Virtual Brush Box

Equines of the outside world. Horse Network: Random Mule Facts, Berry 2023. Bells, but not the kind you are thinking of. Hat tip to Elise Mulerider.

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Logistics

I have not had a saddle seat lesson since early November. [A Lovely Lesson That Will Have To Last A While]

First, my wrist. I wasn’t taking any lessons. [Doctor’s Appointment, Wrist Update]

Then, getting ready for show. Lesson effort was going toward hunter/jumper. Partly time & expense, partly I didn’t want to cross the streams. [The Plan, AHJA Kick Off Show 2026]

The week after my show, the Saddlebreds were away.

The week after that, I was under the weather. [The Twiddling of the Thumbs]

Which brings us to the end of March, over four months since I last sat on an ASB.

Quandry

Do I go back to saddle seat lessons?

I want to. I love the horses. It has been nice to have a barn home. The riding is fun. I think it would be a hoot to do both. [Show Report, Other Horses]

However.

The transition back to hunter/jumper was harder than I expected.

It’s comes down to the canter. The ASB canter is contained, and upward, and – ideally – slow. The h/j canter is none of those things. It is open and forward and fast.

(Neither is better or worse, just different. But I digress.)

Also, saddle seat steering is all about making straight lines during your pass, optimizing your turns, and avoiding other horses. Traffic management is a massive skill requirement. I have had to learn to place myself in relation to other moving objects. You don’t, as far as I can tell, have to place yourself in relation to a fixed spot, other than for the occasional equitation pattern.

The jumping canter relies on more precise steering. You want to be straight at the jump. You want to aim for the center of the jump. Taking a slightly wider line around a turn might mess up the striding. You want to have a feeling for exactly where the horse’s feet are so you can coordinate the feet & the fence into a compatible space. All at a big, fast canter.

This is all in hindsight. I figured a canter is a canter, right?

My saddle seat canter is excellent. I could get my leads (mostly), sit the canter, and ask for as slow and as pretty a canter as the horse was capable of. I thought I was slick. It didn’t help me at the shows, because saddle seat is all about the trot, but it was nice to be good at some part of it.

So, color me surprised when I struggled with the h/j canter. Now that I’ve gotten a better grip on the h/j canter, should I go back to the ASBs? Can my brain encompass both canters? Will saddle seat mess me up for jumping?

I have no idea.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Some days I can’t tell if the headline is news or satire. Is it better or worse that the horrors come as farce?

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No lessons last week. I was couchbound.

Once again, I went out amongst people. Once again, I did not handle it well.

February 2024. “I undertook an outing among the general public. Since I have the exposure level of a toddler at the beginning of day care, I spend the rest of the month under the weather.” That was at an afternoon performance in a theater packed with kids. [Leaping Around The Swamp]

March 2026. This was a bunch of adults around a conference table. Smaller group. Less time. Sat farther away. Didn’t help. Well, helped a bit. Was off for a week instead of a month.

As I walked into the room, I was uneasy. I thought, ‘Hmmm. this is a lot of people – less than 10 – for me in close space.’ Next time, I will listen to myself. Probably wear a mask. I’ll feel like a dork, but it beats being sick.

My health is fine. It’s a matter of contact, or lack thereof.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Insight from watching the new mix channel. One indicator that a story is not going well for Republicans is that Fox will find something totally else to cover. Not a new thing, but it seemed more obvious that usual yesterday. Iran & Airports for everyone else vs Fox perseverating over hotel stays in Cuba.

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As I said last week, the horses are doing the morning walks at liberty. [Predicting Mission Success]

This gives them the ability to stop for a bite of grass, if they chose. They are particularly prone to this maneuver when the peoples have slept in of a Saturday or Sunday and we are all are taking a make-up walk in the warm afternoon sun.

Rodney more often than not, but Milton has been known to pause for sustenance.

People: C’mon, keep going.
Horse: (chomp) Okay.

In the mornings, they generally stay on task. It is the routine & there are cookies to be had.

Previous Posts

Apparently I am moved to comment on the news mix channel every few years.
[Two New Places, State of the Fitness] 2023
[Blankets Are Back] & [Bridge Bling] 2021

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. On one hand, airplane tickets for an upcoming trip. On the other hand, the issues of oil & TSA & ICE. Time will tell which one will prevail.

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Last week, we had to break out the blankets for two nights.

Perhaps for the last time this season? (Crosses fingers.)

The day between was cool, so I switched them to daywear with a plan to remove if too hot.

Whenever I checked, they were out in the pasture. In other words, not overheated and hiding in the shade.

I finally marched out to double-check. Milton was closest. He was toasty but not hot. The way you might feel wearing a warm sweater on a brisk day.

Hmm.

As he has gotten older, Milton has gotten more blanket loving. He still hates having it put on, but he’s happy to be warm and doesn’t seem to overheat.

Mathilda was the same way. Scoffed at the idea of blankets. Then as she got older, she decided that maybe blankets were not the worst thing. Perhaps even double blankets, please.

I said something similar last year, “Milton is the second horse to warm up, so to speak, to blankets as the years go by. Mathilda turned her nose us at blankets for years, only to become a blanket hog in her old age.” [What’s Been Happening With The Home Team]

Rodney, on the other hoof, is keeping himself warmer these days. I used to say that he was part lizard. [More Heat Therapy 2017]

“Rodney is easy. As long as it is under 70o or dark, he’s good.” [Dressing Decisions 2025]

These days, Rodney warms up almost before Milton does. On some sunny days, Rodney has come close to maybe thinking about possibly sweating. As best we can tell, it correlates with switching him to grain. [Feeding The Same Breed]

More blanketing as one gets older seems reasonable. Less blanketing as one gets older proves that it’s an individual thing.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Monument Lettering Center: The Lettering of Lady Liberty.

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Colors: raspberry, smalt (seems similar to sapphire), titian.

Color Comment: Raspberry freehanded from the color wheel. Anyone else have trouble getting colors to look the way you imagine them? I feel that I am the chromatic equivalent of tone deaf. Smalt & titian sampled from article, Merriam Webster: 10 Words for Uncommon Colors.

Project Description [Colorwork Alphabet Introduction]

Project Archive [Colorwork Alphabet]

Onwards!
Katherine

Writing of the outside world. See Jane Write: The Reporter’s Re-entry: Reclaiming the ‘I’ in a World of Third-Person Narratives, by Mary Chiney.

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Moral of the post. You never know what another person might be going through. The most harmless phrase might land badly.

At one point, I was having an epically unpleasant day.

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Downers ahead.

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We took our dog to the vet. For the last time. [Once Again]

I found out that my injured foot was in fact broken. [Foot Fashion]

Clearly, treats were in order.

On the way home, we stopped at my favorite bakery. [Hello Sir]

I loaded up on cookies and went to the register.

The cashier asked brightly, “How’s your day been?”

I stood there, thinking, ‘You really don’t want me to answer that question.’

My pause went on long enough to become an answer in itself. I finally said, “That’s why we’re getting cookies.”

Be kind. Because you never know.

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. David M. Bird, Fine Art Photography: Becorns, Little Acorn People Living Big Lives. Hat tip to G.

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Photos by Richard Force Photography.

Continuing to post about my latest outing. [The Ride, AHJA Kick Off Show 2026]

First jump

Second jump, horse looks adorable.

Third jump, got this one for all of you who like my screamy face photos. [Nationals I Have Known]

Third jump, remote camera, got a bit left here, as I recall.

This is probably where we discussed moving on.

Telling Goldy how wonderful he is.

Second trip, second fence, looking ahead!

Third fence, looking up!

Horse show candid, for your amusement.

Photos from the first half of the course. The ones from second half of the course didn’t look as good. It’s hard for a horse to look dynamic over small jumps. In the photo of second fence on the second, you can see that Goldy is starting to unfold the landing gear before his back feet are off the ground.

Alt text. Photos one though eight, rider in a yellow shirt on a chestnut horse, six jumping, two on the flat, last photo is of same figure walking along. Not attached to photos because I could not decide how that aligned with not modifying professional photos.

Cheers for Goldy!

Onwards!
Katherine