This is just a PSA to say that I’m here, keeping head above water but no posts this week. Next week- hopefully pictures coming of the house on a hill 2.0!
Photography Friday: Izze and Oceano
I had the pleasure this week of photography a special pair. Izze is a wickedly talented young lady who dabbles in dressage and field hockey. Oceano is a 21 year old young Lusitano gelding that has taken her through third level. As Oceano looks to go to his forever home, Izze and her family wanted to get some images of the pair together outside of the dressage court.
Spring in the Carolinas is so beautiful, and this day was no different. Wishing these two the best of luck with everything, and thank you for letting me be a part of this special time in your lives! Have a great weekend all!
Let’s Discuss: The Selling Process
If you’ve never sold a horse before, the best way I can describe the experience is that it can be extremely fulfilling (to pair a creature with another human and take pride in it being a good fit) and yet extremely frustrating (because you have to find an interested person to make a perfect fit with a creature with a mind of its own).
For the most part, it ain’t easy.
I know there’s a lot of people out there who could never consider selling a horse, and I can absolutely appreciate that. As equestrians we pour much of our hearts, souls, and pocketbooks into our horses, and it’s hard to watch all that emotional and financial investment walk onto a trailer and drive off into the sunset.
But for me, sometimes selling a horse is the right thing to do. I sold Ivan because even though I loved that big lout, he was occasionally dangerous to my health, and it wasn’t worth losing limbs or life in pursuit of a hobby. It also happened that I was a fresh college graduate in search of my first full time job, and while searching simply could not afford the luxury of a horse.
The progression of my first Ivan-injury
Even though I feel like those are excellent reasons, there are those who disagree, that believe that a horse is a lifetime pet. Again, respect to you guys. I want to have that horse that I keep forever, but sometimes circumstances make me decide otherwise. C’est la vie.
When those unfortunate decisions have to be made, I make a real personal effort to make sure the decision is just and valid, and then, quite frankly, attempt to emotionally distance myself from the animal. Isn’t that how breakups go? It doesn’t mean that you necessarily love the creature any less, but for a while you build a wall until you are strong enough to tear it down and appreciate the memories that you stuffed behind it. If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, yes, I am going through a similar process with Foster. Like I said, it ain’t easy.
What are your feelings on selling horses? Is it right- is it wrong? Have you had to part with a four legged beastie in your life? How did you approach the situation, and what advise would you give others going through similar scenarios?
PS- Life is cray right now between houses and horses and work, so expect a couple weeks of not-so-often blog posts. I will be back with updates on the House on a Hill 2.0 once the dust settles again.
Let’s Discuss: The Dream House
Let’s switch it up for a change and talk houses!
Obviously the husband and I recently went house-shopping, and as people do, we had our list of must-have’s and nice-to-have’s:
Must Have’s:
- 3 or more bedrooms (master + at least one guest room + potential study)
- open layout – particularly between kitchen and living room
- .3 acres or more
- …so that we can have backyard privacy (we love grilling and hanging out outdoors- much more fun when you’re not feeling on display!)
- Be within 30 minutes drive from both work places and barn
- Because I despise driving long commutes, the less the better
Nice-to-Have’s
- A large dining room
- So that hopefully I could inherit one of 3 large family tables (random, I know)
- Hardwood floors
- All the easier to clean the pet hair!
- Built-ins in living room
- Because books. And horse photos.
It’s a fairly short list, and of course we had our own preferences besides these, but with a fast moving real estate market these items were hard to find! Luckily the new house checks all of these off and more!
Introducing the House on a Hill 2.0
What’s on your list for your dream house?
Lesson Recap: Darcy Dressageing
Yesterday I had Eliza out for our first dressage lesson in, oh, 9 months. I introduced her to Darcy, expressing that I hoped to get her a bit more sensitive to my leg (currently Darcy is very much a kick ride) and make sure I was making the right decisions in general.
Dark screengrab from prior video of Darcy dressaging
We talked about setting the expectation to be in front of the leg even from the ground. So walking in hand, I’m now to carry a whip, and Darcy is expected to march along with me, instead of meandering behind. In the walk under saddle, same thing- we march, and I overemphasize moving my hands with the motion of her head to encourage Darcy to use her neck. Moving my hands also releases my hips and further encourages the motion.
One note that I thought was interesting in the walk was regarding leg cues. In general, at all gaits, I am to keep my legs very quiet and hanging along her side, then lightly ask for a forward response- if I don’t get it, then I quickly ask strongly with both legs to get a reaction. At the walk though, using both legs isn’t as helpful, and it was in Eliza’s opinion that especially on a mare, squeezing with both legs creates more of a negative response. Instead, I am to alternate left and right leg aids for a few strides to encourage her to walk forward.
Talking + Riding = Derp face
Also of note was our discussion around sitting the trot. Darcy’s a round girl, and rather bouncy to sit her working trot. She can also tend to tighten her back when you sit, which makes for an even bouncier experience. So I am to practice sitting her trot, but not until she is truly pushing into the contact. Continue to sit even if she tightens her back and in Eliza’s words “until you have improved the trot” before posting again. This really only happens over a few strides, but ideally eventually I’ll be sitting more and more. It’s a good tool to have in our pockets.
Overall Eliza was impressed with Darcy, and everyone who sees her go ends up grinning and saying just how cute she is! She’s definitely a different kind of ride from Foster, but in Eliza’s opinion is a great horse to make me a more well rounded rider, and I couldn’t agree more.
Letting Go
… it isn’t easy. In fact, this probably ranks as one of the toughest emotional decisions I’ve had to make.
I like to think of myself as a responsible horsewoman. When I signed up to own a horse, I considered what I thought of as the worst-case scenarios. Final retirement. Having to put a horse down. Of course we never want to actually be put in those situations, but you need to have plans for them, and so I had plans.
PC: High Time Photography
But I didn’t have plans for a horse who, at barely 9 years old, wasn’t ready for retirement, but also wasn’t able to continue a career as a sporthorse. When the surgery came up, I thought dressage was my plan B (as opposed to eventing), and I easily came to terms with that. But when plan B fell through, well, I had to think about things that I had never considered in my dizziest day dreams.
The reality of the situation is that I could afford to turn Foster out to pasture and retire him point-blank. But anyone who has met this horse knows that, at this stage in his life, and as bright and interested and just engaged as he is with people, he wouldn’t be happy with that. And I wouldn’t be happy with that either.
October 2014 @ CHP
However. Stating the obvious, I could also keep Foster and commit myself to learning to love trail riding and set aside any competitive ambitions I may have had. But just as Foster wouldn’t be happy in retirement, I wouldn’t be happy with not improving and working as I have for much of my life. And right now, I simply cannot afford two horses. But the physical act of riding, of pushing towards goals, is what keeps me sane, keeps me healthy, and therefore probably also keeps my marriage intact, and I can’t ignore those things either.
So, we are of course at an impasse.
I continue to believe that this Fosterparent scenario could be the best solution for everyone involved. But it’s introduced its own emotionally perplexing conundrums- mainly, how do I help another person to feel like they are the caretaker, and eventually owner, of my horse? What is the balance of being involved enough to set them up for success, but also being distant enough to allow them their own bonding time?
First day in NC
I still miss Foster so much, and I try not to envision him in his stall mugging for treats by smiling at everyone, or nickering to me in the paddock. It’s enough, and I am so fortunate, to be able to ride Darcy and keep active and engaged in equestrian sport.
Learning to let go- just another aspect of horsemanship, I suppose.
Photography Friday: Introducing Darcy
If you follow me on either facebook or instagram, you’ve probably been wondering who the little chestnut mare is that has been making appearances lately.
Darcy is a 15.3hh 11 year old registered draft cross mare. She belongs to a friend of a friend of mine, and is looking for a new home through no fault of her own.
The timing of all of this has been serendipitous, because of course as of recently, I am without my riding partner. So Darcy has come to me for a while, that I can get her in shape and hopefully play matchmaker with a wonderful new owner for her.
She’s been a ton of fun to ride, as #missdarcy knows all the first level dressage tricks and happens to love jumping. She’s been whipping me into shape for sure after all those months spent just playing around!
This week, I’ll take Darcy to So Pines and lesson with Bobby Costello. (3 times jumping in the last 8 months and I’m taking a lesson?! I must be mad) Should be lots of entertainment value there.
Have a happy weekend all!
(Special thanks to N for making this opportunity come together- love you!)
Let’s Discuss: Your Fairy Tale Foal
There’s a chance I may be horse shopping in the next few months, and goodness knows I’ve been window-shopping hard core. So it’s got me thinking about bloodlines- what is the perfect mix for me?
I’ve always dreamed about having a Connemara X Thoroughbred cross. To match the sturdiness and cleverness of the Connemara with the stamina of a thoroughbred.. talk about an eventing machine! But alas, the rarity of the Connemara, and lack of available crosses, makes these guys a high ticket item.
Flynn, a lovely Conn X TB gelding
Then recently I’ve turned my mind to warmbloods. There’s a gelding in the barn by Donnerhall that makes me swoon every time he floats past, and it makes me think, wouldn’t it be nice to own a beastie like that. Surprisingly horses with these bloodlines are easier to find, a quick search on dreamhorse turns up roughly 50 sales ads. And I’m not educated enough on which lines are good (as in amateur friendly, sound, etc) and which ones to avoid, so I flail.
Now if we were to talk Irish Draught and Haflinger lines, I could happily hold a conversation about my favorite sires (Touch of the Blues and Nobleman, respectively), and make an informed decision. But those breeds, while I love love love them, probably aren’t what I’m looking for right now.
So, friends, I give you this opportunity to teach me, and tell me what your dream horse would be made of. What would you want? Any advice for stallions to avoid? Sires to look for?
Prepping the House for Market, from an Equestrian’s Perspective
Before I got into watching HGTV, I thought basically all you had to do to sell a house is tidy up a bit, and throw it on the market. From touring other houses, it’s fairly obvious that a lot of people out there think this, too.
But hours and hours of watching the Property Brothers and talking with realtor friends have vanished that notion. Instead, getting a house ready for market is a long and tedious project.
MMhmm, you’re welcome.
First, purge. Purge the closets of clothes, leaving the minimal amount of clothing you can get by on so the closet looks as big and airy as possible. Stuff approximately 20 pairs of breeches of varying ages into a tupperware and vow you’ll go through it later. Purge the garage of leftover yard supplies, but tidily stack those future chevron jump supplies in the corner. Be prepared for the SO to question the number of saddle pads you own. Grudgingly throw away the rattiest, ill-fitting pad you have in front of him then squirrel away the rest in another ambiguous tupperware. The purge process will also be an excellent time to discover last year’s blankets that you meant to wash. Take them to the cleaners- you don’t want potential buyers to confuse eau de horse with rotting dead body.
Next, put away all the photos. Yes, that means every show photo, no matter how badass you look running cross country, riding some spirited stallion through the water like Xena astride an aqua nymph. Trust me, your buyers don’t care. In fact, they may even think you’re weird.
Question all the foxhunting artwork around the house. Ask your realtor if it can leave it up or if it will freak people out. Luckily, your realtor is also a crazy horse people an equestrian and says leave it.
No we’re not crazy, we just like ponies
Purge again. Trust me, you didn’t throw away everything you could. Come across that Waterford Full Cheek you thought you returned ages ago. Use this opportunity to hide every evidence of pets. Hide the dog toys under innocent looking towels in a basket. Move the enormous dog bed to a hidden spot in garage, and place cat food and cat beds in the attic. Move litter boxes to a convenient place near a doorway where you can put them in your car when prospective buyers come.
Nope, no cats here!
That’s right, you’re going to take your cats and their shit with you every time a potential buyer comes to your house. Welcome to the cray.
Now you can clean. Get down on those knees and scrub around every toilet, windex every remnant of dog snot off the windows, deep clean every red wine stain from the carpet. Lament the fact that the last time you put that much effort into cleaning it was your tack, for a recognized show, which sounds way more fun right now.
Then put your house on the market fast, because everyone knows ain’t nothin gonna stay clean for long.
Feel vindicated when 24 hours later you accept an offer, and pour yourself a glass of wine and toast yourself. You done good.
Let’s Discuss: Footwear
Since the last discussion around socks was way more polarizing (or as polarizing as a discussion around socks could be), I thought it would be interesting to discuss the other essential equipment for our feet- riding boots.
For a long time I schooled in tall boots- specifically a clunky variety of Mountain Horse boots. They were round toed and super comfortable, and inexpensive enough to be replaced every couple years.
From schooling…
And so while they were more than adequate for schooling, in their less than elegant, beat-up condition, they maybe weren’t so attractive for the show ring.
This picture would be much more elegant with better boots
A couple of years ago, when my last pair of round-toed Mountain Horse tall boots expired, I decided to replace them with something a little more appropriate. Still Mountain Horse, but a pair of tall boots specifically used for showing or lessons, and nothing else. Since then I’ve ridden in paddock boots and half chaps to school in.
Schooling in half chaps
Though those are my preferences, I still see some variety around the barn. Occasionally you’ll see the tried-and-true cowboy boots come into play:
One of the only occasions where I actually rode in cowboy boots
And more often, I see riders choosing to wear Dubarry (or knock-offs like mine, aka Fubarry) boots in the tack.
Dubarry’s and Fubarry’s at *cough* work. PC: @jprettyman_
Even though they have a heel, these just don’t look super secure to me due to their loose(ish) fit around the leg. But I’ve questioned riders, and they seem to find them comfortable and adequate for schooling in.
What about you guys? What do you like to school in? Is that the same footwear that you wear to compete, or do you segregate your shoes by the purpose? Are there any trends in equestrian footwear that you despise? Adore?
Red on the Right 