ZB Hits the Mountains!

I board at a fabulous barn with some ladies that inspire me.

And they like trail riding.

And when I got a mid-week text like "let's go to the state park!", I was like "...but the bugs are super bad there waaaaaah" and found an alternate location.

I also found coffee because humaning is hard

Fortunately, they were all on board for an excursion to the mountains. 

ZB always up for an adventure

It's such a different world for me--I can't get my head in the game for horse shows, but I was thrilled to go hit the trails. We haven't hauled out since last fall, but I know I could count on ZB. She's just such a champion. She loads and hauls like a champ, then gets off the trailer like a pro and yet again, led the way for the first chunk of the ride. 

Lil lady has a motor on her. 

tasty bush

Even when we hit some challenges that I didn't quite anticipate, ZB's "NOT R WANT MUM NO" response is to stop and stare at something.

Not lose her shit.

Not buck me off. 

Not leave the county. 

and the skies were completely stunning

We kept everything calm and easy and went out for about two hours over a variety of terrain, including a couple water crossings, plenty of rocks, and lots of different grades up and down. 

It was Zoe's first time in the mountain and OMFG YOU GUYS I COULD NOT BE MORE THRILLED. 

i adore this mare

She led. She followed. She saw dirt bikes and mountain bikes and runners and heard guns and saw wild life and dealt with all of it like an old hand. 

She's still learning how to cross water (cross your fingers for a legit training post tomorrow!), but she made a good effort at everything we tried. 

The best part is just how much fun she is for every step. 

So honest. 

So game. 

goal: ride in the mountains = achieved!

I mean. It isn't even just the riding. It's how Ms. ZB shows up and tries no matter what. Hauling to a new place? 

No probs. 

Tying to a trailer for the first time?

She's got it. 

BOOM

I know basically my whole blog now is like ZB R PERFECT AND I SUPER LOVE HER, but I can't even apologize for it. 

I took my baby horse to the mountains. 

She exceeded expectations and those expectations were already irrationally high on account of how lovely she is. 

remind me i need to break in my new latigo so we can go full old west

I mean. I always say that some day the little lady will have a bad day, and I won't even be able to get mad at her, because she's so freaking perfect most of the time. 

But yeah. 

It hasn't happened yet.

Shindig

Last weekend, I took my pilfered camera to the big recognized dressage show that's local to me.

this blog is about me and my horse but since i took these pictures, i give myself permission to use them

I love hanging out behind the camera because I can take everything in while staying completely invisible.

i am trying to keep pictures anonymous though

I watched people ride beautiful horses. 

Looked at the fancy ribbons.

Enjoyed the flow of well-ridden tests. 

And I'd be lying if I said I wanted to do that right now.

Honestly, just being there made me nauseous. 

PROTECT DOGGO FROM BOOM BOOM SKY

I'm struggling to put into words just how much I enjoy letting ZB be my safe space and my happy place. I show up and just enjoy every moment with her. 

There's no pressure. It doesn't matter if we accomplish something today or tomorrow or next year or ten years from now. 

outfits always matter

I love her bold curves and zero-shits-given attitude. My hearts melts when she whinnies her daily greeting. 

She makes every day a fun adventure.

she is her own lady

Objectively, I want to show again. 

Someday.

Not today. 

Not tomorrow. 

matching sparkle hats!

From now until then, I'll just be enjoying my best lady. 

Birthday Girl!!

I know y'all are probably beyond sick of hearing what a splendid lady Ms. Zoebird is. 

Buuuuuut here we go again.

I officially celebrated her 5th birthday on April 13th because I feel like I saw that somewhere, but after digging through her official binder, I can't find why I think I saw that. Regardless, it's an easy date for me to remember and now I have to tell people she's five. 

Add caption

She'll always be my baby mare tho omg. 

birthday cookies!

Here's what she's been up to lately:

western toodle pony!

Brave ditchbank riding pony!

Giving adorable pony ride pony!

rocking the outfits pony!

leading the trail ride pony!

crushing the dressage pony!

This little lady guys. <3 She is just fantastic every day and I am so lucky to have her. Can't wait to see where 5 takes us. 

The Expert's Guide to Toodling

A large percentage of the time I spend in the saddle is what I call "toodling". I field enough questions about what exactly that means that I now give you the definitive expert toodling bible.

love this pic

What (is toodling):

Toodling is undirected meandering, generally on a loose rein, with loosely defined goals and limited rider input.

Why (is this different than hacking):

When someone says they're hacking their horse, they generally mean they are riding outside the arena in some sort of purposeful way. Toodling is in or out of the arena and while sometimes yes you're going in a direction with a purpose, you're also not hitting a step goal or fitness angle.

toodle time!

When (is toodling appropriate):

All toodles all the time. I mean, not really, but horses are pretty smart creatures. I'm all for a couple "work" rides a week, but above and beyond that, it feels like drilling to me and I find drilling intolerable. Toodling is a way to spend time in the saddle, but relax and rest sore muscles. It keeps riding fun and engaging on both sides so saddle time isn't always work time.

bliss

Where (does one toodle):

Anywhere, really. In the winter, we toodle around the indoor and smoosh things. In the summer, we go all over the property and should I ever get my rear in gear to haul out somewhere, we can do that too.

ditch practice

Who (should toodle):

I'm a highly motivated go-getter type of person. It is SO EASY for me to fixate and drill and push and suck the fun out of relaxation. (I'm terrible at vacation. Sigh.) I like to have a clear delineation for "this is fun and easy and simple and just be happy". If you're a person who needs more structure in your life or you're prepping for an imminent Olympics, then toodling is maybe not for you.

How (do I start toodling):

Slip the reins. Hold the buckle in one hand. Look at the world around you. Pet the horse. Wander the fields. Find a buddy to laugh with. Ride under the stars. Stop and watch the sunset.

Courage was a horse that was deeply sensitive to pressure--I probably had to toodle 3-4 times for every 1 time I schooled him. ZB is totally not worried about pressure, but I want her to have time to develop strength and recover, so it's probably more of a 1:1 ratio (counting training rides, haha).

As for the looming question, "aren't you a shitty trainer because you choose to have fun with yourself instead of actually teaching them something," well, no. Walking on a loose rein is a skill. Standing still is a skill. Boldly navigating terrain is a skill. Learning to not micromanage is a skill.

picking incredible browbands is also a skill

And that is how you toodle like a pro.

A Smoosh Victorious

Zoëbird and I are prepping for our first clinic of the year, second clinic ever. We've had... uh... 1.5 lessons since the first/last one in October? 

Most all of the heavy duty training rides for ZB are done by my trainer right now. On days we ride with a saddle, I try to pick a single topic to work on and quit when it feels successful. 

objective: canter on both leads

There's a part of me that feels like I should be working harder here. I'm definitely not pushing and struggling and frustrated. 

But like. 

It's fun? 

So... 

polos by Go Big or Go Home
shirt by She Moved to Texas

I dunno. Alyssa came out and took pictures the other day and yeah 100% there are things I want to work on with myself, especially at the canter. 

But I can't even be mad at myself about it. 

Because in every single picture, I have this giant stupid shit eating grin on my face. 

Lil miss ZS Zoëbird whinnies at me when I show up every day. 

And even if all we're doing is hanging out for a few minutes while I freeze to death in the wind, she has this incredible way of centering my whole world. 

To me, that matters more than all the other things put together. 

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?

A Very Smooshy Christmas

Good news internet: I officially have a barn friend who is down for random photo shoots. (I guess that's bad news if you hate totally adorable Zoe photos, but I sort of don't believe that person exists.) 

d'awwww

I also have officially the cutest Christmas pictures of all time.

SMOOSH STOCKING

Prepare yourselves to be spammed.

oh and happy holidays! 

App Review: DressMyHorse

As a founding member of a tack ho cult, I place a very high priority on outfit selection. Thus, when Horse & Hound did a write up the of the "DressMyHorse" app, I promptly mocked T for downloading it, then downloaded it myself to play with.

Full disclosure: it is a free app. I also got it for free. (Noted: search your app store for DressMyHorse with no spaces. Searching for Dress My Horse gets you some very bizarre results).

This app purports to allow you to try different looks on your horse without actually buying them. In theory, it's a boon for people like me who are HORRIBLE at visualizing the outcome of outfits.

In practice, it's SUPER IMPORTANT to remember that LIGHTING MATTERS.

To use this app most effectively, you really need a left side photo of your horse looking straight ahead. Zoe likes to look at me, so my photos are slightly skewed.

There are several manufacturer collections of outfits uploaded to this app. You can scroll through the available items, select what you want to try on, then upload it to the image of your horse (or several boring stock image horses) and voila! Well, not quite "voila" yet. You have the option to rotate and resize the different pieces to get them to match your horse's photo shape.

look book previews

Plus, once you put together an outfit that you like, you can save it to your "lookbook" and/or camera roll to discuss with your friends.

rotating and resizing the tiny boots is hard, ok? stop judging me

From the look book, you can send images directly to your friends and add items to an online wish list.

The actual operation of the app is a bit slow and clunky. Things take a bit to load and it's really hard to move boots around on tiny horse legs because your fingers are covering everything. That said, once you resize a certain collection, it seems to save the settings. 

For example, I dressed Zoe in LE Mieux Apparel:

fanceh

But then every time I did a different Le Mieux outfit, it automatically put the polos on like that. It's not perfect, but it's good enough to give you an idea of how it will show up. 

Now the real question: how does this pan out in real life? I actually have access to two of the outfits I put Zoe in (because tack ho), so let's look at them side-by-side from look book and real life:

Benetton blue Le Mieux and white boots

annnnnd IRL

And the plum set!

Plum Le Mieux set

you'd never know i took both pics #fail

So I mean. It's not perfect. But the more I play with it, the more I enjoy it. It's super fun to try to put looks together and try things on. I thought I would hate it and instead I've spent waaaaay too much time on it.

To be more useful, this app needs access to more than just a couple fall lines, but if you want to entertain yourself for a slow hour on the cheap, it's fine. I wouldn't pay money for it, but it's fun to goof around with.

In terms of "does this app actually accomplish it's purpose", well, if the purpose was to convince me that Zoe NEEDS a peacock Le Mieux set AND shiny pink open fronts with an outrageous pad?

Yup, it totally worked.