Where We're At, Right Meow Style

So much going on, so little time. Needless to say, Ms. ZS Zoëbird has been completely fabulous. We have:

Acquired a sheet

Acquired a cooler (with a more fancy one on the way--anyone up for sacrificing a virgin to USPS so they'll start delivering to my house again?)

Played outfits (a lot, clearly)

We've been riding too. Nothing huge or ground breaking, but it's really fun because Zoë learns from day to day and the ride on her changes accordingly.


Since our last check in, I'd say she's more forward and more consistent in the bridle and has gotten more comfortable seeking the contact from time to time.

Are you feeling nimbly bimbly?

You Would NOT BELIEVE the Thing I Did at the Barn

Winter is coming, yo. As a working ammy, that means riding in the dark and cold and being short on time and needing to make the best of it. 

Normally, I'm pretty heads up about getting ready--I have blankets professionally washed and prepped before summer and I'm super organized.

that is not a clean blanket

But.

Rehoming Courage meant not putting much effort into dealing with his gear. Then getting Zoe meant lots of trying things on and shuffling things around and buying new things annnnnnd the net result of that is that it basically looked like a hoarder exploded in my tack area and "my tack area" was becoming a majority percentage of a generously-esized (shared) tack room.

First things first.

I'd sort of tried a single blanket on Zoe a month or so back and squinted through the fingers I put over my eyes and was like "yeah maybe that'll work", but since winter is legit going to happen, it was time to find out if it would work or not.

yeah no

Courage was a 78" horse that had to spend a lot of time in 81" blankets because I already owned them and homeboy could deal. Zoebird is an 81" horse (right now) who really and truly doesn't fit in 78"s. Fortunately, my 81"s are pretty clean still because they got less use. The 78"s might be finding new homes.

81 is ok. she won't grow, right?

Then there was the slight issue of "someone exploded in the tack room". 

It probably took me a good hour and a half, but I trimmed stuff in the tack room down to the bare essentials in my trunk. 

a clean trunk always makes me think of the preternaturally organized Carly

I cleaned the trunk itself and reorganized what's actually in there so I can find/see it. I cut back to ONE set of boots, ONE set of polos, two helmets, and grooming kit essentials, plus ONE cooler and then I was even able to fit the wash bucket and clippers in the trunk instead of leaving them on the floor. 

And then... 

I wish I had a before pic for you. 

uh actually this was before it got really out of hand
plus you can't see the saddle rack(s)

I had a giant pile of saddle pads, two saddles, a ripped up neck cover, and god knows what else strewn across three saddle racks in complete disorder. Not including the strap goods explosion. 

And now we have this:

tidy

That's right. One saddle (the one that fits), the saddle pads I use with it, one girth, one breastcollar, one dressage bridle, one toodle bridle. And my lunge line. 

Everything else was neatly cleaned off, hauled home, and packed away for the winter. I'm not getting rid of it, but I need it not to be collecting dust and stressing me out at the barn for the next couple months. 

Bet you didn't see that coming. 

Teach Me Tuesday: Blanketing

wild horses!

It was 19f here this morning (nicely below zero for you Celsius peeps), which means it is officially blanketing season. I used to be a a fancy, full-training type barn with 2-3x daily blanket changes and full body-clipped horses, so it wasn't much of a thing.

But our current barn is less hands-on (and hella cheaper. not complaining).

prisoner says 19f is poo

If I were less serious about riding, I could probably let Courage run around blanket free. But. He hates being groomed, LOVES getting dirty, and is in pretty hard work, which means clipping is critical to keep him comfortable. I'm trying to work a compromise with a partial clip for the present, so his blanketing is flexible, then will hopefully full clip in January.

But there are so many ways to handle this situation. How are you blanketing this year (or at all)?

Barn Visit in Pictures

Step one: tie wet horse in stall with cooler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step two: hang blanket to dry in tackroom

Step three: get goodies out of my awesome trunk

Step four: leg protection!

Step five: admire how awesome horse looks

Step six: ride

Step seven: gratuitous sexy ass shots

STOP LOOKIN AT MI BUM

New Horizons

If you keep up with my facebook or instagram, you've probably noticed all the cute snow pictures lately. I mean, how could anyone resist:

Lewis the Corgi!

Chaucer the beagle!

Chekov the bonus dog! (Thanks Jess!)

it isn't even sort of melty

There are even some cute Courage pics flying around (as if there ever weren't).

In case it wasn't clear--I don't live in a "winter" place. It is a totally freak thing that we got 8 inches of snow in mid-November and then the temps dropped below zero. It should still be riding weather for at least another few weeks.

But it's not.

And I'm shutting down on a level I haven't done before. I'm totally reconciled to the idea of taking month or six weeks off in the winter, but the idea of not riding until February or March makes me die on the inside, and that's the way it goes in winters like this.

Happy Holidays since it's apparently that time of year here

I'm sure you cold weather folks think I'm a wuss, but when the overnight temps are single digits and the day time highs are mid twenties and we're not going to see the arena again until February (at the earliest), well, I just can't do it. There is nothing in me that even wants to.

I don't know if I'm older or burned out from the last two incredibly horrible winters or what, but something in me just snapped last weekend.

I called up the riding instructor I grew up with who now has a lovely facility that's not too far from my house (but in the opposite direction of my current barn) and an indoor arena. She had one spot left and I snagged it.

SHARK FACE

I have really mixed emotions. I absolutely love our barn and the people are second to none. I will definitely miss it. That said, I'm going from one good place to another--the BO at the new barn was my second mom growing up and a dressage instructor, so Courage and I will take some lessons and ride inside and while it's still completely frigid, at least I'll get to keep progressing.

Deep breath.

I'm half tempted to start a countdown to the indoor.

Winter is Coming/Ok FINE it's here and I hate it

cray cray

So yeah. Remember how it was all 70f and sunny and perfect and I was having all the pony adventures? Since like.. ever?

Well that's over with.

Cold front rolled in yesterday. I was at the barn Wednesday morning and it was 19f and windy and horrid and OH MY GOD NO I'M NOT READY FOR THIS.

Courage is, though. I had all his blankets clean, organized, and ready to go. He's rocking his new smartpak deluxe with the neck and has another one in the wings waiting to go on him.

yay water frozen on my coat

I also have winter clothes. I knew I'd have to break them out eventually, but I was thinking we could wait til like Thanksgiving maybe? Something?

In case you were at all unclear on this topic:

I.

Hate.

Winter.

I don't ski. I don't snowshoe. I don't like being cold. I appreciate that my lack of an indoor allows my horse a nice, long winter break and helps his mind and body relax, but if I could figure out a way to be warm year round, I'd do it in a heartbeat.


At least I have this to look back at.

I mean, as long as you completely ignore my position (sorry), Courage looks pretty kick ass. We've been working really har don our lesson homework, and I'm thrilled with how quickly both Courage and I were improving.

Farrier is out next week, so I'll have to decide whether I want to shoe one more round and cross my fingers it's not real winter yet, or just pull them and be done with it.

Part of me really wants to ride. The other part is like 9f isn't riding weather! (That's -22 to you Cannucks.)

So. We'll see how much tougher I get between now and Wednesday. Also how much snow we get.

WHY IS THAT A THING GO AWAY SNOW.

Fun and Pictures

Ok, first things first. Y'all should go to Riley's blog and enter the amazing sweet contest. If you're poor like me from having two horses, guess what? You can make two entries! I've sent in my first entry, but need a suitable picture for the second. It's super fun and the prizes are incredible. Check it out!!

Adorable rockstar

Second things second: due to it apparently now being fall, Mr Courage debuted his fist blanket since I've owned him.

How can a snuggly warm horse not just make you happy? He was pefectly quiet about the whole thing and not the least bit concerned. I did halter him to put it on, since you just never know.

Now I know. Rockstar. As usual.





I have a list of blog posts to write this week (hello review time), but I just wanted to share some fun shots today.

We are trying out a new saddle and I am practicing jumping with my butt staying out of the saddle on the back side so that he can use his hind end effectively.

What can I say? Defensive habits die hard. Those of you who were around last fall remember that I was working on this same concept with Cuna before... well, the shit storm that was this year.

Why jump when you can trot?

Regardless, we are making progress and the little dude was great.

Also once I got out of the saddle, he got really bored of wee cross rails. He's totally got the idea of jumping now, so there is no funny wiggliness to the fence, but he wasn't impressed enough to do more than trot over them after the first try.

First time over the wee x

Onwards and upwards! This week I plan to move the jumps to new places in the arena and make the crossrails more impressive. Maybe we'll get really crazy and jump some tiny verticals if I can get my position under control and my stirrups short enough.

Sure is fun having things to work towards and seeing actual progress. I feel like we're squeezing as much in as possible before the weather totally nosedives. Everyone else loving fall?

Rubber Meets the Road

I am fond of getting clothes for my horse. Most anyone can tell you that within 30 seconds of me starting to talk about him. As frivolous as it might seem, it actually has an immensely practical side, too.

I call this his 'bambi face'. So glad I got a pic.

Here's Cuna after our ride this morning. We did a 40 minute trot set in the hills, capped off by galloping up our favorite stretch and speed walking down the backside. Thanks to his rocking TB recovery rate, his respiration was completely normal by the time we got back to the barn. However, he was still damp with sweat. He's growing in a winter coat (that I can't wait to clip off) and it was barely 50f outside, so way too cold to hose him off outside.

I love this horse

Enter shopping win!! I pulled his tack off, threw on an irish knit I scored off of FB a few weeks ago, and let him finish his breakfast in peace while I did chores. When I came to get him for a quick grooming to take any sweat marks off, he was dozing in the sun, dry and warm.

Perfect.





PS Have I mentioned how badly I want to clip him? He has like .25" of hair and it's KILLING ME to have to deal with it. I like my horses bald.

Ebay Spoils

This seems ironic, but it really isn't. I swear.

I know I posted yesterday about living on a budget and being poor from here until indefinitely, but the week before all this went down, I had a little bit of paypal money stashed away that I spent on upgrading Cuna's wardrobe. In a funny twist of fate, most everything ended up on my doorstep yesterday, right after I was telling my husband about how I couldn't even buy myself icecream for a long time.

Anyways. We are started along the process of getting equipped for winter on a budget. Cuna needed a nice irish knit sheet for trailering to local shows and wearing in his stall after a workout when it's brisk. I rounded one up on a facebook tack exchange group (they exist!) for $25 shipped. It's an 84" and he's definitely only an 81", but these things shrink like crazy and I was buying lightly used.

Of course he is posing today

My gamble paid off. The 84" fits absolutely perfectly. I was concerned the neck might be too large and create a pressure point behind his withers, but it fits like a glove. Excellent!

Now, you might be saying, "But SB!! The irish knit is cotton and cotton doesn't wick moisture. Aren't you all into science-y blankets and boots and whatnot??"

To you, I say this: You are correct. Cotton is very absorbent and non-wicking. It shrinks like a son of a gun. However, A) It is standard-issue for our barn, so we'll blend in B) It is not a long term use sort of thing--it is never on the horse for more than 30-45 minutes C) It is super easy to wash, which makes is more sanitary D) It is wicked cute on Cuna E) Have I mentioned I'm poor? Magic blankets cost $$$ that I can't spend right now.

That brings up to item #2. Cuna needed a lightweight sheet. I was given one last spring, but it isn't waterproof. This works better than you would think for Cuna; his old owner called him "Kitty" due to his thoughts on water. That said, we're rapidly approaching the rainy season and the old sheet was trying hard to die.

I snagged a great deal from fellow blogger Me, who has a giant chestnut TB gelding who is trying to grow up and be Cuna. (NOTED: If you don't read Charlie's blog, you should. He is like baby Cuna and I <3 him!) She was retiring one of Charlie's rain sheets and sent it my way. It definitely has more life left in it than the dying green one we already had.

Never compromise on a quality halter. Too cute!

Plus it is way cute and Cuna and fits perfectly. Hooray internet friends!

All I have left to come up with (by mid to late November) is a medium weight blanket and neck cover. I already have a liner. We're getting close!!

We're also pretending we're rich, which is silly. I am hopeful that I'll be able to sort out the financial situation fairly soon. Failing that, y'all will get to learn how tack whores make it happen with no time and no budget and a pony who needs only the best. :D

Really, what would the fun be in having enough money? I'd miss out on all this crazy pony shopping and just buy appropriate things new and pay too much for them. Insanity! As much as I'd like the financial freedom to just order crap from Dover and never think twice about getting gouged, the truth is that I really do enjoy the process of bargain hunting when it comes to horsey supplies.