In Which We Get Physical

work me out, let's get physical

Eight days until Jump Start! Woo hoo!

Pancake's fitness regimen has definitely gone into event prep mode, greatly aided by my new friend Alayna, who's been riding her twice a week. Alayna's a KER research intern from Pennsylvania who was a hunter/jumper but now does endurance, if that gives you an indication of her bad assery. She is doing a stellar job of getting this pony moving and has been a huge help.

work me out, let's get physical

She usually rides on Sundays and Tuesdays. Then I ride Wednesday and Saturday. Her rides tend to be 45-ish minutes of mostly trot/canter. Mine are are alternating between conditioning rides, dressage schools, and jump lessons. 

work me out, let's get physical

Conditioning rides, we're up to 8 minutes of canter! I'll warm up with a little trot and a brief canter each way, take a walk break, then set my phone timer for 9 minutes. Stuff it back in my pocket and pick up a canter. We do big loops around the pasture, three one way, switch leads, three the other way, switch leads, then usually get around once more before the dinger dings. Then trot a half lap, take a walk break. She is still very tired at the end of this, but her breathing is much better than when I started this regimen, and I don't have to push her along--she'll generally self-propel. The cooler weather's been a big help too. I've been doing this twice a week, logging these rides on my conditioning app so I can keep track.

work me out, let's get physical

So with eight days left to go, the plan is:
Saturday: Alayna ride
Sunday: Hunter pace (egads, not sure what to expect here! But I'll call it conditioning.)
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Jump lesson
Wednesday: Conditioning ride
Thursday: Off
Friday: Dressage school
 ... then it's show time!

Operation Jump Start Jumpstart

Pancake's got hops. No doubt about that. The pony can jump. Which is good, because when you're 13.2, a 2'3" starter fence is the equivalent of--what? novice?--to a big horse. Here's an illustration of Pancake and our adorable Thoroughbred friend Rebel both jumping starter at the same show (photos shamelessly stolen from Emily Roepke #hopeshedontmind #betshedont #willdeleteandbuycookiesifshedo).

See what I mean? She's awesome.

Case in point: BN oxer. 

And she's not afraid of anything that should be scary. Case in point: Chevron.

And she goes XC schooling like a pro. Case in point: Team CEO Eventing Weekend, July

(Tangent: How much do I appreciate my positive, supportive coach and teammates? Yes, I'm fully aware none of this is particularly impressive in the grand scheme of equestrian sport, but I have struggled a lot with confidence, so it's all a big deal for me. And they get that and cheer big for the small wins and I love them all for it.)

So considering all that, it seems like I should be able to pull this pony out of the field and go canter around starter. I mean, come on, it's max 2'3", 1400 meters at 250 mpm. Piece of cake, right?

But would you take a 16.2hh horse that looks like Pancake in build and fitness and try to go around novice on minimal conditioning? No. (At least, I hope not.)

So there's our Achilles heel: Stamina.

After our last experience showing over fences, when she was super fat and ran out of steam after six stadium jumps, I am very keen indeed to make sure she's fitted up for our next outing, Jump Start HT. The diet is keyed in, she looks good and is holding steady. But cardio fitness needs to improve.

So Pancake and I have homework: To canter for six minutes straight, at least once a week. (And because I really don't want to question whether we'll get around XC, I'm going to aim for eight minutes, twice a week.)

We did our first set today, trotting a couple big loops and then cantering in the field for six minutes (at 93 degrees!), on a timer. It went better than I expected--she was very tired at the end, but never tried to stop or got grumpy about it.



I have 21 days until the show. I've set calendar reminders for five conditioning rides, two jump schools, a dressage run-through, and a hunter pace before then. Am I overthinking starter? Yep. That's just how we roll.

On My Obsession with Measurable Results

So something to know about me is that I love me some data (insert nerd humor). I'm all about a measurable result.

Well I found something that combines my love of data with Pancake's fitness program. Huzzah! There's a free site/app called Endomondo that you can use to track workouts. It uses the GPS on your phone to measure distance, altitude, speed, etc. And it lists Riding as an athletic pursuit. (Yay!)

My at-home riding program normally goes something like this: Oooh, oooh, I have a chance to ride! Yippee! Come here, pony. Walk over to the flat(ish) spot. Let's go trot. Bend, please. Yes, even to the right. Change direction, bend, change direction, bend. Ok, you trotted a lot. Now let's canter. Ok, take a breather. Now let's canter the other way. Ok, take a breather. Now let's work on refining that trot self-carriage a little more. GET. OFF. MY. RIGHT. LEG. Walk. Trot. Walk. Trot. Halt. Trot. Halt. Trot. Take a breather. Now let's trot up the hill. Now let's canter one loop up the hill. Take a breather. Trot up the other hill. Canter one loop. And now I'm hot and tired and you're really puffing so let's walk a loop. Now let's walk to the end of the driveway so you see some new and different stuff. (Oooh, look, chickens!) And we're done. Good pony.

So I thought I'd try that Endomondo thingy and see what that typical workout really consists of.

Umm, this is way fun. (And it's easy to see I was a dressage rider for a loooong time. If you scroll over the graph at the bottom, the little dot will show where we were on the map (that's the aforementioned flatish spot). So you can see all our nice little circles and loops and figure 8's.)

Because I'm a masochist (or, trying to build up my leg and improve my own fitness) I decided not to wear spurs for this ride. As a result, I had to work really, really hard and she was way behind my leg. It'll be interesting to try this again with spurs and see if it influences the average speed. (I know it'll influence my stamina if I don't have to beg for every stride!)

Fun. I like it! 

We're All About That Bass

Ladies and gentlemen, Pancake has a dressage freestyle song. It's perfect. I love it.

Riding playlist > ADD.

Now to find a radio edit (easy) and a dressage show with a sense of humor (less easy).

On the Wonders of Genetics

We called our grandmas "Big" and "Little" based, not on physical size (about the same), but on sheer force of personality.

Little Grandma is the sweet, nurturing storybook grandma everyone wishes they had and I'm lucky enough to actually have. Her hugs are magical.

Big Grandma was hell on wheels. She was so blunt, her internal filter was a hula hoop. This became awkward when her hearing went, because she had no issue with saying things like, "Isn't that the homeliest child you've ever seen?" Loudly. In church. Regarding the child in the pew in front of you.

She was the best. I loved the woman and miss her terribly.

So, anyway, Big always had a comment or six. And this one time, a few years ago, as I was giving her a hug and saying goodbye to go back home to Kentucky, she gave me an assessing look and said, "You know, you're a lot bigger than your sister."

Oh, gram. What you lack in tact, you make up for in accuracy. Love you too.

Which brings me to Pancake.

Fjords are stout, hardy little horses. And Pancake typifies that. After four months of intense dietary restriction, she's been plateaued at 1130 for weeks. I have yet to feel a rib. That's just the way she's built. She will never be a sleek, athletic Novice eventing beast. Which is fine, because I got her as a quiet, steady Starter eventing beast. At which she excels.

But sometimes ... you happen upon a windfall.

My parents retired to Wisconsin, their home, last spring. My mom left her longtime horse (my sister's retired show horse) in Michigan. Having high regard for Pancake, she went to the same breeder and purchased a steady older gelding. But she didn't want him to have to live alone over the winter, so she got a 4-year-old mare (Pancake's half-sister) to keep him company.

Fast forward to this spring, and mom doesn't want to fool with a youngster, and selling greenbeans isn't ever much fun. So this sweet little mare, Biscuit, has come to stay with me.

But wait, you say: Erin, you don't have time to mess with a greenbean. Correct, friends.

Luckily, I have really excellent help. Team CEO Eventing does an annual young horse program, matching youngsters and students up for a 60-day training challenge. At the end, they w/t/c, jump little courses, and do a little freestyle demo to show any special tricks or talents, people judge, prizes are given. Tra la la. The timing worked out just perfectly for Biscuit to get in on that.

And the thing about Biscuit is, she may be Pancake's half-sister. And she may be a Fjord. But she is naturally fit. And athletic. And forward. And really seems to like her new job.

So we'll see how this all works out. For now, I have a stand-in if I want a really impressive "after" picture for Pancake's diet plan.

Pancake, I love you. But you're a lot bigger than your sister.

In Which We Rally

To review my previous post:

• Pancake is still (although somewhat less) fat
• Pancake needs to be ridden more
• Pancake is lame

Total bummer, huh? Well, things are looking up.

First off, documentation of two important points. 

1) Pancake is determined to get any little scrap of grass she can possibly reach. (Which admittedly saves us time on weed-eating.)

2) Pancake is secretly a yoga master. The view is somewhat obstructed from the house and she won't do this if I'm within sight (I might feed her!), so here's the best image I have of the elusive Downward-Facing Pancake.

So you can see how she managed to blow up her knee--by kneeling on it like this All. Day. Long. The solution to this issue brings me to two additional points.

1) I have wonderful friends. Erika, Patty, and I have been trying to get together to go riding since about March. One or the other of us always has something come up, or my truck's broken, or the weather's bad, or I need to baby wrangle, or something. So last weekend we had a time, date, and place all sorted. Perfect weather. Babysitter. Stars aligned, winning lotto tickets, all that jazz. After a week and a half off, lots of bute/cort/diclofenac rub, I go out to the barn and Pancake's knee is huge. And she's gimpy on the longe. So, terribly disappointed and fighting a tear, I text and say I can't make it.

Patty replies with: I have a spare horse and a resident veterinarian. Put the pony in the trailer and come over.

And that, my friends, is how I spent last Saturday having a perfectly wonderful time, riding a perfectly wonderful grand old horse, with my two perfectly wonderful friends and Pancake got a checkup from Dr. J who says she'll live if she quits being silly. (And he's right, the knee looks great.)

2) I have a wonderful husband. Who ran an electric line around the bottom of my barnlot, right under the bottom board. Complete with beautifully trenched lines under the gates and everything. And got the biggest, baddest charger.

Sorry, Pancake--snack time is over.

In Which I Shake My Puny Fists in Rage

Just when you think you have a system that works. That's effective. That's manageable. Something changes. And you have to start over.

My barn features stalls with rear doors that access two good-sized barnlots. The barnlots feed into the pasture. This give the option of in, and/or barnlot, and/or pasture. Since I've been keeping the ponies up to prevent them from overeating, they've had free access to one stall and both the barnlots. They can walk around (or canter/buck/act like fools if their little pony hearts so desire), sleep in the sun, hang out under the overhang, go in the stall and stand under the fan, lounge and groom each other in the shade under the tree and generally freely interact and be horses. I have to clean the barnlots every day, but that's not too bad and there's no shavings so it's great soil amendment. I get that they would rather be on grass, but limits have to be set.

This was fine. Until recently.

Pancake has decided that contorting herself under the fence to nibble tiny mouthfuls of grass is totally legit. She kneels down on her left knee and reaches her stumpy little neck as far as she can to grab pitiful tiny tastes of grass.

Fine. You want to be an idiot, go for it.

Except ... she's bruised the heck out of her neck. It's hot to the touch and obviously sore. She's rubbing her mane. Her right shoulder's sore. And the final straw, her left knee has a huge bubble of fluid sitting on it.

So now I'm hosing. And icing. And using the butecort rub. But as soon as she's out in the barnlot and her (soaked, slow-feed netted) hay is gone, she's back out there kneeling on it again.

So she's in the stall. And she'll stay in the stall other than when she goes out for two hours in the evening. And I need to clean the stall. And buy more shavings. And hose. And ice. And rub. And, despite it all, she's still really, really fat.

This weekend, maybe I'll rig up an electric wire under the fence. Or add another board along the bottom. Or obliterate all grass within reach with Round-Up. Or maybe I'll put the muzzle back into service. Right now, I just feel totally defeated.

"Easy" keeper. Yeah, right.


On the bright side ... 

When you have a baby, the nurses give you really great ice packs (if you don't know why, that's a topic for an entirely different blog). The kind you snap and they get really cold really fast and stay cold for hours. They're long and super pliable and have a strip you can pull off to stick them. Anyway, they work really well for icing horse knees.

So I got that going for me.

In Which We Sing the Praises of Oats

In my previous post, I had just received a recommendation from Dr. Crandell to add 1/2 to 1 lb of oats to Pancake's daily ration in the hope of boosting her energy stores to sustain exercise without increasing weight. I was, of course, hesitant to *add* anything, since her weight has been holding steady on the current management. But having to pony-kick and pray to simply get around around 2'3" courses wasn't the aim of the whole diet exercise, so to the feed store I went.

And what timing. I started introducing the oats mid-week before a weekend clinic, which included three schools in three days (as much riding as I typically average in three weeks ... but that's another post).

Team CEO Eventing Weekend I,
photo courtesy Howard Moore

The verdict? IT WORKS.

While not a raving tearaway by any means, Pancake had some pep in her step! I was actually able to get up in galloping position without her dropping the canter. And that's a big deal for us.

Her dressage canter was the best it's ever been--light, forward, lovely. 

During the clinic and subsequent rides, I'm definitely noticing she's more willing to move forward off my leg. And while I haven't taped her in awhile, she seems to be maintaining her girlish figure, if not continuing a slow, steady reduction in girth.

It seems so simple, but adding plain old rolled oats would never have occurred to me. Ok, ok maybe I'm also holding her more accountable for her forward momentum. And maybe I found my BIG spurs. But at least a chunk of the credit still goes to OATS!

In Which We Catch Up

While I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon, I have been a good steward of Pancake's diet. But, despite my best efforts, we're having some issues.

This is what 1130 lb looks like on 13.2hh.

As any dieter knows, a dramatic reduction in calories will lead to rapid weight loss. For awhile. And then you get used to the new regimen and plateau. Call us the Mongolian Steppe, cause we're plateaued. 1130. Holding steady.

The other thing is I started this whole thing because Pancake was too fat to jump around. Now she's slimmer. And now she's too tired to jump around (or do much of anything else) ... Because she isn't eating anything.

Last summer, I kept her in a similar program. She worked once or twice a week, got a cup of feed and flake of hay once a day, and went out for 3-4 hours. She was fat. And she was fine. She motored around XC like a little wind-up toy, including the super hilly course at Champagne Run. This year, I don't think she'd be able to hold a canter all the way around that course, nevermind jump anything.

So what's different? She's working a little more. Her 3-4 hours of grazing is now 1-2. I decreased her feed even more. I'm soaking her hay. She's somehow holding weight on this but has no energy for performance. I asked Dr. Kathleen Crandell at KER for some help. Here's what she said:

"This kind of horse is the hardest to deal with because there are so few options for them. Your having to restrict her intake is why she doesn't have any energy and endurance for the work. She may be lacking in muscle glycogen stores. My recommendation may seem contrary to what you would normally do for an obese horse but it is addressing the glycogen issue. You may want to consider feeding her 1/2 to 1 lb of oats a day. Not so much as to add a lot of calories to the diet but enough to help her energy stores. As long as you are exercising her, that amount should not be much of strain on her diet (and she will really like you for it)!"

So, happy birthday to Pancake: Girlfriend's getting some oats in her life. It might be early to see any difference, but we'll be testing this out at a clinic this weekend. Here's hoping for a raving lunatic runaway. That would be progress. 

Weekly Weigh-In: May 5

Our last weigh-in (1310! Egads!) made me re-evaluate a bit, so I've made some changes accordingly. I dropped the balancer pellet entirely and upped the I.R. Pellet to the full serving of 120g (I was previously doing the "pony" serving of 60g + 8oz of balancer pellet). So this is a reduction in overall volume while increasing fortification.

It took a little while for them to figure out the powdery RiteTrac but adding a little splash of water to it immediately before feeding helps it stick, so we're ok with even the reduced pellet quantity.

<TANGENT>: RiteTrac combines an antacid with EquiShure, a hindgut buffer. The cool thing about EquiShure is that it's encapsulated so the active ingredients don't start working too soon in the digestive process. But if you get it wet too long before feeding it, it'll start the clock on releasing the ingredients (no big deal, but they won't target the hindgut effectively). So it's important to only wet it immediately before feeding.

I used to picture the horse's digestive system as being like a human's, with the big action happening in the stomach and the later stages basically sucking out the liquid and keeping things moving along. But horses are sort of opposite--they're hindgut fermenters, which means the later digestive stages are where the magic happens. (Don't get me wrong, the stomach's important too, and ulcers there are bad news. But the hindgut is equally, if not more, important.)

Microbes in the hindgut keep the fermentation process rocking and rolling. These microbes don't like big changes, which is why a horse will colic (or even get laminitis) after a sudden, dramatic change in its diet. Keeping these microbes happy is why all changes should be made gradually. Little microbes. Big trouble if you piss them off. Here's a really good article on hindgut microbes and happy tummies. And here's more on hindgut physiology from my buddy, Dr. B. 

A hindgut buffer sort of smooths out that whole process. So if you have a big change, lots of stress, too much lush grass, big grain meals, or just a horse with a tricky tummy, it keeps the microbes happy and calm by keeping the pH of the hindgut where they like it.

EquiShure. Encapsulated. Don't pre-wet it too soon. So it gets to the hindgut. Which is important. </End of tangent.>

Back to Pancake.

I thought an overall tummy buffer was a good idea because she isn't mowing down forage all day long. (Saliva is a good natural buffer, but it goes hand-in-hand with free-choice forage--ain't going to happen. You know what else is a good natural buffer? Alfalfa. Also not going to happen.) Anyway, it seems to be working. She has a happy tummy other than being HONGRY HONGRY HONGRY all the time. So that's a win.

A week later, a weigh in.

To review:
March 31: 1250
April 6: 1120ish
April 13: 1080ish
April 20: 1130ish
April 27: 1310
May 5: 1115ish!

Also, her 26-inch dressage girth is officially too big. It's all the way up on both sides and not particularly snug. Mama gets to go shopping. :-)

Weekly Weigh-In: April 27

I have a confession to make: I've been avoiding this post.

I have a bunch more excuses to add to the established list: Rain. Rolex. Busy. Rain. Family visit. Busy. Rain.

But what it comes down to is, I dropped the ball this week. And WHOA, is it obvious. We were on a good run of gradual decreases, but a few days without riding, lots of rain and sun to make the grass go nuts, and, like Pancake's hips, the tape don't lie.

1310. 

My 13.2hh Fjord weight-tapes 1310.

It's raining. I haven't ridden since last Sunday (yep, 10 days). This is me.

Thank heaven for Emma, who's made it out twice a week like clockwork. She's my saving grace right now.

Diet:  C. She's going out for max 2 hours. It should be none. Or 2 hours with muzzle. The grass is unbelievable. And we have yet to mow the pasture this year. (I may lose the mini entirely.) I'm going to cut the balancer pellet entirely and drop her down to just the vit/min and supplements. Luckily I've just unearthed some really boring straight-grass hay. Which I intend to also soak to further reduce the sugar.

Exercise: I fail. Emma gets an A. So we're averaging a C. She cantered her for 8 minutes straight, for what I'm pretty sure is the only time that pony's ever experienced in her life.

We were doing really well for a while, I just need to hold up my end of the deal.

Weekly Weigh-In: April 20

To keep me honest, a weekly progress report. 

Three weeks in, current management is feeling like "new normal." We're getting into the groove of the new routine and it's working fine. 

Diet: Sticking with a B here. I'm on the last bale of the current layer of my hay pile and the next layer has some grassier options, so I'll be able to reduce the alfalfa intake a little more. I also dug out my slow-feed haynet this week, but I prefer not to leave anything hanging when I'm not home, so I'll probably just use it for their evening flake and then take it down when I take the dog out for his bedtime walk. Otherwise they inhale their flake within about 20 minutes.

I started adding a splash of water to the RiteTrac, which has greatly improved stickiness and reduced waste. Their current ration is like a parfait--8 oz KER Pellet, RiteTrac, little water, jiggle it a little, IR Pellet, and a 1/2 oz Synovate HA on top. I added the Synovate because she's working had these days and it certainly won't hurt. (Plus it smells awesome. Persimmon, yum.) However, this might be the point at which I've officially jumped the shark and will need to pre-mix rations for our housesitter whenever we go out of town!

Exercise: Rock and roll, another A. In the past week Pancake has had two trot/canter sets with Mother's Helper, a jump lesson, a trek to Masterson where she trotted and cantered her little pony butt all over, and another trot/canter set at home with me. Woo!

Results: This week's taping shows an increase, but I'm not worried. 

To review:
March 31: 1250
April 6: 1120ish
April 13: 1080ish
This week: 1130ish

Again, tapes aren't accurate. I'm guessing she's "bigger" this week because I taped her after she came in from her two hours on pasture rather than just before. Here's what I care about: Girlfriend has never worked so hard in her life and she feels great.

The issue that led to this whole experiment was her reluctance to move forward from my leg. Once she started getting tired (which happens  (ie, halfway around a stadium course) when you're obese), I'd put my leg on and she'd not only not speed up, she'd pin her ears and slow down. (Ugh! Ponies!) I could whap her with my go stick, but that would only get four more strides, then we'd repeat the exercise. No fun for anyone.

So currently what I'm looking for from her is not only stamina to extend the time before she gets to that point, but also positive response to leg, both in upward transitions and within the gaits. And we're making really good progress.

Also: She fit into her skinny jeans this week--that's right, we're down to the 46" girth!

< Documentation

And it wasn't even on the last hole! I had it on #3 on both sides!

This is a big deal because my 46" is a nonslip perforated neoprene and my 48" is rather slippy leather. And when you have no discernible wither whatsoever (see: name of blog), nonslip everything is your friend.

In Which We Talk Fjord Fjit

"Fit" is a fairly relative concept when it comes to horses. Normally when we talk horse fitness we talk, at least in part, about a Body Condition Score. This is a great tool, but Pancake doesn't look like any of those horses. She is one big fat pad. And I daresay that even if I got her a tad underweight for her body type, she'd probably still be a bit cresty.

Pancake will never look like a Thoroughbred. But that doesn't mean she can't be fit. I interpret fit to mean "capable of doing the job required without extraordinary effort." My current fitness goal for Pancake means we can make it around a starter XC course without hitting the point of fatigue and she can recover within a reasonable amount of time. That's 16 or so 2' 3" fences, rolling terrain, maintaining a sprightly, forward canter for most if not all of it.

This is not a big job to a horse with a higher natural level of fitness. But right now it would be a tall, if not impossible, order for her, because her default natural fitness level is not the same as a Thoroughbred's.

Fjords are considered light draft horses. They were selectively bred for a very, verrrrry long time to plow fields, pull logs, and pack big Viking dudes and their all their stuff up and down mountains. They are strong, surefooted, sound as the day is long, quiet, and resilient. They have great stamina for long, slow work. They are not particularly inclined to speed. Or sudden bursts of energy. (Which is a big selling point for timid, breakable adult amateurs who don't have the time or inclination to fool around with something that needs to be longed down for 45 minutes before you dare sit on it--*Erin raises hand*.)

Look at the build. They are a collection of curves. Nary an angular wither to be seen. That said, there are distinct phenotypes within the breed. Some bloodlines emphasize the draft more heavily, while some are lighter, more athletic riding horses. Here's how the NFHR describes this variation in the breed standard:

"Body structure within the breed ranges the entire spectrum, from flatter, lighter muscling to a more round, heavier muscling. Historically, Fjords have appeared in different shapes, models or body types, according to the different needs of the times. From this wide genetic pool comes the versatile Fjord of today, which is not a specialized breed, but a breed with horses of different types and sizes which can be used for a wide variety of activities. Horses that meet the set conditions and demands of quality are equally acceptable, although they can be of different sizes and body types. Conformation should be harmoniously balanced and must always be complemented by substance of body and ample bone."

And to get more specific, and use lots of the cool "ø" letter, from the Fjord Horse International Handbook:

"The Fjord seems to have varied in size and type from the north to the south of Vestlandet. The Fjord Horse from Nordfjord and Sunnmøre was known to be larger with more bone and with more profuse mane, tail and feathering than the Fjord in Sunnhordland, which was smaller, lighter and more refined. This has led to an assumption that there were perhaps different types of the Fjord Horse with slightly dissimilar origins."

Why do different breeds, and different types within breeds, respond differently to exercise and conditioning programs? It comes down to the ratio of different types of muscle fibers. Type-1 fibers are slow to contract but hold contractions with minimal effort. Think endurance. Type-2 (A and B) are fast-twitch, for short bursts of power. Every horse has both kinds of muscles fibers, but the proportions of each type vary from breed to breed and individual to individual. More:

"It is this variation that makes some horses more suitable for one type of exercise than another. If all other factors are equal, a horse with a larger proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers will perform better in short-duration, high-intensity exercise, while a horse with a larger proportion of slow-twitch fibers will excel in an activity that calls for long-duration, low-intensity exercise. A training program can increase both speed and endurance, but the horse will probably still excel in one exercise type or the other because of the way his muscle fibers are proportioned."

When you get down to it, this is why Percherons (usually) don't run in the Kentucky Derby, Thoroughbreds (usually) don't pull the Budweiser wagon, and why Pancake, unlike some of her Thoroughbred friends, can't just pop out and easily jump around the Masterson hunter course after a winter without much of any conditioning.

An important note in that article is that, with proper conditioning, you can actually change the contractile profile of the muscle fibers, increasing oxidative capacity. So while speed work may not come as naturally to Pancake as it would to purpose-bred horses, it's certainly not a lost cause. (Dr. Ernie Bailey did a talk a few years ago in which he said 30% of racing performance is genetic. Which means 70% is management, conditioning, training, age, environmental factors, etc. That's a whole lot of wiggle room to improve the things we can improve!)

So what does "Fjord fit" actually look like? I think Sorum Fjord Farm does a particularly great job of getting their horses fit. I saw a couple of their horses going Second Level or so at a USDF show a couple years ago and they were lovely, light, and athletic. They also produced SNF Maarta, the little mare who won the Open BN at the AECs a few years back on a 23. I don't want to steal their pics, so click here and check out the bottom row, second from the left. That's what we're after.

Weekly Weigh-In: April 13

To keep me honest, a weekly progress report. 

Two weeks down, a lifetime of maintenance to go. Here's how we're doing:

Diet: Solid B. Muzzling is on hold until I'm sure her rubs are totally healed. It would be nice to have the option to muzzle because then she could be out on pasture longer, for example on evenings I'm not home or otherwise occupied (see: baby) and can't get her right back in again. For now I'm just limiting turnout to a max of two hours.

She and The Dinky Wee Mini are still splitting a flake of hay morning and night, and they get 8oz KER Pellet ration balancer + 60g I.R. Pellet and about 60g RiteTrac in the evening. The RiteTrac is powdery and there's so little grain/pellet to mix it with that giving a full scoop resulted in wastage. So I'm doing a half scoop for now. Wetting it a bit immediately before serving may help it stick a bit better, so I'll experiment with that this week.

Exercise: I'm giving us an A! I have a lovely young lady helping me out a couple times per week, and between the two of us, Pancake worked FIVE times this week! Woo hoo! Including a haul over to Masterson for trot/canter work on the hills with her (very fit) BFF Zoe. I have to say, I've been committed to making sure she gets a legitimate workout from each ride--I'm using my rolling pasture to my advantage and doing lots of uphill transitions. You know how I know it's working? I was able to maintain two-point in the canter and didn't have to keep pushing with my seat for every stride. Win! #goteampancake

Results: BOOM SHAKA LAKA

To review:
March 31: 1250
April 6: 1120ish

This week:

I'm going to call that 1080.







I know I keep harping that weight tapes are inaccurate (and they are), so perhaps the better way to assess:

That, my friends, looks like progress.

In Which We Talk About Muzzle Fit

This whole muzzling thing is not working well for us.

I deployed it for three days last week, which resulted in sores on Pancake's chin. So I put her out nekkid and free for a few days, being careful to limit her time on pasture. The chin was looking better on Monday, so we tried the muzzle again Tuesday. Right back to sores. Ugh.

This isn't rocket surgery. Or even brain science. It can't be this hard. I must have something set up wrong.

As it happens, I work with people who have lots of experience with muzzling. At KER, we do nutrient digestibility studies to figure out how horses utilize what we're feeding them. This entails precisely measuring everything that goes in and everything that comes out. But being stalled for the study period isn't much fun, so the research horses still go outside, wearing muzzles so as not to skew the intake data. (Here's more on the research horses.)

My coworker Catherine is involved with the research, so I asked her for some tips on muzzle fit and customization--and I'm not crazy (at least on this point), because she said up front: "Additional fixtures are needed for any store-bought muzzle to stay on and work."

Such as? 

-Adding reinforcement straps beyond the velcro tab doohickeys--she likes nylon straps with buckles (on a leather or break-away halter, of course)
-Adding lambskin or synthetic fleece to prevent rubs
-Fitting the muzzle so it's snug but there's a finger-width or two between the horse's lips and the bottom of the muzzle
-Using zinc oxide cream on any areas with hair loss
-Once you have a set-up that works, just leave the muzzle connected to the halter as a single unit--much simpler than trying to reset it correctly every time you turn out
-If you have a determined nudist, use a muzzle with integrated halter, then run the straps of that halter through the rings of a real halter--try that, Houdini!

For even more useful intel from Catherine, check out the new article.

I was thinking Pancake's cob-sized muzzle was causing rubs because it was too small, but Catherine says rubs under the chin can occur when the muzzle's too big, because it has room to wiggle around. Padding should help with that.

I'm going to wait for the current rubs to heal (while slathering diaper cream, which I just so happen to have lots of, on Pancake's chin). I also added a bumper of fleece (old polo wrap) around the inside of the top of the muzzle, and additional attachments to reduce the wiggle/rub opportunity. So we'll see how that works. In the meantime, Wild Tails Farm grazing hours are 7pm to 8pm, sharp.

Weekly Weigh-In: April 6

To keep me honest, a weekly progress report. 

After one week of Operation Reduced-Fat Pancake, here's how I think we're doing:

Diet: Solid B. I've been very good about keeping them up in the drylot, despite vocal protestations. I swear these ponies watch the house and whinny every time I walk past a window. They've been going out for two or three hours each day. I got a bigger muzzle for Pancake and deployed it for three days. Well ...

State's evidence in the matter of Pancake v. Bad Mom:

It rubbed the hair right off her chin and caused big nasty sores. I'm guessing this means I need to get an even bigger one? This may have broken my will to muzzle. Maybe I'll just keep them in for all but an hour. I don't know. I'm waffling re: Pancake (ha). Since that appeared (Friday), I've just kept them up for all but an hour, which seems to work fine, as long as I can reliably get back out there on time to bring them back in.

I've also been committed to restricting her hay to one flake in the morning and one at night. No extras. I switched her supplement to I.R. Pellet and RiteTrac. I might be crazy, but I do think she's been less frantic to eat since I added the RiteTrac. Who knows.Won't hurt, might help.


Excercise: C, but looking up. I longed on Monday and rode both Saturday and Sunday. Weekday evenings are just incredibly difficult. I can sometimes longe if Babycakes goes to bed on time, but rarely if ever can I ride. I might have a better shot when the days are a bit longer. So I'm calling in reinforcements: a lovely young rider is going to exercise Pancake for me a couple times per week. If she rides twice and I ride twice, we'll be making good progress.

Now, the longe and couple rides I had were incredibly productive. She's normally a sloth to longe, but Monday was her first day in the drylot so she was MAD. Which resulted in epic longeline tantrum--bucking, farting, swapping leads, taking off, etc. Which I was delighted to see. And when she was done being an idiot is when we started our planned workout. So she ended up having quite the cardio sesh.

Both rides were really nice. She's recently figured out the trot stretchy circle. I usually conclude each ride with one, so she's now offering it all the time ("I'm stretching! Can I be done now?"). Which means she's reaching into the contact, lengthening her frame, and really covering the ground. Canter work is getting better and I've added some tours of the pasture into the program along with the usual "arena" work--so we're starting with two laps at a trot and one with canter on the uphills. On Sunday I asked for a little more speed in the canter work and she kicked into a higher gear. Progress!

Results: Original taping: 1250

This week:

How I feel about that:

Now you're thinking, "Umm ... Erin ... more than 100 pounds in one week is cray cray."

Yes yes.

So let me explain. Weight tapes ain't accurate. In one study, they were off by 145 lb on average. A tape is not going to tell me her actual weight or give an accurate read on small changes, but it can give me a feel as to whether she's losing, gaining, or holding steady. Here's more on various ways to assess weight.

The other thing is the pony factor. She is a pony, and therefore puffs her naughty little pony self up whenever I girth her. I'm guessing last week she felt me mucking around and therefore inflated to Macy's Parade proportions. This week I measured right after untacking, so she was deflated, easily losing a couple inches worth of girth. 

So do I think she really lost 100 pounds in a week? Nope. But I do think she's slimmed a bit, and she feels more fit. So that's a win.

In Which We Sing Macklemore and Learn About Grass

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, the drylot's where my ponies is. And they are MAD.

The New Regime is fully in effect, and Pancake is not amused. She's going out for three or so hours each evening, with a muzzle. It's a dirty, dirty trick and she is m-a-d. She's now desperately laying under the bottom fence board to eat little semicircles of grass under each panel (upside: I won't have to weed-eat around the posts). She also watches the house and screams at me from the drylot every time I walk past a window. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

So what's the big deal about grass? It's the perfect food for horses, right? Yes--for some horses (not mine). In moderation.

I have a two-fold challenge: a thrifty pony and the world's best grass supply. Let me explain:

Certain breeds of horses supposedly have what's called the "thrifty gene." These horses, which include Morgans, Paso Finos, Icelandics, certain baroque breeds, and lots and lots of ponies, can get by just fine on very little. Note a lot of the breeds that display this tendency originated in areas without good (or at least consistent) forage supplies. Think deserts, places with long, cold winters, etc. In those locales, having a horse that held its weight on very little was a great advantage--so breeders selected for that trait. These days, we're fighting back against a propensity that was selected for over generations.

(This isn't just a horse thing, either--it's something human geneticists are interested in as well due to its association with Type-2 diabetes. Wiki: "According to the hypothesis, the 'thrifty' genotype would have been advantageous for hunter-gatherer populations, especially child-bearing women, because it would allow them to fatten more quickly during times of abundance. Fatter individuals carrying the thrifty genes would thus better survive times of food scarcity. However, in modern societies with a constant abundance of food, this genotype efficiently prepares individuals for a famine that never comes. The result of this mismatch between the environment in which the brain evolved and the environment of today is a widespread chronic obesity and related health problems like diabetes.")

Fjords: Draft + Pony = Thrifty.

And for reading that, here's a song (some language--sorry Mom): 



And then there's the grass. What's Lexington, Ky., famous for? Thoroughbreds. Why do we have a lot of Thoroughbreds here? Because our grass is AWESOME. It is green and it is lush and it is bountiful. And I only have one pony and one mini on three acres, so it is emerging unchecked in great big gobs. And what's now our pasture was, up until two years ago, our backyard. So it is the coveted yard grass that all horses go nuts over.

A few years ago, researchers in Virginia studying obese horses were scratching their heads because these Fatty Lumpkin beasties weren't getting any concentrates but were still packing it on. They hypothesized grasses "improved and selected for weight gain in other livestock species" might be playing a role. Lo and behold, they found most pasture grasses were these "improved" varieties, not native grasses. So, grasses designed to pack weight ON cattle, sheep, etc., have now spread around on their own. Egads! (Article.)

So. I have LOTS of grass. And the grass is potentially/likely a type that was created/selected to help livestock rapidly gain weight. There are all sorts of strategies one can employ to reduce the amount of fructans your horse gets from pasture, but unfortunately it all boils down to: When in doubt, muzzle.

Sorry, Pancake.