I was so exhausted yesterday I forgot to update my blog! I'm really not used to the heat, and it has been close to 90 here for a couple days. Totally wiping me out!
Yesterday's CDI GP Special test was kind of a funny story. Originally I had signed up for the Special this weekend but decided instead to do the freestyle, as I wanted to just focus on two tests rather than three. So I emailed the show secretary a few weeks ago to change it, then she emailed me back and told me I was wait-listed anyway for the two shows. Naturally that freaked me out--I'm not driving 17 hours to be waitlisted!! So it became about being wait-listed and I totally forgot about which test I had signed up for. They did put me into the first show, but I only knew last Tuesday that I got into the second show here in SJC at all!
Anyhow for some reason I assumed the test had been changed, so I figured I was going to do the freestyle Saturday (today). I went to bed Thursday night thinking I could sleep in as I didn't have a test until mid-afternoon with Bolero. However I had a funny feeling overnight, and woke up at 4am Friday morning with this odd feeling that I needed to look at the ride times. A couple people had wished me "good luck tomorrow" on Thursday, and I responded "I'm riding Saturday but thanks!", and they looked at me funny but no big deal. The more I thought about it the more I thought I needed to make sure I wasn't, in fact, riding on Friday. So at 4am I pulled up the ride times on the CDP website, and sure enough, there I am in the GP Special at 10:09am Friday morning. Aaack!! I hadn't yet ridden the Special on Victor, not even schooling at home, and I hadn't ridden the test since the last time I had a GP horse, about 15 years ago. I am now wide awake, so I pull out my test book and proceed to re-memorize the test (which wasn't that hard, since it hasn't changed in 25 years and I've watched others ride it enough that I pretty much knew how it went).
I re-set my alarm clock for slightly earlier (it's not like I do much warm-up anyway, and braiding him takes me 20 minutes), and went back to sleep (amazingly, you'd think I wouldn't have been able to fall asleep again!). I let Lana know when we woke up, and then we were off. I played with the idea of trying to switch to the freestyle, but figured that would be too complicated with the show management this close to the test (CDIs are a little more complex). I was worried about the Special because I had no idea how it would ride on Victor, and I didn't want to go out and totally blow a test in front of this tough panel, especially since the last couple shows had been going so well. In the end I decided it would probably be ok, and if nothing else it was a good test of my nerves, which at this point were a little on-edge.
Anyway I did my usual 15 minute warm-up, with Leslie yelling a few helpful tips (mostly make him more active, shorten your reins, bend him, etc LOL) while she was teaching someone else. Remarkably the test went very, very well and he was really on form. It is a very aerobic test because there is a ton of passage and extended trot and transitions between the two in the beginning. I was a little worried about the walk to piaffe transition at G, which can be difficult on him, and the pirouettes on the center-line and one-time changes between them. But everything worked quite well, and I had no funny rhythm breaks in my trot extensions like had happened in the GP, and the ones worked very well (in fact they were better on the center line than they are on the diagonal LOL).
We scored 67.089 and finished fourth, with one judge had me winning with over 70%. First place was a 68.9, so competition was tough but I was right up there with the others. I was thrilled, and kind of surprised to pull it off as well as I did. What a good horse!! He was really trying out there, he's not a horse I would say has a lot of "try" (he tends to be quite lazy), but he was really on-it and seems to have a sense of occasion to which he rises. I got some great comments from the judge/commentator and several of my competitor-friends about how great he looked and how well-ridden the test was. I was beyond pleased!!
Bolero however decided that the speakers were going to eat him and spooked through much of his test in the afternoon. He finished with a 64, today he was again tense and spooky although overall he was better and finished with a 66. He scored easy 8s on his big, expressive, easy flying changes but 4s when he jumped to the inside of the arena and spooked at the flowers LOL. The judges really like him, and he looked great on the video when he on the program.
We spent the rest of the afternoon packing for the trip tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be driving to our overnight location Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center in Elk Grove, CA, which is pretty close to the next CDI in Rancho Murieta. After that CDI it's back home for us and back to reality!! At least the weather is supposed to be milder up there. It's been surprisingly hot down here the past few days.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Today's GP with Victor and Bolero Third level
I started the morning off early today with Bolero's test at 8:08am. It was actually a little chilly this morning, surprisingly, so I made sure to get on a little early to make sure he was settled. He was actually really quite good in the warm-up and his test, and there were many highlights. Unfortunately he was grinding his teeth some which affected our marks, plus he threw in an unscripted flying change after his very good flying change and so got dinged there as well. He ended up with a 68.333, which was a very good score considering the problems, and won a class of 5 horses. I was very pleased with him and especially pleased with how much more uphill and active he looked on the video.
I rode Victor a little in the morning and he was really, really good, much better than he's been. I played a little with the piaffe, seeing if I could put it more on the spot, and then worked a little on my ones which were an issue last weekend. I was a little worried about the weather, as it was pretty warm today and my GP was scheduled for 3:14 in the afternoon. It probably made 90 today although thankfully we had a pretty strong breeze which made it feel a little cooler.
He warmed up well for his test and had good energy despite the heat. I had a couple little mistakes again and some straightness issues (with the haunches wanting to drift left at times) but I was happy to have another active and energetic test despite the heat. I was also happy to get my ones after they were such an issue last weekend. The judging was pretty tough today and we finished with a little over 64%. I wasn't thrilled with my score but I was very happy with the improvements from the last show. Tomorrow he gets a light day then we do the freestyle on Saturday. Bolero has a Third level 3 test tomorrow afternoon just before 4 so he gets to go in the heat!
I rode Victor a little in the morning and he was really, really good, much better than he's been. I played a little with the piaffe, seeing if I could put it more on the spot, and then worked a little on my ones which were an issue last weekend. I was a little worried about the weather, as it was pretty warm today and my GP was scheduled for 3:14 in the afternoon. It probably made 90 today although thankfully we had a pretty strong breeze which made it feel a little cooler.
He warmed up well for his test and had good energy despite the heat. I had a couple little mistakes again and some straightness issues (with the haunches wanting to drift left at times) but I was happy to have another active and energetic test despite the heat. I was also happy to get my ones after they were such an issue last weekend. The judging was pretty tough today and we finished with a little over 64%. I wasn't thrilled with my score but I was very happy with the improvements from the last show. Tomorrow he gets a light day then we do the freestyle on Saturday. Bolero has a Third level 3 test tomorrow afternoon just before 4 so he gets to go in the heat!
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Bolero lesson with Leslie and Victor gets into CDI this coming weekend!
Monday was a well-deserved rest day for all of us. We aren't allowed to ride the horses Monday here in the show grounds (I think it has to do with there being no Steward on the grounds that day), so I handwalked the boys in the morning and evening. Lana and I spent most of the afternoon asleep in our hotel room as we were pretty wiped out from the past week or so.
Today we were back to work. I rode Victor lightly in the morning, and worked a little on the changes (since he seems to have forgotten how to do them this past weekend LOL). They got better but not as secure as I would like.
I had a lesson with Leslie on Bolero which was very good for both of us. He was actually very good, but I'm always way too cautious about pushing him and really making him work and use his body. Leslie wasn't going to have any of that tentative riding, and it was good to learn to really push on him and not worry about what might happen. He responded quite well although he felt tense and was a little spooky throughout the ride. However he's going to have to learn to deal with it if he wants to be an FEI horse (or if I do LOL).
I was fortunate enough to get into the CDI with Victor this weekend, which made me happy! The jog is tomorrow and the GP is on Thursday. My goal is to try and ride a little cleaner this weekend (clean up some of those little mistakes in the extended trot, improve on my extended walk, improve on the piaffe, and make the pirouettes slightly smaller). I don't want to do too much differently than I did last weekend, I think mostly the connection and activity are the biggest things that need work. If he's too high or too stiff in the neck then that seems to be the crux of many of our issues. Also it's supposed to be pretty hot, and the GP is in the afternoon, which may also cause us some problems.
Today we were back to work. I rode Victor lightly in the morning, and worked a little on the changes (since he seems to have forgotten how to do them this past weekend LOL). They got better but not as secure as I would like.
I had a lesson with Leslie on Bolero which was very good for both of us. He was actually very good, but I'm always way too cautious about pushing him and really making him work and use his body. Leslie wasn't going to have any of that tentative riding, and it was good to learn to really push on him and not worry about what might happen. He responded quite well although he felt tense and was a little spooky throughout the ride. However he's going to have to learn to deal with it if he wants to be an FEI horse (or if I do LOL).
I was fortunate enough to get into the CDI with Victor this weekend, which made me happy! The jog is tomorrow and the GP is on Thursday. My goal is to try and ride a little cleaner this weekend (clean up some of those little mistakes in the extended trot, improve on my extended walk, improve on the piaffe, and make the pirouettes slightly smaller). I don't want to do too much differently than I did last weekend, I think mostly the connection and activity are the biggest things that need work. If he's too high or too stiff in the neck then that seems to be the crux of many of our issues. Also it's supposed to be pretty hot, and the GP is in the afternoon, which may also cause us some problems.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
CDI-W GP Freestyles in San Juan
Today was a big day for American dressage, with the final qualifier for the Las Vegas World Cup here in SJC. Steffen is the favorite to earn the top spot, and he delivered with a very technical and well-ridden performance on his "firecracker" mount Legolas (who gets a little revved up with the music).
Victor and I went early in the class (second to go, after our NW friends Jessica Wisdom and Cardi). I was very happy with many parts of my ride, some things that we had worked on throughout the week were much better and Victor has gotten very honest in the ring. I was able to do some things in the test that worked just like they did in the warm-up which is great for our mutual confidence. I did have some unfortunate mistakes in the changes, both the ones and the twos. Those need some more attention. But overall I hit my music spot-on, and was able to make the pirouettes smaller (they were a little large in the GP). He looks so much more through and closed-up behind than he did even in Burbank (I watched the video, courtesy of Lana), so I am encouraged by our progress. I was a little disappointed to only score a little over 68% (I had hoped to break 70), but I was encouraged when I saw that FEI "O" judge Stephen Clarke had me at almost 70% (and gave me the highest score).
I'm still on the waiting list for next weekend's CDI (it is so unusual for a CDI to fill up!!), but I have a shot of getting in thanks to the paranoia of other riders trying to qualify for Pan-Ams. I had forgotten that many riders are trying to qualify, and if they got their scores this weekend, they are inclined to scratch to not risk lowering their average with a bad ride next weekend. I hadn't thought of that, so there have actually been a few scratches for next weekend. Fingers crossed that I can get in!!! Would love to get into next weekend's CDI and further learn how to ride tests to the super-high standards down here. :)
Bolero had a light day today and just hand-walked. Tomorrow I will hand-walk both boys and all of us will have a much-needed rest day. Tuesday we will be back at it as the FEI jog is on Wednesday and the next show starts Thursday. I entered Bolero all three days in Third level, and I'm going to try powering him up a little and see how that goes. I was encouraged by how settled he's been (after his initial drama). Victor's GP (if he gets into the CDI) will be Thursday as well.
Also I decided to go to Rancho Murieta the first weekend in April for another CDI. It will both give us another CDI GP experience (and Bolero more show experience), while splitting up our long drive home. It's a great show and a little quieter than the shows down here (not that it matters, both boys are handling the environment down here very well). That means we will be driving home Sunday, April 5th (at least I think it's the 5th!).
Victor and I went early in the class (second to go, after our NW friends Jessica Wisdom and Cardi). I was very happy with many parts of my ride, some things that we had worked on throughout the week were much better and Victor has gotten very honest in the ring. I was able to do some things in the test that worked just like they did in the warm-up which is great for our mutual confidence. I did have some unfortunate mistakes in the changes, both the ones and the twos. Those need some more attention. But overall I hit my music spot-on, and was able to make the pirouettes smaller (they were a little large in the GP). He looks so much more through and closed-up behind than he did even in Burbank (I watched the video, courtesy of Lana), so I am encouraged by our progress. I was a little disappointed to only score a little over 68% (I had hoped to break 70), but I was encouraged when I saw that FEI "O" judge Stephen Clarke had me at almost 70% (and gave me the highest score).
I'm still on the waiting list for next weekend's CDI (it is so unusual for a CDI to fill up!!), but I have a shot of getting in thanks to the paranoia of other riders trying to qualify for Pan-Ams. I had forgotten that many riders are trying to qualify, and if they got their scores this weekend, they are inclined to scratch to not risk lowering their average with a bad ride next weekend. I hadn't thought of that, so there have actually been a few scratches for next weekend. Fingers crossed that I can get in!!! Would love to get into next weekend's CDI and further learn how to ride tests to the super-high standards down here. :)
Bolero had a light day today and just hand-walked. Tomorrow I will hand-walk both boys and all of us will have a much-needed rest day. Tuesday we will be back at it as the FEI jog is on Wednesday and the next show starts Thursday. I entered Bolero all three days in Third level, and I'm going to try powering him up a little and see how that goes. I was encouraged by how settled he's been (after his initial drama). Victor's GP (if he gets into the CDI) will be Thursday as well.
Also I decided to go to Rancho Murieta the first weekend in April for another CDI. It will both give us another CDI GP experience (and Bolero more show experience), while splitting up our long drive home. It's a great show and a little quieter than the shows down here (not that it matters, both boys are handling the environment down here very well). That means we will be driving home Sunday, April 5th (at least I think it's the 5th!).
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Day 2 of Capistrano International. Lesson with Leslie on Victor and Bolero's first Third level test!
It started off a little cool and breezy today here in San Juan. Not complaining, as it's probably 30 degrees and windy at home. :) I made sure to work Bolero a little extra so he would be settled in his test. He actually was a lot better than I expected, went right to work in the warm-up arena although a little spooky and then had a very solid, if conservatively ridden, ride in his first Third level test. I was careful as I wasn't sure how he'd be in the test, so I underrode pretty much everything. I was thrilled to score almost 70% (69.769 or something like that) and place 2nd in a very competitive class of 5-6 open rides. I'm going to spend this coming week trying for a little more power and activity behind and see if I can iron out the right-left change. He wants to kick against the right leg in that change, which he was doing in the warm-up a little, although the left-right change is super (he got an easy 8 on it in the test).
Today I took a lesson from Leslie on Victor, mostly to deal with some of the overall roundness and reactivity problems that I have. He was overall much more supple over his back to begin with today from the previous few days work, and she wanted me to make sure I got a forward reaction to the leg and didn't get too "digging" with my spur (which is easy to do on him since he's kind of lazy). She also wanted him a little bit overtempo today (a little extra forward). She had me ride some tic-tacs then ride forward out of them to keep him in front of the leg (especially the right leg, so I'd ride a right-left-right tic-tac then ride medium to make sure he stayed in front of the right leg). It was a good gymnastic to keep him thinking forward in the one-time changes and it also improved the quality of the canter. We also did some trot-walk-trot transitions to make sure he didn't quit behind into the walk (which he loves to do), and that made him much more active as well.
We watched much of the I-1 today in the afternoon. It was hard-fought, with lots of high quality horses, good riders, and well-ridden tests. It was fun to watch such a competitive class! Leslie had a super ride on Fine and Smart (aka Smarty) and ended up tying for first although she placed second with 70.5. First was Guenter with 70.5, second was Leslie with 70.5, third was Beth Ball with 70.3, fourth was Mette with 70.1. Talk about competitive!
Tomorrow I ride the GP freestyle on Victor. Bolero will just get schooled, he has three tests next weekend but since I wasn't sure how settled he would be I only entered one this weekend. Wish us luck!!
Today I took a lesson from Leslie on Victor, mostly to deal with some of the overall roundness and reactivity problems that I have. He was overall much more supple over his back to begin with today from the previous few days work, and she wanted me to make sure I got a forward reaction to the leg and didn't get too "digging" with my spur (which is easy to do on him since he's kind of lazy). She also wanted him a little bit overtempo today (a little extra forward). She had me ride some tic-tacs then ride forward out of them to keep him in front of the leg (especially the right leg, so I'd ride a right-left-right tic-tac then ride medium to make sure he stayed in front of the right leg). It was a good gymnastic to keep him thinking forward in the one-time changes and it also improved the quality of the canter. We also did some trot-walk-trot transitions to make sure he didn't quit behind into the walk (which he loves to do), and that made him much more active as well.
We watched much of the I-1 today in the afternoon. It was hard-fought, with lots of high quality horses, good riders, and well-ridden tests. It was fun to watch such a competitive class! Leslie had a super ride on Fine and Smart (aka Smarty) and ended up tying for first although she placed second with 70.5. First was Guenter with 70.5, second was Leslie with 70.5, third was Beth Ball with 70.3, fourth was Mette with 70.1. Talk about competitive!
Tomorrow I ride the GP freestyle on Victor. Bolero will just get schooled, he has three tests next weekend but since I wasn't sure how settled he would be I only entered one this weekend. Wish us luck!!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Another solid go in CDI GP for Victor!
Today Victor and I had another very solid, active go in the GP, I was very happy with him. In some ways he actually went better today than he did in Burbank but I had a couple expensive mistakes and the panel was generally not very forgiving of mistakes! I was happy with how active and on the aids he was, despite the heat (it wasn't that hot, but we just aren't at all acclimated to it!). I had a couple rhythm bobbles in the trot extensions and expensive mistakes in the one-time changes. Leslie was pleased with it and she's hard to please. :)
I just lunged Bolero this evening, although I rode him for quite a while yesterday. He had settled down quite a bit from the first day, but I wanted to make sure and school him in every arena. It took him a while to go to work and he still wants to spook at every set of flowers next to the letters. He was good though and the changes were uneventful. Leslie had had me ride shoulder-in the day before with Victor, then straighten his neck (turning it into a leg yield) and keep him off the inside leg and/or increase or decrease the trot. It helped get him more through and more honest to the aids. I did the same with Bolero and it was very helpful for the spooking.
Tomorrow Bolero has his first Third level test. Hopefully he's on good behavior! My goal is to get around the arena without took much drama, anything more than that will be icing on the cake. :) I also plan on having another lesson on Victor with Leslie and see if we can fine-tune a few things for the freestyle. Then we should probably find a grocery store. I'm out of beer!!
I just lunged Bolero this evening, although I rode him for quite a while yesterday. He had settled down quite a bit from the first day, but I wanted to make sure and school him in every arena. It took him a while to go to work and he still wants to spook at every set of flowers next to the letters. He was good though and the changes were uneventful. Leslie had had me ride shoulder-in the day before with Victor, then straighten his neck (turning it into a leg yield) and keep him off the inside leg and/or increase or decrease the trot. It helped get him more through and more honest to the aids. I did the same with Bolero and it was very helpful for the spooking.
Tomorrow Bolero has his first Third level test. Hopefully he's on good behavior! My goal is to get around the arena without took much drama, anything more than that will be icing on the cake. :) I also plan on having another lesson on Victor with Leslie and see if we can fine-tune a few things for the freestyle. Then we should probably find a grocery store. I'm out of beer!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Day 1 in San Juan Capistrano
We did the drive over two days, just like last time. Monday we drove from Boise to Bishop, then Tuesday from Bishop to San Juan. The trip was long, very long, but uneventful. It didn't help that I didn't sleep well in Bishop for some reason so the second day was especially arduous. We were relieved to arrive unscathed in San Juan and get the boys settled into their stalls. We were so tired we ordered a pizza delivery (normally we're all over the Mexican restaurants down here!).
Today I handwalked the boys in the morning then worked them in the afternoon. They were both idiots, just idiots hand-walking. Bolero was higher than a kite (which was expected, as this is his first show back in well over a year), but Victor was also an idiot, piaffing and passaging and occasionally leaping through the air. Goofy horses. After we found a cheap but really good little Mexican place for lunch and took a nice nap (we were both still exhausted!), we went back to the barn and I rode Victor and lunged Bolero. Victor was pretty good, ramped up and a little strong but otherwise ok. Bolero was a nutcase on the lunge initially but eventually settled down and worked quite well.
We are having a bit of a logistics problem as the CDI horse (Victor) and the National show horse (Bolero) ended up in different barns. My tack stall was originally with Victor and I have a second stall (that was supposed to be for Majek) with Bolero in the National barn. I decided to put Victor and Bolero together in the CDI barn so our tack stall is way the hell and gone away from the horses. I rented a golf cart, so that's been working as a transport for everything from the tack stalls to the horses. It's very silly, and I tried to change it when I arrived but to no avail. Oh well we'll just make it work.
We found another Mexican place for dinner (we love Mexican food) and are now back at the hotel. Tomorrow I have an early lesson with Leslie (8am) then we have the jog in the early afternoon. I will also school Bolero in the arenas on my own tomorrow. The GP is Friday and Bolero's first test is Saturday. Looking forward to a great show!!
Today I handwalked the boys in the morning then worked them in the afternoon. They were both idiots, just idiots hand-walking. Bolero was higher than a kite (which was expected, as this is his first show back in well over a year), but Victor was also an idiot, piaffing and passaging and occasionally leaping through the air. Goofy horses. After we found a cheap but really good little Mexican place for lunch and took a nice nap (we were both still exhausted!), we went back to the barn and I rode Victor and lunged Bolero. Victor was pretty good, ramped up and a little strong but otherwise ok. Bolero was a nutcase on the lunge initially but eventually settled down and worked quite well.
We are having a bit of a logistics problem as the CDI horse (Victor) and the National show horse (Bolero) ended up in different barns. My tack stall was originally with Victor and I have a second stall (that was supposed to be for Majek) with Bolero in the National barn. I decided to put Victor and Bolero together in the CDI barn so our tack stall is way the hell and gone away from the horses. I rented a golf cart, so that's been working as a transport for everything from the tack stalls to the horses. It's very silly, and I tried to change it when I arrived but to no avail. Oh well we'll just make it work.
We found another Mexican place for dinner (we love Mexican food) and are now back at the hotel. Tomorrow I have an early lesson with Leslie (8am) then we have the jog in the early afternoon. I will also school Bolero in the arenas on my own tomorrow. The GP is Friday and Bolero's first test is Saturday. Looking forward to a great show!!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
California Road Trip, Act II: Destination San Juan Capistrano begins tomorrow!!
We're all packed and ready to begin our second big California trip of the year, this time to beautiful San Juan Capistrano for the back-to-back CDIs hosted by California Dreaming Productions. We'll head to Bishop again for the first leg of our trip, where we will overnight, then onwards to San Juan Tuesday and we'll arrive mid-afternoon on Tuesday. The FEI jog is Thursday, the CDI GP on Friday, and the CDI GP Freestyle on Sunday.
Majek is going to sit this one out, he is still recovering from that stupid ringworm (he has several raised welts on his back where the saddle pads goes) he contracted at the last show. Victor's hives seem to be under control (finally), hopefully we won't see any recurrences while we're there. Bolero is going to get back in the show ring after over a year off and do his first Third level tests. He mostly needs to get more experience and learn how to handle the environment.
Victor will do the GP and GP freestyle again the first weekend but unfortunately we are wait-listed for the CDI for the second weekend. They had just a ton of entries for these CDIs which is great for West Coast dressage but not so great for those of us who didn't get our entries in early. :( I figure if all else fails we can either pick up some rides in the National show or just turn it into a schooling weekend with Leslie.
Looking forward to another exciting competition!!
Majek is going to sit this one out, he is still recovering from that stupid ringworm (he has several raised welts on his back where the saddle pads goes) he contracted at the last show. Victor's hives seem to be under control (finally), hopefully we won't see any recurrences while we're there. Bolero is going to get back in the show ring after over a year off and do his first Third level tests. He mostly needs to get more experience and learn how to handle the environment.
Victor will do the GP and GP freestyle again the first weekend but unfortunately we are wait-listed for the CDI for the second weekend. They had just a ton of entries for these CDIs which is great for West Coast dressage but not so great for those of us who didn't get our entries in early. :( I figure if all else fails we can either pick up some rides in the National show or just turn it into a schooling weekend with Leslie.
Looking forward to another exciting competition!!
Monday, March 9, 2015
So Cal trip #2 in T minus 7 days!!
We leave a week from today for the two CDIs in San Juan Capistrano. The first weekend is the final World Cup qualifier in the North American League. Victor is unfortunately wait-listed for the second weekend although thankfully we got into the CDI on the first weekend. Looks like they got a ton of CDI entries for these shows, 62 horses total! There's over 20 horses in the GP alone on the first weekend, and the PSG looked like 35 or so (I didn't count them).
I figure that I'll use the second weekend as a good schooling weekend for Victor. Leslie will be around so maybe I can get a couple more lessons from her if I don't get into the CDI. I could always try to pick up a scratch in the National show as well. Bolero and Majek are in all their tests both weekends. Majek will do the I-2 and GP again, while Bolero will be doing Third level. Bolero mostly just has to go to these shows and get comfortable with the busy environment, as that sometimes sets him off. He's been going well in schooling although our changes are rocky again.
Majek's ringworm looks to be healing well. He has one spot that showed up today but hasn't broken open yet. Hopefully that will be the last one. We've been judiciously washing his blankets, saddle pads, brushes, etc, and keeping everything separate from all the other horses. So far it's worked. I rode him for the first time today in over a week (I spent last week lunging him and doing half-steps), and his half-steps were much improved. In general he felt looser and better connected. I think the week of lunging did him some good!
Victor's hives have been a pain in the tail-end. We've given him Dexamethazone a few times to try and get them under control, but they've come back. My vet wants to switch to hydroxycine (sp?) this week (which is more of an anti-histamine rather than a steroid) to try and get them under control before we leave. We've been communicating with the FEI vet and lab testing at USEF to try and figure out how long we can treat him before the show. The FEI is really anal about drugs and the whole thing is just complicated. But I'd really, REALLY hate to drive all the way down there and test positive for some prohibited substance just because I'm trying to treat my horse for having a mild allergic reaction. How irritating!!
I rode Victor today too and in some ways he was better. I had to wake him up a little, which is always the case after he hasn't been ridden in a little while. But he was more active and rounder, which was nice. He was a little over his front legs in the piaffe to begin with, but I did a few passage/piaffe/passage transitions and that brought him more up pretty quickly. Tomorrow I think I'll run through a few pieces of the tests that give us trouble and see how that goes. Hopefully his hives don't come back after being ridden today.
I figure that I'll use the second weekend as a good schooling weekend for Victor. Leslie will be around so maybe I can get a couple more lessons from her if I don't get into the CDI. I could always try to pick up a scratch in the National show as well. Bolero and Majek are in all their tests both weekends. Majek will do the I-2 and GP again, while Bolero will be doing Third level. Bolero mostly just has to go to these shows and get comfortable with the busy environment, as that sometimes sets him off. He's been going well in schooling although our changes are rocky again.
Majek's ringworm looks to be healing well. He has one spot that showed up today but hasn't broken open yet. Hopefully that will be the last one. We've been judiciously washing his blankets, saddle pads, brushes, etc, and keeping everything separate from all the other horses. So far it's worked. I rode him for the first time today in over a week (I spent last week lunging him and doing half-steps), and his half-steps were much improved. In general he felt looser and better connected. I think the week of lunging did him some good!
Victor's hives have been a pain in the tail-end. We've given him Dexamethazone a few times to try and get them under control, but they've come back. My vet wants to switch to hydroxycine (sp?) this week (which is more of an anti-histamine rather than a steroid) to try and get them under control before we leave. We've been communicating with the FEI vet and lab testing at USEF to try and figure out how long we can treat him before the show. The FEI is really anal about drugs and the whole thing is just complicated. But I'd really, REALLY hate to drive all the way down there and test positive for some prohibited substance just because I'm trying to treat my horse for having a mild allergic reaction. How irritating!!
I rode Victor today too and in some ways he was better. I had to wake him up a little, which is always the case after he hasn't been ridden in a little while. But he was more active and rounder, which was nice. He was a little over his front legs in the piaffe to begin with, but I did a few passage/piaffe/passage transitions and that brought him more up pretty quickly. Tomorrow I think I'll run through a few pieces of the tests that give us trouble and see how that goes. Hopefully his hives don't come back after being ridden today.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Horsey skin problems and other drama
I've had it with weird skin issues on my horses. Victor got hives on the last day of the Burbank show, and I didn't treat it with steroids because we were (a) at an FEI show, which has very strict drug rules, and (b) I didn't want to compromise his immune system any more than a 15 hour trailer ride home would already do.
I had my vet look at it when we got home, by that time his skin had gotten kind of scaled and dry looking and some of his hair fell out. Not so attractive looking. :( My vet recommended us to scrub it three times a week with Chlorohexadine shampoo. But at this point they will just have to heal. We were also instructed to clean his blankets, saddle pads, etc and make sure they don't have any residual detergent that might be irritating his skin.
A couple days later he got hives again, so we gave him some Dexamethazone (which is legal to give a certain window before an FEI competition, as long as it clears his system. The time frame is 7 days before the show. So we're cutting it a little close, but I want to get it under control I also haven't ridden him for a few days since the hives are mostly on his right side under the saddle pad (and somewhat lower).
So today I go to tack Majek up and he has a couple large hive-looking lumps on his side. Turns out it's ringworm. WTH! So now we have more scrubbing and we have to be super careful about all of his stuff, tack, blankets, saddle pads, brushes, etc. All of it has to be super clean (preferably with a small amount of bleach) as ringworm is transmissible through inanimate objects. Grrrr.
I have no idea why all the sudden I'm having a bunch of skin issues on the boys. They must have picked something up in California I suppose. I've had hive issues in the past, and they've always been in early to mid-March, right before I leave for the late March California shows, about 3 weeks after clipping them. So I don't know if it's something about being clipped that makes their skin more sensitive or what.
Anyhow, so now I can't ride either GP horse before we leave for the next major show in a little under two weeks. I think this week I'll lunge them and do some in-hand work as I've found that to be a good way to keep them going. Hopefully later this week or next week I can be riding again.
If it's not one thing it's another...
I had my vet look at it when we got home, by that time his skin had gotten kind of scaled and dry looking and some of his hair fell out. Not so attractive looking. :( My vet recommended us to scrub it three times a week with Chlorohexadine shampoo. But at this point they will just have to heal. We were also instructed to clean his blankets, saddle pads, etc and make sure they don't have any residual detergent that might be irritating his skin.
A couple days later he got hives again, so we gave him some Dexamethazone (which is legal to give a certain window before an FEI competition, as long as it clears his system. The time frame is 7 days before the show. So we're cutting it a little close, but I want to get it under control I also haven't ridden him for a few days since the hives are mostly on his right side under the saddle pad (and somewhat lower).
So today I go to tack Majek up and he has a couple large hive-looking lumps on his side. Turns out it's ringworm. WTH! So now we have more scrubbing and we have to be super careful about all of his stuff, tack, blankets, saddle pads, brushes, etc. All of it has to be super clean (preferably with a small amount of bleach) as ringworm is transmissible through inanimate objects. Grrrr.
I have no idea why all the sudden I'm having a bunch of skin issues on the boys. They must have picked something up in California I suppose. I've had hive issues in the past, and they've always been in early to mid-March, right before I leave for the late March California shows, about 3 weeks after clipping them. So I don't know if it's something about being clipped that makes their skin more sensitive or what.
Anyhow, so now I can't ride either GP horse before we leave for the next major show in a little under two weeks. I think this week I'll lunge them and do some in-hand work as I've found that to be a good way to keep them going. Hopefully later this week or next week I can be riding again.
If it's not one thing it's another...
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