Wednesday, October 8, 2014
(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday
Finally bought myself a show picture of Misty-moo! I waffled back and forth on what picture I wanted for the longest time and finally settled on this one because I love how uphill she was.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Cool Weather Crazies
Ugh, it's been crazy lately. In more ways than one.
It has finally made the transition to fall seemingly. I LOVE fall, except for the whole "leads to winter" thing. Days are a lot cooler. Which is what I'm blaming for the recent spastic nature of a certain roany paint pony...
Since I've been short on time and motivation, I've really enjoyed just hopping on Misty bareback for a ride in the field. But for some reason, this particular field just makes her all excited. I can ride her outside anywhere else and have a perfectly behaved pony, but for some reason this one gets her all uppity.
I thought the first time it was a fluke. I took her out bareback and she was walking along, a little tense, head up and looking around, but nothing indicating a looming explosion. Suddenly she reared up and spun around for absolutely no reason. Okay... Weird. I stayed on at least. We go back to our walk. And she does it again. And then again. Not okay.
I am so glad that even being out of shape for riding I still have some strong thighs and a sticky seat because I needed it all to stay on that night! She got worked quite hard and I decided that next time a saddle would come in handy.
Next time rolls around and I saddle her up and take her out. This time I was prepared for her shenanigans. She certainly wasn't as bad, but there were a few times she tried to give a head toss and be naughty for no reason and even once almost tried to bolt after I had her jump the ditch out there. Geez mare. Lots and lots of figure 8's and serpentines to get her to loosen up and pay attention to me. By the end of our ride she was being absolutely perfect, but I'm still not sure what gets into her when we're out there.
On the flipside, she's been an absolute angel in the arena. I've been having some really good dressage rides and I had one of the best rides to date on her over fences the other day. I was over the moon. One goal this month was to jump her once a week to prepare for the show and just get her going better (more on the show later) and I mostly stuck to that plan, save for one week.
Anyways, this particular ride I just set up the barrels and a vertical. Warmed up at 2'6", bumped it up to 2'9" and finally finished it off at 3'. She was a little looky and wiggly towards it the first time at 3', but every single time after that she jumped it like a champ. No chip-in's or long spots, no knocking the rail or rubs, just perfect jumps. We jumped it a handful of times in both directions and it gave me a lot more confidence for the upcoming debut at Novice... Which didn't last by the way.
It has finally made the transition to fall seemingly. I LOVE fall, except for the whole "leads to winter" thing. Days are a lot cooler. Which is what I'm blaming for the recent spastic nature of a certain roany paint pony...
Since I've been short on time and motivation, I've really enjoyed just hopping on Misty bareback for a ride in the field. But for some reason, this particular field just makes her all excited. I can ride her outside anywhere else and have a perfectly behaved pony, but for some reason this one gets her all uppity.
I thought the first time it was a fluke. I took her out bareback and she was walking along, a little tense, head up and looking around, but nothing indicating a looming explosion. Suddenly she reared up and spun around for absolutely no reason. Okay... Weird. I stayed on at least. We go back to our walk. And she does it again. And then again. Not okay.
I am so glad that even being out of shape for riding I still have some strong thighs and a sticky seat because I needed it all to stay on that night! She got worked quite hard and I decided that next time a saddle would come in handy.
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| Bad pony, pretty sunset. |
Next time rolls around and I saddle her up and take her out. This time I was prepared for her shenanigans. She certainly wasn't as bad, but there were a few times she tried to give a head toss and be naughty for no reason and even once almost tried to bolt after I had her jump the ditch out there. Geez mare. Lots and lots of figure 8's and serpentines to get her to loosen up and pay attention to me. By the end of our ride she was being absolutely perfect, but I'm still not sure what gets into her when we're out there.
On the flipside, she's been an absolute angel in the arena. I've been having some really good dressage rides and I had one of the best rides to date on her over fences the other day. I was over the moon. One goal this month was to jump her once a week to prepare for the show and just get her going better (more on the show later) and I mostly stuck to that plan, save for one week.
 |
| She looks dwarfed by 3' |
Anyways, this particular ride I just set up the barrels and a vertical. Warmed up at 2'6", bumped it up to 2'9" and finally finished it off at 3'. She was a little looky and wiggly towards it the first time at 3', but every single time after that she jumped it like a champ. No chip-in's or long spots, no knocking the rail or rubs, just perfect jumps. We jumped it a handful of times in both directions and it gave me a lot more confidence for the upcoming debut at Novice... Which didn't last by the way.
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| Poor neglected Jetta |
Monday, September 8, 2014
10 Questions
Because why not. Saw this over on L's blog Viva Carlos.
1. Is your horse spooky or bombproof? Misty - definitely bombproof. Jetta... it depends on her mood. Based off all the work I've done with her she should be bombproof, but some days she decides that everything is scary and nothing is safe. Sigh.
2. Does your horse have a long or short stride? Misty has a short stride, Jetta has a loooong stride.
3. Describe your current barn in 3 words? Crazy, busy, cheap.
4. If you could switch barns, would you? Yep. If I could find something as cheap and closer that didn't have as many boarders/drama, more turnout, I would so be there.
5. Favorite brand of breeches? I don't have one favorite... I love my Irideon and Smartpak Piper's for schooling, TS and Ariat for H/J shows, Tropical Rider and FITS for dressage shows.
6. How many blue ribbons do you have? I have no idea. Lots from showing Jazz. Not so many new ones though.
7. How many saddle pads do you own? I'm afraid to count. 3 white dressage, 1 blue dressage, 6 AP pads, two western pads and 4 western saddle blankets? Scary.
8. Is your horse your phone background/lock screen? Nope
9. Do you go trail riding often? I try. I love trail riding and while it would be my ideal to go at least once a week, I probably go more like once or twice a month now.
10. Favorite horsey movie? The Black Stallion, Hildalgo, National Velvet, then Seabiscuit.
1. Is your horse spooky or bombproof? Misty - definitely bombproof. Jetta... it depends on her mood. Based off all the work I've done with her she should be bombproof, but some days she decides that everything is scary and nothing is safe. Sigh.
2. Does your horse have a long or short stride? Misty has a short stride, Jetta has a loooong stride.
3. Describe your current barn in 3 words? Crazy, busy, cheap.
4. If you could switch barns, would you? Yep. If I could find something as cheap and closer that didn't have as many boarders/drama, more turnout, I would so be there.
5. Favorite brand of breeches? I don't have one favorite... I love my Irideon and Smartpak Piper's for schooling, TS and Ariat for H/J shows, Tropical Rider and FITS for dressage shows.
6. How many blue ribbons do you have? I have no idea. Lots from showing Jazz. Not so many new ones though.
7. How many saddle pads do you own? I'm afraid to count. 3 white dressage, 1 blue dressage, 6 AP pads, two western pads and 4 western saddle blankets? Scary.
8. Is your horse your phone background/lock screen? Nope
9. Do you go trail riding often? I try. I love trail riding and while it would be my ideal to go at least once a week, I probably go more like once or twice a month now.
10. Favorite horsey movie? The Black Stallion, Hildalgo, National Velvet, then Seabiscuit.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Pretty Mare and Sale Stuff
Nothing too interesting to update, as is the usual of course. I did enter the eventing derby that's next weekend and I'm super excited for it!
Misty got a "guest ride" today. She had the task of babysitting both a green rider and a green horse. I had to work all day and my friend AC (she owns the big warmblood William and used to board at the same barn but recently moved) asked if she could use her for a trail ride. Of course! Misty gets to have other people ride her, gets some good exercise - hill work! - and gets outside the arena. AC is a great rider and takes great care of her horse so I knew she was in good hands. And I got the report back that she was perfect on the trails!
So that was nice that I didn't have to worry about riding her this evening and instead focused a little more attention on poor Jetta who has been so neglected. Jetta got a nice grooming and then I lunged her in the round pen. While fat, she is still looking so nice right now. I really need to make the time to get her back under saddle consistently!
And keeping with the randomness, I have this set of pink stuff for sale. Two TuffRider pads, light pink and dark pink. The dark one is virtually new, the light pink one has a black stain by the girth keeper. The SMB boots and bell boots (pink paisley pattern) are both average horse size. The SMB boots have a purple stain on them, but everything is in good, useable condition and looks really cute all together! $60 for the set, if you take it all I will include shipping. I will divide it up too, make an offer.
Misty got a "guest ride" today. She had the task of babysitting both a green rider and a green horse. I had to work all day and my friend AC (she owns the big warmblood William and used to board at the same barn but recently moved) asked if she could use her for a trail ride. Of course! Misty gets to have other people ride her, gets some good exercise - hill work! - and gets outside the arena. AC is a great rider and takes great care of her horse so I knew she was in good hands. And I got the report back that she was perfect on the trails!
So that was nice that I didn't have to worry about riding her this evening and instead focused a little more attention on poor Jetta who has been so neglected. Jetta got a nice grooming and then I lunged her in the round pen. While fat, she is still looking so nice right now. I really need to make the time to get her back under saddle consistently!
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| How'd I get so lucky to own such a gorgeous horse?! |
And keeping with the randomness, I have this set of pink stuff for sale. Two TuffRider pads, light pink and dark pink. The dark one is virtually new, the light pink one has a black stain by the girth keeper. The SMB boots and bell boots (pink paisley pattern) are both average horse size. The SMB boots have a purple stain on them, but everything is in good, useable condition and looks really cute all together! $60 for the set, if you take it all I will include shipping. I will divide it up too, make an offer.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Blog Hop: Riding Socks
Ok, I know there's other blog hops going on right now, but I thought I'd try my hand at one. Just one for the time being, I'm not going to try and do a "series" of them. I don't *think* this one has been done before, but I can't quite remember... So it's possible this might be a redo. It feels like it's a redo, but I can't find any proof of that lol.
I found the motherload of all sock stores. I've been in this store a few times but somehow managed to completely miss their ginormous awesome sock collection. Never have a seen so many socks that I wanted. I ended up buying some Starry Night socks (my FAV Van Gogh painting) but I was eyeballing some corgi, multicolored zebra, and some I ♥ oregon socks.
So, my blog hop topic is: What riding socks do you use and which ones are your favorite?
The socks I use (as pictured above, left to right): Kerrits socks that I got for competing at Inavale HT. Do not like. They're a neat material that doesn't hold moisture but they are so. tight. My poor calves get suffocated in these. Then I have three pairs that my mom got me. We don't have similar styles... I don't like the patterns except the watermelon stripe one is okay. Then a cute horse-y pair I got as a gift, my most favorite SmartWool socks that I'm wearing to death. Two pairs of Zocks. These are ok. I usually wear another pair of short socks over them for the padding since these are so thin. But they don't make my legs sweat so that's nice. Then the new socks!
I found the motherload of all sock stores. I've been in this store a few times but somehow managed to completely miss their ginormous awesome sock collection. Never have a seen so many socks that I wanted. I ended up buying some Starry Night socks (my FAV Van Gogh painting) but I was eyeballing some corgi, multicolored zebra, and some I ♥ oregon socks.
So, my blog hop topic is: What riding socks do you use and which ones are your favorite?
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| My sock collection |
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| Love 'em |
Friday, August 29, 2014
MOAR JUMPING
More jumping! I really want to try and jump Misty at least once a week to both try and get her endurance up and also smooth out our skills.
Also, I have the show bug. I'm going to sign up for an eventing derby on September 21st and we're going to go Novice! Or at least try.
Today's jump school was not as smooth as last week. I guess that's what I get for not riding her on the flat for two days beforehand. She was quite spunky and exuberant with the flying changes and head tossing "look how awesome I am!" moments.
But, we nailed every flying change and she was good. I set up a line with a vertical one stride to a swedish oxer. We'd never done a swedish oxer before and she thought it was quite suspicious looking at first. After a brief snorty introduction, she was over it and jumped it fairly willingly. The toughest issue we had was her sucking back in approaching the oxer meaning that she had to put in two strides in the one stride. Our last attempt was absolutely perfect though with just one stride, no chips or long spots and no brushing the jumps either!
Canter adjustability is something that has been quite the focus lately since she has... barely any. Now the trot adjustability we've finally gotten down. (Shh, it took us a whole year) but now that we're doing First Level work, we need a lengthened canter and while she can do the lengthening ok, the transition back to a working canter sucks.
Anywho, it was still a great ride. She is just such a fun little horse. After jumping the line one last time, I asked for a flying change to the left lead, did a 20 meter circle and came across the center for another flying change and finished with one last circle. LOVE having flying changes.
Also, I have the show bug. I'm going to sign up for an eventing derby on September 21st and we're going to go Novice! Or at least try.
Today's jump school was not as smooth as last week. I guess that's what I get for not riding her on the flat for two days beforehand. She was quite spunky and exuberant with the flying changes and head tossing "look how awesome I am!" moments.
But, we nailed every flying change and she was good. I set up a line with a vertical one stride to a swedish oxer. We'd never done a swedish oxer before and she thought it was quite suspicious looking at first. After a brief snorty introduction, she was over it and jumped it fairly willingly. The toughest issue we had was her sucking back in approaching the oxer meaning that she had to put in two strides in the one stride. Our last attempt was absolutely perfect though with just one stride, no chips or long spots and no brushing the jumps either!
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| My good pony |
Canter adjustability is something that has been quite the focus lately since she has... barely any. Now the trot adjustability we've finally gotten down. (Shh, it took us a whole year) but now that we're doing First Level work, we need a lengthened canter and while she can do the lengthening ok, the transition back to a working canter sucks.
Anywho, it was still a great ride. She is just such a fun little horse. After jumping the line one last time, I asked for a flying change to the left lead, did a 20 meter circle and came across the center for another flying change and finished with one last circle. LOVE having flying changes.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Monogram All the Things
I've been pretty happy with the new barn I'm at. Well, "new" since I've been there 7 months now... Anyways.
Not so happy today. Little things just keep piling up and really bothering my. Sigh. First it was my treats disappearing. I had a large bag of treats that was divided up into small baggies. I went to grab one of the 10 different little bagfuls and found... 10 empty bags. That I had not opened. Not amused.
I still had a little plastic treat container that had a few crumbs in it sitting on my drawers which I always refilled. Then I came to the barn and found... all the crumbs dumped out onto the top of my drawers and the plastic container gone. Grr.
Then my dressage schooling whip went missing. Yes, it was bleached and frayed and grosss... but still. I need that thing.
Then I went to give the horses a bath and couldn't find my shampoo. Later I found it in someone else's bath bucket.
I've also had bags of bedding pellets go missing. And my sharpie that I've been using to obsessively label nearly everything is also gone. Sigh. I'm about ready to just lock everything in my trailer just to contain it all.
But something more happy - I am having an "attack of the horsey I-wants" so I decided I need to relieve some of my stress via a tiny bit of retail therapy, aka I bought a sticker for my helmet in order to join the ranks of all the cool people that have these.
I really like it! I should have measured the gap in my helmet for the sticker because I probably would've gotten a 1.5" instead of a 2" but at least it fits (barely). I love it though. So classy looking. I really want to buy a decal for my show whip now (and maybe even my schooling helmet) to keep it from walking away since things of mine keep disappearing...
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| Super attractive picture |
Not so happy today. Little things just keep piling up and really bothering my. Sigh. First it was my treats disappearing. I had a large bag of treats that was divided up into small baggies. I went to grab one of the 10 different little bagfuls and found... 10 empty bags. That I had not opened. Not amused.
I still had a little plastic treat container that had a few crumbs in it sitting on my drawers which I always refilled. Then I came to the barn and found... all the crumbs dumped out onto the top of my drawers and the plastic container gone. Grr.
Then my dressage schooling whip went missing. Yes, it was bleached and frayed and grosss... but still. I need that thing.
Then I went to give the horses a bath and couldn't find my shampoo. Later I found it in someone else's bath bucket.
I've also had bags of bedding pellets go missing. And my sharpie that I've been using to obsessively label nearly everything is also gone. Sigh. I'm about ready to just lock everything in my trailer just to contain it all.
But something more happy - I am having an "attack of the horsey I-wants" so I decided I need to relieve some of my stress via a tiny bit of retail therapy, aka I bought a sticker for my helmet in order to join the ranks of all the cool people that have these.
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| Love |
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| Personally Preppy Helmet Monogram |
I really like it! I should have measured the gap in my helmet for the sticker because I probably would've gotten a 1.5" instead of a 2" but at least it fits (barely). I love it though. So classy looking. I really want to buy a decal for my show whip now (and maybe even my schooling helmet) to keep it from walking away since things of mine keep disappearing...
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