Sometimes, I think, horses sense what we need, ultimately, over what we necessarily want. There have been countless times that I have been in need of comfort, in need of confidence, in need of security, and I have gone to the barn. Sometimes a horse that doesn’t naturally display the personality that would be conducive to offering this support has a brief moment where they stand still for a second longer than they would, or they nuzzle their face into your neck, which is completely out of character, just when you really need it the most. Sometimes I wish that humans were as sensitive to the needs and moods of others as horses are. Horses don’t ask “What’s wrong?” (which we all know doesn’t help things when you are hurting or grieving), they ask “Does this help?”.
Without going into too many details, I can say that everyone on the farm is having a very rough time right now. On top of the daily stresses of life, we are facing some difficult decisions, and to top things off, a corporation has been clear cutting a property that runs parallel to our home at all hours of the day and night. I have been told I have no right to be upset as it’s not our property, but all night with the saws, the lights of their machines reflecting off of our bedroom walls, the sounds of the forest being taken down methodically, until there is nothing left. I used to imagine that unicorns lived in that forest. It has been there since my father was a child.
Last night, I just needed something. I wasn’t sure what it was. I have been so busy with life and everything else for the last couple of weeks that I am pretty sure it had been a week since I had even put my hands on Bronwyn, let alone ridden her. She made me walk clear to the top of the hill in our pasture to catch her and she was just wound, snorting, taking off, difficult to catch.
I finally caught her and brought her down to the barn and got the idea into my head that I just needed to feel a connection with a living being, with as little interference as possible. I put her bridle on and headed out without her saddle. I finally slid up onto her (she is getting wider and wider, I guess my goal to help her lose weight has been falling to the wayside lately!) and rode to the crest of the little knoll in our paddock. We sat silently, perfectly still, watching the lights of the machines just beyond the tree line for quite some time. Just the feeling of her breathing under me, the tiny movements of her body as she settled and shifted, the frisson that started toward the end of her ribs when she saw a cat coming to us through the waning light and then settled again. Occasionally, she would turn her head and nudge my knee just as if to say “I’m still right here”.
Normally, Bronwyn can be a bit of a pill bareback. She moves, a lot, she rushes sometimes… last night she was calm, quiet, on a loose rein with her head down, patiently standing when I needed her just to be still.
My sister saw me and came out and asked what I was doing, just standing there, not riding, just sitting on my horse.
“Why are you doing that?”
“It feels good. You want some?”
She declined the offer (though I frankly think she needed it more than I did), and we had a good heart to heart. Again, Bronwyn stood still, like she was taking in the conversation, even when a couple of cats came tearing by her in the twilight.
Next week? Might be different. But last night, she was intrinsically in tune to exactly what I needed, and for that I am grateful.
---
By the by, while I am dealing with these issues that are happening right now, I am planning to post a guest blog entry that was written graciously for me by a wonderful person. :)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Black Bile Monster Girl / Not-so-horse-related
I have another mid-week confessional.
I know most of you think I am a perfect, wonderful, faultless, caring individual (hahahahaha!). Let me tell you a secret... I'm not. I have been known to fall into the gossip trap, love to read celebrity "news" magazines and enjoy hearing about drama as long as it's not happening to me. I do make a concentrated effort not to be an outwardly hurtful person but sometimes find myself making remarks in my head about things that if I said out loud would be completely completely unacceptable.
**I think I want to really clarify here that I love my blog readers and forum posters and they should not worry about sharing things with me - the things that I mostly talk about in my head are people who I sometimes consider to be "stupid" - being a fat girl on a horse myself, I think it is wonderful and encouraging and beautiful to see other plus sized riders sharing what they are doing!**
I believe that voice in my head is directly related to the one that sometimes looks at a picture of me riding and says "OMG, look at how you're crushing that horse!" or "Why would that ridiculously-good-looking man even say 'hello' to you? You're not even close to pretty enough to be in his league, AND you're fat!" A lot of the time, I have a great confidence level - a lot of the time, I can be inspiring and encouraging to my readership, but sometimes I go through what I call "black moods", where I just cannot make myself happy no matter what way I slice it.
I think I am afflicted to a lesser degree than some others... after all, those moods are fleeting and usually pass within a day or two (or sometimes even over the span of a good nap or time for personal meditation), I recognize that they are not healthy and I make every attempt to keep myself from spreading that bile and negativity to those around me, particularly those that look to me for encouragement and support. When that "Black Bile Monster Girl" comes to visit, I try to keep her locked up in my bedroom.
I firmly believe that MY Black Bile Monster Girl, while she has never manifested herself like this, is a direct relative (maybe descendant?) of the part that is inside of people that cause them to write these precious nuggets:
(To those wondering, this was a comment in response to my video: Bronwyn's Brief Repetoire of Tricks, and I believe, but am not entirely sure that it was in reference to me demonstrating how I was teaching her to bow, by lifting a foot and gently encouraging her to stretch long in the back and slide down onto the knee. She also left a nice nugget on my riding video from November saying that I needed to get off the horse because I was going to "crush it!" -- almost a year later, horse is still not crushed, damnit!)
I never, never, EVER want my Black Bile Monster Girl to turn into ... well, whatever mutant spewed the above writing from inside of what I am sure is often times a relatively civil, reasonable person. NEVER.
I do, however, tend to gossip, and say what I really think to people that aren't the people I am thinking those things about... I dislike confrontation. But imagine how big the confrontation would be if someone found out I was saying those things behind their back instead of trying to word my opinions in a way that is truthful but respectful and maybe hurting some feelings, but at least being honest and true to my word. I think this is a good first step to silencing the Black Bile Monster Girl before she starts to hurt other people in addition to the way she sometimes hurts me.
And on the other hand, even though I know that the person who wrote that comment is probably just a sad, selfish girl who doesn't have her own horse, and is sadly uneducated - her Little Mutant Girl hurt me - as much as you try to deflect the things that other people say, even when you know that the things they are saying are not true... it still hurts. But, if her Little Mutant Girl is hurting other people like that... imagine what it's doing to HER insides! I wouldn't want to see it.
This blog entry was inspired by the 40 Day Inner Mean Girl Cleanse - they also do an Inner Mean Girl Reform School which looks pretty dang tempting.
I know most of you think I am a perfect, wonderful, faultless, caring individual (hahahahaha!). Let me tell you a secret... I'm not. I have been known to fall into the gossip trap, love to read celebrity "news" magazines and enjoy hearing about drama as long as it's not happening to me. I do make a concentrated effort not to be an outwardly hurtful person but sometimes find myself making remarks in my head about things that if I said out loud would be completely completely unacceptable.
**I think I want to really clarify here that I love my blog readers and forum posters and they should not worry about sharing things with me - the things that I mostly talk about in my head are people who I sometimes consider to be "stupid" - being a fat girl on a horse myself, I think it is wonderful and encouraging and beautiful to see other plus sized riders sharing what they are doing!**
I believe that voice in my head is directly related to the one that sometimes looks at a picture of me riding and says "OMG, look at how you're crushing that horse!" or "Why would that ridiculously-good-looking man even say 'hello' to you? You're not even close to pretty enough to be in his league, AND you're fat!" A lot of the time, I have a great confidence level - a lot of the time, I can be inspiring and encouraging to my readership, but sometimes I go through what I call "black moods", where I just cannot make myself happy no matter what way I slice it.
I think I am afflicted to a lesser degree than some others... after all, those moods are fleeting and usually pass within a day or two (or sometimes even over the span of a good nap or time for personal meditation), I recognize that they are not healthy and I make every attempt to keep myself from spreading that bile and negativity to those around me, particularly those that look to me for encouragement and support. When that "Black Bile Monster Girl" comes to visit, I try to keep her locked up in my bedroom.
I firmly believe that MY Black Bile Monster Girl, while she has never manifested herself like this, is a direct relative (maybe descendant?) of the part that is inside of people that cause them to write these precious nuggets:
YOU FAT COW, HOW DARE YOU MAKE A HORSE DO THAT!!!!
YOU CAN CAUSE A HORSE PERMANT DAMAGE BY FORCING THEM TO DO THAT!!!!! YOUR SUCH A ASTUPID FAT COW, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CALL YOURSELF A HUMAN!!!! YOU NEVER DO THAT TO A HORSE!!!!!
(To those wondering, this was a comment in response to my video: Bronwyn's Brief Repetoire of Tricks, and I believe, but am not entirely sure that it was in reference to me demonstrating how I was teaching her to bow, by lifting a foot and gently encouraging her to stretch long in the back and slide down onto the knee. She also left a nice nugget on my riding video from November saying that I needed to get off the horse because I was going to "crush it!" -- almost a year later, horse is still not crushed, damnit!)
I never, never, EVER want my Black Bile Monster Girl to turn into ... well, whatever mutant spewed the above writing from inside of what I am sure is often times a relatively civil, reasonable person. NEVER.
I do, however, tend to gossip, and say what I really think to people that aren't the people I am thinking those things about... I dislike confrontation. But imagine how big the confrontation would be if someone found out I was saying those things behind their back instead of trying to word my opinions in a way that is truthful but respectful and maybe hurting some feelings, but at least being honest and true to my word. I think this is a good first step to silencing the Black Bile Monster Girl before she starts to hurt other people in addition to the way she sometimes hurts me.
And on the other hand, even though I know that the person who wrote that comment is probably just a sad, selfish girl who doesn't have her own horse, and is sadly uneducated - her Little Mutant Girl hurt me - as much as you try to deflect the things that other people say, even when you know that the things they are saying are not true... it still hurts. But, if her Little Mutant Girl is hurting other people like that... imagine what it's doing to HER insides! I wouldn't want to see it.
This blog entry was inspired by the 40 Day Inner Mean Girl Cleanse - they also do an Inner Mean Girl Reform School which looks pretty dang tempting.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I try not to be naggy, but...
I thought this was worth a mention. I know many of my readers are re-riders or having confidence issues, so I thought I would mention that Tack Of The Day has Troxel Legacy helmets for $34.95 and Troxel Spirit helmets of $29.95. That's less than $30 to protect your noggin and potentially save your life in the event of a fall! The deal is only on for 24 hours, so hurry!
Can you afford NOT to?
Can you afford NOT to?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Show Update: ETSA Show, August 28th, 2010
Well, I survived!
Wow, was this ever... something else. It had been about seven years since I had last shown a horse - and that would have been Angel, my palomino and white APHA mare that I lost four years ago to the day on August 28th, the day I was showing Bronwyn. I think there was a big bunch of emotion kind of causing trouble, which is the big reason why I was so nervous, but it fortunately disguised itself as nerves and excitement instead of grief so I managed to make my way through the weekend without too much trouble.
First of all, I need to say - my sister is great. She is 17, for those who I haven't already drilled that into a bajillion times, and I have to say she is one of my best friends. We are so alike that she can usually tell what is going on in my brain - so when she volunteered to stay with me overnight, I was stoked.
I ended up having a wild and crazy week (my best friend of TWENTY YEARS (holy cow, we're getting old!) was visiting from far-far-away and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible) and so was completely unprepared come Friday morning to go show the next day. My horse hadn't been bathed in three weeks (!! When you show paints, which I used to do, bathing the night before a show is verrrrrrrry important!), I had absolutely NOTHING packed. By the sheer graciousness of her wonderfulality (yes, I made that one up on my own), she agreed to pack my things so that I could just wrap my horse, load and go once I got home from work Friday night. I sent her a list (her: "this is NOT A SHORT LIST!" me: "Did I say it was a short list? Sorry!") and she laundered, folded, packed, loaded and rolled (bandages!) all day while I was at work. When I got home, all I had to do was put on my boots, wrap my horse and load her.
So, I put on my sneakers, wrapped my horse, and loaded her. (Do you see something missing here?)
Annnywhoo... she gave me a little trouble loading (granted, this was only her second trip out), which was only exacerbated by the fact that I was supposed to meet my farrier at 8:30 to trim her feet up a little to make them look spiffy, but we eventually got her on, my dad in the truck, myself and Shay in the van and we headed out. She hauled easy, like she did last time - she's actually a lot more levelheaded than I often give her credit for - and unloaded easily. Even though it was dark when we landed, she was relatively quiet and at ease - not terrorized. Farrier rasped her feet down and shaped them up for me, and we put her into her stall.
It was her first experience with an open top stall, and the first box stall she had been in in a while - so naturally, I was anxious - was she going to try to jump out over the door? Was she going to spook and freak and tread all night?
I started to relax when she finally felt comfortable enough to poke her head over the door and watch the goings-on - she was really zen - dad thought we ought to have the top door closed but I thought it much better for her to be able to look around and take her surroundings in. When she got zen, I started to get zen! (Thank goodness!)
Originally, we had planned to pitch our tent and sleep in the tent but ended up getting an extra stall and sleeping next door to her on an air mattress - it was the only way I could sleep well, and I slept light, heard everything she did, but felt satisfied knowing that I was right there in case anything happened. The next morning, we got up bright and early to find that Bronwyn wasn't as dirty as I had thought and I could make do with just washing her tail and taking a damp shammy to her hooves, thank goodness!
And so this was the turnout:
(Not too shabby if I do say so myself! The horse, I mean!)
We were entered in halter mares, which was the first class, and open showmanship (I realized after the fact that I probably could have entered novice instead of open and not been against, oh, you know, professionals!). I didn't expect anything out of the halter class as it was also an intro QH show, which means open classes AND pointed AQHA classes, all judged by an AQHA judge. Very graciously, the judge used Bronwyn and put her 5th of 7, above even a QH! (The only other non-stock horse was a percheron/QH cross!)
(with our snazzy 5th place ribbon!)
Besides not being able to set up too quickly, and giving me quite a lot of trouble right up until the point that the judge came to inspect, she was really well behaved - the proximity to the other horses didn't bother her and she trotted out and walked alongside as I asked (she has a tendency to enjoy walking single file behind me when I give her the option). I didn't expect a ribbon, but it was a nice touch! Unfortunately, they didn't have the horse names/numbers, so they just called by number and they didn't announce her rad show name (The Bee's Knees).
Our next class was showmanship. I notoriously hate showmanship because pattern classes like that depend on the handler and I have never given myself much credit as far as polish and snazz go.
Yes, she bent in my 180, and yep, I actually had her stood up that way for inspection, and I still managed a 3rd out of 7. They combined this class with an AQHA class, so they called two placings and when I was not in the open placings, I left the ring. Shortly thereafter, the steward came running up to tell us it had been an error (I was not upset about not placing, I felt like I was a hot mess in there, but I was disappointed that they never got to announce Bronwyn's show name over the loudspeaker!), and I had actually placed 3rd. I felt bad for the people I bumped out, but... um... hello, ribbon! :-D Haha.
After that, we puttered around in the warmup ring under saddle - Bronwyn did not think that the cannibalistic horse wearing a hood was funny, no matter how humorous I found it to be. Then she cooled out, we loaded up and she jumped right on the trailer, much to my delight. Trailered home like a pro. All of my nerves were useless - she was an absolute superstar!
Sunday, we went for a nice, relaxing trail ride with Shay and she got a bath... have I mentioned lately that I love my horse?
But the big moral of this story is that... even after 7 years off... even being a hot mess with a horse that's not the "right breed" and a body that doesn't quite fit in (check out that showmanship lineup, man was I out of place!)... you can still have a freaking blast - I hope everyone has these same kinds of local open shows you can go to and show and HAVE FUN at. If not, find them!
Wow, was this ever... something else. It had been about seven years since I had last shown a horse - and that would have been Angel, my palomino and white APHA mare that I lost four years ago to the day on August 28th, the day I was showing Bronwyn. I think there was a big bunch of emotion kind of causing trouble, which is the big reason why I was so nervous, but it fortunately disguised itself as nerves and excitement instead of grief so I managed to make my way through the weekend without too much trouble.
First of all, I need to say - my sister is great. She is 17, for those who I haven't already drilled that into a bajillion times, and I have to say she is one of my best friends. We are so alike that she can usually tell what is going on in my brain - so when she volunteered to stay with me overnight, I was stoked.
I ended up having a wild and crazy week (my best friend of TWENTY YEARS (holy cow, we're getting old!) was visiting from far-far-away and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible) and so was completely unprepared come Friday morning to go show the next day. My horse hadn't been bathed in three weeks (!! When you show paints, which I used to do, bathing the night before a show is verrrrrrrry important!), I had absolutely NOTHING packed. By the sheer graciousness of her wonderfulality (yes, I made that one up on my own), she agreed to pack my things so that I could just wrap my horse, load and go once I got home from work Friday night. I sent her a list (her: "this is NOT A SHORT LIST!" me: "Did I say it was a short list? Sorry!") and she laundered, folded, packed, loaded and rolled (bandages!) all day while I was at work. When I got home, all I had to do was put on my boots, wrap my horse and load her.
So, I put on my sneakers, wrapped my horse, and loaded her. (Do you see something missing here?)
Annnywhoo... she gave me a little trouble loading (granted, this was only her second trip out), which was only exacerbated by the fact that I was supposed to meet my farrier at 8:30 to trim her feet up a little to make them look spiffy, but we eventually got her on, my dad in the truck, myself and Shay in the van and we headed out. She hauled easy, like she did last time - she's actually a lot more levelheaded than I often give her credit for - and unloaded easily. Even though it was dark when we landed, she was relatively quiet and at ease - not terrorized. Farrier rasped her feet down and shaped them up for me, and we put her into her stall.
It was her first experience with an open top stall, and the first box stall she had been in in a while - so naturally, I was anxious - was she going to try to jump out over the door? Was she going to spook and freak and tread all night? I started to relax when she finally felt comfortable enough to poke her head over the door and watch the goings-on - she was really zen - dad thought we ought to have the top door closed but I thought it much better for her to be able to look around and take her surroundings in. When she got zen, I started to get zen! (Thank goodness!)
Originally, we had planned to pitch our tent and sleep in the tent but ended up getting an extra stall and sleeping next door to her on an air mattress - it was the only way I could sleep well, and I slept light, heard everything she did, but felt satisfied knowing that I was right there in case anything happened. The next morning, we got up bright and early to find that Bronwyn wasn't as dirty as I had thought and I could make do with just washing her tail and taking a damp shammy to her hooves, thank goodness! And so this was the turnout:
(Not too shabby if I do say so myself! The horse, I mean!)
We were entered in halter mares, which was the first class, and open showmanship (I realized after the fact that I probably could have entered novice instead of open and not been against, oh, you know, professionals!). I didn't expect anything out of the halter class as it was also an intro QH show, which means open classes AND pointed AQHA classes, all judged by an AQHA judge. Very graciously, the judge used Bronwyn and put her 5th of 7, above even a QH! (The only other non-stock horse was a percheron/QH cross!)
(with our snazzy 5th place ribbon!)
Besides not being able to set up too quickly, and giving me quite a lot of trouble right up until the point that the judge came to inspect, she was really well behaved - the proximity to the other horses didn't bother her and she trotted out and walked alongside as I asked (she has a tendency to enjoy walking single file behind me when I give her the option). I didn't expect a ribbon, but it was a nice touch! Unfortunately, they didn't have the horse names/numbers, so they just called by number and they didn't announce her rad show name (The Bee's Knees).
Our next class was showmanship. I notoriously hate showmanship because pattern classes like that depend on the handler and I have never given myself much credit as far as polish and snazz go.
Yes, she bent in my 180, and yep, I actually had her stood up that way for inspection, and I still managed a 3rd out of 7. They combined this class with an AQHA class, so they called two placings and when I was not in the open placings, I left the ring. Shortly thereafter, the steward came running up to tell us it had been an error (I was not upset about not placing, I felt like I was a hot mess in there, but I was disappointed that they never got to announce Bronwyn's show name over the loudspeaker!), and I had actually placed 3rd. I felt bad for the people I bumped out, but... um... hello, ribbon! :-D Haha.
After that, we puttered around in the warmup ring under saddle - Bronwyn did not think that the cannibalistic horse wearing a hood was funny, no matter how humorous I found it to be. Then she cooled out, we loaded up and she jumped right on the trailer, much to my delight. Trailered home like a pro. All of my nerves were useless - she was an absolute superstar!
Sunday, we went for a nice, relaxing trail ride with Shay and she got a bath... have I mentioned lately that I love my horse?
But the big moral of this story is that... even after 7 years off... even being a hot mess with a horse that's not the "right breed" and a body that doesn't quite fit in (check out that showmanship lineup, man was I out of place!)... you can still have a freaking blast - I hope everyone has these same kinds of local open shows you can go to and show and HAVE FUN at. If not, find them!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Bittersweet
August 28th.
I realized today as I filled out and mailed the entry forms for the horse show I am going to attend with Bronwyn on August 28th that it will be four years since I lost Angel on that day. I know I have talked about Angel before on the blog... it is hard for me to convey the level on which I am still stirred when I think of her. In fact, I'm fighting a few tears here at my desk at work right now.
When I lost Angel, I went looking for someone to replace her. At first, I told myself I would train and then sell Bronwyn because no horse could ever take the place of Angel. Eventually, B taught me that there is room for the both of them in there, and the thought of losing Bronwyn tears me as much as the feeling of having lost Angel.
I think it will be a fitting tribute to Angel that I should show my first show since I lost her on that date. It will be my first show in 7 years, it will be Bronwyn's first show ever. We are entered in halter mares and showmanship at this point in time. We may post enter for English pleasure if we can make her canter pleasurable between now and then (it was getting pretty good last night) and the stars align with a borrowed hunt coat. My biggest goal for this is experience - for her to get out there and experience the bustle of the show grounds, for her to spend her first night "away" from home since I got her. If we don't show under saddle, I plan to ride her around the grounds just to get her used to that, too.
With all of that said... sometimes I wish that I could be something MORE for you readers. I wish that I had some kind of real talent or skill, that Bronwyn was some kind of amazing horse and that we were at the top levels of competition so I could inspire. I grapple between feeling bad about that, and then alternately thinking "You know, I am going through the same things that most of my readers are going through, and it's nice for them to know I'm going through it with them rather than looking down from a higher spot at them."
I still struggle with my horse and my emotions, the realistic economical challenges of owning and enjoying horses, as well as everything else that goes with it. I think the majority of my readers find themselves there, too. I relate to so many of the great stories and posts we have in our forum. I love you guys.
I'm not very coherent, either. Oh bother!
I realized today as I filled out and mailed the entry forms for the horse show I am going to attend with Bronwyn on August 28th that it will be four years since I lost Angel on that day. I know I have talked about Angel before on the blog... it is hard for me to convey the level on which I am still stirred when I think of her. In fact, I'm fighting a few tears here at my desk at work right now.
When I lost Angel, I went looking for someone to replace her. At first, I told myself I would train and then sell Bronwyn because no horse could ever take the place of Angel. Eventually, B taught me that there is room for the both of them in there, and the thought of losing Bronwyn tears me as much as the feeling of having lost Angel.
I think it will be a fitting tribute to Angel that I should show my first show since I lost her on that date. It will be my first show in 7 years, it will be Bronwyn's first show ever. We are entered in halter mares and showmanship at this point in time. We may post enter for English pleasure if we can make her canter pleasurable between now and then (it was getting pretty good last night) and the stars align with a borrowed hunt coat. My biggest goal for this is experience - for her to get out there and experience the bustle of the show grounds, for her to spend her first night "away" from home since I got her. If we don't show under saddle, I plan to ride her around the grounds just to get her used to that, too.
With all of that said... sometimes I wish that I could be something MORE for you readers. I wish that I had some kind of real talent or skill, that Bronwyn was some kind of amazing horse and that we were at the top levels of competition so I could inspire. I grapple between feeling bad about that, and then alternately thinking "You know, I am going through the same things that most of my readers are going through, and it's nice for them to know I'm going through it with them rather than looking down from a higher spot at them."
I still struggle with my horse and my emotions, the realistic economical challenges of owning and enjoying horses, as well as everything else that goes with it. I think the majority of my readers find themselves there, too. I relate to so many of the great stories and posts we have in our forum. I love you guys.
I'm not very coherent, either. Oh bother!
Monday, August 16, 2010
More housekeeping...
I promise I will have a "real" entry here soon! In the meantime, I wanted to mention a couple of things!
Many of you who know me on Facebook and on the forum already saw this information, but I took Bronwyn to her first parade on Saturday! She hasn't been off the farm since I got her three years ago, and this was a local community parade that took off not far from home - so I walked her to the event (even though we have a new-to-us trailer we have yet to christen with it's first ride, see below!), in the parade and back.
She did GREAT. I was soooo pleased, and we won 2nd out of 6 in the horse division, and beat a cute kid on a pony with dixie cups sewn into her mane. I did put some thought/effort into my presentation, though. The theme of the parade was "Colour Your World"... what do you do with a BLACK horse that needs to be colourful? Why, dress it up as a My Little Pony, of course!
And - the loot! We won a Calgary Flames tshirt, and coupons for an ice cream sandwich & bag of chips at the fair, as well as a free A&W root beer. Do I now get to say I own a prize winning horse? LOL!
About the trailer! It was a complete twist of fate - most who know me know I have been on the hunt for something for a long time but my budget is very tight and it is hard to have appropriate trailer + money + time all in the same place at once... we stopped by per chance to visit an old friend of ours from the horse world and about a week later, came home with this:
It's not much, but it means I no longer have to live in horsey exile - so when we plan for a show, we can now go to one! (And psst, we have one planned for the 28th, which I will appear at, come hell or high water!) We live about 30 minutes from anyone else with horses and aren't on the way to anything else, so trailering costs minimum $75-$100, usually more. Finally, I can just say "hey, let's hit the trail in the next town" and be able to do it!
And last but DEFINITELY not least, I guest blogged this week at my friend/cousin/sister (I don't know what to call her but I love her dearly!)'s blog. She is in the process of starting up a really cool women's gallery and meeting space in Toronto... it is an admirable and super inspiring project and she had guest bloggers all month. I blogged on Saturday the 14th. You can check it out here:
That's Women's Work, Inc
Have a good week, guys! I will be back with something, soon - I PROMISE!
Many of you who know me on Facebook and on the forum already saw this information, but I took Bronwyn to her first parade on Saturday! She hasn't been off the farm since I got her three years ago, and this was a local community parade that took off not far from home - so I walked her to the event (even though we have a new-to-us trailer we have yet to christen with it's first ride, see below!), in the parade and back.
She did GREAT. I was soooo pleased, and we won 2nd out of 6 in the horse division, and beat a cute kid on a pony with dixie cups sewn into her mane. I did put some thought/effort into my presentation, though. The theme of the parade was "Colour Your World"... what do you do with a BLACK horse that needs to be colourful? Why, dress it up as a My Little Pony, of course!
And - the loot! We won a Calgary Flames tshirt, and coupons for an ice cream sandwich & bag of chips at the fair, as well as a free A&W root beer. Do I now get to say I own a prize winning horse? LOL!
About the trailer! It was a complete twist of fate - most who know me know I have been on the hunt for something for a long time but my budget is very tight and it is hard to have appropriate trailer + money + time all in the same place at once... we stopped by per chance to visit an old friend of ours from the horse world and about a week later, came home with this:
It's not much, but it means I no longer have to live in horsey exile - so when we plan for a show, we can now go to one! (And psst, we have one planned for the 28th, which I will appear at, come hell or high water!) We live about 30 minutes from anyone else with horses and aren't on the way to anything else, so trailering costs minimum $75-$100, usually more. Finally, I can just say "hey, let's hit the trail in the next town" and be able to do it!
And last but DEFINITELY not least, I guest blogged this week at my friend/cousin/sister (I don't know what to call her but I love her dearly!)'s blog. She is in the process of starting up a really cool women's gallery and meeting space in Toronto... it is an admirable and super inspiring project and she had guest bloggers all month. I blogged on Saturday the 14th. You can check it out here:
That's Women's Work, Inc
Have a good week, guys! I will be back with something, soon - I PROMISE!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Ride-A-Day Challenge & Housekeeping
A couple of little housekeeping things!
I am so, so, so, SO excited to have a new, “permanent” home for the forum – it can now be found at http://www.afatgirlafathorse.com/forum - how exciting to have a .com to play with! Eventually, we will have the blog moved over onto the .com and we can go from there – there are so many options open to us, it’s exciting! None of this could have been made possible without my dear friend, photographic guru, general internet/website design goddess, Jill Renton of Scuffed Boots, who is also responsible for the beautiful professional photos I have posted here!
As for the forum – yes, you will have to sign up again, yes, all of our posts are gone, and yes, I am still planning to trim the accounts that don’t make any posts in order to keep us safe and comfortable. But also – NO, we won’t have any ads and NO, we won’t have to worry about downtime with no backups.
On to other things…
The Ride-A-Day Challenge!
I talked about this a bit in the forum but I have never really had the opportunity to elaborate. I realized a few days ago that I really have a wealth of resources in my hands – I have not one, but THREE horses to ride (I also have a completed 90,000 word romantic suspense manuscript that is so ready for someone to take it and publish it!), and I’m not doing anything about it (nor the manuscript). So, hand-in-hand, I am launching the “Query-A-Day” and “Ride-A-Day” challenge to myself, and to anyone else who wants to follow along (for the Ride-A-Day, anyways – I realize you can’t send query letters to agents without a manuscript, or, you know, an idea for a book!).
The parameters of the challenge are such – I need to at least SIT on a horse’s back five times per week. Ideally, I would be riding and working a horse SEVEN days a week, but I commute 1 hr each way to work and am gone 12+ hours out of the day, plus work a job on the weekends… so I have to allow myself something here or there to recover! If I ride twice in one day, I can use that “extra” ride at another point during the same week to count as a ride when I might need a day off.
Right now, things are a little difficult because Ari is out of commission (stone in her frog turned into abscess and she’s just blown off a big chunk of her frog – she’s on the way toward better, though!), and Rex is… well, not broke. As far as broke horses, I have the two options of Bronwyn and then my sister’s little mare, Jessie. SURELY, in a barn of FIVE riding sized and aged horses, I can find SOMETHING to ride any given day of the week!
I don’t know how long I will be carrying on the challenge or if I might change anything, but I am inviting my forum readers and my blog readers to participate and challenge yourself, within what is reasonable, to ride as often as you can. Maybe we’ll make t shirts!
With that said, I thought I would share a picture or two of some of my rides this last week.
Saturday morning, I decided to try bareback + “bridleless” (technically just bitless as it was a rope halter with reins attached!)… just to see if I could. Granted, it was just in the roundpen, but my mare didn’t go too bad for a green broke mess!
Also, a shot of the new saddle I am currently trying out… it is much better than what I had, so the plan is to keep it for now (because I can trade my mom’s work for it as well) and save up money for something better. We have always handled our horses (through the purchase of different bloodlines to incorporate into our breeding program, our equipment, showing, etc) on the philosophy that you buy the best you can afford and continue to upgrade, providing what you’re using is not detrimental. So… the saddle doesn’t quite fit me, but it fits me BETTER than my last one, and it fits Bronwyn a LOT better than the last one, and if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have a saddle at all – and wouldn’t be able to put the work into her that she needs, and riding isn’t a possibility at all because she is obese… and that is that. Meanwhile, saving my pennies for something else!
I am so, so, so, SO excited to have a new, “permanent” home for the forum – it can now be found at http://www.afatgirlafathorse.com/forum - how exciting to have a .com to play with! Eventually, we will have the blog moved over onto the .com and we can go from there – there are so many options open to us, it’s exciting! None of this could have been made possible without my dear friend, photographic guru, general internet/website design goddess, Jill Renton of Scuffed Boots, who is also responsible for the beautiful professional photos I have posted here!
As for the forum – yes, you will have to sign up again, yes, all of our posts are gone, and yes, I am still planning to trim the accounts that don’t make any posts in order to keep us safe and comfortable. But also – NO, we won’t have any ads and NO, we won’t have to worry about downtime with no backups.
On to other things…
The Ride-A-Day Challenge!
I talked about this a bit in the forum but I have never really had the opportunity to elaborate. I realized a few days ago that I really have a wealth of resources in my hands – I have not one, but THREE horses to ride (I also have a completed 90,000 word romantic suspense manuscript that is so ready for someone to take it and publish it!), and I’m not doing anything about it (nor the manuscript). So, hand-in-hand, I am launching the “Query-A-Day” and “Ride-A-Day” challenge to myself, and to anyone else who wants to follow along (for the Ride-A-Day, anyways – I realize you can’t send query letters to agents without a manuscript, or, you know, an idea for a book!).
The parameters of the challenge are such – I need to at least SIT on a horse’s back five times per week. Ideally, I would be riding and working a horse SEVEN days a week, but I commute 1 hr each way to work and am gone 12+ hours out of the day, plus work a job on the weekends… so I have to allow myself something here or there to recover! If I ride twice in one day, I can use that “extra” ride at another point during the same week to count as a ride when I might need a day off.
Right now, things are a little difficult because Ari is out of commission (stone in her frog turned into abscess and she’s just blown off a big chunk of her frog – she’s on the way toward better, though!), and Rex is… well, not broke. As far as broke horses, I have the two options of Bronwyn and then my sister’s little mare, Jessie. SURELY, in a barn of FIVE riding sized and aged horses, I can find SOMETHING to ride any given day of the week!
I don’t know how long I will be carrying on the challenge or if I might change anything, but I am inviting my forum readers and my blog readers to participate and challenge yourself, within what is reasonable, to ride as often as you can. Maybe we’ll make t shirts!
With that said, I thought I would share a picture or two of some of my rides this last week.
Saturday morning, I decided to try bareback + “bridleless” (technically just bitless as it was a rope halter with reins attached!)… just to see if I could. Granted, it was just in the roundpen, but my mare didn’t go too bad for a green broke mess!
Also, a shot of the new saddle I am currently trying out… it is much better than what I had, so the plan is to keep it for now (because I can trade my mom’s work for it as well) and save up money for something better. We have always handled our horses (through the purchase of different bloodlines to incorporate into our breeding program, our equipment, showing, etc) on the philosophy that you buy the best you can afford and continue to upgrade, providing what you’re using is not detrimental. So… the saddle doesn’t quite fit me, but it fits me BETTER than my last one, and it fits Bronwyn a LOT better than the last one, and if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have a saddle at all – and wouldn’t be able to put the work into her that she needs, and riding isn’t a possibility at all because she is obese… and that is that. Meanwhile, saving my pennies for something else!
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