Prime Diamond

This week, I'd originally planned to not go riding today, because a client needed work on a production system and Sundays are good for that, and I was OK with that because the job needs doing and I like getting money. I'd talked to my dear friend Titti, who wanted to take Prime on a jumping lesson - her own horse gashed his leg badly a couple of months back and still isn't back to work, so she's happy to take Prime occasionally.

Then the client called and said they needed to postpone, and Titti got to borrow another horse and we decided to go on a shortish hack together instead.

And then it started snowing, just as I was getting ready to go. And since I a) don't have the winter tires on yet, and b) am not entirely stupid (nearly, but not entirely!), I messaged Titti and said I wasn't going to get there after all. So she went back to plan A and took him on a jumping lesson.

He wasn't easy to ride; he's not worked properly this week because he's been outgrowing his saddles to the point that he got a sore back. It's better, and my co-owner E managed to find both a jumping saddle and a dressage saddle that fit him reasonably well, that he can borrow until we get his own dressage saddle re-stuffed. And the western saddle still fits; it's got a very different kind of fit and seems to still lie well - he didn't start to show pain until I was well enough to start riding dressage again, instead of just going hacking, so it was fairly obvious that the dressage saddle was the main culprit.

Anyhow, the main point of the post is pictures, and a video, of Titti taking him over stuff on the ground:

Prime and I have been doing really well this year, largely because we haven't been doing it all on our own. He's got a second rider, who is a much better rider than I am. She does things I'm not comfortable with or not capable of, and I can focus on building up my courage and skills.

On this past Saturday, we were going to show off our progress. Our riding club has a series of dressage and jump shows, starting with a practice session without any judge, then a training show, a show for club members and ending with a dressage show open for non-members. A couple of weeks ago, we did the practice session which went well once I stopped being tense and started riding properly, and now it was time for the first show. I was entering "LD1", a very simple dressage program with only walk and trot in straight lines, not even a circle. It felt like a reasonable first effort.

My husband and S came along to cheer and be helpful. We got the horse ready, though I need a lot more practice braiding his mane, but he looked nice and clean. I had polished my riding boots and his tack and felt that we were well turned out for a fairly low-key event. We got out to the warmup ring, which is our large arena (about 30x60 metres) and started riding. Prime was very attentive, and wasn't at all bothered by there being strange horses around. For once, neither was I; I managed to keep focused on what we were doing and Prime was willing to work with me. I felt that we would probably get at least above 50 % of the score, unless something unexpected happened.

That's when the unexpected happened. A black horse came into the ring, cantering and bucking at each step, quite close to us. Prime shied away to the other part of the arena; a reasonable reaction for a horse. He stopped when we were close to the fence, and I got the reins back and started finding the stirrup I'd dropped. Prime looked over his shoulder and saw that the black horse had now divested itself of its rider and was running straight for us. Prime totally freaked out; he was close to the fence so he couldn't run straight away, there were other horses blocking his escape and I was holding the reins fairly short... so there was no direction he could go, except up. Which he did, impressively. He may have kicked at the other horse too, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't blame him in that situation!

I was catapulted out of the saddle and and landed on my back in the sand/gravel. At first I felt paralyzed from the impact which had driven all the air out of my lungs, but as soon as I could draw breath I told people that I was alive but not completely OK. By then there were two or three people at my side, and my friend T had placed herself and her horse between the two riderless horses and me so I wouldn't get run down by the scared horses. The people helped me up and I limped out of the arena, where I was met by husband (who went to fetch my cane from the car) and S. My co-owner caught Prime. I said that I would definitely not be entering the show and she put him out in the pasture. The other rider was apparently OK, I heard later that she'd done her show.

The judge we had contracted for the show happened to be a registered nurse. She came and looked me over, saw that I could use all my limbs and there was no danger to spine, neck or head. She recommended that I rest and eat a little and then I should go to the hospital to get checked out. So I had some food and drink, and then we drove home. When we got home I wasn't even able to take my own shoes off, my right leg hurt so much when I tried to move it or bend over. Laying down to rest for half an hour only made it worse, so I followed the advice and went to the hospital. Unfortunately there had been a bicycle competition the same day so the orthopaedic emergency room was quite crowded and there was a long wait. I didn't mind; I knew my leg wasn't broken but figured it might be a torn muscle or something.

The doctor came and agreed that since I could walk on the leg and there was no visible swelling, a break was very unlikely. Still, he wanted X-rays to make sure. That happened; the doctors didn't see any fractures so I was sent home with a recipe for morphine and told to come back if it got worse or if it didn't get better within 3-4 days.

Sunday was really bad, it was hard for me to walk as far as the bathroom. As long as I was lying or sitting, or even standing still, it was OK - but the slightest attempt to move the right leg in any direction at all was really painful. S offered to come look after me the next day since my husband wasn't able to work from home.

Monday was better. I managed to get up and make breakfast for myself, and then spent much of the day resting. In the afternoon, the hospital called. Apparently they do a Monday review of the weekend emergency cases, and the review had noticed some small cracks in my hip bone. This also explained some of the back ache, because a crack on one side of the pelvic "circle" almost always is accompanied by one at the opposite side. What I thought was just severe bruising touching on a nerve is most likely a crack in the sacrum as well. I should expect at least one, maybe two weeks of severe pain. This was obviously less good than just a pulled muscle, but at the same time it was nice to know for sure what causes the pain. There's still no difference in treatment, the cracks are stable and will heal on their own, they will simply hurt for a while. 

Tuesday was better still; I managed to walk all four steps down from the porch to go all the way to the mailbox. Then I sat in a chair outside and enjoyed the sun for a few minutes. I also managed to fix my own lunch (with S standing by to help if I needed it).

Today I'm home alone, I woke up at 4 am in a lot of pain after sleeping badly but went back for a couple of hours of more sleep and now I'm feel a lot better. Today’s exciting excursion is to the computer room so I can post this; I’m a bit too tired to try to go outside.

Prime will be taken good care of by his second rider, by my friend T and by his coowner. I mustn't ride for at least four weeks.

They are going to be long four weeks.

Today I have a cold and am way too tired to write anything coherent. Which is all to the good for whoever wants text in English, because the reason I usually post in Swedish is that I don't know equestrian terms in English. And I'm not planning on using any of those today.

Here's a video instead. Stuff really has improved; M who has lovely white horse (that Prime finds very suspicious indeed) has been afflicted with having to stay out of the way as Prime and I have been careening around the arena and only barely avoiding rushing headfirst into walls, posts, or M and her horse. This week she commented that we really have improved (I suspect that means that she no longer has to hide in a corner to avoid getting run down, which, to be fair, is an improvement).

And Eva filmed us. When I look at the movie, I can point out about half a billion things I should do better. Still, the main point is that we are understanding one another, he listens and tries to understand and mostly do what I ask, and I don't fall off. Anything above and beyond that is a bonus. Also, I've actually started going to the gym again, because I'm fairly sure that Eva is right when she says I would be less likely to fall off all the time if I had any muscles that I could use.

Idag kom Prime och jag till ytterligare en av våra gemensamma milstolpar - första avramlingen! Notera avramling, inte avkastning. Vi tog en galopp, och kom snett in mot kortsidan. Kortsidan är verkligen kort, så om en kommer in sådär snett blir det svårt att få en mjuk väg ut. Prime bär sig inte tillräckligt bra för att hantera det fint, och jag själv har inte tillräckligt bra balans för att klara av att hålla sitsen när han måste svänga tvärt. Jag dråsade ner i sågspånet på yttersidan och landade bra på ryggen utan att slå mig det minsta. Prime blev alldeles förskräckt och sprang in till andra matten Eva som fångade in honom. Han var helt fokuserad på mig och att se att allt var OK, sträckte halsen mot mig när jag kom fram och nosade för att se att jag var OK.

Jag borstade av mig och satt upp igen. Prime var rätt spänd och hade hela tiden öronen mot mig. Först var han skeptisk till att börja gå med mig - tänk om jag skulle hitta på såna där dumheter igen? Men när han sansat sig började vi trava, även där var han väldigt försiktig. Vi avslutade med en ny galopp, denna gång lyckades jag hålla mig kvar med hjälp av ett bra mantag och stöd av tygeln som låg dubbel över nacken... Sade jag att jag har dålig balans? Jag har dålig balans, ifall jag inte sade det.

Eva och jag kom fram till att jag behöver öva mig på att stå i galoppen på en häst som bär sig lite bättre, så på torsdag blir det lektion på stora snälla morbror Elliot. Han har visserligen inte heller koll på alla sina ben alltid, men han har åtminstone bättre muskler och vana att galopera omkring i ridhuset med folk på ryggen.

Det är ändå härligt med en häst som verkligen vill att ryttaren ska vara kvar och blir sådär försiktig efter en avramling! Det känns verkligen tryggt att veta att han vill ha med mig och blir alldeles orolig när något händer.

Uppdateringsfrekvensen här har vanligt som vanligt, dvs väldigt låg. Men i stallet har det hänt desto mer. Prime blir 6 i år, och vi har äntligen börjat få till det med ridningen. Det som har fördröjt det hela har varit mina problem med hälsan i kombination med jobbstress för mig och tidsbrist för min medägare.

Efter jul har vi dock äntligen tagit tag i saken på allvar. Jag rider nu Prime 3-4 dagar i veckan. Vi behöver fortfarande en "barnvakt" - jag har förstånd nog att inte sätta mig på en (till sinnet) unghäst utan att ha någon som förstår sig på unghästar i närheten. Det är främst medägare Eva själv, hennes syster Y, och stallkompisen och den väldigt goda vännen E.

Idag red jag för andra gången utan att Eva var med. Jag gick in med Prime, medan E höll på att mocka. Sen promenerade vi runt lite i ridhuset så att jag kunde känna av vilket humör han var på. Det var ett väldigt bra humör, väldigt lyhörd, stannade när jag stannade, följde mig i alla konstiga vägar jag hittade på och verkade nöjd med sig själv och mig.

Sen kom E in och hjälpte till att hålla när jag satt upp. Prime vill som så många unghästar gärna röra sig lite när människan börjar lägga tyngd på honom och kanske peta honom i sidan med tån under uppsittning, men han skötte sig snällt när E sade till att han faktiskt inte fick gå någonstans. Vi skrittade runt en stund tills jag kände mig avslappnad och Prime också verkade vara det. Sen travade jag en del. Han har svårt att klara volterna i trav med människa på ryggen, det är ju inte konstigt med ett så litet ridhus, men vi tog ändå en volt i varje varv i väldigt lugnt trav. I traven fokuserade jag mest på att jag själv ska vara följsam och att han ska hålla den takt jag sätter. Han svarar väldigt fint när jag tycker han drar iväg, han lugnar ner sig så fort jag säger till. Som de flesta unghästar är han oerhört känslig i munnen, och samtidigt är han väldigt villig, så det gäller att jag inte tar i med för stora gester och är snabb att belöna med en eftergift när han svarar på ett lätt tygeltag.

I skritten jobbade jag med sidrörelser, och även här svarade han fint. Inga problem att gå innanför spåret på långsidan, det enda som krävs är att jag själv sitter still och gör en bra skänkling. Det fanns lite försök att hävda att även om det bara var en ytterskänkel som lades till så kunde det faktiskt tolkas som att vi skulle trava, men det märktes att det var på nivån "försöka duger" från hans sida och han gav med sig direkt när jag förklarade att så faktiskt inte var fallet.

Vi fick också till en väldigt fin halt, naturligtvis när inte Eva var där och såg det. Som vanligt är det lättare att göra rätt när en inte har en tränare där som en vill visa sig duktig inför...

E var väldigt hjälpsam hela tiden och gav feedback. Det är så skönt att ha henne med, hon är alltid positiv och även när det är saker som kan göras bättre så formulerar hon alltid sin feedback så - "det är jättebra, det kan bli ännu bättre om du gör X". Det är väldigt uppbyggande!

På det hela taget en bra dag, och det är faktiskt på väg att bli en riktig ridhest av Prime!

Apparently my human hasn't kept up with posting stuff, even though I told her to. She mumbled something about "work", and "lack of time", and "remember how I fell off your mother and spent a whole winter in a wheel chair?". I tell her that the only reasonable excuse is if she spends all her time with me, which she doesn't, so she should shut up and post already!

Today we went for a walk. It's nice that the ground isn't all slippery, and it's getting warm too. I'm shedding all the winter fur, and the human complains about that too, instead of just giving me lots of scritches which would certainly make the shedding happen faster. Besides she looks nice with a lot of fur on her jacket, so she shouldn't complain. Anyhow, she brought me in from the field even though it wasn't even feeding time yet. There was another horse there, a small white mare that's pretty, and a dog. We all went out together, the white mare's human was riding on her and the dog was running around. I was busy looking at stuff and smelling all the new smells that have come since the last time we went that way. That was before the snow, so a really long time ago!

Sometimes my human started paying attention to the other horse and I had to remind her of her priorities by pulling on the rope or standing on my hind legs. Then she yelled at me, but after that she'd pay more attention and give me praise when I was walking along her. It was fun. We should do this more often, instead of that other game where I run around and around and she tries to keep up but she never gets out of the middle of the circle where I run.

After the walk she brought me into my stall but all the other horses were still out so I was all alone. That wasn't fun, but she stayed and talked with me and gave me a carrot and then the other human brought in my uncles so it was OK.

I wonder how long it'll be until they start wanting to sit on my back... I haven't decided yet if I'm going to let them.

Yesterday Prime Diamond was at his first show. The main purpose was to make sure Melanie, his mother, will be registered for breeding. It'll also be easier to sell her as breeding mare if she's got a foal with good results from the foal showing.

I'm continuously impressed by how cool he is mentally. We had very little problems getting him into the trailer - we started practicing on Thursday, and we got him to go in and out twice before we even got Melanie into it once. Then we kept feeding her in the trailer on Friday and Saturday, and there was very little trouble getting her in yesterday.

Here are some pictures from the show. There are more at his gallery.

Walking Eva leads him at a walk

Gallopping He got very good comments on his gallop

Inspection The judges are giving him a closer look

Final The judge reads the results

The final results were:
8/10 for "type", i.e. how well he matches the standard for the breed
8/10 for head, neck and chest
8/10 for extremities and correctness in motion
7/10 for movement at a walk
7/10 for movement at a trot
8/10 for movement at a gallop
In all, it's 46/60 which is quite good.

Working with a foal is different from working with an adult horse, just as working with a child is different from working with an adult human. He learns very quickly, and he's curious and eager to explore everything new. Yesterday when I brought him and his mother in from the field, we met a cat. Prime Diamond froze, standing absolutely still until he'd verified from Melanie's and my behaviour that the cat wasn't a danger at all.

I'm fortunate to have such a very experienced co-owner as Eva. She's taught me a lot about how to work with Prime D. We started putting the halter on him as soon as he grew into it, and he's now quite good at being led. He does sometime try to see what happens if he rears or tries to bite, but as he's found that only leads to him getting thumped and told off, he doesn't do it much. The trick to leading is to make sure you never pull on the halter as long as he's moving in the right direction. The point is that as long as he goes along with us he's going to be comfortable, without any pressure, but as soon as he stops or tries to move away, he'll get pressure from the halter. So, in essence, we're teaching him that life will be nicer when he does what we want him to. We use the same technique when it comes to getting him to lift his feet - if he stands still, we'll release the foot immediagely, but if he tries to move away we'll keep hold of the foot until he stands still. He'll learn that we won't make him fall over just by lifting his foot, and that we'll let him go as soon as he cooperates. This is of course very important for the future - and we've already had the farrier out once without any problems.

In the past few days we've also started tying him to the bars of the box grille. We haven't actually tied a not, we've just wrapped the lead twice around a bar with him standing close to it. He's tried to move away, found he couldn't, and proceeded to try to gnaw on the lead instead.

One thing he's learned quickly is to come to us when we go into the field. Yesterday when I went to get them to give Melanie her daily supplemental feeding, she was close to the gate while Prime D was some way off. As soon as he recognized me he came up, wanting to be scratched.