Prepping the site for injection
OMG! It made such a huge difference in his movement on his right hind leg. It also had the added benefit of allowing him to straighten how he carried that leg when moving. He is now able to step directly forward into his stride, without the twist in his hock. It had an amazing effect on his straightness as well.
The second thing I changed at the beginning of last year was in changing chiropractors. I started using Dr K after observing her in a session with another horse. She seemed very competent and had great hands. Plus, she worked more through the chiro part of the exam, actually manipulating joints and hitting trigger points, rather than relying on acupuncture points to tell her what was going on.
Needles at the end to help his SI
For the first time, I was able to feel a huge difference in how he moved. Yes, part of that was the injections, but the other part was getting his right hip moving correctly. It had been locked up since he had twisted it in his run at SQA in 2015. Dr K actually got it moving in the socket, so he no longer had to try and move the hip from his SI area. I’m positive it helped him unlock his travel path. We’ve continued to use her throughout the year and I have continued to feel improvement.
With the hock injections, the chiro work and the weekly lessons with Amanda, I began to think about riding at one of the WE shows we were hosting this year. We once again decided to ride in the show at Expo. His dressage test was solid and we scored a 57%. It was our first time riding at that level and it felt like we had finally arrived. Amanda had believed that we would do better at a level where he was more upright and not expected to have a long, low frame, just because he was such an upright horse. We scratched the rest of the show, because Ashke had stood against the wall of his stall and banged his front left leg all night long. Amanda evaluated him and agreed that he was too unsound to continue.
I had an epiphany at that moment, however. I went into his stall and told him that he no longer needed to hurt himself to give me an excuse to withdraw from the show. I told him that yes, I would be nervous, maybe enough to vomit, but that didn’t matter because I wanted to show anyway. I pointed out that he is a show horse and that if he would remain sound, I would step up to the plate and be brave enough to show. He has not been lame since that conversation.
Spring saw Tristan turn eighteen and finally find his passion. He decided to go to college rather than take a year off, in areospace engineering technology, and we scrambled to get his application in, his orientation done and all of the other things he needs to be a successful college student. He is attending at a commuter campus, so still living at home and working at the Subway he has been at for the past year.
I did my first full show at Plane View Farm in May (schooling show) and Ashke did well. I finally felt like we were at a level we could be successful at and although my anxiety was godawful, my horse was amazing. The following weekend, we packed up Ashke and J’s bike and hauled east and north to Fort Robinson for our overnight camping trip.
Loved the area. Hated Fort Robinson.
Red Cloud hates me.
I hated that Ashke was ten minutes away from our camper and that there was no easy way to check on him in the middle of the night. I hated the heat and the lack of really good maps. We almost lost J to heat stroke, although Ashke was awesome in standing tied to a tree without acting up as I helped J get her bike back to the main trail by pushing it up the very steep trail we found. We did not have enough water, enough Gatorade or enough snacks to keep us going, and zero water for Ashke. We left the next morning. One day was more than enough. I do want to note that J plucked 22+ ticks off of Ashke’s legs when we got back to the trailer.
May also brought barn drama and the decision to move from Morelli’s to a barn further north. When I first moved into Morelli I couldn’t imagine a reason to move, but there were issues with the feed program being changed, the ongoing issues with our shavings and then they ejected Amanda from the barn. That was the final straw and I gave notice five minutes after I heard from Amanda that they had kicked her out. They lost 18 horses in June. Eleven horses and nine people moved together to Owen QH. The new place is awesome. The indoor is huge, the outdoor is huge and there is trail access if I ever find the desire to trail ride again.
One of the biggest benefits has been the quality of hay. Ashke is on a alfalfa grass mix, which is probably about 80% alfalfa. That is supplemented with Safe Choice grain and I added Purina’s Equine Senior for the winter (1# per.day) because it has the amplify nugget in it, which is a high fat additive. I added it because Ashke was looking just a.little peaked and the fat couldn’t hurt. He is off all of his smartpak supplements, since the hock injections have been so effective.
He looks very fine, if I say so myself
The other thing being at this barn has done is cleared up his WLD. In retrospect, he has been stalled on stall mats since I brought him home. Owen does not use stall mats. The ground is leveled and covered with about six inches of shavings. There is never any moisture in his stall. The barn guy cleans it twice a day, but more importantly, the urine soaks into the ground and disappears. Our last trim of the year showed that the WLD was completely gone. I am so relieved and happy about that.
June saw our first show at the L4 level, which resulted in qualifying scores for the National Championship. It was a relief to finally show well enough that the combined scores were over sixty. The ironic part was the fact that I had accepted the position of TD for the National Show, so showing was not on my plate for 2018. I was beginning to find technique to help me with the anxiety I struggle with at shows and Ashke felt focused and soft with me. It helped that there were no shows with high winds and the judges were nice. Each success built on the one before it.
In July, Tristan got his first tattoo - a half sleeve on his right arm. It was a design he picked out and had the tattoo artist draw for him. It took three sessions to complete and he seemed really happy with it when he was done. I was very impressed with his attitude and ability to breathe through the needles.
Between the first and second session, Tristan saw a tattoo with the pixelated dots between two solid bands.
He incorporated the concept and it worked really well.
The front of his arm. He gets so many comments on the sleeve and a lot of requests for the tattoo artist’s contact information.
His plan and request for his birthday is to complete the top half of the sleeve. He has a great idea and I have sent his image to Saiph for her to design a Wolf Head for the centerpiece of his upper arm.
I had another pair of shows in July and my very first true DQ at EOH, when I cut the indoor pattern short by the gate obstacle and realized my mistake after crossing the start/finish line.
We looked good, though.
Ashke once again stepped up to the plate and was an excellent partner.
August included a wonderful vacation with Tristan and J. We hit the beach, Bryce Canyon, Disneyland and Universal. I had a blast on the trip and my favorite moment was watching Tristan go into the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
Ocean boy sporting blond hair. Such a southern Cali cliche.
Sun sick and Sun tired waiting for dinner.
HCWE added a show in August and it was pretty evident in the show that injecting just the right hock wasn’t going to cut it any more. Ashke was sore in the left,. We added the left hock in both the upper and the lower, which resolved the issues we were dealing with at the August show. We capped off the show season with the Fall Harvest show in McCook, NE. The dressage test was solid but Ashke was a mess in the EOH (although it didn’t look as bad as it felt). It did tell me that we need to work on working through our reaction to whatever new thing Ashke is exposed to. We need to understand obedience is a necessary thing for him to give me. Perhaps I need to talk to him about that. My scores were solid enough to get me qualified for Nationals in 2019, but once again, I will not be riding. I accepted the position of Show Manager for the National Championship which will be held in McCook.
After the National Championship at Haras in Texas in October, where I was the TD for the show, I came home with a decision made in my mind about my tack and attire. There is no way I was going to look good in traditional show attire with my Alta (I was still thinking I was going to show in Nationals) so I started looking for a new saddle. The end ofOctober found me with a new saddle, a Pixem robotic camera and a horse learning to do flying changes. The clinic I did in December helped us improve our changes with a simple change in my body.
All in all, we had a great year filled with some achievements I did not think we would ever attain. My horse has stayed sound (knock on wood) and seemed to enjoy the things we’ve done this year. Each ride moves us a little closer to something that needs polishing rather than teaching. I think we are making good progress despite my needing to learn changes while trying to teach Ashke changes. Once again, my saint of a horse is cutting me some slack and stepping up to meet me half way.
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It was a busy year! Here's to 2019!
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