Spotted at the Dog Show

SP dog show best of

SP dog show line

Note the canine spotted at the head of the line.

Open to Interpretation
For Dragon*Con, I splurged on science-fiction shirts as my costume: Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, and so on. I justified the expense by promising to use them as barn shirts. So when I dashed over to the dog show this weekend to see friends, I did so wearing a barn shirt riffing on the Keep Calm meme: Don’t Panic and Carry a Towel. One of the dog people saw it and said, “You must have Newfies or Mastiffs.”

More Spotted (with additions).

Update: Winning photo was for purposes of illustration. Spotted wasn’t showing.

Ladies Only

(… because Gentlemen will find it TMI.)

It has been pointed out that I need to, um, reinforce the support foundations before my next show. I felt nothing, so it is a visual matter rather than one of comfort. Anyone have experience with riding-related sport garments that have worked, or stores to get advice on same?

The problem is that I was scrawny when I was younger and tend to comport myself as if I retain that body shape. To which I say, where was this extra material when I was in college and it could have done me some good? Now, it’s just in the way.

Any advice appreciated.

Update: Ladies Only, Thank You

We’ll See

The good news is we have lovely new fencing around the field [photo].
The bad news is built-up dirt along the fence line has sent all the water towards the driveway and the barn.
The good news is the gravel raised most of the flooring above the water line.
The bad news is the entryway needs to be handicap access. Any raised barrier to water would also be a raised barrier to Mathilda
The good news is trenches around the barn divert the water.
The bad news is Thunderpaws dislikes being wet, so he stands just outside, stomping the trenches into oblivion.
The good news is he is amenable to staying in a stall for the duration of the bad weather.
The bad news is if Rodney is in Mathilda will stand in the corner of the pen most likely to flood.
The good news is we have figured out how to keep the barn & all 8 hooves dry.
The bad news is someone has to be here to oversee the flood channels.
The good news is our lifestyle is such that I can usually be home for rain.
The bad news is even I like to leave the house occasionally. Cancelling riding lessons is okay. However, non-horse folks don’t truly understand, “I can’t meet you. It’s going to rain.”

And so on.

Rapprochement

Hubby thinks Rodney and I are coming to an agreement.

A few nights ago, Rodney and I had a minor kerfuffle during evening chores. When I put him in his stall he took a funny step. I led him back out and circled the pen once or twice to see if he did it again. Nope. Everything’s fine. When I led him back into his stall, he spooked at horse-eating gremlins outside the barn. This resulted in a discussion of personal space, his and mine. (He was concerned that I was about to turn him back out in the rain. Silly cupcake.)

Horse is figuring out rider. When he first arrived, Rodney took everything we said far to seriously. A minor reprimand would cause a Sky Is Falling! overreaction. He still flies up into the trees but now he only makes it as far as the lower boughs and a few pats on the nose will talk him down.

Rider is figuring out horse. With Previous Horse, you had to get into his face loudly and immediately, or he wouldn’t listen, or would possibly bite you. As I’ve said before, Previous wasn’t evil. He was, however, an extremely unsubtle horse. Messages had to be short, sweet, and convincing. It is slowly sinking into my reflexes that dealing Rodney requires much less vehemence on my part.

Hubby saw the entire exchange and later complimented me on my handling of. Whether this has anything to do with our eventual under-saddle career remains to be seen. Festina lente.

Psyche Songs Sought

Lola’s songs worked great. I played them in the grooming stall before lessons. I played them at the stalls before the show. I even sang parts of them to her. “I met her in bar down in old Soho …” kept us at a walk more than once. “Her name was Lola …” would get us started trotting. By the time I got to “… yellow feathers in her hair …” we would be sorted out.

220px-Born_to-be_wild-steppenwolf-45Now, I’m compiling a second motivational mix tape/playlist for general use and for horses who don’t have their own songs. “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf is an obvious choice. I’m looking for others. Please note, I have the music ability of a pat of butter, so the beat must be unmistakable. Lyrics will stick in my mind better than orchestral music. With the exception of, say, the 1812 Overture. Even I can remember that tune.

Whatcha got for me?

(45 cover image from Wikipedia entry.)