Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Random Things I Discovered

Found a pond on a walk.
So, there were all kinds of new things that came into play at the Stanton Farms show. Not only did I discover that we could survive an event and even put in a little good work out there, I learned how to survive everything else.

Exhibit A: Hobbles
Dis iz my prizon and deez R my shacklez. 
People might get a little upset with me about this, but that's ok. Because I'm a honey badger. Baconator has been learning to wear hobbles at home in case they were going to be needed at the show. I have seen a lot of horses weave, but none quite exuberantly as a Bacon can when she puts on her crazy pants. She can do it at such lightning speeds that she begins to hover above the ground. I thought, maybe, if she can't do that, she will brain a little better. And she does. She can still walk fairly normally in her shackles, and even weave, but not like a psychopath. She does a little weave here and there, and then takes a nap and stays calm the whole time. She got to go on lots of walks and did not wear them at night, and this system worked very well. It kept her from injuring herself too, so that was nice.
This prizon food is delicious though.
Exhibit B: Horse Quencher
Flavor these, servant.
The handful of adventures that Bacon got to on earlier in the year determined that I needed to find something to encourage my horse to drink more. She would hardly empty a bucket in a day, and we just can't have that. My search led me to Horse Quencher, a flavored grain item that you empty into the water bucket and let sit for an hour. I ordered samples in apple, root beer and peppermint flavor. It turns out that Bacon much preferred the flavored water over the plain water bucket I had for her. Root beer being her favorite! It was super easy and convenient, and she consumed at least 2 buckets of flavored water a day. Samples (1 single serving) were bought through the website for $2.50 and free shipping. There is also a butterscotch flavor she may have to try!

Exhibit C: Foal Competition Jacket
Sassy tail flip.
I was a little worried how I would ride in my jacket. It is a little tight in the chest (damn you boobs) so I didn't know if it was going to restrict me. I used it for both dressage and show jumping. I was also a little worried about it passing the color guide, but no one questioned it. I did not notice it for dressage, but I was a little frustrated and dealing with a coiled spring as a horse. I was really worried for show jumping, but again, I did not notice it at all. It wasn't hot. It was stretchy and flattering, and I even got some compliments. I really adore it!

Exhibit D: Gag Bit
Gag engaged. Looking a little silly. But under control.
How dumb is an Alyssa? Pretty dumb. As is, let's test out a new bit out on cross country kind of dumb. Aimee lent me a small village of bits earlier in the year to see if there was something that would help me bring my horse up in front. She loves her waterford, but was starting to bow up and dive down into it like a horse on the track, and I spent most of my energy trying to bring her back up before the jumps. I'm not the biggest fan of switching bits, but hey, I can only do so much. She was known on the track as a difficult hold (exercise rider would come back with arms shaking), and I don't need that in my life. I'm a sissy lala. So we tried a three ring (NO), a rubber mullen mouth Pelham (sort of NO), and then I had the full cheek gag. I threw it on last minute, figuring she mostly listens and isn't too offended by bits, so we will see. Aaaannnnddd that is her new jump bit. She stayed up and fairly light and listening throughout cross country, and did fairly well again in show jumping. I think I need to do more adjusting, because when the bit is engaged, there is some major gaping of the leather straps, and she obtained a rub. So I will remedy that. But yay!
So excited. Look at all of that excitement.
So, there you have it. That is some of the major things I took away and experienced while up there. All good things! I had a happy and sane (and hydrated) horse, I looked cool in a jacket, and bits are nice things when they work. Do you learn new things at every show?
Icing done right, by Noah Constrictor. Hay, water and spa time.

27 comments:

  1. I think the hobbles are a great idea for weavers! I"m so glad you found something that can help keep her brain in her head, not levitating a few feet above.

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  2. The hobbles are genius! I bet if you use them regularly, she may even not need to wear them after a while!

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    1. That is my hope! But her mom weaves, her brother weaves, her half brother weaves. Them genetics is in there. Damnit.

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  3. oooh the hobbles are a good idea. the neighbor horse weaves like a champ day and night. did she flip out the first time you put them on?

    the foal jacket is gorgeous and i want it <3

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    1. I thought for sure she would rear into the sky and fall over and get a hind leg through them and break her back and...and nothing really happened. My farrier showed me how to do a quick hobble out of a lead rope and explained how it usually goes, and he was right. She went to take a step, felt resistance, tripped a little bit and then took tiny steps and was mindful of how she moved. No freaking out. No hi ho silver. He said most do exactly that. It was easy!

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  4. awesome that the bit worked so well for her. she looked really great in the bridle in your stadium video so i'm not at all surprised to hear she felt great too!

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  5. Awesome about the hobbles! We had a horse who kicked the walls... he got to wear chains on fluffy anklets that looked very S&M, haha. Thanks for the tip about the Horse Quenchers- I've been looking for a flavored water thing for Penn because he's going to do some serious traveling and I don't want him stressing and not drinking!

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    1. Haha, yeah, she sounded like a prisoner walking around in her pen. I thought for sure someone was going to be horrified and yell at me, but I didn't get any of that. And the horse quencher is great! I recommend trying the single serving flavors to see if he has a favorite, and then you can order a larger size if you want. It says to add a half cup per gallon of water, but I just added a packet to her 5 gallon water bucket and it must have been flavored enough because she always chose it over the regular water. After she would empty the water, the flavored grain is still sitting there, so I would just refill it, and she still chose that water.

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    2. Awesome! I immediately hopped over to their website and ordered the same 3 sample packets you did, haha. I was a little miffed that they would make a product that isn't for a standard 5 gallon horse bucket, so I'm glad Bacon didn't seem to care that it was a bit "weak"! Free shipping on that was awesome. I'm guessing that they won't be here in time for my horse show this weekend (can't have everything!) but I'll try them throughout the week at the barn and see if he likes one more than the other... I want to hang a bucket in the trailer for him when we ship the 10 hours to NC, and he's persistent in NOT drinking much when we travel. I'd feel a lot better if he would drink even a half bucket in that time.

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  6. You captions are cracking me up!!

    You do you girl, if hobbles keep the Bacon sane, do it. NO judgement here. They look medieval, but overall, serve a great purpose. Horse Quenchers is an amazing thing. Usually I just dumped Gatorade in Yanks buckets and he seemed to like that well enough.

    Yay for discovery!

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  7. I love the coat, and congrats on such a successful show!

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  8. Ummm...I think the hobbles are genius!

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  9. I have an obsessive stall walker at home and at shows. The first show we took her to she stall walked holes into her legs and herself into a lather. I wish something like hobbles would work for her! I wouldn't hesitate to use something that worked for my horse. If I was competing with you and saw them, I might ask if I am curious but mostly because I wouldn't have thought about hobbles as an anti-weaving mechanism. Seems genius to me! Congrats on the show - it sounds like a total success!

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    1. Have you tried hobbles before? They might help! If she can help prevent her brain from getting too worried, it would be worth it. It was for Bacon, that's for sure. And she is the most worrisome horse I know!

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  10. What feed do you use for Bacon, she is a very similar build to my TB...but his weight is not as good as hers!

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    1. She is always a work in progress! She gets as much alfalfa as she will eat. Plus, 4lbs of LMF Showtime split into three feedings, with 1c corn oil, Gleam N Gain, SmartGut Ultra, 1/2c sunflower seeds, 1c Aloe Vera juice and an apple ;)

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  11. You guys are amazing! So glad we FINALLY got a jump bit that works for you guys. :-)

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  12. That jacket looks great on you! And you match Bacon's outfit so nicely. :)

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  13. The jacket is awesome. I'm glad it's an allowed color. I also hobble Nilla at some events. It depends on how she's acting, but sometimes she'll paw obnoxiously if I don't.

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  14. It's amazing all of the small things you have to do to manage a horse at a show. It's a whole 'nother world and takes so much thought to really get it right. Glad so much went well for you guys at this show!!

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  15. What a great find to stop the weaving!

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  16. Lots of interesting discoveries! I looooove your foal coat :)

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  17. Somehow I missed this! Love all the discoveries!

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