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Yes, you may now call me a Horze ‘ho. Albeit within the confines of a most basic TFS Commandment:  thou shalt always receive open, honest feedback!

I continue to enjoy our appallingly stylish (if you’ve read for a while, you know my trendiness aversion!) bell boots & gloves (week two: still no holes!).  But the goodies don’t end there:  check out two more!

#1:  Tired Of Losing Money In Trampled, Peed-On, Rolled-In Hay?

Another equine product that makes you want to throw things & scream:  the Hay Net.  The holes are too big.  The holes are too small.  That drawstring at the top has demonic intent to prevent the loading of any actual hay.  If it doesn’t have a drawstring, the holes are too big...again.  If the holes are just right & it lacks an evil drawstring, well, you must have entered a parallel universe of impossible fantasies.

Currently, I hang a small-hole drawstring net in the trailer.  Yes, it makes me want to scream very bad words while filling it.  But I love that I no longer lose huge quantities of $$$$$ hay onto my trailer floor.  It frustrates the crap out of Encore; unless I pull out a bunch of “starter clumps” for him to grab, he believes it’s too much work & gives up.  *insert eyeroll here*  In the fields, I dole out flakes on the ground or in an old trough with a pin-holed bottom.  I don’t. do. round bales.  (Unless someone wants to mail me a $300 net & a spear for the tractor…)

Mine!!

The Horze Slow Hay Feeder Net looked like a promising solution:  HUGE open top with perfectly-sized holes with a simple hanging design that I could move between trailer & run-in in a snap.  While slightly more expensive than my $11 trailer net, at $24 it was still half the cost of the $55 wall-mount from CinchChix & more flexible.

Loves:

• I can walk up with 4 flakes balanced on one arm, pull the top wide open, & dump them in without loosing a bit
• Easily holds at least 1/2 a square bale
• Two simple mounting loops give you endless hanging options, including my carefully engineered “tie it to the rafters with hay string” technique
• Two sets of short “shoelaces” are sewn into the top binding so you can dissuade Dobbin from just shoving his entire head in
• Since the boys love to camp in their shed on rainy days, it lets Solo continue to “graze” under shelter & holds so much hay, I don’t have to worry about mid-day refills (not tested on Princess Encore-I-Like-To-Pee-In-My-Hay yet)
• After I add a double-ended snap to each hanging loop, I can hang or move it anywhere by simply unclipping & don’t have to mount anything permanent

Awesome MSPaint arrows indicate shoelaces

Minor Design Struggle:

• The enormous top-load is amazing; it could be even better if the “shoelaces” were not both sewn onto the same binding edge.  I weave them to the other edge a couple times & tie a slip-knot for easy release, but it’s a bit awkward (hey, some people have weird, super-logical brains that struggle with lopsided things).
• Alternatively (& what I initially thought the “shoelaces” were), a simple drawstring inside the top binding with a cord lock, like this, would be awesome!

One Sad Discovery:

• Because the netting is softer than a traditional hay bag, it is easier for the horse to snag the hay, & hopefully will be less frustrating for Encore.  However, after about 5 solid days of Solo-use, the net string on a bottom corner is unraveling & pulling out of the side binding.  Mr. Shiny loves his hay & is serious about getting every scrap; it appears that the string is not strong enough for full-time shed residence. 

Despite this initial material failure, though, it shall receive some hay-string patching for continued use!  Horze DOES have a 30-day "happiness guarantee," should you have problems with any product, as well.  While not cut out for full-time “grazing,” I still think it has great functionality for trailering, temporary show-stabling, & other less “aggressive” situations where easy filling & hanging are key!

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Probably not the helmet I'd choose for deer season...

#2:  Serious Safety

While there are many things I love about the Carolinas, fall is not one of them.  It’s perfect riding weather, the trees break out their technicolour dreamcoats, the demonic insects begin their retreat.  What’s not to love?

Oh, it’s also rifle season for white-tailed deer.

A Little Perspective

As an employee of my state’s natural resource agency & a wildlife biologist, I get to see both sides of this…interesting time of year.  Nearly all of my co-workers hunt deer, as well as ducks, doves, turkeys, & feral hogs with bows, muzzleloaders, shotguns, & rifles, as personal preference varies.  And they do it right:  each one is careful, responsible, ethical, educated, & experienced.

MN wins the prize for Best Safety Graphics

Unfortunately, just like horse-world, riddled with double-edged swords, a conscientious participant in hunting-world is not a guarantee.  Outside of work, as a horse & property owner, I must always be alert for the bad apples.  It only takes one guy who thinks it’s funny to shoot a horse out from under someone, or brought a case of beer to the stand, or fires blindly at rustling leaves, or…it happens every year (and all over the country).

We Can & Should Share The Woods, But Be Proactive

As a result, many of us simply stay out of the woods once rifle season begins (the bow hunters & muzzleloaders are so much better at paying attention).  When we do head out on trails, we stick to state parks & private properties.  Even then, I always wear my very sexy DOT safety vest from work (sigh, trespassers…), attach a bear bell to my saddle (I need to fix that), & wear bright-coloured clothing.  I’ve got the vest on for tractor work too; the favoured.30-06 rifle can send a bullet 2-3 miles, so at least no one will be able to say I looked like a deer through the scope!

Glow-in-the-dark Solo!

TL;DR:

I have finally completed my seven-year quest for very affordable riding accessories that didn’t make my horse sweat & screamed “THIS DEER-COLOURED CREATURE IS NOT A DEER!”  And the answer…is $4!!!!

A handy set of four hi-vis reflective sleeves with open ends, the Horze Bzeen String Covers, despite their odd name, incorporate the two best elements of product design:  versatility & simplicity.  I’m not sure if this is standard, but I received two that had velcro down one side & two slightly narrower sleeves that were sewn on both sides.  I slid one of the latter onto a browband & velcro’ed both of the former on my martingale for a test run.

You can definitely see them!  I’m very excited to have these additions to my safety arsenal & am already pondering how many I could fit on one horse!  The nylon fabric feels thin, but sturdy & can get tossed in washing machine whenever needed.

My only “in a perfect world” very picky detail changes

• Either include velcro on every sleeve or give the buyer an option
• Offer them in blaze orange, the universally (or at least in the US) recognized hunting safety colour 

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Thank you so much again to the super-friendly folks at Horze for giving me the opportunity to want more of their stuff try out their great products & helping me share them with you!

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Repair Notes From Your Dedicated Webmaster

The worst three digits online...

Your rage is my sorrow. 

Blogger has this nifty site called Webmaster Tools.  Included here are logs of links that don't work & retrieval errors that have occured on your website.  With the well-organized "help" links & detailed activity breakdowns, it's fantastic!

If you remember to check it more than once every six months.  Or, say, after a major redesign.

Mea culpa.  Again.

After choking on my guilt at the long column of "action blocked" notices, particularly for smartphones (but hey, aren't they supposed to be smart??!), I buckled down in the repair shop.  

Fixed:

• Sharing links at the bottom of each post
• Search function access for mobiles
• Several scripts that were dragging down load time

Probably Broken In The Process:

• Something else

I also primarily work in Firefox, so please do let me know if you have problems in other browsers or platforms.  Opening the site in Chrome today, the Adblock plugin (which behaves perfectly fine in Firefox) decided my social media icons were BAD THINGZ & blocked them all...except one.

Computers:  less expensive than horses, but more rage-inducing.

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Who Knew Horze Sold The Holy Grail Of Bell Boots?

The Unicorn Boots

No-turn bell boots…that DON’T TURN?!!!  You heard me right.

Boots of riding past had me convinced that I might as well hope for a unicorn.  Or even more improbable, a horse that never goes lame!  While I will probably die without seeing the latter, I didn’t have to clap my hands or chant, “I do believe, I do believe…” to realize this dream (I don’t ask much, honestly!).

The Magic Bell Boots

I was delighted when Horze.com inquired as to my interest in testing a few products; I may or may not have perused their site with covetous eyes before.  Delight turned into ecstasy (ok, I’ll admit it, horse owners are weird) when I looked down after a three-hour workout, nearby in VA's Occoneechee State Park.  Not only had these sturdy Horze No Turn Bell Boots STAYED PUT for the entirety of Encore’s tripping trotting carefully through the woods playing “dodge-the-stump-hole” & “I didn’t see those large rocks, *stumble fumble* I was looking at the lake,” but there was not even a hint of a rub on his wussy skin.

Horze No Turn Bell Boots

More Loves: 

• Perfect amount of coverage for self-resecting horses overreach protection
• Tough outer material with solid construction & padding
• Ideal shade of TFS blue (with sharp-looking silver contrast) to match our Ecogold Secure pad, my beloved Rodney Powell XC vest, & the subtle Schumacher browband (won in a raffle!) I put on Encore’s Micklem bridle

The only shortfall I can see is if your horse has jumbo feet; Encore wears a size 2 shoe (for comparison, Solo is a completely average size 0) up front & a Large in pull-on bell boots.  Thankfully, helpful reviews on the Horze website suggested ordering a size up, so these are the largest option, the XF (eXtra-Full).  While they fall in just the right spot for my boy, an equine Sasquatch would need to look elsewhere unless larger models are offered.

Bridle matchy thrills Encore

AND Gloves!

Horze didn’t stop at the grail, though.  My grin of matchy delight got even bigger when I put on the Horze Lyon Synthetic Leather Gloves.  In the dripping environs of NC, I am constantly on the lookout for affordable, lightweight, breathable, lightweight, technical, lightweight (see a trend?) fabrics.  Wow, do we have a win! 

I love the sporty design with the nearly-transparent contrast fabric across the backs & the soft glove material slides easily on, erm, skin that sweats like a pig.  They’re also thin enough that I retain actual manual dexterity while wearing them, a rare & wonderful find. 

And the grip!  I use web reins interwoven with strands of rubber (solid rubber reins are too big & heavy for me) and these babies had one of the best grips I have ever felt; something I value highly on a horse who shakes his head hard…because his bangs tickle his ears.  :/ 

Camera flash bleach-out, boo

Only one concern haunts me.  I have a history of glove massacre due to my enormous hands (seriously, they measure ~8" from fingertip to wrist) and long fingers; I wish I could do without, but I also have baby skin that falls off with the least provocation.  As a result, I usually buy gloves in men’s M or L.  The single on-site review at Horze gave me some hope, as it was written by another person with giant man-hands.  Alas, despite ordering the XL (only women’s sizes were available), they are still too short from fingertip to wrist.  They feel amazing, though, so I will baby them with hope that the seams will hold out against my mutant extremities (I have the same problem with socks, sigh). 

For those of you lucky (all other) people who have normal-sized lady hands, however, these are a super prospect for hot days and sweaty reins!  *gets on knees & begs Horze for mega-sizes*

Both get a “very well done” from me thus far!  Thank you, Horze, because I can’t wait to sport our colour-coordinated awesomeness in our lesson next weekend!  I usually do something stupid, but at least this time, I’ll look good doing it.  

The matched set in dark blue

Career as model: unlikely

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A Hitchiker's Guide To Our New Website

Hated the book, but I was 13...

Being one of those people who takes longer than I will ever admit to mentally digest information, a thought just occurred to me:

Here I have thrown an entire new interface at you and, while I'm sure you have lots of things nothing better to do with your time than play with the shiny new TFS site, perhaps it would be helpful if I handed out instructions!

As I mentioned before the transition, our new site is responsive (FINALLY!).  You can geek out on the link as to what that means in detail (believe me, the template came that way, I am a "trial-and-lots-of-errors-and-googling" programmer, using the word "programmer" extremely loosely), but the part that matters is that for you touchscreen/mobile device peoples, you now get a streamlined, mobile version of the site that matches the web version!

What On Earth Did You Do?

Don't hyperventilate yet, the standards are still standard - the trademark banner of Solo's galloping butt will always bring you home (oh, the levels of symbolism...) and our social media buttons, through which you can suffer through enjoy even more of my random brain drool, have just hopped up to the top of the page.  All photos can still be clicked to embiggen!

Streamlined Sidebars

You can toggle the right sidebar display -- I love tabz!!

All our trusty sidebar widgets are intact, just rearranged.  You'll find our calendar for easy stalking on the left & the blogroll (in need of updating!) just below it as you scroll down.

On the right side, just beneath the search tool (for all your "did she write about that?" inquiries), the handy little tab box allows you to toggle between the most popular posts of the last 30 days, our category labels for easy post sorting, & the (restored to proper useful form) archive calendar.  Scrolling down will take you to our familiar blog community links & the profiles of my orange beasts have just shifted to the footer.

NEW SHINY THINGS!

Here, the title is linked to my review, photo to product site

The Photo Slider:
Don't have a seizure.  If you hover your mouse over the slideshow, it will pause.  You can use either the circles at the base of the slider or the arrows on each side to navigate through at your own speed.  Each photo & title is a clickable link as well!

Email Subscription:

• For those of you who don't use an RSS reader to curate your blog collection or who just don't feel like clicking all the time, there is now an easy email subscription box in our header.  All you have to do is enter your address & click subscribe.  New posts, in a clean, easy-to-read format, will hang out in your inbox until you hit delete feel like reading them. 
• I hate spam as much as you do & all of the subscriptions are protected in my secure account, so I promise I will never send you FREE LIFE INSURANCE QUOTES TODAY!  Never.  
• What you WILL get though (eventually, stupid job), is free bonus content that I am busy compiling, including tip sheets, useful facts, and other fun & useful goodies (sorry, I cannot put chocolate in your inbox).

It was an interesting morning...

Twit Feed:
Despite my ambivalence/hate relationship with Twitter, it is the only way I can share quick tidbits to our Facebook page without being in front of a PC.  I bitterly swallowed my pride (it wasn't too bad, I haven't much left), so you will find a live Twitter feed box in the right sidebar.  It also allows you to follow or tell me I'm an idiot throw a Twit at me with one click (no new windows!).

New Menus With New Options

Some you will recognize, including links to our core team members, sundry horsey items for sale, Solo's story, Encore's arrival, & "In Memorial" of furry friends who said goodbye.  My product reviews are intact, but are now categorized for even easier retrieval.

All your shopping tips, pre-sorted

The two new dropdowns:

• "Education," which includes a list of great OTTB resources, as well as links to my past post collection on topics like equine nutrition & the heart of eventing, the long format.  Keep an eye out for additions and fine-tuning on this one!

Lots of fun things & more to come

• "Important Links" can take you directly to the USEA homepage or to their excellent "Discover Eventing" site, an introduction to our insane, wonderful sport with all kinds of goodies, like a guide to your first event.  This dropdown also includes a brand new page, TFS Friends & Faves, where people, places, and companies we love are featured along with links to my reviews as well as their own pages.

Easy-peasy!

 I hope you will enjoy the new goodies & things will run a little more smoothly!  I'm always picking at things -- a blog seems to be like a farm:  never truly finished.  Please do let me know if you encounter any issues, so I can google the answer repair them right away!

You're welcome (or I'm sorry, depending on what happens...).
-- Not A Web Designer But I Play One On The Internet

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Free Riding Clinics For You! A TFS Redux.

God spake to me...& I could not look upon his holy face

Ever wanted to absorb decades of experience like a little fangirl sponge from greats like Jimmy Wofford, Ian Stark, Becky Holder, or Eric Smiley?

Well, aren't you a lucky little fangirl!!  In the spirit of relaxing over the holiday weekend, for those of us who can't access FEI TV (or don't want to), I have collected, in chronological order, our hilarious spectacular performances in front of these phenomenal horse(wo)men & teachers.  I'm sure they felt just as lucky as I did.  *insert sarcasm font*

I also wanted to share with more recent readers some earlier parts of this wild journey.  I'm sure you are spending every free moment catching up on the 500+ posts since August of 2009 (where's that font again?), but in the meantime, I set the time machine in motion.  Encore & I may appear fearless & quasi-competent at times (usually when no one is looking), but those moments are built on the foundation of 1,000 stumbling blocks of trial-and-error that Solo, my un-erringly brave & accidental partner, made with me.

Have no fear, I am unoffended if you point & laugh.  I do (at myself, past AND present).

The only Olympic-quality ride Solo ever got

The Man Who Ruined Changed Solo & I For All Time (or That First Time We Met The XC Grin)
Ian Stark - Summer 2007
(Yes, I was afraid to canter my horse in an arena because he misplaced that gait.  He only had trot & gallop...except on the trail.  I'll let you guess how humbling it is after 20 years of riding, to finally have a horse & be afraid to canter it.  And yes, I did try to make an eventing legend wear my sweaty helmet.  I failed.  Then Solo nearly dumped him.  Thank cod my horse did not gain infamy as The Killer Of Ian Stark.  *horror*)

• The Lead-In
• Day 1: Dressage, aka Public Embarrassment
• Day 2: Stadium Jumping & Redemption
• Day 3: Cross Country or The Point Of No Return:  Solo Finds His Calling

I Finally Get To Meet God
Jimmy Wofford - Fall 2008
He only whacked my horse on the ass with his baseball cap once...

Becky has not convinced Solo that dressage has merit

We Discover Eventing Mecca & I Become A Bona Fide Stalker (& My Last Clinic With Solo)
Becky Holder - Fall 2010

• Dressage Day:  Getting Seriously Serious
• Gymnastic Jumping Day:  What Do You Mean I Have More Than One Body Part??
• Cross Country Day:  Pride Goeth Before The...Do I Even Have To Say It?

Ok, he can jump

The Best Christmas Present Ever & Encore's First Proper Clinic (Thanks, Mom!)
Camp Becky Holder - 10 Days of Spring Training, 2013

• Day 1:  Arrival At The Magic Kingdom
• Day 2:  Discovering The Outside Rein, It Only Took 30 Years (Literally)
• Day 3:  Holy Gymnastics, Batman
• Day 4:  Cross Country...Sans Equine Brain
• Day 5:  One Of The Most Valuable Lessons Of My Life:  Effective Long-Lining (IZ HARD!)
• Day 6:  Cross Country II...Drops Are Not Chasms, Encore!
• Day 7:  The Three Commandments Of Dressage
• Day 8:  A Day Of Rest & Gratitude
• Day 9:  Creating Adjustability - Experiments In Human Shoulder Detachment
• Day 10:  Stadium Jumping & Putting It All Together
• An Afterward:  General Lessons & Hero Worship

A Scotsman Started The Fire, An Irishman Throws A New Log In The Flame
Eric Smiley - Summer 2013

• Day 1:  You Thought You Knew The Basics.  You Don't.
• Day 2:  Stadium Jumping & Taking Responsibility
• Day 3:  The Best Cross Country Lesson I've Ever Had...And It Was Indoors?

Encore's 1st Training course (Fall 2013)

Wander at will & explore the evolution!  Or save it for some rainy day entertainment.  May there be useful lessons YOU can apply next time you swing a leg over.

And not least of all, thank you to my mother, to Jim, to our amazing friend, Beth, and to the victims kind, random people I threw cameras at.  Your support made these experiences possible & each one is a treasure, both in lessons learned & the partnership forged with my horses.  Not only did these incredible teachers raise the bar on my training & riding about 47 holes, but they did so with patience, grace, generosity of spirit, humility, & humour.

For that, I consider myself lucky indeed. 

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No Cups? No Problem! Build Hassle-Free Jump Standards…For $0!

Careful schematics (I defy 'smart'phone world!)

There are few necessary evils so maddening & so fiddly as The Jump Cup.

Buying them, drilling holes that aren’t too crooked, losing pins, dropping poles on your foot while adjusting them, breaking plastic cups, bending metal cups, deciding you don’t even like the kind you have…but do we have a choice?

YES!

Nostalgia had me paging through my well-worn Encyclopedia of the Horse (a 1977 masterpiece), when a training photo caught my eye.  It wasn’t the jumper, but rather the obstacle:  a simple, versatile schooling jump with ZERO moving parts.  Out came the pencil & some very rusty geometry.

A beautiful Saturday & a newly expanded stockpile of junk reclaimed lumber meant go time.  A few hours (there may have been some wandering & catching up with friends involved *ahem*), an assorted collection of leftover screws, & some precise eyeball measurements, and I’ve got “plug-n-play” eventing standards!

Possibly best safety poster.  Ever.

Your friends are already jealous of your super-fly flower box, now it’s time to blow their minds when you never have to push an angry carpenter bee out of a pin hole again (or maybe that just happens to me?).

Standard Preface from the Safety Nazi:  Dude.  Tools are awesome, but don't mess around.  Wear your safety glasses, close-toed shoes, ear protection when necessary, & pay attention.  Work smarter, not harder.  You can do anything you set your mind to, but make sure you have been properly instructed, know your equipment, & always plan ahead.

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Ready, Set, Go

Rule #1 of Redneck Construction (we’ll consider safety to be Rule #OptimusPrime - hey, he wears a helmet):  never be afraid to try!  No one was born with knowledge, so ask questions, google your heart out, & don’t hesitate to click my email button if you want to know more – I consider it all “paying it forward” in thanks to those who taught me.

Let it begin...

Tools:

• Skilsaw
• Drill (pilot holes are especially useful in treated and/or scrap lumber, reduces cracking & other lumber fail when you drive the screws)
• Impact Driver loaded w/ screwdriver bit (optional; you can use a screwdriver bit in your drill or a hand screwdriver)
• Measuring Tape  
• Pencil (or Sharpie, crayon, paint pen of your choice)
• Wood Screws (I maintain a collection of leftovers)

Lumber:	Two Frames	(2) 6’ scraps (dimensions optional, but this is your base, so wide is good)
		(4) 5’ scraps (dimensions optional, mine don’t even match)
	Pole Supports:	As many as you like at any height you like (naturally, none of mine match here either)

Other Materials:  A camera so you can share your masterpiece.  A phone in case you have to dial 911 (Remember, "proactive, not reactive").  Paint/stain if you really want to go hog-wild (overachiever).

Pertinent Notes:  I wanted a 4’ standard, as I need to be able to school up to ~3’7”.  My secret ulterior motive:  this also makes the geometry EXTREMELY easy, because one vague concept I remember is the standard 3-4-5 right triangle (hello, sophomore year of high school flashback).  The frame now measures itself:  with a 4’ line from the apex down the center, it is simply two right triangles back-to-back.  Each angled side must then be 5’ and the base, 6’ (two triangles combined = 3’ X 2).

Yeah, just look at the picture up top, I’m a visual learner too, LOL!
 

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Damn straight, it's the TFS Official Eventing Stick!

Step 1:  I like to do all my basic cuts first.  But I usually, erm, SQUIRREL!, & MAKE A KEWL THING!  Since owning a farm apparently makes you an instant hoarder, I’d been saving this sturdy little pole I’d found in the giant burn pile (included free with property purchase, LOL).  One end had splintered, but I simply cut that off, sat down with my Sharpie, & check it out:  my own handy measuring pole, labeled by USEA levels!

Frame layout

The Actual Step 1:  Cut the basic frame boards to length (for both standards) & lay them out.  Yes, these ARE three boards of completely different dimensions & age, heh.  My 6’ base is at the bottom of the photo & the two 5’ sides are angled around the 4’ upright.

The 4’ board is NOT included/attached to the standard, I just used it as a guide for the other three boards.  And I may or may not have gotten a little excited with the Sharpie & decided it needed to have the levels pre-marked & labeled too (hey, I might need a back-up measurer).

4' reference upright

Step 2:  I suck at miter-ing.  A lot.  To trim the angles you see in the standing frame, I very scientifically overlapped the boards in the final configuration, squinted one eye, & sketched the trim lines.  Then, I just nipped the corners with the skilsaw.  Close enough.

Since there will be cross-boards screwed on to the frame, you don’t need to worry if your joints are a little gappy (not the ones in  your body, I can’t help with those).  The support boards will reinforce the frame & your finished product will be very solid.  At present, there is only one screw at each joint.

First completed frame

I also did a slight design modification.  If all your lumber matched (boring!) and you had actual miter skillz, you would fasten each side to the top surface of the base.  However, since I was working with some boards that were narrow & some that were quite old, I decided to drive the screws through the wider face of the angled boards into the thicker sides of the base.  It worked out very well & let me avoid splitting the edges of my thinner lumber.

   

Adding the first crosspiece

Step 3:  Do a little dance!  The hard part is done!  Now it’s time for the crosspieces, which will hold your poles/branches/panels/whatever else you can think of.

I laid out my 4’ guide upright, but I don’t have a t-square & didn’t feel like getting fussy with the level.  After laying down each cross-board, I also measured the vertical distance from the base to the top of the crosspiece on each side.  Now I could be sure that my poles would be supported at the heights I wanted & I marked the positions with my sharpie before I drilled.

Labeled by USEA level!

Step 4:  I was getting hungry & didn’t feel like ripping new boards down with the saw at this point (project honesty).  This translated to making do with the scrap assortment I had in front of me.  I had enough to cover the essentials, though.  This finished standard has supports at 2’, 2’7” (BN), and 3’3” (T).  Of course I labeled them!!

One standard, AH AH AH!!

Step 5:  Repeat steps 1-4.  It goes much more quickly now that you have experience!  For now, my 2nd standard has only BN & T crosspieces, but later additions are a snap.

Step 6:  JUMP SWEET JUMPS!  Ok, I haven’t gotten this far yet, but if you do, picture submission is required!!

All done!  Well, for today.

Future Finesse

I have a few touches left to finish (after significant snack-age).  Extras for you to consider:

• Add a short scrap perpendicular to the end of each base if feet are needed for stability.
• Cut the corners off crosspieces to reduce pointy edges.
• Use molding scraps or other small wood pieces to make blocks on the end of crosspieces to prevent pole rolling.
• Cut scoops or notches in crosspieces to hold poles like a cup.
• Cut multiple notches in crosspieces on the inside of the triangle; you can make cavalleti, oxers & triple bars with just one pair of standards!
• Paint it pretty, or stain to seal if you prefer the natural wood finish.
• Drill holes in the baseboard for flowers, pinwheels, or other decoration.
• What else can your imagination dream up??

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Red Alert: Change Is Afoot

Danger, Will Robinson!!

Yes, I know, change is scary, but this one is long overdue & very exciting.

How about I leave you hanging a bit longer...?

TFS IS ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE A SERIOUS FACELIFT!

Didn't you just do that? 

You're right, it wasn't terribly long ago when I implemented the current design.  However, it's time for me to admit that, despite endless fussing, I've never been that happy with it.  The deal-breaker was when I found I'd made a  mistaken assumption and it's not responsive.  Boo.  (Just because I hate touchscreens doesn't mean I want to punish the millions of  you who use them!!)

So hold on to your bucking straps.  There are still a few details to finesse, although my beta-testers have given the thumbs-up.  But I think it's going to be a smoother ride.

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Life Smacks You In The Face. Horses Reduce The Swelling Afterwards.

If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible.  - Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

This week has been a rare treat at the real job (and by “treat”, I mean, a quite unexpected awfulness I didn’t see coming).  Every office has its crappy days, but it’s a special occasion when it stands out among a decade.  (I love my job, I love my job, I love my job, I…)

Betrayal, rage, pain, all the fun parts!  I am quite careful & quite diligent at drawing a firm line between my professional life & my personal one, but this monstrosity shoved right through that wall at exactly the wrong time, which naturally just multiplies the offense.  Something tells me I wouldn’t be off base in guessing you’ve been there…

Chocolate helps, but one “normal” person can really only have one expensive hobby at a time.  Which boils down to why we all have chosen to torture surround ourselves with large, suicidal, frustrating, money-burning, unpredictable, mesmerizing, magical, & altogether wonderful horses at every opportunity.  In fact, I find myself wondering if I can substantially increase my tax write-offs by adding “equine-assisted therapy” as a line item.

One of my resident greys

Requirement:  Resident Therapists

The smallest things can save you a drive to the loony bin.  That husky nicker alongside a face that says to you, “Hooray!  You are the bestest sight & I’ve been waiting all day just for you!”


Stomp-whisk-nom slows your breathing in time with horses deterring flies while relishing supper.

Watching the crystalline well-water fill the trough as a hidden broad-winged hawk scolds an uninvited guest somewhere in the oak trees, I can finally feel everything else fade away.  As the grey tree frogs launch their daily chorus, all that's left behind is a very welcome relief.

Could Actual Riding Actually Occur??

Oddly, almost surreally, it is a breathtakingly gorgeous evening:  August in North Carolina has a long tradition of sweating through four shirts a day, as well as fascinating discoveries, such as the fact that you CAN actually sweat underwater.  I guess the memo has gotten lost because my pastures are exploding with green & the air is…pleasant??!

The best part?  Solo digs eagerly in to his favourite spots in the top pasture, which has been resting for a couple weeks.  I carefully pick through Encore’s feet with Durasole, ichthammol, and ThrushBuster, only to find his LF closing up & his RF comfy, and FOUR SHOES ON FOUR FEET (*cough* we may or may not have seen our farrier twice in five days last week *cough*).

Don't be jealous!

How can I help but smile as I buckle the nylon girth of our fabulously stylish bareback pad (bony chick + TB withers = I am not ashamed of my eBay memory foam!!)?  Encore seems to agree: every bridling usually includes a patient pause while I wait for him to unclamp his silly teeth.  Today, though, I lifted the bit to an already-open mouth.  I guess we both got bored!

Yes, you read that right:  bareback pad.  You know, since he’s a “crazy” OTTB and all, after five weeks off, things get very dramatic when I hop on from the trailer fender and we…walk around for a while.  :D 

Getting The Kinks Out

The ride itself was nothing fancy; I mostly just used the terrain for walk work.  Both his front feet still have a week or two of growing to do before I am ready to put them back in full service.

So we wandered around the farm & I even had the gall (says my horse) to pick up the contact & school some lateral work, combined with stretching over his topline (I know, animal cruelty at its worst).  Encore grudgingly accepted once I explained it was simple physical therapy to soften all those tight muscles which have been standing around compensating for sore feets.  I did manage to restrain my “I told you so" once his back stretched, lifted & began to swing as he unlocked his hind legs & loosened into the bridle.
    
Savouring The Now

Every evening, my pond turns into molten gold when the fading light hits just the right angle.  Flycatchers & a common yellowthroat warbled across the pastures, a perfect counterpoint to the steady four-beat swoosh of hooves through tall grass.

After being grounded for more days than I can count, feeling my horse’s strong confidence beneath me, knowing we both relished the jailbreak, being in each moment & letting it all soak in – well, I don’t need to explain to you how precious those times are!

After I shut the gate, releasing Encore to enjoy fresh grass with his little big brother, I lingered there, watching my happy horses just doing what they do.  Something in that fills you up, as if you were the trough you just tended.  Even if there was old water in it already, you shove the hose to the bottom and the fresh, clean flow revitalizes the supply & pushes the stale, cloudy water out.  You are restored, at least in part, and for today, that is enough. 

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The Agony & The Ecstasy: An Update (Mostly On The Former)

*insert standard blogger excuse about life, jobs, shoving your horse's legs in buckets of ice at midnight, perfecting your hoof wrapping techniques, blah blah blah, whatever, no posts for you*

There, that's out of the way.

To say it's been a roller coaster would be a vast understatement.  This morning, however, was the anxiously-awaited give vast sums of money to Dr. Bob fall shots/check my horses' various & sundry issues gala. 

HorseS??  You wonder quite correctly.  Solo, not to be outdone by his big little brother, has been quite sore in his large shoulder muscles for the past 6-8 weeks.  Erica & I have been massaging & stretching & staring quizzically (ok, that's my speciality), so I was relieved I could finally just throw him at Dr. Bob and let the magic hands find the answers.

Go home, horses, you're drunk.  Oh, wait, you are home...

Sore Solo

Aside from getting to be punch drunk on 1/3 a can of PBR (aka sedation lightweight, he's a cheap date) while his teeth floated away, he was quickly pronounced footsore on both fronts.  Lots of small bruises in his hooves have him compensating with those enormous shoulders & parking out a little to distribute his weight across his feet.

*now insert mom feels bad*

Oddly enough, I was relieved at this answer.  Instead of some new shoulder injury (which I greatly feared he might have come up with during The Pasture Games), instead we just confirmed that genetics are genetics & Mr. Shiny still has wussy feet.  I had been using  his front boots when we ride out, but on the farm or in an arena, he's just been going barefoot.

I had not seen a big change in his movement until the past two weeks though.  Dr. Bob once again fit the pieces together for me:  wet weather brings out raging growth in crabgrass, which is apparently quite delicious.  My pastures are mixed forage (this makes me happy, different species offer different things and do well at different times of year) & certainly have their share of this treat.  However, it is very high in starches when wet, which makes wussy feet even more sensitive.  Given the past ten days of monsoon season...lightbulb!

The Star Pupil

Encore has kept me hopping (& also made me an expert at monitoring a digital pulse, which my farrier FINALLY was able to show me...it's a lot easier to find when it's pounding).  :-(  Three emergency line calls & four vet visits in a month, well, I could have done without.  But things are healing, in fortunate cooperation with me reaching the dregs of my vetwrap stockpile!

Encore's RFhandiwork, 16 July

Not quite so gory, 2 Aug

You'll recall his rather spectacular self-resection of his RF hoof on July 16.  He so enjoyed all the extra attention that he decided to go dead lame on his LF foot after his most recent shoeing.

Actually at actual midnight.  :/

Whee.

Wonder-farrier ran back to the farm the next day & pulled three nails to relieve pressure on what turned out to be the same bruise we poked at in late June.  It was just wandering around in poor Encore's foot because he simply refuses to abscess things out (heaven forbid we appear normal!).

I'll skip over his attempts to kill me by heart failure, timing pulses, hoarding ice, stocking bulk supplies of Epsom salts, & practicing duct tape sculpture by headlamp.  Including last night's wail of despair as he came limping in for dinner, sans LF shoe (to be fair, it held on valiantly for having only one inside nail).

Because today...(1) I got permission to stop wrapping the RF, as Dr. Bob deemed it hard enough to just take an occasional dab of ichthammol & carry on, and (2) The Man took his determined hoof knife to Encore's LF front sole and in a few expert slices, exposed the furtive gypsy bruise at last!!!

You know you have been a horse owner long enough when you are HAPPY to see pus and blood seeping out of your horse's foot...

Ok, I admit, I majorly science-geek-out on this picture

Of course he did.

Which Leaves Us...?

Hopefully over the hump of this particular mountain!  Encore's shoe has just been tacked back on, so I can save my duct tape while his bruise heals.  Of course the idiot managed to step on himself while sedated (don't take him out for drinks, he gets the high gravity version) and cut a chunk out of his hind pastern.  *I'd headdesk but I broke the desk from over-use*  At least it's just a flesh wound!  As long as he is not sore, I can (omg, don't breathe a word) ride him in a few days.

Solo will go back to work in his snazzy boots after a little rest and we'll all feel a bit better after some painkillers!

Now, would someone mind pouring me a shot of very expensive tequila?

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