After 3 hours on the phone yesterday morning I finally got into my appointment for my IV on time yesterday. At first my appointment was to be on the 29th, then got moved to the 27th at 2:30. They called me the morning of to move my appointment to 4:30. (I had requested 2:30 as I Hate driving in the dark and I have an hours drive home) I had already requested time off work, re-aranged a carpool and scheduled my day so that the 2:30 appointment would work.
After they called to move my appointment to 4:30 I had to un-arrange the time off work, work day ect. I was pissed but ya know shit happens sometimes. Until I found out why I got bumped.
Turns out another patient left her meds at home and had to send someone back to her house (over an hours drive away) to pick them up for her. Apparently she couldn't be rescheduled but I could? Turns out the person she sent back, didn't bring back the right meds anyways so I managed to get into my 2:30 appointment as planned.
I guess I'm really pissed because the nurse tried to bush off my complaints with "Oh she doesn't have a car so she has to schedule a drive with friends". I understand that, completly, but apparently my work day, my carpool and my missed time from work is ok to mess up???
Grrrrr
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Maybe I can ride after all, Lesson #2
Well we survived our second lesson. We rode with one of the kids who trailers in for lessons as D thought it would be good for both of us. The plan was to work on some trail obstacles, and D didn't want to set up for both our lessons so he thought combining was a good idea, plus both of us need practice riding with other people.
So we warmed up doing circles 10m and 20m, changes in direction though the center from A-C and from B-E. We worked on the different bends the horses should follow on the 10m versus the 20m. For me this mostly involved keeping Oscars shoulder up and inside leg on to keep him from falling into our circle.
Once we've done this a bunch in both directions, we would do our 10m circle then canter out for 5-10 strides then back to the jog. The idea was to keep a bit of the bend out of the 10 meter into our lope (shoulders up haunches to the inside).
After a little walk break we worked on getting the bend for our circles on the straight wall while going straight and asking for a lope. We'd lope 3-6 20 meter circles then back to a walk and work on shoulders and hips while walking.
We had some great jog work, and I felt like I finally figured out Oscars lope. I wasn't afraid to use my reins a little bit, to help me frame him up a little bit especially when it was something we were working on at the walk and the jog it was just a continuation of that.
I felt like I was really able to RIDE him this time rather than just being a passenger at the lope. We had some absolute great lope steps and some awesome transitions from the walk to the trot. I had some moments where I was like "This right here is why I love western pleasure". And no not the head bobbing sideways lope that you see at the shows, but the soft easy slow lope that's so wonderful when you find it.
D said that Oscar's legs were the best he's seen them in a long time.
And we never got around to trail, but that was ok too :)
So we warmed up doing circles 10m and 20m, changes in direction though the center from A-C and from B-E. We worked on the different bends the horses should follow on the 10m versus the 20m. For me this mostly involved keeping Oscars shoulder up and inside leg on to keep him from falling into our circle.
Once we've done this a bunch in both directions, we would do our 10m circle then canter out for 5-10 strides then back to the jog. The idea was to keep a bit of the bend out of the 10 meter into our lope (shoulders up haunches to the inside).
After a little walk break we worked on getting the bend for our circles on the straight wall while going straight and asking for a lope. We'd lope 3-6 20 meter circles then back to a walk and work on shoulders and hips while walking.
We had some great jog work, and I felt like I finally figured out Oscars lope. I wasn't afraid to use my reins a little bit, to help me frame him up a little bit especially when it was something we were working on at the walk and the jog it was just a continuation of that.
I felt like I was really able to RIDE him this time rather than just being a passenger at the lope. We had some absolute great lope steps and some awesome transitions from the walk to the trot. I had some moments where I was like "This right here is why I love western pleasure". And no not the head bobbing sideways lope that you see at the shows, but the soft easy slow lope that's so wonderful when you find it.
D said that Oscar's legs were the best he's seen them in a long time.
And we never got around to trail, but that was ok too :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Stiff, and how I love Oscar
Well I was feeling even crapper (is that a word) on Monday so I went to bed early. Tuesday was better so after work I headed out to the barn and got ready to ride.
First off for all the training barns Oscar has been in, he HATES blankets sometimes. You really can't tell when or if he will try to destroy them, but when he decided its done, its done. Since September he's ruined a rain sheet, and yesterday his nylon sheet. C won't let me put winter blankets on him yet, last winter was the first in 4 years that he wore a blanket for most of the winter so she wants him to have a decent hair coat just in case he decides that he would rather be naked half way though the winter!
Anyways after we had discussed the ripped sheet, I got Oscar tacked up. He's done very little since last week and he had lots of energy on the lunge line. Its hard with all of the mud lately for them to do much more than occasionally trot around so I like having this time for him to work out the 'kinks'.
So after we got him warmed up (and I did some streaches) I got the mounting block over and attempted to get on.... and he swung his hips out of the way so that he was too far from the mounting block. Well I had let him moving around last time slide, so it was partly my fault, but I got down and made him work a little bit on the ground (turns on the haunch/forehand) before setting him back up at the mounting block. And he was fine at that point, but that was the way the entire ride went. A little bit of resistance then he would give in and move on to the next issue.
I could feel my body get stiffer and stiffer as the ride went on though, but Oscar kept on trucking for me. He's only "comment" was to pin his ears when my upper body and hips got too stiff, which was a visual reminder to me to loosen up.
I can completely see why Lucas was getting so frustrated with me, where as Oscar just keeps going on auto pilot, Lucas would be trying to figure out what I wanted, and would get frustrated when he couldn't figure it out.
I feel bad that I was always sending him horribly mixed messages though my body, but at the same time I couldn't help it. And both Oscar and Lucy managed to do there jobs and block out my movements/stiffness that didn't mean anything. I guess that's what makes good therapy horses as well. Some horses can forgive a riders movements that are not directed twords them, and some can't.
First off for all the training barns Oscar has been in, he HATES blankets sometimes. You really can't tell when or if he will try to destroy them, but when he decided its done, its done. Since September he's ruined a rain sheet, and yesterday his nylon sheet. C won't let me put winter blankets on him yet, last winter was the first in 4 years that he wore a blanket for most of the winter so she wants him to have a decent hair coat just in case he decides that he would rather be naked half way though the winter!
Anyways after we had discussed the ripped sheet, I got Oscar tacked up. He's done very little since last week and he had lots of energy on the lunge line. Its hard with all of the mud lately for them to do much more than occasionally trot around so I like having this time for him to work out the 'kinks'.
So after we got him warmed up (and I did some streaches) I got the mounting block over and attempted to get on.... and he swung his hips out of the way so that he was too far from the mounting block. Well I had let him moving around last time slide, so it was partly my fault, but I got down and made him work a little bit on the ground (turns on the haunch/forehand) before setting him back up at the mounting block. And he was fine at that point, but that was the way the entire ride went. A little bit of resistance then he would give in and move on to the next issue.
I could feel my body get stiffer and stiffer as the ride went on though, but Oscar kept on trucking for me. He's only "comment" was to pin his ears when my upper body and hips got too stiff, which was a visual reminder to me to loosen up.
I can completely see why Lucas was getting so frustrated with me, where as Oscar just keeps going on auto pilot, Lucas would be trying to figure out what I wanted, and would get frustrated when he couldn't figure it out.
I feel bad that I was always sending him horribly mixed messages though my body, but at the same time I couldn't help it. And both Oscar and Lucy managed to do there jobs and block out my movements/stiffness that didn't mean anything. I guess that's what makes good therapy horses as well. Some horses can forgive a riders movements that are not directed twords them, and some can't.
Monday, November 19, 2012
blah
Well I planed a ride on the weekend but the cold weather and meetings took up time on Saturday, and Sunday I wasn't feeling too hot. Unfortunately the not great feeling has continued onwards to today. You know its going to be a bad week when you wake up on Monday and go "I have to get up now?". The not great feeling has really been going on for a couple of weeks but today was the worst. So I made an appointment with my family Dr for early next month, I'm hoping that I'll feel better by then but I have the appointment if I'm not.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Quick ride.
Things did not go as well tonight on my ride alone as they did on the weekend when D was helping! However we did have a good ride, and Oscar has started listening to my voice commands which helps in the downward transitions if I get loose in the saddle at the lope.
We mostly did some 2 tracking, and trying to lift his shoulders up. Then I did do a couple of half circles at the lope.
You have to realize this is the 4th time I've loped since my last bad lesson on Lucas. Oscar is such a confidence booster, hes calm, willing and ready to go and do 'something'. His worst thing that he does is try and bite you when you are tacking him up, and even that is less now that he has the new "fuzzy" girth.
We mostly did some 2 tracking, and trying to lift his shoulders up. Then I did do a couple of half circles at the lope.
You have to realize this is the 4th time I've loped since my last bad lesson on Lucas. Oscar is such a confidence booster, hes calm, willing and ready to go and do 'something'. His worst thing that he does is try and bite you when you are tacking him up, and even that is less now that he has the new "fuzzy" girth.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Lesson # 1
So I had my first real lesson back with D today. I was a little nervous but I know in my heart he would never put me in a position that I would come to harm.
We started with some small figure 8's and working on keeping his inside shoulder up and keeping a good rytham at the walk and then the trot. Then we moved on to using the whole arena, but still doing the 8's, but using it as an opportunity to allow him to stay correct for a larger circle. Then we added halts, walk steps, and turns on the haunches in the middle of the 8's.
After we were both warmed up and working we started throwing in some 1/2 circles of lope in the 8. Our transitions were rough which is to be expected, but this work of short burst of lope gave me a chance to work on them. Once we had mastered the 1/2 circles of canter we started throwing in some complete circles of lope before changing direction. Again we reinforced the 'keeping up the inside shoulder' at the lope. We did try a change or two (on purpose this time!) but didn't get them this time LOL.
We also did some two tracking to get my leg pressure even and correct before working on loping large around the ring both directions. This was the hardest because Oscar gets 'hoppy' if he gets too tense (and I don't help at times). But D and I worked on tweaking my position a bit to ride more defensively and not so much like the equation rider I try to be. We've decided to think about letting my legs go foreword a bit, to keep my top from swinging it foreword. So were going to give it a try, and I'm going to think about keeping my legs more toward the girth.
We started with some small figure 8's and working on keeping his inside shoulder up and keeping a good rytham at the walk and then the trot. Then we moved on to using the whole arena, but still doing the 8's, but using it as an opportunity to allow him to stay correct for a larger circle. Then we added halts, walk steps, and turns on the haunches in the middle of the 8's.
After we were both warmed up and working we started throwing in some 1/2 circles of lope in the 8. Our transitions were rough which is to be expected, but this work of short burst of lope gave me a chance to work on them. Once we had mastered the 1/2 circles of canter we started throwing in some complete circles of lope before changing direction. Again we reinforced the 'keeping up the inside shoulder' at the lope. We did try a change or two (on purpose this time!) but didn't get them this time LOL.
We also did some two tracking to get my leg pressure even and correct before working on loping large around the ring both directions. This was the hardest because Oscar gets 'hoppy' if he gets too tense (and I don't help at times). But D and I worked on tweaking my position a bit to ride more defensively and not so much like the equation rider I try to be. We've decided to think about letting my legs go foreword a bit, to keep my top from swinging it foreword. So were going to give it a try, and I'm going to think about keeping my legs more toward the girth.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
E is better!
She's walking, talking and even came out to the barn this morning! Shes still a little weak, and cannot do too much at all, but she is back to looking after her self and doing normal daily tasks, Shes even out of the hospital for the long term. (She still has appointments, and tests that need to be done on a regular basis).
Turns out that she had a stroke due to her blood being too thick to run in her body, and the other side effects were caused by not enough oxygen being supplied to the part of the brain that controls your body movements.
She has some minor issues with her right leg and isn't very steady with her hands yet but the physical therapists are sure that it will only be a short time before she is even better. The doctors told her she could ride as soon as she felt strong enough, which she hopes will be in a couple of weeks. They did tell her that she must wear a helmet for the rest of her life if she wants to ride. She was very willing to accept that one condition!
I went on a shopping trip today in town, got Oscar the fuzzy girth that hes been requesting. (OK he hasn't vocalized this! But he doesn't like getting saddled, and hes gone and picked up a fuzzy girth off the rack of girths twice now!) And since he tore open his blanket on the weekend I did pick up a new turnout for him as well. I'm going to try and fix his old one but I don't have much in the way of sewing skills.
Turns out that she had a stroke due to her blood being too thick to run in her body, and the other side effects were caused by not enough oxygen being supplied to the part of the brain that controls your body movements.
She has some minor issues with her right leg and isn't very steady with her hands yet but the physical therapists are sure that it will only be a short time before she is even better. The doctors told her she could ride as soon as she felt strong enough, which she hopes will be in a couple of weeks. They did tell her that she must wear a helmet for the rest of her life if she wants to ride. She was very willing to accept that one condition!
I went on a shopping trip today in town, got Oscar the fuzzy girth that hes been requesting. (OK he hasn't vocalized this! But he doesn't like getting saddled, and hes gone and picked up a fuzzy girth off the rack of girths twice now!) And since he tore open his blanket on the weekend I did pick up a new turnout for him as well. I'm going to try and fix his old one but I don't have much in the way of sewing skills.
Friday, November 9, 2012
I loped again :)
First off, I loped Oscar again last night! I had just been planing an easy walk-trot ride to give me some saddle time before our lesson on Saturday. 2 minutes into our ride D comes in and starts asking me questions, giving advice and then told me it was time to start loping, so lets go.
I was scared and I told D I wasn't sure if I was ready, but he told me to just keep pushing him to go 'fast' and he would stop that 'hopping' that he does. (One of these days I will video him doing this, its like Pepe Le'pew and how he bounces.) He only does this when he thinks he needs to go slow. After the first 3 circles we got into a flow and it wasn't that bad. I do miss Lucas' canter on a good day, Oscar can't compare to that but he doesn't want me to fall off and he knows what lead he should be on.
In the midst of our ride, we trying getting him to stay more balanced going to the left he tends to drop his right shoulder and bend to the outside. I would put my inside leg on to correct and Oscar would just flip leads instead. It made for an interesting circle and we did do 3-4 changes which was interesting. I haven't had a horse that switched leads so easily since I was riding the jumpers.
We only had a short ride but rather than me worrying about loping on Saturday in my lesson I'm now looking forward to it.
Oscar also managed to destroy the front of his turnout blanket that I got him last month. We think he got hot (it went from -5 to +10 over night, and he's now back in the main barn which stays warmer) and he grabbed the front of the blanket and ripped it. I'm just glad it was a $40 blanket I bought used rather than a brand new one!
I was scared and I told D I wasn't sure if I was ready, but he told me to just keep pushing him to go 'fast' and he would stop that 'hopping' that he does. (One of these days I will video him doing this, its like Pepe Le'pew and how he bounces.) He only does this when he thinks he needs to go slow. After the first 3 circles we got into a flow and it wasn't that bad. I do miss Lucas' canter on a good day, Oscar can't compare to that but he doesn't want me to fall off and he knows what lead he should be on.
In the midst of our ride, we trying getting him to stay more balanced going to the left he tends to drop his right shoulder and bend to the outside. I would put my inside leg on to correct and Oscar would just flip leads instead. It made for an interesting circle and we did do 3-4 changes which was interesting. I haven't had a horse that switched leads so easily since I was riding the jumpers.
We only had a short ride but rather than me worrying about loping on Saturday in my lesson I'm now looking forward to it.
Oscar also managed to destroy the front of his turnout blanket that I got him last month. We think he got hot (it went from -5 to +10 over night, and he's now back in the main barn which stays warmer) and he grabbed the front of the blanket and ripped it. I'm just glad it was a $40 blanket I bought used rather than a brand new one!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Even better news!
E is back to brushing her own hair and teeth, and getting mostly dressed on her own. She still has some struggles with minor every day tasks, but every day she is improving. Her parents are very hopeful that she will be able to come home this weekend to have some 'home' time before the start more intense physical rehab next week.
While her horses live in her back yard, her parents plan to bring her show horse to the barn so that she can have some companionship as she regains her balance and skills. We'll also be able to ride her horse for her so that he can have some energy worked out before she gets on. I'm a bit worried about her riding, the Physical therapists that we know believe it will help, as do I, but I know from personal experience how hard those first rides can be when your body isn't familiar any more.
Anyways we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Keep thinking good thoughts, they are working!
While her horses live in her back yard, her parents plan to bring her show horse to the barn so that she can have some companionship as she regains her balance and skills. We'll also be able to ride her horse for her so that he can have some energy worked out before she gets on. I'm a bit worried about her riding, the Physical therapists that we know believe it will help, as do I, but I know from personal experience how hard those first rides can be when your body isn't familiar any more.
Anyways we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Keep thinking good thoughts, they are working!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Small rant
Although I rode yesterday and I was able to function today at work, I still had some back pain and I was SOOO tired. I am great full every time I get on a horse that I am still able to do so but I really wish that I was able to ride without it hurting my back.
Chiropractor did my back again today, seems like my upper back is always out of place. I'm better than I was than when I was riding Lucas but its still not great.
Chiropractor did my back again today, seems like my upper back is always out of place. I'm better than I was than when I was riding Lucas but its still not great.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Finaly some good news
E is on the road to recovery! The doctors have found out that the stroke was caused by very thick blood, not a blood clot or clots. Shes the youngest that they have ever found with it, and is now on blood thinners. There is great hope that because she did not suffer any paralazation just nerve damage that her recovery may be quicker than if she had some. It will be a long recovery, but she was a young woman in great health so the doctors are being very positive.
I got in another ride today and I'm having so much fun riding Oscar. :) He's just a lovely horse to ride. I can trust him enough to work on my own position while he keeps trotting along (lots of two point which I am going to pay for tomorrow!) and then we work on getting him a little more correct once I'm using my body more correctly.
I have signed up for a lesson with D next week. I want some help with what I can't see while I'm riding him. We've also have a plan to work on some trail things over the next couple of months to improve both of our skills.
A little video I shot of Oscar today for his owner.
I got in another ride today and I'm having so much fun riding Oscar. :) He's just a lovely horse to ride. I can trust him enough to work on my own position while he keeps trotting along (lots of two point which I am going to pay for tomorrow!) and then we work on getting him a little more correct once I'm using my body more correctly.
I have signed up for a lesson with D next week. I want some help with what I can't see while I'm riding him. We've also have a plan to work on some trail things over the next couple of months to improve both of our skills.
A little video I shot of Oscar today for his owner.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
No good news but no bad news either
We haven't heard any more from E or her parents but at this point we know that no news is good news and that we knew they would be busy with doctor meetings and appointments today.
Oscar and I are good. We are really starting to work as a team. Tonight I found a bit that really works for the two of us, and our walk/trot transitions are really coming. Were going to start lessons with D next week to help with some of the issues that I'm seeing but cant quite fix on my own.
On Saturday I had a very low key ride (I sat and talked to C more than we rode around!) but by the time I got off my right leg was numb. I went and saw the Chiropractor on Monday and he found that my "funny disk" was pressing on my sciatic nerve and that was causing the occasional numbness.
Oscar and I are good. We are really starting to work as a team. Tonight I found a bit that really works for the two of us, and our walk/trot transitions are really coming. Were going to start lessons with D next week to help with some of the issues that I'm seeing but cant quite fix on my own.
On Saturday I had a very low key ride (I sat and talked to C more than we rode around!) but by the time I got off my right leg was numb. I went and saw the Chiropractor on Monday and he found that my "funny disk" was pressing on my sciatic nerve and that was causing the occasional numbness.
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