Milton SitRep, Saddle & Supplements & Success


 
Saddle
Friends have kindly loaned me a second Wintec while we shop for Milton’s fancy saddle. It fits him, he goes well in it, and I feel more comfortable riding him in a narrower saddle, at least for n=1. The photo was my first time aboard Milton since the dressage show two weeks earlier. Between the abscess and his driving revival, I didn’t really miss too many riding opportunities even if I’d had a saddle. #horsesharing

Supplements
We have bumped up his Cimetidine [Feed Scoop] to the therapeutic dose of 12 pills. At some point, he will go down to a maintenance dose. We have also added Cosequin. Previous Horse was on it for years. Mathilda never thought much of it.

So far, so good. Milton is moving well and doesn’t hate being brushed quite as much. I think it’s the Cimetidine; my co-feeder thinks the Cosequin. While we disagree on the cause, we agree that Milton seems happier in his body.

Success
This was the second day of a ride & drive weekend for Milton. He kept stopping to tell me how hard he had worked the day before. I bought into the performance. He had a valid point.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Rodney SitRep, Saddle & Soreness

Rodney’s saddle situation is not as dire as I had first thought [Evil Twin]. Things seldom are.

We switched to the second & third girth straps instead of the first and third. This changes the balance of the saddle enough that the wither clearance is just on the correct side of acceptable, instead of just under.

First and third straps are traditional. Then you have the middle one to use in case either of the other breaks while you are out foxhunting. In most saddles, the three straps come from the same attachment. Switching doesn’t make that much difference. On the Wintec, the first strap comes from a more forward attachment.


 
We had been using the 2-3 configuration with this saddle and the narrower gullet plate. It is also what the saddle fitter had recommended [Finding One That Fits]. I thought the new bar might change the saddle dynamics. Nope.

Now that it is wide enough for his back, it doesn’t fit as well along his completely underdeveloped topline. Homeboy needs him some fitness. I tried my nice, fuzzy, deluxe sheepskin half-pad. Previous Horse used it to great effect. Rodney didn’t like it any more than Milton did [Hop]. We stopped much earlier in the complaint process. It has been demoted (promoted) to a cat pad.

And finally, we have not be able to test these various theories because Rodney went lame shortly after we adjusted to the wider saddle. Blacksmith has now seen the foot and thinks Rodney hit himself on something or someone.

It’s been an impressive lameness. Maybe 0.5 on the lameness scale. Just enough change in his gait to put him on injured reserve without causing inconvenience to himself.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Logo Study, Descending Capitals

On My Mind, Miscellaneous Visuals

 

 
After rereading/reskimming* Pretty Much Everything by Draplin, I was inspired to take another stab at a blog logo [Letter Art: Logo]. It would be cool to have personalized t-shirts or stickers. If only for myself. If I come up with something I really like. Color from book blurb on the DDC website.

*What is the word when you look through a book for the artwork?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Photo Round-Up Of Recent Activity, March 2019

View From The Back Seat

 

 
Milton’s inaugural drive with the new cart [Scoring]! It’s been 8 months since Milton hitched. Horse was probably the least nervous among us. All of the long-lining and riding has helped the driving. I thought it would, but nice to see.
~~~

(Proto) Jumping Diary

 


 
Second lesson on a Falcon Hill Farm horse. This time with Zoom, a 18yo Thoroughbred. No jumps, never even got to poles. Way of going is totally different & I have completely forgotten how to h/j canter. Spent the first half the lesson at walk and timid trot, but I did it, including cantering in both directions. Am simultaneously appalled and pleased with myself.
~~~

Horsekeeping

 

 
Lest you think it is all lessons and lollipops around here. Rodney got jealous of the attention Milton was getting with his abscess, so developed foot trouble of his own. Couldn’t quite manage a full-blown abscess. Had to content himself with swelling & probable bruise on the outside of his coronet band.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Say Ahh, Visit By An Equine Dentist

Horsekeeping

 

 
Rodney and Milton recently had their teeth done by an equine dentist. While the individual was all for a post on the importance of dental health for horses, they requested anonymity.

When I showed up at Stepping Stone Farm for my lesson, I found the dentist working their way through the barn. I was immediately excited. I’ve been impressed with equine dentists. Although my horses are checked yearly by their vet, a specialist will always do a better job than a generalist.

After they agreed to stop at my house on their way home, I watched the rest of the SSF horses.

For those of you who don’t speak horse (Hi Mom!), the horse’s lower jaw is narrower than the upper. This means that the outside of the upper and the inside of the lower jaws grow sharp points that need to be filed. Nature handles this by keeping wild horses on a constant diet of low-grade, high-chew forage. Unfortunately this equips horses for a life of wandering about eating low-grade forage, rather than showing and jumping and racing and all those other things humans find for horses to do. So we feed them hi-test that requires less grinding, and more dentistry. End sidebar.

The process is a model of speed & efficiency. Put a soft, worn leather halter on the horse. File – I assume – the front teeth. Switch to a gadget that holds the horse’s jaw open. File – I assume – the back teeth. Done.


 
Among the tools of the trade was a extra long float, i.e. tooth rasp, to reach the back molars.

Sedatives where not used. I did not ask why. They were so busy that chatting was not really an option. I assume, again, that they don’t want to wait around for the sedative to take effect and then wait further for the horse to come out of it safely. By the time a sedative would have taken effect, they were done and moved to the next patient.

If the horse objected at any point, the dentist would grab a handful of halter. Then they would stand quiet and immobile, preventing the horse from flinging about until the horse saw things their way. The horse always did. There was no violence, no reprimanding, just imperturbable, immovable patience. It was an amazing display of horse handling.

The dentist used hearing along with sight and touch. They would turn an ear to the horse while rasping, listening – assume again – for the correct sound. Afterward, they would grab the horse’s head, lean in, and move the lower jaw back and forth, checking that the grinding surfaces were behaving correctly.

You don’t always have to know a job to know that it is being done well. The assistant did the preliminary round on a few horses. Looked fine. Doing about the same job my vet does. Then the dentist stepped in. You could see the power and smoothness in each stroke. More efficient strokes, faster job.

One of the SSF horses had a tooth pulled. No sedative. Photos after the jump [here]. Gory, but interesting.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Show Horse Soliloquy

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 

“If it is not written down, it does not exist.”
Philippe Kruchten

Not sure the purpose of this as a blog post. However, I’ve had the formulation in my head for a while and wanted to get it written down.
~~~
I am in the extremely fortunate position of having a superabundance of horse shows arrayed in front of me. At the moment, my shekels and my Saturdays are being put aside for Milton, and maybe Rodney if the obstacle idea pans out. It would take a special Saddlebred to convince me to break out the show jods.

Three criteria
1) Simpatico. A horse with whom I can do more than steer around the ring and stagger into line-up. A chance to practice the nuances of showing.
2) Flashy. Silk togs on a cotton budget. A chance to learn suit horse maneuvers.
3) Academy.

The current barn occupants are hitting two out of three. (I recognize there is an element of high-handedness in pronouncing on the utility of horses who don’t even belong to me. My blog, my arrangement of the universe.)

Simpatico & Academy: Sam. Second only to Previous Horse in horses who speak a language that I understand. Backbone of the Academy program. Alas, Sam has hung up his show bridle and informed people that he is over the fancy prancing, thank you very much. Take him as he is or move on.

Flashy & Academy: Whiskey. Since he’s been at Stepping Stone Farm, Whiskey has showed in suit as often as in Academy. He was Reserve National Champion at National Academy last year. Alas, we are in the ‘I’m sorry, did I step on your foot?’ phase of our dancing relationship. What I can learn from Whiskey, I can learn at home.

Simpatico & Flashy: Dottie. Awesome horse. Awesome ride. Alas, no longer in the SSF Academy program. Sad face.

While I plan to continue with lessons, I don’t foresee a lot of saddle seat shows this year. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott