What I'll Look For

When I got up on MJ for my lesson this week I told Debbie I was NOT going to be doing the sitting trot for a while. Ten days after I tried to sit MJ's trot I still hurt, mainly my upper back between my shoulder blades. It hurts, it creaks, and I have decided that until MJ gives me a really clear signal that his back feels good enough for me to sit his trot, good enough so his…

Oh My Aching Back

MJ is happier with me. Last week he nuzzled me once when I groomed, this week he nuzzled me at least three times. Two weeks ago he gave a derisive snort when I made a comment about badly behaved dogs in the ring, this week he gave contented little quiet snorts when he obeyed my aids.

It has taken me over…

Indirectly Helping MJ's Knee

I approached my lesson on Wednesday full of confidence. I now have my own, private, set of front leg boots for MJ. I don't have to tire myself by hunting for them anymore, they are clean, and I can be SURE that MJ's right knee feels more comfortable while moving.

For me while riding MJ this boot…

No Boots, No Go

The heat and humidity are not letting up much down here in NC.

Since forgetting to put on my Q30 collar I now put it on before I leave the house. At least my brain is protected from moving around in my skull as the car moves over the sometimes bumpy roads and driveways. It felt tight at first but by the time…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Caroline Akervik

Website: http://carolineakervik.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @CAkervik  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HorseNamedViking/

WISCONSIN AUTHOR…

My Ankle Acts Up

Last week I wanted to get out of the house. I walked down the gravel road to see the neighbor's horses in their paddocks, I just wanted to see horses and I wanted to smell them too! I walked with my two canes, slowly and carefully, and I never felt anything wrong.

That afternoon my right ankle swelled up,…

Some people like ’em thic. Others prefer long and lean..

Maybe our preference for body type is subconsciously based more in a preference for temperament type than build. More than we realize at least.

Studies in cattle have long since shown that the size of bone directly correlates to temperament. The smaller the bone the higher strung the cattle. Thicker bone shows quieter cattle.

That same thing can be see when we look at horses. An easy comparison is draft horse to…

A Good Cushion Can Help

I got to try my new ThinLine shock absorbing pad on MJ during my lesson on Wednesday.

Addison helped me groom MJ and tack him up until Debbie drove up. We put MJ's Fenwick Western pad on first with the ThinLine+ Contour pad on top of it, then the saddle. I had brought out a longer girth just in case…

Time for a Change

Sorry I've been gone for a while. NOTHING much was happening, sometimes the weather did not cooperate with my riding, Shannon had health problems, and sometimes my gut was not happy with the world. MJ has decided that his old method of making his back as hard as concrete is the way to go in the riding ring.…

Finally Some Progress

The same old, the same old, how many times can I write an interesting blog when nothing changes? That is why I have been absent, nothing much new happened.

MJ got a bad case of thrush under his full pad for his navicular disease, so now he is just in regular shoes still according to the alignment of his…

A Time for Ice Vests

It has been HOT down here in the southern central part of NC. Weeks of highs in the 90s F, with some days getting over 100 F, and it is humid. Thunderstorms roll through some afternoons and I hear thunder all around me, the lights flicker (and stay on, I am fortunate) and the air conditioning feels pretty good compared to outside.…

At 80 years old, Denny Emerson is an undeniably an old dog in the horse industry, challenging us through his example to learn new tricks.…

R.I.P. Mia

Last Sunday, Debbie put Mia, the bay mare in my avatar photo, down. Mia was somewhere around 40 years old and looked it. Debbie had been quibbling about putting Mia down for over a month, I said goodbye several times, then Debbie would tell me she just could not go through with putting her down. Mia might have been OLD, but turned out with the other really old horses she finally…