One Chill Horse

For over two years now, my life has been marked by the passing of Thursdays. Every Thursday was sacred, it was ride day, the day of the week that I was guaranteed time to indulge in my deep desire for horse time. When you find something that is meaningful and sort of sets the tone for your whole reason for being, you want to make time for it. Even if that something is not bringing Earth shattering progress to mankind, or even profit to your own home. There are just things in life that bring us peace, harmony and balance. I am wise enough and aware enough to know that those things are fleeting, special, and not to be missed. So Thursdays were my holy ground, my time out from time itself, and now... Well, humanity has been shifted on its axis. The world is still spinning, the planet is still thriving, but we are hiding like rats. Which in all respects should humble us, should enlighten us, but I don't know that it will. We have faced many moments of possible collapse in our ill...

We are in some insane times, to be sure. So it is a great moment for us to reflect on what matters, what we're grateful for, and most importantly what we want our future to be. When it comes to the equine portion of my life these things are abundantly clear. What matters: Having the privilege of being a horse owner Knowing that my horse is safe, fed, sound and checked on Being able to rely on providers when my horse has an urgent need What I'm grateful for: Having a barn owner that thinks things through, and works to make all parties involved safe and comfortable A barn staff that is dedicated to taking care of everything, even when the world is falling apart Having a barn community that pitches in to take care of each other and who respects each others comfort zones during this time of uncertainty What I want in the future: To continue my horsemanship journey with this fine group of people that I have met through my barn To someday have my own 'p...

I most definitely am not an expert! So why listen to me? Why be regaled with my stories of misadventures, confusing realizations and painful learning? Because, I'm like you, or like someone you know (likely for whom you are paying horse bills). Here are some truths about me and why maybe what I type has some meaning for you, I am a horse person, I have a genetic pre-disposition that once unleashed can never be contained. I think about horses more than I think about anything. LITERALLY! I think about food less than horses, for real. When someone is referred to as 'easily distracted by horses' that is me, in fact I'm not even distracted by them, I don't stop thinking about them long enough to pay attention elsewhere. Sorry to everyone who loves me, works with me, talks to me - what you are saying and the conversation we are having is constantly running over the inner horse monologue I am having. It's not that you aren't important or that what we discu...

In one slice of a perfect world, it would be true that all horse and rider combos are compatible and that there is a flow between them that takes no work. This is not that slice. In reality, horses are headstrong, opinionated, trained and expressive. Meaning, they have a mind of their own, a way of doing things that they are comfortable with and no idea why all of a sudden you think you're in charge. Personally one of the most daunting relationships I have ever had to build is the one with my horse. There is an insane amount of trust that has to be established, a huge dose of bravery you have to muster and a whole lot of vulnerability on both sides. I wish I had a one size fits all for how to become friends with a horse, but that isn't even possible. I also wish I could tell you that you can be friends with any horse you want, but that too, would be a lie. Your horse is your dance partner, you both know half the steps and you have to come together to make a whole imag...

As horse people, we focus a lot on the people part of that. We talk about all the amazing things that horses bring to us, how they enrich us, how they ground us and make us better. However,  I want to highlight that our interactions with horses is also and more importantly about them. You need to make time to focus on what is good for your horse, what will make their life better, what can you improve about you to be better for them. This is a PARTNERSHIP and a RESPONSIBILITY. Having a horse is a LONG TERM commitment, it is not a puppy a for Christmas that you have to 'deal with' for a decade and move on. Horses live a LONG time and require special things to make their lives positive and whole. I get asked a lot - Isn't having a horse expensive? How can you have a horse on the cheap? Yes it's expensive and you can't do it cheaply. It is either expensive or very expensive. With that said I will tell you that it is still always less expensive than I feared and n...

My horse people will totally get this, the rest of you will think I'm a crazy nutbar! Today is Tuesday, I saw my horse on Saturday and I will see him tomorrow and all I freakin want to do is go to the barn!!! Saturday to Wednesday is soooooooo long!!!! I love spending time out there! I love hanging with my horse! I love seeing my barn friends, seeing the other horses, sneaking treats to all my favs and I love riding!! When I'm not at the barn, I'm thinking about the barn. I think about all the things my horse and I need to work on, I look forward to all the silly things he will do when I see him, I look forward to hearing him nicker, to giving him treats, to conquering new skills, there is just so much always going on! The funny part is my barn friends are also doing the same thing, we are all pining away for our ponies while we toil away at our adult lives. I have to say of all the social groups I have been in, of all the friend circles I have encountered, I h...

I don't know if it's the weather or what but communication has been spotty this week, at best. I think I have raised an eyebrow at least a dozen times this week when someone asked a question I already answered in the email they just responded to, but also seems to have bled over to horsey time. Don't you hate when adulting follows you around like a dryer sheet stuck in your pants....la sigh.... So Pistol was 100% a Pistol this week. He was throwing around Mustang, I'm gonna F You Up Postures to his pasture mates and then 10 seconds later making huge detours to avoid the actual bully in the pen. He was trying to walk off when I was getting in the saddle (his usual trick is to take a big step backwards, so going forward instead is new and equally annoying), he was pretending he was steering the ship and that he got to do what he wanted, go the speed he wanted and eat when he wanted - all of this is a lie and he knows better. Then when I told him politely 'No'...

We in the horse world talk a lot about how horses change lives in positive ways, and I could write a book on the subject and still only scratch the surface! Instead of writing a book, I will try to just share some thoughts I have had this week on how my horse has changed my life. 1. Pain Management - Some of you know and some of you don't, I suffer from chronic back and neck pain and as we all know, back pain leads to pain in other places, so sometimes it's just all over pain.  The super cool thing is though, when I ride regularly, I don't hurt. Like as in for the first time in my memory I have been pain free!!! It is super duper awesome and something nothing else I ever tried did for me (and believe me I tried a LOT of things).  I was reminded of it this week, because with our break in riding, due to Pistol's colic, my neck has been screaming at me for attention. I had forgotten how much it simply sucks to have neck pain 24/7 and I don't even know how I managed ...

So I got to learn what a Christmas Miracle is this year. It did not look like I expected, or like the movies portray. There was no heavenly visitors, no Santa with twinkly eyes, there was a team of hard working people doing all they could to save a life. Christmas Day 2019, Pistol, in all his gastric glory, decided now would be a great time for a little colic fun.  The dreaded C word in horse life, COLIC! Such a simple thing, a little upset tummy, a little back up in the pipes, for humans there's a billion easy remedies and a slew of medical options, for horses not so much. To those that don't know, colic is a 50/50 phone call, you have to immediately face the very real possibility that these are the last hours with your beloved horse. For Pistol, things turned out well. We were fortunate enough to have a great support team to get us to the medical care that was needed and fortunate enough to be able to cope with the cost associated with the whole process. Christmas day...

A conversation recently got me thinking about empathy and horses. Horses make huge allowances for our personalities and we only do a mediocre job of reciprocating. Horses simply are better 'people' than we are. Horses don't expect us to know their language, yet they strive constantly to learn ours. They c ould rebel and run from us any time we are harsh to them but they don't, they patiently wait to see how we can both get to the next part of the conversation. We don't give them nearly enough credit for what they tolerate for our benefit. Empathy by definition is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another being. I feel like horses do this innately and constantly. They put their own insecurities aside to sooth us when we are alarmed, or sick, or hurt, or sad - you only have to spend time with them to see it happen. Watch the feisty horse that calms down for the crying kid, or the spirited mare that is gentle as a lamb for the new rider...

Buying for someone who only ever wants buckets, brushes and grain can be very rough, but here are some fun ideas to check out!! 1. Personalized bracelet (or anything) with their horse's name on it https://www.statelinetack.com/item/padded-leather-id-bracelet/E020684/ 2. New halter and lead rope (everyone likes matching sets and personalized is also always fun!) Weaver and Kensington are both brand that have lots of great color options  SateLine Tack has some great personalized options Examples: https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Leather-Original-Adjustable-Halter/dp/B004GDDI24/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=weaver+halter&qid=1574358560&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Breakaway-Halter-Padded-X-Large/dp/B0072FJEM6/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=kensington+halter&qid=1574358669&sr=8-7 https://www.statelinetack.com/item/triple-e-personalized-breakaway-nylon-halter/E001142/ 3. Gift cards to favorite tack shops/feed shops/online sho...

Ok the title might be a little dramatic, but seriously I have crammed way more knowledge into my tiny brain over the last few weeks than I ever planned! Saddle pads are complicated business! And I was just focused on Western ones!! Sorry, English riders, I got zilch info for you this time. As is the general standard I try to write by, I am going to keep this simple. Here we go!! Saddle pads are obviously a crucial part of tack, for those that don't know the pad is what goes under the saddle. Seems just like a big squishy square you just throw up there, so shouldn't matter much what you use, right? Nope! Sorry :) Now as with all things horse, it's all about what works for you and if you are ok with just any old pad, then sure, grab and go. However, if you're curious as to how they are meant to function and what technical aspects make one better than another, then let's dig in! When choosing a pad you need to consider: 1. Length/Width 2. Thickness 3. Shape ...

Understanding the horse person can be very challenging. We do lots of weird things. 1. We hug our horses, for no apparent reason 2. We drive half an hour in the rain, sloshing in the mud to just stand next to our horse while they eat grain 3. We get up super early on our day off to spend 4 hours at the barn, to ride for 45 minutes 4. We will stay in the saddle long past the point of having any feeling in our toes 5. We will willing stain/rip/destroy any piece of clothing as long as it meant we got to spend time with our horse 6. We will gladly spend all our holiday money on grain and supplements 7. Our wishlists are full of tack we probably don't need, but we sure do want to try out 8. Our goals and resolutions are full of horse things like get the left lead learn to smoothly change directions on the lunge line figure out how to wear stirrups without tripping master the no stirrup post 9. We text our stable friends just to say we saw thei...

So there are simply some things in life we take for granted. For instance, how to make a horse stop and go - I took this as common knowledge - it's not. So here are the basics for those that need to know. Of course it gets more complicated than this, because um horses, duh! To go forward , make soft encouraging clucking noise and squeeze with your legs, if that doesn't work press with your heels, if that doesn't work, kick the horse in the sides. I know kicking sounds terribly horrible, but it's similar to when you are holding a toddler and they are swinging their legs at you - mostly it's just annoying, right? Same thing here, but you, the rider, are the toddler. To go left , move your hand holding the reins to the left. If your horse can do one handed commands then it's as simple as moving just the one hand, if you do two handed reining then you move just the left hand (both hands move in reality, but focus on the left one, the rest will follow). You sh...

It's been a minute, but I'm back! So what's this frisky horse business?? Well the weather has changed, or in the midwest, it has begun the continual change that leads to unbearably frigid for months on end :) Horses like the cool weather, and who can blame them! They run hotter than we do so for them it's delightful, brisk and invigorating! So as we begin to take stock of gloves, fleece pullovers, vests and wool socks, our horses are prancing about restless for some fun. For those who are new to this whole phenomenon, here are the things you need to know to survive all their excitement: 1. Stay calm - horses get frisky, they spook, they prance, they flinch, they get goofy - your job is to remain level headed and in control, decide what you will tolerate and what you will not and go from there. It's different for every horse/rider pair, so don't worry what your riding friends are doing, worry about you and your mount. Me for instance, I let Pistol ...

At a horse show recently I realized, you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl. I spent all of my adult life trying to get myself away from all things country and here I am finding my personal joy immersed in nothing but the goodness of country things! Boots, jeans, outdoors, horses, dirt, sweat and pure bliss! It is insane to me how fast life changes.  Two years ago I was giving up on a life long dream, keeping a door closed to what I really wanted, telling myself that those wants were not within my grasp. I was throwing myself into my work and only my work. I was unhappy, hollow, going through the motions of adult life and trying to figure out where I belonged. Two years ago I thought I would never have a horse, thought I was going to be some varying level of miserable forever.  I thought that being an adult meant being in some level of constant disappointment.  I was wrong.  With the encouragement of my awes...

So I was asked recently, is that horse a baby? Is a baby horse a pony? This question immediately makes the innate horse lover cringe! But alas, I will walk you through this without the eye rolling :) Ok here's the deal horses are measured in hands (1 hand = 4 inches) it's an oldie time thing, so don't stress over it, just accept it. To measure a horse you use a stick - they make specific devices for this, but you could use a yard stick (if anyone still has one of those around) or a tape measure, do some math and poof you'd know how tall in horse speak your horse actually is. So where do you measure a horse. Well like other four legged critters you measure from the shoulders to the ground. In horse speak you're getting the height at the withers. So why is this important in discussing ponies vs horses vs baby horses. Well ponies have their own breeds, but a lot of their classification revolves around height and we are keeping this simple. So here are so...

Oh the rules of the horse, so many things to remember and so many things to take for granted. I have introduced many people to Pistol in our first year together (yes it has officially been one year!) and in that process I became aware of some things I just take for granted.  I assumed there were some common knowledge things, that simply are not common. So in an effort to be more aware of all the things I need to tell a 'new to horses' person, here is a short list of safety tips - the real list is so long that it cannot be written, so just roll with this as a starter Pistol July 2019 - Just Chillin in his New Halter 1. Meeting the horse - Pistol makes it look easy because he is kind and self confident, he has no issues with strangers walking right up into his personal space and touching his face. He is not the norm.  Most (non lesson program) horses do not want you to invade their bubble to rub their nose.  It is safer to approach from an angle, try to ...