An update is long overdue! It has been a crazy couple of months and now things are settling down a little bit (a good thing!). We just got back from the BLM Championships on Sunday… but more on that later. KM Dressage has had some big changes in the past two months! The first really big change is location! We moved all of the horses at the very end of August to a new training facility. The owners of Crawfords Chance Farm decided to close their farm down. Although everyone was sad to leave the beautiful farm and all it had to offer, it was the right time to go. I personally had that feeling of the old saying “when one door closes another one opens”… I know it sounds cheesy, but it really was what I was feeling! We moved all of the horses (we had 8 total) to Breezy Run Farm in Church Hill. It is not too far from the old barn, so the location was perfect. The owners of Breezy Run, Lauryn and Vicky Meyer (Lauryn runs the barn on a daily basis) have been really wonderful in accommodating all of us and our needs. We had a lot of requests and needs to suit all of our horses from turn out, to feeding, to schedules etc… and they have been so wonderful in getting us what we need. It was really a seamless move and all of the horses and people settled in beautifully. Breezy Run has many individual turn out paddocks, so most of our horses have their own large individual turn outs and they are all loving it! All of the horses have put on weight and are looking wonderful, it gives me such a satisfied feeling to look out and see happy, healthy horses! Another plus has been the race track! They have a full race track with great footing and I have been working all of the horses on it, it has been great for their minds and the forward energy! I have even been riding Devon on it (if you someone have told me I would be riding him on a race track doing flying changes, I would have told them they were crazy!!!), but it really has been the best thing for him and me. I do a lot of lateral and suppling work on the track and the great thing is that there is no corner or turn, so the lateral lines are endless! I have been getting the best throughness in his back that I have ever had and I feel it is from all of the suppling work with forward energy I get from being on the track. Breezy Run also has 2 outdoor rings and an indoor with great fluffy footing (I am getting spoiled!). So overall, the move was a good one. We are also planning some fun things at the farm. We are doing a Halloween fun day on the 31st and then we are doing a Dressage schooling show on Nov. 21st with a pot luck afterwards. So if you want to come out, please do!!
It has been a pretty busy summer with shows and the move etc… We did a show in NJ in July and we did Dressage at Foxcroft in August. All of these we had anywhere from 4 to 7 horses in attendance, so they were full and busy weekends, but that it the way I like it! I seem to function better the more there is going on! Most of these shows I did not compete myself simply b/c I was so busy with students and also b/c Windsor has not been himself, I think I mentioned this in my last update. He has been feeling sticky and sucked back, no energy etc… So after many vet visits, blood work (twice), urine tests…. the list goes on and on… I decided to treat him for ulcers. I know what you are thinking, why did I wait so long? I did not suspect ulcers b/c his behavior and symptoms didn’t always follow the normal ulcer pattern. I won’t go into specific details b/c I would be here all night writing, but my vet and I were thinking it was something other than ulcers. As a last effort (and b/c I had the BLM Championships coming up in 2 weeks), I started him on Ulcergard. People had told me that I would feel a difference in as soon as 5 days, but 5 days came and went and he still didn’t feel better and I was wondering if I would even go to the BLM’s, I surely didn’t feel as if I could ride a whole test with him feeling that way (which I had been doing all summer with decent scores) and I just simply felt sorry for him, he is such a good boy that he never would say no in a nasty or mean way, he just stops but if I ask, he will try as much as he can, he just felt awful doing it! So I kept working him a little each day, nothing hard or difficult, just enough to keep him schooled and a little fit… it certainly didn’t give me a great feeling to think I wasn’t really getting him prepared to show but I knew the training I have put into him is good and it would all be there when he was feeling as if he could try harder for me. So literally 2 days before we left for the show, he felt a little more like his old self again (I hadn’t felt that for a long time…. I first felt the beginnings of this last fall, and it was intermittent but progressively got worse as spring and summer got along). So Thursday I schooled with Scott on the show grounds and Windsor felt better and better! Scott hadn’t seen him since the spring as I didn’t feel as if Windsor could do a whole lesson and that we would get the benefit of it. Scott was happy with the work we did and my only thing to watch was the frame, I had him a little low in the poll. I also needed to trust I could let him stay there and that I wouldn’t lose him. Since he hadn’t been feeling very good in his energy and back, I hadn’t felt it was the best place for him. I had entered a test for Friday but after discussing it with Scott, we decided to scratch it and just school to save him for my Championship ride on Saturday. He felt even better on Friday! I was feeling as if every day was better and better and I was starting to love this Ulcergard stuff (except for the price!!). So Saturday at 8:16 am I rode my test (2nd 3). I felt it was pretty good, a few little bobbles here and there. The turn on the haunches were ok and my rein back was ok as well, I lost points on those. Overall I got a 66% and 3rd place! I was thrilled considering I was thinking of not even taking him 2 weeks before and also since my training with him in the past few months has been light and backed off. I keep thinking that if I had treated him for ulcers a few months ago….. but those thoughts are useless, I am just glad we are on the right track again and I can’t wait to start doing the changes again!! As for the rest of the weekend… I had another ride on Sat. (2nd 2) that he felt the best in! I just went for it and had fun. We ended up 1st with a 71%! Hilda Gurney said “nice ride, nice horse” when I was done, so that made me feel good!. Sunday morning I had another ride (2nd 4) early. It was really chilly and Windsor was up! I was happy about this since it was his 4th day at the show and usually by that time, he has pooped out and has nothing in his tank. He did a few exuberant bucks and some leaping (ok Windsor, I know you feel better, but please lets not get Kelly bucked off!) and rode an ok test for a 66%. I had a few mistakes in the trot work and the rein back was again resistant, but that gives me a score for next years GAIG Championships at 2nd level. Overall, it was a great weekend and I was very happy with my scores, but what I was most happy with was how Windsor felt. I am glad he feels good for him, he is such a great horse and I only want for him to be able to do his job and have fun doing it.
We have some exciting new to share in the next few months… I won’t elaborate right now but as soon as I can, I will fill everyone in!! Happy riding!
