What They Don't Tell You

Bo's signature face!

There is one thing throughout this entire process of Black's injury that has been constant- I learn something new almost everyday. Whether it's confirming something I had learned previously, learning something about Black's care, learning how to keep him quiet or just learning something new about his personality- I am constantly learning something. Of course I would probably rather be learning something new about riding Black, but I'm learning to enjoy this learning curve too.
UPDATE: Black has been moved to a new farm in Pendleton and seems to be adjusting really well! I'm so grateful for Rachel and Valerie's help in Black's recovering and look forward to this new chapter of rehabbing him. In January when I got back from Christmas break, Black was cleared to be walked under saddle! That was the first time we actually got good news when we went up to Tryon for a visit. It's nice to start turning the tables a bit. I hope the trend continues. I have been lucky enough to find a horse to ride for a little bit! Bo belongs to Dawn Johnson and she was looking for someone to ride him after she had surgery so he is living at the same farm Black is for a few months. Bo is an awesome little guy and I feel so blessed to have something so awesome to play with for the next couple months!

Throughout this journey there have been a few things that I have learned about having an injured horse that people tend to forget to tell you so I thought I would share!

Topline changes from August 2013 to February 2014 :(

4. It's mentally exhausting! I went from having a Prelim fit event horse to having to lock him in a stall 23 hours a day. It's very difficult to watch... I came home from Christmas break and his topline was completely gone. It's also mentally exhausting (or maybe not enough) on Black. I'm so thankful Black is such a good boy and has stayed sane 98% of the time. But those other 2% are not enjoyable for anyone...
3. It's extremely time consuming. When Black first got hurt and he was trying to comfort me, my boyfriend said "now you have the time to focus on school work so you can be sure to graduate". HA! Lovely idea but I spend more time at the barn now than I ever did when Black was in full work. I'm at the barn on average 3-4 hours every afternoon. Between riding Black and Bo, wrapping, grooming, and spoiling (because I feel so guilty), my daily time at the barn has easily doubled. Before I didn't HAVE to be at the barn everyday of the week. Now there is no taking-a-day-off-from-the-barn-days. Black depends on me to get out of his stall everyday. Also, this doesn't include the time to run up and back to Tryon 1-2x a week for Black's AquaTred. I was going up there for lessons but not every week and certainly not twice a week.
2. You have to be flexible with your time. I've learned to plan my life around Black and his needs right now. My life was basically that way before before Black's injury but now the day revolves around walking and wrapping. It also requires the people in your life to be flexible. My lovely boyfriend, Matt, was appalled when I told him I had to find a way to the barn today (aka him) because I couldn't get there yesterday so Black was not wrapped or walked yesterday and I knew he would lose it this afternoon. We ventured out on the roads and thankfully they weren't bad! And Matt was a good sport and wrapped wraps for me :). Of course what do you know, Black was on the verge of a meltdown when we arrived (momma's intuition). His meltdown today included stall bucks that ended in kicking the stalls because he was out of hay. Yep... he went there... I should mention he was aced...

Our first 1st level test this summer

1. You have to be flexible with your future goals. *Que tears* With any injury, there are no guarantees. There are no guarantees that Black will be back where he was especially with how bad his tear was. I've wanted to complete a 1* and get my 'A' traditional Pony Club rating on Black since the day I bought him. While it is a possibility that we could get there again, there is a possibility that we won't and that is okay. I have decided to shift my gears and I really want to focus on dressage with Black. It's something that has crossed my mind but it never seemed like the right time. I am thinking it will be about a year (late summer to fall 2014) until Black will be cleared to go back into full work. So I am planning to move Black up through the levels of dressage with hopes to do 3rd level and attempt to get my Bronze Medal in 2015. If everything goes well, I'd like to try for my dressage 'A' Pony Club rating. A little crazy? Probably. But what's life without some lofty goals?! :)