Last update was a month ago and not too much has happened since then. On the horse front, I've backed down from riding Arwen. She started exhibiting some interesting behavior (namely bucking like a raging bronc) under saddle which made me think something physical is really bothering her. Not wanting to really spend money to diagnose and/or push her through it (for what purpose, really) I've just been putting her on the hot walker and spinning her around on a lunge line a couple times a week. Just enough to get her big brown butt moving a bit more since all she does is stand around in pasture!
Baby J is also getting a little feisty. His um...testicles are dropping so I'm wondering if that's contributing? He's still pretty sweet and easy to handle but not exactly what I would consider totally docile, judging but the hoof shaped bruise he left on my hip when I was trying to stop him from getting pushy with his food around me. Lesson learned from that one: time to stop being so nice to the "baby" and make our ground rules/manners a little more clear on who is boss.
Riding has been going decently well too. I feel like I've worked out of the slump I was in a few weeks ago. And actually, I think the slump was happening because the horse I'm leasing came up lame. Not dead lame, but lame enough to be concerning to me and his owner, and could account for becoming somewhat harder to ride (and not to mention spookier, since horses can get spooky when in pain). So he's been taking a couple weeks nice and easy, and I've been riding other horses. And hey, I got back to the point where I started thinking hey, I actually can ride! Amazing. The horse I lease, despite being uber talented and an overall cool guy, has a pretty horrible left drift that I am constantly fighting and focusing on which makes it hard to work on much other than "get him off his left side!". Add in a severe lack of engine and desire for any kind of self carriage and he can sometimes be a bear to ride well around a course. The last week though I got to ride a totally uncomplicated, dare I say "easy" horse who not only stays straight, but has an engine! It was glorious. The only bad habit this horse has is he can sometimes grab onto the bit and go "fast" which really isn't that fast at all. He did try it with me for the first couple rides, but with a great tip on how to deal with it from the assistant I was able to get him to go around on a consistent, even rhythm before and after the fences. I also did a lot of bending/flexing/lateral flatwork before jumping, and by the end of the week he was so awesome. I have only jumped him (including last week) maybe 4 times total, and by the last lesson of the week we were coursing around 3'. That is how easy this horse is to ride! The horse belongs to a kid and I have to admit...I'm a little jealous.
He really is a fantastic horse and just all around good guy.
On the fitness and personal front, I started a Whole30 at the beginning of February. The main driver behind this was I did a wellness evaluation at work (to test blood and what not) and the results where...not great. My blood glucose and triglycerides were ok, but my cholesterol was not great and my weight was just...ugh. So I decided enough dicking around-time to get serious. I have been lax about everything for so long thinking "oh, but I CrossFit and I'm happy!" and feeling like it was enough. Which yes...its good I'm active outside of riding and that I am happy, but I also was decidedly NOT happy that I can't wear some of my clothes, and my numbers were just so bad. So I Whole30'd. The last day is March 2 and I would say while this wasn't my easiest Whole30 (I've done three) it also wasn't my hardest. I am definitely planning on continuing to eat gluten free again, and to continue on without sugar. I'm feeling pretty awesome overall, although I will say, I haven't experienced the "tiger blood" feelings in my workouts like I did the first time around. I contribute that to my being just kind of flaky about attending workouts consistently. My first Whole30 was when I was only a year into CF, and going pretty consistently. So I do need to ramp that up eventually, but I feel like if I force myself to go right now that mentally I will already been in a place of not feeling the WOD. So I've been aiming for at least twice a week consistently, with something else (like a bike ride) to replace that 3rd workout.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
And some horse updates
First off, Baby J! He continues to do really, really well. We've had two kind of scary issues with choke due to the barn help feeding him pellets that even adult horses tend to choke on. First time we didn't know what was happening so called the vet out (lovely bill with that one) but the second time our groom recognized the signs, brought him in and I massaged his neck for 30 minutes until it passed. Poor guy. Oh and a disclaimer: I had no idea they were still feeding him pellets. He was in a pasture with a buddy who I guess was supposed to get them, which no one informed me of. It has since been made VERY clear that he is not to get any kind of pellet.
Other than that, he is a pretty normal baby. So super sweet and tolerant. Takes things in stride, and seems to learn very quickly. Not spooky, but you do have to present new things to him before he goes "meh" about it. Makes me hopeful he'll be pretty bomb proof once started under saddle.
He is also looking more and more like Arwen which tells me she either stamps her babies really strongly, or Imothep just doesn't really stamp his babies with anything distinguishable. I guess I'll know if I get another one out of her!
Speaking of Arwen, I started riding her big brown butt again a few times a week. Just w/t/c, and tried to take her over some poles which was...amusing. She lept over them like they were fences, which I think she did because a) she has absolutely ZERO interest in any of that crap and b) being out of shape and a little rusty made it hard. She started out feeling really really rickety, but after about a week suppled up a lot the more I made her walk and use her body. I can tell though that there is some pain in her somewhere because when we canter on her left lead she will generally scoot and buck. So I try not to make her do too much, she gets bute once a week and we do lots and lots of walking. If I were to ride her more than what I do now, she would definitely need some maintenance. However, for what we're doing I don't think the once a week bute does much damage to anything.
I sure did miss riding her though. Her trot and canter are just so smooth and having a horse with an engine is so nice! I've been putting her in a super soft bit and she's actually been great in it-plenty of brakes and she gets really light and foamy in it. For being out of work for over a year I actually think she's carrying herself better than she was when she was in work. Granted she definitely doesn't have the muscle that she did but she just goes on the bit so much easier now and I don't think its because I'm a better rider.
I'm hoping to get a couple more babies out of her, and then she'll just be retired to a trail horse/pasture puff. I don't think she will ever reliably be any kind of lesson horse if I'm trying to be realistic. I recently asked one of the more beginner riders to get on her when I was in a rush and I think Arwen freaked her out. Because yes-she will take advantage of you and will test you which doesn't exactly make a good lesson horse, unless the rider is brave/very confident.
As for my riding horse, I've been riding the assistant's personal horse for the last couple months. Super schoolmaster horse and all around great guy. He was an ex-GP horse until he got injured, the assistant worked with him and did his rehab and he's now been ridden by a few people at the barn. He's not "easy" but he's also not necessarily difficult because he is pretty straightforward. His only flaws are he's lazy and he has a really vicious left drift. Oh, and can be spooky at really random times but that's not too big of a deal. He's basically a big ol' derp who is happy to dink around little fences with me. Not quite sure how long I'll be riding him, but I hope that I can at least ride him through the summer and go to some local shows.
After that, I've actually been thinking its probably time to start thinking of a baby of the human variety. I do want one, and timing to start trying in the fall would be good. We'll see!
Other than that, he is a pretty normal baby. So super sweet and tolerant. Takes things in stride, and seems to learn very quickly. Not spooky, but you do have to present new things to him before he goes "meh" about it. Makes me hopeful he'll be pretty bomb proof once started under saddle.
He is also looking more and more like Arwen which tells me she either stamps her babies really strongly, or Imothep just doesn't really stamp his babies with anything distinguishable. I guess I'll know if I get another one out of her!
Speaking of Arwen, I started riding her big brown butt again a few times a week. Just w/t/c, and tried to take her over some poles which was...amusing. She lept over them like they were fences, which I think she did because a) she has absolutely ZERO interest in any of that crap and b) being out of shape and a little rusty made it hard. She started out feeling really really rickety, but after about a week suppled up a lot the more I made her walk and use her body. I can tell though that there is some pain in her somewhere because when we canter on her left lead she will generally scoot and buck. So I try not to make her do too much, she gets bute once a week and we do lots and lots of walking. If I were to ride her more than what I do now, she would definitely need some maintenance. However, for what we're doing I don't think the once a week bute does much damage to anything.
I sure did miss riding her though. Her trot and canter are just so smooth and having a horse with an engine is so nice! I've been putting her in a super soft bit and she's actually been great in it-plenty of brakes and she gets really light and foamy in it. For being out of work for over a year I actually think she's carrying herself better than she was when she was in work. Granted she definitely doesn't have the muscle that she did but she just goes on the bit so much easier now and I don't think its because I'm a better rider.
I'm hoping to get a couple more babies out of her, and then she'll just be retired to a trail horse/pasture puff. I don't think she will ever reliably be any kind of lesson horse if I'm trying to be realistic. I recently asked one of the more beginner riders to get on her when I was in a rush and I think Arwen freaked her out. Because yes-she will take advantage of you and will test you which doesn't exactly make a good lesson horse, unless the rider is brave/very confident.
As for my riding horse, I've been riding the assistant's personal horse for the last couple months. Super schoolmaster horse and all around great guy. He was an ex-GP horse until he got injured, the assistant worked with him and did his rehab and he's now been ridden by a few people at the barn. He's not "easy" but he's also not necessarily difficult because he is pretty straightforward. His only flaws are he's lazy and he has a really vicious left drift. Oh, and can be spooky at really random times but that's not too big of a deal. He's basically a big ol' derp who is happy to dink around little fences with me. Not quite sure how long I'll be riding him, but I hope that I can at least ride him through the summer and go to some local shows.
After that, I've actually been thinking its probably time to start thinking of a baby of the human variety. I do want one, and timing to start trying in the fall would be good. We'll see!
Two more horseshows off the bucket list...
So 2014 definitely ended up being the year of the horse show. I mostly spectated, but after my long experience at Thermal I decided that I definitely like being a spectator more than a competitor. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE showing. However, only when its fun. Thermal was fun, but it was also really tiring and way to competitive. Both of those factors take a lot of fun out of the showing equation for me. I discovered that two to three days is really optimal, and my money is best spent locally.
However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to get to every major show ground in North America at some point in time. Bonus points if I become independently wealthy and get to do some classes (HAHAHAHAHAHA).
My original list was comprised of:
Spruce
Kentucky (any competition there really, preferably National Horse Show though)
WEF
Penn National
Washington International
Devon
In 2014 I managed to get to Penn, then Washington on a whim. Penn was actually planned and I got to watch the GP there, Washington the timing just happened to be right on my last day in Washington DC so we watched a couple hours of the hunter classes. Both are super historic shows and were awesome to get to see in person! I saw a good number of the riders that had been at the LA National, and totally took a stalker picture of Beezie Madden studying her course map (I know, I'm so creepy!) Again, it was amazing to be so close to some of the world's top riders, or at least close to so many of them.
So my list pretty much stands the same for the future. Spruce is way up at the top of course-everytime I watch that show on any livestream I am blown away by how beautiful it looks. For 2015 I'm hoping to add on the World Cup in Las Vegas and another trip to see the LA Masters, but who knows!
However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to get to every major show ground in North America at some point in time. Bonus points if I become independently wealthy and get to do some classes (HAHAHAHAHAHA).
My original list was comprised of:
Spruce
Kentucky (any competition there really, preferably National Horse Show though)
WEF
Penn National
Washington International
Devon
In 2014 I managed to get to Penn, then Washington on a whim. Penn was actually planned and I got to watch the GP there, Washington the timing just happened to be right on my last day in Washington DC so we watched a couple hours of the hunter classes. Both are super historic shows and were awesome to get to see in person! I saw a good number of the riders that had been at the LA National, and totally took a stalker picture of Beezie Madden studying her course map (I know, I'm so creepy!) Again, it was amazing to be so close to some of the world's top riders, or at least close to so many of them.
So my list pretty much stands the same for the future. Spruce is way up at the top of course-everytime I watch that show on any livestream I am blown away by how beautiful it looks. For 2015 I'm hoping to add on the World Cup in Las Vegas and another trip to see the LA Masters, but who knows!
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