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Showing posts from July, 2017

Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the

Tack Review: If The Bonnet Fits

After seeing all the fuss about these fly bonnets from If The Bonnet Fits , I decided I had to try a few for showing, one for dressage and one for XC/stadium.  You can do any type of customization and they are a great price point. These fly bonnets are well made and Sierra is super easy to work with.  I am not a huge bling fan, and seeing as  my show browbands are already pretty snazzy, I did not want to overdo it with more bling on the bonnets.   But you can choose crystals and such. And even more fun, she offers embroidery on the ears, so I had to do my favorite saying: Overall, I am super happy with these bonnets.  The teal cording that I first asked for was no longer available, so Sierra ordered from a different supplier.  It took a little longer than maybe her regular turn-around time, but she kept me informed and I really wasn't in a huge rush anyway.  I ordered cob sized, as Snappy wears a cob sized bridle and a yearling sized fly mask (no joke), but when I orde

Snappy's Weird Skin Problem

My horse is strange.  She has always been prone to small scaly spots on her body, but generally they go away with a bath, good grooming, and maybe a dab of Vit E capsule or Derma Gel.  However, since last fall, she has had THIS crap on her elbow. And how fun!  And she now has the same spots on her hip and thigh.  Even the hair is dark in these areas.  :-( close up of hip - I don't know why it looks yellow/green but it is not in person close up of thigh I have tried a million OTC products and nothing works.  I have tried both triamcinolone acetonide cream and dermalone ointment (corticosteriod) prescribed from my vet and those did not work either.  And I tried them for days/weeks each, trying to see if it would just take time to work.  Nothing works.   Not pictured is Bag Balm, Vit E capsules, and Lotrimin which all did not work I know she lies down on this side at night, so the best I can figure is that these are essentially bed sores or pressure sores.  

Green Acres Stables Horse Trials - July 16, 2017

Snappy and I were back at Green Acres in mid July for another horse trials.  We were last there in May  and had a great day.  It was MUCH hotter in July than in May though!  ;-)  There is no shade and we all sweltered in the heat, but it was a successful outing nonetheless! Snappy has pretty much figured out this entire showing thing and is perfectly easy to unload, tack up, and warm up.  She doesn't have any anxiety any longer and will mostly eat/drink during the day (though I wish she would eat more!) without any issue.  It makes it much less stressful and way more fun to compete with a horse that is calm and willing.  I swear she is calmer in a crazy warm up ring with horses going every which way than she is when I ride alone at home!  Her many years on the track must be the reason why she is comfortable and unfazed by horses bolting and riders who cannot steer.   Generally I am alone when I compete (or sometimes can drag my 13 year old along for pics), but this time around

What's in YOUR tack room? First Aid Kit edition

I have always kept a well-stocked first aid kit for my horses.  It is a no-brainer and it has always amazed me when I hear about/talk to horse owner's who have never taken the time to understand how to administer basic first aid.  Even if you board your horse, I firmly believe it is a horse owner's responsibility to understand how to treat the horse before the vet arrives (or even in place of vet care for minor problems). When I moved into the new barn here at our new house, I had my dad build me a wooden cabinet to store all the first-aid supplies.  I do have a large assortment of wraps and towels as well, but I keep them in a separate trunk.  ;-) I keep the items I use most often on the bottom shelf.  I have a variety of gauze pads in various sizes, rolled gauze, and surgical pads.  Obviously, these are for underneath vetwrap and a standing wrap for cuts.  I also have two large cotton rolls, but I have honestly had these forever (think 20 years) because I really have n

Canter Progress

Like any Standardbred, it has taken time and patience with Snappy to develop her canter.  She is physically able to canter but what is holding her back is her mental block about the gait.  She raced until she was twelve years old, and I even trained and raced her under saddle (at a trot), so it was quite ingrained in her mind to never canter, just trot as fast as possible, even under saddle. She is honestly scared of the canter, as she was trained as a young horse that any time she moved into that gait, she was hit in the mouth hard with the reins/bit.   Last summer I wrote about her current canter , which wasn't much as I wasn't really pushing the issue.  Back then, her left lead was stronger, her upwards transitions were horrid, and she could barely hold her right lead to go an almost full 2o m. circle.  After the canter, she forgot how to trot, bend, or relax and I had to go directly from a canter to a walk for her brain to settle down. Thankfully, much has changed

Ossipee Valley Fair - July 6-9, 2017

My husband and I decided to bring our young calves , Red and Rusty, to the local fair, Ossipee Valley.  It is probably the smallest fair in the state and is only a fifteen minute drive to our house, so it was the perfect place to get the babies out for their first ever fair.  The idea behind purchasing these two was to have a pair to play around with for the year and then sell them at the end of the fair season in October.  We already have someone who wants to buy them after seeing them at Ossipee, so I suppose our plan will work out (and I made my husband PROMISE not to sell them out from me beforehand)! Of course, all self respecting horse girls have to plan for a matching stall valance, name signs , and farm sign .  I mean, c'mon!  ;-)  I had all spring to brainstorm and I think it looked cute!  I also repainted an old wooden trunk of mine (green, of course) and added a brass nameplate to the top engraved with our farm name. The fair lasted from Thursday to Sunda

Hilltop Equestrian Center Horse Trials - July 2, 2017

For our third event of the year, we were back at Hilltop just two weeks after the last event there .  I was happy to see the XC course was pretty much exactly the same, with one log moved slightly, so we could have another go on a course she tackled fairly well the first time.  I was hoping to eliminate the slight hesitations and the outright stop/pony kick over the 2' black drainage pipe fence.  And I really hoped we could canter parts of the course to improve her confidence in the gait.  I took her out to canter hills and a little downed tree at home the week between the two events and she was super game and willing to canter, so I had high hopes. No help this time around as my thirteen year old son bailed on me, hahaha.  No surprise there.  ;-)  So there is a complete lack of media.  :-(  Ahh well, there are worse things in life. Dressage went well, with an easy warmup and decent test for a 30.9.  That put us in second place, just .9 points behind the leader.  Snappy has fig

Tack Review: Dark Jewel Designs browbands

It is no secret I like things to be matchy-matchy when I compete.  When I ride at home, I am usually a mismatched slob, realizing too late how much my shirt clashes with my saddle pad. Case in point. Hahahaha! I have mentioned my custom browbands here a few times, so I felt as though it was time for a review post!  Amelia at Dark Jewel Designs does a fabulous job with her Etsy shop.  I met her years ago at UNH when we were riding at the horse barn, so when I stumbled across her gorgeous and affordable designs I knew I had to order one!   So far, I have six of her designs (holy cow) and both the black and the brown browbands.  The coolest thing about Amy's design is that you can mix and match the strands however you want on either color browband.  I like the flexibility!  And Amy is super easy to work with, has great customer service and an eye for design.  She is an eventer, so she uses her products on her own horse, which matters to me!  I like knowing the products I pu

Three Years

It would be remiss of me to let July 2 go by without a tribute to my first horse, who passed away three years to the day.  Sparky was the best first horse a girl could have.  I wrote about her here and her last photo shoot (the night before she was put down, though I did not realize it at the time) is  here . Fly high, sweet mare.  You are missed every day.   Joydale Sparklerslas June 5 ,1982 ~ July 2, 2014 My senior photo (1997) Last photo of us together (2014) ~ same spot ~