Month: July 2014

Last week I was wondering aloud on my blog about whether something like a Micklem or Perfect Sit bridle would make Henry (aka Fussypants) happier. Fellow blogger Forging Fiction was kind enough to let me borrow her Micklem to try it out.

I put it on Henry last night and my first thought was that it was kinda cool how it was all one piece. It’s easy to put on and lays well right away. I played with it for a while trying to get it adjusted correctly… I watched a couple different videos yesterday to get an idea of what it’s supposed to look like. It seemed to me after all of my playing that there was really only one particular setting that made it sit well on his face, so I went with that.

He was still pretty chompy when I put it on, but as soon as I fastened all the straps he stopped. I got on and started my regular warm-up, and he admittedly seemed a little confused. He didn’t chomp on it, but he kept trying to poke his nose up and out. Then he settled and we actually had several really lovely laps both directions. I started to get my hopes up about a magical cure for the fussiness.

After our walk break I started again and there he went with the chomping, as usual. Womp womp. It was gone during the warm-up but now it was back. I will say that he always gets more tense after we trot, anticipating the canter, so I’m betting that’s why it started. He internalizes everything. I made him trot for a while, then walk again, then trot again before we cantered.

No one was around so the best I could do for video was setting my camera on a standard. It’s far enough away to where you can’t really see the chomping, unfortunately.

HenryJulyMicklem from amanda chance on Vimeo.

 

Pros:

– I think he was a little steadier in the contact?
– Down transitions were definitely better. He didn’t root against me. Guessing that’s probably because of the “flash” strap.
– He really never curled up behind the bit.

Cons:

– Still chompy, still fussy.

I’m going to try it today with the eggbutt instead of the loose ring and see if that makes any difference. Micklem experts – should I make any changes to how it’s adjusted?

This isn’t horse related, and I apologize, but I just have to get this out there so people can fully understand my level of emotional distress at the moment.

At 5am on the morning of July 4th I was awakened by something tickling my arm. At first I thought it was my hair so I moved my head around a little, but it didn’t go away. I finally managed to haul my other arm up and brush it off – and felt SOMETHING. Something solid, something large, something that went thunk when I brushed it off and it landed on the floor. This is the point where my eyes flew open and I leaped out of bed like my ass was on fire. I’m assuming I looked something like this:

The SO, true to his ever calm nature, said “What’s the matter?”. I said “THERE WAS SOMETHING CRAWLING ON ME OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I THINK IT WAS A ROACH.” He said “Well, it was probably a water bug. Which way did you fling it?”. Me – “At the wall.” Him – “Okay good” and rolls back over to go back to sleep. Me – “SERIOUSLY RIGHT NOW OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.” and I go running out of the room like a lunatic to take refuge on the opposite side of the house. A minute later I heard a thud, then SO came padding over to where I was hiding in the guest room and informed me that he had killed it, and I could come back to bed.

I blubbered something incoherent about burning the house down and never going back to that bed ever again, so he just sighed and walked away.

Then I had to pee, so I tiptoed slowly out of the guest bedroom to the bathroom, and was on my way back to the guest bedroom when ANOTHER ONE went running down the hallway. I screamed like a little girl, at which point still ever calm but now exasperated SO came padding back out. He spent some time trying to locate it but it had run behind the couch in the living room and disappeared. Again he tried to convince me to go back to bed but now I was borderline maniacal. I had nowhere to hide.

After again considering burning the house down, I instead did what any (borderline) sane person would do… I turned on every single light, climbed up in one of our counter-height table chairs, crossed my legs Indian style, and stared at the ground around me for the next 3 hours until the sun was fully up and I felt safe again.

Needless to say, the exterminator is coming today. I know I’m crazy but I can’t even walk around in there without being suspicious of every shadow or anything that moves. There’s something about a giant bug being ON ME, in MY BED that violates every code of bug/human coexistence.  I’ve been sleeping with the sheet tucked around me as if it’s an impenetrable barrier, and I flat out refuse to open any cabinets.

Dear sweet ever calm SO suggested that we just need to find where they’re getting in and seal it back up. But I said no- oh hell no. This is personal now. I’m sending out a message to the bug community: come in my house, you will die. Come in my bed and you will die, your family will die, and everyone you’ve ever known will die. This is Scarface style shit up in here, and I ain’t messin’ around.

Why is it that long weekends always seem way more tiring? In my mind I’m always like “Yay, extra day off to relax and recharge!” but it never actually turns out that way.

On Thursday they let us out of work early so I ran to the barn to ride before it got too hot (hahahaha). I stopped at the tack shop first to buy a Kastel shirt and instead came out with three. Oops. Love them though, will definitely be doing a full review soon. Henry hacked well, although I kept it short because of the heat. When I got there at 1pm my car said it was 93 but when I got back in to leave at 3pm it said 100. Summer has officially arrived. Oh, and I tried to take a confo pic of Henry in the crossties but first he made this face…

which made me giggle but I said “No Henry, for real, stand still and look normal.” So he did this.

Then Thursday night was the first pre-season cyclocross practice of the year. I’m so excited! I will have to explain CX on here at some point, but basically picture something in between mountain biking and road cycling, with a whole lot of ridiculousness and some Twizzlers thrown in for good measure.

Friday night we headed to a block party, armed with the watermelon Jell-O shot recipe from Buzzfeed. Important to note – thank god we read the comments first because the recipe they listed was way off. We modified it and it actually turned out really good… I was picturing all kinds of terrible Pinterest fail results. They packed a serious punch though. Between the two halves we had enough to cover both the block party on Friday night and the birthday party on Saturday night.

Saturday and Sunday were both pretty tame, horse-wise. It was still super hot but I got to the barn early and managed to avoid the worst of the heat. I jumped him a little on Saturday and he went around ok… dragging me a bit, which is a little out of character for him. But the ring is a lot bigger than we’re used to and he’s still not totally settled in yet, so not a huge surprise. Kinda funny – they were having a Greg Best clinic at the barn next door, and the wind carried his voice so perfectly I might as well have been sitting IN the ring with them. I could hear every word. Woo, free audit! 😉

I also tried again to get a confo pic, but he just gave me this look. Whatever. I’m done trying.

 

Did anyone take advantage of the 4th of July sales? I scored a Tekna Pressure Eze girth from Victory Canter for $40! Pretty happy with that considering the cheapest I could find elsewhere was $72. Sir FattyArmpits has been getting rubbed a bit by his Pro Choice girth since it’s gotten so hot, so I’m hoping that this one’s shape will suit him better. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all but it’s bothering the heck out of me.

Hope everyone had a good long weekend. And happy Monogram Monday!

 

What better way to celebrate our country’s independence than with a few horse-related purchases? It seems like the emails have been streaming into my inbox and across my Instagram/facebook at a pretty awesome rate, so I figured I’d throw some of the best ones together for everyone in case y’all are interested.

One Horse Threads – 25% off select items

Higher Standards Leather Care – 15% off with promo code BOOM!

Margaret Vera Accessories – 30% off with coupon code july4

Saratoga Horseworks – 20% off with coupon code AmericanMade

 

GoVelope – 20% off of the Navy GoVelope with Promo Code: GoFourth

Lo-Ride Equestrian – 15% off plus free shipping with coupon code HAPPY4TH

Padded Ponies – 15% off with coupon code INDEPENDENCE

myID band – if you often ride alone and would like to always have your medical info on you in case of emergency, or you’re an eventer, these are great bracelets. 20% off with coupon code vivausa

A Bit Tacky Custom Decals – 30% off any order of $10 or more with coupon code FREEDOM30

Divoza – 25% off their summer collection, or 20% off ANY item with promo code VK14ZZ37

C4 Belts – this weekend get the Americana belt for 50% off with free shipping

Smartpak – 15% off with promo code July14

Bit of Britain – general sale, up to 60% off

Adams Horse Supply – $10 off $75 with coupon code Freedom10, $25 off $$150 with coupon code Freedom25, $75 off $500 with coupon code Freedom 75

FarmVet – 10% off with coupon code Freedom

Equestrian Collections – 60% off the Outlet, plus $5 off purchase of $75 with coupon code Parade5, or $15 off $200 with coupon code Parade15

Horze – 60% off select items

ISellTack – Earn $15 in store credit for every $100 you spend

 

Feel free to add more! Happy Independence Day, everyone. 🙂

First of all, the commute is fantastic. I left my house at 6:30 (still lots of rush hour traffic around here) and it took me a grand total of 19 minutes with nary a dime spent in tolls. Fantastic.

I got there and started unpacking all my stuff into my new locker. Then I rearranged it. Then I rearranged it again. Times like these are when it sucks to be so OCD about things. But I finally got it all in an arrangement I’m happy with, although I’m gonna go buy a big Rubbermaid drawer for the bottom and another smaller one for the top, so it will change yet again.

 

Then I got pony out to tack him up. I think he was really digging the giant industrial powered fan in the crosstie, considering it was still 93 degrees. Also interesting to note: he’s had a runny eye for about a month now that has not gone away despite all my efforts, and all of the sudden within 24 hours it’s gone. Coincidence?

 

I rode him in both rings and around all the fields. He was a little nervous and snorty about things, especially the big ring with all the jumps and standards. That’s pretty normal for him on a first ride at a new place though, he thinks everything is gonna eat him. He was really good for hacking out in the fields though.

After the ride I hosed him off then took him out to graze while the sun set. I’d call the first day a success. Pony seems happy, I’m happy… hopefully this is the beginning of a great new chapter.