My saga as a person who seems to be at endurance rides all the time, but doesn't actually ride endurance any more continues. Seriously, my last endurance ride was when I did my surprise LD in Maine last August. My last 50 mile attempt was over a year ago at No Frills, when Dart and I got pulled at 45 miles. My last endurance-length completion was in 2016. I'm not sure I even count as an endurance rider any more, not that I'm doing a whole heck of a lot to actively combat that.
I had three horses offered to me for Muckleratz next weekend. I had decided to try one of them and was supposed to ride him yesterday for a conditioning ride. That fell through, and I consciously made the decision not to pursue the other options because I'm honestly sort of sick of putting in a ton of effort regarding horses. Skip and Angela keep offering to let me ride one of their horses, and I really need to just jump on the chance.
I think part of it is that I'm really ready to have another endurance horse of my own, but can't swing that financially right now. Not that I would have the time to condition a horse of my own right now anyway, but I can daydream, right?
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Dog Photos
Still no time for much more than a photo post, but at least I've got my photos mostly organized now! I realized a few days ago that it's been a while since I took non-cell phone photos of my dogs, so that's what I did on one of our daily jaunts around the farm.
Herbie had a scary stomach bug a couple months ago and I stopped taking her to PT while she dealt with it. She has actually been doing really well, so we've stopped the PT for the time being (I will probably take her back in the fall/winter just to keep her doing something fun and getting the exercise). Herbie is back to having free range off the farm and can even play fetch. She gets tired faster than she used to, and I want to get her a boot for walks because she does drag that toe a bit and gets a sore if we walk on hard surfaces for prolonged periods of time. She will always have some degree of gait abnormality, but she's happy, bouncy, and runs around like she doesn't know the difference. I was thrilled when the e-vet complimented her knee during her tummy problems.
I have a hard time accepting that the puppy that used to zip comfortably into my jacket is now quickly becoming an old lady dog. She is eight this year, and when I see other eight year old dogs, I'm reminded that she's in really great shape for a pit bull her age. Still, it sucks that she's not a rangy teenager with endless energy stores any more.
As for Julio... he's as sweet and squishy as ever and loves to sniff all the things and roll in the tall grass.
So, without further ado, have a bunch of dog photos.
Herbie had a scary stomach bug a couple months ago and I stopped taking her to PT while she dealt with it. She has actually been doing really well, so we've stopped the PT for the time being (I will probably take her back in the fall/winter just to keep her doing something fun and getting the exercise). Herbie is back to having free range off the farm and can even play fetch. She gets tired faster than she used to, and I want to get her a boot for walks because she does drag that toe a bit and gets a sore if we walk on hard surfaces for prolonged periods of time. She will always have some degree of gait abnormality, but she's happy, bouncy, and runs around like she doesn't know the difference. I was thrilled when the e-vet complimented her knee during her tummy problems.
I have a hard time accepting that the puppy that used to zip comfortably into my jacket is now quickly becoming an old lady dog. She is eight this year, and when I see other eight year old dogs, I'm reminded that she's in really great shape for a pit bull her age. Still, it sucks that she's not a rangy teenager with endless energy stores any more.
As for Julio... he's as sweet and squishy as ever and loves to sniff all the things and roll in the tall grass.
So, without further ado, have a bunch of dog photos.
Nothing happier than those bully grins.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Assorted
Here are some random photos that have been clogging up my computer with nowhere to go.
Oreo gets out on a regular basis (because the fence doesn't technically go all the way around the landlord's pasture... the back half is heavily wooded). He doesn't go far, but the problem is that he will come down the road to come back from the neighbor's lawn. He'll meet Mike at the bottom of the stairs and wait for Mike to open the gate to let him go back home. Needless to say, this is not ideal. At one point, the cops showed up about it (which Mike, the dogs, and I all slept through by the way). Last week, I guess Oreo went to one of the neighbor's houses early in the morning, and the neighbor put him back in our pasture instead of the landlord's (ours has a fence all the way around). Well, JR was so delighted to have a friend again, and Oreo was so happy to not be getting beat up by Tookie, that I didn't have the heart to separate them. So for now the two fatties are happily sharing a paddock. As you can probably guess from the picture, I don't have to grain or hay JR right now, so it's not exactly like this creates a ton of extra work. The two of them are joined at the hip now, and I see them huddled in the shed together during the heat of the day. This also means that Mike and I occasionally go bareback riding around the field together at sunset. D'aww.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Last of Harry Photos
Harry left for the track when it re-opened. I was just starting to get brave with him and I miss him terribly. I took some pictures of him in the roller coaster field with Juli before he left, but never got around to posting them. So here you go ;)
He's in a leather prong bit, which is mild, but helps them steer by putting pressure on the cheeks instead of just the bars of the mouth. Harry loved the bit and it seemed to fix all his issues. I learn something new every day!
Friday, June 15, 2018
Filler Post
I have been struggling to keep this blog going for some time now. Mostly, it's an issue of having enough time to write about everything that's going on. There are so many things happening around here, constantly. Last week, for example, I was at the racetrack on Sunday (the babies went for their first grown up work), at a dressage show on Tuesday (my students rocked it), and an endurance ride on Friday-Sunday (spoiler alert, both our riders completed the 100 miler, and I still love endurance after all). This means lots of media, lots of stories, and not enough time to record any of it. I was planning to start my OD post now, but by the time I caught up on comments and peeked at my favorite blogs, it was time to gulp down the rest of my coffee and head out the door for a day full of lessons (at least I don't seem to have any crazy client stories at the moment... knock on wood!)
I actually bought a paper journal for the first time since high school and have started making short entries on more personal topics, as well as chronicling more of my individual rides on various horses. Chances are I'll never look back at it again, but it feels good to clear my head at the end of the day, and to be able to share my innermost thoughts without actually sharing them.
In the mean time, that's one more thing I do instead of blogging. Since it has been nearly two weeks since my last post, and since the photos and videos are piling up on my hard drive, I decided to just swing by and say hello! Things are mostly good. I still have to share pictures from various clients, my monthly cell phone photo post, snaps from around the racehorse barn (baby photos!!!), and our latest AT day hike.
Instead, have one stand-alone photo that doesn't fit anywhere else. I caught mama deer hiding her fawn in the back corner of the pasture while walking the dogs one night. I quickly redirected the dogs so they wouldn't find the baby. Then I back tracked to the house for my camera. I had just enough battery left for one shot. Life around here is definitely a whirlwind, but most days, I feel blessed.
I actually bought a paper journal for the first time since high school and have started making short entries on more personal topics, as well as chronicling more of my individual rides on various horses. Chances are I'll never look back at it again, but it feels good to clear my head at the end of the day, and to be able to share my innermost thoughts without actually sharing them.
In the mean time, that's one more thing I do instead of blogging. Since it has been nearly two weeks since my last post, and since the photos and videos are piling up on my hard drive, I decided to just swing by and say hello! Things are mostly good. I still have to share pictures from various clients, my monthly cell phone photo post, snaps from around the racehorse barn (baby photos!!!), and our latest AT day hike.
Instead, have one stand-alone photo that doesn't fit anywhere else. I caught mama deer hiding her fawn in the back corner of the pasture while walking the dogs one night. I quickly redirected the dogs so they wouldn't find the baby. Then I back tracked to the house for my camera. I had just enough battery left for one shot. Life around here is definitely a whirlwind, but most days, I feel blessed.
Monday, June 4, 2018
Gunner Updates
Ok, so not so much an update as a photo dump. Gunner continues to be one of my favorite client horses. It helps that I love Jess too. She is basically my spirit animal and I enjoy seeing her every week. We missed a lot of lessons over the winter because of the weather, but they've pretty much picked up where they left off last year! The photos of Gunner from a few years ago to now really paint the picture better than words!
Gunner when we started lessons.
Gunner in a recent lesson.
And if the photos don't do him justice, check out this video :)
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Hiking: Stairway to Heaven (Pochuck Crossing to Pinwheel Vista)
Before I blog... is anyone else having issues with comment notifications from Blogger? I checked my settings and everything is correct, but I'm no longer getting emails about comments. I have to check them manually. Wondering if it's a site-wide issue or if it's just me.
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Mike and I have continued hiking every chance we get. As usual, I'm pretty far behind on blogging things in real time. I recently found a PDF that breaks down the Appalachain Trail into day hikes by state. I did some research and we decided to try the Pochuck Crossing to Pinwheel Vista, knocking out two "must see" spots on the AT in one hike, and doing about seven and a half miles of walking in the mean time. This stretch of trail is also known as the Stairway to Heaven. The hike included a neat suspension bridge over the Pochuck Creek and a gorgeous view from the top of Wawayanda Mountain.
The drive was just over an hour and a half and took us up some roads that we hadn't traveled before, which is always fun. As always, we stopped for lunch along the way. Our new tradition is to grab a can of Pringles to snack on on the drive home.
Everything I'd read online suggested parking right on the shoulder of route 517, but when we arrived, there was nowhere to park. Cars were jammed on top of each other as far as the eye could see. I knew this was a popular hike, but was blown away by the number of vehicles. After several passes, we still couldn't find a clear spot, so I did some creative thinking and found a possible alternative on my map. There was a bike path that intersects the AT a few miles up, and I figured we could park at that trail head and hike the vista first, then double back to the bridge. My plan worked beautifully and there were only two other cars in the alternate lot. Plus we didn't have to walk in traffic to reach the trail head.
We started for Pinwheel Vista first, aiming to get the hard part of the hike out of the way first.
The hike took us through the Vernon Valley first. This area is pretty wet and swampy year round, but especially in the spring. As a result, there are lots of boardwalks to hike along.
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Mike and I have continued hiking every chance we get. As usual, I'm pretty far behind on blogging things in real time. I recently found a PDF that breaks down the Appalachain Trail into day hikes by state. I did some research and we decided to try the Pochuck Crossing to Pinwheel Vista, knocking out two "must see" spots on the AT in one hike, and doing about seven and a half miles of walking in the mean time. This stretch of trail is also known as the Stairway to Heaven. The hike included a neat suspension bridge over the Pochuck Creek and a gorgeous view from the top of Wawayanda Mountain.
The drive was just over an hour and a half and took us up some roads that we hadn't traveled before, which is always fun. As always, we stopped for lunch along the way. Our new tradition is to grab a can of Pringles to snack on on the drive home.
Everything I'd read online suggested parking right on the shoulder of route 517, but when we arrived, there was nowhere to park. Cars were jammed on top of each other as far as the eye could see. I knew this was a popular hike, but was blown away by the number of vehicles. After several passes, we still couldn't find a clear spot, so I did some creative thinking and found a possible alternative on my map. There was a bike path that intersects the AT a few miles up, and I figured we could park at that trail head and hike the vista first, then double back to the bridge. My plan worked beautifully and there were only two other cars in the alternate lot. Plus we didn't have to walk in traffic to reach the trail head.
We started for Pinwheel Vista first, aiming to get the hard part of the hike out of the way first.
The hike took us through the Vernon Valley first. This area is pretty wet and swampy year round, but especially in the spring. As a result, there are lots of boardwalks to hike along.
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