$$$Brandee$$$
Jun. 8th, 2006 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
callistotoniToday was Spend Money on Brandee Day -- who knew?
Wound up having to take a day off work. Not super good, but there are days when the critters just have to have stuff done. :-0
Brandee was schedualled for a training ride/lesson today. My trainer couldn't get there until noon. Already I'm thinking my work day is shot, because Ysuelt was schedualed to come to my place in the evening for pavillion stuff and I therefore couldn't stay late. I get to the barn and learn that the Equine Choiroparctor I've been trying to get an appointment with is coming out *this afternoon* to treat several horses. People at the barn think I should be able to add Brandee to the queue if I stick around. I decided to go for it, because this Chioropractor is very highly recommended and doesn't come around very often.
My trainer arrives and tells me that she really needs to take back the bit she lent me. OK, if I can keep it another day I can run to Shaws and get one just like it. Note that we've gone through several bit types on Brandee and this one seemed to be working really well. I don't like to tamper with success. So I had about an hour between the time the lesson ended and the chiro was supposed to show up to buy a bit. I run out, find the *exact* same bit, and look at the price. OMG. I bought it, but I do not want to tell you how much I paid for that bit. It wasn't just Shaws, when I checked a catalog when I got home it was just as expensive. English tack is such a racket, but Oh Well.
Drive back to the barn, and the chiro is about 45 min. late. Welcome to life with horses. He arrives and says I'm good, but of course Brandee and I are last in line. Spent about as much for the visit as I did for the bit. Add to that the training ride, and this was one expensive day. And, of course, I had to pick up some horsey shampoo and conditioner (welcome to summer!)
But it was a good thing Brandee saw the Chiro. She's always been stiff on the right, but lately it's been worse. Turns out she's really stiff in her neck vertebra, o the point where it's painful for her to reach her nose to her knees. *Sooo* not OK for a 5 y.o. horse. Now I've got to do stretching exercises with her for the next 5 days, and then 3-5 days/week from then on. The chiro will be back in the fall, and he can check back on her then.
Brandee's sore neck brings me to the other thing that happened today, namely, that I had to write the person (who is very nice) who has been riding Brandee 2 days a week to help take up the slack of Marguerite not riding and tell her I didn't need her to ride Brandee anymore. The real reason for this is because ever since she started riding Brandee she's reverted to the same patterns she (Brandee) had before Erica started working with her. What this person is probably doing is holding Brandee in the front and driving her forward. But what this does is force Brandee to lock her neck against the bit; hence the super-stiff neck. Since the person was riding Brandee as a favor -- she's not paying anything, and it was my idea that she ride her while M was out of commission -- I've written her and said that I just need to ride more to improve, so I didn't need her help anymore. And I thanked her for the help she's given so far.
Hopefully she'll take me at my word. She *is* a nice person, but she doesn't want to take lessons with my trainer; she just wants to ride as she always had. On another horse it might not be so important, but Brandee is at a very impressionable age and she's very sensitive. When it was just me and Erica riding Brandee was making steady improvements. But ever since this other person started Brandee has taken a nosedive. Very unfortunate.
Wound up having to take a day off work. Not super good, but there are days when the critters just have to have stuff done. :-0
Brandee was schedualled for a training ride/lesson today. My trainer couldn't get there until noon. Already I'm thinking my work day is shot, because Ysuelt was schedualed to come to my place in the evening for pavillion stuff and I therefore couldn't stay late. I get to the barn and learn that the Equine Choiroparctor I've been trying to get an appointment with is coming out *this afternoon* to treat several horses. People at the barn think I should be able to add Brandee to the queue if I stick around. I decided to go for it, because this Chioropractor is very highly recommended and doesn't come around very often.
My trainer arrives and tells me that she really needs to take back the bit she lent me. OK, if I can keep it another day I can run to Shaws and get one just like it. Note that we've gone through several bit types on Brandee and this one seemed to be working really well. I don't like to tamper with success. So I had about an hour between the time the lesson ended and the chiro was supposed to show up to buy a bit. I run out, find the *exact* same bit, and look at the price. OMG. I bought it, but I do not want to tell you how much I paid for that bit. It wasn't just Shaws, when I checked a catalog when I got home it was just as expensive. English tack is such a racket, but Oh Well.
Drive back to the barn, and the chiro is about 45 min. late. Welcome to life with horses. He arrives and says I'm good, but of course Brandee and I are last in line. Spent about as much for the visit as I did for the bit. Add to that the training ride, and this was one expensive day. And, of course, I had to pick up some horsey shampoo and conditioner (welcome to summer!)
But it was a good thing Brandee saw the Chiro. She's always been stiff on the right, but lately it's been worse. Turns out she's really stiff in her neck vertebra, o the point where it's painful for her to reach her nose to her knees. *Sooo* not OK for a 5 y.o. horse. Now I've got to do stretching exercises with her for the next 5 days, and then 3-5 days/week from then on. The chiro will be back in the fall, and he can check back on her then.
Brandee's sore neck brings me to the other thing that happened today, namely, that I had to write the person (who is very nice) who has been riding Brandee 2 days a week to help take up the slack of Marguerite not riding and tell her I didn't need her to ride Brandee anymore. The real reason for this is because ever since she started riding Brandee she's reverted to the same patterns she (Brandee) had before Erica started working with her. What this person is probably doing is holding Brandee in the front and driving her forward. But what this does is force Brandee to lock her neck against the bit; hence the super-stiff neck. Since the person was riding Brandee as a favor -- she's not paying anything, and it was my idea that she ride her while M was out of commission -- I've written her and said that I just need to ride more to improve, so I didn't need her help anymore. And I thanked her for the help she's given so far.
Hopefully she'll take me at my word. She *is* a nice person, but she doesn't want to take lessons with my trainer; she just wants to ride as she always had. On another horse it might not be so important, but Brandee is at a very impressionable age and she's very sensitive. When it was just me and Erica riding Brandee was making steady improvements. But ever since this other person started Brandee has taken a nosedive. Very unfortunate.
