Like all of you Covid-19 is affecting our daily life. I have started working from home this week.
Working from home has it's attractions. The commute for one. But I'm working harder than I have in a long time. I am connecting with my people and colleagues. I have vacation that I need to use before the end of March but I strongly suspect I will lose it. My plan had been to take some afternoons off to ride. I had planned to have a lesson on Tuesday afternoon. But with the move towards our staff working from home there was no way I could take off. So I had to cancel it.
There is a general worry and stress from this pandemic. The news does not help but it is also necessary. So I try to ration it.
The dogs are happy I'm home and it does allow for me to take walks with them at lunch time.
Ripley loves to take the biggest sticks on our walk
Yesterday Guinness was not himself in the morning. As the day went on he became worse and mid-afternoon, when he didn't want to go for a walk I called the vet. They said to bring him right away so we did. This meant I had to cancel a lesson I had booked for 4:30.
poor Guinness still wanting to supervise despite feeling so lousy
The vet took some x-rays. He had a lot of gas in his stomach and intestine but not enough for it to be bloat. No temperature, heart normal. It was possible that he was having some early bloat or he ate something that disagreed with him. The vet gave him some barium mixed with food, some drugs to calm his stomach and we took him home. If he wasn't better in the morning we would bring him back, do another x-ray to see if the barium showed any blockage. About an hour after getting home he threw up a bunch of barium so I don't know how much was left in his system. He slept with us all night so we could watch him. This morning he was much better and now he's completely normal.
spiky green ball helps him feel better
We had a slow feed bowl for Guinness but he broke it. And then bit and broke the next one. So recently we had switched him to a regular bowl. Ed has ordered a metal slow feed bowl from Amazon and in the meantime he's being fed in small amounts. I was so relieved this morning- I was really worried.
Today is technically my day off but there was work to do so I did a few hours. But I also really needed to do something to de-stress. This morning I baked some cookies. I find baking to be relaxing.
ginger molasses cookies
Later in the afternoon Julia came over and we tacked up the horses (don't worry, we maintained our social distancing and made use of the hand sanitizer). I really really needed to sit in a saddle and do something physical.
The ride was awesome. Carmen was pretty relaxed despite my cat hunting in the next field. We were albeit work on our shoulder-in/haunches-in and counter canter. For being so early back to work she felt pretty good. Of course I have no media so you just have to believe me. At the end I was walking her out on a long rein. When we walked down by the brush she gave a sudden start. I just sat there and spoke to her and she gave a breath and then carried on.
In my happy place
After I hosed off her legs while she stood ground tied. Which made me realize how far we've come. it's the first time I've hosed her this year.
The world seems to be going to hell these days and it seems that no relief is in sight. But everything is temporary. As long as I have my family (4 and 2-legged) and get to spend some time in the saddle I will be okay.
I found this advice from Skint Dressage Daddy. It looks like great advice to me.
Christmas is fast approaching and, if you follow this blog, you know what that means:
THE (SOMEWHAT) ANNUAL CRITTER CHRISTMAS PHOTO SHOOT!
I grabbed my antlers and cell phone and headed out to con/ bribe entice my beloved animals into cooperating for the camera.
Irish was, as always resigned.
Irish: is it that time again? Did you bring treats? I don't perform for free you know.
Irish: What do you mean I'm too close? I have to get the cookies before Princess Greedy Guts take them all.
Irish: This is the best you're going to get.
Me: I'll take it!
Carmen: I heard that there were cookies.
Carmen: Back up? Why would I do that? The cookies are here.
Carmen: Okay, I'll trust you but make it fast. Also, don't give any to the dog behind me.
Guinness: What? No. It's beneath my dignity as head of security.
Guinness: Mom, this is so dumb. I'll be laughed out of the Farm Dogs Guild.
Guinness: I'm only doing it because I love you. But promise me it won't be on the internet.
Ripley: I'm a guest. I'm pretty sure that makes me exempt.
Ripley: This is not my idea of fun. I can't even look at you right now. I'm telling Dad.
Ripley: Well I guess I look pretty good.
Willow: this is new. I think it' brings out my eyes.
Willow: Make it quick. My patience is fading fast.
I know it's silly. But when I look back on the previous cards I smile at the fond memories of my beloved animals. Many of whom are not here anymore. At least not physically anyway.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Oakfield Farm. I hope you have the holiday you want.
A few days ago Dom wrote a beautiful post sharing her heartbreak about having to leave her home. It struck a chord with me and I wanted to reach across the internet and give her a hug.
It took me a long time to find my home. I don't remember a lot about my early childhood but I do remember living with my Grandparents in the country for a while. I loved it. When my mom was able to get a job and an apartment she took us back to live with her in a small apartment on the outer part of the city. I hated it. The noise, asphalt and buildings blocking the sun were an assault on the senses. People yelled if you went on their yard and there was only one park- a 3 acre patch of grass with a small hill that had a grave on it. I used to sneak away a few blocks to a forest that was a few streets over. I spent a lot of time there. Thinking back I realize how dangerous it was a for a 7 year old to be wondering the woods in the city. I was lucky.
I know it's weird, but I have loved trees my whole life.
I have lived in a few places since that apartment and, while I have enjoyed all of them, I have not felt that it was home. But I didn't know that I didn't feel that until I found the place that we live now. I knew it from the first time I looked at it.
Why this little farmhouse? I don't know. It would be like me describing why I love Ed. I just know.
I feel that I know every inch of this property. In all weathers.
Sometimes I am sitting in an all day meeting and I find myself feeling frazzled and drained. When I get into the car to head home I am impatient and anxious. Sometimes I worry that I am getting agoraphobic. But when I turn onto my road I can feel my heart start to ease. I change my clothes and Guinness and I hit the woods.
Guinness and his BFF Ripley (my son's dog)
As I walk my trails, throwing a ball periodically for Guinness I feel the trappings of the day fall away.
hearts ease
This place is my dream but it hasn't stopped me from feeling heartbreak. Far from it. Sometimes it seems harder here. Maybe because I have opened my heart more than I thought possible.
Martin, Belle and d'tracy are gone but it seems like only yesterday that we were all having fun exploring our new home. I do not know where Martin is but Belle and d'Arcy are here.
I love when the swallows return to the barn. I cried this year when the babies died during the heat wave. We have a grouse that lives in my woods. It makes me jump all the time when I'm walking because it flies off in such a noisy flap. Lately I haven't heard it and I worry that the coyotes have gotten it.
It took me 47 years but I now have a place that owns me as much as I own it. How could I leave? Pieces of my heart are buried here.
The good news is that this week we finally we had the rain we so badly needed. The bad news is that it interfered with a lesson I had booked mid-week. It was rebooked for Friday which was supposed to be dry but dawned dark and rainy. It was supposed to clear up so I reassured Shanea that it would be fine for 11.
Which it sorta was. Foggy and misty is fine, right? My farrier also called the night before and said he wanted to come in the morning to do the horses. Which meant that my morning got a whole lot busier.
Before 11 I took Carmen up to the ring to do some lunging and other ground work. I also let her graze in the 'spooky areas'. When Shanea arrived I explained my idea of having me walk beside her and do what I do from the ground if Carmen acted up. She thought that it was a good idea. I am not sure if it worked or not. Carmen was much better over all so maybe it helped?
Anyway, Shanea mounted and asked Carmen to walk off and do some small circles. Suddenly she hopped off. "I'm not happy with how's she feeling, I want to start over."
I could definitely see Carmen's tension and how she was being over-reactive but I wasn't sure what her plan was. It turned out that her plan was to walk Carmen back to the mounting block and ask her to relax and get back on. She repeated this two more times when I saw Carmen give a big sigh at the mounting block and release the tension. I never would have thought of that.
The goal was to have Carmen go forward in a relaxed manner- accepting the contact without chomping. It was interesting to watch the process. You can really see when she's tight in her neck and back. Even her lips are tight and curled back from her teeth. I saw it come and go and finally it was just gone. Carmen's stride became swinging and her ears went floppy.
Do you ever watch someone ride your horse and think damn, that horse is stunning? I could see how well Carmen can move. Shanea started playing with her lengthens and, holy crap, that mare can stride out when she's being ridden but a really good rider.
Shanea just asked for a few strides and then patted Carmen.
What I didn't see was an unhappy horse. I didn't see a mare who hated dressage or was sore. I saw a sensitive mare being ridden with tact and finesse and enjoying what she was doing.
Then it was my turn to get on. I could feel a difference in her right away. She back felt so mobile and I had to really focus on moving with her. Carmen was forward and felt powerful. When I look at the videos of my ride I can see that I'm not terrible but I need to really loosen my shoulders and stop riding so defensively. I think I might have been putting too much pressure on her. Even though I didn't intend to I might have been pushing her more then she was comfortable. I need to find a happy medium.
I think I need to a centred riding lesson. I need to work on myself. I'm not going to a place of self-hatred but more of self-realization. Carmen has a ton of talent and I need to buckle down myself to ride her.
And in today's cute video here's one of Guinness. When I drag the ring he 'heel's beside the tractor until I stop. Then he gives me his toy so I can throw it.
Today we let go of the most awesome of Border Collies- d'Arcy.
One of my most favourite photos of the most perfect of dogs and horses
He was 14 years old and his life had caught up with him. He was having so much difficulty staying upright and was in some pain so I called the vet's and made the appointment. It was hard a decision but I was at peace with it.
We are very sad but it was not a tragic death. d'Arcy lived his whole life with us and was loved and cared for that entire time. His passing was peaceful and without trauma. Ed, myself and Guinness were with him as he breathed his last. That was a gift to him and us.
I picked d'Arcy out as a wee black and white blob in a kennel overlooking the ocean.
shortly after he came home. Such an adorable face.
He drove me nutty with his energy and drive. I spent many many hours walking him, trying, futilely, to tire him out. Rarely was he clean. And groomed.
When we got him our children were really into playing hockey. d'Arcy went with us to to rinks and he began to get into the game. It was amazing to watch him- he was following the puck not the players. When the ref would blow the whistle to stop the game he would sit and when she/he blew to start the game he would stand up. If a goal was scored he would run to the centre line, often before the goal was called. In one game, there was a goal that was waved off and some irritated dad yelled out 'ask the dog, HE was paying attention'. I'm sure that he missed going to the hockey rinks.
d'Arcy would accompany me to the boarding barns we were at and he would keep his eye on me the whole time. He took his assigned tasks very seriously. When my mom was on oxygen and stayed at my house he would sleep outside her door. If her oxygen hose slipped off her nose the machine would beep and he would go in and nudge her away until she fixed it. No one taught him that. I wouldn't even know how to go about it. He just knew.
He also loved children- he was at his happiest hanging out with the kids. He was a truly gentle soul.
even looking after canine 'kids'
Sometime his energy got him into trouble. I used to say that his personal motto was 'it's just a flesh wound'. Ed called him the 'million dollar dog.'
but why can't I go on the hike with you? I'm fine now.
he loved the beach too
d'Arcy and I spent hours hiking over the farm. I used to joke that we bought the farm just for him.
both he and Belle loved their new home.
d'Arcy had a way of looking at you that was goofy and loveable all at the same time.
totally d'Arcy. No other dog could quite capture this expression
He was the best of dogs and we will miss him so much. Not sure if it's even hit me yet.
But now he's not in pain anymore and he can run like the wind.
Adding a kitten to the household has created a bit of a disruption in the status quo.
Chester (our other cat) is doing surprisingly well with Willow- no hissing or growling, just keeping a watchful distance.
d'Arcy didn't even know she was in the house for about 24 hours. He's is showing a mild curiosity but not not fixated like he has been in the past.
Guinness is experiencing the most disruption. His nose is a little out of joint over the attention I've been giving Willow. Jealousy + Curiosity + no conception of his size= chaos. However, he's a smart dog and is figuring out that barking or charging the kitten is not acceptable. The kitten is learning that if she hisses he slams on the brakes, whines and backs off. She's getting much less worried about him. Today they even touched noses. I am positive that in a few days they will be doing just fine.
Guinness: But, but I just want to sniff her. Why can't I sniff her?
Willow, of all of us, is adjusting just fine. Everywhere I go I am followed by a large dog and a wee kitten. Also, typing of blog posts is much trickier.
I mean can you even? I don't think so.
Remember when I said I had a lesson scheduled for today? Well it was cancelled because another rider had to cancel (a lost shoe). Shanea needs a certain number to make it viable. Which I understand but I was still disappointed. I had to decide what to do - I didn't want to fall into drilling her so I made some coffee and thought about what to do. I really really want to hit the trails in my woods but I want a companion the first few times so I need someone on Irish.
I decided to set up some poles to play with:
The red line is a landscape tie, the middle is a configuration of poles (the two parallel to B were 2 trot strides apart) and the '+' are two jump standards.
It was a very windy day and the wind was cold. I guess summer is over. I started with Carmen on the ground.
Suspicious mare is suspicious
I wanted to play with side passing over the landscape tie- starting in hand. It's funny- Carmen side passes very well in hand but as soon as I took her to the tie she struggled. I kept it slow and simple with lots of rewards. She finally figured it out and I gave lots of praise. Other wise we went up and down the ring playing with our ground work.
I then mounted and we began to play. The wind picked up and the trees were blowing a lot. As I would expect Carmen became tense with all the action. At one point there was a little dust devil in the ring. Carmen was not impressed. I was so happy that I had set up the course because it gave us something to focus on. I played with all sorts of patterns at walk, trot and canter. One exercise that was fun was using the parallel poles to set up a counter canter. The off-set poles were great for practicing diagonals.
We practiced side passing without and then with the tie. We actually managed to do it a few times too.
In the end we had some really nice work and it was all about making adjustments. I think if I hadn't had these obstacles it would have been a lot easier for Carmen to get fixated on the 'spooky things' but it's hard to do that with 'eek who put this pole here?'
I am hoping I can talk Ed into making me a bull and I need to find some barrels......
Mom said that I could do a post and so I want to share with you how mean she can be sometimes.
You see I love sticks. Like, I REALLY love sticks.
mom's friend, Cynthia throwing a stick for me.
It's silly but mom says that I go after sticks too hard sometimes so I might get hurt if I'm not careful.
I mean, really. I'm a dog. What does careful even mean?
careful is for sissies.
But Dad went and bought this stick that is 'safe'.
I love my new stick.
Mom shrugged and said 'that won't last'. And then she made it that I could only have it when we went on our walks. That made me really want the stick. I was a dog obsessed.
Today I had my chance. I managed to work my big brown eyes and convince mom to let me have it when she went out to do 'barn chores'. Now I don't really understand the point of 'barn chores'. Mostly it seems to me to be all about moving horse poo from one place to another. But it gets me outside and it seems to make her happy.
I was so happy to have my stick and I showed my love in the traditional way of chewing.
But I might have gone too far though and she took it away from me and put it on her green machine.
um, what just happened?
I tried the big brown eyes. They usually make her melt.
pleeease, I'll be good. I promise. Just look at my face. (you can see my sick by the big wheel)
She just said 'leave it alone'.
but but but that's my stick
I couldn't believe that she could be so mean. It's not like I was going to swallow those pieces. (well not many of them anyway).
I tried to get Ripley's help. She's pretty good at stealing stuff, I figured she could get it for me.
hmm, she put it up here? yes! Quick get it for me
But she said that it wasn't worth it.
It was worth it to me.
Ripley going back to hunting stupid squirrels.
so close and yet so far
I had to give up. Mom was being really really unreasonable about it.
Fortunately I live in the land of sticks.
Which just goes to show that you can't keep a good dog down.
