Progress report (a catch all post about feet + weather)

Here's the thing... I think no matter what part of the country you live in right now, the weather has been complete and utter bullshit for everyone. Around me (Area II) events have been cancelled left and right due to rain and riders are having to tempt fate by riding in temps in the 100s just to get an event under their belt. We've gotten something like 300% more rain than we should have for this time of year and while it could be worse (rock hard ground), it makes getting any sort of riding momentum near impossible.

Because it's either raining for days or it's like this:

Just, NO.

I've been pushing through and riding him even on the hottest days, but all the rain has messed up his turnout schedule and as a result not only is his skin getting funky, but his legs have all been taking turns blowing up. This doesn't alarm me like it used to and I usually just follow the protocol of working him to reduce the puffiness and then throw standing wraps on if he's going to be in for prolonged periods of time. Scout is typically the kind of dude that no matter how much time he's had off or how little turnout he's been getting he's pretty much the same, chill horse. However, he surprised me a little this week after a few days of little to no turnout by being a bit of a twit on the ground so we had a little refresher session on appropriate behaviors.

I got in trubs.

You see, his legs were fat and I hadn't planned on riding that day so I took him to the indoor to hand walk (because you guessed it, it was pouring, again) -- his next door neighbor was in there too (she's an adorable grey pony who just went to the pony finals!) so we did out best to stay out of their way by walking and trotting over poles together. When she left, Scout lost his ever loving mind and tried to bolt back to the barn after her and I was like HELL NO. So I grabbed a lunge line and the whip -- to which he took GREAT offense, as though he's beaten every day by one. Which led to ground work 101 for Scout. And you better believe he changed his tune (ahem, pic above). In the end, I wound up getting some very nice work out of him, even if I was ill-prepared and honestly, I think he needed to blow off a little energy anyway so we'll call it a win.

Even with big fat legs he can move

I am the wildest stallion:)

Anyway, all of this behavior at least let me see how he was moving and feeling after his first visit with the new farrier. He has been growing hoof at an alarming rate, and I was terrified he was going to lose a shoe before he could get seen and I was absolutely thrilled when the BO told me that the farrier said Scout has beautiful feet. I was like, "oh man, wait til I show you where we started."

I tend not to get on the bandwagon of "all OTTBs have bad feet" because that's simply not true, but what I can say with certainty is that any sort of major lifestyle change in a horse's career/life will impact their hoof quality dramatically. We didn't start with under run heels or excessively long toes, but we did start with scary looking event lines.

You can see that the new growth wants to come in at the proper angle but the rest of the hoof is just doing it's own thing, and looking quite scary. Watching these lines grow out was pretty horrifying, and I knew at some point we'd be nailing right into that crack and I thought for sure the rest of his hoof was just going to break off.

best farrier ever

That's some beautiful farrier work right there people. My previous farrier would painstakingly shape each shoe like this and while it was exhausting to hold horses for him, he knew how to create balance like no other. Also, just looking at the hoof on the left above makes me shudder. Remarkably his feet did not fall off -- because that's not how that works (hahahahaha). You can also appreciate a nice, strong hoof wall making it's way to replace the old, shelly remnants.

In between this farrier and my current situation, we've been at two barns, one with a highly regarded farrier and one with someone who was a bit greener. Sadly, Scout could not keep shoes on with the farrier with the big reputation -- he is a very nice guy, and quick at his work but he refused to hot fit or shape shoes and Scout lost several in the short stint that we were with him. The other farrier LOVED Scout and got his feet back into shape (thank god they grow fast), which leads us to present day.

post trim (and farrier's fix)

Those are some nice looking thoroughbred feet! Nice angles, beautiful walls, good breakover and heel balance! And as a result, I think he's moving the most confidently he has since I bought him. When you are giant and have spider legs having wonky feet makes you very clumsy! I'm also happy to report that he has not needed hinds since last fall either!

A good boy

Now if only I could get him to gain weight at the same rate he grows hoof!!!!

How are you guys handling the weather in your part of the country? Are you struggling with nonstop rain or oppressive heat and humidity? What do you guys do with your horses to stay sane when you can't ride?

Status Report

Sass Wagon

Are you guys tired of Scout progress posts? Because I am.

But here I am typing up more boring notes on how he's progressing. He's been turned out for a little over a week and the leg swelling is staying down. There's still some residual heat which I'm hoping dissipates over time (it took his fetlock quite a while to finally stay cool and tight). So I stuck him on the lunge with some keep-your-shit-together parameters (Ahem, Pessoa rig).

And thank god he's got a good education on the lunge. He was feeling very good about life and tried pretty hard to keep a lid on things, but he was enthusiastic and spicy to be sure. Luckily, I'm well adept at lunging a wild horse, video-taping and holding a whip (#skillz).

That trot, I'm not mad atcha

Moving pretty nicely at the trot

At the trot he was moving out beautifully. Even in both directions with nice over tracking. At the canter he was still noticeably stiff on his RH. In fact, tracking left he was not subtle about his annoyance of having to put lateral pressure on it.

Tracking right, which is normally his tough direction he was quiet and balanced. Ultimately, I just wanted to get a sense of WTC in a controlled setting. The footing was slick and deep, so I didn't want to do too much with him but I was pretty pleased with how he looked overall.

Going forward, I'll start legging him up like I did in September with some long and low walk-trot until the strength in his right hind improves. I was admittedly a little bummed when I saw how stiff he was, but he'd only been turned out for a few days at that point. So maybe I need to recalibrate my expectations and just be patient.

And, if there's a bit of a silver lining about this whole experience it's that his condition is looking REALLY good! Let's give a big shout out to alfalfa for helping him get there:)

Closest thing I've got to a conformation shot for now

Here's to keep on keepin' on.

Sweet Freedom!!!

SO BORED

After 13 days of stall rest both Scout and I were desperate to get him out and moving around. Hand-walking was occasionally quite scary (think, horse-shaped kite), or he'd be foot perfect. His leg continued to stay cold and tight, though his fetlock was still carrying some residual fill most likely as a result of being stalled. He's definitely prone to stocking up when he's not moving around too much, so I'm not super concerned about it. My vet and I spoke about a turnout schedule and given the weather, she highly recommended some drug-assistance.

We went from highs in the teens and everything covered in a sheet of ice to driving rain, wind gusts over 40 mph and highs in the 60s. I figured Friday was the best day to try to put him out even with the rain as I thought the warmer temps would keep everyone a bit quieter. 

So, armed with Ace and Xylazine I got him doped up and prayed he'd keep a lid on it. The ground was still completely frozen, just now covered in greasy mud and all I could think about was him running around and wiping out like a fool. 

So high

So sleepy

Turns out my giant baby is a bit of a lightweight. And apparently, completely attached to me now since he's been stall bound for such a long time. I literally had to White Fang him to get him to go with his friends.

And his herd mates were pretty cute about the whole thing. At first no one noticed him, and he went off and grazed alone. Then, they all realized he was out there and came up to investigate.

SOOOO happy the boss is back

He's the unanimous herd leader and they were all very happy to see him. Scout? Not so much. There was lots of sass, lots of derpy running around. He kept trotting back over to me which kinda made my heart burst a little.

So sassy

 

Much derp

The temps dropped quite a bit overnight, but I followed suit with the same protocol for day two. He was a perfect gentleman and the whole thing was super low key. 

Best buds

HAHA, JK

On the third day I instructed the morning person just to turn him out last with a quiet buddy and she said he was super chill. Phew! My plan for this week is to get him moving a little on the ground and assess how he's moving and then leg him back up at the end of the week.

He really gave me a heart attack with this one I have to admit. He was SO lame the first day that I was certain his leg was broken. But if there's any silver lining to him being on stall rest it's two fold. One, he and I have REALLY bonded. Despite the weather being horrifically cold, he tried really hard to be a good boy about everything. I never once heard a negative word from any of the barn workers and he tolerated all the wrapping, medicating and hand-walking like a champ. He looks to me for guidance and boundaries and it's really helped our relationship blossom. The other positive takeaway from stall rest is his condition!

He's filling out

And dapple-y!

I actually cut his feed a little so he wasn't bouncing off the walls and added alfalfa twice a day to his hay. I think we've found a magical combination of hay and feed finally! 

Thanks again to everyone who has reached out to support us, we've definitely appreciated all the love and good vibes! I absolutely adore this horse but man, but the reality of how freaking fragile they are is so real sometimes. I think though, despite the heartache and worry that seeing his face hanging over his stall door is enough to remind me how much it's all worth it in the end.

Year in Review -- Closing the book on 2017

I've had so much fun lately reading through everyone's year in review (and I just saw about ten more to read!). This was a big year for me in terms of work, life and horses and I was eager to see just how much has transpired so I could reflect on everything.

So here we go:

January

We had an extremely busy January at the sales barn and I was riding a lot. Lucky for me, we happened to have an really nice inventory of small, fun TBs that I had to try desperately not to fall in love with! Nolan got his first clip and his body began to shift from fit race horse to riding horse. We got our first big snow, but temps quickly changed enough that I was riding in a long sleeve t-shirt most of the month (fingers crossed we get a replay of that this winter!).

February

February rolled around and the weather continued to improve (Look, I'm even wearing a t-shirt!!!). After Nolan's short-winter break, we set about putting a strong foundation on him. He was proving to be very clever with a busy brain and unparalleled athleticism which was challenging at times. Nevertheless, we pushed forward introducing him to more complex work which he met with gusto. And with his cleverness in mind, I reassessed his behavior on the ground and began introducing daily ground work to improve his attitude and keep him on his toes, giving him a strong leader to look to. My pony also got worked into the routine and he seemed to enjoy the extra attention.

March

March brought cooler temps which had us heading indoors to audit clinics with fresh ponies! We definitely made the most of having Jimmy Wofford just down the road for some inspiration. I documented my physical progress with some before and after (8 months) into my working student job, which was eye-opening. I got to ride some horses that pushed me way out of my comfort zone, like the 17hh behemoth above. And, most exciting of all... I bought a trailer!!!!!!

April

If I had to say which month was the most influential it was for me it would undoubtedly be April. At this point I was getting to ride nearly every horse in the barn and I could feel my confidence increasing daily. Things with Nolan were moving along nicely and he was becoming more and more fun with every ride. He gave 110% into everything, even if it was simply a crossrail, or a spook and I began to wonder if was perhaps too athletic for my liking. I started getting back into sewing again and tried my hand at some wild ear bonnets. And, I met a big, bay gelding that needed a sales video and it was love at first ride<3

May

May was a bit of a whirlwind as I decided on May 5th to buy Scout and 12 days later I'd find myself at Kevin Keane's practice holding Nolan for his PPE. Like with Riley, I didn't advertise him, but sought out suitable riders that he might get along with, so I didn't have to go through a hellish selling process with him. He was tried 3 times in 5 days and when the third girl came to try him, I knew it was a perfect match. I was so thrilled with her sense of humor for his naughtiness and she was eager to find a partner to take her through the levels (She's since taken him to Ocala for a working student position and they came in 1st at their Novice Debut a few weeks ago!!!). And, although I was sad to load Nolan on the trailer, Scout made sure I kept a big grin on my face everyday after.

June

Ahhhh! Another big month! I continued the trend or grinning ear to ear after every ride on Scout. We started his jumping education and he took to it with enthusiasm. I got to ride all over Chester County with my love on his steed pushing myself further out of my comfort zone (going fast and not being in control). I got a tattoo dedicated to my first three OTTBs and I bought a truck to pull my trailer! True story, the woman I bought my truck from posted that photo on her Facebook telling all her friends how her truck was going to have a new purpose in life:)

July

July brought some big advances in Scout's education. Namely, we hacked a lot... sometimes alone and sometimes with others. He learned about streams (not love at first sight) and hill work and flushing deer out bravely. He wore his first western saddle and took my friend's parents for a ride. And I checked in about his over all condition now that he'd finally shed out and gained some actual muscle.

August

August was full of ups and downs. I was starting to really evolve as a rider working with some not-so-easy mounts, including the little bay horse above (he'll get his own post at some point). I got to play around with a very cool little pony that rode much more like a horse and I said good bye to Scout while I headed away for a week at the beach. While I thoroughly enjoyed my break, my fun was cut short by the news that Scout had injured himself in turnout and was three-legged lame. It would be a tough few days while I attempted to manage his care remotely (with my vet and trainer), but I knew his recovery was going to take more time than expected.

September

September brought some very difficult decision making for me as we narrowed down Scout's diagnosis. We fought to get his cellulitis under control and we began talking about resuming some tack walking and light turnout. His leg was still angry and hot, so we needed to take it slowly and carefully. Ultimately, I made the decision to leave the sales barn and move Scout close to home so I could manage his care more closely. He settled in quite well and they were able to accommodate him with a great rehab paddock and safer turnout. Eventually, the leg settled down and we were able to start hacking around and even going on trail rides with bloggers. I flew down to Florida for my best friend's baby shower and I leased my pony to an eventer (who absolutely loves him).

October

While September was an emotional roller coaster, October gave promise that there was indeed light at the end of the tunnel. Scout and I continued to hack out. He got cleared for full turnout and blossomed with his new field and friends. I went to Fairfill and met up with a great group of bloggers and found time and money to hire Britt to come take photos of my two favorite guys! Scout got his first clip job and was an absolute champ. And, we started taking lessons at a nearby barn where Scout proved to be quite reliable about trailering and going to new places.

November

November brought lots of rain, but we plugged along at our work. Scout was improving steadily under saddle and really starting to use his body. We went to our first show and didn't die and we added in some trainer rides to mix things up and keep Scout sharp. We started to play around with some biting ideas and we incorporated lunging into a regular part of his workload. He learned some remedial groundwork and proved once again that he's got a terrific brain by letting me hop on him bareback in a rope halter and go for a ride.

December

With all his new found muscles and cooler temps, Scout was starting to become quite energetic and so we had some talks about appropriate behavior on the ground and under saddle. He got his second clip of the season and is starting to look like a real event horse. I think he may have grown again but at last measurement he was 16.3 (+3/4) so I really hope I'm just imagining it. With the ground frozen and daily highs wavering around 20, we've pumped the brakes on his serious training, but we'll hopefully be able to resume in a week or so. December is always a busy month with my birthday and Christmas, but I've tried hard to him feel important every time I see him. In the meantime, I hope he's gaining some pounds with all the extra grain and alfalfa he's getting and I can't wait to pick up where we left off.

Stay tuned for Goals 2018 post, but for now I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday and New Year!

Scout's show debut!!!

I signed up for this little schooling show last minute, but with things going well on the flat I figured a chance to get him in front of a judge would be a great idea. With that in mind, and to keep my nerves at bay, I set some goals that I thought would be attainable.

Mainly...
1. Don't get eliminated for something stupid
2. Don't fall off
3. Conquer our first warm up
4. Remember my tests
5. Have fun

When one of the trainers at the barn asked me if I'd like to let Scout stay the night before the show (due to my ride times) I jumped at the chance. Having him there and settled could only improve our experience and in the long run, it will help give me a good indication of how well he handles overnighting in a new place -- and more importantly, how rideable he'll be without turnout in a show atmosphere.

So he got bathed and primped and we packed up his things on Saturday.

He's becoming such a little diva now that he gets all my attention (also, he doesn't let me wash his face like that -- so spoiled by his Dad!)

There was nothing to fret about though because he traveled over there like a champ and settled in like he already lives there. *Fun fact: he got to spend the night next to Nolan (Tango)! I tucked him in and spent the rest of the day cleaning my tack and getting myself organized for the show. It's been almost 2 years since I've competed so I was feeling all sorts of nervous and rusty. I really wanted Scout to have a positive and rewarding first show experience, so how I was feeling was really secondary. I think focusing on that aspect made me less nervous in the end.

On Sunday, I checked in and grabbed my number. They told me I could take him into the indoor to look at the dressage ring (it's kinda old school with BIG letter boxes and chains that make noise if you hit them). He was so ho-hum about the whole thing. No spooking, no snorting, just wandered around and took a breath and then kinda looked at me quizzically.

Since we were the first and third rides of the day I was hopeful that warm up would be nice and quiet.

A moment of peace and quiet

He was a little goofy for me to get on, but once I swung up he felt fine. We walked over to warm up and we were one of two to start. This was a perfect way for Scout to get used to the feeling of a warm up without too much chaos. There was still plenty to look at with the indoor within view, trailer parking traffic passing by and horses coming in from turnout. People were setting up chairs around the warm up area, and more horses started trickling in (including Megan and Indy) and Scout didn't seem to care at all. He started a little tense and looky (boy does he know when he doesn't have a running on), but I just kept his mind busy and asked him to pay attention and he started to settle in.

A little tension

So cute!

Starting to relax (both of us!!)

I was conservative about how much warm up time to give him because I needed to stretch his legs and get him listening to me but I also didn't want to cook him or get him worked up if he found the other horses going around too much to handle.

We got our warning that we were up next and before I knew it we were heading down centerline for the first time together!!!!

YAY! First time trotting in:)

We rode Intro A first which was a perfect way to get a feel for him in the dressage court. I was worried it would feel very claustrophobic for us, so I made my goal to maintain tempo and have a nice obedient test. The judge was super nice and jumped out of her truck after every test to give individual feedback. She asked me a little about Scout and was really complimentary of him saying that he had an exceptional mind. She said he's going to be a very, very nice horse and gave me some things to work on at home.

Just being the cutest

We got great comments on his walk, but he needs to learn to stretch down

That test scored 61.250 with remarks that I expected (lacks bend, above bit), mostly 6.0's across the board with two 7.0's and a 5.0 on our free walk. I was most pleased with her notes on the collective marks, which again were 6.0's across the board, 7.0 for rider and a comment that he was a lovely horses with lots of potential + that I am a very accurate rider (!). There was an additional message to me to remember to sit in the center of the saddle (hahaha... helps when your stirrups aren't a full hole different, oops).

Next up was Intro Test B... two halts!!! Much Complexity.

Looking like a team

OMG, why is my horse so big?

More cute

We didn't do as well in this test, but I wasn't unhappy with how it rode. I tried to remember that even if we flubbed a movement to just move on and try not to leave any points on the table. He felt really obedient and quiet (possibly too quiet, but I resisted the urge to ask for too much trot, having him get unbalanced and then having to reel him back in). The judges commented that she's curious to see how he'd go if I pushed for more trot and gave him nothing to brace against on the inside rein (specifically tracking right). I totally appreciate her comment, and she gave me more things to play around with as practice.

Again, mostly 6.0's, one 5.0 (centerline/halt -- not immobile), one 4.0 (free walk) but THREE 7.0's (both medium walks, and our last centerline/halt). Collective marks were the same as the first test, and a 7.0 again for rider. She also remarked "lovely pair" and "very accurate".

If you want to watch some really boring intro tests, you can find them here:

Intro A

Intro B

Overall, I was absolutely thrilled. My main goal for the show was to make Scout feel like a superstar. I'm not sure he fully understood what all the fuss was about, but he certainly didn't complain about all the extra attention:)

The icing on the cake was getting Scout's very first ribbons:

A big shout out to Travis for being the epitome of calmness throughout the show and learning a little more about horsemanship one show at a time (he put Scout's bell boots on before he got on the trailer, swoon) -- I don't know how I'd shine so brightly without you.

And Scout? Well, I took him home and reunited him with his turnout buddies and hilarity ensued. He thought he was such hot shit showing off for his friends.

Guys, I did the dressage, and had a sleepover, and got ribbons and everything!!!!

I'm so pleased with the kid. This winter I think we'll try to get out to a couple of dressage shows and some little jumper shows to get some experience under our belts so we're ready to go in the spring. Thanks to everyone who wished us good luck and gave us positive feedback on the blog leading up to the show. We love you guys!