BCA and bucking

Sorry for the long delay in posting again...Slightly dodgy laptop makes it quite a big job to make a post with pictures!

So a few weeks ago I took Lexi to BCA 90.

She warmed up super and did what felt like a lovely test. A score of 34 showed we were still missing the marks so  I was a little disappointed.

Show jumping was on a lovely surface but a little trickier than some eventing courses. My mantra was FORWARDS since some soul searching has made me realise I still want to ride with the handbrake on.

 

 

 

 

 

She responded with a cracking clear, asking for the jumps to be bigger next time!

 

On to the cross country. There was quite a wait as they kept holding to do groundwork as it was getting pretty wet. I wasn't particularly concerned about anything on the course; it was fairly tame but had a bit of everything with corners, step up and down, open ditch ect. I also decided to use my watch since I was just in the running for a regional Q and I keep going too fast.

 

She stormed out the start gate, no hesitancy this time over the fist couple of fences.

She bounded over the corner, the ditch, the step up and down....Best run through the water we've had too

Even with my watch I only made it 2 seconds slow enough not to get too fast penalties. She just jumps so easily out of her rhythm that we make up a little too much time.  Plus she has a huge stride!

We finished 10th in the end as there were several equal and we were furthest from the optimum time, but her jumping is improving so much and her confidence was coming on in bounds. It seemed the dressage was the only thing to crack.


However the Thursday afterwards, the bucking was back.

I decided enough was enough and sent her for a work up.
X-rays showed no problems in her neck and back so we bone scanned her. This showed mild to moderate sacroiliac pain but vets weren't concerned this was enough.

A lameness workup showed on a small circle on the hard she was lame on her front fore. X-rays showed the angle of her pedal bone wasn't right and MRI showed some very minor inflammation of the navicular bone. This is a mix of her having a club foot and needing some corrective shoeing.

She was rescoped as due anyway which was clear, and tested for hind gut ulcers and glucose absorption which was all fine. Also scanned her hind suspensory ligaments which were fine.

Overall pretty positive but no concrete answer. I decided to go ahead and medicate her SI.

So now we have 4 days box rest. 2 weeks walk and trot hacking. 2 weeks walk and trot schooling and hacking. Then a month canter then start jumping again.

A bit depressing given we aren't 100% sure this is the cause but hopefully we can get it dealt with.

She's also on project fatten up as she dropped more weight (she didn't have any to lose in the first place) at the vets. Hopefully with the SI sorted, she might start developing some topline at last too.

She was very happy to see me when  I picked her up and we had a lovely cuddle with her grooming me (vets must of wondered what was happening as she was tickling my belly and I was in stitches! I'm so ticklish!). Her highness is now being pampered within in inch of her life with a full selection of forage; ultragrass, haylage and soaked hay to pick at whatever she fancies and 3 feeds a day. Plus every supplement I can find to help.

Now lets hope the insurance coughs up!

 

I have some catching up to do

Yes I have gotten very very very behind.  Again.

April turned into a month mostly consisting of abscesses. First Squirrel had one. Then Lexi had one. Then Squirrel had one.

Squirrel was meant to go to cricklands winter league SJ finals at the end of April but when my farrier was hit in the eye with puss after digging out the second abscess on the Tuesday before, it was a no-go. Luckily Lexi had come sound just in time, although schooling the day before (in her dressage saddle), she was bucking and bucking and bucking and bucking. And for fun, bucking a bit more. When Lexi bucks, she's quite kind. Her head doesn't go down. It's only one in a row. But god help me they are ENORMOUS. Handstands. She cuts her heels on her hind legs whilst she's at it.

Anyway. I managed to take her to Wales and just tucked her into the 85cm as with time off, first stay away show, atmosphere ect, I didn't feel we needed to add height into the equation.

She settled quickly and ate well which surprised me.
Friday morning, we jumped a tense but CLEAR round for 10th place.
Friday afternoon was the teams and she jumped another clear and we came 4th overall.

Saturday morning was on grass, we had a slip and ended up with a stop after the slip and a pole down.
Saturday afternoon, first championship class, we rolled an unlucky pole.

Sunday morning I decided to test riding against the clock a bit and we went into fourth place!
Sunday afternoon, she jumped a great clear, then I went for it and came 3rd in the championship class. Real moment of pride - my highest placing in the championship classes overall, she came 4th in total (damn the pole Saturday afternoon!) and I left prouder than ever of my little mare.

Once home, we had a visit from Ruth to check her after the bucking at home, and she was indeed sore. So she did even better than I thought in Wales given her soreness!

She was also feeling rather full of herself and spritely, lots of jogging out hacking and generally thinking of herself rather highly.

We had a lesson with a new dressage instructor, and she was still bucking so I swapped to the jump saddle and she was instantly relaxed and calm. I had a great lesson and we cracked long and low, which she now fully understands which will HOPEFULLY get some muscle on the damned mare.

Next we were off to Broadway.

Walking the course, it seemed fairly simple although I felt we were slightly going in at the deep end with fence 3 being a relatively narrow log into woods, and 5 being a coffin with a meaty ditch. But first...the dressage.

Again she did what felt like a good test, and whilst I was pleased 32.4 was going in the right direction, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that I was still missing the marks for a sub 30 test.

We had a pretty uncomfortable show jumping round. I have done some soul searching regarding my inability to jump an SJ round since then (especially after how well she jumped at cricklands) and I realised I just ride too backwards. I want to jump with the handbrake on.  I'm looking for a new SJ instructor so if anyone has any suggestions...She was backwards, I was backwards, but she was honest and eventually tapped one for 4 faults when  I had the wrong leg for a corner and didn't change through trot as I was aware time was tight.

Then it was time for cross country! I needn't of worried. Fence 1 and 2 were on the cautious side with plenty of leg, and she spooked at the fence judge for 3 but then saw the log, locked on and away we went! She is honestly incredible XC, once she gets going she just jumps and gallops and jumps and gallops. She reads the questions and makes nothing of them. I mean I know its only 90 but she feels unreal.

Big pats for the pony and we finished inside the time for 13th.

The following Wednesday saw saddle fitting. The dressage saddle went down a gullet size and the SJ was reflocked. By the end, Lexi was bucking in both saddles. Great. Just great.


A week later, we were off to Millfield. I made some errors. This one was far away but I was determined to fit in a second event and with me at a wedding for tweseldown and then on holiday, Millfield it was. I also forgot my horses and I were horsesitting at a clients, so I was a further 30 minutes away than planned. A 2.5 hour drive and a 10.30am dressage made for an uncomfortable setting of alarm clocks but that's eventing.

By 5am, Lexi was loaded and we were off! Or we would of been, except the truck didn't start. I cursed myself for not buying the battery jump start kit after it didn't start the week before and rang my breakdown.

Half an hour later, we were on our way. I needed fuel but decided to wait as long as possible (although I felt awful with the distinct lack of coffee) so drove a good 60 miles before stopping. Moment of fear when I tried to start the engine....Nope. No juice.

Excellent. Phoned breakdown AGAIN. Apologised to fuel station manager who told me I wasn't allowed to jump start it there. (Well do you want to help push, its only 7.5 tonnes?!). Two hours later, the same man arrived. Pretty much on first name terms and I expect an invite to Christmas dinner given we've met 3 times in a week at that stage. Jumped.

Set off again. Partner called stewards and begged for a later dressage or otherwise a spot in the BE100. They said we could do our test at 11.38.

At 11.25 we rolled into the lorry park. Partner grabbed number and begged for a later SJ time. No said the secretary, you must go on time. Our time is 11.30 and we havn't done the dressage yet said partner. Eventually the message filtered in and I had thumbs up to push in to SJ anytime I wanted as I still needed to walk the xc.

Mare had helpfully pooed all over herself in the lorry, then rubbed her butt and tail into it for good measure and gave me a very obnoxious look when I suggested we might do a nice test.

The dressage steward was lovely and let me have a little longer to warm up then we went for our test. She wasn't as off my leg as usual but felt okay. I forgot all about keeping her straight and happily overshot the second centre line by about 5m but given the circumstances, I was very pleased with her.

I had left my martingale and stud girth by the lorry so bribed some people watching to hold the Mare whilst I studded her (thankfully her show manners have significantly improved) then warmed up and we went in.

A much better round than Broadway. More forwards although I still got on top of a couple of fences and had one down for four faults. Sigh.

I ran (literally, I almost passed out) round the XC which seemed nice enough with a decent right hand corner and her first drop combo on a course, then got ready. We had quite a wait for XC but once we went to the start box, she knew what was coming and started bouncing! I almost fell off when they announced by 29.5 dressage, we did it! And I made errors!

We set off and again, she just ATE it. Going cross county on this horse is like nothing else. It is what I dreamt of since I took her home just under 3 years ago. It feels as easy as breathing. Jump...Gallop...Jump....She cantered through the water this time and everything was wonderful.

Definitely did not get carried away and get 2 too fast penalties.

We came 6th in the end which was fantastic. Her first BE frilly and foundation points! It was truly a moment to savour as in that moment, everything was going how I dreamt it would.


Then we were pull started in the truck, I left it running whilst we unloaded, took it straight to the garage then crawled into bed. Not before the dog threw up in the living though.


The week following that, she still kept bucking. I also decided she had ulcers (and kissing spines and sacroiliac disease but I digress). I booked her in for a scope and Ruth managed to fit her in before my holiday, and we found grade 2 ulcers and that she was sore in part of her back linked to a too narrow saddle.

Given she has never been sore there before, I've booked an appointment to drive 1.5 hours to see Lavinia Mitchell so PLEASE GOD FIT ME A SADDLE MY HORSE WILL HAVE next week.

I've also turned her out 24/7 and intend to keep her like that until winter as its one of the few changes I can make regarding her ulcers, as she is already on ad lib forage and regular turnout.

I went away, got blissfully tanned and relaxed, came home and low and behold, the mare has stopped bucking. She also jumped a cracking 1.05m course today.

Phew.

We have 3 events back to back coming up in attempt to get a regional placing and then we shall rest.