Fall Back

Gah, I hate the time change. Nothing like riding in the pitch black, right?

Nothing too much new in the last couple of days. Ponies are happy at home, I finally rode today, my first time since Tuesday. More on that ride later.

I didn't get to mention my previous ride on Jetta on Tuesday, long ago as that seems! We had a really good jump school. Warmed up at 2'6" to 2'9" and she was really good. No rushing and she was very good about maintaining a reasonable speed (just rode in the Myler). Bumped the jumps up to 3'3" and 3'6" (that's the problem with only having jump blocks and no actual jump standards because I can't make them into 3' jumps). Regardless, she was awesome. She refused the first attempt at the 3'3" oxer, though I know she'd have gone over it if I had kept my leg on. My confidence is always the issue - if I make her go over it, she will. Second attempt she cleared it, jumping me out of the tack and landing me on the cantle of the saddle. Ouch, other than that, she was awesome! The 3'6" vertical she took out on the first try, but every other time she was absolutely perfect and tucked her feet up without touching it. That's the highest I've ever jumped on a horse! So I was excited, needless to say.

Maybe someday I'll be on her doing this?

It was interesting that she was much better at jumping the 3'6" vertical rather than the smaller oxer. Usually she's much better with oxers, but I think that was just showing my problems. I was more comfortable with the smaller height so I was trying to regulate her speed too much. I need to stop picking at her when I'm 3-4 strides away and just let her be. With the 3'6" height I was just crossing my fingers and toes that she was going to jump it so I just let her be, therefore she was able to jump better. More practice in the works for sure, potentially a jumping show on the 15th? I know I'm probably going to take Misty for sure on the 16th for the baby hunter classes, but I'd like to take Jetta for the jumper classes that are Friday night if possible, so we'll see. Then the next weekend after that I'm planning on taking a lesson from KO. I think I have to work on the Saturday so instead of doing the full clinic (a dressage lesson and two jumping lessons) I think we can just do a jumping lesson on Sunday.

So yay for jumping!

Tonight's ride however... was awful. She was a twit and a half.

I whistled for the horses to come up and they trotted up. I had put hay in their stalls and let them in, tacked Jetta up while she was munching. I led her over to my neighbor's arena on the hill and Misty started freaking out, spinning and racing around her run. It was slightly worrying hearing her literally bouncing off the walls, but I knew she had to figure out that that kind of behavior would not bring Jetta back and after a minute she stopped. Jetta however got super amped up with hearing Misty rattling around. She pranced her way all the way to the arena with her tail in the air. I considered letting her gallop around but decided against that, because while it lets her blow off steam, she doesn't actually settle down, she just stays hyper.

So I hopped on.We did lots of walking around, trying to get her to focus on me, rather than on Misty. Every time she popped her head up she got a firm tap of my heels to get her to go forward into the bridle and listen to me. Trotting was absolutely atrocious. She either wanted to do her pony trot with her head in the air, or her freight train trot on the forehand and charging full steam ahead. We ended up working at the far end of the arena on a 20m circle going around and around and around until she finally gave me some semblance of a nice trot, then we'd work our way down the long wall towards the barn and start circling again when she popped her head up to stare at the barn.

It was a frustrating ride, but I was at least glad I handled it well despite wanting to kill my nitwit horse. There were several moments of almost rears and sideways rocketing, but I held it together. We only cantered to the left because she was being so bad to the right we I just couldn't get it together enough to allow her to canter as much as she wanted to...

Monster pony was a monster. Maybe she looks apologetic? Probably not.

She's always been a brat in that arena, there's just something about it that makes her act awful. I have literally probably only had one good flat/dressage ride in that arena with her in the three and a half years she's been under saddle. The footing's nice, it's fenced in, there's nothing scary about it and she's the only horse that misbehaves there. I'm hoping once she settles into the routine of being there she'll get her $#!& together and behave, but we'll see.

Misty wants attention, but Jetta just wants food.

I hope to ride on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. I think Jetta will definitely get lots of lunging with side reins the first day and the second day I'll lunge then ride. Hopefully that will instill some sanity in her. And then I will ride Misty one or both of those days.

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?

Review: Cricket & Blue Custom Horsehair Bracelet

I can't tell you how excited I was to receive this bracelet! It took me a long time to send in Grady's hair. I kept all of his tail hair, specifically so that I could get a bracelet or two made. My mom eventually convinced me that it was time, as she wanted to get me this bracelet as a birthday present!

I've seen several reviews of Cricket & Blue's bracelets and I loved how nice they looked. Classy, high quality and well made. I ended up deciding on getting a bracelet made with multiple horse's hair since I wanted something that was different. I had some of Jazz's and Tux's hair as well so I emailed Rachel and asked if a tri-color bracelet in sort of a spiral-y pattern was possible and she said yes!

First picture I saw of my hair when she got it!

I got the hair all cleaned up and sent it in. I got a little enthusiastic about the amount I sent in just because I wanted to make sure there was plenty.

It was nice that I follow Cricket & Blue on Instagram and like them on Facebook because then I got to stalk all the pictures and find the ones of my hair.

In progress: Mine's on the right!

I decided on a Passion bracelet in silver. I'm definitely more of a silver than a gold kind of person! Originally I was going to go with a Passage bracelet, but then ultimately decided on Passion bracelet because even though I liked the idea of a chunkier bracelet, I liked the hardware better on the Passion.

In the mail!!

I haven't been so excited for a package in a long time. I checked the mail several times every day (our mail always comes at random times). I checked it for the second time on Monday just in case before I left for class. I happily tore into the packaging, barely pausing to take this picture:

Cute little bag it came in

And found my bracelet and a nice little note from Rachel as well. I immediately put the bracelet on to make sure it fit (phew, it did. I have the tiniest wrists so it just looked so little I was worried I asked for the wrong size!). I was then so excited that when I left the house, I locked my keys inside and had to finagle my way back inside to get them before heading off to class without being late. Hey, I was really excited.

Perfection

I don't normally wear bracelets, except for my leather nameplate one. I used it as a template for what size to order. I think if I had ordered maybe half an inch larger it would have been an even better size just because of the style of bracelet it it, I'd want it a little more "floppy" on my wrist, but as it is, it's still perfect. I love wearing it with my nameplate bracelet because then I have all four of my favorite horses on my wrist!

Overall, I couldn't be happier with my bracelet. It looks gorgeous, the braid is very tight with no loose hairs, and it makes me so happy to have a piece of all my favorite horses with me, most especially Grady. I'm already considering my next bracelet, perhaps with just his hair... Or maybe even a pair of horsehair knot earrings! I would highly recommend going with Cricket & Blue for a bracelet. She responded quickly to my emails, it was great to see updates of my bracelet in progress and the end product is wonderful.

Cricket & Blue Website

**The first three pictures are from Cricket & Blue, used with their permission.

Sunshine Award

Thanks to Hillary at Equestrian at Hart!

The sunshine award is for people who 'positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere'. The nominee of this award must do the following, thank the person who nominated them, nominate 10 bloggers of their own, answer the 10 questions given to you, post them, and add the Sunshine Award Button to the blog.

1. Mares or Gelding? I prefer mares, but I like both. It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me either way.

2. English or Western? Both. I guess I've turned more English, but I'm really having fun with Misty Western. I missed it!

3. Do you prefer younger or older horses? Younger. 

4. Have you trained a horse from ground zero? Yes, I've trained a handful of horses from start to finish. My first one I was under the supervision of my trainer but I still did all the work and the rest (including Jetta) were just me!

5. Do you prefer riding or groundwork? I like both. Depends on the day and what I feel like doing.  

6. Do you board your horse or keep him at home? Well, that's a little bit up in the air at the moment (more on this later) but I've been boarding for the past three years but before that I kept them at home.

7. Do you use all natural things or just commercial stuff (the products you use)? Both, I like the idea of using more natural things, but as long as it works I'll use it.

8. All tacked up or bareback? Both. I ride Jetta mostly with tack because she has the most awful withers of all time.

9. Equestrian role model? Not sure I really have one, I admire a lot of the upper level riders, but honestly don't follow anyone that closely. 

10. What's your one main goal while being in the horse world? Not quite sure how to answer this one, I just hope to keep improving!


My 10 nominees. I tried to pick those that hadn't been nominated, but I think that I failed miserably in that respect!

Matt the Cowpony
The Adventures of Crispy-Creme
A Collection of Madcap Escapades
My Mojito
Pony Express
The Owls Approve
Chasing the Dream
Sweet Horse's Breath
Poor Woman Showing
She Moved to Texas

Hunter Ponies

Have had some great rides on the girls.

Friday was a jumping school on Misty. She was really good. I really need to set up some gymnastics for her. I used barrels for the "standards" and made a baby x with it. She is so cute. She definitely hasn't decided if she likes jumping yet or not. She gives the jumps a hairy eyeball and sucks back a bit but she doesn't try to refuse or run out. Like ever. And I love it! Let's hope she never figures out how to refuse...

Her biggest problem right now is that she takes off too close to the jump so I've been having to "help" her decide where to take off. I ended up upping the jump to a vertical and had her jumping 2'6". She was definitely game, though getting a little tired by the end. I think one of the biggest issues with jumping Misty is me. Since she has (somewhat) flying changes, this means that if I even inadvertently ask for a change, I may get it. Meaning that if I don't sit straight in the saddle, we're probably going to get a change where I don't want one. 

Overall, it was a really good ride and I'm excited to jump her more and see where this goes!

With Jetta, it hasn't been jumping (yet) we've been doing flatwork and I've been doing my best to stretch out my two-point time. I went for the longest time yet today, but was disappointed that it was only 7 minutes long. We'll have to see if I can stretch it out a few minutes longer!

I spent a lot of time just hanging out with Jetta on the ground. I free lunged her then did some liberty work. Lots of cuddles. She started sniffing one of the Halloween decorations, a big fluffy spider, and decided it was AWESOME. She loved it. I was really surprised, I thought once she touched it and it moved, that she'd freak out. But apparently her and spidey are new best friends.

Possibly one of the first non-awkward selfies I've gotten of us, lol.

"Hm, wut iz this??"

"I luffs the spider"

"Oh. Hai."

You know fall is here when you break out the quarter sheet.

My pony is looking good!

Blogger Sale

ETA: I've decided to leave this post up until Friday the 8th! If you're interested in anything let me know by then, otherwise I'm putting everything left on consignment at a local tack store...

I figured I might as well try out posting items I have for sale on the blog before I consign everything since that has seemed to work for some people! I have a lot of stuff I need to get rid of... Let me know if you're interested in something. Paypal only. Everything includes shipping!

ECP Wither Relief Fleece Half Pad. Fits a 17-17.5" saddle. Good condition, nice and thick. Just washed it! $75

Gel Pad. Slightly dusty cover, but still in great condition. Really works well, especially if you need a temporary solution before reflocking your saddle. $50

Kincaide Breastplate. Reddish brown color. Good condition. Horse sized. $20.

(will upload pic soon or if interested let me know and I can send you a pic!)

Ariat Tall Dress Boots. These are awesome boots. Despite being very used, they're in fantastic condition. Clean up like new and wear like iron. Comfortable, but no longer fit me. They're a size 8/tall/slim. They've been stretched by a shoe repair place so they're more in-between a slim and a regular calf, 14" around the outside at the widest part. My calf measures about 13.5" and they/re too tight and barely zip up. Full zipper along the back. $120 - I have more pics if you're interested.

Toklat Originals All Purpose Pad. Super cute, black with gray binding and pink piping. Unfortunately don't use it and I need the money, so my loss is your gain. $25

Freshly washed but comes with some free Misty hair and a complementary dusting of barn dirt :)

Herm Sprenger Spurs. 1/4" rounded end. $20

I'm aware the tag says 15, but I added 5 for shipping :)

5.25" Dr. Bristol Baucher. Good bit for a strong horse, just slightly too strong for Jetta. It's all cleaned up but has a patina to it. $40

5.5" Loose Ring Waterford.  Only selling because I decided to go with a D-ring. $25

5.25" French Link Full Cheek. Nice mild bit, comes with keepers. $25

Sorry it's dirty, will clean before shipping

Horsewear Ireland rubber reins. Buckle ends. Brand new, never used. Nice quality havana leather. $30

This but in havana brown

50" contoured leather girth. Elastic at one end. Well used, but has a long life left. $25

78" Weatherbeeta Qualited Stable Blanket. Navy. Really nice and warm, has fit all my QH's and TB that I've put it on, just don't use it any longer. Freshly washed, no rips or repairs needed. Belly surcingle and leg straps, double buckle chest. $40

Looks like this, minus the neck cover. It was all clean and neatly folded so I didn't want to mess it up to take a pic!

Blackwatch Plaid Stable Sheet. Not waterproof. Belly surcingle and leg straps, double buckle chest. Several patches done on the blanket (professional) but has two new small tears, each roughly an inch long. $15

Has three small patches done. Has two additional small, maybe 1" tears on the butt area

Complete western bridle (except for the curb strap) - headstall, curb bit, round braided nylon split reins with horsehair tassel at the end. $30

(will upload pics soon, if interested let me know and I can send them to you!

Easyboot Gloves, size 3W, pair. Comes with power straps, not yet installed. Basically tried on a few times but not really used. $120 (new $144)

Renegade Hoof boot, single. 2WW, apparently too large for Jetta, only used once. Good buy if you want to buy the second boot new or use this one as an emergency for lost shoes. Really neat boot. $70 (new $84.50)

Black crop with swarovski iridescent crystals (pinkish). Super cute! $15

72" Horsewear Newmarket, navy stripe stable blanket. Bought this on sale, thinking that it was the stable sheet, not the blanket. Oops. Never even taken out of the bag. Would prefer to trade for the same thing in the blanket style, but for sale as well. If anyone has a navy Newmarket stable sheet, in size 72-78" I'll buy it from you! $55

IRH Elite Helmet. Size 7 and 1/8. This is my show helmet, so it's not very used, maybe a couple handful of times. NO FALLS. In great condition (I promise it doesn't smell). Low profile so it's a good looking helmet on. A few minor scuffs on the surface from setting it on the ground/not storing it in a helmet bag, but not really noticeable. $150 (bought $229 new)

small white scuffs, don't know how to get them off?

some scuffing on the gray part

Herm Sprenger hackamore, reddish brown. Barely used it as it was Jazz's hackamore so it needs a new home! $50

(will take pics and upload, can email them to you if interested!)

Open to reasonable offers on everything, though keep in mind that the prices include shipping. I'm definitely willing to make a deal if you buy multiple items!

Kickstart It!

In true homework/study avoidance, here I am writing a blog post. But it's a quick one!

I wanted to share a campaign to get Equestrian Culture magazine in print. I love horse magazines in general and love fashion/artsy stuff (I'm an avid follower of blogs such as Dappled Grey, Cavalcade, etc.) so when I ran across the online version of this magazine, I really loved it. The design is super classy and gorgeous (in another life I'd love to be a graphic designer) plus I love supporting the "little guys".

This campaign has 13 hours left and they're really close to making their goal of $10,000. If they don't make it in the allotted time, then they don't get any of the money. It's super easy to create an account and donate money. If they do end up going to print then based off how much money you donated, you get a "reward". For instance if you donate $25 you get a year subscription so you're basically just buying a subscription with the only caveat being that you don't actually pay the money unless they meet their goal!

I just thought it was a neat thing to get behind so I thought I'd spread the word since I'd like to see a copy of it in my mailbox :)

Click here to go to the campaign.

You can read their previous two online publications and learn more on their website.

Like them on Facebook.