Oh yes definitely 
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We had a horse with sloppy suspensories. Had to keep him on the bit, leg him on all the time. He would trip or drag a toe, wearing his hind hoof toe down if you just let him “mosey along” on a trail ride. Not lame or sore, just no “snap” unless you pushed him forward all the time.
Finally went to a shoe with a toe clip with borium on the tab, to prevent hoof toe wear. Gets tiresome pushing all the time.
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I too came off thanks to a trip by a baby about two weeks ago! First fall off the 4yo, she also did not do anything wrong as such, we were cantering up the paddock, the neighbours geese popped out from under the fence and she spooked. Fair enough, geese are odd creatures. It would have been fine…except she spooked into a dip in the ground, got her legs all tangled and that spooked her more. All of which pitched me off to the side, where I hung on for just long enough to realise I was not staying on, and decide how I was going to land. I thought the butt was a safe choice.
Pony was just fine, seemed actually quite surprised to see me on the ground and quite calmly stood and waited for me to decide I was not hurt and my only just healed broken foot was ok! I should have gotten back on but we were nowhere near a mounting block and thanks to said recently healed foot I cannot get on from the ground yet. Subsequent rides, she has been her usual sweet, willing self.
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Well, my neck and upper shoulders/back are still messed up, so it’s probably time to go get looked at? Or should I give it a little more time? It’s the worst in the mornings.
I am so infrequently sick that I don’t have a GP, and I don’t even know where to start. I know how to get a vet, but not a doctor for myself. Anyone care to give me a rough guide on how to find a doctor? Do I just walk in with sad puppy dog eyes?
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I had to ask my Grandma for recommendations. She knows a lot of Drs.
It kinda sucks to set up a new patient relationship when you already have stuff happening IME. Lot of lag time to get to the reason why one is at the dr. Ymmv
Locally, there is a group called MDVIP. The premise is you pay a yearly membership fee in exchange for using drs in their practice. Sounds like scummy money grabbing at first but it’s been some of the best money I’ve spent. I wouldn’t hesitate to search for a similar group if I relocated to a different area.
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I wondered about that with an Appendix I had. He was, hands down, the most athletic and catty horse I’d ever owned. Some of his airs above ground – wow. But he’d also trip over a dime in the road.
It was like some kind of attention deficit. When he was acting flash (mostly on the longe line, but often enough under saddle), he could contort into a pretzel and still deploy the landing gear. But when he was moseying down the road, watch out for dimes.
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Today I had a little adventure involving a cop, a Karen, and my COVID vaccine.
I went to get my 2nd dose at the grocery store’s pharmacy. As I was pulling in to the section of the parking lot, I saw the tail end of a very large horse disappear around the side of the building. Odd, but ok. I did a lap around the 2 rows closest to the pharmacy entrance, parked, and walked towards the door.
At that point, here comes a mounted officer, walking on the sidewalk towards the pharmacy entrance. He saw me coming, and the gorgeous, chestnut gelding with flaxen mane and tail is a little looky, but not spooking. The officer hopped off, and continued to walk him towards the inside of the sidewalk. I’m getting eyeballed by the horse, so I stop moving to give him a chance to look.
The officer thanked me, and I complimented the gelding. I asked if he was was a Shire or Belgian mix, and maybe 17 hands, gotta be close to 1800 lbs. Turns out mare was Belgian, stallion a draft cross, not sure what, and he’s 1780 lbs last checked, it was his 4th time out training getting used to being in public.
Now here comes Karen… walking out of the pharmacy door, just a few feet from the now quiet, but still alert gelding. In her right hand, she has a shopping bag, and an umbrella she just popped open because it’s starting to ever so slightly sprinkle. Hanging from her left wrist, she has a fluorescent orange dangly strap purse. Without saying a word or, I don’t know, asking if she should touch or approach the horse, she goes to aggressively pet his face. Cause ya know, this is what you do to a nervous animal that’s almost 10x your weight, right?
There were some wide eyes, a snort, a sidestep, a little lunge forward, the officer saying “woah, you’re alright” that all ended with a very large head on my shoulder. The officer still had the reins, I’m not sure how I ended up with one hand on the bridle and one on his shoulder as he side stepped away from kooky Karen and toward me… but he very quickly calmed down and proceeded to get some neck pats and rubbed his head on me and relaxed. Karen proclaimed that she thought police horses should be able to be pet in public. I informed her that he wasn’t a pony at a petting zoo and maybe she should ask before coming at anything that weighs almost a ton with flapping bags and umbrellas. The officer agreed and told her most of their horses have been on the job long enough to be calm, but this one is new to it.
So, that was my cop, Karen and COVID shot day. I wasn’t expecting that when I woke up.
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What an interesting combination I never thought I’d read
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Hated to do it, but… the young lady landed herself in draws yesterday. I set up the same exercise that she tripped during (2 ground poles 3 strides apart), where the trip was precipitated by her locking her neck and trying to run down the second pole.
She hit the (very loose) draws when she tried to raise her neck and grab the bit, threw a little hissy, and then was fine for the exercise with them totally slack. I think I just needed to “reset” the cycle in her brain without being borderline forced to circle or whoa in middle of the line, which was just working her up more.
Hopefully the lesson sticks in her tiny pea brain.
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I’ve got a few.
Crazy lady who told me I was cruel for clipping the cushings horse declares loudly to her farrier “you work for ME.” Guess who got dropped as a client, immediately? I was DYING laughing on the other side of the barn.
Same lady - I walk into the viewing room to use the restroom, and she is asleep… on the countertop… in front of the arena viewing windows. WTFFFFFF.
Lastly… Dumb, Dumb, and Dumber with the three horses they can’t handle and don’t turn out are out at the barn. We share a tack room. I’m trying to work around them to get my young horse tacked up to ride. They saw me there. They know where my tack locker is. Yet, in between me making a trip for saddle/bridle/helmet and 60 seconds later going back in the tack room for the rest of my stuff… they put a handful of cat treats on the ground right in front of my tack box. 
So, as a passive aggressive butthole, I carefully scooped them up, and put the same handful right in the way of their tackbox, got the rest of my stuff, and headed back out. Ugh.
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How’s this: Eventer gal at my barn lost her horse early last year to colic. She bought a nice 5yr OTTB that was restarted by a trainer. Said she wanted to take him to some local shows this summer. When I asked if she was going to do Starter level she said, “I’m going to take him Novice, since that’s the level I did with my last horse”. Whaaa…?
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Not necessarily dumb but more of lack of knowledge of a sport.
I have a good friend who transitioned from barrel racing to show jumping right before I met her. She bought a horse mostly because the horse is a pretty color but did have 90+ days undersaddle with our current jump trainer. Honestly the horse is turning into a nice, steady jumper.
She comes by the barn to jump and the horse is being their normal fussy self. I ask if I can get on and she lets me! In a couple of minutes I can tell that 1) the fussiness is because the horse wants to be left alone in the mouth. My friend is still learning how to fallow through the shoulder and arm. 2) the horse doesn’t bend. At. All. And how dare I ask for that bend. And 3) a big part of the reason my friend can’t tell what lead they are on, can’t make horse strides and jumping feels flat is because the horse naturally goes on a 2 track canter/trot and is completely on the front end.
After I showed her that her horse can bend and got off I FINALLY talked her into flat lessons with my dressage trainer. She had no idea that the same flexibility that barrel racers need, jumping horses need too. She said she would get started in those exercises right away and hopefully she will start dressage lessons in the fall! Also she is borrowing a bit I have that is a different mouth piece (double break vs her current single break) to see if some of the fussiness is because the horse isn’t a fan of the bit when you take contact.
I don’t want to sound like I’m shitting on this rider. She genuinely didn’t know. She has come leaps and bounds since I’ve known her and I think seeing me ride her horse was the “aha” moment she needed. Plus we are converting her to the dark side of eventing. 
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My turn! My turn!
Pony hunter coach texts out of the blue with a prospective lease they think would be “perfect!” for teenager. Top of the line large with lease in mid-4 figures. So immediately, I know this will not end well. Next sentence confirms my intuitions – it has one easy lead & one hard one. And it is 14 & still hasn’t broken its green. Yeah, I know. I know. The teenaged green eligible thang isn’t necessarily a Lenin & Trotsky bullfighting in the middle of a May Day Parade in Red Square with Stalin on the sidelines giving it two thumbs up kind of red flag. But the pony hasn’t jumped higher than 2’6", would need to work up to 2’9"-3" in a hurry, and this is the same coach that presides over the lease with the jumping issue that people very kindly advised me about up thread.
Daughter is on the group chat & kind of excited. I gently explain in a private chat that pony is cute, but I’m concerned because in a horse that age the lead thing probably = a gaping hole in training or a hock/SI issue. But Ok. I promised child the last time that I would no longer morphe into Kali (aka ‘She who is Death’ or the shadow ego of annoyed pony rider mom) while discussing this topic. Let’s get more info. Do we know why it has trouble with one lead? “Cause its harder for her.” (Ok. I’m breathing. Taking deep cleansing breathes. Kali, please go wait in the car like I asked you to, dammit!.) “I’m concerned that the lead trouble could indicate a physical issue. Has pony ever had it’s SI/hocks examined?”
“Pony has had an easy life b/c they were busy with others. The fact that lead changes aren’t perfect means that you can afford him.” [Kali is rising. No, Kali! Wait in the car! Kali harumphs back out to car, but not before reminding me that we currently lease a proven 3’-3’3" pony with bang on accurate leads & flying changes for less than this. ] Well, what’s your plan for the hard side, coach? “Circles. Correct flatwork. Hills.” I was thinking more along the line of diagnostics, bodywork, Adequan, and possibly injections. And these people paying ME to fix this for them…
…Watch video, because, hey. I’m invested now. And phone waving teenage ambushed me as I walked in from work. Pony can change leads. It switches them often when asked to track left. Pony just might have also been cross-cantering for a bit at the far end. The video of this east coast show ring appears to have been shot from the Aleutian Islands. At any rate, teenager is waving phone animatedly & I’m sans my reading glasses. Second, more recent video abruptly loses horse tracking left down the long side: “It was only 2 strides, moooom!” Yeah, kiddo. That’s at least 20’. A lot can happen in that span. Lead swaps. Cross canter. Alien abduction & repatriation (onto the correct lead, no less!). Good thing we’re not looking at Zenyatta with her 28’ stride. Realllllly crazy things could happen in two of her strides. This definitely looks like a physical issue. Pony looks weird over the hips. Kind of springs in one piece over some of the jumps like a carousel horse.
Explain to teenager that this lead problem is likely unfixable without veterinary intervention. It would be unfair to the pony to expect otherwise. My finger is posed over the text box. Kali is now standing in the kitchen window, rattling her necklace of skulls. “Mooooommmm! She means well!” (Coach. Not Kali.) Yeah, she’s right. Realize that coach also doesn’t realize we still have the jumper. [Kali shoots me a glance as she spins around & stomps back to the car. Make mental note that next time someone asks why I need a full sized SUV for a family of 3, the answer is, ‘My shadow ego needs the cargo space for her sword, severed demon head, & statement jewelry. And consort Shiva & his snake.’] Type and send pleasant message about sticking with the previously arranged 1/3 lease. Feel extra lucky for having GoGo Pony & jumper coach. Burn a palo santo cone & assure Kali that she can come out on Halloween.
The End.
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Please tell me @TheDBYC that you have since sent a note to this trainer that they are to never ever again send a group text that includes the daughter on something they want you to lease for the daughter.
How ridiculous of the trainer. OMFG.
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How the heck is a pony with a sticky lead and questionable change a mid 4s lease? A friend’s local quality large leases for that, and he is dead solid perfect on his leads and auto changes, and had brought mulitple children up from short stirrup to the regular pony divisions and always ends up in the year end awards on our local circuit.
(And no, I can’t give you the contact info. Pony has stayed in the same barn for 10 years, and gets passed from kid to kid until they outgrow him. Sorry.)
Oh, and what trubandloki said.
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Mid-4’s is red flag looooooow for an A-rated division pony in our immediate vicinity. Unless you got lucky & have an inside connection like your friend. I do think people charge more for off-farm show leases, too because of the risk involved in sending the horse hundreds of miles away. Larges will need to jump 2’9"-3’ at rated shows, as opposed to 2’6" at non-rated locals. However, this poor pony shouldn’t be out on lease at all imo. The thing that I really wonder about is does this coach a) just not know at all what they’re looking at, or b) know & not care? I’m not sure which is worse.
@trubandloki, I plan to have that conversation. I find I do better no matter what the relationship (work, friends, etc) waiting out my initial rush of emotions before even attempting a discussion.
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This alone should be the flag that puts the kabosh on pony for lease for goals kiddo wishes to attain.
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Absolutely! As soon as I heard mid-4 figure lease & hard lead change I was out. I was annoyed that coach would send this as a group chat to her & me. But it turned into a good opportunity to talk about how to independently evaluate the suitability of a prospective purchase or lease. I’ve actually been impressed at how she adept she has become at this evaluating prospects in other people’s situations. You just know how that goes when we try to apply the same logic to our own life. 
Like I said in my reply to McGurk, the part that baffles me is whether it’s a case of the coach not knowing what they’re looking at, knowing but not caring, etc. I guess the why & wherefore isn’t important. Just the fact this is happening for whatever reason.
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Yeah it is a puzzlement, but who knows what goes on in the minds of our trainers? I’m sure it’s just a blur of white noise, needing caffeine, wanting alcohol, considering cocaine, and all the mental facepalms we put them through. Also known as “why I’m an ammie now and loving it.”
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Because somewhere along the way the trainer has figured that you have “sucka” stamped on your forehead?
BTW, thank you for this:
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