Thank you for being so patient as I recap 2022 in a long-delayed manner! My last post summed up Jumping Through July.
I was beginning to feel the effects of our long busy summer. I haven’t even mentioned all of the work I’ve been doing beyond the horses. My soul was longing for a brief break. I needed the ocean. Zac and I got away for a couple nights and went to Hampton Beach, NH. I proudly sported my equestritan. We ate a lot of seafood and I read books. For once it was nice to sit still.
In August we were looking forward to our first 3 Phase Event. We were not sure if it would be our first AND last or our first before Larkin Hill in September. Nahe had begun receiving his Adequan injections and was still remaining sound.
This 3 Phase event was a beginner-friendly one at Horse Amour in Vermont. We were signed up for a starter level. My mom and my second mom both came all the way out to Vermont to support me! We began with our dressage test. We did very well despite losing points for my talking to Nahe during our test.
I was nervous going into our cross-country phase. I decided to simply go for it. We walked up to the starting box. Nahe was worried about the ribbon marking the walls of the starting box. My stomach churned as I tried to play it cool on the outside. Nahe although worried kept it together and trusted me. Then we got the all-clear to go and we were going.
Nahe and I left all worries back in the starting box. Once we were on the course we were laser focused and moved as a team. We took on the first few jumps and made our way down a bank and into the woods. I talked to him nearly every second of the way and he seemed to light up as if something inside him yearned for doing this all along. He wasn’t worried that we were the only two out there. He listened to every half halt and every word of encouragement I gave him. He didn’t even glance at anything on the sidelines like I thought he might.
We took it slow as the terrain was hilly and clay/grass but where we were able to canter/gallop we did. It was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had on horseback. I felt like one with him and I think he did too. We finished our last jump with a celebratory poop (Nahe, not me); a woman commented that she’d never seen a horse canter, jump and poop all at the same time but he sure did.
I gave him a rest as we waited for stadium. When I tacked back up and got on again I was horrified that he had a hitch. Maybe he was stiff from cross country. I worked with him in the warm-up area and in the level indoor arena. He worked out of it some…enough to give us our last 8 jumps for the 2′ stadium round.
We went clear in stadium and he had fun doing it. Despite his willpower and generosity, I vowed to him that he won’t have to jump again. We still had an appointment scheduled for knee injections but I decided that day he was done jumping for good. He gave me our one and only 3-phase and that I am forever grateful for.
Nahe was still off a few days later. Despite his knees causing some pain he was still lively in the pasture.
That week we injected his knees and he had his last Adequan shot. He was given some time off.
After a few weeks I began tack walking Nahe to bring him back into work. At this point, I had decided that Nahe was officially semi-retired. We will no longer be doing any serious training and whatever he has left will be leisurely and/or to give him movement. I adore Nahe and want him to stay comfortable as long as possible, the arthritis was already there long before we found the extent of it. Although it seemed to be so sudden it was a matter of time. We had an incredible summer and I think he was better for it despite having to retire. He was fitter, more confident, and our relationship became so strong.
The Green Horseman 
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