Well, we tried the new bit on Teco, an elevator - it's a special kind of bit that puts pressure on the horse's poll; it forces the horse to pay a little more attention to you without being sharper in the mouth. It worked pretty well in our jumping lesson on Saturday! We're going to Frying Pan Park tomorrow for a dressage Fix-A-Test clinic with Sara Belinski, and afterwards Paul is coming so we can school the water there. That will be the real test of the new bit.
Today, Lauren Marfurt and I rode around with our vet, Dr. Horne with Hoof and Paw Veterinary Service. It was a cold, windy day, with several snowflakes to be seen (much to our dismay!), but we really learned a lot. We are both preparing for our H-A, which is an upper-level Pony Club rating that focuses on horsemanship and horse knowledge. It's a huge test with a ton of information you have to know, so Lauren and I have been getting an early start on preparing.
The first farm we arrived at this morning, we were greeted by an enormous, barking dog, followed by the barn owner dashing up the driveway waving her hands to STOP! Dr. Horne stopped the truck, just in time to see the horse we had come to vaccinate go flying past, followed by a little white donkey! The poor owner and Dr. Horne's assistant, Adrienne, chased that pony and donkey over hill and dale for about 45 minutes!
When "Romeo" (or Runaway Romeo as we called him after that) was retrieved, we were finally able to vaccinate him and float his teeth. For those who don't know, "floating" is just filing down the horse's teeth - horse teeth grow constantly throughout their lives, and can sometimes get sharp, painful hooks because of the grinding action. So, horses need their teeth checked every 6-12 months to make sure the mouth and teeth are still in good shape! We practiced aging all the horses we visited by checking their teeth - because horses' teeth grow all through their lives, there is a wear pattern that you can use to determine their age.
We just visited two more farms after that, giving more vaccinations and taking a few blood samples for Coggins tests (testing for a disease, known as EIA, equine infectious anemia). Dr. Horne is a National Examiner for the upper-level Pony Club ratings, so she knows the standards and the depth of knowledge needed for the H-A. She helped us review every horse's confirmation, and we discussed many of the parts of the H-A examination.
Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention: I rode my Mom's horse, Lady, in a lesson yesterday, because I am taking her to our club's jumping clinics this week. I was amazed at how much progress my mother has made with her! With the frequent help of trainer Sara Belinski, of course. I have high hopes for the clinics with Lady this week!
Til next time -
Christie
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