Le Sigh

Training Journal

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

Milton has a new trick. He does his quasi-hitching practice in the evening once his driver gets home from work. [Holiday Rides]

We moved the cart under a floodlight near the barn. I have Milton ready to go. We gear up. He stands. We wait. We declare victory. We tell him how wonderful he is. We retreat to the house for the Pony-Club approved one-hour waiting period before feeding. Well, the driver waits. I eat dinner & go to bed. But I digress.

The first time, Milton was having none of it. He spun and fussed and refused to be still, before we even got the cart anywhere near him.

It was dark! He was right.

It was dinner time! He was right.

This was weird! He was right.

Then, suddenly, he heaved a huge, audible sigh, puffed out a big huff of air, and gave his best statue impression. ‘Oh. Okay. I know this. I can do this.’

Good boy.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

The Next Step In Rodney’s Trailering Education

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

 
Stopping for groceries.

Waiting the trailer is a useful skill. Once when we arrived at Stepping Stone Farm, we had to hold a few minutes before we could unload without causing consternation to a horse and rider in the ring next to where we parked. Fortunately, Rodney was cool with it.

Being able to stop briefly on the way home saves us from having to come out again [Milton’s Most Recent Adventure, Getting Lunch]. At the grocery store, Rodney stood quietly and vacuumed up horse cookies. He doesn’t always eat treats while in the trailer. Eating all of the cookies in my pocket was a good sign that he was relaxed.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Libations & Sustenance

 

Training Journal

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

 

Random Images

The world is vast & weird.

 
The planned philosophical discussion & training update was becoming bloated and tiresomely whine-y. New plan.

Philosophical discussion, short version. The point of schooling Intro dressage is not to win Intro A , although I will certainly accept any big scores and blue ribbons flung at us [Holiday Rides photo, Walking The Tests]. The point of schooling Intro dressage is to have a happy-working horse so that we can move on to bigger things. I need to remember that.

Training update, short version. Rodney lost his trot. We are having to go back and find it.

Now, for your amusement, photos from my visit to NYC last year. [Archives]
 


 
The Milton
1754 Second Avenue
New York, NY

“Tomas explains how His Past influenced his Present Day Project, What to Expect at The Milton and How the New Bar and Restaurant Fits Into the Upper East Side Vibe.” FashFoodies: New Restaurant and Bar ‘The Milton’ Brings Downtown Vibes to the Upper East Side 2014

Interior shot & food pics. The Wandering Eater: Dinner at The Milton (NYC) 2015

Eat along with brunch. As Told By Ash and Shelbs: The Milton NYC 2016

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Barn Hack, Hose Reminder

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

 
Put an elastic bracelet around your pump handle/hose faucet/whatever. When you turn on the hose, put the bracelet on your wrist. When you turn off the hose, return bracelet to handle/faucet. If the bracelet is still on your wrist, you have forgotten to turn off the water.

I have been doing this since I read about it and found a suitable wristlet. Brilliant. Credit to Darlene Flanagan, posted on the Facebook group Ingenious Horse Care Tips from Seasoned Horse People.

The original post used an plastic coil, which is nice because it is weatherproof. The fabric elastic above is not ideal, but it’s what I had. A rubberband might work but would have to be the right size not to fall off or be too tight. I’ve also been surprise how quickly the rubber rots over time. YMMV.
~~~
Shout out for a special day.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

So Many Questions, A Plot Fragment

Random Words

Writing & Writing About Writing

 
“So, what do you think of Larry?”

As he said this, my boss handed me a sparkly blue stone. I held it in my hand, palm up so we both could see the stone. I could feel the vibration. Okay then, he wanted the truth.

“He’s a horrible human being.” I said.

Boss: We are all God’s children, but yes.

Me: He’s rude. He makes sexist jokes.

Boss: Yup.

Me: He eats other people’s lunch from the refrigerator.

Boss: Yup.

I paused, “I am having trouble appreciating his role in the office.” The stone in my hand dimmed. I tried again. “How the hell does he keep his job?”

Boss: When you need Larry, you will be very, very glad he’s there.
~~~
Questions. So many questions. What agency are they in? What does Larry do? What sort of Armageddon-level crisis would he been needed for? For that matter, why is this conversation even taking place?

Truth stone. Cheap ones are easy to come by. They tell whether the words spoken are true or not. However, one can lie outrageously while still technically telling the truth: though omission, thorough selective word choice, and so on. The expensive truth stones judge the speaker’s intention. You can tell the high-end ones by the fainting humming &/or vibration when you hold them.
~~~
The conversation about Larry came to me while I was reading an urban fantasy novel with an FBI-style department of weirdness. No idea where the truth stone came from.