Do you have an impossible horse to fit a sheet/blanket to, but still want or need to use one for some reason or another? A wonderful suggestion from a friend of mine has eliminated Duke’s awful rubbing. Shout out to Emily and her Mom for this tip! Duke is either the worst to fit, has super sensitive skin, or maybe both? Earlier this year (somewhere around the end of June, beginning of July), he broke out in bumps all over his body due to biting flies and/or mosquitoes. To try and fix it, I went out and got the latest and greatest Ultrashield Gold fly spray. It was supposed to be great, as I’ve read and heard great things. Well, it gave Duke massive welts all over his skin ON TOP of the bug bites. Poor thing was miserable and after feeding him zyrtec at the suggestion of my vet, I broke down and purchased each horse a Rambo Protector Integrated Hood (meaning it doesn’t detach) fly sheet. My bank account hates me. It’s always something. Don’t mind me while I go make a withdraw and light it on fire and that’s about how things go around here.
By the way, the Ultrashield Green, their Natural Spray has worked pretty good for us this year during training, doesn’t do squat for turnout though-nothing seems to last for turnout.
Anywayyyy the Rambo sheets fit pretty nice and it was working well without rubs for a few weeks, I was so happy! Then one day I brought them in and noticed it had started rubbing too. Once it started rubbing, within a few days his shoulder was basically raw. I wanted to scream. I may have yelled profanities out loud in the barn. I can put literally anything on Fizz and he is fine. He could wear a garbage can and not have any problems. I could put a billion dollar cashmere and luxury silk sheet (or whatever fine expensive soft fabrics are out there, I’m really no fashionista) on Duke and he’d be rubbed raw within a few weeks.
Enter this little stick of awesome. Just rub it on like you would deodorant in the spot(s) being rubbed and voila! I put it on once daily when I put the sheets on in the morning before turnout. They are usually outside sunrise to sunset. His hair started growing back within a week. After a month, it’s fully grown in. It looks a little weird being as the rest of his hair is bleached from before getting the sheets and the patch grew back unbleached black, but there is hair! Hallelujah! It is 9/18 and I’ve used 2 whole sticks at this point from August 8 to now, but that 13 dollars is worth every penny. I might as well buy a few cases of these things at this point.
The photo on the left was taken August 7th. The one on the right was taken Sept 6th. The hair has completely come back in.
Just putting this out there, maybe someone somewhere will find this and it will help them and their horses from getting terrible blanket rubs!
Do you ever look at your horses and think “you could have been so much more, if you weren’t just stuck with me?” Do you ever compare where you and your horses are to where other people and their horses are and think “we aren’t doing enough” and get a little upset at that?
So many times I flip through magazines and I see all these people and horses in tip top shape doing all these big things and I get a little down. I lose motivation and I lose some faith at times. I look at my knowledge and skill level for training, I look at the talent and natural ability of my horses and I think, they could have really gone to the top. I look at them in awe of their natural abilities, in awe of their tolerance and forgiveness for me, and I wonder what they could have done under a compassionate, more skilled teacher. I look at other horses that maybe aren’t as naturally talented working and showing under very talented trainers and doing big things and I think “that could have been my horses” if it weren’t for me. If only I had more money to pay someone to help them, to help me. If only I had more skill, more talent, more, more, more. It is so easy to feel guilty in the horse world, to feel like you’re not enough, you don’t have enough, aren’t doing enough. It’s so easy to downplay your accomplishments because you are too busy judging them against others.
But, isn’t that part of the problem with the horse world anyway? Isn’t this supposed to be FUN? Sometimes I have to force myself to take a step back. Maybe even a lot of steps back and look at my horses; Horses no one wanted because they were labeled “problematic” among other things, due to being under the direction of people who didn’t believe in them, pushed them too hard, had expectations beyond the horses skills, didn’t have enough time for them due to other responsibilities, etc. I have to look, I mean really look at how far they’ve come with only an amateur to teach them. I have to look at myself, where I started to where I am now and the skills I didn’t have in the beginning that I have learned over the years. When I really look at all I have learned since I began my AOT journey, not only out of necessity but also out of sheer determination, then I can see my horses have overcome so many hurdles and proved so many things people have said about them wrong. I have done the same myself. These horses have excelled because I have not given up on them when others did. I have made it a point to learn from anyone I can, find answers any way I can, and I have kept that “try, try again” attitude through setbacks, through failures, through all the highs and lows that come with working with horses. I have to meet them where they are, praise them as they stand, and be proud of how much we have done with so little.
At the end of the day, the horses don’t care. They are happy to stand in a field and eat grass and hay and they are happy to be loved and fed and cared for. THey could care less if we go to a horse show. They could care less what anyone thinks. They are happy to have someone kind to help them learn skills they didn’t even know they needed. They are truly and honestly GOOD boys who try so hard. So what if they could have done more? Others with more skills than myself could have done more for them, but they didn’t. They could have ended up in bad situations but instead, they landed with me: The determined amateur. And I won’t stand for ANYONE to talk poorly of my good boys, even if we accomplish absolutely NOTHING. So, why would I stand for myself looking poorly upon our accomplishments? I need to learn to use that at motivation as we ramp up into show season. There’s always things to learn and always fun to be had.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Learn to be happy as you are, and if you want more, go WORK FOR IT!
Is a horse born with a certain attitude/personality? Do people shape it? Can it change over time, and/or due to environment? Yes, Yes, and YES.
How do I know this? This face is how.
When I first met this horse (~2018) he was a fiery 3 year old who someone told the owner prior to me “how are you going to stay on that thing?” when she bought him. He would pin his ears and turn his butt to you if you walked in his stall. His personality was, well, hateful dragon-esque? As someone who likes a friendly horse with a lot of personality (Ahem:FIZZ) I didn’t pay this horse a lot of attention for several years. Fast forward to late 2020, when I was asked by his trainer at the time to show him in his debut driving class. I tend to never turn down a fun opportunity to show, so I agreed. I fell in love with this horse that day, but I didn’t even know it. He was a BLAST to show-hit the show ring and turned ALL show horse, and I remember thinking “OH SHIT” because I was completely unprepared for that switch flip as soon as we hit the show ring gate. It was like he KNEW. Over the next year, I continued to show him for his previous owner and we had a lot of fun in the ring together-he earned my trust as a solid driving horse. But still, his personality… He had come a ways from hateful dragon through the care and attention of his trainer during that time, but he still wasn’t super friendly. He was just indifferent, and so was I.
His trainer at the time was just SURE he was coming to live with me, and I kept saying no. I said no to this horse so many times. I refused to believe he was what I needed. Then, his previous owner called me and begged me to take him, and it was either that or probably lose him for good so I agreed. Summer of 2022, he and Fizz came to live with me.
Those of you who know Fizz, know he’s always been full of personality. He’s as friendly and kind as they come (as long as you follow his rules) and he never meets a stranger. That is what made me bring Fizz home, even though he wasn’t what we expected when we got to Alabama. He walked up to us, curious and interested, ears up and happy to meet us. Those are the things I love about him, but since I’ve had him for so long and he has always been that way, I didn’t know how I was going to adjust to having a horse who was just indifferent to people. Regardless, since I was taking him, I vowed to love Duke anyway for who he was. For the first 6 months he was here, I wouldn’t clean his stall with him in it. I wouldn’t go into his stall to fill his hay with him in there. I was very careful around him because he’d nip you if you weren’t watching and he would kick at you over any kind food.
I vowed to love him, and love him I have (and do), despite the challenges along the way. I forced my love on him-didn’t give him a choice. I groomed him and scratched him and spent time with him without expectation and low and behold, a personality started to form. A bond. TRUST between us. He was given to me with warnings, and I heeded them, until I didn’t need to anymore. Over the last year, he’s totally turned around and now has personality for DAYS. In some ways, he’s got an even bigger personality than Fizz does now. He’s still not super friendly to just anyone, but he believes in me now, and I believe in him-and it shows. Is he perfect? No. Do we still have bad days? Yes. Doesn’t everyone though?
So can horses personalities change? Yes, they can. They can change from completely shut down to incredibly goofy and fun. Duke did. Also to note, I have taken this “wild useless beast” to shows in harness and under saddle, we’ve been trail riding on some fairly difficult trails, I’ve ridden him bareback, ridden him in a halter, played with him at liberty, all the things people think “crazy saddlebreds” can’t do. I can’t speak for ALL saddlebreds, but MINE, they do it all and they mostly do it without complaint. For who they are and who they aren’t, I’ll love them to the ends of the earth anyway and they’ll live with me until the day they leave this earth, hopefully many MANY years from now.
I’m not sure who is more stubborn, me, or the horses. I have heard so many “you can’t” do this or that with show horses, with my horses specifically, etc. You can’t turn them out during show season, you can’t work them twice a day, you can’t get on from the correct side or from a mounting block (Duke), you can’t ride him bareback, you can’t ride him just in a halter, you can’t run barrels, you can’t trail ride show horses, especially saddlebreds, they’re too spooky. Excuse me, what? No. We can do anything we want. Don’t tempt me with a good time trying (even if we fail). Which we won’t. Because we’re awesome. And we’re too stubborn to stop trying until we figure it out. Saddlebreds are smart, resilient, brave, and versatile. Despite what people think, they ARE multi purpose. At least mine are. I don’t really give them a choice not to be.
Many years ago when Fizz first came into my life, I was determined to give him a well rounded education. What I didn’t know is that I would be educating myself along the way. Over the years, I have learned many things outside of the saddleseat background that I grew up in. The key is to take knowledge from any and all places, no matter if you agree or disagree or like or dislike the discipline. There are principles of training in literally every discipline that you can use to make your horse better. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t believe that teaching them things outside of their intended use is going to make them less good at their primary job.
From saddleseat to dressage, to jumping, to reining, to barrels, to trail riding and everything in between, there’s something in each and every one that can help build your horse. I do the same exact job every working day and it makes me bored as all hell. What makes us think our horses don’t like variety? I know from my experience the happiest my horses are, is when they aren’t asked to do the exact same things every single day. The least happy they are (or at least Fizz was) is when I was doing the same thing day in and day out hoping to make a saddleseat horse out of him in the very beginning. That is all I knew. The best thing I ever did for him and for me is to open my eyes and learn. Most importantly, HAVE FUN.
Am I saying you have to trail ride if you don’t want to? No. Am I saying you have to take lessons in dressage? No. Am I saying you should run out and set up jumps and jump them? Absolutely not. But certainly don’t discount the training principles of the disciplines other than yours and give some solid thought to the ideas behind them, how they can help your horse(s). You have the option to try, and if you don’t like it or it doesn’t seem to work well for you, the beauty of life is that you can choose to discontinue doing something whenever you want. True that consistency and repetition is how horses learn, but once the basics are covered I am a FIRM believer in that horses adapt very easily to different things. The consistency comes in your handling. You keep your contact the same in their mouth, your cues stay the same no matter what job they are doing, you have the same basic rules and they can adapt to any task at hand. It’s OK for them to question it but at the end of the day, they should rely on you and trust you to support them in the same ways you always do and they can overcome any obstacle.
Enjoy these photos of the boys doing many different things. SUCCESSFULLY.
There are good days and bad days working horses. It’s always the great days that no one sees and there’s no evidence of. I am beyond lucky to have 2 very special, talented horses to work even if no one sees their best days but me. Ideally, their best days would be at a show, in front of God and Country and everyone else, but alas, we are rarely that lucky.
As an AOT, it’s been a very difficult road (with a stint somewhere in the middle where I just about gave up) but I have learned a lot in 10 years. People have asked me how I do it. Well, honestly, I didn’t know I had another choice. I can’t afford $2,000-$3,000 a month for professional training (the going rate here in KY is between 1,000 and $1,500 per horse). This doesn’t include any farrier, vet, or other needs. It’s also well above what we pay for our mortgage so… yeah. We are not in a financial position to pay more for horse training than we do for a home to live in.
When you don’t have money but you have work ethic and an undying stubbornness inside of you that refuses to give up, you can create your own 5 figure horses out of next to nothing. Granted, they may not be the best of the best, they may not ever be world champions, they won’t win every class they are entered in, but they are FUN. They are (Mostly) SAFE. They are talented. And if I were to go out and purchase horses of this quality at their current training levels, they would NOT be cheap. Even with their quirks.
$500 horse on left, “free” horse on right. However, just because they didn’t cost much up front doesn’t mean they haven’t cost. They have both had a LOT invested into them. They are worth every ounce of frustration, financial hardship, time, and sanity that I have invested into them.
I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before but ever since day 1, Fizz has been a “tail rubber”. It is literally the WORST. He will rub his behind on just about anything he can find if left alone and naked with something to rub against. He’s 15 this year and I’m pretty sure after 10 years of doing this (probably longer), he isn’t going to stop now.
He’s been in just about every living situation one could think of since we got him in 2013: Full turnout, part turnout, full time stalled, in full professional training, part time training, etc. He’s been fed a variety of different feeds, been evaluated by several different veterinarians, all the things have been cleaned, he’s had just about every potion known to man slathered all over his tail. It’s been put up, it’s been let down, it’s been conditioned to kingdom come and back again. NOTHING stops the rubbing. I feel like it’s just a habit of his that started for one reason or another and now he just likes the way it feels to scratch his behind.
People suggest:
De-Worming (pinworms are common cause of tail rubbing)
Sheath/udder cleaning
Check for sweet itch
Check/Tests for Allergies
Condition Dry Skin
Consider a “no grain/anti-inflammatory” feed
Feed ground flax as a supplement
Apply Listerine/Baby Oil 50/50 mix
Use MTG (Sorry, I can’t get past the smell-I tried, really, I did)
Use coconut oil
While the above (or something else I haven’t heard of yet) may have worked for some, it did not work for us. It’s always been bad, but by November of this year I had enough. There wasn’t even enough left at the top for me to start a braid so that was just not going to work. I also suspect Duke was munching on his tail too, making it even worse. They have a wall with open bars in between their stalls, and I watched Fizz put his butt up to the bars and Duke bite at his tail one day! That was the last straw.
My solution: Just keep it covered, and keep it clean and conditioned as best I can. He lives in a turnout sheet or blanket with a tail flap (depending on the outside temp) since it’s winter and colder here right now so when he does rub, it just goes on the smooth lining and doesn’t mess with the actual tail since the surface is slick. He will live in a fly sheet/scrim sheet in his stall in the summer if he keeps up the rubbing!
Here is the process I follow, aside from keeping his sheet/blanket on him.
Wash 1x per month with an antibacterial/antifungal shampoo (you know, just incase-even if there isn’t the kind of funk you’d usually attack with this type of shampoo). I use EQyss Medicated shampoo that I got at Tractor Supply, our local farm store but you can find it on the internet also.
Condition ( I like Biomane’s conditioner-it smells so good! Or Cowboy Magic’s Rosewater conditioner)
THOROUGHLY dry. You do not want your tail to rot. It will rot if you put it up the least bit damp, then all your work and effort will have been for nothing. I use a blow dryer, but he careful to desensitize your horse to this and make sure they aren’t going to run off, kick you, break everything in the general vicinity, etc.
Do NOT rake through it with a brush. Hand pick out all the knots, use a wide tooth comb but be careful not to rip on the tail or you’ll be losing valuable tail hairs. Every little one matters especially when the tail is as sad as Fizz’s tail.
Braid/put up into a tail wrap or tail bag. I use a Sleazy Sleepwear 3 tube tail bag. He doesn’t have a long tail, so it’s sort of tricky but it still works well, even if it works better on Duke’s nice long thick tail. Lots of people use vet wrap and/or a sock but I don’t prefer this method. If you’re interested in that though, HERE is a great resource with some more tips on “show horse” tails.
Keep dock/tail bone conditioned/oiled. I use a variation of THIS concoction by the Savvy Horsewoman (who has a TON of really handy DIY recipes and ideas) and apply it 3-4 times a week. I just keep an eye on his tail bone and put more on if/when it starts looking crusty again. So far, it’s working pretty well and it smells great if you add the essential oils!
Repeat once monthly. Fair warning, this is not fun in the winter. You’ll have to use a bucket heater, if you don’t have hot water in your barn. You’ll have to try and wait for a “nice” winter day where temps are not freezing. If you go over or under on the month mark, don’t fret. Just take the tail down and inspect it, and re-wrap/re-braid regularly to make sure everything is still good.
This photo was taken somewhere around Summer 2022. Sorry for the crap quality, but you get the point. You can see all the super short hair up by the dock, and the rest of the disheveled hairs all down the top of the tail bone.
This one is from January 2023 (a few days ago) after using the above method. You can see the tail braid bag, down in the lower left corner of this photo. This is still not the “ideal” tail, but it’s MUCH better than it was.
I will have to keep revisiting this page when I have more updates to his tail “progress”. I don’t think we will ever have that long beautiful dream tail, but at least we can keep it from looking like a brillo pad.
It’s been nearly 3 weeks since I pulled the trailer into our driveway with my boys in tow.
Since we are honest folk here at Twisted Sisters, I’m going to lay it out nice and clear for you. If you are a person who dreams of owning a horse and keeping it at home, and also believes doing so is full of nothing but butterflies, rainbows, and unicorn glitter, you are sadly mistaken and living in a dream world. Come back down from the clouds and join the rest of us here in reality. If you are perfectly clean and look like a million bucks all the time, you’re probably doing it wrong.
That aside, it is still in all reality, a dream come true for me. I take pride in hosting my horses in clean stalls, making sure they are fed, and that they always have clean water. If that means I pick stalls every time I walk by and see a pile of poo, so be it. I have that luxury where I didn’t used to and I am grateful for a life that has given me this opportunity. So I will do all the things and I will be happy that I have that luxury. A lot of folks do not. A lot of folks would love to. Some are happy to pay others for the dirty work, but I’m not that kind of gal. I have always dreamed of a life where I could be intimately involved in every detail of my horses care and I FINALLY have that opportunity. I would venture to say most truly hardcore equestrians dream of a life where they can spend it day in and day out doing all the “horsey” things, even the dirty ones. Either way… here’s my experience and things I have learned so far as a first timer having horses at home.
Helicopter Mom: Apparently, that’s me. I installed a camera to spy on the boys. I check it incessantly. If I wake up during the night, I look at it. If I hear a noise outside, I look at it, if I am working or busy and can’t walk outside just to see if they are OK, I look at it. I mean, in the last 2 weeks I have looked at the camera like I believe at any moment either horses legs may detach from their bodies or some other horrific thing might happen. What do I find? Them munching away on hay, looking outside, or laying down sleeping. Perfectly content with life. OR I find Fizz rubbing his tail, and I can scold him through the talk feature on the camera. Both horses now think God talks to them, below is them listening-they don’t know it’s just little ole me.
Hay: I am pretty sure there will never again be a moment in my life where I am not wearing hay as an added accessory to my outfit. It’s itchy and it gets in places no one should have hay, ever. How does it even get there? Does it grow legs and crawl to really weird spots inside your clothing? Just, how?? Also, if you like to watch your money turn to poop… Just look at your horses happily munching on hay.
Sweat: It’s summer here in Kentucky. It’s HOT and it’s HUMID. I spend a lot of time outside and always have but when you’re working with horses it seems like the heat is amplified 10 fold. I can’t explain why. My eyes have never burned so much as in the last several weeks. I think I’ll keep this as opposed to frozen fingers, but still. I am pretty disappointed I’m not skinny yet after all of this sweating. The universe owes me an explanation on this.
Poop: So much poop. Like, I realize they are large animals and I have worked jobs where stall cleaning was a part of it (back in college and as a kid) but there is SO MUCH POOP. Literally they are poop factories. How did I not remember this? And I feel for all of you who have barns full of horses because just these two create so much!!!
Dust: There is literally so much dust. I use a combination of pellet bedding and bagged shavings, which I had read this combo was supposed to be low on dust. I would like to know what definition of “low dust” is on the internet because this is not it. Therefore, I have been researching this. Evidently, I need to “water” my stalls. Um, excuse me? I don’t even water my flower beds. Those things need to live off the water God gives them or they don’t survive well here. Somebody send help.
Crisis: If you think you’ll never feel like you are in a crisis, just give it a minute-one will come and your little fantasy bubble will have been popped. If you have thought about it and planned for every crisis you could think of (like me) and think you know how it will go, just know it goes nothing like you thought it would. Also know that of all the crises you could think of, the one that will happen is something you NEVER thought of. There’s a back story here I might visit later, but my first “crisis” was experienced and it is over now. Bless my husband, my friends, and my very lovely Vet for putting up with me. I probably worry way more than I should.
Bills: There are just SO many bills. Hay, grain, bedding, vet, farrier, supplements, and the list goes on and on and on into eternity. Some bills can be more than you expect, by a LOT. You might think about finding a street corner to call your own, but in the end you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure your horses are healthy and happy. Even if that might mean eating ramen and never leaving your house again.
Help: Having help is CRUCIAL. I can’t say this enough and to those of you out there doing it by your very lonesome, what kind of super hero DNA do you have and where can I get some of it? Or are you just an alien with weird superpowers I can’t even begin to imagine? Because I would NOT have made it even these last few weeks without my poor non-horsey husband who has gotten a very rude intro on how to restrain a contrary horse, how to work a twitch, and some of the other unpleasant things things that come with being around horses. He has also been learning how to pick stalls and he does so without even being asked. BLESS HIM. Ladies, a lot can be said for a man who isn’t into horses but cleans stalls without asking simply because he knows YOU want your horses living in the cleanest stalls in America. I would also not have survived without my Mom, who comes over simply to make sure I don’t die while working these creatures. She’s a saint.
Work: Having horses at home is work. I work a real big girl job. I spend every other amount of time doing things for the horses and the dog. What exactly is this “spare” time everyone speaks about? Who exactly in this world gets to “sleep in” because yeah, that’s not a thing here (for me). Everyone else is taken care of before me. I am the last to eat, the last to be clean(ish-you know, because hay exists…), and I’m fairly certain the horses stalls are cleaner than my house. I can barely manage to do something as simple as boil noodles and slap sauce on top for dinner most days. Dishes left in the sink? Oh well, maybe I’ll get to those tomorrow. Or not. As long as the 4-leggeds are taken care of those dishes can sit another day. Paper plates? Meals that don’t require silverware? Even better. Sign me up.
LOVE: These animals have so much love to give. They make me laugh daily and they fill my heart with so much joy despite all of the above. I truly enjoy simply watching them exist day to day. Every person has good day and bad days, and I believe all creatures do. Our job as humans and facilitators of these animals is to make sure their days are all as good as possible, and understanding that they too, have days that are “off” and they deserve our compassion and understanding. No one, and no animal, is perfect all day every day. These horses (and our Dog Dixie) give me a break when they know I’m having an off day. They offer me peace and acceptance, despite my shortcomings. The least I can do is offer them the same.
I have come to the conclusion that the horse industry is forever in a love/hate relationship with itself. We all love horses and that is terrific. We all love doing the different things we can do with them, competing, trail riding, watching them eat, whatever each person does with their horse(s) is their version of love. But we hate too. We hate on each other for having different practices. We hate on horses who don’t “fit into the box” that they are “expected” to be in. We hate on other disciplines for doing things differently than we do. We are jealous of this person or that for having more than we do, or judge someone for having less than we do. Last time I checked, we are all in this industry for the love of the horse, so I have to ask…
Why is the horse industry like this? We all have a little bit we can teach someone else. I will be the first to admit I do not know everything. As the years have gone on in this AOT/non-AOT/Back to AOT adventure and throughout my lifelong love affair with horses of all breeds, shapes, sizes, and disciplines I have learned to be humble. I have learned to ask for help and I have vowed to learn something from literally EVERYONE I meet in this industry. Even if what I learn is something I do NOT want to do, it’s something learned and there is value in that.
I love my horses fiercely. I will do whatever I can to keep them safe, protected, and HAPPY. I will love them to the ends of the earth and back and no matter what, there will always be someone out there who hates my horses for some reason or another. Or who thinks I am an abuser because of the way my horses move, the way they are shod, the fact that we show, or maybe even because they don’t like me. AND THAT IS FINE. Ya’ll haters just take your negativity elsewhere.
Can’t we just choose education and understanding over hate? There is so much negativity and anger coming from people who have literally ZERO education on the topics they are mad about. When you see something that is questionable, try ASKING about it before you immediately persecute someone for doing something you don’t understand. And actually make an effort to understand. I’m not saying you need to implement someone else’s practices with your own horses or riding, I’m just saying don’t judge and hate something you have not actively tried to understand first. Keep an open mind and understand that most things have a purpose. The vast majority of us are just trying to do things that are best for us and our horses, for all of our respective activities and disciplines that we participate in.
OK, now that this has turned into rambling about more things than I originally intended, back to the subject at hand. I love, and I hate, many things about the horse industry. But time and again, I keep on keeping on, because when it comes down to it, I enjoy my horses for what they are. For all their flaws, mistakes, and idiosyncrasies. For their wins and their losses, for every time they have embarrassed me or made me proud and everything in between. For doing things on their own timeline and not mine. I love them for loving me, despite everything that I know and everything I don’t know, and everything I have not learned YET. I love them for trying, as that is all I can ask. So, I will keep showing up and I will keep on educating myself, FOR THEM and FOR ME. And if someone doesn’t like that, that’s just too bad.
Ya’ll. Again, it’s been a while. Things have changed, AGAIN. My husband Wes and I are in the process of building a barn at our home. We have been here for a year now, and I have only been trying to get a working barn built for basically the entire time. Hopefully soon it will be a functional space for Fizzy and Duke to come live, but in the meantime, they are happy and healthy over at Brickyard Farms. A little over a year ago when Phoenix Farm shut down their training operation, we were scrambling. We weren’t even sure if shows were going to be a thing for us. Plus, the stupid pandemic, you know. What an epic disaster.
Since Duke (before I officially owned him) had been living at Brickyard for a year, it was the obvious first choice for Fizz to go there too. That way, both horses I was showing could be in the same location and I could work with both of them at the same place. Luke at Brickyard welcomed Fizz to join the crowd there and got to work. And lord has it been the blessing we have been looking for. His alternative thinking and fresh outlook has been just what we needed. Plus, he loves Fizz and Duke like they are his own, and there’s no amount of money that can buy that kind of support.
Anyway, we only went to a few shows in 2021, but they were nice, successful shows. We had FUN. And isn’t that really what it’s all about anyway? So, fast forward to now. We have successfully gone to our first real show of 2022, the BlueGrass Arabian Horse Associations Spring Blast Open Show. Yes, that’s a mouthful. However, LOOK AT IT.
So, yeah. That happened. And I am just over the moon with how well behaved this horse was. He’s fourteen this year. I simply cannot believe it’s now been NINE years with this incredible horse. He continues to keep me on my toes, humble me, teach me new things, and the list goes on but I won’t bore you all. It seems like fourteen is the year my sassy colt has finally decided it’s time to grow up and play ball with the big boys. I do not deserve him. He is literally too cool for me, but I am just going to soak up every minute and feel grateful that he’s mine.
Ya’ll. Again, it’s been a while since I posted here. Things are ever changing and ever evolving and I constantly re-evaluate the horsey things in my life and wonder if I am making the right decisions. Sometimes I regret not making certain decisions sooner. Sometimes I think I suck, and sometimes I think I am a genius. Everyone has their days I guess. But here’s some facts for you.
I am what I would call an experienced rider. I like to think I can hold my own and I like to believe I can handle a tough mount and enjoy a good one with ease. BUT, when I watch a select few others ride my horse and NOT have the same problems I had, I started wondering if it was just ME. SO, a while back (maybe about a year or so-has it really been that long?) I decided to start working with a riding instructor. As an ADULT. Who has been riding since I was 6 years old. She comes to visit Fizz and I and she gives us lessons together. Sometimes she schools him, which is GREAT for both of us, but mostly she coaches while I ride. Do I consider myself a failure because of this? HELL NO.
I consider myself a badass. You know why? Because sometimes it IS YOU. Sometimes you need to be humble and you need to admit that regardless of your experience, you do not, and will not ever know everything. Others have had experiences that can help you. Others have knowledge to share. You need to be open to accepting their knowledge, to learning from them, and to reaching a new level of potential you maybe never knew existed within you. And you know what? IT FEELS GOOD.
That moment when you’re sitting on your horse and you have a ride like you’ve never had before. A ride where you don’t struggle with things you used to struggle with. A ride where you don’t fight with your horse. A ride where you realize for the first time in YEARS, your horse is HAPPY. All the puzzle pieces are there, and you made them fit together. Maybe you don’t have a perfect ride consistently, 100% of the time. BUT, you did it and you FINALLY realized that you’ve moved past the hurdles that once stood in front of you and you didn’t trip and fall on your face trying to jump them.
If something is not working, CHANGE IT. Get help. Keep working, keep training, both you AND your horse can benefit from it. I mean, even professional sports teams have coaches. This is just like that. Go out and DO WORK ya’ll. Respect and appreciate your coaches and learn yourself something. Your horse will thank you. YOU will thank you. That’s all for today, I’ll report on other news soon! ❤
I guess it’s been a minute. I have not posted to this page in a long time. I have a lot of reasons for that, but mainly it’s because Fiz is still under the direction of Phoenix Farm and trainer Blair Cecil, and we have been VERY busy. Let me explain: Owning horses is hard. Training horses is harder. Caring for horses is challenging in many ways, albeit rewarding. Giving up on training your own horses is the hardest. I had a hard time letting go, and honestly, I still have days where it hurts me to my core that I don’t see Fiz and interact with him every day-or even every week sometimes. My heart literally hurts. Every. Day.
BUT, I know it is for the best. When we signed on to this journey, we made a promise to him to make the best decisions FOR HIM. What we didn’t understand in the beginning is that those decisions may be hard. They may hurt. And they may be financially challenging at times. But a promise is a promise, and we are keeping our word as difficult as it may be. Blair is an exceptional trainer (and person) and we are grateful for the care and training she gives Fiz, and for the opportunities afforded to us due to having him in her barn.
This June, after showing Fiz primarily saddleseat for the entirety of our ownership (with some occasional trail riding) we have decided to go a new direction. As the Phoenix Farm resident expert in all things dressage/Hunter/Jumper, our friend Emily showed him in his very first ASB Hunter class at the Lawrenceburg horse show and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. He really took to this style of riding and we have decided to try and campaign him for the ASB Hunter classes at the World Championship horse show in 2020! Now, we may make it and we may not, but we are certainly going to try.
For me, this means basically forgetting everything I know and re-learning how to ride in a new way. Thanks to Emily, I am also learning some dressage techniques that she has used successfully on Fiz to help us in our new discipline and she has also been teaching Fiz (and me!) how to jump. He LOVES IT, and is actually GOOD at it! We will see how that goes in the future, but I am looking forward to it.
Also in store for next year is potentially having him carry Cindy’s oldest daughter to her first lead line classes if she decides she wants to. This is super exciting as we have hoped from the beginning that one day he would be able to carry her girls to some of their first horse shows and the time is near!
This horse is quirky and infuriating on many levels but he has taught me SO much over the last 6+years and he holds a very special place in my heart for everything that he is, and everything that he isn’t. There really aren’t words for what he means to me.
Emily showing Fiz in his very first hunter class, June 2019:
Kayla and Fiz winning the Saddle and Bridle Hunter Classic at Owingsville, July 2019
Kayla and Fiz winning the hunter under saddle class at Owingsville, July 2019
Guys, I have to tell you, I’ve had a good run. I’ve overcome a LOT of challenges and received a LOT of help along the way. Working a horse as an Amateur is no easy feat. From May 2013 when we brought this horse home to April 26, 2018 when we pulled in to Phoenix Farms drive, Fiz has been worked primarily by me, with the exception of that one month a few years ago when was worked by a trainer for 30 days. So yeah… I’ve had a good run and gained SO much knowledge in this AOT experience. Lets just say if nothing else, I’ve produced the most tolerant equine on earth. If he can put up with me, he can conquer the world.
You’re probably wondering at this point: What am I even talking about? Well, a month ago, Fiz went to live at Phoenix Farm to be worked by Blair for 30 days. Then he was supposed to go back to the boarding facility to be worked by me after we showed at Burlington. He has just thrived there, and Blair is an AMAZING person, horsewoman, and trainer, so it’s been decided he’s staying indefinitely. That said, there comes a time where the limitations of your knowledge, experience, and ability are keeping you and your horse from excelling. And for the love of everything holy, you have got to learn when to say, “I need help” or “I can’t teach them anything else” and you have to be able to admit when you’ve met a roadblock you can’t get past. We’ve met that point, and I for one, am unsatisfied with being mediocre. Fiz probably doesn’t care, but I want more for him! I want to see him reach his potential. I 100% feel that he will be able to do so under the Phoenix Farm banner. So I have gracefully accepted the facts, that I have taught him all I know, but that there is someone who can teach him much more, and as that happens, I’ll be able to learn too. We can all learn from others, if we’re open to it.
People, you have GOT to respect and appreciate your professionals for the exceptional job they do (that is, if it’s in fact exceptional..). You have got to understand that they make a living doing what they do FOR A REASON. They are experts, and work every day towards a common goal: For your horse and you to succeed. Their success as a professional rides on your success, as the way your horse competes is a direct reflection of their work. For 30 days in, I am completely in awe of the drastic changes in this horse. I’ll let the photo speak for itself. We can only go up from here!
Sometimes, you’re just being crazy, and sometimes, you’re RIGHT. In this case, I’d rather have been crazy and not right. Before our show, I had a dream that I forgot essential stuff and then I got lost. See the message below, call it a premonition.
Well, that’s not exactly how it all went down, but I did forget an essential piece of equipment. The driving lines! I know, right… The one piece of equipment that connects the driver to control the horse. Yeah, let’s just hop in the cart and hope he knows where to go! Uh, no. Thank God for knowing people, we were able to procure a lunge line, a snap, a cable tie, and a lot of electrical tape from Blair Cecil, trainer at Phoenix Farm and get Cindy in the ring! Really, we aren’t above ghetto fabulous at this point, and they really didn’t look bad in the grand scheme of things. See?
So, after the fiasco getting him ready, we were good to go get him hooked! Except we didn’t know that the first two driving classes were going to take over an hour as each driver went individually to show. So there we were, in the warm up ring, for an hour before the class walking around with the cart hooked. Poor Fizzy was rather unamused, but for the most part he behaved. By the time the class rolled around, he was rather lazy probably because he’d already been hooked and walking/trotting around for the better part of an hour. However, he went in and did his job and didn’t act a fool, which is always a good thing. After the class when we were unhooking the cart, I had a lady tell me “That is the calmest, most well behaved Saddlebred I have ever seen” which, is a very good compliment! He CAN be, he definitely has it in him when it counts. Check out Cindy’s class:
So, on to my Halter class. I realized when I went to get ready that I had no tie. Great! Suit with no tie! What good is that? Anyway, I had a plan, really, I did for this class I’d never done before. It was to go last and do what everyone else did. That plan did not work. It was an epic fail, because we thought we still had time but they were calling numbers for the class so we rushed up there. We were FIRST in the ring on THIRD call for the class. SO, there we went. I just asked the judge “what would you like to see” because I didn’t know the first thing to do! She had me walk him toward her, then wanted me to trot him away and around to line up “head to tail” whatever that meant. He wouldn’t trot… then he sorta did, it was rather ugly I’m sure as he was so confused! When the other participant lined up, I found out that “head to tail” meant parallel to the rail, haha! So, we quickly moved to match that. Pretty sure if the judge could have given us 8th place, she would have, even though there were only 2 horses in the class. The photos from Bluegrass Girl Photography turned out great! All the photos in this post are credited to her.
There’s one other thing… The trailer. So, Fizzy has developed this new habit of kicking in the trailer. He’s shredded the wall off his side of the trailer twice now. The metal toward the bottom is now bent. SO, in an effort to keep him somewhat safe on the way home as best we can, Cindy had the idea of Duct Taping the metal so any potential sharp edges were not exposed. Then, we put shipping boots on him to try and protect his back legs (where the shredding occurred) even though it was 93 degrees outside. Before you ask, yes, I stood and took pictures of the pregnant lady working-and told her, “these are going on the blog!”
THEN, upon leaving (why does this always seem to happen to us?) we got stuck in traffic while some street sweepers decided to close the road and sweep up literally nothing. No wonder our poor horse hates the horse trailer! Every time he gets on it we get stuck in traffic while he has to stand back there being all hot with no airflow!
But, we all made it back in one piece, safe and sound. I think someone was really happy to get back into his field.
It’s been a while since we posted an update. Now that the dreaded winter is finally behind us, there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes! I’ve been bad about sharing and I apologize to our (few) fans for not posting more. I’ll work on that! AOT life is crazy sometimes, and it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind! So, let me update on what’s been going on with Fizzy.
We made it through the winter, but not without a few troubles. Fizzy got back into the habit of “I don’t want to come in from the field” again, so he has earned himself a halter to wear 24/7. Well, he’s actually earned himself multiples, because he likes to break them or Houdini himself out of them somehow. Thanks to Blair’s Bits and Pieces, we’ve been supplied with several leather halters without breaking the bank. Yay for affordable used tack and equipment!! Check them out if you need anything. Blair is awesome! Anyway, halter on, he comes right up to you in the field, no problem and no questions asked. Halter off, and it’s a battle where he crosses some serious lines into territory we’d rather not be in. So, halter it is. It’s not the choice we WANTED to make, but he made the choice for us with his behavior.
Anyway, in case you aren’t up to speed, Fiz lived the entire winter barefoot. We went through the painful stage where he acted crippled, (tried, loved, and reviewed the Cavallo Simple Boot here), then slowly but surely, his hooves tightened, hardened, and his soles became concave instead of flat! He became sound on soft ground without shoes, and mostly sound on tougher ground. Rocks were still a little bit of a challenge, but we managed nearly 6 months without shoes!
He got his first set of shoes for the season put on 2 weeks ago (3-23-17), gave us a big scare, then turned out to be just fine. He was shod on a Thursday morning, worked like wonder horse Friday in his full show bridle, then turned up completely lame on Monday with nothing to understand why. Our farrier was out of town, but another farrier checked him Wednesday and found no evidence. By Wednesday evening, he was perfectly fine again! I guess it could have been going so long without shoes, then having them again.
Anyway, he’s fine now (thankfully) and here are some pictures of what we’ve been up to!
2-10-17: Pretty Sunset at the farm
2-10-17: What Fizzy thinks of photos
2-18-17: First drive in about 4 months. He was fantastic!
2-24-17: Fizz’s favorite activity
3-24-17: First ride in a full bridle in about 4 months
3-31-17: Trying out long lining (I still stink at it!)
Anyone that knows me knows I truly despise cold weather with every fiber of my being. I imagine hell to be mounds of snow, not fire and brimstone but who am I to question the bible? Anyway… since we decided to pull Fiz’s shoes and it’s gotten colder outside, we have not really been doing a whole lot, but we have still been learning and overcoming obstacles. Or running through them, whatever your definition of the word “overcome” encompasses.
So in this post I’m going to talk about the water obstacle. Following our big successes lately with tarp training, I got this brilliant idea that Fizzy should learn to go through water calmly at home under controlled conditions rather than out on a trail in the middle of nowhere. Well, what I learned is that no matter how much “control” you think you can have in the comforts of “home” and an indoor arena, you simply cannot control a horse’s reaction to things they have not done before.
Let me give you a little back story. This horse is a pig. And by that I mean he will find the ONLY wet spot in the pasture to roll around in or stomp around in as to get himself as dirty as possible. But god forbid you ask him to step in the only puddle around if you’re leading him. He will avoid it like the plague and even more so if you’re saddled up and riding. WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE???? How much sense does that actually make?? Horses…
Anyway, so I got permission from the barn owner to set this contraption up in the indoor arena and I went forth with confidence that my execution couldn’t have been better in building this obstacle. I brought Fizzy to the arena to introduce him to my handiwork only to find that he was not nearly as impressed as I was with my ingenious build. We couldn’t even walk near it, Fizzy snubbed it completely. It was complete garbage, and he was above acknowledging its existence. I was so disappointed that he didn’t find it as glorious as I did. I am also disappointed that I did not snap any photos of my incredibly awesome obstacle in all its glory. Here’s the jist of what it looked like and how it was made:
Anyway, my Momma didn’t raise a quitter, so I just kept at it and finally Fizzy decided to try and shut me up by stepping in. You would have thought I had asked him to step into shark infested waters, because he went flying backwards at the splash of water that his hoof produced and proceeded to snort and blow in that direction for the next several minutes.
Since I had put a saddle on him prior to bringing him into the arena, with the intent of eventually riding him (calmly, you know, walking like a sane normal horse) through the water obstacle, I decided maybe I could better encourage him from his back. Yeah… well, he had other ideas about what was appropriate. My encouragement produced a horse that charged through the water obstacle like he was riding into a war zone. I mean, REALLY? Is that necessary? Whatever makes you happy Fizzy. But at the end of the day, he DID do what I asked and he went through the obstacle. Not with the calmness I would have liked, but he went in his own way, and he did it because I asked him to. I can’t ask for anything more than that.
After all was said and done, he was still a happy horse in his new trail riding gear, which I did get a photo of.
Twisted Sisters Saddlebreds 