Highland Browbands -- review!

I know I'm late to the game with the whole tack bling thing. To be fair, I'm late to the party with all the fancy tack. Until recently, I only had one bridle (and a back up cheapie in case of emergency), one saddle, one girth and the bare minimum amount of saddle pads (review to come on some custom ones I had made soon, too -- who am I?). After selling some tack, and getting some upgrades, I thought that since Riley actually has a dressage saddle to wear, we should probably think about outfitting him in some swanky head wear.

I've done some poking around based on reviews many of you have posted in the blog world, but one company kept popping up that I had never heard of.. Highland Browbands.

After Rolex their social media presence took off and I started to see little ads for them everywhere. They have a nice selection of various styles of headbands (including a shallow "V", which I much prefer to the more exaggerated versions) and each item is fully customize-able with pretty, pretty crystals!

Just a handful of their colors.

Highland also makes rider accessories, jewelry to match your browband and stock pins. They hosted a demo sale of all the items they brought to Rolex and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see what they were all about. For $25 the risk seemed marginal, so I placed my order and waited the estimated 10 days for shipping (which was also free -- they have promo codes listed under the "ambassador" tab on their site). Deals, deals, deals guys, I'm all about 'em.

I placed the order on a Tuesday and my item arrived on Thursday. For reference they are in Eugene, OR and I am in Philadelphia, PA. Each step of the transaction was met with quick emails to let me know my order was received, processed and shipped (along with a tracking #). I was astounded at the speed of shipping, and my item came beautifully wrapped in tissue paper, with a few business cards and a hand written thank you note. If there's one thing I'm really big on, it's personalized correspondence, so this little note made my day!

Even nicer in person.

I was pretty thrilled with the overall quality of the leather. It was soft and supple, and although obviously a demo model (there was a little wear on the inside from a horse's face), it was clean and otherwise perfect. I got extremely lucky that they happened to have exactly Riley's colors in their demo sale!!!

I couldn't wait to try it on Riley expect for the small fact that I don't have a dressage bridle... Womp, Womp. What better reason to head off to the local consignment tack shop and dig through their loot!? I headed off to Maryland Saddlery and poked around until I found the perfect bridle -- their selection was particularly great that day and if anyone needs a cob size dressage bridle they had soooo many lovely ones. Alas, Riley has a big head. We found a suitable bridle (with gorgeous Thinline reins -- and a fancy browband that wouldn't look great on Riley) that was in nearly perfect condition. Better yet, I had a bunch of credit at the shop so my purchase was FREE! I scooted off to the barn to play dress up. Riley was less than amused... lest you believe that I am any good at taking photos:

It's nap time, right?

You've got to be kidding me Mom.

The SO was very patient and kind with horse wrangling and Riley was less than cooperative and more or less refused to stand still/put his ears forward (despite crinkling wrappers).

Phew, so dapper.

We did get him to stand long enough to snap a few shots and get a good representation of the bridle and browband together and guys... why did I wait so long to do this? Riley looks SOOO handsome. I was a little worried about the browband overwhelming his face. I think it's a tricky balance with blaze-faces... plain faced horses really look fantastic in bling, the more the better. but I'm not so sure with horses that already have a lot going on.

Seriously, how good does he look? *don't worry, the buckle on the flash is never usually near his mouth, I just threw it on for the photos

Gentle "V' on his forehead. I like the design only barely touches the top of his blaze.

Overall, my experience with Highland Browbands was terrific. I would recommend them in a heartbeat. With prices starting at $25 for stock items and custom orders around $50, you can hardly beat the value! And, as if they weren't cool enough, they also have a small consignment section of tack/horse gear AND...

WAIT...

FOR...

IT...

Unicorn iphone cases.

I'm just going to leave that here.

You can find Highland online at:
http://www.highlandbrowbands.com/
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Spring forward -- and a lengthy update!

Finally!

The clocks have gone forward, the days are longer and dare I say it, the weather is warming up. Which can only mean one thing...

Spring Mud Season

Yep, all the snow and ice we've had lying around is quickly melting into little estuaries and streams around the farm. There are giant mud pits around the gates and water troughs, but I don't care... I'm completely over winter and I'll take a muddy mess over frozen hands and toes and constant wind burn on my face. The new farm appears to have decent drainage and thankfully the owners know exactly just how muddy the property gets so we're not freaking out that the horses are making a mess.

Is there such a thing as the terrible 5's????

Riley being adorable/trying to eat the banana bread in my lap

Saturday was the Cheshire Pony Club Spring Paper Chase. It's always a lovely ride, and last year it was the 2nd paper chase I took Riley (and only my 3rd ride on him ever) where I was convinced I simply HAD to have him. He was brave, solid, and best of all completely rateable. Blame it on the lack of fitness last year, or the fact that he's in a medium workload load and feeling full of himself but I had a completely different horse on my hands this time around! The best part about this paper chase is that it is literally around the corner from our barn. I drove over in my car with bridles and goodies and Emily rode Prima over and ponied Riley who was mostly tacked up. When I was signing us in Emily was almost to the trailer parking area, which I am sure looked odd to everyone else who was there with a trailer. Ah well. We got our pinneys and start times and settled in at the car. We brought chairs and beers and hung out in the sun to relax. It was a gorgeous day, though I didn't plan ahead and forgot to wear sunscreen so now I already have a sweet farmers tan. Nice. Riley was calm and happy to just graze while we stood around, but Prima is in heat and wouldn't leave him alone. I'm sort of convinced that Riley is asexual because he was not keen to her advances.

Whispering sweet nothings to Riley.

After awhile it seemed she was getting through to him, but he was still more interested in ALL THE GRASS. We got on and headed out around 12:30 and they were both happy to trot down to the first patch of woods. I'm not that keen on this particular route because it starts very jump-heavy when you've barely even trotted for 5 minutes, but Prima was more than game to hop over things (of course being completely adorable about everything). Last year I bravely took Riley over the first large coop with a massive puddle on the other side which no other horses would go anywhere near. This year I waited a little while before popping him over a solid 2 foot log where he over jumped it by several feet and landed with a hump in his back, completely unseating me (I guess he remembered how to jump from last Wednesday)! I had a terrible Oh Shit! moment where I was sure I was going to fall off, run into Emily and/or hit a tree, but I got him back. Whew! What the heck! I decided that rather than take any chances in falling off over fences we'd skip most of the for the day so he's have a positive first outing for the year. He was totally fine going around everything while Emily popped over jumps. He got in some serious looooong trots and canters (many uphill) and gave them plenty of walk breaks as it was the hottest day of the year so far. They were both terrific leading or following through streams, up and down banks etc. Hunter paces are such great learning experiences especially for babies. We got to a really nice flat section along a fence line and decided to let them go for a little gallop. Emily had me ride ahead so I could set the pace and I tucked a few fingers under my neck strap so I could give him soft contact while I was out of the saddle. he felt amazing. Ripping along with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, and then... I felt him curl his neck and round his back... I know what's coming next... I stood up in my stirrups and pulled my shoulders back to ask him to slow up and he bolted! Poor Emily was about 4 lengths behind me when she saw what was starting to happen and she was yelling out all sorts of instructions (I couldn't hear her). All I knew if that we were on 100s of acres with so end in sight. When he didn't listen to the subtle cues, I sat deep, and one rein-stopped him, which was more of a crazy circle, but it worked. It didn't help that I had spurs on (which I usually need) and I kept jabbing him while I was trying to turn/stop him. I realize it wasn't pretty but it got the job done. That's when I realized I didn't really have brakes. Whoops. While he loves the Happy Mouth Mullen for flat work, I'm going to need a little something extra in wide open spaces, specifically, something that I can pop his head up and get him to listen. Emily and I were both is complete shock that he ran off with me! She even offered to swap horses for the rest of the ride, but I really wanted to use the adventure as a learning tool for us both so I stuck with him. Plus, I'm pretty sure he was showing off for his new lady-friend. We mostly trotted for the rest of the ride, which was great to get his brain back, do some solid contact work, and make him work HARD. We tried a few more little bits of cantering but he lost his marbles and thought that curling his head and cantering sideways would be a better option and rather than lose control of him again in a wide open space, I just made him trot, and trot and TROT. Emily said I handled the situated well, and that while she was worried, once she saw my reaction she knew we'd be okay. I think she was more concerned that I would be emotionally frazzled by him running off and while it was a little terrifying for a minute or two, I need to be able to handle whatever comes along. The ride was 7.5 miles long with lots of hills and both ponies were tired and sweaty at the end. They are certainly in better shape that a lot of the horses we saw (and ours are clipped) but it's always nice to see how they do on their first outing of the year. He got a well deserved Vetroline bath and time to relax in a breezy stall while he dried off.

Tired pony... look at that lip!

Sunday I thought a nice quiet hack would be good for Riley to stretch his legs and give me a chance to try another bit on him. I put him in a full cheek snaffle which definitely helps with steering, but he doesn't seem to like to hold the contact in, he sort of bobs his head as though it's fussy in his mouth... I think he likes the stability of the straight bar of the Mullen and he's also gone well in a Nathe. Me and two other ladies headed out for a nice road hack (short, under 3-4 miles) mostly walking at some trotting since it was one of the horse's 2nd ride post-track.

Riley led for most of the way! Good boy! We have miles and miles of land around us like this and most of the grass perimeters we have permission to ride on too!

He was a little stiff and definitely slightly foot sore from our paper chase, so I opted to trot on grass as much as possible. He did trot pretty well on the smooth asphalt, but he'll be getting shoes at the end of the month so we don't end up with bruises. All three babies were terrific save for a moment when a huge hawk was sitting on a fence line and decided to fly away as we went past! Lots of trotting on the way back up a nice gradual hill on the grass you can see on the right of the photo above, such a good work out for him!

Finally! Spring. Look at the grass! ps. Riley thinks standing still is the dumbest.

After our short hack he got hosed off and turned out where he proceeded to canter off up the big hill in his field... faker, he wasn't tired at all. Then I remembered that I had him in the jump chute Wednesday and I flatted/jumped him the same day, paper chase Saturday and hack Sunday. Maybe he was a little tired:)

This week he's going to get a training ride from Emily where he can test his rate-ability and brakes out in the open, I might do something with him Wednesday if I have time (I have a dentist appt and I have to feed that night) and Friday he goes for his first XC with me clinging to his back like a monkey. Fingers crossed I remember to keep my heels down and shoulders back this time.

A pretty terrific weekend, even if my 5 year old is truly showing off his baby side these days!

Also, perfection. I love that you can see his blaze faintly.

Ps. Any bit suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I think my next step might be a double jointed bit of some sort.

Storm Prep part IV OR How I spent a 40 degree Saturday.

Riley says, get away from my hay pile!

When did 40 degrees become balmy? What hell winter? At least it was mild and sunny and after three days of temps in the single digits, I'll take it. We have a predicted snow storm coming overnight Sunday and Emily and I planned to make a run to the hay guy so we could stock up the sheds with hay for the boys. There are 3 of them on a round bale which as you can see from the photo to the left, didn't last much more than a week. We don't have a good way to move round bales right now and we figured they'd be hanging out by the shed during the storm so it worked out. Just in case we can't reach them for a half a day they'll have plenty of hay to keep them warm and happy.

I decided that I should probably finish clipping Riley today after chores and our hay run so that I didn't have to start from scratch if I let it go another few weeks. We have him a little ace again and he really well behaved. He still wouldn't let me near his "business" on his belly (I need to get someone to hold a leg up while I finish that bit), but otherwise he was great! Even standing with the halter around his neck letting me clip his face! I have to say (for the millionth time) I love this horse.

LOVE.

Hopefully tomorrow will be nice enough to saddle up and go for a ride. I want to do some trot sets in our big field and I might work him in the pessoa before I hop on. I'd love to make a post with some goals but it's nearly impossible to do so with the unpredictable weather and the wheels coming off my personal life. Hopefully things will level out on all fronts soon and I'll be able to set some real goals for Spring! At least he looks the part and we can actually work now without him sweating to death. The only real downside is that he's super-dooper bundled up now.

Such a cutie.

So sleepy from the ace. Also, he's not cow-hocked, I don't know why he's standing like this!

All bundled up and ready to go back out. There was a face under all the hair!

I got his bridle back from Bartville today, I can't wait to see how it looks on his nice clean-shaven face tomorrow!

Oh yea, in case you forgot how cute he is in the last 5 seconds.

Riley making friends with my friend's little pup!

50 degrees and sunny

Lambies sunbathing, seriously too much.

Saturday promised to be sunny and mild so I raced out quickly to the barn to get started on my chores for the day so I would have time for everything else. Emily and I and another boarder decided we wanted to ride ALL THE HORSES, so I hustled the morning away so we could make that happen. I wanted to give Riley a much needed bath after our ride so I could clip him Sunday. We didn't end up getting on until 12:30 or maybe even later because our friend was having the worst luck with her horses. The plan was to get on at the barn and hack up to her field (remember our property is huge). One had pulled a shoe, one was ouchy from just having his shoes pulled and the other had blown an abscess! So we while she fooled around with them Emily and I rode through Riley's field (20 acres) to check on their round bale in the shed (they had eaten every scrap) and when I turned him around to head back up the hill, he planted his feet and refused to leave his "home"! Ha! He hasn't been living outside that long, jeepers. So we had a little discussion about whether or not he could stay in his shed, which involved a tiny spanking (he gets sooo offended at the whip), I insisted that we lead the way because I don't want him needing a buddy to get past mental issues like that! We helped our friend pony her abscessed horse back down to the barn and I opted to get off and go give Riley a bath so he'd have time to dry in the sun. The plan was for me to ride Emily's new horse Brody, but by the time they got back from the first set it was getting late and I still had to finish my barn chores. Slight fail, but at least I got my horse ridden and bathed.

New Irish knit! Looking crazy butt high, I swear he's not this downhill!

I also brought my dog Lucy with me on Saturday and while she was incredibly well behaved she was very, very whiny when we came back from the first round of rides and I needed to let her blow of some steam. I took her up to Riley's field (with no horses in it) and let her go crazy in the snow. Nothin better than deep snow to wear out a pup.

Weeeeee! Crazy dog.

Surveying the landscape.

Sunday I left Lucy at home and decided I would go on a nice long hack to try to wear Riley out and then clip him. We had a wonderful hack that included some really fun hill work in Riley's field. There's really good footing around the inside perimeter and the snow had melted enough that the horses could actually move so it was really perfect. I was riding with Emily and her chestnut mare Kiwi who is extremely forward and has an enormous stride. Riley was excellent at keeping up with her and his trot felt amazing in the snow. I was posting so much higher and longer because he was forced to take these lofty steps! That field is going to be terrific in the spring for fitness work (it's at least a full mile all the way around and the hill part that we used is about a half a mile total. We met up again with our fellow friend at the top of the field and headed along the beautiful path that leads through the property. I made a rudimentary map of our trip.

The star is the barn and we headed left from there. The first red loop was our fun trot set through Riley's field, where it ends is where we met our friend at her field, then headed through the woods from there. Her other horse lost his mind when we left because he was alone, but our guys didn't seem to mind. There was a huge tree that had fallen in the woods that too dangerous to jump and we had to scale a crazy embankment around it! Thankfully, all of our hunter paces have paid off and Riley is remarkably sure-footed and doesn't leap off of banks etc. Right after that was a water crossing that was filled with branches and he didn't bat an eye! Hooray! I think living in a field where his water source is a stream has quell his issue with water. When we got to the T intersection we made a right and headed up the road and went exploring a bit on a quieter road which you can sorta tell was a bit of a failure... we actually ended up in someone's driveway (oops) and came back down to the main road (which is also very quiet). Sadly I didn't bring my phone on this hack (because I took my vest off just before I got on) but we had to pass a couple of scary things along the way including a big mushroom facility that had lots of heavy machinery working out front just out of our sight line. I have to say that all three handled everything in stride and Riley only had a few baby moments of getting a little jiggy (like when a herd of horses came galloping up suddenly). We turned bac around after awhile and our friend went one way (back through the woods) and we went back up the road the direct route to the barn. Riley threw another little fit about having to leave his friend, but I pony kicked him out of it. We had another nice trot up the road* to avoid cars from not seeing us and all told we out for about 5 miles. Not a bad little hack for our first real ride back!

*Notice I said "trot up the road" -- yes, Riley can now trot beautifully on asphalt!

He was a bit sweaty when I got back so I toweled his girth area, let him chill for a bit and Emily gave him a tiny dose of ace. Her only experience of clipping him she recalled him acting like a brute so it was just a little bit of a security blanket. He was terrific for most of it, sadly I wasn't able to finish (I got about 85% done)... only his hind end was left and a little around his face but being that the temps are dropping AGAIN and more snow is on the way it's not the worst thing in the world. I gave him a hunter clip and left a saddle pad. I was so happy to shave off the areas where his rain rot has been awful. I'm sure it felt really good for him. Oh, also, he's a lightweight.

SOOOO relaxed.

He was pretty much over it by this stage.

The clippers started to dull, so I'll clean up all the details and finish his behind soon. But to be fair, I haven't clipped a horse since I was a teenager and he doesn't look that bad! I'm sure he'll be so much happier when we're working now, especially since he was sweaty after a mostly walking 5 mile hack.

That's all for now, I have come down with some horrible cold or something and spent the night coughing and sweating out a fever, so I'll check back later for spelling and grammar when I'm not loopy on dayquil.

Oh life... you fickle beast OR The Story with a Happy Ending

To say the last two and half months of my life have been a whirlwind of emotions would be a complete understatement. Moving to a new barn, getting settled in, the burglary, the hellish winter we've been having, financially trying to rebound from losing everything, the holidays. For my anxious, neurotic brain it's been, at times, nearly more than I can bear. I am lucky to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family, and of course you guys. What would I do without my horse blog friends!?!

Day one in the Pessoa (picture heavy)

Being a little bit wild tracking right (his bad side)

Things started off a little rough while I reinstalled lunging basics with Riley. He was very good about his first time wearing the Pessoa. He's only the second horse I fitted one on and based on their very informative video on Youtube, I was prepared for typical reactions to the piece that goes behind their hind and how to set him up for success with the lines. Something tells me that Riley may have been long-lined at some point because he was the least reactive of all three horses we worked with on Saturday (*Henry gave out a series of hilarious bucks showing his disdain for the system). But I instantly got what I wanted on lunge = forward. He was very forward, so without any instruction (and he wasn't being naughty) he immediately picked up a trot once I let him all the way out on the line. I encouraged him to continue to move out and settle in so he could get used to the tension on the lines (they were on the loosest setting).

Warm up trot:)

Warm up canter -- look at that hind leg!

Once he got a feel for lunging again/the Pessoa I set the system on the "long and low setting". Essentially you loosen the side lines and run them through the bit and between the legs. He looked brilliant tracking left and wants to hold himself in a natural self-carriage. He also loves stretching and he was really reaching down and using his back. When I switched him to track right he started off really good but got distracted by a hunter just down the road a in safety orange jacket. he used it as an excuse to test me by stopping and turning in on the line. Grrrr. So we had a bit of a come to Jesus moment. With it being his first day back to work, I didn't want to frazzle his brain, but I also couldn't let him get away with that sort of behavior. Forward is always the answer. So, I stayed calm, made the circle smaller and tried again. He is a stubborn fool sometimes!!! Emily was supervising us and was giving me great advice, but I really couldn't anticipate just when to correct him without getting too aggravated so Emily took over. He got pretty nervous and Emily has to remind him that he could, in fact, walk to the right again (he gets very offended by the whip sometimes).

Emily walking Riley around the ring trying to reset his baby brain.

Emily, reinstalling FORWARD after his meltdown. Zoooooom!

I'm such a visual learner, so it's incredible helpful for me to watch someone work with Riley. I stayed around to watch her work with her two young horses too and her mare reacts very similar to Riley so it was a great lesson! Once he got his brain back, Emily was able to really drive him forward by almost standing near his hind end (as opposed to his shoulder) and she reminded me that sometimes you have to almost "ride" them from the ground when they get stuck. It's like he's behind my leg, but on the ground if that makes sense. In the end, we got some really nice work out of him and Emily handed the line back to me so I  could practice my new skills. I have to say, I'm really impressed with how he's looking. For a horses that's had 3 months off and was barely ridden last year the vacation had treated him well. He still has a top line and looks reasonably fit!

A little resistant, but getting the hang of things -- you can see the gears working:)

Looking fancy.

Not too bad for a horse that's been out of work.

 *I realize now after working him in the new bridle that I need to get Bartville to adjust the cheek pieces slightly. It looks fine from the side, but I think he needs it up a little higher on his nose.

**Also, I don't have a saddle yet, but I may be signing up for a Jimmy Wofford clinic in April! Yay!

Getting back on track and setting some tentative goals

Gorgeous sunrise at Derry Meeting.

So the weather has been a bit bipolar to say the least. We've had days where the high was 5 degrees followed two days later by 60 degrees and rain. The conditions at the farm have held up pretty well considering we had a foot of snow on the ground two weeks ago, last week we got 2 inches of rain in an hour, and now the ground is frozen again. According to the farm owner, our property is holding up better than most (she currently boards her horse at a very fancy facility that she said is a complete mud pit). Now that the ground is frozen again the chopped up muddy areas are tough for some of the horses to walk on, but I have to say that Riley is not even a little sore. I'm hoping he doesn't bruise his soles over the next couple of weeks, but so far, so good. So fingers crossed for that. In the meantime, I've been picking up bits and pieces of tack to replace what was stolen. I broke down and ordered Riley a new bridle (though I'll probably reserve it for showing, etc) and it looks lovely. I was inspired by Aimee's post about bridles, so I took the plunge and tried out an Ovation Figure 8. It has just enough fancy stitching, a fancy padded crown piece and it's nicely padded overall without being bulky.

Getting back on.

Uhhh, why am I tacked up right now?

Riley's had a charmed life for the last few weeks. He had his shoes pulled 3 weeks ago and they've been making decent progress. Not spectacular, but at least there's healthy growth. I took a Rider's Rasp to the toes (don't panic, it was a tiny, tiny adjustment) on Saturday because they were starting to chip pretty bad and he's not due for another trim until next Wednesday. That will be 4 full weeks and I am eager to see what P has to say. Looking back on my calendar, I can't even remember the last time I rode him, maybe to test ride the new saddle... yikes. Whatever the timeline was, it meant enough time for my newish saddle to get MOLDY. Nothing like being all set to hop on and have to clean your tack first! The weather up here this summer has been not unlike Florida with temps in the mid-90s and 100%, so it's to be expected.

I finally bit the bullet and hopped on him Sunday. He's been very sound on grass and in the arena so I figured it's time to get him back to work of some sort. We just walked, but we worked on lots of transitions and connection. I think the walk is a brilliant place to start teaching him about contact and we're trying out a new bit to see if he'll soften a little easier.
For reference, I had been riding him in a full cheek, beefy snaffle and now he's going in a Nathe. At first he was a little confused by the bit, but I have to say I got some of the best work out of him in that bit so far! We kept our ride to sweeping turns around the arena (he's still not super sound on small circles) and I added in some steps of baby lateral work to get him moving off my leg. *Did I mention he can be lazy?

Somebody save me from her!

I'm sure the other riders at the barn might think I'm a bit of a weirdo not riding my horse for weeks  and then only riding him at the walk, but the farrier said take things s-l-o-w. So we are!  We only worked for about a half hour as it was quite hot, and well he's out of shape. You would have thought we just ran XC by the way he was acting. Poor guy, vacation is over! He got a really nice bath afterwards where I worked desperately on his hideous RAIN ROT. UGH. This time I went with a combination of Head & Shoulders followed immediately with bedatine, scrubbed it in and washed him off. For those reading, I know you're not supposed to scrub at rain rot, but this is after all the scabs came off (I thought it would be best not to chronicle his rain rot journey!). It's looking a lot better already!

Oh, and I finally got to try some of the Absorbine stain remover for white markings, etc! I was a bit skeptical because Riley has permanent manure stains on his back sock a brown mark on his face from his halter, but it's awesome! After he was washed, I sprayed it on his sock and a little on his blaze, a few minutes later I scrubbed it a little and then rinsed it off and voila! WHITE again! I'll do a full review later with some before and after shots (plus a giveaway -- yea, the one I promised months ago)

The brightest his blaze has ever been! His sock is very clean here too, but this is moments before he pooped AND peed in the aisle. Grrrr.

Snoozy Riley. Hard to believe he's only 4.

I'm hoping to take him on a little field trip this weekend if the timing works out. My friend Emily wants to get her project horse for the Retired Racehorse Training Project over to xc school at Carousel Horse Park and she thought we'd be good company for her young mare. We most likely won't jump anything, but the terrain is nice undulating hills with many water crossings, and good footing so it would be nice for Riley! Plus, I just want to get him out of the ring while he's still a bit foot sore on pavement.

That's all for now. Things have been a little crazy at the barn this week with a freak storm two nights ago that sent two mares barreling through the electric fence line into Riley's field. Luckily only one horse was injured (she apparently tried to jump a 5 foot gate) and she should make a full recovery from her flesh wound. I checked on Riley today (obviously I got a report of who was injured, etc) and he had only a small cut on his shoulder, phew. No more excitement please, horses!

Bonus picture:

+5 points for anyone that can guess who's farm this is? It's just down the road from our barn. Swoon.

Sore backs and new tack

I've started this post a few times this week because in a word, this week a has been HELL. I worked 3 freelance jobs between Thursday and Sunday, adding 20+ hours on to my already insanely busy schedule and regular work time. I had two big meetings this week and I have another freelance job tonight after work. I'm not saying the extra money isn't nice (and needed) but I am worn out. On top of all that I have had literally the worst week at work in 8 years. The dust is starting to settle, thankfully.