Virtual Brush Box

Recent Changes, When You Find Out You Are Not As Good As You Thought You Were

Training Journal

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

At some point earlier this year, I burbled on about how Rodney was a sensitive horse and how I was learning to ride him in balance and how I was understanding the concept of being on the outside rein. I likened the feeling to being on the inside or outside edge of a figure skater’s blade. As I rode, I had to make a conscious effort to monitor my form in order to stay in harmony with my horse.

All very poetic.

All very wrong.

I wasn’t riding subtle shifts in my horse’s balance. I was riding a slight saddle wobble. Once we stuck a matchbook under the table leg [Padding], my seat was as dead as ever.

Well, then.

Good to know.

Onwards.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Recent Changes, Rodney’s Padding

Training Journal

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

Rodney has always had a torn-up back [Daddy Dearest]. It looked more scarred than deformed and the saddle seemed to fit. Still, we decided see what would happen if we put a thin piece of felt to fill in any possible gap.

Thin, ha! We ended up wedging an inch of felt in there.

My tack designer found a western wither pad that came as two 11″x 8 1/2″ x 1″ rounded felt pads joined by nylon straps, State Line: Western Felt Wider Wither Pad. We – the barn “we” – cut the straps off and shaped one of the felt pieces to match the area behind Rodney’s withers, mostly by thinning it toward the back and bottom edges.

He loves it. We have shaken off the first 10 or so minutes of anxiety at the beginning of each ride. Turns out the saddle was wobbling more than I realized. More on this tomorrow.

The photo shows the taper on the pad. This is where “we” did the most carving. The upper left corner in the photo is the lower back inside corner on the horse. Curry comb for size. Cat for supervision. It is impossible to keep hay off of this. Rodney has a regular cotton pad under, so he isn’t being poked by hay stalks.

The filler pad has been feature since September. Long enough that it’s here to stay. For now. We are still messing with the rest of the padding.

Last weekend, we tried a full-size, square felt pad. Nice but thick. We tried a folded western saddle blanket. Thinner, so I feel more of the horse. Seems to have the same effect as the thicker, stiffer felt. We have not determined if he likes the additional saddle pad for the cushioning (felt), to keep his back warm (wool), or both (?). We know he likes to be warm. [Piling on the Therapy].

It’s a work in progress.

Update
[Recent Changes, When You Find Out You Are Not As Good As You Thought You Were]

“BTW, filler pad stayed. The second saddle pad did not. He preferred more stability over excess padding.” [Being Happy Alpha, Peeling The Emotional Onion]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
———

Recent Changes, Rodney’s Bit

Training Journal

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

Old Bit [Worth 1000 Words] Sprenger UK: Stainless Steel Butterfly Bit

New Bit [Getting Our Hunter On] Sprenger UK: Stainless Steel D-Ring

“The Max-control is a double-jointed bit which … locks at a certain angle and thus becomes a straight bar.” Sprenger UK: Stainless Steel D-Ring. Bit images from Sprenger website.

Same mouthpiece, different cheekpieces. Rodney accepted the change without comment. This was what I was hoping for. I did not count on it.

It’s a little too big. The company does not make/carry his exact size. I figured better too big than too small. Also, I would have preferred one would have worked in both hunters and dressage, for example an eggbutt. No dice. This one seemed to be the best option available. In the dressage arena, we will look like escapees from the hunter ring. We’ll probably look like that with or without a D-ring bit.

The company markets the straight bar position as a more severe option. To my mind, it is gentler. A regular snaffle would collapse in half. Given the shape of Rodney’s snootbox, this means the end of the V bops him on the roof of his mouth. That’s why I borrowed then bought the driving version from Coach Kate in the first place. I figure he would like the lack of pointiness in his mouth. At that time, being street legal was the last thing on my mind.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Wearable Art, Dr Whooves

Celebrating Art

I also ordered a t-shirt, a tote bag, stickers, and a coffee cup for those of us who work in an office where having unique, identifiable mug is a plus. Given that my horse is available as a work of art, I think I was reasonably restrained.

Previous Posts
[Bubbling Over With Excitement]
[Look Whoo’s Featured]

Update: pingback Tails From Provence

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Have You Read This? Inspiration

From The Bookshelf

Series Intro
I know the feeling of finding a good book. I want to spread the joy.

Not reviews. Imagine we are in a bookstore. I wander up to you, hand you one of these books, say ‘Have you read this one?’, then wander off. Whereupon you look at the cover, turn it over, look at the back cover, read the blurb, flip through the book, and decide for yourself if you are interested. It’s like that. Enjoy.

Scanner broken. All covers off the Internet.
[Have You Read This? Graphic Novel Edition]
[Have You Read This? Travel]

Post Intro
As I type, these books sit in a pile to my right, on the corner of my desk. I leave them there for moral support.

Creative Struggle: Illustrated Advice from Masters of Creativity
by Gavin Aung Than
(McMeel 2018)
Than draws Zen Pencils.

On the blog. I’ve mentioned Zen Pencil more than once, particularly Ira Glass’s Advice For Beginners, most recently [Fiction Faith Graphic],

In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist’s Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector
by Jessica Hische
(Chronicle 2015)

On the blog.
[N is for National Velvet]
[Letter Art, AlphaBooks: C is for Cooper]
[Letter Art: Invitation]
[Letter Art: A Superabundance of Swashes]

Make Good Art
by Neil Gaiman
(Morrow 2013)
A dude who needs no introduction from the likes of me.

The books is from a speech given as a commencement address at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, Neil Gaiman: Keynote Address 2012. While you can read the text online, or watch the video on YouTube, the book is intriguingly laid out and beautifully made.

On the blog.
[New Title, New Twitter]

Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything
by Aaron James Draplin
Draplin Design Co.
(Abrams 2016)

On the blog.
[Logo Study, Descending Capitals]
[Letter Art: Logo]

What books inspire you?

Update. Crossposted WWFF.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
WWFF 12/14/19

In The Field, Accidental Photography

Random Images

Milton gets put in the stall to eat breakfast. We let him out after. If I am away from the farm after breakfast, I am likely to be gripped by the panicked thought, ‘Did I let Milton out?!’ To circumvent that, I snap a pic of his fuzzy gray butt in the pasture. Concrete proof that he is not standing in the barn, waterless and bereft.

Waterless. We don’t leave water buckets in the stall if is only being used for meals, i.e empty most of the day. Too many drowned rodents. This doesn’t happen when a horse is in the stall. Go figure.

Bereft. If Rodney is up, Milton will keep him company. If Milton is up, Rodney wanders off as soon as he is done eating.

Long way of saying, I took this when I was going to be away for the day. Quite the poetic sunlight-rainbow-shadow effect, particularly from a camera phone, snapped semi-blind. I could barely see an image on the sun-bleached screen.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Throwback Thursday, The Whatever Horse, Guest Photo

Random Images

Just George
Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trails
1987 (I’ll save you the math. 32 years ago. I was 24.)
Photo by Deborah Rubin

George took everything I threw at him.

Eventing? Whatever.

Hunters? Whatever.

Side-saddle? Whatever.

Foxhunting? Whatever.

Bridleless & bareback? Whatever.

Fancy dress side-saddle with imported double bridle? Whatever.

George had the light-footed grace of a carthorse and the effervescent joie de vivre of a phlegmatic tank. We didn’t win or excel at any of these activities. We just did them. Whatever they were.

We did win a 3′ hunter class at a local show. I think the judge was startled that George got around the course. A lot of folks couldn’t see the point to George. His owner and I adored him.

More George
[Saddle Seat Sidesaddle photo]
[26 Years photo]

Update. Another George post. [What’s In A Name, The Time I Rode In A World Championship, Seriously Would I Lie To You About This? Guest Photos]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott