Coach Courtney wanted more whoa, so we borrowed Lyricc’s driving bit from Coach Kate. After an initial protest, Milton was fine with it. Turns out Milton doesn’t care what hardware he has in his mouth. He cares about total volume. Loud bit? Your hands better be quiet. Soft bit? Yak away.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Coach Kate’s lovely new marathon carriage.
The navigator’s seat. Used for cones. Removed for marathon.
I see one of these in my future.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
U is for Up. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]
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Jumping Stirrups!
I raised my stirrups!
Wintec saddles [Equipment] come with their own style of stirrup leathers. Therefore, I had to buy a shorter ones rather than adjusting the ones I had.
I haven’t had that much of my lower leg on a horse since Previous Horse. (I pass quickly over the handful of jumps I did with Roscoe, Rodney’s initial name [Square One].) Saddle seat is all about the thigh and the knee. Occasionally, I have to use my calf when a horse needs extra motivation *cough*Sam*cough*, but the ideal saddle seat equitation position is one’s lower legs out to the side like pontoons on a seaplane.
We inch inexorably forward.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
That’s a lot of tack to clean.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
My first new britches – in contrast to jods – in a decade.
My philosophy for schooling is to get as close to show attire as I can afford. Then, I don’t have any rude surprises in the show ring. Since Rodney has no shows on his horizon, I can go for as much comfort &/or bling as I fancy.
What’s wrong my old/other clothes? I have traditional britches, but they are less comfortable and more depressing. My tall black boots have to be reheeled. The last person to work on them left nails sticking up into the soles. Need to send them off. Someday. My black half chaps have gone walk-about.
My black Ariats [Before & After] are for SSF. I maintain separate shoes, brushes, etc. to minimize cross-contamination.
I picked the pants, because flashy. Brown boots, for contrast so I know which ones to wear where. Smooth leather half chaps instead of suede because I like how they look and I hate when suede gets worn & shiny. Since the half chaps are snug, I tossed in a two pairs of zippy, thin sox, so I can keep my thin show socks with my show gear.
Bottom line? Because I wanted to.
Ariat Boots & Half Chaps
Kerrits Pants
Noble Outfitters Socks
All bought from Carousel Tack Shoppe.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Massive life-changing decisions? No problem.
Which college? I’ll apply to a random handful & pick the one with the best name that is farthest away.
Uproot my life and follow this dude? Cool.
Expensive, but mid-level and ultimately arbitrary decisions? An eternity of debate.
Buying a saddle?
Is this brand better than that brand? New? Used? Now? Later? Never?
I wish questions had one (1) clear and correct answer. How do I pick a path among a cloud of possible options, most of which would probably work out just fine?
[MMXTreem]
If Nationals hadn’t been looming [Report], I’d probably still be pondering.
Buying a truck? First post to mention a new truck was in October of 2012 [Weekend Plans]. Truck was bought in February of 2017 [Chariot, Mirrors].
Q.E.D.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
The all-important choice of the right keychain.
A short-term goal for Rodney is to walk quietly on the buckle. You’d think this would be Horse 101. I’m not talking an animated walk, or keeping his frame without me holding him up. I mean a slow, gentle plod around the ring, and ultimately around the field.
As with riding bareback, the goal is to relax. As with bareback [Looking Forward], Rodney doesn’t not find it relaxing.
The ultimate goal is to develop self-reliance. Previous Horse would warm up at the walk, trot, and canter with the reins on his neck. You better believe I want my horse thinking for himself [Fifth Leg]. But that comes later. For now, a quiet walk would be nice.
Rodney has rein issues. If I pick up any contact at all, he curls up like a shrimp. If I drop them entirely feels abandoned out there on the end of the reins by himself. This is not a surprise. He gets tense being all the way out at the end of a lunge line by himself. Hence the close-up ground-work [Progress, Roping Rodney (illustration)].
Rodney deeply, desperately wants to do the right thing. Either from a kind heart, or from a severe dislike of being yelled at. Or both. Either way, when left to his own devices he has no confidence that he is making the correct decisions.
Of course, what goes through his horse-sized brain is not that self-actualized. But that’s how my overly-literate, human brain translates the feel.
So I loosen the reins, breath deeply, and tell him he is a big, bold, smart horse who is absolutely nailing the exercise.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
