At last the New Year approaches and a chance to begin again--nunc pro tunc. I installed the green gullet in the Isabell. Yes, it's true things are not moving along right now. I'm going to try the Gloves on when my boy's toes grow out a bit. By measurement, his foot is too short for the width, but ordinarily it isn't, so I guess my farrier is getting his toes really mustangy.

Plan to ride New Year's Eve and Day with my special niece--what a way to start the New Year!!!! Get ready for photos--I'm using Adobe LightRoom 2!!!!

The Isabell came, nice, but I've had to order the medium narrow (green) gullet--with the regular black one, it slides up over his shoulders too much. I'm working to get him to stand still while I mount on rocks, logs, etc. Next will be to get him to stop as soon as I get (or fall) off.

Things are moving pretty slowly on the endurance front--I plan a big push on the first (of course!)

I do have most of my Christmas shopping done, though!

Plodding on. . . .

Went for a nice ride with number 1 son. I used the chance to ride with a novice to do the steep mine road and down the back side. It was a nice 4 hour 12 mile ride that we all enjoyed. I'm varying quick fast rides with daughter with slow long steep rides with hubby and son. This time I used the Easy Boot Bares. They obviously were adjusted too large but it's such a pain in the a** to adjust them on the horse--and I can't adjust them to fit before I install them. I figured, correctly, they'd stay in place for walking.

I'm looking forward to the next dressage lesson with Aniah. I've not felt 100% comfortable about the fit of the Thorowgood dressage saddle and was looking for a used Thorowgood T4 Dressage (since they're new, fat chance) or a used (same price or more than the Thorowgood T4) Wintec Isabell with CAIR panels. Finally got one on e-bay and hoping it gets here before Friday. I can't find out what gullet it has installed, so may have to order another.

A Boot Failure

An abject failure. Put the front boots on and took of for a short, quick ride. They mushed around sideways and I had to take them off. I KNOW they are the right size. So, why wouldn't they stay on? Does anyone get their Gloves to stay on? I fit using the fit kit, but tomorrow I'm going to measure and see how it compares with what we bought. So disappointed. :--(

Trimming & Worming & Measuring & Fitting Gloves

Boy, it's when one does all that stuff it really hits home how many horses 11 is! Only trimmed 6, the other 2 that need it will get it soon, the farrier had another few appointments. And, when we gathered them all up and wormed them, I measured them with a stick for the first time! I always "weigh" them with the tape before worming. It turns out that my horse is the talles! He's over 15 h! No wonder it seems like I'm always looking down on daughter's horse when we ride.

The New Gloves.
I have a pretty varied assortment of boots, the Easyboot original, the Bare, the old Old Mac, and I'm strongly aware of the necessity of a good fit. So, I ordered the Easyboot Glove/Glue-on Fit Kit and, a week after a trim on my boy, sized him at a .05, which is halfway between a 1 and a 0, on the fronts. So, I ordered a pair and, again after a trim, tried them.

Hmm, it sure seemed like they were going to be too small. Unlike the "shells" they sent in the Fit Kit, the Gloves have stuff around the heels that causes them to be less flexible. Well, I had confidence in my original fitting, so I stuffed them on his right (smaller) hoof and waited a day. They now look really perfect. If one is accomstomed to the old easy boot, they look too small, but EasyCare has really lowered the profile on these and they are intended to just barely come up from the weight bearing surface of the hoof.

Today I will see if I can take the now, hopefully, enlarged boot and put it on his left hoof. Only then will I know if they are a real fit. And, I'll have to get one of those handy little rasps for between trimmings! He's always tender for a couple of weeks after a trim even though he's been bare his entire life.

Well, I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to use my Garmin e trex Legend HCx with Google Earth, the Garmin map source, and the National Geographic Explorer 24k super quad maps. I just need to do a single perfect project to learn the interface. I really want to be comfortable with this.

In the meantime, had the farrier out to trim 6 horses! Two more needed it but he'll come back another day when he has more time. I do believe their hooves are growing faster, just as is the grass.

Planning a ride on Sunday with my hubby. Every chance I get, I want him to have fun with horses!

Gotta drive to the city today for a dinner meeting, back late again, then to the other city for work tomorrow, then working from home on Friday!!!

Photos from the Sunday ride promised!

Where We Are Now

I have a new girth for the dressage saddle--to replace the "girth from hell" (no roller buckles); stirrup leathers (daughter wants mine); and, finally, a used Treadstone bridle, since other daughter says endurance halter/bridle combo is not "appropriate" for my dressage lessons. Note: I cannot find a noticeable difference between the really really inexpensive ($25 new on e-bay) and this bridle which retails for $100 +.

Finally, I bought us a really, really, nice sheepskin half pad at the RamTap Horse Trials last weekend (older daughter was suitably jealous) that is machine washable and vouched for! I guess we're ready to roll!

Horsey Humor! Snort alert-

Dear Tech Support:
Recently I purchased and installed Horse 1.0. I soon noticed that thisprogram appears to have numerous glitches. For instance, every time mycomputer boots up, I have to run Feed 5.3 and Water 7.1. Many times I'vebeen in the middle of writing an important document, and a window will flashtelling me to run Clean Stall 2.0. This program also contained applicationsI did not wish to install, such as Manure 8.5, however they auto-installedwith Horse 1.0.
Applications such as Vacation 2.7 and Free Time 10.1 can no longer run,crashing whenever selected. Possibly the worst is that Horse 1.0 hasattached itself to programs like Finance Manager and MS Money, with foldersadded such as "Monthly Shoeing" and "Winter Blanket". Periodically, I'll geta reminder telling me to send a check to the manufacturer of Horse 1.0 forthe aforementioned items.
I have tried to uninstall Horse 1.0 numerous times, but when I try to runthe uninstall program, I get warning messages telling me that a deadly virusknown as "Withdrawal" will infect my system. Please Help!!!!!
Dear User,
Your complaint is not unusual. A common misconception among users is thatHorse 1.0 is a mere "utilities and entertainment program." It is not- it isan OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its' creator to run everything! Awarning will soon be imprinted on the box.
Since you have already installed Horse 1.0, here are a few tips on how tomake it run better. If you are annoyed by the applications Feed 5.3 andWater 7.1, you may run C:\HIRE HELP, however this will cause another folderto be added to financial applications, labeled "Staff". Failure to sendpayment to "Staff" will result in Feed 5.3 and Water 7.1 being run again onstartup.
A note of caution: NOT booting up your computer for several days isn't thesolution to avoiding Feed 5.3 and Water 7.1. You will find that, when youboot up your computer again, a nasty virus called "Colic 4.2" will haveattached itself to important documents and the only way to rid your computerof Colic 4.2 is by purchasing and installing "Vet 10.1", which we admit isextremely expensive, but crucial. Otherwise, Colic 4.2 will causeirreversible damage to the operating system.
Finally, it is important that you run C:\Carrots and C:\Scratch Ears on afairly regular basis to keep the application running smoothly. If you haveany more questions, please call our toll free number.
Sincerely,
Tech Support
Author unknown

In an interesting post on the goals of legal scholarship, Marc DeGirolami writes:

[It] doesn’t particularly matter to me who is or is not interested in my ideas. It probably is true that I hope vaguely that someone, somewhere, now or in the future, will be interested in them. If no one ever thought them at all interesting, I would likely find that regrettable. But I do not write with the purpose to address a particular audience. Even when something I write addresses a particular scholar’s claims, I do not take that scholar, or his epigones, to be my audience. In fact, I usually give no thought at all to whom I am writing “for.”

When I write, I don’t really care who cares, or why they care, or whether someone will care in the future for reasons I cannot guess. I am not writing with the practical aim of influence in mind, or with an ulterior motive, or with the hope that I will make it easier, or harder, for pastry chefs to frost cakes with greater velocity or skill. This is different, I think, than saying that one ought not care if one’s ideas are put to deeply harmful use, or that one ought to be utterly indifferent to the consequences of one’s ideas. Rather, it is to say that one should not have as one’s conscious writing object the excitement of anyone’s cares.

So, do I care??? Hmmm. I guess I'm disapointed that I seldom get comments, and when I e-mail a person, I definately want an acknowledgment. I suppose one of my great joys is communication, and because I don't play and sing, photos and words are it. So, do I care???? Hmmmm.....

I showed myself that I'm serious about this endeavour! I ordered Gloves for the fronts and a new GPS. For once I'm on the curve. I found a great price for the Garmin Vista Cx, everything I wanted. Looked it up on the Garmin site, compared it to the Legend etc., has a barometric thing and electronic compass, unlike the Legend, but they were the same price, so hey!

The next day, I looked it up again--lo and behold! Garmin lists it as discontinued. Searching, I found that the Vista and Legend Cx have been replaced by the HCx, which have a new high sensitivity antenna. So, I had to pay $50 more or so, and went with the Legend, but it's supposed to really pull in the signal in "deep cover and canyons."

I'm envious, I said.

I told my instructor I was envying my niece who is making more progress in dressage than I. Oh, she said, so you want to learn dressage? Then she told me lots and lots of 20 meter circles are involved (I can't seem to canter in a circle, something about all that centrifigal force) and I needed to learn to ride with "contact." On the other hand, she complimented my "nice quiet hands" and noted that it was easy to tell that I wasn't balancing myself on the reins. So, now I know how to ride with contact, and she gave me some tips on getting my horse to "round" by closing the hand on one side until he lowers his head, then releasing, and then going to the other side. At least we're good at trotting 20 meter circles because we did it for a long time. One reason my niece may be progressing more quickly than I, is because she rides more than once a week.

We brought Merlin home Friday and he was so happy to see the baby. This morning they were "hugging," that's the only way to describe it. They were facing each other, and holding their heads side by side, touching. Merlin was lipping the baby's face. It was too sweet for words.

I've got my "workout" room set up, I can treadmill away to my heart's content while listening to any kind of music I want and looking out at the road and the horses and dogs. Way better than the club, which I've put on hold. I just need to get a Pilates mat for home so I can keep on a routine when I'm working from home instead of from court.

This must be the "Turtle" path to the Tevis. Who hasn't learned the fable of the tortoise and the hare? "Slowly but surely wins the race." I'll settle for starting the race at this point, because I won't start unless I believe I can finish.

Day 4

Halloween.

Finn

Am

???

El and Am, after the Trick or Treat excursion.

El the vampire!

The fairy hides.

Lots and lots and lots of memorabilia.

JC & Er

Day 3

Aniah rides Savannah.

Picking El up from LHS

Taking Am to school on Halloween.

El and the re-born Merlin!

Traveling through town.

Dropping off Am at school.

Day 2

Bellina

Gi Gi

Calf, rock, and cactus

Brown Cow on the Rocks

Some days just aren't so great.

I'm loved just too danged much.

Pigeon-Chicken

A great morning in the lower valley.

Someone said Dinner???

We're waitin'!

I could russull up my own, but.....

Farm Security

Dinner right here!

Don't eat THAT!

Hey hey.... dinner right here please.

Playing in black.

Picking up the kids.

Free & Easy Down the Road I Go.

Which one is mine?

Still travelin'.

The Photo Challenge-Day 1

On a Roll

Hey--Did the Pilates today and I'm gonna keep at it!

Update

Regardless of the fact that I have not been contributing to my own blog, I HAVE been having dressage lessons–when I can catch my horse! Daughter and I take my horse and we go to our trainers where she gives daughter a lesson on Merlin, who now looks like a real horse! and to me on Hope. Alas, I have not been able to practice between the weekly lessons. BUT hubby and I went on a nice training ride Sunday and explored the boundary between the 3,600 acres we have permission to ride upon, and the 36,000 upon which we don’t. I was surprised to find that the former was more extensive than I’d thought. He is going to help me mark and map the trails and put together some loops that add up to 50 miles. I need a new GPS.

Sunday Digression--Why?

Why? That must be the ultimate philosophical question, because all of the rules rest upon the answer.

True story: my husband, a building contractor, was once confronted by the building inspector who claimed the footings for a house were not "to code." The footings for part of the house consisted of massive solid granite in which holes were drilled for bolts to connect to the frame of the house. The inspector wanted the granite blasted out so that conventional footings could be dug and poured. My husband simply, and politely, went over his head.
Q: What is the purpose of the footings? A: To support the house. Q: Which accomplishes this purpose the best?

Children tend to be very rigid thinkers. They are very rule-based and see things in black and white. Thus, the constant, "It's not FAIR!" complaint.

Eventually, however, humans were meant to transcend this level. The policy, the ethic of a thing, drives the rules. But, without an understanding of the basis, the policy, the value, which the rule is designed to further, we will never think outside the box.

That building inspector was locked into a rigid application of the "code" without apprehension of the purpose of its rules. By the way, after he retired, he chose my husband to design a structure for him.

Today, try to perceive the value protected and supported by each of the rules that you encounter. As long as we have common values with another group, or culture, the rules should not conflict but represent alternatives for achieving what is valued.

After The Lesson . . .

Okay, what's sore? Only my pubic bone and the muscles at the top of my inner thighs--whatever they're called. And my lower back feels tight, that's common for me when I'm doing a lot of posting after not riding for awhile. Might need to visit the chiro.
Now, I need to practice until next week!

Hey Hey Hey! Lesson 1

Actually, I've had a few lessons with this trainer before, but this was my first official personal lesson! And, the second time only, in my life, in an official English saddle! It was amazing how much more comfortable I was than the last time, about 2 months ago. That first time the seat was okay, but my feet and legs felt like they were hanging at the end of a spagetti! It probably helped that my Pony Club daughter rode Hope a few times--probably 15 since I owed her $150 towards her clothing allowance. My trainer even commented, several times, on what a nice working trot Hope was showing.

Sad to say, before we started I was thinking he was going kind of odd in the rear and daughter told he that's how he always went. I was thinking maybe I could get out of this lesson until I worked a little more with him. So, it was a really pleasant surprise to have the lesson really work out, even going over a crossbar with a flower box! Just like the Pony Club D1 riders!

Of course, daughter was taking a simultaneous lesson and went over some nice bounce jumps. Her horse was sweatier than mine. We will repeat this every Friday evening as long as both trainer and I am in town.

By the way, the horse with no job is looking good! Good good good! If all goes well, he may stay another month. Maybe next Friday, smart ass ... woops, I mean, precious daughter, will ride him!

My New Personal Trainer!

Yes, and it's Bob Green. So, maybe it's not in-person personal, but I've got a book and if it worked for Oprah, it'll work for me!

So here are the magic steps:

1. Exercise aerobically, 5 to 7 days each week, in the morning if possible.

2. Exercise should be in the "zone" (level 7--you know you can keep it up, but you don't want to talk).

3. Exercise for 20 minutes each session (working up to 60)

4. Eat a low-fat, balanced diet each day.

5. Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks each day.

6. Limit alcohol.

7. Stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime.

8. Drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.

9. Have at least two services of fruit and three servicgs of vegetables each day.

10. Renew the commitment to healthy living each day (and do Pilates 3x a week-my own addition).

Doesn't sound so hard, eh?

When am I going to Get With It?

I've just not been able to get a schedule going this summer, but the kids are back in school and so I hope, with the return of regularity, I'll be able to faithfully comply with my goals.

Link for the Long Riders' Guild added to sidebar

More Sunday Digressions . . .

"The problem with fear," Yin went on, "is that it can be very subtle and sneak up on us quickly. You see, a fear image is always about some outcome we don't want. We fear failing, embarrassing ourselves or our families, losing our freedom or someone we love, or our own lives. The difficult part is that when we begin to feel such fear, it often turns into anger, and we use this anger to martial our forces and fight back against whoever we feel is the threat.

"Whether we are feeling fear or anger, we have to realize that these emotions come from one source: those aspects of our lives we want to hold on to.

"[Since] fear and anger come from being concerned that we are going to lose something, the way to avoid these emotions is to be detached from all outcomes."

* * *

"I did not say not to care," he continued. "I said not to be attached to any particular outcome. What we get in life is always slightly different from what we want anyway. To be detached is to realize that there is always a higher purpose that can be found in any event, in any outcome. We can always find a silver lining, a positive meaning, that we can build on."

The Secret of Shambhala, by James Redfield, published in 1999.

What are you the most afraid of?

I was listening to NPR the other day and the host asked the guest, a well-know successful recording artist, "What are you the most afraid of?" His answer: Failure. I began to think, what am I most afraid of? It isn't failure--I give it the ol' college try without fear. So, what is it?

To be sure, there are many,many things in life of which to be afraid. Pain, death, failure, "fear itself," hmmm. Perhaps there aren't as many different things as I thought. It appears that everything can be categorized under one of these headings.

I think my biggest fear is, not death, but dying with having my life not count for anything. This must be a common fear, witness all of the testamentary endowments. People do try to leave something good behind, and that would come under "fear of death."

Fear of death: pointless
Fear of pain (physical AND emotional): some is unavoidable so fear is pointless. With optional exposure to pain, merely do the equation--balance the possible pain against the possible pleasure/enjoyment/advancement--and make a decision.
Fear of failure: see above, but failure is only painful if you let it be painful.
Fear of fear: your choice.

I can see how a fearless life can lead to a joyful life. Have a good Sunday.

Sunday Digression

The west wind wooed the blushing rose,

And blew her kisses sweet with musk

From dawn of day until the stars

Shone tenderly thro' purple dusk.

The west wind wooed the blushing rose,

And sang to her a heart-song true,

And placed upon her head a crown

Of sunshine's gold begemmed with dew.

The west wind wed the blushing rose,

Embowered there in the leafy nook,

And heaven blessed their first-born fair,

The fragrant and the warm Chinook.

Cow Boy Lyrics, by Robert V. Carr, published 1908

Catching My Breath

From vacation I headed into a full work week--haven't even had time to put all the camping stuff away or do my laundry.

I'm sending one of my horses, who doesn't know enough to do a job, away to training this weekend. I think he's in for a bit of a surprise . . .

He thinks all he is supposed to do is run around and look fancy! Stay tuned to see how it goes.

I will be working with my 3-year old some, this year, and my 4 month old baby boy.

I'm BACK!

"Charity" rode Hope, walk and trot, and he was okay. Going to try the Easy Care fit kit on him today.

"Charity" rode Hope, walk and trot, and he was okay. Going to try the Easy Care fit kit on him today.

Vacation Time!

I'm getting ready to go on a vacation with my nearest and dearest, leaving the little one, and not-so-little one, and the definitely big ones, behind this time. (Boy, it has been a loooong time!)

While on the 3,000 mile trip I'll have a lot of time to read in the car and am taking with me Tom Ivers' "The Fit Racehorse" (I couldn't afford "The Fit Racehorse II) and "Racehorse Owner's Survival Guide." These books are just filled with solid training and injury prevention and rehab information, and the writing style is very personable. I just get lost in the technicalities easily. I believe this is going to be one of those books that I will have to paraphrase, line by line, in order to take it in and understand it.

So, expect to hear from me August 24!

I Like It!

Julie Suhr: "How will you know how far you can go until you have gone too far?"

So far, so good . . .

I'm off to a good start, the 40-minute Pilates workout, and the gym yesterday. I'm doing 2 miles on the treadmill keeping my heartrate at the "fat burning" level for my weight/age. I get it done in about 40 minutes including warm-up and cool-down, usually at an elevation.

Some thoughts on cardio theaters at gyms: I think they get all those flat screen televisions free from the advertisers! Out of the 10 screens, at least half of them are showing a commercial at any one time. And, when I go to work out, one will be showing a food show, 2 will be showing a home improvement type of show, 2 will be showing news and 2 or 3 will be showing psuedo-news, 1 will be a card show or some other game show, finally, if there is a real show on, the sound won't work. It is novel for me, however, since I don't have any television reception where I live and so have not watched television at home for a dozen years.

On the other hand, right now I could ride as a Featherweight only if I did the Lady Godiva thing--naked and bareback! Well, it's a start . . . .

Well, thankfully Hope seems no worse for the "wear." He shows no obvious signs of being tender-footed in the pasture or signs he's been down. I took off the Old Macs and he just walked off. Hmmmm. Will have to discuss this with the farrier.

Uhh Oh----

Well, had my farrier out on Saturday to trim "Hope" and told him to do do a really good job, 'cause Hope was headed to the Tevis this year. Sunday, the horse couldn't stand up on some gravel! He does have very very flat feet, and I guess the trim just put too much pressure on his soles. He usually is a little tender-footed after a trim, but this! I gave him some Bute and strapped on some Old Mac boots on his fronts to give him a little protection. He's getting around fine in the pasture and not laying down, or keeping weight off of one foot, so I'll keep a careful eye on him and discuss it with my farrier. Perhaps he's one of those horses that really needs to be rasped every couple of weeks.

On the brighter side, my endurance "soul sister" visited and we got to go on and on about the Tevis and endurance without anyone else getting bored. I got my "fix" and it should last me awhile. My spouse will be grateful!