Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! But I have to be honest, I forgot to take horse pictures every single day this week. Fortunately, the horses have worn this outfit many a time, so I have some photos from last year to share of Al's outfit. Here's what he had on:

We're sticking with barn colors for now because I haven't recovered enough from the last couple of weekends to turn on the creative side of my brain. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

He isn't using this bit anymore, but the rest of the bridle is the same! Pretend that's a full cheek. 

Saddle: Butet
Baby Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes

This is definitely my favorite set up. A mattes half pad an Ogilvy baby pad. I still like the Anatomeq pads too, but they're pretty expensive and don't have a ton of options. 

He didn't have boots on this week because it's a flat only week. So here's what I wore:

I was bored with full barn color outfits, so I mixed it up a little bit this week. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

I also apparently forgot a helmet photo. But I wore this one. (Clearly, I'm not caught up on sleep!)

Top: Luyaa

I love a good pastel! Lilac and powder pink both pair really nicely with green. 

Belt: Mane Jane

Opted for a nice neutral for my belt this week. I still love my Mane Jane belts, even if the buckles are started to show their age. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are dark teal, so a bit of a stray from the usual darker green. I just discovered these have a hole in the butt seam which makes me very sad. But I have a pile of breeches to bring in for repairs so I'll add these to the pile. Nothing a few stitches can't fix!

Boots: Celeris UK

I don't think I've shared these in awhile! Definitely still on the favorites list. They're SO comfy!

And that's it for this week! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew! It's been busy the last two weeks! Sorry for my absence but the sleep deprivation was real! As you may recall, I had two full weekends of braiding and also my helper was off, so that meant wearing an extra hat and nine days on my own in the barn. And you know, what better way to cap off a busy time than to throw in fence repair that first weekend? 

So I've been trying to get the rest of my fence posts replaced for awhile now, and finally the person I hired had dates he could do it. Which happened to be that Saturday and Sunday of my first braiding weekend. AND THEN he asked if they could work on the yard clean up that same weekend. Sure why not? Of course, this was a little disruptive because it meant having one less turnout area. But what can you do? 

The first day he started late, so I was able to get Shiny out for a few hours before she had to come in, so that wans't too big of a change for us. But the second day they said they were starting early. But it seems, early to non horse people is not the same thing as early to horse people. So I didn't put Shiny out in her paddock and instead rotated her into the ring turnout. Turns out though, she could have had a couple of hours after all since they didn't start until close to 9. I was told the whole project would take two days, but since they're hours are not the same as mine... They haven't even finished Shiny's paddock yet. Which still leaves the ring and the med paddock. Sigh. At least it's started! 

I don't think this person is as experienced with fencing as I was lead to believe. He is doing some things really well, especially filling the holes around the posts. In the past, once it rains I end up with craters around the posts that need more fill, but they're actually tamping them down and filling with extra dirt as they go so that hasn't happened. But they don't seem to be aware of using the string method to keep the rails straight. So we will need to go over that when they come back to finish. (He was on vacation this past week so we're on pause.) I'm trying not to be annoying about it though, it needs doing, and it's not something I'm able to do myself. So patience it is! 

And of course, the yard clean up was also not without it's hiccups. At the very end of the day on Sunday around 6pm, one of the guys cut the power cord that feeds my pool. So then I had to get an electrician out Monday to fix that. I just want to point out that all this is going on while I'm trying to do barn chores  and ride during the days, and braiding all night. Thursday night to Friday I got a total of 2 hours sleep (thankfully I DID have my helper for Friday) and the next two nights I got 3 hours of sleep. To say I was overstimulated that entire weekend is an understatement! But it all got done! Well almost. Saturday they all got ridden, but Sunday I only wound up doing Eros. With all the interruptions all day from the clean up crew in the yard, it was after 4 when I got done with him, and I just waved the white flag. 

First weekend's braids:

Monday everyone had their usual day off, but I did the morning chores. I honestly don't remember what the rest of the day involved. Just house chores I think. Tuesday was Sophie's kid's last day here. She went back to Florida to start school on Wednesday. We miss her already! But they had a really fun ride Tuesday and I got the other two ridden also. Wednesday was more chores and riding. Thursday was going to be another very full braiding night. I had the same amount as the Thursday before, but this time they were split between two farms so more commuting time. I opted to just do chores and not ride Thursday so I could fit in a nap before I started braiding. Everything went fine in all locations. I got done around 4:00 and was asleep by 4:30. Admittedly, I started chores a little late Friday morning. I think it was close to 8 am when I fed breakfast. Thank goodness my horses are pretty patient. I was DRAGGING through the day and again opted not to ride in favor of fitting in a nap before braiding time. It's shocking how much longer chores take when you're running on less than 3 hours of sleep. But chores got done, horses had extra time in turnout, and then all my client horses got braided that night. Wash, rinse, repeat for Saturday. Thankfully, Saturday night I just had to braid in one location. I was home early, around 2 am and got four hours of sleep before starting chores in the morning! By this point I was only semi coherent, so opted again to not ride. This week was a wash anyway, might as well just start fresh on Tuesday, right? 

All of weekend #2's braids except for one tail I forgot to snap a photo of

Monday I did very little. I slept for 7 and a half hours which was like the longest night's sleep ever! Then I sat around and did some THQ work. Some laundry. Fed horses. Ran two errands. That was about it. Pretty much a total sloth day. GLORIOUS! Just what I needed! 

I finally got to ride all my horses again yesterday. They were all pretty good, especially after a five day vacation. Al had one big spook, but otherwise kept a lid on things, which again for all that time off was pretty good! Eros felt a little stiff, but he always does better in work. So that wasn't surprising. He got sounder and sounder as we went along. And Shiny felt just fine!

I'm not sure how many I'll get ridden today. I dropped Rita off at the vets this morning to get her broken tooth removed and have a dental. So I'm not sure what time I need to pick her up yet, they're going to call. And then we have family dinner tonight. So I may only end up getting one or two done. Is what it is! 

And that about catches you all up! Nothing too exciting around here, just chores and braids for the most part. Hopefully more fun to come though!

Truthful Tuesday

 

I'm back! Thanks for hanging with me while I was overwhelmed with life last week. Today's confession is that I've finally accepted that I can't do all of the things all of the time. And as a result, my horses only got ridden twice last week. But fingers crossed, we're back to (mostly) normal this week. The only hiccup I'm so far aware of is tomorrow. Rita is having a dental and a broken tooth removed, so I will have to pick her up late afternoon which might mean I only have time to ride two tomorrow since it's family dinner night. But that's okay. Just doing the best I can with the hours supplied in a day. 

Anyone else? Or are you still finding ways to put more hours in a day? If so, share with me your secrets!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! We've had some fun ones the last couple of weeks so today we went with a classic barn colors look. Eros is our model this week but apparently I forgot to snap a full body photo of him... Oops. So we'll just look at the close ups.

Bridle: Pinnacle
Browband: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

I love the color of this bridle ob him. It's almost exactly his color!

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby Pad: Ogilvy

I'm still holding out hope that Ogilvy will make a darker brown colored pad. But for now, I do really like this shade too. 

No boots today since we haven't jumped yet this week. So that means it's my turn! Here's what I had on:

Greens and browns... but also cow print!

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

Still loving my sparkly front shield.

Top: Mathcat

This is a little bit brighter green than I normally wear for my barn colors outfits, but it's working!

Belt: Dapple Bay

Dapple Bay had bogo belts a few weeks ago, so I picked up a couple. I actually want to sew one onto a pair of pants I have that doesn't have belt loops. Because they aren't working as is, but I think with a built-in stretchy belt they will be okay. So this was the free one. 

Breeches: RJ Classics

This is the pair I picked up last year at a tent sale. Glad I found them!

Boots: Celeris UK

These are still my favorite pair of boots. They're just so fun! But also they're ridiculously comfortable. Win-win!

And that's it for today! Any favorite items?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Guys. We got to ride all six days last week! A few of them were abbreviated rides because that's just the theme this year. But still counts! ALL THE HORSES, ALL SIX DAYS! 

Of course it wasn't without challenges. Sunday when I was on Al in the backyard for Sunday Funday (in the sidepull) a tree branch fell right in front of us. He hasn't moved that fast under saddle in years! I nearly fell of about 8 times during the kerfluffle, but he did keep my on top, so I give him much credit for rescuing me from the danger.

Our path from Al saving my life

That happened on Sunday, and then Monday evening, a couple of houses over they were doing some tree work. But it was a bunch of teen boys doing it... So Al is a little out of sorts so far this week. He really hates sounds involving trees. But we have started what I call Tiny Ring Tuesday in which Al works on a smaller section of the ring on Tuesday in hopes that his brain will be reinstalled for the rest of the week. It worked last week, so we'll see what we get today. Fingers crossed his angst doesn't last this time. Though I think it's fair that he's having some feelings after his "trauma". 

I don't really have much to report about riding these horses this week. For the most part, everyone was really good. Shiny's kid jumped her around Thursday. It was pretty steamy out so nothing too long or exciting happened. Al did a few jumps too but we were battling neighbor interference so we didn't do a lot. 

Wonder what my right hand was after here...

We didn't jump a second time last week because it would have been Saturday. But it was around 90 and the humidity was high, so we did very light flat rides instead. 

In other news, my replacement posts have been delivered to finish getting all of the fencing fixed up. I have a lot of rotten posts so they will be swapped out for fresh ones this weekend. Thank goodness. I have a few sections that aren't going to hold on much longer. 

I start braiding tomorrow night for what I like to call the Connecticut Olympics. I have 5 Thursday night, 3 Friday, and 2 Sunday. My helper in the barn is off this coming week too, so I'll be on my own in the barn for nine days. And I'll also be braiding the ending weekend of those nine days. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday again. I'm not sure how much riding will get done that weekend if any. I have two barns I'm braiding for those days (I call that weekend the beginner olympics) but don't have counts yet. I may have to braid all night, come home and feed breakfast, then sleep for a bit. THEN do stalls and turnout. If that's what happens the horses will just have a little vacation. I can only get so much done in a day! I don't think they'll mind either way. 

All that to say, I think I'm going to take another blog vacation next week, unless something truly exciting happens that I need to share. We'll see how the week goes. 

That's it from here! How are things where you are?

Truthful Tuesday

 

So as I was obsessively sweeping my barn aisle one day this weekend, I had a realization. I don't think my desire to keep the barn looking dust, dirt, and cobweb free comes from a need for perfection. I truly think it's due to my actually being such a lazy person inside. 

I realize this is counterintuitive. But, see, I know that if I don't keep up with it, it will be SO MUCH more work when I do get around to it. And that feeling leaves me overwhelmed and not l knowing where to start. (Which is everything you need to know about the state of my own home...) 

And THAT is today's confession: I'm actually really lazy and my house is a mess.

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day!!! I was thinking I would do something summery like a bee theme this week, but then I realized I only had enough bee outfit for one horse. And I generally dress them all on theme. So I had to pivot. We went with green equestrian toile instead. Shiny is our model, and here's what she was wearing this week:

I think we're slowly starting to get a little topline back on her! 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Browband: Homemade

I was able to buy Dapplebay's fabric to make my own equestrian toile set rather than spending a gazillion dollars on three sets of expensive items. And I had enough to make browbands!

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

I think I like just the accents anyway, more so than a full pad of pattern. What do you guys think?

Boots: Premier Equine, embellished by me

The other nice thing about fabric versus ribbon, is that I can cut the fabric to fit any size I need. When I use ribbon for our accents, I have to hope it's made in all the widths I need. 

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

I do have the Dapplebay sunshirt in the toile print, but I got a long sleeve and it is not long sleeve weather here this week. (Up near 90 with super high humidity.) So I will save that for another week.

Helmet: One K Avance CCS with MIPS

The green on my helmet is a little different than the rest of the outfit, but it's close enough. Plus, any excuse to enjoy sparkles!

Shirt: Mathcat

The shirt, however, is EXACTLY the right shade! And I already had it in my closet. 

Belt: Homemade

I need to sit down and work on my next version of this interchangeable belt. It's working very well as is, but I'd like to step it up a little. Line it with leather maybe. Not sure exactly. But I think the initial testing of this version is complete, so it's time to improve it!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I think a nice neutral light tan color breech is perfect for this outfit. This color is called Fawn.

Boots: Celeris UK

Alright, I think you all know by now, I can't keep a secret. I wore these for the photos, but I didn't ride in them. I still haven't done anything to seal them, so they still bleed on to my tack. They're also a little snug at the moment... So I rode in a different, more comfortable pair. These match perfectly with the outfit though!

That's it for today! Any favorite parts? What should we do next week? Help me pick a theme or color scheme!

What's Up Wednesday

 

All that's up here really is all the rain! We haven't accomplished much of anything in the riding department. But you know what? It's okay. The horses are fine, albeit a little less fit that I'd prefer. Same for me. I've definitely put on some weight this summer which is hard. But it's life right? Hopefully the weather will calm down and we'll have a few good months of riding before winter returns. 

Unrelated photo of last night's little visitor

Things will be a little chaotic starting next Thursday as I have my two busy braiding weekends for our two local finals. And my helper is off that whole week in between because of a prior commitment. My plan is to just not ride much on the braiding days. I'll make it work! I don't think it will be as crazy as years past anyway, as the closer of the two finals moved to a much further away location. So I just have my two long time clients. The first week is just one of them, and the second weekend I should have both. I think it will be okay. And since I don't have to pay for help AND I'll be making some braiding money, I should be able to get the rest of the blankets I wanted for the horses this winter. Hopefully. 

As for the horses, everyone is good! Al is feeling a lot better since his vet work. Yesterday, Shiny's kid rode Eros while I was on Al. We were going to start introducing her to lateral work which Eros is the perfect teacher for that stuff since it's so easy for him. Al loved riding with Eros, it seemed to really make him feel comfortable. So comfortable that he actually very easily walked, trotted, and cantered around the entire ring without any bracing by the scary side. Miracle. Of course, that all got ruined as we were finishing up our rides. 

See that little dead stick of a tree from the middle to the right side of this photo? 
That's the tree I'm referencing in the next paragraph

With all the wet weather, there have been a lot of downed trees in my area. And I hadn't realized it, but one of the little dead trees between my neighbor and me uprooted itself. It mostly fell sideways, so it's not in anyone's way, and with all the leaves still out, you can't even really see it. But some of it must have caught up on something on the neighbor's side. So he decided the only time he could possibly mess with that was while I was riding. Not only that, but while someone else was riding here too. A minor no less. I swear. This guy is the most inconsiderate jerk I've encountered. So we were in the middle talking about what kiddo would try in a moment on Eros, when the trees started moving. Scared both horses. I said alright, I guess we better get off. Honestly. This dude was tinkering away in his garage all day. Came out just at that moment to mess with the tree. Then once we were back inside he retreated back to his garage. Tell me that's not intentional. He's the type that "punishes" people for their "mistakes". So since that tree grows on my side of the property line, I needed to be punished for it falling. (Mind you, he's the one that killed it. He over pruned all the trees so they would fall away from his yard if they fell. And then they all died.) Putting other people in danger seems a bit much to me though. Ugh. I wish that guy would move away. Hopefully Al isn't too scarred. That horse has the longest memory. Also please cross your fingers that he isn't planning to do it again today. That would be the last of me ever riding Al down that long side. 

Al ears here, seen at the "safe" side of the ring

That's really about all the excitement from here. I've scheduled my fence repair for also one of the braiding weekends. But I figure that's good because I won't be riding much then anyway. I can't wait to get that done because seeing these rotten posts is really stressing me out. I have a long list of things we're tackling over here. First being the fence. Then I need to get the truck AND the gator in for some maintenance (though not at the same time). Oh and also my trailer is beyone overdue for service. So that will be my focus once braid-a-palooza is over. Once all of that is taken care of... maybe then I'll have the bandwidth to do something fun and exciting with the horses.

I may need to wait until spring for these things, but I am feeling like it's time to do something other than plop around my backyard with these horses. I'm toying with the idea of some dressage lessons and maybe schooling shows with Eros. And I'd like to see if I can get that trainer that came out last year back for some lessons with Al. And maybe Shiny should do some unrated little jumper shows. I can't seem to get my ducks in a row at the moment to get any of this rolling. I think because I'm still trying to find my routine with the new helper. And all of these maintenance things that are needing my attention. I guess I've just been feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the things that required my focus. But I like that I'm feeling ready for more horsey fun. Step in the right direction! 

Anyway, that's just me trying to organize my life... Lol. Hope you're all having fun with your horses and not getting to waterlogged or overheated this summer! Do you also have a long list of maintenance derailing your horsey fun? Adulting! Am I right?!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Oof, guys. This rain! I really hope this is mother nature getting excessive precipitation out of her system before winter. Because if winter follows this pattern I might just lose my mind. I barely got to ride last week. Tuesday and Friday were the only weekdays I got everyone ridden. The weekend was better thank goodness! A friend of mine with a rain gauge posted that our town received 10" of rain over the last four storms (which were all within the last week or so). That's a LOT of rain. The positives are that the grass is green (in August!) and the pool is staying full all on its own. So there are pluses. 

I know this doesn't sound like a confession. But here it is: I was feeling very discouraged by the lack of riding. This summer has been challenging in the mental department for me, and after the winter... It's been a little hard. But I'm trying me best to turn my mindset around. I know I'm incredibly lucky. I know that I have really special horses. And I also know that they don't care if they are super fit and going to shows or not. They only care that I feed them regularly and keep them healthy. So I'm going to keep remembering this and just enjoying our time together.