Reunited with the Jinxy Cat (and Lexi)

Oh look! It's Ellie and Jinx together again. No- this post isn't a throwback to 2014! Lexi and Jinx moved to our barn back in November and last week was the first time we were coordinated enough to manage a ride together. Not much has changed- I'm still going through my Spring nerves and Jinx is as solid a citizen as ever in his 18th year.

Over the past 12 months my barn family has morphed into a close knit group of Oakland women who regularly meet up to puppy social, host impromptu wine and cheese chats, and are always good for a laugh!

A Visit from my Parents.....and the Obligatory Barn Visit!

Give me that banana, human!

Maintenance

Both of the kids got a little maintenance last week to keep them running smoothly + happy, and healthy. I forget that Ellie is 9 already and it was great to have my vet out to flex her and give a general once over. Solid report overall! 

Teddy got more of a workup off-site and we were pleased with his results as well! 

Ellie is going to be a treat to ride after her break- she's looking a bit like a fire-breathing dragon in her handwalks. 

Modern Technology

When you're traveling and the new horse arrives....you FaceTime him from Salt Lake City! 

Staying On Track

Thank God for barns friends to keep your enthusiasm up after a pretty non-stop travel work month. Knowing Jen was coming out to meet the Teddy Bear gave me the extra push I needed to get up and going on Saturday morning! Looking forward to a few weeks of being at home so I can organize my life and get a few rides in!

Lellie

This one. Nothing like riding a different horse to make you appreciate your girl.

Barn Besties Gettin Sh&t Done

Morgan said- "Let's meet at 10 to ride. Then I'll help you get your second ready."
Despite my best efforts to get out early and have one already done...I showed up at 10.

Both Tio and Teddy need long warm up walks so we rode them together. Then Morgan said, "Leave Teddy in the crossties, I'll take care of him, and you go get Ellie going."

The barn was pretty quiet on Sunday and I could see Ellie being a little fresh. Morgan said, "Don't worry, I'll clean my tack up by the arena so you have a buddy while you ride."

I got off Ellie and put her away- and when I came back, Morgan was sweeping my crossties and cleaning Ellie's boots.

She was a total godsend on Sunday! So glad to have wonderful friends at the barn!

Photo: The Three Amigos + Morgan

And Then There Were Three

No no no. I didn't BUY a third horse. But how do you turn down a free one?

The quick version....came home from Holiday and Ali said that there's a nice chestnut coming in from Texas that would be perfect for me. The owner was retiring and needed him off the books (know that feeling) and while he'll be on the market here, a great opportunity to build confidence over some bigger jumps in the meantime!

So just a little lease on a lovely 3'/ 3'3" hunter for this show season! Welcome Teddy!

Sweet Girl

Love these sweet moments! Ellie would probably prefer I stop interrupting her nap!

Team Off-Site

I had the opportunity to host a few coworkers at the barn for a team building off-site. The official purpose of the day was to review our Myers Briggs test results but we made some time for a demo by Ali and some rides for the ladies! 

LK rode a little when she was pretty young but LS had the classic "my first time on a horse I was bucked off" experiences. I admired their courage in jumping up and taking a whirl- particularly on this cold, blustery day. 

The Ells enjoyed some MAJOR snuggles and treats and was a total ham for the camera. It was really an amazing experience to share horses with non-horsey friends!

Meet Bob

Just your run of the mill barn Bobcat. NBD.

Likes to hang out in trees looking unassuming. Or better yet, in the mulch as you walk down the stairs- he blends in.

I keep hoping he'll run into Harry and it'll be some sort of epic battle. Harry is the Tarantula that lives in the stall next to Ellie and if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind if Bob ate him.

Welcome Welcome!

Our new barn mates joined us on on Saturday, along with 22 new horses, let by Dressage trainer Nadine Pestana.

Our barn owner hosted a BBQ and the two teams mingled on the back barn patio over champagne, brats, and one of the DQs made this amazing homemade potato salad!

It's probably not fair of me to assign the Dressage Queen label just yet- these ladies seem super chill and I didn't spot a single rhinestone. Their motto is- "We all help each other."  Read Zero Drama.

As an added bonus, it sounds like we may snag the occasional dressage lesson!

#TeamAriat

I have the best coworkers and have been meaning to get Nazera out to the barn for a hot minute. By day she works on Ariat's Marketing team but moonlights as an Equine Masseuse. Ells hasn't gotten a massage for a few years so it was nice to start that cycle again. I think starting a more regular schedule of chiro and massage may help to extend her stifle injections (fingers crossed anyway). 

Generally my horses tend to get far more spoiled by bodywork than I do but I just happened to cash in on a gift certificate for a massage Paul got me back in 2013 on Saturday afternoon and I feel great! Massages for all!  

Landmark Equestrian

So much has happened this past month and I am getting sidetracked by technology while trying to knock the blog rust off (e.g. just spent the past hour trying to renew a domain name, fix my google analytics, and organize photos in Elements 10.....did not succeed in any of the above). 

In the past 30 days:

- Westhaven team gave notice at our current boarding facility to move to a new spot a few streets down

- Horse Show @ Sonoma Strides and Tides

- Ellie and I made the difficult decision to stay behind at Fairmont under the banner, Landmark Equestrian, Ali's new business venture

I love our facility, the small but mighty group of clients, and that Ellie's training program isn't disrupted. There will be some changes to the schedule that will hopefully help to accommodate my weekday rides a little more. So overall, very few changes for us- just opportunity to continue to move up and grow!

Sunday FunDay

Oh hi there. It;s only Tuesday? Great. Take me back to Sunday Funday please!

A Case of the Mondays

Have we made it to Friday yet? Are we even close? 

I was going through some of my old photos and found this gem. I had thought that the only shot I had of the two of them involved Ellie giving some serious Mare Glare to Wilbur. 

One of these things is not like the others....

This hoof is missing a shoe!

Pulled off in our Friday ride, just in time for the weekend of course. She tends to forge and we actually didn't realize the shoe had come off until after our ride!

Fortunately Ellie has solid Arabian hooves and our footing is soft- she didn't take a bad step but we kept things fairly low key this weekend with light rides.
Tacking the shoe back on Monday- we've got a show to prep for!

Manchester aka Fabio

It's always a fun to celebrate with a friend, particularly when that friend just bought a new horse! And not just any horse mind you. But a Ken doll horse. A barbie horse. We may or may not be calling him Fabio for short. He arrived from Canada late last week and I had the chance to meet him (swoon)- he's even more handsome in person! Delish!

Wilbur: Appointments

Wilbur got a vet AND farrier visit just before Paul and I left for our Monterey weekend so he's right as rain in the vet department. I love Pioneer- they actually called ME to schedule the second round of vaccinations because they had another horse they were coming out to check. I am never going to turn down a friendly reminder!

Shoes have been a slightly different story. There are a couple of different folks that shoe at Brown Ranch and Wilbur has been on a schedule as part of Amanda's group of horses. We try to keep him on a bit of a tighter 6 weeks shoeing because he grows hoof so fast but it can stretch to a little longer and he's just fine.
We've run into a bit of an issue this last cycle getting the farrier out....let's just say when I went out to meet the vet on Thursday I was more than a little embarrassed. It's hard to not send multiple stalker like text messages daily (I kept it to once a day) when you know your trainer is trying her best to get the guys out. Still.

So when I was chatting with a few folks while waiting for the vet, and a guy comes up and introduces himself as a farrier new to the area getting his name out, I asked if he had time to do one real quick. Sure enough- shiny new shoes for Wilbur and a new farrier for Emily. AND a reminder that I'm Wilbur's person and perfectly capable of running his schedule and managing his appointments. In fact, I find that I prefer it.
For those who manage their horse's vet and farrier schedule- any scheduling tips? Are you on-site for all appointments?

Horse Show Prep: #Exhausting

Dover was yesterday. Today was a ride on Ellie, a hack on Bella, and trunk packing- the horses leave for Brookside tomorrow!
Trunk packing, in true Emily neurotic fashion, involves pulling everything out of both trunks The insides are wiped down, blankets shaken out, bottles and brushes cleaned. The trunk that goes to shows typically houses extra blankets, pads, miscellaneous items- which are put into giant IKEA tarp bags and lugged home for the week with my saddle along with them.
Bridle and martingale are oiled, stirrups spit shined.

Needed to catch some zzzz's on the couch with Felix since I still need to get myself to two days of work before the fun begins!

 I wasn't the only one who was tired today! I had to share the couch!