At the barn #25 - More blanketing issues / How about using some common sense...

I noticed about ten days ago that the boarders were starting to blanket Cowboy overnight. At that time, the temperatures were lows in the mid to upper forties at night. If that. Some days they were pretty late showing up in the mornings, so it was way too warm for a blanket by the time it was removed.

I watched without saying anything for a week. VERY HARD FOR ME TO DO. My horse / barn management knowledge, at least the valuable parts of it, came from a woman whose two horses I exercised regularly, and cared for during her frequent travels. Her standards of care were super high. She had fifty years of experience with horses. I was her barn backup for a number of years and the experience was invaluable. Unfortunately all good things come to an end. (It's a very sad, but interesting story - I'm working on it for a future post... How to survive a "barn breakup")

So I held my tongue for a week. The blanket didn't fit well, was much too heavy for the temps, and the waterproofing in doubt. A few days ago the topic came up. I took jumped at the opportunity to have a blanket chat. Here is a sampling of the conversation:

"Does Cowboy have a rain sheet? [No]
The great thing about a rain sheet is he'll stay dry without overheating. [Blank stare]
Getting cold and wet is mostly what we need to worry about around here. [His blanket is waterproof]
You can always layer a rain sheet over another blanket if it actually gets cold enough..."[Another blank stare]

As per usual, sharing helpful information elicited defensiveness. They said that (weird quilty) blanket is waterproof!!!! I asked how old is it? Has it been washed much? If that blanket is still waterproof I'll eat my hat I was thinking...

Right on cue, last night it rained / snowed and was actually cold. When I arrived at the barn this morning Cowboy's owner was removing his blanket. She hung it on the hitching post as they were leaving. Just before I took off, I felt the inside. Couldn't help myself. It was absolutely soaked. That poor horse had worn that cold, wet, heavy blanket all night long.

This afternoon we were at the barn together again. I mentioned the wet blanket. "Oh yeah - we know. We ordered another blanket. We're going to shut him in the run in until it comes. That way he'll stay warm and dry."

I nixed the "shutting Cowboy in" idea, as the run in is about 9 x 9... too small for a sixteen plus hand horse to lay down in safely... not to mention that their plan for locking him in was hanging a 2 x 4 across the opening. Not to mention that was a ridiculous idea...

Don't get me wrong - my boarders are really nice people... really nice people who have never taken care of their own horse until the last 8 months, as my boarders. I have refined my technique of "sharing" horse care info (which frankly is getting tiresome). I have led by example, mostly to no avail.
I have watched Cowboy go without water, be under and over fed, be very difficult with vet and farrier, get run off his feet with almost no warm-up...

Because I care about Cowboy I will continue to try to help improve his conditions as necessary. I will pick my battles. I will also try to perfect my delivery of advice. Casual hinting? And I guess I will have to just chalk the experience up to character building aka sucking it up.

Edited to add: I hope this post doesn't sound too snarky. My tolerance for foolishness goes way down when I'm hormonally challenged:)

In the Arena #38 - More bareback therapy + my little cookie monster

Is it just me, or does time really speed up over the holiday season? Don't blink or it will be over. That's how I feel these days. I stole a few hours yesterday for another bareback ride. When I got to the barn, this is what I found (see lower lip) :) It took a bit of doing to motivate him but eventually Val got moving. He happily munched on hay while I groomed and tacked him up.

My plan for the ride was to concentrate on position, especially the legs. I spent most of our ride like this: Okay, is your heel down? Where's your leg... at the girth? Behind the girth - why? Not gripping with your thighs are you? Calf on... is your foot parallel to the horse? Not leaning forward are you? (I was ) And repeat. Add "rig up mirror at the barn" to the to-do list :)

I'm struggling with how to hold my lower leg when bareback that allows me to aid well while not creating tension. My seat and thighs feel great, very relaxed... lower leg needs work. And it is my sincerest wish that in the future I develop a more graceful style when mounting bareback. :) At present it feels pretty sack of potatoes-ish. (poor Val)

Besides focusing on position we worked on circles, straightness and contact. The contact felt super good yesterday - subtle and sensitive. And Val agreed... lots of mouthing the bit plus some reaching... moving out at the walk more that usual. I noticed towards the end of the ride that I had forgotten to put on my riding gloves, so had ridden barehanded. I wonder if that's why my contact seemed easier to maintain and much improved? Easier to feel really.  Maybe the gloves are getting in the way somehow... decreasing my sense of touch, or dexterity. I'll have to see if it's a matter of causation or correlation - but whatever it was I liked it. Overall a very productive ride.

Ummm, isn't it cookie time?

Pretty sure it's cookie time...

 Isn't this where you keep the cookies?!

I K-N-O-W there are cookies in here!!!

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This is also the time of year when there are drastic temperature fluctuations. Wednesday it was in the seventies... Thursday morning in the low forties. It's been flip-flopping this way for a few weeks. This kind of weather can disrupt eating and drinking habits. Colic weather. Val hasn't been finishing his hay, which I chalked up to how warm it was. Also not drinking nearly as much water. This had me worried, but thankfully this morning it was back to normal. I'm wondering if I should be adding salt to his feed? He does have free access to salt and mineral blocks, but I've know some people supplement salt. Any advice about salt and quantities would be appreciated! (Do I need to go to micro-managers anonymous?)

Also, the blanketing issue is here again. Thankfully, I'm more clear on this subject. I'm not going to blanket until it's below thirty night and day - a light blanket. And anything below fifty five with rain, he'll get the rain sheet, added layers as needed. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it :)

Oh - I can't forget our spa session the other day! I pulled out the clippers and clipped for the first time on my own. Val was a champ after a mild overreaction. I clipped his muzzle and bridle path with him loose in his stall and me balancing on a turned over bucket. Living dangerously lol. What a good boy and soooo handsome :)