New Kid on the Block...

New year, new season, new... horse? Yep! Meet Whiskey Bent, known around the barn as Bourbon. He is an '08 17.1h Thoroughbred by Storm Day out of Jenny O/Gold Case. Bred and raced in Louisiana, he just couldn't hack it on the track. Thus, his race record is definitely less than impressive but he liked the turf and was retired sound.

I acquired this horse a few months ago and it was a rocky relationship in the beginning, to say the least. This ridiculous Oklahoma winter certainly didnt help matters because it made consistency difficult. One really REALLY awesome thing about this horse though is that he retains his lessons very well. We can typically pick up our training sessions where we last left off rather than having to reschool countless times. Respect was definitely a major issue and he was quite the cocky boy! I blame the Storm Cat in him, but once I was able to channel that energy and attitude, Bourb has become an awesome partner! His dressage is coming along nicely which is good considering that it has been our sole focus for months. Jumping has recently been added to his training regime and he is taking to it quite nicely. Those big long legs of his tend to get in the way on occasion during grids but he is figuring it out. We went for a cross country excursion over the weekend and I was thrilled with how he behaved! Bourb was happy, quiet, and game to jump anything! We kept it small and positive but there is definitely room for more! This boy is proving to be a one person horse that thrives on a bond but once that is established, he will try his heart out for his rider. I love that in a horse!

I am looking at focusing on schooling shows with him for a while just to build his confidence and gain experience while staying on a budget. Holly Hill is on the calendar as his first recognized HT debut at BN. I have high hopes for this boy in the years to come!

So very much has changed since I last wrote on this blog (as usual) and to say that life got turned upside down might be a bit of an understatement. A family situation prompted me to leave Woodridge and head back home for a while, which is bittersweet. On the plus side, it allows me the opportunity to reflect on the events of last year and truly decide what I want to do in life. I have a pretty good idea though and hopefully that leads to a big announcement in the coming months!

Some of you may be wondering what has come of sweet Scottie boy lately and that is really exciting news! After lots of testing and watching and rehabbing, along with a few serious conversations with my vet, it was decided that a competitive comeback just wasn't in this phenomenal horse's future. That was a tough pill to swallow. The suspensory had healed nicely and there were no residual side effects from the EPM but something still wasnt quite right. Every once in a while a mystery lameness would pop up but it did not seem to effect him any other time. Without spending thousands of more dollars trying to diagnose the problem, with a not so promising outlook, we just couldnt pinpoint the issue and it was decided to officially retire Scottie. He had other plans and apparently "retirement" isnt in his vocabulary! I will save the details for next week, once everything is certain, but it looks like Scottie may have a new lease on life and a new job in which he LOVES! 

It has become quite obvious that thirteen is NOT my lucky number, as 2013 was a long and frustrating year, but it is what it is. I have grown to appreciate the little things in life and am working towards much bigger things than I could have ever dreamed of! Here is to a wonderful 2014, the year of the horse! More updates soon. Until then, keep kicking! 

Time Heals All Wounds...

Oh, wow. So so so very much has been happening around here and I am just praying that following my gut won't get me in too deep! First off, Duelly was sent back to his owner after long collaboration between my trainers and myself. His heart just wasn't in his work and it is hard to build a relationship on that. Talent can only get you so far in this sport.

Moving on, I decided to take a chance on another horse and what a chance that is turning out to be!

Meet Scottie, otherwise known as Sir Prescott. Pictured above is just about all Scottie does as of right now: hand walk and eat. This is because he has a mildly strained suspensory in his right hind, but he was free so I figured I would give it a go. Why you might ask? Scottie is a seasoned training level packer that has evented all over area 4 and 5 with a few riders, most notably a junior in which he placed very respectively at some big competitions. Oh yeah, and he was free! Right about now you are probably thinking that I have lost my ever-loving mind. Well, jump on the bandwagon and know that I don't give a damn! Scottie has been given an 85% chance of full recovery and everyone that knows me knows that I do this sport on a shoestring budget. I don't have the financial means to go buy a $15,000 horse. Here's to hoping that a little time and TLC will get me there!

 

Cue more issues, as always. Upon Scottie's follow-up visit to EMA it was discovered that he has EPM. Luckily we caught the disease before it progressed to horrible proportions. His test results from before I got him (which I did not know about at the time) indicated an elevated inflammatory response and low titer but now his numbers were through the roof. He has been started on a cycle of Dr. Ellison's product Oroquin-10 and is wrapping up that round tomorrow. We know in 4-6 weeks, upon another retest, if the treatment worked. In the meantime, his lameness is getting better, his toe dragging has reduced, and his tripping is nearly eliminated. All good signs! If the treatment doesn't work, well... I just don't know but I cant think about that right now. Right now, I have to be strong for myself and for my horse who seems to have had a fairly rough life.

 

Riding is never an easy sport, for anyone. It comes with ups and downs of epic proportion. As of late I have been questioning myself and my dreams. Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through this? Is it really meant to be? Is it even &^*#!%@ worth it? But then I walk into the barn and hear that loving nicker and my heart melts. Instantly I know exactly why I do this. I do it not only for the love of the sport but for the love of the relationship between horse and rider. Scottie is a loving, sweet boy who really brings back memories of Stretch. I miss that horse more than anything and find myself staring at his pictures every night thinking "what might have been" but I know I made the right decision for him. Scottie is my chance to move on. With him, I get that familiar nicker when I walk in the barn. A knowing nuzzle when I have treats. A random lick across my arm or face just because. It touches my heart and I know this horse is what I need right now. This WAS meant to be. I need this horse and this bond just as much as he needs me. I am confident that it will all work out in the end and we will be unstoppable! Time heals all wounds, all doubts, all fears but you cant just sit and wait for things to fall in your lap. Take a chance. Take a risk. Make a change. Follow your heart.

 

More updates to come but until then, keep kicking!

Been A Long Time Coming...

It seems like it has been forever since I have updated this thing and boy has a lot happened! I have since started riding with Dynah Korhummel at Feather Creek Farm and yes, I do realize that that is in Norman and yes, she is worth the two hour drive south! She has helped us so much in these last few months it is unbelievable! We decided to scratch MeadowCreek because his confidence just wasnt there and instead marked Texas Rose as the first outing on the calendar. Dressage became our first priority, working on self-carriage and obedience. Dynah also pointed out that Stretch is now too grown up for his boucher, but not yet grown up enough for a loose ring, so we are still trying to find that perfect bit. A slow twist snaffle is definitely his favorite, but that doesn't seem to be legal! Texas Rose went well, despite our two hour detour getting there. We only added 4 points to our dressage score of 37.5 due to a rail in stadium. Stretch was great on XC and even went in the water! We finished in 6th place. Thanks to RNS Video I was able to study my ride and make changes to our schooling and my position before Greenwood. It was a great training/learning tool! Luckily I was able to travel down to see Dynah and have a few lessons a few days before we left for Greenwood which helped immensely. We worked on loosening up his right jaw to improve his right lead canter and on slowing things down in my mind during stadium so that I am able to "ride every stride". Greenwood proved eventful but the lessons certainly payed off! Stretch schooled great on Friday and we were kind of on cloud nine going into dressage on Saturday, but things took an unexpected turn when I had to run back to the barn for a bit change with only five rides left before me. That left us with a limited warm-up in a bit that he had never worn before and he felt heavy, stiff, and like an equine bulldozer throughout the entire test. Just keep smiling and pretend your having fun! Luckily, I got the thumbs up from Dynah when exiting the arena and reassurance that it looked better than it felt. She was right because we ended up with a 40.5, but we couldn't help but wonder what would have been. We held onto our dressage score by going double clear in stadium with only one rough fence. I really made a concerted effort to ride every stride and it payed off! The course rode great and nothing fell down! The same holds true for cross-country and we finished on that score of 40.5 to finish in 2nd place out of 16 riders. The next outing is Feather Creek in two weeks and Im hoping for another great weekend and a strong finish!

The best part of riding at Feather Creek is that everyone is there with the same goal, to improve. I feel like my mom and I have been welcomed with open arms and fit right in with the rest of the barn family. Dynah has also been so kind as to help me with some other wonderful things going on in my life. Im not going to reveal too many details, as things are not yet set in stone, but she is helping me to recieve my C ratings in Pony Club, go for my level 1 instructor certification, and improve my riding resume. Stay tuned for more exciting details! My "pipe dreams" are certainly coming true and I couldn't ask for anything better right now. Until next time, keep kicking (and smiling)!