Maintaining Perspective on Maintenance

In my youth (my youthier youth, I still maintain illusions that I am youthful..) I held fairly strong, and righteous opinions about "regular" maintenance for sport horses.  My thoughts could be summed up by the philosophy that owners should not be taping their horses together to perform at a level that their bodies couldn't handle otherwise. 

Of course, I said this from the back of a 25 year old pony that was still capable of jumping 3'6" and never went lame until she was in her 40's.  Easy to think that all "performance" horses should operate well with the same (limited) regimen. 

and by limited I mean a handful of sweetfeed and one scoop of vitamins a couple times a week.

Of course the field of proactive sports medicine for horses has exploded over the last several decades, and with it a notion of what is "normal." 

Hand Grazing is good medicine too

When I was competing as a junior, plenty of people were busy injecting hocks, but not much else.  I suppose toward the end of my junior career it seemed like vets had suddenly discovered the stifle so maybe they were injecting stifles too...  it was the weirdest trend ever.

I'm sure that observation is more certainly an oversimplification, but even for my friends who were competing at higher levels - the only real therapeutic treatments I saw were hock injections, stall rest and "nerving" (for navicular horses).  My adolescent brain just didn't love the notion that without pokes and drugs and whatever else, horses weren't comfortable doing their job.

Then my focus shifted from my horses to the volleyball court and I quickly found myself in my orthopedic's office getting regular cortisone injections in order to keep my swinging arm, well, swinging.  I was astounded how those handy little injections nixed the inflammation and pain and let me continue to enjoy doing what I did without causing myself harm.

I suppose that was the turning point for me.  Realizing that somehow I was okay with maintenance for me, but not my horses.  The cognitive dissonance didn't last long and, obviously I sing a different tune now.

What's interesting is that every time Prair has a treatment (injection, shockwave, whatever) I still hear that tiny voice in the back of my head going "you shouldn't have to work this hard for sound..." and I toss and turn a bit wondering if I'm pushing Prair's body to hard or too far and if really she needs a drastically different job description.

I usually tamp down these nagging worries with wine and the repetition that we're jumping 2'6" which is approximately 3" higher than her canter stride when we're working on the flat...  And then - 5 days pass and we're clear to start work again and I get rides like this week where the mare is just Rock effing Solid.  No teeth grinding, no spook, no anxiety, supple in her back, a canter like a metronome and brilliant, adjustable work over cavaletti and small fences.

It's then that I realize, that yes, the injections are worth it.  Not so much for a more competitive performance, but for a happier, healthier horse capable of using her body correctly and freely - which ultimately is the most responsible thing I can do to protect her long term soundness.

So that is my new perspective on maintenance.  It should be a tool that allows Prair to be comfortable while working correctly .  Maintaining good, even muscling is what will keep her back healthy and supported for as long as possible.  Preventing any odd compensations that invite atrophy or overuse is what I'm avoiding with her "maintenance." 

But it most certainly is not a free pass to a higher level.

It's a fine line for sure - and maybe not always an easy one to see, but as long as I'm filtering my choices through what makes Prair stable, and not what gets me ribbons - I am doing right by her.

Cashing in Those Chips

As I've mentioned, I tend to hoard $10 gift cards to the tack shop when they are an option as a first place prize.  I've slowly been creating a stack, and after the show last week I finally gathered them all up and hit the tack store to get myself a new Hunt Coat.

My current show wardrobe is limited to one functional coat that can still... um... button.  I have others, and they are in perfectly serviceable condition aside from the fact that I haven't quite gotten anyone to buy into an "open jacket" look while on course.

So, trying to be as reasonable as possible about baby weight and what will and (likely) won't change anytime soon I decided to bite the bullet and cash in all our little gift cards for a coat.

I know it's trendy (again), but down in Thermal I got hooked on the notion of a deep, dark hunter green coat and I haven't been able to shake it.  I think the dark emerald would look really (really) pretty on prair's glossy black - and let's be real, it's about as bold as I can get in the Hunter Ring. 

So I knew I wanted the Grand Prix Tech Lite in the new rich green.. but those were the only relevant details in my obsession.

pretty close to what we got

I did actually suck it up and ordered a custom coat rather than making do with an off the rack option.  12/L or 14/L GP coats fit me pretty well, but not excellent - and knowing we won't show until June, I figured I could wait the 4-6 weeks like a normal, patient person. 

I'm glad I did since when we actually got to measuring there were lots of changes.  extra length in the sleeves, extra room in the boobs, slimming the sleeves.. etc.

But really the important decision was THREE BUTTONS OR FOUR. 

I opted for 4, as I've always like my four button dressage coats, but now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if I should have stuck with the three for my short-waisted self...

But then it was fun decisions.  I opted for black buttons rather than the standard tortoise shell on the green.  If I had a bright chestnut I think the blond-tortoise-shell would look sharp, but on Prair I think staying dark on dark on dark is a good thing.  Plus I don't need bright buttons at my wrist advertising my busy hands :)

As for trim, I bypassed most of the fun options, getting a simple tone-on-tone green satin piping for the collar but nothing else.  There's no matching green satin option for the collar itself, and the "matching" green suede looked just off enough to drive me nuts.  (plus I strongly prefer the look of a matching satin over a suede.. not sure why).  I almost put in a tiny silver double-piping, but that started to feel to wild for me and I chickened out.

Hopefully the Emerald Beauty arrives before we show in June.  but I'm looking forward to a stretchy, washable, super lightweight new coat! 

I did feel like a goober while the poor manager swiped 35 $10 cards at the checkout register, but it certainly made a huge difference in the cost!

New coat courtesy of Prair's Under Saddle classes 2014-2015....

What

Week Off

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments about our show success :)  I'm grateful the "no warmup" plan seemed to work and grateful I have a trainer who is willing to think outside the box like that.  It was a strange process but all in all a great show for both the mare and I in terms of learning and good, positive experiences!

Yesterday, Prairie got a little once-over from the vet just to make sure all is well and the two weeks of showing didn't set her back at all.  She lunged totally sound, but was maybe a .5 or 1/5 on her pesky left front on the hard pack.  Our vet didn't seem too concerned, even thinking that might be her new normal - which is something I might have to accept.

All in all though, she thought the left front looked great, and that two long weeks at 2'6" seems to not affect it negatively at this point.  So that's a big WHEW.

The only slight bummer is that her back was showing a lot of soreness to palpation.  I haven't noticed any increased sensitivity when I'm currying her/poking around during my regular inspections - but in full disclosure, I also didn't groom the mare once at the show, and as good as our guys are, I'm not sure they would have noticed if she started to get a tad flinchy.  I get serious horse-owner guilt when I acknowledge that Prair was probably uncomfortable and I just wasn't hands on enough to pick up on it.  It's definitely the risk of not doing your own grooming.  the flexibility and convenience is a huge upside (especially when balancing work and a baby and a show), but the downsides are real and unavoidable.

I also don't know how much Prair's fall on the lunge the first week could have knocked things around or possibly angered a few vertebrae.

If I had to guess - I'd say it wasn't the fall, but rather her long, low back that is just in one of its angry cycles.  When we reviewed notes, it's been nearly 18 months since her last round of injections, which is pretty darn good.  Initially we were expecting to need to inject every 3 months, but if good work, and strong muscling can help us stretch that interval - well I'm all for it.

So the mare has the rest of the week (and weekend) off, and we'll get back to some light hacks next week.

In the meantime, here are a few more photos from last weekend.



not exactly perfect, but much less lurch-y!

sweet baby jesus we're almost straight



Ears *almost* forward

 

Spring National - Final Day

Yesterday was a great finish to our two weeks of Spring showing.  I was feeling a tad tentative in the morning.. mostly I was just thinking that Saturday was so lovely that I should quit while I was ahead and in love with the mare, but that quickly gave way to my desire to (potentially) have a few more lovely rounds with her. 

chill.

I tanked up on a breakfast burrito (horse show breakfast of the gods) and watched ponies go round (and round... and round really fast) before N did Prair's warm up. 

Again, she did the 2'3" and 2'6" Low and won both.  This is not a very impressive fact when you notice that after two weeks of showing, pretty much no one is adding the extra courses to work the wiggles out.  There's not a lot of glory (and maybe a little guilt) in stealing blue ribbons from hard working Long Stirrup riders who are actually trying to improve. 

(not enough guilt to actually surrender the ribbon however, let's not be crazy..)

The weather was good, but apparently it dumped overnight, so the ring was pretty full of puddles and lakes.  I had to giggle a little bit, as they had set a big Open Water element for the USET class held in our ring the day before, and the ring crew was carefully trying to drain and remove the thing before us baby-ammys got to showing. 

On one hand, thanks for taking out the big scary puddle... on the other - the entire ring was "Open Water" and I'm not sure anyone would have notice one more pool of standing water... but I digress.

I videoed the 2'3" round which was the slightly less good round of the two, but it's still a miraculous improvement over what N had in Thermal with the mare, so there's that.  Prair's moving out nicely and I think more comfortable and less sore than she was down in Cali, which is always nice to see.


N suggested I strap on some spurs (for the first time at this show), as Prair was bogging down in the muck a tad - and when I don't feel like I can get the mare to move up, I tend to lock down my hands and add... which doesn't to any good for anyone.  So spurs it was. (small, round plastic ones, but still... time for a nudge).

When I hopped on I could tell that Prair was totally unimpressed with the day.  She was loose, snoozy and totally uninterested in any of the usual horse show commotion (whistling trainers... scampering children... loose ponies... planes landing overhead... you know) so that was rad.  I love it when she feels that relaxed, it makes me relaxed - and that makes for good trips.

Our first round (third round of the division) was our best.  We got a good forward pace, splashed through the puddles and had light, balanced changes. 

(bless my friend for getting good pics at this height)

The second round was also pretty good, but I wasn't as consistent with my pace, and overrode the corners to some weaker distances.  We were still pretty straight, pretty relaxed and pretty good by our standards though.  Also, not ONCE at this show did we cross canter through the turn.  Prair has been aces on her changes, so she gets to be crowned "queen mare of the world" for that not-so-small victory.

Finally, we rode our little 2'6" medal, which wasn't too tricky (... it's 2'6"...) but did ask some different questions of us.  First fence was a trot fence on the end, fairly tight curlicue to the first fence of a diagonal line, rollback to single oxer on the outside, line, line, and single to finish.

The Trot Fence to start was interesting.  We opted to canter in down the long side, and trot after we turned to face the fence.  It seemed like most people opted for that with varying degrees of success.  Prair NEARLY picked up the wrong lead, but we were still in the shadow of the judge's booth so I don't think she saw me restart the transition.   Trot fence went well, we didn't land our lead, so we had a quick swap.. then again didn't land our lead for the rollback (ARGH) but got a quick change, and unlike last week I kept my pace and moved up nicely to the oxer.  The lines were decent, Prair stayed really nice and straight, and our last fence finished nicely. 

Rollback on task!

Again, like last week I felt like we were efficient and effective, but not super polished, but again - the judge really liked us and put us first.  (whee!)

Last week I thought our placing was because we went significantly before any other trips and maybe the time spent waiting worked in our favor... but this week I was almost the last trip in a tight back gate so maybe we actually deserved it! 

Our Hunter rounds pinned 2nd and 5th which (barely) held on to the Championship for the week - and I am reminded that the mare rarely ends the week like she starts it, and I need to be patient (and creative) in order to allow her to settle and stay calm.

I am very appreciative  that N is willing to think outside the box and explore options that allow Prair (and me for that matter) to succeed and have as positive an experience as possible.  Bonus points for getting a calm, focused mare without running her legs off on the lunge or galloping in the warm up until she doesn't have the energy to fight.  Anything that allows us to be relaxed going into the ring and conserves miles on her legs is a huge (huge) win. 

Overall it was a great show for the barn - one of the juniors won the (insane) Eq class, and one of our geldings won the Under Saddle challenge (which ran like the Eq terror but was an US).  Lots of tricolors in both rings, ponies that qualified for Finals, and a general good time had by all.  Fabulous start to the local show season!