Thursday, December 27, 2018

Thursdays Threads

Outfit Day! This one's boring because I have done absolutely nothing today but sit around and eat snacks. Seriously. That's it. And it was glorious. Anyway, here's what I wore for my day of sloth:
See? Boring. But sometimes boring is wonderful. As in today. When I did nothing.

Top: US Polo Association
It's a comfy t-shirt. That is all.

Belt: Mane Jane
I had to do something fun, right? Mane Jane it is! And I brought the shiny new buckle down here to Florida with me.

Pants: Hudson
These are the perfect lazy day jeans. Some holes in the knees, lots of stretch for all the eating, and the I like the light color too.

Shoes: Sperry
These are my dirty barn shoes. I was going to go down to the horse show for a little bit, but wound up hanging with the family instead. Still wore the dirty barn shoes though.

Arm Party!
Lefty:
Lefty is donning my most favorite Gucci bit bracelet that I got on ebay a few years ago. Along with my trusty apple watch.

Righty:
Righty is wearing my Hermes bracelet along with one I made.

And that's it for today. Nothing too exciting, much like my day. I really enjoyed the day off, but I'm ready to actually do some stuff tomorrow. It's supposed to rain, but at least it's warm down here!
Any favorites from today? What are you wearing?

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

What's Up Wednesday

Phew. Holidays are exhausting aren't they? All good things of course! But I had to make myself a schedule to make sure everything got done and I showed up where and when I was supposed to. This old hag can't remember that stuff without instructions anymore.
Last week I had another great lesson on Eros. I tried a new bit on him that I hated for the flat, but did like over fences. It's a ribbed happy mouth, so it gave me a little more but kept him happy by not being metal.
Friday I had a half day at work, and the bay boys had an appointment for some shots. It was a quick one and doc thought both old men looked pretty good. I headed over to the barn after that and got to watch my stepmom ride Eros. I haven't seen them together in awhile, and they're looking great! He's been testing her a little with the canter transitions but she got tough with him and they worked that right out.
Friday night one of my friends invited me over for an "interactive food night" and instructed me to bring my favorite cheese. I had no idea what we were doing, but thought maybe fondu? Turns out it was Raclette. I had never heard of it, but it's a German tradition, normally done for New Years I guess? I could be wrong on that timing.
It's like a hot plate of sorts, with little pans that go underneath to put your cheese on and the top can toast bread or warm other toppings. And then once the cheese is melted, you top the bread with it and toppings you'd like. It's ridiculously delicious. Definitely will have to do that again.
Saturday wasn't a crazy day. I flatted Eros in the morning and snapped some photos with him for my very late holiday cards.

We got made fun of. Our outfits don't get the appreciation level they get here on the blog at the barn... Lol. I have very little pride though, so fear not, outfits aren't going anywhere! Personally, I think the buffalo plaid is super cute.
After the barn, I headed back home to get photos with the bay boys. Big shout out to my photographer:
Ha. I propped my phone up there on top of the Bute-less and used the ten second timer... It was a challenge, but the boys were actually pretty cooperative.






Until Jamp had enough...
He came back though. Haha. After they were all tucked in, it was the dogs' turn for a photo session. I really did not have high hopes for that going well without another person to snap photos, but the short kids surprised me and were pretty cooperative.
 





I got the cards made the same day, and after getting myself packed for Florida, I started addressing them. I really intended to get them out MUCH sooner, but the horses' outfits didn't arrive until Friday.
Sunday I was out at the barn early again. Had a lovely ride on Eros, and then was home to groom the bay boys. Then I tortured them by making up all their meals for while I was going to be away. They were pretty irritated when they didn't get any grain after listening to all that getting done. I also got the laundry caught up out there so that was much needed. It would be a real miracle to actually catch up on my own laundry... Ha. Won't happen. We do a Festivus dinner on Christmas Eve Eve every year with my family and my sister-in-law's family. It was a lovely evening of too much Chinese food and cookies.
Once home from that I finally got the rest of the cards addressed. Finally. So they could get mailed out on Christmas Eve. Hey. Better late than never. I had to work Monday, but I was hopeful it would be a short day. I also knew I would have very little to do there, so I brought some presents with me to wrap. We did get out early, at noon, so I had the rest of the day to be productive. I got the bay boys groomed and then got the rest of the gifts ready for Christmas day.
My step moms have both been Catholic along with my little brother, so we've always done Chanukah with my dad on Christmas. Two for one if you will...
Anyway, Christmas was BUSY! The day started at sunrise. I got up and the pups found that Santa had come for them!


They were pretty happy with the new loot. After a short playtime, I headed out to the barn to feed the boys, turn them out, and clean up Mr Hankey. (You know Mr. Hanky, the Christmas poo! Southpark? No? Google him.) Santa had come for the tall kids too:
The boys enjoyed their turnouts. It was a chilly morning, but it wasn't windy and the sun was out. So they were happy to stay out for a couple hours.

I got stalls and buckets done as quickly as I could because we were allowed to ride over at the barn. I snuck in a very short ride with Mr. Eros, and it was lovely. There were just a couple other boarders there with me so the ring wasn't at all crowded. I enjoyed the peace and quiet immensely.
I then ran home, fed the horses lunch, and took an amazingly fast shower.  I had to meet the family at 12:30 at the commuter lot to go visit my little brother's grandma for Christmas. She's 98, still living at her house, but with full time care these days. My stepmom and dad cooked up a fantastic meal, and we delivered and ate it all together.
We visited for awhile, and then it was time to head back. I stopped at home to feed all the animals (and let the pups out of course!) before heading back to Dad's house. We did our gift exchange that evening.
How cute is this little tree? My stepmom the last several years gets a potted tree, and then we have it replanted over at my house. I love that we do that!
I was home around 8:30 which was nice because I had a few more things left to pack and do before vacation. Plus I really wanted to spend some time with the short kids. I hate leaving them, even if it is for fun things like Florida visits.
And then it was finally today! I got up early, rode Eros at 8am, and then headed over to my mom's house to bring the pups to her for the week.

The area I grew up in was not very Jewish, so everywhere we went as little kids, adults would ask if we'd been good so Santa would come. My mom was really worried we would think we were bad kids, so she always did Santa gifts and stockings for us. My mom and I still do that now for each other. Just cute little things like lip gloss and candy, pajamas, puzzles. That sort of thing. So we did that this morning too.
Even the pups got something from Santa! They really made out well this year. 
Our flight was supposed to leave at 1, but there was a ton of air traffic today and we were delayed about an hour. Honestly, it felt like I'd had a full day before noon, so I didn't really mind having a short time to sit and do nothing at the airport. We arrived around five though, and I'm ready to relax for a few days!
How were your holidays? Do you have some time off, or are you back to the work grind already? 

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Truthful Tuesday: The One Where Boarding Frustrates Me

I've had my horses at home for a little more than ten years now. So obviously, I'm used to having complete and final say over all the decisions for them. I really like it that way. But my parents have Eros boarded. It's better that way because I don't want my stepmom riding alone, and she likes to ride during the day while I'm at work. Also, she needs to be taking lessons, and that's easy to do at the boarding barn. Not to mention having access to an indoor, that's a huge bonus! But there are down sides. And I'm about to rant and whine here, so feel free to skip this one if you find that annoying.
This face sums up my opinions in today's post
Let's back up to last month, shall we? I'm a big rule follower. I love rules. Reasonable ones anyway. So before I went to Florida earlier this month, I asked the barn owner what the rules were if I go away. Can I ask one of my friends that also rides there to ride Eros while I'm away? And I was told yes, that was ok as long as it was someone capable of riding him. Also, I couldn't ask anyone on staff to ride him, unless I want to pay for a training ride. Ok, fair enough. That worked out fine.
So now, for the upcoming week when I'm going back down south, I had arranged for one of the other amateurs to ride my horse. But then, barn owner asked her to work that week and she agreed to. So that was step one in my foiled plan. If she were to ride my horse, I'd be charged training rides. Which is problematic for several reasons: 1. that's stupid expensive. 2. She's an AMATEUR. 3. I have 2.5 days (1 of which is Christmas) to figure out who's riding my horse. Awesome.
And then there's step two in foiling my plan:
Well, apparently, I wasn't the only one who had a friend ride their horse in their absence around Thanksgiving and barn owner decided she lost money because all the horses were getting ridden for free. Now, if you ask me, she didn't lose money if she wasn't going to get it in the first place. My horse doesn't get training rides (he's a genius, he doesn't require them). So she's not losing that money from me. You can't lose what's not yours. Also, there's an automatic service charge tacked on to all board bills that can be applied to lessons, training rides, that sort of thing. If we're already being charged that fee, we shouldn't be expected to add on services to that. The required service fee should cover what profits she needs to make from each boarder per month. Anything above that would be a bonus for her.
But they did let us ride on Christmas which was pretty awesome.
So now, it's the evening of the 23rd (I leave on the 26th at noon) and I have no plan for my horse while I'm away. My options are this: 1. He can have two training rides while I'm gone, and if I pay for those, then another amateur can ride him the other days. 2. He can hang out and just have his regular turnouts and not get ridden while I'm away. 3. some combo there of.
I really didn't have time to figure out who would be there when, who was working and wasn't allowed, etc etc. So my plan is to let him have the week off, and then get one training ride the day before I get back.
But I also will put requirements on that training ride. I only want the head trainer on him. The assistant trainer does a great job teaching the little kids, but honestly, I'm a better rider than she. I really can't fathom spending $50 for her to "train" my machine of a horse. The other girls who work there are amateurs. Charging money for an amateur to ride a horse is a violation of the amateur rules, and I can't support that. I have always been very mindful of following those rules, and it really irks me when other people have no regard. And lastly, I don't want him to jump. Not after a week off. So they can have our extra $50 for a flat ride, and it needs to be the head trainer.
Am I being spiteful? Probably. But I was hugely inconvenienced at the last minute by a sudden rule change which honestly is NOT in the best interest of my horse.
Ok, I'll stop my whining now. In all honesty, it won't hurt Eros to have a little break. He'll get turned out every day. And I probably would have been fine with the required training ride rule if it was presented to me when I asked. But the situation really frustrated me.
Any thoughts? Does your barn have rules like this? Do you think I'm being a child about the whole thing?

Monday, December 24, 2018

Bloghop: Favorites of 2018 (via the900FacebookPony)

Who doesn't love a good blog hop? I sure do! I (like many of you) jumped on this one right away as soon as I had a chance, because who doesn't love a bunch of horse photos? Without further ado, let's do this!

Favorite show picture

I had a several year hiatus from the show ring, and this was my intro back into that world. This was from Saratoga riding Sochi in the Alumni division (Photo used with purchase, credit to Shawn McMillen photography).

Favorite non-show picture
Anytime Rio has a birthday will be a favorite for me.

Favorite thing you bought 
 I mean, you really can't top a new Four Star Trailer... But in more reasonably priced options, I'd have to go with these:
I tried a bunch of different ice boots when Jampy first got sick this spring. The Tough-1 boots were my favorite until I found these horse print ones at Chick's saddlery. They're cute and stay put well.

Favorite moment on horseback
The day I took Eddie to Mystic to show over fences in the schooling hunters was a big deal for me. It was my first real time back in the show ring (Sochi doesn't count fully since I was totally unprepared for that) and we had some pretty decent trips that day!

Favorite moment out of the saddle
My little brother bonding with Rio was probably the cutest thing to happen all year.

Favorite “between the ears” picture

I couldn't narrow it down for this one... The top is Bradley and his buddy being adorable, and the bottom is a stroll on Eros at the boarding barn.

Favorite horse book or article
Does Denny Emerson's Facebook page count? Because he's my favorite.

Favorite horse ridden (or groomed/cared for) aside from your own
Another toss up. These two guys helped me get back in the saddle this year, and I'm so grateful to them and their moms. Up top is Bradley and down below is Eddie!

Favorite funny picture of your horse


It's only fair to embarrass all three of them right?

Favorite fence that you successfully jumped or movement that you conquered
It doesn't look like much, and it's a terrible screen shot, but that triple bar set at about 2'9" looked horrifying to me. Eros said it was no biggie though, and flew right over!

Favorite horse meme or funny picture

This one just really speaks to me. I'm pretty sure every single one of my horses would tell me this when I dress them up in ridiculous outfits.

Thanks to Amanda for the fun hop! I love sharing horse pictures, and am enjoying seeing all of yours even more!