photo by Hoofclix.com
Tales of Taco the Wonder Horse and his ammy rider on their way to a Training Three Day

Saturday, June 2, 2012

One Year Later

Hello again, Team Taco readers!

It was one year ago this weekend that Taco got injured, at the Indiana Training Three Day. Here are my posts from June of last year that describe Taco's awesome performance and then our discovery of his SDFT injury.

I'm pleased to report that Taco is back in action.  I have been very conservative with his rehabilitation, and gone a little bit slower than I could have, but he is cantering and in a couple of weeks we plan to jump our first fence!

He has muscled out from all of the long slow work we have been doing, and he is now on regular turnout (everybody breathed a sigh of relief when he reached that milestone).




The leg has stayed cool and tight (knock wood). I am feeling very optimistic.

I'm not sure when we will return to competition-- I will be traveling for research this summer and commuting from Atlanta this fall, so it might be a few months before we can take on a horse trial.  But I am willing to be patient-- I have waited this long for him to recover, and he is happy and healthy again!

Doc has continued to be wonderful.  He finished on his dressage score and got a ribbon at the April Chatt Hills, and if I were able to handle two horses, I would be moving him up to Training.  Like Taco, he's incredibly generous and athletic, and he's also a bay Thoroughbred, but otherwise the two have such different builds and personalities and it has done wonders for my riding to be working with them both. Because I can't have two horses, Doccie will be moving on soon.  I'll miss him more than words can say.

Doc and me (r) with Megan and River at Chatt!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Back to Work!

Tony came to ultrasound Taco this week.


He also palpated and flexed the leg.  All looked good!  Taco jogged very energetically, so to speak-- there was plenty of mane-tossing and strutting.

We sent the images and exam results up to Duncan Peters, who gave the OK to start legging up.  Starting this coming week, we will walk 30-40 minutes a day and trot 5 minutes.  After that we will start increasing the trotting.  If all goes well, we can maybe canter in 8 weeks.

Doc is still being his lovely little self.


I was laid up for January myself, and I have been riding again since the end of the month.  But all three of us-- Taco, Doc, and me-- are back in action now.  We are ready for 2012!