Rocky On! Saddle Seat Lesson

Awareness of the outside world. Did y’all think Halloween started a wee bit too early this year?  I guess today means I have to stop making that particular complaint.

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Rocky
Stepping Stone Farm
25 September 2025

No ears photo. Didn’t want to take it right as I got on. Forgot about it later.

Not feeling comfortable taking a photo was an indicator of my mental state. I wasn’t nervous as much as anxious. Rocky and I get along well on the ground and in the cart. Would it translate to under saddle? Not necessarily. Grooms can’t always ride the fancy horses they care for.

And that was part of the problem. I was thinking of him as a big, fancy horse. He has serious letters in front of his official name. His last show was Louisville. Mostly it is his attitude. He thinks of himself as a big, fancy horse and I buy into it. You can’t ride that way. You have to relate to them as a horse. I had this problem when Rodney first arrived. But it turned out we had other problems. But I digress.

Coach James lunged Rocky first. He tore around like a wild man – the horse, not Coach James. While grooming, I kept reminding Rocky about grandma mode. [Caretakers On The Hoof]

Ride went well. Walk, trot, canter, all good. He’s a big mover with a light front end. There’s more flash in there than I accessed – or was granted access to – but everything we did was solid. Canter went particularly well. Not surprising, canter is my strong suit.

He had a small spook when a bit of falling nature hit the roof of the round pen. It was almost a reprimand for not paying attention. You just gonna sit there? I dialed up a little bit of inside rein to stay straight, and lots of outside because that’s how they roll. I don’t think I was just sitting there, but leg and seat don’t count as much as rein communication in saddle seat.

There is still a bit more to go. We didn’t completely click. I’m still riding him as a fancy horse, mostly because that’s how he thinks of himself, which is part of what I like about him. Very ego, very metal. [Rock On! Pro Photo from TN Show]

Onwards!
Katherine

A Heart of Goldy, Hunter/Jumper Lesson

Horses of the outside world. “As with most events there’s no time to waste. The stadium ring empties you right out into the XC warmup field.” The Green Horseman: My Ultimate Goal Of 2026: Our Grand Debut. Wait. What? When I was eventing we did the three phases in order, with time between. Yeah, it’s been a hot minute. “Should I ever get myself back to Hunterland (or Eventworld), I’m going to be worse than ignorant, because I think I know the rules.” [Reading]

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Photo of the ear and mane of a chestnut horse, with blue sky and puffy white clouds in the background

Goldy
Rosewood Stables
23 September 2026

Between-the-ears photo taken from the ground to show the pretty blue sky. A lovely day, at last.

Most recent h/j lesson was also most recent ride. [A Brief Sparkle of Goldy]

In this lesson, flat work was excellent. Goldy was go for a forward trot. Probably the best trotting we’ve done. In the canter, I asked him to keep motoring but gather for a few strides. He did and I felt a tiny bit of lift from the front end. Tiny bit.

Jumping had a strong element of grandma mode. Probably deserved. Much trotting and breaking back into trot. Some enthusiasm around the final course. Course in the sense of pattern of seven jumps: outside, diagonal, outside, diagonal. Jumps themselves continue to be small crossrails. I’m not worried. If and when I get comfortable, the height will come back.

Schedule recap. There was a driving lesson between the two h/j lessons. Earlier in the month, the saddle seat riding lesson was the day before the h/j lesson. Posted after because Thursday is ASB day. Listed mainly for my reference.

Photo of Coach Deana on Rosewood Stable: Team.

Onwards!
Katherine

It’s Always Something, Morning Walk Stories

Awareness of the outside world. Daughter of a friend does well. ” ‘Katie has built a reputation as one of the sharpest labor reporters in the business — tenacious, well-sourced and unafraid to go after difficult stories. She’s broken news, won awards and given a voice to people who rarely get one.’ ” THR: Katie Kilkenny Promoted to Enterprise Reporter, TV and Labor at The Hollywood Reporter. March 2026. You’ve seen her byline here from time to time.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on team walk: one-mile, unmounted, & off-lead. Route is back and forth five times along one side of the pasture.}

An example of correlational vs causation.

Item one. Rodney was walking awkwardly. Not off, just not as comfortably as previous.

Item two. Rodney had balloon legs. Weirdly, three out of four. Neither two nor four.

Conclusion. He no longer liked these booties. Had stood all night. As a result, stocked up.

Went on walk. Let him do as he would. Wondered what to do next if booties were off the table.

Went back to barn. Checked feet. Found small pebble in shoe. Tiny pebble for a big horse but then, I would like not like a pebble in my shoe either.

Walked fine. Legs still up. Stayed up for several days. This happens every so often. Legs blow up. No pain. No heat. Go down in a few days. Reaction to local flora or fauna? Sleep in a funny position? Random horse thing? Who knows.

So, footwear issue and leg issue had nothing to do with each other. Happened to occur at same time.

Overall, Rodney doing great with footwear. (Hence a small amount of despair when it briefly looked like booties were a problem.) When we stopped for a scratch session mid-walk, he cantered to catch up. He will also trot here and there on occasion.

Milton does not trot off. First, this is normal for him, spontaneous trotting his not his fav. Second, he generally marches along and doesn’t get out of line as often.

The one time in recent memory that Milton chose to trot was when he and I were walking while Rodney was milling about awaiting foot servicing, above. I went to put a hand on him while we walked, as we sometimes do. Nope. Not today. When I failed to get the message, he trotted off, complete with small hip check once he was a polite distance away.

Onwards!
Katherine

Feed Scheduling, Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. TN.gov: Gov. Lee Announces Partnership to Name Nashville International Airport in Honor of Dolly Parton. Known for her talent and her kindness. Gets my vote. For more on the subject, PassRider.com: U.S. Airports Named After People: Presidents, Heroes & Icons. PassRider is a service site for airline employee travel.

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Rodney needs more calories. He’s elderly and has always been a hard keeper. He’s getting as much hay as he’s willing to eat, the fancy stuff no less, and calorie-filled additives, both beet pulp and rice bran.

That leaves grain. We have to be careful. Too much and it leaks out his ears. So we go up gradually.

Option One. More at breakfast and dinner. He’s getting two scoops. Add one each meal for three scoops per serving. He’s not Milton. We could give him his entire hay and grain ration and he would eat it over time.

We try this.

Problem. Three scoops feels like a lot when I lift the bucket.

Option Two. Serve lunch. Two at lunch means two scoops at each meal.

We try this. Rodney is shiny, behaves normally, and – maybe – putting on some weight.

Problem. Being home to serve lunch is a complete PIA. I don’t get out much but even I leave the house occasionally. [Rethinking Lunch 2024]

Option Three. Wait! We have elaborate breakfast & dinner schedule specifically to spread out Milton’s hay consumption. Why not dole out Rodney’s extra grain within that plan? One scoop as an amuse-bouche, two scoops at mealtime. Since we are doing this anyway.

We try this.

Problem. Now that they are coming in for grain rather than hay, I start to wonder if shenanigans will ensue.

Option Four. Hay first. Then, serve the extra portion between hay and meal. Sounds elaborate, but it’s really just an extra walk up to the barn. No biggie.

We try this.

Problem. Does serving one scoop half-an-hour before breakfast really make any difference? If the feeding times are this close together, why not stay with option one?

Currently, have dropped back to option three. A small portion to start mealtime. We’ll see how frolicsome they get.

Milton gets a taste because there is no way food is being served at that barn without Milton getting his share. We tried grain but the technicolor kickies started to creep back in. [Feeding The Same Breed]

Now Milton gets a taste of his Senior pellet feed for extras and his regular tidbit of grain with his dinner.

It is complicated? Welcome to our world.

Is it overly complicated? Shrug. The joy of being amateurs with our horses in the backyard.

Onwards!
Katherine

Kintsugi Inspired Dish Repair, Art

Art of the outside world. “Our vision is to become a curated global platform where creations made with LEGO® bricks are recognized as art, connecting creators, inspiring audiences, and elevating brick-built design into modern decor.” blockdeco: About us. Interview, Brothers Brick: Talking MOCs and LEGO curation with the founders of Blockdeco.

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Photo of a blue plate with a mended copper-colored crack.

Photo of a white bowl with a mended purple crack.

Glued and Painted Pottery
September 2026

We have too many paws around the house for plates that shatter. I prefer ones that break into hunks. They are also ones that glue back together easily. In fact, these fit together so well than the paint in the cracks was not visible. I had to paint over the repair lines. While I would not use them for food &/or liquid, they will make perfectly decent non-kitchen storage and display.

Plate repair is within the broader category of visible mending. I love the idea of fixing clothes in a creative manner. However, I tend to wear clothes into the ground, and then reassign them to barn clothes. By the time I’m done, there is nothing left to mend. [Barn Jeans]

To be clear, this is not virtue signalling. I am perfectly capable of flinging money about. Clothes – or dishes – just don’t happen to be in that category. [New Shirt]

Links

“Japanese technique known as kintsugi (golden joinery) or kintsuguroi (golden repairs).” SI: The Beauty of Broken Objects, 2020.

“a kintsugi project can take up to three months to complete.” SI: Japanese Kintsugi and the Art of Repair with Yuko Gunji, Ferraro 2024.

NOMA: Object Lesson: Kintsugi reflects beauty in flaws, strength in healing, 2020

Oxford: Kintsugi at the Pitt Rivers Museum, video rx by NOMA article above.

A random sampling. Subject is huge.

Onwards!
Katherine