Surgery went well. I was even back out at the barn the next day taking care of Star. (don’t tell my doctors.) I did get someone to dump my manure bucket for me, because even though he doesn’t make much manure, it was still a bit heavy for me. Still waiting to hear back about when chemo starts.
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Thanks for the update and hoping for continued good progress for you!
Had my first chemo infusion on the 19th. Took about a week to fully recover, though I was only really sick for a few days. Mostly just crushing fatigue. I have been told repeatedly that every round gets worse, so we will see how this next one plays out. I hired someone at the barn to handle my mucking, and it is well worth the peace of mind. She is also willing to throw him his hay if I am having a really bad day, but so far I haven’t needed her to. I like getting out there, even if only to fill his haynet and feed him a cookie.
I did feel well enough to hitch Star yesterday, first time in two weeks and the temp has dropped 30 degrees in the last few days. Star was a saint, though he did interpret every word I said that wasn’t a cluck to mean “whoa”. I can’t even say good boy without him slamming on the breaks. I like his enthusiasm, just need to channel it a bit, and I need to “”keep my leg on” when talking to him. We did some nice walk serpentines, working on him relaxing his head and neck. I think relaxation is going to be the project for this winter.
Massive chemo jingles, Twisting, and I am glad you found someone to hire to help you. friends only last so long before their life needs take over.
So happy you are still making it out to the barn and that you could take Star for a drive. Horses are the. best. thing. for recovery and mental health. What a lovely pony he is.
Wow, it has been a hot minute. Unfortunately chemo got a bit rough during the last few treatments but I have graduated to drug number two and it isn’t nearly as bad. I feel almost normal, minus some nerve damage in my hands and feet.
Now that I am starting to feel normal-ish I decided I needed to get serious about working on my goals. After hunting around for a while I found a trainer to work with. He isn’t a driving trainer, he is actually a hunter jumper trainer. I’ve known him for a bit as he works with my friend and trains her horses. It didn’t even cross my mind to ask him to help me until I watched him work with one of my friends babies in long lines. He is kind yet firm and really worked with the horses limits while still pushing it to improve. He is excited about working with Star and I and learning something new. 50% of what I need from a trainer is someone to help hold me accountable to reaching my short term goals on the way to the long term ones. Without those little weekly check ins I find it’s easy to just say, meh, I don’t feel like it today and just turn him out and watch him run around. 25% is to yell things at me that I already know I should be doing and the other 25% is to work through those sticky issues you need an outside pair of eyes for. I figure a hunter/jumper trainer can manage most of that as well as anyone, and if we run into problems we can’t work through I can reach out to some of my driving friends.
We have just been doing long line work so far and the first thing he said was I have too much bit in his mouth. Ugh, and here I thought I had the bit thing sorted. Luckly he has a bit tree and even had a few 4 inch bits to choose from. We found one he likes, it’s a bit of an odd thing, a double jointed snaffle with a very wide center lozenge. The center takes up about half of the bit’s width. The ends are a slow twist but we covered them with sealtex so they are soft and squishy. Star seems to like it, and was even stretching down into the contact. Bad news is that the bit is a full cheek. Trainer suggested taking an angle grinder to the top prong after I explained that driving in a full cheek was dangerous. We will probably do that for now, but I am on the look out for a similar bit with a safer cheek piece.
I have already seen benefits from the “telling me to do things I already know I should be doing” side of the house. Things like, straight lines are easier if you look where you want to go and not at your pony’s backside" and “going deep into and squaring off your corners gives him fewer opportunities to collapse through his shoulder and drift to the inside”.
2021 may not be our CDE debut but I think we can make some decent progress towards that goal.
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Glad to hear the improvements and that you are making it thru the chemo. I understand it is very draining on a person, so getting Star worked shows great determination!
On the full-cheek bit, I would grind off the lower prong if I want one gone. The top one can be secured to the bridle cheek using a “bit keeper”. Small piece of leather looking like a figure 8. One loop goes on the cheek strap, the other loop goes on the prong. This holds bit mouthpiece in place across the tongue all the time. I like the fact that animal is more responsive, quicker. No waiting for mouthpiece to move into place with rein pressure, same as a curb bit mouthpiece. Without the bit keepers, mouthpiece in a jointed, ring snaffle bit, needs to move (causing response delay), roll up, into position across his tongue for horse to know he is being signaled.
True unless driver/rider keeps constant pressure on snaffle bit at all times, which leads to a numb and unresponsive mouth. Not a good plan.
While you see a lot of half-cheek snaffles on driving bridles, that lower half cheek piece does nothing except snag on things! Can actually hurt you or hang up on things when horse swings his head. The half cheek will not prevent bit getting pulled into the mouth if horse opens much. I think they are mostly used because old time harnesses came with those bits! Now a “traditional” driving bit, not that they are a great design choice. Kind of like the old curb bits that came with every western riding bridle, so that is what we rode with!
You could probably use some heavy string to anchor the upper prong to bridle cheek if bit keepers are not found at the local tack store. You may want to watch or video, how the mouthpiece moves before anchoring the prong to cheekpiece. It is a very short interval of movement getting mouthpiece into position across the tongue, may be hard to see. Still there though. I want that crisp response to rein signal NOW, no waiting.
We actually noticed the big difference in son’s riding horse using the half cheek bit with prongs up and bit keepers in place on bridle cheeks. Pony Club rules then, stated any half or full cheek snaffle bit MUST have bit keepers to use it in Rally competition. It was a Stuben, nice thick mouthpiece, one joint, eggbutt rings, so any accidental bumps from uncoordinated young rider did not hurt her mouth. Horse just responded faster, smoother, for him. Same everything else on her, just the added bit keepers made the change happen. I also liked that there were no prongs sticking down to snag on anything! Horse was ridden with the bit keepers ever after.
You can always remove the bit keepers if you don’t like how Star goes. But if you like them, get a spare pair in the trailer in case one breaks. With spares handy, you will probably never need them! Ha ha
Twisting, my mini goes in almost the exact same bit and loves it. He also has a 4 inch mouth. I got it at Big Black Horse LLC about a year ago. It was listed under riding bits as it is not a half cheek, just has plain rings, almost eggbutt oval shaped but not quite. It took me forever to find something like this but it was worth the search. I’m glad that you are able to get out and enjoy Star!
Whenever I am looking for bits for can I always check out this place
Or a few others in the UK, including
All good prices, lots of mouthpieces and typically cheaper than in the US even with shipping
Star is doing amazing!
We took an angle grinder to the bit and it’s working out nicely. Now that he is in at least semi consistent work (weather and doctor’s appointment permitting) he is coming along quickly. He obviously already knows this stuff and just needed a refresher. He is getting soft and round and carrying himself. I think by spring we could manage a baby dressage test without embarrassing ourselves. Unfortunately I won’t be fit to be out in public until April (when I can finally get the COVID vaccine).
I have noticed one issue since I started working with someone. I can’t talk and drive at the same time. Star pony is apparently very sensitive to the word “whoa”. So sensitive that every word that I say that isn’t “trot, canter, easy, or Star” apparently means whoa. It has made discussing things while working a bit difficult. To counter this I have started talking to myself while driving on my own. I kinda sound like a crazy person randomly talking to my pony about the weather or what we are currently doing. All this interspersed with frequent clucks to keep him moving forward.
We are also having some struggles with our pivots. Where the cart stays in place and he swings us around. He just doesn’t understand what I am asking. I can get a few steps to the right with lots of arguments but the left is a no go, and likely to escalate into dangerous behavior if I try to push it. What are the typical baby steps used to lead up to pivoting. I assume it’s turn in a circle that spirals down into a step or two of mostly sideways then praise and let him relax. Or should I work on trying to get lateral movement while ground driving first? It is so much harder to do while ground driving, without the shafts to keep him pointed in the right direction, (though I have a feeling that if I am relying so heavily on the shafts to keep him pointed in the right direction I am doing it all wrong.)
I always talked to my pony while driving. My Hackney pony liked me to sing to him, and was especially fond of Neil Young songs. My larger pony didn’t need the calming, but it just felt natural to keep up a conversation with him. I drove on my neighborhood’s dirt roads, so often passed people walking or riding horses. Occasionally someone would ask me who I was talking to, and of course I replied “my pony!” The people would look at me funny, but I didn’t care.
Rebecca
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So It’s been a year.
Star pony and I haven’t made as much progress as I had hoped from a driving point of view, but I am perfectly okay with that. I wanted to thank you guys for telling me to go look at the pony a year ago. I am a massive introvert, and can have some social anxiety, going to talk to a total stranger about a horse all alone is not something I would normally do. Your encouragement helped me get the courage to take the plunge and go see the pony.
I can’t imagine finding a better horse for my situation than Star, and with such perfect timing. Caring for him was sometimes the only real motivation I had to get out of bed in the mornings. I hurt, I was tired and stressed, but he needed me to feed him and care for him. Every time I got to the barn and saw his adorable face begging for cookies over the door I was glad I had made the effort. He forgave me the days when I was too tired to do much more than throw his hay and give him a cookie, and he treated me with kid gloves on the days I just had enough energy to hitch him up and go for a walk. He stood quietly when it took me three times as long as it should have to clip him, because I had to stop for breaks. He is sweet and patient, with just enough sass to remind you that he is a pony, and he means to live up to the title. He is everything I needed in a horse in a year when nothing was going my way, (not that 2020 was going in the direction anyone wanted it to).
We just bought a little piece of property with enough room to retire a shetland pony (or two). Star’s got a home with me for the rest of his days.
Thank you for encouraging me to go see the pony.
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Oh my gosh! I am doing the happy dance for you and Star. How special to get to have Star at home with you where you can love on each other for the rest of your days. I do hope there is room for driving as well!?!
I will probably be keeping him at the current stable for now, it is right next to my work and I think the rest of the ladies might riot if I try to move him. They all adore him. The social aspect of the barn is nice, and more eyes on him through the day is always a good thing. Too many perks at the current barn for a horse in work, and the board is only $100 a month.
But when he is old and creaky and his teeth are bad and he need multiple mushes a day he can move into the “backyard” and be close to me.
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As Enablers Par Excellence, we take a bow.
& now you realize you will have to do it all over again to get Star a buddy when he’s home w/you?
Very glad to hear you two are getting along so well.
I have no physical excuse (Well: Old) to not drive more often, but taking care of my Herd of 3 is sometimes all that gets me out of bed & off the couch.
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