Swishing Tails

It’s been seventeen months since I have last shown. Between school, vacation, a pandemic, Essie’s leg injury, and my broken foot there just never seemed to be a convenient jumping show to go to. But there was finally a rated-show at a low-key local venue that would help put us back on top of our game. […]

When I ride, 50 things happen simultaneously: My shoulders fight to stay back, my heals down, thigh pressure on, rein lengths change, ankles turn. I make sure Essie is in the right position as well as constantly check in with myself. But these are never conscience thoughts. This all happens while my mind wonders to […]

Here’s a picture of my kitten in a halter When I am on vacation there is always a side of me that misses my horse. While I miss the feeling of jumping I do not miss the endless leg days, knee pain, and cramping psoas. Coming back to riding after a five month break is […]

Here’s another photo of the kitten Essie can jump again…yay! But I am about a thousand miles away from her at the moment. Taking time off from riding is, I believe, good for both the rider and the horse.  Jumping is not a great thing for horses and can cause a lot of injuries, especially […]

Picture of a kitten that literally fell from the sky, rescued at 3 weeks old My state is reopening despite having over 30,000 cases of Covid-19. I do not think that my state shut down to begin with, it certainly did not feel like that at the barn. There were no overly clean washing stations […]

After three months of hand walking the vet cleared Essie for riding. Good news! But reality sucked. The vet’s rehab prescription: warm-up up for 10. Trot for 20. Cool down for 10. Ice for 20. Repeat 6 days out of 7. Each week add 5 minutes of riding. My usual 30 min hacking turns into two […]

Circle of doom is a well know exercise to hunters and jumpers a like. It is usually only pulled out when the instructor feels particularly nasty or when it’s raining. This little course consists of 4 jumps, evenly spaced from each other, say at 4-5 strides, to make a circle. No matter the height of […]

When your horse is lame and the vet tells you it will be out of commission for 3-6 months…freaken mint When you realize that once the horse becomes sound it will take another 2-3 months to get back up the level you had been at previously…freaken mint When you buy a green horse and put […]

If your horse has a sprain clap your hands -clap-clap- If you can only tell at the trot that its lame clap your hands -clap-clap- If the vet claims its true and you don’t know what to do if your horse is out for 3-6 months clap your hands -clap-clap-  

I didn’t ride for seven weeks while I was on vacation. My first ride after I returned I realized two things 1) my horse was fat and 2) my leg muscles suddenly no longer existed. In lessons with the assistant trainer (AT) I attempted to do as much pole and no stirrup work as possible […]