Truthful Tuesday

 

Soooo.... I was thinking today about how I need to clean tack. And I realized that I cannot remember the last time I performed said task. Like for real, I cannot recall when I did that last. I have planned to use a rainy day for this, but it doesn't rain here anymore. Like ever. We got a teeny bit about a week and a half ago, but it happened when I was done riding for the day. Which is good timing of course, but not when you're waiting for a rain day to clean tack. Also though, I don't really see the point in cleaning my tack when it's just going to get a fresh dust coating every single time I ride right now. Or at least, that's what I tell myself as an excuse to still not clean the tack. 

So that's today's confession. My tack is dirty and needs conditioning. And there's dust everywhere. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is a quick one! My confession is that I'm taking this week off from the blog. I'm just spread a little thin with all this braiding to do these two weeks, that I decided to take something off my plate. I'll be back next week though!

Truthful Tuesday: The one in which I repeat my mistakes

 

Guys. There is something wrong with me. I've done it AGAIN. What is it you ask? I let the truck batteries die again. I kept meaning to drive it. Really. But the thing is, I don't really leave my property all that regularly except for family dinner on Wednesdays and occasionally for some errands. Mostly things that don't lend themselves to good truck parking. So I take the car. Plus you know, better gas mileage and all that. But I realized if I ever want to take the horses someplace, or godforbid have an emergency, I do need to make sure the truck is in working order. So I thought I'd hop in there and take it for a little ride. Ha! Hahahahahaha... Jokes on me. He was dead as a doornail. Zero attempt to turn on. Fortunately, one of my dad's employees is here in the apartment for the summer and he had a battery charger. So Jorge is back up and running, at least for now. And though I repeatedly say it ever year... (perhaps this year I'll mean it) I do plan to take it for a spin a few times a week moving forward. Hopefully. Maybe. Perhaps you guys could remind me...

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that occasionally when one of the horses poos while I'm riding, I will forget to go back out and pick it up. I don't leave a muck tub and fork out there because I turnout in the ring. If you've been here for any length of time, you know my rotten animals would dump the bucket and probably stomp it to pieces. 

But, I have come up with a solution! I made myself a poop bracelet, so I can put it on when there's ring poo and then take it off once I've retrieved said poo.

Behold! The Poop Bracelet

Now, I obviously can't leave the bracelet in the ring because previously mentioned rotten animals would probably eat it. So it's not a perfect solution. I have to remember to put it on when I get back in the barn. But I got to test it out today, and it worked! So we'll see. I'll report back on future tests.

Anyone else forget these things? Have a better solution? Let me know if you do!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Welp, I made a whoopsie. It was bound to happen eventually. My stepmom and I share a Smartpak account, so I do need to pay attention to addresses when placing orders. And I DIDN'T. In my defense, my farm has always been the default, but for some reason it isn't anymore. 

My horses are mostly on meds not supplements (Al excluded...he's on all kinds of stuff) so I have to do a fair amount of scooping powders into grain, despite them all also having Smartpaks for their vitamin E, electrolytes, and their joint supplement. (Listen, I said mostly meds, not entirely!) Since I'm spending a fair amount of time scooping things not available in Smartpaks, I decided to see if it would save money to just go back to ordering individual supplements and stopping the Smartpaks. Looks like I'll be saving about $80 per month doing that, so it was a no brainer. So I did all the math to see how often I'd need the supplements auto shipped (there is a savings for that) and placed my order. It didn't ship for a few days so I went to check on it, and realized I had the wrong address on that order. It was going to go to my stepmom's Florida barn. Ugh. Of course, I noticed this at night and Smartpak no longer has their late night customer service. (The service there is definitely not what it used to be!) So I had to wait until morning to try and get it fixed. 

Now, I checked on the order first thing, and it still wasn't showing as shipped. I waited like a million years to get connected to a human, and then she told me it was already shipped and asked if I could just get someone from the barn to ship it to me. Which... how is that a solution? The cost for someone without a shipping account to send this box which was probably quite large and heavy, from Florida back to CT would be ridiculous. Not to mention, it would be like two weeks before I ever saw it by the time it delivers there, then reships up here. Plus, it's not that barn's problem. The customer service rep didn't want to offer me any other solutions, but thank goodness, I used to work in shipping, so I had a few suggestions. First, they could have it rerouted back to my correct address. So she said she'd call  me back about that. So awhile later she calls me back and says it will be almost $100 to reroute it. I'm very confused by this because the tracking shows the package sitting in Rhode Island. Very close to my address and not at all close to Florida. So I ask, well what's the charge if you just have it returned to you, refund me, and I'll re-place the order. (Honestly, she should have considered all of these options before calling me back the first time, but I'm more than happy to do her job for her since it was in fact my error.) That was only $21. So I said, okay let's do that. Now I assume she'd take the money out of my refund, but no, instead she does a separate order for that charge. Which okay, whatever. But meanwhile, I'm still waiting for this stuff to get back and refunded. What a mess! 

Listen, I know I screwed up. But I also know from working in a similar field that the customer service side of this was terrible. What if I didn't have experience in this area? Maybe my standards are too high based on previous interactions with Smartpak Customer Service. They've always been so great. I'm not mad about being charged for the mistake or anything like that, it was my error and I own it. But the lack of willingness to actually solve the problem... that's frustrating. I'm not sure if the agent was lazy, or just not trained? I dunno. But man. It was like pulling teeth, and it's not fully resolved yet. Has me contemplating switching my business to Farmvet. 

So that's today's confession. I made a booboo and then the universe punished me for it by making me do my own customer service. Ha! Hopefully it will get back to Smartpak tomorrow, and my refund will process quickly. Fingers crossed! Anyone else done something this silly? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Guys. I am OUT OF SHAPE. I had no idea. I thought I was doing pretty good fitness wise. But now that the horses are home, my body is a giant pile of exhausted mush by the end of the day. I mean, I'm getting lots of stuff done. Working my way through all the laundry from the winter, reorganized the feed and tack rooms, last week I clipped the pony, and today I cleaned and conditioned all the saddles. Plus you know, riding them all every day, weather permitting. (We've had a few rain days around here, spring time is tough.)

So I guess the tired is earned? But still. I have some fitness to regain. And apparently cleaning stalls is terrible for carpal tunnel? Who knew that? Since the horses came home and I'm doing chores again, my hands fall asleep while I'm sleeping and then very painfully wake themselves up which also wakes me up. Kinda annoying. Any of you have any tips to avoid this? I imagine it's contributing to how tired I am since it's messing with my sleep. Getting old is tough! Better than the alternative though. That's for sure.

Anyway, today's confession is that everything hurts and I'm tired. But it's worth it because things are getting done and I get to have my ponies in my backyard. I imagine my body will adjust soon. Hopefully.

Truthful Tuesday

 

I used to have barn help seven days a week. So I pretty much only did stalls and turnout on holidays. It was like being a boarder but without someone else's rules and regulations. Pretty fab set up if you ask me! (Which does not mean I think I'm above barn work or anything like that. It's just that I had a full time job and too many horses, so that kept life a little more manageable.) But with the current cost of living, after my weekend helper retired before last summer, I decided to take over weekends to save some money. Plus I think you can keep better tabs on your horses' health and well being when you are on top of their bathroom habits. And it's good exercise. Which the older I get, the more of that I need to not double in size. Which leads to my confession. 

Today's confession is that I spent at least one full days worth of a helper on grub hub brunch delivery while doing chores this weekend. So it doesn't look like I'm saving very much money. Also probably canceled out that exercise I did... Oops. It was worth it though. Especially day two when I got breakfast from the donut place down by the beach. They make a mean egg and cheese. And the donuts for later I got came in handy when I ended up being in the barn for a full 13 hours. 

I guess for this weekend I better make sure I have groceries so I stop spending all my money on food delivery. 

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. 

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? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

***DISCLAIMER***
I don't want today's confession to be taken the wrong way, because absolutely I'm at a point in my equestrian life where I will do everything in my power to make sure my horses are comfortable and thriving. 

We used to show on grass regularly. This was at Shallowbrook.

That said, sometimes I wish I could go back to my early days of ignorance. Long ago, in my youth, horsing was a lot different than it is now. We rode on all kinds of terrible footing. Wet footing, slippery footing, deep footing. UNEVEN footing! The horrors! And no, horses weren't more sound back then. But our diagnostics also weren't as good. Probably we didn't realize half the time when the horse was just a little off. We had a term called "Serviceably Sound" in which the older horses might have a wee hitch in their get-a-long but they got along okay. Growing up, I remember a lesson horse that only cantered one direction. Probably she had raging EPM but we didn't know what that was yet. Now that I think about it, that same horse tripped and fell down with me the second time I ever jumped. Yep, probably had EPM. Ah, hindsight. (Also, this may have contributed to my being a giant weenie... not the EPM but the falling down while learning to jump.) 

Blurry photo of the big field at Fairfield on a bright sunny day
(with good footing)

I remember showing at Stoneleigh Burnham one summer in the junior hunters (back then there was only one height for the junior hunters, and that was 3'6"). It was raining so hard I couldn't actually see where the jumps were until we were a stride out. We didn't scratch! That was unheard of! The show went on! (I was champion because appendix horses aren't little princesses like today's warmbloods.) Another time we were showing on the big grass field at Fairfield. It had been raining for DAYS. The grass was both muddy and slippery. Jumps were still 3'6" but we were allowed to use bell boots in the hunters that day. My friend's horse lost both front shoes in a single class. I can assure you, if I faced either of these situations today I'd be at home enjoying a rain day on my couch. 

Here we are jumping in a ring that was literally 
a parking lot when we had horse shows. (Still is in fact.)

And the reason I bring this up is that footing is making it rather tricky to get my horses really back in the groove this spring. The weather tricked us with some beautiful spring days a couple weeks ago. Now it's back to being stupid cold (my horses have heavies back on, 20's tonight!), insanely windy, and rain nearly every day. Ahhh spring in New England. It's delightful. 

I'm so old, when I showed at Indoors (I think this is Washington,
but it might have been Capital Challenge) they just had sand in the 
arenas. None of the new age stuff we have now!

The footing at the boarding barn is very different from the indoor to the outdoor. The indoor has TravelLite footing which is the paraffin wax stuff. It's nice because it's dust free, but it can get packed down and hard. I think they either really need to get in there and dig it up to get it fluffier or they need to add a little more footing. For my horses though, I prefer a little harder vs something deep. We've had our share of soft tissue problems (looking at you Eros...) so harder is better in that respect. Then there's the outdoor. The outdoor has sand footing similar to what I have at home, but it's a heavier sand than mine and it could use about an inch or two less of it. Too bad it's not the same stuff as in the indoor as that would be a nice fix for both rings! Knowing what I know now about horses and soundness, I'm really careful about transitioning back to the deeper footing outside. But with the weather, it's just been so inconsistent. I feel like we're constantly starting over with the reconditioning out there. And getting not much accomplished otherwise. If this was 30 years ago (boy am I old!) I wouldn't think twice about this stuff. I'd just work the horses! And probably they'd be just fine. Or maybe I just wouldn't notice if they weren't. 

This kid knew nothing about soundness. I can guarantee that! 
Nor fashion sense... The helmet. The too big jacket. THE MISMATCHED BRIDLE.

Obviously I'm glad to know what I know now. And also obviously I would never want to purposely risk injuring my horses. All I'm saying is ignorance certainly was bliss!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Hahaha.... Guess what. I broke the rules again. And again I did it on purpose. But this time, I changed my expectations. And you know what? It was a lovely ride! Imagine that. 

Let me elaborate. Today, similarly to last Tuesday, winter has returned. We got a lot of rain overnight last night, so the outdoor ring was too wet for riding. Also, it was low forties with wind gusts to 40 mph, so riding outside was just zero percent appealing. Okay, maybe like 2% appealing. 

Here is where I faced a decision. Do I lunge inside so as to not break the rule I deemed so important last week? Or do I try again without it and see what happens? I decided to try again. But rather than expecting to have a "normal horse" type ride, I instead planned to just get on and see how things go. Start out at the walk like normal on a loose rein. Then pick up the reins and start asking for some shape and more forward. If all goes well, move on to the trot. Again on a loose rein, then adding a little more pressure via asking for shape and more forward. Wash, rinse, repeat, until satisfied. And it was a nice ride! Canter proved to be a little messy, but the trot work, especially at the end of the ride, was SO great. Forward, with impulsion, while still relaxed. It was lovely. And the biggest difference I think was my expectations. I went into this ride thinking we might just walk today. (The wind was really rattling the end doors and whistling around the entire indoor.) Really just going slowly and breaking things down into tiny steps forward seemed to help keep him relaxed and with an ear on me. I don't know if that will be the case every time we have to do something Al doesn't like. But I hope it continues to work for him. 

This horse has been a real lesson in patience for me. Also a good reminder to be a thinking rider. I can't rely on my instincts with him. Instead I have to be thinking ahead and constantly having a conversation with him. Not like actual chatting aloud, but rather always using my aids to keep the communication sort of turned on. And by that I mean seat and leg. Not hand so much. I can feel him get tense as soon as I start using too much hand. Gives him the angst! He really holds me accountable and reminds me when I start making mistakes or falling back on old habits. 

So my confession today is that I broke the rules, on purpose, two weeks in a row, and I learned something completely different each time. So here's to breaking rules and keeping the conversation flowing!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I keep having to relearn the same lesson with Al. And that lesson is that we stick to the normal routine. Al likes rules, and I must follow them. 

A month or so ago I planned to lunge him in the indoor one day rather than ride because I had non horsey plans in the morning and wanted to shorten up the horse day some. Normally, even when I lunge him, we take a hand walk lap each direction of the ring before we get to the work part of the day. But on this day I skipped that step because another horse was lunging at the other end, and I figured it would be fine. It was not fine. He tore out onto the circle going the wrong direction. (I had the lunge line attached to start left, and he went right.) This isn't normal Al behavior because he's very well trained about lunging in normal circumstances. He knows to walk out on the circle and keep walking until told otherwise. And he definitely understands which side the line is on. (Once I accidentally tried to send him the wrong way and he wouldn't go.) So I reeled him back in, did the hand walk, and then he was an angel. You'd think I'd have internalized this lesson, but today has proven to me that I have not. 

Today's forgotten rule is a little different than that one. But it's something we've consistently done all winter. My horses generally have easy rides on Sundays (Sunday Funday!) and then Monday is their day off from riding. So for Al, we lunge on Tuesday before riding. I know there are varying opinions on lunging. Some being that horses should be working on the lunge line and it's not for playing on. But I don't subscribe to that belief. I have no problem with horses having a play on the lunge line so long as they are polite and don't try to pull away from me. Also, dangerous behavior is not allowed. A buck? Yep, have at it. A little gallop? Sure, within reason, on a BIG circle. But I expect a response when I say whoa. Anyway, back to today. I prefer not to lunge horses too frequently. I don't think being on a lunge circle is great for their legs if it's getting done a lot. So today, we were stuck indoors again because it rained all day yesterday and the outdoor was too squishy. I figure we should be able to get back out tomorrow and he would rather have a good play on the line out there than in the indoor. So I didn't lunge him today. It was a windy day outside which meant the indoor was rattling and making weird noises. And while the barn was quiet when I got on, during the ride a bunch of people showed up. He really hates indoor rings, and especially hates when there's sounds he can't see the source of. So you can imagine how the ride was going.

He wasn't terrible, but he did spook more than once which hasn't happened in a few weeks. The difference between now and a few weeks ago (pre-ulcer treatment changes) is that he went back to work nicely after spooking. He also was really forward and felt pretty fantastic in the moments when he wasn't being a distracted squirrel. So while it wasn't a great ride, I'm taking responsibility for it. I think he was just a little fresh and stuck in a place he doesn't like. And I broke the rules by not lunging him first. 

The real question is, will I learn the lesson this time? To not break the rules? I really hope so. I mean, if I know the steps to setting Al and me up for success, why would I keep skipping them? And yes, I know some people may say, but Stacie, you can't hand walk the show ring before you ride. I know this. I don't think it will be necessary. We always walk in hand at the horse show before getting to where the lunging area is. I think the need there is to get his mind on me and getting his body to relax before asking him to work. I could be wrong here, and time will tell on that. But that's what I'm thinking. 

Do any of you have some hard and fast rules for setting up for success? Do you ever try to skip them and remember why they are rules and not suggestions? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is about clippers. So, I've had the Wahl KM Cordless for many years now. They last forever because I hardly ever use them. I used them a bit this summer to trim legs, but then they sat for awhile. And when I went to plug them in to charge in preparation for clipping Shiny, they no longer would charge. I've been wanting a second pair, because I'm the world's slowest clipper and I can't get a horse done on one charge. They do work plugged in, so it's not like all is lost, but I find the horses are more at ease without cords wrapping around them while we clip. I took this as my sign to finally get the second pair. They don't make the KM Cordless anymore, but they have a new model called the KMC+. They're the same price as the old ones, so I figured I'd try them. They are wonderful. They clip so much better than the older model. I did half of Shiny with the new ones before the battery died, and then switched to the old ones for a bit so the new cones could charge back up. And the old ones really didn't clip as well. I even put brand new blades on them. So my confession today is two fold. First, half of Shiny looks a lot better than the other half. And secondly, now I want a second pair of the new ones. But I'm not doing it! At least not right now. Maybe next year.

Truthful Tuesday

 

I'm sitting here watching election coverage... And the anxiety is HIGH. I'm not sure whether to eat my feelings or drink them? I'll probably eat them though. 

Anyway, that's not my confession. Today's confession is that so far, my horses have really surprised me with this move. They've all been handling things quite well considering what a big change this is. EVEN AL! Sometimes it takes a little while for Al to decide where all the terror resides, so I'm not optimistic that he'll stay as reasonable as he's been so far. But I am going to appreciate that he's has been! I'll talk much more tomorrow about the new place and what we've been up to so far. But after a few days, I am so far feeling like this was a good choice for us. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Okay guys this isn't my confession, but it's me adjacent so I'm sharing it. A few weeks ago, my dad called me up in the morning. Which was weird because my dad doesn't call me that often unless he got a weird bill that I was responsible for... And rarely does he call in the morning. So I was at first concerned that something was wrong. Fortunately, I quickly found out nothing was wrong. He just did something very irresponsible that he knew I would appreciate. 

So he calls, and tells me he did something kind of impulsive that was maybe a bad idea. Oh dear. Guys. He bought three mares in Argentina. THREE. MARES. And they're YOUNG. 2, 3, and 4 years old. Oof. They are well bred though. And they won't be my problem so that's all good at least. 

The short story is this: My stepmom has a trainer she really likes in Florida who is from Argentina. A friend of the trainer's is a breeder and is in poor health so the horses all went to auction. Trainer felt that a few of them would be good investments, and talked my dad into bidding on them. So here we are.

They're all nicely bred. And there is one I'd kind of like to keep... It's the youngest one, so we'll have it awhile before I have to decide if I beg for her or not. (I'm not sure Dad will let me have one... we'll see!) The plan is that the oldest one will go to Florida to the trainer this winter sometime and start training. And it will be for sale. Then next year the three year old will do the same (it will be four then), and the following year for the youngest one. Wanna meet them? Sure you do! Disclaimer, I think 2 is young to be jumping big in a chute, but auctions, ya know? Filly is back out in the field, so hopefully no harm done.

Chacotina is the oldest at four. She seems lovely and I think will be pretty easy to train up and get sold. She has a nice jump and looks athletic enough.

Caramel's ears are so big it's possible she's part mule. For the record, I love giant ears. This is my least favorite. In this still her knees are up, but that's not really a regular occurrence for her based on the few times I saw her go through the chute. But she's just three so she might learn to jump better. She does look smart though. And sometimes smart is better than athletic, ya know? So I'm not writing her off. 

Chacoo Star is the one I want to keep. She wants to be a hunter. Before this oxer, they bounced over a couple cavalletti, and she jumped every single thing just like this with her toes above her nose. SO CUTE! I hope she stays relatively petite and keeps the same form when she jumps. Time will tell! For now she's back living in a field with her friends for another couple of years. I'm excited to meet her when the time comes though!

So that's today's confession. My dad did a stupid horse related thing, and now I can use that to my advantage the next time I do a stupid horse related thing. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession? I'm ridiculously excited for Snoop Dogg on the Voice. I've always had a weird interest in Snoop Dogg since forever. And I'm fully loving his latest iteration as Grandpa Snoop. He was everywhere during the Olympics and I imagine that was to draw people over to watch him on The Voice. It's an NBC show and here in the US NBC has the broadcast rights to the Olympics. So that makes sense. Anyway, I would have been excited either way, but having watched him all over the Olympics, I'm doubly excited now!

Do any of you watch The Voice? Or have a weird love of Snoop? No? Just me? Fair enough.

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.

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!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession, is that I'm really grateful to Al's people who got him started at a youngster. You may wonder why since we've been going through some real stuff the past many months. But that's not a reflection on his early training. If anything, it's probably a reflection on me and my short comings. Or despite how hard I tried to listen to my horse, I missed something. But whatever the reason, our current issues isn't what I want to talk about today. 

The reason I'm grateful for Al's start is that despite all the bumps in our recent road, I've been able to work with him because he's so well trained on the ground. He's incredibly respectful of the human working with him. (Which is generally me these days.) When he's scared and I'm leading him, occasionally he jumps, but it's always away from me. And he never hits the end of the rope or the reins, or whatever I'm holding him with. When we are walking and I stop, he stops. He doesn't ever step past my feet, and normally he stops behind me. On the lunge line he rarely pulls, and though he sometimes needs a reminder to stay out on the circle, once reminded he stays in his boundaries. He knows voice commands, though I will admit that sometimes the response is delayed. What can I say, no one is perfect. Plus he learned his voice commands in Czech not English. He's allowed to translate for a stride or two. 

So for those reasons, I'm very grateful for Al's previous trainers. I'm also grateful for him. Learning those behaviors obviously comes from good training, but it also helps to have a horse that wants to give the right answers. I really, truly believe this horse wants to do the right thing. It's just hard for him sometimes. But like... me too. Ha! 

Truthful Tuesday: The one where I did it again...

 

Soooo... Saturday I get in the Gator to do chores but it won't turn on. The dashboard lights up, but when I try to start it nothing happens. The battery light was on so I figure it must be dead. It was only a couple years old, but since the Gator doesn't run much in the winter sometimes the batteries don't last. But I'm resourceful. I used the truck for chores instead. 

My mechanic isn't open on the weekends so I just waited and called them Monday morning. They sent the battery guy out first. The battery tested fine, so then we were all like okay well, must be the starter then. So he left and sent the flatbed guy out. He's banging on the starter, doing all sorts of things. And then I saw it. Guys. My worker left it in gear when he parked it on Friday. It has to be in neutral to start. That was it. There was nothing wrong with it. And I'm kicking myself for not noticing sooner because that's pretty embarrassing. But then I stopped feeling embarrassed when I realized that I wasn't the only one who didn't notice. Two mechanics, myself, and my worker ALL didn't check that first. 

So yeah. Today's confession is that I couldn't start the Gator because it was in gear. And this is not the first time that's happened. Which is why it's so shameful.... But shoutout to my mechanic for not charging me despite sending TWO people out to help me. That was very nice of them.