Remembering Lexi

I had planned to wrap up the last posts of the year with a "Year In Review" theme - you know, look back at how far Molly has come and all that she has accomplished. However, although this is supposed to be a post about Molly, I have suffered a huge heartbreak with my horse and feel that I need to dedicate this post to him.

As most of my readers already know, I ride as well as Molly, my horse, Lexi, was given to me a few years ago by a friend of a friend sort of thing. I had just sold another horse and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Lexi turned out to be everything I was looking for and then some. While I wasn't sure about his "color" at the time and I couldn't even try him because he was missing 3 shoes and had the 4th hanging on by a prayer, I took him home anyway based on word of mouth. I gave him a bath, and put shoes on as quickly as I could get a blacksmith out. When I was finally able to try him about 3 days later, I knew from the first few steps that he was the horse for me. We walked, trotted and cantered around the ring like we had been together for ages and he was SO comfortable!

Lexi the first day I got him - after his bath!

I think I got him in the last week of September or first week of October - there was just enough time to send in entries for the last show of the season - I needed 3 more scores to get my GMO Bronze Medal - I figured why not - I may only get one or two of the scores but since we were there why not try for all three. So that was the plan - enter T-2, T-3, and T-4 and see what happens. Lexi was a children's hunter, not a dressage horse - the whole "round" thing was a bit of a mystery to him but he was a good sport about it and pretty non phased by any new challenge I presented to him. The show was on the last weekend of October - the foliage was perfect. I thought - well, at least I may get some nice pictures out of this. The wind however was something that would have sent Dorothy looking for Toto! Fortunately, I did not need a reader because it would have been impossible to hear - also, the wind was blowing at you full force head on as you marched down center line. This turned out to be good for us because Lexi kept his head down in order to forge ahead into the wind. Our tests were respectable - especially for a horse that had never been in a dressage ring before. The scores were all posted at the same time - T-2 - go it T-3 got it T-4.....oh wait there is an error - we have to re do some of these....Oh come on - you're killing me! Finally the corrected scores were posted and we got all 3 scores above 60%! Not much above 60, but who cares - all I needed were 60's! I had done it, I had earned a bronze medal - and I completed it on a horse with virtually no dressage training who I had had for less than a month! That was it, I was totally in love- head over heels, hook line and sinker - you name it.

No matter what I asked of him - Lexi gave it an honest effort. He was generally interested and curious about new things - like eventing. This horse missed his calling in life. He was an absolute saint on the trails and he LOVED to jump. Eventing was a natural for him. He would literally drag me through water! He never refused a jump - he would raise his head and wiggle from side to side as if to say "Mom are you sure we want to jump THAT?" but as long as I kept him straight and kept my leg on him he would go (yes, Lexi - we're jumping that). I even won my first event with him!

In November of 2007 Lexi broke his hip - no one knows exactly what happened, but he was turned out fine and came him "Barbaro" lame - actually he wouldn't even come in - it took a while for the gals at the barn to coax him in. When he finally did come, he got as far as the indoor and that was it - I arrived about 10 min after they called me to find him standing in the middle of the indoor, shaking and dripping in sweat - he was miserable and I was scared. Because the orthopedist at the clinic thought he had a good prognosis (it was basically the race horse "knocked down hip") she suggest stall rest for 12 weeks and then hand walking etc. We did it and he came back - not exactly good as new, but he was pain free and relatively sound (did I mention that he was 20!). By April of 2008 he was back in regular work - although I had pretty much cut out any jumping. We were working on our 1st level freestyle!

Lexi and I showed the whole season this year and we had a great time - we even snuck out to go cross country a few times with Molly and my best friend - maybe a little jumping would be okay - it was certainly good for his mind. We are 1st level MF Champions for one of my associations this year - what a great year! Because we were basically limited to flatwork, I also tried a little side saddle over the summer - I love the idea, but boy was it hard! Again, present Lexi with a challenge and he stepped up to the plate! He was a very confused boy - "I'm going to keep drifting left Mom because I think you're falling off!" We only did a few lessons, but we did it - together.

I got the "dreaded" call on Thanksgiving morning (2008) from the farm - I wasn't even out of bed yet. The message said that Lexi was dragging his left hind leg - uh oh - not good - that's the same side as the hip. But it can't be the same thing again. Because it was Thanksgiving I had them give him bute and put him on stall rest.

My vet was with me in that it couldn't be the same thing again - he must have twisted something, or aggravated it etc. He took x-rays of everything that he could and prescribed a muscle relaxer, stall rest and hand walking. Unfortunately, almost 2 weeks later and he was no better - in fact, I thought he was worse. I called the vet again in total panic (I have never hyper ventilated but I did that day). He came out took more xrays and then called the orthopedist for a consult - it was apparent that is was the hip again and it was serious. Lexi's prognosis for a satisfactory recovery was "0" - we could try to let it heal to see if he would be pasture sound but his athletic career was over. Additionally, there was a very grave concern that he could go down in his stall and not be able to get up. My vet said that he would support me in any decision so I should think about which way I wanted to go and call him. Thank God my best friend was there with me. My other friend had been waiting with us drinking coffee until the vet got there - you gotta love horse friends - they're always there when you need them! I thought about things for the next day, talked to my friends and finally forced myself to text my vet - I couldn't even talk to him - it was time to let Lexi go. I hoped and prayed all weekend for a miraculous recovery, but in my heart I knew that we would not get lucky twice.

So this morning, I let Lexi go - I hope that he is pain free and in peace. He was so good to everyone he came in contact with. Even in death, he was a champ - no drama, I'm okay Mom. I will miss him immensely - I have never know a horse like him.

Be at peace my sweet boy - I will always remember you

Gotcha!

In light of Treenie's latest attempts to take off with Molly, I made an emergency trip to the local tack shop in search of a pony sized pelham. Fortunately, they had one and we were able to try it out on Friday before the horse show. Below is a video with Treenie in her "normal" bit - the double twisted wire...believe it or not, this is not Treenie at her worst. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being horriffic) this this is about a 5-6. Her antics last week were about an 8-9!

Here is some video of the horse show this past weekend - with the pelham. What do you think?

Big difference no? It seems that we have found the answer - for now - until Treenie pulls something else out of her bag of tricks. However, the pelham has really seemed to have given her something that she never really had before - respect. I hope that this is something we can just build upon and will be able to keep moving forward now! Molly LOVED doing the short stirrup hunters.

I had an interesting phone call this morning - it was from the woman we bought Treenie from! She needed a phone number of a mutual acquaintance. Anyway, she asked how Treenie has been and I told her fine. I did tell her about the latest development and the move to a pelham. She told me that would use a kimberwicke when Treenie got bossy. Maybe for a few weeks until she remembered who was supposed to be the boss and then would go back to her normal bit. I felt a lot better because now I know that this is the pony and not us! I also felt that I was handling the problem correctly. So I guess I DO know something!

Molly really held her own in the short stirrup hunters this weekend. She needs to work on the finer points or riding courses in a show - like getting her lead changes consistently, but up until now, the priority has just been to get to the jumps. She has all winter to perfect things. She is definitely ready to move up though - maybe I need to update the title of the blog to Adventures in Short Stirrups?

This coming weekend is our big "local" dressage championship show. I am really excited about it. Molly could take it or leave it. She really does not realize that there are very few kids her age that do dressage. The fact that she is competitive at 9 with adults is a huge accomplishment. I just wish she would appreciate it!

Ladies Who Lunch

Doesn't everyone love to get dressed for a special lunch date? If Molly and Treenie ever get invited to tea at the Plaza, they're ready - boas and pocketbook terrier included!

This past weekend was our barn horse show - it was a long and busy day concluding with a costume class. For once, Molly was ready and had been planning Treenie's costume for weeks - several trips to the Halloween store (fortunately it was in season this time!) several rummages though the costume box and several combinations and permutations of accessories until finally, the PERFECT outfit! If Molly could have figured out a way to get Treenie to wear high heels believe me, she would have had that pony tip toeing around!

By the end of the day, everyone was beat and the whole appeal of the costume class had worn off of most everyone at the show. A few die hards stuck it out to watch and pretty much everyone who had entered had scratched, but Molly had put so much effort into her costume that they found a few girls to fill the class so they could run it for Molly. It was worth it because it made us laugh so hard we forgot how tired we were!

So here's to Miss Treenie - to Molly she truly is "My Little Trinket"!

(I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille)

Devil Pony Rises Again!

Oh Boy, the evenings have been getting chilly and Devil Pony seems to have resurfaced!

We are having a barn horseshow this weekend (at regular show prices I must add). Everyone has been practicing for it over the past month. The course is set and last night the jumps were all decorated - just like a real show!

The really good news is that Molly has been able to sit up and steer Treenie to every jump - no run outs. The bad news is that now the little devil has decided that if she can't run out she will grab a hold of the bit, bear down and just run. Molly seems to handle it well, but it must be a little scary and it is definitely NOT pretty - what happened to our cute little hunter pony?

Molly's trainer said to put her anti-grazing reins and martingale back on - I'm not sure these are what she needs. As Molly was putting her things away, I made an emergency call to one of my sales reps who also happens to be a bit expert. "Hi T - Treenie has turned back into the Devil - the DOUBLE TWISTED WIRE that she currently has isn't working - what else can we do?" Of course T who has become a dear friend over the years, reminds me that she told me a while ago to get a pelham. So, after discussing the pros and cons as well as broken vs mullen mouth, I now have a mission today so that we can try it tomorrow. I happen to agree with T - once Treenie gets grabbed by the curb chain a few times (probably twice to be exact) I am pretty confident the game will be over. She is devious, but not mean or stupid. She is really the queen of evasion. So, we shall see if this does the trick - I wish I had video of last night - it looked like a combination of pony jumpers and pony race horse!

This is cute pony....

I know!!!

How many times has your child/children said that to you when you TOTALLY know that they don't know? It drives me insane because apparently, at 9 years old Molly knows everything. (Which translates into I know nothing). I guess I just have a child genius on my hands and have never recognized this gift.



Today Molly showed at our local hunter show. The weather has been so nice and fall like until today when it turned back into summer and 90+ degrees. Of course! Because of the heat, they were trying to move the show along so they were not splitting the classes that would normally have been split. As a result, Molly had 11 in the mini stirrups. We are a little burned out with showing at this point, that I really did not care as long as it meant we could get home sooner.



The classes were fine and lasted about 5-7 minutes each. Even though there were 11 kids, there were a good 3-5 that were really not competitive - you know, basically hanging on by the seat of their pants. Molly was either 4th or 6th in every class - nothing higher and nothing in the middle - just 4th or 6th.



Schooling for the cross rail class was a little crazy with 11 horses and 3-5 kids who could barely steer - add in one stupid short stirrup rider who insisted on schooling with the mini's and was trying to jump the diagonal lines! Anyway, Molly KNEW how to school the course and kept encouraging Treenie to canter down the lines. Now she does know that that is not our plan. She is supposed to trot in and trot out both lines. She finally got it right after 3 times around so we quit before poor Treener's dropped dead on us.



Molly was 5th to go - as the 3rd kid was going I started going over the plan with Molly - 1) they specifically said no opening circle so get a nice trot as soon as you get in. 2) Get lined up with the first jump and look straight down the line. 3) Keep your heels down and eyes up... at this point I got the "I KNOW" smart remark. Rather than argue with her I told her to watch her mouth and dropped it.



So, in she goes - points 1-3 were great. I was sure she was on her way to a great ribbon - maybe even winning it. The she jumped the 3rd jump and proceeded to let Treenie canter down the line towards home. That's it - pack up and go home because now she was no longer consistent. I was livid! Molly totally knows the plan - she also totally knows how to sit up and whoa to get Treenie back to the trot. There was no excuse for this other than that she wanted to canter.

Surprisingly, Molly ended up 4th for the class - considering the inconsistency, I thought she got lucky. Molly on the other hand thought that it just meant that it wasn't so important to stick to your plan.

I REALLY need to send her to a show with her trainer as opposed to me. Hover, there is a problem with this - Our barn really only goes to stupid recognized shows which charge an obscene amount of money - the closest for example charges $25 per class, $25 Grounds fee, $17 Drug fee. Add to that $60 trainer fee and the dinky mini or short stirrups - which are unrecognized end up costing $202!!! And that's if I bring the pony over - it is another $85 if I pay for trailering. I'm sorry, but I just can't swallow that. Especially when we have been showing all summer for $65 on the cheap end and $80 in the high end. I have tried to encourage these guys to go to some of the local shows, but they are just not interested. It also kills me that my friends buy into this whole hog and just fork over butt loads of money every month when they don't have to.

So, it looks like Molly and I are stuck with each other for next season also - I just wish that she would realize and accept that I really do know what I am talking about and just listen to me - I know - never going to happen!

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Each week at camp they have "dress up". The kids come up with costumes for their horses/ponies and they have a parade. Of course, we are always scrambling at the last minute because you can not find costume stuff in July/August! I had the brainstorm that we could use our "Man in the yellow Hat" costume and Molly could be Curious George.

Here is my poor Lexi being the sport that he is (the painted saint) and Molly with 1/2 of her CG costume. I missed the "main event" of the costume extravaganza, but apparently, all of the kids were different characters from the Curious George cartoon and Lexi actually carried around Molly and another girl at the same time.

Lexi is a good boy - you can literally do anything to him - however, take a good look at the expression on his face - "I will not hurt her, but YOU will pay for this!" Fortunately we left for vaca the next day - I think he forgot about it.

Dressage Divas

Whew! We have had a whirlwind summer! I thought things would just coast along, but we were BUSY! Molly continued to horseshow throughout July and August - we even worked some of our vacations around her showing.

The kids officially kicked off summer with a "family" week at the beach - I stayed home and had a VERY nice week to myself. Then things jumped into full swing with camp and Thursday Dressage Shows.

Despite the fact that Molly has told me she hates dressage, she has continued to get REALLY good scores in the intro tests ( she is consistently scoring in the mid 60's!). We all even did the regular schooling show in June (Molly, me and the lady who 1/2 leases my horse ALL showed). We all got great scores - I even broke 70 for the first time! We also ALL qualified for our GMO dressage championships! Only the lady who leases Lexi is going to go. Molly, K and I are saving ourselves for the smaller local championship show.

There are some people "in our circle" that downplay our successes because we only do local/schooling shows. The bottom line is that we really only have local/schooling show level horses ( my poor horse broke his hip for crying out loud). I scribe and work at a fair amount of horseshows - I am totally open eyed to the fact that we would be completely outclassed at recognized shows. And you know what, that's okay because we found an appropriate arena to compete. We are competitive at these shows and we have fun. That's what it is all about. So we will continue to compete for our local year end awards and GMO awards because it's fun. I am sure that everyone reading this blog knows that horses and showing cost way too much to not get any enjoyment!

Both Molly and her best bud K have gotten really positive feedback from the judges. Helpful, constructive upbeat feedback - just like in the mini stirrups - NOT! This is one of the reasons that I push Molly to do this (and the fact that I am a BIG dressage fan and it is something we can do together - Lexi's hunter/jumper days are over.) I keep telling Molly and K that they will appreciate this background in the future. After all, who can argue that learning to keep a steady rhythm, make round circles, bend in the correct direction and keep your horse straight are not skills everyone needs to master?

So, since the only lessons Molly has had were during the 3 weeks she spent at the barn at camp, I set up real dressage lessons for her and I with a real dressage trainer at a real dressage barn! Molly is not so thrilled, but I can't wait! I have not had a lesson since before Lexi broke his hip in November. It just did not make sense to me to pay for lessons for myself while I rehabbed Lexi when Molly certainly needed the instruction. Balancing the costs of two horses is a challenge.

September and October will be busy show months for us. Starting this weekend, I will be at a show either with Molly or with my lessee just about every weekend. The hubby is not going to be thrilled but this is the big finale and the last push for points for year end awards. Before you know it, winter will be here and shows will be hard to come by!