Non Bloghop post :D Of pictures!

There's a light off the barn pointing toward the arena and then two in the corners shown. It gets lit sufficiently well to ride and lunge! The black lines are where I set up the trot poles. Not to scale (Obvs)

Tonight I got the kids in bed early (thank you fall rollback!) and decided that I was going to lunge. I lunged Gwyn on Sunday after the thunderstorm but since I have my lesson on Thursday and I've been super inspired by watching these video blogs from a trainer in Ireland, that I was going to commit with Gwyn.

Sunday was kind of hilarious. I got most of it on camera, but suffice to say that Gwyn was NOT careful over the trot poles I was lunging her over. She was stepping on them, skipping them, it was a disaster. A hilarious disaster.

Tonight I resolved to lunge her on the flat, since it was dark out. I do have some flood lights to light the arena. See the diagram! I figured it might not be lit well enough to do pole work.

She worked pretty well for it being cold and dark. I focused on rating her trot back from the giraffe zoomies down to a forward trot with impulsion that had her really use her back. She was moving really well so I thought, what the heck, let's see how well she does with the poles. 

Saffron was racing around us with super donkey zoomies, which was hilarious and I REALLY wish I'd been able to catch it on video or in a picture. She was joining in on the lunging!

Anyway, we got closer to the trot poles and I sent her over them with a nice forward, but not giraffe zoomy trot and she. just. floated. Her back lifted her, she was careful, her feet went exactly where I wanted them to be. In disbelief, I sent her through again. Perfect feet, great lift through her back, again.

We did it a couple more times, she never touched a pole. I praised her and walked over and gave her scritches. We switched sides and boom, a repeat going the other direction.

The only thing I changed before I left the previous session was changing the poles to alternate raised ends. That's it. I didn't change distance at all. I think she just has to actually think about her feet when there's an added challenge level and it was too boring and easy for her to do on Sunday.  We took selfies at night and I resolved that this was not so bad and maybe I'll start riding at night during week. I walked back to the house a bit cold but elated that it worked so well.

Selfie with the phone flash.

Selfie in 'natural' light, far from the floodlights.

Selfie in the floodlight. It's a nice bright white, solar powered! I only turn them on when I want them on so they stay well charged.

Also a bonus for winter riding, the happy mouth bit is not super cold, LOL. I feel no guilt when I put her bridle on.

The trot poles that she was better at night over than in the day time. Dork.

Day 7 - Favorite Ribbon

Day 07- Your favorite ribbon won at a show and why


From Clover Ledge Farm

This, for me, is really easy to answer. Clyde and I struggled through Pony Club. As an off the track pacer with only Pony Club instruction we made slow progress through the levels and showing. There was one 3 Day PC Event where I was begging the Technical Delegate to let me continue with the Stadium Phase (It was a true 3 day, Dressage on the first day (DQ'd because I brought in a whip), Cross Country on the 2nd Day (too many refusals) and then Stadium.

Anyway, this isn't about that event, but it does kind of inform you, this horse and I struggled. I remember being at Pony Club camp and we had to switch horses and I was practically gleeful at how easy it was to canter the horse around and around and around the arena.

So back to the story at hand.

Every fall, a farm would host a schooling show with flat and jump classes. It was very popular with the pony clubbers. If you entered the series of the same category you could qualify for a champion ribbon.  You had a flat class, W/T/C, then jumping and maybe a third, I can't remember it's been well over a decade and a half. But I entered all the classes. I dolled Clyde up and into the ring each time we went.

He jumped his heart out, we were on point and we came away with the Reserve Champion Ribbon. Some of our critics were there watching, people who would ask my parents why they didn't just get me a better horse when they saw us struggling in lessons. At this show, they congratulated us on how far we'd come and how well we did. Suck it, Glastonbury. I was a chubby middle class kid on a free horse who could barely canter competing against upper class kids who wintered in Wellington and Ocala on 5 figure ponies. And I fucking won.

That is my favorite ribbon.

Day Six - Favorite Tack and Clothes

Day 06- Your favorite tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)


From Clover Ledge Farm


Okay. So as a VERY fluffy rider it is nigh on impossible to find things that fit and fit well without costing an arm and a leg.

So far, I am loving the size range of SmartPak pipers. I have a pair of show breeches and a pair of bootcut breeches (in purple!) that fit really well. I'm trying to respect our budgeting needs though, so I haven't gotten more.

Pretty much if it's available in purple, I will go out of my way to acquire it.

I love the Two Horse Tack set I got for Gwyn. It fits her well and seems durable so far.

My saddle I love too. It's a Thorowgood, fitted to Gwyn before we left Washington, though I should have the fit rechecked. I just need to find a saddle fitter. It is an all purpose though, so if we get more serious about eventing and dressage my plan is to get a dressage thorowgood.

I make my own saddle pads, don't really have a favorite brand. Um.

Like I said, things are hard to find in my size without being expensive, so I buy on the cheap where possible. Like my tall boots that I got for half off retail from Tack of the Day.

I also love the unicorn horn I have for Gwyn. That was a mother's day present a few years ago.

Eh, talking about stuff like this is not fun when you're fat.

Day 5 Blog Hop for NaNo

Day 05- Your first fall

From Clover Ledge Farm

I'm gonna break this up into two categories:  My first fall and my first fall off of Gwyn.

My first fall was when I was taking lessons at UConn. We were learning how to canter or do sitting trot or something and I just could NOT figure it out. They pretty much had me drop my reins and hold onto the pommel of the saddle to pull my butt into the seat.

Long story short, it didn't work. I didn't really develop a good seat until much later and many more lessons on Clyde. I did have a spectacular fall at UConn though, that ended with me at the ER and on crutches because I bone bruised my hip. Thankfully that's the worst I've ever had falling off a horse. It's not the worst I've ever had horse related though, that honor goes to Clyde and getting him to cross a bridge and he stepped on top of my foot. Not just the toes, the whole foot. No break but I couldn't walk on it for a while and used crutches until it healed.


Now, the story about the first time I fell off of Gwyn is hilarious.  Gwyn was still basically a baby and being broken and this was in Florida when she still belonged to Cheri. We were riding in an empty lot of land that was for sale and it was all overgrown grass. Like past the draft horse belly high. Gwyn and I were in the lead, just trying to enjoy ourselves when Gwyn tripped. Her feet had gotten tangled in the grass. She went down to her knees and I kind of rolled over her shoulder and gently landed on the ground.

Gwyn didn't know what to do. This was the first time anyone had fallen off her and boy was she concerned. Like checking up on me concerned. She hadn't moved her feet since I'd left the saddle and was sniffing me. I backed her out of the tangle and went in search of some kind of elevation in order to remount. But this is Florida and old orange groves and that was easier said than done.  We walked back out to the dirt road, which was a few inches lower than the grass but it wasn't enough to give me the height advantage I needed to remount.

Cheri ended up getting off to give me a leg up. She hoisted and up and into the saddle... and over the other side I went. Falling off Gwyn for a second time in less than ten minutes.

At this point Gwyn just looked perplexed and impatient. Like, "Come on guys, this isn't a very fun game, get back to riding already"

We ended up using the bed of a pick up truck from Cheri's husband as he drove by and all was well.

Day 3 and 4, Horsey Blog Hopping

Day 03- Your best riding

This is a hard one for me. I personally don't feel like I've had a day of best riding. I know I have so much more to learn and grow with and any progress I've made has been so small and gradual that it's hard to see the changes unless I compare it to where I was years previous.

The biggest thing I can think of is when I was in regular lessons with Jim and I was able to get Gwyn working consistently on the bit during the lesson. It's something I struggle with and that Gwyn struggles with. I'm not sure she has the muscle strength to do it right now because of how long we've both been out of regular riding work but I'm hopeful that I can change that.

I say that as all my plans for this afternoon are shot because it's thunderstorming. I was going to do a lunging session with her with some raised trot poles to help start redeveloping her topline.

Alas.

Maybe I'll get it set up for tomorrow.




Day 04- A ride that impacted your life

In general, riding is impactful broadly for me. I am in better moods after I've ridden, regardless of the quality of the ride and having horses around acts like an antidepressant.

Probably the most impactful ride was the one that I was forbidden from doing. When I was pregnant with Hazel, the blood clot and subsequent blood thinners meant that riding was really not a good idea. All of my doctors said to stop.

I tried to follow orders and worked on trick training and clicker training. I took Gwyn for hand walks on the trails while Kaylee was at preschool. But ultimately I found myself really not feeling good and ended up having an anxiety attack at a prenatal visit. Too much had been pulled out of my control and I wasn't able to cope as well since my usual coping mechanism was part of the things I wasn't allowed to do.

There was a glorious february day. I had a window of an hour or so where the temperatures climbed into the 50sF. I told Eric I didn't care anymore and that I was going on a trail ride. He knew, bless the man, that I needed it. So we made a deal, that I would check in regularly, and if I missed a deadline, he'd call 911.

It was the best damn ride. Gwyn was a little snorty, but seemed to realize that this had become something special and she better not blow it. We were all by ourselves and it was just... wonderful. I felt better prepared to tackle the stressors of the clot aftereffects. I found a doula and I took back control of my pregnancy as much as was possible.

And I started riding again. No more than 30 minutes, always lunging first to evaluate Gwyn's excitability. I aborted at the first sign of funny business from her. And if I was alone, always with a dead man's switch, checking in with Eric regularly. It was a life saver.

Day 2: BlogHop for NaNoWriMo

Day 02- The last time you rode a horse and what you did

Storm Clouds on the horizon

This was just a few days ago, probably more like a week now (Oct 24), and I wrote about it then! It was a bit of a toodle, with the intent of becoming something more but never really got there due to external factors. Gwyn and I did work on things and I feel like we were pretty efficient, especially given that I was limited on time.

I still want to know whose trail camera I found. I hope it was the neighbors who gave me permission to use their property as access to the farm fields. I still need to ask them for permission to cut back some weeds so I can get to the farm fields.

Oooh, I should text them now (done!). I also need to call the dealership and get the Big Blue Truck an oil change (also now scheduled! woot). And schedule a trailer maintenance.

Sorry, went a bit stream of consciousness there.

There's lots on my mind though. Maybe since I already wrote about this ride I'll just word vomit. That's mostly what NaNo is about anyway :D

I'm planning to ride this weekend. It's supposed to warm up, which is exciting. And be dry, which is even more exciting. If I can get up to weed whack I'll stay on property, but I might ask Eric if he's good with me going to a trail. In which case I'll stick close to home and do the Polly Ann or Watershed Preserve. Watershed preserve would likely be pretty in the fall, but so would Polly Ann. Polly Ann would be flat, so good for moving out, Watershed is a bit more technical but has WAY less trail, so it could become repetitive. They are about equidistant from home so drive time is negligible.

What I'd LOVE to do is start at the Leonard trailhead and go north and have Eric drive the truck up to the General Squier trailhead. It would be a one way ride and some decent training miles! (a little over 5 miles)

NaNoWriMo: Blogger Style!

Day 1 - When & Why You Started Riding

Via Clover Ledge Farm

 My mom has pictures of me at the local fair, you know, the one that comes to the suburbs and sets up in a parking lot, not even in a field because there's no open field big enough, riding the ponies that go around the modified hotwalker at a glacier pace.

I was obsessed with horses for a long while. I pestered my parents enough that my birthday presents were often trail rides at the local-ish riding stable. And then finally a series of lessons through the summer program at the University of Connecticut when I was ten. And I'd beg to go to camps where I could ride horses.  I have a picture somewhere of me at Asthma Camp (no joke! lol) that happened to have horses and I got very attached to a nice morab.

Then a lady at my church kind of heard that I was horse crazy. She invited me out to her farm where I met Baron and Pooh Bear, an ancient chestnut morgan gelding and a nearly ancient spitfire little black shetland. She taught me how to groom them while my Dad cleaned their stalls. It was under the pretense that I would draw Baron and Pooh, since she had won that in a church fundraiser auction. I did eventually get her a drawing.

But then one day a new horse showed up. He was a big, beautiful bay Standardbred and we just... connected. He was off the track, but he had the most wonderful heart and personality. I was the only one who could touch his nose and his whiskers and he whinnied every time he heard my Mom's car.

I started riding him. And he was mine to ride. No one else's. Then Jane, the old lady, suggested that I join the Pony Club. They were Proper. She had already taught me how to groom the Proper way. 

Clyde

So I joined the local Pony Club and started taking regular lessons. Jane would pick me up after school in her big red diesel truck and I would ride, either in her kind of grass arena or on the trails behind her property that connected to a local state park. I had miles of trail to explore. I was distance riding before I knew what distance riding even was.

My 'arena', not level, single dirt track, a couple of homemade jumps

 But I joined Pony Club and Clyde and I learned together. And we evented. Clyde LOVED cross country. Not so much dressage. He had trouble cantering and not pacing (off the track, remember) but we made so much progress together. He's who I credit with how well I ride now.

Standardbreds Can't Jump? I never knew that was a thing. This horse was excellent at it.

I threw my all into Clyde and Jane and Pony Club. They helped me survive my teen years. My one regret is that I wasn't able to take Clyde for his retirement. He lived out his days with Jane, she was forever homes for nearly all of animals so I know he was loved until the end. But she always said that I could have him if I had a place for him. I got Firefly too late. He had already passed.

1.5 Miles at home!

A coworker pointed out today that my truck's tabs were out of date... uh... oops?  I didn't have much to do at work, and I could renew online since it was past the expiration date (my birthday...) so I skipped the last couple hours of work and headed to the secretary of state. That didn't take long to do as there was barely a line and I was on my way home. It was blustery and occasionally raining but I found myself longing to be in the saddle and not minding the weather.

As I talked with Eric I mentioned how I could totally get in a quick ride if I didn't have to pick the girls up from daycare and he asked if I could be done by six... It was 4:50 pm and I was 5 minutes from home. I totally could do it.

Anyway, I got to ride :D

Rain Clouds on the Way

I ran inside as soon as I got home and peed, grabbed riding pants and headed downstairs to get my boots and two new bits I ordered. I wanted to use one of them today to see how Gwyn like them. She honestly doesn't appear to have a super big preference for what's in her mouth, at least not so far as I can tell, and I want something to remind her that she is supposed to turn when I ask her.

For now I tried the happy mouth french link three ring elevator. I've been using a french link baucher and she's been good in that. I've also got a mullen happy mouth 4 ring elevator. I was worried they'd be too small, but it seems that 5 3/4 fits her. So yay!

Anyway, I groomed quickly, tacked up and then took a very reactive horse outside to mount. I had to grab my step stool from the trailer but she was good and stood still, even if she was quivering from the wind and Saffron being upset about us being outside the pasture.

With a very forward walk we went out to the front pasture and did a circuit around. I could FEEL her wanting to spook, and I hadn't gotten any wiggles out with lunging (no time) so rather than stay by the road with all the cars and trucks driving home, I took her up the driveway to see if we could access the farm fields behind the neighbor.

Unfortunately, the brush has grown up a bit too much for our usual crossover spot, but the soybeans are all harvested so getting back out there will be possible, I just need to clear a spot. I tried a few other areas and walked into a trail cam spot. Oops? At least I was wearing my safety orange. I think I'm going to prioritize my safety orange rump rug creation.

I love this view.

Once the field turned out to be a bust I walked Gwyn back down to our property and decided to work on some road desensitization. I eventually want to be able to cross the road and ride on the high school property perimeter. Rush hour, even in Dryden, is still too much for Gwyn though. As I was coming back down I saw that Eric had arrived with the girls. I walked out to the road on the neighbors driveway and then to ours on the grass strip we have between pasture and road. Gwyn was okay, but very jumpy and much more spooky. She had been nearly relaxed after the trip up to the field and back. We stopped to say hi to the kids and again, Gwyn relaxed. Hazel wanted to follow us but Eric herded them inside the house. It wasn't pleasant weather really to stay outside with the kids.

Gwyn and I went back down the driveway to stand by the road a little bit while cars passed. Then I decided we'd work in the front pasture instead of having to get off, go in the pasture and get on again for the arena.

I focused on sitting up for myself, but also kept the thought of impulsion from behind driving Gwyn forward into my hands. I wanted bend and steady contact. We were infrequently achieving that when I was lessoning with Jim. I didn't have any steering issues in the pasture, which is good and Gwyn was stretching down a lot starting to seek contact out.

Time to be done!

I also worked on posting evenly and slowly and rating her back with my seat during the trot rather than hanging on her mouth. After a nice trot circle I had her hop over my cavaletti and she was lovely!  We did lots of serpentines and changes of direction. Then I went back to the walk and tried to get a good working walk, again with that impulsion from behind and bend through her body.

I thought it was a good ride, but having eyes on the ground will be more helpful. I've finally contacted a trainer and have a lesson scheduled for the beginning of November. She'll come to me for the first one at least. I hope it's a good fit. She's not specifically a dressage or eventing trainer, but at this point we need more of an all around person (or dressage) to help us out before getting into specifics.

My cavaletti. I have supplies to make one more, which I should probably do at some point.

So there's that! We walked back and I untacked. The horses were upset I left without giving them dinner, but they're nothing compared to what Hazel would say if I fed the horses without her... And I was back in the house at six pm on the dot! As agreed.

It was a good way to end the day :D

Oak Leaf Run 2017

What. A. Weekend.

And now that it's been a week, I have time to sit down and write about it!

My parents flew in from their new state of South Carolina, partly to help Eric with the girls while I was away, and partly because they were trying to stay busy until it was time to close on their new house. I took Friday off and cleaned the house a bit while packing up for the trip. I got on the road a couple hours later than I intended, but I honestly wasn't in a huge rush and I knew I'd be arriving before dark, which would be an improvement over the past two years, lol. 

Even though I wasn't planning to ride competitively this year, I WAS bringing Gwyn, come hell or high water. The drive over was great. We just reactivated the wi-fi in the truck so I had signal the whole way and listened to podcasts or talked to Eric as he drove home from work. The truck had wifi the whole weekend so I was able to check in with family when I had time (which was like.. .never)

Gwyn seemed to know that we were there to have fun. I got the highline set up first thing with hay on one end and water buckets on the other to encourage Gwyn to move around. She figured out she could move back and forth pretty quickly. The camp site was all sand and easily drive throughable. I like it! And right by the bathroom (the green building behind the haybag)

Toward dusk with the tent set up now with rainfly. I knew it was going to be rainy. I was hoping what I had would be enough (hah... hah... hahahahahah)  I figured I'd hunker down in the horse trailer if I really needed to. In fact, I purposefully swept it out and laid down my outdoor rug in the trailer just in case. I used it as a changing room. So roomy!

To keep an eye on Gwyn I stuck reflective wraps on her legs (loose) and braided in a glow stick to her mane. She was wearing a leather halter and also a rope halter. I used the leather halter for the high line rope.

Ride meeting on Friday. The weather was surprisingly mild for mid October in Michigan. 

My tent. This year I decided rather than layer on the blankets and cushions and sleep on the truck bed, I was going to bring the cot. It was the best decision. I had my sleeping bag and two blankets and I was plenty warm.

But then it was like this ALL DAY.

Camp site in the rain.The trail went past this site ALL day so Gwyn had to watch all the riders going out. It was either great training for her, or just pure torture and meanness on my part. I can't decide which. I know which one Gwyn thinks it is.

Us volunteers (I was the ride timer all day) hung out in the pavilion. Thank goodness for the pavilion. It would have been a miserable day if we hadn't had it. Papers stayed (mostly) dry and there were picnic tables for dry seating.

While it was raining all day, it wasn't ridiculously cold, which was good. I had brought my muck boots so my feet stayed cozy warm and dry, which pretty much kept me happy. I had a poncho but it started ripping halfway through the day and basically became useless. I wish I had remembered my rain jacket or an umbrella. Next year.

Cute horse I was asked to keep an eye on while his rider ran to the bathroom. He stopped eating to watch her go and wouldn't eat again until she came back. It was sweet.

The long wait into the night. This year was the first year Oak Leaf (that I'm aware of) has had a 75 mile ride. There was one rider who did the 75. We also had a planned 25 mile LD evening ride, which would have been amazing to do. The trail markers the ride manager's sister cooked up were amazing and reusable! Two people decided to do the evening LD. So we were still working through the Saturday potluck (Soooo much food!)

The rain got heavier and then it started to get windy AND thunder and lightning! Our riders persevered though! The rider finished her first 75 in the pouring rain and thunder and horse was still ready for more. Apparently she had been boasting at the last ride that she had never had to compete in the rain.

Don't tempt fate, kid. Look what it did to you. TO US.

Finished!

The next morning I woke up to no rain on the tent (which kept me dry!) aside from what the wind was blowing down from the trees. I helped call the start for the Sunday ride since I actually had a voice and can project really well. Then, after breakfast, I decided that I was going to ride my damn horse regardless of weather. It was still spitting and pouring rain in spurts so this was a big mental hurdle I had to deal with.

Gwyn seemed relieved when I started tacking her up. I hopped on and rode out on the camp loop and came back in as riders were starting to come into their hold. The ride manager got my attention and asked if I wanted to help unmark trails since I was already mounted.

Um. Yes!

So I was handed a bag and instructed which loop would be a good one to do (since I did want to get home eventually and had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me) So Gwyn and I unmarked some of the trail (Creek View Loop)  This was REALLY good practice for Gwyn, who was very confused at first why we kept stopping. Then she realized we were stopping at the colored streamers. THEN she started poking them all with her nose. She figured the game out! We pulled down plates that were stapled to the trees and the ribbons that were clipped to branches. At one point I dropped a ribbon and hopped off to grab it. Getting back on was also a good lesson for the Goober who had to stand still. And yay, with a decent bank I can still mount from the ground, all good things to know and do.

Loving on me while I try and pack up. She also knew the carrots were kept in the truck.

I was given a nice bottle of cider as a thank you when we got back. It's pretty much been decided for me that I time these rides that I can get to. I don't mind. It's a relaxing weekend, even with the rain (and my period, dammit) and this time I got to both help out and go camping with my horse and just be without kids for a little bit. 

The first trail I did was the black loop through camp. Then I took down trail markers on blue. The tiny heart is where my campsite was. It was about 2 miles all told of riding, but wonderful and relaxed and chill. And it stopped raining while I rode!

The drive home was uneventful and I came home to two sick kids who very much missed me, though Hazel was MAD at me for a bit and wouldn't let me touch her or play with her until nearly bed time. 

October Blog Hop Questions!

This list of questions is from Liz Stout over at In Omnia Paratus and I thought it'd be fun to play along too.

1. Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?
2. Do you clip your horse in the fall? Or maybe you wait a little longer? 
3. Have any costume riding events in October on/near/around Halloween? What will your horse be dressed as? What about yourself? What would you dress as if money/time were absolutely no issue?
4. Is your horse afraid of any autumn colors? Or maybe has a certain quirk that appears only in the autumn?
5. Pumpkin spice. It's everywhere right now. Find any natural pumpkin [squash] spice-esque recipes for your horse? 
6. We're getting to the end of the calendar year, any final few "big-bang" shows to look forward to?
7. Winter is coming. What are you doing to winterize your trailer/rig/car?
8. Do you have any autumn traditions you/your horse follow?
9. October in many places marks the beginning of deer hunting season. Does this affect your riding at all? Do you wear blaze orange or modify your schedule to accommodate the season?
10. What are you most looking forward to goal-wise as the final months of the calendar year approach?

1. Fall is definitely my favorite season! It's when I have my birthday and so far here in Michigan, it's when my favorite events that I'm most likely to attend occur!  (Oak Leaf Run, Hunter Pace, Hunter Trial, Polly Ann trail ride and this year, Metropark Express). As a kid my birthday weekend was also usually the weekend of the Pony Club camp.  I got bitten early by horse=fall=love.

The weather is usually the perfect temperature of not too cold but just crisp enough that your horse has some zip! Plus I love the colors as the trees change and walking through a forest path with a multicolored carpet of leaves.

2.  I do not clip at all in the winter months. Gwyn gets fuzzy as a yak if she so desires. We don't ride nearly often or at a high enough intensity to justify the clipping and I'd rather she be outside unblanketed as much as possible. If we were in training for some serious competition and needed to maintain condition through the winter I'd reconsider my stance. But for us, right now, unclipped and furry is the best way to be. If we happen to have a tougher ride, so be it, I'll take the time to cool her down. That's why I got a cactus cloth, after all :D

3. No events that want costumes. Actually, all my horse events are done now and we're still a few weeks out from Halloween. I really want to find a good glow in the dark paint though and paint a skeleton on Gwyn and Saffron for Halloween for people driving by on our road. I think it'd be a hoot!  When Gwyn had her snakebite face we really wanted to take her out as Two Face from Batman, or dress up as a Nazgul.  Scratch that, I still just want to dress her up as a Nazgul, fluttery gauze and gore and all. And then ride through town.

4. Nothing I've been able to pinpoint. Maybe dead deer? But that's not an always in autumn kind of thing.

5. Until this question was asked I was not aware that pumpkin was an option for horses. A quick google yielded a few recipes!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Horse Cookies 
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)

Ingredients:

4 cups whole oats
1 can pumpkin
2 cups water
2 tsp baking powder
1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp honey or molasses (optional)

Directions:

• Mix the pumpkin and water together well.
• Add the flour, oats, and spices.
• Add the optional honey or molasses.
• Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

6.  I just had my biggest big bang, at Oak Leaf and I opted to not compete and just help out and volunteer. I've really enjoyed myself the most volunteering and fitting in riding where I can. This year, I did ride some, but that's it's own post, and boy does OLR deserve its own post!

7.  I need to get my trailer checked out with it's regular servicing. That's one thing I've slacked on since owning it and and I've decided this year is the one where I don't put it off any longer. I just need to find a place to do it locally.  Most of my horse friends are not near me so getting a recommendation wouldn't be super helpful. I would also like to get tire covers this year for when my trailer is sitting dormant longer.

8. No specific traditions. Though facebook has reminded me that this is the time of year when I switch over to my heated water buckets. I've yet to do that. Our nights have only just now started to drop toward freezing temperatures. It's been an oddly warm fall.

9. YES. This is HUGE! If I want to be out trail riding I HAVE to be in orange.  This is an absolute safety thing. I've got a vest and reflective orange boots for Gwyn. I've also got the materials to make a bright orange rump rug for her to wear so we're even more obnoxious and unmistakable to a hunter.

10. At this point my goal is going to be to get to a lesson once a month and ride once a week. It's an effort to make time to do those things but I know we'll be better for it. I need to call a trainer back, who got back to me right before I left for OLR and set something up with her, or at least do a trial lesson to see if we're a good match.  So my biggest goal is setting myself up with a trainer.