What's Up Wednesday

 

We have lots to catch up on since I forgot to do a recap last week. I feel like when the horses are home things can get a little less consistent. But I'm not sure it's because they're home so much as it's summer and there's just more to do in general. Plus the lack of indoor, occasionally the weather messes with our plans. But we've been pretty lucky lately with well timed rain storms. So that's been nice. I don't have a way to water my ring, so I am dependent on the rain for dust control. We've been getting plenty, and frequently at night or on Mondays so that's been lovely! Our things we had to work around this week was shoes on Friday and chiro on Saturday. Both necessary things, so worth the disruption. I still got to ride both days, but our jump plans were derailed. Not the end of the world. Anyway, let's talk horses!

We'll start with Shiny. She was busy the week before this one! A friend of mine came by with some of her family that is visiting from Colorado. Shiny was wonderful for pony rides for a few of the kiddos, and then there was one who rides, so I let her ride Shiny off the lead. She did a nice job with her, but Shiny thinks it's HILARIOUS to not canter for kids she doesn't know. I didn't realize this was a thing until now. But she did it with my trainer's daughter the first year she came to ride, and now she's also done it with this other child. Both were capable of riding at the canter at the time, but were definitely a little more beginner level than advanced, ya know? And apparently, Shiny doesn't believe kids should canter until they're better riders I guess? I dunno. I don't find it that hard to get canter from her. Her regular kid doesn't struggle anymore either. I am pretty sure it's a test. Mares! Ponies! I'm not sure which to blame it on. Still though, if they're going to be naughty, I'd prefer it happens in a slow and deliberate way like that versus running off or bucking or whatever. Either way, we've been working on transitions a lot. 

I don't share media of other people's children, so enjoy this unrelated photo.

The day after pony rides, Shine's kiddo came to ride, and they did great. They're really getting along great this year. She didn't come last week though. I'll have to reach out and get her back here. Hopefully her mom will be up here soon too! 

She got lazy over the raised cavalletti and got big mad when it fell down.

Otherwise, Shiny's been pretty good. Definitely the most well behaved of the herd lately. I'm still struggling with getting the gas pedal to work though. I just can't seem to get her really moving. And when she's not coming forward, we make mistakes to the jumps because you can't adjust a pony that isn't fully engaged. Despite that, we've jumped around regularly, and she does accept her fate of bad distances when she chooses not to listen to my input. So there's that at least. 

It was kind of raining on and off this day so Pivo had the day off.
Instead I just filmed from the barn aisle, so the quality is what it is.

I think she's ready to start jumping a little higher again, but I don't want to attempt that until we fix the forward off the leg problem. So more flatwork for us! Our chiro was out on Saturday, and she was really happy with how Shiny's looking on her diet. I was hoping the body work might magically unlock our go button, but no such luck. She had a new to us therapy this time using acupuncture needles, but instead of sticking them in pressure points, they went into the muscles to release the fascia. She seemed to really like it.

The needles are hard to see on her, but look close, they're up there in the middle of the photo.

Getting the backside adjusted!

Overall though, I'm happy with Shine. There are always things to work on, but she's feeling pretty good these days. If you have any suggestions for good exercises to light one up a little, please share! I feel like I have to use the whip an awful lot on this pony, and I HATE that. The fact that she continues to keep her ears pricked forward while I smack her suggests I'm more bothered than she is... but still. I prefer not to hit my pony. 

Eros is doing well. BIG things happening for him the last two weeks as we've started cantering some single poles on the ground. 

Next week I think we'll try a little pole course if I move the jumps. I can't make a pole course work with what we have set up unfortunately. And hopefully next week we can start raising some of the poles and maybe add a cross rail. Baby steps. I'm not in a rush to get him jumping after working so hard to get him sound again! 

He's been good generally, but a little spooky at the far end lately. Today he absolutely could NOT horse down there. 

There was a lot of rapid reversing. Finally I took him for a hand walk up there which did not help. And then I just gave up and rode him on the front half of the ring. I was running out of time and some days we have to choose our battles. I'm not really sure what he's so scared of, but I honestly think it's some tall weeds that are growing back there. They've been blowing around in the wind. Which is ridiculous. But horses, right? Al was terrible today (more on that later) but I did him before Eros, so I'm thinking there must be some reason for this behavior if they're both being weird. Maybe the bears are back? Or some deer? I dunno. I didn't see or hear anything. Eros was relatively good for our ride though. So long as I didn't stray from our safe space. Honestly. Horses. Ridiculous. Most of the time when E is spooking it's because he's fresh. But I don't really think he is this time. Could be though. We'll see what we have tomorrow. If he's still acting a fool, I'll have to address it better. 

Today aside, he's generally been giving me good work. He's still really locked up on that right side, but now that we've graduated to full flatwork I'm hoping he'll start to supple up some. If not, I may chat with doc and see if there's something else we need to address. Maybe he has lyme? It would explain the spooking and the stiffness. Probably wouldn't hurt to pull another titer on him. I don't think I've checked him in awhile. 

And then there's Al. This horse is the biggest emotional roller coaster I've dealt with. One week, I feel like we're moving forward. Last week we jumped a couple 3'3" jumps even! And they were so easy! And then this week? Can barely get him around the ring again. I tried jumping him today and couldn't get his focus. At all. None. I even got off and made the fences small, and still couldn't really get to them. The jumps aren't the issue normally, but today, I couldn't get enough canter to even really attempt much. He was on HIGH ALERT. Now again, Eros was feeling the same way, so there could be a reason. But it was really frustrating. He was like that yesterday too, but we were more able to work through it. Today I don't feel like we did really. 

Managed to get over this one!

I still think there's something bothering him physically that I haven't gotten to the bottom of. But like, what's left? We've treated for everything I can think of. He feels sound. He was pretty out of whack when he got adjusted, so much so that he earned that day off and an easy Sunday ride. Then he had Monday off. So I'm not sure if he's just still feeling out of sorts from his adjustment? If I can get him to move forward, he feels pretty great, but achieving any sort of forward anything is nearly impossible the last two days. When he's spooky like this, he just wants to have his head in the air and not move. It's like riding through quicksand. Which, I'm glad he's sticky and not spinning. But still. It's unpleasant. And pretty much unrideable. I've gone back to taking the pressure off and just asking for the minimum. And it helps some. But I really thought we were past this, and I'm incredibly frustrated that we're back here. He's still on both ulcer meds, so I can't imagine that's still in play. I may reach out to our chiro tomorrow and see if she has any reason to believe it could be related to his adjustment. Maybe I need her back out. I have no idea. I still believe in him, and despite me telling him I might need to sell him so he finds a better program, I don't mean that. I want this to work. I want to fix what's bothering him. I really think he's worth it. But like, selfishly, I really wish we could get a few weeks of good rides at a time. I'm not greedy. I don't need a full year or anything. But man. My confidence. This is hard. 

So here's some more photos from last week when things were good.

I think what's so hard, is that I just don't really know how to fix this. I don't feel afraid on him, I just feel stuck. Like my tool box has been emptied and I just need some kind of manual. This is why being home alone is hard sometimes. I generally think I'm pretty capable. But this horse has my scratching my head. And while I do know some trainer I could ship to, I think the problem is here in my arena. And I don't currently have someone who can come out to help me. And obviously, I didn't get any help last winter either. I'm not great asking for help, and it does something deep down when you can't get it. Ya know? 

Anyway, sorry to unload like that. We'll get through this rough patch like we have all the others. Hopefully sooner than later! In the meantime, I'll just be really thankful for the other two for keeping me semi sane. 

In less angsty news, I got to see my older niece in Mary Poppins last week. She played the bank boss (I forget his name) and did a great job. The show was really impressive! They only rehearse for two weeks before putting it on and the kids are all pretty young! I think 10-15 or around there. They did great. This Friday my younger niece is in The Little Mermaid. Same thing, two weeks of rehearsals. This one will probably be chaos since the kids are like 5-9. Most of them can't even read yet. I'm imagining missed cues, flubbed lines, confused children. Should be fabulous. I can't wait! Seriously! I'm sure it will be adorable.

I had a braiding job Saturday night this past week. So glad to be getting some work finally! I had a small panic when I saw the mane at first:

Yep. It was VERY short, uneven, and I'm pretty sure cut with a solo comb. (Please if you are going to hire out for hunter braids, DO NOT USE A SOLO COMB!) But somehow, it actually braided up pretty nicely. And the horse was an angel to work on. The horses at this barn are always really lovely to work with. I'll take questionably cared for manes on a well behaved horse any day! 

I have a pony to do for them in a few weeks and then the week after that I have a new customer to braid for. So yay for jobs! 

And that's it. That's all I've got. Cheers for you if you read through all of this without being like wow this chick is whiny. Please, feel free to share any advice you might have in the comments. You all have had your ups and downs so you might have some tools in your box that I do not. Or some owners manuals maybe! Lol!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Heh heh... Today's confession? My quest for fun jump decor may be my undoing one of these days. So you know the palm trees that I was so ridiculously excited for? (I still am. They're probably one of my most favorite things.) Anyway, you remember them. Eros keeps plucking the fronds out of them when he's turned out. I keep sticking them back in, but I think I need to find a more permanent solution. Because today it was very windy and they kept blowing out. Which would also be fine if I didn't own Al... The flight response is VERY HIGH when those things go flying around! But also, E must have really pulled on the one tree because I didn't realize its base was no longer under the standards. And today was ridiculously windy. Which is a challenge in itself with this ridiculous herd of horses I have. (Not Shiny. She doesn't care about wind. Usually.) I can imagine you see where this is going... THANKFULLY I was on Shiny when it happened. I was cantering down the long side toward the barn and I heard the little skeletons moving around on the standards from the wind as I cantered by. When all of a sudden Shiny just BOLTED down the rest of the long side. I at first thought she was just spooking at the sound the skeletons were making which is unlike her, but we all do weird things sometimes. But no. What she spooked at was the palm tree falling over. (It was behind us so I didn't see.) She hates when stuff falls. That's the one thing she will spook at consistently. Rails falling, the hay tree falling, whatever. She doesn't like that. Thankfully it's Shiny so the bolt was short. And then she went and sniffed the tree and all was fine again.

But that's not all! You know my cute little autumn maple trees? The ones that are starting to look more like winter maple trees thanks to Eros the plucker... Yeah those. Well. I have water bags on them to hold them down because I learn from past mistakes. (To be fair, there is also a water bag on the palm tree but it was shifted thanks to the plucker.) Anyway, despite my water bags, one of the maple trees blew over during my ride today too. Only I wasn't on Shiny for that one. I was on Al! He also bolted away from it, but thankfully went straight and didn't spin. Much like Shiny, Al doesn't bolt and keep running because while a spooky knuckle head, he is also very unmotivated. So it was no big deal. He did have to very slowly go over and sniff the fallen tree, but once we got through that he was over it. The wind was a bit more of a struggle for him, but we actually got a lot done in our ride even if it wasn't quite the ride I had planned. But we'll chat more about that tomorrow. Hopefully. If I don't forget again! Ha! 

So yeah. That's today's confession. My jump decor was trying to kill me, and I have no one to blame but myself. And Mother Nature. I can blame her.

Thursday's Threads

 

Hey! Did you guys miss me yesterday?? Sorry about that... I completely just forgot to post. Wednesday evenings in the summer we have family dinner. It ran a little late and I just forgot all about it. But honestly, it wasn't a particularly exciting week, so we'll just catch up next Wednesday. But fear not! I do have an outfit to share today. Al is our model this week and here's what he had on:

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

If you're thinking, "Huh? That Pinnacle bridle looks different than Eros'," you would be correct! It's the same bridle, but a different color. Eros and Shiny have the chestnut color and Al here has havana. I just don't prefer the lighter color on him, so he got the dark one. 

Boots: Busse

Pardon his feet, we're just about at the end of our cycle. And when they're barefoot they can get a little ugly. Anyway, I really like these boots. They have fuzzy edges for comfort but are mesh otherwise so they don't get too hot. They were also super affordable. 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Saddle Pad: Wilkers

Sometime last year I tried to order some chocolate colored Ogilvy baby pads, but they had discontinued the brown. I was very sad. But then I discovered this new model pad from Wilkers. It's a half weight, so a little thicker than a baby pad, but not as thick as a regular pad. And it's shaped like an Ogilvy which is what I really appreciate. They're pretty affordable so I went ahead and ordered two of them. I really like them. Not only are they very nice, but they make them insanely fast. Totally custom, you pick all the colors you want, and mine shipped out within two days. For a custom pad! Color me impressed. I do kind of wish the brown and green shades were a little darker... but let's not split hairs.

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

I know. The shirt and the pad are like exactly the same shade. What are the odds??

Helmet: One K

You've seen this one before, but I'll mention it again. I snagged it on Horseloverz on sale super cheap, but it's a recent date. It was a great find! I like the brown. I'm still lusting after a brown Samshield, but this one is definitely filling the void.

Shirt: Fit Eq

I'm usually pretty cheap and stick to my Amazon brand shirts, but the FitEq ones are really nice. They shot their last ad campaign at the boarding barn and my friends are the models, so I felt like I should support the brand. So I bought one of these when they had a sale. But then sadly, FitEq ran into some trouble because I guess the name is too close to another brand, so they're closing up shop. At one point she had the tops marked down to $10 each, so I grabbed a couple of each color and sleeve length. They're back to $32 for long sleeve and $23 for short sleeve until they sell out which is still a decent price. If you're wanting one, now's the time before they're gone for good. 

Belt: Tory Burch

You've seen this one a bunch. I got it in Florida lots of years ago.

Breeches: RJ Classics Harper

Also not new. But I really like these!

Boots: Horka

I just wore these for Thursday's Threads a few weeks ago, so you've seen them recently too. They're just so comfy, I've been wearing them a lot! 

And that's it for this week. Nothing new or terribly exciting, but it's all stuff I really love. Have any favorites?

Truthful Tuesday

 

I had some great confession for you guys. I remember this weekend doing whatever it was and being like, "well I have my Truthful Tuesday for the week now." But then I didn't write it down and I can't remember what it was that I did. I've really gotta remember to make note of these things. If I remember I'll share another week. 

In the meantime, I'll confess to something else. Admittedly, I have a lot less disposable income than I used to. Which I believe is the same for most people these days. And I've been pretty good about not buying stuff I don't need this summer. Which doesn't mean I don't window shop and keep a list of all the things I wish I could buy... But I haven't bought them. I've been good. 

Until a few weeks ago. Celeris has a list you can get on that if sample boots become available in your measurements they will offer them to you first before listing them for sale to the public. OBVIOUSLY I'm on this list because we all know I have a boot problem. So they contacted me a few weeks ago that they had a pair available in my size. But it was gray with turquoise which sounded lovely, but I already have a pair in a very similar color scheme. So I did the responsible thing and I passed. But I did request to still keep me in mind for future pairs. 

And then... they had another option for me. Navy with silver. I have a pair of gold and navy from Pioneer that I bought second hand. But they're very loud and not for everyday type use. I also have a pair of navy DeNiro, but they are out of commission with a broken zipper. So I did the very irresponsible thing and bought the navy Celeris boots. 

They arrived last week and are beautiful. They are pretty much exactly my measurements and I love them. Of my other navy options, the Pioneer aren't a perfect fit, and also I'm not sure they'll hold up for very long. And the DeNiro are a little big in the calf and a little too short. Plus they're broken. So this new pair will likely end up my everyday pair this winter, until the bitter cold sets in and I switch to full chaps. I like having a semi plain boot for everyday so my crazy ones last forever and also sometimes you don't want to be crazy. These are very simple, with just a little silver piping at the top. Otherwise they are all navy.

I find I feel the most secure in the saddle in my Celeris boots compared to the others. Someday the full collection will just be those I think. 

So that's it. I bought more boots. I shouldn't have. But I did. And I don't really have any regrets. Thank goodness I have some braiding work lined up in the coming weeks!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! It's been so hot around here this week that I thought breathable and perforated should be the theme today. Eros wanted to be the model so we'll start with his outfit.

Here's what he had on today:

Okay, I know he's still sporting the dad bod, but he is slightly trimmer and definitely sporting more muscle. Still could work on that core though.... 

Bridle: Pinnacle 
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

It makes me really sad that Blogger doesn't respect photos. This shot looks so clear and bright on my phone. Yet dark and meh on this platform. Anyway, I am really happy with these bridles, especially for the price point. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Anatomeq
Half Pad: Mattes

I really love the Anatomeq Perfeq junmper pads. They're expensive, but they really do a nice job of being breathable and they stay in place nicely without needing attachment pieces. I would love to add some more to our rotation one of these days. 

Polo Wraps: Alessandro Albanese

Ugh, again with the photo quality, but this time it matters because you can't see that these are mesh. They aren't as breathable as I would have expected because despite the outer layer being mesh, the inside is actually fleece. It's really thin, so I still like them a lot, just wish it was a different material on the inner layer. 

That's what E had on today, and here's what I was wearing:

Yep, back in my colors. I can't help it, most of my stuff falls into this color scheme. 

Helmet: One K

This one could benefit from a cleaning... Ha. I like these helmets a lot, but I do feel like the liners lose their fit after awhile. Or maybe after being ridiculously sweaty on the regular. Regardless, this liner is feeling a little loose these days. Not a big deal to replace it, but kind of annoying.

Shirt: Annva

This is a really comfortable shirt from Amazon that's pretty similar to other brand I like to wear. I honestly don't know why people spend so much money on Lulu Lemon or even TKEQ when Amazon has the same shirts for so much less.

Belt: Unbranded

Nameplates: Halter Tags

I had ordered these nameplates intending to make bracelets with them, but when they arrived, they were much larger than I realized and also really good quality. So good in fact that I couldn't get them to bend to be bracelet functional. So I stuck them on this belt instead. I'm happy with the change in plan!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

This is the color Canyon. I spent a lot of time hunting for a used or consignment pair of these and eventually they popped up on my Facebook feed. I was extra thrilled when they were side zip. Probably my current favorite pair of breeches.

Boots: Cavallo Weatherproof Linus

These are the waterproof boots from Cavallo. They're like a nubuck leather. They look brown in this photo but have a slightly more green tint in real life. The color is olive, but I do think they lean more brown than green. I like them though, they've broken in nicely and are very comfortable. 

That's it for today! Any favorites? Anything colors or themes you want to see soon? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

It's funny how busy the summer can be for an unemployed horse farm owner. You would think it should be all slow days, but they're all pretty full. And I'm not complaining! Summer is my favorite, and I've really enjoyed seeing friends here and there too. Fortunately, despite being busy we've gotten plenty of riding in. 

So I was planning to jump Al on Friday but he went and hurt himself in the morning. It was perplexing initially, very swollen and I had a hard time finding any kind of wound. (He's the type to absurdly swell from the tiniest knick.) I did eventually see the booboo which you can see pretty plainly in this photo with the flash on.

But this was it:

It's barely an abrasion. But with that much swelling? My working hypothesis is that Shiny probably kicked him through the fence. It's the same height as the mark she made on the fence post another time. And we all know that Al doesn't read social cues. Based on how the leg behaved through the weekend I think the hypothesis holds up. But because of how ugly it was I decided not to push him too hard this weekend. We flatted very lightly Friday because I wanted to make sure he was sound on it (he was). Saturday we actually got rained out which I think was probably a positive in getting this leg to calm down. 

We spent the day pulling manes instead.

Then Sunday we did a short flat ride again. I also washed it everyday, iced it, and wrapped it through the weekend. 

Was the hock ice boot necessary? Hard to say. 
More is better though right?

It's completely back to normal this week, so whatever it was, it looked worse than it really was. THANK GOODNESS. We finally got a jump school in today, and he was AMAZING. Like was looking for the next jump rather than out at the trees, moved right off my leg when I remembered to use it... The whole thing. He was great. I'm so proud of him! 

I'm starting to get itchy to jump a little bigger. This horse, when he's sane, makes me feel like I could jump the moon. He's so special. Just depends on the day which kind of special he is... Currently we're working with the good kind though!

Shiny's kid is back for the summer so she came to ride her on Friday and they did great. It was raining a little, but they just kept on doing their thing. Jumped around and everything! Kiddo's mom isn't back yet which is a bummer for me, but still nice to see kiddo! 

Saturday we were rained out (as previously mentioned) but she got her mane done instead. I need at least another session to get it to where it should be, but it's a good start at least. She hates having it pulled, but she's getting better about it. 

Sunday was funday so we rode bareback. She's the most fun bareback, even when she decides towards the end that she wants to trot 100 mph. I'm not sure why, but when Shiny gets tired she likes to go faster. Which is what I spend most of the ride trying to achieve generally.... Very confusing. When you're bareback, it's just ridiculous. But also really funny. One of these days I'm going to get trotted right off. 

We jumped around today, but again, I'm struggling to get the gears engaged. I think we need to work a little harder on our flatwork in between jump schools. She jumped around, but she was a little on the forehand, and just not very adjustable. Which makes it very difficult to find the fences. It was pretty hot today and VERY humid though. So I imagine that also played a part in her lack of spunk. It's supposed to be less humid through the weekend so we'll see if I get to have more pony when we jump again later in the week. Fingers crossed. 

They're all due for body work too. They should get done the end of next week though, so we'll see if that helps too. Regardless, I don't think anything is really wrong other than we need to work a little harder. 

I often forget how short I am until I see photos of 
me standing next to one of the full sized horses.

Eros is feeling pretty good this week! I've been setting his saddle just a hair further back and his balance feels completely better. Turns out, I think I've been putting it too far forward on him. Those enormous withers are tricky sometimes... But he's starting to engage that hind end better. I'm excited with this new development! I need to check in with doc, but I think we're about ready to start hopping over some tiny things and cantering some rails on the ground. Which is very exciting! I miss jumping this good boy. 

Eros also had his mane pulled Saturday. Like Shiny, he needs at least one more session, but he also hates it, so we just do a little at a time. Still looks significantly better than it did before! 

We repeated last week's rehab schedule this week since we've been a little inconsistent with holidays and weather. But he's feeling pretty fit so I'm not too worried about the inconsistency. 

That's about it on the horse front this week. Rita's been pretty bored because the heat and humidity make it too hot for our regular street walks. She doesn't seem too worked up over it though.

We've had a lot of wildlife around the farm lately, so I'll leave you with photos of all of them:

This bunny likes to hang out for my last ride of the day

Dragon Fly hitchhiking on my shoe

Wounded Butterfly

Frog!