Truthful Tuesday

 

Ugh. I don't even want to admit this one to you it's so ridiculous, and also pretty gross. But don't worry, I don't have any photos to share. 

So... Yesterday, I was straightening up all the things that I have dropped by the door over the last week when coming in from the barn. And one of the tote bags had some items from an outfit days in it. One of the items was a bonnet with a pin on it. So I was sitting on the floor unpacking the bag. I removed the pin from the bonnet, but in the process I broke the locking back from it. So I set both things on the floor, and mental noted to myself to pick that up when I stood up. 

Only problem is, when you're my age, mental notes don't always take. So I stood up for whatever reason, leaving the pin and the broken back on the floor separately from each other. Well then I stepped on the broken back, but thought it was the pin, so I stepped off that quickly, only to step with the other foot ON THE PIN! Effing thing went right into my heel. I had to pull it out. DISGUSTING! Fortunately it was my heel though which is heavily callused from being an old woman. So it only bled a little. I washed it up well, put some neosporin on it and covered it with a bandaid. It's a tiny bit sore today, but looks like it will be just fine. Still, zero out of ten, do not recommend! If you have a pin with no back on it, put it on a table! For crying out loud. Sheesh. Don't be like me. 

Thursday's Threads... Friday edition? I guess?

 

Heh... well. It happened. I forgot to post yesterday! My evening turned into a bit of a shit show, so I have an excuse. But oops. Anyway, I'm bringing outfit day over to Friday this week, because no one wants to miss an outfit day! Shiny was our model this week, and here's what she wore yesterday:

Her dapple game is strong this time of year. Soon she'll be pink again for the winter. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Home made by me

You may need to enlarge the photo to see it, but the middle beads on this browband are a couple of cute pickup trucks and a leaf that says Happy Fall. I think it's pretty cute! In the silliest way of course.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy, embellished by me
Half Pad: Ippico

How cute is that ribbon trim? The little pumpkin trucks?! So cute. 

Boots: Anky

I know I've been raving about these all summer, but I still really like these boots. They fit the horses well, have a nice mesh lining inside (not neoprene), and they wash up really well too. Big fan.

So that's what Shiny was wearing, and here's what I had on:

I might not be the biggest fan of Autumn because it leads to winter, but I am very much here for the color pallet. I'm also enjoying the unseasonably warm temps so I don't need a million layers yet. 

Helmet: Samshield

I know. I haven't been very good about swapping out helmets this summer. Sorry. Something for me to work on.

Top: Luyaa

I'm not sure blogger is really picking up this color correctly, it's like a rusty orange color. Perfect for fall!

Belt: The Sugar Lady

This is Rio's tail hair belt, and it's one of my most cherished belongings. I am still so impressed by how this came out. And I'm also impressed with the quality. It's lasting really nicely. Thank goodness. I want to have it forever.

Breeches: RJ Classics

These are the gulf style, and I like them. I like the Harper's a little more, but these are nice also. I find them very comfortable and a little looser fitting than Equiline, which I like. 

Boots: DeNiro

So, I've been wanting to get a pair of everyday comfortable boots to keep at the other barn for the winter since all of my plain black boots are waiting to see the boot doctor. But I also don't have a ton of extra boot money laying around right now. This pair has been on sale at Equiport for quite some time. I nearly bought them a few times, but they are taller than the size I normally get from DeNiro. I always complain though, that they end up too short once they fall, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered these along with a pair of heel raisers. I was able to pull the raisers out after the first day, and they are already the perfect height. So I shouldn't have worried. They were 250 euro, so a great price for nice boots and exactly what I needed. 

And that's it for this week! Sorry for being a day late. Hope you all have a great weekend!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Heh... I nearly forgot to post tonight! Sorry about that. I'm here now though! It was a fairly quiet week around here. Friday and Saturday were rainy, but not a total wash. Friday I got everyone ridden except Shiny, and Saturday I got everyone done except Eros. Sunday was a decent day, but windy. So we rode, but it was kind of let's just survive the day type rides rather than overly productive ones. But at least everyone got some kind of work done! I didn't have barn help this weekend either, so I got to spend all day both days with the tall kids. It was lovely, even if a bit soggy.

Late day bareback ride for Shiny

Monday everyone got shots, and I was proud of myself for remembering to not have Shiny's given in the neck. She has a hard time with shots, and in the spring she had edema for like two months after. So this time we did them in her pectorals and one in her bum. I also remembered to give her a little banamine too. She handled it all great, and probably felt the best of everyone afterwards. 

Al didn't seem sore at all, but I do think he was feeling a little down on Tuesday. I'm a horrible person for saying this, but I appreciated it because he was relaxed for our light ride and kept the spooks to the bare minimum.

Eros seemed pretty sore in the neck when he was in his stall, but actually felt pretty great for his Tuesday ride. I didn't ask for much, it was a loose rein and go forward kind of day, but he was there for it. 

Tuesday was a cool day, much like last week and the weekend with highs in the low 50's, maybe low 60's Tuesday. But today was mid 60's which was lovely. Supposed to get to the 70's for the rest of the week and Saturday which I am very excited about! I mention the weather because I'm always amazed at what a different horse Al is when he's warm. Today he was clearly feeling better after his shots. He was more animated on the cross ties and just seemed more like himself. But when I got on? He was still pretty relaxed and kept the spooks to the bare minimum. I mean, he is who he is, he can't have zero spooks. It's just not who he is as a horse. I even was able to keep cantering (albeit quite slowly) all the way around the ring, SEVERAL TIMES in BOTH directions! And without making any weird noises. I call that a win. I even popped over a little 2' jump a couple times today and he was an angel. If this lovely horse comes out again later in the week, maybe we'll be able to try some little courses! No pressure though. I prefer to jump him with supervision and we'll have that again soon enough when we move for the winter. 

The last few years, come mid September I feel like we kind of lose our momentum. I don't jump as much, and the fences seem to get lower and lower. I feel frustrated that we're regressing, but then I stop and reflect, and I don't think that's really what's going on. I think it's nature inviting us to take a break for a bit before jumping into more serious lessons all winter. Nothing wrong with a little down time. 

Anyway, back to the present day. It was opposite day at the farm today. As I said already, Al was an angel today. Like so good. Sweet good boy. 

also weird.

You know who was not an angel? EROS. He was full on asshat. Which makes me giggle because it's Eros and he's not really that good at being that bad. But he was spooky! And clearly wild. So I just cantered him round and round until he felt ready to work. And then he was big mad that I would suggest he do hard things when he was so tired from having to canter out the sillies. And by hard things, I asked him to collect his trot. Oooo so hard. Poor Eros. Much abused. And Shiny? She was forward! Like, I put my leg on and she listened to it! It was insane. I don't even know what was in the air here today. I'll take it if means Al can be a good boy though! I can handle big feelings Eros. 

Anyway, not too much planned coming up for these kids. We're home for another week, and then we'll be moving to the other barn. I may see if Al can go on the 1st, and then the other two will go when Bellino and Fefe get picked up which should be the 3rd I think. Last year I crammed everyone in the trailer and made one trip, but I'll still need to make another trip to get all our stuff there unless I empty out the trailer tack room. Which seems like way more work than making a second trip. It's only an 8 minute drive. Plus, the sooner Al can get a training ride and have his gas pedal reinstalled, the better! Ha! 

Hope you all are having a great week! Did you do anything fun this past weekend?

Truthful Tuesday: The one with the results

 

Soooo... I haven't actually spoken with my doc yet, but I did get an email with the findings from my MRI. And I was kind of surprised by the results. The good news? I didn't tear my meniscus. The bad news is that instead, I have a torn ACL. I believe it's only a partial tear as he did not use the term ruptured. But from what I understand, even a partial tear won't heal itself because there is no blood supply to that ligament. Plus, it's likely been torn for over two years now, so clearly, not healed. Additionally, I also have bone swelling, which I didn't think was something that was even possible. So I had to google what that was and it's not actual bone swelling but edema in the bone marrow. This part is likely from a few weeks ago when I landed wrong getting off Eros. I think this is what's actually causing my current discomfort when I ride, as the ACL shouldn't hurt where I'm having discomfort. 

The bone swelling should heal on its own from what I'm reading. Though probably would heal faster if I rested it I guess. I've been procrastinating reaching out to the doc because next steps is a consult with a surgeon, and I really don't particularly want to have surgery. Which, I'm not even totally sure that I need that, but it seems if I don't do it, it will always be mildly problematic and I'll likely end up with arthritis. I'd be out of the saddle for probably 3-4 months if I do need surgery though. And that seems like a really long time. So uh... I'm not scheduling that consult yet. 

Have any of you torn an ACL? Did you have surgery or are you getting along okay without? 

Thursday's Threads

 

Today's outfit is another double dipper. I promise this blog isn't turning into a giant ad for Pinsnickety. It's just that I've made a bunch of outfits for their use and I want to share them. I hope it's not a turnoff! Anyway, as mentioned yesterday, Al's been a bit of a fire breathing dragon, so we decided to dress the part this week. Here's what we had on:

We had a LOT of colors happening in this outfit. I was thinking I'd change to my light blue boots, but then I felt like the metallic on these was dragon-y so I left them. But they really didn't match with my pants! Oh well. Not everything goes perfectly all of the time. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Browband: Made by me (It's ridiculous, and I love it.)
Bonnet: USG

Pinsnickety charm: Dragon

Does that bonnet look small? Ha. That's because I accidentally pulled out Shiny's instead of the horse sized one. His tiny little stallion ears fit in there just fine though!

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy, embellished temporarily by me

Half Pad: Ippico

Pinsnickety pins: Dragons

I'm still working out how I like the ribbons on the saddle pads. So no sewing until I figure it out! 

Boots: Premier Equine embellished by me

More dragons! It was a challenge finding friendly dragon fabric. Most were more... intimidating looking. 

So that's what Al had on, and here's what I was wearing:

Many colors. So many. All of them. 

Helmet: Samshield

Well, this one matched the belt. So I went with it.

Long sleeve: Mathcat
Tee shirt: Amazon

The plan was to do all the Pinsnickety photos back in September, but we ran out of daylight. So all of my shirts for that campaign were short sleeved which are not acceptable at this point. So I did what we did back in the 90's and layered. Gotta be honest, I think I'm bringing this look back. I like layers. Also, how ADORABLE is that little dragon? The cutest. 

Belt: Standard Issue Equestrian
Buckle: Ebay

Would a silver buckle have been more appropriate here? Definitely. But I already owned this gold one, so I called it good enough.

Breeches: Equiline

So I mentioned it was tricky to find friendly dragon fabric, and it was also tricky to find friendly dragon ribbon for the saddle pad. I had hoped to find blue dragons to match the pins and charm, but alas, I found only green dragons for the ribbon. But also, the dragon on the blue shirt is also green. So I figured we could tie it all together with some green pants. Did it work? Eh. Good enough.

Boots: Celeris UK

I already discussed why I chose these boots above. But also, I've been wearing them as my everyday boots since all of my kind of boring boots need new zippers and/or repairs. I was planning and had started wearing the Mountain Horse brown boots for that purpose, but they left an enormous blister on my heel, and so we're in a temporary fight. I did actually find a pair of closeout DeNiro boots that will be my everyday boots for a STEAL that were supposed to arrive today, but so far have not arrived. Hopefully tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Not that I mind wearing these all the time, but that teal leather is no longer available, and I don't want to destroy these.

So that's it for this week! What do you think of the dragons? Do you like this ribbon layout on the pad? Or was last week's with the skulls better? I'm working on something fun, so would love your opinions!

What's Up Wednesday

 

I think What's Up Wednesday is really just me whining about the weather lately. I feel like it's cloudy and cold all the time, and if not that, then it's raining and cold. This doesn't bode well for winter. 

Rain does sometimes bring rainbows though!

And the trees are finally putting on a show

As in past weeks, the rain is messing with our schedule and we haven't done much jumping. I tried today, but the only one who behaved enough to actually get anything done was Shiny. She's the real MVP this time of year. 

I mean, we did almost die once:

But we didn't die. And I can't fault her for tripping. I think she's overdue for a shockwave and they're all getting their feet done tomorrow. 

In defense of Eros' behavior today, I rode him late and we all know he hates that. Never ride a redhead when they're hungry. Just don't do it. 

Or they will pull you off the saddle.

He started out okay. 

But after three jumps (that Pivo mostly ignored) the torpedo was launched. And it was a stubborn torpedo! It required a return to flatwork. 

Look! The sun tried to come out for four minutes!

Did I win the battle? Eh. I dunno. I think he'll be fine tomorrow. I'm pretty confident he was just really insulted that I rode him last and so close to dinner time. He really hates that. Dinner is VERY important to E. 

And then there's Al. Sigh. Al is tough this time of year. I really do think he'd be better if we could ride with another horse in the ring. But we don't have that luxury home alone, so we're doing the best we can. 

The last few days he has not been wild at all. But is nervous. He does not at all understand leaves falling off trees. It would be comical if it wasn't so frustrating. I'm pleased that his response currently is to stop and stare, rather than the spin and run of last autumn. But I've never had to work so hard just to get around the ring in my entire life. Like, I'm squeezing so hard noises come out of me. It's a good thing I'm here by myself, or it would be embarrassing. I haven't really been able to jump, because I can't get enough canter. We popped over that one little fence above a few times since it's on the side of the ring without trees. And aiming at the barn. But as you can see, we still had to chip since I have no impulsion what so ever. I cannot wait for him to get some training rides next month! I've said it before and I will say it till I'm old (more so than now) and gray (again more so than now): I am a decent amateur RIDER, but I am NOT a horse trainer. I need help sometimes. And Autumn with Al is one of those times. Winter too really. And spring. We hold our own in the summer! Sheesh. I wish I was a better braver rider. 

We're staring at two of the most enormous crows
we have ever seen. They were sitting in a tree
just waiting for the perfect moment to scare the poo
out of Al. 

I try very hard to reward him when he tries even if it's not the desired outcome. I just want the try. And I think he appreciates that. If you get too hard on him, he just gets more upset. But you also can't just be the good cop. You can't let him blatantly ignore you or he'll walk all over you. (Or spin you right off...) It's a fine line of how tough I need to be while still letting him feel like he's not in trouble. He does not like getting in trouble. Which is funny because he pushes a lot of buttons for a horse that doesn't want to be reprimanded. 

So anyway. That's mostly a recap of today. But it sums up the last week pretty well too. We're kind of living the movie Groundhog Day while we wait for our move to the other barn for the winter. They're all getting their feet done tomorrow (shoes for E, a front trim and hind shoes for A, and a trim for Shine) and then Monday they get their fall shots. Maybe next week the weather will be more cooperative for our shenanigans! As per the norm, it will rain here Saturday and then be extra cold and windy for Sunday. I think that's just the norm here now. At least, is has been the last three weekends. There I go... bitching about the weather again! Lol! Sorry! 

In other news, I had my very first MRI on Tuesday. It was for my knee so maybe I can figure out how to stop angering it. I don't have the results back yet, but should soon. Fingers crossed it's only as messed up as I think and will just need more PT. Or maybe there's nothing at all wrong (even better!) and I'm just old. That would be fine too.

That's it from here. Hope you all had a great week!

Truthful Tuesday

 

I don't know about you guys, but there are some lessons that I just can't seem to hang on to. Like, I do think I do a decent job of learning (and embracing) my mistakes. But like... sometimes there are really simple things that help my confidence as a rider that I just can't seem to remember make a difference. Want to know a big one that's really easy to stay on top of? Cleaning and conditioning my saddles. Yep that's it. Simple as that. 

So Saturday it rained again, but it wasn't raining that hard and I planned to ride anyway. I got Al tacked up and took him out to the ring. Unfortunately, his little dragon brain was spinning in circles so I figured I'd lunge a bit and see what I had after that. Well. It took a lot of lunge work to get his focus back. He wasn't wild at all, just really anxious for some reason. (October. The reason is October.) Anyway, by the time the hamster stopped running wild in his brain, we'd been working out in the rain for close to an hour, and I decided that was enough for the day. It was also raining a lot harder and I decided instead of riding the other two, I would get to cleaning and oiling saddles. Al's was going to need it after all the rain, and Eros' saddle has been looking pretty thirsty. I generally oil once or twice a year, but both my Butet saddles are pretty new, so they need it a little more often still. Especially with how often we've been caught in the rain this summer. I started with Eros' saddle while Al's dried off. Sunday I felt weirdly strong riding Al. I was applauding myself for feeling confident and like I was capable of hanging on to all the spooking when I realized some of this "strength" I thought I was feeling was actually just the fact that my saddle was conditioned and therefore not slippery. Oh yeah. Imagine that? 

I rode Eros in the bareback pad Sunday, so I didn't sit on him again in his saddle until today. And I had that same feeling on him. Like I could ride through anything he might throw at me. (Not that Eros throws that much at me.) I just felt very centered and strong in the saddle. And again, it was completely because my saddle was feeling grippy and soft. 

So WHY do I let them go so long between conditioning treatments? And I don't just mean oil, I get the same feeling when I use cream conditioner too. I just need to remember to apply it more often. It's these silly little things that can make a big difference. So the moral of today's confession? Clean your tack kids!

Thursday's Threads

 

It's October, so you know what that means... HALLOWEEN themed outfits! I put this one together for my friends at Pinsnickety, but I kinda loved it so wanted to share here too. We didn't have our pro photo this time, so I had to make do with my cell phone and pivo. We're not that fancy over here anyway! Al was modeling for Pinsnickety, but Eros will be our model here. This is what we wore:

It doesn't look THAT Halloweenie from this distance. But it will when we look closer. 

Here's what he had on in a slightly better photo and a matching backdrop:

He's still rocking the dad bod, but you know, it looks good on him. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Handmade by me

I wish blogger didn't kill the quality on photos so much. You can't even see that those are skulls on his browband! But they are. You'll have to trust me. I made a bunch of browbands for our Pinsnickety outfits, and for them I bought a big roll of nylon webbing. I attached snaps to each side and voila! Browband. This one I sewed skull beads to. A few of them have sewn on beads and some have ribbon that I glued on. I'm going to try and share those over the next few weeks so you guys can see them. I think they came out cute for a budget friendly little bit of fun. 

Boots: Premier Equine, embellished by me

More skulls! I love my interchangeable boots. They've been getting more use as we play with themes around here. 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Ippico
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy, embellished by me

Pins: Pinsnickety Skulls

This pad was decorated in a very temporary fashion which is why it looks a bit sloppy. But sloppy or not, it's pretty cute. I was excited to find some ribbon that matched both pins that I chose. (Both are Skull pins, but I couldn't pick between the new limited edition black ones, or the purple. So I went with one of each.)

That's what Eros was wearing, and here's what I had on:

Evidently, my helmet is pretty much always crooked. I'm going to assume my actual head isn't on straight.... That tracks. Ha!

Helmet: Samshield

Since this helmet has adopted a purple hue this summer, it seemed the best choice for today's outfit. 

Sweater: Awoskut

I found this on Amazon, and I've gotta be real with you... It was far too warm for the weather! I think I'll probably wear it a lot this winter to ride. 

Belt: Suosdey

This belt has skulls all over it! It would be perfect except that it's blue not purple. But you can't everything. Close enough!

Breeches: Smartpak Hadley

I haven't worn these much lately, but I still do like them. Hadley's are like ten thousand times better than Pipers. 

Boots: Celeris UK

I love these. They're my second favorite after the cow print. 

And that's it for today! Any favorites? What do you think of that browband??