Many Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you all for the wonderful responses to my last post. I really do appreciate the outpouring of affection for the big guy. He continues to be just fine, and aside from a little fuzzy thinking, I am feeling quite well myself. My dad is not only an accomplished Brego rider, he is also a neuropsychologist who specialized in head trauma (and yes, he still lets me ride) and he has performed all sorts of scans and probing questions. I am in good hands.

I let people know I was going to be taking a break, not to instill fear or drama :), but because last time I went for a week without posting, I had many concerned people emailing me asking if Brego is ok (I'm looking at you, Funder). So, between packing, and organizing every last penny, I wanted to give people notice that we're ok, but I will be immersed in the Other Life for a bit. And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

As for the fall, it has helped to learned that it does happen, even to the best of us. My engineering brain always reaches for a root cause, however. As Beckz mentioned, the distance really wasn't that long. Surely, the answer could not be that Brego lost his brain/concentration? Well, I have the benefit of watching the video in slow motion, oh about a hundred times, and I even sent it out to my trainer/friend in Texas and we all came up with an idea. Brego was attempting to do the "front foot tap", where he glances his front foot down on his departure over the fence. He's done it a few times, and if I had more time I could dig up some video, maybe another post... But I have never done anything about it because he managed to pick it back up and clear the fence. Anyway, this front foot tap went bad, either from the footing or fatigue or mental lapse and when his left fore slipped instead of tapping, he brought his right fore down to catch himself and the deal was sealed.

Losing his brain is a wildcard. Front foot tap I can work on. Even misplaced, the front foot tap points to confidence and insecurity issues, which we can always improve on.

Here I am, rambling on. My point, and I do have one, is Don't Dispair. Brego and I are not on a permanent break, and I think an introspective rider acting conscienciously is what draws people to this blog (or Brego's flat out handsomeness. Either one.).


What is life without a little existential angst?

Well, Not Quite A Bang

About a week ago, I mentioned that this weekend would be chock full of horse goodness. We had the show hosted by my boarding barn on Saturday and then the New England Hunter Trials on Sunday. Well, the New England Hunter Trials were postponed until November 16th. So that left me with plenty of time and horse to play at the show on Sunday.

First off, my favorite 3rd grader did a pair of walk-trot classes on The Brego. They did awesome!

Cute!

Next, I coerced talked my dad into riding Brego for the adult walk-trot. My dad has not been on a horse in about 5 years, has never ridden English and never posted the trot before. But he was a complete sport and did amazingly well! Brego's trot is NOT easy to ride, so I am doubly proud of him.

Brego and Dad

A little coaching from the rail

Victorious! A Handsome Man and a Handsome Horse!

Next came the adult lead-line. This time I took Dad around on my old TB mare. He always did love Hobby more!

Wave to the crowd!

Brego played in the adult leadline class as well!

Good sports, all around

Next came the costume class. This year, I dressed as a Ringwraith. Ok, yea I am a nerd. And I didn't have time to put together a whole new costume when this costume continues to ROCK! As in "spook horses and make small children cry" ROCK!

Scary....

Despite the costume, Brego still looks sweet and cuddly

Notice the Eye of Sauron embroidered on the leather faceplate? Nerd!!

Practicing in the costume before the class

Waiting to go into the arena

Killer Brego

He's so very scary!

After the costume class, I did the 3' jumpers. Brego had good pace, and I felt like our distances had improved, but I got his too deep twice and we took two rails. I was pretty pleased with his round. We blew one lead, but all in all, not too bad.

Fall Horse Show from Eventing Percheron on Vimeo.

So that's the good stuff. Now comes the part about the Bang. The final class of the day was the Gambler's Choice jumper class. They set up a nice assortment of fences, including some Swedish oxers, slanted poles, 3'3" planks on upside down cups. I formulated a plan which included 10 fences. We had 60 seconds to complete the course and I figured that would be enough. We aren't very fast.

I was first in the class and we picked up a good pace. I started with an easy 2'9" plain square oxer to get us going. Brego jumped it big, but fine. Then I made my way around my course. I had a couple of hard rubs, a couple of rails, but in general, Brego was jumping well and my distances were pretty good. I felt much better this round than the previous 3' round. I jumped my tenth fence and there was no whistle so I came around to go back to fence 1, the easy square oxer that I have schooled literally 100 times and Brego had jumped well at the beginning of this trip.

As I lined up the oxer, I thought again about the whistle, distracted, then about two strides out, it looked long. Doable, but long. I figured it would cost a rail. I felt Brego coil and then we went forward and not up. Brego crashed through the fence and we both fell. I got the wind knocked out of me and Brego carefully got to his feet. People rushed over and helped me up and led Brego away. I was fine. Brego was fine. I felt him all over, checked his head for soft spots, blood. His mouth was clean and his nose was clean. he was bending his head in both directions.

So I decided to get on and jump a small fence, you know, "back in the saddle". As I mounted up, Brego stole a mouthful of grass. That's my boy. I was so relieved, he was ok. We jumped the small fence fine, both a little stunned and uncommitted. And then I took him back to care for him.

I decided to go ahead and post the video. I hate the "horse crashes" types of video. And I honestly think I know what went wrong, since I have watched it many times. Warning: The fall is pretty scary. My sister was filming and I know it scared her half to death.

Gambler's Choice Class from Eventing Percheron on Vimeo.

So what happened? A couple of things. The distance is a bit long, but not a full stride long or anything crazy. Brego plants his hind feet to jump at the proper place and then reconsiders. There's a confidence problem there, no doubt. Also, my ride was not helpful. I was thinking about the whistle, thinking about being done and didn't help him. I didn't tell him what to do, just rode him through. My TB mare would have looked at that distance and just jumped farther. Brego, at the end of a ride, and the end of the day, in the deep sand, probably felt my indecision and couldn't make the call himself. He's a green horse and I gave him a bad ride. I didn't stick to my plan and quit at 10 fences and I didn't stay with my horse. We had a great ride and then it all came crashing down, in the blink of an eye.

I asked a couple of people who's opinion I trust, after they witnessed the fall, if Brego should be jumping. They both said yes, but he needs a better ride, a more accurate ride. Any horse can make the same mistake, but I think fundamentally, Brego is lacking confidence. Even in the absence of my direction, he would have been fine if he had just jumped. He still had plenty of pace, plenty of gas. But for whatever reason, he didn't think so. And the question of confidence is my responsibility. We need more fundamental homework, more grids, more canter poles, more free jumping where he gets to make the call. He's a smart boy, he can make the call.

This post was very hard to write. Even though we are both ok, no sane person would walk away and not feel some guilt or sadness. I am so very lucky that Brego was not seriously hurt and that he jumped again. He is no doubt sore and I have everyone at the barn on high alert if he starts acting strange. I've checked on his twice so far today and will make the trip out again soon. He really is ok, and I am so thankful.

With the upcoming move, I am going to be taking a break from blogging. And from jumping. I need to clear my head and it's hard to do in a public forum. I know everyone will understand. At this point, it is my sincere hope to end this season, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Off Topic: A Brief History of Daun

This blog is primarily about The Brego, but since I am but his humble blog-communicator, it might help to know more about me, if for no other reason than to fire off random facts about me if/when you meet me in real life, just to freak me out.  

I was one of those kids that was born loving horses.  I have wanted to ride since I was, oh, one and a half.  By three, I had convinced my parents to start taking me to riding lessons, which they dutifully did (bless them!) until I was twelve.  I started riding English and marvelled at my big sister who was brave enough to canter.  It took me years to canter.  Years.

My first lesson horse: Swede.  I am five.

I fell off a Palamino in first grade and broke my arm, the only broken bone I have received (knock on wood).  I didn't keep me off horses, though.  In this picture, I am actually sitting on a horse, now long cropped off.  Again, sans helmet.  My parents were crazy.

At least I got a cool cast!

When I was five, my wonderful parents bought me a pony.  Well, actually, they bought me an unbroke two year old Arabian gelding.  My parents are well intentioned, but knowing what I know now, that might not have been the best choice.  But I was in love with the Black Stallion, so my dad did the best he could to make me happy.  So, Ben and I grew up together.

Ben and me.

Ben was boarded a few miles from home, so Dad and I bonded every weekend when we went to "see the horses".  I took a few lessons a month during this time, mostly in a western saddle by a saddle seat trainer.  I did all I could to stay on.  Ben was quite the crazy unbroke horse I was riding around (with no helmet).  

When I was ten we moved Ben to a barn across the street from my suburban house in Texas and I became one of those barn kids that spends every daylight hour riding and hanging out.  I started taking hunter lessons again and taught Ben to jump little cross rails.  There was a lot of pressure at that barn to sell Ben and get a proper hunter.  When I brought this up with my Dad, he was mad.  "We could never sell Ben!  He's our horse!"  A very good lesson, Dad.  Thanks for instilling responsibility early.

Ben and me.  Yes, that is a mullet.

I gave up the Hunter Medals dream and just played with my horse.  Ben and I moved around a couple of times, until we landed at another barn that was home to a string of Paso Finos.  At 14, I started working for the owner of the Pase Finos, mucking and feeding mostly.  He eventually let me start to work with the horses.  They were amazing.  I learned a ton about horses working at that barn.  I was a teenager and I woke up at 4:30 am every day and went to the barn.  Got to school at 7 am.  Went to the barn at 4 pm after band practice.  And I never missed a day, not Christmas or any other holiday, for three years.  

Tom and Me and Ofrenda de Fe.  National Champion Amateur Owner.

When I graduated from high school, Ben, at 14, went into retirement.  My dad continued to pay his board while I went to school.  My university had an IHSA team, and I decided I wanted to try the competitive hunter scene again, so when I went home over my Freshman summer, I was on the lookout for a new horse.  I had long since outgrown little 14.2h Ben.  I went back to work for the Paso Fino owner (I very much love and respect this man.  The best horseman I have ever known.) and through him I made connections which landed me with my Thoroughbred mare.  She was basically gifted to me thanks to the Paso Fino owner cashing in a few favors for me.  She was three and fresh off the Florida circuit, a high talent horse I could have never afforded without help.  I named her Hobby.

Hobby and me.  Sophomore in college.

I spent the summer working with my mare and then brought her back to school with me in the fall.  I joined the IHSA team and had two great years riding and showing.  My mare and I did well, but not well enough to even make it to any AA shows.  I became president of the IHSA team and the coach and I started to quibble.  I was spending all of my time in horses, trying to compete my mare, trying to improve for IHSA and to make some money, I was also working at a polo facility.  

Warming up a polo pony for my owners.

The polo facility taught me how to pony horses, how to gallop, ride fast, wrap, treat horses like horses with lots of turnout.  It was great.  When the disagreement between the IHSA coach and I finally came to a head, I dropped off the team, sent my mare home to Dad (again, thanks Dad!), and stopped riding.  I started playing ice hockey.  I was burned out of showing, of having a mare so talented I could never live up to her, of the complete inanity of the hunter judging.

I went to grad school and flirted with the idea of bringing my mare up and riding again in New England which HAD to be better than Texas.  I ended up winning a scholarship to go to school in England, so I had to shelve that.  I continued to play hockey in England but didn't ride.  I went to a few yards while there and it was hard to be around horses that were so inaccessible.  I was very, very poor.

When I left England, I returned to Texas and brought my mare out of retirement.  I gave her to my dear college friend who was with me on the IHSA team.  She used her as a lesson horse and practice as she got her own lesson program off the ground.  I continued to live without horses for another  five years until I could convince the SO it would be a good idea.  I wanted to be back into horses, but I was still bitter about competing.  So I thought I would just get a nice trail horse, a big solid fellow, with so little talent I could never be held unworthy.  

I am not kidding.  I seriously looked for the most unremarkable horse I could find.

And I found Brego for the price of meat.

The rest is written many times on this blog.  As for Hobby, I eventually got her back from my friend and now at 19, she is the schoolmaster for my up and coming SO.  The mare continues to have amazing talent, but now it's someone else's responsibility to live up to it.  :)

As for Ben, he passed away in December 2006 at the age of 27.  He was with my family for 25 years and my Dad still can't talk about him without choking up.  That's how my family feels about horses.  I do realize every day how lucky I am to have the family to support my horse crazy youth.  Hobby is still my Dad's favorite (although he is starting to appreciate Brego).

The Great Tack (Information) Swap

A dear reader asked if I would make a general call out to the readership asking for Draft tack leads.  I have talked about tack on this blog several times, always citing that the hardest part about eventing a draft is finding high-quality, performance oriented tack to fit.

As for me, some of my stuff is custom made (saddles/breast plate), some is draft-sized (bits/reins) and some is warmblood-sized (bridles/saddle pads).  The hoof boot debacle I have discussed ad naseum, and I don't use leg boots (yet).

I usually don't promote specific products/merchants here, since every horse and rider situation is different and what works for me doesn't always work for others.  However, we have about 100 readers of this blog, all interested in drafts, I would assume, and obviously all brilliant for finding this blog interesting.  So please comment and post with your draft-sized tack recommendations!

Specifically, I have readers interested in the following items:

• Pull on bell boots
• Fly Sheets
• Jumping Bridles (plain caveson)
• Overreach boots (heck, any brushing, jumping, etc boot)
• Saddle Pads (every day cotton variety)
• Nylon BreakAway Halters
• Nylon Padded Halters

I allow anonymous comments on this blog, so if you have any info about where to buy these items for a full draft, or are looking for other items yourself, please post!  If we get a lot of good info, I will make this post a permament link for all visitors to the blog to review.

Diet Update

Brego's diet has been slowly evolving. I dropped the Rice Bran and added a nutrient-dense light feed. Last time I updated the diet was June 1. So here is the most recent makeup of his diet:

2 parts Triple Crown Senior
(14% Protein, 10% Fat, 11.7% NSC) = $16/bag

2 parts Kent Feeds Omegatin
(15% Protein, 20% Fat, 22% NSC) = $29/bag

1 part Triple Crown 30% protein supplement
(30% Protein, 3% Fat, 9.8% NSC) = $29/bag

1 part Triple Crown Light
(12% Protein, 3% Fat, 9.3% NSC) = $16/bag

[I've posted the rest of this content before, but it is nice to repeat for new readers. I've been wrestling with diet for awhile.]

He gets good quality timothy blend hay, but not free choice (which is a very good thing). I also occasionally give him a few pounds of Triple Crown Safe Starch (11% Protein, 6% Fat, 8.8% NSC) as additional forage. I don't think he needs it, but it's conveniently packaged for trailer rides and shows.

NSC stands for Non-Structural Carbs which is, in general, the main component you are trying to lower in an EPSM-related diet. Conventional horse feeds contain 30% or more. Brego has never shown any symptoms of EPSM, so we are less strict about NSC. Some owners target for 10% or less which is really hard to do with packaged food. There's a lot of discussion about the EPSM diet, and I don't think we have the final answer yet. I believe a healthy diet has more going on than just the NSC count, such as fats availability and exercise level. I basically listen to what Brego tells me and am not afraid to adjust ingredients up and down.

I should note that when I switched to giving Brego monthly Adequan shots, I dropped his SmartPak entirely (Dare I mention that his "blackening" supplement failed to deliver as promised?). So he is no longer getting any other supplements. Besides apples, that is.

Out With A Bang

I went to the barn today planning on a conditioning ride. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with some crisp fall air. Perfect weather to work up a sweat.

We worked three 5 minute trot sets with 2 minute walk intervals and three canter sets. The first two canter sets were 3:30 and the final set was 4:00. Brego recovered in under 5 minutes. The horse is on fire! I can thank fox hunting, because he has never been more fit in his life.

And I have good reason to need him fit and fighting because.... *drumroll* El Brego de Oro will be entered in the New England Hunter Trials this weekend. Wait a minute! Have I lost my mind? Not one week ago, I said I was NOT going to enter. Well, it turns out that they are going to offer a Novice division at the trials. Fifteen fences, 2'6" max height, 1 mile course. Ah... a course for the rest of us.

So Brego and I will be representing our peeps (read: Hunt) next Sunday.

But before we do that, we are going to be riding in the show my barn is hosting on Saturday. I am going to take him in one jumping class, to save him for Sunday, but the costume class should not be too rigorous. Oh yea, Brego will be scaring little kids again this year.

People are excited about the show, and with good reason! Just today, two ladies and their beautiful horses trailered in to school in the facilities. I was riding by on the way to my conditioning sets and to my surprise, they came up calling "The Eventing Percheron!!" Turns out they read the blog. Worlds collide! It was a little strange having a conversation with people who are "strangers" who know so much about Brego and I. I started to tell them I was moving in two weeks and they reminded me that they already knew! So fun!

Oh and before I forget: Thanks or reading, it was great to meet you guys! See you next week!

So Brego is fit and we have one more weekend of complete horsey goodness before the move, the funds drying up, and the winter. I am excited for the competitions, since Brego and I have made some major improvements since last time we went out in public. It will be a great way to see out the season.

The Brego Blog Wins Fame

I apologize to everyone for being a bad blogger.

I am at the end of a release cycle at work, which means evening and weekends belong to the Other Life. I did manage to ride Brego twice this week, once working on dressage and once on jumping. I did not go to the hunt this weekend, because it was an "away game" which is about a 3 hour drive to the joint meet. It is also a live hunt (coyote) and I wasn't sure if I was up for that. I am truly a conflicted animal lover/pacifist/red meat-eater/fox hunter.

My friend in Texas sent me some Phillipe Karl dvds and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about how much I don't understand how to train. :) Just kidding, it's been very educational to see other horses progressing by a much estemmed professional and doing the conversion in my head for Brego. Let's see, if that gorgeous perfectly balanced, perfectly relaxed warmblood stallion in the video takes 3 oz of pressure to shoulder-in from the trot, that means.... carry the one... multiply by "Draft Constant"... divide by "Green Coefficient"... to make Brego do the same thing should take... 3 oz of pressure. Wow, I am way behind on my homework!

Brego really enjoyed the in-hand session and I found him much more responsive when I finally got into the saddle. I need to remind myself to start with advanced in-hand work more often.

As for the jumping day, I set up some small fences, about 2' high and just worked on a consistant canter and counting my strides. I really need to train my eye better. I found that I could count accurately from about 4 strides out and if I didn't see it then, I would see something bad at 2 strides and think "Oh shit, we've blown it". So I really need to get better at seeing it at, say 6, and then if I don't see it, do something about it.

I then set up a 2' 9" course and worked on rollbacks. We have a fun show this weekend hosted by my barn and Brego will be in the 3' jumpers class (and costume class). He was a star and I could tell that the counting helped that round as well. I am trying not to overanalyze my position which is Step 3 in my Twelve Step Program of "Enjoying Your Horse. Here. Now."! I did feel more secure and reading the technical aspects of the course helped me to keep back and get deep distances for tight turns. I heard from spectators that I looked much better, so I am going to run with that! :)

But the real reason for this post is that the Brego Blog has been so lucky as to receive a wonderful award from a very cool blog that I have just discovered: Baba Yaga's Mirror.

There are so many really great blogs out there about horses that to choose five would be difficult. I will need to give it some thought and get back to posting about it.

Two more weeks until the big move to Brego Farms so things will continue to be a little hit or miss on the blog. I fully intend to document any fun outings, but the posts may slow down for the next couple of weeks. Better grab hold, this could be a bumpy ride!