My Taylor Swift Moment

So, most of you all know that Taylor Swift is notorious for writing songs about her breakups.  This is my blog version of a Taylor Swift song, so bare with me.  Usually I'm just blogging about Smokey and his shenanigans (since this is a blog about him), but I thought I would get a few things off my chest and out into the world. 

Since my divorce was final in 2011, I spent a fair amount of time getting myself back together.  Last winter, I decided it was time to get back on the proverbial horse and started to think about dating again.  Seeing that I work from home and my trips into the social scene in Lexington consisted of an all female populated barn and the grocery store (usually after the barn), I figured out that online dating sites might be a good idea to broaden my social life.  Thus starts the arduous task of filling out a profile and then search was on!

I went on a couple dates, talked to a couple guys, but nothing really peaked my interest.  Until recently.  I met this guy a few weeks ago and I thought we really hit it off.  He was smart, could hold a conversation, interesting to talk to, honest with his answers, funny, and laughed at my stupid jokes.  I was instantly intrigued and excited!!  We talked and texted all through the next few weeks, and I enjoyed getting to know him more and more.  YES, it seemed to me that my faith in the opposite sex may be able to be restored after all!!

Sidebar:  Dating is a ever fluid entity, constantly changing and adjusting to the parties involved.  I get that those of us on dating sites are all out to find the most compatible person for us, and that means we are sometimes talking to more than one person at a time.  No big deal, you never know when you might meet that person you are looking for.

The guy I met was talking to a couple different woman, and I was fully aware of this.  He was never deceptive about his status with me or the others involved.  The problem came into play when one of the women wanted to be in a relationship with him.  Meaning, no dating other people.  Now he had to make a decision, and it basically came down to her or me.  My competitive side wanted to say "bring it on, chick, I'll win this battle", but (thank goodness) my common sense said "woahwoahwoah! wait just a minute!".  I wasn't ready to be in a competition for a guy I barely knew, let alone be in a relationship with him!  How in the world did I end up in this type of situation!!  One day, I'm having a great time with him and then all of the sudden I'm being judged like a head of lettuce in the produce section of the grocery store!?!?!  My common sense pulled through for me and I told him that I was pulling myself from the dating options.  After all, what would have happened if he didn't pick me?  I would feel like crap about myself all over a guy I wasn't sure I even wanted to be with!  Stupid.

He responded that he would respect my decision and that I was a beautiful, intelligent, witty, funny person, blah blah blah.  Really?  Okay, number one, I didn't need you to tell me all of that because I already knew it.  And two, if you see all of that in me and still think that you need to "shop around", what exactly are you looking for in a woman?  You know what, Mr. Know It All?  You barely knew me.  Just think about how much more I could have been to you if you had stuck around?  You didn't even get to see half of the things I could be to you. 

There is a guy on this dating site that I am on that has chosen to rant about women only wanting to date jerks and how he wasn't getting any dates from this site because women only wanted to date broke, no good, free-loaders.  Well, what about guys who don't want to date witty, smart, beautiful women?  Maybe they need to be honest and write "I'm looking for woman who is stupid, ugly, boring, and uninteresting". 

I leave with you Taylor's most recent break up song.  Like.....ever.  Preach on, girlfriend!

When it rains, it pours

It seems that my big grey pony has run into a string of bad luck.  Before you start feeling bad for him, let me first say that most if it is self-inflicted in some way or another. 

First, his back is still hurting.  Michele came out to give him a massage, but that didn't seem to help one bit.  I lunged him the next day, and he seemed okay, but when I rode the following day he was not okay at all.  Probably gave me one of his biggest bucks ever (and I stayed on).  His trot work was so-so and his canter work was backwards:  taking the right lead to the left and visa versa.  The biggest thing I noticed was him grinding his teeth, which is usually an indicator that he is not comfortable, nervous, or in pain.  I finally decided that something was very wrong with him somewhere and that more action needed to be taken.  Now, the problem is that there are a few chiropractors around the area but some of them are impossible to get an appointment with.  My friend at the barn, Rachel, suggested someone that she uses out of Louisville, so I decided to try him out. 

While waiting to hear back from the therapist/chiropractor, Smokey decided to up the ante a bit.  I turned him out this past Wednesday and not 10 minutes later he is bleeding from a wound on his left shoulder!  He was playing with a horse in the field, and I guess he ran into a wire somewhere on the fence.  There was a lot of blood but once we rinsed it off to find the source of the injury, it really wasn't that big of a wound.  It was, however, a puncture wound and those are pretty difficult to deal with considering that part of the wire or whatever might still be in the wound.  So, to be on the safe side, I called Dr. Cook from Woodford Equine just to make sure everything was okay.  It turned out to be pretty deep but he gave me a regimen to follow for the next few days that included flushing with betadine/saline, hot toweling to increase circulation to the area, bute, and a couple days of stall rest.

Today, the puncture hole is healing up.

The wound is healing nicely, the most important thing is to make sure it doesn't get infected.  So far, so good.  However, the swelling is slowly moving down his leg. 

Can you tell which side is swollen?

He's pretty sore and walking gingerly right now.  Considering the fact that he was driving me crazy being in the stall all day and night, I decided that he could go out now.  It's probably good for him to walk around on it and move that leg.  He was pretty pathetic today, and I know he's in a lot of pain. 

It HURTSSSSSSS!!!

I do feel sorry for the Smokey, but honestly, it was his own fault!  We had a long talk this week about money....and how I am not made of money....and how money doesn't grow on trees....and how I had to put off the chiropractor appointment until this was healed....and how I wish he would just be a little more careful....and how I wasn't having any fun right now!! 

Anyways...that is the update from Smokey and me.  Once we get every part of him worked out, I will let you know.  Right now, I'm planning for our first horse trials to be in 2020.  Seriously. 

Smokey Being Naughty!!

HELLLO!!  I know what you are thinking-2 entries in 2 days?!?!  You have never been so lucky!!

As I mentioned previously, my Smokey has been extremely accident prone lately.  Ok, let's try irritating to other horses so much so that they decide to let him know how they feel about him and his antics.  Due to his soreness, I decided to pull him from the little schooling show I was so looking forward to today.  But, I decided to give him a bath regardless yesterday and took the following photos for proof.

Exhibit A:  On his face, who knows about this one?

Exhibit B:  Bite mark on right flank area

Exhibit C:  Another bite mark

Exhibit D:  Bite on left shoulder

Exhibit E and F (a little one):  Right hip

Exhibit G:  Right front leg

All of those things will heal within days, but it's his back that is still very sensitive.  It looks like he will be having a visit from his friend, Michele, for some massage work.  He's been on muscle relaxers all weekend and doesn't seem to be improving.  Then, it's back to work and back on track!

He is so pretty when he's clean....he GLOWS!!!  Haha!

Have a great week everyone.  The Olympics start Friday, so get super excited!!!

The good, the bad and the ugly!

Hi readers!
I know I have been silent for quite a while, but I'm back to blogging here now (more on that later).  Lots has happened so I have decided to divide it up into 3 sections:  the good, the bad and the ugly. 

The Good

• You may or may not know of the infamous Eventing Nation blog.  Us eventers swear by it for all of the most up to date information, gossip, and insanity in our world.  They have a blogger contest each year, and this year, I decided to enter.  I wrote a little silly entry and sent it on to EN, not expecting to hear anything back from them.  Little did I know that they would like it and I became one out of eight finalists!!  Our next assignment was to write on a given topic, and unfortunately I didn't make the final finalists.  But I was thrilled to just be a part of the finalists!!  Thank you to all my friends and family who voted for me, I really appreciate every one's help.  And especially thanks to my friend, Bryan, who helped to inspire the entry topic, and Erica, for helping with editing.  You guys rock!
• I entered a SHOW!!  My first show in 2012 and since the broken arm.  YAY!!  It's a little tiny schooling combined test this Sunday, and we are only doing the ground poles division.  Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?  Well...hold that thought until The Bad. 
• I got a promotion!!  YAY again!!  Starting in August, I will be a Research Nutritionist for Buckeye.  Basically, I will get to do more science and work with the R & D Team.  But don't worry, I will still be doing sales as well and won't be moving to Ohio.  I'm excited about this new opportunity and being able to work with my good friend, Amber, more closely.

The Bad

• I know that several of you have been watching all the coverage on who will make our Olympic Equestrian Team.  I was especially intrigued this year because Buckeye sponsors Allison Springer, and she made the short list.  After an eventful trip to England, she competed at Barbury, the final test for the Olympic team hopefuls.  She did great, ended up 12th and 2nd highest American horse and rider combination.  Unfortunately, she was not chosen for the team, and will stay in England to serve as an alternate.  My heart broke for her because I know how hard she worked to get a chance to be on the team, and it seemed like the right time for her to be considered.  Regardless, I wish the team the best of luck.  The Olympics are only a week away and I really thing the Canadian team looks supreme...and the British team with William Fox Pit of course is sure to be at the top (plus he has home field advantage :)

William F-P:  It can't hurt to have legs that long!

Allison & Arthur at Rolex this year

• My horse.  He has a tendency to get himself in a lot of trouble.  Lately he has been coming in to the barn with several bite marks, and I am certain that they are instigated by him.  Today, he came in with several more of the usual and even some scrapes on his face caused by who knows what.  On top of that, he is very sore on his right side around the loin area.  The left side is fine, just that right side.  So....the aforementioned show plans may be on hold until Mr. I-need-to-wear-body-armor-24/7 decides to stop messing around in the pasture. 

The Ugly

• Poison Ivy!!!!  Yes, apparently I have it around my house.  I first noticed my itchy-ness a couple days after pulling weeds in my yard.  Apparently I was pulling poison ivy, and I'm lucky it was only on a few selected areas of my body.  I had another mild case last week that I think was related to my cat hiding in the weeds pretending to be a "wild jungle cat".  That was the final straw for me.  It was time to bring out the heavy artillery:  WEED SPRAY!! 

I think that about covers everything.  Now that my big national blogging dreams have been squashed, I will be sure to come back to reality and just keep doing my little blog here.  Until then, please send Smokey some good "pasture" vibes to keep him out of trouble!!  Either that or I'm starting a bubble wrap fund.  

The Slightest Glimmer of Hope

Hello world!!  Hopefully you are surviving this heat wave we are having here in Kentucky.  It was a steamy 103 degrees today, and it will just get hotter this weekend.  So...since you are sitting at home with nothing to do, I'm finally going to give you an update of my personal progress with Smokey.

Since I have been back to riding, I have felt a complete disconnect with the little grey pony, and everything seemed to be working against us.  First it was my lack of strength after my injury.  Then, he developed this HUGE bug bit/thing that we have not determined on his left stifle.  After that, he had a visit with his favorite massage therapist, Michele.  Even then, Smokey still felt completely wrong. 

Enter my barn friend, Erica.  Erica is a great person to bounce ideas off of, and has a ton of experience as she has spent quality time with eventer Corrine Ashton (competed her chestnut TB Dobbin through the 4* level).  I figured that a completely impartial person might have some insight to something I have been missing.  And, she did!  Erica felt that he was very stiff and lacked the strength to hold himself in a fram.  So, we refocused our training on working to strengthen Smokey's frame with the help of draw reins.  Draw reins are a tool that I like to use to encourage a horse into the desired frame.  Of course, in the wrong hands, they can cause a horse to over-flex and be behind the bit.  But, with Erica's assistance, we can acheive the desired frame by keeping him slightly in front of the vertical and moving forward. 

The first few rides with the draw reins were very positive, although all we did was walk and trot work.  We added some work on the lunge line to change things up at bit.  And then the bottom dropped out, and we had a disasterous ride.  Smokey refused to move on the bit, was tense and over-sensitive to my leg.  Heck, the draw reins weren't even helping as he was so offended by every aid I had on him, I stopped using them.  Disasterous.  Horrendous.  Thoughts of doubt were entering my mind-was I really ever going to be able to ride this horse?  Am I skilled enough to help him work through this?  Heck, am I too old to be doing this and should just sell him?

And then, all of the sudden, everything changed.  Our next ride was so wonderful, a glimmer of hope in the darkness.  Smokey worked wonderfully at the trot and we attempted to canter both leads.  Although his first left lead canter departure had some "unnecessary energy", he settled right in after I asked him to (and picked it up on the first try!...I say this because Lacy says that "the lead is not an issue anymore" but I still get excited when he does it correctly).  A couple days later, I left the draw reins in the barn and rode again and he was brilliant!!  No "excessively exuberant" lead departures, lovely trot work, and even attempted to stretch forward and downward during his canter work...although I don't completely trust him yet that he is going to work and not launch me off!  What a good boy!!  Finally!!! 

I feels so good to ride Smokey when he is working together with me.  He is so much fun to ride when we communicate, and I cannot wait to ride him again to see if we can keep this up!  But, don't let him fool you, he is still goofy. 

Smokey being naughty!!  Can you see what he's trying to do??

My good friend, Krista, has been helping us since the very first day I brought him to Bittersweet Acres.  She said something to me the other day, and I keep that in the front of my mind all the time.  She said "Smokey has such potential and you can see it when he is being really good for those 2 strides".  He is a really nice horse, a lovely mover, with a ton of potential.  But it means nothing if I choose to quit on him.  So, I choose to work through the hard times...even if it is for just 2 strides of excellence! 

Dads are the Best!

First of all, I want to wish all the fathers a Happy Father's Day!!  Of course, you may say that your Dad is the best Dad in the entire world, but I truly believe that my Dad tops them all.  Here is proof:  during our trip to Hawaii last year, my Dad joined me on a horseback riding excursion.  This was a 2 or 3 hour ride, and despite the fact that Dad's horse, Big Mac, really wanted to just head back to the stable the entire time, and the fact that Dad hadn't been on a horse in a very long time, it was worth it to see the island on horseback.  And mom was armed with the Advil for Dad when we got back to the hotel. 

Here is a clip of one of our favorite comedians, Bill Cosby, doing the best Dad song ever!! 

My Dad also instilled in me a love for all things Monty Python.  How do I know this?  Because my Mom rolls her eyes every time she catches us watching any of his movies.  Although, secretly I think she enjoys it just as much as we do because you will catch her giggling every now and then.  There are so many favorite scenes, but this is probably one of my favorites.

Happy Fathers Day!!  Love ya, Dad!

PS-More updates on Smokey this week!  Lots to catch you up on, but until then, give you Dads a big hug!

My Greatest Olympic Memory #2

Before we get to this week's video, let me redefine the word "Greatest" as I use it to describe the following videos.

Greatest can be defined as "remarkable or outstanding in magnitude, degree, or extent."  OR "of outstanding significance or importance."  This one is certainly remarkable in one way or another!!  Enjoy!!

Now this wasn't the first time that all eyes were on Tanya.  Nope, she had to make sure her ticket to Lillehammer was punched, and I don't mean that she decided to train harder.  How do you do that, you ask?  Well...ask Nancy Kerrigan....



Well, guess what Tanya??  They still let her skate in the Olympics!!  And, your little boyfriend, Jeff Gillooly, squealed like a pig!  Due to some threatened legal action by Tanya's lawyers, she was allowed to embarrass herself skate in the Olympics, the scene of the "shoe lace" drama, and ended up placing 8th.  Karma is a bitch, right Tanya?