Bits Of Our Past, Moving On To The Future

I wore the cross country vest through Solo's first cross country schools and flew through our first horse trials in its faded blue.  We never had a jumping penalty while I was wearing it.

Solo wore the brown and brass bridle on trails in the Carolina mountains and salty shore, as well as during his first dressage lessons.  The clinchers survived more than one red-headed temper tantrum, even though the cavesson didn't.

We sported the black bridle to our first dressage show.  With brown reins.  But we stayed in the ring and did the test in order.  Then we went on to do the same for many after that.

The white dressage pad lay on Solo's back during our first and only Training Level horse trial.  He felt fantastic in that dressage arena, even though I never got to show off his amazing extended trot; he was so exuberant that morning, he chose to canter instead.  My heart swelled with pride after that test and that weekend was both the high point and the end of Solo's hard-won but cherished competitive career.

As I mailed off these and other pieces from our tack sale, I was sending out pieces of Flying Solo history.  As my hands brushed leather and fabric, I couldn't help but reminisce where each item had been and let my memory cradle and admire the flickering slideshow of adventure each one represented.  I hope that all of them bring you good Solo-karma.  There has to be a little bit of luck in a chestnut hair lodged here or there. 

It may seem odd or overly sentimental, to wax nostalgic about selling some stuff that I am not using, but it does feel like the transition to another chapter, even moreso than bringing Encore home.  I know there will be many changes in the next year, some big, some small, but they will not diminish or make any less special the five years I spent pointing an orange Quarter Horse against the odds.   

The Fix Solo Sale of 2011 continues, although I have updated the sale listings, removing items that I have received payment for and shipped off.  Thank you so much to winter and Erica for your kind and generous gifts and once again, to everyone who has been a part of helping us raise some much-needed funds! 

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Help Team Flying Solo And I Guarantee You Will Win Your Next Show

*All guarantees not necessarily guaranteed.
Oh yes, it's your chance to get your hands on some sweet Flying Solo karma. 

Do you need a new show coat?  How about some inexpensive schooling equipment to save wear on your nice gear or some horsey clothes?  Peruse at your leisure and drop me an email about anything you are interested in; make an offer.

I have done my best to accurately represent, photograph, and measure all items.  Everything is kept clean, nonsmoking, I have cleaned and conditioned all the leather, blah blah. 
Ready.....set.....GO!

APPAREL

Caldene english show coat -- Black.  100% wool.  Made in England.  I had the seams let out (I have big shoulders & monkey arms, so it could fit a 6 or a thin 8.  On hanger, measures 15" shoulder to shoulder, 28" top of collar to tail on back, 24" shoulder seam to end of sleeve. 

Single vent in back with two black accent buttons behind.  Three button front with seal grey lining.  Lovely & I am sorry to part with it.  This will have you set for dressage, hunters, eventing, schooling shows, and will last forever.  Drycleaned & ready to go.  Excellent condition.  Retail ~$200.  $75.

Beautiful tailored details on back

LEATHERWORK

Gatsby figure-8 noseband -- dark brown, plain leather.  Brand new.  Horse size.  Retail $30.  $15.  SOLD!! 

Hunting breastplate -- dark brown, plain raised leather.  Lovely condition, nice leather.  Horse size.  Retail $100.  $40.  

Dover jumper girth -- dark brown with lighter brown inset.  42", measures 46" from tip of buckle to tip of buckle.  Stainless steel roller buckles, they don't make them like this anymore!  Retail $80.  $25. SOLD!! 

Zilco crupper -- beta biothane, very nice and new.  For your mountain getaways!  Brown with black, very soft, padding and brass toned hardware.  Horse size, very adjustable.  Retail $57.  $30.   SOLD!!

BLANKETS

Big D dress sheets -- THERE ARE TWO OF THESE.  Blue/hunter/burgundy plaid with burgundy trim, very nice, hardly used.  One is a 74", one is a 78".  Leather-reinforced fittings with nice hardware.  Closed front.  Surcingle and leg straps on both.  The 78" does have a 1" tear near the butt dart, easy to stitch.  Retail $75.  $30 for the 74" and $20 for the 78".

MISC

Herm Sprenger loose ring snaffle -- German silver loose ring snaffle from the experts at HS with over 135 years of experience.  Anatomically designed for your horse's mouth.  5.5 inches, ~13 mm diameter mouth at end outside rings (thickest part).  Retail $86.  $50

 
The Gory Details

Shipping and handling: flat $8.00 in the US.  If you are in Canada or elsewhere, I'll have to figure that out.  All items will ship as soon as I can upon receipt of payment.

Payment: Check, money order or Paypal, email me for information.  I will also take reasonable offers or do package deals.

Solo says thank you for looking!  

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Vacation's Over, Baby

Thank you so much to all of you who have participated thus far in the 2011 Fix Solo For Christmas Sale!  I have a bunch of things stacked up to ship out this week when I can get the address labels made.  There are still some fun things left, should you find yourself in want need, including reins, dress sheets, a riser pad, girth, bit, and crupper! 

Meanwhile, I have been trying to recover from driving 1200 miles to Kentucky and back this weekend.  Zzzzzzz....eh?  Oh yes, recovering.  Not quite there yet.  I made it out to the farm last night to take care of my boys and longe Encore.  I assumed after four days off, he'd be a bit wild with unspent energy.

Not so much.

He's in a new (giant) pasture with Solo and Solo's BFF, Danny, now.  He was forced to break up with Pete as Pete decided that Encore was most entertaining when used as an oversized tooth sharpener/punching bag.  Not cool, Pete.  So Pete found a new buddy in Big D, who doesn't take sass from anyone, and Encore was turned out with his teammate, Mr. Shiny himself.

He freaking loves it.  And while I'm happy that he's happy, it has had some unexpected consequences.  After hooking up our longeing gear last night, we headed up to the arena.  Where I proceeded to longe my lovely, forward, willing, sweet, nappy, dead slow, snippy, pouty TB. 

Neener, neener!

I was flabbergasted (I really just wanted to use that word).  He pinned his ears and struck out with a front leg when I pushed him in the trot.  He flat refused to canter more than a handful of strides each way.  I worried that he might feel colicky (of course, I envisioned him dead within 12 hours, sigh) but he had pooped and his belly was gurgly and he ate hay and drank with gusto.  It appeared that he was in a full tantrum that he could not be out in Happy Pasture with his new friends, so there!

My horse had gone and ruined himself in four days!

In good news, I rode him tonight, despite the cold wind and rain (you get desperate after five days off), and he was lovely.  It's odd though, he always starts off beautifully, puts himself on the bit, carries himself in a lovely rhythm and just feels amazing.  Then, the more we work, the more inconsistent he gets.  It's almost as if he says, hey, lady, I did it already, what's the deal?  But we had some actual yielding to the leg at the walk without rushing (OMG!), and finished with some good canter rhythm each way and some excellent stretching at the trot, so apparently he was done mourning his lost vacation time.

Thank goodness.  I was not a fan of nappy pony.  I shall not miss him.

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This Is How We Roll: Turnout Blankets

It's getting chilly at night (although not this week!) and the stall doors are adorned with blankets, sheets, and coolers to keep the horses from shivering off that perfect weight we finally got them to this summer.  So what do the Flying Solo boys strut around in?

Encore is trying a new look this year; he has a full length turnout rug from the friendly folks at EquestrianClearance.com.  I had not tried this type or brand of blanket before, but so far, I am thrilled with it.  Fresh out of the box, it was a lovely navy blue (yay!) with yellow piping.  I loved the generous drape of the leg and tail flaps and the easy-open snaps on the chest.  The 81" fit Encore surprisingly well (is he really that big?) and even better now that he has gained some weight; the only part I had to adjust were the belly straps, which were much too long for him, but it was easily solved by knotting them in the middle and voila!  Fit.  No rubs thus far, it has a smooth nylon lining that makes Encore's coat shine.  I got the medium-weight and it is SUPER MEGA WARM.  I'm not sure what the insulation is, but it's wonderful stuff and much less bulky or heavy than my other medium-weight.  Obviously, it is colder in England than it is in North Carolina!  (Duh.)

Check out the butt billboard!

   I wondered how durable a 600 dernier blanket could be, but pasture-buddy, Pete the Arabian/Monkey cross decided to test it for me.  On the second day I had the blanket (grrrr), it was sitting in the grass outside the pasture, waiting to be applied to Encore.  Pete decided he was bored and snaked his little nose through the fence and dragged the blanket into the pasture, because it apparently looked like an Entertaining Plaything.  He proceeded to do a tapdance on top of it until his whims were satisfied, at which point he wandered off to find something else to destroy play with.  I found the blanket in a dirty, trampled heap and moaned in dismay.  I had it ONE DAY, Pete, ONE DAY!  But I picked it up, brushed it off, and stared in disbelief -- not a scratch on it.  No tears, no bent hardware, it was completely fine.  So rest assured, when your horse is wearing this blanket, he will be completely protected from tapdancing Arabians!  I'm very happy with it and I hope that Encore will get to wear it for many more years!  It's also very affordable -- if I used my currency converter right, 50 GBP equals US$77.  Even with shipping to the US, you are still getting a good deal on a super toasty turnout!

Solo may not be decked out in snazzy imports, but he still stays warm.  He wears a Weatherbeeta Landa medium weight turnout.  This is the first blanket I ever bought for him, in a second-chance auction on eBay, and I believe this is at least the fourth winter he has worn it, if not the fifth.  Mr. Chunky wears the 78" and it has a nice length to its drape as well.  Also nylon-lined with a shoulder gusset, it has never once rubbed his big shoulders.  I have had to replace the leg straps once, the cheap snaps on the back froze up on me and broke, but it was an easy fix.  I've sewed up a hole or two in the lining over the years -- it once got run over by a tractor (sans Solo, thankfully) and some of the stress points have stretched and worn, but nothing a quick stitch-up couldn't mend, so it's still going.  The outside is impeccable -- all of the stitching is still tight and it has never ripped.  I have had it cleaned and re-waterproofed one time (yeah, I'm cheap) and it remains waterproof and breathable.

The boys share a rain sheet, which is one I bought secondhand from a friend about two and a half years ago.  It's a very simple Rider's International turnout sheet from Dover.  I didn't pay a lot for it, but I have been very impressed with it; the horses stay dry and it's a great windbreaker.  No sexy horse modeling pics of this one, sorry.  It's mesh lined with nylon at the shoulders so it doesn't rub either.  No rips on the outside of this one, although I have plied my impeccable seamstress skills to the inside a time or two.  I would guess it's about four years old at this point, but doesn't show any signs of stopping soon.

We have other dashingly fashionable items of horse attire, naturally, but I'm not about to admit in one post how many.  But that is the extent of our turnout wardrobe and I can happily give a confident thumbs up to all three! 

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Jumping For Joy

I want to first thank you all for your emails regarding sale items and your perusal of my equine flea market.  I am always overwhelmed and stunned by people's random kindness (you know who you are), as most of you do not know me.  I hope that I can prove worthy of the generosity you have shown.

A few sale details: (1) I have added a loose ring snaffle, check the bottom of the post! (2) SillyPony, I have added rein lengths and one set is 58". (3) If you want items shipped before the holiday, I need to know before 10 am Wednesday morning, otherwise, you have to wait until next week. (4) If you have expressed interest in an item in the comments and still want it, but have not contacted me at teamflyingsolo@gmail.com, email me now!

In other news, there may have been a little jumper show this weekend, that a certain chestnut wunderkind attended that I imagine some of you might be interested in hearing about. It went a little something like this:

Carefully check online show bill Friday night and confirm show starts at 9:00 am. Plan accordingly. Curse loudly and often when alarm goes off at 5:30 am Saturday morning. Kick wildly to clear felines from pathway and stumble into 14 layers of clothing to protect against 30 degree morning. Unplug My Precious (truck) and rumble to the farm.

Hook up trailer in chilly dawn and load horses (Encore and Big D) at 6:45 am. Roll out a little before 7:00 am with Cindy (Big D's owner) wishing I had a chicken biscuit. Arrive at showgrounds around 7:40 am and OF COURSE, we are the first ones there.

Fall out of the truck and head to arena to walk freshly dragged course. Run into course designer/judge who informs us show ACTUALLY starts at 10:00 am. Cindy and I exchange a look and whimper for that extra hour of sleep. Oh well. At least we won't feel rushed.

The rest goes smoothly. Encore is bright and alert but trots around nicely. Since it's a schooling jumper show, we can cheat and warm up in the show ring and jump any jumps we like. So I school a narrow-ish chevron and both the brick and stone walls, which have formidable large cubic standards. Encore is fine with it.  We now remove 13 layers of clothing because all of a sudden it is 65 degrees, a detail which Weather Underground failed to bring to my attention.

My plan is this: do two courses in the 2' - 2'3" division. Dream of 2'3" - 2'6" course if Encore feels magical. The rules have been somewhat bastardized -- unlike an actual jumper show, there are no jumpoffs. Quite simply, the fastest time around the course wins. I'm NOT racing kids on ponies; my goal is to teach my horse to be relaxed and businesslike on course, so I do not ride for time.

Our first course:



I kept him at the trot for the first half. The last thing I want is a horse who barrels around a course; I want him considering each fence and focusing on the task, not lost in a speed high. I ignore the "helpful" railbirds clucking at us with a giggle.

Encore finished strong and I let him canter the entirety of his second course. He never rushed and I felt it click in his mind: my job is to canter around where the nice lady tells me and jump the little jumpies. Got it. On it. Done.

Video capture of the post-course grin.

 So yeah, I went for the 2'3" to 2'6".  I'm not thrilled with my riding; I am still trying to adjust from the style I adopted for Solo.  Encore is a completely different ride, on top of which, he still jumps like a green horse, so staying out of his way can be challenging!  I felt too far behind him, much of the time, but I did the best I could and hoped he didn't hold it against me.



There was no hiding my glee. That rhythm? That was all him, just doing his job. I have ridden more than a few horses in my life; I have never before sat on one who was so...I don't even have a word. He waited for the explanation of his job, I gave it to him, he went ok, and he just did it. Checked the box and ready for the next assignment. There was no "how can I get out of this, how can I make this easier on myself, can I spook at that, how about I race really fast." None of it, just honest, wonderful, amazing trying. I thought I would explode from sheer happiness, which terrifies me, but is completely freaking awesome.

As an extra bonus, even though we totally ignored the time, Encore still won his first ribbon, even if it is heinously pink (must have been four ponies in that class, LOL!).

Look who is getting more muscle-y!  Hint:  it's not me.

And for you Big D fans (and, of course, those who can't get enough of my appalling videography), he also was an excellent boy, taking very good care of his very nervous rider! He and Cindy did a wonderful job in their first jumper show - check out his flying lead change! They did both courses in the 2'3" - 2'6" class and I hope very much to see them going Beginner Novice in the spring (write in and tell her she just must, she needs some peer pressure, LOL!).



I also want to give a shout out to Macnair's Country Acres for hosting the show, which was fun and relaxed enough to give us the flexibility of a great schooling opportunity.  Then another huge shout to Tom Pollard who designed the courses and judged -- the courses were lovely and made sense to my young pony and I have not talked to a friendlier person in a long time.  From the time we met him in the morning and throughout the day, he was gracious, funny, kind, and warm and made it a pleasure to be there, so thank you (because I am sure he totally comes home and reads this blog every night)!

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