What's Up Wednesday

 

It's been WEIRDLY warm and lovely here lately. Like high 50's and 60's. Which isn't warm-warm, but for mid November? It's practically tropical. And we haven't seen rain in... I dunno? Weeks? Which isn't good. There are fires everywhere which is not at all common here in New England. Thankfully we're getting dumped on tomorrow. Which is a bummer for horse things, but we really need it. And maybe I'll take the gross day to finally clip the pony. Maybe. 

Thanks to the gorgeous weather, we've been riding outside and not just in the ring! (Okay, yes, MOSTLY in the ring, I am a hunter princess after all.) I love having access to an indoor, but the one at the new place is pretty tiny. So having more time outdoors has been so nice. Especially for Al who prefers the great outdoors. So let's chat about the horses!

I still have very little media, but the between ears photos are pretty great this week, so enjoy those! Let's start with Shiny. Shiny's been a little dull at the new place. But I have a few thoughts on why that may be. I mean obviously I do silently panic that something could be wrong, but honestly, I don't think that's the case. She might be a bit dull, but she's also not angry nor has she done any kicking out. Her ears are up, and she's just super relaxed all of the time. I even spied her having a snooze in the sun one morning this week while she was in turnout. So why do I think she's dull? I think it's possible she's a little body sore. This property has HILLS all over and my horses are zero percent used to any terrain. Even the outdoor ring has a bit of a pitch to it. I can feel both Shiny and Al slow down on the little up hills in there. (Clearly we have some fitness issues to address!) But also? I've been taking Shiny on little hacks around the property and she is MUCH less dull for that. I think now that she's had a taste of the great outdoors she's just not interested in ring work. I know this is at least somewhat true, because every day when I get on (in the ring) she immediately tries to walk back out the gate toward the fields. Not towards the barn! So we've been compromising. A little ring work each day, and then a meander around one of the fields. For Sunday Funday we skipped the ring work though, and walked around the circumference of most of the property. We tagged along with the barn owner and one of the other boarders so we had company to explore the side I hadn't seen yet. There's a very steep hill down to get out there and then up to get back, and I could tell the up part was a bit taxing for my short legged girl. But she made it! The field out there is pretty hilly also, and it's HUGE. It will be so fun to actually ride out there one of these days. (Sunday Fundays are for long walks not working hard.) Also, I decided to take this adventure on in the bareback pad, and that should tell you what a wonderful pony Shiny really is. I wish the boys enjoyed a hack the way Shiny does.

I haven't jumped much lately, mostly out of laziness honestly. But I did a little jump school with her today. She was fine. Slow. I never did get a nice forward canter to have the jumps just come out of stride, but she did everything I asked, so what else do you need?

I've been in contact with Eros' saddle fitter finally about getting his saddle fixed. I have paid that bill so the new panels are officially ordered and I'll send the saddle out in a few weeks to have them put on. I've been using Al's saddle on Eros for awhile now, but he's starting to remind me that it's actually a bit too wide for him. Just kind of going like he had been when his saddle stopped fitting well. My fitter suggested trying some shims to close up some of that space in the too wide saddle. So yesterday I tried with two thin shims on either side. He didn't feel great and it was pushing me back like the old saddle used to do. So today I tried with just one shim on each side. And he felt kind of awful. So I'm going to try without any again tomorrow and see what we have. This horse always seems to object when I try to shim a saddle, even if the shims correct the fit nicely. I think he hates shims. I dunno. I had hoped to jump him a little today but he felt so blah I opted out. 

I forget which day it was, but one of them last week I tried to take Eros out for a little exploring. I've never known a horse to hate nature as much as Eros, but I was thinking he might like the grass ring, since it's fenced, and it's still pretty out in the open, so no trees for him to distrust or anything like that. And well... he hated every second of it. Haha! So maybe we'll try another time with a buddy. It's Eros, so he doesn't do much wrong, but you can just tell he's not happy with the great outdoors. I mean he even only tolerates turnout for so long before he's threatening to pull the gate down with his hulk smash hooves. Lol. I love this horse. Boy knows what he likes! Oh, today when I was on him, there was a deer grazing just down the steep hill. E was like, "Mom! There's nature over there. MOM! NATURE!" And then it went away and he went to work. He's too much. Haha. 

Guys. Al. I might not be able to bring Al home. He's found his happy place here. He's not perfectly perfect every day, but I've had more good, productive rides than I've had in a very long time on him. There was one day that was last week that was ridiculously windy. Sustained winds at 15-20 mph but gusts in the upper 30's. And I rode Al outside in it. Was he perfect? Oh no. Definitely not. But he did all the things. And when he felt like he couldn't keep his poo together he just stopped and took a moment and then went back to work. Now. I KNOW it's not ideal that this horse occasionally decides he needs to halt and collect himself all on his own. Sometimes mid canter... But for the moment, I much prefer this to showing me his best tornado impression. And just a few weeks ago when we were back at home, he wasn't able to pull himself together and get back to work. So I'm counting this as a win. I'm calling this our rebuilding era. 

Speaking of rebuilding, there's a clinic at the new barn this weekend with an event rider named Bevin O'Reilly. I don't know much anything about her, but I'm going to participate with Al. It's less clinic and more guest instructor really as we are all having 45 minute private lessons. Which I think is better for where I'm at with Al right now. Most clinics I've done are two hour group sessions and that's a long time for a horse with a short attention span and questionable work ethic. Plus if things are a total train wreck I'm not holding anyone else up. It's my own 45 minutes to blow up as I need to! The other boarders have ridden with her before and all had really positive experiences, so I'm excited for it. Bonus is that my slot is right after lunch which means I can give Al a little pre ride lunge in the ring we'll be lessoning in. Just in case. I always like to try and set us up for success and sometimes a lunge does that for us. Nice to have the option anyway. 

I haven't really jumped Al at all in a very long time. Just a cross rail or tiny vertical here or there. We did some raised cavalletti last week. So I figured since it was nice today I better hop over some things. I set everything really small, probably 2'? And just clocked around a couple small courses. He was absolutely perfect. A little too slow, but I'm not complaining about that right now. He might have been slow, but he was focused, relaxed, and listening. I'll take it! OH, not only that, but while we were jumping around a worker came by and loaded a skid steer onto a trailer and drove off with it. Right next to the ring. WHILE WE WERE JUMPING! And you know what Al did? Whatever I asked. I know. I was shocked too. I just told him over and over how great he was. Gave him extra cookies before I left for the day. And proceeded to tell anyone who would listen how good he was today. Today is our three year anniversary, so that was the best gift he could have given me. And listen, I know the jumps were speed bumps. That's not at all the point. I know Al can jump a big fence. The jumps have never been our problem. I'm just impressed that he did his job while lots of things were happening around him and he didn't spook at all. Not only did he not spook, but he kept the majority of his focus on me. Which might never happen again so it needs to be recorded here. For posterity. 

And that's about it from here! Stay tuned next week to see how the clinic goes... 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Oh guys this is a good one. Every so often Eros will do this thing that I thought was due to experiencing a very minor choke episode. It happens primarily when he eats crunchy treats, especially the frosted kinds like Snacks 5th Avenchue. But occasionally it would happen while eating other things like hay too. It's not common, doesn't happen all the time, and never lasted more than a moment. I've mentioned it to the vet and he just kind of thought the same thing and said to keep any eye in case we need to start soaking his feed. But it never escalated, and I haven't heard him do it in quite a long while. 

Of course, the first week we're at the new barn he starts doing it one morning before I got there and they called me because they didn't know what it was. I said he's probably choking and I'd be there asap. So I get there and find him only making this noise and curling his tongue around intermittently. And seemingly completely at ease when he's not doing it. Nothing coming out his nose, and he's not at all distressed. Important to note, nothing has ever come out his nose when he has these "episodes" but I just always figured he'd cleared it right away. But this time, he just kept intermittently showing this discomfort. So I call my vet. And then I sent him a video of what Eros was doing. And he was like, he's not choking. He has food stuck in his teeth and thus can't chew. He had me rinse the mouth out a bunch and try to help him dislodge whatever was stuck way back there. Eventually he worked it out. (It was just a wad of hay.) 

And that is the story of how I learned my horse isn't prone to choke, he just doesn't know how to chew his food properly. What a relief though! The choke thing always concerned me, so I'm glad it's less worrisome than that. And yes, he's had his teeth done recently. We get them checked twice a year but usually he only needs a float once a year. So that's my confession, I clearly had no idea what choke really looks like. I mean, I have seen it before, but I just figured this was really mild. Oops. What a way to make a first impression at the new place! Haha... 

Thursday's Threads

 

Oh man guys. I am the WORST blogger. I remembered outfit day this morning before I left the house... But I did not remember by the time I got to the barn. So I have several recycled photos. They are accurate representations of today's outfit though at least. So there's that. And my excuse is that I had an old friend come and visit me at the new barn and she rode Eros while I rode Al. We had so much fun, and thus I was not thinking about outfit photos. Life happens! Also, can I just talk about how nice it is that my friends can come and ride with me at the new barn? It's so nice. SO NICE!

Today's model was Eros, and here are his recycled photos of today's outfit. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

He just looks so handsome in this bridle. Supermodel status!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy

I've been riding E in Al's saddle the last couple of months because I haven't gotten his fixed yet, but he did in fact use this one (his own) today with my friend because we couldn't share a saddle and ride at the same time. I really need to send this one off though! I reached out today to follow up on that. Hopefully that will be happening soon.

Wraps: Eskadron

I'm really liking the climatex polos for Eros. He seems comfortable in them too. 

So that's what Eros had on and here's what I was wearing today:

There's a lot happening this photo. First, wonder when the last time I dusted this mirror was? Seems like a long, LONG time ago. Secondly, what is happening with the shoe pile back there? Honestly. I need a parent to come scold me for my messy/dirty room. 

Helmet: One K Avance MIPS

Yes, still using this photo. I did dust the helmet off though, so might be time for a new stock photo... Lol.

Sweater: J Crew

I snagged this wool blend sweater at J Crew last year after the holidays for like $15. Such a great deal! If they had more colors I'd have stocked up! Also, it's winter here now so this sweater was layered with a puffy vest to ride and a coat on top of all of it when I wasn't riding. Brrr.

Belt: Ponylocks

I chose Jampy's belt for today's outfit. It's so pretty. I just love what they do over there at Ponylocks.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I've been wearing these smaller sized breeches a bit more often lately and I think they actually fit pretty well. I just wish the waist part was like a half inch bigger.

Socks: Dreamers And Schemers

My logo socks are still my favorites. 

Boots: Celeris
Chaps: Journeyman

And one last reused photo! This one was from last winter. Yep, it's been chilly so I've been riding in the full chaps again! I love them. I don't really know why we all stopped wearing them. They're SO warm! And so grippy. I hope these things survive another 28 years! (Yes, they are really that old, but they took a long sabbatical.) 

And that's it for today! Any favorites? Any requests for upcoming Thursday's Threads?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Things are going pretty well over here! The horses really seem to have settled in quickly. The weather has been all over the place, and the wind! Nuts! Yesterday the indoor sounded like a space ship with all the wind outside. Despite that, for the most part, the horses have been good. I also have basically no media, so my apologies. I'll try and do better next week.

Last week, most of our rides were pretty low intensity. I just wanted the horses to get used to the different footing and all the new sounds and views. Everyone jumped a few little cross rails one day and otherwise just had flat rides. We rode mostly outside until Sunday, and we've been indoors since. 

Shiny is my most trustworthy outside of the ring, so she and I have done a little exploring. We checked out the grass ring one of the days after our ride, and then Sunday she and I went for a walk down in the field that is supposed to become a mini cross country course one day. There's a ton more land to explore at the new place, so we'll see what the weather allows for! There's a HUGE field on the other side of the property that looks like a good place for hill work. I don't think I'd survive taking the boys over there, but hopefully Shiny will explore it with me. She needs some hill work. The cross country area (to be) is down hill from where the barn is. We walked two big loops down there and then she didn't want to walk back up. Lol! We meandered our way up instead to make it less steep for her. Chubby pony needs some butt muscles! This week I'm trying to get the horses back into a real work routine. It's a little slow going... I think they all thought they were pleasure horses now. Shiny especially. She's so busy looking around at everything she forgets I'm telling her things. She was zero percent interested in carrying herself while moving forward today. I had to get after her some, which always makes me feel so mean! But she came around eventually. I popped her over a raised cavalletti and a cross rail a few times at the end of the ride. Apparently that was what it took to get her to work. She was more than happy to move forward for jumpies!

Oddly enough, I think Eros is the least comfortable in the indoor of the bunch. He'll come around I'm sure, and he's behaving just fine. I can just tell he's a little looky. I think what's tough for him is that the ring is really small. He likes to warm up in a big area so he can really stretch and loosen up. This smaller arena doesn't give him that. So I think he's just a little uncomfortable to start. Once he's working he seems more happy. I think some of the shadows are weird for him too. He has one eye that doesn't see that well, so I'm sure he just has to learn where the shadows and light spots are in the new place. He hasn't quite figured out the waterers outside either. I've brought him over to it, and showed him how it works. He drinks out of it when I press down and fill it up, but I don't think he's made the connection that HE can do that too. I noticed today the footing around the waterer had been pawed at some, so I think he might have been a little frustrated with it. I'm sure he'll figure it out. I'll keep showing him.

You know who has figured out the waterers? Al! He thinks it's the most magical and amazing thing ever. I had brought him over to it, and showed him how to fill it, and he just looked at me like WHOA! Then he tried it himself. Over and over and over. The next day I was riding Shiny while he was out there. His hay was kind of far from the water, and he kept going back and forth from one to the other like he knew some kind of secret. It was so cute. He's using it at more normal intervals now, and I think is less impressed with the magic. But I love that he's so smart about it! 

I'm reluctant to sing his praises on here about his behavior under saddle because I feel like every time I do that he reverts to cuckoo crazy Al. BUT! I also like to give props where they are due, so here goes nothing. Hopefully I won't regret this later. So far, Al is pretty comfortable in the indoor. He does occasionally need a stop and stare moment, and he still gets a little snorty sometimes. But we've had high winds that do indeed make weird creaky noises in there and also blows the end doors away from the wall sometimes, and while he doesn't like it, he's handling it. On the occasion he is a bit nervous inside, he's not giving that electric feeling like he's going to try and flee at any moment. He might have a little spook, and then he gets on with his work. So I'm very pleased with him. We are still having some issues with the go button. When something grabs his attention he wants to stop and look rather than keep going and look. So that's something we need to work on. But truthfully, as rude as it is for him to break and/or stop completely, I still prefer that to the prop and spin. The gas pedal is easier to work on than the panic reaction. I popped him over the cavelletti and the cross rail today. At first I was thinking it wasn't a great ride, because he wanted to break in every corner after the little jumps. But then I stopped myself and realized that he didn't actually spook the entire ride, and though he was sticky and lazy, he was listening to me. So once I rearranged my expectations I was happy with him again. I have reached out to a trainer and he's happy to come and work with us so now we just need to figure out a time and day. I'm excited to get to work!

In other news, I'm chipping away at the horse laundry at home. I want to get all their home clothes washed and packed away this winter so the mice don't get into them. Hopefully I'll actually do it this year since I didn't last year... Ooops! Also, it's a good thing I've been working on it, because I came home to my barn flooded on Thursday evening.

I keep my worker on in the winter because you don't let a good employee go! He spends the winter really scrubbing the barn from top to bottom and doing various other projects that are hard to tackle when the horses are home. While it was warm last week, I asked him to wash the trailer for me before I put it away since it was pretty dirty. He had used the hose I use to fill the pool to wash the trailer, which is of course totally fine. He brought it inside and connected it to the wash stall spigot so he could have warm water. But the problem arose when he didn't shut the water off at the spigot, just turned it off on the nozzle end. The old outdoor hose that is older than I know because it came with the house, is leaky at the connection and also likely has a few holes in it. (Okay, yes, maybe I should replace the hose at some point.) So yeah. Good thing I popped into the barn, because what a mess! I swept most of the water back into the wash stall, and the rest dried in a couple days. No real harm done. 

Something unexpected came up a few weeks ago. I had commented on a post on Facebook looking for opinions on LM boots. Which if you've been around awhile you know I loathe the company. LOATHE. Normally I try to just ignore those posts because you know, if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything. But I dunno. Sometimes I like to try and save someone from throwing a bunch of money out the window. Well. One of the LM reps reached out to me privately. She was very nice and wanted to see if she could somehow change my opinion of the company. And I was like honestly, both of my bad experiences were many years in the past, and I didn't feel like it would be right to ask for something. But she insisted on working on it, and went to the owners and they offered me new boots. For free. Guys. It's probably been ten years since I bought my boots from them. So as much as I want to keep loathing them, I may have to come around. The very nice rep was down the road from me today at my friend's barn so I got measured and they should be here in a few months. I also brought my old half chaps from them that never fit to get altered. The height is good on them, they're just too big, so I'm paying for that alteration obviously. If all goes well I'll have a nice new pair of boots and half chaps that aren't new but will fit soon. Or if thing go like before I'll have nothing... Haha! We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll be able to speak nicely about them soon. 

I know you want to know what I got for boots, and honestly I just went boring. They don't have interesting colors for the base, and my free boots wouldn't include custom leather (obviously) so I just went with black. The options were several shades of brown, black, or navy. I have lots of brown and navy so I wouldn't let myself get those colors. I was disappointed they didn't have green anymore. But black is great, and this way I'll have back up show boots. They'll have the pretty brogue toe like a few of my Celeris have, and a punched top. I'm leaning toward excited to get them, though I'm holding my excitement in check until I actually get into them.

And that's all the excitement here. How are you all doing??

Truthful Tuesday

 

My confession today is that since the time change, when I'm not riding or with my horses, I'm kind of a garbage human. By that I mean, I've been sitting on my butt quite a bit lately. For example, Monday. Monday is my non riding day. So normally I use it to do all the house chores and whatever other projects are accumulating around here. This Monday though, I stupidly scheduled a dentist appointment smack dab in the middle of the day. Which really put a cramp in my getting things accomplished. (I broke a tooth a couple weeks ago, so had to get it patched up.)

The day started out well enough. I got up on time and did my PT exercises. (Twice a week minimum to keep the knee functioning!) Took a shower so I wouldn't be smelly for the dentist. Got my tooth fixed and treated myself to an overpriced coffee. I did actually get some organizing done in my home barn after that, then walked the dog. I had to run over to the winter barn to wrap Eros and swap blankets since it was going to be cold overnight. They will blanket for me there, but I haven't learned all the schedules of who works when so I don't know who to ask yet. Plus I love being able to go on a Monday and just put eyes on them. And after that? It was dark out and I didn't want to clean the house anymore. So I didn't. Rita and I had dinner and we sat around like a couple of sloths for the rest of the evening. And now? I still need to clean the house. Tonight I'm doing laundry, so while I'm being partially lazy and sitting on my butt between load changes, at least something is getting done!

Anyone else struggling with all the darkness this time of year?

Thursdays Threads

 

It's our first outfit day at the new farm! Which obviously means I forgot a couple photos... Ha. Shiny asked to model today, and her dapples definitely need sharing before they disappear for the winter. Here's what she had on today:

Obviously, we kept it toned down for our first outfit day. But I feel like with this group we can bust out the cow print again at some point. Try to ignore this interesting stance she's chosen. It was insanely windy out there today and I just snapped this super fast before she tried to wander off to eat leaves blowing around. And yes, that's the wind blowing her tail away. She's not holding it like that. 

Bridle: Pinnacle

Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

I brought two bridles each to the winter barn, the ones like this with the green ribbon brow bands and the ones with the spikes. Those are our favorites. 

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

I really love the Mattes pads. I have a little running wish list of other color combos I'd like to get for Shiny eventually. Might have to order sooner than later before all the new tariffs hit... 

Boots: Anky

I really like these boots. I hope they last a really long time because they don't have them anymore!

So that's what Shiny is wearing this week. Here's what I had one today:

It's still weirdly warm out here, so I didn't even need layers over this! I know climate change is terrible. But I will make the best of a bad situation and really enjoy these warm November days!

Helmet: One K Avance MIPS

Yes. This is one of the photos I forgot to take. But this is the helmet I wore today.

Shirt: Luyaa

I really love these shirts. They're my go to riding shirts for three of the four seasons. 

Belt: Noble Outfitters

This belt fits a little better with lower rise breeches. But I love the color scheme (obviously)!

Breeches: Romfh

These are the Maple color Romfh breeches. I don't really know how this is maple color exactly... Maybe Maple candy? But the syrup is definitely not this shade! Regardless, I love the color. It's a pretty close match to the interior of my car. 

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

I just love custom socks. 

Boots: Horka

Yeah, that's the other photo I forgot today. I decided to bring these boots to the winter barn for now. I wanted a comfy pair that I wasn't afraid to beat up a little. These fit that bill nicely! I also brought the sheepskin lined paddock boots with matching half chaps, and also the full chaps. So I have lots of warm options! I'll probably rotate out for some fun boots now and then though. So fear not, Thursday's Threads won't be too boring!

And that's it for today! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday: The one with the new barn!

 

Holy moly what a week. I feel like I've lived five lifetimes since last Wednesdays. This current one seems a little dark... But this isn't a political blog. So while I'm HUGELY disappointed, sad, and a little scared of the antisemitism I'm likely about to encounter more frequently... Let's talk about horses instead!

We did our best to continue horsing through the end of last week, and then I planned a day off for everyone when we moved on Saturday. Because I wanted to give them a chance to just get settled. Plus, I had a lot of unpacking to do! At the old barn I had things down to an easy science, but I wasn't totally sure where everything went and/or fit at the new place. So that took some extra time. Also, I made two trips. I could stuff all the horses in at once, but not along with all their stuff because I'm too lazy to unpack the show stuff from the tack room only to repack it again. It's a 22 minute drive in the car, but a little longer with the trailer. It's all back roads, which around here means very winding and very narrow. 

So far everyone seems to be settling in well. I could tell they all were a little edgy initially, but I think they're pretty happy at this point. Is the new place perfectly perfect in every way? No. It's not. But no place is. And they're really trying to be, so I give them props for that! The staff is really nice and they all care so much! Everyone keeps asking great questions and just wants to do things how I like. Even when I insist that I just want to fit in, and whatever works for them works for me just fine. 

I will say, not all of the staff is as educated as I might have expected. But they try, and they ask questions, and if they're not sure they let me know. None of the other horses there where boots in turnout other than bell boots, so the staff is having to learn which way they go on. I've seen them backwards a couple of times, but they aren't tight, so I'm not too concerned about bowed tendons. The only other whoops was that one evening the horses got fed breakfast grain instead of dinner grain, so the supplements were messed up. Not the end of the world, but Al did get a double dose of Omeprazole that day. (Once at breakfast once at dinner, which normally it's just breakfast.) Not ideal, but not the end of the world. The breakfast worker doesn't normally feed dinner, so he just grabbed the thing he was used to in error. I'm sure it won't happen again because he was VERY apologetic and seemed pretty upset about it. I wouldn't have even known if he didn't tell me though, so I appreciate that they don't try to hide things. 

The place overall is really nice. There's a grass ring that we haven't made it out to yet, tons of property that we're allowed to ride on that's not part of the rings, an outdoor sand ring, and an indoor with Travel-lite footing. There's a course set up outside currently, and indoors we are allowed to set stuff up if we want. Last weekend one of the girls had a really fun pole/cavalletti course set up. I didn't get a chance to do it with the move and all, but I think she does that pretty regularly. So looking forward to next time! I haven't gotten photos of everywhere just yet, but here's a quick tour:

Sorry, I should have taken this from the other side. 
This is the barn and the indoor. It's just 14 stalls
so much quieter than the last place!

This is the indoor. It's pretty small, but honestly, it's rarely busy there. 
I've only shared the ring for two rides so far.

There's a trunk room and hayloft over the barn. (I don't love a hayloft, much prefer hay kept stored away from the horses, but that's one of those things that sometimes you can't be picky about.) The trunk room looks over the indoor.

View of the indoor from the trunk room

My stuff upstairs in the trunk room. 
I have the one black trunk, the tool box, and there's
a clear rubbermaid tub next to that.

They have a really great layout for the tack room. It also doubles as the lounge and thirds as tack cleaning stations.

There are two of these tack cleaning stations, 
this one, and one behind me. 
The saddle racks are also the left and behind me. 
I forgot to take a photo of them.

Each horse gets a shelf area, two bridle racks
and then that little bench under the bridles opens for more storage.
In this photo are Al's and Eros' spots. 

That little bench area holds a TON of stuff.  In each of mine 
currently is the following:
Heavy wool cooler, back on track mesh sheet with neck, combo scrim
regular scrim, waffle cooler, a wash bucket with scraper and sponge inside, and grooming 
halter with lead. And there's plenty more room!

Just behind the barn and indoor is a little hill and up on that hill is the outdoor ring.

There's nothing really surrounding it which is so wonderful for Al. No trees, no scary neighbors. There is driveway on both sides but it's not really used much. We park in front of the barn. To the left of the ring (facing away from the barn) there's a big downhill slope and some grass field turnout. They're working on getting auto waterers down there, so only one is in use at the moment, but that should change in the coming weeks. Shiny won't be able to go out there because no grass for her, but the other boys probably will. Once those are done being re-fenced and irrigated the horses will be out for more hours each day. Currently they're getting four hours which is like double what they had at the other place. Even more would be lovely! To the right of the ring is more grass, which actually doesn't belong to the barn, but to the town. And I think they hay it? Not sure on that. But it's just an empty field which is nice. Directly behind the ring are the paddocks. They're really pretty small, but big enough that the horses did some playing out there on the first day. So they're definitely big enough. I showed Al how to use the auto waterer and he was AMAZED by it. Couldn't get him out of there for awhile. Lol. I need to make sure the other two have then figured out. Al I think really likes having the paddocks right by the outdoor because he was pretty relaxed out there when we rode yesterday and today. More on that later. We'll finish the tour first!

The boys in the paddocks!

And Shiny in another one.

I think there are seven dry paddocks and maybe four fields? Some of the horses can go out together, so I'm pretty sure once the fields are ready they can all be out all day. They were digging the irrigation today, so it's definitely in progress and not just something they tell people. Lol. I have such trust issues.

Anyway, this part I don't have photos of yet. But past all the dry lot paddocks is the grass ring, and then beyond that is a big field we can ride on too. I'm not sure either of my boys will make it that far out... Lol, they hate nature. But Shiny will at some point. I took her for a walk around yesterday, but I could feel her getting nervous once we got to the grass ring. We'll explore another time with a buddy. No need to stress anyone out!

All of the boarders are really nice and friendly. It looks like the majority ride dressage. There's one lady with a hunter (and he's adorable!) and then another lady who used to do jumpers but does dressage now. I knew her a little bit from long ago, but never well. She made sure I knew she used to jump high and has gone up to Intermediate in dressage. Lol. She has two horses there, and the other one is ridden by a man who it turns out I used to know somewhat well back when I was in high school. When I first introduced myself to him I knew he looked familiar, but couldn't immediately place him. But when I got home I remembered how I knew him. When I was in high school, during my junior years as a rider, I showed quite often with an amateur that shipped in to ride with my trainer. Her mom had a farm nearby. And this man who looked familiar rode at their barn. He used to come to all the horse shows to help out and support his friend. So I used to hang with him a ton. They were all in their twenties then, and I was just like 15 probably? My trainer at the time eventually left my barn, so that amateur stopped showing with us (stayed with the trainer that left, it's a long story). So I saw less of them the last few years and then I went off to college. So I haven't seen this guy in almost 30 years. Makes sense we didn't recognize each other at first! But Sunday I went up to him and was like... so we know each other... And he absolutely remembered me and my horse Bud. It's nice to have a familiar face when you're somewhere new. 

I've been very impressed with how they do things at this place as far as care. (Like I know there were the couple of things above, but those aside.) The stalls are picked out constantly. The paddocks are fully cleaned out everyday. The horses always have hay. (Except Shiny because #fatponyproblems) I think the hay soaking for Shiny is causing some distress, but they're determined to figure out the right system for their program. I know it's a pain in the ass. I appreciate the effort tremendously. It took me awhile to get to where it was just part of the routine, so I get that! The waters are cleaned everyday. It's basic stuff, but you never know what you're walking into until you get there ya know? 

So how have the horses been? Weirdly good. Even Al. Sunday I just did light hacks with Eros and Shiny. I did everyone inside because it was cold that day and quite windy. And I've had enough of riding out in the cold wind! They were both perfect. Eros really seemed to like the fancy footing inside. For Al, I lunged him at both ends of the ring before getting on. He wasn't really wild at all, and wasn't terribly spooky either! I got on and just did about ten minutes with him since he'd already lunged for awhile. He was great. No spooks, even with some creaking from the wind. They have mirrors in the indoor (LOVE!) and I honestly think that helped settle Al. He loves having another horse with him. He seemed to understand that was his own reflection, but still I think he found it reassuring. 

It's pretty here

I've chosen to stick with my Mondays off schedule for the time being because I really like my Mondays off. It's nice. So they had that day off, but at this barn they're open seven days a week. So I popped in at the end of the day to put Eros' wraps back on and make sure they were dressed as I wanted them to be. (They were!)

Yesterday I planned to flat everyone but also start Al on the lunge again. It's been unseasonably warm here so we ventured to the outdoor. Eros and Shiny both acted like they'd ridden in that ring their entire lives. Which was really nice! I think if I ever do show them, they won't be too difficult about new places. Lovely to find that out! The wind has been ridiculous (that's the trade off for the warm weather I guess) but the horses were wonderful. It's really nice not having a scary tree line right next to the ring on windy days. Apparently, wind is 99% unscary when the ring has nothing around it. Who knew? I was feeling a little... apprehensive about how Al was going to be out there. I started him on the lunge and he was mildly spicy to start, but just a little bit. He settled right in though! I lunged at both ends of the ring, just so he could see everything at all three gaits (because it all looks different at each gait according to Al) and he was just fine. I think the horses turned out by the end was nice for him. I got on and was walking a bit to start when some of the workers pulled in near the ring. One guy approached the digger with a key in his hand... and I wasn't sure what was bout to happen, but I decided not to find out. Lol. Pulled the ammy card, I did! Al has lunged for 20 minutes already so I didn't feel too bad about bailing out. It was in the 70's he was already huffing and puffing. No harm done. 

Today I was ready to get to work with these free loaders! I mean somewhat. Haha. My horse day started a little late because I had my annual eye dr appointment this morning. Did I mention my eye doctor owns this barn? Ha! Small world. Anyway, it was 75 degrees today and I was ready to enjoy it with all the horses! Shiny goes out in the first shift, so she was back in by the time I got there and opted to start with her. She was great! I set up two cross rails on a figure eight and cantered her over them a few times. I didn't work her TOO hard for a couple reasons. First, she is really fuzzy and I didn't want her to overheat. It was downright cold here for a couple weeks and now it's warm again. So that's weird for them. And secondly, the sand in the outdoor is a little heavier than the sand at home, so I like to take it easy at first while they get used to it. Just better to be cautious at first than to go all out and cause a tendon injury, ya know? Obviously these both apply to all the horses, but the boys are significantly less fuzzy than Shiny. So I was less worried about the heat part for them. Still aware of it, but less concerned.

I did Al next. Today I jumped right in with no lunge to start. I let him walk for awhile to see everything. They were digging the trench while I rode him, just down the hill from the ring. So you could only kind of see the top of the digger. But it was surprisingly not noisy and he didn't care at all. They're also doing something out behind the field. Not sure what, might just be manure removal, but a big dump truck was in and out a few times, driving right past the ring. And Al didn't care. Not at all. I just flatted him somewhat lightly today, but was thrilled with his behavior. Maybe tomorrow I'll put on my big girl pants and pop him over some little jumps. We will see... You never know which Al you'll get until you get on. But for today he gets a gold star.

Eros was last. He was actually a little bit spicy today, but not in a spooky way. Just really forward and a little heavy. I let him trot a couple crossrails, but didn't do more because he's not ready to torpedo in this heavier footing yet. 

Now you're all caught up on our move! So far so good. I'm also in talks with an old friend/trainer about some help with Al and he's on board!  Operation get back in gear is officially underway!

In other news, Rita and I dressed up as Care Bears for Halloween. 

She hated it.

We had hoped to hand out candy while we were working on the barn packing. Alas, there were no trick treaters. There never are here honestly, but someday there could be! And I'll be ready!

OH! I did something random but fun the other night. I have a small group of friends that we used to call a book club, but honestly we never read anything... We still get together here and there for a meal or something. Friday we got together and had a lady come do Tarot readings for us. I've never done that before and wouldn't call myself a believer in such things. But I also know better than to assume they are complete nonsense. You know, just in case. Haha! Anyway, I had a positive reading that suggested this move will be really good for us. So I'm going to take that and hope it's accurate!

And that's it for this week. You're all caught up! How are all of you doing? Ready to fast forward four years? I am.