Ulcers Abound

Does this look ulcery, I ask myself 10x a day--anddd I don't know, humph. The ribs could be explained by the underwhelming 2-3 flakes a day, but with 10lbs grain, 1 lb rice bran, and 4lbs Stable Mix in additional food everyday, I feel like he should look better? And his coat is usually slick and metallic silver, less of this dull black shine.

Not ready to invest in a 3rd consecutive ulcer treatment, so I'm going to try U-Guard (the anti-acid, not Ulcer Guard) for a month and see if that lets things heal up in there by themselves. The hay situation will drastically be improving on the 1st of May, so hopefully those 2 factors together will do the trick without more $$$ bleed.

More of this, please!

Nobody should be able to have this much fun barn-shopping. Especially someone who's going to be racking up 200k in law school debt and literally picked a less-then-glamorous apartment complex to live in so her horse could have a flashier bachelor pad rather than the other way around, as my parents kindly pointed out yesterday...Whoops! Who said horse-girls made financially prudent decisions? I can't help it though, I want to share my current search with you guys, with all the glorious details and pros/cons enumerated. Actually, I'm just super excited because I think I may have picked a winner, but nothing is truly decided until I can check these barns out in person, in Virginia, of course. Until then, allow me to introduce a virtual tour of 4 contenders that I'm juggling, in no particular order! Cue drumroll.

(#1) $420 for field board with 2-3 horses.

Pros:
-super-premium grain included
-blanketing, flymasks, fly spraying, deworming, holding for vet, etc. included
-huuuuuuge covered indoor with rubber/sand footing
-full dressage court
-regular clinicians
-trails!

Cons:
-all grazing but free-choice hay in winter: okay so their grass looks really lush and I'm sure they maintain it wonderfully, and I hear horses in Virginia get obese off the stuff, but as a Californian hearing "no hay," ever, scares me.
-they have jumps in the indoor at some points, judging from pics: okay, this might sound completely lame as a con, but having jumps in an area you're trying o "dressage" in, that are constantly getting in the way of your circles and shit, is RIDICULOUSLY annoying. I like jumping and dressage areas separated
-the outdoor arena is huuuuge also and lovely grass, but I see no jumps in pictures. I fear this may be used mainly for driving, and having only 1 main arena, regardless of how huge, irks the princess in me
-the arenas are almost too big--a girl gets disoriented trying to "dressage" in there when all there is is empty space. Walls are your friend!
-Not suuuuper into their clinicians, expect the dressage trainer, but obviously I could bring out any trainer I want
-oh, and FULL. If I got on a waitinglist I could probably get in, but I don't know, this is probably my lowest choice, even though it beautiful and the BO sounded super sweet.

Glam indoor

Huge but confusing outdoor

Pretty barn!

Nice trails :)

(#2) $425 field board with 2-3 horses

Pros:

-super-premium grain included

-blanketing, flymasks, fly spraying, smartpaks, deworming, holding for vet, etc. included
-year-round hay!
-lots of room to shuffle my horse around as-needed to find him the perfect pasture buddy and set-up
-reasonably roomy yet functional indoor arena for dressage that is beautiful
-can work off portions of board if desired
-trails!
-super-good vibe!

Cons:
-Outdoor jumping arena is a bit smaller that I tend to prefer
-footing is just sand
-no dressage court
-no regularly scheduled clinicians but, of course, I can bring in any trainers/clinicians

Overall, this was my old #1 choice because, though it may not have everything I want, I think Spartan would be really happy here. There's nothing really "wrong" with it, aside from just not being perfect, which makes it appeals to the utilitarian and minimalist me. Yes, this is the same place pictured in my last post :)

Swoon-worthy stalls

Really like this indoor, about that perfect size for dressage

Ahhh, babies looking so cute and happy

Looks big here but is a bit of a smaller outdoor

(#3) Stall for $600, or limited field spot for $ ??

This one is literally my dream barn to board at while I'm at UVA--it's literally perfect and has all the things I covet, drrooooolll. Except, it's almost exclusively stall-board with all-day turn-out. There are only 2 field board spots that are full--the entire facility is full, actually, and you have to pay to be on the waitlist. Sigh. I'm entertaining the possibility of boarding her during 2L and 3L, but it would be financially imprudent, really. So to dream on about snagging one of those 2 field board spots if they ever open up!

Pros:

-glorious indoor with rubber footing and sprinkler system

-glorious outdoor

-glorious cross-country course from BN to P with room to GALLOP and water complex <swoon>

-full dressage court

-baller clinicians, like everyone I ever wanted to ride with in Charlottesville

-trails!

-everythingisapro. I'm obsessed.

Cons:

-FULL

-2 MEASLY field board spots? Seriously??

-reminds me that I'm not rich. And a poor law student. And in debt.

Such rubber radiance.

Does this need words? Or an explanation?

It continues to amaze.

It's a scenic xc course, so precious.

MUST SCHOOL all the water complexes.

This. Whatever this is. Prettyiizz.

Okay so on a more realistic vein....here is

 (#4) $400 field board with 2-3 horses

So far, this is my mental winner, unless something changes when I go to tour in person.

Pros:
-super-premium grain
-blanketing, flymasks, vet/farrier holding, glucosamine, probios included
-hay year-round
-huuuuge outdoor arena with rubber/bluestone footing
-full-sized dressage court
-permanent jump-chute in roundpen (they are such a PITA to put up otherwise!)
-less glorious but still--XC course! BN-P
-relationship with great clinicians
-showaaaa and super clean/awesome bathroom
-a $50 discount for UVA students, so all this for $350--um, yeah, sign me up?

Cons:

-the indoor with mirrors looks a bit on the smaller size, but I don't have dimensions yet so don't quote me. When it starts to rain and snow and 462040502 try to cram themselves into 1 indoor, this kind of thing will start to matter. Haha. Also, indoor is only sand.

-less overall glory than previous barn

-kind of sketchy history I'm trying to piece together in an effort to avoid another crappily-run barn like the plague, but I think it might just have been sold to new owners by the old resident trainer/owner and they're trying to advertise it. Tune in later regarding this.

Such a great outdoor! 

 Useful jumps for training eventing babies

 Great ditches!

Baller downbank thingy

Kindof super cool.

So all things considered, I think option 4 is a great compromise between option 2 and option 3. Just seeing all those green fields to gallop in are ridiculously tempting and would be SO.GOOD for Spartan. And to have all those clinicians on-hand, like, omg, Will Coleman. And Kim Severson. Mimi Combs. Emily Besheare, Laine Ashker, not to mention fantastic dressage people. I will update as I get more information on all this, but I feel so thankful for this opportunity to combine the two most important things in my life right now: nerdy law pursuits and the ponehs. 

The Barn-Saga Drags Doggedly Onwards

So I'm sitting here outside in the wonderful Friday afternoon sunshine with my laptop typing this, and I refuse to let worry creep into this cheery weekend. First of all, THANK YOU GUYS for all your encouragement and sympathy! Your comments definitely reminded me that we've all been there with our horses, and all we can do is deal with these things as they come up in a gracious but firm manner, and remember to put our horses first no matter what others might say about it. :)

I won't really go into things in detail, but I've been notified that the BO is taking over management of the Upper Barn starting one the first. Le sigh. So our days at this barn may be numbered yet. The only good I can see (rather, hope!) come out of this is that the BO might start feeding the Upper Barn what she is feeding the Lower Barn, which would be a win for me, considering the UB is effectively feeding 2 flakes per day that are just broken into pieces to seem like 4 :( BUT, I continually remind myself and have been totally comforted by the fact that Spartan is happy as a clam about being up there, and this is probably the longest he's ever gone without any kind of incident whatsoever: a month-ish. And his weight isn't bad (do the 11lbs of premium grain I feed have anything to do with it?lol). It's not great either, but it's okay, which I think I can deal with in exchange for his peace of mind. And I guess I can keep burning my paychecks by supplementing with my own hay or whatever in this lovely drought. But anyways, I'm hoping that the hay is one thing that will change! But nothing else! For example, the "no turnout for over an hour" rule I was being floated previously at the LB. There's much more to be said, but blah blah blah blah blah, I'm leaving for Virginia in 3 months where Spartan will live in pastoral paradise so whatever. Freedom lies on the horizon.

Yes, this is potential future barn #1. I think I  want to live in that pasture!

Anybody have any objections to mind-blowing trail-rides?

That hill on the left must be galloped.

On to Spartan updates then! Where exactly are we on our conditioning schedule, you ask? WELL. We have just completed a week of 25 minute rides with <1 lap trot-1 lap walk-1 lap trot> in both directions, a total of 4 trot laps for the ride. When we first started this the beginning of the week, I could seriously swear Spartan was off at the trot with all the tripping, hinney-losing, and body-dragging he was doing with one circle of trot. I even jumped off at one point and had him trot around without me, 100% certain he would be short on that damn LH and all my hopes and dreams of having a rideable horse would tumble away on the breeze, but he was totally.dead.even.How. I think that was just a reality check for me that this horse was WEAK; there was a reason all this conditioning stuff was going on in the first place. And guys, yesterday he was amaze. He trotted so soundly, so much more willingly, 100x more balanced-ly. Conditioning guys, it's a thing. They actually get conditioned and stuff. 

Annnnnd I love my horse--he is so smart, it's eerie. The First thing the UB manager said to me when we were talking about Spartan's infamous shenanigans was: He's just too smart; his brain is always running.

Case-in-point: She told me what Spartan does with shavings. I died. Apparently, when they bring a bag of shavings into his stall, he gets so excited that he grabs the bag from said-person, lays it down and opens it with his mouth, and then proceeds to drag the bag all around the stall with his leg to spread the shavings across his own floor. Freakin. Hilarious.

Also, on Tuesday when I was trying to teach him to open the gate like I had shown him the day before so we could leave the indoor and ride outside, it was just nottttt happening for us. That thing is kinda heavy and Spartan was failing hard at getting close enough. So my friend asks me if I need help and I turn my head to talk to her, and Spartan walks forward, puts his nose on the gate, walks that sucker completely open, steps outside, and just stops and gives me the sideways eye. He just totally knew what I was trying to do, and pulled a, Jeez mom, need a hand much? My friend saw and just burst out laughing. Uhh, who says it's the human who needs to be opening the gates? I think this way is much more efficient :)

The Super-Update Post

So, yes, I have indeed been silent for a while, and I suppose it would hardly make sense to pretend that things have been smooth-sailing in the interim. I absolutely hate when things hedge into the dramatic and prefer to keep the fuming limited to my head, because when my giant, pompous opinion hits air, shit is sure to hit the fan. But I'll try to vaguely recap some of the things that have been happening in the past few weeks and things that are starting to happen that I'm super excited for!

But, first, the bad news. Remember the pasture dilemma I was in? Yeah, well that ended not-so-great. The decision was made The only choice I was offered was to put Spartan in with the freak horse, Castro. I can go on for 10 days about why this was bullshit, but I digress. It really is too bad, because the first day I led Spar in there booted up and mentally prepared for my horse to acquire a new series of bodily orifices, he and Castro were PERFECT. I mean, it honestly could not have gone any better. Spartan stayed away from Castro and his mare, and Castro stayed away from Spartan and his shenanigans, and all the horses just looked at each other, shrugged, and started grazing like it was another day at the office. I was floored. This is the same horse who had always reared and screamed at me whenever I walked by the fence line with Spartan?? Really??

I should've known it was too good to be true, though, because when I came back to the barn after the long-weekend, my horse refused to let me lead him down the hill past Castro's "territory" at the bottom of the pasture. Okay, he must just be screwing around with me--I give the leadrope a few insistent tugs to get his butt in gear--and he proceeds to flip out in a fat, spinning, flailing-every-which-way tantrum that nearly turns me into lawnmower clippings and frazzles the shit out of me.   And then, when I think things can get no better, Castro catches wind of this discussion and C H A R G E S me. At a dead gallop. Ears pinned. I might be able to count his front teeth. Are you fucking serious right now. One of the feeders had to run into the pasture and fend him off so I could lead my horse out of there. I was seriously livid, guys, and the situation only got worse because that asshole horse essentially refused to let Spartan come down the hill to be fed or drink water, ever, and I had multiple people telling me that my horse had not eaten for several days. I couldn't even take Spartan in or out of the pasture without a lunge whip because I was genuinely concerned for my safety between my panicking horse and the pinto devil-stud. Call me crazy but I've been pretty vocal about my intentions to survive through at least Semester 1 at UVA. And that was IT. Right there. I was d-o-n-e listening to other people telling me how to take care of my horse, and insisting that I should keep him in conditions that are perfectly identical to when he colicked while I was in India. Because obviously this is the best way to treat his lack-of-self-preservation-and-retarded-decion-making-disorder, and whatevs to my next emergency vet bill, right? Or I could grow some balls and TAKE CARE OF MY OWN DAMN HORSE.

Yep, so I pulled him out of there and called probably every single nice barn in town, because shit's jacked man. Seriously, if the barn doesn't want my horse, that's cool, I'll just take him somewhere that does. I was pulling up my big-girl panties and rapidly realizing that I did not need to live my horse-life for other people's approval or expectations. Interestingly, though, after talking to some people I figured out that the Upper Barn we have on the property is being leased to a cool Western trainer guy, and that I could keep Spartan up there with him through a completely separate and independent contract, woohoo! I moved Spartacles pony up there pronto and he's now, shockingly, in a stall and, even more shockingly, doing GREAT! (*knochonwood* ad infinitum) He has a nice-sized stall with a roomy paddock attachment and [gelding] neighbors and, I daresay, a rather nice view. I have no idea how he's doing so fabulously in a stall right now, because in my past experiences with this setup he has unequivocally turned into a fire-breathing megalosaurus of great infamy to barn-goers. But it is working. Thank you, thank you universe. He is SOUND. He has been a dream to ride, and I've been trail riding him all over the property by himself, the first time in a year, and he is a damn rock.

-Trot over that log.

Okay mom, sure. I'll jump it all cute too, okay?

-Now up and down this bank.

I've never really seen this steppy thingy before but okay, is this good?

-Over this ditch in the ground.

This might not actually be my favorite activity, are you sure you didn't mean go this way? Or that way, maybe? Okay this thingy for sure then? Okay, it actually looks kind of cool if you look at it like this and hop over.

He's just so completely aware of me riding him and careful about his reactions so he never unseats me--I swear, a gem. I'm so lucky to own him, it's gross. Will Coleman, here we come!

Lesson of the Day? I am a free agent. Neither I nor my horse belong to any man. I am the ultimate decider. UVA says I have enough brain cells to cultivate my own opinions and should indulge in such activities as an incipient and aspiring adult in this world. I have lost sight of the shore. And.it.feels.damn.GREAT. :)

His new nifty turnout that he gets 4x/week

His new stall and (muddy)paddock on a rainy day

Oh hai mom! Feed meh speedily.