Growing up, my dad could take the most boring and unrelated
ingredients and produce a ridiculously good “whatever”. A soup, a casserole, pasta sauce, whatever. I would ask him what he put in it, and every time his answer would be “Oh,
little this little that”.
This entry is a blog casserole: little this little that.
The weather:
Good God the snowpocalypse. Snow, ice, wind, subzero temps,
and long johns for crying out loud! I know the entire region shared in the
suffering so I won’t go into too much ‘woe is me’. Suffice to say I have had it
up to HERE with Winter.
The foot:
Obviously something is askew in this picture. I mean, I’m no
foot doctor but it just doesn’t look right to me. Everything else is healing
great; the tendon grafts are doing well, the cuboid is all fixed up, the little
bones with names I don’t recall are where they all belong, but that danged toe.
There was a pin in it for 4 weeks, somehow I still had a non-union. Did a digit
block and a closed reduction in the office and it’s back in a splint.
For the long term it’ll be fine. It’s slowly healing and
someday I’ll be able to wear cute shoes again. For the short term it means I’m
still out of the saddle. I can get on and walk around, but, no stirrups, no posting,
no jumping, no fair.
The horses:
I’m very fortunate to have great people around me. My bestie
Kris is also my most amazing dressage trainer. She has 30+ years of working
with everything from rank babies to grand prix superstars. She’s worked for the
likes of Robert Dover, Michael Poulin, and a host of others (though she rarely
talks about it). I also have a great
barn helper/student who is helping with the riding and lunging, and my friend
and fantastic rider/jump teacher Andrew is getting on for the occasional (and
much needed) jump schools.
Wish You Were Here (Otie) 8 yr Hano x Tb– He’s doing fantastic since the Lucinda clinic footage. His brain grew up a lot in the last 6 months and he’s turned into quite the worker bee. He is an absolute joy to be around and I CAN NOT WAIT to get back on! He’s making his 2nd level debut next weekend and schooling the changes. We’ll start some in hand half steps soon (like, this week). He’s also jumping really well and Andrew really helped him figure out that he can’t just rely on natural talent; there also needs to be a little snap to those knees!
Cottonpickinwabbit (Cotton) 5 yr. OTTB - After
arriving right around New Year’s, he enjoyed a solid month of living in his own
big paddock and stretching his legs. Since I couldn’t ride I devoted a lot of
time to basic in hand work. He is really a special horse (I decided the moment
he stepped off the trailer he would probably not be a sale project). When I
realized I wouldn’t be back in the saddle for even longer and with him clearly
itching for something purposeful to do, Kris said “bring him over!” and she has
started him. I’m sad that it wasn’t me, but you can’t ask for any better than
her. She’s also right across the street
so I get to be a part of the action.
Every horse she starts gets the benefit of decades of
experience (And I know, she is an intermittent helmet wearer. I can’t change
that so when you watch the video, please, no “helpful suggestions”. Trust me,
I’ve tried). He graduated from the roundpen in a week and is WTC like a
superstar. His gaits are so uphill and balanced and she said he is very
comfortable. I did take him for a hand walk around the XC field and stepped
over some logs and baby coops. He thought it was very entertaining and when he
noticed the ditch he walked right up to and looked at me like “Can I do this
one too?” I thought, what the heck, so I stepped over it and he hopped it right
next to me then walked away like big man on campus. He is going to be FUN!
Popic (Poppi, Poptart, Little Miss Diva . . . ) 5 yr OTTB
sale horse. She’s become such a great little working girl. She’s 96% sweet,
quiet, go about her work like a little lady, and 4% little OTTB diva with a
touch of sass! I love that about her. She jumps everything you point her at and
learned very quickly how to go quietly to the base of each jump. The canter for
her was the hardest to learn, she really struggled with keeping her balance and
not just running. It did not make sense to her. But, time, patience, and
strengthening are our best friends and she is a wonderful, well restarted horse
now. She goes off on trial this week, so fingers crossed it’s a good match.
Jasper, 14 yr Arabian – My DD’s wonder pony. Well, not
really a pony, he’s 15h. While she’s off at school he’s been my bareback buddy
to help me get my sea legs back. That horse is fuzzy, fat, and doesn’t know how
misbehave.
Well, I guess that’s pretty much all the ingredients I have
for this soup. Hope it tasted okay. Knowing
me, it probably needs salt . . .
