Virtual Brush Box

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. “But the Republicans’ move right was always a political gamble. The fact that politics is getting so frantic suggests it is a gamble they are afraid they are losing … The anti-government anti-mask movement also probably seemed like a better idea before the Delta variant hit … But mask mandates are widely popular, and … popular opinion is turning against anti-maskers.” Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American: September 7, 2021. I wonder if they are riding yesterday’s horse, i.e. adhering to a formula that worked in the past rather evaluating current conditions.
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Close. The. Gate.

It’s not hard. If you open it, close it.

Every time I walk in this particular park, I go around closing gates. It’s a small piece of land, completely surrounded by a fence. You’d think people would get the idea of a enclosed perimeter. But, no.

Secondary pet peeve. The latches too small for the posts.

I’ve always been a bit obsessive about gates. Working at the zoo put that habit over the top. Our barn operates on the theory of horizontal pass-thrus, i.e. step between the rails of the fence. Otherwise, I would spend my life checking and rechecking gates.

All park gates were left in the shut position.

Non-horse folks, do open gates give you the screaming heebee-jeebies, or is it a livestock thing?

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. Perseverating about Covid. After 2,996 people died on 9/11, we retooled air travel and created a new government department. Now, that many people are dying every TWO days, see yesterday, and yet the sense I keep getting is of society collectively shrugging its shoulders. Not the over-crowded hospitals, obviously, and not individuals, but TV commercials, and politicians, and entertainment activities, and so on. Where is the outrage? Where are the Public Service messages thanking people for getting vaccinated and encouraging more people to do so? Why aren’t we furious at this turn of events and at the people fueling the fire? Why aren’t we amplifying positive voices to counter the screamy misinformation? … pauses … wanders off to find a dandelion patch to lie in.
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On a happier note.

The barn now has piped-in water! No more carrying buckets! Kermit dance!!!

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. “We’re averaging 1,544 deaths per day, which is 99% preventable at this point.” Your Local Epidemiologist: State of Affairs: Sept 6, 2021. A horror I do not know how to process.
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Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Turtle power!

Where are we virtually?



Milestones. Milton.

Milestones. Rodney.

Map. 70 & 82 miles in. Graphic from Tevis Cup: About the Trail, shading mine.

Tevis Cup: Trail Sections & Historic Notes

Data dump

Tuesday, September 0 – 0 (Ida. Light rain all day. We were north & east of heavy rain areas.)
Wednesday, September 1 – Milton 2 miles, 46 minutes/Rodney 1.4 miles, 40 minutes
Thursday, September 2 – 1.33 miles, 39 minutes
Friday, September 3 – 2 miles, 54 minutes
Saturday, September 4 – 2.89 miles, 1:20 minutes
Sunday, September 5 – Milton 2 miles, 50 minutes/Rodney 0 [How Not To Start A Three-Day Weekend]
Monday, September 6 – Milton 1.75 miles, 50 minutes/Rodney 0. Same time, less trot.

Distance this week – Milton 11 miles, Rodney 7 miles
Time this week – Milton 5 1/4 hours, Rodney 3 3/4 hours
Rides this week – Milton 6 days, Rodney 4 days

Total distance – Milton 82 miles, Rodney 70 miles
Total time – Milton 36, Rodney 32 hours.
Total rides – Milton 38 days, Rodney 34 days
Total calendar – 45 days

Pace, time to go one mile – 26+ minutes, per VT results page

Numbers rounded off for ease of reporting. May not add up as given.

My Links
Last week [Wandering Along At A Walk, Virtual Tevis, 71 & 63 Miles, 38 Days]
[VT Archives]

Official Links
Tevis Cup: Virtual Tevis 2021
RunSignUp: 2021 Tevis Cup – Virtual Western States Trail – 100 Miles in 100 Days
RunSignUp: VT results

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. U.S. Department of Labor: History of Labor Day.
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First Day

Had an interview later that day.

Rode on autopilot.

Rodney does not appreciate autopilot. [A Small Hop Forward]

By the end of the ride, he was staring about and startling at small noises.

Next Day

Me, to me: Okay, my horse does not like being out here alone.

Switch off autopilot.

Make a concerted effort to …

… Show an interest in all work being done.

… Maintain a close dialogue on the style and pace of every step.

Rodney: (fuss, fuss)

Me: Hey, you wanted an involved rider.

Rodney: (mumble, mumble)

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. I need an app that says, ‘It has been X minutes since you looked at a news site. It will be Y minutes before your programmed time-out has elapsed. Here is a picture of a cat.’
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Best laid and all that. Discovered on Saturday morning.

Weekend plans included another Email from the Moon post and more XC walk schooling, maybe even a trot if all went well. Looks like neither one is happening.

Sigh.

Sits around gloomily.

Shakes self.

Temporary setback.

I will do both. Just not this weekend.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. Sorted This Way, a video by Not Literally. “There’s nothing wrong with having badger pride.”
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Process notes. Learned grouping & ungrouping. Clipping to get rid of tails. Used Inkscape/GIMP.

~~~
Scheduling note. Sunday image, which is ready, swapped with Saturday text, which is not. Headache. I’m fine. Screen too bright.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Texas. With the added unpleasant wrinkle of the snitch factor.
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Question: How does Rodney feel about flags? We know he gets anxious with standards. Flags could go either way. Another form of standards or something completely different, and therefore not scary.

Answer: Flags NBD.

Cross-Country Schooling at Full Circle Horse Park

1st trip. Walked in-hand until everyone settled down, both horse and rider. The plan was to walk around the field. Ended up walking over most of the itty-bitty course plus a few others, including our first ditch. This worked out well, as I found out he could step over bigger things than I had thought.

2nd trip. Mounted up. Walked the path of the course, walking past each fence, narrating as we went. Get straight. Weight in the heels. Look up. And so on.

3rd trip. Walked over all nine fences.

Break. Performed excellent statue exercise at X in the dressage arena while watching Milton work. Relaxed so much, I decided to go back out. We compromised on doing half the course.

4th trip. Fences 1-2-7-8-9. Skipped the walk down the hill and back up. The trot was right there. If we had jumped anything at all, even so much as a cross rail in the last two months, would have trotted one or two.

Small potatoes? Physically, yes. Mentally? When I stood in the start box and gave myself a countdown from 10, I almost choked up. So yeah, there’s some baggage here.

No Show

Yes, there was a show on the grounds the day before. No, I did not go. I didn’t say anything because none of us need another ‘Why I didn’t go to a show’ post.

Short version.

After our first cross country school back in June, I had Plans. Might we, maybe, bop around the baby, baby novice course? [Achievement Unlocked]

Many, many things had to go right. A month of rain was not on that list. [Weather Update]

Mini-event was out. Maybe go for a repeat of dressage and crossrails? [Back In The Ring]

Nope. Logistics in August prevented us from schooling.

I considered going anyway and seeing what happened. However, Rodney is not a horse who functions well with surprises. So, we went the next day to address the flag question. Management was kind enough to leave the course dressed.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine