What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew, another late one. This should be the last really late What's up Wednesday for awhile. We had our last family dinner on the boat tonight as my dad and stepmom head down to Florida tomorrow for the winter. Which means we're getting VERY close to moving the horses over to the boarding barn. Always a bittersweet time of year. I love having them home and getting to make all the decisions. I love being able to do late night check when the weather is all over the place so I can change blankets. But it's also nice when it's ten degrees outside to NOT have to do night check... And the weather is making me want to ride indoors, so it will be nice to have that option again. Anyway, let's talk about the last week!

First the bummer news. Al's saddle came Friday which should be exciting and happy, but alas... Al has filled out a lot this summer. Like, a LOT. 

It is not obvious from this angle. 

The saddle was no where close to fitting him. Fortunately, they have a guarantee and will make me a new one. Hopefully he won't change much more. The saddle is gorgeous though. If anyone's looking, it's at RIDE Bedford for sale. (SOB!) The loaner saddle is still working for him, so we're sticking with that for the next 16 weeks. (It's not exactly the same as what I had ordered which is why it is okay and the new one was not.) While I had the rep here, I had her check my saddles on Eros. In a crazy and unexpected turn of events, the best fitting one in my possession is actually the loaner. If you look at Eros' back and Al's back you would not expect this to be the case. But I've been using it on both of them, and both seem quite happy. So now I have four saddles I need to sell. But that's good. More money toward this new one, right? And if I can sell all four then I can find a used one for Eros or buy this demo maybe. Anyone need a saddle?

You can kinda tell here. Also this cooler/sheet is like a 
fluffy teddy bear on the inside and I want one for my bed.

The last two weeks we've been getting a lot of rain. Oddly enough, both weeks it rained around Sunday/Monday/Tuesday. I haven't missed any riding days either week, but we've had a few days of only riding on half of the ring. The far end of my ring doesn't drain as well as the front half and it's been a little squishy the first half of the week. Which unfortunately means less opportunity for jumping. Which is really fine. These guys don't need to jump all the time and Al isn't jumping right now anyway. 

Eros did finally get to jump around on Saturday though, and he was wonderful! I mentioned last week that he struggled to get down the outside line the last time we schooled. Well not this week! I don't think it's all the saddle though I'm sure it helped. Most likely it was the body work they had last Monday. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he was feeling better. He cracks me up though. We jumped around a bit, then took a walk break before jumping a few more. And in true Eros fashion, he let me know exactly what time my quarter was up. He never does anything particularly naughty, he just starts dragging me around like a small child. I let him quit after he agreed to canter nicely to a single fence. Compromise! It's what keeps good relationships good! Ha! Look how cute he was jumping around:

I think he's the toughest to have in the program at the other barn. He's just not made for group lessons. Hopefully I'll be able to do a private like last year with him. We shall see soon enough!

I lunged Al on Saturday to see how things were looking. He looked pretty good, and his crack didn't bleed at all despite some of his antics. So I figured I'd get on Sunday and see how he felt. He felt okay... Not perfect, but significantly better than the last time I sat on him. Yesterday I got on again, but we just walked. It went well, and we worked on some lateral work and remembering that when the human is in the saddle we're supposed to pay attention to her... It's not something he's really mastered yet. Today we did a few laps of trot each way in addition to our walking. He actually felt great today, so I'm hopeful we're moving in the right direction. And for the record, when I say laps, I mean circles on half the ring. I still haven't quite mastered my fear of the scary long side with Al... but also the squishy end of the ring just made it so I didn't feel guilty about not going down there. Thanks mother nature!

Missed this view!

I'm still going to take it really easy with him until he sees the farrier again. I also plan to have him seen by the vet next time he's out. I just want to make sure there isn't anything else going on, though I really don't think there is. Doesn't hurt to have the whole team involved anyway.

Shiny has grown back all the hair I clipped off her a few weeks ago. Which is really unfortunate given it's warmed up here the last few days. I planned to give her a nice rinse today after our ride, but my hose exploded when I was rinsing Eros before her, so then I couldn't do that. (It was a fabric hose, once they go, it's all over. Literally. I ordered two new ones, so next time I'll have a backup.)

Other than being hairy, she's still doing okay. I can't get the engine revving though. I tried jumping her Saturday and just couldn't get her in front of my leg so abandoned that after a couple fences. I rode her first on Sunday and tried again. She was still a little sluggy, but much better than the evening before. I had her add in the line which was the right choice for her energy level, but otherwise she went around fine. Pivo was struggling to follow her in the light that day though, which was annoying. It never works as well in the fall, and I think it's because the lighting is weird with the sun at a different angle. Still managed a few cute screen shots though!

In other news, I had a busy Friday last week! I had a 4:15 wake up call to braid a horse that was heading up to New England Finals. I've braided her a bunch this summer, and I wanted to get there a little extra early because she can be a little tricky about the top of her neck AND her neck is super long. So is her tail bone. She's a big mare! She was very well behaved until I had the last two braids to tie up. I generally start at the ears and braid down all the way to the withers. Then I pull up starting at the withers and finishing at the poll. It's more efficient; less ladder movement. This mare was really funny about her forelock and the top couple of braids when I first started braiding her in the spring, but she'd gotten over it this summer. I'm now thinking maybe she's funny about getting her ears clipped, and maybe that carries over to braiding if she's done immediately before. So anyway, I had two braids yet to tie, and she was being a total weirdo about it. She's got to be about 17.2 if not taller, so when she puts her head in the air and tilts it away from me, I absolutely cannot reach. (I'm only 5'2"! I need a bigger ladder I think.) Eventually though, we worked it out. Phew. 

This was her kid's first time at this finals (and I think the mare's also). I watched them on the livestream. The kid rode great, and was really confident. The mare was really impressed by the venue, and got a little wiggly. But they made it around respectably. It's fun to get to see your customers out there being successful!

So I finished the Mare around 7 am. I had a 9 am hair appointment nearby, so I stopped at Starbucks for an overpriced and deliciously sweet coffee and waited around for that. I haven't had my hair done in over a year. I just kept not remembering during office hours to make an appointment. I've had a lot of gray in my hair since I was in my twenties so at this point, it's a real mess if I don't get it colored. I like to tell people my age is showing. Also it grows like a weed even if it's super thin now. (I used to have really thick hair, but thanks to a thyroid condition, I no longer do. Total bummer.) As you can imagine, my hair was a mess. Like, legit wicked witch vibes:

I wasn't kidding. 

I was REALLY excited for this appointment. Even when I looked like this:

So excited! You like my foil hat? 

I feel so much better now that my age is hidden again. 

My hairdresser is amazing.

I hurried home after this appointment because I thought the saddle rep was coming at 12:30. She didn't end up getting there until 2 (her other appointment in the area didn't go as planned). Since I wasn't sure when she'd get there, I hand walked Al in the meantime, but didn't get around to riding the others until afterwards. So it was a ridiculously long day. But a good one! 

And that about brings you all up to speed. OH! One other thing, I did finally unhook the trailer today and got the truck out for a ride. (I took it to dinner, so it had to go someplace, turn off, then get me back home. I've learned to never trust an initial test drive. They can be full of lies.) But I'm still me so I didn't turn the trailer around and put it in it's spot. Instead, I just backed it up to my house and left it there. Sorry for the eye sore neighbors. I'll hook it back up this weekend. 

I mean, I think she's pretty... 

Okay, that's really all I've got. How was your week/weekend?