Thank you everyone for your comments and well-wishes for Quaid. Within a few days of starting on his antibiotics his appetite returned and he's back to his normal self.
happily grazing
You wouldn't know anything was wrong at all, except that I keep shoving a syringe in his mouth twice a day. Quaid will not eat meds in his feed no matter how I disguise it. And I've tried everything to make it palatable (even in a syringe): apple sauce, molasses, sugar, maple syrup, etc. All it does it make us a sticky mess so I now just dissolve the antibiotic in a small bolus of warm water and squirt it to the back of his troat.
prepping the drugs
I find that dosing syringes can be really hard to press the plunger at times so I use a little oil on the plunger end first and it slides no problem.
locked and loaded, lol
Quaid is really good about me administering his drugs. He clearly doesn't like it and yet he still accepts that I'm doing it. I'm not sure where Carmen and I'd be by now. I don't even need a halter. I try to do it fast and matter of factly and not make a big deal out of it. I find that usually makes things worse.
One thing I've really learned with Quaid is drug administration. And how to take a temperature. Poor guy. He's had to have a course of medication every year since he turned two. Hopefully at some point this won't happen anymore.
I've been having some great rides on Quaid. it seems that the holes we identified earlier were getting filled in nicely. Case in point: here we are enjoying Cordelia having a blast in puddles:
I had my lesson last on Carmen so this weekend it was going to be his turn. Unfortunately, this was not to be. It all started with Quaid not being too enthused about eating his grain. He was fine with his hay and he always finished, it just seemed to take a bit.
Then Wednesday morning I noticed he hadn't eaten all his night feed (I feed 3 times a day). I gave him hay and he dove in. Hmm. Then at supper he was refusing to eat his grain but not his hay. I took his temperature and it was 38.8. So up a little. His heart and respiration was normal. His eye was bright and alert. I gave him 10 ccs of Flunixin paste (banamine) and decided to monitor him overnight and call the vet in the morning.
The next morning his temp was 37 (normal) but he had no interest in his grain. I called the vet and she came out. We both were pretty sure we knew what it was. Her exam showed normal temperature (a little higher then when I had taken it), heart, respiration and jaundiced gums. She drew some blood and we talked about a plan. In the exam she found 2 ticks on him.
While she wanted to run tests on the blood but we decided that it was likely anaplasmosis (possibly Lyme). So we decided to start him on the treatment and she would run the bloodwork back at the clinic. When she called it was positive that he was fighting an infection. He was showing increased bilirubin but no other liver signs (juandice is a sign of anaplasmosis).
He's been on meds for 24 hours and his appetite is markedly improved.
If you're thinking, hey didn't he have anaplasmosis last year? You would be correct. Pretty much 12 months ago he was sick with it. I know that immunity doesn't last forever but it's typically 2+ years. Le sigh. Any advice for boosting his immune system is welcome.
I'd prefer him to a chick magnet instead of a tick magnet.
Carmen remains totally fine. Which I'm grateful for (especially for my bank account). I joke that the ticks wouldn't dare. And now she's on deck for the lesson this weekend. It is nice to have the option. I'm sure she's thrilled as well.
Travelling to Quebec and seeing all those lovely horses and riders was inspirational to me and I was excited to get back to riding. But I also needed to catch up on chores, which included ordering in my winter hay. The big 4 string squares can't really be moved by hand. We wrestle them on to the tractor and then put them in place. Every time Ed went by Quaid tried to grab a bite. When he missed he'd give me his sad eyes. Finally Ed stopped so he could taste.
Quaid: just a nibble
I was able to just jump back into riding and both horses were feeling the fall weather. With Carmen that makes her spicy and jumpy. Quaid is more reactive too but not as committed. With him I've been focussing on adding confidence and riding forward. It feels like things are improving.
pretty falling leaves, brisk winds and cool air. What could go wrong?
With Carmen she can get pretty heavy in the hand when she's feeling contrary. It can lead to a tug of war that I definitely don't want. It's so easy to fall into the trap of taking my legs off and bracing with my hands. So I was glad to have a lesson yesterday with Jane. It was Carmen's turn anyway but I probably would have chosen her anyway.
As an aside, I can recognise how lucky I am to have two horses to ride while I worry that I'm not advancing them as fast because I can't afford two lessons a week. Such a first world problem.
It was a cold and blustery day. Jane has been taking lessons from Janine Little and we are all benefiting from that. Jane started us walking and having me work on keeping the bit moving in her mouth and not locking my hands and giving her something to lean on. I always worry about moving the bit because I think I'm going to end up see-sawing on her mouth. But Jane explained that it's more like a vibration and keeps her from locking on the hand and keeping her neck tight and stiff.
Sharing this photo because Cordelia LOVES Dottie. Dottie is less enamoured, lol
What was neat about doing this that it kept her attention on me and not all the stuff blowing around. I love having a pivo but it struggled to keep us in the frame. I don't know if the wind was a factor or if it was trying to follow a rider dressed in gray riding a gray horse on a gray day....
lots of shots like this or with no horse lol
After we walked Jane had us move right into canter. First off, her canter is so much more balanced now. We then moved into working on counter canter. Carmen broke and switched her lead so Jane had us practice picking up the counter canter on a circle. It was really hard and I struggled to line up my aids. Carmen was adorable, she knew I was asking for the wrong lead so she just fixed it. So that will be homework. Of course I was to this while keeping the bit mobile and asking her to half-halt and not hold. And also not over-aid. As I said to Jane, my default is always to hold. So this was really good for me to focus on it.
counter canter- looks a bit wild but it really wasn't
I also can fall into the trap of trying to ride well by being too strong. It's been a real lesson for me this year (or really all years lol) is that trying harder means riding softer. But honestly it really works.
We did trot work at the end. I really liked doing the ride this way. Her trot was so loose and soft and just so flexible. No leaning on the bit or plowing on her shoulders.
having so much fun
whee, moving towards suspension
It was a great lesson and exactly what we needed. Keeping the bit mobile made a huge difference in our half-halts. They were more effective and lighter. Jane says that our flying changes are getting closer which is exciting. I'm really happy with how my riding has progressed this year.
I just got back from going to the championships in Quebec and OMG it was so much fun. I knew I would enjoy myself because 'all the pretty horses' but even I was surprised by how much fun it actually was. We left early Monday (5 a.m.) and drove for 12 hours to the venue. Jane was showing her horse and she bought M (a junior competitor) and Ilka (her mom). This gave us 3 drivers to share the load which was great. Jane was showing in the gold show and M qualified for the championship (first level). The trailer was packed tight and so was the truck. The boys traveled really well.
we'd stop to let them drop their heads and have some water. Darius (paint) and Juno (hannovarian).
We were the first ones to arrive. The facility entrance was at the end of a road in a subdivision and it really felt like it was wrong. But it turned out to be the entrance.
entrance is top left. The show rings being used were the Enertec, Simons and Equico
Complexe Equestre de Bécancour has 2 indoor rings, 3 outdoor rings, 3 barns plus space for temporary barns, a cafe and campground. It was really well laid out and lovely. The footing for the outdoor rings (never saw the indoor ones) was a fibre sand mix.
two rings in the big ring
our barn
We rented a RV and boy was that a learning curve. It turns out that they rent these but give zero instructions. We had a few incidents that we had to call for help a few times. The last day I figured out how to empty the gray water tank because no one answered my calls and the water was backing up. (sorry not sorry).
so many laughs happened in this trailer
When we arrived the hose was leaking where it joined and making a mess. The horse's needed to be dealt with so I took over and called for help. "Hello this is Jane F calling....". Since it was rented in her name and it made sense. By the end of the week we were joking that I was Jane. Once we got the water sorted M said 'thank god we brought Teresa!' and I said jokingly 'That is not the last time you will say that!' Which became a running joke over the week. Final count was 26 in case you were wondering. lol.
You would think that we'd have been crowded in the camper but we really weren't. It helped that by end of day we were all exhausted. After eating and laughing over the day's happenings. Lots of silly things happened in that trailer. Including a spontaneous cabaret show by Jane and I to the tune of 'Patricia the Stripper'. We laughed so hard. In case you're curious:
sangria at end of day overlooking the rings
I was expecting to see lots of lovely horses and was not disappointed. I met a lot of lovely people as well. When I was walking between the barns I spied a gorgeous Andalusian stallion. I stopped and chatted with his handler but I never got his name or rider. oops. Later I learned he was Esparticus and being ridden by Tina Irwin. So I made sure to find his ride times and watch. He did not disappoint. I was sitting in the shade watching the ride on Saturday and an older gentleman was sitting beside me. We started chatting and I shared that I loved this horse. We talked about Andalusians and how great they are. Tina had a great ride and when she left the ring he said to her 'did you earn a margarita?' I looked at him and he said 'she gets a margarita when she wins'.
What if she loses?
She gets two!
Makes sense to me. I laughed.
I then realised something, Are you the owner? I asked. He smiled and said yes. Thank god I really liked him. Turns out that he is in his 80's and he hacks this horse out on a regular basis.
I mean LOOK AT HIM
It was fun to be a groom and general helper. Jane did really well and I'm glad I was there to harass help her in getting ready. I called myself the 'Jane Wrangler'. People would stop to talk to her and, because she's really nice, she'd talk to them even when she had to get ready. I was also nice but mostly I was very clear she had to go- I put on her jacket, tacked up the horse, got the mounting block ready and walked Juno out to get ready. Hopefully she appreciated it, lol. I also was dragging her past people so we could go see M win the 'best dressed for the jog' prize. We all helped her to dress up in the Nova Scotian Tartan.
late? Not on my watch!
I loved watching M and Jane ride. They did so well. M didn't place as well as I thought she should on the first day but did really well on the second day and won the silver medal. We were all so proud.
Loved the Photo Booth
the stalls had a NS theme as well. Note the Sou'westers!
I think there were like 130 horses there of every type (although a lot of warmbloods as you would expect) and riders too. There were a number of para riders and one was right across from my stall, Natasha James. She is on the national team and was a lovely woman. I really enjoyed getting to know her.
As expected, there were vendors there. I bought a saddle pad bag and had it embroidered at another booth for $15. I found showing two horses meant I had to lug like 6 saddle pads. I think that this will be a great help:
I also bought a pair of Cowgirl Up Green breeches. I've ridden in them three times since getting home and I love them. They have the perfect amount of stretch, support and grip. It also helps that I had to buy a size small. After years of buying large or XL there's no way I wasn't buying a size small!
Jane's dog, Dottie was our travel companion. She's such a good horse show dog. Even when she's annoyed at me for disturbing her naps or not letting her run after Jane.
watching Jane warm up
Having a kitchen really helped a lot. We ate out once for supper and I bought lunch once (poutine because we're in Quebec and you have to). The last night we were going to eat out but the cafe was closed and there weren't any restaurants open in town. So we went to the grocery store and bought some frozen Chinese and reheated leftovers and made some of the pancake batter.
perfect last night at the show food
As I said the people were very friendly. No one was like 'I have a fancy horse and am a top level rider'. Everyone was just riding and loving their horses. I made sure to watch some Second level classes and Carmen and I would have totally been competitive. Well, as long as we could deal with the multiple judges booths and all the activity..... But even thinking that I was not feeling any envy or FOMO. I truly enjoyed all the show.
We arrived late Monday and left before dawn the next Monday. The time had really flown. The drive home was uneventful (yay) and I got to my house by 8:30 that night. It was a wonderful experience. I know that this is the first time that Equestrian Canada has held dressage championships in many years. I hope that they continue to do so.
Yes I'm still alive. As are the horses. Last weekend I took both to a clinic up at Krista's. I have been wanting to write about it but I've been so busy and my brain has been busy with my takeaways.
Long story short, Carmen was brilliant. She showed up and worked her butt off. We had some real breakthroughs with her pushing off her hind leg.
Since we've been home she's been having a fierce heat and has been a bit fiery. She actually managed to surprise me with a spin/bolt and it's been a long time since that has happened. What was neat was that as she got away I was completely off balance. Instead of scrambling for purchase I stood in the stirrups until I got my balance back and then sat down and turned her into a circle that I rode until her desire to gallop/canter was done. Then we cantered a little more. Then we returned to what the original ask was.
Quaid did much better at the clinic in the past. We still can't get a reliable canter off site but our trot work was really good and I felt my confidence go forward.
He did a few dekes but I stayed on and we carried on. I'll probably have more to say on it later.
But the big news is that next week I'm heading up to the Eastern Dressage Championships. Not as a competitor but as a helper. I'm travelling with Jane and one her students. It will be at Becancour Quebec. It's a lovely facility (based on the website) and we've rented an RV on site. We leave early Monday and will be there for the week.
I'm really looking forward to the break and seeing some lovely horses/riders. It will be all the fun of showing with none of the stress of showing.
I had a lesson booked with Quaid right after the saddle fit appointment. I was curious to see if if made a difference but also I was just happy to moving things ahead with him. It was booked for mid afternoon and it was a lovely day.
I'm not going to lie, it was a hard lesson. I worked my tail off. After it was done I thought it was awful. Or, more accurately, that I was awful. Then, when I watched the video I realised that the first half was really good, the middle really hard and the end good again. Which is why video is so useful because it's easy to believe something was terrible because it felt hard.
He usually halts square.
Jane started with getting me to ask him to step under but not take bigger strides in front. Or go faster. The idea is to have him step under and into a receiving hand. I could feel it working but it was hard. And he found it hard. I'm pretty sure Quaid was thinking 'but WHY can't I just fling my front legs or go faster. You are sooooo picky'.
Jane has also identified that Quaid is not so keen to step into the right rein. He wants to drop his shoulder and fall in. I'm pretty sure that this is my fault. I'm left handed and it tends to over power the right.
But I need to not just hold the right rein, and I need to half-halt. But it was going well. Like I could feel things coming together. Then Jane asked us to canter, starting with the right lead. While keeping a flexion to the right. With this the hamster totally fell off the wheel and things fell right apart.
He would canter a couple strides, switch behind, get pissed off and start balking on the front legs. I was to sit up and keep him going and not pull him to stop. Jane is pretty sure that because I always used to back off then that he thinks this is what gets him to rest. So even if we didn't canter I was to keep him trotting. So then this happened:
this is short clip of a much longer sequence. He's thrown his hips at the fence before. This time he managed to break it and then freak himself out. Jane was great, she just spoke in a soothing voice as she put the board back up and gave us time to get our breath back.
But after that he had a vendetta against the fence. It was like he was Inigo Montoya and it killed his father.
yay for being able to include a Princess Bride reference
We would trot a little, then ask for the canter. Even when I asked everything correctly it was a total shit show.
Quaid: "I hate the world"
I especially hate this fence!
Finally I started riding him in off the rail so he couldn't kick at it. It's really hard to ride with a soft seat, sitting up and a quiet hand when your horse is flinging themselves around. After we got a little canter we went back to the trot and walk and just worked on getting bend and breathing (for me anyway).
not hating the world so much
I was exhausted. I realised that Quaid had my number and when Jane wouldn't let the evasions work he ramped up. Jane also said that he needs to understand the right rein/flexion. So my homework was to keep working on it.
Since he had my number I needed to change it. I gave myself a talking to. Along the lines that I know how to ride and I can work through this. I do not have to be intimidated by 5 year old tantrums.
I gave him a day off on Saturday (I actually tested for my Orange belt in karate and passed. It was fun). On Sunday I lunged him in side reins so that he could have contact. There were a few bobbles but he settled in to WTC with them on. Horses definitely know when they are pulling on themselves vs a rider.
On Monday I worked a lot on him keeping the flexion through walkt-trot-walk transitions on both sides. We did lots of figures (serpentines, bending lines, 10 metre circles), leg yields etc. with the focus on forward. When I felt things were good with the bend and flexion I then cantered him on the left rein. It was easy. We did the whole ring doing circles, going straight, another circle. Brought him back, changed reins and asked for a right lead. He picked up the lead, gave a huge buck and switched leads. I kept him going down the long side and brought him back to trot before the corner. We regrouped and I asked again. He picked it right up and we did a circle. He tried to pull the right rein out of my hand and threw a mini tantrum when he couldn't. I kept the rein, asked for him to trot forward (and away from the fence), picked up the canter again and circled again. It was a bit wild and wooly but we did it. I left the canter and worked on other things.
On Tuesday it was very similar. Left canter was easy. the first time we picked up the right he gave a little buck, cantered a few strides, dropped to trot and got emotional. I just regrouped with him, asked again and we had 3-4 lovely canter circles. Again, I left it after that and we worked on other things.
Today we repeated the work again. This time when I asked him for right lead I made sure I asked really softly out of a forward trot. He rolled right into it and cantered a few circles. This time I stopped and dismounted. I was so proud of both of us.
Tomorrow we head off property for a clinic (riding friday and Sunday). I'm going to (to quote Jane) ride the horse I have and see where we are. I get that he gets unnerved away from home. I'm going to do my best to be the calm in the eye of the storm. That is my goal. If we canter that would be great but I'm okay if we don't.
Cordelia: forget the horses. Just stay and snuggle with me
With the show done and dusted it was time to get back to work. I have been focussed on riding Quaid forward from the beginning. It's been interesting because I realise how much I was letting him mosey and then slow down when he was worried. The problem with that is it gives him time to think and do things that I don't like (like spin or balk). Riding him forward and in a steady rhythm makes that far less likely to happen. If I want forward away from home then I need forward firmly established at home.
I've been paying attention to keeping my elbows from bouncing and a soft seat. A couple rides he's been really spooky about a certain spot in the ring. The bending and riding him forward is working a treat. It's helping my confidence too because every time we work through it successfully I feel more like I know what I'm doing.
In fairness to Quaid, in one ride he was acting up about a corner and then when I rode him through a neighbourhood cat leapt up hissing!
I could feel his soul leave his body.
Cat: hissssss! how dare you interrupt my hunt! I will end you!
Quaid: AARGHHHH! *leaps sideways*
Me: WTF?!
Quaid: I TOLD YOU there was a predator there.
Me: it was just a harmless house cat.
Quaid: harmless? HARMLESS?!It was a cougar. My mom warned me about those out in the prairie.
Me:there are no cougars here on the east coast (immediately a number of FB users chime in with the story of their brother's cousin's friend's run in with one in 2020)
Me: anyway..... that was just a 10 pound cat.
Cordelia snoozing outside the ring noticing nothing: zzzzzzzzz
I feel like I'm digressing off of the main topic here. Sorry.
One of the things on my list when I got home was to have his saddle checked. Now I know it's not the sole answer but I felt like it might be contributing. The fitter came out today and he's definitely changed his shape. She had to swap out the gullet for a larger one and adjust the stuffing. As soon as I sat in the saddle I could feel the change. I didn't feel like I was fighting for my position. I did a little ride to make sure it was fine and then got off.
I'm glad that I removed any discomfort that he might have been feeling. That leaves it open to tackle the training part. Tomorrow I have a lesson and we'll see if it makes any difference. Even if it doesn't, it still needed to be done. We may have 99 problems but saddle fit ain't one (anymore).
