Busy Busy Bee...

But then again, what else is new.  I rode Cadence for the first time in... almost a week.  However, it was also her second ride in two weeks.  The cut on her shoulder seems to be doing pretty well, knock wood.  There's still a lot of swelling, but I think most of that is probably from the impact of the kick, versus infection.  Her neck has also settled at long last. 
When I rode her yesterday, we started out with a light lunge in the indoor.  Then, after hopping on and (briefly) working on our hunterness in the walk and trot, we headed to the outdoor for the first time ever.  She was quite good!  Came on the contact quick and easy, but she wasn't supple and bending.  It was more 'i'll do this because it's what you're asking' than anything.  Her lack of interest in bending was slightly alarming, because it's so not her.  However, it started to drizzle so we went back inside and she had no qualms about bending in there.  Apparently it's just a case of outdoor excitement.  Our plans for the next little while include her first XC school on May 23, and her first show (dressage w/t tests) on may 29!
Cadence had today (and will have tomorrow) off, so Arty got the pleasure of filling her absence.  He's looking pretty good weight wise, bordering on too skinny!  Not there yet, but it is a possibility.  Muscularly though, he fails.  I didn't have enough time to ride by the time I'd caught and groomed, so we longed.  He wasn't even able to canter, so he's even more out of shape than I'd previously thought.  Poor pony.  Tomorrow he gets an even harder workout.  W/T/C dressage style.  Contact and frame and...tigers, oh my!

Its always something

Ain't that the truth.  Cadence's vaccine sight was looking pretty good last night.  Swelling was down almost 100%, and only a little heat.  It was looking worse again today, so I wonder if it gets better throughout the day.  Anyhow, today when I went to fetch her from her field, she had blood down her front left, and a nice gash on the lower front part of that shoulder.  She looked like she'd been in a knife fight!  The cut wasn't too bad, just bleeding a lot.  Also, due to the width of it, it isn't really patchable.  Thankfully, its not more than a centimeter deep so we left it open after thoroughly flushing it with saline.  Tonight I'm heading back out to clean it up again and put an aerosol bandage on it.  Hope its dried up a bit by tonight.

Bend AND Give?

No, never.  Bending and giving is waay too much work for the mare, even at the walk. 
Just inc ase you haven't caught on yet, cadence was VERY stiff yesterday.  I'm hoping that this was just from her needles, and maybe a little too much time off.  She was also heavy in the hand.  Well, heavier than usual.  That is, she was heavy for the 5 minutes of our 20 + minute ride in which she was soft and supple, and on the contact.  I didn't even bother to canter, because if we can't get it in the walk, let alone the trot I don't want to know what the canter would be like.  Baby steps, we'll get there.  Oh, I forgot to add the worst part: I bumped into the draws and actually really used them, but still no give.  Please god let this just be vaccine-related stiffness.
On other notes:
1)Cadence's whole schedule has been rearranged to afford for some BO (Barn Owner/manager/awesomeness) aided conditioning. 
2) In accordance to the above, I'm getting lunge lessons!  Like teach Katie how to longe the mare so that  the two of them both get a serious workout lunge lessons :P  I'm so lucky to have an awesome barn manager.  Seriously, she's amazing.
3) Our first show has been moved due to ease of trailering and closeness things, so Cadence and I'll be rocking the walk trot tests on May 29th.  It seems so close, yet so far away... that came out cheesier than intended.  I'm psyched to start her show career, and a little nervous at the same time.  I know she'll be awesome, but if we don't place in a walk trot class, I'll be seriously depressed.
4) Caitlyn, Cadence's old owner/breeder, sent me foal pictures!!!!! I'll post them ASAP.  She's fricken adorable, and looks just like (a skinnier version of) her mother.  They both have the same star, Cadence's is just smaller.
5) Cadence really has grown.  A lot.  Yesterday I had her in the crossties outside of Zee's (My coach's horse) stall.  Cadence and Zee used to be about equal in height, but cadence now comes up to the top of my nose, and Zee's squarely at my chin.  I think she's grown over 1/2 a hand!  Should I be worried that I'm using facial features as a form of measurement? 

Note: I do sincerely apologize for never editing my posts.  I will, one day I will.  However, that dat is not today.  As I write this, I should be studying for the test I have next period; especially since that test is on something I haven't learned yet.  Yay for procrastination!

The Rare 'White Carrot'

I've had quite the time since returning from Kentucky.  When I returned, there was a message from my coach on the answering machine.  Last time I got one of those, she'd put her head through a window... so my hopes weren't too high.  These messages are always the same: she's fine, but...  It turns out that this time, my horse was in fact not engaging in any self-harm activities.  It was really just a couple of things that were outside of our control, but had combined to form a not ideal, yet totally treatable situation.  Cadence and I had a rather hard (not so much physically as mentally) jump school on Easter Monday, which was followed up by a really light dressage school Tuesday, before I headed down to KY.  The plan was for her to have Wednesday off, the BO would lunge her Thurs, and my coach would ride her Friday and Saturday.  However, apparently the Holsteiner in Cadence is showing up, as she appears to have grown, a lot!  I knew it was in there somewhere, it has just been bogged town by her decidedly stronger TB genes :P  The down side to this is that it seems to have had some negative effects on her, since all of her energy's gone into her recent growth spurt, and her work load wasn't taking that into consideration.  Hard to do when you didn't know it was happening.  She was just a bit stiff in the AM, and had a little muscle loss, but my coach skipped the rides in favour of an extra lunge instead.  Anyhow, she's lost a bit of muscle in her hind end, but everything else is back to normal, so for the next 2-4 weeks, she's on a bit of a modified schedule to build it back up.  Fine, totally manageable, but not what you want to come home to.
I haven't ridden her since last Tues, because I got home @ 2am Monday morning, and yesterday she should have had her spring shots.  I'm heading out tonight to check on her after yesterday, and hopefully (as long as she's up to it) hop on her back for a light (probably w/t) dressage school.  The w/t is to practice for our first show... which brings on a whole new set of issues, as the show we want to go to doesn't have w/t classes.  On top of that, I have an enormous amount of schoolwork to complete before Friday, including a french test tomorrow that is on a/several topic(s) I am not sure I've learned yet. 
This stress/work load combination has put me in a bit of a bad mood, so today when I was working in the library I overheard a (rather loud) discussion between two girls that really didn't improve my current views on life and humanity.  To set the background, one of these girls had a carrot shaped plastic bag thingy full of orange jelly beans left over from Easter.  This prompted a discussion about white carrots.  'That's odd...' I though to myself  'I've never heard of a white carrot.  White pumpkins, parsnips, and.... oh, parsnips.  I wonder if they realize... ah well.  I'll leave them to their rare white carrot conversation.'  some people never cease to amaze me.  The myth of the  white carrot: solved!  The culprit: a parsnip.  Seeing it written out, it doesn't seem nearly as pathetic.  However, I can assure you that hearing two presumably legal adults (over 18) have a genuine discussion about "these rare white carrots" without them making the carrot-parsnip connection is really quite depressing.  Mildly hilarious, but still pathetic.
It should be noted that there is an off chance that they actually knew what they were talking abut.  Carrots can come in purple, yellow, orange, and white.  However, these are genetic hybrids and mutants.  There is no true white carrot, as far as my research has shown me.

2011 Rolex XC Pics

Allison Springer and Arthur

Allison and Arthur clear the first obstacle at what used to be the HSBC Duck Marsh

Mary King is WELL over this fence!

Unfortunately, Kate Brown is not

Michael Pollard and Icarus

Kate Brown and Mojito at the fence prior  to the run out

 Icarus gettin a move on!

Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory

 Martha McDowel and Gaelic Marriage

 Gaelic Marriage after refusing the fence coming out of the water

 Clear over the alternate

 And away they go!

 Boyd and Remington going into the water

Shiraz and Colleen Rutledge looking very showy

 Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan

Slate River... I think

The 19y/o Snip and Joe Meyer

 Kristi Nunni and R-Star prepare to take a tumble

Post-Tumble Pony

 (I saw Kristi later on, and she was injury free)

 Hamish and Sandhills Tiger

 Manoir de Carneville... Gotta admire Selle Francais Style!

You know, the sad part about all this is that I have a ton more... these aren't even necessarily my favourites.  Well, except for Mary King and the squirrel!