Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Small candle update. I still check Facebook from time to time, but only to catch up with groups which use this as their main communication, e.g. SSF. Log in. Use search box to go directly to specific pages. Do. Not. Scroll. Down. The sites that the algorithm chooses for me have gotten worse in my absence. Why? How is this a viable business model? [Truck Mileage]

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All horse show, all week. [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]

Finishing up with thoughts for the future.

I had an absolute blast at the show.

100% want to stay with saddle seat.

I like the people.

I love the horses.

(The people involved would approve of this relative ranking.)

However.

It has to be a side quest.

Riding beginner horses in low-level classes is fun, is good for my brain, is not enough.

Why not move up? Short version, I’d have to buy a horse and have it in training. Long version in prior post. [Why Not Rack Off Into The Sunset?]

As long as the Saddlebred world is willing to have me as a loyal visitor, I’m good.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Did you know that horse tail ribbons have signifier colors other than red? Green for green. White for sale. And so on. I had no idea. Hat tip to D.

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All horse show, all week. [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]

No nerves. Didn’t even notice they were absent. I have theories.

Pre-show lesson went fine. Optimus in a cart is as low-key and as pleasant as a horse experience gets.

A bit of stress the night before, mainly once I started loading up the truck. Cart. Driving gear. Saddle. Riding gear. Changes of clothes for rain. Brace and extra socks for foot. Lunch. Water. And so on. Did I have it all? What else did I need?

A bit of nerves the morning of. There’s always going to be some nerves. Plus, as I said for this show last year, “Being at a certain place at a certain time is a skill I do not practice often, even prepandemic.” [Bring On The Show]

The small level of nerves felt balanced out by confidence that I had this covered.

I had already mitigated expectations. I might take two strides and decide, Nope not happening. I might find that I could walk and trot but for some reason had trouble waving my right leg about for the canter &/or canter transition. Coach Courtney was okay with the idea that I might I stink up the joint. Basically, zero pressure.

Once we arrived, I had a bit of concern that Optimus might object to the rain on the roof. I’ve heard stories that he has been know to react to weather noises while in the round pen at home. At the show, one of the kids warmed him up and he seemed fine.

Got horse and cart ready. Got in. I got this.

After the driving class, I was not at all, not in the slightest, concerned about the riding classes. To the extent that I did not even realize this until later. I can’t say I was busy worrying about my foot. It either worked or it didn’t. I was gonna get on. I was gonna ride. NBD.

The takeaway?

Nerves are from performance anxiety, fear of failure, the desire to be perfect, not wanting to disappoint people, yadda yadda yadda. So far, so standard. At this show, I was willing to accept whatever happened.

Another possibility. It’s been months since I’ve ridden either of my own horses. It’s been months since I’ve sat on a horse with a track record of blowing a fuse without warning. I’ve said all along that it’s not a confidence issue. It’s a trust issue. I don’t – deep down – trust the horse I’m on to keep it together. [Well, That Lesson Did Not Go The Way I Hoped It Would]

Maybe as I get farther from that, I am not as mentally braced for it? We shall see.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. LEGO Convention. Wore a mask. Felt mildly stupid. Saw one other, on a vendor. However, last time I was around that many children, I was sick for a month. Not Covid, just kid grot. [Leaping Around The Swamp]

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All horse show, all week. [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]

In deciding to do the show, I considered how my foot would handle the drive. I’d be sitting. I considered how my foot would handle the ride. We’ll see. I neglected to consider the fact it was a horse show and I would be running about like a Border Collie with a sheep deficit.

I had been using a single crutch as support. I elected not to use it at the show. It’s noisy. It’s cumbersome. I wasn’t sure how the horses would handle it, particularly in the narrow workspace we would have at that show.

I padded my jod boot with the stretchy support sock and extra socks. I sallied forth. I ran around. A lot.

Much moving to get ready for the driving classes. SSF does a great job for their clients, but driving is labor intensive, especially getting two horses & two carts set up and into the ring. So much gear, so many people.

I even got so caught up in groom mode that I forgot to switch to show mode. I had to run back to get my helmet, apologizing as I went. Possibly the first time I have run since March.

I did manage to put on my foot brace & sit a bit between classes.

Time to ride. Got on. Put foot in stirrup. Tried posting at a stand-still So far, so good. The only time my foot outright objected was when I took it out of the stirrup to hang down while we waited. Nope, dangling from the end of my leg was not a foot-approved activity. Put back in stirrup. The class started and I didn’t think of my foot again.

Before the class, people kept asking, how’s your foot? Which was nice of them. In retrospect, I was on a horse. I was at a horse show. Nothing was going to bother me.

The next morning.

Foot: What exactly are your plans for today?

Me, meekly: Lots of aspirin and sit quietly on the couch?

Foot: Well, okay then.

[Foot archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Too cute. “Rita lives in Western Colorado at a mental health and drug rehab center that specializes in equine and kangaroo therapy.” Braymere Custom Saddlery: Lovely Rita, Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

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All horse show, all week. [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]

Today is a random endorsement of the Ultimate Hoofpick, again.

We have several at home.

I carry one with me to Stepping Stone Farm for use there.

It’s been a while since I’ve used a standard hoofpick.

At the show, a kid was picking out Optimus’ feet. I find kids can be too tentative and do not get the bowl of the hoof completely cleaned out. So, I asked her for the hoofpick to demo the proper technique. I had just picked his feet three days ago. This time was indescribably harder.

I had forgot how bad non-Ultimate hoofpicks they are.

No.

I had forgotten how terrible they are.

No overarching point, simply reporting my appallment. Although, as much of a fan as I am, I still don’t see exactly why they are so much better. Just that they are.

Previous Hoofpick Posts

Still no deal with company. I would refuse if offered. (Short version. I know how to write to order. Blog is me writing for me. But I digress.) I’m simply inordinately fond of them.

[New Equipment, Hoof: Care] 2020, start

[New Equipment, Hoofpicks, Take II] 2021, spares, photo

[New Equipment, Hoofpicks, Yet Again] 2022, replacements

[Having The Proper Tool For The Job] 2023, traveling set

Apparently, I was overdue for my annual Homage To A Hoofpick.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Corning Museum of Glass.

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“The most common item used to ward off the evil eye is the nazar boncuğu, or evil eye bead. The nazar boncuğu is a circle or tear-drop shape often with blue, white and black colors forming the shape of an eye.” Turkish Textbook: Nazar: the Evil Eye in Turkish Culture.

Gifted by an friend who was living abroad at the time. If you can’t be well-traveled, have well-traveled friends.

Current online class, UC Graham: From Istanbul to Cairo: The City in the Historical Novels of the Middle East.

Onwards!
Katherine

How do you write about a place you have not been? Ask a friend! Been There, Done That kindly supplied photos from a trip to Istanbul a while back. Previous guest post was Peru. Welcome BTDT. [In The Footsteps of the Inca]

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Technical Notes

Images as sent by photographer. Out of an abundance of caution, I cropped or blurred identifiable faces. Also added joint watermark.

Current online class, UC Graham: From Istanbul to Cairo: The City in the Historical Novels of the Middle East.

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. Equine Photographers Network.

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Which photo? Repost [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]

This whole project started when husband Greg expressed an interesting in practing his photography from center ring at an SSF show. Sure thing. However, rain required moving the show to another barn. [How To]

The show was a less-than-ideal photo venue. I did not take any photos but I did learn from watching the photographer.

Small indoor ring with dark walls. More than enough light to see and to ride. Not nearly enough for high-speed, action photography. A demonstration that the light required for photography is different and more demanding that the light required for an activity. Unless one has a very long and expensive lens.

A privileged spot is not necessarily the best spot. Center ring is usually the place for show pix. One has to get permission from the organizers and then behave in a way not to interfere with the show. I remember getting the side-eye from a competitor in a jumper class. Don’t worry, I thought to myself, I know how to stay out of your way. I did.

The ring at Heathermoor is narrow. Comment from a previous show, “Kept the canter in the second class, including a tight u-turn when we had to pass folks in a narrow indoor ring. Not sure anyone thought that turn was there.” [Second Show] For photos, it was hard to get far enough away from the subjects, particularly for driving given the span of horse & cart. His solution? Move to the doorway and shoot down the length of the arena. He’s so clever.

Finally, how to accomplish the one shot that the wife really wants you to get? Hope for a break in the rain & go outside to take the ribbon picture.

Onwards!
Katherine