I Hate My Neighbors...

But, I love my horse. Last Friday, the neigbor across the street started setting off firecrackers about 9:00pm. Jeeves and Lance go out over night, so they were out and racing around in a blind panic. I was already in my jammies, so I threw on jeans and t-shirt, stomped down the driveway and over to the neighbor's. It was actually my neighbor's son with his 4 yo son. The kid took one look at the scowl on my face and trotted off behind his father. I told the guy he was scaring the cra& out of my horses and asked him if he could hold off on the fireworks so I could catch the horses and secure them. He just mumbled that he was done. I went back across the street and into the paddock with the boys and calmed the horses down as much as I could, They were still pretty tense but at least they had stopped galloping and were eating hay.

The next day, when I went to ride, Jeeves had a cut at the top of his left front hoof--in the coronet band, or that rubbery tissue at the top. Grrrr! It's not bad, roughly nickel sized, sort of a horizontal slice along the top that created a bit of a pocket. I've been hosing it off and keeping it clean. A bit of a worry because of where it is, but I don't think it will affect the hoof growth. I hope not.

That Saturday, he was very tense riding in the ring. I can't say as I blame him. The ring runs parallel to the road right across the street from that neighbor. So, my ride that day was focused on stretching and relaxation, not much else.

Sunday, I had a lesson with Kathy. My first lesson in over a month. It was going really well, when I realized something was going on across the street...I heard some tree branches falling. As I started to look up, Kathy told me not to look, just keep riding. I looked up--the guy was up in a big old oak tree just across the street--he was a good 30 feet up with a chainsaw. As I looked he started up his chain saw. Ack! Jeeves can deal with chain saws, we certainly ride with all sorts of noisy equipment going all the time. However, it's an entirely different story to have large tree limbs falling from 30 feet up just across the street!

Fortunately, the guy started off trimming small branches, so it wasn't too bad. We were about 30 minutes into our ride, so Jeeves was well "on the aids" and listening to me, though he perked his ears when a branch dropped. Whenever we headed down the long side next to the street, he insisted on doing a 1/2 pass over to the center line as quickly as he could. Kathy just laughed and said she didn't blame him at all. We started to work on trot extensions across the diagonal just as the guy started dropping larger limbs and that gave us some extra impulsion! At that point, Kathy said that was enough, he wasn't going to tolerate much more.

I love this horse! How many horses would continue working relatively calmly under those conditions?! He's so good!

Then, that evening, I had just finished feeding dinner and the idiot started setting off fireworks again!! Argh! Have I mentioned fireworks are illegal in this state? Sigh. So, I marched off down the driveway again and when he saw me he just dropped the fireworks. I told him that if he would just let me know when he was going to set off the fireworks, I would appreciate it, then I could have the horses secured. He just mumbled that he wouldn't do it anymore.

So far, no fireworks since then, but today the guy climbed up in that tree again while I was tacking Jeeves up. He started the chain saw up just as I swung my leg over Jeeves's back. I managed 10 minutes of riding before the big limbs started coming down and Jeeves got so spooked he galloped off across the ring. Oh, well, I'll ride early tomorrow morning.

The pics are of one of my antique roses--Henri Martin. A moss rose--you can see the buds have a mossy look to them. If you rub the "moss", you'll find it has a balsam scent. I have a "thing" for old garden roses. I don't use chemicals and don't pamper my plants. The old garden roses are perfect for that--nothing bothers them. They have fragrance to die for, the modern roses just can't compare. With the boys going out at night, I haven't been taking pics of them, so the garden pics will have to substitute for them.

More Reflections

I figured I would do another post rather than responding the comments. There's sooo much that could be said about all this. Let's see how well I can articulate my thoughts. I should also remind everyone that my experience is strictly dressage, so some things might be different in the western world.

Nuzzling Muzzles had some good comments/concerns about starting her young horse herself and finding a reliable trainer. But, I want to discuss this comment: "everyone has to start training a horse at some point otherwise we wouldn't have horse training professionals."

Horse training professionals do not START out by training babies. At least, not the good ones. :-) Most trainers put in their mileage first with horses that have already been started and they work their way up. Mostly working as an apprentice or assistant to an upper level trainer/rider. Some are able to get in their mileage on their own horses and start training lower level riders/horses and slowly work their way up as they and their students do well. And, all good trainers work with trainers. The learning is constant, it never ends. Even for trainers.

Even though a horse might be pretty well along in training, everytime you ride it, or just handle it from the ground, you're teaching it something. Every time you ride it, you're training it. When I bought Jeeves, he had been schooled and competed through 2nd and had done some 3rd level shows. But, partly because of my limitations and partly because of some "lapses" in his training, I basically brought him back to training/1st level. For him, it was mostly to remind him about stretching and staying supple. He had a habit of getting stiff and heavy in the bridle. So, even though he's my "schoolmaster", I'm still training him every time I get on him. This knowledge will help me immensely if/when I get a younger horse. I know the aids to apply for a given movement, how to apply them correctly, etc. So, you are gaining experience training when you work with Lostine and Bombay. I'm not saying you shouldn't start Gabbrielle yourself, just whatever you do, proceed with caution and awareness. From what I've read on your blog, I think you have enough introspection and respect for the horses that you would realize when things are going wrong and seek out help. I think if you can find a trainer that will work with you that would be the ideal.

The trainer that the owner was going to send this horse to is someone that I know and respect as a trainer and instructor. She is one of the best: honest, reliable, positive, is not abusive to the animals, starts the babies out with good, solid basics, builds their confidence, etc. So, I knew that would be a good place for this horse to go for a year. If I were to ever buy a baby, I would only do so if I could afford to send it to this trainer or another one that I trust and respect for a year of training. However, having said that, I would be having lessons and participating in the training process as much as possible. Probably starting out with long lining and moving on to riding when the baby was ready to have my incompetent butt on it's back.

I've had 2 young horses--both fairly well started before I got them. But, even though they were both well started, they were still incredibly challenging. Babies will throw things at you and you need to be quick to be able to stop it, before it gets out of hand. If the horse misbehaves you need to have a secure seat to be able to stay with the horse and remain balanced so that you can still apply aids and send it forward without grabbing it's mouth. You need to know what aids to apply without thinking about it.

Jeeves is my confidence builder after a couple of accidents with those 2 youngsters. He's been very good at helping me get over my fears. With him, if something scares him and *I* get nervous, it's not a big deal. He's not going to bolt or do anything dangerous. While I'm up there on his back shaking and trying to remember to breathe and not clutch the reins, he'll just continue on, maybe giving whatever scared him a wide berth, until I recover and go back to riding him and telling him what to do. My moments of panic are pretty rare now and don't last as long. I have learned I can keep riding with my seat and not clutch the reins with a death grip.

With a baby, those moments of fear and hesitation would only make the baby more frightened. They learn confidence by having a confident rider to guide them through all the frightening things they're going to encounter. They learn things are not a big deal that way. On a baby, those moments of panic open a door that allow the horse to bolt or rear or who knows what. And, they learn those are acceptable ways of dealing with scarey things when being ridden. Like the horse I discussed in my last post--he learned that flying backwards was something he could do. The owner was never able to effectively stop that once he started it and it has now progressed to rearing. If he had had more training in the beginning with a professional, or even if the owner had worked more closely with a trainer at the beginning, he probably never would have learned that he could go backwards.

Horses are extremely forgiving creatures. Most mistakes can be fixed, if they don't go on too long. But, it's so much easier and safer if you can get a baby off to a good start with a solid foundation. Then, the rest of it's training goes much easier.

Awesome Lesson!!

We had such a great ride today. Kathy got here early and she watched our long rein warmup. Basically, just forward, stretchy, round, big loopy figures like broken lines and serpentines. At the canter we even did a lead change on the long rein. He was so loose, round through his back, powerful, thrusting from behind. I remember working hard just to get gaits 1/2 that good by the end of an hour, forget about starting out like that. :-) (I have to figure out how to insert emoticons.)

I mentioned to Kathy about playing with the haunches in on the 5m circle to get the canter transition and she upped the ante some. On the open side of a 20m circle, do a turn on the haunches (walk pirouette) 180 degrees and pick up the canter. Canter the circle, then walk as we get back to the open side. Turn on the haunches and pick up the other lead, canter the circle. Repeat. Each time we did it, the canter transition just got better and better. I could really feel him lifting up through the withers. After doing that, we did some canter 1/2-passes and those went really well. We did one that felt really good, no loss of rythm, no stickiness, just slid right over. Kathy said it would have been a 7 in a test.

Then, we did the "squat" exercise that she us do the last time she was out and again she upped the ante on us. This time, we stayed on the long side (last time she had us do it on the 1/4 line), three strides canter, walk. Maintain the activity in the walk, pick up the other lead, 3 strides, walk, etc. We did that down the long side, through the short side and down the next long side. As we approached the end of the long side, doing the 3 strides of canter, she asked me to do a lead change without the walk. He did it, though!! Woohoo!! Walk, drop the reins for a break, then we changed direction and did it in the other direction, including the flying change at the end. Tempi changes, here we come!! :-)

After doing those, just a long stretchy trot to make sure he stretched out all his muscles after that collected work.

It's amazing how a good ride can just make my day. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, despite having to go back to work and deal with some difficulties there. I just thought of that ride and a big grin would steal across my face. Who cares if my system isn't working, I had an awesome ride on my awesome horse! Nothing else matters.

Back to Normal

Jeeves's legs are back to normal. Yesterday morning he had a small bit of fluid in his hind. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it. This morning, nothing. Soooo, I don't know what it was. Maybe it was something in the flax seed? Maybe the weather change, as Victoria mentioned? Perhaps with the cooler weather and all the rain we've had, there are some new things growing out there in the paddock? Who knows. I'm just glad he's back to normal.

The weather this morning was quite fall-like. Temp was 38F when I got up. :-) I love it. I love the cooler weather. It makes me feel energized. I greatly dislike summer heat and humidity and when this time of year comes along, I'm always grateful that I survived another summer.

It was back to work with Jeeves today. Trot 1/2pass was really good. Nice bend, hind end not trailing, maintained the rhythm nicely. Canter 1/2pass not quite so nice. He lost the rhythm at times. So, I kept it short and accepted what he could give me.

I did an exercise that Kathy gave us last year. It's been a while since we've done it and I thought it would be good to use that today, since he needed more engagement. Walk a 20m circle, then go on a 5m circle inside the 20m. Do this in haunches in and pick up the canter while still in the haunches in on the 5m, but continue on the 20m. One circle, walk, repeat.

Jeeves's reaction the first time Kathy had us do this last year was "You want me to do WHAT?!". When I asked again his reaction was "You can't possibly be serious." Third request, a big, long suffering sigh from him and he did it. :-) Today wasn't quite so dramatic, his first reaction was "Oh, darn, I remember this exercise." Second request and he picked up the canter. He's such a good boy.

This exercise is really good for engaging the inside hind and collecting the horse. In the canter transition, I could really feel him lift up through the withers. The transitions to the walk were balanced and light and the last one was awesome. It was up, forward, prompt and still engaged. It reminded me of what a clinician once told me about a good down transition -- it shouldn't be like a rock plummeting to the ground, it should be like a snowflake floating gracefully to ground. I just dropped the reins, patted him, and gave him a walk break. It was a great ride.

We have a lesson scheduled for Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the weather and everything will cooperate and we'll actually get to have our lesson.

Jeeves's Relatives

Billie mentioned that she has been checking out Cleveland Bays and I thought I would write about Jeeves's siblings that I have met.

Shortly after I brought Jeeves home, my neighbor and her daughter came over to admire the horses and they asked if Jeeves was a Cleveland Bay. I was surprised because Cleveland Bays are rather rare. Turns out the daughter used to ride and there was a Cleveland Bay, High Five, at the barn she rode at and they said Jeeves looked just like him.

A few months later a woman I didn't know drove up my driveway. She got out of the car, introduced herself as a student of my then-instructor and said that she owned Jeeves's 1/2-brother! She had pics of him and he and Jeeves really did look alot alike--especially the head. They're the same size, also. About 17.1-17.2h.

Then, winter before last, a friend and I accompanied another friend on a horse trying trip to Vermont. Another friend (our former instructor who abandoned us when she moved to Vermont a few years ago, sniff) met us at the barn where this potential horse was. As we were standing around talking with the owner of the horse, waiting for her to get tacked up, etc., another boarder walked past us leading a horse to the indoor. All 4 of us looked at the horse and at about the same time said "It's Jeeves!". Of course, this was a mare, so it wasn't, but again, the head looked just like him! Turns out she was his 1/2-sister.

All three were by Fryup Marvel, Penelope De Payer's stallion. Jeeves was bred by her, out of one her mares. High Five was bred by his owner and I'm not sure if the mare was Penelope's or if someone just used Marvel for stud. Conformationally the three are very similar, but Jeeves, if I do say so myself, is the better of the three. Jeeves also got the best attitude of the three. High apparently has quite the buck in him, something that Jeeves does NOT do and would never dream of doing under saddle. The mare, while sweet to people, had an attitude towards other horses. I watched her being ridden and every time another horse approached her or she approached another horse, she tried (or thought about) kicking it. Another thing Jeeves has never and would never do! We've been out on trail rides and had other horses run right into his butt and he never even switches his tail.

Jeeves's little quirk is that if all is not exactly "right" in his world then he gets very upset and can be very difficult, if not impossible, to handle from the ground. And, "right" is hard to define. One spring, there was a wood duck in the big tree in the paddock, quacking...as wood ducks are apt to do. Jeeves was convinced this was not really a duck but must be some alien and he absolutely could NOT possibly come in for dinner. He had to stand watch and make sure this 4 pound duck didn't sneak up on him and the other horse in their stalls. I got the other horse in for dinner, but there was no way I could catch Jeeves. So, he spent the night outside, standing watch. I brought him hay out there. This kind of thing doesn't happen that often. Last time it happened was last October when the next door neighbor was burning brush.

The odd thing is that when he's like that, if I can manage to keep him still long enough to tack him up and mount, he will behave like the perfect gentleman he always is under saddle. He might look at the smoke from the brush fire and he'll look towards the tree where the wood duck is, but he won't bolt, won't buck, won't misbehave at all. Which is fine by me. I can deal with this one idiosyncrasy.

Apparently, his siblings have similar quirks and attitudes about what their world is supposed to be like, although they're not as well behaved under saddle.

From what I understand, Cleveland Bays do have these little personality quirks. But, over all they're great horses, a very versatile breed. Jeeves was actually bred to be a hunter, but I don't think jumping is his thing. He's good at dressage and I think that is his forte. High is currently doing hunters and loving it. He never enjoyed dressage.

All three horses are also very good out on trails and love the trails, at least as far as I could tell in talking to the owners of the other two. I can trailer Jeeves somewhere he's never been, hop on, point him towards a trail and he'll march off like he knows where he's going. I've never had a horse like that before! He'll go through mud and water up to his chest. I know, I know, you western riders are wondering what the big deal is, but for a DQ, having a horse that will even go through a puddle is a Big Thing! ;-)

So, it's not much, but that's what I know about the Cleveland Bay.

Update on Jeeves, his stocking up seems better. I gave him 2 bute last night, and hand walked him at dinner and again at bed check for about 20 minutes each time. This morning he was stocked up again but not nearly as bad as yesteday. I gave him 1 bute with breakfast. I rode him in the ring today (oh, my instructor had to cancel our lesson today) but kept it fairly easy. We did a long walk warm up, with some walk 1/2 passes. Then, some trot and canter work, focusing on transitions, bending and straightness. Nothing too strenuous and his legs looked fine after the ride. When he came in at dinner, there was a little bit of puffiness in his hind legs but only noticeable because I was on my knees looking at and feeling his legs to see if I could find anything! LOL!

Stormy Weekend

We got the remnants of Hurricane Hanna up here Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Fortunately, the wind wasn't very strong, but we got a good 6" of rain in 12 hours! Fortunately, I had additional drainage put into my basement last spring, so I did NOT have to spend any time wet vaccing water out of the basement. :-) I opened the door to basement this morning with great trepidation and peered down the stairs, afraid I would see water pooled at the bottom of the stairs. But, all I could see was dry basement floor! Water did get in, but the French drain handled it. Phew!


However, when the dogs and I headed out for our morning walk, I discovered the driveway did not fare as well. I had just filled in the end of the driveway with the left over graded base from the shed flooring project. I thought I was all set to get through the winter. Sigh. Mother Nature does like to remind me that she is a force to be reckoned with.

Fortunately, Jenn (owner of the fillies) and her boyfriend Dave came over this morning to borrow my trailer. Dave is great with a tractor and enjoys doing site work. When they pulled in to the driveway, Jenn said he asked her if she thought I would "mind if he fixed the end of the driveway". Mind?! Ha! Immensely grateful is more like it!

So, Dave hopped on my wonderful little Baby 'bota and smoothed out the end of the driveway. :-) It looks much better, but I do have to figure out a more permanent solution as this does happen far too often.

There's always something to deal with. I never seem to get caught up with the To-Do list around here and more things just keep getting added.

In the meantime, Jeeves and I had a great ride this morning. It was still rather humid and the sun came out and it got uncomfortable so I only schooled him for about 20-25 minutes. But, we did trot and canter 1/2-passes, counter canter (3-loop serpentines) and lead changes and he did everything really well, so he deserved a break. The "squat" exercise seems to be really building him up. I just wish my riding was improving as quickly as my horse is.

There's a beautiful, bright half-moon out there now. I think I'm going to wander out there by moonlight and give my buddy a good night snuggle.

Moving Along

I had a lesson the other day--first one since the last one I posted about several weeks ago. It was really good. It's nice to get the feedback and to realize that even though I'm riding so much on my own, we're making progress! His topline muscling is coming back, he's really bulking up in his neck. I don't know if his hind end is muscling up as much, but Kathy said it's looking good. And, she started us on an exercise that should bulk up his hind quarters pretty quick. :-)

We started out the lesson on a loose connection, just letting him stretch out, but asking for energetic strides. We basically did Training 1, without the walk. It was a nice way to start out the ride. Then we did some trot and then canter 1/2 passes, all the way to the centerline from the track. He's really doing well with those--maintaining the bend, not trailing his hind end. He loses energy, but it's getting better. Some of the canter 1/2-passes felt so cool--like he was just sliding right over to the center line. During a break, Kathy commented on how much the 1/2 passes had improved from when she first started working with us almost 2 years ago. I mentioned that I still had echos in my head from a previous instructor about not losing the quality of the gait for the exercise. If he had lost the energy in the gait while doing the 1/2 pass, she would have me stop the 1/2 pass and get the energy back. Kathy believes that it's the exercise that helps improve the quality of the gait and I have to say, I do like this way better. It works for Jeeves and that's what matters. Perhaps a different horse it wouldn't work so well with, but that's what's so challenging about riding. Every horse is different.

When we tried some lead changes, she had me turn him straight across the arena, from E to B and ask for the change there, instead of on the diagonal. I tend to let him get too strung out heading across the long diagonal and then he has trouble with the change. This really set us up so that he wasn't anticipating the change and I didn't let him fall on his face. It worked and we had clean changes on both directions. :-)

Anyway, towards the end of the lesson, she had me pick up the canter and turn down 1/4line. Then, 3 strides canter and walk. Make sure the walk is established, no jigging, then pick up the other lead, 3 strides and walk. Continue this down the to the end and forward canter back up the long side and repeat. We did this twice in each direction, then gave him a good long stretchy trot to get the kinks out. This is a really collecting exercise--it's the equine equivalent of doing squats.

This is an exercise we had started last June, just before everything fell apart with his tumors and surgeries. It was fun to try it again and nice to know that we're finally back to where we were last year! He fell on his face a few times in the walk transition, but that was me paying more attention to counting the strides and not setting him up. When I played with this on my own yesterday, I paid more attention to sitting him back and he stayed more balanced.

After doing those, the big canter down the long side felt sooooo coooool! He was forward, he was up, he was round. My seat felt molded with his back, I really had that feeling of being part of the horse, not a rider on top of a horse. It's been a long time since I had that feeling, since my first horse, almost 20 years ago.

The really exciting thing for me is that this exercise is a lead up to tempi changes. It helps build the horse's hind end and helps me get a feel for the timing and rhythm and the aids I'll need to ask for the tempis. Cool!! Who ever would have thought I'ld be working up to tempi changes?! Certainly not me!! I don't know if we'll get far enough along this fall before frozen footing and snow stalls us for the winter, but, we'll have fun playing with this until then. After all, this IS supposed to be fun for both of us. It's hard work, but as long we're having fun, it's worth it.

The Mystery Continues

Thanks everyone for your comments and well wishes! The vet came out Tuesday afternoon. She looked at the bump. Palpated it. Scratched her head. Her first inclination is side bone, which is pretty common in drafts and Cleveland Bays are considered light drafts. He's certainly big enough to be prone to ailments of draft horses.

For those who don't know, sidebone is the calcification of the collateral ligament. But, she was able to feel the collateral ligament under the bump,which if it were side bone, the ligament should just feel bony and hard, not springy like a ligament should.

She did an ultrasound which didn't show anything. It's a tough area to get an ultra sound of, since there's not much flat area for the probe to be on. So, she also took some xrays. Called me back Wed. evening. The xrays did not show any calcification of that ligament. She said that perhaps we are seeing this at the very beginning of the process??? She also mentioned that the coffin bone (which is what the collateral ligament attaches to) had a very slight "bulge" on that side. She said it probably would not be noticeable if she weren't looking for something in that area. She also thought that he should be showing some signs of lameness and that she was remiss in not having me trot him for her on the hard ground.

When she said this, I remembered that back in late May/early June, Jeeves was showing very slight signs of lameness. One of those agonizing "is he lame or isn't he lame" subtle unevenness in the gait. It was never very bad and if I pushed him more forward, he would always work out of it. This is when I hate being here on the farm alone. There's never anyone else around who can watch me ride to see if he IS lame or not. And, if he is slightly off, it would be nice to have someone to discuss it with--how bad did it look? Should I keep riding him since he works through it or give him some time off? Call the vet or wait and see? As you can see, I drive myself crazy with doubt, especially when it concerns the health of one of my animals.

Anyway, I chalked it up to stiffness because of all the time off he keeps getting because of rain, pulled shoes, or my crazy work schedule. By the end of June it was gone and he felt good at the start of our rides.

So, now, the guilt rushed in! I shouldn't have kept riding him through that, that...whatever it was! I made it worse! I've ruined him! Of course, I had a wonderful lesson on Tuesday before the vet came and my trainer agreed he looked perfectly sound.

My vet asked me to see if he is lame when circling on hard ground, instead of on the softer footing in the riding arena. Yesterday morning, I lunged him on a small circle in my driveway, both directions and he looked pretty sound to me. I'm not sure if that's good news or bad news.

So, my vet doesn't know. She says I should go ahead and ride him and just watch it. If it continues to get bigger, call her. Otherwise, wait and see.

I hate these ambiguous, undefinable things. :-( Sigh.

I'm debating whether I should send the xrays off to a lameness specialist??? But, he's not lame. He just has this bump.

Strange Bump

Jeeves has a strange bump on the inside of his left front pastern. You can sort of make it out in the attach pictures. The good news is that he's not lame on it. It's not hot. It's not tender. So, that eliminates some sort of tendon (are there tendons in that area?) or abcess. It's been there for almost 2 weeks and it's slowly getting bigger. The diameter is larger than a golf ball.

Now, since he's not lame, I know alot of people wouldn't worry about something like this, but given what happened last year, I am more than a bit paranoid.

Last year, some time in mid-June, I noticed that a bump on his right haunch had started to grow. That bump had been there for a couple of years, not causing any trouble. My vet had looked at it when she'ld been out for his annual vaccinations and said that as long as it didn't change, don't worry about it. At first, I wasn't sure if it was growing or not. You know how when you look at something every day, it's hard to notice tiny changes. So, I asked Terri to look at it. Since she didn't look at it 5 or 6 times a day, she noticed right away that it had grown in the 2 days that she had not been out here. So, I had the vet out. She poked and prodded and decided to do a biopsy. It turned out to be a mastocytoma. Cancer. Eeek! I made the mistake of googline mastocytoma. Mistake because this cancer is highly malignant in canines. My vet calmed me down and explained that cancers act very differently between species and it's a pretty rare cancer in equines and when it does show up, it is not usually malignant. Big sigh of relief.

When she had been out to take the tissue sample of the lump on his haunch, I also pointed out a new lump under his jaw. This one felt very different from the mastocytoma. The mastocytoma felt soft and spongy. And, when she took the tissue sample for the biopsy, it looked rather spongey--the tissue sort of flaked and fell apart easily. The lump under his jaw was firm and hard, very well defined in shape. It has appeared rather quickly and my initial thought was that it was a bug bite. He has very bad reactions to bug bites and often has huge welts from them. So, between the time of the tissue sample for the biopsy on the mastocytoma and when my vet came out to remove it, the lump under his jaw had increased in size quite a bite. So, along with removing the mastocytoma, my vet also took a tissue sample of the jaw lump for biopsy.

That one came back as a fibroid sarcoma. ANOTHER CANCER! EEEEK! This one had a "guarded" prognosis. While it's slow to metastasize, there can be alot of tissue damage because it's very invasive locally. In the week between taking the sample and getting the results, the thing had grown so much that it had split through the stitches and was dripping blood. I was a wreck worrying about my buddy, trying to keep the flies off it and keep it clean. Because this one was situated right over the major artery that runs along the jaw line, my vet didn't dare try to touch it. So, I called New England Equine Hospital in Dover, NH, explained the situation to them and they managed to squeeze him in for surgery the very next week.

Long story a little shorter, he also had 2 other growths removed, both non-cancerous. But, he does have a melanoma on the dock of his tail. We left that alone and it doesn't seem to be doing much. Phew. I ended up having to bring him back up for another surgery because he developed a massive abcess in the incision under his jaw. We decided he was allergic to the internal stitches they use. This took up all of July and August and most of September.

Anyway, back to his new bump. I called my vet and she's coming out tomorrow to look at it. She said that there are many innocuous things that this could be and a tumor, especially in this area, is way down at the bottom of the list.

But, having 3 different types of cancerous and 2 non-cancerous growths show up on his body all within a couple of months was pretty much at the bottom of the list, too. So, I'm trying not to worry....but, I'm worried. Please say some prayers, send out some good thoughts for Jeeves.

Sunday Ride

I had a good ride on the beast this morning. I'm amazed at how well he's doing considering how little he's been worked this summer. I'm not pushing him at all, taking it slow, but adding a bit more difficulty to each ride. Today, instead of starting out with 1/2-pass at the walk, we went right to 1/2-pass at the trot as our warm up. This is an exercise I really like to get him supple and bending. We 1/2-pass from the rail to the quarterline, change bend and 1/2-pass back to the rail. Do as many of those as we can fit in along the long side. After 2 or 3 long sides, I'll do a stretchy circle, just make sure he's not holding any tension anywhere. Especially since he's such a big horse, it's easy for him to get stiff and hold himself in a "frame". So, doing the stretchy circle gets him longitudinally supple and the 1/2-passes get him laterally supple.

Then, after a break, we did some canter work. Nothing too strenuous, just asking for forward and round. My other rides last week, we did some shallow broken lines. Today, I asked for some deep broken lines. So, later in the week we should be ready to try a canter serpentine to see if we still have a counter canter!

After another break, we did more trot work. Started out doing a square, asking for a quarter turn at the corners, trot to the next corner, walk transition, quarter turn, trot, etc. The transitions keep him paying attention and sharp to the aids. The quarter turns get the hind end engaged. After a few of those in each direction, I did some 4-loop serpentines at the trot, focusing on maintaining the rhythm and balance especially through the change of bend. Then, I asked for medium trot along the long sides. Like in the 1/2-pass, I didn't ask for much, just a few strides of forward, big trot, then back to a working trot before he could lose it and fall on his forehand and get heavy. My trainer, Kathy, has helped me see that it's better to ask for small efforts--only 1/2-pass to the quarterline, instead of the centerline, only do medium or lengthenings for 1/2 the long side or 1/2 the diagonal. That way, the horse isn't tense or worried about being asked for more than he can do. We can get a few strides of brilliance and build on that. Tomorrow, we'll get a few more strides.

He felt really good, nice elastic contact, rounding through his back, some nice push from behind. I love that feeling of connection, of being one with the horse that you get when it all comes together.

I was going to do another session of canter work after a break, but I noticed the neighbor across the street (my riding arena parallells the street) walking around his yard with his (adult) sons, looking up at some trees in his yard. I knew from experience that the chain saws would be out soon, so I decided to end the ride then. Discretion is the better part of valor. Sure enough, by the time I had Jeeves in the wash stall, the trees were toppling. Fortunately, the wash stall is well back from the road, so he wasn't bothered by the trees crashing down.

After a quick bath, I hand grazed him for a while. I really enjoy doing that. It's a time when he can just be himself and do what he wants. I'm not asking him to stand quietly in the cross ties while I groom him, I'm not fussing over him, not asking him to work. He can just relax and munch grass. It was a good way to start the day. :-)

The Herd

I figure I should introduce you to the critters here on Transitions Farm. You've already "met" Jeeves, but here he is, last autumn, taking a nap. He likes his naps. I got him 4 1/2 years over and he's the perfect horse for me. I had stopped riding for a few years. The horse I had before Jeeves had really blown my confidence. I had a nasty fall off him and broke my back. I did ride him again, but I never trusted him again. And, he really wasn't a horse that one could really trust. He constantly had to be pushed and kept on top of. I couldn't just go out for a hack, kick my feet out of my stirrups, hold the reins on the buckle and relax and enjoy. He had to be kept marching forward, kept on the aids, and kept going all the time. Otherwise, he would pop up or otherwise mis-behave. I realized I just wasn't having fun riding anymore, so I retired him to a big 500+ acre farm in Virginia. He enjoyed that, living out the way horses should.

Anyway, back to Jeeves, I had started part leasing a horse and found I was getting my confidence back and enjoying riding again. At that time, the company I worked for was publicly traded and the stock price had actually gone up enough that I could afford a decent horse. So, I called my friend/trainer and told her that if the right horse came along, I might, possibly consider it. She just happened to have just heard about a horse that might be a possibility for me. She was waiting for the video and sales info on him, but he was a good size for me, quiet, well behaved, good background in dressage. When she got the video, she was less enthusiastic. He was big and stiff and that showed up on the sales video. But, I fell in love the minute I saw him. Yes, he was big and stiff, but he was obedient, listened to the rider and tried his best to do what was asked of him. I went up to Maine try him out and despite me being a bundle of nerves and it being really cold and windy he never put a foot wrong. My trainer insisted I hack him around outside, despite the bitter cold and wind. The wind blew his quarter sheet right off to one side, flapping in the wind and dragging on the ground. He just stood there, quietly while we got it sorted out. My hands were shaking, I was so scared, but he was a perfect gentleman. Did what I asked, never took advantage of my fear. And, it's been that way since then. I've gained confidence and no longer panic at the slightest thing. We've had great times hacking out, working in the ring and just hanging out while I hand graze him. He's been my rock during my mother's illness and death, and during my divorce shortly after. I don't know how I would have gotten through either without being able to go out to the barn to cry into his big neck or being able to just hop on and go for a mindless hack, not caring where we went, but trusting him to keep us safe.

The grey horse is Lance, he's a 16 yo, Hannoverian gelding. He's been here for a little over 2 years now, as a companion to Jeeves. His owner, Terri, helps out by doing stalls a four days/week in exchange for board. She pays for her own hay and grain. It works out well as he's a fairly easy horse to deal with and I have a little bit of help around here.

This is Cara. She's my friend's yearling DWB filly. She's been here for about six weeks now, along with Em, the chestnut DWB yearling filly pictured below. I had a run-in shed built this spring. Jeeves gets really bothered by the bugs and the heat, so I wanted to be able to leave him out overnight and not worry too much about t-storms coming up. So, that's why I had the shed built. In the meantime, Jenn had the girls stabled at a farm that was very far from her, so it was hard for her to get out to see them. Having them here, she can see them a bit more often. The other theory is that with them here, I should be able to trailer Jeeves out for trail rides and lessons and such and Lance won't be hysterical about being left here alone. That's the theory anyway. We haven't tested it out, yet.

So, the girls spend the night in Jeeves's stall and his paddock--I don't close the door, so they can go in and out as they please. That's his stall that they're standing in front of in the pics. The boys are out in the big run-in shed and big paddock over night. During the day, the boys are in their in/out stalls and the girls out out in the big paddock with the run-in shed. It's added to my work load. I can no longer run out quickly to dump dinner. It now takes about 30 minutes to do the feeding and change the horses around. And, in the morning, it takes me about 20 minutes to clean Jeeves's stall out after the girls have messed it up over night. But, the girls are very sweet and I enjoy having them here.

So, that's the herd. I'm very lucky to be able to have these beautiful creatures in my back yard. I still pinch myself every day to see if I'm dreaming.

Creatures of Habit

As I was going through my morning routine of feeding the horses, walking the dogs, turning out the girls and bringing in the boys, and finally coming in to sit down and relax over my morning cup of tea, it occurred to me how much of a habitual creature I am. The dogs know, when I am done with that morning cup of tea, that it's time to go out back and play ball and get brushed. We do this every morning. And, every morning, when I bring that empty mug over to the sink, the 3 dogs start dancing and prancing, tails wagging, paws skidding on the wood floors, whines of joy bubbling up out of their mouths.

While I don't get as excited as the dogs do, I do relish my routine. It's comfortable, like an old bathrobe. There's a security in the habitual routines. Following the routine doesn't even require much thought, I do it by rote. Not until I sit down in front of the computer to work, do I have to really engage my brain. Yes, I do notice if the horses all eat breakfast. Was the manure in the stalls "normal"? Messier? Wetter? Dryer? When I go out at night to do bedcheck, I listen for the soft nickers from the horses as I bring them their last hay of the day. Their nickers let me know they are fine. They are happy that I am following the routine, they are getting their night hay, the same as they always do. Day after day. But, I don't really have to think about it. If something is different, something non-routine, it jumps out at me, almost like an alarm. Letting me know that something isn't right.

When the routines are disrupted it's usually because of some crisis--the last one being an abcess in Cara's hoof. Not a severe crisis, but a minor disruption in the regular routine. When the routine is followed, it means all is well. Animals like their routine. They take comfort in it, find security in it.

When I purchased Jeeves, it was in January, 2004. One of the coldest Januarys (hmmm, Januaries? Hmmm...) that we've ever had. He had lived at the previous barn for 7 of his 9 years, so it was rather traumatic for him to be in a strange barn, with strange people and strange horses. New routines. Despite the bitter cold, I bundled up and went down to the barn and rode him. I knew he would find comfort in the routine of being ridden. He understands being ridden, being schooled in dressage. It helped him understand that this new barn was much like the old barn. He still got fed, still got turned out, still got ridden. Similar routine, just different times, different ways.

When I get a new horse or a new dog here, it usually takes them a few days to figure out the routine. Once they have it figured out, I can see them settle in and start to relax.

I know there are people who get bored doing the same things, day after day. It's not exciting enough for them. But, for me, I relish the comfort of my routine.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I hope you like it here. This is my first attempt at blogging, not sure how this will be, but here goes...

I've lived here on my beautiful little 4 acre paradise for 8 years and I brought horses here 4 years ago. I ride dressage...well, I attempt to ride dressage. I chose the name Transitions Farm because transitions are important in dressage and in life--how smooth they are, or not; how well we prepare for them, or not; where they take us.

Jeeves is the love of my life. He's a 14yo, 17.1h Cleveland Bay/TB cross. I've owned him for 4 years now and my heart still skips a beat when I look out my window and see him out in the paddock. He's competed 2nd/3rd level dressage. The last year or so, I've been having trouble finding the time and energy to ride consistently. One reason for starting this blog is the hope that if I blog about my riding, I'll be more responsible about riding and making the time again. So, to anyone who might be out there in the ether reading this, please feel free to nag me and help get me back in the saddle consistently.

That's it for now.