Doozy's 90 Day Performance Review

Mondeuse officially came home on August 9. That's exactly, er, 92 days ago, oops, but also basically 3 months. So we'll roll with it being good timing for a routine examination and evaluation of how it's going! 

Bc... ya know.... it's normal and healthy to do check-ins, right? Buying a new horse is kinda a big leap of faith. Honestly, spending any amount of money in horses is marginally irrational. So, eh, it's worthwhile to occasionally step back and ask whether it's working out or not. 

officially permanent mares move into officially permanent stalls <3 <3

Recall we did a similar check-in at the 30 Day mark (more or less). And at that point, I basically had two key conclusions:

• "With 8 rides in the first ~30 days.... That's not quite good enough. The short story is.... Doozy flunked her 30 day review. Bc... Well, soundness. Recall her left hind limb exploded into cellulitis about 2wks after coming home. And now, even as that issue subsides, she appears to be working thru a run-of-the-mill abscess in the same leg."

And,

• "At this moment in time, my idea is to have another check in around the 90 day mark in November. Ideally, I'll forget all about it bc we'll be too deep into all the things of young horse development. But ya know. If we're only at ride 16 or 17 by that point.... This a reminder to my future self to stay focused on what we're really trying to do here."

neigh-bors lol --- we're gonna need some sort of pun-fun name for this starry constellation!

Here we are, now, two months later!! And?? Obvi I didn't forget all about it (bc, obviously here I am writing about it), but I also definitely lost track of Doozy's post-track ride count. 

SO..... today's big conclusion?? We've decided to extend Doozy's contract indefinitely -- she passes!! Yay, partayyyy!! 

fresh views of the barnyard

At the end of the day, I'm at a place in my riding life where.... Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but... I want to ride. 

Some of you already know this, but a few years ago, after thinking about my long term goals in the horse world, I ended up pursuing certification as a licensed official. And it's been really cool. And really educational. And something I'm definitely interested in doing more of. 

Except, especially with Charlie's somewhat shocking dive off the unsoundness cliff starting last summer and getting really real, really fast this past winter/spring, I kinda started to get some nagging feelings. 

charles!! one of our farm's talented juniors agreed to a babysitting mission aimed at helping doozy have a successful ride despite having to leave her new big pasture  <3

Honestly, I know equestrians are maybe uniquely susceptible to imposter syndrome. But I started feeling like if I really wanted this LO gig in the future, I have a LOT more work to do in the saddle now. I need more experience as a rider, more miles. 

So that was another big contributing factor to deciding to get a second horse. I need to keep learning, I want to keep growing and developing. 

And thus, basically Doozy's #1 job requirement is: Be Rideable. Which, hallelujah and praise be -- she's been hale and hearty lately!

both of 'em in one dusty mirror selfie lol

It feels like we're finding a nice balance of systematically progressing through all the various key mile stones and inch pebbles. Sometimes more inch pebble, LOL, let's be real. But that's ok too. Because I really like the feeling I get from working with her. 

Mondeuse makes me think. Whether I'm leading her from one place to another, tacking her up, trying to ride a corner in anything even resembling correct bend... All of it. Any of it, it's so nice to feel like I'm working on the details again. 

d'awww

She's also remarkably honest and "easy" in a kinda unexpected way. Like, not "easy" in its purest form, like Charlie was. But in the sense that... She's extremely obedient and always colors inside the lines --- if you can forgive the hotness, tension and general vibes of "might try to leave at any moment!" or "can't always cope tho!"

And slowly but surely, we've managed to develop a really solid "standard ride" package, wherein we correctly and pleasantly go through all our gaits in both directions, execute all the general figures you'd expect to see through training level dressage, and we're starting to get something pretty close to true bend at walk. 

honestly feeling pretty lucky

She is also a ground pole expert: She recently trotted a line of three poles with alternating raised ends with an absolute aplomb that shocked the f*ing pants off me. And Doozy can consistently canter lines of ground poles beautifully out of stride.

We have also now survived trotting among other trotting horses, and we've not yet died while other horses cantered in our company. Inch pebbles, y'all. It's a mantra.

lol derp

So ya know. We're 90 days in. The whole winter stretches ahead of us. I feel increasingly confident about Doozy being able to cope with various lesson formats. And am eager to start the work of replicating the 'standard ride' we've developed in new and different riding locations. 

Feels good, y'all. 

one step at a time

Doozy is so different from Charlie in so many ways. Obviously she's younger than he was when I got him --- 5yo vs 7yo. Plus, Charlie had maybe lived a little more life, racing 33x vs Mondeuse's 13 (if you count her last race where she never even made it into the starting gate...).

ok so maybe the real reason i wanted doozy out in the big pasture was #betterpictures

But honestly, I think it's mostly just who she is as a person. She's just a different type. Charlie's always been pretty zen about the world around him, and his place in it. He's obviously the gravitational center of the universe, and that's pretty cool. 

So when he is spooky or reactive or upset, it's generally a pretty triggered response and he can usually recover.

early mornings in early fall are the BEST

Doozy, on the other hand, seems a little less secure about her place -- esp perhaps, her expectations about anticipation. She's not exactly spooky, but she's not super confident either. Kinda has a feeling like she's always 'waiting for the other shoe to drop.'

still not totally confident that the rest of her small group will arrive -- i promise, dooz, the bay ladies are on the way, they just eat breakfast a lot slower than you!

With that said, tho, she seems eager to follow directions and have a leader, and seems to quickly learn through repetition and practice what's expected of her. But I'm finding that we have to take that sort of "low key repetition" approach to just about everything significantly new to Dooz.

painted ladies!
also lol@ doozy coming immediately when stella calls her

For this week's example: We're learning to leave the new big pasture and group. Sure sure, Doozy had long since learned that she could leave the barnyard paddock she shared with Stella, despite Stella's shrill protests, go for a groom and ride, and then return home in an entirely predictable fashion. 

ok basically any east facing view was pretty spectacular on this morning - say hi to Merlin!

But ya know. Now we're repeating this whole little song and dance from much farther away - the pasture way down the driveway. 

Which means that as Stella hoots and hollers at the injustice of her friend leaving, all the other horses in pastures and paddocks lining the driveway join into the chorus - and by the time we arrive back to the barn, Doozy isn't exactly in what I'd call a "learning frame of mind."

west facing views weren't bad either, pink skies!

But that's ok, right? Like if we go back to my earlier post on "irreducible complexity" and "least common denominators," being led away from perceived safety and security and toward the unknown is.... a situation that will repeat again and again and again in Doozy's hoped for career as a sport and show horse. In other words, it's a skill worthy of its own practice.

winter is definitely coming tho

So rather than soldier on after first realizing Doozy was having problems #coping, I shifted gears: Just brought her into the barn. Fed her a nice little grain snack. Then returned her to the pasture (but this time with equipment upgrades of rope halter and gloves, bc safety tools improve everybody's experience!). 

And that was that! We repeated that process again throughout the weekend, just... leaving your friends somewhat unwillingly, but arriving in safety, and then SNACKS, and then back to the friends again!! Not a bad gig, right? I assure you, Doozy dug into her snacks on Day 2 of practice with much more gusto than she could muster on Day 1, lol.....

fall is charlie's favorite season tho

Tho... this change of plans did leave me with a somewhat awkward time gap to fill, since I had planned on riding.... 

and we can do little walkies even if his feet are still a little sore

BUT LO!! There is Charles!! Lol.... homeboy hasn't been ridden since my friend was in town for the marathon, and I haven't personally sat on him since around the dental impression fiasco two farrier appointments ago.... 

lord knows he loves being the center of attention!

He lost a couple shoes after that point, and then was sore again after his latest trim and shoeing. I just don't know. It doesn't make sense for him to be lame still, but our options are basically to, "wait and see," or "well, you could go down the diagnostics rabbit hole (beyond what we've already done), and spend $10K to eventually still be told to 'wait and see.'"

"i'm a good boy" - charlie, for sure

And I just don't know. His feet look pretty perfect from the outside right now, and we're getting into the time of year that's a bit less hard on his hooves in general. Less stomping at flies, softer ground. We'll see.

took it upon himself to inspect all the jump ring equipment while i set fences for my friends

But I do love sitting on him <3 <3 Even for just little walks. And we actually managed to do that two days in a row this weekend!! First for the aforementioned gap ride since Doozy was a mess, and second with a group of friends who wanted to go up to the jump ring and have a little fun!!

the long walks up and back from the jump ring are totally #worthit if he gets to hang out with the gang in the center of the ring while they all do fun stuff

On another day and time, that would have been a good opportunity to do some work on expanding Doozy's boundaries.... But, eh, on this day Charlie was the perfect fit <3 

He wandered around loose for a little bit while I set jump heights for everybody, then happily chilled in the center while everybody did their thang, behaving basically as the perfect platform for me to sit upon while grabbing videos LOL.

plus i'm pretty sure he'd follow punky through fire lol

He also just generally has good juju and vibes for other horses in the ring --- like another barn mate on her 4yo who was testing a trial saddle and also did her first canters with the baby horse, both leads!! Might have been a bit harder to do that with Dooz in the ring, LOL.

oh charles, we really love ya, bud!

So ya know. It's kinda an interesting place to be in right now. I think past Emma would have been more frustrated or felt more let down that neither horse can really go out and do the things. 

But I dunno, I honestly feel pretty good about things. There's still no reason to think Charlie won't eventually resolve his hoof soreness. And Doozy might be learning in smaller steps and increments than Charlie needed, but she's definitely still learning and progressing and giving me a pretty great feeling about it every step of the way. 

For now, it's enough!

friday foto finish

Happy Friday, y'all!! And Happy Fall, too! 

cute mare! she wore my ancient Smartpak fleece cooler up to the ring bc #chilly
side note: i finally have a horse that fits this cooler LOL

We had a couple quiet days around here both bc the weather got nasty (cold rain + wind), plus I wanted to give Doozy a few days to settle in to her new lifestyle - esp if she was gonna feel any sort of way after all that grass.

flashback to 2014 with hony Isabel!

So far, tho, she seems totally fine. No weird unexplainable new marks anywhere, and doesn't seem queasy or gastrically uncomfortable either. 

2020 with Charles, and yes his butt is sticking out

If anything, she's maybe a bit quieter! Which, obvi, is another wonderful benefit to being out -- she's moving around more both bc she's grazing vs eating from a stationary pile of hay. Plus groups of horses just seem to roam more frequently around a pasture. 

here's my favorite blanketing rubric for anyone interested. of important note: our horses are stalled indoors over night, thus the focus on daytime high temps. ymmv

The timing for all this feels really good too, since Fall is coming on kinda heavy at the moment. It's been cold and windy, and more folks are gravitating toward the indoor. 

pic from last week when we experimented with using the prolite half pad. so far so good!

So, not that anything is really "urgent" in the land of Mondeuse.... But my focus is definitely pretty heavily centered on ensuring reliability and good citizenship.

i also may or may not have impulse-bought another fancy bit of linens... this Eskadron Essence pad, purchased from mybreeches.com

For example, Doozy's previous paddock was right in the main barn yard, but her new pasture is a ways down the driveway. Can she be sensible and well-mannered for turn in? 

Survey says.... yes! So far I've been available to assist with bringing her in most of the nights since she made the change, and so far she's just walked in like a normal horse. Love that, haha.

mondeuse is gettin the hang of her big pasture!

We're also experiencing more traffic in the indoor. Including maybe the hardest situation yet for Doozy -- there were three kiddo + pony pairs trotting around and jumping in the indoor when we arrived. Doozy did well hand walking around while they finished their ride, then was sensible to walk with me while I dismantled the x-rails and turned them into ground poles. 

and learning to take her #copium when the ring is unexpectedly full of small kiddos on ponies, who then congregate by the doorways (so hard, tho!) and then leave, the horror

One of the kiddos was also nice enough to stand nearby to us while I got on, for which Doozy continued her habit of behaving nicely at the block. 

But then all the kids lined up at the door (for what felt like forever), which was obvi of utmost distraction to Doozy, and then.... they left! Also kinda slowly lol bc they're kids on ponies. So the whole process of lining up at the door and then leaving took quite a bit longer than I'd ideally want... And Mondeuse definitely had pretty strong feelings about it all.

omg i also went trick or treating and it was amazing -- look at this incredibly decorated haunted house!

But, I'd planned ahead and had arrived at the indoor with another friend on a very calm and indifferent horse, who just went about his business completely ignoring both the ponies and Doozy. He offered a nice alternative center of gravity to the door, and she eventually recovered.

and a demon pony driving a ghoul cart ermagerd

In fact, she recovered well enough to do a few sessions of exceedingly pleasant and polite trotting, in a nice balance through all the ground poles, etc, with zero outbursts (tho she definitely thought about it and had a few pitiful whinnies to offer up!).

But I'll be the first to admit that... it wasn't really a "real" ride --- in that I didn't really push for anything or try anything hard or canter or anything like that. Bc... from my perspective, the "hard" part was basically existing among the chaos, and then surviving after all those ponies (one of whom is stalled next to Doozy) abandoned us so cruelly.

one little lesson at a time, tho, and she's figuring it out!

Like, this will definitely be exactly the type of situation that will happen again and again throughout the winter. So from my perspective, I wanted the first time it happened in a big way to be... as easy as possible for Doozy. Wanted to show her that being left behind in the indoor was still a safe and comfortable place. 

 

I know there are conflicting schools of thought on this aspect of training, with one camp fairly firmly in the "put them to work" perspective. But I dunno. I like to kinda work on one "skill" at a time, and in my mind, surviving being left behind is in fact a skill that needs practicing. 

Regardless, I couldn't have been happier with how well she recovered -- gives me a lot more confidence to keep going as we are!! We can always readjust or change tactics later if needed :)

Hope you all have a great weekend, and TGIF!

ww: Big Day for Doozy

The farm where my horses live is one of those giant old sprawling multi-generational estates where horses (and ponies!) have lived happily for decades. Sure, some of it is a bit rustic and/or in need of some maintenance, but the grounds and pastures are incredible. 

It's just downright hard to find group turnout in big grassy pastures like this at more modern boarding facilities. 

Doozy being brave about our resident pig, Goose

So obvi it's been a bit unfortunate to have Doozy resigned to paddock life for the last 2+ months, after mother nature damaged her intended field and repairs were slow. 

 

Finally, tho, this weekend was TIME!

 

Doozy and her fellow redhead pony pasture mate finally got let loose in the big field! So much excitement haha!!

 

But also --- more importantly --- SO MUCH GRASS!

 

Once the redheads had finished frolicking and commenced on the important work of binge eating, it was time to bring in the brown brigade too -- another TB / Pony dynamic duo, but this time elegant old bay biddies.

 

Naturally, it was the eldest lady of them all who was slowest to settle!!

 

But try as she might, her efforts weren't enough to lure the ponies and sweet 5yo Doozy away from #DatGrass. So ya know, if you can't beat 'em, amirite?

 

It's so satisfying finally see Mondeuse out on grass in a (slightly) larger group.

 

Her condition has already improved significantly since joining us, but grass is such a difference maker. Plus, she and her redhead pony friend are also stalled next to each other, and none of us felt it was super healthy for two mares to be so exclusively together 24/7. 

 

So the herd has finally expanded --- possibly to get a few more new members too, now that all the fencing etc is back in order. A big relief for all involved!

Do you like your horse out in a big group? Or does it kinda depend?

charlie's fall ritual (again)

It's the most wonderful time of year again, when it's 80* in Maryland despite being nearly November lol. Our poor fuzzy critters are.... fuzzy.

this fluffy beasty will turn 15 next year <3

I swear, Charlie's pelt gets thicker with each passing year. Homeboy is hairy. 

he was condemned to a paddock so he didn't go full blown swamp monster after his bath lol

And sweaty, ick. Poor guy. He's always been somewhat heavy in the sweating department. And considering that he's just generally heavy these days too... Eh, it's just a lot.

lol red mare face

So he gets clipped ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I like the way he looks clipped, he likes the way he feels clipped, everybody's happy.

she got a bath too

Plus, obvi with temps in the 80s, it was perfect anyway. And I got a TON of Mane 'n Tail sample products from the Maryland 5*, so both critters got groomed within an inch of their lives. 

ever feel like you're being watched?

Extra good timing for Charlie, considering he hasn't been bathed as frequently given how long he's been out of work (as in, we never had to hose off any post-ride sweat this summer, obvi...). He was pretty spectacularly grungy. 

Doozy got in on the fun too --- she is in work (hallelujah!), and did need post-ride hosing. But there aren't any plans to clip her for now. We can reassess later if need be.

it's not a big clip pattern, but still a lot of real estate!

She doesn't have nearly as much hair as Charlie, plus doesn't seem to sweat as heavily. And let's be real, she needs to continue becoming more consistent etc in general riding life before I give her any excuses for feral behavior LOL.

the face of a horse who QUITE LIKES the level of attention

So Charlie got scrubbed and scoured and shampooed, plus spritzed head to toe in detangler and shine spray. 

#satisfying

By the time I was done with him, he was silky soft and smooth like a svelte panther <3

Well, ok. Maybe not "svelte" lol, but you know what I mean. 

we went pretty conservative on the neck this year since who knows when/if he'll actually get back into work

Tho poor guy, all our horses have a bit of scurf right now. It was so so so dry for most of the end of summer, then suddenly we got some good drenchings that reactivated all the mud and bacteria and everybody got hives. 

i love how this pattern de-emphasizes the serious dad bod situation 

So Charlie has a couple patches of scurf on his back and down his flanks, but luckily it didn't interfere too much with the clip pattern. And we'll just keep working on it with grooming. 

insta-sporty, just add racing stripe!

The clip job itself doesn't take too long, and my friend Katie did it again this year. She marks out the pattern with chalk, and does one full side before marking out the second side to keep everything as relatively even as possible.

lolz bai charlie, make good choices!

Charlie required a little bribery for her to finish the job up by his ears, but was otherwise a champ. He LOVES all the heavy petting and attention haha --- in another life I could totally see him as a camp pony getting hand painted by a bunch of kiddos, ya know? 

so much fuzz <3

So, another impending winter, another clip job for Charlie. I have zero expectations on what his future holds, but I'm hopeful. He is a little footsore after his most recent shoeing appointment (last Friday), so we'll see. 

At least he LOOKS the part, that's half the battle anyway amirite LOL..... Anybody else clipping this year? Or maybe you're hoping to hold out for a bit later into the season?