What's Up Wednesday

It got kind of busy around here all of a sudden. I had a few fairly quiet weekends the last few weeks, but it seems finals season has descended upon CT, seemingly out of nowhere. How is it already finals season?! And why does this even matter to me since I don't show? Well because despite my best efforts to retire, I'm still a part time braider.
For once mother nature decided to work with me a little. It was a pretty gross day out Friday, very rainy, dreary, humid. Blah! So I really didn't feel badly about giving the boys the day off so I could start braiding a little earlier. They got fed and had their feet picked, then I stuffed my face and headed off to braid. I had 4 on my list, manes and tails for all!

 I forgot to get a photo of this one's tail above. Which was a bummer because his came out the nicest.

 This tail was a NIGHTMARE! I kind of think he hasn't ever had one done. The tail hairs were nice and long on top which supports that theory. But he was ticklish and kept swishing and when I was about half way down, right where you can see things going awry up there, he started threatening to kick. So even though I hated how this tail came out, I wasn't about to redo it! Also tricky was his fake tail. It's a bit too short for him, so I was really worried it might fall out despite my braiding it in (rather than just tying it in). Fortunately, I saw him in the award photos the next day with it all in tact. So hopefully that's not because it had to be re-done...

 Looks better from the side at least.

I finished up around 2 and was home by 2:30. I snuggled the pups for a half hour and then crashed hard. Badger is back from VT, so I was up by 8:30 to go ride him. A solid 5 and a half hours sleep, not bad! Badger is doing better than when he left, but we're still taking it easy with him. Hopefully after the next shoeing he'll be more or less back to normal. And he best stay that way!

I was careful not to break the one rule of the weekend. No sitting down until everything is done! So after Badger, I went and ran a couple of errands, including taking my car in to pass emissions this time! Woohoo! Good girl Betty. And then I headed home to tend to the herd. The last day it was a herd of three.
Since they had Friday off, it was just a flat day for Jampy. He was a good boy, and I let him have some snacks after.

Romey had a really nice grooming, despite his complaints. I wanted him to look presentable when he left Sunday morning. But he was rewarded with lots of time in the yard after.

Rio had a nice flat too followed by grazing time.

 Once all the boys were attended to, I grabbed the pups and took them for a walk. I was trying to find things to keep me busy because I had one more horse to braid at 9. The pups can't walk that long because you know, short legs and all. So it didn't really kill that much time. I finally wound up sitting down for a bit with them until it was time to go braid again. That job was easy though, just one, and mane only. He came out very nice but I forgot to snap a pic. Sorry!
I was home by 10 and pretty pooped. I napped with the pups and did a little reading before crashing early.
Sunday I was up fairly early to see Romey off. The shipper was coming late enough that Romes could have his turnout first. Of course they arrived a half hour early, so I didn't really get to give him a great grooming. Romey loaded right up without any arguments, and before I knew it, he was well on his way to KY.

Thankfully, I didn't have time to wallow in my feelings, because I had to head to trainer's to ride Badger. He was a good boy and did a nice job of distracting me from my sads. I stopped and grabbed breakfast on my way home and let myself wallow for a few minutes before getting to work riding at home.
I started with Jampy who was overdue for a jump school. I have a pretty sweet new holster for my phone so I can video almost the entire ring. And by holster, I mean I wrapped a bungee cord around a fence post and rigged up a holder from a bunch of zip ties. You can just call me MacGyver.
Jamp was being a little spooky at the end of the ring. It was breezy and the shadows were dancing around. He hates that. But he was quite good to the jumps. I had a little trouble getting a nice forward adjustable canter, so we did find a lot jumps right at the base. Otherwise though, he was very good. No dramatics what so ever. I had spread the oxers a touch wider than we've been jumping them, but he didn't seem to notice. Hopefully this weekend I will remember to do that again, and maybe put some up a little.

Maybe one of these days I'll put a noseband back on him. But he's really been good without it, so I'm not in a hurry.
Rio got to have the quickest flat ever before heading out for a nice long graze. Spoiled boy.
Summer is really starting to wind down around here, and with the end of summer comes the end of the Snack Shack's season. Despite being all kinds of tired and a little sad, I made sure to get myself to the lake for a lobster roll and some live music. The singer had a ton of energy and clearly was having a great time, so it was fun to hang out for a bit.
This week has started off pretty easy which is nice after the busy weekend. The barn is weirdly quiet since Romey was the only one to nicker when I walked in. Jamp had a nice flat Monday evening after I got home from Yoga. Tuesday was wine book club so they both had a free evening.

I think all of our book club meetings from here on out should have make your own brownie sundaes.

Back to work tonight though!
How was your week? Did you horse show? Get some riding in? Do something non horsey? Let's chat about it in the comments!