It RAINED! I forgot what that even looked or felt like. That is somewhat of a good thing, I was reminded that rain = humidity = me with a fro that even a helmet can't cover. We are all too familiar with rain clouds. We are teased on a weekly basis with ominous looking clouds and even thunder. But no precipitation.
Rain means grass. Or at least I hope so, because just yesterday Cash and Panda broke out of the cutting pen (and by broke out I mean someone left the back gate open and they decided to go on a field trip) to go eat grass out front by the road. This tugged on my heart strings, along with scaring me to death, because all they wanted to do was eat some grass. Maybe now they can!
Rain also means a break in our riding routine. No Saturday morning jumping lessons. Instead we are swapping our breeches for swim suits and the horse's bell boots for flippers and wading around in mud 3 feet deep. That's the trouble with not having sand arenas. But this girl isn't complaining! I get to bond with the boys by pulling manes and rubbing Cowboy Magic in tails till their hair is softer than mine (with less split ends). I get to bond. I don't think they think of it the same way.
Rain means mud. Mud is actually not the correct word for it. You've never seen mud like we have. This isn't hot girls in bikinis mud wrestling mud. This is gray and green mud that smells from miles away. It could legitimately contain HIV or at the very least some sort of Hepatitis. It's mud that will stick to you and is somehow soap repellant. If I was hard pressed to recreate this mud I would begin by mixing regular mud, dirt, feces (from horses, dogs, cats, raccoons, birds, and mice), a bit of gravel, some horse feed, and algae. That would probably get us pretty close. This mud has a mind of it's own. It's an uncontainable monster that goes where it pleases.
Rain means more time to clean out stalls (yippee skippy), not a lot of turn out, and a bit cooler weather. It puts smiles on all of our faces and gives some of us a valid and good excuse not to ride. Technically, it gives us time to clean our tack instead of ride... Technically. But you know, water buckets need to be cleaned, aisles need to be swept, and my horse just pooped in his stall. Better run and get that. :)
Friday, September 20, 2013
College Night
The beauty of living in a college town is that every year there are new faces and young people who have a plethora of hobbies, wants, and needs. This tends to be a downside as well since most of these kids last for somewhere between 2 and 6 years before they've either been kicked out of school or move on to real life in a big city. For us out at the barn, we try to think of it in a positive light and provide a safe friendly place to develop riding skills for the girls with the not so gifted pocketbooks (me included). Thus, "College Night."
The goal of this night was for us to get the barn name out there, get some new boarders/leasers/lesson takers, and just enjoy ourselves! Not to say that we didn't but we definitely ran the gamut of people during our three hour night. There are a few types in particular that are both amusing and worthy of a few bald spots on our heads (there was some hair tearing out)...
The Horse Lovers From Afar - No. These are not international students. These are the people who have loved horses their whole lives but have never truly gotten the chance to take lessons or ride. Maybe they've been on the back of a white "stallion" in the Bahamas when they saw an advertisement for beach riding but that's about the extent of their horse back miles. Now, ask them a question about horses and their book knowledge is extensive (hey, they may even know more about some things than me!), but practical knowledge is at a minimum. These people get the knowing smile and nod, a little pat on the head, and a whole lot of round pen time.
The Horse Whisperers - Parelli is their great grandpa. They've got the Monty Roberts ap on their iPhone. Clinton Anderson dated their best friend's, cousin's little sister. They know it. And it is gospel. How dare we put that bit in that horse's mouth without first sticking straight pins in a voodoo doll and saying 10 Hail Mary's! And didn't we see that ear flick and eye blink?! HE'S GOING TO REAR BECAUSE HE'S TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING AND WE AREN'T LISTENING! Luckily, we generally end up frustrating them with our lack of horse empathy and they find somewhere else to practice their scientific mix of natural horsemanship. The other option is they lease a horse and do what they will with it for a few months. Let's face it, it can be silly, but it won't ruin the horse so there's no harm done either way.
The Know-It-Alls - Every hobby has this type of person. These people tend to show their true colors in a variety of ways but it is always evident at some point in a one hour lesson that they may not know as much as they say they do.
The first type of know it all is the one that exaggerates previous experiences. They've shown all over Texas (or maybe the nation), they owned 4 Dutch Warmbloods, and the only brand they'll wear is Ariat. Well, maybe they did do some local shows and owned a warmblood looking TB and they've got Ariat paddock boots. As long as they let reality take a good swinging punch at their memory they are really great additions to the barn!
The next type are found out just by speaking with them. What? You used to jump 6ft? That's so cool, so then you do Puissance? No. Just show jumpers? Well that's weird because international Grand Prix rules state that no jump be higher than 5'3" and wider than 6'5". They generally instantly sober up and get put into the next category or leave to tell their stories of 6 foot escapades to other, more willing ears.
The Legit Rider - Yay! Heels down and eyes up! We know the look of a good solid foundation the instant your hiney hits the saddle. I don't care if you have never touched an English saddle, or if that's all you've done your whole life, balance and seat are evident. You're not a case of nerves, you are confident in the abilities God and your trainer gave you! Even if you can only walk and trot, you know your limitations and are striving to get better. This person comes in many different flavors. There's the person who has taken a few years of lessons and wants to get better, the one who's owned their own horse for a period of time and has really had the chance to develop a great leg and seat, and then there's the person who really has shown and knows their stuff. Then it's just a matter of finding the lesson horse that suits their needs and progress can be made!
The Malleable Rider - These are the people who know they don't know anything but really want to learn. Nothing is bad about this person and nothing more needs to be said! We've got the knowledge and experience to start you off the right way and help you achieve your goals!
We love meeting new people but figuring out actual vs perceived skill is always a tricky game to play without offending anyone. This one went as smoothly as one could expect when you offer free horseback riding for an evening. Here's to a mainly successful inaugural College Night and hopefully many more to come!
The goal of this night was for us to get the barn name out there, get some new boarders/leasers/lesson takers, and just enjoy ourselves! Not to say that we didn't but we definitely ran the gamut of people during our three hour night. There are a few types in particular that are both amusing and worthy of a few bald spots on our heads (there was some hair tearing out)...
The Horse Lovers From Afar - No. These are not international students. These are the people who have loved horses their whole lives but have never truly gotten the chance to take lessons or ride. Maybe they've been on the back of a white "stallion" in the Bahamas when they saw an advertisement for beach riding but that's about the extent of their horse back miles. Now, ask them a question about horses and their book knowledge is extensive (hey, they may even know more about some things than me!), but practical knowledge is at a minimum. These people get the knowing smile and nod, a little pat on the head, and a whole lot of round pen time.
The Horse Whisperers - Parelli is their great grandpa. They've got the Monty Roberts ap on their iPhone. Clinton Anderson dated their best friend's, cousin's little sister. They know it. And it is gospel. How dare we put that bit in that horse's mouth without first sticking straight pins in a voodoo doll and saying 10 Hail Mary's! And didn't we see that ear flick and eye blink?! HE'S GOING TO REAR BECAUSE HE'S TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING AND WE AREN'T LISTENING! Luckily, we generally end up frustrating them with our lack of horse empathy and they find somewhere else to practice their scientific mix of natural horsemanship. The other option is they lease a horse and do what they will with it for a few months. Let's face it, it can be silly, but it won't ruin the horse so there's no harm done either way.
The Know-It-Alls - Every hobby has this type of person. These people tend to show their true colors in a variety of ways but it is always evident at some point in a one hour lesson that they may not know as much as they say they do.
The first type of know it all is the one that exaggerates previous experiences. They've shown all over Texas (or maybe the nation), they owned 4 Dutch Warmbloods, and the only brand they'll wear is Ariat. Well, maybe they did do some local shows and owned a warmblood looking TB and they've got Ariat paddock boots. As long as they let reality take a good swinging punch at their memory they are really great additions to the barn!
The next type are found out just by speaking with them. What? You used to jump 6ft? That's so cool, so then you do Puissance? No. Just show jumpers? Well that's weird because international Grand Prix rules state that no jump be higher than 5'3" and wider than 6'5". They generally instantly sober up and get put into the next category or leave to tell their stories of 6 foot escapades to other, more willing ears.
The Legit Rider - Yay! Heels down and eyes up! We know the look of a good solid foundation the instant your hiney hits the saddle. I don't care if you have never touched an English saddle, or if that's all you've done your whole life, balance and seat are evident. You're not a case of nerves, you are confident in the abilities God and your trainer gave you! Even if you can only walk and trot, you know your limitations and are striving to get better. This person comes in many different flavors. There's the person who has taken a few years of lessons and wants to get better, the one who's owned their own horse for a period of time and has really had the chance to develop a great leg and seat, and then there's the person who really has shown and knows their stuff. Then it's just a matter of finding the lesson horse that suits their needs and progress can be made!
The Malleable Rider - These are the people who know they don't know anything but really want to learn. Nothing is bad about this person and nothing more needs to be said! We've got the knowledge and experience to start you off the right way and help you achieve your goals!
We love meeting new people but figuring out actual vs perceived skill is always a tricky game to play without offending anyone. This one went as smoothly as one could expect when you offer free horseback riding for an evening. Here's to a mainly successful inaugural College Night and hopefully many more to come!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Horses vs Homework Dilemma
When it comes to time, I have been spoiled since before I can remember. When I was in the 6th grade my parents decided that my sisters and I were going to be homeschooled. My mother did a phenomenal job keeping our school time structured and directional but let's face it, I'm pretty darn smart. So between not having to worry about wasting 10 minutes between classes to change rooms, an hour of needless lunch time, and moving on from a lesson when I get it rather than waiting for every kid in the class to get it, my class day was extremely short.
The other cool thing about being homeschooled is that my mom didn't really "do" science, so we got to go downtown at least 3-4 times a month to the Museum of Natural Science and take super fun science classes! I got to take my dog on a walk whenever the mood hit me. I worked a 40 hour/week job so I could pay for my horse. I played basketball and we had practice in the middle of the day. I rode horses when my mom could take me out to the barn.
College is a lot like homeschool because, depending on the number of hours you take and where you live with respect to campus, you can set your own schedule and literally give yourself DAYS off. Days to ride, and sleep, and ride, and run errands, and ride, and ride! Unfortunately I didn't have a car right at first so I just did the sleep thing with little to no complaints.
At one point for almost 2 years I did have a full time 8-5 tedious desk job but I didn't have horses (or any other real time consuming hobby to speak of) so my lack of time during the day really wasn't a concern for me. I returned to college to finish my degree this past January and shortly thereafter jumped head first into the shallow end of the horsey baby pool, reinjuring that part of my brain that thinks about money logically (HORSES FOREVER OMG!!). I work a part time job, half my classes are online, and I am a bar tender by night. Compared to most, I still have the luxury of time, just not as much as I used to back in the highschool era.
So how do I manage horses and life some might be inclined to ask? Well, it's not the horses I have to manage, it's the life part. Like most horse people, when I'm at the barn time is a non-measurable, non-existant entity. One second it's 3:30 and I'm starting to clean stalls, 2 seconds later it's 7 and I still have 2 horses to ride. And my "20 minute exercise rides" turn into hour and a half chat sessions. My poor boyfriend will get a call that informs him that all I have left to do is feed which should take 15 minutes and I'll be ready to eat. 2 hours later I show up apologizing because I took a look at my leather grooming halters and realized they hadn't been cleaned in days.
I have started wearing a watch out to the barn now to TRY and keep track of time. I think that's helped a bit. I've also had to make a riding schedule because it's easy for me to feel guilty about riding only two out of the three horses. The biggest thing I've had to come to terms with is the fact that if all I do is turn the horses out, clean their stalls and feed them, they will be ok. They really will. They don't need to be groomed to within an inch of their lives every day. If I don't pull Marvel's mane even when its 3 inches too long, no one is going to scoff at how "unsightly my sway-backed nag looks" because it's just a mane and the barn is laid back.
But in all honesty, my biggest suggestion is to just do your homework BEFORE going to the barn. Inevitably time will escape you, someone will always want to chat, there's always something else you need to do (another piece of tack to clean, another aisle to sweep, etc), and getting home after riding and cleaning doesn't leave a whole lot of motivation left to do something so terribly un-fun, like homework.
The other cool thing about being homeschooled is that my mom didn't really "do" science, so we got to go downtown at least 3-4 times a month to the Museum of Natural Science and take super fun science classes! I got to take my dog on a walk whenever the mood hit me. I worked a 40 hour/week job so I could pay for my horse. I played basketball and we had practice in the middle of the day. I rode horses when my mom could take me out to the barn.
College is a lot like homeschool because, depending on the number of hours you take and where you live with respect to campus, you can set your own schedule and literally give yourself DAYS off. Days to ride, and sleep, and ride, and run errands, and ride, and ride! Unfortunately I didn't have a car right at first so I just did the sleep thing with little to no complaints.
At one point for almost 2 years I did have a full time 8-5 tedious desk job but I didn't have horses (or any other real time consuming hobby to speak of) so my lack of time during the day really wasn't a concern for me. I returned to college to finish my degree this past January and shortly thereafter jumped head first into the shallow end of the horsey baby pool, reinjuring that part of my brain that thinks about money logically (HORSES FOREVER OMG!!). I work a part time job, half my classes are online, and I am a bar tender by night. Compared to most, I still have the luxury of time, just not as much as I used to back in the highschool era.
So how do I manage horses and life some might be inclined to ask? Well, it's not the horses I have to manage, it's the life part. Like most horse people, when I'm at the barn time is a non-measurable, non-existant entity. One second it's 3:30 and I'm starting to clean stalls, 2 seconds later it's 7 and I still have 2 horses to ride. And my "20 minute exercise rides" turn into hour and a half chat sessions. My poor boyfriend will get a call that informs him that all I have left to do is feed which should take 15 minutes and I'll be ready to eat. 2 hours later I show up apologizing because I took a look at my leather grooming halters and realized they hadn't been cleaned in days.
I have started wearing a watch out to the barn now to TRY and keep track of time. I think that's helped a bit. I've also had to make a riding schedule because it's easy for me to feel guilty about riding only two out of the three horses. The biggest thing I've had to come to terms with is the fact that if all I do is turn the horses out, clean their stalls and feed them, they will be ok. They really will. They don't need to be groomed to within an inch of their lives every day. If I don't pull Marvel's mane even when its 3 inches too long, no one is going to scoff at how "unsightly my sway-backed nag looks" because it's just a mane and the barn is laid back.
But in all honesty, my biggest suggestion is to just do your homework BEFORE going to the barn. Inevitably time will escape you, someone will always want to chat, there's always something else you need to do (another piece of tack to clean, another aisle to sweep, etc), and getting home after riding and cleaning doesn't leave a whole lot of motivation left to do something so terribly un-fun, like homework.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
The Pandemoniom of Naming
I SUCK at naming horses. It was a miracle from above when Cash was named. It literally took 3 and a half weeks of non-stop thinking, Google searching, asking friends, and hocus pocus magic tarot card reading gypsies till it happened. Even then I was in the "J" section of a "Naming your gelding" article when Johnny Cash appeared and there it was. Cash. It just fit.
Marvel came a bit quicker. One and a half weeks. I woke up on a Saturday morning to a Superman cartoon and decided that he wasn't just as good as one super hero, he was as good as all of them combined. Bam. Marvel.
But then there's Panda. I already had some name ideas but I do try to withhold an important step like naming till after I know the horse. His registered name is Duckndodgin but we were calling him things like "The gray horse," "The new horse," "He Who Must No Be Named," "He who has no name," "Gandalf," "Vldemort," and "menoloadyontrailer." So after about a week and a half I decided he was ready for a name. If only it were that easy...
Chaos - I really liked that name for the show ring. "And next up is Jeannette on the big gray gelding Chaos," and in we would gallop, beautiful dapples, that little crocheted ear thing, shiny black boots and all and sweep the class on looks alone. But let's face it, I've never had blue ribbons thrown at me, even on my big bay TB that looked like a Warmblood and was so shiny my trainer kept telling me not to put Show Sheen on the saddle area. And I would rather him not live up to a name like Chaos. So it was a no go.
Havoc - See above blurb and insert the word "Havoc" where you see the word "Chaos". No again.
Zeigen - Love this name! And actually, on the drive home from getting him a friend suggested it to me which I thought was a totally irony and figured that I had to name him Zeigen. I mean, how often does that name randomly pop up not in a bar?! But I always liked that name more for a dog and once I had found a baby bird who was hurt and named him Zeigen and it just didn't really fit. Poo. No Zeigen.
Flash - Loved it. Then I found out it rhymes with Cash. ARGH! No Flash. (Or Dash)
Then we tried looking up famous spies because everyone called him something different but that led us nowhere fast.
Other suggested names were:
Dardar (yeah, never ask a 7 year old girl to help you name a horse. Apparently it was her pet name for Darla. I'd like to actually change my original comment to be, never let this girl name ANYTHING)
Thunder (too common for me)
Gris (the Spanish word for grey. Liked it but no one would ever get it right)
Blink
Fred
Nym
I HAD NOTHING!!! And then one afternoon I was sitting there exasperated, looking at him, and I thought to myself, "You're freaking adorable. I mean you're pretty, but you're also adorable." So I toyed around with just naming him something cute as a barn name and awesome as a show name. And then he turned his little face around his black mane was all over the place and I just thought Pandemonium, or Panda for short. Brilliant! I get my Chaos and my Havoc but in less of a self prophetic way! HAHA!
I wish I could tell you it was a well received name. I wish I could tell you everyone agreed that it fit him and also agreed with me that I am indeed, a genius. But it had mixed reviews. Most non barn people thought it was adorable. 2 different people have that as a nickname so they were a little less than thrilled with it. Barn people were expecting something on a whole different level so they were surprised but supportive.
Nevertheless, his name is Panda. Who knows, maybe I'll find a new one that suits him better. Until then, I will have day and night dreams alike of galloping into the ring on my dappled gray gelding with the crocheted ear thing and shiny black boots to an announcer saying, "And next up is Jeannette on Pandemonium!"
Marvel came a bit quicker. One and a half weeks. I woke up on a Saturday morning to a Superman cartoon and decided that he wasn't just as good as one super hero, he was as good as all of them combined. Bam. Marvel.
But then there's Panda. I already had some name ideas but I do try to withhold an important step like naming till after I know the horse. His registered name is Duckndodgin but we were calling him things like "The gray horse," "The new horse," "He Who Must No Be Named," "He who has no name," "Gandalf," "Vldemort," and "menoloadyontrailer." So after about a week and a half I decided he was ready for a name. If only it were that easy...
Chaos - I really liked that name for the show ring. "And next up is Jeannette on the big gray gelding Chaos," and in we would gallop, beautiful dapples, that little crocheted ear thing, shiny black boots and all and sweep the class on looks alone. But let's face it, I've never had blue ribbons thrown at me, even on my big bay TB that looked like a Warmblood and was so shiny my trainer kept telling me not to put Show Sheen on the saddle area. And I would rather him not live up to a name like Chaos. So it was a no go.
Havoc - See above blurb and insert the word "Havoc" where you see the word "Chaos". No again.
Zeigen - Love this name! And actually, on the drive home from getting him a friend suggested it to me which I thought was a totally irony and figured that I had to name him Zeigen. I mean, how often does that name randomly pop up not in a bar?! But I always liked that name more for a dog and once I had found a baby bird who was hurt and named him Zeigen and it just didn't really fit. Poo. No Zeigen.
Flash - Loved it. Then I found out it rhymes with Cash. ARGH! No Flash. (Or Dash)
Then we tried looking up famous spies because everyone called him something different but that led us nowhere fast.
Other suggested names were:
Dardar (yeah, never ask a 7 year old girl to help you name a horse. Apparently it was her pet name for Darla. I'd like to actually change my original comment to be, never let this girl name ANYTHING)
Thunder (too common for me)
Gris (the Spanish word for grey. Liked it but no one would ever get it right)
Blink
Fred
Nym
I HAD NOTHING!!! And then one afternoon I was sitting there exasperated, looking at him, and I thought to myself, "You're freaking adorable. I mean you're pretty, but you're also adorable." So I toyed around with just naming him something cute as a barn name and awesome as a show name. And then he turned his little face around his black mane was all over the place and I just thought Pandemonium, or Panda for short. Brilliant! I get my Chaos and my Havoc but in less of a self prophetic way! HAHA!
I wish I could tell you it was a well received name. I wish I could tell you everyone agreed that it fit him and also agreed with me that I am indeed, a genius. But it had mixed reviews. Most non barn people thought it was adorable. 2 different people have that as a nickname so they were a little less than thrilled with it. Barn people were expecting something on a whole different level so they were surprised but supportive.
Nevertheless, his name is Panda. Who knows, maybe I'll find a new one that suits him better. Until then, I will have day and night dreams alike of galloping into the ring on my dappled gray gelding with the crocheted ear thing and shiny black boots to an announcer saying, "And next up is Jeannette on Pandemonium!"
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Sincere Apologies
I apologize from the bottom most portions of my heart for the brief hiatus in blog postings. I started this whole thing with high hopes of being on top of things. Well, I'm restarting it with those same hopes!
I'd like to stay away from words like "lazy," or "procrastinator," or "trifling," or even "neglectful," although those words may legitimately apply and be the right words to use. I prefer "busy," or "hardworking," or "ADHD."
ANYWAY, lots of things have happened and now I will inundate you with blog posts till you are so tired of hearing about the horses that you see a horse and instantly want to vomit. It's gonna happen. And I hope you hold me to it!
Upward and onward with blogging! 14 hands is back!
I'd like to stay away from words like "lazy," or "procrastinator," or "trifling," or even "neglectful," although those words may legitimately apply and be the right words to use. I prefer "busy," or "hardworking," or "ADHD."
ANYWAY, lots of things have happened and now I will inundate you with blog posts till you are so tired of hearing about the horses that you see a horse and instantly want to vomit. It's gonna happen. And I hope you hold me to it!
Upward and onward with blogging! 14 hands is back!
Panda
Meet the new boy, Menoloadyontrailer, or more fondly, Panda. He's a 2 year old trapped in a 9 year old body, OTTB gelding. He's got nice straight, stout legs, decent hooves, a color that will get you noticed in the show ring, and a bad habit of not loading onto a trailer. Yup. After not knowing if we were ever going to get him a few assertive barn buddies and I hopped into a big truck on a random Sunday to make the 2.5 hour drive to go hop him on a trailer and bring him home.
But we did not count on several things which turned our 5.5 hour trip into a 9 hour one...
First and foremost, when I tell you how long it takes to get somewhere I would suggest looking it up on Google maps and then taking the average of what I've told you and what the internet told you and go with that. And if you're pulling a trailer, add like 25 minutes to that average. What I'm saying is, the 2.5 hour trip (one way) was more like a 3 hour trip. Or more. Add 45 minutes.
Second, people tend to get hungry. It's a crazy phenomena that occasionally happens, especially when said trip begins at 1:30 pm. A Whataburger stop was in our future before we even pulled out of the barn driveway, we just didn't know it. Add 30 minutes.
Third, there was no "Hopping" on said trailer. There was much clucking (if you're not a horse person just trust me on this one). There was a lot of "scary things" waving. There was a bit of begging. There was definitely way too much sweat. There was even a good cop bad cop scenario playing out. But there was not a lot of hopping or a lot of trailering happening after our arrival. Eventually there was some spotty horse whispering followed closely by a lesson on R-E-S-P-E-C-T (he did indeed find out what that means to me). Then there was grain. Win FOREVER. Not an instant win, but the overall win. Grain first. Lesson learned. Add 2.5 hours. Seriously. And no, no alcohol was involved afterwards. We're that good.
Last, and bless our trailer lady's heavenly and sacred heart, driving with a trailer adds a bit of time. Driving with a HORSE in the trailer adds a lot of time. Which is how it should be. But in my optimum 5.5 hours "it'll be a breeze don't even worry about it" mind, that was not a calculated travel time expense. Add 1 hour.
So maybe my math doesn't add up exactly, I'm no math major and you shouldn't be either, but what I am saying is, it took a lot longer than the 5.5 hours my utopian imagination banked on. And the best part is, I still have the 2 assertive barn buddies. Cause let's face it, who wouldn't bond after being stuck in a truck together for 6.5 hours after taking 2.5 hours to load a less than cooperative horse onto a trailer.
So more about this belligerent barn addition! He's been called mean, depressed, forlorn, skinny, beautiful, pretty, stubborn and probably a lot more. He's got a one month update blog post coming up so I won't tell you how he's done so far but what I will say is that a lot was up in the air. All we knew about him was that he knew nothing. As in he can run and turn left in a group of other young TB's all losing their minds and high on roids. Regular riding though was a thing of mystery to him.
And that, along with a photo, is where I will leave you till his one month blog update!
But we did not count on several things which turned our 5.5 hour trip into a 9 hour one...
First and foremost, when I tell you how long it takes to get somewhere I would suggest looking it up on Google maps and then taking the average of what I've told you and what the internet told you and go with that. And if you're pulling a trailer, add like 25 minutes to that average. What I'm saying is, the 2.5 hour trip (one way) was more like a 3 hour trip. Or more. Add 45 minutes.
Second, people tend to get hungry. It's a crazy phenomena that occasionally happens, especially when said trip begins at 1:30 pm. A Whataburger stop was in our future before we even pulled out of the barn driveway, we just didn't know it. Add 30 minutes.
Third, there was no "Hopping" on said trailer. There was much clucking (if you're not a horse person just trust me on this one). There was a lot of "scary things" waving. There was a bit of begging. There was definitely way too much sweat. There was even a good cop bad cop scenario playing out. But there was not a lot of hopping or a lot of trailering happening after our arrival. Eventually there was some spotty horse whispering followed closely by a lesson on R-E-S-P-E-C-T (he did indeed find out what that means to me). Then there was grain. Win FOREVER. Not an instant win, but the overall win. Grain first. Lesson learned. Add 2.5 hours. Seriously. And no, no alcohol was involved afterwards. We're that good.
Last, and bless our trailer lady's heavenly and sacred heart, driving with a trailer adds a bit of time. Driving with a HORSE in the trailer adds a lot of time. Which is how it should be. But in my optimum 5.5 hours "it'll be a breeze don't even worry about it" mind, that was not a calculated travel time expense. Add 1 hour.
So maybe my math doesn't add up exactly, I'm no math major and you shouldn't be either, but what I am saying is, it took a lot longer than the 5.5 hours my utopian imagination banked on. And the best part is, I still have the 2 assertive barn buddies. Cause let's face it, who wouldn't bond after being stuck in a truck together for 6.5 hours after taking 2.5 hours to load a less than cooperative horse onto a trailer.
So more about this belligerent barn addition! He's been called mean, depressed, forlorn, skinny, beautiful, pretty, stubborn and probably a lot more. He's got a one month update blog post coming up so I won't tell you how he's done so far but what I will say is that a lot was up in the air. All we knew about him was that he knew nothing. As in he can run and turn left in a group of other young TB's all losing their minds and high on roids. Regular riding though was a thing of mystery to him.
And that, along with a photo, is where I will leave you till his one month blog update!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
STREAKING!!
You heard it here first folks. Marvel likes to be naked! Every time I put him outside he finds a way to take his halter off. I'm not sure which he likes more, feeling the wind on the 1/2 inch strip of the sides of his face that the halter covers or watching me search the paddock for the halter. Either way, somehow I still haven't managed to remember to just take the darn thing off when I let him out.
That being said, I think we are well on our way to the Olympics. No, sorry, we haven't picked up a canter without trying to throw a buck. Yet. Nope, haven't really gotten used to the bit. Yet. BUT, we have made it to our third ride without a trip! YAY! Marvel has somehow put two and two together to realize he's got four legs and that moving across the ground isn't happening by magic.
The other super exciting thing that is making me beam with pride and shoot for the stars is that he had his first real jump today! We've been walking ground poles, and by walking I mean we walk toward them, we stop in front of them, we sniff them, we determine how high they are, and then still trip over ourselves when stepping over them. I'm serious, there for a little while I was thinking if we just set ground poles around a field he'd never "break out."
I don't know if I finally had enough, got brave, or just realized that hey, I've trained a horse to jump before, he can't stop at ground poles! But finally I pointed him at a cavaletti raised 6 inches off the ground and made him trot. The first 10 tries between yesterday and today were less than noteworthy. Just picked up his feet, tripping several times, but making it over. Then. All of a sudden. Marvel had an epiphany. He went back through all the old Horse Illustrated centerfolds he had stored away in his memory and thought, "You know, I could probably tuck MY legs up under me and look just like Beezie Madden's horse Authentic!" And he did it! Maybe one day we will be jumping high. Like, you know, 2'6", because let's face it. He's got splayed feet. But I'll be happy with whatever he can do.
That being said, I think we are well on our way to the Olympics. No, sorry, we haven't picked up a canter without trying to throw a buck. Yet. Nope, haven't really gotten used to the bit. Yet. BUT, we have made it to our third ride without a trip! YAY! Marvel has somehow put two and two together to realize he's got four legs and that moving across the ground isn't happening by magic.
The other super exciting thing that is making me beam with pride and shoot for the stars is that he had his first real jump today! We've been walking ground poles, and by walking I mean we walk toward them, we stop in front of them, we sniff them, we determine how high they are, and then still trip over ourselves when stepping over them. I'm serious, there for a little while I was thinking if we just set ground poles around a field he'd never "break out."
I don't know if I finally had enough, got brave, or just realized that hey, I've trained a horse to jump before, he can't stop at ground poles! But finally I pointed him at a cavaletti raised 6 inches off the ground and made him trot. The first 10 tries between yesterday and today were less than noteworthy. Just picked up his feet, tripping several times, but making it over. Then. All of a sudden. Marvel had an epiphany. He went back through all the old Horse Illustrated centerfolds he had stored away in his memory and thought, "You know, I could probably tuck MY legs up under me and look just like Beezie Madden's horse Authentic!" And he did it! Maybe one day we will be jumping high. Like, you know, 2'6", because let's face it. He's got splayed feet. But I'll be happy with whatever he can do.
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