What's up Wednesday

 

Holy moly it has been a FULL week! Like I think I've lived half a lifetime in the last five days. But all good things! The horses are all doing just fine and are back home, so I think for today's post, since I'm so sleepy, I'll just go day by day. No one did anything all that exciting this week because we didn't have the best footing to work with. First it was too dry and then it was too wet... But we had a lot of fun anyway so no complaints here! 

I'm skipping Thursday because I don't remember it. I don't think anything exciting happened. Friday was more of the same, nice flats for everyone. I mostly rode Shiny out in the grass ring this week since she has  a tough time with the deeper footing when it's too dry in the ring. I would have for everyone, but E hates it back there. Al would probably be good if we hand walk it first, but there's no mounting block out there and my old 5'2" butt can't climb up on 16.3 hands of moving target anymore without some assistance. Anyway, we had nice rides and then I had my first mane of the season to braid! (Finally. My wallet could use some work!)

Happy to report I still remember how to braid. I'm always a little nervous the first time out that I won't do a great job. But they looked nice enough. I like braiding for this barn, their horses are all so well behaved.

I was glad it was an easy night with just one because we were having a clinic at the barn on Saturday, which I mentioned last week. I was REALLY hoping to do Al outside, but alas, it rained forever and ever and we were indoors. So I pivoted and did Eros in a flat lesson instead. The clinician is an Eventer and Dressage rider so she was happy to do whatever. I told her I knew basic flatwork things and lateral movements to a degree, but that we weren't proficient. I said I'm very confident that Eros has dressage training, but I don't know how to push all the buttons, and he's probably quite rusty. I also warned her that he comes out looking questionable but he gets more sound as he goes. I like to tell people this so they don't think I'm just working a lame horse and don't realize it. He has his defect, and we have figured out how to manage it as best we can, but to someone who doesn't know him... You all understand. Anyway, she trusted me, and even asked about it afterward and I showed her where he's put together wrong. She's super nice, and I hope I get to lesson with her again.

Anyway, to start she just had me warm him up how he likes (which is slowly... lol) and then just had me get the canter moving forward so he was engaging his hind end and starting to lift his belly. From there we took a little break and touched on some lateral work. First shoulder in each way, then haunches in each way. Followed that up with some leg yields each way. Initially she said he clearly has the training, and he's doing the things, but if we went to a dressage show in that moment we'd get slaughtered. Lol! I mean she said it nicely, and was like no offense... But she was correct. Because Eros is a cheater. He can cross his legs over like it ain't no thing while still being completely hollow. And initially that's what he was giving me. But the more we worked, the rounder he got through his back and he started engaging himself and by the end we had really lovely nearly correct movements. He's not SUPER fit for this type of work, so I imagine it was hard for him, but he did a great job. We did struggle quite a bit when it came to the half pass, because I never really learned how to do that correctly. (Remember, I AM a hunter princess...) I really just thought it was a leg yield with the horse bending the opposite way. Which I guess it sort of is, but like... not really. So I will say, I don't think we ever quite got that accomplished completely. But he was pretty tired by then too. Here's a GIF of us failing at trying half pass: 

My biggest problem when we got to this movement was keeping the impulsion. Which is why I'm posting doing this. We tried sitting which I prefer for lateral work, but it was a little easier to keep the forward motion when I was posting. Unfortunately, in keeping the forward I lost a lot of his shape, so he's hollow here and not really on the bit. And only just barely really crossing over... It's a work in progress. I know we can do better, but you work with what you have in the moment. He was definitely getting tired by this point too. As was I! It was fun though, and when she was talking us through things we definitely had lightbulb moments that felt incredible. This horse is so fun, and if I didn't find it so hard to ride in the saddles, maybe I'd consider letting him be a dressage horse. 

Saturday night I was back on my ladder. I started a little late because a big loud thunder storm came through just as I was planning to leave. Figured I'd let that pass then head out. I had three that night to do. All were well behaved and had decent manes. Well... one of them barely had any mane, but that just makes my job quicker so no complaints from me there!

Thin mane guy

Thick mane guy

Bottom half of mane ruined by blanket guy

I found out the next day that the paint horse had never been braided before, but he was such an angel I wasn't mad they didn't tell me that. The only part he was tough about was taking the photo! Ha! That part is not important.

I got home around 3am so it was a very long day. For some reason though I was up normal time. Rita and I lounged in bed for a bit though before I dragged my tired self out of bed to get to the barn. It finally stopped raining, but the WIND on Sunday was absolutely insane. I don't know how people were showing in that. I rode inside where it was noisy from the building rattling but far more pleasant than being out in the wind. Al was big sad about being in there all by himself. But he tried to keep his poo together and honestly there was a lot working against us. He didn't get turned out the day before due to the weather. I did take him for grass for a bit in between the rain, but that was all he did Saturday. And Sunday I rode him before he went out. So he'd been stuck in for many hours before our ride. That and the sounds in the indoor! The rattling, the squeaking and banging doors... Honestly it was a lot. And he really did a pretty good job of handling it. We managed some work at all three gates and I called that a win. He was very happy to get to his turnout time after wards. Shiny had a nice flat in there. She doesn't care about wind or noises. Good pony! And E just had a tack walk after his booty workout the day before. 

Monday I spent moving the majority of our stuff back home. I figured if I could get almost everything home with the truck, then on moving day I could stuff everyone in the trailer in one trip. And I was successful! It was a massive game of truck Tetris, but I'm happy to say I won that level. I literally am covered in bruises, but whatever. I got it done! Proud of me! I also got the truck fueled, and the trailer hooked up:

Then I de-molded the ice boots and the freezer. I forget if I whined about this already, but when my worker was cleaning this winter he defrosted the freezer which was great because it was getting very icy in there. But he put everything back in wet and then closed it, so I had a mold situation to deal with. So that was my next project. De-molding everything:

And I know it's an insane amount of ice boots. There are a few different sizes. 1 pair does the leg and the hoof. I have some smaller ones for Shiny's little legs. A pair of hock ones. And then several just normal sized ones. Most of them are from when Jamp foundered and he needed ice 24/7. We had to have a lot to rotate. Anyway, can't ever have too many ice boots! Unless they're moldy. Then there's definitely too many. 

Once that task was done and they were all hung out there to dry, I tackled the ring. I still couldn't fix the stupid hole since the stone dust hadn't come yet. But almost all of the rest of my fill had arrived and the wind had blown everything all over the place so I had plenty to do out there. Here are some of the new decorations for this year:

Rubber Duckies!!! (I heavy duty velcroed the ones on the standards.)

Some of them are in ponds... Which are kind of like TEENY TINY liverpools.

I got really nice new trees, but the wind has already broken one. 
I'm hoping I can fix it with an old broom handle... We'll have to see
how that plays out.

Last year's flamingos didn't make it... but I got new ones!

And new palm trees. I really hope Eros leaves these ones alone.

some new butterflies

and fresh flowers

Not sure I'll be able to afford this stuff next year when the tariff stuff is here... so having fun while I can!

Then I headed back up to the barn to tuck the ponies in. It was a long day! 

Tuesday I had hoped to have a really easy day just finishing up some odds and ends for the move. I had planned nice easy rides for all the horses, and that's what I got! But Shiny got to take a little walk in the woods. Figured we had to do it on our last day since I had promised her we'd try. 

We didn't go very far because I don't know the trails, and I came across a sign that said foot traffic only and I wasn't sure if pony feet counted... So we turned around there, and then walked through the fields a little. She LOVES being in the woods. I don't have to beg her to move forward, she just goes. She loves taking in all the scenery, and I rarely have to fight with her about snacking in the woods. Different story in the fields. Can't get her face out of that grass, and she's really not supposed to be eating it. Naughty!

Anyway, it was fun, and has me considering trying some of the trails near home with her. My friend that loves to trail ride has an injured horse at the moment, but maybe when he's feeling better we can go adventuring. The only downside to the ride was the eight ticks I pulled off her after. GROSS!

Then I got home and dealt with the bane of my existence... the ring hole! It didn't actually take that long thankfully. Followed that up with collecting rocks to put in the flower pots because they had once again blown all over the ring. Seriously, the wind around here has been intense. And makes a lot of work. Hope it calms down!

And then it was today! My Birthday! 

AND moving day. (Why do I do this to myself every year?) 

I do like my rig <3

I was really pretty organized for today's move, but I was a little nervous. I always get nervous for moving day. I just had a few things left to pack. Their turnout gear since they were all out in the morning before we left, my tack, and then just a few other odds and ends. Everyone loaded great. I used the trick I learned last fall for Al, of loading him from the side ramp. No and out tricks from that direction! Eros still loads from the back ramp. He's longer than Al and I think turning around in my shorter +1 section would be tricky for him. And then for the first time, I shipped Shiny loose in the box stall section. I shipped her once to the old winter barn in there, but I had tied her that time. The tie ring is not in the best place, and when we arrived I found her kind of sweaty and contorted so she could lean against the closest wall which is the short one. Shorter than her. It was very awkward. So this time I shipped her loose and let her choose where she wanted to stand. I worried the whole way! The trip is all back roads, so I could drive quite slow (and had to) because it's very windy and hilly. I never heard any commotion though, and when we arrived at home no one was at all sweaty and everyone seemed calm. So I think it was a success! Good to know in case I ever want to drag all three of them someplace. Getting a trailer with a side ramp makes everything SO MUCH easier to do on my own. They all just walked right off and I didn't need a second set of hands. They all knew immediately where they were and there was really no excitement at all. The only one who was a little antsy on arrival was Eros. Not sure what about, but he settled down once he realized we were just at home. Silly boy. I didn't do anything with them today, just let them munch hay and settle back into their stalls. I, on the other hand, had plenty to do. I got the trailer cleaned out and everything unloaded. I have some re-organizing to do still, but I'll chip away at that as I get through all the laundry. I packed efficiently for the move home, but not exactly in the organized manner I prefer. I want to separate out turnout clothes from inside clothes and from coolers, etc. I also need to reorganize the winter trunk and my rolling med box. I plan to keep that in the feed room and take it with me where ever we go. It's so convenient and allows me to cut down on having multiples of all those care items. I also need to clean everything up that was sitting out like the trunk and the supplement cart. Those items are DIRTY! The trunk room is upstairs and looks out over the ring, but people aren't up there much so they don't get wiped down like at the old place. Which doesn't bother me, I just had a Stanley trunk up there. They're easy to clean up. The supplement cart is kinda nasty though... Wish they were a little cleaner with the stuff in there. But not a deal breaker. Just one of those things. It's also plastic, so will be easy to clean. I'll probably do all of that cleaning on Monday. The laundry will be an ongoing project for awhile... These horses have a ridiculous amount of clothing. 

And that's it! Home season is here! Did you all have a busy week? Fun pony stuff? Hope it was great!

Truthful Tuesday

 

There are two kinds of people in the world. The ones who fill the gas tank when it gets down to a quarter and the ones that wait until the little warning light comes on, and then wait a little longer. I am the first type. I like to get things done ahead of time so when the deadline approaches I'm not freaking out with too much to do. Though interestingly, I was very much a write the paper the night before type of student. So perhaps I've evolved over time. 

My barn worker however, is the other type. And boy does he stress me out. I touched base with him last week with a list of things I needed done before the horses come home. Important to note, I keep my worker on the payroll all winter even though the horses aren't here. He spends his time getting the barn super clean which is much easier when the poop machines aren't around. Last year, just before the horses came home I did the same, and he didn't get the things done because he had planned to do them the same day the horses were coming back. I thought our conversation then would have stuck... So last week, he said he'd get everything done Monday and Tuesday. I said no, let's get them done Thursday and Friday. Figuring if I had any time this weekend to do the things I need to do, the other stuff would be done. But he didn't do that. Which turned out okay because with braiding, riding, and the clinic on Sunday I didn't have any extra energy to be in my barn. But I did give him a list of things to get done today and tomorrow. The most important of which was fixing the hole in the ring because my stone dust didn't arrive until today. I texted him once it was delivered and he said "okay". I stupidly assumed it was getting done. When I got home from the barn today at 5, I headed out to my barn to finish up some odds and ends and check on the hole. And know what I found? A GIANT EFFING HOLE still in the ring. So I texted him asking what happened and he's all don't worry I'll do it tomorrow. GUYS. The horses will be home tomorrow. I don't want holes getting fixed the same freaking day! So obviously I fixed it myself. And THEN did the few things I needed to do. And then I also swept the floor of the entire barn since that hadn't been done either. I don't think he ever got around to washing the floor this winter. Which is frustrating to me because it's been six months. It should look brand new in all that time. 

I think next winter I need to be more specific in my wants and needs. He's a wonderful guy and works hard. But when left to his own devices... we're clearly not on the same page. Note to self for next year to be more proactive and literal in my requests. And maybe I need to calm down a little. But that's just not who I am as a person. And THAT my friends, is today's confession. 

Thursday's Threads: Peeps Edition

 

Outfit Day! And it's a fun one. Two holiday weeks in a row! Which is good, because I'll probably forget to do Thursday's Threads next week... Just being real. It's about to get a lil' crazy here for a few days. Anyway, EVERYONE is modeling today, so buckle up. Also, this was our Easter Sunday look this year.

Something I really like about this barn is that they do have staff on holidays so nothing is different for the horses. I'm all for giving staff a holiday off, especially if they're full time barn workers who likely work insane hours all the time. But here, most of the staff is part time so it's not as inhumane to request work on a holiday. I've been at barns that didn't clean stalls on a holiday and didn't turnout. One barn even didn't feed morning grain. I'll never complain about the horses staying in or having a dirty stall once for a holiday at a place where the staff is always above and beyond otherwise. But the not feeding a meal, or skipping supplements/meds because it's too much work is pretty terrible.

The other thing I like is that everyone thought our silly outfits were fab and they seem to enjoy when I let my weirdness hang out all over. Which is good, cause I'm weird, and it's gonna show.

Bridles: Joseph Sterling
Brow Bands: Home made by me
Bonnets: Woof Wear, embellished by me
Headbands: Peeps brand

I forgot Al's bunny head band. He DID have one, I just failed to put it on him. Terrible mother, though likely he didn't notice anyway.

Saddles: Eros and Al have Butet and Shiny's is the Brockamp bareback pad
Saddle Pads: Shiny and Eros have Ogilvy and Eros has a brand I can't recall... 
Half Pads: Eros' is Le Mieux and Al's is built into his pad

Full disclosure, Eros and Shiny shared the same pad this time. I didn't have enough peeps ribbon to make a third pad.

Boots: Premier Equine, embellished by me

Eros wore boots instead of polos this day because I don't have interchangeable polos for him... Yet! But I am going to fix that very soon.

So that's what the horses wore for Easter, and here's what I had on:

Top to bottom peeps! All the weird, all over. And yes, I actually do enjoy a peep now and then. I'll never understand how a sugar covered marshmallow could be disliked. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I fell short with the hat and boots. Completely forgot to grab my gray one with the purple accents and also forgot to grab my lavender boots. I'll do better next year.

Sweatshirt: Fun.com

This was advertised as a sweater, but at a suspiciously low price, so when it arrived and was a sweatshirt I was disappointed, but not surprised. It certainly does the job either way. 

Belt: C4

This belt is one of my favorite things, especially because it has Peeps chicks on it rather than the bunnies. I really can't explain it, but I prefer the chicks to the bunnies.

Breeches: RJ Classics

I as torn between these breeches and another pair I have that matches the trim on the shirt. I went with these, but maybe next year we'll try the others and see which is cutest. Probably with the lavender boots the other breeches will look better. 

Socks: Dreamers And Schemers
Shoes: Healies x Peeps

I got the socks last year when D&S did some really cute Easter themed socks. And actually most of this stuff we've had at least since last year. But I did irresponsibly source two new things this year. The first was the sweatshirt, and the other was these sneakers. I found a coupon code though, and since they're children's sneakers, they weren't very expensive. So I'm not too mad at myself for the little splurge. Plus, how cute are the bunny tongues?? These are Healies sneakers, so you can actually install a wheel underneath and roll around on them. But I'm old with a bad knee, so I doubt I'll be doing that.

And that's it for today! Any favorites? Are you Peeps fan or foe? Even if you're a foe, you have to admit that they are ADORABLE!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Spring has finally arrived! And not a moment too soon as we are ONE WEEK away from moving horses back home! I think things are mostly in order, but I'm still waiting for my stone dust to arrive to fill in the hole in my ring... There were a few places locally that sell stone dust, but only by the truck load which is way more than I need. So I ordered some from Home Depot foolishly thinking it would arrive quickly... Silly me. I'm still waiting. The closest one to me is about an hour away, but I probably should have just made the drive. It SHOULD be here Monday (just got an email...) on Tuesday, which is cutting it a little close for my liking, but what can you do? 

My ring hole, courtesy of the boulder below

This isn't a rock, it's a legit boulder.

As far as I can tell so far, other than this hole, things are mostly ready for the horses. My worker is going to do a final cleaning up this week and also put shavings and buckets back in the stalls. I haven't started packing because there's really not much stuff I can pack up yet. The weather is so up and down I'm afraid to put away any blankets! I'll probably just pack in the morning of moving day. We have a lot of stuff, but honestly the majority is blankets which don't take long to pack. They each have two bridles at the barn, so maybe I'll bring home one of each of those, and my full chaps and a few odds and ends this weekend. We'll see. 

The weather was all sorts of cuckoo crazy at the end of last week and the weekend. Saturday was AMAZING, in the upper 70's not too much wind, lots of sun. It was lovely. Sunday would have been similar but the 40 mph wind gusts were NUTS. Needless to say, we took advantage of the indoor that day. Since then though, it's been pretty nice! The last two days were nearly perfect and it continues until Saturday when we get rain. The only reason that's truly disappointing is that it's clinic day at the barn. I decided that if we get stuck indoors I'm going to sub in Eros and do a flat lesson. There's no point spending all that money to attempt to lesson on Al in the indoor. He's doing much better in there than earlier in the season, but it won't be the learning experience I'd like to have. Eros is feeling pretty great most days now though, so it would be beneficial to get a lesson on him. 

This week though? We've been LOVING the weather. Al is all in on being a good relaxed boy. Today perhaps a bit too relaxed when he flat out ignored my request to pick up the first trot... But hey, can't blame a guy for zoning out on such a gorgeous day. He did perk up slightly when I offered him some little jumpies to play with. 

His new favorite game is removing items from his body in turnout. Usually it's his bell boots, but occasionally it's also his fly mask. Yesterday, he removed one bell boot, and then just his ears from the fly mask. It was a look.

He seemed quite pleased with it though. I think it's like when little kids pick out their own clothes. It's never quite right, but as long as they're happy, who cares? 

Guys. Shiny straight up PLAYED me yesterday. Like fully 100% effed with me. I got on her in the outdoor ring, walked around a few times and then she REFUSED to pick up the trot. Like instead she halted and threw her head up and down. I was really worried something was wrong. She often ignores me, and wiggles around, but she's never flat out refused to trot for me before. (Canter with a kid? Definitely, but not trot with me.) I had several ideas of what could be the problem, but I wasn't really sure. They got shots on Friday which none of them had any sort of reaction to. They didn't even seem sore, which normally Shiny is. And I forgot to have doc give them to her in her pecs this time. So one thought was that maybe she had a delayed response to her shots. My other thought was that maybe she just was too warm since she still has a decent amount of winter hair still on her. My allergies were terrible, and we know that she has some lung stuff going on so maybe she was also feeling some allergies? Could the shimmed saddle pad be not quite right anymore? I decided to take her for a property walk instead and see if she perked up. Which she did. Her walk was all business as we wandered the property up and down the hills. So I felt a little better about things, and decided to see how she was the next day. I did note at the end of the ride that she was breathing a little hard, but nothing truly alarming. And she recovered nicely once I hosed her down. Today she was much better. I opted to ride her in the grass ring so we could avoid the dusty outdoor. Initially she tried the same thing when I asked for trot, but when I insisted she settled into work nicely. Although she did stop and steal some grass once... Ponies will always make you feel like a child. Ha! Anyway, I'm not so worried about her anymore, and instead feel a little silly that my pony fully took advantage of me. She's too much!

Eros is feeling pretty good these days. After our not so great ride that I reported on last week, he came out the next day ready for some fancy prancing. Eros used to have an incredible extended trot. Like the nicest one I've ever ridden. But it's been several years since I've been able to get it from him. Well last week, not only did we achieve it, but we had witnesses! (If no one else sees it, did it really happen?) It is a really special feeling when he sits back on his hocks to get that full extension. I could feel the pause before his front foot hit the ground and he was extending so far I could literally see his feet in my peripheral vision. I hope I can get it on video someday. The ring has dried out too much, so I won't ask for it again until we get some rain (it gets deep when it's too dry), but it's still nice to know thats still in there! So far this week he's been a little lazy but I think they need to acclimate to the warmer weather. 

So overall it was a good week! A little light in the workload with the shots on Friday and the weather being a little wild. But that's okay. We always end up a little off schedule when it's moving time anyway. We have the whole summer to get our poo together anyway. There's a chance I won't write a recap next week, just depending on how the move goes. But we'll have lots to report on between the clinic, the return home, and a braiding job this weekend. (Why does everything always happen at the same time?) 

Hope you all had a great week and weekend! Do anything fun with your horses?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Heh... so this is a funny one. Yesterday I had a bunch of things delivered for the barn and what not. So I was opening it all up because it was also trash day, so I wanted to get the boxes out in the bin. So at one point I had opened a box and then put the packing material in the trash, and then I couldn't find the scissors. I thought maybe I had thrown them out by mistake, but no. I was in the house, and hadn't left a pretty small radius. It was really driving me bonkers. Couldn't find them anywhere. No where to be seen. Just poof! Scissors gone. A real head scratcher. Fortunately, I had another pair so finished up my package project. 

But I was still so confused as to what had happened with the scissors. Like seriously, where could they have gone. They're inanimate. They can't just wander away. So then I was looking for my phone because you know how that goes. And when I went to check my back jeans pocket, guess what was in there. The freaking scissors. So that's today's confession. The senility has officially set in. I'll be 45 next week so I guess that makes sense.

Anyone else lose anything in their own pocket recently? 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day! AND it's a holiday, so we have a fun theme this week. Al is our model, so we can start with what he had on:

You can tell it's windy as per the norm these days because his little tail is blowing away.

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

He was very interested in having his photo taken this week. Or maybe he was looking for snacks. Hard to say which for sure. 

Saddle Pad: Equine Star

Half Pad: Mattes

Yes that's MATZO! Because this week is Passover. I love how these pads came out visually, but they are kind of slippery which isn't ideal.

Boots: Equine Star

Of COURSE the boots are also matzo print. They're so cute!

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

All the matzo. Matzo everywhere!

Helmet: OneK Avance CCS MIPS

I took photos yesterday, and while Al braved the elements, I chose to do the others indoors which is where I snapped this pic. It's the same helmet you all have seen the last many weeks. 

Hoodie: I'm sorry guys, I have no idea the brand on this

When I first got this hoodie a few years back I was disappointed in the base color. But now that I've found a love for every shade of tan on the planet, I'm actually really glad it's this color. I love that the hood is printed like the pocket. Just enough matzo print without going overboard. 

Belt: Lilo

I should probably go hunting for a matzo belt buckle... Seems like a useful item to own. Wonder if it exists?

Breeches: Equiline

I know, I just wore these brown breeches pretty recently for Thursday's Threads, but they seemed the most appropriate color choice for this outfit. So here they are again!

Socks: TooCool

Wouldn't be a Passover outfit without matzo socks! So here they are!

Boots: Horka

Yep still wearing these too. They are now decorated with U-Shield that Al likes to spit all over me. Gives the distressed look a little something extra don't you think? Also, the clogs in the background are from Hunter and are currently my most favorite shoes to wear. I would like to get a back up pair because I'm sure they're discontinued already.

That's it for today! Something fun finally! Happy Passover friends! (And Easter for those who celebrate since that's this weekend.)