*Insert Witty Albeit Lame Excuse*

Ah, blog. How have you been? Oy. Everytime I tell myself that I WILL write this regularly, it simply never happens >P Anyway, the last few, uhh, weeks(?) have been interesting. I suppose in a good way, haha. I seem to have taken on a one-child-falss-off per week quota, joy of all joys. Ugh. Nothing like ruining a kids confidence and tears to make you reavaluate how good of an instructor you are. However, this weeks lessons have started out very well. Maybe a good omen for the rest of the week, eh? Maybe?...Here's hoping.
I FINALLY have Bubby in some regular work. WooHoo! My little workaholic :) We are still having some stiffness issues but he's getting better every ride. the chiropractor (yes, a horse one) is coming out in a few weeks and as long as I have the funds (think vet bill times 2), he will be seeing Dr. Patty. I love watching her work and see her all the time when sedation is needed for some dental clients. Is it a lot of money, yes. Will it be worth it, absolutely. What she mainly does is evaluate and readjusts them, then gives you feedback on where they are stiff or uncomfortable and excersises to do with them. And she's not pushy about having to come back! Lord knows I cannot afford to do this too many times a year....like once, haha. His dressage is going to well AND he is in a couple lessons that i know are taxing his back but he is being really good. Why not pay him back? :)
Darryl and Christina are gearing up for their first Elementary event at Olde Hope in a few weeks. I am cautiously hopeful for them. The heat bogs him down and the trailering always gets him excited, which in turn wears him out. Oy vey. I know he can jump the course but all the factors worry me. I don't want them to have a bad show and I don't want him getting hurt due to fatigue. So, the next few weeks we are going to the push the jumping limit. It was my fault we didn't jump as much as they should have before the first show. He jumps so well, I just didn't think about his old man stamina in it all. Ugh. Onward to remedy that!
Oh, have I mentioned the dental is busy as all get out. Not that I'm complaing...totally, haha. I like the work, I like to work...May need a weekend of no work soon though. As a good friend recently told me (in good humor of course), I have a rather disgruntled personality. Fine, I accept that. But I am NOT normally this short fused and annoyed with this many people. My patience is not what it normally is. Aaannnddd the horses know it of course. Hopefully next weekend will be that weekend. Scottish Games on Saturday, Wilson commencement on Sunday...may just ask for Monday off too...we shall see.
Til next time!

Yeah, I Just Did That

So, in all fairness I've been overdue for a fall. Ugh. But did it have to be SO dramatic this time??? Apparently :P I'm trying to get back into riding shape....and more importantly work/tire Bubby out :D I am using him regularly now in two lessons during the week because he is quiet and steady and LISTENS to his rider. His only downside at the moment is if he hasn't been worked in a while he tends to get rather speedy. *sigh* if only knew how to canter and jump, I could use him in more lessons. Ah, well, we're working on it :) Back to my epic fall... I am so not a fan of the three step mounting block. Can we say unbalanced? Not to mention Bubby has the tendency to start to walk off....only with me of course *throws hands in air*. Combine the two factors and you have my graceful almost-mount. The block wobbled, he stepped back a stride aaannnndddd down I went! I braced for the sandy arena but my now tensed butt was greeted with the side of the mounting block. FYI not much give there >:[ and then fell to my side. For a split second I thought I may have strained/stressed my left hand. That would NOT have been good. Thankfully, after a few numbing minutes, all feeling returned and pain left. Oy. Then of course we had to buck/crow hop a few times in the trot. Only the second time riding outside since, oh, November-ish? He worked OK but was rather distracted. May need spurs for a few rides to reaquaint leg aides...
In dental news, appointments have picked up! WooHoo! :D Upside: I love being busy and active (in what I want to do, of course ;) AND it also gets me toned and in shape. I may not get the "beach body" but, it will shed quite a few pounds off. Oh, and it helps my riding. I've noticed a better posture in the saddle since coming home from school. Shoulders are back and straighter, and interestingly enough I am holding my hands up where they SHOULD be and they don't move as much :)
I am also becoming quite the babysitter it seems, hahaha. I absolutely adore Amanda's little girl Olivia (or Livvie :). I definitely don't think I'm anywhere NEAR ready for any wee ones of my own but I am not scared of them which is always a plus (yay for younger siblings!). I was also asked (and accepted) to hold a high school friends little girl at an upcoming wedding. Erma is such a good baby too :) I may be chasing the newly walking Erma at the wedding in a little over a month....Suppose I'll just have to wear flats then ;)
Sleeping in tomorrow? I think yes.
Til next time!

Busy? Moi?

Okay. Once again the time has gotten away from me. Oy. See why I called the blog Mild Chaos? Haha. Anyway, in short, all my students are doing spectacular :) Almost all of the beginners have started trotting over ground poles. I'm so excited :D From here, things usually move quite quickly, get infinitely more interesting and definitely more fun!
My older (ie: experienced) students are starting to nail there respective dressage tests. That always makes my inner DQ beam with pride :D I've slowly been getting everyone where they need to be jumping-wise as well. We have an event coming up soon, so no time to waste!
I have a few new students as well. Two have ridden before and getting back into it. Hopefully, I'll finally have someone to ride India. She is such a sweet, willing mare but needs a specific kind of rider. Hence, she's been hanging out in the mares field for the last few months being bored I'm sure.
Darryl has been feelin' his oats recently too. Really? Bucking after every jump? I can't seem to convince him he's been around for 3 decades, haha. He's going to the upcoming event too :) Bubby was on my $#%t list Thursday. I've not had alot of time in the last couple weeks to ride him (more in a sec) and well, he's not real happy about that thank you. Ugh. Who's horse jumps out of round pens? Mine! Idiot. Seriously, in a bout of pissy-ness. i love Standardbreds but my GOD do they have tempers to go along with those opinions! However, he did redeem himself today (IN the round pen). I have him in two lessons a week too. I *heart* my boy :)
Oh, side note, switched farriers this week too. I've been using one of the two farriers that come regularly to the barn. He's mainly a track farrier; good for trims, cold shoes, and inexpensive. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. He gets the job done but honestly, is not always consistent. Sometimes too long, other times too short. So, I asked the other farrier if he would since he was coming out anyway and my guys were due. After all, with Finn's abcess, the man ahas been calling me more than any other guy has EVER called me LOL. He does trims, hot shoes, corrective work, etc... Pricier BUT always on time (if not early), schedules ahead of time and is pretty much available whenever. Works for me :D I'm willing to pay for better service like most of the rest of the human population ;)
The dentistry has picked up too. Finally! I love seeing an appointment everyday of the week, AND I'm building muscle and stamina again. This past week I noticed I had more control of my float and strokes than what I've had. Bit seats are getting easier too. OH, and I pulled 2 blind wolf teeth all by my onesome :D No nerves at all, go me, haha. Pulling teeth shouldn't be this much fun ;) Of course, squatting for half an hour to pull a tooth and then float does take a toll on the legs after a while. Minor detail :P Caps to pull Monday morning. Wolf teeth to pull at some point next week. The following week, we have an appointment in Chincoteague for quite a few. Busy busy.
Okay, I'm going to bed. Just thinking about how much is going on right now is tiring!
'Til next time!

Sometimes Its Truly Rewarding :)

So here I sit...kind of whining....kind of recooperating, haha. Business has been slow. Nothing unusual for the time of year. Most people get their horses' teeth done around the same time they have the vet out. Which, for this area anyway, is Spring/Summer. However, this week is kicking my butt a bit. Starting with last Friday.
Is it really hard to tell if a road is clear or not??? Oy. I love my little Honda. After having been told that the road was okay for me to come down, I turn down a road that no plow, at any point in time, EVER passed over. I truly didn't think I was getting out of there. My little car is good but not THAT good. Thank God it surprised me and me made it to and from the appointment! A very interesting appointment too. I thought I was pulling wolf teeth and floating 4 horses. Turns out, the one did not have wolf teeth (he had canines....not unusual for the first time horse owner, haha) and there were 2 horses, 2 ponies and 2 mini donkeys.....that does not add up to 4....just in case you didn't know.....lol. BUT, everyone is done every 6 months and are very good for the dentist...Well, except that damn pony. I'm thinking it a TMJ issue. He had HUGE ramps and small hooks on his 2nd premolars. So much so he had a WAVE on his incisors! How cool! How interesting! So, I'll be back this Spring to correct that and check on the ramps and hooks. The ramps he let me get...the hooks, HA! Little bugger. The points are gone but I couldn't get them fully >:/ After 30 minutes of getting drug around the stall and beat up in general, you just have to call it. Nothing is in his way anymore, its just not perfect. Oy. Just wait, little pony, just you wait.
Monday was long just because the appointment was 2 hours away. And my weekend was long. No, not that kind of long. Just on the go all day Saturday AND Sunday. Sleep? What's sleep? :P it was a good day though. I went back to a horse that we couldn't do a month ago. He was rescued by his current owners and lord only knows what his history is. he was underweight, malnutrition and still recovering from a car accident. When I pulled up Monday, I did not recognize him. He is GORGEOUS. Buddy is filled out, not limping hardly at all (from the accident) and has lovely conformation! Who knew! His owner is brand new to horses but she has a good friend who is helping her and they are taking fabulous care of this boy. Lucky, lucky boy he is :)
Yesterday...oh boy. First, we left 2.5 hours late due to ice. Then, getting to the barn on a driveway that can't really be plowed....good thing we left late, haha. The horse was a 17hh TB. Huge and super ADD. Hence, I have a few battle wounds as a result of "distractions". Yeah, grit on table floats WILL cut your palm open. In particular, when the equine makes a sudden movement upwards. Don't get me wrong, he was a good boy.....just easily distracted, lol.
That was one 1.5 hour drive South. We then headed another 1.5 hours East on an urgent call. Older horse suddenly dropping weight and overall declining in health. The vet thinking he has an infected tooth causing most if not all his issues. And, has been off his grain for the last few days. We weren't quite sure what we were getting into. Sometimes, we dentists can't resolve the problem. Sometimes its too late.
When we arrive, the old guy is in his stall. He was alert, which is always a good sign. But he was jaundice and had low, low blood pressure. Oy vey. The initial dose of sedative the vet had left wasn't enough. Again, somewhat of a good sign that he still has his opinions about him. So, we wait for the vet to come out to sedate more heavily. He has at least one tooth that needed to come out and was very very sharp. With the sedation, we got the first tooth out (note: first). Then, as I had ahold of the second, he went down. Crap. He backed into the corner, rested his hind and just laid down. Never worked on one laying down. First time for everything! The vet and his owner had to hold his head up but I got the other 2 bad teeth out and floated what teeth he had left. Turns out, his condition was a result of bad divorce. Great. To punish you ex, to take the horse and then don't take care of him. Nice. Real nice. Jackass. I hope we weren't too late for him. There's no way to know if the infection progressed to his other organs. He's back on antibiotics and his teeth no longer cause him pain. His owners are really pulling for him and I hope I hear from them soon that he's making a turn around. Time will tell I suppose. If nothing else, at least he'll leave knowing he was loved and appreciated. It just sucks that we may have been to late because someone was holding a grudge.

Til next time. Maybe I'll have news by then :)

The Ocala class started in the barn today....

Actually, they're probably still in the barn! Hey, my class was anyway. Jeez. I can't believe this time 3 months ago, my class was in the Equine Rescue Leagues barn doing a ton of incisor work and generally, just learning the ropes. So WEIRD! lol!
And speaking of school, specifically instructors, I talked to one of them last week. I got an offer to possibly do teeth in Georgia this Spring. Funny thing about dentistry....umm.....its not exactly legal in all states....yeeaaahhhh, wasn't sure about Georgia. So, talking with Hubert it was. He was my groups instructor the first couple days at the second rescue. Lets see. How to explain Hubert. Well, he's French, red headed, left handed and a Scorpio. His words, not mine ;) And what an interesting character he is. I don't think the man knows how to hold a conversation without a slew of curse words. Makes for a highly entertaining time to say the least. Remember I said about the van rides??? Anyone else ever had a conversation about the weirdest thing you ever ate? Sometimes it was hard being one of 2 girls in the van, hahaha. We won't go into the weirdest foods. Let's just say, he won....eww. And why wouldn't I mind being put into a headlock?? :-P Oh, and he likes to sing rap songs. Picture "Gettin Hot in Here" via French accent. Told you it was entertaining ;D
Anyway, back to the Georgia thing. Hubert works up and down the southern East Coast in the winter months. After the last few weeks, I completely understand. So, as I figured, it is "illegal" for anyone but a vet to work in the state. But, as he put it so eloquently, "Fuck that shit". Alrighty then! As I already, kind of, knew, there are a lot of EqDT's that work in "illegal" states. Quite frankly, there are only so many trained dentists (vet and non vet) and tons of horses. And owners realize that there are well trained dentists and completely untrained dentists (some vets included unfortunately).
What does this mean for me? Good question. I essentially need to be on my A-game. Nothing unusual, I tend to be a perfectionist (it does pay off sometimes ;). And I need to inform the owners and if need be, the vet or vets. Some vets are cool with, some are not. Whats the old saying "you never know until you try". I'm not trying to undercut anyone and really, I'm not trying to break the law (stay with me). I'm trying to help the horse. Some people understand that, some don't.
Not gonna lie....being the "rebel" sounds kinda fun too ;)

Oh Dear...

Alright....its been a while....*sigh* Well, I KINDA have an excuse (as I type without my right index finger, explanation to come). So, I think I left off with the boys getting ready for Oktoberfest.....a month and a half ago. Yikes! Good news, both shows went well :D Bubby was absolutely FANTASTIC for the dressage show that Saturday. As usual our first test was kind of a bust. Not as bad as it has been but still... Now, his Intro B ~ SPECTACULAR! He came in and went out looking like a true dressage horse :D I *heart* my boy. Then Sunday, both went and did the Greenhorn division at Olde Hope Farm. Darryl took 2nd. Not too shabby for an ancient ;) And Bubby and Kylie took 8th. BUT, the child wanted a brown ribbon and that is precisely what she got :D I could not have been happier.
Now for the bad news. So, while thinking about writing the blog on the show, when I FINALLY had time to even think about it, I received a sucker punch to the gut. My Drill mount from college had to be put down after a bad bout with colic. And as much as I have wanted to write about him, I haven't been able to bring myself to do so. One day, I will dedicate a post to him. But right now, I can't even look at an Arab without thinking about him and wanting to cry. And just never thought of Wilson and Drill team and Ann without him. Colic just doesn't seem like the way he should have gone. Always the good ones I guess.... For another day...
So what am I up to now, you all ask (HAHAHA)? I am 3 weeks thru a 4 week equine dental technician school. WooHoo. Here's the explanation on the index finger, lol. It has been quite interesting to say the least. Again, I will eventually get around to blogging about the adventures of dental school. Quite entertaining to say the least. Til then, you'll have to wait. Just did 2 horses "on my own" today :) So, I'm wimping out for the night.......Don't tell anyone though.... ;)

Til next time!