monroe county fair 2014

It has been radio silence over here for the past few days. I have not even seen a computer and the small amount of time spent at home I have been getting a couple hours of sleep. Why? It's county fair time!

While I didn't show Shyloh, I spent the days with the barn and the big horses. They were hauled in Wednesday night, but I spent the day checking out the fair.

It was mule hitch day which was fun to see. Beth came up and we walked the fair and watched the hitches. We spent a lot of time chatting with the judge, who was a friend of Beth. It was a nice day. Some friend's of ours were showing their Gypsy horses in 4-H and we also watched their trail patterns. Kim had a foal on the way and we offered to go to her barn to check on the mare, since she had to stay at the fair with her nieces. No problem! We went to love on the other Gypsy babies (who are getting so big!) and check on the mare. No foal, but boy was she close. Turns out, that night a filly was born!!

Thursday was the driving classes. It was Isaac's second show and the first show with Jaime driving the new cart. They looked real sharp!

Before entering the show ring

Terry and Reba were in the cart class as well. Reba was a picklehead and caused a little backup. . .but they did look real nice. 

On their way into the ring!

Thee big hitch was Heritage Hills Belgians. They won almost all of the hitch classes; tandem, team, four and six horse hitch. They did not win the unicorn, though. And they bought the whole draft barn pizza later that night, how nice!!

Awesome!

Between the hitch classes, the minis came out to do some fun demos to keep the audience entertained. Meatball and Dexter were part of the fun. They did racing, a barrel pattern, poles, and a driving demo. It was so much fun and the audience really enjoyed it. 

Jaime and Meatball, cantering to the finish!

Anthony and Dexter zooming by!

Cowboy hat on a mini? Yes please!

There was also a ridden draft demo with Kyle on Clutch and Terry on Reba. 

Friday was halter classes. Hidden Creek Draft Horses took Grand Champion Mare for Clydesdales and Shires (Reba), Grand Champion Gelding for Clydesdales and Shires (Clutch), and Grand Champion Percheron Gelding (Isaac). Notch did win the Percheron Geldings 5 and over, but Isaac beat him out for Grand Champion. 

Notch

Isaac

Reba

Clutch

After halter, I went to watch Jessica and Sarah jump their Gypsies. It was great to be able to hang out with those kids and their mom, Christina and their aunt Kim. 

Weee! Jessica and Saiorse

One of the baby Belgians got cast in her stall and Kyle and Terry helped to get her up. She was so calm about it and walked off just fine. Then there was a moment when I saw a cow going into a horse stall. I questioned it, then noticed the hooves sticking out the back of the cow. . .it was having a baby!

Brand new baby!

By this time, I was exhausted. From helping with the big horses, getting them ready for the show, keeping the stalls clean, and walking them back and forth from the stalls to the trailer, I just wanted to sit and sleep. Although, I do admit, it was cool walking the big horses down the midway :)

Cows sleep funny

It's hard being bacon

So cute!

This little one was right across from us! She liked checking out the big horses.

We did walk through the fair to check out the other things they had to offer. It was a fun time, but I am glad it is over. It was a lot of work and I didn't even have a horse there!

lucas county fair 2014

This past weekend was Lucas County Fair's open show in Ohio. Jaime, Kyle, Terry, and Beth all took their horses and of course I went along. We planned on doing halter classes and the cart classes. It was also supposed to be Isaac's big debut into the fair show ring.

I felt like a groom because I helped braid manes and tails and get horses all ready for the show. It was fun.

Two handsome dudes!

Halter class was first as always. I got to show Notch. I am proud to say that Hidden Creek Draft Horses cleaned up on halter!

My noble steed for the day

Isaac was Grand Champion Halter, Reba was Reserve Champion Halter, and Notch took 4th place for draft halter.

Yay!! Go Hidden Creek Draft Horses!

The judges loved Isaac and Reba.

There were a bunch of riding classes before cart. Kyle and Terry chose to ride.

Clutch decided to chase a Haflinger in the riding class

Reba was giving Terry a hard time

In the mean time, Notch started acting strange. He was sweating and would not calm down. It may have been the roller coaster or the giant inflatable Spiderman bounce house that he could see from his spot on the trailer, we will never know. But it was giving him runny poops and making him so anxious. So, before cart classes, Jaime chose to take him home. Which meant that Isaac and Reba had to leave. We were all really sad that they had to go, since we were looking forward to seeing how Isaac would do in cart classes and the judges wanted to see both Reba and Isaac under harness.

Clutch and Rambo

Terry and I stayed behind to help Beth with Rambo and Art. She needed to change the cart over a few times in between classes. Then, a band in the tent right behind the arena decided to start drumming and making music, which Rambo was not a fan of. . . At all. I offered to head him during the lineups to keep him calm and even then he reared a few times in the cart. That is typical Rambo and didn't scare Beth, but she worked him out of it. Art did not mind the music at all.

Love me some Art!

Flo and Nick

Beth and Rambo

Overall, it was a nice, small show. The show moved at a relaxing pace that didn't make you feel like you had to rush between classes. The breeze made the hot weather bearable. I drank about five delicious fresh squeezed lemonades. And hanging out with friends and horses is always fun.

two horse tack halter bridle giveaway

In my newfound love of all that is beta biothane and halter bridles, Two Horse Tack is giving me the opportunity to do a giveaway to share the love! To read my review on the halter bridle, click here.

Shyloh modeling the three different styles of the halter bridle

To review: Two Horse Tack is home to handmade halters, bridles, harnesses, breast collars, reins, and other items. All made in the USA. They have leather, but offer beta biothane in all of their tack. Beta biothane comes in many colors and it is so easy to clean. It is also strong and durable and waterproof. 

The giveaway is a Quick Change Halter Bridle with Snap on Browband. The halter bridle comes in three pieces and is quick and easy to change around. The hardware is stainless steel. And you can pick the two colors you want it in! Or you can pick a solid color, bling, reflective overlay, or camo.

There are a ton of color combinations to choose from. Go crazy! Or choose a different style, it's up to you!

Sizes available are draft, warmblood/TB, horse, cob, Arab, large pony, small pony, mini, and even custom for those hard to fit heads.

 Go here to enter with Two Horse Tack

Leave a comment on which style or color combinations that you would like to win. But in order to enter, you must click the link and enter through Two Horse Tack website.

Share! Do lots of sharing of the contest!

Two Horse Tack will pick the winner. Good luck everyone! Giveaway ends Saturday June 21st at midnight EST. 

Oh, and everyone who enters gets a $10 off coupon for anything at Two Horse Tack. Pretty cool!

two horse tack product review: halter bridle

This halter bridle is awesome! That is all.

I like!

Two Horse Tack is home to handmade halters, bridles, harnesses, breast collars, reins, and other items. All made in the USA. They have leather, but offer beta biothane in all of their tack. I love beta biothane. It comes in many colors and it is so easy to clean. So easy. It is strong and durable and waterproof. 

I ordered a halter bridle from Two Horse Tack to test out. I had a few options with the halter bridle combo. Solid colored or mix and match colors, jewels or not, removable browband, snap or buckle bit hangers. Decisions decisions. I opted for the Quick Change Halter Bridle (snap on browband) with the two color combo. 

At the order screen, you can choose an overlay and a base color. I almost went with pink but stuck with blue. Although I wish they had more of a teal, I really really like the blue. Then I had to choose a size. So many sizes. . .mini, small pony, large pony, Arab, cob, horse, Warmblood/TB, and draft. And if none of those sizes are what you are looking for, you can get it custom. How awesome is that?

Shyloh is a hard horse to fit so I teetered between large pony and cob. I went with cob (pony denial) and it was a perfect fit for her. Next choice was hardware, stainless steel or brass. I opted for the base hardware: stainless steel. Next up was a rein choice; none, Western split, English, trail or barrel reins. I chose none, but I was sent English reins with the buckle. Awesome! 

Still not done with the choices, if you chose reins, you can chose which style of fastener you want at the bit end. . . Conway buckles, roller buckles, or two different finishes of snaps. The final choice was a breast collar, English or Western. I did not chose a breastcollar, although I do wish I would have!

My halter bridle arrived about two days later! That was quick! I tore open the package to inspect it. The blue was very pretty. The construction was nice and sturdy, like it will hold up to a lot. The beta biothane was nice and the hardware seemed very durable.

The next day, I was at the barn and got out my model. She was beyond thrilled. . .

Halter option

With the browband

Bridle option

The halter bridle fit her great! I tried it out in all the different options, as a halter, as a halter with a browband, and as a bridle. 

I thought snaps would be better than buckles for attaching the bit, but after doing it up twice, it was simple and no big deal. There are other halter bridle options that have the snaps available. And the Conway buckles. I hate hate hate Conway buckles. A lot of driving stuff uses that type of buckle. But, to be fair, I was sent the reins. If I ordered them, I would have picked a different fastener. And when I get a bit for that halter bridle specifically, I won't have to worry about those buckles anymore. Conway buckles are just a personal issue. 

Now it was time to put it to the test. Everyone got a turn!

Alison approves

Lily approves

Tommy approves

Between the kids riding her and the adults, we stopped for a lunch break. I loosened Shy's girth and took out her bit so she could graze a minute. So easy and no removal of the bridle to put on a halter. No fuss. It was great! When it was time to get back to work, it was so simple to buckle the bit right back on the sides. 

The reins were nice, too. They were grippy and felt good in my hands. The kids were able to hold on to them and the buckle in the middle helped them find the center (the other reins I use don'd have a center buckle). 

I approve! And so does Shyloh!

I love this product! Once I get to going out on the trails, this halter bridle will be awesome. I am very impressed with Two Horse Tack! I am thinking about getting the matching breastcollar and the curb chain. 

Since I love this product so much, I will be doing a giveaway of a halter bridle next week! Stay tuned!

you'll shoot your eye out kid

Shyloh has continued on her never ending attempt to poke her eye out. I am not sure what happened this time (or any time, really), but it involved a broken halter, Notch out of his stall area and standing on the poop sled, and a barn that looked like a rave happened overnight. 

Layout of the barn, note the gate swings  back in to the area. So the Percheron had to swing it in and maneuver the poop sled to get to the other area of the barn.

Hay was everywhere, blankets strewn about in sawdust, and a plastic bag that once had sawdust in it was empty. Notch had somehow opened the gate to the other side of the barn, rifled through the hay, and then ended up on the poop sled and stayed put. I have no idea what Shy was doing, but she did not spend a long time in her stall because that was clean. 

Somehow during their horse free for all, Shy busted out of her halter which broke the metal ring on the side and almost took her eye out. Again. I am a little sad because this is the second halter Shy has broken out of, never has she done this before. I hope this does not become a habit. 

Sad face. I loved this halter. 

In this padded halter, she never slipped out of it. But in her regular nylon padded halter, she can remove it and go about whatever business she feels that she has in the middle of the night. The other night, that halter made its way into Isaac's water bucket. . . 

How? This is the set up. . .Horse's heads cannot fit through the openings. What goes on when no one is looking??

Past attempts at eye removal have happened right before a couple shows and other random times when she feels like seeing is not an almost necessary part of horse life. I will say, she is getting better and better at getting closer and closer to actually getting her eye ball.

• First documented attempt at eyeball removal. I had to put silver spray on it because every time I went out to the barn she had shavings in the wound. 

When I wrote about this, I also wrote that she keeps doing this and in the same spot. . .so this is not the first actual time.

• Second documented attempt called for a much longer gash. After this attempt, I duct taped everything I could think of that she could have been hitting in her stall. At this time, she had a box stall. I am pretty sure there were more cuts at this barn, I just may have never mentioned them.

Same eye as before, cut is a little higher up, but longer.

• Third documented attempt, new barn, no stall. This time, the whole eye was swollen and Shy kept it closed for a couple days. Perhaps trying to figure out what it would be like if she actually lost an eye?

Not as large as the rest of them, but noted due to the swelling. Shy was able to go about her normal life without the use of this eye.

• Fourth documented attempt had Shy trying at poke the other eye out. Here we can see that she is working her accuracy, as she is now getting much closer to the actual eye ball. Again, this could have been done in any way, as Shy was pasture boarded. 

Also, right before we went to our clinic last year.

• Fifth documented attempt at stabbing her eye out was a mere few weeks later before our first show of the season. Note that she went back to the original eye that she wants out of her head. She also tried going under the eye instead of over it. 

A little less close to the eye this time.

• Sixth documented attempt at eyeball elimination, the most recent attempt. This is another under eye attempt. It has the closeness to the eye that is scary to see. This is the first attempt at this barn, Shy is outside the majority of the time and only comes in late at night to eat and is out first thing in the morning before work. Not much stall time at all.

Shy says, no worries, this eye will come out!

So, if I ever have the news that Shy is missing an eye, don't be surprised. Someone must have given her a Red Rider BB gun on Christmas past. And she is intent on shooting her eye out.