crisis averted

For now, at least, it looks like we successfully eradicated Doozy’s emerging skin funk outbreak, whew! Recall I wrote two weeks ago about some early signs of rain rot, including hives and little scabs, bleh…

already a steamy biscuit before we even ride….

Naturally Doozy would try to go bald right before our big show LOL, it’s almost like this horse just *does not want* to be pretty in public haha(sob). Fortunately, tho, it seems like the chlorhexidine rinses cleared things up pretty quickly!

little bald spots prove there WAS some sort of dermatitis infection, but we successfully stopped the spread, whew!

The treatment was: first, bathing with diluted chlorhex, then a day later, a light gloss of MTG over all the likely hot spots. Then for most of the next few days (tho not exactly every day), more rinsing with the diluted chlorhex. Plus plenty of currying to try to rid Doozy’s coat of as much loose hairs as possible. 

bleh she’s got some crud down the backs of her hind legs now, tho

And it seems to have done the trick, at least on the bulk of her body and flanks, etc. Everything is squeaky clean and smooth, for now. Aside from obviously the bug bites and sweaty crusts from all the humidity, bleh. Oh, and another little patch of funk that’s blossoming down her hind legs. It’s always something, amirite? 

Just when you think you’re getting the *whole horse* with whatever treatment tinctures and tonics you’re applying… something crops up in yet another spot.

not gonna argue about the ick tho when the grass is still growing!

Ah well, it’s a good reminder to not get complacent bc with all the rain we’ve been having, presumably there will be more hives still yet to come. Doozy’s moss-like rain rot outbreak last year lasted well through August, so we aren’t exactly out of the woods in that regard yet.

will complain about still needing to ride indoors bc the outdoor arena is too soggy tho

It’s all good, tho. Grooming is one of my favorite horsey activities. And especially with all the heat and humidity and rain, plus with taking it a little easy resting on our laurels after Doozy’s excellent* (*except on paper lol) outing at Loch Moy, it’s been nice to just kinda chill out and enjoy each other’s company.

except… we did a little recon this weekend and decided this paddock will be perfect for outdoor rides (when not already in use for turn out). it’s where the most grass sensitive horses go, too, so presumably won’t be an issue if we leave a few tracks

We’ve done a little hacking here and there, and obvi a few flat schools too… But ugh I am really so tired of riding in the stuffy dusty indoor rings!

Again, I’m grateful to have the option. And also appreciative of having more freedom in those spaces recently — the bustling lesson program’s head trainer moved on earlier this summer, rendering ring traffic suddenly a nonissue!

doesn’t this look pleasantly grass ring-esque??
this might actually be the broadest expanse of flattish ground on the whole farm haha

But I’d still much rather ride outside, all things being equal. Tho we may start experimenting with schooling in the grassy paddocks on occasion. At least, when they don’t have horses in them lol — so probably not on weeknights.

Could be a win-win, too, bc it may help Doozy get more confident and balanced doing proper flat work on (gentle) terrain. I suspect that part of our issues earlier this year at Thornridge and St Augustine related to Doozy feeling increasingly tense in grass warm up fields when she wasn’t super confident in her balance / the footing.

looking forward to a cooler week ahead

The paddocks also have the advantage of maybe feeling quasi-ring-like, since they’re fenced. And ya know. It’s something different. Who doesn’t love a little variety every now and again? 

Right now the forecast looks like maybe more rain right in time for the outdoor arena to have fully dried LOL(sob), so a little creativity may be in order haha.

make good choices out there!

We’ll see, haha. It’s probably still another quiet week ahead of us, a nice little breather. Doozy gets her feet done today — she’s desperately due after only just 4 weeks, another consequence of the frequent rain and growing grass! 

And we’ll probably try to sneak in a lesson at some point (fingers crossed!). But mostly we’re just gonna hang out in cruise control before I leave town for a few days next week. And maybe the outdoor ring will have dried up by the time I get home again…? A girl can dream haha…

seis de mayo

How on earth is it May already??? Time is absolutely flying by right now, and Ms Mondeuse is officially 7 today! Hard to believe, considering she still acts like the silly 5yo I brought home more than a year and a half ago lol…

the handsomest mare <3

With life outside of horses quieting down a little bit again, I’ve been able to enjoy more quality time with the princess herself. 

her coat is looking so good — will this be the year i finally beat the skin funk??

Which… was definitely timely, since Ms Thing was getting a little wild with no routine and a new pasture / friend group. Well. Not a *new* friend group — just a subset of the ponies she spent the winter with, as they got divvied up according to their grass sensitivities. 

looking innocent lol

Interestingly, there are very very few TBs at this new barn, compared to the last place where TBs were the norm vs the exception. So a lot of the paddocks are managed with fat ponies in mind vs skinny fruit loops lol, but so far Doozy has continued to hold her condition quite nicely.

omg the controversy of … saddle pads drying in the sunlight

Anyway. It’s been nice getting back to a routine. Especially with feeling more hopeful again with the addition of Equioxx to Doozy’s diet. 

such a pretty time of year in the woods

It’s still probably too early to tell if it’s making a difference, but ya know. That’s never stopped me from hoping before haha. 

ferns are starting to come back in again

And besides, we’ve mostly just been putzing around anyway — like with little walkies around the fields and woods <3

good mare <3

Tho you know me, I’m not immune from occasionally indulging when temptations present themselves lol…. Like this past weekend after the mare had seemed sound for a few rides in a row, and there were a couple very inviting jumps and ground poles set up…

omg we tested the waters again!!

Obvi we didn’t do anything crazy, but I figured we’d pop over a couple more or less just to see if she’d be sound or lame again the next day. 

just a little bit of play… we’ll see what happens

And ugh, this horse is just so fun to jump — she was aces at all the canter poles and handled the two 2’3 jumps we did (the vertical in the above pic and the earlier swedish oxer) quite neatly. 

getting some much-needed rain this week too

And even better — she was still sound for our schooling session the next day too!! Yay!! Again, probably too soon to tell if it’s a durable soundness or not, but we’ll see.

happy birthday, lady

It’d be a big weight off my mind if the Equioxx is enough to keep her comfortable. Tho obvi we’ll keep investigating other options (like potential shoeing changes?) as needed.

here’s hoping for many happy returns!

For now, tho, it’s enough. Mare is lookin good and feelin fine on her birthday — what more could ya ask for? 

trial balloons

The last month or so has been more or less universally consumed by other non-horsey realms of my life, so…. in the grand scheme of things, Doozy picked a pretty good time to have an existential lameness crisis. 

I’m too occupied by other things to spiral about her, and — in fact, maybe the extra time off better aligns with my hopes of keeping her going for the long term.

sometimes we ride in jeans and paddock boots. doozy == not impressed

Not that she didn’t give me reasons to spiral, naturally. She is who she is, after all. Poor mare was completely crippled, lame at the walk, and extra touchy / spooky in the immediate week or two after getting hind shoes. She definitely needed some space and time to make that adjustment. 

Presumably, it’s just the changes in geometry etc that she reacted to — nothing was specifically wrong, like a hot nail or anything like that. So ya know. Maybe that’s a good reminder for myself that even “common” adjustments to the mare’s physical experience can have big impacts on her sensitive self.

an attempt at lunging was made. those nostrils omg

My vet and I also talked about doing a trial month (or three) of Equioxx too. That particular medicine made a HUGE difference for Charlie — tho sadly it was short lived since he got that catastrophic sub-solar abscess just two months later… 

My vet has been careful to set my expectations that not every horse responds as well. But it seems like an easy next step in our incremental progression, with the bonus of being less hard on the mare’s guts than bute.

turns out i’m not great at multi tasking

I’ll probably pick up a bottle this week, so more on that later. In the meantime, Doozy and a subset of her group of ponies recently transitioned to a new paddock that’s freshly rested and full of fresh spring grass. Happiness abounds! 

Except, lol, when Doozy apparently found herself “alone” temporarily the other night (one field mate was in the outdoor arena literally right next door and in full sight; the other was down in the barn) and had a bit of a meltdown. Whoops lol.

so a ridden assessment would have to suffice <3 <3

I still brought her out the next day for a little test ride anyway. I tried popping her on the lunge slightly-long-lead-line first to see how she looked…. But the combination of trying to video, and the mare’s Residual Sadness From The Prior Evening’s Abandonment made for an inconclusive session. Or at least, not conclusively lame. At this point, we’ll take it!

“i was told there would be cookies”

Realistically, I don’t have the best eye for visually assessing lameness anyway - esp for an issue as intermittent and hard to nail down as Doozy’s. The feeling from the saddle, tho? That part I got. So I opted to tack her up (sadness and all) and see what we had. 

“garçon! my cookies!”

This mare is so full of surprises too. Hasn’t been ridden in like, two weeks — and honestly barely at all this whole month. Was whinnying pitifully and needed to be hand walked around the indoor bc (again) #sadness. And I really just didn’t know what to expect. 

But, eh. Maybe the horse is actually getting trained, go figure. Bc under saddle she was steady, let me get my legs on, and honestly quite soft over her back — something that’s notably absent when she’s very sore.  We only did a very little bit of trotting in each direction, and I didn’t really push her out given her tension and the fact that she was being so good despite so much time off. 

smooshy biscuit

We’ll get to that later, after giving her a chance to get back into the swing of things again. No need to push all the buttons all at once. Bc… if the lameness issue is still there, it WILL present itself again. 

For now, she felt a little stiff in this ride — not quite exactly the same feeling as the intermittent issue we’ve been having since January. But not completely perfect either. 

one step at a time

So we’ll see. We’re about 2.5 weeks post-injection now, and 2 weeks since getting hind shoes. Any differences from those interventions should be settling in and taking effect. We’ll add the Equioxx hopefully this week, and then basically go from there.

I’ve continued to try to be realistic and gather at least some early information on the various options if none of this works. Including starting to scan the market to see if there’s anything out there to light my heart on fire. And… Honestly? Not really. 

Doozy is the horse that I want, and silly little rides like this when she’s whinnying and distracted, and I’m just in jeans and paddock boots and we only just toodle around the ring…. It’s still the stuff for me. I can feel how far Doozy has come in her development, and feel the results of all of last year’s work. And I’m honestly still just so energized and excited at the prospects of going forward with her, should she be able. 

We’ll have a better sense of what’s what in the coming weeks, I imagine. So until then, we carry on! 

normal barn things

Something about the transition from summer to fall always feels really fast and furious to me. Almost hectic. Idk what it is... folks reawakening after the dog days of summer? Suddenly realizing the shortening days? Idk. Regardless, September is kinda a wild time in my life. 

omg guys, doozy has new ponies <3 <3 <3

November, tho? Well. Ok. Also kinda wild LOL. Imminent holidays, closing calendar (and maybe fiscal!) years too... All sorts of shenanigans. And woof, before you know it? Almost December!

and a new bff, wave!

But from a horsey perspective? We're currently at a moment of breathing deeply, of resting, however briefly. The weather is turning. Daylight hours are very short. Weeknight riding options are now limited to lighted riding spaces.

she embarked on her first solo mission into the woods too omg

Doozy got some pretty significant (and VERY welcome) lifestyle adjustments in recent weeks too. She and her bebe Morgan paddock buddy integrated into another small cabal of pony mares just in time for round bale season. 

something about the woods in winter tho, i just love it

Doozy LOVED her pony friends at the last barn, but never really warmed to her little Morgan friend since moving. Tho... tbh, the quality of her days doesn't seem particularly reliant on whatever society she keeps. Annoying bebe Morgan? Meh. Cute group of pony mares? Eh. 

Bc apparently, in Doozland, it's all about the food. If there's something to eat? Mare is happy!

strolling by the stream!

Still tho, I secretly appreciate that she has friends now. Esp bc I feel less guilty about taking her out of the field away from a group instead of a single bebe. And I not-so-secretly love that none of them care about the extraction. Yessss!! Ya just never know with mares, amirite?

woot woot, officially transitioned to round bales! tho, as of this post, this particular bale is already all gone omg mares

Our under saddle work is kinda simplifying a bit too. Leading up to Waredaca, I made it my business to find daylight hours to get in our final working sessions -- including reintroducing grids at slightly more realistic distances from last time lol. 

continuing to jump around outside for as long as conditions allow

Recall, Amy came to visit and serve as jump crew a few weeks ago, and I'd set an 18' grid that Doozy cruised thru using some interpretive dance moves that were not exactly what I'd intended. 

omg grids! this is a 9' bounce to a 21' one stride

It turns out, a 21' distance (still shorter than true) is a better fit. So we've played around with variations on this distance in grids. I first set up a configuration that was bounce to one stride, tho we actually came thru the other direction too. 

a week later: simplified to a bi-directional 21' one stride with 9' ground rails on both ends

Mostly, tho, just the simple one stride grid seems to be doing what I want it to do. Which is... Ask Doozy to be just a little straighter and sharper without punishing her keenness. 

and another week later, carrying on with the bi-directional 21' one stride -- increasing beefiness to individual elements -- note the hogsback vertical pole in that far element? eventually everything will all be verticals once Doozy feels really confirmed in answering the grid question

She's learning to recognize the exercise, which is good bc it can be a LOT to look at coming around a corner and seeing a veritable sea of poles lol... Eventually I'll continue progressing the exercise into more height and variety and like, oxers and stuff... But for now, this suits! 

indoor is big enough for courses and fully stocked with supplies!

And anyway it's dark most days when I get to the barn so we're just working with what we got in sharing spaces with lessons etc. 

the big star <3

Over in Chuckleslandia, the big guy is doing well too. He's being slightly less ridiculous now that he's getting more attention (and more work, even if it's just walkies work). 

he is GLOSSY and FAT omg. and demanding, LOL

This is the first year since I've owned him that he hasn't been clipped, and he's FUZZY! But still oh-so-soft omg <3

and omg he sometimes canters <3 <3 <3

It's been really nice sitting on him more regularly, but I'm still trying to just take it one day at a time. Some days he feels really eager and ready to go, and I can't resist pushing for a little more!

my janky selfie game can't hide his celestial aura <3

Some days, tho, he's more distracted or dull or just less forward for whatever reason, and it's easier to feel all his physical limitations, and we content ourselves with... a lot less. 

the bestest bronto <3 he loves when i try to take selfies bc it's essentially just extended moments of face hugging haha

And it's all good! I remain ever hopeful that Charlie may still surprise us yet. But, he's in a home and situation where it's all good either way! Time is an amazing gift, we'll see what it brings.

it's not a bad gig for the big guy, tbh!

So yea. Both horses are easing into the season. I kinda pretty deeply wish Doozy was as fat and glossy as The Sir Himself... But then again, he certainly didn't look the way he does now, back then. So I'm trying to be patient. 

back to doozland -- mare looking straight up drugged at her farrier appt. twas not drugged, just bein a sweet lady!

Doozy's new farrier, who has seen her 3x now, absolutely swears that she's grown. Idk if I see it, tbh lol... But, eh, we'll see what emerges come springtime!

Maya Kuntze Photography knocked it outta the park with their shots of us at Waredaca!! consider how tricky the lighting conditions were in that second pic, but they were determined to feature the gorgeous pond. i love it!

She's certainly come a long way this year, tho. Our winter plan is to explore fun educational opportunities, and keep shoving calories into her as much as possible. Oh, and continue all the wellness stuff we've figured out for her general management. 

my pretty starlet <3

I'm also gonna try to get away without clipping her too -- just to keep her as warm and insulated as possible. Tho ya know, I also don't wanna spend ages lollygagging around waiting for her to dry after a ride, so we'll see. 

bundled bc it's apparently winter now, y'all! stay warm!

Anyway. That's a lot of pictures and random updates from the last few weeks of us just sorta doing normal barn things! Just the little bits of minutiae of everyday horsing. It's been quiet and relaxing, and for that I'm grateful haha! Are all y'all settling into the season similarly?