Author: Amanda C

When we last left off on the barn hunt update, I was stuffing my feelings into double decker Fudge Rounds and slamming them down my throat like it was my damn job. And up until yesterday afternoon, that’s pretty much exactly what was still happening, just with rapidly increasing anxiety (and copious amounts of queso) as one barn after the next didn’t pan out. I can’t really explain the hellscape that is barn shopping in this town. Well, actually, I can try. Let’s rehash what’s happened so far.

Hillary and I knew that we really wanted to stay together, with all 3 boys. Everything is just a lot easier with a barn buddy. Granted, finding space for 3 horses does complicate things. We scoured the shit out of the internet, I don’t think any stone was left unturned. If it exists as a boarding barn within an hour of Austin, we have seen it. She was even stalking private properties on google maps, looking for suitable barns that might possibly take on a few boarders, and driving around desirable areas being a total stalker. Yeah… that is some next level creepy, in the most admirable way possible. She even called realtors for properties that were for sale asking if they would rent. We were open to self care, co-op situations… anything that looked like a place where our horses could be happy and we could have what we needed.

First of all, getting anyone at these so-called boarding barns to call/email/message/text you back is apparently a completely unrealistic expectation. We got 3 times as many *crickets* as we did replies. Then there are all the places who have dealbreaker barn rules, like… you can’t come out before 9am. Ever. How is that a thing? Or that you had to have written permission every time you left the property. Or that you could only jump if you took a lesson with them, which isn’t such an uncommon rule, but I have zero interest in taking lessons with any of those trainers, so that’s a nope. Or better yet, you had to be in a training program to board there, which I completely understand their reasoning behind, but also a nope. I’ve already got a trainer and she’s worked pretty darn well for me.

Several more desirable places were just plain out of my budget, with two horses, especially if they didn’t offer pasture board as an option. Other places seemed in budget, until you started adding up all the extra nickel and diming fees, which could easily tack on another $200+ a month. The other more desirable places were full. They’re always full.

There are a lot of things I can make do with. I don’t need anything fancy whatsoever, but I needed it to be safe. That includes no barbed wire fence. I dunno what it is with horse people here, but damn they love them some barbed wire. Preferably rusty and half falling down. I also needed people taking care of my horse that gave me the sense that they knew what they were doing. Or at least had owned a horse for more than a week. Or knew how many feet horses were supposed to have. Or which was the ass end. Boy do I have stories.

I also need good enough footing to where I’m not going to be out of the saddle for days every time it rains, and to be able to keep my horse sound with all the conditioning we do. THAT is a tall measure around here, where black gumbo soil rules the lands. God it is awful, and I wanted to avoid it. An arena would be nice, but not needed… the more important part is a big enough field to do my conditioning. I can dressage and jump in a field, but it’s a lot harder to condition in a ring. As it is I ride out in the field 99.9% of the time now, and I don’t mind it one bit.

I needed turnout. Like… more than a few hours a day and on something bigger than a tiny dry lot paddock or just a stall run (a stall run isn’t turnout, omg). One of my horses needs to move as much as possible to keep himself loose, and the other is a growing and developing 2yo warmblood. They can’t just stand still 23 hours a day if I expect either of them to stay sound in their jobs. Go ahead and cross several more off the list at that request.

We went to look at a few places. On Monday afternoon we drove out to the one that looked by far the most promising on paper and in pictures. It was… what’s the word I’m looking for here… horrendous? Animals were everywhere, of every species, the place smelled like a dirty zoo, there was shit all over the place, the barn worker was walking around barefoot, the stalls were filthy (and everything looked dried and old, so it wasn’t fresh filth), there were way too many horses crammed in the dry lot pens, and – my personal favorite part – there was a horse chilling in the crossties with wire wrapped around it’s leg. The wire had obviously been there a while, judging by the amount of swelling in the leg. Eventually someone came and cut the wire off, then they ran some water over it and gave the horse some bute. I dunno about y’all, but to me that’s an emergency vet call situation. These people were like “oh it’ll be fine, not a big deal”. WHAT. THE. SHIT.

We couldn’t get out of there fast enough, and immediately hightailed it to a mexican food restaurant to stuff our faces with queso. It’s a healing elixir for PTSD.

With our standards freshly lowered and desperation mounting, we decided to look at pretty much anything and everything. Whoever would call us back and had the few basic things that we needed, we agreed to go look at. Yesterday morning Hillary went out to another place that would be great if you didn’t actually ride, but was definitely a problem if you did. Mostly because who knows where you would do that. Also the stalls were so tiny I don’t think our horses would have fit in them. Not exaggerating.

One of my vets heard our tales of woe and suggested that we call and talk to his wife. She manages his mobile veterinary business, sometimes riding with him to act as vet tech when needed, but they also have a private barn at their home and he thought she might be able to make space for us. It was an incredibly kind offer, and I know it’s not one that just anyone gets. Luckily they both quite like Henry (he can be pretty charming when he feels like it) and I’ve known them for years, so I guess we qualified. I was concerned about how far away it was, 45+ minutes, but I was willing to drive that far if it fit the bill.

Since our levels of internal panic were quickly rising to epic and overwhelming proportions, we cleared our schedules and went out to look at the farm yesterday afternoon. It’s a no-frills type of place, and they’re still in the process of building and adding things and making improvements, but it’s cute and even under construction it’s already got everything we need. The barn is really nice, lots of air flow and good sized stalls with high powered fans and good light. The wife’s ideas and methods about horse keeping line up very closely with my own, from turnout schedule to diet to blanketing and pretty much everything in between. In the summer the horses are rotated between two grass turnouts, also with round bales. In winter they’re turned out in the 6 acre hay field in the back. We can also ride on the neighbor’s property, and maybe even across the street. It looks a lot like what I could imagine having in my own backyard, if I owned property. There aren’t many people and it’s quiet and it comes with the blessed quality of freedom.

There’s a sand arena that’s definitely big enough to do dressage or put a few jumps in, and she didn’t mind if we brought ours and set them up. There’s a round pen if I need it to do stuff with Presto. She’s totally cool with us riding out in the field, parking our trailers on site, bringing all of our shit, riding whenever we want, coming and going to shows all the time, etc etc. All of the horses, even the old retired ones, look really good. They have roughage in front of them pretty much 24/7 and all seem very chill and happy and social. Everything is clean and tidy. The ground is pretty good, even with the insane amount of rain we’ve had this week. Presto wouldn’t be on full time turnout since they aren’t set up for pasture board, but he’d get at least all day or all night turnout, with room to stretch his legs.

The price for both horses is slightly more than I’m paying now, but it’s such a negligible amount that by the time you factor in what I currently pay for fan fees in the summer months (something that is included at this place), it pretty much equals out. I will have to rework my life and my schedule a little bit to make the commute work, but… there’s a lot to be said for your horses living at your vet’s house. It’s a pretty incredible offer and I feel really lucky to be on the receiving end. So on June 1, the boys get a new home.

Mostly I’m just relieved to have something nailed down, and so grateful to everyone that helped and offered us a place to land if we couldn’t find something in time. I was definitely starting to panic. Yesterday morning I came perilously close to ordering those double decker Oatmeal Creme Pies by the case from amazon, but today I’m feeling so much better. There’s plenty to be done, some things to buy, and A LOT to pack, but I’m looking forward to the next chapter.

Yeah, I know, I’ve complained a few hundred times about how much I hate stock ties. It’s definitely not my favorite thing to wear, as someone who is lazy and likes to just slap on a show shirt and not bother with layering more fabric under/around my chins. But now that we’re going Prelim, I finally caved and picked up a simple pre-tied one last fall. Mostly because it had navy unicorns on it. I like it because it’s simple, but I don’t really like the satin fabric, and I don’t like that it sits kind of flat and sad-looking. I mean, I don’t like a super poofy stock tie, but it just looks weird when its really flat. I decided to go on the hunt for a real stock tie, one I’d have to tie myself like an adult (ugh, so whiny) so I could get to lay exactly how I wanted under my coat. I have really grown to love the navy unicorns though, and I knew I wanted something similar. Because if you’re going to make me wear a neck noose, it better at least be fun. But do you know how many unicorn stock ties exist in the world? Very few. Enter: Stockbubble.

If you haven’t seen Stockbubble before, you’re missing out. Even as a begrudging stock tie wearer/buyer, I have to admire the brand. Paging through the Etsy store is almost a little bit of sensory overload, with all the different fabrics available. Owner Halley makes some really pretty stock ties, and isn’t afraid to be creative with her fabrics. I had also heard that she can make pretty much anything by request, so I decided to put that skill to the test. I messaged her letting her know what I was picturing – white fabric with navy unicorns for me, and some kind of elegant navy and white or gray and white anchor fabric for my trainer. Within a few hours she had somehow found both, like some weird fabric magician. She must have some serious sleuthing skills too, because the anchor fabric had to be ordered from Germany.

Once I gave the green light to the fabrics, she placed the orders, and then we waited for them to arrive. And, no joke, within a couple hours of her having the fabric in her hands, she had the ties completed and ready to ship. She kept me updated every step of the way, and sent me pictures when they were complete. I paid, she shipped, and I had them in my hands a few days later. The ordering process was ridiculously easy, Halley was great, and I got them extremely quickly for a custom item. The price was also super reasonable, with each tie coming in at under $50. Considering the fabrics were a bit pricey and one had to ship from Europe, I thought that was pretty good.

The construction of the tie is top notch, I couldn’t find so much as a stitch out of place. They have a nice loop built into the back to make it easy to thread the the tie through, which I much prefer over just a slit. The length is perfect to get just the right knot and have enough left over to stay tucked under your coat. As soon as I put it on I found my deeply ingrained stock tie hatred plummeting a few notches.

I’m pretty excited to have a unique, one of kind tie that looks really good under my navy coat but still has a little bit of fun flair to it. It’s pretty subtle, and you can’t really tell that it’s unicorns until you get up close. The anchor one is gorgeous too, the little bit of glitter from the anchors makes it just fun enough, but still really elegant looking.

Paging through their Etsy store or Instagram, there are so many cool stock ties that I find myself having grabby hands for more. There’s such a wide variety, from really plain to really bright, simple smooth cotton to fabrics with texture. And if you have something specific in mind that doesn’t already exist in the store, I’m relatively convinced that if you can dream it, Stockbubble can make it a reality.

For those of us that like to match (which, DQ’s, I’ve seen those matchy sets y’all are obsessed with so I know that literally all of you like to match. Eventers, we already know about y’all, calm down.), she can also make matching belts and dog bandannas.

Having a friend that is a male rider and can so rarely find fun things for men, it was also pretty exciting to see that Stockbubble makes neck ties. Did I peer pressure Bobby about buying an OTTB neck tie? Maybe. Should more people peer pressure him about it? Absolutely. He has two OTTB’s now, clearly he needs one. Plus $5 from each sale of an item made with the OTTB logo fabric goes to RRP. You can’t beat that.

Halley is a fellow eventer and OTTB owner/rider doing a mad side hustle game (which I have a lot of respect for, obviously) so it feels pretty good to support her business and give her a few of my dollars. The products are gorgeous, the process was so easy, and overall my experience was absolutely 5 stars. If you’re looking for a stock tie, definitely check out Stockbubble! I’ve already got her on the hunt for just the right magic-themed fabric, since clearly I will need a special tie for Presto too…

Since I was a little late on this one due to life drama, I did some extra stats based on the results as well. Which took even more time and nerd dedication, but I also think it’s more interesting too. Let’s take a look at the field for Badminton 2019!

A grand total of 80 horses started the dressage phase this year, and as usual there were a few I had to throw out of a few stats due to incomplete pedigrees. I’d rather omit them than knowingly put in inaccurate data.

As has become pretty usual by now, Irish Sport Horse was the most common registry, with 33 horses. The rest were relatively split between Dutch (7) , Hanoverian (7), Selle Francais (7), Holsteiner (4), British Sporthorse (5), Thoroughbred (4), etc. There was also one Connemara x TB cross, just like at Rolex, and one Clydesdale x TB cross.

Of the Irish contingent, 12 have traditional Irish breeding and 21 have some kind of European warmblood – and of the ones that contain warmblood, 76% of them carry Holsteiner blood.

The average blood percentage of the original starting field is 58%, and the average blood percentage of those who completed is 57%. Pretty much the same. The average blood percentage of the clear XC rounds? 58%. What about the blood percentage of the double clears? If you guessed 58%, you get a prize. What about the average blood percentage of the horses who didn’t finish? 57%. These are kinda boring numbers considering how long it took me to input all of that data.

Moving on.

A little more interesting… 19 horses (24% of the field) have at least one full TB parent. Of the full TB’s, you saw a few names several times throughout the pedigrees, including Heraldik, Golden Bash, Danzig, Nijinsky, Mr Prospector, and Mytens.

Aside from just the commonalities among the thoroughbreds, several stallions appear more than once throughout the field as a sire or damsire. Courage II, a Holsteiner stallion that was widely used in Ireland, is the sire of an incredible FIVE horses, 4 of which went on to complete, 2 with a clear XC. Limmerick, another Holsteiner stallion that was widely used in Ireland, is the sire of 3 horses in the field, all of which went on to complete, 2 with a clear XC.

Other stallions that are seen multiple times include: Ricardo Z (sire of 2, damsire of 1), Clover Hill (damsire of 3), Balou du Rouet (sire of 2), Lauriston (sire of 1, damsire of 1), Heraldik xx (damsire of 2), Cavalier Royale (damsire of 2), and Golden Bash xx (damsire of 2).

An amazing 56% of the field came up through the FEI young horses classes – ie the old 6yo 1*/7yo 2* levels.

Despite having only 4 horses in the field that are registered Holsteiners, an incredible 40 horses (50%) have Holsteiner within the first 4 generations. Similarly, only 7 horses in the field are registered Selle Francais, but 28 horses (35%) have Selle Francais within the first 4 generations. I won’t say that jumping blood is super important for event horses, because I say it all the time, buuuuuut.

I will say that when I sorted out the top 10 dressage scores, I kind of expected a slightly lower blood percentage, ie less TB. But the blood percentage of those top 10 was bang on the average – 57% – and while none of them have a full TB parent, 5 have a full tb damsire. Eight of those top 10 have holsteiner and selle francais (ie more jumper-oriented) breeding.

Any other finisher stats you’d like to see? I could go all day, breaking down average dressage score by registry, average number of rails in showjumping, time faults, etc etc. But I feel like everyone is probably already asleep, so I’ll stop there…

NO, I’M NOT HORSE SHOPPING. Everyone calm down. I think the only thing that could possibly ratchet up my anxiety level any higher than it already is at the moment would be horse or saddle shopping. But a reader (hi Christine!) emailed me and asked for a post regarding how I’ve gone about finding and buying horses on a low budget, what’s worked for me, what hasn’t, what I look for, etc. Input and experience from others is welcome, as well. Before I share my own thoughts, I will repeat my favorite caveat: I am not a professional. But for someone who isn’t a reseller, I’ve bought some horses before… some great, some not, and I’m more than happy to share what I’ve learned along the way.

My budget has always been really low. As in, of the 14 or 15 horses I’ve purchased, none have cost more than $1500. Let’s be real right off the top – you aren’t going to get a sound, trained, sane, good quality horse for that money. Pick one of those qualities. At 5k, which is still pretty limiting, you’d have more leeway. So while you’re looking, keep saving your money. I’ve always shopped projects, either out of someone’s backyard or off the track. I’ve bought a couple off of craigslist, one off of facebook, one off of a literal paper ad in a feed store, one from a herd dispersal that I heard about randomly, one from CANTER, one off the old forums on pedigree query, one through a local thoroughbred charity, one at an auction, etc etc. Keep your eyes and ears open, and definitely TELL people that you’re looking. You never know what you’ll find via word of mouth. If you see one you like, act quickly, and have your money ready. The good ones get snatched up fast.

I’ve also very rarely gone out deliberately shopping for a horse. I think I’ve tried a grand total of three horses, and only actually bought one of those three. Most of mine have just fallen in my lap. I see something I like, and if I have the scope to take it on, I buy it. But I really like projects, I get a lot of enjoyment out of taking raw material and turning it into something. Usually for me that has meant a horse off the track, but I’ve also bought a few unstarted horses, or ones that had previous issues/mishandling. I think the blank slates were the easiest to bring along, although I will always love me a recycled thoroughbred. That said, starting horses under saddle is certainly not something to take on if you’ve never done it before – outsource that job. And while I dearly love thoroughbreds, they aren’t for everyone, especially straight off the track. Be brutally honest with yourself about what you can handle, and if you’ll need professional assistance to get the horse where you want it to be. If you do, be sure to factor that into your budget as well.

The question of what I look for in a horse is a little bit harder to cover. Mostly I look for something that seems reasonably athletic and intelligent. An athletic, trainable horse will always be good at something, so even if I end up not keeping it, the horse still has value as a resale. I’ve been open to different breeds, although most of the horses I’ve owned have been thoroughbreds because they tend to suit my purpose best. Depending on what you want to do with the horse, a lot of breeds could be appropriate. Never discount a quarter horse or a draft cross. Shoot, for the lower levels of eventing or for dressage, you could look at all kinds of breeds, including ponies. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just athletic and trainable. Everybody wants the fancy warmblood but very few actually need (or can ride) the fancy warmblood. Remember that the trot can be improved quite a bit with training, so if you’re going to buy off of one gait, I put the most emphasis on the canter. Especially if you’re going to be jumping.

I’m definitely really into pedigrees, but it’s not the be-all-end-all. To me a pedigree is a factor, but it certainly won’t be the one thing that my decision hinges off of. There are certain lines I don’t care for, but if I really like the horse I would buy it anyway. And there are certain lines that I really love that will definitely make me take a harder look at a horse. I think anyone who has ridden or bought/sold enough horses develops favorites, and they vary from person to person. I personally will stop dead in my tracks to look at any thoroughbred with Danzig in the pedigree.

When you’re shopping on a small budget, you also need to develop the ability to see a diamond in the rough. People ooooh and aaaaah over the big fat shiny horse with all the chrome and the high quality photos, but can you picture a version of the same horse in a scruffy winter coat, 200lbs lighter, with 10 inches of mane, nary a white mark on it, and bad cell phone pictures? Learn to see bone structure and proportion, not fat and muscle. Look at other peoples’ before and afters. You can change so much about a horse’s appearance just with good care. The best deals I’ve ever gotten were found in the plain, non-descript horses who weren’t presented well. If you learn how to spot those horses through the rough exterior, you can snag a really great horse. Pretty is as pretty does.

Close your ears for this one, children: I’ve vetted precisely zero of the horses that I’ve purchased. I know, I can feel you cringing. To be clear, I would never recommend that to someone else, but it’s the truth. I’m pretty realistic about the fact that no horse is going to vet absolutely spotlessly, and all sorts of things can show up on a vetting but never be a hindrance to a horse for the job you need it to do. So, definitely get the horse vetted, but also be realistic about the findings, especially as they relate to it’s intended job. A lot of people hear one relatively minor thing and bolt – that’s a mistake, IMO. My best horses, and soundest horses, certainly would not have vetted perfectly. Oh, and uh… if you buy a mare, make sure she’s not pregnant. I learned my lesson on that one, and it happens more often than you realize.

I think the most important thing is to be realistic. You aren’t going to find a trained, sound, issue-free horse for next to nothing. Well ok I’m sure it’s happened, but the odds of it happening to you are slim to none. Give up on that dream. Instead sit down and really think about what you can handle as a rider, what you really need (size, age, training, certain gait or temperament or conformation features that are your must-haves), what you can live with, and what you can’t. Also don’t forget that if you’re shopping cheap, you’re probably signing up for a long process to get that horse to your end goal. Don’t look at other people’s endings and think they’re a realistic beginning. Henry is my favorite horse that I’ve ever had, and he’s taken me places I never imagined, but he was a walking basket of training problems when I got him, some of which will always be there, and it’s taken 5 years to get as far as we have. Keep good professionals in your corner that are available to help. Involve a couple of good friends that you know will be honest with you no matter what, not just tell you what you want to hear. And at the end of the day – trust your gut. It’s never steered me wrong, whether I’ve actually listened to it or not.

What advice would you give to someone who’s horse shopping on a very limited budget? Let’s help her out as a group!

This hasn’t been the best week for me. It started with my existential crisis last weekend that left me feeling relatively down in the dumps for no particular reason, continued with plenty of stress at work, and then finally came to a crescendo with news of the barn closure. I am doing that thing where I’m very calm on the outside but screaming internally.

We’ve made a little bit of headway with the barn hunt, in that we’ve discovered that we’re pretty screwed no matter what, so that’s cool. We’re going to look at a barn on Monday that seems good on paper but I’m too dead inside to allow myself to be that optimistic, and either way it’ll more than double my barn commute. See above meme.

So for the past few days I’ve been latching on to happiness wherever I can find it. Mostly with horses, naturally. And, dunno if y’all have ever seen a baby horse, buuuuut those things are like walking instant happiness.

Michelle keeps sending me pics of Nalah and I’m like more please, my soul needs this right now. I mean, squishing a baby horse in person would be better, but cute pictures of a baby horse are better than no baby horse.

Stormie is due in a few more weeks, and I’m feeling like a tiny pony baby is going to be even more squishable. 320 days (what is considered the minimum for normal gestation) would be on Sunday, so any time after that would be great, although I don’t think she’ll go that soon. Right now she just looks like a beached whale. Which admittedly is still entertaining.

I been watching the Badminton coverage (I’m late with my In the Blood post for that, it’ll have to be an after-the-fact version next week since I’m only about 75% of the way through my stats), and for the second week in a row Ollie delivered a really entertaining moment in dressage. He’d just laid down a fantastic test (that scored a freaking 19) and he knew it, and amid all of his celebrating after he was finished, he stopped really paying attention to his horse’s feet, and the horse stepped over the little fence. It was his face after it happened, though, that was the best part.

Also, did anyone else see the lady in the front row that’s been knitting while she watches dressage? It’s fantastic.

I can’t wait to further drown my sorrows in some live stream XC tomorrow.

Perhaps not pony related, but I stopped at a gas station yesterday and discovered that Little Debbie makes a couple of their snacks in a Double Decker version. I dunno how I was only yesterday years old when I learned this, but holy shit.

I only saw the Fudge Round version, which excited me plenty since Fudge Rounds are my favorite, but apparently they also make an Oatmeal Creme Pie version. And you can buy them by the case on Amazon. I’m not quite to that level of depression yet but I’ve definitely tucked this knowledge away for future use, just in case. Will I stop today and pick up another single or two? Odds are good, not gonna lie. Especially because it’s currently raining it’s ass off.

And last but not least in the self-medicating for the week (so far anyway, the day is still young…) I totally caved and pre-ordered a couple of Ride Heels Down’s new mantra wristbands.

Mostly because I feel like I’m gonna be Suck-It-Up-Buttercupping quite a bit in the months to come. Hopefully there will also be some Have-A-Great-Riding, but I know for sure there will definitely be a lot of Suck-It-Up-Buttercupping.

This is fine.