Virtual Brush Box

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse

 
Awareness of the outside world. As of today, the house will be 50% fully vaccinated. I wait semi-patiently for mine.
~~~
Remember when I was so happy that the feed store had Milton’s feed? [Hey, Isn’t This A Horse Blog?]

Yeah, well.

The next time I went, there were out again.

They said they’d have it in a few days. BUT last time this happened, they were out for three weeks. That was the first iteration of the great feed bag quest. “Ended up hunting down the last bag of Starch Wise in four counties. Farthest I’ve been from the house in months.”
[The Beginning]

Nope. Although we still had plenty feed, am not getting drawn into that again. Solve the problem today. Found feed. The other local store was out. I had to go aaaaaaaall the way to the out of town store.

The issue here? The two stores are functionally the same distance from the house.

Store H is 25 miles away, a few ex-urbs over. There are lights and turns and traffic. Estimated drive time is 41 minutes. Because it is in the Birmingham area, it is still “in town” and therefore close.

Store T is 31 miles away, straight out into the countryside. Very little stands between me and said store. Estimated drive time is 39 minutes. The majority of the drive is on a straight, empty, two-lane country road with nothing but trees for company, which drops me into distance driving mode, which makes me think of the other end as far away.

To recap.
Store H – 25 miles, 41 minutes. Close.
Store T – 31 miles. 39 minutes. Far.

Perception is weird.

BTW, store C, referenced above, is 80 miles away. That can legitimately be considered a long way to go for a bag of feed, particularly when one gets a wild hair and decides to come home via the back roads instead of the highway.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Fit To Ride

Walking

 
Awareness of the outside world. The problem is not just a place to ride. Access is an issue when a barn – or any high land-use, outdoor activity – is farther away than an easy commute from an urban center. The hardcore will still make the drive. The potential new audience will turn to other activities.
~~~

Several times around a pocket park & along a walking trail behind a retail center.

Year of The Ox Virtual Challenge, Walk #3 [Intro]
Altadena Park, Friends of (FB)
January 28, 2021
Distance – 6.04 km (3.75 miles)
Time – 1:42:20 min
Current Mileage – 14.39 km (8.94 miles)
To Go – 18.13 km (12.27 miles)
Total Distance – 32.53 km (20.21 miles)
Challenge in miles. Tracker set to kilometers for weekly 5Ks & virtual UK walk. [Digital Fun, LEJOG]

This one is sad. When I moved to Alabama, Patchwork was an event barn. Now it’s a shopping mall, a retirement home, and a patch of regrowth. I covered several competitions at Patchwork for The Chronicle of the Horse. Pre-Internet, so you’ll have to take my word.

Previous Horse and I won a jumper class in the parking lot of the retirement home. It was Optimum Time rather than Fastest Time, so I slowed down to a sedate pace. Everyone else ran around like cats with the zoomies. I was the closest to the OT by leagues. #readtherules.

View from the walking trail.

XC course from Atladena Park.

Looking up from the pasture to rear of the barn.

Bham Wiki: Patchwork Farm

COH: Obituary for Dr. Chauncey Benedict Thuss

Previous Posts
[Virtual 2021]
[Ox 1, 2, 3]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won

 
Awareness of the outside world. World? World? Still slogging through assignment. The inner voices are cacophonous. Would be happy to blame pandemic but the issues existed before.
~~~
We are 75% of the way. “The Century Club recognizes dressage riders and horses whose combined ages total 100 years or more.” The Dressage Foundation Century Club

Rodney, age 20, & Katherine, age 55
Full Circle Horse Park
August 24, 2019
[Worth 1000 Words]
Jeremy Villar Photography

Doing The Math
Posted self on Sam. [Saddlebred Three-Quarter Century Club]

Got to thinking about Rodney. He’s in his 20s now. I wonder. Yup. Turns out our entire show career – all 4 shows – crossed the 75-year mark. [Horses of 2019]

Rodney was born in 1999, so his show age was 20 in 2019. I don’t know what month he was born. Good bet it was before August. So his calendar age is also 20 in these photos.

While I’m not sure how dressage does it, most disciplines mark the rider’s age as of December 1 of the previous year. I’m going with that. For the 2019 show year, I was 55 on December 1, 2018. In the photos, actual age is 56.

Therefore combined show age was 75. Combined calendar age was 76.

Why didn’t I think of Rodney initially? Either I am in denial about his age &/or he’s not in the front stall when I consider shows I have attended.

[ibid]
Jeremy Villar Photography

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Adventures in Saddle Seat

Enjoy the ride.

 
Awareness of the outside world. The Dressage Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization, whose mission is to cultivate and provide financial support for the advancement of dressage in the United States. TDF: About
~~~
In USDF Connection, I read about Anne Sushko making her Century Club ride. “Serendipity”, by Anne Sushko, USDF Connection, January/February 2021, page 60. The Dressage Foundation: Team #441: Anne Sushko and Montana Jubilee,

Still want to do this. Still have a few years to wait. [Feeling Young, BTW that is Sam in the selfie]

Meanwhile, I got to thinking about riding older horses. Sam was born in 1998. In 2019, he was 21, I was 55 (see below), for a combined show age of 76. Voila.

The Saddlebred Three-Quarter Century Club
Sultan’s Miracle Man
Katherine Walcott
Alabama Charity 2019
[Putting The Show In Showmanship]

Age Is Just A Number
For show purposes, horse age is calculated from January 1. First half of the year, Sam’s show age is a year ahead of his calendar age. After June 5, they match.

For show purposes, rider age is calculated from December 1 of the previous year. Since I have a late December birthday, my show age is always a year behind my chronological age.

We would have been exactly 75 by calendar age (74 by show age) at Alabama Charity the previous year except I didn’t show. I was off doing dressage circles with Milton. [This Is Why You Can’t Do It All & For This I Cleaned My Tack?]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won

 
Awareness of the outside world. I have not forgotten the pandemic. Still applying pro & cons from last time. Six months on, case rates, knowledge, & vaccines (!) are all heading desirable directions. [ To Show, Factor 1]
~~~

 
Horse show last weekend. Didn’t go. Timing was wrong. Another entry in my ongoing series of non-show reports. [Woe Is I 2019, To Show Or Not To Show 2020]

Shoes
Closing date, i.e. last call for entries, was just after horses got shod. We had started Rodney’s prophylactic bootie regimen. While the show was later in the month, we had no idea how long would it take Mr. Sensitivity to adjust. Might be three days. Might be three weeks. [Fixing The Future]

On the day of the show, he was fine. Bad call.

Weather
Winter is not Rodney’s best time. If his body is cold and cramped, so is his attitude. Even if the day itself wasn’t cold, the intervening days would be.

Ha! [Snow Day 2021]

On the day of the show, temp was 47 degrees at our probable ride time. Borderline okay. However, 22 degrees the night before meant he’d still be thawing out. Good call.

Loss of Impulsion
I had the thought that it might be fun to take my horse to a show and trot around the ring. Not for schooling. Not as training for something else. Just for funsies. The impulse didn’t last. Nice to know it’s still in there.

Calendar
As the weather warms, so will Rodney’s attitude. He really is amazingly affected by the thermometer.

The facility has another show in two weeks. Still too unpredictably cold. Am darting short, sidelong glances at the April edition.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine