Spread Thin

This last week has been so busy and I have some fun stuff to share!

Trask is now officially my lease horse and we moved to a new barn! I'm so, so excited to be at this place, it's AMAZING. When Alanna moved Emi home, I stole her place at NDF. I've boarded at the last barn (we'll call it SS) for over three years and it was time to move on. While I'm excited to have Trask at NDF I cannot wait to move Jetta here. She's gonna love it!

It is so beautiful here

I'm still spread pretty thin though. Jetta is still at the old barn until I'm done with finals (exactly one week until I'm 1/2 of a vet!) then I am moving her home to my parent's barn to foal. She'll have a nice big 12x30' stall with an attached run and a big paddock to hang out in. Once baby is born we can turn them out in the big 3 acre pasture where there's lots of room and hills for baby to roam.



I'm still riding Vante a bit just cause I enjoy it, not that I really have the time for it with finals approaching, but oh well.

Things I'm not gonna miss about the old barn:

• Struggling to get the hay in the loft, especially since the hay elevator is permanently broken
• Having to buy hay because I don't want my horse to eat straw
• Parking my trailer in a swamp underneath an awful tree where birds nest and poop on my truck and the beetles breed and infest my truck and trailer. And I have to use 4-wheel drive to park and pull my trailer out of the swamp

Swamp after a couple days of "drying out". Mud up to my ankles... Vs. my new parking spot!

• A wash rack with no warm water
• The slickly lined poop mountain (aka manure pile)
• A stall that I pay to get cleaned daily that often looks like it hasn't been cleaned in 3 days

• Not being told my horse is out of her supplement
• An open tack room where all of my tack is covered in a thick layer of dust and my things regularly walk away
• An arena where it is deemed a miracle when the ground gets worked
• Passive-agressive text messages from the barn owner
• When my horse gets turned out in 80+ degree weather with a blanket on and no shade
• Not being allowed at the barn before 9am or after 9pm
• Not being able to see a dang thing when it's dark out because the barn lights are so dim... you know it's bad when the farrier has to use a headlamp and you basically never really get to see your horse in the light for months at a time during winter 
• Tiny grass-less "turnout" paddocks
• Not a single pitchfork is missing less than 2 tines

Things I'm going to miss about the old barn:

• Outdoor arena (though new barn has a big pasture we can ride in and set jumps in once hay is cut!!)
• Round pen
• Absolutely nothing else 

I can't decide what I'm most excited about at the new barn... the fact that I can ride before class some days or get to the barn late when I have a busy day? How absolutely beautiful and well-kept everything is? The fact that I get to park my trailer on actual gravel? That I can access trails right off the property?

Trask learning to pose

We get individual tack lockers at NDF so I'm still figuring out how to organize mine. I pulled out an old saddle blanket rack I have for saddle pads, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna keep it. It only has one saddle rack, but I have a free-standing saddle rack that will hopefully fit. I got some awesome aqua-colored plastic bins at Target that I'm going to use to store boots/polos and other random things. Plus I have my plastic drawer thing and a bin of sheets that I think will fit. I still have a ton of stuff to move from the old barn, but the new barn has a storage room where I can stash my bin of winter blankets and other odds-and-ends.

Current configuration of my tack locker... still need to cram a bunch of stuff in!

I cannot convey how perfect this new barn is and how excited I am to be there! I was reaching my breaking point at the old barn so this was amazing timing.

Happy boy

Pet Peeves

Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted but I really have nothing exciting to write about!

It's been midterm central here and the last midterm was finally Monday. Freedom! Kind of. I don't have any tests for a whole two weeks, I just have a mountain of homework to do instead.

Lots of boring lunging pics

Anyways, Jetta has been slightly neglected. I think I've only ridden her once since my last post where I went on a trail ride. Spoiler alert: she was awful. But that's what I get for letting her sit for 5 days and then deciding to hop on for an arena ride. So we've been lunging a lot until I can string together a coupe days where I can lunge one day and ride the next so she won't be so awful.

zooooooom

She got a pedicure the other day and the farrier hasn't been out since November. She commented that Jetta's belly is definitely getting big, which is hard for me to see. I keep thinking it's getting bigger but then I compare older pictures and she kinda looks the same.

Little preggo belly!

But when I lunged her yesterday I could definitely tell she's got the preggo belly. She's almost at 200 days! I've just been a giant ball of nerves about it. I love Facebook's memories and today this picture popped up with the comment "I want a foal!" four years ago when I saw a foal being born for the first time. And now it's finally going to be a reality!

In reference to the title, otherwise nothing is too exciting besides barn drama. Jetta almost ran over a small child the other night who was running around in the arena while his mom was riding, he ran directly through the circle Jetta was lunging on, spooking her so she took off galloping, almost colliding with child and mom. So that was fun. Funny how common sense doesn't really seem to be that common. If I had ever done that at that age, I would have gotten not only yelled at, but I would have probably been put in time out or not been able to come to the barn again. Mom said not a word to the child who then proceeded to go outside and throw rocks.

Not going to talk too much about the other barn drama until I leave, but I am so OVER IT. I've been an ideal boarder at this barn for over 3 years and there's many things I like about it, but the bad things have just all the sudden started to add up. I really don't want to leave because there are so many good things about this barn and I've actually been pretty happy there and it's super cheap, plus we live in such a tough area for finding a good barn, especially one that ticks all the boxes I want in a barn without being astronomically expensive. So we will see what happens...

Oops

Oops, I did a thing. My poor bank account. Centerline Style had a sale for $30 off and I've been eyeballing a Lemieux outfit for Jetta (especially since Courage has been modeling the same one that I want and it looks stunning on him - another bay, blaze-faced TB!). Sooo... I bought it. It arrived Saturday (super fast shipping from Florida = awesome).

Then, Millbrook Leathers had a 35% off sale on their leathers which I wanted as soon as they came out. I always get bruises on my shins from my jumping leathers. Every time. So it seemed like a really neat concept to have thicker leathers to prevent that! They also say that they're supposed to make your leg more stable, but we'll see about that. I'm thinking that I need more strength building exercises than anything, but I'll take all I can get! (no extra charge for 2-day shipping from Colorado? impressive!)

All the pretties

So yeah. I'm STILL waiting on two of my orders that I made at the beginning of last month. One is because I went through the local farm store and they just take forever with special orders because that's how they roll. Sigh. Apparently I would have gotten the same deal through a Riding Warehouse sale as I'm getting stealing my BF's employee discount so... should've gone that route. I'm impatient.

The other order... I'm not really sure what's going on. I keep getting different answers every time I talk to her, that is, IF she decides to answer my messages. She tends to take at least a week to reply to me, if at all. Frustrating to say the least. I kinda never want to order from this shop ever again because everything was supposedly in stock when I ordered it 5 weeks ago, but it's now coming in next week supposedly (I was told it was supposed to come in a week and a half ago, but it was backordered without her knowledge, so now the ETA at the shop is next week) meaning it'll probably be 2 more weeks before I see it... sigh. 

Super attractive picture, but look at that belly!

I had to have a ride to try everything out - it looks awesome on her! Hopefully I'll get to ride in the daylight soon and get a better picture of it. Sadly I ordered the wrong size ear bonnet (should have known that "regular" was not going to fit her mule ears!) so I need to exchange that... My bank account is now on lock down until further notice. But I guess that's why I'm still working two days a week during school!

Selling Horses is a Pain

So frustrated lately with trying to get Misty sold. This is the second time I've had her sale pending, and the second time it has fallen through.

I've never had this much trouble selling a horse and Misty will be the sixth horse that I've sold, also the horse I've had listed for the longest as we are going on almost 10 months now.

This time, a high schooler came out to try her. They seemed like a really nice family, the girl was a competent rider and they seemed to really like Misty and were very impressed with her nice ground manners and how sweet she was. Misty was ok. We pulled out a jump and after not jumping in a month she was excited and a little sassy - she pinned her ears a few times and tossed her head. Not a big deal. She jumped nicely and showed off her flying changes, wasn't lazy, etc.

The next day they said they would like to take her on a trial and possibly buy her pending a vet check. They were planning on picking her up Wednesday or Thursday, but they had to show their trainer the video of her first.

Then this morning I got a text that their trainer didn't think that Misty was the right fit for this girl. I was so bummed and so frustrated. After the last time I thought that I almost had her sold, this time I kept my hopes very low. I still got bummed though.

I'm just frustrated. I have had only 5 people come to see Misty. I think she is reasonably priced. She is such an awesome horse, I know that she will be great for whoever buys her. She has fantastic manners, a great work ethic, she's safe, sweet, fun, she learns quickly, and she's adorable.

I'm just sort of at a loss. I'm ready to drop her price (yet again) and am finally considering leasing her out locally. It's just such a time drain to communicate to buyers via email/facebook/email, then make time to bathe Misty to make her presentable, then make time to have these people to come try her, then get my hopes up when they say that they want to buy her, only to have nothing follow through.

How could someone not want this adorable horse?

/end rant.

On a slightly happier note, I was contacted by Queenie's new owner not too long ago and got a much needed update on her. If you haven't followed for long or don't remember, Queenie was one of my aunt's horses. A Clydesdale cross, mother of Tux and Katy, two Gypsy Drum Horses I trained and sold for my aunt. Queenie was such a neat horse, she found the absolute perfect home (just like all of my horses I've sold have). Her new owner told me that she still was absolutely in love with Queenie, now named Emma. She bred her last week to a Gypsy Vanner to get another Gypsy Drum horse. She even sent me an absolutely gorgeous photo of Queenie who got included in her wedding photos! It made me so incredibly happy that I was able to give Queenie the skills to be such an awesome horse for this woman and so happy that she found this awesome home.

Such a pretty girl

Deflated & Sore

Despite the title, it's not all that awful.

I went to the barn yesterday and grabbed something out of the trailer. This sight greeted me:

Very, very flat

Oh joy. I have never changed a tire in my life. This will be interesting. I drove around to several places and finally found a trailer aid to use for changing it. I have a spare tire and a tire iron... Tomorrow will be all sorts of fun!

But luckily it's not like I was planning on going anywhere in the near future and if I do want to go somewhere Friday or this weekend, I should have enough time to change it beforehand. Fingers crossed.

The soreness is on Jetta. I gave her a good grooming yesterday and her back was ouchy. Bummer. It's on both sides of her back in the area that lies under the rear panels of my saddle. She's never been this sore before, I literally could just lightly press on her back and she'd drop. It was even hotter in those areas. I'm hoping it's just because she's out of shape and we did a longer ride and not that we're having saddle fit issues.

Today she was much better. I had to dig my thumb in to get a reaction. Still a little sore, but way better. I lunged her both today and yesterday and she looked great. No indication of soreness in how she moved so that was good.

After our lunge session yesterday Jetta got a bath. It was much needed. She was gross. I put Misty's Baker blanket on Jetta to keep her clean so I'd at least get to enjoy a clean pony for more than one day!

Shiny clean pony!

Have to say I like her in plaid. Maybe a Jetta-sized one is in our future?

Off

The snow has finally receded enough that driving can be considered "normal". Still a little slushy in some places but most roads are clear! Phew, I was ready to be done with that nonsense, I don't know how you people that live in colder climates deal with it!

Anyways, today was supposed to be a nice long, relaxing day at the barn. Not. Woke up almost two hours late to start it off so I didn't have enough time to begin with. Cleaned stalls which was a major struggle because the path to the manure pile has gotten super muddy so it's nearly impossible to get a full wheelbarrow up the little incline to dump it. I was definitely breathing hard by the end.

The plan was to lunge Jetta, braid her mane, ride Misty and wash her tail and legs. It ended that I lunged Jetta. She's definitely a bit off on her left front. I'm pretty sure she pulled something up in her shoulder area from her shenanigans yesterday on the lunge. Sigh. She's almost completely sound to the right, but slightly off to the left. No swelling, heat or tender spots on her legs or hooves. I really should invest in some hoof testers, but digging around in her feet with the hoof pick got no reaction. So that's a bummer. I'll just hand walk her the next few days, maybe give her a bit of bute and we'll see from there!

I cut our lunge session short and braided her wild mane and gave her some cuddles. She was in an especially sweet mood today. 

This mane is out of control... Hopefully soon she will get her teeth done and I can pull it while she's drugged!

Oh mule-horse. Why do you look so disproportional here? At least her body condition is looking good!

I ended up not having enough time to do much with Misty. She was quite spunky on the lunge. She has little scrape marks all over her body which I'm assuming are partly self inflicted (the ones on her face) and partly from her bratty neighbor (the ones on her butt, even through the blanket). She had a new scrape on her left front that was a little bloody, so I rinsed it off and put some vetricyn on it. Luckily she wasn't off as well considering her tendency to be a delicate flower.

Hopefully Thursday I will get to retry having my "nice long, relaxing day at the barn". Give Misty her leg/tail spa day, ride at least one monster and hopefully have two sound horses!

Snowy

Not too much excitement in my horse world right now. I've been wanting to post, mainly as a way to procrastinate on studying, but I don't have anything to talk about!

We've been having quite the cold front here this weekend, beginning Friday and possibly going until tomorrow? But we're not used to this cold! It was -3 degrees F the other morning when I got up to go to work. Brr. I'm not cut out for this cold! The coldest I can remember it being in the valley since I've lived here (for 14 years) was a week in the 8-10 degree range.

All I can say is that I wish it wasn't finals week and instead I was at my parents' house in front of the fire drinking eggnog and eating Christmas cookies and riding my horses in the snow and sledding, haha. Now that would be perfect!

Wish I was doing this! Our first snow ride in 2011

Still one of my favorite pictures of us to this day.

Luckily it sounds like the horses are doing fine, though they've recently decided that their hay is not up to their standards. So they are now BOTH getting alfalfa (stinkers, I think they know how to milk the system) in addition to their normal Orchard grass hay just to make sure they're eating enough forage to keep themselves warm. I'll probably make them some mashes once I get home to warm them up. Since everything's frozen, I guess my mom has been shoveling snow into their heated stock tank to provide water. My poor parents! I think my mom wins best parent award right there though.

In other exciting news, I finally have 100 followers! It took a while to go from 99 to 100, but now that we're here I can figure out a contest! I'm having a bit of a struggle thinking up something to give away, but I'll figure it out and once I do I'll announce the contest. And I know I keep saying this, but stay tuned for a contest in the (very) near future :)

Super Pony

Soooo many things to write about! I have had such an insanely crazy week I haven't had a chance to write, much less do any other unnecessary things like sleep for more than 6 hours. I mean, who needs sleep, right? But really, I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. Like at least 12 hours straight.

How I kept my little piglet horse clean-ish overnight.

So, first hunter jumper show with Misty! I have literally jumped her maybe 3 times? And can we talk about how A-MAZING she did today?

Quick overview for those that don't want to read through the whole thing. Entered 4 classes, 2 of them 18" classes and 2 of them 2' classes. I've jumped her 2'6" but wanted to keep it small and inviting for her first time since we've never actually jumped a course (only maybe 3 at a time) and only plain white poles... No gates or flowers. One round was literally perfect, 2 sucked due to rider error and the last was just "meh" also because of me. But that one round seriously made it worth it.

Also warning, some complaining/whining ahead. 

All ready for our first class!

So, I guess we should go in chronological order. First was an 18" trot a course. Super easy to remember, only 6 fences... But I forgot my course. For some reason I thought the second jump was supposed to be a line so I circled while I kicked my brain into gear (4am mornings are tough!) and finally realized that it was a single fence. Duh. She did really well, but was understandably looky at the fences, but still responsive and never tried to refuse.

Second round was the perfect one. Like, I don't know how she could have done better. We got every lead, she maintained a lovely tempo and got great distances. We got second out of 10 (or possibly 12? I think a few people added after I checked in, but not sure). Sooo, that was kind of amazing. Have I mentioned that she is an awesome horse?!

I literally cannot get enough of watching this video of her. How does she look so good? I love it.

Ok, now for the not so good. First off, I am not a hunter rider. I've ridden in maybe 10+ hunter/jumper schooling shows over the past 12 years and one 'A' rated show with Jazz years and years ago. This is a major part of the problem. I feel like it's really, really hard to get into doing hunters without a trainer and going with a barn. I'm used to being the odd one out because I only take sporadic lessons and I've never been part of a barn. I'm very independent and I just don't tend to mesh well with a highly regulated program though I'm sure I would benefit from it a lot.

Anyways, so I had NO IDEA what was happening. I did class 15 and 16 and was ready for 17 and 18B. Only to find that they were going to run 18A, 19 and 20 first because those were all the 18 and under classes. I put Misty away for a while, then got back on in time for 17 and 18 to run. 17 was 2' Hunter and 18 was Long Stirrup 2'. So they called me over to do Long Stirrup and I thought "Oh, they're just going to run out of order, whatever" so I went in and did the Long Stirrup course. By the time I got to the 4th fence, they told me I was off course. Come to find out, Long Stirrup not only referred to class 18 but also to all of the classes for over 18 years old and thus I had gone off course and was disqualified.

I was kind of pissed, both at myself for not figuring that out and at the show management for not making it clear. In my limited experience, I have never had a show run that way, or if they do decide to do a class out of order, they make it very clear how it's going to go. I'm sure no one else had the problem because their trainer would be looking out for them, but I still felt like they should have been a bit more helpful, especially since it was a schooling show. I absolutely hate looking like I don't know what I'm doing and felt really embarrassed. Because I was so upset and fighting tears it kind of ruined my next ride. I wasn't as focused as I could have been and I was flustered so I didn't provide Misty with the support she needed and she fed off my emotions a bit. (When I get upset/angry I want to cry and I just can't help it. It sucks. But I made it through without shedding a tear!)

^^The not quite as amazing round. But really, looking back at it now, it wasn't that bad at all. 


So overall not a happy ending note. This is the third time I've been to that arena and the third time I've wanted to bawl because of it. I think the 3rd time was not the charm and I don't really want to go back there!

But I'm over it. The main thing was to get Misty experience and just have fun. I definitely had a ton of fun in the first 2 classes and I'm just over the moon with her. Probably am sticking to my plan of never again stepping foot into the hunter ring again though. Theoretically, I love it, but it's just really never been my thing and so I'll stick with eventing/ranch horse/endurance/dressage and the occasional jumper show because I think I have plenty to focus on there!

Other random thoughts:

If I ever show any interest in another paint horse, please please tell me no. Never, ever again do I want another paint. Misty's my fourth paint and it's just way. too. much. work.

Misty must wear a sheet with a tail flap in the trailer, otherwise she poops on the wall and then smears her butt in it. Lovely.

Bringing a blanket for my mom was a very good idea, must remember to do again because it was freezing in the arena.

Loved my outfit, lol. I kind of looked put together for once. I brought show clothes too just in case everyone was decked out, but it was 50/50 so I stayed in my sweater.
                 For reference, if interested, I'm wearing:

• Ariat Pro Circuit breeches
• Ralph Lauren lizard print belt (ebay score!)
• Old Navy sweater in purple
• Aeropostale polo shirt in gray (best/cheapest polos ever)
• De Niro Leuca field boots
• IRH Elite Ultra helmet. 
• Also got to wear my brand new Roekl show gloves, first time having actual nice gloves to show in!

Trailer tack room mirror selfie, lol

Little children on ponies are the CUTEST THING EVER. There was a tiny little boy who was a GOOD rider and hearing him discuss his round ("I got some good distances!") was so adorable. I want my future child to be like him, lol. 

So many gorgeous horses. I think that the stereotypical "hunter type" horse is my favorite conformationally. They're just so dang drool-worthy.

Wearing spurs was good, though I did have to use them a couple times and Misty got a little "enthusiastic" about her flying changes, but not bad. 

Overall, it was a good day, I had a lot of fun and I'm a very proud horse mom :)

Moving On

So, I got kicked out of my barn. Ok, that's a little bit strong wording, but that's what I essentially feel like.

The BO left a note on my stall last Friday and I thought it was the invoice for next month's board. The week prior I got a note that they were going to start doing invoices instead of just expecting us to pay on our own and that board was being raised by $25. Ok, I could handle that. I didn't actually read the note until Saturday morning and it was definitely not an invoice...

They're "closing the barn to boarders for the winter and will reopen in the spring". It said the reasoning was that they "wanted time to focus on changing parts of the barn and making it better for boarders". I texted the barn owner to let her know my plans and she responded that "life just threw them a curve ball" and that she considers me a good friend. What I don't understand is that if she considers me a friend, which I thought was the case, then why not tell me the real reason that they're closing? Especially since I'm seriously the only "real" boarder. I've been there a year. The other boarder has been there 2 weeks barely since they bought a horse from the BO so I don't really count them. And the other boarder gets to stay since they have a "business obligation".

Whatever though. I know they are probably having personal problems that they don't want to talk about and there's no reason that they have to share them with me. Just frustrating because finding a new barn is so painful and it's poor timing being in the middle of the term so I can't spend as much time as I'd like searching. In addition, the barns in my area are awful. I don't understand why there are no decent barns. I think I need to move to somewhere more horsey. I swear that my state has to be one of the least horse-oriented places ever (ok, possibly a slight exaggeration, but still).

In reality, I guess it was time to move on. I've become increasingly disgruntled with the level of care decreasing over time. They stopped feeding the horses lunch hay. The stalls no longer get cleaned every day. Some days that are perfectly nice out the horses don't get turned outside. Their sheets are left off on nights that get into the 30's. They've gotten stingy about hay, they've stopped letting me know when I run out of grain or my horse breaks something on their blanket, etc. I've been considering a move for some time but was going to hold off the search until winter break. The sad part? I'm really going to miss most not only the beautiful drive, but also "my" cat and dog. I just love Snowball and he's my baby but I can't have pets at the place I live now. And my dog, which isn't even close to "mine" yet I love her all the same. Going to miss those two!

My fuzzy little Pie puppy

In the meantime, the horse's are living at home at my parents'. I got the horses and all of my stuff moved home last night. I have only been able to ride 2 to 3 times at most in a week so having them an extra 15 minutes drive is not that big a deal. My mom is being really supportive and my dad is trying somewhat, though he is clearly NOT happy about me moving the horses home which does make me a little upset that he can't support me in my horse habit, but that's how life goes.

Must keep repeating this to myself.

In the barn search, here is what my dream barn would have:

• Year round turnout. At the very least, good weather turnout is a must. 
• Access to trails
• Daily stall cleaning
• Stalls with runs
• Trailer/truck parking
• Large space in tack room
• Heated tack room
• Large indoor arena with good footing
• Outdoor arena
• Jumps, would love to be able to set them up and leave them (for instance, in the outdoor)
• No trainer and be allowed to have trainers come give lessons at the barn
• Heated wash rack
• Feed large amounts of hay 3x per day
• Nice quality (prefer orchard grass) hay
• Clean, well lit barn
• Affordable

That is the ideal. Italicized items are the ones I'm negotiable on. The sad part? The full list DOES NOT EXIST ANYWHERE IN MY AREA. There's nada, even if I get rid of the "affordable" requirement. I could drive a couple hours north and find some super, super $$$$ places, but a several hour drive is not an option, not to mention that I'm very horse poor. The remaining items that I'm not negotiable on? There might be a few places... but you'll have to be negotiable on other aspects. For instance one place I'm thinking of going to that has multiple availabilities and fits my "hard" requirements, the owner has been deemed "crazy" by the current and past boarders and the list of rules for that place is literally 7 pages long. Or I could go back to the place I boarded at last school year, but the paddocks are super deep mud and the barn does not meet the "clean, well lit" qualification, nor the heated wash rack. But there are trails...

Benefits of having the horses at home.

• Year round turnout
• Neighbor has hot water wash rack I can use
• Really big stalls with runs
• I can feed them however much I want! My mom will do morning and some evening feedings (I'll try to do at least 3 days a week in the evening) and they'll get nice orchard grass hay
• My neighbor has a nice outdoor arena I can use
• Mostly clean-ish and well lit barn
• I have the whole tack room to myself
• The tack room is kind of heated, there's a heat lamp that keeps the mold away
• I can park my truck and trailer there
• There's the trails behind the house (not useable in the winter) but I can hack on the roads

Cons:

• My mom is NOT a horse person
• My parents will try, but they will still complain every step of the way
• There's no indoor arena
• It's an hour drive
• MUD

I really wish school was closer to my trainer friend, JF. She has always been so nice and supportive of me. She messaged me that she heard about my horse/my own living situation (in two months I will also be homeless, sigh) and said that she wishes school was closer to her place as she has stalls available at her barn and a trailer house on the property she needs to rent out. How perfect would that be?! Especially since she has stopped starting babies and has always wanted me to take over that side of her business for her. Um, dream situation right there. Can I just stop going to school now and just train horses? Sigh.

We'll figure it out. Eventually.

At least the ponies will be so happy at home!

As a side note, anyone interested in a barn tour? It's not much, but I'd be happy to make a post about my barn if anyone wants a virtual look around :)

Also, reminder: if you are interested in any tack I have for sale, let me know. This Friday I'm going to consign everything that isn't sold so don't miss your opportunity! Pretty please?

Story of My Life

I'm so excited! I won the contest over at Slow and Steady for a $50 Smartpak gift card! Only problem? I have absolutely no idea what to spend it on. I have a couple "needs" and a ton of "wants".

The three things I actually need right now:

• White show breeches
• Black leather gloves
• Happy Mouth bit

Smartpak has absolutely no white fullseat breeches that I want/can afford. So that's a no. I even emailed them to see if they could order the Tredstep breeches I like in white, since Dover carries them in that color, but Smartpak only has them in blue and tan. No can do apparently.

I do need a Happy Mouth bit but was waiting to see what turned up on ebay, I could possibly score one for half price.

Or I could get new gloves. Not exciting. 

My want list at Smartpak is huge, consisting mostly of really cute schooling breeches. A sheet for when I go to shows and need to keep the ponies clean, a Herm Sprenger hole punch, a Newmarket throw blanket (to obviously match my horse) and an IRH Elite Ultra helmet. But none of these things are ones that I need and most are too spendy for me right at the moment and nothing seems "worthy" of such a great opportunity to spend the $50 that I've won!

I feel like the Happy Mouth bit is the mostly likely choice at this point. It's right around $50 so I'd only have to spend a couple extra bucks plus shipping. But then there's the decision of mullen or roller center? I have no experience with Happy Mouths, but I feel like Misty would probably go equally well in either, the goal is just to find her something gentler that she will take up contact with more eagerly.

Any thoughts? On the type of bit or on good things to buy ;)

Story of my life: decisions, decisions...

Oh and to add to the whole "my want list is a million miles long" this is the weekend that Mundial boots are in town... When I was looking for boots to buy I emailed them to see when they were in my state and this was the ONLY time they were here in the whole entire year. I opted not to wait several months to get fitted plus the 3 month wait to actually get the boots, but I still want them. I can see my dream custom brown field boots now... Gah. I have half a mind to go and get fitted just because and then wait until I can save up and order them. I just want to see them in person!

These. I want them.

Reluctant

Well, I may have found Jazz's new home. I finally posted her for sale and had a huge response. The first person came out and looked at her yesterday and I'm going to do a few reference checks and a barn check, then that may be it.

Having her back is hard because she is SO MUCH FUN. I forget how amazing she is, she really is my second heart horse after Grady. Plus, this time around I'm actually selling her instead of just leasing her. Whenever I sent her off to her new year long home, the lessor was always surprised that I wasn't having a hard time giving her away - I was dry eyed and happy because she had a person to pay attention to her like I couldn't.

But, she was still mine. I called the shots - I could take her back at any time, I could ask them to feed her more or less, give or withhold permission for certain things, etc. And I knew I would always get her back at the end.

I'm just reluctant to sell her. I know that anyone she goes to will treasure her, but it just makes me nervous. She deserves the best care there is. I just hope that with my checking out the family that I can make sure that that's what she'll get.

I started tearing up a bit on the way home after they came to see her. It's hard when you've had a horse for 10 years and they've just become an integral part of your life. I'll still make sure that if she ever needs another home, that she'll come back to me. But she'll no longer be mine, she'll have a forever home somewhere else. She deserves a new little girl though, someone who can grow with her and learn with her like I did.

My girl ♥

In slightly less downer news, there's yet another contest! SheMovedtoTexas is doing a giveaway of a Horze leather halter. I've posted about this company before because they have some awesome stuff at great prices. Fingers crossed I win because Misty is in need of a leather halter!

And I saw this on Eventing Nation the other day and it made me laugh: http://eventingnation.com/home/16-gifs-that-perfectly-articulate-how-you-feel.html

Quite accurate except for the dressage show one, I love dressage :)

Awful Adventure

I had a no good, very bad, rotten day yesterday with Jetta.

I was feeling kind of down so I decided that I needed a trail ride and a good gallop to lift my spirits. I still want to do an endurance ride so I need to get back to conditioning Jetta so I decided to take her to Silver Creek Falls for a ride since there are some hills (we've only been doing flat trails so far) plus it is almost all in the shade which is nice when it's 90 degrees out!

Loaded Jetta up and got there without incident. There were a ton of trailers in the parking lot. The one time I had been there with Queenie, we were the only ones there.

I started off on the trails and near the very beginning you have to cross a creek. I figured it would be no big deal since it's a fairly big stream (only small puddles are scary, ponds and large creeks are okay in Jetta's mind). But, there are a bunch of logs and a large stump off to one side so Jetta thought those were too scary to approach and wouldn't go in the water. Sigh. So I had to get off and walk her through the stream. As soon as I was off she was perfectly happy to follow me across. Luckily I wore my Dubarry's which are waterproof. Unfortunately they are not Jetta-proof as she gave an enthusiastic splash into the water, making my legs all wet and filling one boot with water. Ugh.

I got back on in the middle of the stream, emptied my boots and then continued on. The first part of the trail is really rocky so I had her new renegade hoof boots on for their first trial run. I've tried them in the arena to make sure they fit and they stayed on so this was their first trail ride. They squeaked awfully at first but once they went through the water they quieted down. Unfortunately Jetta got one twisted all the way around, how I have no idea, so I had to get off and fix it.

We continued on and trotted. Jetta snorted and spooked at every log, branch and large rock she came upon which was quite irritating. We came to the first bridge and she stubbornly refused to go near it so I had to get off yet again and lead her across. I got back on and we cantered down a long flat stretch that doesn't have any rocks. Then her other boot got twisted and I had to fix it. But after fixing each boot once, they were good for the rest of the ride.

The hills came and I let Jetta power trot up them. I lost my crop somewhere along the way. We came upon a couple riders and passed them and then had a great gallop. We came up to a large rock in the middle of the path which Jetta thought was impassable so I had to get off for a third time to lead her past. This was the point in which I should have taken a hint and gone back to the trailer. But I kept riding. We walked for a while and had to go under a low hanging branch so I shortened my reins so that I could make Jetta walk slowly underneath it so I wouldn't get hurt by it. Best laid plans... she instead raced underneath it and the branch caught me in the shoulder and then scraped its way down my back. Owwww. And now I have a lovely scrape mark down my back, even through my shirt.

We continued to trot up the hill and then I heard a funky noise from her hooves and looked down to see only one hoof boot, her left one was missing. How it came off her hoof I have no idea. When I went back down the trial it was no where to be found. I went all the way back to the scary rock in the middle of the road because that was the last time I was absolutely sure the boot was still on her hoof. We walked back and forth, back and forth. I even got off and walked it on foot but the boot was no where in sight. I looked in the underbrush and beneath the bushes. We walked that section of the trail 5 times and I could not find the boot for the life of me. Now I know why I should have gotten them in bright red or orange... I was beyond bummed. My first actual trail ride with the boots and I lose one. And they're really expensive too.

We walked all the way back down the hill instead of continuing on the loop. I was kind of done with our ride. Jetta was a pain in the butt about walking back at a reasonable speed. She was most certainly not done with our ride, despite being quite sweaty. Luckily I found my crop on the way down, but still no boot. Jetta crossed the bridge and the water with only slight hesitation which was good, because by that time I'd about had it with her spooky obnoxious self.

Untacked her and put her in the trailer with no treats and took her back to the barn. Upon unloading her from the trailer, I simultaneously slammed/pinched my elbow into the divider and now it hurts to bend it.

I'm still really upset about the boot. I don't know how it came off her hoof since it has two straps, one to actually hold it on her hoof and the other around her pastern as a back up. I can only think that when we were trotting it got flung off into the forest. I don't think I'll be buying another set of Renegades since they're just too expensive to lose. I'll probably put the other set I bought (for her hinds) which are slightly smaller on her front feet and she'll just go bare behind, then maybe I can sell the one larger hoof boot. Apparently it was too large, even though I tested it out in the arena. I'm still bummed.

Overall, a really rotten ride.

Melting

It's. Too. Hot. Cannot. Handle. It. Blegh...

It's been in the mid 90's over the weekend and going to continue into the majority of this week. I tried to get up as early as possible this morning to go ride both mares, but ended up only  being able to handle one ride in the heat, ending up with sweat dripping down my back and literally off my nose as I picked out Misty's hooves after the ride. Yuck.

I'm finally getting around to putting some rides on Misty. It's going well, but we have a TON of work cut out for us. I really did think that she was a lot further along in her training, which both my BO and the lady I bought her from led me to believe. It's not a huge deal because I don't mind doing the training, I just didn't expect to have quite so much work to do.

Sunday after I cleaned stalls I sucked it up and worked her on the ground because it was already 92 degrees and there was no way I was riding in the stuffy barn. My BO set up a couple little trail obstacles outside so we worked on those. While Misty is very polite on the ground, it's clear that she's like that simply because of her personality, not because anyone taught her manners, as she'll occasionally try to run you over or completely ignore you.

I worked on teaching her to be sent over obstacles. She'll lead over them fine, but by sending her over stuff it will build her confidence by doing things without me and it's easier for the tougher obstacles if she does it by herself that way if she tries to leap stuff I won't go flying out of the saddle :) She walked over the stall mats arranged in a narrow bridge okay after some convincing, though it took a bit longer for her to send from the left side. She doesn't quite know where her feet are, especially the hind ones, so she kept tripping over the poles on either side. I'd like to work on her with trot poles some.

We moved onto the tarp and raised poles, which she did quite well. Much better than two weeks ago when I introduced her to the tarp and she wouldn't go within 5 feet of it. There was a raincoat sitting on a barrel so we did some desensitizing with that. She spooked at it when I first presented it to her, but when I tossed it on her back she stood stock still. I think she was thinking that if she didn't move it wouldn't hurt her, but I'll take that spookiness over running away any day! She gradually accepted me rubbing it all over her, then I tied it to a rope and drug it around. I'm suspicious that she was never actually roped off of. I haven't gotten my rope from home to practice with yet, but dragging ropes across the ground (such as the lunge line) scares her, which sets off alarm bells in my mind. A rope horse should not be afraid of ropes.

She wasn't a huge fan of dragging the raincoat around, but tolerated it. We had a couple spooks where she tried to run away from it, but ended on a good note when she was able to slowly drag it backwards (towards herself) and then I reeled it in and petted her with it.

Today I went to get her out of the pasture and she didn't want to be caught so I made her run around a bit until she decided that she'd really rather be caught. Saddled her up and away we went. Here's what we need to work on.

Misty's Summer Goals:

-Learn to carry her head low on a relaxed rein at the walk, trot and canter
-Learn to jog
-Fine tune canter transitions, especially to the right
-Learn to reach into contact, not curl away from it
-Fine tune forehand/haunch turns
-Teach her to sidepass
-Begin teaching lateral movements
-Get her to have a quieter mouth
-Teach her to "whoa"
-Backing
-Play with cows
-Trail obstacles/desensitizing
-Ground work
-Learning to be caught in the pasture
-Bridling

She's able to carry her head relatively steadily at the walk and trot, but completely forget about that at the canter. She has a rough time picking up and holding the right lead canter. She has no jog whatsoever. She does not like contact and will curl away from it and gape her mouth. I am going to try putting a cavesson on her since I'm already using a mild bit, but if that doesn't help may actually try a flash because it's really bad. This is why I like buying unbroke horses - so that I can start them correctly so that problems like this don't crop up. It seems like she wasn't ever introduced to the bit properly, or it may just be something she learned from her last home since her owner used a Tom Thumb curb bit on her (hate those things). Her idea of stopping is to slam on the brakes, heavily on her forehand with her head in the air. She doesn't do any lateral work, though she does have an idea of how to pick up her inside shoulder when asked. She does forehand/haunch turns albeit sloppily. She strongly resists backing. Bridling is a struggle, you almost have to pry her mouth open to get the bit in. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. We've got a lot of work!

I bought Misty a new Cashel fly mask since her cheapy one gave her a huge rub (hence why I love the Cashel masks and will never use anything else every again). I didn't notice that it was one of the new ones with the patterns, but I love it! I think it suits her well, though she is not amused...

How Did I Get So Lucky?

I have been panicking while watching my bank account slowly drain itself this week as my deposit on Misty got withdrawn, then board, and now VET BILLS. I'm officially horse poor.

Yes, out of my three horses that I'm working with right now, only one of them is sound. You thought this was going to be an upbeat post about how I got to be so lucky to have three awesome horses, right? Well wrong.

I think I mentioned that Jetta had a baby cut on her knee. She got it last Monday while turned out and I thought it was healing fine, I've been putting antiseptic ointment on it. Anyways, this Monday she was a little off when I rode, I didn't see her on Tuesday and then Wednesday she was definitely off. I called my vet friend to see if she could come look at her (which would have been awesome because no fee!!) but she was out of town and she told me to have it looked at asap just to make sure it wasn't getting infected though she didn't think it was since her lameness was so slight.

Anyways, I had a local vet out this morning to look at it. Besides trying to develop proud flesh he said it was fine and that it wasn't really hurting her because she didn't mind flexing it. He pinched and whacked her hoof to see if maybe she had a bruise or abscess going on but there was nothing. So, he thought she was just being a baby and it was just a little uncomfortable to her. Typical delicate flower. He gave me some bute and called it a day. I lunged her fully before sticking her in the stall and her lameness seemed less than yesterday, just barely noticable. Still frustrating though.

Then Misty. Yes, my brand new horse is lame. She also has a baby cut, this time on her back leg, just below her hock. Yesterday I saddled her up and lunged her and didn't even notice she was off until we changed direction and she was noticeably limping. I looked at the gimp leg in question and wondered how I HADN'T noticed it. Her whole leg is swollen and had a nice stream of dried blood down the back (though in my defense I thought it was mud). So off to the wash rack we went. I hosed it off and cleaned it up. It's a fairly shallow cut, just like the one on Jetta's knee. I don't understand why she's having such an adverse reaction to it, though I do think it's because she has a cut and (hopefully) not because it's a tendon issue. I put some antiseptic ointment on and called it a night.

Baby cut.

This morning I expected for the swelling to have gone, assuming that it was just a reaction to the trauma the day of getting the cut. But no, it was still swollen and the cut has oozed a little bit so I washed it up again and put more ointment on it before sticking her back in the stall.

So Misty and Jetta are gimpy buddies now. They didn't get to go outside, instead getting a gram of bute each. Tomorrow if the swelling is still going on with Misty's leg I think I'll wrap it, just to give it some support and get rid of the fluid stocking up. I didn't have the vet look at her, so I do hope he won't need to come back out. Because I don't think I could take another farm call and exam fee, even if there is NO DIAGNOSTICS done. Geez, I know I want to be a vet and you don't make that much as one, but as a horse owner it's spendy!

Pretty girl is all decked out. But I can't ride her...

On the plus side though, if there is any, is that I think my dark oil tack all fits Misty. She is so tiny, but Jazz's old bridle is quite adjustable and the semi-QH bars of my saddle seem to be a better fit than the full QH bars on the saddle Queenie's using now. Plus the dark color looks pretty on her, now if I could just actually RIDE her. I'm getting excited to try out cow stuff with her though. Found this picture on Facebook and am stealing it to share with you:

Can't wait to do this

Pick Me Up

Today has been a no-good-very-bad day. I'm glad it's almost over.

Poor Queenie, all cleaned up and nowhere to go.

It started off with me showing Queenie off to MB (Tux's owner). She'd been wanting to come see her for a while and was pretty sure that she wanted to buy Queenie, she just wanted her husband to ride since she would be his horse for trail riding.

I got out to the barn early and groomed her up all nice. She had a bath the day before and was all freshly braided. I loved on her while we waited, she was chill. MB arrived and we talked a little before I saddled Queenie up in their western saddle and off we went.

We walk/trot/cantered to the right then changed direction. We went to canter and everything was fine for a few strides and then Queenie threw in a huge buck. Not super unusual, but not normal either since she usually doesn't throw such big bucks and she hasn't bucked in quite a while. I asked her to canter again, and again, everything was going fine. Then she tossed her head and started acting like she was going to buck, plunging her head down and shaking it. Weird. I thought maybe something was bothering her in the face, but everything was normal so we trotted off and everything was fine for half a circuit before she started spinning around and shaking her head, so I bailed.

I thought maybe the bridle was pinching her ears, but it's the same bridle we've been using for weeks now. Nothing has changed. MB thought maybe it was the neoprene girth on her saddle, since mine is felt. So I took off the bridle and just put her halter on. I put my saddle back on and got on again. Queenie immediately flew backward and didn't want to stop and was threatening to buck, shaking her head like she had something in her ear. I got off and she was EXTREMELY ear shy and didn't want anyone to touch either ear, which is not normal.

So I have no idea what was happening. I didn't finish my ride, I lunged her briefly and she was fine.  I just put her back in her stall. MB didn't ride and I don't know if they're going to buy her anymore. I'm super depressed because I just don't know what happened. I'm going to try again tomorrow and if nothing has changed, I'll have the vet out. MB, ever the optimistic person, mentioned "that's like brain tumor behavior". Thank you, thank you very much for now making me super worried. Yes, I know she's not my horse, but I really like her and I just don't want to have to deal with this.

So that was an amazing start to my morning. And it's gone basically all downhill from there.

So, with that gloomy note, I found this post, "First World Horse Problems" on Horse Nation, which gave me a much needed laugh. These remind me of Jetta:

Typical

Poor Jetta. Everyone thinks she's a gelding.

Stress Relief Therapy

Well this was going to be quite the downer post since everything right now seems to be falling apart in terms of school, but I was able to go out to the barn and put things in perspective - what I'm going through is NOT that big of a deal - and have a good ride on both girls.

My housing plan for next year fell through and I'm kicking myself for not following through with the home owner and for trusting someone who I think of as a good friend to look out for me. And also kicking myself for turning down another house offer because I thought I had it covered. So I may be living at the barn with my horse next  year since I can find no other options at this point... At least the tack room is heated - I could set up a cot, there's a fridge, sink and microwave in the club room and hot water in the wash rack!

Then there's my honors thesis. I have to have my thesis proposal in by the end of this term (less than 6 weeks away) and I have no idea what to do my project on, not even who will be my mentor for the project. Just feeling sort of lost at this point.

Just had a minor melt down last night, especially because I was worried about Jetta not being herself, have two midterms this week and am just feeling downright sucky. Anyways, enough whining, back to the ponies:

I got to the barn and the girls were both turned out in the sunshine. This weather is a major mood boost. Queenie had a fly mask on - I keep forgetting to get the poor girl one and I have to order it online because she needs a warmblood size and no one carries that size locally. But lo and behold the barn owner found a draft size mask in her tack collection and put it on Queenie and said I could keep it. Love this barn!

She is obviously not as excited about the fly mask as I am!

I rode Queenie and had one of the best rides on her. She was super good about going slow and maintaining her tempo and keeping her head down. She has trouble maintaining a consistent tempo and will randomly speed up at intervals and still is not that responsive to requests to slow back down (unless of course you just ask for a halt). But we didn't have that problem today! Even with the door open, she was a gem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've conquered the "Open Door ADD" that seems to occur when the arena door is open because today after a couple firm reminders that we ignore what's going on outside (aka Jetta running around like a hooligan), she passed the door multiple times without going all periscope head on me or quickening her stride.

Such a good pony! Then we had one of the best canters ever too. Her transitions aren't all that great yet, but she just seemed way more relaxed today, especially to the left. I was able to give her a little bit more rein without her popping her head up and she remained balanced and didn't rush. I was super pleased with her today.

Jetta going in for the roll... I swear she's like a dog sometimes. She literally dug a hole to lay down in.

Jetta didn't quite follow Queenie's stellar example, but she seemed back to her normal obnoxious self at least. Funny how small "misbehaviors" can be cause for celebration, like bobbing her head and fidgeting in the cross ties. She was a little argumentative at the beginning of our ride but mellowed out a bit as the ride went along. We got some nice trot work in where she felt like she was really using her hind end and swinging in her back. Then we had one of our best simple lead changes to date! The downward transition from canter to walk still requires about three or four trot strides, but today her upward transition was near perfect. That made me happy because I feel like that's one of the main movements holding us back from doing second level work.

Both ponies got hosed off and turned back outside, then I cleaned a bunch of tack. No ride tomorrow but I'm still planning on doing some cross country Wednesday!

Keeping it classy with the breeches, socks and flip flops in 80 degree weather

Grumpy Cat

The show went pretty well today. I was happy with how Jetta did and thought we improved in some areas a lot compared to our last dressage show. The judge however, did not agree.

I'd never ridden with this judge before and she was TOUGH. She basically didn't like anything we did. Except for our free walk. I don't know how you couldn't like Jetta's free walk so there's that. Here's how I pictured her:

I'm not sure if she was grumpy or not, but her scores sure seemed like it. I saw quite a few scores in the 50% range and not one score over 65%. Which is not usually what you see at a league show...

Here's the breakdown of our tests:

Training Test 3

Jetta was okay for this one but she was definitely a little looky in areas and she stiffened and came above the bit a couple times. It was just kind of a meh ride, though I felt for sure that we'd at least get the same score or better than our last show because her canter transitions were a million times better (save for trying to canter in one corner when I didn't ask) and our little serpentines were much bendier too. We got 7's on both halts (apparently those were both good though she wrote "to left" on both). Except for our free walk (an 8), everything else was 6's and 6.5. Comments were that she canter was stiff, unbalanced, our transitions were unbalanced and fussy, we were counter flexed at C (because Jetta was busy eyeing the judges stand - a table set up in the back of a truck with a canopy overhead) and while I thought we had one of our best stretchy trots to date in a show, we scored a 6 because she was inconsistent in her tempo. Phooey. We got a 7 for gaits, a 6.5 for impulsion, 6 for submission, 6.5 for rider's position and seat (saying that I leaned too far forward. Guilty as charged). A 6 for Rider's aids with no comment (I want to know why!) and 6.5 for Harmony. Our final comment was: "Great walk! Pleasant picture but many balance and positioning errors when executing the figures and performing transitions." Ok, I guess that's not the worst comment I could ever receive, but many?  I thought there were only a few bobbles.

We scored a 64.6% so we didn't improve at all from our last show, actually going down 1.2%. That wasn't a huge deal because I knew we'd had many a few bobbles and it wasn't our best, despite at least feeling improved.

Looking cute

First Level Test 1

For some reason I was SUPER nervous for this test. I think in part because I forgot an element of the test last time and I was worried I'd forget it again. I needn't have worried though, this test went awesome! It felt like we really had it together, all of the movements were just flowing into one another, I knew what was coming up next and Jetta was responsive and well behaved.

The judge didn't agree with my assessment.

Again, 7's on both halts with the same comment of being to the left. Our free walk we also scored an 8 again. Everything else was mostly 5.5 and 6's with a couple 6.5's. Bummer. Our comments were that Jetta's was quikening her stride instead of lengthening, that she didn't show much stretch in our stretchy trot circle, our transitions were "muddy", "stiff" or "lurching". She didn't like our circles or corners and said that her haunches were to the inside or that she was falling in/out. We got a 7 again for gaits, a 5.5 for impulsion with suppleness of the back and engadgement of the hq underlined. A 6 on submission, a 6.5 on rider's position with the same comment as before, a 6 on rider's aids and a 6.5 on harmony.

So that was a bummer to say the least - we got a score of 62.41%, which is the EXACT score from our previous test even though this one went so much better. What really got me though was the comment: "Good energy, but rider over-rides movements. Focus on the task at hand rather than run from one place to another... it's causing your horse to constantly chase his balance."

I have to say that I completely disagree with this comment. Plus, my horse is a her. I know we need to work on balance, that's a given. But I felt like I did very well moving from movement to movement. I was "in the zone" and half way through my test I even started smiling because I was so happy with how it was going. I felt like I rode each figure well and set her up for the next one instead of focusing so much on one movement only to have the next one sneak up on us and not be prepared for it.

We did get it on video, though with my mom's video taping skills that may or may not have been helpful. But it lets you get the gist of things and I can at least compare it to our last video of the same test.


Feedback welcome, as always :)

Overall, I was pleased with Jetta. I felt like we improved a lot (just go back to my post from the last dressage show and watch the video. So much better this time!). And it's not the end of the world not to get the score I wanted, it just means we have all summer to work on it and show to try and get that 65% at first level that I'm aiming for!

Also another note. In my defense for my position, yes I have bad equitation when riding Jetta (just Jetta for some reason...) but I was trying so hard today! My mom was there being my helper and she was helping me out by reminding me to sit back and put my shoulders back. I think I just need some invisible person to sit behind me and poke me between the shoulder blades every couple of seconds. Unfortunately, yesterday I messed up my back and it's killing me now. I must have a pinched nerve in my lower spine because it's sending shooting pains down my legs. It's been miserable. But I'm still functional even though a chiro visit is definitely in order and after watching Rolex riders - with separated shoulders, broken fingers and messed up ankles - ride beautifully and bravely I figured I could do the same :) Just not quite as beautifully obviously...

And speaking of Rolex, Hillary over at Equestrian at Hart is having a contest! And she has some awesome old Rolex Volunteer t-shirts she's giving away! So go enter (or not, because then that'd leave better chances for me to get one!)