Cob Jockey

I've written before about how much I love the CWD conditioner (although the CWD soap is terrible):

"Product Review: CWD Tack Cleaning Kit (But Really Just the Conditioner!)"

I've tried a lot of different conditioners, including Lederbalsam, and this one is my favorite.  It's more oily than Lederbalsam, and seems to soak in more thoroughly.

I ran out a while back, and couldn't find any stateside ways to order it.  Buying it direct from CWD would cost over $60 including shipping from France.  I never thought I'd be this picky about a conditioner, but damn, this stuff is good.

Last week, I noticed Mary's Tack and Feed had it back in stock.  I know there are a couple of other fans of it out there, so I thought I'd pass the news along!

Ever since I've known Connor, he's always cocked a hind leg rather dramatically when resting in the crossties or under saddle.  Under saddle, you literally feel like you might slide off his hip when he does it.

In chronological order, back to 2012:

Fall 2016

Summer 2016

April 2016

September 2015

December 2014

October 2014

August 2013

Even under saddle, and when he's thinking square with the front feet, he still cocked a hind foot:

Another one of those work swings snuck up on me.  I'm basically doing two jobs right now, and a whole lot of travel to Michigan, and neither of those things are good for blogging or riding.

"Where've ya been?"

Well that was fun!

How about something a little lighter?

I had Cathryn at That Red Mare for my Secret Santa, and from the moment I saw mini-sized anything on her list, I knew that's what I had to buy her.  Shopping for mini tack sounded exciting!

Before I packed her gifts, I had a little fun with one of them (sorry Cathryn!)  I tried to take some photos to show the rest of you the scale of these mini splint boots because they are SO TINY! I had to share.

In no particular order, a 35lb dog:

No dog hair was left on the splint boots in the making of this photo.  I'm pretty sure.

A parrot:

A handle of Tito's:

(And for historical comparison and proof that I am nothing if not consistent, here's Connor's open fronts in...basically the exact same scale photo from September):


Finally, miniature horse split boots are the exact right size to double as a beer/soda/cider coozie, so if you ever find yourself lacking a coozie at a horse show or around the barn Cathryn, now you know my Secret Santa gifts can pull double duty for you.


I hope you and Spud get lots of use out of your new boots, and I hope you don't mind my photo shoot!  Enjoy!

I was in a strange place for goal setting last year.  I hadn't yet fully committed to the idea of an all-Dressage season when I wrote my goals,  (In a lot of ways, I'm still not fully committed to that.) and I still had hope that Connor and I would event by the end of the year.  I also wasn't experienced enough (at all!) to know what to shoot for in Dressage.

So, how did I do?  From my 2016 Goals post on January 7, 2016:

- Show rated First Level Dressage
Success!  Surviving and finding success at a rated Dressage show is definitely my biggest accomplishment of 2016.

Our haul from our first rated show.  Also my all-time favorite photo of us.

- Show unrated Second Level by the end of the year
Failure, on purpose.  I had the opportunity to stumble through a Second Level test at a "hide them behind the barn" show at the end of the year that wouldn't show up on our permanent records for any association...and I decided against it.  It would have been unfair to both of us to push for that just to make this goal when we weren't really ready to do well at it.

- Take him to a schooling jumper show so Mary can show him
There's a very good and adult reason this didn't happen: after I set my goals, Mary got a great summer internship in Florida in her chosen field (UX).  She did make it back in September so we could take this picture though:

WORTH. IT.

- Trail riding with Connor's breeder and Dr. Marks
50% success!  We did haul over to Lisa's for a pony sleepover and went trail riding, but unfortunately, Dr. Marks couldn't make it.



- School XC enough that Connor gets bored at BN...maybe...hopefully...
Failure.  We focused so much on Dressage and hardly jumped at all.  I'm realistic in that if/when we return to eventing, it will be at Starter.  He hasn't completed an event since the beginning of 2015, going BN now, even with a lot of schooling, is too much to ask.  Plus, positive experiences, etc etc.

All in all, this was a good year.  It had its share of ups and downs, but we're ending the year having shown more times than ever (8 shows total!) and with a sound and happy horse.  On to 2017!

One of my favorite parts of blogging is this community we've cultivated, and Secret Santa is an awesome example of that.  Thanks to Tracy for putting in the work to make it happen year after year!

I always give several "hints" in my request to Tracy so that my Secret Santa can pick and choose the things they like best.  (It's a strategy I've had to employ in my personal Amazon list as well...my Grandma on my dad's side has a habit of looking at my list and deciding nothing "feels right" (What, trailer organization doesn't feel right?))

But this year my Secret Santa got everything I put on there and then some!  Thank you to Amber at Thoroughbred Adventure!


A stiff brush with a nice rubberized grippy back:


A softer brush with a padded and jeweled strap:


Three pairs of winter boot socks:


A Mrs. Pasture's stocking that I'm sure Connor will devour:


Two candy canes, and, most unexpectedly, a jar of Higher Standards!  I didn't ask for that, but it's a great gift, since my original jar is pretty old and the sponge melted into my Viva Carlos Sweet Lemon jar, so...it's kind of hard to use.

I've never tried this scent before, but I really liked it!

Thanks so much, Amber!  You went above and beyond for sure!

It's only been a couple of weeks with the Pixio in my life, but I can already tell it's changing the way I blog.  There's just something more intimate about telling you guys the way something went, and then backing it up with actual footage (well GIFs, but still).

(It's also weird to realize things like the fact that I wore the same outfit to my lesson two weeks in a row.  I really don't care and will continue to do that, but the Pixio definitely lends itself to a less curated blog presence in general.)


It's going to allow you to see a lot more of me and my mistakes, and that's okay with me.  I'm not a perfect rider, I'm not a naturally talented rider, and I'm not one for avoiding criticism.  There's always something more to learn, and there are a lot of accomplished people who read this blog that have gone further in the horse world than I have.  Why wouldn't I want to source info from you guys?


(That said, I am NOT going to post GIFs of my trainer riding him - just blurry screenshots.  Gotta protect the innocent.)

You're going to get to know us better.  You're going to be able to draw your own conclusions and not just read the conclusions I come to for you.  You'll see good moments and bad moments and moments that I thought were good but you're going to think "What is she smoking?  That was terrible."

As always, be respectful, but feel free to be honest too.  It's going to be an interesting period of time getting used to this new way of blogging!

The longer I've owned Connor, the shorter my horse-related Christmas list is.  If I am honest, we have almost everything we need.  Anything else at this point would be a want.

My sister's cat says "Merry F'in Christmas!"

Most of what was on my list this year was trailering and "showing by yourself" related, since 2016 was my first chance to really do both, and I ended up getting just a couple of things.

First up:


Funny story about these water carriers.  My mom, who works part time in a consignment store, looked at my Amazon wish list and saw that I had two water carriers on it.  The next day, she got to her store and someone had consigned four water carriers!  So that's how I got four instead of two.

(Connor is not picky at all about water at shows, but my delaminated tire incident on the trailer last summer made me think it would be great to have water on hand if we got stranded on a hot summer day.)

Not horse related, but these are my (unusually generous!) presents from my husband.  My first new computer in over 7 years, and I am in LOVE with the Surface Book!

Still shown open, but with the top toolbox lid closed.