Video 2

This video I got from KMequestrian and apparently today is the day to steal videos!  Mostly I'm posting this one for my own benefit so that I don't forget about it when I am looking for it later.  I'm pretty fascinated with the idea, mainly because it flies in the face of what a lot of Western trainers teach (mainly the idea that you should drive your seat down).  It also interests me because Walker, as a Western Pleasure horse, naturally carries his head very low.  He always stretches it out, right down to the ground most times, but I'm not necessarily convinced that by doing so he is rounding out his back.  I tried to watch old videos of our rides but it's hard to see since the videos aren't that great.  The other problem is that he when he stretches his head out like that, we are usually jogging, not trotting, so he's not really reaching under himself the same way he would if he were trotting.  When we are trotting, he usually lifts his head a little bit.  Either way, I'm thoroughly intrigued by this.  I think that my instructor would be as well.  Perhaps we'll discuss it next week.

Video

I'm sure that many of you already follow Hillary but she posted this great video that I think is sweet so I thought I'd post it again here.

Sneezy

I went out to the barn to check on Walker and he still has the sniffles. Luckily, he still doesn't have a temperature, but one of the older horses in the barn who has it (and the horse I suspect gave it to Walker) had his temperature spike so both the barn owner and I are keeping an eye on Walker. Luckily, the vet was out to check them all and said not to worry. He didn't even prescribe anything for the older horse with the slight temperature. He said we just need to see it through. That comforts me. And it's also comforting that my barn owner is so close to the vet because he has looked at Walker a half a dozen times in the last couple months for minor things and has yet to charge me. :)

If Walker were one of the 7 dwarves...

I was going to hop on Walker bareback since I just wanted to give him some light exercise and fresh air. He didn't get out with the other horses today because the vet did suggest keeping the sick ones in, for obvious reasons. But besides not eating his grain and sneezing, he seemed more perky than yesterday or Tuesday so I threw a saddle on anyway (and also because there was a pony in the ring and I was afraid that Walker would decide to use the last bit of his energy to get rid of his rider and go at the pony). I only ended up walking and jogging though.  He was too sneezy to canter. Every time I got started, he would start sneezing and stop. I was only going to canter a circle or two anyway but decided to just leave it. I did do a bit of side passing though. I was happy with his performance at that, but he could've did a little more crossing over. I left it though because he is a sook and I am a sucker.

I tried to convince him to eat a handful of grain but he refused. He did eat the apples I brought for him. Of course he wouldn't give up on the idea of treats, no matter how sick he was!

Like Wildfire

So apparently the virus at the barn is spreading through the horses like wildfire. Quite a few of them have picked it up. It was pretty funny because the minute I brought Walker into the ring, my instructor was like, "what's wrong with him?" It's so obvious that he's sick, and if course, he's usually so misbehaved that even the spectators made some comments about how down in the dumps he was. We would be jogging along and every so often he would just come to a full stop for no reason whatsoever despite my continued encouragement to keep moving.

Needless to say, it wasn't too intense of a lesson. We pretty much did a spiral in and out exercise for the entirety of the lesson, helping our horses use their haunches while spiralling in and letting them relax while spiralling out. We didn't do it at the canter but that's because we simply don't have the room (and I maintain that will never be possible anyway!). My instructor thinks that we might be in the outdoor arena in a few weeks already because of the crazy amount of rain we've been getting to wash away the snow. You should've seen the look on my face when she said that. I was heartbroken! Don't get me wrong, I love riding outside and having the space, but at the end if Fall, Waller was just so immensely bad behaved during Wednesday night lessons that I don't want to go back to that. We're finally learning how to jump and if he decides to go back to being a jerk who bolts for no reason other than he doesn't want to work, our instructor will greatly limit my exercises, including jumping. :( The only solace I have is that we have been together for much longer now and we have much more of a bond. I'm also hoping to nip that behaviour in the butt immediately this time whereas in the summer, it took me too long to start reacting to it.

St Anne: Patron Saint of Equestrians

Other than that, I think I may have a dislocated or cracked rib. Because my chest is so sore, I haven't gone to my massage therapist lately and so my back is also sore. I tried to lay on the floor to crack it but stretching hurts my chest. But when I was stretched out, I felt my rib and it was noticeably protruded. I looked in the mirror and confirmed that the rib near the place where my chest hurts is sticking out. Perhaps the doctor and I were wrong about it being muscle related. Using those muscles would push on the rib but perhaps all the coughing has done something to my rib instead of the muscles. This also explains the weird popping sound I heard and felt in Italy which led to immobilizing pain. For the meantime, I'm just going to leave it be. If it doesn't stop hurting, I'll go back to the hospital but I still agree there's nothing they can do whatever it is.

Under the Weather

Sick pony falling asleep on the crossties

When I got back, the first thing I did was send D a message to find out how my boy behaved while I was away.  Apparently he was "bratty" at first, which I have no doubt since he would've had about 4 days off by the time she got to ride him, but then she told me that he went good for her.  She did tell me, however, that on Sunday morning he wouldn't eat his breakfast so she called our barn owner down to the barn to check on him.  Our barn owner assured her that he was just having an off day and she could ride him, which she did.

I went out to the barn excited to see my boy today and got there when my trainer was feeding the other horses.  She told me that one of the lesson horses had a cold, which she thinks he got from one of the new horses who had the cold a couple weeks ago.  He didn't have a runny nose or anything since they are all up to date on their shots, but he is an older horse so he was having a hard time breathing and was also not eating.

Of course, I could tell something was wrong with Walker immediately.  It's not like I was expecting him to bound towards the stall door like a puppy excited to see me, but I expected a little more pep from my normally peppy pony.  Nope.  He was super quiet on the crossties and then the sneezing happened.  I rode him anyway, but when I put him away, he barely touched his supper.  So it appears that my baby is sick also. :(

He is also in the throws of shedding.  I had this naive hope that while I was away, D would happily get all the hair off him for my return, but alas.  I am glad he didn't put on a crazy thick winter coat!

Note to self: never wear black in spring

Some of the glorious hair

It may have just been the lethargy, but Walker was super well behaved today.  I could tell immediately that D had been a good influence on him.  When I asked for a jog, he gave me a beautiful Western Pleasure jog, which I haven't been working on lately since we've been jumping (and which I haven't been successfully getting since we started jumping).  It's amazing how it only takes a few minutes to realize the difference in your horse when someone more talented rides them.  I really devoted my ride today to emulating D's success.  I made sure to really ask for every movement perfectly, especially since Walker was too sick to work hard anyway.  

I have to say that despite Walker's sickness and obvious exhaustion, it was one of the best rides I've had in a long time.  There was no muss or fuss which I really attribute to D, and I let him be a Western horse (in English tack) so that he could really shine.  I'm still thinking about that gorgeous jog of his.  

Of course, just when I start to think I might be able to hazard the jump lesson despite my own chest pain, my pony gets sick.  Jumping is probably out of the question tomorrow but at least I'll try for another sweet ride!

Walker's Justin Bieber hairstyle

Florence

I'm currently sitting in the Rome airport waiting for my flight back home. As much as I don't want to leave, it's always nice to go home.

Unfortunately, my chest pain never went away during my trip, and in some ways, it has actually gotten worse. While walking through the crypts of the Duomo, I coughed and felt something pop. I was immediately immobilized with pain and I had to go back to the hotel immediately. My mother had to help me get my coat off and I quickly proceeded to up my dosage of extra strength ibuprofen to its maximum. I don't take pills at all so this is pretty significant for me.

This means unfortunately that after two weeks, the pain has still not gone away, even though the doctor at the hospital thought it was just a muscle strain/tear from all the coughing. I really don't want to go to the hospital again because I agree that it's muscle-related and I don't think they can do anything about it.

This bodes bad for Walker. I was supposed to have a jump lesson on Wednesday but I think I'll have to cancel. I need to be able to ride him thoroughly on Tuesday so that I can gauge how well he will be on Wednesday. After all, I didn't make D stick to a riding schedule or anything so I won't know until I'm back how often he was actually ridden. With the continued pain in my chest, I simply can't fight him on Tuesday (or Wednesday for that matter), and because we suffer from the Curse of the Wednesday Night Lesson, I know he will not be easy for my lesson regardless.

I'm at a loss because I think it would hurt to lunge him more than to ride him, but I'm also worried about the fact that my side is not improving. Ibuprofen isn't going to cure it. It's simply masking the pain. With that thought in mind, I know I will continue to ride, even if I miss the lesson this week, and its unlikely to get better with such rigorous exercise. :( I just want to see my boy!

Anyway, I will work everything out when I get home. One day at a time. The following are some pictures from our trip in Florence. I apologize to those who already follow me on Instagram and have seen most of them.

Also, check out the medieval spurs. I don't think Walker would like those babies much!

Rome

It's our last day in Rome before we head out for Florence so I thought I'd put up a few pictures of my trip thus far. Because I don't have access to a real computer, I apologize for the jumble and lack of captions.

Also, I don't know if I ever mentioned this but I actually have a degree in Classics and a double minor in History and Latin so this is pretty much the best place ever! Most of the time, I feel like a tour guide for my poor mother since I drone on and on about all the monuments and architecture and art. She just keeps asking me if we're going to see "another ruin". :)