a nice kind of sore

First things first, my derp moment of the weekend. . .

This was Shy's derp moment. . .

One of my favorite buckets flew down the road and across the street in the gale winds we have been having. I decided to go retrieve it in the field. After I crossed the street and got into the snow covered field, I decided to run. My next step sunk me down past me knee and I fell over. Oops, forgot about the ditch. . . I laughed at myself, brushed off, and took another step. Turns out, that under the snow there is still icy cold, yet unfrozen water in the ditch. Usually, the Muck Boots keep out the water, but when the water goes over the top the the boot, it is a no go. Brr! I did not make it to the bucket and had to borrow a pair of socks from Jaime. Good think I have extra boots in my car.

Now, on to my saddle. This is seriously the most comfortable saddle I have ever sat on. I tried it out Friday and was very impressed. I actually rode Shyloh Sunday and didn't want to get off of her! The other saddle I had for Shy made me want to get out of it right away. I did not like the position it put me in or the feel of it. This saddle. . .heaven. And Shy seems to like it, too. 

Shy, not looking like a derp

I can tack her up, untied. She just stand patiently while I fiddle with the saddle, trying to get everything just right. It takes the longest to cinch her up as I try to get both sides even in these initial trials with the saddle. She is so patient with me as I move from one side to the other. As far as I see it, if she really hated riding (same with driving, she stands like a gem for her harnessing), then she would be dancey or something, right?

She was incredibly relaxed the whole ride. No tenseness, no holding her breath, nothing. A little bit of sass and making sure I meant that I really wanted her to go forward when I asked. But no scoots. It was amazing. Shy made me work for what I was asking her, but that is okay. When I got more firm, she knew I meant it, but was okay with that and not scared of anything bad that might happen. 

I know I get a little nervous when I squeeze or bump her, because in the past she would scoot or rocket forward. So I tend to ride her with my legs on on her that much. I worked on that and Shy didn't mind at all. In fact, when she got stuck, I really had to squeeze to get her moving (and that took a lot out of me, mentally, to know she would scoot from under me). 

Very good, even knowing she had a pile of hay to get back to!

I stayed on Shy for the longest time I had been on her in over a year! Even Shy was like, um, you have been on for too long, time to get off, when she walked me up to the mounted block and sidepassed herself square to it! This horse is smart and even though I don't use the block to dismount, she knows what it means. I did not get off then.

But later, when I did get off, Shy was super cute and seemed very happy. Jaime even said that she seemed happy when I was riding her. And that makes me happy! I am actually a little bit sore today, but it is a good sore.  I am using leg muscles I have not used in a while. And I can't wait to ride this horse again!

I got good job licks after our ride

monday musings by shyloh #121

Um. . .Allie, what is this?

I am not sure I like what I am seeing. . .

I must inspect it closer.

Does it taste as good as it looks?

Not really. . . 

So, what do you except that we will be doing with this? Wait, before you get any ideas, don't you think I should try it on?

Okay, looks like it fits. Looks like it fits pretty good. 

What does this mean for us? I am almost afraid to ask! But, I do admit, I look pretty darn cute all decked up!

Guess we have a new saddle! I am hoping for some fun times, but not too much work. Allie needs to punch some holes in the breastcollar to make it fit, and get a cool looking square saddle pad that fits, then we are all set. Looks pretty nice and it is a Circle Y! I am one stylin' pony!

~Shyloh

in love

Hey, Jaime and Haley,  Can we go tack shopping?

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a halter

This is f'ing awesome

Nah, walk up to the barn like, "What up? I got a little draft"

I'm so pumped about some shit from the tack shop

Ice on the fringe, it's so damn frosty

That people like, "Damn! That's a cold ass haffie."

Haley was up from Ohio over the weekend, so me and Jaime took her on a trek of tack shops that were located no where near the area that we are located. 

Shy was giving bareback and bridleless rides.

Our first stop was a Western Tack shop which was almost two hours away. The place was huge and had a ton of very over priced stuff. It was fun to look, even though the staff pretty much followed everyone around making comments on their products. I did by Shyloh a halter like the one she broke though. I had to take the tags off before I put it on her because it was pony sized, even though it was the exact same size as the broken cob sized halter (I brought the broken one for measurements). Shy gets embarrassed when she has to wear pony stuff because she is a horse. 

New halter! Only one she does not slip off when she goes inside.

Next we went to this little tack shop that was located on the Ingham County Fairgrounds. The GPS did not understand this concept, but we eventually found it. This shop was less than uneventful and seemed to be short on a lot of their inventory. But they did have Sleezys on sale, so Haley bought on for one of her Haflingers.  I bought a weight and height tape, just because. 

The third place was by far the best. It had a large selection of pretty much everything and it was very nice and not too over priced (because, really, isn't all tack over priced?). It was here that I fell in love. 

They had lots of saddles and we spent some time trying them out, even the English ones. And I fell in love with this:

A Tucker. It was soooo comfortable. It was the best thing I ever sat my ass on, for real. If I had that, I would definitely ride Shy, like right now. Instead, I have an ugly, uncomfortable saddle that I bought to hold us over because it was cheap and Shy had broken her previous saddle that I liked. 

But this Tucker saddle, it was beyond nice. When I bought Shy, I just wanted to trail ride. I didn't even really know about driving. I still want to trail ride. I would be happy if that was all we did. So I really need a saddle that is comfortable for both of us. I liked the way the saddle fit me, I liked the position I was in when I sat. I liked the high cantle and the no horn (cause, you know, boobs tend to pop out with horns). I also liked the fenders over the leathers that another one I tried had. I NEED that saddle. It even had the round skirt that Shy needs. So, if anyone wants to send that Tucker saddle my way, I will gladly give you my address. Until then, I will just drool over the photos and dream of ways to rearrange my finances to afford this saddle sometime in the future. 

new-ness

I got a few new things I wanted to share. Thanks to the creativity of others and the awesomeness of the internet, blogging, and Facebook, I have received some very cool tings recently.

The first is from Josie's Curiosities, who makes custom, hand stamped jewelry and other stuff. I discovered her on the American Haflinger Registry group page through Facebook. I ordered Shyloh a cute bridle tag. 

I also got some for Jaime and Kyle's big guys, and Kathy's horse. I think they are real cute! I just need to get a bigger circle thing to attach it to Shy's bridle or halter. 

The next thing is my prize watercolor of Shy from Kate over at The Adventures of Lucy. We won the horse shaming contest as the random winner. I could have chosen an amazing English saddle pad with a hand painted design on it, but we don't ride English. So, this is what we got instead:

I love it! I just need to find a really nice frame for it.

Another thing that Jaime and I got for a friend whose filly had to be put down was a sketch by Emily of The Art of Emily Dieleman. She is another person I met through the Haflinger group on Facebook. She did a beautiful sketch of the Gypsy Vanner,  Eibhleann. 

I love how Emily was able to capture all her fuzziness! 

Up next is my new tack. Shy got her farm harness. We had to make a bunch of adjustments for my off shaped horse, but we got it to fit. I got a great deal on this harness. I might need to get a new saddle piece, but what she has works for now. She is looking good!

And we got a saddle! 

I need to punch some holes to shorten the stirrups, but aside from that this saddle will do the job. Jaime's aunt found this saddle for a steal. 

I also got myself a new helmet that fits my head. My other helmet was a tad big. And I think that is it for new things going on in my world. Anyone else get anything new?

big clinic day

Holy farmer's tan! Whew are my arms red. But it was well worth it. I think a lot got accomplished today. Jaime's aunt let me borrow her trailer and I got up super early to pick up Shyloh and head to the clinic with Terry, Jaime, and Kyle.

Peeking out the window

First up was braiding manes and tails. For draft manes, a special ribbon is used to make a type of braid called a mane roll. The draft tail gets a braid and a bun. Shy got a tail cut because her tail was as long as it has ever been and was hanging on the ground. I knew I would have to cut it at some point, so no better day than today. Becky used Shy as the demonstration pony, which was good for me since I have been incapable of doing it on my own. Lesson one: It really does require two people. Lesson two: my attempts at the mane roll had me using sections of hair that was too thick. Lesson three: Shyloh can really clamp those butt muscles! Wow. She showed some of her best clamping during the tail bun demonstration. Lesson four: Becky can do some tight braids! But when all was done, the results were very pretty. Becky did a fantastic job.

Pretty tail!

After that, we had showmanship and halter practice. What I learned in this part of the clinic is that you are not supposed to let your horse fall asleep while waiting for your turn. Shy always falls asleep.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

She must find it boring. . .I also learned a little bit more about showing showmanship and halter, so I will be able to put that to use come showtime. . .if I can keep my horse awake in the line up.

Our lunch break included a discussion on Scotch bottom shoes. While I will never put those shoes on Shy, it was interesting to learn about them. I did not stay for the whole discussion, about halfway through I went to check on Shy. As I was petting her neck I found a tick! I am not looking forward to starting this whole tick thing again. Yuck.

Up next was safe harnessing and hooking to the cart. Beth was awesome and helped me fit the new harness to Shy, which included many confusing buckles and punching new holes. I may have to get a new saddle piece, but this one will work for now. Good thing for Beth, because she knew all these tips and tricks to get the harness to fit Shy just right. 

New harness!

Next she hooked Shy up to her cart and took her driving. This horse messes with me so bad because she was damn near perfect for Beth. They had a great start and Shy was doing very well. Then I got in the cart. I don't know why I am such a bundle of nerves with her. It is frustrating to me, but there is not much I can do about it, except keep on practicing. There was a point today where I was questioning myself and Shy because I have no confidence when it comes to riding or driving her. While I still don't, I think now that maybe me and Shy can make it work,

Cruisin'

When Beth was driving her, we discovered that the ball bearings on my wheels are shot. My new wheels. The wheels I have never used until today. What the hell? So I got out of the cart and Beth drove her back to unhook her. When Shy saw she was near her trailer spot, she started acting up. She would not back up for Beth and was giving her a hard time. I would have had a meltdown myself, but Beth handled it like it was no big deal. After Beth got Shy to do what she wanted, we unhooked her and  Beth went to hook Art.

I think Skylar liked it!

Beth also took her new puppy, Skylar for his first cart ride on Art. How cute are all of them?  Art took a couple kids around for some cart rides and I watched Curly. . .or Moe. He has two names. I have mane envy when looking at him.

Look at all that on Moe/Curly!

Art!

By now, most people had left and it was just a bunch of us Northwest Ohio Driving Circuit people still at the clinic. Jaime's aunt had found a saddle and she brought it for me to try on Shy. So I did and it seemed to fit pretty well. Haley was volunteered to get up on Shy and try it out. Shy was actually very good for Haley, quick, but good. Haley had Shy super trotting and turning and said she would be good at barrels, haha!

Then, I got on Shy! I haven't really been on this horse since October. . .well no one has aside from me sitting on her bareback a few times. As usual, I was a bit nervous (just because I know what she can be capable of), so I asked Haley to walk next to me. Shy was actually very good for me. We walked a bit, then I just sat on her and chatted for a while. It felt good to sit on my horse!

When I got off of her, this little boy asked to ride Shy. I said yes, but that I would walk with him. Shy was perfect for him. Absolutely perfect. *Proud pony moment*

Shy and her new buddy. She really liked him!

By now, we all were sunburned and tired, so we packed up and headed home. Shy seemed so happy to be home, she nickered when she stepped off the trailer and wanted to trot to her pasture. Once in there with the halter off, she took off towards the back where the rest of her herd was. 

On the way home after dropping Shy off, I drove the truck with the trailer. . .first time ever towing anything! And I did awesome. Now I am about to fall asleep dreaming happy pony dreams. Shy was a good pony today!

saddle modeling

I wish I wrote a blog about work because I would be ranting! I am so mad at work this week, but I won't bore anyone with that. All I will say is work kept me from seeing Shyloh all week. And when I go to work in the dark hours and leave work in the dark hours, it makes me unhappy.

Anyway, I had two saddle burning a hole in my backseat, just waiting to be tried on Shy. Jaime let me borrow them to try for fit. Honestly, I was doubtful that the saddles that fit her giant drafts would fit Shy. One saddle was a square skirt Big Horn. This saddle has fit every horse it has been on from Jaime's drafts to Tennessee Walkers. The other saddle was a round skirt Abetta that Kyle uses on Clutch. 

I told Jaime that I would try them on Shy outside so there would be no chance of Shy walking out the tack stall and breaking a saddle. Well. . .it was raining so I took precautions against Shy's destructive behaviors.

She is not getting out of this!

Here is Shy modeling the Big Horn (my apologies in advance for the crappy lighting inside):

I think this saddle fits decent at the withers, maybe a bit wide. But is definitely too long, which I knew it would be. 

The modeling of the Abetta:

This saddle is much wider at the withers and through to the back. It seems longer than the previous round skirt that saddle that Shy destroyed, but looking back at the pictures, I think the saddle is too far back. 

So a no go on these saddles. Any opinions? But it reaffirms what I need for her: a round skirt, full quarter horse bars or medium wide to wide tree. But I am in no hurry for a saddle, because I think I found a cart!!

After Shy's modeling spree, we just hung out in the tack stall. Shy was in a playful mood. . .

What is in here?

I am still kicking myself because I accidentally brought my clicker home and Shy was giving me all kinds of great behaviors. I got the Jolly Ball out and we played. Then twice, Shy dropped it in the recycling box. Kick, kick, kicking myself!! I have tried to get her to play "basketball" in the past with no luck! And now she did it twice on her own and I had no clicker! Oh well. . .we just goofed around then I took her back to her herd.

I am grateful Shy is not a mud roller! She doesn't seem to mind the rain though, none of the horses do. Even with the option of the shelter, no horse was under it. I hope the rain stops tomorrow. I really want to work on some line driving. Any header volunteers?

the little pony that could. . .

. . .do anything and leave me utterly amazed!

A girl at the barn (she used to board where I leased Mia) offered to try some of her saddles on Shyloh. I said sure, why not? The first saddle was an eventing saddle. It fit Shy great. So I asked if she wanted to ride Shy. Chelsea said yes. 

Chelsea has a Mustang Arab cross that she trained herself named Treasure. She did a great job with him. I told Chelsea all about Shy's little quirks - the scooting, rough transitions, hates the mounting block, how she can be a little uneasy at first, everything I could think of. Chelsea was still game to ride Shy, but she did want to lunge her first. I don't blame her. . .this was her first interaction with my horse. 

Shy was great on the lunge. Chelsea commented how Shy was real keen on verbal commands and listened really well. 

Then Chelsea hopped on Shy. At first Shy put her head high, eyes wide, ears on Chelsea. I thought I hope this goes well . . .

Shy was a dream! She walked off good, set her head and completely listened to everything Chelsea asked. Chelsea remarked that Shy was incredibly in tune to her seat and leg aids, she didn't even have to use the reins. When Chelsea asked for a trot, Shy made a smooth transition. I was jaw dropping amazed. Shy has not been ridden in months! Shy did spook once that resulted in a scoot, but it was minor and Chelsea rode it out without a problem. Chelsea also did some dressage moves with Shy. I was so proud of my girl!

Next it was my turn. . .now remember, this was an eventing saddle. I have never been in an eventing saddle. It was different. I did not feel secure and the stirrups were so short. I asked Chelsea to walk next to me, just in case. We did a walk around the outdoor arena. It felt to good to be on my horse even in the strange saddle. 

After Shy's "hard" work, I put her back with the herd. She rolled her day away.

Oh, and I have to include this photo of the barn manager's grandson riding Tony! Too cute!

auction and tack sale

The Auction

Belgians. . .yearlings, two year olds, not broke, green broke, well broke, broke to machines, teams. . .all the Belgians you could ask for. . . .all the way from $500 to $25,000! That is what the auction had. Jaime was hoping to get a nice looking  Percheron to complete her team. But the only Percherons there were blind or lame or had an asbcessed tooth or warts on the nose or a dropped hip. Poor guys. I heard earlier in the week that they had Haflingers that were selling for $35! $35!!! So sad. They only had a couple Halfingers the day we went and they were not that good looking. And for some reason, their forelocks were clipped off. There was a good looking Belgian gelding who had real nice movement (and he knew it) that sold for $4,500. Overall, the auction was pretty sad and depressing and we didn't stay long.

But we did check out Shipshawana which is Indiana Amish country. That was fun!

Amish Parking

This buggy was very cool. The doors slide up! I think five people came out of this cart.

Jaime and Kyle checking out some nice Amish made chairs.

Super cool toy! The kid sits in the back and peddles and can steer the horse bike by the reins!

Want! It has an awning, the table gets bigger to eat, and it glides back and forth!! Only $1,300!

Giant 6 ft tall wind chimes

Puzzle toy alligator

Cutest Bulldog puppy! I wanted him, but he was $2,500! The Amish do not mess around!

Heard the clip clop of horse and buggies all over

The Tack Sale

Today was another early day. . .I got up early and Kathy, Jaime, Kyle, and I went to this tack sale that was advertised at the barn. We drove out there and. . .um, super creepy barn and lady. But she had some great deals and I actually bought a few things. Then we crossed over to Ohio (three states, three days?) and went to some tack stores down there. And I bought a few more things that Shy desperately needed. I took everything back to the barn and had Shy model them. That's when I discovered the bit I bought her is too small. Not overly small, but just a smidge. Ugh. It was the same size as the bit she was using, but a different maker. Lucky for me, Analeesa's owner had a french line snaffle O-ring in a 5 inch that she wasn't using and she gave it to me!

While tack shopping, I looked for some saddles and saw a few that caught my eye. . .

Do you think this will be comfortable on long trail rides?

Teal is cute, right? Comes with a matching bridle. . .

I actually did not see any saddles I really liked. I did sit in this amazing Circle Y saddle Jaime was considering. It felt so good to sit in a saddle, even if it was not on a horse's back. I want mike to build me a saddle holder so I can take my saddle to work and use it like a chair. . .I won't ever be able to put it on a horse, but I can still get some use out of it! And practice my saddle posture, too. I might hold off of on the saddle hunt and work on Shy's driving. Just a thought for now. . .