So it's been a while. I'm fully aware. But here's the deal. I've had a lot going on. Mostly depression related to my horse. If you like stories with bitter sweet endings, continue reading. If you don't really care about my horse and our drama and what I've been doing for the last 6 months... I don't know why you're even on this page... but here it is!
Dieter was my horse. He is a 13 year old American Warmblood, and we have been partners for 3 years. He started becoming less than sound (limping slightly, for those non-equestrians) at the end of last season (October of 2017). We thought it was his saddle or that he needed a chiropractic adjustment, but we basically took the remainder of the season off. He also got a new saddle and some time off over the winter (partly because it was really, really cold).
When we came back after the winter, I started doing trot and canter sets to try to get his conditioning started. We started easy, but maybe not easy enough. He slowly became an. Again. Something wasn't right. It was around the time of my last blog post, that the local veterinarian (Randy) came to the barn to check him out. He noted some inflammation in Dieter's fetlock. He said that whether it was inflamed from an injury or something more serious, the treatment would be to start with 2 weeks of stall rest and anti-inflammatories. So Dieter got 2 weeks of stall rest and anti-inflammatories. He didn't get any better. Randy did x-rays this time. He didn't notice anything crazy, just some arthritic changes in the joint. He recommended I take Dieter to a veterinarian with more of a lameness specialty who could do an ultrasound. The next day, we took Dieter to Bob.
Bob did a quick lameness exam on him and took some more x-rays noting that he had a weak suspensory ligament on his left hind leg, with it being particularly sensitive at the insertion to the sesamoid bone. He thought it might be related to his confirmation with a long, angled pastern. He recommended 6 weeks of handwalking and building up his fitness before getting Dieter back into any serious work. And he mentioned that he would not recommend any further jumping for Dieter, or at least not until his fitness could support jumping work. And he recommended that he be used primarily for children. I cried. A lot. I love eventing. If Dieter can't handle it, I don't know if I can transition to only doing dressage. But I was willing to give it a try and at least work on his rehab.
I called Randy the next day. He made me feel better. He told me to hand walk him for 8 weeks, which would also work on my fitness. He told me not to be so sensitive about my weight, because he sees guys at least my size or bigger riding smaller horses in the western world all the time, and he was very encouraging. He & Bob both recommended no small circles (lunging), using sport medicine boots to support the fetlocks, & encouraged me to ice after any sort of work with Dieter. Chris was encouraging the whole time.
So Dieter got 8 weeks of handwalking followed by 2 weeks of tack walking. Lots of ice. We did laps around the 40-acre field. We had our routine. We got very good at selfies for snapchat. And then I started asking more of him. We started with light trotting followed by significant walk breaks and slowly added in some canter. Dieter was sound. I don't know how. I don't know why. But he was sound on the flat. Chris continued to be encouraging and said I should start riding him like there was nothing wrong. Easier said than done, but I tried. Maybe this was Dieter's way of telling me that he didn't want to jump anymore. Maybe his confirmation was a problem. Maybe I tried to bring him back too quickly after a winter off. Whatever it was, I was afraid to push too hard, because I didn't want to mess him up. I started working him more regularly and thinking of our plans. Dressage plans. I was too afraid to jump him.
In August, my barn went to Catalpa Corners Horse Trial in Iowa- one of my favorites. It was while we were watching the preliminary stadium jumping with Chris that I totally lost it. I think I even started crying. I love eventing. I love jumping. If Dieter can't handle it, maybe he should go live with someone who wants to do primarily dressage. I started putting feelers out for people who might be interested in him, contacting a couple of people I trusted who had good relationships with horses and would point me in the right direction. In that day, twice, 2 different people showed me an ISO ad on facebook of a client of Clare Walker's who was looking for a schoolmaster-type dressage horse who could teach her the basics. Dieter. She was looking for a warmblood who's movement wasn't too large. Dieter. She was looking for something 8-15 years old. Dieter. All the signs pointed to Dieter. I couldn't make up a more perfect ad for him if I tried.
I immediately contacted them and they met us at Willow Creek one night to try him. And they fell in love. Because he's perfect, so who wouldn't. Clare said things like "this horse is a saint" and "this is the first horse we've looked at who's been exactly as advertised." The lady who was interested in Dieter rode him and he did great. She wasn't even asking him to go into the bridle and he held his head in a frame without even being asked. She cantered him on the lunge line and he looked happy. They started telling me about their barn where he would be in a stall for 12 hours & on pasture with 1 buddy for 12 hours. They told me about how gorgeous the facility was. They told me how much he would be spoiled. They told me he would be ridden about 3 times a week, once with training by Clare. And I wanted them to have him. I thought I was going to be really sad that night. My boyfriend and my roommate thought I was going to be really sad that night, but when I saw them, they were surprised they didn't need to worry about damage control. I was happy. I had found Dieter's new home.
A couple days later, someone else met us at Willow Creek to try Dieter. It was a 10 year old girl who was looking to get into dressage more seriously and her family. They didn't really want to buy a horse until spring. And you could tell they weren't entirely sure what they were looking for. And they had 3 different people ride Dieter in all 3 gaits after I had walked him for 30 minutes because they got there late. I would prefer these people not have Dieter. They weren't right for him. But then I realized that it might not be up to me. Whoever bought Dieter would buy Dieter, and then it would be out of my hands. How depressing is that?!?
The first lady contacted me and said she would like to do a pre-purchase exam with a vet who had never met Dieter before. I was nervous that the stuff from spring would come back to haunt me. I had to wait 2 weeks. In the mean time, I rode him, but sparingly. Each ride felt like it might be my last with him. But I was worried that he wouldn't pass the PPE or that they would find something they didn't like and didn't want to miss all that time in his training for someone else to potentially look at him or to make a sale ad. Leah rode him a few times so I could take video for a potential sale ad. But I really wanted these people to have him. They would be perfect for him.
The day of the PPE came and it was pouring down rain. Harold drove Dieter and me to the vet's office. They examined Dieter for three and a half hours with a fine-toothed comb, finding things wrong with him that I didn't even know about. Apparently he had blind wolf teeth. I never knew. Apparently he had a discoloration in his right eye that was 1/3 the size of the optic nerve that warranted a consult from the equine ophthalmologist in Kansas City. I never knew. And then they did his lameness exam and flexions. I thought he looked pretty good. They did some x-rays. And then they told us that we could go home. Since I wasn't paying for the exam, they didn't tell us any of the results. But it must not have been too bad, because on the way home, I got the text with the offer. And I took it. Because I wanted these people to have Dieter. He was exactly what they needed. And they were exactly what he needed. It would be totally perfect.
So on September 1st, after not even being on the market for a month (and never really seriously at that), Dieter went to his new home. I never had to make a sale ad. I never had to advertise him in any way. He found his new family without even having to try. He loaded onto the fancy trailer with a ramp, a bit curious about what was happening, but he was a perfect gentleman. I was happy for him. He's in the right spot. I was doing well. Until he whinnied as the trailer pulled away. Cue the water works. He was saying goodbye. He will be fine, I knew that. He's good at making new friends. He's good at everything he does (let's be honest). He will be absolutely fine. He will be loved and spoiled and happy. I have a good feeling about it.
So now Dieter is gone and I have to focus my sights elsewhere. More to come about my new adventures... Until then, you'll just have to live in suspense. And I'll just have to get back to those pesky Weight Watchers meetings. No excuses anymore!
