Monday, October 30, 2017

things that make me happy: in pictures

Happy Monday, everyone! The general impression seems to be that Fall has officially descended on most states (excepting, naturally, the most southern and western among you) -- and in some case, winter has actually already arrived.

Normandale Lake in Minneapolis 
Things in Maryland are dialing up the wattage into full on gorgeous fall, finally.

duck butts!!!!
Unfortunately tho, we've been so dry for so long that the show probably won't be that impressive. Oh well. Can't complain too much about nice weather!

pretty pretty pretty
I've gotten to appreciate our mild temps tho by taking a brief foray up north to Minnesota for work. So sorry I missed you local bloggers!!! Next time for sure, as I'm up a couple times a year.

ermagerd eagle!!
For this time, tho, my work team was fairly well booked except for one gloriously free couple of hours spent wandering around a lake.

gosh i wish i had a better camera tho
Obviously I'm not the first horse person in the world to be like "wow nature is beautiful tho!" But yea, little wilderness breaks like these just make me feel so happy!

giiiiiiaaaaaaant tree stump
It's been especially tough lately too just bc I usually get my fix through trail rides and whatnot, but during Charlie's recovery that's been tricky. First bc .... well, obvi he was on stall rest. And then we didn't necessarily want to risk getting the site wet.

so pretty <3
But Charlie has since been cleared for all things walking: including up and down hills, over hill and dale, and through whatever streams may cross our paths.

shifting gears to the jaws theme song lol
Such a relief!!! I think Charlie has been appreciative of the time, too. I've actually been riding him for up to an hour or more -- walking all over the pace and even just standing around amid other friends as they ride.

these things are super convenient actually
Homeboy is officially off all his post-surgery meds too. Which like... Is kinda amazing to me. Poor guy has been on some sort of antibiotic, often with a painkiller too, for a while now.

fool proof dosage too
But he's free and clear again, which is great. Tho we'll keep the priobiotic train rolling for a little while longer just to help ensure his tummy stays healthy and happy (esp since he's still confined to stall rest).

These Probios gummies have been super convenient for our purposes. Slightly more expensive than the powder, but a safer bet when barn staff prefers pre-measured stuff.

only the best for sir!!
 (Also less likely to be murdered in cold blood if you have to pre-measure antibiotics AND probiotics into the same baggie for barn staff. I'm pretty sure Charlie's doxy straight up KO'd the probios powder I combined it with in baggies before realizing that maybe that wasn't a clever combination....)


aw but these two love each other
Anyway tho, Charlie continues to do well. We take a lot of walks. Nothing approximating "work" yet, but lots and lots of walks.


Both in hand and under saddle. It's especially gratifying to me to take him up in hand to the indoor and let him roll. Idk why haha, except that he REALLY seems to enjoy it. And naturally, in our most recent visit he very much enjoyed playing with the very very handsome pony on the other side of the wall.

They were fast friends indeed lol.

bc..... halloween?? oooooooh but those brown boots tho. those are intriguing indeed
Goofy pony. I swear, things he had never looked at when first turning into a riding horse are suddenly now new and intriguing as he rehabs. Maybe just bc he's bored out of his mind these days??? lol....

Izamonster!!!!!
I've been keeping my own self busy with ponies lately too. In the best possible way!

hard to tell who is happiest in this picture
I hinted a few weeks ago that I had plans for HRH Princess Isabel and her lease rider, and those plans finally came to fruition: We went to a local schooling dressage show.

I'm pretty sure this was lease rider M's first time doing stuff with a horse off property (tho she may have done a lesson off property in the past, I'm not sure), but this was definitely her first real off property competition and first off property outing with Isabel.

Actually, it was Izzy's first off property outing since I ended my lease on her. So. Ya know. It had been awhile.

airborne!!!!!!!!!!
And? They slayed.

these two horses are both by Admiral (by Enzio), of Ann McKay's Arab sport horse breeding program. the bay's dam was a thoroughbred, whereas Izzy's dam was an Arab x QH cross
It's so apparent that Izzy just adores M - it's so special to watch!

these two tho, such a team!
M's got a deep appreciation for both Arabs and dressage. And she's got quite the knack for allowing Izzy all the space she needs to move forward, while still being able to ask her for shape.

izzy freakin loves her
And obviously it was super gratifying for me to spend the day with them and show M just how cool of a customer Izzy can be at shows. Bc yea, Isabel continues to be the quintessential show pony. She LOVES it. Loves showing off, loves doing her thang.

And M had no idea. Sure, she had seen it before -- but without really realizing. Now that she's experienced it as the rider herself tho.... Well. She may or may not have been bitten by the horse show bug. Here's hoping!!

ahhh but there's our charlie sir!
Meanwhile, we just keep on keepin on over in Charlieland.

happily out walking between rain showers
And like.... It's a whole different sense of gratification. Where you wake up on a gray and dreary Sunday morning and just do.not.feel like driving out to the barn.

But you do it anyway.

And then you see the horse. And the horse is good. He's sweet, and interested, and happy to see you. Happy to have the opportunity to escape his box.

we took the road less traveled. and that has made all the difference.
Like that feeling where as soon as you see the horse, it's instantly worth all the effort it took to get there. And naturally we headed right on out for the trails.

photo doesn't do justice to the vividness of these yellow leaves
Charlie is still very much in a..... sassy period in his life haha. Hard to be anything else when you're a TB confined to a stall 24/7. But it's still so good for him to get out, even if it's just for half an hour. And it's good for me, too. Definitely counts as a thing that makes me happy haha.

happy charlie can't stand still for pictures
And so we keep on plugging away. Lots to be happy about for now, and lots more to look forward to. Hope you all had a pleasant and fun weekend as well!!!

42 comments:

  1. Nice batch of photos. How is Charlie doing with weaving while he's confined (i think he weaved but I could be wrong)? I'm glad that he's healing up so quickly. FYI my final time for two point was 8:40. I really wanted to get to 10 but just didn't have enough riding in to practice! But it was fun and got us out of our comfort zone and I found that riding in 2 point helped her to lift her back and carry herself so I'm going to keep it as part of our rides. Thanks for hosting (with Allie)!

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    1. Great final time! I'll have the results tabulated soon (once they're all in!). Charlie is doing well with the weaving since moving to the new farm in July. His stall has one of those u-shaped racing doors on it which makes a huge difference.

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  2. Oh man, quarter sheet weather! Beautiful photos. So happy to see an Izmonster cameo and bonus that she's got a girl she loves again who understands her.

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    1. I'm so happy for Izzy and her lease rider - they really have a good thing going! And yea omg quarter sheet weather... It's not that cold but it was drizzling so yea

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  3. glad you weren't gone off for work too long (But gorgeous photos) and glad Charlie is still being Charlie :) Glad you got to spend a day with Izzy and her peeps too!

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    1. I was happy to not be gone very long too! And esp happy to spend a day with Isabel!

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  4. Saturday I got a ride in before driving to Philly to visit friends (3 1/2 hours in a car, ugh) but even though I hustled back on Sunday before 2 pm so's to still have daylight for riding, the heavy rain and 48-degree temperatures killed my initiative. Daylight is going to be the real challenge here going forward, ugh.

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    1. Ugh yea I'm not looking forward to the time change at all, it's already sapping my motivation !!!

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  5. Brrr.. it is a chilly 32 this morning here in SC. I think winter decided to show up on the heels of a long summer this year. Charlie looks happy to be out and about again and look at Izzy! It is a common mistake, even in humans, to take a probiotic at the same time a the antibiotic but you are right. The antibiotic will jut kill off the bacteria in the probiotic. I advise all my human patients to spread them out by at least an hour.

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    1. Ughh that is cold :( also re: the probiotics I'm not sure ppl feed at the same time as they give antibiotics by mistake, rather I think it's just a consequence of necessity. Unless you are feeding all the meals yourself it's pretty challenging to get staff to do something like provide an additional med at some other time. Like the feeders at my barn won't even measure a scoop of anything - I have to have it all premeasured in baggies for them. So it was either "no probiotic" or "probably dead probiotic". These gummies are great for that tho bc I could feed them myself after a ride like a treat without needing to mix with grain. And I would guess that the live culture could survive being stuck in a baggie for a week with an antibiotic powder too.

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  6. so good to see sir charles between the ears. sounds like his recovery is going really well!! thats so exciting.

    i also like seeing isabel updates. shes soooo cute and fancy in dressage. its nice to see her happy!

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    1. it's really great to see isabel continue to do stuff - she's such a talented little mare! i'm glad the lease rider is enjoying her so much!

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  7. Such pretty pics! And I totally was about to make the same antibiotic/probiotic mistake until my mom pointed it out. Since Penn got mino at both meals, the staff was great and gave him his tube of GUT paste around lunch. The probios cookies are so convenient! I used them for a long time.

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    1. yea i mean.... my vet was basically like if that's what you gotta do then that's what you gotta do. feeding them all at the same time isn't optimal but... ya know. it's something, at least. the gummies are great for that tho!

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  8. Oh man. I did NOT want to go out to the barn yesterday either. It was so gross out. I felt bad taking off the little one's blanket in the driving rain, too. Still, felt good to go out!

    Those pictures of Isabel made me smile soooo much!!

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    1. yea waking up yesterday was tough. but actually it was a lot nicer than i had realized once i was actually out and riding around. and we only got drizzled on a little bit

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  9. Charlie is such a classy guy! You’re welcome to come ride/hug the donkey/etc any time you’re in MN :) I swear I’m not a crazy person! Also Isabel seems so happy to be back out - fingers crossed her leasee got the bug, because she looks like such fun to show!

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    1. definitely!! i'm usually only out for brief trips for meetings, but we occasionally have an evening free! i'll let you know!!

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  10. Definetly need to do a blogger meet up next time you’re up here :) I’m so glad to hear that rehab continues to go well and still jealous that you can do all that trail riding!

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    1. we are so fortunate to have all the trail riding - so fortunate! and i'm not even taking full advantage of it all either, since charlie is kinda too tall for me to reach a lot of the gates, plus he's not that great about gates anyway lol.

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  11. Even though you're not working per say, walking on the trails is soooo good for fitness! Will definitely help him bounce back faster. So cool about Isabel!

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    1. definitely! tho the little bit of time we spend walking is nothing in comparison to getting turnout when it comes to general fitness. we'll really see a difference in his fitness and ultimate recovery when he can get back out after finishing up his stall rest confinement!!

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  12. All of this made me smile! I am so happy Izzy has a great lease rider to carry on giving her the love. And going to the barn when you really don't want to, but having a heart horse waiting there for you to make it all worth it is just priceless.

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    1. so priceless. it's basically the best feeling haha, ponies make everything better!

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  13. The attack of the Charlie monster might be the cutest thing I've seen today! He's so interested and happy looking!

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    1. haha he's such a ferocious monster, right?? ;)

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  14. love all the pictures <3 So cool to see Izzy out doing her thang again!

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    1. it was a lot of fun getting to hang out with that mare again and see that she hasn't changed a bit and is still just as much of a professional!

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  15. So glad you're finding ways to enjoy fall in and out of the saddle. :-) It's such a beautiful season.

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    1. fall is my absolute favorite season :) i'm still super bummed to not be able to do as much with the season riding-wise as i had hoped, but c'est la vie!

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  16. Ah so happy for Isabel and her lease rider!

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  17. Walkies are always good. Better than frantic running around and spazzing out because the weather is cooler?

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  18. It looks so gorgeous where you are! I do miss fall. Vegas has no changing leaves lol. But those are my favorite rides - where no, you don't want to go, but you see the horse and they want to be out with you and you go on that super relaxing trail ride just to be riding and connected with them <3

    So glad that Izzy has another person to love her and that she loves back! It's good to see her cute face again :D.

    Aaaaaaand I only managed 3:12 for 2pt time this last week. FAIL lol

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    1. yea i definitely love fall weather and would be very sad to live somewhere that didn't really have a fall. my trail rides with charlie right now aren't quite so blissfully relaxing since he's..... pretty well wired lol after weeks of stall rest. but they're fun all the same!

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  19. As usual- we are the same person. I also adore those probios treats, and feed them to Rio (3 per day!). When he was on stall rest I also really enjoyed letting him roll. It's so gratifying to watch them feel good, especially when you're so guilty about stall jail- I mean stall rest!

    <3 Kelly @ HunkyHano

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    1. ugh jail indeed, i feel so bad for him!!! soon tho, soon!

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  20. That makes me so happy about Isabel! She found the perfect lesee! And so glad Charlie can go over hill and dale. Yay for progress!
    I reached my two point goal and surpassed it a bit. Final time of 23:26.

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  21. Jack, and therefore myself, LOVE those probio treats. I keep a bag right outside his stall!

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    1. they're super convenient, that's for sure!

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