Trials of Owning an Equine Supermodel

Not infrequently, I get asked by people how it is I have so many gorgeous pictures of Courage all the time. 

As tempting as it is to just bust out, "because I'm a bloody amazing photographer, bitches!" the truth is that Courage is a natural model. He's really, really, really ridiculously good looking and it's all the freaking time. That poses some natural challenges for me, his human accompaniment. Here is a list of some of them.

1) I'm not a super model. 

Unlike Courage, I have lumps and bad hair days and sometimes, my outfit just isn't cutting it. 

one of us is killing it

I mean, I love my hoodie and I'm fine with spending more time dressing C than myself every day of the week, but it does make for some unflattering contrasts. 

2) Everywhere we go, he gets recognized. 

I mean. It's fine. I know I'm his primary admirer and I'm the one who makes him famous, but basically every time the horse goes out in public, I hear "ooooooh look that's Courage". 

he always makes a splash

Do you know how many times I have been recognized in public? One. 

3) He requires an extensive wardrobe. 

You ordinary, average horse just wears whatever and nobody notices. 

yes more than one fully custom bridle

Courage is just so eye-catching and distinctive that I have a public duty to keep him in a steady lineup of finery. 

4) He needs more out of photographers. 

With Courage, I don't need some out-of-focus ass shot from that awkward moment in trot where it looks like the horse has two legs as sad proof of his existence. 

No. I need a PHOTOGRAPHER, someone who has high standards, excellent taste, and an eye for magic. Oh, and they have to like us enough that I can afford them, since all-out, pro-level photo shoots are just not in the budget every week.

5) It never stops. 

I can get all dolled up and look cute for a couple hours (hey, be nice), but then I revert to normal, you know? I think Carhartts are a good fashion statement. 

hullo fabulous

Whether Courage has pro lighting and accompaniment or he's just standing in his stall waiting for me to get my act together, he looks amazing. Like. Knock it off already. 

just posing like nbd

I don't have tips to make your horse a supermodel--I'm pretty sure it's just a genetic thing that makes Courage the way he is. I can say that if your horse doesn't spend his free time practicing showing off his best angles, thank your lucky stars. It's harder to get a good picture, but easier to look like you belong together.

Help a Sister Out!

Most of you are probably familiar with Alyssa--not only is she one of my best friends, she's also eventer and artist extraordinaire. Her amazing mare Bacon went and racked up some vet bills, so Alyssa is offering really cool custom art pieces at a fantastic price.

I have a painting Alyssa did of my old man Cuna and let me tell you, she really captures the essence of her subjects.

You might also recognize Bobby:

Or Racing to Ride's Beefheart.

Alyssa also does really cool captures of dogs. And she kicks ass at photography, but unless you're local, I'm not loaning her out.

content yourself with this awesome dog pic
I learned it's called "mixed media"

It's a really cool way to commemorate a special horse or dog in your life or a friend, it helps out a really great person, and really, what other incentive do you need? ;-)

I mean, no pressure, but if you're interested in an awesome custom portrait, there's no time like the present.

Tack Ho Memoir: My Favorite Bridles

As blogger Emma pointed out, every time I give y'all a tack room tour, the major bridle players have changed. That fact is as true as ever. HOWEVER. 

I hardly even dare say this, but my collection is starting to find a little stability.

It started with my jump bridle. I had a few different things, none of which I was really happy with. I got a Nunn Finer Figure eight bridle as the result of a trade with a friend when I first got Courage. I ride Courage in a standing martingale pretty regularly, so I swapped the figure eight for a custom race noseband from Ocala Tack Shack (in blue with diamond cutouts, because obviously) and then added in my amazing team spirit custom sparkle browband from Dark Jewel Designs (srsly best sparkle bang for your $ on the market).

Oh, and an awesome custom bridle charm from Straight Shot Metal, because she really is the best at those.

AND because the PS of Sweden Running martingale attachment is GLITTERALLY the best thing EVAR (tm) for those of us who need help from time to time, I also use the PS of Sweden softie reins that are rubber lined with hand stops and PS martingale stops AND CLIPS. I love clips SO MUCH.

It's totally franken-ed-to-death, but I ADORE this bridle. It hits all the high points and is so freaking useful. And gorgeous, in it's own special way. Even when I panic about adulting and clearing inventory, this bridle stays. It's not really sale-able in it's current state and I don't need it to be. It's totally custom to me and if I still have it in 30 years, GREAT.

um hello gorgeous

But y'all have seen my absurd dressage bridle turnover lately. And then Alyssa went and bought another dressage bridle that's GORGEOUS and too small for her horse and she let Courage try it on.

I"ll be honest. I am not a white padding kind of girl. I like it on horses like Valegro and Totilas, but I've just never felt it on a horse of mine. I even had one for a while (like... 5 or 6 years ago, so I forgive you for not remembering) and I just didn't love it.

But this bridle is great. Also not mine.

I briefly considered buying one of my own.

But here's the thing:

it looks good with giant ribbons

I already have this Red Barn Capriole bridle headstall that I LOVE. It's the leather quality I like. It's the style I like. It looks fab on my horse. I got it for a tack-ho-appropriate deal on eBay this summer. It's a crank that I use like a cavesson. It has an option for a flash.

I even had some Red Barn reins I also snagged on eBay that I liked well enough. So like. Whole bridle. Same brand. Easy resale.

But then.

Because I am the ho-est of hos, I regularly (multiple times a week), search for random stuff I kind of want but don't need in the strictest sense. One of those things is reins. I found an unremarkable listing on eBay for "dressage reins". The essentials were all what I wanted (rubber lined, hand stops, rolled fronts, hook studs) and there was one tiny clue in one dark picture that was either really clever advertising or more likely, a missed opportunity on the seller's part.

can you see it?

I figured it was a $40 gamble I was willing to take. Glad I did. So glad.

(Well, at least I was glad until the first time I tried to put them ON anything and realized the the dimwitted Frenchies who put them together apparently have NO IDEA how to cut holes for hook studs that ACTUALLY WORK. I mean. People in India who have never seen a horse and use crappy ass leather can do it better than D'yon. Omg. It took two of us 15 minutes and an ungodly amount of swearing just to get them on. They are now staying on that bit. FOREVER.

I mean. I can now get them on and off, but that first time is not an experience I'd care to repeat.)

i give myself A+ for iphone pictures

All that was well and good (and long and drawn out), but it's still just another black dressage bridle like all the other ones.

HOWEVER.

This past summer, I ordered sparkles for it with the longest wait time I have EVER ENDURED for ANYTHING. Topline Leather has been on my radar but out of my price range for YEARS. But then I was up too late one night and so was she and I know her from back when she used to blog and OOPS THAT HAPPENED.

it's so beautiful

I have the worst time visualizing anything anyways and then she totally improvised and improved everything (with my knowledge/consent--she didn't just go totally rogue on me). I saw the pictures and REALLY liked it.

And then it got to my house and OMG YOU GUYS.

LOVE

It's perfect.

I have now almost fully Franken-bridled my dressage bridle and I'm happier with it than ever. I guess that's the secret for me? Instead of buying nice things, throw a bunch of unrelated ass-backwards stuff together and I will love it forever.

CLIP THIS HORSE

This One Time, At Pony Camp...

Most. Adorable. Picture.

 I kept Courage at pony camp aka "our former barn that we dearly love" an extra day because in theory, ground poles aren't hard and we were going to squeeze in another ride with friends. Our fall weather is AMAZING right now, so we were taking advantage of it.

In practice, not so much. Courage and I were both pooped from the weekend. Plus one of our barn buddies wanted to set a jump shoot chute. Sorry failing at brain today.

Courage was actually jumping great--I've jumped him on the lunge a fair amount to help him learn to use his own body and then to reel him in when he gets mad and pisses off. None of that yesterday. Buuuuut there was the tiny issue of trying to bounce an oxer.

think bounce

OH SHIT SHORT BOUNCE

cue general destruction

Yeah meant to do that

and that is why we don't bounce oxers, kids

 After that solid dose of heart failure, we dropped back to a cross rail and started over. Courage never even thought about refusing, though he definitely gave everything a lot of space.

 

 

you'll note the bar across the top of the oxer...

up

and over

#sexappeal

Did I mention he jumped every fence out of a lazy jog trot? I'd post a video for you, but my phone was all NA NA NA NA NA NOPE.

Therapy

Life events lately have me not in the best of mindsets, which has me reflecting the whole "my horse is my therapist" gag that we've all heard one way or another.

 There's no doubt about it: time spent with my horse can be incredibly soothing.

 But it's important to remember that to be fair to my horse, I have to check all my baggage at the barn gate.

 He can't fix everything in my life. He definitely knows when things are off kilter.

 It isn't fair to him to show up and dump my shit on his pretty head.

 Instead, I need to show up, take a deep breath, and enjoy the scent of horses.

 And hugs.

 And laughs.

And know that one way or another, we'll get through all of this together.

Show Goals

#1: look fabulous

Alright, well... this weekend is our last show of the month and it's our big move up to training level dressage. I feel like I'm basically attempting to memorize the entire lower level USDF test repertoire at this point.

But I digress. Given that it's a new venue, new level, new discipline, I'm trying to create a list of realistic goals for us to strive for.

1) Stay on the horse while in the arena.

This should be doable. It's not really my main stressor, but I wanted to cover it.

also practice braiding again

2) Stay in the arena while doing our tests.

Again, doable. Courage hasn't learned yet that dressage arenas are not to be jumped out of, but he's been perfectly happy to stay in them so far.

3) Remember (or have a reader for) both of our tests.

I refuse to fail on something so simple.

he looks so curvy

4) Be present in the moment and ride my horse.

If Courage brings his A Game, we should be competitive. If he lets his green show through, we'll be a lot less competitive. Whatever happens, I want to ride the horse under me and build another positive experience in pursuit of an overall green reduction.

I mean, I know I just wrote a whole post about not wanting to settle for second best and that holds true. However, this is our first time under a USDF judge and I have literally NO IDEA what will happen. I don't know how they compare to eventing judges.

We are going to find out.


5) Break 57%.

We're at a locally recognized show competing against professionals (no really, I checked. Apparently all the other ammies have enough money to do the recognized classes). I have no illusions of grandeur (well, I do, but not at this particular show). I just want to do more things right than wrong and have the judge agree with that. Anything more is icing on the cake.

Is this realistic? I have no idea. We've been coasting on intro (no stretchy trot and no coefficients), so I'm excited to step up to the challenge of a new level and see what happens.


PS I'm getting really motivated about goals lately. It's making me wonder if I set them too low, since I keep achieving them.

Ground Zero

need this ride every day

This is going to be a highly dressage-centric post, so my apologies in advance to you jumper folk out there.

I've always maintained that dressage is fun once you get to the point of having the horse connected inside leg to outside rein and Courage is teetering precariously close to that point. That means some days are spectacular and some days are really horrible and depressing.

and this

I made a joking comment on Marissa's blog the other day about every ride starting at ground zero and some of them never leaving.

But it's true.

I've been lucky enough to have two really fantastic dressage rides this week--both of them started at the walk, just stretching and asking Courage to lift his back. Then walk/trot transitions. Then changes of bend in the trot.

recycled show pics til i get something new

Then trot/canter transitions and circles in the canter. Then back to walk, and transition after transition of working walk to free walk. All of this is couched in incessant praise and lots of releases to make it really clear to Courage what I'm looking for.

We're starting to add in "fancy" things like little leg yields in the walk and trot and trot stretchy circles and we're even starting to toy with actual transitions within the gaits, sort of.

None of it is mind blowing or amazing, but I am absolutely in love with the progression. I mean yeah, some days we barely even get to trot transitions and the whole thing is about relaxation. But other days, it feels almost magical. Courage is starting to really get some of the ideas.

my matchy matchy soul is dealing quite well with this

He's stronger and more balanced and more rideable than he ever has been before. It's hard to describe how proud I am of my little man when I pick up the reins and flow seamlessly between the gaits (BOTH directions) and know that finally, we are progressing together.

Never Apologize: Phone Photography for the Horse Blogger

took this. on my phone. 

I'm kind of known for going on and on about how it's ok to be an amateur and we shouldn't expect to be professional riders when we just plain aren't.

But that doesn't just apply to riding.

I always think it's kind of funny when people post pictures of their horses and then say "It's just a crappy phone photo".

Hello.

best ears. yes edited.

1) It's 2015. My crappy phone photos are FREAKING AMAZING compared to what a picture from a "real" camera would have been even ten years ago.

2) No one (not even me or Wendy) has a professional photographer follow them around and shoot their every move. Most of our pictures (well, mine) are going to be screen shots from a video or ears pics on my phone or headshots of my horse standing still.

3) You can actually take pretty damn good phone pictures if you put a little work into it.

I mean. I'm not an expert. Or an artist. Or a photographer. I'm not educated about photography and the truth is, aside from Lauren's fantastic series on taking horse pictures, I'm not likely to ever take a class.

But in 2015, the technology is available, accessible, and cheap.

thank you burst mode

90% of the photos on my blog are shot on my phone (iphone 5s). 85% of them are then run through a photo editor (also on my phone) in a sequence that takes under a minute. Here are some (REALLY REALLY) basic guidelines:

1) timing is your friend. You know that awkward moment in the trot where it looks like the horse only has two legs? No one wants to see that. Most phones have a "burst mode" option. On my phone, you literally hold down the camera button and get like 47 photos. Choose the one that doesn't suck. Delete the rest. Magic.

from this

OR. (this is best if someone is taking pictures of you and their timing maybe isn't fantastic or the lighting is less than ideal.) Have them take a video. Pause. Screenshot. Voila! Exactly the moment you wanted.

2) Cropping is your friend. You know how to make a shitty off center picture into reasonably decent blog fodder? CROP THAT BITCH.

to this

Seriously. You don't even need an app for that. Center the horse (more or less) in the frame. Zoom in as much as possible without pixelating the image.

BAM.

Your photo is 75% better already. It took you less than 10 seconds.

emphasis by Redheadlins

Noted: I generally leave a little more space in front of the horse than behind if the horse is going forward. I leave more sky if the sky is pretty or more grass if the footing is nice. If both sky and footing are unremarkable, there's no reason for them to be in the picture. Just highlight what you want to emphasize.

Also noted: instagram likes square pictures. Blogger likes rectangles. On my more motivated days, I make different edits for different mediums. That is not every day.

what my phone looks like before edits

3) Apps are nice. I started with "afterlight" (go to the app store. It's either free or 99 cents). It's a fantastic basic editing program. There are four settings I use all the time--contrast (more or less), saturation (BRIGHT COLORS Y'ALL), brightness (summer in Idaho is a bitch), and... that other one.

There are plenty of other options, but these are just simple, basic things that can drastically improve the visual impact of your photos and take almost no time.

If you're all fancy and cool, you can get pricier apps. I just upgraded to "phototoaster" ($2.99 in the app store) and it has all kinds of bells and whistles and widgets. Part of me knows I'm not technical enough to capitalize on all this, but the other part is determined to make it happen.

kitten <3

If you're on an android platform, I hear rave reviews of Pixlr.

There are roughly a billion photo editing apps out there and you can get REALLY FREAKING FANCY if you want to. I'll admit I got phototoaster after reading this article. While there are some great tips there, that person works a HELL of a lot harder than I do at photo editing. Also they sound like they have a clue about art, which I definitely do not.

yup. phone. 

I mean, if photos aren't your jam, I totally understand. I'll never pretend to have the art chops that Niamh and Lauren do.

But I see no need to apologize for a phone picture. They can be pretty rocking with just a very little amount of work.