It's not great. The joint in my foot is in the process of fusing. Thanks to the new inserts my arch has stabilized, but that's led to more stress on the rest of my foot (and all of the other little joints in it). So it's leading to a chain reaction in my foot.
Good news is that my surgeon is excellent and compassionate and doesn't want to do surgery until it's nessacary. He believes that one surgery would lead to another and he wants to put that off as long as possible. Although my foot hurts when I do a lot, in my regular day to day it doesn't bother me much at all.
His plan is to do regular X-rays, and too keep an eye on it for another year or so. And to do injections when it starts to hurt, and to plan surgery after that.
It sucks it really does. Some days I can't help but want to cry, it just doesn't seem fair that I have to deal with all this.
Thank goodness for the horses I don't know what I would do without them to distract me.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Moving on and dealing with a crappy computer!
Chilly's been doing good and I'm really happy with how she's learned how to side pass, and two-track with me. She was a bit up last ride and I was having some issues getting her to focus and keep her from throwing her head up in the air trying to evade the bit while working on some 'harder' stuff. Harder than just trotting around that is, working on bending and counter bending. I tried to get D to ride her, but he told me I was very capable of working though it, I just needed a martingale to help me out for a ride and maybe a nose band, just until she got over the 'resisting' and figured out what we wanted.
I've decided to stick to the walk/trot division for most of the summer. I'm doing good to ride her and help her learn her 'new' things it might be too much to throw in loping at a show until we're very comfortable doing it at home. (Which we're still not real comfortable with) I have to keep remembering that she's just a baby, I'm not a real trainer anymore, and we have no pressure to do anything we don't want to do.
I did jump on Oscar last week and we had a fun ride. Hes so much different than Chilly, but in a good way. We loped a whole bunch which made me happy as I can finally sit to his lope. Its not real pretty as I'm absorbing the shock and rocking my upper body to keep my hips from locking but it works.
My computer has been crap lately today it quit 3 times in an attempt to write this one post! I'm hoping that the guy who is going to fix it next week will be able to fix it or else I'm going to have to use some show funds to buy a new one.
I've decided to stick to the walk/trot division for most of the summer. I'm doing good to ride her and help her learn her 'new' things it might be too much to throw in loping at a show until we're very comfortable doing it at home. (Which we're still not real comfortable with) I have to keep remembering that she's just a baby, I'm not a real trainer anymore, and we have no pressure to do anything we don't want to do.
I did jump on Oscar last week and we had a fun ride. Hes so much different than Chilly, but in a good way. We loped a whole bunch which made me happy as I can finally sit to his lope. Its not real pretty as I'm absorbing the shock and rocking my upper body to keep my hips from locking but it works.
My computer has been crap lately today it quit 3 times in an attempt to write this one post! I'm hoping that the guy who is going to fix it next week will be able to fix it or else I'm going to have to use some show funds to buy a new one.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
And life slowly retuns to normal for some of us
Moncton has lost 3 of our RCMP officers. They will be laid to rest on Tuesday. The two other RCMP members that were hurt, have been released from the hospital. Friday we returned to work and spent the day talking about the events and trying to get real work done. All of us took some time to visit the RCMP station less than a block away to visit the growing memorial that was started on the steps.
I'm glad they caught him, lets make him suffer for the rest of his life for what he has done to those poor men.
I spent the weekend doing chores which was a nice opportunity to work and sweat without thinking too much. I'm a little on the fence about what to do with Chilly for our next show, we can show walk/trot again or move up to loping. Personally I want to challenge us, however it is only her second show, and shes never had a bunch of horses in a class with her all loping at the same time, heck her biggest class last weekend had 3 horses in it. Any thoughts?
I'm glad they caught him, lets make him suffer for the rest of his life for what he has done to those poor men.
I spent the weekend doing chores which was a nice opportunity to work and sweat without thinking too much. I'm a little on the fence about what to do with Chilly for our next show, we can show walk/trot again or move up to loping. Personally I want to challenge us, however it is only her second show, and shes never had a bunch of horses in a class with her all loping at the same time, heck her biggest class last weekend had 3 horses in it. Any thoughts?
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Still no arrest
Thankfully, my work was canceled today, I got to stay home and avoid the danger that is Moncton today.
Although our work does have very good security, I was more worried about the drive in than actual work. However with over 1500 people working in our building, I think everyone was concered that it would be too much of a temptation for a shooter, so it along with all shopping centers and other major employers we stayed closed all day.
Again our city and provinces have been amazing. We just don't have armored veiches here, so Brinks' vans (armored cars for transporting cash) were being used today to move police around. Please pray they get this guy before he hurts anyone else.
Shit like this doesnt happen here
I live in the Maritimes, mass shootings just do not happen here. Until last night.
An armed man started shooting last night in the city I work in. As of this morning he has killed 3 RCMP officers and seriously wounded 2 others. The entire tri-city area has been shut down, and the 5 KM radius of where they think the shooter is has been locked down with people stuck in their or their friends basements.
Thankfully no one else has been harmed since late last night, and with daylight it should make the manhunt a little easier/safer for the RCMP this morning.
I do have to say that I'm seriously proud of my city and the people in it. People following directions from the RCMP, transport trucks have been donated to block city streets from a major trucking company, and major corporations shutting their door so that their employees can stay home and off the streets.
#prayformoncton
An armed man started shooting last night in the city I work in. As of this morning he has killed 3 RCMP officers and seriously wounded 2 others. The entire tri-city area has been shut down, and the 5 KM radius of where they think the shooter is has been locked down with people stuck in their or their friends basements.
Thankfully no one else has been harmed since late last night, and with daylight it should make the manhunt a little easier/safer for the RCMP this morning.
I do have to say that I'm seriously proud of my city and the people in it. People following directions from the RCMP, transport trucks have been donated to block city streets from a major trucking company, and major corporations shutting their door so that their employees can stay home and off the streets.
#prayformoncton
Monday, June 2, 2014
Home from the show
And I'm so happy with how Chilly went this weekend! We came home with the high point Walk-Jog 18+ horse!
We had a great ride in the big scary arena, (Its a hockey rink in the winter, so 4 foot high white boards, topped with plexiglass which reflects just about everything when the light hits it right) She's so good to take to new places. Our only hiccup was that we couldn't get her nose clipped, and as she was really getting pissed off at us for trying to clip (or even shave with a safety razor) we decided that it was going to have to wait for another day, rather than making her hard to bridle and halter for the next couple of days. I was exhausted after being up at 4 am to get to the show and it was 9 by the time I got to the hotel to go to bed.
We were 8th in halter out of 13 (not bad for a slightly down hill 3yo). Really happy with how quiet she stood for all of the horses to be judged, and she stood right next to the rail with people going up and down the stands to the stairs and just 'people watched' while waiting for the judge.
I made a major mistake in our showmanship class, I completely forgot the back up! But Chilly really tried, she moved one foot out of the set up but then put it back into place when I asked her. She did most of her pivot, only slid her pivot foot a little (but didn't lift it). The judge came up to us after the class and wanted to know how old Chilly was, (she said "I could see by her sweet little face she was just a youngster") and told me that we were bang on with our pattern, and that "you were so confident trotting off at the end of the pattern that I didn't even realize you forgot a movement until I looked at my score sheet". She then wished me luck for the rest of the weekend. (We got 4th out of 4)
After that I was done so I went back to my hotel had a nice 2 hour nap and a shower, Chilly took the opportunity to have a nap as well! I rode her again that night and then put her to bed. I iced my foot that night which helped with the swelling and pain but it was not a good foot day on Saturday,
Sunday morning started off with trail, she's never done a gate, or a bridge, but we tried it anyways. It took a couple of tries to get close enough to the gate for me to grab a hold of it then I walked her though and tried to back her up so I could close it. Although she proved she was quiet enough to do it, she's not broke enough to know how to side pass/turn enough to get me close enough to actually finish closing the gate! So I ended up dropping the rope, but so pleased that she got close enough for me to do 1/2 of the obstacle. We then jogged though the cones and around small trees, and then into a back though T set up near a John Deer Gator. She was at first more interested in the tractor than the back up but refocused. Her rider however did the back up the wrong way (Should have ended up with our back to the next obstacle but we did the wrong end of the T and were facing it) so we went back into the tail of the T and did it the correct way and finished the obstetrical. We did ok with the trot poles, and she ALMOST went over the scary bridge, but it had 2 detachable ramps on either side and we think that when her hind feet went on the ramp it might have moved and that's when she decided to back off it. The bridge was black and orange, with 4 trees and tree truncks surrounding it but it was the movable parts that worried her! We won trail as we did more of the stuff correctly than any of the other horses, even with all our mistakes.
She was super good in pleasure and managed to beat a big money 3 year old from a famous breeder in the USA that was in the class as a warm up for its breed classes later this summer. Her only fault was that she was curious about what was going on outside of the ring, she would have rather people watched that jogged around. It was very nice to be called in first from that class!
Command class was next and we were well matched with our toughest competitor until they called for a halt, then a turn on the haunch, at which point Chilly decided that she had enough of pretending to be a grown up horse and showed that she can still be a bit of a baby, and did only half of a turn before moving both front and hind feet to finish the turn. We got called in for second place, but she had been so good up to that point, and I was so happy with her performance. (They even called for an extended trot, then back to a jog and she didn't break, but came back to a soft western jog again).
Our last class was horsemanship, and we were alone in the class and won, but she did a great pattern, and she did it all alone in what can be a very scary arena.
Now I'm home resting and unpacking from the horse show. Next one is the 6th of July at home for me, hoping to be loping much more by that point but we might do one more walk/trot show before moving up to loping. If so I'm going to dust off Oscar for the horsemanship and open trail!
We had a great ride in the big scary arena, (Its a hockey rink in the winter, so 4 foot high white boards, topped with plexiglass which reflects just about everything when the light hits it right) She's so good to take to new places. Our only hiccup was that we couldn't get her nose clipped, and as she was really getting pissed off at us for trying to clip (or even shave with a safety razor) we decided that it was going to have to wait for another day, rather than making her hard to bridle and halter for the next couple of days. I was exhausted after being up at 4 am to get to the show and it was 9 by the time I got to the hotel to go to bed.
We were 8th in halter out of 13 (not bad for a slightly down hill 3yo). Really happy with how quiet she stood for all of the horses to be judged, and she stood right next to the rail with people going up and down the stands to the stairs and just 'people watched' while waiting for the judge.
I made a major mistake in our showmanship class, I completely forgot the back up! But Chilly really tried, she moved one foot out of the set up but then put it back into place when I asked her. She did most of her pivot, only slid her pivot foot a little (but didn't lift it). The judge came up to us after the class and wanted to know how old Chilly was, (she said "I could see by her sweet little face she was just a youngster") and told me that we were bang on with our pattern, and that "you were so confident trotting off at the end of the pattern that I didn't even realize you forgot a movement until I looked at my score sheet". She then wished me luck for the rest of the weekend. (We got 4th out of 4)
After that I was done so I went back to my hotel had a nice 2 hour nap and a shower, Chilly took the opportunity to have a nap as well! I rode her again that night and then put her to bed. I iced my foot that night which helped with the swelling and pain but it was not a good foot day on Saturday,
Sunday morning started off with trail, she's never done a gate, or a bridge, but we tried it anyways. It took a couple of tries to get close enough to the gate for me to grab a hold of it then I walked her though and tried to back her up so I could close it. Although she proved she was quiet enough to do it, she's not broke enough to know how to side pass/turn enough to get me close enough to actually finish closing the gate! So I ended up dropping the rope, but so pleased that she got close enough for me to do 1/2 of the obstacle. We then jogged though the cones and around small trees, and then into a back though T set up near a John Deer Gator. She was at first more interested in the tractor than the back up but refocused. Her rider however did the back up the wrong way (Should have ended up with our back to the next obstacle but we did the wrong end of the T and were facing it) so we went back into the tail of the T and did it the correct way and finished the obstetrical. We did ok with the trot poles, and she ALMOST went over the scary bridge, but it had 2 detachable ramps on either side and we think that when her hind feet went on the ramp it might have moved and that's when she decided to back off it. The bridge was black and orange, with 4 trees and tree truncks surrounding it but it was the movable parts that worried her! We won trail as we did more of the stuff correctly than any of the other horses, even with all our mistakes.
She was super good in pleasure and managed to beat a big money 3 year old from a famous breeder in the USA that was in the class as a warm up for its breed classes later this summer. Her only fault was that she was curious about what was going on outside of the ring, she would have rather people watched that jogged around. It was very nice to be called in first from that class!
Command class was next and we were well matched with our toughest competitor until they called for a halt, then a turn on the haunch, at which point Chilly decided that she had enough of pretending to be a grown up horse and showed that she can still be a bit of a baby, and did only half of a turn before moving both front and hind feet to finish the turn. We got called in for second place, but she had been so good up to that point, and I was so happy with her performance. (They even called for an extended trot, then back to a jog and she didn't break, but came back to a soft western jog again).
Our last class was horsemanship, and we were alone in the class and won, but she did a great pattern, and she did it all alone in what can be a very scary arena.
Now I'm home resting and unpacking from the horse show. Next one is the 6th of July at home for me, hoping to be loping much more by that point but we might do one more walk/trot show before moving up to loping. If so I'm going to dust off Oscar for the horsemanship and open trail!
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