Ask Taco: Hair Care and 2011 Plans

Q.  Dear Taco,
How do you keep your mane and tail so glossy?  What horsehair products do you use? 
And my friend wonders what Lifetime Movies you watch.
Does Stacy treat you well?  Do you like soft shoes or hard shoes?
Please answer any or all of the above!

Best,
Gina

A. Dear Gina,
Thank you for noticing my lovely mane and tail.  I am very proud of them.  I especially like my mane when it has grown a little bit too long and wild, like it is now.  I know that Stacy will thin and shorten it in a month or two to get ready for the event season, but in the meantime I like my rakish appearance.

 My hair care regime is very simple.  I do not over-wash it, first of all.  In the winter it does not get washed at all, unless my tail gets too muddy while I am running in my pasture.  That way the natural oils are allowed to condition it.  In the summer I often get both my mane and my tail rinsed out when I have showers after my workouts.  Year round, Stacy brushes my mane frequently but almost never brushes my tail.  Instead, she sprays Show Sheen into it to keep it detangled.  Some people say that Show Sheen is drying but the benefits of keeping my tail tangle-free outweigh that problem.  No tangles and little brushing add up to a nice, full tail that I am very proud of.

For competitions, Stacy washes both my mane and my tail.  She uses a shampoo called "Quic-Black" on my tail to enhance the color.  Then she works Mane n' Tail conditioner into my tail and lets it sit while she washes another part of me.  Finally, she rinses it with cool water (this helps the hair shaft slick down and look shiny) and then sprays Show Sheen into the wet tail.  Finally, once it is completely dry, she does the only brushing that she ever does on my tail.  She then makes a straight cut across the bottom, braids my mane, and we are ready!

A nice tails shows off a nice hind end. (xpressfoto.com)

As for my Lifetime movie preferences, I don't want to hurt your friend's feelings but I don't really like Lifetime.  It is marketed toward female people and I'm male and a horse.  One time when I had insomnia in the winter, I was in my stall and turned on my TV and got sucked into a series of Lifetime movies.  I could not tell you the titles, though.  I was in a fog all the next day.

Stacy treats me very well, thank you.  I like the carrots that Stacy brings and how much fussing she does.  She scratches my itches and I don't mind the kisses too much.  She understands my needs very well, for the most part.   I get a little bit frustrated when she goes away on trips, either for work or to visit her family up in New England, which seem to happen every few months.  I really prefer to have regular work and consistent attention.  But she leaves me with Amy, who runs a pretty tight ship.  Sometimes Amy even rides me, like today. Also, I keep telling Stacy that I do not like static electricity in the winter and she has not addressed that problem, but it is minor.  The shoes she has on me are OK, I guess-- they feel fine and I have never had a different kind except I remember that when I was very young I did not have any shoes at all.  I like the new food that we are eating, and my hock joints in my hind legs feel pretty good right now.  All in all I have everything I need. 

All my best,
Taco

Q. Dear Taco,
My mom says that she has a vicarious eventing life thanks to you and your mom.  I don’t know what “vicarious” means and I’m not really sure what “eventing” is, but since Destiny says eventing is really hard work, we’re both against it on principle.

So we think that maybe if my mom hears a lot about your eventing career she’ll not even THINK about making us do it.  I think my mom would like to know what your plans are for next season.  What events will you be going to?  Plans for clinics?  Another 3-day? Please tell her in great detail b/c Destiny and I want to keep her happy for obvious reasons.
 
I think you’re pretty hot, BTW. For a gelding, that is. ;-)

Your fan,
Maggie

A. Thanks for your kind compliments, Maggie.  I do my best to keep my appearance attractive, and it's nice to know that folks notice.
Vicarious simply means that she isn't doing the eventing herself but is instead experiencing the eventing through my participation.  It is nice to have her cheering Stacy and me on, I must say.  I do enjoy having fans.  But I will also say that I don't mind hard work at all.  If it involves running and jumping I just love it.  I guess you ladies will just have to be vicarious along with your mom.  As long as you are my fans, I think that's great.

As for our season, Stacy recently talked to Amy and the rest of the Panther Springs Farm riders and they made a schedule for 2011.  As I understand it, the first half of the year is to be a preparation for another Training Three Day.  As it stands this involves:
February  Combined test, dressage show, or clinic if possible
March 5-13 Aiken (March 12-13 Full Gallop Farm Horse Trials)
April 9-10 Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials
May 6-8 Poplar Place Farm/ Area III Championships
June 2-5 Indiana Training Three Day Event

After the T3D we will probably enjoy ourselves at some more events later in the summer:
September 2-4 Kentucky Classic
September 23-25  Poplar Place
Oct 21-23 MidSouth Team Challenge  (this is where we did the T3D this year but next season we want to be on a team!)

We will also add some clinics and dressage shows here and there.  You can be sure that Stacy or I will post them on the blog.  It will be fun!  I love eventing!

All my best,
Taco

T3D! Part 2

Thanks for your patience, Team Taco fans.  Here is the promised entry on what happened at the actual competition!

As you might recall, I left you in a little bit of suspense about whether or not I would stay on for hacking R&T and getting over to the steeplechase school.  I must admit that it was this question that worried me the most going in.  I imagined that Taco might get so excited about the other horses running around that he would jump in the air and chuck me on the ground.  Hey, I had to put my anxiety somewhere, right?  But on the other hand, I had to have some way of getting over to the very far end of the Kentucky Horse Park to meet Dorothy Crowell.

At first I had decided to hack over by myself, but then Kerry and Chase, some P3D competitors from Georgia, were heading out at about the same time we were.  So we decided to hack together.  And it turned out to be great!  After we had been out a few minutes Kerry thought that we should trot, and we did.  Chase is a little horse with a big stride, and Taco stayed pretty busy keeping up!  He was fresh but it was nothing I couldn't handle, and I arrived at the steeplechase school with a sense of triumph.

Taco scoping out the steeplechase field upon our arrival

The school itself had been a source of anxiety too.  To add to my trepidation, one of the riders in the previous group fell off just when I got there.  But I knew that if I just held on, I could ride as fast as Taco could run.  I asked Dorothy to encourage me to go faster should I need to, since I thought I might probably err on the side of going too slow.  And I was off!  First we did a 260-meter marked stretch, which we were supposed to do in 30 seconds.  We then proceeded immediately to a triple bar showjumping fence.  Taco and I did both quite respectably.  Yeah!!  Next, we got to practice accelerating from a standstill and jumping the first steeplechase fence on the actual course.  Here is what happened:



To quote Dorothy, woo hoo!

Then I did hack back to the barn, back along Phase A, all by myself.  As I was trotting along under the blue sky, amidst the fall foliage, through the park that only recently had held 700 of the top horses in the world, and on the back of the horse that I feel is the best one in the world, I thought about how unbelievably lucky I was.

The next morning was our dressage test.  Hoo boy, was it cold!  My numb fingers re-braided Taco (a slightly better job this time) and we tacked up and hacked over to the dressage complex.  Amy helped me warm up, making sure that I got the engine going at a hot enough temperature.  My dad and my stepmom Jennifer arrived while I warmed up, and then I headed down center line!  It was a respectable test.  My connecting half-halts were not as effective as they needed to be during the canter lengthenings and he tossed his head at the end of each one.  He broke from the canter in the corner after the right-lead lengthening.  My trot lengthenings were adequate but suffered from a similar inconsistency in the connection.  But he was forward and very obedient, and I was very pleased with him.  We scored a 36.4, which was good enough for 7th out of 34 starters.

Photo by xpressfoto.com

That afternoon, I went over Phases A-D thoroughly.  Amy walked me around Phase D (the regular cross-country phase) and we made a good plan.  Out of concern for the hardness of the ground, I decided to "ride" Roads and Tracks on the bike.  It took me a minute to figure out the route, but I eventually got my gates and kilometer markers figured out.  On the advice of my friend Jennifer Joyce, who is an old hand at this classic-format stuff, I got a second armband and put my little Phase A-C time chart into it.  I wrote my Phase D  markers underneath it on my arm with a sharpie, and then took off the extra armband in the ten-minute box.  It worked a charm!

The next morning I woke up with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.  This was it!  The day I have been preparing for for three years!  I was worried that I would screw up, but also excited and feeling like I was about to embark on a fun adventure.  And that is exactly what it was.

My whole Team Taco crew had met the night before and come up with a game plan for the day.  It consisted of Amy, Carol, Lauren, Dad, and Jennifer.  Although I only needed one person to send me off onto Phase A, and one person to be in the assistance area after Phase B, the whole crew was at each place, cheering me on and excited for me.  Lauren walked me out to the Phase A start, where the others met us.  And then I was off, making Taco trot as fast as he could!  He is not the world's fastest trotter, and he was spooking at all of the gate judge's cars, so we were slow meeting our first kilometer marker.  No matter, we put in a little canter along the way and it was easy to make the time.  He also perked up a good bit as we trotted alongside the steeplechase course and a horse raced by!

Phase A.  Photo by xpressfoto.com

Then it was steeplechase/ Phase B.  Oh, my.  I have never gone that fast on the back of a horse in my life.  But I was determined to make the time, and I did, with some to spare, even.  Once we got up to speed, I felt like everything went very still up on Taco's back, and we sort of skimmed along the ground.  He was very careful at each fence, setting himself up just as everyone said he would.  Wheeee!  What an exhilarating experience!  Lauren handed me a water bottle for a quick drink and then we were off on Phase C.

Steeplechase! Photo by xpressfoto.com

Phase C was supposed to contain some walking but Taco was really not too into that.  Dorothy had said that it was OK to trot if this happened, as long as the horses were not rudely running away with us.  Taco trotted along very happily and politely, so I let him.

In the ten-minute box.

My team was fabulous in the box!  Beth joined us, so that we had plenty of calm people to put cold water on and scrape it off.  Taco's vitals came right down and he jogged well.  Amy and I went over the course one last time.  before I knew it, we were off on Phase D again!  It was a great round.  Taco was forward and confident, and so was I.  He was also very, very rideable.  We made time easily and I went through the finish with a big smile on my face!  It really is true that doing Phases A, B and C before D make the last phase even more fun.

Photos by xpressfoto.com

With the help of my expert sponging-and-scraping team, Taco's temperature, pulse and respiration came down so fast that Dr. Duncan Peters asked me whether Taco had even worked that day.  We were released to the barns very quickly and I set about taking care of his legs. We had moved up one spot and ended the day in sixth place!

Later that afternoon, Dr. Peters had generously agreed to do an optional jog for T3D and P3D competitors.  I pulled Taco out and jogged him along our shedrow.  Uh oh.  He was a little uneven. But he jogged better the second time, so I thought he might be stiff from standing in his stall for a while.  I went over to Dr. Peters to get his expert opinion.

Waiting for our turn to see the vet

Dr. Peters suggested icing his hocks and light, gentle exercise.  Because it was a national competition, Taco was also allowed to have a gram of bute that evening and then 12 hours later.  The next morning, I iced again, and then showed him to Dr. Peters again, who was cautiously optimistic that continued gentle movement would loosen Taco up.  Since my efforts seemed to be helping, and Taco felt fine during a light ride, I decided to present him at the jog.  However, the ground jury sent us to the holding area, where the treating veterinarian palpated his hind end and found it to be quite sore.  The hard ground of the day before had, it appeared, taken a considerable toll on his hock joints and he was also quite muscle sore as a result.  At that point, I made the difficult decision to withdraw him from the competition.  Even if more exercise has been able to loosen him up enough to satisfy the ground jury, I hated to jump him when his hock joints and hindquarter muscles were making him uncomfortable.

So we drove home.  I cannot say how very proud I am of my horse and my team, and so very grateful that I had this opportunity to participate in this wonderful event!  I got much more confident riding Taco in the open, more confident at speed, and more confident on cross country.  I learned how to prepare for a jog, and how to take care of Taco better afterward.  And I learned more about how to keep him sound and comfortable for our next T3D.  We have an improved game plan for keeping his joints and muscles happier through the training and competition season next year.  Indiana Eventing Association T3D is in June 2011, and I plan to be there!

Team Taco Leaves Aiken via Full Gallop

We're all home again in Nashville.  I am just now blogging last weekend's event because Taco and I were on the road for much of yesterday and today was a long day at work.  But now I can reflect on our first outing of 2010.

Our dressage was on Saturday, fairly early.  We warmed up *fantastic* and then got in the ring and... I got tense.  I am glad that, in my tension I thought Forward instead of shutting him down, but I dropped the connection and as a result he was uneven in the bridle.  Then in the lengthening he broke to the canter.  So I need to keep practicing my half-halts and balancing.  The score was 37.3, tied for 4th.

Both showjumping and cross country were on Sunday afternoon, back to back.  It took some effort for me to get Taco rolling in the warmup and develop that positive canter that he jumps so well out of.  But Amy kept after me and eventually I did it.  I went into the arena and Taco was fabulous.  I was OK-- I rode well to some things and not so well to others.  I gunned him into the two combinations (a two-stride and a one-stride) a little bit, and did not have enough canter for one oxer, but I rode a good track and I was able to tell when I was riding supportively (energy, line, balance!) and when he had to step up and help me.  We added one time penalty to our score.

Then it was off to wait for my XC time.  I walked around for a few minutes and then jumped a couple of last fences before heading out of the box.  Taco was thrilled!  He did one of those sproings!! out of the start box and we were over the first fence before I knew it.  He flew over everything I pointed him at, including the corner after a turn in the woods where I could have had him between my aids better and given him a better warning about what was coming.  The course was very nice and had quite a few jump-into-space fences, so I was glad we schooled those at Jumping Branch during the week.  I also did my first double banks up! I felt myself jump ahead at a few fences, but most of the time I felt like we were a team working together. Taco's fitness seemed great and he was barely breathing when we got off the course.

We finished on a 38.3 which put us in 5th place.  It was a good first run, and now I have more information on what I need to practice.  Waiting to my jumps (yes, again), and a solid connection between my aids in all three phases.

Here are the Hoofclix photos of the weekend. Any votes on ones to buy?

And here is Carol's video.  Unfortunately she did not get showjumping (technical problem) but she did get some of the warmup.  You can see that I did not ride perfectly... but Taco was perfect!




Since Amy did not ride until late on Sunday (Baby Flo was 6th in her division!), we made a stop at Lynda's Run For It Farm in Covington, GA.  It was fun to catch up, if only for a quick moment.  Lynda's Jack Russel Arlo got to meet Amy's beagle Supah Tex.  Arlo was a little bit more enthusiastic than Supah, I must say.  The horses and people slept very well tucked into their comfy stalls/beds.   Then it was on the road again, through Atlanta and Huntsville.  We finally arrived back at Panther Springs in the late afternoon yesterday.  Taco took off as soon as I let him go in his field.  I feel the same way.  It's good to be home again.

2009 Retrospective

Well, it snowed.  A lot for Nashville-- I read somewhere that we haven't seen this much snow since 1996!  Taco was used to it from his Michigan days, of course.  Still, he looks a little annoyed here, in this picture that Amy took yesterday:

Our street has not even seen a plow yet, and the city seems to have ground to a halt.  It seems unlikely that I will be able to visit with my Handsome Guy today.  However, it is always fun to relive some memories.  So I've copied and pasted some of my competition notes from 2009.  Here is my USEA online competition record (you can click on "Cat Burglar" to get earlier shows he and Annika did), but the stories behind the numbers are so much more interesting!

Our first show last year was Jumping Branch in Aiken, SC, which was a fabulous experience for both of us (link to video).  Then Taco was hurt for a few weeks with a bruised hoof and a new cut on his left hind's scar (both caused by a sprung shoe that I should have prevented, ay yi yi).  But he recovered and we went on to May Daze,  where I rode a mediocre dressage test and showjumping round and we smoked the cross country (link to video).  Then Champagne Run was next.  It was my first win ever at a recognized Horse Trials.  Here is what I wrote right afterward, with pictures.

Taco and I had a great show at Champagne Run. He is a truly lovely horse.

In dressage Jim Graham was our judge, and he gave me the familiar comment that I need to energize his hind end more. Also I let his poll get a little low. But a respectable 34.7, tied for 4th.

Then XC he just came out ready to roll! Actually, it was a little interesting getting to the warmup because we had to go up the steeplechase track and something Very Scary was blowing around on the fenceline. I was a little worried that he would explode in warmup but he got better and better as I jumped some fences. Amy was there and encouraged me to create more energy when I wanted to be a little tentative. We left the start box just cicking along and he was really looking for the next fence after we did each one. I loved the two brush fences on course-- practice for steeple chase! He was a little exuberant off the drop and I had to regroup some, but we had lots of room to get down the hill to the logs before the water (see below pic) and splash through (link to video). Double clear and we moved up to second.

Then in showjumping I got him more forward, as I have been working on. He stepped up and helped me in a couple of places and I did my best to help him do his job.

 Double clear, and it turned out that we had moved up to first! It is my first time winning a recognized H.T. so that is kind of nifty. I won a Moxie saddle pad and a director's chair. Yay blue ribbons and swag!

 

We did it, Taco!

 We had a couple of good events later in the summer, too.  I took him to Penny Oaks in Indiana in early August.  I had improved the energy in the dressage but lost some of the steadiness and consistency (link to video).  Our jumping was awesome-- a blast on cross country and a solid showjumping round.  I was especially proud because Amy could not be there to coach and I did it all on my own!

Then we went to Kentucky Classique and had our best dressage score to date, a 26.3.  What made a difference was a bit of unorthodox but effective advice from Amy: "trot as fast as you can!"  By golly it worked.  He was swinging through the back and steady and wonderful (link to video).  We cruised around the cross country-- the biggest and most complex I had done yet, I think (link to video).  In showjumping I was pretty nervous, and he saved my @$$ a couple of times (link to video).  What are friends for?  We finished on our dressage score, which was good enough for first place.  This was also the Chronicle of the Horse Central US Adult Team Challenge, and our team came third (that's what the big yellow sash is for).

 

This photo, taken by Carol, is featured on the USEA Adult Riders page!

KY Classique was the perfect prep for Jump Start, my first Training level event ever.  We had worked up to schooling some Training level jumps over the summer, as in this video from August at Percy Warner Park here in Nashville.





Now it was time to see if our preparation had paid off!  To say I was nervous is a bit of an understatement.  But I knew I was on the best horse in the world.  So off we went!  Here is what I wrote afterward:

This past weekend (Sept 26-27) was my first Training Level event! Taco the Wonder Horse and I went to the Kentucky Horse Park for Jump Start Horse Trials. Training level is the level that has jumps 1 meter/ 3'3" high.

I was quite miserable on Saturday morning, a bundle of nerves, rain pouring down and a huge puddle in front of our stalls, Carol not there yet (she arrived later in the morning), and having walked what looked like a huge stadium course the night before. Taco was his usual easy show self as I braided him and got myself together. We did dressage around noon and went down to the complete mud pit of the dressage warmup, where he did not bat an eye at the other horses splashing and cavorting around him. Amy helped me with some turns and transitions (we got a couple of killer lengthenings!) and then it was into the arena. Right after the judge blew the whistle, he must have seen something on the road because his tail went *over his back* and he started to prance. He was still prancing a little when we went down center line and we think it helped his trot wrok, which was quite nice! 31.6 which we thought was quite respectable for a first Training test (link to video). Our lengthenings were not as good as in warmup, of course. But we will work on them and on keeping his poll up in the canter work.

Showjumping was what I was the most worried about. I have had trouble all season developing an energetic canter inside the arena, and the jumps looked so big in there! But I kept telling myself that Taco would find them easy, especially if I got him to them with enough energy and in a good balance. We warmed up great and went on in. And I survived! After letting him get crooked to the first fence, I had trouble getting my lead to the second, then had a nice big jump over the third (a maximum oxer) that landed us a little too far inside a two-stride line. Oh well-- he fixed it for me (good boy Taco!). At the next two fences, both oxers, I started to let him get flat, and he tried hard but we knocked a rail off the second. Then I ran around the next few fences with him in a bit of a flat canter and getting a few chips as he compensated for me (thank you Taco! sorry Taco!). We jumped the last, a triple bar, very nicely and I was done! Coach Amy was very constructive with her comments, noting that I was forward enough but then needed to harness that energy into a springier, not longer, canter. I was so happy with Taco and thrilled that the fences seemed easy for him, despite my mistakes (link to video).

Cross country (link to video ) was just fantastic. The rain had let up during Saturday afternoon, but there was more rain overnight. Still, the turf at the KY Horse Park had been able to absorb an amazing about of water and the ground seemed fine. A few fences with bad footing were taken off the course and warmup (thankfully) was moved from a mud wallow near the start box to one of the arenas. I was nervous, but felt ready and excited about the challenge. My biggest worry was the fence crossings and trying not to fall down. Taco seemed to know that I was especially excited and when it was time he leapt from the start box and over the first fence before I had a chance to take a breath, it seems! Then, running along between the first and second fences, a grin broke out on my face. He was just sailing over things-- he took an amazing leap over a max table, did not even look at the trakehner that had been causing some problems, and was full of enthusiasm. He was just like a Border Collie: " where to next? This one? OK! " We came in with a clean round and about 30 seconds over time. I was thrilled with how wonderful Taco was and I had really enjoyed myself. I wished I had pushed for time a little bit more, because Taco was still full of running at the end, and I think I never got going fast enough again after trotting through the especially icky spot in the fenceline that I was the most worried about. But that all will come! We came in 7th in a division of 20-25 people. And we got a qualifying score for the Training Level Three Day, our goal for 2010!

We go to Middle TN PC in two weeks, which will be our last event of the year. And what a year it has been. Taco is the best!

 Then Middle TN, where we finished on our dressage score of 27.0 (link to video). This is an excerpt from an email I wrote to Annika afterward:

I think this was my best XC yet and the most difficult course I have ever done.  I had never asked him to go faster before today, and he was very willing to do so!  We came in just a few seconds under optimum.  I did my first angle combination, my first coffin with terrain (ditch at the bottom of a dip)(link to video), my first bank up-bank-down-2 strides- house combination, and my first time jumping into and out of water with a log two strides after.  We flew over all of these, plus the fly fences, trakehner, etc..  Then when he was done and I washed him off he just stood with the look of eagles and surveyed his domain.  We are now joking that we are "King Taco" and "Countess Curwood" (because I count audibly to all of my jumps).

I also had a great SJ round-- even Amy was happy with it!  It just flowed and felt easy.  We were in perfect sync (link to video).

Shannon Brinkman got some great pics, and I spent way too much money ordering some....

 

 

I drove him home and led him into his field and told him "well done" and he acknowledged me with "thank you kindly, it was no problem." Then I slipped his halter off and he trotted away like he hadn't done a thing today.

Weekends like this one don't come very often... I am savoring it and feeling that life is good.

Our score was good enough for first place. That qualifies us for Area III Championships, and with one more clear round cross country, we will be qualified for the 2010 American Eventing Championships.

It's hard to top a year like that, but I am excited to begin the 2010 season... which will start at Full Gallop Farm in Aiken March 12-14.  I sent the entry this week!

And, just to show we do have fun besides prepping and doing competitions, here's a video from one of our grooming sessions last summer.



Stay warm everybody!