When I signed up for the LOPE benefit show this weekend, I figured I'd do a couple of classes on each of the Big Bay Boys. I mean, how hard is it to throw together Intro B and C, a tiny hunter round, and a little trail class?
And then today the schedule came out.
10:40 Oberon In-hand Trail I
12:23 Saga Intro B
1:12 Oberon Intro B
2:00 Oberon Hunter I
2:58 Saga Intro C
3:38 Oberon Intro C
4:20 Saga Hunter II
5:10 Saga Trail II
So... yeah. I had this fantasy of riding Oberon in dressage, then Saga, then having a leisurely lunch, changing clothes to hunt-appropriate attire, then riding a few tidy hunter rounds (and laughing at Oberon when he stops to eat the fake flowers). Instead, it looks like I'll be wearing my white breeches till 4pm, at which point they should be a sad shade of dirty smudge.
Did I mention it's supposed to rain? Like, ALL DAY? And we all know how awesome white breeches are when wet.
So, what should I wear? First off, the in-hand trail class. Oberon has a brown leather halter, but it's not fancy. I have an exceptionally boring black cotton lead rope. Do I wear my breeches and boots? I can barely walk in my tall boots, and if it's muddy, I really don't want to slog around in them. I don't have any boot-cut jods, but I could wear jeans and paddock boots and a polo shirt. Or maybe a white flowy shirt (bad if it's pouring)? Or... a white long-sleeved shirt and an autumnal plaid wool vest? Halp?
Dressage is easy. Coats are waived, so it's white breeches and a white shirt. Or do I say screw the white breeches and go with tan breeches and a white shirt? Or maybe a different colored polo (I have navy, light blue, and brown, as well as a black dry-fit shirt). I'm using a white saddle pad, and black tack for dressage.
Same for the hunter classes. I have a grey hunt coat (for FOXHUNTING, duh, not hunters) that I could wear, but as I said, coats are waived and I don't want to be out of place. My tack is brown and I have white fuzzy fitted pads. Do I just go with the tan breeches and white shirt? Or go for a different colored polo?
Please, someone help me dress! I need a fashion consultant! Possibly also someone to manage my wardrobe at this rate...
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
And then suddenly...
... I started blogging again.
You know how sometimes there's plenty going on, but you're just not inspired to blog? Yeah, that's been me. I've been riding - although with highs last week of 105, I admit not as much as I'd like, especially given that we've got a show this Saturday. I've made it through the entire four seasons of White Collar (yes, in two weeks. Don't ask.), and am now bummed that I will only get to see Matt Bomer (swooooon) weekly, or on re-runs. The husband is out of town, but nothing has broken (yet) - still waiting for that axe to fall. And the current scorpion body count stands somewhere north of 15 (UPDATE: Make that 16. I just squished another one on the wall. Ugh). I have no idea why there are so many all at once when I haven't seen any for months, but at least the little bastards are showing up dead or nearly so.
Let's see, what to catch up on. Oh, Saga's got a new farrier. This one also works for a (different) vet, but actually calls back and responds to text messages. He makes house calls too, so I might not have to haul any more to get Saga shod. That would be super-awesome-nice. The first shoeing job was a little scary, but Saga is sound and comfortable, so... I guess it's all good.
You know how sometimes there's plenty going on, but you're just not inspired to blog? Yeah, that's been me. I've been riding - although with highs last week of 105, I admit not as much as I'd like, especially given that we've got a show this Saturday. I've made it through the entire four seasons of White Collar (yes, in two weeks. Don't ask.), and am now bummed that I will only get to see Matt Bomer (swooooon) weekly, or on re-runs. The husband is out of town, but nothing has broken (yet) - still waiting for that axe to fall. And the current scorpion body count stands somewhere north of 15 (UPDATE: Make that 16. I just squished another one on the wall. Ugh). I have no idea why there are so many all at once when I haven't seen any for months, but at least the little bastards are showing up dead or nearly so.
Let's see, what to catch up on. Oh, Saga's got a new farrier. This one also works for a (different) vet, but actually calls back and responds to text messages. He makes house calls too, so I might not have to haul any more to get Saga shod. That would be super-awesome-nice. The first shoeing job was a little scary, but Saga is sound and comfortable, so... I guess it's all good.
LF. That damn bulge is STILL there, after two years of trying so many ways to let it grow out. The new farrier is trying to rasp down the hoof wall, which makes me cringe. HOWEVER, when I pointed out that what really needs to happen is that the wall needs to be at the same angle all the way down WITHOUT rasping, he said, "You're right, and that's where we're going to be in six months or so." At least we both have the same end goal in mind!
When he pulled the previous set of shoes, a huge chunk of toe came off. Awesome. Saga was at 5 weeks exactly... he looked more like 9 weeks.
LF. Better, although the hairline is still pushed up at the quarters.
At least he's sound.
I've been doing regular jumping lessons, and seem to be mostly improving. I'll work on one thing and then something else (that I thought I'd already fixed) will break. Also, after seeing me school some of the Training XC fences (3'3 ish), Paige has jacked the fences up. We're jumping mostly 2'6-3'. It's going pretty well - my big challenges continue to be keeping the elbows in, and not letting him get rolling up to the fence. Saga is naturally downhill and has a big chest and shoulder, so it's hard for him to balance back. We're getting better, but we've got a long ways to go before I'll really feel like the power is coming from behind.
Paige also snuck up a nice 3'3-ish oxer on a line we were doing. I came around and said something like "HOLY CARP THAT'S HUGE". She reminded me not to look at it, and Saga jumped through like a pro. Is he awesome or what?!?! (Please ignore my 'flying chicken' elbows).
This coming Saturday is the LOPE benefit horse show. I'm riding Saga and Oberon in two dressage classes each (Intro B and C), a hunter over fences class each (Saga at 2'6 and Oberon is jumping Xs and will likely spook at the flowers), and a trail versatility class each (Saga ridden and Oberon in-hand). One of the likely obstacles on the trail versatility course will be walking over a tarp on the ground. Oberon will walk over one, but every time I move it to a new place, it's a whole new game. Most recently, he licked the tarp and then picked it up in his teeth, managing to scare the crap out of himself when the whole thing moved. Yep, he's speshul. I just hope he doesn't do something that classy at the show. I'm also on to him about eating fake flowers (he tried that at our jumping lesson last week). With his penchant for sampling anything and everything, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps he's part goat.
Intro B I'm not worried about. Intro C, with the canter, is going to be ... bad. Oberon has a canter departure that sort of resembles a Lazy Boy sofa trying to throw itself across the room, or maybe a hippo trying to heave itself to its feet. You can almost hear him go "UH!" on the departure. It's not exactly the most graceful thing ever, and I can't wait to hear what the judge has to say about it. Saga's canter departs, especially to the right, usually involve falling in on his shoulder, pinning his ears, and running. They're awesome and make me feel like SUCH a good rider (NOT). I decided to take him out and longe him the other night to see how he did on the longe line, and the answer is... he can't do a canter depart to save his life. He's so unbalanced he just can't do one cleanly, even on his own. It was really eye-opening watching him struggle so much - it's not just me, although I am obviously not helping any. We're not going to fix anything in time for Saturday, but I'll be longing him more regularly to help him figure it out on his own. In the meantime, we'll just muddle through the test and hope for a miracle.
Did I mention that MC, Cash's beloved Auntie (and Chief Bringer of Carrots) is taking him to the show as well? And that Cash's canter departs are nothing short of perfect? I'm going to get my ass kicked by my friend riding my "retired" schoolmaster. But hey, the ribbon she's going to come home with will look great just the same! ;)
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Every ride should be this much fun!
Hubby and I went roading with the hounds again today. They were short on whippers-in and the MFH was traveling, so instead of staying out of the way of the huntsmistress and hounds, we were actively encouraged to help set up a perimeter and discourage the hounds from leaving the property in case they caught the scent of anything. It was a good thing too - they flushed three rabbits, and we were actively engaged in holding a perimeter twice.
Saga now knows exactly what's going down when we unload him at the huntsmistress's barn. His ears were on high alert as we tacked and groomed. Fortunately, he was pretty chill once I got on, and was cool to hangout chatting. Naturally, Oberon just looked around for more foods.
The hunt started off going counterclockwise from the kennels. As we made our way down along the northern fenceline, the hounds flushed a rabbit, which headed straight for us. The leader of second flight and I got there first, and did our best to stop the hounds, but they were quite keen on their quarry and didn't listen to our shouts of "LEAVE IT" and "GET TO HER". About half the pack made it past us before the whippers-in and ATV got there, and there was much excitement as they laid about with rat shot and hunting whips (note, I've never seen anyone hit a dog, it's just used for noise to distract them). We were in among the hounds and the ensuing chaos, and I remember thinking that Saga was being SO GOOD about all the commotion. He went where I asked, didn't flinch at all, and just sort of waded in and did his job. He's such a good boy!
After that excitement, we rounded up the hounds (well, I got out of the way while others rounded up the hounds) and got them back to the huntsmistress. We continued our ride over to the southern fenceline, when another jackrabbit popped up between us and the hounds. The rabbit was downwind of them and I'm not sure if they saw it, but when we started yelling "rabbit" and got into position to potentially head the hounds off, they figured it out and started going after it. Fortunately, it was much too fast for them and they left off the chase pretty quickly.
Because the hounds were cueing off of things that move instead of scent, they were put up for the day. As usual, we got to go play on the XC fences. I'm still sticking to the smaller ones, but I'm definitely feeling much more confident over them. Saga is staying much more balanced under me for longer, and I can tell he's getting more fit. I, unfortunately, can't keep up with him. He's getting really strong when there are horses in front of us, and the waterford that I'm using just doesn't give me enough brakes. I'm thinking of bitting up to a kimberwicke, or possibly a pelham with a converter on it. One of the other riders even commented that I'm so little and he's just yanking me around. It's embarrassing not to be able to stop your horse, you know? It's also way embarrassing to have to pull off because you are gasping for air. I HATE jogging, but I'm going to have to do something to get more fit. Sure, I can buck hay with the best of them, but that's clearly not going to be enough if I want the fast ride up in front.
Anyway, the XC fences. We did our usual little logs, and did the training-level doghouse into the water with a log coming out. There were a couple of other training fences that I wanted to try, but there was nothing really straightforward (that is, not funny-looking, and either on a flat area or uphill) that caught my eye. Next time. ;)
Oberon is also getting more confident, and for some reason today was really putting forth a lot of effort on the jumps. Well, OK, some of the time. This one 2'6 log pile he cantered up to, broke to a trot about 2 strides out, walked about 1 stride out, and then delicately hopped over from a walk. It was quite tidy, he didn't touch a thing, but he was clearly going over it in his own time, thank-you-very-much. Goofball. He also launched off the bank (normally he just drops down), although his effort up was less than stellar (more of a climb than a jump, really). I think he just needs more time and more miles - this is really only his 15th or so ride over fences, so I'd say he's doing pretty damn well all things considered. And he takes good care of hubby, which is really the important part.
Next weekend is more roading and possibly some trails... we'll have to see what the plan is. I am SO looking forward to it!
Saga now knows exactly what's going down when we unload him at the huntsmistress's barn. His ears were on high alert as we tacked and groomed. Fortunately, he was pretty chill once I got on, and was cool to hangout chatting. Naturally, Oberon just looked around for more foods.
The hunt started off going counterclockwise from the kennels. As we made our way down along the northern fenceline, the hounds flushed a rabbit, which headed straight for us. The leader of second flight and I got there first, and did our best to stop the hounds, but they were quite keen on their quarry and didn't listen to our shouts of "LEAVE IT" and "GET TO HER". About half the pack made it past us before the whippers-in and ATV got there, and there was much excitement as they laid about with rat shot and hunting whips (note, I've never seen anyone hit a dog, it's just used for noise to distract them). We were in among the hounds and the ensuing chaos, and I remember thinking that Saga was being SO GOOD about all the commotion. He went where I asked, didn't flinch at all, and just sort of waded in and did his job. He's such a good boy!
After that excitement, we rounded up the hounds (well, I got out of the way while others rounded up the hounds) and got them back to the huntsmistress. We continued our ride over to the southern fenceline, when another jackrabbit popped up between us and the hounds. The rabbit was downwind of them and I'm not sure if they saw it, but when we started yelling "rabbit" and got into position to potentially head the hounds off, they figured it out and started going after it. Fortunately, it was much too fast for them and they left off the chase pretty quickly.
Because the hounds were cueing off of things that move instead of scent, they were put up for the day. As usual, we got to go play on the XC fences. I'm still sticking to the smaller ones, but I'm definitely feeling much more confident over them. Saga is staying much more balanced under me for longer, and I can tell he's getting more fit. I, unfortunately, can't keep up with him. He's getting really strong when there are horses in front of us, and the waterford that I'm using just doesn't give me enough brakes. I'm thinking of bitting up to a kimberwicke, or possibly a pelham with a converter on it. One of the other riders even commented that I'm so little and he's just yanking me around. It's embarrassing not to be able to stop your horse, you know? It's also way embarrassing to have to pull off because you are gasping for air. I HATE jogging, but I'm going to have to do something to get more fit. Sure, I can buck hay with the best of them, but that's clearly not going to be enough if I want the fast ride up in front.
Anyway, the XC fences. We did our usual little logs, and did the training-level doghouse into the water with a log coming out. There were a couple of other training fences that I wanted to try, but there was nothing really straightforward (that is, not funny-looking, and either on a flat area or uphill) that caught my eye. Next time. ;)
Oberon is also getting more confident, and for some reason today was really putting forth a lot of effort on the jumps. Well, OK, some of the time. This one 2'6 log pile he cantered up to, broke to a trot about 2 strides out, walked about 1 stride out, and then delicately hopped over from a walk. It was quite tidy, he didn't touch a thing, but he was clearly going over it in his own time, thank-you-very-much. Goofball. He also launched off the bank (normally he just drops down), although his effort up was less than stellar (more of a climb than a jump, really). I think he just needs more time and more miles - this is really only his 15th or so ride over fences, so I'd say he's doing pretty damn well all things considered. And he takes good care of hubby, which is really the important part.
Oberon and hubby on the final jump of the day - a coop on a fenceline. Not too shabby!
Next weekend is more roading and possibly some trails... we'll have to see what the plan is. I am SO looking forward to it!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
We are officially empty nesters
Yesterday afternoon, we helped move Kiddo #2 into his dorm room. Although he's going to the university here in town, we wanted him to experience being on his own - hence the dorm room. Theoretically, he'd packed everything, but the more we unpacked the more we discovered he was missing. We have quite a lengthy list of things to bring him in the next few days, but we're holding off and trying to avoid the mad rush that is move-in weekend. After that, for the most part, we won't see Kiddo #2 until his birthday in October, and then again for Thanksgiving. Unless, of course, he needs to do laundry or wants a home-cooked meal or something. ;)
With Kiddo #1 at college somewhere Far, Far Away, that leaves us home. Alone. With just the dogs, cats, horses, and chickens for company. Which is actually quite a lot of company.
We considered what to do to celebrate, even though it was pretty sad to leave Kiddo #2 at the dorm. We thought about going out to eat at some nice restaurant, but remembered that we are paying for 2 kids in college, so a nice dinner was probably out. We opted for pulling a couple of steaks out of the freezer and having a bottle of wine from the wine rack.
We did, however choose to eat dinner nekkid on the couch. Just because we could.
With Kiddo #1 at college somewhere Far, Far Away, that leaves us home. Alone. With just the dogs, cats, horses, and chickens for company. Which is actually quite a lot of company.
We considered what to do to celebrate, even though it was pretty sad to leave Kiddo #2 at the dorm. We thought about going out to eat at some nice restaurant, but remembered that we are paying for 2 kids in college, so a nice dinner was probably out. We opted for pulling a couple of steaks out of the freezer and having a bottle of wine from the wine rack.
We did, however choose to eat dinner nekkid on the couch. Just because we could.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Big Bay Boys: Very different rides
This weekend, I rode both Saga and Oberon back-to-back on Saturday, but just rode Saga on Sunday. I have decided that it's prudent to ride Oberon first, since he requires more energy on my part, while Saga is more forward and a little bit easier.
Instead of using my 1/4 inch Tom Thumb spurs with Oberon, I borrowed FuzzyPony's 3/4 inch spurs. WOW, what a difference! Oberon is usually very easy to get to do a walk-canter transition, but we've really been having issues with the trot-canter transition. He has a lovely medium trot that he is happy to do all day, but cantering from the trot is another story. Unless, apparently, you have Serious Spurs. This time, I just turned my toe out a bit, poked him in the side and... Instant Canter! We had super-clean trot-canter upward transitions, and our downward transitions were pretty balanced too. Awesome!
I also discovered that Oberon has some really serious lateral buttons. You have to press hard to make them work, but maaaaan... shoulder in, haunches in, and gorgeous, gorgeous leg yields. We just came 'round the corner, I looked where I was going and dropped the weight into the leading stirrup, and BAM! I have never gotten that much relaxed, forward, and actual sideways movement before. It was a fantastic feeling and I could have done it all day!
Coming round and carrying himself was another thing though. I felt like I was absolutely hauling on the reins to get him to really bend his poll. I also felt like I was sort of dragging him around the circle instead of having him carry me around the circle. More leg didn't really help, he just sort of got more forward and heavier on his forehand. I did a bunch of walk-trot-halt-walk-halt-trot etc. transitions, but as soon as we'd do more than a half-circle, he'd just sort of get motoring and blew off my half-halt requests to come back together. Eeek! I'm really not used to riding a heavy horse, so if anyone out there has got some tips I'd love to hear them. I'm hoping to get a couple of dressage lessons in the near future to get some help with this. I really feel like Oberon has all the pieces to put together a nice first-level test this fall, and I'd love to give it a go if I can figure out how to make it work.
As you might imagine, Saga is a very different ride. He's also hard to balance back, because he's rather heavily built in the shoulder and built a touch downhill. However, he's much more forward and has a tendency to get somewhat curled up, suck back, and "hop" into a canter if he doesn't want to put forth the effort to carry himself on his hind end in the trot. At the canter, he tends to get really strung out and motor along if I don't insist on him balancing. It can be nice one moment and fall to pieces literally in a stride. In contrast, Oberon is much more balanced - I just have to keep him going!
On Saturday, Saga and I had a serious argument. I asked for some leg yield and he completely blew me off - head up, no lateral motion at all. I tried again and really focused on keeping my body correct, and again, nothing. I took my foot out of the stirrup and literally booted him over (using a dressage whip just makes him suck back) and he finally got that I was serious. He knows how to move off my leg, but apparently I have not been asking for enough of a response lately. We have both gotten pretty complacent, and it's definitely my fault for letting it happen.
My second ride on Saga (on Sunday), I worked a lot on transitions. Our walk-trot transitions feel really good - he feels like he's puffing up under me and stepping off into the trot. Pretty much all of our other transitions are a wreck. Picking up the reins from free walk to working walk results in llama-ness. Trot to canter involves several running steps, unless I really work hard to balance him to make a good transition happen. Downward transitions are hollow and crappy. Soooo...
On the free walk/working walk transitions I focused on keeping an inside bend with my leg, then slowly walking my fingers up the reins. And resistance or loss of rhythm and I'd softly close my leg. That seemed to help a lot (duh! you don't take up the rein without an appropriate amount of leg to counter. basic dressage, anyone?). On the canter transitions, concentrating on keeping my seat tucked under me seemed to help prevent him from falling behind my leg and running into the transition. We also did a couple of leg yields from centerline to B or E, canter transition at the letter, 1/2 20 meter circle, back to trot down the long side, turn down centerline and repeat. He was anticipating a lot, so I tried to mix things up with changes of direction, 10 meter circles or serpentines, anything to get him paying attention. I think that's another element contributing to our poor transitions - since I haven't been very demanding of him, he's really quite dull to my aids. I need to mix it up more so that we both focus, and not take anything that's crappy.
In the canter, I focused on keeping him balanced enough that I felt like I could do a 15 meter circle at any point. We even did some counter-canter on the right lead, which is his worse side (and the side he falls out on). He actually stayed pretty balanced, but I feel like he could come more from behind and not plow along so much on his forehand. But, it's coming along. The lateral trot work was much better on the second ride - he was much more responsive and stayed more balanced into and out of the laterals as well as during the laterals themselves. Obviously things are not "fixed," but at least I think we are paying better attention to each other. He's not going to "give" me the good stuff if I ride poorly, so he'll keep me honest and on my game. :)
Do you ride horses that are significantly different from each other? How do you tailor your rides to each?
Instead of using my 1/4 inch Tom Thumb spurs with Oberon, I borrowed FuzzyPony's 3/4 inch spurs. WOW, what a difference! Oberon is usually very easy to get to do a walk-canter transition, but we've really been having issues with the trot-canter transition. He has a lovely medium trot that he is happy to do all day, but cantering from the trot is another story. Unless, apparently, you have Serious Spurs. This time, I just turned my toe out a bit, poked him in the side and... Instant Canter! We had super-clean trot-canter upward transitions, and our downward transitions were pretty balanced too. Awesome!
I also discovered that Oberon has some really serious lateral buttons. You have to press hard to make them work, but maaaaan... shoulder in, haunches in, and gorgeous, gorgeous leg yields. We just came 'round the corner, I looked where I was going and dropped the weight into the leading stirrup, and BAM! I have never gotten that much relaxed, forward, and actual sideways movement before. It was a fantastic feeling and I could have done it all day!
Coming round and carrying himself was another thing though. I felt like I was absolutely hauling on the reins to get him to really bend his poll. I also felt like I was sort of dragging him around the circle instead of having him carry me around the circle. More leg didn't really help, he just sort of got more forward and heavier on his forehand. I did a bunch of walk-trot-halt-walk-halt-trot etc. transitions, but as soon as we'd do more than a half-circle, he'd just sort of get motoring and blew off my half-halt requests to come back together. Eeek! I'm really not used to riding a heavy horse, so if anyone out there has got some tips I'd love to hear them. I'm hoping to get a couple of dressage lessons in the near future to get some help with this. I really feel like Oberon has all the pieces to put together a nice first-level test this fall, and I'd love to give it a go if I can figure out how to make it work.
As you might imagine, Saga is a very different ride. He's also hard to balance back, because he's rather heavily built in the shoulder and built a touch downhill. However, he's much more forward and has a tendency to get somewhat curled up, suck back, and "hop" into a canter if he doesn't want to put forth the effort to carry himself on his hind end in the trot. At the canter, he tends to get really strung out and motor along if I don't insist on him balancing. It can be nice one moment and fall to pieces literally in a stride. In contrast, Oberon is much more balanced - I just have to keep him going!
On Saturday, Saga and I had a serious argument. I asked for some leg yield and he completely blew me off - head up, no lateral motion at all. I tried again and really focused on keeping my body correct, and again, nothing. I took my foot out of the stirrup and literally booted him over (using a dressage whip just makes him suck back) and he finally got that I was serious. He knows how to move off my leg, but apparently I have not been asking for enough of a response lately. We have both gotten pretty complacent, and it's definitely my fault for letting it happen.
My second ride on Saga (on Sunday), I worked a lot on transitions. Our walk-trot transitions feel really good - he feels like he's puffing up under me and stepping off into the trot. Pretty much all of our other transitions are a wreck. Picking up the reins from free walk to working walk results in llama-ness. Trot to canter involves several running steps, unless I really work hard to balance him to make a good transition happen. Downward transitions are hollow and crappy. Soooo...
On the free walk/working walk transitions I focused on keeping an inside bend with my leg, then slowly walking my fingers up the reins. And resistance or loss of rhythm and I'd softly close my leg. That seemed to help a lot (duh! you don't take up the rein without an appropriate amount of leg to counter. basic dressage, anyone?). On the canter transitions, concentrating on keeping my seat tucked under me seemed to help prevent him from falling behind my leg and running into the transition. We also did a couple of leg yields from centerline to B or E, canter transition at the letter, 1/2 20 meter circle, back to trot down the long side, turn down centerline and repeat. He was anticipating a lot, so I tried to mix things up with changes of direction, 10 meter circles or serpentines, anything to get him paying attention. I think that's another element contributing to our poor transitions - since I haven't been very demanding of him, he's really quite dull to my aids. I need to mix it up more so that we both focus, and not take anything that's crappy.
In the canter, I focused on keeping him balanced enough that I felt like I could do a 15 meter circle at any point. We even did some counter-canter on the right lead, which is his worse side (and the side he falls out on). He actually stayed pretty balanced, but I feel like he could come more from behind and not plow along so much on his forehand. But, it's coming along. The lateral trot work was much better on the second ride - he was much more responsive and stayed more balanced into and out of the laterals as well as during the laterals themselves. Obviously things are not "fixed," but at least I think we are paying better attention to each other. He's not going to "give" me the good stuff if I ride poorly, so he'll keep me honest and on my game. :)
Do you ride horses that are significantly different from each other? How do you tailor your rides to each?
Monday, August 20, 2012
Dear Murphy, you are a mean-ass bastard and your "laws" suck
Long-time readers will know that when my husband leaves town, stuff breaks. Not minor stuff, like the TV (which we never use) stops working or something. No, I'm talking big, honkin' oh-fer-fffs-sakes problems. For example:
I'm sure by now you're wondering what the heck has happened this time. As luck would have it, there's a massive water leak somewhere under the guest house.
Hubby is never, ever allowed to go out of town again. Especially not to Patagonia, which is where he's going next week.
Anybody care to guess what's gonna break then? I'm taking bets...
* This makes it sound simple. I initially called THREE plumbers, none of whom called me back. Then I called my across-the-street neighbor for recommendations. I got the first plumber out, who told me he didn't dig. I paid him the fee for the service call, then *I* dug out the first coupling. When that was dry, I called my neighbor back to see if he had any other recommendations. We got a friend-of-a-friend plumber out, who replaced the hot water coupling at 6 p.m. on a weeknight. When that didn't solve the problem, I called him back out, and he re-ran the line over the weekend. There's something to be said for having neighbors who know people! I am quite indebted to them!
- The entire AC/HVAC unit died and had to be replaced
- Taran put a nail through the bottom of his foot and had to have surgery
- The shed roof fell down
- An extra pony showed up for breakfast (ok, that one was amusing, but STILL)
I'm sure by now you're wondering what the heck has happened this time. As luck would have it, there's a massive water leak somewhere under the guest house.
Water is not supposed to be here.
Lake at the back east corner of the house. Awesome.
More water. I do NOT want to see my water bill this month!
This is where I was hoping the problem was - a coupling where the trench is in the first pic. After letting it dry out for a couple of days, I unburied the coupling and turned the water back on - that coupling was bone dry.
I looked around the house, hoping to find the leak in an accessible area. See, the pipe runs under the house for its entire length, then runs along the back wall to the kitchen and bath. The house is pier-and-beam, with less than one foot of clearance under it - which meant that if the leak was under the house, there would be no way to fix the pipe and we'd have to re-run the entire line.
By some miracle I found a leak near the kitchen window. It was the hot water pipe, which I discovered when I put my hand in near-scalding water. I called the plumber out*, and he dug out the pipe, cut out the problem section, and applied the pressure coupling you see here.
We turned the water back on, and the pressure coupling appeared to hold. I left the water on overnight... only to come out to even MORE water the next morning. This time, the water was cold, and it was clearly not coming from the new coupling.
Long story short, we had the entire water line rerun. Everything is now tidy, dry, and functioning normally. For the next 50 years, I hope.
Hubby is never, ever allowed to go out of town again. Especially not to Patagonia, which is where he's going next week.
Anybody care to guess what's gonna break then? I'm taking bets...
* This makes it sound simple. I initially called THREE plumbers, none of whom called me back. Then I called my across-the-street neighbor for recommendations. I got the first plumber out, who told me he didn't dig. I paid him the fee for the service call, then *I* dug out the first coupling. When that was dry, I called my neighbor back to see if he had any other recommendations. We got a friend-of-a-friend plumber out, who replaced the hot water coupling at 6 p.m. on a weeknight. When that didn't solve the problem, I called him back out, and he re-ran the line over the weekend. There's something to be said for having neighbors who know people! I am quite indebted to them!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
How to get really, really, REALLY dirty
Cash here.
Being a white horse is hard. It's easy to get sunburned, and the bugs seem to bother me more than the other horses. So I do my best foil both sunburn and bugs by being as dirty as possible. I thought I'd share my tips and trick with everyone so that they too can be as delightfully mud-covered as I am!
First off, the best time to get dirty is immediately after a bath. Mum doesn't think so, but when you're still damp, the dirt sticks much better and coats more evenly.
Next, it's very important to choose a spot with good dirt. You want it nice loose dirt, with no rocks in it. Little rocks are awfully lumpy, and besides that they don't stick well, even to a wet horse. You also want to pick a spot near the middle of the field, since you definitely don't want to accidentally roll into a tree or a fence or anything.
In rolling, technique is everything. Flipping over is a must. Let me demonstrate:
Being a white horse is hard. It's easy to get sunburned, and the bugs seem to bother me more than the other horses. So I do my best foil both sunburn and bugs by being as dirty as possible. I thought I'd share my tips and trick with everyone so that they too can be as delightfully mud-covered as I am!
First off, the best time to get dirty is immediately after a bath. Mum doesn't think so, but when you're still damp, the dirt sticks much better and coats more evenly.
Next, it's very important to choose a spot with good dirt. You want it nice loose dirt, with no rocks in it. Little rocks are awfully lumpy, and besides that they don't stick well, even to a wet horse. You also want to pick a spot near the middle of the field, since you definitely don't want to accidentally roll into a tree or a fence or anything.
In rolling, technique is everything. Flipping over is a must. Let me demonstrate:
Perfect rolling spot with loose dirt selected (notice how revoltingly clean I am in this picture).
First off, grind the dirt into you neck and face.
Get up a bit of momentum...
... then flip to the other side.
Even though Saga is photobombing this pic, you can see the lovely spots on my belly. Aren't they handsome?
Be sure to wiggle around a lot on the other side too. This ensures an even coating.
Remember to sit up a bit so you can get dirt rub dirt onto your belly too. Notice in this picture that I haven't really gotten the first side all that well...
...so I have to flip back over to do it again.
Make sure to cover any spots that you might have missed on the first go.
You might need to grind your mane into the dirt too. Mum especially loves it when I make mud dreadlocks. Those are her absolute favorite!
Remember, if you flail, you get more dirt on.
Gotta flip back over again to make sure the second side again. Always remember to do both sides evenly!
Grind in that last bit of dirt...
... and then it's time to get up for the finishing touch...
... a good shake! You want to get any loose bits off, 'cause they are kind of tickly.
See? It's hard to get dirtier than this (but note in the background that Saga's about to try).
Rolling is like peeing - it's contagious!
He's got a good mane-grinding technique...
But he can't quite get the full flip. Besides that, he's brown. Even if the dirt sticks, it won't be nearly as attractive as it is when it's on me.
Being white does have its advantages, after all!
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