25 Questions

I’ve seen this tag going around and around, and it just looked like to much fun to pass up! L. Williams found these questions on Tumblr!

1. What is the first thing you do when you get to the barn?
When I go out to the barn in the morning the first thing I’ll do is get the horses fed. I’ll probably clean the paddocks/stalls then, or sometimes I’ll go inside and eat my breakfast first then do them later.  The second time I’ll go out to the barn will probably be to ride, and I’ll get Ollie in from the paddock right away, then be a meanie and make him wait in the cross ties while I brush him and get all his tack out. Then out again a third time to feed dinner.

2. Is their a breed that you would never own?
I’m fairly open to whatever, but I can’t see myself wanting a Gaited horse. At least not as my main riding/competition horse. If someone offered me a free Icelandic I’d take it!

3. Describe your last ride?

Um, XC! More on that to come later!

4. Have any irrational riding fears?

Lots!

5. Describe your favorite lesson horse?

TYSON! (Lesson Ponies count right?) I LOVE TYSON! BEST PONY EVER! I started riding him when I was, um, little? Around 8? 9? Wow my old brain can’t remember. I was little. Anyways, he is a 14.2hh bay pony, who was gelded at 9, and thinks he’s the king of the world and can’t be bothered. His mane is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I think he’ll be 26+ this year, but I was never completely sure about his age. I leased him for awhile, took my lessons on him, went to a YR XC clinic with him where I jumped 2’9” for the first time! and did my first ever event with him. (I forget our dressage score, but we got a run out on fence 1 on XC, a bunch of time, and double clear stadium) I continued to lease him for a bit after I first got Ollie, while we were seeing if he’d be a fit, and I miss riding him so much! I also did a fox hunt with him! (Drag scent! No live fox used)

The one thing I remember about this dressage test was The judges comment on it was “pony was naughty today” lol. Little did she know that Tyson is ALWAYS pulling his head! And notice my stylish helmet with the cover!

6. Would you ever lease out your horse?

As of now, no. Down the road? Maybe. Depends on how things go.

7. Mares: Yay or neigh?

I really honestly don’t have much of a preference. I know some grumpy mares that I would not want, but I know some amazing ones as well!

8. How many times per week do you get to see your horse?

8 days a week. The bonus of having your horse live with you!
9. Favorite thing to do on an “easy day” with your pony?

Grab a rope halter and go for a bareback walk/trot if it’s windy/rainy, (no canter though because Ollie gets to excited and starts trying to buck lol) or a relaxing trail ride. I love both!

10. Conformational flaw that bothers you the most? 

Agh! I’m FAR from an expert, but there is a lot of things that I don’t like the look of! Anything weird with the legs is ☹️

11. Thing about your riding that your most self conscious about?

I don’t really have one thing that I’m “more” self conscious about then anything else, so really just everything.
12. Will you be participating in no stirrup November?

I’ll try and do what I normally is, which is to warmup with my Stirrups (I don’t like the thought of bouncing around on Ollie’s back if he isn’t warmed up) then work on one Stirrup/no Stirrups. Although I generally try and do a little no Stirrups every now and then, it’s nice to have a reminder lol.

13. What is your grooming routine?

Get Ollie from the paddock, pick his feet (and check his legs), brush his mane and tail, then I use a dandy brush with a couple quick swipes with a soft brush to finish off. My un-tacking routine is more complicated. I take all his tack off, (hose him down if it’s summer and he’s hot) scrub him all over with a jelly, then I use my soft brush. If he did a hard workout I’ll put liniment on his legs. Then he gets Neem oil or Sudocrem on his belly.

14. Describe a day in the life of your horse?

If it’s summer he’s outside 24/7, so probably;

eat, eat, sleep, eat, go for a ride, eat, eat, sleep, eat…

and pretty much the same for winter, except he comes into his stall with a run out at night.

15. Favorite season for riding?

Spring.

16. If you could only have 1 ring: indoor or outdoor?

I love love love the indoor, and it’s super handy, but I don’t think I could handle only having a indoor to ride in. So… outdoor? If I could have a big grassy field though, then I’d choose indoor and use the field for my outdoor 😉 the question said one ring. Nothing about fields!

17. What impresses you most about the opposite discipline (english vs. western)?

I like how most western horses I’ve met seem to have better ground manners! Versus some of the horses I see at events who are pulling their riders around (my horse included! Need to work on that.) I’m also impressed with how much they have to ride from their seat, not the hand. That would be hard!

18. You have unlimited funds to buy one entire tack set for your horse, what is he/she wearing?

DO. NOT. GET. ME. STARTED.

19. How many blankets do you have? When do you blanket?

Ollie has 2 fly sheets that he wears in the summer unless it’s too hot. I do blanket him in the winter as I clip, and sometimes it goes down to -8 (coldest I can recall it ever getting was -11) so he has 2 rainsheets, one has a removable hood, one 100 gram with a removable hood, a 180 stable sheet, a 220 gram that has the cutest pattern, and a 350 gram with a removable neck. Oh plus about 4 coolers. My horse has more jackets then I do.

20. What is your horse’s favorite treat? Favorite place to be scratched?

He will eat ANYTHING. Although I think Carrots, nickers, or Gatorade are his favourites! He like to get scratched on his belly, chest, and everywhere that the bridle would sit on his face.

21. Something about your barn that drives you crazy?

I really like my barn, but no water inside the barn drives me crazy. We do have a hose that’s only about 50 feet away, and the hose reaches into the barn, so it’s not that big a deal though.

22. Roached manes, pulled manes, or long flowing manes

I like the look of pulled manes, although I don’t think I’d ever do it. So I like to use scissors. But Ollie rubs his mane out in the summer (😳) and I always end up having to roach it. He’s cute with a Mohawk at least!

23. Can you handle a buck or a rear better?

I’d rather ride a buck then a rear. Rearing freaks me out. The thought that the horse could fall on you? Yikes! And while bucking seems harder to stick, and least you can keep your forward motion? Ollie unfortunately used to (still does occasionally 😑) do both. The rearing is always more scary because I’ll doing everything I can but he won’t stop. With bucking I can just grab one rein and make him stop. (Video is 2 years old btw lol, but the only one I can find.)

 

 

24. I would never buy a horse who ___________________?

Rears? Huh. What does this say about Ollie? Had bad confirmation.

25. Favorite facial marking?

Either a BIG snip, or a cute gigantic blaze like Ollie has:) or nothing.