Ring Sour

Does your horse behave better at shows than at home?
My horse does.
A ring sour horse is one that gets bored with the same scenery.
Day after day, you work your horse in the same arena.
As a result, the horse will entertain himself by misbehaving.
Here's a few tips for ya:

• Try exercising your horse in an open field around your barn.
• Take a field trip.
• Do dressage in your cross-country field.
• Introduce a new movement.

You will find that your horse is listening to you better and complying with your commands.   Keep your exercise routine interesting by mixing it up every once in a while.

Uphill.

Dressage judges say that you need to be more "uphill."
But what exactly does this mean?
It clicked for me one day
accidentally.
I was exercising my horse when I became really frustrated
at my lack of expertise in the dressage ring.
So I gave up.
I realized that I was probably just making my horse worse.
I decided to just head back to the barn.
I was still on my horse when we walked from the dressage ring to the main arena.
Between these two arenas is a large hill.
We started walking up the hill and then it hit me!
Uphill!
My horse filled the saddle.
His hind-end was beneath me.
His shoulders were freer.
Eureka!
So then I decided to give it another go around the ring
with this concept of "uphill" in mind.
It was gorgeous.
Try it sometime.

Snow No Days

Snow days
are known for the bliss
of sleeping in,
making snow men,
snowball fights,
drinking hot cocoa,
and lounging around in pajamas all day.
This is not the case for me.
This is not the case for anyone
who lives with horses.
Every time it snows,
at 9 A.M. we have to walk down to the barn
and start feeding.
There's nothing
like pushing a wheel-barrel
through a blizzard
and a foot of snow.
Nothing.
My fingers and toes turn blue,
and no amount of dancing
or bouncing around will warm them.
My nose becomes a faucet for the liquids within them.
My hair becomes stiff like little strands of popsicles.
Moreover, I get the privilege
of breaking frozen water buckets.
All thirty of them.
Then I get to do it again in the afternoon.
No, snow days.... no.
I would rather go to school.
Well, maybe.

The Unbelievable Story of Joe.

I was about thirteen, cleaning stalls on a fiercely hot day in the summer.
All the horses were turned-out,
 except for Joe.
(He must have had an injury or something.)
Joe was a stunning, tall, bay thoroughbred, and he was known for his quirky personality.
There I was cleaning his stall, wiping the sweat from my brow and upper lip.
My muscles were aching from working all day, and my shoveling movements were pitifully sluggish.
I stepped out of Joe's stall to get a drink from my mini water bottle.  You know, the miniature ones?
I could barely unscrew the cap because I was so exhausted.
I took a swig and then balanced the bottle on the edge of Joe's stall door.
The pitchfork in my hand had slipped through my sweaty fingers,
knocking the stall door hard enough to shake the entire wall,
making my water bottle fall to the other side of the stall
and into Joe's water bucket...
Joe was gazing out of his stall window when he heard the ruckus.
He then turned around and stuck his head over the stall,
looking at me as if he was asking me, "What happened?"
I sighed fatalistically.
Sarcastically, I asked Joe, "Could you get that for me?"
THEN!
Joe tucked his head into his water bucket, grabbed the water bottle with his teeth by the cap, and offered it to me!
I was shocked.
I turned enthusiastically to see if anyone else had seen this miracle!
Not a soul.
I took the water bottle from his grasp
and thanked him for getting it for me...

Lately.

Lately,
I've been thinking about what I'm going to do when I grow up.
December is when I have to grow up.
I'm graduating a semester early
Which means I have six less months to figure out what I want to do.
Do I want to pursue my career as an equestrian?
Or should I pursue a career in marketing so that I can finance a hobby?
I have no idea.
I've always tended to be a people-pleaser.
But lately, I have learned that I have to do what makes me happy.
I don't know if marketing makes me happy,
but that's because I have no job experience besides
horse trainer,
camp coordinator,
riding instructor,
tutor,
and babysitter.
I know I love coming up with new ideas and creating catchy slogans.
I know I love horses and jumping over enormous obstacles.
I love painting and cooking and fashion!
The thing is, I love too many things.
You know what I would love?
I would love to merge the two together.
Marketing and Riding.
How can I wear a business suit while working in the horse industry?