change the plan, never the goal

This pretty much sums things up this fall.

All season, my daughter had the goal of entering her first 50 mile endurance ride at Oktoberfest. Horse injury, kid injury, truck troubles... you name it, it happened.

Was this the universe telling us to stay home? Hell no! 

This was the universe asking us how bad we wanted it. How creative can you be in adjusting the plan while keeping your eye on the prize? 

It's not about the obstacles, but about moving through and around them with grace... and with a little help from our friends :)

And besides, according to my wise daughter, the best part of her first endurance ride was knowing that when things get tough but you keep going, you will feel good about yourself at the end.

On our way to a successful 50 mile completion! photo: Wendy Webb

On the way home, the starter on truck quit at the Trenton On Route. Rob, our Knight in Shining Armour to the rescue !

Luba had a slight right front lameness at Oktoberfest. I gave her a few days off and she seemed fine.  Fine, until she suddenly started quidding when I fed her supper about 10 days after the endurance ride.

Dr. Sleeth of Dundas Veterinary Services came out the next day and found a slab fracture on the inside of the 3rd molar on the bottom right and a razor sharp piece of tooth slicing her tongue. In fact, the tooth already had a slab fracture on the outside, as did the corresponding tooth on the left side. This kind of bi-lateral fracture suggested some kind of developmental abnormality in those teeth.

X-rays confirmed that the root of the tooth on the bottom right was not healthy and the tooth should be pulled before causing more problems. Not to mention that it was more than likely the source of chronic pain and maybe the mystery lameness.

Because the tooth crown already had two slab fractures, there was a chance that it would break during oral extraction, and despite our best efforts, that is what happened. Change the plan, but not the goal of removing the bad tooth. So the tooth was repulsed surgically from the bottom of her jaw on a second visit. 

Equine dentistry is not for the faint of heart. (Read more about it here). But I am grateful that we discovered the troublesome tooth, and grateful to everyone who helped Luba get rid of it.

The vet comes out in a couple of weeks to check on Luba and in the meantime, she is out in the paddock wearing her pyjamas as she convalesces.




An aspiring Olympian was at my daughter's school this week, talking about overcoming an injury in pursuit of her goal to compete for Canada at the next summer games.  My wise daughter told me that I should just think of Luba's tooth extraction as obstacle that we have to overcome, and that there will be other obstacles to challenge us in the future. 

But that this should not get in the way of our ultimate goal of becoming a Decade Team. 

Change the plan, but never the goal.

Charles Schultz's rendering of my life coach, who is currently in grade 6.