mustangs

Tristan’s Scariest Scar

Amanda1 Comment

Tristan was a wild horse for four years in central Nevada. I wrote a little bit about where he came from here: the Callaghan Herd Management Area.

After that, he was in BLM custody for two years. After that, he was in an adoptive home for two years. Then he was relocated to the rescue for two years. Then he came to me.

At some point prior to coming to me, he acquired a really scary scar.

His roan coloring means that scars show up as darker spots against his coat. See just above his hock? That dark line along the tendon?
The picture doesn’t show it very well, but it’s actually a semi-circle, There’s a matching one on the other side. Those are teeth marks.
Have you ever seen a horse – a boss mare, usually – herd other horses, head snaked down low, teeth bared? It’s the equine body language equivalent of MOVE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW.
My best guess is that at some point Tristan did not move fast enough, and another horse bit him, just above the hock, on either side of that tendon. Badly enough to go through the skin, and then heal so that it left a pretty big scar.
He has never – knock wood – been lame on that leg, so it obviously healed. But can you imagine the perfect series of circumstances that had to occur so that an injury that gnarly healed without any lasting damage – in the wild?

Uncategorized

Equestrian Antiquing

Amanda4 Comments
The My future in-laws visited this weekend, which meant two things: they helped us accomplish a truly amazing list of things around the house, and we went antiquing.
Whenever I am turned loose in an antique store, I gravitate toward the horse-themed items. I have a small but growing collection of old veterinary bottles – magic  elixirs and salves, that sort of thing. I didn’t find anything tempting yesterday, but I thought I’d take a few photos to share anyway!

 

This was an old candy tin. My most tempting find of the day, but not quite right.

This was actually a whole pile of turn of the century sleighing and other horse-themed prints.

Original art – definitely the nicest piece I saw that day, just not my style. The artist’s last name was Schyler.

house post · landscaping

House Post: Planting the Front Walkway

Amanda3 Comments

The whole yard is more than a little overgrown, and will take quite a bit of work to tame. I have some vague ideas for the rest of the yard, but I’m waiting and considering and letting ideas bounce around in my head and settle before I go anywhere with them.

I had an idea for the front walkway start to bounce around a few weeks ago, and in the last week it coalesced. It started with some solar LED lanterns I found at Walmart, which matched both the style and the coloring of the house, and then took off from there.

Before: weedy, overgrown, kind of boring, etc.
Step 1: Dig out the turf in a small line on either side of the walkway. This sucked. A lot. I can’t overestimate how much it sucked. I did the whole thing on my knees with a plastic hand tool, which really aggravated my back. I can’t recommend it.
I spent a lot of time thinking about placement, etc. They are not in a perfect line, but rather a sliiiiiight curve to match the walk. It grieves me a little bit, but the lanterns are easily moved and the daisies will fill in anyway.
The plants are “Brightside” Shasta daisies. They are perennial, and will grow in more thickly each year. They’ll also be on the taller side than I might’ve liked, so in a few years if they get out of control I may move the lanterns. We’ll see.
Step 2: Plant the daisies and set the lanterns. I may have half-assed the sod removal on the right-hand side a little bit. #sorrynotsorry.
Step 3: Mulch et voila!
I still have to remove the piles of sod – you can see them a bit on the side of the mulch – and cut a stronger edging line. A smarter gardener than I would’ve done this from the beginning.
A smarter gardener would’ve had better tools, too, and wouldn’t have hated doing this so much, probably. Ah well. At least it looks good!
blog roundup

Weekly Blog Roundup

Amanda2 Comments

Here are some fun posts from the equestrian blogging world this week.

Rodeo Hangover from All In
Such a totally different and very cool world from the one I’m used to!

DIY Lattice Gate Horse Jump Tutorial from Fraidy Cat Eventing
So simple and it looks so terrific.

Product Review: Sun Shirt Showdown from She Moved to Texas
Great overview of three different shirts – and there’s more good information in the comments.

Quite Possibly the World’s Only Jousting Haflinger from Wyvern Oaks
Jousting. Haflinger. I don’t think I need to say anything more.

But Wait – There’s More! from Not So Speedy Dressage
Riding Lusitanos in Portugal! Siiiiiiigh.

dressage

I Love This Horse

Amanda2 Comments
After Tristan’s great work on Tuesday night, I gave him Wednesday off, and then went back out last night. I waffled on my plans for the evening, all loosely centered around the idea of a short dressage schooling session. I couldn’t decide where to ride: in the fields, with the uneven terrain adding a good balance element? in the outdoor, where I wasn’t sure what the footing would be like after the rains? in the indoor, the boring but most focused choice?
I tacked up, and settled on the indoor, and then I stood at the door to the indoor and looked outside and just couldn’t. It was 7:15 pm and still beautifully light out. We went outside.
I started off by warming him up at the walk in the fields, and made my decision there. They were too soggy in too many places to leave me enough useful space for schooling, so we went to the outdoor to test the footing. It was just fine – the rain had actually compacted it nicely, settling the loose sand that had made our lives harder last time.
I told myself to pay attention to how his feet were moving – the last time we were in the outdoor he tripped and I came off – and started him off.
He started off the trot warmup very up and down, so I stood up in the stirrups and let him have a bit of a canter. Not too much, since he wasn’t up to it yet, but enough. He wanted to charge ahead but it was a good core workout for me to stay up in a two-point and yet holding him in. One of the best things to come out of our dressage work in recent years has been the ability to modulate his gaits from my core like that.
When we tried the trot again, he settled into it much better. My goal was simply to see what I had, and to get him to a good place to quit on. He started out like a 2×4, stiff and head-flipping, but pretty quickly steadied on the bit, and then started yielding to my leg back and forth off the quarter line. Once I had that re-installed, we worked on a 20m circle for a bit, opening the inside rein to soften up, pushing him out onto the outside rein.
We changed direction a few times, and then I asked for a very short canter to see what I had to work with. Again, he wanted to charge off, but I sat deep and held him in, and asked him to round up just a teensy bit. We started left, his trickier direction, where he has more power but less adjustability. He gave me a pretty good canter, and listened when I asked for some bend and softness.
After a minute or two, we took a long walk break and I kept an eye on his breathing. Thankfully, there was a good cool breeze coming down from the mountains, in advance of our predicted overnight thunderstorms. It was low 70s, and the breeze meant that when I wasn’t actively riding I had goosebumps on my bare arms. Vermont! Even in mid-June you’re chilly outside.
His breathing recovered quickly, so I picked him up tracking right again. I put him back together at the trot. Usually after a walk break he is a complete jerk, flailing and flinging and all don’t wanna. Last night he actually got that over with a minimum of fuss, and within one or two laps of the outdoor was back between my legs and hands and ready to work. I put him on the bit, sent him a little deeper, and asked for the canter.
It started off disastrously: heavy, heavy, heavy, stiff as a board, alternating lagging with charging ahead. I was firm, and held him where I wanted him to be, put him on a 20m circle, and took zero shit. I was pretty pleased with how firm I was, actually, because I knew I didn’t have all day to let him canter around like that – he was tired, it was getting late, and I didn’t want him to overheat.
And then he put his head down. And he lifted his back. And he was a round bouncy ball for one, two, three strides – an entire 20m circle. I yelled GOOD BOY at the top of my lungs, and whooped, and then made a conscious effort to ride a solid down transition, held him together through a gorgeous, lofty, powered, light in the bridle trot for half the arena, then down to the walk, then dropped the reins and told him he was the best pony in the history of ponies.
We walked up and down the road for a bit to cool off, but his breathing came back remarkably quickly, and he was only a little warm by the time we got back to the barn, only the tiniest bit damp under the girth. He got a full rubdown and lots of treats.
Thus marks our first real dressage schooling session in over six months!
dressage

Riding Update: Actual Progress!

Amanda3 Comments
Hey crazy lady, stop taking pictures for your blog and let’s get this over with.

We’re continuing with trot sets, which are a little boring, but necessary.

Last night, we worked up to 8 minute trot sets with 5 minute rests in between them. When I do these I ask him for only the most basic acceptance of the bit: don’t giraffe, maintain a good clip, and occasionally I’ll ask him to stretch out and down a little.

As he’s getting stronger and fitter and more willing, I’m asking a little bit more. So toward the end of the second trot set, I picked up the reins a bit more and saw what I had.

We did some tentative leg yields that smoothed out surprisingly quickly, then some spiralling in and out.

I put him on circles and worked the bend a little bit, and was more firm in my outside rein and told him the circle would be what I proscribed, no more, no less. He softened up his jaw, finally, and blew out noisily.

Then I used the circles to really get him into the outside rein, and asked for a little more engagement and a bit more of a frame. And he gave it to me – beautifully. Then he gave me more. The last 2 minutes of the trot set were in a lovely, deep, soft frame that was very nearly true self-carriage. It lacked a little bit of forward, a little bit more push from the hind end, but it was the best work he’s done in months.

I called it quits on that, because damn. He was tired but pleased with himself because I was so happy. We went for a bit of a wandering walk around the property, and he proceeded to try to drink every single puddle dry. Guess he got himself a bit more tired than I thought!

budget · product review

5 Equestrian Products Worth Paying Extra For

Amanda16 Comments

As may have become apparent through this blog, I am pretty darn cheap.

However: there are some products out there that are worth buying on the more expensive end of things. They’re not necessarily what most people think of first. I firmly believe that you can shop smart and get quality tack and clothing at a fraction of the price. (I paid $300 for my jump saddle, an older Passier, for example.)

Here are a few things that I personally have paid a bit more for and been thrilled with.

1. Oster Mane & Tail Brush

Buy @Smartpak, $11.95

I actually did a review of this mane & tail brush some time ago, and you can read my full gushing there.

Suffice to say: I was a buy cheap human brushes at Walmart horseperson…until I borrowed a friend’s Oster. Holy mackerel. Little angels appeared and sang in chorus. It is legitimately that good.

I’m not sold on the other Oster brushes – they’re nice enough, but not spectacular – but this? This is mane and tail brush perfection, and it is worth paying the

2. Brush Therapy Effervescent Brush Cleaner

Buy @Smartpak, $7.95 for two

This stuff? It is a miracle. A weird, powdery miracle in a purple tube.

It may seem indulgent, but trust me. It will change your life. Here’s what you do: fill a rubber feed pan with water. Mix one package of this in. Place all your brushes bristle-side down, so the water covers the bristles. If you have wooden handles, go just below the handle; if you have plastic handles, get the water right up to the handle.

Wait 10 minutes. Take out perfectly clean, brand-new brushes. Rinse them once with clean water and you are done. Miracle.

3. Winter Tall Boots

Buy @Smartpak, range of prices
If you’re looking at me funny right now – if you think it’s weird to have a pair of tall boots just to ride in the cold – then you’ve never lived through a New England winter, and I kind of hate you right now. Kidding! No, actually, I’m not.
Is it more than a little indulgent to own an expensive second pair of tall boots for winter riding? Yes. Is it the only way to survive riding through 6′ of snow and -17F temperatures with a modicum of grace? Yes. I don’t care how many layers of Smartwool you wear underneath regular tall boots, it’s not enough. It will never be enough. You need waterproof Thinsulate-lined boots designed for the purpose of keeping your feet functional when it’s below zero.
I don’t know that I have a specific product recommendation; I have the predecessor to the boots shown above, Ariats that I got as a gift about 8 years ago. They retailed for $250 then, and that’s about what you’ll pay for a good pair now. WORTH. EVERY. PENNY.

4. Elastikon

Buy @Smartpak, $26.95 for four
Have you ever wrapped a horse in vetwrap, and said every bad word you know and a few you invented while doing so as it slipped and slid everywhere? Like, trying to wrap a hoof? or a hock? or some other twisty bendy tricky part of a horse?
Elastikon is the magic wand you are looking for. It’s sticky on one side, but stretches just like vetwrap. It sticks to hair, and then molds around whatever awkward thing you are trying to wrap. It wears like iron – easily twice as tough as vetwrap. I never try to wrap a hoof without it, and I would put the conservative number of hoofs I’ve wrapped at 2,163.

5. Sore No More Liniment

You can’t buy this anywhere right now. 😦

I also reviewed this in full. Since that review, there was a national shortage of Sore No More, and I could not get it at Smartpak or locally or anywhere. I sulked, but thought, well, it’s expensive anyway. I ordered a bottle of Absorbine. FAIL. I am counting down the days until that bottle is gone.

Accept no substitutes. Pay the extra $ for Sore No More. You won’t regret it. (If you can find it. Goddamnit.)

What about you? Is there anything on the more expensive range of products that you’ve tried and fallen in love with?

first aid

Cob Jockey’s Blog Hop: Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration

Amanda1 Comment

A day late and a dollar short, as they say, but I’ve been writing “Tristan – TPR” on my to do list every day for the last two weeks, and last night at 9pm after book club finally got the last check I needed to take an average.

SO. Here’s Cob Jockey’s original post announcing the blog hop and the rules.

Tristan’s TPR was a little bit of all over the place, but the averages ended up being:

Temperature: 99.5
Pulse: 30
Respiration: 15

Broken out by day, that was:

Day 1: T 99.4, P 28, R 16
Day 2: T 99.5, P 30, R 14
Day 3: T 99.4, P 32, R 14
Day 4: T 99.8, P 30, R 16
Day 5: T 99.5, P 32, R 16

So there we go! I’m glad to have that on hand again.