Jonty EVANS!!!

 Okay. I have been remiss (as unapologetically always! LoL). 

I just had a lesson with an OLYMPIC EVENT RIDER and did not have any pictures, videos, or proof. Oh, what the heck, Abbi??? What is WRONG with you?? That's what I'd be asking if I was my friend, anyway. But here's the thing. I have a WITNESS!! Chelsea had to witness because she camera'd the entire thing. Because it was a virtual lesson, right?? 

That's right. This whole COVID thing has shut down barns, events, shows, everything! It won't even let instructors come to your BRAND NEW RING to teach lessons from 50' away. Slightly BS, if you ask me, but.. no one did. So, I bought a set of Bluetooth earphones, and Chelsea stood in the middle of the ring and video'd, and we Facetime'd a lesson. It actually worked pretty well even if there was a tiny delay (what do you expect doing live video from the UK!?). Chelsea took a lesson after me, and hers also went really well. It's always to great to see a beautiful rider work on something and make definite improvements in a session!

Andi worked on this teardrop exercise- do a couple circles at the canter, then continue down the longside, shorten around the short side, then canter half-pass across the ring back to counter canter at the point you started the exercise. There's a lot going on in this exercise, and we had a tough time counter cantering, with some very definite reaction to the right, which makes sense considering he's weaker on that side. 

I also got to discuss with Jonty (it's so weird to call someone you respect by their first name!! He yelled at me for calling him Mr. Evans, though! lmao), the difference in European vs American riding styles- and that we tend to lean much more forward during trot and canter than European riders do- and that it may actually be more correct biomechanics! Take that, DQs!

Spring Riding and Rehab

Andi is still at Chelsea's, where we are getting back into work. I will say, I am the worst kind of fair weather rider. If I have to bundle up, I probably ain't riding. So.. we had about 4 rides last week, and Chelsea was lovely enough to give me some pointers from the ground on our flatwork. It's amazing what a dedicated dressage rider can help a not-so-dedicated-to-dressage eventer with, especially with a pony who... has buttons. I am constantly amazed at how easy it is to ride Andi- let me say it again, he is an EASY ride. Not... simple, or push-button, but... willing. And that makes a huge difference in how hard it is to get what you want.

ANNNNDDDDD... I am excited to say, we have a lesson with Jonty Evans next week! A virtual lesson, but.. what the hell, right? No one else is teaching! Besides Chelsea, obvi. We were supposed to have our first yesterday, but the other boarder's horse colicked, so we spent most of the day on colic watch, taking turns hand-walking the pretty beast. Hey. When it was my horse, my friends showed up- pay it forward, peeps. Come Hell, cold, or Jonty lessons. And.. He was a dear. I explained it to him and he completely understood- as I'm pretty sure any horse person would.

So, on the other front, Sher had been very off for a while- since the fence incident, really. It looked like her right hock was acting up, but... then some other stuff.. and finally I called the vet. OSE came out, poked and prodded her on a cold wet windy day. She was very backsore and off in back, so we did a bunch of XR, injected her stifle, etc. And came out with a plan- inject the hocks and stifles, and ISLD- or.. InterSpinous Ligament Desmotomy. Still have no idea? Kissing spine surgery. Gah. So, Miss Sher, who, let's just make this real clear, has NEVER been backsore with a proper fitted saddle, has some fairly serious lytic lesions in her spine- where the spinous processes have actually eroded. The XR are kind of ugly, really.

See the lovely-ness? Mm.. So, I was panicking, for sure, because yes, I can afford the surgery and the injections and so thank God, because for some people that's not an option, but I also work in surgery and know that spine surgery is.. kind of a big deal. And no, I don't want my fiery mare to be in pain, and OH GOD!! What if this was WHY she was so fiery?! OMG. What a horrible Mom I am, thinking it was behavioral and not physical?? And so what if her BS didn't correspond to any amount of workload, or types of activity, or weather or... anything? And never had physical characeristics of being backsore? And... Yeah. Auntie Shelby helped me work through this issue. 

On second opinion, that vet said she had pulled her psoas, which in turn had affected her pelvis, and was making her backsore. *blinks* Yes, she has positive XR, yes she may need injections bc she does have arthritis, but... she also has a ridiculously tight psoas muscle. So let's try some shockwave and see how that goes, first. So we did. We are now on our 2nd week of rehab, and... she really is starting to look better. *shrugs* Anti-climactic, much? Although I won't lie- she did take me for a couple whirls around the arena on the lunge this morning bc I asked her to pay attention, she said no, so I tapped on the lunge and.. well... "Thar she blew!!" But..