Page 423

What’s red and yellow and slower than christmas?

Published on February 19, 2015February 19, 2015 by Amanda C30 Comments

DHL!

I knew it was going to a while to get my saddle. I knew DHL sucked. None of this is news to me – I expected it. I wasn’t even surprised when my tracking number didn’t work for the first few days and DHL’s answer was “we don’t know, ask this other branch of DHL”. Thaaaaanks… fantastic customer service. Glad y’all are on the ball.

But even though I knew in advance that they sucked, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to whine about it sitting in Germany for week doing absolutely nothing. For real:

February 13, 2015 , 12:31 pm	Processed Through Sort Facility	GERMANY
February 6, 2015 , 6:19 am	Processed Through Sort Facility	GERMANY
February 4, 2015 , 1:37 pm	Acceptance	GERMANY

Yep, it came in on the 6th and went out on the 13th. This gives me so many sads. My poor little Devoucoux just sat there in it’s box for an entire week, in the dark, feeling unloved. It’s going to need therapy when it finally gets here.

Where is it now, you ask, 15 days into it’s journey? In the US! Now it’s officially in the hands of the USPS, another fine establishment that I have oh so much faith in. Could be a couple more days, could be a couple more weeks… who really knows? But it’s in San Francisco. Because Germany to San Francisco to Texas is the most logical route.

February 15, 2015 , 7:28 am

Processed Through Sort Facility

ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS)

To add another level of complexity (now I’m annoyed with YOU, USPS) I get this message yesterday

February 18, 2015 , 10:41 am

Processed Through Sort Facility

ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS)


Your item has been processed through our sort facility in ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS) at 10:41 am on February 18, 2015.

Inbound Into Customs

Inbound into customs? 3 days after it’s processed into customs? WTF does that even mean? I give up.

It occurs to me now that I should have done a contest to see who could guess the actual arrival date. Winner gets a bottle of Xanax? C’mon USPS, prove me wrong for once!

Knowing my luck it’ll show up the day before I leave for Europe, because fate is a cruel mistress. To add insult to injury, my latest package from PS of Sweden will be here tomorrow. It left Sweden yesterday.

As an aside – I’m likely going to be selling my Frank Baines, assuming the Devoucoux works for us. I have a lot of accessories that I don’t need anymore either (as in – almost 2 whole extra bridles, a girth, a couple special pads, leathers, and irons)… does it appeal to you more as a buyer to have lots of accessories come with a saddle? Personally I’d rather lump it all together and get rid of it all at once rather than parse it out, even if it means getting less total money in the end, but I’m not sure if offering it as a package deal is going to be more or less appealing to buyers.

Brains before brawn: a rant

Published on February 17, 2015February 18, 2015 by Amanda C28 Comments

We’ve all seen them. Someone who decides the warm-up ring at a show is the right place to drill lead changes, getting increasingly angry and liberal with the whip at every failed attempt. The person whose horse is mentally not prepared for the work they’re trying to do, so they end up yanking the horse to a stop repeatedly and seesawing on the mouth out of frustration. The rider whose spooky horse is hesitant about something and they yank the horse around, yelling and whaling away before the horse even knows what’s happening.

Unfortunately something I see a lot of on a pretty regular basis is people picking fights with horses while they’re riding. I don’t get up on my preachy soapbox very often on this blog, but this is one thing I just don’t get and it drives me nuts. Horses are very rarely obstinate under saddle just for the sake of being obstinate. It’s much more likely that they’re a) confused by what you’re asking b) not prepared for what you’re asking – either mentally or physically – or c) hurting. Trying to force them into doing something and letting our emotions take control creates a situation where no one wins. Either the human ends up frustrated or hurt, or the horse ends up frustrated, upset, and likely resentful.

Why buy trouble?

As humans, we have brains (well most of us). We can think logically, foresee how different scenarios could play out, and make intelligent decisions. Horses are creatures that are very much “in the now”. They react to the situations they’re put in, to their surroundings, what they’re being asked to do, and how they’re being asked to do it. We as humans can control a lot of that, and therefore can in essence choose to avoid situations that probably won’t turn out favorably. I’m not saying avoid situations as in “Snookums doesn’t want to go in that corner, so we’ll just avoid that half of the ring”. I’m saying that we take a moment to instead ask ourselves how we can, in a way, outsmart Snookums and get him into that corner without resorting to manhandling and frustrating both parties. Basically using your brains – not your brawn. It’s possible in almost every scenario if you set your emotions aside and think instead of react.

Remember that saying? It’s really true. For myself personally, when I encounter disobedience in a horse the first thing I ask myself is why. Was the horse properly prepared for what I asked? Did I ask correctly? Is there some outside factor – mental or physical – that is preventing the horse from responding appropriately? Nine times out of ten the resolution to the disobedience can be found within the answers to those questions (which is why I think a good trainer is so important – to help us mere mortals figure out where we’re making mistakes). Sometimes it’s as simple as us asking in a way that wasn’t understood very well. Other times it’s the horse saying “I’m so wigged out right now, I can’t handle this” in which case you can take a step back, find something to un-wig them, and ask again.

There’s also nothing in the world to be gained by yanking/kicking/beating/yelling. To the people that then try to justify their idiotic behavior by blaming their horses for being jerks: I’ll say it… you’re the jerk. Our hands and legs aren’t weapons, they’re aids. Same with a whip and spur. I can’t even imagine what people are expecting to accomplish when they take out their temper and lack of riding skill on their horse. There’s a difference between a firm “No, I said do this” reprimand and flat out abuse, and IMO I see the line blurred way too often when a human’s temper takes control. C’mon people, we’re better that. I don’t know about you but I’d rather be a thinking rider who sets the horse up for success, not the reacting rider who punishes and frustrates. If you regularly find yourself in fights with your horse, you’re doing something wrong, and maybe it’s time to seek professional help.

Of course – yes, sometimes horses are in fact just plain disobedient. But we can make a correction swiftly and succinctly then move on without holding a grudge or losing our temper, and subsequently reward them when they do it right. My real grumble here is the people that choose to start a fight where there never had to be one in the first place. It’s just not fair to the horse.

Take a look at this except from the USDF website: “its purpose is to develop the horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to work making him calm, supple and attentive to his rider.” We don’t get those things with force, hysterics, and emotion. We get it with tact, fairness, and intelligence.

Review: Bobbigee’s custom baby pads

Published on February 17, 2015 by Amanda C23 Comments

I am and always have been a lover of the baby pad, but as most of you already know by now, I am and always have been really picky too. I don’t like pads that are too short, too long, have straps where I don’t want them, don’t have straps where I do want them, are a weird shape, or a weird fabric. Plus I want them in particular colors. Good luck with that.

For a long time I used Wilker’s baby pads, and I liked them fine but didn’t love them. Then I tried the Eous pads since they had the wither contour and girth straps but they were super long so I had to cut them down to fit (which involved taking them apart at the top, cutting down, and re-sewing. Total PITA). Finally I came across Bobbigee’s on eBay, saw their huge list of options, and decided to give them a try.

My first order was tentative – one for me and two for friends. I didn’t get any special options except piping (base price of $18 includes your choice of trim color and a name or monogram embroidery) because I mostly just wanted to see what they looked and felt like. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality – I liked them more than my Wilkers for sure – so I ordered a couple more. I’ve been using the same few pads in rotation for over a year now and they still look great.

One of the best things about BobbiGee’s IMO is all the custom options. From a wither contour cut to girth straps to thickness to length to colors to embroidery, they can make just about anything you want, and for very affordable prices. To get a custom one-color logo put on one side of the pad is $3.50, or you can do both sides for $5! I haven’t found a price like that – with zero minimum and zero fee to convert to digital image – anywhere else. Not to mention that every logo they’ve done for me has come out really well. They obviously take the time and effort to do it right, and it shows. The finish of the pads is really well done too, the trim and piping are straight and sewn without flaw – very professionally done.

As can be common with baby pads due to how thin they are, I had a few problems with my regular basic rectangle ones slipping back sometimes. So when I had my new $900 fb pony logo pads made, this time I opted for a wither contour cut ($9) and girth loops ($4). That did the trick perfectly, and now I have zero issues with my pad moving. I also really love how the upgrades made it look – very classy!

Bobbigee’s pads are made of basic cotton with polyester batting. No rocket science materials here but they hold up well and do their job well. My white ones of course have gotten a little stained over time although the fabric just seems to get softer and softer with each wash, and the stitching and embroidery have been rock solid. I haven’t had any issues with colors bleeding or the pads shrinking, although I line dry them and then toss them in the dryer for a few seconds on low heat. The standard dimensions have worked really well for me (using a 17.5″ CWD and an Ogilvy) but Brandy’s dressage pad is too short across the top, so if you’re ordering for a dressage saddle or a larger seat size, double check the dimensions you need against their standard dimensions. They will make custom sizes if you need it.

Ordering is a little odd since they don’t have their website completed, but you can either do it through their eBay listing or directly via email to bobbi@bobbigees.com, and they also have a facebook page. Sometimes it takes a couple days to get a response but IMO these pads are worth the wait.

Weekend recap: we did derpssage and have video to prove it

Published on February 16, 2015 by Amanda C31 Comments

I admit that I was nervous for my dressage lesson on Saturday. Big sticks and technical courses? No worries. A 20 x 40 empty rectangle? OH MY GOD. Yep, I know, my psyche makes total sense. In my defense I haven’t had a dressage lesson in like 2 1/2 months, plus this was my first time riding with Martin the dressage man extraordinaire. What if he thought I was an idiot? Ok, well, he would probably know within 30 seconds that I was in fact an idiot, but what if he thought I was a hopeless idiot??? I got to the barn with a little extra time to spare so I could get on early, re-acquaint myself with the dressage saddle (no the Devoucoux isn’t here yet), see if I could remember how to sit up, and get Henry thinking forward. As soon as I got on I kinda wished I’d grabbed my spurs, but otherwise he warmed up ok. Martin arrived, we talked briefly about Henry’s history, my history, what I thought our weak points were, and what we were trying to accomplish. Then he put us to work.

Turns out I’m kind of in love with Martin. Here’s the thing: some trainers just don’t “get” all horses. And with Henry (as with a lot of TB’s) it’s really really important that you understand how he thinks, because it’s 90% mental with him. He tries really hard but he also has to feel like you’re being fair, he has to keep his confidence at all times, and you can’t ask too much of him at once – he will implode. He’s really just getting started with this dressage stuff and he’s simply not there yet with a lot of things, so there’s a fine line between teaching him something and making him frustrated. Martin immediately spotted that line, and while he took us right up to it several times, he never pushed us over it. Mistakes were no big deal, perfection was not required, he just had to make a solid effort. Henry stayed relaxed the whole time, we had a couple of “a-ha” moments, and I had a better horse at the end. Was it a dramatic, amazing, night and day difference? Of course not. These things take time. A lot of time. But we made some baby steps and I have good homework.

The first thing he honed in on was how Henry really hasn’t released his back/hind end and truly gotten himself engaged from behind. As he stated “He looks lovely going around on a 20 meter circle but in the lateral work you can see it”. Bingo. This has been our struggle. So we worked on a few exercises to get him to start thinking about really crossing those hind legs over and engaging the hind end. We got a few good steps as we went along, which is I think as much progress as you can ask for in a 45 minute time frame. Martin also immediately honed in on some of my own issues: “don’t turn your toe out” (my h/j trainers spent all of the 90’s trying to get my toe out and my calf on – stop messing with my head, dressage), “open your shoulders”, and “heels down, let your leg drape” (I swear I’ve ridden before). He also asked if I’ve ever ridden Henry in a spur. Cue sheepish “um… yes… I didn’t think to grab them today…”

I think my favorite exercise was cantering a square. I could really feel Henry step up under himself and “jump” in the canter stride on the square turns, which was very cool. We also did some half turns on the forehand at the walk, which was difficult for both of us but after a few tries he started to get it and crossed over quite well for a few steps behind. Overall Martin was very complimentary of him and said he liked how pleasant he looked, he especially liked his canter, and said I’d done a good job with him. That warmed the cackles of my cold dark heart.

The extra awesome thing is that Brandy’s hubby got lots of video! And you can actually hear Martin pretty clearly if you turn up the volume, so it’s like having a mini-lesson all over again. When I put all the clips together it was too big to load on Vimeo so I had to break them up.

Martin Lesson 1 from amanda chance on Vimeo.

Martin lesson 2 from amanda chance on Vimeo.

Martin lesson 3 from amanda chance on Vimeo.

Sunday we went for a fun gallop out in the front hay field. Today unfortunately it’s rainy, so we’ll see what the week brings depending on how much rain we get.

Happy Birthday Henry!

Published on February 13, 2015 by Amanda C21 Comments

Happy Friday the 13th, Happy Day before Valentine’s Day, and Happy Birthday to the one and only He’salmostsweet aka Happenstance aka Henrypants!

And all the outtakes

I’m just not even talking to you right now.

We celebrated last night with treats for the ponies and cupcakes for the humans. Henry, as you can imagine, was thrilled with my hat idea. Pretty sure he’s plotting his revenge as we speak. For his “birthday ride” (since I can’t go out today) I picked his favorite thing and jumped him in his side pull, just a few fences but I put them up around 3′, and he was super. God he just goes so well in that thing. Then we went for a walk down the road with his buddy Auto and I stuffed him full of the rest of his Carat Cake when we were done. He thinks those are DELICIOUS.

I’m barnsitting this weekend but have a dressage lesson on Saturday. Is it weird that dressage lessons make me nervous and pretty much nothing else does? Scary scary dressage.