Foal Watch 2010 Update

It hasn't been very long since I last wrote, but some funny things have happened during Foal Watch 2010 that I wanted to share. First thing is that I finally decided to double check Tokaj's due date. In truth, I had not paid a ton of attention to her due date because when I had her bred I believed that I would not be foaling her out myself and figured I would move her to her vet's barn to foal since he has a great set-up. I thought that I would be very busy with other things that ended up not materializing this year and since I find myself freed up... I decided that this experience is not one that I want to miss. In the last few days, Tokaj seems to be showing physical signs associated with imminent foaling and it seemed too early for them. So I double checked and found that she is actually due a week earlier than I thought, and according to her vet (the super patient and generous Dr. Jim Long) she could foal up to two weeks early and be normal for a maiden mare! That means she could foal any time and I need to be very vigilant next week! Yikes.

Tokaj has been removed from her hillside paddock due to her size and weight and how hard it has been for her to move about comfortably. Now she is spending her nights in her double sized stall, with matted floor, and comfy soft straw bed. She has her own fan for warm nights and two open dutch doors to catch a breeze and for scenery. In the daytime she walks 30 feet out to her own 60 foot round pen where she stands, lays, and rolls in soft comfy beach sand. Speaking of rolling, as of a few days ago I saw her almost get stuck on her back trying to roll from one side to the other with her big giant belly flopping all around. She made it from one side to the other though.

Yesterday, during my son's afternoon nap, I heard a commotion outside. My other horse Savannah, was whinnying for Tokaj. I knew immediately that if Tokaj was in her round pen that Savannah would have no reason to holler for her because she would be able to see her, so I peek out the window and there stands the open gate to the round pen. Tokaj is the Houdini of horses and can open latches and untie herself if she is not good and secured. She finally figured out the mechanism to the round pen gate and let herself out. She went into her barn and proceeded to burglarize the feed bin nearest to the door... luckily for me, that bin was almost empty and she did not get much more than a regular sized feeding if even that. She ripped the lid completely off it's hinges, threw the empty bin into the aisleway, and dumped over a wheelbarrow of poop that I had been too lazy to empty before it was full. After wreaking as much havoc as she could, she waddled out onto the sideyard lawn to eat more, and then Savannah the tattle-tale became frantic and alerted me to Tokaj's doings.

I went out to retrieve Tokaj from the sideyard. In her old form, Her Impishness would have run away from me and went directly to the lush green pastures of our neighbor and I would have had to take a second to outthink her in order to secure custody. This time, she looked at me with that old impish sparkle, and then found herself trapped in her 11 month pregnant body. She waddled about 10 steps, went to cross the driveway, stepped on the now painful gravel, and gave up. I had to laugh at her. So, I went up to her, patted her neck in sympathy... I've been there too.... and she followed me to her barn and her soft floored stall to rest from her exploits. She definitely knows when the jig is up.

I know more comedy will ensue when Houdini Jr. arrives. More later.

Here She Is.... My Hungarian Princess!

Well, I finally decided to change my blog photo to show off my Hungarian mare Tokaj. In the photo she is about six weeks away from having her foal. Her due date is around September 26, 2010. This is my first go at breeding and I am hoping for all the good luck I can get.

Her Highness has a double stall, bedded with straw. I have found a wireless surveillance camera sold by a company that outfits the Secret Service and Homeland Security so that I can watch her every waddling move and butt scratch. I can monitor her all night in my sleep deprived stupor if the anxiety gets bad enough. Don't know how my husband is going to stand the glow of the large TV screen depicting equine boredom at it's finest towering over our bed..... but I am certain that it is a necessity and the guest bedroom is mighty comfy if he becomes desperate enough.

We are approximately four weeks out, and I am just now getting fencing contractors out to create the perfect foal safe paddock for Tokaj and her foal when he/she arrives. The temporary fencing that I put up that was supposed to buy a few weeks time until I could go out and install a proper fence for my horses.... has now been up for three years. The horses did so well in it that other projects took priority, but there is no messing around with foals and anything less than super safe fencing. I am lucky to have contractors do quite a bit of it, but the poly wire is all mine to install. Yuck. When I left Idaho some years ago, I promised myself that was the last fencing I would ever have to personally install, and yet here I am preparing to do it again. I love doing projects myself, as long as there is no deadline or pressure. This is big pressure. My (hopefully) dream foal is on the way!

I also need to spend some time researching more about attending a foaling mare, and what to do to keep the foal healthy. Oh don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of research and asking questions, but I haven't settled on what I want to do. My sources suggest slightly different things it seems. In all though, I am hoping all my fretting is not necessary. Tokaj's line of horses bred and foaled themselves in only slightly less than feral circumstances and they are all alive and well. Hopefully she inherited their hardiness and will drop the bundle and get on with it like it was a breeze. :)

If you are wondering what I am hoping for.... well I could tell you that I am just hoping for healthy... which is relatively true, but to be perfectly honest, I would love to have a colt just slightly more than I would like a filly. I have had wonderful mares in my past, but also some pretty silly ones. In fact, I have had a lot of mares. I am just wanting to balance out the picture and ride a gelding again. I was dreaming of a gray colt, but recently found out that even though gray is a very dominant color, that Wistar (the dad) throws nearly all bays, and has never thrown a gray, even on gray mares. So, if I get a colt or a filly it is likely to be bay. Genetically speaking, I could get a gray, bay, or black. All of the above sit quite well with me anyway.

Well, that's it for now. We are on heavy Hungarian watch. I will let you know as the date gets closer and I get more anxious......

P~

The Long Lost Blog Post

Hi. Sorry about the year long absence. Last April I was contacted by a law enforcement agency that my email had been compromised by someone wishing to do me and my family harm. I have not posted anything on the internet since. The online world can be very dangerous in that it can really help shield cowardly people who wish to spend their time harassing others anonymously. The person has been caught, and I am hoping that was the end of it. I have restricted myself from normal freedoms for long enough.

The Update

This year has been one of big changes and big plans. After the last posting in April of 2009, we had a giant rainstorm that took out 1/3 of my newly installed riding arena. My arena is small to begin with, so 33% of it being gone made training impossible. And honestly after all the work and investment, it took a bit of time to not feel defeated by the situation. That rainstorm happened in May of 2009 and we did not have much dry weather until a week or so in the Fall. My riding time really suffered.

In the Fall of 2009, I did go to a dressage show out of desperation for losing yet another entire show season. Tokaj got a few rides in our tiny demolished arena... went to the show to do Training 2 and Training 4 (move up? why not? :) The night before the show, there was a giant rainstorm that soaked the outdoor warm up ring.. and made the footing very slick and dangerous. No cantering in the warm up basically. It wasn't ideal, but everyone except the people who were regular boarders at the barn was affected the same. Tokaj ended up going into her classes and giving me the best dressage rides I have ever had on any horse in competition. She ended up scoring in the mid to upper 60% range and getting two second placings. I was very excited. We would have won our first class had I not had circles that were not the right size... and I put that down to practicing in my micro-arena.

After the show, I made a snap decision that I am happy I made, but can't believe how fast it happened. I decided to breed Tokaj. I had never been interested in breeding horses before. I have always wanted the experience of raising a foal, but there are so many nice horses out there and too many being bred without regard for the actual result. But, I had never had a mare as nice as Tokaj either. I truly feel it would be a shame to not have her pass on her wonderful ability and disposition. Aother aspect of my decision to breed her is that I was not sure I was finished creating my own family. I knew if we decided to try for another baby that it would put my riding off for a couple more years and Tokaj was already 10 years old. Not that she would be ancient or anything, but it is very hard to return the fitness and soundness of an older horse (or human for that matter) if they don't maintain the fitness level throughout aging. I couldn't help but wish that I had found Tokaj four years from now instead of wasting her prime when I was so busy!

So I decided to breed Tokaj in the early Spring of 2010, and I began researching stallions in the Fall of 2009. Tokaj is a Hungarian warmblood with an incredible history behind her bloodlines. In short, Tokaj's direct ancestors from the 1940's were taken from the Germans by U.S. Army General Patton during WWII and shipped to the U.S. to Ft. Riley, KS as the spoils of war, to improve the U.S. Cavalry mounts. Once the cavalry was decomissioned shortly after, the entire herd of Hungarians was purchased by a couple of cattle ranchers. One in Montana and one in Nebraska. Believe it or not, there is a herd of Hungarian warmbloods currently grazing the sandhills of Nebraska, owned by the son of one of the cattle ranchers who purchased them from the Army. Tokaj is directly from that herd. And she is the most incredible horse I have ever been around. If you wish to know more you can find out all about them and their wonderful history at: http://www.hungarianhorses.org/.

So as I began looking for a suitable stallion I wanted to look first within the Hungarian breed. I was not limiting myself to them, but hoped to find a suitable prospective sire. That led me to HS Wistar. Wistar also has a wonderful history dating back to WWII. Wistar's damline is a mare whose relations were shipped to the U.S. by a Hungarian countess who was fleeing the occupation of Hungary by the Germans in WWII. She brough a small herd of Hungarians to the U.S. about the same time that General Patton brought the others. She and the two cattle ranchers ended up meeting and helping to keep the Hungarians pure and without too much line breeding.

HS Wistar stood out due to his breeding and performance history. I believe Wistar is 14. He has been competing at grand prix dressage for a couple of years with his rider/trainer Jennifer Williams. Jennifer and Wistar have grown up practically together and last year were training with Steffan Peters. Wistar is a great horse. His most important features are that he is SOUND at 14 after a long career at high levels of dressage, lots of competing, and traveling. The other important feature is that he has a great disposition, work ethic, and mind. He is very athletic and throws athletic ability, temperament, and soundness to his foals. When looking for a stallion, I was hoping to match Tokaj's wonderful attributes, and I ended up going one step better. Breeding is always a gamble, but I would bet on this pairing any day.

So, I contacted Summervale Farm in Washingtong state to inquire about Wistar... and was told that he may not be available to breed early next Spring as he and Jennifer were going to train again in California with Steffan Peters, but... if I wanted to breed right then, in the Fall of '09, they would accomodate me. So snap decision made... I now have a pregnant Tokaj! She is due in September of 2010. It turned out to be a good thing that a had her bred last Fall, as Wistar and Jennifer have accepted a U.S. Dressage Foundation grant that will allow them to compete in Europe at grand prix. Wistar will be in Europe for much of this year.

The winter of '09 was brutal here. No riding took place as I don't have an indoor arena. I did fix my washed out outdoor for Spring riding. Now we have nice weather, and I am getting some riding done on Savannah. Savannah is a Paint, and she is 5 years old now and not at the training level of a 5 year old. I decided to ride her western. She has not matured to a point where her withers are level with her croup. I am not certain that she ever will level out. Dressage, and collection will be hard for her if she does not at least level out, so I am focusing on making her a nice riding horse for trails and family.

That's our update. I hope all of you are well too!

Our Debut

Finally!! I finally went to a show. It has been almost four years and a baby ago that I have put myself out there and competed with a horse in anything. Today was the dressage schooling show.

I managed to stay calm and think about enjoying the day rather than stressing about it and I think it paid off. Tokaj was super. She tried so hard to do what I asked and she did it in fine style. It is somewhat intimidating to know that I finally have a horse of such talent. I am SO blessed, and I sure hope that I can do her justice and improve my riding.

It was also Tokaj's first ever dressage show. We competed in one class since I was comcerned about remembering the test, and about overdoing it the first time out. I just did not want to stress! We competed in Training Level Test 2...nothing fancy in that test, just very basic work. Tokaj received a 69.2%. In dressage anything over 60% is pretty good, and anything over 65% is pretty darn good! Wow! She ended up taking home the blue ribbon which was completely unexpected. I am on cloud nine. I could not have asked for a better partner, or a better day, rain and all... it was fabulous!

I wish I had some photos of the show to post. Perhaps next time I will remember my camera!!

P~

Here We Go.....

Tomorrow is the dressage schooling show. I did not end up entering Savannah, which was a rather crazy thought to begin with! But I did enter Tokaj and we are entered in Training Level Test 2. I was going to do more than one test, but then decided that between volunteering at the show, and lack of real preparation due to having houseguests for the last two weeks... I think one class is going to be just fine.

I am trying not to be nervous and so far have been successful. I don't know, there is something both nice and cowardly about going unprepared. On the one hand, there is no pressure to be awesome so I can chill out, on the other hand... it is kind of cowardly to have a built in excuse as to why it is not going to be good. So I will work on that next time and try to be prepared to wow the judge!

Other immediate plans include Tokaj's first cross country schooling session and first schooling horse trial. All that madness will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of May. I will amp up our training sessions the next two weeks so that we can make a decent showing at those outings.

I have found a prospective jumping coach and look forward to getting my first lesson with her in the upcoming week as well. I chose to try a hunter/jumper trainer since she is local, but also VERY good. Although she does not do cross country jumping, hunter riders are masters of creating an optimal jump each and every time. I have prided myself in the past on being able to stay out of my horse's way when jumping (like not yanking their mouth over the fence, or bumping their backs), but there is a lot more to it, and HELPING the horse a bit rather than being a polite passenger would sure be nice! I will write about our experience after we have it.

I better get out there and give Tokaj one last ride, and a nice cold bath (poor thing... but what do you do with a nearly white horse?). She is going to look lovely tomorrow even if our performance is just so-so!

Later....

Moray Clinic

So... here it is. My Clinic Report. On Saturday, March 21st, I had my first lesson in... goodness... almost five years. What can I say? Moving, building, horse shopping, and family have taken some time.

I ended up riding Tokaj at the clinic. After trying out my good friend Tammy's mare again, I realized that I would need a few rides on her to know her "buttons" and since the clinic was a week away... it wasn't feasible to get enough time on her. Also, Miss Tokaj was doing 100% better and I had gotten some nice rides on her so I decided to take her and just let Moray know that she was having some issues with arthritis.

I was very excited about the clinic. It has been a long time coming. The morning of the clinic I pushed away my nerves and went determined to just have fun.

I explained to Moray about our difficulties and he asked me to show him some of our regular work so he could see what was going on. After we finished walking, trotting, and cantering both directions we approached Moray to get the verdict. And he said: ... What would make you satisfied? Most people would have a ride like that and be quite happy with it. It must be something you are feeling that feels wrong because it looked good.

My response? I cried. Sigh. How unprofessional. At least it wasn't loud BOOO HOOING or anything, but the tears just came. I have a lot invested in these horses, and perhaps too many of my dreams. It all seemed so hopeless just a little over week before.

So we got down to work on our dressage and improved things to the point that I am looking forward to a dressage schooling show next month. We learned that we needed to be more forward, and that Tokaj is strong enough to carry herself more in a dressage horse way (big chargy energetic horse), and that I needed to insist when I ask her to go forward in a certain speed that she know it is her job to continue and not have to be "nagged" to keep it up. I learned that I collapse at the waist to the inside at canter, and some fun exercises can really help that and thus help Tokaj really step under herself and get a nicer canter outline.

All in all, it was a big boost that I desperately needed. I learned so much that I am going back tonight for another lesson before Moray departs and I am left in the trainerless void again. Thankfully, Tammy caught our lesson on video for future reference.

Another nice development is with Savannah. Thanks to the beautiful Spring weather, Savannah and I have had some time to work. She is under saddle, going forward at the trot, and is even beginning to understand rein contact and to stretch into the bridle a bit. Her trot also is a surprise in it's non-Quarterhorsey springiness and nice overstep. She is the easiest horse I have ever started under saddle, and I have had some easy ones including her brother Bailey. No question though... she is the easiest. I feel the need to test her some by trailering her somewhere and seeing how she is away from home. A crazy idea that I am mulling over is the enter her into the Dressage Schooling Show with Tokaj. After around 12 rides? That would be something.

Well, enjoy the nice weather!
P~

Physical Issues, Mental Blocks, and the Fun of Riding

Hello from S.C.E.T Headquarters! It has been a long time since I have updated this blog. I have been having some issues with the 'girls' (Tokaj and Savannah if you are wondering who the girls are...).

PHYSICAL ISSUES:
Miss Tokaj went back into steady training... and steadily did worse and worse until I could no longer blame myself for bad riding, and realized that she is having physical issues. On one hand, it is nice to know that I don't stink that badly at riding, and on the other hand... my hopes and dreams horse is uncertain. Tokaj has been off for three weeks following my second attempt at fox hunting. She started having trouble getting her front feet out of the way of her hinds. In four days she destroyed three sets of bell boots. I thought it might be that she was shod differently than she was last time she was in training (before the baby), and that she needed something else done. My farrier suspected lameness and did some flexions tests and they came up positive. Sigh. My super tough Hungarian mare is now mortal. She has arthritis from years of jumping which is not unheard of or unmanageable. So, I have rested her for three weeks, put her on Adequan and injectable joint fluid enhancer (for lack of a better explanation). She also has been given a feed additive for joint care that has anti-inflammatory properties kind of like a human on ibuprofen. Today was her first day back in work and by the happy expression and springiness in her step, I would say that we are finally back on track! She is slated for a few weeks of slowly returning to work with constant evaluation of her soundness.

MENTAL BLOCKS:
This has been hands down the hardest return to training that I have ever experienced. I used to ride anything and everything without fear and with confidence that while I may not be the best rider, I was certainly competent. Well... not anymore.

I have spent the last several weeks, during Tokaj's downward spiral, beating myself up about how awful I am. Everything feels wrong and instead of feeling at home on a horse, I feel like my body is an alien. I know that I need to get into some clinics and lessons to get this riding season started, but I am so nervous because I don't know myself, or my horse at this point. I can just envision myself telling Mr. Clinician that, "I don't know" what level I am at, "I don't know" if I can still jump any sort of fence, and "I don't know" if I even belong at his clinic!! It is really an unsettling thing.

My friend Tammy has been a wonderful support system and has offered me her lovely, and well-trained horse to take lessons on... but even that intimidates me. I know, I know, for those of you who know me, you are needing to pick your jaw up off the floor. Tammy has a nice, enormous Clydesdale Thoroughbred cross who has a lot of training and is completely reliable. I am nervous about messing up Tammy's horse... and nervous about generally making a you-know-what of myself at an upcoming clinic. By the way, the clinic is in ONE WEEK. It is taught by Moray Nicholson, a British trainer who I liked when I audited his last clinic. Tokaj is not going to be ready for the level of work necessary at a clinic, so I have comitted to riding Tammy's mare Chloe. Did I mention that I have ridden Chloe once, and while some things went well.... I had to ask Tammy how to get her to canter? Tammy says I have a mental block and need to just get out there and do it. So... I am taking her advice. I will write about the clinic in two weeks. Yikes.

FUN OF RIDING:
What I learned during this downturn of luck and subsequent fall-out, I have at lease re-prioritized not only my competition season (what competition?), but also my reasons for riding. I am going to focus on the step I need to take today and enjoy it, rather than focusing too far into the future and trying to be show-ready each day. Someday, I hope I will look up and realize that I am ready for a competition, and lo and behold, there will be one waiting for me.

Happy Riding (literally!)
P~