Camping Multi days - shower set up

My hatred of showers not withstanding, there are times when the thought of a hot shower during the next vet check is THE only thing that keeps me going.

Both years I rode Tevis my mother set me up a shower tent at Foresthill. You can see the picture in this post here. Ever since that first shower at Tevis 2009 I've been OBSESSED with out to take a shower at the Dinner check of a 100 mile race. I literally feel like I've been given a new body and mind.

My mom's shower was based on a 5 gallon bucket of warm water, a pitcher to pour water over your head, and a wooden stool to stand on so you aren't in the mud. It was perfectly heavenly......but I had Cabelas member points begging to be spent, so I tried out a slightly more civilized method of taking a shower in the rough - the Zodi battery operated shower.

Pictured above is my shower "kit". Everything fits inside of the 5 gallon bucket. The home depot orange buckets are just as good as black for soaking up the sunshine and making the water HOT. Included in my shower kit is:

1. Small vial of shampoo - stays in the shower kit or I forget it. While rereading my 2009 Tevis story in preperation for a presentation I'm giving at a Rotary club tomorrow, I found the list of things I forgot at Tevis.....shampoo included.

2. Shower shoes - a pair of 2nd hand crocs. I've never had athletics foot or any other kind of fungus problem, and I don't plan on having it either. Thrush looks and smells nasty on my horse and I have no desire for my very own, personal fungus problem. If they are in the kit, I have no excuse for not having them when I decide to take my shower kit into a public shower to use.

3. A towel and washcloth

4. A Zodi battery operated shower - available at Cabelas here. Best 30 bucks I've ever spent. Trust me on this one. It POURS the water out the head with good pressure - no water saving hydrant here. I love it and everyone I've loaned it to loves it.

***TIP - store the batteries OUT of the Zodi to reduce the chance they will leak and ruin your awsome shower. Because you are dealing wtih moisture, this is a best practice, even though I haven't had an issue.

Above is a giant hot pot. It's enamaled and can be used over a camp stove or a camp fire. When I don't have enough sunshine to heat my bucket of water, this is what i use to heat it up. Another option is to heat up smaller pots of water to boiling and mix cooler water into the bucket.

***TIP - if you are carrying the bucket with hot water some distance to your shower location and will have cold water available, put the near boiling water in the bucket, carry it to your destination, THEN put the cold water it in. That way you only lug 3 gallons of water instead of five.

Let's assume you have assembled your kit, found hot water somewhere and have a bucket of water heated to perfection.....what are your shower options?

Scenerio 1 - Your event or ride is at a fair grounds or other facility where there are public showers that may or may not have hot water, and may or may not require you to scrounge up quarters.

Solution 1 - Carry your bucket, shower supplies, and shower into one of their stalls. Use their oh-so-conviently provided hooks for your towel and clothes and enjoy a hot shower in the privacy of your own shower stall.

***TIP - To conserve water, turn off the shower pump when soaping up, OR put the nozzle head back into the bucket so the water just circulates round and 'round until you are ready to pick up the head again.

Scenerio 2 - Privacy consists of the back of your horse trailer

Solution 2a - Set up near the back (closest to the big door where the water can drain out) of your horse trailer and set up as in solution 1. Even if there is stuff in the back of the trailer, there's very little overspray since you have ultimate control over where the water goes with the handheld shower head.

***TIP - if you are using soap, and aren't taking a shower in a facility with a drain, the responsible thing to do is to control and dispose of your soapy waste water properly, or buy biodegradable soap.

Solution 2b - Set up a more permanent shower in the back of your horse trailer by installing an over head hook to hang the head onto.

Solution 2c - If drainage is a problem, set up a muck bucket, or a shallow pan that will hold at least 4-5 gallons, and place a small plastic stool in it, to stand on (so you aren't standing in your waste water). If you are using the shower head as hand held, you will have less overspray, if you are using the solution 2b, plan on using a container that has a larger diameter.

Scenerio 3 - No horse trailer or permanent facilities available.....

Solution 3 - Because the water is so controllable, it's very doable to take a shower anywhere you can hang a sheet or two for privacy. I can hang fabric in a small area on one corner of my Walmart brand easy up (BTW - it's into its 3rd or 4th season. GREAT investment, especially now that you can get replacement covers for 1/3 of the price of a new one), stand on my stool inside of a feedpan to control mud, and take a shower in the middle of camp.

***TIP - I recommend NOT using light if taking a shower at night in this set up.....Otherwise you could be providing the camp with a very entertaining shadow show...... :)

***TIP - Everyone who has used my shower has averaged 2.5-3.5 gallons of water - both with long and short hair.

Living in 2011

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After living in 1863 for a weekend, I came home and got caught up for 2011. Today we are are going to talk about technology.

Shall we start with a short story?

"Updating From a Dinosaur Computer"

1. When you get your new computer, first off install Dropbox. Your old computer has dropbox, and thank goodness for that, since you lost your thumb drive a year ago, you haven't bothered replacing it. It's going to be a headache transferring your information since you are too cheap to buy a "fire-whatever" cable and dropbox is going to be a lifesaver. Too bad you forgot to put stuff IN dropbox before you went travelling and no longer have access to the internet on the old computer....

2. Evernote (free version) is the next priority - but since the desktop version of evernote wouldn't run on the old computer anyways - everything is online and there's no fear that the evernote data will be left on the old computer and not transferred.

3. After installing Garmin Roadtrip, and realizing that mysteriously every single one of your GPS tracks and other GPS data from the last 5 years DID get sucked into the black hole that represents the dinosaur computer, and are gone forever....you take a break and decide to do more web based applications.

4. Time to move onto social networking. Twitter is easy to sign up for, and after doing a few test tweets, following some threads, and installing the tweet button on the blog, you quickly realize that keeping up with the blog AND twitter AND facebook AND google Buzz AND running Boots 4 Mel AND keeping the website updated AND passing vet school....is a bit ambitious. You run to TwitterFeed and sync the blog to twitter and facebook, and sync twitter to facebook. Then you run over to facebook and figure out how to stop importing blog posts from blogger to facebook - because let's face it, it's just annoying to have a blog post as a status update 3 times. Then, head over to Tweetdeck and attempt to consolidate Google Buzz, Facebook, and Twitter in one desk top application. Realize that while Google buzz is linked to Blogger, it is NOT linked to Twitter, but the thought of linking and testing ONE MORE THING is utterly exhausting and decide to do something easier - like wash solar panels and possibly the car - instead.

5. After teaching the puppy that the couches are not her personal lounging beds, get the bright idea to start backing up the new computer NOW. Take your external harddrive that you SHOULD have been doing full backups on (but instead you only did documents and pictures because it was "easier" and completely missed the GPS data) and start up time machine.

6. Next, go on over to the Rapidweaver website, because at some point this summer you are SURE you will have time to finish that website....You were running version 3 on the dinosaur because it wouldn't support v. 4. You realize that in the meantime they have come out with version 5. You aren't sure whether to wail or rejoice - version 4 was a free upgrade with your purchase of 3, and 5 is going to cost you some $. When you find out you purchased version 3&4 a mere 2 weeks before the cut off to upgrade to 5 for free, you settle on studied indifference.

7. Enough with the "tools"! you say. "Where's my fun stuff?????". Download Overdrive to all devices (itouch, ipad, computer) and Adobe Digital Editions to the computer and read a library book over a glass of wine in the afternoon with sleeping puppies underfoot.

8. Decide that the product name "ipad" is just as bad now, as when you were making fun of it when the product was first announced. Your ipad's name is now "Polly", based on a series of rather complicated associations based on ipad = eye patch = pirate = blackbeard (except your ipad is white), therefore it has to be named after his parrot.

9. Realize that while you are all set up for the creation of your media empire, you have done precious little to ready your devices for their stated purpose - school. You know, that little thing that has completely taken over your life for the past year, and will continue to do so with copious amounts of debt for the next 5 years. Find a (free) notetaking app call Noterize and do a couple of practice note sets using dropbox and the document file within the ipad. Realize you are going to need a stylus and spend WAY TOO MUCH time on amazon getting totally distracted. Find a stylus and a cover for the ipad and computer (all 130 students in my class have the same computer and we were advised to put stickers on our nice new toys). Yes, you could have just put a bumper sticker on them - but since you are realized that you keep your electronics 5-7 years, you would really like all these devices to come out on the other side of vet school more or less intact. The dinosaur sulks in the corner - he didn't get any fancy case. "Did you EVER clean this computer?" my cousin asks as she painstakingly wipes down the computer and keyboard of the dinosaur, which has found a deserving home.

10. Decide that you really have been doing this too long, when you can't figure out how to delete ipad docs - and when you google it the answer is "hit the delete button on your keyboard".

11. Download the Perfect Reader app (I have the free version), find out it doesn't do what you want (read Adobe Digital Editions) and decide to keep it anyways because it looks cool.....

12. Look at the Remember The Milk app (again with the free version) and realize that you haven't even completed one "todo" item that was actually on the list to be completed today....

13. As if you haven't wasted enough time today, start researching PAID apps that you are going to buy with your apple rebate that you haven't got yet - iwork, airdisplay - and then go one step further and research an app that hasn't even come out yet.

14. It's now approximately one hour past your bedtime. Change out of your PJ's, eat breakfast, and decide that tomorrow will be better. Because somehow you will be more productive now that you have desktop notifications EVERY SINGLE TIME someone does something on twitter, facebook, or Buzz......You fall asleep while contemplating how much more efficient technology makes us - you skipped all meals, only wore one set of clothes, and utilized less oxygen since you were stationary all day...

15. The next morning try and actually use the new technology to write a post. Bonus points if it actually has to do with the stated subject of the blog.


Most people reading this have some sort of online presence - through either a blog, twitter, or facebook. And for most of us, we use these online groups to share, learn, and vent about a favorite subject - horses.

Yes, I have readers who are decidedly NOT horsey and for some strange reason find us horse people entertaining enough to stick around, BUT, for the most part we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the love of the horse, and the desire to be with like-minded people.

There is not enough time in the entire freakin' universe to utilize all available technology - how do you chose which media to follow and be a part of?

Deciding what technology to utilize and how to best to use the technology available depends on your online goal. Education? Self improvement? Just for fun? Meet new friends? Stay connected with old ones? A goal is important because it keeps you focused and efficient. Trust me when I say there is not enough time in your life to do everything. I can't even get through a single SUMMER and accomplish everything on the list....

When I started my major online presence it was with the goal to improve my narrative writing. Even as the fringe benefits added up, that remained my central goal. I accomplished my goal through a blog that told the story of my horsey life. There is only so much time I can devote to something that doesn't pay the bills, and so I tended to ignore technology that didn't fit into this goal - such as twitter and face book.

Changes in my life (and accomplishing several long term goals), and finally updating my devices so that I can fully participate online, is a perfect opportunity to revisit what my online goals are....

I want to help people. Endurance is a rough sport to get into, in part because there are very few accomplished people in endurance that can effectively serve as mentors. Many riders that are getting started in endurance rely on the internet for information. I can remember scouring the sites I found, such as endurance.net, and participating in online forums and email lists to glean tidbits that would get me through my first ride. I love endurance and plan on doing it for the rest of my life. At some point I hope do become an accomplished endurance rider and someone who should be serving as a mentor - but in the meantime I can create an online presence that provides that new rider with an organized resource.

To accomplish my new goal it is time to bring in other technology (such as twitter) and finish the website, as well as complete several other exciting projects that support this blog and the main website.

I want to see every reader of this blog succeed in their goals - whether they are horsey goals, music goals, or personal life goals. Technology can help you do this!

Check out some programs I use, most of which are free. I encourage you to take some time to sit down, think about your goals, and perhaps discover a new tool or two that will make you more efficient with your computer time, or be able to reach a larger audience. Often, just clarifying the goal can re-motivate you to post on your blog regularly or get around to that really cool project.

If you have a computer program or an app you are in love with, please post in the comments!

Postscript - two dollar solution

A postscript to the two dollar solution.

Remember I promised a video? Here it is!



You can hear just a bit of panic in my voice at the end of the video as I realize that she's headed for the pasture.....and yes, the ball fits under the horse fencing (although not the perimeter fencing on the rest of the property, which is the fence we are trying to prevent her from going under).

A side note - this is my very first youtube video upload! I'm trying to incorporate new media such as youtube and twitter. A complete list of where I can be found on the web will be maintained in the sidebar in the blog.

A short film

When I created this blog, it was with the goal of sharing my journey of endurance riding, and highlighting some equestrian aspects of the civil war period. Thus the name "Boots and Saddles" and the original tag line of "More than just a bugle call".

What we are asking our horses to do in endurance riding isn't so different from what the cavalry (and to a lesser extent, artillery) asked their horses to do in the 1860's. Instead of "re-inventing the wheel" for our relatively new sport of endurance, I think it can be valuable to use history when horses were asked to do similar feats as a starting point for our research, combined with the current theories and ideas today.

Although not directly related to the idea of endurance or cavalry, attached is a youtube video that might be of interest. This was filmed at the Duncan Mills Civil War Days, an event that the California Artillery Society organizes. About half way through the video there's footage of me driving the ambulance and discussing my role in an interview that I don't even remember doing.

I believe this footage was filmed about 2 years ago.

Enjoy! Link here (I'm at the halfway point, about 3 minutes into the film)

Full link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeBKHXo9SQM

Have a plan for the unknown

“Have a plan for the unknown”,

my trainer said, during the preparation for the Pebble Beach show.

Something will happen – and you won’t know what it is. Your horse jogs during your medium walk. You forget your test or maybe go off course and the judge doesn’t ring the bell. Your horse spooks, or bucks, or does something it’s never done before and it surprises you – and not in a good way.

If you don’t have a plan for the unknown, your instincts will take over, and those instincts may or may not be the right ones. Your body curling into a fetal position is less than effective on a bucking or spooking horse. Panic and stress is less than useful for clear thinking while trying to decide what the best thing is to do next.

So have a plan for the unplanned. When your horse does something unexpected, tell yourself that your reaction will be to sit back and sit up, and push your leg down and long. This is the correct response in 99% of the unplanned horse situations, if not all of them. Visualize this response. Practice this response. Make this response your own. Do it until this response is now your instinctive response. Revisit it often.

Do this is your non-horsey activities too. I have a bad habit/instinct of meeting some new situations and unexpected difficulties with a high, un-called-for level of stress. This level of stress makes it difficult, if not impossible, to think clearly or communicate. I can’t talk. I want to burst into tears. Dealing with that much stress sets off adrenaline and fear pathways in my brain, even if the situation is a non-physical danger. In fact, I deal with physical danger far better than I do with unexpected circumstances. Part of the issue is I deny early on that the situation is causing stress or causing the other related responses – meaning I don’t even try and head off the situation until well past the “RED DANGER” point of complete mental overload. What do I need to do? I need to have a plan for the unplanned. A way to react before I’m even aware that I need react. Much like sitting a spook where you don’t have to time evaluate whether your position is good and your leg long, I don’t have time to critically evaluate my reaction before I’m in the middle of it. Through visualization, practice, and planning I can install new software in my brain to deal. A plan for the unplanned and unexpected. One that does not involve totally freaking out.

If you can think back on a situation and wish you had reacted differently, start doing the steps TODAY that will help you to do so when it happens again. Chances are, you will repeat your past behavior and keep reinforcing those reaction pathways if you leave it up to chance. There’s been a couple situations that have happened recently that I wasn’t exactly proud of my reaction. No harm came of it – but I think we all have certain images we try to live up to, and when I do something that contradicts that image (for example – of being cool, collected, relatively unflappable, and able to meet the unexpected with a sense of humor) it bothers me. I’m proud of the horse-women I am today and it has only come about through a lot of thought, effort, and visualization of my reactions in various situations. If I spent just half the time on my non-horsey life, that I did as a rider, I’ll bet I spend a lot less time freaking out, and a lot more time being able to just enjoy life. Because I’m pretty sure I’m not going to DIE it doesn’t go to plan – I just have to convince my brain of that fact.

Sometimes I think we need a little help with the reprogramming. It was not my intention to use this post to talk about this, but it seems that’s where it’s going, so I’m going to stride boldly onward.

I’ve been seriously contemplating my reactions to various life situations over the past year. While working, while not working. I’ve taken into account the various physical ailments that have reared their ugly head over the past year – migraines, gluten intolerance, seasonal affective disorder that has steadily grown worse each year.

I think that intermittent stress is good – I perform my best and strive for the impossible, I’m incredible focused and I feel alive, and I accomplish more than I ever dreamed possible. That being said, I seem to operate under an inherently high stress state most of the time. It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do – I create the stress internally if I don’t have an outside stressor. Up until this point it was manageable. Then something happened over the past year. It could be that I’ve had more major life changes in the past year, as opposed to the last 5 years. I seem to do very well with the intermettint stressors – crisis at work, riding the Tevis, researching a new sport, getting a new animal. I seem to do less well with life changes – career change, moving, relationship changes. Even if those changes are positive. I thought that when I quit my job most of the stress would disappear, but that hasn’t proved true. I thought things would settle down after 2 months. They haven’t. I spend very little time being able to just relax in my own head and not being wound up, irritated, or worried about something.

Here’s the problem – vet school is purported to be extremely stressful. The school term happens to coincide with the worse time of the year for my SAD – which has not shown long term significant improvement with supplements. Stress is also a trigger for my migraines and how well I tolerate gluten and other foods. Vet school lasts 4 years. I need to get to the other side of vet school intact mentally. I want to get the most out of vet school – Not something I’m sure I can do and also manage ME.

I am considering that I have tried my best to manage this without a formal diagnosis, medication, or other professional help. Most of it was fear that a diagnosis or prescription related to depression or other mental health issue would limit me in certain careers. At 26 it’s highly unlikely I will be going into the military or law enforcement (yes, this was a consideration) and I will have plenty of career choices where it won’t matter. I am considering that I would really like to still have my boyfriend at the end of vet school – and there’s only so much someone can take of a person who is moody, unreasonable, and irritable – even though they might be the most understanding and accommodating person in the world. I had always thought that my problems were the cost of being very very very good in other areas of my life. That you couldn’t be really good at something and not pay a price somewhere else. I’m willing to give up that part of me, if it means I can stop driving myself crazy.

I hate Hate HATE the idea of taking a pill every day. I hate the idea that I wasn’t able to will myself to change. But I hate more the idea that I will go through the next 4 years in the same state that I’ve lived the last decade.

Recently, several people have come to me – both knowing what I’m going through, and not knowing – and given testimonials on how deciding to take a pill every day has changed their life, and while it was hard to admit they were “broken”, were so happy with who they are now.

So apparently, although I was able to train myself to sit a spook, there’s a limit to how much I can override who I am. I am committed to taking a pill 9 months out of the year while I’m in school. I won’t do it unless I can take a very low dosage pill that will require minimal “weaning off” period. I will reevaluate after each summer. On August 15^th, when my school insurance kicks in, I will, for the first time, admit to my doctor that I have an issue and will ask for help.

It’s hard to talk about this. The reason I am posted publically (and it’s REALLY public now that these posts are linked to my facebook page!) is the hope that someone else might read this, and it might help – just like my friends sharing their stories helped me.

On a lighter note…..

Tess is growing up so fast. She has a vest now, so she knows whether she’s in “work” or “play” mode. While I was working on my computer, she was on a towel in a “down-stay” at my feet. For 2 ½ hours. She was so good!!!!!! For the first 10 mintues or so she was fidgety but then she just totally chilled – played with her toy quietly for a while and then took a nap. I can’t believe 6 weeks ago she was a little terror who had to be contained in her kennel unless all eyes were on her (and my body poised for leaping and grabbing). Tess-the-puppy is growing up so fast, even while I lament that it is taking her FOREVER to grow out of whatever-undesirable-behavior-she-is-currently-doing (right now – submissively peeing whenever and wherever she greets someone). One thing that I’m doing is appreciating her “dog-y-ness”. She is rarely disobedient, but will sometimes be overcome with instinct. If she gets her nose or eye on something across the field, I cease to exist and no amount of calling “come” will matter. She isn’t ignoring me – the call of that bird just so overwhelming it overrides everything else at this point in her development and she isn’t capable of coming to me at that instant. It’s my job to set her up for success, so if I’m negilegent in that she is allowed to be in a situation where instinct will overcome reason – then that’s my fault. I’m trying to minimize those types of situations, and salvage them when I they do occur (this morning that meant sprinting through an orchard after her and when her concentration finally broke and she RAN towards me when I said come, give her a treat, pick her up, and put her on a leash). So I’m walking that fine line between being fair to the dog, while also being consistent and clear with what I want. Because she improves every day – both with commands and how she interacts with me and others – I have to conclude that so far I’m on the right track.

I am LOVING my new computer. No longer is everything I do electronically an exercise in patience! This morning I borrowed my aunts internet connection and loaded all the programs onto the new computer, that I treasured on my old computer…. Roadtrip (Garmin), Dropbox, Rapidweaver (they came out with an update! Wheeee!), as well as transferring all my files. Many of the new programs that had come out didn’t run on my pre-intel mac computer so I’m doing a lot of “catch up” (for example, Evernote). I don’t tend to update my computer or other electronics very often – so when I do it’s like being in a candy store – it does this, and This, and THIS! Wow!!!!! It was a HUGE chunk of (required by the vet school….) money to upgrade my system to this – but at least I can have fun with it before it becomes an instrument of torture on August 15^th.

You probably won’t hear from me until next week – unless I suddenly get copious amount of draft posts done and scheduled. I’ll be at an event this weekend, returning on Monday.

Impressions of Pebble: Day 3

Day 3 is the day I’m most proud of. This was my last and final day in the show ring.

I had an incredibly hard time in the warm up arena. My first ride was early – 9am – and as it worked out, I needed to warm up Zach by myself with coaching from my trainer on the ground (as opposed to her doing the first bit of riding as had happened the previous 2 days). It fell apart quickly, and stayed that way for an hour. Over and over I tried to “get back in the game”. Over and over I failed. More than once my trainer called me over to the rail and attempted to get me back to where I was at the end of day 1. I tried trying, I tried not trying. I tried humming, smiling, frowning, relaxing, sitting up straight, zoning out, and concentrating. It just wasn’t happening. I wanted to quit. Badly. But as my life wasn’t in danger and I wasn’t going to lie in order to go back to the barn and throw a pity party for myself, I just kept going. Then a miracle happened. Literally minutes before I went into the dressage court it all came together. As I finished my lap around the arena and as they rang the bell (signal in dressage to enter the court and start the test – in this case they were using a truck horn…) I had it. Me and Zach were going to rock this thing.

And we did. We had an AMAZING test. I was so proud of us both. I would have been proud of that test anywhere, anytime – but what made it more special is that I got Zach to that point that gave me that test on that morning. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t perfect, but we got it down, and then totally rocked it.

As I had feared, the score did not reflect this. I’ve shown under this particular judge several times and knew that I would probably have to enjoy this day of showing for my own personal accomplishments and not rely on a score. A number of people came up to me afterwards and let me know how nicely the test was ridden which was very appreciated. It was also comforting to know that EVERYONE was being scored exceptionally low. Classes were being won at the lower levels by 62’s. The majority of the riders in a class would get 50’s. Riders that had never before gotten below a 60 were getting scores in the 50’s. Still, I wanted a 60. I’ve never received a 60 at a recognized show. Because this was my last chance at a 60 for a very long time, I made the decision to ride my second class of the day, under the same judge for that chance.

After studying the comments on my test, we decided to ride Zach on a longer, lower frame. I wanted to demonstrate that Zach was moving freely, reaching for contact. The goal was to show a significant difference between my first level test in the morning and my training level test in the afternoon – thus demonstrating to the judge that I had read her comments and had attempted to change my ride according to her preferences.

Zach and I were both fatigued. But again, going into the dressage court and doing our laps before the bell, I knew that we were going to have another awesome test (who says you can’t improve your performance by the power of suggestion?). I really concentrated on pushing him forward to the connection and Zach responded beautifully, reaching down and really showing the judge that he in indeed WAS on the bit. It was a solid test and ridden very differently from my test in the morning. Before looking at my score, which I knew I would be disappointed with (and I was), I told my trainer that I was proud of my second test for the following reason – I made changes and rode it differently. I was a good enough rider that I would decide that for THIS test I would rider longer and lower and deeper. And I did. I could ride a horse in more than one way. I didn’t just go out there and say “well, this is correct so this is the way I’m going to ride” – I was able to make changes, while still preserving the correctness of the ride.

As I had suspected, the score was low. However, my biggest disappointment was that both my tests (judges comments) read identically. No change whatsoever.

Does a small part of me want to immaturely scream and jump up and down and stomp my feet?

Absolutely.

But I’m not going to. Because what I want to the legacy of this show to be is how I had a wonderful test after refusing to let myself go to a “bad place” and I succeeded in a warmup that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I want to remember that I followed that up with a test in which I demonstrated I know more than one way to ride.

I couldn’t have done either test a year ago, 6 months ago, or even a 1 month ago. Of course I’m a better rider, but I am a better person because of my trainer and Zach too. I was able to congratulate my teammate on a job well done, even though we were in all the same classes, sincerely and without jealousy – yet still be a competitor to the core. I was able to not take the judges scores personally, and accept that a different judge may have given significantly different scores – and that’s just how the show world works. I was able to let go of a goal without any drama and appreciate what I did accomplish – and not let what I didn’t accomplish spoil the milestones I did achieve.

Pebble Beach Impressions: Day 2

If Day 1 was recognizing the base similarities between endurance and dressage, Day 2 at Pebble Beach was illustrating the extremes that each sport represents – and why that isn’t such a bad thing.

I think the tendency is to try and make all the activities that we as individuals do, to suit us. For example. The endurance rider may sit around and complain about the “uptight-ness” of the dressage world, and the pomp and circumstance that accompanies riding a simple pattern in a court with artificial footing. The dressage rider may lament the “slip shod” methods of endurance riding and the lack of image and presentation in endurance. “Take some pride!”, the dressage rider may say to the endurance rider. “Loosen up!”, says the endurance rider to the dressage rider.

However, I think there is value in preserving the extremes of the sports. While my individual tendency is to “freshen up” my image in endurance, and roll my eyes at the unwritten social rules of dressage – I think that given 3 wishes, I would keep endurance casual and “rouge” – even if I wince at the quantities of duct tape and baling twine. I would keep dressage full of customs and tradition. Much like I wouldn’t trade my favorite pair of jeans in for anything….it’s still fun to go to the ball in a fancy dress sometimes too.

So while I don’t think polo shirts or shirts with collars are a bad thing in endurance rides – I’m not likely to vote to make it a requirement either, even if it means that endurance riders get to endure being viewed as a collection of fashion mistakes. Likewise, as much as I like my colors, I am not likely to don any of the new approved colors in my dressage tests. If I get to the upper levels, I can’t promise that I won’t ride my test in a top hat. I’ve come to respect the traditions of dressage, even if I thought they were a bit silly before. Does dressage go to the extremes in the bowing and nodding and smiling to grump officials and judges and never feeling free to discuss or even comment on a situation? Probably. However, I’ve also never seen a screaming match between a contestant and judge at a dressage show, and there’s a touch of elegance to the whole shebang.

My advice is this. When you are exploring a new horse world, don’t try and change it. While we can all agree that consideration for horse welfare is paramount, accept the other idiosyncrasies that make the sport what it is. Have fun with your colors and put a Mohawk on your helmet for your endurance ride, and then go and play dress up at the dressage show. It’s not a bad thing.

My first day of showing went well. I got my “qualified rider score” which was the original goal, many months ago when I decided to ride this horse and show one last time. Unfortunately, the 60 score remains elusive – but the judging overall is tough this year and it’s definitely not just me. The high point of the day was receiving an EIGHT on one of my movements in my First Level test. As this was a tough judge who gave me 5’s and 6’s (and a few 7’s and 4’s…..), I felt that the 8 was well deserved and I’m proud of it. Tomorrow I show the same tests. Based on what the judge has historically placed emphasis on in the past, I’m not expected to score exceptionally well - however I may just surprise myself! Sometimes weird stuff happens when you just go out with the goal to have a blast during your test.

I watched the trot ups (or “jog ups”) for the FEI horses this morning, which was fascinating. Superficially it resembled endurance ride trot outs, but were full of pomp and circumstance. The horse and rider were turned out beautifully, and potted plants were set up for the trot out lane. Horses trotted (or bucked or did other shinnagins…) in a straight line (supposedly….) and then someone over the intercom would announce the horse’s name and that they were “accepted”. Of course all the horses were accepted, because in dressage you do not present your horse if there is even a question of it not passing inspection. Watching this process was actually what inspired the thoughts at the beginning of the post. At first I was a bit disdainful of the “jog up” because it didn’t appear to have any real purpose other than cause horse and rider to get up absurdly early in order to be braided and turned out properly. However, I soon realized that it wasn’t as much about passing a vet exam, like in endurance, but a nod towards tradition, and the show, and presenting a certain picture – and there’s nothing wrong with that, and I actually enjoyed it.

I ended my day by watching a Grand Prix Freestyle, which took my breath away. She was the last ride of the day, and the precision and grace in which her and her horse travelled across the arena was absolutely amazing. May we each have a relationship with our horses, that at least in our imaginations we can perform similar feats of harmony.

Impressions of Pebble: Day 1

For all the apparent differences between the world of dressage and the world of endurance, the fundamentals are the same. Yesterday the “Buzz” was about the footing. Whether it was suitable for the upper level horses, whether it would be improved by the next day, and whether horses would be scratched or ridden based on the footing conditions.

Have you ever scratched or not started a ride due to footing concerns on the trail? Maybe a surprise rainstorm blew in and now it’s much muddier than you had anticipated. Did you grit your teeth and ride anyways, after taking as many precautions as you could? Did you scratch and decide to ride another day? Were you trying to qualify for an upcoming ride, which complicated your decision? You may have more in common with a dressage rider than you think.

At the core of each sport are people who care about the welfare of their horses. Day 1 at Pebble was about the common core for both sports. There are recreational dressage riders, just like there are recreational endurance riders for whom to “finish is to win”. However in both sports there is also a subset that are performance oriented – who are interested in how to get the best performance from the horse, who are interested at qualifying and competing at the national or international level. And it’s OK. There is room for both types of riders in both sports.

There are definitely differences between endurance and dressage but I think that these differences are more superficial than maybe it seems at first. For example, dressage operates under different drug rules than endurance does, a horse doesn’t necessarily have to pass a vet exam to perform in the ring (although an obviously lame horse can be excused from the ring, and the rules differ if you are competing under FEI rules). However, just like endurance riders, dressage folks are very aware of, and care about the longevity of their horses and careers. On Saturday I will get to watch a very special ride – a century ride. A century ride is where the combined ages of the horse and rider is one hundred years. Just like most endurance riders are making decisions about their horse management and veterinary care based on a combination of performance, horse welfare, longevity factors, so are most dressage riders.

The temptation to form a strong bias based on a first impression is powerful, however just like I would caution people not familiar with endurance not to form an opinion about endurance based on watching an “endurance rider” at their boarding stable, or attending a local endurance ride that may or may not be sanctioned, I would caution riders who are only superficially familiar with the dressage world from doing the same. At Pebble Beach I see sound, happy horses that love their job, riders who are having to deal with both success and disappointment, and a genuine affection for these 4 legged beasts that make the sport possible. Sounds familiar eh?

Day 1 I did not show, but did jump on my (my trainer’s horse that I am showing) horse to hack and see what the status quo was. The status quo was….not desirable. He was quite tense and “up”. At home he’s usually laid back, however I was warned and expected him to be more forward at the show – something I was actually looking forward too. I wasn’t able to get him to relax and a tension cycle started between us – and once recognized that happening I walked over to my trainer, who was schooling who own horse and asked for help. So very nice to have that option! My trainer hopped on him and warmed him up a bit, and then I got on and had a very nice ride. I’m writing this post on the morning of day 2 and I have yet to get into the saddle today. I’m optimistic that after getting out yesterday he will be good to go and I won’t have to deal with any nonsense! With this horse, to get him to release tension you have to let go. The more tension, the more you have to let go. This is actually quite hard when your body is yelling “NO!” and you have to force yourself to throw the reins at him, sit up straight, relax, and smile. This is not a mean horse in any way – he just hasn’t shown in a while and seems to think this is a 3 day event! :). I have 2 tests on day 2 and 2 tests on day 3. Today I will be focusing on accuracy and relaxation on my tests, tomorrow (day 3) I’ll see how fancy I can get and see if I can get some 8’s! Wish me luck.

Two dollar solution

I trimmed Farley's feet today and the plan was to show you'all updated feet pictures.....instead I got distracted by.....my two dollar solution to keep Tess from slipping under gates and through fencing at my parents.

What was the solution you ask?

Here's another angle just so you can be sure what I've done.

Why yes, I DID attach Tess to a Walmart bouncy ball.

I've decided that puppies ARE fun. :)

It didn't drag on her at all, didn't slow her down, and most of the time she didn't even notice tagging along behind her. It did make her VERY visible and gave me those few seconds I needed to grab her if she started to go through the fencing into the neighbors.

The only one not howling in laughter and very appreciative of my genius was Farley.

Grumpy old woman.

She apparently thinks little white dogs attached to red balls are an abomination.

I took a video, but since I need to do something with my day besides wait for the video to upload to blogger, that will have to wait for another time.

Farley's feet got trimmed, but since nothing competes with a puppy, the camera didn't even come out of the case.

Product Review - Kensington Sheet

Farley in her favorite spot in the pasture. She looks relaxed but in reality she's waiting until I'm close enough to justify galloping away.....

Kensington labels this product as a "Protective Sheet", instead of a fly sheet - however most people in my area call it a fly sheet.

The flies in my parents area are incessant and vicious. They leave little welts on Farley's skin and Farley (obviously) is unhappy about this. In Turlock I successfully controlled flies by applying fly spray a couple of times a week. Just misting her lightly was enough, combined with a flymask. However, it became obvious very quickly that this protocol wouldn't work in hernew home. Farley was miserable and was very tense and tight with her nostrils squeezed up in disgust. I'm not a fan of keeping sheets and blankets on my horses for extended periods of time, however sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks.

Side view of the sheet

I've used the Kensington for almost a month and can fully recommend it without reservations. Here are my observations and comments.

The Kensington flysheet will not be the cheapest fly sheet you buy, however there were several factors that I considered that made it worth $120 (Horse.com).

• Durability - These blankets are tough. My friends havesheets that are 10 years old and going strong. They aren't nice to them either - the sheets go on in the summer and rarely come off. Farley is easy on sheets and blankets (hasn't destroyedoneyet....) and I fully expect this sheet to last me 10 years or more and be the last flysheet I purchase for Farley during her lifetime. And if it doesn't? That brings us to our next point -
• Warranty - If the blanket becomes damaged, return it to Kensington and receive a replacement blanket for half the cost. I think that this isa great warranty and for once in my life I actually filled out the warranty card and turned it in so that if I ever had issues, they would have my receipt on file.
• My fly spray is $50-60/gallon. Ignoring for the moment the non monetary costs of applying 1-2 gallons of chemical onto my horse each summer over a period of 5 months, Even if the blanket only lasted 5 years it will have paid for itself in flyspray.

Front view of the sheet. I swear the world isn't crooked - it's the camera :)

The Kensington flysheet offers breathability as well as protection from flies. Even with multiple 100+ degree days, there are no sweat stains on Farley and she does not appear to be overheated. The sheet has not changed her habits during the day - she still stands in the shade and sun according to her "schedule". I didn't think my color choice through and chose a red/black plaid according to our endurance colors, which aren't exactly known to be the coolest colors for being in the sun, but it doesn't seem to matter. We had a thunderstorm recently where it POURED all day (unusual for this area in June) and the sheet performed just fine. Even with this breathability, it provides excellent protection against flies. There is not a welt or mark on her body - which contrasts with her neck which is not protected, except by her mane and flyspray. Even though the sheet hangs down her sides, the flies are not landing on her belly - even though it isn't technically covered. I'm not sure why, but I'll accept it as a gift!

Another side view

Even though the packaging shows a fleece wither cover (and highlights it as a feature), my blanket came with a padded NON-fleece wither pad. This makes the blanket much more "country friendly" as Farley's pasture has lots of foxtails and other weeds that LOVE fleece anything and hitch a ride. The fabric of the sheet does not appear to pick up stickers and weeds and even though has been on the horse continuously for 4 weeks, still looks brand new. I know the color of my blanket is new this season so I'm not sure if some of the other colors from past seasons still have a fleece section. Don't assume that the picture on the packaging is correct and try to check it out for yourself, or talk to a knowledgeable sales rep.

Back view

The sheets run very close to true to size, to perhaps a bit small. Order exact size, or if you are between sizes, definitely round up. All of Farley's turnouts are 72" which tends to fit her good to a bit large, so that's what I ordered in the Kensington. It fits back to front perfectly, I wouldn't want it any smaller. The neck and chest is cut very generously, which is hard for Farley - she has a big wither and the top of blankets tend to slide down to the base of the wither and "stick" there. I'm always worried that it will create a pressure point there. However, this material is "slick" enough it seems to slide well enough that there is no mark or pressure there. The sewn "darts" in the butt of the blanket are abit baggy - but we all know that Farley has no butt! I think that the blanket would fit a larger muscled animal just fine. The combination of how generous the chest cut and butt is means I'm really glad I didn't size up. The sides of the blanket are very generous and hang down several inches below the line of her belly. This seems to discourage flies from landing on her belly.

Close up of the wither

I wish the sheet had a tail flap - but it doesn't. The sheet has a single belly strap, as opposed to 2 cross belly straps, however I don't think it matters.

The hind leg straps fit a bit closer than I'm used to as compared to her turn outs, probably because the sheet sizing does not run large like I'm used to and the sheet doesn't extend past the hind legs (may be a function of no tail flap). I've been keeping a close eye on how the straps are doing - I don't want them to restrict her length of stride. After some observation, I've made them looser than I'm used to. That, combined with the section of elastic in the straps, seems to be working well. No rubs or chafing.

I like this sheet well enough that I will probably check out their flymasks when it's time to replace the one that Farley has, and would be interested in their other products - such as the leg fly covers and neck covers - if I ever had a need. Having spent some time in the South, I know that my current bug problem is NOTHING like the issues that the folks down there deal with, or even what the riders on the XP ride are dealing with this summer as they ride across country. However, I've found that this is an excellent solution for a sensitive California horse and her owner and fits into my "buy it ONCE" philosophy.

Bonus Tess Picture

Catch up

Most of this post will be non-horsey related. I decided that as I have gotten to know many of my fellow bloggers I am interested in major updates beyond the stated purpose of their blogs... And since that might be true for some of my readers, I decided to bit of sharing 'bout recent events before launching into my long list of topics in the draft folder was in order.

1. I bought a commuter car. It's a weird purple/grey/silver '97 Toyota Corolla. Same model year as the car I learned the drive in, but 4 years newer - and a LOT less miles. In 2002 I recieved my '93 Corolla with 230K miles. I bought this one with 130K....as that '93 Corolla is still going strong today under the youngest sister of the family, I'm confident "The Grape" will get me through school.

Buying a used car on a budget was eerily similar to buying a horse - you can spend a little on the car (horse) and pay some maintenance/repairs (training), or you can spend more on the car (horse) and have it come with current maintenance (training). In the end you spend the same. Over the phone, all the cars drive "great", have no issues, tires are "good", brakes were done "recently". In person, the transmissions clunk, the radios are gone, the interior reeks of nicotine (and there are burn holes on the seat to prove it), and I'm not sure that the tires will make the 10 miles home. (if you aren't following me.....all horses trailer, have gaits, get along well with other horses, have great feet, and are in the picture of health.....). As with most things bought on the cheap, buying the car was not without DRAMA.....but fortunately the drama has nothing to do with the mechanical soundness of the vehicle....

2. Tess had an adventure....to the emergency vet clinic. Yeah. I learned why vets don't work on their own animals - when I saw my puppy and her front legs covered in dried blood from a (relatively minor) wound (the blood was mixing with the saliva so it just looked like there was a lot) I must admit I cried. Sobbed really. Between bouts of putting my head between my legs so I wouldn't blackout. I know. Absolutely ridiculous. Matt spent 30 minutes holding a crying Melinda, who was holding a cuddly puppy, on the living room floor until it was decided that the regular vet could not be available on a Sunday night and we would have to drive 30 minutes to the after hours clinic.

Let's back up and figure out how my stupidity led to the poor pitiful puppy that when hurt, apparently gets wonderfully snuggly, clingy and sweet. She's been getting along with the other 2 dogs so well, that we started leaving her in the backyard, loose with them. Most of the time I'm home and even when they are burning off some energy outside for a couple of hours, there's been zero issues. It's been HOT here, and I feel better about her being able to move around outside and find cool spots, instead of being in the covered run on concrete and risk her getting too hot. So, if she's been kenneled for most of the day because of whatever reason, and Matt and I have to go into town, we've been tossing her outside......

Well, obviously that wasn't the smartest thing to do and eventually something DID happen. All that saliva/blood smeared on her forequarters and drooling out of her mouth was because one of the dogs bit through her lip (and damaged a tooth and the gum - but we didn't know that yet, so we'll come back to that). It was probably an accident. Her best friend, the golden retriever, and her play hard and play ALL THE TIME. So it's very likely that in the course of wrestling around, he accidentally pierced her lip. The other possibility is Harley accidentally bit her - Tess is very submissive to Harley and rolls on her back and Harley will gently grab her muzzle, but maybe just once it was too rough? ANYWAYS. However it happened I came back to my sweet little puppy with her front legs covered in dried blood, an obvious wound on her muzzle and a huge blood clot in her mouth - but it was VERY difficult to see what was going on inside her mouth. Puncture wounds always look worse than they are....but she's a puppy and it's on her muzzle. I wasn't taking any chances.

At the emergency clinic, they found a couple of puncture wounds and sent me home with some pain meds and clavimox.

A couple of days later I noticed a foul odor coming from her mouth. the puncture wounds had healed well enough she didn't fight me looking in her mouth and I saw a greyish tooth in the back (last tooth on the upper jaw) that was obviously infected with discharge, and loose. The gum had some damage too that made it obvious that the tooth had come loose during the same injury as the puncture - and it fit what I had seen in the brief glances I had gotten of her mouth when the incident had happened. I got her into matt's vet the next day (if you are keeping track, this was vet visit #2). They couldn't decide whether it was an adult tooth or a baby tooth.....so the plan is 2 more weeks of Clavimox, and see if it falls out by itself. I think there's a good possibility it will and it's a baby tooth. The odor is MUCH better today and the tooth is even looser....so I'm crossing my fingers that she won't need an extraction. The vets have all assured me that these injuries are really no big deal long term - good that I brought her in, but everything will be OK. The good thing is, except for that first night, she doesn't seem to be in ANY pain, and no long lasting effects in personality or how she interacts with the other dogs......accidents do happen and while I take full responsibilty for allowing the situation to happen, sometimes it does feel like puppies are out to kill themselves....I recently watched her vomit up a rock..... *sigh*.

3. I've been camping...A LOT. Just got done with a trip with a fellow blogger. We hiked TEN miles with our dogs. And we were MOVIN'. When we took a wrong turn going home I was wishing that I had my Farley I could point towards home....instead of having to find the stupid turn I missed (endurance riders on foot without ribbons really are completely hopeless) all by myself. Based on recent camping experiences and hikes, I have a runnamoc update for you, and I have finally decided what I think of the Ariat Buzz Off shirt. In Tess's 16 weeks of life, she's been camping 3 times. An auspicious start for an endurance dog eh?

4. Farley is doing well. She's fat (OK - she's not really fat. More like the flesh I would like to have on her right before a 100), lazy (except when she's galloping away from me), and remarkably unimpressed by her new accessory - the Kensington fly sheet. If only she knew how cute she was in it! She should be happy that I don't make her look really stupid and add a neck thingy to it. The sheet is really working - as evidenced by the small welts on her neck and the perfectly glistening (and welt-free) coat underneath the sheet. I just can't bring myself to hide my horse completely under sheets and wraps - she deserves to just be a horse - but the flies seem resistant to every fly spray known to man. She possesses a perfectly good mane that covers her entire neck on one side....so until she gives me that look that says "I cannot deal with this any more" her neck gets to be free. Full review on the Kensington later - but the bottom line is I'm thrilled about the product and so far has performed with vicious flies, 100+ degree days, and thunderstorms - and has passed every test with flying colors.

5. Pebble Beach - I'm going. The checks have been cashed and I am GOING to Pebble Beach. On a very nice Thoroughbred that belongs to my trainer. Tomorrow is my LAST lesson, and Pebble Beach is my LAST horse show for the foreseeable future. In some ways, I'm glad to see the lessons come to an end for a while. I have been working SO hard to perform at Pebble Beach at a level that was probably realistically a year away. I'm proud of myself. I've made leaps and bounds in my riding, but it's taken a focus that I'm looking forward to applying somewhere else for a while. My riding and how I think about riding will never be the same - in a good way. I'll continue to practice dressage on my horses, and learn as much as I can through written and visual resources, but realistically any serious lessons or training is at least 10 years in the future at this point. With that in mind, I'm focusing on getting as much as I can out of this last (for the moment) formal dressage experience, and enjoy the ambiance of being at such a historical show grounds.

Foot Note -

I could use some help from my readers if any of you have any ideas for the following:

Situation 1: This upcoming Thursday and Friday night I need to spend the night in the Pebble Beach area. I do not have many funds (see car point and emergency vet point above...), making traditional hotel accomodations not an option....If anyone has any ideas where I could stay (hostel, spare bedroom, campground etc), or even a place I could park overnight and stay in my vehicle, I would really appreciate it. Ideally I would like to be within 30 minutes of Pebble Beach.

Situation 2: I will be attending a civil war event in Duncan Mills the weekend of July 16 and 17th. Tess will be with me for reasons too complicated to explain here...I am looking for somewhere to board Tess in the Duncan Mills area (near Guerneville and Sepastopol, CA) the night of July 15 and 16th. If anyone has a recommendation of a boarding kennel or vet in this area, I would appreciate it.