no new media but so much going on

I really need to invest in a helmet camera or tripod or something because the lack of media is disappointing...but there is much to be said!

waiting for our lesson - See the giant scalped portion on her tail...

After Tillie's near miss this weekend, I took it real easy on her Sunday and Monday and did a short trail ride with some trot sets and then maybe a 15-20 minute dressage school. One I did in our smaller enclosed ring, the other in our grass dressage arena that we only set up in the summer around show season when we do mini shows for our students.

I have chosen to stay in the smaller rings lately because of the realization that when I ride tests, I get a bit claustrophobic and panic slightly when doing movements at how fast the boundaries come up. My new goal was to get comfortable not only riding in the smaller arena, but ride FORWARD in the smaller arena.

It was a nice exercise since it was during feeding time in the morning before work and Tillie was a bit unfocused to start...not unlike at a show. It was also nice because we did ultimately end up getting relaxed and a nice school in there!

I will supplement photos with all the healthy food im trying to eat

With Training level on the horizon, I am starting to take my own rider fitness more seriously, which includes eating better. The salad above was my take on paneras Asian sesame chicken salad with avocado and boy is it yummy! Ive pre-measured breakfast portions of fruit, really trying to drink more water and seriously considering getting a fit bit to track my steps to force myself to be more active.

This also means being more aware of Tillie's fitness so Ive been conscious of trying to incorporate hills, trot sets and soon to be gallop sets.

strawberry-blueberry basil infused water with pineapple salsa pork roast,
cilantro-lime shrimp green beans and roasted rosemary garlic mushroom potatoes

Why the sudden focus on this? Well, my recent dressage lesson with C on Tuesday really kicked my ass...and while I am getting better at events not getting winded, I know when we go up a level I need to be able to get out of my horses way and help her as much as I can when/if she gets tired.

Waiting to tack up for our dressage lesson

My dressage lesson with C on Tuesday was much needed and by far the highest level stuff we have worked on to date. We spent a lot more time in sitting trot (which I got a "its definitely improved!") and in canter. We really focused on more of the outside aids which is a newer thing/feeling for me because I dont think shes bent enough, but she is...

LONG overdue pics of my dressage saddle

Tillie's work on extending the trot has come leaps and bounds and we worked on riding them more into the corner and not just peeling wheels around the turn. So in essence, this lesson was all about the half halt.

As much as I worry about Tillie getting too strong in canter and not stopping, she kept breaking because of how hard the canter work was. I know its an old out of date fear, so C reminded me that when I half halt I need to make sure I add even more leg to keep the canter going. Part of the breaking at first is her saying OMG this is hard, the other part confused and responding to my half halt.

Front of the saddle!

We practiced cantering BIG and then bringing it back, cantering across our diagonal and at X asking for trot and making sure it wasnt a running trot, but balanced - again really using a nice clean and QUICK half halt.

We did some tear drop exercises and canter transitions were on point.

I worry we cant come close to that at home or on our own without C around...but Ill keep trying!! C is pushing us more and more to do more dressage shows. She thinks we would do quite well...but I responded that I would only go if she could to coach us lol.

So who knows maybe more dressage in our future!!

Taking a moment to interrupt the show updates...

I feel like I am in a bit of a weird place right now with my riding...on one hand, I am feeling really confident in the progress Tillie is making, but on the other hand, I am feeling like *I* need to get my butt in gear.

It is becoming really apparent when I dont ride the way I should. Tillie is a super star and covers my butt half the time but that will become less and less ok with trying to stay at novice and with training level as our new goal in the distant future.

I need to be this solid ALL the time

I had another lesson with Dom Schramm last night and it was nice to hear him encourage us and said that the tough exercises he was setting up were certainly looking smoother and he could see improvement. BUT it was a bit rocky at times mostly due to me just not knowing how to ride through it. It was a bit hairy too because Tillie was a lot less forgiving and rightly so...Ill explain more on that in a minute.

Im using this again because basically this is what it was like in the lesson

Another concern is Tillie's health at the moment on two counts. 1)I always pull a lymes titer on her every year because of the area we live in. Shes been astoundingly negative since I have had her....that is until today.

Just after submitting my entry for Loch Moy on the 29th and our FIRST recognized entry for Plantation on 6-11, I got the call that she wasnt terribly positive, but it definitely is and positive enough to warrant a month of doxy. I expressed my concern to my vet and he reassured me that shes most likely had this for some time and keep an eye on her, but the extreme irritation she had with me in my lesson was most likely due to health issue #2.

2) Hives and allergies. Tillie last year got a bit hivey during the summer and I took her off the depo thinking that that was the culprit. It was right when I started her on it the first time and my vet agreed to try taking her off for a period.

Old media....but basically Tillies reaction to me if I sat on her too hard in our lesson

She did clear up so I thought I figured out the culprit...when I complained of her shenanigans to my vet once again the winter, he suggested to try it again and it hasnt given us any issues since.

Well yesterday Tillie was covered all over in tiny hives and also what looked like possible rain rot in some areas. Neither would be surprising with how bad allergies are for everyone this year in addition to all this extreme rain we have had.

Shockingly enough, she hasnt gotten any scratches or fungus like last year...but trying to curry her yesterday was awful.

The mare glare....

Poor thing was so skin sensitive she would buckle and was clearly not comfortable. I almost didnt ride her in the lesson, but I decided to see how uncomfortable she was once on since she always tends to be sensitive about brushing in general even without the skin issue.

She was fine warming up and even starting off...she was however NOT as fine when I messed up and did pull a few instances of the horse I had early winter with some miner dolphining and mini sass episodes.

(last year) but you get the idea...So sassy

Regardless, Dom reassured me that he thought we looked like we were improving and one of the three items he gave me to work on (being softer when landing and not sitting on her too soon) was improved.

Luckily her hives seem to be better today after talking with this morning's feeder but she will still be getting a mild soap bath which im sure she will hate. She wasnt THAT sore Monday after our event when I rode, so I was a bit alarmed at the sudden change. I was also anxious to find out if her lymes numbers were contributing at all as well...which now I know what they are could very well also be.

Monday after the event conditioning ride (mostly walking)

So after much discussion with my vet today, we will continue as planned since she hasnt been showing me discomfort other than yesterday and proceed with caution. He doesnt see any reason this will affect us at all and shell start the doxy tomorrow.

He also suggested for her hives a fly sheet since this happened last year as well so I bought one this morning with some fly boots (no more losing shoes this year tillie!) which should be here in a few days.

Hey, remember when you always hurt yourself!? Lets not start that again.

Oh you know, because I have money growing on trees! It definitely hurt after dropping some dough for my two entries...especially the recognized one (holy cow $260!!!) which I know for us in this area is fairly cheap compared to other but still!! Im used to paying around $100. 

Its ok Tillie, its not like youre high maintenance or anything.

Im still optimistic of our schedule and hope we can stay on course. I am a bit sad I wont have any buddies with me at Loch Moy and even considered doing Olde Hope (because showing with people is WAY MORE fun). But my trainer suggested I try to do a venue that held recognized events so that we navigated an event a bit more true to what we will find when we do our recognized in July.

Ill be posting about my goals and my decision to do recognized sometime this week :)

So anyone else have horses that get hives in spring and summer? Any tips?

Worry warriors

In my last post, I brought up some health concerns regarding Tillie that may or may not be as big a deal as I am making them out to be in my head (ok probably most definitely not). I finally caved and texted my vet who likes to call me the worry warrior because without fail I worry about everything and anything even when its fairly normal. I realize this makes me a bit neurotic...

To bring a few to light:

1. Almost every Sunday after trailering to my jump lesson saturday, she goes off her grain. I can go haul to a dressage lesson and she eats just fine though (I will admit though she is a lot less looky at the dressage barn then the jump lesson barn). 
2. She has gotten progressively more aggravated brushing or tacking up...especially girthy.
3. She has been so incredibly back sore she buckled so low Christmas even I thought I might cry
4. She yawns a lot...like abnormally a lot. 

Maybe if I dont look at her she wont notice I am here...

#1 and #2 most definitely sound like ulcers to me but its just a bit abnormal, in my experience, for a horse to go off grain for one specific day and not consistently on and off when they have them.  She used to always be a good eater and would eat pills out of her grain no problem, but now any small change as of late she takes a bite and wont touch it all. She will eat her hay, treats etc eagerly though...

So my initial attempt to treat the ulcers with Abler's pop rocks isnt working with her now being so picky. So plan B...I ordered their Stable Pack tubes in the hopes that will do the trick.

#3 is still up in the air on causes...so next steps on remedying it will have to happen as I check things off the list...below is what possible causes could be:

• Harder work schedule/jumping more so is sore in that those muscles are working harder right now
• New bit is making her way of going a bit different using new muscles
• Saddle Fit
• Ulcers (recently did some reading that ulcers can cause backs soreness)

I think its possible all of those things could be attributing to it, but I am hoping its the Ulcers...Ill be interested to see if it changes anything after treatment. Ill also be having the chiro/accupuncturist out next month so hopefully shell be able to provide more insight as well.

Doesnt Tillie just look so amused

#4 Is an odd one...I felt a bit moronic texting my vet asking him about a horse yawning a lot but I really do notice it quite a lot. Its always after we ride without fail, but sometimes I see her do it in the field, after eating or just hanging out in her stall. I have a never ending collection of yawns from Tillie because of just how often she does it.

Just hanging out in her stall

My vet's initial response is not to worry...but lets not forget I am the worry warrior. So in true worry wart fashion, I start researching why horses might yawn and those findings seem to be debatable and nothing really set in stone and that, like us, horses can yawn for various reasons:

• Some believe horse yawn with abdominal discomfort or when colicking (makes sense if she has ulcers...)
• To release tension (when done after riding or a chiro/massage treatment)
• Stretching their jaw after the bit comes out or if they tense their jaw when riding

not a yawn, but stretching after chiro and just adorable.

Of course I cant help myself and continue reading more and more as there seems to be no shortage on the theories of why horses yawn....

• another source says horses yawn when they are stressed as a calming effect to release endorphins and then associate that nice feeling so do it when they arent...Thats super helpful right?
• Drowsiness or rather they will when starting to wake up from snoozing
• To catch their breath if they have been holding their breath or not getting enough air intake
• After something pleasant happens (lol way to contradict everything else I have read right?!)
• Yawn when their state or arousal changes pleasant or unpleasant...after being stressed or frightened or after something they enjoyed (again super helpful....)
• Last and most frighteningly least, yawning can be a sign of neurological issues which is caused from a liver disease

Some articles adamantly insist is it stress and pain related while others insist it isnt and its simply a change in arousal (waking up) and drowsiness and some say all of the above.

**head desk**

I must walk away from google now...

My vet did question her ability to sleep and if her environment allowed for that. I truly think she can sleep just fine since many times in late afternoons Ill get pictures from barn mates like this:

So, in short, I have no idea why Tillie yawns. I may be turning this into a mountain when its a molehill...but in the meantime Ill try my best NOT to worry. Silly worry warrior just doesnt want to lay down and leave me alone!