What's Up Wednesday

 

I say this every fall, but this time of year is always kind of unfocused with the horses. Al and Eros are a little extra spooky with the longer shadows and for some reason near constant wind. (Thank goodness for Shiny and her sensible mare brain!) With the tack sale last week, I kept the rides short, partially to give me more time to get stuff done but also because the attention spans of the equine were pretty short too. Despite the lack of real focus, and not doing much jumping right now, we're still getting our daily rides in and enjoying the foliage.

I had switched Al to powdered Omeprazole about a week ago, and unfortunately, he's behaving like he was before I put him back on Misoprostol again. So I don't think that's working for him. I'm going to reach out to the vet tomorrow and see if I'm dosing wrong (it says one scoop for maintenance which is what I'm feeding, but maybe that's for a smaller horse? I dunno!). Or maybe I just need to switch back to the more expensive option. Horses man! It's never easy! 

Shiny's been good at least. She doesn't love when it's super windy this time of year, but she's much better at dealing with things she doesn't like than the boys are. Her kiddo has been coming pretty regularly, so they're having lots of fun jumping around and doing kid/pony stuff. Saturday we're going to dress them up for Halloween since kiddo heads back to Florida before actual Halloween. I'm going to dress up Eros as Eeyore. It should be adorable. 

Eros is feeling pretty good lately. So good in fact that he's been extra destructive. 

That used to be my three step mounting block. RIP. I ordered a new three step block, this time a plastic one to hopefully stand up to Eros' hulk smashing feet a little better. The new one arrived and I thought, that box looks too small... Sure enough, they sent the wrong one. So now my new new one will arrive like two days before we move for the winter... Lol. Always the way, isn't it? We're making due with the little two stepper, but honestly, it's a CLIMB! I'm only 5'2" and the boys are both 16.3. But after all the climbing into and out of the bed of my truck this weekend, I'm getting pretty good at climbing. 

In other news, the wildlife around here has been something! Saturday while I was cleaning stalls, all of a sudden I hear Eros out in the ring having an absolute fit about something. Before I could even get out there to see what was happening, Al had joined in from the run out paddock. So I get out there and hear an absolute ruckus coming from the little tree line between my house and the neighbor's. It was a TURKEY! A huge turkey. It came barreling out of the trees straight at me! So I did the same thing as Al and ran away. Hahaha! The turkey also did not want to be in this situation and it flew out over my gate and left. There used to be a rafter of turkeys that lived in the area and we saw them often, but I haven't seen a single one in several years. Guess they're still around though! 

But turkeys aren't the only animal showing up where they're not expected... Monday I went to get in the shower only to find a mouse sleeping in there. Sigh. So I went and got my mouse catching vase (not my first rodeo with the mice in the shower), caught the little guy and brought him outside. Guess it's time to load up the mouse traps again. 

Sunday was the tack sale as I've been babbling on and on about. I had tried to get my previous weekend helper to work Sunday so I could just deal with the sale on Sunday, but she was traveling this past weekend. I also asked our weekday helper, but he wasn't able to either. So I was up at 4am so the horses could have some turnout time and I could get the stalls done before the sale. Only trouble was that it's dark out here until almost seven right now. Rather than getting everyone out at once in different spaces, I just opted to give everyone some time in the ring one at a time. (Mine don't play nicely so they can't go out together. My vet bill allotment does not have room for that nonsense with these hooligans.) I figured I'd put Shiny out first because as long as she has food, she doesn't care what's going on around her. Also, there ARE lights for the ring, so it's not like it's pitch black out there. They are motion lights though so the horses do have to move a little to keep them on. 

So Shiny went out first. She was perfectly content with her hay net. So content in fact that I had to walk out there every so often to turn the lights back on. What was funny to me though, was that Al was very upset about Shiny being outside in the dark. He kept looking out the window at her and then nickering to her. He was not happy about it. 

Once I brought Shiny in he settled back down. I figured I'd put Eros out second, since Al was probably not going to enjoy being out in the dark. Eros was not thrilled out there either. He barely ate any of the hay I had out for him and mostly just stared out toward the back of the ring. Al was not at all concerned about E being outside. Kind of funny. I guess Al just really loves his pony. E was very happy this torturous turnout session was pretty short.

 

By the time Al got his turn it was light out. He still had feelings about being out there since his friends were all inside. Totally uncool to abandon him outside like that. All by himself. The poor thing. Everyone was back inside and chores were done by 8 am. I started loading up the truck and texted to see how early we could set up. The sale was supposed to start at 10 and I definitely had two loads of stuff to get over there. 

This wasn't quite all of it. 

So I ran over with the first load of stuff and got semi set up. I knew I was going to be gone for lunch time feeding, so I gave them half their lunch before I left with the second load and also let Rita out. The sale was set to end at 2, so I figured they could have the other half of their lunch when I got back. I'm sure they were annoyed by this, but it worked out fine. 

It was actually a pretty fun day. My little area was buzzing all day long, and I got to see so many people I haven't seen in awhile and also met some new horse people from the area. Only one person from my old barn stopped by which I guess isn't surprising, but I was hoping to see some friends from there. The sale was on the same road, about a half mile away from there. Still, I did see lots of great friends and made new connections, so what more do you need? Overall, I came home with almost a grand, so definitely made up for the missed income earlier in the week. And also, I only had ONE truck load of stuff for the return trip. So I'll call that a win. 

Rita's been a big help with all the sale prep, though I think she thought it was boring and stupid.

We spent several late nights out in the barn last week. Not her favorite. She would have preferred to be burrowed under a blanket in the living room. But it was nice to have company! I made sure to pay her back with a nice walk around the cul-de-sac up the road from our house. 

We often meet new doggo friends when we take this route. And it's awfully pretty this time of year. My property actually backs up to this street. Some day I want to try and develop some of that part to either have more turnout, or maybe put an indoor back there. It's a bit of an incline there though, so the site work will probably be pretty costly. It's on the wishlist not the to do list. 

Anyway, that's the lowdown on the past couple of weeks here. This week and next we're getting ready for our move! I have a few things packed up, and am waiting for my new blanket tags to get all that stuff labeled and packed up. I also need to make some iron-on labels for our wraps and our new tack box. I got one of the Stanley rolling trunks because the new barn's trunk room is upstairs, and I'm not schlepping a big wooden box up a flight of stairs. Nope! I also got a new rolling tool box thing for a first aid kit. I plan to use it year round, not just at the new winter barn. It has wheels so is easy to move around, and lots of compartments. 

It's my new favorite thing. If I ever get around to showing again, it will also be easy to take with us for that. So now I won't need to have multiple first aid kits all over. Win-win!

So that's it from here! Hope you all have had a good couple of weeks. I'm going to catch up on all of your blogs soon!

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?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Today is Yom Kippur which is the day we Jews atone for all of our sins by fasting for 24 hours. We're supposed to go to synagogue and do a lot of praying and what not, but I'm really a mediocre Jew at best. I do fast for the most part. I haven't eaten since dinner last night, and the only water I've had is with my meds which is allowed. But I did not go to any services and you better believe I rode my horses today! I mean, you are supposed to spend the day with family and the horses ARE my family. So it's not totally breaking the rules, right? Sure. Anyway, if I start to ramble or stop making sense, it's because I'm hungry and mildly dehydrated. 

This week was stupid with the weather. Remember when it was summer and it never rained here? Well that's over. There has got to be a happy medium somewhere! Seriously, get your poo together mother nature! 

Let's see... when we last left off, I was getting tossed of Al because of some kind of invisible monster. And then we've been trying to work through my ammy angst as a result. But it's been a little hard to do with the weather being so terrible. It was windy all week, so I had to find the least windy day for jumping which turned out to be Thursday. I opted not to jump Al and instead just focused on Eros and Shiny. I picked Eros first because I knew I would need a little hand holding. Eros is generally good for that. And he was so perfect! He jumped right around and just packed me around like the nervous ammy I was acting like. At least in the beginning. By the end we both were feeling pretty good. 

I'll have a little clip to follow I put Eros and Shiny on the same clip, so I'll share after we talk about her.

Shiny was also fantastic to jump around last week. She was forward and taking me to the fences and just seemed super willing. She also jumped great, picking her feet up again finally.

So you can imagine my surprise when I got off and saw that I had given her a huge spur rub! Guys. I haven't given a spur rub since I was a little kid! And I ride in spurs more than I don't. I didn't make her bleed at least, but I took all the hair off. Poor thing. No wonder she was so forward. I have no idea what I did differently that day to cause that. But I'm riding her without spurs for the time being until it's healed and grows its hair back.  

Anyway, link below if you want to watch them both jump around a little bit. 

My rides with Al have actually been fine. We've not been able to use the full ring because of all the rain. The far end can get a little squishy. But he's being a respectful good boy, and I'm hoping to be back to where we left off soon. Today was a boring walk/trot only day since the whole ring was pretty soggy. He was a little angel for that portion and only stepped out of line at the end when we were walking out. I was walking toward the "scary corner" and he propped and spun again, He more or less took me with him and I did get after him for it. I don't usually like to make a big deal when they spook, but I need to get this spinning nipped in the bud. He seemed to understand what he did was wrong. Which doesn't mean he won't do it again, but hopefully we're figuring things out. Figures this drama starts after my trainer is gone for the season! 

If you're keeping track, the horses actually had the entire weekend off. I usually don't ride Monday but since they'd already been off two days, we rode Monday. It was what I like to call a survival ride day. It was windy and cold again. Plus the aforementioned two days off. We used half the ring and called it quits after 20 minutes. Then they had Tuesday off due to the pouring rain, and walk/trotted today. So they're basically enjoying a vacation I guess. Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be much nicer. Not so windy and it might even get to 70! Can't wait! 

I try to be productive when I can't ride the horses, so Sunday Shiny got body clipped. Like last year, I didn't bother with her head or legs. I might do the legs this weekend. Might not. She hates having her head and ears done so I plan to not bother with that. That's the nice thing about not showing. Your horse can look ridiculous and it doesn't matter!

Tuesday I spent the day on saddle care. They all needed some oil pretty badly. It was so nice riding today in freshly oiled saddles. They were much grippier and softer too. I also organized blankets for when we move back to our winter barn next month. Can you believe it's already time to move?! I can't. Seems way too soon. But with the way the weather has been, I'm looking forward to having an indoor to use again!

It was a little up in the air if we'd be going back this winter. There was a chance there wouldn't be enough stalls for us, but there are, so that's good. 

And that's about it from here! The sun should be heading down soon, so I'm going to go eat everything in my refrigerator. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Heh... I nearly forgot to write this post today. It wasn't even a busy day! But I'm here now, so let's go!

Autumn has made itself known around here with temps dropping down to the 50's and 60's and it seems to be windy just all the time. The horses are all kinds of spooky. ALL. Kinds. 

Since I'm here alone, I try to stay smart about my saddle time. Also, I'm a weenie. But mostly, I just don't want to die in my ring all alone, so I do my best to be smart about what I'm doing with the horses on any given day. (Don't forget that not only do I have to contend with the weather, but also the neighbor who has spent the last two weeks making as much noise as possible next door whenever I'm on a horse.) Al and Eros both have a really hard time on windy days. They are startled by everything it seems. So those are not good days for jump schools. Could I safely jump them around while they're being spooky idiots? Probably. But we don't have any set schedule, so why tempt fate? 

On the other hand, if it's ALWAYS windy, when do we jump? I tried for Sunday but the neighbor made that impossible. (I really have had about enough of that guy. Someone want to offer him a bunch of money and come be my neighbor?) So we only jumped Wednesday this past week. I was hoping for today because the weather channel said it wouldn't be too windy. But the weather channel lied! I still was going to give it a go. I popped over three little fences with Al. They went fine:

Until this happened. 

He ran himself around for a bit before I could catch him, and while less of a spooky idiot after that, I opted out of doing any more jumping today. I'm not injured or anything, but between the neighbor being an ass and the wind... I just was done with hard things for the day. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow. Maybe this weekend. We'll just have to see how things go. I wasn't heading to a jump when this happened or anything, so it's not like he got away with anything. I got back on and flatted him for awhile. And I still considered jumping Eros but then he was also spooking at nothing, and I was like eff this man! And he just flatted too. Same with Shiny (she wasn't spooky, I just mean I didn't jump her either). I was over it for the day. Some days are like that. 

There really wasn't much to report back on this week otherwise with the horses. But it was a busy/kind of stressful week otherwise. I mentioned last week about our boat trip to see the swallows... Well turns out, one of dad's friends came down with Covid right after. And then another, and another... Figures, the one time I do something with people in attendance and it's a freaking super spreader event. So far I'm still okay. One of my nieces and my dad both tested positive though. Niece is already feeling back to normal (she was sick over the weekend) but dad first tested positive this morning. He's feeling crummy but said his breathing is fine. So hopefully it won't be too bad. He had dinner later in the week with one of the other positives (before either was feeling bad of course, my dad and his friends aren't ass holes or anything!)so he had a later exposure than the rest of us. Of course I've had psychosomatic Covid all week but don't actually have any symptoms. And tested negative before having dinner with my mom last night. So hopefully I'll be in the clear! It's been seven days and these newer variants don't seem to hide for long. Cross your fingers for me... and for my dad that he gets through it easily. (He's in his mid 70's so not a spring chicken!) Oh and also, I got my booster Friday morning. So it should be like a super booster with an exposure on top of it, right? Sheesh. Ugh.

I got to do some braiding over the weekend, so that was a nice distraction. I had one horse Thursday night, but he's the one with a TON of mane, so it was like braiding two... Lol! He was in a weird mood. I've braided him a few times before, and he's always sweet as can be and easy to do. But this time, he didn't want me to catch him in his stall. I wonder if he got wormed or something earlier in the day. Sounds like he was good at the show, so who knows what his drama was about. He came out decently though. Not perfect, but not bad. 

Then for Saturday night, I had PONIES!!! Well behaved ponies, so that's the best part. Plus they're all smalls. So short necks. Ha! 

I thought I wouldn't have any more jobs this year, so it was nice to get these calls. A little surprise work is never a bad thing! (Well, that's not really true. But in THIS case it is.)

Hopefully the horses will adjust to the weather soon and my neighbor will move out or something... So maybe next week we can have a more fun post on here! Until then, I'll just watching that video of me getting pitched off over and over. It's really entertaining!