Catching Up...

Damn NBC and thier confounded blank screen.

Sorry to have abandoned you for a while.  You know how it goes, real life tends to intrude on the stuff you really like to do.  Work got crazy busy and required all my attention.  Then there was the Great Computer Crash of Summer 2012, which was somewhat like the Great Computer Crash of Winter 2011. 

So let me catch you up.  I was trying to watch the Olympics, getting up at 5:30 or 6:00AM so I could catch some of the action before work. Did you watch any of the NBC livestream coverage?  Have any issues?  I couldn't sleep the night before Tina Konyot ride down centerline at Greenwich, so I gave up and went downstairs. I waited, foregoing coffee (didn't want to wake up the family) and when 6 o'clock came I switched to NBC's stream and all I got was a BLANK SCREEN. 

I could hear Calecto V's footfalls.  I could hear his breathing.  I just couldn't see him.  I had a minor meltdown.  Guess the lack of sleep and lack of caffeine caught up with me.  I swear I didn't do anything like throw the computer or anything (although I did think about it).  When it died a few days later it died all on its own, with no help from me.  As you can imagine, with a dead computer there wasn't much Olympic equestrian livestreaming in my house. 

The good news is that while I was AWOL the Sainted Mare was cleared for full duty!!  We had our first lesson in what seems like forever, jumps and everything.  Granted, they were little baby jumps, but they were still jumps.  Madame Mare was very happy to be jumping again, and she let me know with several very sassy head shakes and a couple of small bucks.  Thankfully she wasn't overly keen and I was able to rate her, which was a bit more of an issue the last time she came back from rehabbing. 

I was in crappy shape and needed several water and oxygen breaks during the lesson, but you couldn't keep the smile from my face.  It felt so good to have her back.  I worried a bit overnight thinking that her leg might fill up and that the work may have adverse affects, but the leg was cool and tight the next morning. Phew!  Finger crossed, next week we'll do another lesson and more days of flatting, and then the week after move back to our normal 2-lesson-a-week schedule.

That about sums it up.  Now we're back to Situation Normal, or at least as normal as it gets around here.

Billie Jean and I enjoying the evening after a nice ride. 

Sug's in the field, enjoying the evening her way with some grass.



Oh, Happy Day! We Can Canter!

.

Heeeheeeheee.  Giggle.  Grin.  Smirk.  Snort. 

I'm so happy I can't contain it!  If you could see me now I would no doubt resemble Snoopy doing his famous happy dance (sans ears, of course).

After what feels like eons and millenia of rehabbing Sug's injury at the walk and then trot, the Sainted Mare has been cleared for cantering.  WHOOHOOO!

It did not matter that it was 90 degrees and sunny, with a slight hint of Bangkok, by 7AM.  We got to canter!

Mind you, we are only allowed to canter on the long sides of the arena, but heck, it's a start.  We do our 15 minutes of trot (umm, actually, it's actually more like three 5 minutes trot sets ) and then off we go, crazy cantering fools doing 5 minutes of long sides.

Sug is just as excited as I am.  Our canter departs are PROMPT, and usually accompanied by snorts, snaky head shakes and some halfhearted attempts to buck.  She BOUNDS down the long side, with me valliantly half halting and trying to keep her off her forehand.  She somewhat begrudgingly comes back to the trot on the short side, and I have to half halt the bejeezus out of her to stop her from LEAPING into the canter before we get to the long side.  Yep, someone's just as excited about cantering as I am.

Of course!  Cantering is FUN!  Trotting is boring.  Cantering means jumping will come soon. 

Yes, Sug.  Hopefully if things go well, jumping will come soon.

And I did not attempt to buck, half hearted or otherwise.  I was simply rounding my back. Had an attempt been made, there would be no doubts about it.  I did not indulge myself as you are still injured, and clearly not able to remain in the tack during a buck as athletic as mine.  If we are to jump soon, you cannot still be injured.

Thank you, Sug.  You're the bees knees. 

I am.  A reward would be appropriate, I think.  I notice there is a new peppermint jar on the grooming box. Some of those would be nice. 

You can tell Madame Mare is a bit more full of herself than usual. I'm happy about it, as it means she's feeling good. Off I go in search of peppermints!

Hope your trails are happy, and thanks for reading!

Gasp...Wheeze...OXYGEN!

If you've been following AWIP, you might recall from a couple recent posts (this one and this one)  that Sug, the kids, and I are all currently getting physical therapy for various ailments.  Sug's recovering from some inflammation in the branches of her suspensory ligament, I'm dealing with herniated disks and sciatica, the kids both have knee issues and Soph has added upped the ante with an inflamed growth plate in her heel (or Calcaneal Apophysitis, for those of you who like tongue twisters.)


A family that therapizes together...uh, spends a fortune??

Things are slowly progressing.  Soph is not icing as much, Noah has finally been pain free and played in his first rugby tourney (hooray!) and Sug and I are up to 15 minutes of trotting, short and long sides!  Her recovery has been due to the excellent care of our barn owner and vet, and the no doubt (in my mind) to the laser therapy she's been getting from her Aunt Carolyn, my friend and owner of Peak Performance Therapy.  This laser stuff is amazing -- Carolyn's done my back several times and it really helped (although God knows what the neighbors thought, seeing me bent over her ottoman with my pants unbuckled! LOL!)

Sug getting laser therapy from Aunt Carolyn
(Peak Performance Therapy)

The thing is, we're SUPPOSED to be trotting 15 minutes consecutively.  Well, we do try, but the Sainted Mare and I find that a wee bit ambitious.  By the 4th minute we're both sucking for air, dripping with sweat, begging for mercy and ready to call "Uncle."

Speak for yourself.  I could go at least 8 minutes.  Maybe 10 if you'd let me do a slow trot.

OK, Sug. The point is, this getting back in shape thing ain't easy.  We're doing our best, and we do the 15 minutes.  Yes, it's more like 3 sets of 5 minutes, but that does add up to 15 minutes TOTAL.  Then we cool out, she gets her bath and her ice, and I get my BENGAY and my wine.

Here's to baby steps!  Cheers!

Tonight's vino therapy - a lovely New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

Sug Goes to Rehab...

Don't let the headline of this post fool you. The Sainted Mare has not been snorting bute or sugar cubes or anything like that. We're rehabbing her suspensory injury and we're now at the second stage - the trot stage. Mind you, we've done a lot of very exciting work at the walk; straightness, getting her to come off my leg better, keeping her rhythm steady. Let's face it though, after aw hole the walk gets ether, well, pedestrian.

This weekend we were finally allowed to trot, long sides only. We did our 30 minute power walk warm up, and then I asked her to trot down the long side going down to the barn. Sug almost jumped into the trot, she was so excited. She wanted to power down the line, and tried to show me her extended trot. I had to bring her back and explain to her that although I was very impressed, I didn't want her to reinjure herself. She was so happy to be moving again, she was snaking her neck and tossing her head. It was really cute to see her so happy, and really hard not to go over the 5 minute moratorium as it felt so good!

I'm out of town on a business trip now and my trainer will be amking sure she gets her procribed. She'll be doing her 30 minute power walk, on the bit, and 5 minute trot, also onthe bit, long sides only. I'm bummed to be away, but consoling myself with the fact that when I get back we'll be up to 10 minutes of long-side trotting. :) Bliss!

Thanks for reading, and if you've ever had to rehab your horse, why not share? I'd love to learn from your experience.