Month: June 2023

I feel like this is very important for everyone to see. Rhett is the Captain of Chaos, the Master of Menace, the Dealer of Doom. At least if you ask the ball, anyway.

Hillary is going to have a really good time trying to stay on top of this one. Somebody get the popcorn ready!

Happy Friday everyone.

Also, unrelated to foals but very related to Friday, if you haven’t yet checked out the Riding Warehouse Bargain Bin deals for their Fourth of July sale, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. There are Kastel and San Soleil sunshirts as cheap as $20, Anique as cheap as $25, show shirts for $25, $5 fly masks, $5 Dreamers and Schemers socks, $25 breeches, $50 horse blankets, etc etc. You have to dig a little bit but it’s worth it!

Well this post should have been a show recap but SOMEONE decided to something STUPID and HURT HIMSELF before the show even started. Horses, man.

We left for Aiken early on Thursday, arriving around 1pm. It was an uneventful drive, and a fairly easy one. Long enough to make me question how I used to stay sane while driving that far for literally EVERYTHING in Texas, but ya know… it wasn’t that bad. We hit some rain off and on but nothing too heavy, so it mostly just helped keep things cool.

We were stabling and staying offsite at a friends farm, but we went straight to Stable View so we could ride around and let the boys see the sights. This was a new facility for both of them. It was a little cool and drizzly, which was a-ok with me, and Presto was really super for his flat ride. We rode in the covered and in one of the outdoor warmups and he was just really focused and felt great.

Hillary was showing in the Training on Friday and Saturday, and I was supposed to show in the Modified on Saturday and Sunday. I was hoping that some of the other horses with us would be staying at the farm on Friday so Presto wouldn’t have to come to the show, but no such luck. I couldn’t leave him there alone, so onto the trailer he went as a tag-along.

When Hillary got on to do her dressage I got on Presto and went for a hack and then came back to the warmup rings and did another flat ride. He was nappy AF when I first got on him, just being a real premium toolbag about leaving Lex, but by the time I got to the rings for his flat ride, he was super. He neighed a couple times but otherwise was really fantastic. Like… the make-the-5-star-rider-stop-coaching-to-watch-him kind of fantastic. I mean, did someone else see all the screaming and spinning that happened before that and ask if he was recently gelded? Maybe. Ignore that.

We went back to the trailers and hung out for a bit, then Hillary had to get on Lex for show jumping. Rather than leave Presto in Hillary’s trailer by himself, I put him on Steph’s trailer so that he would have two friends with him. Seemed like the better bet.

While it probably WAS the better bet, it was not sufficient. This mofo tried to jump over the chest bar and out of the trailer.

As you can imagine, that didn’t go well. He got hung up halfway and eventually flopped his way out, but not before he sliced up 3 out of 4 legs and banged the absolute shit out of his stifle. Luckily the show vet was very close and in less than 10 minutes Presto was getting stitches.

He had abrasions on his chin, stomach, and both stifles, a deep laceration that cut an L shaped flap of skin on one front knee, and then a jagged and gnarly cut on the inside of the other front. Somehow, by pure fucking luck and miracles, he managed to miss anything important. None of the lacerations were that close to joints, there was no tendon or ligament damage, and he somehow jogged up pretty darn sound the next morning.

Still, he gave me an actual stroke. Are we even keeping track of how many years this horse has shaved off my life by this point?

Naturally, we had to scratch. I was disappointed to not be able to run him, of course, especially because I think he would have been extremely competitive. The courses and footing were fantastic, the XC looked well within his wheelhouse, and he’d felt so good for our pre-rides. Mostly though I’m just super incredibly fucking relieved that he didn’t damage himself worse. That could have easily been really really really really really bad.

Someone remind me: why did we choose horses as a hobby, exactly?

Anyway, needless to say his summer vacation got an early start. He’s also been an absolutely terrible patient for his wraps and stitches. Shocking. I’m doing my best to keep them clean and in one piece but he’s not making it easy (because when does he ever). Fingers crossed we can get through this without any complications.

In other news, I’ve been hired on to the team for the big Educational Three Day that’s happening down here in Ocala in the fall. I’ll talk more about it in another post (and I’m working on the website right now) but if anyone out there – a business owner or otherwise – is interested, what the event needs badly is sponsors. Lots of them. Opportunities start at $750 to sponsor an XC fence, and go up to $10k for the title sponsorship. The plan for this event is really cool – lots of educational opportunities for participants, the classic format competition, clinics, big name riders teaching… it’s a Whole Big Thing. It’s got to raise not an insignificant amount of money in the next 5 weeks in order to stay viable, so if you, your company, or anyone you know might be interesting in sponsoring, let me know and I can send the info packet!

I debated taking this week off from the blog since I’m busy wrapping up a couple projects, starting another, and we’re leaving for Stable View on Wednesday. But every time I disappear for too long people start to assume that I’m dead, and we wouldn’t want that. No worries, not dead.

Last Thursday we had a jump lesson, our last before we leave. I used the pelham again and Presto was still quite good in it. A couple times he thought he knew better than me (he’s probably right) but he does seem to like it. We’ll see which one we ultimately decide to SJ in at the show, but we’ve got options.

He’s so funny in our lessons, because as soon as we get to Steph’s place he goes into lazy boy mode. At home he’s wild half the time, but there he knows he’s there to work, so he automatically decides he should preserve his energy as much as possible. He’s also convinced that if he follows Steph around she’ll save him from me making him work… he doesn’t realize she’s the source of all his required efforts.

Last Friday we finally made it down to the Ocala Oddities Market, which is a monthly market with local artists selling all kinds of just… weird shit. Dolls with crocodile heads? You got it. Skull lamps? You got it. Crystals? omg so many. There was just tons of stuff and I loved it. They also had a band playing emo hits, so like… you don’t have to keep selling me on the Oddities Market, man, I’m already sold.

It was really fun though, and I came home with a few things that were a steal of a deal. We’ll definitely be going back.

I also finally got around to changing up my stirrups. Some of you may remember that a couple years ago I painted them navy with holographic glitter. Since I’m no longer doing navy, it was time for a facelift.

My XC stuff is black with silver glitter, so that’s what I went with for the first pair. I sanded them a bit, washed them, did the black coat, and then many coats of silver glitter. I got some video of the steps so I can make a little tutorial, that’ll be on Patreon at some point.

For the other pair (I have two sets of FreeJumps, they were both navy with holo glitter before) I decided to change it up and do purple. I have a few hints of purple happening now, in my jump whip and with my purple coat, so… why not.

I did the base coat of purple and then put silver glitter on top, and it made a really pretty dusty lavender color. Which was great, but not the color I was going for. So I sanded it back down, did the base coat again, ordered purple glitter, and did that on the top instead. That kept the stirrup a darker, more true purple. I ended up doing a few good coats of purple glitter and two light sprays of the silver glitter.

The black ones went on my jump saddle… not sure yet how much I’ll use the purple ones or when, but they are definitely pretty. Pleasingly sparkly.

Yesterday we hauled over to Magnolia Sands to pop over a few XC fences before we leave. They normally have lots of skinnies/combos/water questions, and they had a few things this time, but not as much.

We popped through a crater combo, some half coffins, a bank to skinny, and an up bank out of the water. This outing for us was mostly to see how the pelham worked for XC. I’m not 100% certain that I’ll have brakes if he truly decides to fuck right off, but he does lay on it less in the gallop stretches than he does the Myler. We’ll try it at Stable View and see.

I’m going to try to make time to go get some pics of the babies so I can have a Foal Friday post drafted and ready to go for this week, but no promises… depends on how much time I have amidst everything else. We’ll see what I can get done!

We already talked about how Andy is 100% named after the character Andy from the show Parks and Rec, because they’re basically the same personality. If you haven’t seen the show you should watch it… I don’t even like TV much but I did like that show. And if you haven’t seen it you won’t understand today’s reference, which is one of Andy’s alter egos: Johnny Karate.

Our own dear Andy sometimes shows off that side of himself, and perhaps never before as clearly as he did this week when he found a stick. The most magical, coolest ever stick. Or so he thought.

He tried to pick it up, but um… ya know… he did so when his front feet were over top of it, because his foal proportions make it hard for him to reach all the way to the ground without sticking his feet way out in front.

As you can imagine, the physics of that didn’t work very well.

And that’s when the karate moves came out.

And then he high-tailed it away from the scene of the crime before Burt Macklin, FBI could show up and bust him.

Jokes, man. This kid has got some jokes. Remind you of another little colt from Foal Crops Past that we all know and love?

Happy Friday everyone!

Alright, first thing’s first on this week’s update… people keep saying that I never mention Henry, even though I’ve talked about him on the last few updates. So we’re gonna start with him.

He is fat.

He is sassy.

He feels superior to all other equines.

There’s not a whole lot more to say. He’s been hacking a few days a week, nothing major, but just keeping him in some kind of shape (a sphere, his shape is a sphere). I had his hind shoes pulled a couple weeks ago and he’s adjusted pretty well… there’s a little bit of chipping of the wall by the old nail holes, to be expected, but he’s not been footsore or anything like that. He spends most of his time either screaming at me to hurry up with his food, or eating. So ya know, there you have it. Full Henry update.

His “brother” on the other hand, has done his level best to give me an actual stroke.

Last week he decided that out of his entiiiiiire pasture, the best place to lay down and roll was literally right next to the fence. Which he then got 3 legs stuck in. Luckily I was nearby and saw him, and even more luckily when he realized he was stuck he just laid there and waited for help rather than panicking. Still, do you know how hard it is to try to extract this giant monster horse from a fence? I quickly gave up on trying to get him out and just started pulling fence boards down with my bare hands like She-Ra. Once I got a some down he was able to wiggle his way out and managed to do it without getting so much as a scrape. Thank the gods.

You’d think he would have learned his lesson from that, right?

lols.

A couple days later I came out to feed breakfast and find the fence like that. Clearly he did it AGAIN. But this time I wasn’t there to extract him, so he just demolished the fence. Yet again, somehow he’d managed to not hurt himself (Praise Be) but Jesus Effin Christ man.

For some reason he had decided that that spot was his new lounging area rather than the nice sand pit he’d dug near one corner (that was, blissfully, 10′ away from the fence). So I did what any sane person would do and switched Presto and Henry’s turnout. I don’t think Presto likes it as much over there but the sandy lounge pit feature is well away from the fence line therefore my anxiety level is marginally lower. Lord above. Why, horses? Why?

In less stress-inducing news, we had a jump lesson last week and tried a new bit. Presto has a tendency to lay on the Myler a little bit when he’s galloping and Trainer wanted to see what he thought about a short-shanked KK pelham with the world’s squishiest curb chain cover (the Equifit one). To my surprise he quite liked it. We jumped a course of showjumps and then went out to the back of the field and popped over the corner and wedge, then tested out the brakes by going for a gallop and bringing him back a few times. He was responsive and light but still seemed happy to go into my hand (which makes sense, his dressage bit is a KK). We’ll test it out a few more times to see if the trend continues.

I also started the process of getting myself and Presto’s FEI paperwork.

I have always heard people complain about how annoying/frustrating/confusing the process is, and now I understand why. I think I made it 10 minutes before I quit in a fit of rage. With some help from Trainer I started to figure it out, but then realized that for some reason Presto’s microchip number never got recorded on his sBs papers/passport therefore it was never submitted to USEF either. I have not a clue what the number is. So we’re on hold until later this week when the vet will be out here anyway and can scan him and give me the number. Can’t wait to see what other fun road block pops up after that.

On a more serotonin-filled note, I made a ridiculous video of Rhett that somehow went viral in a way I was largely unprepared for. The comments are so wholesome though… worth it.

@breed.ride.event

Thats all. #foals #foalsoftiktok #foalingseason #equestrianlife #horse #horsegirl #equestrian

♬ original sound – breed.ride.event

Hope y’all are having a good week!

Sorry I’m so late with Foal Friday today! It’s been super busy and this is the first time I’ve had to sit down. I’ve also not had a lot of time to hang out and get pics of them with the good camera, so I thought we’d do something a little different this week and play a game.

One of my favorite views of the foals is what I call Giraffe Mode. That view from the ground, looking up toward their lil snoots. Especially when you’re scratching their withers. It is epic and endlessly amusing (at least to me). So I went out and took a Giraffe Mode pic of each of the foals (Lucy, Rhett, Andy, Rihanna, and Rue), and now it’s up to you to try to tell which one is which.

Some are easy…. others, not so much. Let’s see how well you know the class of 2023!

Sometimes I think my XC recaps are the only posts of mine that anyone reads anymore. Honestly, I don’t blame you… this is the fun part, is it not?

We walked the XC course on Friday afternoon before the show, since it was a one day affair and all my ride times were in the first half of the day. Also poor Steph had her first ride of the day set for 8:30 and her last for 6:15. Did not envy that.

After the International Festival in April, which is considered kind of peak difficulty, the courses at the Florida Horse Park tend to go back down and then rebuild in intensity again through the second half of the year. We knew this one would be pretty inviting for this venue (which is generally one of the more difficult ones here) and it definitely was. The jumps were to size for what you’d expect at the level, with a lot of tables, but there was nothing particularly hard or technical. The coffin and the big bank complex weren’t on the course, but they did utilize both waters.

It started out friendly with a wide gallopy ramp, then a smaller rolltop, then the first table. The rolltop was set a little bit angled on the path, so if you wanted to jump it straight-on you’d be weaving a bit to do it… we planned to just jump it on the angle. The first combo was at 4AB, a slightly bending 6 strides from house to house. The approach was a bit short, through some trees, but otherwise quite straightforward.

After that there was another table (which again, the more direct route would take you over it at a bit of an angle) and then the next combo down in the basin where there was another rampy house thing, and then 8 or 9 strides up through the gap and right over a corner. A pretty legit corner, and you only got a couple strides of straight approach, so that was a good question. We’ve seen similar (but smaller) at Training, and he’s schooled harder, so I wasn’t worried about it but you would def need to be deliberate about your path and ride positive to it.

Then we had another table (a collapsible one – fun to see the frangible technology) before the next combo, a smaller table, 7 strides to a skinny brush wedge. Again, a question to take seriously, but we’ve seen harder. Then it was another table before we got to the first water, a skinny house, 7 bending strides on a 90 degree turn to a rolltop heading into the water, and then a skinny table out of the water. The hardest part of this IMO was the fact that this was RIGHT next to the road, which is where the barns and all the trailer parking are. It would be very easy for them to get distracted there and blow past something.

After the water we had a MIM oxer, then a log ramp, then another table. Pretty basic. Then you got to the second water, which was a (you’ll never guess) table a couple strides before the water, then a skinnyish rolltop in the water. After that you were home free over a log box and a log table. There was plenty to do of course, but nothing that was particularly concerning.

To add a little spice to things, the FHP just started building this big bridge complex for their combined driving course, and it was just behind the first jump. Honestly I was more concerned with that than anything else, because it had never been there before and Presto can be weird about random non-jump-related things. He didn’t care though. He came out of the box all business and marched down to the first jump like a damn professional. What a difference a season makes.

Fences 2 and 3 went by without any problem (and I was kinda proud of him at 2, because there was an SUV with the back open sitting under a tree RIGHT THERE by the jump, and he put his eye it for a few strides but never waivered from his jump or balked in any way. Again… maturity at work?

He got a little crooked coming through the trees to 4AB, looking off into the brush, but it rode easy. Then it was over the table and off to the next combo, the corner. He pinged over the house, marched up the more direct route in 8, and hopped over the corner like he was out for a Sunday stroll. He put his eye on the corner as soon as it popped into his line of sight and went straight to it. Hunting the flags? Check.

Then it was over another table before the next combo, the smaller table to the brush wedge. Again, easy peasy, he had his eye on the brush from the second he jumped the A and marched straight down to it.

Then it was the peach table, which I saw a flyer to from a mile out and he did a super job of moving up to it but also keeping his balance up. Six months ago he was struggling with that still – not anymore. I did have to really get him back quickly after that to make the turn for the bending line into the water, but he was very rideable and made that one easy. Not even so much as a waiver of his focus.

We hopped out of the water over the table, then over to the MIM oxer, the log stack, and the blue table. Just like that we were already at the second water. I gave him a very positive and encouraging ride in here since we had a jump in the water, but it was never a question. Eyes on the jump and away he went.

Then it was to the log box, which I angled because it was easier, and badabing badaboom, over the log oxer and through the finish.

Overall? It felt easy for him. He never once waivered from his rhythm, and the course was so flowy and galloping that I didn’t really have to do all that much. He’s focused, he’s figuring out the questions, and his balance and gallop get better and better every time out. He felt very well within himself in every way.

We finished well within the time allowed, 14 seconds to spare without really even pushing, just letting him cruise. We didn’t move up any, but we didn’t move down either, and finishing on our dressage score was good enough to secure us 3rd place (one measly point away from the win – damn my brain fart in dressage!) behind two 5* riders.

Once again, this kiddo is proving his class. If I’d entered the Rider division he’d have won by a mile, but I’m endlessly proud of how well he’s been holding his own in these Open divisions with some top riders and really good horses. After all, he’s only 6, is being brought along by his amateur, and lives in what is essentially my front yard. He gets extra credit for that! Finishing on his dressage score in his second Modified… what a dude. The best part though? He still finds this all very easy. He’s getting better and better as things get harder.

We’ve got 2.5 weeks now til we head up to Aiken for Stable View, which will probably be the most stout and technical course he’s seen yet, plus will be our first out of town show together. Then he’ll get his summer vacay and we’ll start making a plan for the fall! It’s hard not to feel excited with a horse like this one… what a dream come true he is.

I was hoping that show photos would be up by now but no such luck, so we’re gonna have to do this with the media I’ve got.

The Ocala Summer 1 show at the Florida Horse Park this past weekend marked our second Modified. The good thing about shows here once everyone leaves after season is that they get considerably more casual. Especially if ride times start early or it’s a one day, a lot of people don’t braid and don’t wear a coat. Which… generally if possible I’ll always opt to braid and wear a coat, but this time I didn’t. It felt weird, but also my dressage ride was at 8:20, my finger is still pissed as hell, and it was hot. Summer casual, it is.

We were on the road to the Horse Park by 6:40, got parked by 7:30, and I was on Presto and headed to warmup at 8. The ring was very full, which was 99% fine because it was almost all pros and Modified/Intermediate, but I will say there’s one pro here that just has a real hard time steering. Every time I’m in warmup with him he’s running people over left and right, and has gotten me twice. Steer, man. STEER. I tried to avoid him like the plague. Also, entirely unrelated, but at one point I looked over and saw Off The Record exiting the warmup and a few minutes later in comes Tight Lines. Look at you kiddo, warming up with the 5* horses. LOL.

Anyway – Presto was actually really stellar in warmup and I was like “ok maybe this is the time I actually pull out a good one”. And then I went in the ring, did 3 movements, and promptly went entirely blank. Like my brain just went eeee-errrrrr-pssshhhhh and blue-screened. I had to stop and ask the judge what the next movement was. Fucks sake. That hasn’t happened in a really long time. So, ya know… it was not my best work.

Still we were tied for 4th after dressage out of 11 horses on a score of 34. The judge was scoring everyone high, but she did so across the board, so although painful it was fair. We did manage an 8 for our entrance and an 8.5 for our final centerline and halt, so… there were good scores in there. One of these days I’ll actually put it all together consistently, not just like every 4th or 5th show.

After dressage I had a few hours before show jumping, most of which I spent grazing Presto next to the ring so I could watch the Intermediate and some of the Prelim. I also walked the course while they were setting for Prelim, with me going “I feel like these oxers should look smaller than they do considering Modified is only a hole lower…”. I never really stand next to the things we jump, and they always look considerably smaller from on top of a 17.1h Presto.

Also while I was grazing him there was a western drill team practicing in another ring and when they pulled out their flags Presto thought they’d morphed into dragons. That was fun.

By the time I got on and headed to warmup the day was turning warmer and swampier by the minute. Again though, Presto warmed up great (he considered shenanigans briefly but was convinced to abandon the mission) and we just popped over a handful of oxers. If he’s jumping well there’s no point in boring him or making him tired, so we tend to take the “as much as necessary but as little as possible” approach.

He went in the ring and jumped like he had springs for feet. Well okay… the first jump was great, a single oxer off the rail. I saw a bit of a quiet one to the vertical at 2, then made the rollback to 3 and saw another quiet one. As I turned to 4 I was a little behind where I needed to be and thought “If I try to micromanage this whole round instead of just sending him forward, we’re gonna have no flow whatsoever” so I closed my leg and rode him up to 4. He went “YES THIS IS THE WAY” and absolutely pinged over it. It’s not very often that this horse actually gives a lot of effort so when he does I’m like oh dang, he really can jump.

That was what we needed, just a bit more forward of a ride, and once I clicked that in, the rest of the round was super.

He jumped great, everything came up out of stride, and I swear I think he was having a good time.

Almost too good of a time at one point, because when I tried to steer him inside of jump 2 to make the turn to the one stride, he momentarily locked onto that one again, which, bro, if I was actually aiming at that we would have jumped the standard on a most impossible angle, but I do appreciate your dedication. I had to be like “NO NOT THAT ONE”. Bless him.

Patreon folks, you have the full video on your dashboard!

It was a good round though, much better than I rode at Majestic. The clear round (one of only 4 clears out of the 18 horses in both Modified divisions!) moved us up to 3rd, just one point off the leader. No pressure for XC.

Also many thanks to Hannah who was the patron saint of media this show, since Hillary and I had conflicting ride times. Thanks Hannah!

Lucy’s mom Lija caught this super cute clip of Rhett and Lucy last night… I felt like it sums them up perfectly.

Happy Friday!

Well ok I’m willing to admit that my beginning of the week update is perhaps running a wee bit late this time considering it’s now Thursday. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything too exciting.

Last Friday the horses all got their teeth done. We’re lucky to have an amazing dentist here in Ocala that has a super cool, specially modified dental trailer. It works amazing, so convenient and a great set-up. She came and did everyone last year too, so this was their second visit from her. No one had anything particularly crazy going on, just kind of the usual stuff for each of them, and they were all well-behaved. It was quick and easy!

I also had her check the fit of my bits and bridles while she was there, just to make sure everything was sitting well in Presto’s mouth and not potentially causing any issues. He’s got particularly fleshy lips so it can make him harder to fit and more prone to pinching and discomfort, so I just wanted to check and make sure she was happy with everything and how it sat/was adjusted. She raised my dressage bit one hole (his canines sit a little high in his mouth) but otherwise all good.

Presto got Saturday off, but the weather was divine so Henry and Lex went for a road hack. I’ve been able to get on Henry a few times over the last week to start trying to build some his topline back up and get him back in some kind of shape. He mostly seems happy to be getting more cookies again.

On Sunday we took Presto and Lex over to Sweet Dixie to hack the hills. Typically that would have been our gallop day but Presto was at the end of his shoeing cycle and I wasn’t loving how long his hind toes were looking, so we just opted for some trot sets on the hills. Again the weather was beautiful, so it was a nice morning out.

Presto spent the rest of his day partaking in some serious naps, during which I served as Pillow for long enough to make my leg fall completely asleep. These horses and their tough tough lives.

The farrier was here on Tuesday, and yesterday morning Presto had a chiro appointment (for those who are keeping track, yes the past week has been just as $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ as it sounds). He was a bit sore in his lower lumbar, my guess is most likely from those long toes he’d been sporting there for the previous week, and needed a bit of extra work on his poll area too. His feet are looking superb now though, much better with a fresh set. He’s on a 5 week cycle but if he gets that long again this time we might move to 4 weeks for the summer. The horses seem to be growing a ton of foot right now for whatever reason.

I also had the farrier pull Henry’s hind shoes. We’ll see how he does. I’d really prefer for him to be barefoot behind in case he finds himself babysitting/ponying any of the babies, but I’m not totally convinced his feet will stay together. The farrier felt pretty optimistic that it would be ok so we figured it was worth a shot. So far Henry hasn’t shown any discomfort or anything so fingers crossed (and Keratex activated) that it works out. He was barefoot when I got him but the ground in Texas was so rocky and hard that it destroyed his feet and he’s been shod on all 4 the whole time I’ve owned him. Florida’s ground is much more forgiving.

Yesterday we had a jump lesson, just a quick pop around a few things since we’re showing this weekend. Presto was a righteously egotistical turd for like 75% of it (HE KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING), so that’s cool. Hopefully he decides to be a good child this weekend.

Hope everyone else is having a good (although perhaps slightly less expensive) week!