great day, great ride

This afternoon I ventured out in this lovely sunny and near-perfect day (54 degrees, a very slight breeze) with three peppermints I collected eating out in Asheville last weekend. I sometimes get peppermints when they have them and instead of eating them myself I bring them home to Keil.

I treated him to the first peppermint when he met me at the pasture gate and marched through, the second when he came back to the barn from the hay tent so I could groom him in the stall again, and the third after our very nice ride.

For some reason it occurred to me today that instead of the bitless bridle I might put the clip-on reins on Salina's old halter and ride Keil in that. I had also done some new spine-stretching exercises I found on Mark's Daily Apple a couple of days ago. I've been trying to do them each morning along with plank exercises, and I think today, riding just after doing these stretches, I felt a noticeable difference in the relaxation of my back. I don't tend to hunch over much but I sometimes arch my back without noticing or meaning to and I can see that in my shadow. Today my shadow back was very straight - who needs mirrors! - and I also felt like I had a much clearer feel for what Keil Bay needed to do to warm up, i.e. where his stiffness was.

We warmed up and then moved into walk/trot/walk transitions, then on to doing shoulder in/out at the trot on a huge arena-sized oval. This really freed up his shoulders and at that point he was more than ready to move into bigger trot work.

We had one big spook when Dickens the cowboy cat snuck up from the back forty and leaped out at us - but it was a very controlled spook, and the only issue I had with it was that somehow I sliced a  small chunk out of my ring finger with one of my other fingernails. It bled like crazy!

I felt Keil was moving well and feeling good so I asked for some very engaged trot on the 20m circle today after we had fully warmed up to it. We had the best trot work we've had in weeks. I suspect my back being nice and stretchy and straight helped.

Might I also add that I have been on the Doris Rapp elimination diet for almost a week now. I wanted to clear my system and see if I could identify any foods I'm possibly reacting negatively to.

I have not cut out my half and half in my morning coffee, and I am still having red wine most evenings, but other than that all I've eaten are fresh fruit, veggies, and local meat. (potato chips with no additives are okay - thank goodness for Trader Joe's olive oil potato chips and Cape Cod chips - I needed something salty and crunchy to get me through the week!) I am noticing that I am more flexible, have probably lost a bit of weight, and generally have more energy. On Tuesday I add dairy back in all the way (for me this means whole fat yogurt, kefir, and cheese) and I'll see how that goes. I suspect wheat is the source of some of my issues, but will test that later in this process.

I also had a chance to review the video of Keil Bay's walk and trot in the arena. I haven't yet figured out how to put that here - I am able to view it frame by frame on my iPhone so not a true slow motion, but in some ways better because I can see every single frame of the footfalls. He is landing heel first on his left front, both hinds, and is landing "level" on his right front. That's the hoof that he uses to splash in the water trough (not so much this time of year) and that's the frog that tends to get thrushy on and off. Right now it's okay (no thrush that I can see) but frog development not great - I think this might be why he's not landing heel first on that hoof. I can treat the sulcis and try to get it healthier - and then re-video. 

Next I want to video on a harder surface and see how that looks.

I've been allowing his hooves to self-trim for the most part. We have done minor trimming/touch-up but he is not needing much. They aren't perfectly round but they are balanced and the concavity looks great.

The only other thing I've noted is that he periodically does a funky step behind during warm-up. His pelvis was rotated out last time and the chiro felt this was contributing. After the adjustment it was much better (and still is better) so I'm hoping when she comes back in February and tweaks it again we'll be in good shape with that. I'm getting ready to put him back onto his full-blown joint supplement protocol - I had rotated him off chondroitin and glucosamine (kept him on Mov-Ease and HA gel) and we'll see if that makes any difference. For 25 years old he is moving beautifully, in my opinion. 

Our warm weather has come in and now it's going to go back toward cold again - highs in low 30s, lows in teens. I need to find my helmet cover that comes down over my ears - that makes it bearable to ride if there is any wind along with the cold. Now that I think of it, husband is at the barn right now and if I run out there I can get him to get the bins down for me!

end of the week

I've gotten off my evening posting schedule so I'm writing this one Saturday morning. Yesterday was lovely and warm but gusty with wind. I put Keil Bay in a sunny stall to eat his feed tub, gave him some hay, and spent quite a long time brushing the newly-appointed mud trinkets out of his winter coat.

He was happy to be there with me; it was one of those times when we were perfectly in sync - we moved together to the back door of the stall so I could brush his face and let the dust blow away, so I could clean the brush in the wind while he checked on his herd in the front field. 

I had in mind to ride at the end of this but it was so lovely being there together I didn't want to end the time. I brushed out his tail, checked him from head to hoof for ticks (unbelievably he had one the day before!) and then, after nearly an hour, I opened the stall door to go get something and the Big Bay said "I'm ready to go out" and I didn't listen and he tried to push past me.

Well! 

He's too big and too broad to put that in his repertoire of okay behaviors so I got his halter and lead rope and we went into the arena to do some ground work. He was contrite and very willing and we worked for about 20 minutes.

I don't know what happened - as we worked together I got very sad, imagining a day when he won't be here, and tears started falling from my eyes as we walked. I stopped and told him what I was thinking about and he lowered his head so his eye was right next to mine. It's okay, he said, let's keep going. I'm here right now.

And so we did.

At the end, daughter came out to the barn and I had the idea to video Keil Bay's hoof landings a la Rockley Farm, so she used the iPhone down at ground level to get him at the walk and then at the trot. In one video the donkeys come in and do a huge spook in the background as Keil starts his trot so there's good footage of donkey movement on the fly too!  I haven't put it into iMovie yet to get the slow motion view but so far it looks good.

This morning someone posted this on my Facebook feed and I wanted to share it here since it speaks to so much of what I think a lot of us experience with our horses. I'm not sure who wrote it so can't attribute, but here it is:

"Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provide a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses. According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm! Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. . . .studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions. A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adjust to stressful situations very efficiently. Often times, we only need to be in a horses presence to feel a sense of wellness and peace. In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits while interacting with horses, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased levels of beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters that serve as pain surppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, improved social functioning; and increased feelings of empowerment, trust, patience and self-efficacy."

thursday

This morning the horses were shiny and clean as they grazed their hay. This afternoon: mud-caked again. So ready for the ground to dry out!

Great meeting today with old friend and former writing group member who is now going to host the new writing group - we will meet twice a month. So happy. A good writing group is a real treasure. Starts in one week!

We're back in highs in the 40s, lows in the 20s, which feels right for January and if it will just dry out, I will not complain. Tomorrow, write/ride/muck/gym. I can't wait!

mid-week and back to the good routine

This morning I had a very good writing session - one of those where synchronicity played a part and I got lost in the process. I was later than usual getting out to the barn, but we have gradually adopted a new routine since Salina died where the herd gets hay when husband gets up to go to work, and I go out later (close to noon) and they get feed tubs then. I try to ride in that next hour or so - following the "feed the work" philosophy and also making sure they have good stuff in their bellies for the ride.

So, today I got out to the barn and realized wow - it is not 40 like I expected but close to 60! - so Keil Bay got a much-needed sheath cleaning and everyone got huge grooming and hoof cleaning. There was a lot of dust flying out there!

The donkeys had a little work-out with me on halter/lead line and then Keil and I had a very nice ride. He was so very sweet and cooperative in all ways. A little stiff and then he dragged his hind feet a bit but when I asked him to move out more, he did and was very alert and happy to do so.

The pony and Cody both had some work with their girl. It was one of those long, lovely barn days that felt like early spring. Alas, it is not. But we worked it anyway.

Local pork shank in the oven, sweet potatoes, and a glass of red wine. Perfect.

home again, home again

Daughter and I had a fun little getaway taking my son back to college this weekend past - we left on Saturday and got home last night around 8:30. We did some moving in, some hiking, ate lots of great food, enjoyed a room where we didn't have to clean anything, did absolutely zero mucking, and were reminded that even when you have endless TV channels there is never really anything good on.

It was such a nice time.

However, it was also really wonderful to get home last night and see the menagerie and dear husband. Today it was rainy, the sun finally came out around 3, and although it looks like we are in for some lovely sunny days, it's getting colder again and for now it is a huge muddy mess out there.

The horses look like ragamuffins!

I briefly thought RIDE! when the sun popped out this afternoon but today has been filled with laundry, getting things back in gear with the housekeeping, grocery store, etc. 

Tomorrow I am going to have to bundle up and just get out there no matter how chilly it feels. Because no matter how chilly it actually IS, it is not going to be ELEVEN DEGREES. Glad we got that under our belt so that 40 seems downright tropical. :)

I'm writing like mad every day and loving it.

And, on a not as great note, I am not going to be riding with Mark Rashid next Tuesday, at least not this trip. He is in NC this weekend and I learned that he would be more than happy to come right here to November Hill to do private lessons - I had hoped to rein in some of my horsey neighbors and get a block of privates for him but no one wanted to do it. Not even my daughter. So... next year I'll get more lead time and will start earlier with my recruitment. 

Hope all are having a good week!