One Chill Horse

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 ...