Little this, little that

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 2^nd 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 . . .