Harley and I had a nice easy, light dressage day last Saturday. Total work about 35 minutes. I skipped the longe warmup, and was a little tense myself during his initial few minutes of trot work. He was pretty determined to take off on a cantering tangent, but a few strong half-halts, and he came right back under me. A decently cooperative ride, but nothing dramatic or new in the terribly hot weather.
Romeo and I headed back to the arena for some light work as well. He didn't have his brother's energy level, so we were able to focus on walk/trot with a little canter. Mo did let me know when he wanted to canter, increasing his trot length and tensing up his back a bit. I let him tear off, knowing that once he got a little work in the heat, he'd ease up quick. :) And he did, bringing me straight to loud laughter. Another 35 minutes of relaxing easy work.
Me? yUCK! I'll just be honest there. That one headache episode, according to the brand new neurologist, was treated inappropriately by the ER I visited. The Nuero doc called them with a totally different course of medicine, and I spent yesterday 75% of my awake hours in the emergency room again, medicines slowly delivered for the "status migraine" I had acquired. As of this morning, it seems to have slurked back into some corner of my brain to visit another time. I'm a bit groggy (ribbit) from the large doses of medicine I endured yesterday, but I'm awake, the lights aren't making my brain scream, and I can focus... :)
Hoping to be out of this headache fog, because I'm 120% ready to get back in the saddle more often.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Short Walks
The mosquitoes are beginning their retreat. I was able to stand outside for a while Monday without getting nailed. So last night, I went outside (sprayed with bug repellant, jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and my coolvest). Grabbed my helmet and Harley's bridle.
Headed to the pasture. Sprayed him down with skeeter spray, put on his bridle, and hopped on from a step stool. No saddle, no pad, nothin'. He waited while I wiggled into balance, and started to walk off. We wandered the pasture for about 15 minutes. No trot, and certainly no cantering. Just walking, quietly, almost all on a loose rein. I let the reins out all the way, and found him reaching for the bit, head dropping lower and lower. he was looking for me, cute! I shortened my reins a tiny little bit, he found the contact, and lifted his face just above it. Nice...
After I slid off, he stood quietly by the gate waiting for a treat. Handful of cookies later, I walked over to Romeo, and did much of the same. A few differences, though. Romeo bounded off at a trot, happily, just as soon as I wiggled my hiney into balance. Booger.... Later, we were in his little pasture, CRNG off in the distance mowing on his riding mower. CRNG's mower motor cut off, followed by a sharp backfire. BANG! Mo? Flicked an ear. and I was suddenly very grateful for the blank 0.22 revolver shots I'd been practicing with last year. Mo was completely unbothered by the backfire, which made the ride much calmer than it might've been.
Two short rides, no saddles, no worries. Nothing particularly exciting happened, which is great. Wonderful for the time they've had off without work, and a nice way to start back at an exercise plan without screaming as the mosquitoes.
Headed to the pasture. Sprayed him down with skeeter spray, put on his bridle, and hopped on from a step stool. No saddle, no pad, nothin'. He waited while I wiggled into balance, and started to walk off. We wandered the pasture for about 15 minutes. No trot, and certainly no cantering. Just walking, quietly, almost all on a loose rein. I let the reins out all the way, and found him reaching for the bit, head dropping lower and lower. he was looking for me, cute! I shortened my reins a tiny little bit, he found the contact, and lifted his face just above it. Nice...
After I slid off, he stood quietly by the gate waiting for a treat. Handful of cookies later, I walked over to Romeo, and did much of the same. A few differences, though. Romeo bounded off at a trot, happily, just as soon as I wiggled my hiney into balance. Booger.... Later, we were in his little pasture, CRNG off in the distance mowing on his riding mower. CRNG's mower motor cut off, followed by a sharp backfire. BANG! Mo? Flicked an ear. and I was suddenly very grateful for the blank 0.22 revolver shots I'd been practicing with last year. Mo was completely unbothered by the backfire, which made the ride much calmer than it might've been.
Two short rides, no saddles, no worries. Nothing particularly exciting happened, which is great. Wonderful for the time they've had off without work, and a nice way to start back at an exercise plan without screaming as the mosquitoes.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
No Riding
It poured last week. Almost 14" of rain over the full week total. I had lake-yard all over the place. The pond is back to full again. And the horses were standing in sloppy mud. That means no rides.
Saturday morning, I took Harley and his halter, and we headed down the road. I worked him in-hand through puddles, around culvert pipes, in and out of ditches, and he was a trooper. One ditch with a culvert pipe and water streaming out of it was a bit of a discussion. After finding myself frustrated, I sat on the edge of the pipe, and waited. Harley gathered up some courage, and slowly took tiny steps towards the water. Suddenly realizing what it was, he started taking steps into the water. I stood up quickly, and encouraged him verbally to step all the way in.
Next thing I know, he's standing front feet in the deep water, splashing me by pawing hard at the water. I was covered from the waist down in mud splashes. *giggle* A few more walks through, and he was splashing happily.
Otherwise, I haven't done more than hose and scrub the sweat off them once, and fed. With water like that comes mosquitoes. Sunday they weren't bad. Last night, they were swarming by the thousands. That means I probably won't be riding for a few more days yet, provided it stays dry. Dry hot weather will cook them out from rebreeding, and things will be back to normal.
Until then, I'm catching up on some good Kindle time, sleeping, playing inside with Allie and MacKenzie, and tackling a few new computer games. I do miss the rides, but we really needed the rain. Not much sense in complaining about it.
Had a personal disaster Sunday morning - snarly nasty migraine headache with some severe nausea. Better living through chemistry, courtesey of the local hospital. I'm working with my doctor to combat these rotten headaches, and I'm curious if any of you deal with them as well. Email me and share your experiences.
Also, if you deal with mosquitoes more often than I do, how do you cope? Do you spray yourself thick with Deep Woods OFF, and go ride anyways? How do you keep them off the horses as they graze?
Saturday morning, I took Harley and his halter, and we headed down the road. I worked him in-hand through puddles, around culvert pipes, in and out of ditches, and he was a trooper. One ditch with a culvert pipe and water streaming out of it was a bit of a discussion. After finding myself frustrated, I sat on the edge of the pipe, and waited. Harley gathered up some courage, and slowly took tiny steps towards the water. Suddenly realizing what it was, he started taking steps into the water. I stood up quickly, and encouraged him verbally to step all the way in.
Next thing I know, he's standing front feet in the deep water, splashing me by pawing hard at the water. I was covered from the waist down in mud splashes. *giggle* A few more walks through, and he was splashing happily.
Otherwise, I haven't done more than hose and scrub the sweat off them once, and fed. With water like that comes mosquitoes. Sunday they weren't bad. Last night, they were swarming by the thousands. That means I probably won't be riding for a few more days yet, provided it stays dry. Dry hot weather will cook them out from rebreeding, and things will be back to normal.
Until then, I'm catching up on some good Kindle time, sleeping, playing inside with Allie and MacKenzie, and tackling a few new computer games. I do miss the rides, but we really needed the rain. Not much sense in complaining about it.
Had a personal disaster Sunday morning - snarly nasty migraine headache with some severe nausea. Better living through chemistry, courtesey of the local hospital. I'm working with my doctor to combat these rotten headaches, and I'm curious if any of you deal with them as well. Email me and share your experiences.
Also, if you deal with mosquitoes more often than I do, how do you cope? Do you spray yourself thick with Deep Woods OFF, and go ride anyways? How do you keep them off the horses as they graze?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Did That Really just Happen?
I got a pretty cool email this afternoon. Seems the web design bunch at Dover found my blog, and my two entries lately on their products (from the store, and my favorite things). The fellow who emailed offered up some links to clarify exactly what I bought, and what I use.
I did it - go check out the entry from earlier today, and Tuesday. Links to exactly what I bought. (Roma pad in delightful purple, RI AP pad in white, splendex gloves in lime green!)
Cheers y'all! Somebody go ride for me. It's too wet to stay home in the tack, and with the roadside ditches full of water, no safety riding the boys down the road, either. Time to watch the water recede.
I did it - go check out the entry from earlier today, and Tuesday. Links to exactly what I bought. (Roma pad in delightful purple, RI AP pad in white, splendex gloves in lime green!)
Cheers y'all! Somebody go ride for me. It's too wet to stay home in the tack, and with the roadside ditches full of water, no safety riding the boys down the road, either. Time to watch the water recede.
My Favorite Things
Going through the videos and the pictures, I figured now is a great time to advertise for all the awesome products I use with Harley ..
First, on the inside..
I'm sure some of y'all looked at the picture, and the videos, and thought to yourself, "Freaking chicken. Why on earth is she wearing an impact vest for a 20" vertical fence? Good grief, lady, get ahold of yourself! That's not exactly worth a cross-country safety vest." *giggle* Nope, not an impact vest.
That's a Texas Cool Vest and neck bandana I'm sporting there, folks. The best thing ever for personal climate control here in the South Texas heat of summer. When the temperatures and humidities rise around here, I don't ride without my TX Cool Vest on. This competes for just about the most practical and most useful birthday present I've ever received. The coolpacks freeze in about 20 minutes in an ice water bath, and about an hour in the freezer. In heat indeces around 100F, they keep me cool for about 2 hours. I've had my cool vest for a bit more than a year, and I wouldn't be outside in the summer without it. A brilliant investment if you're an outdoorsie kind of person that doesn't want to overheat in the summer roast.
So there ya have it. Gushing on my favorite things in the saddle with Harley. :) GO Check 'Em out, and tell them HunterInTraining sent ya. I haven't told any of these companies I'm advertising, so let's see what happens!
First, on the inside..
- SmartPak - MedVet 4-in-1 - Loves me a good SmartPak. Reliable shipping, adjustable dates, and some of the sweetest customer service anywhere.
- Stirlingshire Saddle Fitters - that's a Buffalo dressage saddle he's wearing. Bought it used, had it fitted to him last November. We're due again in late October to meet up with these awesome ladies. If you're in the greater Houston area, and are interested in a saddle or need any kind of tack work done, look them up!
- Roma Wick Easy pad - they really pull the sweat up off Harley's back, to the top of the pad, for easy drying. Fluffy, soft, and I got about 3 years out of this blue one before the girth straps wore off. Just replaced it this last weekend when I went to the Dover Saddlery shop in Dallas.
- Courbette Coutoured Girth - fits great, stretchy, and is ridiculously soft on the horse-side. :)
- R.E.S. Spint Boots - White up front, black in back. I LOVE my R.E.S. boots! They have the nicest boot interior that I have ever used - more support than polos, but not that slippery neoprene cr#p on most boots. Best, though, is the replacable velcro straps. They've got white and black boots, and a bunch of different velcro color choices. Splint boots, support boots, bell boots, fly masks, and a few other neat things they're working on now. Primarily marketed to barrel racers and cow-horse events, but I'm in love!
I'm sure some of y'all looked at the picture, and the videos, and thought to yourself, "Freaking chicken. Why on earth is she wearing an impact vest for a 20" vertical fence? Good grief, lady, get ahold of yourself! That's not exactly worth a cross-country safety vest." *giggle* Nope, not an impact vest.
That's a Texas Cool Vest and neck bandana I'm sporting there, folks. The best thing ever for personal climate control here in the South Texas heat of summer. When the temperatures and humidities rise around here, I don't ride without my TX Cool Vest on. This competes for just about the most practical and most useful birthday present I've ever received. The coolpacks freeze in about 20 minutes in an ice water bath, and about an hour in the freezer. In heat indeces around 100F, they keep me cool for about 2 hours. I've had my cool vest for a bit more than a year, and I wouldn't be outside in the summer without it. A brilliant investment if you're an outdoorsie kind of person that doesn't want to overheat in the summer roast.
So there ya have it. Gushing on my favorite things in the saddle with Harley. :) GO Check 'Em out, and tell them HunterInTraining sent ya. I haven't told any of these companies I'm advertising, so let's see what happens!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
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