Jimmy Is Ready To Work

Every day Jimmy seems to be stronger & stronger, now I fear he's TOO strong. He's got a flicker of an attitude flaring up here and there and I'm not really thrilled with it. I know he's a horse and he's young...and quite honestly he wouldn't be Jimmy if he didn't throw a fit here & there I just am getting rubbed the wrong way by his recent attitude problem.

Today with Lucy he was quicker than normal and it irritated me. If I hadn't been frozen solid I would have thrown a leg over and worked him after her lesson to take his edge off but I couldn't move my fingers, let alone ride. I didn't expect it to be so chilly today!!!

I think his attitude is stemming from my lack of consistency this month. Since I know a random outburst is typical for him I think I just need to take this one in stride and let him be. I'll do what I can to keep things consistent and steady for him, and next week I think I'll put Lucy on one of our other horses.

WHEN WILL SPRING BE HERE?! 

Dreams Come True

Well, I've gone a little off the deep end in jumping. I think it's just been so darn long that I couldn't jump Jimmy that now all I want to do is JUMP JUMP JUMP!!!!!! It's so much fun and Jimmy is so good at it...HOW COULD I NOT?!?!?! So we've done the big vertical probably 10 times over 3 days now. It's just so fun. Jimmy loves it. Now he jumps it properly - not OVER jumping it - and very smooth. Love him.

There's some massive snow storm heading right at us right now, so Jimmy will be getting the week off of Mom and a week ON with Cassie. She's responsible for hacking the whole barn of horses & jumping everyone in a rotation so everyone gets their exercises this week. I'm taking the week OFF of the barn! Until Saturday, when lessons are back on & life is back to normal :-)

Bill came out to the barn with me Sunday & found a new horse that he likes to hang out with, so he takes her for walks/jogs while I ride Jimmy then brushes her while I clean Jimmy up & put him away. It's amazingly cute to see him interact with such a big, sweet horse and he seems to really enjoy her!!! He said next time....he wants to ride. It is possible. Dreams do come true.

Be safe everyone!!!

Far Too Busy

Not only have I been too busy to write blogs, I've been too busy to READ all of yours!!! I am so, so sorry!!! This season has taken a hold of me and try as I might, I can't seem to find any more free time - when I DO have free time I have no motivation to get things DONE! You don't even want to see my bathroom, you really don't.

But, to fill you all in there are just two major quick points I want to share:

1. Jimmy jumped a whole course yesterday - 2 X's, a vertical, and a box! HOORAY! All strides & lead changes & pure happiness resulted. THREE CHEERS FOR JIMMY CHOO!!!! My perfect horse :-) I need some work over fences since it's been so long...but luckily....

2. Pepe has moved in with us! Saturday we decided to make the move & bring Pepe to where Jimmy is now for 30 days to try & get some more time in the saddle on him & get more people out to see him. Cross your fingers the seeds I've put out there will harvest and turn into a sale!!

Hope everyone is doing what they can to STAY WARM!!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr CHICAGO!!! Happy riding <3

Staying Warm

In reply to Marissa at Tucker the Wunderkind's post on how to stay warm while riding, I thought I'd share my own secrets :-)

Back in the day when I rode with a trainer, it was embedded into my brain that you are not to stop to remove any layers while you ride. When I rode at Telluride, the beautiful facility had an indoor arena that never got below 45º in the coldest winter months, so wearing a turtleneck & a vest was pretty bearable.

However, due to my own stubbornness I still live by this habit, & to me it's just natural and easier to not interrupt my riding for "undressing". The kicker? My arena does get colder than 45º in the coldest winter months. A lot colder. So, how do I cope? Easy: I dress like I'm skiing.

I'm a huge fan of LL Bean and my mom jokes that I look like a spokesperson for the store when I stop at her house for a visit after riding. If they made breeches, I'd live in them. (Someday?! It doesn't hurt to dream!!!) One day on an LL Bean excursion (I'm lucky enough to be less than 10 miles from a retail location) I found these incredible SportHill thermal shirts for skiing that have extra long sleeves with a thumb hole, so when you pull your glove and jacket on, your sleeve stays down! Completely brilliant.

These SportHill thermals are fleece-lined and have kind of a soft shell exterior, so they insulate and as your body produces heat & energy, it insulates you & keeps the heat close to your body! I also ride in fleece-lined breeches which I found on tackoftheday.com for $5. The SportHill thermal tops I haven't been able to find since – I think I spent $40-50 a piece (they were $75 orig.) and they are two different bright, obnoxious colors but they're the only two shirts I wear if it's below freezing and they're absolutely wonderful. 20º-30º and I don't need anything else, just the shirt. Any colder than 20º I wear a down jacket on top, but it's incredibly cozy!

I ride in tall boots with wool socks. An headband/earmuff type item would be really handy and probably complete my winter riding attire, but I haven't acquired anything of the sort yet.

Jimmy doesn't get dressed or undressed either - he has to be tough with me. He goes outside in a heavy weight blanket with a hood & get switched to a baker wool stable sheet at night. If he'll be standing in the aisle a bit while I set a course, I'll throw his baker over him. We asked Santa for a wool cooler for Christmas. I hope we were good enough this year to get one!!!!

Jimmy Loves Lucy

Sunday Lucy had a wonderful lesson on Jimmy. He, of course, was a saint.

Saturday with me all he could do was startle and spook at any slight movement of anything. It was REALLY windy, and freezing cold, but still unacceptable for him to be such a spook.

Thankfully for all of us, he was the picture of perfection for Lucy. Here are some lovely photos of him from Sunday. Enjoy!

Jimmy avoiding me in his dry lot...

"Are you sure I have to come inside now Mom?"

Lucy cooling Jimmy out bareback :-)

Stubborn Streak

Last night the BO had to show a horse to a trainer, so when I walked into the arena today to get on, I didn't even think that all of the jumps would be out and sprinkled about the arena. I had Jimmy in tow, so I wasn't about to walk around and move all of the jumps off of the rail. I got on and decided to just ride on the inside and those that were far enough off the rail that I could squeak by I would break down to a slow walk, continue through the gap, and transition onward.

The wind today was fierce and it rained all day! The temperature dropped WAY down into the 40's (bone chilling after the nearly 70º temperatures we've had lately!!) and I had to layer up with whatever was in my car just to stay warm enough. Yes, winter will be a harsh reality check. It's coming....unfortunately.

Thankfully I have Jimmy in awesome barn hands so when it down-poured today, they snatched him & brought him into the safety & dryness of his stall. His Baker got drenched and was 50 lbs. at least, but they took it off and left it drying outside his stall. It's such a relief to have him where he's always taken care of and I never have to worry about what "clothes" he should have on each day. I had his Weatherbeeta in my car nice and clean & dry so after our ride he got tucked in with a nice, warm & dry blankey.

He warms up & cools down faster every day. His stubborn streak is starting to come back as well, which is a nod to how good he is feeling. He's only stubborn when he knows he feels well enough to get away with it. The last few days the stubborn streak has been tracking right and moving off my leg. He would rather just ignore my leg & hand than move laterally, as he's being asked. Today we focused on LOTS of work to the right. By the end he was fit to be tied but he was moving great!

I'm looking  forward to jumping again and I'm not quite sure when the time is right to do it. I've tried researching on it and I can't find much of anything. I should call John and see what he thinks....Maybe I'll drop him an e-mail tonight. My goal was to have JC jumping by Thanksgiving. We'll see how it goes :-)

Lesson with Lucy tomorrow :-)

Great First Ride

I love the new barn!!! It's such a perfect fit for us. It's blissfully quiet, only one or two other people there at any given time & the arena is just big enough that Jimmy and I can get work done. It's smaller than I remember from my first look but it's absolutely big enough for us to work in all winter long. It's Jimmy sized.

He was very "hoppy" tonight at the trot, but Cass had her music up pretty loud & he'd never experienced loud music in an arena, so he was more distracted than he's probably ever been. I'll attribute the "hoppiness" to distraction - the wind howled so much I could barely hear myself think so he couldn't have been comfortable in that respect either. He cantered more tonight, also. Slowly I'm bringing him up more and more each night. We went about 3 times around each direction at the canter, which this arena might be 3/4 the size of the old barn's outdoor, so I'd say that's a good amount to ask him to step up for tonight. I hope to go out tomorrow and ride again. I might bump back up to three nights a week, because I'm just so stoked to have a place to ride.

Here's Jimmy in the indoor after our ride tonight, being excellently cute. His weight looks great & he starts his new high-protein feed tomorrow so the muscle development should really pick up. Love this big guy!!!

My little nerd.

Such a good boy.

Change of Plans

First of all - I have to start with a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to fellow blogger Kate on her new horse, Pie! I couldn't be happier for her - she's been on the search for a while looking for a very specific "perfect horse" and I knew she'd find one! Pie seems like the best of everything she was looking for and I'm so thrilled to see that she's found "the one". Can't wait to read lots of entries and see lots of pictures of the new guy, Kate!

Now back to The Choo - we have had a change of plans and (because I'm too excited and impatient to wait 5 more days...) Jimmy will be loaded up and shipped to his new "winter home" TONIGHT!!! I'm so tickled. The thought of being able to ride tonight, even though the weather is HORRIBLE is sooooo exciting!!!

Of course, it always seems to happen that when I plan on loading Jimmy up and bringing him anywhere, the weather is terrifyingly bad. The day of his surgery it was identical conditions: Rainy, cold, windy, dark, miserable. Please pray that he loads quickly and easily and life at the new barn starts like a breeze!

Hopefully soon I will be posting before & after X-rays of Jimmy's legs- so stay tuned!!

We Found A Spook

Jimmy has always been the most wonderful, prince charming of a horse on trail rides and in the arena to ride. I always joke that he doesn't know how to spook because whether it's a lawn chair/snow sled/garbage can jump, or a deer jumping through the field, or a wood chuck coming up for air from the creek....Jimmy doesn't spook. He jumps whatever is in front of him and doesn't second guess anything else in the world. Even motorcycles speeding by or bicyclists flying mere inches past us on the road don't cause him to blink.

Bill and I got home much earlier than anticipated from our weekend away & I felt a quick, light bareback ride wouldn't hurt him if we only walked. I hurled myself on from our mounting tree-stump and we walked up the driveway. He hadn't been out really all week, but trails are a piece of cake so I held just the buckle of my reins while he walked up the driveway and crossed the street. Motorcycles rumbled past....Jimmy walked with his head practically on the ground, half asleep. A bicyclist whizzed by so fast I swear if a rock hit her tire she would have flipped end-over-end....Jimmy nearly snored with boredom.

We got onto the trail just across the street and I was really relaxed, enjoying the beautiful weather when he saw them. Political. Promotions. Oh my GOSH it was like the world was coming to and end and the apocalypse was happening before his eyes. Just two red/white/blue posters about 12"x14", stuck into the ground in the middle of "his" trail. Jimmy is a very self-taught trail guide, so he knows (how, I don't know) wherever the grass is mowed down, he can walk there. The fact that those posters were in the smack-dab-middle of his trail offended and terrified him to the maximum degree.

Going past the first time he panicked, but made it and immediately settled back to his low-head-hanging, walk-on-the-buckle self. The way back he knew it was coming (so did I, and I did the best I could to relax and soothe him) and there was nothing in the world that would prevent an explosion. He grew about 2 full hands and had his head up so high I couldn't see over him too look ahead. I cooed and patted and pet and scratched to no avail. He started flying sideways and backwards so quickly there was nowhere I could go but bail. Luckily, I practiced this frequently for JUST this occasion when he was a baby. I flew off to the left and took the reins over his head on my way down. Landed running forward and he knew to keep up and trot forward with me. God Bless this well-trained horse!!! Give him the routine bag of tricks and he goes right into working mode. We trotted straight up to the terrible signs and when I touched them he got brave enough to poke his nose out and touch them too. We walked away and back up to them a few times and by time #2 he forgot why we were there and reached over one of the signs to eat the grass on the other side.

Mission: Accomplished. We successfully overcame our terrible fear of political signs. Personally, I can't blame him. I don't like those things either.

Wonderful Weather, Wonderful Horses

Happy Labor Day! What awesome weather we've had here in Chicagoland!!! Couldn't be happier with the ponies, either.

Sunday Bill and I got home pretty early from camping so after a morning of relaxation (camping is so much work!! but it was fun) I ventured out to the barn to enjoy the weather and the horses.

I went for Pepe first, and Jimmy let me know he wasn't very happy about it. I felt like I was being watched:
For the first time when I went out to get Pepe, he came to me. This is a HUGE step for him! He was looking right at me, ears pricked and left his BFF Lucia so he could come see me. I wanted to take him on a trail ride since the weather was so beautiful, but he told me otherwise. I know the girl who was riding him this spring rode him in improper tack (i.e. a pony-sized running martingale) She mentioned to me that he reared a lot with her, so I walked over one day while she was tacking him up with this microscopically tiny martingale and said "This would be why he's rearing. It's WAYYYY to small. You need to take it off, or make it bigger" she said "No, no. It's fine. It's fine." She only ever rode him on the trail. **FILED INTO MY MEMORY**

So I get on him and walk him up the driveway (I was waiting for some other boarders to tack up and we were all planning to ride together). When I got to the gate he stood alert, but calm. I tried to reach and open the gate but he's a full hand or so taller than Jim, so I couldn't reach it. I walked him back down the hill to check on the other riders, and walked him back up the hill to the gate alone since they weren't ready yet. This time he didn't have the same calmness. Actually, he got a little testy walking up to the gate, and light on the front end. By the third time I walked him up the hill and toward the gate he only got 3/4 of the way up the hill and started to try and stand up. Horse rearing + on a hill = so completely unsafe. I calmed him down to the point of being reasonable, walked him down the hill and got off so I could open the gates to get into the arena.

Then something amazing happened. I kid you not: I walked him into the arena, put my foot in the stirrup, and stepped over onto him. I had my reins in one hand and gave him a pat on the neck with the other - the identical routine that I do every time we ride together. He took a deep breath, sighed, and licked his lips while he calmly walked off, head low and calmly collected. UNbelievable. Having trust with a horse is a pretty huge honor that people often take for granted. This horse genuinely trusts me and because he knew the basic routine of my mounting in the arena, he was immediately put at ease. He went from dangerous and nearly violent to a soft little puppy in minutes. I'm honored to work with this horse.

Today was the same, had a great ride on him and we just enjoyed the company of one and other. He's very weak in the right hind hock or hip, I'm still figuring out which. I'm not 100% how he'd do in a pre-purchase exam, but he's such an honest and loving guy once you gain his trust I let his owner know that in the right hands, he'll make a completely wonderful riding horse.

Lucy had a lesson today and her mom (Anne) took some great photos!!! Smiley was too excited about the cool breeze so we had to keep him on the lunge line today ;-) Lucy rode beautifully (as you can see)!!!
Today we played a game I made up to keep Lucy planning and thinking ahead called "Inside/Outside". I put a barrel down in the circle she's riding in and she has to call if she's going inside or outside the barrel. It keeps her on her toes and it's fun at the same time!!

Jimmy has ust been getting brushed and hand walked (and lots of love). I'm trying to keep things low-key with him as long as he can stand it. The more time he lays low the better he will heal.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day Weekend!

Always Brewing

Well Saturday morning Bill and I had to meet with someone at a country club we are considering for our wedding reception, so I had to get out to the farm early. Just as well that I went out early because I beat the heat, and I was awake at 4am anyway from overwhelming excitement of "I'm getting married". I have 15 months of this now!?! Aye yay yay. I need to stop watching Say Yes to the Dress before I go to bed :-)

So I lunged Jim and rode Pepe, typical Saturday stuff. Jim looked good. Still a grade 1 lame all the time, every so-often he jumps into a grade 4 instantly, and is 100% crippled. Luckily, when he does this he brings himself down to a walk, shakes out of it, and when he's feeling better he steps himself back up into a trot. It's a very peculiar motion and it is heart-wrenching to watch. Something inside me says it's in his poll - like he has more chips there & we never considered looking that high. I really hope my gut-instinct is wrong.

I think it's in the neck because it's certain times when he tilts his head while he's trotting or shakes it to play, or when he lifts it up at any point to look at something, he gets stuck - it seems like his head and neck are stuck in one place and the pain is shooting all the way down through his feet. His whole front end is totally effed. Back end - never misses a beat.

Pepe is MUCH MUCH more broke than I originally thought and extremely fun!!! I didn't ride him Sunday because after lunging Jim and teaching Lucy I was way too hot and tired. But Saturday morning he really stepped up his game. Another boarder keeps ground rails out for her horse so I use them to my advantage. Pepe will come out of the corner soft, step up and open up his stride when asked, and carry his momentum up, over, and through any rails in front of him. YES! I love that feeling - a horse that is WILLING to work. Absolutely love it.

Another thing that I was tickled about started last week. He liked to try & wiggle out of the ground rails then and cantering through one time he tried to dodge out last second and popped himself into a flying lead change. *Note in head: Use this for later*. Well, what do you know. Saturday morning he came out of the corner, stepped up to the one-stride (ground rails only), landed and when I stepped out, he popped a perfect change. WOOOOOOT!! Sign. Me. UP for this guy!!! He is SUCH a fast learner and he's so sweet, so sincere. I swear if Jimmy tips over and dies I'm just going to put Pepe in his stall and call it a day. Jimmy: You've been replaced. I'm sick of your drama.

Okay, obviously that's just simply not true. I'm willing to keep giving Jimmy time, since it's all I can afford to do. Come next spring if we're still having lameness problems we will see what we can do. However, right now with remnant surgery and diagnostic things to pay off, and a WEDDING, my hands are a little tied. Jimmy will remain in his limestone lot alone with a lunge every few days & Pepe will be my riding release. We will get through this.

Meet Pepe

This is Pepe:



He is an 8y/o TB (we think) who is learning how to be something. We aren't sure what yet, but definitely something. Today Lucy was out with me and was the photographer for the day :-)

We started out with lunging and I got to see what he looks like moving - he's adorable! Just cute as can be. If I had to guess today, I'd say he'd make a perfect little fun hunter. Just beginner children's type stuff - but he's got the sweetest personality he'd just make a kid so darn happy. He's fun, too. He doesn't put up a fight, or argue with you about anything, he just tries and listens and learns. He's ideal.


Trots pretty cute, doesn't he?!? Today we worked on just basic move forward when I leg, come back when I slow my body. He's got the downward transitions down to a science. You'll see in the video I think about slowing down & he's got it - NOT because he's lazy and rude, but because he is extremely sensitive to weight. If I lean one way or the other, or just wiggle, he slows right down to a halt or walk and listens for the next cue. Can we say: My next lesson horse?! Problem is, he loves to think about bucking when he canters. He hasn't ACTUALLY bucked (yet), but he lovvvves to think about it. He gets a little light in the rear and swishy with his tail. You'll see in the video I have to keep lifting him up.

I like to work green horses from the start with very very light hands. I let them tell me their strengths and weaknesses, rather than starting very "rough & tumble, this is how we ride". I'm not that way in life, so I certainly don't believe it's right to be that way in riding. He learns quickly and listens well, I think once his topline and muscles start to fill in we might have a real riding horse :-) Meanwhile, I don't want to push his contact or anything like that, I just need him to feel what it's like again to have a passenger on board and figure out his whole body. He's very clumsy, but boy, he really, really tries. Here's that video:

OH AND LOOK WHO IT IS!!!! Little James. He was a little snotkins today. He has learned laziness in his time off and takes full advantage of the new skill at every opportunity when he SHOULD be working. He started out stiff on the line and worked out of it. Looking better, still not great. The waiting game continues.

Diggin' Trenches

Jimmy can't go outside in his limestone turn out until the giant pile of dirt is removed. If we remember correctly - he likes to climb up it and 'visit the neighbors'. It's been almost a week and this said dirt pile has not yet been removed, so today my job will be to start digging. I think it's something I can handle with a shovel and a wheel barrow, but I honestly don't know the last time I've used a shovel for anything other than manure or snow. So this will be interesting. OH- and it stormed last night, so the dirt is now heavy, heavy mud. Super.

I also would like to tack JC up today and put him on a line to see how he feels in the arena. The round pen will be too wet for his tootsies, so we'll go into the 'big ring' and see how he's feeling. I also plan to hack Pepe today. I'm very excited to spend all afternoon at the barn - just not excited to ride two horses AND shovel a giant pile of mud. I'm praying the mud is moved by the time I get there :-D

Actually....the more I think about it, I think I'll just sneak out while Bill is still asleep and take care of my chores. The weather is incredible right now, and I don't want to waste it!!! 74º and cloudy! BRING IT!!

Happy Feet & Messy Mouth

Well, I hate to be vague....but I just don't want to jinx anything. Today. I rode Jimmy. And he rocked. I broke all the rules in the book. I didn't wear my riding boots (but I DID have on gym shoes) or have a helmet on. I meant to hand walk him in the arena and pick up rocks. Then I got out there and decided it's too hot to pick up rocks so I let him walk around me on the leadrope and realized that wasn't going to work...I didn't bring my lunge line so I just decided "Oh what the heck, I'll just ride." So I did. And it was wonderful :-) Jimmy is THRILLED to have happy feet.

He reaaaaally wanted to buck, but he's the most obedient horse in the universe so me tugging lightly on the lead rope reminded him to stay upright. He trotted stiff at first (been in his stall for 48 hours) but then he just kept tucking up underneath me, he felt too excited to merely trot, so I let him canter his little heart out. I just sat up there and let him do the work. I made him go back down to the trot after twice around each way and he trotted BEAUTIFULLY. Really strong, really solid. Just gorgeous. It felt powerful. It was so amazing. My heart is still full from that feeling. I love feeling him and watching him and KNOWING his power. He has so much of it, it's unreal.

After our ride we did a few laps around the driveway to cool off by hand (holy smokes it was HOTT and HUMID tonight) and took a shower & stood under the wonderful ceiling fans in the aisle. When he was cool I put him back in his stall and grabbed the flax out of my car. He gobbled it up!!!

He shoves his whole face in it, then realizes "Oh crap, there's stuff on my face" so he wipes his mouth up the side of his stall door, and licks it all the way down to get the flax off :-) Is someone a little too smart...? Think so. Here's some pics. I'm so happy - I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

He likes to play with his food first:

Then he shoves his WHOLE FACE in it:

Then he wipes it UP the stall door to get it off his face....

Then he slips and slurps all the way back down to get all those nummies that he wiped off his face :-) He's TOO smart!!!

Oh, and one last note: I'm officially moved-into the condo now with Bill. I unpacked my bags tonight. This is real, I'm a more-than-girlfriend. We call each other "Mr. B" and "Mrs. B" because "Fiance" is too hoity-toity for us ;-)

Praying for a Miracle

Holy moly tonight was a sauna at the farm. BLECH!!!! It was brutal.

I grabbed Jim and groomed him. I put DMSO in his hooves today, heard that helps with soreness...so I figured what the heck. Tomorrow I am going to the Healthy Horse Workshop at Saddlers Row, so I'll pick up some Durasole or Keratex, whichever they have in stock. Hopefully Durasole.

I got on, despite the heat, and started walking bareback. He felt great. Some days I get on and can just tell that he is happy and feels good. We walked twice around each direction, practicing flexion and lateral work across the diagonal. He was beautiful. I felt my heart swell, it felt so incredible to be on him and WORKING again. However, it was short-lived. Started the trot to the right and he seemed "meh". As we progressed to the right (still, straight sides only) he gradually became worse. To the left he was downright violent. No part of him wanted to trot. The bugs were getting to him, it was hot, and he plainly didn't feel good. I got off and took his bridle off and made him trot around me once. Left Front.

I'm trying to research online. Trying to find something to do or try or...SOMETHING. Anything that will help him. What breaks my heart isn't that I can't ride, it's that he's hurting and I can't help him. We've done everything and there's absolutely no improvement in his soundness. My parents say leave him in the field and let him be for a year. I'm a hands-on type. I can't do that. I tried for a week and felt horrible by the end.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't want to do nothing, but we've already tried "something" a lot of times. I'm praying for a miracle. Please help me.

Back In Action - Rehab Officially Begins

I went to the barn last night for the first time in a week. As you may have read, I was dreading it the night before - nervous to go out and see a lame horse yet again. I woke up excited yesterday & throughout the day the excitement built and built...until I stared at the clock to make 5PM come faster!

When I pulled up to the barn, the nervous butterflies found their way back to my stomach and my hands got clammy. I pulled into the driveway and got out of my car to open the gate, practically panting. I peered off to the field Jimmy lives in to see if I could find him while I opened the gate for myself and stopped. "What the heck am I so nervous about?!?" I asked myself. The result will be the same - I will love him no matter what. Rome wasn't built in a day and however long this rehabilitation process takes, he's my horse and I love him. *Deep breath*

So I pulled down the drive and bounced out of my car & up into the barn. I stopped at his stall to grab his "clothes" (aka - halter & lead) and there were presents! EOC dropped off an EcoMitt for "Jimmy to try" and Lucy had left me a note as well. I'm definitely looking forward to trying out our new EcoMitt tomorrow if the weather holds up enough for a bath :-)

I drew up his Adequan so when I brought him in it was all ready. He knows what it means when we walk in the barn that way - past my trunk. So I did a drive by to pick up the syringe and walked him into the aisle where he's stabled. I dropped the lead rope and his nostrils flared. The best part about Jimmy is that when he starts thinking about going to "flight" mode, it just takes a hug or a gentle touch on his neck and he immediately takes a deep breath and relaxes. With nothing more than my arm curled under the curve of his neck & resting my hand on the other side, I gave him his shot. No one else was there, no one was even on the property. But he just stood there, like a perfect gentleman and breathed deeply while I injected his Adequan. He is comforted so much by just a touch it's unbelievable.

He was pretty resentful of me for the first 10 minutes I was there. He kept telling me "Mom. You were gone for a long time. I'm mad at you" and I kept telling him "I needed a break baby. I'm sorry I left you, but I promise I still love you and I will always love you, and I'm back now." I say "he said" / "I said" because I really do feel like I can hear what he is 'saying' and I speak out loud back to him. Astoundingly enough or not - once I told him that he walked up, put his head in my arms and seemed to say "I missed you Mama. Don't go." It was beautiful.

We stretched & then headed to the pen for his evaluation. I let him trot once around & then realized I won't be able to tell how sound he is unless I get up there. So I did :-D

He trotted beautifully. Just halter & lead rope, bareback. I rode him for about 10 minutes. He took two lame steps the whole ride. I even asked if he wouldn't mind cantering a few strides, so he did. He kindly stepped himself up and under me into a canter for 3 or 4 strides each direction as if to say "Here Mama. That's enough for me." It felt incredible to be back on him.

Now we are only looking onward to our bright future - no more looking back on the injuries and surgery and lameness. I am going to start sitting on him again, just a few minutes bareback every few days. I'll have Lucy ride him too when she's around with me. I think the only direction to move is forward. This week with no work is what he needed and last night he proved that he's feeling well enough to consider work again. A few lame steps I will respect, and I'm praying they become less and less every day.

How could you not love him?!?? When I sit on the ground in the pen, he grazes, but always close enough that I can reach out and touch him. I definitely think he missed me :-) I have the best horse in the world.

After our play time and ride I had to bandage him up a little bit. The bell boots have been rubbing him raw (I knew it'd happen, just a matter of time) because he's got VERY thin, sensitive skin (hence why I make my own fly spray).OUCH, JIMMY!!!!! He's such a delicate little thing.

By the time he was ready to go back out he looked ready for battle. Ankle doctored, bell boots on, fly mask on, hooves moisturized on the outside, turpentine'd on the inside. He is nothing if not special....in any given context ;-) I'm very grateful for every moment I spend with him.

Lucy My Groom

Tonight Lucy went out and groomed Jimmy so when I got there all I needed to do was work him in the pen and wrap/medicate him. WOOT! Here she is!


Thanks, Lucy!

Jimmy was in "work" mode again tonight, and came out pretty stiff (even after I did his carrot stretches with him- they've made their way into my routine now so I ALWAYS do them before we work!) in the left front. We started with basic upward & downward transitions at walk & trot...he is so smart he figured out when I wiggle my hand (BARELY making the rope wiggle) he has to shorten his stride/slow his pace. Once he had some solid walk/trot work in he was really loose and looked wonderful. I let him canter a little, then made him come back to trot, etc etc. His reward for going downward immediately every time I asked (after 8 to 10ish times in a row) was to canter as long as he wanted. He's part Arab....so I'm lucky I'm not still there!! He really only cantered for 5 or so minutes. I made him change direction once, bringing him down to the trot, signaling him to come in, then pushing him back out with my body language and he knew just what to do, picking up the correct lead and everything. Very proud :-) It's perfect to work him at about 7PM because the round pen is then 90% covered in shade, so it's at least 10-15º cooler than the arena, which is full-sun.

We concluded with a bath - which he had one major meltdown...he was cross-tied and still managed to flip out badly enough to pull his halter off his nose and left it hanging at his neck. Luckily a simple "Ho...." and he stopped after three rears! Improvement. He didn't trust me one bit the rest of the night though. I went into his stall with the bucket of poultice to wrap up his foot (for good measure - still doing the 1g bute/daily too) while he ate his dinner, and when he saw the bucket he pounced into the far corner of his stall and quivered, looking the other way like "If I'm not looking at you, then you aren't really there. Please go away. Please go away...". It took a good bit of cooing and coaxing at him to get him to trust me enough that I could walk up to him. Once I touched him he sighed and went back to finish his dinner. He stood like a champ while I wrapped him up and put his boots back on him.

This week Bill starts "lunge lessons" with Jimmy - He literally will be learning how to lunge Jimmy and how to speak "horse" in body language! I'm excited. I think he is too.

Prince Jimmy

Well, the BO's are back and things are back to normal. Better than that, actually. I get a call everyday now about how Jimmy is doing and what he's up to, and what he's been doing all day.

I have a feeling it's because this blog leaked & got back to her, or because another boarder left and she's worried I will follow suit...not sure, but I definitely will accept the special treatment, and I'm sure the Jimmy appreciates being treated like a Prince!

Yesterday my friend Jimmy, who is like a brother to me, came out to the farm with me and just wandered around, spoiling and petting the horses. JC's previous share boarder, Lucy also came out. She's more than ready to get back to taking lessons on JC so I told her she can start coming out to help me brush and walk him, and then she can start taking lessons on him again when he's better (I'm thinking he'll be ready to do walk trot with her August-ish). The biggest thing is making sure he's ready mentally for her. Physically, I'm not worried about him. She's 13 years old and the cutest little peanut you've ever seen. She's exactly perfect size for Jimmy :-)

He was SUPER muddy yesterday too, so Lucy got to learn what the shedding blade/mud scraper is! She did an awesome job and he was sparkling clean when she was done!

The countdown is drawing to an end!!! Friday I get to ride him!!! 4 more days :-)

It Never Ends

Well, tonight Jimmy was a total knucklehead again. I put him on the line to walk and TROT ONLY. He had bigger plans. In the round pen, he likes to trot nicely, then suddenly explode at this one spot, so I was pretty ready for it, I watched the wind up....Nope. Didn't matter. He pulled and shot himself so hard up in the air and around and around he pulled the lunge line right out of my hands. Then, instead of stopping like a good boy he ran faster and faster and faster and faster and FASTER!!!!! until finally he realized I was staring his butt down (literally) and he twirled and flipped himself to face me and bounced to a stop, snorting like 'OH HEY MOM HOW'S IT GOIN!?' all out-of-breath.

I grabbed the rope while he wandered over to the grass (Jimmy is very "let's ride bikes" if you catch my drift....) and pulled it out of through his legs. How he didn't step on it and decapitate/flip himself end-over-end while at that dead gallop is beyond me. I'll thank the Angel Doobie for that one.

We reversed and went back to trying to walk/trot...and Jimmy again, had an alternative plan. Around and around he goes. Dead-ass-gallop. Cool. Thanks Jimmy. That rocked .

I made him walk a few nice circles around me. Albeit they were 5' in radius because that's the only way he'd WALK not DEAD RUN.... but, it worked.

I threw him in his stall and borrowed a friend's horse to go on a quick trail ride. It's been almost a month since I've ridden last so it felt good to just get on a horse again and ride. Didn't last long since the bugs were both blood-sucking and annoying beyond belief (not to mention it was about 95º), but Jess and I still had fun. Here are a few pix of me on her mare, Luna (AppyxArab):




On a side note: It is currently both wedding and horse show season. This means that every other album uploaded to Facebook is either a wedding, a shower, or a horse show. It is absolutely the worst form of torture I have ever endured. That's all.

Bath Time Terror

Yesterday it was flipping hot & at least 600% humidity (Hello, Chicago) so I gave him a bath really quickly when I stopped out to visit him and he was a punk@$$ then too. He hates baths, which I've always been pretty understanding about, but now I've had it. I'm sick of him not loading, clipping, or bathing worth a damn. It's time to solve this problem, so he will be getting a bubble bath EVERY day this summer until he decides to chill the heck out. Yesterday he was mad when I wouldn't let him eat grass bc I didn't want the soap to run down into his eyes, so when I pulled his head up, he picked himself up as high as he could and started eating the leaves off the tree. Seriously, Jimmy?! Who trained you?!? Because my perfect horse doesn't ACT LIKE THIS.

His other favorite bathtime trick is to fly backwards without warning and flip out completely because he's "sick of getting a bath". Now, in a wash stall this can't happen, so last summer he was getting over it, but Mommy has student loans to pay now so we board with the lesser-fortunate horses and THEY all stand for their baths at the hitching post. If I tie him up, and try to let him "fight himself" he usually breaks something (lead rope, halter, hitching post...my hand) in his "backwards flights" so now I've been trying to let him ground tie. He stands pretty OKAY for a little bit, then suddenly gets that "OH! Hey! I hate baths! I forgot! Now I'm going to be a turkey" and he flies back. me pulling him just makes him fight harder, so now I've started making horrible "AHHHSSHHHA SHHAA SHHHAAAAAAAAAA SHA SHA SHA" noises when he flies backwards and when he stops and looks at me with the "wtf?!" ears I stop and start cooing him to move forward and he melts into me and goes "Oh geeze, Mom. I thought you were a monster for a second! It was horrible!!"

Any other ideas on how I can make the bath devil child stand like a good boy? Clipping is another issue entirely. Usually he has to get a "cocktail" and now I just use scissors for his nose and leave his ears be. Loading, we found at the clinic using a broom and the "outside is WAY worse than inside the trailer" method got him on in 5 minutes, rather than the normal 25-45 minute fiasco. Mind you: on a big trailer with other horses, he's wonderful and loads like he was born to. It's little 2 horses he suddenly feels like he has wings, and loves to use them to try & fly away.

HELP! When did my angel horse become such a devil?! Talk about feeling like a failure of a mom!