We Did Fly!

Some say horses know when a show is approaching and manage to get themselves into interesting situations to avoid the shows on purpose. While I know enough about Thoroughbred antics to not be able to say that's totally true for mine, it would have been nice if someone told Czech last Friday that the horse show I had entered him in was postponed due to storm predictions.

Instead, I came out for morning chores to a bloody face looking at me.

Dang it.

Seven stitches later, Czech was declared off-duty for at least a few weeks. It seems like he rubbed his face scratching on something and pushed too hard the last rub. There are some t-posts on the back tree-filled fence line (holding horse mesh fence) that he could have rubbed on, so I spent a Saturday night acting as dinner for mosquitoes while gluing safety caps on everything that would stand still. My hubby also spent the afternoon sawing and removing low hanging branches in case that was an issue.

The show had been postponed only one week and I still wanted to go. I adore my family and I am so completely blessed to have the option to be with my kids daily. However, this mama needed a break, a day at the horse show was something I had looked forward to all summer.

Bandon was sound but I hadn't entered him to begin with for two reasons: One, I wanted a more relaxed show day knowing that July heat would be a factor. Having my horse trailer tie and load easily was something I looked forward to when taking Czech. Two, Bandon has only had one arena session with me, since our jumping training at Rivermont, over solid looking obstacles. We needed a lot more practice to be ready for Jumpers and Jumpers is what he really wanted to do.

My biggest fear bringing along this horse from scratch has been over-facing him. Bandon is honest, hardworking, and even though he loves being silly he has a heart of gold, trying his best to take care of me. The idea of asking him to do something that killed any part of his confidence or trust breaks my heart. At the same time though, there is such a thing as horses getting bored, not trying, and needing to be challenged in a way that's good for them. It's a delicate balance.

I scratched Czech and entered Bandon. We would do the one green flat class as a nice warm-up round to remind him that he didn't need to be a speed demon, then the crossrail classes that I hoped to do at a trot for the same reason, before the lowest level Jumpers class asked him to open up a bit.

Knowing our loading issues, I set out over an hour before the time needed to leave. Bandon unfortunately, took a lot longer to load. I found a combination that worked after I had become drenched in sweat, he had become drenched in sweat, and I had hosed him off speckling my show clothes with mud in the process. Once Bandon was on and stuffed full of horse cookies, I debated taking him back off and putting him up.

The past week I had a persistent cough that handling him in the heat was making worse. Did I really want to go through that loading up process again in the highest heat of the day at the end of a long show?

I decided to press on and we pulled up to the show, running much faster than it has in the past, judging was running on the class that was six ahead of ours! I got my entry check to Ashley then scrambled back to tack up straight off the trailer. Surely those at the show were thinking, "Didn't she have trouble loading last time? You'd think she'd plan better..." I wish I had a sign to flash "He took three times as long today! I swear I did plan! I thought we weren't in for another hour at least!"

Bandon came straight off the trailer to brushes and tack. I was up on him within 15 minutes of arriving. I could have kissed that horse a thousand times. Without all of our normal warm-up walking and seeing things, he was doing well. A little jigging, a little jacked up, but under a shade tree he was acting like a class show horse with his OTTB buddy, Joe. We were glad to see him and his owner, Mary Catherine.

In the green horse class with 4 other horses we found our space on the rail and my boy did what I asked him. He chewed his tongue and fidgeted, a bit too forward, but he listened to me off and on and I was happy with that. We won green horse. Crossrails he threw my plan to trot out the window and by our second round I was glad we entered those to collect ourselves over the smaller fences. The crossrail flat classes, hindsight, I should have not put him in. My thought process was more time for collection on the flat before asking for his full attention in Jumpers. What happened in reality is exactly what happened last time, with the larger entry, I couldn't keep Bandon in his own space and he stressed. Horses trotting up behind him, circling, crops waving at his eye level, it was tough for him. I didn't enjoy myself because he wasn't enjoying himself. We were glad for some placements but I think that's his last time in those.

Last was Jumpers. We had some time to water both of us and get a short rest. Thank goodness for Mary Catherine, idiot me brought my water in my stainless water bottle, it almost scalded my mouth when I went for a drink! She happily gave me a bunch of her cold bottled waters or I wouldn't have made it through that afternoon. My joints were getting sore and I had some muscle cramping that worried me a bit due to my lack of appetite. I wondered if my electrolytes were off from not eating coupled with working hard in the heat.

Back camped under a shade tree, we waited for Jumpers to start. Bandon LOVES shade trees, cool and food, what's not to like?

I can't remember, but I think we went first. I couldn't wait to do it! My first time in a Jumper division as well as Bandon's. He would see a panel but the wall jump was a bar for this course. We started very collected, then I let him stretch a bit, taking my time through big corners to set him up nicely. I would have made a much faster time if I asked him for more and turned tighter. On the other hand though, we might not have jumped clean and had such a positive experience for both of us. Our time was 42 seconds and good enough for second place.

I was in LOVE. Jumpers was so much fun and I think Bandon felt it too.

Back at the trailer we snagged some pics of our pretty OTTB's in their new ribbons, before attempting to load.

Five minutes after trying my super nice approach, I put the same pressure on Bandon that I had used an hour into loading that morning, a few more minutes and he was on. I don't like putting the pressure on him like that, doubt tugged at me. Mary Catherine was helping me load though and said she felt what I was doing was exactly enough. There were times he was driving straight into me that were dangerous and those were the times he got lots of pressure from me to yield. Anytime he went forward all pressure was gone, and once he was on (on a longe line I drove him forward onto the trailer with my dressage whip while I stayed on the ground behind and to the side) he settled in faster than he ever has. He didn't even paw while we loaded up easy-going Joe.

We'd done it. We'd run our first Jumpers with a great experience. I had lots of pretty new ribbons. My horse was sound and loaded. That's what got me through the hour and a half drive back as my physical condition deteriorated rapidly.

No appetite, I stopped off to buy some chocolate milk to see if that would help. The shooting pain through my muscles now combined with bone pain that made it horrible to sit there. I made it home, took care of my horse, then curled up on my bedroom floor still in my dirty clothes.

An hour later I couldn't breath to get enough air and had a super scary hyperventilating episode before my fever spiked to 103. Chris was an angel, having taken care of the kids all day for me, he (for the second time ever) had to go up and care for the horses' evening needs. By the time he got back, we suspected I needed to go to the hospital and were concerned that maybe I'd gotten something blood borne from the mosquitoes the week prior. I waited to see a doctor until the next morning and found out then I had pneumonia.

I'm on injections for the bone pain, steroids for my breathing, and of course those fabulously thick antibiotic injections. This morning I was able to care for the horses myself and properly thank Bandon for all he did for me Saturday. Reliving that Jumpers run in my mind while I rest, has been so wonderful. What this horse and I will do one day...

Fourth of Misery, I Tried

The Fourth of July is a tough holiday for me. As an adult it was always the holiday I spent at my Mom's house and I miss her terribly every year. Also as an animal owner, it is usually nothing but stress.

This year I was determined to change my attitude for my family's sake. The weather was absolutely gorgeous in our area as the hurricane came through far to our east, no humidity hung in the air and blue skies were overhead. A breeze came through every few minutes asking if you might be more comfortable in a jacket.

I tacked up two healthy (grumpy and lazy) ponies for the kids to ride, neither having been sore a day since we started a new routine for them. The little kids begged to be led at the trot, bouncing around joyfully in the saddle. My youngest daughter listened as I explained how to hold the reins and rode solo for just a moment on Pegasus. My oldest two came down to the arena for a longer ride, complicated slightly by the arena grass grown tall enough for bad ponies to snatch a mouthful every few strides.

Even after all the pony riding was done the July air was full of breezes, I looked at Czech and he seemed sad. I'd noticed his low mood for the past week. He had been foot sore getting used to going barefoot, the treatments I was doing to toughen his soles worked as he ran with the other horses in the pasture, still each night going out he seemed not like himself. Czech pins ears and snakes his head when you walk by his stall, always has since he's been here, now when I walked by he just looked at me with loose ears and a blank stare. Another peculiar change, he was letting me freely hug him in his stall without any attempts to eat my clothing or whack me in the back with his nose. Something wasn't right.

I checked his feet again, pushing for signs of sore spots and found nothing. He hadn't been ridden in about 6 weeks, maybe he'd like a little ride. Bareback pad on, I took him down to the arena. Once up on his back, not at all gracefully I might add, I let my barn clogs fall off and hung my bare feet down.

Czech came alive.

He and I went all over the property and down the road. The sun was shining on us. The cool breeze went through my toes as my calf brushed against his sleek warm sides. We began to talk to each other.

Hunter, my oldest son, had asked me earlier in the arena if the horses understood all the words we said to them. My answer was, "Conventional science says, 'no', but what if they are wrong?" I thought about this as I talked to him.

Czech was missing work. Polar opposite of grumpy ponies that morning, Thoroughbreds generally love having a job and having purpose. Something I can relate to on a personal level. I think he was also worried that he was no longer wanted by me since he was not being used. We resolved all of those insecurities.

Back in his stall, he snaked his head as I went by, looking sheepish when I turned around to face him (as usual) and later that day he yanked my shirt a few good times while I picked his stall. He needed that as much as I did.

It was going to be a good day. The kids enjoyed the pool, the food I made turned out awesome, Chris mowed the arena and jump lines for me to ride the next morning, and the only dog I own now was not afraid of noises and could be left crated if needed. We were going out to our small town's celebration.

I left the horses fed, watered, and in clean stalls with fans on high making lots of white noise along with a radio. People in our area had been playing with firecrackers late that afternoon and the boys didn't seem to react to the noise. I was free to enjoy!

And I did. My kids chased fireflies and played with sparklers, then we all sat piled on each other to watch a really great firework display.

Back home we got the kids squared away and I went out to check-in on the boys. They were doing fine. I didn't look like they had even paced during the chaos going on outside. I had read two papers the week prior to the Fourth on "How To Handle Your Horses This Holiday". Each totally contradicting the other. One said to put horses out in a safe area so they could run without hitting things. The other said to keep your horses up to keep them from running into things outside in a panic. Typical horsemanship, it was really anybodies guess on the best thing to do.

It was now after eleven and it seemed like my neighborhood was settling down except for one party that kept aiming their high powered ones straight across the street (away from their property, towards mine). The risk of barn fire seemed higher than the risk of the boys going crazy, I put them out.

Then it really started.

People make it hard to not hate people. It was getting close to midnight as some were just starting. The fireworks used were very high powered ones, almost professional level. Houses that bordered the pasture, one directly across the street, were shooting them off so they went over my pasture.

The horses were okay with the noise at that point, however once they saw a few pop, within a very close distance of them, they lost it.

There was nothing I could do. Going in the pasture to get them and put them up was way too dangerous. All I could do was watch. Back and forth between the brink of tears that the horses were in a situation I couldn't protect them from and rage that we had full displays on all sides just starting in the very late night hours by people who did not care, it was awful. A little lost Chihuahua clung to my foot shivering as we watched.

In the celebration of Independence, I was wishing desperately for more laws and control.

If there were only high powered shows at set times in set areas, everyone could enjoy them and make plans to be safe. Instead children are in the street yards from my fence shooting these things. They were smart enough to aim them away from their own house, just no regard for anyone else's property.

Once it was over, as best I could see in the dark, the horses were okay. This morning it was a different story. Three are very tired but okay, everyone has dried sweat caked in their coat, but Bandon also has a huge gash running down his rib cage. It is borderline serious enough for sutures.

I cleaned the blood from his coat, tearful that I hadn't just left them all up for the night and angry that people who live by a horse farm don't care.

I won't get to ride my freshly mowed arena today on this beautiful morning. Plans I had made a week ago for precious time to ride on my Bandon boy are cancelled.

He will be okay of course and I know there are horses out there this morning, the day after, who will not be okay again. I'm not sure even the breeze between my bare toes riding on Czech and kids chasing fireflies is enough joy to salvage this holiday for me, praying there aren't more tonight.

Update : Of course there were more. Much more. A huge display went on just to the side of our house until nearly midnight on night two. In the photo you can see how large the fireworks are in relation to the full grown trees at the base of it, this is taken from my barn looking across the pasture. I left the boys up until everyone was done and over, exhausted and d.o.n.e. with this whole problem. If it goes to night three, I'm going to be pulling my hair out. Bandon has a lot of swelling I hope to see improved tomorrow.

Year of the Horse Begins

Ringing in the New Year, social networking sites are packed with statuses giving a snippet of the friend's 2013 impressions, their photos, or their most used words over the year.

As far as my horse life goes, January '13 started much like this year has, full of mud. Weather and mud made riding conditions to start my just-arrived Bandon awful. By the end of the month, Whisper almost completely severed her deep flexor tendon (requiring surgery in my driveway while my husband was out of town and I was on my own with all the kids in late January) beginning months of stall rest for my explosive mare and a "management" style life for the horses around her needs. The shrill calls she made from her stall around the clock became background noise in our house until Spring.

By late Spring the weather improved for riding and Bandon began to demonstrate his strong mind. So much so that I hauled him to a schooling show in early June in my new-to-me trailer. After battling lost shoes, trailer hunting, and the late nights to practice, I was excessively devastated when it went terrible - barely being able to even tack him up - and I felt like we had lost tremendous training ground.

Back home, our struggle with poor feet continued and my large dreams for him started to lose their loft as he was off and on lame.

At that same time, Czech arrived. It's funny how Czech came about, I was actually talking to his breeder about a racehorse prospect I had been offered to fill my extra stall when she reminded me that Czech/Toad had come back to her and asked if I would like to meet him. I had completely forgotten that she had him back and I didn't know if I was what she was looking for for him or if he was an addition we needed at that time.

Our meeting was nice, no big glorious moment where golden beams radiated off of Czech as I was struck with love and adoration as he was with me. Just a nice OTTB that was easy on the eyes. I was torn if I should try him or not, I knew Iva was like me and if I took this horse I owed her to give him not just great care, but my heart too. After my recent dream deflations of showing Bandon and Whisper's injuries, I wasn't sure I could invest all of the work and heart in an additional horse right away.

I brought the big guy home to try him and before I could get to know him, Whisper died. My horse. My insane horse that I loved with everything I had no matter what she did, like any good dysfunctional relationship, was gone.

Grief was all consuming.

I went through the motions taking care of the boys awhile.

In those motions, over time, a normal herd started to develop. Without an unpredictable boss mare, everyone sort of stabilized and found peace. I watched the boys playing gelding games in the pasture out of my kitchen window, something they never dared do before. By August I had healed enough to let my guard down again, to invest in them emotionally, and we started work.

Things did not fall Disney-movie-like into place for Czech and I. He bucked and stumbled under saddle until we found balance and then he began to bolt. With the kids all in school for the first time, we trained every day. I also found a strong trainer far away who e-coached and encouraged through the hardest days. I hauled Czech out to long trail rides. We hacked the pasture. The ring. The jumps. We started to find trust between us and a relationship that is now so strong, I can't imagine it being built any other way than the way it happened.

Meanwhile, Bandon's feet grew and became stronger. Our short rides stretched longer, with no pressure to achieve anything it was a random day when I noticed that I wasn't putting jump bars back up after our rides anymore. He was using himself to learn his new job and thriving on praise like no horse I'd had before.

By Fall, both boys came out with me to show. Czech winning flat classes, Bandon taking baby steps in jumping classes, bringing me some shiny new ribbons to hang to go with my memories made.

2013 can't be summed up for me. I fought a devastating injury for months only to lose my girl and I have this knot in my stomach just typing it out now. Meanwhile there was progress made as a horsewoman, progress my horses have made with me, and the obvious achievements we found this Fall with my boys that I wouldn't trade for gold.

I hope my most used word for 2013 was "grateful".

Alright 2014, Year Of The Horse, let's see what you've got.

Czech Arrives

I was lucky to be able to meet-up with some friends I hadn't been able to see often since our move, to break-up the 4 hour round-trip to go and pick-up Czech (Toad) with all of my kids in tow on summer break.

They had a good 2 hours of running on the playground and I got to relax a little with my friends, much needed after the trip down where semis made my empty trailer start to weave behind my truck on the interstate, followed by a long stretch of 2 lane with construction cones pushing traffic right on top of each other.

After wearing out the small people, we headed over to the farm where Czech loaded perfectly as Iva kissed him goodbye and we traveled home. All of my horses were in the barn for the heat of the day, Czech got to meet Bandon while I took his standing wraps off.

Later that night for turnout, Czech enjoyed stretching his legs in big gallops across the pasture. Spotlight didn't give him much of a glance as he went to his favorite job of grazing. Bandon, on the other hand, was fit to be tied.

He didn't know what he should do about this new boy on his property. Usually Bandon is pretty laid back and not a higher-ranking horse. Something about Czech made him feel bold though and he spent a good bit of time defending the Whisper's paddock line from the intruder.

Whisper was indifferent in her separate paddock space. She's been on solo turnout since the beginning of last week when one of her kicks tore a deep hole in Bandon's shoulder about 5 days before our show attempt. The following day the horses were on day turnout with mild weather and I was able to watch, Whisper pursued Bandon across the pasture, running and kicking him off and on all day. As she came up lame and Bandon was wounded, Chris and I decided to just make our lives easier and let her have an acre that was all hers.

This morning the boys had worked out most of their differences. Bandon still felt like he needed to keep himself between Spot and Czech. I'm sure that will work itself out.

I worked in the barn last night into the late summer darkness hauling fresh water to Whisper's paddock, stall waters, pasture trough cleaning, filling all the stalls with fresh shavings, stripping and cleaning the trailer, and unpacking Czech. Tonight I'm hoping to get to know him a little better with some grooming. I did sneak in his stall with a tape this morning and he is 17.1 hh, making Bandon's 16 hh look like a QH.

Whisper's Healing And Other Farm News

Whisper has been on pasture rest after being released from her 90 day stint on stall rest for the tendon injury in January. This is how that leg looks today.

We've lowered the shoe for the last time, in 3 weeks she will go flat and be able to put her heel down and fully extend the healed tendon.

She moves okay on it, we've had some setbacks with lameness. The hind leg that was injured a year ago, has grown down, it's holding together well though the deformity from the scarring at the band will always be there. A "normal" hoof can't grow out of that type of scar ever.

She is happy on her pasture rest lifestyle and I hope she just lets things be. From what I understand about this type of injury is that re-injury is highly likely with use and could be crippling.

Spotlight is fat. Really fat. Special ordering a pony-sized grazing muzzle kind of chunky. His job as pony-ride giver isn't giving him enough exercise and to be truthful, I don't enjoy riding him anymore than he enjoys toting my oversized pony-jockey body around. The longe line and he are starting to be friends in an effort to shape up a bit.

He's still better with kids than with any adult, exactly what he's supposed to be, and we love him for it. He is happy to give my one-year-old niece a pony ride then stand dozing while kids tug all over him to brush him.

Toad will be here before we know it. His coggins was pulled Friday and his feet were done the week before, so I've just got to get back out there to get him picked up!

With A Name Like Valentine, He Might Belong At Seven Hearts

A friend of mine from my dog sport days, Iva was in Thoroughbreds before dogs. In fact, she went to jockey school in her native Czechoslovakia. In addition to training as a jockey, she owned a few Thorougbreds through the years including one that she bred and foaled on Valentines Day 2001. Czech Valentine, aka Toad, was her baby and she raised, trained, and raced him.

When her life changed with a divorce and she could no longer keep Toad, he went on free lease three years ago to a supposed good home. This is Toad at the new home when Iva last saw him.

The new home decided they couldn't use Toad anymore and apparently just stopped feeding him. This is how Toad looked when he came back to Iva this Spring.

You can imagine her heartbreak.

Iva is still not in a position to keep Toad herself but wants to be sure he is taken care of, I was honored when she asked if he could come here to me. He is sound, sane, and has a lot more years of not just life but active use left. He enjoys a job and is very easy on the eyes. All Iva had to do was feed him and he regained his previous state in no time, obviously not having a medical issue that contributed to his appalling condition and he passed vet exam with no issue.

I took the drive to meet Toad in person, he charmed his way to me pretty quick and let the little kids mug him. He's a typical big silly boy, he last measured 17 hands at 2 years of age and I'm pretty sure he's bigger than that. He responded well to me on the ground and Iva shared every detail of his life.

Czech Valentine ran 22 starts and earned just over $30,000. He has Timeless Native as a grandsire on his dam's side, Mr Prospector on his sire's side by way of Fappiano. Most of his blood history crossses back to Native Dancer (by way of Raise a Native).

So Toad will come and do a trial run here starting in a few weeks, hopefully getting along with Whisper. I'm not concerned with him fitting in with the boys at all, just my girl. I'm going to try very hard to call him Toad, though I may fall into calling him Czech (the track called him Big Czech) because he is just so lovely to look at and Toad is hard to pair with his pretty face. Iva gave him the nickname when he was little and into absolutely every bit of trouble he could find.

It'll be nice to have another sound horse around the place, another mouth to help crop back my ridiculously high pasture grass, and a back-up horse should Bandon need months off to grow hoof if the last round of plates don't stay on his feet. It's also nice to know we are helping a horse and a friend.