Can you hear me now?

My horse whinnies all the time now. I really wish I knew why. I mean I get that he is completely lost in space but where did this vocal horse come from? He NEVER did this before he lost his sight.

I used to think he was complaining since it happened a lot when we were working and he wasn't being the most compliant... but he does it at a loose walk, when he seems to be happy with work, even when I'm on the ground beside him.

This week he started doing this like "hrmphing" type sound and blowing out all big and bad while whinnying but his pace never changed... he continued to trot the circle with even a bit of a correct bend to the inside. It absolutely boggles my brain.

It bugs me because it is loud, his whole body shakes and it means he isn't listening to me... I am an attention hog when I am on his back, I want all of his.

I have been working hard to manage D's energy. With the return of his weight, his energy has also escalated. I keep thinking the super muggy weather will help me but no such luck as of yet. I am still hopeful that someone will appear wanting to half lease which would be a 2 -part blessing. He will get attention from our buddy Liz this summer which will help with energy but she has her own horse. I love the reminder of watching someone else get on him and see that he is quite rideable.

We have been working to extend where D can go without getting too excited. He is pretty good about walking around the property and I haven't had to cue him nearly as much. Last week we rode while several machines were moving dirt around and he was relatively focused although still very chatty. He has a buddy in the field and in general is adapting just like any other horse...

He is a happy, chatty camper making sure he can be heard and for that I am grateful.

Photo Op

Yesterday a few of the girls were taking pictures and I was the only one foolish enough to be riding in the 30 degree weather. However, its always fun to get pictures of you and your horse :) So here are a few for perusing. He is, slowly, gaining weight. :)

Happy New Year everyone!!

Settling in

D has been at our new home SHEC (Scott Hills Equestrian Center) for 3 months now. D is happy and putting on weight. He is now in a stall and despite the field being easier on my pocketbook its been good for him to have a place to chill out and lay down.
I have been adjusting to the cold weather energy that D always gets. He has been polite in telling me when he has too much for me to work through. He constantly reminds me that there can be no ego in riding- ever. Often times D and I just walk for 30 minutes because that is all he can concentrate on.
Dark nights are not an issue for us but blustery wind still is :)
I have been thinking a lot of how Demetrias and I became a team. Being at a new barn I have shared our tale a lot lately. Sometimes being his person is hard. He gives me a lot of things to process through and decisions to make. If he had been my first horse I never would've gotten a second one, seriously. But here are the things I have learned as we approach our fifth year together:
1. Your eyes are not what you see with but your heart
2. Bravery happens in baby steps
3. The desire to succeed and live over comes everything.
4. Listening to your horse's body language is vital
5. Sometimes you just need to hang out and graze
6. TLC is the best medicine
7. Vets and blood work are not the final answer
8. Fly masks and spray save lives :)
9. There isn't much that can't be accomplished when a treat is involved.
10. D is not the horse I signed up for but he is exactly the one I was meant to have.

            Merry Christmas everyone!! May we all be grateful for the blessings we have. 

Change of Address

This post finds D and I residents (well D is) of Scott Hills Equestrian Center in Pendleton. The beginning of August D had a bout with sand colic and the major recommendation was to get him on grass. After some researching and reaching out to a friend with a blind horse we found Scott Hills- 61 acres of grass owned and run by Chrissy.
I stopped out after school one day to see if the distance was do-able and how the place would work for D and I.
In a word it was perfect. Rolling hills, pasture and people already aware of the needs of a blind horse.

On September 15 D loaded without a hitch and within the next few hours was out with new friends incredibly alert but relaxed and munching on grass and hay as he chose.
I have been incredibly impressed with how D has transitioned. He has taken the noises and new spaces in stride and while he may have days of crazy whinnying he has settled into nearly everything I have asked. I have been super impressed.

By Tuesday of our first week I was riding and we have settled into our new place. I am able to stop there on my way home from school and am slowly learning the names and faces of both the people and horses. D and I work about 3 times a week and he is out 24/7.  I am incredibly grateful for this place-D needed to be out on grass and now he is able. He has 2 other horses with him in his pasture. Sampson, who is blind and Sampson's buddy, Rooster who is mostly retired. They are quiet and D seems happy.

D is recovering from a few "war" wounds and a leg that most likely got kicked. So we have spent some time walking and stretching him out. Saturday we were able to trot as normal and canter a bit. We were a bit unbalanced due to stiffness but not bad otherwise. Our new adventure is starting to walk around all the property. I am looking forward to being able to ride in the fields a bit and out of the ring.
So that's it- our October update, we just keep enjoying each other's company and moving forward the best we can.

August Daze

It has been a rather strange month. Last week, D started acting strange while laying down. He is a napper so it was hard to tell if there was an issue. Eventually it became apparent that there was indeed a problem. Despite our best efforts a vet was not to be had until the next day. Kim and I did our best and he rallied and made it through the night.
As far as we know he had a very minor sand colic, or gas block or ulcer issue or.... we really have no idea but with a lot a care and Kim's expertise D seems to be on the mend.

Almost a week later we cantered over a pole!!! WHAT??

Emotionally it has been a roller coaster, I thought we were to that point where our time was up. D has essentially been living on borrowed time the last three years and for all I knew we were at the end.

But once again my horse teaches me. Despite pain and discomfort he handles any change happily. Rather than turning his nose up when his food was doused in water. D happily slurped up his "soup." His greatest concern when being tubed was not the actual tube going through his nostril but the chain around his muzzle, so I didn't use it.

D is fully blind but has adjusted. He can graze in a yard with very temporary tape blocking him off, but he respects it. He waits patiently for his next small meal (back to normal now).
He adjusts to whatever situation he is in. He waits because he only has enough light for the step he is on. I need to remember this.
He trusts not just because he has no other choice, there is always another choice but because we have never failed him yet. He could be a frantic and a bully, hard to handle but instead he thinks he is a lap dog and would like you to just talk to him and pet his nose.

Once again, life lessons from my horse who is a true example of taking life as it comes and resting in the outcome.

Summer Sweating

What a hot and terribly rainy summer. D has gotten super calm in the midst of thunderstorms which is pretty cool actually.

To make up for the tardiness of my posts I will try to make this post count.

Demetrias has been doing well. He still has not completely shed out and it is indeed the middle of July. I am not sure why this is happening and can only guess. He dropped his entire coat the beginning of January right after we started a fat supplement. The assumption was that he had gotten too hot.

The idea now that he isn't dropping everything is that his seasons are just rather mixed up... his eyes are blocked up with cataracts and some sites say that part of how horses know to shed is by the amount of light that soaks in through the eyes. Obviously it is hot but apparently that isn't the only trigger- puzzling.

We went through a rather rough patch riding but seem to be on an upswing currently. I'm sure that will change now that I have written this...

We are cantering and working on downward transitions even including a pole or two. Despite him feeling unbalanced he has focused enough for us to be able to complete these tasks very well.

The baffling thing about uveitis is the shape of my horse's body. His hind end appears to be sunken. He isn't showing a lot of ribs and is happy as a clam but his body looks like that of an older horse while his face is quite young.

I wish there was more information out there about the impact this disease has on a horse as they progress but for now its one day at a time. He is happy and working to the best of his ability. I am blessed.

Lesson from Teo

I know, another blog post already?! Well, the other day I rode one of the Kim's horses in order to improve my outlook and just get another perspective. D and I were doing really well and then we hit a pretty rough patch which I'm glad to say was much better yesterday. But, back to Teo. Teo is a Dutch Warmblood school master that Kim has had for about 6 months or so I'd say. I always feel like I have barely enough time to work my horse let alone get on another horse, but I think I will make sure I ride a different horse in Wednesday night lessons at least once a month. 

In order to ride Teo well I had to relax my seat, loosen my reins and drive more from the legs. I also had to trust him, as is important in all riding but sometimes you forget when nothing is working. Teo and I cantered and jumped and just had fun although I'm not sure there was anything awesome to write home about my jumping, technique its been about a year since I've jumped. Teo is unbalanced and can get quick just like D. I needed the reminder that our challenges are not blind challenges but riding challenges. 

Yesterday when I got on D I relaxed my seat and loosened my reins and I reminded myself that for better or worse we are a team. He was still quick and unbalanced but he listened better and we managed to have a fairly successful ride. Yay!

In other news, he is not shedding his coat. I researched blind horses and shedding but came up with nothing but Kim read that some of it has to do with the amount of light absorbed through the eyes. D is obviously not getting any, so we shall see...