Anybody who’s been along for the ride with Doozy knows we had a bit of a bumpy start to the year last year. For a couple different reasons — firstly bc she’d been NQR with suspected hoof bruising on and off the whole winter; but secondly bc I kinda incorrectly assumed we’d be able to just pick back up where we left off at the end of the previous season.
field trip with friends!!!
Which… lol. Is NOT how Doozy rolls, apparently! But we got our mojo back by breaking things down into more “bite-sized outings,” an approach that was also reaffirmed by none other than Boyd Martin himself. Tho ya know. Life is what it is, and we still haven’t really made it particularly far afield this spring other than a couple lessons.
doozy trying to act like the grown up of the group LOL
But this weekend we had the perfect opportunity to check all the right boxes: A barn mate has been eager to get her bebe young Morgan off farm for positive low key experiences. Obviously, renting the rings at one of our favorite local farms, Tranquillity, could suit that purpose nicely!
taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other
AND it would be a nice venue for putting Doozy through her paces and jumping some “new” jumps, but without a full blown show atmosphere. Perfect!
bc having fun with horses is quite literally the whole point lol
Doozy doesn’t get to travel with friends all that often, but it’s always a good experience. Especially when that friend is a field mate and Doozy gets to remember that she can still focus on her own work despite maybe wishing she could socialize instead lol.
pictured: FUN!!
For our purposes, I tried to treat our warm up as if we were preparing for dressage at a show. My habit, to be honest, is to ride Doozy a little delicately at shows, just trying to keep an even keel etc, vs putting on a lot of pressure and amping up the tension. Which… ya know. Fine, right?
lol doozy is locked ‘n loaded
It remains true that our flatwork really is not good when the horse is very tense. It’s just a fact, it’s why relaxation is one of the fundamental pillars of dressage. Slowly, however, I like to believe that Doozy is learning to trust the aids, trust the connection, and hopefully learning to work into the contact even when tense, vs the two of us kinda just spiraling onto the doom loop.
wheeeeeee mare!!!
And honestly Doozy WAS super good throughout our flatwork! She stayed mostly on the aids, mostly in the correct bend(ish), and I was mostly able to stay present and active as a rider. We’re gonna call that a win lol.
ok i did actually set two jumps to BN height to at least say we did it lol
Because eventually it was time to play around with some little jumps!! I say “little” bc I only reset like three of them before getting on to ride, and only two to full height. But who cares, right? Certainly not Doozy! She’s just happy to be jumping lol.
we match the jump lol
We warmed up catching a couple little singles, then finished with a nice little 5-jump course. Nothing crazy, no related lines, just long sweeping turns to singles. Virtually all verticals, tho it is Tranquillity so there was plenty of boxes and filler etc.
video of our little course here
And Doozy was so good! She was nicely forward and had a good feeling to all the jumps — none of the little rhythm disruptions in the last few steps like we had at the lesson with Sally a couple weeks ago. And it felt like I could find a decent balance of not holding her too backwards if I could focus on letting the hind legs travel.
straight cheesin’
All in all, quite a nice little ride. Nothing earth shattering, LOL, not perfect. But fun, positive and productive! And that’s all it needs to be, right?
no hour wasted, amirite?
Especially since my barn mate had such a positive experience too! She’d already had her mare out on some off farm adventures last year, but they were always alone and the horse was often quite stressed — especially by the trailering. Having our two horses together for this trip seemed to really help, and both horses finished the day at the trailer, including loading up to go home, looking relaxed and confident.
good girl, Doozy
Slowly but surely, Doozy is figuring out the job, realizing that it’s not getting harder or crazier or anything like that, nothing really changes even when we go other places or other horses are around. It’s just the same old thing, no big deal, no muss no fuss. Well. Eventually hopefully it’ll be “no fuss,” lol. Maybe.
Happy Sunday, folks! And just a quick friday foto finish sunday snapshot summary today. I would have posted sooner but… Had my hands just a little full, because……….:::
resistance is futile
Omg I finally got a new kitten <3 <3 <3
so are focused pictures LOL
Obvi this is a horse blog, more or less narrowly focused on documenting that aspect of my life. But ya know. My blog, my rules, and I also like capturing key moments, milestones, memories, etc etc etc.
fierce creature
I didn’t really document in real time my longtime kitty Martini’s battle with cancer, and his eventual passing. Nor did I post much about adopting a new kitty companion, Jojo, to fill the hole Martini left in my and OG’s life. Bc, ya know, I figured I had a lifetime ahead with Jojo, little snapshots would just filter into the blog, as they have with my cats for the last 10 years.
“what the fuck is that” — OG, for sure lol
But then Jojo broke all our hearts when after just four months together, he went into acute distress and was diagnosed at the emergency clinic with late stage heart failure. Talk about a gut punch.
kitten may or may not be nicknamed donald trump bc he just starts kissing, doesn’t even say hello first LOL
Obvi that was unexpected in many ways, and it left me a bit flummoxed about what to do next. Introducing adult kitties is a challenge, and honestly a bit of a gamble… but we’d done everything by the book and all signs pointed toward longterm happiness with the kitties.
apparently still hard to take a picture even when sleeping
It had been a lot of work tho, and honestly a lot of stress too, esp for sweet OG. So we took the last few months to figure out whether it seemed like he wanted to be an only kitty or if he needed a friend again.
“for real, tho, what the fuck” — OG, secretly excited by the enrichment
Obvi if you’re reading this, you’ll know we landed on, “Let’s get him a friend.”
already a pest while i try to work <3
And this time it’s just a little kitten instead of a young adult cat. The kitten is essentially a blank slate, no baggage or past trauma, and no expectations other than shelter, food and love. Wish us luck!
speaking of pests <3 <3 <3, it’s the Mamacita herself, Ms SeƱorita!
Maybe it’s just the season, tho, but I’m feeling optimistic. The days are longer, the weather is getting more mild… More bipolar, sure — we may or may not have gone from 80*F to snowing and 30*F in 24hrs last week… But conditions are so markedly improved that the outdoor arena footing was rideable again even just two days after that storm!
stop the presses bc we are OUTSIDE OMG, and the footing is PERFECT!!
Which means that, as of at least this writing, we’ve now logged TWO rides outside just in the last week!!! Considering the ring had been too soggy and wet since, uh, *checks notes* at least November, this is a pretty big step!
this actual literal pile of poles is probably not the safest jump construction in the world, but who cares, jompies outside!!!
And I swear Doozy is happier out there. Like, she’s still who she is — distracted and a little ADHD and as eager as ever to leap off into the unknown… But she’s maybe less spooky?
outdoor ring is bounded on all sides by turnout, meaning no matter where you are it always has a ‘horse safe’ feeling
It’s also so nice to have a little more room to feel like we can ride more forward, while still testing that the responsiveness to the aids still works. And guys, it feels like the schooling is really truly still working!
nosiest mare in the world, spying on her bebe morgan friend at the far end
I’m trying to do better about being clear in my aids, consistent in my expectations, and more steady and still in my posture.
Dan really hammered me in our last lesson about how much my seat and position moved side to side with Doozy’s movement. My thought had been that it was better to stay fluid and soft if Doozy was going to be so rigid and tense, but Dan said it’s actually the opposite — I needed to be fixed and still and ‘in one place’ so that Doozy could come to me, rather than my aids kinda bouncing all over the place.
speaking of bebe morgan friend, she’s growing up too!
Aaaand go figure, the professional was right LOL. And honestly if you read that last lesson recap, it was a real test for us — with so many distractions and chaotic happenings going on while we tried to trot our circles. It was a real struggle, but honestly it feels like we both learned a LOT from that experience — especially Doozy. And especially about the consistency, safety and security of coming onto the aids even when we’d rather be distracted and flighty.
it’s all ahead of us!
So things are feeling positive. Lots to look forward to, hopefully. On little nibble, one little milestone inch-Pebble at a time!
I don’t think winter is fully done with us yet… but hot damn, it’s been LOVELY this week!
casually watching me search fruitlessly for her lost shoe. no doubt she knows exactly where it is, too… also omg her nostrils… she is so extra lol
Like, all my windows at home wide open type lovely. Warm, sunny, mild, all the nice things! And the horses are definitely appreciating it too!
casually considering a little light dog-icide
And even better — my farrier was able to swing by and set a new shoe on Doozy’s stricken limb, hallelujah! I still have so much PTSD from Charlie’s foot-related fragility that it’s hard for me to relax again until the horse is fully shod and demonstrably comfortable.
“i’ll let you live this time, but i have my eye on you!” — doozy, no doubt
Doozy, it should be noted, however, does not share my PTSD. And it was so nice out after her shoe was reset, and so many people were out and riding, it honestly felt like it’d be a crime to NOT throw on some tack and swing a leg over, ya know?
omg finally — our first hack of 2026!
I had intentions of meandering up the hill to the indoor where a few friends were already mid ride, but Doozy had other ideas haha. She set off on a marching pace straight down the lane toward the back hay fields. And who am I to deny her???
presumably the woods are still slippy sloppy mud, but the fields were perfect!
Honestly can’t remember the last time we hacked out, actually. The farm is so hilly and it’s been so snowy and icy and wet for so long… It’s probably been at least December, but maybe actually maybe even November since we’ve been out there…
it was legit almost 80*F out too, omg
Doozy clearly missed it tho, and was happy to wander around the hills, grabbing occasional bites of grass bc she’s obviously spoiled rotten haha.
all these shrubs are gonna start sprouting buds any day now
I’m not getting my hopes all the way up yet, but it also looks like the outdoor ring might finally be opening for the season too!!
happy hacking <3 <3 <3
Obvi I’m beyond grateful to have indoor riding spaces, it’s made all the difference with keeping us on a more or less even keel this winter… But I also won’t be sad if we don’t have to ride inside again for the foreseeable future LOL!
oooh and a quick little bridle tag DIY mod!
Especially as we start thinking about gearing up for the season ahead, it’ll be good to be more out in the open, moving about in wide open spaces while staying accountable for our pace and balance without the passive influence of solid walls lol.
sure, i could have just bought a new number holder that was designed with a pin…
I’ve also started doing a little light inventory work of all the various pieces of equipment that scattered every which way over the off season. In particular, Doozy became increasingly funny about things touching her ears last year. Her hair is a primary annoyance… but we also had some issues with my bridle tag too.
So my hope is that a little light modification will transform it semi-permanently into a saddle pad number holder instead. Repurposing > buying new (if it works lol).
but eh, this’ll do! probably!
It’s also maybe time to shake out all the show clothes, do a little laundry, see what’s what. See if anything needs any attention or fixing / cleaning up before going out in public again. Not that I’m exactly a shining example of style and grooming, let’s be real (lol), but you know how it is.
Spring cleaning season is officially upon us, as far as I’m concerned! Anybody else feeling the same?
Poor Ms Doozy was left all alone for a few days while I was out of town for work. The sadness, my friends, it was extreme.
the saddest biscuit
I’d let her have the couple days prior to my trip off from riding too bc honestly it was just sorta like, ‘eh, what’s the point?’ when I really had some other stuff to get done anyway.
poor thing, living in such squalor, brutally exposed to the warm spring sun… truly. she’d MUCH rather be working, but — *alas!* — she lost a shoe in the muck. what a shame, eh?
And then naturally, the weather warmed up, the horses were all kicked out to frolic in the mud, and roll and roll and roll around, scratching that spring shedding itch… Truly. A difficult life!
there’s zero chance this survives the mud lol, but it’ll protect her from rubs while stalled
Sweet princess managed to survive all that catastrophe with heroic stoicism, however. And was hale and hearty when I finally got home and saddled up for our first ride back. And naturally she was a perfect princess for that ride too! Perhaps the first time I’ve EVER been able to say that about Doozy after so many days in a row off work lol…
bright eyed biscuit legit lives for being fussed over lol
But, much to Doozy’s intense dismay (obviously!) she was not able to repeat the achievement, having subsequently lost a shoe to the deep sticky mud the very next day.
it’s soft enough outside she doesn’t really need the cloud boot, but hopefully by wearing it while stalled we’ll reduce the chance of her getting sore?
Clearly her regret was palpable… Especially after the clocks changed this weekend and the barn decided to let the horses have extended turnout hours… Obvi she would have much rather been working!
lol she’s already bored tho, and getting ready to spook herself touching the trash can ha
But no. Circumstances being what they were, we couldn’t possibly run the risk of bruising her delicate tootsies. Siiiiigh, such a shame.
anyway. unrideable horses must suffer the consequences. and suffer for their beauty, ahem.
Tho. Joke’s on Doozy, I guess, bc in Emma’s world, horses that can’t work might find themselves subject to other, ahem, indignities.
snip snip, mother fuckers!
Like, say, whatever the opposite is of “world class grooming” haha… hahahaha.
washed a winter’s worth of grime out of the tail, and gave that a tidy little trim too!
Tho before you get too worried for Doozy’s overall safety and wellbeing, I will say we’ve been having pretty decent luck keeping her mane in order with the solo comb pulling method (basically where you tease up the hair as if you were pulling, but then snip the solo comb as close the root as possible).
“bitch did you just cut me?” — doozy, aghast
Her bridle path is still a scissor job, tho. And, ahem, a pretty bad job at that. Bc with Doozy, you really only get ONE snip. So, uh, make it count?
This horse, I swear. You can practically hear her whining, “but my hair hurts!!” with every little snip. Her chiro / acupuncturist once observed that Doozy has a ‘long pain memory,’ and it really makes ya wonder what they must have done to keep her trimmed up on the track.
“whatever, so long as there’s #snax”
And so it goes, tho, amirite? I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to get the shoe reset asap. But in the meantime, I’ll probably keep her in the cloud boot at least overnights in the stall to provide relief from any soreness. Presumably the boot wouldn’t stand a chance against the same mud that claimed a shoe, right? We’ll see, tho. Cross your fingers for us!
anyway. enjoy some mountains, pic snapped from the window of my uber bc i just had time for meetings while traveling, womp
And in the meantime, if temps stay so warm and pleasant, Ms Thing might find herself subject to an actual first full bath of the season!!
We’ll see, tho, let’s not get too crazy haha, it’s still early days of March! Happy daylight savings, friends!
