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!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Sorry for disappearing last week. Prepping for that sale was WAAAYYY more work than I expected. But got it all done, and sold a BUNCH of stuff. I have a few things left still, which will be going up on Facebook in bits and pieces probably after I get the horses moved for the winter. 

Anyway, today's confession? I very impulsively listed a bunch of blue blankets on Facebook ahead of the sale. Not because I wanted less things to bring with me (though that would have been a nice side effect) but I literally did it as a knee jerk reaction. To what you ask? Something that surprised me not even a little bit, but still irked me. 

So I was asked by a friend of mine to braid her lovely horse for New England Equitation Championships. This horse lives at my previous winter barn. I had a feeling though, that once they knew I wasn't returning, I would probably lose the job. And then I did. Not my friend's decision obviously, and I absolutely knew it would turn out that way. But still it bothered me some. Mostly because I could really use the cash. But also, it's just kind of ick ya know? So my knee jerk reaction was to try and find new homes for everything navy in my collection. I didn't get it all moved yet, but another friend of mine is coming Saturday to hopefully buy a bunch of what's left. I have no idea what to do with all my "team" outerwear though. Donate it I guess? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Oh man. Guys. Today's confession? Is that I have SEVERELY underestimated the amount of extra crap I have for horses. SEVERELY. I thought I could spend a Monday getting it all priced and organized for the tack sale on Sunday. Um. Yeah. I barely made a dent. This is embarrassing. The bright side is that I have cleaned out all the trunks in the barn, and went through everything in the shed pretty much, so that's something. But I've only managed to price tag the blue blankets and one tub of green sheets so far. I think I'm going have some priced bins (like a $2 bin, a $5 bin, etc) so that will cut down on having to sticker every single thing. But still. There's a lot left to do. I didn't get to any of it today because I have the saddle fitter coming tomorrow, so I had to clean and condition the saddles so it at least looks like I take excellent care of them... Plus you know, ride the horses, groom them, etc. Tuesday is also horse laundry day. 

Tomorrow will still be a busy day in the barn since the we have the fitter coming and then will still have to ride everyone. But I figure Rita and I can spend our evening in the barn tomorrow and get some work done on the pricing. I also need to figure out how I'll get everything to the sale. I'm not sure it will all fit in one trip in my truck (I have a short bed on mine, so not as much space). I'm good at Tetris though. So I'll make it happen. Not sure this place is horse trailer friendly, but that could be an option too. 

Anyway, part two of my confession is that I probably won't post the rest of the week on here. I might. But not much is really going on, so it's a good week to dedicate to other things.

If any of you guys need anything (still have lots of blankets, bitless bridles, wraps, saddle pads...) message me on one of the socials or email me, and I'll see if I have what you need! Anything I can get sold before the sale would be SUPER!

Thursday's Threads: The one with my favorite color

 

Glitter. That's my favorite color. And today, we wore glitter. Okay, actually I took outfit photos yesterday because I knew today would be winter. And it was. There were many layers today. But yesterday there were fewer, so we'll use that outfit. Eros modeled today and he looked fabulous. FABULOUS! But he was upstaged tonight by the northern lights. So I interrupt this outfit day with some photos of the magical sky:

This looks like a heart to me

I've never seen anything like it. The Iphone photos are a little more impressive than what we could see with human eyes, but even what we could see was incredible. What a year for cool stuff in the sky!

 

Okay, back to our regular programming. Here's what Eros wore this week:

I know. You don't see the glitter yet. Be patient. You will. 

Bridle: Ponyo

There it is! There's the glitter! ALL over the bridle. This thing is so ridiculous, and I love it so much. The reins also have glitter. Even on the hand stops! 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes

Saddle Pad: Eskadron

Okay, well you can't really see the glitter in this photo. But the pad has a glitter layer underneath the mesh outer layer. It doesn't photograph well, but it does glisten in the sun. I kind of like that's is semi subtle ridiculousness.

Wraps: Ponyo

I had forgotten I'd gotten the polos when I bought the bridles and boots, and I was so happy with past me when I found them this week! I prefer Eros wear wraps versus boots these days. 

That's what E had on, and here's my outfit:

Oh fear not. There's more glitter. You'll see.

Helmet: Horze

There's some! Up there on the helmet! I love the color of the helmet, and especially the glitter part. But I don't wear it that much because it's a bit rounder than my head. But as long as I leave my hair down it's not too bad. 

Shirt: FitEq

I like these FitEq tops. I'm disappointed they've gone out of business, was hoping they'd do new colors this year. 

Belt: Tory Burch

I don't have a green glitter belt. I did spray paint a buckle but it hasn't held up well. So I decided to match the piping on the saddle pad to my belt today. Metallic gold is always a strong second choice to glitter.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I rarely reach for these breeches because they're a size smaller than my usual size and I always thing they'll be too tight. But now that I ride three horses a day instead of four or five (and sometimes just two when Shiny's kid comes!) I think I've lost some muscle mass as these are fitting quite well suddenly. I certainly haven't lost any weight. But it's nice to know I can reach for these more often anyway!

Boots: Tuffrider embellished by me

You guys remember when life got real weird there for awhile and the whole world shutdown, and I started painting boots? These were one of those pairs! They're still going pretty strong. Some of the paint has worn off on the part by the zipper up the back. But otherwise it still looks pretty great!

And that's it for today! What do you think about the glitter? Too much, or just enough?

What's Up Wednesday

 

This time of year always feels kind of weird and off kilter to me. There's just a lot of things to do and plan for. Mostly little things, but they add up, ya know? So it's like busy, but only kind of? Know what I mean?

The horses have had a lot going on lately too, as we talked about, some of them had injections a few weeks ago, and then last week was fall shots and teeth. We had the chiro out yesterday. So they are feeling great! Just in time for the temperature drop... Lol! They've been a little spicy. 

We've also started transitioning to a new feed. The new winter barn feeds Proelite senior which is what I have been wanting to try for the boys for awhile now. So I'm excited about that. Al LOVES it. He generally picks at his food a bit. It's usually gone by the next feeding, but he doesn't gobble it down like the other two fatties. Well. Not anymore. Now he eats everything and licks the bowl clean. Very happy about that!

We haven't really done much jumping the last couple of weeks. The weather has been a little on and off, which keeps foiling plans. I'm hoping maybe tomorrow, but it's supposed to be pretty windy, which isn't ideal this time of year. Between the leaves fallimg, the pine trees pelting us with needles, and the neighbor with his constant "yard work"... I have to plan carefully when it's safest to jump these wild warmbloods. Even Shiny has been spooking at the neighbor this week. So anyway, let's talk about the horses. 

We'll start with Al because he's always the most interesting. He's been really edgy lately. On high alert much of the time, even in his stall. Lots of snorting. Not getting a lot done in our rides. I finally had enough and texted my vet to ask him if he thought it was possible the ulcers had returned already. And he said very possible. Fortunately, it was Friday and he was just down the road at my old winter barn. So I could pick up some Misoprostol right away rather than having to wait for it to ship and arrive next week. Guys. I was kinda scared to go over there. Okay, VERY scared. I did it though. Cause Al needed it. I hope he appreciates it! 

By Saturday afternoon, once he'd had two doses he was a new man. Thank goodness! I'm frustrated that he's in this position again, but very glad the meds are working. Also, I would have absolutely been ejected on Sunday if he wasn't already feeling better. Here's what happened. I was on Al, walking down the long side toward the barn. Well Al had noticed something moving in the bushes. I expected it to be a bird or squirrel, but no, it was the neighbor. He was retrieving a stick or something? I dunno. All sorts of creepy. Anyway, he gets whatever he was picking out of the bushes, and then proceeds to SHAKE A PLASTIC BAG OPEN right next to poor Al. I thought he was going to just check out right there. And he did get worked up. But all he did was throw his head in the air and dance a little jig. It took a few minutes to get him settled back down, but he DID settle, and then he went back to work and finished the ride. Had that happened earlier in the week, our ride would have had to just be finished. Of course now he's VERY SUSPICIOUS of that area, but we're working on it. Today, despite the wind and all his worries, he never actually spooked. He broke gait a few times and gave some good stares, but the dragon breaths didn't happen, and he never fully spooked. Like no steps sideways, no propping, no running away. Which is more than I can say for either of his siblings today!

I'm not sure if the neighbor has just been absolutely torturing the horses during their turnout or what this week, but they are ALL suspicious of him. Shiny spooked at him twice today and he really wasn't even doing anything. They're all especially distrustful when they see him lately. Might just be because the leaves are falling so they can see him better now? I'm not sure. Regardless, it's pretty annoying. 

Shiny's kid was busy this week, so I got to jump my own pony on Friday! It was fun and she was great. I haven't gotten to try her over jumps since she got her hocks done, and she's definitely feeling so much better. I still wasn't thrilled with her left lead canter, but her chiro found what I was feeling and got that fixed for me. She felt fantastic today. We really love our chiro vet. AND my new winter barn is actually closer for her, so that's exciting. I have confirmation from almost all of our care team now that they can come to the new place. I haven't talked to my farrier yet, but he's due out in the next week or two. And he travels literally everywhere, so I can't imagine it will be an issue with him. I haven't yet reached out to any trainers because I just can only handle so many things at a time. But I have been thinking on it, and I have a few options to reach out to when I'm ready. I'll probably wait until we get settled at the new place. 

I had a Pivo malfunction the one day I took it out for our rides when it came time for Eros' turn. So he doesn't have any pretty riding pictures this week. Maybe next! I did pop him over two or three tiny jumps on Friday, but I think he was still feeling sore from his shots as he was very quiet. Never even considered being a torpedo. It was lovely, but I quit after just a few because I don't make horses do hard things when their necks hurt. Depending on how ridiculous the wind is tomorrow, maybe we'll try again. If not? We'll pick another day! If he's as sassy as today though, there will be much torpedo action I'm sure. 

In other news, I decided that I can't stand looking at the navy stuff I have for the horses because to quote the kids these days, it's pretty triggering. The new barn doesn't care what the horses wear, and actually their colors are almost the same as mine, so I'm planning to use things I already have for the most part. I wanted some new turnouts for them, especially the heavies because my "heavies" here are more like mediums since we haven't wintered here in so long. So I placed an order today for those and decided to just get matching turnout sheets too. I wasn't going to, but we had a weird torrential rain storm Monday morning and our current turnout sheets did not keep the horses dry. So eh. Might as well treat ourselves. I've started selling off some of the blue stuff, so it should all end up getting paid for that way. I'm planning to spend this coming Monday both getting partially packed up for winter, and then also tagging all the stuff I'm bringing to the tag sale in a couple weeks. I have so much stuff that needs to get out of my barn and shed. Hope it all sells. 

I also ordered some containers for supplements/meds. The new barn likes for us boarders to measure them out so all they have to do is dump one thing into the bucket. Which I honestly prefer because I can be sure they're getting their supplements, and then also I have only myself to blame if I run out of something. I've been spending far too much time and energy figuring out what size containers each horse needs, and then also was trying to figure out the best drawer situation to keep them in. I actually found the best thing for them. I wanted something with seven drawers (each day of the week) but most were five. I settled on one with nine drawers. 

So anyway, I'm going to label a drawer for each day of the week, and then the supplement containers will go in there. Easy peasy for everyone! I also got labels with each horses name and either breakfast or dinner under it to put on the containers. I like things to be very clear and also very easy. I feel like it can't get much easier or more clear than this. Hopefully I don't come across as the psycho controlling helicopter owner... Heh. Possibly guilty. 

The other thing I wound up buying for the move was a Stanley trunk. I realize using the expensive trunk from the other barn seems to make the most financial sense, but the trunk room at the new barn is upstairs. And the show trunk is very heavy. So the Stanley just makes the most sense. They aren't very expensive and more storage is never a bad thing either. 

Okay, last thing that I find exciting though maybe it's just me... I got in touch with an old friend from high school who works with his family at a company that does vinyl wrapping. Like for boats and cars. And they're able to wrap the former barn trunk for around $200. Which, is pretty reasonable since getting new panels for it would be almost $1000. I'm waiting to hear back from them to finalize things, but it's going to end up being in my colors with my logo. We'll see how it comes out. Might not be nice enough to take to shows, but I think it will look pretty decent. I have a show trunk anyway, so I don't need it for that. I just would like it to look nice in my barn. My oldest trunks from the barn where I grew up riding are brown and tan, so they already pretty much match. If this one comes out great with the wrapping, maybe down the road I'll do those too. But we'll see about that much in the future.

I think that's it from here. If any of you need blankets or Two Horse Tack halters, or pretty much anything else you can think up, let me know! I might have what you need! 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Alright, I have to confess this. It does lead one to question what kind of a person I truly am.... But still. It must be shared. So the other day, a new notification popped up my phone that said something to the effect of teen dies after eating burrito bowl. Now the proper response is probably something like how terrible! Or what was in that bowl?! But you know what my first thought was? "Ohh burrito bowl! That sounds good!"

Yeah. I know. Something ain't right up in here. 

On another note, and perhaps mildly more appropriate give the state of the weather in this country... I hope all of my friends down in Florida are in a safe place to ride out this storm. Please don't be heroes, get to a safe place! Thinking of all of you, and hoping for the best for you all. 

Thursday's Threads: Pink Edition (Seriously. There's a lot of pink.)

 

Outfit Day! And it was time for every shade of pink I could scrounge up. Al was our model again this week because pink really isn't Eros' color, and Shiny is using the hunt scene saddle pad that we shared recently. Anyway, let's see what he was wearing today:

I think he looks handsome in pink. And also, I think we have to watch his hay intake... I spy a hay belly developing. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

I didn't embarrass him with anything silly on his bridle this week. Maybe next week though... We'll see. 

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Stephens

Saddle Pad: Wilkers

My mom got me this pad for my birthday and she's the real hero here. You all haven't seen this one yet, but I have the same pad in brown that you have seen. I really like these pads. They are relatively light weight, don't bunch, shift, nor slide, and come in a variety of color combinations. You get to customize it when you order and they ship super fast. They aren't overly expensive either. I definitely would recommend.

Boots: Uhlane

Last week you saw the tan version of these, but I also got these pink ones when I ordered the others last year. They really are nice boots, and are pretty affordable too. They come in normal colors like black and navy as well.

That's what Al was wearing, and now it's my turn to share a million more shades of pink. Here's what I had on today:

I wasn't kidding. None of these pinks are the same. 

Helmet: Samshield

I know what you're thinking. "Why didn't she wear the pink helmet??" Well, to be honest, that helmet is SO uncomfortable. And I wasn't in the mood to be uncomfortable today. So I chose my plain black Samshield for today. One of my old barnmates decorated it for me with black rhinestones along the channel and some green ones on the shield. 

Shirt: TKEQ

Awhile back I was buying something or other that one of the horses needed and the place I was shopping had this shirt on closeout. So I do actually have one of these tops that is name brand and not from Amazon! And honestly? It's exactly the same as the Amazon version except that this one has a logo on the arm. 

Belt: Mane Jane

Yes, I could have worn a pink strap, but even I have limits guys! I liked the white for this outfit.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman in Old Rose

My favorite TS consignment shop had these in my size and I irresponsibly bought them before I even thought about it. I should not have. I did not really have the cash. But here we are. I've already worn them more times than I can count though, so I guess it was worth it? I love this shade of pink. 

Boots: Celeris UK

I still love these boots. I'm not sure I love them as much as the cow print ones... It's hard to top those. But they are up there on the favorites list for sure. They're just so comfortable! These were also my old measurements, so the calf is a hair loose, but not too bad. 

And that's it for this week! Did you know this many shades of pink exist? I know! It's shocking! And pretty ridiculous. But I love it!