Flying By

HOW is it almost the end of March?? A full month after the Majestic schooling show, Butterball and I finally made it back over some fences a week ago. It felt so good to be out jumping jompies with my pony in the sunshine. 

Wheeeeee!! 

We started with a little bit of flat work. JT emphasized that slow and soft doesn't mean behind the leg. His hind end should feel "spritely and supporting". This also helped me pinpoint why it takes 10-15 minutes of soft trot-walk-trot transitions at home before I feel like I can ask for the canter and get a soft and balanced canter... I'm letting the transitions do the work of getting his back up and getting him in front of the leg. In a way, we definitely needed a few weeks of that, but now that I've gotten better about not nagging and making him stiff and sour, it's time to be a bit more exacting. Leg on means softly lift your back up and power off the hind end. 

Once we moved on from that, we tackled a problem I've had... Forever... I like to float my hands above the neck instead of pushing them into the neck. 

2005- This horse was an absolute saint and put up with so much from me, always with a smile on his face

2006- Good boy Zing, at least my leg has improved since then

I told JT I felt like I didn't have enough time to get to the mane. She explained that grabbing mane can be just pinching a bit between the thumb and index finger on each side of the neck, it doesn't have to be big handfuls. OOOOHhh. That helped a lot. We practiced over the crossrail at first and it felt pretty good. I asked if I was jumping ahead and she said a tiny bit, but one thing at a time. 

We had another lesson yesterday but don't have media, so I'll keep tossing pics from the first lesson. Butterball had gotten his feet done Monday. His farrier hoof tested him and he was negative all around behind, so we didn't do hind pads. I did feel a bit of trepidation picking up the trot yesterday though, but he felt great. He's been off the Equioxx since Friday, so it truly is that everything is feeling great, yay!

We started the lesson with a bouncy, spritely trot with his back lifted. Then we worked on a few canter transitions and having him just lift and step into the canter. This led to starting with one of our best first fences in a long time. He just felt like he was right there and taking me to the jump in a lovely rhythm. JT brought a new idea in to the flat work - "thank you for this energy, let's channel it to bounce up and power from behind". That kept my mental state... softer(?) and helped really get us on the same page working as a team. 

Then we put together a few courses. The first time down a bending line, I didn't commit to our distance and he added a sticky chip stride in and clobbered the rails. The next fence he didn't clobber, but he added the same sticky chip. We tried again, and I committed to the right distance at the same fence he'd knocked, poked him with the spurs a stride out, and he politely left the ground. The next fence in the line I again had to tell him to GO GET IT, but then everything that followed just flowed easily and nicely. I was supporting him between fences, but not having to push him at the base of the fence and off the ground every time. 

We did quite a few related distances, a 5 to a 2 to 1 and a 3 to a 4. Both just flowed beautifully and the distances came up no problem at all. It feels like after the bit of fuckery that followed Three Lakes, we're back on the same page and making progress together. Having the fences small for a couple of lessons is giving me time to sort out the release as well, a hole that has been bugging me for quite some time. 

Video is from a week ago, the first course was before we discussed HOW to release, the single crossrail and last short course was after I discovered you didn't need to rapunzel the mane over every fence and that a small pinch is enough. 

Final note that makes me giggle... we haul down to my friend's house to meet the farrier there and we were standing chatting while he worked. She stared at my pony's goat hairs and asked if I wanted to borrow her clippers. I shrugged. Then she asked if I cared if she clipped his goat hairs. I laughed and told her JT would be so pleased. I keep my horses clean and well cared for, but will fully admit I am LAZY when it comes to extras like goat hairs, perfect clip jobs, etc. 

So fresh, so smooth, JT was in fact delighted

I didn't get a focused shot of the goat hairs in all their full glory, but you get the idea here. Also, this is the day he tromped into the tack room right after me. I backed him out before he discovered the grain cans, although I'm sure he knows they are there. 

Not Rocking the Danged Boat (And a Spring Check-in)

After my misadventures in removing Butterball's hind shoes, I decided to NOT rock the boat on anything else. He has been on a sweating supplement, OneAC, every summer his owner has had him. And he's always been a decent sweater. I asked my friend who shot his foot rads if she used anhidrosis supplements prophylactically and if she had a favorite one. She said she liked Platinum Refresh the best, but that she didn't use them if there hadn't been a problem. "Okay, I'll order that one!" "Wait, I meant since he hasn't had a problem I wouldn't use one." "Yeah, I know..." 

At less than $300 for the whole hot season worth of Platinum Refresh, that was a price I was willing to pay to not find out that he had a problem if he didn't get a supplement. Of course the week I ordered it and started the supplement, our overnight temps dropped into the 40s again, but it was still getting to the 70s during the day. I've always heard that it is best to start the supplements early in the season before it gets hot enough that they have high demands on their cooling system, so that's what we're doing. 

Given a slight lack of other content currently (This is what we're working on, over and over and over again since I'm a slow learner) I figured it was time to do an update on his day to day maintenance and routine. See our October version here. 

When I did his PPE back in late August, my vet pointed out the fat around his sheath and a few other spots. And I set to work slimming down the pony. Then this winter we hit a point where he'd gotten a bit too slim. His initial ration was 1 quart of Seminole Equalizer twice a day along with 1 flake of orchard in his very small hole hay net and as much tifton as could be stuffed into the net. I think where we ran into trouble was that the grass died and even though they were getting tifton tossed in the fields, it wasn't the same as excellent pasture all day long. 

Scrolled back through pics to the start of November when he got his pre-show bath for Rocking Horse. The grass was lovely here, but the pics after this it has turned to brown winter grass. 

Our first step was adding in more orchard - he got bumped up to two flakes a day along with the tifton base. I also started giving him a flake of alfalfa for the trailer rides he took at least once a week. He was delighted by that development. 

But it still wasn't quite enough, so when Ben left, somewhat abruptly, we added in Ben's Wellness Herbal Blend. Butterball is now getting his quart of Equalizer along with 1.5 quarts of the Wellness Herbal Blend twice a day. And this seems to be packing the pounds back on. As I write this though, I realize I will have to be cognizant of not packing on toooo many as the spring grass comes back. 

March 2025 Regimen: 

- 1 Quart Seminole Equalizer

- 1.5 Quarts Seminole Wellness Herbal Blend

- 1 pump of Relyne GI twice daily

- MadBarn Biotin 1.5 scoops once daily - leftover from Ben, I don't plan on keeping him on this forever

- 1 scoop Platinum Refresh twice daily

- 2 flakes orchard + as much tifton as he can eat during the day 

- Pasture at night (occasionally tifton tossed out in the field, but not as consistently now as in the winter), solo in his pasture since Ben left. This makes me sad for him, but circumstances right now mean he can't go back out with the babies. 

Otherwise he's getting an Adequan series twice a year, September and March. Those months also happen to be when he is due for his vaccines (EWT + WNV, Flu/Rhino, Rabies once a year). Poor pony, that's a lot of needles in one month. And as noted previously, he's in four shoes with pads up front right now and got Pro Stride in his hocks (TMTs only) and stifles on March 3rd. 

WW: Crimes!

Not only did he lose it, he flung it into his neighbor's field. Found it when I finally got on him after an hour of walking on foot. But this did lead to the convenient realization that Ben's scoot boots work for him! Farrier was out the same day though, bless him. 

Outfitting the Pony Part 2

As an only child now, Butterball benefited from not splitting his owner's money two or three ways and now has two saddles fit to him as well as a few more pieces of gear. (see part one if you're interested in reliving the initial updates after buying a much smaller creature)

We met with Kate Ballard, a British Master Saddler for the first time in January. She came recommended by Jen. And the reason Jen was recommending a fitter was because I bought her Patrick dressage saddle. It was a neat connection through the blogging world, and it seemed very fitting (lol, pun intended) for it to go from her Welsh cob to my half Welsh hony. 

The Patrick seemed mostly good for Butterball in that he was moving well, but I was feeling thrown forward at the canter and having trouble keeping my leg underneath of myself. I did feel very close to his back though, which I loved.

Side not, I loooooove him in brown tack and the details are just gorgeous without being excessive...

When Kate saw the saddle on him and then saw me ride in it,  she pinpointed two reasons for that tossed forward feeling pretty immediately: it was too wide and the blocks were smaller than I would like. She put in larger blocks during our fitting session and I immediately felt more upright and secure. That one felt like a duh I should have been able to troubleshoot myself, but y'know, that's why we pay the experts. Unfortunately the width issue was not one that could be fixed with just flocking. Butterball had been described by a prior fitter with his prior owner as "wide and don't let anyone put him a narrow saddle." This didn't exactly jive with the feeling I got on him though... he doesn't feel wide, which is honestly one reason I liked riding him. He feels very similar to Ben in a shorter package, and we all know Ben is very narrow and therefore tricky to fit. And then Kate took the time to show me exactly how the Patrick was too wide and why we couldn't just fix it with flocking. I put my trust into both her and Jen's recommendation and went ahead and had her take tracings to change out the tree to one made custom for him. 

Then we tackled the jump saddle. Goggle's Custom Monte Carlo made him happier than anything Forestier had done (after two tries), so that is what I had been riding him in. But that was also too wide, which explained why he was happiest with a mattes pad with front shims. And the panels were too long, which she said I was getting away with because I'm not very heavy. So we trialed one of her Westhill&Son brand jump saddles. And I actually liked it. I wasn't expecting to, TBH, I thought it would be like the Tobias saddle I had tried where I lost the close contact feel as they made the tree points longer and more comfortable for the high withered horse. Kate took videos and we sent them to JT who said my leg didn't look as secure on the flat but she thought we looked good over fences. I didn't mind that, and it is general feedback of where I need to work on my position. 

Blurry video screen shot, but you get the idea

JT and I have been doing this long enough together that I knew she was going to want a more forward flap as well. 

Straight out of the box essentially

Where the more forward flap would land

In another leap of faith, I decided to go ahead and order a jump saddle, custom made to the same tracings. I briefly asked about some of the pretty details that were on the dressage saddle, but I couldn't justify the jump in price for those details, so plain brown it was. I do wish the serge panels were offered at the lower price point because I really liked those on my Black Country and love that the dressage saddle has them, but c'est la vie. 

The saddles came in to Kate in late February, so we scheduled for a week ago Sunday to meet with her again and see if they needed any flocking adjustments. Unfortunately that was the same day BB pulled up lame, so we just did a tiny bit of walking and trotting, but both saddles fit great. She will be back in June to adjust flocking since the first few months it will compress a good bit. 

It looks so good! Also featured are the irons I bought when I finally caved to upgrading my old school irons

And the dressage saddle! With new leathers and my etsy stirrup covers that have cats on them and make me smile every time I see them

Because BB feels excellent on Equioxx and with magic cushion in his hind feet, I've gotten to do a couple of rides this week and trialed both saddles. They both feel GREAT. The dressage saddle gives me a feeling that I am sooooo in touch with his back, and I love it. After a ride we always do back lifts, and there was very little to lift after getting done with either one of these saddles. Butterball is not a complainer in terms of developing soreness post-ride or refusing to lift his back during a ride, but that change alone made me sure that these saddles were the right move. 

In other little updates...

A new bonnet, gifted from a friend with Irish horses with very large ears

And he got Ben's hand me down browband, it's just an amazon Exion, but I always liked it on Ben and like it on BB too

He also got some white Majyk Equipe XC boots

Photo by Victoria DeMore

Now I'm pondering what his show colors are going to be... I don't think I'll be changing the hunter green AA motion lite coat that I bought for showing Ben. 

Ben looked stunning in the dark green 

And hunter green can go well with a buckskin hony. So maybe it will just be hunter green and the brown tack. But the purple rhinestone accents on the dressage saddle have me contemplating adding in little touches of purple... who knows... definitely an important question though! Any input from those of you who have been kind enough to read along this far? Do you have favorite colors for your own horse(s)? 

Check Engine Light

The truck decided to pop the check engine light on while I was hauling Butterball back from JT's a few weeks ago. In spite of being a thirty-something ::cough cough:: adult, I panic called my brother who confirmed that I could in fact keep driving since the temp gauge and oil pressure gauges were fine. The truck ended up probably being a computer update that needed to happen. It has since turned it back on just long enough to prompt a phone call to the mechanic, who I managed to call on his personal cell, not the office number. I blame him for having called me from that before. But anyways, that awkward phone conversation aside (sheesh do I HATE talking to people on the phone). The light turned back off for a few days. And then popped back on again. But always seems to vanish when I head to the mechanic. So he hasn't looked at it yet because they can't check a light that isn't there. 

Anyways... Butterball flashed his own check engine light at Majestic. Hind shoes had already been reapplied, he got Magic Cushion, equioxx, and a week off. Then JT got on to work some on our pesky canter transitions. Except even at the walk he was pretty sure that he could not flex his left hind leg to step under himself. He wasn't off, but he wasn't happy about flexing that leg. And that was at the walk, making it highly unlikely it was just feet. So he got signed up for some hock and stifle ProStride with our favorite lameness vet. She initially asked if we could do biologics because he's a pony. But I reminded her that I'd pulled insulin levels and he had been fine. So then she said she'd still do biologics because he is young. Excellent, lets do it. It also made me feel better about doing multiple joints in the eight year old horse. It also made me sigh to myself about having pulled his hind shoes. Hindsight... 

I also FINALLY got his teeth done. JT's other comment was that he was pretty resistant when she initially picked up contact. I had definitely noticed that too. Through more fiddle fucking around, this time the fault of me and a car dealership, distinct from the aforementioned mechanic, I had missed my scheduled appointment in January. The dentist I use is a veterinary dentist and in SUPER high demand, so I had to wait until Saturday for her to squeeze him in. We actually trailered up to her beautiful and peaceful farm. It was a lovely day to hang outside in the shade in her perfectly set up area. 

I knew his wolf teeth and incisors were sharp and suspected the rest of his mouth might need some work as well. This suspicion was correct and he had an area that was probably catching and locking a bit when asked to flex left. The goal is to do him again in six months. She also smoothed and took back his wolf teeth to make them wider. She has seen horses who chew on plastic buckets, which is one of his fave moves after taking a nice long drink at shows, get their teeth embedded in the bucket. Obvious chaos then ensues.

He gave us a bit of a scare the night after the dentist and didn't finish his dinner. When he was turned out he stood sadly in a corner and didn't go straight to grazing. Heart rate was a tiny bit up so he got banamine and then a couple of overnight hand grazing sessions. He was most delighted by this, seemed fine at every session, and I think believes we should do barnyard grazing sessions every night. 

Two days later he got Pro Stride in his hocks and stifles. Since it creates enough product if you dilute it with some of the platelet poor plasma to do two sets of joints, we did the TMTs and his stifles. He was SO ZONKED on his drugs. 

Holding his head so he didn't faceplant 

But then woke up juuuuust enough to need his sedation topped off. Even with me holding the front leg up, he was tidily moving away and gently trying to kick the needle out. There's not a mean bone in his body so he wasn't trying to kick the vet, just trying to remove the needle. So dorm top off and one twitch later, he stood like a statue. The hocks were pretty dry so probably the culprit. The stifles were unlikely to be the problem because the joint capsule was basically sucked in there was so little effusion in them. Since he got extra sedation I took advantage to really go at his mane and take it back to show ready levels. Then we headed home. He had the week off since I went out of town, but when I got back I headed down to JT's for a jump lesson before Carolina. Aaaaand when I picked up the trot my pony had a flat tire. The only thing I could find was a weird, intermittent click in his stifle when he fully loaded the joint. 

I hopped on social media to sell my entry and in the process gave his vet a heart attack. This led to some Sunday texts to verify it wasn't a septic joint. She came out Monday morning and checked him. And my poor decisions in December and January were still the problem... he was quite sensitive to hoof testers on the toe of his right hind, over one lateral nail that is near a bruise visible over the hoof wall, and over his medial heel. He was improved soundness wise compared to Sunday. But it was still there on a circle on the rocky driveway. She thought the stifle clicking was due to him abducting the leg to avoid landing on the sensitive parts of the foot. 

Circle kittens

I ran ideas around in my head for 24 hours and put him back on equioxx and started packing with magic cushion again. In the end, I decided the long game was more important than this upcoming weekend and found someone who wanted my entry and stabling for 50% of what I paid for it. In the grand scheme of silly horse math, I wasn't too upset by that outcome. 

Hopefully this is the final flash of the check engine light for my poor pony. He sees his farrier next on the 24th, so I may have him put him in hind pads as well while he grows a bit more foot and heel. 

California Dude

Ben returned to California over the weekend. He's Texas bred, but came off the track to his prior owner in California as a three year old. He lived there until he moved to the east coast for a lease when he was ten. Two years later, he headed down to FL with me and the rest is history, documented here on the blog.

His previous owner messaged me in early January. He hasn't featured on my social media much since I don't #keepitreal there; there hasn't been a lot to document with a horse who was living his best pasture potato life. We chatted some, and I sent her videos of him frolicking in the pasture with his friends. She said, as she had when I bought him, that she was always happy to give him a cushy retirement home. We also chatted some about his feet and his struggles for the past year plus. I rolled our conversation around in my head for a few weeks. 

Then while reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, a book about simplifying ones life to the essential parts and focusing all your energies on those, I made a decision. While I ADORE Ben and want him to have a fantastic home with top notch care, I am not the only one who could provide that care. But if I got him sound and sold him, I was rolling the dice on that home. I'm not big-headed enough to think I'm the only one who would stick by him through various hoof challenges, but I'm also not stupid enough to think that every person would. He's also 15 and has some neck soreness, potentially from his long-standing foot soreness. And while he is an incredible athlete and DELIGHTFUL to ride, he has his quirks that make him not the horse for everyone - but then again what horse is. I was more than willing to provide him that retirement home for years to come, but his old owner was also more than willing. Both of us independently had thought that perhaps the dry California climate would make his sensitive feet happy. With those thoughts in mind, we started to make plans.

It was weird. As soon as the decision was made, I felt at peace with it. I had a few moments watching him frolick in the pasture thinking how good he looked and feeling like maybe we could get it together to be back out there. But I have discovered that I do best with a single horse in work. While Ben and I definitely had our share of VERY COOL adventures together, Butterball is more my kind of horse - I LOVE trail riding and Ben DOES NOT!!! love trail riding. With exclamation points and everything. He did it because he is a certified GOOD BOY, but it was never his cup of tea. Butterball also seems totally content to travel solo and nom down on his alfalfa on the trailer while Ben always had a very well contained level of anxiety when he was going places solo. 

And there was not a doubt in my mind of the kind of home he was going home to. There is something beautiful about that. He is THE NICEST person ever and to have more than one option for cushy retirement home is a testament to that. 

Ben took me around my first training level course. Through our journey together I learned what it SHOULD feel like galloping around cross country although it took us time to find that together. He helped me rediscover what true connection feels like. Our dressage tests at the TB Expo stand out in my mind as just being so in sync and steady together. I thought something and he would do it off that thought. He also taught me that it's fine to miss your distance, even at a meter, as long as you don't scream about it. Sit up and close your leg and commit! We had SO MANY adventures together. He is a generous, kind, goofy, big hearted horse who taught me so much. I am definitely going to miss him, but I am SO happy he will be in another place where he is deeply loved and appreciated. 

Our first recognized together

Fancy prancing his way to a 26

Look at that shine

I think the first training level fence I'd ever jumped, and potentially the start of our love affair with wedges

Getting all the attention and needles at Chi

His second training level with JT in the irons

Seriously model level gorgeous

Stadium practice

Our first training level together at Rocking Horse

Wheeee

With the herd at GY's, featuring his BF front and center

Always putting up with all my shenanigans

The cutest reindeer

Reindeer splish splashing

Always down for a nice cuddle

Sporting his fetching winter clip at the GY's

Begging for cookies

More wedges!

GOT IT!

Sailing our way around Rocking Horse. He looked SO GOOD braided

Post-braids! 

Splish Splash 

More wedges

Testing out studs at Majestic

Love the studs

Next go, conquering our nemesis

Clever feets

Warwick's retreat and advance

The least thoroughbredy thoroughbred - grazing while AT did gallop sets around him 

Aquatredding

Handsome boy

Our novice trip at Stable view - stadium was SO MUCH atmosphere but he did it for me

And then we had a BLAST XC 

Ponying from his BF - certainly not about to nibble...

Back at Rocking Horse popping around stadium, one of the best pictures I have, ever

Weeeee! 

Brushing the brush 

Saying hello to his "little" brother 

Pretty TB expo winnings - since I started roaching his mane after he stopped doing things in spring 2024, it is so funny to see these pictures with a tidy pulled mane 

Quiet nights at the GY's braiding with Christmas lights 

Saying goodbye

Back home in California ❤️