Hilly Going

A while back (last year? year before? It all blurs. I digress), I tried riding Rodney up the hill in his pasture. Within 2-3 strides, it was clear that he was not going to tolerate uphill with weight on his back. Brain going offline. Meltdown/come-apart looming. I stopped.

Last week, we walked halfway up the hill & back down.

We made the task as easy as possible. It was small section of his regular walk loop. We only went halfway. I had Greg walking alongside for moral support. (Did that the previous time, didn’t help.) We pre-walked the trip in hand before I rode it. One cannot make the learning steps too small for this horse.

The hill was steep enough that I could feel him working on the up and balancing on the down. I let him sort himself out going down. I’m a big advocate for installing a fifth leg.

Tiny victories.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: W is for Whip

2016-letter-w

 

~~~
2016 Alphabet

 

Letter Art: V is for Vest, Again
U is for Ulcer Meds
T is for Training Level
S is for Swim
R is for Reins
Q is for Quote
P is for Polo Wraps
O is for Opinion
N is for Nature
M is for My Missing Motivation
L is for Leadline
K is for Knabstrupper
J is for Jenny’s Jodhpurs
I is for I Love You
H is for Halter
G is for Ghost Gallery
F is for Fence
E is for Eventing
D is for Do
C is for Carrot
B is for Brush
A is for Apple

2015 Alphabet

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

USDF Interview: Rick Hodges, Hodges Badge Company

usdf-oct-2016-cov

“Behind The Scenes: Rick Hodges, Hodges Badge Company”
USDF Connection
October 2016
United States Dressage Federation

A short interview with a maker of those lovely ribbons.

usdf-oct-2016-text

©2016 United States Dressage Federation. Used by permission. Reproduction prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher.

[Previous Behind The Scenes]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Update. Article on the company website: Hodges Badge Company’s Blog

Group Lesson

Driving Thursday

New adventure last weekend. Greg and I had a driving lesson together. Recently, driving lessons have used the combined driving toys; letters [Driven Dressage], obstacles [Big Green], or cones [Show Report]. These lessons are done one driver at a time. However, both of us needed a refresher on proper pleasure driving. These can be done two at a time.

We hitched up Iggy for Greg, Alvin for me, and away we went. We had to both drive and watch out for the other person, giving us a chance to practice having other folks in the ring. It was fun to be sharing the ring with my husband. At a show, I’m much more about stomping him into the dust beneath my wheels. Or trying to.

I’d say we are about equal in driving ability at the moment. Greg has the edge in Combined Driving. I’ve proven that I can’t steer worth a d*mn [Fun Show 1, Fun Show 3]. OTOH, I’m better with the saddle seat paradigm of Drive Fast, Look Snappy [Team Awesome, MSSP 2016].

The family that drives together … thrives together?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Pretty Ribbon, Costume Version

Saddle Seat Wednesday

costume-ribbon-2016

To reward the work that goes into a costume class entry, SSF gave every participant one of these lovelies. [Macho Dresses Up]

On the SSF Facebook page, the video labeled “Because I’m biased …” shows all of the entries, In the background, you can see Macho enter the ring and spin around in concern. The airplane was the winner.

Previous Pretties
Pretty Ribbon
Fancy Ribbon

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Thereby Hangs a Tail

milton-tail-oct-16

Milton was soliciting attention, so I grabbed the Cowboy Magic and detangled his tail. They both love this. To preserve the hairs, I use my fingers rather than brushes or combs. Grab a hunk of tail. Separate out hairs one by one. Grab a new hunk. Keep going until tail is free of snarls. Doesn’t take as long as you might think.

Milton dropped his head and completely zoned out. Rodney is the same way. Fingercombing the tail seems to be a soothing activity for them.

Does anyone else’s horses like having their tails fussed with?