Where we're at.

Basically still no where really. I have however hopped on him two times. He was still quite foot sore from pulling his shoes but he seemed pleased to work.

Poncho's way of making up for my knee problems.

He decided to mess his up too!

It looks much, much better in the picture. When I got out there Wednesday evening to assess the damage it was about 2x that size and oozing like crazy! Luckily it looked worse than it was. Nothing major was affected. It was just pricey to fix up.

So now I don't need to feel too bad about not riding because Pony's out of commission for  a little while now anyways. Go figure!

WW

Heck of a story to tell in the next day or two

My knee and my riding.

On Wednesday I finally got in at the doctors to see what's going on with my knee. I did get some answers but NOT what I wanted to hear.

So the run down is...
-my hips turn inwards which
-makes my knee cap sit on the outside of my femur bone NOT in the knee groove
-there is nothing you can really do to correct it
-I can try physical therapy plus a knee brace to manage it
-I should/will grow out of it by the time I'm 30 (I turn 20 next week)
Obviously I was hoping for better news because there is absolutely no pain pill that I can take that will relieve the pain in any way shape or form. Plus the more I push it, it will give out and hurt 10x worse than it already does. As it is I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night because it hurts and from the time I wake up it only gets worse as the day goes on.

So how will this affect my riding? I have no clue what I am going to with Poncho at this point. I did a quick ride on him yesterday and it was soooo fun to ride BUT excruciating to do. Of course I can't just wait 10 years to ride again, he's not going to sit around that long. So I'm going to be stressing over this for the next several weeks while I see if there's anything this physical therapist may be able to do for me.

I'm definitely feeling pretty bad about this whole situation. And no one really seems to understand just how much all this upsets me as far as my riding goes. I wanted to go FAR and it looks like that dream died on Wednesday :(

Update soon! I promise!

I will update everyone on everything that has been going on ASAP!

What happens when I can't ride!

So I don't think i've mentioned on here before all my knee problems..so we'll just stick with they've gotten BAD and I haven't been riding too much because of it.

So what do I do when I can't ride and I get bored....

hmmm, where did all this come from?

That's right Poncho's gonna rock the mohawk look again! I think he looks sooo cute when it starts to grow out a little!

Birthday Boy!

The big dude turned 8 yesterday!!!!!! It of course rained all afternoon once I got off work. SO I just went out and gave him some of his cake and hung out in his stall with him for awhile!

Our weekly hacks.

I try to keep a semi-regular schedule, which usually falls apart somehow on me nearly every week. It's supposed to be simple. Monday off. Tuesday and Wednesday on. Thursday off. Friday hack. Saturday and Sunday on (depending on my work schedule).

I love our hack day we're still working our way up in intensity with this humidity that seems to be here to stay! For the moment we are just walking around (up and down hills, through wooded sections of the pasture, around the ring/barn area) on a super loose rein so he can just stretch all the way out. In the next hack or two we'll start adding some trotting bit by bit. Who knows when we'll get to cantering - he tends to loose his mind when cantering in open spaces :).

Anywho I just like having a day to just empty our collective working minds and take a break. Poncho seems to like it too.

Although it doesn't seem to be the "norm" for people at our new barn. Today was the first time someone actually asked me out. It made me chuckle quite a bit (to myself I didn't want to be rude). They had asked if there was something wrong with Poncho since we were just walking. Of course I assured them there was nothing wrong and explained that it was his "hack" day and that I just like to give him a mental breather day. I still got a very perplexed look. Oh well, it works for us that's all that matters.

When I almost lost my ninja skills!

Last week I had several nice flat rides. Nothing spectacular. Nothing horrible. Nothing worth noting.

Yesterday however was all around an amazing ride, and I even almost ate dirt! I'll start off with Poncho had 4 days in a row off. Which means he's ready to rock and roll. He's a horse who doesn't handle the heat well but it makes him mega hyper. We warmed up on a nice loose rein. I couldn't get him to stretch down at the trot even though I was practically riding him on the buckle. We did some figure eights to try and get his head in the game. No dice. So I decided to just let him canter it out. 7 laps in a row! Now this is a really big ring. At least 200 x 350 I'd say. And it wasn't a slow canter, he was booking it.

After he had that out of his system he was in more of a yes ma'am kind of mood. We did some nice trot work then I let him walk for a couple minutes on the buckle before we did any jumping.

I'm proud to say we have officially conquered the flowers. Absolutely no hesitation approaching them today!!!!

the oh so scary flowers!

 After that I was feeling a little gutsy so we decided to tackle this....

The first time approaching it from each direction he refused it (not too surprising from him). The second time we soared over it!!!!! I was on top of the world until mid-air I hear my mom in the distance yell woo-hoo and start clapping. The second Poncho landed he bolted and started bucking the whole way down the arena! I narrowly missed flying in a gate. Somehow I managed to stay on! Of course we had to try the jump again so he realized it wasn't the jump that was scary. Luckily no theatrics the second time around. What a goober.

After that I just cooled him, hosed him off, and let him graze for a minute.

I just love my Poncho man so much!

Hotter than Hell!

And no I don't mean the village in the Cayman Islands.

It has been unbearably hot here these last couple of days. Yesterday I even went out to ride late in the evening and Poncho was completely drenched in sweat just from being turned out for about an hour. So instead I just hosed him off. Which I had to do outside because a SKUNK decided to hide out in the nice cool barn. I mean of course that's what you'd expect to find in a barn. Although Poncho was not to pleased, until he realized that meant he got to graze on the yummmy grass!

We also had a very exciting ride this morning that I'll have to post about later. (I need to snap a couple of reference pictures out at the barn this evening!)

Why my horse always makes me laugh!

If you've read this blog long enough you'd know that Poncho tends to have gigantic spooks at almost nothing from time to time. It's no secret.

Well yesterday after a horrible day at work I wasn't even sure if I felt like riding. But when I got to the barn the field that he doesn't think is going to eat him was open to hack in! So of course I decided that I'd just hop on for a few minutes. We're walking calmly around the field, I'm barely holding on the reins, there's a lovely (slightly strong) breeze blowing...then I hear a crack and whoosh. Holy moly a tree branch just fell from the tippy top of one of the trees in the field.

(I can guarantee you won't guess what happened next!)

He just shuffled a few steps sideways and kept on going.

This from the horse who's determined the flowers are going to eat him alive.

Happy Mouth = happy horse?!

Friday was my day to work at the barn in the afternoon so I went out later (whilst hoping that my new bit would come in before I left - it did not). With all the storms we had on Thursday it was still quite windy when I got out there. The initial plan was to hack Poncho out in the fields but he was little up so we didn't make it too far. So we just did whatever in the ring for a little.

Saturday I was working the morning shift AND I finally got to use the new bit, which came in right after I left the house yesterday. Everyone was starting to file in right as I was getting on...so we w/t/c in the ring for a little and then got to hack out in the fields. He was still figuring out the bit but seemed very pleased with it so far.

Today I didn't get out in time to beat the heat but still had a lovely ride. He really, really likes the happy mouth bit. He was drooling all over the place and going nice and round! I tried tossing my spurs back on to try and refine my aids more, but he wasn't feeling it so I took them off quickly. Tracking right we were pretty spot on with everything. His w/t/c were all really nice and connected. Tracking left we were pretty disconnected so I  never even asked for that canter. I just worked on trying to get him straight and forward. To make everything fun though we popped over a couple of the jumps. A crossrail that he thought was going to kill him the first couple times (but then he jumped it like a champ!). Then a little vertical that is finally starting to make sense to him (he's been having a heck of a time judging it's height here lately, goober).

Losing our groove.

Yesterday and today's rides have left me feeling a little bummed out. Nothing horrible but looking back there are things I would have changed up....

Yesterday he was spooky as all get out! He was even uppity in the cross ties. He does this weird trumpet/snorty thing that freaks everyone out. So that put us off to a fantastic start - WHAT A GOOBER! By the time we were walking to the ring he was looking at everything and shying this way and that way. Super! Then some of the jumps had been moved so that the ring could be drug, which made the ring extra scary. SO I just decided we'd hack out in the field so there was no pressure. Well the dude even spooked at the gate to the field. Ha. We didn't have the most productive ride. We managed to walk and trot around a little bit and then called it a day. We did stop by the window for the office in the barn so he could really investigate his reflection (he was absolutely hilarious to watch!)

Today we put our game face on and were going to get some real quality work and we did until the last 15 minutes of our ride. I was feeling on top of the world until I messed it all up!!!! Tracking right everything was nearly perfect he was relaxing and moving out soooo well. However I worked to the right wayy to long so when we switched to the left things went flop. Plus he still had a little bit of fluid in his ankle but was still super sound so I figured we'd still ride. Maybe it was the fluid, maybe he was tired, maybe he wanted to be a but head. I don't know. But the second we tried to pick up our left lead canter it all fell apart. He just would not pick it up. So I tried wayy too many times to get it. Which frustrated him until he shut down. AND when he shuts down he grabs the bit and hauls ass!!!!!! We flew right out of the ring by the barn twice because I just couldn't get him back under control (luckily we didn't hit anything). Once I got him to just not try and run out of the ring we basically just ended. I of course was still on him just walking around on the buckle. We even went out to the field for a lap. I just feel sooo bad that I pushed things to that point today.

So my tentative plan is for the next 2-4 days (depending on work and weather) he will have off or just a quick hack. Hopefully we can "reboot" and his ankle will be completely back to normal. Fingers crossed!

It's like magic!

I believe we have a winning saddle! Thank goodness, the process is so, so, so unbelievably stressful with an extra wide pony!

Today I was planning on hacking out. However when I got to the barn all the horses were out. I guess since it was SUCH a nice day the barn decided to let them enjoy it - YAY! So I had to scrap that plan. I guess that's why I try to never make specific plans for riding. Back to the point though, the saddle. I never said yesterday but it's a courbette alpina - I found it 43% off at my local tack store in an extra wide (it's a 17 inch I need a 16.5 but I'm not complaining!). What are the chances of that happening!!!!!! Yesterday I manage a quick ride in the saddle but didn't really push anything just trying to acclimate myself.

I definitely upped the ante today! We did lots of trotting and the most cantering we've done in a long time (on both leads). I can sit much better in this saddle I'm not constantly fighting to stay in the saddle. Poncho is moving much looser through his back. He was even stretching down into the contact at the canter - which he normally fights to do. Needless to say I'm super pleased with how our luck turned out after such a horrible demise to my last saddle. I really wanted to try and pop over a couple jumps but no one was there so I decided to be a smart person and not (just incase Poncho decided to kill me ;)! )

I even hopped on Mindite for a little today. We have a lot of work to do! She really doesn't want to accept the contact. Everytime I touch her mouth she flips her head. I guess that's what 10 years of no real work or contact will do to you. We'll get there though!

Getting down to business, maybe.

I've been on a roll so far this week! Monday, Tuesday, and today pony has worked his butt off!

Monday was a simple just get out and loosen up kind of ride. After three days in a row off I just wanted to get him forward and free moving. SUCCESS. Also we had tried not soaking his hay for a few days to see how he'd been. Not too good. He was coughing quite a bit. We're back to soaking it.

Tuesday we ramped things up a little bit.  I wanted him to canter more, he's still in the mindset that we only canter a lap or two and then we're done. Not so much though. He was a bit perturbed at first but got over it and really got into the cantering. His trot work got iffy. For a few laps we'd be great then fall apart for a few then get it back. Oh well something to work on.

Today I was planning on jumping for the first time in nearly a year!!!!! However when I got to the barn there were 3 tractors out and about. Then there was the saw and nail gun. ALL surrounding the entire ring. Needless to say I didn't really have his full attention. We managed to have a successful w/t/c ride though. I was really, really proud of him. I remember a time when he would have tossed me and left me in the dust with all that going on. Not anymore though! His trot was much improved today. We mainly worked on getting long and low during it to hopefully get him a little more relaxed. His canter was a little back and forth due to him getting looky. Very forward and the suck back then push forward then suck back. But we finally got it.

I'm soo proud of my baby. I swear even after 7 1/2 years I'm more in love with him now than ever before. No honeymoon phase over with us. Everyday when I get to the barn I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him. He's just absolutely amazing to me!

Quite exuberant and a steady eddy all in one?

What an oxymoron Poncho can be sometimes! On Tuesday I actually managed to get a real ride in, in the ring...WHAT?! He was great for his walk work very round and forward. The trot had some sticky moments. However with our sporadic "rides" I can't complain. Since he was being a super star in terms of attitude I said what the hey lets canter some. He immediately picked a super forward and round canter...for about 3 strides. And then the rodeo was on! I was so unprepared I lost both stirrups and was flopping around helplessly for what seemed like forever. I somehow managed to stay on, solidifying the fact that I AM A NINJA! We still obviously had to work out those canter kinks. It took several different attempts to have a canter without a bronc sessions, but since I was ready for it no big deal.

Wednesday was farrier day. He was a jerk face, not horrible but definitely wasn't trying to be polite. I was planning on riding in the ring again BUT the BO turned the other 2 horses out there and left. So no ring. Midnite went into a raging heat so I wasn't to thrilled with the thought of hacking in the field with her. Needless to say Poncho got a day off. Same with Thursday it was just to hot and humid by the time I got out there.

Today I just hacked around the field for awhile. He just baffles me. With how coo-coo he was on Tuesday today it rained this a.m. briefly, got increasingly gusty (20-30 mph), and lots of commotion at the barn across the street. Yet through all that he was perfectly calm! What a perfect little wierdo!

being a meany for the farrier is exhausting!

Well, we lost a week.

Yup the rain came back. We were under a few inches of water. THEN Friday rolled around...

I finally got to ride. It wasn't the most productive. We switched back to our loose ring so it was still a bit of an adjustment (for me more so than him.). I had to come to terms with loosing a tad bit of control (Poncho had fun with it, though). Really it wasn't that bad he just had a little sass.

Saturday was pretty much a repeat of Friday expect he was extra hyper. Yard work was being done that was most intriguing.

Today we have snow. I wish I had know when I was heading out to the barn that it wasn't doing much there or else I would have squeezed in a quick ride today. Maybe there will be enough snow tomorrow that I can ride. I hate when you have some but not enough to have decent footing.

The day that just won't happen! TWICE

On Wednesday (2/27) the vet was supposed to come out to do Poncho's teeth and finish up him and Midnites shots.

Being a relatively good pony, waiting in the stall.

Well we get a call at 12:30ish that there was an emergency call that just came in, she'd keep us posted. So that emergency got resolved with-in an hour. Then we get a call about another emergency which would mean that our appointment needed to be changed. Fine I suppose. We settle on the next day at about 2:00.

Poncho and Midnite standing around confused as to why they had to just stand in a stall for a half hour.

 So to accommodate for the new Thursday appointment time I need to get off of work early (only by an hour though). I get off work and everything seems to be going according to plan. Thank goodness. However I spoke too soon. Right as I was leaving work and heading to the barn I got a text saying that right as she left to come to me that there was yet another emergency!!!!!!

"I just don't know what's happening anymore!!!!"

As of now were are planning for sometime Monday afternoon (after work they might not be too happy about me leaving early again!) Third time's a charm right?

Hackamore, was it a raging success?

Ultimately riding in the hackamore was quite different from when we used it last year. And last year we used it for several months straight. I guess since he's been accepting the bit so fabulously here lately he was a tad confused. Not bad by any means though.

Friday we rode in the ring just walk and trot to get him used to it again. He was a bit resistant and kept diving behind the vertical (while I had no contact).

Yesterday I just hacked around the field basically on the buckle to help get him to loosen and stretch out some. That seemed to help some. Tomorrow hopefully he will be even better.

In the clear and plucking along!

Poncho seems to be officially over his virus HOO-RAY! He's been off his medicine since Monday and no fever, only minimal cough (only when we first starting "working" in the ring and kick up dust).

On Monday I hacked him around the ring in his hackamore just to get him out and about. He was a super star of course. He was quite pleased to be finally going back to work. Tuesday I gave him off because it would be his only day off for the week. Go me for working this week!

Wednesday he was freaking super duper star in the ring. He was so forward and soft! He got his canter perfectly on the left lead - I was beyond ecstatic!!!!!!! His trot was to die for and he would stretch all the way to the ground and lift his back. SWOON!

Thursday my knee was k-i-l-l-i-n-g me so I just hacked Poncho up and down the driveway for about 20 minutes. Nothing spectacular by any means.

Yesterday it was so rainy and yucky. I got to the barn and Poncho had rolled in a puddle with his sheet on and gotten thoroughly soaked through. So I spent forever trying to dry him off enough to turn him back out. That lasted about an hour. I wasn't planning on riding but I came out of the tack room after getting my drink and guess what...Poncho was standing in the crossties like "hellooooo let's get to work now!". So of course I couldn't say no to that face! Off we went. Just walk and trot since it was so wet and goopy. He was also quite spooky but that wasn't a huge deal. He was however so nice and forward!

Today I failed epically! I pushed him too much. I knew once I got on I should have just hacked him out today. But I prevailed. He was good for his trot work and canter work on his right lead. However when I tried for the left lead we completely fell to pieces! It was horrible I could not get it today to save my life. We tried and tried and finally got a glimmer so I called it quits immediately. I have several theories that led to our demise (it could just be wishful thinking though). 1. his feet. He's currently barefoot and wearing his feet unevenly all of the sudden so maybe it's making it difficult to canter on the left lead. 2. I mentally made him do to much in the ring so he fell back to this bad habit. 3. my thinline pad. I haven't been riding with it lately and just started again, possibly it's too much padding? Who knows. We'll see.

We're going to hack for the next two days and then re-evaluate where we are. Fingers crossed!!