Man in black

Cooler temps and a bit of rain have started to green things up.

Without his ear bonnet, Lance would blend right into the leaves!

We ride through a Xmas tree lot on our way back up the hill.

Last night I took Lance out for a ride. We said good-bye to daylight together, which was lovely and peaceful and perfectly terrible for photos. Good thing I took some photos of our new accoutrements before we left, when there was a bit more light!

Recently I took advantage of a SmartPak sale and got a "fly veil." Much better to keep out bothersome gnats with a barrier than with poison, in my opinion.

I also picked up a new saddle pad on eBay. We have trouble with pad slippage, so when Debbie extolled the virtues of her Success Equestrian saddle pad at the show, I took a closer look. It has no-slip material in a half-pad shape on top, and under the entire saddle area next to the horse. It also has extra padding under the saddle, an excellent contoured shape, and individual slots for the billets. She got hers for 75% off at a local farm store, but that was apparently an inventory close-out because they no longer carry them. I went to the website and got a tremendous jolt from sticker shock. Ebay was my next stop, where I not only found one for Lance, I found a second one for Debbie (at her request). Hers are mediums; I bought a large which is really generous. I will keep my eyes open for another deal, hopefully in a medium.

With these two purchases and my wonderful browband on order, I had no need (or money!) to shop at the USDF Region 6 Championships. That turns out to be a good thing, as I would have had to go today . . . and it's raining!

Watched pots and other hazards

The state fair horse show photographer is slower than slugs; it is driving me to distraction waiting for our photos to get uploaded.

I am also waiting on our fancy browband now that the designs of the two strands are finalized. As responsive as DarkJewelDesigns has been, I'll probably get the browband before the photos!

Now that I have a dressage show in our sights, my dances with Lance have taken on new purpose – and less pleasantness. Instead of just enjoying my saddle time, I am asking specific questions and expecting specific answers from Lance . . . and finding my expectations oft unmet. Much of that is me, I know; I need to find time to take a lesson with Julie so she can whip ME back into shape. I also need to continue our trail rides through the woods to just enjoy my boy. I hope to do that late this afternoon.
:-)

Happy Horton update!

I don't know how I missed this on friend Sylvia's Facebook page until today (well, I DO know how; you actually have to visit FB more than I do), but here is a video of Horton (see "Cohort" in my labels at right) with his new owner, doing his new job. Happy endings are the best!

And the award for best half-halt grunt while cross country schooling goes to... Megan!
Posted by Compass Sport Horses LLC on Monday, August 3, 2015

The silver lining

As Emma said in the comments to my last post, "What a bummer about the dirty wrong-sized [browband]." BUT! There is a silver lining to this story . . . or should I say a crystal embellishment? ;-)

When I bought the used browband on eBay, I thought it would look nice on Lance, but equally important, it didn't break the bank. In my internet searches I had seen lots of head-turning browbands . . . with stomach-turning price points (at least for this frugal horsewoman). So I chose the affordable option, while continuing to casually search to enable a friend who wanted some "bling" for her horse. That's how I stumbled upon DarkJewelDesigns on Etsy. Not only were her designs fancy AND affordable (you get two interchangeable bling strands with each browband), they were available on "EXTRA-Over Sized" (18") browbands, the size that fits my big-brained mustang best. When the eBay sale turned bust, I decided to spring for special. Amelia is wonderful to work with, and quickly came up with some designs based on my preferred colors and materials.

It may only be an ODS League show, but Lance is going to have some stuff to strut come November 8!

Rain dance

Lance and I did slip out for a short ride as daylight faded yesterday. A few raindrops fell as we headed home; it was fun to think we were doing a raindance that was working.

Look what we woke up to this morning!

That translates to a nicely watered arena,

so Lance and I got to dance in the ballroom for a change.

Amen.