This Is For Friday!

Hi everyone! I was really tired and having trouble with the internet last night so I wasn't able to post anything.

Yesterday went well. In the morning we had Anatomy and we continued to go over the information again and again... I think the more times I go over it the better off I am!

In the afternoon we went to one of the Ranch's and had our first Movement Class, this was very interesting. We basically watched horses move and then discussed what we saw and what we would do to help them improve. At first I was having trouble picking up on the suttle things, but by the end I was more able to grasp the concept and was "seeing" a little better!

We had a Tornado warning yesterday from mid-day until 7pm, we didn't even get rain this time! I suppose that this is a good thing... seeing all of the wreckage up North, I would not want to be a part of that!

Have a great weekend everyone, this is the USA Memorial Day long weekend so we get Monday off... and then we have to go to school next Saturday!!!

Almost there! Half way done!

I miss you all,

Ciao Bella

Love Sara

Tornado Thurdsay!

Hi everyone! Today was quite eventful here in Colorado! Business, Business, Business and Oh... a little thing called a TORNADO! Don't worry we are all O.K.

We were in the classroom today!! And than god for that! We had Rain and Hail and Sun and Wind... you name it!

We worked in groups most of the day discussing competitor analysis' and ways to approach different groups of horse people (western, jumping, dressage...)

It was a really long day for me, but all was good, I learned a lot!

Tomorrow we have Anatomy in the morning and then our first movement class in the afternoon at one of the ranch's.

I am in hopes that this will start to solidify all of the information we have learned so far in the course.

Love you all, have a great night, I will take some pics tomorrow in the afternoon hopefully!

Ciao Bella

Love Sara XXO

An Eye Opener...

Today was a very intersting day... to say the least! We were at Brian's all day (the Farrier). This morning we started talking about feet again, hence being in a "Hoof Care" class!!! We talked about the philosophy of foot shoeing and more about the T-Square (an apparatus to help the Farrier shoe the horse). The only forseeable problem with the T-Square is that it can really only be used on a foot with perfect or near perfect conformation... and how many of those do you see every day??

We learned how the Farrier can't "fix" conformation faults, only improve the way of going within that fault -- which I had learned before so it was nice to be able to solidify the fragments I have been given over the years!

This afternoon we got to fiddle with feet and see Brian trim a foot and actually MAKE a horse shoe!!! This was really cool!!! The catch to the whole thing was that the feet were not "attached" to a body, per say...

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Yes, at first it was really weird when Brian lifted the tarp and all of those feet were just laying there, but in the end it was ok!

Here is Brian measuring the foot to see how large to make the shoe.

Below is Brian making the shoe!

After making the shoe you have to fit it to the foot:

We got to "tear" apart one of the hooves to see inside, this was really neat. In the picture the red part is the blood of the inner hoof, with the bottom sole of the foot taken off! The little ridges in the blood portion are the Lamina -- an essential part of the horses ability to stand and bear weight.

There are Sensitive and Non-Sensitive Lamina within the foot, the non-sensitive is the part just on the inside of the white line at the wall of the hoof (inside), and the part more inside to that (in the picture of the actual leg) is the sensitive Lamina. The importance of the Lamina is that this is what "attaches" the bones of the horses leg/hoof to the wall of the hoof.

When a horse develops what we call "Laminitis" and when they "Founder" -- which is a really bad, generic name to use -- this Lamina separates and rips away from the hoof wall and the Coffin Bone (the most proximal -- bottom -- bone in the horses leg) begins to tilt downward at the front of the hoof because the Flexor Tendon on the back of the leg attaches into the Coffin Bone and pulls it up. The Lamina is like the opposing force of the Flexor Tendon, when it is not working correctly the Tendon takes over.

We also got to watch Brian disect the lower leg to see the tendons that run down the leg and to see how all of the structures are attached together. This part was cool as well! We got all the way down through the "sesamoid" bones (on the back of the fetlock) to the coffin bone on the inside of the hoof!

Last thing today we went and lunged 2 of Brian's horses to look at their foot wear patterns and conformation. This was really neat but the sun was really bright so I put my sunglasses on and had worn glasses all that day so I didn't have any contacts in and it was really hard to see what was happening!! I managed though!

I think that my favorite thing today was watching Brian make that shoe, this was really amazing! To see that this little piece of metal can become a shoe is really remarkeable!

Thanks Brian for a great day and a half!

Well, I think that this made for a pretty good "hump" day! Over half done my 4th week! I can't believe that it is all going so fast!

Tomorrow we have Business Class all day and the weather is supposed to be cooler so this should be good!

Have a great night everyone, there were some people who wanted to hear more about what I am doing in class... so there it is!!! Hopefully none of you will be puking or your computers tonight!!!

Ciao Bella

Love Sara XXO

I learned naughty words today!!!!

So I think that everyone's blogs this evening will contain a little bit of "Cat!"

This morning we started off gathering at a barn up north before we went up onto the fields to work on the polo horses and Sara was asking us how we liked the Hoof Care Class yesterday!

We all said that it was really good... then Cat proceeded to enlighten all of us about another one of those CRAZY Australian phrases:

FIGJAM aka. Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me!!!!

I don't think we have burst our laughing that much as a class in the whole 3 1/2ish weeks we have been here!!! Thanks again Cat for another good morning laugh!!!

After we all dried our panties and picked ourselves up off the ground we headed off to the horses!

When we FINALLY got there... it was kind of a "road trip" to say the least... this was a very interesting morning!

We all went into the field and the horses were standing in a cluster on the other side of the field... we were all trying to decide weather or not we were going to be able to catch the horses without them running away. It was like a scene from a movie when they all came galloping up to us!

The horse I worked on first today was really gentle. In the beginning we had trouble getting together, she wasn't sure what I was trying to do and she was very concerned with the flies... she kept twitching at me like I was a fly! After a few minutes I was able to get her to calm and she was really soaking up the love and attention (as well as the massage of course!). She was a really well put together horse and we got along really well once she understood my intentions. When I worked on her neck she was very willing and accepting to what I was doing. I really enjoyed myself...

I think I am the luckiest person on earth (well, along with all of my classmates...)! My office is a large pasture with sun and grass and horses... how could it get any better than that!! I think I will somehow have to convince my human clients that it really is better outside!!! Maybe I will have to move my massage table outside...

I don't know that they would have the same thrill as me!

This is my class working!!! How amazing is that!

Today I was really excited because I finally started to feel really comfortable with the Psoas release/work in the hind end. Both horses I worked on really liked the work and I found that I was able to read what the horse was going to do and either go with them when they moved or release my hand so I wouldn't get kicked.

The second horse in particular... he was a really big (chubby) well put together, Sara and I think Morgan, horse. He was, as I called him in class - a Psoas Whore!!! He loved that part of the massage so much that when I would bring my hand/arm up between his legs he would step out right wide for me and just soak it all in! He was really fun to work on! Sorry, no pics of him...

Tonight Chelsea made us Pizza for dinner while I went and picked up some things at Safeway... oh my... we sound like an old married couple!!!!! Love you Kyle!!!!hehe

I had quite a bit of Anatomy homework this evening, but I think that I have finished it all now and that I am all caught up! Now all I have to finish is the stuff for Rick's class... a slow but steady process!

Have a great evening everyone... Love you all bunches. Thanks for all the letters, emails and everything!

TTYL

Ciao Bella

Sara XXO

Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!

This morning we went to our first Hoof Care Class, this was very interesting and our teacher is one of the smartest horse people I have ever met... that seems to be becoming a theme here!

Our class went really fast and I was able to apply some of the things I have learned about previously into what I am learning now... I am really lucky to have been able to have this much experience (already) in my life, and I think that I am able to pull from all that I have learned and apply it to what I am learning now!!! I am very lucky, I also think this helps me to understand things a little better... if I was having to hear all of these "new" words and language and concepts and phrases for the first time, I think I would be up the creek... and of course... no paddle! My classmates are amazing me how well they are all doing!

This afternoon we went to the anatomy lab and this was very interesting, I quite enjoyed myself... although I was more worried about being locked in the freezer/fridge than anything else... if I hadn'e been so worried about the door, I might have discovered that there was another horse in the back portion of the room... instead I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked in there... I think I will be kicking myself for a long time about that one!

It amazed me how there were so many animals... stacks and stacks of bones and "parts- heads, intestines, etc." It was a very differentexperience from that of the human lab I went to for massage college, everything there was so formal and today it was very casual... I guess that is the difference between human remains and animal remains.

I almost felt more remorse for the animals today than I did for the humans... I know that this may sound weird, I had trouble detaching myself from them... I suppose it was different that everything was formal in the human lab.

All in all, I had a really good day today.

Sorry no pics... no cameras in the anatomy lab!

Ciao Bella

Amazing Mexicano Din Din!

The weather today was beautiful here! This morning I woke early because the bedroom was very hot; so I went out and "tanned" on the deck for about 30 minutes and then it was time to get crackin on some studying.

Last evening I was having trouble sleeping and decided to write some more of my assignment for Rick's class, it is turning out really good... I think!

After filling my brain with much needed knowledge it was off to the pool to sunbathe in the afternoon, the pool is not heated, but it was nice to be able to get in and cool off... and I got right in, mom would me proud of me!

This evening Chelsea, Cat and I went for dinner at a little mexican restaurant called El Pueblito - it is just down the road from our apartment, and man can I pick a restaurant... if I do say so myself! We all enjoyed our dinner and we would all go back in a second, it was that good!

We all had leftovers and brought them home... Cat brought hers home to feed to Gary (he is our rabbit...). Gerry is wild, but he hangs out around our building and he is really cute! (we think of him as our mascot!)

When we got home we were all a little giddy and before Chelsea and I hopped over to safeway for some Toilet Paper the three of us had a giggle war! We all get along so great!

On the way to Safeway there was a really weird lady on the side of the road, at the light... on the way back she started to walk across the intersection (which is usually alright...) when the light was GREEN!!! Then she proceeded to yell some random things to us from the other curb... weird!

The common room was rented out this evening, so we were not able to watch Desperate Housewives this evening... we will have to watch it tomorrow night on the web!

Tomorrow we are starting a new class, it is a hoof care class with a farrier.. I am kind of REALLY excited! But I think that I am more excited about the afernoon... we are going to an anatomy lab and we get to see horses and lions and cows and such!!! I am really excited to see how everything works... I know that it really solidified my human massage training to be able to go to the cadaver lab, so this should tie up any loose ends and such!

Have a great day off tomorrow everyone! We are slaving a way at school... as usual! But, we get next Monday off for Memorial Day... I can work on my Tan!!!

Ciao Bella

Love Sara XXO

PS. Love you mom, dad, and Ky! Miss you all... including my friends and animals! See you soon!