After returning from a four-day clinic at C Lazy U, where I was teaching horseback for 5-6 hours a day, I am quite happy with the health and performance of my horses. Dually stayed fresh and cocky all weekend long, which thrills me to no end. After almost two years of him feeling cranky and depressed (so bad that I stopped riding him for 18 months), it’s incredible to feel his abundant energy underneath me and to see him showing off and strutting his stuff. At 17 years old, he outworked my younger horses, both in endurance and performance. It’s amazing what modern veterinary medicine can do for older horses and while these cutting-edge treatments are not available to every horse yet, some day they will be, and I am eternally grateful to my vet for giving me my horse back.

Annie also made me proud at C Lazy U. She worked hard at keeping her head in the game and living up to my very high expectations of her (I expect her to act like a gelding, which is hard for a busy-minded mare). She required an occasional reminder not to look around and not to get worked up about all the other horses, but she came back to me quickly each time her focus wandered. I told you last month about the genetic testing I had done on Annie and the interesting results I received with the double curiosity markers, and as  result of your interest, the company, Etalon Diagnostics Etalondx.com contacted me to invite me to be part of their advisory board. So thank you! I’m truly excited to learn more about their research.

My boy Eddie, now Rich’s main ride, also performed well at C Lazy U, switching back and forth between my arena and the herd work that Rich was supervising. It’s a lot of work to keep my horses going at the training and fitness level I need from them, but after a fantastic weekend on the road, that hard work seems to have paid off!