It Aint Over Yet...

I would like to start by saying that I feel as though I owe everything to Dr. Ellison and Pathogenes, Inc. right about now. Scottie was retested at EMA on Monday for EPM and he was NEGATIVE! This horse went from being the strongest positive possible to a negative test in about six weeks. This is all thanks to Dr. Ellison's twenty years of EPM research and the resulting medication Oroquin-10. Oroquin-10 is a ten day prescription medication that kills off the parasite that causes EPM and carries a 96% success rate and it certainly worked for Scottie! I highly recommend that everyone visit her website and read her blog. It has tons of information about the disease, as well as Dr. Ellison's research and experience with it. Science has certainly come a long way... Pathogenes, Inc.

Now it is time to re-evaluate his walk work under saddle and see how he feels compared to when he was sick. Based on that and how he continues to jog we will then continue with diagnosing his stifle. Fingers crossed for a strong, sound pony!

Although my big dreams for the girls for the fall may not pan out after all, we are starting to make baby steps in the right direction and will see where we go from here. Perhaps the fall will be filled with learning opportunities and spring is always a new season. There is a cross country school at Feather Creek on the horizon at least! Horse trial or bust!!

 It seems as though things may be starting to look up, a least a little bit, for team UAC Eventing. Hopefully we can continue on THAT path! Eventers are very skilled at plan B, as well as plans C through Z, and that is what sets us apart. We always keep on. We always keep kicking. It ain't over 'till its over and it certainly ain't over yet. Scottie's career is not over, in fact I have faith that it is far from it, but Im sure his struggles aren't yet over either. My struggles aren't over. In the end, Im sure it will all be worth it and until then, keep kicking.

Never Let Go...

Wow, I've really got to get better about updating this thing!

For starters, I would like to congratulate Jamie Aldrich of Ill. on her purchase of Stretch. He has found himself a wonderful home with her and her young daughter. It makes me so happy to know that he is with a family that loves him and that values his skill set and abilities. Best of luck on the show circuit this spring!

Next on the agenda is the fact that I DID IT! I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelors of science in animal science production in December of 2012! Upon completion of my degree, I accepted a position at Woodridge Farm and Duels and I made the trip to Claremore at the end of December. I will keep y'all updated on this endeavor, but so far it has provided me with plenty of hard work, good foaling experience, and some more quality horses to ride.

Moving on to Duelly... He definitely keeps me on my toes! He came back from his little vacation (aka my injury) in top form and ready to conquer 2013, but then something began to change. He began getting more resistant to work, more cranky about tacking up, more unhappy overall. He didnt want his grain, he began dropping weight, among other things. We suspect ulcers. I took him to the Mary D'Arcy clinic at Feather Creek the beginning of February and that was when we knew something was wrong. He schooled really well overall, for being a green youngster with little cross country experience. Mary loved him and confirmed what we already knew about him having serious upper level potential. However, throughout the weekend he kept acting out in ways not typical of his "get'r done" attitude. While trying to figure out this puzzle he has had a couple of weeks off since the clinic. I am trying him on a couple of different supplements and we will see what happens. Hopefully I will be able to get him out to a local dressage schooling show in two weeks, but that is completely contingent upon whether he is up for it or not.

(Very) Tenative 2013 Schedule:
March 17: GCC Schooling Show - Claremore Expo
April 14: SHRA Schooling Show (beginner novice) - Okemah, OK
April 20-21: Holly Hill HT (beginner novice) - Benton, LA

I suppose this post is about remembering the past and never letting go of the future, no matter how dark it may seem sometimes. Things will always get better and tomorrow is another day. Horses really have a way of teaching us to slow down and take things a day at a time, even when we may want to plan two years in advance (spring 2013 BN, fall 2013 N, fall 2014 T). Well played ponies, well played. Until (hopefully a much sooner) next time, keep kicking!

Never Admit Defeat...

I know that it has been a while since my last post and that a new one is long since overdue. To be honest, I just haven't had the heart to write lately. To say that things have not gone according to plan would be an understatement. Stretch's first novice event was Feather Creek Farms in Norman, OK. He was such a trooper and, despite the trials and tribulations of the weekend, I could not have been more proud of my baby. We were sitting fourth after dressage on an extremely respectable score of a 31. Cross country presented some issues, with a stop at the bank up and a run-out at part B of the ditch, along with quite a bit of time. The ditch and time were certainly my fault and the bank up was just too early on course for being maxed out with scary bushes. Stadium went well with only one rail that was, again, my fault. Needless to say, we did not recieve our first qualifying ride.

After Feather Creek, we returned home and went back to work to try to improve upon our performance before Mill Creek. It was then that every horse owner's nightmare occured. If you are one of those "show and go" riders that never spends time with your horse and does not partake in their day to day training and care, then you probably will not know what I am about to mention. However, if you are the rider that knows your horse inside-and-out and has that unspeakable, unbelievable bond with him, then you will fully understand. Stretch never took a lame step, and really was never "off" either, but he certainly wasn't right. I could tell in the way his stride fell and the way that his ears would twitch or his head would toss that something was not right, but to the naked eye on the ground, or even someone on his back that didn't know what to look for, everything seemed fine and I was just overreacting. Come to find out it was a mildly strained suspensory. Scratch Mill Creek.

As every horse owner knows, despite your rider catagory, when things start to get bad, they always get worse. Due to reasons that are not exactly up to me to make public, I then lost access to some rather neccessary items. IE: trailer and saddles. Thus the long road to trailer shopping has begun. With financial limitations and size obligations (that's what happens when your horse is 16.3hh and weighs 1,300 pounds!), finding an appropriate box with wheels is easier said than done! We won't even mention saddles right now. That pandora's box can be opened at a later date. The trailer must be conquered first!

Back to the Stretchy pony, rehab has since begun. However, about two weeks in, a shoe goes missing. It just so happened to take half of the foot with it. For me, this was the equivalent of "Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200." Great! Six more weeks off and two farriers later, Stretch has a somewhat normal foot, two new shoes, and a fabulous new farrier that I would highly recommend *cough*Arlo Bruesch*cough*. Rehab continues. Up to 25' walk, 10' trot, 2' canter, 5' light dressage work. Cue 115 degree heat! I suppose I owe a rather sarcastic thanks to Oklahoma's crazy weather for kinking my plans yet again. It is suicide to work in this heat, so on nights that the temperature drops back into double digits work ensues, otherwise nada.

I guess this post was the long way of saying that when life hands you manure, make fertilizer. My plans for the summer, and in fact the entire year, have more bullet holes in them than a wild west saloon but I just keep trudging on. Things will get better. Stretch will get sounder. The weather will get cooler. The bank will get a little bigger. Okay, well maybe not that last one because horse's certainly have a way of draining it! The bottom line is this: never admit defeat in your goals. There will be another year for the novice Classic and there are some exciting opportunities just around the bend!