lyric.

Heard this lyric in a song on the way home. I think it is something we as equestrians can relate to in regards to our sport...

If it can't make you cry

Make you mad

Or get you high

It's just a waste of time

Any ol' fool can go as far

Dress it up and play the part

But it ain't love

If it can't break your heart

George had an abscess (whew!!) but there is a bit more to the story and I will fill ya'll in tomorrow.

Well crap.

So yesterday I had a great half day of work, the other half of the work day was spent at the golf course delivering adult beverages to golfers. It was a customer appreciation golf outing for one of the companies I work for. Love when I get to spend time outside for work! I had a wonderful steak dinner and then headed home only to find a big gray horse that lives in my pasture was incredibly, incredibly lame. Like super lame. He was gimping around on 3 legs and I appears his right front left was the culprit. I didn't notice any swelling or heat in his legs. But once I started feeling around his shoulder area he got pretty fussy. But obviously I have no clue how to pin point anything so a vet visit is in order.
Am I being overly cautious by bringing him to the vet? More than likely. Would many of you dear readers bring your horse to the vet when this happened? Probably not, because you probably know what to do. I haven't had an insanely huge vet bill in a long time so I am due for one.
My hubby said that when he got home and went to spray the horses with fly spray, all 3 came galloping across the pasture. I don't know if he pulled something there or if he's been stomping flies for so long that he strained/pulled something. Maybe it's an abscess that I can't see. Whatever it is, it is making him look miserable. I am lucky that our vet is only 16 miles away and they are awesome. I would just have them come out and look at him, but last time we had a super lame horse (Pistol) I had the vet come out, only to have them say "bring him in for xrays" so we paid for not only a farm call, but a vet office visit as well...
This morning when I went to feed him his breakfast he was all alone at the round bale feeder and I brought his feed pan half way out to him to see if he would walk to it. He walked a short distance and then stood there head tossing and flipping his face up and wouldn't walk any more. He is usually a drama queen...but not normally this bad. Soooo we are going to try and trailer him up to the vet this afternoon. He isn't a fan of the trailer, and will be even less of a fan of it since he is hurt.
So buy all of that tack that I put up for sale even though you don't need it. I am no doubt going to have a nice vet bill to deal with!!

Tack for sale...Tack for sale!

Time to move some stuff out of my barn and make room for stuff I can use. George looks like a hillbilly in his mismatched tack. It's embarrassing. When we ride past the corn fields I feel like the corn is judging us. So that's why it's time to move some stuff out of the barn to make room for some stuff that actually works on ol Georgie Boy. If any of this catches your fancy...which I'm sure it probably wont... Feel free to make me and offer I can't refuse!!

Here is just some of the stuff I am selling. I will have more. I promise. I am open to trades! I just want to get this stuff moved so I can focus on finding George and the gang some nice tack that fits.

First item for your consideration. A super nice HDR black padded bridle. This bridle is nice. The leather is so soft and supple. I LOVE this bridlee, unfortunately, it's probably a cob size as it doesn't fit George's normal horse sized head. It fit Piney's adorable cob head...but I only have big monsterous horses now, with big monsterous horsey faces.
I'm terrible at pricing things. But I am thinking $60 shipped.

 Here we have a 30 inch dressage girth. Not sure what brand. It is in good shape. Has felt on the inside. Wwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy to small for my behemoths! $5?

 

 

 Ahhhh yes...saddle pads...My strange addiction. This is hard for me. Like really hard I love saddle pads. I love matching my outfits to my saddle pads...but the truth is. I love my sheepskin pad and my equine couture pads so I must part with these ones to make room for more sheepskin pads and equine couture pads...

I can't remember the brand on this one. It's very similar to the ones from dover. It's and AP and maroon with a plaid trim. The barn dust is free...but I can wash it too. Maroon hasn't ever really been my color but maybe it's yours? $10 and in excellent shape!

 Okay, this type of pad is awesome. I love these waffle weave pads and I used them at my old barn all the time. But I then was introduced to sheepskin and I love them more. So this little lady must leave. The straps have been cut off, not by me, I would never do such a thing. And she has a few stains, but I can wash it and try to remove some of the stains. It's white with black piping. like I said I LOVED these pads. This it's an AP and the stains wouldn't even really show when you had a saddle on it. $5.

 

This little pad is adorable and I SHOULD keep it because it has a little jockey on a gray horse...but the jockey is wearing red and yellow...George's color is bright blue. So this must leave home as well. It's a thin AP pad. really clean and in great shape. $5 

These SMB's are no name. I compared them to my Professional's choice and they are really similar and I'd put them at a size large? They have some dirt on the inside, and I can clean that out prior to shipping. The Velcro is super, super sticky these bad boys are in great shape! $30

I need to get pictures but other things I have up for sale are...

1 - Professional's Choice (dirty) white SMB 100
1- Professional's Choice (dirty)  white SMB 200 They aren't a matched pair...they were sent to me that way. Maybe you need just one replacement? Make me an offer
size 7 rubber riding boots $25
Size 6 Dafna riding boots $10 need some cleaning as they've been living in the barn...
Size 7.5 or 8 vintage riding dress boots. Found these bad boys hidden in the back of my closet. They are in amazing shape, and come with boot pulls. I'm guessing 80's or 90's? They just don't fit me. I bought them probably 10 years ago and they have moved around with me, but never got put on my feet because they are just too big. $50 perfect for bopping around the barn or bopping around town! Totally fashion forward for this fall!



Things I am looking for. I will take trades and if you have something for sale and want to take something as a partial trade and the price is right I would pay for the remainder!
black padded bridle horse sized
figure 8 noseband either in black or brown
a bright royal blue AP pad
Micklem bridle, horse sized. These have been recommended for George by a few people...
18 inch Wintec 2000 saddle
Open front jump boots
ankle boots

and the most sought after item...an OTTB pad...I know, I know...who in their right mind would part with one..

That is it for now. I will have more...much more...but this is just my jumping off point. It's painful for me to get rid of tack...because I love tack....but I need to do this....:-)

The time I had my brain photographed...

So Thursday night some time, my right arm went numb. No biggie, I thought, because it’s done that before. Well by Friday it was still numb. Hmmm, that’s not normal. So I decided that maybe I should go get it checked out. The internet assured me that it was something serious and only had about 24 hours to live, and you have to believe everything you read on the internet. So I went to the walk in. I HATE the walk in. There are always screaming children on their worst behavior. The parents don’t ever do anything  and when you aren’t feeling great…the last thing you want to deal with is screaming unruly children. They really ought to give you those light up flashy coaster things like they do at restaurants. That way I could have been outside waiting and not listening to screaming children.

They called me up, and butchered my name. I honestly don’t even care when people pronounce my name wrong, especially when it’s someone I’ll never see again. The nurse took my temps, and weighed me, and all that jazz. She wasn’t really laughing at my attempts at humor or interested in making small talk. She asked me if I had done any strenuous activities lately that may have triggered something in my body. I said that I hadn’t, other than messing with the horses Thursday night, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I had caught her interest. “Oh…what kind of riding do you do? English? Western?” she asked. I said “I love English, but my husband would prefer me to ride in a ‘normal’ western saddle”. She laughed. And then she asked me some more questions about my health . And then she asked “so do you do any jumping?” I said “no, but I just got a new Thoroughbred and I’d LOVE to jump him!”. To which she replied “NICE!” She went on to tell me that she used to train and show but then she had kids and no longer does any of it. I really hope that doesn’t happen to me…

 

The Doctor came in and was puzzled as to why my arm was numb. He asked me a million questions and had no answers for me. He wanted to schedule me for an MRI and an appointment with a neurologist. He left the room and that’s when I broke down crying. The words “MRI” and “Neurologist” just absolutely scared me. but I pulled it together when he popped back into the room.

They had me scheduled for an MRI the next day at 7 AM. Freakin 7AM! My brain is barely awake at that time on a normal day, let alone a Saturday. But I hauled myself out of bed at 5 and was at the hospital by 6:20…way early for my appointment, and nothing in the hospital was open yet…oh well. When it was time for my appointment the nurse was impressed that I was so prepared for my MRI. I had left all my jewelry at home and wore comfy, metal free clothing. They put me on the table, made me as comfortable as possible and covered me up with a blanket.

Getting an MRI was one of the weirdest experiences ever. Basically you are in this tiny little tube with the top being less than 6 inches from your face. There are all kinds of banging sounds like you are in a construction zone…and weirdly enough a bird chirping sound. They gave me ear plugs which helped quiet the noises, but they were still pretty loud. I laid there for what felt like a year, with my eyes closed because it’s very uncomfortable to look up and see the machine like RIGHT THERE in front of your face. I’m glad I’m not entirely claustrophobic. When they pulled me out I was the most nervous because I knew what was coming. They had to inject a contrasting agent into my blood to do a few more pictures. I. HATE. NEEDLES! HATE. HATE. HATE! I could never have been a junkie because I couldn’t deal with injecting myself all the time. Anyways they injected me and back I went. This time I was only in there for like 5 minutes. They pulled me out, and sent me on my way. I helped a friend photograph a wedding all day Saturday in unbearable heat. To say I was exhausted by the time I got home is the understatement of the year.

I am still waiting to hear my results. I have a meeting with a Neurologist on Wednesday. I am hoping that it is just a pinched nerve. But to be honest…I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something more serious. OBVIOUSLY I am hoping it is something simple that is an easy fix. But I am also prepping myself for the worst possible outcome…whatever that may be.

So that’s my story. The horses have been dealing with the heat and flies. It’s been so hot that it would be cruel to go ride those beasts. Yesterday the flies were so bad that when I was spraying Pistol down, George came stomping through like a freight train and pushed Pistol out of the way so he could be sprayed down. Poor George has just been attacked like crazy. I’ve also been treating him for ulcers and he has been feeling better…which means his personality is REALLY shining through. He is stubborn as a mule and when he doesn’t want to do something…damnit  he isn’t going to do it. It’s a good thing I love that horse. I’ve also bumped up his feed and added Cool Calories 100. I’m actually quite impressed with the results…even after one week.

Hopefully, this weather will cool down, and the DR will give me the okay to ride. I have wanted nothing more than to ride but nothing is cooperating with me! It's Monday and my arm is still numb...this sucks.

horse show

A friend of mine teaches riding lessons and had a group of girls going to the local hunter/jumper show last Sunday. She had asked me if I could come along and take pictures of her girls so I thought “Heck Yes!” The English riding community here is small. There weren’t very many people showing. MAYBE 15 different people all day. They usually have dressage the first day and hunter/jumper the next day. But apparently they only had 3 people sign up for western dressage and regular dressage. I totally should have brought my ponies. Even though they have never done a dressage test…We totally would have walked away with ribbons.

The horse show was held out at the horse park which is where they have thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. They used to have racing every weekend in the summer, but due to mismanaged money...it dwindled down to one weekend this year. Which is better than the years when they didn't have any racing at all. This is the track I worked at for a few seasons. They have a cross country course set up on the infield, as well as a big outdoor arena, but they made the footing too deep so no one uses it. The set up the dressage ring and stadium jumps right on the race track. It was obviously the sand and they had planted grass on it to keep the sand from blowing away. Almost all of the horses were OTTB's so it was great to see them doing something on the track other than running. They were all calm as could be.


Back on the track again!

I’m actually planning on bringing a horse to the final show of the year. It’s in the middle of September and I am excited. I’ll probably bring Pistol and he will totally bomb. But you know what? I don’t care! It will be fun! I’ll probably enter classes and be competing against children…but…I. don’t.care. Who knows I may enter him into a baby jumpers class…I mean surely the old man can walk over some ground poles right? If we totally blow it…I’m not really going to cry about it. Its going to be fun!

Onwards to pictures. And speaking of pictures When you order show pictures what kind of pricing structure has the photographer used? I am going to sell images to my friends show team, but I just wasn’t sure what type of pricing to slap on there. Any insight would be wonderful!

We ride well up in this part of the country...

This girl had only jumped THREE TIMES before this show! She was entered in the 3' classes...and did amazing!

This girl. This horse.

I mean...

We were puzzled all day to what breed this guy was...He's a Hanoverian!

4TH TIME JUMPING!

These two were fantastic!

A little bit of an overjump...

i'm gonna be a super model.

George that is. Not me. Last night he was a SUPER model. Such a good patient fellow. I've come to the decision that he looks like a hillbilly in his mismatched tack. A brown bridle and a black dressage saddle...ish. I know I live in North Dakota which isn't really the land of English riding...and no one ever sees me riding...but come on. We can at least try to be presentable! So I am currently barn cleaning and finding things I can live with out. I've got stuff I didn't even know I had! For example I found a Courbette standing martingale. I no doubt picked it up at a horsey garage sale for a dollar or two with the intentions that I MIGHT need it some day. It needed some conditioner so I slapped some on and now it looks like a million bucks...well maybe fifteen or twenty bucks. Chatting with SprinklerBandit last night she explained what they are used for. And well, I've never had a horse that I would need to use a standing martingale on since I don't have any horses that flip their heads. I've used tie downs on horses before and this is just the English equivalent. And come to think of it...the only reason I've ever used a tie down on a horse before was because a friend told me my horse needed one. I don't think he ever tried to flip his head before using one...so....ummm yeah...I have about 6 different western tie downs in the barn. But Duke does sometimes need them. He sometimes does these little half assed rears when he gets in one of his moods. But he hasn't needed one in quite some time.

Upon digging though some of my hoards I uncovered a shadow roll.

Someone had this and gave it to me to try with Piney since he was scared to leave the barn because of the shadows by the doors. He would leap over them or sometimes not leave the barn at all and be in his stall for days because the am feeders didn't want to deal with him. I never used and it ended up at the bottom of a tack trunk. I decided to throw it on George because he was a race horse and obviously blue is his color. I grabbed Pistol's old bridle and it almost color matched the leather. As I fumbled with the shadow roll to adjust it...and I'm sure it's on wrong. George just stood there like a perfect gentleman. Question is there any reason to keep one of these around? I mean I can't foresee using one unless I decide to buy a bunch of racehorses. I think I saw somewhere that some show jumpers use them. HA I doubt I will be a show jumper. I guess I could keep it around incase we ever do a costume class...
Next on the list to try on, was earnets. I have NEVER used them. I think they look adorable and yes I know they do serve a purpose. I think I tried to put one on my horse years ago when riding with a bunch of western riders, and was laughed at so again. I stashed them in the bottom of my tack trunk.
Poor George. I fumbled big time with the ear net. He was totally fine with it too. Pistol HATES having his ears touched for longer than about .5 seconds so I never thought to use them on him. Duke would have trampled me to death for the thought of even putting something like that on him.  George just stood there as I put them on him and hen adjusted it.

At this point, as I was fumbling, the other two yahoos came into the lean and started sniffing George's face and ears. It's like they were there to laugh at him, and then they were there to sympathize with him. It's like they said "oh man, what is that crazy lady up to now? YIKES sorry buddy!" They just kept nuzzling him and telling him it was gonna be okay. But George just continued to stand like a statue. When tacking up he plants his feet and stands completely still. He takes the bit with out any problems and even lets you mess with his ears. Ever since he bit me he hasn't even tried to do anything remotely naughty, even when touching his girth area.

He is just such a good dude. I mean look at these pictures. Have you ever seen a wilder thoroughbred? He is half asleep most of the time. He's a lot like Piney in that respect. I hate horses that jig around when tacking up. My old palomino Yellow would spook at the saddle every other time. I mean come on man, it's not like it's the first time you've been saddled! George KNOWS what's up. I wish I could go to the barn that trained him and hug them for putting such a nice horse together. Dr. Bowman was spot on when he thought that George would be a good horse for me. Each ride I put on George I find myself falling for him more. I am figuring him out, and he is figuring me out. I put a quick jaunt on him Saturday morning. And after about 5 minutes he tried to throw a temper tantrum. He will pin his ears, make AWFUL faces, chomp the bit, refuse to go forward and then stomp his feet. It lasts a few minutes. He is simply stating that he doesn't want to work. So I simply remind him that maybe it would be fun to keep working a bit longer, and then he can be done. And then he complies and we continue our ride. After he gets over his hissy fit, he is better than before he threw the tantrum. Listens, and relaxes and goes forward. I'd like to think he is testing me, but by the sounds of it, that is George being George. He is quirky and has always been like that. I really believe that if I was a bit more of an aggressive rider, we would have major problems. He really likes quiet hands, and someone that gives him some time to figure his shi..ummm "crap" out. He is just really fun. I am so mad at myself for not getting on him sooner. But he did scare me and totally intimidate me. When I was lunging him months ago, he was going fine and then all of a sudden he came right at me, out of the blue. Like he was saying "EFF you woman! I ran in circles my whole life! This is BULL!" He even looked like he wanted to hurt me. I got him going a few more circles and then I put him away. I worried that if he tried to kill me on the ground, what would he do when I was on his back! He just gets in these weird moods and you have to watch him sometimes. 98% of the time though, he's as gentle as a lamb. He's not an overly affectionate TB though and doesn't like kisses and he does prefer male humans to female humans. BUT at the end of the day I am 100% happy with my decision to adopt him. He is awesome. I love him. He keeps me on my toes and thinking.

I also began to wonder a little bit. I have had friends with Thoroughbreds that once you leave them for a couple days without riding, they are firecrackers. Full of energy and about ready to explode. In fact my palomino quarter horse was awful if you left him for a while. Especially if you left him for a few months through the winter. George had a whole year off, and other than his excitement to get home from trail riding, I haven't had any issues with him. Piney was the same. You could leave him for 6 months at a time, and when you came back he was right back where you left him, but slower and lazier. Pistol and Duke are the same way. I fully expected George to be a nut when I first got on him. I was pleasantly surprised. What a good horse. I like to think it's me and that I'm just such an awesome rider now that horses just totally mellow out when I ride them...HAHAHA! That's a good one.

 

 

First trail ride on George

Third ride on George was a doozy. We ended up going on about a one hour trail ride with my friend and the hubby. He was better than I expected. 

He did have his "George" moments though. For example when adjusting the girth he nipped my arm. I couldn't even react and let him know he did something wrong before his face showed me that he KNEW he did something wrong. He was punishing himself and it was apparent that he has been taught the lesson before that you don't bite your person. 

Once we got started down the road he was great. He was a little weary of the corn field. But he walked out great and didn't mind being behind the other two horses. We had ridden for awhile and crossed the highway when he decided that he was done. He was throwing a little hissy fit but I got him through it. 

Once we decided it was time to head for home George was like "game on! I'm a race horse!" Okay so he didn't bolt for home or anything but like most horses he picked up his pace. His ears went back and he was making his weirdo faces again. Chomping on his bit was a nice touch. But that whole act didn't last long. He was nice and relaxed for the rest of our journey. I do notice, both from tonight's ride and old pictures of him, when he gets his mind on something his ears go back...almost pinned back, but not quite all the way back.

This is how his ears looked on the way home.
Photo by Maggie Kimmett

I am still figuring his "George-isms" but I am impressed with how he was on our ride. He is a good boy even if he has his moments. But if you asked me a few years ago if I would have put my third ride on my new thoroughbred out on a trail ride I would have called you nuts. I can't wait to put more time on him. 

Also on a side note. Pistol was fantastic for his beginner rider. I am so pleased with that horse! Last time she rode was when she was ten. He really took care of her for her first time back in the saddle.