Virtual Brush Box

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Having a Garfield Monday. World will have to take care of itself. (Posts drafted & scheduled in advance, hence the time slip.)
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At dawn, we ride.

Drama aside, it’s cooler then.

In other news, Milton went the extra mile.

Literally.

While Rodney test drove his new shoes, Milton took in a few laps of trot. We calculate that it added up to a mile of extra distance.

I’m keeping it in the bank, as it were. To be added if needed, i.e. Rodney does solo work &/or Milton takes time off.

Meanwhile, Rodney has a normal pace versus …

Rodney’s last lap, heading home, I-wish-I-could-get-this-across-the-diagonal-in-a-dressage-ring, power walk.

Where are we virtually?

Milestone. Watson’s Monument, highest point on the course, Tevis Cup: Watson’s Monument.

14 miles in. Map from Tevis Cup: About the Trail, shading mine. On the map, we have passed Robie Park (start), Squaw Valley, High Camp, & Emigrant Pass.

For the record, last week’s shaded map, 4 miles.

Tevis Cup: Trail Sections & Historic Notes

Data dump

Tuesday, July 27 – 0.

Wednesday, July 28 – 0.

Thursday, July 29 – 1.8 miles. 48 minutes.

Friday, July 30 – 1 miles. 30 minutes.

Saturday, July 31 – 2.2 miles. 1 hour, 6 minutes.

Sunday, August 1 – 2.9 miles. 1 hour, 8 minutes.

Monday, August 2 – 2.4 miles, 55 minutes.

Miles this week – 10.

Speed this week – 2.3 mph.

Time this week – 4 1/2 hours.

Total miles – 14.

Pace, time to go one mile – 25 minutes.

Total hours – 6.

Total days – 10.

Average miles per day – 1.4. Need to keep this >1. At least. More would give us a buffer.

Extra Miles, Milton – 1.

Numbers rounded off for ease of reporting. May not add up as given. I’m keeping track of the fractions behind the scenes. Would you expect any less?

My links
Last week [Tevis, Virtual and Otherwise, 4 Miles, 3 Days]
[VT Archives]

Official links
Tevis Cup: Virtual Tevis 2021
RunSignUp: 2021 Tevis Cup – Virtual Western States Trail – 100 Miles in 100 Days

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. “We live in a world where girls and women are FINED for trying to cover up while playing sports, but also EXPELLED from schools if their shoulders are showing. Again, I dare you to ask why we’re angry.” @ida_skibenes, Twitter
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At most of the places we buy hay, some obliging young man loads the hay. At least, when the little lady is buying. One store is more DIY. For this particular occasion, the feed store person tossed hay from the front of the tractor-trailer to the back. I loaded the bales into the truck.

Stand one foot on truck bumper.

Stand one foot on metal steps piled with loose hay.

Load several bales.

Get clever.

Decide to toss bale into place rather than lifting into truck bed and rearranging later.

Forget about momentum inherent in a bale of hay.

Swing goes the bale.

Counter-swing goes the body.

Descend into space between truck and stairs.

Break fall with dropped bale.

Jump up.

Look around to make sure no one saw that.

Resume loading hay. Carefully.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. Flags as manga & anime characters, World Flags.
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The Summit
Birmingham, AL
July 22, 2021

[Gallery, Views of Vulcan]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Words

Images

Images of Words

On the last Saturday of the month, I do a State of the Blog post. Meh. Not feeling it. Any thoughts I have on the subject can wait until next month. Instead, here’s one from the vaults for your amusement. [SotB Archives]
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Awareness of the outside world. Little Free Library. I would do this in a heartbeat, if I lived or worked or hung out in an area with foot traffic.
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“The Lenox copy on display, printed on paper, is the first Gutenberg Bible to come to the United States, in 1847.”
The Gutenberg Bible
New York Public Library
Photos taken in 2019

Down The Rabbit Hole
History.com: 7 Things You May Not Know About the Gutenberg Bible, by Andrews, 2015, updated 2018.

“As historian Ada Palmer explains, Gutenberg’s invention wasn’t profitable until there was a distribution network for books.” Business Telegraph: 7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World, 2019. Included because I love Palmer as a source. Her, I don’t doubt. I question the rest of the article due to the inexplicable howler at the very end. [Numbers and Weaving]

Update. I did not repeat the howler under the theory that one should not propagate incorrect information, even to correct it. But that means you had to click over. Instead, I should have restated the info. Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents, but he was not president. OTOH, the Internet says this is a common mistake. Huh.

“It is the declared objective of the Gutenberg Foundation in Mainz, Germany – the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg – to make his heritage accessible to the public and to preserve it.” Gutenberg Foundation.

NYPL: Patience and Fortitude Celebrate 100 Years, 2011. The lions in LEGO bricks by Nathan Sawaya.

NYC [archives]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. Dear Black Son, a portrait project.
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Did you notice Milton’s hoof in the photo yesterday? [Rodney & Milton Visit the Vet]

Curling his front leg is Milton’s go to stress move in-hand. Of course, his stress move under saddle is to hop around like a wind-up toy. But I digress.

The leg curl is what he does when the universe does not meet his requirements. Usually he picks up the left, but could be either.

He’s not kicking. He’s not striking. He’s not pawing. He picks the leg up and holds it in the air. It’s closer to a nervous fidget than anything else.

Dinner time? Curl.

Don’t like the sound of the air compressor filling the trailer tire? Curl.

Don’t like the vet clinic? Curl. Curl. Curl.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. “Do it for the immunocompromised. Do it for the kids. Do it for the elderly.” Your Local Epidemiologist: Be angry. But do it with a mask on. Some FAQ answered…, Jetelina. In case I haven’t done so before, assist to the friend who recommended YLE.
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In Which We Visit The Veterinarian

Instead of having the vet come to us, we took the horses to the vet. First time we’ve done that for routine work, i.e. shots, Coggins, teeth, etc.

Advantages
Money. Save on farm call.

Scheduling. A farm visit can take weeks. A clinic visit is a matter of days.

Disadvantages
Time. Trailering to clinic.

Subjective Evaluation
Both humans thought it was great. We agreed that a clinic visit felt easier, despite taking longer. Trailering? Yeah well, we trailer a lot. We’re used to it. The clinic is a few miles from one of the places we ship to on the regular.

The vetting part was smooth and quick. No going back to the truck for supplies. No searching for water. Everything the vet needed was to hand. An efficient vet is a happy vet.

The Rest of The Story

At least, that’s the human POV. Rodney & Milton had a different opinion of the proceedings. They were gentlemen, but there as a fair amount of internal dialogue. For background, this the place Milton had his surgery. Rodney had never been there. [Milton’s Medical Update]

Milton. (looks out of trailer) … hm, not one of our usually places … where are … waaaaaait a minute … nope … nope … nope … nope … nope … (unloads, paces around) … nope … nope … nope … nope … nope … (glues self to Rodney for support) … nope … nope … nope … (walks into clinic) … nope … nope … nope-ity … nope … (is asked to walk on scale) … nope … nope … nope … (heads out of clinic) … trailer … trailer … trailer … (self loads, waits on trailer while I pay) … go … go … go … go … go … go … go …

Rodney. (looks out of trailer) … hm, not one of our usually places … where are we? … (unloads) … oh look, other horses … (hangs with Milton) … (hums quietly to self) … (walks into clinic) … um, yeah, no, Imma just gonna turn around and head on back outside … no big deal, I’ll just meet you out there, k, thanks, bye … (tries to back into aisle fan that’s as big as he is) … really, I’m cool, I’ll just be cool outside, s’all the same to you … (shots, scale, leaves building) … okay, we good …

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Guest post by Contact. Welcome.

Update. At the risk of creating an infinite loop, the link to this page, including a photo of the author and friend at a sparkling show trot, Contact: When worlds collide.
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I have been asked to do a post comparing the saddlebred show industry (or saddlehorse world which would include Morgans and Arabians as well), and the dressage industry.

I have experience in both, but certainly am no expert. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

I thought the best way to compare and contrast the two, would be to go just go from the front of the horse to the back. Going to break this up into multiple posts. Buckle up, here we go!

Mouth

• Saddlehorses: Pretty much any bit is legal (including mule bits, twisted wires, bicycle chains). The curb (Weymouth) shanks are usually significantly longer. Does your horse get his tongue over the bit? Not a problem, most people just tie the tongue down.If there is blood in the mouth in the show ring, the horse may or may not be penalized.  But I have never seen one eliminated. Which is a USEF rule.* Officials “turn the other way.” However, even with these rough looking bits you almost always see very soft hands. You will not see rolkur, overbending, or cranking and spanking. Interesting enough, a single snaffle is often PROHIBITED in many of the saddleseat divisions (along with martingales under saddle and tie downs. But that’s about it. ha)
• Dressage: Specific rules on which bits are legal both USDF and FEI. Length and port limits to snaffles and weymouths. No tongue ties allowed. Blood in the mouth (or anywhere on the horse for the most part) is elimination. “Kinder” bits in dressage, but I witness much worse riding. Harsh hands, cranking, yanking, rolkur, excessive overbending, hanging on the horse’s mouth, open mouths, tongue problems. Dressage horses learn more finesse with the rein aids. Flexion, bend, half halt, direct rein, indirect rein, etc. Where as the saddlehorses just have Stop and Go and Turn (maybe).

Poll and neck

• Saddlehorses: Most horses shown in saddleseat tack are naturally up-headed and have no issue keeping their poll at the highest point. You want flexion at the poll, too. Often achieved with your curb rein. A steady contact is usually rewarded, and above the bit and overflexed is usually penalized. Tossing the head, “fighting the bit” excessive opening of the mouth are frowned upon. Flexion and bend is irrelevant. Tension in the poll and neck is fine and accepted.
• Dressage: Poll position is a gradual development with leniency allowed at the lower levels and where the horse is in development. Often breeds who are not naturally uphill can develop a more uphill balance and compete at the upper levels. Poll and neck position comes from gymnastizing the horse and working his back and hindquarters. (ideally). Bend and flexion is emphasized within movements of the test. Saddlehorse people put the head and neck first. Dressage people put the hind quarters first (and the training scale) and let the poll and neck develop.

 *The majority, but not all saddlebred shows are run under USEF jurisdiction. There has been some discussion and controversy about this industry breaking away from USEF for various reasons including their rules and Safe Sport. You can draw your own conclusions from that.

Link. USEF: American Saddlebred.

Next time: Back/hindquarters and the feet!