Truthful Tuesday

 

Oh boy. I don't even know which dumb thing to share first. So I'll start with the lightbulbs since that's where we left off last week. So after getting my fixture straightened out in the house I decided it was time for a bit of a lightbulb overhaul. I had a bunch of mismatched bulbs in the barn and my outside fixtures on the house have burned out for like two years. (Listen, I'm very good at taking care of horses, but I am not so good at caring for things like that. Okay? Okay.) 

So I got new bulbs for the outside fixtures and it lights up like daytime out there now! So nice. Should have done that awhile ago. But the problem is in the barn. My aisle lights are all fine, but it was the fixtures in the rooms that were mismatched- tack room, feed room, and wash stall. Amazon had a lovely 12 pack of bulbs available which was exactly the amount I needed. Perfect! And available in a variety of colors. I chose soft white because that's what I thought I liked. But obviously, since this is Truthful Tuesday, I must admit that I thought wrong. Soft white is really yellow and kind of dark. They actually look nice in the feed room and tack room, but in the wash stall they do not. Not at all. Much too dark in there. So now I have to get new bulbs. I'm going to try warm white this time. And they better be the one because I'm not spending any more money on light bulbs this year! 

My next dumb thing is... well.... REALLY STUPID! Last year I bought some new brushes for Al. They're from Waldhausen and they're really nice. Especially the curries. And as we're deep into shedding season at the moment, I decided I wanted to get the curries for the other horses too. But they're sold out all over the US. So I figured I'd get them from Fundis since they had enough of what I wanted. Tariffs from Germany should be around 15% so I figured that's not too bad. But as it turns out, I do not have a good understanding of import fees apparently. My total order from Fundis was around $150. I figured at worst import fees could accumulate to maybe $100. Figure tariffs plus broker fees. Whatever. Um yeah. No. Not even close. UPS sent me a bill for nearly $400! Insane. I tried calling for an explanation but was left on hold for over an hour. At which point UPS was closed so I finally hung up because I think I'd have just been left on hold forever. So let my stupidity be a warning to you. Import fees are not just what ever percentage the tariffs are. I miss de minimus. And I also miss all the money I made braiding this weekend that just went to import fees. 

I dunno guys. I think we're in the bad place. US Government just robbed me blind for some brushes for me horses. Lame.

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I bet you were worried there wouldn't be a Thursday's Threads because of our rain day. But fear not! I planned ahead and got photos on Monday. Eros is our model today, but he wasn't terribly excited about it this week. Here's what he had on:

It was workout day. Not his favorite day of the week. But he looks just as handsome in workout clothes as he does in regular outfits!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

He was unwilling to perk his ears for the bridle photo. Thank goodness you've all see this one before!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Stubben
Saddle pad system: Catago

I originally had the the OG Equicore resistance bands for the horses from when Pammon used them for his rehab. But I really hated the saddle pad, so I decided to try the Catago version at some point when I had a nice coupon available for it. The pad is SO much nicer than the other. And it has properties similar to Back On Track, so it should also feel nice for Eros. Can't tell by his face though...

Wraps: Catago

I should have used a black pair of wraps for this outfit, but you know what? It's nice to have a little color in an otherwise plain look. 

So that's what Eros was wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

Im all honesty after all the fanciness this weekend I didn't have a lot of motivation for outfit day this week. So I went with black and gray. But I did liven it up with my footwear at least!

Helmet: Samshield

This is the old one I probably shouldn't wear anymore that my friend so kindly embellished for me. And it has the additional visor on it, since it isn't a Miss Shield.

Top: Zengjo

Amazon had these perforated tee shirts pretty cheap this summer so I grabbed a couple of colors. They aren't the most comfortable, but they aren't uncomfortable either. I like the additional air flow.

Belt: LV Inspired

Snagged this belt ages ago from Ebay, and it's definitely seen better days, but I think it will be around for a little bit longer. Hopefully!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I'm still in mourning over the loss of this fabric. Also, though, I really wish they would actually for REAL discount them so I can stock up for the future...

Boots: Celeris UK

Best way to spruce up a drab outfit is with some fancy footwear, amiright?? (I am right.) I still love these boots. 10/10 highly recommend.

That's it for this week! Anything you're hoping to see for next week?

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't have much to report on this week as I've only ridden a handful of times since last Wednesday. Everyone survived my weekend away just fine thanks to a wonderful farm sitter. I think Al was a little perturbed by my absence. When I got home, he wouldn't come over and say hi. He ALWAYS comes to the door when he sees me. But he's forgiven me now. Phew!

I was hoping to jump today and get some fun media for everyone, but we had some dreary weather and all the horses were like meh. Let's go slow and not work hard. And I worked really hard to very little response from any of them, and basically just decided to flat instead. I did pop Shiny over a few things because I started riding her in Eros' saddle again this week and I wanted to see how she jumped in it. It actually seems to working pretty well for her now. The pads aren't slipping, and I think she jumped better in it than her own saddle. But she was SLOOOOOWWWWW. We did 8 in the 5 this week though, so better than last week. Lol! 

That saddle I found for her sold literally minutes before I went to dinner tonight. So that's disappointing. Back on the hunt. But in the meantime, Eros' is working out, so that's good at least. 

As for Eros... I think I worked him too hard in his workout bands earlier this week because he came out a little extra stiff and possibly more unmotivated than his sister. But he worked out of his creakiness and had a nice flat. I think we're getting rained out tomorrow (Thursday) but maybe over the weekend we'll try to jump. 

This photo makes me giggle a little because I don't think of Eros as a big horse (he is 16.3 which is a good size) but I look kinda small here! I think it's the angle.

Al's had an interesting re-entry to work life after his weekend vacation. The one thing I will say about this horse is that he's the same horse whether he's been ridden or not... And by that I mean you never really know what you're gonna get, and not riding him doesn't change that! Haha! I always laugh a little when I read that in sales ads because saying the horse is the same whether it's worked or not doesn't mean it's well behaved. Just means it's always the same! Anyway, I digress. I rode Monday this week since they didn't need four full days off. Monday Al was pretty good. I took it easy on all of them since it was the first day back and I had to be done a little early for Rosh Hashana dinner. But he made an effort to behave himself and I let him know I appreciated that. Tuesday was another story though. It was a warm day but pretty windy as storms were working our direction. And when I got on Al the neighbor decided it was the perfect time to make a whole bunch of noise right next to the ring. Al's getting pretty good at ignoring certain neighbor noise, but the wind in the trees had him pretty worked up. After walking for quite awhile and having a very low level of his attention, I decided to work him on the lunge instead. He was pretty good on the lunge so I figured I'd get back on and see what I had. He was still really distracted, and since he'd worked nicely on the lunge, I just spent some time at the walk cooling him down and working on getting his attention on me instead of the blowing trees. And you know what? By the end I'd say I had about 80% of his attention on me. I'll take that. I just had him dong a serpentine through the little gymnastic that's set up in the middle of the ring. I really focused on getting him to change the bend through his entire body each time we crossed the middle. The first several times through the exercise I'd lose his attention in the same spot, but by the last two passes through I had him the entire time without a change in pace or shape. And I quit on that. The difference between this week and a couple weeks ago was that I was happy with that win. Not disappointed that I only could accomplish it at the walk. 

And today? Today he was pretty great. Still very suspicious of the one long side, but I had him touching that side on both ends of the ring today. We'd go to the rail, around the jump and then head back to the quarter line. Rinse and repeat each direction. And we were able to do it at all three gaits! I had hoped to jump a little, but he tripped and nearly fell over the little cavalletti I wanted to warm up over and decided it wasn't our day for jumping. But we had some really nice flat work. Another win!

I mean really. Look at him! What a dude! So what if we're remedial. At least we look good doing it.

So that's what the horses and I have been up to. It was a really fun non horse weekend at the wedding with my family. It was fancy with cocktail attire for the rehearsal dinner AND the Sunday brunch, and semi formal for the wedding itself. So I was in heels longer than I've worn heels in the last what? 15 years? I'm properly unsound this week after all that. But it was fun to play dress up! Here's my dress for the wedding:

It's the perfect shade of hunter green and I really hope I find some other even to wear this to some day. I didn't get a photo on Friday night, but at least those heels were chunky! And here's me and my mom at Sunday brunch:

I'm 5'2" (And a 1/2!) so yes, my mom is really tiny. I do have a small heel on here, but still. She's SHORT! Also, note my high quality farmers tan on my arms. You can take a girl off the farm but certainly can't take the farm off the girl. And also yes, I had given up on trying to do something with my hair by Sunday. I really only am capable of hunter hair if we're being honest. Completely lost without a helmet.

That's it! That's all I've got for this week. Did you all have a good weekend?

Truthful Tuesday

 

You know how when you're trying to get organized to go out of town you always wind up with extra little tasks that show themselves before you can leave? In my case it was the fixture in the entryway of my house. The bulbs were getting really dim, reaching the end of their lifespan. It was so dull in fact that I couldn't leave it like that for the farm sitter. So the morning I needed to leave my weekend away I found myself on a ladder changing light bulbs. And why did I wait so long you ask? Because I ordered bulbs online due to having zero free minutes to actually go to the store to get what I needed. And you know what? I ordered the wrong ones. But then the morning I was heading out, I discovered exactly enough bulbs in my cabinet. But there were two issues. First, I needed three bulbs, which I did have. But one of them was not like the others. Not that noticeable, just the bottom part of the bulb looked a little different on one of them. Not something you'd really notice. That is, you wouldn't notice if they were the same color bulbs. Alas, they were not. Two are bright white (WHICH I DESPISE!!!) and the other is soft white which is my preference. But once I was up there on the ladder, I wasn't coming down without putting new bulbs in. So now my hallway looks like a warehouse (due to the bright whiteness). I have the correct bulbs en route, and I cannot wait to fix this! 

Anyone else have a preference for bulb color? I personally think bright white should be outlawed. It's a travesty to have to sit in that! 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I've been pretty focused on getting the barn set up for the sitter this weekend. Not to mention packing... Which we found out last minute today that the Sunday brunch is cocktail attire, so I had to redo some of that. Good thing I have a shopping problem and a small hoard of emergency dresses! Phew! So I didn't get crazy with a riding outfit this week. We did still look nice and I have a helmet to share that I'm not sure if I've had it on the blog yet. I got it last year, but haven't worn it much. Shiny got to have a redo this week as our model since she didn't really get to do it last week. Here's what she had on:

She kept it classy with farm colors. This pony really looks so good in any color I've ever put her in. 

Bridle: Pinnacle

Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Her little light colored eyes are sensitive when it's sunny and she kept closing them for photos this week.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Le Mieux

Fingers crossed this might be one of the last times you guys see this old saddle! Hopefully once she has a saddle that fits I can go back to using her fancy Mattes saddle pads. I'd have to have those sit around unused for too long. I regret not getting them shimmable. 

Boots: Anky

So hers were not the pair that the washer ate recently. But good news, I used the eaten ones on Al this week, and the damaged part does not interfere with their function. So I don't have to toss them. Yet at least. We'll see if they get worse next time I wash them.

So that's what Shiny is wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

I wore one of my barn colors, but I added pink because why not?

Helmet: Charles Owen Kylo

I have a glossy Samshield on my wishlist (to replace my current everyday Samshield that's expiring this month). But it's definitely way down on that wish list. This Kylo was on sale last year though for less than $150 so I figured I'd give it a try. And then I haven't worn it much because I mistakenly thought it wasn't that comfortable. But I pulled it out this week and it's actually pretty comfy! So you might be seeing more of it. I got it with glitter on the top, and rose gold trim. It has MIPS too! 

Shirt: Luyaa

Nothing new here. I wear these shirts practically exclusively.

Belt: Mane Jane

I rediscovered this belt strap when I attempted (unsuccessfully) to reorganize my belts. This one had fallen behind where I keep them and who knows how long it was hiding back there!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I'm big sad that they've discontinued this fabric. I don't hate tech fabric breeches, but I do really appreciate how these don't show all of my cellulite the way tech fabric does.

Half Chaps: LM Boots
Paddock Boots: Horka

I don't remember if I've worn these on here before, but I think not. So I ordered these half chaps more than a decade ago. When they arrived initially they were made for someone with very narrow calves and were so tall they hit about mid thigh on me. Definitely not my measurements! And so I sent them back to be re-made correctly and thus began a years long battle to get them back. YEARS. And it required a mediator. And then by the time they arrived, I had treated my thyroid problem and my legs were a good inch and a half smaller than when I had ordered these. So they still didn't fit, but this time it wasn't their fault. I finally had them taken in last fall, and decided I should probably wear them. Which leads to another funny story. I've been saving these cute paddock boots with the rhinestone toe cap edge to wear with these half chaps. I've had them FOREVER. But they just sat in a boot bag inside a tack box all this time. Know what happens to leather whey you don't use it and it sits in storage for many years? It dry rots. They seemed fine when I put them on to ride. But by the time I was done? They had pretty much disintegrated. RIP paddock boots.

Basically the outer layer of leather completely detached from the inner lining. I had to toss them. Sad day. I have a regular non rhinestone pair I got on closeout from Smartpak recently for $23 so I still have paddock boots to use with these half chaps. But these ones were so much more perfect! 

So anyway, at least they survived for one Thursday's Threads appearance! The lesson here is to use your stuff, because it's going to wear out regardless. 

What's Up Wednesday

 I didn't get a chance to ask dad for the saddle financing tonight. I was planning to ask before dinner when it could be a one on one conversation but dad and stepmom arrived last of the group, so I didn't have the opportunity. I'll try again soon though. (Also, I'm really bad at asking for money if you hadn't gathered that already.) Anyway... let's talk about horses! We'll start with Al since he's generally the most interesting. 

I was cleaning up hay in the ring while Al was turned out this 
morning and he came down with a case of the zoomies!
Much fun was had. And yes, it was a little too warm for that
sheet, but I wasn't the one who put him out. 

So, after much soul searching and self induced angst, I've decided to change my frame of mind regarding Al. I was very bothered at the thought of selling him (however right that decision might be) which made me think that I'm not ready for that step. I spent a lot of time contemplating where we keep going wrong. And I think it's my expectations. I keep having this need to get him ready to compete. But the reality is, I don't have the funds nor the amount of help (like to care for horses at home if I take one away to show) to really get back to showing. So why am I so worked up about getting to that point? It doesn't make any sense. I think a lot of why Shiny and Eros work so well for me is that I have no expectations on them. If we have some bad days, I just shrug it off and we try again later. But with Al, I take it really personally. Like it's a huge failure. And that's not fair to him nor me. So I'm removing expectations. And I'm trying very hard to just ride the horse I have each day. (Which I have to tell you, this horse has many personalities. I should rename him Sybil.) We've had a nice few rides lately since I've stopped worrying so much about all the things we should be doing or how something might be the wrong way to train a horse. (And by that I mean maybe we avoid the scary parts of the ring some days, not like doing something inherently very wrong.) My plan right now is to set us up for success. And that looks different on different days. 

I really wanted to jump on Friday, but Al was pretty spooky. I decided to just pick what felt safe to accomplish for that day. I warmed him up where he felt comfortable, and then we just touched on an area where he was less comfortable. Like maybe I rode the quarter line by the scary side, and then leg yielded out so he just had to be near the rail for a few strides before we turned across the ring. Just little brushes with the scary stuff instead of the whole thing. And we did get to jump a few things! My combination is set up to trot in, so we had plenty of room to approach from either direction without having to go down the full scary side. We also managed to get through the little bounces I had set up and then finished up with the oxer that's in the safe space. We never jumped toward anything he deems snort worthy. Just did what felt safe, and we both finished up feeling pretty good about ourselves. We even jumped 2'6" out of the combo. Which I know is pretty tiny, but with how things have been going for us, I was was happy with it. 

I could tell Al was happy with himself, and I think he left the ring with more confidence than he entered it with. As a reward, I let him go bitless (though I definitely used a saddle) for Sunday Funday. We did a tack walk and then went out to graze (mounted) in the yard. Which I've only done maybe twice before. Deposits in the trust bank for sure! We had to quickly pop back in the barn (still mounted) to wait out a pop up downpour and then we went back out for more grass. I was really proud of him. He did kind of panic about something with the neighbor on the way back in, but what can you do? No day is perfect. And nobody died. 

Monday is their day off, and then Tuesday was a flat day. He was angsty as expected after a day off, but we took the same approach as the weekend. Working in the safe zones, and then just touching on the scary parts a little at a time. By the end of the ride he was working up through his back and mostly tuned in to me rather than his surroundings. It was pretty nice! 

I had hoped to jump him today, but after all of his zoomies in turnout this morning, he was exhausted. Instead we just did an easy flat, more of the same as the day before, but with a little less oomph. Now I know this won't last. This is one of his "good" phases, and the bad will come back at some point. But instead of spiraling when that happens, I'm just going to shrug it off (haha... hopefully) and find where I can get a small win. And with any luck, this approach will pay off in the long run. Time will tell. 

You guys wanna know what Eros has been doing?? He's jumped the outside line! Multiple times! 

The in of the line

And you know what he hasn't done? Torpedos! I'm so proud of him. Today he would have had every right to torpedo on me. I jumped into the line with definitely not enough pace, and then had to gun him for the five. And it was LOOOOONNNNGGG. Like we could have died long and I should NOT have made that decision. But he's a good boy and we made it. Normally after I do something terrible like that he just torpedoes everything else we jump for the rest of the day. But not today! Oh no. This time, I jumped in nicely and asked him to add in the six. And he just did it! Nicely! Softly! Such a prince. I quit on that before I ruined it. Saturday I jumped him also and he had a longer session. We also put the little oxer up some from where it's been. It's a swedish so I'm not positive how high it is. Maybe 2'3"? I don't think he noticed it was bigger.

Shiny is already growing her winter coat in, and it's been in the mid to upper 70's so she has no interest in working very hard. (Too hot she says). Guess I'll have to think about clipping her soon. Today she did a 9 in the five stride. And it wasn't tight. It should be a six for her. She added THREE strides. That's a lot of extra steps. Lazy girl. She feels good other than the lack of forward. Like very supple through her body and she's really willing to lift her back at the trot. So I don't think anything is wrong other than a lack of motivation. And maybe the fact that her saddles doesn't fit. I don't think it bugs her at the trot, but maybe it does at the canter. I have it shimmed up really well, so who knows for sure. 

Put the oxer back down for her... 2'3" looks REAL big 
when your pony is practically cantering backwards.

I have a wedding to attend in New York this weekend so the horses will have Friday- Sunday off. I'll probably ride Monday next week since they don't really need FOUR days off. But we'll see. I'm kind of looking forward to the little bit of a break. It's been a long summer for us! 

Have any of you had a similar shift in mindset like I'm trying with Al? Did it work for you? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

This is like a good news/bad news kind of confession. I have discovered a used saddle that should fit Shiny beautifully and is my favorite brand. It's actually a decent price too! So what's my confession? I can't figure out how to make it happen. Because even though it's a decent price, I don't have the cash. I have a wedding to attend this weekend which means hotel $$, gift $$, gas for the car $$, pay the horse sitter $$. Plus you know the usual stuff- gotta service the furnaces on the property $$$, truck still needs an oil change $$, blah blah blah. Adulting is dumb. 

I may suck up my pride and ask my dad to finance it for me. I'd rather pay him back than some crazy interest rate on a credit card. I've been hunting for the last six months for a saddle with the specs I need, so I'd hate to miss out on this one. We have family dinner tomorrow night, so we'll see if my big girl panties are big enough to ask for that... Wish me luck!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Unfortunately, I've forgotten this entire week to get photos of Shiny's outfit, and she was meant to model today... But I did get some video yesterday, so we'll grab a screen shot and share it that way.

I remembered after I typed that last sentence that I had the zoom error in her video yesterday... So I guess this show above is the best we have to work with. Sorry about that guys! I've been so distracted this week! Anyway... She is wearing her Joseph Sterling bridle with the Dark Jewel Designs spike brow band. Hwer saddle is her same old Custom Saddlery one. Though I may have found a used Butet that will her. Fingers crossed! And let's hope I can find some braiding jobs to make that happen. Her saddle pad is Ogilvy, and her half pad is Le Mieux. Her boots which you can barely see are Busse. 

I did remember to photograph my own outfit at least. So let's see that!

Not a big surprise since you already saw it in Shiny's photo.... 

Helmet: One K (non MIPS)

One K has yet to make a MIPS helmet in brown, so I'm wearing this one without the MIPS. Living on the edge!

Shirt: Luyaa

I still love these shirts. I wear them almost every day. 

Belt: Zazzle

You all know I love me some Zazzle belts. 

Breeches: RJ Classics Harper

I think they stopped making this model, likely due to the pocket problems they have. For some reason, the pockets on this model open up at the bottom so you don't actually have pockets. Just a well of emptiness that dumps into your boots. Regardless, I love the breeches. I haven't tried the newer models they have out, but I imagine they have something similar still.

Boots: Horka... or maybe HKM

Funny story about these fun boots... I bought these like 8 years ago I think. I'm not exactly sure because I can't find the email confirmation for them which is also why I have no idea what brand they are. Anyway, I got them ages ago, but they had that same patent croc on the inside. After riding in them once I deemed them awful because they were slippery and they squeaked. But then one day my dad was talking about a shoe maker near his NYC apartment, and so I asked if he would take these boots to get a leather patch put on. He did take them, but then there was Covid and the shop closed up. I forgot all about the boots, but my dad had them in New York all this time. I guess he found a new shoe repair guy because a couple weeks ago he returned the boots to me. I had literally erased these things from my memory, so it was a fun day when I got new boots that were already mine! They are perfect now with their nice leather patches, though a bit too wide as I got these before we figured out my Thyroid issue and my legs were still swollen. Whatever though, better a bit too wide than too small! 

And that's it for today! Hopefully I'll have my act together better for next week. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Big week over here. I finally got my hair cut and colored which was about a year and half over due. I'm really bad about staying on top of this stuff... I have a wedding to attend soon though, and I needed to not look like some crazy old witch! But this is a horse blog and not a hair blog, so let's chat about what else happened this week to make it a big one. 

Friday, as you know from my embarrassing anecdote shared yesterday, the vet was out for Al's rescope and Shiny's evaluation. So let's get to that first. Poor Al was big mad because doc was a little late and Al was HANGRY. I hate having to fast him for these things. Like how do you explain to a horse why you're starving him? But he survived. Just barely according to him. The scope was a disappointing. For the most part his stomach is clear of ulcers, but there is one down where the intestines attach that hasn't resolved. And is in fact mostly unchanged from the last scope. This is pretty disappointing. Especially because he's been on the Esomeprazole AND the Sucralfate this entire time. There's literally nothing left to throw at it since we've already tried regular omeprazole, omeprazole/fenbendazol compound, AND Misoprostol. The plan for now is to wean him off the Esomeprazole and keep him on Sucralfate. I guess this is as good as he gets, and if we seem to have a flare up, we'll just revisit some form of Omeprazole. I guess? I'm not entirely sure. 

We also switched his NSAID so I am to follow up with doc this week about how things are going. Current working hypothesis is that this one residual ulcer likely isn't the driving force for his spooking behavior. It could be pain related from someplace else from our trials with NSAIDS seeming to help for a period of time. Doc said some horses have this weird ability to kind of override the effects of an NSAID after a period of time. Like they kind of get used to it and so it stops working. Hence the reason we switched him to something else. Trying to see if his behavior improves on the new one again, or not. I had not seen any change until today when he was mildly better than he's been, but still not what I'd call good. So I don't think we've figured anything out yet. Doc also mentioned another horse he treated that was similar to Al behaviorally. He said for that horse they decided to treat for Lyme even though the horse's titer wasn't technically showing positive. It did show exposure. Which is the same for Al. They chose to treat aggressively with Oxytetracycline which has to be given via IV catheter as it can make them sick straight from the needle. Thus it should be administered daily via Veterinarian. Not ideal for my situation financially. But it is something we may try because that other horse turned normal after treatment. Like no more funny business. None. I'd sell a kidney for that kind of result. Hell, I'd sell pretty much anything. My lameness vet though, the one I've been working through all of this with, is located too far away to have him come do the treatments unfortunately. I'd have to see if my local vet would be willing. I imagine he would be. 

Where I'm a little stuck right now is that my dad helps me with my vet bills and he was... displeased we'll say, with how much I've spent this summer. So I'm not sure he's willing to keep forking out money for this new treatment. And I don't have it at the moment. I really need to find another source of income and get myself a little more comfortable financially so I can help my horse on my own. I was raised to be able to take care of myself and my situation on my own, but somehow with the rising costs of literally everything I've failed a little bit in that mission. I'll figure it out though, and get back on track soon. 

Anyway, uncomfortable finance talks aside... Shiny's appointment went very well. She did flex positive on both hocks which is not shocking since it's been a little over a year since we did them last, but everything else looked great. Doc was really happy with her neck which used to be pretty problematic for her as well as her weight. So she's definitely on the right track. He noted some stocking up behind, but I am not worried about that as she tends to start doing that when her hocks are due. And it's cleared up now that they've been done. 

Since Shiny got her injections Friday afternoon, she had to miss her turnout Saturday morning. And it was so cute, when I put Al out, he went back to see her and she wasn't there, and he was VERY concerned. Let out a little whinny and ran back to where I was to let me know she'd gone missing. I told him it was okay, and that she was in her stall. I'm not sure he believed me, but Eros, who was out in the walkout behind his stall kind of showed Al everything was fine and he settled. He loves his sister even though she doesn't seem to love him back very much. 

I rode the boys Saturday, (Shiny had the weekend off) but everyone wound up being off Sunday. It rained all night (FINALLY!) and was supposed to stop by 10am. But it didn't. It rained until about three and at that point the ring was saturated. The horses had sad little turnouts in the covered walkouts.

One at a time because I'm not replacing any more of those very expensive boards... I was tempted to let Al and Eros out next to each other to see how'd they be. But not so tempted that I was in the mood for destruction and/or stitches. So I decided to save that excitement for another day. I would love to turn them out together some day. But I dunno... Al doesn't read social cues and Eros can be a little bit of a bully. Which I know you don't believe (I wouldn't either if I hadn't seen it!) but I caught him rearing rather angrily at his paddock neighbors at the winter barn. Shiny has made it quite clear that she will not turnout with ANY horse as they are all stupid and she would like to kick them all to smithereens. Yes Queen. You do you.

I did use my Sunday time wisely though! Remember all the tack I needed to clean and oil. DID IT! ALL of it! Well. Not like every piece of tack I own. That would take more than an afternoon. But all the tack in the tack room was cleaned and oiled. (Except the glitter bridles because they aren't leather. They did get wiped down though.)

All of these AND all the saddles! <<Pats self on back>>

My preferred tack cleaning products

I also did earn a little money this weekend with a couple of braiding jobs. I had one horse Saturday night and one Monday night. There aren't too many shows left around these parts that will require braids, so this might be it for me for the season. We shall see though. You never know!

I've been a little rushed in my rides this week because Tuesday I had to drop my car off for an oil change and today I had to get done before they closed to pick it up. Since it's cool though, the horses didn't require rinsing after, so that sped things up just enough to still have time for 30 minute rides. Which is more or less what we usually do anyway. 

Shiny is feeling pretty good after her injections. I was kind of expecting her to be sassy with the drop in temps combined with her three day vacation. But alas, she's as quiet as always. Which isn't really a complaint. But a teeny bit of self propulsion wouldn't be a negative. Just saying. Everyone popped over a few jumps today. I set my phone on the fence to record, but when riding Shiny I unintentionally zoomed in from my watch and only managed two screen grabs. Everything else wound up below the camera's site. Oops.

We didn't do much today anyway since it's her first jump school back and also we were in a hurry. Just a few to knock the dust off. Hopefully we can do more later in the week.

Eros was SO good today for his jumpy day too. Not only did I jump a line with him, but we accidentally ADDED in the line because he landed so nice and soft. I'll take it! 

I think he might be almost ready to jump an actual course instead of a bunch of single jumps. I've been a little cautious because the neighbor has been especially spooky lately. Eros isn't like Al, but he does have feelings about things sometimes. I'm here alone, so sometimes I choose the path less deathy. Some call that being wimpy, but I really think it's just smart. 

I put on my big girl panties for Al's ride today and tried a few jumps too. I wasn't super brave. I only did the ones in safe spaces. I thought maybe I could add on as we went along, but he was proving to not really settle into the work. So I stuck with what we were doing only. I have to dig REALLY deep into my confidence bucket to jump him around right now, and I don't want to do anything to make that any harder. We started with a raised cavalleti which he did not want to hold his canter to. But eventually he did. Then we did the little cavalletti bounce a few times until he knocked the out over. Moved on to the little oxer.

He always likes that one. And then I pulled up my big girl pants and aimed him at the combination. The first time through he was a little backed off and the out was VERY long.

RRREEEEAAAACCCHHHH

But he got it done! Good think there's scope in there. The second time was a little better, and then the third time was quite nice. 

He's so cute. I just wish I could get the brain fixed. Anyway, we just did that three times, then caught the little oxer once more and that was that.

There's a part of me that really believes if I can just ride the horse through all the shenanigans we'll be just fine. But I think there's also a part of me that isn't sure I can get through them all. I just have to keep trying I guess. I know I said I was ready to make a hard decision, but the emotions I had about that suggests maybe I'm not actually quite ready yet. Maybe it's time I let go of what I wanted to do with him and just try to figure out what I CAN do with him. I dunno. I'm sure I'll change my mind a thousand more times. But for now, here we are. Doing our best. And you know what? That's good enough for now.