Beauty Makes Us Bold

Flattery, fiestiness and the rest of the fam.

2011-08-04T20:15:00.005-04:00

So, I talk about the Archman an awful lot. This wouldn't be so bad if I were surrounded by people who were either interested in what I had to say or actually cared about my horse. Unfortunately for all parties involved, they aren't and don't. :)

One of the things that I mention a lot is how Archie is anhydrotic (oh! that's new from last year!) and subsequently gets beer twice a day. I work at a vet's office, small animal, and have told about a billion clients about this randomness of my day - giving beer to my Thoroughbred.

Teasing is a form of affection, right?

Imagine my surprise today when another group of coworkers mention my kid and how one of them wants to ride him. Evidently, my posts on facebook about him being a jackass has inspired her that he would be fun. She can't ride English.

Which brings me to a personal issue: I don't ever want anyone else to ever ride Archie. It was something something I really I had to work with. I let another rider I knew through IHSA hop on him a couple times a week for about a month and it made me miserable. And then I had to spend time getting him back to a version of himself that I enjoyed. When I moved him to this new barn, I made it abundantly clear that she would be feeding him - that's it. I didn't want her or her students or her friends to ever get on him. Some people came out to the barn the other day and one woman started petting his face. And I was irrational about how much that bothered me. Could she have asked permission first? The idea of people giving him carrots doesn't bother me nearly as much as the idea of someone touching him does. To feed carrots is to worship; to pet is to own.

I guess.

And the excuse that I give when people ask about potentially getting on him is that he is too much. Too feisty. I worry sometimes that it makes me appear and incompetent rider, but I try to make it clear that he is very particular. The girl that mentioned riding him today, I think, really just wanted to have another means in which to exert dominance. She's a relatively new employee. I thought she was great initially and I'm very pleased to work with her. But she'll never ride my horse.

Part of reviving this blog was to give myself and opportunity to talk about things that don't necessarily relate to Archie and other horses. So, I thought I'd introduce my "girls":

Scarlette

Scar is my "first-born". I've owned her since my freshman year of college. I got her with an exboyfriend who decided that he wanted a fur-family. I picked out a dog for him and he picked out a dog for me. We were financially completely insecure. We were in absolutely no position to adopt dogs. But we did. And somehow, Scarlette made it through that only mildly screwed over.

Savannah

By the time Scar was three, I had my shit together. She went to the vet once a year, she was spayed. I thought I took care of her. When a friend had a pregnant bitch, I offered to take a puppy if there were a female runt. And said that I would name her Savannah. So, there was. And she's (secretly) my favorite. She's smart and beautiful, but overwhelmingly loving, forgiveable, and willing. She's the ideal dog. She comes when called, stays by my side, plays with other dogs well, and is just awesome. Her biggest flaw has been her health. HGE as a puppy, heartworm positive at two years, dental issues. I still would not give this girl up for a second.

I'll get to the kitty cats next time. :)

Catching up!

2011-08-01T12:27:00.006-04:00

An incredible amount of things have happened since last I wrote. One of the most significant things has been that my sweethreat and I relocated to a city about three and a half hours south. Fortunately, the man had an awesome job that paid for most of his relocation and we were able to shove my belongings into the same truck. Unfortunately, I had to quit the three jobs that I was working (did I ever mention that?), leave my awesome apartment, and find a new place for the Kid. Archie. My horse.

The city that we moved into has absolutely no horse presence. We're living by the ocean now, in the low country, and I guess the lack of land has something to do with that. There are some barns about an hour out from where we live, but I couldn't imagine driving that far every day to see my boy.

I lucked out, though! Kinda. My landlord, who actually has horses, recommended a barn to me that is in a phenomenal location. It's all of a mile and a half from where we live. It's a secluded place, three stalls, four acres, covered in trees and spanish moss. He had a little bit of an adjustment, what with being loose with other horses. At our last barn, Archie was a wee bit too aggressive to safely go out with the other guys. Here, he pushes them around, but he hasn't been too bad.

The down side to the barn is that I ride in a pasture, there are two broken-down jumps, and bunch of random little things.

And the other major, significant thing?

I GOT MARRIED!

Hocks?

2009-08-24T11:09:00.004-04:00

So I started to look at his right hock the other day. He was wonderful in the ring - picked up the trot both ways, cantered easily on the left lead (no crossing!). And then I asked for the right lead and he exploded again.

I tried pushing him forward and getting him to stretch, but it never seemed to achieve anything. I then turned to the old English stand-by: the lunge line. He bucked for three rotations, solidly. Hooves clacking, ass in the air, head down. After that, though, he started to relax and stretch into it. Then I mounted, talking to him the entire time.

"Easy, pick it up easy. Good boy, easy." He knows "good boy." He knows it means, "Okay, you've done what I wanted and can now stop." Something his previous owner taught him, I think. I've been trying to retrain it to just be an affirmation, not an okay to quit.

Anyways, he fluidly picked up the right lead and I asked him to go out a few strides. Then I praised him profusely and we stopped. When I was cooling him out, I noticed that he had managed to bruise his right hind hoof in a couple of spots. That's my boy!

I gave him yesterday off.

In an effort to still touch an equine, I pulled a mare's mane. I've got pretty free rein to pull any manes of any of the lesson horses. This girl doesn't do much.. just eats, really. She was a broodmare a few years ago and her son went on to be an awesome hunter pony. But she tends to buck everything off. We have a joke about our best rider getting thrown at the walk.

So I went to pull her mane and realized that it was completely matted. Disgustingly so. I keep a little swiss army pocket knife on me and started to saw out most of the mats. It took me shorter than I wanted, but I think I was still able to pull out a decent mane. I'd put up before pictures, but I think the owner would shoot me.

She's a cute girl. The owner said she had gotten a call from a rescue, concerned about her ending up at slaughter. I then explained that you never, ever post anything as "FTGH" - always ask for a rehoming fee, even if it's only a dollar.

Saddles and Bucks

2009-08-18T15:44:00.004-04:00

So, the little bastard embarrassed me the other day.

We've been having issues since the vet injected him. He'd start and stop and refused to trot. I tried multiple saddles. I normally ride him in a close contact Wintec with a wide tree and a comfort pad underneath. I tried him in my dressage Wintec with a regular tree. Then I tried him in my trainer's Pessoa with a regular tree. It was finally in the Pessoa that he decided to act like a rational, non-painful horse and pick up the freaking trot. I put him back in the close contact Wintec the next day and he was still wonderful. So, we've stuck with the Wintec since then.

He did do something funny.. I'll get him to trot with no hesitation and canter on the right lead no problem. Then I'll ask him to canter on the left lead and it'll be the most god-awful rockinghorse canter. His ears stay straight forward the entire time and he seems like a happy boy.

This is where the embarrassment came in.

I was riding him on Saturday with another person in the ring. It's been a while since Archie's worked with another horse, mostly because we've so few boarders left at my barn. And this sweet thing was a mare. Maybe I haven't relayed this about Archie's personality.. but he doesn't realize that he's been cut. He's actually been used (without my consent!) as a teaser. Awesome, right?

So, we're working and he's doing fine. He's watching her out of the corner of his eye every so often, when I can't get him to completely focus on rounding or bending or pushing forward.

I take him around a turn and ask for the canter on the left lead. He's fine and we stop a few strides out so I can praise him. I walk him out and then track right to pick up the right lead. Everything's going okay and the other horse isn't so near, but slowly approaching on the rail. And then he explodes.

Buck, buck, buck. And I react like any embarrassed mother: I squeeze my calves into his side, pull his head into a correct position, and growl, "You will canter, motherfucker!" Profanities ensue. And the other girl stops her mare and watches, patiently waiting. Do I need to mention that this girl is a teenage with a young horse that's damn near perfect? Except form over fences, but that's improved dramatically. God. At least, though, I got him cantering on both leads in a forward motion. Jesus.

The good thing that's change, though, is his willingness to move forward. I seriously feel like I'm riding a freight train and almost have to give no calf pressure to get him into a working trot. He just plows down the sides of the ring and it's all I can do to keep up. Love it!

Hooves..

2009-08-07T14:25:00.006-04:00

So, the farrier came out yesterday. I've requested that Archie now get aluminum on all four. It's strange. To go from regular shoes on all four to regular on the back and aluminum on the front, it was a huge price difference. Like.. fifty dollars, at least, but probably closer to $65. To go from just the fronts to all four being aluminum, I'm only paying $25 more. WTF? I'm not complaining, just wishing it could all just be cheaper.

I also requested that he not take so much off Archie's front heels. I've got a few pictures, but they aren't the greatest, so bear with me. These are his hooves a few months ago. I was concerned about the toe being long, so I took this picture and took it to NMV. NMV said that the toes were good and explained the whole rounding the tip thing. I felt better after that.

And then these are his hooves at about the time that NMV came out to give the injection. NMV said that the toes were long and the heels too short. And he'd just had them done.

It's a pretty basic concept to think of what can happen if you've got no heel. Every step, the tendon pulls.

Ass...inine.

2009-08-06T16:00:00.002-04:00

So, I had this little situation on Facebook. And I just wanted to share!

I just got this from the admin of the group "Equestrian Athletes." I know many of you are members of this group, as it's just huge. I've never really posted to that group and I'm not sure that I've ever submitted pictures or anything. I plan on hunting through pretty shortly and pulling everything I may have contributed. So, the jist of this is: I left a comment - just asking if we could get a new icon (his quotation marks are verbatim). And my comment got deleted and this is the response he sent me:

Robert sent you a message.
--------------------
Subject: Equestrian Athletes

This will respond to your Wall posting, "Can we get a new icon picture? I totally saw that in Microsoft Word Clipart."

First, I'm glad you "totally saw that" as if you only partially saw it, it might indicate serious retina problems.

Second, if you have something you want to say to me or Laura, please do so privately. We try to answer all questions as soon as we can, but we do not debate, especially publicly, how we run the group.

Third, we considered several other pictures for use in the group but unfortunately acquiring a license for copyrighted images is expensive. Facebook contributes NOTHING to the cost of this group and we are unwilling to pay for the use of a copyrighted image out of our pockets.

The picture currently in use comes to us courtesy of Microsoft as a royalty-free image. We know for certain that we can use this without the risk of a copyright infringement lawsuit so that's why we have it. (Also, we like it.)

Unfortunately, the number of times group members have posted images for which they did not have the rights now runs into the thousands.

If you or any other group member can point to a professionally taken image for which we can obtain a license at no fee, we might consider it. Bear in mind, however, that in keeping with our branding strategy, we do not want to keep changing our image. We have already changed the name of the group.

Sincerely,

Robert (Deleted the Jackass's Last Name)

And my response:

This will respond to your asinine message (the overwhelming quantity of which makes me disinclined to copy and paste - surely you can read above?).

First, it is a common occurrence in the English language, particularly something as seemingly light-hearted as a Facebook wall post, to use adverbs. Adverbs add just a touch of pizzazz to a sentence. My use of "totally" is not completely dissimilar to your use of "publicly", as in your sentence "we will not debate, especially publicly", because obviously - you debate privately. See, pizzazz!

And wouldn't you feel just horrible to know that I actually do have a retina problem, thus limiting my ability to discern certain things on a computer screen? And before you ask - it does not affect my ability to sight my distance to a fence. Thanks for the concern, Robert!

Second, when I posted my now-deleted request, it was not really meant for "Robert" or "Laura", simply the vague gods-that-be in some hopes that we might see a change. "We" being the little people who lack the power to make changes happen. Just think, before today I never knew you existed! And look at our connection now.. :) I wish God responded as quickly and as thoroughly as you!

Third, Robert, I disagree with you. I don't think that it's unfortunate at all that acquiring a copyright license is expensive. It's easily reproduced art. I think they ought to have as many protections as possible. But, Robert, you would shudder to see my i-pod! Such a hypocrit, right?
I was not able to find any legislature regarding the federal crime of copyright infringement with regards to the Facebook users having violated the copyright. I have, however, seen a multitude of links for Facebook taking some other corporate giant to bat for that injustice. And, I'm sure you've heard about this, but have you seen any mention of the new ads that an "outside company" can do by utilizing your own pictures? Do you think they took into consideration the potential for a private photographer with a Facebook account having copyright pictures used? Scary thought!

So, Robert, enlighten me with some links regarding this travesty you're trying to avoid. And in the meantime, maybe you ought to consider (because I definitely don't want to tell you how to run your group!) asking if any of the nearly thirty-four thousand members has an amateur image that they wouldn't mind sharing? Certainly at least one of them has had friends or family in attendance while equipped with a camera. I'd gladly toss you an image or two of me on my horse; however, I'm fat and ugly and I fear that might dissuade people from joining your group, not to mention strongly impacting your strategically planned brand image! My horse, however, is a hottie. You can use him.

Sincerely,

Rebekah Coleman

(PS. Pleasure meeting you, Robert! Sorry if you took my little two-sentence request personally!)

And, super quick! I got a response back:

Re: Equestrian Athletes

I would indeed answer your question about copyright assuming for just a moment that I believed you were seriously interested, but I have clients to see who pay me money.

Perhaps you would read this article. http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/arts/music/01arts-GRADUATESTUD_BRF.html You never know what you can learn.

By the way, for as long as you have been a member of this group, my name has been on the right hand column in the box marked "admins."

So.... I shot this off:

Ohhh, Robert! Are you a lawyer? Then seriously consider some good old fashioned pro bono work and share the knowledge!

Poor Joel. And all the other "unfortunate" people who were found utilizing Napster, limewire, et al.

And Robert, I assure you that you and Equestrian Athletes are by far my favorite and fondest - however, I'm a member of a multitude of groups. Well, one fewer, now! :) And, unfortunately, I haven't bothered to familiarize myself with the admins of them all. I don't know, I hope this isn't my gender speaking, but I'd be a little taken aback by a personal message recieved by a complete stranger regarding a forum that offers its own means of communication.

The Injection Connection

2009-07-21T13:44:00.005-04:00

So, the Equine-Vet-Who-Isn't-My-Vet (hereafter referred to as "NM [Not My] Vet") came out last night with one of my friends. The meds came in late last week and this was the first time that we all three had off. My friend is currently studying to be a vet but primarily works with small animals, so was jumping at the opportunity to get some hands-on with a horse. We all three have worked together in the past.

I think it needs to be said that I trust NM Vet explicitly. I've seen him save animals that other vets wouldn't have been able to, either because of inexperience, ignorance or a complete lack of balls. Actually, I've filled 60cc syringes with water as he tubed and pumped an elderly Boxer with gastric dilation-volvulus. I fucking trust this guy.

It was the three of us and my 16+ hand, thousand-pound Thoroughbred, who was bucking and chasing like crazy thirty minutes prior. NM Vet had said that he'd be sedating for the injection. I just trust him, even if that's not common practice for intra-articular injections. I'm perfectly okay with Archie being a little drunk for something that typically requires bodily force and a twitch. I'm proud to say that I have never had to twitch him.

NM Vet gave him a Xylazine/Dormitor cocktail after first asking if Archie was a light weight. Shamefully, I had no idea. Neither did the stable hand who's been there for all of his procedures for the past five years. Whatever. Archie almost immediately started drooping.

There was then the immediate prep of the area - lots of scrubbing, bitching at me for my dirty fetlocks, alcohol, prepping of syringes and needles and directions to my friend regarding what she was to hand him when, etc. At no point was I nervous. Really, just fucking elated.

My job was to hold the tail and his left hind. I don't guess many people are used to Xylazine, but it's the same sedation they generally give for dentals (aka, "floating"). And it's a great drug, quick, but it does have the side of still giving the horse the ability to kick out. So, I HELD THE FUCKING LEFT HIND.

NM Vet immediately gave the Hylartin V injection in his right hind fetlock (I need to look this up before I continue possibly making an ass of myself - are the front ankles also fetlocks, or am I being redundant by calling it the hind fetlock?). And here's the important thing about me holding the left hind - HE LEFT THE NEEDLE IN and attached the second syringe and gave Archie a chaser of Predef 2x. It makes sense to me - a sensitive area that will invariably get dirty should have as few punctures as possible.

We did Predef 2x as opposed to a course of bute or ban or hugs and kisses because intra-articular injections have a tendency to cause inflammation of the joint. Not exactly something you want when osteoarthritis and joint inflammation are what you're treating.

So here's the funny part. Archie was left in the cross-ties for all of this because we had no magical fourth person to hold his head. And after we'd finished and I'd gotten my funny picture (see below), Archie dropped. I freaked. ..But not badly. This is Archie. He falls. I know he falls. I've seen him bust his butt out in the pasture and I've had him fall on the lunge line. That time a couple weeks ago when he was joy-bucking through the property, I heard the slide of shoes on concrete. And this is my friend, taking the opportunity to get a good read on him.

After we got him back up, I took him for a little meander down the aisle and out in the grass before determining that he was okay enough to go into his stall without the potential of conking his head on something. I dragged him up the little ledge and took off his halter and turned on his fan. And then I took my friend to get permission from Lady Di's owner to listen to her heart murmur. Very sad.

I took them all (and my boyfriend) out to dinner to thank them. I'll get NM Vet something else extra - just haven't decided what. I went back out to the barn after dinner just to check on him and you really couldn't tell that anything had happened. He neighed when he saw me walking down the aisle and then was super-pushy for some hay. I felt really good about the experience and can't wait to see him back in work.

Lady Di and Poco the Broken Pogo

2009-07-19T01:00:00.003-04:00

This week hasn't been all that great in the world of horses.

The mare in my last post, Lady Di, aka Diana, got a bit of vet attention. While I was lunging her, the barn manager noticed that her muscle tone really sucked. I haven't been paying too much attention to her over the past few months, beyond the weekly bring in and out for feeding on Sunday. So I hadn't noticed. The barn manager decided that her condition was actually worsening since we'd started her conditioning, so she called out the vet (ironically, the same I don't like).

The vet did a full exam and checked the heart (for the first time since before she was tested for EPM - way to go!). And found a grade four heart murmur.

I'm devastated for the mare and for the owner and for the family. A couple of little girls have cemented their skills on this old eventer. I can't imagine how crumbled I'd be if someone told me that Archie was at the point that I could no longer ride him. That he couldn't be outside in too hot of weather. Couldn't run around like a horse. Couldn't be left in his stall for too long. Because if he died in his stall, chances are that we'd have to bust down a wall to get him out.

Told that I'd never ride my horse again because he was dying.

I can't imagine that.

I rode Poco today. She's the first non-Archie horse that I've ridden in almost a year. The last was Morgan, a Morab owned by a friend. I loved that little mare. She was great for having been a pasture ornament for years and then asked to pack a 180 pound woman around the countryside (I've lost weight - I promise). She had a few issues with framing and pressure and something with her hocks - I couldn't tell.

Anyways, so I rode Poco. It was an instantaneous difference. First, height. Archie's got a solid.. six inches on her. At least. And the walk was funny. Like a little strut. And finally, on the rail, her long-ass back made it impossible for her to control her butt. I don't guess that she's been worked much lately (I didn't really ask), because as soon as I started asking her to frame or to bend or to try to get her ass behind her shoulders, she got super pissy. Mares. I felt like her head was going to get me in the nose on a few occasions.

The canter was nice, though. It was refreshing to not have to ask a horse eighteen times to pick up the right lead. I'm so used to circles and lots of right hand and leg pressure. Good old racehorses.

Archie is getting his injection on Monday. I can't fucking wait.

Working Other Horses

2009-07-12T00:24:00.003-04:00

Very infrequently, I'll get the opportunity to spend some time with other horses. It doesn't happen nearly as much since I graduated.. mostly just riding out with friends. I did one semi-appraisal for a mare for purchase, but that's been about it.

We've got one mare at my barn that was recently diagnosed with EPM. If you aren't familiar with this disease, it's like... the worst disease that can happen to an active, happy horse. Save HYPP. (I can't imagine seizure and drowning.) So, the owner is trying to get her back up to regular form. She's a giant girl - 17+ hands, solid black, huge stride and an old eventer. I would stick a beginner with a strong seat on her in a second. She's that good.

Her owner went out of town for about week and asked me to keep lunging her. The vet (actually, the same vet who pissed me off) recommended working her on a hill to build up her topline. So, this is a little video of her. You can see that she's still skinny (won't eat beyond a certain amount.. she's got other issues, too), has almost no muscle and can't seem to pick up those hocks. She frames up in the top portion, but loses it (expected at this point, I guess) in the down and up hill frames.

Sorry for the quality. It was taken with my cell phone!

2009-07-07T14:44:00.003-04:00

So I thought I'd throw some old videos on here today. Since I've nothing new because my ass hasn't touched a saddle in over a week (I'm crying on the inside. Promise.).

This one is the first-ever video of me on Archie - just doing a quick
hand-gallop, about a million years ago.

And this is back in early, early 2007. Thank god we've come at least a little bit. He hollows less.

And this is me pissing him off with my failed attempts at dressage.

And finally, proof that I don't always fall off when he swishes his tail.

Err..

2009-07-06T16:45:00.002-04:00

I feed on Sundays at my barn, in exchange for a discount on my board. Because there is no freaking way I could afford his shoes, his drugs and his board and my own personal utilities and rent. God.

(FYI - in case you're curious about the cost of owning a horse:

Board - $440/month
Shoes - $165/6-8 weeks
Supplements - $48/month
Vet bill - $310 wellness plan plus $100 dental

...For a grand total of.. $7,586. Before lessons. Before shows. Before accidental injuries. Before paying my own $6,000+ to live in my little 675 square foot hole in the wall. Or my own food. Or my dogs' food. Jesus christ.. I need to marry a fucking millionaire.)

Soo.. uh.

Oh, so the point of this story!

I haven't been working Archie because I've been waiting on the vet to get the stuff for his injection. Keep in mind, I'm getting a freakin' deal on all this because the vet is a friend. If it takes longer, so be it. And a little bit about Archie: loves people, hates horses. Follower. He will go wherever I go, in the pasture, the ring, walking through the barn. Whatever. I once walked him through the office, just because I could.

So this Sunday morning, I'm feeding. I bring Archie in last, because that's just a little bit less time that he'll have to be in his stall for the day. And I take the halter and fly mask off outside of the stall, expecting him to pop on in and start chowing down. Heh.

The next thing I know, Archie is bucking through the barn aisle, hauling serious ass. I was a little dumbfounded, honestly. It took about fifteen minutes, four laps around the barn, a bite mark to the neck from another gelding, and a bucket of sweet feed to get him back in hand.

Awesome.

The Horse | Horses React to Human Heart Rates, Study Finds

2009-07-02T14:39:00.002-04:00

The Horse Horses React to Human Heart Rates, Study Finds

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Lines!

2009-07-01T15:49:00.004-04:00

So, I did my best with drawing lines on my boy. Don't know how well I hit the marks, but I referred to about a million different links. I think this is right.

Looking at the blue line, you see his shoulder. I've heard varying things on this, but that a 45 degree angle is ideal. I've also heard that anything slopier or "flatter" than 45 degrees is awesome, too. The main jist behind this is that the shoulder should not be straight up and down, as that results in a crappy ride. Not smooth.

The black lines, that you can barely see because I'm an idiot, are supposed to help determine the actual slope of the body. Flat versus downhill versus uphill. This is supposed to be the withers in relation to the height of the croup (again, from what I understand). They are supposed to be taken in consideration to each other, because a horse can appear to be uphill or flat (downhill being the non-desireable of the options) at the withers, but the horse can be standing on a slope. Looking at my guy... I would say this makes him look a little downhill. You'd also be better to use the two legs in the foreground, rather than the background, so I'm hoping my sweetheart isn't as fucked up as he looks.

And the magenta lines are supposed to show off his legs. I would say that Archie definitely has a good back end, that his pastern seems to be a nice 45 degrees (but the bellboots inhibit the honesty of that statement) and that his front legs don't seem too messed up, either. He might actually be a little back at the knee. If you can do better, here's the original pic:

Archie, Archie, Archie..

2009-06-29T08:31:00.004-04:00

God, did I fucking jinx myself or what?

In the period that I was out of the saddle allowing my tailbone to reattach itself, I lunged Archie. Not well or consistently or anything, but periodically enough to enable him to blow off some steam. During these little sessions, I noticed that he had started to pop in his right hind fetlock. I'm not a vet or experienced or anything other than a super-paranoid amateur owner.

So I called my trainer.

She gave me a couple possibilities and told me, essentially, not to worry too much about it. So then I called my friend, my not-my-equine-vet. He recommended a lameness exam and a possible radiograph. So, I had my vet look at him on the same day that he got his other wellness stuff done. But I was very specific - Archie's right hind ankle pops when tracking right in the ring on the lunge line. I was at work when the exam occured, so I had no influence over it. Just got the results - not lame. I inquired if they heard the popping - no. Turns out, they flexed him and jogged him on the grass and on the gravel, but never in a circle in the sand.

Err.

Then all this funny behavior started - the bulging to the left when tracking left, the cross cantering, the head bobbing in the aisle, the stops and the almost-rearing starts. I stopped cantering and focused more on walking and trotting, trying to determine if I was causing this weird behavior. And then we took our first crossrail.

Now, Archie isn't the smoothest jumping machine ever. Really. But he's not completely horrible either. You know, when I'm not in his way making things exponentially more difficult for him. But this little crossrail was like he was reaching in to become one with his inner-deer. Retarded. And it was the biggest indication to that point that something was seriously wrong and it wasn't just me sticking my feet in the wrong spot.

I contacted my friend, the equine vet who isn't my vet, and he offered to come out to my barn one morning and do another lameness exam. In the ring. On the sand. Duh. Walking Archie from the stall to the ring, you could see the wheels turning in this guy's head as he watched. I put Archie through his paces on the lunge line, he flexed him and BAM!

Horse is fucking lame.

...Sucks to be right.

So my sweet little twelve year old boy (who was complimented on his muscle tone, by the way) is going to have his fetlock injected. I knew things like this were definitely possible, but I was hoping that they were far, far away. You know, not the week after I finish paying him off.

Time Slips Away..

2009-06-26T14:43:00.003-04:00

I keep meaning to post some conformation shots that I took of Archie a few weeks ago. He's still a bit skinnier than I'd like, but the structure is still there to be viewed.

And I keep forgetting.

As far as we go, we've been having a few issues. The weather down here sucks and it seems like every June or July, half the horses will drop shoes. So far (knock on wood), he hasn't lost any, but it's left his hooves cracking on the perimeter and his frog on his right fore looking horrible. I actually took off his bell boots (even with the greater risk of throwing a shoe) just to let his cuticles air out. They looked rough.

I don't know everything and I try to ask questions. Then, if I get varying results, I try to do a little bit of research. So far, no one has really been able to say that hoof conditioners are worth a damn. Which begs the question - why do they still exist and have a market?

His feet aren't tip-top, but he's building the muscle back on his topline and willingly carrying himself more frequently. The only issue now that has developed is his complete unwillingness to walk forward to the mounting block and to get on the rail. I had my trainer take a look at him and he's not lame, not back sore, and has no mouth issues. The saddle fits and I've actually added an additional comfort pad within the past few months.

Last week, I thought maybe he was just getting ring sour. We almost always seem to do the same damn thing every day.. walk a few laps, trot a few laps, canter a bit, reverse and repeat. And then, if I've ridden him the day before, we'll jump. I still maintain a half-seat for long canters, because I don't think he's really ready to carry all my weight. So instead of all that, we did serpentines. And he was perfect. I think today I might warm him up in the ring with serpentines and then take him out to work around the pond. It'd do him some good to get over the fear of the scary, scary woods. And turtles. And birds. And sticks. And squirrels. And leaves.

So I Broke my Butt..

2009-06-22T12:04:00.002-04:00

You can see in the video that Archie really didn't do anything to warrant me falling. Flicks his tail? Changes lead? What? So I busted my butt for no reason.

I spent six weeks out of the saddle and went for a recheck with my doctor. The consensus was that I still needed to stay out of the saddle for a while. It wasn't really feasible. An OTTB, not being worked? Yeah - if he's injured. The first weekend that I wanted to ride (weekend #6), it rained all weekend. The next weekend (#7), he threw a shoe. You've read. He's a "sensitive" horse. Mama can't help but baby her baby.

So, finally, eight weeks after having busted my ass, I got to ride again. There were points prior to this that I'd sit on him bareback and just walk around, but nothing serious.

And it hurt. It's been months since that first ride and it still hurts. He'll have little moments of bucking or changing leads and he'll slap me in the butt. It kills me, but I've just persevered. I can't not ride.

Where We Are...

2009-06-14T22:05:00.008-04:00

So, a beautiful, breezy day in January. I convince my boyfriend to come out to the stable and shoot some video. We get this a couple of these:

and...

And finally, the piece de resistance:

And this even comes with its own radiograph. Right.

According to the doctor, I fractured two bones in my coccyx. Technically, one bone was a shatter (top blue box) and the second was a dislocation (second blue box).

Where We Were..

2009-06-08T10:51:00.001-04:00

After that first trot, I realized that I wanted to own that horse. Wasn't really feasible, mind you. I was a broke college student planning a wedding. My fiance said we could work him into the budget, but really.. he had no clue. What budget?

A series of life "events" made it possible. I mean, after months of drama. I dumped the bastard fiance. I totalled my car. Or rather, the obese lady pulling out of Zaxby's, with her hand in the chicken bag, totalled my car. I took that money and a craptastic 1986 Toyota Corolla, and put the down on my horse. And I drove that crappy car for a year and a half until I could afford to buy another - but Archie never went without his special shoes.

We've had some ups and downs. Primarily just injuries. He's had abscesses. He got a two on the flex test on the pre-purchase exam (yeah - still paid asking price). He's on MSM, has aluminum fronts and should I ever start jumping any real height, he'll have to be injected. So we stay low. And lately, very, very low. About two years ago, I noticed an egg-size lump on his inside left cannon. Bone injury. Two months of stall rest. Great for a Thoroughbred.

And then it was the slow build back up to regular work. I've never jumped him excessively and I've never really shown him much either. We did one show. Schooling. At our barn. And we came in dead last. I was okay with that, though. He did me proud.

He had an eye injury last summer. Corneal Ulcer. I know I could have ridden him all swollen and pitiful-looking. But I really try to rein in my inner bitch sometimes. So he had a little time off for that.

But the big kicker - the biggest thing that has affected our relationship - didn't involve his health at all. Just mine.

Where We Began..

2009-06-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

Bold Archer and I met about four years ago. I had started riding at a new barn in an effort to be a collegiate equestrian. In exchange for getting the freedom to ride whomever whenever, I fed once a week.

Our involvement actually begins with another horse. Duke was a 17.3 Selle Francais and he excelled at everything. Absolutely everything. If I could have designed my dream horse, this gentle giant would be it. Beautiful conformation, long, flowing stride, willing jumper. God, and gorgeous.

So, as unfortunately happens with the best, the biggest, and those that get stuck rolling under fences - Duke had colic. Keep in mind, this wasn't my horse. The owner of the facility contacted me the next day. They had shipped him up to a local university to have immediate surgery done. From what I understood at the time, a large quantity of intestine was removed. Funny how taking out fifteen feet of an organ inhibits the ability of that organ to continue functioning. At least in his case.

I remember our last ride because it was the only time I had ever fallen off of him. He just seemed off and started refusing fences. ...I should have known.

With Duke gone and his prime real estate stall available, they moved Archie in. Archie had been at the facility for the entire time that I had - I'd just never noticed him. And suddenly, seeing this smaller, finer bay standing in my boy's stall... I just had to have him. I had to know him.

So I started working him. He'd been off the track for a few years, spent some time shifting hands, and they were hoping to get him flipped and sold for profit. At this point, he'd been out to pasture for a couple years. And we started from the ground up - lots of time grooming, walking and lunging before I ever touched the saddle.

That first trot ruined me for other horses.