Horses & Other Interests
No Olympic thoughts. Caught a few rounds of the Eventing show jumping via the NBC live feed on the iPad while babysitting. Most of the day was horse hysteria, flood control, & clean up. Life on a farm.
Earning the Red Saddlepad for Eventing: Andrei Korshunov riding Fabiy.
(Monthly pontification on blogging postponed until after the Games.)
Snaps to Horse & Hound for live blogging during the competition. Great way to stay updated without running up the data plan. Of course, I could have used a third screen to show MSNBC, the NBC’s Live Stream and Horse & Hound. The ever increasing spiral of electronic toy obsession.
Anyone else notice the vet team member wearing a helmet?
Anyone else notice the sirens in the background during Dirk Schrade’s ride, or is that a firefighter thing?
Earning the Red Saddlepad for Eventing after Cross-Country: Samantha Albert riding Carraig Dubh.
How did you spent Monday morning?
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Two days, two horses. We are on a roll. Today was a perky, talented horse who would be perfect. For somebody. My take-away was too much mare charisma for a rider who has dealt with geldings all of her life. I’ve ridden terrific mares, but always on loan. I lack the appropriate negotiation strategies for day-to-day survival with a strong-minded mare. (Mathilda doesn’t count. She’s just an event in my life. Like taxes.) The horse we saw was also a cribber. I wonder a) am I putting too much emphasis on cribbing & the possibility of Rodney picking it up & b) how would I feel if the horse was perfect in every other respect?
In speaking with the sellers, I tried to be honest and complimentary without raising false expectations. No clue if I succeeded. I never seem to get it right. We once went to look at an adorable baroque-breed cross. Wonderful horse if you wished to take up a sport that prioritizes trotting, say driving or dressage. Since my ideal horse is a cantering, jumping fool, baroque & I would not have been a happy match. When we expressed the thought that the trot was a stronger gait for this horse than the canter, as you would expect from her breeding, all the seller heard was that we were calling the horse lazy. Conversely, we went to visit a horse who had been down one too many wrong roads. I felt for the animal. However, I would not have given him stall space if he showed up in my driveway wearing a big red bow on his nose. We made a gracious retreat. The person showing the horse thought we were going to buy.
If you have ever sold a horse, how well did you read the intentions of potential purchasers?
List of previous horse shopping posts.
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Cat Report
Our Olympic fan [Watching] stood in front of the TV during eventing dressage day 2 and batted at the horses’s legs as they trotted around. Bonus points for excessive cuteness.
Went to look at a horse today. Yeah me! Actually, yeah us. There was miscommunication about getting access to the barn & Hubby persevered while I was busy descending into a snit. Horse turned out to be a cribber. No one likes this habit, but I am extra leery as Rodney shows signs of proto-cribbing. A true cribber would just give him ideas.
I did answer one question. If I am waffling about looking at a horse, default to yes. As I said earlier, I could be wrong [HHPR#1]. Plus, if the horse doesn’t want to come live here, the visit is still valuable. Having an eye is like any other skill. It requires practice. The more I look, the more confidence I will have in my judgments. In deference to the seller’s time, I ask to be present when the horse will be worked anyway and don’t ask to ride. I’ll come back if we get that far.
Olympic Report
One of the few riders I caught on live streaming for the first day of eventing dressage was wearing a helmet! It was a dude & the Google says Linda Algotsson of Sweden was also. That makes two at least. Go helmet evangelists!
Cat Report
Y’all know Arthur, our wannabe barn cat [Barn Dogs] who kept me company at feeding time [King]. Now Mathilda is in her pen, the mealtime routine has changed. Therefore, Arthur has decreed that the Adoration of the Cat will occur during Mathilda’s grazing. I am learning to juggle soda/tea, book, and leadrope while maintaining an armload of purring cat.
List of previous horse shopping posts.
DIRECTV customers: If your set-up is like mine: Go to NBC Sports Network, Channel 603. Wait for the red button with Summer Games to appear on screen. Press the red button on your remote. Wait for schedule to load. Pick Browse by Sport. Scroll down to Equestrian. Set alarm for 7:15 on Monday to get four hours of cross-country. Yippee. Adjust directions for local conditions. If you do not have DIRECTV, this will make no sense. However, you might wish to poke around within your system for similar goodies.
What Olympic-related books do you like?
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Back on the Homefront
You’ve heard of a runaway? Earlier this week, I had a walk-away.
Mathilda has three water buckets in her pen, cleaned & filled daily. Unfortunately, Giraffe-neck can reach across the barrier to the buckets. He dearly loves carried water. It is the exact same water as in the trough in the field. Literally. We walk to the trough, scoop out water & carry it back to the barn. Rodney insists that he can taste the difference.
Mathilda prefers to drink from the source. Since she is a prisoner in her pen and we can’t prove who’s downing the buckets, I take her out for water breaks. This way, we know she’s drinking. Once there, I have to swap sides while she drinks. Given her weak leg, she turns better counter-clockwise. This is, of course, the inconvenient direction. So, I toss the rope over her neck, circle around behind, and resume control of the wild one. Done it a million times. Standard Operating Procedure for the last however long it’s been.
Two days ago, I tossed the rope, headed rearwards, and away she went. She turned away in her bad direction just enough to ooze past me and head for the grass. Picture her walking slowing, me trying to finish circling to grab the rope, her staying just far enough ahead that I can’t catch hold.
I think she’s feeling better.
Virtual Brush Box 