Polo Wraps Giveaway

polo wraps

Up for grabs, the polo wraps I used yesterday.

Given my ability to imagine disaster, I am a boots-instead-of-wraps kinda gal (wrap comes loose, horse steps on end, leg stops moving, rest of horse does not …). Therefore, I will not be using these. To spread the love, the first person to squeak gets choice. Second gets the other set. If only one person is interested, congrats, you get all four. Seriously, speak up & they are yours.

Per usual, limited to USA or APO, for postal reasons. I reserve the right to change my mind, or bail for any (mostly legal) reason.

I bought the wraps for the letter P and as a gesture of support for the shop owner, who is a saddle seat blogger, Riding Like a Lady Truck Driver: the Misadventures of an Adult Amateur. The author shows ASBs in the Academy division and writes about it. You can see why I have fondness for the blog, yes?

Links to check out:
Things You Can Do That Require NO Talent and NO Money.

Why Adults Need Horse Show Moms Too. The SSF moms have been wonderful about adopting a 50-year-old kid.

Today I Had the Most Horrible Ride… It’s a Matter of PERSPECTIVE. Go over. Read the image from top to bottom. Then read it from bottom to top. Amazing.

There aren’t many saddle seat blogs. Photos, certainly. Saddlebreds are all over Instagram and Facebook. Text, not so much. The Jodphurs Company has a good blog, but they haven’t been as active this year. Eventing Saddlebred Style does what it says on the box: competing in eventing with a Saddlebred, rather than playing in the saddle seat arena.

Know of any saddle seat blogs I should be following?

polo wraps jod straps

I also ordered a set of jod straps. Less than my usual amount of bling, but one can never have enough extras. These I am keeping.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: P is for Polo Wraps

2016 letter P

Purchased from The Little Chic Pony Boutique.

Polo wraps are used to protect & (possibly) support the horse’s lower leg. Polo wraps on Wiki. I believe the name derives from their use by polo players. Anyone know for certain? Google takes me to Wiki & shopping sites.
~~~
2016 Alphabet

 

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

State of the Blog, Weekends Off

I’m thinking about taking weekends away from Facebook, and possibly away from my computer completely. No fear, the blog will continue each day. I will schedule the appropriate posts on Friday.

This affects anyone who relies on the Rodney’s Saga Facebook prompt for their daily allotment. If you come directly to the site or have posts sent to your inbox, your service will continue uninterrupted.

Yes, Facebook has an automatic posting capability. I found that auto-post routinely chose the worst photo, including photos that I had deleted.

Why the weekly Facebook embargo? Unfollow has reduced my feed to a manageable level [Taming the Facebook Monster], but I still find myself checking it obsessively. Maybe some one has said something clever. Maybe a cool event is coming up. Usually, no. I’ve pruned to such an extent that new posts are few or none if I check too often. I click over, look around at the empty space, and return to my previous task.

It reminds me of repeated walking past my college mailbox in the forlorn hope that it contained something more interesting than an intra-campus flyer. (She says, totally dating herself. Paper notices? How 20th century.) If I could check once in the morning and be done, that would be great. Alas, no.

While I’m at it, I may see if I can leave my desktop turned off altogether. Facebook, the blog, and work operate from there. I have other devices if I feel compelled to check my personal email or surf. I have plenty of non-computer tasks if I feel overwhelmed by the need to work.

How do you handle Facebook/social media/computer time?
~~~
New rodneyafterdark post here. Explanation here.
Previous state of the blog posts here.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Hunting Zebras

While I do not rule out an emotional component, it appears that Rodney’s overreaction to his minor injury [Back Issues] had more to do with me using the wrong meds.

In medical school, my husband Greg was told that the world has many more horses than zebras. Therefore, don’t go looking for zebras. In other words, the most obvious diagnosis is probably correct. Don’t go looking for obscure diseases. Occam’s razor for medicine.

At the beginning of the year, I did a post on gentian violet [You Know You Are A Horse Person When]. My mother commented that my great-grandmother used it in her ears. Purple ears? Not obviously. The goal is to place it down in the ear canal. I started doing this to address a minor ear irritation that occasionally blossoms into an ear infection. Success. I also use it for those annoying, painful, winter fingertip cracks, as well as for equine dings and dents. I came to think of it as a miracle liquid.

So, when Milton scraped Rodney’s back, out came the Blu-Kote. The layer of loose skin sloughed off. When a second layer of skin began peeling, my medical advisor thought something was odd. He researched the purple goo and emailed me, “It is drying and cytotoxic. Both are good for keeping infection at bay, but not so good for fast healing.” Google tells me that cytotoxic means toxic to living cells.

I switched to slathering the injury with Vetasan (chlorhexidine gluconate), as much for the moisturizing as for the medication. Rodney immediately relaxed and has stopped flinching. The abrasion is now healing normally. So much for my elaborate psycho-social theories.

Sorry, Dude.

OTOH, Greg points out that Rodney remains a drama llama, “We’ve all gotten some of the purple goo on us and none have taken to the fainting couch quite like he has.”
~~~
Driving Thursday will be intermittent until the weather cools off. We’ll do some ground-driving with Milton and saddle seat driving lessons at SSF. We will do fewer treks up to Whip Hand Farm in Tennessee for combined driving. Little car [What’s in Your Stocking] has an awesome set of squirrels, but an economical approach to air conditioning.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Show Report, Sorta, NRHA 2016

Saddle Seat Wednesday

I was happy at a horse show.

How did that happen? Truth in advertising, I was a neurotic mess on the drive up, per usual. As soon as we hit the grounds, I began to have a blast. Not usual. Most of the time, I am nervous to the point of people commenting on it [Update]. Not that it is ever difficult to guess what goes thru my head, whether I speak or not. But I digress.

This time, I was showing a different horse AND showing in a double bridle. Both are one-offs. I return to status quo Sam next time. So, even though it was a big show, it felt more like an experiment. As long as I got in, got around, and kept my reins sorted, I planned to declare victory.

The life lesson here is not complicated. Most of us can have fun when the pressure is low. The challenge is keeping a positive attitude when the pressure is high. Still working on that.

Plus, Greg was at the show, which always makes my day better. On days when I am letting the horse show get to me, my husband’s presence doesn’t mean I get less nervous. It means I have someone to be nervous at.

Results
Oh yeah, I won all my classes. Kermit Dance!

My good mood beforehand did not affect my ride. I can win when I’m a sick puddle all morning. [Report, the same show where the above referenced comment was made]. It’s just that pre-ride nerves make the day SO much less enjoyable.

Future
I heard what people wrote about saddle seat being a distraction [More]. I have come up with a compromise. However, as my credibility on this matter is non-existent [To Show or Not To Show], I will refrain from elaborating for the moment.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Mind Games with Milton

It shouldn’t be this much fun to outsmart a horse.

Milton knows groundtie. Mostly. I drop his rope on the ground. He knows to stand. However, if I threaten him with something dire, such as hoof oil, he will slowly woozle sideways. I am aware this is coming, so I stomp on the end of the leadrope as he drifts off.

He gets a look of utter amazement. His thought bubble says, ‘She’s nowhere near me and yet, I stop. How is she exerting this magical force over me?’

I giggle.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott