Lettuce Gone Rogue

Okay, I couldn't help it because Funder's post about her one spinach plant reminded me that I have been meaning to post a few photos of our garden. I took photos last week and that was as far as I got.

It's been so wet and cold here that being in the gardening mood has been a bit of an uphill climb. The weather is really starting to wear on people's tempers. We had a rough winter , like so many other parts of the county and Spring time in the Rockies has been tempermental to say the least. I think I can count on one hand the number of days we have had over 60 degrees. We spend our weekends playing cat and mouse with rain storms , splitting our day between attemptimg to get our necessary weekend chores accomplished,like mowing, and lazying around inside with a cup of tea and good movie or book.
Sadly, we are quickly approaching full saturation.We are in the 500 year flood plain. We check our crawl space every day to make sure water isn't coming up. So far, so good and keeping my fingers and toes crossed it will stay that way. Several houses in the neighborhood have had sump pumps running for weeks.We haven't so far.. ofcourse, I have probably just jinxed myself... Sigh.

You know, it just figures that the year we decide to put in a garden happend to be one of the coldest , wettest springs on record. We started designing our garden boxes last fall and worked like dogs all spring to get them in. Finally, the seeds we sowed over Easter for cool season veggies are starting to giving back.

My lettuce has gone rogue. It's out of control. I have lost patience with trying to harvest "properly" and only nipping the outer leaves. Tonight , I couldn't even tell what was what so now, the lettuce and mesclun section looks as though a herd of rabbits got after it. I just went at it with the scissors. (Tom would be appalled I am sure but by the time he is back, it will have grown back atleast 6 times!) I couldn't help it. I now have 4 gallon bags loaded with greens and there is still more to pick. I have one other third of a garden box with more greens. Note to self for next year, plant less lettuce!

The tomatoes , peppers and herb garden are maintaining at this point but barely. If we don't get some heat soon, we may lose alot of them.

Okay Funder, unlike you, I absolutely can slaughter and consume what I reep.. so this one is for you...

Happy Gardening

When Opportunity Knocks

You better answer...

That's exactly what my husband is about to do. Tom just headed off to Europe this morning. I wish I had been on that plane with him but for various reasons, it didn't work out logistically.

This is a huge opportunity for him and I am very proud of him. It's really one of those situations that kind of fell into his lap but sometimes those are the best way for things to happen.

For those of you that don't know, I am lucky enough to be married to someone who is as crazy about horses as myself. He's also pretty darn talented in the horse training department as well and I say that as objectively as possible. Tom has been breeding, training and riding for ...., well, forever it seems. Most recently, he got involved in a bit of a unique equestrian sport called Horseback Archery. It has become his ultimate hobby and passion. No, it's not the Native American genre of horseback archery. It pre dates that by may years, back to the culture of the Steppe warriors.

In the village of Kaposmero in Southern Hungary, Master Lajos Kassai has founded a school of archery and has dedicated his life to recreating the ancient traditions and culture of his people. He also holds a few noteworthy world records, shooting over a thousand arrows in twelve hours.
and the second world record was in 2002, out of 286 gallops, shooting about three thousand arrows in twelve hours. I think there is a third world record as well but anyone can look it up on the Internet if you are really interested.
let me just say this, the man is impressive to say the least.

I can't do the sport justice in trying to explain what it's all about, but just imagine taking a horse in full gallop , with the rider shooting with the bow, (so no reins) hitting target after target, front, side and the "parting " or back shot. The horseman has to be in sync with his horse and and in total control of himself. The power of the galloping horse combined with the total concentration of the archer. It is a reflection of a complete harmony between man and horse.

The main school resides in Kaposmero,Hungary but there are many other subsidiary schools; Germany, Austria, the USA, Canada, Slovakia, Greece, New Zealand, and Norway.

I have watched my husband train for 5 years now, coming up through the ranks of the various levels through rigorous training and testing for this mounted martial art, and now, all his hard work has come to a point where he has an opportunity to go to the main school, aka The Valley, in Hungary, and partake in an international festival and training with Lajos Kassai himself.

But, before all of that, as luck turns out, Tom will be involved in another unique opportunity.

Tom is first headed to Munich , Germany where he will be putting on a 4 day horsemanship clinic for German Horse Expo. This all very overwhelming and came on the heels of the German Archery school. with Pettra Engelander. Pettra is the leader of the German Archery school. With the encouragement of Tom's own teacher and leader of the USA Archery school, Todd Delle, Pettra and Todd arranged to get Tom to Germany to put on a Horsemanship clinic. It's kind of complicated how it all came to this (and I am trying to shorten it for brevity purposes) and almost unreal when I think about it all! . So, Tom , who is quite modest about his training abilities and never wants to be in the public eye, is going oversees to try to help some Germans learn something more about horsemanship.

Something like this doesn't always just come along. I am very proud of him and all of his hard work that has brought him to this point. I can't wait to hear how it's all going.

Hoof Abcess

A few days ago, I went out to do morning chores only to find JB very very lame. At first, I thought it was his front right, and my heart skipped a beat but when I asked him to move off he looked lame on both fronts. His paddock was very muddy and he was slipping around so it was hard to tell exactly which leg he was lame on. I checked him over, no swelling, no cuts, no heat. If I had to give the lameness a grade, he was probably somewhere between a 2 and a 3. The mud and bad footing made it hard to detect much of anything definitely and since he didn't act like he was in any large amount of discomfort, I threw him his hay and headed into work for the day. I would have to address it more closely later. That was Wednesday.

That evening I checked him over more thoroughly and was able to determine it was not his front right, but instead his front left. Still no swelling, hheat or cuts that I could fine anywhere, however, he was holding his heelup, keeping his fetlock cocked so as not to put weight on the back of hhis foot. At first, I thought well, he must have slipped in the mud and ttweaked something. I had a vet appt scheduled on Saturday so I decided to jjust keep a close eye on it and if he got worse, I would have to vet check the leg out. Ofcourse, he got worse.

On Saturday, JB had a pretty strong pulse in the front left. The vet hoof tested him, checking for a bruise, inflammation (laminitis) or indicators of an abcess but nothing revealed itself in those areas. We ended up doing xrays to check for a broken coffin or navicular bone. Nothing, which was good news. We decided that the only possibility was that it could be an abcess in the coronary band or a bruise in the heel that was fairly deep and undetectable. We wrapped his foot in a poultice and they sent us home with instructions to keep him contained (in case it was a soft tissue injury in the hoof or leg), keep his foot wrapped for 48 hours, give him bute that afternoon and see how he did.

By the next morning, JB was even more lame and the back part of his lower cannon (just above his fetlock joint) was hot and swollen. I gave him 1 gram of bute for his discomfot and spoke to the vet late that morning. He wanted us to pull the bandage off and repack it because he was certain it was an abcess. Ofcourse, my med kit had everything but what I needed to repack the foot properly. I had to run into town anyways so I planned to stop at the vets to get some Magna paste (way better for a drawing salve than Icthamol)and wrapping material and then get the foot rewrapped later in the afternoon.
By the time I got home, JB seemed to be feeling better so I let him out into his pasture to graze for a while. He took off running and bucking, sans a bit lame yet but he seemed better. I planned to repack the foot after a while when he had a full belly. When I finally got the bandage off Saturday evening, I noticed a strong putrid smell, something I recognized as pus. I looked the foot over and sure enough, there it was. The abcess had obviously erupted, which would have explained JB feeling better earlier in the day.

The abcess was on the left heel bulb and things were still looking a bit swollen and tender. I soaked his foot for 15 minutes in Epsom salt and then repacked the area with a bit more Magna Paste, in case there was still some drainage. I rewrapped everything to keep it clean(with all the mud around) and will pull it off again tomorrow.

It's been a while since I have had a horse abcess and have never had one at the heel bulb . Not sure what could have caused this , possibly he caught himself with his hind foot or it is simply just the fact that it's been so muddy. Either way, JB is already feeling 90% better since it released and I am so relieved that this is all it was...

Saddle Update and other news

After returning the 15” specialized saddle, the 16” finally arrived last week. Short story- it’s definitely a better fit for me. No more pain in the places where there shouldn’t be pain!! I have only ridden in it at home and haven’t had a chance to get out on the trail with it but it looks like I will be keeping it. I love how close contact it is. I can actually feel Maggie’s back lifting when she softens. No more hauling my 30 lb Wade tree onto her. Now, I just have to do the final fitting tweaks for Maggie’s back. I think I have it pretty close and Maggie seems very comfortable but I plan to have the dealer come out and give it a look over. I like a lot of things about the saddle, the look , the lightness, the adjustable stirrup position and the adjustable fit but honestly, I think Specialized can come a long ways in the area of quality and craftsmanship. I think they compromised quality in order to get a lightweight saddle. One thing I will be having modified is the D ring attachment for the breast collar. Right now, they are just stitched to a concho. There is no attachment into the actual tree of the saddle. One tough uphill pull with a little strain on that breast collar, and I could easily see that D ring popping right off. Not sure what they were thinking on that design. I was wondering if anyone else with a Specialized has modified this D ring for the breast collar? Has anyone had issues with it pulling out or breaking?

So, now that I have a saddle that is comfortable for horse and rider, maybe I can get motivated to ride a little more? Let’s hope so. For whatever reason (stress??) I have been dealing with several weeks of not feeling well. I had the flu, then bronchitis and now finally recovering from some other virus that didn't test positive for strep, but felt like it. I think I am climbing out of it and getting myself healthy again but the weather hasn’t exactly been conducive to hours in the saddle either. We have had a few teasers of nice 70 degree (mostly during the work week) in between the torrential downpours. We are setting flooding records and with all the rain and as of last week, we were still adding snowpack in the mountains. It’s been a crazy year weather wise. Riding in summer rain is one thing, riding in heavy downpours at 45 degrees? Not really my idea of a good time.

So, there is that.
The other big news , atleast for us, is that I am getting ready to send my husband to Europe in just a short couple of weeks. He is headed to Germany to put on a 4 day horsemanship clinic and then onto Hungary to train and compete at the Kassai Horseback Archery school. I am very proud of him. He has worked very hard to get to this point. Stay tuned for more details.

Focus

Things have been pretty chaotic around our place. I have barely have had time to breathe , let alone sit down a write a worthy post. So, I will just try to summarize and give a few updates for now.

I have managed some decent conditioning rides on the weekends with Maggie as well as squeezing out an evening training session or two in the arena during the week. Our average mileage has been anywhere between 7-10 miles on the trail, but much of that is hill climbing. We certainly aren’t setting any records on speed or distance at this point but Maggie is becoming quite fit nonetheless. She constantly amazes me with her strength and willingness to "just keep going". On the down side, I have run into a few “training” issues with her that I am working on. Her “go” button appears to be stuck in the on position and as she has gotten more fit, it just gets a bit worse each time. I had this same issue with her last year but with some concentrated work in the arena, we made some good progress last fall. Maggie was listening well to half halts and would slow up and listen. I was even getting to where I could ask for a couple of different speeds at the trot. This year, we seem to be back to this same problem, however, I realize that that the issue is more about her focus. Her thought is not on me and the task at hand and there's a good reason for it.
For starters, she has become ridiculously attached to the younger gelding she shares paddock space with. We are going to have to separate them but that's a whole other post! It’s a love hate thing between Maggie and Brego, Tom's up and coming gelding. Often times, I am on Maggie and my husband is riding Brego at the same time in the arena and the training session turns into a frustrating battle for all of us. Both horses just worry constantly about where the other one is. It's impossible to get much accomplished if you can't get the horses attention for more than 3 milliseconds at a time.

The second part of the problem is me. It dawned on me this weekend. I have been doing a piss poor job of keeping her thought on me. This year, I have fallen into the trap of just "get on and go". Why?? Well, that ‘s pretty simple…. I am not focused, why should my horse be? I am not even trying to tune into her, why should I expect her to tune in to me, right?

I won’t go into details but there are some major stressors going on in my life right now that I am trying to manage. Unfortunately, its taking my focus away from everything else and at this point, it has to. At least for the time being.

So, pardon me for a while, I might be a bit more absent on blogs, face book and maybe a bit slow to respond to emails as this other situation consumes my time and energy. Eventually, I’ll make it back around to some sense of normalcy in my life and hopefully get back to being more “plugged in” at some point in the future .

Until then, Happy Trails!

JB's first ride..

I started this post out originally talking about all kinds of announcements of sorts I wanted to share with you and spun in the news at the end about JB's first ride, but when I finished, it didn't seem right , it seemed like JB's first ride really deserved it's own post, so I erased all that other stuff and started over. The other stuff can wait.

For a few weeks now as time and weather have permitted, I've been taking JB for walks and doing ground driving sessions in the arena. Friday night I had gone out to halter him and the plan was to just brush him really well and let him hand graze. I was just coming off having a knock you on your butt flu and I wasn't feeling real motivated to do much, but I needed to go out and be with a horse nonetheless. The sun , which hadn't been out all day suddenly appeared from behind the clouds and it got nice and warm. I walked back into the tack room to get a different brush and JB, who tends to like to also get into the tack room, followed me in and sniffed at his saddle. I know this is going to sound a little crazy but he seemed to be telling me wanted to go for a ride. JB and I are pretty connected and I would like to beleive, after everything we have been through together, that we are tuned into one anothers thougths on some levels. I thought for a second maybe it was too soon yet. All the doubt crept in but really , what was I waiting for? For him to tell it was time?? Well, he seemed to be doing just that. So, the decision was made for me...
As soon as I grabbed his bridle, he got the most anticipatory look on his face that I have ever seen on a horse. He definitely got excited about it. He was trying to get him mouth on the bit before I even had it ready to pop over his little ears. He was pretty cute about it. Anyways, your probably wondering when I going to stop babbling and tell you how it went , right??

Okay, I'll tell you. It went fine. I know.. anti-climactic, right ?? Well, there really isn't much to tell honestly and that is exactly how I imagined it would go. I got on and we walked off, quiet as ever. JB was very tentative and unsure of himself, having to bear the extra weight of a rider. He was very careful and that's a good thing at this point.

The less than good thing is that JB is not sound, not really anyways. It's not what I would call a limp, but a shortened stride on his right side, which I beleive is coming from the shoulder, not the pastern. His shoulder sustained numerous soft tissue injuries (torn muscles, ligaments, etc) in the accident and he had a huge hematoma in his heart girth area. My hope is that this will improve as he gets stronger, along with some massage work and stretching. He's not in any pain, he runs and jumps at liberty without hesitation. The pastern doesn't seem to bother him in the least and I am very happy about that.

Riding JB for the first time was obviously a bigger deal for me than I am able to even try to begin to portray here so I won't get into all that. When I finished my ride on JB and jumped off of him, my husband, who had come up to the fence of the arena to watch, walked over to me and said "Congratulations, this is a big deal" I hadn't thought about it that way because it just happened and I hadn't planned on it being the day I ride JB, but he was right. It was a big deal, considering. I managed a meager "thank you" and choked back the tears I could feel coming. I was mildly sad because I had hoped JB was going to walk off feeling much more sound than he did but realistically, a year ago, at this time, I was struggling with the decision on whether I should put JB down. I can deal with a shortened stride and a horse that is just happy to be with me.

Really???

So it's May, the sun is shining and Monday night I came home from work with a killer headache which turned into a migraine. I woke in the middle of the night with the chills and achey all over.. Tuesay morning, the full blown flu had descended upon me... This is the first time I have been out of bed since yesterday.

I haven't had the flu in years. Guess this is why people get the flu shot..