The Curb Bit Extends MJ's Strides

My homework ride on Monday did not bring any excitement just walking around the ring, but at my age and with my MS I really do not want any exciting rides any more. MJ stopped complaining about missing his day off, he strode on with no difficulties, and I got to admire a boarder's horse in the ring, a black ASB gelding.…

From Toes to Heels

I had an exciting week. I got a homework ride in! Yeah, the ride itself, 30 minutes at a walk on a horse “saying”--”this should be a day off for me”--isn't that exciting, it is that for the first time in months I got to ride twice a week! Hurrah!!!!! I also discovered that if I did some more grooming—curry comb and dandy brush, that my back did not hurt between my shoulders…

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…

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,…

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.…

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…

Still at a Standstill

Sometimes it seems like nothing ever changes much. Since January 2020 when I got Covid-19 the pandemic has really messed up my riding life. I am not alone, I know, but I am getting FRUSTRATED even though the idea of progress with elderly Not Quite Right (NQR) horses is sort of ludicrous. I am equally frustrated by the reduction in effective physical therapy for my MS,…

Older Horses' Legs

As horses get older and all the shocks from hooves landing at speed accumulate horses' joints tend to get REALLY sensitive when the weather changes. This spring has been chock full of weather changes, days of really nice weather, then the Polar Vortex visits us and all the cold weather gear has to come out yet again, over and over again. Springtime is not always wonderful for…

Do Some Horses NEED to Toe Out?

MJ was so much better for my lesson than he was in my lesson last week.

Last week he had gotten his new shoes, with a new alignment, on. He no longer has a bar across his frog for protection, he now has a full pad across the bottom of his front hooves, and as directed by the veterinarian from…

Cautiously Optimistic

In between the rains, bitterly cold morning, MJ's shoeing problems and me occasionally getting sick I have not been riding much this past winter. I did not have anything much to write about this month other than being frustrated about not riding much.

Now spring is here, and I do have some progress to…

Babying MJ Along

This week was frustrating as far as riding goes. It had rained throughout Saturday night and it was too wet for me to ride in Shannon's grass ring on Sunday, so I was really looking forward to my lesson on Wednesday.

We got to the stable and Darryl told me that MJ was sort of lame, and Debbie said I could…

Winter Gloominess

Since I have not been able to ride as much as I need to (riding is physical therapy for me) I have had a lot of time to read on-line and think about horse stuff.

I think we, in North America and the rest of the Western world, have come to the end of the time in which non-wealthy people can afford to support…

Cider Ignored the Gap

Last Sunday I got to ride Cider for the first time in a month. It was good to see her again!

The night before there had been a wind storm with gusts strong enough to move the livestock panels that make up the ring. Shannon and Nancy had gotten the panels fixed except for the gate panel which had been…

We Forgot His Hay Again

When Sam brought MJ to the wash stall his legs were muddy. Sam got the warm water going and spent several minutes spraying the mud off all four legs, and there was a good bit of mud.

Then came the cleaning of the hooves, and in between all of this we FORGOT TO GIVE MJ HIS HAY!…