oozy doozy

Happy weekend, y'all!! It's been pretty low key around these parts for the last week, after what felt like a bit of a sprint all month getting Doozy ready for her two big back to back outings!

sweet mares basking in their post-show glows the day after Hunt Club

Horse training is such a giant topic, there are so many different methods and priorities and approaches... But as far as I'm concerned, basically all roads lead to Rome (eventually lol). For an OTTB like Doozy, there's literally a grab bag of subjects that need attention -- to the point that just about any time spent with the horse can be considered additive to her overall development.

sooooomeone, not naming any names, is a little obsessed with her reflection

Leading up first to the Stables at Fox Crossing dressage show and xc schooling, and then to Hunt Club Farm for the combined test, we basically just focused on all things "survival." As in, all aspects necessary to get through the day with Dooz with minimal drama. 

This approach more or less necessitated de-emphasizing the actual quality of the ridden work in exchange for solidifying relative relaxation and obedience. Or, to put it another way, my compromise to Doozy was basically, "I'm not going to really fuck around with your way of going so long as you go more or less where I want, at more or less the right pace, without bolting or jumping the shark."

"must love mirrors"

Which ya know, kinda worked out for us! We did in fact stay in the dressage ring at both events, and accomplished our tests more or less as they're written. Just, ya know, with pretty terrible scores lol. But, eh, that's Phase 2, right? 

Like, "Ok, you can do the thing, yay!! Now let's make it better!"

yes yes, we all think you are VERY cute, dooz!

So that was kinda my plan for rides this week. No stress, no pressure. Nothing presently on the upcoming events calendar. Let's just keep working those basics, right?

well. except for that icky oozy little ding!

Lol. Wrong. Doozy went ahead and got herself kicked. Again. 

And while last time she kinda just got grazed, this time looks like a direct hit. Poor baby!!

there's a tiny pocket, but at least it goes upward, making for easy drainage

It seemed relatively fresh when I saw it tho, probably got kicked while milling around at the gate before evening turn in. 

I was about to pull Doozy out for a fun evening jump school with Amy and Punky, but saw the crusty swollen grossness and was like, "Welp. Change of plans!" and grabbed Charlie instead. And proceeded to have a very fun and casual romp around some very low jumps with our favorite bay <3 <3

sad suffering mare swells up if you even look at her wrong

Then back to the barn to take care of this thing, who by this point was significantly more swollen than she'd been just an hour before. I swear, she is the most delicate flower!

cleaned up pic for the vet, who happened to be coming the next day for spring shots anyway

At least she's got good timing, tho. Vet was scheduled for spring shots the next morning already, so I just gave her a heads up that the wound might need a little attention too. She advised that we go ahead and start on SMZs, and then during her visit she flushed it with a gentamicin solution.

24hrs later, tons of disgusting drainage, tho the swelling is receding lower down the limb

Not gonna lie, it's kinda a nasty little wound for as minor as it is. Like, it was DRIPPING fluids down her leg. But, eh, better out than in, I guess! I smeared vaseline all over the skin to try to prevent it from getting too crusty, but otherwise will just try to keep it clear and clean.

barn owner kinda freaked when she saw the knee on day 3 and sent me this pic
(for various benign reasons, she had been previously unaware of the wound so this was her first time seeing it)

The horse is so funny, too, bc she clearly hates being uncomfortable. Add in all the spring shots and whatnot, and she was a pretty sad puppy. 

unrelated barn panther palette cleanser after all that nasty discharge lol

But, eh, back to my earlier point... Basically anything can be a training opportunity with this horse. She kinda hates being poked and prodded (and legitimately doesn't want you to do ANYTHING to her mane --- even literally snipping with scissors apparently hurts her hair, omg), but she enjoys being fussed over. 

So we're trying to find that balance, and she's figuring out that, actually, we're here to help lol.

and spring blossoms with charlie ears!!!

So ya know. Maybe not the agenda I'd planned for this week, but nice enough all the same. And in the meantime, it's been nice to really savor my rides with Charlie vs feeling like I have to be hyper efficient with time. 

Bc he's doing well too!! Tho... Not gonna lie, he doesn't seem in any rush to come out of semi-retirement LOL. And I'm also still feeling pretty tentative about increasing impact on his feet. 

All in good time, tho! For now tho, we're just enjoying a nice quiet weekend! Hope you are, too!!