Ace Shows Off

Ace went to the CalNet Horse Show on Sunday, where he was ridden by two of the girls in the Total Equestrian Experience riding program. This was his first official dressage show. It was a schooling show and he competed in Training Levels 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the videos are too large to post. But I do have stills.

Team Ace prepares the boy for competition.

One of the mothers got jammy bottoms to cover white britches before the show. Then she added the Prince's name in green.

Training Level 1 with Abby in the saddle.

Training Level 2 with Jillian.

 I love the little bow at the end. So cute. And he's almost square.

Two of the other horses I sometimes ride at the barn competed as well. Sapi is a pretty mustang (as you can see from the brand) who came to the barn with a bunch of issues. She's about the same height as Ace, but her movements are very different.

Neesa is a fjord pony who's enough shorter than Ace to really make a difference when I get off. The first time, I jarred my back pretty hard.

Like Ace, she's lost the vision in one eye, but it was a much more gradual loss. Unfortunately, it is her left eye, which can make leading her a little challenging.

Everyone had a good time and a massive number of ribbons were collected for the day. I'm still waiting to hear how Ace scored, since I couldn't stick around for the rest of the show.

The show was at the Equidome at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. It's a big, scary covered arena, with flags hanging from the rafters and strange sounds. Right after Ace started his first round, a wail of sirens went off nearby. He was amazing. He never reacted. He just stayed with his job.

My friend Melinda Snodgrass bred him to be a dressage sport horse, but she moved up to warm bloods when he was a baby. So I got him. He has a lovely personality. Melinda called his mother, Rocky, "The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla," for her attitude, but she was a queen in the show ring. Ace is definitely to the manor born when he enters the ring. I was so proud of him I wept.

When You Think Things Can't Get Worse...

Time just keeps whooshing on by. And owning horses continues to empty pockets. I wasn't spending it anyway.

Ace has been in the hospital for a month. It started with a swelling of the eye that Ashley noticed. Then the eye was weeping rather uncontrollably. The vet came out several times, then told me I should either get a horse opthomologist or take him to a hospital for another opinion. We took him to a hospital where one of the vets has a special interest in eyes.

The treatment seemed to be working and then it stopped working. My vet came out again, Ace then headed back to the hospital. This time he was admitted. Six days later I had to give permission for surgery to try and save the eye: a fungal infection had eaten into the cornea. Again, he appeared to improve. Then he stopped improving. Last Thursday I went to visit him and two vets sat me down to discuss removing the eye.

I was stunned and heart-broken. The poor horse was in pain and not improving. The vets said to go home and sleep on it, or even take the weekend to make a decision.

I was ready to let them do the surgery because Ace would no longer be in discomfort. I've had a corneal abrasion. I know how much it hurts. I was planning to drive out to see him again and give permission for the second surgery.

The vet called when I was getting out of the shower. Ace had dramatically improved over night. The vet would not want to do the surgery if I gave permission.

As of two days ago, when I went for a visit, Ace continues to improve. I even looked at the eye (I'm a bit squeamish about these things) and the vet is very happy with his progress. He calls Ace an ideal patient. I am cautiously optimistic that he will not lose the eye.

Whether he will regain his vision in his right eye remains to be seen. I do know that most horses adjust to blindness better than I would. Ace seems to be doing just fine when I take him out for a walk and when I scatter carrots throughout his hay for a treat. I hope he'll be able to come home soon, because driving out to Somis became a lot more difficult when my Christmas break ended on Monday. Ace is greatly missed at the barn.

Adventures of New Puppy

Friday was Ginger's visit to the vet, who pronounced her perfect in every way.  No kennel cough in evidence.  A weight gain of seven pounds.  Time for an adventure!

On Saturday, I took Ginger up to the barn to meet her really big brother, Ace.  She was appropriately apprehensive, unlike Dexter who thought the horses should respond to barking and play-bows by, well, playing.  Ginger had a rough and tumble time with Gayle's Aussie shepherd, Eli, even though she was on a lead.  After Ace finished his lesson, she got a chance to get a little bit closer.

Willie, a Haflinger, was less intimidating, so she got even closer.

I would call it a successful visit to the barn and she even got a lesson in walking on the leash from Gayle.

On Sunday, she had us in hysterics and reminded us of a poem we once heard Tim Curry read at the L.A. Public Library. The poem is from an anthology called Unleashed: Poems by Writers' Dogs.  This four line poem is called "Birch" and it is by Karen Shepherd.  Every dog owner I know understands this poem.

Are you going to eat that?
Are you going to eat that?
Are you going to eat that?
I'll eat that!

Our friend Lisa, subject of this display of dog cuteness, does volunteer work for a pet adoption charity, so she was not all bothered by having Ginger hover near by looking for a hand-out.

Happy Birthday, Ace

Today is my Arabian Prince's 13th birthday. It is the 11th birthday of his baby sister, Phaedra, who still lives in New Mexico and is (as far as I know) a brood mare. I'd buy her if I could.

Ace was born on a night with a visible comet. Combined with the shape of his star, his registration name was chosen: Auspicious Comet. My son once asked me if anyone uses the word "auspicious" and now makes a note of it every time he hears it on the radio or television (the answer is, obviously, yes.)

I got a phone call from Melinda soon after he was born, and she often updated me about his antics after that. I met him in the flesh when he was a good-sized yearling and he attempted to take a piece out of my shoulder when Melinda and I stood nearby ignoring him. That was the last time he tried doing something like that. Melinda slugged him so fast, he looked like he saw stars. We made fast friends after that.

I hadn't started taking riding lessons in 1997, but by the time I saw Ace in 2001, Melinda and I had been joking that I would eventually own the Prince. Especially after Melinda got the bay filly she'd been trying to breed for 20 years--Ace's full sister--it was an on-going discussion. Even though he was young, and Arabs are advanced horses, not beginner horses, I had fallen in love and he became my 50th birthday present to myself. I do not regret this.

I haven't been able to spend much time with him for the past three months, but that will soon change. He's been doing amazingly well under Ashley's riding and I hope we'll be showing him again really soon. Now that his Schleese has been properly fitted, he's floating across the arena. And he's still having a lot of fun jumping.

His new digs agree with him: he sticks his nose out of the feed window and watches everyone go by. I hear him call when I drive into the ranch. He's got lots of turnout buddies and he loves trimming the pepper trees near the arena. There's even a bit of grass to be trimmed and he's happy to oblige. He's returned to his fastidious house keeping: urine goes outside, poop along only one wall inside so he can curl up in a clean corner.

I'll take apples, carrots and his favorite cookies with peppermint candies on top when I see him tomorrow. Eventually, there will be a new western saddle in his life. Arabs are so damned hard to fit and his once-perfect 7-D is no longer a fit in the shoulders. Anyone seen a used Vincent saddle made for an Arab anywhere?

Update

My arm is still in a cast, but I may be lucky enough to avoid surgery. On Thursday, this cast is coming off so the surgeon can see a better x-ray. I'm terrified that things will hurt when I try to move the elbow. I want to be able to take a shower and wash my hair without a whole production going on.

Moving the horses got delayed for a month. Ride-on's new facilities weren't ready because of the rain,so we're still at the old place, which is up for sale. If I could convince Len to move to Chatsworth, I'd consider buying it.

The place we made an offer on is in limbo because it turns out the seller's agent has contacted neither the first nor the second mortgage holder to work out a deal and the seller may decide to take the house off the market. I don't claim to know much about real property, but I know a little about contracts, and that smells to high heaven. Unfortunately, we haven't seen anything that works as well for us. So far. At least now we've got a letter saying we've been approved for a loan, so we can jump on something we like. If we find something.

Our old house is moving toward completion. We're meeting with a landscape person on Thursday so we can get the outside tidied up. It looks nice, but it is just too small.

Equine Affaire is this weekend in Pomona. I'm not sure I am going to get out to it because I need someone to drive me. Ashley, who has been riding Ace, is going to compete in the extreme cowboy challenge on her Welsh pony. I'd love to see it.

Speaking of Ace, he is royally pissed at me. I got up to the ranch to pay board last Saturday and he wouldn't come over to see me. When Ashley rode him over, he turned his head away. I wanted to cry. His saddle came back from Schleese, but it is shifting side-to-side. The fitter may be able to come out on Sunday, but Ashley can't be there to ride him and I can't climb into the saddle either. It will be interesting.

Falling

I'm still here, but not quite whole.

The old year ended and the new one began badly. I have a cast from the middle of my upper left arm to my fingers. On the Monday after Christmas, I tripped on a sprinkler head and went face first into an asphalt driveway. I tried to keep my arm safe, but it didn't work--the ulna broke close to the elbow and the radius cracked there. The x-ray technician said it probably would not have broken but for the metal in my arm from when I broke the ulna 8 years ago.

It was ugly when I tried to get up, but I realized I was in trouble right away, so I sent my niece to get wood and Ace's leg-wraps and we made a splint and headed home. The girls kept asking "Don't you want an ambulance? Don't you want to go to the hospital?" Been there, done that. No thanks if I can avoid it. We managed to figure out the name of the surgeon who took care of me last time, and Len and I headed to his office/clinic where I was x-rayed and put into a cast. On Monday, we'll see if I'm going to avoid surgery. Keep your fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, as we got the house ready for what was supposed to be our holiday party last weekend, Len had a bit of a scare that saw a four-night stay at Cedars Sinai. We were lucky that friends were at the house, since I can't drive very well with the cast, and that we were able to bypass most of the people in the Cedars wait room to get into the ER. The treatment stopped the acute problem, but our personal doctor came in and outlined a series of things which would need to be done before Len got released, so he was admitted. He looked great and sounded chipper throughout, you'd never know anything was wrong except for the huge bandage on his neck.

We are grateful for friends who dug through the ruins of our house and who have provided transportation services over the past week. We've got a good support system. Special thanks to Bob, Becky, Kerry, Bob, Lisa Jane, Karen, Chase, and the much appreciated Dr. Michael for helping us through this round of trouble.

So my 11 days off from work wasn't quite as much fun or as productive as I planned. My horse won't remember me when next I see him. We are moving everybody to a new barn at the end of the month, and I feel I will be unable to help. And I do miss my pretty boy right now. I'm glad I got his Christmas cookies to him before this happened.

Ace Goes to a Show

It's been a busy few weeks. I've wanted to do a nice, edited clip of Ace at his first horse-show, but Windows and Picasa are determined to thwart that objective. Windows refuses to recognize the format of the clips and Picasa can't edit video. Plus, the longer clip is too long for Blogger. So I'll show the clip of him entering the ring and if I ever get to edit the two clips together, I'll post that another time. If you aren't interested, just feel free to skip the visuals.We took Ace to an all-breed schooling show sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Arabian Horse Association, which was held in Simi Valley on May 31. In the photograph above, he's on the left hanging out with his distant cousin (determined by a comparison of pedigrees) Peanut, recently acquired by the owner of the ranch where Ace boards and Total Equestrian Experience has lessons. Ace was having a fine time being fussed over by several of the young women who served as grooms that day.

Gayle's assistant Ashley, who turned 18 last week, rode him. She's been riding him in lessons and wanted to show him in flat classes because her Welsh pony, Curio, doesn't like to do flat work. Ace acted like he'd been going to shows all of his life. He was totally sensible, keeping himself under control even when other horses were going nuts nearby.

Once he was in the ring, nothing mattered more than being the center of attention. He's always loved having an audience, and he sure had one that day.

Ace came home with second place ribbons for Obedience and English Pleasure, a third place in ground poles (which we entered for the heck of it, never expecting him to place), and a forth in English Equitation. We were all very proud of him and he seemed pretty proud of himself.

Mea Culpa

O.K. I've been remiss about blogging. It's been such a busy bunch of weeks that I didn't realize it had been 5 weeks since Ace's feet had been trimmed until I wrote a check to my farrier today. No wonder his left fore was so out of balance when the vet looked at him on Thursday. Bad Mommy.

I'll be moving Ace to my trainer's place this week. She had an opening at the location a few blocks away where she does most of her teaching. There's an 8 stall barn plus several pipe corrals. Ace is getting the newest pipe corral and we've made him a house at one end of the 12 x 24. He'll have a 12 x 12 partical enclosure (walls on 3 sides) to stay out of the wind and wet, and it will help keep his shavings from blowing away. He'll be able to watch everything, but there will be no territory wars over fences. Last week, he wound up was a very squishy swelling in his back right leg above the fetlock which I am sure was acquired kicking at the tyrannosaurus rex who recently moved in next to him.

There will also be plenty of little horse-loving girls to fuss over him while I'm not around. And he loves to be fussed over, around, and about.

I've been trying to find a tack shed. The one I have at the current barn is a plastic Suncast which is approximately 7 x 3 feet and 7 feet high on the exterior. It's just a bit too narrow, but I had no idea how expensive they were until I started shopping. I think I've found the one I'm going to buy. It's not perfect, but it will work. I'll just have to be better about stacking things and not forget that I've also got a Suncast bench seat for additional storage.

Tomorrow is Ace's birthday. He will be 12. He was just over a year old when I first saw him and it was three years later that I decided to buy him and bring him out to Los Angeles from New Mexico. I am so glad I did.

A Horse with a Sense of Humor

After almost two weeks of heavy downpours, we've had a break in the rain. The weather has held for several days, so the arena was actually dry enough for a lesson this morning. We decided to do 9 a.m. instead of 8, so I had plenty of time to get Ace ready before Gayle showed up.

We headed out into the arena and I set up my cones and dropped the hula hoop we use as a "safe" spot for Ace when we want to take a break. Jumps had been left out in the arena and I needed to move one of them to keep Ace from working too close to the horses in their runs. I moved Ace so he was standing with his feet inside the hoop and told him to stay. I figured that he might do it for a few minutes.

Much to my surprise, Ace stayed put for more than just a few minutes. While I was moving the jump, Gina, who works at the air conditioning business that co-exists with the stable, came outside and asked "did you ask him to do that?" She was amazed that he was still standing there. I went back to him, told him he was a good boy, gave him a couple of reward treats and told him to stay.

He stayed put until Gayle drove in, when he thought he could move out. I put him back in the hoop and told him to stay again. I figured I'd walk to the end of the arena and let him know he could join us.

So Gayle and I stood by the mounting block and called for him. He looked at us and stayed put. Gayle and I laughed and waved for him to come. He stayed. I pulled out the bag of reward treats, called him, and shook the bag. We wished we had a video camera. His ears pricked, his tail went in the air in classic Arab fashion, and he did is big, high, park horse trot across the arena to us, stopping on a dime right near me so he could have a peppermint snack. Gayle and I could hardly stop laughing.

It was also one of those mornings where Ace tried to convince us that being a circus horse is more fun than anything else. He picked up my water bottle from the mounting block and we managed to get him to move his head around so I could grab it from him (he was a little less willing to let it go than I might like, but I did manage to get it from him without falling off the saddle.) He kept trying to retrieve his cones before we were done with the lesson. When we did finally finish, he had a hard time choosing exactly the right spot for picking up the hula hoop--he doesn't like the taste of sand. Gayle, who was on the ground next to him, said he was blowing sand off the hoop before picking it up in his teeth with his lips curled back. Cute as all get out.

The chiropractor came by last Saturday and I think it did him a lot of good. The doc said he's got good range of motion (I didn't want to watch has he moved his front legs around--it looked like he had to be breaking something.) He's moving beautifully and we do seem to be making progress on that left-front heel. My farrier came by today to do some other horses, and we decided that it wouldn't hurt to trim the toes back again. If only his front feet were as good as his back feet.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ace and I wish you all kisses and chocolates--you can never have too many of either!

The Shoes Don't Fit

I've got a high level of frustration right now because the Old Mac Boots I ordered for Ace and for which I paid a premium for expedited shipping do not fit. Apparently, Gayle had an older sizing chart from the catalogue and we ordered based on that. The boots are much too small--small pony sized. Now, I've got to send them back and hope that the next pair actually fit. Because he has virtually no heel on his left fore hoof, it looks like his foot is much longer than it actually is--he's as hard to fit as I am. He's also missing hoof wall on that foot because of the seedy toe and the trim the vet did.

I think that Victoria mentioned some soft boots. I'd sure like the information about them because I'm afraid he's going to bruise himself on the rocks in the arena if I let him out without a foot covering. He's definitely getting stir crazy.

I Just Got My Life Back

I have finished my tax return duties for 2007. My husband will go to the accountant tomorrow. I faxed off the numbers today.

I need to find a way to make Ace a deductible dependent. I guess I should start licensing pictures somewhere. Then he can be a prop.

Or my friend has to sell her screenplay where the horse is based on him and he can take up acting. I could be a stage mom.

In the mean time, I can spend hours with him this weekend without guilt. Hooray!

A Hitch in Our Giddiup

Both the Arabian Prince and I have been dealing with tweaks in our backs for the past two weeks.

Mine started when I went off to the barn after one of those days at work where someone had messed with my supposedly ergonomic chair and I couldn't get it back to where it worked for me. I had a huge muscle knot in my lower left pelvic area, that sent twinges when I walked. I was in a lesson, and started to trot, and suddenly, pain was radiating from my spine. I could barely work at the walk.

I went off to the chiropractor who said my tailbone was out of alignment. I haven't been back on Ace since. The adjustments aren't taking, because every time I go in to see the chiropractor is after an 8 hour day in the chair of torture and I can't figure out the correct adjustment.

The day after my back started to hurt, I got a call from Gayle telling me Ace's right back leg was swollen and badly scraped up and he was moving gingerly. We think he cast himself, but we can't figure out where. While I was out of town, we had the bio lights technician come on by and, while it helped, Gayle could still feel a problem when she rode him even when she couldn't see anything at the trot. The chiropractor is coming on Thursday, which should take care of the problem.

I saw him roll for the first time since this happened a couple of days ago. That was a relief. Before that, he kept walking with with his nose hanging low while he pawed at the sand in the arena looking for that special spot and not being able to bring himself to actually go down. It was pitiful. He is moving quite well without a rider on his back and did a good deal of bucking and galloping on Sunday, so, clearly, he's improving.

I despair that I won't.

More Barn Drama

Things are sadly approaching the enemy action stage at the barn. I got up to see Ace around 5:30 on Sunday afternoon and discovered he had a manger full of feed-room sweepings for his dinner. The sign on his door says "no alfalfa" and he had half a bale of his specified 3-way hay sitting in the feed room. It wasn't even good alfalfa in the manger, just dusty shattered leaves and some short twigs of oat, and pellets, and god knows what else. I cleaned out almost a full bushel of the stuff. Then, while I was being very upset and talking to another boarder who is also a lawyer, Ace went running after the mare Kathy had out in the arena and she went down, hitting the fence and skidding.

Kathy took over this mare a couple of months ago after caring for her at the barn down the street out of the goodness of her heart. She looks like a quarab, but we really don't know for sure. She's a flea-bitten gray and god only knows how old. Kathy can't ride her, she just takes her for walks. And she's got wounds which don't seem to heel and lots of scrapes all over her. She's the only mare at our barn.

Even though Kathy had told me it was o.k. to turn Ace out with her, I felt so guilty about the new scrapes and I was pretty horrified when she wouldn't get up at first. But she did get up and Kathy cleaned up her boo-boos and then we put some Bigeloil on the spot that appeared to be really sore. Nothing appeared to be broken.

I went home feeling pretty sick to my stomach about Reina and whomever decided to feed Ace trash rather than his food. On Sundays, there's only a small chance of catching anyone to talk to about problems. I don't know who actually fed. I called Gina this morning and let her know what I found last night. I can only be grateful that Ace had pretty much turned up his nose at what was placed in his feeder and there was that much left 90 minutes after he must have been fed.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to talk to Gayle about moving him again. I'm not about to leave my last month's rent behind, so the earliest I can be out is August 31. I wish Gayle could find a place for all of her students to be.

The Spooking Chronicles, Part What?

The stinker took advantage of me when I probably should not have been taking a lesson on Monday and did another big spook. Again, I did stay on, but because I wasn't feeling well, it took me a bit more to get it under control. I also came out of contact with the seat because I got pulled forward and, apparently, I hit him with the whip.

I've been repeating the word Whoa! a lot. Gayle said I totally forgot it and I finally yelled it at him. He did stop when he heard it from me.

Clearly, this is the new evasion to avoid real work. It was a successful strategy in the past (Rod Bergen is so wrong about horses being unable to strategize), but I'm not going to be put off by it again. Eventually, he'll have to try something else. I'm much less bothered when he decides that a collected back up will work.

Gayle did say that I had a great collected canter underneath me when he took off. All I can say is, he feels like a whole lot bigger horse when his back is up under me. There's a lot of power when that engine is engaged.

Gayle asked me if Ashley could ride Ace in a dressage clinic at the end of the month (actually, it's June 1, I think) and, of course, I said yes. I'll go and watch. They'll be sharing the spot with the warmblood and rider they often take lessons with. The mare is about a hand and a half taller than Ace and proportionally bigger. So it is quite entertaining to watch them keep up or or slow down to stay with each other.

Riding the Spook

I had another great lesson on Saturday, including the moment when Ace saw a dragon (neither Gayle nor I saw it, of course) and took off across the arena. He was on a loose rein when it happened, but my hands were in the right place, so a finger on the pommel kept me balanced as he dropped the right shoulder. I never lost contact with the saddle, got him back under control, turned him and made him go right back to work. That obviously wasn't his plan, but he got the message.

Earlier in the lesson, I was letting him walk on a loose rein while I was pulling on a glove. Gayle commented about how relaxed I was, letting him move freely while I tried to get the glove on. After the spook, she said she couldn't have handled it any better than I did. She was pleased that we just went back to work after something we both knew was bound to happen at some point.

Knowing that he took off at a canter and I just sat there makes the thought of approaching the intentional canter less scary than it has been for quite a while. Gayle and Ashley both keep telling me that he has an awesome canter (as has anyone who's ever ridden him--he looks like a rocking horse.)

He's moving off my leg so easily these days that I regret that I wasn't able to find the right trainer sooner. Of course, I really wouldn't have been able to afford the training program I am in when I first got him. It does help to have him worked by Gayle and ridden by Ashley and I'm really glad that I don't have to longe him every time before I get on his back.

I dropped by Gayle's place when Ashley was riding him in a group lesson last week and Gayle told me that when the lesson was over, Ace was very confused that I was no longer there. He had noticed when I came in but didn't see me leave. I guess he knows who he owns.

I have seen him block other horses at the barn if they try to get too friendly with me. If he's with a group out in the arena and I'm in his run, he'll guard the gate and keep the other horses away. God forbid I open the door and someone beats him to his treats.

Riding Lesson

Last night, I took a lesson in my Cadillac of a dressage saddle for the second time. I feel like I am bouncing on the back of the horse and that the saddle makes a terrible squeaking sound. I suppose that will get better as the saddle breaks in, but until then, it is a bit disconcerting.

The horse seems mostly happy with the saddle unless it slips into his shoulder blade. Then he does what my friend Melinda calls "the flamingo." He lifts his left leg and stands on three feet. Because I don't see it very often when I ride the western saddle, and I used to see it when I rode in my other dressage saddle, it suddenly struck me that he's been trying to tell me something. In fact, when the saddle is placed correctly, he's fine. It was only after I had ridden for a while that he did it and we discovered the saddle had slipped. I may have to spring for that more expensive, newer model girth to keep things where they belong.

I had a lot of trouble keeping my toes turned in while moving my hips forward last night. Practice, practice, practice.