April 2015 – Page 3

A Weight Update

Published on April 17, 2015 by Amanda C19 Comments

Many of you may remember that Henry’s condition (or lack thereof) was the major factor in leaving our previous barn. He lost a lot of weight in the fall, to the point where you could easily see all his ribs and his hip bones. I treated him for ulcers and moved him to a new barn where he gets significantly more hay. About a month ago I switched his feed from Safe Choice to Triple Crown Complete.

This is what he looked like in January. When the vet took his coggins he said he’d put him around a 3.5 on the Henneke scale. Embarrassing.

This is mid February, shortly after the barn move.

ribsFeb19

He filled out a little bit in those first couple months, but at a certain point he just seemed to plateau, so I switched to TC Complete. This is about a week into the TC. His body had filled out a little and the ribs were covered slightly more but still easily visible.

ribsMarch28

And now here he is after about a month on the TC Complete. Most of his ribs are well covered although the last couple are still slightly visible in the light. His hips have filled out a lot and his neck is looking more normal.

You can still see a hint of a rib, more so when he’s in motion than standing in the barn, but not much. I think he’s finally pretty close to ideal weight again, I’d put him at a solid 5 on the Henneke scale now. His neck and butt are coming back too, and he has the look of healthy weight, not a pot belly.

I’ve been really happy with the TC Complete. It’s a little bit pricey (about $25/bag after tax) but the quality is great and it’s supposed to be very good for ulcer prone horses due to the fact that it’s beet pulp (forage) based. Henry has shown no change in his general demeanor, even on the 8lbs/day amount. Soon we should be able to start backing down to more like 5-6lbs a day for maintenance. I’ve been pretty impressed with how quickly it’s helped bring the condition back, plus his coat looks great! Between good feed and plenty of hay he’s bounced back pretty well.

New Stuff! First impressions

Published on April 15, 2015April 16, 2015 by Amanda C46 Comments

I’ve revamped several items in my collection lately, clearing out old things and adding new. I’m not totally ready for full reviews on anything yet, since I haven’t worn/used them a whole lot and don’t have much media. I’ve had a lot of people ask about a few items though, so I figured I’d offer my initial impressions. For now I’ll touch on the Equiline Alice coat, the Pikeur Lucinda Grip breeches, the Asmar Equestrian polo, the La Valencio Chelsea breeches, and the PS of Sweden Olympic Revolution.

Equiline Alice show coat

I hope you’re prepared for some major gushing, because this might be my new favorite clothing item. I stumbled upon this coat when I was browsing through Calevo, looking for anything I “needed” so I could take advantage of the dollar and euro being almost equal. Admittedly I bought the coat because it’s navy with golden yellow piping (although it does come in black as well) and those are my colors. Plus it was on sale so after you take off VAT I only paid about $150 USD for it.

From the stock photo it looked a little boxy and maybe a little thick, so I wasn’t expecting to be wowed. But when I opened the box, pulled that thing out, and tried it on – I was more than wowed. The fabric is the perfect weight, the color is amazing, and it fits like it was tailor made for me. The fabric has lots of stretch but still has enough structure to be flattering to less than perfect body types and there are lots of great little details. I’ve worn it once, this past weekend at our event, and I absolutely loved it. New favorite coat ever, especially for only $150. We’ll see how it washes up and wears over time.

Pikeur Lucinda Grip breeches

These were another Calevo purchase, taking advantage of the euro/dollar exchange. I wanted a pair of sticky butt, but not TOO sticky butt, breeches for cross country. The truffle color looked pretty good online, and they were a good deal ($150 from Calevo – they’re $300 at Dover) so I decided to try them.

Sadly, I forgot to be real with myself about how much I hate fabric with a high cotton content. It’s almost identical to Tailored Sportsman fabric, which I don’t particularly like and don’t find super comfortable or flattering. The fit is pretty perfect but the color is darker than it looked online, closer to chocolate. I do really love the grippy butt – it’s just a little grippy, not “omg I’m stuck” type of grippy. If these were made from Animo or Aztec Diamond fabric I would love them, but they aren’t and I don’t. I’ll be selling them.

Asmar Equestrian Polo

I’ve always really liked the wide range of colors in the Asmar Polos, but I had never seen one in person until AETA. On the hanger it was just a regular looking polo shirt, but the rep urged me to go try it on and I’m glad she did. The fit is perfect, the cut is amazing, the fabric is high end, and I absolutely love it. I got a Marigold one from Luxe EQ to wear for XC, although I’ve worn it for some lessons as well. The sleeves are the perfect length and the collar is cut perfectly as well – it isn’t too tall, it isn’t too floppy, it doesn’t curl, it’s just right. The body length is great for me too – long enough to stay tucked if I tuck it in, but not so long that I have to tuck it in.

At $80 retail these are a little pricey for a polo, I will admit. Normally I’m the $10 Old Navy or $25 RL on clearance kind of girl, but the fabric is what takes these to the next level. I usually don’t get a whole lot of wear out of those cotton polos before they start looking faded or grungy or get stretched out, but so far this one washes up looking brand new. Big bonus that the fabric is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and UPF 50. They’re MEANT to be sweated in and worn for sport. The funky smells and stains easily just wash right out. I think if you want a nice polo that is lesson or clinic or show appropriate, very comfortable, and will last a long time, these are a good option.

La Valencio Chelsea breeches

These were another European purchase brought on by the euro/dollar exchange, but this time from Divoza. I have decided that my Devoucoux calfskin dressage saddle is quite sticky enough without adding full seats to the equation, so I wanted some regular knee patch whites. Sadly (very sadly) Aztec Diamond was out of white in my size so I decided to try these from Divoza on a whim instead, since they’re styled pretty similarly to ADE and Animo.

I really like the design – they have a little bit of fun pocket decoration but not too much, and the silicone knee patches, euro seat, sock bottom features that I prefer. The fabric is definitely not to my preference as much as the ADE or Animo fabric, this is a little bit thicker and stiffer – again a higher cotton content than I prefer. They fit well though and for white breeches they’re flattering. If ADE still doesn’t have white in my size when I place my next order from them, I’ll just keep these since I wear white so very rarely. If I can get ADE then these will go. Still, for only about $80 these are a good buy and definitely worth a look, especially if you find that Equine Couture or Pipers are gappy in the waist for you. I think they’re comparable to those two brands but better for me with the fit. They also come in gray and navy.

PS of Sweden Olympic Revolution

Bridle Olympic Revolution

There’s not a lot to say about PS that I haven’t said already a thousand times, but this might be my new favorite model of theirs. I love the simplicity of the Olympic – classic look but with a modern design. This is also my first item from PS with the new upgraded leather and it’s really beautiful. If you’re a fan of top of the line English leather, you’ll love it. It takes a little longer to break in than French or American leather, and you can’t treat it the same way (put the oil down), but once it softens up it’s really rugged and stays beautiful forever. I will say that this cob size runs a good bit smaller than either of my other two cobs from PS, and it barely fits Henry, so if you’re borderline I would opt for the next size up.

I also got the Go Sweden browband (exactly my colors! And no it was not intentional that my colors are also the colors of Sweden, but it works out) and I’m quite happy with that as well. I’ve typically never been a big fan of blingy or colorful browbands but this is my second one from them and I really like them both.

Eventually I’ll do full reviews of everything I’m keeping, once I get a better idea of how they’re going to work out long term.

Search Terms: What the holy hell?

Published on April 14, 2015April 15, 2015 by Amanda C35 Comments

Sometimes when I’m scrolling down my stats page I will pause briefly at the “Search Engine Terms” and read through the various searches that have somehow brought people to my blog. Usually they are predictable things – most commonly $900 facebook pony. That makes sense. Or PS of Sweden bridle. Or Ogilvy half pad review. Those also make total sense. But sometimes you come across one that is a little off the wall, or you might not even know what the heck it means in the first place, or you start to really wonder who the heck would google things like that. Here are, in no particular order, are my favorite “What The Hell” Search Terms that have led people here.

I feel like I should be offended by this.

Yup, out of the entire internet this is definitely the place to find really good socks that are cool.

This idiot. Ooo, ya almost had it! Ooo, 3rd times a charm! And why would you google that?

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? But that leads us perfectly to:

Again, I feel like I should be offended. I don’t even want to know why a search like that leads to my blog.

You’re doing it wrong.

Ok, I know what these three things are separately but I cannot for the life of me figure out how they fit together. English leather, bonnet, and belt? This has to be a riddle…

That seems like an odd thing to search for, but the fact that it led them here is fair enough.

Love u but hate u 2.

First of all: damn straight. Second of all: what exactly would one expect when searching the word “fancypants”? I admit, I went and google imaged it. For educational purposes of course.

Whaaa? Who? Huh? Now I want to know too.

For real right now, I don’t even know what that means.

NO. JUST NO. THIS IS NOT OK.

Bottom line? People are both weird and dumb, but at least they’re entertaining. I’d really like to know how some of these searches managed to hit my blog though. Out of all the big butts on the internet…

Pine Hill Part 2: Show Time!

Published on April 14, 2015April 14, 2015 by Amanda C37 Comments

After getting almost no sleep on Friday night (I don’t sleep at horse shows) I was not particularly bright eyed and bushy tailed on Saturday morning. We fed the boys, did one more course walk of XC and stadium with Trainer Karen, braided, and slowly got ready. Henry actually felt pretty good when I got on for dressage but started getting more tense as we warmed up. There was a lot of traffic and he kept eyeing the jumps like “YAAASSS”. No buddy, not yet. Boring stuff first.

PH from amanda chance on Vimeo.

The video starts a bit late so the first few movements are missing, but basically the first half was decent and then it came off the rails a bit in all the work to the right. He was good when we went in but kind of just tight, and after we walked he was convinced we were supposed to canter canter canter NOW. He was a good boy, he just got a little anxious and tense. For his second event I can’t complain. I was happy with how the first half of the test went, and we FINALLY got better than 5 on the free walk, so we just have to make the second half match the first and I need to do a better job of helping him through the tension. The judge was super forgiving and way too nice, I was expecting a 38-40ish score but we got a 31.6. I’ll take the charity! The two 8’s (first centerline and first medium walk) and all the 7’s in the beginning helped a lot. I thought the remark of “Lovely when not tense” summed it up pretty well. She was equally forgiving to everyone, so our score put us right at mid pack in 5th, which was fair. I need a top 5 placing with no xc penalties for an AEC qualifier, so now the pressure was on to add nothing to that score.

After dressage I was admittedly relieved, mostly because I really thought I’d blown it and was happy when scores were posted and I still had a chance. Stadium is our easiest phase since we come from jumper land, so I was just focused on remembering the course and not making any dumb mistakes. I don’t think anyone got video of it, but the course rode well and he was great, despite the sloppy and deep footing. It really sucked you down in the corners and stole your momentum. After stadium we didn’t move up any, since the only people who had trouble were already below us in the standings. Still in 5th, so we couldn’t afford a single penalty on XC. It was do or die time.

Although it kept threatening to rain all day, we got really lucky and just had a short rain shower. Reports from those who ran XC before me were that there were still some very slippery and wet spots so take it easy and ride defensively. Henry came out of the start box hunting for a jump and momentarily locked on the Prelim rolltop. Uh, nope… ours is the tiny little log over there Hens. He landed from that and we had a good little stretch to 2. Right before 2 there was a dip that had standing water and deep mud, so I had to whoa and get in the back seat a bit but he saw it and managed himself just fine.

ph XC from amanda chance on Vimeo.

No problems with the tiny coop, then around the very muddy bend past the pond (thought he might spook or slip there so I kept my butt in the tack but he went right through with no problem) and hopped over 3. Fence 4 was a little log on top of a big mound. My plan was to trot this and then trot down since the footing on the other side was very uneven, but as soon as we landed I saw a pretty muddy trench of death so I made the decision to walk down instead. Yup, hello everyone, we’ll just be over here walking down this hill on XC. I figured better safe than sorry.

After that we picked back up and he happily popped over the white brush fence at 5 and around the bend through the mud to a log at 6. By this point I had figured out that the best track through the mud was right up the middle… it was a little deeper but sandier and tackier than the shallow black mud at the edges. He was quite surprised by the jump judge at 6, who was sitting back in the bushes around a blind turn, so he leapt slightly right but never took his ears off the jump. I laughed and told him he was ok, and we cantered down the hill, back up, over the log at 7 and the trakehner at 8. This was the halfway point and when I looked at my watch I saw we were 8 seconds behind time. I had to pick it up a little. I let him canter forward a bit down the next stretch since he seemed to be having no problem handling the mud, then packaged him back up to prepare for all the jumps around the water.

ph XC from amanda chance on Vimeo.

I stayed in the back seat over the brush, through the water and around to the log, just in case, but he chugged right on through no problem. Next was the only jump I’d really been worried about – the Coal Train. Again into the back seat, just in case, but he was like “It’s just a train car with rocks in it mom, I dunno why you’re on my butt” and over he went.

I knew the rest would be no problem so I opened him up, got off his back, and let him canter forward up the hill to make up some time. We hopped over the bench on a slight angle to save some ground, back into the woods around a tight short approach to a box, then I let him open up again and gallop the stretch to the last. We came in 5 seconds under OT and he positively STRUTTED back to the barn. That boy thinks he’s hot stuff. No one tell him it was only BN.

Overall we finished 4th, on our dressage score. One AEC qualifying placing is in the bag! Mission accomplished, now we’ve got one more to go. I think this event was really good for Henry’s confidence on XC and it helped highlight what we need to work on more for dressage. At his first event last November he came out of the start box feeling a little bit “deer in the headlights” but this time he was all business from the word go. He was really locking in on the fences and looking for what was next, but still listening well and being very rideable. In the warmup he liked standing and watching all the horses out on the course, intently focused on what was going on. He seems engaged and interested and eager. All the jumping parts were easy. Next stop, Greenwood in 3 weeks.

Many eternal thanks to Brandy for all her help and support this weekend!

Pine Hill Part 1: Pre-Game

Published on April 12, 2015April 13, 2015 by Amanda C27 Comments

I can’t decide if I love one day events because it gets everything over with, or hate them because it’s one crazy whirlwind of a day. Thing good (or bad?) thing about this one is that it was a far enough drive to make it necessary to leave the day before and stable overnight. I do not miss the 3:30am wake up calls when I evented in Maryland.

I was up early on Friday, with the goal of leaving the house by 7:00 and pulling out of the barn by 8. We were trying to beat the rain that was looming down on the radar. I did succeed in leaving my house by 7:00, sat in awesome Austin rush hour traffic for a while, then realized when I was only miles from the barn that I forgot my suitcase. Figures that I would remember everything except my own non-riding clothes. Back to my house I went, back to the barn I went, and the whole thing meant we didn’t leave until 9. Guess when it started raining? Right when we loaded the horses. Barn Buddy Bobby had his guy Halo in his trailer, and I had Henry in Barn Buddy Brandy‘s awesome rig (thanks Brandy, loves yous 4ever!). It rained on us off and on the whole way, but we managed to drive all the way through it and had about a 15 minute gap to unload before it started raining again.

Been a long time since I had to back a trailer, but BOOM first attempt. It was probably just luck, honestly.

Luckily after about an hour the big blob on the radar literally parted in the middle and went around us. Divine intervention or coincidence, whatever, I’ll take it. Bobby and I took advantage of the dry spell to hop on and go for a ride. We were probably the only people there who weren’t trying to shove in a last minute dressage school. Bobby went off to just do some trot sets with Halo, and I put Henry in his sidepull and went for a hack around. I really just wanted him to relax and go forward. He was great and seemed happy, so after about 20 minutes I let him be done and got off. The next day was gonna be long.

If Henry ever got a little looky or worried about something, he tended to look to Uncle Halo for guidance. Halo is pretty chill and very experienced, so it was nice to have him there. Henry did neigh for him a little every time he left but when he got no response he quickly gave up and went back to his hay. Perfect horse show buddy. After we put the boys away for the day we grabbed some drinks and headed off to walk our cross country.

Bobby’s wine and my Wicked Mango, sitting on jump 3 – the Red Mushroom. Jump 4 is on top of the mound in the background.

The course was really straightforward and inviting, although with a few tricky/short approaches. The only jump I was concerned about was the “coal car” jump, it looked like a train car and was filled with black rocks that made it a bit spooky looking. Otherwise the only real consideration was the footing. The rain had made for quite a few muddy spots and some standing water back in the woods so we were concerned about possible slippage. By the time we went back out later to walk it again the ground had dried up a bit and gotten tackier, so we just crossed our fingers for no more rain and tried to decide on the best path through the mud.

13 - Pine Hill Express Coal Car

After walking stadium we called it a day and headed to the competitors dinner for more drinks, fajitas, and conversation with Trainer Karen. Poor Karen… when Bobby and I are together we’re a bit much, I feel sorry for anyone who is unprepared for or unaccustomed to our inappropriate behavior. Secret – it’s mostly Bobby’s fault.

Tomorrow: we ride!