Events

Mondays
Jumping Fun Classes at Canterbrooke, (Ames)

Tuesdays
Riding Communication Classes at The Paddock (Truro) .

May 8-9
Clinic at Catalpa Corner

April 10 and 11
Clinic at Catalpa Corner.

June 4-6
Clinic and Schooling Show Catalpa Corner
(Iowa City)

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Waiver form

"Only way that horses will win is to sit there and spend time with them. Show 'em that you're trying to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. Now that's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too. People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is."

-Eddie Sweat, groom for Riva Ridge and Secretariat

Training Log for Limerick Beckelman

Limmy with fashion hairstyling by Emma

3/1/09 Lesson and then he went home with his mom.

2/27/09 Brushing, cookies, lunging. He is looking quite good and I think riding on Sunday is a good possibility.

2/26/09 Brought him out, brushed and fed cookies. Lunged in the indoor and he looked very good, and happy to go.

2/25/09 He was in his stall/paddock today because it was so mild that the other horses were locked off the large pasture so that they wouldn't tear it up. So they were confined to their paddock. I brought him into the cross ties and brushed him and fed him cookies, then took him into the indoor to lunge, suspecting that since he was in, he'd be a little stiffer than usual. Nope, He looked almost sound in trot, cantered well on both leads and also snorted and bucked. Yay. Eyes look great.

2/24/09 Lovely day, he was out lounging in the sun with everybody when I arrived in the late morning. Brought him in, groomed and lunged. He was pretty happy to go and, on the soft footing, looked pretty good. His eyes look good. He, after a long warmup, cantered lightly in both directions. Walk cool down and an Ultium snack when done.

2/23/09 He is out with the herd during the day and enjoying walking around and stretching. I brought him in, brushed and fed cookies and lunged. He is happy to go and not sound, but not terribly shocking either. When he warms up he looks nearly fine. He takes both leads and actually hasked to be asked to walk or stop. He got a snack and back out to play.

2/18/09 Brushed him, fed cookies and lunged. I suggested he stay quiet, but he thought it might be better to play around, including some bucking and sassiness, which was great to see. He improved as he went along, which was also delightful. His eyes look good.

2/15/09 Lesson which went very well.

2/10/09 He was reshod in the morning. When I came out in the afternoon, he already looked more comfortable just standing in his stall. I brought him out, brushed him and put him on a lunge line in walk, trot and canter. He looked great. Worked in both directions, ended and gave him a snack lunch and out to play. Because of the mud, the are confined to the paddock briefly here while it is warm. He and Sangha will go out with them during the day, but in at night to get a break from the mud and to not have too many horses in that paddock at night. I suspect by later in the week they will either be out in the pasture again or we will have another paddock up to make a little more room for them.

2/9/09 Consulted with vet with the very excellent news that he might just be severely footsore from the shoe pulling a few weeks ago. He tested very positve to hoof testers. He is on the list to get borium and pads put on tomorrow.

2/8/09 Limmy quite unsound behind. Staying in overnight and calling the vet in the morning. Lesson with Marsha on another horse that went very well, with some jumping.

2/4/09 Brought Limmy in and tacked up. He was looking quite good. However, under saddle he was slightly off on his left front. There was no apparent heat or marked swelling. I imagine it is a garden variety pasture bonk. I untacked and he and Sangha will stay in tonight to rest.

2/1/09 He was in a good mood when I brought him in. Very happy to go and his eyes looked good. Tacked up and rode in the arena, with a fair amount of trot work and some very nice canter work. He even had one exuberant canter depart that the East German judge deemed a mild buck, but the Swedish said it was just a really through depart. Very good. Sangha shared a carrot with him, along with his cookies.

1/31/09 Lesson with Marsha. Lots of fun and went well.

1/30/09 A fair amount of lateral work today after warmup. Went fine.

1/29/09 His eyes again looked pretty good. I rode in the indoor with a lot of work on transitions, which went well.

1/27/09 His eyes looked pretty good today. Tacked up and rode with a lot of emphasis on being up in front. He did very well.

1/26/09 His eyes looked quite good today. The steroids are helping. I rode him in the indoor and he was happy to go, even volunteered canter when asked for trot. Very polite, though, just feeling good. He did very well.

1/22/09 The vet was out today and had these comments about Limerick's eye: As you well know, I looked at Limerick today. He certainly appears to be having a recurrence of his ERU. His right eye doesn't have the corneal edema it had previously, and no corneal abrasions. I know that you were concerned that he had plugged nasolacrimal ducts, so I sedated him and flushed both of them. Neither was plugged. I left some dexamethasone solution to be applied to each of his eyes daily. I also left some phenylbutazone paste to be given twice daily. I have been working on seeing if we can get Limerick into a clinical trial for an experimental treatment for ERU that is being conducted by another university. They are working on getting their funding in order, so we are also on hold.

His eyes look quite good when I came out to work with him. Then he topped that off by doing excellently under saddle. He had the best canter work he has had yet, coming through powerfully from behind. Delightful.

1/18/09 Lesson with Marsha. Both Limerick and Marsha were excellent.

1/17/09 I brought him in and took off his supermask. I was thinking that maybe Jada was putting them on too tight because he does have a mark in his hair on his nose, but it turns out that she is doing the best she can. Surprisingly, he should have the next size up supermask so that is doesn't need to be so tight. I will order some up. Today his right eye looked a little inflamed, but I think it could partly have been due to the supermask itself being a little tight across there and some eye goobers getting on the mask itself and touching against the eyelid. I brought the mask home to clean and put on the other one when I turned him out. His work today was excellent. We did a slow warm up in light of all the time off and then moved on to some lateral work and bending, whiche went well. Review of turn on the forehand and turn on the hindquarters, shoulder in and leg yield. Went very well. Cookies. At the end of the ride his right eye was improved.

1/16/09 Weather finally warming up enought to think about riding. What a cold snap! He got his shoes pulled and feet trimmed. Yay.

1/8/09 Al Garcia, horse postural specialist, gave Limmy an exam and rebalancing. His pelvis was tilted right which was causing him to have a tight tail. He had a roach in his lumbar back and a curve from his T15 to L2 vertebrae. L2 and L3 were arched and raised. L4 and L5 were rotated right. He was out in the withers. He needed cranial adjustment above his eyes. Al commented that this may have been causing him headaches. He adjusted the right front lobe. C1 and C2 were subluxated (this is likely to have caused the head tilt and ear loll). Al commented that all these adjustment should help him to lose the gut he has, and tuck up a bit and should get stronger behind. He also thinks that we should have the vet check his left tear duct (which I mentioned to her last time, but she was distracted with the much more important eye issues at the time.) He is to have tomorrow off. I look forward to seeing how he feels this weekend. Throughout the process he was relaxed and appreciative, with much sighing. Side note, we have put a sheet on underneath the heavier blanket and that has seemed to help for the short term. He is a little more comfortable.

1/7/09 After a flexibility warm up in walk and trot, wherein he had a few comments about perhaps canter departing rather than trotting (they are all just delighted when they get in the arena with the good footing since it is just a little hard outside), we went on to canter work which went well. We did a lot of transitions into and out of canter, which is like weight lifting for horses and he did excellently. Yay. Tomorrow is the big day for the chiropractor and he is first on the list of 8.

1/5/09 Lots of flexibility work in walk and trot. Leg yield, shoulder in coming along. Some work on transitions in canter. His supermasks and Strongid came today. Yay.

1/2/09 Rode in the indoor where he did very well. In walk work we had very nice throughness and some good shoulder in and lateral work. Trot was rhythmic and nice. Canter was going along quite well until he tripped, went down on his knees and faceplanted. I am more convinced than ever that he has something going on chiropractically. He was back on his feet before I was, and I had a lovely view of him looking down at me with an alarmed and apologetic look on his face. His hooves were perfectly safe just behind me. He must have made a good effort not to touch me with them. I got up, petted him, led him around a bit to see that he was fine. (I was fine too, great soft footing and lots of yoga helps!) I got on, walked around a little bit, did some trot work, cantered in both directions and he was fine. I think this was just a fluke thing that is less likely to happen again when he is not compromised in his back. With that thought, I called Al Garcia directly and begged him to come out to our barn this week. He will be out Thursday and see Limmy and several others. Yay.

12/31/08 He had his supermask on today in the bright sunshine. His eyes were still watering but maybe not as much as usual. His eyes looked good when I took it off. We did a lot of trot work today and dealt with a carriage that was in the arena. I could easily have moved it out, but it was a good distraction for the horses to have to learn to ignore. His work today was really quite good.

12/30/08 I brought a supermask from home to loan him until his other supermasks arrive, probably tomorrow. Today was overcast with light winds, so his eye was fine. When the front and wind came through he had the supermask on and then in overnight, so it will come off. He was stellar under saddle today. We warmed up with walk work and some lateral work in walk and then the same exercises in trot. Canter depart and downward transitions were doing excellently, so today we added in lengthening and shortening the stride and frame in canter. At first he was bemused about what I was asking, but he figured it out quickly and performed it to the best of his fitness. It is a lot of work for horses to really carry themselves up in front with a lifted back in canter, so I didn't ask for it for long, but he did a great job of it. Much praise and cookies.

12/2/9/08 The fabulous and observant Emma noted and commented to me that Limmy's eyes were watering a lot today. I suspect the bright sunlight and the snow combined to irritate them. I am ordering up two supermasks for use during the day to help him. If you have some already or you would rather have different colors or whatever, I will keep them, otherwise they can go home with him. They should be here Wednesday. Until then, I will loan him one from my barn. Meanwhile, his training is going along swimmingly. Today we worked on walk leg yield where he likes to occasionally lose his rhythm, but after a little reassurance he settled nicely and swung right through. His trot work was really quite good and we had some shoulder in that would be publicly acceptable. :-) Canter work was very good. We worked today on keeping balance in downward transitions and he made some nice improvement. I don't think I mentioned in my log yesterday that I am noticing that he carries his left ear higher than his right on a subtle but consistent basis. I suspect that he has some atlas/axis issues, and that addressing that would be a big help to him. The chiropractor will be back from traveling tomorrow and I will see when he is taking appointments. Oh, and the fabulous Emma went (tactfully) after a piece of dead skin/smegma that she noticed on his penis when he was relaxing after the ride. He objected to this attention and they had a quiet discussion concerning proper toleration of humans. The were both quite polite about it and an agreement was reached.

12/28/08 His eye looks good today. The board seems to indicate that tomorrow is his last day of treatment. I will have to see what the vet says. All that said, he was excellent today. We did a walk warmup wherein we focused on him coming over his back and down to the bit through a relaxed neck. We had some walk and trot leg yield, which went well, though I did have to back up my leg with a slight tap with the dressage whip once or twice. He reacted perfectly. We worked on canter depart and transitions downward from canter, with good success.

12/23/08 Break due to the cold outbreak. Dr. Thomopson was out to look at his eye yesterday and said the right one is much improved. The left one is not responding as well. Jada is treating it daily. Under saddle today he was stellar. He is really starting to understand coming over his back and down to the bit and staying loose in his poll. Today we worked on leg yield and it is easy for him to lift his back and step through. Some moments of "lovely". Very good canter work too.

12/19/08 We worked on the same topic, relating to the bit and softening his poll and things went very well. We did some bending and leg yielding. In leg yield, he would like the rider to carry him entirely, and we had a discussion about who carries who and came to a nice understanding. He did very well.

12/18/08 Ice storm coming tonight so rode in the afternoon, and he will stay in his stall tonight, snug and dry. He was extremely good today. He started out tight in his poll, but remembered that he could let go. Had some nice trot work and some walk leg yield. Canter work was very nice, he is starting to breath and let go and seems to enjoy the work. Backing is soft and relaxed. Very good.

12/17/08 Rats that we didn't get to go to the chiro today due to the roads, but he did get his new bit today. We started out with a fair amount of nervous energy because the arena mirrors were frosted up in strange patterns, which alarmed every horse I rode in there today. But they all got over it, including Lim. He did have one startle at the side mirror, but when I giggled I think he was embarassed. We did a lot of work on being over his back and down to the bit and staying soft in his throatlatch in all gaits. He did very well and he apparently approves of the bit, though I reserve judgement until a week has passed. I had a funny exchange about him with my assistant because I was saying that she should take some time to fool around with his ears or put her hand on top of his head while she was grooming him to help him get used to allowing that. She was standing right next to him when I said it, she did it and he never moved, raised his neck or even flicked and ear. She looked at me like I was goofy, which, apparently, I am. :-)

12/13/08 No driving horse distraction today, which he was all about. We did a long walk warmup in which he talked about coming up to the bit (he is the crown prince of being behind the leg), over his back and down to the bit. He is always willing to try and he did very nicely with it. Trot work coming along too. His canter depart is quite lovely and the canter work is fundamentally good. When we get him coming over his back, it will be quite nice. Did some halt and back work where we discussed staying unlocked in the poll. Good man. Molasses cookies.

12/12/08 Tacked him up and rode in the indoor. Jada was working a driving horse and Limmy was not too sure that that was acceptable to him. He was dubious but he really tried to be good. He had one scoot to the side when he thought the monster might run him over (not even close) that was fairly comical. He also shied slightly at the shaft of light shining in the indoor from outside. Amusing and he got over it. I put him in the french link and worked a lot on him learning to relate to the bit, which is coming along. A lot of walk work and lots of walk halts where he is encouraged to keep his poll soft, some trot work where he needs to be encouraged to go up to the bit and some canter work with the same emphasis. Very good. Carrots.

12/11/08 While grooming him, I decided to trim his bridle path. I put my hand up to his poll and he objected by raising his poll and twisting his head. Sadly for him, I am really tall and he couldn't really get away. I just let my hand there until he tolerated it. Then I took it off and petted him and put it back and he threw a lesser fit. Over and over again until he tolerated it without comment and then I trimmed his bridle path. He was a little distracted as Sangha and he were the only horses in the barn and she was out of sight. He whinnied a few times for which he got a bump for lack of attention on his handler and he got over it. I tacked up, finding that your girth is JUST long enough for him. Maybe because I used both pads, I don't know. I like to have more overlap on my girth, it is just easier to put on, but this is a minor point. Your saddle is fabulous by the way. I brought him to the arena and mounted up and he stood fairly well. We walked off and he went immediately into a brace against the bit. I set my reins to an approrpriate length and just waited him out. Soon enough he relaxed his poll and let his neck come down creating an immediate release from me. During this process, I noted that his right ear is more slack than his left. That and his recalcitrance to be touched near the ears makes me wonder about either a poll injury or need for chiropractic adjustment (which we are getting on, hopefully next week). After he developed a somewhat more relaxed relationship to the bit, we went into trot, which went well. He has good rhythm, and the same went for canter. His downward transitions are quite uneducated, poor dear and I can fathom why there was difficulty for you in the past with it. I'm not terribly fond of the single jointed snaffle and will tomorrow switch him to a french link, which encourages horses to relax and not brace. He was a perfect gentleman today and performed to the best of his ability. Now to raise his ability through education. :-)

12/10/08 More in hand work, cementing what we did Monday. I bought some new snaps for his blanket and it turns out his are performing just fine. They were frozen open and when I warmed and closed them, they seem to have held. The snaps I bought will just be handy to have on hand anyway.

Limmy and Sangha enjoy the pasture

12/8/08 He was out in the paddock with Sangha yesterday with no problem, and today they went out in the pasture with the other four, with relatively little difficulty. It is large enough that they can get away from each other and Limmy and everyone had a nice day browsing like wild horses in the snow and occasionally kicking up their heels. I brought him in and brushed him, cleaned up the tearing from his right eye, which was not worse that it was when he came, and took him into the indoor for some in hand work. I have a vet coming out in the next week for routine maintenance and I'd like your permission to have her check that his right tear duct isn't blocked. When I worked with him, it became apparent that the poor dear doesn't really understand how to lead properly, in a relaxed manner with his neck down and his attention on his leader. He is to move at the pace his leader dictates and allowing for space. We spent the day discussing that and he did very well and earned several cookies and much praise. I always get the ground work correct before I get in the tack. It is amazing how much easier it is for horses to understand riding work if they understand work on the ground. Good start. The snaps on his legstraps are about shot and keep coming undone. I'll pick up some replacements.

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