All work and no play....

Larry is NOT a dull boy!

I turned Larry loose in the arena yesterday for the first time when a friend came over to meet him. I was hesitant to do it too soon after his arrival here, because his owner had cautioned me that he can jump ANYthing - that's why he was gelded early on. But it went well yesterday, so I turned him out to romp again today, when I took these photos. He gave himself a good workout - more than anything I've done with him, so I finished up with a short lunging session in side-reins to get him working round and over his topline before putting him away.

We get by with a lot of help from my friends!

After posting about looking for the perfect bit, two of my blogpals emailed with offers. Laura (who has also become a dear friend IRL) sent me an oval-link eggbutt snaffle that is too small for her new horse, and Theresa sent me TWO bridles that she isn't using!

I put Laura's bit on the silver-accented bridle and rode Larry in it after the show on Sunday, but it was too dark for photos by then. Fortunately, we had time for another ride this afternoon. Here is Larry, handsomely (and happily) attired thanks to our friends!

Variety is the spice of life

This weekend was our local dressage chapter's annual late-winter show (cleverly named "Bears Above the Ground"). I went in this afternoon and volunteered for a few hours as show arena gate person, which gave me the opportunity to snap some photos of the wide variety of equines competing.

From the big
to the small;
the expected breeds
(what happened to the photo of the Friesian I thought I downloaded?)

and the "alternative breeds."
There were even a couple of mules!
(This girl, who completed earlier, had to stand near the gate to watch her girlfriend go, or else.)

From top to bottom: Shire/Oldenburg cross; pony; warmblood; thoroughbred; Arabian; Morgan; and, of course, the mules.

After playing "ringside judge," I went home and had the best ride yet on Larry. Progress!

Peeved but prepared

Around noon I dashed out to take advantage of a break in the weather and get in a short ride before leaving on an errand, and the zipper of my left paddock boot failed. I wasted valuable minutes trying to fix it, and then trying to at least move it enough to free my foot. I love Ariat paddock boots, and the zippered ones are so fast and easy and never come untied in the middle of the ride, but doggone it, the zippers fail long before the rest of the boot wears out! For quite some time I've been wearing mismatched boots thanks to the blessing of the right zipper failing on my second (black) pair, and the left zipper failing on my third (grey) pair, but I knew they were on borrowed time. So awhile back I started looking for a deal on eBay, and scored a new-in-box pair (sans zippers) that have been waiting in the wings. At least they coordinate with my current mount.

Back to work after a winter break!

Our winters in the Willamette Valley consist mostly of cool temps and lots of rain gently applied. But since last weekend real winter has been toying with us, snow and all! Still, I managed to get in good rides on Larry both Sunday and Monday (thank goodness for Polarfleece breeches). Tuesday morning I had a chilly but dry window of time, but felt too pressed by my to-do list to take the time for riding or lunging. Yesterday was just downright nasty, blowing snow all day which would have accumulated to an alarming amount had we been just a few degrees colder.

So when this morning dawned sunny, I was happily surprised, and made sure to get Larry out in spite of my to-do list.


I got an email from Larry's owner this morning saying she has an inquiry on him and will give my number to the interested party. We'll see it she is just a tire-kicker or a serious buyer. No, I don't want to lose my ride so soon, but we could still have a whole season before us, too.