What's Up Wednesday

Work has been mad crazy since Friday, so my apologies for the tardiness of this blog post. And for being behind reading all of your posts too! I'll catch up, I promise. My company got sold again yesterday, so everyone keep all your crossables crossed that I get to keep my job. You just never know when these things happen! The only bonus is that supposedly we're all getting a 3% raise next pay period. Hopefully they keep us all that long! Anyway, you're not here to read about work, you're here for ponies! There are a LOT of changes going on around here. (Cause who doesn't want lots of change in the middle of a global pandemic, amiright?)

First up, assistant trainer quit her position which is a huge bummer. I know I voiced on here before that she was just a groom prior, but after getting to know to her and taking some lessons with her, I really grew to like and respect her. I wasn't going to learn tons from her, but she rides softly, the horses love her, and she gives confidence building lessons. All good things. But she is feeling burned out, and I can't blame a girl for taking care of herself. She will still be around for a few more weeks though, so I'll try and appreciate her while she's still there. 

Gratuitous photo of my rig to break up text...

Next up, the BIG news! Eros and Shiny are home!!! It's amazing. I'm so happy they're here. But let's back up and talk about the week. 

The vet was out Friday and Eros had his recheck. He received a glowing report. The bone is looking tons better, and doc feels confident we can start legging him back up. Slowly. Very slowly. We're cleared for a 10 minute tack walk and five minutes of trotting. We can add five more minutes each week. Once we get to 15, we'll do another recheck. Spoiler alert though, we're probably going to spend two weeks at five minutes because the weather is not cooperating. More on that later.

Shiny and I had our last lesson on Saturday as boarders at the barn. You guys. I have no media, but she was SO GOOD! We jumped a little course, complete with a bending line. She jumped all the scary boxes, and never peaked at anything. She got tired quickly though, and when that happened, she seemed to fall off her lead behind. So we definitely need to build some fitness, especially with the back end. I see lots of trot poles in our future. I need to get some new cavalletti since mine rotted awhile back. 

The guys working on my fence and my footing burned the candle at both ends finishing everything up on Saturday. They had an interesting work schedule in that they started weeks ago, but didn't show up everyday. Very odd. But it got done on time so no complaints. Well. I have one, but I'm not sure it's anyone's fault but mother nature's. The footing looked great when they were done with it:

I walked around in it and it felt great too. But then the rain came. I think because it was so fluffed up, it really soaked up the rain. But not evenly, so some areas wound up a bit sucky, while other parts were fine. It seemed better today at lunch time once the water had a chance to soak through the base, but then in between lunch time and riding time today we got slammed with a big ol' thunder storm complete with downpours and lots of wind. That actually seemed to help somehow, but there were a few spots that were still squishy. But again... I'll get to all that later. Back to the weekend! (Boy am I all over the place today.)

I was up fairly early Sunday to get to the barn. I figured I'd ride everyone over there and just get them settled in at home after. It was a good plan actually. Shiny had an easy ride, though I made sure to really take the time to appreciate the enormous outdoor ring, since mine... isn't so huge. I did Pammon next. 

And remembered a between the ears photo!

He was a good boy too. He's up to 20 minutes trotting and about 8 minutes of cantering. Which, I will tell you, when you're not yet cleared for actual flat work (like circles and leg yields and what not) those times are REALLY long. Especially that 8 minutes of canter. It's kind of like riding a bike on a large circle up hill the whole way around. Definitely time to start coming off the ace! Lol. 

Eros went last, and he was his perfect self. Once he was done, I set to work getting everything packed. Most of the horse sized stuff stayed for Pammon to use. I really don't need any of the things I had there at home, except for my saddles. I don't have duplicates of those, obviously. All of Shiny's things needed to come home though, so I packed everything into tubs to go straight to storage. It was tough trying to cram two lockers worth of stuff into one... but I got it done! The kids loaded up easily, and before I knew it, we were unloading at home! They settled right in and had a nice first night. Eros was a little more excited that I would have preferred for his first turnout Monday morning (Shiny can't be bothered with such nonsense), but he did himself no harm thankfully, and quickly found the hay. 

Peep him in front of the red barn. Shiny is down the hill behind him. This is the view from new craft room. And yes, I was totally stalking. 

I had planned to give them Monday off like they were used to, and I think I am going to try and stick with that Monday off schedule. We'll see how that plays out. Anyway, after work Monday, they enjoyed a relaxing day and I set the jumps up.

In the rain. (Of course it stopped by the time I was done.) Jumps don't set themselves, and it was either that or finish unpacking (and repacking) the trailer. I didn't want my show trunk and other various items I haven't packed in there yet getting wet, so the course it was! (Jokes on me though, it rained so hard today the trunk at the end of the barn wound up soaked anyway. Should have closed that one door at lunch time!

It then rained all night. Ugh. Tuesday (after work of course) I got on Shiny to test the footing. Poor thing is my test subject. Interestingly enough, in the crap sinky, uneven footing she never stumbled. Not once. Apparently, she's more steady on her feet when the footing is bad? Figures. We did very little as I'm not looking to get anyone hurt. I just wanted to get on and see how she'd be. We mostly walked and did a little trot. And tried out the Pivo.

Enjoy the gifs because it's much too late to be dealing with videos.

Pivo is pretty cool, but it likes you on a smallish circle. It kept losing us if we ventured too far away. But I didn't have it in the middle of the ring either, I think that would help. It just wasn't feasible with the mud the other day. We'll try again this weekend hopefully. I may even try to run both that and the Soloshot and have media galore! Time will tell if I get my shit together with all that. *note to self: charge the stuff! For anyone curious, I have the older "red" Pivo. I jumped in when it was still a Kickstarter campaign. (Or whichever platform it was on.) It seems to work almost as well as the silver since the software is the same. 

I was really on the fence about riding Eros in the questionable footing. Ultimately, I decided to get on and just walk. I'm glad I did as he was just fine. And we got a little Pivo footage too, though obviously it was super boring.

When I went out to throw hay at lunchtime today, the footing was looking much better. But as I mentioned earlier we got nailed with a crazy storm right after that.

That went on for about an hour... Oddly enough, I think it rained so hard it packed the sand back down. So most of the ring was actually pretty rideable. Shiny got in a light walk, trot, canter, and Eros got his trotting in too. But for Eros, I skipped one side where I felt it was a little soft. Better safe than sorry. I think once it dries up a good drag should have things back in order. Only problem is apparently the Gator battery is dead and my helper didn't tell me till I asked if he had time to drag the ring. Sigh. I'll hopefully get someone out to replace that this week. Always something, right? #firstworldproblems

You're probably all wondering what Pammon is up to by himself at the boarding barn. I decided to keep him on training board one more month while he weans off the ace and eventually the resurpine. And also while I adjust to having horses at home again. Having him on full training means that on the days I ride, they actually do all the care for me. And on days I can't go, they ride him for me. And it's all included in the full training fee. So my plan after this week is to go ride him early before work. I can get there at 7:30, he'll be all ready for me, and I can hand him off and go straight to work when we're done. I'm not sure if that will still be feasible once I have to go back to the office... They MIGHT want me to shower first... But for now it's a good plan. I'm not the biggest fan of having other people do my horse care for me, but I can only do so much. Three horses in two places is a lot to juggle while also working. Doable. But it's a lot. So while I can have some help, I'm taking advantage of it. My wallet is saying I can't do it too much longer. I do miss that braiding side gig income that I'm not making this year!

Phew. So that brings you all up to speed! TLDR: Company sold, horses home, except Pammon. Rain and mud. Everywhere.

Anyway, how was your week? Is it more of the same, or are you going through a lot of changes too? Are you all staying healthy and safe? CT and RI are the only two states doing okay right now it seems like. I'm hoping we keep that status! Stay safe my friends!

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession? I have no idea how to set jumps and/or trot poles for a large pony. I *think* she's expected to have an 11' stride? I have no idea. I only set one line in the ring. It's a four. Ish. I set it a little short and figured that would be right... If nothing else, it will an exercise in adjustability. Right? Sure.

As for trot poles... I figured I'd ask one of the most knowledgeable bloggers I know:

So we'll have to see how those work out I guess... Ha! Poor Shiny. The other thing I had trouble with? Just setting the course in general. First, I didn't even start with a plan. I just set stuff up as I went along. Never the best way to go about things, but whatever. The real trouble though, is that all of my jumps are meant to be set at 3' and higher. So I had a bunch of rails and fill left over since Shiny is only jumping around 2' right now. I also need to replace standards and get a few more flower boxes. But that's an expense for next year. I think I'm going to stick with the Burlingham jumps from now on. Are they as sturdy as wood? Nope. But since I do all my own course setting, I really do appreciate them being lightweight. Plus the plastic is way less offended when I leave them out all winter and never bother painting them. Pros and cons... gotta weigh 'em!

My other confession? Scared the crap out of myself the other night.... I didn't realize my belt was glow in the dark, and I went into the bathroom where I had lazily left it out and nearly died.

But also, that belt is way more fun now.

Anything you need to confess today? Or have any funny course setting stories?

Thursday's Threads

Outfit Day! We've been in a heat wave this week which here in CT just means it has to hit 90 degrees. They're saying we should stay in the 80's today though. I'm not complaining, I love summer! The humidity has been a little rough though. 

This was Tuesday morning. Today we're down to 51%. Much better!

Anyway, point is, summer clothes are in full effect. So here's what I'm wearing today:

That's right, I'm busting out Cheese balls shirt! Long overdue.

Shirt: I dunno who makes this...

I got this shirt as a Blogger Secret Santa gift from Amanda at 900 Facebook Pony and it's absolutely one of my most favorite things. Ever.  I mean. Look at it! Cheese balls! On a shirt! Also, I have a little cheese balls story. You all remember my excitement when they brought back Cheez Balls right? That first limited rung was exactly as I remembered and SO DELICIOUS! Well, they did decide to keep them in production, but the ones being made now are NOT the same recipe. It's terribly disappointing as the current ones are not very good. Not cool Planters. Not cool.

Belt: (not) Hermes

I got this belt strap from Ebay and it's lovely. Very soft, and I like the ostrich look to the leather. The buckle also came from Ebay and is most likely not even a little authentic. But I like it, and I feel like it classes up my Cheese Balls outfit slightly.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are gray, old school velcro bottoms. I got them on sale awhile ago. 

Arm Party!!!

Lefty:

In keeping with the orange theme, I wore the orange rubber band on the Apple watch and also the orange band for the Fitbit.

Righty:

Righty also went orange with this Hermes bracelet. I love that these clasps are interchangeable so I can wear them with the actual Hermes straps like this one, or I can use some of my own leather. So versatile! 

And that's it for today! Any favorites? I bet it's the shirt. It's amazing. What are you wearing today?

What's Up Wednesday

The equine kids and I have been having all kinds of fun now that we're all back under saddle. Doc wants to keep Eros in super light work for awhile, so we're still trotting four long sides and walking ten minutes. I'm not really sure when we add more... doc just said to keep going with that for now. Which is fine with me, I'll take what I can get! 

Pammon is up to as much trotting as we'd like (we usually do 15 minutes) and three laps each direction of the gigantic outdoor at the canter. Which... is actually a lot of canter. Especially given we are not yet cleared for any kind of circles or lateral work. Just round and round we go. He's been great, though is still under the influence of meds to keep him calm. He just has so much energy, we have to be careful with that leg still. 

Shiny has been doing really well. We had a lesson on Friday, and she jumped over some scary fill as well as through a line. It was set as a four to four for horses, but I held her for the five to five since the fences were small and she's a pony. I don't want her running for the horse strides. Maybe when she's more experienced, but for now, I prefer the add. We have a A LOT of work to do, but it's been really fun to get her jumping. I'm sad I have no media though.

She was exhausted Saturday after her lesson the day before. Plus the night turnout seems to keep her especially quiet. So on Sunday, I decided to give her an easy day. We tacked up and walked around the big field, and then another boarder joined us for a short trail ride. I hadn't had her on the trails before, and she was completely perfect. 

I really love this pony. Definitely one of my best questionable decisions to date.

I've gotten the stalls set up at home, and just need to throw some shavings down. I'm planning to bring Shiny and Eros home Sunday and I am SO EXCITED to have horses at home again!

Though I will kind of miss the giant ring and access to trails at the boarding barn. Pammon is staying there for now though, so I probably could ship Shiny over sometimes to play. 

Eros and Pammon are still on small paddock day turnout, and they may miss each other too.

Took the truck out for a ride this weekend and promptly got stuck behind a car fire for 45 minutes. Always the way, right?

Hey, at least I know it's running! And hopefully it's ready to haul the kids home. I'll get it fueled and hooked up on Saturday and then Sunday once the horses are home, I can get the rest of the show stuff packed in there. Just checking things off the to do list! Love that feeling.

I also made some Chex mix this weekend and proceeded to eat all of it in like three days. Delicious. Guess I'll have to make more this weekend.

In quarantine news, CT is slowly opening things up but I really haven't gone or done anything. I'll let everyone else be the guinea pigs. BUT I did go to my dad's for Father's Day. We had hot dogs and burgers outside and my brother and his family were there also. It was nice to see everyone. We're all being very safe, so hopefully no negative consequences to gathering together! Fingers crossed.

The barn mates went to their first horse show on Sunday and said it went well. It was hot wearing masks, but they said it felt safe and was really nice to get back out there. I'll probably wait until next year. Shiny has a lot of work to do before showing anyway. 

That's about it from here! How was your week/weekend? Are things open and are you doing them? Or laying low still?

Truthful Tuesday

I have a couple confessions today, but none are particularly horse related. First up:

I apparently hate sunscreen? Like why would I think it's smart to wear a tank top to the barn on a weekend morning and not wear some kind of sun protection? Why? I have no idea. But um. Ouch. I will guarantee to you that I will not remember this next time either.

Second:

My age is showing big time. Hair salons have recently reopened here, but I'm not feeling ready for that. Or I really wasn't until I snapped this pic of my braid and was like whoa. I really am 40. I'm still not planning to schedule a hair appointment just yet, though my sister in law knows someone that will come to my house and cut it outside. Not sure if she can dye outside... but I think it could work if I put a longer hose on the wash stall spigot.... that could reach to the driveway. Or maybe I'll just let it go and see what I look like with gray hair? No. Not doing that.

Oh bonus confession! Whilst shopping the interwebs for the best deal on double end snaps, I discovered that there is a company that apparently only sells on Amazon that makes GREEN ones! BUT, they're like $7 each which is ridiculous because I'd need like 30 of them. I have not bought them, much as I want to, but I feel like I probably will at some point in a moment of weakness. I want them for the horse show buckets and stall guards. My question is, why am I like this?? That's the most wasteful purchase ever. Regular old snaps that are like a dollar and change work superbly. And yet, I can't stop thinking about green snaps. There really is something wrong with me.

Do you have anything you need to confess today? 

Thursday's Threads

Outfit day again! The days are just flying by. Summer always seems to do that, doesn't it? Anyway, I'm wearing riding clothes to work again. Ugh, I'm going to miss that when we go back to the office!

I went with a Covid/grunge hybrid theme today. I think we're at the point where we can joke a little bit. I mean, it's for sure not funny, but you gotta keep your sense of humor.

Shirt: Some targeted ad from Facebook

Most of you are probably too young to know who Kurt Cobain was... He was a musical genius who killed himself in the early 90's. It was tragic. But he and his band Nirvana had a song called Smells like Teen Spirit and one of the lines in the song was "I feel stupid and contagious".  Someone put that on a shirt and I bought it. Appropriate for the times no?

Belt: Levi

Nirvana was a big part of the grunge era. The style was flannel shirts, ripped jeans, and a fair amount of metal. So this belt seems appropriate. Plus, I definitely got it in the 90's. I bought it one summer when I was showing in VT at the Levi's outlet up there.

Breeches: Tredstep

Tredstep breeches have nothing to do with grunge. But they're black, so they fit right in for today's outfit.

Socks: Dreamers & Schemers

I bought these FU Covid socks along with the matching mask. If you're going to suffer through a pandemic, you may as well be matchy about it. Anyway, these aren't grunge era either, but they go along with being contagious.

Arm Party!

Lefty:

Spikes were more 80's punk, but they did carry over and get adopted by the grunge era. So I went with spikes for lefty.

Righty:

These flatter pyramid studs were more in line with the grunge era. You would see these studs on the belts of grunge wearers frequently. They also made their way into skater style later in the decade.

I hope you enjoyed your history lesson today! Any favorites? What are you wearing?

What's Up Wednesday

The weeks are all kind of the same now a days aren't they? I'm not complaining, I like routine. But we did one exciting thing this week... Shiny had her first lesson since December! We didn't do the whole thing since she hasn't jumped in so long, but we did the flat section and then hopped over a handful of crossrails. She was perfect! As of late, I've abandoned working on getting her round and lifting her back. We've solely been trying to get the forward buttons working. She's much happier, and has been listening a lot better to the go aids. (After she's warmed up that is... she still comes out and give me a lovely western pleasure jog.) Obviously, I don't plan to let her go around with her head in the clouds forever, but I think she needed to build up some strength first. 

But back to the lesson... I rode with a really nice lady that's just started riding again after a long hiatus and one of the younger kids that boards at the barn. They both jump around 2'3" and are doing what I'd call early intermediate level flat work. So we did have to do some posting trot without stirrups (so much harder on a pony!) and we even tried some baby leg yielding. Shiny was great moving right to left, but not as good left to right. This surprises me none as she loves to pop her left shoulder and fall that way. (We have a lot to work on.) And then we moved on to jumping! The first one Shiny backed off a tiny bit and then popped up high over, but after that she was perfectly level about the whole thing. It was so tempting to do more, but I don't want to push things. We're in no hurry and can take our time for sure. So that was lots of fun.