Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I planned ahead and took outfit pics yesterday because I knew we weren't going to get to ride today. We had a lot less rain today than we did yesterday, but the ring was pretty wet, and I had other plans for the horses today anyway. (Namely, mane pulling and pastern shaving.) Anyway once again, the weather thwarted my plans for a silly riding outfit this week. My fun boots aren't allowed out in bad weather. But I still found some items that you haven't seen in awhile that I didn't mind getting wet. Al was our model this week, and here's what he had on:

Bridle: Winner Special

Blogger is killing the quality on this photo a bit, so it's a little hard to see, but this us our rose gold clincher bridle that I found on an Italian website a few years ago. These bridles were right around $100 (with reins) and I'm really impressed by how nice they are for the price. Soft leather, pretty hardware, great price. 

Boots: Eskadron

I splurged on these tan boots last year and I still love them. They match nicely with all of my weird colored tan breeches. And also the trim on many of my green saddle pads.

Saddle: Butet

Half Pad: Mattes
Saddle Pad: The Hangry Mare

I really love these pads I got from the Hangry Mare awhile back. I reached out to see about getting a few more, but I think she's focusing more on bonnets these days. 

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

Yes, so I modified my usual farm colors just slightly by wearing the colors of my Alma Mater. Which are almost the same colors. Haha. I am who I am.

Helmet: One K

I still have dreams of a brown premium Samshield. But without much braiding work this year that's going to stay on the dream board. For now I have this One K that's brown with rose gold trim. I like it almost as much.

Sweatshirt: Skidmore Shop

I picked this hoodie up... I guess seven or so years ago at the last reunion I attended. I missed my most recent one as it was at the tail end of the pandemic and I wasn't quite ready to exist my hermit era. It's one of my favorite hoodies though. It's SO soft and comfy. Also, yes, our mascot is the thoroughbred. I was clearly meant to go to Skidmore. 

Belt: C4

The riding team had these belts made up awhile back for a fundraiser and I was excited to jump on that! 

Breeches: RJ Classics

Um. Okay yes. These are the same breeches I wore last week for Thursday's Threads. Oops. Despite appearances, I did in fact wash them in between though. 

Boots: Horka

I haven't worn these in forever! They're super comfy, and an obvious choice for bad weather since they're supposed to look distressed. 

By the end of my riding day yesterday all of these things were completely soaked. That hoodie gets HEAVY when wet! I'm not going to make any promises for a fun outfit next week since who know what will happen with the weather... But I'll make an effort! Let me know in the comments if they're something you've been wanting to see.

What's Up Wednesday

 

We've completed our first full week at home, and while it's not all sunshine and rainbows (obviously, you can't get rainbows without rain) things are going well. I'm working on getting barn chore fit because I can tell you, I lost a lot of that over the winter! Though to be fair, the hay I have right now is weirdly heavy. It's very nice hay, much nicer than last years, but so heavy! I was worried it wouldn't be good, sometimes heavy hay is... I don't know. Just not good. This is. But sheesh. I am not strong enough for heavy hay. And the sweeping! I have rubber floors, so it's definitely an arm workout sweeping those. Hopefully this means I'll be all toned and ready for hot girl summer... Ha. Kidding. It's HORSE girl summer. Duh. But I wouldn't complain if my arms get nice and toned. 

I am not used to this many steps.

Anyway, let's chat about the horses shall we? I tend to take it easy on them the first week or so at home because the footing is so different. I mentioned that last week. Also, we've had a lot of rain so the ring has been pretty wet which also impacted what we could do. Which is just a preface to explain why we haven't done anything terribly exciting yet.

He's been working very hard. His choice. 

Let's start with Al because I always have the most to say about him. I'm not sure I will ever really understand how this horse's mind works. He's just so different all the time, and what works one month might not work the next. He started out really wonderful at home. The first couple of days were lovely. But working in my favor those two days was the weather. It was in the 70's and one of the days was even sunny. Al is a significantly more relaxed animal when it's warm and nice out. After those couple of days the weather deteriorated and so did Al's confidence. Also, the neighbor was not helpful. He literally has mowed his lawn every day since we've been home that I rode. (Except today because it's been raining the whole day.) And when he would finish with the mowing he would bring out the weed eater. And some days he took the hedge trimmer out and attacked the trees along our shared property line. Which happens to also border my ring. And Al's stall window looked out to this area too. Al would be in his stall just staring out the window and snorting for most of the day. I was hoping he'd settle, but finally I switched him with Eros who was on the other side of the barn. He seems to be more settled on this side of the barn, but today was the first day, so we'll see if it lasts. 

He's been very reactive under saddle, spooking at everything, lots of attempted spinning. I tried what had worked all winter which was just staying soft and trying not to add too much additional pressure while he was feeling insecure. But it really wasn't working. He wasn't getting over any of the scary things. The last two days I've tried something different. I'm still not adding too much pressure because I've learned that with Al it makes it worse to "be tough" with him. So the last two days, I put him on a lunge line and just worked him at the trot in a very calm, no pressure way around all the scary parts of the ring. I just kept him trotting until he took a breath and seemed to calm down. Then we'd move to a new area. Wash, rinse, repeat. Yesterday I hopped on after this for just a few minutes to see if it would translate, and it seemed to. We trotted and cantered around a couple times each way, no pressure. Not in a frame. Not even in a real working pace. Just nicely and calmly worked our way around. He never worked very hard, but he was out there trotting for quite a bit of time, so he was tired when we were finished. My goal is not at all to exhaust him. I just want him to take a breath and relax. But right now, I think he may have to be a little tired to do that. 

Today, I hand walked him around the ring both ways like we always do before getting on. He seemed to be in a good place. But once I was on, it wasn't translating. He got tense, head in the air, frozen in place. A few times I was able to coax him forward, but he didn't relax at all. Then he did a full 180. Fortunately, we were at the walk, so I stayed right with him. I turned him around and had him walk past what had startled him. And then I hopped off and repeated yesterday's exercise on the lunge. It didn't work quite as nicely today as it did yesterday, but it did still help. When I got back on, he was still pretty spooky, but we were able to get some work done, and this time I rode him longer. I didn't want him to think that spinning meant he could lunge and then have no pressure and then be done. He never fully was a relaxed horse today, but he trotted and cantered around the ring both ways, and popped over some raised cavaletti here and there. Which I think gave him something to focus on other than the monsters. In his defense, it was a miserable day. It was raining at a pretty good clip while we were out there and it was just barely 60 degrees. None of the horses were especially happy to be worked today. But it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow too, and I expect the ring to be too wet to ride. I didn't want them having two days off in a row. Anyway, not to make excuses for Al, but something he regularly spooks at is glare. Like when the sun hits the shiny finish on a jump, or bounces off a puddle. He doesn't seem to understand that. And even though it was raining out and there was no sun, there were a lot of shiny wet surfaces to spook at. He was very clearly surrounded by demons today. 

I ordered a tube of Ulcerguard to experiment with. I had given all the horses a tube for their move. A quarter of that tube each day for four days. I started it Saturday, moved them Sunday, and they finished it on Tuesday. So I'm not sure if Al was good because maybe he's ulcery and that helped. But I've treated him in the past with no positive results so I'm not convinced. We did do that poop test on him this winter when he was acting this way and it came back negative. We have a vet appointment at the end of the month, so I'm going to ask if he thinks we should scope, just to rule it out. I don't really think this horse has ulcers just based on past experience. But I do think something's not quite right with him, the way he gets so unhinged. I just don't think it's "normal". Jamp could be spooky but not the way Al is. I don't know if it's because Jamp was older and had learned some coping skills by then or what. But it's not the same. I'm starting to think maybe I'm the problem with all these spooky animals I've had. But I haven't messed up Eros and Shiny as much, so I dunno. Could be me. Might not be. Horses are hard.

But I don't like to be all negative all the time, especially with Al. So here's a positive. He is my best housekeeper. When I went to clean stalls Saturday morning, Eros' stall was a big mess (as usual, he's a piglet), and Shiny's was mostly neat, though she likes to pee in two spots which is annoying. But Al's? Al's was so well kept! He has one pee spot, and all his poop was in one (albeit it very large) pile. What a guy! This is why you cut them late. Stallions are good housekeepers. If you wait long enough, they keep that.

Look! This was what it looked like first thing in the morning!
What a guy!

That one rare day we saw sunshine

As tricky as Al is, Shiny is the opposite. She's just the same pony all the time, and it's so refreshing! She took full advantage of the re-entry period and "forgot" how to travel properly for a hot minute. In that, I asked her to work from behind, lift her belly, and take the contact, and she was all "What? I can't hear you. Lalalalalalalala" which was hilarious because she knows what I was asking for and eventually complied. I was hoping to jump her around a little today, but the pouring rain was just so uninviting. We did hop over some raised poles, but jumping will have to wait. Maybe this weekend. We shall see what the weather and footing does. 

Something interesting of note, she's barely tripped at all since she's been home. Once or twice a little one here or there, but nothing major. She was VERY trippy at the other barn this year, even after the EPM treatment. This isn't a new development, as she's generally less trippy in the sand than she is in the fancy GGT footing, but I feel like the difference is a lot bigger this year. Maybe due to the EPM meds. Who knows? Regardless of why, I'm happy it's happening!

I really can't stress enough how much I got rained on today

Eros seems to be doing pretty well. We're still in that same place where I can't really tell if he's sound or not. He's not actively limping, and the longer we go for, the better he feels. So I'm still thinking it's probably a maintenance issue more than a soundness issue. Looking forward to that vet appointment to get a professional opinion! Eros has been a good boy though. He's definitely a little sassy, especially with how chilly and windy it's been. But he's a responsible adult and hasn't acted on his lookiness. Thank goodness. I don't want two spooky warmbloods to deal with every day. Technically we could have started cantering last week, but I made him wait until this week just to be on the safe side. And I gotta tell you guys, the canter feels pretty good! Also, when we go back to trot after cantering, that also feels better than how it starts. So positive steps for sure. He was really funny today. I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but Eros HATES water. He thinks baths are stupid and riding in the rain is pure horse abuse. And don't get him started on PUDDLES! The horror. (Mind you, he will roll in a good muddy puddle, but not walk through one if he can help it.) So today. I rode Eros last, and honestly, I almost didn't get on. I was so soggy and when it was his turn it was absolutely pouring. But then it slowed down so I went ahead and did the thing. Anyway, I wasn't sure what I was feeling when we first started. He kept taking these funny steps. And then I realized what was happening. He was trying to avoid the puddles. Which was a really silly endeavor because there were puddles everywhere. Eventually at the trot he accepted his fate, but cantering left he insisted on trying to jump over the puddle by the gate. Which he couldn't do, because it was very large, and then he'd get mad that it splashed him. Thankfully we only had to pass by there twice at the canter. He's not supposed to be jumping! Especially imaginary things.

So that's where we are at with the horses. Still waiting on some nice warm springtime weather. But I'm sure it's coming. In the meantime, we are plugging along. AND we got to see the Northern Lights on Friday which is very not normal around here. So that was exciting. To the naked eye, you couldn't see that much really, but iPhone came through for me and I got some pretty shots:

Truthful Tuesday

 

I was going to chat all about Al and how challenging he makes my life, but instead I have much grosser thing to confess today. The real confession is that I generally try to carry too many things at once because i hate making multiple trips. I really love efficiency. Like I plan my errands around a big circle so I don't waste time driving back and forth to get places. 

Which brings us to this evening. I had ordered some Poppi soda because my grocery store doesn't carry the ones that taste good. It was delivered while I was riding my first horse, so I brought it back to the barn so it wouldn't be sitting in the sun. But then, when I was leaving the barn to go back to my house at dinner time, I needed to carry this awkward size and weight box, along with my purse and tote bag and keys. Which was completely doable, except that I also wanted to close the barn doors so it would stay warm enough in there to keep the horses naked until night check time. 

So there I am, holding all these things and trying to slide the barn doors closed. They're pretty heavy since they're HUGE and made entirely of wood. You may recall that my knee is missing an attachment point... Well. Apparently, I must have tried to pivot on that defective knee. Which... it doesn't really do that anymore. So I felt something slide out of place with a little popping sound in case I didn't feel it. Which didn't hurt, but was like... gross feeling. And the worst part, was that it then had to pop back when i straightened my leg. Ew. Guys. I honestly don't have words to describe how disgusting that was. It wasn't painful, just like... ew. 

So that's my confession. Maybe this will teach me that sometimes making two trips is better than one.

Thursday's Threads

 

OUTFIT DAY!  I know I hinted that I would have ridiculous outfits upon my return home, but I did not get too crazy this week. For several reasons, but mostly because I wanted to wear something comfortable in case of any newly home antics from the horses. I needn't have worried though. Everyone has been on their best behavior. Anyway, in lieu of something crazy, I decided to don the farm colors for my first outfit back. And also, the horses are wearing a recent outfit because it was just out of the laundry and matched the decor. Also, this is the outfit I forgot to get pics of a couple weeks ago, so I felt I needed to right that wrong. Eros is our model today because this outfit was made for him. Here's what he had on:

Ugh. I know. The dad bod. We're working on it. It was a long winter with basically no work. I'd look the same. And in fact, I have also added some pounds this winter. Hopefully we'll both be fit and trim in no time! 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

In our effort to get that belly lifted we've switched back to a bit with a little more leverage. I hate to have to pull on his face to get him to come together, and this bit allows me to ask and give back a little more quickly than the D ring does. I know some people think leverage bits are cheating, but I think if I can get the same result with less brute force, then that seems softer and nicer to me. But what do I know? I'm just an amateur. 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy

Over the winter one of the tack stores had a nice discount available on custom items, so I ordered this pad. I really love the tan color, and it looks good on both horses. 

Wraps: Eskadron

Okay, I know you're probably tired of seeing these, but we only have this set and one with brown over wraps at the moment. I hope to expand on his wrap wardrobe at some point, but you know... the truck bill. Oof. We love these anyway, and they're our favorite colors, so who cares if we don't have variety? 

That's Eros is wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

I just love this color scheme. I will wear it forever and ever. 

Helmet: One K

I think it's really fun how you can change the look of these helmets so easily. I'm pretty content with this combo for right now though.

Top: FitEq

I'm generally pretty cheap, and I get my seamless shirts from Amazon normally because they're so inexpensive. But then FitEq used some of my barn friends as models and I was then mildly intrigued by these tops. I just think the horse shoe is cute, and the shirts are lovely. And THEN about a month ago, they put these shirts on sale for $10 each. So obviously I stocked up on them. They're back to a higher price again on the site, but still pretty reasonable (I think around $20 give or take) if you're interested, but inventory is pretty limited after that big discount. 

Belt: Zazzle

I wear these belts all the time now. They're so inexpensive and you can literally put anything you want on them. Plus you can print both sides, so it's two in one. Total win.

Breeches: RJ Classics Gulf

I like my Gulf breeches. I prefer the Harper style, but these are fine too. I think the Harpers get pilly faster than the Gulf though, so there's that. 

Boots: Mountain Horse Sovereign Luxe

Yay, fun boots! I know they aren't as fun as my Celeris boots, but these matched my outfit. I'll likely bust out something from Celeris next week though. So funny thing about these boots. They always seem comfortable when I put them on. They're comfy to ride in too. But after I've ridden one horse in them, they are less comfortable. I think the way they're creasing maybe? I'm not sure. But they dig into the back of my heels after I ride. It's too bad, because I like them, but I can't wear them multiple days in a row without them wounding me nearly mortally. (Ok, that's a mild exaggeration.) 

That's it for today! I'm excited for lots of fun outfits this summer! Anything you want to see? Have a theme in mind? An article of clothing? Suggestions welcome!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew! What a week! Things have been busy getting ready to bring the horses home and then readjusting to having them here. And now? ALL THE LAUNDRY. The horses have a separate wardrobe for the other barn, and I like to pack everything away clean so it's all set to go when fall comes. But they each have eight items of apparel for over there... (Stable clothes:sheet, heavy sheet, 100 gram, 300 gram, 450 gram, turnout clothes: Sheet, heavy, fly) They didn't wear their turnout fly sheets this year, but that's literally the only thing I don't have to wash. My washer is big enough for the blankets, but with how twisted up they get in the dryer, they never come out ready to pack away. They always need to hang to finish drying for a day or two (depending on humidity...) So it's slow going. But we're plugging along. So far there are 6 clean ones drying. 18 to go! Lol. Oy. 

Anyway, prior to moving home and starting on all the laundry, I got to have a last lesson at the other barn with both Al and Shiny on Saturday. Our favorite instructor was back from vacation too, so it was a great last day. Al went first. And let me tell you about the chaos that ensued. 

We decided to lesson indoors because my lesson mate hasn't had her horse out to jump yet. Her horse is also a Casall (so a half brother to Al!) and well... you know how Casalls can be. So I didn't blame her. Of course, Al would have been better OUTSIDE, but also there was a lot more traffic out there, and it was nice to have the ring to ourselves inside. Plus, the doors were open which makes for a happier Al too. So things started out great. We were flatting pretty well with minimal snorting. He was forward and happy. And then some very confused delivery driver drove past the end of the ring... TWICE. (We don't drive around this ring, the parking lot is on one side, but the roadway does continue out to the outdoor and also around the indoor. But generally, we don't allow cars over there because the horses can't see them and it's spooky.) So the horses aren't used to that. Al did spook a little at the car, but just because he didn't expect it. He went right back to being a good boy. So anyway, we're flatting. And then barn owner decides it's time to bring in the mare and new baby who were out in the paddock just outside the scary doors. Now, I know very little about baby horses. So I have no idea when they are typically taught to lead. This baby is just a few weeks old, and has not learned that skill yet. So they just lead the mom through the indoor and the baby is supposed to follow. But this baby is spunky. So we're flatting in our lesson, and they start bringing the horses in. So we halt. (Also not sure why no one told us they were bringing them in.) Baby gets the zoomies all around the indoor. Mom could care less. Al is like WHOA! BABY! IS IT MINE?? Al's brother was sure the baby was a demon. 

Something to know about Al, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, is that he's very good about horses running around him loose. I know this because it's happened quite a lot to him. He's like a loose horse magnet. They just want to run at him. If he was a human child, he'd get beat up a lot. Anyway, thankfully, Al was pretty fine about the baby running around after the initial excitement wore off a bit. And his brother, slightly less okay, but he held himself together thankfully. No amateurs were harmed in the running of the baby. 

Eventually the lil guy finally followed his mom back to his stall. Al and the other horse in our lesson took a few minutes at the walk and then both went back to work nicely. We even jumped ALL the fences in the ring! Not only that, but we jumped down the lines heading toward the scary doors! Both sides! I was so proud. It was the very best last lesson we could have asked for. Now, did we jump big jumps? NOPE. Maybe they were 2'3". But with Al, the height is never the issue. So that concerns me zero. I thought this was a fabulous lesson. (Running babies aside.) 

Shiny's lesson was next. I opted again to stay indoors because barn owner was doing training rides outside and I was again, very happy to just have the indoor to myself. The horses had gotten their second round of vaccines on Tuesday, and Shiny had a bit of a harder time with this round. So even on Saturday, she was still a little stiff and sluggish. I had said to my instructor that it might just be a cross rail day, but we'll see what Shiny has to say as we go. The flat was... slow. So slow. Lots of Shiny Shuffle. She also was tripping a bunch. But once we cantered a couple cross rails she seemed to perk up and wanted to do more. I guess the flat was just too boring for her? I dunno. Mares! Anyway, she ended up jumping around a couple of courses. I think the fences were 2' ish. She ended up great. I was also very happy with this last lesson. We're going to be unsupervised for the next few weeks until our other trainer gets back from Florida. So glad we finished on a great note!

Eros obviously hasn't lessoned, but he's doing just fine, plugging along, adding on trot minutes each week. More on him in a bit.

I didn't ride Sunday since it was moving day. It was supposed to rain later in the day, so I wanted to get the move done on the earlier side. Plus, the barn was also packing up for a horse show, and it was such chaos there, I really just wanted to wrap things up. I had to make two trips. I can stuff all three horses in my trailer, but I wouldn't have room for all of their stuff if I did that. (Yes, my trailer has a tack room, but it's full of show stuff, so there wasn't room for all the other stuff.) So I figured two trips was the way to go. I only live 7 minutes from the barn, so it's not like it's a lot of driving. Anyway, I spent the morning getting everything packed, and then brought Eros and Shiny home first. It was so nice having the side ramp because I didn't have to get someone to help me unload. I like being self sufficient, but none of these horses know how to load and unload themselves. I probably should teach them. Anyway, the first load went well. I got them settled in and unpacked the few things I brought home on that trip with them. Then I went back and loaded ALL THE STUFF plus Al. He also shipped great and unloaded nicely. I think they were all happy to be back home. I spent the rest of the day unpacking everything. The horses all had turnout before coming home, so I just let them settle in inside. 

I was happy with myself because not only did I get them all home pretty easily, but I got the trailer unpacked, cleaned out, AND put away all in the same day. I have to hype myself up a little to put it away because I have to pull it out onto the road and then back it into its spot. I live on the corner of two state roads, so it can be busy. But Sundays are generally pretty quiet so I told myself if I didn't do it right away, I wouldn't do it until next weekend. And I need to keep driving the truck so the mice stay out. <<Pats self on back>> Got it done! 

I still gave them Monday off because the farrier was coming but I wasn't sure when. And I had a lot of stuff to do aside from that. They were all idiots in turnout that morning so I knew they got plenty of exercise anyway. It was a nice productive day, and the horses were content. 

Yesterday was our first day riding at home. I gave them all fairly light rides. My footing is just sand and the ring isn't completely flat, so they have to work a lot harder here at home than they do at the boarding barn with its flat rings and fancy GGT footing. I like to take it easy the first week to let their bodies adjust and hopefully avoid any pulled muscles or strained tendons. Also, I was a little worried Eros might have done a number on himself being an absolute fool in turnout the day before. Thankfully he felt just fine. Phew. He's supposed to technically canter this week (which he certainly did on his own...) but I'm waiting until the weekend to add that. We're not in a rush, I'd rather be careful. 

Al has been oddly quiet. And like, relatively not spooky. I mean he's Al, so he looks at things, but he's kind of looking to me for the answer when he's not sure, and then accepting my reassurance. I'm not sure if this will last, but it's lovely. Yesterday was gorgeous when I rode him, but today was cooler and pretty windy. (We had very heavy rain and thunder move through in the morning, so the ring was really wet, and the wind was still blowing the storm out when I rode him.) The footing wasn't ideal so I wasn't even sure we'd canter, and he felt like he was being a little careful with the footing. But he was great. A little lazy, and randomly tried to walk a bunch of times, but I don't mind that so much. That I can fix. I'm just really thankful he's feeling relaxed. 

Oddly, Shiny has been the most interested in her surroundings back at home. I think the difference is that the boys both have their turnout in the ring, but Shiny has her own paddock. So the boys have explored on their own, but Shiny hasn't. She's not spooky or anything, she's just looking around more than the boys are when we ride. She hated the footing today, and was especially pokey, but she's been overall just fine too. I'm hoping the ring will be dry enough to pop over some cavaletti tomorrow, but we'll see. 

But that's catches you guys up with all we've been up to! Busy times, but things look calm from here on out. Hopefully it will stop with the rain and I can bust out Pivo next week. 

Truthful Tuesday: The one where we're HOME!

 

We're HOME!!! I'm so happy to get home this year, you guys have no idea. I was feeling very stressed about the move, but mostly just because I hate change and love routine. But we're finding our groove here, and the horses really settled in easily this year. 

I have two confessions this week to share and both pertain to my being back home. I'll save the silly one for last to lighten the mood. So the first one is that I'm having some kind of weird feeling of peace being at home this year (so far anyway). The horses seem to feel it too. (Though, they did all act like fools in their first turnouts here Monday morning. I was sure they'd all be crippled after all the carrying on they did. I like to think it was celebratory antics, but who knows with this group...) 

Anyway, let me blabber on more about this peaceful feeling. I try very hard not to let others, especially those that I don't think are correct, get into my head nor dictate my emotions. But I am human. And sometimes it happens. I hadn't realized just how bothered I'd been feeling until I got home, and the feelings just lifted away. No one here at home can talk about me or my horses in a negative light. No one here is judging every decision I make or don't make. And no one is passing judgement on the quality or usefulness of my horses. Or me for that matter. And it's SUCH a calming feeling to just be free of that. 

I have a barn full of quirky, bargain priced horses. But they are MY horses. And I love them and all their quirks. (Okay maybe not all of the quirks, looking at you Al.) But I think each of them is talented in their own way. They're worthy of the best care. They're useful to me and they bring me so much joy. And you know? That's enough. That's all that really matters for me and my horses. And I'm so excited to just relish in that this summer. 

Um, but confession two? Heh. I haven't moved the jumps since last fall. I still have the same course set up. I just couldn't find the motivation in between all the rain earlier this spring. I figure we'll pop around what's out there this week and then maybe next I'll change it up. I mean, it's not like the horses remember the course. It probably feels new to them. Maybe. Ha. Oops.

Thursday's Threads: The one with some bonus material

 

Outfit Day! I will admit that the usual suspects are repeat photos, but I do have two bonus (non riding) outfits to share because it's my birthday week and therefore I can. We'll save those for the end though. Shiny wanted to model for us this week, so here's what she wore today:

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

I dunno about you, but I'm getting pretty excited to have some more bridle variety on Thursday's Threads soon. For now though, this bridle photo is a little cuter than normal thanks to Cinch photobombing. 

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

Anyone else really sad about the Hufglocken/Mattes depairing? I've found a few other source, but nowhere with as good pricing. Thankfully, we're pretty well stocked for now. Especially given my shopping freeze. I do love these pads though! Worth whatever I have to pay in the future.

Boots: Premier Equine

We brought back the PEI boots for this last week at the boarding barn. Figured we might as well wrap up with a navy outfit. And I like these boots once the weather turns warmer since they're fairly lightweight. 

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

But then actually, I had to wear a sweatshirt over this because it was a lot cooler than the weatherman promised. Oh well. What can you do? 

Helmet: Samshield

I'm happy to report my face is nearly healed and I will do my best to share a fresh photo next week. Plus, I'll hopefully be wearing a different helmet. You know. For VARIETY!

Top: Luyaa

This is the Amazon knock off of the Lululemon shirts. It is also identical to the ones that TKEQ sells. Big fan.

Belt: Designer inspired

I scored this belt from Ebay many years ago. Still going strong!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are the color Charcoal. They look nearly black in real life. Kind of like what your black breeches eventually look like after you've had them awhile. 

Boots and Half Chaps: HKM Killarney

Yes. Recycled. They still look the same though! Promise! Haha! I'm still liking these a lot and I think you'll probably see them some this summer too.

So that's what I rode in today. But here are some funny outfits I wanted to share also. First is my Birthday Outfit!

That's right. I wore a cupcake for my birthday. Both on my sweater AND on my belt! Been awhile since I've worn this sweater. It wasn't supposed to be a barn sweater back when I got it, but like... everything is barn clothes now! Haha!

Okay, and now this outfit below is what I'm wearing post riding today. (It warmed up!)

It makes me giggle because it is new. (Yes, I admit I bought some clothes recently. However, it was BEFORE the truck happened. So please, allow me some slack there.) Anyway, I stopped in at Kohl's a few weeks ago to update my wardrobe a little bit. And I found this super cute outfit that I was pretty excited for. And then I realized why it was calling to me. Guys. I've already owned this exact outfit. I wore this regularly my senior of college and the summer after. I mean, back then I think I bought it at Express. But now it's at Kohl's. And pretty much exactly the same. Also, am I maybe too old to wear these trendy things? Possibly. But I've never been accused of acting my age, so I'm going with it. Plus it covers all the things that need covering, so I think it's okay. 

Alright. That's all I've got today. What do you think of the current trends? A lot of you are younger than me, so you might not remember them having already been around. But those that do recall, what do you think? Glad it's all back or should it have stayed in 2002?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Things are going well with the ponies this week! Still very low on media though. So sorry. 

Al is such a different horse now that we're back outside. I mean, he still snorts and side-eyes stuff on the regular, but he's a million times more relaxed. Funny little anecdote from the weekend. I had to ride very early Saturday so I did him indoors. It was barely 35 degrees outside which... no thanks. Lol! Anyway, I was riding Al inside, and one of my fellow ammy's was walking her pony bareback to keep us company. And she (unprovoked) said that Al's entire expression changed when he'd get to the end he didn't like. Like she could the stress on his face. She said you can tell he's afraid down there, not just regular spooky. So like, I know I've more or less gotten an understanding of this horse now. And I also know that I don't need validation, but also I am human and some validation feels nice. So it was nice that someone semi removed from Al and I's plight could see that there was a real "thing" there that he's been dealing with. And not just bad behavior. It also feels kinda nice that he's at a point where he can trust me now and not always let his emotions dictate his behaviors. He'll never be a perfectly behaved zero anxiety horse, but I think now that we have a better understanding of each other, things an come together a little more frequently. Or maybe not. But at least in this moment I'm feeling good about things with him. I can't wait to get back to lessons at home and hopefully to some little shows this summer. Fingers crossed things come together for that. We didn't get to lesson this week because Saturday I had a baby shower during both my lesson times (hence my riding so early). But we will get to lesson this Saturday so I'm excited for that. It will be our last one at the winter barn this year since WE MOVE HOME SUNDAY! Hopefully anyway. More on that in a minute. First we'll chat about the rest of the horses. 

Shiny's feeling good, but they got their second round of shots yesterday so her neck is a little sore. Not as bad as some years though, thankfully. Not a lot to report with her, she's been very good, and also really happy to be back outside. She missed her Saturday lesson too, but is very much looking forward to this weeks. I am too!

Eros is up to 16 minutes of trotting now. He's been just as well behaved outside as in which is nice. Sometimes he gets a little... torpedo-like when we first go outside. But not this year! So I'm happy for that. His leg doesn't need that drama. He still doesn't feel amazing to me, but he doesn't get worse as he goes which is what was happening before we rested him. Also, he never feels great until after he's had a warm up canter, and since we're not cantering yet, I'm hoping that's some of what we're dealing with. He's also coming due for maintenance soon. And none of them have seen the chiropractor since February I think? Maybe January? It's been awhile. So I'm hoping what I'm feeling is just the confluence of all these things. He gets to start cantering next week, so we'll see how that goes. After he's cantered for a couple weeks we'll schedule a recheck and see where we are at. I think all three will be due for spring maintenance by then anyway. 

So back to moving day! The reason our move is not definite is once again my truck. I mentioned last week that I had to have it towed in for its oil change. I was told once they checked it over that it just needed both batteries replaced, a fuel filter, and the oil change I had scheduled. Okay, that's not too bad! But then when they said it was ready, they also gave me a laundry list of things wrong with it. Things that make it unsafe to haul with. Oh and one thing that wasn't actually broken but I guess they figured they could try and get an additional $2200 out of me... Fortunately, I'm not as dumb as I look, and I knew how to fix that particular problem. (It was my automatic running boards. Dealership said they weren't working. They weren't. But the reason they weren't was that they were not turned on. Pretty simple fix.) I found it very weird that they wouldn't tell me about all these other problems initially. Normally when I've brought it in, they tell me everything they find when they look it over and then we discuss what needs to be done right away and what can wait. This time they told me after I was set to pick it up. And it really wasn't stuff that can wait. But I picked it up anyway and brought it to a trusted mechanic instead. Unfortunately, trusted mechanic found mostly the same problems. So I'm now VERY broke. (I will have spent nearly as much as I paid to purchase Shiny on this truck this month at this point.) So goodbye any hopes of a sleep-away horse show this summer. But also, I'm not positive I'll have the truck back Friday. Fingers crossed. They're trying their best to get it done. I basically need everything replaced underneath due to rust and corrosion. Steering, suspension, heat shields, brake lines, ALL the brake parts. Ugh. 

My braiding work has kind of dried up over here too. The local spring A show that everyone used to braid for has gotten very small and no one braided this year. So I didn't get any income when I kind of had expected to. I think the summer show at the same venue will go similarly. So I guess it's time I find a real job! I don't really want to go back to my former career. I did it because it was our family business, but it's nothing I was particularly passionate about. Which means I can kind of go any direction. Except for a few things... I'm not especially qualified for much. I have a BA in Psychology but no graduate work/degree. I have customer service and sales experience so I could go that direction, but not sure what industry. So... anyone have any good suggestions? I'm not sure I need to go back full time. I'm not sure I can go back to those 15 hour days between work and horses. I'm not as young as I once was! Since the horses will be home, and I don't have weekend help this year, my weekends aren't really free for a job either. Especially since I would like to be able to do some one day shows and those are on weekends. So I would need something that's weekdays only. Preferably mornings and part time if in person. But I could probably do full time if it's flexible on which hours I work. So I'm taking suggestions on what to explore! I browsed Indeed for things local to me, but it was mostly just retail jobs and healthcare workers. Neither are a fit for me. Maybe retail if I really had to, but again, I'd prefer to not work weekends. 

Maybe I could be like... an equestrian personal shopper? Is that a thing? Cause I love shopping for horse stuff. And it would be way more fun with someone else's money. 

Anyway. Back to less boring topics. I got to do some non horse things this week which was fun. As mentioned, I attended a baby shower on Saturday. So nice to see some friends and spoil the soon to arrive baby! It's a horse adjacent girl! I say adjacent because her mom (my friend) never really got into horses fully, but HER mom (the grandma who is sadly no longer here) was a big time horse girl. She had her own barn, the whole thing. So horses are in the blood. The big sister is already showing interest (She's turning 3, I think) so I'm excited for Shiny to give some pony rides this summer. And then this evening I got to attend an art show for both my nieces. 

Ellie, in second grade, made these beautiful beads herself!

This lovely print is by Keira, grade 5. She LOVES Mary Poppins

The art show was followed by a joint band and chorus concert. Which was cute. There are some talented kids there I think! Performers were in grades 3 and higher, so it was just my older niece for this one. She sings and plays in the band. She played like five different instruments. Very impressive. She gets that talent from her mom's side of the family. Us Seidmans are not musically talented. Not at all. Lol! It's fun to see her in her element. You can see her confidence grow each time she performs. 

And that's about it from here! One more week of sharing space, and then hopefully we'll be back to doing whatever we want WHENEVER we want! And more media! Pivo can come out and play once we're home too. Looking forward to it! Fingers crossed my stupid truck is back together in time.