Pleasant Ridge Farm Dressage Show 12/2/12

Finally Smash has been sound long enough to be able to do something exciting other than lessons! My Mom wanted to do the Pleasant Ridge Farm Dressage show ever since she heard about it and while I originally didn't want to do it, I figured why not since I was going to be there anyway. My riding instructor also sort of told me it'd be stupid for me to go and not use the opportunity to ride, too.

It all seemed to be a good idea when we registered until we saw the ride times on Thursday. My first ride time was at 7:54am! Pleasant Ridge was 45min away from Waredaca. This meant we had to leave Waredaca no later than 6:15am and I had to wake up at 4am. I was also concerned about catching Smash in the dark. I tried to catch her one evening earlier in November after sunset and it was a total disaster. Chased her up and down her large field until finally having to give up.  Stupid mare. So I made sure to put her in a stall on Saturday evening/night to make my life (and everyone else's) a little bit better. I'm not sure how pleased Smash was but she dealt with it ok.

We arrived at Waredaca at 5:45am and loaded Smash and her field-mate, Centi. Both were not thrilled to be put on the trailer, but we made it work. GPS took us the dumbest way to Pleasant Ridge but we arrived right on time and started getting ready for my first ride. The farm was really pretty! Looked brand spankin' new! Unfortunately, Centi decided he was not getting off of the trailer. Smash, on the other hand had no problem getting off! After about 30min of trying to get Centi off, Nick took the partition out of the trailer and Centi turned around and walked off that way.

My first ride wasn't too bad but Smash was definitely not in front of my leg. She was also distracted since it was her first time going into this very large indoor ring. The judge's comments after my ride, however, were just "pretty horse!" and I was kind of shocked since that was not constructive at all but thought maybe it meant I rode really well. I ended with a penalty score of 36 and 4th place.

My second test I thought was even better yet this time the judge said I was too tense and needed to stop holding Smash back (she was still behind my leg, actually) and let her stretch more. I disagree with those comments but what can I say? I said I understood, practiced it as I walked Smash out of the arena and let it go in one ear and out the other. I ended this test with a penalty score of 35.23 and another 4th place.

My Mom rode next. She had a rocky first test with a few wobbles here and there but dramatically improved in her second test! They both did very well!

It was then time to load the horses back up. Smash did not want to go back on the trailer. After about ten min I got some grain as a last resort bribe and randomly it worked. I don't understand horses. But then the real drama happened. Centi REALLY didn't want to get back on the trailer. It took 4 people, 3 whips, moving cars around the trailer to create a chute, an episode where he reared and fell over backwards, and over 30min to finally get him back on. *sigh* At this point I was so exhausted and hungry I wanted to be home, showered, and in PJs. When we got back to Waredaca we didn't mess around with trying to get Centi off the traditional way and took the partition out immediately. He was fine with that decision, too.  Craziness happens when dealing with horses but it's normal and just comes with the territory. Having had episodes with Smash lasting over an hour, myself, I completely sympathize! I am just so THANKFUL for all of the friends who helped us that day even though they didn't have to! We would still have been at Pleasant Ridge if we didn't have their help!

Only then did we finally drive home and spend the rest of the day entertaining the dogs (they were so neglected all morning) and sleeping. I ended up going to bed at 8pm last night because I was so exhausted. I'm not sure if I'll go to another dressage show there again but I do think it was a good overall experience for Smash and me.

Normal Horse Ailments = Embarrassing Owner Moments

If you're like me - you'd rather save a couple bucks whenever and however you can for horse stuff. Namely medication. Everyone knows how a simple tube of eye cream can cost $100 only to realize later you could've bought something at CVS that would've done the same thing for $10. BUT it seems like if you save a couple of bucks going with an  OTC (over the counter) option you end up spending your time in pharmacies in the most embarrassing sections and receiving some weird looks instead.

I consider myself pretty unaffected by what the teller's at CVS think but there have been a few occasions where I couldn't help but want to wear dark glasses and a hat for some of the things I've had to buy. While I was in college I owned another horse, Monty (The Full Monty), who had chronic scratches on his corneas. Scratches always led to eye infections and lots of vet bills. (later we diagnosed him with not creating enough tears which led to a dry eye which led to scratching and scratches and infections) Well on one occasion my vet told me to go to the store and get Monistat cream for the infection in his eye. Seriously. Monistat. Not only is buying Monistat cream embarrassing as it is, now stores lock them up (as if someone is going to steal and sell yeast infection cream on the streets... really??! Let the Monistat FREE!), so not only did I have to ask a store employee to unlock me some monistat but I then had to deal with the cashier's looks, too. I wanted to announce to everyone "THIS IS FOR MY HORSE'S EYE INFECTION! I SWEAR!" but I just know all people would respond is with one of those "you 'horse's eye infection' huh?? Is that what you wanna call it now? ...hope your "horse eye" feels better" and I'd still leave frustrated.

Around that same time Monty had a clover rash/burn on his nose that can be easily cleared up with Desitin. Diaper rash cream. So now I'm in my late teens in the baby aisle loading up in COSTCO on giant tubes of Desitin. Diaper rash cream isn't as bad as Monistat but, again, I felt the need to announce that this was for my horse and I did not have a baby with severe diaper rash. Nor was it for me or my potential diaper rash issues.

Smash has not caused me to buy too many embarrassing ointments for her thus far but just today I was looking for ichthammol to help with her abscess (I'm 99% sure that's what is plaguing her) at Target since it can be used on humans, too. I couldn't find it so I asked the Pharmacist if they had any to which she replied no they didn't carry it but when I went to CVS (Why is it only CVS carries all these weird creams and ointments??) to also keep an eye out for Boil Ease. You've got to be kidding me. Boil Ease?! *sigh* I pretended that was not something embarrassing to shop for and went on my way. I guess I should consider not finding ichthammol anywhere a blessing since further research on abscesses led me to being able to make a poultice out of Epsom salt and water but you better believe I searched CVS's aisles first for Boil Ease and when I couldn't locate it had to ask another pharmacist for help.

There are other OTC horse medications that aren't so embarrassing (thank goodness!) you can buy for common horse ailments. For example, Saline Solution is great for cleaning out wounds/cuts and Witch Hazel is a cheap liniment. Gauze is cheaper at CVS than the tack shop but vet wrap is NOT! And in terms of equipment human hair clippers are WAY cheaper (but do not come in large size for body clipping) than at any horse store.

What OTC medications/salves/equipment items do you buy for your common horse ailments? Share in the comments!