This may take a while...

Went to the barn today. I walked Barokko a couple of rounds in the arena, so good to be back on. My head handled it OK, no dizziness or anything, but my neck hurt, lots :( Even just the movement in walk, it still hurts now, two hours and a dose of Ibuprofen later. Bummer. Looks like recovery will take a bit longer than I had hoped...

New Helmet

In preparation for getting back in the saddle, I bought a new helmet today. I've had a couple of concussions now, so I'm very concerned that the helmet I wear be as safe as possible. In my search I came across the M.I.P.S. Helmet. The science behind the helmet's safety system seems very sound and it's tested up to and beyond the EN1384 standards that the other helmets I'd consider are tested to. I hope I never need to test its efficacy as a safety device :D

BAD Spotted Pony!

Barokko threw me :(

Rode out on trails with him yesterday morning, beautiful day, but brisk and windy. Nothing out of the ordinary, twice we met other horses where Barokko wanted to follow them, and I had to convince him otherwise, but besides that he was calm and relaxed.

I rode out onto Eremitage Sletten and let him decide what he felt like doing - he felt like cantering, so off we went. We passed a group of birds pecking at worms or whatever it is birds do, right about here:


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When we passed they flew into the air, and he understandably scootched to the left. I gave him a nudge with my left leg to keep him on track, and then he went into rodeo-mode - buck, buck, buck - HUGE ones, and they just kept coming, at least 6 of them. Finally, I couldn't hold on anymore, and SMACK I hit the ground head/upper back first. I felt the helmet give under the pressure, oooh boy I love love love my (now-retired) helmet!!!!!!

I considered getting up, but my head and neck told me to stay still, so I did. After a while I was able to get my phone out to call the barn and ask them to look for Barokko. Apparently, he found some grass on the way home and was grazing quietly when they found him.

A mail man had seen Barokko tear off, and drove back where he had come from, and found me. We agreed an ambulance was in order, as my head and neck were in serious pain, and I had no inclination whatsoever to move at all.

When the EMTs got there they immobilized me, and took me to Rigshospitalets Trauma Center. They were super professional, had me checked out and X-rayed and cleared within 15 minutes of arrival. Gave me a shot of something magical, and the pain took off, aaah. I came out of it with a light concussion + muscular trauma in the entire neck region, and of course the usual bumps and bruises.

I spent the day in observation, having BP, pulse, pupil reactions etc checked regularly. After a few hours the acute pain dissapated, and when the dizziness and nausea also lessened they let me go home to spend the night.

So the next few days will be spent in bed, sore and bored. Sorry for typos, by the way, I'm trying to type without looking at the screen too much ;)

Big Day

Barokko was lying down in his stall when I got to the barn this morning. Looked up at me when I opened the door, and decided not to get up ;) I shared my breakfast bun with him, and gave his forehead a good scratch, and then told him we had to get ready. He yawned, stood up, and streeeeeeetched, then stuck his head forward for the halter "OK mom, I'm up now!" ;)

I gave his legs a good wash last night, but of course they were stained by morning. M got to work on the socks while I braided. He hates having his forlock braided - well, not really hates it, but he suspects I must be up to something VERY interesting that requires his immediate attention... with his MOUTH :D which makes it a bit of a challenge for me ;)

Braided and groomed, I led him out to the trailer. He had a red mare for company - in heat :/ She had been loaded first. When I led Barokko up the ramp he sniffed toward her, which earned him a swift kick! He wisely got out of the way, but then was understandably hesitant to try again. But the unresistable temptation of a carrot lured him back up, and once she had let him know she was in charge and he rolled over and showed her his belly, there was peace and tranquility in the trailer ;)

After an uneventful trip, we arrived at SLR. After getting oriented we unloaded the horses. It was a windy day, and they were both a bit frisky - Barokko showed off his talent for airs in-hand :D

The warm-up was in a small arena, where another hidden talent surfaced: pigeon hunting!! There were 3 pigeons hanging out in the arena, each taking turns being chased by Barokko (I'm sure he was very annoyed that I wouldn't let him finish the chase). I wonder what he would have done if he had caught one :P

The show arena didn't have an entrance at A, so I was able to circle him around the arena a couple of times before starting the test. I'm used to riding in a small arena, so it was good to be able to take a moment to adjost to the geometry of the large arena before getting down to business.

We got through the test OK, some moments where he was very tense, and of course some unsteadiness on the bit, but I felt it was an acceptable effort for where we're at right now.

Came through with 58%, a bit lower than I had expected based on what I saw of the other rides and scores. But a good day none the less, we'll just keep working at it, and do better next time :)

Getting ready to show

I've entered a training class at a district level show tomorrow. It'll be fun to be at a bigger show, and to ride him in a 20*60 arena for the first time - I'll probably get confused and forget my test :P

I'm going there to have fun, give him some more away-from-home experience, and check out the competition at district level. The district classes start at 2nd level, so we're not ready for that yet, but it'll be good to know what to expect :D It's also the first time I'll be trailering him to a show, not that I expect any problems from that, but first times are always a bit nerve wracking!

I'll try to clean him up as best I can today, but knowing horses he'll be sure to get his white legs nice and yellow-brown by the morning anyway ;)

Warm-up plan

I've been very focused lately on Barokko's warm-ups. He's been a slow starter ever since his tying-up, walking very slowly in the beginning, stiff if I ask him to trot too soon, unwilling to bend before he's really warm etc. On some days, he's a bit unwilling to go out of his stall, and sometimes seems slightly uncomfortable lifting his hinds. I'm becoming more and more convinced that he does have EPSM...

I hope I soon get a stall at the barn I talked about a few posts ago, so I can get him onto a 100% starch free diet + lots of turn-out. I went there yesterday to see a lesson with their classical dressage trainer. They mostly did in-hand work, which is great, I've wanted to learn more in-hand work for a long time, but haven't had an instructor who was willing/able to teach it to me. A lot of things I've been able to work with on my own, but I do miss having a regular instructor to work with.

While at the barn I talked to the two riders who were having lessons. They were both very nice, and definitely people I'd enjoy spending time with, going on trail rides with etc. They also seemed positive toward me, and as we talked more they began saying things like "when you move her we'll blah blah..." :D

Anyway, back to my warm-up plans, basically they just involve spending a bit more time on it. 10 mins handwalking, 10 mins light lunging (if I am able to, can't lunge if there are too many people riding), then 10-20 mins walk work (bending, lateral movements, W-P-W transitions etc) either in-hand or under saddle, and then trot & canter work with many walk breaks.

Friday again

It's been a week. He's off the meds, and is doing well, one measly cough today, so hopefully that's about the last of that little problem :)

We've ridden in the woods all week. He'd been doing well with the cough the past few days, and the outdoor has finally dried up enough to ride in, so I rode some dressage today. Focussed on bending and transitions. Also practiced keeping my hands up when he inverts, rather than my bad habit of lowering them, and not allowing myself to get too light on the rein.

There were a lot of distractions today. The footing in the indoor was being dug out, so there were trucks in the yard, in the parking lot by the outdoor there were bobcats zooming around mixing the new footing in huge piles - plus it was cold and slightly windy, and we haven't ridden in the outdoor in ages. So he understandably started out pretty tense, but settled into work fairly quickly, and only spooked twice ;)

Our good moments were really good - especially some awesome canter work where he stretched down to the bit, and was nice and swingy through the back, felt sooo good.

On another note, M bought a lunging caveson which I tried out with Barokko. Worked a treat, much better than lunging in a bridle or halter - gee, the equipment designed for the job actually works, whaddaya know! Gosh I feel silly for not having gotten one a loooong time ago :?

Not too Bad

He has/has had a minor infection of the airways, which has left some high viscosity mucous in his lungs. He can't really cough it out because it's too dense, so it just sticks around. He's on 2 * 12g Equimucin daily for 5 days. While he's medicated he's to stay in light work, preferably several times daily, as his breathing rate needs to be elevated in order to provoke coughing, thereby clearing out the airways.

Caught it early, and it shouldn't be a major issue. Luckily, he's still in work, so we won't be set back significantly in training.

Trail ride today with a couple of HUGE bucks - 5 or 6 of those in a row might well have gotten me out of the saddle, but luckily he stopped after 2 ;) He's a wierd combination of super fresh and not too hot, his body wants to go go go, but his breathing can't really cope.

Unreasonable?

I'm getting to thinking maybe it's unreasonable to expect a healthy and happy, functional sport horse in the surroundings I've given him. Maybe all the other horses are a little off, a little sick, a little NQR, too, but they just don't show it as obviously as Barokko - they just have a few off days, where he acts like it's the end of the world with the same problems.

Lets see, what am I asking him to deal with:

No turn-out. I do what I can to get him out of the stall several times a day besides riding - I turn him out in the arena every day (but it's only somewhere between 15-60 mins of free time), handwalking him, lunging, HorseGym... But it's nothing compared to what he would get out of even a few hours turn out :/

Limited social contact. He's with a friend when I turn him out in the arena, and during the day he has one neighbour he can touch muzzle with.

Hay problems. First off, he never gets the recommended minimum amount of hay every day (barn policy, I don't have a say). Secondly, the quality of the hay ranges from OK to really horrible. Right now we're in a really horrible phase, most of the bales are moldy, and yes, they feed it anyway ("we throw out the worst ones"). I supplement with beet pulp and lucerne to give him some more roughage, but I can't replace the foraging behaviour he should be getting from picking the hay out between the straw etc. Also, all the moldy hay makes the air in the barn very dusty and unpleasant to be in - and hey, he gets to breathe it in all day long!

Horrendous footing in the arena, very very hard, and at the same time slightly damp, so it gets slippery - it'll be replaced completely next week, however, so hopefully that issue will become a non-issue.


I've found a small barn nearby where we live. It's partly self-care, they pay a guy to feed mornings, turn the horses out, clean the stalls, and feed lunch. The boarders (7 stalls) take turns letting in the horses, and then you feed the evening meal yourself. Weekends are self-care. They have good turn out (6 hours in winter, 8+ in summer), silage hay (so less risk of mold & spores), owners buy and prepare their own feed (so he can get the exact diet I want him on, instead of having to compromise). It's about 20% cheaper than MAK.

Negatives of that barn are of course a little extra work, and that it's again a different barn from where I work - but it's in walking distance from home, which helps a lot with time issues. They don't have a covered arena, but they do have a small outdoor that's rideable even now after tons and tons of rain, and it's within riding distance to HRK with large arenas, lots of shows, and several different trainers for both dressage and jumping. They don't have the awesome access to Dyrehaven MAK has, but it does have trail access to both Jægersborg Hegn and Rude Skov.

I've signed up for a stall there, the BM said there could realistically be an opening in time for summer, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that. I'm so tired of people never doing things the way I want them done, maybe it's time I do more of it myself - plus the cheaper board means I can get away with a few less private lessons, and so be more flexible with my time.

Now What???

Wed M took Barokko for a light trail ride during the day, and after lessons in the evening I hopped on without a saddle to try out a hackamore. When I asked him to trot he was very resistant, but after persisting he finally made an effort to go forward, and then very shortly after stopped abruptly and coughed 4 times, very deep, dry coughs. Hmm... I walked him a bit, and then tried carefully to put him in trot again, but he still really really didn't want to. So I hopped off and took the bridle off, and let him roll. I thought maybe he was tired, and obviously something was bothering him since he coughed, but his breathing has been normal, no hyper ventilating, no mucous, he seems fresh and energetic, and M hadn't noticed anything unusual a few hours earlier :?

Yesterday I put him on the horse gym in the afternoon, he looked fine, again energetic and alert, no problems breathing. So I decided to try a short ride in the evening, but same thing again. Fine in walk, he even jumped around a bit, so he's not tired. But when I put my legs on him to ask for trot he got angry :( And coughed again.

Turned him out with S later, no coughs, lots of running around and bucking and playing... His gaits look normal, none of the stiffness that I saw both when he tied up and when his back was sore from the Albion.

I'm getting the vet to take a look at him today - I don't know, maybe I should just stop signing up for shows, seems like every time we're doing OK and I think we're ready, something new happens...

Attitude Change

Barokko's been progressing really really well lately, he's stronger, quicker off the aids, slowly getting some endurance back. But I have a persistent problem with contact. It's been an issue since I bought him, got worse in the fall, then I had his teeth done and he improved back to normal. He looks OK from the ground, nice "headset," but it's sooooo unstable, the feel in my hands is constantly changing. I get moments that are awesome, where he's steady and consistent, back up, hinds under - and then it's gone.

He's still young, and needs strength and training before he's able to "just go," but the thing that's so frustrating with this contact issue is the inconsistency! Normally, you find the button, you press it, and get a response from the horse. Then if the horse can't hold it it'll break away, but then next time you push the same button, you get the same response again. Not so with Barokko. I don't know where the button is.

Last week I had an all time low, I had the worst ride ever, I just got so frustrated that I couldn't figure this out, I had to jump off and lead him in order to not take it out on him. I really felt like there was no point in my continuing with this horse, if I can't solve this problem, then what good is all the other progress?

After a good cry, I sat down and really thought it through. What are my options -

I could give up on Barokko, sell him, and buy something else. But I've checked the sales sites, and even if I get a good price for him, it's still not enough to get something that makes me go "WOW." So I could get a horse that's easier to ride, but it would be just another "OK but nothing special" horse.

I could keep Barokko, but give up on dressage. But Barokko isn't really suited for anything else - he likes jumping, but doesn't have the scope to compete at recognized levels. He likes jumping on trails, but hunting requires a little more scope, too, I don't want to hunt a horse that's just at the limit. Plus endurance doesn't come naturally for him, it'd be hard to get him into hunt condition, and keep him there throughout a full season. Endurance racing is out for the same reason. Plain trail riding - no, I need competition, I thrive on it, I can't just twiddle around in the woods, as much as I love doing that, too.

So I got to the only viable option: work through it.

Once I'd made that clear to myself I made a conscious decision to change my attitude about riding him. Barokko's here to teach me how to ride. Getting angry just doesn't work on this horse. I'm going to ride as correctly as I can, all the time, every single ride. The ends do not justify the means, especially with this guy - because if I compromise the means, I'll never get to the ends!

I'm determined to come through this a much better rider than I was going in.

Shamu! + jumping video

Today was Fastelavn, and a good excuse for a mini costume class. Barokko and I were dressed up as Shamu and his trainer - we call him Spækhugger (= killer whale) as one of his nick names, so it was an obvious choice of costume :D

Speaking of jumping, we had a jumping lesson with a new trainer on Friday. I got it all on video, so here's a little clip The jumps are 60-70cm, the "big" upright in the middle of the arena is 80cm. I love little jumps, it saves the horse from physical exertion, and saves the rider from psychological exertion, but is every bit as valuable as a training exercise. Finally seems like I've found a trainer who respects and understands what my goals are with jumping, and who likes my horse for what he is, instead of dissing him because he's not a fancy jumper (psst - I know... I didn't buy a Friesian cross expecting him to be a show jumping champion :P )!

He's such a good boy with jumping, if I just get him there and keep him straight he'll jump anything, I really get the feeling that he knows I wouldn't steer him toward something he couldn't handle, so if I ask he answers. He bascules really well over the jumps, but hangs a bit with his front legs, it'll be interesting to see if he keeps doing that when we get to slightly bigger jumps. Not that it matters, he's perfectly capable of the heights I'll be asking him to jump, my ambitions with jumping him are just to have a fun gymnastic variation in his training.