What's Up Wednesday

It was another fun horsey filled week! Friday was one of those non stop days, but it was mostly fun. I had the morning off from work to do the barn chores and turnouts. It was one of those perfect mornings. Sun was out, it wasn't too hot. The horses were all content in their turnouts. It was a shame to ruin it by going to work... But alas, that's how I afford to feed them. Stupid adulting.
My job sponsored a night out for us lowly employees on Friday night, so the horses had the evening off, and I got to see some minor league baseball!

We were seated in the picnic area which includes a buffet dinner (but ballpark food, nothing fancy). The seats are kind of far away, but it was nice to be able to walk around easily, especially for the people who brought their littles. Our local team is named the Yard Goats. There are two mascots, but we got to see the blue one:

ok, maybe I just creeped on the blue one... I do not know those people in the photo...

And they actually have a couple real goats that hang out at the stadium during games.

They had fireworks after the game, which were totally lame... but it's a nice effort. It was a fun night!
Saturday was all ponies all day. I started out with Eros. We had to ride indoors as they were finishing up re-doing the footing outside. It was fine though, there were only a few of us in there and there was a  breeze through the open doors. He was a good boy as per usual.
I headed home from there to tend the rest of the herd. But first I let my pups out, and then my neighbor's because she was out for the day. How adorable is this pack?!

All the smooshy faces!!!

Then it was horse time! I did Pammon first. We had a nice flat, and then wandered out to the yard for some grass snacks. Pammon wears a martingale though, and so snacking tacked up has been a hassle. I did come up with a solution though!

That's right. I braided his martingale into his mane. Totally did the job.
We followed snacks up with a shower and fan time.

 Shiny had a similar day, also finishing up her ride with snacks in the yard.

Then she had a shower and took some selfies with me. She's the cutest.

Rio skipped the riding part and went right to snacking.

He's the most handsome. Ever. Try to argue.
It was dinner time for everyone at this point, so the tall kids were fed, and I ran out to pick up some Thai for dinner. (Solid choice!) I spent the rest of the evening with the short kids binge watching season four of the OC. I had forgotten how awful the last season was. I remember now. They did redeem themselves with the last episode though.
Sunday morning was a little exciting. I've said it a million times (but you know how those things go...) that the stall doors need to be closed if horses are in the walkout behind said stall. Well. Weekend helper had Pammon out in his walkout behind his stall, but she was still working on cleaning it. The door to the walkout was latched (from the outside, where Pammon was) but the stall door into the aisle was open.  Helper was in the aisle when Pammon let himself in and promptly back out via the aisle door. Right out into the yard! I was especially worried because part of my fence on the side of the property came down in a storm a bit ago. I haven't gotten it fixed it yet, and I was CERTAIN he was going to run into the road. Thankfully he didn't, and we were able to catch him relatively quickly. It wasn't easy though... Horse is naughty!

After all that I was ready to get to Eros' barn. Our trunk had arrived finally!

Eros and Fefe have accumulated enough stuff that our lockers weren't cutting it for storage anymore. Plus if I ever show Eros with this barn, I'll need a trunk anyway. So dad generously got one for my stepmom and I to share. I'm excited to get all of Eros' and Fefe's stuff moved over there.

I finally forced myself to fix Eros' mane that morning too. It had really gotten out of hand. It was more than halfway down his neck. He looked like a wild mustang. But now, he looks MUCH better.

And then finally I got him ridden. The outdoor ring was all put back together, and the new footing was lovely to ride on. Nice and fluffy again! No lessons the last few weekends with Eros since everyone has been in VT. And I'm away this coming weekend. But hopefully we'll get back to business after that.

I headed straight home once Eros was tucked in to get moving at home. I wanted to jump both horses a little bit. I started with Pammon, and while he was a perfect angel, I was less stellar on Sunday. Everything was fine, nothing horrible happened, but we just never found a nice flow. Some days are just like that I think.

The ride was similar with Shiny, but in her case, I asked a lot more questions than the other times we have jumped. I put out some jump fill for her to pop over, but just on its own, without standards. I didn't really think that would pose an issue, but she actually did try to bulge past it a couple of times. I found a few places that she's very green also. Namely, she has no idea how to handle the deep distance. Or how to adjust to make it less deep. That's not at all surprising though as she's still working on moving forward with contact while flatting. She has lots to learn, but she's super game and really fun to work with.

Once the jumping kids were tucked back in their stalls, Rio got to spend some time outside enjoying some grass. I still can't get over how shiny and great he looks this year.

That's all him! He's not wet in either of those photos! What a stud.

I've been trying to give the horses Mondays off, but since they just had a vacation day Friday, and I'll be away Friday through Sunday this weekend, I decided to ride Monday. Pammon had a nice flat, and Shiny got off stupid easy with a bareback plop around. Tuesday, I went to pull Pammon out, hoping to jump a few fences, only to find this happening with his shoe:

I have no idea where the missing nail went, but do note that one remaining one isn't doing much! I sent that photo to my farrier and he said to keep him in and they'd fix it today. So Pammon had a shower (it was hot and humid that day and he was sweating just hanging in his stall) and the day off. Shiny had a good ride though! She worked her tail off, starting to practice going forward with contact. It's not easy! But she's getting it. Slowly.
That's about it from here! I shall leave you with this adorable photo of Shiny having a snooze. (I haven't ever caught her down before!)

OH! One other fun thing that I probably should have put in yesterday's post. I had ordered grooming halters a few weeks ago for the kids, and they just arrived this past weekend. They're so cute!

Ok, that's really it this time. How was your week/weekend? Take any lessons? Have a jump school? Buy anything fun?

Truthful Tuesday

I've been trying to tame my shopping habit of late since I want to have funds to start showing Pammon (and eventually Shiny). But not shopping is so BORING. I mean, I haven't quit altogether. Let's be real, this is me. But I'm trying to stick with things we need (like supplements and horse treats) and not ordering things I don't need like saddle pads and more belts.
Getting the mail is completely unexciting. Nothing but junk mail and bills. Even the UPS deliveries are boring. Smartpaks and horse meds mostly. Ugh. So boring.

I do have a few (mostly unnecessary) orders in the works though that I placed before I told myself to stop being so wasteful.

The first is from Hopeful Equestrian. I ordered a couple baby pads to match my Celeris boots. Shiny doesn't need them since she uses her sheepskin lined pads, but I got two of each color way (one for Pammon and one for Eros, of course). One set will be black with metallic rose gold trim and the other is gray with metallic turquoise. I can't wait for them to get finished!

The other order is from Hufglocken, a smaller Australian company. They have really good pricing on Mattes products. AND they offered a 20% discount site wide, including custom orders. It's hard to say no to that... I have a wish list of things I want from there. Mattes has brushing boots you can customize (though they're VERY expensive).

Definitely a wish list not an anytime soon item

They also have a neat cooler system that I'm definitely going to order for the winter. It's called the Mer system, and attaches to the saddle pad. No bulk from your quarter sheet wrapping around your saddle! And you can get a chest piece too for those really cold days. The negative is that it's made of fleece. Wool would be better. But I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll just keep some anti static spray on hand.

photo borrowed from the Hufglocken site

I'm not sure why this lady in the photo is wearing a tee shirt and her horse is covered up like it's the middle of winter... But whatever. Anyway, you have to get the saddle pad from Mattes for it to work. It attaches with buttons so you order the pads with button holes.I didn't order either of those things, but I did go ahead and get a couple pads (with button holes in preparation for my future order). I got one for Shiny in our barn colors with the sheepskin underneath since that's been working well for us. And Pammon got just a plain pad in our colors with no sheepskin on it. I already have a half pad from Mattes he can use that will match. So while I was bad in ordering pads... I wasn't as bad as I could have been? Right? I want to get Eros the system too, in the barn's colors. But I didn't! Yet....

Do any of you go ahead and make lists of all the things you want to buy even though you can't? No? Just me? That can't be true. What's on your wish list currently? Has anyone tried the Mer System? Yay or nay?

Thursday's Threads

Happy Outfit Day everyone! I have outfits, the horses have outfits... Let's just get to it! We'll start with last night's riding stuff.

Finally busted out some brown!

Helmet: One K

I haven't worn this one in awhile! I love the snakeskin in this color.

Top: Brand unknown

This is from one of those swag shops on Nantucket island... Do they even have brands? I dunno.

Belt: Mane Jane

I didn't have a light green belt strap to match this top, so decided to go with the gold/champagne one. I think it's working!

Breeches: B.Vertigo

I grabbed these awhile back on clearance, and they've become one of my favorite pairs of breeches. Especially for summer. They're super lightweight.

Boots: Horka

I'm still such a fan of these distressed brown boots. They're super comfy, and they're holding up well! Granted, I don't wear them all that much... but still. They're going strong!

And now on to the horses! We'll start with Pammon because I rode him first.
Bridle: QHP
Browband: Dark Jewel Designs

I've been waiting to bust out all my browbands until I had the ones I ordered for Shiny. Figured I'd do all the swaps at once, ya know? Shiny's arrived this weekend, and as you know, I did a tack over haul on Sunday. I had hoped the QHP bridles from Deco Pony would work with these browbands, and they totally do! Here's a close up of the browband. I think this bead strand MIGHT be my favorite:

Saddle: Hermes
Stirrups: MDC
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Etsy- shop closed
Girth: Tough One

I forget who made the baby pad, but it's irrelevant because her shop is closed. Which is hugely disappointing because I think these were my favorite baby pads. They don't bunch up at all, and she would make anything you could imagine.

Boots: Punk Ponies

These are a touch small, but they're actually the ones I bought for Shiny... Obviously too big for her! I swear I have a horse size pair around somewhere, but I have to find them. They've recently revamped their sizing over at Punk Ponies though, and these boots no longer run super big. I need to pick up a pair for Shiny in the new sizing.

Shiny's turn!

Bridle: QHP
Browband: Dark Jewel Designs

Her bead strand is exactly the same as Pammon's. I really think it looks great on these green bridles! (And both horses too!)

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Premier Equine
Girth: I forget which brand this one is...

Her saddle pad set ups aren't all that exciting being that she only has three... I have a couple more coming, and will slowly add to her collection. The pads with the sheepskin attached underneath aren't cheap, so I can't just go crazy all at once!

Boots: Punk Ponies

These are the new sizing. A perfect fit for her little legs! And I mean, how adorable are shiny gold boots on a shiny gold pony?!

So that's what the horses and I wore last night! Now on to today's outfit.

I've apparently been on a fruit theme kick recently... Watermelons today!

Top: Gap

I think I got this at the end of last season at the Gap outlet near me? It still had the tags on it this morning...

Belt: C4

I mean.... It's adorable, isn't it?!

Jeans: True Religion

I had trouble deciding on pants for this outfit, and finally just decided to go with dark denim. Can't really go wrong there.

Shoes: Sperry

These are actually from the kid's department. I think they're kind of subtle, with just the heel decorated.

Accessories:
Purse: Nila Anthony

I think this brand is no more which is too bad. They made cute bags. I love this watermelon clutch, partly because it's adorable, but also because it has the smoothest working zipper. You know what I mean don't you? There's nothing worse than a zipper that catches.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

Lefty is donning this really pretty bracelet from Nicole's Creations. It's not watermelon related, but the colors worked. And it's one of my top ten favorites that Nicole has made for me.

Righty:

Righty is wearing that cute little chain bracelet with the watermelon charm. I got it from Zulily I think, but not sure of the brand. The other three string bracelets all come from Pura Vida. And lastly you'll see my fitbit in the rubber band.

That's it for today! Do you have any favorites? What are you wearing today?

What's Up Wednesday

This wasn't the most exciting of weeks, but I mean that in a good way. I didn't really have much planned for the weekend other than riding. Which is kind of nice!
Friday I had the vet out to catch Pammon and Shiny up on their vaccinations. Shiny also needed a microchip. I had the vet take a look at her cut on her leg while he was out, and he wasn't too worried about it. She jogged totally sound, and he said to put her back to work. Yay!
I had a half day of work to meet up with the vet, so I rode Pammon, groomed Rio, and decided to start Shiny back the next day so she just got brushed.  Then I headed over to the other barn. Everyone is away at a show, and there was a horse that's rehabbing they asked if I could ride Friday and Saturday.

he wasn't into my selfie antics.

 So I did him, and then stuffed Eros full of cookies. I was going to ride him also, but my step mom had already ridden him, and with the heat, I figured he didn't need a second ride.
Then I headed back home to snuggle the pugs.

I tried to get to bed relatively early since I had a 5 am wake up call to beat the heat. I was mostly successful since it had been a busy day.
Saturday I was up so early the dogs didn't want to get out of bed! But they did, and I was out in the barn by 5:15. I fed the horses, and was on Shiny by 5:30. She only eats one cup of ration balancer, so I don't have to be extra careful about not riding right after she eats. I kind of expected her to be a little naughty since she'd had a full week of vacation. Fortunately, she was exactly the same as the last time I rode her. She may be green, and a little full of herself, but she really is a good pony. We didn't work super hard, but it was a lovely ride. The feels like temp was still in the 80's so wasn't too bad!

Perfect little princess

Next up was Pammon! He was perfect (of course). I took it fairly easy, as he had a lot of vaccinations the day before. The feels like temp was 88 and the humidity was 87%. Gross. He's a trooper! I think he was a little confused about riding before turnout though. Especially when his brother and sister went out in the walkouts while he was still working.

"why's Rio out there while I'm working?"-Pammon probably

After a quick hosing and a few minutes in front of the fan, he was able to go out for his play time and I headed over to the boarding barn. My loaner pony was having his turnout, so I started with Eros. I debated whether it was cooler indoors or out, but wound up heading outside. The sun was still low, and there was a bit of a breeze. The air was really thick though, so we didn't over do the work. Just a basic walk-trot-canter both ways, followed by a little bit of collection work. And that was that. He was pretty happy to get hosed off and park in front of the fan to dry.

Heading outside to ride!

Loaner pony is actually on full board, so the barn workers got him ready for me. Can't lie, it was kind of nice! So as soon as Eros was dry, I hopped right on the next one. Since he's rehabbing, he has a pretty strict schedule. Walk for 10 minutes, trot for 15, canter for 10, 5 more of trot, then walk till cool. I adhered very strictly to that on Friday, but Saturday morning with the heat and heavy air, I added in more walk breaks. I also cut a minute or two from the canter. His owner had said if it was very hot I shouldn't work him too hard. So I just paid attention to his breathing and sweating and did was seemed right. I stayed indoors with him as it was getting steamy outside, and it was definitely cooler in the indoor. The grooms seemed pretty busy when I was done, so I hosed him off myself and hung out with him under the fan until he was dry.

 It was only 10:30 and all four horses were worked, washed, and tucked back in! I headed back home to tend to Rio. For some reason barn helper had put him away covered in sweat and sand. So I took him out and gave him a shower, and hung out with him in front of the fan to dry.

He apparently needed to lick all the salty sweat off me. Ew.

Everyone seemed as comfortable as they could be in the barn. The feels like temp was up to 106 but the humidity had dropped to 55%. So there's that? After feeding lunch and topping off water buckets, I stopped by the lake for some lunch. And immediately after I escaped to the a/c in my house. And you know what? I was SUPER PRODUCTIVE! I made a decent dent in laundry mountain, and even got around to digging out some of my summer clothes that I never switched over this year. Summer's only half over, so like, better late than never right? I also took a nap. Cause naps are great. Finally I figured I had earned a treat after getting up early and being super productive all day (minus the nap I suppose) and treated myself to some Chinese take out. So good. It's been awhile since I've had Chinese food!
I headed to bed early again because I knew 5 am would come early. It's not that hard the first day, but the second one usually proves more difficult.
Sunday was supposed to be worse than Saturday as far as heat indexes went. I was grateful to have only 3 horses to ride instead of four. Fortunately, the morning was actually nicer than the day before. When I got on Shiny it was in the 70's. Humid, but not hot! I followed the same schedule as the day before, and things went just fine. I had wanted to jump Pammon around a little, but I had forgotten to put my spurs back on after riding Shiny, and I had regrets. So jumping would have to wait. It was pretty soupy out anyway, so I'm sure he didn't mind.

Eros was outside when I got to the barn, enjoying some grass and the not yet too hot temps.

He didn't seem terribly excited to see me. I think he was hoping for a day off. Sorry buddy, one more day of work! I was actually planning to ride him inside as it was for sure cooler in there than outside was getting. But they had taken the jumps out and had them sitting right outside the door. Eros was completely not handling that, and I didn't think it was worth the battle, so I took him outside. You guys. He was pretty naughty for our ride! He was spooking at dust. Yes, dust! So while I had planned on another easy ride, he actually had to work. He finished up great, because let's be real, he IS Eros. But he was pretty hot and sweaty by the time we came in. I walked him indoors, though still he wanted to avoid the doorway with the jumps stacked up. He's so weird! He was pretty happy to have a shower when we were done, and we hung out together while he dried. I think he was pretty tired because he was using me to hold his head up.

Is there anything better than just sitting and snuggling with your horse? Cause I really don't think so. Despite the crazy heat, I had the best weekend with my horses. Getting up so early allowed me time to hang out with them after our rides, which was just really nice to get to do.
Anyway, after tucking Eros in, I headed into town to pick up an iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich. (It was only 10 AM!) And then made a quick stop to pick up checks from braiding last week.
After breakfast, I was trying to decide what to do with my day. The family had gone out fishing on the boat, but I hadn't gotten done in time at the barn. Boo. I really couldn't fathom spending another full day tackling laundry, so instead, I took on a much bigger, hotter project.

I cleaned all my tack (ALL OF IT) and packed away all the stuff I wasn't using. Like Jamp's figure 8 bridles, his grazing muzzle, and all kinds of training equipment I hopefully won't be needing right now. I'm keeping it because you never know... but it's now packed away until that day comes.
My saddles got cleaned, oiled, AND conditioned. They are so much happier now!

I took a break after tending to the saddles to let the pups out. It had gotten really hot (feels like temp of 109!) so while inside I actually put on shorts. I don't wear shorts. Like ever. I have a really unhealthy disdain for the lower half of my body. (Unless it's covered up by breeches and fun boots of course!) But this heat required less clothing. So I did it. And now I shall blind all of you with a photo of me in shorts.

Don't look directly at that photo. Unless you're wearing proper eye protection. Anyway, once in my shorts, I got to work on organizing and cleaning the bridles. It's possible that each of my horses has five bridles... plus a show bridle each (Pammon and Shiny, Rio doesn't need a show bridle).
The show bridles are packed away to go live in the trailer, but look how cute:

Pammon's is from Royal Sports and Shiny's is Joseph Sterling. I may replace Pammon's with a JS bridle eventually.

It's also possible that it's ridiculous for Rio to have five bridles when he's retired and I haven't ridden him in over a year.... But I don't want him feeling left out. And you never know! He could get sound enough one day for me to sit on him again. And if that day comes, I need for him to have a matching outfit with me. I'm waiting on a few bits to arrive to finish putting all the bridles fully together. But the tack room looks SO MUCH better now.

It took the entire day to get that stuff all done. A full day of standing out in the (actual) 105 degree barn in feels like 110 temps. Thus, I decided to skip the band at the lake (and my lobster roll) in favor of the a/c and leftover Chinese food. It was a good call, and I managed to do a little more laundry too. It was a super long day, and I slept really well that night!
Monday was another early day, but not as early as the weekend. I had the morning off from work because my barn helper is on vacation this week. I have my weekend helper covering Tues through Thurs, but I have barn duty Monday and Friday. Anyway, I was out in the barn by 6:30 to get moving on turnouts and stall cleaning. It was actually a lovely morning, and I was a little disappointed to have to go to work after.
Work was nuts on Monday. It's always tough trying to fit eight hours into 4, but since I had a half day to meet the vet on Friday, it was more like 12 hours into 4. But I got it done, and only had to stay a little late. The horses had Monday off anyway as we had crazy thunder storms all evening.
Tuesday after work I pulled Pammon out to ride, and found he had a stocked up left hind, including his hock. I couldn't find much heat anywhere, and didn't see any new open wounds. So I texted trainer for her thoughts. We both decided he probably just bumped it. He had looked sound on the lunge, so she said to get on and see how he feels and just hack lightly if he felt good. So we did that, and then iced it after. He got a little bute with dinner too.

Today it's looking much improved, though not yet perfect. I'm imagining a similar protocol tonight, but we'll see if it looks bigger after standing in the stall for the afternoon. Fingers crossed it's nothing!
So that brings us to now! What's up with you? Did you have crazy heat this weekend too? Do anything fun? Horse shows or lessons? Do any shopping? I did NOT which I'm pretty proud of...