Right Place Right Time: Dressage recap!

Had a semi-private dressage lesson last night, and after taking two weeks off from our lessons (but definitely not from riding) it went pretty well! We worked on developing a collected canter via lateral work, specifically leg-yielding off the wall at the trot and then trying to hold it through the canter.

Oats gets a haircut…And it has already grown out. WTF?!!!

Oats did NOT find it easy and showed this through two ways- breaking into trot from the canter, or giving me a big flying lead change! Haha

I was very pleased with his work and his attention span. He didn’t really have any big hissy-fits, which is unusual as he kind of gets worked up with this sort of disciplined lesson. He got very sweaty, despite the fact that he IS clipped. He grew a really thick coat this year, more so than previous years, and sadly the clip is not lasting…Gah.

His attitude has been very good, he almost wins for ‘most improved horse’ in that region. I know, crazy eh? Our short leg-yields were really good (for us, ha) and I was feeling very ‘flowy’ and ‘smooth’ which can be a bit of a rarity for us.

He gets a day off today, and a day off for me too before our jump lesson on Thursday.

Weekend burnout

So, after my glorious and gleeful posting about how much fun I had this past Halloween…I felt super tired and draggy this week, and was so exhausted and feeling sick yesterday I went home early and slept for hours. Guess I needed it?

Oats got clipped Tuesday and it was calamitous. Apparently in a doze, his knees buckled and he fell on my trainer who was clipping him! They were both ok but shaken up. Yikes! I almost had a heart attack when I read that. Lucky it wasn’t worse. Given he is very sensitive to dorm gel (the sedative) I wasn’t sure if I could make my lesson on Tuesday night. And I didn’t.

I got him out of his pen and he seemed a bit drowzy and lazy. His eyes were a tad glassy, but I tacked up and went to warm him up. I figured if he was just being lazy, he would perk out of it (new clip! It’s freezing out! Exciting pony times!), but if he was still ‘under the influence’ as it were, I’d hop off and bow out.

So, I warmed him up and he did NOT feel good. He felt wobbly, trudging. I attempted a trot and it felt kind of unsafe, so I got off and took him back to the barn. He started perking up around 7pm, when I was cleaning up and putting my tack away, but by then the lesson had already started, so better safe than sorry.

And yesterday? I was the one feeling weird! I had a terrible sinus headache, and felt like my head was full of cotton. I felt dizzy and strange. Everytime I closed my eyes, I felt like I was falling asleep! To be honest, I think the weekend of fun (and stomach bug and racing) did me in and my body/immune system was starting to crash, and it was crashing hard.

I slept for a long time, didn’t feel particularly hungry at all, and then was recovered enough for dinner and then bed–and I slept the whole night?!! Jeesh!

So, here’s me- glad it is the end of the week soon.

Octopus stew and other handicrafts

Well not technically octopus stew- we braised it in wine, and then grilled it and then served it over salad. Delicious! Very beefy texture.

Octopus stew?

We made this awhile ago and I never had the chance to showcase it, haha.

Also sparked my mind because we were very handmade this weekend, making an apple crumble and apple chips in the dehydrator. Yum! Love them!

And how did other things go? Oats was good, got a big clip (hahaha) and so did Gidget. Haircuts for all! So no ride for Oats Saturday, because he had to stay dry and clean for the clip and tranq.

Sleepy clipped Oats- photo courtesy of Nicole

He rode really nicely on Sunday, I schooled a few small fences outdoors and was quite pleased with his ride. Kept it short because I was so happy!

Gidget also gets a haircut

I went on a ok run on Saturday and a better run on Sunday- after getting my knee checked out by professionals on Friday, I feel like I have a better idea how to manage my knee pain- starting with a better running brace to hold my kneecap in place. Getting that tomorrow, yes! And I am also getting my knee x-rayed- hope to get that done next week.

All in all, a more productive, less stressful and happier weekend.