Thursday, December 12, 2013

A Collective Sigh Of Releaf

 

  Tea Biscuit rounded out last week with some good solid work at the canter. She is becoming more relaxed and balanced in all three gaits. She is really special and I have been on top of cloud nine for more than a few weeks.
    BUT!!!
    Then came the call. The dreaded call! The one that every horse owner hates. First you see the number. Then you quickly realize the implications involved from hearing from THE BARN MANAGER It was a short and to the point conversation. Tea has a swollen front leg seems to be sound but could I come take a look. One look left me speechless it was smack in the middle her front left leg on the inside and appeared to be ligament or tendon related. With no hope of getting a vet out that late in the day I opted for aggressive cold treatment, a poultice, a wrap for the night and lots of prayer. Fortunately, I was able to get a vet by mid day the next day. I was guarded as he did the ultra sound and scanned each tendon and ligament very carefully. Then he delivered the answer to my prayers Tea-Biscuit bruising on her deep digital flexor tendon. In other words she probably knocked herself pretty good but with the ice and snow we have been having it's any ones guess.
    Treatment is one week stall rest and a re-scan in a week, We are now on day 4 and I could not be happier with Tea's adjustment from 24 x 7 out to 24 X 7 in. I have continued to ice, poultice, wrap as well as incorporate magnetic therapy and message in hopes of keeping her as happy as possible. Between schooling rides I have been slipping in to give her a pat and some words of encouragement.
   I am always amazed that these large animals can be so fragile. I also feel blessed that I am lucky enough to have a talent that allows me to work with them everyday. God has been so good to me. 

                                            Tea-Biscuit Santa's fastest reindeer

Monday, December 2, 2013

60 Days And Counting

    It is hard to believe that just 60 days ago Tea -Biscuit left her life at the track to embark on a new career. Young Tea-Biscuit is far exceeding my greatest expectation and I am starting to get eager to see the spring roll around with a new show season to enjoy.
   I have had a busy couple of weeks with Thanksgiving and a visit to see my son who swims in college. With me away, Tea had a few extra days off to relax without work. She has definately impressed me with her ability to get right back to her job after a hiatus from the daily routine. A pleasant and unexpected bonus.  
   Fortunate for me my good friend Robin Coblyn was able to shoot some video and take a few photos before I took my trip to Boston. Robin has bred and raised multiple Thoroughbreds and has been a strong supporter of TPR so it was fun for me to have her come to see my special girl and her progress. She did a series of great photos showing the ground work to the under saddle work. I will post those later this week.
  I have alway made body work a big part of my training program. Tea got a recent introduction to body work when my good friend and message therapist Laura Gentile was here from OH visiting her mom for Thanksgiving. All my horses love Laura so it was no surprise when Tea loved it. Lucky Tea ended up getting two messages in a four day weekend. I know she appreciated it because the affects showed up in her work immediately. 
    This journey is turning out to be way more fun than I ever imagined. Thanks again TPR this Thoroughbred is super special!! 


                             

                                Click on the link below to see Tea-Biscuit doing some work
     

                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RyB06SOEtY&feature=youtu.be






Saturday, November 9, 2013

Tea- Biscuit And My Continuing Education


 One thing a good off the track Thoroughbred can do is challenge what you know and help you to evaluated how you approach each new challenging situation. This week was filled with educational challenges for Tea and myself. In need now of some eyes on the ground. I was lucky enough to get in on a clinic with Bob Orton. He is known for his clear approach to helping both horse and rider to develop as a trusting team. I felt fortunate for this opportunity and the timing was perfect.
   Bob was quick to assess the situation and give me a clear plan to move forward. First, working on transitions within the gait at the walk and trot and then working on the tools to establish a clear half halt. This proved to be very helpful in getting Tea thinking about what I was asking while establishing a good rhythm and tempo. He also helped me work on her steering or should I say lack of steering. ( Not uncommon for the OTTB) Using the full ring and throwing in school figures concentrating on the correct bend and support with the outside rein Tea was challenged to stay with me on the circle without popping in and out of the track I am on.
   When riding young green horses our position can suffer in order to get the job done. Bob helped me to make some very important changes that will help Tea to develop clear understanding of my leg and seat aids. Bottom line I am really enjoying the education Tea is freely giving me and I appreciate this incredible partnership that continues to grow between she and myself.



  Tea's stretchy elastic trot is developing! Not bad for 35 days of the track:)
                                             

Monday, October 28, 2013

Tea- Biscuits Tale From The Trail

  Tea- Biscuit has been a hard worker and is beyond far what I ever dreamed of for my next project. After having the weekend off. I rode her for the second time today and felt a great reward would be to explore her new surroundings. Yes, a trail ride was next on my agenda.
 No horse enjoys going round and round a ring 5 to 6 days a week and many riders are fooled into thinking that constant drilling in the ring will produce performance perfection. These riders often fail to see the true benefit of a good trail ride, a day of ground work or just an easy hack.
  The trail is not only a good way to build confidence while enjoying work from a different perspective. It incorporates different muscle groups than ring work and allows the horse and rider team building exercises to begin, It is my hope that Tea- Biscuit will be my next event partner so hopping a log or crossing water should be old hat before we head out to the cross country field.
  Tea was a superstar and was rewarded with a few treats along the way to encourage her to continue her brave no nonsense approach to her new experience. All in all a GREAT day!



                                                 
                                                Happy Trails Until We Meet Again

                                               

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Tea-Biscuit Dressage Diva

  Wow! This week has had some super exciting moments with Tea Biscuit. I have continued her ground work with lateral movement from both sides and taught her how to lunge walk, trot, canter both directions with and without vienna reins,stand at the mounting block and ground tie for grooming/bathing.
  She has a great work ethic and readily comes up for her turn to be worked. I have kept the sessions pretty short to keep her interested but she is very eager to do whatever the plan is. I have used clicker training with her to reward good ground work and a longer attention span.  This is a  method I learn some years ago for showing horses in hand but it also works as a building block for starting youngsters. It motivates while  building a true partnership and encourages confidence along the way.
   The most exciting thing about this week was the end result of this ground work and preparation. I was able to walk her up to the mounting block have her stand while I mounted and walked around the ring both directions with good bend and acceptance of the bit. This is proving to be a very fun journey thus far I am very sure I found a very special partner to bring along and am very thankful for the gift god has given me to enjoy these moments.



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Lucky Girl!

With Tea settling in at Robin's very quickly I no longer had any questions about bringing her to her new full time home. Merry Go Round Farm is where my training and teaching business Riding-Innovations is located. Tucked back in the rolling hills of beautiful Potomac, MD this equestrian community will take you back to a time when all of Potomac's River Road was lined with beautiful horse farms.
 Upon her arrival at Merry Go Round I put her ground work as my highest priority and designated myself as her handler to expedite her understanding of the new routine and what manners are expected in her new career. She started out in a small paddock but good behavior landed her in a big grassy field by the end of her third day at Merry Go Round. She is now enjoying some down time in a field with 4 other mares. I have been taking her out a couple times a day to spend time teaching ground work, grooming, bathing and small increments of work such as lungeing.
Thus far she is a more than eager participant in her new life and seems to be a great choice to embark on this journey with. The photo below is of her in her new paddock at Merry Go Round Farm. Lucky, Lucky Girl!



 

Life After The Track

 When Tea was preparing to leave the track I decided to set her up with the best possible scenerio for let down. So I picked her up at the track and brought her to my good friend Robin Coblyn's farm.There we would be able to see how well she would handle the let down and life off the track before taking her to a busy barn full of seasoned show horses. Upon her arrival she settled in great and we were able to groom and bath her on her third day. She was very social and instantly showed us that she loves people and attention, including grooming and ground work.  The photo below is a photo below is her third day off the track after her first show horse beauty treatment. This lovely girl is truely stunning and I must say I love the big ears.