Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day again! I swear the weeks just fly by. This week Shiny requested to model and I'm not one to deny her of that pleasure. Here's what we had on for Thursday's Threads this week:

Yep, we're back to our favorite color scheme for this week. Hey, if it works, it works. That's all I'm saying. 

Here's what Shiny had on without me:

I actually think she looks adorable with her ridiculous clip job. Still so dapple-y too!

Bridle: Pinnacle

Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

The ears though! That's some serious ear fuzz happening. I'm still really happy with these bridles, particularly for how cheap they were. Under $100 with reins and they're going strong for a few years now. 

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

This is currently my favorite Mattes pad that we have. It's exactly the same as the others, I just really like the tan. 

Boots: Uhlan

Um, yes. I forgot to take a boot photo. But these are them, so this is a mostly accurate representation other than the fact that it's outside on a sunny day. I'm really happy with these boots too. They're not very thick and they're made of mesh fabric other than the strike pad and straps, so they seem very breathable. The price point is lovely too. They come in lots of colors.

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

This was yesterday's outfit when it was almost 60 degrees out. Today there were many more layers. MANY MORE. The high was around 40 today, but the wind! And tomorrow? High is 31. This season is ridiculous.

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I think I need to swap the liner out on this helmet, it's feeling looser all of a sudden. Or maybe I need to bust out the Samshield for a little bit again. I miss that helmet. 

Sweatshirt: Kohl's

I picked this up on a whim one day when I was in Kohl's for something else. It was just so soft I had to have it. 

Belt: Zazzle

I just love these belts. They're out of stock right now, but I hope very much it's only temporary!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

You all have seen these before. These are my smaller sized TS that I don't wear as much, but they're fitting a little better lately, so they've been in the rotation a bit more. 

Boots: Horka

I've mostly been riding in the sheepskin half chaps or my full chaps lately, so I was kind of excited to get to wear these yesterday. Warm weather makes me happy in so many ways.

That's it for this week! Chanukah and Christmas overlap this year, but I'll probably do some holiday outfits over the next couple of weeks. I think it's allowed all December long. It should be anyway. I'm gonna allow it!

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't really have tons to report on this week. I feel like we're starting to find our work groove at the new place, and that is nice to me. I like feeling settled and like we're being productive. We're limited a little in what we can do in the small indoor, but honestly, it's winter. Time to ease off and re visit the basics, ya know? Work on fitness and some of the little things that we sometimes let slide. 

We got some of our maintenance done this week. The farrier came Friday and then the bodyworker was here on Monday. And Eros removed one of his brand new shoes on Monday... Lol. Fortunately, he just kind of stepped out of it, no damage to his hoof and didn't even bend the shoe. So it went right back on the next day. (Thanks to my wonderful farrier and his super team.) 

The field where the shoe was deposited...

Some notes from the bodyworker. Shiny's in great shape. The only interesting thing to note was that normally she needs the most work on her left side, and this time it was on the right. So that was different. Nothing major, just some small, pretty "normal" stuff. Al is showing some weakness behind, which I'm not surprised by. He's been locking up more in his stifles lately. I'll probably schedule a vet visit for after the holidays for him. I think I know exactly what he needs, but we'll see what doc says. I'm not terribly concerned and neither was our body worker. Just something to keep an eye on and address. Eros didn't have anything really out of the ordinary other than being a little stiff on his left hind. He pulled the right front shoe though, and I have a feeling that was the result of some silly antics out in his field. So likely that stiffness is related to that. He's felt fine the last two days so I'm not too concerned. 

Anyway, let's summarize the week in ponies shall we? I didn't really do a second jump day last week. We popped over some rails and cavalletti that someone else had set on Saturday, and I counted that as day two of jumping. Shiny and Eros were great for that stuff, but Al was also great! He was pretty angsty and annoying much of last week in the indoor. But Saturday the barn was a little busier and we got to ride with two other horses which made Al really happy. He likes buddies. It was definitely the best ride of the week for him. 

Did I mention the wind? It's always windy.

Sunday, by some miracle, was dry and relatively warm. So we finally got to ride outside! Al didn't really do much riding if we're being honest. He did most of his real exercise on the lunge line, and then I got on and just walked him on a loose rein for twenty minutes. I think he appreciates a zero pressure ride now and then. And Sunday Funday is the perfect day for that! 

Eros did his Sunday funday easy ride in the outdoor ring too, and then I walked him out around the paddocks twice. I think he even enjoyed it! Maybe some day he'll be a hack horse. Maybe. 

Shiny has the best day ever because she went wandering in the fields. But after she pulled the reins through my hands for the second time to snag a mouthful of grass that she's not suppose to have, I made her do a little work in the grass ring. She might not admit it, but she thought that was fun. 

Monday is their day off, but the body worker came, so they did that. Then yesterday was just a flat day for everyone. Al was pretty good, but a little angsty about the doors at the end of the ring. It was windy though and they were making some noises so I don't blame him really. Eros hasn't been thrilled at the far end either, so you KNOW it must be creepy down there. Anyway, once I just made the ring a little smaller I was able to get his attention and had a pretty nice ride. Eros and Shiny both had nice Tuesday rides. Mostly just stretchy, loose work and a quick touch on coming together to make sure all the buttons were working. 

Today was sort of a jump day. Sort of. We are having weather today. Not snow thankfully, but WEATHER. First, it was 60 degrees all day which is nuts since it's been in the 30's and low 40's only. But also really high winds (gusts to 50mph) and lots of rain. I was supposed to go to the theater tonight, but when they started closing schools early and the town hall closed up I opted out. It's a 45 minute drive on a nice night, and this certainly wasn't a nice night. Anyway, it also wasn't a nice day. One of the down sides here at the new farm is that I have to set up whatever I want to jump each time I want to do that, and then put it all away after. (In the indoorthat is. There are jumps outside set up all the time and you can do whatever you want and leave it out there.) It's not at all unreasonable, but I definitely get a little lazy about what I set up. I really wasn't sure how the boys would be with the sounds happening from the weather, so I didn't want to get too crazy dragging out standards and what not when we might only manage raised cavalletti level attention spans. So that's exactly what I chose to set up! That and some flower boxes. Eros does not at all understand the question when I ask him to walk or trot over a flower box by itself. Completely mind blowing for him. He does figure it out eventually, but it's quite shocking because he's normally the sensible smart one. Anyway, here's what I set up for today:

Nothing too strenuous, but enough for them to need to pay some attention to something other than the outside weather. 

Al really surprised me today. He could have really come undone, but he didn't. Was he perfect? No, definitely not. Did we get to the point where we could just canter around and around over all the things? Also no. But what he did do, was let me get his attention back when I lost it. I feel like I had a mostly relaxed horse for the majority of the ride. I was not expecting that. I think it helps that it was so warm out, but whatever the reason, I'm thrilled with his efforts today. I really wish I could pretend like this is because he's moving in the right direction rather than a one off. But I know it's not. It doesn't matter though. I can absolutely appreciate the better than anticipated ride. And I will! Here are some terrible screen shots from our ride today. (And yes, he puts forth the least amount of effort possible whenever possible.) 

The farthest strip of lights is a little finicky and if you don't press it just right they sometimes turn off. Which happened today so our media is dark. What can ya do? I just propped my phone up against the wall, but maybe one of these days I'll bring Pivo out. The footage isn't at all exciting, but it's really useful for me to see what it looks like from the outside. 

I didn't film Eros today. I wanted to make sure I had enough phone juice for Shiny since I figured she'd be the most agreeable and I didn't plan ahead and bring my phone charger. But he was pretty good. Definitely excited about "jumps" but who can blame him? I get excited too! It's a little tricky in this ring because there's not a lot of room for his exuberant 20' stride. So I've been a lot of cantering a jump, trotting the next, that sort of thing. We had fun! 

Shiny cares zero about outside noises and weather, so she was the most fun today. I did some funny bending lines with her, and was just able to keep popping over stuff. She was great! She feels a lot better after her body work. 

I will definitely need to bring some standards out and make some bigger jumps for her. Or maybe just stand the blocks up the other way. I think that's 2' when you do that. She's definitely finding these little things boring. They all are honestly. For Eros, I kind of want to keep the height teeny in this ring because I don't want him careening around the corners at high rates of speed. That's how he gets broken. And the bigger the fence the more he might torpedo given his current level of exuberance. For Al, it's tricky. I want to start with these little things, and then as it gets easier and smoother start to lift them up some. The height and the jumps themselves aren't the issue for Al, it's whatever he's staring at on the other side. So I like to practice first in a situation where we can't get into too much trouble (small jumps) and once that's smoothed out we can go bigger. Be nice to have a ground person for that so I don't have to get off and on a bunch, but there's not often people around when I ride Al. We'll figure it out when the time comes though. 

And that's it for this week! I shall leave you with the most adorable photo of Rita sitting on her butt begging for her cookie.

And yes, that is one of her two mountains of toys next to her. 
It's out of control.

Truthful Tuesday

 

Soooo.... Today's confession is that I'm a wee bit behind in the holiday department. Not so much with the shopping part, I'm nearly done with that. I only have my little brother and his girlfriend left for that. What I am behind with is the cards! I haven't even taken the photos yet. And the reason for not having done that is twofold. First I haven't finished crafting our outfits yet. And second one piece Eros' outfit hasn't even arrived yet. And it will also require some crafting. Oof. So behind. But it'll get done. Eventually. Maybe they'll be New Year's Cards this year.

How about you guys? Are you scrambling for holiday stuff or are you in good shape?

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! We had some fun last week so this week is a little more standard. Eros said it was his turn to model, so let's see what we had on:

I'm taking full advantage of mirror selfies. 

Here's E without me:

I dunno guys, I think the dad bod is improving a little! He doesn't look quite as fat as he did this summer. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

He looks so cute with his D ring. I think I like him better in the wider noseband though.

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Wilkers
Half Pad: Mattes

When Ogilvy discontinued their brown option for pads, I decided to try these Wilkers pads. They're half weight, so thinner than a regular pad, but still a little more substantial than the Ogilvy baby pads. They have the same spine shape though which is what keeps them nicely in place. Eros is notorious for getting his pads to shift and bunch, but that doesn't happen with these nor with the Ogilvy ones. 

Polos: Eskadron

You've seen these plenty. I do have lots of polo options, but I prefer these with the climatex over traditional style wraps. So we mostly use the same few. Not that exciting, but not everything in life can be exciting.

So that's what Eros wore, and here's what I had on:

Bottom layers

Actual outfit

It's that time of year where what you're wearing is rarely visible due to all the layers. So I took two photos. Also, I just really appreciate the mirrors! (Not just for selfies, they're so helpful with noticing things about how the horses are going too. And... well. I've noticed how incredibly uneven my stirrups are.) 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I have the green top and sand front/rails in for now. It matches nicely with my chaps!

Sweater: TK EQ

Vest (pictured above): Kohls

Also I really need to double check my photos because this is entirely out of focus. My apologies. Anyway, this is a wool blend sweater that TK EQ had on closeout a few years back. Once the temps drop below 40, I will have nothing but wool or wool blend on my upper body.

Belt: Zazzle

I love these belts from Zazzle, but sadly they are currently out of stock. I wanted to make some for holiday gifts but alas... Maybe next year.

Breeches: RJ Classics

I wear these all the time. They're a little greener than they're showing up here, but you know that because I've shared them so many times!

Chaps: Journeyman

Paddock Boots: Sheepskin lined from Celeris UK

These have been a game changer since I brought them back out from the depths of my mom's garage. Some days I think I'd like a new pair, but honestly, these are perfectly perfect in every way. I hope I can keep them functional for awhile still. They're SO warm, I can't figure out why I stopped wearing them for winter all those years ago. Probably vanity. That's what's nice about being old. I don't care so much about that stuff any more.

And that's it for this week! Any favorite items? Thoughts on full chaps? Do you have a pair?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Thanksgiving didn't really have an effect on my riding schedule this year. We had a small dinner, just my mom, brother, and me and we ate on the later side so I had plenty of time to ride on the holiday! 

Rita came too, dressed appropriately of course.

I opted to have a Sunday Funday kind of riding day in which we kept them all short and very low pressure. It was a holiday after all! Obviously I also dressed appropriately for the day:

The horses weren't sure if they were glad to see me or not.

Just kidding. They're always glad to see me because I am the keeper of the snacks. So it was pretty much business as usual at the new barn even though it was a holiday. It was a rainy day so turnout was a no go. But at this barn, if the horses can't go out, they get hand walked. Like for real, and they actually do it. So despite it being a holiday AND a rain day, all the horses got out. So nice! In the past, most barns I've been at are closed on holidays. Or, if they're open, there's limited staff, so just stalls cleaned and horses fed. And some of the places they don't even do stalls on the holidays, just feed and water. 

I'm trying to get back on our regular work schedule in which we do some jumpies on Wednesdays and Fridays. So far it's going okay, though the "jumps" have been quite tiny. We're pretty much permanently in the indoor now that it's ridiculously cold out. Just prior to the arrival of winter it rained for days on end. So indoors it is! I'm so grateful to have access to an indoor, but I will admit that this particular indoor has it's challenges. It's quite narrow so I am finding it very challenging to get the horses MOVING. They all want to pitter patter around with four beat canters and teeny tiny strides. 

Photo not from today. But does feature our quarter sheet. 

Today I made the mistake of trying to jump Shiny with the quarter sheet on. This shouldn't be a problem... But Shiny needs some encouragement from Mr. Tappy to get the proper canter. And with the quarter sheet on, she cannot feel him. I may or may not have mildly damaged my wrist trying to get her to notice Mr Tappy today. Finally I just took the quarter sheet off. Did we achieve the proper canter? We did not. She was definitely on the double add today. Some days are just like that. Judging by how Eros went today, I'm chalking it up to the weather. Or some kind of outside factor. More on E in a moment.

While Al is a million and one times less angsty in this indoor, he's still not thrilled to be working in it. Currently, our rides start out pretty nicely, but he kind of gets spookier and spookier as we go. My current experiment is to warm him up, then give him a break. Then do something a little harder for a very short time. Then another break. That seems to reset the angst. I dunno guys, this horse is ever changing in his needs. He's still on all the ulcer meds, so I doubt that's what we're dealing with. I think it might just be time to accept that my horse is a little bit of a head case. Which is fine. We'll figure it out. I was a psych major in college, so I should be able to eventually figure him out. Haha. Hopefully. 

For today's "jump" school I set two lines on the long sides and then just put a couple flower boxes, one on each diagonal to change direction over. I set the lines at three strides, figuring we'd trot in and canter out in four. At the previous barn, Al was only apprehensive about the one end of the ring, but here, we have doors with windows at BOTH ends. Lucky me. He's pretty confident jumping away from the doors, but not at all jumping towards them. So jumping into the line is okay, but he starts spinning his tires at the out. I made everything ultra tiny today so we could comfortably trot OR canter as needed to everything. It started out really rough. Not dangerous or scary, but definitely ugly. I just kept trotting him over stuff until he started to relax. Then we tried to canter some. Same thing. Keep at it until it's easier. Wash, rinse, repeat. With walk breaks as needed. We never got to the point that we were cantering courses today, but we got to where things were flowing somewhat smoothly and I'm calling that a win for the day. We're supposed to be getting hit with crazy high winds again the next few days, so we may not jump again this week. This indoor is a wood and it makes some crazy sounds in the wind. I like to limit the drama when I can if you know what I mean! We'll still work of course, but we're going to keep the danger factors as low as we can. This amateur prefers to choose her battles. 

I was excited for my trot in and canter out lines for Eros today! He was less excited. He switched to field turnout starting on Sunday. Well... he's in the process. He's not used to grass, so we're building him up out there, though it should all be killed off soon with the weather. Anyway, he seems very happy down in the field, but I think the extra calories have him a little spicy! Or he might possibly be a little ulcery. I'm not sure yet. Whatever it is, he's been feeling a certain sort of way lately. He's not being bad per se, but very distracted and mildly spooky. Today when I pointed him at jumps, he actually stopped. More than once. Not dirty at all, and only from the trot. Anything I cantered him at he jumped nicely. But it was very odd that he would stop at all. Especially multiple times. So I have some concerns... but I'm not spiraling yet. Because Shiny was a little weird today, and Al was, well Al, I figure there may just be some reason they were all a little out of sorts. We are getting a light storm tonight, and it's pretty cold. The ring could use a drag, and it's a little hard today. So it may just be uncomfortable for Eros in this state. He does have delicate legs. I'm not sure I warmed him up long enough. I was trying to just get right to it, but I think I should have done a little more flat work to get him looser and get his attention on me. 

Is there a small part of me that's worried about all kinds of things (is his eye getting worse, does he have epm, did he get too much grass and he's about to founder)? Of course not, why do you ask?? Ha... Okay yeah, maybe there's some light spiraling going on. But there's not much to do but wait and see right? So that's the plan. We'll see what we have tomorrow. As for the founder concerns, he's not standing like a founder horse, and he's not anymore unsound than normal. So I'm pretty sure that's just my crazy brain finding things to worry about. But like... it is a concern. You never know. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. Sorry. I'll calm down now. 

Anyway... we'll see what the rest of the week brings with the weather. I have a feeling we'll just be doing a lot of flatwork the next few days. But that's okay. Clearly we have plenty to work on! Monday they're getting body work which I think is much needed. It's probably their last appointment until spring which is a bummer for them but good for my wallet. Ha! Our chiro heads south for winter and we miss her very much. But we're glad to have her out before she goes! 

That's about it from here. I'm working on some arts and crafts so we can get our holiday cards done. Running a little late on that... Lol.  If you're not on the list and would like one please send me your address!