to know how the leg looks, how she's behaving, and on what days do certain procedures happen. I need to back up all my information on this computer.. perhaps that is a good start.

3) Have Gogo's teeth done
Our only success! Dr. R didn't find much of anything on her, just lowered a few mini-points she was getting. She did have some sort of weird plaque build-up on her incisors, which was weird. None of the other horses had it, so we can't figure out WHAT caused it (he said sometimes feed that is high in molasses causes it, but that is certainly not the case here). She had just been done six months ago, and I think she's about at the age where she can really start getting really floated once a year instead of twice. This isn't exactly an exciting goal completion, but it's all we have, so I'll take it!

4) Hopefully have the chiropractor work on Gogo
Didn't happen. Between all the chaos of moving/packing/leaving/job hunting/travel/etc, I just never had a chance to get everything together. And now that she's toast, there's probably not much of a point until we get a little further along in our rehab.

5) Map out a rough game plan for the next two months - I hope to really get back into real, planned, structured work in January in hopes of eventually conditioning for eventing, but I want to keep it simple and easy (and fun!) until that point.
This hurts. Clearly this is a fail.



Well.... there you are.

I could completely stop making goals for the time being, but I don't think I want to do that. I do love a list, and I really extra love completing all the little projects on it. So why not?


December Goals:1) Transition to all-day turnout - and hopefully 24/7 turnout, if the situation allows
2) Decide whether or not we are staying here for the month, or going elsewhere for the month, and carry out that plan successfully
3) Figure out a new supplement plan of attack (we reallllly don't need the whole load of them anymore)
4) Maybe teach her some tricks for fun??
5) Just hang out and enjoy the holiday season!


Maybe I'll do all those stupid Parelli games with her. I think for the most part, all of that natural horsemanship stuff has a really important base, but has become completely swarmed and overtaken by crooks trying to make a quick buck off of idiots. I am pretty sure, having read the little bit about them that I have, that I'd be able to do all seven of them in a day. And I'd do them without fancy halters, orange wavy sticks, or spending hundreds of dollars for DVDs and clinics!

Other than that, I have to really use my brain and figure out what other fun things I can do with her. As long as it's low-stress and low-impact, it's game.

As for today, it's absolutely pouring and blowing like a hurricane out there. I assume the horses are still out, so I'm glad she has a shelter to go hide in, if she figured that out. Not sure that she will! I'm finishing up here with all of my packing, and then I'll go visit her. Tomorrow morning I fly out to Texas for my interview. I dunno how I really feel about Texas in general, but you never know do you?

End of October Analysis (AKA WTF where did October go!?)

Yay Blogger is finally letting me actually POST something! It pooped out on me three days ago and I've been unable to get to the homepage for some reason. No matter, it's back up now!


Anyway. How on earth it is already November? I believe I said the same thing when it suddenly was October. And September. And August. This year is blasting by at warp speed!

I am thankful to report that Gogo's lumpy bump has vanished. The following morning, underneath the wraps, the swelling was down nearly 80%. I put her on the lunge to look her over, and she trotted off with her tail over her back, snorting and prancing. The maintenance guy brought farm truck by the arena, which didn't help the matter. She finally settled, and looked as sound as ever. I didn't bother with icing and wrapping after the second day, and by day three the leg looked totally normal with the exception a small warm spot near the cut. I was not at the barn on Sunday - we went up to help out at the New England Hunter Trials and cheer on Daun and the Big Brego! - so I never actually got to look in on her that day. Secretly, this was all right by me, seeing as it was Halloween, and traditionally every Halloween Gogo gets possessed by demons. (But to counter the freaky, check out some adorable Halloween Picture Spam from years past.) I figured it was probably best to avoid opening that can of worms this year... and maybe every upcoming year for the rest of eternity.

So Monday, it was back to work. We had a birthday party to attend that evening, so the only thing I had time for was a quickie bareback hackamore ride with the woman around the property before it got dark. We even managed to cruise up to the stopsign and back. Beyond that, all I could do was toss on her heavyweight blanket and tuck her in for the night. Yes, it really is that cold at night, with temps dropping into the 20's!
Tuesday morning was no warmer, and I showed up to the barn bright and early at 7:30am, just as the sun was rising over the frost-covered property. Bundled in my polarfleece britches, two shirts, a sweater, a puffy vest, a scarf, and a puffy jacket, I climbed aboard, and despite the fact that I looked slightly like the Bumble from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, my toes and fingers went instantly numb. Thanks for the nice weather, New England! I was amazed to find that the frigid air did nothing to make my little monster fresh or wild, and she bopped along lazily on the buckle while we warmed up in the outdoor. The more we did, the more energy she managed to find, but it was a nice balance that resulted in freshly forward momentum that was easily kept in check. She was losing some of her responsiveness to my half-halts near the end, but a series of transitions helped remind her of our collective braking ability. She was so good! She really is a different horse this year. Trying to figure out all the new things about her is a total learning process, and the things I needed to do last year in order to get her mental cooperation are no longer applicable. She moves better, is stronger and more fluid, and happier to do her job now that she has a whole new level of comfort and strength. Whatever this long period of rest and subsequent structured work did for her body overall was so good. I'm still icing her after every hard ride, just out of habit, but at this point I don't feel the need to coddle her too much anymore. So long as she stays relatively well-behaved in turnout, then she's going to get booted OUT for as much time as I can give her, and be given the chance to just be a horse for once. I think it will do nothing but help her at this point.

Wednesday and today, Gogo had off. This wasn't exactly my intention, but circumstances involving very crabby people prevented me from doing much in the way of anything with the Mamacita. Despite that, Gogo DID get her yearly Halloween treat, albeit a bit belated this time around - a tiny pie pumpkin, stuffed full of apples and a smidgen of caramel. The first year I served this to her, she gobbled the whole thing. The second year, she ate all the insides and about half of the pumpkin. Last year, she ate all the insides and snuffled around the pumpkin itself. This year, she refused to eat any of it at all. I had to pick up pieces of scattered apple and shove them forcibly into her mouth after she had rolled the pumpkin all around, dumping all its contents onto the floor. She did end up eating most of them, but I think only because I started to offer them to the other horse in the crossties instead. She did NOT find that amusing. Fine, whatever Gogo. Next year I'll make you bob for apples instead. How will your dignity like THAT?





Despite being an Ice Queen, she's still the best.

The other thing that happened today was that Dr. R, our amazing dentist from Virginia, came for his six-month visit. He checked Gogo over even though she got done six months ago, and rounded off a few sharp areas. He also found some hardcore plaque buildup on her top incisors. This was a bit odd, as nothing in her diet had changed at all, and none of the other horses had any sign of it either. Dr. R said that it sometimes shows up with very hard water or feeds chock full of molasses, but she's getting neither. Hmm! He had to scrape it off with a nail file, it was so hard! She also had a bit of gingivitis to go with the plaque, so I will need to clean the area with Clorhexadine solution one a day for the next week in order to get it to quiet down. Remembering her obnoxious performance last time we did dental work on her, we didn't even bother trying to put the speculum on until we had sedated her heavily. Mares... gotta love them.




And now, onto our October goals, which were pretty much a big giant fail.

October Goals:
1) Go trail riding on the BEACH! (Safely, of course... no mad gallops, no deep sand riding... the rule is stay below the high-tide line anyway so I think we're good for footing!)
SUCCESS! Definitely one of the biggest ones of the month. We went to the beach THREE times, and each was more awesome than the last. I had wanted to find a day warm enough to actually go for a real swim, but alas, those days are long gone for the season. Maybe in March!

2) Possibly take a few dressage lessons? And maintain last month's weekly schedule
Well... lessons didn't happen. With the escaping incident, Gogo ended up having two whole weeks off when I didn't know what was going on. Once she got cleared by Dr. C to keep on trucking like we had been, we went back to the weekly schedule, but I wasn't violently strict about it.

3) Have Gogo adjusted chiropractically
Again... fail. I had hopes of trucking her in to Vicki's when Dr. A was over there, but it just never worked out. Hopefully this month if I can arrange it, although I have to say money is very tight. I know I'll manage somehow, like I always do... but you know.

4) Move into the next size paddock (step up from medical paddock)
This is THE biggest success of the month. She stepped up from the medical to the small paddock, then stepped up from the small to the medium sized paddock. When we started having issues with turnout juggling (it is heading into the winter season after all, and the grass paddocks are now closed), I bit the bullet and tossed her out with the ladies in the big field. Best. Decision. Ever. Her legs look amazing, her demeanor is highly improved, and her behavior is stellar. Also, by removing a horse from the solo turnout list, I managed to free up space in the smaller paddocks. Everybody wins!

5) Be a better record keeper!! (I was a slacker this month and my day-to-day written record keeping was not very good. I am normally great at this so I need to get my butt in gear!!)
This was a TOTAL fail. Near the end of the month, I scrambled to get my act together and reorganize, and did much better for the last week or so. But even now, I find that I've already missed three days of my records in this new month. Bad girl!!



November Goals:1) Make this the Month of Dressage! Lots of dressage work, focus on correct and confident work, start to add bits of collection back into the mix, practice tests, take lessons, etc!
2) Do records - EVERY day!
3) Have Gogo's teeth done
4) Hopefully have the chiropractor work on Gogo
5) Map out a rough game plan for the next two months - I hope to really get back into real, planned, structured work in January in hopes of eventually conditioning for eventing, but I want to keep it simple and easy (and fun!) until that point.

I still can't believe it's November already. In two weeks, the Eventing-A-Gogo blog will be TWO years old. We just reached our 250th follower TODAY! We should have a party!

End of September Analysis

WHAAAAT?? September is over?? Wait a minute, when did THAT happen??

September was pretty decent for us. There wasn't a lot I wanted to do in terms of working Gogo - trail ride, and that's really it - but all our goals were met with ease and confidence. The leaves are really starting to change, pumpkin-flavored food is abound, and there is a crisp chill in the mornings that sets my heart on fire. I love autumn!


September Goals:

1) Daily turnout in the medical pen (POSSIBLY to move into the next size paddock, but this may wait until next month) save for days when I will not be there to monitor
Success! And actually, she did so well that I had her going out even on days when I wasn't there. There wasn't one day in September that she did something stupid in the paddock. Best of all, we never had to use drugs after the first day. Now that it's October, she is set to go out in the next size paddock, which I plan to start tomorrow. Freeeeeeee as a biiiiiiird!

2) Jump our first crossrail in a year!
Success!! This was truly awesome. We didn't jump much, and we only had about four or so jump days in our schedule, but we did a handful of small crossrails, lots of trot poles, one or two canter poles, and a tiny vertical the other day. Sweet! I am not planning on doing much jumping in the next few months, just little stuff to keep her brain happy and maintain a low level of fitness over fences, because I don't feel she needs much schooling at this point. (Although I am badly in need of a tune-up myself... lessons anyone?) What's the hurry? At the start of the new year, I plan on stepping it up a little bit, but I don't need to now. Although I suppose I will be sad to see all the fancy jumps in the outdoor going into storage for the season... those won't come out until next April in all likelihood. Oh well.

3) Return to a 5/6 day a week schedule - dressage, jumping, hacking out (schedule still in the works but I have a good idea at this point of what I want to be doing)
Success, mostly! I have been a little back and forth about this, and alternated from only wanting to do trail riding to wanting to do a full schedule with bits of dressage every day, but it seems to have found a happy medium and I like it that way. I want to work her enough to strengthen her but not wear her out. I want her muscles and tendons to get stronger without overdoing anything. It's a delicate balance.

4) Trailer off property for our first real TRAIL RIDE in a year!
SUCCESS! This was my favorite one of all. We trailered off property THREE TIMES in the past month, which may not sound like a ton but in reality is three more times than we've trailered off property for fun in a whole YEAR, so it's awesome! We've been to Baxster twice, and to Larkin once. I am hoping to get to the beach possibly today, or maybe tomorrow, depending. A Saturday might be all kinds of frightening craziness though, so I'm not sure.

5) Just enjoy my mare. It's fall, it's beautiful out, the brunt of the rehab work is over and it's time for fun!
Success! It's all about the fun isn't it! ;)



October Goals:
1) Go trail riding on the BEACH! (Safely, of course... no mad gallops, no deep sand riding... the rule is stay below the high-tide line anyway so I think we're good for footing!)
2) Possibly take a few dressage lessons? (Vicki? Bettina?) And maintain last month's weekly schedule
3) Have Gogo adjusted chiropractically
4) Move into the next size paddock (step up from medical paddock)
5) Be a better record keeper!! (I was a slacker this month and my day-to-day written record keeping was not very good. I am normally great at this so I need to get my butt in gear!!)


Hopefully, our weather will stay nice and everyone (barn cats included) won't be stuck inside looking out anymore...

End of August Analysis

I can't believe it... September is here, and summer is fading fast. Although today you wouldn't know it, as it was a steamy 95 degrees with 9583891048592048 percent humidity. Ugh! The leaves are all definitely beginning to change though, which I am certainly happy to see, as it means we finally might have some RAIN and cooler weather coming. This heat is horrible!


August Goals:

1) Build up our canterwork by an increasing 5 minutes a week
Success! We did stop at 15 minutes versus 20, for reasons previously discussed - it just wasn't doing anyone any good to just go around and around the rail for an exhausting length of time. She is sound and holding up to that level of work well, so it's time to back off and start some slightly more complicated work without the intense time factor. It is too hot and there is no sense in exhausting her - she is fit and strong already. Too fit maybe!

2) Once in the second week of canter, solidify fall plans (AHHA, etc.)
I am calling this a success, because I solidified my own resolve and decided against making serious plans for the fall. I have no reason at this point to push her, and it would be silly for me to try and get her ready for anything serious, even if it was just Approvals. Fall plans at this point include trail riding and HOPEFULLY hilltopping. But as I said before, if I'm not completely comfortable with her level of fitness outside the ring when formal season starts, we won't be going.

3) Once in the third week of canter, start to add 30 & 20 meter circles at the trot to our rides
Success! Not much to report here other than damn, it feels good to circle again! A strange thing happened when I started to circle though... suddenly, I found myself fighting urges to throw in random lateral work, transitions to and from gaits and within gaits, and add various levels of collection and stretching to our work. Wait, we can't do REAL dressage yet! But I felt that itchy urge.... I miss it so much!

4) Once in the fourth week of canter, start to hack outside the arena again
Success! Like I said, we did not actually add a technical fourth week of canter, but instead started to hack out again. I've been hacking out every day for the past week and a half, starting little tiny hills and changing footings, and she feels amazing. I plan to keep hacking out little bits before and after most rides as well, both for the mental and physical benefits. Her legs were amazingly tight and cold all last week, but now that the heat and humidity has returned, the light fill has returned. Oh well, I will wrap when I have to, but it was nice to go for a week and a half without them (save for the one day when she was wild last week).

5) At the end of the month, check in with Dr. C - ask about jumping, turnout, etc.
Success! We had a great vet visit and Dr. C cleared us for full work again, so long as I am slow and careful with it. Don't worry Dr. C, I've got time!



September Goals:
1) Daily turnout in the medical pen (POSSIBLY to move into the next size paddock, but this may wait until next month) save for days when I will not be there to moniter
2) Jump our first crossrail in a year!
3) Return to a 5/6 day a week schedule - dressage, jumping, hacking out (schedule still in the works but I have a good idea at this point of what I want to be doing)
4) Trailer off property for our first real TRAIL RIDE in a year!
5) Just enjoy my mare. It's fall, it's beautiful out, the brunt of the rehab work is over and it's time for fun!


Today was our first 'jumping' day, or what I plan on turning into our weekly Wednesday jump session. I took down most of the jumps set up in the arena and made them into two trot poles each, then set out on a 15 minute walk warmup outside the arena. Once in the arena, I trotted her on the buckle for a little while, doing a few walk transitions for good measure. She was listening well, so we cantered a bit, and she was just as quiet - love that! She did scoot off when she cantered by the trainer giving a lesson (the trainer said she thought she gave her a 'look' on accident and Gogo percieved that as a cue to take off) but she didn't get far, just took a few speedy strides and humped her back like a dolphin. Silly mares! One trotting over the poles, her energy level shot through the roof, and it took a few halt halts to convince her to just TROT. She listened perfectly to every single one. I had to smile when we came down the five stride line that had two trot poles for the first jump and an actual jump at the other end that I hadn't taken it down - obviously we were NOT taking the jump, but her ears were so far forward when she saw it that I thought they might snap off. When I steered her away from it, both ears swiveled around wildly in all directions, clearly confused as to why we would not be jumping it. We only did a handful of trot poles, but it was a ton of fun as she was obviously enjoying it. In two weeks, I plan on trying an actual tiny crossrail. Sweet!

And then, we went to cool out on the perimeter trail and found a massive flock of wild turkeys:



A bit hard to see but there must have been forty of them. She stopped, looked, decided they weren't important, and walked on. That's my girl!

And did I mention the best part of all of this? NO DRUGS! I haven't needed them since I started to hack her out again. She is definitely a little bit hot, but she isn't being stupid at this point. Thank god, I was so tired of having to drug her every ride for the past three months!



Gogo's favorite thing in the entire world besides food was also at the barn today - my boss' six year old son. If ever there was a mare obsessed with having a baby, it's this one. She LOVES him and he kisses her on the nose and leads her everywhere, her following along like a puppy. Even my boss commented, "she wants a baby!" Have you ever seen such a motherly, loving look?:



She never takes her eyes off of him. She is a perfect angel for him and always makes sure to keep her feet far from his.



If that isn't the cutest thing you ever saw, I don't know what is!

End of July Analysis, and.... CANTER!

August is here! It's surprisingly cool and dry, with none of July's heat and humidity lingering around. (At least not yet!) July was a little bit hit and miss, much like last year's was, but for the most part everything with Gogo went swimmingly (aside from the one week where she had big enorm-o legs for no apparent reason other than to just freak me out in the days leading up to her latest ultrasound). She is going into August strong, fit and ready to canter. As for me, I am upwardly mobile and able to walk around and work, sort of. At least I am able to ride!



July Goals:

1) Go back to Dr. C for our next ultrasound: maybe get cleared for canterwork??
Success! We got cleared for canterwork at our last appointment, and she is sound and strong. We hadn't cantered on purpose as of the end of the month, seeing as I wanted to build her back up slowly after the hock injections, but this was my choice and we were allowed to start canter whenever I saw fit.

2) Reevaluate her hocks and see where we are with possibly needing to medicate them (or hopefully not)
We did go ahead and medicate her hocks, as I stated above, although I don't think it made an amazing difference like it did last year. Actually, I'm not sure it made any noticable difference at all. She feels amazingly strong though, so maybe it did help, who knows.

3) Solidify plans with the AHHA for Holsteiner approvals (send in papers, DNA sample, etc)
I have all of the paperwork sitting right here on my desk, just waiting for a signed check. Her photos are all ready, and her papers are all in order... I just need to send it in. I have deliberately stalled on this, just in case something were to go wrong, but after we canter safely for a week, I will feel confident enough to send it in. I have until September, so I'm not in too much of a rush, although I'd like to do it sooner than later.

4) Continue to keep standing wraps off unless really needed (hard work, acting wild under saddle, etc)
Success! Mostly! The wraps stayed off except for the week when the legs were big for some mystery reason. True to Gogo form, as soon as she went to the vet the legs shrank dramatically, and I've kept the wraps off for over two weeks now with no consequence. Honestly, I can't believe how beautiful her legs look!:



She might be standing funny in the picture so that it's a little hard to tell, but if you remember what the legs looked like after the original injuries, you'll be amazed at the difference.

5) MAYBE take our first steps of canter??
On accident, we did ;) Not cantering yet was by choice. But we did start cantering.... TODAY! Scroll down for more on that! :D

6) MAYBE start to hack outside the arena again??
Nope, not yet. By choice... we can't add too many changes as once.

7) MAYBE go out in the medical turnout??
Same as above. It's just not time yet. I hope to shoot for September! Honestly though, it's probably for the best. She absolutely hates bugs and excessive heat, so I honestly think she is far less stressed and far happier with a big pile of hay in her stall. She has yet to complain, and has honestly been amazingly behaved, as if she doesn't miss her turnout as all. That makes me feel a LOT better, because I certainly feel poopy about it!






August Goals:
1) Build up our canterwork by an increasing 5 minutes a week
2) Once in the second week of canter, solidify fall plans (AHHA, etc.)
3) Once in the third week of canter, start to add 30 & 20 meter circles at the trot to our rides
4) Once in the fourth week of canter, start to hack outside the arena again
5) At the end of the month, check in with Dr. C - ask about jumping, turnout, etc.



And now for the moment you've all been waiting for..... CANTER!

I had a ridiculous day at work, and was very worn out by the end (this is what happens when I am stuck at home for three days... too much to catch up on!!). Nevertheless, I definitely felt good enough to still get on and ride, so we stuck with the plan of 30 minutes of loose rein walk, 20 minutes of connected walk, 15 minutes of trot, and a few steps of canter, one long side on each lead. We had to add an extra long side in, as she picked up the wrong lead on the second long side and then tried to gallop away down the third (wheeeee!!), but it all worked out in the end. I rode in my jumping saddle, which I'm sorry to say exacerbated my calf-cramp issues... perhaps this needs further looking into. The thought process behind it was I was going to be able to get into two-point and let her find her own balance in the canter, but it sort of didn't work that way. Tomorrow, we will go back to dressage tack, although I have no intentions of trying to get a nice fancy canter for awhile yet. Anything that isn't plunging and leaping is good enough for me. Below is our very first canter attempt in almost five months, which she was clearly excited about:



Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! I love it! The other bit of canter was not quite as adorable, and the video isn't as good, so I didn't bother posting it. I plan on trying to lasso one of my boarders tomorrow and wrangle them into taking some more video of our second attempt.

CANTER ON!

End of June Analysis

It's July and it's HOT outside! Gogo has had the past three days off voluntarily while I was resetting my off-kilter schedule and getting everything under control again, but of course now that we are back under saddle, temperatures have spiked into the Hotter Than Hellfire range. Weatherbug is currently telling me that it is a balmy 91 degrees outside, and it's only going to get hotter. Welcome to the dog days of summer! I wish I was eventing right now, that's for sure!

I am happy to report that June was a HUGE success, for all intents and purposes. Every single one of my important goals was met and even surpassed, and the one slightly more frivolous one is also starting to take form as I get more optimistic and hopeful about the upcoming months. During rehab, every day is a new one and you can take nothing for granted, but at this point I am feeling great about where we are, far better than I did the first time around. Gogo is feeling stronger, behaving better, and moving sounder every day. Best of all, her legs look GREAT and I have fantastic news: she's had her wraps totally off for almost TWO WEEKS! (Save for one day when she was very fresh last Thursday, but even then, the legs looked awesome underneath the wraps and were icy cold the following day, all day. Win!) Every day I come in and check her, and every day the legs are cool and pretty tight. They'll never be totally normal again, but compared to how ugly they were during the spring, I am completely impressed and delighted.


June Goals:
1) Continue to build walk work under saddle up to 30 minutes of loose rein walk and 20 minutes of connected walk
Success! Every day, six days a week, Gogo is walking for 30 minutes on a loose rein (and I can let her, I don't have to keep a contact with her like I did over the winter when I trusted her about as far as I could throw her), then working on the bit for 20 at a walk and now 15 at a trot. The schedule is as follows: 25 minutes loose rein, around the rail and across diagonals only, then 15 minutes of walk work on contact, with work on the rail, a couple of large 25-30 meter circles, and a few very shallow leg yields, changing directions often, then 15 minutes of trot work on contact (about a Training level frame or looser), on the rail and across large diagonals only, then 5 minutes of on contact walk work and 5 minutes of loose rein walk to cool out. Total time: 1:05, six days a week, ring work only. The structure this time around is not flexible and does not include any time outside the ring yet. The big difference is that we work every day in the outdoor, where she had a brain and can get some sunshine and a nice sweat going.

2) Take our first TROT STEPS!
Success! Major success! As you just read above, we are all the way up to 15 whole minutes of trot and she feels fantastic, moving better every day!

3) If all goes well, be at about 10 minutes of trot by the end of the month
Success! And a little beyond! We started with 15 minutes on July 1st.

4) Wean off of standing wraps - from every night to every other night, and possibly longer
This one makes me the happiest. In the past two weeks, she's only worn her overnight wraps once, and that was last Thursday when some Bambis in the woods spooked her and she did some Oops Canter. My paranoia had me wrapping her again at night, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. The legs continue to be tight and cool every day, much more so than during the spring, which makes me think she just needed more time. Time is definitely something I have plenty of now!

5) Start thinking about ideas and plans for the end of the yearSuccess, sorta! I'm getting some good ideas, but have nothing for sure yet because we're not cantering yet. Really, the only 'goals' I have for the end of the year are as follows: Holsteiner approvals if she can be trusted to be turned loose in an arena by the time they come around, hilltopping (maybe even TWICE!), and going on an overnight trail ride. Beyond that, I have no plans. It's pretty clear to me at this point that we won't be eventing at all unless she continues to heal rapidly. In that case, we MIGHT do a single Novice event at the end of October, but I'm not making any plans and it's certainly not high on my priority list. Why fit her up for nothing? It's better to just let her take her time.



July Goals:
1) Go back to Dr. C for our next ultrasound: maybe get cleared for canterwork??
2) Reevaluate her hocks and see where we are with possibly needing to medicate them (or hopefully not)
3) Solidify plans with the AHHA for Holsteiner approvals (send in papers, DNA sample, etc)
4) Continue to keep standing wraps off unless really needed (hard work, acting wild under saddle, etc)
5) MAYBE take our first steps of canter??
6) MAYBE start to hack outside the arena again??
7) MAYBE go out in the medical turnout??

Ok so maybe we have some additions and some extras. But that's all fine and good. We'll see!






It's gorgeous out and I am loving this weather and life too. The world is beautiful today, and Gogo is kicking some trot patoot. What else could I possibly ask for?

Besides, you know, possibly a nap:



Mmmmmmmmmmmmm nap.

Happy Birthday, Gogo! (And the End of May Analysis!)

Happy 9th Birthday, Gogo!

This past Wednesday, the Princess Pea and love of my life turned nine years old. NINE! I can't believe it. Part of me is really depressed that we've lost so much time due to foul training and recent injury - I really felt I'd have a Prelim horse by now - but life happens the way it does for a reason. I can't get too down about another year going by... at this point, there's no reason to think I won't have a Prelim horse in a year or two. Who knows, maybe because of this injury, I will go on to revolutionize the studded boot market and create a whole new generation of eventers who are concerned and empathetic towards the hoofwear needs of their healthy hardworking athletes beyond the traditional metal and nails. Who knows? Just a few years ago, nobody would have thought anything about their traditional old leather or neoprene gallop boots, and now we are all gaga about vented boots and preventing heat-related breakdown. If she would have never gotten injured, I'd have never even thought twice about alternative footwear. Now, I'm thinking, researching, brainstorming, and coming up with ideas, so many ideas! Because of this, I'm pretty sure that, like all my past horses, she was put on this planet for a reason, and is here to change my life in some mind-blowing way. I've almost had her for four years now.... FOUR YEARS! That's another number I can't comprehend. My other two horses died after two and three years, so I keep crossing my fingers and hoping that if I am at all a lucky soul she will live to be 40 and be in my backyard sleeping when she goes.

So as a full-grown nine year-old lady adult woman, she got a pile of very fancy carrot cake cupcakes made just for her, which she grudgingly shared with the other horses in the barn. Mmmmmmm cupcakes....




She was nommin', that's for sure:





And of course had her customary morning and afternoon grazes, like she always does:




Happy Birthday, woman! Here's to many more years of fun, mischief, and unintentional airs above ground! ;)



And now, onto the business end.... the End of May Analysis!


May Goals:

1) Go back to Dr. Creden for her 2-month ultrasound checkup
Success! We did in fact do this two weeks ago. We found the lesion to be healing just as we expected, and planned out an under saddle rehab program for the next two months. We are entering week three as we speak, where we walk on a loose rein for 30 minutes, and then do simple work on the bit for a following 15. It's a good start!

2) Maybe possibly hopefully if all goes well and the stars align get back on her for tackwalking again!?
Success! See above :D We are walking for another two weeks, and when we reach 30 minutes of loose rein walk and 20 minutes of put together walk, we get to TROT!

3) Research booting/traction ideas for next year
Success! I've done plenty of research and have lots of ideas and thoughts on this. I will have an upcoming post on what I plan to try first. The world is my booty oyster, and Gogo's feet are pearls! Wait.... what? More on this later.

4) Continue to STAY POSITIVE!
Success! I think I've done a pretty damn good job with this one! It helps being back on Gogo though, I'll say that for sure. That gives my life a whole new perspective and refreshed meaning.

5) Make a list of supplies needed for next year (the ultimate wish list).... hey a girl can dream can't she?
I've not really done this, mostly because I've been so busy and now have hock injections to save for, bleugh. However, I'm planning on spending a little more time thinking about it later on in the month, just because why not?


June Goals:
1) Continue to build walk work under saddle up to 30 minutes of loose rein walk and 20 minutes of connected walk
2) Take our first TROT STEPS!
3) If all goes well, be at about 10 minutes of trot by the end of the month
4) Wean off of standing wraps - from every night to every other night, and possibly longer
5) Start thinking about ideas and plans for the end of the year


I left Gogo's wraps off overnight on Wednesday, fully expecting the legs to be huge in the morning, just like they always have during this entire ordeal whenever I try to leave them off. But somehow, some way, when I came in yesterday morning, the legs were tight and gorgeous. I was totally floored. NO WAY! I take it as a very good sign. The rehab program is going right according to plan (at this point, knock on wood), and I'm feeling very structured and hopeful. Two weeks and counting until the first trot!

End of April Analysis

I have lots to write about - the clinic for one!! - but I am late on my April goals! So without further ado....



April Goals:

1) Not break down/freak out every time I get a little too emotional over this horrible blow!
I think I am handling it pretty much as well as I can really! Although I gotta say, I was a crabby em-effer this month for about two weeks, Chris can attest to that. I was feeling awfully lousy about it... and still do, honestly. But I am trying to focus my energies elsewhere to keep my mind off of it.

2) Start to build from 10 minutes of handwalking to 15, then 20, then 25 by the end of the month
Success! She is now back on the treadmill for a 25 minute cycle. Quite honestly, the safest and best place for her: a controlled setting and speed, a flat and hard surface in a perfectly straight line.... what more could a rehab horse ask for?

3) Near the end of the month, start treadmill work again on Level 1 (flat setting)
Success, see above :)

4) Stay positive!
Doing my best. Actually, I think I'm being pretty damn chipper about it all.

5) Start handgrazing a little every day
Success! The grass is in and growing strong, and Fattie McFatFat is now grazing 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon. Any more than that, and I am pretty sure she will literally explode.




May Goals:1) Go back to Dr. Creden for her 2-month ultrasound checkup
2) Maybe possibly hopefully if all goes well and the stars align get back on her for tackwalking again!?
3) Research booting/traction ideas for next year
4) Continue to STAY POSITIVE!
5) make a list of supplies needed for next year (the ultimate wish list).... hey a girl can dream can't she?


Don't have too much time to write much more. Fattie is happy with her day-in-day-out schedule, and so am I. Mostly. Except King Oak is this weekend, and I'm not riding in it. Sigh...


((NOMS!!)

Vet Discussion; End of March Analysis

My last post got me to thinking a bit concerning vets and following treatment orders. When do you follow exactly what they say, and when don't you? Several of you have mentioned turnout versus stall rest; whether or not that is right for a particular injury is hard to say. My personal belief with vets is that if you don't trust or like a vet, then you should find a different one, one who meshes with your particular beliefs, who is good to you and your animals, and will tell it like it is and give you a plan you can work with. And whether or not you like what they tell you, you should be able to trust that they know what they are doing and have you and your animals' best interests in mind. If you don't have that relationship, then you should find a new one.

The vets I work with now I really rather like, which isn't like me at all. I don't like vets - hell, I drive for hours to get to the vets I regularly use because I just don't like the several local practices very much - and a lot of the ones I'm regularly around have just been WRONG about several diagnoses made at my barn. In those cases, we have sought different opinions elsewhere, or done what we think is best instead. We didn't listen to those vets, because they weren't right. And vets sometimes aren't right. With Metro, my last horse, THREE different vets all told me that his problem was ringbone, and that I should move him and turn him out (and ride as well). So I did... for four months. I turned him out every day, and he ran and played and was adorable and free. I got him out as much as I did, even moving him over to 24/7 turnout. I finally sought another opinion at Michigan State after he continued to get lamer and lamer despite following all the vets' orders, and discovered the gaping black hole in his suspensory. Had I not been turning him out and moving him for four months, had we caught it sooner, he might still be alive today. I should not have listened to my vets, but I didn't know. I trusted they were right. They were wrong.

So where does that bring us? Vets are people with jobs, just like we are. Some are in it because they love the animals and the clients. Some aren't. When do you not listen to the vet? When they don't give you the kind of advice you can work with? When they don't give you a diagnosis you like? Who is to say who is right or wrong? Maybe you're right and they're wrong. Maybe you're wrong and they're right. Maybe if you disregard their opinions, you'll be doing the right thing. Maybe you'll be condemning your horse to a lifetime of pain, or worse. You are paying them for their diagnosis and opinion, and that is what they are giving. Like I said before, everyone needs a vet they can trust, whether or not they give you the information you want to hear. I didn't want to hear that my horse has a new injury. I would have liked to just press on with her training and pretend like nothing was going on. But how could I? Just because she was a little off didn't mean it was something major - or did it? In this case, it did. If I had continued to ride her and turn her out, who knows when a major breakdown would have happened? For any number of vet-related things, if I DON'T follow their advice, am I destroying my horse? If I DO follow their advice, is it the same? I trust my vets, and I trust that they are going to give me the best diagnosis that they can, and good solid advice for bringing her back. But I've been there with vets I didn't like and didn't trust. I moved beyond them.

She wasn't THAT lame. This was her jog-out the day after she went horribly off:



How many horses do you know that are *just* that lame? Are they okay? Or, like with Metro, is there something horribly wrong that you might not ever know about until it is far too late?


Readers, when do you listen to the vet? When don't you? And why?

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

And, sigh..... my March goals.

March Goals:
1) Start canterwork, building from 5 minutes for the first two weeks to 10 for an additional two weeks, then resume regular flatwork sessions in the beginning of March
Uh.... yeaaaa. Well, we were almost there. Mid-March, we were approaching real dressage work, and she felt amazing. She was cantering again 4 days out of the week for 5+ minutes, both directions, getting stronger every day. And then it all fell apart.

2) Continue to build our hacks up to an hour of walk work (revamp plan as well so we have a more concrete idea)
Well, we were almost there... again. We were at 45 minutes of walk with a minute or two of trot on the road. We would have reached an hour. I had a hack plan all figured out all the way through the end of May too. Sigh.

3) Move to the next incline level on the treadmill
Success! And now, failure. We aren't able to treadmill at all. But we were up to Level 3 on the incline. (There are 9 levels.)

4) MAYBE if everything goes according to plan and we are back to regular work at the end of the month, a trip to the beach!? (Just to walk around in the water and smell the salty air!)
So sad that we never got to do this. The beaches closed yesterday to horse traffic for the summer. But hopefully we can do in October...!

5) Near the end of the month, reevaluate show season - where we stand, where it looks like we'll be, and what we will need to do to have a successful show season (finances, opening dates, rejoining organizations should her soundness continue)
Except... her soundness did not continue. We have a brand-new injury, and therefore our show season is almost totally shot. I have hopes that maybe this fall we can do some little things, but we will just have to wait and see how it goes.




April Goals:
1) Not break down/freak out every time I get a little too emotional over this horrible blow!
2) Start to build from 10 minutes of handwalking to 15, then 20, then 25 by the end of the month
3) Near the end of the month, start treadmill work again on Level 1 (flat setting)
4) Stay positive!
5) Start handgrazing a little every day



I know, they're kind of lame goals. But you have to start somewhere, right?

End of February Analysis, and Birthday Madness Week

February is OVER! YES! Like I said last month, I am not much of a February kind of girl, but actually aside from Gogo's mystery on and off lameness, I had a decent month. Unffortunately, Gogo's level of soundness/happiness is often pretty closely linked to my corresponding level of happiness. I'm feeling much better about it at this point - I did attempt a half a circle of canter in one direction on Monday, but then gave her two days off just in case, so we shall see today what her legs look like (it was my day off yesterday so I didn't go to the barn at all).

Onto the February analysis...



February Goals:

1) Start canterwork, building from 5 minutes for the first two weeks to 10 for an additional two weeks, then resume regular flatwork sessions in the beginning of March
Well, obviously we didn't get quite that far given our little setbacks. Hopefully those are over and done with, and we can get back to trying a little canterwork this week. The idea is that we'll do exactly the same canterwork schedule in March that we were supposed to do in February, and hopefully this time there will be no more issues!

2) Map out a hacking plan - where to start with little hills, how to gradually increase... building over the course of a couple months to our regular 2-hour hacks
This was completed, and I had a plan mapped out through May, but I actually think I am going to change it so I ride flat for four days and hack for two, so I will have to alter the schedule somewhat. Which won't be hard to do. I want to keep things interesting for Gogo (and for me too) so that she (and I) don't go totally nuts doing the same thing in the indoor every day... we all know how well THAT works for Gogo. So I will come up with a new plan, and keep you guys posted.

3) Add incline work on the treadmill
Success! She is now going on the second level instead of the first. It's hardly an incline at all, really, but it's a start!

4) Wean gradually off the nighttime wraps to just every other night
Success, sorta! We're actually leaving the wraps off more often than not, just wrapping when the legs look questionable or we've done something difficult that might warrent overnight wraps. For the most part, the legs have stayed cool and quiet, although once in awhile they fill a little more than I am comfortable with. I expected this, and it's not surprising, but still.

5) MAYBE if everything goes according to plan and we are back to regular work at the end of the month, a trip to the beach!? (Just to walk around in the water and smell the salty air!)
Yeah... not so much. But once again, I hope to do this in March instead of February. The beaches are only open to horses until the very end of March, so hopefully it'll work out this time!



March Goals:
1) Start canterwork, building from 5 minutes for the first two weeks to 10 for an additional two weeks, then resume regular flatwork sessions in the beginning of March
2) Continue to build our hacks up to an hour of walk work (revamp plan as well so we have a more concrete idea)
3) Move to the next incline level on the treadmill
4) MAYBE if everything goes according to plan and we are back to regular work at the end of the month, a trip to the beach!? (Just to walk around in the water and smell the salty air!)
5) Near the end of the month, reevaluate show season - where we stand, where it looks like we'll be, and what we will need to do to have a successful show season (finances, opening dates, rejoining organizations should her soundness continue



It's Birthday Madness Week! I am turning 25 on the 12th, so I figured since one doesn't turn a quarter of a century old every day that I should have an entire WEEK dedicated to it. Only now it's more like a week and a half because we started the celebration yesterday with a little personal lovin'. I have a fantastic new haircut and an awesome new tat on the back of my neck. LOVE it. It means that I personally identify as a girl who likes girls, and that love is universal and a right everyone shares. It's not so much about me personally as it is something I believe in and will fight for tooth and nail until the day I die. Love it.

An Exercise in New Year's Resolutions

I did in fact go back and delete my last post after having second thoughts about it. I know it's been requested of me to write about my awesome job but that's not what this blog is about, and shouldn't be. I certainly did not mean to gossip about my boarders by sharing that last story.... it really just was too funny and I wanted to spread a little joking cheer. In retrospect, not particularly appropriate of me! Won't happen again. If you want to know about the hijinks that ensure while trying to keep 31 horses, 23 owners, 2 cats, 4 trainers, and 4 staff members happy all at the same time, well... you'll just have to get to know me personally!




In other news, I've been doing my best to integrate my New Year's resolutions into my daily life. These are all, for the most part, life changes versus one-time events, so I've been playing with them and doing my best to make my life and my world a better place. As a refresher, here are my 2010 resolutions/goals:

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 (maybe!)
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


Well, so far I've done my very best to ski every week, but it's quite a bit harder than expected. Unfortunately for me, Connecticut is on the temperate end of New England, so while my sister is up skiing in Vermont and Maine all weekend every weekend, I struggle on my one day off to get out to our tiny local hills. I went skiing two Wednesdays ago and the hill I went to SUCKED! The snow was terrible, there were only two chairlifts open, and I got SCREAMED at by some maniac chairlift operator when I didn't put the bar on the chairlift down. (Seriously? Is that a rule now? I thought it was a suggestion.) Last week I wanted to go on Wednesday, but I didn't actually have a day off last week, so that didn't work. This week, I've had to contend with the fact that it's been 40+ degrees all week, so ALL the snow is gone. Can't exactly ski with no snow! I HAVE done yoga every week though, which is great. We have a very nice small studio in town that has classes every evening, and while I was doing a very intense hotroom Vinyasa class, I also tried a few Naam classes with my roommate, just because it's always more fun to exercise with a friend. Our Naam class is.... not like any Naam yoga I've ever known. We do lots of chanting, obviously, but we don't really do much in the way of actual yoga poses. Lots of fitness stuff, but it's just not... yoga. It's a bit weird, but actually quite tiring, so that's good. On the barefoot running front, I've been researching a bit and I do agree that I want to get a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. A lot of barefoot enthusiasts say that getting a transition shoe is not ideal if you're going to run fully barefoot, but I'm not quite sure that I DO want to get to that point just yet. It's the same idea as getting hoof boots in my mind. Movement is critical to creating the bare foot that you want, and if you have a hoof in transition, forcing the horse to hobble painfully over rocks just isn't fair. That foot will come in time, but you need to help it get there. Same with barefoot running. If I'm hobbling over rocks with my pathetic feet that have been wearing shoes since I could first walk, I'm not going to get very far am I? My feet need to strengthen, and I need help getting there.

An interesting comparison: here are some healthy bare human feet versus unhealthy "shod" human feet, and healthy bare hooves versus unhealthy shod hooves.

And:

Don't be fooled by the width of the shod foot. That is a hoof plagued with paper-thin, pancake-flat soles, serious flares, and a very contracted heel. Nothing at all like the rock-cruncher on the left.
As you can see by both the human and horse examples, the foot will adapt to compensate for improper footwear, and will also adapt to a more natural lifestyle if given the opportunity. To what extent it will adapt is dependent on everything - environment, exercise, diet, proper trim, genetics, etc. But every foot can change in some way, shape or form.

EDIT: I forgot to add in one more thing, and it's very important, maybe the most important part of the whole post. It is quite clear to me that if you were to take the unhealthy "shod" foot in that picture and set it to walking around barefoot, aside from the obvious pain factor from those weak, uncalloused soles, that foot will never turn into the big wide one pictured. Why? Because more likely than not, that unhealthy foot has been crammed into shoes ever since it was young. It's similar to the very outdated foot binding custom: a young, growing foot will become permanently deformed if forced into something unnatural. Countless doctors agree that improper footwear for children can be exceptionally damaging and unhealthy. And now here's a thought: what about that idea of the tiny, boxy Quarter Horse foot? The eternally crappy Thoroughbred foot? Quite obviously, genetics DOES play a part in this, but you don't see crappy feet in ALL QHs or TBs. You DO see a lot of crappy feet in OTTBs and QHs who come from young sport backgrounds. Those TBs get shod for the track when they are long yearlings. Those halter, western pleasure and other young western sport type QHs get shod when they are weanlings, and I've heard it's desirable to encourage a horse to put out the tiny, upright boxes that seem to plague our QHs today. I certainly hope that's not the real case. Regardless, those young feet are not done growing, and do they get the chance to develop a thick digital cushion, a dinosaur hide frog, thick walls, and a tough sole callous? No they do not. If you have a completely outstanding farrier, the damage probably won't be huge. But unless your farrier is God, it's quite possible that the fast growth of young hooves will quickly outgrow their shoes - but be unable to adjust for their size. They'll be stuck the way they are. Actually, Bowker did a study on this, dissecting hooves that had been kept bare and hooves that had been shod at a young age, and he found that the internal structures of the feet shod at a young age were essentially "frozen" in a state of immaturity - they were permanently stunted. (If anyone has a link to that study, let me know so I can put it up here.) This is why I think a lot of people won't - or even just can't - take their horses barefoot and expect them to be able to perform. Those feet were deformed when they were still growing, and never had the chance to develop what they needed to make it in the natural world. A majorly "deformed" foot taken bare will change for the better if given the opportunity, I assure you. But will it ever really be fully barefoot and sound and comfortable on all types of terrain in all situations? Maybe! But, maybe not. I wish we could take two cloned TBs, put them in the exact same diet, exercise, and turnout program, and shoe the one and leave the second barefoot, just to see what would happen. THAT would be an interesting study.

I digress. Anyway.



In this miserable, crappy Connecticut winter weather, I am really looking forward to trying on a pair of VFFs and am dreaming of a warmer, drier springtime.

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As for Gogo, it's becoming quite clear that I've likely bitten off way more than I can chew financially for the upcoming season! Sure I want to do Holsteiner approvals in the fall and all the bigger events and the AECs and some dressage shows and some jumper shows and a competitive trail ride and hunter trials and hunter paces and OH MAN! that is a lot of stuff. Toooooo much stuff. WAY too much stuff. If I really want to breed her next year, I need to budget for it, and that means not being ridiculously extravagant this year. I certainly am bringing in three times the money that I was (not that that's a ton, but hey, it's a start), but that doesn't mean I can throw money wherever I want it. So, I'm going through my show schedule and scaling back to just include the most important things. The schedule is not complete yet - this is just events and a couple possible schooling dressage shows - but I am not planning to do any competitive trail rides, jumper shows or too many other things. Holsteiner approvals may not happen this year either... it's so many hundreds and hundreds of dollars.


April 18: Mount Holyoke Schooling Dressage Show (CT) First 4, Second 1
May 1: Once Again Farm Schooling Dressage Show (CT) First 4, Second 1
May 29: Mystic Valley Hunt Club HT (CT) (Novice)
June 25 - 27: Groton House II HT (MA) (Training)
July 10 - 11: ENDYCTA/Old Chatham (NY) (Training)
July 24 - 25: Fitch's Corner HT (NY) (Training)
August 5 - 8: Millbrook HT (NY) (Training)
August 14 - 15: GMHA HT (VT) (Training)
September 09 – 12: American Eventing Championships (GA) (Training)
October 2 - 3: University of New Hampshire HT (NH)
October/November: Cap in with Wentworth/Tanheath
October: New England Hunter Trials (Novice)
November 12-14: 2010 Equine Affaire Versatile Horse & Rider Competition

Italicised are the possibilities that I haven't decided on yet. Not included here are any potential hunter paces I want to do. There are TONS to choose from, so I haven't decided yet which I'd like to do. I am happy to report I have a whole slew of eager boarders who would love to join me in these endeavors, so I will have riding buddies, partners and support! Hooray!

As for the events - the real meat of the season - I am planning on starting the season with Mystic's very easy Novice, just as a pipe opener. If all goes according to plan, I do want to make Groton House our first Training. I considered doing the spring GMHA at Training, but it's in early June, and I just don't think we'll be ready by then. So we'll do what we did last year with Groton House - cross our fingers and hope that we'll get in!

Really what I'd like to do is one of those schooling dressage shows just to get her off the property, then go into the eventing season strong. Whether or not I will do Old Chatham entirly depends on how she feels, and how she does at Groton House. Once again, my brain has exploded seeing that every other level has their Area Championships in the fall.... but the level I want to show at? Yep, gotta be held at a spooky venue in JULY! So quite possibly, I will not be attending Areas this year. It just depends on, well, everything.


Gogo is feeling good, strong, and sound under saddle. One of our boarders commented yesterday on how perfectly even she looks behind, much to my happiness. She also mentioned while watching her from behind that she could also tell her evenness from just how evenly her tail waved back and forth while she was trotting. Love that!


Gogo would also like to say that she is REALLY looking forward to springtime and galloping again:

That's a "PLEASE!" face if I ever saw one!

End of December Analysis

I apologize for not doing this a little sooner - I am one sick puppy right now. Time to go over all our December goals! Well, they weren't really goals - more like guidelines - but we were able to accomplish them all, which makes me feel very good. Baby steps, baby steps.


December Goals:

1) Continue successful walk work under saddle, building to 30 minutes and working on very simple on the bit work
Success! We progressed to very simple serpentines and large circles, and even a few very shallow leg yields. I don't do much, just because I don't dare risk stressing those legs, but walk work is relatively low impact, and at this point in our rehab, we're safe to carry on with slowly increasing levels of difficulty.

2) Take our first trot steps in 3 months and not be lame/freak out
Success! She feels great! Except she's... a little high energy. So there's been some freaking out, but as of late, it's been completely curbed. Thank you drugs. Sweet.

3) Fully plan out rehab schedule for the next 3 months
Success! Well, for the next two and a half months, anyway. We're set through the first week or so of March, tentatively. As I'm at work right now, I don't have a screenshot of Gogo's Fancy Daily calendar, but I will get one up later. I've never shown you guys The Calendar! It's pretty epic, so be prepared. If you guys think I'm an organized freak now, this is going to take that image to a new level.

4) Start looking ahead to next show season and make very tentative plans
Success! I've tentatively decided on all the events I want to do next year, but not branched out into other things just yet. I want to also pick up a dressage show or two (probably schooling, because I'm not pointchasing there so I see no reason to spend extra $$$), maybe a schooling jumper show (but now that I have a huge array of gorgeous and expensive jumps at my disposal, I don't think I'll end up doing that), a competitive trail ride (just for fun, why not, she'd be great at it!), and a couple of hunter trials/hunter paces. Now that I've written all that out, it seems like a lot, so it'll be likely I won't end up making concrete plans for half those things. But as it stands, the tentative eventing event schedule is as thus:
May 29: Mystic Valley Hunt Club H.T. (N)
June 25-27: Groton house Farm H.T. (T)
July 24-25: Fitch's Corner H.T. (T)
August 5-8: Millbrook H.T. (T)
August 14-15: GMHA H.T. (T)
September 9-12: AECs! (T)
October 2-3: UNH H.T. (at whatever level we're ready for!)
Obviously, this is all soundness pending. But I'm feeling very, very good about the upcoming season. I have no idea when Area Championships are going to be, but I'm a bit sour from the past two years of disaster at Areas, so maybe we'll just be skipping those til our luck improves!

5) Have Gogo chiropractically adjusted
Success! And it wasn't nearly as horrible as I expected. Mostly what he said was that her posture was bad from standing around like a lazy lump in a stall for 3 months, which isn't really surprising. But her SI stuff wasn't too dramatic at all, which I was very happy about!



January Goals:
1) Continue sound trotwork and build to 20 minutes of trotwork - 50 minutes of riding total a day (we are at 40 now with 10 minutes of trot a day)
2) Talk to the vets about when to schedule her next ultrasound (I'm thinking instead of mid-January, we want to shoot for mid-February before we start to canter)
3) Take our first little hack outside (flat ground, around the barn)
4) Set up show budget and breeding budget - how much do I need to save, how much each month, etc?
5) Add incline work on the treadmill



Sweet!


By the way, who am I going to be seeing at Area I's Annual Meeting? It's coming up fast (next Saturday!) anf if any of you guys are going, let me know!

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!