August 2013

Helping a horse find joy

When Rajiyyah first came to my barn in March, she felt odd to ride. Instead of having her legs underneath her, she felt like her legs were scattered. This feeling was very similar to riding a green horse who feels braced and ready to flee. Her back was dropped and her head was up. She was defensive. With some contact and encouragement with seat and hands, she would eventually come down and ride...

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And Kasane said WHEE!

I spent this evening at the barn after an intensely stressful week of deadlines and conflicting priorities. So I went out and played with my girl. She was still in the barn when I got there. She yelled when she saw me. It’s been in the mid-70s, so beautiful weather and 20 degrees cooler than last week. She was up when I lead her out to the arena. I let her go when...

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Dealing with a horse who trips

One of Isis’ scariest symptoms was her near-constant tripping. I tried various methods to help her: chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, massage, riding techniques, and other things. Before she was diagnosed with EPM, I spent years trying to figure out what was causing the tripping. Where there consistent factors in where or how we rode that contributed? Was the tripping more prevalent on one side or the other? Was there a connection with time of...

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Trim time

It had only been eight weeks since the mares had been trimmed. Last week their feet looked okay. Friday their feet in serious need of a trim. The farrier took off almost half an inch from both girls’ feet during the trim. Very impressive. Rajiyyah’s feet had grown so much that the hoof wall had overgrown the shoe. Here you can see Rajiyyah’s right foot nearly trimmed compared to her left foot which...

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Horsebackwriter on Tumblr

A friend of mine from work sent me a link to a Tumblr blog written by Horsebackwriter. Like me, she has a bay Arabian. Her mare, Khyssie, reminds me a lot of Isis in her antics and markings. I saw the pictures of Khyssie and immediately had flashbacks to Isis Bint Sirdar. And then I read a post from August 5th that said this: The groundwork was coming along as scheduled. Everything was...

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Stupid head cold is stupid

I went to the barn with plans for riding. It felt like it had been so long and I just wanted to ride my girls. I had been dreaming about riding them, about the way they move at the canter and how I have to sit at the trot. Breeches and paddock boots are great riding equipment, but can’t overcome a fever. I had felt okay earlier in the day. I felt light...

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