Jumping on the blog hop train. L found the questions on Tumblr, and after a few other people chimed in (Amanda & Olivia among others) I just had to join.
1. What is the first thing you do when you get to the barn?
My work is incredibly… non social. I work with a lot of analytical types, so when I get to the barn, I want to actually interact with people. So usually, I seek out the peoples first! haha. I think it gives May a chance to adjust to the reality of having to work again.
2. Is there a breed that you would never own?
Gosh… Probably a paso fino. I LOVE them. When I did Welsh breed shows, they were often around, and they are the COOLEST. However, if we got a gaited horse, it would be something my husband could ride. At 6’6″ish… a paso fino is just too small.
3. Describe your last ride?
Our jump lesson this week! Still on cloud nine from it! Even if all my muscles and joints hate me.
4. Have any irrational riding fears?
Oh so many. Because May isn’t the MOST athletic, I am convinced that we will miss big to an oxer one day, and we will both get seriously injured. Clearly… that fear is pretty unfounded at the heights I have any interest in.
5. Describe your favorite lesson horse?
Oh definitely Buddy. I rode him on and off for like… a decade. So much love for that little thoroughbred. Because of him, I will never rule out owning an OTTB.
6. Would you ever lease out your horse?
Yeah. I probably will when Matt and I start a family. I think she would be a great horse for a pony club kid to play around with.
7. Mares: Yay or neigh?
Uh duh… hahaha. I have ridden and loved MANY mares. If they are smart mares, I tend to really enjoy them.
8. How many time per week do you get to see your horse?
I shoot for five days… which means that I typically make it there 4 days a week.
9. Favorite thing to do on an “easy day” with your pony?
Trail rides. We both love just wandering around wherever. It’s been a while since I hopped on bareback. Maybe I will this week. 🙂
10. Conformational flaw that bothers you the most?
Ahahahaha…. well, my horse is kind of a conformation train wreck. That being said, a horse that is downhill would be pretty tough for what I want to do. Cantering downhill to a Novice oxer on something downhill? Just doesn’t sound fun to me, and I think it makes Dressage miserable for everyone
11. Thing about your riding that you’re most self conscious about?
My weight. I feel like being on the bigger side of the rider spectrum makes every flaw so much more noticeable.
12. Will you be participating in no stirrup November?
I actually dropped my stirrups this weekend for a while. I am not sure if I will totally leave my stirrups in November because I don’t think that’s fair to May. But I will definitely increase my focus on it.
13. What is your grooming routine?
Curry all over, brush with a hard brush, maybe a soft brush… wipe down with fly wipes. Pick feet. Either apply durasole or keratex depending on what we are dealing with. If I have time or before a lesson, I brush out her tail.
14. Describe a day in the life of your horse?
She gets night turnout. So she comes in for breakfast typically in the late morning. She hangs out in her stall in the afternoon. I ride in the early evening. Then she gets fed dinner and turned back out for the night. Most days, she spends less than 6 hours in a stall, which I LOVE.
15. Favorite season for riding?
I love the fall. Part of it is the weather, as it tends to be beautiful in KY. But a lot of it is how we feel in the fall. After a full season of lessons, hacking out, XC schoolings, shows etc, we feel pretty solid and in sync in summer. May is always super fit, and it’s just a really fun time of year for us.
16. If you could only have 1 ring: indoor or outdoor?
Outdoor. Always outdoor. I ride in the indoor at my barn so rarely, and I would probably ride in it even less if the outdoor was bigger. When we were at our old barn, I only rode in the indoor when it was too dark to ride outside (no lights).
17. What impresses you most about the opposite discipline (english vs. western)?
I think its incredible how quarter horse people have been able to breed these SUPER specialized horses with incredible instincts. Like cutting horses or western pleasure horses. It’s really interesting to me.
18. You have unlimited funds to buy one entire tack set for your horse, what is he/she wearing?
Oh gosh. I don’t even know. May is such special body type, that I think finding the saddle would be the biggest issue… even with a huge budget. Can I just go with custom everything that actually fits her? lol
19. How many blankets do you have? When do you blanket?
She has 4. A sheet, two mediums, and a heavy with a hood. I have two mediums because they tend to get the most wear in our climate. Especially since I just do a bib clip. We blanket when it gets cold? lol. May is a yak, so her tolerance for cold is pretty high, and she had a round bale in her field at night. However, we also get a lot of wet, so the blankets are more used to keep her dry and comfortable.
20. What is your horse’s favorite treat? Favorite place to be scratched?
Everything? Awkwardly, I think she loves probios cookies the most. Go figure. At this point, if I don’t cross tie her, she will creep towards my tack trunk when I go over there, hoping for a cookie. Confession time: I know it’s a bad habit.. but it’s cute so I don’t correct it. Oops.
As for scratches, she likes the inside of her ears rubbed and her tail. But only on her terms. When she is done with you, she would rather you just not. Ok?
21. Something about your barn that drives you crazy?
Gosh. Sometimes it is a damn zoo hahaha. We have horses and kids and dogs and a cat. It can be a lot, so I have learned what times/days are a bit quieter. At the same time, I really love all the activity and May just EATS it up. I think we both prefer it to all the nights we spent alone at my old barn.
22. Roached manes, pulled manes, or long flowing manes?
I actually really prefer pulled manes, but May hates having her mane pulled. I really do think it is painful for her. I decided to roach to save her from that experience and because she gets SO HOT in the summer, a roached mane helps her stay cool.
23. Can you handle a buck or a rear better?
I used to be able to sit a buck, but honestly, it has been a while… I rode a couple of horses that rear, and I could ride it… but it’s not fun.
24. I would never buy a horse who ___________________?
Reared haha. I am with Amanda on this one. It is a deal breaker for me. It is just too dangerous.
25. Favorite facial marking?
Oh I love snips. Just too cute for words.
I must be weird because while I would rule out buying a horse that reared or bucked, I am so much more comfortable on a horse that rears versus bucks lol. It’s probably because I spent a month training a mare out of rearing lol. It’s not fun and I wouldn’t choose it, but I feel like I handle that better than a buck. My brain just blanks out lol.
I’ve ridden… a lot of buckers. Hahah. There are definitely buckers I will not get on. (A friend had an A/O hunter that could EASILY get his heels way up over his head and twist his body. NOPE!)
But… nothing scared me as much as the horse that reared up. I came off. And then he reared again and almost came down on top of me. Nope nope nope.
Oh yeah, no, I’d definitely be leery if one almost landed on me, too. I feel like it kind of boils down to experiences. I have ridden some absolute nasty buckers, and pretty much most of my injuries have come from buckers. The couple horses that have reared on me were all ones I initially started and had done a lot of ground work on. So when they even started to go up I’d leap off of them and proceed with some intense ground work – a benefit of western split reins lol. They were also all 2 yr olds, so that’s probably why I’m more comfortable with one that rears lol.
Ah yes. My favorite rearer was a 12.2 pony I rode when I was like 14… She went to go up, and I could lean forward and make her put her feet back on the ground haha
Fun! She looks really cute with the roached mane. My least favorite part of my barn is being alone. I really yearn for a barn family, but that is’t in the cards at the moment.
I couldn’t imagine being alone all the time. I like going on hacks with people. Buuuut I like the alone time sometimes too. Before my lesson on Tuesday, I was alone in the barn, so I got to play some music while grooming. It was an oddly zen way to get ready for the ride.
I laughed at the “Wenglish” caption, Bahahaha. Love those pictures-May is so cute!
Hahaha it was definitely not western pleasure… none of the welsh ponies went western pleasure. It was more game of who can make their reins longest without getting run away with hahaha
I once got on a young lesson horse in training (owned by the BO and he wanted it used in the program) and the second I swung my leg over she reared STRAIGHT up and fell over backwards. Thank god I had the good sense to push away and I didn’t get pinned beneath her. Needless to say- I HATE REARERS!
I think it’s so tough because A) there’s really no good way to ride through it and B) it’s so dangerous.
I will say that a close second is horse’s that are unpredictable at the mounting block. It’s such a precarious position, and I have had a few horses scoot away while I got on. NOT FUN.
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Love the roached mane -such a neat look!
Thanks! I think May pulls it off for sure.