What's Up Wednesday

 

We didn't get up to too much last week because we had some oppressive heat and humidity. Thankfully the worst of it was Monday and Tuesday. They usually get Monday off anyway, but this week I also gave them Tuesday off. Wednesday was still pretty rough, but I got on and tack walked everyone. We also did a lap of trot each way. Just to make sure the parts were all in working order. 

But Thursday? Thursday it was time to get back to work! Of course, because of my terrible timing, the neighbor on the other side of the bad dude next door was having tree work done. They were kind of enough to give me a heads up, but like an hour before they started. So not long enough to avoid it. It took them four days to get it all done over there, so life was a little challenging at the farm. Shiny could care less, Eros had feelings but dealt with them (because he's perfect), and Al... well we already know about Al's inability to handle tree work. 

Shiny and Eros got their work done well enough despite the noises. But Al was less successful. I wound up just lunging him Thursday and doing lots and lots of transitions. He's an interesting horse because he can be fully unhinged, and yet the small part of his brain that is listening to me is on it. Like he was all over the place with his attention, definitely not focused on me, but he was right there for every transition I asked for. Yet in between there was plenty of spooking. Such an odd horse. 

I wound up not jumping anyone last week. We just plugged along with flatwork. It's what they all need more of anyway right? Unfortunately when I pulled Al out on Friday to ride he had some swelling in his left front that worried me a little. It was minor, but over the tendon, and I just felt like I should be careful with it. So we tack walked through the weekend and iced it. By Monday it looked completely fine, and after working on Tuesday it still was totally fine. So he must have just hit himself or something. Probably while he was coming undone over the trees. Glad he's fine, that's a big relief! But honestly, this horse needs to get to work. Enough tack walking! But also, enough with the entire neighborhood doing tree work amiright?!

The tree guys finished up on Monday, so Tuesday we really did get back work this week. EVERYONE did. Eros did a workout with his Equibands. He was not thrilled, but he worked hard, and did great. Shiny actually went forward and lifted her little belly. It was great. I was so happy with both of them!

And then there's this one:

He's real cute though, yes? That's his saving grace. Man, he was terrible yesterday. Fully unhinged. But I just kept trying. As patiently as I could. It was a terrible ride. I couldn't successfully use the whole ring. I'm not sure I successfully used much of any of the ring. But we kept at it. Lots of transitions and circles. Did we avoid the terrifying side? Sure did! Because honestly he was spooking everywhere at everything, and I needed to try and do what I could in the least scary areas. Sometimes you choose your battles. I didn't really expect him to come out and be good after several days of scary tree noises and even more days of just tack walking. So I was emotionally prepared for the bad ride. Somewhat. I still wanted to cry in frustration the entire ride, but any good horse woman knows, you can cry and canter at the same time! I mean, I didn't cry... But man it was close. I barely cantered either, but we DID. At least a little bit. I was again perplexed by his ability to perform lovely transitions while simultaneously only giving me 15% of his attention. 

I didn't have a ton of time today but I was determined to get a jump school in with whoever chose to cooperate for that. Thankfully, they sort of all did. I started with Shiny because she can do the most at the moment and she's a real confidence builder for me. (The real MVP!) Of course she started out being lazy as she does. I swear she loves to make me pick a fight with her. I finally did as she goaded me into and gave her a good whack with mr tappy. She had thoughts, but then finally decided to engage herself and gallop forward.

The feelings.

She's so easy to ride when she's going forward. Like you can't really find a bad distance if you have a good canter. But convincing her to canter like that takes some cajoling! She was great though. I really appreciate her. 

I did Al second. I might have preferred to do Eros in that spot, but I knew I'd be rushing at the end of the day, and I could do some of the end of day stuff while Eros was icing, so it made more sense to do him last. I took apart the ducky jump and made a line of trot poles for Al in its place. I had them raised because he really does need to do more of that for his hitchy patella. I figured we could meet them during our pre ride hand walk. He acted like he'd never seen such a thing in his life. (He has. Many, many times.) I think the issue was with where they were and not what they were. Anyway, he did follow me through them, but hulk smashed his way through each time requiring multiple resets. And a few stepped on ducks. Thankfully the ducks bounced right back. Anyway, eventually I decided to just keep the poles on the ground for today. I'm all for minimizing danger. 

Once on, he did his dragon panic breathing the first times through but eventually walked through them nicely. Trying to get him to trot through them was... a slow and steady process. He also had to poop which wasn't helping matters. Finally he actually did poop and then things got easier. Somewhat. We're still having massive drama about the one side of ring. But he wasn't as unhinged about the rest of it today, so I'll call that a win. I even gathered up my lady balls and aimed him at some tiny jumps. I'm not going to lie, I picked the ones not aimed directly at the death side. Minimizing risk! That's my jam. Anyway, he wasn't great, but he tried. And that's really all I want from him. He did nearly get me off at one point.

That was a close one!

I must have grabbed his face because he did this little rear.
NAUGHTY!

But then we carried on and finished our ride.

I honestly don't think I'm getting anywhere with this horse. But I also think if I can just be a little braver we can still do the things I want to do, even if he is unhinged. I wish they had a brave shot. I could really use one of those. We're having another lesson on Saturday so maybe with someone on the ground things will come together a little more. I'm just going to take Dory's advice and just keep swimming!

Saving Eros for last was actually the best plan because there's no surprises. He might torpedo after the jumps, but he's not going to try and drop me. He won't stop at the jumps. He just does the thing. Sometimes too fast, or he pulls hard, or whatever. But he's pretty perfect otherwise. Safe. Reliable. FUN! And he did most all of that today. Haha! I love him so much.

The little ears...

pinging over this lil' oxer

practically perfect in every way

With a wee little torpedo at the end for good measure
Haha! Silly boy.

We have lots coming up the rest of the week and weekend. Tomorrow the body worker is finally coming! We haven't seen her since November, so we're LONG overdo for that. Friday Shiny's kiddo is coming to ride. We're VERY excited for that. And at some point the farrier is hopefully coming because we're at six weeks which is about a week too long for these hoof growers. And Saturday is Al's lesson. Lots to look forward to! 

Do you all have any big fun plans for the weekend? 

Truthful Tuesday

I'm like the queen of bad timing. I've had more amazing opportunities that just never really panned out because the timing was wrong. I think that's a lot of my trouble with Al. If I had found him a few years earlier while my trainer was still well, I think we'd have been a force. But alas, the timing. And instead we're here. But it's not just horses!

I've been struggling a little bit the last few weeks months, and kind of just assumed it was the perimenopause. Or my age. Or maybe I was a little depressed? But as I was marinating in all my feelings and frustrations the other day I realized I've felt all of this before. And back then it turned out to be my autoimmune stuff. I have Hashimotos which is the easiest autoimmune disorder you can be afflicted with. If you have to have one, you want this one. It's generally very well controlled and for the most part the worst of it is fatigue. But sometimes the little symptoms kind of sneak up on you until you're feeling all of them at once and that's a little harder to keep pushing through. 

My current complaints are fatigue, weight gain, and feeling down. And when I realized what this is probably from I reached out to my doctor. But here's where the bad timing comes in. Doc is away this week. Of course he is. (Bad timing is my thing after all.) I mean it's fine, what's one more week of the blahs right? But the frustrating part is the NP that was answering his messages was so dismissive. She looked at my last labs and said my numbers looked good and asked if I'm taking the medication properly. Come on lady, I've been dealing with this for ten years now. I know how to take the meds. Sometimes the numbers can be in range technically, but the symptoms don't lie, and a little med tweak can patch me right up. All she needed to say was that she'd pass along the message. Talking at me like I'm incompetent was not helpful. Sigh. I'll just chalk it up to the bad timing. And I'm probably just irritable cause you know... Hashimotos. 

I feel like I've been whining a lot on the blog lately. My apologies. Thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully doc will be back soon and I'll be back to a happier weird horse lady. 

Thursday's Threads: Avocado edition

 

Outfit Day! I really wanted to use a ridiculous brow band this week so I decided to do the avocado outfit this week. I was originally planning to have Al model, but the neighbor two doors over was having tree work done so Al enjoyed a lunge session today rather than a ride and didn't wear his outfit. Fortunately, Shiny stepped up to model. She was the model the last time we did this outfit too... Guess I should have picked Eros instead. Oh well. Shiny is adorable in her avocados anyway. Here's what she had on:

Last year we did a bonnet too, but this year I didn't pull it out because it's been so hot. Jokes on me though, today never got above 68 degrees. It was cold!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Homemade by me

The avocado beads crack me up. I mean, look at them! Haha! 

Boots: Premier Equine, embellished by me

Interchangeable boots are probably my favorite thing I've ever come up.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Lettia

Half Pad: Le Mieux

Guys, I really want to get her a new saddle. Any idea what organs I can sell to get that moving along faster? Saddle aside, she looks so cute with a pink pad!

That's what Shiny wore today and here's what I had on:

Full disclosure, I had to add a jacket. It really can't go from a feels like of 110 to a feels like of 65 in less than 24 hours. It's not right!

Helmet: One K

I chose the brown helmet because I think it looks like the avocado pit. Heehee!

Tee shirt: Old Navy

I know. It's brave to wear white in the barn. But since I ended up wearing a jacket most of the day, it has survived for another wearing!

Belt: C4

I'm not sure if it's coincidental that C4 and Lettia both thought avocados look great with pink, but I'm glad they did because it really ties my outfit together with Shiny's.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Guess what they call this color! Go ahead, guess... It's AVOCADO! I also wear them with neon outfits because they are useful for that purpose as well.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

I actually had socks that matched the belt at one point, but they were the OG version of D&S socks and I didn't love that material. But I was pretty excited when this design came out! I love that his cape is the peel. 

Boots: Celeris UK

Had to pick the pink boots today. The purple doesn't really tie in anywhere, but whatever, they're still fun and definitely work with the outfit.

That's it for today! Any favorite parts? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

This week was MUCH quieter and less exciting than last. I already told you guys about the talk with the animal communicator which was on Friday. I can't say that it's helped us with any major breakthrough... Al was still kind of a nutter all week. OH! One thing I forgot to mention about our conversation. When I first asked how I can help Al to be less anxious, after he said he didn't understand the question, the communicator asked if we were riding indoors. Because he was telling her how much he dislikes that. Which is a little creepy cause ya know, he HATES riding inside. Hence why despite my skepticism I do feel like maybe there's something to it. But it could have been a good guess. Lots of nervous horses hate indoors. Anyway, I just said we ride inside in the winter, but now we're outside. And he complained about the neighbor. I think I mentioned that part already. Anyway, back to this week! 

I got a last minute text on Wednesday asking if I could braid a horse Thursday night. I had nothing on the agenda, so jumped at the opportunity. It was for a mane and tail which is exactly the amount of money my new lessons are, so that was super. Hopefully I get some more work throughout the summer. I love a small braiding job (like just one or two horses) because it doesn't anger my carpal tunnel too much and it's a nice little chunk of cash in my pocket for just a few hours of work.

Saturday Al was such a nutter I ended up giving Eros the day off because I was all used up by the time I finished with Al. (I rode Shiny first, so she got worked.) Sunday everyone was in a better mood, and we enjoyed a Sunday Funday. Shiny had the best one, we rode bareback (with the bareback pad which according to the animal communicator is not naked enough for Shiny...) in the backyard. She is always so much happier outside the ring. I really need to take her out to some trail rides. Unfortunately, my trail buddy extraordinaire is sidelined with an injury this summer. I think Shiny would be fine alone, but I'm quite sure I'd get lost since I've never gone out on the state trails. 

And then the heat wave arrived! Actually Sunday was pretty swampy too, but not so bad we had to cancel Sunday Funday. But Monday and Tuesday were pretty oppressive for the horses. (Not for me though!) They all enjoyed a couple of vacation days (as mentioned yesterday). Monday was a hang out in your stall and let me do my chores kind of day. But Tuesday I spent some time with them. Everyone had a bubble bath and Eros actually let me clean his sheath! First time ever without sedation. It was nasty in there. I honestly don't know how males walk around with those things. 

I don't think the boys were especially thrilled with having to be clean:

Unable to stand still because there was water
dripping from his legs.

Staring in disbelief at the area recently violated.

Al looked a little hivey last night and earlier today though. I'm not sure if he was sensitive to the shampoo we used, or if I didn't rinse it well enough? Or maybe it was just from the heat. Not sure. He's never done that before. Seemed unbothered, and it wasn't bad enough to treat. But something to keep an eye out for in the future. 

I think Shiny appreciated the tubby though!

She thanked me by peeing in the crossties while I waited for her legs to dry a little bit before going back to her stall... Why wouldn't I want to wash the floor again on a hot day? Right? Thanks Shiny. Probably my punishment for not rewarding her drug seeking behavior with the communicator. 

I went back and forth on what to do with them today. It was still pretty hot, high was 96 and it was more humid than yesterday, but there was a strong breeze. I finally decided to tack walk mostly and they each trotted one lap each direction. No one seemed uncomfortable so I thin it was an okay decision. They came in and got rinsed off with a fan in front of them after their "ride". 

I'm not sure if it was the heat or if the esomeprazole is magic, but Al walked around the entire perimeter of the ring, both directions, on a loose rein without spooking. The same with our little bit of trotting. I know better than to get excited about this. But I want to acknowledge that happened. AND WITH WIND! How glorious. Crossing my fingers that it takes. 

Tomorrow it's supposed to drop down to a high of 74. We'll probably all think it's cold and be sad. Or wild. One of those. But I am looking forward to getting some real rides in! 

Hope you all are surviving this heat dome! Did you give your horses extra days off? If not, what did you do with them? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Unpopular opinion, but I'm over here living my best life in this heat wave. Yesterday was pretty disgusting because the humidity was off the charts (temps were around 96 with a real feel of 107). But today? Today felt lovely to me. Sure it's hot (98 apparently) but there's a breeze. The horses are content hanging in their stalls in front of their fans, no one was overly warm, though honestly I have my contractor to thank. He told me which way to face the barn when we were planning to keep it coolest and he was very right. 

The horses almost always have Mondays off, but I gave them today off too since despite me thinking it feels lovely, I do understand that the horses probably do not. In years past I might have gotten up early and ridden at 4:30, but I opted out of that this time. For one, my worker comes in around six, so I couldn't get them all done by then. He used to come at 7. But also, it's only a few hot days. Let them be horses. Let them enjoy the cooler part of the day having their turnout. Doing fun horse things. Tomorrow we'll do a light ride or maybe tack walk depending on how swampy it is. And then Thursday the temps drop down to the low 70's and we'll all be wild and ready to get some work done. As for me, I got a bunch of little things done that I had been putting off, bathed all the horses, and then took a dip in the pool. It shocks me every time how many hours there are in a day when you don't ride! Seriously, it's shocking. 

Anyway, that's my confession: I like it hot out and I had no idea how much time non horse people have in their day.

Fun Stuff on Friday

 

I haven't done a fun stuff on Friday in a million years. But finally I have something fun to talk about on a Friday! I had my session with the animal communicator on Thursday morning, and it was very entertaining. I went with Sharon Warner who lives fairly locally here in CT and a friend of mine had used. She is VERY reasonably priced and I chose a short 15 minute session since I was planning to just chat with Al. I'll probably do it again for a little bit longer session and talk to the others at some point. It was fun and I've certainly spent more money on stupider things in the past. 

I have never done this before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. For the most part, I'm a skeptic, but I'm also open minded. There is a part of me that always avoided these things because what if my horses hate everything about their lives with me?! Wouldn't that be terrible to find out? Sure would. Thankfully that's not what happened. Phew. 

Before the call Sharon asks for a photo of your horse and then I think she asks for their name. I can't remember. And pretty much as soon as we invited him Al was all in the conversation. He was very chatty and let me know all the things he likes that I do for him. He likes when I kiss his nose, and he loves when I wipe his face with a towel. He let me know which brush he prefers (which I already knew, he's made that preference very obvious) and he also asked me to get some treats that I have't bought in awhile. But he said he likes pretty much all treats but those are his favorites. 

Next he talked about some things he'd like to work on. He said he has a hind foot that is a struggle for him and he's open to trying a different shoe or something for it. (He has a heel that likes to contract, and nothing we've changed so far really keeps it from doing that. When it contracts too much, he stocks up and I can tell it bugs him a little.) He also said he wants to do some fun exercises to strengthen his back end but he did not specify what. When I suggested trot poles he said he'd do those but he wants something different. So um... throw some ideas at me guys! He said he wants to jump more because he really likes doing that. Sharon told him it was supposed to get very hot so he might want to wait until after the heat wave, but he said that was okay, he's ready for the heat. Which made me giggle because he is NOT great in the heat. But also is kind of something he would say just to do what he wants to do. I told him we would jump, but it was up to him when because he had to flat nicely without spooking before we can jump. So far, we've not achieved that.

 He said otherwise his body feels good, but he is a little tight in his back/SI area. Also something we've noted, probably from his tummy discomfort I'm guessing. He said his stomach feels good, but maybe that's because he's been on the meds almost a week now? He mentioned that his saddle is comfortable too. (Thank goodness.)

He said that he likes the property here for the most part, but he feels a little lonely because the horses here don't want to play with him and he really likes to play. He asked if we could get more horses. I said no, that's not really in the cards, and he said I was afraid you'd say that. So yeah, having horses is like having kids... they all want their own pets! 

Then it was my turn to ask him questions. So first I asked if he liked his wardrobe and he said yes and he thinks I always put the appropriate blankets on for the conditions. Then I asked him what we've all been wondering. How can I make him feel less anxious when we're riding and just in general. And he said I don't know what you mean. LOL. GUYS. My horse is in denial about his anxiety problem. He said that when he looks worried in the stall it's because he can smell the coyotes that are around. (Fair. We abut state forest so there is a lot of wildlife pretty close by.) As for the nervous behavior in the ring he said he didn't like the neighbor. He hates how he ignores him and then makes scary noises. Sharon told him that the man is annoying but won't hurt him, so if he could just acknowledge what the neighbor is doing and then carry on, that would be the right thing to do. Al said okay, but then he did not do that at all yesterday, so I dunno guys. I don't think we've really addressed the main problem. 

Next she said he was saying something about liking the allergy meds because he has allergies and I said that didn't make sense because he's never been on any (and he doesn't have allergies). So she said she thinks it's another horse coming through. At first I thought Eros because he IS on allergy meds. But then I realized it was Shiny. I had told her the day before that it was Al's session but if there was something she needed me to know she could jump in. So she did apparently. As for the allergy meds she was talking about her Ventipulmin which she is not on anymore. She LOVED that stuff though. Couldn't wait for me to give it to her. She said she wants it again because she has allergies, but I think she just wants it because it tastes good and she's a fiend. She then went on to say that she doesn't like wearing anything except her bridle. She doesn't get cold so she doesn't need blankets. And she would like to ride bareback with nothing on all the time. Honestly, all of that tracks. She will wear whatever you put on her, but she gets cranky when you put her clothes on or the saddle/bareback pad/girth. I said that she does have to wear a saddle at least for some of our rides and she asked why. I said because she has a job and that job means riding with a saddle. Sharon kept asking "but why" and I was getting kind of annoyed until I realized she was speaking for Shiny which fully tracks with her personality. Finally I just said because it's hard for me to stay on without a saddle and she said oh, I guess that's okay then. Pretty sure the real reason she wants to be bareback only is that she knows she doesn't work hard in that set up. Ponies are such manipulators. Oh and she said she wants to eat carrots all the time. But I had Sharon explain to her that she can only have carrots sometimes as a special treat because we have to be careful with her sugars. And Shiny was like Fiiiiine. 

And then our fifteen minutes were up! I think it would be fun to do again and include Eros and Rita too. I'm sure they both have plenty to talk about. Eros will likely just complain about the low food supply, his aches and pains, and the audacity I have expecting him to ride six days a week. But he deserves to be heard all the same. Overall, I don't think it cured our issues, but it was fun and she said things I already thought but completely unprompted from me. Like the back foot and the particular brush. (And pretty much everything Shiny said... lol!)

Thursday's Threads: Dino Edition

 

Outfit day! It's Eros' turn to model and he chose a dinosaur look for this week. I think it was a solid choice. Dinosaurs rule. Or they did. Long ago. Plus Eros looks a little bit like a small brontosaurus. 

Here's what he had on:

Look at that beautiful specimen. Hi coat is looking so nice this summer. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Homemade by me

Today was hotter and more humid that I thought we were getting, so I let the Eros and Shiny have an easy day. Al chose differently, but that's on him. Anyway, for the light fun day we went bitless. I sold my old La Cense side pulls and bought these Pinnacle ones instead. The leather is still obviously lower quality, but it's still better than the La Cense had. They seem to fit the horses better too. 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Smartpak, embellished by me

I realized much too late that you couldn't really see our adorable dino trim, so I cropped the photo to show it better. Next time I will take a proper closeup because you can't fully appreciate how cute this is from this blurry image.

Wraps: Centaur, embellished by me

I got these Centaur polos to be my interchangeable wraps for Eros, but the way the velcro is on them, I'm afraid they're not really going to work. These are the Climate Bandages which are meant to be a knock of the Eskadron Climatex wraps. They definitely do not compare. I think eventually I will replace these with a black pair of the Catago ones that I like so much. But for today, they're doing the job. And the dino straps are pretty cute!

That's what Eros was donning today, and here's what I had on:

I'm pretty sure many of you are too young to appreciate this tee shirt. But trust me, it's epic.

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I hemmed and hawed about what helmet to wear. I thought about wearing the brown one since some dinos were probably brown.... But the sun was actually out and I wanted a wider brim. So this one won out. That tan color shield with the green top feels very dinosaur landscape to me though. So I think it works. 

Tee Shirt: Not sure of the brand honestly...

Back in my youth there was an adorable and also hilarious sit com called dinosaurs. It was about a family of dinosaurs that encountered everyday problems and moments. At the end of the series they get hit by an asteroid and it's very sad but you had to know that would happen if you went to school. Right? Anyway, they had a baby dinosaur as seen on the shirt, and he would hit the dad with a frying pan and say "NOT THE MAMA". It was silly. And I loved it, and I love this shirt.

Belt: Buckle Down

Also back in my youth, but a little later, high school age, I had a very inappropriate belt. It was rubber, made from recycled car tires, the buckle was a seat belt clasp (as seen here), and it had beer bottle caps all around it. I still have it and wear it on occasion. I call it my party belt. Anyway, ever since that belt, I love a good seatbelt buckle. So I was pretty excited to find one with a dino belt strap! 

Breeches: Smartpak Hadley

I almost wore my yellow breeches today, but at the last minute decided on these since they match the purple on the tee perfectly. And it was a good decision because when I reached in to smooth out the pocket after putting them on I found a ten dollar bill! I can't remember the last time I wore these, and in fact I was (and still am) thinking about adding them to the sell pile. So glad I waited and wore them today or I'd have sold ten bucks! 

Boots: Horka

I feel like distressed boots are the only choice for a dino outfit. Agree? 

That's it for today! What did you think? Pro dinos? You should be. Dinos are never the wrong answer.