Well good news, bad news (like normal *sigh*). Thanks to everyone that works on my floor at work being sick with the cold, I now have the cold as well. Which is why I'm sitting home on a night that I would normally be at the barn.
Good news is that I did have a good ride on the weekend with Oscar, and Chilly continues to progress with D. The co-op student at the barn rode her last week, and she went very well for him. I hope to be back on her in a couple of weeks. She is lacking speed or impulsion, but that can be taught, the fact that shes not in a big hurry to go anywhere is good for her future as a western pleasure horse.
So we have a clinic coming up on April 1st with Lucas's old trainer at our barn, and just found out today that we can get into another clinic the first weekend in May with the same trainer. That will be good to have a follow up on what we have or have not accomplished in a month, but its also at the show grounds where the AQHA and APHA shows are held that we hope to go to by the end of the summer. It will be a good chance to get her off the property, to a new place without the stress of a show and we'll have some extra hands on deck if I need them.
It will be nice to have an outside perspective that we (D and C and I) know and trust that can let us know if she's as nice as we hope she is.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Well we've been hit with some serious winter weather again which has meant that my one barn visit this week consisted of worming Oscar (then giving him an apple), and doing showmanship with Chilly.
I think Chilly was a little disappointed with me, D had ridden her about 2 hours before hand, and she just kind of looked at me like "seriously, again?".
But she was good, her set up's were slow but correct (and if shes anything like her mother, that's her way of silently protesting that she doesn't want to do showmanship). We had some really good trot off's, and her pivots were good, slow, but correct. I only had to poke her shoulder occasionally to remind her to cross her front legs.
Me and the head boss had a talk, he admitted that although he's disappointed (at the time that it happens) that I have to have the time off for the medical appointments, he does understand that I don't have much of a choice in the matter. So the promotion is not yet official, but its looking good.
My Surgeons appointment was canceled until the end of March thanks to the crappy weather this week. So no answers yet but its not the end of the world, I could be still waiting for that first appointment!
I think Chilly was a little disappointed with me, D had ridden her about 2 hours before hand, and she just kind of looked at me like "seriously, again?".
But she was good, her set up's were slow but correct (and if shes anything like her mother, that's her way of silently protesting that she doesn't want to do showmanship). We had some really good trot off's, and her pivots were good, slow, but correct. I only had to poke her shoulder occasionally to remind her to cross her front legs.
Me and the head boss had a talk, he admitted that although he's disappointed (at the time that it happens) that I have to have the time off for the medical appointments, he does understand that I don't have much of a choice in the matter. So the promotion is not yet official, but its looking good.
My Surgeons appointment was canceled until the end of March thanks to the crappy weather this week. So no answers yet but its not the end of the world, I could be still waiting for that first appointment!
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Some days I dont even know I'm sick
And there are weeks like this when it just sucks. Right now I'm up for a possible promotion at work, but due to my sick days/personal days the head boss is hesitant to give it to me. Considering that since Christmas I have had one sick day (the day after I was in a car accident), and missed a total of 2.5 days for Doctor appointments, it sucks. These are not "my kid has the flu" sick days. My surgeon is in a city an hour and 45 min away from work (which means another hour from home). My CAT scan took 20 minutes of appointment time but 3 and 1/2 hours driving. Its not like I can say "sure just let me say no to the surgeon appointment that I've waiting 4 months for because you want me sitting at my desk". Sigh. And no my work is not suffering. My direct team lead wants me in the new position.
I wanted to include this link from Lene Andersen Pluck - and I wanted to quote the following passage
" that's the tricky bit, because traditionally, yes, the public only wants to hear from people who "overcome" the challenges of illness. They don't want to hear about the daily struggle unless it culminates in an achievement, unless you're the plucky kind, preferably pretty enough to qualify for poster child status, the one who can smile through the hardship, remind the great unwashed of how lucky they are to be healthy. And you know what? There is no overcoming of disability. Because a chronic condition doesn't improve, you cannot conquer it, you cannot defeat it. Arthritis doesn't go away. Neither does MS, ALS, spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, many types of blindness and deafness. There is only living with it, coexisting - sometimes uneasily, sometimes not. Having a disability is part of what you are, what you do. Sometimes it's a small part and sometimes, it overwhelms the rest. But what remains is this: you live your life anyway. And to the aforementioned great unwashed, this apparently looks like plucky overcoming and I'm not quite sure what they expect - that people with disabilities should curl up in a fetal position and a whimper the rest of our days? Continually bemoan our wretched state? Off ourselves as living without walking is a fate worse than death (an act which many able-bodied people have told me would be their response to disability)?...And I think that's part of the reason why we blog and write: to remove the patina of Other. To document how, within our different experience, we are not different. And most of all, to take the language back from being filtered through the able-bodied perception of disability and illness and ensure that the voices that tell our stories belong to us."
I love this, I put a brave face on all the time, people call me courageous. I'm not. I'm just living my 'life'. It does suck sometimes. And yes I do curl up in a ball and cry some days. But I don't have much of a choice. This is my life I have to live it the best I can. Just some days I really want people to understand that there are challenges that I need a hand with or understanding from, without having to tell them EVERYTHING. I shouldn't have to tell my boss that my bones in my feet are fusing together to have him understand that I need a couple of days to meet with a surgeon. We live in Canada, if I got in to see a surgeon this quickly something must be seriously wrong.
Anyways back to the horses!
My ride on Tuesday was ok, (but it was cold) my ride on Thursday sucked, my back and hips were locking up when I tried to lope. Poor Oscar was trying but he was getting frustrated with me bouncing around on his back... So we gave up, and just walked and jogged.
Today I was going to have a lesson but my right foot was killing me, so we called off the lesson (and D went and tacked up Chilly so I could finally watch her go). And I rode Oscar around on my own for 20 minutes. Oscar is such a good boy. I kicked him by accident when I was trying to get him to lope off, couldn't get a easy squeeze, but my leg did move! Poor boy just grunted and loped off.
So I did get to watch Chilly! And D loped her both ways, and rode her in the bit for the walk/trot portion. She looks so grown up now, she's really looking like a grown mare and not a baby any more. He's also got her standing still at the mounting block so he can get on her, getting her used to doing it now, which will be a big help for me. Shes loping good, her head is up, (of course) but willing to go where D points her, and her legs are SOOO good!
I wanted to include this link from Lene Andersen Pluck - and I wanted to quote the following passage
" that's the tricky bit, because traditionally, yes, the public only wants to hear from people who "overcome" the challenges of illness. They don't want to hear about the daily struggle unless it culminates in an achievement, unless you're the plucky kind, preferably pretty enough to qualify for poster child status, the one who can smile through the hardship, remind the great unwashed of how lucky they are to be healthy. And you know what? There is no overcoming of disability. Because a chronic condition doesn't improve, you cannot conquer it, you cannot defeat it. Arthritis doesn't go away. Neither does MS, ALS, spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, many types of blindness and deafness. There is only living with it, coexisting - sometimes uneasily, sometimes not. Having a disability is part of what you are, what you do. Sometimes it's a small part and sometimes, it overwhelms the rest. But what remains is this: you live your life anyway. And to the aforementioned great unwashed, this apparently looks like plucky overcoming and I'm not quite sure what they expect - that people with disabilities should curl up in a fetal position and a whimper the rest of our days? Continually bemoan our wretched state? Off ourselves as living without walking is a fate worse than death (an act which many able-bodied people have told me would be their response to disability)?...And I think that's part of the reason why we blog and write: to remove the patina of Other. To document how, within our different experience, we are not different. And most of all, to take the language back from being filtered through the able-bodied perception of disability and illness and ensure that the voices that tell our stories belong to us."
I love this, I put a brave face on all the time, people call me courageous. I'm not. I'm just living my 'life'. It does suck sometimes. And yes I do curl up in a ball and cry some days. But I don't have much of a choice. This is my life I have to live it the best I can. Just some days I really want people to understand that there are challenges that I need a hand with or understanding from, without having to tell them EVERYTHING. I shouldn't have to tell my boss that my bones in my feet are fusing together to have him understand that I need a couple of days to meet with a surgeon. We live in Canada, if I got in to see a surgeon this quickly something must be seriously wrong.
Anyways back to the horses!
My ride on Tuesday was ok, (but it was cold) my ride on Thursday sucked, my back and hips were locking up when I tried to lope. Poor Oscar was trying but he was getting frustrated with me bouncing around on his back... So we gave up, and just walked and jogged.
Today I was going to have a lesson but my right foot was killing me, so we called off the lesson (and D went and tacked up Chilly so I could finally watch her go). And I rode Oscar around on my own for 20 minutes. Oscar is such a good boy. I kicked him by accident when I was trying to get him to lope off, couldn't get a easy squeeze, but my leg did move! Poor boy just grunted and loped off.
So I did get to watch Chilly! And D loped her both ways, and rode her in the bit for the walk/trot portion. She looks so grown up now, she's really looking like a grown mare and not a baby any more. He's also got her standing still at the mounting block so he can get on her, getting her used to doing it now, which will be a big help for me. Shes loping good, her head is up, (of course) but willing to go where D points her, and her legs are SOOO good!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
First lesson of 2014
And oh boy it was a work out. D is funny, you think he isn't watching you when you ride on your own but then you go in for a lesson and 15 minutes in, he's found each and every hole in your training that you've glossed over for the past 3 months!
So he has me lifting and pushing Oscars shoulders around, working on loping transitions (jog a sharp turn lope, jog a sharp turn, lope all around the arena off the rail). All with a loose rein, only picking up to turn, which is hard for me, I like contact! We were loping circles at one point and D goes "loose rein" And I go "I know its just so hard to let go!" he just about fell off the mounting block laughing at me. Anyways it was good to get back in the swing of things and Oscar wasn't nearly as grumpy after our lesson as he was when I ride him alone, even though he was sweaty. I think I'm picking on him too much, and the constant reminders from D to "let go" prove that.
Chilly is going really great, I'm hoping to watch D ride her tomorrow. Hes been riding her at the walk/jog a bit at the end of each ride with the bit in her mouth, but doing the warm up/canter work with a side pull. She's doing much better and is apparently really coming along.
In the foot news, I've taken to putting my orthotics in everything but my riding boots (normally they live in my sneakers that I wear for work/driving). I've also dug out some big old spurs, not so much for more spur but because they are kicked in and bend toward the horse which means I don't need to move my foot/ankle very much to use it. With those two modifications my foot was much better today when I came home from the barn. (Although my hips and legs are sore from riding).
I also go for my CAT scan on Monday, not the 3 months that I thought it would take to get an appointment! And I go back to the surgeon the next Wednesday after that!
So he has me lifting and pushing Oscars shoulders around, working on loping transitions (jog a sharp turn lope, jog a sharp turn, lope all around the arena off the rail). All with a loose rein, only picking up to turn, which is hard for me, I like contact! We were loping circles at one point and D goes "loose rein" And I go "I know its just so hard to let go!" he just about fell off the mounting block laughing at me. Anyways it was good to get back in the swing of things and Oscar wasn't nearly as grumpy after our lesson as he was when I ride him alone, even though he was sweaty. I think I'm picking on him too much, and the constant reminders from D to "let go" prove that.
Chilly is going really great, I'm hoping to watch D ride her tomorrow. Hes been riding her at the walk/jog a bit at the end of each ride with the bit in her mouth, but doing the warm up/canter work with a side pull. She's doing much better and is apparently really coming along.
In the foot news, I've taken to putting my orthotics in everything but my riding boots (normally they live in my sneakers that I wear for work/driving). I've also dug out some big old spurs, not so much for more spur but because they are kicked in and bend toward the horse which means I don't need to move my foot/ankle very much to use it. With those two modifications my foot was much better today when I came home from the barn. (Although my hips and legs are sore from riding).
I also go for my CAT scan on Monday, not the 3 months that I thought it would take to get an appointment! And I go back to the surgeon the next Wednesday after that!
Monday, February 3, 2014
My equine dignosis..... I have navicular
So for now the plan is that we get a CAT scan done of both feet in the next couple of months, then Dr. M will figure out how much bone wear there is in that area, and figure out if this is a 5-10 year plan (slow bone wear) or a 2 year plan (quicker bone wear) for surgery. He's also going to get a new set of orthotics done up that will support and protect the worn area of my foot, and help me walk better. (sounds a lot like navicular in a horse doesn't it!)
I'm a little less worried now that I've met the surgeon. .Hes a couple of years older than me (long enough out of school that he most likely won't make a rookie mistake but young enough to know the new technology.) But very nice and willing to explain everything very well and asked us questions to make sure we understood what he was talking about. His wife also rides at my old boss's place so we had a laugh about horse people when I told him I rode on my broken foot. (When I originally broke it in 2003 I got x-rays, but was told it was a bad sprain. I went back to work, taped up my foot and started flatting my afternoon horses. I couldn't put any weight on the stirrups, so I didn't do more than walk/trot. Next day they called me and told me I broke it but even then I didn't realize how bad it was until the vet got there and I told him what happened and he flipped out on me that I was walking on it. An hour later and I was in a 1/2 cast for 6 weeks.)
So I'm kind of disappointed that it wont be an easy (well relatively) joint replacement surgery and done, its going to be more difficult than that unfortunately.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Surgeon appointment tomorrow (for real this time)
This time tomorrow we'll know what the surgeon thinks of my ankle. If you can, cross your fingers for me. As much as I want it fixed, September or October would be a much better time to be laid up for a couple of months!
In Chilly news the equine dentist came out this week and did find 2 retained caps. She pulled those two and did a little bit of maintenance work. So Chilly's been on vacation this week, while she got over the visit. Today I took her out and lunged her with a bit in. Although she was still fussy at a halt and walk she was much better when she was working and busy. D will start riding her again this week.
Oscar and I are having some minor issues. We're getting board, and need something to keep both our minds busy. Its not that either him or I are being bad or mean to each other but I think that he thinks that I'm picking on him. And I am. I expect perfection and his aging body cant handle that any more.
In Chilly news the equine dentist came out this week and did find 2 retained caps. She pulled those two and did a little bit of maintenance work. So Chilly's been on vacation this week, while she got over the visit. Today I took her out and lunged her with a bit in. Although she was still fussy at a halt and walk she was much better when she was working and busy. D will start riding her again this week.
Oscar and I are having some minor issues. We're getting board, and need something to keep both our minds busy. Its not that either him or I are being bad or mean to each other but I think that he thinks that I'm picking on him. And I am. I expect perfection and his aging body cant handle that any more.
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