My sympathies for all of you in the winter storm.   

I actually rode FOUR times this week!  Yes, I am exhausted, but we are due to get the winter storm  by this weekend, snow and ice are going to try to make it down here on Sunday, Monday it will rain and next week it will be cold again.  My son’s schedule changed so I grabbed the chance to ride today since I obviously will be huddling at home this weekend instead of enjoying horses.

Last Sunday Cider was glad for her Rambo Competition Sheet, the sun shone brightly but there was a brisk Northerly wind cooling things down.  Cider strode off smoothly and it was basically a normal ride while I walked, but I noticed significant improvement when we trotted.  You see a few months ago Cider had started out trotting with a very sudden acceleration instead of her usual smooth transition.  I had finally gotten my position together enough at the right time so I could ride the sudden lurch into the trot without falling back in the saddle.  Why was she doing this?  I didn’t have a clue since she showed no lameness and didn’t seem to be uncomfortable with her back.  The previous Sunday I did not trot since I was introducing her to the exercise sheet and I wanted to be sure that she accepted it before I got out of the walk, but this Sunday everything seemed good so I asked her to trot.  NO lurching, just a beautifully smooth transition from the walk into the trot, just like she used to do.  YEAH!!!  Shannon also noticed it, and she told me that she thought that Cider’s croup muscles had been spasming in the cold temperatures and winds and that the exercise sheet must have kept Cider’s muscles warm enough so that they could work properly.  Yes, Cider definitely likes having her butt covered in the cold!

Monday I got to introduce Mia to the Back on Track Exercise Sheet, with some trepidation on my part because Mia had never worn a blanket during the years that Debbie has had her in the stable.  Mia often does NOT like new things!  So I showed her the sheet, did the Velcro closure, had it on her back while I trimmed her hooves, and I put it on her after we saddled her.  She was not too sure about me lifting her tail to clear the butt cord but once it was on Mia ignored it.  There was a stiff North wind blowing and Mia seems to like having a warm butt too, anyway she stopped telling me she had to move right away whenever I stopped to rest.  So I was able to have a nice quiet ride until Debbie and two home-schooled little girls came into the ring for their lesson.  I do not know if Mia does not like being in the ring with other horses because it distracts me from my riding, or if Mia does not like those particular horses because they bully her in the pasture (Mia is at the bottom of the totem pole), but the last ten minutes of my ride Mia was slinging her head and constantly trying to stop at the gate, just like she usually acts when other horses are in the ring.  I rode her around a minute or two longer than usual to tell her she had to behave even if she was irritated by the other horses.  Still I was pleased with Mia because she accepted the exercise sheet so readily.  It is really nice when a horse cooperates when I try something new!

Of course the weather changed by Wednesday.  My Back on Track saddle pad had arrived and I was anxious to see how Mick reacted to it.  When I got to the stable it was getting warmer every minute and Debbie said I could try the saddle pad but I could not use my exercise sheet because all the horses were getting sweaty.  I was worried about using the saddle pad without my Corrector since my saddle is slightly too narrow for Mick, but I was hoping that the Thin Line cushion on the pad would help with the irritation.  Well Mick refused to move out freely at the walk, he felt like he was “stuck”, but even so I had to use less leg to get him to move and keep moving.  His turns were slightly better in that his back was a little less stiff.  When I told him to move out after my rest stops he loosened up much more quickly than usual, though he still refused to extend his walk.  When Debbie told me to trot I was expecting more of the “stickiness” but Mick surprised me.

Leg aid for the trot--Mick usually goes into a plodding trot without much impulse.  This time Mick sprang into a marvelous trot, supple, full of impulse, off his forehand, responsive and he gaily trotted around the ring.  Normally to get Mick off his forehand at the trot I have to use LEG alternating with a light rein aid every stride, then he will elevate his forehand and start feeling like he is going to take off and fly through the air.  Wednesday I hardly used my leg aids and he felt like he was flying from the very first stride, his trot had so much impulse that I HAD TO make sure my heels were down to stay in position.  For the first time since I started riding Mick I felt like I was riding a pure Arabian instead of a plug.  It was not perfect, when I decided to see what Mick would do when I asked him for a little more elevation he said no, that he was doing what was possible with my saddle being a little too narrow in front.  Since he was doing so much more than usual with minimal effort on my part I did not press the matter and just enjoyed the trot he gave me.  What a change!  Mick was also standing more squarely when we halted and turning with lighter aids.  I can’t wait until my Wintecs I put on consignment get sold and I can get a wider leather jumping saddle.  Until then I guess I better return to using my Corrector to protect his back from the saddle points and try to figure out a way I can combine the Back on Track material and the Corrector so he can both be comfortable and get the benefit from the Back on Track warmth on his back muscles.  Since the Back on Track saddle pad caused a DIFFERENCE for the better in his trot I really hope I can figure something out!

As for today, I didn’t even bother to wear a hoodie, just a long sleeve shirt over my summer Kerrits summer shirt and sleeves.  By the time I finished rasping Mia’s first hoof the long sleeve shirt came off.  It had rained earlier in the morning and Mia had rolled in the mud so her coat was sort of damp and dirty.  Luckily for me my son did the hard grooming!  Mia’s thrush had gotten worse in the past three days but on the positive side the horn on her soles was finally soft enough so I could get the excess tissue off easily.  I just used my Corrector with Mia since she and Mick used the same Wintec gullet plate so my Stubben is probably a little too narrow for her too.  Once I figure out how to combine the two padding systems I am eager to try the Back on Track on Mia too, but until then I just want her to be comfortable.  I could not trot anyway, it was so warm and humid I was sweating and if I had moved Mia out of a walk she would have gotten all sweaty too.  Her winter coat is pretty thick this year, obviously she was planning on me being sane during the winter heat waves.  Since we were alone in the ring Mia was more forgiving of my mistakes and we had a nice little ride puttering around the ring with plenty of rest stops for me.  It has been decades since I rode four times in a week and I was really tired.

It seems to irritate Mia when I ask her for a slight shoulder-in, I am not surprised since the shoulder in requires the horse to bend its inside hock a little bit more than usual and Mia has an occult spavin.  I asked Debbie if I could try the Back on Track hock boots on her to see if they would help her hock and Debbie cheerfully agreed, she wants to see what they do too!  Maybe after Christmas I can save up my money for my next experiment with horsie gear.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran