Month: December 2021

You know how sometimes these random bits of horsey information just live in the back recesses of your brain until you actually see/do something that brings them to the forefront again? I’ve been having that experience over here this week.

I don’t even know where I originally heard or saw this, but I knew there had been some kind of study done about horses seeming to prefer drinking out of of blue buckets. Specifically light blue or turquoise.

Maybe I heard it on a podcast, maybe I’d seen someone post it on facebook… who knows. I had definitely heard about it, but it just kind of went in one ear and out the other since it was information that really didn’t pertain to me. I’ve never in my life owned a turquoise bucket, I always tend to buy ones that match my stuff, like navy, black, dark green, etc. I was skeptical that it was particularly true at all but reasoned that it probably just had something to do with how horses see color. I know that horses have dichromatic vision, so they mostly see blue and yellow with everything else in shades of gray or brown… mostly red is really indistinguishable for them.

I have an app that I like to use on XC at shows to see the jumps how the horses do – it’s always really interesting. What seems bright or crazy colored to us almost never looks like way to them.

Anyway, back to buckets.

When Grace got here and we got her stall ready, we originally pulled the two red buckets out of the stack of barn extras. Then we realized that one of the red buckets had a crack in it, so it got traded out for the next bucket, which happened to be turquoise. She had a red bucket and a turquoise bucket in her stall, and I didn’t think anything of it. Fast forward about a week and I started to notice that no matter where the turquoise bucket was (I dump and clean the buckets daily so sometimes it ended up returned to the corner spot and sometimes it ended up in the middle spot) she ALWAYS drank more of the turquoise bucket than the red one. Even when she came into her stall and went to get a drink, she would pass the red bucket and go straight for the turquoise one.

Once I noticed it I started moving the turquoise one around on purpose, and sure enough EVERY single night she would pretty much empty that one and barely touch the red one.

But, ya know… maybe it was just Grace? I figured a better test would be Henry. He had two purple buckets, and he ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS uses his corner one just for discarding his unwanted hay scraps into (he won’t drink it unless he’s absolutely desperate in the middle of summer and he’s already drained his other bucket). So I grabbed the second turquoise bucket out of the storage barn and put it in the corner position. I’ll be damned, y’all. I’ll be damned.

It’s been 3 nights now and he’s drank more from the turquoise corner bucket than he has from his previously preferred bucket every single night. I can’t even stress how bizarre that is, he just does not drink from the corner bucket ever.

I have to admit that I think there’s definitely something to this whole bucket color thing. I mean, I’m not sure that they’re drinking more overall than usual, but they definitely do seem to show a preference when it comes to which bucket they drink from if given a choice. Don’t mind me, just off to buy a bunch of ugly turquoise buckets…

I always keep photos in my phone so I remember to circle back or mention stuff in blog posts, and then sometimes that never actually happens. I have no way of even going back now and making it cohesive so we’re just gonna dump all this stuff from the past couple weeks into one post with some mini-updates and call it done.

First, all the Black Friday stuff has arrived. I don’t have full opinions on everything yet – I haven’t even used everything yet – but it’s all accounted for at least, even the overseas stuff. I’ve worn the sunshirts from Urban Stride, definitely a good buy. They’re a great weight and really cute. I love the sleeve detail.

I’ve also worn the Pomme breeches, which I definitely like, but don’t quite love as much as my Quur. I don’t love anything as much as those right now. The Pomme have a nice higher rise, and I think they’re fairly flattering, but just a couple fit tweaks would make them better for me personally (more booty space, less knee space). They’re comfy though, and I’ll definitely wear them. I think the styling of them is really cute too.

I think my favorite detail is how the knee patch is little silver silicone letters of their brand name.

I also got the ROM breastplate which just came a couple days ago. The shape of it isn’t quite right to the horse’s anatomy, it’s a bit too square in the collar, but it still sat fine enough on Grace. We’ll see if maybe it improves a bit as it breaks in. Likely I’ll probably use this one at home and save my custom one for special occasions. I do like that the ROM comes with a girth strap and running attachment, so you can just put that on to use a running with it rather than having to use a different breastplate entirely.

The other big thing was Henry’s nebulizer, which I have yet to even take out of the packaging. This isn’t the time of year when he needs it, and my brain just cannot handle having to think too hard about this right now. We’ll play with it in a few months when the weather gets hot again and I (maybe) have more brain capacity.

Speaking of weather, Texas has been doing it’s usual Drunk December thing. For the most part it’s been warmer than usual (it’s been… really nice actually? which just makes me nervous, I don’t trust it…) but last weekend it went a bit off the rails for precisely 24 hours.

It’s the kind of forecast I think every horse person fears the most, going from 85 to 30 and then back to 80 in a short period of time. I soaked everyone’s dinner and added extra salt to make sure everyone stayed hydrated. Quinnie said I ruined her meals and thus her entire life and called me some rude names. Henry and Grace both seemed to like their mushy meals, slurping it all up and licking their bowls clean. We all escaped the weather swing in one piece, at least.

Well, ok, the human was cold. I think I’m still traumatized from the Snowpocalypse in February, I am NOT A FAN. I put on a lot of layers, including my ski pants, and my hands were still so cold they hurt. I might bitch a lot about the heat, but at least it doesn’t make my hands hurt. Cold is the worst.

Other than that one day it’s been pretty warm and humid though, so… I guess I can’t complain too much yet. I’m glad I clipped the horses last week because they were both getting sweaty even just in turnout, and Henry especially had a ton of hair.

Grace was definitely the better behaved of the two, Henry is just so dramatic that he’s twitching before you even touch him with the clippers. Plus I was really having to play musical clipper blades because the 10W I got SUCKED, I forgot how bad the finish is on the Oster blades, so I was having to use the last bit of sharpness in all my old T-10’s. The current T-10 shortage is a real problem. I was able to use my new blade sharpening kit (remember that silly black friday purchase? It actually WORKED. It was a PITA, but it did work) to bring a couple of them back to life well enough to get both horses clipped.

I mean, did I make my hands bleed in two places while trying to sharpen the blades? Maybe. Minor details. It worked out in the end.

As for Presto, he’s been granted turnout access again, which he immediately seized the opportunity to be his naughty, trouble-making self.

Luckily he didn’t run around or anything, thank goodness, but he did free himself and a bunch of other horses so quietly that the people in the barn didn’t realize what was happening until he’d accrued his own little herd. Typical.

Guess what I did 8 years ago today?

Indeed it’s Henry’s Gotcha Day, and I can’t even believe it’s already been EIGHT YEARS. On one hand, I don’t remember what life was like without Henry in it, but on the other hand it still feels like only yesterday when I was like “surprise, internet! Look at this random horse I bought off facebook after thinking about it for like an hour! No, of course I didn’t pre-purchase him! LOL”. I’m crazy, yes. These days it’s kind of normal to buy them sight unseen off of facebook though, isn’t it? Whatever, it’s fine. “To live greatly you have to risk greatly”… or something like that.

This year things are a little different in that Hillary has the ride on Henry for the winter. I thought I couldn’t possibly love that horse any more than I already did, but seeing him bop around with her over some bigger jumps and give her confidence over tougher questions is so friggin cute it feels like my little black heart might explode on a daily basis.

To know him is to love him, and while she was already a Henry fan before and has sat on him a few times in the past, riding him regularly and taking him XC schooling this past weekend really seemed to seal the deal. Now she comes rolling in here with her BEMER blanket and her arms full of bags of cookies and boxes of Oatmeal Creme Pies and he’s like “FINALLY someone who appreciates me properly!”. As if the world didn’t already revolve around him before. Please. That horse gets an obscene amount of cookies every day and my whole life revolves around making sure his needs (aka wants) are sufficiently met. Details, he says.

Hillary’s jumped Henry at home a few times now, and last week I went out and bumped some of the jumps up to Prelim height for her. Part of me was wondering what she’d do… would she rise to the challenge and attack it with the gusto I know she has in her? In true baller fashion she jumped them all without even bugging her eyes out at me once. So proud. And the reason I wanted to bump up the showjumps at home was in preparation for the Pine Hill trip over the weekend.

It’s hard to fully explain to someone who hasn’t ridden him, but XC is Henry’s element. He’s a totally different horse out there than he is anywhere else. He’s very bold, he’s forward-thinking, he’ll take care of you, and he really wants to find the flags. All he really requires is that 1) you keep your shoulders back 2) you don’t shut down his gallop too much. If you can do those things, he’ll take you to anything with a smile on his face. And if you don’t do those things, he’s quick to let you know with some pinned ears and a wringing tail. EXCUSE ME HENNY NO LIKE.

I figured that if I could get them comfortable together over some height at home, it’d be more likely that Hillary would be comfortable pointing him at some of the Prelim questions. I mean, the entire point of her riding him this winter is to get more experience over bigger/harder/more technical questions, so… if we’re gonna do it, let’s do it. And boy did they.

They started over mostly some Training stuff, getting him solidly in front of her leg and getting her used to carrying more pace and riding him positively up to the jumps. They did some Training combos easy peasy, and as we went around the course and got more comfortable together, they started tackling some of the Prelim ones. Y’all, it was cute. So cute I have died a thousand times over since then from sheer cuteness.

She rode him really well, and you could totally watch things coming together through the combinations. If he needed to set his feet back down and add, she sat and supported and let him do it. She found the skinnies out of the combinations and rode up to them like she was hunting them down. She controlled her body up and down the terrain questions. By the end she was even willing to jump down the trio of banks, and Hillary hates down banks. I was sitting there feeling like I was watching something big clicking into place, and it was SO fun to have a front row seat. I don’t know who I’m prouder of, Hillary or Henry. Sharing is caring, but on a selfish level I get a lot of joy out of it too. I could watch Henry jump around XC all day long with hearts in my eyes, I just love him so much. Plus I’m very familiar with how fun XC Henry is, so seeing him put a smile on someone else’s face… I know that feeling exactly. Being able to give that to someone else is pretty awesome.

@breed.ride.event

Henry is the goodest boy, I love watching him take my friends around! #gobestfriend #equestrian #eventer #eventing #ottb #horsegirls #hearthorse

♬ TWINNEM – Remix – Coi Leray

I seem to find myself humbled by this horse’s kindness and generosity on a regular basis, and this is no exception. Henry has done so much for me, and seeing him happily give miles and confidence to a good friend like Hillary makes him even more priceless, if that was even possible. Being able to put someone on him and know for a fact that he’ll a) teach them something b) keep them safe… there’s a lot to be said for a horse like that. He is the most golden egg from the inside out, even when he’s making nasty faces at me in the barn for taking too long with his dinner or putting his blanket on in a way that doesn’t please him (he’s always got complaints about “the help” aka me). Never change, Your Highness, it’s your world and we’re just living in it.

Would he pass a vet check? No. Is he ever the fanciest horse in warmup? Definitely not. Is he a top tier athlete? Nope. Would anyone ever pick him out of a crowd? Doubtful. But he’s living breathing proof of why you shouldn’t overlook or undervalue these kinds of horses. Very few of us need a world-beater, but we all need one that’s kind and genuine and safe, and that’s exactly what Henry is, in spades. It took time and patience to build him, but the payoff is more than worth it. Henry is absolutely the goodest boy ever, and he’s got a home with me for life. Here’s to hopefully many more Gotcha Days.

Grace has been here for two weeks now, and we’re starting to get into a groove. I’ve been able to keep riding her regularly despite the fact that she sprung a shoe two days after she got them put on and stepped on the clip in the process. Which, the farrier was convinced it would abscess so he wanted to wait to put the shoe back on, but I had flushed the spot immediately and kept it clean and wrapped in Animalintex, so it was fine and we didn’t have a problem. I ended up riding her in a boot for almost a week before he came and put the shoe back on, and she was ok with that too. She seems good about just kind of rolling along with whatever.

I jumped her for the first time last Wednesday… just a handful of jumps because she still had the boot on, but Hillary and I had planned a trip to Pine Hill to XC school on Saturday so I was like “uhhh, I should probably jump her before that”. She’s got a very lemme-at-em type of approach to jumping, you can tell she loves it and she gives you the feeling like she’d happily jump anything you pointed her at. It makes her pretty fun. Sometimes she’s a little less keen to listen to your input about striding, but really she’s quite straightforward and honest to jump. I can 100% see why she was such a good event horse for an amateur, it’s the kind of horse you feel like will always get you to the other side and enjoys the job.

She’s also settled into the farm routine really well now. She’s quite a low drama horse (especially compared to a certain bay gelding we all know and love) and easy to deal with in the barn, aside from the fact that she refuses to poop out in her run like the other horses and poops exclusively in her stall.

She’s funny though, Grace snorts a lot, at a lot of things. Like… snort snort snort snort all the time. If you didn’t know her you’d think that a blow up was imminent, but despite all the snorting she’s only ever spooked maybe one time. She’s just snorty AF, that’s her way of saying “oh that’s interesting!”, which has become pretty entertaining to me. But we’ve already done farrier x 2, vet, trailering x 2, and body clipping, and she’s been extremely easy for everything. She snorts her way through all of it but she never even so much as flinches, just stands like a rock. It’s really amusing once you figure out that her snorts do not mean what normal horse snorts mean.

On Saturday when we headed out to Pine Hill a cold front had blown through overnight. The temp was actively dropping, the wind was howling… it was gross. But, ya know, Grace is Irish. Not phased one bit.

I didn’t do a whole lot with her at Pine Hill because she’s still just coming back into work and doesn’t have much fitness yet, so I didn’t want to make her sore. Plus I’d only jumped her once before, so it was kind of a learn-as-you-go type of thing. I could tell from the first little log I hopped over that I was indeed on a cross country horse and she was in Game On mode. We hopped over some of the stuff on the Novice course and she was very bold about all of it. A little bit looky about the bushes we had to canter past when we got back in the trees (to be fair, with the wind they were making all kinds of noise) but still jumped everything I pointed her at with no second thoughts.

She’s also really gotten onboard with the amount of cookies that are doled out around here. I definitely give all the horses way too many, but whatever. They’re cute. She tried Henry’s Oatmeal Creme Pie cereal and liked it, so I of course had to try a real OCP. She was a fan. I think she likes the German Horse Muffins (or the Beet Treat version) the most, but so far she’s eaten everything I’ve offered. Not a surprise, she didn’t get this stout by accident.

I’m enjoying having something different to ride and new things to work on, and having a chestnut around here has really grown on me. I’ve always been quite adamant that I’m a bay girl through and through, don’t really like chestnuts, definitely don’t want a gray or a pinto, yadda yadda yadda. I mean, part of the appeal of Mighty Magic is that he doesn’t have a red gene and therefore cannot produce a chestnut foal. Same with Diarado and a few of my other favorite stallions. Bay is my jam and always has been, it’s pretty and it’s easy. But… there’s something about the fiery red-orange that really grows on you. Especially the way it looks in the sun this time of year.

Am I becoming a convert? I dunno about that, but I’m finding the red ones to be more and more appealing. Or at least I no longer have the automatic “wish it was brown” reaction to seeing a nicely put-together chestnut. I mean… I stopped dead in my tracks at this mare in one of the OTTB groups yesterday. If it was 6 months from now, this one would already be in a trailer on her way home to me, chestnut or not. I’d strongly consider sawing off my right arm, and I don’t say that very often. She looks like a TB version of Grace.

Am I convert? I dunno. Grace is starting to convince me though…

Remember a few months ago when the foals were all cute and shiny and fancy-looking? Not so much these days… they’re looking decidedly more scruffy in all of their winter coat baby horse glory.

They’re still pretty cute though, if you ask me. None of them have quite hit the yearling uglies stage yet where you have to hide them behind the barn and pretend like you don’t notice that none of their parts match. Right now they’re chunky and fluffy and squishably adorable.

Some of them have been weaned now, which was fairly uneventful. They’re pretty independent by this point and have gotten good at entertaining themselves. For the most part they’re just hanging out enjoying being baby horses and growing up.

The two brothers and their antics are still one of the most entertaining aspects of the group. Obi and Patrick have only bonded more and more as they’ve gotten older, and are fairly inseparable at this point. They’re constantly antagonizing each other, chasing each other, biting each other, etc… all the things that colts do best.

They’re quite evenly-matched though, and seem to enjoy taking turns dishing it out. At least their winter coats seem to help prevent quite as many bite marks?

Wherever these boys go, they might just have to go together. I dunno if we can break up this comedic duo anytime soon.

I know they’ve got a Christmas shoot coming up, and after that we might be nearing the end of the Foal Friday posts for the 2021 class. I’ve stretched it out longer than usual because they’re just so entertaining. After we wrap with this year’s foals I’m working on an update post for some of the previous years’ foals so we can take a look at what they’re up to now… stay tuned!