Spa Day for Beefs

It was a little too muddy to ride today, so Beefs got spoiled instead. He already got lasered the other day and I want to maintain the positive results of that for as long as possible.

I started off using the massager all over him to loosen him up. He wasn't all that excited about it initially. The buzzing of the massager didn't bother him, but he was pretty sure it's cord would bring about his untimely death. After I started though, he was all into it. I spent about forty-five minutes doing this.

Gunner-"Ummm....I work three times as hard as him....what the hell?!!! I think I'll sit here and bite him."

After using the massager, I massaged his sore spots with my hands. Then I red lighted him.

He was tight at the base of his neck, his shoulders, and up by his withers. He LOVES the red light!

He was also a little tight and sore in his hamstrings. Hopefully, that's because he is finally using his ass.

It doesn't show up much in the trot and canter, but he looks stiff on his right hind walking. I really worked on the hind right quarter and his hocks.

The colored spots are where he seems to be tight,sore, or stiff.

Don't mind his mane. He's suddenly decided to be a jack ass about having it pulled and I have to wait to finish it until someone has time to hold the little bugger.

He's definitely worse on the left side. 

I'm going to put the Thermotex (yellow) blanket on him tonight, followed by Blue Lotion on his sore spots. We'll see how he goes tomorrow. Knowing my luck, he'll buck me off. That's assuming it doesn't rain more and the area where I ride is good enough to ride at all.

Terrific Score Tuesday #1 (One day late)

*Yes, I know it's Wednesday. This was originally supposed to get posted yesterday. Technical problems.

I'm sure, probably like most of you, I spend way too much time drooling over tack, riding apparel, and other horse equipment online. Then spend an even more ridiculous amount of time trying to find the best possible deal on it. Or what they will give me if I buy it. So, instead of making it a waste of time, I figured I'd do Terrific Score Tuesdays. An obsession isn't bad if you're helping other people out, right?

Terrific Score Tuesday Issue #1:
Company:Stateline Tack
Website: statelinetack.com
Deal: Buy a BoT saddle pad and get a free pair of BoT polos.
Savings: $60.00

http://m.statelinetack.com/item/back-on-track-all-purpose-saddle-pad/E007921/

It applies to dressage pads too!

Unfortunately, I ordered a black one for schooling last week. It came today. Figures. However, I need a white one to show in. Totally justified. Plus, I've been wanting the polos anyway. Now to convince the man....

Happy shopping!!!

That's it!!! I'm moving! Again.

I'm getting really tired of this crap!

It is pretty though.

The storm coming

Why the hell is there a rainbow right now?

Ah shit!!!!

This is just messed up. The world might not flood again, but no one promised a tornado won't carry your ass away.

Then there was the hail.

I can't believe the trucks didn't get dented.

This sucks.

VCMBH: The Simple Life

Other than money, what would make your horse life simpler?

Pretty much my entire life is horses, so I'll refer to my dressage life since thay is my hobby instead of my job. I think that more than anything, living a normal life with a normal job would make my dressage life easier. How ironic that my horse related job makes riding much more complicated. You're probably thinking I'm insane and wondering how that's possible.

Moving three times a year is a pain as far as trainers go. My most consistent trainer is JL in Albuquerque. The problem with this is that I'm only there two to three months out of the year. I'm comfortable riding with JL and I have complete faith in his knowledge. His barn isn't full of a bunch of bitchy dressage queens, just nice ones. His wife also trains and they have both been absolutely wonderful to me. Finding another situation like that seems difficult and I sometimes just don't even feel like bothering to find a trainer in the other cities I temporarily reside in. I did board Indy at a jumping facility in Denver last year, and really liked the trainer there. However, he's not going to want to have to come help me at a dressage show.

JL riding my RPSI Stallion, Windtalker.

Another problem is finding a boarding facility that takes good care of the horses, has a decent facility to ride in, and that I can afford to board two to three horses at. Preferably one with a trainer.

Lastly, it's hard to plan anything. We are never sure exactly when or how many horses we're going to have in. Trying to plan something more than four or five days ahead of time gets pretty tricky. There aren't many clinics or shows that you can sign up for only four days out.

Basically, having a life with a consistent schedule and not moving every few months would definitely make my dressage life easier.

That being said, I love my job and I am very lucky to work with horses all day. I wouldn't change it.

get the InLinkz code

Another Damn Ogilvy Review

I know review after review has been written on this pad, but I have a few things to add that I didn't find in other reviews out there.

First of all, I had originally ordered one directly from Ogilvy. I just ordered a plain white dressage memory foam half pad, thinking that it would be in stock and so I could get it quicker. I sent them an e-mail to ask about when the pad would ship, not to rush them, just so I could keep an eye out for it. They promptly replied, saying that the pad should ship on about 4-6 weeks. Apparently, they were so slammed that they didn't even have the stock pads in stock. Okay, not the end of the world.



I ended up ordering one of the stock half pads from Mary's Tack and the pad arrived three days later. I couldn't wait to try it!

For the most part, I love the pad and it is what the company and other people say it is. My horse seems more comfortable, my back doesn't hurt as much after I ride, and my saddle fits better. The cover washes well (fortunately, since I ordered white). There are a few things I don't like, wish that I had done different, or wish that I had known about. None of these things have anything to do with the company or the quality of the product, more like hindsight is 20/20.

So freaking big! Aghh!

When I put the saddle on the pad, I noticed that it was a little big for my saddle. I had ordered a large per their sizing (I have an 18" Custom Saddlery), but it is still about 2-3" too big. At this point, I just needed the pad and didn't want to deal with exchanging it. Better too big than too small right? It didn't look that bad....

The only problem is now it drives me insane. Because it's too big, it looks extra, super puffy. Kind of like a giant marshmallow under my saddle. I wasn't all that excited about the whole puffy look anyway, but after reviewing a bunch of pictures I decided it really didn't look bad and ordered one anyway. Honestly, they look really nice as long as the pads fit the saddle correctly. They look much worse if they don't.

Another thing I noticed is that it does feel like a lot more between my horse and I when I ride. Beefs is super sensitive, so it's not that big of a deal, but I feel like he isn't quite as responsive to my seat when I use the Ogilvy pad. I'm willing to deal with this though, since he does seem more comfortable in it.



The only other thing is you have to tighten the girth again after you get on. I wouldn't mind this at all if I rode in a jumping saddle or had someone around all of the time to tighten my girth for me. However, trying to tighten a short dressage girth while on a wiggly thoroughbred can be a real challenge. Getting on, riding in a couple of circles, and then getting off to tighten it is also a pain in the ass.

But my Ogilvy half pad isn't.

Would I order another one? Absolutely. Just with a few differences. I had actually kept the pad from the company on order, thinking it wouldn't hurt to have two if I liked them. I did eventually end up cancelling it though because I want to make some changes.  First off, I think I want the gummy half pad in a size medium so I don't look like I sat my saddle on top of the Pillsbury Doughboy. I am also probably going to order black. In pictures, the black looks really nice under the dressage saddles, even better than the white (and I'm a white fiend). I haven't decided if I'll do different colored piping yet, the binding will be black probably, and I want embroidery. On a good note, I'm getting less boring with the colors. At least a little bit.