for research purposes only

Okie dokie folks. It's almost Christmas. We're all seasonal and spirited and whatnot around these parts, after what was a pretty desperately sad couple weeks there. Ya know. Losing my best boy Charlie and all that. So. We are shopping.

sweet raggamuffin <3
maybe one day i'll buy you clothes that fit LOL

Owning two horses was always a pretty big stretch for me, even more so after the barn move last summer. My dollars have been intensely managed and strategically spent for a while now, even as essential equipment like my own footwear fell into disrepair. 

oooh but i actually finally bought myself some NICE boots!

But not long after losing Charlie, I spied a sweet pair of Dubarry's at Maryland Saddlery that fit like they were made for me -- and determined that if they were still there by the first price markdown, I'd buy them! Well. When an unexpected gift card showed up from work -- it was time!! Yay for shoes with no holes in them!! 

ahem, cough cough, and something else came home with me too... ON TRIAL lol

Aaaaand ya know. While I was thereeee.... I did a quick scan of the used saddle inventory and snagged an attractive looking County dressage saddle to take on trial. Ya know. Just for shits 'n giggles et cetera. As one does.

could this be the face of a mare ready for a more grown up dressage saddle????

I rode Doozy in a few different dressage saddles months ago when we were first getting going, but it was pretty clear that she wasn't quite ready for that level of me sitting down on her, that level of contact. Now, tho? Honestly, I think she's ready!

welllllll i knew the dimensions were wrong when i picked it up

And let's be real. I'm probably never going to be a very elegant looking rider with particularly correct equitation and all that. I'm getting too old and spend too much time curled around a computer on the daily... Plus I don't have enough supervision while riding to avoid reinforcing all those habits. Strong in all the wrong ways, ya know? C'est la vie. 

but still good enough for a little "active sitting," yes? for science, obvi

Having a well fitting dressage saddle for both me and the mare will help tho. Won't magically fix me (or the mare). But will make some aspects of riding easier. So maybe I'll start looking around, right? Nothing urgent, but keeping my eyes open.

the critter is ready
also omg her epic eyelash kills me

This particular saddle was kinda obviously not going to be a winner regardless -- it's a 17" medium tree, whereas I'm more like an 18" and Doozy is fairly narrow. But it is very nice, was well priced, and I figured at the very least, there may be a couple other folks at my barn who might wanna take it for a test ride too. 

"all dressed up"

A barn mate and I were planning a light hack anyway, so I padded up the saddle and slapped on the stirrups and leathers from Charlie's jump saddle (which is also offered for sale through Maryland Saddlery, price negotiable -- please consider sharing with anyone you know who is looking!) and called it good enough! 

super nice boots and saddle can't hide that we still kinda just look like hobos LOL
also, what was i thinking with all these shades of red???? 

Obvi the first order of business was dropping the stirrups by like 3 holes haha... And even so, you can see there's room to go farther. I really appreciated some of the geometry from this saddle, my leg felt very natural the way it hung down, and the saddle has a very close contact feel that made it easy to not get tempted into drawing my heel up.

lol super nice saddle and i still ride like Le Potato

It's obviously too small for me -- my knees were up against the block and I was a bit squished in the seat. Still tho, it was fairly pleasant to ride in.

emma. c'mon. shorten your reins for the love of all things holy!

We popped into the indoor briefly just so I could trot around a little bit on video to assess Doozy's soundness post-abscess but pre-clinic, just to be sure. And idk what it is about how I ride when I'm being videoed "just to see how she goes." Bc apparently I don't ride at all. It's kinda annoying actually lol bc then I watch the video and am like, "Emma wtf tho?" 

still can't manage to sit my ass up, but leg drape looks decent! lol....

Like, the mare looks fine but I'm just like... idk haha... this is why I need to get video more often of my rides LOL -- accountability, yo. There's no drug quite like the feeling of, "Omg is THAT what I look like???" Ahem. Anyway.

extremely close contact down the flaps -- something that is a MUST for me, personally

I might ride in the saddle again just for shits 'n giggles --- like to actually try to do a better job of like... Sitting up etc and taking advantage of the naturally draped long leg this saddle produces. Some other folks from my barn are going to try it too. So it'll stick around for probably the full trial period.

these full size blocks are out of fashion these days, which may explain this saddle's excellent price

And I might google around looking for other specifications of the same model -- just a quick bit of browsing makes it seem like they aren't exactly rare saddles, and many are well priced.

it's in lovely condition tho!

More realistically, tho, I'll probably just keep grabbing the occasional trial saddle from Maryland Saddlery just to test out. Everything looks nice in photos and whatnot, but nothing beats the actual physical trial IMO. So why not take advantage of this local free source, right? Esp now that I'm a little closer geographically at the new barn than previously.

"the best deal is no deal tho" -- sensible barn cat

Or maybe Santa will park a big beautiful perfect custom saddle under my tree this year??? Lol... A girl can dream, right? Anybody else dreaming of new saddles this season??

room to reboot

Doozy was down and out for about a week or so with some sort of generic hoof complaint. Suspected abscess, but also possibly just a bruise. I never saw her get truly hobble-y crippled - tho my barn manager said she was kinda hopping a bit while I was out of town for two days. 

Salem the cat is less 'barn panther' and more... 'roll-y-poll-y guacamole' LOL

Regardless, we never saw any drainage or defect but there were like two straight days of rainy muddy conditions that effectively produced nonstop foot soak conditions LOL. 

he loves his sun puddles too

And by the time I went to sit on the mare?? She was sound, yay!! But omg WILD. So wild omg. Not naughty at all, and not like, leaping and whistling around like she used to... But I was definitely sitting on explosive material lol... And found it pretty.... not ideal to be sharing space and giving way to a group of lesson kiddos. 

the red indoor is shorter length-wise but maybe wider than the big blue indoor. it's usually filled with beginner lessons tho, so we virtually never ride there

That's apparently the reality of wintertime riding at this new place, tho. There are a LOT of lessons every weeknight, in both indoors. And the outdoor isn't lit, nor does the footing seem to tolerate winter wetness. Normally it's not a big deal for just sorta going through our paces, but it's basically impossible to properly school the mare indoors amid most lesson groups.

it's slightly spooky since it's lower relative to outside activity, but the dimensions are surprisingly pleasant!

Fortunately, tho, we got lucky this weekend and found blocks of time on both days for getting into each indoor by ourselves! Obvi I would have preferred being outdoor anyway during daylight, but it's too wet and mucky. Alone indoors is good enough, tho!

regardless, it's nice to have enough space to actually school the wild animal

I hadn't ridden Doozy in the red square-ish indoor since one of our earliest days on the farm, when she found the ring unbearably spooky and distracting. Honestly, I've avoided it since then. 

But, eh, I knew we needed space to just... canter, and school her through the wildness --- circling when we needed to circle, without risking collisions with wayward lesson kiddos who cut off entire ends of the ring (thus essentially shrinking what is already limited shared space....).

lookin majestic, Dooz!

And we had some fun cavalleti options in there too -- 3 poles set in an arc through one corner, then I spaced lines of 2 slightly raised poles with one line at about 9' and the other at about 21'. Perfect for just kinda remembering our footwork and reaffirming gymnastic type practice, since it honestly feels like it's been forever. 

fast forward to the holiday party at charlie's barn <3 <3
we tried to relive the magic from that time Sandra, my cousin and I decorated gingerbread men and charles gobbled them up so enthusiastically i almost lost a finger in the process LOL
(also -- check out Bourbon's sweet white eyeliner!!)

And Doozy was good!! I wasn't sure how trotting the poles would go given her serious energy, but omg she could still trot the poles -- all of the exercises!! Good mare, yay for remembering your lessons <3

unfortunately i chose the wrong kit - these cookies had chocolate flavoring that the horses didn't love...

Cantering was a little harder. Well, actually, the 3 poles bending around a corner went surprisingly well almost every single time --- definitely gonna try to replicate that exercise more often bc Doozy aced it!

Pork the Pig ate them happily tho <3 <3

The straight lines at slightly short distances were a little harder tho. Doozy was kinda back to making a bit of a bid for the fences, and I honestly just have a hard time, esp riding indoors, of knowing if I'm riding forward enough, too forward, or too backward. I guess that's why we do the ground poles tho -- it's a good barometer of our pace and balance, with relatively low consequences if we botch the exercises. 

omg we got the big ring all to ourselves this weekend too!! and got to set up all our favorite exercises!! (spy that 21' line of big X's??)

It was also a good session for tuning both our eyes up a bit, since I knew I wanted to jump this weekend -- after an almost 3 week hiatus. And y'all know me. It's like, if I didn't jump yesterday, maybe I've never actually jumped before in my life LOL. 

good girls get post ride snacks. well. bad girls too LOL, but doozy is good <3

We made it happen yesterday tho! I set my exercises conservatively --- gave myself an X with a placing pole set at 9', a line of Xs set at 21' (seems to be Doozy's comfortable schooling distance for a one-stride), and then everything else ranging in height from about 2' to 2'5. 

It's so funny to me how shorter poles on shorter standards can make indoor jumps look GIANT... So I gave myself a break and made everything really inviting.

gotta love how effectively she snuffled that expensive platinum performance out of the way from her tasty grain morsels

Doozy was still a bit wild tho omg... Started off with making a bit of a bid for the fences again. Not rudely, but definitely in a way that made me grateful for having set the placing pole at our warm up fence! And the one-stride grid actually rode great for us! Was visually interesting enough to make her not rush quite as much, and she stayed the straightest down the line that she ever has, good girl!!

just tryin to put some meat on these bones!

The singles were all mostly fine too --- I just tried to stay really connected through my entire inseam (hip to heel!), and connected to the bridle too. We didn't have any crazy pearl-clutching moments, so that's nice, but it definitely felt a little rusty LOL, esp with landing in a slightly more unspooled canter! 

"same" --- barn kitty, pleased with his 'catch'

Tho, a nice moment was when Doozy jumped a nice fence off the short diagonal, kinda landed racing off, but then I turned her a bit unexpectedly to catch the other diagonal fence (sorta making a sweeping "C" shaped turn from one corner jump to the next) and she actually gathered herself up and waited to the fence. Good girl.

it's holiday season here in baltimore -- check out these amazing parade participants i randomly saw cruising down Coldspring Ave by Hampden LOL

As with many of our regular rides, it wasn't necessarily ground breaking or anything big and important in and of itself. But rather, the act of doing it, practicing, going through the exercises together is so important for keeping us feeling confident and strong. 

omgosh look at this sweet holiday gift from a barn mate!! 

That strength piece especially is still lacking a bit for Doozy. Now that she lets me sorta 'ride' her more, I'm hoping to make a little more progress on helping her grow strength in the right ways to continue improving how she carries herself. 

But it is a long road, ya know? Especially when we feel kinda limited in our ability to dig into the schooling while threading the needle dodging lesson kiddos haha.... For now, I'm just happy to be back on the horse, and checking off a few 'preparations' boxes in hopes that next week's clinic pans out. Wish us luck :D

charlie's grooming essentials

I cleared my stuff off of Charlie's stall wall and from the tack room pretty quickly, since it was almost the end of the month and I know his barn has a wait list. 

They haven't actually filled his stall yet (<3) but obviously it's a business and boarding margins are tough. And I sure as hell wasn't going to put my barn manager in a position where she felt like she had to urge me along in what might be a delicate sad task, ya know? 

sweet beautiful charles <3

It took a little longer to gather up his grooming supplies tho... Mostly bc it was in more 'shared space' and therefore not likely to be in anybody's way. Plus. Ya know. Stuff like this tends to get a little bit "mousier" if ya know what I mean, and I didn't want to put it into my car until I could go directly to Doozy's barn to store it. 

'twas a LOT of real estate for a horse who knew how to get down 'n dirty!

Finally, tho, I picked it all up last weekend, and the last of Charlie's balancer -- which Doozy will polish off for him. (He bequeathed his equioxx to a barn buddy <3).

my shelf-o-supplies

A lot of you shared advice last summer about how to go about splitting supplies between two barns -- especially as it relates to items that should be duplicated, vs what should just stay in one place to be gathered as needed. 

the basket is nice for keeping everything together, but the zipper bag is essential for pest control

So. Eh. Let's go through my supplies and see where things landed, yes? I'll say right off the bat -- it takes me a LONG TIME to move into a space, and I still didn't really feel fully unpacked at Charlie's barn. Some of these items are mostly a reflection of our most immediate needs, vs what you'd expect after years in one place. 

the ickiest stuff stayed outside the bag

Case in point: Charlie had a few different hoof complaints in recent months. One very large abscess in a hind foot, and a smaller (but extremely dramatic one) up front. We ended up treating the hind toe with the iodine spray for quite a while after since the defect was huge and icky -- this spray helped to keep it clean and eventually harden up. 

The Kopertox was what eventually finished off Charlie's thrush from when he first moved. It's strong stuff tho -- toxic smell, I only handled with gloves and applied with the brush you see above. We used Tomorrow paste (which you'll see in later pictures) to get down into the deep sulcrus -- and that took care of the most acute stage of the thrush infection. 

pictured: our daily essentials

For day to day grooming, tho, my practice really hasn't changed in years. I like the cheapie old school curry combs to do all the big work, and then a natural fiber body brush (medium stiffness) to finish the job -- with some spritzes of a nice grooming spray for some shine. Tail Tamers paddle brushes worked best on Charlie's thick hair, and imho any old hoofpick will do.

smells sweet, keeps the dust down, and prevents accidental static zaps on that giant smooshy schnoz <3

The spray is maybe a newer addition to the toolkit, and was among the recommendations from y'all when I shared Charlie's extreme sadness whenever he got zapped with static. I liked this particular brand bc it smelled nice, had safe kid-friendly ingredients, and was inexpensive. Who doesn't love that? 

what you don't see: hours and hours of playful interactivity while grooming

Naturally, all of Charlie's brushes bear the telltale marks of what it was like to groom an interactive and mouthy horse haha. I know there are a lot of different opinions (and for a lot of very GOOD reasons) on these types of behaviors.... But let's be real. Charlie was my pet and I enabled the shit out of him lol.

looked a bit like this <3

Plus he was just fun to play with LOL -- can't you totally see how something like this could have evolved into painting pictures with the right training?? 

stuff that gets used often enough to be worth duplicating at each farm

I digress. Back to the supplies. Starting left to right: 

I finally brought dedicated saddle soap and a rag to the barn since Charlie was getting ridden more frequently and his tack had been neglected. I love this Belvoir stuff! Zip ties are always nice to have on hand. Alushield and Swat are sufficient for most minor wounds and abrasions imo. MTG is my favorite for skin funk, esp down the legs. 

I like the Cowboy Magic detangler for those long slow dedicated tail brushing sessions. HoofMaker Hand & Nail lotion is also necessary for reducing static zappage in the dry months. Gauze pads just have to get stored somewhere the mice can't get to. These curved tip flushing syringes are my favorite too. Hydrocortisone cream for those nasty bug bites that take forever to heal. And scissors, obvi. 

fun (in a loving sad sorta way) side story: the woman who handled removing charlie was literally the nicest person in the world. my barn manager coordinated everything (for which i'm eternally grateful), but i called her up after it was done to pay the bill etc and we ended up chatting for like 15min. we talked about charlie and his life and all the lovely things, and she mentioned that she saw i'd gotten his tail, and "some of his mane too." guys. no... i didn't take any of his mane, i'd just, ya know, done what i do to it a few days prior. omg. we had a nice little laugh about that too tho <3 <3

And we alllll know what I like to do with those scissors LOL....

again, not a complete medical cabinet, but stuff that's good to just have on hand

Anyway. With all the abscess shenanigans, I'd had to bring a fair amount of wrapping supplies to Charlie's barn. Duct tape, vet wrap, Elastikon (get the brand name stuff guys, just take my word for it). Plus Animalintex poultice pads and sponge gauze (for heel bulb pillows to prevent chafing).

Other odds and sods in the box include the aforementioned Tomorrow paste (it's technically mastitis treatment for cows, but is great for thrush and the long slender applicator tip gets it exactly where it needs to go), brown cling gauze, gloves, a pill crusher, and some other stuff that just lived in that box. Wooden sticks for mixing meds etc. 

last little bits of supplies

Rounding out the collection -- a giant fresh tub of Epsom salts**, more iodine scrub, and a bottle of shampoo. Plus Charlie's fly boots, bell boots, and the size 4 cloud boot that got him comfortable and back into a normal routine after the latest abscess. 

(**Pro Tip: don't buy horse-branded tubs like this, just get a bag from your local CVS or similar pharmacy, it's wayyyyy less expensive and exactly the same stuff!)

the wildest wallower <3

Not included in the above is my more 'complete' medical cabinet, which still lives inside my trailer, more or less. Obvi the barn had drugs available in case of urgent need, but for the most part if I needed bute or something I'd just bring it over in baggies. 

he loved to get dirty + he loved to be groomed, a perfect combination <3

Even so, it still feels pretty utilitarian. Especially considering just how much horse stuff I actually have, it's wild to me that we got by day to day with so few essentials. 

Presumably the collection would have continued to grow, tho --- like stable bandages / standing wraps are an item I would expect to eventually see wherever Charlie lived. And SMZs LOL.... Somehow homeboy spent his entire tenure at #ClubMed without a single stint on antibiotics, can you believe it?? 

I dunno tho. Anything missing from the above that you couldn't imagine going without in your day to day horsing? 

my dooz

I've never appreciated Doozy more than these past two weeks, she's been my absolute rock. So sweet, so pleasant to be around. It's been such a relief to just stay completely immersed with her.

sweet mare

She had a chiro / acupuncture appt scheduled for the morning after Charlie died, which... Honestly wasn't super ideal bc I was pretty wrecked. Hadn't really slept, had awful puffy eyes from crying so much... and that terrible splitting headache you get from all the associated stuffy sinuses and jaw clenching... Like literally sore from grief.  

the gentlest at treats

But I didn't want to cancel the appt, it'd been scheduled for weeks in advance... so ya know. We carry on. Tho I did opt to sneak into the barn a little early for a solo hack-about first. Doozy is the sort of horse who requires your full attention while riding her -- in a way that felt clarifying and cleansing after a night of being overwhelmed and bogged down by my own thoughts. 

she's still not convinced about acupuncture LOL

And she was good for her appointment too!! She doesn't exactly love these sessions in the same way that Charlie did. She's a little defensive and unsure of all the adjusting, and straight up indignant about the acupuncture. Pulling faces, thrashing her tail, stomping her feet, like, "Bitch did you just stab me??"

luckily she doesn't need extensive treatment 

Hopefully she'll learn to love it lol, bc I'm such a big fan of this practitioner and really appreciate her perspective on my horse's condition. Last time she saw Doozy, she spent a long time working through a lot of tension the mare was holding in her back. After which, Doozy had that sort of breakthrough in her flatwork about stretching etc. 

she has the ittiest bittiest snip

And this time the practitioner confirmed my suspicion that Doozy really hasn't reverted back to that tension since then. Like, obviously the mare is high energy and slightly chaotic and is the sort that will likely get comments about 'tension' on her dressage tests... But she hasn't been really 'frantic' at all and it's honestly really nice!

chose the coldest morning yet to ship out for a dressage lesson

That appt was two weeks ago now, and with all the time off around Thanksgiving it was good timing to just keep my head down and keep chugging along with Doozy. 

We had some nice flat rides, and one day right before Thanksgiving when the weather was gorgeous and our outdoor footing was in perfect shape and we snuck outside for a little jump around! Nothing crazy -- but appropriately sized fences and even a nice oxer. Just enough to keep us going along.

i got a little artsy fartsy taking pictures of the frost

And then the next weekend had a dressage lesson with Trainer C --- again, something that had already been on the books for a couple weeks.

i remembered to take doozy's bridle into the truck cab to warm the bit, but neglected to do the same for my helmet and boots -- whoops lol

Both the jump school and the dressage lesson were instructive on kinda the same themes. Now that Doozy understands her job more, and is a bit less explosive, I need to be careful about not getting too quiet. 

mare didn't seem to care tho

It's fine to slow down the pace and tempo --- but we are ready to try adding more activity, more 'bounce per ounce,' more oomph. Which is a kinda strange feeling after spending so many months barely able to trot at all lol. 

is it just me or are we making progress on her tail?? 
also... she went backwards a bit condition-wise with the drought killing all the grass a bit sooner than round bales were ready... tho a few folks said they think she's grown so that might be part of it too 

But now that the mare isn't springing immediately into canter the second I stop holding her back, and isn't making a mad dash at every fence... I need to be a better steward of our balance and impulsion. It's definitely an interesting new phase in the work. 

one of her new friends also took a giant chunk out of her shoulder omg

Tho ya know. Doozy IS still a horse. She gave me a perfect week of rides as distraction from my sadness about Charlie, before deciding it was her turn again. 

fast forward a week and i audited a clinic! was supposed to ride, but ya know. #horses

And she was very instructive in her own way. I went through our normal walking warm up, except Doozy straight up would.not soften her topline. And like. Was in a bit of a fuss about it. And I used every single trick and technique I know for getting her to soften, like, "Mare, You KNOW how to do this!" and she was like, "UGH you never listen to me!!"

i swear this mare has the worst skin of anything i've ever managed before

It was actually kinda frustrating, until after maybe 15min of walking around like this, I finally was like, "ugh ok close enough, let's just trot." At which point she hobbled into a terrible crippled trot. Lame AF.

Ah. Yes. I see. That explains that. I understand now lol, sorry mare! 

she's constantly sprouting new patches of rain rot

Seems to be a run of the mill bruise or abscess, but naturally was timed just perfectly to miss out on a clinic we'd entered at another lovely local farm. Womp. 

mare. just be endearing pls!
(also, she inherited Charlie's blankets <3 )

It's always something, right? I'd sent in that clinic entry weeks ago, and actually ditto for another one later this month. Hopefully she'll be better in time for that... we'll see I guess. I still went and audited my friend's lesson in this past weekend's clinic tho just to check out the instruction. It looked like a really positive session so hopefully there will be future opportunities. 

just like that <3

So. Ya know. It's a rollercoaster with horses. Still nowhere else I'd rather be tho <3 Cross your fingers that Doozy is feeling better soon!! And in the meantime... at least we're caught back up again around here.