I just opened Jane Savoie's little book, A Winning Attitude, to a random page for one of her tips on jump-starting attitude.
It said, "seek sources of inspiration."
So that's what I'm doing. Looking for quotes that inspire.
One of my favorite quotes is this:
Of the five elements, none is always predominant; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some short, and the moon waxes and wanes.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
my new secret to riding every day
I discovered this week that if I get up and dress in riding clothes, with the intention to do the morning chores and then ride, by the time I'm done with the chores I'm a sweaty mess. My image of being graceful and in harmony in the saddle has pretty much melted.
So I decided to take a different approach. I get up and dress in jeans and T-shirt, then do the morning chores at a leisurely pace b/c I'm not trying to get a ride in. Since the horses are on night-time turn-out now, they get their breakfast, a quick grooming, and can nap in the shady barn with their fans.
I get as sweaty as possible and come in to take a shower. THEN I put on the breeches and clean shirt and in the late afternoon/early evening (depending on the heat factor), I walk out and ride, with at least a shot at mounting without dripping with sweat.
This plan won't work once we hit the real summer heat, and I'll either have to get up REALLY early and ride before chores, or else postpone the ride until near dark, when the bugs have gone away and the heat has lessened. But for now, this is working well.
So I decided to take a different approach. I get up and dress in jeans and T-shirt, then do the morning chores at a leisurely pace b/c I'm not trying to get a ride in. Since the horses are on night-time turn-out now, they get their breakfast, a quick grooming, and can nap in the shady barn with their fans.
I get as sweaty as possible and come in to take a shower. THEN I put on the breeches and clean shirt and in the late afternoon/early evening (depending on the heat factor), I walk out and ride, with at least a shot at mounting without dripping with sweat.
This plan won't work once we hit the real summer heat, and I'll either have to get up REALLY early and ride before chores, or else postpone the ride until near dark, when the bugs have gone away and the heat has lessened. But for now, this is working well.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
two ladies "of a certain age" and the very hormonal week
A few days ago I was doing Salina's morning grooming, which includes applying a warm sponge to any tick bites she might have, as she reacts intensely to the nasty little things, and can develop big oozy lumps that heal quickly if allowed to drain. The warm water and calendula solution facilitate that nicely.
Most of the time Salina stands perfectly and without being haltered or tied while I do this, as I am gentle, and she knows it ends up feeling much better. Some days it even seems to feel good to her, and she will stretch her head out and close her eyes while I sponge away.
I'd sponged the bite twice and she'd been fine, but then suddenly she whipped her head around and said STOP. I didn't listen, and when I did it yet again, she swung her hind end in my direction and kicked out. It was a slow-motion swing of the hind end, and she kicked out in such a way that it was clear she wasn't aiming to make contact, but I felt she'd been unnecessarily rude and I threw the wet sponge at her hind end as she kicked out, and said NO!
She trotted out of the barn into the shade of the big oak tree and then stopped and looked back at me. Her eyes were worried, and I was already sorry for our snappishness back and forth, so I walked out and took her head and we just stood together for a moment.
The prelude to this was my own little fit an hour earlier, provoked by my husband putting a load of hay where I had asked him not to put it, and seeing it there caused me to burst into tears and complain that he hadn't listened to me.
Just like I hadn't listened to Salina.
As usual, Salina and I are on the same wavelength.
Yesterday, she allowed all the grooming, all the tick checking, even under her tail and in the more private areas of her body with no complaint. But then I checked one last place and she squealed and kicked the stall door behind her. This time there was no swinging in my direction, and she was clearly aiming completely away from ME but that hoof kicked the stall door HARD.
The prelude to yesterday is that Salina is in the full throes of her second heat cycle in a month, and suddenly everything seems to be touch and go with her. One moment something is fine, the next she is pitching a fit. Does this sound familiar? It certainly does to me!
Today I took one look at her, tail lifted and ready to squeal at the slightest provocation, and decided that even though I could clearly see a newly-attached tick in a very delicate place on her body, and even though I know full well that tick needs to be removed and that she indeed WANTS it removed, this is just not the day I'm prepared to go there.
Maybe she'll let the girl in the house do it. Maybe it will fall off on its own. Maybe the hormone levels around here will suddenly shift and we can get through it in our normal calm way.
This is one time I'm glad the rest of them are geldings!
Added note: she allowed my husband to remove the evil tick. Granted, he put on her halter and tied her to do it, but she behaved nicely and the dueling hormones did not have to come into play. :)
Most of the time Salina stands perfectly and without being haltered or tied while I do this, as I am gentle, and she knows it ends up feeling much better. Some days it even seems to feel good to her, and she will stretch her head out and close her eyes while I sponge away.
I'd sponged the bite twice and she'd been fine, but then suddenly she whipped her head around and said STOP. I didn't listen, and when I did it yet again, she swung her hind end in my direction and kicked out. It was a slow-motion swing of the hind end, and she kicked out in such a way that it was clear she wasn't aiming to make contact, but I felt she'd been unnecessarily rude and I threw the wet sponge at her hind end as she kicked out, and said NO!
She trotted out of the barn into the shade of the big oak tree and then stopped and looked back at me. Her eyes were worried, and I was already sorry for our snappishness back and forth, so I walked out and took her head and we just stood together for a moment.
The prelude to this was my own little fit an hour earlier, provoked by my husband putting a load of hay where I had asked him not to put it, and seeing it there caused me to burst into tears and complain that he hadn't listened to me.
Just like I hadn't listened to Salina.
As usual, Salina and I are on the same wavelength.
Yesterday, she allowed all the grooming, all the tick checking, even under her tail and in the more private areas of her body with no complaint. But then I checked one last place and she squealed and kicked the stall door behind her. This time there was no swinging in my direction, and she was clearly aiming completely away from ME but that hoof kicked the stall door HARD.
The prelude to yesterday is that Salina is in the full throes of her second heat cycle in a month, and suddenly everything seems to be touch and go with her. One moment something is fine, the next she is pitching a fit. Does this sound familiar? It certainly does to me!
Today I took one look at her, tail lifted and ready to squeal at the slightest provocation, and decided that even though I could clearly see a newly-attached tick in a very delicate place on her body, and even though I know full well that tick needs to be removed and that she indeed WANTS it removed, this is just not the day I'm prepared to go there.
Maybe she'll let the girl in the house do it. Maybe it will fall off on its own. Maybe the hormone levels around here will suddenly shift and we can get through it in our normal calm way.
This is one time I'm glad the rest of them are geldings!
Added note: she allowed my husband to remove the evil tick. Granted, he put on her halter and tied her to do it, but she behaved nicely and the dueling hormones did not have to come into play. :)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
balancing the days
Yesterday was one of those wonderful days when everything seemed to fall into the perfect balance: I started the morning editing, spent several hours in the barn feeding and setting up horses for the day, came in to do some chores in the house, took a shower and got on my riding clothes, did more editing, and a few more chores, and then mid-afternoon went out to ride the Big Bay and do groundwork with Cody. I wasn't rushed, and got back inside just in time to go to the grocery store with my husband.
Some days this combination just doesn't happen, or if it does, it feels like I have pushed hard to get all the things I want to do into one day.
I realized as it was happening yesterday morning that part of the charm was my being centered. Now, I normally do feel fairly centered, but there is definitely a level of centeredness that goes beyond that, and that's where I was yesterday. Everything flowed.
The peak of my day was getting ready to ride. It was quiet in the barn, the fans were going and the horses were rested and happy. I switched out reins on Keil's bridle, cleaned the new set, reviewed some notes on the outside rein, and then tacked him up in his stall. I haven't done that in a long time - but Salina and the donkeys were in and out of the barn aisle, so I didn't want to spend time moving them. I assembled everything on his stall door and then Salina hung her head over the saddle and watched, which made me wonder if she misses being ridden. She eagerly smelled the white dressage pad when I offered it to her, but turned when I started to place it on her back, so we agreed that perhaps reminiscing about riding is plenty. While tacking up the Big Bay I talked to Salina about my wish that I'd known her when she was younger, and that she would have taught me so many good things about being a quiet, balanced rider. Even the past few years she taught me a lot about that, but I would dearly love to have ridden her when she had her healthy knees and full power.
By the time I got to the arena, the donkeys were out at the gate watching. Keil Bay and I spent about 10 minutes at the mounting block, back to the work of taking one step at a time, making sure that one step was solid before I moved on. I tried to take out any moments of hesitation on my part. And of course it worked perfectly, and he stood like his old soldier self when I finally did the complete process and mounted.
We had an easy ride, as I wanted to focus more on the outside rein than anything else, and we enjoyed walking and some trotting.
After the ride I sponged Keil in his stall and left him eating his hay. Cody and I did some free longing and then I decided to put him on the line. We worked mostly on getting a nice rhythm at the trot instead of rushing, and ended with some cool down work on the lead line. My daughter continued that in the barn yard and did some trailer loading practice, and we ended the "work" loading Redford. (effortless job, since he saw the trailer doors open, came out, and hopped right in!) I am thinking that Redford might end up being the traveling companion for the geldings, as Rafer is much more happy staying with Salina, and Redford seems eager to hang with the "big boys" in the field. He most definitely seems interested in travel.
I woke up this morning with the instant happy feeling: today can be just like yesterday. There is nothing on the schedule to chop up the day. And now, sitting here, I am hoping it unfolds in just the same balanced manner.
Some days this combination just doesn't happen, or if it does, it feels like I have pushed hard to get all the things I want to do into one day.
I realized as it was happening yesterday morning that part of the charm was my being centered. Now, I normally do feel fairly centered, but there is definitely a level of centeredness that goes beyond that, and that's where I was yesterday. Everything flowed.
The peak of my day was getting ready to ride. It was quiet in the barn, the fans were going and the horses were rested and happy. I switched out reins on Keil's bridle, cleaned the new set, reviewed some notes on the outside rein, and then tacked him up in his stall. I haven't done that in a long time - but Salina and the donkeys were in and out of the barn aisle, so I didn't want to spend time moving them. I assembled everything on his stall door and then Salina hung her head over the saddle and watched, which made me wonder if she misses being ridden. She eagerly smelled the white dressage pad when I offered it to her, but turned when I started to place it on her back, so we agreed that perhaps reminiscing about riding is plenty. While tacking up the Big Bay I talked to Salina about my wish that I'd known her when she was younger, and that she would have taught me so many good things about being a quiet, balanced rider. Even the past few years she taught me a lot about that, but I would dearly love to have ridden her when she had her healthy knees and full power.
By the time I got to the arena, the donkeys were out at the gate watching. Keil Bay and I spent about 10 minutes at the mounting block, back to the work of taking one step at a time, making sure that one step was solid before I moved on. I tried to take out any moments of hesitation on my part. And of course it worked perfectly, and he stood like his old soldier self when I finally did the complete process and mounted.
We had an easy ride, as I wanted to focus more on the outside rein than anything else, and we enjoyed walking and some trotting.
After the ride I sponged Keil in his stall and left him eating his hay. Cody and I did some free longing and then I decided to put him on the line. We worked mostly on getting a nice rhythm at the trot instead of rushing, and ended with some cool down work on the lead line. My daughter continued that in the barn yard and did some trailer loading practice, and we ended the "work" loading Redford. (effortless job, since he saw the trailer doors open, came out, and hopped right in!) I am thinking that Redford might end up being the traveling companion for the geldings, as Rafer is much more happy staying with Salina, and Redford seems eager to hang with the "big boys" in the field. He most definitely seems interested in travel.
I woke up this morning with the instant happy feeling: today can be just like yesterday. There is nothing on the schedule to chop up the day. And now, sitting here, I am hoping it unfolds in just the same balanced manner.
Monday, May 11, 2009
you can email the USEA here
I just did, after reading from what I consider a reliable source that Mark Phillips, in response to a barn worker's distress over Bailey Wick's death this past weekend, said:
"Toughen up, Cupcake."
USEA contact page
And while you're at it, email the USEF too.
"Toughen up, Cupcake."
USEA contact page
And while you're at it, email the USEF too.
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