I used to be so type A when it came to horses, and followed through on everything as text book as I possibly could. In this new phase of my life, that person has been locked in a basement or something. I don’t know what’s happened to me, but I’m heading to San Antonio this afternoon the least prepared I’ve ever been for a horse show in my entire life. Here’s a synposis: How to Prep for a Horse Show…
I love body clipping. I really do. My clippers are on the smaller/quiet side, and they have this lovely gentle hum that feels hypnotic as I clip through Simon’s soft and not overly furry coat. I typically clip twice a year, and treat it as a zen night spending time with my best boy. Except not so much this year. This year body clipping was annoying as damnit. I didn’t clip in the fall like I typically do. Simon was…
I’ve been writing about everything but the barn, so you may think that I’ve continued the passive attitude I’ve had about the barn since fall of 2016. In actuality, I’ve been riding quite a bit and getting my head back in the game. Simon’s lessee started to move to another horse in November of last year, so his work scheduled declined until he basically turned into an unemployed Thoroughbred. He did his part to keep up physical fitness by self-lunging in…
For the past several months, horses have taken a huge backseat in my life. This was due to a variety of factors including traveling, weather, and working hard on my grad school applications. If I’m being honest, it’s also due to me needing a break. Buying Roman, although a huge learning experience, wasn’t what I thought it would be. Horses began to be a stress instead of a relief, so I got my trainer and my great barn friends to…
I’m not trying to be alarmist, but I’ve reached a low point. I can’t put my finger on exactly when it started or even why it has continued this long, but I’m not doing super well at the moment. Okay, that sounds fairly alarming. Let me rephrase to something more like, I’m not doing great and thought I’d be feeling a lot better by now. Maybe it’s something to do with the holidays coming up and the results of the…
For a supposed horse blog, I sure haven’t been writing much about the horses lately. Mostly it’s because emotionally I’m not in a spot right now where I’m super into the horses. That sounds worse than it is, but before you picture my two tossed aside in a dusty field… I can assure you that they’re both fine. I ride Roman between two to three days a week, which is certainly less than I’m used to going to the barn but…
The weather has finally taken a turn in Texas. Instead of feeling like you’re walking around in someone’s hot breath all the time, the cool taste of fall is back in the air. I love that feeling. It makes me want to sit on my porch all evening and stretch my arms wide open into the chill and let my body begin again. Some people associate January as a time of fresh starts and new beginnings, but for me that’s…
One of the great things about having a barn family versus somewhere to just take lessons is that nobody questions why you would choose to spend your entire weekend at a horse show where you are not showing. Instead they say things like, “We’re ordering pizza for the classic. Can you bring ice for the beer?” Why yes, I can bring ice. I can also drink 3 ciders in an hour after not eating much and being super dehydrated. I can…