Author: Amanda C

We said goodbye to Quinn the corgi yesterday. The writing has been on the wall for him for a while, so there was nothing sudden or shocking about it, which honestly made it one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. When Quinn was diagnosed with DM a couple years ago we promised ourselves that we’d let him go if/when his quality of life diminished too much, or if/when he started to lose the control of his front end or bladder. And well… we kinda hit all three of those milestones at once.

DM is tough, because they aren’t really in any pain. And for a smaller dog like Quinn, who is extremely lazy and very content to lay around the house most of the time, it didn’t affect his quality of life too much for quite a while. His hind end was first to go – one foot followed quickly by the other. We got him a wheelchair and while he never really took to using it, it did help him toddle around a little bit when he felt so inclined. DM of course is progressive, and over time his paralysis has inched it’s way forward. The past few months he really hasn’t been strong enough to hold up his front end in the wheelchair anymore, nor more recently could he push his upper body up on his own anymore. He could scoot from side to side, but not lift himself any. A couple weeks ago he scooted his front end off of his bed in the middle of the night and was just kind of hanging his front end off sideways, all twisted up and contorted, looking at me for help as soon as I got up in the morning. Who knows how long he’d been stuck like that but he was pretty stiff. My heart just sank.

Coincidentally that was right around the time he started not being able to hold his bladder anymore. Sometimes he could, sometimes he couldn’t, but he started dribbling a lot pretty much all the time and keeping him/his bedding clean became a full time job. We moved into the diaper stage last week, and I had to start wrapping my head around the fact that it was time. He wasn’t going to get any better, he was only going to get worse. It was really hard to think of it being the end though, when a dog is otherwise happy to see you and wagging his nub and begging for treats and all that stuff. He wasn’t in pain, but he clearly wasn’t living a happy dog life anymore either, and I was worried that there would be more incidents of him getting stuck, or he’d end up with some kind of infection or sores from trying to keep him clean and dry all the time. Trying to judge quality of life is tricky, and not something I would wish on anyone, even though pretty much all pet owners have to face it at some point. I have always said though that I would rather let him go a week too early than a week too late. There comes a point when you’re keeping them alive more for your benefit than theirs, and I think we were at that point.

We made an appointment to have him euthanized at home, to avoid the stress of the vet clinic. He spent the morning eating all sorts of terrible food that he normally can’t have, and then we said our goodbyes. We’re having him cremated, and we’ll spread his ashes out at the barn. He did love wandering around through the fields, back when he still could.

While we didn’t have Quinn for a super long time – we adopted him 6 years ago as a “senior” special needs corgi from a rescue up in north Texas – we loved him a lot all the same. He was part of the family, and quite possibly the cutest little miniature grizzly bear I’ve ever met. We never did succeed in training him even a tiny bit (he was totally uninterested in our opinion) but he was a funny, sweet dog in his own way and he fulfilled my dream of having a corgi. I will greatly miss his fluffy little stumpers, and I hope he enjoyed his time with us as much as we enjoyed our time with him.

Since it’s a holiday weekend I figured we could all use a little extra dose of foal cuteness, and the kiddos were more than happy to participate in providing the media. Well, ok… the fillies and Percy were interested. Mostly those 3. The fillies in particular really seemed to like their tutus and tiaras. Hope everyone is having a good long weekend and holiday – these guys sure are!

Maybe it’s because he had such a rough start but Percy is quickly emerging as a favorite of the 2021 class of foals. It’s hard NOT to love him, he’s such a sweet little dude. Plus like… his ears. LOOK AT DEM.

He’s continued to do well, with gradual but steady progress. Every week his legs look stronger, and he’s been growing like a weed. I think he’s easily doubled in width for sure over the past few weeks.

You can tell that he’s looking more proportionate, with the rest of his body catching up to his head and legs. He’s still got some filling out to do, but it’s a massive improvement for sure.

He’s also quite perky. Now that he’s got his legs more coordinated, cantering is his favorite.

Besides getting his gallop figured out, he’s also starting to master the art of becoming airborne. These jumper-bred foals, I swear. They’re like little bouncing balls.

It’s going to take more time before he’s totally caught up, but this is good progress, and his temperament has remained superb. Just a sweet little kiddo that’s doing his best to catch up with the others, development-wise. Percy is very easy to love and it’s fun to see him start to blossom. I may or may not have a particular soft spot for him, given that Presto also had a rough start. It’s amazing what they can overcome with time.

All your good thoughts have worked well for him so far, so please keep it up!

I don’t really want to talk about what’s going on in my world right now because this week has been absolute shite, so how about a light-hearted blog post instead? The heavy stuff can wait. Bel Joeor posted a fun Bathtime blog hop and I do quite like bathing products (for horses anyway) so let’s do it. (Also – pssst – Riding Warehouse is doing a Bargain Bin sale for the holiday weekend, check it out)

Do you bathe regularly, or only before shows?

As necessary, really. Before shows or if they’re really dirty, or pre-body clip. In our mild climate they can get hosed off for most of the year, and mine are pretty much always clipped, so they don’t tend to get super dirty.

What’s your temperature cutoff?

65 if they absolutely must be bathed, but I’d rather it be 70. We’re Texans, we’re allowed to be weenies about “cold”.

Any favorite gadgets or shampoos?

Ooo boy do I have some favorite products.

My “gadget” I suppose would be my Power Shower sponge. It’s a regular sponge on one side and a Tiger’s Tongue on the other so I LOVE this thing for bathing. It’s a super all-in-one little tool.

My favorite shampoo/conditioner line is probably Espana Silk, it washes out easily and smells fantastic, plus the conditioner does a really good job detangling the tail with little effort.

I also do an after-bath rinse where I fill up a bucket about halfway with water, add a few glugs of liniment (usually Vetrolin because it’s more economical, sometimes Sore No More if I’m feeling bougie whene I’m buying liniment) and a capful or two of baby oil.

I sponge that all over the coat and it’s a nice brace for the horse’s muscles plus the little bit of baby oil leaves the coat nice and rehydrated and shiny without needing to use any kind of silicone spray afterward.

In the winter if it’s too wet to bathe but they’re particularly dirty (you know how clipped horses get super dusty? Or your horse – ahem Henry – loves to lay in poop?) I like to use a good waterless shampoo and dampened towels to get them clean.

Any other strong opinions?

I have a lot of strong opinions, but not many about bathing. As long as you’re not freezing your horse to death by bathing them when it’s too cold, you do you.

The good news is, I’ve sold most of my breeches that don’t fit me anymore (the brown Horze are the only ones left) and was able to pick up a smaller size in the same model. The bad news is, the smaller size still doesn’t really fit like I’d want it too, the waistband is pretty gappy. I think that in addition to my size changing, my shape has also changed a bit since I started doing a lot of core work and weights. Sadly I think it’s time to admit that my favorite go-to Horze Grand Prix breeches are no longer the best fit for me. Cue lots of crying and possibly a toddler-style temper tantrum.

You know what I hate? Trying to find breeches that I actually like and that also fit. I like so few things, when I do find something I like I tend to latch onto it. Hence me having had 6 pairs of those Horze breeches. Now I feel back at square one with no idea of where to go really (well ok, I went to Dover and looked at what they had but found a grand total of two models I even liked the fabric enough to try on). So, I’ve found myself perusing different websites a lot, seeing what all is out there now that might at least look promising. I’m very grumpy about it, as you can imagine, because I was also really spoiled by the ~$100 price tag of those Horze breeches and trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m probably not super likely to find ones that I like as much that actually fit and are that cheap.

But I did find myself falling down the rabbit hole that is Riding Warehouse. I’m so indecisive on breeches I’m having a hard time even figuring out what I want to try. The ones that caught my eye the most in their shop are probably the:

Catago Elina. The price is definitely right.

and the Ariat Prelude or Tri-Factor. I like the price of the Prelude but I can’t decide how I feel about the fabric from the pictures. Granted, I don’t love the back design of the Tri-Factors. I also have a slight distrust of Ariat in general. Bleh.

Anyone worn any of those and have some feedback? Or suggestions for any other breeches that have the same super stretchy fabric of the Horze GP but fit smaller in the waist? I really need to try on the RJ Classics and the Romfh Sarafina again. The RJ’s used to fit me ok, they were just a little lower rise than I preferred. The Sarafina didn’t fit me that well then, but now… who knows. I am on the struggle bus in a big way.

It didn’t take long for me to become frustrated and lose interest in the breeches section of the website, and soon I found myself wandering around the rest of RW, updating my wishlist. Such a dangerous feature. It’s been a while since I really looked at what new stuff they’ve added though, and there were a few things that definitely caught my eye. Like this Micklem girth.

That’s pretty. I also don’t love either of my current girths so I’m always on the lookout for a potential replacement. This one is at the top of the list. It’s like they made it just for me, putting all that navy on there.

There were also a couple shirts I liked, the new Lucy shirt from Romfh

which yes is kinda see-through in general, not just in the meshy spots, but it also seems very breezy. With a sports bra underneath it’s fine. No one ever really sees me riding at home anyway and the thought of getting a nice breeze is extremely appealing.

I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I like this Horseware top.

On one hand, I love tie-dye. I also love navy and green. I’m not totally sure if I love the execution here (I like it better from the back), but I’d still 100% wear it.

The other things that made the wishlist were more basic – Megan is sponsored by Pro Choice and has these pads for XC so I’ve gotten to see them in action and up close.

Henry has sheepskin ones of course but I really like these pads for Presto. I’ve been impressed by all the Pro Choice pads I’ve seen lately, they’re really nice and have a lot of well-thought-out features. It pulls up into the spine really well, the lining is really wicking, and I like the reinforced area at the leg. Plus the white with navy trim option is pretty, and it’s a proper navy, not too bright. I’ve been going back and forth between this one and an Ecogold pad for him but I think this one is gonna win in the end since it’s considerably cheaper.

The last thing to make my list is the new Deluxe version of the Quick Knot braiding clips.

Y’all know I love my original Quick Knots, so I’m keen to see what the 2.0 version is like. Granted, I still have like half a pack left from the ones I bought a few years ago, so I don’t have a need for more anytime soon. Someone else try them out and tell me how they compare.

What’s making your wishlist lately? Any other new stuff I “need” to see?