We’re beginning to catch up on all my updates!
We left off last week with the arrival of Stanley. I put him on a forage based diet and began my first ever off-track restart. I also brought home Nahe to live retirement peacefully at home with a couple girlfriends.
Winter has been…interesting.
On the personal side, things have been rough. I learned at the end of January that my father has esophageal cancer. He lives 8 hours away. Thankfully we have some great family that have been helping bring him to appointments. After weeks of tests and scoping he finally began radiation and chemotherapy earlier in March. After six weeks we will see. I don’t feel comfortable going in too much detail but please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. It would mean a lot to me.
On the horse-y side of things…Progress with Stanley has been going swimmingly. He’s learning about self carriage and collection. Despite being nervous about his canter I’ve begun to bring him into the canter. We have been adding poles and cavaletti. I’ve even jumped him over some crossrails.
I took a photo of him almost exactly 2 months apart. Notice the huge difference in his neck, topline, shoulder, and flanks. After 13 months off he had a lot of fitness to gain but he’s been coming back beautifully.
In early March Stanley ventured off property for the first time with brother Tiger. We took the boys to Larkin Hill for ENDYCTA’s jumping clinic with Margie Hutchinson. We took Nahe and Tiger to this clinic last year and we loved it so much along we knew it would be a perfect first time off-property.
Stanley was wonderful on and off the trailer. He got off the trailer a bit nervous (it was a stepdown) and bumped his noggin a little (not bad). Once we onloaded he settled right into his hay bag. I tacked up and brought him inside where he was a little less amused. The arena was larger than he knows and has mirrors.
It took Stanley a while to relax. I didn’t expect much from this visit. My goal was specifically to give him a positive experience off property. Actual learning and work wasn’t necessary. We walked a bit, trotted a lot. He began to calm down once I started taking him over poles. He was anxious and at the poles he put his head down and focused. After several passes his confidence grew. By the end of the 90minute lesson Stanley and I had jumped crossrails and I let him canter through them….and he was wonderful!
I was so proud of him. After the lesson my legs were screaming…my stirrups were backwards and the angle caused a lot of twisting in my ankle. I wasn’t about to interrupt our lesson for my mistake so I went on but I was happy to dismount and let it rest at the end. Stanley and I went back out to the trailer and he settled right back onto the trailer and his hay bag. He wasn’t concerned about being alone. He simply munched and let me love on him a bit. I put on some liniment and wrapped his legs and put his Back ON Track Sheet.
As I was chatting with some friends and letting Stanley be his happy peaceful little self, I heard whinnying coming from the arena. The whinnying sounded a bit like Tiger. Uh Oh. I walked in to see and sure enough it was Tiger whinnying but acting professional. I walked out and got Stanley to bring him in to watch. Tiger quieted down but then started acting like a goofball. We can’t win!
Stanley fidgeted like a little toddler for a while. He tried to play with the crossties, the whips, the lunging equipment. I told him pay attention and watch your brother. He did just that. Before too long Tiger went back to being professional and quiet. Stanley became more patient and stood quietly to watch.
Overall it was a great first trip off property, embracing the ugly, embracing firsts, and learning to “adult.”
As a fun side note. One of the girls in our local GMO is very talented and I got Stanley and I matching winter hats. Suzy and Tiger also got matching hats!
The Green Horseman 
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