An absolutely beautiful day at the barn. Spring is in the air, although it was a bit chilly, old man winter is still hanging around in spots. But the sun is warm and the birds are chirping so winter is packing it in until next year.
I head to the paddock to get Alfie. 2 of his field mates are out and about, but Alfie was down the hill a bit so I walked quietly to the top of the hill. As I approach the shed and look down the hill, I see Alfie, happily eating grass. I stop to just look at him when my foot steps on a branch and cracks it and with that Alfie pops his head up, his eyes widen in excitement and he runs up the hill to see me.❤️
I pet him, turn around and he follows me to the gate. No lead rope, no cookie, just me. Such a simple gesture of love. This simple gesture took almost 5 years to get. I’m pretty sure he would’ve just walked with me all the way to the barn without me holding onto his lead rope.
Our lesson today went well, lots of trotting and trotting over poles, Alfie’s favorite thing to do. We are at the point where if he sees poles on the ground he tries so hard to drag me to them lol. This, the horse that never liked pole work before suddenly he’s all about the poles lol.
After our lesson, it was time to graze. He wasn’t interested in picking up his head for a picture, nothing beats the taste of new spring grass.
Nom Nom NomSpring grass
Our bond and love has grown so much over these last almost 5 years. It makes me so happy to know Alfie feels comfortable enough to show his love.❤️🐴
Yesterday, the weather was beautiful. Spring is in the air. Sunny and warm, Alfie and I had a great lesson and even took our first ride outside since the winter. Today, it was raining. Not just a little rain but A LOT of rain. The horses were sleepy, I mean it’s the perfect weather to just sit on the couch curled up with a blanket and watch some Netflix.
A perfect spring day
When I got to the barn, most of the horses were napping, including Alfie. He was leaning against his favorite wall, back foot tilted up sound asleep. I popped my head into his stall, Alfie slowly woke up, blinked a bunch of times and managed to give me a head nod, because he wasn’t ready to move just yet lol. Since I didn’t want to disturb his nap, I took the time to clean my tack. I had been so good at cleaning my tack every few weeks but I neglected my tack for the winter so today, I made up for it.
Shiny, cleaned and conditioned.
By the time I was done with my tack, it was time for lunch, mine and Alfie’s. As I went into his stall to get his bucket, he woke up and was excited for his lunch.
After lunch, we did groundwork. A good grooming, leg stretches and some massage, put Alfie in work mode.
He’s so beautiful
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how amazing he looks for his age? His winter coat is shedding out which is why he looks like a teddy bear but check out his muscle tone. Not bad Alfie, not bad at all.
After our groundwork session, I returned Alfie to his stall so he could finish his lunch. I took a walk outside in between the raindrops to take some pictures around the farm. There is so much beauty here, you just have to open your eyes to see it.
A beautiful moss covered old building.The weeping willow is waking up from its winter sleep.These trees in fact are dead, but still they hold such beauty.
As the horses were getting ready for dinner, I took this video of Alfie.
Horses and spouses. Sometimes, it can be a slippery slope. Jealousy & resentment can develop quickly when suddenly you find yourself spending countless hours at the barn with your barn family and horse, while your spouse sits alone at home. Trying to find that balance between spending time with your spouse and with your horse is not easy. I often talk about how blessed I am that I have Alfie in my life, but I’m even more blessed that my husband Scott has embraced my passion with 100% support.
When my husband and I were married, horses weren’t a part of my life. Ok, well, that’s not totally accurate. They were there on our wedding day.
My Wedding Day transportation ❤️Of course I had to pet the horse 😍
Being reunited with horses on my wedding day was what planted the seed. While I was riding through town in the carriage on my way to the ceremony, I wasn’t nervous at all. In fact it was the clip clop clip clop of the horses feet on the pavement that put me at such ease. The smell of the horses and leather brought me instantly back to my childhood when I was taking lessons at the local stable.
For our honeymoon, we went to Ireland. It was our first time there, and what a beautiful country it is. You know what there is a lot of in Ireland besides beautiful green pastures – horses. Horses everywhere. Of course there are tons of sheep and cattle, but horses, everyone seemed to have horses in their yards. Was this another foreshadowing sign of what was to come?
When we returned from Ireland, I got my weekly Groupon email and what was staring at me…a Groupon for a trail ride for 2. 👏🏻
Now, my sweet husband was game for anything. I texted him and asked if he would like to go on a trail ride with me. He of course said yes, but he mentioned that he was allergic to horses but said he would be fine, after all the ride was going to be outside.
We get to the farm, sign the waivers and go to try on helmets. We then patiently wait for our horses. At this point, I notice my husbands face is starting to break out with hives. I ask him if he’s ok, and he tells me he is fine so we get on the horses and off we go. The ride was fun, my husband did great. We say goodbye to the horses and get into the car. My husband at this point has swollen eyes and calmly tells me his chest is tight and he could use some Benadryl. I zoom to the nearest Walmart and he takes 2 Benadryl while we are on line to pay. His breathing gets better and he falls asleep on the way home. The hives took 3 days to go away, but this is the kind of man he is, this is the amount of love he has for me. It didn’t matter to him that his allergy to horses was worse than he ever imagined, he knew how much I loved horses and he wanted to support me, even if it meant he might have ended up in the hospital.
After that ride, that’s when I went searching for a stable to take lessons, and I found one close to home. That’s where Alfie and I were brought together, and the rest is history.
Supporting me at one of many horse shows ❤️
My husband. He’s not only allergic to horses but to hay as well. And yet, he has attended every horse show Alfie and I have been in. He loves Alfie even though he can’t really interact much with him. Whenever he visits him he pets him anyway and then runs to the nearest water source to wash his hands. He doesn’t mind that I spend all my free time at the barn with Alfie and the other horses as well as my barn family. He has not only accepted my passion, but he’s encouraged it, supports it, and has never said “no” to anything I’ve wanted to do to further my equestrian journey.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the support of this incredible man I get to call my husband.❤️
The summary of my evening with Alfie is accurate. He pulled out some of his greatest hits tonight, the Alfie shuffle at the mounting block, the flying spit wad, dancing into the center of the arena, until finally, the record stopped playing and he started working with me. And together, we made beautiful music, so beautiful in fact, he worked up a sweat in all the right places, including his hind end. Yes, that beautiful butt of his got used, and when that power kicks in, watch out world, because here comes Alfie.
Tonight’s lesson was filled with so many accomplishments, I don’t even know where to begin. It’s been just about 2 years that Alfie and I have been at our barn with my trainer Kari. When we started lessons together, we were a hot mess express. Truly, just a hot mess. Coming from the western world of riding and transitioning to the dressage world had its fair share of challenges for me. But for Alfie, it was so much more difficult.
The first thing I had to address were all of Alfie’s medical issues, from his stomach ulcers, his raging diarrhea, to his anxiety and of course, the condition of his feet. Add to that a new barn, new people, new routine, new discipline of riding, new saddle, it was a lot of change. It took Alfie a good 7 months to fully settle into his new home. But with the guidance of the barn owners at the time along with my trainer Kari, the real Alfie finally started to emerge.
It took me awhile to catch up to Alfie, to become the rider he deserves. This journey has been a journey, one filled with more downs than ups at times. Countless hours spent feeling sorry for myself and my slow progress, countless hours spent comparing the beginning of my journey with horses to someone else’s middle or end. But it’s finally all come together for me and Alfie.
I approach him with confidence. I listen to him, even when his opinion is against whatever it is that I wanted to do. There is no plan when I ride. There is no agenda anymore. Every ride I take with Alfie is special. Trotting circles might not seem special to most riders but for me and him, it is. It’s working together as a team. Even when his opinion comes out, guess what, so does mine, along with some really good negotiating skills.
My journey with Alfie is unique. It’s one that I wasn’t sure where it was going to take us. In my mind, Alfie and I have won all the gold medals at the Olympics. We’ve won all the blue ribbons at the Dressage Grand Prix. The reality is, we’ve won because TOGETHER we’ve overcome challenges, fears, pain, & sadness. TOGETHER we’ve experienced love, joy, good health & happiness. At the end of the day, that makes us a winning team. Sure, our next ride together could be pure disaster, but no matter the outcome, we are in this journey together, and for that, I am eternally grateful.❤️🐴
The time changed last night, we sprung ahead 1 hour. I must say, my body is handling the change OK so far. Last year when the time changed I was a hot mess the first day and couldn’t seem to get on schedule well for weeks.
Alfie, was extremely opinionated today. He was perfect for the mounting block and our warmup and was even game for some trotting around the cones. But he wasn’t in the mood to do much else after that. His opinions became increasingly known, complete with head tossing and flying spit. But I was determined to not let him win. So I regrouped myself and worked through every single head toss, spit toss, and the beautiful art of pulling me into the center of the arena multiple times. For a solo ride, I did great. It wasn’t perfect, but it doesn’t matter that it wasn’t perfect. I’ve got an arsenal of knowledge now of how to get through all of Alfie’s tricks.❤️🐴
Since coming off his 6 1/2 weeks of no work while recovering from 2 separate hoof issues, Alfie has had a definite spring in his step. He is more forward and only wants to trot. And when he doesn’t get his way, he lets his opinion be known.
You might not think that a 6 1/2 break from working was a big deal, but it wasn’t just that we didn’t ride for those weeks. It was that Alfie was pretty much confined to his stall for the majority of it. Alfie thankfully didn’t put on any extra weight by being in his stall but he lost muscle. He wasn’t able to be turned out in his field, which is rather large and has a nice hill to go up and down all day. So getting him back to work is a bit of a tricky balancing game. On the one hand, if Alfie feels good and wants to trot great but on the other hand, if his muscles aren’t strong enough he can hurt himself.
We’ve had a little taste of spring the last week or so with temperatures going into the upper 50s to 60s. The warmer weather does a lot of good for Alfie’s arthritis, and when I rode him on Tuesday and Wednesday – boy did he fly. Today, the temperature was more normal for this time of year, upper 40s with wind, and Alfie was more stiff today and didn’t have as much forward as last week. So our warmup was a bit longer today.
One of the things Alfie loves to do is walk and trot weaving in and out of cones. You know, those bright orange cones that are all over the roads these days to alert you to a giant pothole, yep, I’m talking traffic cones. My trainer Kari referred to Alfie’s speed and agility through the cones as gymnastic work. So today, we were gymnasts. Alfie sees the cones and immediately picks up speed. As we weave in and out of the cones, Alfie gets faster and tighter with each pass of the cones.
Something that I also haven’t had to deal prior to his injuries were his opinions or tantrums. Prior to his injuries, our rides had been tantrum free for several months. That isn’t the case now. He has brought them back in full swing. But something that has changed for the better is how I handle them.
Now, all horses have tantrums and opinions, and Alfie’s are on the mild side, but they are enough to be a challenge for anyone who is new to riding him. And for many years, those tantrums scared me. But you know what – I’m not scared anymore. I’ve always known what to do when he has one, I know to turn him into a circle and get back on track with what we were doing. But when you are scared and lack confidence, the simple solution of how to deal with the issue, well it might as well been a bucking bronco I was riding – when you are scared, you are scared.
So where did my confidence come from? Riding other horses. Riding other horses that you don’t know very well, that you don’t have a relationship with yet, and where a trusting bond hasn’t been formed. Having Alfie out of commission for almost 2 months really forced me to get out of my comfort zone and broaden my riding experience. Maestro the Magnificent helped bring to the surface the confidence I’ve needed for Alfie. I am so grateful for that.❤️🐴
Our 2nd ride since coming off of 6 1/2 weeks of rest went very well. Alfie had a lot of energy again but a bit more controlled, and he wanted to trot, so we did. His stamina needs time to build back to where he was but he lasted about 40 min before really getting tired so that was a sign we are headed in the right direction.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, when Alfie gets tired he starts tossing his head. Well today there was a lot of head tossing and literally dragging me into the center of the arena, as if to say, the ride is over. Well I can recognize a tantrum when I see one and this was a full on tantrum, complete with foot stomping. This was more about testing boundaries than being tired.
But I didn’t get flustered and I didn’t get frustrated. I simply was persistent and confident and won the battle. By the time the lesson was done the tantrum was over and we were able to complete some decent 20 meter circles in both directions.
As I’m untacking him, I tell him how proud of him I am and how much I love him. I take out my phone to take our blog selfie and this is what I got…
Hmmm…I kinda want to play with the vest…Here looks like a good place to pull…Yep, I’m just gonna give this a little tug…Darn…the vest didn’t taste nearly as good as I thought…
After 6 1/2 weeks – 2 injuries to 2 different feet, I am so happy that Alfie is healed, healthy and ready to ride. Driving to the barn today, I was excited and a little nervous, would Alfie be ready to ride, what if I get on and one of his feet bother him? Excitement and nervousness – emotions I know all to well when it comes to Alfie.
While tacking Alfie up tonight, I can see the excitement in his eyes as I get the saddle out of my tack closet. His eyes get wide and he automatically moves a few steps closer to me as I get into position to put the saddle on him. I get him bridled with ease and we are off. He stands at the mounting block perfectly still. I get on and he decides he would rather walk backwards – a move he’s done before, one that used to fluster me, but not tonight, I just kick him forward into the arena. A few adjustments to my saddle are made and our warmup begins.
As we approach the wall of the arena and turn left, Alfie breaks into a trot – easy there buddy, not yet lol.
Power walking
I slow him down just a tad, and we power walk through the entire warmup. Our circles were good, not completely circular but they were fluid, and balanced. We crossed our diagonal and worked some more circles and even did a spiral in and out. We practiced some leg yielding and some shoulder work. All at that amazing forward walk pace. It was now time to trot.
My diagonals were off, I couldn’t get the rhythm but sometimes you sacrifice small things like that for the bigger picture – Alfie was moving, and feeling good.
Working on the 20 meter circle
Something I’ve learned about Alfie – when he gets tired, he breaks out his dramatic head toss. This made an appearance about 20 minutes into the lesson. I than began a nice 10 min cool down. I didn’t want to push him too much since this was his first ride in 6 1/2 weeks and we spent the majority of the ride trotting lol.
Our ride ended and all I have in my heart is happiness mixed with relief. Relief that he’s healed and happiness that I’ve got my dancing partner back. Team Braveheart for the win.❤️🐴
Last Wednesday I went to the barn to work with Alfie. My boy was feeling frisky and energetic so I free lunged him in the arena – basically, he gets to run around and do whatever he wants. He cantered, he bucked, he even jumped a 2ft jump that was set up. My 27 year old horse was acting like a 5 year old. It was an amazing site to see.
After his free lunge session, we are both all smiles.
On Thursday evening, I’m driving home from a visit with my mother when I get a call from Regina, the barn manager, telling me that Alfie was very lame again – this time, it was his back left foot. My heart sank. I asked if he needed the vet that night and she said it could wait until the next day. So on Friday morning I called the vet and was able to get Alfie seen that afternoon. The vet checked out his foot, nerve blocked his foot to confirm in fact it was his foot causing him pain, and finally resorted to taking some X-Rays to try to figure out what was happening with his foot. The vet even checked to see if possibly it was an abscess but all the usual diagnostic steps to check for an abscess came out negative.
Getting the X-Ray
The vet took a look at the images and saw nothing wrong. So the diagnosis was – he didn’t know. He felt he had slightly injured his coffin joint while playing in the snow. He recommended pain medication and stall rest for a few days. After hearing this, I cancelled the farrier who was supposed to come and change out the shoe on the good foot. This was the weekend we were going to ride after 6 weeks of healing/rest. I couldn’t believe how he was perfectly fine one day and literally crippled the next. My poor Alfie.
I got to the barn yesterday morning and my boy was feeling better, the pain medication was helping. I gave him a kiss and told him I was gonna have a lesson with Martini but we would hang out after I was done.
My lesson with Martini went very well. It’s been a long time since I rode him, and although I was a little rusty in the beginning, we ended on a high note.
Getting some kissesMe & Martini
After my lesson, I took Alfie out of his stall to walk him in the arena. The vet said he could be walked if he was up to it. Well, he was up to it. As soon as we got into the arena he started to trot. I promptly stopped him and told him that we are only walking because his foot needed time to heal.
I left the barn feeling very down. The last 6 weeks of worry over Alfie’s foot have really taken its toll on me. Just when the issue with his front foot got fixed now there’s a new issue with one of his back feet. Even though the vet didn’t seem overly concerned, not having an actual diagnosis for what was wrong was upsetting.
Curled up on the couch with my cats, watching TV, my cellphone dings. It’s a text message from Regina. She asks me if I’m sitting down. Now, with Alfie, this can really go either way, good or bad. I text her back and anxiously wait for her message to come through. Staring at the 3 blinking dots – indicating she’s typing her message – my heart starts to race and I feel my anxiety level jump. And then the message comes through. I just stare at it with such disbelief.
ABSCESS…ABSCESS…ABSCESS…
It was an abscess in his back left foot. It popped open, gunk and all. I turn to my husband and just start crying, it was an abscess, he didn’t hurt his coffin joint, it’s not a soft tissue injury, he shouldn’t need a follow up visit with the vet for an ultrasound, it was just an abscess.
Relief and shock, and a bit of slight irritation as the vet visit was extremely expensive, and all it was – an abscess. An abscess that hid itself so well as to avoid detection by the vet and the vet’s tools. A sneaky abscess indeed.
I texted the farrier to let him know it was an ABSCESS and he, like me, was super relieved to hear that.
I got to the barn today to see my boy was in his paddock with his friends. I went to get him and he eagerly and soundly walked through the snow to greet me. We walked to the barn, me looking at him putting full weight on the foot that only the day before he was crippled, my heart starts to smile.
Once in the barn, with the help of Regina, she lifts up some of his hair and sure enough, at the base of his coronary band, there is a slit, about 1 inch long, with 2 holes where the infection burst open. The wound is clean, and looks good and is draining so no wrapping of his foot is necessary.
We head into the arena and do groundwork, trotting, walking, some light lunging, and he is happy to be moving. I tell him we are gonna ride as soon as the farrier comes.
An action shot – he was walking
I left the barn tonight feeling good. The farrier is coming tomorrow, which means, Alfie and I can ride on Tuesday.
Horse ownership. It’s not only a financial investment, it’s an emotional one. I often refer to myself as Alfie’s mom. And in a lot of ways I am. Owning a horse is a multi role function. Sometimes I am “mom”, other times I’m his “partner”, other times I’m his “friend.” No matter how you identify your role with your horse, the one emotion that should be constant is love.❤️🐴
It’s been 5 weeks since Alfie hasn’t been ridden, and it’s been the longest 5 weeks ever. Ok, slight exaggeration there but still, 5 weeks, it’s a long time.
Alfie had a wonderful session with his massage therapist during the week, and she agreed with my plan of ground work before I get on him to ride. It’s nice to know that I am becoming more independent when it comes to Alfie. I always seek out the opinions of more experienced horse people, but now I find that my ideas are very similar to theirs and that’s really gratifying.
Today, I decided to tack Alfie up for our groundwork session. I ran my idea by our barn manager Regina, and she agreed it would be a good idea, to see how he handles the weight of the saddle. If he is off with just a saddle, he would be very off with the weight of the rider.
So, it’s business as usual. I get Alfie from his field and I give him his lunch. I then get him all tacked up. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that his weight is the same, these last 5 weeks of no work haven’t added on any pounds which is good. Weight gain is a concern for any horse but especially Alfie given his age and foot issues.
We approach the mounting block. He stands perfectly still, it’s nice to see that the mounting block isn’t an issue. I climb down the block, and we walk into the arena. We start to walk when Alfie decides he’s ready to go and he breaks out into a trot…not a stroll type trot but a full on forward trot. Of course, my muscles aren’t warmed up yet and I feel the pull of my hamstring and ouch..ouch…ouch..ummm Alfie, no, I’m not supposed to be getting hurt while you are getting better.
I catch my breath, rub out my leg and soldier on. We ran around the arena together trotting over poles, large circles, changing directions, finally ending our session at a nice walk. The final verdict – Alfie is ready to work. He is 99.9% sound. The farrier is coming back to trim and give him a new shoe on his good foot next weekend. After that, he should be 100% sound.
Riding other horses these last 5 weeks has made me appreciate Alfie even more than I already do. I can’t wait to get my teammate back.❤️🐴
