PNER Convention

Sarah and I went to the PNER Convention in Portland, OR last weekend. They had a lot of very informative classes to take, like lameness, hoof info, nutrition and ask the experts. It was fun and I learned quite a bit.
But I had the most fun at the USED TACK SALE. I bought a LOT of shit!

 

 

 

The red thing is a Pas-a-fier. You install it into a corner of a stall & supposedly they play with it. We'll see if Wifi likes it. I paid $10 for it, its about 30 in stores.

 

On the left are wide trail stirrups with cages to keep my feet from getting stuck if I fall off on a trail ride. I paid $50 for them, I saw new ones for $80.

 

There are some D ring savers I paid $5 for, I had seen similar ones online for 10 but I wanted some and these were there. You use these by hooking them around the stirrup bars and hooking your breastplate to it instead of the D rings on the front of your saddle. I'm sure with enough torque the D rings could be pulled out & its expensive to have them replaced correctly.

 

I got 2 pair of black stirrup leathers, nicer ones for the Bates saddle which I will use with my new Herm Sprenger stirrups with I paid $80 for (including shipping) and am waiting for them to come in the mail.

 

Then there is a water tank heater that goes in the plug, I paid $10 for it. I have a floating one but thought I'd give this a try, see if it works. It might leak.

 

And a soft fluffy ovation fleece girth in size 26 (Wifi size) for $20 and a girth extender $5 to make the girth fit Joey.

 

I also found a green biothane crupper for $15. I've never used one but I'm going to try this. I'll lunge Joey before I EVER  get on a saddle with it. The crupper holds the saddle back so it doesn't slide up onto your horses shoulders and neck when he's sweaty and going downhill.

 

So now I have everything I need to use the Bates on Joey without having to borrow stuff from Delicia.

 

 



I am borrowing a biothane bridle from Tina to try on Joey (for sale for $25). Its red, like this one, except no reins. I'll find some nice comfortable reins to use, I think these biothane ones could cut me if he pulled hard.

And I got me another pair of full seat Kerrits breeches in blue & black, just like my others but half price.

Now that I have so much endurance riding equipment I need to start riding more. This evening I checked out boarding barns in Phoenix, AZ, just in case Lan & I ever decided to move there.


It sucks to fall off

I fell off Joey yesterday at the canter on a trail. SHIT!  Landed hard on my right hip, so hard that its not even bruised just hurts to high heaven. He shied from a stump and I fell off. Doh!

Otherwise it was an OK ride. I'm having a lesson tomorrow, I'll ride him while Delicia rides Wifi.

Have a prospective new boarder but I doubt I'll take her horse on. She wants a place to dump it & only come out to see it once a week or less. I don't want to clean its run. So I'll prolly tell her no. Maybe I should tell her no before she even comes here.  Her horse needs her to pay attention to it.

Switching Horses

Should I ride Joey for endurance this year?

He is 18 come April and hasn't been ridden a whole lot for years but he absolutely loves to go out on trails. I rode him the other day and he had a good time. I rode Wifi in a lesson and we were all over the place. I'm wondering if I should ride him this year while she continues her education and then next year I'll be a better rider and will be better for her. Joey is so forgiving of my crappy riding but taking lessons on him while Wifi is ridden by Delicia is helping me, a lot.

I found a used horse size biothane breast plate the other day, picked it up for $10. Its $115 new.

 

It needs to be washed & I can just throw it into the dishwasher for that. The cool thing is that I *think* I have some reins that match but might have sold them at a BIG ASS BARN SALE last summer. I'll have to dig around in the tack room to see. I'm going to be on the look out for more biothane items, like a halter bridle combo. I'm also hoping that I'll lose some weight before we attempt a lot of miles so he can carry me the whole way.

 

Wifi got her new girth & bit, too bad Joey is so much bigger than her that I'll need a different girth in order for him to use the Bates saddle. Delicia will be helping me size the saddle to him so I can get used to riding in it.

 

I also picked up 2 pair of Kerrits breeches, full seat. One is polar fleece, should be nice and warm, the other is regular.

 

 

 

Sarah and I are planning on riding a lot but so far she's ahead of me in miles. One things for sure, I'll be KICKING ASS on the Sea Spots Penny-A-Mile this year. No way is Meghan going to cheat and win, cheater.

 

 

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Triathlon news:

Tomorrow morning I have a 3.1 mile run I'm hosting along Beach Drive.  @ months ago I paid $25 for this virtual run. They say you can run or walk any distance, any time you want before the end of February so since several people I know signed up I decided to organize a run. Maybe 5 people will come, or maybe only Lan & I. But no matter what, I'm not wearing my medal until I EARN it.

I'll print out official Bibs too and after the run we will enjoy a hot Chai tea and wear our medals.

 

 

It will be fun, especially if Windy & Terry go too and a couple other gals said they would like to run too. 

Sarah, Renata, Giddeon, Joey, me

We went out to 360 today.

Sarah rode Renata, her new 11 yr old polish Arabian mare. Sweet horse, likes to go, not stupid.

Giddeon went too. He lives with Sarah.

I love this view.

It was about an hour ride, 2.5 miles.

Renata is only about 14hh, Sarah is about 5'2". They are perfectly sized for each other and are making a nice team.

Joey is 18 this year.

He wanted to go back out onto the trails and wasn't happy that we wouldn't turn around.

After we got home we let him go out & roll, then go into his stall to eat.

Giddeon is about 3 and looking very mature compared to the last time I rode with him. Nice dog.