What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew. Made it through hell weekend of braiding! Just barely... Guys, I had 11 both Friday night AND Saturday night. ELEVEN! Manes and tails. That's a lot of hours on the ladder in the middle of the night. Thank goodness for Netflix, HBO, and my trusty Ipad. Funny story though. Most of my horses live at the farm hosting the show, so I was the only braider for the majority of the horses there. Since I was alone, I wasn't using ear buds as they get uncomfortable for that many hours and the batteries don't last that long either. Anyway, there was one horse in one of the barns that belonged to a differed trainer and they had their own braider. So I was braiding away and had finished watching whatever I had been watching when the other braider came in. I was planning to start watching season 2 of Euphoria when I heard her music playing. She was listening to show tunes... I decided to hold off on starting Euphoria. I'm pretty sure show tunes couldn't handle that! Haha! 

Friday's Manes

Friday's Tails

Saturday's everything

For the most part these manes and tails were all pretty easy. None of them had thick monster manes and these tails pretty much only get done once or twice a year so they are in great shape. I managed to get 10 done in about 12 hours which is pretty fast. Both days I had a small break before number 11. One was a ship in, so I had to wait a few minutes for him and the other was at a barn near my house so I had to drive to him. He has the speediest mane because it's pretty thin, and he's very well behaved. His tail though. The tail is tough on him. He had rubbed the top out earlier this year and now it's starting to grow some. Took some creativity to get it done, but turned out as good as I think anyone could do.

I'm also really happy to report that I stayed on my ladder this year and sustained zero new knee injuries! Yay me! Lol!

I had to enlist some help at home while I was away braiding overnight. I had a wonderful college student who lives in my town do night checks for me. (Fun fact: She is attending my Alma Mater Skidmore but is home for the summer) My weekday barn helper was able to cover Sunday for me, so I just had Saturday that I needed a little help. I figured I should be home around 10 am, so my neighbor was able to feed breakfast for me. Once I was home, I went and fed the dogs and then turned out the horses and cleaned stalls. It wasn't the best job, and I'll be honest, I didn't scrub any buckets! But it got done, and the horses were happy. And then finally at around noon I got to sleep! It was glorious. I got about five hours in before waking up to feed horses dinner and do it all over again! 

The week was kind of easy for the horses. I rode Tuesday through Friday, but they had the weekend off. I just didn't have it in me to ride them after all that time on the ladder. They weren't sad about it. 

Trainer was away camping for most of the week so I didn't have a lesson. But I had set up a combination and played around with it some on my own. 

I kept everything low for Al because he had indicated the week before that he was ready for a little rest. He was really cute through the combo. It's a trot in one to one, set on the shorter side. That horse, as silly as he can be, know EXACTLY where he is at the fences. He paced that combo out right from the first time through with no help from me required at all. Such a good boy! Unfortunately, later in the week that crack of his started to bother him again. So he's been having light flat rides since. My farrier is out of town shoeing, but he's going to adjust Al's shoes as soon as he's back. 

Quarter cracks are SO frustrating, but hopefully we can get a handle on it soon. Al's such a trooper. 

Things are great with Eros! I had my last lesson with trainer today as she's off to Florida at the end of the week for the season. Since Al is on light work, Eros got to have his first lesson with her! It was a breath of fresh air as she agrees with me about how much canter he needs. I was constantly told I needed more by other trainers in the past, but she was like no, you have plenty, his step his HUGE! I was like I KNOW! So that was great. We warmed up over a little single fence and then just focused on the combination and what to do on the other side. What we deduced is that if I can just sit chilly he'll be chilly too. Easier said than done of course. But something to work on! She hasn't really seen him go much before now, and she loved him almost as much as I do, so that's always nice to hear. (I say almost because I have an unhealthy obsession with him that I don't expect anyone else to share.)

I'm excited to jump him again later in the week and see if I can do things the way he wants on my own. 

After Shiny's little incident last week, she's been in WORK. And she's been great. Truly. I actually trotted her through the combo yesterday for the first time. It was... well. It was challenging for her. She got it done, but kinda deer like. I think it's a bit long for her trotting in even though it's set short for the horses. Next time I send her through there I'll shorten it up for her. But I was very proud of her try! And even better after we finished with that, I gave her a walk break, and then had her pop over a few single fences just to make sure she wasn't stressed about jumping in general. And she came back and popped those jumps totally calmly and cooly. So proud of her! And then today, I let her have a little free lunge before her kiddo came to ride. Guys, she was pretty wild! Wild for Shiny anyway. She didn't get too zoomy (thank goodness, I hate when they run) but she got some good bucks out. I think she was feeling much better after that. Of course, then she was tired and the kid could barely get her trotting. Oops. All she really wanted to do today was around the world though. So Shiny was happy to oblige for that. Glad they had a good last ride of the season together!

I think that's it! How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun? Horses good?

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't know if any of you are like me, but I thrive on routine. When my routine changes, it takes me a little while to settle back into the day to day. Things are pretty fluid right now with the horses having moved and trying to find my new daily schedule. We'll get it ironed out soon enough though! Despite my feeling a little disheveled, things have been busy and full of fun!

Last week I mentioned getting my covid booster, but my dr actually ran out before my appointment, so I had to wait until today. I am now boosted though! Hopefully it's kind to me and I can go about my day tomorrow. So I guess that's less fun, but still something good!

Anyway, back to horses. When we last left off, I was looking forward to my lesson with Shiny to see where her head was at. I had a private lesson with the lady who teaches the beginners. I've known her since I was a little kid, and she's wonderful. She's been around horses forever and has loads of useful knowledge, but she also will listen to what I think I'm feeling and my concerns. Not all trainers are like that... Certain personalities seem to think that amateurs know nothing and don't want to listen to us. It's frustrating. Thankfully this person is nothing like that! We started off with some light flatwork to get her listening and her parts moving, and then moved on to the jumping part. We started as easy as it gets with just poles on the ground. After doing them a few times, they became little tiny crossrails, and then eventually little verticals. We kept everything small, probably 18" at most. After popping over all the jumps as little verticals, my instructor said to just go ahead and jump around like I would at home. She would offer advice if I needed it, but she wanted me to try and get the feel I had at my house. It was EXACTLY what we needed. Shiny felt great, and by the end she was really taking me to the jumps like she was enjoying herself. So it may be premature since everything was small, but I think we're no worse for the wear after the clinic. And my apologies for having zero media. No one was around to video. I should have brought Pivo since we had the ring to ourselves. Hindsight and all that.

Dumb and dumber... I mean...
Pammon and his younger lady friend
who lives in the paddock next to his.

In more exciting news, Pammon saw the vet on Friday for his first ultrasound since he temporarily retired last spring. The news was positive. The ligament does not look perfect, but it remains to be seen if it ever will look normal. It's significantly improved though, and doc thinks he's healed enough to start some very light work under saddle. And by work, he means 30 minutes of walking. Which would be boring, but the horse is feral now, so I imagine much excitement will be had. He can do a working walk, not just meander on the buckle. So that should help the time pass.

I put the saddle on him and he looked
at me like he thought I had lost my mind. 
Also, yes that is indeed mud on his feet.

We had our first "ride" yesterday (with a little chemical assistance of course). It went okay until the horse in the ring with us left, and then he seemed like he was going to lose his shit. So 22 minutes was enough for day one. I had an eye dr appointment this morning and then my covid shot appointment this afternoon so I only had time to ride the other two today. I'll get on him again tomorrow though! It's nice to have him back in the rotation again. Hopefully I can keep him healthy this time. Fingers crossed.

Eros had a recheck Friday too, and he also got permission to keep moving along with his rehab. I'm just adding a little time each week to our daily rides, but he's honestly doing almost as much work as we normally would when not rehabbing. The hardest thing about rehabbing horses at a boarding barn is that we can only jump in a lesson. I totally get it, this has been a rule at every barn I've boarded at. But it's tricky because Eros is allowed to add some little jumps into our rides, but I don't think he's quite ready for a full lesson yet. I'll have to see if there's a real beginner jumping lesson we can hop into. The way they do lessons here, they want to warm us up. So it's a lot of flatwork before we ever jump. It's great for some horses, like Bellino and Shiny, but it's not ideal for Eros. We will make it work. I'm DYING to pop him over some fences though! I really need to figure out when I can do that. 

Saturday they hosted a schooling show at the boarding barn. I had originally planned to show Shiny, but after the clinic I decided not to (next one though!). Since I wasn't competing, they asked me if I wanted to judge it. I once judged a schooling show back when I lived in Saratoga, and it was so much fun! So I agreed. And it was super fun! So much respect to real judges though, because it was hard to put these kids in order. Like is it worse to find bad spots to 5 jumps or have two late changes? Tough call. There were only a few divisions: Walk/trot, walk/trot/canter, short stirrup, 2' and 2'6" so I was done around noon. Nice and early with plenty of time to ride! (There were some jumper classes after that were run at all different heights, but they were judged by someone else and were outside leaving the indoor free.) Both horses were great, though we didn't do anything exciting. Just a flat day. As I was finishing up in the barn, a big storm rolled through. I waited it out, and then headed home at which point it was dark out. So I didn't notice right away that the storm had left some tree damage at my farm. 

Good timing at least since the horses aren't there. My barn worker has been working on cleaning this up for me this week, and I'll see if I can fix most of the fencing myself this weekend if he gets finished. The gate may be a loss though, it's pretty broken. 

Always something when you have a farm! Despite the tree problems, it was a great week, full of good news for Pammon and Eros. And Shiny too really. She's going to have a vet check this Friday. Nothing is wrong, but I have a nagging feeling she could use some maintenance. It only hurts my pocket to have her checked out, and that's much better than not checking and hurting my pony. The nice thing about the boarding barn, is there's always horses that need to be seen, so at least the vet call is shared! 

Did you all have a good week? Have some lessons, or do a horse show?

What's up Wednesday...

What's up you ask? Nothing really. Slow news day over here! We're stuck in a bit of a weather pattern here it seems. I get to ride every other day pretty much due to rain, rain, and more rain! I'm willing to ride in the drizzle, but this time of year, I kind of don't when it's more than that. Especially given it's dark out and in the low 50's by the time I get home from work. No thanks! Though that will all change soon once I'm at a barn with an indoor! So rather than being grumpy about my lack of saddle time, I'm trying to enjoy the break before diving into real training with Miss Shiny pants!
Pammon's leg looks awful. I sent pics to the vet and he said they should come and see him. So I'll get him on the list over at the other barn. We use the same vet, and he's usually there a couple times a month. I don't know how he could have hurt himself while hanging in his stall with wraps on, but this is what I found when I took them off Monday night.

That's the worst it's looked since even the initial injury. I don't have good feelings about this. I don't have a budget for more horses... so this really needs to heal. I don't mean to be a whiny first world problems annoying human, but this is really kind of tearing me up. Between everything that's happened the last few years with Rio and Jampy (and Badger and Romey....) I was so much looking forward to getting back to real training and showing with Pammon. And it ended before it even started. Where do you go from there? Is it time to just accept that showing isn't in my cards anymore? I mean I know I have Eros and we can play in the hunters some hopefully. And maybe Shiny will do some little hunter classes. So it's not like I'll NEVER show. But I think maybe real competitive divisions and jumpers are just over for me. Wah. Sorry. I do want some cheese with my whine thank you.
On the other hand, there's more to life with horses than showing. I'm so incredibly lucky to get to ride regularly and spend time with them. I don't want it to seem like I'm not grateful for that. I absolutely am. I guess I'm just a little greedy and I want more. But it's not fair of me to pin all that on Pammon. So I'll try and swallow my wants and just get back to nursing that leg. I should be pretty good at that by now!

In other news, the puggers are bored with all the rain too. But they also are pretty happy to laze around the house. I played around with portrait mode on the phone with them the other night:

I know. They're the cutest puppers. And that's really about all that's happening around here right now. Saturday should be the big move, assuming Fefe gets picked up in the next couple of days. Hopefully the move smoothly and quietly. It's only a 5 mile trip so hopefully Pammon doesn't get too excited. I'll probably slip him a magic cookie before we go...

How was your week? Do anything fun and exciting? Horse shows? Lessons? Tell me all about it! (I swear I do want to hear about your horse shows, gotta live vicariously!)

What's Up Wednesday

I mean, we all know how the week went. But life still happens, so let's see what else there is to talk about...
I took Friday off from work for... let's just call it "The Thing". After that happened, I felt a little out of sorts (obviously). So I just sat in the barn for a bit with Rio. Then I headed off to see Eros, because he's my new therapist.

He was, of course, perfect. Just what I needed really. After that I headed back home to groom and feed Rio. He was perfectly content despite his lack of roommates. Thank goodness. I don't really remember what else I did on Friday. Nothing productive I know that. I think I snuggled the pugs and went to bed.

Saturday was my first full day as a single (and a half) horse owner. It was full of some ridiculous comic relief that was definitely much needed... So my first task of the day was to fix the section of fence that we had to take down the day before. I head out there with my drill in hand ready to get to work, only to realize I have the wrong drill bit. And some of the screws were bent. Poop. Not the end of the world, I headed off to the hardware store, grateful for a task to keep me preoccupied. I love the local hardware store. It's still privately owned, with the friendliest of staff. And everything is so cheap! Seriously, a drill bit was $1. And some additional screws (way more than I needed) were like $2.50. AND I had the presence of mind to remember that my car was getting low on oil and would need a quart soon so I picked that up too. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having a semi functional brain. (Pats self on back.)
And back home I went, only to be frustrated by how poorly this part of the fence had been constructed. But let's not get hung up on that drama again. I got it put back together as best I could and then it was time to go ride Eros. I started inside and then went out, and he was perfect as per the norm with him. It was a beautiful sunny day, and somewhat warm. Much needed.
After Eros, I made sure to spend plenty of time with Rio. First we groomed. Then we went for a hand walk in the ring.

And we followed that up with some of the first spring grass of the season. Which is very limited due to that whole septic saga last year...

He looks fantastic though. Coat is shiny, he's put weight on in the right places. Last year he had a hay belly but was very ribby. This year, he has better coverage over his rib cage. I think the little bit of high fat food I added to his diet has helped.

And then the pugs and I hung out for a bit in the sun.

I fed Rio dinner, and then had to figure out what to do with myself. I had decided that I was shirking all responsibilities other than taking care of the animals for the weekend. So that left me with a free evening. I decided to go get some dinner, and realized I was really jonesing for some comfort food. And settled on Taco Bell. Which is 25 minutes from my house. (I never admitted to thinking rationally.)
So off I drove to Taco Bell. Which had a very long drive through line. (Worth it.) While I was sitting in the line the oil light came on in my car. Fortunately, this light just means I need to add one quart. Which I had since I picked that up in the morning. But then I realized I hadn't gotten a paper funnel. And my car was super hot from driving 25 (highway) minutes to Taco Bell. BUT, all was not lost. Because right next to my fast food mecca was Home Depot. I mean, sometimes the stars just align for you, ya know? It was the least the universe could do really. So I popped in there and got a funnel and some rags. Added my oil, and headed home to devour my meal.

Sunday the barn was having a schooling horse show for just riders at the barn. Lesson kids and boarders were welcomed to participate. Since Eros has been on light work only, I opted not to. With everything going on leading up to the little show, that was definitely the right choice. I spent the day there though cheering for everyone and learning how to use my Canon Rebel. I got lucky and a few shots came out really well! I'd share, but I don't have permission from the riders to post them here, so I'm not going to. Sorry. After the show was over, I popped home to give Rio lunch (it was early, around 2.) Then headed back to ride Eros who was perfect as usual.

The trainers and a few others were going to head out on a trail ride to get the horses out that hadn't shown, and I was invited along. They gave me a boarder horse who was an absolute angel. Unfortunately, the trainers' horses were NOT being angels, and we had to cut things a bit short. But it was nice to be included. And even more nice to have a lovely quiet mount under me for the shenanigans! No photos because it really was a shit show though. Haha!

And that was that for the weekend. Monday was back to the usual grind and an attempt to get back to life as it was. I had a couple visitors after work who brought me beautiful flowers and cards. It helped a lot.

Oh I nearly forgot! Eros had his follow up appointment on Monday too, during my lunch break. He has the go ahead to start doing more, so I'm going to build him back to jumping really slowly. We're allowed to do poles on the ground and raised cavelletti without a lesson, so I'm going to start with that stuff for a couple weeks and then see about a lesson and doing some little jumps. I plan to take it slow so we don't go backwards at all.

 His superman browband from Dark Jewel Designs arrived yesterday, and it's one of the highlights of my life right now.

Big thanks to Amelia for dealing with it, as it was super tricky to get that charm not to bounce!

And that's what's up this Wednesday. What's up with you guys?

Truthful Tuesday: the one with some feels and blurry old screen shots

I made a pretty silly mistake over the last week/weekend. With my new found spare time, I decided to start converting my old riding videos into digital files. This seems like a great idea on the surface. And it was pretty fun to watch my very first horse show.

 Although, I didn't realize how terrible VHS quality was at the time! Holy grainy batman!
So why was it a bad plan? Because I can't ride. Watching old videos of Rio flying around the 1.2m A/O's,

 and my old junior hunter Bud doing his thing at Devon, and even Cosmo throwing his legs around in the adult jumpers,

 REALLY made me miss showing. This is the start of year number 3 without a show on the schedule. I was coping ok with that the last couple of years. I mean I didn't LOVE it.  But I was still riding and jumping around at home. So it was ok.
But now? Now that I haven't swung a leg over a horse in almost three weeks, it was super depressing. Then I start to feel guilty about feeling all woe is me because I can't ride when my horse was suffering through a painful bout with laminitis. Selfish much?

 On the bright side, Jampy is looking great! I'm super frustrated because I need to see the x-rays before we can move forward with things like figuring out his new diet, and if/when he can have turn out again. I just finally heard back from the local vet that he can't come until NEXT THURSDAY! Unacceptable. So I'm trying to see if the less local vet can get here sooner. The horse needs to get out. He's been such a good patient, but he's really bored, and not super happy with life right now. Not to mention, I'm still icing his legs regularly, which means I haven't had more than a six hour night sleep in close to three weeks. I'm also not sure how much longer I can get away with taking an hour and a half lunch away from work.
See? I told you there were some feels. Nostalgia, envy, disappointment, frustration. UGH. Fortunately, there's also some happy and relief that Jampy is feeling a lot better. And in time, I'll get to ride again. A good friend offered to let me sit on her horse this weekend, so hopefully we'll make that happen. In the meantime, I'll be hanging out with my old men waiting for the vet to come out.

Truthful Tuesday: the one with the green eyed monster

I think I've been handling this not showing thing fairly well for the last almost two years. I'm supportive of my showing friends. I look forward to seeing their Facebook posts and reading their horse show recaps. I've been doing some braiding. I've been to horse shows to spectate. But you guys. I'm getting jealous. I think I've reached my not showing threshold.
I miss all of this SO MUCH:

Cosmo, low a/o jumpers Sugar Bush 2001

Just Humour Me, junior hunters, Devon, 1997

Jamp high adult jumpers, VSF 2011

Ontario, Low A/O jumpers, Saratoga, 2005?

Jamp A/O hunters, Saratoga 2013

Ontario, Adult Hunters, VSF 2011

I mentioned last week about the junior getting to ride my trainer's extra horse. I'm gonna be honest with you guys... I was REALLY jealous and maybe a little hurt that my trainer didn't offer me that ride. My trainer has a small business. She buys young horses, gets them to the grand prix level and sells them. She here and there has a client, but boarders and client horses aren't really her thing. So I'm her only customer right now. And for that ride to go to some other kid was really hard for me to see. Especially since I haven't shown in so long. All that said, I know this kid really well. She's an awesome kid, and this opportunity is HUGE for her. So I'm crazy happy for her. I really am. Even if I am jealous.

I've never been the best rider out there. But I've had some really special horses. And with them, I was lucky enough to achieve a fair amount of success. And I miss it terribly. I have people tell me all the time, lease something! Get back in the ring! Just go do it! Just go show Badger!

But it's not that easy is it? Yes, I could lease something and go show. But I'm not all that confident on a loaner horse. I like to walk into that show ring knowing I should be there and that I'm competitive. Plus, I am currently supporting four horses. One of which is on full training board. So that doesn't leave me with money to lease and horse show a fifth horse.

So what do I do? Well. I do have plans. But they're all very conditional. My current plan is to find a kid to lease Jampy for a year or two and do the 2'6". I think that's where he'll stay sound, and he's more than capable of jumping around that height for a year or so. I want him back when he's ready to retire. I want to make sure he's in the right place at that point in his life. He's not there yet though!

I need to find a home for Romey. He's a challenge for me, and due to his mechanical unsoundness, he'll never be my show horse. No matter how broke he gets, he'll never be able to compete in the hunter ring. I'm having a hard time digging down deep to find my brave and get him trained, knowing that it will never be for what I want to do with him. I'm sure there's a human out there for him, but I'm not really sure where to find that person. I will make sure to do right by him, but I really need to find him a home that's not with me. It may be selfish, but the time and money I'm putting into him, are not bringing me joy. And it's a lot of time and money. (If any of you out there in blogland have suggestions or an interest in him, please comment below or shoot me an email!)

Badger's plans aren't so black and white. He's everything I want in a hunter, minus the fact that I haven't really figured him out yet. I have kind of a wait and see approach for him. He is available for sale, but not at a discount. He'll either be sold or he'll become my show horse. No idea which will happen or when. But that's his plan!

Obviously, Rio has a home with me forever whether it's as a riding horse or a pasture pet, or whatever else he decides he wants to do.

So that leaves me here, a little green with envy, watching all the showing happening all around me. I'm hoping that by next season I will have placed Romey somewhere, gotten Jampy a temporary kid, and will have a new show horse in the barn. Until then, Jampy and I are plugging along, trying to maybe get to a one day show or something.

While I'm feeling a little green eyed these days, I still appreciate all I'm lucky to have. First and foremost I will do right by my herd. They've done their best for me and I owe them that.

Have you ever felt a little left behind while everyone around you is doing what you wish you could? How did you find ways to push the envy aside?