Virtual Brush Box

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. Tokyo Olympics. Would you go? As an athlete? A volunteer? A spectator? Assuming costs covered, qualified, etc. etc. Me? I’ve been vaccinated. I trust the science. I would feel personally safe to go. However, I would be concerned about the burden on the host country. The Guardian: In Japan most people want to cancel the Olympics, but the government won’t listen, Nakano, May 24, 2021.
~~~

Note. No loyalty to this brand or formulation. This was easily available for proof of concept.
~~~
So, Milton. Looks like we need to have the food talk with you as well.

You may have noticed that there is less in the bucket and that it doesn’t taste the same. You were having trouble keeping the marbles on the table. We had to makes some changes.

The first place to start was fewer calories. Hence the portion control. We’ve also taken you off the fancy food. You are not a zebra horse. You don’t need zebra feed.

We’ve also put you on a supplement that should help you keep it together in times of adversity, like when someone is trying to get on.
~~~
But seriously folks.

Milton was getting shirty about mounting. It was taking forever to get him settled at the mounting block and if everything wasn’t perfect, he’d have a come-apart. Riding was fine. It was the start that was the issue.

Spring? Too much food?

In researching the issue, random source on the Internet said that the problem with spring grass is that it is fast growing, and therefore low in magnesium.

Magnesium?

Deficiency symptoms included angry, oversensitive, and not liking to be touched. Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner. Or at least worth a try. One has to have a theory. The alternative is hopeless despair.

On one hand, I’m willing to admit that much of the supplement industry is a) for the owner and b) produces expensive urine.

OTOH, I’m also willing to believe that the terroir of Canada is different than that of Alabama.

He’s been on it for a month.

Mounting has gotten way better. Could be our brilliant training methods. Could be instituting a mounting cookie as a reward. Could be the supplement. Could be that Spring is over.

Riding is good.

His attitude around the barn has gotten better. He seems more relaxed. Brushing isn’t the worst thing to happen to a horse. To the extent that we would keep him on the supplement even if there was no change in mounting/riding.

Here’s the weird part. His color has changed. He’s much darker. I can testify that white and dark hair behave differently. My hair looks much whiter and fluffier after washing. Changes to Milton’s skin changes how the white and black hairs are seated?

Dunno. Gonna stay with it for a while.

If minerals are the issue, then starch is not. Took him off the fancy food. I’m not heartbroken, that stuff was a pain to find. He’s now getting generic pellets from the local co-op.

So that’s Milton. The boots were part one. Perhaps the missing magnesium is part two? As with the boots, coincidence is not causation. I know this rationally. Emotionally, I am deep into straw-grasping territory. [Miracle Boots]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding Journal

Awareness of the outside world. I suspect the people who are getting their knickers in a twist over CRT (see yesterday) are conflating it with the 1619 Project. Personally, I’m all for teaching the full story. Politically, I am having a hard time seeing the NYT as a hotbed of subversive discourse. The Old Gray Lady is as establishment as it gets.
~~~

Go figure.

My head-shy horse has no problem with a branch swishing around his ears.

Rodney’s neck is too long for me to reach forward to flick bugs off his ears. So I grabbed a branch. (Thank you, tree.) I thought I’d have to get him used to the idea. Nope. He was cool with it from the first swat. I can even whack his ears/poll/neck.

Anything in pursuit of deer flies, horse flies, and their bitey ilk.

Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay unbitten.
Katherine

Riding Journal

Awareness of the outside world. “Critical Race Theory … is an academic movement … seek to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race …” Wiki: CRT. If we are going to argue about it, at least know what it is.

“I’ve taught in American law schools for 30 years … And I can guarantee you that until it became Fox News’s favorite new chew toy about fifteen minutes ago, the overwhelming majority of law professors had only the vaguest trending toward non-existent idea of what Critical Race Theory even is — ‘um, something like critical legal studies but about race?’ — and CRT was invented in American law schools!” L,G&M: It’s like a fly in your Chardonnay (Republican Freedom Edition), Campos, 2021.
~~~

Unrelated wildlife for visual interest.

The heat is here.

Midday is ridiculously hot.

Evening is cool-ish; the bugs are belligerent.

Early AM here we come.

I probably said this last year when we were getting up early for the Virtual Tevis, but it’s funny how horses have preferences.

Previous Horse made it very clear that pre-breakfast rides were not an option. Feed early. Wait. Get the ride in before 10, when it was only moderately insanely hot.

Rodney and Milton are philosophical about being greeted with saddles rather than buckets. What they do not want is their post-breakfast ritual to be disturbed. Ride. Wait. Hay & feed. Don’t talk to us we are grazing &/or napping.

Do your horses have schedule preferences?

Same frog, earlier. Look on the left flank. Apparently frogs are bothered by flies as well.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping/Riding Journal

Awareness of the outside world. You feel strongly. The issue is a dealbreaker. What do you do about people who are not on the side of the angels? If you continue the association, are you empathizing with a fellow human or betraying everything you hold dear? If you cut them off, are you living your values or being a judgmental jerk? What if it’s a business rather than a person? What if they are family? I ask for all the blue dots in red states, and for all the red dots in blue states.
~~~

[Would Sir Like His Meals Served In A Hay Net?]

Sorry, Dude.

Now that you are getting more calories from your hay, you need to get fewer calories from your feed. Time to cut back.

After a week of better access to hay, you had trouble keeping it together last weekend. I don’t mind extra spring in your step. That’s nice. I’m concerned about the extra spring in your sproing.

Remember the month-long meltdown you had all those years ago? Part of it was being fed too much hi-test. Last weekend’s rides had an echo of that. I suspect you are sensitive to being overfed. I’m definitely sensitive to you being overfed.

Look on the bright side. You’re will be getting lots and lots of lovely hay.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding Journal

Awareness of the outside world. Helmet safety for the ages. YouTube: Danish Road Safety Council / Helmet has always been a good idea.
~~~
Show last weekend, Didn’t go.

Rodney’s attitude was so good at the clinic that we have promoted him to normal horse behavior. You know, where you can show because you want to, not because you require endless successive approximation to get your horse alongside the idea. [Clinic Report]

If he’s comfortable in his body, he’s comfortable in his head. Mostly. For a Thoroughbred definition of comfortable in the head. That’s the theory of the moment.

Or maybe I just can’t bear the idea of another round of kindergarten dressage and crossrails. [Show Report]

I dislike bailing on shows. We don’t have a huge choice around here. If I keep talking myself out of shows because they aren’t ideal, suddenly – poof – six months has gone by and inertia has won.

To compensate, I’ve promised myself that we will concentrate on lessons & schooling this summer.

Time passes.

Wrote text. Promised self to be diligent. Rained all week. Not a gentle eventers-ride-in-rain misting. Five days of thunderstorms-at-any-moment rain. Accomplished nothing.

Immediate proof of why I keep waffling about shows. [Another One That Got Away]

On one hand, minimal interest in doing more mediocre intro dressage tests. Stay home!

OTOH, between weather, footing, lamenesses – including the ever-popular surprise abscess, and a thin schedule, do I have any room to be picky? All the shows!

More time passes.

Show last weekend. Or not.

Show has been postponed one week due to weather.

This is what I get for writing posts ahead of time. The world moves faster than my posting schedule. [The Meaning Behind Monday]

Climbs back on decision merry-go-round. Wheeeeee.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Images

#40516, Everyone Is Awesome. Taken undercover by flash due to the! incessant! rain!

Upsides
Pretty.

Outstanding parts for later builds – bright colors and basic shapes.

Everyone IS awesome.

Downside
Everything Is Awesome!!! will crawl into your brain and never leave.

Links
I can’t see that a toy would make a difference. I would be wrong.

If I had been given this set by somebody at that point in my life, it would have been such a relief to know that somebody had my back. To know that I had somebody there to say “I love you, I believe in you. I’ll always be here for you.”

LEGO.com: Why I designed “Everyone is Awesome” by Matthew Ashton

The colors.

“The inclusion of black and brown on one end represents support of people of color within the LGBTQ+ community (similar to the recent Philadelphia Pride flag), while the light blue, white, and dark pink on the other end symbolize support for trans rights. The six colors of the traditional Pride flag are represented in between.

The Brothers Brick: Celebrate Pride with LEGO 40516 Everyone Is Awesome [Review]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Words

Person at desk: Welcome to Dance For Diplomats, where we teach you to talk with your feet. Where will you be stationed?

Client: The ______ orbital station above ________.

Desk: That would be the _________. Very good. We consider them a mid-level mobility species. You should be able to manage without surgical enhancement.
~~~
Desk: How much dance experience have you had?

Client: None. Will that be a problem?

Desk: Previous experience isn’t always a benefit. When we out found out that dance was the prevalent inter-species language, we naturally sent professional dancers. Some were able to adapt; some caused … incidents. Success appears to have more to do with personality type than with dance training. Think of it this way, you don’t need years of classical ballet to do the Hokey-Pokey.
~~~
Desk: Do you have any concerns?

Client: (starts talking)

Desk: (Opens drawer. Pulls out paperback. Starts reading.)

Client: (Add a few more sentences. Sputters to stop.)

Desk: (Puts book down.) How did you feel when I started reading?

Client: Well, confused, I guess. Everyone tells me you guys are the best, but it seemed rude.

Desk: Exactly. Rationally, you knew this was a formal situation. You and I were engaged in an information exchange. You figured there was probably a reason. Emotionally, you found it distasteful and upsetting.

Client: (nods)

Desk: That’s how other species feel when we insist on standing still and making mouth sounds rather than moving. Even though they know we are doing our best, they can’t help but see it as ignorant and discourteous.

Client: You’d think they would cut us some slack.

Desk: Oh believe, me they do. Our most poetic efforts are seen as a trade language, at best.
~~~
Client: This is a fairly niche market. How do you stay in business?

Desk: Most of our clients get training as part of their job, which means either government funding or business expenses. How do you put a price on first contact?
~~~
Client: Did you say surgery? This happens?

Desk: It’s hard to make a six-sided shape with only four limbs. Or make Morokian hand chains without prosthetic claws.

Client: (Gulps.)

Desk: I wouldn’t worry too much. Most species respect the body integrity of other species. That’s one reason why we try to incorporate moves that are specific to the human shape. We get points for doing what we can with what we have, so to speak.
~~~
Desk: Not every species uses language the same way. Think how many different sounds we have just on earth. The Khoisan click languages. The rolling French R, by the way, that’s called an alveolar trill. Out there, other beings do not even have the same speech organs we do. But everyone moves. Words change. Pitch, roll, and yaw do not.

Client: No one saw this coming?

Desk: That’s what you get for having scientists instead of artists write your futuristic fiction. Mostly. Stardance came the closest. You’ll find out. That’s your homework before your first class. Along with researching other examples.
=== curtain ===