Not Again. (Yes, Again.)

We’re two weeks into our sojourn at the new barn, and we’ve had some really fantastic rides – better than I have any right to expect, in fact, given how out of shape Fredders is after his assorted lamenesses.  I mean, look at him.  He looks amazing, despite the monkey on his back hauling on the right rein.

Unfortunately, the quality of our rides plummeted this week, marked by a sour attitude and resistance.

 He’s not lame – I threw him on the longe on Tuesday and was treated to a display of remarkable athleticism that lasted 45 minutes.  A horse needs to be entirely, wholly sound to pull the crap Fred did on Tuesday.

We worked through the issues last night, and ended up with some decent work, including some very decent trot/canter transitions on a 20M circle.

Tonight we had a lesson, and it was a different story. Fred was clearly uncomfortable, curling behind the bit even on a loopy rein, gaping his mouth and in general registering his unhappiness in every way he cold muster.

I hopped off, and Christy and I looked at the saddle.  I had been over his back before I tacked up, and found no soreness, but we determined that it was pinching on either side of the wither.  So I slid the ThinLine I use out from underneath it, which would free up quite a bit of space around the head of the saddle, and got back on.  Well, that was a bit too much of an adjustment – the saddle was now sinking in front, and definitely was impinging on his shoulder, especially when I asked him to bend.

“If you got on him without the saddle, that would tell you clearly if that’s what’s bothering him,” Christy ventured.

I’m not a huge fan of riding bareback. Horses are smooth and slippery.  My Thoroughbreds all had prominent withers and spines that I wanted no part of.  But Fred is kind of like a couch.  I got over myself, took off his saddle, and slithered aboard.

To give his spine some relief, I stuck the ThinLine under my butt, and off we went.  Fred is actually super comfortable, and I stunned Christy by trotting him a bit.  He was pleasant and willing.

Christy and I agreed that my next step is to break out the gullets and shims and go to work.  I’m going to start with some 8 mm front shims under the panels.  If that doesn’t work I’ll switch gullets, but I think shimming will do the trick.

Oh, and I’m going to buy a bareback pad.

Touch Wood

Admiring himself.

It’s been a bit more than a week since we moved into the new barn, and for the last four days, Fred has been moving soundly.

*touches wood.*

Fredders is in an individual turnout, however, time outside has been limited due to extremely cold and icy conditions.

He has a spacious stall, hay to chew on throughout the day, a window to peer out of and best of all, a friendly mare (with whom he is in love) in the stall next door, so staying inside is not the worst thing that can happen to Fred.  In fact, it’s probably been the best, as he’s acclimated to his new surroundings and hasn’t managed to re-injure himself in the process.

While he is still giving me a little grief at the beginning of each ride in the form of some balking, we get through it pretty quickly and the rest of the rides have been forward, frisky and fun.   I’m focusing mostly on trot sets with some easy bending, because more than anything, he needs conditioning. That said,  we did some of the easiest canter transitions we’ve ever done last night – simply sitting a beat and a slight raise of my inside hip and we were off.

I’m going to continue to ride with Christy, however, our lesson last night was canceled due to the aforementioned icy conditions. I’ll get something scheduled this weekend and maybe we’ll have some video to share soon. 😁

Course Correction

Second ride (and first selfie in the arena mirror) at the new barn.

Good God. It’s been nearly eight months since I posted here. It’s funny how changes in unrelated areas of your life can ripple through your entire personal ecosystem, but that’s the best way I can explain my silence.

The long and short of it is this – 2015 is a year I am still trying to forget. Fate dealt me a series of punches to the gut, ranging from my mom’s diagnosis with a very scary cancer to losing Derby.  2016 was my rebuilding year of sorts. Very simply, I decided there was a lot in my life I wasn’t thrilled with (Mom being the exception, she’s doing really well) and it was time for some course correction. I’ve made a couple big changes and more are in the pipeline.

In the “Done” column is a biggie – my career. I spent the better part of the last year in a job that was a spectacularly bad fit. Having a strong dislike for my work was an entirely new and wretched experience, and I didn’t realize how exhausting the attendant stress and frustration were until I got out of Dodge. Late last year, I landed a fantastic new job, and couldn’t be happier – both with the work itself, and the fact that I got this item off the to-do list. The job change is foundational to my other plans.

I’m 70% of the way to achieving my fitness goals, and it shows (even when wearing puffy winter duds.)

In the “Homestretch” column is another biggie – my fitness. There’s no sidestepping the fact I really let things slide in that department. I’m not going to talk numbers but let’s just say this: I am 70% to a goal I set for myself last April, and I will achieve it before April 2017 rolls around. My pants are smaller, my endurance is greater and I’m a lot stronger across the board – core, arms, back, you name it.

Some other course corrections are still in the works, but let’s leave those for another time, because it’s past time for me to be talking about the horses.

Uulke Farm in Barrington is Fred’s new home.

Persistent soundness issues with Fred contributed to my frustration over the last year. He recovered nicely from the broken pelvis, but we never really got going in 2016 because one thing after another would knock us off track. A banged up ankle. Bowed tendon. Windpuffs. Bucked shin. Popped splint. Pinched nerve. One thing after another, cumulating with – horrifyingly – sore footedness that threatened to turn into mechanical founder, exacerbated by thin soles and irritation from the packing under the bubble pads I had put on for winter.

Rumors you’ve heard about the place having chandeliers are true.  Prettiest barn EVER.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting different outcomes. I am not insane, so last week I moved Fred to a new barn four minutes from my home. It has individual turnout – not my favorite but necessary at this juncture – amazing arena footing and top-notch care. It also has a chandelier in the foyer and a club room that looks like it was decorated by Ralph Lauren himself. Fred can’t believe his luck, and I can’t believe how much I’m paying to board there, but the proximity to home has been fantastic.

And best of all, Fredders is going sound (note: I just tapped wood after typing that.) It’s been very cold (low teens) for the last few days, so I shouldn’t be surprised by the energy he’s displaying, but as discussed previously, he’s not the most forward-thinking horse, so when I give him a little squeeze and get left in the back seat, it is surprising.

We’re not going to be doing anything too interesting very soon – he is out of shape, so we’re doing a lot easy work to put a good foundation on him. But I think we’ll get going with some lessons midweek. Fingers crossed for continued soundness.

In other news, Jag just turned 21. He’s fat, hairy, happy and apparently, semi-feral, as he got loose yesterday and ran his own personal Kentucky Derby around the property where I keep him.

I’m going to call it a wrap for now, folks, but I promise an update in short order. I’m well and truly back. I wish you all a belated but no less enthusiastic happy new year!