Motivation

I think that motivation is a really interesting thing. We used to talk about it more as inspiration when I was growing up as a musician in a family of musicians but it's pretty much the same thing in this case.

As I was growing up I had constantly changing interests, like most kids I'm sure, and from one day to the next the thing that I was motivated to do could really change. I had a bunch of different hobbies and interests, had different pets, learned different things like sculpture and basically would be really, really into something for a few weeks to a few years off and on before moving on to something else. The only thing that really stuck around through all of that was horses but I never really got to do all of the things that I wanted to until recently and I think I filled in some of that want with other hobbies.

Over the last few years it's been all about horses, Katai in particular. I haven't taken on any new hobbies and have really focused on dressage and Katai as well as other important things in my life like being vegan (food, recipes, learning to make new things like brewing Kombucha etc), blogging,  spending time with friends, getting more fit, doing stuff with Veggie, focusing on my new job etc. It's been nice! It's nice to focus on one thing, its nice to not be spending money on picking up, and then dropping, a whole bunch of new things and it's all I really wanted.

So far my motivation hasn't really gone down. I've had small peaks and valleys and times where I'm just less motivated to ride but mainly it seems to be more about just laziness than anything else. However recently I just haven't been as motivated as I was and knew that something was nothing me but wasn't quite sure what it was. It's been a couple of months since I was motivated but at first I thought that the break when I was in WA for a week might help, then when I got back and got so sick of course I wasn't going to be motivated. The problem is that I just haven't been feeling like I'm really motivated and back into it even now that I'm feeling better.

In my musician family we used to talk about doing other things that would help with our motivation such as reading a good book, going to an art museum, spending time at a national park, going for a hike etc. Sometimes though it's just immersing yourself into the thing that you aren't feeling motivated to do even more that help increase your motivation. The problem is that it's tough to know which will help.

I think I finally figured out why I haven't been as motivated but I'm going to share more about that later. For now, the break last week and watching all of those talented ponies at the National Dressage Pony Cup was really good for my motivation.

Bittersweet Return

Kentucky in the early morning on the flight home.

First off my trip back home was really long. I got to the airport at 3:00am CST and didn't get back home until 1:30pm CST. There were delays due to weather, delays due to a plane needing repair, then after already taking longer than it should have I got to the airport in MN and needed to take the light rail home. Normally this is really, really easy with just one transfer from the "blue line" to the "green line" but both were shut down towards downtown Minneapolis so I needed to take the blue line for awhile, then climb on a blue line shuttle bus, then switch to a green line shuttle bus, then get on the green line and then get home. All while toting a rather large suitcase and computer bag.

Only probably was that the green line shuttle bus driver got lost, really lost. We were lost for nearly 45 minutes. It was horrible especially since we kept getting stopped at lights so the air conditioning on the bus wasn't working very well and it was hot. At any rate I made it home safe with all of my personal belongs so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I LOVE Kentucky and already miss being there. I'm making it a goal to get to Rolex next year so I'm hoping to be back soon :)

Gorgeous bronze nearly life sized horse outside of an antique store.

I'm also really happy to be home! The trip to Kentucky was a great beginning to my long 10 day total vacation that I've been needing so badly. I can't believe how much I got done just today on Monday and that's on the beginning. My plans for this week go something like this.

Monday and Tuesday is the Suzanne Winslade clinic at my barn. I'm not riding this time, mainly budget but also because of the KY trip, but on Sunday L raved about how well Katai did for her ride and also mentioned that her young horse was slightly lame (after being a goofball and getting a couple of big cuts on his rear fetlocks) so she asked if she could ride Katai at her lesson with Suzanne. Katai was sort of on hold since she was hoping that her horse would be sound enough for the lesson.

I had planned to audit for awhile and to watch L ride but with the chance that she might ride Katai meant riding I definitely wanted to be there. I got some grocery shopping done in the morning and did some cleaning (my roommates are pretty good for guys, but still young guys) and laundry.

I got to the barn around 2:00 and L was riding at 4:00. I watched both earlier lessons and talked to the BM and some of the other boarders. L showed up about 40 minutes early but they'd been running early so she asked for my help to get her horse tacked up while she went to talk to Suzanne to see how she wanted to handle the lesson. They decided that L would ride her horse for 30 minutes and then Katai for 30 minutes. I watched a bit of her lesson and then got Katai ready so that I could walk her and warm her up for a bit before she needed to switch to Katai.

An exciting picture of Katai's back that I need to send out for saddle fit help. I think she's looking pretty good here

I got her all tacked up and warmed up but L's horse was doing so well that she stuck with him for the full lesson and I was happy for her that she was able to ride her own horse. However, I'd handed her off and took her horse to cool him out before we realized that the hour was up so L offer to just put a ride on her. I certainly couldn't argue with a free trainer ride and although I had wanted to ride it was 75% humidity and I was dripping sweat just getting Katai tacked up and so I'd lost some of my motivation.

I quickly got L's horse untacked and cleaned up and then put him back in his stall and went back to watch Katai. Despite not being very enthused about working in the heat and still being a little tired from the previous day's ride with L Kati was really good. She listened well and only had a few minor resistant moments. Mainly she was really, really, really good! She was soft and through and was really doing a great job. L started off, after a brief trot to really warm her up, by working on transitions within the trot. She was getting some really nice lengthening and, the tough one, some really nice collected work AND she was getting it by sitting. Normally Katai loses her mind when you sit the trot because she's waiting for the canter cue (that's the only time I sit right now) but she was doing really well with it today.

Then they did counter canter!! So, so cool and she did really well especially for a second time. L was playing with that, half steps, and shoulder in yesterday during her ride and just wanted to practice it with her since she normally doesn't get to ride Katai twice in a row. I did end up hearing from a couple of people at the barn how L was raving about Katai and how she did yesterday. My little superstar :-)

Now I'm even more motivated to ride even if Katai is going to get a few days outside of the sandbox and a well earned day off before I get to do a dressage ride.

National Dressage Pony Cup Trip Recap - Long

I'm so excited to be able to attend the NDPC again this year. I was here in 2014 as you may remember but that was with a friend (previous roommate) who was familiar with KY and is a huge race enthusiast. That trip was all about visiting and spending time in KY including going to a race, the Keenland auction etc. This year for me was all about the pony cup so I planned two days in Lexington (Friday and Saturday) with the goal of spending the full day both days at the KY Horse Park. I was so excited to fly out!

I luckily was able to get packing completed on Wednesday (despite my puppy not being very happy with me and hoping to invite himself with) which was good because I had to leave for the airport directly after work on Thursday.

He's pretty good at breaking my heart when he wants something he can't have like going along in my suitcase. Maybe next year :)

I made it to the airport plenty early thanks to my amazing roommate who got off work early to drive me in. I got some dinner at the airport and then was on my way, or at least I thought.

First my flight was delayed because of some small repair that needed to get done. Then they got us all on the plane and promptly told us that there was a ground stop in Chicago so it was going to be half an hour. That turned into an hour and a half. I knew that flights out of Chicago were going to be delayed as well but since I only had an hour to transfer to my next flight I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and was really hoping that I wouldn't need to spend the night at the airport.

Despite being stressful it was a beautiful flight to Chicago

I was actually able to make my transfer which was actually running quite late as well. It was a cute little baby plane with two seats on one side but only one along the other side. Smallest plane I've ever been in.

Chicago to Lexington in a baby plane

Unfortunately that meant that instead of getting to Lexington around 8:30pm I didn't get there until 12:30am. It also meant that the rental car I had booked through Hertz wasn't available since they must have closed at 9:00. I ended up getting a "second" rental car from Enterprise who was open which sucked but oh well, what can you do. It also meant that I got to my AirBnB pretty late and was lucky that the guy who owns the place is sort of a night owl and was able to answer my questions about how to find it, since it didn't show up on my GPS, and how to get in. It's a studio apartment which is really cool and in a beautiful historic building right near downtown.

One of my favorite ponies

I was eventually able to find it and get in. I pretty much collapsed right into bed around 1:20am and was happy to sleep in the next morning.

I did eventually get myself out of bed and decided to run a few errands before heading to the show. I had chosen this AirBnB because it had a mini kitchenette and I was hoping to save some money by buying groceries and preparing most of my own food. I found a Trader Joes and bought some groceries. After getting back, putting them away, and grabbing everything I'd need for the day I headed out and got the show right around 10:30am.

Seriously the cutest flying changes ever!

It was actually really nice and overcast, in fact I found out later that there had been rain delay's early on, and was nice to be there without the heat and the sun. I walked around to the various rings and watched for awhile and then went to find some food at the restaurant at the KY Horse Park. I found some french fries that were vegan enough ;) and found a table. At some point I looked outside and realized that it was pouring. Apparently I have really great timing!

This guy is the first dressage rider that I've ever seen with a full beard!

After I finished my lunch I stopped by the giftshop and got a really awesome plastic rain poncho and then headed back out to watch ponies again! Amazingly enough with how hard it had been pouring while I was eating, the rain stopped completely right after I headed back out to watch. Maybe the universe felt like I'd already put up with enough on this trip?

Adorable Buckskin in the warmup ring

At any rate I watched some more amazing and talented ponies and their owners. I really enjoyed watching the upper level riders and ponies but what was really fun was watching the people that are closer to my level. It was amazing to watch the 1st and 2nd level ponies and see that while the ponies that were winning were amazing and nearly perfect, there were plenty of people that were doing quiet well that have many of the same bobbles that we would have at this point. Not at 2nd level of course, I can't even imagine showing at that level yet but 1st level for sure. It was really good motivation to keep at it!

It was also fun (and sometimes funny) to hear Axel Steiner's commentary. He had a few sarcastic sounding comments but mostly was very complimentary of the ponies and their riders. If you're interested you'll be able to find the archived live stream on USEF Network this year!

Then I went shopping...

My "I probably shouldn't have bought this" face. Adorable AirBnB in the background

I did actually have a small budget for shopping and only went slightly over what I had planned. My souvenirs seem to always be riding clothes. There is the Asmar jacket that I got in OH when I was in Cleveland for my sister's college graduation, and the Kastel Denmark sun shirt that I got last time I was in KY. The purchases for this trip were a jacket from Horze and a pair of my favorite breeches from Horze that are sold out on the website. 

I've planned to get another "shell" jacket since I wear these all the time and lost my FAVORITE mountain horse jacket at some point last winter. I nearly cried over that one. I've been just wearing my Asmar jacket but it's nice to have two so that I can wash them more often. Plus it's MN, there are seriously 4-5 months of the year or more when a good light jacket makes sense. I LOVE Horze stuff as I've mentioned before but their sizing is weird. The only shirts I've ever got from them have either been too big or too small so I just don't get their tops anymore without trying them on first. In fact, this jacket was an XXS which I certainly am not but it fits great and is so adorable. The breeches are the same as the burgundy ones that I have and adore but are in a light grey with a navy blue seat.

Squeeeeeee

I REALLY wanted these when they came out for my "schooling show" breeches but I hesitated and they sold out online and aren't sold anywhere locally. I saw them on a mannequin at a vendor tent on Friday and asked if what size they were. I was really sad when the shop owner said that they were a 22 which would never fit me. I let her know that I would need a 26 and she went to check to see if they had a pair in the back. She came back out with a pair but it was a 24. Since I've been losing weight and my 26s are slowly getting a little looser I decided to just try them on and although they're just slightly snug they do fit!! I thought about it a bit but did go for it and I'm so exited about finally having them!

The Fell mare from H's barn

I also met up with the owner and rider of the ponies that are here from H's barn in MN! The owner has two adorable Fell ponies and I've met her trainer who rode at the NDPC. I've actually watched her ride the gelding at the recent Janet Foy clinic at H's barn that I went to. The rider and owner were really nice and we talked ponies for awhile while we hung out in the stable isle. I found out that both ponies were showing the next day, the mare that I'd seen on Friday was showing really early but the gelding, who is showing Prix St. George, was showing around 11:30 which was very doable so I let them know that I'd be there to see him go the next day.

I got back to the AirBnB around dinner and after making some food I went on a couple of errands to get some more drinking water and other odds and ends. The rest of the evening I caught up on blogs and watched Youtube.

These two were so adorable! She rode upper level and the pony couldn't have been over 13.2 hands.

I got up fairly early this morning and after making some coffee and getting breakfast I headed back out to the horse park. I wanted to be there early and leave right around noon so that I could make myself lunch and get out of the heat and sun before it got really hot.

Lauren Chumley riding Grand Prix on Avatar's Jazzman

I saw a bunch more talented ponies and got to see Lauren Chumley ride grand prix as well as some other extremely talented upper level ponies. I also watched some more lower level tests and got to pet more amazing ponies. I knew that the Fell I was there to watch wasn't going to be out very long before his test since he has a lower energy level and they didn't want to wear him out before his class. Right around 11:20 I found him and made my way back over to his owner. She was so nice and so excited to have a fan there to watch her pony :)

The Fell gelding from H's barn with his group of admirers after a great Prix St. George test!

He did an AMAZING job especially for a pony that's just not built for upper levels. It was so inspiring and amazing to watch him put in a great and clean test. I believe he scored in the 50s which is amazing for a little guy that was brought up through the levels by lots of hard work. It was especially amazing to see his rider/trainer pumping her arms in the air and giving him lots of hugs after the test and hearing how rewarding it was after all her hard work with him. She's an amazing rider that has her gold medal and has ridden many warmbloods and yet said that this was way more rewarding then those other tests that she's completed because of all the work she's put in with him to get him here.

We all gushed over him for awhile, he'd gathered a little crowd of admirers, and then when they headed back to bathe him and get the mare ready for a breed class I left and headed back to my AirBnB. It would have been fun to stay a bit longer but I'd seen so much pony dressage and it was getting really hot and sunny and I was ready to be in the air conditioning again.

The front of my AirBnB

Downtown Lexington

I LOVE all the amazing historical, brick houses

I did a bit more exploring and now I'm planning to spend the rest of the evening hanging out here and then I'm going to head to bed early since I have to leave around 4:00am for the airport to head home. I'm so happy to have been able to be here again and it just makes me even more excited to get here with Katai some day!

The Best Laid Plans

Not sure that she wants a job as a model

I've had a lot to do before my trip and in a small amount of time. This past weekend I rode outside and went on a trail ride on Saturday. I did a lot of canter and the outdoor arena is a little deep so on Sunday I just lunged her at walk/trot/canter with the trial saddle. My plan was to climb up and do a little trot but when the saddle clearly didn't fit I just called it.

Then I drove just over an hour south to my parent's farm where I grew up. We spent time together on Sunday and then went to the county fair and watched harness racing on Monday which has been our tradition since I was little. I had a great time and it was good to see family again. I drove home Monday evening and took care of some grocery shopping and food prep for the week.

My plan was to go to the barn and ride on Tuesday and Wednesday this week since I won't be out Thursday-Sunday. Unfortunately Tuesday we ended up with severe thunderstorms and there just wasn't a way for me to make it to the barn. I think it actually ended up being good though since I got a ton done and I'm not sure that I would have had time to do everything I needed before my trip otherwise. I was able to get the Prestige boxed up, both other trial saddles packed in my car, the boxed up prestige packed up in my car, extra supplement baggies made and packed in my car, my suitcase nearly packed, laundry done and folded and a grocery list done for my trip.

On Wednesday I stopped at the post office to mail the prestige,  got both other trials back to the local tack shop, and finished packing. Of course the most important thing is that I was able to make it out to the barn to ride my girl and spend some time with her before I left her for a few days.

I'll have an update on my trip and the Dressage Pony Cup soon!

Much Needed Time Off

I haven’t had much time off over the past several years. I graduated from grad school in 2010 and had been working nearly full time through my time in school. I worked full time in retail for a few months after I graduated and then went right into my career. During the last 6 years I’ve only ever had one full week off. I’ve had some 3, 4, and 5 day weekends but other than that one time I haven’t had more than 5 days off in a row. Now I finally get a chunk of time off!!

I’m leaving for KY for the National Dressage Pony Cup on Thursday afternoon and will be off Friday through the following full week. That means that I’ll have 10 full days off in a row.

I’m so freaking excited!

With that being said, I absolutely adore my current job. I’ve had great jobs in the past but I’m extremely lucky that I adore my current job and all of the people I work with. I’ll actually miss them and I know that I’m putting more work on everyone else with taking this much time off. I don’t really feel guilty (I know I need this and my productivity really needs it) it’s just that I’ll miss everyone and the purpose that my job gives me every day.

Oh well, did I mention 10 DAYS OFF!!!!!!!

Will anyone else be at the NDPC at the Kentucky Horse Park later this week? Or, does anyone that lives close want to meet up? It would be so much fun to have a blogger meetup while I’m out there!

Saddle Saga

The Prestige Lucky I have on trial doesn't fit. It doesn't fit so badly that I could see daylight through the bridging areas but, we think it's just because it's too narrow. So, I'm going to take a leap of faith and try to get another trial in a wider tree size. If it fits it will be perfect, if it doesn't, I'm going to wish that I hadn't gone for either trial but at least I'll know!

I LOVE the saddle though. It's the new Lucky Idol and it's gorgeous, the leather is amazing, I love the flap length and the seat is really comfortable for me. I'm going to have my fingers crossed until I get a chance to try it.

In the meantime at the suggestion of my trainer I picked up an Amerigo Vega from our local tack shop. I heard great things about them for ponies. This was a wide 17.5" so it was a bit of a wild card and while the shape of the tree fit really well and the point billets put the girth in the right place it was just too wide so it still slid forward (worse than my saddle actually). It's on my list since I think if I can find a 17" in a MW or M tree it has a good chance of fitting. It wasn't my favorite to sit in though so It's not at the top of my list right now. Once I've had a chance to try a different tree size in the Prestige Lucky I'm going to try a few other options.

June Goals Recap

Update to current goals:

1. Proper bend to the left – I’ve been chipping away at this all month and it’s actually getting better. At the very least she isn’t as surprised when I ask for the bend through the jaw now so she get less defensive. However, either through focus on this side or possibly saddle fit(?) she’s now struggling more with proper bend to the right

2. Stretchy Trot – I’ve been working on this a lot this month. I’m getting better at getting her stretching out but she’s still struggling with her balance a little. Once we’ve gone back into work I haven’t focused on this as much and I think with a little loss of strength she was struggling more with this last week when I worked on it.

3. Canter Transitions – These are getting way better! I’ve had a few great transitions to the right (her tougher side) but her transitions to the left are consistently  WAY better. This is a total win for my new goal setting format

4. Lateral Work – This is getting so much better!! I’ve been doing a lot of shoulder in and nose to the wall leg yield along the wall and she’s really getting it. Her balance has been getting better and she’s getting a bit better at working through and not getting tight through her back. We’re still having some rushing but that’s been getting progressively better.

5. Cavaletti Exercise – I haven’t done this one again but plan to pull it out again in the near future

I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to transition from previous goal to new goals but I think that what I’m going to do is kick anything off the list that’s going well. My goal is to get these items at a good point and then at least maintain but shift my focus to other areas. Then if for some reason I’m having trouble maintaining progress on something I’ll put it back on the list.

 New Goals:  

1. Proper bend to each direction - I honestly think this is something we should have better by this point. I’m sure if I were a more advanced rider that this would be more consistent than we have it right now. I’m going to just keep working and improving my skills at this.

 2. Work outside - I just need to get her outside as much as I can and for as many different activities as possible

 3. Do chiropractor prescribed stretches before every ride (also getting a massage book so that I can do some of this myself :)

Summertime Sadness

I'm not really sad that it's summer but I'm currently enjoying this song by Lana Del Rey.

However, I do have to admit that summer is not my favorite season. My favorite temperatures are 40-70. I love the spring and fall for this reason and although I've come to terms with summer and been doing better with the heat since I've gotten fitter it's still not my favorite.

It doesn't seem to be Katai's either. Even though the barn is fairly cool she literally tries to park herself in front of each fan we walk past in the isle. Her favorite is the one that is aimed right at her when she's in the cross ties. Every time I pull her out to groom she falls asleep in the cross ties and gets grumpy when I move her.

The thing pony dreams are made of

We have been spending time bonding while I scratch her itches, especially her udder because she loves that. I've also started to do some massage with her and she gets all blinky and chewy and cute about it. I'm planning to order a book on horse massage and start practicing. She's naturally a tense horse and I think she could use a massage every week if I could afford it. I finally decided that rather than paying someone to do very regular massages I should just learn myself and do some as needed.

I think she's also still getting used to all of the turnout. Her body feels pretty good but I think she's just a little sleepy and a little tired, looser, but tired.

I've been trying to give her lots of breaks from time in the ring and ride outside but unfortunately we've discovered that this barn has LOTS of horseflies. Horrible, nasty, stubborn things that follow her even at a canter on the lunge.

It's very important to get fan time on both sides of your pretty face

After a particularly bad experience in the outdoor ring we'd given up for about a week but we tried it out again yesterday and lived to tell the tail. Thanks to a really adorable ear bonnet we were able to keep them at bay for long enough to work in the ring awhile and then ride on our "trail". It was gorgeous weather and we had an amazing time.

Now I just have to get a picture of my adorable girl in her ear bonnet to share :)

Knowing When to Push: Lesson Recap 6/26

Yay for lessons again! It had been three weeks out which was honestly just as well since I had been gone and sick and Katai was recovering from her chiro (plus it was really good for my budget) but I’d been missing having that feedback. I was also feeling a little bit of lesson anxiety since I hadn’t made as much progress as I’d wanted to while L was gone and just wasn’t quite sure what we were going to be working on.

For that reason I was really happy when I saw cones set out in the arena. I do really well with clear goals like ground poles or cones provide and I can make myself nitpick a little less which is good for everyone. L had cones set in the middle. Two were set to guide 20 meter circles at either end of the arena and in the middle. At the very center were two cones set the other way to make a 10 meter circle figure eight going the short way across the arena.

The task was to do 20 meter circles at each normal point through the arena and then to do 10 meter circles or 10 meter figure eights at points to help rebalance the pony. Not too surprisingly the beginning of the lesson ended up being more about helping me actually make circles and not odd shapes. I do pretty well through about ¾ of the circle but then I get stuck to the rail and make a 90 degree corner heading away from the rail on the long side. Of course I do that twice on the circle in the middle of the ring. It was tough for me to correct but once I started planning ahead a little more I was starting to make much more even circles and not making Katai do corners all over the place.

Katai was clearly tired and not feeling motivated to be ridden for very long. I’m sure she’s lost some fitness during her vacation (even if a minimal amount) plus it’s gotten hot recently so while our heat index that day wasn’t in the 100s it was still quite hot and that’s very de-motivating for a pony. Especially one that has gained some poundage recently…

I admitted to L that I have a tough time knowing when to push. With Katai it’s such a fine line and she’s such a delicate flower that if you push her much past her comfort zone she starts to fight and not offer anything and then the next few rides I have an extremely defensive pony. If you quit while she’s fresh and don’t push she’s SOO good and generous and offers all kinds of amazing things but of course she never gets any stronger, plus she’ll learn that she can quit when she feels like it.

On Friday I’m confident that I pushed the right amount (basically not at all and yet I called the shots about when we’d end, not her. She was actually surprised that she was done which was my goal.) with how amazing she was. However, it’s tough for me to know when and how long to push on other days especially when she’s continuing to be a rock star. L gave me some great guidance that quitting while I was ahead sometimes is great but that most of the time I should continue about 5-10 minutes past when she wants to quit. That will build strength and yet not push her to the point where she wants to put up a fight at my next ride. This is really helpful for me and I’m going to really focus on doing this so that I can continue to build on Katai’s fitness.

Next Sunday I won’t have a lesson since L is out of town for the 4th and then I’ll be in KY the following weekend for the National Dressage Pony Cup!! L is going to do a training ride that Sunday and then the following week I have off M-F so I’ll have lots of time at the barn. I’m hoping to do some early morning rides and really focus on getting outside!!

Tough Stuff

I’m finally starting to feel caught up in life a little after being out of town and sick for so long. I’m slowly catching up on the “non-essential” part of my life such as this blog so expect more content soon!

In the meantime I wanted to share my rides last week because it’s been an interesting roller coaster ride over the past month. Katai hadn’t been wanting to play either in or out of the sandbox after her adjustment for the first few rides. I don’t blame her, she’d just had a great vacation and prior to that had likely been in some pain so riding was just not at the top of her list of favorable activities.

However, that changed on Friday when we had an epic ride. The pony I had for my ride that night is the pony that I’ll have consistently in 3-4 years. She was so balanced and was allowing me complete control of her shoulders. She was relaxed and forward and really listening to my leg rather than just reacting. She was so balanced that I was able to ask her to do anything and she just quietly maintained contact and the same energy. Her transitions within gaits were on point. It was the most amazing and addictive feeling I've experienced so far in my time riding dressage.

I was so impressed with her that I did a small amount of walk, a bit of trot and canter in each direction and then called it quits. It was really spectacular and I didn’t want to push her past her willingness to work that night so we ended on a high note.

Saturday our heat index was in the 100s with +70% humidity that made me drip sweat just getting Katai tacked up. I hadn’t planned on doing much but the high humidity decided me and so I just lunged briefly at walk, trot, and canter and finished up before I got her sweaty at all. She got fly sprayed and put in her nice cool stall still bright eyed and bushy tailed. What I was really thrilled with was the relaxed forward energy that Katai had even on the lunge. Her trot was awesome, floaty, and just so relaxed through the back and her canter was spectacular.

We’ve had a tough month together and I’m truly looking forward to continuing this type of quality into July which I’m sure will be a better month for us!

Tack Room Tour: OCD Much?

As mentioned before I watch a lot of YouTube. In fact at this point it’s almost completely replaced any other form of tv such as Hulu or Netflix (I don’t have cable). I LOVE watching vlogs, it’s totally a guilty pleasure for me and I love seeing people doing mundane things. I’m a very visual person so seeing how other people do things is interesting to me and it makes me feel like we’re ultimately all so similar. We all have our own strengths and our own struggles. It’s easy to read something and add meaning that wasn’t ever meant to be there or to write something with a positive or negative spin on it that someone else might not have felt but with videos you can see more of the real truth.

  I watch a lot of vegan videos, tiny house building videos, and recently have started watching Casey Neistat’s vlogs which are spectacular. However, some of my favorite videos to watch are done by other riders. I enjoy watching barn vlogs because, as mentioned previously, it’s fun to see how other people interact with their horses, seeing their successes and being able to cheer them on, and how they struggle the same way I do sometimes. Last night one of the people I’m subscribed to (an eventer in Australia) did a tack room tour and it made me think of doing this post. I know that people blog about this as well but her set up specifically made me curious about what others do and I decided to share mine.

Part of my space, saddle with tack cleaning rag hanging, helmet hanging in the back over a container that holds Katai's boots. Coat spray and grooming tote in front.

I tend to be very neat at the barn however, that's not the case at home. My space at home ranges from slightly messy to nuclear disaster and although I clean it every week or two I have no issue with tossing stuff on the floor to be dealt with later. I’m the same way in the kitchen and thankfully I have patient roommates because I tend to pile dishes until I have a chance to clean them and then I clean and scrub the whole kitchen. My car is also normally a disaster and I regularly leave dirty horse blankets in there with the windows closed in spring (speaking of that I had an interesting day where I offered someone a ride and I thought they were going to pass out from dirty horse blanket smell while I was so used to it that I didn’t even notice) However, with my horse(s) I’ve always been extremely neat. I bring all of my leather tack home every month and do a thorough cleaning. I enjoy tack cleaning so much that I’d probably have it home every week if I didn’t know that was bad for the leather. I also wipe it down with a damp cloth after every ride, which is a fairly recent addition to my process.

Mine's on the left with the pink polkadot tote, Bridle is lower row with the bundled up cream colored lunge line hanging. All the way to the right is a refrigerator specifically for the horses with is amazing :-)

I just LOVE the feeling of soft, buttery, clean tack and really dislike that stiff, caky, cracked leather feel that bridles in particular get if they aren’t cleaned on a regular basis. I also wash saddle pads every few rides during the summer when they get nasty and sweaty quickly and at least every couple of weeks during the winter when they just don’t get as dirty. I’ve got a “horse laundry” bin in my basement at home that fills up pretty quickly with tack rags, sweaty saddle pads, coolers, grooming rags, polos or boots, and I wash my saddle cover every few months. I love all of it, it’s like therapy for me and bringing a neat clean pile of folded horse laundry back to the barn feels amazing. My fellow boarders don't seem to feel the same way though and I'd say that most of the leather goods at my barn are not treated the same as mine.

This YouTube vlogger had a similar setup to my fellow boarders’ with a packed cabinet in complete disarray. She had gloves in two separate places, blankets piled on the ground (which was dirt), strap goods in tangled piles etc. I guess it just made me wonder if I’m an OCD horse person or if other’s are bothered as much as I am by dirty tack and yet couldn’t care less about a messy house?

Youtube Playlist Favorites:

Hannah Lucy - Australian Eventer
equine.emma1996 - Another Australian Eventer
Carter Sulivan - Canadian Dressage rider
Hot for Food - My favorite vegan food blog - GREAT recipes!