Bareback Exercises

Rodney is not going to wear a saddle any time soon, if ever [Haven’t I?]. So what options do I have?

Ground work. Huge subject. Lots of avenues.

Find out if I can do video tests with Interdressage, “We include tests each month, which can be ridden in bitless bridles, snaffles only, and any tack.” Bareback qualifies as ‘any tack’ right?

Use him as model for my photo homework.

Bareback is great practice for my seat. Learning is a permanent good. Although, I will admit, I’m a mite tired of things that are character-building. I’m up to here with character. I want to DO.

Lunge him over jumps, saddleless. He has a beautiful jump. Frustrating, but beautiful.

Enjoy everything from watching him snooze in the run-in to galloping up for breakfast. He makes a stellar lawn ornament. He’s also an easy keeper, far as excitable Thoroughbreds go.

Suggestions?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Haven’t I Been Here Before?

Just when I thought I had no heart left to break.

Not to worry, no new drama. After drafting a post about saddles [Saddlephobia], we were inspired to try Rodney again. Just to see where we were. He flinched and spooked during carrot stretches. He bucked and tossed his head lunging over jumps. Both of these reactions indicate pain. I fell back my familiar, hopeless, despairing tailspin [Aftermath]. Progress is an illusion. Progress with Rodney doubly so.

My endless, epic melancholy is partly due the utter disappointment with how Rodney has turned out. Rodney was my mid-life crisis horse, that one fantastic horse I never thought I would have the opportunity to ride or to show.

Milton is nice. Milton is not stop traffic nice.

Rodney is not my heart horse. Previous Horse holds that spot. I still miss the grouchy, selfish bastard [In Defense].

With Rodney, I cherished a small, secret hope that some day, some how, some way, it would all work out. We would forge a relationship that would overcome all his doubts.

I’ll admit, I was also hoping to be bathed in vindication: stratospheric dressage scores, smooth hunter rounds, scorching jump-offs, Finish on Dressage Score/Led From Dressage events. In short, a competitive record that would make all the previous crap worthwhile.

He’s 17. He hasn’t been in work for 6 years. You’d think I would have come to terms with all of this by now. Apparently, I’m kinda dumb, or don’t let go easily.

Enough!

It is time to …
Accept what is.
Be happy with what I have.
Enjoy my gorgeous lawn ornament.

Onwards!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

New Glasses

My glasses have arrived [Happy Heath News].

glasses

Looking straight ahead and being able to see: Awesome.

Looking down for close-up work: Similar to readers.

Looking sideways and seeing rainbow halos: Groovy.

Because of the way progressive lenses are built, I have to learn to move my head rather than cut my eyes, for example looking from keyboard to screen. “Follow your nose” the person at the glasses store told me. If I fail to look straight through the lenses, the world goes out of focus. I’m not used differences depending on the direction of my eyes. My world was blurry, but it was uniformly blurry. Everyone says my brain will compensate in a few days. I’m just waiting for the sea sickness to stop.
~~~
Gratuitous Cat Link

“Even hairless Sphynx cats give patients a warm, fuzzy feeling”

My photo instructor [Meet Meg] took the pictures for this article. We’re taking USA Today, people! Do I know how to pick a teacher, or what?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Foto Friday: David LaBelle

Second half of my photo class books [Lesson 1: Book List].

LaBelle

The Great Picture Hunt 2: The Art and Ethics of Feature Picture Hunting by Dave LaBelle [LaBelle 1995]

I don’t want to know all the technical stuff… I just want to shoot pictures: The TLC approach to taking great photographs at any age by Dave LaBelle [LaBelle 2009]

I am loving I don’t want to know all the technical stuff…. It helps me see what is important rather than be overwhelmed dazzled by choice. While I bought the camera specifically for the options [The Rest of the Story], that doesn’t mean I’m finding it easy. It helps me to think that any camera is simply “A box that gathers light” (p8). Both books are available on the author’s website.

~~~
With the requisite photo bombs.

Blue
Blue
Arthur & Blue
Arthur & Blue
Arthur
Arthur

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

DIY Blanket Rack

Organization makes me happy.

We have a variety of horse covers: turnout blankets, stable blankets, sheets, coolers, and so on. Sizes range from the short, fat Mathilda to the giraffe that is Rodney. Several are well past their use-by date: large tears, missing straps, defunct buckles, etc. However, we keep them around to drape over the run-in shed fence for windbreaks in the winter.

Now that summer is coming, we need move this mountain of material to maximize ventilation. Blanket storage takes space. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them out of the way, yet easy to access, and neatly stored?

Enter my master carpenter. He ripped two ten-foot 2×4 boards to make four wooden supports that fit across the back of the hay area. Now every horse coat we own is hung up, with space between for sufficient airflow.

blanket rack 3

Bliss.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott