Projects

At the new barn there is not really a place I can hang up the bags on the front of the stalls to keep the blankets in. I suppose I could attach them on the stall gates but it may not go over well with the barn owner. Hanging things on gates is asking for issues later on. Throwing blankets and sheets over the gate while the horse/pony are turned out is one thing, but leaving weight on the gate for longer periods of time leads to sagging and gates not closing properly. 

I needed something to hang the blankets and sheets on for storage but also give them a way to air out between uses. Since the blankets are short enough... I could make them a rack for in the tack room. 

I had previously bought 3 of these Hooks from Harbor Freight for $2 each. I was using 1 of them for the hose at the previous barn but hadn't figured out where or how I would use them at the new barn. Until now... I found a 4 foot length of 2x4 in the garage at home and measured out where I would place the 3 hooks on it. Marked out where the holes would go and drilled them, then screwed the Hang All hooks to the board. 

All marked and ready to be drilled. 

One of the hooks screwed onto my board. I was going to sand the board and paint it, but since the paint would need to dry and I needed to use this now- I decided I would wait on painting this until later.  

I used a couple of these utility hooks to hang it up tonight. I need to take the screw gun and level out and fix this, but for now it's up and being used. 

Since the blankets and sheets are sizes 58-60 and 68-70 they are hung up and don't quite reach the ground but the leg straps do. 

If I clipped the leg straps up it would be neater.... 

For now the blankets and sheets are all neatly hung up, each one has its own hook and yes I have a free shelf behind them for more stuff.  I may need another hook for more blankets, sheets and coolers. There is room to add one more Hang All on each end of the board for a total of 10 hooks. 

No regrets

There have been a few recent posts on blogger about regrets in riding and all things horse.  I could do a post on its own of all the things I have missed out on, watched slip by, have never quite reached or even gotten a chance at doing when it comes to this subject but the list would be long and that would just suck for plenty of reasons. 

I will list two that a lot of others can relate to- my parents refused to buy me a pony and lessons were 'too expensive'. I can blame my parents and wave the flag- 'My childhood sucked', but it won't change anything.  Since then life has handed me a whole bunch of lemons over the years so I've made a whopping batch of margaritas and let all of the disappointments go. Screw that and screw them. 

Of the many things I Have gotten to do with horses, there have been times when I have doubted myself, questioned my own ideas and times when I said "Fuck it!", jumped in blindly and hoped for the best. Both have their pro's and cons.  With this whole year having been a clusterf*ck, I have appreciated my time with the ponies and just being around them, even if it is just to turn them out and clean stalls. 

One thing that I have noticed in showing- people fixate on one thing or another and work long and hard at solving why they can't get this movement or that one perfect. I would love to ride or drive a perfect dressage test and nail every movement but yeah, that's just not gonna happen any time soon! Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Kat and I could do ok in dressage and then kill it in the games classes, cones and obstacles. We function better with speed and not having to think about stuff. Just point and shoot, rip around the course with reckless abandon, just throw down fast times and often double clear rounds. It's what we do. Other people have some really nice dressage scores but then just don't open up the throttle on the cones, hazards or games classes. That's how they roll and that's ok. 

For ridden dressage- the last pony I was working with, we did ok. We were in the ribbons every time out, got a couple of 2nd place scores at one show, tried Western Dressage & scored an 8 for our halt and overall I felt we did pretty well considering. A friend of mine commented that the judge seemed to like the pony but not my style of riding. 

That's what we all face when showing. We aren't all going to nail every transition, every movement, every spin, every slide, every stride between jumps, every barrel pattern, every part of everything on every ride. We also aren't going to Wow! every judge either. We're human- they're human we all have good days and bad, things we like and don't and that's just that. When we struggle with transitions or half halts, making nice round circles instead of egg shapes or ice cream cones, we need to be able to chalk it up as "not our strong suit today" and move on. 

Focus on other things for a while, try things on the test for the next level up. Maybe go back to something more basic for a refresher. Work on straightness, touch on balance in the stop, try some counterbending- and sometimes things will click for us or the horse. Now they understand what you're asking for. Now we have a better idea of more clear aids to use and when to give them. Maybe now we understand the why behind the previous movement and how it leads us into the next one. Now it all happens so effortlessly... Or it doesn't and it's just one of those things. 

But at least now we know that this horse and I struggle with this- _________. In our test we will do it and not worry about it being perfect. We will just gloss over it and move on without making a fuss. And a lot of times we think it is more of an issue than others including the judge and our score is better than expected. We move on to the other movements we know we can nail and those scores make up the difference for the parts we worry and stress over. 

Sometimes it is our worry and concern over this transition that makes it an issue. We get so tangled up in our own heads that we start doing things to make our horses react with WTF?!?! So when we ride thru it on our dressage test like it's no big deal- the horse agrees and executes it just like that. Which makes us scratch our heads and ask WTF?!?! too. 

As far as regrets- they are personal to each of us. We can view them like we do our horses when we saddle up to ride- what horse are you today? Are you going to do everything I ask or fight me the whole time? We can hold onto our regrets and let them cloud our outlook or let them go and move on. When we let them go and move on, later we might look back and ask ourselves- Why didn't I do this sooner????

Projects

Part of the perks at the new barn is a wonderful owner who appreciates a low key, no drama atmosphere and takes pride in his property. Now that he has put concrete floors in most of the tack rooms, he repiped the water lines giving each stall a faucet of its own to make filling water tubs easier. These are all now underground which meant my mats had to move for a few days. Not a big deal since I really don't get to work ponies during the week with the time change. 

Mat #1 is the right front, #2 is the left front, #3 is the left rear and #4 is the right rear.

The barn owner sends me a text the other night that the water lines are done and the old ones overhead were all taken down. When I got there that night, he had moved the mats all back inside. "I know they aren't how you had them but I felt I should move them back in since I moved them out."  I can certainly appreciate that since they are heavy ass mats! I let him know that with the long weekend I would be moving them around, leveling the ground under them and cutting them to fit the aisleway.  I needed to bring my good knife home from work to make the job a lot quicker and easier and he replied with this- 👍👍👍 Monday night I got the front right mat (#1) leveled for the most part and cut to fit. That was an easy one!

Mat #2 was a bitch! Tuesday night I got the ground leveled but had to cut the whole end of the mat at an angle to fit the front of the stall and the wood protecting the spigot. I was able to get the notch for the spigot box done pretty easily, but the rest was going to take more time and more effort than I had that night. Wednesday night I got Mat #3 leveled and cut. That one went pretty quick and easy. Once I had the edges on the long side up against M#2, I could lay the short end on top of the base board and use it as a guide to cut along, pushing the mat down into place as I went. 

Mat #4 needs to be leveled and turned, then cut to fit and it should will drop into place pretty easily. Since there is enough room, I may get 2 more mats to put across the aisle in front of the gates. This would make it easier to sweep the shavings up and back into the stalls. The farrier is coming on Friday and will get to see and use the newly matted aisle to work in/on. I'm sure he will appreciate it! 

Some of you may have noticed that the way I laid out the mats, the seam down the middle is staggered or offset. It's more to the left in the two front mats and off to the right between the back two. If or when I put down 2 more, this one would also be more to the left. This is so that not only it has the appearance of brick or tile work but also the seams aren't all together. If a horse was to flip out and sit back in the ties, they would be less likely to get a hoof or shoe under the edge of the mats. The fewer edges in one area- the fewer places to get caught up and things to come undone. Since there is a covered area over the door of the barn, I may level that and put a couple mats down so the other boarders can use the cross ties too with their horse outside so the ponies in their stalls won't be interfering with them if the farrier or vet is working on their horse. 

The next project will be to get some plywood to put between the bottom 2 rails, cut to fit and trimmed to make a nicely finished look. This will keep the shavings IN the stalls and also help protect the box and spigots from any stray hooves of a down horse.  I'm sure the BO would be happy to have it done and can see that I take pride in my work and having things neat, making it a nice place to work. 

He is also thinking to install a wash rack and I let him know I can get more mats for that when the time comes. There is a space right off the front of the barn that has ample drainage which would be perfect for it. It would also face the south so there would be plenty of daylight for warmth in the winter months. If he would like, I have contacts and could get a water heater relatively cheap for that added bonus in winter months. Talking to him a while back, his daughter showed horses back in the day and they boarded at one of the other barns I had looked at. In all honesty, his place is much nicer. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a Happy and safe Thanksgiving, how ever you choose to gather and celebrate it. 

Things I am thankful for- the various horses and people who have taught me so much in life. Those still among us and those whose loss I have grieved. 

RIP- Tess, Izzy, Punkin, Abby, Dooley, Pi, Mo, Mommy Mare, Solis, Berry, Fred, Shelly, Kodiak, Timber/Roo, Howie, Buzz & Holly Mooo

Perks 2.0

I got a couple of the stall mats the other night.... 

I got two of them to start. When I get two more I will turn them and cut off the excess so it will be solid mats all the way across. When the other boarder showed up the next night he was asking how on earth I had wrangled those suckers into the aisle? They're Heavy! He's a tall, stronger guy and I guess he didn't figure my size and grit too well. Lol 

Ummm getting them Out of the truck was the easy part! Gravity and backing the truck up to where I wanted them made it simple to move them. Just slide them out and they're already in place for the most part. Getting them up Into the truck was a different story. Because they're so freaking heavy.

The barn owner decided to fix up the floors in the feed and tack rooms. He had started at the other end of the barn since its empty. That meant I needed to move all of my stuff so he could fix the floors. Last week I moved my feed. I thought I was down to 4 bales of hay and it turns out I have 5. Bonus! But I had just bought alfalfa pellets the night before so I had to move them- Again. Wish I had known before buying them. Lol 

But this? This is Totally Worth It! No more wood floors. This is my feed room. Just gotta wait for the concrete to set up and then I can move it all back down to the front of the barn. 

This is the tack room next to mine. Concrete has set up a bit more already. 

It would have been nice being able to just move everything to the next door down, but it's all good. I got everything moved and the BO will be able to make the changes needed. Some are getting concrete and others are getting the wood floors fixed up for now. Besides, with what's to come- it's a Good thing I didn't move everything one space over. 

I'm feeling kind of spoiled at this barn. It's nice having a barn owner who takes things seriously and not only has a clean facility, but puts work into it and takes care of everything. While it's nice to have other boarders to talk to and people to ride or maybe show with- its just as nice Not having their damn drama.  It's so nice being drama free. Such a difference! 

This is my tack room the night it was poured waiting for the concrete to set up. I'm looking forward to putting everything back in and already have an idea of how I'm going to rearrange it. Then I got a text message saying I could move everything back into my tack/feed rooms.... But there were ants in my feed room all across the back and half way down the wall. So I sprayed them and got their nest. The next night there were several dead bugs in there, not just the ants. 

I figured- why not knock down all of the spider webs and have everything clean and ready to go. In the process I found 3 big, dark colored spiders. Not black widows as they were thicker and meatier built with a silver butt. They got sprayed too and as a friend used to say- "it knocked 'em deader 'an hell". 

This. shit. rocks! Kills on contact and keeps killing for up to 6 months. I don't remember which store I bought it at but holy crap. Totally worth the money. This stuff is why not only the ants were dead but the other bugs in my feed room were too. So I decided to knock down the spider webs and spray my tack room also. Why not? There's nothing in either one right now so it's easy peasy. 

The webs weren't all that bad but I must've found a roach nest because when I sprayed along the back wall.... They started coming out of everywhere and hiding anywhere they could find. I ended up spraying all around the bottom of the walls, up the corners, behind any studs going up the walls and the inside bottom of the door. I let the barn owner know I would be letting things air out for a couple-few more days and he's cool with that. 

As I was feeding and cleaning up, putting things away, etc. I kept seeing roaches coming out of my tack room. It's like there's a Mass Exodus going on in there. I counted at least 10 that had already fled, another 4 or 5 that made their way down to the other boarders stalls before we left and who knows how many more will come out of the woodwork while I'm not there. At least they won't get the idea they're welcome back any time soon. Lol

Perks

The new barn owner is super chill and so easy to deal with. Since I have moved in, he has agreed to let me make a few changes in the barn. 

He doesn't mind if I bring in mats for the aisle at the front of the barn where I have my cross ties. If I want to put some down in the stalls- he's fine with that too. One of the ladies I used to board with has a lead on these for a good price. I may have to buy them a couple at a time, but so be it. 

One of the other boarders recently moved out and left behind a weed eater. When the BO went out of town for a few days, I used it to mow down a bunch of stuff around the front of the barn. I also grabbed the nippers and trimmed what I could in the arena. 

He also doesn't mind if I take the truck into the arena for something to stand on/in the bed of and trim the lower hanging branches. No more ducking and dodging when I ride. Before I could do that though, last weekend he had a few loads of sand brought in and dumped in the arena. 

 Looking to the west in the arena

While I was in Hell seeing my girls for their birthday, (they are 12) the power company came in and cut back about 90% of the tree growth on the north side off the arena- the right side of the pic above. BO also worked the footing in the arena. This end had some deep spots that dried a little hard with holes from footprints in the mud- the other end had a few spots the same.  About 2 days after he worked the footing I was able to ride on it. It is so nice riding in a freshly groomed arena! Still a little squishy on the east end but a shit ton better than the arena at the last barn. 

I also have the front stalls so getting shavings brought in is super easy too!  A bag like this, fine grind, almost like sand is only $25. If you want a coarse grind then they also have a bigger bag for $35. 

Katman gets about 3/4 of the bag in his stall. He's a relatively clean pony- poops in the back corner so no shavings there, and he has one pee spot so that's easy to clean. 

The other pony however, can be a total slob. Her stall is stripped, his stall is stripped and the barely used shavings from his- goes into hers.  Then she gets the other 1/4 the bag of new stuff on top. These shavings make it super easy to clean stalls. The wet stuff clumps almost like kitty litter and the dry stuff? Well it falls thru the rake without even a shake leaving just the manure. 

Mice/ rats in the barn- every barn has them at some point.  At the new place the barn owner routinely puts out bait blocks to keep them at bay or at least somewhat under control. I like this better than the last barn where they relied on some semi-feral cats to do the job, which they didn't. What they Did do instead was breed indiscriminately and were always popping out kittens here there and everywhere, besides climbing on tack and leaving deep scratches in the leather of 2 of my saddles- thru the saddle covers. Not cool! 

Lights and fans are included in the board at the new barn. Each stall has them, as well as a window off the back that can be left open or closed.  

Drama free zone- absolutely! 

Finding peace

Last month I found a new barn to move the ponies to. I had been looking for something else and had a few friends looking via social media. One of them had found a place, it would cost a little more, had a few more perks (like a covered arena with good footing) and a few things that would be different... (sharing a tack room), but definitely nothing unmanageable. 

Coming down to the end of the month and I drop them a text- are we good to go? Nope. And then it happens. One of the previous boarders called to ask if I'm still moving out and if so can she have my 2 stalls? The barn she's at is just too far for her to drive (10 miles) to take care of her horses. Well since she has 2 stalls and I do too- I ask about the barn she's at? Turns out it's closer for me, board is reasonable, private feed/tack room for each stall along with lights and fans at no extra charge, the arena is a little smaller and not covered, but still a good size, the footing is good and after a rain it is rideable in a short time. The barn owner also does not allow stuff in the aisle way cluttering things up, getting in the way. 

I met with the barn owner, got all our paperwork in order and picked up the other womans two horses, took them to the 'old barn'. I grabbed all my stuff, loaded the ponies and off we went. While I still like the previous barn and all, some of the people there too and I'm welcome back at any time, I'm really liking the new place so much more. It was probably a good two weeks before I met anyone there. Talk about Low Key, laid back and NO Drama! Lol 

Creds vs Drama

Now that everyone has seen what I was talking about and how clueless 'trainer k' is, she went online to throw herself a pity party and try to gain the sympathy vote. Her and her little group of keyboard jockey, so called 'friends' are going at it, making threats and telling her to do stuff to other horses in the barn to "teach them (the owners) a lesson" and "see how they like it".... Of course the details of these were done thru PM so it could supposedly go under the radar. *sigh* 

Naturally she tried to throw me under the bus and sling crap my way, because I'm one of many to blame and nothing is ever possibly her fault. LMAO! Like anyone would be immune to her tantrum? Please. *eyeroll*  Besides, we all know that when people like her can't possibly create anything to compare- they have to talk smack and bring others down, hoping to build themselves up. Sounds a lot like someone else I once knew. 

Since I drive Kat and have been working with a pony at the barn that's starting to drive- one of her so called friends Donna took a shot at me. "If you want I'll show up at the barn and have words with this aSs person and show her in 1 lesson How to cart train a horse."   I'm still laughing at this womans blatantly glaring display of ignorance. 

We all know it takes more than one lesson to train a horse to do anything, let alone do it well. Even the really smart and talented horses don't come out on the other side knowing all things after just one ride. What is the saying about improving each days training by 1% and after 100 days the horse should be fully trained??? We know that doesn't happen either. If it did-> the dressage divas would all be riding Prix St George in nothing flat. Reiners would all be in the $5M club and there would be a whole bunch of winners in- pick your equine sport here. Plain and simple- training takes time and while some horses learn quicker than others- it still all takes time. 

I know my own personal level of knowledge, talent and skills. I know what I have accomplished on my own in the riding and driving worlds with no trainer, no lessons and a lot of sweat equity put into it. No blood or tears because it ain't nothing to sneeze at or cry over and blood Never looks good on the resumé. It just don't. *

For those who don't know- my first driving show, Kat and I won the reinsmanship class over a friend of mine and 2 other seasoned competitors- one of which I found out 3 months later had been long listed by USEF. Then a few years later we showed under Paul Sidwell, (well known and highly respected international driving judge) and then again under him 3 months later with our scores improved by 10 points. Again- all with no trainer, no lessons and showing Kat as a stallion. 

If you follow my driving blog, that was several years ago and at the time, I mentioned winning the class, then later when I found out about the USEF long list-> congratulated the lady for her accomplishment.  This post is the first time I have ever spelled it all out. After explaining all of this to a friend of mine at the barn (who knows not of this blog) she just said "Wow! I had No idea about any of that. Zero! You could be such a snob! Lol" 

Another friend of mine that ran in the same circles as a Lot of the really Big Names in the equestrian world told me one time "You should drop names and 'post your creds' letting them know where you get your information from." She was a bit surprised when I told her I wouldn't for 2 reasons. 1) Her cred's, accomplishments and the people she knows aren't my story to tell. They're not and I can totally respect her privacy. 2) F that! I don't need to post who I know to impress anyone. They can see What I know by how my horses look and work and if it isn't obvious to them that way, they probably don't deserve my time or attention anyways. She agreed and laughed it off. 

All things considered, I have been very fortunate to have gotten to compete alongside other drivers like that and show under judges like Paul and so many others of his peers. I worked hard for it, earned my placings and think it's pretty damned cool. For the record- Paul and several of the other driving judges I shown under in AZ at the various shows, CDE's and ADT's- were ALL down to earth, easy to talk to, helpful with tips and advice and a great group of people to be around. 

Getting back to the point- after taking the pony to the local public arena and driving her and working on Prelim level stuff (she handled it all really well!), it has become a joke that I need to call Donna and see if she can teach me **all the things**  in one lesson. I'm betting she would likely show me all the things what NOT to do.  BTW- The pony has been doing Amazing! and has had less than 10 drives to date.

* The part about blood on a resumé... Apparently this girl took in a mare for retirement. Instead of giving the mare an easy life as promised- she started using her for lessons (which wasn't in the agreement) and 7 months later the mare is dead. Story is- she wouldn't tell the previous owner anything about what happened resulting in the mares death. That's not cool. 

The midnight move-out I mentioned in the previous post came after the barn owner notified a previous owner of one of 'trainer k's' horses that the horse was for sale. The 'trainer' had gotten the mare thru a contract sale with a first right of refusal- meaning if she 'trainer k' decided she didn't want to keep the horse any longer, the previous owner was to be notified and they would take the horse back. So the previous owner found out the horse is for sale, came and took the horse back and cut off all contact with the trainer. Since 'trainer k' was in the wrong, she pouted, took her toys and went home, aka- moved her operations without notice. Apparently she also took down her FB training page because of this too. That way your clients can't find you either?  Because that's what professionals do.... Lmao

Speaking of unprofessional behavior by 'trainer k', she has told a youth student who is obviously shaking and scared- "Get over it and get ON the FUCKING horse already!" 

Told another client on the phone- "I can't teach you to FUCKING ride if you never FUCKING show up!" 

Can't even pick up the correct diagonal when posting. 

Still throws water bottles at her dog. Leaves her water bottles everywhere.

Still screams at her horses and still doesn't have a clue and according to one of the previous barn owners- she is a theif, has a bad temper and is abusive to her animals. 

Yeah I have nothing to worry about. My horses and those I work with speaks for themselves. 

Drama vs Cred's

The new "trainer" at the barn has been causing a lot of problems, stirring a lot of shit and basically letting her mouth write a ton of checks her ass can't cash. Obviously this comes as no surprise. Lol  I get it. She's young (21) and thinks she knows it all. Smh. She has so much to learn in life....

In an effort to gain sympathy she goes online and throws herself a pity party, just like we all knew she would. Only she leaves out one aspect of it all. That thing called the truth... You know, the one that hurts like hell when mixed with a healthy dose of reality and it bitch slaps us.  

Shall we start with her barn etiquette? Here's a hint- she has none. 

Wherever her horses crap- barn aisle, wash rack, cross ties- that's where it stays. There were at least 2 piles by the wash rack for over a week until the sun and water eventually broke it all down. Since she doesn't clean up their crap, why would she clean up anything else? Oh right. She doesn't. She clipped a horse and 4 days later... the hair is still on the ground in the cross ties.

With this kind of mess being the norm by her stalls every day, why would anybody be surprised to find the mess in the pic below or that she left it for two days

Nobody else in the barn has this kind of mess in the aisle by their stalls. Considering she has her own feed and tack area- there's no reason she should be leaving anything out other than pure laziness. She has left her saddles out a couple of times- "to see if anyone steals them".  News flash honey, obviously nobody wants your cheap ass crap including you. Supposedly she had all of her tack stolen once before. SuuUUuure. If she had- she would be a lot more careful with her stuff now.Her messes in the barn are one thing. They don't exactly directly affect her horses. But theyre a good indication of other things she does or doesn't do that Does directly affect the horses. Like cleaning her water tank in the pasture- that she took over of her own accord...  

This tank looked like this for the next two weeks before she finally cleaned and moved it- where now it overflowed creating a big mud puddle under the gate. Then she claimed her mares all have mud fever and need to stay in the pasture- rather than be in their dry stalls and treated for it? No mud fever folks- she will say anything. A month later she finally bought a bigger tank and new float- miraculously the mud dries up. Shocker. Now, shall we talk about her horses??? This is what I meant by my last post of the horses telling it all. In her words- "They looked better before but we've moved barns a few times..."  They've been at our barn 3 months now and still look like this, so no, 'trainer k' honey, you need to come up with another one if your lame ass excuses. Excuses are what you come up with when you don't have a legitimate reason. 

One of her lesson horse mares.... Clearly she lacks weight and muscle development. 

Another of her mares.  Doesn't she look thrilled to be alive? Again lack of muscling on this horse- nice dip in front of the withers. This can easily be remedied with proper work and I know this because I have fixed this same issue on another horse in as little as a month.  

Same 'thrilled mare' from another angle. Again the lack of development in the shoulder/ wither area shows this mare has not been taught to move properly which all goes back to her owners lack of training skills. Yes those are ribs showing thru too. 

 

This mare was a hot mess. She ditched her for $200, -make that $700 as she raised the price last minute in a shady deal, claiming she had another buyer at $200 so she jacked the price - dumping her on another boarder who only bought her out of pity. This mare had a stomach and chest covered in welts, hives, bug bites or a combination of the three and'trainer k' couldn't be bothered to treat her for whatever it was...  yet she's online looking at more horses. 

When the new owner went to the local vet for the copy of the coggins and vaccinations for the new barn as she moved out- yep you guessed it folks. "They don't have it because the vets office mailed the vaccination record to me." Really? Because If the vets office had one, they would be able to print out another copy for the new owner. In fact I got a text And an email from the same vet office just the other day that my pony is due for his shots, because they're on top of things like that. Unlike her, who claims to be a vet tech and/or a licensed vet- depending on the day of the week and who she speaks to at what time...  

Then there's this one. An older mare she supposedly got from the humane society. Yes you can see her ribs... 

Yes you can see her spine and hip bones. Does anyone else see a trend here? Yes animal control was called on her within the first month of the horses being at the barn. AC showed up and because the horses have feed... Nothing was done. 

The mare gets fed all right. This girl literally fills her bucket with some kind of feed that honestly looks like dog kibble, soaks it down and that's what the mare gets to eat until she finishes it- no matter how many days it takes. When I took the next picture on a Friday evening, this was what was left from her almost full bucket from Wednesday evening. I have no problem with people feeding mush to horses that are older and have dental issues, but mix up what they need for one meal, let them eat it and the next meal- make it fresh for them. It's not that difficult. But again- lack of knowledge, concern and responsibility mixed with pure laziness = mix up 1 bucket to feed to use for 2-3 days and be done....

She lets this mare eat until the others are finished, whether she is done or not and then kicks them all back outside again. Whatever is left- sits in the stall until the next feeding, morning, the next evening, morning, evening, etc. until it's gone and time to refill it again. And the next mealtime isn't even that consistent. She doesn't drive "by personal choice" (or more like laziness and irresponsibility) so she's always calling, texting or messaging someone else to feed for her. Then she told one of the other ladies at the barn- "It's ok not to be consistent as then they won't rely on things or be impatient at a certain time. It's even good for them to skip a meal now and then too. It doesn't hurt them." I guess it wouldn't hurt her to miss a meal now and then either just to be fair? Because most horse owners I know, feed their animals before they feed themselves. Her boyfriend showed up at the barn a few nights ago to feed or that's my guess. He was in her feed room banging buckets around anyways, but he did not feed any of her horses before he left. Not sure what the point was of him even driving over there if he wasn't going to feed any of the horses. 

For the record- she's been kicked out of the last 3 barns for different reasons- one of them being a midnight move-out and another because after she kicked her dog, one of her former clients started to video as she proceeded to beat up on one of her horses. The video was posted to her FB training page in the comments and then later she took her training page down.

I have seen the video and read the text and/or PM exchange where the barn owner said "That horse had no problems while he was here other than being lazy." Another person states "What isn't heard on the video was her asking the horse- 'Do you want another one to the face?'." This person also asked her Why she throws water bottles at her dog all the time? "That's just how she's treated and she's turned out fine."  I know the mentioned barn owner and have spoken to her in the past. She's well respected in the horse community- yet this girl has stated in text messages to another friend of mine "That B/O is nuts and was slandering me all over the internet..." which is exactly what she was doing at the moment. Ironic? Somebody please call the whaaaaa-mbulance! Lmao

So where are the Cred's I mentioned? That comes in Part 2. You know there's a whole lot more to this... there's always more. *eyeroll*

Horses tell it all

A while back another blogger- MiKael of Rising Rainbow- and I were talking about training and how people may talk the talk but can they really walk the walk? We all know the type, they use all the latest buzz words but have no idea what they mean or how to apply things.

Something she said stuck with me all this time. "Watch the way their horses work. That will tell you what you need to know." If their horses are moving properly, then obviously someone knows what their talking about and also how to apply it. If the horses aren't moving properly, then you might want to steer clear of them.

Taking this one step further- when the horses are moving properly it will show in their muscle tone. The horses will be fit and in shape with a well balanced look about them. As you develop your eye and learn what to look for- the little things start to stand out to you and scream either Here I am!!! or Nope!

We have had a few 'trainers' come thru the barn in the past few months. One girl was claiming to be retraining a barrel horse that had gate and alley issues. She would tell me at great length all of the things she was doing to fix his problems. What she didn't know was that I can see right thru all of it. One look at her horse gave it all away. When school started back up again last fall and she was consumed with classes, homework, band practice and all of that- I took on working her horse for a month since her family had been feeding my horses 2 nights a week for me. Nice people and I don't mind trading favors like that. Once her horse started moving like he should- his whole body started changing as well as his behavior when she rode him again.

One girl took on a young mare that she later ended up taking ownership of, but after several months the horse was still lacking muscle tone, her hip bones on top were still showing, her neck was undeveloped and she had hollow spots behind her shoulder blades. Life happens and she needed to sell the mare after breaking her foot in 4 places coming off another horse she was training. I stepped in to help get the mare turned around and sold.

What happened was funny and shows how quickly we can make a difference. I changed up the mares feed, started working her in long lines and in less than a month all of a sudden everyone was taking notice of this horse. This girl has mostly used liberty techniques when training, but seeing the physical transformation and dramatic changes in a short time, she's interested in long line work and dressage now. The mare- she got a number of hits on the ad I posted for her including new pics and Sold the horse before the months end.

Another trainer moved into the barn this month. A young girl that is into hunter jumpers and eventing as it turns out. One look at her horses told me all I need to know. All of them need work and help. She asked if I might be interested in lessons? I'm pretty sure she meant me taking lessons from her, but yeah that would be a hard pass. Instead I politely let her know that I don't intend to give up my ammy status any time soon. Lol

Being organized

A friend of mine at the barn has quite the setup in her feed & tack room. Her way of doing things is right up my alley. She goes to the $1 store a lot and is always finding things to make life easier, things run smoothly and she's able to do things quickly and efficiently.

She graciously allowed me to take the pic's and show part of her tack collection- her saddle pads. Dressage pads on the left, all purpose in the middle, Navajo pads on the right and even those are organized by color.... Lol

Her English pads have white hangers and western pads have black. Hangers come in packs of 7 at the $1 store. They also have these clips that come in packs of 6- 3 blue & 3 white. Two packs of clips and 1 pack of hangers will set you back a whopping $3 to hang up 6 saddle pads.

You can see in a few of the pic's that the clips have a hole for the hanger that allows them to stay on and slide back and forth easily.

Her navajo pads are all folded neatly and hung up. Depending on the size and weight of the pad, some have 2 clips and others need 4 to hold them up. Work pads, show pads, pad liners- all hung up neatly and ready for use.

She even has a few pads (both English and western) that are still new in the package and never even been to the barn.  The pole holding all of her pads is actually an old rake handle sitting in the bridle hooks of her saddle racks. She has also admitted to needing something longer since there are still a few more to be located and hung up.

I have to admit I really like her setup. Of course everyone's mileage varies and what works for one may not work for some and vis-versa, but for a fast, cheap and easy way to organize and store your saddle pads, that's pretty cool.

Words of Wisdom

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Dr. Maya Angelou

Boy ain't that the truth. I recently had dealings with a local tack shop owner. I was going to consign one of my saddles and a few other things. Made arrangements to take everything over to him and it seemed promising. Or so I thought...

Speaking to him I was told he used to do hauling and yes he knew some of the same people I do from back then. Then he said something that in hindsight is a huge Red Flag and I should have left then and there! When he decided to get out of hauling, he decided mid-trip and at that point he did not care if this horse ever made it to their new home.

So if he didn't care if the horse ever made it home- I'm supposed to trust him with my tack??? I should have turned and run.

Fast forward about 6 months. After countless empty promises to get everything posted on their website, (still minimal items posted to date) and even placing an order with them for 4 items- they cancelled all but one with no explanation why- I decided to bring my stuff home. F that! I can post or list it and sell it myself online.

The drama begins... Supposedly posted store hours mean nothing. "I'm not there today, but you can come by tomorrow" - when they're closed. Ok what time? Crickets.....

The following weekend- I'm going to be headed that way and will come pick up my stuff. Please have it available. Again a faux answer and ghosting. The following weekend there was more drama, my stuff was still not ready and I called for police assistance. Again store hours mean nothing, ignoring my text messages and repeated phone calls. And then came the barrage of replies....

I'm being aggressive, no need to get the cops involved, my stuff still wasn't ready, he can't just drop everything and cater to me, and on and on and on. Another friend of mine had some similar dealings with this same person. Unexplained cancelled orders, shipping charges when promised Free shipping, no credit or refund even offered for the charges, no reply when asking about the cancelled items or free shipping but an almost immediate response when my friend posted to her own FB page that she was looking to buy a turnout blanket...  "I have several, let me look in the shop tomorrow (when they're closed) and I'll let you know prices and sizes..."

It took a month to finally get all of my stuff back. I received an email that it would be ready on Friday the 1st of the month and I had exactly 1 week to pick it up or it was considered Abandoned Property and belonged to him. I was only allowed on the property one time to pick up my things and after that I would be considered trespassing and He would be calling the cops. Oh and again- Saturday posted store hours meant nothing, he couldn't possibly be bothered to be there so my things were to be in the nearby office and I was to get everything from them.

I got all but one item back. There was a note on the list in the bag stating that he *thought* this item may have sold and if so, he would send me a check. Yeah I rolled my eyes too. No I still have not received a check and yes, it's worth it Not to have to deal with that person anymore. So far my dealings with people with his same first name- they're serious whack jobs. That's another big Red Flag.

Fuzz kill

A while back another blogger had posted about cleaning mildew or mold off their tack. Having never had to deal with this before, they had gone to horse forums for answers- because we all like to share what works in times like this. What seems to be the the "Go to" for getting rid of the fuzzy crap covering tack was vinegar. This just sounds all kinds of wrong to me because vinegar is an acid.

Being an acid, it can be used to cut thru calcium deposits from hard water and why it foams up like crazy when mixed with baking soda. Basic chemistry tells us that baking soda neutralizes acid. I can remember my dad pouring baking soda water on a car battery to clean the corrosion off the terminals.

In terms of cooking- vinegar is used in a lot of marinades because it breaks down proteins leaving meat tender. Since meat and leather both come from essentially the same place, it leaves me wondering if the vinegar would be breaking down the leather in some manner and helping things deteriorate a little quicker than they should? I guess maybe if someone was to soak their leather with vinegar or marinade it, it could ruin it, but what happens if I were to miss a spot when wiping it down?

I have also had to deal with fuzzy tack since moving to Houston. In aridzona it's a dry heat. Thus the arid.... lol, but it's hot and I spent time oiling my tack to keep it from drying out more than anything. In Houston it is far more humid and within a short time my bridles and some of my English saddles are fuzzy- used or not.

One of the girls at the first barn had said to use an antiseptic mouthwash like Listerine to kill the mildew. Use a spray bottle and spray it all over, wipe it down and you're good to go. This made sense so I've been getting the knock off brand of antiseptic mouthwash at the $1 store and using it. The minty fresh scent is much more appealing to me than vinegar too.

Then I had a Duh! moment and called one of the many Tandy Leather stores. Their advice was to use- a 50/50 solution of lemon juice and water. Spray this on to kill the fuzz and keep it from coming back, wait a couple of days and then oil the leather as usual again. If the leather is already pitted from the mold/mildew then the damage is done, but otherwise this should work.

The lemon juice mixture like the vinegar should certainly kill the mold/mildew as it contains citric acid. I guess being diluted it would minimize the risk of damaging the leather. So there it is folks. Diluted lemon juice, vinegar or antiseptic mouthwash. Whatever kills the fuzz, then oil the leather a few days later and you should be fine.

What is crazy though, at least to me anyways, I can oil all of my bridles the same day, hang them up side by side and a week or two later- one bridle still looks good, freshly oiled and ready to go... and the other one right next to it is already getting fuzzy.

S Clips

Long ago and far away when I was at a cutting horse show.... There was a guy there who had these same clips, except his were pretty big and easily fit over the pipe panel fence.

My much smaller version... 

This made them incredibly portable, but what was even more interesting was what was on the other end of them. Tack of all kinds. He had a few bridles, halters & leads, a lunge line or two, all neatly hung on this clip. And when he needed something it was easy to grab and go. Just as easy to clip something on it and done. They were relatively cheap and easily found at the local outdoors sporting good store (R.E.I.).

Imagine the wheels in my head spinning when I seen these same clips in a variety of sizes at the local Lowe's. This size were $4 and two of them work great for hanging the manure fork up and keeping it handy while out of the wayway. The pony also can't knock it off the clips like he could the hooks. Bummer for him. They had larger clips, probably almost the size of the one the guy was using and they were $10 so pretty reasonably priced.I'm kinda bummed that this is a No Buy Year for me and I'm finding some really cool things or great deals and have to pass, but when I keep in mind the bigger picture and the rewards at the end- it makes it all worth it.  

This!

This is why equestrians have home gym equipment.... 

I'd rather not...

The other day I was cleaning and oiling my bridles. It is tough here in Houston to keep them looking nice unless they are kept inside. At the barn they are not. They end up dusty at best and fuzzy at worst.

As I was working on my English bridles I was thinking about this post. What is the one tack item you least enjoy cleaning? For me it is laced reins and almost all of my English bridles have them. Oh yippee! Heavy on the sarcasm there....

The reason I don't like cleaning laced reins is because the dust, crud and fuzz gets in under the lacing and is tough to get out. I will wipe mine down to keep them clean but for a deep cleaning, you have to get into all the nooks and crannies. Laced reins have a lot of them. It can be time consuming to do it right.

I wipe mine down as best I can to clean them off and then roll them up to fit in the bottom of a plastic container or tub and pour the neatsfoot oil over them. As I pull them out, unrolling as I go, I squeeze off the excess oil with my fingers and hang them up to 'dry'. If the leather is dry, it will soak up the oil quickly and may need another coat. Brand new leather may not dry completely and will require wiping down with a dry cloth. This may need to be done a few times until all of the excess oil comes out of the pores. For latigos on western saddles, they may 'leak' with each use as the leather is stretched a little to tighten the cinch.

Of course I don't do this often because it really isn't necessary and too much is not a good thing either, but when needed it is the quickest and easiest way to get the leather conditioned.

Another tack item I don't like cleaning is western saddles with excessive tooling. Hard PASS! Again the dust, dirt and crud gets in every nook and cranny and makes it a pain in the ass to clean. Honestly I will not buy a western saddle or even a breastcollar with a lot of tooling on it. The basket weave tooling is a little easier to clean but not much and can also be a pain. Back in the day at the Arab barns.... I can remember using a toothbrush on the show saddles to get the dust out of everything. Those saddles had tooling everywhere. Not my idea of a good time.

So which Tech items are your least favorite to clean and why?

Straightness

This pic was taken about 2 years ago. I was riding a young filly that was really coming along well in her training. As I said in my previous post, my posture In the saddle is not what needs the work. Out of the saddle is a different story.

When riding I have learned to sit up and look where I'm going. That didn't always happen. Lol I used to hunch over like I was carrying a football or something. This was worse when going to the right at the trot. Bringing my inside shoulder back solved that. A friend of mine had me widen my hands and open my chest as well as riding bareback once in a while to feel the 'how' of my weight distribution in the saddle.

Another long ingrained issue I had was leaning forward. For whatever reason I had the idea that any gait faster than a walk, required me to lean forward. Maybe I was leaning into the movement not to be left behind? I dunno, but I did it and it tipped me forward. Add the boobs and it didn't help the 'overall picture'. It also affected the horse's balance and way of going. It had them pitched forward and on their forehand. Not at all what we were working towards.

Although it looks like we were racing around in these pics, this filly had gotten the idea of slowing down and relaxing in her work. What we had been working on was picking up the lope and I would give her a few strides before I corrected myself, sitting up straight, relaxing into my seat and then collecting her and asking her to gather herself under me. 

When talking about straightness in dressage- ridden or driven, there is vertical and lateral straightness just like bending. The horse can travel straight down the rail as well as being straight thru their turns. Imagine riding a bicycle. You can turn the handlebars and remain straight vertically while going around the corner.  Now imagine riding the bicycle with no hands. You can lean to one side and still get the turn. Horses aren't much different. You can get straightness thru the turn, or we can lean into it causing the horse to lean as well. 

What works for me is to sit up straight and prepare myself for the turn. When I visualize keeping myself straight thru the turn, it helps me ride the horse vertically straighter thru the turn. Sometimes I have to correct myself by bringing a shoulder back, putting a little more weight into my seatbone, closing my hip or looking up. Correcting things in each of us is as individual as we are and our mileage varies. 

Once we feel the correct movement and have the A-Ha! moment of 'This is what it is supposed to be like!' then we need to maintain it. It may only last a few strides at first, but now we understand what we're looking for and riding towards. Good luck and sit up. Lol

Goals

If you've been reading here for a while, you know I'm not all that great at setting goals. At least not as far as typing or writing them out- short or long term. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and go with the flow.

I have ideas of what I would like to do, things I would like to accomplish, places I would like to go and so on. I guess if I never say them out loud or put them in writing, it's easier to let go of things when life doesn't go as planned. Nobody knew so if it didn't happen- no accountability, just missed opportunity.

This year I set out with some pretty hefty personal goals in mind. One of them being a No Buy Year. I had no idea this was even a thing. Seriously. I had decided towards the end of last year that I had gotten a little spendy and buying all the things, so I was going to cut back and rein it in.

I had bought a few things at the end of the year so they don't count. As they come in I check them off and move on. There was one purchase I made after the year had started, but it was totally worth it. I think it happened on a Treat Yo' Self Tuesday-

The price was right

I will still buy feed for the ponies, pay the farrier and vet as needed, wormers, etc. but no more tack. Period. Not even consignment, not even a 'great deal', nope. Not gonna happen. I've got everything I need already. The only exception will be if I need to replace my helmet or if a turnout blanket gets torn beyond repair....

Another thing I am trying to work on is Me. One of the main things being posture. When I ride I have learned to sit up straight. Sitting at my desk at work- not so much. I have made a conscious effort to correct that. When I sit up straight my back hurts less. Win-Win right? Another part of this is exercising more. Core work helps posture so I need to do more of that. Dropping a few pounds will also help and they won't be missed at all.

There are a few other things I'm working on and I will let everyone in on them when I'm ready to put it out in the open. For now I'm working thru things and I will also be selling off some stuff I don't need anymore or use. When I get pics of all of it, I will gladly post them with a price and description. Bloggers here will get first crack at it all.