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.