Thursday, October 27, 2016

Thursday's Threads

Ugh. It's SNOWING out there today. SNOW. It's supposed to turn to rain, which it really needs to do cause my little car isn't gonna get me home if it doesn't. Wah. It probably could go without saying, but it's pretty cold here. Last night it was in the 30's when I "rode" the horses. (I'm using that term super loosely these nights...) Obviously, that means layers and giant hoodies.
Giant hoodie and ancient breeches. It must be winter.
Hoodie: Skidmore College
Gotta rep the Alma Mater once in awhile, amiright? Skidmore's book store has the best hoodies. I grabbed this one at my last reunion. It's been going strong for 4 years now!

Breeches: Ariat
These breeches are SUPER old. They don't have euroseat but they do have a tonal paisley print so that's pretty cool.

I also wore my regal boots, but you've seen those enough to not need ANOTHER photo of them. The boys had to wear an extra layer last night too. No one wants to be naked when it's 33 degrees out!

Their quarter sheet is by Moxie which I think is no longer around. Kind of sad because I LOVE the material on this. I also have a full size cooler and two human blankets made from the same fabric. SO COZY!

Ok, on to today's outfit:

Yep. Winter clothes. It's time I suppose. You can't tell from here, but today's theme is basket weave.

Sweater: Michael Kors
I got this sweater last year at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. I love that it's a little different than your usual cable knit with more of a basket weave look to it. The gold zippers are a fun touch too. The dog hair didn't come with it, but it definitely adds a little something... Best of all? This thing goes in the washer!

Jeans: Rue 21
I LOVE the details on the pockets of these jeans. Pictured here is the little pocket in front, but the butt pockets have the same detailing. So cute! Also, they were on clearance for $10. Even cuter!

Belt: LV
Gray LV belt goes nicely with today's theme. I think the textured look to the belt is sort of woven too.

Shoes: Fergalicious
I stumbled across these just after ordering the pants, and was like whoa! Those would be perfect together. And they are. Ironically, I saw them on Zulilly this morning, so if you like them, head over there and grab a pair!

Arm Party!
Lefty:
Lefty is donning a couple vintage snakeskin bracelets. I found them on ebay awhile back. It was a giant stack of them for super cheap. Such a great find! And of course you'll recognize the apple watch.

Righty:

Righty is wearing a really fun bracelet from Ettika. I love these mixed media bracelets! I also have been wearing this adorable turquoise horse shoe ring I found online. It's so dainty I don't even feel it!

Well that's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on? How's the weather in your neck of the woods?


Ten Questions for October

First Question: Which is the real Rio?
I had to jump on the band wagon this month and take a stab at L's 10 questions for October. So here we go!

1. What do you consider jumping high for yourself?
Um, current self or former self? I think jumping high for me is anything 4' or above (roughly 1.2M or higher). That said, I can barely jump around 3' right now so there's that...
Former Self with Rio the wonderhorse.
2. What are you short term goals for riding?
Ride a horse that doesn't have a limp! But seriously, I'm hoping to find a way to keep riding this winter, even if it's not on one of my own horses. I don't want to have to start all over come spring like I have the past many years.
Less of this please.
3. What are your long term goals for riding? Do you think you'll reach them?
Long term, I REALLY want to get back in the show ring with a real partner. I want to find a horse that I trust to not only get back to showing in rated divisions, but to be competitive there. I don't really have a preference over whether it's in the A/O hunter ring or high AA jumper ring. I just want to find a horse I can really bond with. (No offense Jampy.)
Heart horse #1
4. How many barns have you been at in your riding career?
3 trainer barns, 4 if you count my own back yard barn. I rode at the same barn for my entire junior career, then moved on to my college barn. After leaving the college barn, I actually moved back to my first barn before building my own. I count my current trainer's barn even though I don't really ride there that much.
home sweet home
5. How many different trainers have you been with in your riding career?
This number is kind of high. The barn I rode at growing up had a bit of a revolving door, and trainers came and went. College saw some changeover as well. Let's see... I'd say 7 at first barn and 3 at college barn, and then I've had a few different trainers help me at shows once I moved home, so we'll go with 4 after college.  That's what 14? That's an awful lot considering I've not moved horses around much!
Current trainer in natural habitat


6. Ever worked at a barn? What did you do?
Yep! After graduating from a ridiculously expensive college with a psych degree, I got hired as the stable manager at my college barn. I wanted to keep my amateur status, so my duties did not include riding or teaching. I was in charge of making sure the horses all got out every day, were properly groomed and blanketed, they're health care, etc. I also oversaw the working students. It was a really fun job, but a ton of work. We had 45 school horses and about 15 boarders.
Tom and Cajun: best walk trot horses you'll ever encounter. EVER.
7. Scariest thing that has happened at your barn?
Ugh. You have no idea. You guys. My barn where I boarded when I was 14 BURNED TO THE GROUND. It was horrifying. All of the lesson horses died, including my project pony Abbey. I wrote my college essay on that experience and though it sounds dramatic, that fire had a big impact on who I am today.


8. Have you ever given a lesson? What level was the rider?
I have! Not since aging out of the junior ranks of course since I'm an amateur. But when I was in high school one summer I had a couple students of my own. They were a brother and sister visiting the area on vacation for two weeks. They had never ridden, but were athletic kids. She was a figure skater and he was a hockey player. The girl struggled a bit, but I think she did canter by the end of her stay. The boy was some kind of phenom and had started JUMPING by the end of the two weeks. I wonder what ever happened to them...
occasionally I drag tiny family members around the yard too
9. What is your opinion on the accuracy of critiquing riders online?
Pffft. Not accurate. Most of the time online critiques are of a photo. I'll tell you what. I take a decent photo if it's caught at the right moment. But that does not mean I'm a good rider. Feel free to critique this though:
this is how you do it, right?

10. What is the ideal height of horse for you?
Probably between 15.3 and 16.2.  Romey is a bit short, and Jamp and Rio are both around 16.3. Since they're slab sided it works though. I'm short but have normal length legs, so I can kind of fake it on most sizes. Even Venti worked for me this summer, though he was kind of huge. Definitely taller than 17 hands. That said, I do think riding a short horse makes the fences look bigger, so I don't like anything too tiny.

And there you have it! Ten questions for October!

What's Up Wednesday

What's up this Wednesday? Not much really... This is going to be a quick post! The weather here has been completely ridiculous and it's taking a toll on my saddle time! But let's try and talk ponies anyway...
Last Thursday, I left work around 3:30 to meet the chiropractor at the barn. I haven't done body work like that on my current herd, but trainer uses this chiro on Badger and he seems to really benefit. I figured with all the limping in my barn, it probably wouldn't hurt our situation. Rio did not get worked on. I didn't think it would be a great idea, and the chiro agreed. She says unless they're having a real problem it's best not to manipulate neurologically unsound horses. Glad we agreed! (Also, I have no media to share from out appointment. Sorry!)

We started with Romey figuring he would be the most challenging... Both in his need for manipulation and his poor attitude. Turns out, totally right on both accounts. Romey's withers were pretty bad but apparently that's common in ex-race horses. Unfortunately, the middle of his back, right about where the seat of my saddle sits, was also really out. Chiro is concerned he may have kissing spine, but isn't jumping to that conclusion just yet. Current plan is to treat with Robaxin for about a week and report back. I haven't been able to do a ton of riding thanks to the weather, but what we have done hasn't shown any improvement. And his attitude is worsening too. Which leads me to think he's hurting. Pretty sure I see lots more diagnostics in our future... I really need to stop "rescuing" horses. This never seems to go very well for my wallet or psyche.

On a more positive note, there wasn't much wrong with Jampy. He got a small adjustment to his SI which wasn't at all shocking given what my vet and I discussed at his last appointment. His only acupuncture points that "lit up" were his SI and stifles. Pretty much exactly what I expected on him. I can't say he feels much different under saddle as far as being more even. But he has been less reactive to all the voices in his head. I'm not sure if that makes sense if you don't know him... Generally he hears something and immediately scoots forward and/or sideways. It happens like ten million times each ride, but since his adjustment, he's down to 3 or 4 scoots per ride. That's a pretty big improvement! Oddly enough though, he's also twice as dead to my leg as he usually is. Not sure what's that about. I think he's ready for his winter vacation.

And lastly, Badger. You guys, remember how Badger was the only horse I own that's actually sound? Yeah. That was cool. Somehow the naughty child managed to pull a muscle in his back. So that's 4. Four limping horses. Obviously he'll be fine with some time off. Unfortunately, that meant my last weekend to ride him before he heads south didn't happen. He leaves Friday for Florida. Wah. Seriously, how are they ALL lame? All of them? My SEVENTEEN year old is the most sound horse I own. Oy.

Obviously the best way to deal with a pity party of the lame horse persuasion is retail therapy. One of my favorite tack stores is closing. The owners are retiring, so it's really not a sad ending, though I'll definitely miss shopping there. The bright side is the progressive "Grand Closing" sale they're holding. This week the entire store is 30% off. Eventually as it gets closer to their Dec 31st closing date, everything will go to 75% off. I was thinking it would be pretty exciting to find some TS show breeches for 30% off and since I'm the same size as half the horse riding world, I needed to shop early. Saturday was a rainy mess, so it was the perfect day to head up there. I found a pair of TS show breeches in my size, an RJ Classic jacket that's GORGEOUS, for something crazy like $75.00 (original price of $360), a pair of black schooling breeches, and these pretties for the ponies:
Brown Baby Pads! (And I got a green one too)

Green combo wraps!!!
I also picked up some treats of course. I may stop back up there toward the end. They had a few things I liked but really couldn't see any reason to spend the money on now. But if they're there later for 75% off.... well, that might be a different story!

The only bonus to all the rain we suddenly have been getting is that I've had a chance to socialize with humans. That's pretty rare! Friday night my sister-in-law had a Cabi party which is kind of like Pampered Chef but for clothes. Our mutual friend from high school is a hostess for the company, so it was a fun evening.  Also fun was seeing the news fan in their driveway. My brother is the tech expert for one of our local news stations. I really don't get used to seeing the news fan around though. So weird. If your'e ever in the market for anything tech related, you should check out his youtube channel. He reviews anything and everything you could imagine on there.
That's my bother on TV being famous

 As you know from Truthful Tuesday, I even got to go to Book Club despite my not finishing the book. Thankfully it would seem I was in the majority there. We really should just call it what it is: Wine Club.

Let's see...what else? It's super cold out. So that's awful. I couldn't turn my heat on because when I did it smelled like maybe my house was going to burn down. And the furnace man kept putting off my service. But I whined a little today, and I am now sitting in a nice warm house! Finally! The Pugs were super annoyed this morning when it was 52 degrees in the house. Also, tonight when I "rode" the horses (I use that term super loosely) it was 35 degrees. I swear it felt like -10 though. Worst. I hope you're all prepared for my whining about winter, cause 'tis the season!

And that's what's up with me this Wednesday. What's up with you?

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Truthful Tuesday

I'm the slackiest of slackers you guys. That's today's confession. It's been many, MANY years since I've been in school. But way back when I was a student, I was very good about turning my assignments in on time. I might stay up all night getting them done. But get them done I did. Fast forward to now, when I'm an old woman in a book club. I seem to have lost my ability to pull the all nighter. We have our meeting tonight to discuss the book we were supposed to read for October: A Man Called Ove
I was actually excited to read the book. It's about a grumpy old man (who isn't actually very old). Unfortunately, I procrastinated so long, I didn't manage to get it read. Not only that, I'm not even close to halfway through. It's a good thing book club doesn't go on my permanent record. While I realize it's going to be spoiled for me this evening when we start discussing it, I still plan to finish it. It's pretty entertaining so far, and I imagine it will only get better. Next month, I'm definitely going to make a little more effort to finish my homework!

Have you ever failed to complete an assignment? Or shown up to book club without having read the book?

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Thursdays Threads

Outfit Day!!! I have a lot of flannel to share today. A lot. It is Autumn after all, even if it does feel more like summer the last couple of days. My riding outfit today actually comes from last week. I went full on lumberjack.
I wore this on that night in yesterday's post when it was 47 degrees. That flannel is lined with faux sherpa fleece, and is clearly pretty amazing.

Top: Forever 21
Seriously, sherpa fleece inside! Best shirt ever. Hands down.

Breeches: Crescendo by Horze
These have been on here several times already. Obviously, they're becoming a favorite. I like that they are a bit higher waisted than some of my other breeches, with the back being higher than the front so I don't moon anybody while I'm riding. Always a bonus.

Belt: Burberry
In keeping with the plaid theme, I wore my tone-on-tone black plaid belt from Burberry.

Boots: Horka
I thought my distressed brown boots from Horka were perfect with my lumberjack outfit. These boots are breaking in nicely. I really should ride in them more to finish up that process.

Ok, on to today's work outfit. Are you ready for more flannel?!
My apologies for the terrible lighting here. I thought it was the way the sun was coming in, but I figured out once I got to work that my lens was dirty. Oops.

Top: US Polo Assn.
NEON flannel! Yep, that's right, I found me a neon flannel. This is so 80's-tastic I can't even. I really love me some neon.

Jeans: Earl Jeans
These are just a pretty simple pair of black jeans. You've seen them before as they are very comfortable.

Belt: Etsy
I had this hand beaded belt made awhile ago by an artist on Etsy. It's made on heavy duty elastic so it's quite sturdy AND stretchy. Best of both worlds! The colors are PERFECT with the flannel shirt!

Shoes: Rock & Candy
I really love my neon boat shoes. What's not to love? I do wish they were real patent leather instead of faux, but hey, you can't have everything. Seriously though, NEON BOAT SHOES!

Arm Party!!!
Lefty:
Lefty is donning 3 bangle/cuff bracelets from Baublebar. I love how the dipped ones are only half dipped while the remainder is gold.

Righty:
I forget where that first bracelet came from, but I love the color combo! Next up is a rubber smiley face that came with a wristlet made of the same rubber material. I didn't use the wristlet today, because as usual I was way too late for switching out my purse. And lastly are a couple of stretch bracelets I found on Zulily.

That's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on? Opinions on neon?



What's Up Wednesday!

I can't even pretend like this is posting Wednesday. It's midnight already and I've typed only seventeen words. So what's up Thursday? In all honesty, not much up here this week. The weather has been ridiculous! Last week it was pretty chilly with highs barely reaching 60. This week? It was 85 today. Oh New England, you're so silly!

Inhumane.

Last week was full of dark chilly rides until the weekend when it was light out and chilly. You know what those things bring about? Wild ponies. SO MANY WILD PONIES. I no longer have any idea what it's like to ride a horse that listens to me instead of the wind and crunching leaves. No idea what-so-ever. If anyone knows, please tell me all about it.
Jamp, "OMG. DID YOU HEAR THAT?!"
Me, "No Jamp. No I didn't."

On the bright side, Rio is doing so well with his fancy flip-flop shoes that we're back to tack walking! Yaaaayyy!!! There's LITERALLY nothing better than getting to sit on your heart horse. Nothing. Even if all you do is walk (and occasionally spook just a little).
Rio enjoys romantic moonlit walks.
I got to ride Badger both days this weekend. Unfortunately, it was cool and windy which does not lead one to the elusive magic canter. It does lead to scooting and ear pinning though. Sadly, I have only one more weekend with Badger before he heads to Florida. I'm ridiculously jealous of him. I wish we could all pack up and head south. I'm not sure yet when I'll get down to visit, but I'm hoping it's not too long. When I negotiated my new contract at work, I made sure I could work from home sometimes, so I won't have to take unpaid days if when I use up my vacation time as long as I actually work after riding in the morning. Woohoo!
Ear pinning story is lies. Don't believe my mom.
Fun story (live fact check: there was almost nothing fun about the following story). So Sunday after riding Badger in the morning, I rode the rest of the boys in the afternoon. I got on Jamp first, and I could hear the neighbor doing yard work. He was on the other side of his property so I wasn't too worried. Jamp was being completely ridiculous so I offered a compromise of only using half the ring in exchange for him pretending to listen to me. After trotting for awhile to the left, I changed direction and realized I was rapidly losing my audience. I also could hear the neighbor and his chainsaw approaching our shared property line. I was on the far side of the ring from him, so I let Jamp stop and watch:
Mom! You hear that right?! Yes Jamp, this time you're right.
You guys. My neighbor and his chainsaw started cutting limbs off a tree right next to where I was riding! I'm not sure about your horses, but that sort of thing is worse than a herd of dragons being released into the ring for Jampy. He somehow managed to stand and stare though, without any added drama. After a little bit, my neighbor wandered off. With a deep sigh of relief, Jamp reluctantly went back to work. But then, neighbor and chainsaw CAME BACK and started hacking at the tree again. I gave up and brought Jamp inside. Choose your battles my friends. Fortunately for me, neighbor finished his yard work before I rode the other two.
Well, this photo is pretty cliche New England
In other news, we got results back from all of Romey's tests. He's definitely fully gelded, which while great, is kind of a bummer because I was hoping for a quick fix to his attitude. His hive biopsy showed nothing significant either, but my vet thinks we should take a deeper sample. He agrees that it's not normal to have hives in the exact same spot (and only that spot) for months on end. So I guess I need to schedule another appointment for more diagnostics. Until then, more of this:
I'm not going out there. Stop telling me what to do all the time.
On the non-horsey front, I've done no running at all. Heh. Someday I'll find my motivation there... But mostly I'm more in line with the Pugs' favorite past time:


That's what's up this Wednesday Thursday. What's up with you?