Five weeks. In some ways I can't believe it's already been 5 weeks since Quiz's injury. in others - it feels like I've been living under a cloud of concern and caution for so, so much longer.
The basic update on Quiz is great. He continues to be an incredibly calm patient and giving his body every chance to heal.
Updates from the hospital are starting to slow, which is a good thing as it means we are also starting to exit the window of reall-scary-complications.
Last week, we took a second set of films (essentially one month post-op) and discovered that Quiz broke one of his pins up in his cannon bone.
Note broken pin at exit of cannon bone
My heart sank when I hear that, but then the surgeon quickly followed up with "that's good, that means the pins are doing their job. He's using them. They are taking the load we want them to."
Oh, ok then.
But broken pins can't just hang out, so quiz was prepped for anesthesia again, and they went in for repair. To minimize his movement and disruption, Quiz got laid down in his stall on a big recovery mat and they removed the transfixion cast in order to access the pins. Broken pin was pulled, a new one was inserted in its place and a new transfixion cast was applied.
It turns out that this was probably a great thing - as Quiz was starting to develop some cast sores, and adjusting the cast helped address that. The foot was also placed ever so slightly different, so as to load the joint at a new angle and help encourage all the bone remodeling.
from a healing standpoint, things look great. The implants are holding, the P2 is knitting back together, and perhaps the most significant news is that so far there are no scary chips or jagged edges raising any alarm yet.
All good things.
Progress!
Quiz is adjusting to his new life. He learned how to sleep in the sling and slump into it, giving both his front legs more of a rest.
Just in the last week or so, Quiz has been getting to lay down at night and get out of his sling entirely. Apparently taking them out of the sling is very dependent on temperament and how careful the horse can be when getting up/laying down on their own. Quiz has been gentle with himself, and has even figured out how to wiggle over to the wall in order to use it plus his good front leg as support when getting up and down.
To be honest, I'm starting to get my hopes up. He looks so good, and so normal and is acting so calm, it's difficult to make myself remember how damaged his limb is and how questionable his total recovery still is.
PC: Quizzy's Surgeon
So for now, I sit and wait. Quiz probably has one more week in the transfixion cast with the pins before we recast without the pins and start considering next steps.
I've booked a plane ticket to go visit in about 10 days and am hoping that I can use that visit to start mapping out what the next phase of his recovery will look like. In the mean time, I'm grateful his lazy, lazy, lazy demeanor is serving him so well.
The day of Quiz's injury, I spent most of the afternoon in a bit of a daze. I was questioning my decision to attempt surgery, questioning why I asked my horses to ship through snow and ice to California in the first place, and questioning the pursuit of this sport in general. I wasn't really sure what to do or where to go, but eventually I realized I had entered Winds in a class - and I was supposed to be dressed and on.
Buttoning up my hunt coat seemed like the last thing I should be doing, but one of my barnmates looked at me and told me that nothing could possibly help more in this situation than throwing a leg over a trusted horse and enjoying the chance to ride.
photos by the incomparable Quinn Saunders
I nodded (I think), and tacked Windsor up. Usually at the shows I try to stay out of our Groom's way, since my "help" just disrupts the system - but I needed to curry my horse and run my hands down strong, healthy legs to reconnect with what I was doing.
Winds isn't exactly a horse who seems overly concerned with the emotional states of those around him, but to his credit, he was gentle and calm with me. No sign of his usual busy mouth or fidgeting, he just let me work through my emotions in the calm of a familiar routine.
Our round definitely wasn't my finest, but it certainly wasn't our worst. I felt jittery and tight, but not nervous, rather overwhelmed with the day. After I was a bit deep to our first fence, I shrugged it off, put my leg on, and let Winds set the pace for the rest of the ride.
True to form, he took care of me, and my barnmate was right - I needed the ride.
It was a good reset for me. It helped reset my perspective, reset my goals and reset my expectations for our upcoming debut in the 3'3" A/O's.
And that's the really *happy* headline here - we did the A/O's and totally survived. We even got some ribbons! So let's move on to that.
Our work over the winter was really productive. We have been focusing on some subtle changes to my balance which in turn are helping me trust Windsor's step for the move up, rather than wait for the add. Additionally, we had a wildly fun clinic with John French right before Christmas that really boosted my confidence. We spent the weekend jumping up and riding tight, technical tracks that forced me to really focus on balance and rhythm.
All of that added up to the massive mental success of staring at the jumps in Ring 1 and thinking "man, these don't look scary at all."
So we started our first week with more confidence than I usually have after a long cold winter and I think it showed. Here's our first round, which, aside from being a little deep into the outside 5 stride, I'm super happy with.
The second round (incidentally the first round of our classic) was hands down one of my best in the show ring ever. Winds was attentive, rideable and very soft. Which meant any mistakes were solely mine. We didn't really have any major ones, and as I landed out of our last line I actually thought to myself "holy shit, this might be our highest score over!"
Then I heard the announcer give me a 72, and I thought "Crap. Welcome to the A/O's."
And that dear friends, became the theme of the show -
Really, really good personal progress with a large side of humility at the exponential increase in the consistency of my competitors.
As I watched my videos back I could see how in the AA's, an accurate ride was almost always enough to pull a top ribbon - but in the A/O's (at this show anyway), a good ribbon would require accuracy and style.
Winds always jumps a pretty good jump, but even I could see that compared to the other horses in the class we were just sorta getting it done. I wasn't bringing out the best, roundest, most expressive effort every time.
Dang it.
But I was still incredibly happy with how I rode. I had a few pinch me moments of waiting for the jog, thinking about how I first came to the desert five years ago with a very anxious Prairie having the goal of coming home with just one ribbon.
In some ways those endless rounds at 2'3" and 2'6" in Ring 7 feel like ages ago - but in other ways they feel so familiar and recent it's hard to believe how much has really happened.
So, I gratefully accepted a 6th place ribbon for my first round. I didn't even jog the second round, which - just to be clear means I was 11th, 12th or 13th out of 13.
I'm not complaining, I just have to giggle that I came out of the ring thinking "WOW, BEST RIDE EVER!!!" and the judge was all "nah, all these other horses were better." And the judge was right, they all were - It was just a shocking adjustment of relativity.
Sunday I got to come out and ride my first real Handy in competition. I was VERY excited about it because I think Handy's are fun, and Windsor is a blast to ride in them.
So it was exceptionally disappointing to have the worst warm up ever.
Windsor's expression is ACCURATE
Windsor's canter was just sorta.... busted feeling. Not lame. Just clunky and heavy and not at all inspiring to ride to a fence. I pulled up (a lot) because I didn't think I could close a gap.
Then Winds figured out I was going to keep pulling up and decided that he would just do it for me.
Then I had a panic attack.
Then my trainer asked another trainer to come help and I nearly ran them both over.
Then I took a long walk break and tried to pull my brain together.
Then it was my turn to ride.
First was a regular Hunter round. I forget how it went, because the video doesn't exist, but I know it was bad. We added in one line... nearly left a stride out in another... It was touch and go to say the least. Winds was not impressed, and my confidence was plummeting.
We went back in immediately for the Handy and I just sorta decided to attack it. Carry pace, make the horse pay attention and go get it.
Winds was a good dude. He totally got on board with the plan and acted like I hadn't been trying to crash him all morning. He did get annoyed with his earplugs (which we never wear because he gets really annoyed with earplugs) about halfway through. Normally that would have unnerved me, but at the time I was so dead set on putting in a solid round that I just growled at him and stuck to my plan. We finished, and I felt pretty darn good about the result.
True to form we jogged 10th (out of 13) in both rounds.
We also rode our Classic round, which we qualified for by the skin of our teeth. We came back in 15th position with our 72 (the Classic combined all the age groups with the top 16 rode the second round), and managed to move up to 12th with a decent score of 77. Winds was annoyed to go ride an extra long Hunter round after the Handy, and he made it very known that he is always (usually) done after the Handy. Me thinks the Prince needs to adjust his expectations slightly.
I collected my pretty magenta ribbon for our hard fought 12th place and headed for the barn to reflect on our first division on 2019, and first time in the A/O's.
I took a lot of comfort in the fact that (aside from our first round Sunday) I didn't make any mistakes that I wasn't perfectly capable of making at a lower height. The jumps actually "felt" smaller at 3'3" than they did when we moved up to 2'9" - which tells me how much more comfortable I am on Winds these days - and that's a WIN for sure.
Any frustration I felt was a reflection of my disappointment at not adapting to the horse I had that day - not frustration with Winds or our preparation. I feel like I've gotten to a place where I ride pretty well if Winds is perky, and soft and totally on task. The mistakes start to come out if Winds is tired, or cranky or stiff. I haven't figured out how to adjust my ride and maintain my accuracy when he's anything but my favorite ride. It's something I really want to focus on this year since I typically only get my "favorite" version of Winds about once a week.
But mostly, I felt like I belonged in the ring, didn't embarrass my trainer (too much) and had a really good time galloping around some slightly larger jumps.
Exactly what I needed after a long, emotional week.
Well, there's nothing like a little drama and heartbreak to reignite that little blogging voice inside me.
The 2019 show season was rough before it even started - with Quiz suffering an extremely complex fracture to his lower pastern (P2) before setting foot in the competition ring. For those who follow us on Instagram, you've seen the updates and photos - but as I've laid awake at night wondering if I made the right decision and wondering what exactly this process will continue to look like for us - I find myself turning to my keyboard to help organize my thoughts.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the break, here's a quick summary of Quiz's last year:
2018 was one for the books for Quiz. He started the year in the 3' Green division and was insanely consistent. At the big WCHR show at Thunderbird in May, he swept every class. He entered 4 derbies during the season and won three of them (placing 4th due to a crappy trot jump in the other). At Zone Finals we bumped him up to 3'3" and even though he was showing indoors for the first time, he snagged Reserve. To end the season, we headed south to Cali where Quiz was champion in the 3'3" Green, Champion with me in the Low Adults, won the $1,500 under saddle challenge and also took the crown in the $16,000 Derby. It was insane.
Then we came home, buckled down on our flatwork and prepped for a debut in the 3'6". We decided to campaign in the Conformation Greens and even learned how to model (and jog in hand politely).
When we loaded up for HITS Coachella, I was brimming with excitement to see what Quizzy would bring to the table in 2019.
But, that was all interrupted. After a great day of schooling, before we even jogged in for the Model, Quiz had an off step in a trot departure and shattered his P2.
If there is such thing as good luck - we were fortunate to be at a massive show facility with a great vet on site. Quiz's leg was stabilized, splinted and x-rayed in a matter of minutes from the onset of the injury.
I was speaking with a surgeon within the hour, discussing the films he had already reviewed and the viability of surgical repair. I called my insurance. I called a trailer. Quizzy hopped up into it and away he went to see what could be done.
I really thought this was going to be the last time I saw him
The first vet to see him did a wonderful job of setting my expectations - I'd likely have a pasture sound horse, or alternatively we could put him down.
Then, the surgeon initially offered a much more optimistic prognosis, suggesting that he could even return to the Hunter Ring if all went as planned.
However, after a pre-op CT - the prognosis was adjusted due to increased detail of the break. The CT showed that fractures extended all the way through the P2, and broke out into the coffin joint space. The concern with that being that a roughened edge would produce arthritis that would either be just a little uncomfortable or possibly catastrophic.
I only had a minute to process the new information from the CT before I needed to make a final decision on surgery and whether or not I still deemed it appropriate or fair.
a cross section of the P2 midway through the bone
most of this displacement happened on the way to surgery, but it shows how significant the fractures are
To be candid, my biggest concern wasn't what I would do with a 6 year old pasture pet (though that's horrifying), but rather that I was going to put this poor baby horse through a difficult surgery and miserable recovery only to fall victim to complications.
If I was going to lose him, I wanted to lose him without making him suffer on account of my emotions.
Thank god for my barn family, who was standing by me while I was on the call, trying to read my face and offer what support they could. Ultimately, I opted to proceed with surgery. The surgeon thought it was still a reasonable procedure - and not fueled by heroics. I took comfort in the fact that insurance would pay for a bulk of the initial cost, and if we needed to make a different decision, we could always reassess day by day.
So we did. I hung up the phone and waited for the call 10 hours later that would confirm Quiz was out of surgery and was on his feet again.
It felt like forever. There maybe have been wine. There was definitely a lot of tears. And thank god it was girl scout cookie season because there were a LOT of thin mints.
The initial report from surgery was fairly good. The bone fragments lent themselves to being screwed back together. Soft tissue damage was minimal (probably because he was walking and was able to pull up immediately). Quiz slept longer than normal in recovery (probably due to the fatigue of the day) but he got up successfully on the first try without damaging his cast or other limbs.
The hope is that arthrodesis (or fusion) of the P1 and P2 will stabilize the limb. This process is supported by plates and screws binding everything together. Quiz now has two large plates and (many) screws helping to set everything in place.
Additionally, several pins were placed at the top of his cannon bone which actually protrude from his leg and "rest" on his cast, helping to relieve the injured limb from some of his weight.
So begins recovery… It's a long road (one I don't entirely understand yet) but I am trying hard to take it day by day, and allow myself to be optimistic while understanding all the risks and outcomes that may still befall sweet Quiz.
Thanks to everyone for their outpouring of support. I am fortunate in never having dealt with an injury of this magnitude or complexity. To say it has been educational is an understatement - and I will try to share as much of this adventure as I can.
Apparently I never actually posted this from back in April - I am starting to write up a Derby Summary post, but might as well toss this up in the meantime.
We are planning to spend *most* of our season up at Thunderbird this year, so I'll have to start naming posts something other than "thunderbird."
But I gotta say, it's hard not to show there. The facilities are impeccable, the rings are big and beautiful and well maintained. The jumps are built to the hilt, and the staff are all NICE and accessible. It's hard to fault them for much.
Oh, and everything is in CAD, which means its showing at a 20% (ish) discount. Sold.
Our April outing was one for the books. Quiz nearly swept his Green Division and was Champion. I was WAY better on Winds and managed to not only lead my first jog ever, but snagged my first championship at 3'. Quiz had his Derby debut and won it. And Winds galloped around the Big(ger) Derby track for the first time with a respectable 4th place finish.
Also, somehow a week of supposedly very rainy weather, turned into pleasant sun and clouds and we didn't get a raindrop on us once.
Quiz is looking like an entirely different horse than he did down in Cali. It's like we came home, schooled some gymnastics and all the sudden he figured out how to Hunter. He's lifting his shoulders, following the rein over jumps and keeping his balance and collection with minimal effort. It's so cool to see, and so gorgeous to watch. He's a good egg.
Winds made it clear I need to work on stay straight and really coming forward through my corners. But he gets credit for rewarding me with a great adjustable canter and solid rhythm when I do.
I've spent the better part of the last two years trying to undo enough bad habits that I can (respectably) make my way around the AA's with my 1.40m horse.
At times this timeline and process has been frustrating and disheartening, but I continue to adore my gray horse and his ability to help me let go of sins past and learn how to ride like a competent adult who has a significantly reduced sense of risk tolerance and a significantly increased sensitivity to self preservation.
So, when the moment finally came for us to go canter around the 3' ring together, I am really, really proud that there were lots of moments that looked like this:
And thankfully only one moment that looked like this:
But we'll get to that.
All in all, I had a lot of fun. Winds was significantly more interested in his job than he was with me in the ring last summer which I attribute to a combination of increased comfort as well as increased give-a-shit-ness for a slightly taller fence.
My videos show that I am in fact riding better, and that I can be taught. So that is something that I am trying to hold on to and pat myself on the back for. They also show me that I still love to drop my hands, wait in the corner and collapse my left side.
But that's why we love this sport, there's always something (or like 10 somethings) to be working on. I admit that like most type A ammys in the Hunter Ring, it's much, much easier to focus on the 10 somethings than it is on the progress - but I'm lucky to have a crazy supportive group of barn ladies who are always quick to point out what's going well or more importantly - going better than before.
Here is
my first round from our first week. All in all - not disastrous! I got
Winds to the first fence mostly perfect and he clobbered it like he didn't
notice it was there. I was somewhat surprised since I spent the whole
time in our approach thinking "holy crap his front end is light, holy crap
his front end is light.." and then WHACK - Not so light.
Anyway, there was that, and a
monster chip, but otherwise we recovered. I look tense, but you can tell
I'm starting to relax by the end. The judge might have mixed up his notes
because we pulled a 3rd in this round. I know Winds is pretty lovely, but
I guess maybe everyone else had a bobble too. I guess since it was the
first day of the second half of the circuit maybe I wasn't the only one
stepping back into the ring for the first time in a while....
And for comparison when nerves were
slightly less at play - here is our second round on Sunday from the first
week. Not perfect by any means, but a more consistent pace, I was
thinking more in the corner and way more at ease with Winds' level of
engagement. I think we got 4th in this one out of about 20. (TAKE
THE RIBBONS AND RUN).
The second week was much the same,
with mostly small improvements. Still a slightly late change or one chip
sprinkled in each round, but the rest of it was pretty good distances with
pretty good pace and pretty good decisions. I just need to up the consistency
and we'll start finding more success.
I did have my HORRID very bad, no
good, chip during the second week.
It's probably the first time I
thought I was actually going to flip my horse (and that includes all the
harebrained shit I did on cross country in my youth). I totally
overthought a corner, second guessed myself (be patient, be patient, she said
be patient, holy crap we need to gooooooo!). And it didn't work out
well. I gunned Winds, he tried to listen, then realized he needed to put a
foot down, but I was pretty sure his legs were going to land in the flower
boxes and trip us. I had already mentally committed to bailing of his
left shoulder when he managed to touch toes down - pop them back up and get us
over in a much less dramatic fashion than I had pictured. (Word has it we
stayed very straight, because my trainer couldn't tell how ugly it was from
behind.....)
My next thought was
"hmm. That was bad. We should just regroup, add in the line
and come out more organized." But Winds landed, knew he had ground
to make up and marched right up the line in 5 and jumped out like I hadn't
totally messed up the first part. What a prince he is.
So ended our first exploration of
the AA's together. Mostly good, some nerves, some pilot error, a LOT of
pats for Windsor and a couple good ribbons to feel good about.
One of my goals this year is to have Winds participate in Derby classes instead of a Pro Division.
This plan is driven by a few considerations, not the least of which is trying to minimize the number of rounds that the Gray Prince does each week. In addition to that, I really love watching him jump bigger jumps and I think the Derby classes are even more fun to watch when your horse is going around the track.
I also recognize that Winds probably won't be jumping bigger jumps forever, so if he's sound and happy, I'd like to make the memories while I can.
So, while I would have loved to toss Winds in a few Derbies while we were out in the sunshine - one of my gripes with HITS is that they only offer USHJA sanctioned classes during two of their eight weeks of showing. If you aren't there week 4 or 8, your only similar option is to enter the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix which is way, way less exciting. I still entered it, because it got Winds in front of some bigger jumps (3'5"), and on a longer track. The only bummer is that the second round was still a classic hunter round, so no fun handy shenanigans, and no high options....
But, I tried to remember that California is our Spring Training, not the World Series - so we were there to learn, practice, move up and see where we stood after a winter of good work.
This was also our first chance to experiment with a (much) lighter schedule. Winds isn't a spooky horse, but he is easily excited by bigger jumps and gets a bit keen. So "prepping" him is less about getting him so tired he won't bother to spook, and more about taking a teeny tiny edge off so he doesn't power off the ground and attack his fences with too much gusto.
For Week V, Winds had two classes on Tuesday (one with me, and one with the pro), then nothing Wednesday, another warm up in Ring 1 on Thursday - the Prix Friday, then two AA rounds with me on Saturday and two more on Sunday.
Eight rounds over six days. Totally reasonable.
For the Prix on Friday, he was extremely casual until he realized the jumps were 3'5" and that was more fun than the 3' he'd been snoozing over all week. He wasn't naughty, but definitely a bit tighter across his back than I'd like to see and opening up a bit over his fences.
He jumped mostly well, got some good scores, and if he hadn't had an extremely uncharacteristic scoot coming home in the second round - I think he would have pulled a pretty high ribbon. With the scoot, we dropped down to 9th - but still a respectable result in a polished crowd. Especially since we were using the Hunter Prix as a warm up/data point to see where we were at.
Here are the videos from Week V:
Week VI we stuck to the same schedule, but dropped a trainer warm up on Tuesday. He was more relaxed across the board and looked softer in the ring for the Prix. Second round he swapped in the two stride, but otherwise looked like he was remembering how to be a show hunter. Winds managed to snag 4th place, in another lovely field and paid for our dinner out that night (holla!).
Majesty
Week VI Videos:
On the horizon we head up to Thunderbird for a week in April, where Winds will probably do a one round Canadian Derby (I love those) and pack me around the AA's. After that, we have some down time until we go back to Tbird at the end of May for two weeks of showing. That would be the first time we would be able to consider an International Derby if he feels good and ready.
The boys and I are back from our first trip back to HITS in three years (and both of their first trips to the show).
I continue to have several gripes about how HITS operates their shows, but I do have to give them credit for some significant infrastructure improvements - and I can't deny that I love getting out into the sunshine and show ring months before the circuit kicks off at home.
Two weeks of showing saw me tiptoe into the Adult Amateurs with fairly consistent results (only one gasp-worthy moment). Winds galloped around the Devoucoux Prix both weeks with admirable rounds and top ribbons. Quiz moved into the 3' Greens, won a very competitive hack, and took first in a class of 85 with John French in the irons. I meandered around the 2'3" with the baby, drank a lot of wine with my barn ladies and walked over 50 miles each week which totally justified my breakfast burrito habit...
We experimented with a (much) lighter schedule for Windsor both weeks. One pro warm up to get him in the ring that would have the Prix. Then just my AA division. The second week I added a 2'9" Eq over fences to ride something a bit more fun (adult Eq ran the same day as the Prix so I wasn't able to play in that ring..). He's definitely a bit brighter with fewer trips around the ring, but I think keeping his miles to a minimum will serve us all better in the long run.
Quiz was a dude and took everything including the 40mph winds without batting an eye. The first week he looked a little wiggly and green in his division, but by the end of week two the polish was really starting to come out and show itself over fences. I wanted to ride him in all the tiny divisions, but in the name of not overwhelming him or making him hate shows, we kept it light and low key.
I'll get some videos up of the Prix rounds and some of Quiz's debut as well. I'd love to share the video with Frenchie riding, but uh.... I managed to not press record so I have exactly ONE SECOND of that glorious round. dammit.
After a week of rest and relaxation we'll get back to work and focus on fixing the small stuff before heading up to Thunderbird in April!
2018 is chugging along nicely for the boys and I. Not a lot has happened since the ball dropped at midnight, but we are currently less than 48 hours away from heading south to Thermal to knock the rust off.
Neither Winds or Quiz has been off property since Thunderbird back in.... August? So I think a change of scenery (and sunshine) will do us all a world of good.
Rather than try to stuff 4 months of training updates into two board and general paragraphs, I'll move on to the really important stuff like NEW BOOTS.
Back in November some casual scrolling on Instagram resulted in me noticing that my favorite tack store was offering $500 any custom Konig boot.
Unfortunately for me, my (then current) show boots were in great shape. At the time of this $500 special, they were only two years old and in fabulous condition - leaving me zero justification for ordering new boots.
But.... I just couldn't say no to $500 off. I tried, but I failed.
With no real complaints about my current boots in terms of functionality, I looked toward the style side of things to make these new boots *slightly* different. Mind you, my trainer is Traditional with a capital T, so I can't stray too far from the path, but I spent a few extra minutes thumbing through the leather swatches and lookbook before finalizing the order.
I opted to remove the swagger tabs, replace them with just the Konig crown, add a decorative punched toe and then - I got crazy and opted for a sprinkle of patent piping. Just on the toe and heel (...but still. REBEL).
I handed over my credit card, prayed I wouldn't get kicked out of the barn for over zealous adornment, and set my timer for eight to ten weeks.
The boots arrived in a timely eight weeks, and they are amazing.
If I thought my last pair was lovely, these are a dream. We tightened up a few measurements this time so there were a few days were the zipping was not so easy - but after a week of rides they fit like a glove, and have one of the nicest tapers I've ever seen through the ankle.
Just casually trying on my boots in my bedroom. That's normal right?
I was thrilled with my style choices. The plain crown is subtle but still offers a beauty mark of sorts at the top of the boot. The punched toe is fun, and just enough of a pain in the ass to clean to keep me busy back at the tent - and the patent ooooohhhhhh the patent. I love it.
It's just a hint of something different without being distracting (and it actually got full approval from the trainer).
Similar to my last pair of Konigs, the calfskin softened within about a week, and I'm thinking I'll survive Thermal without my feet turning into giant blisters. I really cant say enough good things about my Konigs. They wear incredibly well, the construction is impeccable and the price point beats most of their competition for custom field boots.
detail of the patent at tow and heel cup
So that's our update. Other than new boots, we've been working hard in the off season to come out of the gate, fit strong and supple. The boys both feel amazing. Winds has had some changes to his shoeing which seems to be making all the difference, and Quiz has a TON more fitness. Even I have been putting in some good work and logging time in the Pilates studio (which is actually making me a significantly stronger, more stable rider).
Spoiler alert, I don't love spurs. I grew up on hot (usually part-Arab) horses who had WAY more go-than-whoa and spent way more time thinking about what bit I needed on cross country and never really worried about what spur (none) would get the job done (none).
As I traipsed into Dressage as an adult, I put spurs on occasionally.
REALLY long time readers will recall the six (+) months where Pia straight up didn't go forward (at all). and during my early days with Prair, a Teeny Tiny nub of a spur was helpful establishing our lateral work.
I have relatively long legs and have always been able to squeeze the tweedle out of even the laziest of the lazy without much spur. On top of that, a large spur often results in me unintentionally taking my leg off and causing more problems than the spur solves.
With that info in mind, my spur collection consists precisely of 1) the tiniest price of wales spur ever made. and 2) cheap plastic ball spurs.
Recently, the ball spurs have been getting a workout. I almost always wear them on Winds now, as my leg is finally educated enough to know the difference between calf and spur. Plus, if it's over 68 degrees that dude needs a nudge in the ribs to get going. (#metoo).
BUT, they look dorky, aren't actually very spur-like and after a really hot summer where my trainer raised her eyebrow several times and said "really? I've been using a round rowel on him" I have been casually considering an upgrade to ye ol' spur closet.
I find a lot of comfort in my big, soft, totally mild rubber ball spurs. I like knowing that even if I lose my balance and accidentally JAB Winds with them, he won't really care - but the downside of that comfort is that when I do actually want a gas pedal, I don't have a good option.
And as I've lamented recently (though maybe not online):
I AM OUT OF STUFF TO SHOP FOR.
I have all the tack, all the gear all the everything I ever (ever) dreamed of (not the least of which includes two incredible horses). So when the horse gods showed me something that I could actually justify shopping for - I shopped.
It's hard to make spurs fun and/or interesting without going off the deep end.
For a while I looked at Signature Spurs, mostly because I remain obsessed with the crop I ordered from them and love their service.
But I couldn't decide *what* spur I needed exactly, and with higher end spurs cresting the $100 mark, I didn't want to order 4 new sets just so I had everything to choose from.
That meant my eye turned to some of the manufacturers making spur sets with exchangeable shanks. I stalked them on insta, I stalked online... and eventually I opted to go with American Equus. (due in no small part to my obsession with their stirrups).
American Equus machines their spurs out of aluminum (also true of their stirrups and horseshoes), but that is a material I had never tried as a spur. Also, they claim that their interchangeable spurs are super easy to swap, and can even be done in the saddle without removing your spur strap. I hadn't ever seen the spurs in person, so wasn't entirely sure how this worked, but I had a glass of wine and placed an order.
The spurs arrived promptly, and came in a lovely box with customized foam inserts that presented the spurs and extra shanks beautifully. (I forgot to take a picture). While they offer lots of (really fun) color options, I selected a conservative Show Chrome with the idea that I would potentially wear these in the hunter ring.
The spurs are really pretty.
Show Chrome spurs with round-towel option
Nice styling, crazy light, and very shiny.
The shanks are super easy to swap (as promised) and just require a stiff tug to get them out (they are held in by a compression fit and o-ring).
1/2", 1" and 1.5" options
I swapped the rowels out for the 1/2" shanks and headed for the barn.
My one complaint is that the spurs themselves are very narrow, and harder than stainless spurs to widen (because - aluminum). I wrestled with them for a minute and got them to a comfortable fit at my ankle, without having them too loose at my heel.
Before I hopped on, I played around with swapping the shanks while the spur was on my foot, and as advertised - it was easy without being SO easy that I'd worry about them popping out while riding.
Once on, I was really happy with how they spurs felt. I liked the rounded tips, and felt like they were easy to use with nuance while still giving me some go. I am also very particular about my spurs moving around while I'm riding, and these didn't slip once even though I didn't have them positioned on my spur rests.
All in all, these spurs are off to a good start. I like the look, I like the feel, and I really like the idea of being able to swap out the shanks.
Winds is a horse that typically needs more spur in warm up than he does in the ring, and being able to downsize my spurs at the back gate gives me one less thing to worry about on course.
