We've had an FDA audit at work for the past 9 days so my time has been pretty much spent at work and then sleeping. It's been exhausting. 11 days ago, Gwyn got more injections, this time in her hocks after the vet checked her again and agreed that the stifles were not a lone actor in her discomfort.
We did have a flat-ish lesson the day before where we worked on stifle strength and Gwyn was GREAT for it. That was the last time I had ridden my horse until today.
Best Goober.
The vet was out for teeth and I wanted her to flex Gwyn again.
Getting flexed by the vet
She was mostly sound except for after the left hock was pushed. It wasn't a hard decision to opt into injections. As much as I don't want to admit it, Gwyn is not a spring chicken any more. So maintenance it is.
Adorable sheep vet wrap to keep her tail out of the clean area
She gets a recheck on Monday to see how she's going after injections and I'm pretty sure it's going to show some improvement. This is the first year I've done injections into the joint, she's gotten adequan before. Gwyn responds REALLY well to them according to the vet. She's an ideal candidate.
Loopy from the meds
I went out to ride on Saturday as a bounce back after all the work I've been doing. My mental health definitely suffered but I honestly didn't have time. I was so exhausted after work each day and I put in some ridiculous hours to support the audit.
When I walked out to grab Gwyn, I didn't hear anything, but her nostrils fluttered as soon as she saw me. And it felt like all my stress just lifted.
Like curly hair on the back of her leg
And then the little details just made me happy.
And the hidden white spot under her mane
And how dang shiny she is despite being unblanketed and in the middle of spring shedding
Or looking ridiculous after I brush out the forelock braid that's been in for WEEKS
I had stopped at the co-op to grab more timothy pellets and saw a brilliant purple halter that was draft size. You better believe that immediately left with me, along with some coat defense powder.
Wisely, I tossed her into the covered arena before tacking up. As soon as I released her she took off and was just prancing around. And then immediately she was cantering around on her bad lead, but the correct lead and placing that left hind under her body.
Considering she has little to no musculature to properly support good cantering, I'm taking the screenshot below as a win.
There was sun for a little bit that coincided with rain showers as I started my ride. But as I continued, the sun disappeared and the rain showers lasted longer and longer until I gave up riding outside and went to the covered arena.
Happy plaaaaace
There was a cavaletti and a neat jumping exercise (the spider) set up. We walked over the cavaletti to work that hind end and tried the jumping exercise once. Otherwise, she was willingly offering me canter in both directions under saddle and I just tried to sit quietly and stay out of her way. I mostly practiced thinking toes up instead of heels down and I felt SO much more stable when applying leg aid. And it didn't feel like I was being popped out of the saddle at the canter so I don't know if that's from her not being so choppy due to the injections or the slight change I made in positioning. Either way, it's a good change.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the vet thinks on Monday. She'll get her teeth and vaccines done then.
Trainer ED was hosting a clinic at her own farm with Ralph (back in November)
Balance is key, Gwyn will tell on me if I'm unbalanced. If she tries to throw me to the outside, weight the opposite, make her balance herself.
Practice on an exercise ball, sit, lift legs RELAX balance
That damn butt muscle, relax it
Relax your shoulders
Tuck hips EVER so slightly without collapsing shoulders
Steer from hips/pelvic tilt, less is more, shoulders DO NOT follow
Sit back sit back SIT BACK!
Weight in the stirrups + pelvic direction = amazing turns and eventually pirouettes :O
Breathe, lol
Use the armpit muscle to steer, like holy shit, what... this works?!
Gwyn can do it, Gwyn WANTS to do it. Gwyn is happy when you ride WELL. Happy ears when you get it right/are balanced
Boobs are terrible counterweights, lol
Ralph and I are similar weights :0
She's almost there to being on the bit. It will come as she starts to carry herself. Focus on getting her to carry herself.
I had one or two more lessons with Ralph. One attempt was waylaid by Gwyn still not being sound. It was so frustrating and part of the reason why I just stopped making posts. It was too depressing to open the 'create post' and only think, "Horse is still lame, I lunged her hoping there was a change and there wasn't so I didn't do anything but walk for 10 minutes"
Awful awful.
December Clinic with Ralph
Where I sat in her stall while it was freezing rain and cried because I was breaking my horse (early Jan)
We had our recheck with the vet and got the all clear, however there were moments where things just didn't pan out. Like when I had a lesson the same day as a massage and we just didn't realize because I'm so caught up in craziness at work I didn't realize they were double booked for the same day.
Gwyn sees the vet again tomorrow. She still does hinky things with her hip, several different people have commented on it but noted that it's not lameness but just her dropping her left hip. I suspect it's muscle memory from her compensating for the stifle for so long, but now I'm fucking paranoid.
We've been doing little except a dressage lesson here and there and lots of trail walking to try and build up her butt strength.
And buying lots of the ombre line weatherbeeta pads to fill emotional voids
Clearly she's still feeling sassy
Anyway, that's slowly catching me up with you all. I'll get fully back to it at some point.
The photos posted out of order, whatever. Argh.I'm having the same issues Dom is.
I participated in the Virtual Tevis this year (2021 Amy: Now you know how old this post is), which was nice for motivating me to get distance on Gwyn.
Cortney and I spent lots of miles at Bridle Trails for rehab walking (more on that later)
Gwyn loves Amira, Amira loves Gwyn
We mask up in Bridle Trails because that's the rule of the park
Anyway, November and December were fairly dry. So the trails were great here. And it was a nice escape from stress and good times spent safely with friends.
And now who knows if I'll ever catch up on what I've wanted to blog about but don't have time or mental energy for.
I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon lately, or at the very least, it's been determined to be a bouncy ball. My therapist describes it like you're juggling a ton of balls and sometimes you have to let some drop so try and let the ones drop that will bounce, not shatter. I've been dropping a lot of balls lately.
What's the best thing that happened to you in 2020?
Horse: I took Gwyn on some epic camping trips that have resulted in some of my favorite moments and memories from galloping on a misty beach in my wedding dress to riding on the tops of mountains it's been an epic adventure on horseback.
Personal:
I got one of the best jobs I've ever had. It's by far the best paying job I've ever had and it's been fulfilling in ways I never expected. It's also the greatest source of my stress lately.
A Big Girl scientist
What's the worst thing that happened to you in 2020?
Horse:
Probably having Gwyn go lame in late summer and have the first vet not bother investigating past "let her rest". It took months of her remaining not quite right before I got a second opinion and I regret not getting the second opinion sooner.
Personal:
These are pet related, though thankfully not Gwyn related. My beloved fat cat, Velociraptor, got out over Memorial Day weekend and went missing, never to be seen again. He left a giant gaping hole in mine and my kids hearts. I still expect to see him around the house despite him never getting the chance to move with us. We later lost a pet bunny my friend had given us to look after to a hawk. It was a terrible year for pets for us.
This is the last picture I took of him, May 18, RIP you beautiful boy. And enjoy this video of him as a kitten, and how he got his name
Also, fuck, I'm crying now. This song was in the spotify rotation when I started writing this section.
What was your biggest purchase in 2020?
Horse: If we're talking physical things, then it was my super matchy holo set for Gwyn. No regrets on that front, lol. Second place would be the brand new Scoot Boots in all purple accessories. If we're talking non-physical purchases then it would be the vet exam and stifle injections, which were also an investment I would make again.
Personal:
This is kind of a gimme in the personal end of things. Houses tend to dwarf most other purchases. Especially in high COL areas, which is where we live. But I am thrilled to have ended 2020 not renting, especially in that tiny ass house we started the year in. It was claustrophobic through the first bits of quarantine.
A house!
What was your biggest accomplishment in 2020?
Horse:
Completing a cross country derby without getting disqualified in the dressage phase! The last time we tried to do one I got DQ'd for leaving the dressage court twice involuntarily, lol.
Photo by Cortney Drake, used with purchase
Personal:
I've really established myself as a subject matter expert at work and I'm now consulted by other departments when they need someone from my department as a consult on team investigations. It feels good to have my experience and knowledge be acknowledged and appreciated.
What do you feel COVID robbed you of in 2020?
Horse:
I wanted to really get working on fitness for Endurance rides. I had lots of ride plans and all Endurance rides I could get to were cancelled (for good reason). I was hoping to complete a 50 mile ride by the end of 2020. But those plans were made prior to me getting my job, and I'm not sure they would have been achievable without COVID thrown in the mix. There were a lot of things I was planning on for this year that were going to be stepping stones for 2021 and 2022 that I'm on the verge of releasing and changing goals.
Personal:
I had a fairly regular workout and lesson schedule at the beginning of the year that got thrown to the wind with the pandemic. I started working more and I'm only just now finding my footing in establishing boundaries about that. But probably the most is family time with extended family like my parents. I haven't seen them in person in over a year now because I'm not an absolute fuckwad selfish person.
Were you subject to any COVID Impulse Buys in 2020?
Horse:
Oh boy. Probably that holo tack set. Cortney sent me that via messenger and it was my birthday. How could I resist?
Personal: I bought so many dice sets, you guys. SO MANY. Not to mention all the Wyrmwood Gaming kickstarters I backed. I'll be getting some gorgeous wooden dice soon. And eventually I'll have a sweet ass gaming table probably in time for most of my social circle to be comfortable with in person gatherings again (2022, lol). I make myself feel better about it all because none of it was from giant nameless corporation and most dice sets were handmade from small makers.
