WW: It's The Same

 

I've been calling him Fury! King of The Wild Stallions! every time he's feeling sassy. And finally someone was like "but why?" A quick google shows it was a TV show and movie that I have zero recollection of, but the horse is kinda the same :D 

Pony Thought Processes

 I realized a couple of weeks ago I've been at my main job long enough that I've accrued an extra week of vacation I needed to take before year end. I would have been good if I figured that out earlier in the year, but hey time off is time off!

Spoiler, I had a very wet week of November vacation

As is the way, I have/had a ton of property maintenance and to do list items waiting for just such a gap in my calendar. The one huge con of having the horses at home - the care and maintenance part can overwhelm the 'fun' part if you let it. There are days I miss being able to show up with no plans other than to ride, but I am a sucker for a good project. So this isn't me complaining, more just acknowledging I'm dropping the ball as a riding blogger right now. If you love a good property improvement update or general life-with-ponies-in-the-backyard thoughts though, I'm your girl :)

This week's 'adventure' was replacing the fence that divides our backyard and the horses. Eventually I want all the perimeter fencing to match, but that's a work in progress.

6x6 posts and new cedar boards replacing the old fence, hoping for another 20 years before it needs looking at again.

Because replacing fence posts is easier when the ground is this wet. It's clay and basically concrete all summer. If I had been thinking I would have used this situation for my leather cleaner review!

All the horses are well on board for company. They love when I spend a day off with them. Company in the form of me + power tools or G + mowers and Things Happening is even better. They're actually a bit of a nuisance. I think I may own the friendliest horses ever. Or, they are playing the long game by thoroughly studying my construction techniques and cataloging potential weaknesses for their future advantage.

Is mad because wants scratches, not a new fence

inspecting post holes

King of his castle. Does not go outside in the rain.

I'm not sure that is a joke in Reggie's case. He learns things very quickly by watching closely and since day one I've been aware of how I open the gate latches, taps, etc in front of him. He cracked the code on safety knots and the latch on the hay stall door pretty much immediately. More recently, he's taken to stealing the hose so he can chase his friends. That's really on brand for him, but also a little scary that there was no trial and error with that, he just immediately picked up the sprayer end of the hose and pointed it away from himself. Honestly that's better than I do some early mornings ;) If you're around him, you have to keep in mind he basically considers himself an honorary dog.  I was in the truck the other day to grab some tools and he got a foot up on the passenger floor before I realized he was considering climbing in with me.

Not quality pictures, but I think he's really starting to fill out.

I trimmed his tail for the first time (he was stepping on it and it's muddy so I went really short). It's not Welsh standard, but I think the look suits him.

Someone loves mud

Sophie is very observant and opinionated on all things, but she's less likely to actually slow down and figure things out on her own. For example, she knows she wants out (or in - she's like a cat and whichever option is not on offer is the one she wants), she knows the latch opens the door but she just gets mad and kicks or paws at it or throws nearby objects around with no real planning. Everything with her comes with bonus drama. Sometimes it's frustrating, but normally it's kind of amusing.

It kind of fits

Open.The.Door

Buck is fun because he's just as smart as everyone else, but he's the one lacking a little confidence and rarely will do anything you don't expressly approve. As noted above, Reggie can open the barn door latches and Reggie proofing the hay stall door with extra clips on the latches is required before he's allowed in the vicinity. The times he's got in there have been chaos, because he thinks it's totally reasonable to climb on top of the hay stack or drag the tools or wheelbarrow around. He basically creates a giant maze of pony hazards with him in the middle. So, last weekend when I let Buck out and a half hour later said "Oh no I left the hay stall door open!!" G and I were ready for anything. However, when G walked over (and sure enough Buck was in there) he said "hey, you're not supposed to be in there!" and Buck was basically "yeah you're right, sorry, the door was open and I guess I just assumed" and calmly backed himself out. No chaos. No drama. No halter required. I walked over later to clean up the imagined mess, but there was none. The only thing I could see he touched was his dinner feed bucket. He left Sophie's and Reggie's alone. I can't even with how cute he is. He's rapidly becoming an all time favorite.

New post inspection

I just love him

A Few Favorites

Riding is at an all time low for my lifetime, and so purchases of tack and apparel are few and far between. My old standbys are serving me well and I expect they will continue to do so for some time - my future riding buddies are cob shaped, just like Bridget and Ginger and half the things in my tack room are/were. I'm still me shaped too! I must be getting older, because I notice I am less likely to try new trendy products and more likely to stick with products or brands  I know, even if they're not perfect.

But, here are some tried and true products I think are pretty perfect for me and I have been using for at least a couple of years now. (And no, I'm not sponsored or otherwise incentivized in any way):

- Stubben Care Brush On. This is the only thing I've tried that both detangles and moisturizes thick cob tails. I feel like with everything else you get one or the other, either it detangles like magic, but eventually dries the hair out, or it moisturizes but getting a comb through it takes more work and costs more hair than I'd prefer. My only cons for this stuff is it's a little on the pricier side, and the scents are nice but they're strong. If you're sensitive to fragrances, be warned. I think they smell good (the blue Rose and Green Tea one is my favorite), G's man opinion is "Why does my horse smell like Granny's house?" 

Runners up: Canter Mane and Tail - almost perfect but I did notice a tiny bit of drying on Buck's tail. Eqyss Avocado Mist - I would have said it's my favorite until I met Buck,  it doesn't quite detangle his curly hair enough.

The hair situation is real and braids or tail bags aren't going to be safe when he lives with a friend who lives for destroying and grabbing things. I keep threatening that if G wants 'his' horse to have a natural looking mane and tail he's going to have to care for it, but Buck absolutely loves a good spa day and I'm a pushover for both of them.

We veer off topic for a moment for me to make my case...this deceptively innocent looking horse may have stolen the hose this morning while I left it unattended and filling their water. Evidence shows he chased/sprayed his friends thoroughly, then dragged it into their house and flooded it. In related news, he absolutely hates baths and all things me attempting to get near him with a hose running. /sidetrack

-Purodora Lab - Horse Urine Cleaner & Odor Neutralizer. This stuff works miracles here. I have a mare who seems like she's permanently in heat and who only pees in one specific spot in her paddock. It smelled bad no matter what I did. I ran the hose on it daily, I dug it out and replaced the gravel, I added copious amounts of lime, still, yuck. Maybe not a big deal if you're on a giant acreage but in our semi residential neighbourhood I'm pretty conscious of my neighbours and want to keep the farm smells to a minimum. It's easy to use, I add a cup of the concentrate to a big bucket of water and dump on the offensive spot abut once a week. You can also mix it into spray bottles, mop buckets etc, and while I haven't needed it for that I can see it being very useful for horse trailers or smelly stalls inside the barn.

-Maya Delorez Function Breeches. OK I know I said I'm not riding a ton, but these are my all time favorite riding tights and I like them so much they still get use out of the saddle. Every other brand I've tried has either wanted to slide down, has legs that are too long, or get stretched out. These do none of that. These are like my favorite gym tights but with a silicone seat added. My only caveat is that they are more of a summer weight. They're on the high end of my budget once I pay duties and shipping, so I haven't explored winter ones yet. Runner up - Free Ride Define leggings or Lux breeches. These don't fit me as nicely and are IMO almost too stretchy, but I do find them comfy and nice for the price point.

-Ecolicious Comfort Me Skin Balm. I'm sure there are many products like this, (and at it's heart it's probably just zinc oxide cream with a nice smell). But I keep buying it, and the horses keep using it up so here we are, I think it gets favorite status. It smells really nice and feels a little indulgent. I do use it on my hands, but of course it's main purpose here is all those itchy scabs, nicks and scrapes and missing patches of hair young playful geldings seem to be full of. Plus Sophie. She's her own brand of suffering consequences for her poor decisions and normally has a spot or two needing attention. A container lasts me about a year and it makes me happy to use, so I feel like I get my money's worth.

- Carr Day & Martin Leather Care Belvoir Duo Box. Another magical product. Not riding as much means this stuff mainly works for a living in the form of cleaning and conditioning outdoor leather halters and my well used winter paddock boots. I like the ease of use with the spray bottles. Most importantly, they make everything look new again, even after weeks or months of abuse. The amount of grime the cleaner pulls off is surprising. It's one thing on my nasty barn boots, but I do look after my tack and give it a quick wipe and condition now and then even if it's not in use. I was shocked at the amount of stuff it easily cleaned off a bridle I would have previously said was put away clean and very well cared for. The conditioner leaves a nice soft feel, and isn't overly heavy or oily.

-Proper ground driving reins and cavesson. I've been of the double longe line off a halter or bridle persuasion my entire life, but if ground driving or longeing is something you do regularly as part of your training or fitness, both these pieces of equipment are well worth a look. I'm wondering why I didn't rethink my choices sooner. Two lines that feel more like reins are so much easier to handle and the weight is so much more appropriate than my longe lines that felt like they were forever floating around and threatening to tangle. With the cavesson, the feel is much more like I'm riding and the ability to use outside/inside rein independently and effectively makes me feel guilty I didn't start doing this sooner.

I have the Kieffer Ultrasoft Longe Cavesson. I chose this one because it's a bridle like fit and has multiple rein attachment points. It comes with clip on bit attachments too so you can transition to riding with a bit, perfect for baby horses.

We Survive, Maybe We Even Thrive

Autumn is my favorite season. BUT. Halloween.

I love the idea of all things Halloween, however, having horses at home in this particular part of the world on Halloween night can be an absolute nightmare. For a variety of historical reasons, it's our occasion for fireworks. More locally, our normally quiet and isolated semi rural neighbourhood is the place to be.

This year the weather had been absolutely horrible and I didn't see a ton on social media about neighbourhood parties beyond the odd person saying they might postpone due to weather. The horses had been fine the last couple of years even with some very close by firework displays, so I wasn't overly concerned for them.

No fancy pictures this week, but here's a shiny pony

However, the weather cleared last minute and things literally started with a bang with some guests of our neighbours lighting screechy firecrackers and pointing them to go off over the horse's paddocks. I was actually out cleaning paddocks and it felt like a near death experience, because there's a big difference with horses OK with fireworks nearby and firecrackers actually 'chasing' them and exploding above their heads.

The horses were super rattled and there wasn't much hope of coming back from it when the regular firework parties started. They exceeded all previous years, and then some. It was absolute insanity. Things didn't settle until about 3:30am, only to start up again the next day and night. My ears are still ringing days later and I most definitely had an overwhelmed/sleep deprived meltdown or two of my own. I can't imagine how the horses felt.

Silver linings of animals and fireworks is that after 2.5 years our grumpy kitty decided he could share 'his chair' with his baby 'brother'

Luckily they are all Best Ponies, and very polite, so me standing with them during the worst of it and and having a halter/lead on Reggie and walking him (he's the most reactive and the other two were feeding off it) was enough to curb the blind panic and impending fence/stall demolition. I just cannot with horses sometimes, why are they so incredibly trusting and kind?

I preemptively booked space at the therapeutic riding barn over at our club grounds for next year, and have a request in for sedatives from the vet, because there is no way I can handle or want the horses to handle anything like that again in this lifetime. 

In non Halloween news, the weather has been fairly horrendous and our upcoming mid month clinic is a no go, which is completely understandable. Winter came early and you'd have to be extremely dedicated to even think about riding outdoors in the wind and rain we've been having - it feels like we're constantly in some kind of weather warning, plus it's too dark to see much at about 4:30, yuck!!

Reggie is the only one who wants to leave his haynet and go outside in the rain, and even he's not sure some days

Outside of horses I'm making a change and feeling out moving to consulting/contract work. The security of my existing regional gov't job is hard to leave, so I'm doing both while I feel things out. That means I'm putting most of my 'real' life to the side to make career moves happen, but this does feel like the perfect timing for that. If I was going to do it I needed to do it now. 

Sophie is back longeing and getting riding pony ready, but if all goes well I think I'm going to send her on a lease.

And I did finish my cob shaped (aka barrel shaped) saddle stand one rainy day

There is a lot I feel like I should/could do with the horses now, but none of it is necessary and it will keep.  I'm very lucky to have G on my side, this wouldn't be doable if it was just me. He retired early (and is 10 years older than me if you're wondering about that math and me still wanting to work ;) and is doing morning pony chores most days. Plus everything else he does - he basically takes care of the house, the grocery shopping, the vehicles, the feed store trips, all those things that are so easy to take for granted but make everything so much easier.