What's Up Wednesday

 

I think we covered the major "thing" that has been going on around here yesterday. It's been so busy around here that my rides have been kind of rushed the last couple of weeks. I'm very much looking forward to riding this afternoon because there is nothing else on my schedule for the rest of the day today. Thank goodness. Because in the last two weeks aside from dealing with all the worker stuff and caring for/riding horses I've also: 

-Attended a violin recital
-Attended a dance recital
-Went to 4 dinners out
-Interviewed two potential landscapers
-Scheduled shavings deliveries and manure bin pickup/empty
-Had 3 work meetings plus regular work hours
-Had the farrier out for our regular shoeing/trims

Needless to say, the days are long and the sleep time is short! We didn't do much jumping last week. I just didn't have the time or focus for it. That's okay though, I don't think the horses care that much. We did get one school in though in the last two weeks. They were all great. Eros didn't get the zoomies even once! Shiny and I jumped over the bigger of our "hurdle" jumps which we've never done together. (It's only 2'3" but I never wanted to on her.) And Al... well he didn't do anything extraordinary but he was a good boy!

I'm also battling with my barn swallows still. I swear, they let me THINK they've given up on the nesting and then just come back and start again when I think I'm in the clear. Most recently this one bird keeps trying to build a nest on a wire that hangs from my ceiling. (I had the barn wired for ceiling fans but then never installed them, so the wire is there in case I change my mind.) It's is impossible to nest on this wire because it is narrow and it's bendy, not firm like a tree branch. But thus persistent, yet no so smart, bird keeps on trying. And dropping all his nest making debris all over my floor. Driving me bananas! 

Shiny's kid just got back for the summer, so she came and rode yesterday. It was just a flat day, but I think that's a nice way to ease back in. She hopped on Eros too for a little bit. She had a fall from a tall horse she tried not too long ago and was feeling a little nervous about getting on a full size horse again. So Eros is the perfect dude to help her gain some confidence back. I feel really grateful to Shiny and Eros for being such solid citizens. It feels really special to have horses that can help with confidence. It's so important because we all know this sport can be anxiety inducing! 

Kind of a short update for two weeks, but I've been pretty consumed with all the old and new worker stuff. Which, I have to get back outside to help my new guy finish up today. This is the first stretch of time I've left him on his own out there, so we'll see how that went! I had a work meeting this morning, so I helped get the horses out and cleaned a stall then abandoned him out there. He does seem to be picking things up, so I'm confident he'll be under control when I get back outside. Fingers crossed!

Truthful Tuesday: Change is hard edition

 

I'm back! Sorry for the short hiatus friends, but I was fresh out of bandwidth last week. As you know I've been having some issues with the job my helper of many years has been doing. And when I was spending so much time finishing and or redoing his work that I was struggling to have time to ride all my horses, I knew that I really needed to do something about the situation. Spending eight hours in the barn plus trying to work my hours for Turnout during the week, and 12-13 hour days in the barn on weekends was taking a toll on me. Physically and emotionally. I didn't have time or energy for anything else. 

So I made the decision a couple months ago to commit to finding a replacement. And I finally did, which meant that last Friday it was time to let my worker go. I've never had to terminate a worker before. I've had people leave of course over the years I've been here. One lady was struggling with carpal tunnel so she needed to stop cleaning stalls. (I feel that, I've developed it myself over the last year.) I had a few weekend helpers that graduated college and left to start their grown up lives. That sort of thing. I haven't ever had to be the bad guy. So needless to say, all last week I was having a wee nervous breakdown about the whole thing. It actually went fine, and in all honesty, I don't think he really wanted to be doing this job anymore. But I was really stressed last week just knowing I had to do that. 

My new worker started on Sunday. He's going to be doing Sunday through Thursday. Which I'm really excited about. My little town has a great Farmer's Market on Sunday mornings in the summer and concerts at the lake across the street from me on Sunday evenings. But I haven't been able to get get to either of those things for the last few years. And now I'll be able to! Plus I think having an easy day Sunday (pretty much just riding that day and evening chores) hopefully I won't be so exhausted on Monday and I can be more productive with my non riding day. (It's honestly shocking how energy levels tank after 45. SHOCKING. Believe people when they tell you this.)

New worker is pretty green around horses, but has had some experience. Thankfully, my three are all generally very easy to handle. Even Al who is such a weirdo, is very respectful on the ground. I've been working with him all this week so he can get the routine down, and I can make sure things are getting done how I like. He's very willing to do things the way I want them done. He's picking things up quickly. Tomorrow is the first day that I'll leave him alone in the barn for a bit while I take a work meeting. I'm going to help him get everyone out, and then probably head back inside for my meeting and pop back out when it's time to bring the horses in. If that goes well, I'll do a little less each day until he's comfortable on his own. 

Hopefully he'll enjoy the work and want to stick around awhile. Send good vibes for that outcome if you have them to spare! 

So that's my confession. I was having a wee panic attack about this big change in my life. Hopefully I'm over the transition hump and things will settle down soon. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I am taking the rest of the week off from blogging. We don't have much to report on for tomorrow and I have some changes going on over here that have me pretty distracted. I'll give a full report next week! Have a great week everyone!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I haven't used or worn much of my blue things in awhile because you know... bad memories. But I think it's well past time to put them back in the rotation. Plus I got something new that spurred me to bring out the blue stuff. Anyway. Al is our model today and here's what he's wearing:

He had many feelings about the neighbor's side this day so he's looking twisted right in this photo, but he's not in real life. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

I realized later I should have pulled out the blue brow band bridles. But I didn't have a ton of time and I know Al's doesn't have the right bit on it anyway. Next time we do blue, I'll pull them out. 

Saddle: Butet
Baby Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Ippico

He does look nice in blue. 

Boots: Premier Equine

I put boots on Al because I was hoping to do some jumpies yesterday. Unfortunately, he was having another bad day. Two in a row, which has me a little frustrated. We'll see what today brings. 

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

All the blues! Silly to let all of these things just sit around. 

Helmet: Samshield

After missing out on the navy closeout Samshield a bit ago, another one popped up recently for even less money! It doesn't have much time left on it based on manufacture date, but it is brand new and was an absolute steal, so I'll still get my money's worth. My blue One K has expired, so this is a good replacement even if just for a short time. Samshields fit my head a little better than the One Ks do. 

Tee: Aubrion

I used to get a bunch of subscription boxes every month, back when I was employed full time instead of part time. But since then I've canceled the majority of them. I've kept Rita's Barkbox because she loves their toys and treats. And I've also kept Forelock and Fringe. They've introduced me to a ton of things I might not have tried otherwise, and they send the most delicious human treats too! So as long as I can afford to keep it, I shall. Anyway, the point of all rambling, is that this shirt was in this month's box. It's super breathable and has a cute little cutout detail in the back just below the neckline. Very cute!

Belt: Iago

Speaking of good deals... I snagged this belt from the LA Saddlery closing sale. I had seen it on their site for awhile but I'm cheap so never bought it. Once it was 70% off though? Whole different story! I think it's really cute, and was perfect for this outfit. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

This is the color Aqualina. I think I've worn them maybe once before? Time to put them in the regular rotation. I'm going to need my OG fabric Tailords to last the rest of my riding life, so I have to be sure to rotate through all of them. They'll last longer that way. 

Boots: Celeris UK

I think this color is their Titanic blue. They were demo boots, so not custom for me, but about close as you can get. That's why I can't remember for sure on the color. I didn't pick it. I really like them though, they're simple but pretty. Hard to see here, but there is piping at the top that's silver. If I had designed them, there would also be piping around the toe cap. But I'm not mad about that missing. 

That's it for today! What do you think of the return of the blues? Keep it up? Or we all look better in green? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

We're just plugging right along over here! I still haven't had the chance to pull out my jump fill. But maybe this weekend or Monday. We've kind of been stuck on riding 5 days a week lately instead of 6 and this week was no different. But it was for a fun reason, so I'm not mad about it. We actually didn't get rained out any days this week, with our one and only rain event happening late at night. Just the way it should be, I need rain to keep the footing at it's best, and when it happens at night, it doesn't disrupt riding plans! I'm not sure if we'll get as lucky this week, but we shall see. Fingers crossed. 

This week, or skipped riding day was Sunday. Both of my nieces had voice recitals on Sunday, but of course they weren't in the same one. One was at 2 and one was at 5. So I did morning chores, went to the first one, then took out the stall windows finally, cleaned some bird poo, and finally went to the second one. Then more bird poo cleaning and fed dinner. Productive day, even if riding wasn't on the schedule. The girls both sounded fantastic too. I haven't heard them really sing before. I'm so impressed by them! I can't sing at all. The horses all look at me with disdain when I sing in the barn. 

We only got in one jump school this week. I had hoped for a second one on Saturday, but I made a terrible error Friday night and my body said light rides only Saturday. And it was persistent. I forgot to take my Omeprazole Friday night. (Yes, I know it's best taken in the morning on an empty stomach, but I have to take my thyroid meds the same way and that one is more important to get absorbed. So I take my Omeprazole at night before bed.) Anyway, my tummy was all disgruntled which made my whole body somewhat useless by the time I'd finished chores. So instead we had Sunday Funday on Saturday. The horses weren't sad. 

Of course that meant they had a very light ride followed by two days off... But ya know. Such is life sometimes. They were mostly fine yesterday when I got back on. Al was a little weird, but it was a windy day after all that break time, so I wasn't upset about it. We worked through most of the weird and got a ride in regardless. The other two were as lazy as always so clearly no harm done for them! 

But back to jumping, because that's the fun part anyway. We'll start with Al. The jumps are still small because that's where I'm at. Haha! While Al is definitely in a much better place since the changes we talked about last week. He still can have a weird day here and there. (Like yesterday!) He was a little weird for our jump day too. The neighbor has been working on something that involves what sounds to me like a staple or maybe nail gun so I think perhaps he'd been doing something weird when Al was turned out that morning. That stuff sticks with him. But despite the weird, we still managed to jump a few fences. Our former weekend helper was visiting when I was on him, so she was kind enough to grab some video. Unfortunately the sun was making it hard to see, so just this little jump came out. Better than nothing! He also jumped most of the other things in the ring, but we did skip the outside line by the neighbor that day. I call it an accommodation. We'll try again over there this week if we can.

Eros was so good for his school! He didn't turn the zoomies on until I made a mistake... I mean fair. It seems like he'll stay quiet until I mess up, and then he's like here, I'll do it myself. He probably knows better anyway. But here's what happened when I messed up. I was cantering across the diagonal to our little hurdle jump. And these geese came flying overhead honking away. I could tell his attention was on them and then MY attention was on them. And neither of us was focusing on the task at hand. So I got to the jump at a VERY long distance which he happily took, but I didn't trust and got left behind. I'm not a monster so I let the reins slip to avoid pulling on him too hard. 

Photo evidence. Still pulled on him though clearly.

After that he got a little excited. But we did finish on a nice note after trotting a few fences and then trying again. Next time I feel my attention slipping away, I will work harder to bring it back. Or make a circle. This is how we learn! 

That's better.

Shiny of course has been perfect for her jump schools. I've been using more counter canter in her warm up, and it's really helping to get her more adjustable when we jump. And also straighter. Counter canter is so useful!

She's definitely ready for the jumps to go back to her comfort zone which is still only 2'-2'3". She seems to perk up at the "bigger" ones and gets easier to ride when I point her at those. That height is still easy for the boys too, so if we get to jump twice this week, I'll probably put them up a little for the second one. 

That's about all I have to share today. Hope things are going well for you all and your horses! Are you getting time to ride and enjoy the weather? Any shows on the horizon for you?

Truthful Tuesday

 

So I've been trying to be better about going to the grocery store myself rather than choosing delivery because it's cheaper to do it myself. I don't have to leave me a tip! But things have just been so busy here, I ordered my groceries this week. I chose the latest two hour window I could, and hoped it would come at the later end of the window. Of course it didn't though. It arrived right at the start. I was still riding, and didn't want to go in the house and get Rita all excited only to leave her again. So I put the perishables in a drink cooler I have in the barn with a couple ice boots. Which I thought was pretty responsible! Totally did the trick of keeping things nice and cold. Except I didn't realize that I missed a whole package of smoked salmon that was hiding under the lettuce. $13 right in the trash because I'm definitely not eating fish that's been sitting out for two hours in the summer. 

It was especially disappointing though because I had also ordered a rotisserie chicken which was the base for all the meals I had planned for the next several days and they were out of those. So I got a whole load of groceries (mostly vegetables) and absolutely no protein. Sigh. Guess I'll have to make that trip to the store after all. I did have tuna fish though, so tonight I made tuna macaroni which was a pretty solid meal for a last minute change. 

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! We kept it simple this week and stayed with our farm colors theme. Eros is our model, and here's what he's wearing:

This is such a weird angled photo! His neck looks scrawny somehow (it is not in real life!) and my saddle looks comically small for some reason. 

Bridle: Pinnacle

Brow band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

I love this color bridle on him. It matches him perfectly!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy

I love this shade of brown from Ogilvy. But I am hoping they release a really rich dark brown someday. 

Eros didn't have boots or wraps on this day since we were just flatting. So here's what I am wearing this week:

I had to have a little fun with an otherwise very tame outfit. Right?

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

My helmet is dusty. It's shocking to me how we can get so much rain around here and still have dust! Anyway, I'm so happy I found this fun front shield when I was at Equine Affair last fall. I love a little sparkle. 

Shirt: FitEq

I'm still a little sad this company is no longer around. The shirts are a little nicer than the ones I get from Amazon and I loved the little horseshoe on the chest.

Belt: Levi's

I've had this belt in black since college and I wear it all the time. I recently happened upon this brown one in Poshmark and snapped it right up! 

Breeches: RJ Classics

These are the Harper model with the defective pockets. I still really like the breeches though, even if the pockets no longer have bottoms to them... Haha, just don't put anything in there!

Boots: Celeris UK

These will forever and always be my favorite boots. I call them the Hunt Seat Cowgirl. 

That's it for today! A little plain, a little fun. Perfect for who I am as a person! Haha!