Well, it finally all caught up with me, making the wool saddle blanket so I could use it with my Corrector, cleaning my saddles every time I rode, and going up North to take my yearly lesson at North Fork.  I started getting more and more tired, then I entered a fog of exhaustion and it started affecting my riding.

Two weeks ago I started off on a good note.  I had gotten the book “American Dressage” by Chuck Grant, found something in it I could try in my riding, and I tried it out successfully.  Chuck Grant was discussing going into the dressage extended trot, and his method has using diagonal aids at the sitting trot and to stay seated during the extension.  I tried it on Mia, not expecting much at all, and to my utter surprise Mia’s trot changed from her sort of plodding regular trot to one in which she literally sprang from diagonal to diagonal.  After three strides I let her go back into her regular trot because I did not want to strain her spavined hock or arthritic hind fetlock joint.  No, I did not get an extended trot, but Mia’s trot changed dramatically and I was able to remain seated the whole way through.  Woo hoo, progress!

Then during my lesson I tried it with Mick when we did the sitting trot, and either I just could not get my hands and legs coordinated enough to give the aids properly, or I have yet to get Mick’s back ready so he could do what I want.  After I tried twice I apologized to Mick for unnecessarily irritating him and went back to our regular riding.  Later that day I realized that Mick’s back had to be a big part of the problem, since his back won’t swing softly at the trot he just can’t do any of the more dressage type work, at least when I am riding him.  I did the sitting trot three or four times that lesson with my seat well forward in the saddle and most of my weight going down through my legs and Mick‘s trot stayed sittable the whole ride so I must not have irritated him too much.  During our regular posting trot at the end of the lesson I was able to get Mick to lighten his forehand and got a rather nice trot.

Then I entered a fog of tiredness.  Even though I got to rest three days, last Sunday I was not feeling too perky or coordinated.  I was still planning on trying the diagonal aids at the sitting trot on Cider since she looked fine walking in the paddock,  But when she started moving after I mounted---Cider was lame.  We went into the ring a few steps and halted.  Shannon asked me what leg it was, looked down at Cider’s feet, said “never mind, she is not putting her right rear hoof down”, got the hoof-pick and found a little sharp triangular piece of graver in her frog groove.  Cider must of picked it up walking to the mounting block.  Well, that was the end of my plans for experimenting with Cider!  Luckily she walked out sound after the rock was removed and I decided it would be better for both of us if we just walked.  Cider continued to work on getting me straight in the saddle and her patient work is starting to pay off, at least it was easier to get her to go straight.  However Cider WAS NOT HAPPY with my hands toward the end of the ride and her usually light mouth turned into a bar of iron.  I was starting to feel really tired and I obviously was not releasing my hand aids at the right moment.  Even so she did extend out at the walk when I asked her to at the end of the ride, just so long as I kept the reins sagging.  My tiredness had started affecting my hands.

I could not ride Mia this Monday, I had an appointment with my neurologist and I was just too darn tired to both ride Mia and go to my doctor’s appointment.  I told my doctor about my worsening exhaustion and that I was finally desperate enough to try the exhaustion medicine that works with many MS patients.  He gave me a sample pack and told me to cut the tablets into four if I was leery about starting on the full dose.  I started with a quarter pill Wednesday morning before my lesson, looking forward to possibly having more energy for riding.  I did have more energy, at least I was not as tired as I usually am by the time we got to the barn.

Well, Wednesday morning Debbie had a minor household emergency and was late to my lesson.  The wind was too cold to just sit around, I figured out that grooming Mick was a good test to see if my new medicine would help me not get so exhausted, so I had Mick brought to the wash stall and started grooming him.  Mick has his winter coat on and I was getting into using the curry-comb with Mick giving signs of enjoyment until I got to his back, and he started flinching, just a little.  I brushed him thoroughly and his back flinched a little bit each time I used the brushes, even with the soft body brush.  Debbie drove up just as I finished doing the roller massager on his back (more flinching) and the Ttouch circles.  I told Debbie about his back soreness and she told me that Tuesday afternoon his owner had a dressage lesson with one of her friends whose dressage teacher had come to the barn.  Debbie said that Mick’s girl had really sore legs after her lesson so Mick was probably sore too from all the trotting he had to do. 

We started off at the walk, of course.  Mick was sort of logy and I had to use my legs to get him to stretch out some.  Then I started the posting trot on the left diagonal and our problems started, Mick DID NOT want to trot and I let him drop back to the walk.  After a few minutes of walking with big sweeping curves I tried  trotting on the right diagonal and while Mick felt happier I had to constantly use my legs to keep him going.  Debbie and I discussed it, and she said she did not think that Mick’s owner had walked him down after his lesson and she put him right in the stall, then Mick had spent all the night in his stall and he had obviously stiffened up.  (Moral, if you have had a strenuous ride you should walk your horse down some even if he is not sweating, especially a horse with muscle problems.)  I continued walking Mick around the ring and his back got good enough to swing a little bit so his back was not too sore to start moving properly.  Then I decided to trot while I stayed in two-point, and that was the key.  So long as I was not sitting, posting, or doing anything with my thighs Mick was content to give me his regular trot.  I still had to use a bit of leg to keep him going but nowhere as much as when I was posting.  After two trots with me staying up in two point I was really tired but Mick was happier with me.

I am going to have to stop sitting Mick’s trot anyway.  Every time I sit his trot my hip bursitis starts acting up and my hips are hurting by dinner time.  Lying on either hip gets painful, and getting up out of bed in the morning is an exercise of pain.  I’ve doubled up on my anti-inflammatory supplements and that helps some, but not enough.  Once my bursitis gets going I notice it when I ride Cider and she is working to get me straight in the saddle.  Cider is sooooo wide that my hips get a little sore when I normally ride her with my hips straight across the saddle. At least when I rode Mia’s sitting trot I had absolutely no problems with my hips, her back was relaxed and “swinging” and I did not have to move my hips a lot.  Not being able to sit Mick’s trot is frustrating to me, I don’t like doing too much sitting trot but it IS the most suitable gait to explain certain concepts of movement to the horse.  Oh well, I’ll just have to figure some other way to cajole Mick into “swinging“ his back at the trot.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran